Rand's Rants

A Quiet Place Part II Review By Randy McLeod      I missed out on A Quiet Place when it first came out in theaters, and regretted it. Watching it at home with my family was good, but the rule to be quiet wasn't really enforced. We got through the first scene only to have somebody, (probably me), nervously try to break the suffocating silence. So, when the sequel was set to release last year, I was determined to experience it in theaters. Then, that thing happened where movies didn't come out anymore.       A Quiet Place Part II (AQP2) is a fantastic example of spectacle, without too much substance. For those that are unfamiliar, the world of A Quiet Place is hell. Freakish, gangly aliens have invaded Earth and roam the world, hunting for any sort of noise to attack without mercy. Civilization has fallen apart, with little-to-no survivors left. The world sucks, but people still want to survive.       In terms of structure, AQP2 isn't...

A Netflix Original Game: Content,  Commitment, and  Controllers Written by Randy McLeod Netflix is looking to expand its media portfolio. This comes following a recent report from Bloomberg that the streaming giant has hired EA and Facebook’s Mike Verdu to head up a new gaming division for the platform. With an overpopulated market in the video-streaming world, Netflix is looking to stand apart from its competition by increasing its offerings to the subscribing customer. However, will its approach lead to another Google Stadia? Or will the platform become one of the first consolidated media success stories?  In fairness, a lot of the pieces are lining up in Netflix’s favor. Adding gaming to their service would help the platform stand out from the sea of other streaming platforms, (honestly, what the hell is Paramount Plus?). It’s likely looking at the boom in gaming caused by the pandemic this last year-and-a-half as well, with big companies like Microsoft  reportin...