Monthly Archives: June 2023

Mapping the Transformers Series – Map-It

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TL;DR – We map the many locations featured in Transformers, including that one time that all the Transformers went on holiday to Havana for some reason.  

Optimus Prime.

Mapping Transformers –

With the release of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, I decided it was a good time to go back and look at the Transformers Series as a whole. There are some areas where it is still the trailblazer it was and others that have aged, as well as blue cheese, left out in the summer sun. You can read it all HERE.

However, as I started this process, I wondered how global the series got, given its first very American focus and then that odd moment when China was bribing good coverage in Hollywood. Before I knew it, a map was being made, and it might have been the best part of looking back.  

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Silo: Hanna – TV Review

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TL;DR – After some meandering around, we start making a run to the end of the season.   

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Apple TV+ service that viewed this series.

An underground corn field.

Silo Review –

When we last reviewed Silo with Truth, it was setting up this world of mystery and intrigue, and then it proceeded to meander around for the last couple of episodes, which was fine but didn’t quite capture me in the way those opening episodes did. Well, now we are at the pointy end of the season, and the plot has picked back up as we dive back under the surface to a world on the cusp of falling apart.

So to set the scene, in The Flamekeepers, Juliette Nichols discovers that a group of people have tried to keep information from before the rebellion. With a secret book that shows that the is/was a world outside of the Silo, and it was full of expansive beauty. Alas, Juliette did not notice that the flowers had been removed from her mirror, so now Robert Sims (Common) and the others also know that she knows. But as she tries to find out who is moving people from behind the scenes, Juliette discovers that Judge Meadows (Tanya Moodie) might not be the villain she expected her to be. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Extraction 2 – Movie Review

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TL;DR – It might not stick the landing, but it was a good action romp until then.

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.

Chris Hemsworth stare down in an elevator.

Extraction 2 Review –

When I watched the first Extraction, I found it to be a film that barely had a working narrative, with just enough connective tissue to move from action set piece to action set piece. But each action set piece was strong enough to carry the film to its conclusion. But given the first film went to 100% and stayed there, was there room for them to go any further in the sequel? This is the question I sought to find out when I sat down to watch Extraction 2.  


So to set the scene, Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) is feared dead until he washes ashore on a river in Bangladesh, barely clinging to life. He is medically evacuated to Dubai, where they can save his life, but Tyler is faced with an immense mountain of physical therapy because of his wounds and is unsure if he has the strength to make it through it. In Kojori, Georgia, local underworld figure Zurab’s (Tornike Gogrichiani) brother Davit’s (Tornike Bziava) prison sentence was extended, and Zurab is murdering the local governor kind of upset. Nik Kahn (Golshifteh Farahani) and her brother Yaz Kahn (Adam Bessa) set Tyler up in a cabin on the side of a lake in Gmunden, Austria, to try and give him some drive to recover. When Alcott (Idris Elba) gives him a mission, he has to get his sister-in-law, Davit’s wife Ketevan (Tinatin Dalakishvili), and her children out of the prison that Davit has locked them up in. It is a simple mission. What could go wrong?    

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Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant (The Covenant) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A solid action film that knows how to craft tension from its narrative and musical score.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this film.

Looking down a crosshair.

The Covenant Review –

When it comes to war films, the more straightforward the narrative, the defined sides, and the motivations, the more likely a movie will be made. This is why there are more WW2 films than, say, Vietnam. In modern times, it has been a struggle to depict the war in Afghanistan, with the gung-ho narrative falling flat, given how easily the Taliban retook the country back. Any film exploring this terrain needs to work through a myriad of complexities. Which is what the movie we are looking at today at least attempts.     

So to set the scene, in the aftermath of 9/11, America invaded Afghanistan in 2001. It is now March 2018 in Lashkar Gah. Where Master Sgt. John Kinley (Jake Gyllenhaal), Staff Sergeant Charlie ‘Jizzy’ Crow (Sean Sagar), Joshua ‘JJ’ Jung (Jason Wong), Jack’ Jack Jack’ Jackson (James Nelson-Joyce), Sergeant First Class Kawa Mawlayee (Kawa Mawlayee), Eduardo’ Chow Chow’ Lopez (Christian Ochoa Lavernia), Tom’ Tom Cat’ Hancock (Rhys Yates), are all inspecting vehicles at a checkpoint, when one of the trucks explodes. Returning to Bagram Air Base, they pick up their new interpreter Ahmed (Dar Salim). Their team is meant to be looking for Taliban weapon caches or IED factories, but after striking out the official way, they start taking unofficial measures, which is when things turn sideways.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Broken Circle – TV Review

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TL;DR – is a good grounding for the rest of the season while being an excellent adventure romping through the quadrant.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Cajitar IV

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Review –

Last year we got one of my recent joys was discovering the first season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. I have been enjoying this new batch of Star Trek, but this hit something a little special. I loved the wild swings in the genres that we got, some truly spectacular effects, and some solid character work. It was a new high watermark for modern Science Fiction, and I am glad we are jumping back into it today.

So to set the scene, the USS Enterprise is back in Spacedock for a complete refurbishment and inspection after everything it has been through. Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) has gone on leave to find someone to defend Commander Una ‘Number One’ Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn), who is still under arrest for lying on her Starfleet application. He leaves Spock (Ethan Peck) in charge and tells him not to worry because what can happen in Spacedock? Fast forward to Ensign Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) getting a secret message from La’an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) that there is a danger on a planet on the Klingon border, and it could be a problem for the whole Federation. 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 Flash – Movie Review

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TL;DR – Through all its pre-production issues, the final product is a blast of fun, but I am not sure it would have the staying power on repeat watches.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

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

The Flash running at speed.

The Flash Review –

We are entering quite a tricky period for Superhero films. While they have been the dominant media property over the last decade, the shine is starting to come off the genre. While we will probably not see the great Western collapse again, how many players does the industry have room for? Can you still engage with a property you know is about to be rebooted? And can multiverses still work? These are some of the questions we will look at with our review of The Flash today.

So to set the scene, Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) is living his life as part of the Justice League, but not as a leading figure as we see when Alfred (Jeremy Irons) calls him up before his morning breakfast to help clean up some of Batman’s (Ben Affleck) mess in Gotham City. But while he is very good at catching babies, the main issue in his life is trying to get his father, Henry (Ron Livingston), out of jail. He is serving a life sentence for murdering his wife, and Barry’s mother, Nora (Maribel Verdú), something Barry knows his dad did not do, but no one listened to him because he was just a kid at the time. In his frustration, Barry runs so fast that he breaches the speed of light and begins to transverse back and forwards in time, and surely nothing bad can happen from that.  

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Transformers Series Review – Exploring the Past

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TL;DR –.We explore the highs and lows, and lows, of the Transformers film series.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+/Amazon Prime services that viewed these films.

Transformers –

We might be in the era of nostalgia, but that does not mean that current films can capture what made those original properties soar. An excellent example of this is Transformers, a series that swings wildly in quality and in how it connects with the series it is based on, and now I have watched them all.

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Transformers: Rise of the Beasts – Movie Review

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TL;DR – This is a solid entry in the series that shows that there are still legs under this franchise, even if it does end in a very predictable way.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to see this film

Optimus Prime

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Review –

For a long time, it felt like the Transformers Franchise was destined to but absolute garbage, maybe occasionally dipping into mediocre. Then Bumblebee happened, and for the first time since maybe 2007, it felt like someone who understood the characters was taking a crack at the series, and good things happened. However, was this an anomaly or a start of a new trend? That is what we are exploring today.

So to set the scene, on a world a long time ago, a planet is under attack in a galaxy far away. But this is not just an invasion, for the planet eater Unicron (Colman Domingo) is here to not only consume the planet wholesale, but he sends his minion Scourge (Peter Dinklage) down to secure the Transwarp Key from the Maximals so that he can warp to any planet in the Universe and consume it. Apelinq (David Sobolov) fights to give his Maximals time to escape, and the key is lost. Back on Earth, it is 1994, and it has been seven years since the Autobots arrived at the end of Bumblebee, and their short pitstop has turned into a prolonged stay as they can’t find a way off the planet. This pains Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen). Still, when Elena Wallace (Dominique Fishback) accidentally reveals part of the Transwarp Key, he sees an opportunity, but the Autobots are not the only ones who spotted the key’s energy signature.   

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Jury Duty: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is a delightfully eccentric look at a more than absurd scenario.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

A security camera.

Jury Duty Review –

I have seen a lot of different setups for a tv show, but whenever I have watched a scenario where one of the participants is not in on the joke, it always falls flat. Which meant I came into this with a bit of trepidation. It is so easy to slip into cruelty when everyone knows what is being withheld. You are walking on a high wire perched precariously with disaster all around. That is why it is so much fun that it actually worked.

So to set the scene, an ad was put out there to join a documentary about jury duty, and Ronald Gladeen (Ronald Gladeen) signed up. He is told that he is part of Judge Alan Rosen’s (Alan Barinholtz) final court case recording. Trevor Morris (Ben Seaward) has been alleged to have passed out work and destroyed an order for boss Jacquiline Hilgrove (Whitney Rice). It is an exciting case even before we discover that one of the potential jurors is X-Men actor James Marsden (James Marsden). However, when the paparazzi arrive, all the jurors are sequestered away, and the short court case turns into a three-week slog. The only issue is that everyone, but Ronald, is an actor. Now from here, we will be looking at the series as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.    

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Indiana Jones Series Review – Exploring a Franchise

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TL;DR –.We look at the varied highs and lows of the Indiana Jones franchise up to now.   

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed these films

Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Image Credit: Lucasfilm Ltd.

Indiana Jones –

There are moments when you sit around with nothing to do for a weekend and decide it is time to dive into some nostalgia from the past. With Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny coming out later this month, and it has been years since I had seen the older films, some not since cinemas, it was good timing when they all appeared on Disney+ this week. Well, good time with a massive dash of marketing. So we dive back in time not quite to a galaxy far, far away, but not, not a galaxy far, far away.

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