Stacy's Blog Has Got It Going On

"The darkest nights produce the brightest stars." -Memo As the Autobots are forced to flee Cybertron, Bumblebee (Dylan O'Brien) is sent to Earth to protect it until the rest of the Autobots arrive.  Seriously injured, Bumblebee goes into hiding as a VW Beetle and is inadvertently bought by Charlie Watson (Hailee Steinfeld) and they form a strong friendship.  Two Decepticons, Shatter (Angela Bassett) and Dropkick (Justin Theroux), arrive on Earth to hunt down Bumblebee and team up with Sector 7 to do so, but the Decepticons plan to bring in the rest of their army to wipe out all of humankind. What Works: I'll be upfront; I hate the Transformers series.  I've seen the first four movies and I hate all of them.  It's one of my least favorite movie franchises.  I cannot possibly understate how much I hate these movies.  I was actually hoping Bumblebee would be terrible and make no money so this franchise would simply go away.  I had no ...

"Let him bleed." -Darcy Banker While on tour, punk rock band, the Ain't Rights, have a gig canceled on them at the last minutes.  The promoter sets them up with a replacement gig at a rural bar in the middle of the woods.  They are warned that there will be some neo-Nazi skinheads in attendance, but the band is unconcerned as there are always skinheads at punk rock shows.  After the show, the band accidentally walks in on a murder being committed by one of the skinheads and they quickly find themselves trapped in their dressing room.  With murderous neo-Nazis outside, led by Darcy Banker (Patrick Stewart), the band has to find a way out of the bar if they want to survive. What Works: Green Room is an utterly thrilling film.  It has a fairly simple premise, but the filmmakers run with it and pump the tension up to 100.  I love movies that are mostly set in one location.  It forces the filmmakers to have interesting conflicts between...

"Rich idiots fly to tropical islands all the time to whack balls around." -Hugo "Hurley" Reyes The 9th episode of Lost picks up with Sayid (Naveen Andrews) as he walks the shore of the island alone.  He notices a cable on the beach and follows it into the jungle, where he manages to avoid a trip wire, but gets caught in a rope trap.  He is freed and knocked out before waking up in a underground shelter.  He discovers he is the prisoner of the French woman who's distress call they had picked up, Danielle Rousseau (Mira Furlan).  She repeatedly asks him the whereabouts of someone named Alex and when Sayid is unable to answer her questions, she electrocutes him. Sayid is eventually able to convince her about being a survivor of a plane crash and offers to help fix her music box.  He tries to get information out of her, but only learns that there is a place called the Black Rock and that she believes there are other people on the island.  She h...

"Something something trident." -Arthur Curry Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa), aka Aquaman, is half-human and half-Atlantean, but wants nothing to do with the underwater kingdom of Atlantis after they murdered his mother, but when his half-brother, Orm (Patrick Wilson), starts seizing control of the other underwater kingdoms to wage war on the surface, Arthur is reluctantly drawn into the conflict.  Arthur has to find the ancient Trident of Atlan so he can dethrone Orm, but he will have to face many vicious creatures of the deep along the way, along with Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), a pirate with a murderous grudge against Aquaman. What Works: Aquaman is truly a visual marvel.  I can't get enough of the visual effects.  Director James Wan really went all out with the effects and they add a lot to the movie.  The underwater kingdoms and fight scenes look fantastic and the use of color is phenomenal.  I can't emphasize enough how much I like...

"I hear you can talk to fish." -Bruce Wayne After the death of Superman (Henry Cavill), Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds), a alien being who failed to conquer Earth in the past, returns to try his luck again.  As he hunts down the three devices he needs to transform Earth into a magmatic world like his own, Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) and Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) attempt to put together a team to stop Steppenwolf, but they quickly realize they can't do it without Superman and put a risky plan into effect to bring the Kryptonian back from the dead. What Works: The members of the Justice League are all pretty solid and enjoyable.  It helps that most of them have a sense of humor (unlike most of the other films in the DC Universe).  Ezra Miller is very funny as the Flash.  Batman and Aquaman (Jason Momoa) have some solid banter.  Even Superman, who isn't known for being funny, has a few great moments, mostly with the Flash.  The more light-hearte...

"I'm feeling like such a noob." -Angelina Keely Wow, what a show.   Survivor: David vs. Goliath was a fantastic season with a very solid ending.  The finale was a lot of fun (mostly because of Angelina) and capped off the season in a satisfying manner.  This is easily in my top 5 seasons of all time and could maybe even get into the top 2 or 3 after I get some more time to digest it.  But did we get the best gameplay of all time?  Let's take a look at this jam-packed finale. I'll be examining each round of play separately, so we'll start with the Final 6 and work our way down and I'll be giving out awards after each elimination and at the Final Tribal Council. Who Played Well: Overall, I think everyone played well at the final 6, though some certainly played better than others.  We'll start with Angelina who managed to find a Hidden Immunity Idol and was on the right side of the numbers to vote out Davie, but she did have to ge...

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry for everything." -Earl Stone Horticulturist Earl Stone (Clint Eastwood) loses his business when he fails to adapt to the world of the Internet.  With a family that hates him and nothing left, Earl falls in with a cartel as a drug mule to make some money to help his granddaughter.  Earl quickly becomes the the best mule in the business, but the power dynamics of the cartel are ever changing and DEA agent Colin Bates (Bradley Cooper) is closing in. What Works: Clint Eastwood and Bradley Cooper get about four scenes together in the entire film.  It's not much, but I like the dynamic they have.  Earl is aware of who Agent Bates is, but Bates knows nothing about Earl.  They have a couple of interesting conversations and their final talk in the third act is probably my favorite scene in the film. I also like the dynamic Earl develops with several of the cartel members he has to work with.  It becomes like...

"I feel like a Kentucky Fried idiot." -Rocky Balboa After the brutal match and loss against Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) retires from fighting and tries to go back to his normal life, but struggles to fit in in the regular world without fighting.  Apollo, whose reputation was damaged because of the fight, desperately wants a rematch and eventually Rocky agrees setting up a collision course of epic proportions. What Works: The highlight of Rocky II is, of course, the climatic battle between Rocky and Apollo.  The fight is brutal and just as awesome as the fight from the first movie.  We get some fantastic slow-motion shots that make this fight feel different from the first one and it's incredibly entertaining.  I knew the outcome of the fight going in, but I still found myself on the edge of my seat yelling at Rocky to get up.  It's that engaging.   The acting is top-notch through and through. ...

"It's not cranberry sauce." -Terry Simmons Todd Simmons (Mark Soper) has been locked in a mental institution for 10 years.  When he was a kid, his twin brother, Terry (Mark Soper), committed a brutal murder and framed Todd as the culprit.  On Thanksgiving, Todd manages to escape the institution to confront his evil brother, but Terry seizes the opportunity to add to his body count and pin all of the murders on Todd once again. What Works: The best part about Blood Rage is the gore.  The are plenty of gnarly and cheesy kills throughout the film.  The gore effects are pretty cool and even the off-screen deaths have memorable body discoveries.  Mark Soper plays two characters and he does a good job of making them seem like two very distinct characters.  Soper isn't a brilliant actor by any means, but he does have a blast playing the psychotic Terry and really gets to chew on some scenery. The best performance in the film comes Lo...

"Do animals talk in this dimension?" -Peter Porker Teenager Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is struggling to fit in at his new school.  Things only get more complicated when he is bitten by a radioactive spider and receives superpowers.  Miles accidentally uncovers a plot by crime lord, Kingpin (Liev Schreiber), to access parallel universes.  Kingpin's experiments accidentally cause several other people with spider powers to be drawn into Miles' universe, including an alternate version of Peter Parker (Jake Johnson).  With the fate of all universes at stake, Miles has to learn how to use his powers to stop Kingpin and get all of the others back home. What Works: Into the Spider-Verse is one of the most purely creative films I have seen in some time.  The filmmakers really went all out to make something special and unleash the craziest aspects of their imagination and they succeeded.  This film is a breath of fresh air on every level....

"Everybody loses, you guys!" -Eric Cartman The season 22 finale of South Park sure had a lot going on.  After getting the mall zombies to work for Amazon, Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman all receive the things they need to finish their bike for the bike parade, but Kenny's father forces him to go to a talk by Josh the Box about Marxism and decides to quit the parade, which prevents the others from using their 4-person bike.  Stan, Kyle, and Cartman decide to get the parade canceled so that everyone loses.  With Amazon not shipping enough stuff and so many stressful protests happening, Randy's weed business booms and he and Towelie devise a way to get more people their weed by using e-scooters.   With all of the small business closed down because of Amazon, South Park faces a Christmas without any presents.  Santa Clause arrives to save the day, but when he learns that the town forced Mr. Hankey to leave, he abandons them to their fate. Af...

"If you feel like screaming, I definitely think that you should." -Jack Jack (Matt Dillon) is on a journey with another man called Verge (Bruno Ganz).  Along the way, Jack tells Verge stories about his life and reveals he is a serial killer.  The film shows five important incidents in Jack's life that all have to do with various murders before we finally see where Jack and Verge are headed on their journey. What Works: This is a Lars von Trier film.  The man has a...distinct reputation.  Now, this is the first Lars von Trier film I have ever seen, so I wasn't exactly sure what to expect.  Having come out the other side, I can say I really enjoyed the film, but it is certainly not for everyone.  Five people walked out of my screening.  It's a very funny film, but it's also extremely dark and disturbing.  There are many moments that difficult to watch.  The film as a whole is entertaining, but very unsettling. Matt Di...

"Cut me, Mick." -Rocky Balboa Heavyweight boxing world champion, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) announces plans for a title bout in Philadelphia, but five weeks before the fight, his opponent backs out due to an injury.  With no other ranked fighters available, Creed decides to give a local Philadelphia boxer a once-in-a-lifetime shot at the title.  Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is chosen and has only five weeks to prepare for the fight of his life. What Works: The best part of Rocky is without a doubt the climatic match better Rocky and Apollo.  This fight is nothing shot of epic.  It's incredibly intense and wholly engaging.  I had never seen this movie before and I knew how it ended, but I was still on the edge of my seat.  It's brutal and difficult to watch at times, especially when Rocky has his eye cut.  It's utterly insane and a fantastic sequence. The acting is superb all-around.  Stallone owns the lead role. ...

"No more, please." -Christian Hubicki Wow.  This episode really threw me for a loop.  We got another Tribal Council where I truly didn't know how it was going to play out.  This episode did a great job setting us up for what looks to be a very unpredictable finale, but before we get to that, let's take a look at the gameplay from this penultimate episode. Who Played Well: We may as well start with Mr. Mike White, who was the mastermind behind the plan to eliminate Christian.  We really didn't get to see much of the plan coming together during the episode, but from the way the votes went, it looks like it was a split vote between Christian and Davie.  I have to give props to Mike, Nick, Alison, Angelina, and Kara for all being a part of this plan.  They HAD  to get out Christian and it made sense to do it now.   But it was Mike who pulled it all together.  Mike managed to heard all of theses cats, get everyone back in li...

"You look like a badger." -Lady Sarah Churchill It's 1708 and Great Britain is at war with France.  Although Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) rules the land, Lady Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz), the Queen's confident and adviser is the one who makes the Queen's decisions.  Sarah gives her cousin, Abigail Hill (Emma Stone), a job as a palace servant after the death of her father, but Abigail starts competing with Sarah to be the Queen's favorite and the cousins quickly find themselves in a battle for the Queen's affection. What Works: The Favourite is carried by the performances.  Stone gives a very out of character performance and she and Weisz have a wonderful dynamic.  I love watching the two of them face off.   Both of them are very well developed and have excellent motivation for their actions and they are extremely entertaining to watch.  It's difficult to tell who to root for, which is another aspect I enjoyed.  It was like ...