31 Days in Review Movies, Matches, and The Magic Box Day 1

Well we are 31 days away from being done with this cluster fuck of a year. I for one can't wait to leave all the death politics and overall suck behind and move on to a bright and pleasant 2017. That being said 2016 wasn't all bad, we had some great things in the world of pop culture take place. Cinema brought us some great surprises. Television showed us that we truly are in one of the greatest eras of the magic box. Then for those of you who are in the know saw that wrestling has been an absolute beast this year turning out some of the best stuff from several different promotions. Now what will be taking place over the next month is each day I will post three tiny reviews counting down my favorite movie, wrestling match and television show. These won't be super long but it will give you some good content and show you that all in all 2016 had some good things to give us. Now lets get things started with the number 31 position.


31. The Conjuring 2: Sometimes a good horror movie builds tension other times it does jump scares. Then their is that type of movie that makes you feel uncomfortable every second until the credits role. The Conjuring 2 follows this type of terror in keeping you nervous and very uncomfortable while still building upon thei original mythology and expanding the horror universe. We get reintroduced to our original characters and get to take another unsettling journey into the world of the strange and bizarre. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are back shining and elevating this film to greater heights then most horror movies can go. I only hope this becomes a trilogy and they leave it there without making it feel like its over stayed its welcome.


31. Fenix vs Mil Muertes Lucha Underground Championship Lucha Underground S02E08:
It is rare that two wrestlers with such different styles  click in a way that can only be described as magic. In the case of Fenix and Mil Muertes in Lucha Underground these two have had an amazing set of matches. They first touched gloves in late 2014 and then again in early 2015 in what would be called one of the best and bloodiest matches in the short history of the promotion. The two put on a Casket Match which has still yet to be equaled in the promotion to date. After that the two would meet once more in 2015 for a Death Match which only had shades of the casket match but felt like something was missing from the equation. The two went their separate ways each grasping glory in one way or another then in 2016 almost a year to the date from the brutal Casket Match the two would meet for one more great match and the question of what was missing was answered in the form of a Lucha Underground Title Match. Fenix is known in the world of wrestling as a high flyer and Muertes is known as a brawler but for some reason these two are not afraid to go the distance with each other every time. In this match from early 2016 we see some gold brought forth form each of them in a match that shows you what a great rivalry can bring if cultivated in the right way, These two have a rare chemistry that even when one is putting the boots to the other one they both still look incredibly capable and it never seems like one is squashing the other. Several brutal moments in match shows you just how brilliant both of these Luchadors can be. The reason this match is not higher on my list is that while a great bit of work it finishes just a bit too quickly and leaves you wanting a bit more.


31. Gotham: Gotham is a tough nut to crack when it comes to liking and disliking a show. On the one hand it is a show about the Batman universe and that automatically grabs my attention. On the other hand it is set several years before Bruce becomes the bat and we are forced to live in a world without the main character and other characters are forced to take up the slack. Season one was a little problematic to say the least with several things causing viewers to wonder if we were ever going to get the rogues gallery we always wanted to see on the magic box. Season two was better and showed us that all good things come to those who wait. Now in its third season we have settled into a comfortable rhythm of two story lines playing throughout the year. One being the case that young detective James Gordon (Ben McKenzie) is working and the series plot-line of who is behind the Wayne murders being investigated by Alfred (Sean Pertwee) and young Bruce Wayne ( David Mazouz). This season the case Gordon is working involves a woman and her psychotic mind controlling brother Jervis Tetch (Benedict Samuel). Samuel's performance as the Tetch AKA the Mad Hatter is quite good a bit hammed up at times but also gives you a great sense of dread from a villain that you need in a show like this.
Episode seven of season 3 is by far the strongest to date showing us the best performance from McKenzie as a driven detective forced into a game of cat and mouse between him and Tetch. This series has potention to really find its footing this year if it keeps to the formula of one major case a year while keeping with the main arc of tracking down who killed the Wayne's.