Normal – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A perfectly serviceable action film, competently constructed but with nothing remarkable to make it stand out.  

Rating: 3 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.

Town of Normal welcome sign.

Normal Review Introduction

I decided today that I wanted to go on a bit of an action kick as this tends to be the time of year when they drop. However, today’s movie has the odd distinction of being both technically quite good, while also being an almost bland, if at best unremarkable experience.
 
So, to set the scene, we open in Normal, Minnesota, a very nice town … well, the parts that were not abandoned. Temporary Sheriff Ulysses (Bob Odenkirk) has arrived to fill in for the eight weeks before the town votes for a permanent replacement. The only odd thing is that this poor town does seem to have a lot of money for a town in a rural downturn, something that pulls on a thread for Ulysses that he can’t quite place. It was a perfect set-up, until some nobodies try to rob the bank and Ulysses’ life just got turned around.  

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Japan Trip Day 1 – Explore-It

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TL;DR – Time to fly and begin my visit in Osaka by going under the sea.  

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, and then 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.  

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Level-Five Transporter Accident [S4E5] – TV Review

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TL;DR – They are puppets.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ service used to view this series.

Credit: Puppets by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Review Introduction

It feels like Season Four of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is on a mission to see how many different films they can create their own version of. For example, last week’s Casablanca homage with The Case of the Chiaroscuro. But of all the inspirations, I was not expecting The Muppet Show.   

So, to set the scene, Scottie (Martin Quinn) hopes to set a new record for the longest transport as the USS Enterprise makes a slow trip to Vulcan while on pirate patrol. Scottie needs Spock’s (Ethan Peck) help, but he is struggling to centre himself. Everything was going well until the puppet Scottie was using caused a feedback surge, and soon the cast is teleporting away. When Spock arrives back on the ship, he can’t find anyone until he notices something felt move, because all the crew have been turned into puppets. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Super Troopers 3 [Super Troopers 3: Farva’s Wedding] – Movie Review

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TL;DR – This is an incredible juvenile film, but goodness, do they commit to the bit.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There are mid- and post-credit scenes.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

The gang lined up in their uniforms.

Super Troopers 3 Review Introduction

Look, it might be nostalgia talking, but I do have a soft spot for the Broken Lizard gang, because even though a lot of their comedy is quite juvenile, they commit to it with all their will. The first Super Troopers is this odd encapsulation of the post-millennium world and became a cult classic for a reason, and the sequel Super Troopers 2 recaptured some of that fun. But is third time the charm?  

So, to set the scene, life has continued for the Vermont Highway Patrol; only time has aged them, and now there are electric cars everywhere. But what no one could expect is that when Thorny’s (Jay Chandrasekhar) sister Sarita (Hannah Simone) is run off the road, it would be Farva (Kevin Heffernan) who would be there to rescue her from the wreckage and save her life. One whirlwind romance later, the pair are due to be married, much to Carl (Paul Soter), Mac (Steve Lemme), Rabbit (Erik Stolhanske), and new rookie Burns’ (Andrew Dismukes) merriment. But with Thorny and Sarita’s parents, Dr. (Iqbal Theba) and Mehta Makundan (Sakina Jaffrey) coming into town, Thorny has a mission: show Farva’s real side to his conservative parents and break up the marriage.    

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Stop! That! Train! – Movie Review

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TL;DR – The idea of Airplane! reimagined through the lens of Drag is an interesting concept, but unfortunately, everything about this film is so one-note that it is not enough to hide the many issues.

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

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Many faces of RuPaul.

Stop! That! Train! Review Introduction

I had the afternoon off, and it is cheap Tuesday at my local cinemas, so I decided to go in blind and see what movies were available that I have not watched before. Today’s review was the first of those possibilities, which started strong, but I am not sure it ever delivered.

So, to set the scene, Tess (Ginger Minj) and DeeDee (Jujubee) are working on Stank Rail as train stewardesses when suddenly the train line is shut down. Not wanting to get broken up, they hear that the luxurious Glamazonian Express, the only high-speed railway in the USA, needs two fill-in stewardesses. Well, they jump at the opportunity. But what they don’t know is that in the United States Train Command Center, Donna Dusk (Rachel Bloom) has discovered that the Glamazonian Express is heading straight towards a rare Stormaganza, a weather event that few have lived to talk about.   

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Lanterns: Pilot [S1E1] – TV Review

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TL;DR – This first episode has me intrigued about the show, but not yet sold on it.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

End Credit Scene – There is a trailer and a behind-the-scenes documentary after the end credits.

Hal Jordan flies through the air.

Lanterns Review Introduction

Today is an interesting one. We are continuing through the DCU’s great rebrand that had worked until the recent Supergirl misfire. But we are also focusing in on the one aspect of the DC Universe that I have very little knowledge of. The most I know about Green Lantern is that he appears and can do things with his ring; oh, and there was a version of one in Superman, which makes me interested to see if this show can capture someone who is not familiar with all the lore.  

So, to set the scene, in 1996 it has been ten years since Green Lantern made himself known to the world, and now it is time for Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) to reveal himself. In 2016, Hal has found himself training the next potential Lantern, John Stewart (Aaron Pierre), but they don’t quite get along. I.e. jumping from a moving car and letting John fly off a cliff, sort of don’t get along. But everything changes when an automatic system warns them that:  “There is hail in Rushville, Nebraska”. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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GOAT – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While not a revolutionary story, the gorgeous animation and heartwarming fun make it a lovely watch.  

Rating: 3.5 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 Glasshouse, the home court of the Thorns in Vinetown.

GOAT Review Introduction

It is the time of year when you feel a bit reflective and need to catch up with everything you might have missed throughout the year. There is one film from earlier this year that a lot of people have recommended that I needed to give a watch. It doesn’t hurt that my current sports team is also at the bottom of the ladder fighting for it all, which means it is a perfect window for today’s film.  

So, to set the scene, in a world filled with sentient animals, there is one sport that unites the world: roarball [basketball]. However, it is a sport only played by bigs; the smalls have to watch. Will Harris (Caleb McLaughlin) is a goat who has always dreamed of playing, but he is a small. It doesn’t help that the local team, the Thorns under Jett Fillmore (Gabrielle Union), are at the bottom of the ladder. But when opposition player Mane Attraction (Aaron Pierre) starts dissing the local team in Vinetown, their own home, Will steps up and scores on him. This creates a viral moment that team owner Flo (Jenifer Lewis) uses to get more people in seats, but no one was expecting them to do well. The team had other ideas.

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Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A beautifully animated entry into a series steeped in friendship and a sheer optimism that you need now and again.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ subscription used to watch this film.

An old Air bending temple.

Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender Review Introduction

Well, it is time to jump back into the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender. It has been a long time since I dabbled in this universe, but I remember it being a fun time. While it was very much focused on a younger audience, the themes of working together, finding yourself, and building a better future rang true. Now it is time to see if this world can still have an impact in the current world.
 
So, to set the scene, it has been a while since the events of The Last Airbender, and Aang (Eric Nam) has been collecting any remnant of the Air Nomads that he could find. While returning the artefacts to an ancient temple, Aang is attacked by an insurgent group known as the Denied. They were looking for a map to an ancient staff, from a time even before the oldest Avatars Aang can reach. The one clue that he can find leads him to the top of Mount Baihu, where Aang finds not a staff but something potentially more powerful.  

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We Bury the Dead – Movie Review

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Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

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

A zombie opens its eye.

We Bury the Dead Review Introduction

Today’s offering has been bubbling around in the Australian cinematic landscape for quite a bit before it got its theatrical release earlier this year. Unfortunately, while there were no well-timed screenings near me at the time, it has now made its way onto streaming, and this is the perfect time for me to give it a watch.  

So, to set the scene, one day an accidental detonation of an experimental weapon off the coast of Tasmania destroyed the capital city of Hobart. However, an EMP wave stretched further, destroying the brains of all living creatures on the island. It is a catastrophe of epic proportions, and a whole mobilisation effort has been activated to help identify and recover the bodies of the 500,000-odd dead. However, now and again, some of the dead wake up, and they are no longer themselves. Ava Newman (Daisy Ridley) is one of the volunteers, hoping to find out what happened to her husband, who was at a conference on the south of the island. Those who do reanimate are completely docile and not a problem, or so the Army says.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Case of the Chiaroscuro [S4E4] – TV Review

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TL;DR – This could have been a very silly episode of Star Trek, but there was some real heart and design that helped elevate the story.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ service used to view this series.

End Credit – There is a mid-credit scene

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Review Introduction

It feels like this season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has been all about the curveballs, and today’s entry is no exception. It uses sci-fi technobabble to explain why a whole episode is broadcast in black and white. But as silly as this sounds, it is a choice that I can’t help but love seeing played out.

So, to set the scene, the USS Enterprise is on a secret mission near the border of Klingon Space. The Angelo-1 probe lost power and slipped past the border near the Mat’Aaran system, which could reignite a war if found. Una (Rebecca Romijn), Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), and M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) have slipped across the border in a shuttle hidden because the local sun puts out energy that affects visual receptors and makes things hard to spot on scanners. But that scanner issue can cut both ways, and the shuttle is forced to hide on Mat’Aar XII, an occupied Klingon planet, to avoid a D7 battle cruiser. The crew must blend in with the local population until a window of escape can be found. But Una discovers that she might be wrapped into the fabric of this world more than she expects. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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