J.B. Sommerset

I was making some "bomb-ass" steaks on the grill this weekend and I let the T.V. decide what it wanted to show. It's one of those "smart TVs", so it had a good idea of what I like, you know, from all that spying on me. While I was preparing the marinade it started playing something sentimental from my past- because apparently my TV knows me in that way. You know, intimately. Like it watched you grow up, I tell you, these algorithms are out of control. But nonetheless it knew that I wanted some good old 80s nostalgia.   So I am tenderizing the steaks and in the back ground I hear something I haven't heard in far to long. That sound was the sound of a prison escape, followed by and ORV chase on a beach in Oregon, with the police, and the sounds of 7 kids just loving the 80's even though they are about to be kicked out of their homes by the "cheap guy" Troy and his douche bag father. Some of you Gen-Xers know what I am talking about. Some of you k...

Blame this one on Disney, they recently added the franchise to their lineup on Disney+, which means one thing to a guy like me: Marathon!  Let me clarify, I don't mean the old classics , and I don't mean the Mark Walberg / Tim Burton version (just threw up in my mouth a little). No I mean the modern remakes. That's right, this is a remake review. Something I almost never do, out of kindness. I usually only do them because I need to spit venom. Not this time, this time I have some praise to give. Most remakes are atrocious, poisoned with " the message " in attempts captivate new audiences, and make that sweet, sweet, cash-money! All the while betraying the original story and plot to bring something "relatable" to a new audience. In the process, the work loses it's context, it's believability, and it's soul. The reality is that a good writer creates a relatable story, no matter the audience because they are writing with themes that all people...

You might have noticed that things are changing on the site. It's been a long while since I had the time to do any updates. I think now is that time. I am settled in the new digs, I am at one with the wild-life, and I have some time to catch up on a couple of things. Like I said, it's been a super long time since I updated anything on the site. Truth is, there's been a significant uptake in traffic and the old format is outdated and not working the way it used to. So here's the rundown of what will be happening over the next couple of months. 1) First, the site is going to get reworked. Not completely redone, just reworked for now. Google has migrated it's domains to Squarespace and we might be moving to that platform, not sure yet. I need to see how flexible it is and if it offers something that will make this process easier. 2) My gallery will be updated and old pictures will be removed, and new ones will be added. Also the stores that I sell my art through will b...

As promised in my review of Rebel Moon part 1 , I return with a review of Rebel Moon part 2: The Scar giver . So, strap on them Imperium uniforms and prepare for this Space-Viking-cowboy-Nazi-science fiction space opera.  This is the second part, and the thrilling conclusion of Rebel Moon... Wait, what's that, it made too much money, there's going to be a third? Maybe? We don't know yet... um okay. We'll just move forward with this review and cross that bridge when the enemy comes to shoot us all to crap. By now, you might have heard, or at the very least surmised there would be more rebel moons out soon, 4 more if old Zach has anything to do with it. However, I am not so sure the next one, Rebel Moon 3 has been greenlit. There are rumors it has, and also that it will start filming in 2025. If they make it, I will review it. For now, let just focus on Part 2. Don't want to get caught up in the assumption game and get taken out of context. I liked the first one, and...

I really don't know how to feel about this review. I don't know how I feel about the show I just watched, hopefully, this can help sort it out. The fact that it's Amazon that did made this show, somehow makes it worse. Not sure if they are telling us about how they will manage the apocalypse, if they are just providing entertainment at this point, or if we are the entertainment or both... Anyway, here's an honest review of " Fallout ".  That's right, grab your two headed cow, get all your Stem packs together, and finish off that "nuka-cola", then lets ride out into the atomic sunset together- This week I will be reviewing Amazon's " Fallout " series. Buckle up vault-dwellers, strap on yer' pip-boys and enjoy the show. There is something to be said for the story telling and mastery thereof in certain video games, especially those made by old school "Bethesda". Some of the best story telling came from those early years. ...

  Sometimes I go looking for shows with certain actors in them just to see what those gifted sons a bitches are up to. I feel certain actors deserve follow up. This week I got curious about our favorite malcontented sheriff from Duffer-ville: David Harbour of Stranger Things . So, what has good old Jim Hopper been up to recently? David is one of those actors who's in more movies than most people think. He just shows up, does a fairly good job and then fades into the background like " Homer Simpson into that hedge" . David's filmography is fairly long, and he's in a number of my favorite shows and movies. From Stranger Things to the Marvel franchise he does a little for everyone. And who could forget one of my favorite quirky, gorey, and slapstick Christmas Movies- Violent Night ? But what has he been up to recently?  The good news is he's still acting. A quick search revealed a couple of new movies and some Netflix work. So, I decided to indulge. You might h...

I was skeptical when I saw the trailer for " The Creator ", it seemed like it had been done a number of times before- from " Terminator " to " A.I. " In other words, I didn't think it could be original or even come across as authentic. I was wrong, and I will give this film more credit than most of the critics did. I think it deserves that, because it's hard to come up with anything that even has original paint. This movie has a crap ton happening, and while it's true that there are so many call outs and themes that appear to be stollen from other movies, I assure you this story is very much an original work. And those call outs are more tributes than anything else. The plot is one that I have addressed here many times and struggle with, especially right now. Artificial intelligence is something I am VERY cautious of. For the most part A.I. has been vilified in movies and stories, it's usually the big-bad-guy in most science fiction films t...

Before I get started, let me express that I have not seen all of Nicholas Cages movies so I can't say for sure if this is the strangest one, but damn, it's up there. Lets get started. Okay, I admit it, Nicholas Cage is one of my guilty pleasures. For the most part, I don't think his movies are good, in fact his acting is, well, something... The thing is his movies are fun. Very fun, even the ones that get " meme " status. He has a habit of not taking much seriously. In truth, he actually can act, well sometimes. I think he just operates a little differently than most of us. When he's on, he's on, and when he's not, he's still on- success even with his failures.  This last weekend I stumbled across a movie I didn't expect out of Nicholas Cage. It's a weird little film, like super weird, and quite possibly it makes it into the top 10 most awkward movies I think I have ever seen. That's right, squirm in your seat awkward, get up and pret...

Well, we made it. Here we are in 2024, I waited a couple of days to make sure it was legit. Apparently it is, we have passed through another segment of time to the next micro-epoch of the 2020's. With how weird it has gotten since 2016, its anyone's guess what's next. I mean, it's been escalating in weirdness for a while now. One of my favorite authors is Kurt Vonnegut, I have read his catalogue of strange stories and oddities, the man's entire collection of works. Some of the most interesting and down right bazaar stories. But I have to say, not even he could have prepared me for how strange the future actually is.  So, here comes 2024, strap in and open your mind, things are about to get stranger, especially because it's an election year here in the good old U-S-of-A, and that means "double-play" for the circus monkeys and spin doctors. The stories we might encounter could just break us. All you creators out there might find your self lacking next t...

It took me some time, but I finally got around to seeing “ Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ”, and I have some thoughts about it. First, let me “pretext” the crap out of this. One of the first movies I saw as a kid was “ Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ”. This set the pace for my movie-going experience. Granted, Temple (as it will be referred to moving forward) isn't the strongest of the entries in the franchise. It does, however, have the honor of being one of the originals. As I said, it's not the strongest, but it carries a ton of fond memories. I watched that tape again and again until it broke. That’s right, VHS, not to date myself. a couple of years later I managed to get a boxed set that also included “ Raiders of the Lost Arc ”, and “ The Last Crusade ”, which incidentally come in as the best in the series, at least in my opinion. For years I waited and wished for another film. By the time Starwars came out with its sequels (“ The Phantom Menace ”, “ Attack o...

One of my more recent posts was a picture I ran through an A.I. filter to modify its color and style. I liked the result so much that I decided to keep it and post it here on the site. I mentioned I would post more on how A.I. affects the world of creators and how I feel about transitioning into a world where A.I. will be everywhere. Today is that day, or one of them, because I am sure the future will bring so much more to the debate. Although we really haven't created real  A.I. yet, we are closer every day, and that brings me a little bit of concern. I find myself arguing about where the world is going. As far as A.I. is concerned, all of us seem to embrace it no matter how many warnings there are. No matter how many times we see The Terminator  or IRobot.   This is a difficult subject to tackle. On one side of the coin, there is a better life for all of us. A.I. means better health, self-driving cars, more security, etc- a world of more possibilities. On the other side...

Well, I'll be a mushroom's uncle, so far " The Last of Us " is a solid show. Good story, good acting, and good visuals. It's still too early in the series to tell how it's going to go, but much like the " Game of Thrones " Spinoff " House of the Dragon " it showed up and demolished the competition. It seems that all the good writers and actors went and got jobs for HBO.  First off, there might be some spoilers ahead... so if that's not your thing, stop right here. Prepare to get infected, but this time it's not a virus or a bacteria, it's a fungus! A gross one too.  Unlike " The Walking Dead ", this show has roots, or mycelium as they are called in the world of molds and spores. The Walking Dead was one of the best post-apocalyptic zombie outbreak shows ever made, but one thing about it always bothered me. The audience never learns what happened, how it happened, and the mistakes that were made. I was okay with this ...