GLOW

I remember watching GLOW tapes back in the day, i became a fan after hearing that Ivory started there. The style was a head of its time, little edgier, shot as a series, was almost a feminine Lucha Underground. The Documentary was fantastic, and now the show, whoa, great cast, great, edgy humor, dark humor, witty humor, amazing chemistry & timing, likable characters, cameos from wrestlers galore. Where as a show like Daredevil is to cater to nerds, this is to cater to marks. Now yes, marks can be nerds & non nerds, but nerdom is mainstream at the moment, being a mark is not. Yes wrestling is acceptable again, but now, more so than ever, it is like a secret handshake. Whenever i see a baseball or football flick, i feel envious for now being able to love the source, but this here, this is my shit. It is one of the best new shows of the year, no, best seasons of any show of the year!Mark Maron steals every single scene he is in, and the casting of such strong women is another step in the right direction! Even if you are not a mark, check it out! If you liked Whip It, check it out, if you like Orange is the New Black, check it out, if you hated those things, check it out! It is just, too SWEEEET!

Edgar Wright Ranked

My love of Edgar is strong, i fucking love him. In 2004, he directed my favorite film of that year, Shaun of the Dead, in 2007 he directed a fake trailer in my favorite film of that year, Don't, for Grindhouse. 2010 he blew my mind & my load with Scott Pilgrim, and yes, it was my favorite film of that year. 2013, he did it again, my favorite film of the year, was, you guessed it, The World's End. Is Baby Driver my favorite of the year? It is hard to say, but here is where it is ranked.

1. Scott Pilgrim Vs the World
My favorite comic of all time, is Scott Pilgrim, almost all of my film crushes are in the film, it is a perfect adaptation, nay, a perfect film. I saw it at an important time in my life, a time where i was destroyed, and i saw it at the premier at San Diego Comic Con, it blew me away. I have seen it like 8 times in theatres, and when i watch it at home, i quote it, well it happens for most of his films, and i even tear up. It is a beautiful film, with a beautiful cast, beautifully written, and i hope people see just how damn brilliant Wright is when it comes to these type of films, ahem Marvel, go fuck yourself over Ant Man. Also i met Edgar that weekend.

2. Shaun of the Dead
Whoa, okay, so i saw this when i was 16, I had just started making short films and i was obsessed with George Romero's Dawn of the Dead, along comes this British flick that had been jizzed all over on Aint It  Cool, and i had to see it. It quickly shot to my top 20 favorite films of all time list, and has not left that list.

3. The World's End
Take Simon Pegg, turn him into a pervy, drunk ass, let him get raucous, add a killer soundtrack, bar hopping and robots, no, not robots, blanks, and you get an amazing film. I was weary when i first read about the project, but when i saw it, holy shit, the alcohol content may have gone up, but so did my pants. What an awesome flick, and 2013 was full of awesome genre films, and this one came at a time when i had some other bad shit going one, along comes Edgar to cheer me up!

4. Baby Driver
Maybe this will rank higher some day, but at the moment, it is right here on the lower half, but that is not a bad place to be. Wright is my current favorite filmmaker, the dude is brilliant and so was this film. I love Drive, but what if Edgar Wright had helmed it? Well perhaps you take the soundtrack being a character from Guardians of the Galaxy, an odd love with sweet black & white scenes ala Natural Born Killers and toss in a bit of Kingsman, and you get this non stop, fast paced piece of celluloid.

5. Hot Fuzz
Fun flick but this one doesn't connect as much with me, i enjoy it, it is fun, but not as fast paced or quotable in my opinion, but i think the action is awesome, and all the actors do a great job. This same year he did Don't, the fake trailer in Grindhouse, and it was a highlight of that film!

6. A Fistful of Fingers
I debated putting this one on the list, not because it is bad, but it doesn't feel like a true feature, but if you get the chance to see it, it shows true raw imagination & ambition, so basically his later films, just not nearly as tight. It might be on Youtube somewhere, that is where i saw it years ago.

I should also mention that Spaced is on my top 5 favorite shows of all time list, pure brilliance, and way a head of its time!

Silicon Valley Season 4

Damn, each season of this show gets better & better. This year we saw Richard go full blown ass, Erlich is gone, Big Head is a educator, Dinesh became an uber douche,  Gilfoyle stayed Gilfoyle, which is classic Gilfoyle, and Gavin was humanized. Haley Joel Osment as Feldspar was perfect, i hope we get more of him next season. The show is endlessly quotable, brilliantly written and continues to be the best show on TV,

Snatched

Damn Jonathan Levine, damn. All The Boys Love Mandy Lane was a great debut, the Wackness was a great follow up, 50 50 was personal as fuck, Warm Bodies was flawed yet fun, The Night Before is a comedic masterpiece, you found your calling, raunch with heart. What the fuck it Snatched? Amy Schumer has become annoying as fuck since hitting it big, Goldie Hawn is past her prime, the script seems like something for Happy Maddison. This film sucked.

DDP Positively Living

Growing up, my favorite WCW guy was Sting, then during the Monday Night Wars it became DDP & Chris Jericho. DDP to me was WCW's Steve Austin, similar finisher, badass, cigar(instead of beer) dude was the shit. When he came to WWE I was super let down, I wanted him vs Austin, I wanted him vs Taker with out the stalked angle, I wanted him vs HHH, Tazz(shut up), Jericho, Benoit, Eddie, Angle, RVD, Edge. We got him & Christian, but he was pretty much midcard the entire time. His dvd shows this guy that has dyslexia, turning to sports and nightclubs, knowing he belonged as a rock star in wrestling, becoming an announcer, a manager and being larger than life for both positions. The midcard wcw wrestler became a main eventer, he became a champion. More than that he is a champion in life, the dude has saved lives and is so damn humble about everything. Thank you Diamond Dallas Page! FEEL THE BANG!

Fargo Season 3

Fargo, the film, is brilliant,  the first season of the show, was better than anyone expected, season 2 went all unhinged, both seasons had great acting, as does season 3. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is fantastic, and Ewan McGregor is perfect here too. Sadly the plot was to be desired, the first episode & last episode were both great, but that was about it. Beautifully shot, amazing soundtrack, and wickedly edited. Not a perfect season but still a solid series.

Better Call Saul Season 3

Breaking Bad is possibly the greatest show ever made, every episode is damn near perfect. THe first season of Saul surprised many of us, it was way better than it should have been. Season 2 it was not as much about Breaking Bad, but finding itself, being its own show. Season 3, just became a prestige show, and it bored the fuck out of me. Great acting but the plot, very, very meh.

Beyond the Gates

What is not to love about this flick? The John Carpenter score? The Video Store? The VHS Game? It has good performance a simple yet smart script, inspired directing and some cool fucking gore. The gore is gorgeous in this, it helps that this is a colorful film(atleast in the VHS dimension). The Carpenter inspiration is not just in the score, but the film feels like a Carpenter flick, this and The Void would be a perfect double bill!

Orange is the New Black season 5

Damn, 2 years ago i assumed season 5 would be the end, that it would end in, maybe not peace, but with everyone living out the remaining years of prison in a safe environment. Season 4 changed all that, it was my favorite season, but i think season 5, as contrived as it was, may have topped it. The dynamics for the characters were huge, friends butting heads, enemies helping each other, and one of the most intense finales in recent memory. Seeing friends split up, seeing peaceful characters get assaulted, not knowing what the future holds. Where season 6 will take us, is anyones guess, but i am left wanting more. I would love if season 6 is the end, that everyone reunites, but if it ends bleak, i will love it, as the show knows how to handle bleak matter. The show knows what it is, and this season was the fastest paced in my opinion, And my poor Maitza & Flaca got split up, the line "I Love you" was so powerful, followed by the SWAT Team invading the bunker. Great season finale for a great season.

47 Meters Down

Okay, almost one year ago, I said that the Shallows was really good but the ending sucked, and that SyFy ruined sharks cause they were so fun. Along comes 47 Meters Down, a flick that looked like it could on SyFy, nope, the films on SyFy should be in theatres, this should be on tv. I t is not boring, but damn, does Mandy Moore have zero acting ability, she is awful, and the script? What Script? Terrible, awful, some of the most idiotic & exposition driven dialogue ever. If you are going to show blood, atleast go R, come on Entertainment Studio Motion Pictures, yes that is the distributor. I can not wait for Sharknado 5. Give me those anyday, or hell, the Shallows, well...Sharknado! Okay, fine, Jaws!

The Mummy

I grew up loving Universal Monsters, the atmosphere was perfect, black & white, gothic vibes, short & simple yet smart stories. The Mummy was one of the best, loved them and the other Universal Mummy flicks as well as the Hammer series. Then when i was 11, i saw the Stephen Sommers film with Brendan Fraser, and i thought it was awesome, as was the sequel. When Universal announced a Dark Universe/shared universe with all their monsters, i was hesitant. It made sense, but it felt forced as trying to copy Marvel, would the latest Wolf Man be involved? Nope. Would the Sommers series be involved? Nope. We are getting all new flicks, with Russell Crowe as Jekyll & Hyde, in what i assume to be the Nick Fury role bringing the monsters together. The film is being torn apart and i assumed rightfully so, the first trailer looked awful, the second one was better but i figured would still be crap. Upon watching it, what the fuck, i had a blast! This was one fun flick, fast paced, well humored, cool effects, The Tom Cruise/Jake Johnson dynamic seemed inspired by American Werewolf In London, and their chemistry worked. I know alot are weary of the series, but if they are even half as fun as this one, then i will be pleased!

Raw

The best way to describe Raw, well it is 3 hours of fantastic athletes in pre determined combat....oh wait, never mind, wrong Raw. Best way to describe the film Raw, is May meets Salo, with hints of Hannibal, through a coming of age filter. The film is not the most shocking film, like many claim it to be, but it does show quite a bit of gross out gore moments. Eating raw body parts of animals, eating fingers, eating brains, eating while making out, eating your self while fucking, eating cadavers, fighting and eating at the same time. Some of it can seem humorous, not because it is funny, but because alot of it is cringe worthy, moments such at infected skin being stuck on wax, that did it for me. I didn't love it, but I would definitely recommend it to people to watch. Normies may be too grossed out, or not be able to handle to subtitles, but even the cool cats might get a shock or a cringe, it has some balls, i dug it!

F Is For Family

Thankfully Rick & Morty saved the animated sitcom, sure South Park has always been great, but the ante was upped due to R&M, Simpsons improved aswell, and now we get F Is For Family! HOly shit, what a funny fucking series, take a 70s sitcom, show how it really was, make it over the top, have it be total un PC, and you have F is For Family. I just got into it, and binged the first 2 seasons over a week span, and it is worth it, hell if you are bored someday, it would probably take 8 hours to watch the entire series, and it is worth it!

It Comes At Night *Spoilers*

A24 puts out some interesting films, and a lot of times, their trailers are amazing but the films do not live up, American Honey for instance is one of them, as is, It Comes At Night. The film is well made, well written, and well acted, however there is no pay off. Basically their son infects everyone through his sleep walking, he comes at night, so to speak. He sleep walks, gets infected, inflects everyone else, everyone blames each other, everyone kills each other, he leaves/dies/whatever, end of film. Like everything about the film, is great, except for the ending, the film's main moments, are in the trailer, the film has great build up, super tense & anxiety driven, but it is blue balls, you get jacked off but are not allowed to cum. Give us something, anything, hell, i don't need an explanation for the infection, but either show us a monster/killer or give us a satisfying ending, instead of one that just sort of end, oh, our son is infected, let us move on. I like the bleakness but here is felt a tad pretentious, it is as if some hipster saw his nerdy brother watching Cabin Fever and said he was going to make a art house version, that is all there is to it. It is worth seeing, but much like the Witch, it is a let down.

Gotham Season 3 Spoilers

Holy shit balls, Butch is dead, long live Solomon Grundy. Barbara is dead, Tigress will teach Catwoman, ALfred is dead, Love conquers all, he doesn't die, Batman is born, Mad Hatter is dead, the virus is dead, Penguin is in charge of the underworld, for now, holy shit.....what an amazing season, read all of that, that is why.

Leftovers

Wow, so in 2004 Lost changed my life, i have watched the entire series though over 10 times, i love it, Damon Lindelof ran a show that made me cry, i stuck with the show in all of its weirdness. Weirdness that went away in 2010, but then 4 years later, he brought a gift to HBO, the Leftovers. flawed characters, fucked up situations, riveting storytelling, then came season 2 and it went bonkers! How would it end? Well i was part correct, our character's families vanished but to their families, our characters vanished. I wish we would have seen the other world but how it ended, jumping in years, was great, it was poetic and it was touching. The episode before the finale could have been the finale, and the finale we got, was like a bonus. The season was super weird, super sexual, super broken, and it made the characters stronger. Some had their dreams & goals crushed, others had roadblocks. On Lost, Sayid went home, got married but in the end his heart belonged to Shannon,  folks found each other, on here, Nora went to the other world, found her husband, yet in the end, her heart belonged to Kevin, in both instances their reasons were not in their own hands, yet life found a way, on Lost it was their souls, here it was longing and refusal to give up. On Lost Jack & Locke argued over fate & the unknown, much as Laurie & Matt did here, plenty of parallels yet the show was its own beast. I will miss this show, yet it ended when it was still great!

Match of May

1. Authors of Pain vs DIY: NXT tag titles, Takeover Chicago

2, Pete Dunne vs Tyler Bates: UK Title, Takeover Chicago

3. Keith Lee vs Donovan Dijack Evolve 84

4. Chaos vs Bullet Club ROH TV

5. Marty Scurll vs Matt Sydal ROH TV Title, War of the Worlds

Alien Franchise Ranked

It has been two weeks since Alien Covenant came out, i waited to do a blog piece on it until i rewatched all the films, sans the AVP flicks.

1. Alien
John Landis said it best, the film is gothic horror, except switch out the castle for a space craft. It is still easily the best sci fi/horror genre bender you can find, the build up is very tense, the performances are great, and it is just an all around great film.

2. Aliens
Take Alien, up the ante by adding more, and put it more in a sci fi/action mode, you get Aliens, a tad more quotable, but doesn't quite pack the punch of the first, it is close, by like a knuckle.

3. Covenant
This film was great, i especially love the double red herrings with David/Walter at the end, and the end was so bleak it set up the final in the prequel trilogy to be amazing.

4. Prometheus
Fuck the haters, this was ALien trying to be different, and it was, and it worked for me.

5. Alien 3
This film could have had a industrial rock score, it looks filthy, it looks like a film of the time, it resembles the crow, i love the feel of it, and the ending closed it tremendously.

 6. Resurrection.
A lot hate this & the third one, i dig em, it looks like a comic, and it is weird. A crew of villains, a clone, okay, the clone is contrived, but fuck it, films have been milked for worse reasons. All i want now, is one that takes place after this, just a planet full of Xenemorphs, and non stop, balls to the wall action.

Wonder Woman

I really liked Man of Steel, and i did not hate Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad doesn't age well upon viewings. All three atleast let the directors take charge and put a vision on them, they look like comics, they just need better scripts. Enter Wonder Woman, easily DC's most cohesive and coherent film yet. Unlike BvS & Suicide Squad, the script is not a cluster, the story plays out really well. The film could indeed use trimming here or there, but it looks great and the film is highly enjoyable. Chris Pine is fantastic, as soon as he entered, the film took off. Gal Gadot, should shut up the haters after this flick, she nails it, the fish out of water scenarios are funny, but not in a hilarious sort of way, they are subtle, and they are well executed. The team they recruit to help take down the Germans are perfect in their roles as the ragtag men on a mission...men....men on a mission, the woman rules in it, there is something satisfying about watching a hot badass going around kicking ass in a poetic way. The villains are actual villains, and each get there own fair share amount of screen time. I hope for the best when it comes to DC, but i fear they may end up being cluster fucks, even if they do, atleast they will have this as their diamond!

Prison Break Season 5

The first season of Prison Break was contrived, yet fun and highly tense, the second season was a fun ride and switched up the genre. The third season went back to the roots but started losing steam. The fourth season should have wrapped up everything, but was pretty awful. The show should have stayed dead, as the fifth season was brought back for no other reason than to jump on the golden age of TV bandwagon, which is funny as the fourth season was on the same time as Lost and Breaking Bad. Meh, i hope there is not a sixth season, i'm out.