Sunday 28 November 2021

Special: Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Red Notice, Injustice Mini-Reviews

Ghostbusters: Afterlife

Synopsis: When a single mother and her two children move to a new town, they soon discover they have a connection to the original Ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather left behind.

My thoughts: Afterlife is certainly more kid friendly then it's predecessors were at the time they came out. Of course with VFX improvements it's no longer that scary so I'm not condemning you for having your kids watch the original films. On that same note like Shazam, this isn't just a love letter to Ivan Reitman's original films but the 80's family adventure film scene as a whole. Ivan's son, Jason Reitman of Juno fame, takes the directors chair this time around and he's basically the perfect person for the job but the film definitely could've used some trimming in the middle but the opening set up and the conclusion specifically are well executed and the cast is extremely charming all around. 


Final verdict: 4 homicidal mini-pufts out of 5.

Red Notice

Synopsis: In the world of international crime, an Interpol agent attempts to hunt down and capture the world's most wanted art thief.

My thoughts: More style than substance is found in Red Notice. It's clear that Netflix backed a brinks truck up to the 3 stars houses in order to get them to sign on, but style only goes so far. The chemistry found between Reynolds and Johnson works well enough and Gadot knows how to play a mysterious femme fatale perfectly but the script leaves a lot to be desired and the epic twist could be spotted a mile away, and by that I mean very early in the movies runtime. The ending also sets up for a sequel which I feel will happen just as name recognition alone would lead to suggest. It's not all doom and gloom though. The locations they hit are breathtaking and what fight chorography we have is enjoyable but I expected more of it expecially given the around the world heist premise starring Deadpool, The Rock and Wonder Woman.  

Final verdict: 3.5 buddy comedies out of 5.

Injustice

Synopsis: On an alternate earth, the Joker tricks Superman into killing Lois Lane, sending Superman down a path of destruction.

My thoughts: I think we've had enough of evil Superman in the DC Animated Universe. Supes had enough people on his side in this flick that they could've pushed the dictator role home but instead they just wanted to push the Superman violent content instead. Given that this is a DC Animated movie I do expect quite a bit of violence but would it kill them to spread the killings around? The animation was cool and from what I recall it mostly stuck to the original book before skipping to the end to wrap things up. That unfortunately means no sequel is likely so my wishlist will be flushed down the proverbial toilet. Not the worst DC animated movie this year, but not the best either. It's been a while since I was wowed by one. Maybe 2022 will be the year.

Final verdict: 3.5 dead superheroes out of 5.

Saturday 27 November 2021

Top 10 Countdown: November 27, 2021

10. Point North - Stitch Me Up
Last week: NEW!

9. Meet Me @ The Altar - Now Or Never
Last week: NEW!

8. Sunrise Skater Kids - Homeless Millennial
Last week: 9.

7. With Confidence - What You Make It
Last week: 7.

6. Nothing, Nowhere - Pieces Of You
Last week: 6.

5. Stereos - Hands Off You
Last week: 5.

4. Bring Me The Horizon - Die4u
Last week: 4.

3. Real Friends - Teeth
Last week: 3.

2. Grayscale - Dirty Bombs
Last week: 2.

1. Hot Milk - I Think I Hate Myself
Last week: 1.


Sunday 21 November 2021

Special: First Listen Thoughts: Angels & Airwaves "Lifeforms", Turnstile "Glow On", Boston Manor "Desperate Times, Desperate Pleasures"

Angels & Airwaves - Lifeforms

Label: Rise Records

Press release: Today, Angels & Airwaves have officially announced their highly anticipated sixth studio album, LIFEFORMS, that will be released September 24. They have also announced a world tour, that will go into 2022. Both of these announcements were first made from space, when the band partnered with Sent Into Space to launch a renewable hydrogen capsule which played an out of this world premiere of the entire album along with displaying the tour and album information.

My thoughts: It had been nearly 7 years since Tom Delonge released any music and I honestly expected more out of these 10 tracks, the first 2 singles released last year without an album announcement had me excited but it's been a mixed bag since then and the unreleased songs were as well unfortunately mixing in grandiose themes over barely there guitars that are drown out by synths with catchy hooks. Rebel Girl is probably still the highlight of the album but Automatic and No More Guns were the best deep cuts but I miss old Tom. Maybe his next material (New blink???) will be better.

Turnstile - Glow On

Label: Roadrunner Records

Press release: Turnstile have announced a new album, ‘Glow On’, which is their first in three years. The Baltimore hardcore outfit shared details of their third record on a billboard in their hometown. It’s due for release on August 27. The LP follows the group’s previous two records: 2018’s ‘Time & Space’ and their 2015 debut ‘Nonstop Feeling’.

My thoughts: Kudos to Turnstile for following pop song structure but layering every kind of instrumentation possible. Still hardcore at it's core but with every genre around the sun surrounding it. Wild Wrld is probably my favourite of the deep cuts but overall it's hard to beat the burst of energy that T.L.C. provides.

Boston Manor - Desperate Times, Desperate Pleasures

Label: Sharptone Records

Press release: Boston Manor will be releasing a five-track Desperate Times Desperate Pleasures EP on October 29 via SharpTone. Discussing the EP as a whole, frontman Henry Cox shares: ​“We made this record just coming out of lockdown. We’d tried to write throughout 2020 but nothing was coming out; everyone’s mental health was suffering – it was just a really frustrating time. “And then, as soon as January this year hit, just like that all these songs started flooding out of us. It was a really great opportunity to exorcise all of the frustration and pent-up emotion of the previous year and really process those thoughts and feelings.

My thoughts: In case the above didn't convince you this was a pandemic project than the lyrics certainly do. Feelings of isolation and loneliness is played throughout. Pre-released songs Algorithm and Desperate Pleasures are definitely the highlights but this record is enjoyable from front to back showcasing what Boston Manor is capable of doing and I think I even like it better than the record they released at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020's Glue. 

Saturday 20 November 2021

Top 10 Countdown: November 20, 2021

10. Boston Manor - Desperate Pleasures
Last week: NEW!

9. Sunrise Skater Kids - Homeless Millennial
Last week: NEW!

8. Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! - Complete You
Last week: 1.

7. With Confidence - What You Make It
Last week: 8.

6. Nothing, Nowhere - Pieces Of You
Last week: 7.

5. Stereos - Hands Off You
Last week: 6.

4. Bring Me The Horizon - Die4u
Last week: 5.

3. Real Friends - Teeth
Last week: 4.

2. Grayscale - Dirty Bombs
Last week: 3.

1. Hot Milk - I Think I Hate Myself
Last week: 2.


Sunday 14 November 2021

Special: Eternals, The Addams Family 2, He's All That Mini-Reviews

Eternals

Synopsis: Marvel Studios' Eternals features an exciting new team of Super Heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years. Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, an unexpected tragedy forces them out of the shadows to reunite against mankind's most ancient enemy, the Deviants.

My thoughts: Eternals leaves a lot to be desired in a regular vacuum. Through the lens of a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie and it's even worse. Eternals does somewhat follow the MCU formula with some world saving action paired with jokes and heart from (mostly) sympathetic characters however I couldn't be sold on any of it on the whole. I'm sure I'll come to enjoy some of the characters as they pop up elsewhere in the MCU and I'm willing to give Eternals another watch down the line but this flick did little for me.

Final verdict: 3 lackluster MCU movies out of 5.

The Addams Family 2

Synopsis: Everyone's favorite spooky family is back in the animated comedy sequel, The Addams Family 2. In this all new movie we find Morticia and Gomez distraught that their children are growing up, skipping family dinners, and totally consumed with "scream time." To reclaim their bond they decide to cram Wednesday, Pugsley, Uncle Fester and the crew into their haunted camper and hit the road for one last miserable family vacation. Their adventure across America takes them out of their element and into hilarious run-ins with their iconic cousin, IT, as well as many new kooky characters. What could possibly go wrong?

My thoughts: A definite step down from the first film (which had it's own separate issues). This is a departure from the classic characters we know which I'm sure was intentional it just didn't work. It's basically an excuse to make a family movie and they made the characters The Addams Family to have some name recognition.

Final verdict: 3 hairy cousins out of 5.

He's All That

Synopsis: In this reimagining of 1999's She's All That, teen social media influencer Padgett's humiliating on-camera breakup goes viral, leading her to make a risky bet to save her reputation: she swears she can turn scruffy antisocial Cameron into prom king material. But things get complicated when she finds herself falling for him IRL.

My thoughts: The acting is real bad, let's get that out of the way. The premise is fun enough and they gave the lead a more realistic transformation than in 1999 when they took her glasses off and gave her a dress. There was also a few fun callbacks to the predecessor and had a decent enough message but outside of that and a few chuckles the script was not good. 

Final verdict: 3 gender swapped remakes out of 5.

Saturday 13 November 2021

Top 10 Countdown: November 13, 2021

10. Like Pacific - Ketamine Jesus
Last week: NEW!

9. State Champs - Just Sound
Last week: 4.

8. With Confidence - What You Make It
Last week: 9.

7. Nothing, Nowhere - Pieces Of You
Last week: 8.

6. Stereos - Hands Off You
Last week: 7.

5. Bring Me The Horizon - Die4u
Last week: 6.

4. Real Friends - Teeth
Last week: 5.

3. Grayscale - Dirty Bombs
Last week: 3.

2. Hot Milk - I Think I Hate Myself
Last week: 2.

1. Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! - Complete You
Last week: 1.

Sunday 7 November 2021

Special: First Listen Thoughts: Every Time I Die "Radical", Calling All Captains "Slowly Getting Better", Hot Milk "I Just Wanna Know What Happens When I'm Dead"

Every Time I Die - Radical

Label: Epitaph Records

Press release: Every Time I Die have detailed their ninth studio album, entitled ‘Radical’, the band’s first in five years. It follows 2016’s ‘Low Teens’. Lead vocalist Keith Buckley reflected on the overall themes of ‘Radical’ as an album, noting it deals in “difficult matters” that are also “universal and more communal experiences”. “The songs are realistic in that they acknowledge that things require a lot of work, but it’s ultimately a very hopeful and uplifting record,” he said.

My thoughts: I think we can officially put ETID in the conversation of consistant heavy bands with Silverstein and August Burns Red. Both those bands however release more music than ETID but the band has other pots on the stove (including professional wrestling??) Radical is a 16 track trip all over the soundscape we've come to expect from the band. Sly is probably my highlight but All This And War and the previously released Planet Shit are not far behind. Overall there wasn't any song I thought that wasn't good or at least interesting but given the near hour run time and those "interesting" tracks potentially not holding up over multiple listens I'm not quite prepared to claim Radical as the new best ETID record but it's certainly got the makings.

Calling All Captains - Slowly Getting Better

Label: Equal Vision Records

Press release: Titled Slowly Getting Better, the upcoming album from the Canadian pop-punk/post-hardcore quintet, Calling All Captains, is their debut full-length album and is scheduled to be released in October this year, via Equal Vision Records. The upcoming album intends to be a compilation of hardships, persistence, love, and acceptance, and is a thrilling follow-up to the 2019 EP, Nothing Grows Here. After their initial recording plans were halted in 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the band was able to bring in their Nothing Grows Here producer, Quinn Cyrankiewicz, and safely record the album at The Audio Department in their hometown.

My thoughts: While the whole pop punk seems to be going in either an 808/emo rap direction or the blink-182 riffs route. Calling All Captains is still out here championing heavy pop-punk music like the early The Story So Far records and since TSSF has backed away from that styling I'm glad we have CAC coming out of the west coast of Canada to pick them up. The guitars are crunchy, the vocals are rough, loud and emotive and the song structures are nearly as strong as the lyrics around mental illness and hardships of being a First Nations kid in modern society. 

Hot Milk - I Just Wanna Know What Happens When I'm Dead

Label: Music For Nations

Press release: Hot Milk have announced a new EP, 'I Just Wanna Know What Happens When I’m Dead'. "These songs are honest," says Han Mee. "I have nothing to hide. Everyone’s on anti-depressants these days. It’s the world we live in, it makes people sad. Capitalism. Is it broken? 100 per cent. I’m angry that the fact that we’re sold a world that actually doesn’t make your inner peace happy. Humans need love and community and a lot of the time, there is no love and the community has dissolved. "We’re angry, both politically and existentially in terms of the system we now live in. But also, we’re angry at the fact that we’re sad quite a lot, but we’re trying to not just sit there and take it. We’re trying to fix it, by building a family through this band."

My thoughts: Hot Milk knows how to write a good hook. That fact is undeniable. The most negative thing I can think about is that I wish this was a full length. Between the 2 EP's the band has released they could've had one hell of a debut album but alas we must wait but hopefully it's worthwhile given all the influences we get on this record, from pop, to heavy guitars, classic rock-esque solo's, electronic elements and supreme song writing tackling the overwhelming feeling of being in this world.

Saturday 6 November 2021

Top 10 Countdown: November 6, 2021

10. Calling All Captains - Laurel Canyon
Last week: NEW!


9. With Confidence - What You Make It
Last week: NEW!

8. Nothing, Nowhere - Pieces Of You
Last week: NEW!

7. Stereos - Hands Off You
Last week: 8.

6. Bring Me The Horizon - Die4u
Last week: 6.

5. Real Friends - Teeth
Last week: 5.

4. State Champs - Just Sound
Last week: 4.

3. Grayscale - Dirty Bombs
Last week: 3.

2. Hot Milk - I Think I Hate Myself
Last week: 2.

1. Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! - Complete You
Last week: 1.