Author Archives: tldrmoviereviews

TV Review – Brooklyn Nine-Nine: The Jimmy Jab Games II

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TL;DR – A return from the blast of the past shows how far the show has grown

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: The Jimmy Jab Games II. Image Credit: NBC.

Review –

Way back in at the start of the show, Brooklyn Nine-Nine was still finding its feet. It was an experimental time, with this show exploring several different plot threads to see if they worked. Some of them worked like, Halloween, some of them did not, like Charles (Joe Lo Truglio) trying to date Rosa (Stephanie Beatriz), and some still were just lost to time. However, every now and again, one of those threads from the past gets born again, and this is just one such episode.

So to set the scene, Terry (Terry Crews) and Santiago (Melissa Fumero) have to leave the 99 for the day to do some departmental training. Thus they leave Peralta (Andy Samberg) in charge … but with no speech about being responsible because time has changed him. Now he is the guy that will buy the safe car and is trying to start a family. Well, no one gets to tell Jake he can’t be reckless, so it is now time for him to resurrect an even from the deep past the Jimmy Jab Games. Now we will be looking at the episode as a whole so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Movie Review – Sonic the Hedgehog

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TL;DR – Unfortunately this is a film that mostly falls flat in-between shout outs to Olive Garden.  
Score – 3 out of 5 stars

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

Review –

For a long time, there has been a drive to find a great adaptation of a video game, and on the whole, the best we have gotten is mediocre. Well, today we look at a film that is trying to break through that history and alas it does not quite get there even though it is clear that all the cast is giving their all.  

So to set the scene, in a magical kingdom far away, there was a young blur bouncing across the green world with in-built loop-d-loops. His power is almost limitless, but that comes with danger and one day that danger comes home to roost. As they are attacked, Sonic’s (Ben Schwartz) adopted mother Longclaw (Donna Jay Fulks) helps him flee by giving him rings that allow him to jump from world to world keeping ahead of the kidnappers. Well, many years later, one of those jumps leads him landing on Earth where he watched the residents of Green Hills, Montana like the local sheriff Thomas Michael “Tom” Wachowski (James Marsden) go about their lives. All is good, until one day when he accidentally sets off an EMP, drawing danger in the form of Dr Robotnik (Jim Carrey) right to his door.

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Awards – The Costumes of 2019 That Made Us Say ‘Hot Damn’

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There are many techniques you can use to help build your world, or ground your setting, or give dimensions to your characters. You can use music, you can create elaborate sets, but one of the best ways is the costumes you create.

People make instant judgments about a character within moments on the screen and the outfits are a really important part of that first impression. More than this, you can also use costumes as a way for storytelling, what do they say about this world, what do they say about how a character is progressing. 

Costumes can build worlds, tell us details we can only see, but also they can just make us say ‘hot damn’ look at that beading on that dress, that must have taken hours to do. So without further ado, these are the costumes that made us say ‘hot damn’ in 2019. Be warned that there may be some slight spoilers ahead for the films in question. Also. Please click on the banners to be taken to the full review.     

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Awards – Cinematography That Made You Go Wow!

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Cinematography is an art form that can be as bold as a gong crashing after a moment of silence, or as subtle as the tide coming in. It is something that elevates a film to the heights of accolade or turns a film into a frustrating mess when it misfires.

While at the heart of cinematography is the Director of Photography or Cinematographer, to get something from the script to the final shot takes a whole team of professionals, and it is their talent that we champion today.

So without further ado, these are the moments of cinematography that took our breaths away in 2019. Be warned that there may be some slight spoilers ahead for the films in question. Also, click on the banners to be taken to the full reviews.

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Awards – The of Best of Australian Cinema in 2019

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It was an amazing year for Australian Cinema, with each film I saw knocking it out of the park. There were intimate documentaries, films that held up a mirror to society, and those that brought the action to a new level. In this list, we will be looking more at the locally made Australian productions/co-productions and not films filmed in Australia.

So without further ado, these are the best of Australian Cinema in 2019. Be warned that there will be some big spoilers ahead for the films in question. Also, click on the banner to go to the full reviews.  

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Awards – The Films from 2019 That Showed Off the Wonderful Glory of Animation

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Animation is a form of filmmaking that is often related to second-tier status, something just for kids. This is by both the organisations giving out the awards and also by the very guilds that are meant to be promoting their member’s work. However, they are not second-tier films, and in many ways, it is the animated films that are pushing the frontiers of filmmaking and what is possible, and they should be championed for the work that they do.     

Animated films can be hand-drawn, stop/clay motion, computer-generated, it does not matter, but all of them show amazing techniques of hundreds of artists that bring the work to life.

So without further ado, these are the animated films that showed us the glory of animation in 2019. Be warned that there may be some slight spoilers ahead for the films in question. Also, click on the banners to go to the full reviews of each of the films 

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Awards – Explosions, Guns, and Punches, Oh My. The Best Action of 2019

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A good Action sequence is something that is truly amazing to watch, as it can be as expansive as explosions crashing across the screen, or more intimate, like a duel between two people. This gives the best action scenes such a range and in 2019 we were given some truly amazing spectacles.

For me, the best action scenes are those that excel in every element, whether that be live actions, special effects, digital effects, or animation and bring every facet to shine. It is also the category that looks at some of the department’s people don’t often fully understand like stunt coordination or the 2nd unit.

So without further ado, these are the moments of action that awed us in 2019. Be warned that there may be some slight spoilers ahead for the films in question. Also, click on the banners to see the reviews of each film.

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TV Review – Lost in Space: Season 2

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TL;DR – A really great continuation of the first season showing the strengths of this new interpretation at every turn

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Lost in Space: Season 2. Image Credit: Netflix

Review –

We are currently living through a second Golden Age for Science Fiction on TV and one of the first really cool examples of that was a new Lost in Space landing on our screens a couple of years ago. It was energetic, delightful, but also had some thematic weight behind it. Well, Season Two is upon us, so it’s time to see how well it did.    

So to set the scene, at the end of Season One, the family Robinson, that is Maureen (Molly Parker), John (Toby Stephens), Will (Maxwell Jenkins), Judy (Taylor Russell), and Penny (Mina Sundwall) along with Don West (Ignacio Serricchio) and Dr Smith (Parker Posey) got launched through a warp portal by Robot (Brian Steele) to protect them. This leads them to land on a planet that is habitable, bar all the methane in the atmosphere. The warp drained most of the Jupiter 2’s power meaning they can breathe and stay warm but not a whole lot else. All of this changes when Maureen notices that there is a patch of lightning in the distance that comes so regularly that you can schedule it, and maybe a lighting jolt is just what the Jupiter 2 needs. Now as we go on there will be some [SPOILERS] as we will be looking at the season as a whole, so just be warned if you have not seen it yet.     

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TV Review – Star Trek: Picard – Absolute Candor

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TL;DR – We have a crew, repeat we have a crew, this is not a drill

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

Star Trek: Picard – Absolute Candor. Image Credit: CBS Studios.

Review –


For the first three episodes of the season Remembrance, Maps and Legends, and The End is the Beginning, it felt like we were setting the scene, getting our call to adventure, our call to the stars, we were building the world, and in one word bringing it all together. But now we are in space, and it is simply pure joy.

So to set the scene, we start back in time in a fateful time where Picard (Patrick Stewart) on Vashti when he was happy. He was starting to move people out of Romulus, making friends, establishing real progress, however, then the synthetics attacked Mars and everything went to hell. In the present, the crew of the La Sirena have come together on their task, only now that they are in the Beta Quadrant, Picard has another calling, to meet some friends from the past and write some past wrongs. Now we will be looking at the episode as a whole so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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TV Review – Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Pimemento

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TL;DR –  A fun episode with a returning great guest star but a lacklustre b-plot

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Pimemento. Image Credit: NBC.

Review –

Like most half-an-hour comedy shows Brooklyn Nine-Nine usually has an A and a B plot that different character appears in and maybe come together in the end. However, sometimes one of the plot points just works so much better than the other that it can’t help but overshine it. Well, this might be the problem we have today.

So to set the scene, Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) and Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero) decided last week that they were not going to hold off having a baby and that they would start trying right away. Well, things are progressing but everything gets turned on its head when Pimemento (Jason Mantzoukas) burst into the precinct stating that someone is trying to kill him, but then he can’t remember more than 24 hours ago and that 24 hours is from 5 months in the past. Now we will be looking at the episode as a whole so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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