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Wednesday, March 27, 2024
View from the Peak - Everything coming to Paramount+ in April 2024
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Wednesday Season One Blu-Ray Review
Full Disclosure Notice: Warner Bros. Discovery sent me
this Blu-Ray for free so I could review it.
Wednesday also seems like something that could have only happened
during the streaming era. Watching the
show, you can just feel the Netflix executives looking at the streaming numbers
for CW shows like Riverdale and trying to figure out how they can get their own
Riverdale. It turns out the Addams Family IP was available and they got the Smallville
creators to do the show. But of course,
being streaming, they had to have a much higher budget and bigger names so they
got budding star Jenna Ortega to play the titular character and Tim Burton to
direct the first four episodes (the duo is re-teaming this summer for the Beatlejuice
reboot which could explain why it has been a year and a half since the series
premiere and the second season has yet to start filming). Then frequent Burton collaborator Danny Elfman
was brought in to do the score which includes a cello version of Paint it, Black
which just adds to the prestige of the show.
There is also an impressive adult cast. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Luis Guzman, and Fred Armisen
pop up as Morticia, Gomez, and Uncle Fester respectively. Though, these are mostly just cameos because
the show is about Wednesday being sent off to the Nevermore Academy, a private
school for monstrous outcasts that her parents went to. Thing is the only member of the family to
stick around, and then steals most scenes it is in. The staff there includes Brianne of Tarth herself;
Gwendoline Christie playing the principal and former Morticia roommate at the academy. The nineties version of Wednesday Addams,
Christina Ricci plays the schools den mother… and its horticulture teacher… and
its librarian. She is also the school’s first “normie” teacher (which is not
suspicious at all). The rest of the high
school aged cast look, and act, like they were plucked from central CW casting. Though Emma Myers as Wednesday’s extremely
peppy werewolf roommate is a standout. It is the perfect mix of annoyingly perky and likeable.
Considering every other iteration of The Addams Family was about them interacting with normal people, it is weird that Wednesday sees the family’s only daughter going to a school
filled with vampire, werewolves and sirens.
Though, even in a school full of outcast weirdos, Wednesday manages
to be the biggest outcast. Still, the
CW-ification of the character is strong besides the high school setting. Despite being an outcast in a school full of
outcasts, Wednesday yet somehow finds herself in the middle of a bizarre love
triangle with a classmate and a townie. And of course there is now a murder mystery
that has to be solved because there always has to be a mystery now. But hey, all the
money Netflix pumped into the show does enhance the show over your run of the
mill CW crap. Burton’s direction does
give it a very stylish look.
The Blu-Ray includes all 8-episodes on two disks and… that is about it. If physical media is going to make a comeback, studios need to add a little something to entice fans to buy it. Look at the music industry which is almost all streaming now. But a lot of the physical albums released now are deluxe editions with disks of B-sides, outtakes, and / or even full concerts. If we are going to bring back Blu-Rays, bring back the extras. Where are the deleted scenes, outtakes, audio commentaries, featurettes, or even special packaging? If you want someone to buy a physical copy of your show or movie, give the people something to display. But if you were interested in Wednesday, but not enough to sign up for Netflix, now is your chance to watch the show, which logged 6 billion minutes of viewing in its first five days and remains Netflix’s most popular English TV series of all time with 252.1 million views, at about the price of a month or two of the service.
Wednesday Season One is now available to purchase online and in-store from major retailers on Blu-Ray and
DVD.
Sunday, March 24, 2024
57 Channels and Only This Is On: March 24, 2024
The Walking Dead: The
Ones Who Lived: “We have to go back!” Oh Rick, it is not like Philadelphia is an island
in the Pacific. But of course they are going back, there is
still two episodes left.
Shōgun: I was not expecting Chekov’s earthquake to happen so soon.
But that dinner scene was one of the funniest things this show has done
so far.
Survivor: Last week was anti-climactic because of a
medical elimination and this week was anti-climactic because they did not even
try to hid how obvious the voting was going to be. But yet another reason why these long
episodes are an epic fail, they could have cut out a lot of that begging if
there was a half hour less of screen time.
Halo: Wait, there are zombies now? Can’t we deal with the lizard people
first? So Halsey is infected. I have never played the game so I am not sure
if there is a cure or not.
Resident Alien: Between the lady cop almost killing her grandma,
Sarah Conner trying to cheer up the alien with an ostrich, and the funny carrier
pigeon bit, this was the best episode in a long while. Making it even better, there were no annoying
kids this week.
Saturday, March 23, 2024
Around the Tubes: March 23, 2024
I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post includes blurbs on Chucky, Pearl Jam. Gary Clark Jr., Nikka Costa, The Veronicas, Back To Black, Ariana Grande, Ginger Winn, and Dinosaur.
- Season 3 Part 2 of Chucky premieres April 10 at 10pm on USA & SYFY: "CHUCKY" OFFICIAL TRAILER LINK HERE
- Kicking into high gear, Pearl Jam unveil a hard-charging brand new record entitled “Running” available today via Monkeywrench Records/Republic Records. Listen HERE. It heralds the arrival of the band’s anxiously awaited twelfth studio album, Dark Matter, on April 19, 2024. Pre-order HERE. The band will also continue their support of independent retailers by offering various, limited edition galactic color variants of Dark Matter exclusively at select indie retail stores with 8 different colorways in the US and 2 additional for international. More info HERE.
- The Soho Sessions, an exclusive music-driven community known for curating exceptional live experiences in NYC, returns for a very special performance with Gary Clark Jr., celebrating the Austin-based guitar hero’s new album, JPEG RAW (Warner Records), out Friday, March 22, 2024. The Soho Sessions will air in a special free broadcast on premier streaming platform Veeps at 5 p.m. ET. During the broadcast, viewers will have an opportunity to make donations to Music Will, the largest nonprofit music program in the U.S. public school system. Gary Clark Jr.’s upcoming album JPEG RAW – the fourth studio release from the four-time Grammy winner – is a powerful and expansive artistic statement that marks a grand step in his musical evolution. While retaining the deep and true resonance of his blues foundations and guitar virtuosity with subtlety yet conviction, he reaches well beyond this time.
- Tthe LA-based soul and funk singer Nikka Costa releases her second single “Keep It High” after returning from a six-year hiatus with “Dirty Disco” + music video last month. These two records set the tone for her disco and soul fused, progressive album Dirty Disco coming out on June 7th, which is recorded with and produced by Justin Stanley (Prince, Jamie Lidell, Beck etc). Along with the talents of versatile musicians such as Brandon Coleman (Kamasi Washington, Thundercat, Donald Glover, Flying Lotus), Greg Phillinganes (Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder) and Kaveh Rastegar (John Legend, Beck), Nikka Costa brings you in her Dirty Disco immersive world.
- Iconic hitmaking sisters The Veronicas return with Gothic Summer, their first international album release in 10 years. After a much needed disconnect, Lisa and Jessica Origliasso soon found themselves in the throes of an unexpected 6th album. Gothic Summer was born. Listen HERE. “Gothic Summer is about alternative realities, its more subconsciously motivated and metaphorical than our previous records,” said the duo on their latest release. “It’s a dark comedy, a lot like life – we laugh, so we don’t cry.”
- Sam Taylor-Johnson’s film BACK TO BLACK, based on the life of Amy Winehouse, will be released in theatres across the US on May 17th. The soundtrack, “Back To Black: Songs from the Original Motion Picture” will be available in the US on April 12th via UMR / Island Records / Republic Records. The standard twelve song set features three original recordings from Amy’s highly influential debut, “Frank”, three songs from Amy’s multi award-winning masterpiece “Back To Black” and includes a new track, ‘Song for Amy’, sung by Nick Cave. The film's score was composed and recorded by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. Pre-Order ‘Back to Black: Songs from the Original Motion Picture': https://shop.republicrecords.com/collections/amy-winehouse
- GRAMMY® Award-winning, multi-platinum recording artist, and international superstar, Ariana Grande debuts at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)”, marking Grande’s ninth #1 on the chart and making her the first artist with multiple #1 hits in 2024 following “yes, and?”. Grande’s critically acclaimed new album eternal sunshine debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, her sixth #1 album. The simultaneous #1 debuts on the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 charts, mark the first of Ariana’s career and first among all artists in 2024.
- South Carolina-born, South Africa-based singer-songwriter Ginger Winn shares dreamy, swirling track and video "Super 8" out now. To celebrate the release, the artist will host two single release parties–one in Woodstock, NY at Early Terrible and one in Florence, Italy at La Menagere on March 23. Free tickets with RSVP are available, with complimentary food and drinks, for Woodstock, NY here and Florence, Italy here. Inspired by the complexities of being a young woman and the hard fought realities of making one’s own ever-winding dreams come true, Winn's ethereal yet booming vocals invite listeners into the hazy dream-like reality of her anxious yet ambitious mind on "Super 8." It unfolds with an acoustic guitar and is carried by Winn's delicate vocals mixed with swelling horns as the artist chronicles the intricacies of falling in love with recollections that feel familiar yet distant–as if to watch flashbacks play back on Super 8 film. The track is a tribute to the fleeting dreams of one's twenties, as Winn shares, "This song is about dreaming of love, falling into it, and celebrating it, a story of the little moments we all share. Where your imagination shows you what it’s like to fall in love with a stranger, walk down a road in Italy you’ve never been, or finally making it to New York City—These dreams feel so out of reach for so many of us, but at the same time, they are what drives all of us."
- Dinosaur follows Nina (Ashley Storrie), an autistic woman in her 30s, who adores her life living with her sister and best friend Evie. However, when Evie rushes into an engagement after only six weeks and makes Nina her maid of honour, Nina is floored. Forced to reconcile with her sister’s impulsive decision, Nina grapples with what this new challenge means. All episodes exclusively premiere Friday, April 5
Sunday, March 17, 2024
57 Channels and Only This Is On: March 17, 2024
The Walking Dead: The
Ones Who Lived: I appreciate Rick said
what needed to be said, that is really an unfortunate haircut. But I feel like I missed a lot of backstory
between Rick and Jadis.
Shōgun: So who did Blackthorn hook up with? I thought is Mariko at first but it was just
too dark to tell. And is this going to
be the very first Chekov’s earthquake?
Survivor: Medical eliminations are always the worst episode. It is just an anticlimactic ending. I wish they would still go to Tribal. Poor Venus, her only ally is gone and his
Idol goes with him. Of course it will
not matter if her Tribe never goes to Tribal as it seems like a possibility. If there is no swap, that one tribe way show
up with just one member left.
Halo: Wait, Paranasosky has been the big bad this
whole time? I was under the impression that
the new British guy was moving the chess pieces around. I really missed she was the one running
everything.
Resident Alien: That may have been the grossest hour n cable
television ever. I really did not need
to see two aliens go at it.
Ghosts: So they are just going to ignore Flower for a
while?
Saturday, March 16, 2024
Around the Tubes: March 16, 2024
I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post includes blurbs on Ariana Grande, The Black Crowes, Milan Ring, and Marcus King.
- GRAMMY® Award-winning, multi-platinum recording artist and international superstar, Ariana Grande releases a new version of her critically acclaimed album, eternal sunshine (slightly deluxe), out now. Listen to eternal sunshine (slightly deluxe) HERE via Republic Records. The new eternal sunshine (slightly deluxe) features four additional songs including brand new releases, “supernatural (feat. troye sivan)”, “imperfect for you (acoustic)”, “true story (acapella)”, and previously released “yes, and? (feat. mariah carey)”. Ariana recently appeared on Saturday Night Live as musical guest, performing “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” and “imperfect for you”
- Legendary rock band The Black Crowes released their hugely anticipated 10th studio album, Happiness Bastards, via the band’s own Silver Arrow Records. Serving as a salute to their past and a celebration of the present and future, the new album, which is their first original release in 15 years, includes 10 new tracks, with a very special feature from GRAMMY-winning country superstar Lainey Wilson on “Wilted Rose.” LISTEN TO HAPPINESS BASTARDS HERE. Produced by GRAMMY Award-Winning producer Jay Joyce, the project emphasizes The Black Crowes’ influence as one of the most vital rock bands of this generation. Following decades marked by sex, drugs, fights, breakups, and divorce, Happiness Bastards finds the brothers leaving their bullshit behind and leaning into their creative common ground to deliver their most compelling work to date.
- Celebrated Eora/Sydney R&B musician, producer and engineer Milan Ring fully embraces her new era with the announcement of her love-struck second studio album, Mangos. Out May 10 via Astral People Recordings, the record is preceded by today’s release of latest single, "Photograph". In a brief moment of bliss towards the backend of the record, the trip-inspired ‘Photograph’ focuses on savouring the moment and losing hours simply by being with someone you like. Milan infuses the Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz within the lyrics – a powerful code of conduct on how to experience the most in life. “In a world that is finger snap instant, it’s nice to have a medium that forces one to wait. I’m not sure how the light will hit the film. All I know is that for a second, I tried to remember,” she adds. Watch the "Photograph" visualizer HERE
- Last night GRAMMY-nominated singer-songwriter Marcus King exclusively debuted his new song “Delilah” on NBC’s The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon. A remarkable track from his forthcoming Rick Rubin-produced album Mood Swings, released on April 5 via American/Republic Records. Watch the video HERE. Discussing the forthcoming song, which will only be available via The Tonight Show until album release, King stated, “it’s a coming-of-age tale about learning how to love and how to allow yourself to stay still long enough to be loved.” On performing on piano and letting his vocals be the focus rather than guitar, he quipped, “There was no hiding behind the guitar at all.” Pre-order Mood Swings HERE.
Sunday, March 10, 2024
57 Channels and Only This Is On: March 10, 2024
The Regime: This show seems to be at a 6 when it should
be turned up to 11. All this show accomplished
in its first episode was it just really made me miss The Great. That is how you
do an eccentric dictator and the exhausted person trying to control them.
The Walking Dead: The
Ones Who Lived: Is it really that hard
to leave this place? Rick’s helicopter went
down, everyone else died, and yet even in this situation Rick cannot escape and
has to go back to Philly? Just go back
to the caravan and blend in. It does not
seem like it would be this hard. Maybe
this should have been a movie. Rick
would have been able to escape after ninety minutes but now they have to keep him
there for six episodes before he escapes.
Shōgun: Oh wow, that dude on the dock went out like a
G. But can’t that guy swim? Seems like he could have caught up to boat if
they just wait.
Death and Other
Details: Just how many twists can
you force into one mystery? Victor Sams
being the dead mom was just stupid. I
know I am the first person to say if we do not see a body, they probably are
not dead, but we literally saw that bench blow up. To explain that away as just the daughter’s faulty
memory was just stupid. But I guess it
is fitting to get a stupid ending to a stupid show. Good riddance.
Survivor: I complain a lot about how bad the casting has
gotten and the casting director should be fired, but who is putting these
people into Tribes? It seems like every
season in the New Era, the same Tribe goes to Tribal almost every single week. Maybe try making more even Tribes. But of course one of only two interesting contestants
went home.
Halo: Oh yeah, I forgot that one chick
existed. Where exactly has she been this
whole time? Why bring her back now?
Resident Alien: So the alien hunter is still alive. I vaguely remember him dying in a prison escape
for his kid, but not the specifics. Wasn’t
he shot? But I guess on an alien show,
gunshot wounds are not as fatal as they are in real life.
Ghosts: Wait, so did Flower not get sucked off (and
if not, who did) or did the séance work, and she reappeared in a well for no apparent
reason?