Can you believe it's been eight years since this blog was created? I started this website as a hobby in my PR class as a way to help develop my writing and express my passions in content. Originally, my writing was sub-par, had glaring errors in it, and I covered a lot of broad topics from daily life to news. The progression naturally turned to my geek interests, like TV, movies, gaming, and other highlights in nerdom/geekdom. As I grew in life, so did this blog.
September 2018 marks eight years since when this blog originally launched as The Unwritten Journal. Even the name focused on being more of a personal blog that covered my daily life and interests. Four years after that launch, I rebranded the site to become City Boy Geekiness, and the content became more streamlined to cover geek topics. A year after that rebranding, my writing passion expanded beyond blogging into freelance writing and journalism. Though, now life has reached to this moment.
For the last several months, I've been focusing a lot on my priorities and taking a bigger interest in my well-being. Yoga, meditation, and organization have helped to balance things out; it's also pushed me to realign and focus on my goals in life. I'm a determined and ambitious type of person - I love keeping busy and signing up for new opportunities/experiences. Arguably, this has been both a blessing and a curse because I get to develop my skills and passions, but I also take on too much as an active person. If you head into the archived posts timeline, you can see when the lack of blog posts began.
As much as I love writing on this blog, other priorities came up that felt more closely attuned to where I was in life. The blog has tried to stay in the loop, but it's come to the point that I need to admit the truth: City Boy Geekiness, as an active viable blog, needs to end.
It's been a great eight years posting along with you, but my focus mainly is going to be elsewhere in the journalism world. I'll update this site with some new page links, and there might be an occasional post or two in the future. But, this is my metaphorical goodbye message.
Keep in touch with me on any of my social channels (links are above)! Also, follow along with my contributor/staff writer posts. Let's stay geeky together, and don't forget to be geeky always. :)
American Horror Story is welcoming back A LOT of former cast members for its next season. At this point, the better question is who ISN'T joining American Horror Story: Apocalypse?
For the upcoming eighth season, American Horror Story: Coven cast members Lily Rabe, Taissa Farmiga, Gabourey Sidibe, Frances Conroy, and Stevie Nicks were recently added to the lineup. They'll be joined by previous Coven actors Sarah Paulson, Emma Roberts, Kathy Bates, Evan Peters, and Jessica Lange, who is making her big return after leaving the series in American Horror Story: Freak Show. Season 8 will be the first time that a majority of the Coven cast will be reunited together on screen.
It's been long since revealed that Season 8 of American Horror Story will be a crossover continuation of Coven and American Horror Story: Murder House (the first in the series). Since the AHS anthology seasons were revealed to be in the same timeline, many characters have previously made appearances in multiple seasons. In some cases, the same actor would portray more than one character in the same, like Sarah Paulson portraying three roles in American Horror Story: Roanoke.
As a HUGE fan of both Murder House and Coven, I'm so excited for this season! I love both previous seasons because the stories hooked me from the beginning, the characters are full of personality, and the plots brought a lot of drama. I can't wait to see how the show manages all of the different characters and how they handle the actors portraying more than one character.
Here is the list of all the returning actors who are currently confirmed for Apocalypse:
Sarah Paulson
Evan Peters
Taissa Farmiga
Jessica Lange
Lily Rabe
Frances Conroy
Gabourey Sidibe
Emma Roberts
Kathy Bates
Adina Porter
Cheyenne Jackson
Billie Lourd
Leslie Grossman
Billy Eichner
Stevie Nicks
Are you excited for the return of these cast members? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
The superheroes are back in full force! Fourteen years have passed for one of my favorite animated films to finally return with a long-awaited sequel. Seriously, why the long wait?! I love The Incredibles. So, when the news came that a sequel would be released after all these years, I eagerly waited for new developments. But, was the latest installment worth the wait?
The movie I will be reviewing today is the animated superhero flick: The Incredibles 2.
The Premise: After the return of superheroes were made public, Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl join Frozone in a campaign to make superheroes legal again. However, a mysterious foe is brainwashing the world's most influential people and they could pose a problem in their plans.
The Results: 3.5/5!
The Incredibles 2 is a cheeky and heartwarming flick that still captures the tone from the original movie. All of the main cast members stayed true to the first film, and they each had a few quippy lines that made them shine. In some cases, certain characters (like Jack Jack) got more attention!
The problem, however, is that The Incredibles 2 pales in comparison to the plot of the first film. Whereas every member of the family is utilized together to stop the villain or embark on the mission in the original, The Incredibles 2 feels disjointed for a large majority of the plot. There are two completely different stories with contrasting tones happening at the same time - as a viewer, it felt exhausting jumping back and forth from excited to sad many times. Also, much of the cast were underutilized in their superhero elements; they basically were glorified supporting characters.
That's not to say The Incredibles 2 was a bad movie. I quite enjoyed the flick and appreciated the nostalgia of seeing this superhero family once again, as well as Edna Mode. You should check out this animated flick because it is fun, entertaining, and a good return to a refreshing series.
Blockbuster sequels have a huge hill to climb to conquer the shadow of their predecessor. Some films have broken through those barriers and continued the train of success while others failed to measure up. So, when a much-anticipated sequel is announced for an extremely popular movie, the expectations are usually set pretty high. Luckily, we didn't have anything to fear this time around.
The next installment for this campy superhero flick stuck to its style of raunchy jokes, quick wit, and its tradition of breaking the fourth wall. On the other hand, while the film had everything we wanted for this superhero series, the final product didn't stand out more than the original movie. The move I will be writing about today is the sequel to the foul-mouthed and fun superhero Deadpool series: Deadpool 2.
The Premise: After a shocking death shakes up his life, Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) assembles a group of misfit superheroes to do some good and save the life of a tortured Mutant. Unfortunately for him, the mysterious Cable (Josh Brolin) returns from the future to stop his plans.
The Good: Deadpool 2 is a movie defined by its raunchy attitude and quick-witted zingers. The sequel stuck to its style with plenty of fun moments that added a lot of humour and heart to this hilarious anti-hero. Ryan Reynolds excelled in his role as Deadpool. You could tell that he had a lot more fun revisiting this character now that he proved a Deadpool movie could work and that people loved the character.
In addition to Deadpool, a majority of the supporting cast did an excellent job rounding out the ensemble. Out of the new characters, Josh Brolin as Cable mixed the darkness of the character with a nice light-hearted approach to be a good hero/villain, Yukio (Shioli Kutsuna) offered funny gags, and Domino (Zazie Beetz) was the perfect new addition in her seriously underrated role. Plus, the return of returning favourites, like Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand), were always a pleasure to see after their stand out portrayals in the first film.
The Bad: Whereas a large portion of the cast was on their A-game, some of the new characters fell flat. In particular, Firefist (Julian Dennison) didn't have the same punch. He's still pretty new to the world of acting, so we can give him some slack in this regard. However, there were times were he was over-acting or trying to measure up to the talent of his co-stars.
The biggest problem for Deadpool 2, however, is the plot. As compared to the first film, the stakes for the sequel were substantially lessened. There was no clear villain or threat for much of the film, and Deadpool was left adrift until he decided what mission he wanted to set himself on. For a superhero movie, Deadpool 2 didn't utilize the potential for what the character of Deadpool, and his group of heroes, could bring to the screen.
Also, the sequel presented a HUGE plot hole that did not make near the end of the film. Without giving too much away in spoilers, a certain action made by a character should have negated the events of the film. But, that's a debate for another day.
The Results: 4/5!
Deadpool 2 returned to offer fans an entertaining adventure. All of the tropes you've come to a expect from a Deadpool movie returned, like death, action, nudity, dirty jokes and zingers. When it came to the plot, there wasn't much substance to keep the story afloat and at times, the cast was left adrift waiting until a purpose was made. If you like superhero movies and mindless comedy, Deadpool 2 is the movie for you. Don't go into the theatre expecting anything groundbreaking, this is a popcorn blockbuster and you will get your laugh in the end.
The curtain has been called for The CW's remaining low-rated (but fan favourite) series. At the annual 2018-2019 Upfronts, the youth-skewing network revealed that three of their returning series will be coming to an end in the upcoming TV season. The end had to come sometime for these TV shows, but it's sad to see!
Both iZombie and Jane The Virgin will be ending at the end of their fifth season. In the case of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, the low-rated show will be ending after four seasons.
While none were superstars in the ratings, all three had built dedicated followings and attention from both fans and critics alike. Jane The Virgin and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend earned wins at prestigious awards shows, like the Golden Globes - this was the first time that The CW had been in contention at all. iZombie, on the other hand, had built a cult fan following and earned a financial deal thanks to Netflix streaming.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend's final season will premiere this fall on Fridays, while iZombie and Jane The Virgin are being held to midseason. None of the shows will be placed on Sunday, which The CW recently announced as their newest day for their weekly schedule.
Out of the three shows, I've watched iZombie the most. I love this show! Thanks to the Netflix deal, I've been keeping up with the weekly episodes (and I also have a Funko toy of Liv). Jane The Virgin is also another one that grew on me over the years. I'm a little behind on the recent season, but it's a fun telenovela with great characters.
Are you sad to see these shows end? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Marvel's MCU is back at it again with the next hero in their long list of movie releases. After making his big debut in Captain America: Civil War, this superhero burst into the scene with one of the most anticipated films of the year. And, it was all worth the hype! The movie we will be discussing today is the action-packed superhero flick: Black Panther.
The Plot: After several Wakanda artifacts are stolen from a museum, Black Panther (played by Chadwick Boseman) and his allies' search for the robber leads them to a bigger mystery involving a powerful and deadly mastermind, Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan).
The Results: 5/5!
Black Panther is one of the best movies to be released by the MCU yet. If I could rate this film higher than a perfect score, I would. T'Challa/Black Panther was an inspiring and fun hero to follow through his adventure. The supporting characters were equally as amazing and well-written, with Letitia Wright, Danai Gurira, Lupito Nyong'o, and Winston Duke being some of the best additions to the MCU. In fact, every performer featured in Black Panther stood out as a great addition to the series!
When it came to the villain, Killmonger might be one of the best villains in the MCU. The only downside, however, was the strange plot treatment to Okoyo's (Danai Gurira) love interest - the story should have stuck to what was originally written in the first draft. If you like action films (or superhero films in general), you should check out Black Panther.
If you can believe it or not, I've never played a game of Dungeons & Dragons before. I've seen them enough in the past; they're littered across TV series and movies. Twitch also has a steady stream of content, some even created by the likes of Geek & Sundry and Nerdist, to get your fill. But as a gamer, this was a series I never fully played through firsthand myself. (There was that one time my high school friends tried to start one. We failed MISERABLY and gave up 10 minutes in!)
As of this year, one of the websites I write for - The Young Folks - started up their own D&D adventure. I jumped at the chance to sign up. You know me: I love games, trying new things and I'm a bit competitive. All of that was right up my alley.
We're already six episodes deeps (my character joined in the third) and things are getting pretty heated. I play Alexandrus Tillart, a human cleric who serves the Grave domain for Kelemvor. I won't get too deep into my character's backstory, but let's just say there's a mission I need to complete and things will get a bit spooky.
If you want to join in and watch, we stream Mondays starting at 9 p.m. ET. You can check out past episodes on Twitch, YouTube and can download the podcasts on Apple Podcasts, to name a few.