Movies
Love, Simon
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
I have been interested in seeing this movie ever since I heard about it, and the trailers for it looked genuinely charming and sweet. "Love, Simon" was talked about pretty heavily on social media, with it and "Black Panther" both being touted as two of the most important movies out there for minorities in America: respectively the LGBT community and African Americans. I finally saw the movie, and figured it would make more sense to put this in one one of my Short Reviews series since it's been such a long time since the movie was out. If you didn't already know this film is about Simon, who says in the film that he has it all. He has the great accepting parents, a sweet sister, a strong group of friends, and is very well-liked in his school community. He has just one big secret: he's gay, and still hasn't told anyone about it. However, he soon meets this person online who just calls themselves "Blue", and it turns out both of them have the same issue. Simon soon falls for this person while also going on his own journey of trying to gain the courage to tell everyone his big secret. Now, this film isn't perfect (and I'll get into why later). But, it is undeniably charming. A lot of critics have said this film feels like something John Hughes would've made, with obviously some modern tendencies thrown in. And I can totally see that. In many ways, this film feels like a throwback to 80s rom-coms and coming of age films. This isn't too surprising coming from director Greg Berlanti, who has also worked on the heavily 80's inspired TV show "Riverdale". Berlanti confidently leads this film along in its plot, as the movie moves on at a very enjoyable pace, giving the audience room to breathe when needed. I loved particularly the comedic potential he brought out of Simon's dream sequences, especially one where Simon imagines straight people "coming out" to their parents. I actually laughed aloud at that sequence; it was ingeniously delivered. I found some of the performances to be good. The only one that I would say really impressed me is Nick Robinson as the titular character. He brings so much charisma to Simon, and even makes Simon likeable in the midst of some of his faults. I can see why this film is being called important in context of this character: we get a fully realized LGBT individual whose sexuality is a part of them. But, there is also so much to him beyond his sexuality: he has friends who care about them, a family life, and most importantly, he has flaws. It's not like this is the first time we've had a fully fleshed out gay character, but this is one that will find relatability with the modern generation. It was nice to see Katherine Langford's acting talents get utilized to their full potential here as she plays Simon's best friend Leah. And though Jennifer Garner as Simon's mom doesn't have a big role to play, she does get what is probably the best scene in the film with him. I found Keiynan Lonsdale and Alexandra Shipp highly enjoyable in their respective roles as Bram and Abby as well. There are some issues with this film. One is that it's almost too predictable. The movie tries to present this big mystery: who is Blue? But I pretty much had it figured out from Simon's second interaction with one of the possible Blues. I also feel as though some of the performances here were a little underwhelming or didn't fit the movie. Jorge Lendeborg Jr. as Nick was not too memorable. Logan Miller's turn as Martin, the antagonist of the film, was very cringe worthy. He felt like the ultimate embodiment of an obnoxious jock stereotype- which is weird, because Martin is supposed to be a theatre student. His personality doesn't really work with that, and I think that may have been due to his misguided and often bad turn. While both Tony Hale and Natasha Rothwell as two high school teachers gave me a couple laughs, I still felt their over the top performances didn't quite fit what was an overall grounded film. If the film was a bit more ridiculous in context, they would've worked fine, but as they are, it's a bit disorienting. Still, I can't find it in myself to dislike too much of "Love, Simon". In fact, I really like this movie. It's charming, touching, and has a conclusion that will probably leave you with a smile on your face. Even if it's not one of my favorites of the year, I'd still recommend it!
Music
"III" by Hillsong Young and Free
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Music has been a bit underwhelming this summer (with one exception, which I'll be giving a full review to in a separate post soon). This is to be expected, as usually in the summer nothing that interesting comes out. Most records around this time are trying to be fun, with not too much deep stuff going on in them. That was not the intent, however, with Hillsong Young and Free's newest album "III". Now, if you know me, you know that my overall opinion of this worship group is heavily negative. While this group did have a pretty solid song in "Sinking Deep", I've felt that pretty much every other song/album of theirs embodies the most generic tendencies of modern worship music. When there are so many other bands innovating and rejuvenating this genre, Hillsong Y+F felt like they just wanted to be safe. That is frustratingly still the case for their newest album "III", although it's not as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, there are a couple songs on here that impressed me. The lead single "Love Won't Let Me Down" is legitimately catchy, containing a chorus with an excellent hook. They even use their electronic effects in a way that doesn't sound overblown and cheesy. This album actually takes some risks on a couple songs. "Push/Pull" is one of the best examples of this. It has beautiful vocal chemistry between the lead male and female vocalist. "Peace" is probably the best song on the album, containing some of this band's best lyrical content: "You are peace to a restless soul/Peace when my thoughts wage war/Peace to the anxious heart". It's not mind-blowing, but it's far better than what they've done in the past. Opening track "Let Go" also has some infectious energy to it, and "Highs and Lows" ends this album on a surprisingly epic note. Unfortunately in this album's 17-track run time, there's WAY too much content that is either tedious or cliched. "Just Jesus" and "Jesus Loves Me" both repeat their chorus to the point of absolute boredom, and both are excessively slow and droning. Songs like "Hindsight" and "Every Little Thing" feel like they're trying to have fun. However, the band just doesn't put enough energy into them in any aspect, especially from a musical standpoint. There are these "Selah" interludes that occur. I guess they're meant to make the album sound cohesive and flowing. The problem is, they feel pointless and like they're meant to draw out time. This album is over an hour an eight minutes, which is way too long. If there were better content, maybe I wouldn't have minded too much. This album isn't bad. I appreciated the fact that this band was taking risks. If they push their boundaries more like they did on "Peace" or "Push/Pull", then I might even grow to like this band. But for now, this release is still pretty middle of the road. I would recommend listening to the highlights I mentioned, and maybe even giving the album at least one listen.
Favorite Songs: "Peace", "Push/Pull", "Highs and Lows", "Let Go", "Love Won't Let Me Down"
Least Favorite Songs: "Jesus Loves Me", "Just Jesus", "Hindsight", "Selah I/II/III"
"Vicious" by Halestorm
Rating: 2.5/5 Stars
There has been a consistent trend among some of the biggest radio rock bands this year with their new releases. Whether it be Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin, Fall Out Boy, or now Halestorm, all of their releases have felt just so watered down. Some of them have even been straight up awful (looking at you, FOB and TDG). Halestorm's newest, "Vicious", doesn't quite fit into the "awful" category. But, it is still pretty disappointing. I don't know why I was expecting much. After all, this band released "Into the Wild Life" three years ago. That album was a very cringe worthy attempt at southern rock. Maybe the reason I was so disappointed in this album is because I really love the lead single "Uncomfortable". That track is just a ball of manic energy, never once letting up. Lzzy Hale actually gets to show some grit in her vocals in a way that's reminiscent to one of the band's best songs, "Love Bites". There's even a sort of rap/rock style to this track that felt different for the band. Unfortunately, most of the rest of this release fits safely within the confines of basic radio rock. There are some moments that leap off the page. Beginning track "Black Vultures" is pretty heavy with some excellent drum work. The chorus is memorable as Lzzy shows off some brutal anger there. I also adore the guitar work in "Killing Ourselves to Live". I wish there were more shredding moments like that on this album, because this track actually ended up being my favorite moment on the whole album. I guess "Heart of Novocaine" is an earnest enough ballad, even if it is cliched in equating love to a drug. That's where the positives for this album come to an end. Speaking of comparing love to drugs, there are so, so, so many songs doing just that. Whether it be "Painkiller", "Buzz", "Conflicted", or "Skulls". That's nearly half the album that makes a comparison that listeners have heard in dozens of other rock songs. "Conflicted" and "Painkiller" are both especially obnoxious in how they utilize them. The worst song comes in "Do Not Disturb", which is trying to be sexy but made me internally gag. Lzzy's vocal performance comes across as annoying and without charm, and the chorus doesn't work at all. Closing track "The Silence" leaves this album out on the least memorable note possible. This release is pretty bad. It's not the worst thing in the world, and it's an improvement over the band's last album. However, that's not saying much. I wouldn't recommend this album, save for the few good moments on here.
Favorite Songs: "Killing Ourselves To Live", "Uncomfortable", "Black Vultures"
Least Favorite Songs: "Do Not Disturb", "Conflicted", "Painkiller", "Skulls", "The Silence"
"Cage to Rattle" by Daughtry
Rating: 1.5/5 Stars
Remember when Daughtry used to be good? That time has been so long ago. There was a point where, as a kid, I was actually sort of addicted to them. The band's self-titled and "Leave This Town" are both pretty still good releases. I will say now that I'm older, neither of them hold up as much. I hardly ever listen to either of them. In fact, I haven't listened to Daughtry at all ever since the colossal catastrophe of "Baptized" came and went without much fanfare. That album was awful, but somehow, this release may even be worse. At least on "Baptized", the band went full on ridiculous in a way that could be remembered. This album has hardly anything to it at all. The album's title would make you think it's this intense rock album. Chris Daughtry has claimed that this release is the hardest the band has ever worked on an album. But there's 10 tracks, and this release is only about 36 minutes long. It feels lazy and downright frustrating at points. The only song I absolutely enjoyed on here was "Gravity". It at least has Chris delivering some passionate vocals, and the instrumentation is solid enough. "Bad Habits" is a somewhat intriguing track to me as well, with some off the wall lyricism that I've never heard the band attempt before. Otherwise, this release is a struggle to get through, even with its short run time. There are some of the most groan inducing love songs I've ever heard on this album, with two of the worst being "Just Found Heaven" and "As You Are". I don't know who Chris is writing for at this point, as I can't see what demographic these songs would appeal to. "Stuff of Legends" is almost laughable in how hard it's trying to be this edgy rock track. It has some of the absolute worst lyricism I've heard all year long: "Fight with mercy, love and anger/They won't get to me, get to me/Cause that's the stuff of legends". I haven't heard the expression "stuff of legends" used in ages, so this track feels already outdated. It's handily one of the worst songs of the year. Just please...whatever you do, don't waste your time on this trash. I predict that this album is only going to put Daughtry into further irrelevance.
Favorite Songs: "Gravity", "Bad Habits"
Least Favorite Songs: "Stuff of Legends", "Just Found Heaven", "As You Are", "White Flag", "Death of Me"
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