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travohayes
Reviews
Blue Mountain State (2010)
An Under-appreciated Work of Comedy
When BMS was originally on air, I was only about 12-13 years old so it was just a little out of my age range. However now, all these years later, I decided to binge it because I never watched the full series through and because it came up in a conversation with some coworkers. Also, I just recently graduated from college so I always enjoy the overtop portrayals of American college life in TV and movies.
As I come close to the end of the third season, I can't help but be amazed at the masterpiece of comedy this series is. It's able to strike the perfect balance of crude and absurd humor with brilliant plots every episode. Typically, shows that feature this kind of crude humor, especially in portrayals of American college life, push far past the point of comfort where the dirty humor shoots past "American Pie"-ess levels of raunchiness and you just start to feel physically gross watching it.
Not BMS. Don't get me wrong, it has plenty of absurd comedy around sex, drugs, and other faucets of the party side of college. But where it excels is in its ability to have creative and outrageous plot lines that keep you engaged while making your laugh. The characters are goofy but likable (maybe not Thad) and the whole casts itself works perfectly together. It's over the top without plummeting off the edge.
Now fair warning: for people who didn't grow up or go to college in the era it was made, the comedy is a reflection of those times, meaning by today's standards it would mostly likely appear utterly gross and offensive. In short, I really don't think there's anyway this show could ever be released today. We can talk all we want about cancel culture, which I'm not a big fan of, but I'm not going to lie either: this show over-sexualizes and objectives women, features an intense display of what would be called toxic masculinity, and includes insults that certainly would be frowned upon by todays standards.
But I think the key here is this: nuance. As i said, the comedy is a reflection of when it was made. We can't judge it by todays standards. It is completely ok to genuinely enjoy the show while at the same time realizing that what they may be doing and saying is wrong and that we have grown and matured as a culture and society. Some people might not agree with this, but so be it. We can pick apart the show all we want about where it's offensive, politically incorrect, etc etc. But at the end of the day, it is possible to do this in the back of our minds WHILE having a good laugh and just enjoying the show for what it is: absurd and brilliant.
So kick back, crack a beer, light up a you-know-what, and have a good laugh at all the shenanigans of Thad, Alex, Sammy, and the rest of BMS.
Boss Level (2020)
Simple but great movie
I'll make this simple...
Watch this movie if:
- You're high
- You just want an easy watching action movie
- You want to laugh and also see over the top violence (think Deadpool style)
Don't watch this movie if:
- You want an Oscar-worthy film
- You don't like gore
- You want a serious, Bond-like action movie
- You don't like cussing
TLDR: Funny, violent, cool plot line, good characters, just watch it already.
Outside the Wire (2021)
Was afraid to watch, turned out to not be too bad
I really did not think this movie was that bad, but maybe I'm biased because I really enjoy action movies.
The Good:
- The focus on drone warfare and the issues with it
- Decent action scenes, never felt bored throughout it
The Meh:
- The plot line was so-so: action movie use of a threat of nuclear missiles is beaten to death and a little too cliche now but overall is was still entertaining enough. Not bad, but not great
The Bad:
- Yeah the script can be pretty forced and unnatural at times but I don't think it was too egregious, but that's just me
TLDR: Not a top tier action movie but it gets the job done and is still entertaining
I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (2016)
I've never been so bored in my life
I love horror movies and after all the bad horror movies I've ever seen this was quite easily the slowest, least entreating horror movie ever. No plot, so much monologue that I just wanted to throw a remote at the TV, and just no redeeming features. Please don't waste your time on this, you'll thank you.
Mile 22 (2018)
Pretty unorganized, but great action
If you're looking for a stellar, award-winning plot line, this isn't your movie. The plot is really all over the place however the action is definitely above average. Watch for fun not for quality.