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After spending over $25 for one ticket of a non-3D IMAX film in the city, I feel a certain way about Cinema Con and theater owner troubles but I’ll abstain from specifics for now if I ever want a job in the industry.

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In 2016, I watched over 70 movies and over 60 seasons of television. 

I aim to break the three digits for movies, watch less TV in general and more good TV, and listen to more music. Oh yeah, and see Hamilton again. :)

Adios, 2016. 2017, get ready.

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Is there anything better than Schubert while on a writing spree?

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Cut for time: The Powerpuff Girls, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Sailor Moon, Card Captors, Animaniacs, Histeria, and Bob's Burgers.

And that's not even including the broody/angsty cartoons: Batman: The Animated Series (okay the whole DCAU), Big O, Cowboy Beboy, Fullmetal Alchemist, Young Justice, InuYasha, Legend of Korra, and on and on and on

Because I need this right now

There’s a multitude of ways in which pop culture can be enjoyed for a number of reasons. Entertainment. Critical Analysis. Procrastination. And sometimes as an emotional salve during angsty, no good times. Onward with cartoons! The Cutest and Most Colorful Cartoons! 

Hamtaro

Is there anything cuter than chibi hamsters throwing each other birthday parties? No? I didn’t think so.

Steven Universe

This. Show. Beautifully drawn and brimming with heart and infectious songs, Steven Universe is like a salve to the soul. Millennials like me complain all the time about the glory days of ‘90s cartoons (see:OG Pokemon) but the new school has some important pop culture to offer. 

OG Pokemon

Like many out there, I lost track of Pokemon after they expanded the list of known Pokemon past 150. (OK, I really stuck around until the Wobbuffett episodes, but I was seriously confused by then.) Nevertheless, the first seasons of the series (The Pokemon empire is 20 years old! GAH!), have deeply imprinted themselves on my brain. Jigglypuff, keep rockin’ on. 

Jem and the Holograms 

This intro is everything. Jem and the Holograms (we’re going to pretend that recent live action movie thing isn’t a thing) is basically all about a superstar/superhero band with the best computer ever balancing running an orphanage with dominating the rock-pop scene of ‘80s. So yeah, it’s pretty fun. Watch out for those Misfits, though! They may be despicable but let’s be real, their songs are better. 

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

One can accuse me of being a casual My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fan, and they wouldn’t be wrong. Still, you don’t have to be a full-time brony to enjoy the endearing charm of this cartoon. Plus, as I know from recent experience, friendship really is magic. 

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These are a few of my favorite things: IP Law and Comic Books

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You are Important.

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My love for charming albeit flawed sci-fi and fantasy knows no bounds.

15 Underrated Sci-Fi/Fantasy Movies to Watch When Procrastinating the Real World

When I avoid working on a big project or just can’t find the words to crack into the next work, I turn to the soothing dulcet vibes of sci-fi and fantasy pop culture. World-building, complex characters, and yes, magic and monsters, never cease to inspire me.

Chronicles of Riddick

The production design alone makes it a worthy rental. Following the sparse, taut sci-fi thriller Pitch Black, Chronicles of Riddick delves into almost overwhelmingly complex mythology without explanation or apology. The sheer brazenness of Chronicles of Riddick wins me over every time.

Cloverfield

10 Cloverfield Lane received much deserved praise this past year as the 2016-edition of a Hitchcock film, but I’m still partial to the first in the so-called anthology series. Cloverfield is found footage done right, something filmmaker still struggle with over 8 years later.

Constantine

While awaiting John Wick 2 and Doctor Strange, I can get my Keanu and Tilda fixes with this supernatural comic book adaptation.

Equilibrium

An oh-so-giffable pre-Batman Begins Christian Bale dystopian action movie, Equilibrium is like The Giver if it focused on gun-toting enforcers instead of children and the Giver was played by Sean Bean instead of an old man. 

Europa Report

Found footage really does get a bad rap because when it’s done well as in the space voyage found footage feature Europa Report, it can be evocative and thrilling without cheapening the plot.

The Fall

Tarsem Singh’s The Cell is a little too intense for me and his Immortals is just a smidge too ridiculous. The Fall starring Lee Pace and a multicultural, uber-talented cast and the most colorful shots I’ve seen in a live action movie feels juuuuust right.

Hellboy

While we not be getting a live action third film in this ostensible trilogy (I still have animation hopes!), the first Guillermo Del Toro-directed comic book adaptation features a nonsense Nazi-butt-kicking demon with lady troubles.

The Host

On its surface, The Host looks like the Korean Cloverfield (especially since they premiered around the same time), but in many ways The Host is more of a traditional family film than its found footage American cousin. But with monsters, of course.

Howl’s Moving Castle

It still boggles my mind how many people have yet to see any Hayao Miyazaki movies. Do yourself a favor and start with Howl’s Moving Castle, which vibrant, exuberant, emotional, and more complex than it seems upon first viewing.

Mission to Mars

Don’t you love a solid movie with no real villain besides the forces of nature? This time, it’s not Earth but Mars! 

Peter Pan

This warm-hearted adaptation still makes me tear up in the end. It also makes me forget the 2015 Pan movie ever happened.

Reign of Fire

Kooky American general Matthew Mcconaughey + Guilt-ridden dystopian resistance leader Christian Bale + Resistance deputy leader and Star Wars geek Gerard Butler + Dragons = All-around good time.

Summer Wars

A movie about the Internet that for all the kooky avatars captures what it feels like to be a part of an Internet community. (Hi Tumblr!)

Sunshine

This suspenseful, star-studded space saga can be summed up in five words: Shoulda listened to Chris Evans.

Underworld Awakening

Let’s take the best parts of Underworld (Lucian, Viktor, vampire armor, Lycan battles) and make it a feature length movie. Sure, why not!

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My years-long curated GIF library (or at least most of it) is now up on Giphy.

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The closest thing to a Cursed Child review that I’m going to get to for awhile.

The ‘Cursed Child’ Script Book: The Good, the Bad & the Weird

After devouring the book in less than 24 hours after purchasing it, I’ve spent a lot of time ruminating on my own and discussing with friends about the latest story featuring Harry Potter in JK Rowling’s Wizarding World universe. 

Take one peek into the #HarryPotterAndTheCursedChild tag, and you’ll see just how strong fan responses have been so far. Trust me, my initial reactions were a similar mix of “ZOMG!”, “Huh?”, “WTF?”, and “ASDFGHJKL!!” But upon measured reflection, I’ve synthesized my critique so that my thoughts are actually coherent instead of the scribbled annotations of a flailing fangirl scattered throughout my copy of the book. (Shots of which may or may not be included below). 

The Good

The Next Generation, specifically Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy, take center stage in this story filled with a lot of nostalgia and remixes of the original series. More than any other aspect of the…er, complex…plot of Cursed Child, it’s the friendship between Albus and Scorpius that shrines through even the darkest of timelines. Albus is pretty much Harry circa Order of the Phoenix with even less of an emotional support system. Scorpius is fresh, a pureblood Slytherin with Death Eater family roots and a heart of gold. He is a beautiful cinnamon roll, too pure for the Wizarding World. These two misfits are two complex, dynamic Slytherin characters, something I’ve been hoping to see since the end of Deathly Hallows. Albus is the yin to Scorpius’ yang, and they discover true friendship (and lots of trouble) when they join forces. For all the Bad and Weird included in the Cursed Child, I’m so grateful we got to experience these new characters, and I hope we get to see what shenanigans they get up to next. 

Hermione, Ginny, and McGonagall rock the house as the OG Women of the stories and prove themselves to be just the capable, brilliant witches they were 20+ years ago. Hermione becomes Minister of Magic because OF COURSE SHE DOES. Ginny low key saves the day, figuring out the villain’s plot before anyone else does. Headmistress McGonagall is the headmistress Hogwarts needs and deserves right now, and for all time, in my opinion. As an uber Hermione fan, I feel so happy and downright emotional experiencing a Hermione who, in the face of danger to the Wizarding World, is so content and confident in who she is and what she can do. That brilliant, spazzy girl has grown into a confident, warm, still highly intelligent leader.

The Bad

Will the real Harry Potter please stand up? Adult Harry Potter is shockingly unfamiliar in this ostensible Harry Potter tale. I understand him having a tough relationship with one of his kids, but the way he acts and what he says seems way off-base for who Harry Potter is as a character. Tracking Albus, Big Brother style with the Marauder’s Map? What? Telling Albus he sometimes wishes Albus wasn’t his son? Parents, even ones with relatively good relationships with their children, can say hurtful things to their children but that doesn’t seem believable. What would’ve had more of an impact is something that would feel more personal and specific than a bland albeit terrible thing to say. Plus, I’m shocked Harry wouldn’t have a close relationship with his kids especially since he didn’t have his parents in his life. A brooding, conflicted, and stressed Harry is a Harry I recognize. A distant, miserable, sad sack Harry is a Harry I don’t care to know.

Whoever first decided to lean into the Timey-Wimey Stuff that is one of the few shaky elements of the Harry Potter series is one bold bro. (And yes, it feels like it that was decision was most definitely made by a bro.) “Taint” is a strong word, but the time travel misadventures at the heart of Cursed Child will color my experience in re-reading Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, and Half-Blood Prince. My brain hurts just thinking about the levels of revisions and fixes that occurred during key moments of the original series. JK Rowling obviously didn’t intend that to ever be included in those stories, although I would respect the deicsion if there were a few hints at possible time travelling offspring popping up in those books. Now that would be one epic misdirect.

The Weird

Where to start with the Augery? I have grown to accept the idea that Voldemort and Bellatrix spawned a child, though I’m still perplexed about the mechanics of it all. (Apparently when you grow a new body via the Dark Arts, you may not get a nose but you will have the capacity to conceive a child.) What I don’t quite understand yet is where Rodolphus pulled the prophecy from and why this bizarre plot was hatched. The play leaves a lot to be desired in terms of characterizing Delphi. I don’t really understand her, let alone understand why she has wings. Is she inherently evil? Will she be redeemed in the future? Was she redeemed here? What was her childhood with Rodolphus like? Or will she rot in Azkaban for the foreseeable future, and we’ll (try to) forget all about her? Only JKR and key Warner Bros. executive know. 

Non-Wizarding World Side Note: I’ve probably mentioned this before but The Good, the Bad, the Weird is on Netflix right now and it’s great. 

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In honor of Key & Peele’s much-deserved Emmy win, I present my personal favorite sketch of their show. This pretty much encapsulates undergrad film major experience.

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The ladies behind this production are on 🔥

Still made a video for you guys this week despite being half delirious. Let’s hope I’m better by the time James comes!

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The End Is Nigh And It’s All Harry Potter’s Fault

Or so certain columnists, critics, and pundits would have you believe. Apparently, “millennial” obsession with “genre” film, TV, literature, and pop culture has stunted the generation such that they, we, are infantile, half-developed adults that will retreat into our fictional worlds thereby letting the real world crumble and decay until the human race is no more. 

“Genre” fiction has been around since humans started to tell each other stories. (It also irks me that the common critical and academic parlance for fantasy/science fiction/horror/magical realism is “genre.”) Modern “genre” fiction is an explosion of imagination and creativity.

I love “genre” not just because I can immerse myself in worlds of wonder and hope. It is because of the dragons, ghosts, space pirates, and laser swords, that necessitates relatable underlying characters, plot, and themes. I am not a Muggle-born witch who was invited to study at the greatest wizarding school in the UK. But I was an awkward, know-it-all kid who wanted to make friends without sacrificing my ambition to learn and excel at school. Hermione Granger and the myriad of other characters in “genre” resonate with me because at their core, they are representations of aspects of myself and people that I know and love.

I have not battled self-aware, humanoid robots as they occupy my home, the last refuge of what remains of all of humanity. But I did grow up in an era in which the United States occupied that foreign lands with disastrous results. Great “genre” like the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica reflects, ruminates, and critiques the real world in ways that challenge preconceived notions and assumptions, thereby resulting in tangible changes in how we interact with the real world.

Don’t even get me started on the number of technological advancements we wouldn’t have made in such a short period time without Star Wars and Star Trek, to name just two influential “genre” properties. 

To my fellow fans, don’t let anyone stop you from letting your geek flag fly high.

To all those who feel that those pesky whipper-snappers with their comic cons and Tumblrs are ruining the world, I leave you with this: 

“Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.” 

— JK Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, as spoken by Albus Dumbledore

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PREACH.

I’ve had just about enough of people telling me my interests don’t matter or are too “juvenile.”

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Of Course I’ve Finished ‘Cursed Child’ Already

But I’ll wait to discuss it in depth for a bit.

Just know going in, these two? They’re everything.

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I expected to hate 'The Cursed Child'

Don't get me wrong, much of the story is highly problematic, bizarro in an unreal-surface-deep-fan-fiction kind of way, and poorly written. But. The characters, for the most part, leap off the page such that it felt like I was watching the story as I read the page. I could envision it all so clearly, as a play yes but more importantly as if it were all happening before my eyes. And that's a sensation I've only felt when reading Harry Potter tales. So much more to share, but I needed to get this bit off my chest. I love Harry Potter so much that for as much as I style myself as an educated critic of pop culture and the arts, I knew I couldn't totally hate a story featuring characters that are as much a part of who I am as my real family and friends.

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This is not a drill. My friends are amazing.

Hi guys, I started a YouTube channel. Figured it was time to try something different with my life. 

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Cersei’s wardrobe in the season six finale of Game of Thrones is a masterpiece. Not only does it serve as her armor in the battle against practically all of King’s Landing, it is also a reflection of her father’s wardrobe when as Hand of the King to his grandsons Joffrey and Tommen, he was the most powerful man in Westeros.

Cersei is ostensibly the most powerful person in Westeros, now that she has been declared Queen of the Seven Kingdoms and sits upon the Iron Throne. 

But Cersei’s black leather masterpiece is more than a reflection of her father and the garb of a warrior queen. It’s a black mourning dress for the death of her son, which she not-so-indirectly influenced. It’s a symbol of her transcendence of her house and colors, signifying that she is free from her Lannister roots and Baratheon marriage ties, now that she has truly come into her own. It’s a hint at the dark, wicked nature of a person who, after killing hundreds maybe thousands of people, insists on being crowned Queen that very night. It’s a bad ass super-villain costume that I hope and pray I get to see up close one day at a museum or exhibition.

Queen Cersei has risen to the pantheon of the best of the best of TV characters and super-villains just as she has risen to the Iron Throne and fallen prey to Maggy the Frog’s prophecy.

She did always consider herself to be Tywin’s true heir.