Movie Review – Mutiny of the Worker Bees (Rebelión de los Godínez)

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TL;DR – This is a film of two halves, one that really works, and one that really doesn’t 

 Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

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

Review – Today we get to review a film out of Mexico that delves into the world of office workplaces. A place of conflict, love, war, and comedy. It is here where we see the best and the worst of ourselves and others and it can be both a metaphorical and literal riot at times, and a bit frustrating at others.

So to set the scene, we open in on a city street in Mexico as someone in a mascot outfit walks down the street to the sounds of Staying Alive. He is very popular with everyone as they line up to take selfies with him right up until an elderly man shots him in the head with a t-shirt gun. It is here where we meet Omar Buendía (Gustavo Egelhaaf) the man behind the mascot outfit and his Abuelo (Alejandro Suárez) the man behind the gun. Well, Omar’s Abuelo has a minor heart attack, so has to step away from his job forcing Omar to find a steady white-collar job. Well, welcome to Relo Tech, a world of extremes … also a really toxic work environment.

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Simón Bolívar of Gran Colombia First Look and Analysis – Civilization VI: New Frontier Pass

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TL;DR: During the run-through, I gasped “That Movement” which is a good sign

We are getting a new expansion for Civilization VI, well not quite, over the next year we have a season pass, the New Frontier Pass, which will give us several new Civilizations and Game Modes over the next year (which you can find out more information HERE). The next of the new Civilizations that has been released is Gran Colombia, so let’s dive in.

Civilization Information

Simón Bolívar leader of Gran Colombia. Image Credit: Firaxis.
Simón Bolívar leader of Gran Colombia. Image Credit: Firaxis.

Civilization Leader: Simón Bolívar
Leader Agenda: Carabobo – He favours civs with highly promoted units, dislikes civs with unpromoted units, and prefers to build Encampments.
Civilization Capital: Bogotá
Civilization Bonus: Ejército Patriota – ALL units get +1 movement, Promoting a unit does not end its turn.
Leader Bonus: Campaña Admirable – Grants the Comandante General – A special Great Person that you get at the start of each era that has multiple abilities, that can be used in military (damaging surrounding units), and in cities (extra Trade Route)
Unique Unit: Llanero – Replaces Cavalry. Low maintenance, plus combat bonus for Adjacent Llaneros,
Unique Tile Improvement: Haciendas – plus Gold, Production, Housing, Plus food for adjacent Plantations, Plus production for adjacent Haciendas
Rivers: Rio Negro, Caura River, Caroní River
Volcanoes: Guagua Pichincha
Deserts: Médanos de Coro
Cities: Quito, Valencia de Carabobo, Cali, Cumaná, Maracay

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Lady Six Sky of The Maya First Look and Analysis – Civilization VI: New Frontier Pass

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TL;DR: We get a civilization that finally goes tall

We are getting a new expansion for Civilization VI, well not quite, over the next year we have a season pass, the New Frontier Pass, which will give us several new Civilizations and Game Modes over the next year (which you can find out more information HERE). The first of the new Civilizations has been released so let’s dive into The Maya.

Lady Six Sky leader of The Maya. image credit: Firaxis Games.
Lady Six Sky leader of The Maya. image credit: Firaxis Games.

Civilization Information

Civilization Leader: Lady Six Sky
Leader Agenda: Solitary – She dislikes encroaching civs and she tries to keep her cities in a cluster near the capital.
Civilization Capital: Wak Kab’nal 
Civilization Bonus: Mayab – No extra housing from Fresh Water/Coast but Farms provide more housing and gold, Amenities for each Luxury resource adjacent to the City Centre
Leader Bonus: Ix Mutal Ajaw – Cities within 6 tiles of the Capital get a boost to all yearlings, other cities away from this limit get a penalty to yields. Bonus combat strength for units within 6 tiles of the Capital
Unique Unit: Hul’che – Ranged replacement for Archer, Stronger and gets a bonus against wounded opponents 
Unique District: Observatory – A campus replacement that gets an adjacency bonus from Plantations and Farms.
Volcanoes: Hunahpú
Rivers: Grijalva River
Cities: Palenque, Yaxchilan, Toniná, Xunantunich, Copán,

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Movie Review – Jumanji: The Next Level

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TL;DR – A film that is as fun as ever, but shows that more does not always equal best.    

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

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

Jumanji: The Next Level. Image Credit: Sony.

Review –

A couple of years ago a surprise occurred, we got an unnecessary reboot that not only was a proper follow up to the last entry but also was a strong fun film in its own right. I had a wonderful time with Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, which meant I was looking forward to its sequel. Well, I missed it at the cinemas but now is the time to jump back in and discover the world of Jumanji (insert drum sounds here).

So to set the scene, a while has passed since the group had their last adventure with Spencer (Alex Wolff), Martha (Morgan Turner), Fridge (Ser’Darius Blain), and Bethany (Madison Iseman) having left town to go to separate colleges. But Christmas time is here, and the whole group is coming back home to Brantford, New Hampshire, but all is not well. For some, their lives have not matched that one time they were in the game. So when one morning Spencer does not show up for dinner, and the drums sound, the rest of the group rushes over to his house only to find the game to be broken, and there might not be works as well as the last time.

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TV Review – Rick and Morty: Promortyus

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TL;DR – This is one of those episodes that is there to remind you that Rick and Morty or not good people at all

Score – 3 out of 5 stars

Rick and Morty: Promortyus. Image Credit: Netflix.

Review –

If there has been one area of incongruity in within the greater Rick and Morty zeitgeist is has been how a lot of people idolise Rick (Justin Roiland) specifically when the show goes out of its way to show that he is not a good person and should not be idolized. Well, today we get another episode that reinforces this message.  

So to set the scene, we open with Rick and Morty (Justin Roiland) walking around a cave, but with weird face-hugging aliens … well over their faces as the name implies. There are walking with some damp slimy eggs when one of the tentacles of Morty’s alien catches on a stalagmite disgorging it and we discover that this is not a disguise they were being taken over. Two dead aliens, later they now need to escape, they just need to get through an entire civilization to do that. 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 – Rick and Morty: Never Ricking Morty

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TL;DR – One of the most Meta episodes of the show I have ever seen, and given that this is Rick and Morty that is saying something

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Rick and Morty: Never Ricking Morty. Image Credit: Netflix.

 Well, today we dive back into the world of Rick and Morty, a show that I have loved (see my review for Season Three) but it is also a show that I have developed an odd relationship with. This is because (and I am sorry but I am about to drop the D-word) a lot of the discourse around the show and a certain vocal minority of fans have created an unpleasant environment at times. The first part of Season Four kind of came and went for me, but now we are getting the second half of the season weekly, I thought it would be a good time to give it another go.

So to set the scene, we open in as a weary traveller hops on a train and gets his tickets stamped. He pulls up to the bar to get a drink, but all he gets is a story about how someone wants to kill Rick Sanchez (Justin Roiland). Suffering from one vignette to the next he escapes only to run into another traveller with the same problem and that is when things get weird (which for this show is saying something). 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 – Ali & Alia (علي وعليا)

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TL;DR – A difficult film to watch at times but an interesting look at power, addiction, family, and abuse.    

Score – 3 out of 5 stars

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

Warning – Depicts scenes of abuse

Ali & Alia. Image Credit: Number One Films.

Review –

I had realised that my drive to experience more of world cinema has taken a back seat for a while, so today I decided to change that. More than just change that, I thought it would be best to dive into a cinema I haven’t really explored before. As if on cue, Ali & Alia appeared and well one does not look providence in the face and then blink.   

So to set the scene, we open flying through a town until we land in a football field where two sides are drawn together in opposition. On one side is Ali (Khalifa Albahri) and on the other is Aboud (Mayed al Ali). What is the fight about, well we jump back a little time and we see the start of it all. One day as Ali is escorting Alia (Neven Madi) to the local clothes shop when he is accosted by a bunch of layabouts. Instead of standing up for himself, he says nothing. This upsets Alia because he is not acting like a man. This rebuke starts a spiral in Ali’s life that affects everyone around him.

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Movie Review – The Wrong Missy

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TL;DR – An interesting premise, but I don’t think the film ever lives up to it.    

Score – 3 out of 5 stars

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

The Wrong Missy. Image Credit: Netflix.

Review –

We have all sent a text message to the wrong person before and had that mortified realisation, well what would happen if you had made that wrong text and didn’t know about it. This is a really interesting set up for a film that gives you a lot of avenues to explore. Well, one of those avenues is hard MA15 comedy, which might not be my first choice but here we are today.

So, we open in on Tim (David Spade) as he is meeting someone on a first date only to find that the women he has been set up on a blind date with is married to Roman Reigns. Of course just before he gets his head beat in his real blind date Missy (Lauren Lapkus) pops in to tell him she set it all up. Well, the first date deteriorates from there and includes a short sword, an escape out of a bathroom window, and a broken ankle. Well three months after that disaster he is running through an airport when he collides into a woman called Missy (Molly Sims) in an airport and they immediately clicked together, the first person since his marriage fell apart. Well the company retreat is coming up and his ex-fiancé Julia (Sarah Chalke) is bringing her new beau Rich (Chris Witaske), so Tim takes a chance and invites Missy to Hawaii … and I think you can tell from the title what happens.

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Movie Review – Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs the Reverend

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TL;DR – A better use of the ‘choose your own adventure’ structure but it still shows the flaws with the design     

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene (bar playing the film again)

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs the Reverend. Image Credit: Netflix.

Review –

A while ago, Netflix dropped this weird little experiment onto its service, an episode of Black Mirror where you got to pick the direction of the story. Bandersnatch was an interesting experiment and a lot of people had fun with it but walked away from the experience feeling more than a little hollow. Well, Netflix has taken a second crack at the formula, this time with a show that could not be more different.

So to set the scene, Kimmy (Ellie Kemper) is getting married, since the end of the series, she has found love with the equally adorkable Prince Frederick (Daniel Radcliffe). Things are looking up and up for Kimmy, right until she discovers an old book in her backpack Lucy (Stephanie D’Abruzzo) of a chose your own adventure novel (foreshadowing). However, the book was loaned out from the library after she had been taken, so it could not be hers. Were there other kidnapped women out there? Well, there is only one person to ask … the Reverend (Jon Hamm) himself.

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Civilization VI: New Frontier Pass – Features Thread

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Civilization VI: New Frontier Pass. Image Credit: Firaxis Games.

In this thread we will be documenting all the new additions for Civilization VI in their New Frontier Pass.

This Features Thread is being complied for Civfanatics, head on over to the forums for all your Civilization discussions both for and also for games past.

TL;DR: There will be 6 packs of content, some of it will be paid DLC and some of it will be free content for players. Some of the new content will need to you have Rise and Fall installed, and some will need you to have Gathering Storm installed.

To jump to the different packs go to Maya and Gran Colombia Pack, June Update, Ethiopia Pack, August Update, Byzantium and Gaul Pack, October Update, Babylon Pack, December Update, Vietnam Pack, February Update, Portugal Update & April Update.

Throughout this thread, I will put links to Wikipedia articles about the different features, if you would like to know more.

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