The band will put on a show near their home in North California. Instead of people social distancing at the concert, they will be able to watch the band perform live across drive-in movie theaters in the U.S. and Canada.

The live concert will be screened on 29th and will allow Metallica fans to unite across the continent to celebrate the band’s live return. Tickets will be sold per car rather than per person, so the more friends you bring, the better.

“METALLICA will be the first rock band to be featured in the Encore Drive-In Nights series, with a full set airing at hundreds of drive-ins across the United States and Canada on Saturday, August 29,” the description on the Encore-Drive In Nights website teads.

“Shot especially for this one-night-only event, the band’s first show of 2020 will go down as one of the most unique and memorable METALLICA experiences of all time. The event will also include a special guest performance by Three Days Grace.”

You can find out more and buy tickets here.

The post Metallica to Return to Gigging With a Unique Summer Show appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.

The album’s first single “Brooklyn Bridge To Chorus” is a triumphant return to The Strokes’ signature indie nostalgic sound. It looks back to 80s pop and Julian Casablancas asks us: “And the Eighties bands, where did they go?” It’s this kind of nostalgia that is so perfect for the days where we are suck in our gardens or on our balconies. It’s a nostalgia that looks back to summer when we were hanging out with our friends and listening to the 80s indie tunes. This time around, Casablancas sings: “I want new friends, but they don’t want me.” The album may have been recorded long before the pandemic, but the nostalgic loneliness captured couldn’t be better timed.3

“Bad Decisions” is a simple song that sums up everything that The Strokes get right. The guitars are melodic and upbeat while the lyrics are somewhat bleak. Although Casablancas sings about 1970s Soviet Russia, the tone of the track is still relatable. This is why The Strokes successfully captivate such a wide audience. There is a simplicity and lack of pretense to their music that seems to resonate with mums and their teenage boys alike.

There are several other gems on the album. The closing track “Ode To The Mets” is a confident ending. The penultimate track, “Not The Same Anymore” fires shots at everybody. At first, it seems Casablancas is criticizing a lover only as the song progresses, he turns the blame inward. He candidly confesses: “And now it’s time to show up / Late again, I can’t grow up.”

All in all, The New Abnormal is a throwback album in more ways than one. It nostalgically looks back at the years when indie-rock was at its peak while also sharing the band’s more intimate reflection on their glory days. What sets the album aside is that the nostalgia is not too melancholic. It is the perfect balance between dreamy nostalgia and upbeat summer tunes. Essentially, while we come to terms with the new abnormal, this is the album we want to be listening to.

4.5/5

The post The Strokes’ New Album is Perfect for Summer appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.

The docuseries takes place across a number of zoos in Florida, South Carolina, and Oklahoma. It follows a feud between wild animal obsessives, breeders, and animal rights activists. The cast of characters is all ridiculous in their own right but together, they form an eccentric supergroup with an absurd dynamic.

To begin with, the show appears to be about Joe Exotic and his 200 pet tigers. Carole Baskin seeks to close Exotic’s zoo along with others that are similar. It’s a simple story with a predictable disequilibrium. At least, that’s what you would be forgiven for thinking based on the first episode.

After this, Tiger King unfolds into something far more extreme and far more absurd. We see cults, drug barons, and the mysterious disappearance of a very wealthy man. The twists get increasingly bombastic as the show continues and during a time where binge-watching is practically advisable, the show promises to enthrall you from start to finish.

As a docuseries, Tiger King does not take itself at all seriously. It is more concerned with entertaining its audience than relaying the truth. The cast of characters becomes increasingly eccentric and at the heart of it, the mulleted Joe Exotic is the wild card that keeps us hooked.

One of the great things about the series is that it is the type of series that generates more content. It results in an influx of Joe Exotic memes flooding social media and in turn, more people become intrigued by the show and more content is generated. It is a bombastic cycle of consumption and conversation that results in the show being the most talked-about TV event of the year.

For that reason, the show’s trashy feel and ridiculous nature is not to be overlooked. It is to be embraced. It’s the absurd and insane show that we need right now in these insane and absurd times.

4/5

The post What Is It About Netflix’s “Tiger King” That Has Us All Obsessed? appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.

The premise is simple. 100 people are selected to proportionally represent a cross-section of society. These people then have to take on a series of random tests. For example, they are asked to take toilet paper from a roll to test whether they take it from the bottom side up or the bottom side down. The tests get increasingly ridiculous with the most ridiculous being whether a man being a good dancer is indicative of a high sperm count. Seriously, who came up with this?

It’s not to say that the show doesn’t have its good moments. Very occasionally, it does have moments when audiences will think “oh sure, I just assumed everyone did that the same way I did.” Beyond that, there is a lack of genuine creativity. Instead, it seems that the producers have randomly paired uninteresting ideas in the hope that something interesting will arise. 90% of the time, this method fails.

Possibly the worst thing about the series is that each episode is forty minutes long. 320 minutes of light-hearted television sounds promising in a time where we are desperate things to do, but you would be better off re-watching the fifth season of Friends for the umpteenth time. It gets old really fast.

Ultimately, the show that makes itself out to be full of fun scientific experiments lacks both the fun and the science. The show comprises of pseudo-science at best and however you look at it, one hundred humans cannot answer any of life’s big questions.

While the concept of the show is not a bad one, it is just executed poorly. The majority of viewers will fail to find anything about the show mildly interesting and if you haven’t seen it yet, we suggest you give it a miss.

1/5

The post Netflix’s “100 Humans” Lacks Genuine Creativity appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.

Season one is made up of seven episodes and each is around the twenty-minute mark. In total, that’s just over two hours of viewing time, which means the entire season can be binged in one go as if it were a feature-length film. Although the plot meanders in places, there is enough intrigue and charm to keep the audience hooked from start to finish.

In many ways, I Am Not Okay With This is a superhero origin story. It’s the story of how a troubled teenager discovers that she has superhero powers. Like Matilda, Syd discovers that she can make things happen around her when she is upset. When she loses control, things fly off shelves and people’s noses bleed. These things happen when she is unable to communicate the world-ending despair of being a teenager.

The show is held together by Sophia Lillis remarkable acting. Following her stellar performance in IT, Lillis has risen to the status of rising star. This time around, her performance is so convincing that it compensates for any confusing plot points. The audience is hooked not by the details of Syd’s life, but by how convincingly Lillis portrays these details.

At its core, I Am Not Okay With This is a hyperbolic sketch on what happens when we bottle up our emotions. Syd resents her best friend for spending all her time with her boyfriend but she cannot talk to her nor can she talk to her mother. Syd’s angst comes from a place of vulnerability and loneliness. Her life may be full of extremes, but it’s the details like the unwelcome discovery of acne on her leg that makes the show so relatable. Stress jumps up on us in surprising ways and sometimes, telekinesis is the unexpected consequence.

Season one concludes on a cliffhanger but nonetheless, it makes its mark as a stand-alone series. I Am Not Okay With This is mostly riveting, often emotional, and always charming. Another fabulous addition to the coming of age section on Netflix.

4/5

The post “I Am Not Okay With This” is s Charming Coming of Age Story appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.

The concept of The Hunt is simple. Twelve people wake up in a clearing only discover that they have no idea where they are, how they got there, or who any of the other people in the clearing are. They later learn that they are part of a sadistic game where they are being hunted by the elite for sport. Fortunately, one of the hunted humans is able to turn the tables on the elite and fight back against their cruel game.

It is clear from the synopsis that The Hunt fancies itself as a political thriller satire. In the spirit of The Purge and Jordan Peele films, Damon Lindelof writes a screenplay that makes a commentary on class and class division. In the film, Lindelof pits liberal elites against rural republicans. The success of the film is that it is unclear who as an audience we should be rooting for. Naturally, we begin anti-the-elite for engaging with the inhumane game but later, things become a little more ambiguous.

The film is heavy in violence but it is executed poorly. Many of the deaths are abrupt and surprising, while others are drawn out to the point where they become ridiculous and unbelievable. Still, there is an element of excitement that is sustained throughout despite the bombast. If the film is reduced to a simple, violent thriller, then it could be classed as entertaining.

Unfortunately, The Hunt bites off more than it can chew. It attempts to make profound political claims and spark debate, only it is ultimately provocative in the least inspiring way. Considering the hype surrounding this film, little can be said in its favor beyond the odd exciting scene and dramatic death. Any political commentary that the film attempts to make falls flat and often makes us cringe. “For the record, climate change is real!” one liberal yells as he murders one of the hunted. It’s awkward and the trying-too-hard kind of controversial.

And that pretty much sums up the movie.

2/5

The post “The Hunt” Had More Hype Than Anything Else appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.

In recent years, Blumhouse has brought us the likes of The Purge, Get Out, Split, and The Invisible Man. Although each of these movies has their flaws (except for Get Out – we have nothing bad to say about anything from Jordan Peele), they can all be praised for their imagination and commitment to their concepts. Fantasy Island, on the other hand, lacks imagination and fails to fully commit to its concept.

The film is based on the camp 1970s show of the same name. Instead of building on the series, Blumhouse has taken out some of the best characters and stripped the film of its darker and more frightening concepts. What is meant to be a “thriller” instead shapes up to be a weak fantasy with some tacky jump scares thrown in for 13-year-old boys.

The concept of the film is a simple one. A group of hedonists arrive on an island and are told that they can live out their fantasies. When characters begin to indulge in their vengeful side, they discover that things are in fact far more real than they had initially thought. This concept is interesting in itself, only Blumhouse somehow manages to butcher it. What is meant to be an island of fantasies is so boring that the whole time we are watching it, we’re thinking about how we would rather be on Alex Garland’s The Beach.

Part of Blumhouse’s fail comes down to the fact that they did not pick a key audience. At times, the movie feels like a tribute to the original while at other times, it feels like it is aimed at twelve-year-olds having a sleepover. And yet it is not artistic enough to appeal to the former nor scary enough to appeal to the later. Fantasy Island is a film that is made for no one.

Unfortunately, Fantasy Island can thus be disregarded as a total flop. The critics and the general public seem to be in mutual agreement that the most fantastical thought one can have when watching the Blumhouse feature is to go home and watch something else.

1/5

The post “Fantasy Island” Lacks Imagination appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.

In the pre-credits scene, we witness a flash-forward to Saul’s life post-Breaking Bad. In the previous seasons, we’ve just seen a snippet to Saul’s Cinnabun life but this time around, we see the full extent of what life is like on the run. Saul is constantly looking over his shoulder and when a former Albuquerque resident recognizes him from the Better Call Saul adverts, it spells trouble for our morally corrupt protagonist. In a panic, he calls for relocation before ultimately deciding in an ominous tone that he will “handle it” himself.

The season five premiere then picks up where season four left off. On a high from his court win, Saul makes the decision to change his name to Saul Goodman. He no longer wants any association with his brother and he is looking for ways to appeal to a younger criminal crowd. Kim regards him suspiciously as he gets carried away with his new business plan, suggesting he hand out discounts for non-violent repeating offenders.

Of course, Saul ultimately ignores Kim’s advice and goes ahead with his plan anyway. He coins himself the “magic man” and hands out phones to the city’s criminal youth, his number already programmed to speed dial. When he runs out of phones, he promises a 50% discount for the rest of the week should his clients need him.

Meanwhile, Lalo Salamanca is getting increasingly suspicious of Gus Fring’s activities. Gus comes up with an elaborate plan to cover his tracks and although Don Eladio is convinced, Lalo is still wary. Elsewhere in the episode, Michael struggles to come to terms with assassinating his friend and the construction of the meth superlab is put on hold until further notice.

Earlier seasons of the show issued slow and deliberate character development but as the series comes to a close, things are heating up for everyone on the show. We’re seeing more action, drama, and our anti-hero Jimmy McGuill has blossomed into the colorful criminal lawyer that we have come to know and love. The only downside is that we have to wait a whole week between each episode.

5/5

The post “Better Call Saul” Season 5 Premiere Review appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.

The record opens with “So Heavy I Fell Through The Earth.” Here, Grimes mixes her vocals with a surreal spectral song, producing sounds that sit somewhere between Bjork and whale song. The result is something both soothing and intriguing, an artistic blend of sounds that challenges the listener without provoking them. In “Before the Fever”, Grimes sings “This is the sound of the end of the world.” And perhaps she is right. It’s jarring, unfamiliar, and yet oddly soothing in a blissfully ignorant sort of way.

“New Gods” is a song for the millenial nihilist. Grimes sings: “Hands reaching out for new gods / You can’t give me what I want.” In the pre-chorus, she questions “Are you a man? / Are you something I can’t stand?” For Grimes, the lack of meaning in the modern world has been compensated for by love and romance. After all, in interviews, it is her love life that Grimes blames for any setbacks in her career. Miss Anthropocene is as much an album about Grimes personal life and heartache as much as it is an album about the end of the world.

“IDORU” is the longest track on the album. At seven-minutes long, the track is chaotic and playful with genres. The Japanese word “Idoru” translates to something like ‘pampered star.’ This is a track about love and love inevitably disappointing. She sings: “I wanna play a beautiful game /
Even though we’re gonna lose / But I adore you / Adore you.” Her voice here takes on ethereal tones as it mixes with low-fi sounds and shaky rhythms.

The album closer “We Appreciate Power” finishes on a hectic note. Whirring guitars and repetitive vocals – this is a punk song for the modern pop star. Grimes recently collaborated with baby metal star Poppy and perhaps her influence is present here. Between the repetition of the track’s title, Grimes chimes in with the occasional witty lyric. “I’ll evade the human race, putting makeup on my face,” she sings.

T.S. Eliot famously wrote that the world will end not with a bang, but with a whimper. According to Miss Anthropocene, the world will end with a toxic ignorance as we anxiously pursue not positive change, but love, drama, and the party.

4/5

The post Grimes’ “Miss Anthropocene” is Beautifully Unique appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.

Over the last few years, there has been an increase in female superheroes and yet still, the superhero market remains male-dominated. In Margot Robbie’s DC debut, Harley Quinn was a highlight of Suicide Squad, although her main role was as the love interest of the Joker. This time around, Harley Quinn is the star of the show and the Joker doesn’t get a minute of airtime.

One of the great things about Birds of Prey is that it is full of female-orientated jokes. The outfits are sexy, the message is empowering, and the soundtrack is killer. Many of the scenes look they could legitimately be a music video because they are so well choreographed. This is also partly because many of the scenes actually are used in music videos. (See below).

Like with any superhero film, there are some silly bits and the plot is a little predictable in places. This doesn’t detract from the fun of the film. The high energy and colorful characters keep audiences engaged from start to finish. At points where audiences are susceptible to tuning out, Harley Quinn’s wicked personality keeps us hooked. The abundance of awesome fight scenes definitely helps keep the entertainment factor high.

Although the message of the film is one of female empowerment, there are a couple of problematic scenes. The scenes containing sexual violence felt a little unnecessary, even though the intent may have been to show that even strong women can feel vulnerable. The writing in these scenes feels lazy, despite the fact they are dealt with sensitively. The Frida Khalo reference also felt a little out of touch.

Still, after ten years of Iron Man, Birds of Prey is a refreshing female-focused superhero movie. Instead of writing the female characters for men, they have clearly been written with women in mind. Combined with the fun, action, and fabulous soundtrack, the outcome is a movie that is significantly more enjoyable than Suicide Squad.

4/5

The post Birds of Prey is a Girly Film That Kicks Ass appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.

The band will put on a show near their home in North California. Instead of people social distancing at the concert, they will be able to watch the band perform live across drive-in movie theaters in the U.S. and Canada.

The live concert will be screened on 29th and will allow Metallica fans to unite across the continent to celebrate the band’s live return. Tickets will be sold per car rather than per person, so the more friends you bring, the better.

“METALLICA will be the first rock band to be featured in the Encore Drive-In Nights series, with a full set airing at hundreds of drive-ins across the United States and Canada on Saturday, August 29,” the description on the Encore-Drive In Nights website teads.

“Shot especially for this one-night-only event, the band’s first show of 2020 will go down as one of the most unique and memorable METALLICA experiences of all time. The event will also include a special guest performance by Three Days Grace.”

You can find out more and buy tickets here.

The post Metallica to Return to Gigging With a Unique Summer Show appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.

The album’s first single “Brooklyn Bridge To Chorus” is a triumphant return to The Strokes’ signature indie nostalgic sound. It looks back to 80s pop and Julian Casablancas asks us: “And the Eighties bands, where did they go?” It’s this kind of nostalgia that is so perfect for the days where we are suck in our gardens or on our balconies. It’s a nostalgia that looks back to summer when we were hanging out with our friends and listening to the 80s indie tunes. This time around, Casablancas sings: “I want new friends, but they don’t want me.” The album may have been recorded long before the pandemic, but the nostalgic loneliness captured couldn’t be better timed.3

“Bad Decisions” is a simple song that sums up everything that The Strokes get right. The guitars are melodic and upbeat while the lyrics are somewhat bleak. Although Casablancas sings about 1970s Soviet Russia, the tone of the track is still relatable. This is why The Strokes successfully captivate such a wide audience. There is a simplicity and lack of pretense to their music that seems to resonate with mums and their teenage boys alike.

There are several other gems on the album. The closing track “Ode To The Mets” is a confident ending. The penultimate track, “Not The Same Anymore” fires shots at everybody. At first, it seems Casablancas is criticizing a lover only as the song progresses, he turns the blame inward. He candidly confesses: “And now it’s time to show up / Late again, I can’t grow up.”

All in all, The New Abnormal is a throwback album in more ways than one. It nostalgically looks back at the years when indie-rock was at its peak while also sharing the band’s more intimate reflection on their glory days. What sets the album aside is that the nostalgia is not too melancholic. It is the perfect balance between dreamy nostalgia and upbeat summer tunes. Essentially, while we come to terms with the new abnormal, this is the album we want to be listening to.

4.5/5

The post The Strokes’ New Album is Perfect for Summer appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.

The docuseries takes place across a number of zoos in Florida, South Carolina, and Oklahoma. It follows a feud between wild animal obsessives, breeders, and animal rights activists. The cast of characters is all ridiculous in their own right but together, they form an eccentric supergroup with an absurd dynamic.

To begin with, the show appears to be about Joe Exotic and his 200 pet tigers. Carole Baskin seeks to close Exotic’s zoo along with others that are similar. It’s a simple story with a predictable disequilibrium. At least, that’s what you would be forgiven for thinking based on the first episode.

After this, Tiger King unfolds into something far more extreme and far more absurd. We see cults, drug barons, and the mysterious disappearance of a very wealthy man. The twists get increasingly bombastic as the show continues and during a time where binge-watching is practically advisable, the show promises to enthrall you from start to finish.

As a docuseries, Tiger King does not take itself at all seriously. It is more concerned with entertaining its audience than relaying the truth. The cast of characters becomes increasingly eccentric and at the heart of it, the mulleted Joe Exotic is the wild card that keeps us hooked.

One of the great things about the series is that it is the type of series that generates more content. It results in an influx of Joe Exotic memes flooding social media and in turn, more people become intrigued by the show and more content is generated. It is a bombastic cycle of consumption and conversation that results in the show being the most talked-about TV event of the year.

For that reason, the show’s trashy feel and ridiculous nature is not to be overlooked. It is to be embraced. It’s the absurd and insane show that we need right now in these insane and absurd times.

4/5

The post What Is It About Netflix’s “Tiger King” That Has Us All Obsessed? appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.

The premise is simple. 100 people are selected to proportionally represent a cross-section of society. These people then have to take on a series of random tests. For example, they are asked to take toilet paper from a roll to test whether they take it from the bottom side up or the bottom side down. The tests get increasingly ridiculous with the most ridiculous being whether a man being a good dancer is indicative of a high sperm count. Seriously, who came up with this?

It’s not to say that the show doesn’t have its good moments. Very occasionally, it does have moments when audiences will think “oh sure, I just assumed everyone did that the same way I did.” Beyond that, there is a lack of genuine creativity. Instead, it seems that the producers have randomly paired uninteresting ideas in the hope that something interesting will arise. 90% of the time, this method fails.

Possibly the worst thing about the series is that each episode is forty minutes long. 320 minutes of light-hearted television sounds promising in a time where we are desperate things to do, but you would be better off re-watching the fifth season of Friends for the umpteenth time. It gets old really fast.

Ultimately, the show that makes itself out to be full of fun scientific experiments lacks both the fun and the science. The show comprises of pseudo-science at best and however you look at it, one hundred humans cannot answer any of life’s big questions.

While the concept of the show is not a bad one, it is just executed poorly. The majority of viewers will fail to find anything about the show mildly interesting and if you haven’t seen it yet, we suggest you give it a miss.

1/5

The post Netflix’s “100 Humans” Lacks Genuine Creativity appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.

Season one is made up of seven episodes and each is around the twenty-minute mark. In total, that’s just over two hours of viewing time, which means the entire season can be binged in one go as if it were a feature-length film. Although the plot meanders in places, there is enough intrigue and charm to keep the audience hooked from start to finish.

In many ways, I Am Not Okay With This is a superhero origin story. It’s the story of how a troubled teenager discovers that she has superhero powers. Like Matilda, Syd discovers that she can make things happen around her when she is upset. When she loses control, things fly off shelves and people’s noses bleed. These things happen when she is unable to communicate the world-ending despair of being a teenager.

The show is held together by Sophia Lillis remarkable acting. Following her stellar performance in IT, Lillis has risen to the status of rising star. This time around, her performance is so convincing that it compensates for any confusing plot points. The audience is hooked not by the details of Syd’s life, but by how convincingly Lillis portrays these details.

At its core, I Am Not Okay With This is a hyperbolic sketch on what happens when we bottle up our emotions. Syd resents her best friend for spending all her time with her boyfriend but she cannot talk to her nor can she talk to her mother. Syd’s angst comes from a place of vulnerability and loneliness. Her life may be full of extremes, but it’s the details like the unwelcome discovery of acne on her leg that makes the show so relatable. Stress jumps up on us in surprising ways and sometimes, telekinesis is the unexpected consequence.

Season one concludes on a cliffhanger but nonetheless, it makes its mark as a stand-alone series. I Am Not Okay With This is mostly riveting, often emotional, and always charming. Another fabulous addition to the coming of age section on Netflix.

4/5

The post “I Am Not Okay With This” is s Charming Coming of Age Story appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.

The concept of The Hunt is simple. Twelve people wake up in a clearing only discover that they have no idea where they are, how they got there, or who any of the other people in the clearing are. They later learn that they are part of a sadistic game where they are being hunted by the elite for sport. Fortunately, one of the hunted humans is able to turn the tables on the elite and fight back against their cruel game.

It is clear from the synopsis that The Hunt fancies itself as a political thriller satire. In the spirit of The Purge and Jordan Peele films, Damon Lindelof writes a screenplay that makes a commentary on class and class division. In the film, Lindelof pits liberal elites against rural republicans. The success of the film is that it is unclear who as an audience we should be rooting for. Naturally, we begin anti-the-elite for engaging with the inhumane game but later, things become a little more ambiguous.

The film is heavy in violence but it is executed poorly. Many of the deaths are abrupt and surprising, while others are drawn out to the point where they become ridiculous and unbelievable. Still, there is an element of excitement that is sustained throughout despite the bombast. If the film is reduced to a simple, violent thriller, then it could be classed as entertaining.

Unfortunately, The Hunt bites off more than it can chew. It attempts to make profound political claims and spark debate, only it is ultimately provocative in the least inspiring way. Considering the hype surrounding this film, little can be said in its favor beyond the odd exciting scene and dramatic death. Any political commentary that the film attempts to make falls flat and often makes us cringe. “For the record, climate change is real!” one liberal yells as he murders one of the hunted. It’s awkward and the trying-too-hard kind of controversial.

And that pretty much sums up the movie.

2/5

The post “The Hunt” Had More Hype Than Anything Else appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.

In recent years, Blumhouse has brought us the likes of The Purge, Get Out, Split, and The Invisible Man. Although each of these movies has their flaws (except for Get Out – we have nothing bad to say about anything from Jordan Peele), they can all be praised for their imagination and commitment to their concepts. Fantasy Island, on the other hand, lacks imagination and fails to fully commit to its concept.

The film is based on the camp 1970s show of the same name. Instead of building on the series, Blumhouse has taken out some of the best characters and stripped the film of its darker and more frightening concepts. What is meant to be a “thriller” instead shapes up to be a weak fantasy with some tacky jump scares thrown in for 13-year-old boys.

The concept of the film is a simple one. A group of hedonists arrive on an island and are told that they can live out their fantasies. When characters begin to indulge in their vengeful side, they discover that things are in fact far more real than they had initially thought. This concept is interesting in itself, only Blumhouse somehow manages to butcher it. What is meant to be an island of fantasies is so boring that the whole time we are watching it, we’re thinking about how we would rather be on Alex Garland’s The Beach.

Part of Blumhouse’s fail comes down to the fact that they did not pick a key audience. At times, the movie feels like a tribute to the original while at other times, it feels like it is aimed at twelve-year-olds having a sleepover. And yet it is not artistic enough to appeal to the former nor scary enough to appeal to the later. Fantasy Island is a film that is made for no one.

Unfortunately, Fantasy Island can thus be disregarded as a total flop. The critics and the general public seem to be in mutual agreement that the most fantastical thought one can have when watching the Blumhouse feature is to go home and watch something else.

1/5

The post “Fantasy Island” Lacks Imagination appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.

In the pre-credits scene, we witness a flash-forward to Saul’s life post-Breaking Bad. In the previous seasons, we’ve just seen a snippet to Saul’s Cinnabun life but this time around, we see the full extent of what life is like on the run. Saul is constantly looking over his shoulder and when a former Albuquerque resident recognizes him from the Better Call Saul adverts, it spells trouble for our morally corrupt protagonist. In a panic, he calls for relocation before ultimately deciding in an ominous tone that he will “handle it” himself.

The season five premiere then picks up where season four left off. On a high from his court win, Saul makes the decision to change his name to Saul Goodman. He no longer wants any association with his brother and he is looking for ways to appeal to a younger criminal crowd. Kim regards him suspiciously as he gets carried away with his new business plan, suggesting he hand out discounts for non-violent repeating offenders.

Of course, Saul ultimately ignores Kim’s advice and goes ahead with his plan anyway. He coins himself the “magic man” and hands out phones to the city’s criminal youth, his number already programmed to speed dial. When he runs out of phones, he promises a 50% discount for the rest of the week should his clients need him.

Meanwhile, Lalo Salamanca is getting increasingly suspicious of Gus Fring’s activities. Gus comes up with an elaborate plan to cover his tracks and although Don Eladio is convinced, Lalo is still wary. Elsewhere in the episode, Michael struggles to come to terms with assassinating his friend and the construction of the meth superlab is put on hold until further notice.

Earlier seasons of the show issued slow and deliberate character development but as the series comes to a close, things are heating up for everyone on the show. We’re seeing more action, drama, and our anti-hero Jimmy McGuill has blossomed into the colorful criminal lawyer that we have come to know and love. The only downside is that we have to wait a whole week between each episode.

5/5

The post “Better Call Saul” Season 5 Premiere Review appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.

The record opens with “So Heavy I Fell Through The Earth.” Here, Grimes mixes her vocals with a surreal spectral song, producing sounds that sit somewhere between Bjork and whale song. The result is something both soothing and intriguing, an artistic blend of sounds that challenges the listener without provoking them. In “Before the Fever”, Grimes sings “This is the sound of the end of the world.” And perhaps she is right. It’s jarring, unfamiliar, and yet oddly soothing in a blissfully ignorant sort of way.

“New Gods” is a song for the millenial nihilist. Grimes sings: “Hands reaching out for new gods / You can’t give me what I want.” In the pre-chorus, she questions “Are you a man? / Are you something I can’t stand?” For Grimes, the lack of meaning in the modern world has been compensated for by love and romance. After all, in interviews, it is her love life that Grimes blames for any setbacks in her career. Miss Anthropocene is as much an album about Grimes personal life and heartache as much as it is an album about the end of the world.

“IDORU” is the longest track on the album. At seven-minutes long, the track is chaotic and playful with genres. The Japanese word “Idoru” translates to something like ‘pampered star.’ This is a track about love and love inevitably disappointing. She sings: “I wanna play a beautiful game /
Even though we’re gonna lose / But I adore you / Adore you.” Her voice here takes on ethereal tones as it mixes with low-fi sounds and shaky rhythms.

The album closer “We Appreciate Power” finishes on a hectic note. Whirring guitars and repetitive vocals – this is a punk song for the modern pop star. Grimes recently collaborated with baby metal star Poppy and perhaps her influence is present here. Between the repetition of the track’s title, Grimes chimes in with the occasional witty lyric. “I’ll evade the human race, putting makeup on my face,” she sings.

T.S. Eliot famously wrote that the world will end not with a bang, but with a whimper. According to Miss Anthropocene, the world will end with a toxic ignorance as we anxiously pursue not positive change, but love, drama, and the party.

4/5

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Over the last few years, there has been an increase in female superheroes and yet still, the superhero market remains male-dominated. In Margot Robbie’s DC debut, Harley Quinn was a highlight of Suicide Squad, although her main role was as the love interest of the Joker. This time around, Harley Quinn is the star of the show and the Joker doesn’t get a minute of airtime.

One of the great things about Birds of Prey is that it is full of female-orientated jokes. The outfits are sexy, the message is empowering, and the soundtrack is killer. Many of the scenes look they could legitimately be a music video because they are so well choreographed. This is also partly because many of the scenes actually are used in music videos. (See below).

Like with any superhero film, there are some silly bits and the plot is a little predictable in places. This doesn’t detract from the fun of the film. The high energy and colorful characters keep audiences engaged from start to finish. At points where audiences are susceptible to tuning out, Harley Quinn’s wicked personality keeps us hooked. The abundance of awesome fight scenes definitely helps keep the entertainment factor high.

Although the message of the film is one of female empowerment, there are a couple of problematic scenes. The scenes containing sexual violence felt a little unnecessary, even though the intent may have been to show that even strong women can feel vulnerable. The writing in these scenes feels lazy, despite the fact they are dealt with sensitively. The Frida Khalo reference also felt a little out of touch.

Still, after ten years of Iron Man, Birds of Prey is a refreshing female-focused superhero movie. Instead of writing the female characters for men, they have clearly been written with women in mind. Combined with the fun, action, and fabulous soundtrack, the outcome is a movie that is significantly more enjoyable than Suicide Squad.

4/5

The post Birds of Prey is a Girly Film That Kicks Ass appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.