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This may just be the closest that Fargo, the TV series, has ever gotten to feeling like a direct companion to Fargo, the movie. It's easy to write about how there's a direct correlation between the events of the movie and this episode that will feel immediately familiar to anyone who has it in their working memory, but what hammers it all home is one fundamental change. Season 4's gambit of taking Fargo out of Fargo met with mixed results, but so far, Season 5's eschewing of the period piece trappings that have made the last four seasons stand out among other contemporaries works surprisingly well... so far. If you loved Fargo for the period piece angle it's taken, I will say that it's best if you temper some of your expectations going into this. Otherwise, this is a fairly solid episode that manages to almost immediately offload Fargo's signature black humor without it feeling tacked on or obvious, and integrate it with a helpful serving of tension in the latter half.

Extra points for literally starting this series on one of my favorite Yes songs (the music nerd in me was SQUEALING). Extra-extra points for using the full version of that song, and not just the Single version that cuts off after the song's first half. And to top it all off, its use feels fairly natural and lends the opening scene of the episode a credence of absolute chaos-because, y'know, it's Fargo. It's only going to get crazier from here, folks.

Overall, very solid, and I'm looking forward to see what else is in stock.

Three gates stand on even land with inconsistent spacing between them. One faces the other, but at a great distance. Knowing full well that the might not see the love of his life ever again, Jimmy McGill looks on. Roll to credits.

If you had a time machine, what would you do? There are a multitude of answers to that question; the prevalence of time travel in media is as good proof of it as anything else. But we so often got mingled in the could-be, would-be's to understand what we're really saying. For every baby Hitler you choose to kill, there's a mistake to be corrected. It's the small mistakes we make that bring us to where we are. In time travel stories, those are butterfly effects. But as we look on, wondering what our lives could have been, they can spiral into a form of obsession that's hard to let go of.

Jimmy McGill doesn't get to live the life he wish he had. And like the ghosts before him, he will never see a time machine in his life. As a form of escapism, it's nice to imagine. But Jimmy has been running for too long and this is where it's gotten him. Seven years, at the very least. Seven years if he can do what he's been doing for years. But he doesn't like who he is. He looks at his past wistfully assuming there might have been some merit to it so can he overlook how rotten all of the nooks and crannies really were. So he keeps talking but in the opposite direction. Marion trusted him, Kim trusted him, and everyone else is dead or wishes they were. Even if he got out in seven years, he'd still be gulping down the same cocktail in the same house, watching the same tapes, working at the same mall. He's made questionable decisions, and now he's owning them. No more excuses, nothing to cover up; the name is Jimmy McGill, not Saul Goodman. Eighty-six years.

As enjoyable as Felina was, I'm inclined to say that Saul Gone is far more bold in its premise and execution. In a word, it's poetic. Saul is caught in a corner he will never escape from, Gene is dead, and Jimmy is crawling back to the surface. There's no sense of grief, but a profound sense of longing. On the surface, it's unpleasant. But that momentary grime belies the soul hidden beneath it all. Through the rough and tough, through seeing the love of his life through his side of the fence, through the sounds of basketball and busses of prisoners that sing his former alias' slogan, Jimmy McGill will persist. He will persist knowing what he could have been and could have prevented, but accepting of the world to come.

Saul Gone firmly cements Better Call Saul as one of the greatest television shows I've ever seen. I had a warring debate going on in my mind about whether I had more fun with Barry or Severence. But know that debate's been settled: Better Call Saul is the best television I've seen this year, bar none. Others may get close, but none have ended on a note more profoundly moving by the end.

There was a really weird moment in the second season of The Boys. Suddenly, the show went from high-stakes world-ending drama to the memories of one specific character. Do I remember what happened in these flashbacks? Not really. But I think you can chalk that up to execution rather than intention. The first season of The Boys was world-building, the second was world-building with some character interactions to the side, and now with the third, they've gone full-steam ahead on the character work. In my opinion, it's a smart direction to take the show in. They're never going to have the budget of an MCU movie, and even if they did, who would watch that for eight episodes? Part of what makes The Boys entertaining is that it's not like that. It's similar to a form of narrative punk rock, a defiance of the mainstream trends we've been seeing so much of lately. And it doesn't always nail the landing, but it does it with enough consistency for that to be its main selling-point.

I say all of this to hammer home the point that I get the disappointment that this episode has generated. All of the major world-altering stuff is fading into the background. It's there, but it's clear that the show is focusing its aim on something else. I personally don't mind it going in that direction, but if you fell in love with this show because the first two seasons were so laser-focused on the world they created, I can understand why you might think that nothing happened this season. Things did happen and their implications on where the show goes next could be massive. For those of us who like build-up and strong character dynamics, this season probably rocked. If you think having a whole season dedicated to both of this equates to little more than a filler arc, you do you.

I will say that I would prefer it if the show ended sooner rather than later. The issue I have with this finale is that those implications I mentioned could mean nothing if someone in the chain of command decides we need four more seasons. More of a great thing can be good sometimes, but occasionally, you get to the point where you have enough of a good thing and it keeps going for longer than it should. I really don't want that to happen to this show.

The first thing on my mind when I finished watching the first episode of Fargo's season was almost indifference. If it weren't for the meticulous period detail, excellent performances, and the name Fargo alone, I probably would have forgotten it. Having been a massive fan of this series since season two, I knew I was getting myself into a slow burn. So I decided to stay with it. Some episodes were great, others didn't do it for me. Throughout my viewing experience, I kept telling myself 'the ending will be great, though'.

Now that I've seen that ending, was it? Yes and no. I'm not going to say this is my favorite episode of season four, but it's one of the better ones for sure. One of my issues overall with season four is the sheer amount of characters you have to keep track of. Of course, you have your main characters who get a lot of screen time, but you also have a looooot of minor characters who are important to the plot but easy to forget about until they're brought up again. This episode doesn't struggle with that, thankfully. If you're a fan of this series at all, you'll probably know that Noah Hawley does not like conclusive endings. They're not anti-climactic at all, but he looks to dangle loose plot threads in front of your face as others get tied up. Part of what works about the ending to each season of Fargo is this mystery of what happens next. It leaves you wanting more without stuffing you, and I respect that immensly. Without going into spoiler territory, season four is very much more of the same -- to its merit and to a fault. To its merit, it uses this to create this quiet, eerie atmosphere of not quite dread, but emptiness. Chris Rock is the best he's been all season in this episode, and he barely even emotes. It gives off this sense of finality that's all too unfortunate but, given Fargo's pedigree, works in its favor. To its fault, I saw the ending coming from a mile away. Remember how season three ended with the main character being killed right in front of his family by a side-character who has mistaken him as being disloyal? Granted, the emotional impact this scene has is much greater than that of season three, but I called it as soon as the episode started and I was not proven wrong.

Where my score goes from a 7 to an 8, though, is in the final reveal. If you had been paying attention to the names like so many outlets have, you might have seen this coming. I heard murmurs of it, but I sure didn't. Mike Milligan is probably my favorite character in the entire series, right next to Lorne Malvo from season one. He manages to be menacing and charasimatic in such a way that it's hard to keep your eyes off of him when he's talking. Although it ultimately serves to tie this to season two, I was not disappointed when I found out the kid (don't remember his name right now) essentially becomes him. That, my friends, is bad-***.

Before diverging into my opinions, I must make note of something here: I am not big into anime. I love Ghibli (I mean, who doesn't?), liked Your Name quite a bit, and had one hell of a time watching through the first season of One Punch Man, but those barely scratch of the surface of what I hear my peers talking about on a day-to-day basis. My issues with Mob Psycho may be tied to the fact there's a cultural difference between how stories are told in Japan as opposed to the West, although (have thoroughly enjoyed more than a couple of foreign films from Japan) I believe it's more or less something tied to Anime, in general. I dunno, correct me if I'm wrong or something, I tend to be wrong a lot.

***

Mob Psycho 100 hinges on being hilarious, bat**** insane, brilliant, and confusing all at the same time. It's more of a slow burn than you'd expect, but once it gets moving, it REALLY gets moving. The animation is pitch perfect, with every frame feeling detailed and unique. The main characters are excellently developed, with some side characters being pretty good, too. All in all, it's a fun show. The first season might be a bit more coherent in a few areas, but the second season is chock full of shocking, surprising, memorable, and pulse-pounding moments.

Now here's where I get into my issues with the show. My first issue relates more to the second season than the first, but it does rear its head throughout. The presentation in Mob Psycho, while certainly original and used for some gut-busting moments, can be really confusing at times. The amount of times I've needed to ask the people around me what piece of vital information I missed pales in comparison to any of the non-sensical things David Lycnh has put out. This is the least of my problems with the show. There are also: side characters that are really easy to forget about and characters that just kind of exist. My biggest issue with this show relates to a major plot point that the later episodes of both seasons focus on. The second season handles it with grace and I don't really have an issue with it. The first season, though? Ugh, it still irks me to this day. I'm not going to directly reveal what happens here for the sake of your convience, but what happens is given very little build up and just sort of ends anti-climatically. It tells you very little about the characters, doesn't really go anywhere, and just seems to exist.

Regardless, I'd highly recommend Mob Psycho 100. It's a fun, albeit flawed, time from my perspective, but my friends who are way more into Anime than I am say it's better than I think it is.

EDIT: I made a couple of factual mistakes that have been fixed, or should be fixed. Also, I fixed some incorrect phrasing. I'm sad this lost to Pixar, but whatever, it's still good on its own merits.

I just saw the 2019 Oscar Nominated Shorts last night -- both Live Action and Animated -- as is tradition for me. While the Live Action shorts were rather meh (both of the ones from Canada were beautiful, poignant, thought-provoking, and just as haunting; the one from the US was unnerving while also showcasing relevant political commentary and a surfeit of black humor; the rest of them were not so good), I was very impressed with the animated shorts this year. Usually, when I go to see these things, I'm more excited for the Live Action shorts because that's where most of the meat lies. Typically, the animated shorts are a fun diversion, but rarely do they engage me as much as this year's had. As much as I like Pixar, I swear, if they win again just because they have another cute short without a whole lot of substance, I'm going to pull my hair. If Weekends wins, however, I won't just be surprised, I'll be happy.

Weekends is a beautiful, harrowing look into the mind of a boy whose parents have split up. On the weekends, he visits his father, who drives him to Seattle while blasting Dire Straight's song Money For Nothing. While hanging out with his father is fun, it quickly becomes apparent why the boy's parents are no longer together. His father, an Asian-American, is big into Japanese Culture, spends long nights watching cheesy movies on the television while downing snacks, and wakes up early sometimes to play Video Games. Meanwhile, the kid's mother is a quiet, reserved person who slowly plays the piano every morning, studies accounting, and doesn't have a single television in sight, relying instead on the imagination of the kid to bring him fun and joy. In between his visits to and from Seattle are nightmares that grow increasingly surreal, disturbing, and bizarre.

Weekends uses the most of its simple set-up to deliver one of the most personal experiences I've ever seen from an animated short. Without using a single line of dialog, a single moment of text-on-screen, it tells its story in a way that respects the viewer's intelligence by allowing them to piece things together. It's very simplistic, but there's a certain mastery on display here that's hard to ignore.

It would be remiss of me to not also mention the excellent animation. While far from smooth, the stylistic approach not only fits with the short on a tonal level, but also helps draw the viewer in. It almost feels like a really good child's painting at times, one of the ones that holds up even into adulthood. It's unlike any of the other animated shorts and in a very delightful way.

Overall, this is my pick for this year's animated short. Seeing it in the theater was a magical experience and I can't wait to see what the guy who made this does next. If it's as good or any better than Weekends, then this is certainly someone to keep an eye on.

Pink Floyd is, to me, the musical interpretation of arthouse cinema. While their music does, indeed, sound like classic rock you hear on the radio, it has a complexity to it that goes beyond most rock from that era. The Dark of the Moon and The Wall are not albums you'll understand on your first listening unless you go into them having been told what they're about beforehand. That both begin and end in ways that encourage the listener to listen to the album again seems to emphasize to me that the band knew this.

The Wall, as a movie, on the other hand, cannot be described so easily. You can call it an extended music video, a musical of sorts, or whatever, but none can fully describe the experience this film provides. This is the type of film that was destined to attain a cult following, and for a good reason: to say this film isn't for everyone is a massive understatement. Calling it a musical gives the impression that the music is sparse but expressive enough to move along the plot, while calling it a music video makes it seem as if it's a vapid experience bereft of any substantial artistic merit. Though it isn't just The Wall for every minute of it's over an-hour-and-a-half runtime, the moments where the pictures aren't being backed by music are few and far between. This film is better described, in my opinion, as an effective companion piece to the album that inspired it. Whether or not you'll enjoy it depends on how you listen to that album. If you see it as music and not the art it's intended to be seen as, there's a fair chance the most you'll get out of this film is a set of surreal images that loosely convey a hard to follow plot. If you listen to Pink Floyd to get stoned, on the other hand... I mean, you clearly aren't here for anything artistic.

Either way, The Wall is a haunting, striking, and often times gut wrenching portrayal of loneliness, isolation, childhood abandonment, and madness. Despite not having more than a few lines of dialog, there's something endearing human about the bitter, depressing thematic nature of it all. This is, by all means, a difficult watch -- even for those invested in the material for what I would consider to be 'the right reason'. I don't know if I can honestly say I recommend it, but for those who will probably dig this type of thing, it's certainly something to check out.

EDIT: Fixed a couple of grammatical mistakes.

I didn't grow up with Mr. Rogers, I hadn't even seen an episode of his show until my later years. Despite this, I came into Won't You Be My Neighbor? as eagerly as possible. When I came out, I was almost speechless. The conversation I had with the people I'd seen the movie with was almost too jumbled to be understandable. I was at a loss for words, and it was a good thing. Few documentaries have been able to capture the spirit, humanity, and works of a person this well.

The tone of the movie is set almost immediately; old footage plays showing a much younger Rogers playing the piano and giving reason for his ambitions. He doesn't seem to be too full of himself, and the concept he has in mind is one that is both humble and sweet. Even before he's given the ability to use his talents, he seems as if he's right next to them. The strong point of this film, for sure, is it's humane portrayal of Rogers. It doesn't just linger on the fact that he did good things, it explores what made him want to do those good things. His motivations make sense, and he, as a person, nearly brought tears to my ears several times. I didn't cry at all, but I'd be lying if I said I never came close to it.

There really isn't much else to say about this. This is a profound, well-made documentary that does its job excellently. I can't think of a single thing that made the engrossing experience of watching Roger come to life on a big screen any less engrossing. I loved it and will most likely see it again when it finally gets the wide release it deserves.

So, I found Wristcutters on Amazon Prime the other day. I almost scrolled past it because I thought it was going to be another cheaply made, poorly produced waste of time (you wouldn't believe how much of that is on Amazon Prime!), but then I saw the ratings were quite high. I gave it a chance and I quite liked it. As a Comedy, I wouldn't say Wristcutters is a massive success. I laughed a couple of times and chuckled a few times, but nothing really got my guts bursting. As a quirky little adventure, however, it's fun. Despite being a movie about suicide, there's an slight air of optimism throughout the character interactions and dialog that makes it all the more intriguing. The characters are also pretty well written, too. Each one feels unique and has a clear goal in mind. The plot and setting are also quite interesting. While some of the later reveals are a little predictable, the plot usually surprised me with a twist I never saw coming. All in all, this a hidden gem. If you're not super disturbed by anything even related to suicide, I'd give it a shot.

American Vandal is a show that I initially thought was going to be a Mel Brooks-ian send-up of the true crime genre that's become so prevalent on TV in recent memory. The end result is a smart mystery that has some laughs, but prefers to make a point more than it likes to be goofy. As a spoof, it's very well crafted. It's almost easy to not notice the points being made because this show nails down the engrossing, mysterious nature of shows like Making A Murderer and Serial. Nothing ever feels like it's being shoved down your throat, but once you do notice the points being made, suddenly a show that (on the surface) seems like one big immature gag becomes smart and relevant. Without spoiling it, this show has quite a bit to say about the way society reacts to media, and those who create it.

Without a doubt, though, the absolute best thing about American Vandal are the performances and dialog. The teenagers actually sound and act like teenagers instead of what a board of writers think teenagers act like. You can tell when somebody is lying (or looks like they're lying) because of details like facial expressions. As a mockumentry, subtle details - like people looking at the camera - are brilliant additions that only serve to make this fake event seem real.

That said, I did manage to spot a couple of plotholes and other things that, when you think about them, don't make much sense. Without spoiling it, the ending is also a little anti-climatic on face-value. It's actually allot more meaningful if you look into it, but I can see how that might irk some people.

Either way, American Vandal is a show that I thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend it to anybody that feels comfortable with it's crass premise.

Here's an everyday scenario: popular musician tries to make a movie, the movie either sucks or is about one of their various tours. Justin Bieber, Vanilla Ice, and the list goes on. The point is, musicians, as talented as they may be in the fields of music, don't typically make for good filmmakers, actors, or camera material in general. Now enter David Byrne. A good majority of strange 80s' pop can be considered to be by David Byrne or inspired by his works in some ways. Talking Heads may be not for everyone, but there's no denying their music often has a strange and upbeat charm to it. This leads me to Byrne's feature film, True Stories.

Words cannot truly describe this film. I don't know if I can really call it a film because it has no real plot structure to it, but whatever it is, it sure is something. If I had one word to truly describe what this movie is in a nutshell, it's surreal. Not a whole lot makes sense, the monologues are beautiful in just how nonsensical they can get, and yet there's no denying that it's well done. The performances, for as absurd as they can get, do great at portraying the types of wacky characters that inhabit this piece. The cinematography, itself, is not awful nor is it amazing. For a film made by someone who has had their main career in music, Byrne's directorial debut is fairly solid.

As with the music by Talking Heads, True Stories is a light, but enjoyable, experience. There's nothing too pretentious here (although I typically hate that term and every dudebro that uses it to exhaustion), and it's charming in just how unusual it is. I mean this in the most sincere of ways, True Stories is definitely up there with some of the more absurd films I've ever seen. Although it won't be everyone's slice of pie, it's worth seeing just to see how far they'll go. In other words, it's brilliant.

I'm going to be honest here, this is the first Bollywood film I've ever seen. I've heard of the clichés: absurdly high amounts of dancing, extravagant musical numbers, and more. I'm not going to say that Jagga Jasoos is devoid of either (it isn't), but it uses those 2 elements well enough to be memorable, even if I don't speak the language they're singing in. The highlight for me was a number that takes place at a party... won't spoil it, but wow it was good. Other than that, however, Jagga Jasoos really is a strange film... and, as a fan of strange films, I adore that. It mixes the high adventure of an Indiana Jones film with the quirkiness of Wes Anderson.

The story itself is simple, but not always the easiest to follow - which brings me to my biggest gripe with this film. The first half is hard to follow, subtitles, dubs, whatever. Things happen that seem like they might have had an explanation beforehand but are only explained later. There's also an entirely pointless plot-thread that's never really brought up ever again and only serves to poorly highlight a trait of the main character, Jagga, which is displayed far better in the latter half. To say that the structure of the first half of this film is somewhat confusing would be understating it a fair bit, whether it's for artistic intentions or not.

Once the first half goes by, the film becomes a blast. High color action, a great mix of light-and-dark humor that reminded me of other strange and awesome foreign films (such as The Hunt for the Wilderpeople and The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared ... both of which I highly recommend to people who enjoyed this), and great characters. Even when it's not making you jump in your seat, the musical numbers drastically improve over the first half and are memorable to me, not just for their melodies, but also for some of the (translated, for the record) lyrics they spout. The plot also ties together neatly, even though, once again, the first half isn't the easiest to follow. Sadly, the endings kind of a bummer as it opens up for a resolution that has a high chance of not ever happening because nobody is really seeing Jagga Jasoos. The movie is also a little long, but it feels justified to me.

So, overall, I highly recommend seeing Jagga Jasoos before it's pulled from every theater around you... which is inevitable more than ever at this point. I'm not going to say it's perfect, the first half is confusing and could have had better execution for its introduction to the characters, but boy is it fun when it knows how to be fun. It's flawed but highly entertaining and I couldn't recommend it enough if you like strange films, like me.

Wes Anderson is an interesting figure. Maybe you've heard of him, maybe you haven't, but one things for certain: his works are amazingly unique. Sure, films like The Life Aquatic lack the coherence of other works such as Moonrise Kingdom, Fantastic Mr. Fox (hey!), and The Grand Budapest Hotel, but even at his worst, it's easy to find at least one thing to adore about his films. Now enter Roald Dahl. A prominent writer of books for Children (although, they do certainly still hold appeal to those older) who sadly passed around 2 decades ago, his style is a perfect blend of quirky. The way he tells his stories is so ingenious, and the same could be said about the characters that inhabit those little worlds. A Roald Dahl adaption by Wes Anderson is not something I realized was a match made in heaven until I saw Fantastic Mr.Fox, which, like the first word of it's title, is a kids film that should not be ignored.

Wes Anderson is a mastermind when it comes to cinematography, and surprisingly, the same could be said about his hand in Stop-Motion Animation. The environments here are amazingly done, and the tone they convey is so perfect. It may be a quirky, up-lifting piece targeted at the little ones, but each location oozes atmosphere in a charming way. The presentation is nothing short of amazing, and, as typical with Wes Anderson pieces, melds so well with what happens on screen that it doesn't become a part of the movie you don't really notice, it essentially becomes a key point to notice when viewing. The animation on display is also outstanding. Puppet movement is never chunky enough for you to laugh at it for the wrong reasons, but the puppets themselves are silly enough for you to laugh at it for reasons that display just how much fun everybody invested had.

Enough about the style, what about the substance? First off, the performances. There are few performances that would crumble a movie should they not be in the final product, and there are few examples that stand out to me more than George Clooney as Mr.Fox. His voice work matches up with the animation so well that I struggled at moments to envision him hunched over a microphone recording the lines given to him. Every line is said with attitude that fits deeply with the character, the enthusiasm and emotion is present to a point where it is no longer just a man pretending to be a fox puppet in some studio, but rather, a man who IS a fox puppet (as weird as that may sound). As for the rest of the performances, also amazing. I never heard a voice that I thought didn't match up with what I was seeing, and everybody in the cast seemed to enjoy what they were doing just so much. I never quite heard a voice that sounded weak, droopy, and bored.

And then there's the writing. In my opinion, this is one of the best Wes Anderson films, even if it wasn't technically filmed in the traditional sense. The script, which he wrote with Noah Baumbach, is filled to the brim with charm, humor, and fun. The lines never came out as cheesy to me, and anything that might come remotely close is great, regardless. The real question that remains in a potential viewers head for an adaption, however, is simple: 'how faithful is this to it's source material?'. The book itself, which I haven't read myself in many years, is amazing, and though this film does add bits and pieces to that already established narrative, none of those bits and pieces never seemed to find a way to mess with what should be amazing. Dahl's quirky charm is almost on point with Anderson's, which works wonders as anything not originally there certainly feels like it could have been.

Maybe a 10 is too generous, (I don't always see a fault where there are some, after all) but I really do think that Fantastic Mr.Fox is an excellent gateway to the works of Wes Anderson, one that excels greatly as a film itself. It's animation is, in layman's terms, brilliant, and it's perfect presentation fits that quite well. It oozes charm, and it's performances, especially that of Mr.Clooney, are notable as well. It's a brilliant adaption and a film that is, dare I say it, fantastic.

Let me be honest: This is my first episode of Black Mirror, which is a show I've always heard is good, but never got to confirm for myself until now. What made me want to watch this specific episode is not the main character's actor, who has since gone on to star in this year's mega-hit 'Get Out', but it's premise alone. A world where people help power their isolated world by exercising, while those not fit enough become janitors who are often mistreated and mocked or the butt of a joke. It's shocking in it's themes, but not in a way that makes me want to puke.

To put it lightly, this episode displays why I now like this series: it's gut wrenching, horrifying, and shocking, but not in the conventional way of displaying horrific visuals meant to make you cringe. Instead, Black Mirror manages to get all 3 of these across the board with it's honest, tight, and brilliantly told messages about the many ways society could connect with technology... and let me tell you, none of them are really 'good'. This specific episode I've chosen to review is something that starts out subtle, and only goes downhill as the episode progresses. I'm not going to say anything about this episode other than how much it got to me, because it really is one you're better left seeing without too much knowledge about it. Many of the characters I found interesting, even some minor ones. They're relatable in ways that everyone can agree with, and the dialog plus the overall story is sharply written to a point that made the 1 hour I spent watching it feel like nothing.

If you're looking into Black Mirror as a potential series to binge, know that it's not for everyone. It's shocking and emotional in many unconventional ways, and almost always has a statement to make, so if that sounds good, then shoot for it. Just thinking of this episode makes me want to watch the other episodes.

I just saw this in a collection of the Oscar nominated shorts this year. While I thought the live action ones were excellent (all of them), it was the animated segment that had me mixed. Some were decent, but others not so much. This one is so conflicting on me that I just have to say something about it. For an animated short it looks excellent, and seems quite reminiscent of a graphic novel. The style and execution of such here is brilliant. The story is also decent, and so is the choice of music.

On the other hand, the execution of anything other than the visuals and music is iffy. The story is one that I believe would make for a good feature-length film, given the right director and screenwriter... but, being 30 minutes only serves to limit how this story can be told, and it cripples it in my opinion.

The story is completely narrated from the first person, as with the animation style. This wouldn't be so bad if a) it worked with the story being presented and b) the short wasn't half an hour long. Surprise! It doesn't work with the story too well and this is the longest animated short of the bunch. The issue with this decision is that it's not as investing as a story like this SHOULD be. It's one with ups and downs, a realistic setting, and the potential for great characters, but all of that feels wasted the 45th time I heard the name 'Techno' narrated to me, an audience member.

My point is: as far as the Oscar shorts for this year, this one is easily the most risqué (I mean, it did give us a fair warning before it played, and it deserved it more than last year), with probably some of the best 2 dimensional animation I've seen in a while... but, given the fact that it's short, it FALLS short on what more it could do brilliantly. For some this will be moving, for me, it just felt like it moved all over the place, way more than it should, and that's a real shame.

BoJack Horseman is quite possibly the BEST thing (Movies, TV, and internet) I've seen in a long time. It's tough to describe the emotions I had while binge-watching all 3 of the current seasons, but let me tell you this: they weren't the happiest. BoJack Horseman is an interesting show mainly because it has a premise that, with any other creators, could be handled poorly and meshed into a generic, character-less animated TV show... but that isn't the case here. Sure the first few episodes paint it to be this way with tired gags and boring been-there-done-that characters... but then it changes. Suddenly, the been-there-done-that characters you thought you've seen in a million other animated TV shows are far more interesting, and the show stops being all cheery.

I'm not going to spoil anything about this show, because it's better you jump in with no prior knowledge of the show other than it's premise... but let me just say, it left me uncomfortable in many ways several movies and television shows could never have even dreamed of. This show isn't uncomfortable because it's scary, but rather because it feels so real. BoJack is the character you WANT to sympathize with, even though he's done more than his fair share of messing up. This show is one of the most human television shows on TV (despite it not actually being on, well, TV), but half of it's cast are animals. There are several themes in this show that several other shows don't dare to touch, and this does them justice.

Another thing about this show: it's funny. It's funny, but in a very dark way sometimes. It left me laughing my guts off at moments that, in any other TV show, wouldn't have me laughing my guts off. The writing is excellent, both serious and humorous.

This show is excellent! Sure, the first few episodes are not very great in comparison, but if you can make it past those episodes, then you're in for a real gem. BoJack Horseman manages to be funny, shocking, and mind-blowing all without constantly using the 'f' bomb or any other 4 (or less) letter baddie. This show is one of the smartest, and also more-so depressing, TV shows and is more than welcome to be among some of the best animated series... ever!

This paragraph is a quite a tangent, but, if you are interested in seeing this movie, I highly suggest you read it. This is not, and I mean NOT (N-O-T), an action movie. There are some scenes with a bit of action in them, but they're all very brief. This movie is a slow- moving thriller, and is very reliant on it's dialogue.

So, I just saw Killing Them Softly recently, and these are my thoughts.

Killing Them Softly is a Crime Thriller that does not focus on the glorification, nor the extreme shame, that the actual Crime gets in other movies. This movie is actually about the people that commit those Crimes. Killing Them Softly is interesting, due to the fact that almost every single character is a terrible person, who has done terrible things, but, they are also one of the most strangely relate-able bunch of characters I've seen in a while. Every single character has at least something going for them, and, despite their aberrant flaws, it's shocking when something happens to them. I also really enjoyed the little bits of Dark Humor in this film (at least, that's what I thought it was), the performances (especially from Brad Pitt), were really good, and the cinematography was decent.

However, this movie is NOT perfect! Although there are more flaws if you nitpick it enough (as with anything), there is one main flaw I found this movie: it's not-so great presentation of story. Don't get me wrong, this film has a very interesting story, and when it opens up, it actually provokes a bit of thought... however, that stuff didn't hit me until more than half-way through the film. The way the filmmakers chose to write the story is very troublesome in the bits and pieces before that more-than-half-way mark, mainly because it's pretty hard to follow. Throughout the opening, I kept saying to myself 'Okay, now you've lost me', which is a bad sign.

In total, I'm glad I saw Killing Them Softly. Perfect? No, but not as mediocre as some people will tell you it is.

I've beaten the original Hotline Miami 2 times, and loved it both times. When I heard there was going to be a sequel, boy, was I excited. When it released, I was unable to get it... but now, I've played it, and these are my thoughts.

Hotline Miami 2 instantly gets points for having a longer story than it's predecessor, and also for having yet another rocking soundtrack that I listen to even when I'm not playing it. While this is cool and all, I do have to address one thing about the story (no spoilers, I promise): one of the reasons the original Hotline Miami was so great was that it was thought provoking in the ways it created mysteries out of minor events, and major events alike. Wrong Number, however, makes the mistake of TELLING you what most of what those mysteries were, and not keeping them mysterious. Regardless, I still found the story to be equally enjoyable, and intelligent in both it's presentation and content.

Then there's the game-play. In sequel tradition, not much has really changed here, other than a few characters having some new abilities, but the U.I. (User Interface) has been worked on, and... looks allot better than last time. This said, though, the actual design (and not mechanics) has gone through an overhaul, making for much longer stages that take a while to beat (a later level actually took me an hour and a half to beat, if you want any confirmation). While this seems cool on paper, and for most of the time, a glaring issue (that cannot be fixed) about the first game only shines brighter: getting killed from an enemy you couldn't see. Does this make the game more tactical? Yes... BUT, it also makes it allot more slower-paced than it should be.

In conclusion, Hotline Miami 2 offers better design, story, and music, but I can't help but find little nitpicks every time I play it. Is it as good as the first game? Yes, but don't come into it thinking it will surpass the original by any standards.

I love the work of Don Hertzfeldt, and this is no exception. I was excited to see this, and it really did pay off. This is a case where I'd rather not talk about what happens, because it ruins the experience, and trust me, this experience is a grand one! The writing is smart, and actually made me think a bit, made me laugh a bit, and was also fairly sad... though, I didn't cry. Without talking about what actually happens, this is a bold look at Sci-Fi (Science-Fiction) through hand-drawn animation, and it really does work.

If you like Don Hertzfeldt, you'll probably like this, too... if you're unfamiliar with his work, it doesn't really matter, you might enjoy this overall.