An Update on the Direction and Future of Jake's Blog of Entertainment

A short post, but one that I feel was necessary to make. Now to get one thing out of the way, the blog is not going anywhere anytime soon and will be continuing on for as long as I see fit. That being said, outside commitments have forced me to not be as active as I should. To accommodate this, I have looked for new ways to find the right balance. And they are as follows:

1. I will post a review for only one movie each month as opposed to reviewing nearly every movie I see. This generally means that if these particular movies move me in a way that makes me feel like they deserve special recognition, then expect a review to be posted. This way I will be able to offer up a more honest and detailed response and not something that was rushed out so I could move onto the next post. These will start either next month or the month after, with the review posted at the end of the month.
2. Each month I will post a review of a movie from the past that I would like to give my thoughts on. These will be called Retro-Reviews, and expect these to start up next month or the month after alongside the current movie reviews. For these, I will usually pick a movie of my choosing to review, but I am open to any suggestions from you guys, which you can drop off here in the comment section below. This could also include other forms of media, such as TV Shows (whether it be individual seasons or a full series overview,) comics, and video games. Retro-Reviews will be posted at the midpoint of each month.
3. In The Mind Of is where I give my overall thoughts on a particular character in the realm of fiction. Same as Retro-Reviews, it will be a character of my choosing, but I am open to any suggestions that you can leave here. 
4. Due to conflicts, a gradual decline in its popularity, and my evergrowing frustration with the show itself, I will be limiting the amount of Walking Dead posts I make to simply reviews for the current season and possibly past seasons for Retro-Reviews, character spotlights for In The Mind Of, and three Top 10 Lists for moments, episodes, and characters once I give the first eight seasons a rewatch (whether I count future seasons will be determined in the future.) Now that's not to say I will be doing this just for The Walking Dead; I will generally be posting lists and predictions less frequently as time goes, instead saving them for special occasions. 

And that's it for this post, guys. As always, tune in for more posts coming your way and be sure to leave any suggestions that you have here in the comments below :)

Ant-Man and the Wasp (SPOILERS)

It takes two to make a thing go right...

Well, to put it simply, this was much needed therapy after the trauma that was Infinity War. The first Ant-Man was a fun if simple venture in the MCU, but this one is probably just a little bit better in that regard. Now let's get into why:

UPS

1. Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lily make for a great superhero tag team. It's pretty awesome to see Hope get in on the action this time around, and seeing her fight alongside Scott is a welcome sight to say the least. They were really fun together and I can't to see their next outing...well, until they get out of their current predicament first...
2. It's really funny and touching. Like I said, this was much needed after Infinity War, and this more than lived up to that. You'll be laughing your head off at one point from Luis on truth serum to feeling all warm inside seeing Scott have some quality time with Cassie and the Pym family being reunited after being separated for so long. It just a sweet little tale being told. 
3. Ghost was a decent villain. While not being super standout like many of the other villains in Phase Three, she's better than the last major female villain, Hela, in that she was given a substantial amount of screentime and development. I also like that she wasn't a true villain and more someone who was just desperate to survive. Thankfully, she managed to fulfill her purpose (even if the means of which are a little so so, which I'll get to,) and I hope to see her return as a possible Avenger in the near-distant future.

DOWNS

1. Michelle Pfeiffer was a little wasted with her role. Though the movie's plot is revolved around getting her out of the Quantam Realm, she still has limited screentime and her sole contribution overall was providing a Deus Ex Machina in using powers she obtained out of the blue to help Ghost retain her life force. Overall, Pfeiffer's is a welcome addition to the movie, but it wasn't enough for an actress of her standing.
2. Sonny Burch was a bit of a nuisance throughout the movie. Despite him providing some of the funniest moments in the movie by introducing truth serum, he is mostly just an afterthought that's disconnected from the rest of the plot, which makes him kinda distracting to watch. Like Michelle Pfeiffer, this is a true waste of a good actor in Walton Goggins.

OVERALL

Ant-Man and the Wasp was a solid improvement over the first one and an enjoyable yet safe experience in the MCU.

And that's it for this post, guys. Tune in for more on the way :)  

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (SPOILERS)

Welcome to Jurassic World...

Jurassic Park is one of my favorite movies of all time. As time went on, it spawned several sequels, several of them which...weren't very good. After two disappointing outings (one which I dislike and the other I find to be a guilty pleasure,) the closest the sequels ever came to capturing the spirit of the original was Jurassic World, but nostalgia doesn't necessarily equal quality or anything despite the movie having some incredibly awesome moments and Chris Pratt being the leading man, so where does Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom fall in this regard? At first, I thought this movie was gonna be quite easily the worst of the lot, considering that the trailers did it no favors and it looked to be borrowing heavily from the one I dislike the most, The Lost World. Let me be the first to say that the marketing for this movie did not do it justice, at all. This movie is better than it seems, and overall it had the potential to be the best one since the first. I'm not kidding! Ultimately, I'm incredibly torn with this one, and here's why:

UPS

1. The cast is great. Again, Chris Pratt is always dependable when it comes to being the leading man, and he shares great chemistry with Bryce Dallas Howard, who is given a far better role here (no high heels this time 'round.) Rafe Spall, Toby Jones, and Ted Levine do fine as the villains of this piece, James Cromwell has a brief but overall decent role, and Jeff Goldblum and B.D. Wong make the most of the spare screentime they're given, but the real standout is Isabella Sermon as Maisie Lockwood, who is easily the best child to come out of the franchise, which is saying a lot. Overall, these actors make the most of a film that could've made better use of them all. 
2. J. A. Bayona's direction. When I said that this movie had the potential to be just as good as the first, well that maybe in part to its director. Bayona shows that he is a capable director who can show off his skills in the midst of everything else, and it's his competent direction that manages to carry this movie the whole way through...well, until...

DOWNS

1. The ending. Dear God, this has to be one of the most clunky, haphazard, and downright aggravating conclusions to a film ever! Not only does it exaggerate the plot to ridiculous levels, but it also has the Indoraptor (who was actually kinda cool; again, the trailers didn't do this movie justice) die an extremely lame and anticlimactic death, introduces a truly awful plot twist (you'll know it when you see it,) and starts to get incredibly preachy with its messages before turning them over on their heads and closing out with a sequel hook. Again, if it weren't for this whole end sequence, this movie would be so much better. 

OVERALL

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom was easily the most frustrating movie of this year. It could have been a fantastic surprise...but that ending...UGH! Definitely not as bad as it seemed to be, but could have been so much more. 

And that's it for this post, guys. Tune in for more on the way :) 

Incredibles 2 (SPOILERS)

Where's my Super Suit?...

In a time when folks my age were around the age of the kids today, there was one movie that almost everyone would know, love, and quote, especially the tagline of this post. That movie is none other than The Incredibles, which was essentially Pixar's answer to DC's Watchmen if you will. It's a beloved classic by now, yet there hasn't been any talk of a sequel...until now. 14 years later, the Parr family and friends have finally returned to our screens for another round of being super. Of course, was it worth the wait? Simply put, I'd say yes. In my honest opinion, I find Incredibles 2 to be better than the first, despite a few problems here and there. Let's get down to why I came to this conclusion:

UPS

1. The action and animation were pretty top-notch. It had a different feel from the first, but one that I could say was much better in all regards. The animation was vibrant and gorgeous while the action was intense and fluid in every motion. Overall, a huge thumbs up to the crew for their outstanding work here.
2. The family dynamics were given more time to be showcased and developed. Whereas the first focused more on Mr. Incredible's arc and story, the whole family gets a chance to shine here and there isn't a single one sidelined or left out of focus. However, that's not to say that one of them doesn't manage to come out on top, because...
3. JACK-JACK STEALS THE SHOW! Seriously, if all else failed, Jack-Jack could easily carry this movie on his shoulders, hands down. From his interactions with the other characters, to the extent of his vast array of powers, every moment of screentime that he's given is enough to make one feel joy and laughter. He really is that great :)

DOWNS

1. Screenslaver is a really weak villain, or at least a major step-down from Syndrome. While I figured this to be a given since Syndrome is such an iconic villain to compete with, I still felt they could have done a little better with this character. From the lack of truly standout moments of villainy to the incredibly obvious reveal of who the character really was, it was just majorly disappointing how this character was handled, even when I wasn't expecting too much.

OVERALL

I really enjoyed Incredibles 2. Definitely one of my favorites of the year and a major step-up from the first, I'd say it was definitely worth the wait. Now let's not wait another 14 years for the third, shall we ;)

And that's it for this blog, guys. Tune in for more on the way :)