Heart Eyes (2025)

What better time of year to settle in with a kitschy horror movie set on Valentine’s Day? The plot was inane, and the acting was cheesy, but the movie was still fun! A mostly predictable sequence of events with transparent villains and one or two jumpy moments. As to be expected, given the setting, there was a healthy dose of romantic comedy. Also, for better or worse, I will never be able to set this apart from the Scream franchise, based on both who was in the living room and who was on the screen. A lovely way to spend an evening, and I envision doing pretty much the same thing for the inevitable sequel.

Halo 2: Anniversary (Xbox One)

My memories of my first time playing through Halo 2 are hazy, as I was a pre-teen, but some moments do slip through. Being able to carry two weapons simultaneously. Playing as the enemy species for the first time. Encountering an entirely new enemy in the brutes. What I also recall, though, is the sense of anticipation to getting a sequel to what, at the time, had to be my favorite-ever video game. I also remember the slight uneasiness when it didn’t capture me the same way the first one did, surely not my first time being let down by a sequel in media, but one of the first I can bring to mind. The fact that it ended in a singular boss fight, without a climactic chase sequence, felt like a letdown then, and the franchise returned to an escape with its follow-up. While I was too young to be following game reviews and criticism, it seems like that was a commonly expressed sentiment around the game. Now, the online multiplayer aspect is recognized as a paradigm shift, and I can attest to that being formative for me as well. 

All of that said, with the 20-year wave of nostalgia cresting right now, I wanted to replay the campaign even if I was basically experiencing it fresh. The Anniversary re-release, as it is presented in the Master Chief Collection, is an excellent product, and the way to play it today. The entire game, including its cutscenes, is redone in a way that feels totally modern. And because I was coming to it nostalgically, I found myself mashing the Select button to alternate between original Xbox and Xbox One graphics multiple times every level. The boss finale does still seem anti-climactic, but not enough to detract from the totality of the game. A wonderfully tight experience, only whetting my appetite for more from the Halo universe, not to mention more romanticizing of the original Xbox.

Bell's Two Hearted Ale and Founders Centennial IPA

I've long maintained Bell's Two Hearted Ale is the finest beer, or at least my favorite. It's full in taste, plenty of hops, but not excessively heavy. The label is beautiful and makes me think of Nick Adams. Plus, it's from Michigan. I've had dozens of them over the course of my adult life, and I will always order it when I see it on a menu and nothing else jumps out at me. Imagine my slow realization as I made the connection that the design shares a curious similarity, at least in color scheme, to Founders Centennial IPA. Also delicious, also hoppy (in fact, using the same exact variety of hops as my beloved Two Hearted, as I later learned), and also from my beloved Michigan. Now, I have not had this beer near as often; their All Day session IPA is more of my go-to option. But when I realized they shared similar characteristics, according to experts who taste such things, I had to do a blind taste test. My conclusion? My taste buds are still non-functional. Sipped from the can, I preferred Bell's. Sipped from a tasting glass, it was Founders. What struck me seeing them side-by-side was how red the Centennial was. I've always thought Two Hearted is a beautiful pour, but it literally pales in comparison. Evidently, this did not affect the taste, however, as I had mixed results, which admittedly detract from my credibility in declaring a favorite. All said, I can't go wrong with either one.

COLD 2 THE TOUCH – Angel Du$t

After being slightly disappointed with the last Angel Du$t album (but loving those before that), I didn’t know what to expect here. I should have set my hopes somewhat high, though. “The Beat” was my first- or second-favorite song of 2025, easily one of my most played, and the experience of seeing it live landed perfectly. This album is tremendous. At 26 minutes, it’s their most compact release in ten years, but they pack in so much. The linchpin of the whole thing is near the midpoint, the song “DU$T” begins with an acoustic ballad before violently shifting into a breakdown eighty seconds into the song. This is a showcase of their immense range. Closing with the aforementioned “The Beat” was an unexpected choice, when I first read the track list, but it made sense in practice. It makes me think of walking out into the parking lot, among a dispersing crowd, and wandering back to my car after seeing a transcendent show. Two disparate thoughts, I wish the album continued on from there, but also, it’s perfect that it doesn’t.

I’m Not a Robot (2023)

As I watch through Oscar movies for this year, it is painfully obvious how many I missed from previous years. With that in mind, I watched last year’s winner for best live-action short. This was a well-made short with a serviceable science fiction story, sort of a modern version of Twilight Zone. As realization begins to dawn on the main character and panic sets in, the mood is decidedly upsetting, even if the paranoia was a little rushed. The video call between the main character and her partner was an exercise in tension, and I was urging one or the other to say something that would explain it all away. The ending sequence atop the parking garage was assembled particularly well. Not so much in the way the events transpired, which were mostly as expected, but rather how it was presented. I was so engrossed with how it was going to resolve that I gasped out loud when the credits started to crawl across the screen.