Looney Tunes: The Day The Earth Blew Up REVIEW

I love Looney Tunes, so I dragged Travis along to the theater.

There were a lot of funny jokes. Also a lot of lame ones. I liked Farmer Jim's animation, and Daffy laying eggs. Also funny how Daffy gave Porky brain damage in the beginning. Wasn't big on the "pie" joke or the joke-like solution to their housing issue. The influencer scene was really bad and out of nowhere. A lot of the jokes felt half-baked.

The characters don't blend well together. Daffy is a weirdo. Porky is a weirdo. Making Porky the straight man doesn't work too well compared to, say, Bugs or even Speedy. At the same time, Daffy can't admit he's a weirdo. The reason Daffy works so well is because he thinks he's completely reasonable.

Eric Bauza did great as Daffy and (I think) the alien. His Porky sounds too similar to Daffy, which distracted me the entire movie.

4/10, earth didn't even blow up a single time.

Did it ruin the tour? A Recap of the Forget Tomorrow World Tour

What tour? "The world tour."

There might be some not-so-appropriate words used in this review. PG13.

Fight Club REVIEW

Bob joins Fight Club.

Gabe wanted to watch it. I said sure. A review of Fight Club (1999) dir. David Fincher. As always, spoilers.

That twist sure was something. It kinda blew my mind, but made me feel stupid for not seeing it coming. The main character doesn't have a name, and so many other clues made a ton of sense immediately.

I think it's really interesting how MC's dissociation works. Like, he runs through the gas station to grab the worker and goes around it at the same time to meet himself out back. Or he's sitting on the floor meditating, while he's distracted by himself doing what he does upstairs with Marla Singer. He can't be in two places at once, of course. As Kiara would say, that's crazy work.

This soundtrack goes hard. At many points in the movie, I had to point out how amazing the score is half a dozen times while watching. I love the Jungle / DnB type stuff they have going on, somewhere between Massive Attack and Cavestar. (I'm not too familiar with DnB as a genre, so I can't be more specific. But it's like the ending to "Big Hoops (Bigger The Better)" but 12 times more precise. I'd listen to this type of stuff in the car.

Do you think Robert Paulsen is named after Rob Paulsen? Also MC talks about green doors 10 minutes into the movie.

8/10 makes me wanna marry my girlfriend that I don't have

I Rank All of Poppy's Albums (And EPs)

 None of you guys get it.

Icystorm 9 REVIEW

This article was written as the script for the next Icystorm 9 video.

I’m Icystorm 9. I’m 17, I live in the Japanese state of Nebraska, and I live without a mouth. I play video games and listen to pop music. And I’m a character. I’m scripted and voiced by an adult living in Nebraska, United States, NOT Japan, and my character is just a vague representation of my own person.

My channel began dedicated to complaining about Minecraft. I quickly ran out of things to complain about, so it became Icystorm9Reviews in 2015. But I didn’t know what types of videos I wanted to make. That was, until I got sick in 2017. I was struck with a terrible condition that left me bedridden for about a month. In that time, I watched a lot of YouTube channels that inspired me. The most important one is Project COE. I liked other long-form review channels, like LambHoot, SomeCallMeJohnny, Todd In The Shadows, and TheDoubleAgent, but they weren’t making the type of videos I thought were in short supply. I wasn’t hungry for more of this. But I found Project COE’s Saturnday reviews addicting. They were short and to the point. They gave a brief overview of the game of the week with gameplay to discuss their main points. And they were talking about something that wasn’t super common to talk about: relatively obscure 90s video games. It was a true review. Not in the sense that the episode would go over everything about the game early. But in the sense that you would know after a few minutes whether it was something you’d find worth your time and money, or if it wouldn’t. It was so easy to watch the whole playlist in just a few sittings, or at least wish I could. It brought me a lot of comfort in the days where I couldn’t really walk or stand or breathe. I wanted to make videos that gave that same feeling.

Ever since I started in 2019, the videos got more and more complex to edit. I learned a new editing trick in each video. Things moved around more. Now, going back to the Life of Pablo video, I find it crazy how little happens. Things sit still for more than 3 seconds, which is unthinkable in a modern Icystorm 9 video. But the problem is that this took a lot of time. I remember making the Glowing Man video in a few hours, after I got home from school, but before a 7pm Wednesday night lenten service. For comparison, the Hurley video took upwards of ten hours just to edit 100 seconds of footage. The Hurley video is no doubt better than the Glowing Man video, but I don’t think it was thrice as good. I was putting in a crazy amount of hours for little output.

I’ve written a fair bit on my website in the interim. I’ve reviewed a dozen or more movies, reviewed dozens more albums, and discussed more personal subjects that mean a lot to me. But writing is not my passion. Writing isn’t something I can sit and do for hours on end without taking a break. It’s the video making that propels me to do it. The reason ten hour video editing sessions are bad for me is because I like doing them. They’re really bad for my physical health. And my emotional health as well, according to my psychiatrist.

I’m looking for ways to make videos that don’t take so much time. I want to make the videos that require ten hours of editing, without taking ten hours to make them. I’m not sure how that will play out or look like yet. But soonr than soon, I will be uploading more good stuff.

Piece By Piece Movie Review

 A review of Piece by Piece (2024), dir. Morgan Neville.

They did downplay Chad's impact, but not as much as I was anticipating. They definitely downplayed Pharrell's relationship with Timbaland. He's like, "Yeah we went to the same school," when they're cousins. 

Timeline was a little confusing, like, they pretend that "Drop It Like It's Hot" is the first Pharrell / Snoop collab, but they acknowledge "Beautiful" later in the movie. And they talk about "Blurred Lines" (from 2013) (🤮) before Clipse's Till The Casket Drops (2009).

Speaking of Clipse, where is Malice?

5/10, not enough Cudi.

 

This Is The End Movie Review

 

Matt, Mario, and Zac wanted to watch This Is The End immediately after my Curious George (2006) watch party.

A review of This Is The End (2013) starring a bunch of Hollywood narcissists.

Last time on Icystorm's Igloo, I watched Oz The Great and Powerful. A 2013 James Franco movie that wasn't very good. This Is The End has all those traits but even more so.

It's more 2013 - the effects look even worse, there's a Gangnam Style scene, dudes are wearing snapbacks... What a nightmare.

It's more James Franco - He's a main character in this movie, playing James Franco. So there's more James Franco than ever before. Most of the movie takes place in his ugly 2013 house.

And it's even more wasn't very good - This Is The End is terrible and not funny. It's a bunch of raunchy garbage for 2 hours. All of the jokes except for a small handful are predictable and, considering the target audience, safe.

The rapture is not Christian doctrine; but since some Christians teach the rapture as doctrine, we can suspend disbelief for the sake of the movie. But getting into heaven by being good, without faith in God, is doctrine that no Christian believes. Such an understanding of salvation paints Christianity the same as all the other faiths, where you trick God into thinking you're good enough for him. If you see this movie as famous atheistic Hollywood elites raised in the Jewish tradition trying to write a movie about a faith they don't believe in, it makes a lot of sense. Jews believe that you are loved by God when you follow his law really well. Christianity teaches that you are loved by God, despite your inability to follow the law, and are saved through faith in Christ's saving work, and not your own works. Nobody in the movie believed in Jesus, and they only used his name in vain the entire time. Yet they got saved anyway because they sacrificed themselves or whatever. It's the most milquetoast pop culture understanding of the rapture you could put on paper.

Their interpretation of heaven is just as uninspired. You walk around on clouds and you can have whatever you want. 72 virgins anyone? You could hand a chimp a crucifix, a piece of paper, and a box of crayons, and ask him to draw heaven. His idea would not only be more interesting, but also likely more accurate. 

This movie is dated, ugly, unfunny, uncreative, and I hate celebrities with every fiber of my being. 1/10

Oz the Great and Powerful Movie Review

 

James Franco as the Wiz

 

Ponyboy wanted to watch it and it was a few dollars. Why not. A review of Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) starring James Franco.

I think the theme of this movie is that religion is a lie but still a good thing. Which, is a pretty lukewarm take to have. It could also be that you can do anything if you try hard enough and meditate on it long enough, which is also a lukewarm take. Both of them are wrong.

The wicked witch of the west has pretty bizarre motivation. Even after finding out her sister is lying, she still sides with her instead of, like, killing her. I would just kill my sister if she turned me green forever.

The effects this movie were generally pretty ugly. Monkey guy looked terrible. China doll looked bad too. When the witch turned green, it looked like Son of the Mask. Very fake and worse than how The Wizard of Oz looked 75 years earlier. Not surprised nor impressed with Disney.

 

James Franco with a mustache just looks like Rusty Cage. I thought he was gonna build a big guillotine to execute the witch. That never happened though.

Can't believe this is real. 3/10

Darkman Movie Review

"If you want a dude who wear a mask all day...." MF DOOM by Amar Stewart

Since Evil Dead 2 was so fun, I was in the mood for another Raimi movie. So the Pony and I picked up Darkman.

A review of Darkman (1990) starring the guy from the Cherry Bomb cover (do NOT research!).

This movie was a lot like Spider-Man 2 in a lot of ways. Dude literally gets his lab destroyed, his life is ruined, but he rebuilds his lab to rebuild his life and get vengeance. Sound familiar? I think the biggest contribution to the similarity is Danny Elfman's score. This is the most prominent movie score I've ever heard, and it sounded so much like the Spider-Man movies. It was good.

But this movie still stands as a very different project from the Spider-Man movies. Peyton's character throughout the movie is shocking at times. It's refreshing to see an action movie where the hero is evil as well. He just happens to be less evil than the guys he's fighting. The very ending was shocking. The last ten seconds especially.... that was wild. I really wish I had a pink elephant.

6/10, I'm bringing this one to Canada.

Evil Dead 2 Movie Review

Ash flies a baguette plane.

This is it. Evil Dead 2 is the pinnacle of Raimi movies. It's campy, creative, seemingly low budget, and it has Bruce Campbell in it.

It's wild that this whole movie only exists to promote Eminem records that won't be out for a while. For real, the main characters sing "Mockingbird" multiple times. And then at the end Ash ends up at a "Castle." And all the chainsaw massacre-ing is quite reminiscent of Relapse. They were putting a lot of faith in Marshall there to deliver on his records.

The camera work and effects are really creative. I loved the stop motion of all the deadites. Especially Linda's animation at the beginning and Henrietta's animation at the end look amazing. And I have no idea how they did the tree grabbing Ash at the very end. That was wild to watch.

I'd never seen this movie, but I have played Evil Dead: Hail to the King on Sega Dreamcast. So half the time I was watching Evil Dead 2, I was just thinking about how this scene looks in the game.

6/10. Very fun movie. Would 100% watch with a horror fan during Halloween season.

Barbie (2023) Movie Review

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West getting married in Barbie World

I had a Saturday off a while back, so me and some camp besties went to the mall.

A review of Barbie (2023) starring Margot Robbie and Alex Nelson.

At first this movie seems like it exists to promote the tired neolib talking points that Shoe0nHead and those types were late to the party debunking in 2016. Then a few days later I kicked my deficient chimp brain into gear and realized that merely saying "patriarchy" a ton doesn't automatically mean you want to install a matriarchy. It's actually quite the opposite. Barbie Land sucks at the beginning. The whole world is so shallow and one note. Then the Kens install a patriarchy and just about everyone is better off. Everyone who dislikes Ken's society is mean and manipulative. People tearing down Ken's patriarchy are literally the bad guys.

This movie misunderstands Platonic philosophy. Barbie Land is the world of forms; all Barbie particulars in the real world reflect the form that exists in Barbie Land. Which is why Ken's Mojo Dojo becomes a product in real life after he builds it in Barbie Land. It's how the toys exist in the first place. Each Barbie doll is based on the form in Barbie Land. Forms cannot be influenced by the particulars. Yet the movie flip flops on this.

Weird Barbie should not be affected by the condition of a particular doll in the real world. Because who is to say that one particular doll influences the state of its form? Why not the million other identical particulars? Even more, the shadows cannot influence the forms. But in this movie they do. Barbie gets depressed because the mom was drawing her depressed. The perception of a shadow of a particular cannot change the particular itself, much less its form. This is the inciting incident of the movie.

There was some crass humor which was kinda mid. Soundtrack was pretty good though. Lizzo, Dua Lipa, Charli XCX, and Matchbox Twenty was an important part of the story, and the Ken song, they all go hard. Ava Max still sucks, but you can't win em all.

Movie was a mixed bag. It mostly makes me want to watch the animated Barbie movies that Anna Hoier has wanted me to watch for the past 2 years.

4/10, should've gotten Sam Raimi to direct.

American Psycho Movie Review

 

There's a train going by. This movie missed it.

A review of American Psycho starring Christian Bale.

This is supposed to be an American classic?

1/10. Would not recommend.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie Review

Christian Mario. Praise God.

Picked up the Mario movie in Lakeville back in June, finally watched it with Logan, Devon, and Ella.

A review of The Super Mario Bros Movie (2023) dir. by the TTG showrunners.

Too much licensed 80s music. It's like listening to Weezer Teal all over again.

Funny enough movie. My favorite part was when Luigi died (or not) (spoilers). Bowser is the best character, Donkey Kong is good too. Most other characters were fine. Most voice actors were good except Mario and Luigi were meh.

It definitely looked and felt like an Illumination movie for what it's worth. It looks a lot smoother this time around, but it's just not my favorite. Peach is Taylor Swift.

I had a good time. 5/10.

Animal REVIEW

 When I was young, I had a hard time making out what Kesha’s Animal is supposed to be. What Platonic form this album supposed to fulfill, if you may. I’ve been listening to the first 2 Kesha albums since I was a little kid, and Warrior clicked with me instantly as I dove into it in my room one spring 2016 evening. But Animal was always different. Animal is harsh with loud bleeps and bloops everywhere that almost seem overwhelming when paired with her braggadocious persona. That’s why when I wrote this video originally in summer 2018, I wrote a 5,200 word hit piece against what this album has to offer. Instrumentation was described as, “just electronic beeping noises” with “annoying electronic noises all thrown together at once.” The lyrics are subject to my critique as well, so that I critique TiK ToK for… using poetic imagery? And I clearly dislike a highlight of Kiss N Tell’s identity. I even described the production on the record with this phrase: “This part has enough autotune to be too noticeable, but it doesn’t have enough autotune to be artistic or stylistic, or anything other than a distraction.” And I think today I see the album in a very different light. Albeit a bit dated, Animal is a well-constructed product that’s rife with a unique, appealing sense of character. When I first listened to this as a soundtrack to grade school homework, I went in with the mindset this album was as universal as Warrior was. It isn’t; and that's okay! Animal tends to work best as driving music, or party music. But that isn’t a problem with the art. Albums like Animal are aiming to be really clever with how it meets the needs of those specific scenarios. As it caters to a loud environment, this type of project lives and dies by its character. For this album to do well, it needs to stand out with all boldness and confidence. And I’m happy to report that Animal passes with flying colors. Kesha followed in the tradition of Britney Spears’ Blackout by reveling in modern synth sounds and effects. Instruments like electric guitars are present, but you have to dig if you want to find them. But Kesha never comes off as a mere modernist who uses synths because it’s popular to do in the landscape of the late 2000s. Her character basks in the artificiality of the world she builds for herself. That world is reflected in the sounds of the album. That’s why the guitars are much clearer on serious songs like Blind and Dancing With Tears In My Eyes. This album may be known for its fun party girl songs like Take it Off, Boots N Boys, and Backstabber, but it doesn’t maintain that illusion the whole time. Sometimes a glimmer of reality peaks through. Whether you’re listening to a party song or a sad song, Animal is incredibly attractive. Vocal performances are on point, and production sounds more lush and deep than you might initially anticipate. Take it Off is probably the best example. It builds such a fun, yet grimy atmosphere that’s just about impossible for anyone except Kesha herself to match. When I was a kid, I didn’t appreciate Animal, but now I see it in a new light. Animal is a creative and fun album that goes deeper than the party persona it puts on.

Knowing Movie Review

"Then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the LORD in the air; and so we shall always be with the LORD." 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

Last movie of the semester, Devon picked Knowing.

A review of Knowing (2009), starring Nicholas Cage.

I've seen a lot of Christian movies, most of them are bad, including Knowing. But Knowing has the audacity to be really fun and interesting. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Very tense.

I thought it was really weird. I didn't even realize it was a Biblical allegory until like 90 minutes in. It may be a bit gnostic (heretical) but I think that's more an accident of script wring. Some scenes were really pretty and some had terrible effects. Mixed bag. And Nic Cage is goofy ahh as an actor.

3/10, an absolute blast. I recommend.

Inception Movie Review

Fosse wanted to watch Maze Runner, but he couldn't access his iTunes library. So Fosse, Philip and I watched Inception. And then I watched it again with Aarin right after. At 5am, I've seen it twice today.

A review of Inception (2010).

This movie ruined my day. It wrecked my brain more than Mud. I don't know what it means but I know it's too smart for me. It made me really mad, especially the second time, how all the pieces fit together so well. I only found 1 or 2 minor plot holes, and I like the movie enough that I really don't even care. Maybe most creative movie I've seen in my life, as far as story goes.

8/10.

Scoob Movie Review

Fillmore County Journal after I watch Scoob.

A review of Scoob (2020).

I love Scooby Doo. I tried to convince Devon and Esther to watch Scoob with me this past week and we watched Wreck It Ralph instead. That was probably the right choice. Me and Pony just suffered through Scoob.

This isn't really a Scooby Doo story. You could replace the Scooby characters with entirely new characters and nothing would change. I thought Wreck It Ralph had some forced references, but at least they are video game related.

What does Simon Cowell have to do with Scooby Doo? The Mystery Gang takes a back seat to other Hanna Barbera characters I don't care about. And Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And Wonder Woman. And IKEA. It feels so forced. This movie isn't fun or funny.

2/10.

Jesus Revolution Movie Review

Jesus Christ by Leon Devenice

I felt bad for missing Jesus Revolution when it was showing in Harmony, and Kalie and Chloe wanted to see it too. Thus, Keri, Kalie, and Chloe went to the movies.

A review of Jesus Revolution (2023).

I almost cried. A popular Christian movie that is actually worth watching. There are 2 big themes. 1, everyone needs Jesus. Even hippies and druggies. God wants ALL PEOPLE to come to him. 2, God is the acting agent in the church. When church becomes about the preacher and not Jesus, you've lost sight.

And they actually proclaimed the gospel in the movie! Jesus isn't a tool we pull out when we need a personal boost in life, he's the king who died to save sinners.

6/10, really well done film.

Lexie, Hit Me With Your Prius REVIEW

Lexie, Hit Me With Your Prius may seem at first glance to be another low-effort meme rap project from JBK$R. The more you dig into it, though, the more obvious it becomes that this album is complex and well planned. The biggest thing about this album is that it seems confusing. In the first minute of the project, JBK$R says he got Hannah a wedding ring, but he asks Cassidy to marry him. Then later he’s flirting with Madison on the song Madi S’nailer. And at the end of The Title Track, he seems pretty fond of Lexie herself. Even if this weren’t contradictory, the audience doesn’t have much of a context for who these people are or why we should care. Get Got has a lot of lines that don’t really relate to a concept or a joke in any way, and most other songs have the same out of place unexplainability to a lesser extent. I have no clue what 30 days and 7 hours means, or what the significance is of a plastic parrot. I couldn’t tell you what he paid Hannah for, Edmonton can’t be in Fillmore County since Alberta doesn’t have counties, I’m not sure what hardwiring a Buick looks like, and the song about Club Penguin seems incredibly out of place. But I think that’s part of the appeal behind Lexie, Hit Me With Your Prius. No two songs are alike in any way. The short nature of each song makes the album very refreshing. When a 15-track album barely crosses 20 minutes, nothing can really overstay its welcome. The chaotic nature of Lexie Hit Me seems all the more intentional when you dive into it, especially with how off the wall some of these lyric choices are. The audience may not know what’s happening, and I don’t think JBK$R does either. That’s why he loves so many different people, that’s why characters pop in and out, that’s why the setting is inconsistent. It’s all very hard to put together, but at it's core, it’s all about him. What it’s saying about him, we aren’t supposed to know. This album is a mystery. And it’s perfect that way.

The Mummy Movie Review

The Pharaoh goes shopping at Barnes and Noble.

So I'm at Fosse's house in Cedar Rapids and we watched The Mummy. It's one of his favorites.

A review of The Mummy (1999) starring Brendan Fraser.

Really good animation. Granted, we watched it on Apple TV so it could look better....

Mummy man is super cool. He does a ton of sick tricks. I don't know why he stole the dude's eyes at the beginning though. That doesn't make much sense. But they got the 10 plagues out of order. The river turning to blood is supposed to come BEFORE the locusts.

And are we really surprised that the villain is a stereotypical French guy?

5/10, pretty entertaining watch.