TV Review: Lucha Underground S02, E22-24, “Ultima Lucha Dos, Part I”

Published on July 19th, 2016 in: Current Faves, Matshifter, Pro Wrestling, TV, TV Reviews, Underground/Cult |

By Sachin Hingoo

wagner

This whole batshit season of Lucha Underground, starting with the rise and fall of Mil Muertes, the introduction of the monster Matanza, and everything in between, has led to this moment. The final three episodes for the year comprise “Ultima Lucha Dos,” Lucha Underground’s season finale, and all the pieces are in place for some wild confrontations.

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TV Review: Lucha Underground, S2 E16-21, “The Prelude To Ultima Lucha Dos”

Published on June 22nd, 2016 in: Current Faves, Horror, Pro Wrestling, Science Fiction, TV, TV Reviews, Underground/Cult |

By Sachin Hingoo

pentagon torture

This arc of Lucha Underground is the beginning of the drive to Ultima Lucha Dos, the second season finale of the show. It’s where all the established storylines are set to climax and, in some cases, converge. Last year’s two-part finale was the best episode of Lucha Underground so far, and did a great job of setting the wheels in motion for Season Two. Ultima Lucha Dos should be at least as explosive, based on the pieces being put into place.
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In Case You Missed It: May 9 – 20, 2016—Please Stand By

Published on May 20th, 2016 in: Documentaries, LGBTQ, Movies, Music, Pro Wrestling, Reissues, Retrovirus, Reviews, TV |

By Less Lee Moore

assemblog-hiatus-header-graphic

It’s Good News/Bad News time. The good news is that I am submitting a chapter to an upcoming book anthology. The bad news is that the deadline is quickly approaching and I need to finish!

This means that Popshifter will be going on a bit of a break until June. In the meantime, please enjoy the following articles that you might have missed over the last couple of weeks.

What about movies? If you’re looking for something to see this weekend that is the exact opposite of The Nice Guys, you might try Ben Wheatley’s High-Rise. Tyler Hodg enjoyed the videogame adaptation of Rachet and Clank, while Christine Makepeace was appalled by the sexism in documentary All Dolled Up.

If you want music recommendations, look no further than Popshifter! Melissa Bratcher enjoyed the self-titled debut of Big Star’s Jody Stephens with Luther Russell, a.k.a. Those Pretty Wrongs; adores by Ominivore’s reissue of two albums from The Blind Boys Of Alabama; thinks the latest album from Gregg Martinez, Soul of the Bayou, is a charmer; and is thrilled by the way On The Ropes shows that the Honeycutters keep getting better.

Tim Murr thinks Black Absinthe could be as big as AC/DC after hearing Early Signs of Denial; Tyler fondly reminisces about Sloan’s album The Double Cross on its five-year anniversary and praises Royal Tusk for adding some spice to the frequently stale genre of rock on DealBreaker; and Eric Weber describes his history of discovering Divine’s music in his review of the Cherry Red Records anthology, Shoot Your Shot.

Finally, Sachin Hingoo catches us up with what’s happening on Lucha Underground.

TV Review: Lucha Underground, S2 E11 – 15

Published on May 10th, 2016 in: Current Faves, Horror, Matshifter, Pro Wrestling, Reviews, Science Fiction, TV, TV Reviews, Underground/Cult |

By Sachin Hingoo

matanza close

Hey, I just met you,
and this is crazy,
Robert Rodriguez
loves lucha libre!

It’s been a few weeks since we’ve visited the Temple, and with Dario Cueto back in control and his feral brother Matanza as champion, the whole show has a different feel. Gone is Mil Muertes looming over the Temple on his throne and the candles and other spooky touches Catrina put in Dario’s office. Instead we’re back to having live bands play us into the shows and a general feeling that chaotic violence can erupt at any time. I have to say that I’m glad to have Dario back in the backstage vignettes in particular, because he’s a much better actor than Catrina and has his sadistic douchebag character down pat.

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In Case You Missed It: April 3 – April 9, 2016–Feminism, Iggy In Furs & Negan

Published on April 10th, 2016 in: Canadian Content, Concert Reviews, Current Faves, Feminism, Movie Reviews, Movies, Music, Music Reviews, TV, TV Reviews |

By Less Lee Moore

icymi-april-3-to-9-header-graphic
Photo credit: Loma Vista

Hey, have you seen Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice yet? Did the onslaught of haterade scare you away? Read Tim Murr’s review and reconsider your negativity, man.

Lots of MRA types have been guzzling the haterade after watching the trailer for Star Wars: Rogue One. Here, Film School Rejects praises the oft-misunderstood “Mary Sue” qualities of the trailer, and many other movies. At Rue Morgue, Alex West gives Scream’s Gale Weathers some long overdue credit in “The Final Girl Chronicles.”

Is that too much feminism for you? Too bad. A new infographic proves Hollywood is still a boys’ club. If that didn’t convince you, here are two words: corpse boobs.

There are a lot of blockbusters and superheroes getting (deserved) attention these days, but sometimes you want something with fewer explosions. So if Canadian film Sleeping Giant is playing near you, please go see it. It’s a low-key but emotionally riveting film.

Meanwhile, on TV, Tyler Hodg is reviewing the tenth season of Trailer Park Boys on Netflix. I recapped the shocking season six finale of The Walking Dead, but Laury Scarbro (Yay! Welcome back!) has even more thoughts and feelings about it.

Two killer episodes of Lucha Underground and one (hilarious, natch) episode of Broad City are dissected by Sachin Hingoo and then… we try something completely different. Anime n00b Tyler tackles Brotherhoood Final Fantasy XV, currently watchable on YouTube.

Oh Iggy Pop. Where would my life be without you and your music? I attempt to explain in my concert review from the April 9 show at Toronto’s Sony Centre. Iggy and David Bowie go together like well, peanut butter and chocolate, so here are five times that David Bowie literally helped save the world. (I never get sick of talking about David Bowie.)

MOAR MUSIC! Melissa Bratcher talks about how Janiva Magness’s new album Love Wins Again made her cry and wonders if The Lumineers are doing OK. Brian Baker rides the waves with Shark Toys’ Outsider Sect LP, and Tim Murr goes full metal with Graves At Sea, Tombs, and the folk-metal stylings of Kralthazar.

There’s still so much more going on in music and Unicorn Booty knows you need the info. This week’s “Now Hear This!” dishes on Beyonce, funny feminists, Snoop Dogg and Janet Jackson, and the sad struggles of Ke$sha.

Until next time, Popshifter fans!

TV Review: Lucha Underground S3 E10, “El Jefe Is Back”

Published on April 7th, 2016 in: Current Faves, Matshifter, Pro Wrestling, TV, TV Reviews, Underground/Cult |

By Sachin Hingoo

I'm kind of a big deal

Perhaps the most important aspect of the Lucha Underground universe is the personality of Dario Cueto. He’s been around in a limited way throughout this season, but only in short vignettes. In “El Jefe Is Back,” Dario Cueto, El Jefe, is definitely, uh, back. He even brought back a fun little staple of the first season of the show, the live performances! This week, we have Chingon, Robert Rodriguez’s band, opening up the show and they add a fun vibe to the proceedings that wasn’t there during Catrina’s reign, and that’s how Dario sets himself apart as a character. As sadistic and evil as he may be, his ultimate goal is to always entertain the audience and, by extension, make money doing so. Catrina just wanted the power of the Temple for its own sake.

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TV Review: Lucha Underground S3 E09, “Aztec Warfare II”

Published on April 4th, 2016 in: Current Faves, Matshifter, Pro Wrestling, Reviews, TV, TV Reviews, Underground/Cult |

By Sachin Hingoo

Matanza wins the title

I often say that each week in Lucha Underground is bigger than the last, and this week’s episode, featuring the second chaotic Aztec Warfare match, is no exception. On top of the match itself, we will see the Lucha Underground debut of one of the world’s most famous (if not the most famous) luchadors, Rey Mysterio Jr., as well as his protege Dragon Azteca Jr. As if that weren’t enough, the frightening Matanza is on his way back to the Temple with his brother Dario Cueto and Black Lotus in tow.

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TV Review: Lucha Underground S3 E08, “Life After Death”

Published on March 18th, 2016 in: Current Faves, Matshifter, Pro Wrestling, Reviews, TV, TV Reviews, Underground/Cult |

By Sachin Hingoo

fenix with the people

It’s a gigantic week in Lucha Underground, friends. After last week’s outstanding triple-threat match between champion Mil Muertes, Pentagón Jr., and Prince Puma, Fenix cashed in his Gift of the Gods title shot which is our main event for tonight. Let’s also hope that the inter-gender content will be handled better this week, because we have a Trios title match between the Disciples of Death and the team of Son of Havoc, Angelico, and Ivelisse that should be pretty good.

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TV Review: Lucha Underground S2 E07, “Death Comes In Threes”

Published on March 14th, 2016 in: Current Faves, Matshifter, Pro Wrestling, Reviews, TV, TV Reviews, Underground/Cult |

By Sachin Hingoo

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Despite watching this show every week, there are some things about the Lucha Underground product that I’ve glossed over a bit since I started writing these reviews. Lucha Underground features stories and matches that I think we can all agree give reality a pretty wide berth; all of their storylines have an outlandish quality to them. Their potentially problematic (to say the least) choice to feature intergender matches even in this unbelievable universe has earned them some flack, however. Lucha’s handling of matches and angles like this hasn’t been perfect, but it’s mostly been OK because the matches between women and men are presented in a fast-paced, more athletic style that’s not as violent as “hardcore” wrestling can be.

Tonight’s episode is different. We all have our lines, and seeing a woman–in this case, Taya Valkyrie–suplexed off the ring apron and through a table, and then again taking Cage’s Weapon X finisher onto broken glass (it is very clearly prop glass, made of sugar, but the visual is disturbing) steps way over that line for me.

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TV Review: Lucha Underground S3 E06, “The Gift Of The Gods”

Published on March 4th, 2016 in: Current Faves, Matshifter, Pro Wrestling, Reviews, TV, TV Reviews, Underground/Cult |

By Sachin Hingoo

lucha-ep-6-header-graphic

A very subtle theme in this season of Lucha Underground has been Catrina’s meddling with powers she doesn’t fully understand since wresting control of the Temple from Dario Cueto. Since assuming power, she’s done things like reneging on the stipulations of the Gift Of The Gods title to make Cuerno wrestle Fenix in a Ladder Match instead of giving him his title shot or trying to manipulate Pentagón Jr. (not a good idea at the best of times). She may be a magical teleporting queen of death, but you have to think that these things have consequences.

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