Following the enormous success of 2015’s To Pimp A Butterfly, west-coast rapper Kendrick Lamar returns with his most introspective work yet. Primarily abandoning the narrative-driven focus of his last two studio albums, Kendrick instead focuses on his own inner-conflicts.

DAMN. begins with a death and a question. Weakness or wickedness? This decision is presented through the many musings of Kendrick, beginning with "DNA" and "YAH". Between these two tracks he presents the curse on Black Israelites that dates back to the Book of Deuteronomy. Kendrick acknowledges his belief in this curse, and the fear he has of its consequences. He wonders if his soul is damned because of his battles with "PRIDE", "LUST", and the elements that shaped his youth. As told in "FEAR", Kendrick no longer fears abuse at age 7 and death at 17, instead he fears what fame and fortune will do to him at 27.

This is all explained under the concept of “what happens on Earth stays on Earth.” When you die, you leave all Earthly possessions behind, including your feelings. By openly confronting these emotions, maybe Kendrick believes he can save himself and break the curse. Closing the album with "DUCKWORTH", Kendrick believes that regardless of your circumstances or surrounding world, you have free will to do the right thing. Thereby overcoming weakness or wickedness. The strength of this work comes in its capacity for multiple interpretations. Depending on who you are, the album’s message may speak to you in a different way.

Sonically, Lamar strays from the funk and soul inspired sound of TPAB. Besides "DNA", "HUMBLE", and "XXX" the instrumentals are stripped back. Downright skeletal on tracks such as "PRIDE", "YAH", and most of "FEEL". This is DAMN.'s largest weakness. While it was expected for Kendrick to develop a new sound, this feels like a step back for the artist. There is nothing wrong with a minimalistic take to music; however, DAMN. does not benefit from this approach.

As important as tracks such as "PRIDE" are to the concept, the track begins to lose steam halfway through. The instrumentals completely lack the dynamic and organic feel of TPAB. Instead you are given a consistent and repetitive beat. Musical highlights include the erupting sound of "DNA" and "XXX", as well as the sweet-sounding vocal sample on "FEAR". "FEEL" finishes with an incredibly strong buildup, but it could have used that instrumental energy earlier on. The slow build leaves you wanting more.

Vocally, Kendrick lives up to his status as one of the most dynamic MC’s. He presents his emotion expertly with pitch-shifts and tempo changes. He can explode on his harder-hitting tracks and pull-off the slurring, cloud-rap style sound on "YAH". He also provides good performances on a number of solid hooks. Highlighting the features is Zacari on "LOVE". His tender backing vocals propels the calm sound of the song, and pairs well over the top of Kendrick’s part. Otherwise B L S of Shahmen on FEAR, and Bono on "XXX" provide short but great features. Rihanna is alright on "LOYALTY", but is a tad underwhelming with her delivery. 

Despite its shortcomings, DAMN. is another great album added to the catalogue of Kendrick Lamar. No, the album does not live up to the status of Good Kid, M.A.A.D City and To Pimp a Butterfly. But the project as a whole presents one of Kendrick’s best concepts, and was a necessary step in his life. Without a doubt he is worthy of being named the Greatest of All Time in hip-hop.

Score: 8/10

Favorite Tracks: "DNA", "ELEMENT", "HUMBLE", "LOVE", "XXX", "FEAR", "DUCKWORTH"

Least Favorite Tracks: "LOYALTY", "PRIDE", "LUST"

Image credit: ​By Kim Metso - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30577885

As the first full Fast and Furious movie that I have seen, this one is exactly what I expected.  One liners, explosions, and a lot of cars round out this eighth installment in the franchise.  The culture surrounding the franchise remains the same with large-muscled characters and rap music playing in the background.  Although the film is shallow at times, it is still an enjoyable adventure/action flick that keeps the audience engaged for a runtime over two hours.

With seven preceding films in the franchise, it must have been hard to create somewhat realistic action sequences.  From what I've heard, as the franchise chugs forward, the effects and events become more and more insane.  Clearly, it is getting hard to stick with just cars for action.  The franchise has expanded into more weaponry and turned into a cheesier Bond-esque genre.  At times hundreds of cars are controlled by one hacker, but there are also torpedoes to keep the film from becoming too focused on car racing.  Honestly, I love the integration of weaponry with the cars because the cars now create a safe place for the characters wherever they go.

While I do praise the film for a lot of it's action, I will warn you that this is in no way a serious action film.  Do not walk into the theater expecting to see Skyfall or Saving Private Ryan.  Rather, expect a fun flick similar to Escape Plan or Get Hard.  The story is simple as heck with a villain trying to terrorize the world and turn a good guy into a bad guy.  As a centerpiece for the film Vin Diesel is just a simple character and without his team this film would be really bad.  Luckily Dwayne Johnson (Moana) and Jason Statham (The Transporter) return with decent dialogue here and there.  Unfortunately, this is one of my least favorite roles that Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road, Hancock) has ever played.  Her script makes her a weak villain who is capable of hacking into anything, but cannot even make a joke funny.  Without seeing the other films I assume that this one is not the worst, but I also hope it is not the best of the franchise...

The Bottom Line:  The Fate of the Furious is a fun-to-watch action film, so long as you do not get too caught up in the physics of the real world.

Score: 6/10 

Image credit: ​By Tokumeigakarinoaoshima - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58045638

This is not an X-Men film for the whole family.  It is gritty, crude, harsh, and a fantastic sendoff for the best character in the film franchise.  For years, Hugh Jackman has been the perfect fit for Wolverine, but it seems as if he is finally worn out and ready to move on.  Surely, he will miss the grandiose payoff of playing the character, but it is time to pass the claws over to a new actor.

While sending off the old character, Logan also introduces a young generation into the franchise.  As Logan is forced on a journey to help a new mutant, he is able to reconnect with something that has been missing from his life for a while... a family.  This is not a straight action flick with explosions and weak villains.  Rather, this film is a family drama with an aging Logan and Professor X.  At a time when there are so many superhero films being pushed through Hollywood, it is nice to see one that stands out as a unique drama.

The tone of Logan drives the film to success with a serious outing for Marvel.  Marvel newest films have been more comedic than serious, but Logan shows the diversity in their storylines.  This may be the last film for Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, but it will remain in our minds as one of the best X-Men films in the franchise.  Because of the tonal differences, I found it hard to connect with this film a bit more than with previous installments.  However after a bit of reflection I do believe that this was the best way to approach the end of Jackman's portrayal of the main X-Men character.  As per the special effects, this film stands up to the others with good graphics and still a few jaw-dropping mutant powers throughout.  Nothing else really needs to be said about this film aside from the fact that Jackman will be missed!

The Bottom Line:  Jackman's final outing as Wolverine is much different from previous installments in the franchise, creating a more emotional sendoff for the most relatable X-Men character.

Score: 8.5/10