The Review: The Changeling

The Changeling 2/10

The more I talk and think about this series the more annoyed I get so I have to hurry up and do this before my brain drifts over into “I just don't care to write about this” mode. Let me explain why I didn't give this a 0/10 or a 1/10. I finished it and it started off well. The first three episodes of this had me intrigued as fuck. Then I was confused but still interested. Then they just started having episode after episode of more questions for an eight episode series and the fucking nerve to have the finale be less than half an hour following a 70 minute episode that explained one question.

The Review: The Wheel of Time Season 2

The Wheel Of Time Season Two 9/10

I have not read the books nor do I plan to. I need to get that out of the way because I have learned from being exposed to this crazy ass world or these stories that people get real angry with the differences between the book and the series. I'm just a random Black dude that watches an assload of TV and weird shit.

The Review: Barry Season 4

Barry Season Four 10/10

Full of spoilers! Not sure why I never did a review for the third season, but I assure you that I watched it. I'm gonna try to recall everything that happened since I finished this months ago. Barry is in prison and I thought that there was no possible way that this show could go this many seasons let alone make the final one the best. Barry tries to contact his old acting teacher, Gene, whose fiancé he murdered for forgiveness as well as his ex, Sally who will be going through all manner of chaos herself. Gene wants to get some of his old fame back by cashing in on the murder of Janice and knowing that Barry was one of his acting students. Sally is trying to come to grips with the fact that she was sleeping with a murderer. Barry is losing his shit. His former friend Fuches is sent into the same prison as Barry and thinks he will be killed only for Barry to beg for forgiveness.

Documentality: Last Call

Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York 9/10

Have you seen American Horror Story: NYC? Well, you could watch this instead because it is damn near the same thing but for true. This is about a serial killer in the 90's that goes after gay men and does all manner of fucked up things to their bodies. Police are not super concerned because the victims are gay. Two of the victims were closeted and they actually speak to their family as well as the family and friends of other victims. All L. and I could think of were the amount of similarities between this and AHS: NYC. The city, the way the serial killer did the victims, and of course the gay aspect of it all. One of the victims, Anthony Marrero, confused police because at that point the victims were older, gay men. They speak to Marrero's family and it is sad how his brother could not accept that his brother was gay and living a very double life filled with hustling. This is just four parts but very thorough and will make you mad. Thankfully there is a resolution and no silly build for a second season or anything. I would suggest you check this out on Max.

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Documentality: The Stroll

The Stroll 9/10

I watched this documentary called The Stroll and kept having flashbacks of my life as a male prostitute...in my mind. Actually it reminded me of Hooker At The Point which I watched when I was younger and so should not have been allowed to. This is about Black and Latina trans workers during the 80's and 90's and the massive amount of shit they had to go through. Fighting cops who were arresting them and sleeping with them. Being attacked for just being alive. This isn't all depressing though because while some did not survive the ones that did are alive and well and still fighting for trans rights. The area that they worked was known as The Stroll and when they go to it in present day it is very gentrified. It doesn't even look like the same place anymore. I would suggest people who are into watching activists being active (which I am not and am not) and wanting to learn more about a world that you're not familiar with. If you are one of those people that are scared of things that are different you should definitely watch this.

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Documentality: The Way Down

 

The Way Down 8/10

I watched this months ago and have been slacking on reviews so I'll be attempting to post a few a day. I have been watching so much stuff that I have just been writing what I watched but not writing reviews. This one, The Way Down, was insane in so many ways. I had seen this lady, Gwen Shamblin Lara's face, but did not know why. I had no idea that she was running a church based weight loss program and the amount of drama and nonsense that wanting to lose weight and be closer to god could cause. This had everything from divorces, fat shaming, marrying an actor who left his family, plane crashes, Trump shit, self harm, and terrible music. When I watch stuff like this I think it happened years ago like in the 90's when people were easier to fleece. Nope. This was happening as recently as a couple of years ago and is likely still going on now. I watched this on HBO Max which is now just Max. Just a few episodes and doesn't drag out the material.

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The Review: They Cloned Tyrone

They Cloned Tyrone 10/10

I love weird ass movies. I really love weird ass Black movies in particular. I had seen a billboard for this movie on Sunset a couple of weeks ago and decided to check it out after seeing people say how good it was. This was a creative movie that is something I am gonna have to watch a few more times because I was watching it in so much amazement at how people can write and direct things in certain ways. Visually this was good. The wardrobe, the scenery, the hairstyles. You couldn't tell what decade this was taking place in. I should start describing the movie.

The Review: I'm A Virgo

I'm A Virgo 10/10

I absolutely loved this damn series. Cam randomly suggested it and we plowed through the first four episodes before I finished the rest the next day. If you one of those people that needs explanations for everything you see then this show will make your head hurt. A lady leaves the hospital with a baby that is about my size now, names him Cootie, and she and her husband are raising him at home. Turns out she is his aunt and they hide him from the world. As he gets older he begins to crave the outside world. His aunt and uncle show him what happens to giants when they are discovered which gives him nightmares. Of course he gets discovered by some kids in his neighborhood and they introduce him to the world of fast food, fame, and women. Meanwhile there is a superhero that is bigoted as hell literally flying around. Its a lot.

The Review: Shazam! Fury of the Gods

Shazam! Fury of the Gods 0/10

This was a trash film and a complete waste of time. Everything that I enjoyed about the first film was removed. Characters were stupid. The plot was bad. Just...ugh. There was nothing about this movie that I enjoyed. Not gonna waste my time even writing credits for this one.

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The Review: Schmigadoon Season 2

Schmigadoon Season 2 (9/10)

Trying to do some late reviews so this will be short. This was a damn good show. L. and I absolutely enjoyed the first season and I was kinda worried about how the next would follow it up. Turns out I was concerned for nothing because this one was funny as hell. The first season had style and music based on musicals from the 1940's and 1950's while this one had the 60's and 70's. Josh and Melissa are trying to have a child and just going through life unhappy after their time in Schmigadoon and decide that they should try to go back. They eventually make their way back but it is now very different from when they were last around and it is seedy as hell and known as Schmicago. The same cast of people are around but playing different roles and the introduction of the Narrator made this season even better.

Keegan-Michael Key as Josh Skinner

Cecily Strong as Melissa Gimble

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Sitting In The Aisle: Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 3

Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume Three 10/10

I fucking loved this movie. Let me get that out of the way. L. and I saw this in theaters because there was no damn way I was not going to. It also made me feel human emotions three times as opposed to the previous films that almost got me once each. This picks up after the holiday special (which I watched and didn't write about) so now we know that Mantis and Peter Quill are brother and sister because their father, Ego, boned literally everything. Peter is still torn up over Gamora being from a different timeline so she doesn't have any emotional connection to him and barely one with her sister, Nebula. Adam shows up after being hinted at in the previous movie and starts wrecking shit immediately. Peter is drunk and ineffective, Drax gets whooped, Nebula can't stop him, and Rocket gets hit so hard he is dying. The team tries to save him but he has a fail safe in his body where if someone tries to save him he will straight up die.

Curtain Call: A Soldier's Play

A Soldiers Play 10/10

This past weekend L. took me to see A Soldier's Play. I didn't plan on going when she first mentioned it because I saw the movie and didn't feel a need to see the play. I see live theater with music and happy and we had watched A Soldier's Story fairly recently and I thought it would be a bummer live. I was super wrong. This was one of the best shows I have seen (and it had some music!). They made great use of such a minimal set. Flashbacks done with different lighting. Beds slid back so an office could be brought in. The acting was just phenomenal and the show moved quickly and did not feel long at all.

The Review: John Wick Chapter 4

John Wick Chapter Four 9/10

I have enjoyed all of the John Wick films. I finally watched the latest one after missing it in theaters and while I did enjoy it a lot I am glad that I got to watch it from home and have the ability to pause it and hoot and holler. This movie is long. I know I love long films and everybody who knows me knows that when I go to the movies I like when a film is two hours or more because it feels like I am getting my money's worth. But when you are watching a man shoot and kill so many people it starts to get physically and mentally exhausting just watching. If this had been about half an hour shorter it would have been a 10/10. I did like the introduction of some of the new characters such as Mr. Nobody and Caine. But my God ,when this was over I was happy. And I was also happy to see the extra little scene that they threw in during the credits. We watched this on Amazon. I doubt that I will watch this again in full and might just look up different fight scenes from it. One complaint I really do have other than the length of this film is the fact that the main villains and these movies tend to die the fastest and suffer the least amount.

Keanu Reeves as John Wick

Donnie Yen as Caine

Bill Skarsgård as the Marquis Vincent Bisset de Gramont

Laurence Fishburne as the Bowery King

Hiroyuki Sanada as Shimazu Koji

Shamier Anderson as Mr. Nobody

Lance Reddick as Charon

Ian McShane as Winston Scott

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Curtain Call: Six The Musical

Six: The Musical 9/10

This was a fun ass play! I forgot that I was even going to this with Cam a few weeks ago. We headed to The Pantages to check this out. Now, we all know that this theater has one of the worst sound systems but for whatever reason it was on point that evening. I sat down having zero idea what the show was about or anything. All I knew was that a lot of people in the crowd had little crowns on and a very flamboyant man in the audience I hoped wouldn't ruin the show for me.

Curtain Call: Twilight Los Angeles 1992

Twilight Los Angeles, 1992 10/10

"Nearly thirty years after the Los Angeles uprising following the Rodney King verdict, Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 returns home to the Mark Taper Forum to be reimagined with an ensemble cast for a new generation of audiences. A powerful piece of living record and one of the most important works in the history of the Taper, Twilight is a stunning and seminal play that explores the devastating human impact of the five days of uprising following the Rodney King verdict. From nine months of over 300 interviews conducted during the year following the uprising, playwright and scholar Anna Deavere Smith crafted a play that goes directly to the heart of the issues of race and class."