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⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Rebecca) I was really looking forward to playing this game now that I have an Xbox, because I loved Dragon Age (made by the same people) and I love space. I unfortunately couldn't play the new, revamped version, because only the original was on Gamepass, but I still had a really good time playing this one. The story is fairly basic (the galaxy is in trouble, only you and your daring crew can save it!) but the worldbuilding was amazing and I never wanted to stop playing. It took me about 25 hours total, which I thought was a really good length. Granted, I had it on all the easiest settings, because I hate and am terrible at combat, especially shooters. The greatest flaws this game had, apart from a couple minor glitches, were that the characters were all kind of boring, and every second spent in my planet rover were hell. But those were fairly minor complaints. The difficulty level was good for someone like me, who has very little experience with comb...

⭐ 8.0/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) I somehow never read this as a kid, so I figured it was time. And it was fun! Mrs. Frisby is a field mouse whose son is sick, and she needs the rats' help to save him and her house. It's been a minute since I read a book with talking animals as main characters, so it was a fun throw-back. My main gripe was that Mrs. Frisby never gets a first name?? Everyone else gets a first name, but for whatever reason, she's only ever referred to as Mrs. Frisby, or Mrs. Jonathan Frisby after her husband. Yes, this book was written by a man. Figures.

⭐ 9.5/10 (Originally written by The Original Susanne) Totally agree with the statements in Maggie's review of this book. Such an interesting read/listen, particularly since it was written during the pandemic. I really loved his star ratings at the end of every chapter. I found myself trying to guess what he would rate and looking forward to it. Can't help but chuckle as I myself give this book a star rating.

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by The Original Susanne) Certainly not a new concept, but so fun nonetheless. I love mysteries, history, libraries, and medieval cathedrals! Unfortunately listening to this as an audiobook had a major drawback for me, because I thought the voice and accent of Bethany was awful. It made her really hard for me to like, and I had to consciously imagine how I would have felt if those sentences were read instead of heard in an annoying, forced southern accent. That's not the book's fault though, so I'd recommend reading this one!

⭐ 5.5/10 (Originally written by kaelwilton) I’m really glad that Black Widow finally got a solo movie, I just wish that it would’ve been better. It’s not the worst MCU movie (I still think Ragnarok is the worst), but it’s definitely a bottom tier Marvel movie. I’ll start with the positives: I thought that the acting was all really really good. Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh and David Harbour are all really great here. The rest of the actors are fine too. There’s also one moment in the movie that I found genuinely funny, and it actually had me laughing too! I’m sorry to say that those are some of the only positives that I can think of. I had a lot of issues with this movie. First off, I thought the action scenes were really poorly done. I’m no fan of shaky cam action, and this movie relies on that. I found the action scenes really disorienting and hard to follow, which was incredibly frustrating. The dialogue was pretty bad at times too. The story was also really lacklustre. I feel l...

⭐ 8.5/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) I'm pretty sure this is the first true crime book I've ever read, and it was a good experience. The author, Becky Cooper, is a Harvard alumna, and one day she hears about the murder of a student named Jane in the 50s that was never solved and got hushed up. She becomes obsessed and starts looking into it herself. The book is the story of Cooper's search for the truth and everything she learned. Reading true crime is interesting because it reads a lot like a novel, but since it's something real, you might not get what we'd consider a "good" ending. The main focus was of course the murder, and investigating the victim and all of the suspects and theories. But it's also a really interesting look at academia and its dark side, especially when it comes to institutions like Harvard. Jane was an anthropology student, so it's also about how we explore human history and tell our stories. The book drags a bit and co...

⭐ 9.5/10 (Originally written by Beans) Watched this on my flight home from BC. The verdict: incredible movie, terrible location. I kept thinking the person behind me was gonna slit my throat. This movie is unreal. I was really rooting for Josh Brolin the whole time, and what kind of a badass name is Llewelyn?! The villain is too scary but you can’t take your eyes off of him. And of course the old timey sheriff who feels as though the world is moving faster than he can keep up. Ive heard this movie is a good representation of the book of Ecclesiastes: random crap happens to random people and in the end we all die anyway. Rain falls on evil people too, so what’s the point? I was mesmerized the whole time. Also really nice touch not having a score throughout the whole movie. Honestly felt a bit too real. I think this is a movie I’d like to go back to often but I don’t know if I will for fear of it losing its uniqueness.

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by kaelwilton) This is definitely one of the most interesting movies I’ve watched recently. I was expecting a more traditional horror film, but I was very glad that I didn’t get that. The two leads were absolutely phenomenal! I’m very happy that Pattinson is getting more respect as an actor, and Willem Dafoe was great as always. The cinematography is stunning, and the set pieces felt so authentic. On a technical level, this film is perfect. There are so many visuals that stick with you for so long after watching this movie (and especially in the last act of the film). Basically everything in this movie could be interpreted in many different ways, which I really liked. I was still very confused after watching this one, so I’m probably going to have to rewatch it again at some point. Definitely not a very mainstream movie, but very unique and interesting

⭐ 7.0/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) I watched this movie with my trivia team for a laugh, and you know what? I actually did laugh throughout the whole thing! Sure, most of it was at how lame and ridiculous the premise and jokes were, but it also got a few legit laughs out of me. I can see kids loving this movie as much as they loved the original in the 90s, and adults will like it even more because at least LeBron's acting is not as painful to watch as Michael Jordan's.

⭐ 7.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) Ah, the magic of low expectations. I'm surprised it was received so poorly because i thought it was a perfectly adequate kids movie. Similar to the Pokemon movie a year or two back, I'm not sure how much appeal this movie would have for someone who isn't a fan of LeBron. But I thought it was funny and entertaining and thought LeBron was a pretty good actor for an athlete. I get the "two hour advertisement" thing, but I thought they used their licensed IP to their advantage. It was cool seeing LeBron and Batman in the same scene. Willy loved it, for the record.

⭐ 8.0/10 (Originally written by Tim) A couple years ago I went on a real Coen Brothers kick, and somehow this one was skipped. It's not super high in most people's ratings, but because of the cast alone I figured it was worth checking out. Seriously, basically every person in the movie has been nominated for more than one Oscar, with multiple winners. Francis McDormand, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, what else could you want. This movie was a real treat! Similar to Fargo or Raising Arizona, it is about some strange people making bad decisions and having everything unravel. In this case, there are 3 groups of people, and their bad decisions start to overlap as their lives get tangled up. There is a lot of trademark Coen humour, and I was bought in the whole time. I will repeat, the whole time. You know why? This movie is 1 hour 37 minutes long! Amazing! No need to check my phone a single time, because this is a tightly knit, no cruft story. Love it! I would rate this a bit higher, b...

⭐ 8.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) This is a cult-classic old Xbox game that basically nobody played, but whoever did loved it. It's a puzzle-platformer about a boy who comes to summer camp to learn to be a Psychonaut (some sort of psychic officer who invades people's minds to fix problems), and of course chaos ensues and it's up to him to save the world. This game is hilarious. It's by far the funniest game I've ever played, which is a weird quality for a game, but the writing is always ridiculous, always witty and completely absurd. The story reminds me of a crossover between Recess, Jimmy Neutron and Adventure Time which are some strange names to bring up in 2021. But it works. The whole idea is you are entering people's minds, and what lies inside them is something outrageous. it's honestly impossible to describe without butchering it and you'll have to take my word for it. The animation style is also ridiculous, where everyone is human but loo...

⭐ 8.5/10 (Originally written by Joseph) Jess and I started this show when it came out, but it became unwatchable for Jess after one episode cuz it is VIOLENT. It took me a few weeks to decide to continue on my own, but once I started I watched the season within a week. This show is really cool, and I'm glad I went ahead with it. It's a animated superhero show that is super rated R, and although I'm as sick as anyone of superhero stuff I will just say that this one is unique and exciting enough to stand out. There are lots of really great twists and turns starting with the first episode. It follows this great premise that I really can't even hint at, and it gets super compelling as you go on. It was as exciting as anything I've watched in some time. Otherwise, the animation is great, and the voice acting is led by an incredible cast (seriously, just take a quick look at that IMBD page). I wasn't really into the side stories going on, like the teen romance and all...

⭐ 9.5/10 (Originally written by Joseph) I saw this one when it came out and loved it, and was happy to see it again. I've basically loved every Waititi movie but this one might be his best. It's the ultimate wholesome comedy. I laughed, I cried. It moved me Bob. I think Bella is an all-timer of a character, one I think about often and is someone I wish I could be. Rachel House is amazing as the comedic thrust and Rhys Darby comes in and kills it. Just great stuff all around here. If you haven't seen it, do your self a favor and watch it on Netflix soon.

⭐ 8.0/10 (Originally written by Tim) A missed the first one in theaters, so I decided I would check out the second one with a crowd of people, support my friends John and Emily. Jokes on me, only one other person was in the theater with me... I would rate this one about the same as the first one, probably because it has a lot of the same beats as the first one. The movie is clever, much like the first, but the novelty has worn off a bit. We know what the monsters looks like now, so this becomes more of just a monster thriller instead of a Jaws suspense movie. Still, they expand the world in interesting ways, and the premise of being forced to be quiet and then put in situations where it is almost impossible will always be entertaining. The first 10 minutes or so are really the standout, as you see how this whole situation began, but I still found myself wanting more answers. But that's fine, it teased just enough that I will probably keep coming back for the inevitable followup...

⭐ 6.0/10 (Originally written by Tim) Better than the first movie, but not by much. We had to watch this over 3 nights because it is so long and could not hold out attention. I can't really knock the story, since its obviously a hit kids book, it just wasn't a really exciting watch. Even the finale seemed a bit cheesy, with some rough effects and expository acting. I changed my mind, I will knock the story a bit. I'm sure this isn't a new complaint, but it really annoys me how new magic is just introduced in a time of need. Need to fight a big snake? Good thing the sorting hat shows up and can magically produce a sword. Need to destroy a book? Don't use the sword, use the fang from the snake obviously. Whatever, its a kids book, its fine. Speaking of kids, the kid acting is pretty bad. A bunch of the adults are charming, and shoutout to Lucius for being as slimy and evil as possible, but this is obviously about Harry, and Daniel has a long ways to go. I kno...

⭐ 9.5/10 (Originally written by hoodie_logi) Hey guys, I'm back with another review from The Wonder Years, this one being their lead singer's, Dan "Soupy" Campbell, acoustic side project. As my previous two reviews of this band have shown I adore this band, but I only recently got into this side project, which has two albums. Basically the album's conception was born out of Campbell wanting to grow and experiment with his acoustic songwriting and after messing around a ton he realized he had enough for a whole album and the result is a masterpiece. The album follows the experience of the fictional character Aaron West and his life experiences. The core of the album finds Aaron dealing with the aftermath of a messy divorce, which he did not see coming. As the album progresses, we find out snippets from him and Diane's life and what led to their divorce. The issues faced include the death of their first child, Aaron shutting down and closing her off after this d...

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Rebecca) It'd been a reeeeally long time since I watched this movie, so it was really interesting to see it again as an adult! What an incredible movie, honestly. The characters are all so unique and lovable, the animation style is so cool and so beautiful, and the whole story is so magical. Definitely didn't appreciate it as a kid. And what a great hero! Dorky, awkward, not classically handsome or buff. The linguistic details are complete nonsense and the death count is UNBELIEVABLY high, and some scenes are genuinely scary, but I enjoyed the themes of preserving and respecting culture (though they could have been done better). A story before its time honestly. Also the female characters in this movie are so good! (And so sexy.)

⭐ 8.0/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) I wasn't sure if I wanted to watch this season, even though I enjoyed the first one, because I didn't love where it seemed to be going. Buuuuut I decided to check out the first episode, and then I finished the season in two days. Maybe it's just the teen drama, but I find this show to be compulsively watchable. Devi is still trying to decide which boy she wants to date, she's still making terrible life decisions, and she's still struggling with grief. I was a little annoyed at how little progress she's made, but at the same time I like that it shows that grief isn't linear and mental illness isn't easily fixed.

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) This movie about a Korean family that is trying to make it in the States in the 80s (ish? I'm just guessing) is, as pretty much everyone has said, a moving portrayal of the difficulties of the immigrant struggle. It's a pretty classic story of parents trying to make life better for their kids, and sacrificing their own happiness to do that. It was interesting for me to watch all of these aspects of Korean culture being played out in an American movie instead of a Korean one. I'm familiar with several of the Korean actors (I've been a fan of Han Yeri for a while), so it was also cool to see them in this different setting. The acting was great, the kids were adorable, but I do wish Steven Yeun had a better accent. He sounded like an American imitating a Korean trying to speak English.

⭐ 9.5/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) Daunis is a half-Ojibwe girl in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, trying to balance the two sides of her life. When she witnesses her best friend getting murdered by her meth addict ex-boyfriend, she gets sucked into a police investigation of meth use and distribution in Anishinaabe communities, including her own.  There's a lot going on in this book, and I found it all really compelling. There's death, grief, racism, colorism, sexual abuse, violence... It's definitely a heavy read, because Daunis experiences a lot of really difficult and terrible things. She wants to help her community, which she loves, but she doesn't like everything she discovers. It's also a crime thriller, because she and an undercover cop (who is conveniently young and good-looking, because is it even YA if there's no romance?) are trying to find out who's behind everything. Once Daunis learns about the mystery, the pages basically turn themselves....

⭐ 5.5/10 (Originally written by Benjamin) I think i was about halfway through this book when i realized that i just was not enjoying it. Alot of time passes throughout this short book, but there really isn't much action, but there kind of is? Apparently i need action scenes to be interested in a story 😆. Every part of the story has 2 or 3 main characters just talking about power and technology and how they are going to convince other planets to not be 'barbaric'. I thought the concept of how they use religion very interesting (or maybe this is what all religion really is🤔) And at the beginning, i was immediately intrigued by Hari Seldon's character, but then he's gone and just shows up like every 500 years or so with a 'live' or 'prerecorded' message (I may of missed that as to which). So i don't know if i want to continue with this series. And i'm giving this a higher rating than what i think the book is worth just because i respect Asimov...

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) Guys I love Jared Diamond. I'm not sure the last time I've appreciated a modern thinker like I do him. I don't always agree on every point, and I can see the flaws in this kind of book, but every book just makes so much sense to me. Each time I read something of his, I feel like I leave it with my worldview altered, sometimes in rather significant ways. This book is all about how countries react to crisis, and how countries might react to current issues in the future. Each chapter is an example, including Australia, Japan, Finland and Chile among others, and while the history in itself is fascinating, the historical analysis is where it's really at. He uses certain criteria to assess the strengths and weaknesses of each nation, giving us reasoning on why they may have acted in a certain way. He then goes on to discuss current issues in the US (such as the political divide) as well as the world (global warming, nuclear war) and dis...

⭐ 8.0/10 (Originally written by hoodie_logi) Leon rolls in with his smoothest album to date. One of my favourite things about Leon as an artist is that he isn't afraid to experiment. Each of his three albums have had drastically different vibes so far, while all still remaining true to who he is as an artist. I feel like this is a perfect album for late night summer drives. It's just str8 vibes. It might be his weakest entry so far in my first few listens, but that doesn't mean it's a bad album by any means. Do yourself a favour and check this one out.

⭐ 8.5/10 (Originally written by kaelwilton) My goodness this show is funny. I haven’t watched much of Seinfeld, but I’d imagine it’s hilarious if Larry David has anything to do with it. This show is just so so awkward. Like Arrested Development, much of the plots are driven by misunderstandings, which I think is very funny. Watching Larry David interact with the people around him is so funny, as he really doesn’t know how to act appropriately in any given situation. There are a few episodes in this first season that definitely aren’t as strong as others, but I feel like the show will get more consistent as it goes. Highly recommend this one!

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Rebecca) I just got an Xbox, and this was my first ever game on it! I've been wanting to play it for months, but my laptop couldn't handle it and it was pretty pricey for a fairly short game, so I was excited it was on Gamepass. It's a puzzle mystery game about the search for your husband (who left to find a cure for your mysterious illness) on a strange island with a dark, bizarre history that you slowly uncover as you follow your husband's expedition, and things get pretty weird. It has a very magical but somewhat ominous atmosphere, and the graphics were gorgeous. The puzzles were never incredibly hard, but kept me engaged, and the story was really well integrated. I thought I was exploring every nook and cranny, but only got like 51% of the achievements, so I can't imagine what completionism looks like. Still, incredible story, and a really difficult choice at the end that left me weeping a bit. My biggest qualm throughout was how...

⭐ 8.0/10 (Originally written by Beans) Honestly really liked this! I do kind of wish it had been a more covert mission movie and less a big marvel explosion movie but alas. Florence Pugh is literally 😍 and David Harbour was pretty funny. The first half hour of the movie ScarJo was making these really weird facial expressions but she got better. It was also pretty touching at times. The fight scenes were great but like Joe said, probably a movie I’ll forget in a few months.

⭐ 7.5/10 (Originally written by Benjamin) This show was adapted from a comic book written by a local from Woodsley, On. Interesting to see the occasional reference made in the show to our area (like calling their zoo 'essex county zoo') Just really well made and so interesting, the main kid really cute and great actor. I did however stop watching it for now. It was just too much for me, with a virus bringing the world into a post-apocolyptoc future, people having to wear masks, the show portraits authority as being very controlling. The main character is a very young boy/hybrid who loses his parents to the virus and so he is left to fend for himself at the age of 10. Many people left in the world blame the hybrids for the virus so some hunt them. The show, as far as I've watched it, is not as intense as 'the walking dead', but there are similar moral dilema/intense situations. So yeah, we will see if i continue. 🤷‍♂️

⭐ 7.5/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) Alice's life's passion is to find out what happened to a tiny village in Sweden that was abandoned by the whole population of the village one day 50 years ago, and she's finally been able to get a crew together to make a documentary and see if they can find any new leads. But things start to go wrong almost right away, and they're not sure if the creepy village is just getting to them or if they're not alone there. I loved the concept, and I've been digging this kind of mystery spooky vibes in books lately. I really could not stop reading because I had to figure out how and why everyone disappeared at once like that. The ending was disappointing, though, and I was left with some unanswered questions.

⭐ 9.5/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) Simon has been depressed for a year, so Penny's great idea is for the three of them to go on a road trip in the US and also visit Agatha. It at least gets Simon off the couch, but then there are lots of vampires and the rules are different in the States and seems like Agatha actually needs saving! This sequel was super fun, just like the last one, but with a very different setting and atmosphere. It's still hilarious, but does address the question I don't think I've heard anyone talk about before - what if you're the Chosen One, except you're not anymore? What if you did what you were supposed to do, and you're not special anymore, and you don't have any purpose? Simon's depression is real and not easily fixed by having a fun time abroad. It's not a perfect sequel, but I still love the characters, and Simon and Baz together, and the important questions it asks.

⭐ 9.5/10 (Originally written by kaelwilton) I couldn’t tell you how I came to find this album, but I can tell you that I love it very much. It’s noisy, chaotic, and wonderful. This album is a break up album, and most of the songs follow this theme very well. The album feels very cohesive, sonically and thematically, which is great for a debut album. This is the album that made me remember how much I love punk rock, and for that I am very grateful.

⭐ 8.5/10 (Originally written by Rebecca) Finally finished this trilogy! Honestly, I could not tell you whether or not these movies are actually good, but I always have a great time watching them. I love the entire crew, and how every movie is about doing anything for the crew and how the crew is your family. I loved that this one split them up into unlikely groups, and I especially loved that Beastie Boys moment. Everything after that could only be a letdown.

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Rebecca) Watched this with a bunch of friends, which made it an incredibly fun watch. Ryan Gosling was amazing, the 70s setting was so fun, and the dialogue is all so well-crafted and well-executed. A bit graphic (mostly nudity, some blood) but it's all so ridiculous that it doesn't seem like too much. I don't think I would have enjoyed it nearly as much if I'd watched it alone, but as it stands, it was hard to find any flaws. All the characters are so good, and the plot is so fun. Never would have guessed Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling would have so much chemistry. And it was interesting to hear them talking about the auto industry in Detroit!

⭐ 8.5/10 (Originally written by Rebecca) I finally watched this! As someone who loves space and another Christopher Nolan film (Inception my beloved) I don't know why it took me so long. Maybe because it's THREE. HOURS. Anyway, there were a lot of things I really loved about it. The major themes were a liiiiittle bit heavy-handed, but I love a film about love transcending all, even space and time (literally). The pseudoscience was fun and fairly easy to follow as long as you don't think too hard, and I really enjoyed the exploration of humanity and survival. My biggest qualm is that I don't agree with the whole "humankind must survive at all costs" shtick. But in the end, some of the shots were really cool, the concept was really neat, and it didn't really drag on, even for 3 hours. Also I love being able to guess a plot twist like an hour before it happens.

⭐ 8.5/10 (Originally written by Tim) I have seen this movie in the past, but never actually watched it. I have fallen asleep, been distracted, whatever. But my birthday gift to Jess was watching this with my phone in another room, and you know what, this is a good movie! I now would like nothing more than to go live in the English countryside and play piano at my manor for the rest of my days. The music is beautiful, the scenery is beautiful, and for a stodgy British love story the camera flies around like its Mission Impossible or something. I was impressed early on with how dynamic the dancing scenes are, and at how well they are used to explain character ticks and motivations. Game of Thrones could take note - not all exposition needs to be done in a sex scene. I will say I had a hard time tracking all the names, but subtitles helped a lot. And there is a lot of humour I would have never even noticed had I not been able to read it - give me more Mr. Collins! I also just don...

⭐ 7.0/10 (Originally written by Tim) This series was a bit of a roller coaster for me. I thought the first 2 episodes were really dull, the next 2 were superb, and then it had a rocky finish. Throughout I just could not stop feeling like I was watching people perform in front of a massive green screen. All the settings seemed a bit bland (maybe just the color scheme?) and washed out, and non of it felt believable. I understand the TV budget is lower than a movie, but can't they use the 360 LED environment thing the Mandalorian uses? In general I am a fan of time travel and things of that nature, but this multiverse concept is so high concept that I distract myself in the middle of episodes trying to understand how multiple versions of a person actually works. They used it in some cool ways here, I am just shocked this is the direction they are taking the MCU. I did really like episodes 3 and 4. The dialog was less expository and there were rewarding moments in each episode. Th...

⭐ 7.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) Our first trip back to the movie theater baby! I got a huge bag of stale popcorn and almost sat on someone's pee in the bathroom. And due to a ticket mix-up, this isn't even the movie we planned on seeing. Society is healing ❤️ This movie was good enough. It was less a marvel movie and more a Jason Bourne ripoff with twice the budget and ten times the butt shots. The villain was pretty good, and Hopper was legitimately funny at times (in opposed to "marvel funny"). But it was still just a marvel movie that I'll forget I watched a month from now.

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) One look at the people involved in this movie should convince at least my family to watch this one. It's from the guy who made Pride and Prejudice, and has the same guy do the music, and includes half the cast members as well as James McAvoy and Saoirse. So yeah, the goods are all there! This movie is really great. It's pretty artsy at times, and usually I don't love that, but it mostly works here. It's got a unique way of telling the story and can be a tad confusing and hard to follow at times, but it all comes together in the end and pays off. The cinematography is also pretty artsy, but again it mostly worked for me. There is this incredible Dunkirk scene that reminded me a lot of, well, the movie Dunkirk. It's this phenomenal 1-shot thing that feels like it belongs in some movie Hall of Fame. Seriously, that scene alone adds at least a point or two. The romance is a little half-baked in this movie, but that's kinda the...

⭐ 8.5/10 (Originally written by Joshua Karat) Wow, this book was amazing. I have heard a lot about it and i was excited to get into this series. This was the first book and covers the story of Feyre, a girl who accidentally kills a faerie warrior in the form of a wolf. She is then abducted to satisfy the treaty between humans and faeries. Simply put this was a great book. Tons of excellent world-building, really great plot twists, and lovely visceral descriptions. I am stoked to continue on in the rest of the series!

⭐ 10.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) Guys this game almost ruined my life. I honestly can't remember being this addicted to a game in years. Stardew comes close, but this felt more unhealthy cuz it's lots of flashing lights and killing things. In the middle of summer I'd abandon all else to play this game. Watching the NBA finals, the best time of year for a basketball fan, I'd be waiting for halftime so I could quickly get in a run. This game is incredible. It really starts and ends with the gameplay and reward loop. The story was fine, the music was fine, the art was fine. They were all probably pretty good, but I mostly ignored them, skipping through dialogue like an insane child so I could get back to bright lights and blood splatter. Narrative and characters are usually what I like come to video games for, so I think it speaks volumes that I would literally just spam buttons to get through it all. So the premise of the game is that you are the son of Hades, and...

⭐ 8.0/10 (Originally written by Joshua Karat) This was an interesting read. The tone has changed from the previous three in the series. Rather than a more action forward story, this book takes its time to delve in the polemics and discourse behind the God Emperor of and his Empire. At times the dialogue and prose were gorgeous, at times they lagged. It felt less certain of what it wanted to do as a book as compared to Dune and Children. There were also markers of it’s time as some of the discourse was quite homophobic. Overall, still an interesting read, but a noticeable mark down from the first trilogy.

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by hoodie_logi) I adored this show tbh. I haven't nerded out so hard trying to follow a plot in a long time. I always knew where the show was gonna end up, but there was no way I could have predicted how it got there. I'm so happy Loki finally got some proper character development other than being a character foil to Thor. After the pandemic I will say that my Marvel enthusiasm was at an all time low, as I was really unsure where the story was going to go after Endgame. But after Loki and Wandavision, my excitement might be at an all time high again. This series will lead Marvel to achieve its glorious purpose of world building and story telling.

⭐ 8.0/10 (Originally written by hoodie_logi) I managed to read this entire book on a road trip with my family today and it was honestly great. The concept is suuuuper interesting. In a world ravaged by global warming, society has almost completely collapsed. As the world fell apart, people slowly lost the ability to dream, causing lots of insanity and delirium on top of disease and lack of resources. That is, everyone except for the indigenous peoples of North America (And maybe indigenous people of the pacific islands, but it's a little unclear). In an effort to dream again, what is left of the Canadian government found out that the secret to dreaming lies in the bone marrow of the indigenous people. The white people act predictably, and restart the residential school system in order to commit genocide once again and harvest the bone marrow of the indigenous people, killing them off once again. The book follows the experience of one teenage boy, Frenchie, and his adopted family. T...

⭐ 10.0/10 (Originally written by hoodie_logi) I feel like I don't have anything new to say about this book that hasn't already been said. Just so glad I finally was able to make it through the book (I tried many times as a teenager but always got busy). Tolkein is the forefather of Worldbuilding and it still stands up so well today.

⭐ 8.0/10 (Originally written by Will) This is the sequel to "A Memory Called Empire", which won the Hugo in 2020. And it was a really solid follow up! It's a space sci-fi that focuses on how dominant cultures affect minorities, has a ton of politics, and also adds an alien first-contact scenario in this second book. I think it's intended to be a trilogy, but the first two books each stand pretty well on their own - there's a few loose ends remaining, but I don't feel like I have to read the next book to get a resolution.

⭐ 7.0/10 (Originally written by Will) I feel like the objective quality of this show was a 6/10, but I'm giving it a 7 just because I like Loki and it's really the only Marvel thing I've watched in ages, so it came at a good time. The plot was interesting enough to keep me looking forward to a new episode every week. It's still just clearly lower budget than movies though which is a bit jarring for what I'm used to from Marvel, and the acting is weak at times, though I did like Owen Wilson strangely enough even though I never really liked him in the past. Overall, it was decent and worth watching if you're trying to follow what's going on in the Marvel universe.

⭐ 7.5/10 (Originally written by Beans) I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this show. On the one hand it was pretty interesting. Really cool story with some great special effects and cool abilities. Marvel is moving into multiverse territory which is pretty exciting. On the other hand, I’ve never been a huge fan of Loki. I just don’t get the hype around him, although I do think he’s a cool character; just don’t love him. I was pretty excited to watch this every week which says something. And Owen Wilson was great. Some strange territory regarding the romance here but I didn’t question it too much. This is one of those shows I feel like I’ll never think about again, but it’s already been renewed for season 2.

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) Barry (Bill Hader) is an assassin and former marine who, after accidentally visiting an acting class, decides to become an actor (even though he's hilariously bad at acting). But of course getting out of the business is never easy. This show is a dark comedy, and I think does a great job balancing the really heavy parts while still making me laugh out loud several times an episode. I don't always enjoy shows with a morally grey MC who you don't know if you should root for, but I'm liking Bill Hader so much in this role I'll continue to watch and feel torn about whether I want him to succeed or not.

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) Maybell has just inherited her great-aunt's manor, so she gleefully quits her terrible job and moves there... only to find out she co-inherited it. It's also been given to Wesley, the groundskeeper, who is surly and avoids Maybell as much as possible. So of course they have to try to get along as they fix up the place, and Maybell discovers there might be a different reason why Wesley is so stand-offish. This romance novel had a lot of tropes I like (awkward heroes, slow-burn) and none of the ones I hate! It's mostly fluffy, but also had good mental illness representation and some deeper themes.

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) This is a collection of long-form comics by artist Meichi Ng, similar in concept to Hyperbole and a Half, but with her own unique style and maybe a bit less unhinged. It mixes prose and comics, and it is also very funny. She tells personal stories like Brosh does, but combines her funny anecdotes about her life with reflections on things like therapy and friendships too. Her comic about work and being bad at it/not wanting to do it was very relatable.

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) This is a book about trauma - how to recognize it, how it affects you, how to treat it. The author is a psychologist and therapist who has been studying trauma and PTSD for a very long time, and has done a lot of research into the best ways to treat it. From what I understood, he was one of the most important people in learning how to understand the topic. Anyway, even though I don't necessarily think I'm suffering from trauma myself (although the book did make me think more deeply about how my past experiences have affected me), I still think it was a valuable read for me. It helped me better understand others, and the brain, and how pain affects the body. And it gave me lots of things to discuss with my therapist! Occasionally the ideas and forms of treatment he suggested seemed a bit woo-woo to me, but I had to acknowledge that he obviously knows way more than I about it, and the mind may work in ways I don't understand. I think...

⭐ 10.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) I typically rank both this movie and book third in the trilogy, and I think that somehow undervalues what an incredible entry it is. This movie is truly a perfect epic tale. Going from Fellowship, you lose meaningful contributions from Boromir and you don't get any Shire, but the losses are more than made up by Treebeard, Faramir, Eowyn, Gollum and of course my main man Theoden. Theoden is so amazing in this series, what a performance from my guy Bernie. I've been able to watch this series with a friend who has never seen them which feels like a cool way to experience them for the first time again. Each scene I'm just thinking about what it must feel like to be seeing it for the first time, something I haven't experienced since I was a mere Enting. Couple of my favorites: 1) All of Theoden's speeches 2) Gollum's "monologue" 3) The buildup before Helm's Deep, especially when the Uruks are pounding on the grou...

⭐ 8.5/10 (Originally written by The Original Susanne) I admit to feeling a bit confused starting this book. It has enough parallels to Harry Potter to feel familiar, but then I kept overthinking how different plots and characters related to the HP series. I also had to google whether I was reading a sequel because it makes a lot of references to previous events that I knew nothing about, and realized that while it is the first of a stand-alone series, it is a series that was talked about in one of the author's previous series so I think I missed some details there. After I got over these things, I really enjoyed the book. Felt like I was really able to get to know the characters and the anguish they experienced because of the roles they had to play and fulfill.

⭐ 7.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) I remember loving this one as a teenager watching in high school history class. I still think it's pretty good, but not really for the same reasons. This is such an unabashed vanity project for Mel Gibson who gets to be this macho man with zero flaws who all the ladies swoon over. His lines sound real cheesy now, and the final scene is just so lame. Plus Mel Gibson was cancelled before cancelling was a thing and he's again back in the headlines so screw this guy, right? BUT this movie has some pretty nice qualities. The costumes and settings are great, and I loved the music. We watched this to get ourselves hyped up for our Scotland trip that we're not sure will ever happen, and it got the job done. Even though the battle scenes are pretty ridiculous, nonsensical, and over-the-top, you have to respect the work that goes into making it look like a sword is going through a skull. But yeah, this movie is waaay too long. I hate to say it,...

⭐ 10.0/10 (Originally written by Rebecca) This is the third and final installment of the Simon Snow books, which began with Carry On, one of my favourite books ever. I absolutely LOVED it (which is obvious because I spent 12 straight hours reading it and finished at 3am). The second book began to explore the aftermath of being a Chosen One and navigating the trauma and complicated emotions of having been used by adults to save the world, but this one did the exact same thing, only better and with a much more satisfying resolution. The second book honestly felt kind of extraneous, with the plot of it not really factoring into this one at all (besides some of the characters introduced) and not adding to the character arcs all that much. I kept expecting it to come full circle, but it never really did haha. Regardless, I loved the way this book tackled relationships in the midst of attempting to heal from trauma, and also the way people with power (in this case, a lot of magic) will inher...

⭐ 10.0/10 (Originally written by Beans) I’ve seen this one before, but it was a while ago and I didn’t really remember a lot of the details. I think this is one of the best things I’ve seen recently and would say it’s a must watch. It’s actually so funny, touching, endearing, quirky and heartbreaking. The main character is awesome and the story hit just a bit too close to home - cried many, real tears. But it was still beautiful and artistic. The parents are great and so supportive. The best friend is your token black friend and the dying girl is just too precious and cute. I would die for her. The angles, the music, and the camerawork all felt really different and unique. I’m so glad I watched this and I know I’ll think about it for a while.

⭐ 6.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) This movie is like watching the Dinner Party and Scott's Tots back to back for two hours. It is so incredibly painful that it's hard to find it funny most of the time. There are funny parts to be sure, especially from Robert De Niro, but most of this will probably be funnier looking back on it later on. If you can handle awkward humor, this is actually a pretty good choice for a romcom. If you don't like Scott's Tots, then stay away.

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Beans) Number 4 in the Murderbot diaries! We come full circle in this story and Murderbot comes to the rescue once again. The story was great. High risk, fast pace, high rewards. Some really cool fight scenes thrown in along with some deep existential questions. The whole time reading this I’ve thought it would make a great show or movie so I’m hoping that will be developed. I really can’t recommend these enough!

⭐ 8.5/10 (Originally written by Joseph) Oh baby now this is my kind of movie. 2 hours of monsters fighting and destroying cities, what else could you want?! Similar to the other movies in this series, it makes very little sense at all times. The choices the characters make are completely ridiculous, and the sci-fi elements just don't add up. But in this movie, at least they don't take themselves QUITE as seriously, and I love what they did with Millie Bobby Brown's arc, actually injecting a little humor into this thing. But this movie is definitely a huge step up from the others. They know what the audience wants and give us just that. The fight scenes in this movie are face melting in the best ways possible, especially the first face off. The effects are incredible, the sound design is incredible. I don't get why, after spending hundreds of millions, they can't just pay for some established movie producers (or actors), but in the end the goal was reached. It's ...

⭐ 7.0/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) When I heard that this movie based on a book series I quite enjoyed was coming out, I was quite excited. Then I heard it was having a bunch of production trouble and reviews were negative, and I was disappointed. But then I realized Tom Holland plays the main character, and so I knew that obviously I would watch it regardless! I still think the main concept of the book/movie is pretty cool, and the way they portrayed all of the men's thoughts being audible was quite well done. But it was pretty obvious by the second half that the production team was realizing that things weren't going well (I know they had to do a lot of re-writes and re-shoots), and there probably wouldn't be a second movie, so they had to scrap their original ending and tie things up in an okay way. It felt quite clunky. Fans of the book will probably hate it, but I was fine with it, because I got to see Tom Holland be his charming self.

⭐ 7.5/10 (Originally written by Rebecca) I wasn't expecting much from this movie, because it kinda flopped and got terrible ratings, but I thought it was fine! It's about a settler colony on a planet where everyone can hear men's thoughts, which they call Noise, while women don't have Noise, but there are no women left in Tom Holland's village until a girl crash lands in a scout ship for the second wave of colonists. I didn't have any major complaints, even if nothing really stood out either. Tom Holland was charming, and you couldn't help but root for him. I'm sure it absolutely didn't do the book justice, and I know they changed a lot (for one thing, the main character was supposed to be 13...) but without knowing really anything about the book, it was perfectly fine. Too many minor characters died though, I didn't like that :( And I'm assuming a sequel isn't coming, so a few loose ends weren't tied up. Ah well!

⭐ 8.0/10 (Originally written by kaelwilton) I thought this was an absolutely fine album. The production is great, the lyricism is great (but pretty dark sometimes honestly), and I love that Vince leaned more into his melodic side with this one. I was disappointed that two of the tracks were minute long skits because the album itself is only 10 songs long, sitting at about 22 minutes. I remember being very underwhelmed at first because of this, thinking “that’s it?”. But the more I’ve listened to it the more I have come to really appreciate this album so far, and the length really isn’t too big of an issue.

⭐ 9.5/10 (Originally written by kaelwilton) This was another really really good movie! I thought it was almost as good as the original (almost!). I liked that this movie wasn’t trying to ride the coattails of the original, the story was completely different and it felt like it was still it’s own movie. Denis Villeneuve has become one of my favourite directors working today, so now I’m excited to see what he does with Dune! I also really think Ryan Gosling is a solid actor! Some of the pacing felt a bit weird at times, mainly due to the length of the movie (it’s close to three hours) Overall I really enjoyed this movie!

⭐ 7.0/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) This is a movie based on an Agatha Christie novel, so I was pretty excited, since I always like them. But this was a bit meh for me. A detective gets asked to investigate an old rich man's death, and of course all of his relatives are terrible. The detective himself was very boring, with none of the charm of most of Christie's other detectives. I did not care about him at all. I still liked the core of the story though, and it works if you're in the mood for a mystery.

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) Is this movie actually funny? Does the fact that it was the most quoted/butchered movie in the youth group help it's score or hinder it? Did I ever laugh at the fart jokes, even when I was 13? I wish I had these answers. But I know that after a pretty crappy day, I laughed a LOT watching this. It also made me want to visit Mexico pretty badly, which is probably just the result of this pandemic having me down bad. Look, this is no Beverly Hills Ninja, and Nacho is no Haru, but it's still a masterpiece in its own right. I'd totally forgotten how great that last Eagle-power induced flying press was. Shout-out to Jack.

⭐ 7.5/10 (Originally written by Tim) It took me forever to finish this series, but I finally did it. A big part of the delay is that this season is so boring! It's only 12 episodes, the first 4 are basically a pilot fo The Bad Batch show that just came out, and the next 4 are Ahsoka going on her own adventures on the run. If this season was just those episodes, this is a 5/10. But whoa nellie those final 4 episodes... The final four play out like a movie, and finally overlap with the events of Episodes 2 and 3. It feels like the whole series has been building towards this, and I was fascinated by the complete shift in tone, almost like the first 8 were made years ago and the final 4 were made recently as a standalone thing. We get to witness the fall of the Republic from the eyes of Ahsoka, who at this point in the series might as well be the main character. It is hard to imagine given how important she is that Anakin or Kenobi never mention her in the movies, but these episo...

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Rebecca) Folks, I can see why Spock/Kirk was one of the original functioning queer fandoms. That's all I have to say about this movie. Just kidding, I had a really good time and I love space and friendship (or is it 👀) and learning to trust your crew and that revenge is Not The Way. I also just love every member of the main crew so much.

⭐ 9.5/10 (Originally written by The Original Susanne) Not much I can add after all of the reviews on here already, but it really was a wonderful short novel and I love Murderbot so much. He's just so... relatable somehow. Like, I'm pretty sure most of us want to just put in minimal effort into our jobs and would rather just watch shows most of the time, you know? Looking forward to listening to the rest.

⭐ 7.0/10 (Originally written by Tim) The second season of this super weird sketch comedy show, I thought it was pretty similar to the first season. Some of the sketches were hilarious and I could not stop laughing, others just didn't kind of land. Most of it is just Tim Robinson being completely unhinged and yelling about stuff. While there were a couple really good sketches in this season as well, it kind of just felt like more of the same. Almost like an episode of SNL, where you watch for 3 hours and laugh really hard maybe like 4 times. You don't regret it because of the great moments, but I can't really recommend you watch the whole thing.

⭐ 10.0/10 (Originally written by Rebecca) 😭😭😭 My Murderbot days are over... But wow, what a high note to end on. This is the only full-length novel written for the series so far, but it really lived up to the magic of the first ones, with the same fast-paced plot, incredible storytelling, and lovable characters. Importantly, ART IS BACK and Murderbot is once again learning about friendship and what it means to want something and care about people and where it belongs in the world 😭 It's just so special to me. I don't know if the author is planning on writing more but I sincerely hope so. I never want to think about anything else.

⭐ 7.5/10 (Originally written by Tim) This was a spontaneous reread, and I have been itching to get back into Foundation with all the knowledge of the other books. Strangely enough, I didn't love it this time around. There are sections of this 5 part book I think are great, but a couple are so complicated and filled with names I can't remember that when I would pick it back up after a day or two I would forget what had happened. I think I enjoyed this more the first time because I read "Foundation and Empire" and "Second Foundation" immediately after, so they all became one book in my mind. A couple more memorable characters and events show up there, which is what I thought this was missing. Don't get me wrong, I think the ideas in these books are amazing, and I have raved about Asimov a lot on this site. I just found the narrative in this one to be tough to track. Feeling pessimistic that the TV show will be anything like the book, but maybe that...

⭐ 8.5/10 (Originally written by Beans) I found this one slightly less interesting than the first two. I thought it was a bit confusing and I had a hard time picturing the setting and landscape of the story. However, it was still great and I still love Murderbot. This one follows a main story arch and I’m excited for it to come full circle. Within this story, Murderbot meets a robot that is treated like a friend, is courteous and loving, and has a wonderful relationship with its “owner”. Murderbot is irritable towards this robot but doesn’t know why. Again, an interesting look at AI development, their morality, and human involvement. The end again had an emotional punch I wasn’t expecting.

⭐ 10.0/10 (Originally written by kaelwilton) This movie is actually a cinematic masterpiece. There is not a single thing that I can think of that was not perfect in this film. The cinematography, the score, the writing, the acting, everything was so so good. Maybe the costume design was a little dated, but who really cares?? This movie was great! the fact that this movie still looks so good 40 years later is astounding. You’d think that the effects would look dated in a science fiction movie from the early 80s, but they really really don’t. the plot is also super engaging and brings up some super cool questions of humanity and existence. Frick I loved this movie I can’t recommend this movie enough, and I realize that I say that in most of my reviews, but I really really mean it here.

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Rebecca) That's right, it's Murderbot #5! (Actually technically #6, but chronologically 5th.) And this time it's a murder mystery, my favourite kind of plot! I'm really invested in Murderbot learning what it wants to do and what its place is in the world, and I love Murderbot learning to interact with different people and form varying kinds of professional and personal relationships, with humans as well as other bots. No one really understands it and it doesn't know what it wants. I'm just so attached! I read this one as a physical book, which for once I really don't prefer. I find the technical terminology a bit difficult to get through, and I get stuck on descriptions without a voice pushing me along through the narrative. But it was still a really good experience, and I'm already eagerly reading the final book.

⭐ 8.0/10 (Originally written by kaelwilton) This was a nice, quick and funny read! I wasn’t too sure what to expect from this book, but it’s basically just a collection of stories from Seth Rogen’s childhood and time in Hollywood. It has everything that you could expect from Seth Rogen (including a lot of cursing and drug talk) but many of the stories are honestly quite sweet and heartwarming. It’s a very easy read too, it only took me probably around 4 or 5 hours to read. While this book is definitely not groundbreaking or anything , it was just a funny light read! Would recommend!

⭐ 8.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) All aboard the Murderbot train!! I too echo many of the thoughts here. I think that while this series probably offers very little new to the genre, I think it's probably as close to a near-perfect iteration as you can get. The choice to write it first-person from the perspective of the robot is pretty smart, and he definitely has plenty of charm and likeability. I love the sci-fi elements and think that the would is actually really well developed considering the length of the book. However, I don't prefer reading fiction via audiobook if it's my first time going through. It can be hard for me to follow at times, and I never find a guy reading to be funny. Despite that, I thought this book was almost as good as the others say. It felt more like a first chapter in a novel, and I'm excited and interested to get into the other books.

⭐ 6.5/10 (Originally written by Tim) I watched this because I loved Twin Peaks, and the only other David Lynch movie I had seen was his take on Dune, which is a terrible movie with some cool interpretations of the book. Like Twin Peaks, this movie was very unsettling, and I kept having to distract myself for fear of jump scares. I haven't seen a ton of Lynch, but his style is pretty consistent. Some shaky first-person camera work, disturbing music that always makes it feel like something is around the corner, cars driving on twisty dark roads with limited visibility, hard cuts to freak-ily edited images, flickering lights and electrical noises. In general he kind of captures what it feels like being stuck in a bad dream. But where Twin Peaks has loveable characters and humour, this was just 100% dread. When I finished the movie I had no idea what I just watched, some sort of fever dream about the powers that run Hollywood, or something? Honestly I don't know. This is clearly an...

⭐ 7.5/10 (Originally written by Tim) This was a cute movie, and kind of just a combination of Finding Nemo and Little Mermaid. The friendship was charming, and the literal fish out of water plot set up some funny moments. I wasn't blown away by anything in this movie, but it warmed my heart and that is worth something.

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) This has been a pretty glaring hole on the movies I've needed to watch, especially because I've really liked all the Scorsese movies I've watched so far. I really love how in a few cases now he's taken true stories and made them super compelling, though admittedly he works with some great source material. This movie is amazing and I feel a little underqualified to review it. But as the movie noob I am, I just feel like the writing was awesome and the performances were awesome to deliver the lines in such a natural way (and a surprising amazing performance by Harry from Home Alone?! Who knew!). This movie also has that amazing quality where everyone is terrible and yet you're still super invested in seeing what happens to them because everyone is at least interesting and dynamic, and you still want to choose to best of the bad guys. It's a great, all-timer of a movie. Obviously worth a watch if you haven't seen it, thou...

⭐ 9.5/10 (Originally written by Beans) Book number 2 in the Murderbot Diaries! To face the present, Murderbot must confront their past. They go on a journey to figure out an incident that had occurred in their stored memories. This series is just SO good. We see Murderbot slowly open up and be a bit more vulnerable, affectionate and emotional, and it’s so endearing. Actually got really emotional at the end. They also have a friend in this one and their banter is amazing. Really, really digging this series.

⭐ 8.0/10 (Originally written by hoodie_logi) Another great read from Pete Enns in which I learned a lot. My highlight was Pete's emphasis on the mythical nature of the Exodus story. It shows how detrimental our modern lens can be if we aren't reading the Exodus story from the eyes of those it was written for. We will miss a lot if we try and read the story a way it was never intended to be read.

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by kaelwilton) I really enjoyed this book, even though it took me over two months to read haha I really appreciated that even though it was 800+ pages it never dragged or got boring. And while there were a crazy amount of characters and a lot of different storylines happening it never really felt confusing or hard to follow. I am excited to see where the next book takes the story, as the end of this one set up a lot of potentially interesting storylines.

⭐ 5.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) I've mostly not enjoyed any Superman comic I've read, so I feel like this was something of a last gasp. This is widely considered the best Superman story out there, so if I didn't connect to this one, that's it for me. This one didn't connect. I've read Morrison's Batman before and didn't really like it. This book is just so over-the-top and ridiculous. Every chapter feels like it's trying to outdo itself as Superman saves Metropolis, the world, the universe, the future, finds the cure for all disease (yes this happens) and travels through space and time all within a book that takes no more than 4-5 hours to read through. This book tries to go for a bit of a personal and grounded take as Superman finds out he's dying and has to grapple with mortality. I think they are kinda trying to contrast that with his heroics, but it doesn't really land. They still try too often to try to raise the stakes and make ...

⭐ 10.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) It's a Lord of the Rings summer baby! After just reading the book, I can appreciate how different the two are, yet remain amazed that both are incredible. Both have that terrific sense of charm, with good extended looks into Hobbiton, but where the movie misses out on some humor (no Tom 😔) it makes up in epic moments with the timeless score and (slightly not-timeless) visuals. There isn't much to add at this point. This movie is incredible and bookended with all-time scenes with Concerning Hobbits and The Breaking of the Fellowship. It's the ultimate fantasy experience, and I just hope the show can be even half as breathtaking as this trilogy.

⭐ 7.5/10 (Originally written by Beans) This is an alternative album by a Norwegian artist. She’s a young, queer, sharp-tongued artist who deals with a lot of pent up sexual tension and that comes out in her music a lot. The album is pretty good and I find myself listening to it a decent amount. It’s got good tempos that get me fired up. A song I especially go back to which I think is the best is “serotonin”. An interesting trend I’m noticing more and more with young artists seems to be who their inspiration is and comes from. I heard of girl in read through Taylor Swift’s Instagram, and in an interview she mentions Taylor as one of her biggest influences. Just a trend I’ve noticed more as younger artists enter the scene!

⭐ 8.0/10 (Originally written by Beans) This movie is about two sea monster boys that can turn into humans when they’re dry. They disguise themselves as normal boys and enter a competition to win money so they can buy a Vespa and travel the world. The setting and background is the Italian riviera! Nothing crazy special about this one except it was an Italian movie which was cool. The allegory about accepting people who are different from you was good (I’ve heard people say it’s a metaphor for the LGBTQ+ community? Except Disney is too big of a coward to come out and say it!). Honestly this movie just made me want to go to Italy.

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Beans) Head over to Maggie or Becky’s profile to read a good description of the book! Had a ton of fun reading this one. It’s immersive and quick, with a great plot and a very interesting protagonist. The main character is funny and endearing and I love them! A part of me wishes the books were longer, but I like the fast paced, rapid storytelling aspect of it. Also just a really great thought and discussion on AI and what that means for humans. It was smart and made me think a lot. Can’t wait to get into the next ones!