Search here...
Home Blog Page 34

15 Worst Films of Summer 2017

K.F. Cumberbatch
-
0
15 Worst Films of Summer 2017

The summer movie season is officially over. It is a little over half way into the month of October, so those summer films that came out at the tail end of September (the end of the summer movie season) have had just about enough time to have been evaluated by movie critics. So that means it’s time to look back at the films that were released between June and September of this year to see which ones were definitive critical failures.

For the sake of this list, we’ll be looking at their Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic scores. They’ll be ranked them, from “best” to “worst” according to their Rotten Tomatoes scores since those tend to be lower than Metacritic scores. And, let’s be honest, people pay more attention to Rotten Tomatoes than Metacritic. If you see any films that you watched this summer that you loved on this list and disagree with them being but on a “Worst” list, let us know why in the comments.

1. Unlocked

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 26%                    Metacritic Score: 46%

Written by: Peter O’Brien.

Directed by: Michael Apted.

Starring: Noomi Rapace, Orlando Bloom, Toni Collette, John Malkovich and Michael Douglas.

Synopsis: A CIA interrogator is lured into a ruse that puts London at risk of a biological attack. – IMDB.

2. The Book of Henry

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 21%                    Metacritic Score: 31%

Written by: Gregg Hurwitz.

Directed by: Colin Trevorrow.

Starring: Naomi Watts, Jaeden Lieberher, Jacob Tremblay, Sarah Silverman, Lee Pace, Maddie Ziegler and Dean Norris.

Synopsis: Sometimes things are not always what they seem, especially in the small suburban town where the Carpenter family lives. Single suburban mother Susan (Naomi Watts) works as a waitress at a diner, alongside feisty friend Sheila (Sarah Silverman). Her younger son Peter (Jacob Tremblay) is a playful 8-year-old. Taking care of everyone and everything is Susan’s older son Henry (Jaeden Lieberher), age 11. Protector to his adoring younger brother and tireless supporter of his often self-doubting mother – and, through investments, of the family – Henry blazes through the days like a comet. Susan discovers that the family next door, which includes Henry’s kind classmate Christina (Maddie Ziegler), has a dangerous secret – and that Henry has devised a surprising plan to help. As his brainstormed rescue plan for Christina takes shape in thrilling ways, Susan finds herself at the center of it. – Focus Features YouTube Channel.

3. Woodshock

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 19%                    Metacritic Score: 38%

Written  and Directed by: Kate Mulleavy and Laura Mulleavy.

Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Joe Cole and Pilou Asbæk.

Synopsis: A haunted young woman spirals in the wake of profound loss, torn between her fractured emotional state and the reality-altering effects of a potent cannabinoid drug. – IMDB.

4. Wish Upon

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 17%                    Metacritic Score: 32%

Written by:  Barbara Marshall.

Directed by: John R. Leonetti.

Starring: Joey King, Ki Hong Lee, Sydney Park, Elisabeth Rohm and Ryan Phillippe.

Synopsis: A teenage girl discovers a box that carries magic powers and a deadly price for using them. – IMDB.

5. The Mummy

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 16%                    Metacritic Score: 34%

Written by: David Koepp, Christopher McQuarrie and Dylan Kussman.

Directed by: Alex Kurtzman.

Starring: Tom Cruise, Annabelle Wallis, Sofia Boutella, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance and Russell Crowe.

Synopsis: An ancient Egyptian princess is awakened from her crypt beneath the desert, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia, and terrors that defy human comprehension. – IMDB.

6. All Eyez On Me

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 15%                    Metacritic Score: 38%

Written by:  Jeremy Haft, Eddie Gonzalez and Steven Bagatourian.

Directed by:  Benny Boom.

Starring: Demetrius Shipp Jr., Kat Graham, Lauren Cohan, Hill Harper and Danai Gurira.

Synopsis: Tells the true and untold story of prolific rapper, actor, poet and activist Tupac Shakur. – IMDB.

7. The Dark Tower

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 15%                    Metacritic Score: 34%

Written by: Akiva Goldsman, Jeff Pinkner, Anders Thomas Jensen and Nikolaj Arcel.

Directed by: Nikolaj Arcel.

Starring: Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Taylor, Claudia Kim, Fran Kranz, Abbey Lee, Katheryn Winnick and Jackie Earle Haley.

Synopsis: The last Gunslinger, Roland Deschain, has been locked in an eternal battle with Walter O’Dim, also known as the Man in Black, determined to prevent him from toppling the Dark Tower, which holds the universe together. With the fate of the worlds at stake, good and evil will collide in the ultimate battle as only Roland can defend the Tower from the Man in Black. – IMDB.

8. Transformers: The Last Knight

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 15%                    Metacritic Score: 25%

Written by: Art Marcum, Matt Holloway and Ken Nolan.

Directed by: Michael Bay.

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Josh Duhamel, Stanley Tucci, Anthony Hopkins, Laura Haddock, Isabela Moner, Jerrod Carmichael, Santiago Cabrera, John Turturro, Glenn Morshower and Liam Garrigan.

Synopsis: Our world’s greatest hero becomes our fiercest enemy when Optimus Prime launches a mission to save Cybertron by destroying Earth. Now Bumblebee and Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) must lead the Autobots against their former ally in the ultimate battle to save mankind from annihilation. – Transformers Official Website.

9. 2:22

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 13%                    Metacritic Score: Not Available

Written by: Nathan Parker and Todd Stein.

Directed by: Paul Currie.

Starring: Michiel Huisman, Teresa Palmer and Sam Reid.

Synopsis: A man’s life is derailed when an ominous pattern of events repeats itself in exactly the same manner every day, ending at precisely 2:22 p.m. – IMDB.

10. 9/11

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 11%                    Metacritic Score: 20%

Written by: Martin Guigui and Steven Golebiowski.

Directed by: Martin Guigui.

Starring: Charlie Sheen, Gina Gershon, Luis Guzmán, Wood Harris, Olga Fonda, Jacqueline Bisset and Whoopi Goldberg.

 Synopsis: A group of 5 people find themselves trapped in an elevator in the World Trade Center’s North Tower on 9/11. They work together, never giving up hope, to try to escape before the unthinkable happens. – IMDB.

11. The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 10%                    Metacritic Score: 36%

Written by: Scott Bindley, Cal Brunker and Bob Barlen.

Directed by: Cal Brunker.

Starring: Will Arnett, Maya Rudolph, Jackie Chan, Katherine Heigl, Bobby Moynihan, Bobby Cannavale, Isabela Moner, Jeff Dunham and Gabriel Iglesias.

Synopsis: Surly Squirrel (Will Arnett) and the gang are back. We are once again in Oakton where the evil mayor has decided to bulldoze Liberty Park and build a dangerous amusement park in its place. Surly and his ragtag group of animal friends band together to save their home, defeat the mayor, and take back the park. – The Nut Job Official Website.

12. The Emoji Movie

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 10%                    Metacritic Score: 12%

Written by: Tony Leondis, Eric Siegel and Mike White.

Directed by: Tony Leondis.

Starring: T. J. Miller, James Corden, Anna Faris, Maya Rudolph, Steven Wright, Jennifer Coolidge, Christina Aguilera, Sofía Vergara, Sean Hayes and Patrick Stewart.

Synopsis: Gene, a multi-expressional emoji, sets out on a journey to become a normal emoji. – IMDB.

13. First Kill

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 9%                    Metacritic Score: 39%

Written by: Nick Gordon.

Directed by:  Steven C. Miller.

Starring: Hayden Christensen, Bruce Willis, Gethin Anthony, Megan Leonard, Tyler Jon Olson amd Shea Buckner.

Synopsis: A Wall Street broker is forced to evade a police chief investigating a bank robbery as he attempts to recover the stolen money in exchange for his son’s life. – IMDB.

14. Flatliners

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 5%                    Metacritic Score: 27%

Written by: Ben Ripley.

Directed by: Niels Arden Oplev.

Starring: Ellen Page, Diego Luna, Nina Dobrev, James Norton, Kiersey Clemons and Kiefer Sutherland.

Synopsis: In Flatliners, five medical students, obsessed by the mystery of what lies beyond the confines of life, embark on a daring and dangerous experiment: by stopping their hearts for short periods of time, each triggers a near-death experience – giving them a firsthand account of the afterlife. But as their experiments become increasingly dangerous, they are each haunted by the sins of their pasts, brought on by the paranormal consequences of trespassing to the other side. – Sony Pictures.

15. Gun Shy/Salty

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 0%                    Metacritic Score: 21%

Written by: Toby Davies.

Directed by: Simon West.

Starring: Antonio Banderas, Olga Kurylenko, Ben Cura, Mark Valley, Aisling Loftus, David Mitchell and Jeremy Swift.

Synopsis: An aging rock star’s wife is kidnapped while vacationing in Chile. – IMDB.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0mmLQsnd_I

12 Upcoming Films To Watch This Fall

K.F. Cumberbatch
-
0
12 Upcoming Films To Watch This Fall

It’s the final quarter of the year, so that means it’s time for the fall movie season. The time of year when every little film that could makes its debut. Just in the nick of time to be considered for the following year’s Academy Awards. There aren’t a lot of Oscar-bait movies on this list today, but there are films that have the potential to at least be entertaining, even if they aren’t in anyway good. And, now that I think about it, there aren’t any holiday themed ones here either. Perhaps that’s a list for another day…Make sure to check out the honourable mentions at the end of the list.

1. Professor Marston and the Wonder Women – October 13th

Written and Directed by: Angela Robinson.

Starring: Luke Evans, Rebecca Hall,Bella Heathcote, JJ Feild, Oliver Platt and Connie Britton.

Synopsis: The story of psychologist William Moulton Marston, the polyamorous relationship between his wife and his mistress, the creation of his beloved comic book character Wonder Woman, and the controversy the comic generated. – IMDB.

2. Geostorm – October 20th

Written by: Dean Devlin and Paul Guyot.

Directed by: Dean Devlin.

Starring: Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish, Alexandra Maria Lara, Richard Schiff, Robert Sheehan,Daniel Wu, Eugenio Derbez, Ed Harris and Andy García.

Synopsis: After an unprecedented series of natural disasters threatened the planet, the world’s leaders came together to create an intricate network of satellites to control the global climate and keep everyone safe. But now, something has gone wrong—the system built to protect the Earth is attacking it, and it’s a race against the clock to uncover the real threat before a worldwide geostorm wipes out everything…and everyone along with it. – Geostorm Official Website.

3. Thor: Ragnarok – November 3rd

Written by: Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost.

Directed by: Taika Waititi

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo and Anthony Hopkins.

Synopsis: Thor is imprisoned on the other side of the universe without his mighty hammer and finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok—the destruction of his homeworld and the end of Asgardian civilization—at the hands of an all-powerful new threat, the ruthless Hela. But first he must survive a deadly gladiatorial contest that pits him against his former ally and fellow Avenger—the Incredible Hulk! – Marvel.com.

4. Lady Bird – November 3rd

Written by and Directed by: Greta Gerwig.

Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts, Lucas Hedges, Timothée Chalamet, Beanie Feldstein, Stephen McKinley Henderson and Lois Smith.

Synopsis: The adventures of a young woman living in Northern California for a year. – IMDB.

5. Murder on the Orient Express – November 10th

Written by: Michael Green.

Directed by: Kenneth Branagh.

Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Josh Gad, Leslie Odom Jr., Michelle Pfeiffer and Daisy Ridley.

Synopsis: A lavish train ride unfolds into a stylish & suspenseful mystery. From the novel by Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express tells of thirteen stranded strangers & one man’s race to solve the puzzle before the murderer strikes again. – IMDB.

6. Justice League – November 17th

Written by: Chris Terrio and Joss Whedon.

Directed by: Zack Snyder and Joss Whedon.

Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen and J. K. Simmons.

Synopsis: Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. –IMDB.

7. Coco – November 22nd

Written by: Adrian Molina.

Directed by: Lee Unkrich.

Starring: Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Renée Victor, Ana Ofelia Murguia and Edward James Olmos.

Synopsis: Despite his family’s baffling generations-old ban on music, Miguel (voice of newcomer Anthony Gonzalez) dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz (voice of Benjamin Bratt). Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead following a mysterious chain of events. Along the way, he meets charming trickster Hector (voice of Gael García Bernal), and together, they set off on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel’s family history. – Disney Movies.

8. The Shape of Water – December 8th

Written by: Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor.

Directed by: Guillermo del Toro.

Starring: Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg and Octavia Spencer.

Synopsis: An other-worldly fairy tale, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1962. In the hidden high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is trapped in a life of isolation. Elisa’s life is changed forever when she and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) discover a secret classified experiment. – IMDB.

9. I, Tonya -December 8th

Written by: Steven Rogers.

Directed by: Craig Gillespie.

Starring: Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney, Paul Walter Hauser, Julianne Nicholson, Caitlin Carver, Bojana Novakovic and Bobby Cannavale.

Synopsis: Competitive ice skater Tonya Harding rises among the ranks at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, but her future in the sport is thrown into doubt when her ex-husband intervenes. – IMDB.

10. Star Wars: The Last Jedi – December 15th

Written by and Directed by: Rian Johnson.

Starring: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern and Benicio del Toro.

Synopsis: Having taken her first steps into a larger world in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), Rey continues her epic journey with Finn, Poe, and Luke Skywalker in the next chapter of the saga. – IMDB.

11. Gotti – December 15th

Written by: Lem Dobbs and Leo Rossi.

Directed by: Kevin Connolly.

Starring: John Travolta, Kelly Preston, Stacy Keach, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Spencer Lofranco, Leo Rossi, Victor Gojcaj, Ella Bleu Travolta and Lydia Hull.

Synopsis: The story of crime boss John Gotti and his son. – IMDB.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNaLblrdflU

12. The Greatest Showman – December 25th

Written by: Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon.

Directed by: Michael Gracey.

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson and Zendaya.

Synopsis: Inspired by the imagination of P.T. Barnum, The Greatest Showman is an original musical that celebrates the birth of show business and tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation. – IMDB.

Honourable Mentions:

Click the film titles the view the trailers. They will open in a new window.

  1. The Foreigner – October 13th
  2. Thank You For Your Service – October 27th
  3. A Bad Moms Christmas – November 1st
  4. The Man Who Invented Christmas – November 22nd
  5. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle – December 20th
  6. Pitch Perfect 3 – December 22nd

Scandal S07E02 Recap

K.F. Cumberbatch
-
0
Scandal S07E02 Recap

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD.

Olivia actually wasn’t particularly insufferable in this episode. That was a nice change from last week’s. I didn’t leave this episode absolutely despising her. That being said, I’m still uncomfortable with the methods she uses to get her – and by extension, Mellie’s – way. Namely blackmail. And the show continues to, in my opinion, support what she does and doesn’t have her suffer any consequences for her actions, even if it looks like she will.

Olivia has always dug up dirt on people and used it to blackmail  them. So far, this season, Olivia doing her usual Olivia Pope things just feels wrong and it isn’t excusable anymore to me. I’d felt that way since the last episode and I couldn’t quite figure out why that was. I think I’ve figured it out now; it’s because she is now the White House Chief of  Staff, not just a fixer, and because, in the past, she used it against deplorable people who’d done despicable things. Can we even say that Olivia still wears the white hat?

The President of Bashran, Rashad, demonstrated himself to be a good man who only wanted what was best for his nation. Who understood his people and the climate within his country and, despite being decidedly more progressive, stuck with the traditional to maintain peace. He made a very good argument to Mellie as to why the treaty would not benefit him at all and I wish that at some point, Olivia would have heard his arguments. Especially before she sent Jake to dig up some dirt on him.

The way Olivia looked at the President of Bashran, with such disgust and disdain, just because he refused (and she hadn’t even known why) was the one moment in the episode when I couldn’t stand her. I was glad that her efforts to find something to use against him weren’t fruitful. And I was glad that, with the information she had found, she chose to appeal to his better nature rather than blackmail him. But it didn’t work.

In what looked to be a moment in which Eli’s words hinting at Olivia being the cause of her ruin beginning to come to fruition, Olivia’s blackmail from the previous episode came back to bite her in the butt. Her last victim warned the President of Bashran about her – going so far as to call he the devil – and it was because of her past behaviour that the President of Bashran denied her and refused the treaty. In that moment Olivia really made Mellie look bad.

Even as it looked like Olivia had played herself and was beginning to trip herself up, I knew it wouldn’t stick at that the President of Bashran would agree to the treaty by the end of the episode. So when the assassination attempt happened, I knew that that would be the thing to make him agree to it.

I also thought for a moment, that Olivia had arranged it (it wouldn’t be too far fetched for someone who threatened the life of a child), even though it made no sense and Olivia seemed not to have any knowledge of the attempt. I even thought that it had been Mellie and that she’d done it without telling Olivia. It just seemed strange that it would have happened in the White House, at the dinner. And of course, Mellie’s men saving his life would ingratiate him to her. It seemed like a perfect set up to make him agree.

I especially thought that Mellie had been behind it when she dismissed Olivia (who looked to be very annoyed that she had been) from the Oval Office so that she could talk to the President of Bashran alone. I’m not quite sure that his agreeing to the treaty was the best decision, considering how precarious a picture he painted of his position and the overall situation of his country. We shall see how it plays out since it looks like Bashran will play a big part in the story of this season.

The best moment of the episode, for both Olivia and Mellie, that really humanised them, was when Mellie was getting ready for the dinner and went on a rant about her sex life. The laugh they shared was sweet and endearing and as cathartic for them as it was for me watching the scene. It was because of this scene that I thought that Mellie and the President of Bashran were going to sleep together. They totally had a moment.

Poor Cyrus was relegated to entertaining and buttering up Fenton Glackland, who really was quite an ass. It was such an amazing moment when Cyrus read him for filth and just tore him down. It was one of his greatest moments. Given Glackland’s personality, though, I expected him ton retaliate, but he just left. Ashamed. Which, admittedly, was enjoyable to see.

Random thoughts:

  1. That tea thing was a weird thing to say.
  2. I love how Abbie and QPA keep begging David to help them with clients.
  3. Olivia has a friend with benefits. She doesn’t know how lonely it is.
  4. Huck is hilariously bad at mingling.
  5. The President of Bashran can’t be so naive. Countries spy on each other all the time.
  6. Huck: Bad at socialising, good at sniffing out assassins.
  7. I knew Fitz was going to be on her doorstep!

Scandal airs Thursdays at 9 PM on ABC.

Scandal S07E01 Recap

K.F. Cumberbatch
-
0
Scandal S07E01 Recap

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD.

If this is what Olivia is going to be like for the rest of the series, then I’m going to have a bad time with the rest of this season. It was bad enough that she was barely likeable or tolerable last season – due to her overwhelming desperation to win the presidency and how very, very wrong she was about Cyrus’s guilt. In this episode she just comes off like a power mad, arrogant child throwing a tantrum because Mellie and Jake didn’t do what she said. And the narrative actually justified her behaviour.

Sure, Jake and Mellie’s plan to kill the spy would have garnered the ire of the President of Bashran either way. For the pure and simple fact that it was a military incision. And I’m not at all saying that they should have killed the man. If there was a way for them to save him – and indeed there was – then that was what they should have tried first. Which they really didn’t. But Olivia going behind their back and extracting the spy felt really childish and immature and kind of like she didn’t know her place.

It was clear from last season that she wanted Mellie to win so that it would be her White House, so that she would be the one in power making all of the power plays and the big decisions and steering the country in her direction, but still. I hate seeing this pompous, very unlikeable Olivia Pope. One whose seemingly been corrupted by the power she holds. And it doesn’t help that the show makes her 100% right all of the time – except for last season – and in so doing paints what she is doing and how she is behaving as right.

I was cheering for her after that opening scene, though. She “handled” that senator so thoroughly…it was peak Olivia Pope and it felt so good watching her do what she does best. But as the episode progressed I disliked her more and more until I just outright despised her by the end. And I just know that she’s going to be like this for the remainder of the series and nothing will change her behaviour. Unless Eli’s warning to her comes to fruition.

I couldn’t help but think that their conversation was some kind of foreshadowing for the potential down fall of one Olivia Pope. That her hubris would be her undoing in the end. I mean, look at Eli. He was damn near untouchable, even to Olivia, for the longest time and eventually he was taken down. He’s right; she is very much like him at this point. However, I do feel like she is trying her best not to be. Even if she winds up being her own undoing, this is Olivia Pope we’re talking about, she’ll get herself out of it.

I was so glad when Mellie, well, tried, to assert herself to Olivia at the end of the episode. I was like “Yes Mellie! Tell her who’s boss! Tell her what her role is and put her in her place.” But Olivia, with that silver tongue of hers and that cocksure attitude, swayed Mellie to fall into line behind her. Because of course she did. She’s Olivia Pope. Am I the only one who was annoyed with the way she was rolling her eyes throughout the entire episode like she was so above everyone and everything?

A few seasons ago I would have been on board with her testing Cyrus. He’s certainly no angel and has done his share of shady things in pursuit of his ambitions. But even that felt like she was going too far and doing too much and just generally being the worst version of herself. Just every choice she made, everything she said and everything she did in this episode made me not like her.

And poor, long suffering, love-sick-puppy Jake. He’s back in her bed and under her thumb and even there she’s throwing around her power. He can’t seem to catch a break with her and the two of them circle each other, on and off again, as much as she did with Fitz. I was surprised that the two were sleeping together again since Olivia so publicly planted a kiss on Fitz at the end of the last season. Not to say that she shouldn’t be getting hers just because he’s gone. I just didn’t expect her to be involved with anyone really, given that. I just wish it had been Jake to end their little affair.

I don’t think he “got comfortable”, as she put it, and went behind her back to Mellie just because they were sleeping together. They’re friends. They’ve known each other for a very long time. Of course he’s comfortable. Yes, she is his boss and he should not have gone over her head. That was very disrespectful. Still, for her to chalk it up to them sleeping together felt kind of petty.

Random thoughts:

  1. Go Liv!
  2. I like the sound of “Quinn Perkins and Associates.”
  3. Aww Quinn’s showing.
  4. I cannot tell if Mellie is being genuine or working an angle on Cyrus.
  5. I forgot that Jake is married.
  6. By “ours” Olivia means hers.
  7. I cannot tell if Olivia is being genuine or working an angle on Mellie.

Scandal airs Thursdays at 9 PM on ABC.

‘Bodak Yellow’ – Cardi B Review

Kofi Jones
-
0
‘Bodak Yellow’ – Cardi B Review

From climbing the pole to climbing the Billboard charts, Cardi B has been killing it on the hip-hop scene with her record-breaking smash hit “Bodak Yellow.”

The former stripper and Love & Hip Hop star is fresh to the music scene. She made her debut as a featured artist on Shaggy’s remix to the hit single “Boom Boom” alongside Popcaan in 2015. Since then she’s released two mixtapes. “Bodak Yellow”, her first commercial single, landed her the #1 slot on the Billboard Top 100. Making her the first female rapper to land the #1 spot on the charts without a feature in 19 years. But is Bodak Yellow as hype as they say?

Spoiler alert: Yes.

The song, which heavily samples Kodak Black’s 2015 song “No Flockin”, has Cardi bringing her own spin and charm on board.

The J White produced beat resonates well with any trap head whilst also being catchy enough for the casual music listener. The almost futuristic feel from the modern sounds in the beat, in collaboration with Cardi’s progressively intensifying flow, leaves you in a seemingly never-ending head bopping state.

However, the song may find fault amongst “true hip-hop” fans. Admittedly it does have a very simple rhyming scheme and it,  just like every modern rap song, is primarily about money. But if that’s your main complaint, then music from the past decade isn’t for you.

One concern about the song though, is if it deserves this phenomenal record-breaking spot at number one. Which makes for an interesting argument. This is by no means the most thought-provoking song currently on the Hot 100. Some would argue that it’s the HOT 100 and not the thought-provoking 100, which is totally fair. Whilst, as I said earlier, the lyrics aren’t exactly the most stimulating, the delivery is amazing. You really feel her all in it.

Let’s address the elephant in the room.

Nicki Minaj didn’t break this record. Lil Kim didn’t break this record. Cardi B with her first commercial song was the first female rap artist to reach the top of the Billboard charts in 19 years. Is this to say she’s the best female rapper in the last two decades? No, but she has that formula down for this current state of music.

To summarize, the song is FYAH!!! Banging beat! Stoopid flow!!! With a chorus catchy enough to win pretty much anyone. Though the lyrics leave a lot to be desired the song was just delivered so well it just gives you that trap motivation to have you singing.

 

Outlander S03E05 Recap

K.F. Cumberbatch
-
0
Outlander S03E05 Recap

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD.

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. OH. MY. GOD! It happened! It finally happened! And it was so, so worth it. Tears, real, actual tears fell out of my eyes at the end of this episode. This is the first episode of the season, thus far, which left me with a most satisfying feeling of catharsis – the laugh I had at Jamie’s expense really helped with that. Finally, we end an episode on a happy note.

I am so glad it didn’t end at the point that I assumed that it would. That would have been so infuriating. I thought that Outlander would do what most other shows do and that was cut to black, end the episode, right as it was on the cusp of giving viewers exactly what they have wanted and been waiting for since time immemorial. I expected the episode to end at the moment she opened the door to the print shop.

But it didn’t! We actually saw her go in. We heard Jamie’s voice. We saw her walk up to him. We saw her speak to him. We saw him turn around and lay his eyes on her for the first time in over a decade. We saw his reaction. We saw him faint. We. Saw. EVERYTHING! And it was so satisfying. Even as I write this (immediately after viewing the episode) I’m tearing up with how overjoyed I am that we actually got their reunion. Finally. Finally!

It was the perfect point to end the episode at. We got enough of their reunion to not feel cheated and to make us eagerly anticipate not just the next episode, but the rest of the season. As much as I would like next Sunday’s episode to deal exclusively with the immediate moments after Jamie fainted, I also want it to be about what he did between Helwater and the print shop. I’m very curious about what he did in the interim and hope that the season covers that sooner rather than later.

I was scared for a little while that Claire would enter the print shop and find Jamie with a whole new family. A wife and a child or two. It was a pretty irrational fear because if Jamie’s time away from her proved anything, it was that he had no intentions and no desire to form a relationship or family with anyone but her. No matter how much he had pulled himself out of his depression over her loss. So really, I’m expecting him to still be single.

After almost an entire episode dedicated to Jamie, we got one dedicated to Claire. Everything in this episode was pushing her toward going back to Scotland and through the stones. Joe with his “F–k fate” , Roger with his evidence of Jamie’s location and Bree with letting Claire go – something that she was always prepared to do. The universe was pushing her toward it and for a while, she wasn’t heeding the call.

I expected her to just jump at the opportunity to go back to Jamie when Roger told her he had found him. Her hesitation, her refusal really took me by surprise. We know that she knew that if Roger had told Brianna that she’d have told Claire to go back to Jamie. I believe that’s why she told Roger not to. So when she did tell Brianna herself – and I’m glad it came from Claire and Roger didn’t go behind her back – it was the moment when we all knew she was ready.

I don’t even really believe that it was her work that was keeping Claire in Boston, 1968. As much as she loved it and would have missed it. She can do her work in Edinburgh, 1766. Bree is what kept her there, so they needed to have the talk that they did in order for Claire to finally decide to go back to Jamie. It was sweet how Bree was kind of the “adult” in the situation. Like a reversal of a daughter going to her mother for advise about boys.

I felt like Roger’s conversation with Brianna at Harvard, was building toward her going with Claire. It certainly felt that way since a good bit of it was about them talking about not knowing their fathers. Especially with his lines about what Reverend Wakefield told him about his father made him know himself better and that in order for a person to know themselves they need to know their history. It made me wonder why no one considered or suggested that Bree go with Claire. Even Bree herself. Isn’t she a little curious to meet Jamie?

It made sense that Bree was having an identity crisis after everything she’d learned about Frank, Jamie and Claire. It seemed like she lost all interest in history since discovering Frank wasn’t her biological father, though, and I like how she had a love for the subject just like he did. But her emotional turmoil about the whole thing went deeper than I would have that. It hurt to hear her say that she thought Frank hated her for looking like Jamie and Claire resented her for being the reason she had to leave him.

The Frank bit hurt more just because we know how very, very much he loved Brianna. She was the reason he stayed in his miserable marriage with Claire and he was going to take her with them once they were divorced. Which reminds me…

At first, when Sandy started to tell off Claire about how she treated Frank, I was like “Who the hell does she think she is? This woman needs to learn her place.” But by the end of her little tirade against Claire, I was on her side. She was right. Everything she said was true and I was kind of glad that someone finally berated Claire for how she treated Frank. Even Joe said that everyone knew that their marriage was a sham. Claire really should have let Frank go.

I’m really confused about how time moves between the past and the present. Didn’t Roger say in the last episode that the same amount of time passes on either side, so Claire’s three years in the 18th century equated to three years in the present? If so, why then is Claire going back to 1766 instead of 1768? Also, Jamie looks like he hasn’t aged as much as her.

Random thoughts:

  1. Oh. Jamie kept on not using his real name.
  2. I love that the episode of Dark Shadows that Roger is watching is relevant to Claire.
  3. Joe is Claire’s Stephanie.
  4. The inclusion of the Batman theme is hilarious!
  5. Aww, she gave Bree the pearls.
  6. Roger better stay in Boston and marry Bree.

Outlander airs Sundays at 10 pm on Starz.

9 Returning Anime to Watch This Fall

K.F. Cumberbatch
-
0
9 Returning Anime to Watch This Fall

Aside from the fresh new offerings of every season of anime, if we’re lucky, our favourite anime series from months and, quite often, years past get the second or third or however many more (moreth?) season we’d been hankering for. As with the the last list, 12 New Anime to Give A Chance This Fall, quite a few of these entries have already begun airing. But like I said in that list, it’s never too late for one of these.

1. Gintama – October 1st

Genre: Action, Chanbara, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

Studio: Bandia Namco Pictures

Based on: Manga by Hideaki Sorachi

Synopsis: Twenty years ago, Edo-period Japan suffered a great cultural shock—the aliens called Amanto invaded the Earth, overpowered the nation’s government, and outlawed the carrying of swords by the once proud samurai. Moreover, the aliens took the people’s jobs and are currently running Japan as a sweatshop using the natives as laborers. In this strange new era are Gintoki Sakata, an eccentric samurai whose personal trademarks are his naturally permed silver hair, his love of anything sweet, and his addiction to Shonen Jump; Shinpachi Shimura, the teenaged heir of the Kakido-Ryu style; and Kagura, an incredibly strong alien girl from the powerful Yato clan. The trio are self-employed in an odd jobs shop called Yoruzuya Gin-chan, which offers to do almost anything for a price, from finding lost kittens to saving the world. Unfortunately, the jobs rarely go as planned, or pay enough to cover the pain and suffering the employees encounter—never mind their rent. – Anime News Network.

Stream On: Crunchyroll

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srhyrEVDa88

 

2. Osomatsu-san 2/Mr. Osomatsu 2 – October 2nd

Genre: Comedy

Studio: Studio Perriot

Based On: Manga by Fuijio Akatsuka

Synopsis: Matsuno household has six naughty and mischievous sons (who are sextuplets), led by the eldest Osomatsu. They were grade schoolers back in the Shōwa period, but despite of still living in the same old household, the street view as well as the life style of modern day society have changed drastically. – Anime News Network.

Stream On: Crunchyroll

3. Shokugeki no Souma!: San no Sara/Food Wars!: The Third Plate – October 3rd

Genre: Cooking, School, Slice of Life

Studio: J.C. Staff

Based On: Manga by Yūto Tsukuda

Synopsis: Soma Yukihira is a son of a restaurant owner. He’s talented at cooking and can make new dishes, mostly weird and epic combinations (squid and peanut butter) but this wide imagination of his also led him to create wonderful and unique foods. However, two to three years from now, the restaurant is on the verge of closing since his father will be working together with his friend. Before the time comes, Soma began studying in Engetsu Teahouse Culinary Academy, Japan’s top culinary academy. For him to continue their restaurant business, he must learn and improve his cooking skills in this prestigious academy. – Anime News Network.

Stream On: Crunchyroll

 

4. Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World – The Animated Series/Kino’s Journey: The Beautiful World – The Animated Series – October 6th

Genre: Adventure, Fantasy

Studio: Lerche

Based On: Light Novel bby Keiichi Sigsawa

Synopsis: The story follows the travels of Kino, a young adventurer who rides a talking motorcycle named Hermes. They explore the people and cultures of different places throughout their adventures, spending only three days at each location. – Anime News Network.

Stream On: Crunchyroll and Funimation

5. Kekkai Sensen and Beyond/Blood Blockade Battlefront and Beyond – October 7th

Genre: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi

Studio: Bones

Based On: Manga by Yasuhiro Nightow

Synopsis: One day, New York City as we know it vanished overnight into a mysterious fog. Now known as Hellsalem’s Lot, it has become a place where another world beyond imagining is connected to our reality. The balance within this new world is protected by a secret society known as Libra. Leo, a journalist and photographer who arrives in the city, is unexpectedly recruited to join their ranks. – Anime News Network.

Stream On: Crunchyroll and Funimation

6. Love Love! Sunshine!! 2 – October 7th

Genre: Idol, Music, School

Studio: Sunrise

Synopsis: The girls of Uranohoshi Girls’ High School are swept into idol fever, wanting nothing more than to become the next-best School Idol group. And they plan to do just that. Chika Takami brings together eight of her classmates to form Aqours, their own idol group. – Anime News Network.

Stream On: Crunchyroll and Funimation

7. Himouto! Umaru-chan R – October 8th

Genre: Comedy, School, Slice of Life

Studio: Doga Kobo

Based On: Manga by Sankaku Head

Synopsis: Umaru is Taihei’s little sister who boasts beautiful looks as well as prowess in both school and sports. However, this “Himōto” (beautiful little sister) has a certain secret. – Anime News Network.

Stream On: Anime Strike

8. Hoozuki no Reitetsu/Hozuki’s Coolheadedness – October 8th

Genre: Comedy, Supernatural

Studio: Studio Deen

Based On: Manga by Natsumi Eguchi

Synopsis: Hōzuki is the aide to the great king of Hell, Kng Enma. Calm and super-sadistic, Hōzuki tries to resolve the various problems in Hell, including a rampaging Momotarō and his companions. However, he also likes spending his free time on his hobbies, such as fawning over cute animals and raising “Goldfish Flowers.” – Anime News Network.

Stream On: HIDIVE

9. 3-gatsu no Lion/March Comes in Like A Lion – October 14th

Genre: Slice of Life

Studio: Shaft

Based On: Manga by Chica Umino

Synopsis: The protagonist Rei is a 17-year old professional shōgi player, who lives by himself, not having a real family, and has scarcely any friends. Among his acquaintances is a family, which consists of a young woman, Akari, and two young girls, Hinata and Momo, and who also keep a numerous number of cats. – Anime News Network.

Stream On: Crunchyroll

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oemxtt6sWg8

Outlander S03E04 Recap

K.F. Cumberbatch
-
0
Outlander S03E04 Recap

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD.

How many more episodes are left this season and how many more of them will I have to spend seeing Claire and Jamie unhappy? At least Frank got away from it. The one silver lining to his death is that we don’t need to see Claire treating him terribly anymore. As much as I hate seeing these characters suffer misfortune after misfortune, I know that the pay off – when Claire and Jamie finally reunite – will be all the sweeter. It better be.

Jamie having a child with someone else will complicate things, though. Who, besides book readers, saw that coming? The signs pointing toward it were evident in the episode (I knew it would happen from the moment Geneva approached Jamie about having sex with her), but I don’t think anyone could have expected it to happen coming into this episode from the last.

Jamie’s time at Helwater was a lot more pleasant that I thought it would be. With Grey pointing out that Lord Dunsany didn’t like Jacobites and all. Then for it to be revealed, in Jamie’s first meeting with the man, that Lord Dunsany is a more “what’s in the past, is in the the past” kind of person and didn’t begrudge Jamie his involvement in the Jacobite Uprising at all. It was Lady Dunsany that hated Jacobites. But she came around to Jamie too, in the end. There is no end to our favourite redhead’s charm.

He didn’t quite get away with flying under the radar and not finding himself in some trouble, however, because Geneva – clever little minx that she was – found out about his true identity.

I really didn’t like Geneva at first. She seemed like such a stick in the mud, sour and miserable person. But then when she went riding with Jamie, she opened up and was so personable. She was smiling, laughing and jovial. It was like there was so much more to her and her serious facade was just her playing the role she was supposed to as a woman. And in many ways that was the case. She had a duty as her father’s daughter and she performed that duty without complaint…for the most part.

She was staring at Jamie a little too hard when Ransom left, so I wasn’t surprised when she chose him to go riding with her and showed him some kind of preference. It was clear that she was interested. Then she destroyed the better image of her that I had cultivated when she blackmailed him into sleeping with her. Just the look on her face when Grey, Lord Melton and Jamie were speaking…you could tell that she knew there was more to it and that she was going to dig for the truth.

I understood why she was doing it, but it was still incredibly selfish and manipulative. While at the same time being an act of defiance and rebellion against the role she was to play, as much as she resigned herself to playing it. She really was developed into quite a complex character in the short time she was in the show. There were so many facets to her and as contradictory as they seemed, they weren’t nonsensical. It was very apparent why she was the way she was and why she did the things that she did.

The entire time that she was having sex with Jamie I was worried that they would get caught. Jamie would have gone back to jail and her prospects would have been ruined. And my biggest concern, the only one that came to fruition, was: “What if she got pregnant?”

I think we all knew that Geneva was going to die when Isobel told Jamie that she was having a difficult delivery. They almost pulled a fast one on us too when they said that she was, only to pull the rug from under us shortly thereafter. When Jamie came upomg Isobel crying in the corridor, it was obvious why that was. Much as I didn’t particularly like Geneva it was still sad that she died.

Speaking of Isobel, I thought that she would have been the sister that Jamie wound up with. She was so nice and sweet during their first meeting and I shipped them for a little while. Not that anything really could have happened, given their positions, but I expected them to have some kind of affair.

As bad as this may sound, the good thing about Geneva dying is that Jamie got to have a relationship with William. How perfect is it that both of their dead older brothers had the same name? Geneva’s family inadvertently honoured Jamie’s older brother. Had Geneva lived, she and the child would have gone back home with the Earl and Jamie would hardly have ever seen him and we wouldn’t have gotten the sugar rush that was their father and son relationship. I love that William loved him even though he didn’t know that he was his father.

It’s unfortunate that Jamie had to leave him the same way he had to send the unborn Brianna away. Here I thought that, for once, he would actually get to be with one of his children. We knew that he wasn’t going to accept Lady Dunsany’s offer to return to Scotland and I fully expected him to live out his life at Helwater and watch William grow up. Apparently, though, the only thing William didn’t inherit from Jamie was the red hair, so he had to leave. It was gut wrenching watching William beg and plead with him to stay. I hope he shows up later in the series. I’m glad he’s being taken care of by Grey and Isobel.

It wasn’t until she received the phone call from Joe and Brianna expressing her fears to Roger, that it occurred to me how much Claire would be giving up by travelling through the stones and returning to Jamie. I don’t think that she did either, because it wasn’t until that call that she really started to show any doubt or hesitation about her efforts to find him. Ultimately, besides the constant set backs in finding out where Jamie would be at present, I think that the call from Joe is why she gave up. It put everything in perspective for her.

Our Claire Beauchamp-Randall-Fraser isn’t one to give up so easily. She’s incredibly strong willed. For her to give up when there are still options available to her – like Roger said, they could have gone to the every port of call on the Western Coast – was disheartening. We all know that this isn’t the end. She will find Jamie at some point, but still. I wish she hadn’t given up as easily as she had. There’s still so much that she could to to try and find Jamie before throwing in the towel.

Random thoughts:

  1. Jamie didn’t stray that far from his real name.
  2. Roger’s awkwardness around Bree is so adorable.
  3. Grey’s back!
  4. Sam Heughan butt is as good as Kit Harrington butt.
  5. I really thought that the baby would be born with red hair like Bree.
  6. Is Jamie even allowed to spank William?
  7. William is far too adorable.

Outlander airs Sundays at 10 PM on Starz.12.

12 New Anime to Give A Chance This Fall

K.F. Cumberbatch
-
0
12 New Anime to Give A Chance This Fall

It’s that time of year again for a brand new season of anime to begin. Every new season brings with it a fresh, new bunch of anime titles for us otaku to consume. Some look great, some look bad and others have potential but could swing either way. That is what this list is for! These are the new anime coming out this season that I personally think have the potential to be great, or at least, a fun watch. Yes, I know that some of these titles have had their first episode released already (and not all of them I’ve watched), but it’s never too late for a listicle like this.

With all that said, here’s the list!

1. Black Clover – October 3rd

Genre: Action, Fantasy, Shounen

Studio: Studio Perriot

Based on: Manga by Yūki Tabata

Synopsis: Asta is a young boy who dreams of becoming the greatest mage in the kingdom. He only has one problem, he can’t use magic. Luckily for Asta, he receives the incredibly rare five-leaf clover grimoire that gives him the power of anti-magic. Even though he can’t use magic, he plans to become the Wizard King. – Anime News Network.

Stream On: Crunchyroll, Funmation and Hulu.

2. Jūni Taisen /Jūni Taisen: Zodiac War – October 3rd

Genre: Action, Drama, Horror

Studio: Graphinica

Based on: Light Novel by Nisio Isin

Synopsis: The 12th Twelve Tournament gets held every twelve years. Twelve brave, strange warriors who bear the names of the signs of the zodiac fight each other for the lives and souls.The victor of this tournament gets to have one wish granted, whatever the wish may be. – Anime News Network.

Stream On: Crunchyroll and Funmation.

3. Ousama Game: The Animation/King’s Game: The Animation – October 5th

Genre: Horror, Suspense, School

Studio: Seven

Based on: Cellphone Novel by Nobuaki Kanazawa

Synopsis: An entire high school class of 32 people receive a message on their cellphones from a person known only as the “King.” The messages contain orders that the students must obey, or they risk the punishment of death. With their lives on the line, the students soon find out that the orders are getting more and more extreme as time goes on. – Anime News Network.

Stream On: Crunchyroll and Funmation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V9sxB-xdm0

4. Just Because! – October 5th

Genre: Drama, School, Slice of Life

Studio: Pine Jam

Synopsis: The original anime Just Because! focuses on subtly portraying the feelings of a group of high school students nearing graduation. Near the end of second semester at third year, when students have very little time in high school left, and are just waiting for graduation, the appearance of a new transfer student begins to change what remains of their high school lives just as they were about to graduate. – Anime News Network.

Stream On: Anime Strike

5. Girl’s Last Tour – October 6th

Genre: Adventure, Military

Studio: White Fox

Based On: Manga by Tsukumizu.

Synopsis: Civilization is dead, but Chito and Yuuri are still alive. So they hop aboard their beloved Kettenkrad motorbike and aimlessly wander the ruins of the world they once knew. Day after hopeless day, they look for their next meal and fuel for their ride. But as long as the two are together, even an existence as bleak as theirs has a ray or two of sunshine in it, whether they’re sucking down their fill of soup or hunting for machine parts to tinker with. For two girls in a world full of nothing, the experiences and feelings the two share give them something to live for. – Anime News Network.

Stream On: Anime Strike

6. Dies Irae – October 6th

Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Psychological

Studio: AGGT

Based On: Visual Novel developed by Light.

Synopsis: On May 1, 1945 in Berlin, as the Red Army raises the Soviet flag over the Reichskanzlei, a group of Nazi officers conduct a ritual. For them, the slaughter in the city is nothing but the perfect ritual sacrifice in order to bring back the Order of the 13 Lances, a group of supermen whose coming would bring the world’s destruction. Years later, no one knows if this group of officers succeeded, or whether they lived or died. Few know of their existence, and even those who knew began to pass away as the decades passed. Now in December in the present day in Suwahara City, Ren Fujii spends his days at the hospital. Every night he sees the same dream: A guillotine. Murderers who hunt people, and the black clothed knights who pursue the murderers. He is desperate to return to his normal, everyday life, but even now he hears his friend Shirō’s words: “Everyone who remains in this city eventually loses their minds.” – Anime News Network.

Stream On: Crunchyroll and Funmation

7. Garo: Vanishing Line – October 6th

Genre: Action, Supernatural

Studio: Mappa

Synopsis: In prosperous Russell City, a conspiracy threatens to shake its world has been set in motion. A man named Sword is the first to hear the earliest stirrings of the plot, and throws himself into a shadow war in order to expose it. His only clue is the keyword “El Dorado.” He meets Sophie, a woman searching for her older brother who left her with only a message with the same word: “El Dorado.” With Sword having also lost his younger sister in the past, both are drawn together by the word, and work together to find out its meaning. – Anime News Network.

Stream On: Crunchyroll and Funmation

8. Mahoutsukai no Yome/The Ancient Magus’ Bride – October 7th

Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Magic, Mystery, Supernatural

Studio: Wit Studio

Based On: Manga by Kore Yamazaki

Synopsis: Hatori Chise has lived a life full of neglect and abuse, devoid of anything resembling love. Far from the warmth of family, she has had her share of troubles and pitfalls. Just when all hope seems lost, a fateful encounter awaits her. When a man with the head of a beast, wielding strange powers, obtains her through a slave auction, Chise’s life will never be the same again. The man is a “magus,”a sorcerer of great power, who decides to free Chise from the bonds of captivity. The magus then makes a bold statement: Chise will become his apprentice–and his bride! – Seven Seas Entertainment.

Stream On: Crunchyroll and Funmation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0k03OaDDfk

 

9. Code:Realize – Sousei no Himegimi/Code: Realize − Guardian of Rebirth – October 7th

Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Steampunk

Studio: M.S.C

Based On: Visual Novel developed by Otomate

Synopsis: Restricted to an abandoned mansion on the outskirts of London in fulfillment of a promise to her father, lonely Cardia lives day to day isolated from the world. Her body carries a deadly poison that rots or melts anything her skin touches, prompting the locals to call her a “monster.” Her last conversation with her father two years ago, telling her to stay out of sight and never fall in love, is the furthest back she can remember. One day, her quiet solitude is interrupted as the Royal Guards break in to capture her. It is then that Cardia meets Arsène Lupin, a chivalrous thief, who helps her escape the soldiers’ clutches. She soon finds herself on a journey with Lupin to locate her father, who holds the answers to her mysterious condition. – Anime News Network.

Stream On: Crunchyroll and Funmation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK0jQYySj6k

10. Net-juu no Susume/Recovery of an MMO Junkie – October 9th

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Slice of Life

Studio: Signal.MD

Synopsis: Moriko Morioka is a 30-year-old single NEET woman. After dropping out from reality, she has taken off in search for a fulfilling life and ended up in a net game or “netoge.” In the netoge world, she began her new life as a refreshing and handsome character named Hayashi. While starting out as a beginner, a pretty character named Lily reached out to help her. Meanwhile, in the real world, awaits a shocking encounter with a good-looking elite company employee, a mysterious blue-eyed blonde. – My Anime List.

Stream On: Crunchyroll and Funmation

11. Evil or Live – October 10th

Genre: Drama, Psychological

Studio: Haoliners Animation League

Synopsis:  In modern society, a new kind of “illness” is striking young boys and girls; loneliness, disbelief and outrage push this generation to get more and more attached to Internet and technology. The experts call it “Net Addiction.” To prevent that, a certain rehabilitation facility has been set up to “lead the youth back to the right path.” Enrolled to treat his addiction, Hibiki had no idea that this rehabilitation facility is nothing more than a prison. – Anime News Network.

Stream On: Unavailable

12. Inuyashiki – October 12th

Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi

Studio: MAPPA

Based On: Manga by Hiroya Oku

Synopsis:  Ichiro Inuyashiki is down on his luck. While only 58 years old, his geriatric looks often have him written off as a pathetic old man by the world around him and he’s constantly ignored and disrespected by his family despite all that he’s done to support them. On top of everything else, his doctor has revealed that he has cancer and it appears that he has little time left in this world. But just when it seems things couldn’t get any worse, a blinding light in the night sky strikes the earth where Ichiro stands. – Anime News Network.

Stream On: Anime Strike

6 Bajan Artists to Follow This Inktober

K.F. Cumberbatch
-
0
6 Bajan Artists to Follow This Inktober

Started by illustrator and cartoonist Jake Parker in 2009, Inktober is a global drawing challenge in which artists are tasked with creating one ink drawing a day, every day, for the month of October. Parker releases an official prompt list every year, from which participants can draw inspiration for their works. In honour of Inktober and the wealth of talented artists here in Barbados, here’s just a few of Bajan artists you should be following this month (and afterward too). Feel free to list other Bajan artists participating in the challenge in the comments. To see Parker’s work, check him out on Instagram – @jakeparker – and visit his website. – mrjakeparker.com.

1. Carla Bellot

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ1BQ74HrUm/?taken-by=carlabellotart

2. Jasmine Blenman

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ0AhhTg5-t/?taken-by=_u6lytruth4rt

3. Paulette Klasicki

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ1wrY8hFh3/?taken-by=pau.fyu

4. Nicola Barnard

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZv4c9FHvED/?taken-by=nbarnardillustration

 

5. Connor Blades

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ0-AXXF84F/?taken-by=dconnorblades

6. Shelway Gaskin

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ2Q6lQB9Qc/?taken-by=smgaskinart

 

1...333435...84Page 34 of 84

© Zeitgeist Entertainment, 2025

ZEITGEIST!
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.