The Genius of a Christopher Guest Movie

My wife and I have been watching "Schitt's Creek" the past couple weeks. We are taking it slower than other shows we have binged because we want to savor the show. We heard all the good reviews, my mother in law is a humongous fan, and we are in the midst of season three and the show is totally worth the hype, and more than lives up to it. It is an excellent show with tremendous acting and writing and likeable characters. It is truly a great TV show.

I am not here to review "Schitt's Creek" today. I will do that when we finish. In watching this show, my wife and I have been revisiting Christopher Guest's movies because Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara are the stars of "Schitt's Creek", and they have been in all of Guest's movies. We plan on going through Guest's whole catalog in the next couple weeks. These movies have been our quarantine date night movies. Two weeks ago it was my pick, and I picked "This is Spinal Tap". Now, I know that Guest didn't direct this movie, Rob Reiner did, but "This is Spinal Tap" is where Michale McKean and Christopher Guest made their mark. They were writers and stars of this movie. Levy and O'Hara are not in this movie, but do our personal mission, we had to go to the beginning. And boy oh boy does "Spinal Tap" hold up. This is a perfect parody of an aging rock band. I watch this movie now, and all I see is the Metallica documentary, "Some Kind of Monster", but that was supposed to be a serious movie. "This is Spinal Tap" is a straight up comedy, and man does it hit a homerun. Guest, McKean and Shear play the main three guys in the band, and they are oblivious to their actual downfall. They think they are stars, even though they get poor reviews and shows get canceled at the drop of a hat. The on stage performance is just as ridiculous. "This is Spinal Tap" is the rock movie parody. I love a movie like "Walk Hard", but there would be no "Walk Hard" if not for "Spinal Tap".

This past Friday my wife had the pick, and she chose "A Mighty Wind". Two weeks, two musical parodies. "A Mighty Wind" is Guest at the top of his game. This one has all the people you have come to expect in one of his movies, and they are all tremendous. Guest, Shearer and McKean reunite, this time as the folk trio The Kingsman. They are so talented and so funny and so musical and it comes across great in both movies. Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara are in this movie, and they are the unequivocal stars. The movie hinges and rides on their story and relationship. It is crazy to watch this performance, then turn around and watch them on "Schitt's Creek". It is totally separate. But Levy is dynamite in "A Mighty Wind". He is Oscar worthy. He embodies the 60's folk singer, and where I would imagine one would have been in the early 2000's after going through what he did. O'Hara is almost equally as good. She loves him, but she has to move on. She needs to better herself. She needs to live a normal life. But she so desperately wants to be with him. It is opposite their dynamic in "Schitt's Creek". She is Levy's provider. He is lucky to be with her. It is not like that at all in "A Mighty Wind".

This all leads me to Christopher Guest. He is clearly a genius when it comes to making these "mockumentaries". He has a pitch perfect tone. The joke writing and improvising is perfect. The actors are professionals. Everyone seems to be having a great time making these movies. They are so much fun to watch. And that is why I think Guest is so great, but also underappreciated. He hasn't made a movie in awhile, with the last one being "Mascots" on Netflix I believe. I hope he decides to make more movies. I want to see these people work together again. It will be a bummer to not see Fred Willard in the movie, but Guest can still get most of the original crew back together at some point. I'm glad my wife and I started this new thing. I'm glad we added this to our date night. This week will be "Best in Show", and I am so stoked to revisit that one.

Bottom line, these movies are awesome, and Guest is a great actor, writer and director. He deserves all the accolades he has achieved and so much more. The dude is a genius. 

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.  

Ty Watches "Bill and Ted Face the Music"

For quarantine date night my wife let me choose the movie, it was my turn, and we watched "Bill and Ted Face the Music". First things first, I am a "Bill and Ted" fan. The first movie, the sequel, I truly love them both. I think they are great, they hold up and they are a ton of fun. And after a real tough week last week, I wanted to watch something that would put my mind at ease, and let me laugh for an hour and a half.

"Bill and Ted Face the Music" did just that. I truly enjoyed every single second of the movie. It was a good story, it moved with the time change pretty effortlessly, it was fun, it was funny and damn did I enjoy it. Bill and Ted may have grown up, but they are still teenage rockers at heart. They are speaking at Ted's little brother's wedding to start the movie, Ted's little brother is marrying Missy, who you may remember from the first movie, and they give a very odd speech, and then go into song. They are still searching for that one song that will save humanity, and at the wedding, they decide to play their latest chance at said song. I personally like the song, but everyone else at the wedding, except for their daughter's, is not feeling it. They think it is weird, and they all still don't believe that Bill and Ted traveled through time. Also, yes, they do each have a daughter. They are both married to the princesses from the first movie, again played by someone different, and they have had kids. The daughters are mini versions of their dad's, except they really know a ton about music. They have studied almost every form of music imaginable. The daughters are absolutely fantastic in the movie too. They are very important to the story as well. In fact, after they realize their latest song is not the song to save humanity, they are brought to the future to be told they have one day to write this epic song, that all humanity is in the palm of their hands. But, unlike "Excellent Adventure", Bill and Ted travel to the future to try and find the older versions that wrote this song. This is where a ton of hilarity ensues. The older Bill and Ted's they run into each have their own personal stuff, and every one of them they meet is worse off then the next. But, the daughters take the "Excellent Adventure" path, and they travel back in time to get together some of the greatest musicians ever to help their dad's write this song. They get Jimi Hendrix, Mozart and Louis Armstrong, among others. These actors also did a wonderful job in their portrayals. As we move through the movie, there are pieces of each of the first two movies, and they all work. We get to see the Grim Reaper again, I already talked about Missy, there is a hologram George Carlin, the phone booth is in there, and used plenty, this one has it all. They also added a few new characters, and they were awesome. Kristan Schall plays Carlin's daughter, basically playing his role. And we have a robot, who is supposed to be a killing machine, but gets a conscience somehow, and it is one of the funniest characters in the whole movie. When he reveals he has a name, and says it over and over again, it is great.

I do not want to spoil much because I think people should watch it. I also think you, if you can, see it at home and pay the premium rental price. No matter how good, or how much you want to see a movie, and you think you have to go to a theater, please don't, for your own safety. Watch this stuff at home if you can. Luckily for me, "Bill and Ted Face the Music" was, and I watched it happily and safely from the comfort of my own home. I suggest you do the same. 

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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Remembering Chadwick Boseman

I have never been a "2020 has been a long decade", "or boy was the month of March a long year" type guy. I am not down with any of those cliche sayings about how crummy this year has been. But, when I received a text from RD on Friday night that Chadwick Boseman had passed away, I was stunned. Then I was shocked. Then I was angry. Then, I finally said to my wife, "2020 is truly the worst year". I became a cliched saying dad in that moment.

I was so in shock at the news. My wife and I were watching our quarantine date night movie when I got the text, and we both had to stop and see for ourselves if the news was true. It was, and that was when I went from upset, to angry and finally to sad. I couldn't believe it, or maybe even more so, I didn't want to believe it. Boseman was, if not already, becoming the new big star Hollywood star, yet he was an incredibly well liked, personable and charming young man. He did work with terminally ill children. He showed up at NBA events. He was always shown with a smile on his face.

Boseman kept his personal life personal, and that is why the news of his death was such a shock. I immediately checked to see if it was CoronaVirus related, because that is the world we live in now, but it was not that. Apparently he had been battling colon cancer for four years. That means he played his most iconic character, and played some other very important roles, all the while dealing with a horrific cancer diagnosis. He was shooting "Black Panther" while going through chemo and getting surgeries. Think about that for a minute. This movie, which was already incredible, will now go down in history as an all time great, had to be pretty hard to shoot and film. Boseman had to travel and fight and act all the while dealing with cancer. I mean, if that isn't the epitome of strength, I don't know what is.

I will admit that my first Boseman movie was "42". I am a humongous Jackie Robinson fan, I wore the number 42 all the way through my baseball career, and I wanted to see if this "new" actor to me could pull this role off. He did, and it was great. I was so blown away, I kept talking to people like I was the first person to discover Chadwick Boseman. I then watched him play James Brown in "Get On Up". I was skeptical because this was the second time he was portraying a famous person, but again, he was wonderful. His performance as Brown is right up there with Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles and Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison, in fact, I'd say Boseman was better than Kilmer. I watched the movie "Draft Day" not even knowing he was in it. And when he showed up in a University of Ohio State uniform in the movie I was perturbed, but by the end, I was hoping he would be the number one overall pick. Boseman was such a great actor that he got me to root for a kid who went to the school I dislike the most, being a Michigan guy.

He did some movies in between those, most notably "Marshall" where he was excellent yet again as another famous historical figure, but then he became Black Panther. I first saw him as Black Panther in "Captain America: Civil War". He might have been the best part of that movie. I think it is a three way tie between him, Spiderman and Antman. But in "Civil War", we finally got to know Black Panther, and how awesome he is. While filming the movie he had already been diagnosed with cancer. Think about that the next time you watch it. Then came "Black Panther" two years later, even deeper into his treatment. That movie is amazing. RD and I did a whole podcast on its importance to pop culture. It is one of the most visually beautiful movies I've ever watched. We finally got a superhero who wasn't white. Women were given much bigger roles in that movie. It has the best villain to ever appear on screen. "Black Panther" is a classic, and Boseman was front and center and just being perfect in every single way in that movie. The same can be said for "Infinity War" and even more in "End Game". When he came out of that portal in "Endgame", the first one out, it was so enthralling as a movie goer. It still gives me chills. Black Panther pushed his way to the top of super heroes for me, behind only Wolverine. He is so cool. And the last movie I saw him in was "Da 5 Bloods". Again, RD and I talked about that movie as well on a different podcast, I even recall saying that Boseman needed a bigger role, but now knowing what I know, it makes sense why he took on the role of Stormin Norman. The man was fatally ill, yet he gave us some of the most moving movie moments in 2020 in that movie. His speeches and story in "Da 5 Bloods" is all the more riveting now. All in all though,

Boseman, while being a great actor, was a better person. I mentioned all the great things at the top that he did, but he also did so much more. He became that superhero that some kids never had but always wanted. The roles he took on near the end of his life make sense now. He never let the spotlight shine on his illness. He made movies that will go down in history while he was terminally ill. He did things for people that they will cherish and remember forever. The fact that he was who he was off screen makes this so much harder to digest. Why him? Why does someone who is so selfless, caring, fun, nice and talented have to be taken away from us so young? He was 43 years old. That is only six years older than me. He has a wife that he leaves behind. I don't know if he has any children, but again, that is because he was able to keep his personal life personal. He does have throws and throws of young kids, my son included, who look up to Black Panther, and will forever.

This isn't fair. Chadwick Boseman did not deserve this. He was too good a person. He was someone we need now more than ever. He would help unite us and bring us to a better place. This hurts, and it is going to hurt for a long time. I have already watched "Black Panther" twice, and I watched "42" the other day, and I still can't believe he is gone. I was a slobbering mess during the ABC special last night. This is devastating news in an already historically horrific year. I wish he were still here, I wish I could see him in another "Black Panther" movie, but he was so unfairly taken away from all of us so young, too young.

Rest in Peace Chadwick Boseman. You will be forever remembered, but this is going to hurt for some time. What a horrible tragedy. 

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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"Can't Hardly Wait" and "American Pie" Are Not the Classics We Remember

Before the NBA came back, which is basically all I watch now, I was watching a lot of movies. I still do. I mention my quarantine date nights, I watch random stuff on cable, I watched a few when I was on "vacation", so movies are about the only thing that will pull me away from the NBA right now.

One night recently I came across two movies, one I have seen and one I haven't, and my wife and I decided we would watch them both. They started early enough for us that the night would be over by 10 at the latest. Also, the kids were doing their thing, so we had the TV to ourselves. The two movies were "Can't Hardly Wait" and "American Pie". These are two movies that some mine and my wife's age would consider "classics". The first rated R movie I snuck into was "American Pie". My wife saw "Can't Hardly Wait", the one I hadn't seen, a few times with friends in theaters. These were movies of the time that, at least I know, felt like they would be remembered forever for only good reasons.

Welp, I couldn't have been more wrong. These movies are not very good, and quite frankly, both are fairly problematic. I'm not talking "Sweet Sixteen" and Long Duck Dong problematic, but still, these movies are not very flattering to women and non white people. Let's talk about "Can't Hardly Wait" first. This movie uses some of the most homophobic language I have heard this side of the "Entourage" movie. It was appalling to hear some of these actors, some who have had, and are still having, solid, well respected careers. I was shocked to hear these words come out of their mouths. My wife and I said it was a different time. Really though, it wasn't. These movies were made in the 21st century. They are not very old. They couldn't drink if they were a real person. It is wild. What was most upsetting to me was watching Seth Green, an actor I truly adore. He was written so offensively. Him and his friends were the worst caricature of wannabes. They spoke in the cliche "black guy" voice, and it was grating and so tough to watch. Green is a great, well respected actor, but I have to imagine he looks back on this role and cringes. It is so wrong on so many levels. I was offended watching it, and I am a middle aged white dude from the suburbs. I just can't fathom a world where this was approved, and more so, considered to be the "funny" guy in the movie. It was awful.

But, as bad as that was, "American Pie" was much worse. This movie is pitiful. This movie is so degrading to women. This movie makes guys look like suave sophisticated individuals in high school. This movie pokes fun at an athlete trying something non athletic. And to make it singing, you'd think he was the worst person in the world. And then we have Stifler. I love Sean William Scott. I think he has scrubbed this role from his memory. I think he has done a good job of not being pigeonholed. But, he was so offensive, mean, abusive and an outright dick in this movie. He said horribly offensive and homophobic things. He was a jerk. He was the prototypical "jock" caricature, and it was hard to watch. He is not nearly as funny as I thought he was when I was 16. As for the other guys in the core group, man do they stink. They are so focused on "getting laid", and we are supposed to view them as the "heroes" of this movie. We are made to root for them in their "quest". In reality, they are assholes who treat women terribly. They view women as objects and that they are only there to make them not virgins before they go to college. It's awful. And the female characters in this movie, they get nothing. Shannon Elizabeth is only there to be gawked at. Tara Reid is supposedly the "bad guy" because she wants her boyfriend to say he loves her before she sleeps with him. Mira Sorvino has moments, but they are all closed with her longing for Chris Klein. Natasha Lyonne is the only real strong female character in the movie, but it is revealed near the end that she is only nice when she wants something. They paint her as materialistic. It is so bad.

I was so thoroughly disappointed in both movies. I didn't fully know what I was getting into with "Can't Hardly Wait", but I left thinking that the people who wrote this have never met an African American person in their life. As for "American Pie", I was so so so so wrong about everything I used to "love" about this movie. It's a bummer that it took me growing up to realize how terribly this  movie treats women, and boy does it treat them bad. But everything that might have saved it was washed out by the offensive dialogue and the awful character arcs. These movies do not hold up and I wish I could wipe them from my memory. Man do they stink. 

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.  

Let's Watch a Ten Year Old Review "Stand By Me"

Teddy reviews "Stand by Me"

Ty Watches "Palm Springs"

On our quarantine date this weekend my wife and I sat and watched "Palm Springs".

This is the Lonely Island movie that won Sundance, and sold for a record amount of money, which was a record by 69 cents, and that is hilarious to me. But, the movie was obviously well received, and got good feedback. I am a sucker for a lot of stuff that comes out of Sundance, and is considered a "darling" movie, and "Palm Springs" got all that attention and then some. Add on the fact that Andy Samberg, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors, is the star, and I am going to give it a very fair shot.

So after my wife watched the preview and said she'd love to see it, we turned it on, and the next ninety minutes were wonderful. I loved this movie. It more than lived up to the hype. I am not going to spoil much, if anything because I really want people to watch and support this movie, but I will give you a little outline. The movie is like a newer generation "Groundhog Day", except with much more cursing, and way more sexual situations("sexual situations", what am I a hundred?). Andy Samberg plays Nyles, a guest at a wedding, and he ends up reliving the same day over and over and over again. He doesn't exactly know how it happens, or does he, but he is just reliving the same day. Nothing changes, so he just decides to roll with it eventually, and he decides he doesn't care anymore. He has tried to find ways out, be it suicide, or other, but nothing has worked. So, instead of trying to leave, he simply gives in. He does the same thing, but changes up the situation from time to time. One day he'll fight with his girlfriend, the next he is nice to her. He hooks up with all different people, the best being when he claims to have hooked up with the bride's dad, played by Peter Gallagher. That scene is a riot. But there is one night where he sees someone new. He decides to give a speech to save her, and they go to hook up out in the desert. Only, the hookup doesn't end like they both want. Nyles is being hunted by Roy, who is played by JK Simmons, and man is he great, and the girl he is with, Sarah, played by Cristin Milioti, goes to try and help him, and then realizes she is trapped in this infinite loop. She goes to Nyles and finally gets him to explain what is happening but she doesn't buy it. She thinks he is crazy, and she decides to drive all the way home to Austin so she won't fall asleep there. Well, she wakes up in Palm Springs again, and from there on out the movie just becomes more and more hilarious. When Sarah finally starts to buy in and join Nyles on some crazy adventures, That's when I truly fell in love with the movie. They go out and constantly find ways to wreck the wedding. They do copious amounts of drugs. They get drunk everyday. They fight bar patrons. They even did a dance at said bar, and that was some of the funniest dancing I have ever witnessed. I cannot imagine how many takes that took to get that full shot. It was glorious. Throughout all this stuff, Sarah and Nyles start to realize they have feelings for one another. They have an intimate evening, but when they awake again, they both have different reactions. Sarah realizes she has done something wrong, and Nyles, well, he may or may not have been lying to Sarah this whole time. They have their argument, and Sarah disappears. She eventually comes back, and she has a plan that just might get them out of this loop. Nyles isn't so sure, he has grown accustomed to this life, and that is where I will leave this review because it gets so wild and crazy from there.

All in all, like I said above, I loved this movie. Samberg showed some real chops. He has always had the comedy, but in this movie he had to show other emotions, true emotions, and he nailed it. I already said how great Simmons was, and so were the other bit actors they got to be in this movie. But Milioti, she is the star of this. She owns this movie as much, if not more so, than Samberg. She is funny, dark, mysterious, quirky and excellent in everything she does in this movie. I was blown away by her performance, and I shouldn't have been. She was great in "30 Rock", and was totally awesome in her episode of "Black Mirror". She is a damn good actor. Check out "Palm Springs". It is on Hulu, it is short and it rules. This is definitely one of the best movies I have seen in 2020.

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.  

Let's Watch a Ten Year Old Review "Back to the Future III"

Teddy reviews Back to the Future III

Let's Watch a Ten Year Old Review "Back to the Future II"

Teddy reviews Back to the Future II

Ty Watches "The Polka King"

On our recent mini vacation, every night after the kids went to bed, we would pick a movie to watch at the Airbnb we stayed in. Each person chose a different night. On the last night we were there it was my father's choice, and he picked a movie called "The Polka King". I remembered seeing stuff on Netflix for this movie. I believe I had it on my list to watch, it has Jack Black in it, so that makes me instantly in, and it was, deemed by critics, similar to another Jack Black movie I love called "Bernie", I guess it has the same feel to it. So I was down when my dad asked to watch this movie. My wife and mom didn't seem too crazy about it, but it was dad's choice, and we watched it.

“The Polka King” is a solid movie. In fact, I enjoyed it quite a bit. And while, for me, it isn't on the same level as "Bernie", that movie is criminally underrated, it was still a well told story with a great Jack Black performance. The movie is about a polish gentleman named Jan Lewan, who is a polka musician, moves to Pennsylvania and gets sent to jail for running a ponzi scheme that preyed on the elderly. It seems like a very by the book crime movie, but it took a different approach than others. The fact that Lewan was this polka musician, and spoke with a thick accent, it made him seem aloof to what he was doing. You almost felt like he was doing now wrong. He seemed to be a nice guy, that just dug himself into a hole that he couldn't get out of until too many things went wrong and he landed in jail. Black embodied the character. Seeing him go about his everyday life as Lewan was great. He crushed that. But the polka stuff, my goodness did he crush that. He was electric. I am not a polka fan, in fact the only person I know who truly liked polka music is my now passed away Grandpa. I have met no other people who list polka as a favorite genre of music. But dammit if I wasn't bouncing my leg and humming along to the music when Black performed it in the movie. It was fun. Black was through and through perfection in this movie. I totally bought him as Lewan, I loved his musical performances, I bought his earnestness and his downfall, I was all in. He was tremendous. So was every other big time actor cast in this movie. Jenny Slate played his wife, and she was great. She talked about how she fell for him because he seemed so sad. She then really loved him, but struggled with his fame over hers. I loved the stuff with the Miss Pennsylvania pageant involving Slate. She was awesome. Jacki Weaver was wonderful as Slate's mom, and Black's mother in law. She didn't like Lewan, always thought he was up to something, and let him know every chance she could. And when she stood up for him, that was a dynamite scene. Jason Schwartzmann as his band mate and friend, he is becoming one of these actors that you can always count on for a solid performance, no matter if the movie is good or bad. It definitely helps when it's a good movie like this. Even JB Smoove, in a very small role, with a full head of hair, he was excellent and stole his scenes.

I didn't know if I would like this movie when we started it, but I can say very loudly now that I truly enjoyed this story and this movie's way of telling it. It was also a quick 90 minutes, which I very much appreciate. So, if you are looking for a quirky, funny, real life crime story, I highly recommend "The Polka King". It is a very, very solid movie. 

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.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Let's Watch a Ten Year Old Review "Back to the Future"

Teddy reviews "Back to the Future"

Ty Watches "Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga"

On a whim the other night my wife asked if I wanted to watch the new Will Ferrell movie on Netflix, “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga”.

I was taken aback for a few reasons. I didn’t know he had a new movie for one. I didn’t know both Rachel McAdams and Dan Stevens were in it. I didn’t know that Pierce Brosnan played Ferrell’s father. And I had zero idea it was about a singing contest called Eurovision, which is a singing contest that invites bands and singers from all over the world, and it’s a real thing. I guess, according to some research, Ferrell became obsessed with this singing contest when his wife showed it to them on a trip. I think she’s of Swedish decent, and she thought he’d enjoy it. Well, it turned into an obsession, and he made a whole movie about it. And he sings and dances and acts and produces the whole damn thing.

While “Eurovision Song Contest” is a bit overlong, it is funny and sweet. Ferrell is hilarious as usual. He plays the lead character Lars. Lars is a dreamer ever since he saw ABBA on Eurovision as a young kid after his mother passed away. He got up and danced at the wake afterward at his home, and while all the adults laughed at him, he swore he’d win Eurovision one day. While at said wake, Sigrit, Rachel McAdams, got up and danced and sang with him. She was mute up to that point in her life. From that point we see them as grownups working in a new song for their band Fire Saga. It’s as European as it gets too. The song, the attached video, the costumes, it all screams European, and I loved it. It was silly, but fun. And while Ferrell is his usual funny self, McAdams matches him, and dare I say, surpasses him. She is so funny in this movie. She’s so quiet, yet naive. She loves Lars, but he loves Eurovision more. She sticks by his side no matter what, even if it’s to her detriment. McAdams really goes for it, and she absolutely crushes it. She is the star of this movie by far. I adored her performance. Dan Stevens plays Russian singer Alexander Lemtov. His performance is so over the top, but it’s supposed to be. He’s so full of himself and his music. He’s also hiding who he truly is. He may be the “bad guy”, but he’s really not. He just wants what’s best for his career and Sigrit’s. She has real talent that he sees, and Lars doesn’t. Also, the fight scene between Alexander and Lars near the end is one of the funniest things I’ve seen in awhile. Brosnan is great as the gruff dad. He doesn’t like the career path his son has chosen, and he lets him know it. Even when he eases up on him, he’s still kind of a jerk, as he’s supposed to be.

While the performances are great, I like that Ferrell is into this world, he invites real contestants to perform full on song and dance performances a few times in the movie. He really lets the singers shine, really gives them their moment, and it’s so cool and so much fun. Like I says before, the only thing I’d change is the length. It’s a hair over two hours, and that’s a little too long for a comedy like this. Other than that it’s a great, funny movie. Ferrell is good, but McAdams shines. I’d recommend it simply for her performance. But, it’s pretty great for everything else it does. Check it out if you haven’t, and if you enjoy Ferrell’s sense of humor. It’s uniquely him. I like that, and I think you will too.

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.  

Better Late than Never on "Logan Lucky"

During our quarantine date night last weekend it was my choice to pick the movie, and I chose “Logan Lucky”.

I had very fleeting memories of this movie when it came out in 2017. I saw a few trailers, saw the cast and saw it was directed by Steven Soderbergh. Those are winning elements for me. But I simply forgot about the movie. It seems like it was out of theaters pretty quick too. I thought it got decent reviews, it has Soderbergh’s name attached and the cast includes Channing Tatum, Daniel Craig, Adam Driver, Riley Keough and Hilary Swank. I simply assumed it would be out for awhile, it may get award buzz and people would talk about it. None of that happened. In fact, the only way that I remembered it, and how my memory was jogged, was by searching for movies on On Demand, and seeing it there. I rewatched the trailer, with my wife, and we both decided we’d give it a try.

I’m glad we did. This was a very good, very fun movie. The cast is awesome. All the actors I mentioned were awesome. Keough, Tatum and Driver play siblings who devise a robbery plan. The catch, they’re, on the surface, bumbling idiots that can’t keep a job and are just kind of aimless. Tatum is divorced, likes to spend time with his daughter, blew out his knee which ruined his burgeoning football career and just jumps from job to job. But on one of his jobs is where he gets this idea to rob a very popular race in Charlotte. Driver is a one armed bartender, he lost his other arm in the war. He’s a vet, slow witted and believes his family is cursed. He only goes along with Tatum’s idea because he’s his little brother, and he owes him. Driver was superb in this role. Keough works at a salon, she helps with Tatum’s daughter and loves to drive. She’s such a good driver, she agrees to be the getaway driver. The three of them devise this plan after Tatum is laid off again, and he’s sick of his lot in life. They go over the plan, and they realize they need a safecracker. This is where Craig comes in, as Joe Bang. He’s the standout in this movie. He’s a jail bird, with bleach blonde hair and totally nails the southern accent. He’s so funny, so good at his skill and has some of the best moments in this whole movie. He made me laugh out loud many times. I love this route Craig is taking in his later career. He’s taking cool, fun and interesting roles and he’s nailing them. That’s exactly what he does as Joe Bang.

When the crew gets to the day to pull off the robbery, this is when the movie goes into hyperdrive, and I loved it. This is when we get all the heist movie stuff that I’ve grown to love. To see the plan unfold bit by bit is so much fun, and I love having it all laid out for me. And even when Tatum decides to go a different route, spoiler alert, and we get to see what he actually does with the money, it makes me love this movie that much more. And when Swank shows up, she’s only in the last third of this movie and she is awesome, she’s with the FBI trying to solve the robbery. She meets all kinds of dead ends, but she’s relentless. She wants to solve this so bad that even when they close the case, she goes out on her own to try and figure this out. The closing shot is of everyone at the bar that Driver works at, and Swank is seen flirting with Driver. It’s pretty cool.

I loved this movie. The acting, directing, style, everything about it works for me. It has that “Ocean’s 11” feel to it, so much so that the robbers are referred to as “Ocean’s 7-11”. That’s pretty wonderful. I can not recommend this movie enough. It is a true hidden gem that just happens to have legitimate movie stars in it. I wish it got more love when it was out in theaters, but now is a perfect time to check it out since we should all still be staying home as much as possible, or at the very least, not going to theaters or restaurants.

Check out “Logan Lucky” if you’re looking for a fun heist movie. I think you’ll really enjoy it.

Ty

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

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Let's Watch a Ten Year Old Review "Raiders of the Lost Ark"

Teddy reviews "Raiders of the Lost Ark"

Better Late than Never on "Shazam"

I haven't written about a quarantine date night movie in awhile, and yes, even though we have loosened a very little bit on who we see and where we will go, we are still, for all intents and purposes, quarantining, and everyone else should too. Anyway, my wife and I still have our Friday night "date" night where we order from a local restaurant and rent a movie online. This week we had some dynamite tacos from a small mexican restaurant, and we watched the movie "Shazam".

The tacos were great, but that isn't the point of my blog today. I want to talk about "Shazam". I do want to say that RD has been on this movie from the moment it was released. He has talked to me about it, he has raved about it on the pod, he loves this movie. And you know what, he is right. I have very similar movie tastes to RD, and even though he might not admit it, his taste mirrors mine. We like the same type of movies. We recommend movies to one another. When we lived together we showed each other many, many movies we would have never seen on our own. We like, mostly, the same stuff. But I was on the fence with "Shazam". I am not a DC guy. I'm Marvel all the way. DC movies are too moody and bleak and dark, both in tone and color. I'm not a fan. But "Shazam" is different. "Shazam" achieved what I think the "Harley Quinn" movie was trying to do, except more blue. "Shazam" is like a Marvel movie that just happens to have the DC logo. It is fun, funny, colorful, sweet, doesn't meander, has a funny and evil villain. Everything about the movie works. Sure it can get a little too sweet and gooey at times, and there are definitely moments where I cringed because it was so cliche, but that was few and far between.

First and foremost, the kids in this movie are wonderful. They are good actors who had good scripts and had a good time making the movie, at least it seemed that way to me. I don;t know much about any of the kid actors, but Shazam is a superhero that acquires his powers as a fourteen year old. This is essentially a kids superhero movie made with adults in mind. The kids are all foster kids that live in a home with parents that were fosters themselves. Each kid has a quirk too, and that is important to the plot and finale of the movie. Billy Baston, who is Shazam, is played by Asher Angel, and he is the prototype foster kid that has been getting in trouble since he was abandoned, but he has a heart of gold. And no matter how much he looked like Arya Stark, this kid did a solid job portraying that. Jack Dylan Grazer is Freddy, the foster kid who loves superhero lore and just happens to walk with a crutch. He is goofy, funny, gets picked on, but all in all, he is a fun loving kid that knows all about superhero lore. Faithe Herman is the precocious little sister, and she is sweet, smart and the heart of this movie. Grace Fulton is the college bound, older sister but kind of a mother figure to the other kids. She was great. Ian Chen, who I adore watching on "Fresh Off the Boat", is the nerdy video game kid, but he always wants to help. And Jovan Armand is the quiet kid that only speaks when it is needed. They all do a wonderful job. They never felt too cloying. They did their job, and they did it well. Angel and Grazer are essentially the main characters, and while they may not be brothers by blood, they sure do seem like real life brothers. They were great. As for the hero of the film, when Billy becomes Shazam, Zachary Levi embodies him, and he is awesome. He is so funny. He really acts like he is fourteen. This is as close to Will Ferrell's Buddy the Elf, where an adult plays a child essentially and you buy it, that I have seen. He is great. I called him a low rent John Krasinki, but after seeing him in this role, he went up a whole other level for me. He was so perfectly cast, and he did such a great job in this role. There were many moments, especially when he first realized his powers, that made me laugh pretty hard. Mark Strong, who is an underrated, constantly working actor, was great as the villain too. He was menacing, but was also being controlled by beings greater than him. And the way he snarled and spoke and came across, he would be scary to kids, who he was after in this movie. He did great as well.

All in all, "Shazam" is a fun movie about a kid that unexpectedly becomes a superhero. There is good stuff all over this movie. There is also funny stuff all over this movie. It is light, quick, has cool fight scenes and introduced me to a superhero I knew little to nothing about. I liked it and I hope DC makes more, and uses this template to make more of their movies going forward. "Shazam" is more than 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 "Da 5 Bloods"

Yesterday, after five separate viewing experiences, I was able to finish the new Spike Lee movie "Da 5 Bloods".

Right off the bat, I liked this movie. I like it more than "Black Klansman". I think it is one of Lee's stronger, more recent movies. I like the way it was shot, more on that later. And the acting was top notch. This is a good movie.

Before I get into why I liked it, I want to point out my little critiques, the stuff I would have changed. I felt the movie was a bit overlong. It was 2 hours 35 minutes in fact. I feel like it could have been an hour less than that. Spike Lee could have cut a good chunk of some stuff out, mainly the love story stuff, and the movie would have been just as good. The movie also had a little too much cliche stuff in it. That could have been on purpose, or just a coincidence. Either way though, some of it felt a bit too heavy handed, and the way I watch movies, I would have cut that out. And there was a group of activists that were a bit too featured in the movie. They help move along the story when we get to the thick of it, but they could have been shown a little less for me. Look, I get that this is all personal stuff, and the way I watch movies, but I would have cut that stuff, or could have done without it, and this would have jumped from a B+ to an A+ movie for me.

All that stuff aside, this is a very, very good movie. The opening sequence is one of the more powerful, and intense things I have ever seen in a movie. The way Lee added it to the movie, showing everything, was very powerful, intense and made me flinch, all in a good way. Lee's direction was masterful, as it always is. He is one of these guys that has honed his craft, he is exceptional at it, and he just flat out knows what he is doing. The way he directed the "flashback" scenes, and I know I am being coy, that is because I don't want to spoil anything, was like nothing I have ever seen before. The movie looks like a modern movie, and then when he does the flashback stuff, it looks like a grainy war movie. It was so unique and interesting and cool. Also, the shots he got from the jungle in Vietnam, and the city at night time, that was rad. He really shows two different worlds in the same country. It was awesome.

The main thing that puts this movie over the top is the acting. It is so god damn good. Everyone, as far as the main characters go, did a very good job. In fact I felt that Chadwick Boseman was the "weakest" one in the movie, but he has a very small role, only seen in flashback and has very few lines. What he did was great, he just didn't have a ton to do. He is also part of the most moving scene in the movie. As for the rest of the "5 Bloods", the guys were great. Isiah Whitlock as the party going, fun loving guy that just happens to be a sharpshooter. He also has a hero's sendoff. Norm Lewis is great as the affluent former soldier who has lost it all, but wants to be true to their friend's memory and promise. His death is brutal and unexpected. Clark Duke, as the medic, is really good. He is quiet yet powerful. When he speaks, it holds weight. His words are important and the guys listen when he talks. Johnathan Majors is funny and moving. He has some great moments in this movie. He has intense moments as well. But it gets no better than Delroy Lindo. His performance is a masterclass in acting. He does things so perfectly in this role. You cannot take your eyes off him when he is on screen, which is a ton. His portrayal of PTSD and panic attacks is all too real. The way he treats his friends and family, he is an angry dude that needs to come to terms with his past, which he eventually does. If he doesn't win the Oscar for best actor this year, I'd be totally shocked. He is magnetic.

I like this movie. I recommend this movie. I think this movie is important given the current climate, and what is going on all over the world. "Da 5 Bloods" is definitely worth your time, just know it is a long watch. But, it is worth it. 

Ty

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

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Better Late than Never on the Underrated Movie "Stardust"

After my rant yesterday, back to the good news, and reviews, the stuff I normally write about.

Today I want to talk about the movie my wife showed me on our quarantine date night. She showed me the movie "Stardust". I vaguely remembered this movie. It kind of came and went in the theaters, got okay reviews and the fans, they are fans for life. That includes my wife. She truly loves this movie. This is a movie that, if it is on, she will watch it. I don't know why it has taken me so long to sit and watch the whole thing because of her love of it, but it just has. I guess when she would watch it I would be out doing whatever I do. But, it was her turn for the movie pick, and she has wanted me to see it for sometime now.

Well I am here to say that she was right. This movie was so much fun, it was whimsical, it was funny, it had action, big stars and has come closest to reminding me of the wonderful "Princess Bride". Now, it isn't as good as "Princess Bride", but it has its own charm that is akin to that movie. It is a fairy tale. It has a princess and a guy that fights for her. It has laugh out loud moments. And the performances were really top notch. Robert De Niro was an absolute delight as an air pirate. He and his crew capture lightening to sell, and he has a secret he has to keep from them all. The secret is that he is a gay man. He thinks he has to hide this from them all to keep his reputation, but it is revealed that they all know, and it was a great scene of acceptance and still let De Niro come off as a tough guy. Claire Danes was solid as the star that the main guy needs to capture. She was sweet, I bought her love interest for the main guy and she did a very good job. She has become an actor that is very reliable. The main guy, Charlie Cox, was a fool, a boob, a buffoon, but it was all played very fun and funny. Even when he becomes the hero, he was still goofy, and I enjoyed that. There is a whole other subplot involving Peter O'Toole and his sons that was great. O'Toole is the king of the magical land in the movie, and he is waiting to crown his heir. But, the sons all kill one another trying to get the crown. This may sound brutal, but it is played for tons of laughs. When they die, they all come back as ghosts, and kind of narrate what they see. They watch each other brother take out the next one, and then commiserate together as ghosts. It was my favorite side story of the movie. Even famous people like Henry Cavill and Sienna Miller are good in their very small roles.

What I enjoyed most about this movie was how whimsical and fairy tale esque it was. It was a good time. It was a sweet story. It was told, acted and directed very well. I went to check the director, and it was Matthew Vaughan. He has since become a big time director. He, since "Stardust", has done both "Kingsmen" movies, both "Kick Ass" movie, "X-Men: First Class", and he did "Layer Cake" before this one. The dude is a legit director, and it shows. What I enjoyed about his direction was how funny he made stuff that could've ended up too grim and gruesome. In "Stardust" he showed that he could make light of dark situations that is so prevalent in his movies now. This was where he really showcased that. There is a teeny bit of it in "Layer Cake", but not like what he did in "Stardust", and what he has done since.

I cannot recommend this movie enough. I wished I had seen it sooner, but hey, I haven't seen it now, and I really, truly enjoyed it. This was a movie I avoided for so many dumb reasons, and it may have taken a quarantine date night for me to watch it all, but hey, better late than never. "Stardust" is a wonderful movie. 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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Better Never Than Late on "Dark Phoenix"

For quarantine date night my wife and I watched "Mad Max Fury Road". It was its release day birthday, my wife hadn't seen it and I wanted her to experience the awesomeness that is that movie. But, I am not going to write about that today. We have been very vocal on how much both RD and I LOVE that movie. I think we have said pretty much everything we can say about its greatness. It is a perfect movie.

On the day after quarantine date night, Sunday, we decided to watch "Dark Phoenix". It was on cable, we hadn't seen it yet and we are completists when it comes to "X-Men". I had heard not so good things about the movie, and my wife mentioned the same. She also rented the movie awhile back when she was home sick from work. So the fact that she didn't remember it should have been our first sign that maybe we shouldn't watch. But, we did see "X-Men Origins: Wolverine". We watched "Apocalypse". We saw the other Wolverine movie, the one in Japan, which I actually liked. We have seen them all. So we had to see. Maybe the critics were wrong, maybe it was the fever that caused my wife to forget, maybe, just maybe, they finally got this story right, maybe they did what "X-Men 3" tried to, but couldn't.

Well, and it bums me out to say this, this is the worst "X-Men" movie I have seen. That's right, I would rather watch "Origins" than "Dark Phoenix" if I had to pick. I mean, I don't want to watch either, but "Dark Phoenix" was just so very boring. Everything about the movie, for me, just didn't work. I felt like all the actors kind of phoned it in. James McAvoy, Sophie Turner, Michael Fassbender, they all just knew it was the end. Jennifer Lawrence seemed extremely checked out too. I know she said she didn't want to do this anymore, and boy did that show. Her death scene, which makes zero sense in the "X-Men" world, could have been very dramatic and moving. It was not. It was quick and easy to see coming. Nicolas Hoult, who I really like, was not good as Beast. I could hear his accent slip in and out, he seemed to have very little interest in the role and looked like he wished he was anywhere else. Both McAvoy and Fassbender seemed happy to just cash the check.

The thing that made this so disappointing was the story. Jean Gray has such a cool story. She is the most powerful X-Men. She can do what Professor X does to the nth degree. She is also very strong. She can fly. And she is an incredibly conflicted character. She has all the elements for what should be a very good story. The writers did not do that. They wrote scenes that seemed to drag. Sophie Turner, try as she might, had to deliver some super cheesy lines. Same thing with Lawrence. They had to do that with straight faces. My props to them. But all the stuff with Gray, as a kid, going to the academy, then becoming all powerful, it just seemed to drag on screen. There were too many scenes explaining stuff as opposed to showing her power. Her conflict was boring and cliche. The way she handled herself, especially when the bad guys came, it was all far too easy to see what was going to happen. The stuff with her and Cyclops made me opine for the relationship between grown up Jean Gray and him, and my wife and I call him "Cryclops". Like, it just didn't work at all. Even the big fight scene was not very good. My wife said that she thought she remembered it being solid, but that was with her fever addled brain. The fight scene was boring, they kept cutting back to Gray as a kid and there was only one good moment, when Magneto crushed a train car and tossed it aside.

My point? "Dark Phoenix" is not a good movie. It is not even a fun good movie. It was a bummer, and they should be able to get this story right. I hope someone else tries, like they did with "Logan", because Jean Gray's story is a great one. But "Dark Phoenix" way missed the mark for me. I'd skip this one if I were you. 

Ty

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

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Better Never Than Late on "Them That Follow"

Today will be the third day in a row I’m writing about a movie, but hey, I have the time, the channels and there have been a ton of movies I wanted to see and I’m catching up now.

The one I most recently watched is an indie called “Them That Follow”. I remember seeing the trailer when I went to see “Uncut Gems”, and it stayed with me. I never got to the theater, but it was on cable right after quarantine started, and I recorded it. I just got around to watching it recently, and I was underwhelmed.

Now, the cast in this movie is impeccable. Kaitlyn Dever, Walton Goggins, Jim Gaffigan, Olivia Colman, Thomas Mann and Lewis Pullman are all in this. That’s an Oscar winner, a great stand up comedian branching out and doing drama, one of the funniest and most wild actors that crushes western roles and a super funny, young actor. This should have worked with this cast. The story was also interesting, or had the elements to be. The movie is about a religious cult that uses snakes to show faith. That in and of itself, with that cast, sounds super interesting. Add in the fact that the daughter of the preacher is pregnant with a defector from the church’s baby. And, when he decides to come back to church, pushed by his parents, he gets a horrific snakebite they almost kills him.

Again, this movie should’ve worked. It’s should’ve been good. It should’ve been something I thought about for days. But, after finishing it, I found myself shrugging and kind of bored. I mean no disrespect, the movie just didn’t work for me. Gaffigan barely gets any lines or screen time. He’s just there. Olivia Colman was underused and, when she was given the moment, the monologue was poorly written. Pullman plays your typical weird cult religious guy they drinks too much and is abusive. His character was derivative. Dever’s character could have been much more fleshed out, but she only seemed to be there to unintentionally stir the pot. Thomas Mann, as the defector, was too over the top, and I did not care for his southern accent. But I had the highest hopes for Goggins, and his role just fell flat. He was menacing, but never too menacing. He was religious, but never too religious. He was weird, but never weird enough. It felt like he was restrained, and that’s a bummer. If they let him really go for it, this could’ve been an iconic role. Unfortunately, it is not.

I really wanted to like this movie, but it was just a little too boring for my liking. This movie had promise, but it just missed the mark. Maybe next time.

Ty

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

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Better Late than Never on "Good Boys"

Continuing with my quarantine movie watch, I just recently saw the movie "Good Boys".

This movie got a very limited release in theaters, it is dirty and has children saying the dirty words, which may be why it got released and pulled so quickly from the theaters. I remember seeing the previews, seeing that Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg were producers, and wanting to see the movie. It looked funny and it looked like me and my friends growing up. It looked and felt familiar, and that was just from the trailer. Watching it the other day only reaffirmed that for me so much more. This movie is hilarious and heartfelt and goofy and sweet and I loved every single second of it.

The movie is not without big actors either. Will Forte plays Jacob Tremblay's dad. Both of those actors have been in big time stuff. Keith L Williams is another one of the kids, and he has been on a number of sitcoms already. And Brady Noon, the third member of the "Bean Bag Boys", that is what they call themselves because they all sit on bean bags when they hang out, was a recurring actor on "Boardwalk Empire". These kids are no slouches, and they absolutely crushed it in this movie. They were funny. So what if they said bad words. Spoiler alert parents out there, all 5th and 6th graders swear like these kids did in the movie. I did it, you did it, we all did it. I remember being caught, as a 6th grader, by my dad swearing in front of my friends. It was brutal, but I didn't stop. I was a dumb kid that wanted to be cool. Just like the "Bean Bag Boys". If you can get past the swearing, which is easy, at least for me, this movie is really solid.

The long and short of the plot is the kids get invited to a "kissing party". They have never kissed anyone before, so they go on a mission to find out, and some wild stuff happens from there. They search kissing on the internet, and they obviously end up on a pornography site. That scene in and of itself is worth a watch. It was so funny, so relatable and played so well by the actors. They then try to spy on their neighbor and her boyfriend, and that leads us into a whole other plot point where Tremblay loses his dad's drone. This leads us to some of the best moments of this very good, very funny movie. The interaction with the two high school girls is hilarious throughout the movie. The stuff with the cop, played by Sam Richardson, was my favorite. The scenes involving the three main characters fighting and making up and yelling at one another is what I related to most in the movie. I fought like that with my friends. I mentioned the swearing before, and I did all that. I was terrified to kiss a girl when I was a 6th grader, and that spoke so true to me. It was like watching my childhood unfold.

I had a close knit group of friends just like the "Bean Bag Boys", and what this movie did so well, was showing them kind of grow apart. That is the main point, for me, in this movie. This movie isn't about a kissing party or finding a drone or fighting with friends, it is about growing up and growing apart. It is about how you change the older you get. How the stuff that you were into as a kid kind of fades away. I had friends that loved sports like I did when we were kids, when we were the "Bean Bag Boys", who one day just decided they weren't into it anymore. It was brutal, but that is what happens. And "Good Boys" does such a wonderful job of portraying that. And the last scene in this movie was great. It was like one last big party with your closest friends.

I loved this movie, and was surprised at how many different emotions it brought out in me. I highly recommend watching it. I bet you will enjoy it. 

Ty

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

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"Birds of Prey" is a Meh Kind of Movie

On our quarantine date night this week my wife and I decided to watch "Birds of Prey", the Harley Quinn DC movie.

This was my least favorite of the movies we have watched so far, but that doesn't mean I didn't like it. I will, most likely, not watch it again, unless I catch it on cable, but it was a fine movie. And, as far as DC goes, I appreciated that they went with more humor and that the movie was quite colorful. This was a bright, easy to see movie. I usually am not into DC movies because they are too brooding and too dark in color. They are hard for me to see what is going on. "Birds of Prey" was opposite that, and as RD has told me, "Shazaam" seems to be the same way. I liked that. I also liked Rosie Perez and the actor that played Black Canary and the young pick pocket girl. They all did a very solid job in their roles, especially Black Canary. My wife said she is a Smollet, but that doesn't mean much to me. She was great though. I also enjoyed the humor. I thought the movie had some solid funny moments. I even liked the story, for the most part. Also, the violence was very cartoonish, which I found to be very fun. If I had to give the movie a letter grade, I would give it a solid C. But, I did have some nits to pick with this movie.

Lets start with the main character. In a movie with her name in the title, I felt they kind of drifted in and out of her story a bit too much. They would dedicate a good chunk to what she was going through, but then it would hard cut to a different character. Maybe they were under time constraints, maybe they wanted a movie under two hours, but it just felt a bit too rushed for me. I also, and I know this is how she speaks in the cartoons, could not get over her voice. That is such a dumb thing to gripe about, but I found it bothersome, and it took me out of moments far too often. I also felt like they copied a little too much from "Deadpool" with Harley Quinn constantly breaking the fourth wall. I liked it, but I have already seen it. I did not like Ewan McGregor at all in the movie. He was chewing the scenery so hard that I just couldn't take him seriously as the bad guy. Maybe that is how he was supposed to play the character, but there were times that I was uncomfortable watching him perform because it was a bit too much. It was like Homer playing the landlord in "Rent" in the greatest "Simpsons" episode ever, "Behind the Laughter". He even makes a joke about chewing scenery in it, and that is how I viewed McGregor's character. I also wanted more from Huntress. She could have been such a cool character, but much like the majority of the movie, she felt rushed. Her story felt disjointed and crammed in the plot. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is a good actor, but with this role, she just missed the mark.

Outside that, the movie, as I said, was just okay. I did really like the color, as I mentioned, and the fight scenes were really cool. The one when Quinn breaks into the prison was pretty rad, and that final battle scene was cool as hell. I also appreciated that they didn't linger on beating the bad guys. There were no monologues or any of the usual stuff in movies like this. When someone died, they died quick.

All in all "Birds of Prey" seems like the kind of movie that DC fans will like, and people who like really bright and vibrantly colored movies will enjoy. For me, there was bad and good. If someone would ask me if I would recommend it, I would probably tell them to pass. But that is just me. 

Ty

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

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