Let's Make Movie Soundtracks Great Again

Over the last few years I have taken an interest in collecting physical media. It started with vinyl records, moved into Blu-Rays and 4K DVDs and now includes comic books. I have a running list at a local comic shop and a local record store for things I am looking for. The comics are easy, it is mostly stuff I read as a kid in the 1980s. The DVDs I collect are a mix of new and classic movies. The vinyl records, my most prized collection, are made mostly up of movie soundtracks, and I am finding that almost all of my wants come from films prior to 1990s.

What happened to the movie soundtrack? Now I know some of you are out there are saying, '“All movies have soundtrack, they have an Oscar for film score.” Yes, I know, but I am not talking about score, I’m talking about songs. The only current director I can see doing a proper playlist for his movies is James Gunn. Both “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies and “The Suicide Squad” have killer soundtracks that help tell the story of those movies. I also own all three of those records. All the other modern movies, and I am using the word modern to represent the entirety of the 21st century, have a score and one song that usually plays over the end credits. We can do better than that.

Back in the 1980s every movie had a soundtrack with songs, and many of these songs became instant classics. Try to imagine “Rocky III” without “Eye of the Tiger”. I bet you are humming the beat right now. There is no “Top Gun” without Loggins explaining a highway that leads to the “Danger Zone”. “The Karate Kid” is not only one of the greatest love stories ever, but it also reminds you that “You’re the Best” around and ain’t nobody gonna take you down. We learned in the mid eighties that “The Power of Love” is our key to getting “Back to the Future”. Before Optimus Prime fell in battle, he had “The Touch”. Not all of these movies are great, actually yes they are all great, but these songs are timeless bangers.

The movie soundtracks were not always populated with original music. The aforementioned “Harold and Maude” used music that was already popular. “The Lost Boys” used music from The Doors. “Vacation” used a Lindsey Buckingham B-side. Weird Al leant “Dare to Be Stupid” to a particularly stupid part of “Transformers: The Movie”. Even today, James Gunn uses classic songs from a bygone era to back his superhero spectacles much like the iconic soundtrack to “Dirty Dancing” and “The Big Chill. All these movies owe part of their legacy to the music supervisors who crafted these iconic albums.

Many of the movie soundtracks from the past are as important, if not more important, than the films they back. “Purple Rain” the album is “Purple Rain” the movie. The collection of Cat Stevens songs that accompany “Harold and Maude” bring an extra melancholy and quirkiness to another one of our greatest love stories. The Blondiesqu and rockabilly in “Streets of Fire” is one of the few redeeming spots in a mess of a movie. Many of these movies may have been lost to time if it was not for their epic soundtracks.

We need to bring back the classic movie soundtrack. Scores are great, but remembering my favorite movie scenes through songs with lyrics is a piece of heaven. Let me know if I’m just an old man yelling at a cloud, or let me know what other classic movie soundtracks need to be remembered. As Stan Bush tells Daniel and Hot Rod, we need to “Dare” to champion the reemergence of the movie soundtrack.

RD

RD is the founder and Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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An Ode to the Greatness of "Napoleon Dynamite"

Once again I am under the weather. It is not COVID, I've tested multiple times, but I just feel very blah. I am bummed out that I have gotten sick twice in the past three weeks. I think it is definitely due to the fact that I did not get sick at all for two years and now, when I do get a virus, it hits me hard. I'm still moving around and doing daily house stuff, but when I have down time, instead of running, which I really, really, really want to be doing right now, I have been watching movies the past two days.

This morning I felt very blah, so I wanted comfort food from my movie. I wanted comedy and something I knew that, if I fell asleep, it would not be a big deal. I searched the streaming services and found "Napoleon Dynamite".

This is an all time favorite for me. I have spoken about this movie a ton on the pod. I saw this movie in the theaters six times. It is a classic. So I put it on and proceeded to watch the whole thing. I laid on my couch and figured I would doze off a bit. But this movie is so good, so well made and so well acted that I was as intrigued today as I was the first three or four times I watched it.

This movie works on every single level for me. It is perfection. It is like the perfect indie comedy. It is quiet, shot in a weird location, has cool music and was made for cheap. But I think what made this watch different was something I haven't noticed ever in my watches. I think what makes "Napoleon Dynamite" so good, why it worked so well and why it has and will stand the test of time is how well they handle the mundaneness of everyday life, especially in high school. Watching today, I just happened to really notice how mundane real life can be. There is not a ton of dialogue at the top, but Napoleon does sigh an awful lot. I know we all did that in our high school years. When we would get frustrated it wasn't using our words, we would walk around and moan and groan hoping someone would notice us. There is also all the little nonsense that people do not like to do that we all complain about as well. Napoleon has to feed Tina, and that frustrates him. He gets mad, he groans, he yells, but in the end he feeds her. He also gets into little fights with Kip throughout the movie. I grew up with three brothers and we would fight over nonsense all the time, and it was seemingly the littlest stuff that would be the most frustrating. Napoleon wants his chapstick, Kip won't bring it to him. Napoleon wants chips, Kip tells him he needs them to become a cage fighter. They argue about the computer. There's fights over Uncle Rico's videotape. It is all real and all ridiculous. The stuff with Pedro and Napoleon, becoming friends and hitting on classmates, felt so real and so true to life. I was brought back to my high school days talking to my close friends. And there is that scene when Napoleon and Pedro test out his bike on a ramp. It is the funniest thing in the movie in my opinion and it rings true. Napoleon fights with his grandma and uncle. He tells Uncle Rico he has to leave because he is "eating all the steak and ruining everyone's lives". I swear I have said similar words to my uncle's before.

There is so much more. I was kind of floored watching from that point of view this morning. It made me appreciate the movie even more because of how real it all felt. "Napoleon Dynamite" is so great for a million reasons. And capturing the mundane is another feather in its cap.

Ty

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Ty Watches "The Northman"

My wife is out of town for work and when she leaves I tend to watch movies that she is not interested in when we do date night. I've seen some solid and not so solid movies during these work trips. I've also seen "Titane", and I'm still confused by it. Last night I watched "The Northman".

I've wanted to see this for quite some time. My dad is really into viking culture lately, the preview looked badass, I like Alexander Skarsgard and I have enjoyed every Robert Eggers directed movie I have seen, especially "The Lighthouse". I had high hopes going into this movie.

“The Northman” did not disappoint. Sure it was a bit too long and some stuff could have been cut out, but for the most part, this movie was very, very well made. I am not as into the viking stuff as my dad, but I do like the stories I have been told. I am also kind of enamored with their lifestyle back in the early 1000's. It is all intriguing to me. This movie, from what I've read and watched, has to be one of the more accurate portrayals of life back then. It was brutal. It looked old. It looked archaic. Eggers and the writers did not sugarcoat the awfulness that some vikings lived with. There was pillaging and murdering and assaults happening left and right. I appreciate the fact that they put it out there bare bones. I do not like when other movie makers glorify and deify these people. They were not the best. There is one battle scene in particular, right in the first 45 minutes, that is one of the best and most brutal things I have ever watched. This group of vikings pillages a town during the day. At one point a person throws a spear at Skarsgard's character, he catches it and throws it back, impaling someone else in the process. After that, Skarsgard proceeds to murder three or four people, and when he gets to the last person, he bites into their neck, as if he is a dog feeding on his prey. That was another thing. There are so many dog references in this movie. From start to finish, dogs are involved and it is gruesome. But I liked what I was seeing.

I liked how they made this movie. I was fully in on Skarsgard. I'm relatively new to him. My wife watched "True Blood", but I did not. And I loved when he was on the most recent season of "Atlanta". But this was a juicy leading role for him and he nailed it. He was magnetic. He put in a ton of work on his body and it showed. He played his character to perfection. He was the only viking I rooted for, but there were times when he was just as bad as the rest. As for the rest of the cast, they were up to the task. Anya Taylor Joy was great. She looked and acted like a viking queen. She was a total badass as well. I loved her in this. Ethan Hawke was dope. He is having a bit of a renaissance. Nicole Kidman was ruthless and evil and totally nailed it. Claes Bang was a bad, bad dude, but I kind of sided with him a little bit in the end. Willem Dafoe was as creepy as ever and it was so fitting for this movie. Bjork had a bit part and it was exactly what she thrives at doing, being weird and using her cool voice. It was just a perfect cast in a very good movie.

I mentioned that one fight scene at the top, but this movie was filled with some of the best, and most real, fight scenes I've watched in a movie. There was one where they were playing some kind of old game, and when Skarsgard goes to protect a child, oh my was that nuts. There was another one where he takes on multiple fighters and beats them, until he is contained and proceeds to get repeatedly punched in the face. When he was tied up it was the most real looking torture thing I have seen since "Zero Dark Thirty". When he gets Taylor Joy to feed the guards hallucinogenic mushrooms, and what happens next, it was wild. My favorite was when Skarsgard returned to the site of his capture and freed the people at night time. That was rad. And brutal. And gory. And kind of sad. But it was so well done. And the final battle scene, no spoilers, was totally worth the anticipation and build up. It ended on a perfect crescendo. I sat on my couch and just kind of stewed in what I had just watched. I really thought about it all. And I came away thinking this was one of the better movies I have watched in some time. It is beautiful to look at, well acted and directed, very well written and super interesting.

I definitely recommend the movie under the caveat that it is slow in certain parts and that the movie is very heavy with viking and Icelandic language. But Skarsgard, Taylor Joy and those battle scenes are totally worth it in the end. "The Northman" lived up to my personal hype.

Ty

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Ty Watches "The World's Greatest Mixtape"

Last night I watched the 30 for 30 documentary "The World's Greatest Mixtape". This is a short movie about the sensation that was the And 1 Mixtape tour.

The And 1 Mixtape tour came around at the perfect time for me as a basketball fan. In my late teens I had become kind of disillusioned with basketball. I still played but barely watched. The early 2000's were not great as far as the NBA goes. There were great players, but I just wasn't into it at all. But then one day, while scrolling some channels, I happened upon the "And 1 Mixtape" on ESPN. I was instantly in love. This was the coolest. This was the most balletic basketball I had ever seen, and the trash talk was absolutely amazing. I was all in right away. I watched the 30 minute episodes every single day they were on. I followed the players. I bought And 1 clothes. I tried to do the stuff these guys did. I talked about it all with my friends that watched. It was the best. So I was primed for this documentary.

Tis doc was solid. I thought it was a good representation of the time. I loved how they told the story. It was fascinating to hear the backstory of how it started. I loved seeing the older players talk about how they came to be an And 1 athlete. I thought it was so cool how they got the music for the mixtapes. I liked hearing these guys find out that they were on the tapes and then finding a way to get paid. I loved hearing about Rafer Alston, the first real streetball legend. Then to see all the guys I watched regularly, to hear some of their stories, to hear about their time on the And 1 tour, it blew me away. It was so cool. I thought that whole part of the show was perfectly done. I also loved seeing NBA players talk about the And 1 players and mixtapes. It was cool to get their input. I liked hearing someone like Kemba Walker, a former all star, talk about the influence And 1 had on him. It was also dope to see guys like Iman Shumpert and Lou Williams talk about And 1. They may not be stars, but they were guys that stuck around in the league for a long time, did some nice things and even win a ring.

My absolute favorite part with the NBA guys was hearing them fervently state that And 1 players could not make it in the league. There is a reason that only one, Alston, stuck around. There is a famous And 1 guy, Hot Sauce, and the NBA guys clowned him in this doc. Shumpert said that he came into some tryouts as "Hot Sauce", and left being called "Ketchup". That line killed me. And it is so true. While the And 1 guys are incredible basketball players, and do things I can only dream of doing with a basketball, they are not NBA talents. They just do not have that in them. But they sure did try. And I respect that they found a way to get paid to play basketball the way they loved to play the game. That takes a whole lot to do.

I think my only criticism with this movie is that it is far too short. It is only about 45 minutes long. I could watch two hours of this easily. I want to know every single thing about this league, from formation to dissolution. I want the fully in depth story of everything And 1. That would be dope. But this movie will do for now. Maybe they will make more volumes a la the And 1 mixtapes. One can only hope. But for those of you that watched this back in the early 2000's, check out this movie. It is a great trip down memory lane.

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 Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent"

The other movie I wanted to discuss this week was the date night pick coming from yours truly. It was on me and it was easy because "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent" is now on VOD and available to stream. I was close to seeing this movie in the theaters, that is how much I wanted to watch it. My wife was also completely on board, so that made it even easier.

This movie did not disappoint. It was so funny, so well made, so well acted and surprisingly touching. I enjoyed every single second of this movie. For the people that may not know, this movie is a meta version of Nicolas Cage. Nicolas Cage plays a version of himself named Nic Cage. He is a struggling actor, cannot stick with his family and decides to quit. Before he fully gives up his agent, played by Neil Patrick Harris, convinces him to go to Majorca, Spain and appear at a party for a million dollars. Cage reluctantly agrees. But when he gets there he realizes that the person who invited him to the party is part of a massive drug cartel. Cage also is found out by two CIA agents and he has to help them take down the cartel. From this point on the movie just gets better and better. And it stays funny and continues to be touching.

Speaking of the actors. Ike Barinholtz and Tiffany Haddish play the CIA agents. They are great. Barinholtz cannot deal with his nonsense and Haddish knows how to make him work, she just hates doing it. They do a wonderful job. Cage's ex wife and daughter are great additions. They make the story work more than it actually should. But this movie is truly all about Cage and Pedro Pascal, the super fan. Cage does a great job making fun of himself in this movie. The jokes about him working too much, being too self serious, going nuts at the drop of the hat, all of it works to perfection. They also have a CGI younger version of him that the current Cage talks to and that is great. My favorite part of the young Cage is when he kisses the old Cage and yells, "NIC CAGE IS GOOD AT SMOOCHING!". It is a wonderful joke that totally lands. It is great. Nicolas Cage seems more than up to the task in this role. I am so glad that he took it, ran with it and nailed it. He was tremendous. It shows that, given the right material, Cage can act very well. And Pedro Pascal, he is simply the best. He is funny. He is touching. He is derpy and goofy. He is fully in on the joke and he goes for it as hard as Cage does. The whole story line of him and Cage writing a movie together about their lives is perfect. Pascal is also great at playing this derpy, naive guy. He has too much money and does not know how to use it properly, so he just buys whatever he wants whenever he wants. But he is also touching and nice and you root for him. I was openly hoping he wasn't going to be the bad guy. I wanted there to be a twist where he was actually a good guy. Pascal was phenomenal in this movie. And he and Cage have tremendous chemistry. This movie works because the two of them work so well together. I loved it. Their friendship was the absolute best thing in this movie. Their adventures together were funny and moving. The two of them watching "Paddington 2" was gold.

I adore this movie. I was telling my dad about it all morning over coffee. Watch this movie please. It is so 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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Ty Watches "RRR"

Last week I watched two movies that I really want to tell you all about this week.

The first is "RRR". I had heard things from people that I listen to on podcasts about this movie. Then spoke glowingly of it. Then I went and read some reviews, and this movie was getting super gassed up by the critics. Then I saw the description of it on Netflix and I was in. The only thing that made me hesitate was the run time, three hours and five minutes. That is a very, very, very long movie. But I broke it up over three different viewings over two different days. Both were in a row so I wouldn't lose too much from the story. But none of that matters.

This movie is amazing. All three hours and five minutes are more than worth it. I loved every second of "RRR". The long and short synopsis of the movie is, it is about two Indian revolutionaries in the 1920's overthrowing the British Imperialists. And it rules. I have become kind of weary with all the superhero stuff and all the retread stuff. There are way more "Doctor Strange 2" movies than there are "Everything Everywhere All at Once". The movie landscape has become kind of dull. But then a movie like "RRR" comes along and I get all excited again. The version I watched was in Hindi with English subtitles and then some people spoke English. All of that did not matter. Sure it helped to follow the story, but what makes this movie so incredible was the action sequences, which seem to go on forever and I still want more. These action sequences are some of the most incredible scenes I have ever watched in a movie. The director shoots them perfectly. Slow motion is used better here than in any other movie I have ever seen. The fighting looks and feels real. The CGI animals are so well made and so believable. They make the two main guys act and feel like superheros, but they are also just regular dudes. I have never seen a Bollywood movie before, but I understand dancing is a big deal, and the dance numbers in this movie were amazing. I was never really bored watching "RRR". There were some slower moments that they maybe could have cut out of the movie, cut it down to two hours forty minutes maybe. But all of that would be followed by another incredible action scene that would immediately pull you right back in. I also really enjoyed the flashback scenes. Not only did they tell the full story, but they had some of the coolest training and fight scenes I have seen in a movie in quite some time. Oh, and the music was cheesy and weird and glorious. Everytime they broke into song, and the lyrics would appear on the subtitles, I would laugh and smile and find myself bouncing my foot up and down. I was all in.

I was also glad that, outside the few people and reviews I heard, I knew very little going in. I didn't know until it started that it was over three hours. I had no idea it was going to be superhero-esque. I was oblivious to the dance scenes. I did not know the story whatsoever. But after watching it, I want to tell everyone I know to watch this movie. "RRR" is so worth your time. It is so good. It is what I want Hollywood to make, but they don't have the guts. This is one of the coolest and most unique movies I have seen in quite some time.

Obviously I recommend "RRR". Please watch it so we can all talk about it. This is one of the coolest movies that has ever been made.

Ty

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

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The Original "Jurassic Park" is a Masterpiece

My wife and I have been going back and watching the entirety of the "Jurassic Park" series. She is a big fan and I adore the first few movies. She also really wants to see the new movie, me not so much, so this is her passion project before she sees it.

I have zero interest in the new "Jurassic Park " universe. I have seen the first two new movies and I did care for them. I do not think Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard have any chemistry, I find it nuts that they can "train" Velociraptors, there's far too much product placement and the movies are way, way too long. I remember seeing the first new one in the theaters with a big group of my wife's family, and my mother in law and I were the only ones that did not like it. At all. We were shocked that the other people we were with enjoyed it. It is not, in my opinion, a good movie. Then my wife and I saw the second one at home on a date night and I fell asleep. I usually never fall asleep at movies, but this one put me out. So I am not stoked to see the new movie. I am stoked to go back and watch the first three originals. I remember the second and third movies being not so good, but they were fun. We have recently watched the original and that is what I want to talk about today.

I had not seen this movie in about a decade. I went back a few times in the early 2010's, watched it tons when I was a kid and saw it on opening night in the theaters as a 10 year old. I did not know what to expect on this recent rewatch, but let me tell you, this movie holds the hell up. The original "Jurassic Park" is a true masterpiece for me. I felt like a kid again watching the movie. It transformed me back to that little kid seeing it in the theater for the first time. I got excited when I saw the brachiosaurus. Seeing the triceratops was amazing, even though it was sick. The baby raptors were cute, albeit they should have never been breeding them. The grown up raptors were as relentless and ruthless as I remembered. The dilophosaurus has the best kill in the whole movie. And that T-Rex, oh man did it look amazing. Think about it for a minute. The original movie came out in 1993 and the CGI looks really good. There are moments when you can see how elementary it is, but in all seriousness, this movie looks amazing given the date it came out.

To add to the greatness, the story is still incredible and prevalent. The stuff they talk about, how they address science, the talk about creating species, it all works. It is also prescient. It makes sense today.

Also the actors, man did they show the hell up. Sam Neill is a treasure. He is masterful. Laura Dern crushes. She is a beast and she deals with some crazy stuff. The kids are not too cloying or cliche. Jeff Goldblum is at his Jeff Goldbluminess, if that is a word. The guy who runs Jurassic Park, I cannot think of his name nor do I want to look it up, is incredible. Sam Jackson and Newman from "Seinfeld" are phenomenal. Even the little side characters, like the lawyer and worker at the park, play their parts perfectly. I am stunned at how much I loved this movie, but I should not have been. It was one of my favorites as a kid. But for some reason I was a little hesitant to rewatch. I think I did not want it to be ruined. But I liked it maybe more than when I was 10. I appreciate it more. I find the adults, namely Neill and Dern, to be the ones I side with now. Seeing the dinos on screen still gave me goosebumps. It still chilled and scared me when it was supposed to. Seeing the water rumble gave me wonderful memories.

"Jurassic Park" may be one of the few flawless movies ever made. I cannot find a problem with it at all. Go rewatch it, especially if you loved it as a kid like I did. My wife told me that it is her favorite movie of all time. She said that after we finished. This movie is incredible and totally holds up.

Ty

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Better Late Than Never on "The Sparks Brothers"

I am an Edgar Wright fan. I have seen most of his movies and I enjoyed pretty much all of them. I like the way he directs, I like the people, for the most part, he works with and I enjoy his comedic stylings. He also has good writers on board. So when I saw he was doing a documentary I was kind of intrigued. He usually does original stuff. Or when he does an already existing IP, "Scott Pilgrim vs the World", it is a homerun. But a documentary seemed like an odd choice. So I did not watch "The Sparks Brothers" until yesterday. Let’s discuss.

I'm not fully sure why I avoided it. I wouldn't even say avoided necessarily, I just never got around to watching. I also had no idea who Sparks was, so I didn't think I wanted to invest the time. But I have gone through a ton of movies lately, and this was next on the list. The main reason I watched was for Edgar Wright, but man did I fall in love with the Sparks brothers while watching the movie.

The long and short of the movie is a story about one of the most influential bands in the business that have been doing new and interesting and original and intriguing things for over 50 years. I believe the movie said their first full album came out in 1969 and they released a record in 2019 with Franz Ferdinand and in 2021 as Sparks. They are still plugging along. That is incredible. Think about how long that is. That is some Rolling Stones type longevity. I think what I gained most out of watching the movie was how cool and unique Sparks the band is/are. They were doing things way, way ahead of the time. They made a synthesizer record in the 70's. They made cool and fun pop music in the late 60's and early 70's. When punk ruled they went the total opposite way and made almost an easy listening record. When 80's synth music came along they did rock. When they took almost seven years off making records, they came back in the mid 90's, during grunge, that was a pop masterpiece according to the talking heads in the movie. It seems like they have never bent or changed their style just to please the masses. They do what they like to do, and for their fans it works. That is what they want. That is what the fans crave. Everytime they came out with a new record it seemed like the fans would eat it up. They have also gained new fans when they did that record with Franz Ferdinand. That was a brilliant move on their part. I think what I respect the most is how hard these two brothers have, and continue, to work. They seemingly never stop. One brother, Ron, is a musical genius. He writes most of the songs and he is a tremendous keyboard player. He is also one of the most unique musicians I have ever laid eyes on. He reminds me so very much of David Byrne, except approachable and nice. The other brother, Russ, was the quintessential pretty boy front man. But his voice was so different. He is truly one of a kind. And he is not a dick as well. Every interview, every time he was on screen, hearing other people talk about him, he was as nice as they get in the music industry. I loved that. I love that they have this cult fame status, and they are a bit pretentious, but they don't come off as pretentious. They are weird and goofy, but they seem like a good time. I would love to meet these dudes and just pick their brains. And they seem more than willing to do stuff like that.

I was also amazed at the amount of people they had talking about them in this movie. We had people like Todd Rundgren, Jason Schwatzman, band members of Duran Duran and Erasure, DJ Lance Rock, former band members of theirs, Scott Aukerman, Jane Weidlin and so many more. And all of them were just singing their praises. It was fascinating. I did listen to some of their music today, and while I dug some of it, it just isn't my cup of tea. But it is also amazing. It is also incredible to hear their influence. It is also amazing to hear them making music so far ahead of its time. I respect the hell out of Sparks. They are amazing and I wish I had heard of them a long time ago. And even though I will probably only listen to them sparingly from here on out, I am glad that I now know about them. I am stoked to see all these very good musicians and actors and people in the music business give them their just due.

I definitely recommend this movie for all music lovers out there. It is a definite must see.

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 "Hustle"

I finished "Hustle" last night. I have been wanting to watch this movie since I first heard about it. I am a sucker for movies like these. It is a genre I am quite fond of.

“Hustle” is about a down on his luck basketball scout that finds a diamond in the rough. It tugs at my heartstrings. Growing up I used to watch movies like "Blue Chips", "The Air Up There" and "Cool Runnings" constantly. I couldn't get enough of the whole underdog scenario. As I get older I still watch a very high number of sports movies. I used to devour "The Program". That is a terrible movie, but it is about college football and Michigan wins their game in it. "He Got Game" is still one of my all time favorites. I adore the original "Space Jam". I love a movie like "Major League". I will even get down with some of the sports movies people consider not so great. So "Hustle" is my type of movie. Add on the fact that Adam Sandler is the star and LeBron James is producing. That is icing on the cake. I was in before I even watched one second.

Fortunately, for me, the movie is very well made. Sandler is excellent. This is further proof that Sandler can do more than comedy. He has a few funny lines here and there, but this is way more of a drama, and he nails it. It is akin to "Uncut Gems", except he isn't so slimy, or "Punch Drunk Love", except he isn't a pushover in this. Sandler is in his pocket and doing great, great things here. I was so happy to see him acting so well. I could say the same for a number of the other actors. Robert Duvall brings an air of gravitas to his very small role. Queen Latifah is simply wonderful as Sandler's wife. Kenny Smith, in what I believe is his first fiction role, is magnetic and believable as a super agent. There are tons of NBA players playing themselves, and that is perfect for a movie like this. Ben Foster is a total scumbag and he pulls it off. Heidi Gardner is stretching her "SNL" legs and she does a formidable job. Jaleel White is in this and I did not see Urkel once in him. But, outside of Sandler there were two other standout roles. First off Anthony Edwards plays a young brash soon to be first round pick named Kermit in this movie. He is awesome. He was, quite possibly, my favorite part of the whole thing. He is cocky and can back it up. He talks shit. He has a line where he asks a player where he is from and the player says Spain. Edwards says to him, and I quote, "that shit sounds wack". It was the funniest and best line in the whole movie. Edwards was phenomenal. But this was Juancho Hernangomez's movie. He is the player that Sandler's character is trying to get to the NBA. I think it was a brilliant move by the people involved to get a non superstar in this role. He isn't a big name so not everyone knows who he is, but he is in the league so the training and game play stuff looked and felt real. It was wonderful. Seeing him go through drills and get better felt very, very real. When he plays with NBA stars in this movie you believe he has the skill. He can play with these guys because he actually does. When he goes up against Edwards' character part of me felt like the director just let the camera roll and this was real gameplay. It totally worked. I applaud the decision to cast a guy like Juancho Hernangomez. This movie is a true crowd pleaser. You will find yourself rooting for this young man. This is a movie that people who don't like basketball will enjoy. It helps to know who everyone is while watching, but even if you don't, this is a story about redemption and overcoming obstacles. I don't know too many people who dislike stuff like that. There is cliche stuff and the movie is paint by numbers, but dammit it works. They got it right.

I highly, highly recommend this movie. I have already watched it again with my son, who is obsessed with the NBA, and he loves it too. Check out "Hustle". 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 "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness"

I think we have reached the point of too many superhero movies. I still go to see them, but there’s a lot. When my wife and I went to the movies yesterday we got a preview for yet another “Thor” movie. It looks great, Taika Waititi is directing and I will see it. But damn, it feels like, at the very least, half the movies coming out are superhero based.

I say all this because my wife and I went to see “Doctor Strange 2”. We both wanted to see it, we like multiverse stuff and she took the day off for our anniversary. So we went to the movie before heading to a nice dinner, just the two of us. The movie was fine. It was very down the middle Marvel stuff. It was an interesting story with cool characters and solid actors. But it’s just too much to follow right now, for me at least. As I said, I found the movie enjoyable, but I also have some criticisms of it as well. I was stoked when I saw Sam Raimi was directing. He has made some of my favorite horror/comedy movies. He also did “Spider-Man 2”. But this movie felt old. It kind of looked old too. Raimi is a genius, but this movie felt like he was working in a different decade. There was a bit too much CGI. It felt like they were going to do as much as possible. It was overwhelming at times. The makeup also felt old. That could have been purposefully, but it looked rough to me. The direction also felt rushed at times. Almost like they were pushing to get this movie done. I also enjoy Benedict Cumberbatch. He’s a solid actor. He’s doing really cool stuff. I even like his interpretation of Stephen Strange. But he doesn’t seem like he can, or maybe doesn’t want, to be the star of a MCU movie. My wife made the point at dinner that Dr Strange is much better as an add on character. I couldn’t agree more. It’s great when he shows up in movies, but when he’s the star it is kind of dull and boring. I don’t think Dr Strange is a leading MCU guy. He was much more fun in the latest “Spider-Man” movie. Elizabeth Olsen was dynamite. I have no problem with any choice she made. I just didn’t buy her as the villain. I agreed with every choice she made as Wanda/Scarlet Witch. I was on her side and I don’t think that’s what they were going for. The actor who played America Chavez was good too, but I have zero idea how she’s involved in the MCU. I know nothing about her character, and they didn’t do the best job of explaining who she is and why she matters. The cameos were cool, no spoilers, but this is another case of too much too soon. It is almost as if Marvel is just throwing darts at a board and choosing what fits based on where the dart lands. It’s a bit slap dash. I also found the writing to be very cliche. There were lots of closeups and the actors saying cliche superhero lines. I half expected someone to say something about power and responsibility. Or bring up how it’s a curse to be a hero. It was truly that predictable. I did like the look of the movie. It reminded me of “Inception”. There was a neat fight scene between two Dr Strange’s where they used music notes. I already mentioned my love for Elizabeth Olsen. And Chiwetel Ejiofor chewed scenery in the best possible way. But this was a lower tier Marvel movie for me. I think my wife would agree. It is better than “Thor 2” and “Ironman 2”. I haven’t seen “Morbius”, but I’m sure this movie looks like “The Godfather” next to it. But “Thor 3”, “Guardians of the Galaxy”, “Winter Soldier” and “Black Panther” are far, far superior movies.

Again, “Doctor Strange 2” was okay, but nowhere near what I was hoping or expecting. There’s just too much in that MCU right now. They need to slow the hell down and focus on making a few good movies as opposed to making a million movies all at once.

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 "Old"

I was scrolling the streaming channels we have yesterday and I came across HBO Max. I wanted to watch a movie, and had a little more than 90 minutes before I had to get my kids for the day and I saw that "Old" was now streaming.

I wanted to see this movie when it came out. I feel like this was the first pandemic movie that I had wanted to see in a theater until everything went down with COVID-19. And then I kind of forgot about it. Then "How Did This Get Made" did an episode about it and it reminded me. But then I forgot about it yet again. But then, while channel surfing a week ago, I came across the last 20 minutes of it, so I watched. I was confused, but also interested. Watching the ending did not diminish my want to see the whole movie. So I turned it on after doing my daily stuff and sat back and focused on the movie.

I kind of wish I hadn't focused so hard. I am trying to be less cynical these days, and so far it has been working. I tried to find some kind of good in this movie. I looked past a ton of problems and kept searching for something, anything, that worked. Unfortunately I could not find much of anything. The best thing I can say about this movie is the premise is very interesting. And put in the right hands, could have worked. And I have come around on M Night Shyamalan as of late. "Split" was very good. I've heard very good things about the show "The Servant". I kind of enjoyed "Glass" honestly. So I thought he could have made this work. But he just could not do it. It was far too clunky of a movie. It moved almost too fast but felt slow. It was prodding. The story was convoluted and dull. The actors did the best they could with the material, but it just wasn't up to snuff for me. The kids are kind of annoying at the beginning. I found them to be very cloying and cliche. The parents are in one of those typical "this is our last chance to reconnect, on this family trip". I am not a fan of that trope. The other people that join them on the beach are cliches themselves. The young rapper, who might have the worst rap name ever, Mid Sized Sedan, was boring. The makeup lady with the calcium deficiency was so ridiculous and not scary. Even her death scene, spoiler alert, was so not scary and kind of dumb. Her husband was the psychotic guy who was going through Alzheimers. And he was not convincing. The family of a nurse and his wife who has epilepsy felt so tacked on at the last second. The nurse's demeanor never changed no matter how messed up the situation got on the island. And his wife's death scene, spoiler alert, was totally tossed aside. But I think it was the parents' deaths that bummed me out the most. The dad lost his eyesight, said some cliched lines and died on the beach. The mom had the tumor removed, then lost her hearing and just kind of walked towards the water. And the wrap up scene, where we find everything out was so blase. It was so tacked on. That seems to be the basis of this movie. They just added stuff to fill out 100 minutes. There was no moment when I was legitimately scared. Nothing in this movie made me sit back and think about life. The ending was so simple to figure out. The way they did it was very dull.

I really, really wanted to like this movie. I had very high hopes. But it did not meet my personal expectations. I would recommend it for people that want to see it, and maybe your expectations won't be too high. But this was a miss for me. It was not a good 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 "Chip 'n' Dale: Rescue Rangers"

I used to watch "Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers" as a kid. It is one of the few shows, outside "The Simpsons", that I actually remember watching when I was young. I did not watch many cartoons as a kid. There were other shows, like "American Gladiators", "Sportscenter" and "Good Times" that appealed to me. I just liked real people as opposed to cartoons I guess. But "Rescue Rangers" was different. It was goofy and silly and fun. It was like a lighter "Pinky and the Brain", a show I got to later in life. And I loved "Pinky and the Brain".

When I heard that they were doing a reboot, and making it a movie, I was skeptical. I am usually not the biggest fan of remakes or reboots. Why rehash an old idea that they got right the first time? I just do not like it. Some stuff has worked, but it is few and far between. And fans will argue with other fans if the show or movie or miniseries or whatever is any good. Those people need to calm the hell down. Stop fighting about useless nonsense on the internet. That is for kids. Anyway, I was hesitant. But then I found out that Akiva Schaffer was directing it. I adore Schaffer. I have liked pretty much everything he has done. His group, The Lonely Island, does things that speak to me. I also found out, through Schaffer's internet presence, that Andy Samberg was going to be voicing a main character. This was when I was fully on board. Samberg is one of my all time favorite actors. The dude is funny. He gets it. He knows how to construct, write and deliver jokes. When he teams up with Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, the other Lonely Island member, they make magic. As I said, the three of them know how to get it done. Then I saw that John Mulaney was attached. I like his comedy, so I was happy about it. Then Tress MacNeille signed on. Then Eric Bana. Will Arnett was next. Then I started to see names like Dennis Haysbert, Flula Borg, Keegan Michael Key, Tim Robinson, Seth Rogen, JK Simmons and Rachel Bloom attached to voice characters. This was an even bigger selling point for me. I also saw that Kiki Layne, from "Coming 2 America", was cast as the human lead in this movie. She was great in that, so I figured she would be just fine here.

This movie really worked for me. I loved that they went the "Roger Rabbit" route with it. This movie mixes a bunch of different animation styles with real life situations. And it is from the jump. We meet Chip and Dale in elementary school where they go with all kinds of animated characters and humans. The movie continues this trend when they show them getting their show. This was a great walk down memory lane. And then when we find them away from the show in modern times, they keep up the "Roger Rabbit" aesthetic. The movie is even in the crime/noir/comedy genre. It mixes all three, but it is not as adult as "Roger Rabbit". This is a kids movie. This is made for the family to watch. My son watched it the day after my wife and I, and he thought it was fun. But being that it is a kids movie at heart, I told my wife while watching that I feel like this movie was made for us. This was made for people who are going to be 40, or already turned 40. This is like going back in time. It brings back all your favorite characters from the original, while taking some old classics and making them look not so great. I loved that about this movie. It was nostalgia for me, and I was all in.

I highly recommend “Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers” for everyone, but mainly for people my age that used to watch the cartoon. It is a great walk down memory lane. It was a ton of fun.

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 "A Quiet Place 2"

I finally saw "A Quiet Place 2" this past Friday. It was date night, my wife had the pick of the movie and we had both wanted to see this movie. We jumped on it. It was for rent on VOD and it was on sale. It was a true win win.

I adored the first movie. I thought it was a great idea that was perfectly executed. I think it is one of the better thrillers to come out in a long, long time. The way they dealt with the world they created was perfection. It was a movie that stunned me with how good it actually ended up being. But I was on the fence about a sequel. When it was announced I asked myself why. I just did not think they needed to do it. They ended the first one the right way, it was a tremendous hit and it seemed like it had closure. I did not want a sequel. I'm not a big fan of sequels to begin with, and when you get it right, I would not mess with a good thing. Sequels never help in my opinion. But, when this one raked it in at the box office, you could sense they were going to make, at the very least, one more. So going in my expectations were not very high for "Part 2".

Just like with the first one, I was pleased at how much I found myself enjoying the movie. I was fully in on the story. I liked the fact that they went back in time to show the first day that everything went down. It was nice to see John Krasinki in the movie. I appreciate that he wrote and directed this movie. Emily Blunt is tremendous. I feel like she is a criminally underrated actor. She seems to do mostly good work, picks good projects and is really good in whatever role she is given. The kids in this movie were badass. I liked that they made them heroic. The deaf girl rules and the anxious brother comes up big for the family. I thought bringing in Cillian Murphy and Djimon Honsu was a great choice. Those two are great actors, and they brought some gravitas to this franchise. I also love that a good portion of this movie was shot during daylight. You could really see the monsters. You got a good feeling of what they looked like, how scary they actually are. You also got to see how fast and ferocious they could be. I adored the way they used noise again in this one. That is the whole thing with the deaf child and the monsters, the use of noise, and this movie pulls it off yet again. There were tense, silent moments riddled throughout the story. It was perfect. I also appreciate that this movie leans into the horror aspect a bit more. The first movie is more of a family drama/thriller. The second movie, while still dealing with family things, leans much more into the horror aspect. There are tons of jump scares. I made audible gasps at different times while watching. My wife made a few mentions that certain things scared her. It was another in a long line of solid choices from the movie makers. And, like their other decisions, worked. I was genuinely scared. I found myself rooting for the family yet again. I cheered during the conclusion. And when it was all over, and my wife and I sat down and talked about it, I told her I really enjoyed it. It was well made, well acted, had great pacing and was just all and all well done. I had low expectations, and this movie exceeded them. I do hope they stop here. They do not need to make anymore. They did it.

So, if you saw the first movie, or are a fan of the horror genre and have a general idea of the story, I recommend "A Quiet Place 2". It is a solid 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 "On the Count of Three"

Yesterday I rented the movie "On the Count of Three". I saw a trailer for the movie a few weeks back and was enamored by it. I am a Jerrod Camrichael fan, I liked what I saw in the trailer, there were some other actors in it that I recognized and the story seemed like something I could get down with.

The movie, for those that may not know, is about two friends who decide they are going to kill themselves. They have reached a point in their lives where they simply do not want to go on. And for those of you thinking this has to be a depressing movie, it is a comedy. It is a very dark comedy, and there is a good amount of comedy, and you need to know going into this movie that it is very, very dark, but nonetheless, it is a comedy. There are hard jokes. There were parts that made me laugh out loud on my couch. But it is about suicide. The preview I saw even put the Suicide Prevention Hotline at the beginning. The premise is sad, but it was written by a few funny guys, and Carmichael directed it and he is a comedian by trade. So it had funny stuff in it.

First off, Carmichael was magnetic as the lead. He directed and starred and he nailed both jobs. He plays Val. Val has a ton going on, but he is done. His girlfriend is pregnant, he wants out of the relationship, Tiffany Haddish plays that role, he hates his job and he is over it all. Carmichael does a great job showing a guy that is at the end of his rope. He handles all the elements really well. He isn't spoiled, he is just bored. Christopher Abbot plays his best friend Kevin. Kevin has got some issues. When we first meet him he is in a mental institution because he had tried to kill himself three days earlier. Kevin is depressed, he was sexually harassed by his therapist as a child, the therapist was played by Henry Winkler, he is not in a good mental state, he is filled with problems. He has a great monologue about how maybe he isn't as important as the doctor's at the institution are trying to make him feel. Abbot handles the mental health issues with a deft hand. He does a great job.

This movie works because Carmichael and Abbot have such great chemistry. They also handle their characters with grace. They play them both so very well. The scene where we meet Val's dad, played by JB Smoove, was powerful. He deserved to get hit with that tire iron. The stuff with Kevin and his childhood bully was excellent. It was also oddly relatable. The importance of dirt bikes in this movie struck me. Lavell Crawford was awesome as the dirt bike shop owner. I saw other people say this, and I will repeat it today, this movie uses Papa Roach better than Papa Roach uses themselves. The music in this movie is the perfect tone.

Again, do not get it twisted, this is a depressing movie. Depressing stuff happens throughout. There were times where it felt relentless. But there were tons of jokes. There were some great deadpan line deliveries from Carmichael. The movie, at its heart, is a comedy, just an extremely dark comedy.

I hope more people search this movie out. Carmichael is finally getting a much deserved chance to make the type of movies he wants to make. This might be one of the better buddy movies to come out in quite some time. And even though it is about suicide, it is oddly uplifting at the end. Check out "On the Count of Three". It is a really good movie and it is one of the first true indie darlings, as much as I dislike that wording, of the year. A good movie indeed.

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 "Jackass Forever"

For date night last week my wife and I finally saw "Jackass Forever". And before you think it was all my pick, my wife enjoys a good prank and bodily harm movie. We both like wild movies like this. "Bad Trip" was a godsend for the two of us. We both also used to watch the show, we have recently watched the original movie, which we also showed our son in a moment of wonderful parenting, and we both really wanted to see this. We tried to go to the theater but we just couldn't find the time. Then when it went to streaming it was only on Paramount +, which we do not subscribe to. But it was finally on VOD and it was only six bucks.

We jumped at the chance and we loved the movie. It was so funny. It was so wild. It made me think about the first time I saw the show. I was transported back 20 years in time. I was cackling like a maniac. We even let our son sit in on a few moments of the movie. He loved it as well. I could not believe that these guys could, and were willing, to do these things to themselves. It was crazy. They did a cup check yet again. This was one of their original bits and they brought it back. But instead of Johnny Knoxville letting little kids kick him in the crotch this time they let real, legit athletes test a cup on Danger Ehren. It looked and sounded like it hurt. They had an MMA fighter punch him in the crotch. Ehren's eyes looked dead when he was hit. They had the world's fastest softball pitcher pitch one into the cup. She nailed it after a few tries and it was glorious. They had PK Subban slap shot a puck into it. And they even let another "Jackass" member, Dave England, use a metal pogo stick and jump into him. It was all brutal. Ehren even ruptured a testicle. It was wild. They played a prank on a bunch of the cast members by making them think they were in a blacked out room with a venomous snake. My wife and I were cracking up. They did some cool stuff with the biggest slip and slide I have ever seen in my life. It was nuts. The opening scene was gross and hilarious. The stuff with Eric Andre and the cold brew truck was awesome. They got a ton of people with that one in fact. The tap dancing scene with Tyler, the Creator was dope. I am a big fan of his, so to see him in this movie was rad. The new cast members were good too. They had four or five new people and they were all game. They were all willing to go for broke and that is needed in a show like this. I also love that one of the new cast members got his dad involved, an ex-con who is terrified of snakes and birds, but did hard time. He was great.

The main point of today's piece, I cannot believe that most of the main crew is still around and still doing these things. Steve O went full bore like he never left. I mentioned Danger Ehren and Dave England. They brought back some old bits and let other cast members take them to task. Preston Lacy and Wee Man went for broke. They did things I do not think they would have even done back in the day. And Johnny Knoxville went for it all. He did a ton. He let himself get shot out of a cannon. He was involved in the vast majority of the pranks and stunts. He is still the ring leader. And he even brought back the bull stunt. And that bull knocked him out. He was so knocked out that he was snoring. He broke his wrist, ribs, got a brain hemorrhage and a concussion. And he still came back for more. I hope for these guys that this is the last one of these movies they make. They looked older and rough. They still had the gall, but most of the guys in the crew are in their late 40's or early 50's. I do not think their bodies can handle the damage anymore. It is too much. But I am glad they made this one. I hope they leave us with this one.

I enjoyed “Jackass Forever” quite a bit. So did my wife. And the little bit my son saw. "Jackass Forever" is a great trip back in time, and I highly recommend watching it.

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 Bad Guys"

We took our kids to the movies for the first time since the pandemic last night. They had not been to a theater in two years, our son had wanted to see the movie "The Bad Guys" since he heard it was coming out and we had some time that all four of us were together at the same time last night. So we pushed the button and bought tickets.

The theater was rad, there were only about seven other people in there and we were looking to have a good time. We bought some snacks, got the kids some drinks and took our seats. After the previews were done, both our kids made comments about how long the previews were, so we settled in our seats and watched the movie.

I have to say, "The Bad Guys" is a very fun, very funny and a very solid movie. I found myself thoroughly enjoying the movie. I was laughing. I was interested in the story. I liked the characters. I adored the animation. It all worked really well. Even the slow parts worked. They were needed to move the story along. And our kids were a delight. They followed the rules and were very well behaved throughout the runtime. Back to the movie.

I enjoy a good heist movie. I found this out about myself a few years back. I like the conniving and double crossing and misdirects. It is fun. I like trying to figure out who did it. That is exactly what "The Bad Guys" was. It was a heist movie through and through. Sure they used famous characters from old stories, but they updated them. The big bad wolf was hip and cool. He was the lead of the movie. The snake was slimy and mean, but he also liked push pops and Hawaiian shirts and funky hats. The shark was a master of disguise and lovable. The tarantula was a hacking genius. And the piranha was wild and crazy and could sing. It was cool. I enjoyed how they updated them and made them cool. I also liked the message of the movie. It was all about heists and getting away with robbery and all that cool movie stuff, but the movie was really about being nice to your friends and trusting one another. Oh, and also being good. I liked how they managed to make that the focal point in a movie like this. I mentioned the animation before. It was so cool. My son has read the books and he told us that that is how the characters look in the book too, if they were colored with crayons. I appreciate the attention to detail. And the fact that my kid recognized it speaks volumes to the animators. They did a top notch job. The voice acting was on point as well. Sam Rockwell was great as the wolf, Anthony Ramos crushed as the piranha, Marc Maron epitomized the snake, Awkwafina was hilarious and cool as the tarantula and Craig Robinson was perfectly cast as the shark. It all worked so very well. There was a point during the movie where I leaned over to my wife and told her that I was having a great time. That is what I look for in "kids" movies. I want my kids to like it, but I also want stuff that keeps me interested. "The Bad Guys" nailed it.

I highly recommend this movie for kids and parents everywhere. It was wonderful. I had a blast and I think you will too. What a fun, fun 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 Revisits "The Rover"

Last night I was flipping through the channels and came upon a movie I saw years ago. The movie is "The Rover". I kind of remembered it, but it was lost to time for me. So I decided to revisit it. My wife is out of town, my kids were asleep and I had just watched the premiere of "Better Call Saul".

"The Rover" is better than I remembered, and I had forgotten a good amount. I remembered liking it, but it did not stay with me. This time it will definitely stay with me. The movie takes place in a dystopian future in the Australian outback. There has been an economic collapse and people are just trying to get by. A gang comes to a guy's house and steals his car. He sets out to get his car back, and that is when the movie gets bleak and scary and dark. There are two main people in this movie, Guy Pearce and Robert Pattison. There are other actors, but the movie is really about their two characters. Guy Pearce is the gentleman that gets his car stolen from him. Pattison plays one of the gang members that gets left behind and Pearce uses him to help him get his car.

This movie is good. It has an eerie feel to it. There are moments where I was genuinely frightened. There are other moments where the silence has you on the edge of your seat just waiting to see what happens next. The movie looks beautiful too. For it being a dystopic wasteland, Australia looks very pretty on film. The mountains and the outback are beautiful to look at on screen.

What really makes this movie work, what makes it memorable for me now, are Pearce's and Pattison's performances. Pattison really knocks it out of the park. This may be one of the first movies he was in post "Twilight" that actually had me shocked at how well he acts. He plays Rey. Rey is slow, reliant and acts out of character from time to time. He also does some things that are incredibly smart. Pearce's character, Eric, learns pretty early on that Rey can help him. Pattison truly embodies Rey. I bought his performance tenfold. I thought he did a masterful job. He really had me worried about him the whole movie. I was afraid he would find some way to mess it all up. He does, but in all reality, it is not his fault. He does help Eric get what he is after. There is a certain scene where Rey tells Eric how and when to get into the house with his former gang, and it is so well played. Then the director follows it up with another scene that shows Rey in the car listening to music and you can see his childish behavior. It is perfect. Pearce is furious and angry and determined. He has one goal in mind and will do anything it takes to get there. Pearce plays Eric with a quiet determination that flies off the screen. I openly rooted for him to win. I wanted him to get his car. I did not care who he had to get rid of to get there. I felt his anger towards Rey at times. I sided with him in every scenario. I wanted him to do everything he did in the movie. It was an even better performance than Pattison's.

I highly recommend this movie for fans of sci fi and westerns. It covers both genres incredibly well. But the real winner, the real reason to watch this movie is for Pattison and Pearce's performance. They are so, so good. They nailed it. They were magnetic. They should have gotten award consideration. They ruled.

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 "Spider-Man: No Way Home"

Over the weekend my wife and I finally saw "Spider-man: No Way Home". We had planned on seeing it when it was in the theaters, but that was when Omicron was ravaging the US, so we waited. Not to worry, I still got Omicron, and it stunk. Anyway, the movie was streaming and on VOD, so we opted for VOD. It was only six bucks, so that was even better. We settled in after dinner, put our daughter to bed, and watched.

I really enjoyed the movie. I do want to point out that I like "Into the Spiderverse" more, but "No Way Home" was still very well done. I actually like the multiverse stuff. And being that I had seen "Everything Everywhere All At Once" a few days before, the idea of a multiverse movie was on my mind. I was in. I do want to say that I personally think that Tom Holland is the best Peter Parker/Spiderman. He is the only one of the three that truly reminds me of a high school kid. He acts dorky, he seems in over his head and he talks and, more importantly, acts like a teenager. My wife and I said that a lot when watching the movie. But, spoiler alert, seeing Andrew Garfield and Toby Maguire was incredible. It was so neat to see the three of them interact. Maguire was great. He is the oldest and he played that well. When he was stretching his back, that was gold. But I actually think Garfield was the best Spiderman in this movie. He was funny and nice and sweet and willing to goof on himself. I loved the inside jokes, how he called himself lame and kept being referred to as "Spiderman 3", it was awesome. I also appreciated that the movie makers let him save Mary Jane. That was a nice touch.

It was incredibly rad to see the villains from the other movies in this universe. Alfred Molina is a true, true gem as Doc Oc. It was glorious to see him reprise the role. He was amazing. Rhys Ifan as Lizard was crazy because I barely remembered him from the movie he was in. But he did a solid job. I already enjoy Jamie Foxx, and seeing him reprise Electro was totally worth it. He did a very, very good job in this role. Even Thomas Haden Church as the Sandman was fine. Hell, it was even better than what he did in "Spiderman 3" by a mile. But Willem Defoe stole the show. He was creepy and terrifying and diabolical and awesome. He was so god damn scary in this movie, and that was exactly what this movie needed. He was great.

Hell, even the side characters, Zendaya, Ned, Aunt May, J Jonah Jameson, Happy, they were all wonderful. Marisa Tomei is Aunt May now. And her death scene was brutal. Jon Favreau as Happy has never been better. Zendaya is the only MJ I truly enjoy. Ned is so, so much better than Franco's friend character. And JK Simmons is the best person to play Jameson. He embodies that role.

The story was great. Again, it was like a live action version of "Into the Spiderverse", just not as good. But it still worked. They found a way to do it. Adding Dr Strange was exactly what they should have done to make this story work. And Benedict Cumberbatch and Benedict Wong, as Wong, were also great in their roles. And, as always, the imagery in the movie was top notch. Sony/Marvel know how to make superhero movies, and this was no exception. It looked magnetic.

All in all I really did enjoy this movie. My wife and I watched bits and pieces of it yesterday just to rehash some stuff we thought we missed, and that was a totally worthwhile revisit. "No Way Home" is another very good Tom Holland Spiderman movie. Go watch it if you haven't yet. 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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RIP Gilbert Gottfried

Gilbert Gottfried has passed away at the age of 67. This is a bummer. There are too many people losing their lives lately. It stinks.

I have a fond memory of Gottfried. I have always liked him to be honest. I know people complain about his voice and his movies and other stuff, but that never bothered me. I found his voice unique and hilarious. He was a much better version of the Micro Machine guy. They each had their schtick, but Gottfried was much more my speed. I truly did not care that he yelled at his jokes. I found it funny honestly. It worked for me as a fan of comedy.

As for his movies, I loved "Problem Child". He was awesome in it too. I adore "Aladdin", and Iago is so memorable. He was the only good part about the horrible "Saved By the Bell: The Wedding" movie. He was definitely the biggest get in any "Sharknado" movie that he was involved in. As for TV shows, you could find him doing voicework in any number of shows ranging from the 80's throughout the current day. His voice is everywhere. Going outside of voice work, he was a cast member on what many consider to be the worst season of "SNL", but he was the only one on that season that thrived. Going back and watching those eps awhile back, and man are they bad, but Gottfried had something special. He was the only person that worked that season.

The thing I think made him stand apart was the roasts he did. I have been watching clips of him at these roasts the past couple days, and Gottfried kills every single time. He would just pummel the audience and the roastee with joke after joke after joke. He would crush it out there. He was doing the best in a room full of people that pride themselves on their ability to roast. He would have fit in perfectly in the old time roasts that I used to see commercials for as a kid. Gottfried was the perfect amalgamation of old school and modern time comedians. He knew what he was best at, and he ran with it. The roast clips are an amazing thing to watch.

Of course we all remember him as the Aflac duck. My kids even know his voice from those commercials. But, what I remember most about Gottfried as the Aflac duck was him getting fired from that job. It was classic Gottfried. He tweeted a very unflattering stance on the tsunamis in Taiwan, and he was let go. Part of me always thought that he did that on purpose. I think he wanted out of that job, did something awful and was let go. And we all forgot about it a few months later.

Gottfried went on to do many things after that. That would have ended other people's careers, but Gottfried soldiered on and kept plugging away. It has also been super cool to see the many people coming out and talking about how nice and polite Gottfried was on the stand up scene. He didn't big time anyone or refuse to help out. Quite the opposite. I've seen people like Paul F Tompkins, a comedian and actor I adore, come out and say that Gottfried would let him watch his sets for free. That rules. There have been countless other actors talking about interactions with Gottfried, and they are all glowing.

Gottfried's passing is a bummer. He was so young, I know they said an unknown illness, and that makes it even sadder. It is not on the Chadwick Boseman level, but it is akin. Rest in Peace Mr Gottfried. You will be missed.

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 "Everything Everywhere All At Once"

I just finished "Everything Everywhere All At Once" about half an hour ago. I went to a theater again, this time with my dad to see it. Let’s discuss.

I thoroughly enjoyed the absolute hell out of this movie. The actors, writing, directing, set design, costumes, literally everything worked in this movie's favor. I had heard very little about the movie prior to seeing it too. That is the way to go. I had heard about it about a month ago, only watched one preview and stayed away from reviews until I saw it. I have not read a review yet in fact. But I am here to give you all a spoiler free review of this epic movie.

The long and short plot synopsis of the movie is an immigrant family from China is trying to pay their taxes, they have some family trouble and all of the sudden the matron of the family is thrown into a multiverse. I loved the idea. We have seen multiverse stuff in movies and in comic books, but it is all within the world of superheroes. This movie takes a regular family, one that is struggling financially, has problems within the family and throws them into this crazy situation that changes everything they ever knew. I loved how they showed the shift from universe to universe. It was so cool. I also adored how many jokes were in this movie. The first half, hell, the first 2/3rds has so many jokes. There were times where I was cracking up. So were the other patrons in the theater. I went to another vax only theater, and this one was packed. When I saw "The Batman" a month ago, around the same time, there were five total people, counting me, in the theater. Today, it was pretty full. I'd say there were maybe four or five empty seats. The theater is not too terribly big, but still, an 11:35 am showing of a A24 multiverse movie being that full, I found that impressive.

Also the acting in this movie, my goodness was amazing. Michelle Yeoh as the mom and business runner, she was tremendous. She deserves awards consideration. Stephanie Hsu as the daughter, simply terrific. And her costumes were the best. Ke Huy Quan, you may remember him from "Indiana Jones" and "Goonies", was a total delight. James Hong, as the dad and grandpa was awesome when his character shifted into gear. And Jamie Lee Curtis was incredible. Her performance was one of the best in a movie filled with great performances. Even Jenny Slate, Harry Shum and Biff Wiff, all in very small roles, did great.

The set design as previously mentioned was dope as hell. The scenery and imagery was amazing. I mentioned Hsu's costumes, and boy oh boy were they cool as hell. I could not take my eyes off the screen.

The writing was the most impressive thing going on in this terrific movie. The idea was original. The jokes were on point and delivered with perfect timing. The story was awesome and moved along really well.

This movie is great. It is a must see. More and more people need to check this out. I'm sure it will be streaming soon, and when it is I will most definitely watch it a bunch more times. I cannot recommend "Everything Everywhere All At Once" enough. It is one of the best movies I have ever seen. Full stop. Go see it.

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.