Non-woke 'Moana 2' sinks or swims, 'Gladiator II' fights back, and 'Red One' brings some early Xmas action



No opinions, no agenda — just the basic facts you need to answer that eternal question: Is anything good playing?

Welcome to the inaugural installment of our monthly Align Movie Guide. We can't guarantee that Hollywood will make entertainment worthy of your time and money — but we can help you get a sense of your choices.

From big-budget spectacles to Christmas warm-ups, here are some of the more promising films hitting cinemas in November

'Here' — Nov. 1

Director Robert Zemeckis' attempt to recapture some of that "Forrest Gump" magic by reuniting Tom Hanks and Robin Wright for "Here" has utterly flopped with critics — and most viewers. It's too bad, as the film takes on a relatively bold challenge: depicting centuries of drama playing out on one piece of land.

Perhaps more interesting than its story is the film's groundbreaking effects work: it uses Metaphysic Live, a new AI technology, to face-swap and de-age Hanks and Wright in real-time while filming instead of doing the work in post.

'Red One' — Nov. 15

If you're one of those people who considers "Die Hard" a Christmas movie, you might want to consider "Red One."

When Santa Claus is kidnapped by sinister forces days before Christmas Eve, North Pole Head of Security Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson) recruits the help of Jack O'Malley (Chris Evans), the world’s greatest tracker, to battle fantastical creatures and find jolly Ol’ Saint Nick in an action-packed Christmas adventure.

When it comes to blockbusters, you can’t go wrong with Chris Evans and Dwayne Johnson ... or can you? Evans, a staunch Democrat, has been letting his partisan side show in recent years, broadcasting his support for Kamala Harris and lambasting fans who protested a lesbian kissing scene in Pixar’s "Toy Story" spin-off, "Lightyear."

Neither is "The Rock" impervious to controversy. He was accused of urinating in bottles on the "Red One" set to save time after showing up hours late to set. Surprisingly entitled behavior for a man whose latest films — "Black Adam" and "Jungle Cruise," among them — have failed to capture audiences.

Then again, nobody's perfect, and the concept looks to be a funny, action-packed take on a Christmas movie. If that’s your cup of tea, "Red One" might be worth unwrapping.

'Gladiator II' — Nov. 22

Singer-songwriter Nick Cave once wrote a wild script for a sequel to the beloved "Gladiator," which sent Maximus (Russell Crowe) on an epic time-travel quest. That idea never came to fruition, but original director Ridley Scott is about to deliver a more straightforward follow-up with "Gladiator II." The film follows Lucius (Paul Mescal), the son of Maximus. Like his father, he must fight for his life and the whole of Rome as a gladiator. The film has been highly anticipated for its sprawling physical sets and stacked cast, which includes Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, and Derek Jacobi.

'Wicked' — Nov. 22

Nobody said it was easy being green. The long-awaited big screen adaptation of beloved musical "Wicked" has a built-in audience of loyal fans — probably best not to alienate them by crying "racist." Yet that's what star Cynthia Erivo did when one X user innocently edited the movie poster to make it resemble its Broadway counterpart.

Time will tell if this glimpse behind the DEI curtain will dissuade viewers from taking the Yellow Brick Road — but maybe Erivo's co-stars — including Ariana Grande as Glinda (the Good Witch), Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Bowen Yang, Peter Dinklage, and Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard — will be enough of a draw.

'Moana 2' — Nov. 27

Perhaps the one film coming out this month with the most to prove is Disney’s "Moana 2," sailing into theaters a scant nine months after being announced.

"Moana 2" originally took the form of an 8-episode Disney+ series; Disney CEO Bob Iger claimed he loved it so much that he decided to turn it into a feature-length film.

Nice story, but insiders claim his real motives were to replace another animated film rife with wokeness — hardly a selling point after the one-two punch failure of "Strange World" and the well-meaning "Wish." The film was scrapped.

Even stars Auliʻi Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson had to renegotiate contracts and re-record lines for the film (Johnson’s cameo-sized role was expanded to a co-lead). The trailers do seem to indicate a straightforward adventure with the iconic "wayfinder," a welcome signal that Disney is getting back to what it does best: family entertainment. Audiences — and Disney — should hope the Mouse House has another billion-dollar crowd-pleaser on its hands.

Here are a few lesser-hyped upcoming films to consider:

'The Best Christmas Pageant Ever' — Nov. 8

For those who like to celebrate the most wonderful time of year early, consider bringing the family to "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever," a new adaptation of Barbara Robinson's book from "The Chosen" creator Dallas Jenkins. When the Herdman siblings — who have a reputation for being the worst kids in the world — take over the local Christmas church pageant, they might just teach a shocked community the true meaning of Christmas. Starring Judy Greer, Lauren Graham, Pete Holmes, and Elizabeth Tabish.

'Heretic' — Nov. 8

In this horror-thriller from A24, two young missionaries become ensnared in a deadly game of cat and mouse when they knock on the door of the diabolical Mr. Reed. Trapped in his home, they must turn to their faith if they want to make it out alive. Starring Hugh Grant (in an excellent heel turn), Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East, and Topher Grace. Directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods.

'A Sudden Case of Christmas' — Nov. 8

An American couple bring their 10-year-old daughter, Claire, to her grandfather's hotel in Italy to tell her that they are separating. Hoping to bring them back together, Claire asks the entire family to celebrate one last Christmas together ... in August. Starring Danny DeVito, Lucy DeVito, Andie MacDowell, Wilmer Valderrama, Adrian Dunbar, and Antonella Rose. Directed by Peter Chelsom.

'Bonhoeffer' — Nov. 22

From "Sound of Freedom" producer Angel Studios comes "Bonhoeffer," a drama about the life of the German theologian and pastor who stood up to the Nazis during the Third Reich. Starring Jonas Dassler as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, August Diehl, Moritz Bleibtreu, Nadine Heidenreich, David Jonsson, and Flula Borg.

Complete list by date:

  • "Here" — Nov. 1
  • "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" — Nov. 8
  • "Heretic" — Nov. 8
  • "A Sudden Case of Christmas" — Nov. 8
  • "Red One" — Nov. 15
  • "Gladiator II" — Nov. 22
  • "Wicked" (Part One) — Nov. 22
  • "Bonhoeffer" — Nov. 22
  • "Moana 2" — Nov. 27

'Am I Racist?' is boring Borat, 'Beetlejuice' baffles, McCarthy ungrateful 'Brat'



Damon Packard's movie diary

Damon Packard is the Los Angeles-based filmmaker behind such underground classics as “Reflections of Evil,” “The Untitled Star Wars Mockumentary,” “Foxfur,” and “Fatal Pulse.” His AI-generated work recently appeared as interstitials for the 18th annual American Cinematheque Horrorthon and can be enjoyed on his YouTube channel. After a long day making movies or otherwise making ends meet, he likes to unwind with late-night excursions to the multiplexes and art house cinemas of greater Los Angeles. For previous installments of the "Diary," see here.

September 15, "Am I Racist?" (d. Justin Folk), AMC Century City 15

Wobbled into an 11 p.m. show of "Am I Racist?" last night in Century City. As seemingly ripe as this subject matter is for satire, I found it mostly dull and not all that funny.

What struck me is how oddly staged the whole thing felt. These bizarre DEI, white privilege education workshops can't possibly be real, can they? People actually pay that kind of money to attend them? These people are real?

Anyone who still has some brain function knows how ridiculous and reality-manipulating the whole woke thing is — like any mainstream media-driven profiteering scam the dopey brain-dead masses fall for (take your pick, the world revolves around trillions of scams within scams).

So it's all about finding clever and humorous ways to point out the obvious hypocrisies and broken logic.

Walsh is no Borat, Eric Andre, Chris Morris, or Louis Theroux. This kind of humor is tricky, and it takes someone of unique charisma.

September 5, "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" (d. Tim Burton), AMC Century City 15

Heading into a nice, completely empty midnight show of this "Beetlejuice" stuff. Perfect night. Everyone wiped out from the heat, this whole place is quiet and empty. Will report back but I can't imagine I'll have anything of interest to say.

[Later]

"Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" was weird. It included some really odd needle drops — the Bee Gees, Donna Summer, and Richard Harris' "MacArthur Park" (which reappears in the climax in the form of Danny Elfman's orchestral version). Strangest of all was the use of Pino Donaggio's "Carrie" theme at the end.

I wonder if this was just music Burton happened to be listening to while making or cutting the movie. It was nice hearing these pieces in a theater, but do those songs really work for the scene? Eh.

I think Burton is probably an insightful, intelligent person with whom I'd enjoy discussing art, cinema, history, old Hollywood, etc. But for me his films range from mediocre to baffling to awful.

I just don't know what the hell to make of this thing. Danny DeVito frothing at the mouth as a disgusting dead janitor? Too much goofy, cartoony weirdness for this to work for me. And for a guy who loves stop motion, Burton includes some pretty mediocre stop-motion sequences here.

Maybe if I were feeling generous I'd give it a semi-pass — who else is giving Catherine O'Hara lead roles these days?

September 4 "Tightrope" (1984, d. Richard Tuggle)

Watched "Tightrope" (1984) last night at a friend's house. I remember well when this played at the Mann National Westwood. Some have described it as Eastwood's "giallo." It's certainly very stylish, dark, sleazy, and moody and often feels more like a slasher movie than a thriller.

I did wonder if this was originally intended for another actor. Eastwood plays a divorced police detective named Wes Block, who is raising two daughters and five dogs. He also loves to have kinky sex with hookers while on the job. At one point he tells Geneviève Bujold he'd "love to lick the sweat off" her body, which you almost can't believe he just said.

At the time, Gene Siskel praised Eastwood for "risking his star charisma [to play] a louse." The villain is a sadistic psycho killer who creeps around stalking women in bizarre devil masks; he ends up beating and possibly raping Block's daughter. Eastwood cast his own 12-year-old daughter Alison in the role.

September 4, "Brats" (d. Andrew McCarthy)

I did not expect to get through this, but somehow I watched this entire thing. Andrew McCarthy (whom I've always liked for his charming, neurotic quirkiness) did a good job.

At the same time I can't believe he actually had the gall to make an entire movie griping about his career.

Let's see: The world is collapsing in chaos, the starving masses swarm the streets like something out of "Soylent Green," and here comes poor Andrew McCarthy with a 90-minute, soul-searching documentary about how hard it was on him and his rich, beautiful celebrity friends when an article in New York magazine called them the "Brat Pack."

September 3, "Shakedown" (1988, d. James Glickenhaus), CineFile Video

CineFile screening nights continued tonight with James Glickenhaus' spectacular overlooked 1988 action thriller/courtroom drama "Shakedown." Modern, CGI-heavy action movies with bloated $200 million budgets can't even come close to what Glickenhaus could do with $6 million in 1987.

Nowadays you probably wouldn't even be allowed to attempt some of the stunts they pull off. It's a reminder of how competitive the field was at the time. Stuntmen were eager to keep pushing boundaries and would take major risks, especially in small-budget films. You can also notice this in many of the Hong Kong films of the era.

Needless to say, those days are over. Glickenhaus wisely got out of the film biz and now runs a company that makes high-performance race cars.

August 30, "The Hustle — Part 2" (d. The Dor Brothers)

Finally, someone else doing something somewhat creative with AI, showing the true faces of these ridiculous politicians, technocrats, and leaders.

That's exactly what all these idiots on the world's stage are: a bunch of gangsters, rubbing it in our faces like James Cagney with that grapefruit in "The Public Enemy."

August 29

A 3 a.m., Uber Eats delivery dragged me all the way out to Canoga Park on Topanga Canyon Blvd. (I made $20 for the whole night; sad, I know.)

I did get to revisit the former site of a movie theater from my youth, the Baronet: a huge, 500-seat auditorium with sticky floors. I remember seeing both "Damien: Omen 2" and "The Awakening" here at nearly empty showings in the early '80s when I lived in Chatsworth. It closed around 1986.

This isn't too far from the Topanga Twin Cinema, where I sat through "An American Werewolf in London" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark" twice in a row in 1981. I believe it's a Crate & Barrel now.

August 27, "A Day at the Beach" (1970, d. Simon Hesera)

This is one of most fascinating films I've ever seen. I watched the entire thing this morning, completely mesmerized.

This was supposed to be a Roman Polanski project, but he ended up handing over directing duties to Simon Hesera. Polanski is credited only as writer and second unit director.

But this strange, dream-like tale of miserable, angry characters on a rainy and cold beachfront is so artfully done that I suspect it's very much a Polanski film — much in the same way that "Poltergeist" was clearly directed by Steven Spielberg, despite being credited to Tobe Hooper.

I'm surprised it's been so overlooked for so many years. It sticks with you.

'Deadpool & Wolverine' makes the MCU fun again



"Welcome to the MCU. By the way, you're joining at a bit of a low point," says Deadpool at one point in his much-anticipated (by him, at least) team-up with Wolverine.

Turns out, admitting you have a problem is more than half the battle.

It’s satisfying to see a director of Levy's talents play in the Marvel universe for the first time, nailing the requisite epic scale while keeping things fun.

After years of declining audience interest, Marvel Studios has delivered a much needed win in the form of "Deadpool & Wolverine," the third installment in the Deadpool trilogy and the first proper inclusion of the X-Men into the MCU.

Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) is living a peaceful existence retired from superhero-ing and struggling to find meaning in his life. Enter the TVA (short for Time Variance Authority, an organization introduced in the streaming series "Loki"). Turns out, the TVA could use a man like Deadpool to fix the timeline.

When the Merc with a Mouth realizes he'll have to destroy his universe in the process, he pivots to saving it instead. To do so, he recruits a disgraced, alternate-universe Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). As the two unlikely friends maneuver through the multiverse, the chaos that always surrounds Deadpool follows them.

At the heart of this ultra-violent, ultra-irreverent film are surprisingly sincere themes of friendship and redemption. In their shared struggle to find new meaning in their lives, these two heroes end up saving not only the entire universe in a bloody, action-packed climax, but each other.

It's one of the best bromances ever captured on film, with both Reynolds and Jackman giving career-best performances. It is one of the most earnest and emotionally satisfying stories we have seen from Marvel Studios since "Spider-Man: No Way Home."

WARNING: SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ON

The film also lovingly pays tribute to the 20th Century Fox era of Marvel with cameos from Blade (Wesley Snipes), the Human Torch (Chris Evans), Elektra (Jennifer Garner), Pyro (Aaron Stanford), and Gambit (Channing Tatum, who finally gets to play the character after many failed attempts at a solo film).

Even Laura/X-23 (Dafne Keen), from what was supposed to be Jackman's final bow as Wolverine, makes an appearance. She confirms that the Wolverine of "Logan" is indeed dead while inspiring this version of Wolverine to become the hero he's always been capable of being.

While these throwbacks are fun, they do sometimes make the film's pacing suffer. Still, it's hard to fault "Deadpool & Wolverine" for its commitment to maximum fan enjoyment.

I must also single out director Shawn Levy, a filmmaker with great family films like "Cheaper by the Dozen," "Night at the Museum," and the Reynolds-starring "Free Guy" under his belt. It’s satisfying to see a director of his talents play in the Marvel universe for the first time, nailing the requisite epic scale while keeping things fun.

It's safe to say that with "Deadpool & Wolverine," the MCU has officially bounced back from the wokeness-fueled nadir of "The Marvels." Will the studio build on the momentum and good will?

Only time will tell, but the recent Comic-Con bombshell that Robert Downey Jr. will play Dr. Doom in both "Avengers: Doomsday" and "Avengers: Secret Wars" is certainly a hopeful sign. Let's keep our fingers crossed that the party is just getting started.

'Midwit' writers of ‘The Boys’ just took WOKE to a new level



Amazon Prime’s “The Boys” has always been “woke,” but the latest season took the meaning of the word to an entirely new level.

“‘The Boys’ has really always been ‘woke’ since its first season,” Lauren Chen explains. “It’s only now, in its later seasons, particularly seasons three and four, that I found the wokeness is becoming really just too much.”

Chen points to one scene in particular that took it one step too far.

“There was a scene that was so stupid, so poorly written,” Chen says. The scene featured Victoria Newman, a Latina politician with super powers, and the newest character Sage, a black woman, whose entire presence in the show “is so frustrating.”

“Her entire premise is that she is the smartest person alive, but here’s the thing. That’s a problem because the writers for this show are not that smart. So, the question is, how do you portray the smartest person in the world when you are a certifiable midwit?” Chen asks.

The writers came up with a solution to this midwit condition they have by telling “the audience that she is smart, that Sage is smart, many, many times.”

In this particular scene, Newman and Sage are attending what appears to be a right-wing political gathering full of old white billionaires. The pair are scheming to get these billionaires on board with Newman as president, and Newman complains that she had “abortion mansplained” to her by a man who “refuses to be alone with any woman who’s not his wife.”

Not only is Chen disturbed by the abortion comment, the entire scheme is childish and not reflective of the “smartest person in the world.”

“Something that Sage in her infinite wisdom has concocted, but it’s like, well, obviously if you’re trying to seize political power, doesn’t it make sense to get other people who have power on board with your cause?” Chen says.

“That’s not some grandmaster strategy, that’s just literally the bare minimum you would expect to do if you are trying to do a soft coup. This is not genius-level stuff. I’ve literally seen women’s book clubs with more intricate political backstabbing and intrigue than this show,” she adds.


Was This Embarrassing Scene the "MOST WOKE" in TV Show History?

Was This Embarrassing Scene the "MOST WOKE" in TV Show History?

‘Dr Who’ has WORST RATINGS in 60-year history after taking a ‘decisively queer step’



“Dr. Who” has been a fan favorite for the 60 years it’s been on air, but with its recent record low ratings on Disney Plus — that’s all changing.

“Not only is the show absolutely not doing well, but it is failing spectacularly. Like it is doing so poorly,” Lauren Chen of “Pseudo-Intellectual” comments, noting that the “show has been on the decline for a while now.”

Since the first episode of the season, fewer and fewer people are tuning in for more.

The issues began with the portrayal of Dr. Who — who is now a crossdressing black man — and went downhill from there.

“They were so focused on trying to pander to black people and queer people and get them interested in the show, they forgot about welcoming, like, just actual Dr. Who fans to watch the show,” Chen says.

“In fact, sometimes, they did the exact opposite. They told those fans to not watch the show if they weren’t happy with being force-fed progressive propaganda, and I’m not even kidding,” she adds.

The main actor has told people to not watch the show, addressing his critics in an April 2024 interview with Variety’s Ellise Shafer by saying, “Don’t watch. Turn off the TV. Go and touch grass, please, for God’s sake.”

This same sentiment was shared by a drag queen who plays a villain in the show.

“I know a lot of people might not even watch this season of 'Dr. Who' because it’s taking such a decisively queer step. However, if they watch, I think they’ll see that we’re just actors playing characters. And if they don’t watch it, then who needs ‘em? I truly believe that for every fan we lose to transphobia, we’re going to have two to three more coming in because they’re excited for trans representation,” Jinkx Monsoon said.

“How is that prediction working out for you?” Chen laughs.


Want more from Lauren Chen?

To enjoy more of Lauren’s pro-liberty, pro-logic, and pro-market commentary on social and political issues, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Amazon Prime’s most successful show has always been woke, but now, it’s insufferably woke



If you’ve ever watched “The Boys” on Amazon Prime, then you know the superheroes who make up the main cast are more like super-zeroes. They’re exceedingly violent, greedy, and power-hungry, which of course is the point, as the series is designed to satirically flip the superhero archetype on its head.

Such a unique concept has resulted in the development of quite a significant fan base.

“Since its debut, [‘The Boys’ has] consistently been one of the streaming platform's highest rated and best-performing shows,” says Lauren Chen, BlazeTV's resident film critic.

However, now that the fourth season has dropped, the show’s popularity is waning dramatically.

Could it be because the series is drowning in wokeness?

“I have been 100% aware from the get-go that obviously the people behind ‘The Boys’ are leftists,” but it was “still worth watching,” says Lauren. “Until now, that is.”

'The Boys' is INSUFFERABLY WOKE Now!｜***SHOW REVIEW***youtu.be

“It’s always been woke, but in my opinion, previously, the wokeness was at least tolerable,” she says, adding that the complexity of the characters, the acting, and the strong dialogue made the show worth watching.

Further, “what made the show watchable, despite its wokeness, was that in previous seasons, the writers clearly weren't afraid of taking shots at their own side,” Lauren explains.

However, that all ended with the debut of season 4, which hasn’t even dropped all its episodes yet.

Take a look at the face of the series — Homelander, played by Anthony Starr. Once a complex character who was power-hungry and corrupt yet insecure and traumatized has been simplified in the fourth season into nothing more than “a parody of superhero, fascist Donald Trump.”

Additionally, “[Homelander’s] followers, his supporters or ‘home teamers’” (perhaps a play on Trumpers?) “are also just evil, racist, fascist, sexist, conspiracy theorists.”

“Seriously, the first three episodes of season 4 … [paint] Homelander’s supporters — these ‘home teamers’ — as these Alex Jones-watching, Jew-hating, literal loser conspiracy theorists who are just waiting for any reason to attack or get violent with their fellow Americans,” sighs Lauren.

Then “Starlight, who used to be an actual character with personality, has now just become a stand-in puppet for, I guess, the Democrats or feminists, who is just like, ‘I'm pro-good things; I hate the bad guy,’” she mocks.

Similarly, her followers — “starlighters” — represent “the good guys” because they’re anti-racism and anti-corporate corruption, but pro-feminism.

In scenes when the home teamers are pitted against the starlighters, the starlighters are painted as non-violent “angels,” whereas Homelander’s supporters are portrayed as “violent” and “evil.”

The message is crystal clear. Red=bad, blue=good.

If you don’t believe Lauren, then just look at the IMDB audience scores.

In season one, the audience gave the show a score of 90%, season two scored 83%, season three fell to 75%, and now season four is sitting at an abysmal 52%.

Perhaps people are getting sick of progressive agendas being shoved down their throats when all they want is just some good, old-fashioned entertainment.

To hear more of Lauren’s analysis, watch the clip above.

Want more from Lauren Chen?

To enjoy more of Lauren’s pro-liberty, pro-logic, and pro-market commentary on social and political issues, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Lara Croft goes woke; no longer a ‘raider of tombs’ to ‘escape colonial past’



Phoebe Waller-Bridge has officially taken on the role of director for the Lara Croft TV series, and Amazon has announced that the show has been greenlit — but fans are not happy.

Waller-Bridge recently starred alongside Harrison Ford in "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," where she played a very feminist character who berated Ford at every turn.

“So, is this Amazon iteration of Lara Croft going to be more of the same? Just an obnoxious girl boss who only exists to undercut her male colleagues and costars? We’ll see,” Lauren Chen says, calling her Indiana Jones film “a pretty spectacular failure.”

Lara Croft’s Tomb Raider video games have also faced criticism from fans across the globe who believe that each time a new version of the game comes out, Croft gets less attractive.

“To those of you who are Tomb Raider fans and are thinking, ‘You know what? Doesn’t matter, I’m just going to ignore the series and play the games because at least those will continue to be good.’ Well, I mean, I wouldn’t be so sure,” Chen says.

“As people have pointed out, it seems like there is actually an effort being made to make Lara Croft uglier and uglier, because of course due to feminism, as women now we are supposed to be offended by attractive women for some reason.”

Not only have video games across the board been catering more to woke ideology, but Croft especially has formerly represented the “pinnacle” of female attractiveness in video games.

“As we saw with gamer gate and more recently the whole Sweet Baby Inc. debacle, the gaming industry is by no means safe from wokeness either,” Chen says.

And it’s not just Croft’s attractiveness that’s been under attack but also her character.

The game Tomb Raider: Shadows of Truth gained negative attention as creators claimed they were transitioning Croft from “a raider of tombs to a seeker of truth” in order to escape the game's “colonial past.”

“I’m not even kidding, this is a real thing,” Chen says.


Want more from Lauren Chen?

To enjoy more of Lauren’s pro-liberty, pro-logic, and pro-market commentary on social and political issues, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Sorry, tech companies, no one owes you a positive review



Over the past 16 years, tech reviewer Marques Brownlee has built up over 18 million subscribers on YouTube, and each of his videos receives several million views. So he caused a bit of a stir recently when he reviewed Humane’s new Ai Pin product with a video titled “The Worst Product I've Ever Reviewed... For Now.”

Tech investor Daniel Vassallo tweeted:

I find it distasteful, almost unethical, to say this when you have 18 million subscribers.

Hard to explain why, but with great reach comes great responsibility. Potentially killing someone else’s nascent project reeks of carelessness.

First, do no harm.

Vassallo wasn’t alone in pushing back against Brownlee.

Alex Kehr, CEO of Superlocal, said, “This is @MKBHD review is devastating for the future of Humane. The most trusted tech reviewer saying it’s the worst product he’s ever reviewed is going to eviscerate sales.”

Influencer Alex Finn tweeted, “MKBHD bankrupted a company in 41 seconds.”

But Brownlee wasn’t alone in trashing the Ai Pin. I have yet to read a positive review of the product. Brownlee tends to be fair and thoughtful, so I’m sure his review is his honest opinion.

Shifting attitudes over tech reviews

But even if his review was dishonest, that’s beside the point because I’m not here to talk about the Ai Pin or Marques Brownlee. I’m here to talk about expectations around tech reviews. I’ve been reviewing tech products for over a decade, and now I work in marketing, so I’ve been on both sides of the fence. Marketing departments don’t send out free products to journalists and influencers out of charity or love of a free press — they do it in the hopes that they get free (or cheap) advertising in the form of positive reviews.

Journalists, however, have different incentives, or at least they should. Historically, journalists understood that if they were untruthful to their readers, it would damage their reputation or even that of their publication. Marketers understood that sending out products was a bit of a dice roll, and if they got a negative review, they’d have to take their lumps and move on. And sometimes, there’s no such thing as bad publicity.

Most companies have a healthy attitude about reviews. To Humane’s credit, the company’s head of new media, Sam Sheffer, said, “An honest, solid review marques — all fair and valid critiques, both the good and the bad feedback is a gift. we reflect and we listen and we learn and we continue building.” He added later, “I’ve also watched just about every single video he’s ever published. he’s very good at his job. and i encourage him to keep doing his thing, and to stay true to himself and the craft.”

This healthy attitude was much more common when I first started in the industry, but then a few things happened that changed the balance:

  • Bloggers (like those at the now-defunct Gawker) realized that they could get more traffic by being snarky and trashing everyone and everything.
  • Tech companies and journalists grew increasingly leery of one another.
  • Marketers grew more demanding and precise, wanting to minimize negative reviews and maximize positive ones.

Most importantly, social media influencers have built larger audiences than traditional journalists. As a plus (to the marketers), they were utterly untrained in journalistic ethics and were easy to buy off. Most of the time, this didn’t even have to be explicit. Some random person who suddenly has a large following is thrilled to receive free products to review, and the reviews reflect that, especially if the implication is that positive reviews keep the product train rolling.

As a result, tech companies have become pretty spoiled and often expect positive reviews. One large tech company, in particular, was angry at me for not acting blown away in my review, despite me calling the product the best in its class. I don’t know how much better you could expect than that!

Will Brownlee doom Humane?

But here’s the thing: While Brownlee may or may not be well versed in journalistic ethics, he’s built up an empire based on his word. His livelihood — and probably more importantly to him, the livelihood of everyone on his team depends upon viewers trusting his reviews.

And while I can’t speak for anyone but myself, I never volunteer to review a product that seems like it sucks. That’s not my idea of fun. On a purely selfish level, spending a great deal of time with a lousy product is frustrating and unpleasant. And as I’ve matured, I’ve also realized the hard work people put into these things that don’t turn out as well as they would have hoped. Anyone with a bit of empathy doesn’t relish trashing other people’s hard work, even if it does suck.

Brownlee’s review won’t doom Humane. The flurry of negative reviews from multiple outlets might doom Humane, but what will ultimately doom Humane, or any company, is shipping a bad product and then running out of funding before the company can fix it or ship a better one.

And if you want your product to receive good reviews, there’s a pretty simple way to do that: Ship good products. And if you want your product to receive outstanding reviews, don’t expect reviewers to be blown away by last year’s product with an extra layer of clear coat applied.

Expecting influencers and journalists to smooth over a product’s failings out of some misplaced sense of capitalistic charity is the definition of entitlement. Here at Return, we're striving to showcase companies and products that use technology to make your life better. And we'll always do our best to present honest and fair reviews for the products we cover.

FTC proposes rule to ban fake reviews and similar shady practices plaguing consumers



The Federal Trade Commission announced a proposed rule Friday meant to crack down on fake reviews notorious for deceiving consumers looking for honest feedback on products and services.

"Our proposed rule on fake reviews shows that we’re using all available means to attack deceptive advertising in the digital age," said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

"The rule would trigger civil penalties for violators and should help level the playing field for honest companies."

The bogus review issue takes several forms, but each share a common element — separating hard-working consumers from their money.

The problem will only deepen as generative AI makes creating scores of fake reviews quick, cheap, and easy, the agency said in a press release.

Shady marketers artificially pump up review counts in a number of ways, the FTC explained in the release.

Buying and selling fake consumer reviews and testimonials is the most obvious deceptive practice. The proposed rule would prohibit the practice on both ends of the transaction. Writing and selling fake consumer reviews would be prohibited, and procuring and disseminating them would be prohibited, as well.

A lesser known practice called "review hijacking" would also be jettisoned by the proposed rule. Review hijacking involves stealing or repurposing reviews of another product. The FTC fined The Bountiful Company $600,000 in its first review hijacking case last February.

In the case of The Bountiful Company, review hijacking was achieved by manipulating an Amazon feature that allows vendors to create a "variation" relationship among products.

The FTC's proposed rule would also prohibit a company's officers and managers from writing reviews and testimonials for its own products unless they clearly disclose the relationship.

Using legal threats or other intimidation to suppress negative reviews would be prohibited under the rule. Similarly, businesses would be barred from holding back negative reviews on their website if they claim to show all submitted reviews.

"Although the FTC has taken strong enforcement action in this area recently, case-by-case enforcement without civil penalty authority might not be enough to deter clearly deceptive review and testimonial practices," the FTC said in its release.

The agency cited the Supreme Court's decision in AMG Capital Management LLC v. FTC, saying that their ability to seek monetary relief for consumers had been hindered under the FTC Act.

"A rule clearly spelling out prohibited practices and allowing for the judicial imposition of civil penalties could strengthen deterrence and FTC enforcement actions."

Once the FTC's proposed rule is published in the Federal Register, a 60-day public comment period will commence.

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