kingbk-2

Full disclosure: while I have seen an episode or two of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, I am not familiar enough with the program to judge this program with that one. Having said that, this program is indeed a nice hybrid of three shows I do enjoy (The Office, Parks and Rec, Silicon Valley) with it's own flavoring as well. It took me a few episodes to get into it, but once I did, I was really hooked.

I think my favorite part of this show is the fact that it might be the best display of a plutonic friendship between a man and a woman that I have ever seen. Ian Grimm and Poppy Li might constantly be arguing and at each other's throats, but the mutual respect they have for each other and the deep bond between them is always evident no matter what. The best part, you can tell they love and care about each other, but romance is never forced and shoved through needlessly. It's about time Hollywood figured out how to write a realistic plutonic friendship between a man and a woman. They exist and there are many of them in 2021.

Also, the show is not afraid to take risks and write episodes completely different from the formula. A Dark Quiet Death, the Quarantine Special and Backstory are a few examples of this.

I'm not sure if this is truly what working at a video game studio is like, but now I can't help think of this show when I read about how video games are developed.

Let's be honest: the original Space Jam was not a great movie. It holds nostalgia in our eyes because it starred the greatest basketball player of all time next to some of our favorite cartoons. However, the original Space Jam looks like a classic compared to this overly produced mess of a sequel.

First off, let's get something straight. LeBron James is an amazing basketball player and he's very popular with young adults. However, he does not have the same aura about him that Michael Jordan did. MJ came at a time when being a celebrity wasn't so ubiquitous like it is now with the Internet and social media. Also, media is so fragmented now that we really don't have those "shared" experiences like we once did. EVERYONE knew MJ and the Chicago Bulls, basketball fans or not. I'm not sure LeBron has that same appeal. Also, even if people didn't like MJ, they respected him. Maybe it's because he gets political, or maybe because he switches teams, I don't know why, but LeBron is much more polarizing. Maybe it's just the cultural climate we live in today, but there are a lot of people who straight up don't like the guy.

The second thing is how corporate this movie is. So many product placements and pseudo commercials all over the place. It takes people out of the story and makes it feel like you are just watching endless commercials for 120 minutes.

Third, 120 minutes is way too long for families. 90 minutes or less. Kids loss attention after that. So do adults.

This movie is fine if you are looking for something to do for 2 hours, but there are better ways to spend that time than watching a lukewarm, unnecessary, over the top commercial showcase designed as a sequel to Space Jam.

In the Heights is a fun musical with great dancing, good music and a lot of energy. However, it is way too bloated. Clocking in at about 2 and a half hours, there are so many parts that plod along with no real focus or direction. Way too many side stories and secondary characters given big numbers. The script and the film in general badly needed an editor. Chop off about 30-45 minutes of material and you likely would have a great show, but instead, you have a good show.