Monthly Archives: October 2022

Werewolf by Night – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A delightful romp through times past, made with the techniques of today.    

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this film.

Marvel Studios logo in black-and-white.

Werewolf by Night Review –

Given that today is the culmination of the spoopy season, I wanted to delve into something a little horror or horror-adjacent. But I didn’t have much time between everything I had to do and what I wanted to see. Good thing something I needed to catch up on was only one hour long. Also, after loving his musical composition and watching his take on Short Treks, I wanted to see what Michael Giacchino could do with a longer runtime.  

So to set the scene, we open on a dark night in a mansion deep in the woods where Ulysses Bloodstone’s (Richard Dixon) funeral is about to take place. All across the globe, the hunters gathered because this was both a funeral and a hunt. Whoever of the death dealers wins the ceremonial hunt gets the coveted Bloodstone, a relic of immeasurable power. But one of the hunters may actually be the hunted?  

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Armageddon Time – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A deeply personal and emotional film that gets messy in all the best and worst ways.   

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Warning – Contains scenes of abuse.

Disclosure – I was invited to a screening of this film at the Brisbane International Film Festival.

Ronald Regan.

Armageddon Time Review –

I have long said that I am perfectly fine with crying in the cinema during a film. If the movie’s emotions move me, then fantastic. Indeed I even have a list of them. But there is a bit of a difference between a single stoic tear making its way down the side of your face and ugly crying for so bard you need to freshen up in the bathroom afterwards. Today, we are looking at a film that, even with all its flaws, falls in the latter category.

So to set the scene, it is 1980 in Queens, New York City, on the first day of school. Paul Graff (Banks Repeta) is starting in a new school, and just minutes into the day, he is already getting in trouble with the teacher Mr Turkeltaub (Andrew Polk). Not a great start, but he does get to meet his new friend Johnny (Jaylin Webb), who also ires Turkeltaub. Paul is trying to find his place in a world that feels like it is about to get snuffed out at any moment, with only his grandfather Aaron Rabinowitz (Anthony Hopkins) being able to reach him. Much to his parents, Esther’s (Anne Hathaway) and Irving’s (Jaylin Webb) frustration.

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Mapping The California Class from Star Trek: Lower Decks – Map-It

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TL;DR – We map out every one of the starships in the California Class as they appear on a map of California.

Mapping The California Class –

When naming starships in Star Trek, well, it can be a very haphazard scenario. Sure there were many named after famous military vessels from history, like the USS Lexington and USS Hood. Some are references to crew members on the show, like the USS Bonchune.   Other still are named after famous people from history, like USS Archimedes or USS Zheng He. Or the odd fact that the USS Enterprise is named after the Enterprise, which was named after the Space Shuttle Enterprise, which was itself named after the USS Enterprise.

Usually, the names are a scattershot collection of whatever writer is taking a swing at the universe and don’t fit into a strong theme. Well, with two exceptions. The first is Deep Space Nine’s Roundabouts, like the famous USS Rio Grande, all named after rivers on Earth, and the subject of today’s map, the California Class, named after cities from California.    

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Robbing Mussolini (Rapiniamo il Duce) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – It might not stick the landing, but it was an interesting romp through Italy at the end of WW2.   

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film

The crew in cartoon form.

Robbing Mussolini Review –

If there is one genre I adore when it is done well, it is a Heist film. The setup, the betrayals, the secret moments that impact all, and then the suspense. Add to that a true story, well as the film admits a true-ish story, a location that is impossible to enter, and a looming end to the war with a seven-day countdown. Well, you have a good foundation for a Heist.

So to set the scene, we are in Milano (Milan) in 1945 at the tail end of WW2. Chaos abounds at fascist checkpoints in the city, as the Allies have already taken the south, and the march north has begun. It is a difficult time, with the Italian Fascists and Nazis on edge. In a movie theatre as Mussolini’s propaganda blares Isola (Pietro Castellitto), one of the last black marketers and Yvonne (Matilda de Angelis), a noted singer plot. For you see, there are riches in Milan that are about to be looted from the city, well, not if they have anything to say about it. I mean, it was not for entirely altruistic reasons, but altruistic adjacent.

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Bros – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While incredibly funny at times, it loses its momentum under the weight of the narrative.    

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

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

Bobby Lieber records the podcast.

Bros Review –

If there is one genre that has almost standardised its narrative, it is the Romantic Comedy. For better or worse, when you go into one of these films, especially the plethora of made-for-tv films that come out during the holidays, you can probably chart the course of the movie in the first five minutes. The business lady will discover she wants a family too. The widower will find love in the most unlikely [i.e. very likely] place. Old lovers, now foes, will become lovers again. This is not necessarily bad. You can still do great things with a tried-and-true formula, but I am always looking for a film that could break through those models, and we might have just such a film today.    

So to set the scene, Bobby Lieber (Billy Eichner) is a podcast host of The Eleventh Brick at Stonewall and has been chosen to be the curator of a new National LGBTQ+ History Museum in Manhattan. It is his dream job, and his complete focus, which, given he is incredibly single, works well for him. He prides himself on his independence, even if that means some awkward hook-ups along the way. However, one night at a nightclub, he connects with Aaron (Luke Macfarlane), who ghosts him, un-ghosts him, and then ghosts him again. It is perplexing, but for some reason, it makes Bobby more interested in discovering just what his deal is.

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House of the Dragon: The Black Queen and Full Season – TV Review

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TL;DR – A frustrating mess at times, it all came together in the end, but I am not sure the ride to get there was genuinely worth it at times.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Binge service that viewed this episode.

Warning – this season contained season that could cause distress.

Illuminated map of Westeros.

House of the Dragon Review –

Well, we have reached the end of the latest season of the Game of Thrones universe. As I think back to the prequel, I have to wonder if the show nailed its place in the landscape. Did it work as a prequel when we know the outcomes? Can it work to shore up some of the lost drive towards the universe after Season 8? For some of these, I think the answer was a strong maybe.  

So to set the scene, on his deathbed, the late King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine) tried to tell his wife about the prophecy that Aegon the Conqueror. But Queen Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) misheard him and thought he was talking about her son Prince Aegon Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney). So when Viserys is found dead the following day, Alicent declares her son as the next king, not Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy). Back on Dragonstone, the Princess and Prince Consort Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) are warned about this betrayal from Princess Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best). Now they must work out what forces they can muster and who will stay loyal when dragons come flying. 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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Doctor Who: The Power of The Doctor – TV Review

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TL;DR – While this episode looks back to the past, I feel it might have the ability to steer the show into the future while also getting to be a romp in its own right.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I watched this on ABC iView.

The TARDIS in Space.

Doctor Who Review –

When it comes to Doctor Who, well, it is a history of highs and lows. Some of those early memories of the show linger in my consciousness. One look at a gas mask and I get ripped back in time, you walk into an extensive library, and suddenly, there is a hint of concern. But no matter how much I tried, I fell off the recent series. Every time I jump back in, like with Revolution Of The Daleks, I bounce back off again. But with Jodie Whittaker’s time coming to an end, I thought I should give it one more time.   

So to set the scene, we open in as emergency transmission from the Torajii Transport Network blares out across all frequencies because they are about to be hijacked by Cybermen. The guards kill the Cybermen, but when things seem safe, the Cybermen start to regenerate. But the ship’s call for help does not go unanswered as The Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), Yaz (Mandip Gill), and Dan (John Bishop) jump from the TARDIS to help. But things onboard go from bad to worse as the Cybermen are after ‘The Cargo’, and they are not Cybermen but Cybermasters. 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 School for Good and Evil – Movie Review

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TL;DR – There were hints of something fabulous here, but it just felt like it was always held back from reaching its true potential.    

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film

The School for Good and Evil

The School for Good and Evil Review –

Many genres land for me on a personal level; one of them is taking traditional narratives and bringing a new twist to them. You can see it clearly when someone takes a swing at an old fairy tale and brings new life into it. Today we are looking at just such a film in a land far from our own, full of good and evil.

So to set the scene, in the long past of the fairy tale world, two brothers, Rhian (Kit Young) and Rafal (Kit Young) created a school to bring balance between good and evil, a balance that is now broken between them and the world after the use of forbidden blood magic. A long time later, in the small town of Gavaldon, two outcast girls, Sophie (Sophia Anne Caruso) and Agatha (Sofia Wylie), are complete opposites but also best friends. One day while in town, they stop into Deauville’s Storybook Shop, they learn about the legend of The School of Good of Evil, and Sophie puts all her hope into the wishing tree that it is real. Well, one night, under a red sky, they find out the answer the hard way. Even worse, they might have made a mix-up as they stare down Lady Leonora Lesso, the Dean of the School for Evil (Charlize Theron) and Prof. Clarissa Dovey, the Dean of the School for Good (Kerry Washington).  

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The Peripheral: Pilot – TV Review

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TL;DR – It does what you need to in a show like this and builds the world and the mystery from the start.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Prime Video service that viewed this show.

Warning – Some scenes may cause distress.

A mod

The Peripheral Review –

It has been a while since I have sat down to a good sci-fi mystery. One that makes you scratch your head and wonder how all the different parts connect. I think the last one that truly captured me like this was Westworld. Which is good timing because you can see those influences in the show we are looking at today.

So to set the scene, we open in London in 2099 as Wolf (Gary Carr) sits on a park bench as holographic galleons recreate a battle on the pond in front of him. As he watches a young girl Aelita (Sophia Ally), approaches the bench without shoes. She wants to save a world, not the one they are in now, that is lost, but another world, one that can still be saved. In the Blue Ridge Mountains in 2032, Flynne Fisher (Chloë Grace Moretz) is helping her sick mother, Ella (Melinda Page Hamilton), when she notices that her medicine is being cut by her no-good brother Burton (Jack Reynor). Confronting him, she instead gets dragged into helping some guys beat a level in a WW2 VR Video Game, something she is very good at. At work, she is given a package for her brother, a new VR machine that she can beta test, and get money for her family. But the immersive VR set in a future London is more real than anyone expected. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.    

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Black Adam – Movie Review

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TL;DR – This is a film where nearly anything of interest was sandblasted off to give us a bland expedition with some moments of interest.     

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

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

Black Adam floats in the ocean.

Black Adam Review –

I came into this film with a lot of trepidation. To say that Warner Bros has had a challenging year with its merger would be an understatement, losing nearly any goodwill they had with them. Add to this that the DCEU has struggled with very straightforward hero narratives. How would they go with an anti-hero? But if nothing else, the charisma of Dwayne Johnson is strong, and if anything can help a film, it is that.

So to set the scene, 5,000 years ago, in 2,600 BCW, in the land of Kahndaq, Black Adam (Dwayne Johnson) was chosen by the wizards to stand up to the local despot. SHAZAM, and the palace explodes. In the present, Kahndaq is still under the control of occupiers, and Adrianna Tomaz (Sarah Shahi) is trying to hide treasures from the Intergang mercenaries when she finds Black Adam’s tomb. He is finally let free, but all that time has not blunted his desire for revenge and rampage. Seeing a potential threat, Hawkman (Aldis Hodge) and the Justice Society Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), and Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo) try to show him a different path or at least get him to surrender peacefully. But then, the Black Adam is not peaceful.   

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