Top 10 Lists | www.jaredmobarak.com

Top 100 Albums of 2015

2016/03/082020/04/11 Jared Mobarak

Honorable Mention Yelawolf – Love Story; Ceremony – The L-Shaped Man; The Tallest Man on Earth – Dark Bird is Home; Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams; Logic – The Incredible True Story; Alberta Cross – Alberta Cross; Kaskade – Automatic; Marilyn Manson – The Pale Emperor; Blitzen Trapper – All Across This Land; Beach House – Thank Your Lucky Stars; Squarepusher – Damogen Furies; MisterWives – Our Own House; City and Colour – If I Should Go Before You; Robin Schulz – SUGAR; Matt and Kim – New…

Top Ten Films of 2015: Where emotions run high

2016/03/042020/03/31 Jared Mobarak

I have no problem saying 2015 was a great year for cinema. Putting together a Top Ten was difficult at every turn—both because each time I had to do so meant I had seen more films and as a result of my preferences constantly changing. There are more than a few from 11-20 that easily could be Top Ten candidates on a different day. Sadly for them that day isn’t today. Happily for us: the art’s level of quality was good enough to cause such problems. Rules: eligible feature-length films…

Top 100 Songs of 2015

2016/01/022018/07/02 Jared Mobarak

#100: After The Fall by Chelsea Wolfe #98: The Shade by Metric #96: Dead Inside by Muse #94: Killing Strangers by Marilyn Manson #92: I’m In Love With My Life by PHASES #90: Vancouver by Kopecky #88: Drunched in Crumbs by Albert Hammond Jr. #86: Till It’s Gone by Yelawolf #84: Home We’ll Go by Walk Off the Earth #82: Orion by The Mynabirds #80: Here To Mars by Coheed and Cambria #78: It’s My Turn Now by Awreeoh #76: Mothercreep by FKA Twigs #74: Angels (Above Me) by Say…

Posterized Propaganda January 2016: The Top 10 Movie Posters of 2015

2015/12/302020/04/02 Jared Mobarak

“Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover” is a proverb whose simple existence proves the fact impressionable souls will do so without fail. This monthly column (with a special year-end retrospective today) focuses on the film industry’s willingness to capitalize on this truth, releasing one-sheets to serve as not representations of what audiences are to expect, but as propaganda to fill seats. Oftentimes they fail miserably. It hasn’t been a great year for domestic movie poster design. Yes there are always a handful to admire each month, but that’s not…

Online Film Critics Society Ballot 2015

2015/12/142020/03/31 Jared Mobarak

Below is my December 12th ballot for the 19th annual Online Film Critics Society Awards honoring movies released domestically in the United States during the 2015 calendar year. Group winners are highlighted in red. Best Picture #1 Inside Out . #2 Carol . #3 Spotlight . #4 Ex Machina . #5 Mad Max Fury Road #6 Brooklyn #7 The Revenant #8 Room #9 The Martian #10 Sicario Best Animated Film #1 Inside Out . #2 Shaun the Sheep Movie #3 Anomalisa . #4 The Peanuts Movie #5 The Good Dinosaur…

Top Ten Films of 2014: A deluge of sci-fi doppelgängers and one-word titles

2015/03/252020/08/16 Jared Mobarak

I don’t want to label 2014 as a good, bad, or average year. I want to call it inventive, original, and delightfully dark. Whether it’s doppelgänger paradoxes leading to murderous rage, the bleak carnage of war, prison violence, or psychologically debilitating struggles to be great, my favorite films had an edge that cut to the bone by credits’ end. The best thing I can say about 2014 is that my top ten (heck, maybe my top twenty-five) could be re-organized and re-listed without making me too angry about what is…

Top 100 Albums of 2014

2015/03/012020/04/11 Jared Mobarak

Honorable Mention Sylvan Esso – Sylvan Esso; Empire – Orphan; Skrillex – Recess; The Drums – Encyclopedia; Run the Jewels – Run the Jewels 2; St. Paul & The Broken Bones – Half the City; Johnny Marr – Playland; Pharrell Williams – G I R L; Patterns – Waking Lines; Wu-Tang Clan – A Better Tomorrow; Mark Lanegan Band – Phantom Radio; Ray LaMontagne – Supernova; Blood Red Shoes – Blood Red Shoes; Jack White – Lazaretto; Coldplay – Ghost Stories. Top 100

Posterized Propaganda January 2015: The Top 10 Movie Posters of 2014

2014/12/292016/01/04 Jared Mobarak

“Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover” is a proverb whose simple existence proves the fact impressionable souls will do so without fail. This monthly column (with a special year-end retrospective today) focuses on the film industry’s willingness to capitalize on this truth, releasing one-sheets to serve as not representations of what audiences are to expect, but as propaganda to fill seats. Oftentimes they fail miserably. I usually find myself needing to whittle down a list of around twenty posters to the fifteen showcased below. For 2014, however, my list…

Top 100 Songs of 2014

2014/12/192014/12/19 Jared Mobarak

#100: Coming Home by Kaiser Chiefs #98: Gust of Wind by Pharrell Williams #96: Friday Fish Fry by Kelis #94: It’s a Longer Road to California Than I Thought by The Wind and the Wave #92: Now by Joywave #90: Take My Place by Lily Allen #88: Are You Okay? by Dum Dum Girls #86: Busy Earnin’ by Jungle #84: Never Gonna Change by Broods #82: Riptide by Vance Joy #80: Big Unit by Adebisi Shank #78: Count On My Love by Tessanne Chin #76: Telepathy by ††† #74: Right…

Top Ten Films of 2013: A year in cinema to write home about

2014/03/012020/03/31 Jared Mobarak

2013 has been a banner year for cinema with a slew of quality pictures that makes you wonder how only nine got enough first place votes to earn an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. Most of my favorites could have filled that elusive tenth spot for some added acclaim—whether having a chance to win or not. I hadn’t even seen a good chunk of these until the calendar flipped to 2014, the sheer amount of winners was too vast. And after only awarding three films a 10/10 rating last year,…

Top 100 Albums of 2013

2014/01/102020/04/11 Jared Mobarak

Honorable Mention The Joy Formidable – Wolf’s Law; Indians – Somewhere Else; Young Galaxy – Ultramarine; Cansei de Ser Sexy – Planta; Kodaline – In a Perfect World; Frank Turner – Tape Deck Heart; Black Blinds – Black Blinds; Chelsea Wolfe – Pain is Beauty; Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Push The Sky Away; The Jungle Giants – Learn To Exist; GRMLN – Empire; Holy Ghost! – Dynamics; Ours – Ballet The Boxer 1; KT Tunstall – Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon; Jim James – Regions of Light…