"Death Note" (2017) - Review

Be Calm Death Note Fans, Don't Write This Film's Name Down

Alright people. I have thoughts on the Netflix Death Note movie. If this post seems a bit rambling, it's because it started as a Facebook post and graduated to being a full on post on my formerly dormant blog. Lucky you I guess.

'The Leftovers' - Review: "The Book of Kevin" (Spoilers)

Hey everyone. Long time no see.

The Leftovers is back with its third (and final) season premiere. We have bearded Kevins, doomsday cults, and giant inflated Gary Buseys to cover, so let's get started. My spoiler-filled thoughts are after the jump.

"La La Land" - Review

Here's to the Fools Who Dream

Before I get started with this review... Hey everyone! Look who has returned to spew more more movie-related thoughts at you! (Good lord that's a gross image... I'm not taking it back.) What a crazy year 2016 has been! I regret not having updated this blog for as long as I have. Long story short: Google my name and you will find that I was writing for another publication for a short while before I was not able to continue. I took a quick break but now I am back on my own terms. I will be starting slowly at first and it may take a bit to get back into the swing of things, but rest assured I will compile some good "2016 IS FINALLY OVER!!" content with you.

I could not have asked for a better movie to come back to you guys with than La La Land. After a year with so much turmoil and division over nearly every possible reason there could be to be mad at each other about, here is the throwback to better times that we needed. This is a quintessential Hollywood film in the most classic sense. It is an original musical with a story that feels lifted straight out of a vintage Hollywood back lot, but with a modern sensibility that restores my faith in the power of the movie musical. It is a genre that has been dormant for far too long, save for a few adaptations of stage productions. Damien Chazelle has proven that the musical can be just as relevant today and I hope others have the creative courage to follow his lead.

"Warcraft" - Review

For the Initiated Fans Only

Oh, the never ending turmoil that is video game movie adaptations. There have only been a few that have even been close to being good. The first Mortal Kombat and Disney's Prince of Persia (even with the blatantly white-washed Gods of Egypt style cast) come to mind as movies that were almost good. In certain states of mind, if you catch my drift, Mortal Kombat is probably the greatest 90's film ever made right next to Space Jam. Every other video game movie though? Pure trash. Uwe Boll's legendarily dismal filmography is a testament to that. Remember Super Mario Bros.? Wow, that is a train-wreck. Suffice it to say, video game movies have a lot of room for improvement. So, here we are now in 2016 and for some reason Hollywood really really wants to finally get a good video game movie out there. We had Ratchet & Clank which landed with a dull thud. Angry Birds: The Movie was a little bit better, but still incredibly underwhelming despite its decent animation and its stellar voice cast. Next up is what may be the biggest, most expensive adaptation to date based on quite possibly the video game with the most beloved lore: Warcraft. Surely a franchise with lore so vast and detailed can translate to the screen successfully... right? Well... my answer is a mixed one. As a relative stranger to the source material, I cannot speak for how accurately the games have been translated to the screen. What I can voice in on is if it works as a straight up film. Sadly, it does not quite work. Warcraft is an ambitious effort with impressive aesthetics to spare, but because of an incredibly lazy and unfocused script, extremely poor characterization, and some miscasting, it falls into the camp of Mortal Kombat and Prince of Persia as an almost good movie.

"Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping" - Review

It Takes a Lonely Island To Make a Dope Movie

It is almost comical how similar the rise of The Lonely Island mirrors the rise of a certain individual named Justin Bieber. They both came from humble beginnings with a love for creation and performance. They started making content for YouTube and were eventually discovered by other famous people. That gave them the opportunities to build a fanbase and then suddenly explode into fame. The difference that I would note between the two though is that Bieber lost himself in that fame. Perhaps he became popular at too early of an age. The Lonely Island, consisting of Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone, came into their popularity a little later on in their lives and it shows in their careers. Over the 15 years they have been a group, they have never lost their particular and unique flavor of comedy music. The same inspired wit is there. The fame only brought them more resources and collaboration opportunities with other "famous people". Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is the culmination of everything The Lonely Island is. Released simultaneously with an album of the same name, the film is stuffed with original music from the group and their trademark sketch comedy and it seems like every person they have ever met in the industry joined in for the fun. Unlike this years unfortunate Zoolander 2, Popstar never gets lost in its numerous cameos and pop culture references. Rather than the references and cameos themselves being the punchlines, they exist to supplement the biting satire that The Lonely Island have already crafted. That satire, born from The Lonely Island coming into fame and fortune as outsiders, is subversive and vicious. Because of this, Popstar is one of the best comedies of the year so far.

'Game of Thrones' - Review: "The Broken Man" (Spoilers)

This week on Game of Thrones, Bronn makes his season 6 return (yayyyyy!) and Ian McShane guest stars. My thoughts on the episode are after the jump.

'Game of Thrones' - Review: "Blood of My Blood" (Spoilers)

On this week's episode of Game of Thrones, Jaime takes a stand against the Faith Militant and a familiar face returns to the show. My thoughts on the episode are after the jump.