Review the World: 2019

Monday, December 9, 2019

Sunkist Strawberry Lemonade Soda

From what feels like a relic of a bygone era of junk food Sunkist has unveiled unquestionably the first pink lemonade soda! Brian is joined by Eddie as they tackle this vibrant brew in a snowcapped alleyway opining on its taste, scent, and color, as well as the larger concept of pink lemonade itself! Join us for a bubbly brouhaha as mix together strawberries, lemons, and effervescent oratory!

*NOTE – We’re aware the last 30 seconds accidentally got cut off. We had a technical error that prevented us from using the first take and then the 2nd one got prematurely cut off. Eddie compared the scent to lip balm, said the flavor was “indescribable and very good”, and said he’d pick another bottle up on the way home if he could find one!

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Sour Patch Kids Cereal

For the first-time ever Brian is joined by his very own Rugrats to review! The kids and Brian are tackling Sour Patch Kids cereal! That’s no typo. The popular sour gummy candies usually seen in movie theater lobbies and being traded on school bleachers are now part of a wholesome breakfast! Can candy crossover like Allen Iverson into the world of whole grain cereals, crunchy bacon, and syrupy pancakes? And can sour cereal actually work? Find out!

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Sweet ‘N Crunchy Funnel Cake Flavored Snack Balls

Brian and pal Eddie review a summer staple, county fair favorite, funnel cake-inspired snack in the snowy streets. Can these snack balls replicate the powdery sugar-coated carnival bliss of a real funnel cake? This review ain’t no parlor trick but it’s as exhilarating as a rickety roller coaster ride! Enjoy!

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Little Farm Pizza Bread Snacks

I've had the pleasure of visiting my friends Will of Casserole of Disaster and DJ D of Retro Ghouls twice this past calendar year and on the first of those two visits I stumbled upon these intriguing and adorable snacks.

To set the scene we'd previously been day drinking at a retro arcade bar a few miles away. Despite my limousine riding, jet flying, playboy lifestyle (insert audience laugh track here) I rarely drink so when offered an open tab by my buddies I was fearlessly trying every neon colored mixed drink the barhop could concoct. If it looked like something from Doctor Dreadful's Freaky Food Lab I was imbibing it.

In an inspired choice Will nabbed us a few pizza pies from a food truck and after only driving a couple minutes he pulled a Dominic Toretto and whipped the car Tokyo Drift-ing our asses into the lot of place called Asia Grocery Store.

As seen above my girlfriend Tiffany and I were taking in the sights as if we were analyzing artwork in the French Revolution wing of the Louvre. There were so many brightly colored bags of prawn-flavored snacks and sodium-rich noodles that I almost asked if they were hiring just so I could have an excuse to spend 8 hours a day there.

That fun-filled and fantastical day was back in early-July and ever since that bag of snacks had set prominently displayed on a shelf above my fridge for all guests to behold. Today that all changed. Expiring in less than a week this memento to remind me of a great weekend getaway was no longer going to serve as decor but instead sustenance. Despite Internet rumors I don't subsist on a diet entirely of Rap Snacks and Totino's Pizza Rolls.

Of all the snacks in that tiny grocery these were the ones that literally jumped off the shelves and into my clutches. Any nostalgia nerd worth his salt that grew up in the '90's would be lying if they said they're not constantly on the lookout for a replacement for Keebler's Pizzarias a cheese pizza-flavored chip that tasted like Pasqually E. Pieplate looks. Then there's the double-shot of awesomeness that is an Italian-inspired snack made in Thailand and sold out of an Asian grocer right outside Appalachia coupled with miniaturized versions of anything being totally adorable so tiny pieces of toast had my heart swelling.

The bag is multi-lingual but the key information is clear: "pizza lovers" are in for a treat plus a "new way of snacking". In the words of Rex Manning "Say No More Mon Amour".

It makes me beyond happy to be able to tell you these are incredible! The bag was insanely full of air feeling more like one of those balloons haphazardly tied down near the checkout aisles at supermarkets that say "Get Well Soon" with a picture of Garfield looking like he just sat down on a prickly pear cactus or Mr. Pogo's scythe and less a bag of snacks. They get the highest mark for appearances. They truly are miniature pieces of garlic toast made even tastier by having one side coated in a dusting of Italian spices and flavors that recall the corner booth at a '80's neighborhood pizzeria where the pizza was served piping hot, the cola came in big red plastic cups, and a lone arcade game likely Spy Hunter sat in darkened nook next to a fern. I really wasn't sure what to expect and had presumptuously written them off as mere novelty but now I intend on polishing off the rest of the bag tonight while trying to beat my 1995 high score on Kung Fu Heroes.

Overall Grade: A+

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Ghost, Scorpion, & Carolina Reaper pepper salsa!

We’re eating deathly hot salsa! Brian from Review the World is joined by Will of Casserole of Disaster and DJ D of Retro Ghouls as they tackle Ghost Pepper, Scorpion Pepper, and Carolina Reaper salsas! It’s getting hot in here .. take off all your BROS!

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Brian's Top Films of 2018

For much of 2018 I was under the impression I wouldn’t be compiling a list. Personally, it was a year of much change, ups and downs, days passing like ripples in a lake as the pages of the calendar flipped with no signs of slowing. But over the last couple months I crammed as many blindspots in as I could, racing across town to screenings, streaming from sofas, and spending so much time at the library I believe they genuinely worried about me. The end result is a beautiful collage of cinema from chainsaw-wielding psychopaths to mournful meditations, racial identity and politics to love and loss, cults, cam girls, and a triple serving of skateboarding.

Below you’ll find my fifty favorite films of 2018. The 2015, 2016, and 2017 editions are also available for your perusal.

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