I know it has been a while since my last movie review post. That does not mean I have not been watching movies; on the contrary, I have gone back to watch some old classics I still find funny in today's world.

Recently, I have discovered that I am beginning to find comfort in watching comedy movies, especially late at night, as it puts a smile on my face before bed. I know it might sound clichéd, but it even helps add some beauty to late-night dreams while keeping nightmares away.

First on my list was Happy Gilmore 2. I have to add that there is still room for improvement on Netflix when it comes to comedy movies, as there are only a handful of them. Only a few funny Kelvin Hart movies, and even my favourite comedy actor, Adam Sandler, has only grown-ups and a few others on Netflix. I suspect that is the reason for Netflix's recent shift into making more movies, as they are trying to widen the scope of movies they have on their platform. Hence, the making of Happy Gilmore 2.

For those who do not know it yet, Happy Gilmore is a 1998 comedy classic starring Adam Sandler as Happy Gilmore, a hockey player with some pretty short temper issues, which leads to his disqualification from playing the sport of hockey after a physical confrontation on the hockey field.

Here is the funny thing, one would think that is the end for Happy, but it is only the beginning, as new information about his Grandma's house getting seized by the mortgage bank if she doesn't pay off her long overdue mortgage debt comes to light. In the desperate attempt to raise cash for his grandma, Happy ventures into golf when he sees how big the prize money is.

I must confess that what grabbed my interest in watching Happy Gilmore was the scene of how he hates it when people are slow, which reminds me of the blog story I read about a man beating his opponent on the golf course because he was wasting too much time. In chess, it's like giving your opponent a hot slap for thinking too much and wasting too much time when it is already a mate in one, and there is nothing he can do. No doubt that if it happens, it will be on the blogs of chess news.

In a nutshell, Happy Gilmore 2 is all based on Happy coming back to golf after years of not playing, just so he can raise money for his daughter to go to ballet school in Paris, which costs $300,000. The comedy in this movie is not only about happy moments, but the entire character in general, especially Shooter McGavin. If that is not enough to get you to watch the movie, just know that a bunch of stars like Eminem, Post Malone, and many more are playing funny roles. Happy Gilmore 2 brought in about 43 million views on the first day, and I am sure it must have gone up because I did not watch it on the first day.

After watching Happy Gilmore, I felt it would not be bad to watch another Adam Sandler movie. This time, a classic as well, and it was Don't Mess with the Zohan. It is a 2008 movie that talks about how a counter terrorist soldier fakes his death and runs away to America to chase his dream of cutting hair.

Although I watched the Zohan movie years ago, it was nice to watch it again, but this time I understood the inside jokes better. If you are looking for a comedy classic to watch over the coming weekend, you can never go wrong with a Sandler movie.

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🩸 Anime Review ~ Demon Slayer: A Dance of Grief, Vengeance, and Flame

Hello everyone, I hope you're doing well. Today, I’m bringing you one of the most visually stunning and emotionally charged anime ever made. It’s an anime where pain fuels purpose, love fuels vengeance, and every swing of the sword carries a memory too heavy to forget.

At first glance, Demon Slayer might seem like just another samurai-meets-demon fantasy. But trust me, this story dives much deeper than that. It’s about holding on when everything is taken from you. It’s about what it means to protect something — or someone — even when you have nothing left. This is the world of Tanjiro Kamado — and it hurts to watch, but you won’t be able to look away.

Tanjiro is a kind-hearted boy from the mountains who only wishes to keep his family warm and fed. One day, after selling charcoal in town, he returns to find the snow painted red with the blood of his entire family. Everyone is dead — except his little sister, Nezuko. But she’s no longer human.

Nezuko has turned into a demon.

And so begins Tanjiro’s journey — not just to survive, but to save. He doesn’t want revenge. He wants a cure. He wants his sister back.

Demon Slayer is not just about fighting monsters. It’s about facing guilt, fear, anger, and loss. Every demon that Tanjiro faces once had a name, a family, a dream. The show doesn’t demonize the demons — it shows us their final memories, their pain, their humanity, right before they die. That’s what makes this anime so devastating — and so beautiful.

Through the help of the Demon Slayer Corps, Tanjiro trains, suffers, bleeds, and grows. Alongside him are unforgettable characters like:

Zenitsu, the coward who turns into lightning

Inosuke, the wild beast-boy with a broken past

Nezuko, the silent sister who fights her demon nature for love

The anime isn’t just about the fights. It’s about what’s worth fighting for.

Tanjiro could’ve given up. He could’ve blamed the world. Instead, he carries his grief like a blade, cutting through hopelessness. His kindness is his strength. His pain is his fuel. And his love for Nezuko — that silent bond — is what gives this anime its soul.

The animation is breathtaking, with every battle choreographed like a deadly ballet. Studio Ufotable has elevated the visual standard for shonen anime, especially in iconic moments like:

The Hinokami Kagura fire dance

The Mugen Train arc

The Upper Moon battles

But beyond the visual spectacle, Demon Slayer is an emotional war zone. It explores:

Grief and how we process it

The burden of survival

The temptation to give in

And then there’s Kyojuro Rengoku — the Flame Hashira. One of the most beloved characters in anime history. His warmth, his pride, his final words to Tanjiro — they echo far beyond the screen. He shows us what it means to burn bright even when you know your flame will go out.

Every Hashira has a story. Every demon has a past. And every episode has a truth.

This show is not just about swords and demons. It’s about trauma, love, family, and healing. It's about how even in the darkest moments, there is still a reason to stand, to fight, to keep breathing. Tanjiro’s journey is one of the most emotionally satisfying arcs in recent anime.

So if you’re looking for an anime that will break you, heal you, and leave you in awe — this is it.

Visuals: Masterpiece

Storytelling: Deep, emotional, human

Characters: Iconic and unforgettable

Themes: Pain, love, courage, and purpose

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All the screenshots in this post were taken directly from the documentary by me.

This piece is my interpretation of Kafka Hibino’s monstrous Kaiju form from Kaiju No. 8, captured in stark black ink on white, stripped of all color to let the raw intensity shine through. What makes Kaiju No. 8 so captivating isn’t just the destructive power—it’s the inner turmoil, the transformation of a man carrying the burden of both human duty and monstrous strength. In this drawing, I wanted to emphasize that duality: the clenched fist, ready to strike, and the face—part skeletal horror, part anguished warrior. The art style is purposefully rugged: thick, varied strokes, dense crosshatching, and scratchy imperfections reflect the chaos within the character. There’s no clean edge here—just sharp emotion, dark energy, and movement frozen in mid-roar. Every rough line adds tension, like the calm before the rampage. This isn’t just a monster—it’s a man becoming something more, and less, at the same time.

On sunday I was catching up on a lot of content I have been putting aside as now Im getting back to blogging and one of those movies was 40 Acres (2024) and honestly it didn't hit like I thought it would, the whole concept seems pretty solid on paper but the execution kinda stumbles in way too many spots, it just tries to be to many things at once. This movie throws you right into this post apocalyptic nightmare where some fungal pandemic killed off most animals, civil war tore everything apart and now farmland is basically more valuable than gold, which sounds badass in theory but then everything gets messy real fast and you start wondering what the hell they were trying to accomplish. You got the Freeman family, these Black Canadian farmers who inherited this sacred piece of land from their ancestors way back, they gotta defend it against these cannibal raiders who want to steal their crops and shit, but the damn movie can't figure out if it wants to be a family drama about survival or a zombie movie or some kind of deep political statement about land rights and history, besides we never see cannibals been cannibals, that would have made things more interesting though.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29634843/

Rottentomatoes Rating

Hailey gets played by Danielle Deadwyler and she is this fierce protective mother who trained all her kids on survival tactics, while her husband Galen tries to keep everyone together as a family unit, but their oldest son Manny is getting restless and wants to find his own path in life which creates tension that should be interesting to watch but ends up feeling repetitive after a while. The cannibals look way more like regular zombies or people who have been wondering around without any food for a while than actual flesh eating humans, the violence gets so over the top that it stops being shocking and starts feeling like cheap thrills just for the sake of it although is what holds this movie together. There is also this whole backstory about the historical significance of getting 40 acres and how it connects to broken promises made to freed slaves after the Civil War, which could have been really powerful if the movie committed to exploring it properly instead of just throwing it in there like an afterthought to make it seem deeper than it actually is.

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Acting is decent between all characters, they all feel like at the same level, Deadwyler brings real intensity to her role as this protective mother but even good performances can not save writing that does not give characters room to grow beyond basic stereotypes. Michael Greyeyes is solid as the father trying to hold everything together but feels way underused for an actor of his caliber, the kids all kinda blend together except for Manny who is supposed to be this rebellious teenager but comes across more whiny than sympathetic to the audience, there are times when you really want him to man up and wanted to smack him, only to then tell his mother "...but I could never hate you", bunch of cliche lines too. Where this movie really loses me completely is when it leans heavy into the cannibal horror stuff because these so called threats feel more like a joke than actual danger, with this cannibals around making dumb decisions that make you wonder how they have survived this long in the first place.

The movie tries to create this sense of constant danger but then undercuts itself by making the enemies feel completely incompetent and then you start predicting exactly how each encounter will play out before it even happens, they attack from the fields and then the kids defend from the top of the house, literally happens three times with one of the kids been the sniper. Its like the producers thought if they just added more gore, action and violence they would keep everyone watching hooked but all it does is turn into this generic apocalyptic action movie that wastes the more interesting family drama that could have turn things around and at some point in the story they wanted too but wasted too much time explaining whats what, like using the flashbacks to give context. There is also this weird tone shift where the movie tries to be both grounded and realistic about survival while featuring these cartoonish villains who feel like they wandered in from a completely different type of film. Although is not the worst of the year it has some merit if you can look past its numerous flaws that plague the entire movie, it does have some cool action scenes too aside from core family relationships that have moments of real emotion, especially when parents are training their children for survival or discussing the history and significance of their ancestral land, which gives the story some much needed heart and soul. The movie does touch on important themes about legacy, inheritance, and ongoing effects of historical injustices, even if it does gives it damn enough time to keep building up momentum.

40 Acres feels like a missed opportunity that had all the right pieces for something really special but could not figure out how to put them together properly in a way that made sense, one of the main characters who was suppose to be their biggest allies only appear about three or four times on the movie including a flashback and they gets killed, its like they wanted to give context and stretch the the movie by using chapters but it doesnt work that well, I mean the plan and intention is there but its the execution, this makes it an ok ish movie although not a bad one, almost like a cable type of movie, it stumbles with poor sound design, inconsistent tone and a script that can not decide what kind of story it wants to tell the audience. Their are many element feels forced and unnecessary, like how Manny got tricked out by a girl when his mother was telling him then hole time, its a trap, turning what could have been a thoughtful family drama into a generic action / horror movie with political pretensions that never quite land where they should. If produce had focused more on character development and emotional weight of what is to be living alone during apocalyptic times while toning down over the top violence, they might have created something memorable instead of just another forgettable entry in the crowded dystopian genre that we get flooded with every year, zombies and apocalyptic theme movies. Acting is solid enough to carry weaker moments but even good performances can not overcome fundamental problems with pacing and script, its a worth watching movie if you are really into post apocalyptic family dramas but do not expect to be blown away by anything that will change the genre, I would give it a 6 out of 10 which puts it in that frustrating category of movies that had potential but wasted it through poor execution and unclear vision about what it wanted to accomplish.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #dystopian, #apocalyptic, #family, #survival, #canadian, #farming, #cannibals, #zombies, #inheritance, #violence, #cinematography, #sound, #pacing, #horror, #drama, #thriller, #legacy, #land, #action, #flawed, #potential, #disappointing, #repetitive, #messy, #mediocre

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Forgive Us Our Trespasses (S07E22)

Airdate: 21 May 1999

Written by: Tom Fontana Directed by: Alan Taylor

Running Time: 44 minutes

The most revered television series often conclude in ways that leave their most ardent fans unfulfilled, and Homicide: Life on the Street’s final episode, Forgive Us Our Trespasses, is no exception. While the show’s cancellation after seven seasons was inevitable—NBC’s indifference to its gritty, unflinching realism had long been evident—the decision to produce a seventh season at all rankled fans. This final instalment, written by series co-creator Tom Fontana, compounded the frustration. The seventh season had already become a litany of missed opportunities, its narrative direction increasingly prioritising ratings-driven sensationalism over the raw, procedural authenticity that defined David Simon’s original vision. Characters like Detective Sheppard, a vacuous “eye candy” role thrust into the ensemble by producers, and Lt. Mike Giardello, whose poorly executed family melodrama diluted the show’s focus, underscored a creative bankruptcy. For many, the seventh season felt like a desperate, unnecessary afterthought, and Forgive Us Our Trespasses did little to reverse that impression.

Despite its flaws, the episode occasionally glimpsed the brilliance that once made Homicide groundbreaking. However, these fleeting moments—often tied to the series’ core themes of moral ambiguity and institutional failure—were insufficient to salvage either the season or the finale itself. The show’s decline was by then too entrenched, its scripts bloated with underdeveloped subplots and tonal whiplash. Even in its final moments, the episode seemed to grasp at relevance without truly reconnecting with the soul of the series.

The episode’s opening sequence, a direct sequel to the season’s weak Homicide.com, immediately signals its mediocrity. Detectives Sheppard and Bayliss return to a courtroom to observe the trial of internet killer Luke Rayland, whose case has been repeatedly postponed. When the judge finally dismisses the charges on technicalities, Bayliss—already frayed by recent trauma, including being shot and a subsequent self-defence killing—lashes out violently at Assistant State Attorney Danvers. This physical confrontation, coupled with Bayliss’s subsequent humiliation by Rayland (who vows to livestream new murders in New Orleans), amplifies his psychological unraveling. Yet the scene feels rushed, its emotional weight undercut by the crassness of Rayland’s taunts. The subplot’s resolution—Rayland’s mysterious murder, investigated by Lewis and Sheppard—is equally underwhelming. While Lewis notes the killer’s attention to evidence concealment, the thread is abandoned, leaving the audience with little closure.

Parallel to this main narrative, the episode introduces a side story involving the death of Johanna Foster McQueen, a heroin addict found in a derelict house. Detectives Falsone and Lewis quickly arrest her husband, Shane McQueen, for the murder of his friend Teague Ford, whom he suspected of an affair with Johanna. The true revelation, however, arrives with the arrival of Johanna’s sister, Sister Mary Catherine (Jessica Hecht), a nun unaware of her sibling’s sordid life. Her insistence on forgiving Shane in prison injects a faintly redemptive note, though the subplot is underdeveloped. Sister Mary Catherine’s presence, while intriguing, is never fully explored, reducing her arc to a didactic moral lesson.

Forgive Us Our Trespasses also undertakes the gruelling task of tying up lingering character arcs. Munch’s wedding to Billie Lou, a subdued Catholic ceremony, is juxtaposed with his post-nuptial complaint about his “performance” on their wedding night—a joke that feels both crass and tonally jarring. Meanwhile, Lt. Giardello’s promotion to captain and transfer to Property Crimes is treated as a perfunctory conclusion to his poorly received storyline. These resolutions feel rushed, as if the writers were ticking boxes rather than honouring the characters’ journeys.

Fontana, however, deserves partial credit for avoiding the pitfalls of earlier episodes. By sidelining Falsone—a character increasingly disliked for his smugness and narrative centrality—he shifts focus to Bayliss, the series’ moral centre. The episode traces Bayliss’s metamorphosis from earnest rookie to a man haunted by guilt and institutional disillusionment. Alan Taylor’s direction employs rapid flashbacks, reminding viewers of Bayliss’s evolution, while Kyle Secor delivers a nuanced performance, capturing the detective’s simmering rage and existential despair. The suggestion that Bayliss crossed the line into vigilantism adds a provocative layer to his character, though it feels underexplored.

The remainder of the episode, however, devolves into uninspired filler. Munch’s marital woes and Giardello’s family dynamics are handled with little insight, their inclusion seeming more about padding runtime than thematic depth. Even Sister Mary Catherine’s arc, while thematically rich, is underutilised, her forgiveness subplot resolving too abruptly to resonate. The finale’s weakest moments reveal the series’ creative exhaustion, its writers grasping for relevance in a season that should never have existed.

The episode’s closing scene, a deliberate nod to the pilot’s opening, underscores its cyclical themes. Detective Lewis, while investigating Rayland’s killing, repeats the exact dialogue he had at the very beginning of the first episode Gone for Goode. This circular structure, while fitting the series’ ethos, feels less like a satisfying conclusion and more like an admission of defeat. Homicide had always resisted the slickness of police procedurals, preferring to dwell in the moral murk of real-world policing. Yet by its final episode, even this ethos felt diluted, replaced by melodrama and contrivance.

Ironically, Forgive Us Our Trespasses was not the true end. NBC resurrected the series months later with Homicide: The Movie, a two-hour TV film that divided fans. Some viewed it as a fitting coda; others dismissed it as another cash-grab. Regardless, the episode and its sequel remain relics of a show that had outlived its creative vitality.

Despite its flaws, Homicide: Life on the Street’s legacy endures. Its unflinching realism, character depth, and influence on later series like The Wire—often hailed as its spiritual successor—cement its place in television history. Forgive Us Our Trespasses may not be a fitting farewell, but it serves as a reminder of what the series once was: a groundbreaking exploration of urban decay and institutional failure, undone only by its own prolonged twilight. For all its mediocrity, the finale’s final moments echo the series’ core truth—that on the streets of Baltimore, little ever truly changes. And perhaps, in that unchanging cycle, lies the show’s enduring power.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

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From Just a Woman to Men

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It is way past the half of the year, and I can't say I've completely watched an anime from beginning to the end. Well, I can now. But I can't believe how far I fell off.

Hello everyone, it's me again. I have missed the community—missed our conversations, the reviews, the fan arts, everything.

You guys remember when I was constantly talking about watching Black Clover and yeah, I was always still watching it. I don't know, I never took so long to watch an anime before, and it wasn't even up to 200 episodes. My experience with Black Clover was way different than my experience with Bleach. I devoured Bleach, guys :( and it hurts 'cause I fell off.

Source But anyways, a review about Black Clover—that is why I'm here today. And also 'cause I've missed talking about anime-themed stuff with you guys, but I've said that before, so please forgive me for being crude.

Black Clover is a 180+ episodes (but not up to 200) anime revolving around the life of Asta, an orphan that lived in a church. Asta was born without magic, and in a world where magic ruled and determined everything, life was nothing other than tough for him. But he was a focused and optimistic young boy, setting his mind on becoming the "Wizard King" at a young age. The Wizard King is the most powerful mage in the entire Clover Kingdom, ruling over the entire magic knight squads and their knights. The amount of magic is usually divided between individuals, which I find very despicable. Royals are born with more magic content than non-royals, making them more dominant over the normal people than they're supposed to be, because not only do they have power, but they're also powerful.

Asta has a childhood friend that grew together with him in the same church, Yuno. Yuno also shares the same goals with Asta, automatically serving as a rival to Asta because only one person can be the Wizard King. Yuno, for some reasons which the author of the manga has access to, possessed extremely powerful magic content—making him on par with a royal his age.

The beginning episodes involve a scene where a bunch of people gather and await their grimoire. A grimoire is a magic book that picks a particular mage or person worthy of it. There are different types of grimoire. There's the four-leafed grimoire, which stands for good luck, and then there's a five-leafed grimoire, which shows that a devil resides in it. This book includes spells and different things required to be a mage. Anyone who has magic is entitled to a grimoire—it is not compulsory to be a magic knight or to serve the country.

Source As the anime goes on, we get to see Asta's journey—his growth, how he handles things, and how powerful he becomes. Because, I mean—we all knew he was going to be super-duper strong eventually. It was that predictable.

The admirable thing about Black Clover is that it doesn't hide. It doesn't hide Asta's pain, the discrimination, the disdain people gave him, the hints of jealousy that came off whenever he noticed Yuno doing better (because Yuno was always doing better.) And in all these, he was still always optimistic. I think that's the most admirable thing about Asta. A whole lot of people would've quit, but Asta never stopped trying. And even though things don't always work out the way we planned—hard work eventually pays if you do it right. There's working hard, and there's working hard. (Honestly, I don't know what I just said, but it should mean something.)

Source Black Clover takes us on the journey of Asta becoming the Wizard King—his adventures, injuries, almost near-death, almost apocalypse, almost invasion. Yeah, there's a whole lot to watch in there. Just get used to his loud voice. I loathe that one thing when it comes to this anime. I do not like the screams. I hate it. Reminds me of Zenitsu from Demon Slayer, but thinking of it now, I can't figure out who's better.

Anyways, that's the end of this review now. Black Clover is a good anime. If you can get through the screams successfully, then you're all set.

Thanks for reading.