The Midnight Gospel is a Netflix show that came out on April 20th. The show was directed and produced by Duncan Trussel and Pendleton Ward, the creators of Adventure Time. The show follows the journey of a guy named Clancy who goes to different worlds and records podcasts interviewing people from those worlds. These interviews are based on real life conversations Pendleton Ward and Duncan Trussel had with philosophers around the world.

Each episode dives into different topics from the legalization of marijuana to the modern use of witchcraft. On top of the oftentimes bizarre topics, the animation that goes alongside it is very confusing, but interesting and fun to watch. The style of animation is very similar to Adventure Time in that it’s very colorful and there’s a lot of organic movement. 

The eighth and final episode was my favorite. This episode is based off a 2013 interview with Duncan Trussel’s mom. At the time, she had metastatic breast cancer that had spread to her bone marrow. She died three weeks after the interview. The episode dives into death and what happens after you die. They also talk about going with the flow of life rather than fighting against it.

Overall, this show was very good. I think that I will have to watch it a couple more times to fully understand everything because there is so much information, but the visuals make it interesting enough that it will still be fun to watch. I highly recommend watching it.

It’s been six months since Disney+ launched, and it already has 50 million paid subscribers worldwide.

Even though COVID-19 has stopped production of their TV shows, we still have a loose outline of the shows and movies coming out on Disney+ in the next year.

On the Marvel side of everything, Disney has many shows coming out in 2020-21. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is coming out sometime in August and a WandaVision releasedate has yet to be given, but it’s said to be coming out this year.

Besides Marvel content, Disney has also been working on Star Wars content. With the release of Disney+, they released the first season of The Mandalorian, which will be coming out with a second season in October 2020.

Parks and Recreation is a 2009 comedy show about a woman named Leslie Knope working in the Parks & Recreation department of her local government in the city of Pawnee, Indiana. She believes strongly in government, unlike her boss, Ron Swanson, who believes all forms of government are a waste. The two main characters of the show are total opposites and are still friends, which leads to a lot of comedic interactions.

This show is made in a fake documentary style like The Office, so there are often random interviews with the characters so we get to see what they’re thinking. However, unlike The Office, the camera crew following them around is never addressed and never had any relevance on the plot; it’s just used to let the characters monologue.

One of the strongest points of Parks & Rec is the believability of the situation. There’s never anything supernatural going on; it always just remains funny with a few people working in local government. Not only that, but the plot progresses between each episode really smoothly, so you can see the cast always working towards a goal. However, each episode is also contained, so you can skip the episodes you don’t like on a second viewing and still understand what is going on. 

Another great thing about this show is the characters. Andy Dwyer, played by Chris Pratt, is an absolute treasure, and fills the role of the sweet man child that could not have been cast better. There’s also April Ludgate, who plays an apathetic intern whom Ron takes a liking to because they both hate their job. Ann Perkins is Leslie’s best friend, and they meet in the first episode during a public forum, which also kicks off the show‘s end goal: creating a park behind Ann’s house.

However, this show is not without its flaws. The only character that is really unique is Ron Swanson and maybe Andy, but Andy only works so well because he’s played by Chris Pratt. Also, this show can be a bit insensitive, specifically surrounding Native Americans. There is a gag in the show about the history of Pawnee settlers and Natives and how it was super bloody, and even though it’s played off in the show like it’s a bad thing, it still makes fun of it. Also, the only Native American in the show is a stereotypical casino owner. Parks & Rec isn’t racist or anything, but if you are sensitive about Native American history, then skip this show.

All in all, Parks & Rec is really good. The characters are really funny, you don’t really see repetition until the seventh, and last season (which you should skip), and the way the show develops is better than most television shows.

My final rating for this show is 9/10.

The Office is a 2005 television show that revolves around a hilarious boss named Michael Scott and his efforts to run a branch of a paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. This show is pretty popular, and you’ve probably heard about it before, and probably have seen it before too.

The show has a total of nine seasons, and what it does really well is distinguish them from each other. Looking back, you can remember moments from certain seasons because of how the characters acted in each season. This show is anything but repetitive, and the gradual shift of the characters throughout the show is one of the greatest things about it.

Still, The Office has a great idea of it’s humor through its characters. Michael Scott, the boss, is hilariously oblivious to everything around him. He has a certain kind of charm and always says the wrong thing in every situation, leading to all sorts of hilarious hijinks. The single worst part of The Office as a whole is when he leaves the show in Season 7.

There’s also memorable characters such as Jim and Pam, who have a will they/won’t they sort of relationship, because Jim likes Pam but Pam is engaged. Once again, this storyline develops naturally and is mostly resolved after season 4, so it doesn’t get old or unrealistic.

One of the more unique characters is Dwight Shrute, a paper salesman who is Jim’s rival/friend. Dwight is kind of hard to describe, but to sum it up: he’s a man with a lot of pride. He is also very gullible, and falls victim to Jim’s pranks all of the time, which always end up being hilarious and unique.

However, this show isn’t for everyone. It’s rated PG-14, and if you don’t like shows that deal with sex or cursing, this probably isn’t the show for you. However, it’s certainly not overrated like a lot of the haters of this show say. The plot is solid, the characters bounce off each other in a realistic way, and the show could easily drive itself on humor alone, but has several storylines that are entertaining in their own way.

My final rating for this show is a 10/10.

By: Isaac Basques

Drive (2011) is an action packed, raw thriller/drama with a story that will keep you on your toes.

Drive was released on September 16th, of 2011, and made $81.4 million in the box office. The movie is about a no named character (Ryan Gosling) who is a getaway driver for heists. When he meets his next door neighbor in his apartment (Carey Mulligan) and her young son, he
begins to develop a very close relationship with them. Once her husband (Oscar Isaac) comes home from prison, he gets himself caught up in a life or death situation between him and friends from prison, and it’s up to him and Ryan Gosling to set it right.

This movie is very unique cinematically and takes its action in a very different way pace wise. It
doesn’t make action its main priority; it’ll focus heavily on the characters’ relationships and makes you root for them more if something bad were to happen. But when the action actually occurs in the movie, it gets very intense and keeps you on your toes.

The soundtrack in this film is what really stood out to me; it has a very retro theme to it, but it takes place in modern time and it fits very well.

The acting in the movie is good and feels raw and realistic.

Although, there are moments in the movie where the characters will often have very long pauses between dialogue and it makes for a kind of awkward scene for the viewer. This kind of goes for the whole movie; it’ll have too long of pauses and it seems like they’re trying to stretch out the runtime a bit.

One thing I’ve somewhat noticed over time is that they don’t really give too much personality to the main antagonist. They give him personality, but just not enough. They kind of feel as if they were written mainly to be enemies of the film and no one else.

Other than a couple small issues with this film, I’d say it is highly worth watching and will keep you entertained.

I give it an 8/10

Ever since COVID-19 the world has been on quarantine, putting on pause the entertainment world. Many things have been canceled like, professional sports, movie releases, and concerts. It would be an understatement if I said I was bored, so here’s some of my favorite movies to watch in quarantine.

While we are on quarantine I’ve had a lot of time to catch up on the movies I haven’t watched in the past few years. Here are some recommendations for movies to watch that can be found on major streaming platforms like Hulu, Netflix, and Disney+. 

To fit the mood, you can start off by watching movies that are about apocalypses, and the world ending.

2012 is about a man trying to keep his family safe as strings of natural disasters engulf the world.

If you’re looking for an apocalyptic movie The Train To Busan is your best choice. Produced in South Korea, this movie follows a father and daughter on their way to Busan from Seoul. When a zombie apocalypse breaks out, they are forced to make difficult decisions on their journey to escape the zombies (Uses subtitles).

During this time I have also decided to binge watch fandom movie series like The Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, and Harry Potter. You can watch the MCU and Star Wars on Disney+ and can buy Harry Potter on Amazon Prime. 

Since the movie theaters have closed temporarily many movies haven’t been able to come out. Some movie companies have turned to putting their movies on streaming services. You can now watch Onward and Frozen 2 on Disney+ if you have a subscription to the streaming service.

On Amazon Prime, YouTube, and Vudu you can rent Trolls World Tour for twenty dollars.

With other movies that were meant to come out March through May, many companies have come out with new release dates for the movies. Disney’s Mulan will be released on July 4, 2020 and Black Widow will be released on November 6, 2020.