The Toad's Burrow

      Do I have some secret love for Abbott Elementary  that makes it one of my favourite shows of all time? No, yet every time a new season of the show hits Disney+ in Canada I can't help but mow through it in less than a day. Yet despite that, I always come out wanting more, both in the sense of the number of episodes, and just the general format. I think my main gripe with this season was that it sticks too closely to it's format, and it just feels like the reshuffling of the deck, with the only major change being at the very end. Look, we as fans have been waiting too long for Janine and Gregory to get together, and for them to finally address it at the end of the season, with little else to show for is disappointing. What makes it worse is that I actually enjoyed what Janine did this season. I'm not saying the show's gone stale beyond repair, but I'd be lying if I said I do appreciate the shakeup that they introduced. And honestly, having Janine at the school b...

     Look, I would never complain about getting a new season of The Bear . I really do think it's one of the best shows out there right now, and whether it be the cinematography or the soundtrack (which is one of the best I've ever heard), I am always ready for more. However, I'd be lying if I said this latest season of the show left me a little disappointed. It's not that the episodes they did do were bad perse, it's just that when there's such limited time given out every season, I wonder if this was really the best allocation of the episodes? What I'm saying is, is this a transition season? Is this all set-up for a fourth season that will absolutely blow everyone out of the water? I think my main frustration with this season is that, hardly anything is accomplished. I mean sure, you get to see the fleshing out of some of your favourite characters, but it feels like you basically leave this season with the same questions you had before, and you're just...

      I had the chance to get into Bring Me the Horizon when I was younger, but I decided to veer away from that sort of genre of band, and looking at just about everything with this album, I still feel as if I made the right choice. From the 2010's-era "quirky" capitalization, to the album cover, to the general track names, I am not looking forward to reviewing this album. I mean I did eventually get into metalcore bands, I listen to Pierce the Veil now, but as someone who's gone through all of their work, none of their cover art has ever made me feel embarrassed to be listening to music in public, like this album cover does. Nonetheless, I will still try to give this album the fair shake it deserves, because at the very least sonically, for all intents and purposes I should actually like it. So without further ado, my track-by-track review. POST HUMAN: NeX GEn - Bring Me The Horizon [ost] dreamseeker - N/A YOUtopia - 85/100 I have no idea what a youtopia is but why ...

      Look for some artists I like to write these long, intro paragraphs where I talk about my expectations for the album, any sort of history I had for them, and things like that. However, my rap opinions are frankly not that interesting because I'm quite picky with which artists in the genre I like, if any, and so I will not pretend to say I have ever heard a Vince Staples song, nor have I heard amazing things about him. So without further ado, a track-by-track review of Dark Times  by Vince Staples. Dark Times - Vince Staples Close Your Eyes and Swing - N/A Black&Blue - 55/100 I really need to stop rating rap songs on choruses, but to be honest when it comes to music I place a lot of emphasis on whether or not I think a song is catchy. Like I can hear and understand the lyrics, but it's just like, the music isn't that interesting to me? It's fine and it doesn't offend me, but it doesn't lure me in? Government Cheese - 45/100 What I can appreciate about th...

      Look, I'm not here to say that Bridgerton has fallen off some once great pedestal that it stood upon. After all, this show has, and will always be more of a filler show to me, something to simply put on before I go to sleep, and nothing more, and nothing less. I can however, notice when the quality of my filler/slop show is reduced, and somehow that is what has happened with Bridgerton.  Do they need to go back to the basics? I don't think they have to, but if this show maintained the formula it had always had I wouldn't completely be against it. What I do know though is that the showrunners grew too bold, too ambitious, and despite every episode clocking in at practically over an hour it still felt like it wasn't enough. Much better shows have suffered from stretching itself too thin syndrome, but never in my life did I think somehow Bridgerton was going to be one of them, and that is my main issue with this latest season of my favourite royalty show.   ...

     I am unabashedly a proud Charli XCX fan. When her album how i'm feeling now  was released back in 2020 during the pandemic I was intrigued. After all, I had only known her for songs like Boom Clap  and I Love It , I was hardly as well versed into music as I am now and I had never known anything like hyperpop. Fast-forward four years later and I'd be lying to say that she isn't one of my favourite pop artists of the past 5 years. I mean my perception of her has definitely soured, I feel like the way she talked to/treated fans during the CRASH  era was less than ideal, and I definitely did not like the way she handled her whole situation with Rina Sawayama, but most fans don't seem to care. I suppose if she's an asshole it mostly just confirms what she sings about, being this ultra-confident party girl. And so, I'll admit it, I had my reservations coming into this album, I had already been pretty disappointed by this years releases so far, and considerin...

    I specifically remember where I was when this album was released. At the time I had never heard of Eilish, but Bad Guy  had blown up so much that it was impossible not to escape Billie or this album. I'm still not too crazy about that song to be honest, but what really got me to listen to this album when it first came out was the track, wish you were gay , which is still fantastic in my opinion.  So when my friend CJ decided to loudly (and incorrectly) claim this album was one of the best pop albums of the 2010's I had to laugh. I mean I could understand where he was coming from, and I certainly thought this album was good. But to be one of the best was a tall task, one that I was unsure I felt had much merit. Despite that, I did enjoy the album at the time, so it's only fair I give it a proper shake once more to see just exactly how Billie Eilish's debut album stacks up all these years later. And so without further ado, my track-by-track review. WHEN WE ALL FALL...

     Am I back to reviewing music? I'm afraid so, though I'm glad that at the very least we're starting with a genre that I actually somewhat care about. I have never heard of Static Dress before so I'm not going to pretend to act like I have much to say in this intro other than the track titles look kind of cringe, and so does the band but frankly most bands in this genre suffer from the same problem so I'll pass over it. And without further ado, my friend CJ has recommended that I listen to the album Rouge Carpet Disaster by Static Dress. Rouge Carpet Disaster fleahouse - 80/100 Hmmm, is it bad I kind of like this intro track? It's pretty solid and I'd put it in a playlist but it certainly doesn't wow me like some tracks from Crisis  by Alexisonfire or Collide With The Sky  by Pierce the Veil. Are cigarettes in movie scenes really so passe now?  sweet. - 78/100 Another solid follow-up, but I do think that this track is weaker than the first one. I thin...

      When you first hear about The Forgotten City, I don't blame you for being skeptical. Honestly, if it wasn't for the fact that I've heard about the mod for quite some time during my ventures into the Skyrim modding scene I would have never touched it. I mean they call it "an award winning mod turned game", and while a lot of good games started off as mods, this one doesn't exactly look the part to sell you on it. At a first glance I understand why one would be turned off by it, it basically looks like one of those shitty unity asset porn games, and for a game that lasts about eight hours I wouldn't really say it's worth it unless on sale. Nonetheless, I will strive to judge the game on what it is not, but rather what it does, and if you catch it for cheap this game is a small, pleasant bundle of story to sink your teeth into for a day.     Now, the real joy of this game is the story, which is honestly better written than you'd think. I underst...

      Look, my displeasure with the Batman: Arkham  series is well documented, I thought Arkham Asylum  was fine, Arkham City  was better, if not bogged down by an offensive amount of riddler trophies, Arkham Origins Blackgate should have never existed, and that Arkham Origins  was pleasantly fun. When it comes to Batman: Arkham Knight  though, it just feels like my prayers have been answered, it feels like the vision you could see in the original games had finally been actualized, and frankly it felt amazing. Now I understand that this is all with the benefit of hindsight, I remember 9 years ago when I was a child and there was so much controversy surrounding this game and the performance issues that plagued its PC release, but it's safe to say that those are all gone. If you pick up Batman : Arkham Knight  on PC right now, I would argue you're picking up what is easily the best superhero game I've ever played, that easily holds up with any ...