Hit Man – Movie Review

TL;DR – A wild film with commitment in the subtext, the literal text, and also a promise to the audience.

Rating: 4.5 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.

Gary just got promoted.

Hit Man Review

There has been a lot of talk about who is going to be the next leading man in Hollywood. Indeed, I think the last person to claim that honestly might have been Tom Cruise, maybe Robby Downer Jr., but then the question is always who is going to fill that role in the near future. When it came to raw power, we have seen that Glen Powell has that in spades, but does he have the range? Well, that is the question I think we will get an answer about today.   
So to set the scene, Gary Johnson (Glen Powell) is the epitome of a mild-mannered professor. Who spends the day teaching psychology and philosophy and nights feeding his cats. Oh, and he just shop happens to have a side hustle working undercover for the New Orleans Police Department. Traditionally, he stayed in the van working on all the tech stuff he installed. Still, one day, when the undercover officer Jasper (Austin Amelio) was not able to make it, his boss Claude (Retta) was out of options. In a moment, Gary was a hitman for hire. At least, that is what he pretends to be.  

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Andor (Star Wars: Andor): Season 1 – TV Review

TL;DR – Some of the best Star Wars I have seen since the original trilogy.  

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

Post-Credit Scene – There is a Post-Credit scene at the end of Rix Road.

A star destroyer a[[ears over the skies of Aldhani

Andor Review

When I heard that they would do a prequel to Rogue One, which was already a prequel to the Original Trilogy, I was concerned. Add to that, it was going to be based on Andor, a character I wouldn’t say I liked all that much in Rogue One, and concern moved to real hesitancy. However, when I sat down to watch the first episode, Kassa, I knew instantly how wrong I was and what a ride it was.  

So to set the scene, on a dark and rainy night, we see Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) make his way across a boardwalk to the glittering city Morlana One, part of the Preox-Morlana Corporate Zone in the Morlani system. He is going to the ‘leisure district’ to find out any information about his missing sister when two local security forces or Corpos accost him. Taking his leave, Andor returns to his ship when the two Corpos accost him again, not willing to leave him alone. But this time, there are lethal consequences. Now from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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Andor (Star Wars: Andor): That Would Be Me – TV Review

TL;DR – While building on the suspense, you need to be prepared for a slow burn

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

A ship comes into land at Ferrix.

Andor Review

While the era of binging of new content might be over, there have been lessons learned and one of them we see here. You want to have a weekly discussion about your show while still having that event day experience. Andor follows the lead of shows like The Boys and lands both those aspects, which is why we can look at Episode 2 today.  

So to set the scene, Andor (Diego Luna) is in a bit of strife as a trip to Morlana One turned bad as two local Corpos tried to rough him up and ended up dead. Knowing that time is limited, and sooner or later, the Corpos will come looking for him on Ferrix. He must work quickly to get off-planet and out of the corporation’s reach, but after all, his planning. He might be undone from the most unlikely of places. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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Andor (Star Wars: Andor): Kassa – TV Review

TL;DR – This opening episode does not do a whole lot to forward the story, which is fine, because it delves us into a world of intrigue.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

A cresent moon.

Andor Review

When they first announced that there would be Star Wars tv shows on Disney+, I was excited because that was a format that I am sure they would excel in if given a chance, and it had been an oft-rumoured inevitability. Since then, we have gotten the delightful Mandalorian, but then the missed opportunity that was the Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi. As such, I came into his series with a bit of concern, but this first episode has brought me nothing but intrigue.

So to set the scene, on a dark and rainy night, we see Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) make his way across a boardwalk to the glittering city Morlana One, part of the Preox-Morlana Corporate Zone in the Morlani system. He is going to the ‘leisure district’ to find out any information about his missing sister when he is accosted by two of the local security forces or Corpos. Taking his leave, Andor makes his way back to his ship when the two Corpos accost him again. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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Morbius – Movie Review

TL;DR – A soulless husk of a film that is barely made watchable by the fact that at least Matt Smith is having fun  

Rating: 1.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There are two mid-credit scenes

Disclosure – I was invited to a screening of this film

Morbius. Image Credit: Sony Pictures.

Morbius Review

There are moments when the credits roll, and you sit back in your chair and wonder, what did I just waste my time with? Then, of course, you immediately go, well, maybe I am having a bad day, perhaps the film is targeting a different audience, or did I just miss something. But then you look around and feel the audience’s tone and discover that you are not alone with your disbelief. Well, today, we have a film that, when the credits rolled, a whole room of people collectively shrugged at the very meh-ness that they just watched.

So to set the scene, 25-years ago in Greece, two boys who needed three blood transfusions a day to live met in a clinic. The head of the clinic, Emil Nikols (Jared Harris), discovers that young Michael (Charlie Shotwell) is a prodigy and gets him into a private school, and he promises his friend Milo (Joseph Esson) that he will find a cure. In the now, Michael (Jared Leto) takes a helicopter ride to a cave in Costa Rica to capture some bats that only feed on blood. He is hopeful that inserting bat DNA into a human might cure him and Milo (Matt Smith). It works … but at what cost? Well, a boat full of mercs, at least.

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Movie Review – Life of the Party

 TL;DR – A fun uplifting comedy that I found myself smiling all the way through.

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is no Post-Credit Scene

Life of the Party

Review

To be perfectly honest I was not actually planning to go see Life of the Party, because of a couple of reasons. It came out during a particularly big work week for me, and also from the trailers, it looked like many, many other comedies I have sat through over the last couple of years. But I had some free time today and it was on so I thought what the hell, and I am actually really glad that I did.

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Movie Review – Pacific Rim Uprising

TL;DR – Bombastic as always, but it doesn’t set itself apart from what came before, and the story struggles to find its voice.

Score – 3 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is a post title scene at the start of the credits

Pacific Rim Uprising banner

Review

As we talked about in our look back at the first Pacific Rim (see review), I was a real big fan of the original. Guillermo del Toro’s film about giant monsters called Kaijus attacking the cities around the Pacific Ocean being stopped by giant mechas called Jaegers. There was something easy and yet compelling with the setup and the world they created. With Pacific Rim Uprising we get more of the same as the first film yet somehow it feels like something got lost along the way, and that, unfortunately, it just does not work as well as the first film. So with that in mind, we are going to dive into Pacific Rim Uprising to look at what worked and what didn’t.

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