Monthly Archives: October 2020

TV Review – Star Trek Discovery: People of Earth

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TL;DR – This week is the surest sign so far that things are not what the once were when the crew return home to Earth.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix subscription that viewed this series.

Star Trek Discovery: People of Earth. Image Credit: CBS Studios.

People of Earth Review –

So far this season, everything about been about coming together and finding their place. In the first episode this season That Hope Is You, it was all about Michael (Sonequa Martin-Green) finding her place in the future. In episode two Far From Home, it was the USS Discovery’s turn. But now they have both found themselves in the future; it is time to go back to where it all started.

So to set the scene, at the end of last week’s episode, we discovered that it was Michael that was digging the USS Discovery out of the parasitic ice that was threatening to crush them all. This week we get to see the immediate aftermath as Michael is reunited with the crew. It is all joy and hugs … hugs remember how good hugs were … oh and a sly supportive nod from Philippa (Michelle Yeoh). She lets them know about her year alone, and what has happened to the Federation. However, now that the Discovery is there they can go somewhere that had been out of Michael’s reach until now … Earth, we just need to know who the captain is first. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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The Mandalorian: Chapter 9 (The Marshal) – TV Review

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TL;DR – A fantastic opening episode that brings us back to the world of Mando, but also the world of Star Wars.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.
The Mandalorian: Chapter 9 (The Marshal). Image Credit: Disney+

The Mandalorian: The Marshal Review –

One of the joys of last year was when The Mandalorian came out, and we got week after week space opera goodness. Sure not every episode landed, sure there was some filler, but when it was grand, boy was it grand. Well, 2020 has sort hit us for a curveball, and I was hoping there might be a little good in it and Season Two might be that.

So to set the scene, at the end of Season One, Mando (Pedro Pascal) was given his great commission. He had to return The Baby to its own kind, the Jedi. The only problem is the Empire wiped out most of the Jedi, and the Mandalorians and Jedi are ancient enemies. To find out where to take The Baby, he needs the help of other Mandalorians who just so happen to very good at hiding. But Mando received some intelligence as to where one is hiding and has to take a trip to Tatooine. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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TV Review – Star Trek Discovery: Far From Home (That Hope is You, Part 2)

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TL;DR – The Discovery is back and has to decide if going in guns blazing or diplomatic is the way forward

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix subscription that viewed this series.

Star Trek Discovery: Far From Home (That Hope is You, Part 2). Image Credit: CBS Studios.

Far From Home Review –

We continue powering forward in this soft-reboot of Star Trek Discovery as characters continue to crash land into the 3100s. As we go about this week’s episode, we start to see the way this new world works and how it can be used for exploitation. Which means it is a perfect time for some hope.

So to set the scene, in That Hope Is You, Part 1 we get the story of Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) crashing into a planet and trying to re-orientate herself in this new place and time. There was however one big thing missing in the first episode, and that was the USS Discovery itself and all those on-board it. Well, today’s episode wastes no time in revealing what happened to them as they get thrust out on the galaxy onto of a world that was partially blasted. None of the ship’s systems are working, but under the command of Saru (Doug Jones), Lt. Keyla Detmer (Emily Coutts) was able to invert the ship and crash land it on an icy glacier. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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Map-It Civilization VI: New Frontier Pass – Pirates Scenario

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TL;DR – All hands hoay, for we have a map to buried booty, all ye need to do is hoist the mainsail and let not the crown nor man catch yee.

Map-It Civilization VI: New Frontier Pass - Pirates Scenario. Image Credit: Brian MacNamara.

Pirates Scenario Map –

Today the good people at Firaxis Games released a new scenario for Civilization VI that harkened back to the old Sid Meier’s Pirates!

I will say one small thing, there is one city missing, and I am sorry, but there be no Gibraltar here, this felt like a map that would not have inserts for some reason.


Well, it might not be a full update to the game, but who am I to stare down a good map and not pull out the canvas and ink quill. So set sail on the open seas, enjoy the map of the Pirates Scenario and always remember that X Marks the spot.

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Marital Problems – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A film full of awful people being awful to each other   

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Marital Problems. Image Credit: Reel Merit Films.

Marital Problems Review –

Some films have a very grand scope darting from place to place, or even planet to planet. Then there is those film that are more intimate, sometimes staying in the same location for the entire runtime. Both of these approaches can work for your narrative if you structure them well. Today we look at a film that follows the later, in a world that may not be what it first seems.

So to set the scene, we open in on Ian (Callum Gault) as he lies in bed nursing one hell of a hangover when a bang on the front door wakes him from his stupor. At the front door, is McManus (Neil Goldsmith) a handyman who is here to fix the place up for the landlord Devon (Jonathan Hearns). Why is the home being fixed up, well, Ian has not been playing the rent, and he is about to get kicked out. It is at this moment of despair when an agent of chaos appears in the form of Clarke (Nick Capper).

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The Jackbox Party Pack 7– Video Game Review

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TL;DR – We get our party on, in what is a robust new outing for Jackbox Games

The Jackbox Party Pack 7. Image Credit: Jackbox Games.

Jackbox Party Pack 7 Review –

If you have spent any time on Twitch, you would probably have a passing understanding of Jackbox games. These are fun little party games like Trivia Murder Party that can be played with a group of friends around a TV or on large streams when hundreds of people can join in on the audience. It is this flexibility that gives the Jackbox Party Pack their longevity.

Well, today we are going to dive into the world party games and look at Jackbox Games newest outing Jackbox Party Pack 7. To put together this review, I have played some of these games on stream via Twitch and also with friends in local coop.

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TV Review – Star Trek Discovery: That Hope is You, Part 1

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TL;DR – A fantastic start to the season full of promise and potential.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix subscription that viewed this series.

Star Trek Discovery: That Hope is You, Part 1. Image Credit: CBS Studios.

That Hope is You, Part 1 Review –

How things have changed, so much has happened since we last checked in with Star Trek Discovery. Since the end of Season Two, we have gotten the fascinating first season of Star Trek Picard, followed by the delightful Star Trek Lower Decks. It has been such a long time since I have been able to talk about this much Star Trek all at once, so you can imagine that it makes me almost giddy with excitement. Today we are going to dive back in with the first episode of Discovery’s third season, the season where everything changes.                   

So to set the scene, at the end of Such Sweet Sorrow the USS Discovery and its crew had to make a tough choice … do they stay or do they go? The ship had to leave on a one way trip to the future (for the why you can read our primer), and everyone in the crew had to decide do they stay with what they know or take a trip into the unknown. Flash forward in a moment, and Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) is crashing out of the wormhole, smashing into Book’s (David Ajala) ship the Nautilus much to the consternation of Grudge (Leeu) and plummeting down to the planet below. After barely dodging significant wreckage in orbit, Burnham is able to take control just before she landed. Her first question: Is there life? ‘Yes’. Where Is the Discovery? … well that one is a bit harder to answer. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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The Boys: What I Know & Season 2 – TV Review

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TL;DR – Just when I thought I had worked everything out, The Boys was like, you know nothing while pulling the rug out from under my feet and maintaining eye contact as I fell to the floor.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
The Boys: What I Know. Image Credit: Amazon Studios.

What I Know Review –

After an exciting and long season, we have drawn to the final episode for their sophomore season. This is a season where back in episode three, we exploded through the guts of a whale in its entire gory spectacle, and even that was not the most bonkers moment. With that in mind, in today’s review, we are going to look first at how the final episode came together. Then we will explore an overview of the season as a whole.  

So to set the scene, in last week’s episode Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker, we thought everything was coming to ahead … until the head’s started popping. Throughout this episode, there were several essential plotlines. The first was getting a good look at Butcher’s (Karl Urban) life and the world that formed him as to who he is today. Homelander (Antony Starr) and Stormfront (Aya Cash) manipulated Ryan (Cameron Crovetti) and turned him against his mother Becca (Shantel VanSanten). Meanwhile, after Vought captures starlight (Erin Moriarty), Hughie (Jack Quaid) goes on a rescue mission with Lamplighter (Shawn Ashmore) to save her, and it goes … mostly okay. Finally, after everything they have done up until this point, there is a congressional inquiry led by Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) into Vought and what they did. Finally some progress, or not, as heads start exploding on live TV. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode and season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.          

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The Wanderings of Ivan (La Balade d’Ivan) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – The Wanderings of Ivan is a cold look at a real problem shown through the eyes of an excellent performance by Aram Arakelyan

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Warning – Several scenes contain flashing lights.

The Wanderings of Ivan (La Balade d’Ivan). Image Credit: NQV Media.

The Wanderings of Ivan Review –

Homelessness is one of those issues that is a larger issue in modern societies, but we tend to push it aside and not think about it. But what happens to a person when they are cut off from having enough to eat when there are not avenues they can use to get out of where they are? Today we look at a film that is exploring this critical issue.

So to set the scene, Ivan (Aram Arakelyan) lives rough on the streets of Paris. To survive, he begs on the street and steals leftovers, but even that is not really enough. He tries to find work or a safe place to sleep but more often than not ends up sleeping rough each night with only a couple of Euros to his name. After a while, he finds a secluded wooded area on the outskirts of the city where he is not the only one without a home.  

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Irresistible – Movie Review

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TL;DR – Based on some strong character work, Irresistible is a riot of laughs from start to finish, but it still has something important it wants to say.     

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Irresistible. Image Credit: Universal Pictures.

Irresistible Review –

It is rare for a film to catch me completely off guard these days. In the era of trailers giving most of the game away and the pretty standard plot structure that most films follow, you tend to know what you are getting yourself into before you sit down in the theatre. Well, today, I look at a movie that surprised me from the start and never let up.

So to set the scene, we open on the night before the 2016 Presidential elections where Democratic party representative Gary Zimmer (Steve Carell) and his Republican counterpart Faith Brewster (Rose Byrne) are giving their final pitches to the nation in the ‘spin room’. Well, we all know how that election turned out, and much like the literal depiction of a cannonball to the gut Gary is in a state of despair. However, a couple of years later as mid-terms approach he is trying to find a way to reconnect with heartland voters when he stumbles across a viral video of Colonel Jack Hastings (Chris Cooper) in Deerlaken, Minnesota. Jack is standing up to the local Mayor Braun (Brent Sexton) over his stance on immigration. Gary has found his gateway to the heartland and flies to Minnesota and agrees to run Jack’s campaign for Mayor.

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