Daniels Review: Deadpool 2

            This might be the shortest review in the history of my blogging career as there isn’t much to say about Deadpool 2 that hasn’t been said about the first Deadpool film. Simple enough, it’s an upgraded version of the 4^th wall breaking merc with a mouth you’ve grown to love and quote to death. After the success of the first film, a sequel was green lit with more much more money and even bigger expectations and fans of the first film won’t be disappointed in what they see on screen. While the production, cast and budget grew so did the run time and with that comes the one major flaw in this film; too much of a good thing. (Minor Spoilers ahead so read on if you dare. Short version of the review: good movie but too long. Jokes go on too long sometimes and while the first film was a perfect little chimichonga the sequel is a tasty burrito that could have been smaller with quality over quantity. Skip the theater and check this out at home)

            Watching the first Deadpool in theaters, I was entertained and laughing at everything that Deadpool is; cursing, violence, 4^th wall breaking humor and everything that Marvel and DC films aren’t. Interesting plot points mixed well with humor and violence to make a great origin film that didn’t seem like the tens of films before it. All of that out of the way, this film could go on its own path and tell any story it wanted to with a few characters and plot points from the first following along into the second. The crux of the story actually provides a really good question of morality in that a mutant child is super powerful and has anger issues that could get out of control in the future. To kill a child or not kill a mutant child if he’s a dick and brings mass destruction is a good plot point in a film where its main characters could shoot a child and get away with it. Any other super hero film with this plot point couldn’t get away with it because Captain America isn’t killing any kids.

            I loved the majority of the humor in the film, most of it being in the same vain as the previous movie and if it isn’t broke don’t fix it. Only thing they could have fixed is the length of the bits. A moment where Deadpool is held in the arms of a character is funny but the 3^rd and 4^th quip kills the humor and leaves viewers ready to move to the next. Especially in tense situations which surprisingly this film has. Add that with a film that feels a little stuffed compared to its freshmen effort and you may not enjoy Deadpool 2 as much. Other minor blips would be a rather dark gory scene during the middle of the film that is comical but gory and a tad more serious moments compared to the silly fair we are used to in the first outing. Still, this is all nitpicks with a fun movie that still made me laugh, smile and cheer in my head as much as everyone else.

Deadpool 2 is a fun film that packs bullets into bodies, laughs into theaters and some heart. While I had some issues with length and over kill of bits, I still had fun. I’d give it a recommend but only if you can catch it at home. It’s a great film but it’s nothing that will make you run to the theater. Pay the money for Redbox or Amazon Prime but skip the theater: the popcorn prices alone are a killer.

28 Years Old: Can Drunk on Comedy be Sober on Life?

            “Mr. Ranty, I’m getting fooked again!” This sentence has been typed so many times in the three person group chat with me, Heather D and the Mr. Rant Man in particular. Me getting drunk and making a joke about how I was getting fucked, the fooked part being a call back to a podcast I listen to. Fooked Tyler Daniels enjoying a glass of fine bourbon while enjoying some after work video games has become a staple of our group chat weekend after weekend. Those numbers add up. Then it became during the weekday. Then the morning after, still a bit fooked from the night before while shuffling through work. All of a sudden, the joke wasn’t that funny anymore. The party animal was really getting fucked. Hello fans, Tyler Daniels here; I have a drinking problem.

            If you picked this blog to lighten your retail and comedy spirits well you picked wrong. This is my confession if anything, if not to the 30 people who read this then mostly to myself. All the nights of drinking have finally added up and now after turning 28 this weekend I’ve made a choice to call it what it is; a drinking problem. What’s the difference between Tyler Daniels drunk on an episode of Welcome to Rantyville and him sitting alone with a bottle of Jack Daniels to his left, full glass with ice in his hand? None. He’s going to keep drinking till the lights go out. Being I work in a liquor distributor, I can get my hands on some good quality booze for dirt cheap. Bottle after bottle lining my liquor cabnate for little to no money. I wish I could leave it like that but I treat drinking like I do Pringles: once I pop I just can’t stop. I think it’s fair to say even my two friends have noticed the joke going on for too long. A boring night at home is just the same as a night with friends or a drink before a show and I just can’t let the good times stop.

            It breaks my heart that I have to give up something that is so much a part of me that my own fake last name is of a great whiskey, my twitter handle is drunk on comedy and I’ve always been that lovable friend with a whiskey on the rocks in hand. These are the fun moments I wish I could keep keep focused on but to do that would disregard all the nights when I drink a whole 750 of Bullet Bourbon and wake up drunk the next day. All those text messages sent while blacked out add up to make for a handful of burnt bridges and tired excuses. My body hurts when hungover and my mind screams while I try to sleep as to why I’m still stuck working in a shit hole living a depressed life. Maybe there are other issues at play but I know when a bottle of whiskey goes through me the next day no applications are being sent out and no gym is having the prilvage of a Tyler Daniels appearance.

            Something is wrong with me and booze may be the cause; hell, it could be something else but whatever the black hole is that keep me from being unhappy all I have done for the past 3 years is pore bottle after bottle into it hoping that it would hold me over till I could find something to patch it up. Can’t find a good relationship to have, maybe anonymous sex will help. Enjoy some extra junk food to feed that need for a happy sensation. Have a drink and make it two, keep chasing that feeling till you’ve passed out on the floor. All of these things are just in place of something I can’t seem to fix.

            This weekend I drank for fun but just as much as that need to get black out hammered. By the end, I had turned 28 and made the choice to give up the booze. I tell myself someday I can go back to it when I’ve fixed that hole inside me but I know just as much that it’s a pipe dream I should ever chase. Tomorrow night I will attend my first ever AA meeting in my sleepy college town in the hopes of getting on the right track. Maybe if I can beat this then I can find a job that makes me proud, a woman who I can keep and not self-destruct and most of all: happiness. I’m writing all of this as my confession and my battle cry; can’t back out now if the whole audience knows if I don’t go to this thing then I’m a sad son of a bitch. Maybe I’ll figure out myself and have a drink or two in the future but for now, I can’t be drunk on comedy so I’ll get sober on life.

Daniels Review: Avengers Infinity War

            It was a warm Monday evening as I scarfed down generic Chinese noodles inside a Panda Express outside my local theater. I rather spend money on hungry again in 30 minutes food then 5 bucks on a small bag of popcorn. I had made the choice to go see Avengers Infinity War on a Monday evening like some kind of weirdo and because of my lack of dating, I would be alone. I had remained spoiler free up until the moment the film began and once settled into my seat knew that this was going to be good. Walking out of the film, deep down it was clear; the fast food dinner to make it on time, costly tickets and glares were all worth it. Laughter, cheers, stunned silence and even a tear for a film costing a half a billion (yes billion) dollars. Here is my review for Avengers Infinity War.

            Avengers Infinity War is the gold standard for superheroes in film, video game, TV and everything else that isn’t comics. Period. Anyone who is making some kind of adaptation for those previous mentioned categories needs to sit down and take notes; this is how you make super heroes seem, well, super. By no means is it perfect in my opinion but it does everything so well that each person watching may find fault in something but will quickly move on to an event or moment that blows that previous notion out of the water. DC films might as well be put on suicide watch after this since the prior notion of “DC does dark and gritty” just got slam dunked on by this movie. It’s such a great film that unlike Civil War, it can survive on more than just the premise of one big ass battle. Giving us ten years to establish our characters seems like a bit of a cheat to pretentious film critics but Ready Player One was “remember that thing” the movie so who cares. You’ve grown to love all your favorites and now we bring them together for one hell of a ride. This isn’t just hyperably; it’s a ride from the opening seconds of Thanos picking up where Thor 3 left off to the final scene which I can’t spoil here.

            Many of the Marvel films have surpassed just being super hero films; in that, the super hero part is simply the background to tell a mystery film, buddy comedy and ect. Infinity Wars works as the buildup and conclusion to a bomb being dropped; as Thanos hunts for stones, the last stand of our heroes and the grave results.  To sum up this film would be small battles, character moments, back story and a huge battle at the end. Simple, straight forward and damn if it doesn’t work. This review is vague for the simple reason I want you to see it. Also this isn’t an indy film it’s the fucking avengers, no one cares about the little details.

            It’s the avengers in the biggest battle of their lives and as what will be the biggest film of the year, its no secret that Avengers Infinity War gets a giant thumbs up from this guy.  If you’ve enjoyed the majority of Marvel films then this will be a must. They didn’t drop the ball, its got exactly what you need EXCEPT the film ends on a cliffhanger and we will be getting a part two like film in the future. It’s a great drink but I know the bartender is going to take his time making another and dammit I want it now. Two thumbs up and all that jazz.