Monthly Archives: April 2024

Knuckles: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – When it leans into the absurd, it is a delight, but a lacklustre narrative holds it all back.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

End Credit Scene – What Happens in Reno, Stays in Reno has a mid-credit scene.

Knuckles burrows up from the ground.

Knuckles Review –

When the first Sonic the Hedgehog film came out, I did not know what to expect, but now we are two films in, we know the vibe we are working with. But the question is: are we ready for spin-offs? Well, that is the query we are looking at today as the Idris Elba-voiced Knuckles takes the show.  

So to set the scene, during Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Knuckles (Idris Elba) was tricked into working against Sonic (Ben Schwartz), but they all worked it out in the end. Now, Knuckles starts his day by going through a deadly obstacle course just to get the blood flowing. But he hasn’t quickly got the hang of Earth when it takes down a construction crew trying to fix the house, thinking they were invaders. Desperately trying to find meaning in his life, Knuckles is visited by the aberration of his mentor, Chief Pachacamac (Christopher Lloyd), who gives him a new quest. Find someone to become his mentor so he can pass on his echidna ways. Who is that apprentice? Well, enter from stage left Wade (Adam Pally) and his quest for bowling glory. Now from here, we will be looking at the series as a whole, so there may be [SPOILERS] ahead.     

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Goodbye Earth (Jongmalui Babo/종말의 바보): Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is an interesting premise that is well acted, but the glacial pace holds it back when there is such a specific counting clock driving all the motivations.  

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

The destruction of the Earth mural.

Goodbye Earth Review –

In the past couple of years, there have been two huge surprises. The first was how emotional Greenland turned out to be, and the second was how impactful All of Us Are Dead turned out to be. When I heard that there was a series that could be the Venn diagram between these two, well, I had to check it out. In today’s review, we will be looking at the first six episodes to see if it captures us.    

So to set the scene, we opened in an abandoned construction site for apartments, with cranes left standing, swaying in the wind mid-load, as if society shifted in an instant. In this world, a young girl lives alone on the top floor in a society that is starting to collapse around them because on February the 22nd, 2026, an asteroid Dina is going to crash into Earth, striking the Korean Peninsula, and there is nothing anyone can do about it. There are just 201 days before the end of most life on Earth. While anyone who can get out of Asia is in the city of Woongcheon, Korea, at Cheondong Middle School, people are trying to go on. Now from here, we will be looking at the series as a whole, so there may be [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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Star Trek: Discovery – Mirrors – TV Review

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TL;DR – There are reflections a plenty this week, and that is not even contained to a mirror universe.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

The USS Discovery-A approaches the wormhole.

Star Trek: Discovery Review –

This season, we have had an interesting situation with a pair of antagonists who don’t quite fit the bill as bad guys. Sure, they deal with the shady side of things, but I also think we might forget that the Romulan ship in Red Directive was also legitimate salvage. But you could feel that some backstory was ready to be dropped. Well, today’s episode does just that.

So to set the scene, after flashing through time in Face The Strange, we discovered that Moll (Eve Harlow) and L’ak’s (Elias Toufexis) gambit worked, and they are now ahead of the USS Discovery-A crew. But as luck would have it, they know where they went because there is a wormhole of sorts, but not a nice friendly wormhole like in DS9. No, this one will rip your ship in half without thinking of it, which is what Michael (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Book (David Ajala) discovered as they went in. That was surprising, but even more so was stumbling across the ISS Enterprise. Now, we will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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The Fall Guy – Movie Review

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TL;DR – It’s a wonderful romp, full of pomp and circumstance, and a desperate need for an extra edit.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a sequence in the credits and a mid-credit scene.

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

Filming a car chase.

The Fall Guy Review –

Today, I am looking at a film that is genuinely quite odd. It is an Action-Adventure, Romantic-Comedy, Mystery, Adaption of an Old TV Show, that is also making a meta-commentary on how Hollywood treats people who work on the stunt team. Yet with all of that, they made it work, and a blast of fun at that.

So to set the scene, Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) is a suave and super-confident stuntman who knows how to take a fall while on fire and thrown into a rock. When he is not being blown up, he is flirting with the very professional camera operator, Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt). However, when his incompetent actor Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), who could not do his own stunts in his dreams, wanted a stunt done again because they saw ‘too much face’. But the stunt goes wrong, and Colt breaks his back. Eighteen months later, Tom’s Producer, Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham), calls Colt, who is now a valet. She needs him to come back to Sydney because Jody has her first director role, and they need his stunt prowess. But did anyone ask Jody?

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Fallout: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is a series that shows you how important it is to get the vibe of the work you are adapting correctly.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

End Credit – There is a mid-credit sequence.

Cooper Howard sells vaults.

Fallout Review –

Like many people, I had a bit of trepidation when they announced that there would be an adaptation of the video game Fallout. Sure, the original video game built a world that is ripe for adaptation. However, at the time of the announcement, video game adaptations were not known for their quality or respect of the source material. But that first trailer showed that there was potential here, and I am glad to say, after watching it all, I think that mostly held up.  

So to set the scene, we open in 2077; that feels like it is a world of the past that is close but not quite like the one we have today, yet actually the future. After a series of resource wars, the USA and China are on the brink of apocalypse, and it is on everyone’s mind as Cooper Howard (Walton Goggins) appears as a cowboy at a local child’s birthday party. Which sadly, it comes to pass as multiple nuclear explosions destroy Los Angeles as Cooper rides off with his daughter on a horse. Two hundred nineteen years later, Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell) lives in Vault 33, one of the few places that survived the carnage. Her dad, Hank MacLean (Kyle MacLachlan), is the overseer of the Vault, and the day of her wedding is a big event for everyone. However, the tri-annual visit from Vault 32 does not quite go according to plan. Now from here, we will be looking at the series as a whole, so there may be [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver – Movie Review

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TL;DR – It is a visually impressive film that is narratively shallow, even though everyone is trying their best.

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.

Jimmy

Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver Review –

I had an odd sensation as I sat down to watch this sequel, in that even though I had only watched the first film back in December, for my life, I could not remember anything that happened. It had evaporated into the ether, bar was Anthony Hopkins a robot? This meant I desperately needed that what happened last time the introduction that started the proceedings. But it did not fill me with confidence as I sat down to watch the follow-up.

So to set the scene, at the end of Rebel Moon, the plucky rebels had found and won a massive victory against The Motherworld. Kora (Sofia Boutella) and her group was able to return home to Veldt after killing Atticus Noble (Ed Skrein). But you see, you can never count The Motherland and its technology out. Because Noble is still alive, and now he has a more than personal reason to burn Veldt to the ground and the village has only five days to prepare.

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Star Trek: Discovery – Face The Strange – TV Review

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TL;DR – A fun romp through the past.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Moll and L'ak

Star Trek: Discovery Review –

As we continue our tour through the greatest hits of Star Trek Discovery, today’s episode takes that view almost literally. All of this is wrapped around one of Star Trek’s most tried and true go-to stories: Time Travel.

So to set the scene, at the end of Jinaal, we found that the next clue in the mission was in Tzenkethi space. However, before they left Trill, Moll (Eve Harlow) smuggled a Krenim time bug onto Adira (Blu del Barrio). On board, the bug runs around the ship until it gets to Engineering, where Stamets (Anthony Rapp) notices it just before it activates. Luckily, Michael (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) were trying to teleport when the bug activated because they were now lost in time and constantly shifting as well. Now, we will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Abigail – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A bloody joy when it is working and a bit of a slog when it is not.

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

Abigail reveals herself.

Abigail Review –

Have you ever heard a film premise and immediately thought, “I need to see that”? Well, that is what happened to me when I first heard about Abigail. A group of thugs think they are kidnapping a little girl, but they actually take a monster. I mean, there are whole fairy tales based around concepts just like this and how they turn out. Add in the team behind Ready or Not, and you will have me sold.

So to set the scene, one evening, a group of professionals start casing out a house, waiting to capture the person within. Frank (Dan Stevens) is the boss, Joey (Melissa Barrera) is client control, Sammy (Kathryn Newton) is their hacker, Rickles (William Catlett) is the sniper, Peter (Kevin Durand) is their muscle, and Dean (Angus Cloud) is their car man. But the person they are kidnapping is a little girl, Abigail (Alisha Weir), who just got back from ballet practice. People are not okay with kidnapping a kid, but $7 million is $7 million. However, when they arrive at the creepy house run by Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito) and must hold the child for 24 hours, it would be a shame if there was also a monster stuck in there with them.

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Challengers – Movie Review

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TL;DR – Wild, sensual, and captivating. While not all of it works, when it is on fire, it is electric.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

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

Tashi Duncan (Zendaya) watches the tennis match behind sunglasses.

Challengers Review –

Some films can captivate you just by hearing the name of a director and an idea. Luca Guadagnino’s previous works, like Call Me by Your Name and Bones and All, were not perfect, but they were immensely captivating, sucking you into their worlds. Well, I was interested in seeing where he would go from there when exploring the world of tennis.

So to set the scene, we open in the middle of the 2019 New Rochelle Champions Tournament as Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor) and Art Donaldson (Mike Faist) are facing it out in the finals. A dual for the ages. However, both sets of eyes are not focusing on each other but on someone in the audience, Tashi Duncan (Zendaya). There is a palpable tension the court that can only exist between people with a deep history, which is when we cut back thirteen years.     

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Star Trek: Discovery – Jinaal – TV Review

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TL;DR – We continue our quest in Trill, where all may not be what it seems, and the game of politics continues.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

the caves of Trill

Star Trek: Discovery Review –

As we fly through the galaxy on this quest, it has been interesting to see just how much this season of Discovery is linking itself back to the past series of Star Trek. It has always felt like it has been pushed there by many people into being more of its own thing. But now, it is embracing its place in the Star Trek world, and I, for one, would love to see it.

So to set the scene, last week Under the Twin Moons, we discovered that the next clue in the treasure hunt was not hidden on Betazed as it first seemed, but was instead on Trill. This was possibly great news for Adira (Blu del Barrio) because Gray (Ian Alexander) has been studying there to be a Guardian. However, as the race heats up, the question is, how will they find the next clue when it has been 800 years since it was hidden? Now, we will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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