The Penguin: After Hours – TV Review

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TL;DR – This was a fantastic opening episode that captivates us with its character work and worldbuilding as we dive back into the deep end of the Gotham underworld.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Binge service that viewed this series.

Oz looks out on the rising sun.

The Penguin Review –

Back when the DCEU started to fracture, we got a bunch of interesting works, as it felt like people were rushing to stake a claim over parts of the DC canon. One of those productions, now relabelled as an ‘Elseworld’, was The Batman, probably one of the better looks at the caped crusader on the big screen. I quite enjoyed the romp through Gotham City and how much the cast threw themselves into the roles. Well, today, we get to jump back into that world as we see the aftermath of what happens when a power vacuum is created.

So, to set the scene, one of the casualties of the calamity that occurred in the conflict between Batman and The Riddler was the death of Gotham’s main crime boss, Falcone (Mark Strong). Overnight, the stable criminal underworld of Gotham was through into chaos as every person with an inch of criminal credibility started to claim new turf. It is a gold rush across the streets of Gotham, but one of the leading contenders is Oswald Cobblepot (Colin Farrell). If the world can take him seriously that is. Though, you should underestimate The Penguin at your own peril.   

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Agatha All Along: Circle Sewn With Fate / Unlock Thy Hidden Gate – TV Review

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TL;DR – It was time for Agatha to get the gang back together, that is, if she had ever had a gang before.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this film.

Teen looking out with a gag on.

Agatha All Along Review –

Well, I was not sure what to expect when I sat down to watch the first outing of Agatha All Along, but the first episode, Seekest Thou the Road, was kind of a blast. But that left me with some high expectations for the follow-up. Thankfully, with some clever cast compositions, I think this might have landed even better.

So, to set the scene, after Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) gets her memory back but not her mojo, she is hit with a realisation: she has less than a day to live. Some very powerful people are after her, and thanks to a snitch witch, they know where Agatha is and that she has lost her power. What do you do in a situation like this? Well, maybe it is time to get a temporary coven together, but then Agatha is not historically known for playing well with others. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.    

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Agatha All Along: Seekest Thou the Road – TV Review

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TL;DR – This was a fascinatingly weird start to the series that hit the end of the episode with the gusto it needed to move forward.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this film.

Based on the Danish Series WandaVisdysen.

Agatha All Along Review –

I’ll be honest: I didn’t think we would ever come back to Westview with all the changes and realignments of the MCU in recent years. I loved the promise that WandaVision presented, even if I don’t think it stuck the ending. But in this world, it was clear that Kathryn Hahn was a real presence as Agatha, and when it was announced we were going back, I hoped we would get something as boisterous as it could be, and I think we might just get that.

So, to set the scene, Agnes (Kathryn Hahn) is a local detective in Westview and is arriving at a peculiar murder scene because a young lady from Eastern Europe has seemingly landed in a riverbed without disturbing a single leaf. This frustrates Agnes because there is something there, something she can’t quite put her finger on. But her life takes a turn when the Feds (Aubrey Plaza) arrive. Because no one wants the Feds snooping around your case because things tend to go wrong. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.    

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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Halls of Stone – TV Review

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TL;DR – A Tail of Two Narratives, one compelling, one fraught with simplicity.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this episode.

A pouting high king.

The Rings of Power Review –

Hmmm, we are now five episodes in and after last week’s Eldest and this week’s outing, it is clear that some fracture lines are appearing this season. On the one hand, we have story points that are engaging and bringing me into this world. And on the other hand, there are narratives that I might want to fast forward through if I give in to the whispers.

So, to set the scene in the halls of Khazad-dûm, food is starting to get scarce as the miners continue to struggle to build new light shafts after the previous shafts were destroyed in the aftermath of Mt Doom erupting. However, while there has been little headway made, Durin III (Peter Mullan) has a new tool, a ring from Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) that whispers in his ear and tells him where to dig. Durin IV is not sure of it, but when they strike light, it is surely proof that it is real? I mean, it is not like there is a sinister undertone going on here at all. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Kid Snow – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While it is an interesting scenario, and the cast is giving their all, you just can’t quite shake the feeling that the movie never finds its feet.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Warning – contains scenes that include multiple flashing lights.

Kid Snow and Lizard run up a hill.

Kid Snow Review –

There are a lot of factors that go into making a good film: the cast, the story, the idea, the production, or even the budget. While you don’t have to get all of them right, it does help because just one of these factors can hold a film back from its full potential. Today, we look at a movie that excels in many of these points, but the one that holds it back is like an anchor dragging along the ocean shore.

So, to set the scene, it is 1971, and in the small towns across the deep Outback of Australia, there is a rolling fair that comes to town, including a boxing ring. Run by Rory (Tom Bateman) and headlined by his brother Kid Snow (Billy Howle), along with a motley of other performers, they charge money to get the locals to fight them. If they win, there are riches, but let’s be honest: no one ever wins. This was going well, okay, at least they were surviving, but when Hammer (Tristan Gorey), a ghost from Kid Snow’s past and current Australian champion, returns to challenge him to a boxing match for real money, there is a chance of him reclaiming his past. But it might be the arrival of Sunny (Phoebe Tonkin) into their lives on the same night that will have more of an impact on their futures.     

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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Eldest – TV Review

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TL;DR – It does still feel like we are spinning our wheels a little bit, but this episode did work a bit better, if for no other reason than the return of old friends.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this episode.

Lindon on a map of Middle Earth.

The Rings of Power Review –

For most of the start of the second season of The Rings of Power, I was riding on a high. It was just such a joy to be back in this world and exploring Middle Earth again. However, last week’s The Eagle and the Sceptre put a slight pause on the festivities as it bogged down in storylines that didn’t help push it forward. The question we look at this week is: Was that just a blip in the road, or was it the start of a trend?

So, to set the scene, after hearing worrying silence from Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards), a party of elves has been sent south from Lindon to see what might have happened and to make sure Sauron (Charlie Vickers) has not established influence there. Spoiler alert: he already has. However, it is not Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) who leads this expedition; it is Elrond (Robert Aramayo) who is profoundly suspicious of the ring that now lives on Galadriel’s finger. He fears that it will be a source of evil, but it might just be saving their lives. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Sector 36 – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A fascinating exploration of the interception of power, corruption, and serving the community, and how all of that can be shaped by self-interest.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

Warning – Contains Scenes that may cause distress.

Mission Children Posters.

Sector 36 Review –

Corruption is one of the worst sins that a public official could do because their job is to uphold the people under their care, and when they obfuscate that sacred oath for money, power, or friendship, everyone suffers. Corruption can happen anywhere, but what happens when you target the most vulnerable members of society who have even less of a voice than ever? Well, you have a recipe for disaster.   

So, set the scene, in Section 36 of Delhi, works Sub Inspector Ram Charan Pandey (Deepak Dobriyal), a thoroughly corrupt police officer. Who is more interested in lecturing people on the Third Law of Motion than actually helping people. But when a girl’s hand turns up in the sewers, it puts into focus that there is a killer on the loose, not that the police want that. But that is what Prem Singh (Vikrant Massey) is doing, focusing on the most vulnerable members of society. He would have continued to get away with it, given the police’s incompetence, but one day, he tries to take the daughter of someone important, and ignorance is no longer an option.  

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Officer Black Belt (Mudosilmugwan/무도실무관) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While the action scenes hit, unfortunately, we get a tonally confused film that never quite finds its feet.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Police Car in the rain.

Officer Black Belt Review –

Today, we are looking at a fascinating film that, for all its strengths, never quite came together. Conceptionally, you have an interesting story, the scenario is solid, your leading man is charismatic, and you are exploring an essential area in society. However, even with that strong foundation, what happens when you don’t land the tone? Well, that is what we will explore today.

So, to set the scene, Lee Jung-do (Kim Woo-Bin), who loves the competition that comes with sporting achievement, will try every martial art, race to deliver food orders, even dabble in some esports, anything he can find ‘fun’. He works so hard at this that he has multiple black belts across numerous disciplines. When Jung-do saves a police officer from being attacked by a former prisoner, he is propositioned by Kim Sun-Min (Kim Sung-Kyun) in the Seoul Probation Office to become a Martial Arts Officer to help monitor released felons and intervene if they re-offend. It is a job where you sit around, not doing much, interspersed with high action.

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Runt – Movie Review

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TL;DR – It is a delightfully fun film that gets a bit preachy at times and a little unhinged in places.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid and end-credit stinger.

Runt – I paid to watch this film

A dog running through an agility course.

Runt Review –

There are a lot of things that can make a film Australian: its setting, its production, and the governmental jump ropes it needs to skip through to get funding. There are some films that, even if you removed the drone shots, pans over wheat fields, and set it in a small rural town, you would still know it was Australian, just because of the vibes. Today, we look at a film that is just that, Australian to its very core.

So, to set the scene, the Shearer family lives in the small Western Australian town of Upson Downs. One day, the daughter Annie (Lily LaTorre) found a stray mutt called Runt (Squid). She brought him home, and he soon became an integral part of the family. However, the town has been in drought for 375 days, and local rich snob Earl Robert-Barren (Jack Thompson) took all the local river water for his dam. Life is tight for the Shearers, with Bryan (Jai Courtney) and Susie (Celeste Barber) struggling to pay the overdraft on their overdraft, and her brother Max’s (Jack LaTorre) stunt video channel has not really taken off. However, one day, when Annie sees the canine agility course at the local fair with a cash prize, she sees a way to help her family. The only problem is that Runt does not like to perform when anyone but Annie is watching.

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Transformers One – Movie Review

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TL;DR – By taking the series back to the basics, they found the core of what makes Transformers so compelling.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

The surface of Cybertron.

Transformers One Review –

If there has been one modern series that I have had such a mixed experience with, it is Transformers. For every Bumblebee, we get a Dark of the Moon and more. But thanks to those cartoons of my youth, including Beast Wars, I still have a deep fondness for the series and always turn up to see if this is the film where they nail it. Today, we are shifting things up with a new animated film that goes all the way back to the start, to a time when there were no Autobots and Decepticons.  

So, to set the scene, a long time ago, on a planet far, far, away, we are introduced to two miners deep in the depths of Cybertron. For millenniums, Energon ran freely on the planet. Still, after a disastrous battle with the killed all the Primes bar Sentinel Prime (Jon Hamm), and the Matrix of Leadership was lost, the wells dried up, and now nearly everyone has to delve into the dangerous mines to keep the city of Iocon running. While Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth) is just a miner who does not even have a cog to let them transform, he dreams of finding the Matrix of Leadership and saving the city. This gets him in trouble quite a bit, and he often needs to get bailed out by his best friend, D-16 (Brian Tyree Henry). But when the pair get banished to the basement depths of the city, they stumble across an old beacon being unknowingly kept by B-127 (Keegan-Michael Key). They have a choice: do nothing or risk going onto the dangerous surface and changing their lives forever.     

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