Juice's Thoughts: 2015 is going to be a great year for movies

 By: Taylor Gase

2015! Why am I excited about 2015? Well I’m a movie fan and there are some great movies coming out! What makes me call these movies great before even seeing them? Because people have been waiting for movies like theses for a very long time and even if they suck people would say “It was great to see another one of these films, too bad it sucked.”

There are a lot of movies coming out that will continue many “Movie Franchises.” To me a Movie Franchises is a series of films taking place in the same universe. Now I’m very excited about all theses franchises coming back such as Star Wars, Jurassic Park, and Terminator. The reason is because…have you seen the Marvel and DC movie list for the past 5 years. Now I love superhero movies, but like 20 films within 5 years, it feels like they’re taking over. It’ll be nice to have a list of movies I want to see that are not just superhero types.

I’m going to talk about Jurassic World right now, and I’ll talk about the others later. Jurassic Park came out in 1993, it was based off the book and it was directed by Steven Spielberg. This movie was a hit. I feel like everyone goes through a dinosaurs love phase (I work at a day care and all the kids from all ages love dinosaurs.) So seeing dinosaurs going on a rampage with great effects that still hold up to today made people wanting more! When The Lost World: Jurassic Park movie came out the franchises was born. The movie was once again directed by Steven Spielberg but that didn’t make it as successful as the first. Fans didn’t like this one as much as the first; some say it’s the worst. The ones that don’t call the 2^nd one the worst, they give that title to Jurassic Park 3. Now I’ll do a review on all three prior to the new film’s release.

Now here’s my question. If the fans were disappointed by the last two films, why would they be asking for another for all these years! That’s the power of a franchise; people want to see more even if they won’t like it. And what I like to remind people is that the film makers don’t want to make a bad movie that fans will hate. People think they only make sequels to make money. Besides some independent films, EVERY MOVIE IS MADE TO MAKE MONEY!

The trailer for Jurassic World is out and I loved it! They showed the park is now open and from the looks and sound of it, it’s been opening for a long time. I would love this movie to show a family that goes to the park, have a good time, and come back home safe. But that won’t be much of a movie. Unless that family was the Griswolds and Clark gets in all theses funny shenanigans. Now that I think about it I would love to see that made into a film! Have the Griswolds in the same universe as Jurassic Park (watch out Avengers, there’s another shard universes movie about to be made!)

In the trailer the science have already played god by coping his act of making dinosaurs, but they want to one up god by mixing dinosaurs DNA and make a new one. My favorite actor Chirs Pratt says the smartest thing “That’s not a good idea.” So there’s the plot of this film and it’s a lot better than some of the rumors I’ve heard over the many, many years of waiting for this film. I like it, it’s different, and the closing shot made it look like Chirs Pratt is using some of the deadly dinosaurs out to hunt this Abomination. I’m very excited, I’ve always been a JP fan so this movie makes my 2015 must see list!

Rhymes: Lil Herb - "Fight or Flight (Remix)" (feat. Common & Chance the Rapper) (Music Video)

A few weeks back three of Chicago's best emcees got together for a remix off on Lil Herb's under the radar mixtape, Welcome to Fazoland mixtape. Now we have a video from the three that highlights both the good and bad parts of the southside of Chicago. It's really nice to see Common not only co-sign the 18 year-old Lil Herb, but also come back home to do a video shoot. This song and video also shows the wide range of talent and styles from Chicago.

While Common and Chano may have the bigger names, Herb holds down his track with his aggressive delivery, rapid flow, and lines like: "I used to think that I could go back what I used to do
Now I cry less and less at all my homie's funerals." With his excellent tape and appearance on Common's Nobody's Smiling album, in addition to appearing on XXL's freshman cover, it's looking like Herb will be joining Chance and Vic Mensa as Chicago's top tier of young talent.

From the Beet Farm: Family Guy Meets The Simpsons (TV Review)

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EDITOR'S NOTE: BRL loyalists will remember at one time, this blog also occasionally covered TV and movies. Well lucky for you our TV/Movie/Super-Hero columnist, Juice, is back. He sent me this a couple weeks ago, when it was more relevant, but hell, I was busy. All this is written by him, with quick edits by myself. Enjoy.

 Family Guy Meets The Simpsons

 BY: Juice

When I was in 8^th grade I was talking to my friends about The Simpsons and Family Guy. We thought of the ideas of what would happen if the characters would be in an episode together.  I ended it saying that they will never be in an episode together. Well 8 years later Fox put them together anyway. 

“Simpson Guy” – what better way to title an episode people have been waiting years to see. When doing any cross over I believe the goal is to have both sides equally shown and not to have one side top the other. In “Simpson Guy” I fully enjoyed both of the Griffin and Simpson families. I’ve been watching The Simpsons all my life and Family Guy since I was a kid, so I can tell how their shows and comedy are different. This episode captured the style of both the shows very well; I even tweeted during the episode saying that it feels like I’m watching both my favorite shows in the same half hour (forgetting it was an hour long episode). An hour wasn’t long enough; there was some stuff in the episode that had build up but got wrapped up very quickly. One of the sub plots was Brian losing the Simpson’s family dog Santa’s Little Helper. Here’s what happened: Brian lost the dog, had to lie to the family about where the dog was and in the end the dog came back on his own. It’s a shame that this sub plot was so short because there was a chance for Brian to walk around Springfield interacting with some famous characters from the town. 

Another sub plot that seemed to be very short was the Meg and Lisa storyline. Now the scenes with theses two are very The Simpsons style. Family Guy gets a lot of its comedy from making fun, and not caring about people’s feelings. Meg is 90% of all of that. The Simpsons has a lot of heart in their episodes and a lot of moments where a character will eventually do the right thing. The Meg/Lisa moments showed Lisa having interest in Meg and making her believe that she’s not worthless, but Lisa regrets helping her when she finds out that Meg is better at the saxophone than her. Lisa gets jealous, but in the end she comes to her unselfish ways and passes the saxophone over to Meg. But it has a very Family Guy ending having Peter throw away the saxophone not caring about Meg in the least. 

No sub plot with the wives, but they did have a good one with Bart and Stewie. Stewie finds Bart as a type of mentor and wishes to style his life as Bart’s. But Stewie’s life choices scares Bart away and ruins the friendship. Not much of a story line, but it did carry some good comedy. Now the big one, the only one that really matters – Homer and Peter’s story line. The two work together to find Peter’s stolen car, and the car was returned based on no actions taken by Peter or Homer. The car being return so quickly felt rushed, like maybe there was a bigger story on how they got the car back, but it was cut due to time. Then again that is how Family Guy episodes go sometimes. They both shared a hilarious car wash scene and a big over the top fight scene.

Threw out the episode there are breaking fourth wall jokes. I have never seen so many breaking fourth wall jokes in anything. There is a court room scene where they pointed out all the character simulators from both shows. And they even get Fred Flintstone to be the judge, who was the very first carton fat lazy husband, that is freaking funny!

Now let me get into the fight of this episode. Stan Lee said that whenever two super heroes fight, they have to end it in a draw, that way you don’t show one as better than the other. In this episode they took the Peter fighting the big yellow chicken route. These two getting into a fight was never a surprise, there have been video games out there having theses two fight so it was great to see one in an episode. And going back to the super hero talk, when ever two super heroes meet they always get into fights. In Marvel’s The Avengers Thor fought all the heroes while Iron Man and Captain America had arguments. Not saying Peter and Homer are super heroes but I’m not surprised that they fought.

Now remember when I said I never seen so many breaking the fourth wall jokes? Well I believe that the real fight between Peter and Homer, was actually between Matt Groening and Seth MacFarlane. It’s funny if you watch the court room scene you can see both of them sitting next to each other in the audience. If you think about it, Homer and Peter have been fighting each other since the beginning. Fighting over ratings, reviews, best time spots on the Fox channel, and the best cartoon show on Fox. Over the years the two have beaten King of the Hill, Futurama, The Cleveland Show, and still seemed to be the best, so the fight could be which show one is the best. The best moment in the fight was when Homer started throwing Golden Globes at Peter, and Peter asked him to stop because he doesn’t have any. 

It seems that Peter is the winner of the fight, due to them basing this fight off the fights between Peter and the chicken (where Peter walks away victorious believing the chicken to be dead but the chicken opens his eyes to show that he’ll be back for more at another time). The show ends the two giving a hand shake saying that both of them respect each other, which is another fourth wall moment, and another reason why I think that this was Matt Groening and Seth MacFarlane.

Over all this was a great time, felt like you were watching both a Family Guy and Simpsons episode and that’s all I ever asked for! 

BRL 2013 Year in Review (Part 4 - The Grand Finale)

...And finally, the top 10:

10. Drake – Nothing Was the Same (81)

I was sort of surprised how highly this album ranked. In a stronger year for music, this probably wouldn't have placed in the top ten, but that also doesn't take away from the many strong qualities of Drake's third LP. Nothing Was the Same is a far cry from Take Care, both in sound and quality, but was still one of the year's most exciting records. 

09. The Weeknd – Kiss Land (81)

It seems like there's a general consensus that The Weeknd's major debut LP is his weakest project to date. In fact, remember all of those "Top Albums of 2013" lists that you read 3 months ago? Hardly any of them included Kiss Land, let alone having it in the top 10. But here's the thing, this is The Weeknd's most focused effort yet, and his songwriting has improved tremendously. The hype,  uniqueness and mysteriousness of his House of Balloons era of the Canadian singer has long-since passed, and I will also concede that production-wise, this is his least interesting sounding record. But his ability to tell a story throughout this record, while also pushing the boundaries of modern R&B, is proof that The Weeknd is more than a flash in the pan type artist.

08. Terrace Martin – 3ChordFold (81)

Terrace Martin's 3ChordFold is easily 2013's Cinderella story. I recognized Martin's name from several production credits he's accumulated over the years, but never checked out any of his solo projects. I don't remember why I was inclined to check this album out, but I'm glad I did. A perfect blend of hip hop and modern jazz, made for one of the best produced albums of the year.

07. HAIM – Days Are Gone (82.5)

Kid Cudi's Indicud album, which was released in April 2013, was for the most part a pretty forgettable record. One notable song from the album was a track called "Red Eye," which served as my introduction to the Haim sisters. Since then, I've seen their name pop up left and right, and how they were destined to be one of the most exciting new bands of the year. I missed a chance to see them at Lollapalooza back in August (their set was during Local Natives and The National, neither of whom I wanted to miss), which was a bummer because their debut album Days Are Gone more than lived up to the hype. It's easily one of the funnest albums to come out all year, and is just plain, good old fashion pop music.

06. Black Milk – No Poison, No Paradise (83)

In 2013, Detroit set a record for becoming the largest American city ever to file for bankruptcy. For a long time, Detroit has seen a great amount of struggle with a dying automobile industry leading a once prominent city into poverty. And on Black Milk's fourth album, No Poison, No Paradise, the Detroit beatsmith/rapper paints a very vivid picture of what it is like to grow up in such a place. While Danny Brown also did an excellent job of describing Detroit's plight on tracks like "Wonderbread" and "Torture," Black Milk tells a story of "a decent kid to doing a bid"over the course of a full album. It's the Detroit version of goodkid m.A.A.d. city and it's the perfect autumn album.

05. Daft Punk – Random Access Memories (87.5)

I didn't play Daft Punk's long awaited Random Access Memories in its entirety until December of last year. Initially I was so absorbed by "Get Lucky," which is the perfect pop song and is probably this decade's "Hey Ya." Slowly I was getting introduced to new songs from the album that I would fall in love with, until I finally decided to sit down and play the whole thing through. And damnit, if this album isn't brilliant. The robots showed off their human side by making dance album made up of live instruments instead of synthesizers and bringing back some disco vibes. RAM is a meticulously crafted masterpiece that may not hit you immediately, but when it does it will become one of your favorites. 

04. Chance the Rapper – Acid Rap (88)

By the end of 2013, Chance the Rapper pretty much cemented himself as the next big thing in hip hop. He toured with Eminem and appeared on a Justin Beiber single, but it all started with his stellar sophomore mixtape. It'll be very interesting to see what he does next; does he sign to a major or go the solo route? Regardless I'm very certain that Acid Rap is just the beginning.

03. Vampire Weekend – Modern Vampires of the City (88.5)

Vampire Weekend, along with bands like The Shins and MGMT, is one of those essential "college bands" whose music always takes me back to dorm rooms and stale beer. Their self-titled debut album was one of my favorite albums as a Freshman in college, and their sophomore effort was a favorite as a sophomore too. But the main issue with both of those albums is that despite their intoxicating melodies and fun grooves, they sort of lacked the type of substance that requires repeated listens. But with Ezra Koenig and company's third effort, that all changed. Modern Vampires wasn't as instantly gratifying as its predecessors, but much of the album is what I would consider a slow burn. "Hudson" and "Hannah Hunt" are some of the most stripped down and vulnerable songs that Koenig has ever written, but they also may be among his best. While a lot of the album deals with heavy themes such as mortality and religion, there are still some classic Vampire Weekend bangers like "Diane Young," "Step" and "Everlasting Arms."

02. Kanye West – Yeezus (88.5)

What can I say about Kanye and this album that I haven't already? I am an unabashed Kanye Stan, and I think Yeezus is an exceptional piece of music. Many people disagree, and I understand why people wouldn't be into this; it's not music made to please everybody. In fact it's intentionally abrasive to evoke strong feelings from the listener - be those feelings positive or negative. But it's also just a lot of fun to listen to. This is Kanye's worst moment from a lyrical standpoint (although I don't think he was striving to rap like Nas on this record), but that doesn't stop it from being one of the most quotable albums I've heard in a while. With My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Kanye achieved perfection. This is Kanye's flawed masterpiece.

01. The National – Trouble Will Find Me (90.5)

The major life event for me in 2013 was my move from Ohio to Chicago. The National's Trouble Will Find Me was released about a month and a half prior to my move. So this album is held in high regards partially due to the fact that it was the soundtrack of those final nights with my good friends in Ohio. But this album is the top of 2013 mainly because it features my current favorite band at the top of their game. Matt Berninger is rock music's best lead man and his songwriting continues to get better with each release. And the Dessner and Devendorf brothers' production and instrumentation has also continued to improve, as they find a way to combine the somberness of High Violet and the more upbeat, straight forward rocking of Alligator, while still creating a cohesive record.