TL;DR – It experiments with
the format while still having an emotional core.
Score – 4 out of 5 stars
Review –
One of the great things about getting another season of Brooklyn Nine-Nine is that it is clear that the writers, producers,
and actors are swinging for the fences, making the most of their new chance.
Today we get to see the fruits of that when we see the show experiment with its
format without missing a beat of what has made it so grand.
So to set the scene, we open with Hitchcock (Dirk Blocker) and Scully (Joel
McKinnon Miller) trying to work out how best to cook their lasagne only to
discover in horror that they forgot the garlic bread. However, all is not what
it seems because Jake (Andy Samberg) has discovered through keen observation of
Holt (Andre Braugher) that the slow internet is actually a crisis, because
there is a hacker in the building and if they are not found one of two things
will happen. Either the hacker will know the identities of all the precincts
criminal informants, or Holt has to wipe the entire server, losing months of
evidence. Well, there are 19 minutes left for them to find who it is … if they
can. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode
as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.
TL;DR
– While films are here
to entertain, they also have an increased chance of selling you all sorts of
things
Article –
Today one of the biggest films in recent memory Avengers:
Endgame has launched and with it comes reviews, calls for no spoilers,
marketing and PR, but also a similar trend we see with every major movie
release recently and that is comments about product placement. This is
something that is not new for the movie universe, indeed it was being lampooned
all the way back in 1992 in Wayne’s World.
However, it does feel like it is becoming more of an issue these days, or at
the very least it is more in your face.
So why is this important? Well, for many reasons, the first being that companies
are using films to pepper you with ads when your subconscious has lowered its
usual defences that it uses to ignore advertisements. Sometimes these are very obvious
like when on Chuck they would stop to
explain the Subway sandwich they are having, or on Cougar Town when they would stop to explain the Subway sandwich
they are having, or on Community when
they … okay look Subway does this a lot. Fun fact, when writing this article I
double checked I was right about the Subway integration and lo and behold
before the YouTube videos of the shows was a new ad for Subway. While this is
all a bit silly, it is also important because advertisers pay a lot of money to
do it. PQ
Media found a 14% increase in spending on product placement in 2017 alone.
TL;DR – Today with the next
Avengers release imminent we take a look
at where on Earth we have visited during all of Phase One, Phase Two, and Phase
Three
Article –
Today Avengers:
Endgame was released in cinemas, and well since I like maps and I like
the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I thought it would be interesting to update our
map out where the MCU has visited during its three phases from Iron Man in 2008 to Endgame in 2019. This means that there are some slight spoilers for
Endgame here, but only their locations which don’t really give anything away,
but if you are super cautious please be aware.
Back in 2018 we had a look at ranking all the current Marvel Cinematic Universe films from best to last. We at least, what ranking they were for me. Well I have just walked out of Endgame and as there are no more films (that we know of) left for 2019 it is time to revisit the list.
With these lists, I don’t rank them 1-10 as I feel that does not adequately reflect my feeling about each of the films and where they fit in relation to each other. As you can see in our X-Men countdown (see here) what we do is the group the films into categories Fantastic, GreatGood, Ok, and Trash.
Fantastic are those films which get as close to perfect as we can on this side of Heaven, with compelling characters stories and visuals. Great are those films which I thoroughly enjoyed but they did not move me emotionally. Good are solid films that while they have some issues they still work and are still enjoyable. Ok are films that work, they have some good moments, but you can start to see some of the flaws that almost scuttle the film. Trash are those films which just don’t work, whether it is the story, the characters, the visuals, or a combination of all three, they are simply letdowns.
Also within those categories, I have listed the films not in a ranked order but in chronological order of when they were released.
So let’s dive into a world of gritty spy thrillers, fun heist films, moral tales on not watching your AI experiments as you steal alien technology, high school drama, a Technicolour Dreamcoat, and the greatest collection of Chris’ since the invention of the word Chris.
Also be warned, at the time of writing two of these films are still in cinemas, so be careful with [SPOILERS].
TL;DR – Now all together “Baaaaaaaar bar bar bup barrrrr, barr barrr, barrrrr bup bup barrr baaar bomp barrrrrrr, Baaaaaaaar bar bar bup barrrrr, barr barrr, ba dum, ba dum, ba dum, ba dum, Baaaaaaaar”
Score – 4.5 out of 5 Stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit sequence and a hint at the end
Review –
Wow and here we are. Honestly, when I sat down to watch Iron Man in cinemas all the way back in 2008 I don’t think I really
comprehended just what it was that I was watching. I didn’t know it would spawn
a 20+ movie franchise that would take us into the past, into the deep reaches
of space, and create one of the biggest events in movie history. In many
respects, it feels like this is my generation’s Star Wars moment, and I have not seen queues like this to go see a
film in a long time. Well, today we take the plunge and see if they can work
out one of the biggest cliff-hangers in movie history and can this be a film
that gives closure to the films that came before it.
So to set the scene, at the end of Infinity
War the one thing they were trying to stop happening actually
happened, as Thanos (Josh Brolin) obtained all the infinity stones after
ripping the mind stone out of Vision’s (Paul Bettany) head and snapped his
fingers. All at once across the galaxy, 50% of everything turned to dust and we
had that gut-wrenching moment as everything literally fell apart in people’s
hands. Indeed Peter (Tom Holland) looking desperately at Tony (Robert Downey Jr)
pleading that ‘I don’t want to go” is
one of those moments that just stays with you and it stays with the cast.
Because as we start everything is in a bad place. Tony is trapped with Nebula (Karen
Gillan) on a ship running out of fuel, air, and food, and those Avengers that
survived are counting the losses on Earth where no one has been left
unaffected. However, one should never give up all hope, because you never know
when deliverance will come from an unlikely place, and then hope is lost again.
Now with today’s review, we will be doing something a little different. In this
review, we will be looking at all of the film so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead. This is for people
that have already seen the film and want to explore the ending of Endgame. If
you have not seen the film and would like to see a no spoiler discussion Endgame you can go HERE.
Also if you have already read the no spoiler review and want to skip to the discussion
on the ending, it is the chapter starting with the big [SPOILER WARNING] below.
Before we dive into the story and character aspects of the film, I want to
first take a moment to talk about the production side of things. In this film,
they have left nothing on the table when it comes to the lighting, production
design, and effects. That opening scene as Tony is sitting in the ship waiting
to die while bathed in a light blue light from the nearby stars was one of the
most beautiful lighting techniques I have seen in quite a while. This extends
throughout the entire film, with harsh contrasts at times, natural light in
places, relentless oppression in other places. Every part of the film is well
designed, even when they are using sets from the previous film, it has been
amended to make it feel right in the new context.
TL;DR – Now all together “Baaaaaaaar bar bar bup barrrrr, barr barrr, barrrrr bup bup barrr baaar bomp barrrrrrr, Baaaaaaaar bar bar bup barrrrr, barr barrr, ba dum, ba dum, ba dum, ba dum, Baaaaaaaar”
Score – 4.5 out of 5 Stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit sequence and a hint at the end
Review –
Wow and here we are. Honestly, when I sat down to watch Iron Man in cinemas all the way back in 2008 I don’t think I really comprehended just what it was that I was watching. I didn’t know it would spawn a 20+ movie franchise that would take us into the past, into the deep reaches of space, and create one of the biggest events in movie history. In many respects, it feels like this is my generation’s Star Wars moment, and I have not seen queues like this to go see a film in a long time. Well, today we take the plunge and see if they can work out one of the biggest cliff-hangers in movie history and can this be a film that gives closure to the films that came before it.
So to set the scene, at the end of Infinity War the one thing they were trying to stop happening actually happened, as Thanos (Josh Brolin) obtained all the infinity stones after ripping the mind stone out of Vision’s (Paul Bettany) head and snapped his fingers. All at once across the galaxy, 50% of everything turned to dust and we had that gut-wrenching moment as everything literally fell apart in people’s hands. Indeed Peter (Tom Holland) looking desperately at Tony (Robert Downey Jr) pleading that ‘I don’t want to go” is one of those moments that just stays with you and it stays with the cast. Because as we start everything is in a bad place. Tony is trapped with Nebula (Karen Gillan) on a ship running out of fuel, air, and food, and those Avengers that survived are counting the losses on Earth where no one has been left unaffected. However, one should never give up all hope, because you never know when deliverance will come from an unlikely place, and then hope is lost again. Now with today’s review, we will be doing something a little different. In this review there will be no spoilers, you will get my general impressions of how it all worked, however, I won’t mention any plot details that happen after the first act. Also, if you really want to be spoiler free, don’t examine the credits below. If you have seen the film and would like to see a full spoiler discussion of the ending you can go HERE.
TL;DR – A moment to catch our
breath before the onslaught is unleashed.
Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars
Review –
You know, Game of Thrones is known
for its sweeping storylines that explore events happening across continents.
However, there are times in the show’s history where a bunch of main and
supporting cast find themselves in the one location, and if you know anything
about the history of the show, that is never a good thing. Well today, we look
at an episode that is the calm before the coming storm, when everything is
still but you can see the dark clouds and cracking lighting on the horizon.
So to set the scene, at the end of last week’s Winterfell
a number of big plot bombs got dropped on us. There was the big news of John (Kit
Harington) finally finding out who his real mother and father from Samwell (John
Bradley). There was the growing sense that The North is not fond of being under
anyone’s rule again. After fleeing from the destruction of The Wall in The
Dragon and the WolfTormund (Kristofer Hivju) comes across the
dead ruins of the Last Hearth and also finds the survivors of The Night’s Watch
where they discover that the dead are on the move and heading straight for the Capital
of the North. In the final shot, Jamie (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) arrives in
Winterfell only to find Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) waiting for him, and this
is where today’s episode starts off. Jamie is fighting for his life after pretty
much betraying, or being at war at some point with everyone in the room. With
only Tyrion (Peter Dinklage), who no one cares about in this case, and Brienne
(Gwendoline Christie) who people do care about, standing for him. However,
while revenge would be nice, the dead are coming and they need every sword. Now
from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some
[SPOILERS] ahead.
TL;DR – While it is not anything new, the film focuses on women supporting women and that helps elevate it.
Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
There is nothing quite like the pain of
something lost, time might heal all wounds but it also makes the deepest cuts.
This is especially true when the thing that is lost is a romantic relationship.
What do you do when nine years of your life disappears overnight, how do you
process that pain. Well, today we look at a film that explores all of that.
So to set the scene, we open with Jenny (Gina Rodriguez) alone sitting in the
subway obviously in a state of distress. She had finally gotten the job of her
dreams after years of hard work, but it involves moving from New York to San Francisco
and her partner of nine years Nate (Lakeith Stanfield) decided that he was not
prepared to even try a long distance relationship. Everything is changing in
her life but there is still one constant and that is her best friends Blair (Brittany
Snow) and Erin (DeWanda Wise) still have her back. So as a way of helping to
cope and to celebrate her new life and commiserate her moving away the three
decide to go to Neon Classic a concert from their youths and have one last
crazy adventure.
TL;DR – This is a show that
wildly oscillates from being deeply offensive to just plain dull
Score – 1 out of 5 stars
Review –
Before we get into this review, let me take you back 14 years ago to 2005, this
was when We Can Be Heroes first aired
down here in Australia. It was a revolutionary comedy for many, as it satirised
people that you thought you all knew. Also having one actor play multiple different
parts was a novel concept … at the time. Chris Lilley won multiple awards for
the show and it put him in the limelight which he followed up with the equally successful
Summer Heights High two years later. Why am I opening with this, well I
wanted to give it a bit of history for non-Australian readers, and I wanted to
give a bit of context before we fall into the rubbish that is this series.
So to set the scene, Lunatics is based around the lives of several characters
(all played by Lilley). There is Jana a lesbian pet psychic based in South
Africa, Gavin a brat that somehow going to be an Earl, Joyce a former adult
movie star, Keith a long time retail worker that is opening his own store,
Becky a tall twin starting her first day at an American college, and Quentin a
real-estate agent from the Gold Coast. The series explores their lives as they
all move into their next stages of life. Now from here, we will be looking at the season as
a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.
TL;DR – We look to the past
and find out how much we have changed, the show included
Score – 4 out of 5 stars
Review –
Time travel, oy vey, nothing quite gives me a headache like a temporal mechanics
headache and today we are looking a doozy of one. Now, of course, this is not
the first time that The Orville has dabbled
in the world of time travel with Pria
happening all the way back in Season
One, which also set up some stuff that the show has yet to quite follow
through with. However, today’s temporal jump is a much more personal affair.
So to set the scene, we open with Ed (Seth MacFarlane), Kelly (Adrianne Palicki),
Talla (Jessica Szohr), and Gordon (Scott Grimes) sharing a drink and reminiscing
about the past. Talking about the past has Ed reminiscing about lost loves but
Kelly makes it clear that it would not be good for the ship or them if they
repeated the past. The next day Isaac (Mark Jackson) and John (J. Lee) are
showing Kelly a potential new temporal device when the ship is hit by a massive
gravity wave. Not only does the damage the ship but it interacts with the
device and all of a sudden a Kelly from seven years ago is standing in the
science lab. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so
there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.
TL;DR Movie Reviews and Analysis 