Ty Watches "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings"

It was my wife's movie pick for date night this past weekend, and she went with "Shang Chi". We had seen that it was going to be on Disney + for free on Friday, we both really wanted to watch it but did not want to go to the theaters and our son was at a sleepover, so we figured Friday was the perfect time.

I want to say right off the bat, I loved this movie. I had zero idea about the superhero Shang Chi. I knew nothing of the rings, no backstory, who he was now and how he came to be the holder of the ten rings. His story was a total blank for me. So I appreciated the backstory that they involved with this movie. The movie was a bit over two hours long, but I felt it was needed for someone like me who knew nothing. I really enjoyed the fact that they took the time to go back here and there during the movie to show why Shang was where he was during the movie. I also really liked the whole story about the ten rings and what they do, how they are used. It is a real cool power to have. It seems super effective and totally useful. I also like how they showed the rings when they were in use. It was cool as hell.

I also thought the acting was top notch in the movie. Young Shang, be it 10 year old or teenage, the actors did a great job portraying the sadness and anger. Then we have grown up Shang, the actor from "Kim's Convenience", he was absolutely wonderful. I loved every aspect of his performance. He was so cool and such a total badass. He was a perfect cast for the role. Awkafina, playing his friend Katy, was great as well. I am a big fan of hers. I love "Nora From Queens", she is great in "Ocean's 8", she is hilarious and fun. She brought all of that to this movie, but she also got to be the love interest, the damsel in distress. It was cool and different. I liked seeing her in that role. And the rest of the cast was superb. Shang's dad was a great villain, but I also kind of got where he was coming from. I felt his pain. Shang's sister was amazing. She may have been more of a badass than her brother. She also taught herself how to fight, and she was kicking ass all up and down the movie. Their mom was sweet and sensitive and also one hell of a fighter. I liked how she only used her powers when she truly needed to in the movie. The people who lived in the mom's village were great as well. There were some great marksmen, great fighters, people who knew how to harness the powers they have. I also loved the animals that lived in the village. It was some of the coolest mashups of animals I have seen in a movie. Also, Ben Kinglsey and his little buddy Morris were a delight. They were kind of the heart and soul of the movie for me.

Outside the acting, the imagery, the scenery, it was beautiful. San Francisco looked awesome. Macau was dope as hell. Everything was shown so well. My wife pointed out when they got to Macau how it reminded her of "Black Panther", when they went to Asia. It was nighttime, brightly lit and looked so cool. They made it feel like a very, very big city. And that fight scene on the side of the big building, that was awesome and it made my knees totally buckle. And the village that I mentioned before, it was amazing.

I adore this movie. I think it is one of the better MCU movies. I like when they make the movies a bit more fun, and even though this movie definitely has some heavy moments, it is still a very good time. And the fight scenes are some of the best they have had in some time. The fight on the bus is one of the cooler things I have seen in a movie since "Nobody". It was rad. If you have Disney + go watch the movie ASAP. It is free and totally worth it. I highly recommend "Shang Chi".

Ty'

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "Bad Sport"

Yesterday I finished up a very cool and interesting show on Netflix. The show is called "Bad Sport". I was scrolling through Netflix the other day and it popped up as something I might have been interested in. They were right. I do like sports and I am interested in the seedy underworld that no one ever really talks about. This show has both.

Now, I was hyped because the first episode was all about a point shaving incident that I know of that occurred in the 90's involving Arizona State. I remember this story as a kid. They made a made for TV movie about this incident in the early 2000's. I was aware. What this first episode did though was go very, very deep in the whole scandal. I was learning a ton of new things. I was also kind of frightened at the people who got involved. I was also fascinated at how high this went. It was very informative and a very good. watch. The first episode was a great starting point for my sports fandom. Then I took a few days off because the other episodes featured sports I have never been too interested in. But I was still kind of looking for other shows, but my mind kept wandering back to "Bad Sport". So the next few days I devoured the rest of the series.

I am not a race car fan, but the second episode was all about a race car driver that brought in and sold millions of pounds of marijuana. It was incredible to hear this guy's story. I loved hearing what the people around him thought. I actually ended up kind of siding with the main guy in the end. He got put away for a long time just for some weed. And the race car stuff was kind of interesting. It was minimal, but I still found myself following it all.

The third episode was about a humongous bombshell involving Juventus soccer. I guess their owner back in the day had some serious pull over officials and was able to get things to go for his team when he needed it to. There were never any fixed games, or so they say, but the refs did some shady stuff. And the refs who didn’t do the shady stuff, they got stiff penalties. One of them was kidnapped for a few days. It was also wild to see the actual guy they were talking about come on and be interviewed near the end. And he still claims he did nothing wrong. It was wild.

The fourth episode featured a figure skating controversy. I never really watch figure skating, but I have friends and family that like to watch. I was also vaguely familiar with the people involved in this story because it became so big. There was a Canadian team and a Russian team, they were pairs, and there was a whole problem involving a French judge and how she may or may not have fixed an Olympic event in favor of the Russian team. The story was so wild too. I was totally invested in this one.

The fifth episode featured the biggest monster on the show. This one was about show horses and the owners. The guy they focused on was a guy that ended up falling into this world, and he became known as the Sandman, a guy that would get rid of horses if the owners wanted him to for a 5,000 dollar fee. And by get rid I mean he would execute these poor horses. This episode was frightening. It made me sick to my stomach at times. There were people that made me so angry while I watched. It also made me furious with the legal system. This episode has really stuck with me.

The final episode focuses on a South African cricket star that took money to try and fix games. He was a mega star in the cricket world. He had a big come up and achieved greatness pretty young. He was beloved by everyone. But all along he was accused of finding teammates and telling them to fix games here and there to get big chunks of money. It wasn't until a few of his younger teammates didn't do what he asked him to that he got caught. It was a big time scandal and the guy was banned from cricket. And that wasn't even the worst thing to happen to him. You'll have to watch to see what happens next.

I really liked this show. I hope it comes back for more seasons. I was endlessly fascinated by what I saw. It was very well done and very informative. I definitely recommend people check out this show. It is great.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches the Trailer for "Atlanta"

Yesterday I was checking stuff out on the internet, as I like to say, as I am want to do, and I came across a story on many, many social media platforms claiming that Donald Glover surprised everyone with a new trailer for his hit series "Atlanta".

I am a big, big time fan of this show as you all know very well by now. I think it is the best show on TV, it is a delight to watch, it makes me think days after every episode and Donald Glover can do no wrong in the entertainment world. He is a genius. So I was obviously stoked about the trailer. I do not know if he put it out late Sunday or early Monday. I saw it on Monday. I am older, I am a dad, I am usually late to popular stuff on the internet, all of these are my excuses on why it took me an extra day to know, and then watch the trailer. As soon as I saw the story, and a link to the trailer, I watched it immediately. And I loved every single weird second of it.

The trailer is about a minute long. I think it might actually be exactly one minute. I'm sure there is some reasoning to it, but I am not smart enough, nor do I want to put the research time into finding out exactly why it is one minute long. But I watched it with pure glee. I was quite giddy in fact. I started the trailer and was completely blown away by what I saw. It was eerie. It was different. It was sleek. It was cool. I felt hip watching it. I also felt like a dork too because I was a bit confused. Anyway, the trailer goes through a bunch of different rooms and there is a song lyric repeated over and over. "It's after the end of the world/don't you know that yet". That is the lyric that is repeated over and over again. And there is some dark and creepy music accompanying the words. All the while we see these rooms. We see empty, what I assume, are concert venues. There are very few people roaming the streets. I only saw a few people on bikes in one shot. There are four TV's set up with different images flashing on them. There is a room filled with chairs stacked on top of one another. And at the end we see Brian Tyree Henry, who plays Paper Boi. The camera starts out far away from him, but the shot gets tighter and tighter while the creepy song comes to a big crescendo. We then get a close up shot of Paper Boi looking sad and despondent. He has a white shirt with some red, yellow and green stripes on it, and across his chest in yellow letters the word "FAKE". He also has two people working for him who are totally turned away from the camera not even looking in his direction. The screen then goes black and it says "Atlanta/2022".

This has me even more pumped up for what is to come in 2022. Clearly Paper Boi has made his ascent to some kind of fame. But we will also, or so it seems, get a look at how Donald Glover has dealt with the pandemic. We will also hopefully get to see that Paper Boi may not be happy with his newfound fame. Maybe he doesn't like the limelight like he thought he would. I am very curious to see where LaKeith Stanfield, Zazie Beetz and Donald Glover's characters are in this world created by Glover.

While I think a show like "Curb" is more reliable, or "The Simpsons" is my favorite show of all time, "Atlanta" is probably the best show on TV when it is on. And after this trailer I can only hope that this whole new season is going to be like the "Teddy Perkins" episode from the second season, because that is an all time classic. Needless to say, I am very, very excited for the new season of "Atlanta". Now I just have to wait a few more months.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and He has Some Thoughts on Movie Violence

Over the weekend my wife and I pushed our date night to Saturday due to school stuff and because it was closer to Halloween. We had sushi, since we are so fancy, and my wife got to choose the movie. She wanted a scare so she picked "I Know What You Did Last Summer".

I have never seen the movie and it has been years since she watched it. She remembered really liking it and saying that it had some good jump scares. She also loves the show "Buffy" and is a big Sarah Michelle Gellar fan. It checks a lot of boxes for her. So we watched.

The movie was fine. My wife jumped a few times. It made me laugh a little because I kept thinking about "Not Another Teen Movie" and "Scary Movie". There were some okay chase stuff. It was a typical late 90's scary movie. It felt a lot like a JV version of "Scream", which is not a bad thing. But I came away from the viewing with a thought that has never really occurred within me. When the movie was over I thought that it was kind of hokey, not super scary and not too violent.

I was very wrong on the last thought. This movie was very bloody. A person gets hit with a car. There is a suicide. There is plenty of knife and hook wounds. Needless to say, there is a good amount of blood. But nowadays a movie like this seems so tame. That is brutal. It is actually kind of depressing. I think we are so numb to what we see now that a movie as gory as "I Know What You Did Last Summer" just kind of lands flat. I've seen more violence in a noir like "Drive". All three chapters of "John Wick" have a much higher body count and way, way more gore. The way "Uncut Gems" ends is way more horrifying than anything in this movie. Hell, I have seen worse in comedic movies. Or even psychological thrillers like "The Babadook" or "Black Swan" had me shook up. And even tv shows now are way more violent than this movie. "The Wire" had more hard core deaths. Gus Fring's ending in "Breaking Bad" was much more scary. "Lost" had more brutal scenes. And I think we all can agree that the first episode of "Squid Game" is way more hard core and gory than any scene in the entirety of "IKWYDLS".

That is crazy to me though. We have become so numb to violence in our society now. Some almost have to be pushed to the absolute brink to get even a little scared. When watching scary movies now there is so much more blood and gore and just flat out spooky things that happen. "IKWYDLS" feels almost ahead of its time, but at the same time it feels dated. It is cliched, but aren't all horror movies a little cliched when you really think about it? The acting is solid too, but newer, good horror movies have better acting. And the gore, the thing a lot of horror fans go for now, seems minimal. There were no real jump scares from me. I could feel them coming. But this movie did work on my wife. So what does that say about me? Am I so numb to it now that I need something like "John Wick" to get my blood pumping? I hope not. But I was just so surprised at how little I was scared while watching the movie on Saturday. And I scare easily at more modern horror movies. We are pretty numb to things we shouldn't be so numb to anymore, but it seems like the gross factor continues to notch up and we just consume it and are happy with it.

"IKNWDLS" is a solid horror movie, but it just does not hold up to the standards of today's horror movies. That could be the year or the consumer. I tend to think it has more to do with the consumer unfortunately, and that is what bummed me out the most.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "Champaign ILL"

A few years back I heard about a show that David Caspe and his crew were producing for YouTube. I read that it would star Adam Pally and Sam Richardson. I heard that it was going to be about a rapper and his entourage. I read that it was going to be very comical, but have some dark moments. All of these things checked my boxes for what I look for in a TV show. Well, except the YouTube part. It was going to be a YouTube exclusive, but you had to pay for the content. I really like YouTube. I use it a lot, especially during the pandemic, to watch concert footage, trailers for movies, music videos, a ton of stuff, all of which is free. I already pay for enough streaming services, I do not know how to get the material other ways and it seemed unnecessary for me to start paying for YouTube as well. My loss.

Fortunately the show was just released on Hulu, a streaming service I pay for, and I was able to watch it. The show is called "Champaign Ill". And it is everything I read about. The show follows Ronnie, Pally, and Alf Richardson. They are lifelong friends with a rapper who goes by ILL Lou the Sickest, played by Jay Pharoah. It is revealed pretty early on that Ronnie and Alf are a couple of free loaders. They do not know how to do much for themselves, they rely on Lou for everything and they are far too comfortable with the lives they currently have. Then, and this is not a spoiler because it happens in the first episode, Lou suddenly dies. He falls off a staircase filming a music video and hits his head. This shocks Ronnie and Alf, just like it did me when I watched.

This is where the show picks up steam. From here on out we go on to see how Ronnie and Alf have to adjust to life without Lou, and how they adjust to living back home in Champaign. They have all kinds of problems that they do not know how to fix. Alf wants his high school girlfriend back, but she is pregnant and hates him. Ronnie cannot figure out how to get back in the working world, even though he was heading to an Ivy league school before deciding to be part of Lou's crew. Alf has to move back in with his dad, and ever since his mom left him his dad has gotten very overweight and does not take good care of himself. Ronnie moves back home with his folks as well, but the parents are having problems, his sister is running a solid business, but she is still in his shadow and it drives her nuts. Needless to say, they are both finding their new surroundings to not be as nice. And when they find out they have no money in Lou's will for them, they really lose it. They try to start a business, but that never works. They try to write a song, they cannot do that. They try to get an apartment and they get into some serious credit card debt. But the thing that bugs them most is no one in their hometown seems to really care or be interested in their life from when they lived off Lou's coattails.

The series is all around great. It is one season that is ten episodes long. I finished it in about three days. I liked it that much. There is one episode where Ronnie and Alf have a very accusatory conversation in their apartment and it is like one long scene. The direction of this one episode has stuck with me for so long. It was super cool. My hats goes off to everyone involved with this show. It could have been cliche and corny, but they pulled it off. It is hilarious. It is dark. It deals with some heavy stuff. And it made me think how I would have acted had I been in a similar situation.

I really enjoyed this show, and now that it is on Hulu, I definitely recommend checking it out. It is well worth your time.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "Dune"

Yesterday I watched "Dune". We got back from our trip earlier than we thought, my wife and I had already decided to move our date night to Sunday since we were gone Friday, and it was my turn to pick the movie.

I have been pretty pumped for this movie since I first heard about it over a year ago. I have seen bits and pieces of David Lynch's "Dune", and it is not a good movie. It has some great ideas, but it definitely falls off the rails. I have seen most of "Jodorowsky's Dune", and that is a great documentary and I would love to see his version. But that would have also been a crazy movie. I have never read the book, but I am somewhat aware of the story. But what made me want to see his one so much, why I was so excited, was the fact that Denis Villenuve was directing it. I loved "Blade Runner 2049", "Prisoners" is a tough watch, but a good movie and although I have never seen it, and RD despises it, "Arrival" won itself some awards. Villenuve has a very good eye for directing these big, lavish features. He has a good vision of how to show these vast landscapes. "Dune" was no different.

This is, hands down, one of the most beautiful looking movies I have ever seen. The landscape was beautiful. The worlds that were created looked so real. Maybe they looked real because this movie was shot in some beautiful places. I read they shot some in Norway. I have to assume that is where they got the water planet, and it looked glorious. I also read they shot in Abu Dhabi and Jordan, and that is most definitely where they got these seemingly never ending deserts. The deserts used in "Dune" were so big and so expansive and looked amazing. It was an incredible treat for your eyes. The set designs, while minimal, were just as beautiful. These futuristic homes and planets were perfectly constructed. I was blown away by how pretty this movie looked.

The acting was just the same. Timothee Chamelet, who I have not been a big time fan of, was very, very good in this movie. He is the main character and I loved watching his story unfold. I also bought his performance tenfold. He committed and he totally stuck the landing. Rebecca Ferguson was perfect as the mom trying to help her son, but also her people. Again, I bought her story. I loved her passion and ability to fight and stick her neck out there. Oscar Issac was a bit more subdued in this role, but he also did such a good job. He had very good vision as a leader and a father. He is a totally dependable actor. Josh Brolin was badass as the leader of the army and the weapons expert. I love this newfound fame Brolin has found the past five years, and he has more than earned it. Jason Momoa was also very good in his role. He can be hit or miss, but he hit in this one. It was a perfect role for him. Sharon Duncan-Brewster, who I did not know, was excellent. She was smarter than anyone else in the desert and she knew it. I found myself actively rooting for her. Dave Bautista and Stellen Skarsgard were creepy looking, ruthless and scary as hell. I found myself kind of sitting back in my chair every time they showed up on screen, which I believe was their job. Javier Bardem had two of the best scenes in the movie, and I have found that I really enjoy his acting. And Zendaya was really good in a very minimal role until the very end of the movie. Everyone in this movie totally nails it. The casting was tremendous. They totally stuck the landing.

While this movie is confusing, "Dune" is a confusing story, I cannot stop thinking about it a day later. I just keep going back in my memory and thinking about more and more stuff I liked about it. My wife was a trooper for sitting through this with me, she is not a big sci-fi fan and this movie clocks in at over two and a half hours, but she did it and she even found things she liked. To me "Dune" is like a modern day "2001: A Space Odyssey". It has that same feeling. And while I do not think this is a spoiler, this appears to be only part one. The movie starts with opening credits and it even says, "Dune: Part 1". I have to assume that they are going to greenlight a sequel very soon, especially considering how much money it made this weekend. I also like that approach to this story. Make it a five hour long two-part movie. "Dune" needs that large of a scope to get the full story across. I highly, highly recommend this movie to anyone out there. It is glorious, beautiful and awesome. I adore this movie. I cannot wait for part two.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "The Green Knight"

This afternoon I finally watched "The Green Knight". This movie has been on my list for some time. I am a big A24 fan, I like Dev Patel a lot and I had heard really good things about the movie before it was released. I didn't see it in the theaters, still a little leery of them, and I was finding it hard to find time to watch it at home. My wife had no interest in it which meant that quarantine date night was out of the question. But today I had time. I exercised early, I did the minimal chores I do every Wednesday after running. I waited until after watching it to write. Today was the perfect day.

I really liked the movie. But do not get it twisted, this movie is very weird. It is unlike many other movies I have ever seen. I know that it is a retelling of an old fairy tale, but I had never heard of it before. I had no idea that this was a very old story. A24 went way out on a limb with this movie too. It still has that indie feel that they do, but this movie was big in scale and production. This is them putting big money into a project they really believed in. This is them taking a chance on trying to become a more known brand. It worked on me.

“The Green Night” is quiet but also visually stunning. For someone that does not know the story it can be confusing at times, but it will also hold your attention. Dev Patel more than proves he is capable of being a leading man. This is unlike any other role he has done and he nailed it. I was constantly intrigued by every choice he made as this character. I could not take my eyes off of him. I loved the way he interacted with real and surreal things in the movie. The very first scene we see the Green Knight was incredible, and the Knight and Patel are the main reason why it works so well. He was tremendous as the lead. I have nothing but kudos for him. Alicia Vikander was also very good. She played two roles and they were two totally different people. I first saw her in "Ex Machina" and she was excellent in that movie. She is just as good here in "The Green Knight", again, playing two roles. Joel Edgerton did very well in his small part. He seems to be something of a regular now for A24 and I can see why. He is always reliable. Everyone in this movie did a very good job with the source material. But Patel and Vikander stood out the most.

Like I said before, the visuals in this movie are truly a sight to behold. There is a scene with a bunch of giant people that is wild, but beautiful to look at on screen. The fox, especially when it spoke, was amazing. The scenery, I believe the movie was shot in Ireland, makes me want to go visit. But the actual Green Knight, that was a work of art. I was as transfixed by the Green Knight as I was by Patel. The Green Knight is not in the movie too terribly much, but when it is there, you will remember every single detail. I was blown away by the costume and the makeup. The CGI of the whole movie was just as impressive.

Look, “The Green Knight” is weird and confusing at times, but that is what A24 does. A24 also makes really good, really intriguing movies that will make you think about them days after you've watched, That is exactly what "The Green Knight" achieves. The movie isn't for everyone. But if you like gory fairy tales shot in beautiful locations with excellent visuals and world class acting, this movie is for you. I definitely recommend this movie.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "The Other Two"

A show I really enjoy just wrapped up their second season, "The Other Two".

When this show premiered two years ago I was immediately on board. I'm a big Drew Tarver fan. I have followed him on all the podcasts he appears on, and he is always one of the funniest people. He has a true comedic gift and I was glad he was getting a shot to do that in a co-starring role. I didn't know who Helene Yorke was prior to this show, but I have since become a fan. She is funny, she has great timing, she can do dramatic stuff and she is my absolute favorite on the show. Molly Shannon, Ken Marino, Case Walker, Wanda Sykes and Josh Segarra all add great stuff, but this show is all about Yorke and Tarver.

The premise hasn't changed much since season one. Tarver and Yorke are still living in their little brother's shadow and now their mom is the biggest daytime talk show host. But things have gotten a bit better for them. Tarver hosts a lot of short internet talk shows. This is one of the best parts about this season. Seeing Tarver's character doing a job he hates is pretty hilarious, but also relatable. Yorke ended as Chase's, her little brother, manager in season one, and now this season she takes over as her mom's manager and she becomes a much wanted manager in TV. Both of the kids are doing better, but they are still not as big as their brother and mom. I really liked how they skewer Hollywood and acting and managing and everything that goes into a job like that. The managing stuff was great. Yorke is always working, always tired, always sick, but never stops working. She can't for one, but she also seems to like the responsibility. She also is looking out for herself. But she does have quite a few moments of realization that are perfect. When she buys a humongous apartment but is lonely, I loved that. Her feelings for her ex were excellently played by both actors. When she realizes she has pushed her mom too much, that was heartbreaking. Yorke is masterful in this role. She is perfectly cast. She does her job so well. I love her acting in this show.

Tarver's character has quite a leap this season. He has his first real boyfriend, who he eventually splits with in a very sad scene. He has the hosting jobs, but as I stated earlier, he wants more and he strives for more. He gets himself back into the dating scene pretty hilariously. He gets and loses and gets an acting job in a movie all within three episodes. The way he gets the role finally is so funny and so poignant to modern times and the internet. Tarver, much like Yorke, is simply perfect in this show. He gets to do more wildly comedic stuff, but he also shows depth and drama chops.

I love that these two young actors are finally getting a chance to really show what they've got, and they are crushing it right now. I was also very happy with the switch to HBO Max. The show used to be on Comedy Central, but for whatever reason they moved over to HBO Max. This has allowed them to be more blue. The comedy can be broader. They can use profane language. You can get real reactions to tough situations. And HBO does make and produce quality TV shows. It was a solid and smart move.

Look, I love this show and I highly recommend it. Watch it anyway you can. It is definitely worth watching. HBO Max also has both seasons on, so you can binge it whenever you want. Watch "The Other Two". It is the hidden gem you've been waiting for.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "Win it All"

I come to you today with yet another movie review and recommendation. Yesterday I watched another one that I have been putting off for a while, and I wish I hadn't. The movie is called "Win It All". It stars Jake Johnson, who also co-wrote the movie, and it is about an addictive gambler who tries to turn his life around but runs into some bad luck. Again, a cliché story, but this movie was so well made.

I think the reason why “Win it All” works is Johnsons' performance is magnetic. He is more known for comedy and being on "New Girl", but giving him a role like this, a little more drama and less comedy, and he shined. I have said it a lot on the site, and I will say it again, I love when actors and musicians take a chance. Johnson did just that and he crushed. He has become somewhat of Joe Swanmberg's muse as well. Swanberg co-wrote the movie with Johnson and he directed as well. Swanmberg is one of these "mumblecore" guys. That genre of movie can be dull and boring, but "Win It All" was not. This movie moved well and transitioned properly. It had comedy and drama. It was "Uncut Gems" very light. "Uncut Gems" is one of my all time favorite movies by the way, and that movie is super intense. It is a relief to watch a movie that deals with gambling that doesn't give me a panic attack. That is "Win It All".

As I was saying, Swanberg and Johnson have a great rapport now. They have done a few movies together, and they are all, at the very least, watchable. None of them are bad. Sure they can be a little blah, but they are fine. With "Win It All" they take it to another level. Johnson is superb. I cannot say enough great things about him in this role. He is the star, he owns the movie, you cannot take your eyes off of him and I was rooting for him to turn his life around. Swanberg does an excellent job of making a more mainstream style movie. There is still some of that "mumblecore" direction in there, but it doesn't take over. The rest of the cast is really good as well. Joe Lo Truglio plays Johnson's brother. He has his act together and all he wants is to help his brother. Truglio is a great comedic actor, and he does a lot of funny stuff in this movie. But his dramatic stuff really hit. He was solid. Aislinn Derbez was the love interest. I had never heard of her before watching this movie. She was outstanding. She was believable. She had a ton of chemistry with Johnson. She was great. Keegan Michael Key played his sponsor. It was nice to see Key not do any comedy. I love his comedic work, but I felt he was kind of falling in a trap of only doing broad comedy. So to see him do a role like this was refreshing. He did a very good job. And they had a bunch of real life poker players in the movie in scenes where they played real games of cards. This added a whole other level to the minimal stress in the movie. It made the games feel real. I found myself really into everything that was happening in this movie. I also really like that it was ninety minutes long.

I will say it again, Johnson was electric and I want to see more stuff like this out of him. And I like high stakes movies that find a way to not take itself so seriously. I also really enjoyed the final scene in the movie. It made me hopeful. If you have 90 minutes free and like redemption style movies, check out "Win It All". It is solid.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "The Long Dumb Road"

I've been watching a bunch of movies that I have wanted to see during the pandemic lately. I'm catching up I guess you could say. Some have been okay and some have been pretty blah. The other day I watched one, one that I have been putting off for about seventeen months now, and I found myself really enjoying it.

The movie is called "The Long Dumb Road". I am a big fan of Jason Mantzoukas. I try to watch everything he is in. I love his guest appearances most. He was great as Adrian Pimento on "Brooklyn 99". He was fantastic as Derek on "The Good Place". He was perfect as Rafi on "The League". His role as Kyle on the criminally underrated "I'm Sorry" was him playing a heightened version of himself and he crushed. Mantzoukas is so great at coming in and stealing every scene he is in on TV shows. He has had some solid movie roles, but the movies are not always the best. He's good in "The Dictator". He kept pace with Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler in "The House". He's decent in "Sleeping With Other People". And I still say "Tick Tock Mr Wick" when referencing him from "John Wick 3". With "The Long Dumb Road" he was given the chance to be a co star.

The movie is a road trip movie that is pretty much just him and Tony Revelori. Mantzoukas was excellent in this movie. So was Revelori. They both did a really, really good job. The movie is a cliché road trip movie, but when you get the chemistry that Mantzoukas and Revelori had, that is when it becomes a good movie. I remember watching it and kind of thinking it was ho hum, but as it got further into the movie, the more I found myself really enjoying it. I liked seeing these two actors play off one another. Revelori is a really solid young actor and he was more than up to the task to keep pace with Mantzoukas. Revelori was very believable as a kid heading out to art school in LA. He played the naive young kid to a T. Mantxoukas arrives in the movie with a bang and he is at a ten the whole time. He has so many different balls in the air. He is always doing something wild and crazy. He is always getting into some kind of wild situations. He is also a drunk and stuck in a big time rut. Only an actor like Mantzoukas could do this role and make it believable. His character did some totally off the wall stuff, but since it is Mantzoukas I was along for the ride. The scene between him and Casey Wilson, his old flame, was classic. When he is in the motel room with the girl he randomly meets at the bar, doing adult things, and pops up when Revelori opens the door and says, "either in or out buddy", I was rolling on the floor laughing. He also shows some depth. When he proposes to a girl he has just met, and she declines it thinking it is a joke, you can see the hurt and awkwardness in his eyes. When he fights with Revelori, you buy his side. When he talks to a driver that picks them up, you can see they get one another.

I was pleasantly surprised by "The Long Dumb Road". Revelori was really good, but Mantzoukas totally steals the show. I could watch him read a phone book and he would find a way to make me laugh. This is a good, short movie. I recommend it purely based on Mantzoukas' performance.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "Doctor Sleep" and Laments the Demise of Original Stories

On our quarantine date night this week my wife picked "Doctor Sleep" for us to watch. For those that may not know what this movie is, it is pretty much a sequel to "The Shining''. "The Shining'', in my opinion, is the scariest movie ever made. It still freaks me out. I can remember seeing it for the first time so vividly and how much it scared me back then. I have not watched it in my adult life because of how scared of it I truly am. So I was nervous watching "Doctor Sleep". But it was my wife’s turn, we made a rule where we cannot veto the other's choice and so we watched.

“Doctor Sleep” was a solid movie. I was scared. Not as scared as when I saw "The Shining", but there were moments when I jumped on the couch. I appreciated the story, how they developed it and the few tweaks they made. I liked how they went about saving the world that was created and how they showed a grown up Danny. The young lady that played Abra was really excellent, and the bad guys were as creepy as ever. And when they went back to the original hotel in the final scene, that was very cool. But I do not necessarily know that a movie like this needed to be made. Again, I thought it was good, but I think it was unnecessary.

I have been saying for a while now how there are not any really original ideas when it comes to the movie business lately. The studios are doing multiple sequels, giving franchises to almost anything, remakes are everywhere and "sequels" to classic movies are all the rage. That is why I get excited when I see a movie like "Sorry to Bother You" or watch a special like "Inside" or see a movie like "Uncut Gems". These are new ideas. These are fresh. These movies stay with you and make you think. "Sorry to Bother You" is one of the biggest mind f's I have ever watched, and I love that movie because of that reason. So I do not know that we really needed a "sequel" to such a classic horror movie. "The Shining" is right up there with "Night of the Living Dead" or "Misery" or "Carrie". These are the classics people think of when they think of horror movies. The biggest bummer, now that we have "Doctor Sleep", is that all of the movies I just mentioned have far inferior companion pieces to the original. I know they did a "Carrie" remake with Chloe Grace-Moretz that wasn't as good as the original. They've tried to do "Night of the Living Dead" a bunch of different ways but none have even come close to the greatness of the original. And now we have "Doctor Sleep". No one was going to be able to live up to what Jack Nicholson did in "The Shining". That was one of the best performances of all time. I know Stephen King may not be a fan, but most everyone else agrees that Nicholson crushed. Shelly Duval was excellent as well, even though she went crazy after making this movie. This may be Kubrick's best work as a director. I like "A Clockwork Orange" more, but his direction of "The Shining" is amazing. I think what makes a movie like "The Shining" so great is the performances. It is who you remember. And I know that the young kid that plays Danny in the original has a very big part, but I did not recall much from him other than the redrum scene and the scene where he is riding his tricycle through the hotel. "The Shining" was all about Duval and Nicholson. They were the stars. Their stories were what the audience cared about most. When they got to the hotel in "Doctor Sleep" my wife sat up and said, "this is what I have been waiting for". When the scene was over I asked what she thought, and she shrugged. I asked why she wasn't as excited and she said that it wasn't as good as what happens in "The Shining".

I do not want it to sound like I am dumping on "Doctor Sleep". I have said multiple times that I thought it was good. It is a solid B- movie. I think my biggest problem is just the lack of original ideas. I get the want from some people. I understand that some people want to see remakes or sequels to classic movies. I don't. Classic movies are classic for a reason. There doesn't need to be ten different versions of the same story. If you tell it right once, then you may only need a second if it is like "The Godfather Part 2"or "The Raid 2". Most movies do not need sequels or remakes. That is my thoughts on this whole new era of remakes or sequels. One classic movie is more than enough. Go watch the original movies and ignore the remakes and sequels.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "Brooklyn 99" Series Finale

Last night "Brooklyn 99" came to a close. I have loved this show from the start. I'm a big Andy Samberg fan, and when he is involved with something, I watch it. He is funny and charming and a very good comedic actor. Add on Mike Schur and I was sold. I also really enjoy Chelsea Peretti, so this show did not have to do much to win me over. Then to get me familiar with actors like Melissa Fumero, Terry Crews, Stephanie Beatriz, Joe Lo Truglio and Andre Braugher was a total plus. I now really like these actors, and have followed them since I first saw them on this show.

I was curious how they were going to end the series though. The final season has been very different from the rest of the series. This is due to many things. We have COVID, people being afraid and angry with the police and all these actors have grown up. I have enjoyed the final season, and the finale was a great way to close this all out.

For the finale they did a heist episode. Fans of the show know exactly what I am talking about. These are their best episodes in my opinion. So doing that, and making it a series finale was the absolute correct choice. I was enthralled the whole hour. I hung on every twist and turn that the episode gave us. I was also very happy to see Chelsea Peretti and Jason Mantzoukas and the guy who plays Bill and Fred Armisen all reprise their much loved characters. I also really enjoyed that Captain Holt and Jake and Terry all had these grand plans for the heist, but they were all sidetracked by one another. Holt, Jake and Amy were all leaving the 99, and with Rosa already gone, this was one of their last hurrahs as a group. This made the heist even more fun and funny. Everything they did in this episode was perfect. This is what a show like this should do to wrap everything up. I appreciated and liked that they touched on all the issues in the world that pertained to them on the show, but going out with a straight up goofy and wild episode was the thing to do.

“Brooklyn 99” has always been about jokes and relationships. They do touch on stuff in earlier seasons too, namely the episode where Terry gets racially profiled, but they always come back with a super funny follow up episode. That is what the "Grand Heist" was last night. It was just a blast to watch. They did tug at the heart strings too. Amy and Rosa have a very touching moment where they say I love you to one another. Gina does what she always does, but seems nicer about it. Terry is laughing and joking with everyone. But the ending moment between Holt and Jake was where they got my wife and I. This was great. Holt has always been Jake's father figure and to hear the words he says to him, I'm getting choked up as I write this just thinking about it. It was wonderful and poignant and brilliant and simply perfect.

"Brooklyn 99" is one of the best sitcoms that has been on TV in some time. It gets its due, but I feel like it deserves even more credit. I love this show, and the ending was the best possible way they could have closed it all out. I will miss you "Brooklyn 99". Thankfully I have Hulu so I can continue to watch this series over and over again.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "Dave" Season Two Finale

Earlier this week I wrote about the episode of "Dave" entitled "Enlightened Dave" that was a masterpiece. Last night I watched the season two finale, and while not on the level of "Enlightened Dave", this was such a perfect way to wrap up this bizarre season of TV. This finale also puts "Dave" in the upper echelon of great television during what seems to be a golden era of television.

This show is simply perfect. The way it has matured in twenty short episodes is absolutely fascinating and wonderful. I had a totally different idea of how this show was going to be, and I'm glad it has gone in this other direction. I, like most Lil Dicky fans, thought the show was going to be a full blasted comedy. There is comedy in it, but this is much more emotional and dramatic and a show about being an adult in the music business nowadays. The theme song from season one asks questions like, "don't you want to know who I am/don't you want to meet the guy behind the guy/do you want to know what the industry is like/what a strange life I have", that is what this show has become. "Dave" is a behind the scenes look at a egotistical, fanatical, workaholic, self destruction rapper. But the two seasons have shown him grow and accept things and come to terms with people in his life and be happy with where he is and it has been amazing to watch.

All of the plotlines came to a head in the season two finale. I'm not going to spoil too much because everyone, and I mean EVERYONE should be watching this show. We see this growth though. He is being a selfish asshole for much of the finale. He is only looking out for himself and blaming everyone around him. It is never his fault. He is not to blame. But then he and GaTa have this humongous verbal argument where GaTa shares all of this with Dave. He puts it all on the line. He lets him know what an asshole he is being to everyone around him, but especially him, who always has his back no matter what. GaTa is always there for Dave, and for a long time, Dave has not returned the favor. This enlightens him. I think Dave starts to realize what a dick he is being to all his people. We then see him prepping for his appearance at the VMA's, the whole episode kind of revolves around this performance, and we see the change. His ex texts him good luck. He wants to respond, but he just gives her text a thumbs up. I saw that as a sign of him letting go. Then he meets his manager and producer backstage and all three of them have a real heart to heart. There are some jokes in there, but there is also love and acceptance and tears. Then we see GaTa, we haven't seen him since their fight, and he is tearing up. Then it is revealed that he is at the show with Dave to perform with him. Dave is finally giving GaTa the shine he so rightfully deserves. It then shows them on tour together, and they both seem to be genuinely enjoying their time on stage. It ends on a happy note. It ends with Dave and GaTa hugging and smiling and seemingly on the up and up.

I felt a sense of relief and joy watching the finale. I loved it. I hope it comes back for a third season. As I said up top, "Dave" is one of the best shows currently on TV, and I think it can only get better. I love, love, love this show. I cannot recommend it enough. "Dave" is a masterpiece.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "The Suicide Squad"

My wife and I watched "The Suicide Squad" on Sunday. I wanted to sit with my thoughts on this movie for a few days before I decided to write a review.

First things first, I enjoyed this movie. I am more of a Marvel fan. I have made that very apparent on this site and on the podcast. Wolverine is my favorite superhero, I like the shows they make, I like most of the movies they make and Marvel was my gateway into the whole superhero universe. I just like them more than DC. DC does have some good stuff. The original "Superman" movies are good. I like the old school "Batman" show. I love Christopher Nolan's versions of "Batman". I also like Tim Burton's "Batman". I enjoyed "Shazam" and the first "Wonder Woman" movie was fantastic. But, for me, DC is usually too dark in tone and color. I find it to be their crutch. And that was my main problem with the first "Suicide Squad" movie. It took itself way too seriously, especially for the source material, and that movie fell flat. Again, for me.

Then I saw that James Gunn was directing this new "Suicide Squad", and I enjoy his movies. I love his take on "Guardians of the Galaxy". They are perfect. I also like his early stuff. The movie "Super", with Rainn Wilson, is awesome. I liked "Sliver" a lot. "LolliLove" is quirky and fun and an ode to my hometown. And his early Troma stuff was my entry way to that very bizarre and sometimes terrifying genre of movies. Gunn knows what he is doing. I also appreciate that the only returning characters from the first movie were Harley Quinn, Rick Flag and Amanda Waller. The rest of the people, for the most part, are better actors than the people who portrayed some of the DC characters in the first "Suicide Squad".

That was another thing I liked about this movie. The new "Suicide Squad" let it be known that there are many Suicide Squads. There is not just the one from the first movie. This movie had two squads in it, and alluded to more. As for the actual movie, like I said up top, I liked it. I did not like it as much as I thought, but I still liked it. The stuff I wasn't so crazy about is little nit picking things. I thought the movie was a bit too long. I did not want to hear all of the main characters' backstories. I could have done away with some of the slower stuff. But again, this is me nitpicking little, unimportant details.

For the most part though this movie works. I love that we are introduced to an entirely different squad at the top of the movie. I'm going to be as spoiler free as possible, but do not expect to see too much Nathan Fillion, Pete Davidson, Michael Rooker or Flula Borg. They are not long for this movie. Only after the opening ten minutes do we get to the main squad we will be with for the duration of this movie. When we do meet them, I really enjoyed that montage scene. And as much as I like some of the actors in the original, this cast is much better. Idris Elba is an upgrade over Will Smith, and I like Will Smith. Margot Robbie seems to be having much more fun in this movie than the first one. She nails it. John Cena was my favorite part of this whole movie. He can act. He was hilarious and terrible. Steve Agee not only plays a worker for Waller in the movie, but he also does the motion capture for King Shark, and he is great. Daniela Melchior is so good, and I had never heard of her until this movie. She is the heart of this thing. David Dastmalchian, as Polka Dot Man, was so good. And Peter Capaldi, as Thinker, was perfectly cast. I also liked that they took the most ridiculous baddie I could think of, Starro, and somehow made it work in this movie. I also like that they shot a ton of the fight scenes, including the big one, in daylight. You could see everything. I also appreciate when directors and writers get to show how violent and gory these powers can be, be it a good guy or a bad guy. This movie takes full advantage of the R rating, and it works.

My thoughts? I like this movie. I recommend this movie. I think fans of both comic book worlds will enjoy it. I wish it were shorter, but for the most part "The Suicide Squad" is a solid movie and I think people should check it out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches the 2020 Olympics

With the Olympics all wrapped up I want to talk about my experience watching this year.

I never pay too much attention to the Olympics if I am being honest with myself. I watch basketball in the summer games, I like gymnastics because the people are so athletic and more recently I have gotten into track and field, pretty much since I became a runner. It is the same with the winter Olympics. I watch very few sports with snowboarding and skiing being the lone exceptions. But this year I found myself super into the Olympics.

I turned it on from day one and it was on pretty much everyday until the games wrapped up. I found myself really into swimming early on. Then I was devouring skateboarding, which was rad. I watched fencing and table tennis on a different day. I got super into highboard and synchronized diving. I was watching water polo. I followed the men's and women's gymnastics teams. I watched more volleyball than I have ever seen. I watched basketball, more on that later, because I love it so much. I'd say I tuned in to about 85-90 percent of the competitions. I do not know why either. It wasn't the lack of fans because I saw that in the NBA bubble and most pro sports last year. I seemed to latch on early this year and that seemed to be the key.

I think another reason why this resonated so much was because I did not think it was going to happen. I thought that the organizers were going to pull the plug at the last minute because of rising COVID cases all over the world. But when they started, I watched and watched and watched. I think it hit me so well this year because of the lack of sports in summer. I like baseball, but not MLB. I'm not a soccer fan. And there are only so many articles I can read on college football teams opening their fall camps. So these Olympics hit me at the exact right time. We also got some really interesting and neat personal athlete stories. I followed Simone Biles every step. I side with her and I am so happy that she took care of mental state over everything else. The super young skateboarders were so cool and seemed so thrilled to be in the Olympics. The diver from Britain that also knits was one of my favorite people in the games. There was the Cambodia gentleman who was adopted by an American man who was a diver and that story was so heartwarming. Seeing Katie Ledecky do what she does and then laugh at reporters when they asked if she was going to retire was stupendous. Watching Team USA baseball and softball come so close to gold was pretty amazing. Table tennis has some wild competitors and they are as focused as any other athlete I have ever seen. There was that crazy last second wrestling move that won gold. The marathon was astounding to watch. Seeing Alyson Felix become the most decorated female track runner was super impressive. Seeing all the field events and being blown away by what the athletes did will always stay with me. I was hooked.

With all these sports it should be no surprise that basketball was my big time winner. The women's team dominated like they do. They are so much further ahead than any other country in basketball. The viral picture of Diana Taurasi holding the ball up high and laughing in the gold medal game is so pure and so cool. Seeing Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe embrace after Bird won her fourth gold medal was joyous. The women's basketball team rules. And so does the men's team. I was hard on them after France beat them in league play. I was worried. I did not think they had it in them to turn it around. I was getting annoyed at the complaints. Then they found their groove. When they came out and demolished Iran they looked like a different team. They were more confident and better coached. They started to coalesce. KD turned it on and became unstoppable. Bam Adebayp became a defensive force. Draymond Green looked more like himself. Jayson Tatum and Damian Lillard started to hit big shots. Jrue Holiday was the backcourt stopper they needed. Devin Booker and Khris Middleton were knockdown shooters. It all started to groove. They still had moments of concern, mainly letting teams stay in games a bit too long, but in the end they always pulled away. After dismantling Iran they beat the Czech and cruised by Spain. I was nervous for Australia, but they made easy work of them. Then it was France again for gold. The game was tighter than I wanted it to be, but in the end they won. KD became the men's all time leading scorer and Team USA won gold for the fourth straight time. I was wrong to doubt them and I'm glad they got the gold.

This was a good Olympics. I liked the stuff I watched and was floored by how much of it I was into and willing to watch. My hat is off to the people who put it all together . This could have been a disaster, and it is not without its bad moments, but they were able to get it done and accomplish a major feat.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "FBOY Island"

You'd think I would have learned by now. You'd think I would know when to stop myself. You'd think I would know better. But yet I continue to expose myself to horrible reality dating television shows. My wife was out of town earlier this week and at nighttime, when we usually watch shows together, I found myself going back to older sitcoms I liked. I watched "The League" and "Workaholics" with regularity. But since she is home, and she is not that big a fan of those shows, I usually let her pick what we watch. Well last night that meant I watched a show called "FBoy Island" on HBO Max.

I had no idea what this show was. I have never heard of it. I figured I was done with any reality dating show after seeing "Too Hot to Handle". Hell, I figured most people were done with reality dating shows after reading reviews of "THTH" and "Sexy Beasts". That is clearly not the case. My wife said that some of her work friends had told her about this show and she wanted to check it out. I also read, after we watched, that HBO Max claimed this show had one of the highest streaming numbers since HBO Max has been in existence.

My simple one word question for this show, why it is on, why this was made, why is it being watched so much is, why? Why do we constantly let stuff like this keep getting made. I understand that reality TV is so much cheaper and easier to do, but at this point the people involved are just so goddamn lazy. I mean, "THTH" puts a bunch of idiots in a house and tries to entice them with money to not physically express their attraction to one another. "Sexy Beasts" is a rip off of a British dating show where they have people go on blind dates in movie makeup. At least these shows have some semblance of a narrative. It is a stupid narrative, but it is there nonetheless. But "FBoy Island" is just stupid and insidious and boring and unfunny and absurd and flat out dumb.

This is, by far, the worst of any of these new COVID era dating shows that I have seen. It bums me out that Nikki Glaser is involved with this show too. I like her. She is a very funny comedian. She has proven to be a solid actor. She even tried to be on "Dancing with the Stars". She is a Saint Louis native. This show, "FBoy Island", is so beneath her. She does not need to do this. I'm sure the pay is good and it let her go on a trip to the Cayman Islands during the ongoing pandemic, but she is way too talented to host a shit show like this. In the premiere episode she was making solid jokes, but the moronic contestants didn't get them, probably because they are not smart enough, and it was a waste. Then the show is 1 hour long. I mean come on. That is 59 minutes and 59 seconds too long. To sit there, and I watched the whole thing, for an hour and just watch these idiots be idiotic, it was such a slog. This show needs to be, at most, 20 minutes long.

Let’s talk about the contestants. They got what I would describe as the worst of the worst. These people are just trying to get their 15 minutes of fame. They have no substance. There is nothing to like about them. When they would flash their jobs next to their names things like "exotic dancer/realtor" or "influencer" or "cbd entrepreneur" or "childcare/tik tok" or "fridge delivery man" would pop up and I would constantly yell, "THAT ISN'T A JOB!!!!!!". I was so enraged by this. I was furious at this whole show. Everything about it is so dumb. It is the worst type of TV show in the country. These are truly awful people who should never be given a platform to have millions of people hear them talk.

I have to ask, have we learned nothing since 2016? Did we all just forget about the horribleness of 2016? When that horrific monster was somehow the "president"? Now that we have an actual good guy in the White House, why hasn't reality dating TV made the change? I know that is a detour, but come the hell on. This show is filled with people that probably voted for that monster, or did not vote at all. All these "F Boys"(fuck boys for those that do not know) are truly the douchiest of all the douchebags. As for the supposed "nice guys", they seem pretty terrible too.

"FBoy Island" is terrible. I do not recommend this show. I will not be watching anymore of it. I don't even care to know what "Limbro" is, which is where they dropped off the first F boy that was kicked off the show. This show is so, so, so, so bad. Don't waste your time.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Ty Watches "Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage"

Last night I watched the new HBO documentary "Woodstock 99: Peace, Love and Rage". I have some thoughts.

I watched a few of the trailers before it was released and was interested in watching based on those. Then I saw some of the people being interviewed and was even more inclined to watch. But then I saw Bill Simmons and his company The Ringer were the producers and that kind of threw me off. I do not like Bill Simmons, I think The Ringer is a toxic workplace and it hires toxic men to work there. I am not a fan. In spite of all that, I still watched the movie.

I was 17 when this festival happened, I remembered it being a trainwreck and I have always wanted to watch a documentary that talked about how bad it truly was for everyone involved. And the movie starts out fine. It is your typical doc, but they had some neat little music cues and I even learned some things I did not know about the original Woodstock. I was interested for sure. And when they got into the actual festival, doing stuff like showing the bands perform, showing the destruction early on, showing the heat and the lack of food and water, it all kept my attention. It was as bad as I remembered hearing. To see the stuff some of these people did in the first two days was disgusting. The amount of nudity was gratuitous. I'm no prude, but this was too much. The majority of the bands were trash. We are talking Kid Rock, Limp Bizkit, Korn, Moby, bands and artists like that that I never listened to. And when they got to some good bands, or even bands I listened to back then, they barely showed them. There was one clip of Wyclef Jean, who I used to love. I barely heard any of Rage perform. Jewel didn't even get her singing voice in the movie. Tragically Hip was just shown performing. It was a drag. This was where my taste for the movie started to wane. Between the crazy amount of male and female nudity and the bad music, I was kind of bored.

Then they started to show and talk about how the attendees started to trash the place. This made my stomach turn. Seeing all the trash littered everywhere was vile. When they talked about the septic tanks not working and the people trashing the porta potties, I literally got sick to my stomach. I was eating some ice cream at the time and I had to put it down when the festival goers started to slide and play in the sewage. It was awful. From there the movie just dove into a milquetoast retelling of Woodstock 99. They showed the rioting, talked about the massive amounts of unreported sexual assaults, talked about some of the attendees that died, showed the promoters being total assholes, but none of it felt resolved while I was watching. It was talked about and then moved on from. It felt kind of unfinished. I wanted to know more. I wanted to know why these white privileged dickheads did the horrific things that they did. Why did they feel fine doing this stuff? Why were they not afraid? One of the festival goers said that had this been a hip hop festival he thinks the police would have treated them differently. They could have talked about that for so much longer. They didn't even touch on it except for the one quote. I guess I just wanted them to dig a bit deeper into the real seediness of this whole ordeal.

All in all the documentary was okay but not without its flaws. I think my generation probably wanted to see a bit more, but maybe younger people, the Coachella and Lollapalooza crowds nowadays will see this movie differently. The movie was just fine. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad. I will not watch it again, but I do not feel like I wasted my time watching it now. It was a strong C movie for me.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "Space Jam: A New Legacy"

We watched "Space Jam: A New Legacy" last Friday. It was date night, it was my turn to pick, I loved the original movie, still do in fact and I was pumped to watch the new movie. I watched all the trailers, I saw some news stories prior to the movie that made me more excited and I like Lebron James. I also saw that Don Cheadle was the villain, and he is one of my favorite actors. Basically, I was predestined to love this movie.

Unfortunately I did not love this movie.

I am not going to go scorched Earth like some other notable critics have, but this movie is not very good. I do not buy Lebron as an overbearing parent, I didn't find any connection between this movie and the original, the cuts were choppy, the jokes were not great and it just did not have the nostalgia that I wanted. My wife felt the same. We both loved the original, but did not like this new one. I will give it up and say some of the jokes made me chuckle, I appreciated Don Cheadle totally hamming it up and chewing the scenery and the kid who plays Lebron's youngest son was pretty impressive. Other than that though it was pretty boring. I also wished they had done something with the Goon Squad like they did with the Monstars. I wanted to see the NBA and WNBA players get their powers taken from them. I know it didn't fit with the theme of the movie, but that was one of my favorite parts of the original.

Now that I have had an entire weekend to sit on the movie, I have made a revelation. This movie wasn't made for me and my wife. The original was made for us because we were kids at the time of its release. That is who this new "Space Jam" is made for. This is a kids movie through and through. This movie is made for kids under ten. They will love it. My son is stoked to watch. He is nine. One of his buddies keeps telling him how great it is. He watched it with his family last week, they were chatting on Fortnite, and apparently he would not stop talking about it. I have seen some friends posting about watching it and saying that they enjoyed it so much because their kids enjoyed it. My wife is going out of town and my son and I will watch it together when she is gone. I think my daughter wants to join us as well. I will be very curious to see how much they like it, if they do, and if it changes my view of the movie. I'm also certain my son is going to love it. He keeps talking about it and he still hasn't watched it. My daughter will be happy just to see a bunch of cartoon characters on screen, and she likes to watch basketball with me, which there is plenty of in this movie. I will probably do a follow up after watching with them to let you all know how that experience goes. But for my first viewing, I realize that it is not a good movie, that it has many, many flaws and that a ton of things could be changed. But I also realize that I am not the audience this movie is going after.

Long story short, “Space Jam: A New Legacy” is a total kids movie and that is who the producers want to watch. I am sure they understand that parents will be watching as well, but they most likely know that adults and parents are just there to start the movie and hang out. So while I did not think it was good, I am sure my kids will adore it. More to come.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "Miracle Workers: Oregon Trail" Season Premiere

The newest season of "Miracle Workers" premiered on TBS this past Tuesday. I love this show. I have sung its praises on the website. I think it is a super interesting and unique way to make a show. I like the subject material very much the first two seasons, and I like how they skewered said subjects. Simon Rich has proven himself very capable of broad humor, and "Miracle Workers" may be his best creation yet. The cast is dynamite, the writing is superb, the directing is top notch and I don't mind having to wait a year or two for each season. This show is so different from everything else on TV right now, so writing and filming it has to take a good amount of time. Add on the pandemic and that must have made it harder to get done. But the third season premiere was just as good as the first two, and it has me pumped for what is to come this third season.

This time around they tackle the Oregon trail. I remember playing this game on a computer when I was in elementary school. I loved it. I have tried to find that high again on my iPhone or Xbox, but it is not the same. I need that floppy disk and those super old school graphics. What "Miracle Workers" did in the premiere was give me that feel. The set was super old school. It looked like a western from the 50's. The clothes are very of the time. The actors actually look like the people in the game. I heard words like dysentery and plague and complaints about not enough crops. They mentioned all the walking that needs to be done. They talk about how long the journey will be and how they will lose people along the way. In the town in the beginning they are losing people to disease left and right and they even make a joke about being six feet apart. Someone in the town gets cholera and the reverend wants everyone to stand six feet apart at the funeral. They don't and another person dies during the service. It was timely, but also how it probably was back in Oregon trail times. I also appreciate that the writers and actors talk and act like modern people. They dress how people dressed back then, they use what people would have used, they live the life but they talk like people I know. They make funny modern jokes. Geraldine Viswanathan, who is awesome, portrays this the best of all the actors. She is really great on this show, and this should definitely lead to more starring roles for her. I think that this is my favorite part of the show. They are putting modern day people in crazy situations that actually happened in history. I always wonder how I would act during ancient times, they did that in season two, or how I would work if I worked in a "heaven" type of place, season one. And I would always talk about my strategy of how I would have done things had I been alive during the Oregon trail computer game.

I love this show. I cannot recommend it enough. I'm pumped it is back. People need to start watching this show so they can do more and more of this. "Miracle Workers" is a fresh Tv show that deserves so much more love than it is currently getting. Check it out. It is so worth your time.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "Black Widow"

My wife and I watched "Black Widow" like most of the rest of the country this Friday. It was her turn to pick, but had it been my turn I would have picked it too. We have wanted to see this movie for two years now.

"Black Widow" was the first really big movie I remember being postponed due to COVID. I was bummed when it got pushed, but of course I understood. We also did not go to the theater to see it. We rented, or maybe bought it, on Disney+. I guess a lot of other people got it on Disney+ as well. Apparently they made something like 60 million plus dollars this weekend on people using Disney+.

Anyway, I kind of enjoyed this movie. I get some of the criticism that it is getting. It seems awkward to make a movie about a character whose outcome we already know, but it is a flashback in its essence. Scarlett Johansson was outshined by other people, but I like when other actors step up in movies that they are not the focus of. And the plot and twists were pretty easy to get, but it is a Marvel movie so the plot twists and whatnot are usually easy to follow. So the criticisms, while valid, I can find reasons to refute them. Otherwise, this movie is solid. One of my wife's friends at work said it was a spy thriller with "Mission Impossible" style action scenes. He was right on the money. Black Widow herself is a spy, and she comes from a family of spies, so that works. The action was rad, and had crazy stuff like helicopters and big planes falling from the sky. The fight scenes were also really well choreographed and expertly done by the actors.

As for the actors, they did good. Scarlett Johansonn was very solid as Black Widow. She played her like she has in all of the other MCU movies she has been in. We have come to know that character so well that any change would have been unnecessary. Rachel Weisz was very good as the surrogate mom who is a brilliant scientist. Weisz has had such a good and solid and sometimes exceptional career as an actor. She has seemingly played every role, and she usually does a very good job. The villain was cheeky and over the top and exactly what I want from my Marvel villains. I thought Taskmaster was cool. I liked the look of the suit and her never ending desire to do as informed by her father and creator. But the stars, by a wide margin, were David Harbour and Florence Pugh. Harbour was the father figure and Russia's version of Captain America. He was so funny. He was so goofy. He said the wrong thing at the wrong time. He was so fantastic in this role. This is such a great role for him. He looks like a regular dude and acts like one too. This was an exceptional performance from him. But Pugh was the absolute star. She was simply perfect. She was funny, but also very tough and a great spy. She had a great Russian accent. She acted the most like a child when being around Weisz and Harbour. She had the most moving moments in the movie. She made fun of all the stuff we have come to love about Black Widow, and it made me laugh. When she did Black Widow's pose and then scoffed, that was incredibly funny. I hope, and assume, that she is going to be around the MCU in this new phase, and I am here for it.

All in all I enjoyed myself while watching the movie. I recommend other people check it out too. Do not listen to the comic book nerds and misogynists that are bad mouthing this movie. They are punks and children. "Black Widow" is a good movie. It is a nice second step in the new MCU phase.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.