FUNKYLB WRITES....

FUNKYLB'S FAVORITE FILMS AND PERFORMANCES FOR 2016 


All of the usual suspects are here: Barry Jenkins and his deft, un-preachy but still potently lyrical storytelling, Viola Davis and her steely vulnerability that breaks your heart, Naomie Harris and her gift for settling into a character like a second skin, and Natalie Portman with her ability to get you the viewer to believe anything and everything she's selling. BUT….. I want to direct your attention to the quiet, transformative work turned in by 8 year old newcomer Sunny Pawar in Lion. I'd argue that his…

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MY TOP 15 FAVORITE FILMS OF 2014 

It only took me forever to compile this list. It wasn't because of any apathy or spiritlessness about my film going experience last year. The problem is that Philly isn't like LA and NYC: films, for the most part, don't screen here early. Films that are released in NYC and LA in order to make the early December awards season deadlines often don't open in Philly until 2-3 months later, at the earliest.

2014 wasn't the strongest year cinematically, especially with the relative paucity of features films…Read more

MY TOP 10 FILMS FOR 2013 

I see 1-2 new films every week in theaters, a mix of art house offerings and standard HollyWeird fare. Below is my top 10 list. I have to say that, of my favorites, Jill Solloway's slyly resonant Afternoon Delight  and Thomas Vinterberg's psychologically taut The Hunt are the 2 films I most look forward to re-watching on DVD.


MY TOP FILM SCORES 

I see at least one new film a week in theaters, often two, a mix of art house and blockbuster HW fare. A darkened movie theater is a refuge for me. I’ve had a love affair with the capaciousness of the room and the grandeur of that big screen in front of me since I was a kid. I would head into center city by myself and spend my entire allowance on a Saturday matinee (with popcorn and a coca cola of course). Films showed me places I had yet to visit, provided me with a bird’s eye view of people I might not…Read more

FOR LOVE OR FOR MONEY 



















I've been re-thinking my approach to doing art alongside commerce these days.Creating music is my life blood and the thing I can spend all day doing without being bored or uninspired. As I survey my little studio, however, I realize how much money I've poured into making music. I'm a songwriter, engineer/producer and composer who also plays in bands live. The monetary investment in getting the instruments, amps and FX pedals to use to craft a consistent and professional sound was considerable.  Composing…Read more

TONE IS EVERYTHING! 

Been thinking a lot about tone of late. I played a show right before Christmas break that broke my heart because my bass sound/tone was not what I know it should be. Part of the problem was that I was gigging with my back-up amp head that is less-configurable (especially in the mid-range) than my main amp head. I’ll come back to that because I’m a bass player who lives in the mid-range. It is my bread and butter. The other impediment to dialing in my sound and tone that night was to be found in my fingers.…Read more

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