Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Ad Astra per Aspera – TV Review

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TL;DR – An episode that wears its heart on its sleeve and leaves very little room to misinterpret the moral lesson it is exploring.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ streaming service that viewed this episode. 

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Review –

If there is one thing that Star Trek has always been is political. They were not subtle with it, given Let That Be Your Last Battlefield, to say the least. It has also been full of episodes based around trials that speak for their time, like The Measure of a Man. It is time for Strange New Worlds to take its take, and what a take it is.  

So to set the scene, back in Season One, we discovered that Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn) is actually an Illyrian who cannot serve in Starfleet due to their extensive genetic modifications. In the season finale, A Quality of Mercy, she was arrested. Sent to prison, she has been offered a deal that includes dishonourable dismissal. In The Broken Circle, Captain Pike (Anson Mount) has travelled to a planet in the Vaultera Nebula, where only Illyrians can live to meet with Neera Ketoul (Yetide Badaki) to be her lawyer. A last-ditch chance to save Una’s career. Now we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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No Hard Feelings – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While I appreciate that it is trying to have something to say about class relations and Jennifer Lawrence’s physical comedy chops, the narrative just didn’t land for me.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to see this film.

Jennifer Lawrence

No Hard Feelings Review –

Comedy films directed only at adults can be a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, they can go to extremes that you just can’t do in more family fair. However, it can just be an excuse to hit below the most common denominator. If you will be crass, you need to be at least thoughtful about it. Today we are looking at a film that is at least trying the latter.

So to set the scene, Maddie Barker (Jennifer Lawrence) is an Uber driver and waitress in the summer holiday town of Montauk, New York. While she lives in the house bought by her mother, she can’t afford the property tax that has dramatically excecated as all the rich people from New York come to buy summer homes. After having her car towed, her primary source of income, she is lost with what to do until she sees an ad in the paper. Laird (Matthew Broderick) and Allison Becker (Laura Benanti) are concerned about their son Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman), who is primarily a recluse. Percy is going to Princeton next year, and they fear he will not survive. So, they are paying Maddie with a car to “Date” their son and get him out of his shell.

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Secret Invasion: Resurrection – TV Review

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TL;DR – This first episode is a bit of a mood introduction for the series, preparing you for where things will go.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Fury arrives back on Earth.

Secret Invasion Review –

When people wondered where the MCU could go after Endgame, one of the most mentioned storylines had to be Secret Wars. So you can understand there was quite a reaction when it was finally announced. Even more so, you realise that they have been seeding this story since Captain Marvel and Spider-Man: Far From Home. Now it is here, and we get to see how well this franchise can jump back into the spy/espionage genre.

So to set the scene, we open in Moscow as Agent Ross (Martin Freeman) walks through a night as society starts to fray when he meets an agent Prescott (Richard Dormer), who thinks that Skrulls are trying to take over the Earth with targeted terrorist attacks. With a warning that an attack is coming that “will set the world on fire”, and then Prescott attacks Ross. Flying through the streets of Moscow, Agent Hill (Cobie Smulders) tries to get Ross an evacuation, only to discover all is not what it seems. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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PAX Australia 2022 & Melbourne Day 4 & 5 – Explore-It

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TL;DR – We dive into PAX properly and discover all the new indies out there.

Disclosure – I paid for all products featured or mentioned here.

Set Phasers to 'Fun'

PAX Australia & Melbourne Day 4 & 5 –

The Yara River
The Yara River.

Well, it may be almost a year late, but we are finally getting to the end of our PAX 2022 series with a look at the final days. It was the last day of PAX Aus, and for the first time, I actually took the time to stop and have a decent breakfast down by the river as the morning Sun warmed off the previous night’s rain. It was a beautiful day by any standards, but apparently quite good for Melbourne’s sometimes temperamental weather.  

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Mapping the Transformers Series – Map-It

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TL;DR – We map the many locations featured in Transformers, including that one time that all the Transformers went on holiday to Havana for some reason.  

Optimus Prime.

Mapping Transformers –

With the release of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, I decided it was a good time to go back and look at the Transformers Series as a whole. There are some areas where it is still the trailblazer it was and others that have aged, as well as blue cheese, left out in the summer sun. You can read it all HERE.

However, as I started this process, I wondered how global the series got, given its first very American focus and then that odd moment when China was bribing good coverage in Hollywood. Before I knew it, a map was being made, and it might have been the best part of looking back.  

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Silo: Hanna – TV Review

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TL;DR – After some meandering around, we start making a run to the end of the season.   

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Apple TV+ service that viewed this series.

An underground corn field.

Silo Review –

When we last reviewed Silo with Truth, it was setting up this world of mystery and intrigue, and then it proceeded to meander around for the last couple of episodes, which was fine but didn’t quite capture me in the way those opening episodes did. Well, now we are at the pointy end of the season, and the plot has picked back up as we dive back under the surface to a world on the cusp of falling apart.

So to set the scene, in The Flamekeepers, Juliette Nichols discovers that a group of people have tried to keep information from before the rebellion. With a secret book that shows that the is/was a world outside of the Silo, and it was full of expansive beauty. Alas, Juliette did not notice that the flowers had been removed from her mirror, so now Robert Sims (Common) and the others also know that she knows. But as she tries to find out who is moving people from behind the scenes, Juliette discovers that Judge Meadows (Tanya Moodie) might not be the villain she expected her to be. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Extraction 2 – Movie Review

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TL;DR – It might not stick the landing, but it was a good action romp until then.

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.

Chris Hemsworth stare down in an elevator.

Extraction 2 Review –

When I watched the first Extraction, I found it to be a film that barely had a working narrative, with just enough connective tissue to move from action set piece to action set piece. But each action set piece was strong enough to carry the film to its conclusion. But given the first film went to 100% and stayed there, was there room for them to go any further in the sequel? This is the question I sought to find out when I sat down to watch Extraction 2.  


So to set the scene, Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) is feared dead until he washes ashore on a river in Bangladesh, barely clinging to life. He is medically evacuated to Dubai, where they can save his life, but Tyler is faced with an immense mountain of physical therapy because of his wounds and is unsure if he has the strength to make it through it. In Kojori, Georgia, local underworld figure Zurab’s (Tornike Gogrichiani) brother Davit’s (Tornike Bziava) prison sentence was extended, and Zurab is murdering the local governor kind of upset. Nik Kahn (Golshifteh Farahani) and her brother Yaz Kahn (Adam Bessa) set Tyler up in a cabin on the side of a lake in Gmunden, Austria, to try and give him some drive to recover. When Alcott (Idris Elba) gives him a mission, he has to get his sister-in-law, Davit’s wife Ketevan (Tinatin Dalakishvili), and her children out of the prison that Davit has locked them up in. It is a simple mission. What could go wrong?    

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Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant (The Covenant) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A solid action film that knows how to craft tension from its narrative and musical score.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

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

Looking down a crosshair.

The Covenant Review –

When it comes to war films, the more straightforward the narrative, the defined sides, and the motivations, the more likely a movie will be made. This is why there are more WW2 films than, say, Vietnam. In modern times, it has been a struggle to depict the war in Afghanistan, with the gung-ho narrative falling flat, given how easily the Taliban retook the country back. Any film exploring this terrain needs to work through a myriad of complexities. Which is what the movie we are looking at today at least attempts.     

So to set the scene, in the aftermath of 9/11, America invaded Afghanistan in 2001. It is now March 2018 in Lashkar Gah. Where Master Sgt. John Kinley (Jake Gyllenhaal), Staff Sergeant Charlie ‘Jizzy’ Crow (Sean Sagar), Joshua ‘JJ’ Jung (Jason Wong), Jack’ Jack Jack’ Jackson (James Nelson-Joyce), Sergeant First Class Kawa Mawlayee (Kawa Mawlayee), Eduardo’ Chow Chow’ Lopez (Christian Ochoa Lavernia), Tom’ Tom Cat’ Hancock (Rhys Yates), are all inspecting vehicles at a checkpoint, when one of the trucks explodes. Returning to Bagram Air Base, they pick up their new interpreter Ahmed (Dar Salim). Their team is meant to be looking for Taliban weapon caches or IED factories, but after striking out the official way, they start taking unofficial measures, which is when things turn sideways.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Broken Circle – TV Review

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TL;DR – is a good grounding for the rest of the season while being an excellent adventure romping through the quadrant.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ streaming service that viewed this episode. 

Cajitar IV

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Review –

Last year we got one of my recent joys was discovering the first season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. I have been enjoying this new batch of Star Trek, but this hit something a little special. I loved the wild swings in the genres that we got, some truly spectacular effects, and some solid character work. It was a new high watermark for modern Science Fiction, and I am glad we are jumping back into it today.

So to set the scene, the USS Enterprise is back in Spacedock for a complete refurbishment and inspection after everything it has been through. Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) has gone on leave to find someone to defend Commander Una ‘Number One’ Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn), who is still under arrest for lying on her Starfleet application. He leaves Spock (Ethan Peck) in charge and tells him not to worry because what can happen in Spacedock? Fast forward to Ensign Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) getting a secret message from La’an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) that there is a danger on a planet on the Klingon border, and it could be a problem for the whole Federation. 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 Flash – Movie Review

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TL;DR – Through all its pre-production issues, the final product is a blast of fun, but I am not sure it would have the staying power on repeat watches.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

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

The Flash running at speed.

The Flash Review –

We are entering quite a tricky period for Superhero films. While they have been the dominant media property over the last decade, the shine is starting to come off the genre. While we will probably not see the great Western collapse again, how many players does the industry have room for? Can you still engage with a property you know is about to be rebooted? And can multiverses still work? These are some of the questions we will look at with our review of The Flash today.

So to set the scene, Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) is living his life as part of the Justice League, but not as a leading figure as we see when Alfred (Jeremy Irons) calls him up before his morning breakfast to help clean up some of Batman’s (Ben Affleck) mess in Gotham City. But while he is very good at catching babies, the main issue in his life is trying to get his father, Henry (Ron Livingston), out of jail. He is serving a life sentence for murdering his wife, and Barry’s mother, Nora (Maribel Verdú), something Barry knows his dad did not do, but no one listened to him because he was just a kid at the time. In his frustration, Barry runs so fast that he breaches the speed of light and begins to transverse back and forwards in time, and surely nothing bad can happen from that.  

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