Top 10 Countdown: November 30, 2019

10. Hawthorne Heights - Hard To Breathe
Last week: NEW!


9. State Champs - Real World
Last week: 9.


8. The Menzingers - Strangers Forever
Last week: 8.


7. Weezer - The End Of The Game
Last week: 7.


6. Waterparks - Watch What Happens Next
Last week: 1.


5. Grayscale - Young
Last week: 6.


4. Sleep On It - After Tonight
Last week: 5.


3. Bearings - So Damn Wrong
Last week: 4.


2. blink-182 - Darkside
Last week: 3.


1. Angels & Airwaves - Rebel Girl
Last week: 2.

Special: Lady And The Tramp, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Glass Mini-Reviews

Lady And The Tramp:

Synopsis: In Disney+'s "Lady and the Tramp," a timeless retelling of the 1955 animated classic, a pampered house dog and a tough but lovable stray embark on an unexpected adventure and, despite their differences, grow closer and come to understand the value of home.

My thoughts: As always with Disney live action remakes I look forward to a different movie than the animated one. If they make the exact same movie (Beauty & The Beast) I'm not down for it. Lady And The Tramp had the advantage of being largely forgotten by me so I can't hold that against it (or praise it for being different) however I will say the talking dogs had an initial shock at how bad the CGI looked but as the movie went on I forgot about. The action scenes with Tramp were well done as was the acting and the cinematography choices but I'm just not sure I'll ever come back to this one though I hope I'm wrong.

Final verdict: 3.5 spaghetti and meatball dinners.

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood:

Synopsis: Quentin Tarantino's ninth feature film is a story that takes place in Los Angeles in 1969, at the height of hippy Hollywood. The two lead characters are Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), former star of a western TV series, and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). Both are struggling to make it in a Hollywood they don't recognize anymore. But Rick has a very famous next-door neighbor...Sharon Tate.

My thoughts: This movie was strange as you sat there for 2 hours thinking this is the most mature Tarantino flick ever made! His love letter to old Hollywood seemed to be just that, until the last 40 minutes came and Tarantino decided to make up for lost time with spectacular overkill. The characters were strong, the story was for the most part interesting (but there were a flew blips). Tarantino overall did a good job and this likely supplanted Django as his film of this decade.

Final verdict: 4 Flamethrowers out of 5.

Glass:

Synopsis: From Unbreakable, Bruce Willis returns as David Dunn as does Samuel L. Jackson as Elijah Price, known also by his pseudonym Mr. Glass. Joining from Split are James McAvoy, reprising his role as Kevin Wendell Crumb and the multiple identities who reside within, and Anya Taylor-Joy as Casey Cooke, the only captive to survive an encounter with The Beast. Following the conclusion of Split, Glass finds Dunn pursuing Crumb's superhuman figure of The Beast in a series of escalating encounters, while the shadowy presence of Price emerges as an orchestrator who holds secrets critical to both men.

My thoughts: I didn't get on the Split bandwagon like everyone else did and I can now report I'm not on the Glass one either. M. Night does a good job of combining the worlds of Split and Unbreakable but there was nothing here that excited me. There were a couple minor twists I didn't see coming but I can't say overall I was shocked at the outcome. If you liked Split this will probably be up your alley. If not you can safely skip Glass without missing anything.

Final verdict: 3 superhumans out of 5.

Top 10 Countdown: November 23, 2019

10. Jimmy Eat World - All The Way (Stay)
Last week: NEW!


9. State Champs - Real World
Last week: NEW!


8. The Menzingers - Strangers Forever
Last week: 9.


7. Weezer - The End Of The Game
Last week: 8.


6. Grayscale - Young
Last week: 7.


5. Sleep On It - After Tonight
Last week: 5.


4. Bearings - So Damn Wrong
Last week: 4.


3. blink-182 - Darkside
Last week: 3.


2. Angels & Airwaves - Rebel Girl
Last week: 2.


1. Waterparks - Watch What Happens Next
Last week: 1.

Top 10 Countdown: November 16, 2019

10. Roam - I Don't Think I Live There Anymore
Last week: 5.


9. The Menzingers - Strangers Forever
Last week: NEW!


8. Weezer - The End Of The Game
Last week: 9.


7. Grayscale - Young
Last week: 8.


6. Sleep On It - Under The Moment
Last week: 2.


5. Sleep On It - After Tonight
Last week: 7.


4. Bearings - So Damn Wrong
Last week: 6.


3. blink-182 - Darkside
Last week: 4.


2. Angels & Airwaves - Rebel Girl
Last week: 3.


1. Waterparks - Watch What Happens Next
Last week: 1.

Special: The King, Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, The Angry Birds 2 Mini-Reviews

The King:

Synopsis: Hal (Timothée Chalamet), wayward prince and reluctant heir to the English throne, has turned his back on royal life and is living among the people. But when his tyrannical father dies, Hal is crowned King Henry V and is forced to embrace the life he had previously tried to escape. Now the young king must navigate the palace politics, chaos and war his father left behind, and the emotional strings of his past life -- including his relationship with his closest friend and mentor, the ageing alcoholic knight, John Falstaff (Joel Edgerton).

My thoughts: I expected The King to be a typical Oscar fodder film and I'm happy to report that I was right. It's slow moving with incredible performances and cinematography. The plot had some twists and turns I did not expect which gave it a nice closing but there wasn't much depth to keep me entertained throughout the film. You can certainly do worst than watch The King but you could also definitely do better.

Final verdict: 3 crowns out of 5.

Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark:

Synopsis: It's l968 in America. Change is blowing in the wind... but seemingly far removed from the unrest in the cities is the small town of Mill Valley where for generations, the shadow of the Bellows family has loomed large. It is in their mansion on the edge of town that Sarah, a young girl with horrible secrets, turned her tortured life into a series of scary stories, written in a book that has transcended time--stories that have a way of becoming all too real for a group of teenagers who discover Sarah's terrifying tome.

My thoughts: August was apparently a great month for horror following up my previous review of Ready Or Not. This movie has an insanely fun plot and lots of creepy material mixed in to the individual stories. The film does a great job of intertwining those stories into 1 cohesive overarching story which is tough to do given the source material is an anthology. Good casting and good pacing. The only downfall was the lack of any true scares, relying on a creepy factor instead.

Final verdict: 4 killer ghosts out of 5.

The Angry Birds Movie 2:

Synopsis: The flightless angry birds and the scheming green piggies take their beef to the next level in The Angry Birds Movie 2! When a new threat emerges that puts both Bird and Pig Island in danger, Red (Jason Sudeikis), Chuck (Josh Gad), Bomb (Danny McBride), and Mighty Eagle (Peter Dinklage) recruit Chuck's sister Silver (Rachel Bloom) and team up with pigs Leonard (Bill Hader), his assistant Courtney (Awkwafina), and techpig Garry (Sterling K. Brown) to forge an unsteady truce and form an unlikely superteam to save their homes.

My thoughts: I'm not sure how this has such better reviews compared to the first (which has aged surprisingly well). It's definitely a step below it's predecessor, though not a huge one. The script works well enough, especially considering this is the 2nd movie they made based on a phone app with no story basis whatsoever.

Final verdict: 3.5 bird-pig team-ups out of 5.

Special: First Listen Thoughts: blink-182 "Nine", Bayside "Interrobang", The Early November "Lilac"

blink-182 - Nine

Label: Columbia Records

Press Release: blink-182 have revealed full details for their upcoming album. The record is called NINE, and it will arrive on September 20 via Columbia Records. The rainbow-coloured, neon-lit album artwork is pictured. NINE will mark the band's follow-up to 2016's California. It's their second album with Matt Skiba in the lineup instead of Tom DeLonge.

My thoughts: Definitely reminiscent of the untitled blink record. This album has dark themes throughout based upon the state of the world as well as the state of yourself and well-being. That being said you couldn't really tell if you didn't pay attention to the lyrics as this album is still bouncy and may just end up being my favourite since that untitled record, perhaps even surpassing it. blink makes it clear they don't need Tom or joke songs to put out a compelling record.

Bayside - Interrobang

Label: Hopeless Records

Press Release: The band are returning with Interrobang and it’s arriving a lot sooner than you would expect with an October 4 release date. Interrobang is a punctuation mark that combines an exclamation and a question mark. Lead singer Anthony Raneri says in a statement that the album title represents the feelings listeners receive from the record.

My thoughts: People are calling this a pop punk album but I honestly don't hear it. I can see this being where alternative music heads once the current state of "alternative" officially becomes top 40. The music is incredibly aggressive but the melodies are catchy as hell making for an incredible listening experience.

The Early November - Lilac

Label: Rise Records

Press Release: The Early November have announced their highly anticipated 5th studio album which is set to be released on 27th September via Rise Records. The band’s first album since 2015’s Imbue, Lilac represents a shift towards a more pop-centric sound while preserving the raw vulnerability that The Early November has become known for.

My thoughts: This was supposed to be a record where TEN pivoted their sound and although it is a step up from their previous effort it still falls short of capturing the magic of their early 00's work. Something I expected after listening to the first single "I Dissolve" but got hyped following the release of "Ave Maria" which gave me high hopes and the beginning half of the record is good but by the time I Dissolve comes around the rest of the record gets moody and slumps in comparison to the first half.

Top 10 Countdown: November 9, 2019

10. I Prevail - Gasoline
Last week: NEW!


9. Weezer - The End Of The Game
Last week: NEW!


8. Grayscale - Young
Last week: NEW!


7. Sleep On It - After Tonight
Last week: NEW!


6. Bearings - So Damn Wrong
Last week: 8.


5. Roam - I Don't Think I Live There Anymore
Last week: 5.


4. blink-182 - Darkside
Last week: 5.


3. Angels & Airwaves - Rebel Girl
Last week: 4.


2. Sleep On It - Under The Moment
Last week: 1.


1. Waterparks - Watch What Happens Next
Last week: 1.

Special: Ranking Simple Plan "Still Not Getting Any..."

I had the pleasure of seeing Simple Plan on their tour with State Champs and We The Kings yesterday so I thought what better time than to release this ranking since it also just celebrated it's 15th birthday. This was Simple Plan's sophomore release after their rousing debut "No Pads, No Helmets... Just Balls"

11. Everytime

One of two love songs on this record. There is just nothing memorable about this track. Sure I sing along to it when it comes on since I grew up on this record and know all the words but apart from that I don't give this song a thought.

10. One

It's a great message but "One" doesn't offer us too much else as they tried to set this track apart from the others but it just sounds like a messy, lite version of Welcome To My Life.

9. Perfect World

When this album first came this was one of my favourite tracks, so I'm not sure why it no longer holds up as well. The lyrics still have a lot of meaning 15 years later and it was the only song to get a music video after the 4 actual singles, it just doesn't. It's weird.

8. Me Against The World

This album is full of bangers and as much ad I'd like to put them all at the top this is called "Ranking" so that simply won't do so the lowest of the bangers is this one. It's fun it's bouncy. It's about doing whatever you want to... This description can apply to two other songs on this record but they're better.

7. Thank You

This track is extremely resentful and with that it makes it the most like their previous album which is obviously not a bad thing since I love that record but at the same time you don't wanna be caught going back to the same well over and over again which is why this ends up in the middle.

6. Untitled

How could this happen to meeeeeeeeeeeee. Just like Perfect an album earlier, Simple Plan set out to pull at everyone's heartstrings with this little ditty and guess what? It worked. With a music video to match this emotional song was a Top 50 song for the band acting as their third single.

5. Promise

A love song that is also a banger? Simple Plan has done this before as well but Promise is likely the most underrated song on this album given how hard it goes musically and the lyrics are beautiful without being corny.

4. Crazy

The fourth and final single released from the album, Crazy is another gem on the ablum. It plays at mid-tempo and if it weren't for the #1 spot on this list it would likely be their best mid-tempo song they ever released.

3. Shut Up

Ooooo so angsty. Haha. Shut Up sounds like a big "fuck you" song but it really is about believing in yourself and doing what you need to do regardless of what other people, especially the nay-sayers tell you to do.

2. Jump

Like Shut Up and Me Against The World before it, this bouncy track is about doing what's best for you and making yourself happy. It's also the only song in the top 4 to not be a single but given that in recent years it's passed Shut Up and became the staple bouncy track from this album to get played live it's clear that it's a fan favourite.

1. Welcome To My Life

We hit #1 on our list and let's be honest, you all seen this coming. Welcome To My Life was their first single from this album and their only single to ever hit #1 anywhere (it did it here in Canada). It's among their biggest and probably their most memorable among casual and non-fans alike given the relatable nature of the song.

Top 10 Countdown: November 2, 2019

10. Sleeping With Sirens - How It Feels To Be Lost
Last week: NEW!


9. Waterparks - Dream Boy
Last week: 9.


8. Bearings - So Damn Wrong
Last week: NEW!


7. Grayscale - In Violet
Last week: 2.


6. Sleep On It - Hold Your Breath
Last week: 4.


5. blink-182 - Darkside
Last week: 8.


4. Angels & Airwaves - Rebel Girl
Last week: 7.


3. Roam - I Don't Think I Live There Anymore
Last week: 1.


2. Waterparks - Watch What Happens Next
Last week: 5.


1. Sleep On It - Under The Moment
Last week: 3.