This movie was really well done. It was suspenseful, scary, and had great death scenes without too much gore. The characters were well played and acted in a realistic way. I didn't want to yell at them for being stupid, which happens a lot with these types of plots. It is a long movie but I really enjoyed the ending and I think they gave it the ending it deserved. I think this is the end of the series and I would be surprised if another came out.

Originally, this LP was UK only. Later releases would be packaged as 2-fers with other albums, or as a “remaster” with bonus tracks. Whatever the case, this bunch of tracks from the exact same recording sessions as the previous record – did I make that point already – is either hailed as a marked improvement or a noticeable downgrade. Really? Someone want to make up their mind here? It is the same grab-bag, anything-goes, Traffic-like approach, for sure, but just better executed this time, IMHO. Interesting that Marriott, the main songwriter, is credited with only four songs here, but others pitch with their takes which are pleasant surprises if one drops preconceived notions. Hell, the cover itself is a piss-take on Traffic’s Dear Mr. Fantasy, just to give you an idea of where these guys heads were at in the creative process. Frampton’s walk-in-the-country rocker “Take Me Back” sets the tone here – intimate, warm, homey, comfortable, and more approachable than anything on the debut or what their colleagues were doing at the time. “The Sad Bag of Shaky Jake” was the single (don’t quote me on this), a cutesy rambling tale about a down-on-his-luck bandit from “Abilene” and was probably autobiographical (being one of the few Marriott-written tracks). The B-side was Shirley’s “Cold Lady”, a spooky ballad which benefits from the group’s ragged vocal harmonies. Later on, the group covers Buddy Holly’s “Heartbeat” and it is normally recognized as a high point of the album. What I can’t figure out is how they ignore the rest of it. Before “Heartbeat” one encounters a couple of Marriott’s most heartfelt tracks ever. “Down Home Again” is simply lovely – a neat little uncluttered rocker somewhat in the mold of the “Heartbeat” cover, which was unburdened by all of the crap that affected the band down the line. “Every Mother’s Son”, though, might just be my favorite Marriott track of all-time. This one is straight acoustic, and again, feels rather autobiographical, but the lyrics do not matter all that much. It’s the mood that matters, and this one is hard to rightly pin down. Is it lost love, lost opportunity, or lost innocence that the man is lamenting here? Not sure, and maybe that is the trick…. “Silver Tongue” has been pegged quite often as a highlight, but for me I find it to be more in tune with the chaos of the debut record. However, the anything-goes final track “Home and Away”, which serves as a metaphor for the album in general, is another notable pick here. Re-issues of the album itself will include “Greg’s Song” (a decent cut from Ridley) and “79th Street Blues”, an early version of “79th and Sunset”, one of the more notable cuts from the Rock On record, although this version is fairly similar. All in all, the peak of their early “super group” era.

The first two albums could roughly be tied together since all of the music for both records were taken from the same recording sessions. So…it makes me wonder how people bash this album, then turn around and praise the next one. Or vice versa! So, there was another “super group” album in 1969 – remember Blind Faith? While I like some tracks from that record, it revels in some of the same things people disliked about 70’s dinosaur rock acts – too heavy on the egos, too much faux-soul, not enough gut-rock, and overindulgent jamming. As Safe as Yesterday Is may not be the exact opposite, but it is downright authentic, from the gut, and if it is overindulgent in places at least you know these guys are not going to bleat on for 25 damn minutes and there is still a damn Rick Grech bass solo to get through. Steve Marriott’s intent with Humble Pie, from the get-go, was to make it as democratic as possible. Others usually peg this album as unnecessary since Led Zeppelin released their debut record months earlier. Talk about a short-sighted view to take, and I love Zeppelin’s debut. But it is not anywhere near as diverse as this record here. In fact, I’d say Marriott and crew are a little too all over the place, trying to hit so many bases at once, and many times it’s his keyboards which drive the tracks, not the guitar riffs. The best part about this record is its’ sheer diversity. There are big, leaden-heavy rockers. Eastern-influenced drop-out love tunes. Lovely pastoral country-folk songs. Also, the contrasts between all of the band members – Frampton’s polished tastefulness, Ridley’s all-around bedrock professionalism, Shirley’s youthful bash-it-out enthusiasm, and Marriott’s total unpredictability – it seems like here the magic which allowed the group to function naturally and let each individual member spotlight his talents was at its’ peak. I have some favorites but specific songs IMHO are kind of useless to mention. This is the kind of record you have to experience on your own. One more quick note – on many remaster editions the early single “Natural Born Bugie” and corresponding B-Side “Wrist Job” are included. Both are essential to enjoying this early period of the Pie.

While not perfect, I find that Ted Lasso's more positive attitude stands out from the streaming world filled with the opposite. Sometimes, it's just nice to have something a bit more upbeat to watch.

Ready Player One is stock full of references to popular culture and involves an interesting easter-egg hunt in a world so crapsack that almost everyone has resigned to virtual escapism, even while they are forced to stack dilapidated (formerly) mobile trailers on top of each other... What is confusing however is the odd absence of any government, despite the society being portrayed as somewhat orderly-with obvious exceptions related to the plot. This government then shows up just in the nick of time... Like some kind of prescient script armour for the protagonist. The set design and worldbuilding is wonderful however, and the fast-paced animation is certainly a treat for the eyes. And for a movie about teenagers, the acting is also impactful and genuine... Maybe not best utilized by some silly plot moments.