The Toad's Burrow

      When you first hear about the premise for Challengers , you think oh, that's interesting, a film about these two tennis players fighting over the same girl, I wonder where they go with that. The answer is they don't. That's literally the entire movie, all 2 hours and 11 minutes is them fighting over Zendaya through a series of both flashbacks and current day scenes. I can safely say that my friends all absolutely hate this movie and thought it was rubbish, and only watched it for Zendaya. Which I suppose is part of the issue with this movie. If I'm going to be honest with this movie really does feel like it was written with Zendaya in mind for Tashi Duncan, and I think it sort of fails to ever get past that fact.     Let me explain, Tashi Duncan is a compelling enough character. A former tennis star forced to live out their greatest passion vicariously because of a vicious injury suffered at the lower levels. The film basically tells you that she's really ...

     Oh my God where do I even start with this TV show. The concept of Beef is simple, and if you've grown up in a traditional immigrant household, or have strict parents, you will absolutely understand instantly what this show is about. Pride, it always somehow comes back to pride, because pride cometh before the fall, and I can confidently say this show is about pride. Yes, Beef  is also about rage, and how these two people have so much of it, but ultimately it is pride that what fuels them, both of them are too stubborn and too proud to let their rage go, and ultimately it drives them to the edge. I mean I see it in so many people around me, myself included. My parents grew up prideful and stubborn people, and I can see it line the roots of my family tree, as practically everyone I know has a dash of it. I suppose you could say Beef, as absurd as it can seem at times, is a bit of a cautionary tale of what happens if you let things go too far.     My firs...

      I am writing this article asking myself one very important question: does all the opulence of this film take away from the message about the genuine isolation Asians can feel, even from their own people? Truthfully, I'm not sure, and frankly I don't really know how to write this review for the this film because the truth is I only wanted to rewatch it because for some reason right now I'm obsessed with Harry Shum Jr. and it's a lot more glam than I remember. Even still though I'd say that this film was enjoyable, though I'm afraid to ask how much it cost to make, because the sequel to this movie has been stuck in limbo for about six years and I don't know if it'll ever come out of there anytime soon. It's just, one of those films that you put on and sort of turn your brain off for, it really isn't that deep, there isn't too much substance, but it's ultimately fun, and so don't go in expecting too much about it.     I mean I'...

     End of Evangelion is being rescreened in Canada and my friend and I took that opportunity to finally see the legendary anime's true ending in person. Or well, one of the many endings, because frankly anytime they release Evangelion in a new format it seems they can't resist also changing the ending. To be honest, I came into this movie expecting very little. In fact, I can't say Evangelion  is very easy to explain, there's a bunch of religious lore, many things are never explained, and as someone who just finished watching the movie, I can safely say don't expect everything to be explained. I have to say though, when I was watching this movie for the first time, I must have been on my phone, because this time I actually understand this movie.      Look, I'm not here to justify a 15 minute interlude where they just film the Japanese public, or the opening scene of Shinji masturbating to a naked Asuka in front of him, but honestly this movie is easi...

      I can't believe I am writing this review to say that honestly Glee has become one of those TV shows that I almost enjoyed watching too much. I mean it makes no sense, it has these bizarre offensive lines, it attempts to cover practically any song under the sun, and it focuses mainly on high school. That is not to say it is without fault, I have gone ad nauseum about how disgusting I felt half of season four, and almost all of season five of Glee  had become, but honestly, season six is a bit of a return to form. I mean don't get me wrong, if Cory Monteith never died, him taking over the New Directions with all the new members they introduced still would have been better, but I would be lying if a small part of me didn't smile while the cast came onto the stage to sing I Lived by OneRepublic.      While this season is only 13 episodes, and hardly focuses on the new kids as much as it should, I do have to admit, it was good to see them finally admi...

       When I think of Batman: Arkham City , I think of people calling it the greatest superhero video game of all time, or at the very least it's up there. When I play it though, I tend to ask myself the same questions I had when I was playing Arkham Asylum: that's it? That's not to say it was bad, this game was far from that, but in my mind, it's basically a bigger Arkham Asylum, with more riddler trophies to get, and that's basically it. I mean playing as Catwoman was a fun change of pace, but the truth is the game just felt kind of underwhelming for the cult status it had attained.     I think part of the reason is that it's an open-world game, but in practice it's far from that. The story is very linear, and frankly quite short. Don't even get me started on how it finishes. Once again the final fight just leaves you wanting more, and feeling as if the other boss fights were actually better. For those who don't know, the final fight is Clayface, ...

      I don't think I've ever seen a season of a show that is as directionless and as nauseating as this current season of Glee. First of all, I'm currently watching the last episode, and I have to say they really should have never made a 4th season, let alone a 5th one, and that once Corey Monteith died, they should have left it as it was, even if season four had ended off the way it did. I just can't think of one conceivable thing they got right this season. I can't even say I enjoyed it 50% of the time, because the truth is the only episodes I really enjoyed were 100,  when they re-did old songs, and Quarterback  because I really did miss Finn Hudson, and I never realized how much he kept the show together for me.     Where do I even start? First of all, this season is for some reason divided into two halves, one where they finish off the final years of Tina, Artie, Sam and Blaine, and another half where they're solely in New York. And well, my disd...

      I am currently writing this review while watching Glee , to let you understand the state of mind I am currently in. One might consider it a good thing, after all it means I'm in the mood to watch people sing, but also you could say I've been oversaturated with music. Look, I'm sure this musical is better on the stage, but I just have to admit, I don't think it's for me. I mean of course I feel a bit bad saying this, I think the fact that it was written about AIDS, during the AIDS crisis is admirable, but as far as musicals go it's a bit all over the place. I mean don't go into this expecting hit songs, the only song I came out really loving or remembering was Seasons of Love . And the only reason I wanted to even watch  Rent  was because of the cover of Seasons of Love  that was in Glee , which I thought was a very touching tribute.     Look, I could say Rent is about the AIDS crisis, but it's also so much more than that? I think if I had to...

      Where do I even start with this season of Glee ?   First of all, I'd like to state that it doesn't know what to be. Glee season 4 suffers significantly from stretching itself out too thin syndrome, and as such the show constantly switches back and forth between New York City and Lima, Ohio. While this might make sense so that viewers can still follow the lives of some of their most beloved characters, the New York City plot is absolutely and utterly boring, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. Kurt becomes an intern at Vogue just for that plotline to basically be dropped as soon as he joins NYADA, no one likes Rachel anymore and frankly I hated Brody, also she was beefing with her dance instructor the entire time it was so bizarre.      Like, I understand being afraid to show off new characters too much, you spend three seasons showcasing all of these characters in dynamics that you grow to love, it can be scary to show off all these new c...