Review Day

There are no major spoilers in these reviews.

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (R):
This is a low-stakes buddy movie with Nicolas Cage (as Nicolas Cage) and Pedro Pascal that allows Cage to riff on his entire portfolio of acting choices, good and bad. It's funny, moves along quickly, and never totally devolves into cringeworthy parody. You will like it more if you're more familiar with the trajectory of Cage's acting career.

Final Grade: B

The Human Demands by Amy MacDonald:
I really liked Amy MacDonald back in 2009 because of her folksy, poppy uniqueness. All of her subsequent albums have gotten more polished and rock-pop, sanding off everything that made the original one unique. Listening to this newest one just takes me back to the early 2010s when every song had a little too much guitar reverb in the backup pads thanks to the influence of Coldplay.

Final Grade: C

Beyond the Fringe by Miles Cameron:
This is a collection of short stories set in the world of Artifact Space. I really like that they explore political undercurrents that are just throwaway sentences in the main book. I had a much deeper understanding of the book after reading these although only about half of them stood strong on their own as isolated short stories.

Final Grade: B-

Cobra Kai, Season Four:
The slow but visible build up to the sixth and final season starts to take shape here. One of the key strengths of the show is how many different sides each character has been on throughout the story, but all with reasonable backstories. This is a great season that offers something other than just "more of the same", although it takes far too long to get a key villain to commit to the story. On Netflix.

Final Grade: B+