Monthly Archives: March 2023

Star Trek: Picard – Imposters – TV Review

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TL;DR – Things go from bad to just fundamentally worse, like just about the worst of the worst.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

Two captains and an admiral.

Star Trek: Picard Review –

I need to stop saying that ‘It’s Always Darkest Before the Dawn’ because I fundamentally misjudged where the bottom was for the USS Titan-A and her crew. Because … oh wow … we are in a bad place, like fundamentally almost the worst place you want to be.

So to set the scene, after fighting off The Shrike and escaping the nebula, the USS Titan-A limped back into Federation space to make repairs. But while the crew wonders why the Changelings are not reverting to goo, Starfleet shows up. Riker (Michael Dorn) and Picard (Patrick Stewart) did break more than a few laws to save Beverly (Gates McFadden). But when the security crew from the Duderstadt class USS Intrepid arrives, we find the exanimation undertaken by an old friend … or enemy? Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead for the show.    

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Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves – Movie Review

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TL;DR – An enjoyable film that captures the chaos of a DnD session right down to the nat-20 dice rolls.  

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to see this film.

The party enters the arena.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Review –

Between a combination of Critical Role finding a moment in the streaming space and the wave of nostalgia birthed from Stranger Things, it has rarely been a better time for Dungeons & Dragons. Many people started their own DnD campaigns, and I am not immune to that, so what do you do? Well, you bring your party to the cinemas and experience a one-shot.

So to set the scene, we open in prison surrounded by an icy wasteland. Two prisoners were Edgin Darvis (Chris Pine), a bard and his best friend Holga Kilgore (Michelle Rodriguez), a barbarian trying to get a pardon by explaining their tragic backstory. Or … you know, you could do a little prison break. Because when Edgin was captured, he left his daughter Kira Darvis (Chloe Coleman) in the care of his party member Forge Fitzwilliam (Hugh Grant), rogue. Only Forge is now the Lord of Neverwinter and might have turned Kira against the group.

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Shazam! Fury of the Gods – Movie Review

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TL;DR – When it is working, it is a delightful blast of a film   

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

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

The whole family in super form.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods Review –

When the first Shazam! film came out. It was at this odd moment for the DCEU. There had been a hard pivot away from the dark and brooding movies like Batman v Superman towards something a little lighter. And I, for one, liked the change. While Shazam! and Aquaman were not perfect films, there were at least supremely entertaining. But I wondered if lightning could strike twice because, much like last time, Shazam has to do some repair work after a string of failures.

So to set the scene, since Billy (Asher Angel) was given the powers of Shazam (Zachary Levi) by the last council of the wizards, also called Shazam (Djimon Hounsou), he has tried to be a superhero. However, he is still just a kid; if ever there is an imposter syndrome, it is this. However, life does not give him the time and space to process this change because the two daughters of Atlas, Kalypso (Lucy Liu) and Hespera (Helen Mirren), have returned to Earth. They are there to rectify their position and see Billy and his family as a threat and an affront to everything they stand for.  

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Poker Face: Season 1– TV Review

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TL;DR – This was a delightful romp across America where we solved a murder each week in almost the same way, and I was captivated for the whole run.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Stan service that viewed this series.

Charlie sees something off.

Poker Face Review –

At times, the modern TV landscape is perpetually stuck in a state of cognitive dissonance. People tend to use the word ‘old-fashioned’ in a pejorative sense as if it has nothing of value to give us. We do this while living in perpetual nostalgia cycles that are morphing into nostalgia spirals. But if there is ever an artist that lives in the overlap between those two extremes, it is Rian Johnson, and I was fascinated to see where this show would go every week.   

So to set the scene, we open in a casino as the maids try to get the rooms ready for the next occupants, or at least clean for the day, when a maid sees something horrifying on a laptop. Something that needs to be reported. So Natalie (Dascha Polanco) tells her boss (Benjamin Bratt), who tells the head of the casino, Frost (Adrien Brody). But instead of protecting her, they did the unthinkable. The only problem is that working in the Casino, Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) has the impeccable talent of always knowing when someone is lying. Now we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there may be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Ellie and Joel’s Journey in The Last of Us Season 1 – Map-It

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TL;DR – We chart Ellie and Joel’s Journey and the world of The Last of Us Season 1

Running for safety.

Mapping The Last of Us –

I have fundamentally enjoyed the first season of The Last of Us and its romp across a ruined America. Knowing that we would start in Boston and end up in [spoilers] Salt Lake City, I wanted to chart their route across the continent.

To do that, I needed to update the North American map, given it needed to be the main focus, and for the first time, all the necessary state markers were to be shown. I was glad that all the episodes lined up with the geography.

I have noted every location visited in the show, as well as any that were mentioned in the dialogue. We did get to see a Fireflies map Kin. However, it is not clear what the locations on the map equate to. Are they radio towers, safe houses, or cells in QZs? We don’t know, so I have flagged them with an icon unless more information becomes apparent.    If I missed a reference in the show, please let me know because I want this to be the most complete map possible.

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The Last of Us: Look for the Light & Season 1– TV Review

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TL;DR – In a show about the end of the world, this is the first episode to truly explore the levels of violence that could be found in the ruins of the old world.  

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

Running for safety.

The Last of Us Review –

When I started watching this season a couple of months ago, I came in with some trepidation. To begin with, many video game adaptations had fallen flat because those adapting them didn’t understand the genre or were embarrassed with the course material. Something that had already happened to one of Playstation’s marquee programs. Second, I was just coming off the masterclass of post-apocalyptic fiction with Station Eleven, and I knew I would constantly be comparing the two. But watching this first season, all my fears evaporated in amazement at what I was watching.    


So to set the scene, we open in the woods outside of Boston where a young woman Anna (Ashley Johnson), is running through the trees as screams erupt behind her. She is about to give birth, but the fungus waits for no one, and the walker bursts through a door as the contractions are coming. Fighting the creature off, she gives birth only to see she has been bitten on the leg. She cuts the umbilical cord before contamination could happen and entrusts the little baby Ellie into the care of her best friend Marlene (Merle Dandridge). In the show’s current timeline, Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) have made it to the outskirts of Salt Lake City, and the end of their journey is near. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode and the season as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Article – The 95th Academy Awards Picks

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TL;DR – This is a list of not what we think will win in the 2023 Academy Awards but who we would give the awards to if we could.

Article –

It is Oscars time again, and thanks to some well-timed leave, I get to watch them live this year. So here we will be going through all the nominees and picking which ones we would have chosen if we were a voting academy member.

I should preface this with the notice that we have not seen every film nominated, so we will only pick from those we have seen. We will only cover the categories where we have seen at least three nominees. Also, if you want to see our reviews for said films, you can click on the links to be taken to them. So without any further prattling on, here are the nominees.

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Star Trek: Picard: No Win Scenario – TV Review

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TL;DR – ‘To boldly go’ is a good motto as anything else, but it is rare to see it captured in an episode quite like this.  

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

An energy wave hit the USS Titan

Star Trek: Picard Review –

What do you do when your back is against the wall, and there is no easy way out? Star Trek has a term for that, the Kobayashi Maru, a term they may have put on repeat recently. However, only when all the chips are down can you honestly tell the mantle of a crew and their captain.

So to set the scene, the crew is on edge after hours of The Shrike coming from nowhere and attacking the USS Titan-A, which is not helped by the fact that there is a Changeling on board who is sabotaging. A moment of incredible frustration boiled over when Captain Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Admiral Picard (Patrick Stewart) disagreed over the course of action, which is when The Shrike’s new portal weapons were used devastatingly. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead for the show.     

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65 – Movie Review

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TL;DR – There is a scaffolding of a good film here, but not the substance needed

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a sequence during the credits

Disclosure – I paid to see this film.

A dinosaur footprint in the mud.

65 Review –

Many things can capture my attention, and “Adam Driver Fights Dinosaurs” might be one of the quickest ways to do it. I knew practically nothing about 65 before walking in, but that tagline was enough, even when I heard it was not being screened for critics. Now that I have seen it, maybe I should have been a touch more hesitant.

So to set the scene, 65 million years ago, other species were exploring the galaxy. One such was Mills (Adam Driver) from the planet Somaris who takes a 2-year extended mission guarding some colonists so he could make enough money to save his daughter Nevine (Chloe Coleman), who is sick. However, along the route, the ship runs into an undocumented meteor swarm and crashes into an uncharted planet. But not just any old unknown world, because this is Earth and dinosaurs still rule the roost, and Mills and the only other survivor Koa (Ariana Greenblatt), have to fight for survival.   

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Till – Movie Review

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TL;DR – This is a heartbreaking film that soars thanks to a stunning performance but also struggles to stay out of its own way in parts.    

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

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

Mamie watches the train leave.

Till Review –

I am not sure there is anyone who is going to see this film that does not know what happened to Emmett Till on that awful day in Mississippi. The question is, how do you come to a movie when your audience already knows every terrible beat coming? Till’s answer to this question is to make every moment land with the force of a hurricane.

So to set the scene, it was Chicago in 1955, and Mamie Till (Danielle Deadwyler) is taking her son Emmett Till (Jalyn Hall) shopping for a new wallet and shoes because he is about to spend some time by himself down in Mississippi with his cousins. Mamie is concerned because he has never spent that amount of time away from her, and the South is not a safe place to be. But Emmett is having a blast with his cousins until he accidentally ‘offends’ a white woman Carolyn Bryant (Haley Bennett), and soon some white men come into his uncle’s (John Douglas Thompson) house and drag him out of bed.

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