Tag Archives: Amandla Stenberg

The Acolyte (Star Wars: The Acolyte) – The Acolyte & Season 1– TV Review

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TL;DR – While the finale felt incredibly rushed, I did find the series to be a grand entry in the franchise.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Qimir tries to take the helmet of Osha.

The Acolyte Review –

Well, we have reached the end of what has surprisingly become one of the most controversial Star Wars entries since at least The Rise of Skywalker. I am not sure why a series that revelled in the mystical side of The Force that George Lucas loved garnered such a negative response, but here we are. Today, we will first pull apart the season finale before taking some time to explore the season as a whole.

So, to set the scene, at the end of Teach/Corrupt, Sol (Lee Jung-Jae) promised Mae (Amandla Stenberg) that he would tell her what really happened that one fateful night all those years ago. It was a sad series of consequences that led to Sol killing the twin’s mother in Choice. But while Mae has a revelation, Osha (Amandla Stenberg) wakes up in a cave on an unknown planet, where she is captured by Qimir (Manny Jacinto), who wants her to unlock her powers. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode and season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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The Acolyte (Star Wars: The Acolyte) – Teach/Corrupt – TV Review

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TL;DR – We take a breath after last week’s revel, only to dive deeper into the force.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

a 'Totally' Unknown Planet.

The Acolyte Review –

After a giant climatic episode, shows can struggle with the aftermath. Once you have paid off all that build-up, it can be hard to move on from that. Last week’s Night was very much an episode like that, with mass casualties and reveals a plenty. Today, we see if they can follow that up or if they will fall into the same traps.

So, to set the scene, at the end of Night, many Jedi had fallen, but Sol (Lee Jung-Jae) managed to escape with Osha (Amandla Stenberg), but wait, that is not Osha, that is her sister Mae (Amandla Stenberg). Because Mae was captured by the new Sith master on the scene, but for all Mae’s planning, she forgot to notice that Sol was not the only one to walk out of that forest. 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 Acolyte (Star Wars: The Acolyte) – Night – TV Review

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TL;DR – An explosive episode that had me audibly gasping multiple times.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

The Sith is revealed.

The Acolyte Review –

Well, one of the big problems that a show can have is setting up a fascinating Part 1 only to mess it up for Part 2. Oh, the lousy letdown, after waiting a week or even more, is such a letdown … looking at you, Doctor Who. But sometimes they nail the landing, and today, we get just that.

So, to set the scene, Mae (Amandla Stenberg) has arrived to hand herself into Jedi Master Kelnacca (Joonas Suotamo), only to find him already dead because her Master (not spoiling it here) has returned. This is when Sol (Lee Jung-Jae), Yord (Charlie Barnett), Jecki (Dafne Keen), Osha (Amandla Stenberg), and a bunch of other Jedi arrive. Things could not get any worse. Well, that is when the Sith arrives and blasts all the Jedi away. 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 Acolyte (Star Wars: The Acolyte) – Day – TV Review

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TL;DR – A slow build of tension, the creaking forest, the looming darkness, and lightsabres drawn.  

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

The Jedi line up.

The Acolyte Review –

Well, last week, we took a turn that I had not expected as we dived back into the past with Destiny. It was an episode full of mysticism and likely an unreliable narrator or two. It was an unexpected detour, but now we are back on the hunt because Jedi are falling like flies, and there is a new evil on the rise. Which, of course, is your average Saturday night in the Old Republic.  

So, to set the scene, we arrive on the forested planet of Khofar, where the Wookie Jedi Kelnacca (Joonas Suotamo) is located. Unfortunately for him, he is next on Mae’s (Amandla Stenberg) hit list as she targets all the Jedi involved with whatever happens on her home planet. Back on Coursaunt, Vernestra Rwoh (Rebecca Henderson) and the other Jedi have also noticed the pattern. But Sol (Lee Jung-Jae) convinces them to send him and Osha (Amandla Stenberg) out to get Mae because she knows things the Jedi Order desperately needs to know. 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 Acolyte (Star Wars: The Acolyte) – Revenge/Justice – TV Review

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TL;DR – We move from intrigue to a very narrow path, but one that still has me interested.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Warning – depicts scenes that may cause distress.

Mae squares off with Torbin.

The Acolyte Review –

If the last episode was an Amuse-bouche to get us ready for this world, then this week is, it is time to serve us up with an entrée, well, narratively speaking, at least. We are done speculating, and it is time to dive all into this world where the Jedi are hiding something.  

So to set the scene, Sol (Lee Jung-Jae), after securing Osha (Amandla Stenberg) and proving she was innocent because only Luke can be in two places at once. He takes his Padawan Jecki Lon (Dafne Keen) and new knight Yord (Charlie Barnett) to the planet Olega, where Mae (Amandla Stenberg) has attacked another Jedi Master Torbin (Dean-Charles Chapman). This time, she was unsuccessful in the kill, the first time, but where there is a will, there is a poison. 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 Acolyte (Star Wars: The Acolyte) – Lost/Found – TV Review

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TL;DR – Overall, this episode did what it needed to do: it made me interested in what was to come.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Mae battles Indara.

The Acolyte Review –

Well, it is back into the world of Star Wars on the small screen and a world that has been quite a bit hit-and-miss from time to time. For every Andor, we have gotten missteps like the Book of Boba Fett, and it is hard to see where things will land with the constantly shifting tentpoles of the Star Wars Universe. With that in mind, we dive into a new show that has the benefit of being slightly detached from what has come before but maybe not as detached as it needed to be.  

So to set the scene, there was peace across the galaxy one hundred years before the rise of The Empire. But that peace was being held up in part by the Jedi Order, the training ground for all users of the Force. But some people trained themselves away from the Jedi Order in secret, one of which was an assassin on a mission of revenge. We find ourselves starting this journey on the planet of Ueda, which may shape the future of the galaxy or at least the Jedi Order. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A pure delight from start to finish in an absolutely stunningly realised world.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film

Gwen and Miles sit upside down looking at the sky line of New York.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Review –

If there is ever a tough act to follow, it is Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. A film that shifted an entire film production style that many movies like The Mitchells vs. The Machines and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish have taken onboard since. Indeed, I loved the movie so much that it sits on My Personal Top 10 Animated Films of All Time. There is no way a sequel could like up to that legacy … but hear me out … what if it could.

So to set the scene, It has been one year since the event of the last film, and Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld) has been struggling with being all alone again after finding a kindred spirit with Miles (Shameik Moore). However, when a Vulture (Jorma Taccone) from a Renaissance-style universe trashes the Guggenheim Museum, she discovers that the Spider-verse is not closed off. But also her dad George Stacy (Shea Whigham), finds out she is Spider-Woman, and tries to arrest her. This could have ended badly without the rescue from Miguel O’Hara / Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac) and Jessica Drew / Spider-Woman (Issa Rae), for a Spider-Society is protecting the Multiverse from all threats, and Gwen is the newest member.

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Dear Evan Hansen – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A film with equal parts frustrating and problematic, but when the emotions hit, you can’t help but be caught up with it.     

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

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

Warning – Deals with themes regarding suicide

Dear Evan Hansen. Image Credit: Universal Pictures.

Dear Evan Hansen Review –

Dear Evan Hansen is one of those films you have never heard of before or a film you have been listening to on repeat for years. For me, my first introduction to the film came from that first trailer that dropped this year, and that was a lot. But I go into this without the legacy of the musical to either help or hinder my experience with the film. However, now that I have seen the movie, well, ‘a lot’ was an understatement.

So to set the scene, Evan (Ben Platt) is struggling because he is about to start high school back after a long, difficult summer, and social interactions were not easy for him before. On the instructions of his psychiatrist, Evan starts writing letters to himself. However, when Evan goes to print one of the letters out at school, one of the troublemakers in the school Connor (Colton Ryan), intercepts it and takes it with him. Evan is expecting the worst but is surprised that Connor does not plaster it all over the internet. The reason becomes apparent when Connor’s parents Cynthia (Amy Adams) and Larry (Danny Pino), ask to speak to him. For Connor had taken his own life, but they had found Evan’s note. The only problem is that they think Connor was the one to write it.  

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Movie Review – The Hate U Give

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TL;DR – A powerful and unflinching look at life at the intersection of race, power, poverty, and privilege.   

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

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

The Hate U Give . Image Credit: 20th Century Fox

Review –

One of the most important aspects of film, or indeed any media, is its ability to help you understand a different perspective. For many people in the world, the police are a source of comfort and protection, who you call when you are in danger. But for many people almost the opposite is true, and it can be difficult to understand why that is. However, that is what film is here to do, and that is what today’s film does.

So to set the scene, Starr (Amandla Stenberg) was only a child when her father Maverick (Russell Hornsby) gave her and her siblings Seven (Russell Hornsby) and Sekani (TJ Wright) the talk. No, I am not talking about the birds and the bees, I am talking about what you do when (not if) you get pulled over by the police so you can make it out of it alive. As Starr grew up her mother Lisa (Regina Hall) was determined to make sure she could have the best opportunity available for life and sends her and her siblings to a private school. This makes Starr create two sides of herself, the Williamson side and the Garden Heights side. All of this comes to a head when Starr runs into an old friend Khalil (Algee Smith) at a party. It was a chance to reminisce about the past and how they use to all dress up as Harry Potter. After a gun goes off at the party, Starr and Khalil race to the car, and that is when the world changes for everyone.  

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