Summer Jam mid-2026?

 Let's do it!

I don't know if summers even have songs at ore outside of huge things that break through. But here's what we like!

"House Tour" by Sabrina Carpenter

How does it feel to be the last pop star standing?! This isn't nearly as big as "Manchild" but I might like it more.

"Body that Twin" by BC Twitch and Kidflo

https://youtu.be/1pP6shrkEqk?is=knJ2TVaO773LM98G

This is NOT a big song at all but I love it and want to give my man some exposure! Wake up, body that twin, sleep!

"Debbie" by Yung Gravy

This video captures me

"Stupid song" by Olivia Rodrigo

She's tryin! But nothing here has stood out like her last album. Or "Drop Dead"

E85 by Don Tolliver

Some Drake songs? Folks are really still listening to Drake with a straight face?

First Impressions: Mortal Kombat II

It takes quite a bit to get me to go to the theater these days. Mortal Kombat II (2026)! SPOILERS I guess!

I dug the first one of these, the plot doesn't really exist but the standard for acting in these movies has been pushed down a long long time ago. It had a charming cast, cool effects, was well shot, and had some gnarly kills. What else could you possibly want?

Watching this one I had forgotten that the Tournament hadn't actually started yet and the first one was really just all about how the bad guys were cheating, trying to kill all Earthrealm's champions before it even began. I dig Mortal Kombat, it's probably my favorite fighting game, but I also do not know or care at all about the convoluted lore. So this made it an easy watch.

It was amazing how they introduced that new character in the last film as our protagonist and killed him off immediately here. I got vibes that he was disliked, I didn't feel strongly one way or another but it was surprising and depending on your disposition, cathartic to see his head smashed.

So let's go on to the main new dude, Johnny Cage. I love Karl Urban, but he is miscast here. Not only is his American accent a bit rough but he doesn:t have the natural joke flow reauired. Jean Claude Van Damme was really rhe best pick years ago. The best would really have been a fenuinely washed up action star like Hason Starham, or maybe a Josh Hartnett who is having a resurgence. 

MKII plays fast and loose where it should, delivers the kombat where it should, and brings back or kills characters on whims with decent success. It's got a macguffiny plot that doesn't quite hold up but it's all just to get these guys to fight. It largely conpletely abandons the sub-zero / scorpion plot from the first movie to focus on 

 Kitana and Cage, but I think this is a good thing.

There looks like a lot of money thrown up on the screen. I don't think it did all that well and who knows why anyone pumped a lot into this but I'm grateful. I would enjoy as many more of these as they want to make, always another big bad out there and operating a bit outside the confines of strict character growth or plot somehow only helps this franchise be who it really is.

Talkin' Bout Pedro Pascal

 Since it is 2026 I have found myself watching a lot of movies where Pedro Pascal shows up. I noticed, however, an odd confluence of situations. In a lot of these Pedro Pascal movies he doesn't actually show up for all that much. There seems to be quite a bit of billing this dude but then the movie mostly centers on something else.

This is obviously for a few reasons. First, he's this great nexus of charisma and acting talent while also being the closest thing to a hot commodity right now. So you can get Pedro in a movie and get it greenlit! But he's also pretty busy and a bit of a star. So stick him there for five minutes! You get to bill Pedro Pascal and Pedro gets to be home by lunch.

It's also helping his overexposedness. Sort of. Because he's not actually in all the stuff he is supposedly in. I was dreading Freaky Tales but he's really barely there and then it totally shifts to a different story. I was surprised about Eddington which really billed the face off between him and Joaquin Phoenix, which is still there, but it's very much Joaquin's story.

And even Mandalorian & Grogu! He's not actually there but for one helmetless scene. Last of Us season 2 fits the bag as well. This is all just a bizarre phenomenon and it's always part of marketing where  Bruce Willis doesn't really show up for the whole movie, but it just seems like this is all he's done lately, which again, runs counter to him actually neing overexposed.

So....good?