Aviously

CBS All-Access

@iAmAviG

February 28, 2018

In the past I’ve talked about other streaming services, such as Hulu TV and YouTube TV, and today my focus is turned to CBS All-Access.

For just $5.99/month ($9.99 without ads) you can watch CBS on all your mobile devices, not just from an On-Demand service or a desktop website.

It gives you next day access to all CBS shows, and the ability to live stream your local CBS affiliate and CBSN, their 24/7 live-streaming news channel.

And just like Hulu they give you access to their complete library, with 10,000+ episodes of shows like NCIS and Madam Secretary…plus exclusives just for All-Access members to shows like Star Trek: Discovery and The Good Fight.

One of the issues I have with the Android version of their app is that it doesn’t keep track of location too well. So if I pause an episode 32 minutes in, and come back later, it might be sitting still at 15 or 22 minutes…which when you don’t have the ad-free version, means you need to sit through full ad breaks over and over as you scrub through trying to find your location.

The Tick – Season 1, Part Deux

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February 27, 2018

We are back for the second half of The Tick, after (in my opinion) the disaster of the first half.

Tick (Peter Serafinowicz), Dot (Valorie Curry), and Overkill (Scott Speiser) along with a freshly rescued Arthur (Griffin Newman) are still on the hunt for The Terror (Jackie Earle Haley), whose evil plan is still unknown, outside of the Very Large Man (VLM).
Meanwhile, Superian and the other members of The Flag Five must be warned about The Terror’s return from the dead (even though they found his teeth).

“I identify as a boat. Or specifically, a male boat.” – Dangerboat (Alan Tudyk)
“Like a mail box?” – The Tick

The show continues to be so simple and stupid, but the more I watch it, the more I start to understand its appeal.
As the story starts to come together we get added humorous characters, like the surprisingly tiny Dr. Karamazov and some help from Tinfoil Kevin.

I still won’t recommend this show to anyone, but it gets an improvement from the first half, pulling in a 6.5 out of 10.

Marseille Season 2

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February 26, 2018

Marseille is back for Season 2, picking up right where he left off, with Mayor Robert Taro (Gerard Depardieu) recovering from his heart attack, and the public finding out about his relationship to Lucas Barre (Benoit Magimel).

The political power of the two of them is so strong, will the council be able to overthrow either of them from their relentless push to be mayor of the French city? Who will be the ultimate mayor of Marseille, and what will they do to achieve their goals? Will that vote throw the entire political system into turmoil?

Meanwhile, the French House of Cards continues to build the tower that is likely to collapse at some point in time, and the other storylines just build on that story.
Julia (Stephane Caillard) is getting involved with the local football team, and the owner’s son, while the story in the slums continues to deepen with Farid and her ex-boyfriend, Eric.

The different storylines feel disjointed, although like all good shows they tie them back together at some point…but at times it feels like they are distractions, just trying to remind you that it’s not all about political drama.

The show can be heavy at times, as is goes through the political storylines, from abortions and stadium deals to immigration and riots in the streets. At the same time, the dialogue can be repetitive, with different characters, in different scenes, using the same idioms within a minute of each other.

Depardieu is great, as is Magimel and Caillard, but it’s the larger role that Geraldine Pailhas (as Rachel Taro) takes in the season that stands out to me. This season gets a 7.5 out of 10.

The Joel McHale Show With Joel McHale

@iAmAviG

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February 23, 2018

The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale is a half-hour Sunday show on Netflix, set for a 13-episode run.

Hosted by Joel McHale, formerly of The Soup and Community, the show is a simple show making fun of all things TV and social media from throughout the previous week(s).

The first episode, out now, is a little blasé at first, until Joel hits his Netflix studio tour, which is full of guest appearances by other Netflix stars, like Mike Colter (Luke Cage) and Jodie Sweetin (Fuller House), and Netflix stars he acted with in Community, Alison Brie (GLOW) and Jim Rash (Beyond Stranger Things), as well as a reference to Gillian Jacobs (Love (and Season 2)).

While his first episode has its ups and downs, the good news for Joel is he gets to do it all again next week!

A Glimpse of Summer – Song of the Day

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February 22, 2018

Yesterday was 72 degrees in New York City, the highest ever for this early in the year, and it made me think of doing a “Song of the Summer”…but it’s too early for that! So here are some other songs I am enjoying right now.

Friends – Anne-Marie & Marshmello

I feel like this song is what some people would like to send to me…

Don’t go look at me with that look in your eye
You really ain’t going away without a fight
You can’t be reasoned with, I’m done being polite
I’ve told you one, two, three, four, five, six thousand times

I’ll Find You – Lecrae feat. Tori Kelly

Just fight a little longer, my friend
It’s all worth it in the end
But when you got nobody to turn to
Just hold on and I’ll find you

River – Eminem feat. Ed Sheeran

This song was amazing when the album came out (Revival), and it was made even greater by the story that this video provides!

I’ve been a liar, been a thief
Been a lover, been a cheat
All my sins need holy water, feel it washing over me
Well, little one, I don’t want to admit to something
If all it’s gonna cause is pain
The truth and my lies now are falling like the rain
So let the river run

Shake It Out – Florence + the Machine

I like putting a throwback in here once in a while, and I had two from Florence that I was debating between…but Shake It Out takes the medal this time!

And I am done with my graceless heart
So tonight I’m going to cut it out and then restart
Because I like to keep my issues drawn
It’s always darkest before the dawn

Lego Ideas – Ship In A Bottle

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February 21, 2018

Lego has been around for long enough that most good Lego sets seem to have been created already, and they have resorted to making stories and movies to create new brands and themes (see: Ninjango).

So recently they have turned to the internet for help on creating wanted sets, in the form of Lego Ideas.
People get to create their own ideas and submit them, and after the public votes on their favorite ones, it heads to the Lego Developers for a final vote, with the best sets being turned into reality for the public to buy.

In the past, I have been interested in the Lego Architecture sets, which include things like the Guggenheim, the Arc de Triomphe, the US Capitol Building, the Eifel Tower, and city skylines (Chicago, Shanghai, London, Sydney, and New York City).
Some of these sets were elaborate with a lot of pieces, while others had fewer pieces and were mostly for show.

Lego Ideas followed a similar path, with small sets of “Adventure Time” and “Women of NASA”, but when they rolled out their “Ship In A Bottle” I knew I had to get one!

So this past weekend I went about building my very first ship in a bottle. Granted, the bottle was built around the ship, and not carefully placed inside…but it was a fun little project, and now Leviathan sits proudly on my shelf!

I did like that it was advertised as 950+ pieces…of which 287 were tiny blue dots that you poured into the bottle as “water”.

You can purchase your set, on back-order, HERE!

Everything Sucks!

@iAmAviG

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February 20, 2018

Everything Sucks! is the latest Netflix show, and while everyone is stuck in the 80s on Stranger Things, this show is all about the 90s.

It’s 1996 and the phattest movie is about to come out: The first in the new Star Wars trilogy.

Luke (Jahi Di’Allo Winston) is a high school freshman in Boring, Oregon, all ready to join the A/V club that seems to be failing. He quickly starts to fall for Kate Messner (Peyton Kennedy), a camera operator at the A/V club, and the Principal’s daughter.

With the help of friends Tyler and McQuaid, how will Luke handle his young love, while Kate faces her own troubles as the picked on girl at school. And when they all get in trouble with the drama club (with the great acting of Oliver and Emaline (Sydney Sweeney)), how will they turn it around and not have a miserable time in high school?

The kids are all great, but it’s the adults that push this show to a different level, with Principal Ken Messner (Patch Darragh, of The Path) and Luke’s Mom Sherry (Claudine Mboligikpelani Nako) leading the way.

Flashbacks to the 90s nostalgia, with Oasis’ Wonderwall, and Tori Amos, it’s a fun, light-hearted show, for all the 90s kids, and while it’s clearly aimed at teens, the show is awesome and gets a 9 out of 10.

Mozart In The Jungle Season 4

@iAmAviG

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February 19, 2018

Hailey (Lola Kirke) and Rodrigo (Gael Garcia Bernal) are back for Season 4 of Mozart in the Jungle, out now on Amazon Prime. They are now boyfriend and girlfriend, as she continues her journey to being a maestro, taking direction from Rodrigo and Thomas (Malcolm McDowell).

Mozart is one of the most unlikely music shows, as no one thought they’d enjoy watching oboes and orchestras, but by now we have come to expect amazing from this show. It’s the little things that keep the show fun, like Dee Dee (John Miller), the old hippy percussionist, plays on the tables of a restaurant to show off his skills, or Rodrigo playing the banjo for the first time.

I feel strong panic right now, because music has stopped talking to me. -Rodrigo

While Season 3 headed to Europe, this year has a full symphony of ideas: The maestro working on a ballet with no-audience, working with the Maestro Rivera Youth Orchestra, playing for the Pope, and all of this while Hailey heads to Asia to try and win a conducting competition (run by Masi Oka).
Meanwhile, Thomas had moved on to the Queen’s Orchestra…sorry, that was the Queens Orchestra.

For years now the Maestro has had meaningful conversations with Mozart, and Hailey finds her own voice, in that of Mozart’s sister.

Ichi Go Ichi E. One life, one opportunity.

Bernadette Peters continues to star in the show, and they also have an array of real musicians coming through, from violinists Ray Chen and Miri Ben-Ari, to rocker Joan Jett.
It has also become a good place to hear new music and sounds.

The show continues to make people fall in love with classical music, despite never wanting to listen to it, and easily gets an 8.5 out of 10.

While there hasn’t been an official announcement yet on a Season 5, it would be welcomed by many, and they left a nice door open for it.

Chris Rock: Tamborine

@iAmAviG

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February 16, 2018

Chris Rock is on Netflix for the first of two specials, and he’s on stage in Brooklyn, NY, doing his first special in 10-years.

Chris takes no time to jump right into the topics, from cop shootings and how the blacks are treated by police, to his kids’ high-school orientation. His divorce to his addictions. And of course today’s easiest topic: President Donald Trump.

A relationship is like a band. Sometimes you’re lead, and sometimes you are on tambourine.

But he is no Dave Chappelle, and it’s been a long time since Bigger & Blacker. He just doesn’t get me laughing at any point in this like I expected to.
The second half of the special gets more personal, and semi-deep, almost like Dave in The Bird Revelation, just not as good.

Maybe I just don’t understand Chris Rock’s current comedy, because all the other reviews I read are raving about him, and it just didn’t do it for me.
Funny enough, I got my first real laugh out of this on the second to last line of the special.

Love hard, or get the f**k out.

If you take my opinion on it: Don’t waste your time with this 3.5 out of 10.

The Emoji Movie

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February 15, 2018

The Emoji Movie was rated by many as the worst movie of 2017, and some made it out to be even worse than that. It scored a 9% on Rotten Tomatoes.
But despite all that I still wanted to watch it. And while not the best movie, it wasn’t as terrible as I was led to believe.

Every emoji has its one purpose and job in life. Some are simply poop, a calendar, a cookie, or an ice cream cone. But when you are a face, you need to keep up appearances, and always show the face you are built for.
Our main character Gene (T.J. Miller) is “meh”, but has a lot of trouble sticking to it. He laughs, he cries, he feels regular emotions and can’t hold back from showing them.

When Gene gets chosen to join the emoji list, he malfunctions and shows a slew of emotions, and gets scheduled for deletion from the emoji world. As he escapes deletion he meets up with Hi-5 (James Corden) and they head to the Wallpaper to try and find a hacker named Jailbreak (Anna Faris) for reprogramming, to help make him the emoji he is supposed to be. In the wallpaper they travel thru apps, from Facebook to WeChat, and Candy Crush to Just Dance.

The list of celebrties voicing in this movie is long, including: Patrick Stewart (poop), Christina Aguilera, Rachael Ray, Sofia Vergara, Sean Hayes, and Jeff Ross (the Roastmaster General as an Internet Troll).

Despite Corden trying his hardest to keep it entertaining, this movie does disappoint, and can barely eke out a 5 out of 10.

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