Tag Archives: Ismael Cruz Córdova

The Bluff – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While the story might not have the strength of wind behind the sails, the action and setting make up for it.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service to view this film.

Rowboats approach the shore.

The Bluff Review Introduction –

Today I was thinking that I have not seen a good Pirate action-adventure film. Well, call me surprised to find that when I opened Amazon Prime tonight, I found that a new film starring Priyanka Chopra and Karl Urban had landed, promising to do just that. Well, there is no time like the present to dive in and see if it works or not.   

So, to set the scene, in crashing waves and the gale of a storm, a pirate vessel is making its way through the Caribbean Sea in the tail end of the Era of Pirates in 1846. In the gloom, it finds its prey, a merchant vessel Swiftsure with a curious captain, Theodor H. Bodden (Ismael Cruz Córdova), holding gold marked with their pirate brand of Captain Connor (Karl Urban). Gold, they got in the small town of Cayman Brac. But while Cayman Brac looks inconsequential, it holds many secrets, and Ercell Bodden (Priyanka Chopra) is no sailor’s wife, well, she is, but she’s also a lot more.  

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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Shadow and Flame & Season 2 – TV Review

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TL;DR – The season ends on a high note as war comes to Middle Earth

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Durin’s Bane

The Rings of Power Review –

Well, we have flown by, and before we knew it, we hit the end of the second season of Rings of Power. There have been highs and lows along the way this season, and some stories have triumphed while others have tried to tread water and failed. Today, we will take the time to see if the finale stuck the landing and then reflect on the season as a whole.  

So, to set the scene, things are dire for the good people of Middle Earth. The Orcs have entered Eregion, as Adar (Sam Hazeldine) has subdued Elrond (Robert Aramayo) and captured one of the Elven Rings of Power. Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) might have escaped with the Ring for Men, but it still seems like Sauron (Charlie Vickers) is controlling everything as one of the great elven cities burns. The dwarves could not come to help because they were dealing with a King who was so focused on greed that he might unleash an untold horror. Even out in the East, The Stranger (Daniel Weyman) is faced with growing darkness and a choice that could lead to the death of those he loves. Is there any hope for Middle Earth? Only time will tell. 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 Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Doomed to Die – TV Review

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TL;DR – From the opening deceptions to the closing metal romp, this was one of the strongest episodes of the season so far.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

Celebrimbor stuck in an illusion.

The Rings of Power Review –

We are getting to the pointy part of the season, and things are starting to go down because all things must end. Indeed, there are a lot of characters and storylines floating around, and we know at least some of them do not survive the end of this story. Well, when you are doomed to die, can you really complain? But when you have nothing but action, it can get exhausting, and it is that challenge that we will examine today.   

So, to set the scene, we open with Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) quietly working away by himself in his forge, crafting the nine rings of man. He found quiet solitude in those days after all his apprentices had been sent away, with only Sauron/Annatar (Charlie Vickers) as a companion. However, just on the edge of his perception, he gets glimpses of something not quite right. A missing jewel suddenly reappears, and a gaunt visage in a mirror fixes itself when he looks back. Something is just not quite right, but he can’t put his finger on it. Meanwhile, outside of his delusions/illusions, the land of Eregion is under attack by an Orc force that may be its downfall. 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 Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Where Is He? – TV Review

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TL;DR – While frustrations remain, you can feel the momentum of the series shift as we start getting to the pointy end.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Sauron smirks.

The Rings of Power Review –

We are getting to the pointy end of the season, which means things need to start rolling towards the conclusion. Orcs are on the move, evil beings are manipulating, and calamities abound. But as we rush to the end, manipulations get stronger, allies become odder, and fractures become profound.

So, to set the scene, Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova) is hot on the heels of the orc band that cut their way through the forest, angering the Ents in Eldest, but when he catches up to some deserters, he is shocked to see that they march on the Elven city of forges. Meanwhile, in that very city, Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) is showing more signs of instability as he cannot get the rings for man to work, and he has started forgetting things. This alarms his smiths, but what they don’t know is much of his current disposition has been influenced by Annatar/Sauron (Charlie Vickers), who has slowly twisted the grand forger’s mind. 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 Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Eldest – TV Review

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TL;DR – It does still feel like we are spinning our wheels a little bit, but this episode did work a bit better, if for no other reason than the return of old friends.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Lindon on a map of Middle Earth.

The Rings of Power Review –

For most of the start of the second season of The Rings of Power, I was riding on a high. It was just such a joy to be back in this world and exploring Middle Earth again. However, last week’s The Eagle and the Sceptre put a slight pause on the festivities as it bogged down in storylines that didn’t help push it forward. The question we look at this week is: Was that just a blip in the road, or was it the start of a trend?

So, to set the scene, after hearing worrying silence from Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards), a party of elves has been sent south from Lindon to see what might have happened and to make sure Sauron (Charlie Vickers) has not established influence there. Spoiler alert: he already has. However, it is not Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) who leads this expedition; it is Elrond (Robert Aramayo) who is profoundly suspicious of the ring that now lives on Galadriel’s finger. He fears that it will be a source of evil, but it might just be saving their lives. 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 Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: The Eagle and the Sceptre – TV Review

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TL;DR – After blasting through our first couple of episodes with flying colours, we reach our first pause as we explore the last of the opening trilogy.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Durin and Disa connect.

The Rings of Power Review –

In our jump back into the world of The Rings of Power, we have visited dwarves, elves, harfoots, magicians and orcs. However, there has been one major play from last season that has been surprisingly absent from the proceedings, Númenor. Well, today, in the last of the opening trilogy, we fix that as we spend time in the island kingdom on the cusp of a significant change.

So, to set the scene, after Elendil (Lloyd Owen) was forced to leave his son Isildur (Maxim Baldry) in the blight left by Mt Doom to get Queen Regent Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) back to Númenor, he thought all was lost. However, never bet against survival in The Lord of the Rings when you have a horse on your side. But as they arrive back in Númenor, they discover that the High King has died, and Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle) might be coveting a new, more important job. 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 Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Alloyed and Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – I was captured by the joyful sincerity that permeated the whole season.         

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

The Stranger.

The Rings of Power Review –

When I started watching The Rings of Power, I went into it with a moment of trepidation. The Lord of the Rings holds a special place in my heart because they were the first films that made me want to explore all aspects of filmmaking. Their grandeur and majesty were something I had not experienced before then, and for better or worse, they are the benchmark that all others are compared to. It was hard to go back into this world with that weight of expectations. However, I think this new show rose to the occasion. As we get ready for the second season later this week, I thought it was an excellent time to go back and think through that first season and complete the coverage we were unable to do back in 2022.

So, to set the scene, in the aftermath of Udûn and the destruction wrought from the awaking of Mt Doom, everything in the Southlands has changed. Once lands of green fields, farms, and orchards, now ash, fire, and dirt remain. As they change to this new world, the greatest power is at its lowest, and the lives of the elves look to be ending in Middle Earth. But as Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) returns to Celebrimbor’s (Charles Edwards) forge to get healing for a badly wounded Halbrand (Charlie Vickers), they discover that all hope is not lost. Now, from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.      

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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Udûn – TV Review

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TL;DR – Could I see some of the plot points of this episode coming? Yes. Did that stop it from ripping my heart out? No, it did not.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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

Adar looks over his armies.

The Rings of Power Review –

When watching a show or movie, you never quite know when something will connect with you, like really connect with you. Will a story pierce your heart like a barbed arrow and break through even the most hardened layer of cynicism? After not gelling with last week’s Partings, I wondered if the series was running out of steam with me, but nothing prepared me for today.  

So to set the scene, the orcs had completely surrounded Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova), Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi), Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) and the remaining townsfolk in the watchtower of Ostirith. However, as Adar (Joseph Mawle) and the Orcs storm the watchtower, they find it empty. Well, almost empty. But while this delays the Orcs, the townsfolk know that soon the horde will be upon them and sure enough, in the distance, torches glow. 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 Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Partings – TV Review

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TL;DR – As much as the title describes, this is an episode of crossroads, not all of them good.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Harfoots migrate.

The Rings of Power Review –

I always knew that The Great Wave would be a hard act to follow. Indeed it would be a hard act to get close to that again. However, I was not expecting this week’s episode to give me pause. Not a significant problem per se. More like when you are walking through a forest, and you stop because you have seen something odd in the corner of your eye, pause. Let us now dive into this week’s episode to explore what I mean.

So to set the scene, we open in on the Harfoots as they begin their long migration north, over mountains, through grasslands, and even some marshes where the dead will lie one day. Nori Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh) and her family would have been left behind leagues ago because of their father’s (Dylan Smith) foot and being put in the back of the caravan. However, thanks to the help of The Stranger (Daniel Weyman), who fell from the sky, and much to the annoyance of the rest of the caravan, they have kept up. But in this wood, something stirs, and when there is no food, a couple of Harfoots look like a tasty morsel. 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 Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: The Great Wave – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is an episode with joy and tears, warmth and horror, action and romance, and warnings for the future

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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

Queen regent Míriel walks towards the sounds of crushing water.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Review –

When they announced that Amazon would commission a new Lord of the Rings prequel series, many people [including myself] doubted if they could pull it off. Especially when it was revealed just what they could work with given the limited window their licence gave them. However, as I sit back from watching the fourth episode, it has become clear that those concerns were misplaced because few episodes of televisionthis year have moved me as much as this one did today.

So to set the scene, in Adar, we were introduced to the island kingdom of Númenor. A land was once given to man by the Elves, but a land that Elves are now unwelcome, something that Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) discovers first-hand when she is brought there by Elendil (Lloyd Owen). However, there is something behind Númenor’s reluctance, which haunts the dreams of the queen regent Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson). However, things are going from bad to worse in the Southlands because the orcs have returned and are capturing people to dig their tunnels. Still, as Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova) stands in chains, he looks in horror as the leader of the orcs is an elf called Adar (Joseph Mawle). Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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