TV Review – Star Trek Discovery: Season 1; Chapter 1

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TL;DR – A fascinating start to the new show, and a great platform to develop and move forward with.

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

Star Trek Discovery

Review –

So today we are going to take a quick look back at Chapter One of Star Trek: Discovery’s first season. Look to be honest, straight from the start I am just glad that I get to talk about Star Trek, and not just Star Trek, but really good Star Trek to boot, and I’ve not really been able to say that since Deep Space Nine. In our review today what I want to do it take a moment to look at four facets of Chapter One that I found really interesting, the story, the enemies, the technology, and then talk a bit about the future. Now let’s dive in and take a look at the story, and of course, because we are looking at this part of the season as a whole, there will [SPOILERS] here, so proceed with caution if you have not watched the whole season. To read our reviews of each of the episodes of Season One so far: See Here.

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Movie Review – The Villainess (Ak-Nyeo, 악녀)

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TL;DR – Some of the most fascinating actions sequences I have ever seen, sandwiched between one of the dullest stories I have ever watched. I don’t think I have reviewed a film with such extremes in quality before, it was both fascinating and disappointing all at once.

Score – 2.5 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – No

The Villainess (Ak-Nyeo, 악녀). Image Credit: Well Go.

Review –

Wow, I don’t think I have ever come across a film like The Villainess before that had the ability to both deeply interest me and also deeply bore me all in the same film. In a story of two halves, you have some of the most fascinating action sequences I have ever seen put to film, and in the other half a spy revenge tale that was just a slog to get through. On the one hand, having such a discrepancy is interesting to talk about, but also it was really frustrating because you could see such potential squandered so badly.

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Movie Review – The Greatest Showman

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TL;DR – They are clearly going for heart-warming, and they mostly succeed, however, the predictable story and character arcs leave a lot to be desired.

Score – 3 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – No

The Greatest Showman. Image Credit: 20th Century Fox.

Review –

So this one sort of snuck up on me at the end of the year. I didn’t really have much of an intention to go see it, but it was cheap Tuesday and I was there, so what the hell, and I am mostly glad I did … maybe. For one, this is a musical, a genre that you don’t see on the big screen that often anymore, so that’s refreshing. It also has a cast that is giving their all to this movie and it shows, but you can’t help having some issues with it as you walked out of the cinemas.

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TV Review – Black Mirror: USS Callister

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TL;DR – This is a bleak dissection of fan culture and what would happen if you were given ultimate power, and it is a problem we need to talk about

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

USS Callister

Review –

So Black Mirror is one of those shows I have heard about and had full intentions to give it a watch, but whenever I went to take a look something else came up. Well, Season Four just came out on Netflix, so now is the best time to dive in. It does help that their first episode is examining the fan culture created around science fiction shows like Star Trek, a subject very dear to my heart. Now of course, just like I had been warned Black Mirror then took a knife and stabbed it in my heart and then held up a mirror to show me that I was the one doing it, so some complicated emotions happened during the watching of this episode. Look this is one of those episodes where it is best to go in knowing as little as possible and even my setting the scene is probably too much. So quickly before we move on, the acting is superb, they capture the essence of classic Trek warts and all, and it has something very important to say about how we relate to the media we consume, especially power fantasies. I do recommend.

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Movie Review – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

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TL;DR – It is a heart-breaking story of broken people trying to find hope, justice, belonging in a deeply broken world.

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Image Credit: Fox Searchlight.

Review –

What would you do when your daughter is brutally murdered and the police either can’t or won’t find her killer? This is the question Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri askes. What do you do when the power structures that are there to protect you, instead fail over and over again? Add to this living in a small town where everyone knows everyone, and people are not ready to question the power structure that they live in. All of this creates a powerful world to tell a story of broken people trying to do their best in a broken system and it was fascinating to watch. So today we are going to look at the acting and set the scene, though towards the end of the review we are going to talk about the film’s ending, so be prepared for some spoilers incoming. Also before I start, I’m not a big fan of warnings really, that’s what movie ratings are for, but I will say if you are someone who struggles with their physiological health, then you may want to read up on some of the content of this film before you go see it. This is because there are some things that are depicted quite graphically, and if you are concerned please talk to a trained professional.

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Movie Review – Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

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TL;DR – This film is an hour and a half of pure fun, and probably the first video game film to work in a very long time, and some of the best casting I have seen in a while

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle. Image Credit: Sony.

Review –

So to be honest right from the start this was a bit of a surprise. It has not been a good year for remakes in 2017, for example, The Mummy (see review) or the Ghost in the Shell (see review) all fell a bit flat on release. Add to this, it has been over twenty years since the first film, and all the information in the lead up to its release did not display Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle in a flattering light at all. Indeed, it felt like this was going to be another case of reheating an old franchise rather than trying to do something new, and we are getting a bit tired of this. However, none of this came to pass, instead what we got was a fun romp through the jungle, with superb casting, and sense of knowing exactly what it wanted to do and succeeding in it.

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Movie Review – Star Wars: The Last Jedi

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TL;DR – The Last Jedi is charting its own story and this is where its strengths and faults lie.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Star Wars The Last Jedi. Image Credit: Disney/Lucasarts.

Review –

Ok here we go, I didn’t think The Last Jedi was a fantastic film, nor did I think it was a really bad film. It was a film which had some aspects that really worked and some things that just didn’t, which made it a fascinating film to watch. However, this was also a problem for me because I wasn’t sure just how I felt about this film, and indeed for the first time this year, I actually went and saw the film twice before writing my review because I wanted to be sure about my feelings. Now in today’s review, I am going to set the scene and then give a general overview, and then we are going to go full spoiler with my analysis.

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TV Review – Ultimate Beastmaster: Season 2 (No Surrender)

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TL;DR – The second outing is a much more streamlined production, learning from the mistakes from the first season, but falls a bit in its casting.

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

Ultimate Beastmaster Season 2

Review –

So at the start of the year a small little gem dropped on Netflix called Ultimate Beastmaster, a show clearly inspired by Ninja Warrior but with a big twist. This time around it was a multi-national competition with competitors and hosts from six different countries, with each country getting a different final cut. Some hailed it as the beginning for a new age of global television, I wouldn’t go that far, but it was a nifty concept. Well, it is the end of the year and Netflix has given us a little end of year surprise with Season 2 dropping much earlier than I expected it to. So today we are going to take a look at the highs and lows of Season 2 of Ultimate Beastmaster.

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TV Review – Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time

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TL;DR – The beginning of the end, and the start of the new beginning, this shows what Doctor Who can be when it is firing on all cylinders.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Review –

Twice Upon A Time banner

It is the end of an era as Peter Capaldi and Steven Moffat say goodbye to Doctor Who (this is not a spoiler because this was announced 6 months ago) but while it is the end, it is also the start, and that is what is amazing about Doctor Who. So today we look at the last story of the Twelfth Doctor, and a new story of the First Doctor, and also the first story of the Thirteenth Doctor, it was a packed episode.

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Article – Crash Course in Christian Music for Christmas Time

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Crash Course in Christian Music for Christmas Time

TL;DR – Getting you ready for waling into a unknown church this holiday season

Article –

So it is that time of year again, when people are flying back to their parent’s homes, or staying with friends and whether by design or surprise they may find themselves heading off to an unfamiliar Church for some kind of Christmas service.

Like all social institutions Churches have their own rituals and formats, and so can end up being daunting Matrix slow-mo bullet dodging exercise trying not to look like a fool, but this where we are here to help. Indeed you may get lucky and all they will sing is Christmas carols that you are used to, unless you work in retail in which case this might be the opposite of lucky for you.

But today we will go through a selection (not all) of the types of music you are likely to encounter these holidays so that you can be better prepared for what is coming. So let us begin.

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