Random Thoughts for April 2016

"The Hateful Eight" just gets better and better. I enjoyed the movie the first time that I saw it, but I was a little disappointed that it didn't leave me as stimulated as a QT film usually does. Was he losing he touch? Those fears were put aside with another viewing (this time on pristine BluRay) where I was really able to appreciate the nuances. While Tarantino works away from his usual style, the DNA is still the same, and the storytelling still shines through in a way that only a Quentin film could.

What's happening to the horror genre? The Saw franchise gave us a brief resurgence, and there's been rare gems peppered in amongst the dreck (The Witch, Insidious, The Conjuring). But why is there no trend right now? There's always a trend in horror, and while James Wan was trying to bring back the "Haunted House" flick, interest has slowly died. There's just no franchise worth latching onto these days. So why aren't some of the old classics being looked at? Why is it so difficult for them to get a Friday the 13th/Halloween/Nightmare on Elm Street going? Good horror oriented movie experiences are fairly essential parts of adolescence in my circles, so I feel bad for this younger generation that isn't being given anything.

WWE and I are on a break. If you've been following my latest posts, you've seen how disappointed I am with the product and I feel as though my only course of action in an effort to air my grievances is to just stop watching. I've done this in spurts before, but usually I'm drawn back in by the art of wrestling. But there are just too many other options now to continually sit through the nonsense that is prevalent on Monday Night Raw. So, until WWE gets their shit together, I'll be tuning into NJPW, ROH, and NXT.

"Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" has been disappointing. I was a really big fan of the first season (I even finished it in about a day) but I can't seem to attach to see follow-up. While it's essentially the same show, there's something missing that I can't quite put my finger on. I'm still only a few episodes in but it's felt off the whole time. There's still plenty of time to recover, but I'm not holding out too much hope.

I've been watching old ROH shows with Bryan Danielson and CM Punk. Since I quit the Main Roster product, I had to get my fix elsewhere, so I decided to go back to some of the work that I missed or glossed over. While I had seen some matches on youtube back in college, I didn't watch them with the same level of study. Seeing them now, it's truly remarkable what they were doing to the world of wrestling. They were always going to make an impact on the industry in a big way.

Still no editor for "The Crimson Summer." I figured I would be able to find one by this point but everyone that I have talked to about potentially doing it, hasn't worked out. I have a plan in motion to get it done, but it won't be the personal touch that I was wanting for my first published book. Either way, I'm now looking at May for a release (with a trailer coming that will have the actual release date announcement).

I have some interesting plans for this summer. And by interesting, I mean: could be a total and complete waste of time but I think it will be positive for a variety of reasons. That being said, I will be loading my Kindle up with some old scripts and short stories and reading through them, seeing if anything is salvageable, even if it's just a line of dialogue or two. I think it'll also help me to grow as a writer by seeing where I came from since most of the writing will be from 10+ years ago.

The 2016 NFL season is shaping up to be incredible. As a Patriots fan, I can't believe some of the great moves we made this offseason (Martellus Bennett is going to be a deadly combo with Gronk) and how different the landscape of the NFL looks. Many key players have switched teams, with even more retiring (Calvin Johnson, you will be missed), and all big defenses have been stripped of key players. To say that this season is completely wide open is an understatement. There are predictions for the Raiders in the Superbowl and you know what? It may just happen.

Almost cancelled my Apple Music subscription then it saved itself. While I really enjoyed the fact that for only $9.99 a month--I have access to my entire music library without having to store them on my tiny 16gb iPhone, therefore allowing me to allocate the space for something else--my lack of listening to music was starting to make it pointless. Then I realized I hadn't listened to any new albums in 2016 and that I had the ultimate tool at my disposal. So I listened to six new releases all the way through, making the monthly subscription well worth it.