Music Review: The Twinkeyz, Alpha Jerk

Published on June 15th, 2016 in: Music, Music Reviews, Punk, Reissues, Retrovirus, Reviews |

By Hanna

The Twinkeyz are the kind of band that record collectors delight in, artistic and obscure enough to have little material, but not so obscure that there is no material available. And more than that, they have a definite and interesting style of music. The Twinkeyz are recommended in particular for fans of protopunk and the Velvet Underground, or even of neo-psychedelica. The Twinkeyz can be seen as part of the development of glam rock into punk, when the parts of punk had emerged, but not yet coalesced into a set of rules or expectations. By the time Alpha Jerk was released, punk had moved on into new genres, but The Twinkeyz were still being different.

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TV Review: Outlander S2 E01, “Through A Glass Darkly”

Published on June 14th, 2016 in: Books, Current Faves, Reviews, TV, TV Reviews |

By Laury Scarbro

After the way season one ended, delving into season two of Outlander could be a little disorienting for some. It follows much as the book did, but such is the way of a story involving time travel. Stick with it; you won’t be disappointed.

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Movie Review: Warcraft

Published on June 13th, 2016 in: Action Movies, Current Faves, Gaming, Movie Reviews, Movies, Reviews |

By Laury Scarbro

After years of waiting, between only fans wishing for it to multiple setbacks, the Warcraft movie finally crashed onto movie screens this weekend. Thus far, it has earned a lowly 29% on Rotten Tomatoes, and many reviews of the movie have not been good. I’ve never been one to take a reviewer’s word for it when it comes to movies, otherwise I would never have bothered with Pacific Rim, Starship Troopers, and many others that have found their way onto my DVD shelf. I ventured out today thanks to the kindness of a friend who also wanted to see it.

I was NOT disappointed in the least. So many times, video game movie adaptations come off hokey and things are just so completely wrong that those involved with it are almost cursed after the movie’s release (I’m looking at you, Prince of Persia).

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Netflix Review: That Gal Who Was In That Thing: That Guy 2

Published on June 13th, 2016 in: Current Faves, Documentaries, Feminism, Movie Reviews, Movies, Netflix Reviews, Reviews |

By Christine Makepeace

That Gal . . . Who Was in That Thing is the companion to 2012’s male-skewed doc of a similar name. While both films focus on what it’s like to be a character actor (a.k.a. someone not typically cast in leading roles), That Guy… played chicken with being overlong and repetitive. Gal gives us the opposite, trading personal tales of woe and triumphs for larger and more unsettling subjects.

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Outlander Season 1 Primer: a.k.a. Why You Should Be Watching

Published on June 10th, 2016 in: Current Faves, Feminism, Reviews, Teh Sex, TV, TV Reviews |

By Laury Scarbro

Let me begin by saying I came upon the Outlander series during a Starz “free” weekend, which resulted in a miniature binge session of the first half of the season. I couldn’t wait for the second half to air, so I got the entire series in e-book format just because I couldn’t wait to know what happened to Claire and Jamie next. I’m now four books into the series, and I’ve not yet been disappointed in either the tv show or the books.

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Music Review: Charlie Faye & The Fayettes

Published on June 10th, 2016 in: Current Faves, Feminism, Music, Music Reviews, Reviews |

By Melissa Bratcher

You may be hard pressed this year (or any year) to find an album that is more fun and delightful than Charlie Faye & the Fayettes’ self-titled album. It’s a tribute to the best groups of all: Girl Groups. It’s a love letter to the Shangri-Las, the Shirelles, the Ronettes, and those ladies on the Red Bird label, with sugar crush harmonies from leader Charlie Faye and her Fayettes, BettySoo and Akina Adderly. It’s packed to the edges with ear catchy melodies and joyous vocals, even when the lyrics get less-than-light.

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Movie Review: X-Men: Apocalypse

Published on June 10th, 2016 in: Action Movies, Comics, Movie Reviews, Movies, Reviews |

By Tim Murr

My first X-Men comic was The Uncanny X-Men #234, from September 1988. From then on I was hooked, collecting every new issue for the next eight years along with as many back issues as I could afford. The Uncanny X-Men was one of the best mainstream comics out there and this was the era when Ann Nocenti and John Romita, Jr. were doing Daredevil and Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle were doing Detective Comics, so that’s really saying something. I stuck with the X-Men until their books narratively crashed and burned and didn’t come back until Grant Morrison made it all better.

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Movie Review: Dark

Published on June 9th, 2016 in: Horror, Movie Reviews, Movies, Reviews, Upcoming Movies |

By Sachin Hingoo

I thought I caused the 2003 blackout.

It was the end of a day at work, and just as I hit “save” on the document I was working on so I could leave for the day, everything went dark.

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Comic Review: B.E.K. Black Eyed Kids #1

Published on June 9th, 2016 in: Comic Reviews, Comics, Current Faves, Horror, Reviews |

By Tim Murr

What’s creepier than creepy kids? Children Of The Damned, Children Of The Corn, The Brood, Pet Semetary—these are unsettling movies, because the epitome of innocence becomes the epitome of terror. Those cute little creatures that say silly things, making funny observations about a world that’s all new…to have them murderously turn against you is still one of the most fertile concepts in horror. It is not only the idea of killer kids, but also the idea of fighting them, or God forbid, killing them. It’s such dark and taboo territory.

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