Stacy's Blog Has Got It Going On

"Shut your face." -Elaine Stott" Wow, what an episode.  This was hands down the best episode of the season with great character moments, riveting gameplay, and an incredible Tribal Council.  You couldn't ask for more from an episode of Survivor .  Hats off to the editors.  They did something truly remarkable here, but was the gameplay remarkable?  Let's take a look! Who Played Well: Starting on the Lairo tribe, we'll kick things off with Dean.  After Noura approached him with the idea to turn on Jack and Jamal, Dean wisely realized Noura is not an ideal alliance partner and he ratted on her to Jamal.  Great move for Dean. Speaking of Jamal, I give him major props for the way he handled the situation with Jack.  He took an opportunity to educate and the way he explained how he felt about the word du-rag was very well handled.  I really respect his level of composure and he used the opportunity to cement a bond with Jack. Jack mad

"I'm done eating L's." -Missy Byrd The 5th episode of Island of the Idols was pretty lackluster, I admit.  There was too much time spent on the Reward Challenge and Applebee's.  We got hardly any screentime with the new Vokai tribe and the Lairo vote wasn't overly interesting, but we still have to break down the gameplay, so let's take a closer look. Who Played Well: I only have one person to talk about from the new Lairo tribe and, surprisingly, that is Karishma.  She was awful in the challenges and should have been the person to get voted out, but she did something right to get the original Vokai members to keep her.  I'm not sure what did it, but I liked how open she was with Jack and Janet and she did a good job of pledging her loyalty. Over on Vokai, Aaron and Tommy bonded with each other on a genuine level and plan on looking out for each other at the merge.  It's two meat shields meat shielding each other and I lik

"You'll be the first to die, but I like your enthusiasm." -Tallahassee Several years after the events of the first movie, tension within the group has begun to rise.  With Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) and Wichita (Emma Stone) having relationship problems, Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) goes off on her own.  The gang goes after her, but encounters other survivors and more than a few zombies along the way. Heads up, I will be spoiling this movie below.  Go see Zombieland: Double Tap before you read on.  It's a fun movie, but nowhere near as good as the original.  Go in with lowered expectations and you'll have a good time.  Spoilers ahead! What Works: Like the first movie, Double Tap has an amazing cast with great chemistry.  The writing is not this movie's strong point, but, more often than not, the cast makes it work with their chemistry alone.  All of the original characters do a great job, and the new characters are a lot of fun too.

"They drew first blood!" -John Rambo Troubled Vietnam veteran, John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone), is passing through Hope, Washington, where he is harassed and unjustly arrested by the sheriff, Will Teasle (Brian Dennehy).  Several of the cops abuse Rambo to the point where he snaps and violently escapes the police station.  Teasle and his men give chase into the wilderness where they soon realize that they aren't hunting Rambo, he's hunting them. What Works: The first half of First Blood is utterly thrilling.  It's one long chase sequence and it doesn't let up.  We get get plenty of awesome and intense moments that make the film fly by; Rambo's escape, the car chase, his cliff-hanging duel with a helicopter, and his face-off against Teasle.  It's an absolute blast and incredible action. The action sequences themselves are all really well done.  There's a wide variety and it isn't just mindless explosions and guns firing.

"I want my cake!" -Nathan Grantham Billy (Joe King) is a fan of Creepshow comics, which his Dad (Tom Atkins) despises.  As Billy plots his revenge on his father after throwing out his comic, we're treated to five spooky short stories from the Creepshow . What Works: I really only enjoyed two of the five shorts, but those two were both really great.  My favorite is the 3rd short, "Something to Tide You Over," which features Ted Danson and Leslie Nielsen.  I'm so used to Nielsen's comedic performances, but he's fantastic as a murderous psychopath.  It's a legitimately scary short with an excellent premise and great performances. The other short I really liked is the 4th one, "The Crate."  This one felt the most like a real movie, which makes sense as it's the longest one.  It has two different stories, one featuring a monster under the stairs and another involving a man who fantasizes about murdering his wif

"I hate coconut, not the taste, the consistency." -Tallahassee When a zombie outbreak wipes out the majority of the planet, Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) makes his way towards his hometown to find his family.  He follows a set of rules he created to survive in "Zombieland" and along the way meets a group of other survivors.  They have to overcome their trust issues and personality quirks in order to make it through this in one piece. What Works: I adore Zombieland  and love it more every time I watch it.  This movie has had a massive impact on my life.  The thing that has stuck with me the most are Columbus' rules.  I host a podcast called "How to Survive a Horror Movie" which is me creating a list of rules as well.  Double Tap may or may not be one of the rules.  I love how Columbus' rules are used to great comedic effect and how the words show up on screen.  It's brilliant and I will always love it. The performances ar

"You just got pwned by a towel." -Randy Marsh After suspending business with China, Randy and Towlie expand their business into food by creating the Tegridy burger; a meatless burger made from marijuana.  They are a massive success, but forced the cattle ranchers out of business and one of them leaves all of his cows at Tegridy Farms for Randy to deal with.  He and Towlie get high and shoot all of the cows. At South Park Elementary, the cafeteria food has been changed to healthier options, which causes Cartman to get so upset he has a heart attack.  The school changes the menu back and Wendy leads a faction of the school to protest.  A compromised is reached when The Goo Man, the owner of a meatless-meat company starts to supply the school's food.  Cartman doesn't even notice the difference until Butters, who feels guilty for deceiving Cartman, spills the beans. Footage of Randy and Towlie shooting the cows is released, which causes everyone to turn

"I feel like I have a big mouth, a big voice." -Noura Salman Wow, what a train wreck of an episode and I don't just mean Noura.  We got some truly awful gameplay from the Lairo tribe, but another solidly entertaining episode.  I have a new favorite character in Noura and everything involving her was gold.  Now, let's get into the gameplay. Who Played Well: Let's start on the Lairo tribe.  This won't take long as we only have one person to talk about and that's Karishma.  She was very calm after last week's Tribal Council and handled herself well, while knowing she was also in danger.  Somehow she survived this week by being such a non-threat, so good for her...I guess. Over on Vokai, I have to give props to the entirety of the tribe, minus Noura.  All of them were smart enough to not go to Island of the Idols and avoided putting a target on their back.  They also saw through Noura's terrible lie and stopped her from callin

"Is it me, or are people starting to not be that stoked on Tegridy Farms?: -Randy Marsh When his mom takes him to get vaccinated, Cartman goes on a squealing rampage to avoid the needle.  PC Principal tells Cartman he can't come to school until he gets vaccinated, but he finds a way around it by declaring himself a conscientious objector.  The rest of the adults in South Park are upset Cartman is putting everyone else at risk and convince Lianne Cartman to let them help vaccinate her son, which fails spectacularly.  Eric ends up kicking Lianne out of the house.   After making a deal with Chinese, Randy celebrates making $300,000 dollars with some wild celebrations, but his family is still unimpressed and angry with him.  Lianne shows up to buy some weed and she and Randy bond over their family problems, which convinces Randy to turn his back on the Chinese government and reform his partnership with Towlie. The rest of the town organizes a rodeo to vaccinate

"Just because there's not a war doesn't mean there's peace." -Mystique An ancient mutant, Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac), is freed from his slumber of several millennia and recruits four powerful mutants to be his Four Horseman.  As they start to destroy the world, it's up to the X-Men, now composed of mostly young and inexperienced members, to find a way to stop Apocalypse. What Works: I've said it before and I'll say it again, Michael Fassbender is absolutely incredible as Magneto.  The rage and pain this guy feels is utterly palpable.  He's been through so much already and in this movie he watches his wife and daughter die in front of him.  It's the best scene of the movie and brutal to sit through. James McAvoy also continues to be great as Charles Xavier.  His charisma is through the roof and I love every second he's on screen.  It is a little silly to watch him have a fistfight with Apocalypse inside their minds,

If I would have chopped my head off, they wouldn't have flinched." -Karishma Patel This was my favorite episode of the season so far.  Both tribes have really compelling stories and I was excited for either one to go to Tribal Council.  We also had a really exciting Island of the Idols test and an excellent arc for the player who went home.  I love it!  Now, let's get to the gameplay. Who Played Well: Let's start out on Lairo with Aaron, who had quite the bounce-back week.  It was his idea to split the votes between Vince and Karishma, it worked perfectly, and he doesn't seem to be on the bottom any longer. Chelsea, Elizabeth, and Elaine were all in on the Vince-Karishma split and it worked.  I do wonder why they were so okay with one of the members of their girls alliance being the backup vote though. Missy was ultimately on the right side of the numbers, but she really wanted to take out Tom.  Overall she still had a fine night.  Sh

"Is it just me, or is it getting crazier out there?" -Arthur Fleck Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is a party clown and an aspiring comedian with severe mental illness.  Joker follows Arthur as his life falls apart on every level and he transforms into the super-villain, Joker. What Works: Joaquin Phoenix is far and away the best part of the movie.  He completely owns this performance on every level.  He manages to rival Heath Ledger, but doesn't imitate him.  Phoenix puts his own spin on this legendary character and I wouldn't be surprised to see him get nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars. This movie isn't as violent as I expected.  There are only a handful of scenes where things get bloody, but it's very effective when it does.  The bloodshed that does happen is brutal and intense, but occasionally satisfying. There is very little humor in Joker .  Surprisingly little, in fact, but on the very rare moments it does happen, it

"I hate my life." -Jupiter Jones Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) hates her life working as a maid until she becomes the target of several groups of aliens; some wanting her alive, others dead.  She is rescued by a genetically engineered tracker, Caine Wise (Channing Tatum), and they discover she is a reincarnated member of the powerful House of Abrasax and is the rightful heir to planet Earth, but there are those that would see her die before she can claim what is hers. What Works: From a technical level, this film is amazing.  The special effects are marvelous and a sight to behold.  This movie looks great and if plug your ears and just watch, you'll have a great time. The action sequences have great energy, thanks to the excellent special effects.  They have plenty of fun moments and are pretty exciting. Channing Tatum does a good job with what he is given and his character is interesting.  He's half-human and half-canine, which is an unusu

"Dad, did you kill Winnie the Pooh?" -Stan Marsh "Band in China" kicks off with Randy deciding to expand Tegridy Farms in China.  As he arrives, he is immediately arrested for transporting marijuana into the country.  As he toils in a prison camp, he meets fellow prisoners; Winnie the Pooh and Piglet, who are imprisoned because Pooh looks like the President of China.  Randy teams up with Mickey Mouse to expand their businesses into China, but to do that, Pooh needs to die. Back in South Park, Stan, Butters, Kenny, and Jimmy form a death metal band and they are approached by a music producer to film their biopic.  However, nearly every idea they have is shot down by the Chinese censors.  They decide to sell out and recruit Kyle and Cartman to reform their boy band, Fingerbang, but it's too much and the boys walk away from the biopic, not wanting China to be in charge of all of their entertainment. What Works: "Band in China" has

"This is like Footloose ; no dancing." -Jason Linden Island of the Idols continues to deliver with another solidly entertaining episode along with some abysmal gameplay.  Let's take a closer look into how each player did. Who Played Well: Starting over on the Lairo tribe, we have Chelsea who stumbled across a Hidden Immunity Idol.  She's my favorite person on this tribe so I'm glad she's the one who found it. Finally, we have Elaine and Missy who did a good job of trying to play pacemakers upon returning from Tribal Council.  I especially liked how Missy tried to reach out to Aaron to maybe use him in the future. Over on Vokai, Kellee was sent to the Island of the Idols where she did a good job.  She got Boston Rob to sweeten the deal and won the active listening challenge.  She did do the same B.S. lie like Elizabeth did last episode, which I still think is stupid, but her performance of convincing the rest of the tribe she didn