Map-It – Worth-It – 2023

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TL;DR – We map out every restaurant featured on About To Eat’s Worth-It

Image Credit: Buzzfeed.

Map-It – Worth-It –

Over the years, I have enjoyed a show on YouTube with a unique simple premise, but one crafted to perfection. The show’s hosts, Steven Lim and Andrew Ilnyckyj, along with Adam Bianchi and others, visit three restaurants based around a theme like Breakfast Sandwiches, Korean Soup, or Fried Chicken, to name a few. Each restaurant is categorised into three groups, and at the end of the show, they all come together to see which was the most ‘worth it’ for the asking price.

In the before times, we put together a map of all the restaurants that the show had visited. However, with the announcement that this current season would be the show’s last, it was the right time to return to the map and give it the update it needed.

Image Credit: Buzzfeed.
There is so much amazing chicken in this show. Image Credit: Buzzfeed.
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Air – Movie Review

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TL;DR – This is both a well-acted and constructed film while also being one of the weirdest premises that I have ever seen for a biopic

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to see this film

Ben Affleck looks out a window

Air Review –

There are many feelings that you may want to elicit from your audience as they walk out of the cinema. It could be triumph, anger, joy, or even deep sadness. But today was a new one because I had never felt peculiar and odd when I walked out of the cinema before. A feeling of ‘well, that was fine … but what was that for?’. Well, this is the film that we look at today.

So to set the scene, it is 1984, and while the general Nike brand is doing well, their basketball division is in the slumps. No matter what they do, they can’t outperform Converse or Adidas, grabbing a measly 17% market share. It is so bad there is a strong suggestion they should shut this down entirely and focus on jogging where they make bank. Well, Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) has the plan to fix that. It just happens to be targeting the unobtainable Michael Jordan (Damian Delano Young). But Michael’s mother, Deloris (Viola Davis), his agent David Falk (Chris Messina), the other two companies, and even Sonny’s boss Phil Knight (Ben Affleck), might have a different view on the matter.

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Star Trek: Picard – Surrender – TV Review

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TL;DR – This week’s episode had me on the edge of my seat for the entire runtime

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

The Shrike looms over the Titan.

Star Trek: Picard Review –

There is an art to naming an episode. You want it to be relevant, and the more esoteric, the more disconnected you leave your audience. Indeed, Chuck famously titled all their episodes a version of Chuck Versus the Colonel for that reason. However, you can’t be too literal with the title because why watch a show when you already know what will happen. The goldilocks of episode titles are those that are relatively straightforward but then can have multiple meanings. This is what we get this week with Surrender.

So to set the scene, well, things are actually at the darkest [I hope] for the crew of the USS Titan-A. Because in last week’s Dominion, Seven (Jeri Ryan) didn’t sacrifice Shaw (Todd Stashwick), Vadic (Amanda Plummer) was able to storm the bridge and take over the ship. She is looking for Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) and is now using the crew as pawns to lure him out of hiding. Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Crusher (Gates McFadden) do not want him to turn himself in, knowing they will destroy the Titan once they have their prey. But that is easy to say but hard to do when you hear the voices of the crew being killed around you. 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 Super Mario Bros. Movie – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While frustrating in more places than it should be, it shines when it lands on the fun.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I was invited to a screening of this film

Bowser arrives.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie Review –

When this film was first announced, you could feel a general odd bemusement permeate through the internet, with relocations back to the last time they tried this in live action [a film that I have fond remembrances of, but that might be just the distance of time and youth as I have not seen it in decades]. That amusement was only highlighted when the lead cast was announced. A feeling that was only slightly abated when the first trailers landed. However, 2023 has been the year for good video game adaptations, so maybe this could work … maybe.

So to set the scene, Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are two brothers that have just started their own plumbing company in Brooklyn and Queens. They are trying to make a name for themselves when a water main bursts, and only they can fix it. But as they go underground to find the source, they stumble across a giant green pipe lying open. What harm could that do? Was the thought right before both brothers were sucked into a new world, one full of mushrooms and the other dark and foreboding.

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The Mandalorian: Chapter 22 (Guns For Hire) – TV Review

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TL;DR – While we may have started ticking off some side quests, if you are going to do that, you should at least make them as fun as this.   

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Plazir-15

The Mandalorian Review –

I have not been sure how to feel about this season of The Mandalorian, and viewing statistics has shown that I am not alone on this front. This week’s episode does not help that feeling in any way. But in all its weirdness, it might have at least found something weird and wonderful.

So to set the scene, at the end of The Pirate, Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff) was given a mission to go out into the universe and gather all the disparate Mandalorian groups and bring them back together. The first stop on this quest is the outer-rim planet Plazir-15, where a group led by her former crew member Axe Woves (Simon Kassianides) is located. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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John Wick: Chapter 4 (JW4) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – In many respects, this is the best John Wick film so far, or at least it would be if the action scenes were a touch more restrained in their length      

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to see this film

John walks into a cathedral.

John Wick: Chapter 4 Review –

If there has been one series that has captured my attention in the last decade, it is the Jon Wick films. John Wick: Chapter 1 was an explosive surprise that shifted what action films could do in the modern era. John Wick: Chapter 2 took the world and expanded it in every way. While John Wick: Chapter 3 pumped everything up to eleven. Could they keep ramping up each time? Well, let’s see.

So to set the scene, after Winston Scott (Ian McShane) betrays John Wick (Keanu Reeves), shoots him in the chest and throws him off the Continental’s roof, it looks like the end for John. Well, until he is found by the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne), who is very happy helping John with his revenge mission. But revenge often comes with its own retribution, and The Table strikes back hard and without mercy. Because, as they say, revenge is a dish best served cold or via dog attack. It is one of them.    

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Star Trek: Picard – Dominion – TV Review

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TL;DR – It does what Star Trek does best and explores complex morality problems as the world implodes around them.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

A nebular.

Star Trek: Picard Review –

Can you make someone have a moral quandary in the middle of an action scene? That feels almost like an area that few would dare to tread, but where else will you learn about someone as well as you can when you have engaged them in a dance of battle? Whatever the case, this week brings emotions to the fore, or is that to the Lore?

So to set the scene, the USS Titan-A is all alone but with the knowledge that there is a conspiracy that has gone to the top of Starfleet as the Changelings are out for revenge. The crew is trying to find allies that are left out there when Seven (Jeri Ryan) gets in contact with her old crewmate Tuvok (Tim Russ), but the reach of the Changelings is extensive, and time is running out. Which means that maybe it is time to throw the hail Mary. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.      

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Civilization VI: Leader Pass – Full Map – Map-It

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TL;DR – Every single feature of Civilization VI (at the time of posting) in one Map, featuring the new additions from the Leaders Pass.

Civ 6 Mapped –

Well, back when I finished the New Frontier’s Pass Map, I had assumed that this was the final entry into the Civilization VI map series that we started all the way back in 2017. However, here we are in 2023 with some new additions.

To be clear, there are no significant updates, but that completionist side of me could not let it lie. With this update, several cities are being upgraded to capitals and some new additions to the city list, including the addition of Munich, which has appeared on people’s city lists for Germany since the start but is only appearing today.    

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The Mandalorian: Chapter 21 (The Pirate) – TV Review

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TL;DR – A fun return to form, with two adventures romping across the galaxy.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Navarro

The Mandalorian Review –

The Mandalorian has come from a long line of inspirations encompassing grand space operas, the gun-slinging westerns, and the samurai dramas of Japan. When the show taps into these elements, it always shines. This is good because that is the episode we get today.

So to set the scene, Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) has been busy as Magistrate of Navarro building the planet up as an independent trade location outside of the New Republic and Imperial Remnant control. He was nearly getting it self-sufficient when the pirate Gorian Shard (Nonso Anozie) descended in his corvette and rained fire on the town. With nowhere else to turn, Greef calls out to Carson Teva (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) for help, but maybe the New Republic is too tied up with its own problems at the moment. 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 Portable Door – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A delightful romp through a world where coincidence can be bought and manipulated.     

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film

The portable door.

The Portable Door Review –

Few things get me into the cinema as quickly as ‘made by The Jim Henson Company’. No matter what they are involved in, you know it will be fascinating to watch. But add in some lovely Magical Realism and a cast of zany characters, and you have a must-watch.

So to set the scene, Paul Carpenter (Patrick Gibson) is down on his luck and trying to find a job to pay the bills before he gets kicked out of his flat. All he has to do is get to the café. What could go wrong? Well, everything, apparently. Both shoelaces might break, the trousers might have a stain, and a dog might run off with your scarf. But what if, coincidentally, running after the dog, you find a small door for applicants, and what if you find yourself in the company JW Wells and Co that is expecting you even though you never applied for something? But what if, in that interview, you notice that the cracks in the wall remarkably resemble a map of London? You might find yourself employed by a company that believes that coincidence can be manipulated and controlled.   

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