Reviewing ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ Using Power-Ups

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is here, shattering animation records the way it’s titular hero smashes question-mark boxes in the Mushroom Kingdom. Critics hate it. Audiences love it. Most hardcore fans’ opinions are … somewhere in the middle. In short, the movie is worth your money, whether you’re a fan of the video games or not. Illumination Studios has delivered a colorful blast of nostaglia for adults, and a fast-paced, not-as-funny-as-it-should-be-but-it’ll-do movie for kids.

‘St. Anger’ is Old Enough to Buy Cigarettes; Has its Angst Become Any More Tolerable?

 

Metallica’s eighth studio album, St. Anger, should have never happened, and yet, it had to happen.

MLB Does Atlanta Dirty

Published in the Crescenta Valley Weekly

Among the first things I heard last week regarding the new voting law in Georgia is it would deny the ability for water or other refreshments to be given to voters standing in line as they withered away in the humidity under the relentless Georgia sun.

Why would Republican lawmakers create those restrictions, I thought? It doesn’t matter what party I identify with; that seemed so unnecessary, and cruel.

Meet Me at the Coastline

Goodbye hope

And inspiration

The Loudest Love, the Greatest Voice

 

I was Chris Cornell’s biggest fan.

I know I’m not alone in saying that. You could be too, and I hope you get there. If you decide to take the journey in discovering who he was, and what he will always be, you will eventually appreciate just how massively superior he was to almost every artist, and yet understand how burdened he was as a person.

If you’re skeptical of my assurance, I don’t think you will be for very long.

Flight 331

 

I came home from Austin last week. Another Texas trip visiting my sister, and another one where we saw Blink-182 perform.While the show was great, and checking out the bars 6th Street made for a memorable experience, my last day was frustrating. We left the hotel in Austin and got on the road, headed for Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport around 11 a.m. My flight, Flight 2496, was set for 4:30 p.m. We should have been there in plenty of time.

Nintendo Switch Preview Tour, Los Angeles: Demos, Impressions, Takeaways

This past weekend was the last stop of the Nintendo Switch Preview Tour. From Toronto to San Francisco, and finally down to L.A., fans of the Big N have been able to preview the new system all winter before its release. Of course, the Switch launched on March 3, as well as early Game of the Year candidate for any gaming publication, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Link’s new adventure has garnered universal acclaim from those who have played it. It would be a shock to see if critics didn’t like enjoy the game, but it’s nonetheless comforting to know Nintendo has scored big out of the gate.

A Lifetime in the Making

Published in the Crescenta Valley Weekly, Feb. 16, 2017

The first letter came from the United States government dated April 12, 1945:
My Dear Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, a brief report has been received that your son, private first class Samuel L. Anderson Jr, United States Marine Corps Reserve, was wounded in action against the enemy on 11, March 1945 at Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands. Your anxiety is realized …

The Patriots are Hulkamania Run Wild … Oh Brother

Dawson’s Creek’s Romances: An Examination, Part 1