#except for that one ex member who i hope rots and dies but that goes without saying

[ikjun]

Hey! What do you think about B.A.P?

i was a big b.a.p fan from right when they debuted to ca. 2014 and can say i genuinely think they are one of the two defining groups of kpop's 3rd gen - because they made it. one shot is one of the most apparently 3rd gen kpop songs that has ever existed and for someone who grew up listening to lots of 90s and 00's hip-hop the song in itself is almost an entire pastiche of different influences from the time. b.a.p did a lot of that, and better than a lot of groups that came after them or rose up at the same time. i have gotten a lot of flack for it before, but it's obvious that b.a.p sort of got the faster ticket to the exact standing in idol culture that bang pd later achieved with bts. if the lawsuit and other things wouldn't have happened, b.a.p would have been as big as bts, or bigbang at the time, and would have made it alongside exo to that cult status as both groups were sort of vying for that at the time.

i think b.a.p really showcased the origin of 3rd gen sounds. their discography is deeply entrenched in sound from the 00s and early 2010s and you can tell. listening to their music makes me extremely nostalgic because of that. they also had "actual" rappers in their group with yongguk and zelo, who were as good as bts' rapline and who really were rappers in the sense of the word you only really get with artists like b.i in k-hip-hop these days. b.a.p was one of the groups that so overtly and heavily borrowed from black music, not only hip-hop, and really bridged that with more classically eastern sounds in a way many groups would follow as a defining soundscape of kpop. coma is one of the best kpop songs of the last decade to me. it's almost too perfect with the way it blends the top vocal line of the song with its hip-hop sound. no one ever had the magic touch quite like that and helped put a distinct kpop sound on the map before noisier edm music took over. all of that is to be taken with a grain of salt, though, as they have been a product of the time and due to their sound there was also just several instances of cultural appropriation that were very common at the time (as it was for most groups but it still needs to be mentioned.)

i only really have kept up with yongguk, zelo and jongup, but i am always delighted to still see them hang out and work with each other. seeing zelo on street fighter and jongup on peak time thrilled me because these two are just extremely talented and it would have forever been a shame for their artistry to go to waste. jeongup's solo was great! i don't think b.a.p will ever reunite in an official sense or release music again, for obvious and evident reasons, but the mark they left on kpop is undeniable and i am glad to see the members continue as solo artists while still letting the world know they're still close to each other.

[gryndboxstudios]

Annihilation (2018) Review

by Matthew Arce-Phillips

   Firstly, this review is going to be as non-spoiler as possible. I truly believe this movie should be experienced by everyone with absolutely no idea of what it’s about. I will be giving some plot points and some minor details, but nothing that will give the movie away on a grand scale. Secondly I’m going to try and give the review a more paragraphical style instead of one big blob of text. I’m hoping it’ll ease the pain of reading the long ass things.

   Annihilation is a fucking fantastic movie! I had no knowledge of this movie prior to watching it and I’m glad! I had no expectations, no ideas, no anything and it surprised the hell outta me! If you didn’t know Annihilation is directed by the same guy who directed Ex Machina. Both movies have their underlying tones. I don’t want to explain too much, but Ex Machina is about existential crisis, finding meaning in life, and creating something we don’t fully understand. Honestly, it felt like a modern day Frankenstein with technology. Annihilation has to deal with the way we corrupt ourselves, those around us, and the planet we live on. Both movies are totally different, yet play off of each other so well; Like two sides of the same coin. Creation and destruction.

   Here’s a quick synopsis to help move things along. We find our main character Lena, biologist and ex-military, in shock when her husband comes back from a 12 month long mission with no knowledge of his absence from home or where he was at. In order to find out how to help him, she decides to go into what’s called “The Shimmer” and find out what really happened to him. That’s all you need to know! It’s so hard for me not to go into detail about what transpires because it’s so damn good! Sci-fi is my favorite genre of movie to watch wether it be fantasy, thriller, horror, or even comedy. It’s all great! But this movie is a cross between suspense and a little bit of horror, not in the kind you think. It’s starts sort of slow, giving you only what you need to know, making you question everything that you see and hear. It gives you the impression that not even Lena can be trusted, and in the end it plays off immensely. Towards the middle you feel for her and the struggles that she goes through, but remember how this movie is about corruption? By the final scene you��re left in complete shock and awe, questioning the events that you just witnessed and what really even happened.    I was honestly mad when it ended because my mind was completely blown. Annihilation is originally based off a book by Jeff VanderMeer, who is known for writing weird and scary fiction. It’s a three part series known as The Southern Reach trilogy with Annihilation being the first part. I really hope the other two get made into a movie after this one’s success. I plan on purchasing the books to take a read for myself, of course they’re going to differ but taking in the author’s original ideas and thoughts will be way more exciting. Except for one thing... Practical effects. My favorite fucking thing in any movie is practical effects! The best example of this is the move The Thing (1982). Every single creature, monster, terrifying thing in that movie was created by someone and put in actual use. If you haven’t seen it, please stop what you’re doing, go watch it, then come back and finish reading this.    There are only two monsters in Annihilation, a albino molting crocodile and a decaying giant bear. The croc isn’t so scary and the only part that is real is when Lena and the crew kill it then inspect the monster up close. But the bear.. holy shit, that bear scene gave me fucking chills. At first we only get a glimpse of the creature when the Lena’s team camps out in a abandoned army camp after entering “The Shimmer” after a few days. With a blink of the eye the monster snags one of the crews members and is gone without anyone knowing what really happened. We don’t get the full effect of what it really looks like till later when the movie really has its build up. In short, one member of the team goes crazy as ties up the rest to chairs as she determines what’s real and what isn’t. While this all ensues, we hear screams for help that makes the one crazy member believe it’s the girl that died earlier come back looking for them. Boy is she wrong!!! Somehow, using genetics and not spoiling the movie, the bear literally fucking absorbs the girls, screams into itself and uses it as a lure! Like who the hell thought of that? When they see the bear creep up, the remaining crew tied as it tries to make them react to the noise up close and personal. The bear is shown molting and rotting away, half of its skull is completely showing; there’s even a piece of human skull embedded into the left side of it. This gave me chills, nightmares, and made me cringe as I sat on the edge of my couch waiting to see what was going to happen next. I’m not kidding you, after watching the movie I stayed up another hour trying to erase the image out of my head before falling asleep and seeing it in my nightmares. I wish I could describe it as well it looks, but my words do not do it any justice. If you haven’t decided to watched this movie yet, at least consider it after reading what I’ve explained about the Nightmare Bear.    In closing, Annihilation really brings out the best of imagination and story, telling with its beautiful creations along with a complexing suspense of reality. By the end you really begin to question what the hell happened, and what’s going to happen to the rest of the world. It does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, but it just works so well with everything we’ve learned about what exactly happens in “The Shimmer”. To be honest, I think something is still missing from what they’ve shown us. There’s a bigger picture waiting to be unraveled, more story to explain, and more creatures to be created. I really love and recommend this movie to everyone and anyone reading this! This is definitely a movie I will be rewatching to try and get all the little details I missed the first time. Believe me, I tried keeping up with everything as the movie got better and better. It was first recommended to me by my friend Nick, who had only gotten half way through the movie. I am now going to shove the movie down his throat until he finishes it that way we have something to talk about during lunch. I give Annihilation 10 Nightmare Bears out of 10.

Movies by Matt is the newest part of GBStudios’ team, looking to provide entertaining and informational reviews on all our favorite movies. You can follow @movies_matt and Gryndbox Studios on Twitter!