Scrubs: My Mentee [S2:E2] – TV Review

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TL;DR – A good example of one of the sillier episodes that still sneaks some commentary under the shenanigans.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that aired this episode.

Sam with a blown up plastic glove.

Scrubs Review –

When you have a reboot series where you bring back the old cast, you can pretend that nothing has changed, or you can incorporate that time into your narratives. Today’s episode does the latter as it gets into the core of the characters.

So, to set the scene, Dr Cox’s (John C. McGinley) treatment has been going well, and he is in remission. The only problem is that each of his infusions costs $35.000. As they struggle to work out how to fix the American healthcare system, JD (Zach Braff), Turk (Donald Faison), and Elliot (Sarah Chalke) have to see their lives through the prism of their mentees. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Pretty Lethal – Movie Review

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TL;DR – An absolutely solid action film that understands the visual language it wants to engage with and makes it shine.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime subscription used to watch this film.

The ballerinas.

Pretty Lethal Review Introduction

I have been on the hunt for a good action film lately, and unfortunately, I have been hit by a wave of disappointments. When you are on a bad run, it is time to remove your preconceptions and try for something outside of the box and today that means dancing as if your life depended on it.

So, to set the scene, a group of ballerinas, Zoe (Iris Apatow), Princess (Lana Condor), Chloe (Millicent Simmonds), Grace (Avantika), Bones (Maddie Ziegler), and their instructor Thorna Devonport (Lydia Leonard), were on their way to a showcase in Budapest when their flight got diverted, and the transfer bus broke down in the middle of the forest 300-odd kilometres away from the capital. No service, cold and drenched from rain, they stumble into the one hotel in the little town in the mountains. A short wait for a minibus should have been fine, but when bullets start flying, it will be a fight for their lives.

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Brothers Under Fire – Movie Review

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TL;DR – This is a film that is 80% set up, and I am not sure the ending was worth it.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure –I paid for the Amazon Prime subscription used to watch this film.

The five members of the platoon in a photo.

Brothers Under Fire Review Introduction

Today, we are looking at a film that I knew nothing about until it appeared on my feed, an enigma of a movie. But it was also an intriguing mystery, because it is something of an occupational hazard that I know about most films released out of America. But that mystery is a potential promise until proven otherwise.   

So, to set the scene, in Syria, east of the Al Omar mountain oil fields, an American platoon is under attack, with only a very close air strike saving them. A good thing because Alberto Castillo (Tommy Martinez) is getting married, and the whole troop, including Capt. Jordan Wright (Kiefer Sutherland), Danny Walton (Solly McLeod), Lieutenant Carson (Ashton Sanders), and Marco Hino (Laird Akeo), are invited to Columbia for the nuptials to Isabella Perez (Laura Osma). What no one realises is that the local cartel is on the move after a messy takeover of a rival organisation, and soon everyone is caught up in the storm.

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Scrubs: My First Time in a While [S2:E1] – TV Review

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TL;DR – A surprisingly emotional episode right out of the gate.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that aired this episode.

Sasha Parking Only.

Scrubs Review –

Well, we are back for Season Two or Season 11 of Scrubs, and in a rare form these years, we did not have to wait three-odd years to get it. Scrubs is now and has always been a comfort show for me, and today we will see if that trend continues or not.

So, to set the scene, while JD (Zach Braff) is celebrating the first meaningful relationship since his divorce from Elliot (Sarah Chalke), things are not all good at Sacred Heart. That is because Dr Cox’s (John C. McGinley) treatment is not progressing as it should, putting a real strain on his kidneys. It is a problem only a super team of medical superheroes, and Todd (Robert Maschio) can fix, if at all. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Digger – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While I will champion the brilliant production design, many of the performances, and respect that they went for a big swing here, I must say that I ended up loathing this film with an anger I have never quite experienced before.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Warning – Contains scenes which may cause distress.

Digger looks in shock at the news on his computer screen.

Digger Review Introduction

Well, I don’t think I have ever experienced a film quite like the one we will be exploring today. It makes some of the biggest swings in cinema that I have seen all year, maybe in several years, and yet all it invoked in me was anger. Today, I will unpick the film as well as we can without heading headfirst into the inevitable spoilers. It will not be an easy balance to get right, but I shall try.

So, to set the scene, Digger Rockwell (Tom Cruise) is an oil baron from a long line of oil barons, who has made his considerable fortune from drilling oil in places no one else would, such as a national park in Greenland or along the Alaskan coastline. He has lived a life of luxury, where his wealth and power have insulated him from most things, even the President of the United States Compson (John Goodman) comes to him for advice. But all of that changes one day when the scientist Ganesh (Riz Ahmed) informs him that 1) a chunk of ice the size of Pennsylvania has broken off Greenland, 2) it is entirely his oil mining that caused it, and 3) now the ice sheet Judy is heading right towards Europe where it will cause flooding across the entire coastline.

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Lanterns: The Jordan Boys’ Legacy [S1E7] – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is all preparation for the season finale next week, but still, it engages you at every level.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the HBO Max service used to view this series.

End Credit Scene – There is a making-of and trailer after the end credits.

Warning – Contains scenes which may cause distress.

A Navy cap.

Lanterns Review Introduction

Well, we are getting precariously close to the season/series finale next week, and I am surprised at myself that I am not quite ready to let all these characters go. Each week has been almost like a new tapestry being unveiled or a new part of a quilt being added, all building to the final picture. Today we dive deeper while muddling things around the edges in a fascinating way.

So, to set the scene, Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) dead, long live Hal Jordan, for John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) remembered a trick Hal showed him one time to etch 5% more power out of a ring. That 5% was just enough to summon the backup of Hal that Hal had stored there. Though it had not been activated in 10 years and his first sight is his dead body lying in a grave. It’s a lot to take in. John needs Hal’s voice to activate the safe he left behind, but Hal will only do it if John takes him to see Sheriff Kane (Kelly Macdonald). Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Neagley: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – While it has a slow start, it sinks its hooks in as you desperately want to see the bad guys fail before the bodies pile up too high.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service used to view this series.

Warning – Contains scenes which may cause distress.

Neagley jumping through the air.

Neagley Review Introduction –

One of Amazon Prime’s most successful series in recent years has been Reacher, and given its success, it was only a matter of time before someone tried a spin-off. But if you are going to spin off such a successful series, you need to have a good hook, and I think one of the most successful supporting cast members is a good place to start. Now, we have had the chance to watch the season, and it is time to dive back in to see if it worked or not.   

So, to set the scene, it is 2 am in Chicago, and a man walks out onto the train line tracks into oncoming traffic and is killed instantly. The man, Tommy Crane (Jhaleil Swaby), was an old childhood friend of Neagley (Maria Sten), who has just finished off a successful resolution of a kidnapping case with a little help from her old boss Reacher (Alan Ritchson). While she had not seen Tommy in years, him getting so high that he would walk out onto oncoming traffic does not sound like him, and so she must investigate. Now, from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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The Get Out – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A profoundly odd slow-burn film that I am not sure lands its bombastic conclusion.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime subscription used to watch this film.

Russell Crowe sitting down in an yellow jumpsuit listing to headphones.

The Get Out Review Introduction

If you were going to ask who is the best export that Australia has ever given to Hollywood, then I would have to say that Russell Crowe needs to be in that conversation. If nothing else, the man is always working, bringing all of himself into the roles he plays, no matter how small or weird they may be. Today we are looking at a film that might be a good example of this, as we dive into the seedy underbelly of the Gold Coast … I mean Los Angeles.

So, to set the scene, Marco Kapak (Russell Crowe) is a man from Albania who has run a nightclub in America for decades. It was a lucrative career, until a ‘cardiac event’ stops him in his tracks at a most inopportune time. He is finally taking the advice of his girlfriend, Sunny (Teresa Palmer), to sell the nightclub and move to a nice small house in Thailand. The only problem is that Kapak has fingers in many pies, not all of them legal, and they all need to be untangled. Some of them might not want to be untangled.

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Wildcat – Movie Review

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TL;DR – It has all the building blocks for a fascinating film, but it needed some more time in the oven before it was ready. 

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime subscription used to watch this film.

London burning.

Wildcat Review Introduction

Some days you feel like falling into a comfort genre, and for me, that is a solid heist film. I love the construction, the action, and the aftermath. Add in the physicality of Kate Beckinsale and Lewis Tan, set it in the London underground, and frankly you have all the foundation you need for something interesting. I hope.

So, to set the scene, there is a new gang, the Mushka, threatening the balance of power between the two former kings of London’s underground: Christina Vine (Alice Krige) and Frasier Mahoney (Charles Dance). In the middle of this brewing civil war, Ada (Kate Beckinsale) leads a team including Roman (Lewis Tan) and Edward (Rasmus Hardiker) into robbing Ms Vine’s jewel vault. Because someone has kidnapped her daughter Charlotte (Isabelle Moxley), starting the civil war might be the cover they need to get her back.   

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Japan Trip Day 6 Part 2 – Explore-It

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TL;DR – I continue my time in Hiroshima by visiting Itsukushima.

Disclosure – I paid for my flights, accommodation, entry, and everything you see purchased in this article.

Looking over the Japan Inland Sea at Hiroshima.

Exploring Japan –

I had always planned to go back to Japan one day, and had started making plans to go back in 2020. Then, well, 2020 happened. But late last year, I finally had the chance to put those plans back in motion as I flew out of Melbourne for Osaka, and thus my time in Japan began.  

The tram heading for the ferry.

After my morning in Hiroshima City visiting the Peace Memorial, I walked back to the tram station to take the leisurely trip through the city down to the ferry to Itsukushima. I think the train would have been quicker, but I like the vibe of the tram, getting to see different parts of the city as you drive through.

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