Lion King 2 0 1 9

Lion King (2019) is Disney's 6th big release of 2019 and it's third "live-action" remake of the year out of four. Unlike Dumbo and Aladdin though, this one doesn't have any actual live-action scenes and is completely CGI. This one is based on the Disney animated movie released in 1994. The 1994 Lion King was one of the biggest movies of all time and it was the second highest-grossing movie of all time for a while. This movie was HUGE and it became a classic over time, a movie that many people have a special place in their hearts for and passed on to their children. From a business standpoint, it's a no brainer to release a new version of this movie. So far most of Disney's live-action remakes have been pretty successful and have earned lots of big money for the company. How does this one measure up to the original and how does it compare to the other remakes of the past few years?

So this movie plays out exactly like the original from 1994. And when I say that, I mean that it's the exact same story and it's almost an exact copy of the original. The story plays out just like the original, a lot of the scenes and most of the dialog are just copied and pasted in this new movie. Basically, if you've seen the original before, you've already seen like 95% of this movie. The major differences are of course the visuals and the voice acting, which I think are both done really well. The weird thing is that the visual style holds back the vocal performances of the movie, which leads to the main problem I had with this new version. The life-like characters, especially the lions, don't really show much emotion. There are scenes where the voice actors are expressing joy or sadness, but the character's faces are just emotionless and don't really match the emotion they are expressing in the music. The other major problem that comes from that is the songs. The songs are all sung very well by the new voice cast (you got Childish Gambino and Beyonce so it's going to be great), but the problem is that during the songs the characters can't really do much since the visuals are going for realism. In the original, most of the songs took place in colorful music-video style sections that really fit the tone of whatever song was playing. In this new one, they can't really do that so instead, you just have the characters kinda running around a boring location not really matching the tone that the song is going for. It just doesn't feel as fun or exciting as it's trying to be.

Even with all its flaws, I can't say I disliked this movie entirely. It's still the same Lion King story I loved since childhood. The new voice actors did a great job as I mentioned before. The visuals are really stunning and can be really beautiful at times. It really pushed technology to a whole new level when it comes to visuals and it's exciting to see what film will start to do with this level of CGI. Sadly, the most impressive aspect of this movie is what held it back the most. It took away a lot of the emotion from the story and made some of the originals iconic scenes weaker in comparison. That along with not adding anything new to the story or trying something different really left me disappointed at the end. When walking into a remake like this, you want it to be just as good if not better than the original and you want to see some new additions/changes to the story. Maybe people who don't have a strong connection with the original will like this movie a lot more than I did. Maybe others will love the nostalgia this movie brings and love it for that reason. As for me, I was really disappointed by it and will stick to the original version.

-Hakuna Matata-

2010's Music: 2 0 1 0

It's crazy to think that this decade is almost over. Music is often looked at and categorized by decades, so I thought it could be fun to look back at every year of the decade and see what music was really good and what music was awful. So I'm going to attempt to look back at every year from 2010 to 2019 (when it ends) and pick my favorite songs and the songs I hated the most. I will only be using music from the year-end charts, basically, music that was listened to the most and dominated the airwaves. Not gonna be in any order really, but I'll try to put my least favorite and my actual favorite last.

WORST: Mike Posner - Cooler Than Me

Before he was taking pills and making decent songs, Mike Posner was a terrible artist who had zero charm. There's no better example of his lack of charm with this beautiful song "Cooler Than Me". Mike Posner attempts to sing (debatable) a song about a girl who isn't into him because she thinks she's so much cooler than him. He tries all his tricks to get her, but she doesn't go for it because she thinks she's better than him. It's pretty easy to see why she's not into him, cause he seems pretty desperate and as soon as he is rejected he just starts complaining about how you don't like him because you're stuck-up. Mike Posner just comes across as super whiny and butt-hurt about being rejected in this song. His vocals aren't good and the music doesn't really help cover that up in any way. Just bad. 

BEST: Michael Buble - Haven't Met You Yet

Every department store's favorite artist Michael Buble hit the charts pretty big in 2010 with this song. Maybe the last time that Michael had a huge hit that ended being one of the highest selling of the year. I'm not too familiar with the work of Michael Buble, outside of his Christmas work. This song is dangerously catchy though and unlike Mike Posner, the vocals are on point and the music has a nice cheery element to go along with the romantic lyrics. It's all just very nice and fluffy, like eating a dessert. Including the guilt afterward. 

WORST: Drake - Find Your Love

So it's really been a whole decade of hearing Drake on the radio or seeing him multiple times on the best selling list of a year. This is somehow even more boring than his current work. It's one of those Drake songs where he tries really hard to be romantic but comes across as more insincere and cheesy. The music is okay, a mix of a lot of different sounds that work fairly well together sometimes and other times sounds a bit messy. Drake's vocals and lyrics just leave a lot to be desired and the song just drags and feels way longer than it actually is because of how boring it is. 

BEST: Lady Antebellum - Need You Now

I've always really loved this song. It's one of those songs that perfectly captures a specific feeling. The feeling of missing someone and wanting to see them badly again even though the relationship is over or on the rocks. The music and vocals come together to really show off the desperation and loneliness the lyrics are explaining. Unlike Drake, where you don't really feel much emotion from his vocals to match his lyrical content in the previous song. Using music to express how you feel at a certain time makes for a great song, especially when you can feel the emotion in the instruments and vocals. Whether it's a love song like Michael Buble's song or a song about missing someone like this one.

WORST: Black Eyed Peas - Imma Be

One of the most annoying songs of the decade easily. Besides the obvious constant repetition of "Imma be" throughout the ENTIRE song that definitely doesn't get old before the first verse. None of the other lyrics really make sense, but I'm assuming it's all just generic brag rap lyrics. Fergie tries to be cool, TRIES. But really she shows all of her weaknesses as an artist instead. 

Things do kind of pick up towards the last minute of the song and it becomes a little more tolerable and interesting. But having to sit and listen to the first few minutes isn't worth it to hear a slightly better song at the end. This song is just lazy and not as clever as they probably thought it was. 

BEST: Katy Perry - California Gurls

It's crazy to think that at one point Katy Perry actually made fun pop music that was enjoyable to listen to. This song is catchy as hell and just really fun from the music to the catchy melodies. Lyrically it's nothing memorable, but it gets the job done of being a fun summer jam song you can play in your car or at a party. That's it. Pretty simple. Oh and Snoop Dogg.

WORST: David Guetta/Akon - Sexy B*tch

This song is just...gross. Not just the lyrics either, but the loud annoying music by David Guetta. I seriously couldn't even finish listening to the song because it was so loud and annoying musically. Maybe I'm just getting old? I don't know, but this is the kind of song I wish never existed. This style of music was at its peak popularity in 2010 though, and pop music has changed a bit since then. I don't want to talk about or ever listen to this again.

BEST: Lady Gaga - Bad Romance

Actually, this song is kind of loud and messy musically too. Why does this work more than the last song then? Probably because of the lyrics not being gross, but also because of Lady Gaga actually having lots of charisma and talent. Lady Gaga just has the ability to make weird things like this work. Despite its weirdness, it's still catchy and has a pretty powerful chorus that's very memorable. It still has a lot of the same sounds that other pop songs had at the time, but it manages to stand out in the right ways...unlike the next song.

WORST: Far East Movement - Like a G6

I'm gonna put as much effort writing about this song as they did in actually making it. It's not a good song. It's really bad. 

BEST: Eminem - Not Afraid

The late 2000s were not easy for Marshall. Two pretty bad albums killed a lot of the momentum he made for himself in the 90s and early 00s. I think this album was a nice comeback from all that though and this song one of the biggest singles from it. It feels like a more honest and mature Eminem. It's not as good as his earlier work in my opinion and maybe that's because of nostalgia on my part, but that's just how I feel. This was still a step in the right direction to finding a new Eminem I could get behind. Sadly it didn't really end up going nowhere, but I still enjoy this album for what it did at the time. 

WORST: Jason Derulo - Watcha Say

I think I've talked about this song on here before, but basically, I hate this song. I hate the way it uses the sample from a song I love (Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap) and butchers it. I hate the way crappy autotune on Derulo's voice. I hate the stupid lyrics. I hate the crappy beat. I hate the way Derulo annoyingly inflects on certain words.

BEST: Maroon 5 - Misery

Anyone who's read my music posts on here probably knows how much I hate Maroon 5 and their terrible music. It wasn't always that way though. Before they became a seven-person band that makes emptier sounding music than bands with one member, they actually made pretty fun music. This song was from their third album, which was OKAY but compared to their last three albums was AMAZING. This song is fun, funky, energetic and actually sounds like a band is working on it. Adam's vocals sound better when he's singing along to a nice bassline and funky guitar. It's not great, but I still don't mind listening to this, at least it doesn't bore me like their new stuff.

WORST: Justin Biber - Baby

Yeah, it's been a whole decade of Bieber. This was his big breakout hit song that everybody knew but wanted to forget. It's easy to look back and make fun of this super cheesy song with annoying vocals, but it's also nice to know that Bieber did eventually outgrow this and made a few decent songs. The saddest part though it Ludacris being involved in this... I hope the money was worth it?

BEST: Owl City - Fireflies

I'm not sure if I actually like this song or it was just different enough from everything else that it was refreshing to hear. I do really like Adam Young as an artist and this album did have some good tracks and he has gone on to make some enjoyable albums under the Owl City name and under his own name. This song was really different than anything else on the charts at the time, which is really surprising how big it became. There's always a song like this every year though, much like last year's "Feel It Still". The difference here is that Owl City did have another pretty big hit a few years later, which will probably be on the best of for that year if I get that far. 

WORST: Ke$ha - Blah Blah Blah

Take every annoying trend from 2010 and throw into a bucket, mix it with awful vocals and a guest appearance by one of the worst "bands" of the 2000s in 3OH!3 and you got whatever this is. How did a song that seemed to be designed to be annoying become such a huge hit? Thankfully Kesha has improved a lot over the years and has even made some good music. As for 3OH!3, well they still suck but at least they aren't getting attention anymore.

BEST: Kings of Leon - Use Somebody

In the 2010s, alternative rock music just doesn't have the same appeal as it did in the 90s and early 00s. So whenever a band like Kings of Leon can make a name for itself and even get heavy radio play in pop stations it's always a surprise. Though like most bands that get a big push like this, they never did reach the same heights in their follow-up albums. Still, they gained enough of a following around this time to keep being one of the more well-known and successful alternative rock bands of the decade. The song "Use Somebody" was a great rock anthem, the kind of song that probably does great at live shows and livens up the crowd. It's a great sing-along rock song with simple, but memorable lyrics and melodies. 

WORST? Miley Cyrus - Party in the USA

Before Miley broke out of the Disney Channel and created a new image for herself, she was making songs like this one. Which is a song I'm probably supposed to hate, but I just can't for whatever reason? It's just too catchy and dumb to really hate. The lyrics are pretty stupid, but she was barely 18 at the time and didn't even write this song. It was written by a bunch of "professionals" and Jessie J, who's never been good at writing lyrics. It's catchy, but it's still not a good song other than that. The song is about the first time Miley (I guess?) went to Hollywood and how nervous and out of place, she felt being from Nashville. Then a song by Britney Spears and Jay-Z played on the radio and made her feel at home somehow? Also, everyone thought she was weird because she was wearing shoes? I don't know. 

BEST: Gaga & Beyonce - Telephone

In my opinion, probably the best charting pure pop song of 2010. Super catchy, great vocals from two pop titans Gaga and Beyonce and pretty good music by 2010 pop standards. The song builds to a big explosive memorable chorus which Gaga has seemed to master at this point. When you put two big names like that on a track you expect pop greatness and I think they delivered on that promise. 

THE WORST SONG: Young Money - Bedrock

Young Money was Lil' Waynes group and this song was their big hit. Young Money was Lil' Waynes attempt to make big stars out of all the people on his label and I guess it worked in some ways. Looking at the names on this track, a lot of the member did go on to have huge solo careers and become pop stars. You got two big stars starting out in Drake and Nicki Minaj. Also a lesser star, but still a pretty big name in Tyga (who's just terrible). Everyone else in this song never made it past this point though (that I know of?). This song is easily the worst of the year though. With so much star power and name, you'd think this song would be great. The lyrics are full of stupid cliches and sometimes make no sense at all. The chorus is somehow worse and Lloyds awful vocals definitely don't help. Even Lil Wayne, who's supposed to be the big name, feels like he's not really trying and gets outshined by Drake and Nicki in their verses. It's a mess and it shouldn't be. 

THE BEST: Paramore - The Only Exception

It was impossible for this not to be my best charting song of the year. Paramore is one of my favorite bands and it's not often that one of my favorites gets on the charts like this. Even though it was really low on the list (number 93), it still a song that has left an impact on me since it's release. Even almost a decade later this song is one I often return to and still get a lot of enjoyment from. While the lyrics are a bit of a romantic cliche, it still comes across as very genuine and sweet. The acoustic guitar is a nice touch to add to the dreamy romantic vibe of the song. Haylie's vocals have always been some of the best in rock music and she does great here to show some vulnerability and make the song feel real in its message. Just a great song overall and easily my favorite of the year from the list here. 

2010 was a mixed year in pop music, there was a lot of bad but there was enough good around to keep it from being a terrible year in music. It would go on to get worse later on in the decade. We got a little preview of the coming trends and superstars this year though. Artists like Nicki Minaj, Drake, Bruno Mars, and Taylor Swift were still working their way up at this point. They would eventually become the biggest names in the music world in the coming years. Thankfully the loud electronic music trend would die down in the coming years and eventually be replaced by a lot more depressing music. which is... better?

2010 had great music outside of the charts though. Here are a few albums I remember being great from that year (in my opinion):

Kanye West - Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Vampire Weekend - Contra
Civil Twilight - Civil Twilight
Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
Young the Giant - Young the Giant
Anberlin - Dark is the Way, Light is a Place
Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
MGMT - Congratulations
Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz
Beach House- Teen Dreams
House of Heroes - Suburba
Deas Vail - Birds & Cages

Dark Phoenix / X-Men Movies Ranked

So it's been a long time since I've done one of these reviews. The last movie I did was actually Shazam a few months back and I haven't been back since. I still love movies a lot and love going as much as I can, but it's not exactly easy to go every week (mostly cause of expenses and whatnot). I decided to come back because of this special movie that came out this week by the name of Dark Phoenix. The X-Men movies have always had a special place in my heart for many reasons. X-Men has always been my favorite comic book series and I grew up watching the X-Men cartoons and playing the crappy X-Men video games (and the decent ones). The X-Men movies growing up were awesome and I think really set up the current landscape of comic book movies. Not that it was the first successful one, because we had Superman and Batman movies before this, but it really did bring them back to the limelight. The thing about the X-Men movies is that they kept going all the way up to this moment. It had its highs and lows, but it never went away. Sadly, Dark Pheonix is probably going to be the end of this X-Men saga that started in 2000. So with all that, I figured I would give it a nice sendoff by reviewing the last movie and also ranking all the X-Men movies from worst to best (not including Deadpool, cause those are probably still gonna be going?).

DARK PHOENIX

So Dark Phoenix is the latest and probably final X-Men movie from the long-running series started in the year 2000. This series has gone through many changes and timeline messes, but it all ends here. Dark Phoenix takes place about a decade after Apocalypse, in a world where humans and mutants finally seem to be getting along. The humans idolize the X-Men as a superhero team that protects the world. The X-Men are called to go to space to save a spaceship full of astronauts from their damaged rocket. While rescuing the humans, the X-Men encounter a mysterious force of energy that is going to destroy the humans. Jean Grey is left of the rocket while trying to rescue one last astronaut and is hit with the mysterious force nearly killing her. She is somehow able to absorb its power. This power inside of her is too much for her to handle and it starts making her do things and hurt people she doesn't want to hurt. Things get weirder when a mysterious lifeform seeks Jean's new power to use for herself and her species. 

So X-Men movies have had a problem with keeping a constant quality over the years. Every time it seems they are getting back on track, they kind of ruin it with strange storytelling decisions and timeline issues. This movie sort of falls in the middle of all that. It's not a terrible movie by any means, but it's also not good either. I was entertained enough for most of the movie's runtime, but I also found myself not caring too much about what happens to the characters. The problem is that most of the character's don't really have a connection with me. The movie focuses a lot on a mix of characters that were introduced in First Class and those that were introduced in Apocalypse. The characters from First Class like Professor X and Magneto are the characters I cared about because of their great performances from previous movies. The characters introduced in Apocalypse I found myself not caring much about because the only movie I had to get to know them wasn't very good. It also sucks that one of the coolest characters, Quicksilver, isn't really in the movie too long and just kinda disappears early on. 

The best part of the movie was definitely James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender as Prof. X and Magento. They are still amazing at playing those characters and bring a lot of needed emotion and stakes to the movie. The newer characters are okay, but never really deliver great moments. The focus of the movie is on Jean Grey, played by Sophie Turner. She does a fine job at playing the tortured character of Jean Grey and showing her struggle between good and bad. It's kind of brought down though by the weak villain played by Jessica Chastain. Chastain is a great actor, but the motivations and the climax of the movie are pretty weak and it just feels like another wasted villain (much like Apocalypse). 

I found enough good in this movie to enjoy my viewing, but it definitely left me wanting more. The sad part is that this is probably the end of the saga and a farewell to two amazing performances in Magneto and Xavier. It wasn't the ending it deserved, but maybe it gives me more hope that things can get back on track in the future of the X-Men. The great cast will be missed and I hope they find other great roles (maybe some can come back). This is definitely not goodbye to these great characters, but a see you later.

RANKING

So now for the ranking. From worst to best:

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - A fairly easy choice for the worst movie. Honestly, it's not just the worst X-Men movie, but one of the worst comic book movies ever made. It ruined a lot of great characters like Gambit and... DEADPOOL (for a long time). The story was a mess and only made watchable by Hugh Jackman, but even that wasn't enough. Actually, this movie did have a really cool opening with Wolverine and Sabretooth fighting in all the major wars. But, this movie also took away Deadpool's mouth so... yeah.

X-Men: Last Stand - The final movie of the original trilogy took all the greatness that was built in the first two movies and wasted it all on a botched Dark Phoenix storyline. The movie was kind of all over the place with its story. You got Jean killing everyone on one side, a war between the good and bad mutants and the humans creating a weapon to permanently take away mutant powers. It was... a mess.

X-Men: Apocalypse - What promised to be an awesome new villain for the series ended up being a pretty big waste of time. You get the usual great work from Xavier and Magneto and a strange cameo from Wolverine. There's also the great Quicksilver scene. Besides that, it introduces a lot of the main X-Men again, but not in an interesting way.

Dark Phoenix - Falls around the lower middle, where it belongs. 

X-Men - The first X-Men movie feels pretty dated in a lot of ways. The cheesy dialog and special effects are very 2000. Regardless, it's still a very fun watch. The cast is great and it's a great introduction to the world of mutants. The first time we see Hugh Jackman's Wolverine? Pretty special looking back.

The Wolverine - I really like this movie, it made up a lot for the first solo Wolverine movie. It's got great action, an interesting story, good performances and it's in Japan, who doesn't love Japan? 

X-Men: First Class - Kevin Bacon is in this movie so, that means it's good right? A great introduction to all our favorite X-Men in their younger days and also a lot of cool new ones. This one takes place in the early '60s, which means that Xavier, Magneto, and Mystique all age really well since the series ends in the 90s and all the characters look pretty much the same. The two main actors (McAvoy and Fassbender) had some big shoes to fill and they exceeded all expectations. 

X2 United - A sequel that took everything good about the first and built upon that. Add a really good villain in Stryker and you got yourself a great movie. Unlike the first X-Men, this movie doesn't feel nearly as dated. It took things a little more seriously and it really pushed the story forward for all the characters, including the introduction of favorites like Nightcrawler. 

Days of Future Past - A great mix of the new and the old to make this awesome movie that brought everything together. Also, this movie has Peter Dinklage, so yeah. It's about as emotional as an X-Men movie can get with an all-star cast that brings their A-game. Michael Fassbender really shines bright in this movie and brings the character of Magneto to new levels of awesome. 

Logan - What else could it have been? Not just an amazing comic book movie, but an amazing movie period. How did Patrick Stewart not get an Oscar for this? Shame.  

Shazam!

Ya boy is back at it with the movie reviews. Well, at least for now? So it's been a while since I reviewed a movie (the last one was Lego Movie 2) and I kind of want to try to get back on schedule with all the movies coming out in the coming months. 

So here we have Shazam!, DC's latest attempt at making a new successful series based on one of its characters. At this point, I have little interest in most of the already established characters from the DC movies. Aquaman was a mess of a movie and didn't do A LOT to excite me about future movies with him. Batman and Superman, I could go a year or two without seeing again right now. Flash and Robocop were the worst parts of Justice League, mostly cause they barely did anything. So the just leaves Wonder Woman, who is the only interesting member of the Justice League and has a sequel coming soon that should be good. Actually, I forgot about the Suicide Squad... which is probably a good thing.

The story of Shazam! follows a teen orphan named Billy who keeps transferring from foster home to foster home. A new foster home decides to take him in where he meets Freddy, a superhero-obsessed boy. When Billy is summoned by a weird old wizard that gives him new superpowers, Freddy helps Billy learn how to use those powers. While this is going on, supervillain Doctor Sivana is searching for Billy to take his powers from him. 

The good thing about Shazam! is that it's not connected to any of those other movies, nor does it really set up anything in the future. That might sound like a spoiler, but I think it's good to know that this movie stands on its own without trying to be part of a connected universe. It does have references to other DC characters, but it's doesn't distract from the story. So how does Shazam! do as a stand-alone DC movie? 

Good, actually. This movie has something that I feel has been missing in all the recent DC movies. Heart and good characters. Shazam! tells a great story and focuses its attention on the right things. It does a great job of introducing new characters and getting you to really connect with them by the end of the movie. I found myself caring about all the characters more in this one movie than I ever cared about Superman, Aquaman and the Suicide Squad in their movies. That's because of the two main characters Billy and Freddy and how well they are written and presented in the movie. They have a great relationship throughout the movie that is really fun to watch and the story doesn't stray too far away from that focus. The movie doesn't feel too long and bloated like Aquaman and that's because it focuses on the characters that you like and doesn't take a lot of time trying to explain itself and establish a ton of lore. The performances are all great and nothing is ever taken too seriously. Not to say there aren't some great heartfelt moments, because there are. There's actually a surprisingly well-done scene in the movie that caught me off guard and got me all emotional. 

Simply put, Shazam! was a really fun movie without any ties to the rest of the DC movies. It felt focused and well made. It's got some nice surprises with some great emotional moments sprinkled in it. It's the most fun I've had in a superhero movie in a while, especially in the DC side of things. Honestly out of all the newer DC movies, this one is easily my favorite. It's entertaining from start to finish and it doesn't really ever slow down. So if you've been put off by DC's latest films, give this one a chance because you might be surprised with what you see. 

2018 Music Review

Music Recommendations of 2018

The year was 2018 and the music was... mostly forgettable. Lots of great artists released music last year, but I felt like most of it just didn't hook me like other releases. There really wasn't much this year that I truly loved in music releases. Everything just felt FINE. There wasn't a lot of terrible music, but there also wasn't a lot of great music. My favorite album of last year by far was Mae's latest album " Multisensory Aesthetic Experience". It was the only album that I think exceeded expectations and really captured my attention more than any other release. Anyway, here's a list of albums if you are interested. Please send me other albums that I missed > > >

* Next to albums I REALLY liked.

Electronic:
CHVRCHES - Love is Dead *

Phangs - Happy Season

Emo/Post-Hardcore:

Lydia - Liquor *
Mewithoutyou - Untitled
Joyce Manor - Million Dollars to Kill Me *

Indie Rock:
Mae - Multisensory Aesthetic Experience* (the best album)
Tokyo Police Club - TPC
Young the Giant - Mirror Master *
Mitski - Be the Cowboy
Fratellis - In Your Own Sweet Time
Arctic Monkeys - Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino *
Father John Misty - God's Favorite Customer
Interpol - Marauder
Car Seat Headrest - Twin Fantasy
Superchunk - What a Time to Be Alive
Wombats - Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life
Jeff Rosenstock - POST-
Beach House - 7
Rainbow Kitten Surprise - How To:
Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Sex & Food
La Luz - Floating Features
Bella & Sebastian - How to Solve Our Human Problems


Folk/Singer-Songwriter:
Phoebe Bridgers - Stranger in the Alps *
The Milk Carton Kids - All the Things That I Did...
Punch Brothers - All Ashore
Boygenius - EP
Vocal Few - Grand Pre
Josh White & Josh Garrels - Self Titled EP

Pop Rock

Loyals - Loyals *
Jukebox the Ghost - Off to the Races *
You Me at Six - VI
The 1975 - (please shorten your albums titles)
Fickle Friends - You Are Someone Else
The Aces - When My Heart Felt Volcanic *
Pale Waves - My Mind Makes Noises

Pop Punk/Punk

Waterparks - Entertainment

Trash Boat - Crown Shyness
MxPx - MxPx *
The Longshot - Love is for Losers
Tiny Moving Parts - Swell
The Wonder Years - Sister Cities

Alternative (Or close enough)

Reign of Kindo - Happy However After *
Thrice - Palms
Manic Street Preachers - Resistance is Futile
Twenty-One Pilots - Trench *

Pop

Anne-Marie - Speak Your Mind
Bishop Briggs - White Flag/Church of Scars *
Janelle Monae- Dirty Computer
Mat Kearney - CRAZYTALK
Hayley Kiyoko - Expectations
Ariana Grande - Sweetener
Miya Folik - Premonitions

Lego Movie 2: Lego-er Movie-er

Just because an idea sounds stupid, doesn't mean it is in fact... stupid. That's what we all learned when the first Lego Movie was released and surprised everyone on earth and space (do astronauts have Netflix?). What could have been a giant commercial for Legos ended up being... a giant commercial for Legos, but a damn good one with a lot of charm. The writing was what stood out the most. It knew exactly what it wanted to be and it didn't take itself seriously for the most part. So here we are now with a sequel that begs the question: Is the world getting tired of Lego movies?

Honestly, after the Ninjago movie, I thought the answer was yes. There's a certain style of humor these movies ALL have now. That self-aware and making tons of references style of humor that was great in the first one, but has become in danger of becoming stale now after three movies. Going into this new sequel I was worried it would start to wear on me and it just wouldn't be as charming. Honestly, it kind of was the case with Lego Movie 2. The jokes definitely hit a lot less in this movie, but there's still a lot of times I laughed out loud. The characters are still very charming and lovable, so that really helps the movie a lot.

This time around, the story picks up right after the first movie. It revolves around the idea of the son from the first movie who played with his dad's Legos, but this time he has to share with his little sister. It leads to a conflict between the Legos from the first movie against all the kiddie and girly toys that the sister is bringing in. It ends up being a pretty predictable story, but that's not really a problem because it's done well enough to excuse that... for the most part. The thing that makes it less impactful than the first one is that we already know that they are being controlled by humans in the real world, so the moments where we might see the human aspect of the story aren't as cool and shocking as the first time it was revealed. It makes the story a lot more predictable, but it also adds to the humor since you understand the world a lot more.

The animation is still top-notch. Everything looks like Legos, and it's all highly detailed. The movement of the Legos is still really well done and funny even after three other movies. After this movie was done though, I think I would be okay with if the Lego Movie franchise took a little break, at least for a few years. Either that or try something different with the style and humor, The problem with making movies based on Legos from this point on is that they will all have to look the same because they are all based on the same Lego toys. So it will be a challenge to make that visually interesting after four movies now that all share the same visual style and animation.

Lego Movie 2 was a really good time despite some flaws. It had a lot of good laughs and a decent enough story with some good messages for the kids. The franchise is in danger of becoming stale if it keeps going the way it is at this point, so I hope it takes a break for a few years. BUT if you enjoyed any of the other Lego movies, then this one is an easy recommendation.

Top Movies of 2018

2018 came and went about as fast as everyone wanted it to. It was an interesting year for entertainment, especially in the movie side of things. While in a lot of art seemed to be very mediocre this year (mostly music), there were still plenty of great movies that I really enjoyed watching. There didn't seem to be a lot of amazing things out there, but still enough to be able to make a list like this. There were a lot of movies that I hoped would have been a lot better but ended up being very disappointing. Movies like Aquaman, Tomb Raider, and Star Wars: Solo were not as good as I hoped, but still entertaining in a lot of ways. Other movies like A Wrinkle in Time and Pacific Rim Uprising ended up being huge disappointments that I really disliked. But this list isn't about the bad ones, it's about the good ones. The movies that I loved and that I will watch again and again over time. Movies that stayed with me weeks after I watched them and inspired me. So here are the TOP 10 movies of 2018 (in my opinion).  Note that I haven't seen every movie of 2018 and will eventually try to see a lot of the good films I missed.

Honorable Mentions:

Call Me By Your Name: This movie technically came out in late 2017, but I didn't get a chance to see it until January 2018. It's been a whole year since I've seen this movie, but I still remember it pretty clearly. It was different than anything else I've seen this year. It was a beautiful movie from the storytelling, pacing, cinematography, acting, to the writing. It all worked together to make a great slow paced romance between two characters that had great chemistry.

Thoroughbreds: A little movie that came out earlier this year. It was a really unique movie about two teen girls who are planning to kill one of their annoying step-fathers. The story is meant to be a dark comedy and it really worked thanks to the great performances and the acting. It goes to places you don't expect it to go.

Love, Simon: A movie about a high schooler coming out of the closet didn't sound like a very unique idea when I first heard about this movie. It actually ended up being a really good movie in the end. While the subject matter has been done before in other ways, this movie did it in a way that felt very honest and heartfelt.

 Juliet, Naked: Judging by the title, I thought this going to be a raunchy adult comedy. It actually isn't anything close to that. What it actually is though, is a really great romantic comedy movie. It's the story of a married couple who are struggling in their marriage. The big reason why is because the husband is obsessed with a musician named Tucker Crowe who release only one album before disappearing. That album was named "Juliet, Naked". The wife happens to meet Tucker Crowe and she begins getting close to him. It ends up being a nice heartfelt story with memorable performances.

Hearts Beat Loud: I randomly stumbled upon this movie and ended up really enjoying it. It's about a father (who's played by Nick Offerman) and daughter who start an indie band together. Features some really good original music and it's a short and sweet movie about love, loss, and passion.

Won't You Be My Neighbor: One of the best documentaries I've seen in a long time. Fred Rogers was an amazing human being and his story is one of the most inspiring out there.

Three Identical Strangers: Speaking of great documentaries, this one was a nice surprise. The true story of three college kids who find out they were triplets separated at birth. What starts off a nice family reunion turns into a much darker story about experiments and secrets.

Roma: If you have a Netflix account give this movie a chance. It's a really beautifully made movie and it's worth a watch.

Sorry to Bother You: The less you know going into this movie the better your experience will be watching it. All I can say is that it went to places I would have never would have imagined. My jaw literally dropped at the places this movie went. Not everyone will like that aspect of the movie, but I really think it's worth a try.

I, Tonya: So I kept this movie out of my top ten mostly because it technically came out December 2017. This was the first movie I went out to see in 2018 and it's still one of the best movies I've seen this year. If it had come out in 2018 it would be on my list without question.

Crazy Rich Asians: A movie that I think a lot of people really loved, rightfully so. It was a full Asian cast movie that really paid respect to Chinese culture, while also poking some fun at it. It had some great performances by some new faces and some familiar ones. Awkwafina stole every scene she was in and hopefully gets bigger roles because of this.

Now for the ACTUAL top 10 list!

10. Blindspotting

I wasn't really sure what this was going to be when I started watching it. I knew that the story revolved around police violence against defenseless African-Americans, but I wasn't exactly sure how it was going to play out. It ended up being a really strong movie that was able to have moments of great humor that didn't take away from the strong emotional moments that hit throughout the movie. It tackles a subject that's still very relevant in the United States in a way that helped open my eyes to how people that are affected by it feel every day. The movie builds to a finale that has one of the most powerful scenes of the year. 

9. A Star is Born

I thought this movie would be higher on the list, but over time I think its effect on my has simmered down a bit. I still really enjoyed watching this movie from start to finish though. It had a great performance by Lady Gaga, who I think deserves all the praise she's getting from it. Bradley Cooper was also great, but I think that's less of a surprise because he's an established actor. It had some great original music, which helped elevate the performance scenes. Overall a memorable movie with some really great moments and performances.

8. Infinity War

It's hard to put it much higher on the list since it's only one half of a movie and we still don't know how the rest of the story plays out. It has shocking moments that I still can't take too seriously since I don't think Marvel Studios is going to stick by most of them. Besides that though, this was everything that it needed to be as an introduction to Thanos and his master plan. It was had a very different tone compared to most other Marvel movies which was really cool to see. Every character got the perfect amount of screen time and it was really awesome to see some fire time meetups on screen. I can't wait to see how it all plays out in the finale in a few months. 

7. Hereditary

It isn't too often that a horror movie makes this list, but this movie deserves to be up here. It was a truly creepy and uncomfortable experience. The acting was phenomenal, which isn't something you can say a lot in horror films. The best part was that the movie didn't rely on cheap tactics and jump scares to make you feel fear. It relied on its atmosphere and performances to really bring in the scares. It also has one of the most memorable scenes I've probably ever seen (the car scene, if you know it). 

6. BlacKkKlansman

This was a really great movie with some awesome performances. It was uncomfortable sitting through a lot of the KKK scenes, but it was good that the movie didn't hold back from that part of the story. It also had a good sense of humor to relieve some of the tension that came from the those KKK meeting scenes. It felt oddly topical for a movie that takes place many decades ago. 

5. Black Panther

This is one of the best Marvel movies ever made and that's really saying something when you see how great their catalog is. Ryan Coogler directed the crap out of this movie and made something really special, unique, and memorable. The performances were awesome, the visuals were awesome, the villain was awesome and the action was fun. It's also a really important movie that has inspired many people around the world. 

4. Upgrade

I love sci-fi movies probably more than any other genre, so when a movie like this comes out of nowhere it always puts me in a great mood. This movie had a cool story, great action scenes, a cool atmosphere and a weird sense of humor that I really enjoyed. It was full of surprises as well, some that I didn't see coming at all. Probably the most surprisingly good movie of the year.

3. Mission Impossible: Fallout

Tom Cruise does it again. The Mission Impossible movies somehow keep getting better and better and it's kind of crazy considering how good the last few have been. This one was full of fantastic action sequences, cool performances, a really nice Henry Cavill mustache, and Tom Cruise putting his life on the line to get some great shots. It was non-stop fun with some cool character moments for Ethan Hunt. I'd never thought I'd be so excited to see two more of these movies, but I can't wait to see what else they can pull out of their crazy minds.

2. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

It was a really tough choice between this one and the one that actually was my favorite movie of the year. Honestly, I'd probably put them in a tie but that wouldn't be as interesting. This movie got everything right though. The animation was the most interesting and unique animation all year long. The story was fantastic and the voice acting was perfect. The humor worked pretty much 100% of the movie, with lots of great references to other Spider-Man works. It had great attention to detail and it showed how much the creators cared about not only making a great movie but making a great SPIDER-MAN movie. The fact that this was the best comic movie the same year that Black Panther and Infinity War came out shows how awesome this movie truly was.

and the number one movie is...

1. Annihilation

This is the kind of movie that stays with you after you watch it. It's a highly detailed movie full of so much that it takes more than one watch to really get everything it has to offer. It leaves you wondering about its many bizarre scenes and themes way after it's over. The best part is that it's all presented in a beautiful sci-fi landscape full of wonder and terror mixed into one. It's a beautifully creepy movie with some the best visuals of the year. While a lot of people might not like what it has to offer, I'd say you should at least give it a chance.