Top 10 Countdown: July 23, 2016

10. A Day To Remember - Bad Vibrations
Last week: 10.


9. Good Charlotte - 40 Oz. Dream
Last week: NEW!


8. Marianas Trench - This Means War
Last week: 9.


7. Four Year Strong - Who Cares
Last week: 8.


6. Panic! At The Disco - Don't Threaten Me With A Good Time
Last week: 6.


5. With Confidence - Keeper
Last week: 1.


4. Like Pacific - Richmond
Last week: 5.


3. We Came As Romans - Memories
Last week: 4.


2. As It Is - Winter's Weather
Last week: 3.


1. Seaway - Stubborn Love
Last week: 2.

Top 10 Countdown: July 16, 2016

10. A Day To Remember - Bad Vibrations
Last week: NEW!


9. Mariana's Trench - This Means War
Last week: NEW!


8. Four Year Strong - Who Cares
Last week: 9.


7. The Ready Set - Disappearing Act
Last week: 2.


6. Panic! At The Disco - Don't Threaten Me With A Good Time
Last week: 7.


5. Like Pacific - Richmond
Last week: 6.


4. We Came As Romans - Memories
Last week: 5.


3. As It Is - Winter's Weather
Last week: 4.


2. Seaway - Stubborn Love
Last week: 3.


1. With Confidence - Keeper
Last week: 1.

Special: Captain America: Civil War/Finding Dory/The Conjuring 2 Mini-Reviews

Captain America: Civil War

Synopsis: With many people fearing the actions of super heroes, the government decides to push for the Hero Registration Act, a law that limits a hero's actions. This results in a division in The Avengers. Iron Man stands with this Act, claiming that their actions must be kept in check otherwise cities will continue to be destroyed, but Captain America feels that saving the world is daring enough and that they cannot rely on the government to protect the world. This escalates into an all-out war between Team Iron Man (Iron Man, Black Panther, Vision, Black Widow, War Machine, and Spiderman) and Team Captain America (Captain America, Bucky Barnes, Falcon, Sharon Carter, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, and Ant Man) while a new villain emerges.

My thoughts: Not nearly the action-thriller The Winter Soldier was, but it provides more no holds barred action than the typical Marvel film (Avengers films excepted) but although this can be construed as Avengers-lite it is anything but, giving us the struggle of humanity we come to expect from the man-out-of-time films of Cap. Not the best Marvel-flick but still worthy of a spot on the mantle.

Final verdict: 5 new Avengers out of 5.

Finding Dory:

Synopsis: Dory is a wide-eyed, blue tang fish who suffers from memory loss every 10 seconds or so. The one thing she can remember is that she somehow became separated from her parents as a child. With help from her friends Nemo and Marlin, Dory embarks on an epic adventure to find them. Her journey brings her to the Marine Life Institute, a conservatory that houses diverse ocean species. Dory now knows that her family reunion will only happen if she can save mom and dad from captivity.

My thoughts: Not Pixar's finest film, though I'm admittedly not as fond of it's predecessor as most others. Dory is colourful and fun but although I wasn't invested emotionally in the characters or their problems as much as I usually am when Pixar makes a film. I feel like it was a step down from Nemo, and certainly a step down from last summer's Inside Out but it proves that Pixar can competently make sequels for films not named Toy Story.

Final verdict: 4 shells out of 5.

The Conjuring 2:

Synopsis: In 1977, paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren travel to London, England, where single mother Peggy Hodgson believes that something evil is in her home. When Peggy's youngest daughter starts showing signs of demonic possession, Ed and Lorraine attempt to help the besieged girl, only to find themselves targeted by the malicious spirits.

My thoughts: Wasn't a huge lover of the first film and expected about the same, but just like director James Wan's Insidious franchise, he made me a believer with the 2nd installment. You usually don't see horror movies running 2 hours but The Conjuring 2 did and it's paced fantastically and had me on the edge of my seat throughout and even had a series of good scares placed perfectly for maximum effect. The acting came off a little campy, though this is a horror film. It's unfortunate Wan didn't stick with his "less is more" style as the budget of $40 million was twice as high as his previous high for a horror flick (The Conjuring and Dead Silence) and seriously dwarfs the combined $16.5 million spent on the 3 Insidious films combined (though he didn't direct the third installment).

Final verdict: 4 supernatural spirits out of 5

Top 10 Countdown: July 9, 2016

10. Hands Like Houses - Degrees Of Seperation
Last week: 10.


9. Four Year Strong - Who Cares
Last week: NEW!


8. Silverstein - The Continual Condition
Last week: 3.


7. Panic! At The Disco - Don't Threaten Me With A Good Time
Last week: 8.


6. Like Pacific - Richmond
Last week: NEW!


5. We Came As Romans - Memories
Last week: 7.


4. As It Is - Winter's Weather
Last week: 5.


3. Seaway - Stubborn Love
Last week: 4.


2. The Ready Set - Disappearing Act
Last week: 2.


1. With Confidence - Keeper
Last week: 1.

Special: Independence Day: Resurgence/The Purge: Election Year/Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping Mini-Reviews

Independence Day: Resurgence:

Synopsis: We always knew they were coming back. After 'Independence Day' redefined the event movie genre, the next epic chapter delivers global spectacle on an unimaginable scale. Using recovered alien technology, the nations of Earth have collaborated on an immense defense program to protect the planet. But nothing can prepare us for the aliens' advanced and unprecedented force. Only the ingenuity of a few brave men and women can bring our world back from the brink of extinction.

My thoughts: Visually ID:R is impressive, but that's about all it's got going for it. Inferior to the original is basically every way no amount of Jeff Goldblum could save this flick. Liam Hemsworth is not Will Smith therefore he should not be written witty one-liners. Unlike it's predecessor, I maybe laughed at this flick 3 times, and that's being nice. If it wasn't for the actors and characters I could've easily believed this was a sequel to Battleship. It's unfortunate they killed Will Smith's character off since now we can't hope to see the elder Hiller come back and punch an alien in the face to save ID:3 if we ever get one given the early box office numbers.

Final verdict: 3 urine soaked space suits out of 5

The Purge: Election Year:

Synopsis: It's been two years since Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo) stopped himself from a regrettable act of revenge on Purge Night. Now serving as head of security for Senator Charlie Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell), his mission is to protect her in a run for president and survive the annual ritual that targets the poor and innocent. But when a betrayal forces them onto the streets of D.C. on the one night when no help is available, they must stay alive until dawn...or both be sacrificed for their sins against the state.

My thoughts: I was a big fan of Anarchy and luckily Election Year picks up right where it left off. Although the former had more twists and turns to keep you constantly guessing, Election Year conveys a more linear path and you have a decent idea what's going to happen but it remains a fun romp with the best production values we've seen from the series thus far making this a must see.

Final verdict: 5 New Founding Fathers out of 5

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping:

Synopsis: When his new album fails to sell records, pop/rap superstar conner4real goes into a major tailspin and watches his celebrity high life begin to collapse. He'll try anything to bounce back, anything except reuniting with his old rap group The Style Boyz.

My thoughts: The world has been clamoring for a 21st century update on the rock mockumentary and Popstar delivers even if it wasn't widely seen. Andy Samberg launches another starring vehicle which is full of laughs but barely seen thus likely gaining cult status in the coming years (see: Hot Rod). Popstar pulls no punches making fun of the Pop, Rap and EDM music scene as well as some well known stars. Not often can an SNL concept play this well on the big screen but Samberg and co. handle all the zanyness of the film perfectly which keeps the schtick enjoyable even when you're listening to a song about getting fucked like Bin Laden.

Final verdict: 4 autographed penises out of 5

Top 10 Countdown: July 2, 2016

10. Hands Like Houses - Degrees Of Seperation
Last week: NEW!


9. Hit The Lights - No Filter
Last week: 4.


8. Panic! At The Disco - Don't Threaten Me With A Good Time
Last week: 9.


7. We Came As Romans - Memories
Last week: 8.


6. Set It Off - Uncontainable
Last week: 5.


5. As It Is - Winter's Weather
Last week: 7.


4. Seaway - Stubborn Love
Last week: 6.


3. Silverstein - The Continual Condition
Last week: 1.


2. The Ready Set - Disappearing Act
Last week: 3.


1. With Confidence - Keeper
Last week: 2.

Special: Critically Acclaimed Current Comic Book Series

In an effort to highlight the most well received current comic book series, below is the list of the top comic book series of the past three months. To be eligible for this list, a series must have had at least two issues published within the past three months and at least five reviews for each of those issues. The rating will be in parentheses and is the average rating for the issues published within the last three months.

DC Comics:

Midnighter (8.7)

Spinning out of GRAYSON comes a solo series starring the man who can predict your every move... but no one will be able to predict what he'll do next! A theft at the God Garden has unleashed a wave of dangerous biotech weapons on the world, and Midnighter intends to put that genie back in the bottle by any means necessary. But something else was stolen from the Garden as well...the secret history of Lucas Trent, the man Midnighter once was!

Other Notables: Superman: American Alien (8.6), Batman (8.2), Detective Comics (8.2), Justice League (8.0).

Marvel Comics:

Vision (8.9)

The Vision wants to be human, and what's more human than family? He goes to the laboratory where he was created, where Ultron molded him into a weapon, where he first rebelled against his given destiny, where he first imagined that he could be more, that he could be good, that he could be a man, a normal, ordinary man. And he builds them. A wife, Virginia. Two teenage twins, Viv and Vin. They look like him. They have his powers. They share his grandest ambition or perhaps obsession: the unrelenting need to be ordinary. Behold The Visions! They're the family next door, and they have the power to kill us all. What could possibly go wrong?

Other Notables: Ms. Marvel (8.7), Black Widow (8.7), Moon Knight (8.5), Doctor Strange (8.4)

Image Comics:

The Fix (9.2)

A story of the crooked cops, scheming mobsters, and corrupt politicians that run things-and the sex toy that can bring them all down. Oh, and the hero is a drug-sniffing beagle named Pretzels. Bad people do bad things to each other in this frenetic, outrageous, sometimes off-putting new caper! If you liked classic crime comics like CRIMINAL and 100 Bullets we apologize in advance for letting you down!

Other Notables: The Wicked + The Divine (8.6), Saga (8.5), The Walking Dead (8.5)

Dark Horse Comics:

House Of Penance (8.5)

The Winchester House—famous for its original owner’s bizarre compulsion to incorporate a multitude of architectural curiosities. But as the bereaved Sarah Winchester’s workers toil on stairways to nothing and doors to nowhere, a mysterious stranger arrives . . . and he could make Sarah’s demons all too real.

Other Notables: Hellboy And The B.P.R.D.: 1953 - Beyond The Fences (8.4), Dept. H (8.3), Aliens: Defiance (8.2)

Valiant Comics:

Bloodshot: Reborn (9.0)

From New York Times best-selling writer Jeff Lemire (THE VALIANT, Green Arrow) and red-hot rising star Mico Suayan (HARBINGER, Moon Knight), VALIANT NEXT delivers an all-new ongoing series for Valiant's most unrelenting hero!

Bloodshot's nanites made him a nearly unstoppable killing machine. His enhanced strength, speed, endurance, and healing made him the perfect weapon, and he served his masters at Project Rising Spirit - a private contractor trafficking in violence - very well. Now, Bloodshot is a shadow of his former self. He lives in selfimposed exile, reeling from the consequences of his past life and the recent events that nearly drove him mad. But when a rash of shootings by gunmen who appear to look just like Bloodshot begin, his guilt will send him on a mission to stop the killers, even if it means diving headlong into the violence that nearly destroyed him.

Other Notables: Divinity II (8.8), Faith (8.6), Rai (8.6), The Adventures Of Archer & Armstrong (8.5)

Other Publisher's Top Comics:

IDW Publishing - Satellite Falling (8.4)

Boom! Studios - Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (8.3)

Archie Comics - Archie (8.3)

Titan Books - Dark Souls (7.6)