Overrated/Underrated: Pixar has lost its standout status, and Ambrose Akinmusire comes alive
UNDERRATED
Hasan Minhaj: If you were placing money on the next breakout star from the still-durable comedy academy of “The Daily Show,†Minhaj may be your surest bet of 2017. First, he delivered a fearless, devastatingly funny turn at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, then his latest stand-up special, structured as much like a storytelling show with screens and roving camera angles, was a next-level shift for the visual potential of the form. Not to mention the strength of the set’s material — a sensitively drawn, occasionally raw look at growing up brown and Muslim in America — which remains among the year’s funniest yet.
Ambrose Akinmusire’s ‘A Rift in Decorum: Live at the Village Vanguard’: Already a musical force so distinctive that his trumpet often seems to breathe with an ethereal, searching grace, Akinmusire hasn’t been heard from since his ambitious 2014 sophomore release, which landed on multiple year-end lists. This double album, recorded at the musical holy ground that hosted landmark albums by the likes of John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins, offers further evidence that he should be considered among those continuing that legacy. Backed by a nimble, daring band, Akinmusire’s expressive, at times turbulent excursions reveal something new with each listen. (He performs at the Moss Theater in Santa Monica on Friday.)
OVERRATED
Alex Jones: Previously most recognizable for being rendered as a reddening rage fountain in Richard Linklater’s 2001 animated film “Waking Life†— and basically every day since — self-described “performance artist†Alex Jones has become legit in the truth-averse Trump era, first by earning a White House press credential for his website InfoWars and now with an interview with Megyn Kelly on NBC Sunday night. While expanding the platform for a conspiracy theorist seems like a bad idea, here’s a shortcut to sidestep this reach for ratings-boosting controversy: Whatever Jones says on Kelly’s show will be a lie. Whatever he says on his own show will also be a lie. Any questions?
Pixar: Remember back when movies from this studio were worth planning your summer around? We’re now two years removed from “Inside Out,†which stands with some of the studio’s strongest efforts such as “Up†and “Wall-E, but this level of invention has become increasingly rare for what was once a source of not just some of the strongest storytelling in animation but movies in general. Now with “Cars 3†passing us, we can at least look forward to the “Book of Lifeâ€-adjacent “Coco†next year, but we fear this once-mighty machine has become addicted to the safety of sequels. Just like anywhere else in Hollywood.
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