Quickies - GRIP: COMBAT RACING, LITTLE BIRD, & more

(Reviewed by Melody Werner)
I watch, read, listen to, and play a lot of things I don't review immediately. In an attempt to at least share some of my thoughts on these pieces of media, I'd like to do a few quickies in one post for at least a few weeks. The hope is to expand on these down the road, but for now these should maybe whet your whistle.

GRIP: COMBAT RACING (2015/2018)

DEVELOPER: Caged Element | PUBLISHER: Wired Productions
PLATFORMS: PC, XBox One, PlayStation 4, Switch
GENRE: Racing

POSITIVES

+ Gorgeous
+ Fast-paced
+ Smooth controls
+ Interesting, satisfying gameplay
+ Feature rich, delivers the whole package
+ Full of customization options EARNED THROUGH GAMEPLAY
+ Feels like an actual video game, and not a slot machine

9/10

Awesome

LITTLE BIRD (2019)

PUBLISHER: Image | WRITER: Darcy Van Poelgeest
ARTIST: Ian Bertram | COLORIST: Matt Wilson
LETTERER: Aditya Bidikar | ISSUE COUNT: 5 | GENRE: Epic

POSITIVES

+ Gonzo
+ Bleak story, handled with care
+ Macabre, Quitely-esque art
+ Beautifully written
+ Bold
+ Unique
+ Instantly iconic imagery
+ Artsy


MEH

~ The ending is a little uninspired
~ Confusing at times

9.5/10

Must-read

NEW LEVELS, NEW DEVILS (2018)

MUSICIAN: Polyphia | LABEL: Equal Vision
GENRE: Math rock

POSITIVES

+ Excellent, spirited instrumentals
+ The vast majority of it kicks ass
+ Chill vibe
+ Groovy
+ Fun


MEH

~ A few weaker songs towards the tail end

9/10

Awesome

TERMINAL (2018)

DISTRIBUTOR: RLJE | DIRECTOR: Thoman Sieben
ACTORS: Margot Robbie, Simon Pegg, Dexter Fletcher, Mike Myers
GENRE: Neo-noir thriller

POSITIVES

+ Polished, pretty
+ Well acted
+ Satisfying ending
+ Sometimes pretty clever
+ Nice musical score
+ Classy
+ Tells a small story, but never feels like it needs to be larger


MEH

~ For most of the run-time, it feels uneventful and even lackadaisical--but it's still compelling enough


NEGATIVES

+ Feels disjointed

8.5/10

Great