video review : Malcolm Wellmaker versus Kris Moutinho at UFC Fight Night

video review : Malcolm Wellmaker versus Kris Moutinho at UFC Fight Night

Punching bag Kris Moutinho fought his way back to the UFC with five wins (finishes) in a row only to get knocked out in the first round of this return bout. That says a lot about the skill level it takes to compete in the UFC. Perhaps he can stick around as a Brooklyn-Brawler-type jobber to showcase more up-and-comers like Malcolm Wellmaker.

my rating : 3 of 5

2025

Super Kaboom

Super Kaboom

This is Superman ice cream. The Kaboom bit, along with the two caped imposters serving as mascots, is probably SE Grocers attempt to avoid a trademark violation. The taste is undeniable. That’s thanks mostly to its main flavor; blue moon; a sweet scarcity outside of the US’s so-called midwest. It sort of tastes like Fruity Pebbles.

my rating : 4 of 5

video review : The Fly

video review : The Fly

The Fly doesn’t get going until the title concept comes into play, which doesn’t happen until about the halfway point. That’s when Seth Brundle; an inventive scientist “working on something that’ll change the world”; begins to change himself. It’s a creepy and gradual transformation; the plot’s one big catch. The romantic love triangle the main characters are otherwise involved in is far less interesting.

my rating : 3 of 5

1986

audio review : Tha Carter 6 ( album ) … Lil Wayne

audio review : Tha Carter 6 ( album ) ... Lil Wayne

He’s certainly not “the greatest of all time”, but Lil Wayne is a good rapper. Somebody apparently told him he’s also a good singer; he actually covers Weezer’s Island In The Sun; but they lied. The Bono feature; how many rappers have the clout to start a sentence with those words; is decent, but the best song is Cotton Candy with 2 Chainz.

my rating : 3 of 5

2025

audio review : History ( song ) … Michael Jackson

This is Michael Jackson at his most grandiose, appropriately enough considering it’s the title song to the most grandiose album in History. The concept, which pays homage to innovators/icons like Thomas Edison and Muhammad Ali, is both an anthem “for mankind” and a time capsule of sorts. Among all the samples and bits, there’s a song and it’s another good one, which only adds to Jackson’s legacy.

my rating : 4 of 5

1995

audio review : History ( album ) ... Michael Jackson

video review : 28 Weeks Later

video review : 28 Weeks Later

When the zombies from 28 Days Later invade your hideout, you do whatever you have to do to survive, so when Don leaves his wife to die, he has the right idea. I’d abandon the kids too; they restarted this mess; but he never gets the chance. Instead they’re coddled and ultimately sacrificed for by total strangers.

Movie clichés are favored over realism; what Don later does to make up to his aforementioned wife is profoundly stupid; but that’s par for the course. It’s what keeps the plot moving forward. This sequel is definitely worse than the original, but it’s interesting enough to hold your anticipation for the next 28 months.

my rating : 3 of 5

2007

video review : 28 Years Later

video review : 28 Days Later

video review : 28 Days Later

A bicycle courier named Jim awakes in an empty hospital to discover he’s in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. That’s the gist of the plot as he goes on to meet other survivors. The infected creatures they encounter are particularly scary because they’re fast and aggressive. The uninfected ones are even worse. Their dreadful predicament is resolved too conveniently in the end, even for a horror flick, but it’s a riveting journey all the way.

my rating : 4 of 5

2002

video review : 28 Weeks Later
video review : 28 Years Later

video review : The Jeffersons : Sorry Wrong Meeting

video review : The Jeffersons : Sorry Wrong Meeting

This episode doesn’t get interesting until about a third in when a white CPR class attendant drops a verbal bombshell in response to being asked to practice on the dummy Louise just put her (“nigger”) lips on. The KKK is a contentious subject for a sitcom and the dialogue gets preachy on both sides, but George Jefferson’s eventual involvement creates not only an element of suspense but the main source of entertainment.

my rating : 3 of 5

1981

Bang : Any Means Orange

Bang : Any Means Orange

This drink, based on the YouTube “streamer collective” Any Means Possible, is promoted as “jaw-droppingly delicious”. That’s an exaggeration, but it is good, which is more (better) than I can say for most Bangs. It’s the carbonation that holds them back, so the flavor has to be impressive enough to outweigh it. That is the case here. It tastes like a Creamsicle.

my rating : 4 of 5

audio review : Bars Over Bullshit ( album ) … MC Shan

audio review : Bars Over Bullshit ( album ) ... MC Shan

This is supposed to be a new MC Shan album; the long-awaited follow-up to Play It Again; but it’s more like the crude demo version. Even as a mixtape, its artistic blunders and technical flaws would be inexcusable. Songs just cut off. Some are so old, you can hear the scratches from the CDs they were ripped from. Shan still has Bars, so the title rings true, but it sounds like this project was recorded, mixed and mastered by a crackhead.

my rating : 2 of 5

2017

audio review : Heil Hitler ( song ) … Kanye West

The title, as a response from Kanye West to the countless naysayers he’s accumulated as of late; mainly sensitive Jews; is quite brilliant. The song itself, which comes across more like a demo without a second verse, isn’t far behind. That’s thanks not to the crude lyrics; the “nigga” bits are redundant; but the catchy vocal melodies. This is a sociopolitical anthem of sorts.

my rating : 4 of 5

audio review : Heil Hitler ( song ) ... Kanye West