Special: Best of April 2017

It recently came to my attention that I skipped over this during this busy month when Special's have been few and far between but I figured I should bang it out before May is up.

Best Theatrical Film:

Going In Style

Okay so this is a little unfair since April was  really bad month for me heading out to the multiplex but in saying that Going In Style is a movie I made a point to see and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There's just something about watching 3 geriatric's decide to rob a bank.

Best Rental Film:

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

This was a lot tougher to decide on then it usually is, first off the phenomenal new DCAU movie "Teen Titans: The Judas Contract" hit shelves, I decided against that having already featured a ton of DC Comics movies in this still pretty new column already. There was also some of the best movies of January come out with Underworld: Blood Wars and The Founder hitting as well as 2 of my favourite Oscar movies in Lion and Hidden Figures. But in the end Rogue One is definitely deserving of this spot seeing as it was a favourite of mine from last year.

Best Album:

New Found Glory - Makes Me Sick

Appologies to all the other deserving albums in April by The Flatliners, The Maine and any others but it's only once every 2 years I can focus on the greatest band in the world and I'm not passing it up. NFG seems to be in a cycle now where they put out an under performing record then release a bland record they know the fanbase will eat up. This can be traced back to 2006's Coming Home where they experimented and most did not approve, then came the Easycore heavy Not Without A Fight, which pleased fans but did little to stretch their career, they then put out Radiosurgery which certainly acts as a prequel to this album, but again it didn't fare well. Then came Resurrection, needing to prove they are still the same band without Steve Klein they again went back to their roots and released an album full of pop punk bangers with heavy riffs. Longtime fans loved it everyone else, not so much. Which brings us to Make Me Sick, again getting away from their roots but the early returns are strong as this is easily the best over Radiosurgery and Coming Home leading to the possibility that NFG finally discovered where they can live and mature without kicking up their roots.

Best Graphic Novel:

We Stand on Guard: Deluxe Edition, by Brian K. Vaughan, Steve Skroce, and Matt Hollingsworth.

Brian K. Vaughan (Saga, Paper Girls) has never shied away from politics, and We Stand on Guard is certainly no different. Set approximately 100 years from now, it’s the story of a brave band of Canadian freedom fighters who are tasked with defending their homeland from invasion by a powerful, technologically superior adversary with imperial aspirations: the United States. I’m certain that no offense will be taken by anyone. You can now get the whole series in a deluxe hardcover edition.

Best Video Game:

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo Switch)