All posts by teahhhh

COVID-19, Movies/TV/Theaters

How the pandemic has affected movies

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Image taken from: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3152592/

The coronavirus pandemic has brought a lot of changes to daily life and how things are going. Stores started closing early and only letting a certain number of people into the store, some business closed entirely, and many people have started to work from home.

One of the other things that has changed has been movie production.

Production on lots of movies and TV shows has been halted due to it including large groups of people and it being hard to adhere to the safety guidelines: like staying six feet apart. Movie theaters have also closed.

Due to the theaters closing, many film studios have opted to release their movies instead on a streaming service to be able to rent. Movies typically cost twenty dollars to watch this way.

The price has caused some controversy as some people feel like twenty dollars is too much. This is because theater ticket prices for one person can be as low as five dollars, depending on where you’re going. Even an AMC ticket is usually only around fourteen dollars for a single person.

However, for a family with children, this price is extremely cheap. Some families would be paying double the price to go see a movie, plus with food and drinks it becomes even more expensive.

An at home theater experience ensures families can pay a way lower price to see a film, they can have cheaper microwave popcorn, and they can pause the movie if they need to.

This has proved to be beneficial for the movie companies too, as Trolls: World Tour made way more money than its projected profit.

Companies seem to be comfortable offering their movies this way, as at home theater rentals seem to become more and more common.

Not every movie can benefit from the pandemic. Many have had to halt production and change their release date. This can cause a shift in a company’s schedule for years. This can be seen with Marvel. They had every movie planned out for many years, so even having to push back one release date can affect all their movies. This can result in a major profit loss.

Movies like Mulan, Wonder Woman 1984, and Venom 2 have been pushed back months for their release. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is nearing it’s tenth anniversary and was going to be rereleased in theaters, but now it’s going to have wait.

Other movies like Scoob! and The Invisible Man have adjusted to the pandemic by releasing for a rental.

The pandemic has caused many things in our daily life to change. One thing is for sure though, movies will always be around and many studios are willing to adapt to change to put out their movies for viewing. Although production has halted on some projects, they will still be released.

Movies/TV/Theaters

Complaints sent to the FCC about ‘The Walking Dead’

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Season 7’s villain, Negan, got many complaints. Image taken from: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/walking-dead-who-does-negan-940640

The Walking Dead has always been a show victim to jokes and complaints. Many people point out it’s many seasons, dumb characters, and awkward romance. The amount of people tuning in every week has been chopped by more than half.

Production of new episodes of The Walking Dead has been stopped due to the coronavirus, and recently the FCC decided to release its biggest complaints about the AMC show.

Almost all are about the violence, and many called for the show to be taken of the air. A few viewers even called it satanic.

Complaints about violence consisted of the idea that such gore does not belong on cable television. A Texas complaint said there is no need to show blood and cites Hitchcock’s Pyscho as a non-violent horror.

Lots of these violence complaints centered around season seven’s villain. He wields a baseball bat covered in barbed wire, and uses this as a weapon against people. One viewer had said the image of seeing the bat used had horrified them, and even days later they couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Another focus was a group of people in the show who wear zombie skin as a disguise. Ads were shown on different channels showing the people cutting and sewing the skin masks. The complaints had said that the ads were too graphic. One person had been “Watching Princess Diaries 2 for goodness sakes,” and couldn’t change the channel quick enough. Another was trying to watch the “wholesome, clean” Hallmark channel, but was subjected to the same commercial. Complaints like these span over many channels such as The Food Network and TV Land.

In the same vein as violence, people also said the show is satanic. This is due to the gore, language, and LGBTQ+ characters.

Complaints also centered around the swearing. One viewer didn’t understand why cuss words would be on a show for kids, despite the fact that it is a TV-14 rated show.

Another had said that the show pulled in people of all ages and should be more clean. Walking Dead’s rating has been under fire as well, due to people thinking the show is not age appropriate for teens, and it should be rated TV-MA instead.

It feels like most of the complaints are just due to personal taste. While you might think gore is horrible, another person enjoys the thrill and tension that it can come with.

At the end of the day, if you don’t like the show, you can always turn it off.

COVID-19, Movies/TV/Theaters, National

Louisiana police use siren from ‘The Purge’ to signal quarantine

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Image taken from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us_0aLWOa8E

The Purge siren goes out with an announcement.

Louisiana had to put a quarantine into place due to being one of the places with the fastest spread of the coronavirus. Curfew is 6am to 9pm, and violation can result in a citation. Employees going to and from work must have documentation from their employer.

The police used a siren to signal that curfew had begun and to stay inside. However, they were unaware that the siren was used in the 2013 movie The Purge. In the film, the siren announces the beginning of a twelve hour period where all crime is legal. I’m sure for people who knew about the movie, this would have been terrifying to hear, especially at night.

The police issued an apology, and stated that the siren would be not used again. After getting numerous complaints, they assured the public that it was not a prank set out by the department, and it was an honest mistake.

The Purge is an incredibly successful horror film franchise. It has spawned four films and a T.V. show. A fifth film was slated for a 2020 release, but production was most likely stopped due to the virus. In the series, all crime is legal for a 12 hour period once a year. Hearing this type of siren late at night must have been scary for some people, and luckily the police department was able to catch their mistake on the first night they used it.

Music/Concerts

Suicideboys: ‘Stop Staring at the Shadows’

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Image taken from: https://genius.com/albums/Uicideboy/Stop-staring-at-the-shadows

Stop Staring at the Shadows was a Valentine’s Day release album from the New Orleans duo Suicideboys (often written as $uicideboy$) which consists of Ruby da Cherry and Scrim. This is their second album, but they have released many mixtapes and EPs. They have a EP saga which so far has 20 parts. Although this is only their second album, it is their 45th released project. The album was officially announced on December 19th, 2019 and had two singles.

The album has 12 tracks, and honestly that was not enough for me because I loved this album. It’s energetic, it’s loud, and the production is phenomenal. The album opens with “All Dogs Go To Heaven” which has a beat that sounds like it’s sampling a video game, and every track after keeps up with its excitement. No track feels out of place, and every part of it works. Each track feels unique while also fitting in very well with the rest of the album.

The album got pretty good reviews, and their fans were pretty satisfied with the release. Suicideboys are known for controversy and darker lyrics with a nightmarish feel, and this album definitely delivers. “MEGA ZEPH,” which the track title is based off of a rundown roller coaster in Six Flags New Orleans, feels like horror and then ends with screaming lyrics about the devil and drugs into the mic.

It’s an album that goes hard, and isn’t afraid to do what it wants to do. I would recommend this album if you like energetic, darker, music. I think it’s safe to say this is a step in the right direction for Suicideboys, and I can’t wait to see what they come out with next.

Music/Concerts

Lil Wayne: ‘Funeral’

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Image taken from: https://www.stereogum.com/2071090/lil-wayne-announces-new-album-funeral-out-next-week/news/

Lil Wayne’s album Funeral came out January 31st after it was first announced in 2016. If you flip the cover upside down it cleverly also spells Lil Wayne. The album is a continuation of his 2010 album Rebirth. Funeral is Lil Wayne’s fifth album to go number one on the charts. It has many featured artists including names such as Adam Levine, 2 Chainz, and XXXTentacion.

“I Do It” was the only single released from the album. Funeral has 24 tracks and the album as a whole takes an hour and sixteen minutes to listen through. Plus, with ten features it’s no wonder why the album feels bloated.

It starts off strong with its title track which starts off somber and slow, but starts to pick up speed near the end. The four tracks after it are well crafted and sound like classic Lil Wayne.

However, track six, “Stop Playin With Me,” marks the beginning of a very poor middle. The tracks all have similar beats, and while they each have some good quality to them, they don’t feel unique.

The Adam Levine feature is poor, and it feels like the other artists featured on the album are not fully utilized or just don’t seem to fit on the song or album. 

I personally had a hard time getting through the middle slog because the songs didn’t offer much for me to grab onto. I was writing my passing thoughts on the songs while I was listening and, while the first few tracks I had a good amount of notes for, I really couldn’t find anything memorable in most of the songs after.

The album does have a tribute to the late Kobe Bryant ,who died in a helicopter crash just five days before the release of Funeral. In the song, Lil Wayne and Jay Rock rap about achieving king status in the game just like Kobe with basketball. It ends with 24 seconds of silence. 

Funeral was given mixed reviews. Some critics felt it was too long and unoriginal while others thought it was decent, but certainly not the best. It’s something that fans of Lil Wayne will enjoy, but not an album that will catch your attention if you’re not already familiar with him. 

It seems like the album doesn’t really know what it’s doing. It throws everything out there, but only a few songs are strong enough to stick. It’s a good album, just not cohesive enough, and it offers very little.

Would I recommend this album? Well, yes, if you’re a Lil Wayne fan or big into rap, but if you’re just looking for something to casually bop to or an intro to Wayne’s music then this album probably isn’t the direction to go. It certainly doesn’t live up to his older classics.