My husband called me the other day to alert me of a new flavor of Mountain Dew, Mountain Dew*S*A. It’s a combination of three existing Mountain Dew flavors: White Out, Voltage, and Code Red. These flavors are all berry flavored Moutain Dews (raspberry, cherry, and “white cherry”). I was skeptical of the flavor combination given…
Anastasia Byrd is a freelance writer, podcaster, avid horror fan, and thrash metal enthusiast. Ana also enjoys gaming with her husband and hanging out with her pet tarantula, Shelob. She lives and works somewhere in Mississippi (for now).
Scandal Always Followed LULU BELLE
Lulu Belle is a quintessential 1940s era film. Dorothy Lamour shines as the titular nightclub singer who gets swept off her feet by a young attorney (George Montgomery). The attorney, George, throws away everything for Lulu, but Lulu’s actions drive him to do the unthinkable, and he lands himself in prison as a result. Dorothy…
I Just Came for the Brightside Skittles
It seems that everytime I enter a convenience store, Skittles has introduced a new flavor mix. This time the new mix, Brightside, consists of “bright” colors and decidedly Summer-esque flavors. Without further ado… Kiwi Banana (yellow) – My favorite of all the flavors in this mix. I’ve always had a love for artificial banana flavor…
A French Take on Leopold and Loeb: A Review of FEVER
An adaptation of Leslie Kaplan’s novel of the same name, Fever draws from a well of inspiration… most notably the famed American murderers, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb. Nathan and Richard kidnapped and murdered 14 year old Bobby Franks on May 21, 1924. The subsequent trial for Bobby Franks murder was deemed the “Trial of…
Six 2016 Films that Made Ana Happy
Everybody Wants Some Richard Linklater has finally made a bookend of sorts to Dazed and Confused. Imagine a film that embodies the feel of 1980: It’s excellently acted, roll-on-floor hilarious, and centers around a college baseball team the weekend before school starts. This was my favorite film of the year. Rogue One: A Star Wars…
Ana Dedicates Her Top 10 to David and Leonard
[Editor’s Note: I’m beginning to think I’m bad at directions, because here’s another BEST OF 2016 done in a format other than the Top 7 I had decided on. To be fair, who the hell does Top 7 lists anyway? Moving on… here’s a list of Ana’s favorite albums of the year. And, we start…
31 Days, Day 25: Castel’s THE PUPPET MAN Hits Brooklyn Horror Film Fest
Jacqueline Castel’s The Puppet Man harkens back to 80’s style slashers very much in the vein of John Carpenter. This is no accident. John Carpenter not only wrote the score to The Puppet Man, he also has a cameo as a cab driver in the 9 min short. Full of style and atmosphere, The film…
31 Days, Day 24: BHFF Catches Themselves a Mermaid
The Brooklyn Horror Film Festival was a few weeks ago, and I had the pleasure of reviewing this short film for the site. This is probably one of the best horror shorts that I have ever had the pleasure of viewing. The premise of The Man Who Caught a Mermaid surrounds a man with a…
31 Days, Day 6: I Just Came for the Halloween Candy… Snickers & Hazelnut
It’s not hard to review a beloved candy bar. What is hard, is to review a beloved candy bar with a new twist! Lucky for me, most people know the joys of Nutella, and so Snickers & Hazelnut isn’t a strange leap for the Mars Company. You might think that this would taste like a…
I Just Came for the… VENOM
My journey to review these two ninety-nine cent energy drinks has been pretty interesting. It wasn’t hard to actually acquire said beverages (they are sold around the corner from my house at two different gas stations), but it was hard to obtain a promotional photograph of these new Venom Flavors. I emailed the Dr. Pepper…
I Came for the Food, Thirsty Thursday Edition… Part 3
Henry’s Hard Sodas have taken the market by storm, much like the Not Your Father’s Brand that I reviewed a few days ago. For good reason, they’ve managed to pack in all the nostalgia of an old time soda shop in 3 alcoholic flavors: Ginger Ale, Orange Soda, and Cherry Cola. I’ve had all three,…
I Came for the Food, Thirsty Thursday Edition… Part 2
The newest addition to the Redd’s Apple Ale family is the “Limited Pick”, Blueberry Ale, a mix of both apple and blueberry flavors. Redd’s also offers a Strawberry Ale, a Green Apple Ale, and a plain Apple Ale. Plus a line of Wicked ales that up the alcohol percentage to 8%. These include Mango, and…
I Came for the Food, Thirsty Thursday Edition… Part 1
Small Town Brewery has hit it out of the ballpark with their “Not Your Father’s” line of hard Sodas. These are gruit (German for herbs) inspired ales meaning they are bittered with roots, spices, flowers, and berries during the brewing process. So far they’ve produced these delicious treats: Root Beer, Ginger Ale (my favorite), and…
The Cinephile Files: The Strange Case of EUREKA
Eureka is a beautiful, mysterious film filled with themes of greed, lust and paranoia. The film opens with us in a blizzard to see Jack McCann (Gene Hackman), a gold prospector, nearly freeze to death before being rescued by a fortune teller (Helena Kallianiotes). She arranges for through “supernatural” means for Jack to hit rich.…
I Just Came for the Fanta
Fanta, a Coca-Cola brand (and Nazi Germany invention… seriously, look it up), released two new flavors to its fruit themed line of sodas, Fanta Berry and Fanta Mango. Today, I’ll be reviewing the former since it is actually a regional flavor for the gulf region (where I live). What I want you to know first…
ACCIDENTAL INCEST… Not for Everyone
Accidental Incest is the story of two depraved misanthropes, Milton and Kendra (Johnny Sederquist, Elyssa Baldassarri), who (as the title suggests) are relatives: brother and sister. Of course, they don’t find this out until after they’ve had sex. Both happen to get murdered, go to heaven, and get a second chance from their respective guardian…
I Just Came for the Food: Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Cups
This week is the triumphant return of I Just Came for the Food! I’m reviewing the Hershey Company’s new twist on two old favorites: Reese’s Pieces and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. It’s exactly what it sounds like-lots of Reese’s Pieces stuffed inside the peanut butter center of a Reese’s cup, and it won Best in…
I Came for the Watermelon
Watermelon Pop Tarts I don’t know if it’s the fact that pastries just are not typically melon flavored, or if the watermelon flavor is best left to colder treats. I do, however, know these Pop Tarts taste very mediocre. They aren’t bad, but they’re definitely not delicious. Generally, something is just off about them. The…
I Came For the Dew
Recently Mountain Dew released a new flavor, Black Label. The color of a merlot and tasting of berries, It’s a delicious addition to the ever growing Mountain Dew flavor family (Code Red, Voltage, White Out, Baja Blast, Game Fuel, etc.) However, it does not require much investigation to realize that Black Label is just normal…
I Just Came for the Peeps, The Finale
Due to one part procrastination and two parts parents raiding the Easter aisle, this will be the last part of the peeps series. That said: let’s dig in! These are pretty self explanatory. The peep is a bit smaller than normal. The marshmallow is maybe a little more dense, and is not sugar covered. The…
I Just Came for the Peeps, Part 2
This week my Peeps quest brings me back to Walmart for the three mystery flavors exclusive to the store this year. Upon close examination, all three flavors look exactly the same: traditional Peep shape with white sugar and white marshmallow centers. The looks certainly aren’t giving any hints as to what flavors are within the…
I Just Came for the Peeps, Part 1
As a part of my new column I Just Came for the Food, I’m setting out to try all of the new Easter flavors of Just Born Inc.’s popular candy, Peeps. Peeps currently offers an interesting variety of flavors, many of which are specific store exclusives. Today, I will be reviewing Sour Watermelon and Blue…