Worst Movies of 2016

Just as there are good movies, there are bad ones. If you haven’t already, take a look at the best Movies of 2016 and the Most Anticipated Movies of 2017.

10. Independence Day: Resurgence: We all knew this was going to be bad. There aren’t a lot of series’ that had a great movie and then years later came out with a good sequel. It doesn’t happen often. This is a prime example. The story didn’t fit, the acting was really bad, the action was no good, there was just so much wrong.

9. The 5th Wave: There is nothing I need to say. This was a bad movie that had no hope. Zero hope!  Nuff said!

8. London Has Fallen: This was another movie that had no hope. I mean, Olympus has Fallen and White House Down were eh but London Has Fallen had no hope. There was no way this movie could even keep up. I like that it wasn’t really a part of the series and it tried o be different but it doesn’t feel right. Nothing in this movie really worked.

7. Gods of Egypt: This is a movie I knew wouldn’t succeed but I hoped would because of my knowledge of the Bible. As soon as I saw the cast I knew there was no way this movie would work. And it did not. It had no real story line, didn’t have music of a good plot, the graphics could have been music better, and more. For a movie we all knew would be bad, it was really bad!

6. How to be Single: Once again, another movie with no hope. This was a movie that I was hoping would be ok. It had a good woman cast, something people love to see. But the moment I saw the trailer I knew there was no way it would be good. The actresses are all great but they do not work well together. I always felt like one was overpowering the others. The jokes did not land with me, at all. It made no sense. The concept did not work. How to be Single sounds more like a reality TV show or something but this movie did not work.

5. 50 Shades of Black: Here we have another movie that had no hope. Parody movies never work for people. I won’t lie I did enjoy vampires suck. But this movie did not fit that style at all. Nothing worked. It was trying to funny, which movies should not try to do. A parody should focus on trying to make fun of the movie not be funny. The idea of making fun of an already bad movie is funny enough. I think the Wayans are starting to lose it. Fifty Shades of Grey was already the worst. It was so bad that it was funny. 50 Shades of Black was so bad at being funny that it wasn’t funny.

4. Risen: Another Biblical movie that had no intention of being good. I thought this was a good idea. The idea of Jesus’ life told from a different perspective. The man who had to deal with the resurrection of Jesus seemed cool. But it was not. This was a bad movie. Good idea that did not work in theaters.

3. Ride Along 2: I knew without a shadow of a doubt that this would be a bad movie. I didn’t even like the first one. I had no idea they had money to make another one. People give Kevin Hart a lot of credit but it is not accurate. He is a good comedian but his movies are not good. His acting is so over the top. His voice is so annoying. And his chemistry is not good with Ice Cube. This movie was so predictable. I could literally tell exactly when a joke was coming on. And it never landed. Disappointment was expected but disappointment was undeniable.

2. Dirty Grandpa: As mentioned, I have not had much luck with comedies. This is another prime example. Jokes were not solid, Zac Efron and Robert De Niro had no chemistry. Robert de Niro was awful. He is such a great actor, I wonder why he agreed to do this movie. This movie had potential. But failed so hard.

1. This was a move that I wanted to see. I was so excited. I bought a lot of merch for, I saw this on opening night, brought my lady friend, paid for her ticket. I was so excited! The worst movie of 2016!  Suicide Squad!!! I really wanted this movie to be good. There were tons of posters, ads, merchandise made to honor this movie and it did not deliver. I wanted this to be a great superhero movie. I was so disappointed. The characters didn’t all get to shine, this was such a Will Smith heavy movie, the action was bad, the chemistry was bad all around, the plot made no sense, the heroes weren’t even heroes, they villain appeared for no reason, nothing worked in this movie.

Guys, thanks for tuning in! Be sure to check out more reviews coming in soon. Coming this week, Best TV Shows!

Best Movies of 2016

What’s up guys. 2016 was a great year for movies and as 2017 approaches it’s time to think about what the best movies were. With each movie I discuss I will be explaining why. As a reviewer, I have reasons for why I do or don’t like what I like. I base a lot of my movies off of rewatchability. Can I watch this movie again and again and enjoy it every time? If I were trapped on a desert island with this movie would I be ok? So here we go!

10. Kung Fu Panda 3: The Kung Fu Panda series has been a great children’s series for my generation. It taught several valuable lessons that children need to learn. There was constant humor and great voice acting by everyone. This is an A-list casted movie series and each one has been great Kung Fu Panda 3 continues that idea of life lessons and being the best you can be. I like that Po found his dad and was able to learn from him. I love that they were able to learn from each other.

9. Star Trek Beyond: Following the series road. Star Trek is another great series that has brought a great TV series to life to the big screen. I love this series. The series continues with another great movie. Star Trek Beyond brings to live great graphics, great acting and chemistry, and great action. Chris Pine and Karl Urban make these movies great every time. Great addition to the series.

8. Loving: We all love those movies that are based on true stories. I love them. Obviously, with Glory Road being my favorite fictional movie. This is another great movie that brought something of our culture to life. I think this is a story that needed to be told. It’s something we all know and love but needed to be seen by the next generation. I loved this movie. The acting in this movie was great. I love that this movie didn’t hold back. It didn’t sugar coat how hard those times. This is a movie that everyone of age should see. It’s great.

7. The Edge of Seventeen: I’ll be honest, I had no hope for this movie. I have not seen many good comedies in my time. Not that there aren’t some. My comedy preference is very clear. It takes a lot to make me laugh and very little movies have made me laugh the way this movie did. Woody Harrelson was great. He is literally me as a teacher. Hailee Steinfeld was great in Pitch Perfect and she is back with her own. I have no doubt the Edge of Seventeen will show people what she can do.

6. Moana: This was a great children’s movie. This was a movie that a lot of people were excited for. It brought a new light to the idea of Disney princesses. This was one of the first cultural movies that Disney has brought us and we are grateful. Dwayne Johnson was great. His character was hilarious. The laughs this movie brought was great. The valuable lessons it taught will echo for a long time. I respect how leveled this movie was. It was great. I love the magic. It’s nice to see children’s movies still have a sense of magic and fantasy. This is a great family movie for years to come.

5. Arrival: This one was tough for me! I really enjoyed this movie and considered moving it up the list. But don’t think that means I didn’t like it. No Way. I loved it. Amy Adams was amazing. I love how this movie was clear that she was the one that had to save the days. You guys know how I feel about that. Her work with the aliens was very amazing. She was great. I think this could be a great movie. A piece of me could see a sequel. Jeremy Renner didn’t really play a role in this movie which is why I left it at number 5.  In a movie where everything worked, his character did not. When you have a huge puzzle, it is very easy to see when a piece is missing.  But that doesn’t hinder the movie. This is a great film.

4. Doctor Strange: This was another tough decision. As we get to the end it’s tough. This was a new addition to the Marvel studios. After all of the other movies we had, I was a little underwhelmed. Not that this wasn’t a good movie. I have just seen music better movies, from Marvel. I loved Benedict. The story was great. I loved the Ancient One. And the graphics were great. This was an all around great movie. I look forward to what else they bring to the big screen.

3. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: Guys this was a great movie that I can see myself watching for many years to come. This is a movie I can watch and see something new every time. The acting is great. The action and CGI is amazing. I love the perspective it is shown from. I love how real it looks. This is a great movie.

2. Captain America: Civil War: We all know what a great movie this is. Marvel studios does it again with another great Captain America movie. The cast was great! There were so many characters that we didn’t think would work but it certainly did. Everyone had great timing and showed their colors but at the end of the day this was a Captain America movie. The action was indescribable. Each fight scene left you on the edge of your seat. This is a great movie. I can go on and on. The character development was great. We really saw what Cap and Stark learned about each other. We saw that they didn’t want to fight but had to. We saw the power of fighting for what you believe in. The villain in this movie really made you realize that a great villain doesn’t have to be the biggest and baddest. Black Panther, obviously. The reason this movie is not at number one is because of rewatchability. This is the type of movie that I’d only watch the fight scenes for. Nothing wrong with that and this is still a great movie but I want my number 1 to be a movie I can watch from beginning to end. And that is…

Zootopia: I had no idea that I would like this movie as much as I did. I remember watching the trailer like “what is this”? But I learned right away. Right from the beginning I was hooked. This movie was great because it worked for children and adults. This was great. This movie mad me laugh a lot more than I thought it would. This was a great movie that showed the importance of breaking rules and stereotypes. I like the all star cast. I like that lessons were learned in this movie. This is a movie I can watch over and over again and laugh every time. I like that there is a bit of mystery in this. It means I can go back and see if there is anything I missed the first time. Mysteries are all good for rewatching because there are clues throughout and you want to catch them. This is a great family movie that I am excited to keep watching. I hope they make a second one and add onto this franchise but for now, this was a great movie.

Guys, thanks so much! Tune in for my worst movies of 2016!

Patriots’ Day – On Sale Review

Finally, after seeing about 2-3 not so good A-list casted movies, we have a great movie to end the year.

In the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings, police Sgt. Tommy Saunders (Mark Wahlberg) joins courageous survivors, first responders and other investigators in a race against the clock to hunt down the suspects.

Guys this is going to be a quick should you or should you not see it, review. This movie was released last Wednesday but I didn’t get around to seeing it until today. And I am glad I did. This is not a movie that I thought would be good but I am glad I was proved wrong. 2016 is about movies I thought would be good but weren’t and I am glad that I was wrong.

I love that this movie really stuck to the original story. Since this is something that happened recently it means more people know the sorry and more people are going to be the ones to have a problem with mishaps in the story. So I am glad that it was historically accurate. The cast in this movie was great. My true Money Mindedness fans know that Mark Wahlberg is one of my favorite actors but he has made some really bad movies. This is another great movie to add to his rep. J.k Simmons and Kevin Bacon really do a good job of taking control of the situation. 

Guys, this is a really powerful movie. It isn’t really about how law enforcement deals with the situation but it really dives into how we the people dealt with it. I loved the scenes where we see some of the marathon goers helping those that were injured. This movie does a great job of showing that we in America do a great job of coming together when times get hard. 

This movie does a great job of hitting you right in the feels but not making you cry. I didn’t cry during this movie but there were times when I felt myself getting close but then the movie kind of lightened the mood itself. Which I like. This movie is sad yet hopeful. We aren’t just seeing teh negatives of what happen but we can see that this is something that we can overcome, which is really touching.

Guys, all in all, this is a great movie. This is a really uplifting movie that teaches a lot of values. Anyone who sees this can take something different away from it. Everyone who had a part in this movie did a great job. And I am going to say you all should definitely see Patriots’ Day because it is Worth the $$$!!! 

Most Anticipated Movies of 2017

What’s up guys. Thanks for tuning in. As we reach the end of the year there are a lot of movies that I am looking forward to seeing next year. Note, these are movies I have seen trailers to. So there might be some that I miss, but that’s just because there are aren’t trailers that I have seen yet.

Here’s my format. I will briefly discuss each movie. These are are in no order at first. At the end of my review of each I will list my top 10 Most Anticipated Movies of 2017. Let’s get start started.

The Fate of the Furious – The fast and furious franchise has been taking the world by storm for a very long time. Just when we thought it was falling apart, Dwayne Johnson swooped in and saved the day with Fast Five. The death of Paul Walker also helped the franchise a little. It seems like every movie ends with the team living happily ever after only to find that there is something bigger and better that they can be doing. In the Fate of the Furious, Dom has turned against the team. I have been a Charlize Theron lover so I am excited to see what she can do for this franchise. While I do not think this will be a great movie I think the mystery that drives the plot is exciting.

War of the Planet of the Apes – The Apes series has been amazing so far. This is a great series. The graphics of these movies are amazing. I don’t foresee this series heading downhill any time soon. Woody Harrelson looks great. I am excited to see him play a series role. He is usually very comical so I am excited to see him doing something serious. This is something I will have to see in 3D.

Spiderman: Homecoming – After seeing Tom Holland in CA:CW we are excited to see what else he can do. Zendaya is great. I like how she doesn’t play the typical love interest. The chemistry between Stark and Peter is great. The two of them as kid and mentor is real. Downey Jr. and Holland are real life kid and mentor so it’s great to see. We are all excited to see the boat scene, pulling to back together. Amazing! This will certainly be a great movie.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – Do I even need to discuss it. Guardians 1 took us all by surprise. A comic series that no one had heard of turned in to one of the greatest superhero movies of our time. The trailer for Guardians 2 had me laughing the entire time. Im excited to see what the movie brings. I will be seeing this in 3D!

Wonder Woman – Uh… Gal Gadot. She’s beautiful, she’s smart, she looks the part. Chris Pine. Their chemistry. Pine’s humor with Wonder Woman’s lack of street knowledge is great and will certainly be entertaining. With Wonder Woman, where there is excitement, there is hope. We all know War of the Planet of the Apes, Spiderman, and Guardians will be great. But with Wonder Woman we don’t know. DC films have not prospered the way we would have liked them to. But with Wonder Woman I have hope.

John Wick 2 – I consider John Wick an underrated action movie. I really enjoyed the first one. We all love a good action movie with great fight scenes and skill. Wick’s gun ability is nothing we have seen before. The way he takes out most of his prey in 2 shots. This man truly wastes no bullets and that it what makes him lethal. In the first one, we see that his wife and dog were taken from him. I’m curious his reasoning for the second movie. With my curiosity the better of me, I am excited for John Wick 2.

Cars 3 – Have you see the trailer? Lightning is about to take a major L. The teaser leaves you hanging so much that you can’t not see it. Disney has not failed me and I don’t expect them to now.

Despicable Me 2 – Contrary to most people, I love minions. I’m exited to see them again with Gru and Lucy. The bad guy in this movie looks hilarious. His rubix cube attack was great. Gru + Lucy = Grucy, that’s hilarious! DM has always brought smiles to children’s faces and laughter to adults. I am excited for a refreshing children’s comedy.

Beauty and the Beast – We were all excited when we heard that there was a live-action Princess movie. The scene in the trailer where we first see the beast’s face was moving. The graphics look great. I would have hated to see a live action B&B back in like the 80s. My only concern is that production sticks to the real story. I would hate to see the story butchered.

Lego Batman – We all know that The Lego Movie was great. It took us all by surprise and were shocked at how amazing it was. I foresee many Lego movies to come. The idea of bringing toys to life has been around for years but the lego movies really captivated the ideas. I hope Lego Batman is good so we can see may more Lego movies in the future.

All right guys, you have my most anticipated movies, based on trailers. In order, here is my list!

10. The Fate of the Furious

9. John Wick 2

8. Cars 3

7. Despicable Me 2

6. War of the Planet of the Apes

5. Beauty and the Beast

4. Lego Batman

3. Guardians of the Galaxy

2. Spiderman: Homecoming

1. Wonder Woman

Darkness and Light – Music Review

What’s up Guys, welcome to another exciting Music Review. I am sure you all know that John Legend has released some new music that we are all determined to listen to. I’m here today to determine if hos new album Darkness and Light is worth your time and your money. Let’s Get Started.

Darkness and Light is John Legend’s fifth album. It was released December 2nd and has already been getting a lot of attention. I have been a fan of Legend for a long time now. I remember my dad had his first album and I thought he had one of the smoothest voices I have ever heard at that age. He’s won 10 Grammy’s and many other awards for his music and he is back at it again with another album to melt your hearts.

So let’s talk about the songs that I like. Penthouse floor with Chance the Rapper is amazing. I in no way foresaw these artists working together but they really come together to make something amazing. I would love to see the two of them working together more often. 

Overload is also a very nice piece of music. This song features Miguel, another smooth voice singer who had been doing some good work in the music industry. These two young men make a good duo. I would also like to see what else they come up with together. I would like to hear a Miguel song feature Legend so we can hear more of Miguel but this is still a great song. 

Of course Love Me Now. Probably the most loved piece on this album. This is a great song. Need I say more? If you haven’t heard it, turn on the radio, flip a few channels, and you will. 

Marching into the Darkness is another song that I really enjoy. This is another song that speaks for itself. All it takes is one listen and you’re forever in love with it. 

Guys this was a short and sweet review because John Legend speaks for him self. This is a great album with several good features, meaningful lyrics, touching messages, and smooth voices all around. John Legend has done it again. Darkness and Light might win him another Grammy and it is certainly something you should Get the CD!!!

Thanks again for checking out another music review keep a look out for my top 25 songs of 2016 as we approach the new year. Keep a look out for Albums Worth the $$$, Artists you should See In Concert, and artists who should have Stuck To YouTube!

Passengers – On Sale Review

Welcome to another On Sale Review! Passengers just came out today and I saw it just for you guys. For those of you just joining, On Sale Reviews are reviews of movies that are currently in theaters. On Sale reviews are to help you determine if you all, my readers, should see it. Let’s get started.

Passengers came into theaters today. It stars Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence, two actors who have flourished the last few years and have been on top of the world. “On a routine journey through space to a new home, two passengers, sleeping in suspended animation, are awakened 90 years too early when their ship malfunctions. As Jim and Aurora face living the rest of their lives on board, with every luxury they could ever ask for, they begin to fall for each other, unable to deny their intense attraction until they discover the ship is in grave danger. With the lives of 5,000 sleeping passengers at stake, only Jim and Aurora can save them all.”

It seems like 2016 is the year of A-list casts that disappoint. Passengers had potential to be a great movie. It had the right idea, story line, actors, graphics, and more. It just…didn’t. It’s tough to put your finger on and say this is what’s wrong with it. And I’ll be honest, this movie was bad and it wasn’t great. It was just eh. The great Jeremy Jahns said it would be better if he were drunk. As someone who doesn’t drink that’s not really an option. There is a part of me that enjoyed this movie. I wanted to see a great cast make a great movie. But it as good and I can’t complain. 

The part of me that does gave a problem is the writer side of me. I have written several stories and screen plays so I am very picky about what I watch. It is very hard of me to watch an Ok movie without creating my own ideas for what the movie could be. 

So this movie is broken up into three section. The first section is where we see Chris Prat. He was the first to wake up. This is the time where he is living in isolation. This was my favorite part of the movie because we get to develop his character. A year later, Jennifer Lawrence wakes up. And then the movie turns into a romance. The movie kind of takes a shift. And the third section is where it turns into an action movie. I really enjoyed the first section. Chris Pratt plays a very smart engineer and we got to see what his character could do. I liked the third part of the movie where the two characters are trying to figure out a way to fix the ship. But I personally felt like Jennifer Lawrence didn’t bring anything to the film. That’s something I liked and didn’t like. If both of them were some kind of engineer I would have been a little upset because that would have been too easy. But I like that Chris Pratt had the knowledge and she simply wanted to help and protect him. I think the movie could have been better if Chris Pratt were on the ship alone. But I understand the movie was trying to appeal to several audiences. You get some people with the isolation, the chick with the romance and the action to bring it all together. I think that’s brilliant. But it didn’t work as well as I think it could have. There were a few moments where it looked like the movie was going to take a good turn but then…didn’t. 

Guys I’ll be honest, this was not a bad movie. If you really want to see Passengers, I’d suggest you Make a Friend Pay!!! As I mentioned in the past, I love taking stories and giving them my own spin. So here is Zee’s Pitch on how I would have liked to have seen Passengers!

Zee’s Pitch: 300 people are selected and chosen to be put on a ship and taken to another
world to inhabit it. The journey to the other world is estimated to take 125 years.
So the passengers are put into a hybernative state that will allow them to not age
while sleeping. In 120 years, they will all wake, live amungst the Avalon, and get the
time to get to know one another, find a mate, procriate with, and more. After 30 years,
one man (Jim Preston) wakes up. He lives alone with only the robotic maintenance crew thereto keep him company. Jim doesn’t know why he woke up. After a year of being awake, one of the robots leads Jim into a secret room of the ship. There is a big monitor and a fingerprint scanner. Jim scans his finger and the face of a older man shows up. The
man begins speaking to him. He tells Jim that Jim has a mission, the sabatoge the ship.
Jim, a mechanical engineer, is confused about why he has to destroy the ship with all
of those people on it. As he is watching the video he can’t believe what he is watching, Jim storms out. Then, through a window, he sees Aurora walking around on the other side of the ship. The two of them see each other. They are not sure if what they are seeing is real.
Jim and Aurora meet and begin to get to know each other and eventually fall in love.
Jim lets the knowledge of destroying the ship leave his mind and focuses on his new
relationship with Aurora. Aurora, who has told Jim that she is a journalist, we
actually learn is a convicted murderer. Jim, who we thought was a mecahnical engineer,
we learn was also a convicted thief. We learn that each and every passenger on the ship
is a serious criminal. One night, the robotic crew takes Aurora into the secret room
while Jim was sleeping. She scans her finger. She sees the same face and the same video,
the man just says her name instead. She is tasked at destroying the ship. Aurora
watches the video straight through. As she reaches the end (which Jim did not) she learns that if she does destroy the ship, there is a secret escape pod. She will be able to escape and return to Earth. All of her charges will be dropped and she will be given a new life. Unlike Jim, Aurora is actually considering doing it. One of the robots asks Aurora if she is considering destroying the ship. Aurora thinks a moment and then says yes. An instant later, the robots roll to Jim, grab him out of bed and attempt to kill him. Aurora tries to stop them. Jim asks why they attacked him. Aurora lies. This reminds Jim of the secret room he had gone into.

Jim, who is smart, starts to think. Why would there be a fingerprint scanner
if only he could access it. When he secretly went back into the room but his finger
print did not work. When he leaves the room, the robots are waiting for him. Jim is
smart and is able to disable the robots. After searching for Aurora he finds her at the
heart of the ship where the main controls are. Jim tries to stop her but it is too late
Aurora has already set a timer for the bomb that will destroy the ship. Therefore the
two of them must figure out who is going to escape. This is where we see that Aurora is
skilled fighter and Jim stands no chance. The two of them, who were once lovers are
now fighting to escape. We see the escape pod leaving the ship seconds before Avalon
explodes. A military base back on earth is shown. A machine starts beaping. Three men
look at a monitor and see that an escape pod is approaching. The pod door opens and we
see Jim step out. The man behind the Avalon experienment says to him. “Great job Soldier
You’ll have three months before your next mission.” Camera pans out, we see another
identical Avalon ship and a long line of men and woman in orange prison jumpsuits and
handcuffs, boarding the Avalon. Jim nods and prepares to do it all again.

That’s what I would have done. Let me know what you think and be sure to keep tuning in for more great reviews.

Assassin’s Creed – On Sale Review

The following movies have something in common; Warcraft, Mortal Kombat Annihilation, Street Fighter, Street Fighter, Doom, Prince of Persia, Resident Evil. Do you think you’ve spotted a pattern yet? Video Games that were turned into movies. Bad movies. Movies no one will ever watch again. And sadly, sadly, sadly, this is another one of those movies.

Assassin’s Creed was a movie that I was very excited to see. I remember seeing the trailer when I went to see Captain America: Civil War. Kind of makes you think how time flies. On the bright side, CA:CW was really good. Ass Creed was not. I hate t be the one to say it. SO for this On Sale review I will be helping you determine if you should hit the theater’s while this baby is still showing.

Let’s start with what I had hopes for.

This was easily one of the coolest looking movies in a while. I liked the whole concept that it brought. The idea that your ancestors were ancient killers and you can relive that. I like the machine they had that allowed them to recreate what was happening. I was excited for the casting. This is an A-list cast. But as I learned with my other On Sale review, great cast does not mean great movie.

All of those things I was excited for. Here’s what I left disappointed by. Every scene that took place during the “present time” was not good. It was sloppy and all over the place. This is an action movie so it’s important to keep the viewers on their toes. But Fassbender only goes back in time about 3 times and it’s pretty short. A move like this should spend about 75% of the screen time doing action things. Otherwise people will fall asleep. The action is also very unclear. There are scenes where Fassbender is fighting and the showing cuts from the ancient times to the present, and back and forth, and back and forth. I get what they were trying to do. They were trying to show how Fassbender was actually living out what was happening but we got that from watching the trailer. We didn’t need to be reminded for the entire movie. I was very upset with how much cutting was done during the fight scenes. It was very hard to follow. 

Guys this is another short review because I went into this movie with a lot of hope.I thought Assassin’s Creed was going to defy the stereotype the video games can’t be movies but it only added to the theory and sealed the deal for me. Video games should stay video games. This had the potential to be a great movie. It had the materials to be great. I think with a different director and editor it could have been great but something went wrong in production. Someone had a great idea that was turned down that led to the movie I saw. Maybe there is an editor’s cut somewhere that is a 100 times better. I would love to see it. I still have hope that Assassin’s Creed could make something of itself. There was some foreshadowing that there might be a second one but we will see. 

All-in-all Assassin’s Creed was not a good movie. I know a lot of people ho were excited about this movie who are going to be disappointed. So for my On Sale Review I think it best if you wait for Assassin’s Creed to Come on Netflix!!!

Pitch – TV Review

What’s up Guys! Welcome to another TV Review, two in a row just for you guys. As 2016 is coming to an end I am reviewing some of the TV shows that have come out this year. Yesterday I talked about How To Get Away With Murder which is returning Jan. 19th.

Pitch was released Sept. 22nd of this year. This was a highly anticipated TV show this year. Now enters another empowering TV show that stars a young black actress trying to make a name for herself in and out of the studio. Pitch comes on FOX Thursdays. Season 2 just came to an end so let’s talk about it. Talented baseball pitcher Ginny Baker immediately rises to fame when she is called up by the San Diego Padres and becomes the first woman in Major League Baseball. She immediately sets in on the task of proving herself to her teammates, starting with team captain and catcher Mike Lawson. The two share an immediate chemistry, putting Mike in the middle of tensions between the beautiful new player and certain teammates who don’t appreciate a woman out on the mound. Not all of her fellow Padres are so averse to change, with center fielder Blip Sanders providing support through her journey.

Let’s start with what I like. First let me say that I was on the edge about watching this show. As a critic, when new things come out there is excitement as well as shear terror. You never know if something is going to be great or just awful. So for me I was worried. A story about a young woman being the first woman to play baseball as opposed to softball was huge. And I was worried that something like this would aid in the degradation of black people as well as women.

First let me say that I am pleased to say that I enjoy this show. I wouldn’t label it as a drama, mystery, or action. This is just another episode about a young girl trying to find her way while the entire world is watching. This show, to me, is along the lines of a reality TV show. We are seeing how she lives but not from the angle of reality TV. It’s still a drama but there is no petty drama, which I like.

I like the characters of this show. I like Ginny. I think she is an understandable character at first. I like Lawson. He is the perfect definition of the  cool guy who knows what he is doing and just wants to win ball games. I think production tries to play him as the bad boy but I understand that he is just looking out for her. After a while, Mike and Ginny become great friends. I love their friendship. Friends but also mentor and rookie. I like how he doesn’t let her forget that she is a rookie. Blip is an old friend of hers that really helps her settle into life in the major league. I like that Ginny comes into the show with a friend and someone we can see her develop a friendship with. The character development in this show is really good. No one is rushed. Even though this is a show about Ginny, we get to really dig deep on who everyone is. The only person I didn’t like was her father. I think his character was way overdone. He’s stern yes and he wants the best for his daughter, but really the best for himself. It’s tough to tell. We don’t know his intentions. Her father pushes her way too hard. Let the record also show that her father is only in the first episode. After that we don’t really see how he impacted her. I would have liked to see her father in almost every episode and then in the end finding out why he is so important.

The characters are the main reason I continue to watch this show but there are some things that I do not like. I do not like the plot behind the show. Each episode has a new plot. There is no continuing story line other than the team trying to win a championship. So the question becomes what is truly to moral of this show? I would have liked to have seen a consistent plot. Example, Avatar the Last Airbender. We all knew that in the end, Aang was going to have to fight the fire lord. That was the end goal which we knew from the beginning. This show has not made it clear what the goal is and without it, it’s just 42 minutes of people talking and playing baseball. There has to be some kind of end goal. I mentioned that I liked Ginny at first. After a few episodes she kind of turns into a jerk. She doesn’t listen to reason and she is the source of all of the problems in this show. I think there are times when she looks weak when she needs to be the strong one. When there are problems within the team, she should be the one to fix them. I would like to see her grow up, a lot more and be the a leader.

As this show is still new there isn’t a lot I can say about it. Pitch is available on Hulu and on the Fox website. If you haven’t seen it but are interested I would recommend Using a Friend’s Log In!!! This is a good show to pass some time. I wouldn’t get a Hulu account just to watch this show nor would I watch it love. But it is worth the time, just not the $$$, not yet anyway.

HTGAWM – TV Review

 

Good Day, Good Day! I hope everyone is doing well. Welcome to another TV Review. So a month ago I finished the Season 3 MidSeason Finale of How To Get Away With Murder! This is a show I have been committed to for about three years now and have loved every episode of it. ABC announced that HTGAWM and Scandal will be returning to TV on Jan. 19th. I am very excited. So in order to share my excitement I am releasing a review of How to Get Away With Murder. 

How to Get Away With Murder Aired on September 25, 2014 on ABC. It stars Viola Davis, Billy Brown, Alfred Enoch, and Aja Naomi King. Annalise Keating (Oscar-nominated,Tony-winning actress Viola Davis) is a brilliant, charismatic and seductive professor of defense law, who teaches a class called How to Get Away With Murder. Annalise, also a criminal defense attorney, selects a group of students — the best and the brightest — to assist with cases at her firm alongside her employees, the trustworthy and discreet Frank Delfino (Charlie Weber) and Bonnie Winterbottom (“Gilmore Girls” alum Liza Weil), an associate attorney. Mysteries arise that test everyone’s limits and reveal dark truths.

All my Money Mindedness fans know that I am a huge fan of detective, lawyer, mystery shows. I loved Shark, Monk, Psych, and more. This show was a god addition to shows that I enjoy. I first watched this with an old friend of mine, Chris. WE had little to no idea what this show was about I just remember seeing the trailer and Davis saying How To Get Away With Murder. How cool is that?

 

Rather tan talking what I like and don’t like I’ll talk about each season and what I liked. There will be no spoilers beyond what can be seen in trailers and social media. 

Season 1 starts with us getting to know the characters. Right off the bat we see that the main characters are in trouble. We see that they are just kids trying to make something of their lives. We see Viola Davis who plays Annalise, a very successful lawyer. A few minutes in, we see why she is such a great lawyer and an even better teacher. I love how almost instantly we see that something is wrong. This show is notorious for jumping timelines. It doesn’t go from start to finish. So we start by seeing something is wrong and then we go back and meet the characters. And then at the end we see that the team, AKA the Keaeting 5 have killed someone and that they are trying to bury the body. All this happens in the first episode.

I really liked Season 1. I like not knowing. I am usually really good at figuring out things like Whodunnit. I watch a lot of mystery shows so I can usually guess who did what. So I like that I had no idea what was going on. I thought I knew but as I got to the end I realized I had no idea who killed the victim. I like that we are constantly getting to know characters. Most shows try to show you who everyone is and then get into the depth of the show. But we are constantly learning about the characters. We are always learning. We are not only trying to figure out who killed the victim but we are also trying to figure out who these students are and what they may, or may not have had to do with the death. We are also trying to get to know Annalise. She is clearly hiding something and her job always comes first so we are always asking what is happening. There is never a way of knowing what is going to happen next. I like that in each episode we get to watch Annalise and the students work together. We get to see them being students and lawyers. We learn that they are actually really great lawyers. One thing I love about this show is that the solution doesn’t come until the very end. Most shows, you watch an episode and then at the end of the show you are ready to find out who did it. But this show makes you wait until the end of the season to actually find out what happened.

Season 2 is about who shot Annalise. The season starts by us seeing the team running from a large house and then panning inside and seeing Annalise on the floor bleeding. I loved this season again because we don’t know who did it. We also start to learn a little about the backstory of one of the characters. In the first season we learn a lot about most of the Keating 5 but this season we very in depth about one of the characters in particular. This is great because we also know where this person and Annalise stand. I like that when there are time differences the cinematography changes. The setting and coloring looks very different. It is clear to tell which setting is which. Something I wish had occurred was more discussion about what happened in season one. I mean, after killing someone the team should have been a little more shaken up. And some of them were but others were not.I would have liked to have seen the entire team either coming together or tearing them apart and taking that season to rekindle what they have. I have nothing against the show but it was a little odd that they killed someone and just kind of moved on. There is no way I would have gone back to that school. There is such a thing as transferring. This season has a lot of the same attitude as the first. It stays along the same path which I like. The show is sticking to its roots. There was a moment where it got a little off topic but it quickly got back one. If the season had gone on without that one episode you wouldn’t have been able to tell. Contrary to the first season, the ending to this show was Okay. It wasn’t as shocking as I would have liked. Correction, the person who shot Annalise was not shocking but there is more to the show, which is something I like. That’s something good about this show. There are layers. So when one thing doesn’t work out there is more that you can rely on. There is a lot to figure out in this season and I enjoy that. Season 2 was good. In comparison to Season 1 it was Okay!

Season 3 is what revived this show for me. I don’t have cable so i don’t want this show on live TV. I generally watch it on the ABC website the day after. But I must say after Season 2 I didn’t really want to keep watching so religiously. I started Season 3 with some hope but I wouldn’t have been surprised if the show start going downhill. But I am very happy that it did not. There were a few negatives. The time hopping thing I was talking about earlier happens a LOT. Almost to the point that it is hard to tell what is happening when. The first episode I was very confused. I just knew that something was on fire and they had found a body. But there is also another time ling going on and it was hard to tell which was which. As mentioned, it’s only the half way point so I don’t know all of the details but what I do know I love. I constantly went back and forth on who I thought it was. I found myself being turned around constantly. I would think someone did it and then the show would actually show that person clearly doing something else. So just when I thought I knew who it was, I constantly finding myself learning that I was wrong. This is a show that I was always excited to watch. Since I watched it weekly, the thought of having to wait for the next episode was haunting. But that’s a good thing. The show had rekindled the idea of keeping audiences on the edges of seats. That’s something How to Get Away With Murder really has going for them. I’d love to see them keep it up for the rest of the season and into a possible Season 4

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Guys, all in all if you haven’t seen how to get away with murder stop what you are doing and check it out. This is a great show. Usually I base my reviews off of price but today I am basing it off of what I think it the best way to watch this show. For sure, Wait for Netflix!!! You are not going to want to put this show away. Just like a good book. You are going to watch to binge the heck out of this so watching it live will only hurt your soul. Def watch it on Netflix for the best experience. Thanks again for tuning in for another episode.

Party – On Sale Review

What’s up Everyone! Welcome to another On Sale Review. 3 days ago, Chris Brown released the music video of or his new single Party with Usher and Gucci Mane. I just checked it out and it’s time for an On Sale Video while it’s still hot.

Chris Brown has been known for his stylish dancing, well directed music videos, excellent collaborations, and songs that have nothing to do with anything. This is another example of that. A song about knowing how to party because of rad dance moves that includes rad dance moves and two other super stars.

I’ll be honest when I say I am not a huge fan of the song but the music video caught my attention quickly. So this will technically be my first Music Video review. If you look it, let me know and I will make some more.

This music video starts off like it is about to tell a story. Chris Brown is looking for some kind of ancient Asian underground dance place. He confronts these “kids” and asks where he can find it but they don’t let him in. After that there doesn’t seem to be a story. I’m all about stories being told in music videos but I don’t hate when they don’t. With that being said, if a video looks like it is going to have a story and then doesn’t that can be a problem because then I don’t really know what is going on. So I would have liked to see more of a story. It would have been cool to have Brown battling several ancient Asian dance gurus in order to make it to the Underground and then in the end he makes it and becomes and Ancient One.

Let’s talk about the setting. I am not sure where this video takes place. Like I mentioned, it appears to be an Asian country of some kind, most likely Japan. But it is not clear other than the subtitles. I like the dark, mysterious feel that this video has. you know how Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift was almost always night time? It’s kind of like that. I like it.

Likes and Dislikes: I like the dancers in this video. AS a dancer myself I was able to notice several upcoming and big name dancers in this music video, Les Twins, Kida the Great, and more. I respect Chris Brown for reaching out to these fellow dancers. I also like that Usher was a part of this song since he is another iconic multi-talented singer-dancer. The two of them are both very talented. I would have liked to see them dancing together. Almost playing off of one another. Not battling but dueting through dance. There was a moment where they were both dancing but they were doing the same thing. CHris Brown has often been compared to Usher and several questions have been raised on who was better. This could have been a great way to settle that score. I didn’t like the “Shaky Cam” effect. There were times when they would be dancing and the camera would shake. It almost looked like there were parts where Chris Brown didn’t know the words and so the camera shook in hopes of not showing that he made a mistake. That might not have been the case but that’s what it looked like. Contrary to my dislike there was a moment in the beginning of the song where the camera shaking occurred on the beats of the song. That was really cool because it really brought out the bass even if the bass isn’t loud. I wish they had kept that going but lie I said, the camera shaking got random and stopped making sense. I didn’t understand the masks that the dancers wore nor did I understand their clothing They all wore black with a white triangle on their torsos. And then they wore white masks that covered their mouths. I wasn’t sure what that was supposed to mean. But again, there was no story to help it along. I like how the chorus of the song had a unified dance to go along with it. A lot of music today is based off of a dance so having a unified dance gives people something they can dance along to at a party or get together. Music respect. The young dancers in this video were off the chain. They all had something unique they brought to the table and it really played off well. Only negative is that the camera kept cutting back and forth from the singer to the dancer. It was unclear. I would have preferred we saw singing/rapping and then dancing. It’s a music video so it doesn’t have to be the song straight through. This kind of goes back the the idea that Chris Brown should have been battling around Japan or something.

Guys, all in all this is a really cool music video with great dancing. That’s what a lot of Chris Brown music videos are this one is nothing new. I would have liked the song to be a little bit better and maybe have a story line in the music video but I won’t pick at it. This is a music video I see easily reaching about 30-50 million views. I suggest giving it a watch. As far as the song Party, Watch it on YouTube!!! It goes better with the music video.