Cast: Mason Thames, Nico Parker, Gabriel Howell Julian Dennison, Bronwyn James, Harry Trevaldwyn. Peter Serafinowicz, Nick Frost, Gerard Butler.
Premise: As an ancient threat endangers both Vikings and dragons alike on the isle of Berk, the friendship between Hiccup, an inventive Viking, and Toothless, a Night Fury dragon, becomes the key to both species forging a new future together.
Review: This movie really had to get down the cinematography and the setting and it sure did. It’s a very beautiful movie with great set designs and characters. It sticks very much to the original, animated film. The flying scenes were very well done and reminded me of Avatar.
Toothless is adorable and really grows on you to the point where you want a pet dragon after leaving the theater. The story line and morals to the movie, along with the character developer, are all really great.
Nick Frost and Gerard Butler were perfect for their roles. Peter Serafinowicz seemed under utilized and I feel Julian Dennison was also underutilized as a comedic relief.
The movie is pretty intense. I haven’t seen the new Jurassic Park movie yet, but I imagine they are pretty close in intensively and action. Not that it’s a bad thing. It just might be a little scary for children.
I hope that we get more live-action How to Train Your Dragon films. I know the franchise isn’t going anywhere as there is now a massive park in Universal for it.
I wish the live-action version had Jónsi’s music in it, but that is only because I am a massive fan of Jón Þór Birgisson and his music fit the whole animated film so well.
What It Reminds Me Of: The other films in the franchise!
Writer: Bruce Geller, Erik Jendresen, Christopher McQuarrie
Directors: Christopher McQuarrie
Cast: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Henry Czerny, Angela Bassett.
Premise: Ethan Hunt and the IMF team race against time to find the Entity, a rogue artificial intelligence that can destroy mankind.
Review: if I could give this movie six Ray Liotta’s, I would. And you know what, I could if I wanted to. Because this is my damn website and I make the rules. But then I would have to draft up a whole other image with the sixth head and that just seems like too much work right now.
This movie was one of the best movies I’ve seen in a while. I nerd out over this franchise. I watched the big stunt for months and months and then when I go see in the theaters, I point and cheer like a child.
The thing about this movie is that the big stunt wasn’t even my favorite part of the movie. The stunt was awesome. That all scene was great. But there’s a good 30 minutes of this almost 3 hour movie where Tom Cruise is alone in a submarine. There is no dialogue. There is music. Honestly, I give this movie a 99.9, With my only hesitation being I wish that some of the submarine scenes had no volume. Or maybe some of the underwater scenes had no sound to make the audience feel like the character did. Anyway, forget, I said anything to critique this movie.
The opening of the movie catches you up on the last movie, which was great. I needed the refresher. And throughout the movie, you are given flashbacks to earlier films in the franchise that just really help wrap it all up with the bow. But they aren’t thrown in randomly. There’s even a giant throwback to the very first movie and the famous stunt from that one. I won’t say anything else about that.
As always, the movie is packed with action, some humor, and some very attractive people. But what I appreciated about this movie is that there wasn’t really much of a love story. It is very, very rare at any movie, television show, book exist without a love story or a love interest at the least.Z
Review: I love my anniversary shows. A Time Machine that takes me back to a time where life was easier and our country wasn’t on fire all the time. Literally and metaphorically.
I was very excited to hear that The Used were going on tour to celebrate 25 years as a band by playing their first three albums. The first album was a big piece of my childhood. It came out when I was 13, which was the start of my emo phase. One that would go on for the next 20+ years! I was way more into emo then screamo, but there were some screamo bands that definitely stuck out for me. Senses Fail, Silverstein, and The Used.
I had a Burt is My Homeboy shirt in high school that I wore too much and I remember watching him jump from the speaker out into the crowd at Warped Tour. They always had a lot of energy and that didn’t go anywhere!
Cast: Sonequa Martin-Green, Natalie Morales, Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, Gloria Reuben, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Thom Tran
Premise: Engaged in a mysterious relationship with her dead best friend from the Army, a female Afghanistan veteran comes head to head with her Vietnam vet grandfather at the family’s ancestral lake house.
Review: First off, I love a television show or movie where one of the main characters is dead. Six Feet Under, Dexter, Rescue Me. A story where one of the main character is dead and kind of plays the subconscious of the main character. I think this can be hard to pull off, but when it does it is so good.
When I first saw the trailer to this movie, I was sold. I have loved Natalie Morales since Parks and Rec. Sonquea Martin-Green since The Walking Dead, and Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman were good newcomers who I think have a real shot at being big actors.
The movie is really good. It’s a little long, but I feel it works. We really get to see a grief-stricken veteran try to carry on and get by in their day to day life. The movie is very funny. The back-and-forth banter between Merit and Zoe is really funny. The movie takes place in present day, but has a lot of flashbacks throughout to their time in the service.
The last fifteen minutes are a complete tearjerker. I haven’t, surprisingly, cried at something in a while and this movie made the waterworks come out. There is a twist that will really catch you by surprise.
This movie was written and directed by a veteran and it is based off of his life.
I have been a NEEDTOBREATHE fan since high school. I have seen them play sold out shows at Red Rocks a few times. I saw them with OneRepublic at Xfinity center. And I most recently saw them play at MGM. I learned recently that Bear had a side project and I am so glad I went to go see them play.
But first off, I must correct myself. Wilder Woods is far from a side project. It is a full forced music entity. Bear just released his 3rd album, Curioso, and is currently on the road touring it. He has a full band on stage comprised of a lead guitarist, keyboardist, drummer, bassist, guitarist/percussionist, and a fantastic back-up singer. The whole band is incredibly talented. I felt like I was watching a band that was being inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame.
Bear is a great storyteller. And he is a naturally funny guy. He is an all around great performer. He played lead and rhythm guitar, harmonica, and even just took the mic for a few songs. The band played a 17-song setlist, playing for over an hour and a half. Bear walked through the crowd, sang along with the crowd, and performed a few stripped down songs with his lead guitarist and backup singer.
I can’t wait to see Widler Woods every time they come to town. I have listened to all three albums by now but I can’t wait to listen to them even more. And discover other music of his not from the albums.
I can’t recommend seeing them enough. It was one of the best concerts I have been too in a while.
The Super Bowl isn’t just about football—it’s one of the biggest entertainment events of the year, drawing millions of viewers for the commercials, halftime show, and spectacle. In 2025, Super Bowl LIX reached a record 127.7 million viewers, with a peak of 135.7 million, making it one of the most-watched broadcasts in history. With such a massive audience, advertisers paid up to $8 million for a 30-second commercial spot, hoping to capture attention with creative, high-budget ads. The commercials have become just as much a part of the tradition as the game itself, sparking conversations and debates long after the final whistle. The halftime show also adds to the excitement, and this year’s performance by Kendrick Lamar, with a special guest appearance by SZA, had social media buzzing. Whether people watch for the ads, the music, or just the overall experience, the Super Bowl remains a must-watch event for millions.
There was the Ben Affleck Dunkin’ Donuts commercial that had do you wanna go down method acting in coffee. It was very Apocalypse Now.
There was the final trailer to the live action How to Train Your Dragon movie. While I don’t think we needed a live action, I am pretty excited to see it. The original movies are quite magical and feature one of my favorite musicians, Jonsi. they are also finishing a whole park in Universal for the franchise which looks great.
Well, I don’t really know much about this movie, I am excited for the new Marvel movies that are coming out this year like the new Captain America and new installment of the Fantastic Four. I think I read something that Thunderbolts is like Suicide Squad for Marvel. That’s what it looks like, a bunch of bad guys from various movies teaming up. Like I said, I don’t know much about it, but it is Florence Pugh, David Harbour, and Sebastian Stan. That’s enough for me to be on board.
The Ritz commercial starring Aubrey Plaza and Michael Shannon as two people who get mistaken for never smiling was very funny.
Barry Keoghan riding on a horse over the Cliffs of Mohr was weird as hell so, naturally, I enjoyed it. Also, a modern day paper boy throwing laptops on peoples lawns was a cool perspective.
Seal as a seal was terrifying. I’ve already seen Justin Long as a seal and thought was all I would ever see. But hey, it was funny.
The Instacart commercial of all of the different products making their way to a house was really cool. It had been too long since we saw the Kool-Aid man bust through wall and an energizer bunny make its way down the street.
The Gordon Ramsay commercial with the alien technology used in the kitchen was fun. Even more with the surprise, Pete Davidson cameo reconfirmed that he is an alien. It seemed like a deleted scene from a Men in Black movie.
Speaking of batteries, the robotic Tom Brady commercial was pretty entertaining.
I love Glenn Powell. The man has chosen to work on some pretty cool projects. What I really like about him is that he doesn’t take himself too seriously and that he leans into his stereotypes. Especially in this commercial.
Decades later, Billy Crystal and Matt Ryan return to the deli where it all went down.
First, it was Eugene Levy’s eyebrows, and then it was Nick Offerman’s mustache. This commercial featured bird like mustaches traveling to the houses of Pringles customers.
How do I open? The Super Bowl had a lot of commercials that were pretty heartfelt and this is definitely my favorite one.
I had first thought that this was a trailer for a Toy Story horror movie. I’m not sure how to be had as much money as they did to put into the commercials for the Super Bowl, but man was this commercial fun and also terrifying.
This is the year for horror. I just saw Companion. I’m seeing The Monkey soon. we have many sequels coming out this year to horror movies such as Final Destination six.  And, Weil limited, this teaser trailer for the new Meghan 2.0, which features a sung by Chappell Roan, it’s enough to get people on board.
Kiernan Culkin is fresh off of the awards show circuit collecting trophy’s and nominations. So, why not play a Belluga in a commercial?
I love Post and I love Shane Gillis and this was a duo I didn’t know we needed.
Matt Damon and David Beckham as long lost brothers was hilarious. All the way up to the Ben Affleck dig at the end.
I don’t really know much music by Kendrick Lamar. I know he’s considered one of the best rappers alive—hell, he even won a Pulitzer Prize for Music. There’s no real reason I haven’t listened to more of his music. There’s just a lot of music out there.
That said, I do love his song “HUMBLE.”—especially the Skrillex remix, which somehow makes it even catchier. But my actual favorite Kendrick Lamar song? “YOLO.” Except…it’s not even his song. It’s a track he’s featured on, courtesy of The Lonely Island, a group best known for creating absurd, over-the-top comedy rap.
For the uninitiated, The Lonely Island got their start making sketches on YouTube before writing for an MTV Movie Awards show. Not long after, they were hired by Saturday Night Live—Andy Samberg as a cast member, with Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer joining as writers. Their SNL Digital Shorts became some of the biggest hits in the show’s history, with many still holding up today. “I’m on a Boat,” “Dick in a Box,” and “Like a Boss” are some of the classics. During their time on SNL, they had many guests on their songs including Natalie Portman, Justin Timberlake, and Michael Bolton.
After SNL, they kept the momentum going, releasing multiple comedy rap albums featuring an insane lineup of guests such as P!nk, and, of course, Kendrick Lamar, who appears on the song “YOLO.”
Now, most people hear the phrase “YOLO” (You Only Live Once) and take it as an excuse to live dangerously—skydiving, partying, making impulsive life choices. But The Lonely Island, in their infinite wisdom, flipped the concept entirely. In their version, “YOLO” actually stands for “You Oughta Look Out,” turning it into a paranoid anthem about avoiding risks, staying inside, and most importantly never trusting furniture.
The song also features, Adam Levine and the chorus and Kendrick Lamar provides a really great bridge to the song. Lamar actually provides some great financial advice. Check out the song music video below.
Anyway, our county is pretty divided right now. Republicans and Democrats. Chiefs fans and Eagles fans. People who thought Beyonce deserved Best Country Album and those that didn’t. But I think there’s one thing we can all agree on: A surprise performance by The Lonely Island at the Super Bowl would be pretty great.
It was December 15th, 2000. Hollywood was on a roll with raunchy comedies. American Pie had come out the year before, shocking audiences with its vulgarity and ushering prepubescent boys into manhood. The year 2000 brought us Road Trip and Scary Movie, and then, right before the end of the year, we got Dude, Where’s My Car.
The comedy/sci-fi was written by Philip Stark and directed by Danny Leiner, who later went on to direct Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle.
The film starred Ashton Kutcher and Seann William Scott, with a supporting cast that included Jennifer Garner, Marla Sokoloff, Kristy Swanson, Hal Sparks, and Mary Lynn Rajskub. The movie felt like an early version of The Hangover—a film that would eventually become the highest-grossing R-rated comedy of its time.
The movie sparked a wave of pop culture moments in the years that followed: everyone wanted those Adidas jumpsuits, people got the tattoos, and then there were the ostriches. Or llamas. That summer, I went on vacation to Maine and discovered an ostrich farm right outside the supermarket. Naturally, we started calling them llamas and got a good laugh out of it. For anyone who hadn’t seen the movie, we just looked like people who didn’t know basic animals.
This post includes major spoilers, but let’s be honest—it’s been over two decades. The movie follows two stoners who wake up one morning and realize they can’t find their car, dude. Using clues, they retrace their steps from the night before, which somehow leads them to saving the world.
Early in the movie, Chester is watching Animal Planet and learns a fun fact about monkeys.
Their day is packed with ridiculous encounters: European bodybuilders, supermodel-like women in tight leather outfits, and everyone keeps asking them for the continuum transfunctioner. Jesse and Chester have no idea who to trust. Turns out, it’s the Nordic dudes who were sent to Earth to save it from the “super hot alien chicks.”
The climax of the movie takes place at an entertainment center, where the aliens square off against one another. As it turns out, Chester had the continuum transfunctioner the whole time—in the form of a Rubik’s Cube. Once solved, the device becomes a bomb that could destroy Earth—unless Chester can diffuse it. In a moment of panic, Chester remembers the Animal Planet documentary from that morning. It talked about how “chimpanzees often use crude sticks as tools.” So, he grabs a straw and defuses the bomb!
I can’t tell you how much this advice has helped me in real life. If I need to retrieve something stuck under the couch or press one of those impossible-to-reach buttons on an electronic device, this technique always comes through.
I’ve passed this lesson on to my son and others over the years.
It wasn’t “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. It wasn’t “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” from Forrest Gump. It was “Chimpanzees often use sticks as crude tools” from Dude, Where’s My Car that taught me life’s greatest lesson.
Who knew that 20 years later, I’d still be using a piece of advice that a stoner learned from a monkey—and used to save the world?
What It Reminds Me Of: The Wizard of Oz (Because it’s a prequel!)
Writer: Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire.
Director: John M. Chu
Premise: Elphaba, a misunderstood young woman because of her green skin, and Glinda, a popular girl, become friends at Shiz University in the Land of Oz. After an encounter with the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads.
My Premise: A group of quiet high schools girls learn to stand out.
Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande-Butera, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum.
Review: Here is the review that I texted to a few family members:
“I really liked it! I fell asleep during parts because I can’t stay awake during in theaters movies anymore. I thought Ariana was fantastic and this was the role she was born to play. I thought it was the most Jeff Goldblum role that Jeff Goldblum has ever played. I really liked the music and the scenery. It was very funny. It really makes you think about The Wizard of Oz which I know is the point of this and the origin story. I don’t think I’ll be rooting for Dorthy next time I watch it.”
In longer terms: I am not a big fan of musicals or musical movies, but, man, I loved this musical movie. I will admit that I feel asleep, briefly, in parts of the movie. But that is not due to the content of the film. That is do to me not sleeping enough at home and movie theaters being way too dark and way too comfortable these days.
Anyway, the music in this movie was so catchy. “The Wizard and I,” “Popular,” and obviously “Defying Gravity. The
The movie is pretty long at two and a half hours. Which might not seem long, except there is a part two coming out next year. But the way this one ended was a perfect ending sure to set up the next one to really be even more powerful.
Ariana Grande is perfect for this role. She has shined as an actress in things like Don’t Look Up and on SNL and was really great in this.
It’s super impressive that the people sang live for this movie. The set design and CGI are both impressive. The Set Designer actually planted 9 million tulips for the movie! Nathan Crowley, who did this movie, also did the set design for Interstellar and all of the crops you see in that movie are real.
Premise: Hop on the road with Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes for an exclusive look behind the scenes of the sold-out “SmartLess” live podcast tour.
Cast: Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes.
What it reminds me of: When you are hanging out with your best friends and just giving each other shit Also, it reminded me of some comedian tour documentaries like Dane Cook’s Tourgasm and The Comedians of Comedy with Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn, Maria Bamford, Zach Galifianakis.
Why I like it: I am not really into podcasts. I like to watch television or listen to books on tape. It takes a certain type of podcast for me to get into it. Anyway, I haven’t gotten into this podcast yet, but I will probably now. My girlfriend is a big fan of the podcast and wanted to watch this miniseries documentary. I love the three actors and thought it would be fun to watch. I can’t tell you the last time I laughed this hard. The behind-the-scenes is so great. The three stars are lifelong friends who just roast each other constantly. Also, you get to watch a few of the actual interviews that include people like Will Ferrell and Bradley Cooper.
