Popcorn Zombies

By Michael Momper The Marvel movie engine is certainly one to be envied throughout the movie industry, as it constantly over-performs box office expectations, brings in A-list actors, and garners consistently dazzling reviews from critics all over the world. Marvel's dash since the first Avengers movie in 2012 has been astounding, churning out critical success after critical success, and topping it most recently with its highest-rated release yet in Black Panther . But is there an underlying pattern in some of their main blockbusters, an easy catch-all formula that is being applied, that perhaps we should be wary of and approach with some skepticism? I certainly think so. Because of the success of the Avengers , Marvel has grown to love the idea of stuffing its movies full of big names and even bigger CGI. This is OK to a point, and even worked in Captain America: Civil War , which contained Tony Stark, Black Panther, Falcon and even a new Spiderman. Due to the runtime and the ...

Graham Craycraft ‘I'll be Your Girl’ (released on March 16 2018) is the eighth album for the indie/rock/alternative/pop-ish/americano group The Decemberists. Yet another example of how trying to force a band into a genre just makes it more confusing. Bands are categorized into genres to make it simpler to detect if you may be interested in them, but often times, a group or even album cannot fit nicely into just one or two genres. I can see how every genre I named above and even more could apply to The Decemberists and their new album ‘I'll be Your Girl.’ Songs like ‘Severed’ are a mash of techno, alternative, and pop that are a large step sideways for the album and band. I say sideways because it is actually a great song and fits quite well into this album, but is not their normal type of song. ‘Severed’ is a song that feels like it belongs in a spoof remake of Blade Runner or a cheesy 90’s teenage pop movie, but in the best way possible. In fact most songs on his record h...