Category: reviews

video review : UFC 260

video review : UFC 260

You know you’ve been hit hard when you have to wait till Bruce Buffer officially announces the results to find-out how long your fight lasted. That’s the situation Khama Worthy finds himself in after getting “caught” by Jamie Mullarkey in the very first round. UFC 260 would, in fact, be a night of finishes if not for Miranda Maverick; I’d love to see this woman fight Maycee Barber; earning a decision victory over Gillian Robertson.

Sean O’Malley is still undefeated (ha) with a relatively easy win over a much smaller Thomas Almeida. The knockout comes in the third, but he could’ve pulled it off in the first if not for his showboating antics. Tyron Woodley lets his hands go fast and early on Vicente Luque, damn-near knocking him out at one point, but Luque hits back. I really wanted Woodley to win here as a fourth consecutive loss probably ends his UFC career.

I didn’t really care who won the main event, but I would’ve bet on Francis Ngannou; the “scariest contender” in the organization. Stipe Miocic, who’s a bit overrated with all the heavyweight “goat” talk during the build-up to this bout, finds that last bit out the hard way. “Out cold”, Joe Rogan declares, though I’m not sure if he’s referring to Stipe’s loss of consciousness or how wrong Ngannou did him by punching him in the face like that.

my rating : 4 of 5

2021

video review : UFC 261

video review : Contact

video review : Contact

Like observing deep space via satellite, waiting for some sign of intelligent life, this movie is boring for a long time. About a third of its two-and-a-half hours goes by before the catch of the plot finally beams in and things start to get interesting.

Based on a Carl Sagan sci-fi novel, Contact propels itself with a wonderous concept, brilliant visual effects and mind-bending philosophical undertones, but the story, bogged down by extraneous love themes, doesn’t reach good fast enough.

my rating : 3 of 5

1997

audio review : 2000 ( album ) … Grand Puba

audio review : 2000 ( album ) ... Grand Puba

I don’t know why Grand Puba’s so obsessed with the year 2000; that concept would’ve made a lot more sense if this were released that year or just prior; but he seems to be stuck in the future. The beats; raw boom-bap produced by the likes of Mark Spark and Minnesota; are anything but. They’re also the one good thing about the album.

Puba’s often trying to amuse; cracking jokes and interpolating old soul songs into his raps; but his sense of humor is usually more corny than funny and his skills aren’t Special enough to make up for it. Still the set is a decent listen if only for the aforementioned beats, the best of which include I Like It, Don’t Waste My Time and Change Gonna Come.

my rating : 3 of 5

1995

audio review : Funplex ( album ) … The B-52s

audio review : Funplex ( album ) ... The B-52s

They got the title right. This album, which marks the return of The B-52s, including Cindy Wilson, after a long hiatus, is all about Fun. That comes mostly in the form of Dancing and Partying, though wacky wordplay at times make for sexually suggestive undertones. “There’s a G-spot,” Fred Schneider announces, “Pull the car over!”

That car might as well be a Mercury Lynx as the band, with the help of New producer Steve Osbourne, rocks out in 1980s retro fashion. The best parts are some of the catchy, at times refreshingly unconventional, hooks they stumble across along the way. The ones on Eyes Wide Open and Juliet Of The Spirits are particularly pleasing.

my rating : 3 of 5

2008

video review : Jan Błachowicz versus Israel Adesanya at UFC 259

video review : Jan Błachowicz versus Israel Adesanya at UFC 259

Even if this were a three-round fight, I’d give Jan Błachowicz a close decision victory. Israel Adesanya seems a little off (slow/hesitant) here, probably because he’s fighting in a higher weight division than normal. The final two rounds, in which Błachowicz takes him down and holds him there till the ends, just reinforces it.

I thought Adesanya would win this, but I also thought it was a bad idea to risk his undefeated streak for the Polish powerhouse. Doing it and potentially becoming double champ for Jon Jones would’ve made a lot more sense. Now that epic showdown, one of the most anticipated in UFC history, seems a lot less competitive.

my rating : 3 of 5

2021

video review : Amanda Nunes versus Megan Anderson at UFC 259

video review : Amanda Nunes versus Megan Anderson at UFC 259

There’s a video of Megan Anderson looking like the walking dead when she first arrived at the Apex arena; not in a sinister Undertaker kind of way but the way a death row inmate might look on the last day of her stay. The method of execution? A one-woman firing squad.

“Amanda hits so damn hard,” Joe Rogan observes; Daniel Cormier also provides funny commentary; as the purported WMMA “goat”; I still don’t know if I’d put her above Cris Cyborg; goes on to win her easiest fight yet. Ronda Rousey at least landed a punch before her pummeling.

my rating : 4 of 5

2021

audio review : Generation Efx ( album ) … Das Efx

audio review : Generation Efx ( album ) ... Das Efx

The Intro; a radio station bit featuring a sample of Mic Checka; might suggest Das Efx is stuck in the past, but I wish they were. Their first album at least made you Klap Ya Handz in applause to the verses. This one, easily their worst, is sewer-shitty in spots; namely during the hooks, too many of which consist of banal (wack) rap chants.

my rating : 2 of 5

1998

audio review : Hold It Down ( album ) … Das Efx

audio review : Hold It Down ( album ) ... Das Efx

One of the best songs here is Microphone Master on which Das Efx brag about their “super rhyme” skills, but they’re bombastic claims. Despite the album title, in the two years since committing Straight Up Sewaside, they basically let It go.

They still go Diggedy, but Seriously lacking is the showcase of wordplay they introduced themselves to the world with. There are clever bars here and there, but it’s been a steady album-to-album degression. This is the one with the best beats though.

my rating : 3 of 5

1995

audio review : Straight Up Sewaside ( album ) … Das Efx

audio review : Straight Up Sewaside ( album ) ... Das Efx

If you’re wondering why they altered their style, listen to the Interview. They were tired of rappers imitating, which is almost never a good reason to abandon the one trait that made you so influential in the first place. While the new style isn’t as innovative or amusing, you’ll still have a hard time finding two better MCs on ground level.

These beats are hard and grimy, sometimes to the point of dullness, but the obvious highlights on a Das Efx album are the verses, which they deliver with more funny pop culture references and clever wordplay. Dre, whose Krazy flow suddenly emerges as the more impressive of the two, goes especially bonkers on track 4, so Check It Out.

my rating : 3 of 5

1993

audio review : Dead Serious ( album ) … Das Efx

audio review : Dead Serious ( album ) ... Das Efx

The one Serious flaw on this album is that the original (inferior) version of its first single; They Want Efx; is included instead of the Remix, which should’ve officially replaced it. The only real difference is the beat, but the latter sounds a lot better.

As is, Dead Serious, which represents the debut of a Brooklyn rap duo skilled with what may be the most clever and unique wordplay ever, starts off with a bang. Mic Checka is fun. The rest of the set is only interesting during the verses.

my rating : 3 of 5

1992

One For The Road ( story ) … Stephen King

The title refers to the flask of brandy a man named Booth brings along as he, his friend Tookey and a stranger named Lumley venture out into a winter blizzard to rescue Lumley’s wife and daughter. They’re stranded in his car, stuck in the snow, “six miles south” of Tookey’s Bar.

This is a tale, straight-forward but for a funny flashback about a drunken pulp truck driver, that might’ve been even more engrossing than it is if it’s concept weren’t buried in vampiric folklore. The plot rolls along a path of realism until the end, where it starts to get silly.

my rating : 4 of 5

1977

review : Night Shift ( book ) ... Stephen King