The latest (and last?) Pitch Perfect movie is an entertaining watch, but definitely not the best of the trilogy.
The music, as always, is on-point, with a great variety of songs, and they do most of them justice.
But they forced a riff-off into this movie, and while it did add musical instruments to the acapella, it was just lackluster and not at all fun. The first two included some great moments, like Anna Kendrick’s No Diggity in PP1 and the Green Bay Packers showing up for PP2, this one just had nothing…although I will give them the great timing on The Cranberries’ Zombie.
Stick with me, I know lots of Italian. Gellato margarita, ravioli. -Fat Amy
One thing that does help the movie was its list of special guests, such as John Lithgow, Guy Burnet, DJ Khaled, Ruby Rose, and of course the announcing duo of John Michael Higgins and Elizabeth Banks.
What I really want next from this franchises is a spin-off, starring Anna Kendrick and Hailee Steinfeld…and maybe Hana Mae Lee (Lilly).
I enjoyed it, but it’s not worth more than a 6.5 out of 10.
Everyone has got the brackets going for March Madness, and the popular one this weekend was Disney vs Pixar…and even though I voted on a friends poll (his didn’t go my way), I figured I’d put my thoughts out there on the Disney/Pixar universe!
And maybe this will also be my first bracket in a new segment?
ROUND OF 32
Lion King vs. Tarzan – Lion King — Tarzan is an Ape Man, and that’s pretty cool…but the hyenas will laugh them out of this competition
Princess and the Frog vs. Lilo & Stitch – Lilo & Stitch — That little blue creep moves on
Tangled vs. Big Hero 6 – Tangled — I didn’t watch either of these…so I advanced the one that I know more about
Frozen vs. Moana – Moana — One of the toughest matchups of the first round, and while Frozen was a good fad, Moana will likely stand the test of time
Aladdin vs. Hercules – Aladdin — Abu could kick Hercules’ butt…
The Little Mermaid vs. Pocahantas – The Little Mermaid — Under the sea, under the sea…come on, sing along!
Mulan vs. Zootopia – Zootopia — Mulan is a tough one to beat, but the sloth of Zootopia zooms through this round
Beauty and the Beast vs. Nightmare Before Christmas – Beauty and the Beast — I mean is this even a contest?
Up vs. Brave – Up — Up tugs at all the right strings
Toy Story vs. Toy Story 2 – Toy Story — The OG will almost always trump the sequels Coco vs. Cars 2 – Coco — Coco may be the most recent, but Tow Mater can’t pull Cars 2 out of the muck
Toy Story 3 vs. The Good Dinosaur – Toy Story 3 — Andy grew up so quick…
Ratatouille vs. A Bugs Life – Ratatouille — I just don’t know that A Bugs Life stands up the test of time
Finding Nemo vs. Inside Out – Inside Out — The other tough matchup of the first round, and while Finding Nemo is probably Top-3 All-Time for me, Inside Out ranks just a little higher
Monsters Inc. vs. Cars – Monsters, Inc. — I love Lightning McQueen, but Mike Wazowski is a GOAT
The Incredibles vs. Wall-E – Wall-E — Say it in the slowest voice possible: “Wall-E”
SWEET SIXTEEN
Lion King vs. Lilo & Stitch – Lion King — Mufasa roars through to the Elite Eight
Tangled vs. Moana – Moana — Hei Hei, I’m going to beat you
Aladdin vs. The Little Mermaid – Aladdin — This is the toughest region, and the magic carpet ride will continue
Zootopia vs. Beauty and the Beast – Beauty and the Beast — Such a decision, but Lumiere will French all over the bunnies
Up vs. Toy Story – Toy Story — A really tight battle, but Woody and Buzz will continue too infinity and beyond
Coco vs. Toy Story 3 – Coco — No third-rate Toy Story is going to knock out Dia de Muertos
Ratatouille vs. Inside Out – Inside Out — The foods in Ratatouille are almost too much to handle, but the feelings are just going to push on thru
Monsters, Inc. vs. Wall-E – Monsters, Inc. — Robots and the future is cool, but I’d rather check out what’s under the bed
ELITE EIGHT
Lion King vs. Moana – Lion King — say Aloha to Moana, as the African pride stampedes on
Aladdin vs. Beauty and the Beast – Aladdin — Even to myself this was an upset…but Belle just can’t compete with Robin Williams and the Genie
Toy Story vs. Coco – Coco — Writing Andy on my shoe would’ve moved on a month ago, but now my life has changed and I will Forever Remember Coco
Inside Out vs. Monsters, Inc. – Monsters, Inc. — Another upset as Monsters, Inc. takes out Sadness, and Roz advances
FINAL FOUR
Lion King (1) vs. Aladdin (1) – Lion King — If this was the final matchup, I wouldn’t be upset. But regions are regions, and rules are rules…and Lion King is a Timon ahead of the competition…but they aren’t (Ja)far behind!!
Coco (3) vs. Monsters, Inc. (3) – Monsters, Inc. — I’m actually surprised at how far Sulley has stumbled thru this tournament
CHAMPIONSHIP
Lion King vs. Monsters, Inc. – LION KING — In this competition, they just can’t wait to be King. Monsters, Inc. is a really good, and somewhat underrated movie, but Simba will r
The trio behind Workaholics (Adam DeVine, Blake Anderson and Anders Holm) have made a Netflix movie, that is basically Die Hard: With a Dirty Vengeance.
Our three characters are housekeepers in a hotel, and terrible at their jobs, but they want to do more, and they may get their opportunity when their crazy perverted boss assigns them to the party of a lifetime with the Bae of Tunisia (Utkarsh Ambudkar).
But when the hotel gets taken over by his faux security team, in order to get all his money, our “heroes” hop into action to save the day.
From Home Alone style tricks to getting very lucky, the group will go to all ends to get out of the hotel in one piece.
This movie is loaded with big names, as Neal McDonough leads the security team (which includes Steve Howey), and random people are at the party (such as Joel McHale and Donald Faison).
Goofy and dirty, it’s a good release movie, and gets a 6.5 out of 10.
The idea is great: A Bluetooth speaker/transmitter that you place on top of a record, allowing you to play it wherever you’d like. No turntable needed.
But Pink Donut was a little bit off on their first try at this idea…and when I reached out for help, they quickly turned away once I got down to the real issues.
For starters, the instructions were a little confusing and could’ve been made a lot simpler by simply printing them on the unit itself.
Meanwhile, the connectors and indicators aren’t the greatest…notifying that the charging process was finished, when really it was still at the 25% mark, leading it to not work properly when I first tried it.
But when I finally got the instructions in order, and the battery fully charged, I excitedly put the box on top of my record, and round-and-round it went…with sound quality that was sour and unlistenable.
I tried it thru a Bluetooth speaker, in case the onboard speaker was faulty, with the same results. Terrible sound, and the company going silent on ideas and suggestions for how to modify the device and fix the problem.
It has been 100 days since I last reached out to them, but the time has come to post the review, and I’ll give it an 8 out of 10 on the idea, but a 2 out of 10 for execution.
Thor: Ragnarok, the second most recent Marvel movie, before Black Panther was a semi-enjoyable movie…but mostly a giant bore.
Thor (Chris Hemsworth) returns home to Asgard to find Loki (Tom Hiddleston) pretending to be King after exiling Oden. When they go to bring Oden back home, they discover their sister Hela (Cate Blanchett) who brings death wherever she goes. When she returns to Asgard she gains unlimited powers, while Thor ends up in a foreign alien prison, having to fight his way out against an “old work friend”: Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), who has been in this form for over two years.
The movie is seemingly boring for a large portion of it, not even picking up until about halfway through. Yet when it does pick up, it’s with surprised and lines that they used in every single trailer, completely spoiling a large portion of joy that should’ve come from this movie.
The best newcomer from this movie is Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), and I hope she’s too Infinity War and beyond. Jeff Goldblum also played a good role in this film as the Grandmaster of the prison fights.
I genuinely laughed when Hulk didn’t hulk (you’ll know it when you see it), but overall this movie was just a 6 out of 10.
In 2017 Netflix produced The Standups, a series of up-and-comers given their own short stand-up specials, a chance to show their wares, without getting a full hour special (like the recent ones of Ricky Gervais and Chris Rock).
While some of last season’s had their moments, others were absolute duds.
This year follows a similar theme, but with names even less known than the first time around, so here are the six comedians from this season, in order of my enjoyment (and no, they don’t need to be watched in any specific order, they don’t reference each other):
Brent Morin Brent was on Undateable with Chris D’Elia, and he is the best of this group. He spends time covering Uber, drinking buddies, and a trip to NYC with his girlfriend.
My little brother is a Dr. He works 15 hour days. I work 15 minute night, and I cancel. A lot.
Aparna Nancherla Aparna shows up as a ramen blogger in Master of None, and her self-described ‘social awkwardness and anxiety’ make her really funny…ending off on a PowerPoint slide just talks to the nerd in me.
I’m what you call a rescue. My boyfriend found me at a kill shelter.
Kyle Kinane Kinane showed up in Judd Apatow’s Love, and covers mass shootings, the 27-club, and the Ku Klux Klan.
“Let’s get kayaks.”
“Why?”
“To kayak…the noun is the verb…it’s the easiest thing.”
Joe List Joe spent some time opening for Louis C.K., and uses his set to talk about looks, gyms, and teas. I find him to be trying too hard at times, going overboard, even cursing unnecessarily to boost his humor, and it just doesn’t work.
I’ll have the caesar salad, I’m trying to watch my forehead.
Rachel Feinstein Rachel was a Last Comic Standing finalist, who spends a lot of time talking about her parents. The problem I had with her is that the more she spoke…the less I liked her
That’s my Jewish. She loves the Star of David.
Gina Yashere A Daily Show regular, Gina is a British comedian, talking about racism, America, and trash in NYC.
Did you know there are black people in England? We. Are. Everywhere.
It’s the first day of Spring today. It’ll also be the start of the fourth blizzard of the month here in NYC. I need some music.
The Middle – Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey
Oh, baby, why don’t you just meet me in the middle
I’m losing my mind just a little
Wolves – Selena Gomez & Marshmello
Second straight Marshmello song in SOTD and I hadn’t even heard of him a few months ago.
I’ve been running through the jungle
I’ve been running with the wolves
To get to you
I’ve been down the darkest alleys
Saw the dark side of the moon
To get to you
I’ve looked for love in every stranger
Took too much to ease the anger
World Gone Mad – Bastille
When it feels like the world’s gone mad
And there’s nothing you can do about it
No, there’s nothing you can do about it
Replay – Zendaya
This throwback is a reminder that there was a time before Greatest Showman and Spider-Man when Zendaya had songs stuck on my iPod on replay.
Yeah, wanna put this song on replay
I can listen to it all day
I can listen to you all day, yeah, you all day
Collateral is a Netflix Limited Series, together with the BBC2, using just four episodes to tell the story.
A pizza delivery went wrong, as the delivery man is shot leaving the house…was it a murder? A targeted hate crime? Or was it somehow tied to a Labour Party member?
The show is quick paced and an interesting British drama, with storylines from all angles, including the authorities, the killer, illegals, and politicians.
This binge-worthy murder-mystery will keep you in suspense, and by the end I felt for all those involved, something you can’t say for most shows.
Carey Mulligan (Mudbound, The Great Gatsby)plays the lead investigator, Nathaniel Martello-White as her partner. The show also stars Jeany Spark, John Simm, and Ahd Kamel, who all standout.
This quick binge is worthy of a 9 out of 10.
What’s often a flaw of a binge watch show, too many episodes and the need to fill them with fluff, is quickly erased by only having four episodes packed with story.
This Sunday I will be going to the Tanger Hillel at Brooklyn College to do our yearly Passover Deliveries to the Elderly.
Bags have been getting packed all week, and we are ready to go out to the hundreds of people that are on our lists.
These lists include Holocaust survivors and home-bound, among many others, all of whom will benefit from food items to help them on the upcoming holiday.
Matzos, grape juice, pickles, and applesauce are just some of the items that they will receive.
We will have a handful of volunteers both with cars and without, who will trek across Brooklyn to fulfill the deliveries. If you want to lend a hand, especially if you have a car, feel free to email me for full details.
If you can’t come out Sunday, but still want to help, you can fund this and many other Hillel programs by donating HERE
Gad Elmaleh, a Moroccan-French-Jewish comedian, has shown up on Netflix for his first English comedy special.
He discusses speaking a foreign language and learning the terminology, most importantly putting the right emphasis on the right syllable (that line works better orally…it’s all written the same); as well as the differences between Americans and French/Moroccans…from how cabs work to shopping experiences.
I’m here, performing in English. Because Americans obviously don’t speak any other language.
Gad’s style has him strutting around the stage, peacocking on every joke that he thinks he nailed, and the audience seems to be fairly forgiving…but I don’t know that the Netflix audience will be, and the ratings/viewership is likely to drop after the first five minutes.
I was texting a girl and asked her out, and she said ‘That would be dope’. I asked my friend what that means and he said ‘It means she’s too young for you.’
His delivery and flow is good, and he does a good job tying the whole show together, getting a 6 out of 10.
Aviously 