Category Archives: 2019 Reviews

TV Review – Star Trek Discovery: Such Sweet Sorrow Part 2 and Season 2

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TL;DR – An episode filled with emotional moments and big changes

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

Star Trek Discovery: Such Sweet Sorrow Part 2. Image Credit: CBS Studios.

Review –

As I sit here after watching the final episode of Season Two of Star Trek Discovery, I am feeling a lot of emotions. On the one part, there was nothing too surprising that happened in the episode if you had been paying attention so far this season. However, it was also an episode with emotional moments that hit you in the gut.

So to set the scene, we begin where Part 1 ended up, with the captured Section 31 Fleet let by Leland/Control (Alan van Sprang) surrounding the USS Enterprise and the USS Discovery. Leland/Control has one want, to get the Sphere data found on the Discovery, and everyone has one hope to let Michael open a time wormhole to the future, so the ship can fly out of reach of control. Everyone is working to get the Time Travel Suit ready, charging the time crystal, and preparing for an onslaught. However, no matter what they were preparing for nothing they could do could get them ready for what is about to happen. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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TV Review – Star Trek Discovery: Such Sweet Sorrow Part 1

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TL;DR – An episode filled with goodbyes and also beauty

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

Star Trek Discovery: Such Sweet Sorrow Part 1. Image Credit: CBS Studios.

Review –


It is so close to the end and you can really feel it as each episode ratchets up the tension and leaves you aghast when the credits role lamenting that you can’t just watch the next episode then and there. Well, today we are exploring the penultimate episode of Star Trek Discovery’s second season, an episode of goodbyes and of also of real beauty.   

So to set the scene, we begin today right where last week’s Through the Valley of Shadows left off. After trying literally everything to stop Control getting the Sphere data and with Leland/Control’s (Alan van Sprang) armada closing in there is only one thing left to do, destroy the Discovery. With subspace communications being blocked, Pike (Anson Mount) puts out a call of someone he knows he can trust and soon the Enterprise and his Number One (Rebecca Romijn) have arrived to evacuate all the crew. Only then to discover that things never quite go to plan. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.     

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Movie Review – His Father’s Voice

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TL;DR – It filled with the mixed emotions that come with tracing your past a world full of nostalgia and pain.      

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

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

His Father's Voice. Image Credit: Indie Rights.

Review –

Your past can be something filled with joy or tinged with regret. We dream of the past but sometimes forget the effect it has on our present and future. This is especially true when it comes to the issues around a parent’s separation because it adds a whole other layer of issues with how we interpret the past. Today we look at a film that interprets all of this through the lens of Indian performance art.

So to set the scene, we open on Kris (Christopher Gurusamy) making a long journey from the city to a complex deep in the jungle. This is where he spent most of his childhood growing up in a musical collective who put on performances based on Indian mythology and Hindu Religious epics. There is also a little trepidation for Kris as this is also a place of great pain for him. He is soon spotted by Valli (Sudharma Vaithiyanathan) who he uses to play with as a child and he asks the first of many pertinent questions “Where is my dad” but Jon (Jeremy Roske) likes to travel around India so while he is not here, though he should return. So Kris decides to wait at the compound for his father’s return and dredges up the memories of the past.

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Movie Review – Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé (HΘMΣCΘMING)

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TL;DR – A work of art for all to see.    

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

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

Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé (HΘMΣCΘMING). Image Credit: Netflix.

Review –


One of the issues living in Australia is that the likelihood of me being able to go to some of these big tent pole events across the world is quite low. However, in this age of digital connection that is not the problem that it used to be, as connections become stronger around the world. Today we take a look at a film that takes this to heart as it explores not only a concert and how it was made but also the philosophy that went that underpinned it all.

So to set the scene, last year at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival or as it more commonly called Coachella, history was made. For the first time, the festival was being headlined by an African-American woman (and only the 3rd women in their history at that point) when Beyoncé stepped onto the stage to perform. These performances rocked the music world for their choreography, their musical strength, their surprise guests, and because they were full of power.

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Movie Review – Stuck

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TL;DR – When it gets to the emotional core of music Stuck has some real emotional weight, but it has issues getting between those moments.       

Score – 2.5 out of 5 stars

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

Stuck. Image Credit: MJW Films.

Review –

There are many things that can make a bad day and I can tell you that being stuck in a train carriage with a bunch of strangers for an indeterminate amount of time would be very high on that list. With this in mind, I was captivated with the idea of setting a musical in that setting and where you could go with the pressures and opportunity of keeping everyone in that one space. What we get in the final film is a story with two halves, however, unfortunately, they don’t quite work together.

So to set the scene, it is a day in New York and disconnected strangers are running around in their day trying to get from one place to another. You have Lloyd (Giancarlo Esposito) a homeless gentleman who is getting ready for the day in the actual train carriage. Alica (Arden Cho) a dancer trying to get home and avoid her stalker Ramon (Omar Chaparro), Caleb (Gerard Canonico) who is running between his many jobs, then Eve (Ashanti) and Sue (Amy Madigan) who are just trying to get home on a difficult day. Fate is a precarious thing at times, and this day as they board the train everything grinds to a halt as a police incident closes the train lines trapping the train in-between stations, and as the carriages are locked there is the realisation that they are trapped and the only thing you can do is sing.

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TV Review – Game of Thrones: Winterfell

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TL;DR – In the first episode of the final season all the characters are moved into place, before the onslaught of the coming doom.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Game of Thrones: Winterfell. Image Credit: HBO.

Review –

And so it begins. When that first episode aired back in 2011 everything was different, and it changed the television landscape in a way we are still feeling today. It is with this that I come to the final season with a little trepidation. I don’t know how the show will end, but I know a lot of the characters that we have come to love over the years probably won’t make it and if any show has prepared us for an unhappy ending, this is it. Well, today we delve into the first episode of the final season as the growing disaster looms.

So to set the scene, at the end of The Dragon and the Wolf all hell broke loose as the big bad used Daenerys’ (Emilia Clarke) reanimated dragon to blow a hole in The Wall allowing the undead to march through. As we prepare for what is about to hit, armies are moving into place as John Snow (Kit Harington) and Daenerys arrive in Winterfell with their Unsullied and Dothraki armies … oh and two dragons. Word has reached Winterfell of The Wall’s fall, so Sansa (Sophie Turner) has ordered all of her bannermen to retreat to the capital as the last stand because that is where all the armies, even the coming Lannister’s will go to, but then Cersei (Lena Headey) has other ideas. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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Movie Review – Guava Island

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TL;DR – A beautiful work on the power of music to shape the world     

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

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

Guava Island. Image Credit: Amazon Studios.

Review –

There are a lot of things music can be, it can move you, it can move people, and it can move countries. There is the real power in music and throughout the years we have seen the power of music to shape the ideas and the structures that control people’s lives. With that in mind, today we take a look at something a little experimental, but also a little subversive, and also a little fun.

So to set the scene, we open with animation about the world we live in, Guava Island. The island was originally created by the gods to be a resting place for humans from the war that rages around. However, on the island, special blue silk was found and soon one man Red Cargo (Nonso Anozie) had taken it for himself and industrialised the whole island to produce the silk for export. However, all is not lost on Guava Island because one day a girl Kofi (Rihanna) looked out her window and saw a boy Deni (Donald Glover) playing his guitar and every night after that he played all night for her, always trying to get better.

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Movie Review – The Perfect Date

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TL;DR – While it is a bit stodgy at times, it has a real heart to it and an interesting premise.   

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

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

The Perfect Date. Image Credit: Netflix.

Review –

In recent times, one strength that Netflix has really leaned into is producing quality rom-coms a genre that had been left wanting in the cinematic landscape recently. Indeed we have even been getting the highs of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and given that our lead here with the impressive eyebrows is finding a niche in this genre I was interested to see how it would go. Well, it was fine, but the more it meant on the more it felt like while it had an interesting premise, it didn’t quite stick the landing in parts.  

So to set the scene, as high school is coming to the end, the world is finding out what to do next. For Brooks Rattigan (Noah Centineo), it trying to get into Yale, he wants to change the world, even though he has no idea what it is that he needs to change. He has the chance to go to a public college but he wants to go to Yale but how is he going to pay for it or even get in. Things change one day when one of the rich kids at his school Reece (Zak Steiner) was lamenting that he had to take his cousin Celia (Laura Marano) to a high school social and Brooks steps in because he needs money. During the ‘date’ Celia mentions that he would make a great stand-in boyfriend, well one app made by his friend Murph (Odiseas Georgiadis) later and a new business is made.

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TV Review – The Orville: Sanctuary

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TL;DR – If we don’t defend those who need defence why should we save ourselves.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

The Orville: Sanctuary. Image Credit: Fox.

Review –


In the background of The Orville has been a growing problem for the Interstellar Union, and no that is not an external threat, but an internal dilemma. For a long time, there has been a growing unease with Moclus and parts of their culture that seem to go against what the Union stands for. This week this issue comes to a head when the very nature of the Union is called into question by Dolly Parton, sort of.

So to set the scene, after the destruction of a large chunk of the fleet in Identity Part 2, the Interstellar Union is trying to bring more ships online and upgrade the weapons of those ships they already have. The USS Orville is sent to Moclus to get the upgrade and also taxi some engineers to a scout ship, much to everyone’s annoyance. However, the engineers are carrying more than just supplies with them, which puts Bortus (Peter Macon) in a difficult position having to choose his own people over the crew. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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TV Review – Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Casecation

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TL;DR – A heartfelt story of love … in a hospital room … while they wait for a comatose patent to wake up   

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Casecation. Image Credit: NBC Studios.

Review –

One of Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s strengths has always been its ability to juggle the comedy and drama. This is not an easy task as it can be a tightrope trying to balance everything without it coming off as half-assed. This week we get an episode that gets that balance right as it jumps from fun to real serious, real quick.

So to set the scene, we open in a hospital as Amy (Melissa Fumero) comes to meet Jake (Andy Samberg), thankfully he is not here on medical business but for the police as there is a mob boss that survived a hit and is now in a coma. The hope is that if Jake is there when he wakes up then the mob boss will give them the info they could use. However, Jake has an ulterior motive, because there is no idea when he will wake up, so he and Amy could share some time alone as it is there anniversary and with their work schedule this is the best chance they have. A case vacation or indeed a Casecation. Which is fine until a topic comes up that neither of them were prepared to hear the other’s response. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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