TL;DR – This is a great
episode that shows the strength of the Short Trek formula with some truly
delightful moments
Score – 4 out of 5 stars
Review –
We are back with another season of Short
Treks, one of the more novel experiments that have come out of this third Star Trek TV resurgence. These are a
number of shorts in and around the Star
Trek universe (mostly but this season not exclusively around Star
Trek Discovery). Like last year’s The
Escape Artist that looked at Harry Mudd. Today we get to dive
back into this world with a fun look at someone’s first day on the job.
So to set the scene, it is Ensign Spock’s (Ethan Peck) first day on the job.
After a long flight to Starbase 40, he beams aboard and is welcomed by Number
One (Rebecca Romijn). After some pleasantries, Number One decides to show the
new ensign the Bridge only for the turbolift to fail on transit giving them a
lot of time to chat.
TL;DR – This is and continues
to be the gold standard to adaptations of literature, capturing the heart of
the books, even if it does not hit every plot beat along the way.
Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars
Review –
I mentioned back in my look at the New
Golden Age of Science Fiction that The Expanse is one of the best adaptations on TV at the moment. Here
in Australia, I got to watch the first two seasons on Netflix and was
constantly entranced with just what a good job they did of bringing James S. A.
Corey’s books to life. The third season has been tricky to find but today I was
able to hunt it down on Amazon and gave it a watch. Well, how does it do? Well,
I can tell you that I watched the entire first arc of the season in one
session, being so completely engrossed that I didn’t realise how late in the
evening it had gotten … so that it is always a good sign.
So to set the scene, we open in the aftermath of season two and the turn that
put Chrisjen Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo) from a position of absolute power
to her running for her life after being betrayed by Sadavir Errinwright (Shawn
Doyle). Stuck on a ship that has just been fired upon by her own side there is
not much hope for escape but then that is why she brought Bobbie Draper (Frankie
Adams) a former Martian marine along. They manage to escape, but they are still
under pursuit, and while they were gone the whole solar system has erupted into
war and the Jupiter planetary system is ground zero for the conflict. Meanwhile,
on the Rocinante the crew are dealing
with two big problems, the fact that Naomi (Dominique Tipper) lied to them, and
they have done nothing really to help Prax (Terry Chen) find his daughter. With
everything falling apart the question is: will James Holden (Steven Strait) going
to step in and help stop this war, or is he going to sit back and let others
make the tough calls?
TL;DR – A fascinating look at an issue and how people would react to it as we watch a man’s life fall apart around him.
Score – 4 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
If you want my interest in a film, you need to take something familiar and
twist it, say a serial murder with more going on. Of course, once you have an
interesting premise, you need to follow it up, which is not always the case,
but today we see a film that comes very close to nailing those two parts. So
very close.
So to set the scene, it is a quiet night in Philadelphia when all of a sudden a
woman collapses while driving a bus crashing into multiple cars before being
taken out but a cement truck. When the police get to the scene they discover that
the driver is covered in her own blood after something liquefied her brain.
Three puncture wounds were in her neck, which would be bad, but across the city
three more people collapse in the same way. Beat cop Thomas (Boyd Holbrook)
makes the link between the three victims and after finding a forth still alive
they have a clue only to find everything is much more complicated than they
ever thought because the Jane Doe (Cleopatra Coleman) know who Tom is and that
his daughter is about to be born.
TL;DR – A great start to
propel the season forward.
Score – 4 out of 5 stars
Review –
Well, it is time for all good thing to come to an end, in this case today we
are looking at the beginning of the end as we explore the first episode of The Good Place’s fourth and final
season. As much as there is sadness, there is also a certain joy that at least
the show will get to go out on their own terms. Indeed, from what everyone has
said it was a creative decision to end the show at this point and I will always
respect that. Well let’s dive into the weird and quirky world of the ever
after.
So to set the scene, in the Season Three finale Pandemonium,
The Judge (Maya Rudolph) gave everyone a chance to show that the point system
is broken by creating a new neighbourhood to test it out with new people.
However, The Bad Place, devious as ever, did not pick the worst people in the
world, just the worst people for the team, including Chidi’s (William Jackson
Harper) ex Simone (Kirby Howell-Baptiste). Knowing that he could not remain
impartial Chidi has his mind wiped of everything including his love for Eleanor
(Kristen Bell). Now they have one chance to show that everything is wrong and
it is not going to be easy. Just a reminder that we will be looking at the
episode at the whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.
TL;DR – A solid horror film, with a good premise that meanders a bit in the middle before coming back strong in the end.
Score – 3 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
I have to admit that I am not as big of a horror aficionado as a lot of the
critics out there. I prefer the tension and suspense of a film like Get Out
over a horror gorefest. However, I have made it a plan to try and broaden the
films I see and also if you ever want me to see a film having the story by Guillermo
del Toro is a great way to do it. With that in mind let’s have a look at a film
that champions what goes bump in the night.
In 1968 a lot of things are happening, the Vietnam War is in full swing, Richard
Nixon is up for re-election, and in a small town called Mill Valley in
Pennsylvania, the local residents are getting ready for Halloween. Stella (Zoe
Colletti) does not want to go out but is coaxed out by her friends Auggie (Gabriel
Rush) and Chuck (Austin Zajur) because this might be their last Halloween
together. After running into local bully Tommy (Austin Abrams) who is on a date
with Chuck’s sister Ruthie (Natalie Ganzhorn) they hide in Ramón’s (Michael
Garza) car. Ramón is from out of town, so Stella suggests they take him to the
Bellows’ House, the town’s local haunted house. Legend says that the family
that founded the town locked their daughter Sarah (Kathleen Pollard) in the
basement but she would tell stories through the wall to local children and then
the kids would die. Everything is going fine until Stella finds a book, a book
of Sarah’s stories, a book that is still writing more stories one by one.
TL;DR – This is a film of two halves that actively make each side worse for being there. This film was a frustrating experience from start to finish.
Score – 1.5 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid and a post-credit scene
Review –
There are a lot of ways movies come into being, some come from novels, some
from comic books, and some are even original ideas. However, there is a new
trend of finding popular content from the internet and turning it into the new
hotness. Well if you are going to head in that direction then one where you can
have every celebrity cameo under the sun is a good place to start.
So to set the scene, up in North Carolina there is Flinch Public Access
Television and here we find a TV show host Zach Galifianakis (Zach Galifianakis).
For years he has produced the Between Two
Ferns with Zach Galifianakis, an interview show that is truly horrible.
Well after years of doing the show, a camera crew is here to film how the show
is put together. Interviewing Producer Carol (Lauren Lapkus), Cam the cameraman
(Ryan Gaul), and all the guests. However, things go wrong when a leak in the
celling destroys the studio forcing him to go on the road fulfilling Will
Ferrell ludicrous demands.
TL;DR – A truly charming film from start to finish.
Score – 4 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There are some pictures during the credits that tell a story.
Review –
Films targeted at children often have a perception that they are of lower
quality than other forms of cinema. Indeed some of the trailers for upcoming
films I watched before this backed that assessment up. But every now and again
a film casts off those assertions and shows that if you focus on quality it
should not matter whom your target audience is. Well, today we get just such a
film, as we explore a monster on the run through China.
So to set the scene, we open in a laboratory in Shanghai scared and alone and
not knowing where we are. After hearing Dr Zara’s (Sarah Paulson) intentions
for us we flee captivity and that is when you discover the animal fleeing is a
yeti. Everest (Joseph Izzo) flees into the city and tries to hide after being
hit by a truck only to end up on the roof of Yi’s (Chloe Bennet) apartment complex.
Yi is focusing all her life on doing odd jobs so she can earn enough money to
go on a tour of China her dad always promised to take her on. But when she
finds the injured Everest there is only one thing on her mind, getting him to
his home.
TL;DR – A stunning film exploring the world of one man as it all falls apart around him
Score – 4 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
Goodness, it has been a while since I have watched a film quite like this. Where
we dive straight into the mind of one character and follow their drive through
a slowly deteriorating experience. I think the last film that I watched that
was able to pull this off was Arrival
and you get hints of that here as well. With that in mind, let’s dive into a
murky world of space exploration and the legacy/damage of our parents.
So to set the scene, we open in the near future where humankind has made their
first steps into the solar system. One of the main drives is to find out if there
is any other intelligent life out there in the universe but of course like all
things mining and profit are not far behind. Major Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) is
working on the large space antenna that goes all the way up into
low-Earth-orbit when a cosmic storm hits and he is thrown from the structure. Landing
thanks to a parachute he is taken to Space Command Headquarters where he finds
out that his long lost dad Clifford (Tommy Lee Jones) might be alive and might
also be the one behind the surge that has killed 40,000 people and climbing. So
Roy hops on a rocket for the Moon only to discover not all is what it seems.
TL;DR – One of those films that are close but no cigar, but you have to admire that they go at 100km an hour from start to finish
Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
One of my true joys in life is watching and witnessing a new work of glorious Science
Fiction for the first time. Like those moments when you watched Farscape
for the first time or watched the flaming guitar in Mad
Max Fury Road explode out into the desert sun. However, sometimes it
can be just as interesting to watch a film/TV show that is close but just not
quite there and today we take a look back at just such a film.
So to set the scene, we open in on Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) who lives with
her extended family in Chicago after her father Maximilian (James D’Arcy) was
murdered back in Russia and her mother Aleksa (Maria Doyle Kennedy) fled to the
States. Jupiter spends her time cleaning rich peoples houses and dreaming of
getting out of it all. Well one day she gets that wish after a genetic test
shows that she is the perfect reincarnation of the old matriarch of House
Abrasax, an ancient alien dynasty that seeded life on Earth all those years
ago.
TL;DR – A truly emotional work of film that affected me in ways film rarely does.
Score – 5 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
Wow, just wow, I thought I had some handle on how this film was going to affect
me when I walked in, but I had no idea. I didn’t know I would be tearing up in
the first five minutes and that it would not stop until the credits rolled. It
is a film like this that shows the power of the medium to tell stories that can
affect us on our deepest human level.
So to set the scene, Billi (Awkwafina) is struggling to find her place in the
world after failing to get the fellowship that she was after. While at her
parents to use their washing machine she notices that her mother Jian (Diana
Lin) and father Haiyan (Tzi Ma) are acting odd. Wounding the worse, Billi
discovers that her beloved Nai Nai (Shuzhen Zhao) has been diagnosed with late-stage
cancer, but also that the family has decided not to tell her. Using a wedding
as an excuse the whole family is going over to China in part to say goodbye
without actually saying goodbye.
