Reviews

That’s right, I’ll be the first to put down my foot and say The Lord of the Rings is actually really good. ...

I went to a show by the Secret Improv Society this past weekend, which performs in an odd theater building near Union Square. It’s only the second time I’ve been to a professional improv performance, and I was struck by how special the experience is. ...

At my friend Jack’s wedding a few weeks ago, someone showed me Joel Haver. He’s an independent filmmaker, working mostly on YouTube. He does a short film every week, with his animations making the biggest splash. However, his live action work is fantastic, with dry humor that sits perfectly with me. After binging his work over a couple of weeks, I sat down last weekend and watched one of his several feature-length movies, Pretend That You Love Me. It’s a very different style, yet beautifully done. I recommend any of his work, but I’d suggest to start with his animations, then choose a few live-action shorts that catch your eye. You won’t be disappointed.

I adore Mario Kart. I first played Double Dash at a friend’s house in elementary school. Soon after, my older sister was gifted a Nintendo DS and I would ask to borrow it as often as I could to play Mario Kart on it.1 Once I moved to San Diego, I gifted myself a Nintendo Switch and have put hundreds of hours into Mario Kart 8. The first set of Booster Pass courses came out a couple of weeks ago, and I really want to talk about them. ...

Erin and I are working on tighter budgeting, eating out less, all that good stuff. We’ve been pretty good since coming home after Christmas. Going out to eat has become something we plan and budget for; it should be an event, not an excuse to not cook on a lazy night. To that end, for Valentine’s weekend, we booked ourselves two dining experiences. ...

I finally bought a couple Subtle Notebooks from Cortex Brand. I won’t go into their whole deal; I’d like to just focus on this particular product. I’m a notebook hoarder. I’ve always enjoyed having journals around, with different shapes, paper types, and cover styles. Admittedly, many of these are still blank, or only partially filled. Some of them have a specific use-case that has run its course (or has been extensively delayed), while others are too nice, too boring, or just don’t feel quite right for some things I have in mind. ...

I recently discovered the Tin Can Bros, which I would consider an offshoot from StarKid Productions, the makers of, among other things, A Very Potter Musical. It’s exciting to come across more genuinely hilarious musical theater. I’m no musical buff, but I enjoy comedy with a modern twist. Anything by either group is worth a watch. They remind me very much of what my friend Tim Radermacher’s style, and I love having more of that in my life. And if you’re not a fan of musicals, check out their Wayward Guide video series.

My friend Brandon wrote a short play, Cameo, for performance over Zoom. It was part of an event put on by Invisible Disco Productions, and was the final of four plays put on, each about ten minutes long. ...

One month ago, a good friend of mine released a feature-length movie on YouTube. I had followed along as they released the various trailers, then discovered the half-truths in their lovely making-of documentary.1 I managed to watch it the morning after the film’s premiere, on December 19, and have not gotten it out of my head since. I’ve started and stopped multiple reviews, taken copious notes on a second watch, and am finally releasing what I consider the movie’s canonical review. If you frequent this part of the internet, you may be just the right person to watch Doctor Feelgood and the Asparagus Kid or: The Respect for the Omnipresence of Death. If the title intrigues you, give it a shot. Then come back here (regardless of whether you completed it) and enjoy a shameless, spoiler-filled plug and review for this movie co-written by my friend Timothy.2 ...

Tomorrow I’ll be recording an episode of OHAC, where Mikhail, Jack, and I will be discussing yearly themes. That will serve as a nice recap of the year and a starting point for 2021. To wrap things up on this blog though, I figured I’d go back through my posts from 2020 and select one or two favorites from each quarter, and maybe write a little bit about how I view those posts now. I don’t often revisit my expository writing, so I think it’ll be a good exercise. ...