Tag Archives: John Noble

Star Trek: Prodigy – Ouroboros, Part I, Part 2, and Full Season – TV Review

Posted on by
7

TL;DR – A beautiful end to a season, and hopefully not an end of a series.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

A time portal opens up over Earth.

Star Trek: Prodigy Review –

Alas, we have come to the end of the second and hopefully not last season of Star Trek: Prodigy. What a season it was. We will take some time a bit later to explore the season as a whole, but before that, we need to dive into this incredible season finale that went places I was not expecting at all.

So, to set the scene, after Asencia (Jameela Jamil) attacked the USS Voyager-A and the USS Protostar, it became clear that something had to happen before she did irreparable harm to The Federation with her time weapons. The problem is that Starfleet is already spread so far that there is no one else about to get out that far to help them. The combined crews need to stop them fast because, little do they know, Asencia has captured Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) and mined his mind for secrets she can use to cause galaxy-wide chaos. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode and season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

Continue reading →

Star Trek: Prodigy – Ascension, Part I & Part 2 – TV Review

Posted on by
1

TL;DR – Honestly, wow, I was sitting on the edge of my chair for the whole episode.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

The USS Voyager-A and the USS Protostar.

Star Trek: Prodigy Review –

Have you ever been sitting watching a show and suddenly thought, “Hey, whatever happened to [insert important plot point here]”, only to get slapped in the face with that plot point a few moments later? Well, if you have ever had that happen to you, then you will know what I felt like as we jump into the episode today.  

So, to set the scene, after getting the USS Protostar back into orbit during the Last Flight of the Protostar and a number of struggles, we finally get back into contact with the USS Voyager-A. While Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and Chakotay (Robert Beltran) get a moment to reconnect, things go from bad to worse. First, Starfleet wants them back to Earth so that they can deal with the Protostar themselves. But before that can happen, a danger from the past comes back with a vengeance. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

Continue reading →

Star Trek: Prodigy – Into the Breach, Part I & Part 2 – TV Review

Posted on by
2

TL;DR – This was a joyful jump back into this world that you can clearly see was made with love.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Starfleet Academy.

Star Trek: Prodigy Review –

Well, the first season of Star Trek: Prodigy was a bit of an odd duck. It was first meant to be on Nickelodeon, then Paramount+, then even then we couldn’t get it out here, then dropped weirdly, and then it was cancelled on Paramount+ and removed from the service, which was a stupid choice, only to CBS to shop it around and get it picked up by Netflix. While it has been a wild ride to get to that point, I am glad we had it because it means we can look at the first two episodes of the second season today.    

So, to set the scene, after the end of last season, Dal (Brett Gray), Jankom (Jason Mantzoukas), Zero (Angus Imrie), Rok-Tanh (Rylee Alazraqui), and Murf (Dee Bradley Baker) have landed on Earth and have been taking classes to prepare them for the entrance exam to Starfleet Academy. They are not technically cadets yet, but they could be. But when Admiral Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) has a mission for them, they jump to join, especially when they see the new USS Voyager-A. Meanwhile, Gwyn (Ella Purnell) is taking the long trip back to her homeworld on a mission to stop the coming civil war from ever happening. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.  

Continue reading →

Star Trek: Prodigy – Dreamcatcher – TV Review

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – The first episode to really test everyone as a crew.    

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Star Trek: Prodigy - Dreamcatcher. Image Credit: Paramount+

Star Trek: Prodigy Review –

So far this season, we have had a couple of episodes to get to know the crew and set up the scenario. But the question is, what kind of show will Star Trek: Prodigy be? Well, today, I think we got some of the answers towards that.

So to set the scene, at the end of Starstruck, the crew of the USS Protostar discovered that it was best not to just go with it when piloting a spacecraft through danger after danger. After a lot of training from Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), a habitable M-Class planet was discovered in the Hirogen System. Dal (Brett Gray) doesn’t want to explore, but Janeway forces his hand, and they make their descent into the atmosphere. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead. 

Continue reading →

Star Trek: Prodigy – Lost & Found – TV Review

Posted on by
7

TL;DR – This was an episode full of charm that sucked me right into this world and story.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Star Trek: Prodigy - Lost & Found. Image Credit: Paramount+

Star Trek: Prodigy Review –

We might be living through a new Golden Age in Science Fiction, but one thing is sure, we are living through a new era of Star Trek with five series currently in production and more on the way. Today we get to look at the latest new series on the horizon that blasted onto the screen full of charm and style.

So to set the scene, off in the Delta Quadrant, there is a prison colony called Tars Lamora. Here the prisoners mine the planetoid for Chimerium, a valuable crystal. One of those prisoners is Dal R’El (Brett Gray), who has dreamed of escaping his confinement and gets close a few times. But his attempts put him on the radar of the ruler of the prison Solum/The Diviner (John Noble), who fears he is working with Fugitive Zero (Angus Imrie). Dal has two options, the nice route with Solum’s daughter Gwyn (Ella Purnell), where he helps her find Fugitive Zero or the bad route with Drednok (Jimmi Simpson). But as he is looking for Zero in the deep core with Rok-Tahk (Rylee Alazraqui), they discover something much more valuable hiding in the depths. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead. 

Continue reading →

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (The Conjuring 3) – Movie Review

Posted on by
1

TL;DR – What starts with an interesting and creepy premise nevertheless does not have the pull to make it through to the end.    

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

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

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. Image Credit: Warner Brothers.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It Review –

To be honest, The Conjuring as a series is not one that had piqued my interest before. Indeed I have never watched any of the other films and spin-offs before. But I knew they were famous, and there was a real following for the franchise. However, the film’s story is based on the event where someone pleaded not guilty because of demonic possession. Well then, now you have me interested.

So to set the scene, in the town of Brookfield, Connecticut, Ed Warren (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) are helping a local family out after their son David (Julian Hilliard) was possessed by a demon. The demon presents itself in all its power, ripping the house apart and giving Ed a severe heart attack. Arne Cheyenne Johnson (Ruairi O’Connor) compels the demon to leave the boy and enter him in the chaos. Only Ed sees this, but he soon passes out. Ed makes it through surgery. However, by the time he can tell what is going on, a boy is walking down the street of Connecticut covered in blood.        

Continue reading →

The Boys: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker – TV Review

Posted on by
1

TL;DR – This is the episode that any semblance of subtly gets thrown out the door.

Rating: 4 out of 5.
The Boys: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker. Image Credit: Prime Video.

The Boys: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker Review –

The Boys is a show that has never shied away from the gore, sex, violence, subtle this is not. However, when it comes to the story, it was always framed around a simple good v bad framework. Throughout this season we have seen that there is more to that narrative as we dive down the well that is Vought, and this week the story takes all of its gloves of to show you just what it wants to say.

 So to set the scene, in last week’s episode we got to see inside Vought International’s final plan. They aim to stabilize Compound V so that it can be given to an adult and cause an instant and safe transformation to being a Supe. But that is how it is not the why. The why is that Vought is not just Nazi adjacent, it is straight-up completely Nazi. Stormfront (Aya Cash) who is leading this campaign was born in Nazi Germany, and the aim is to given powers to select people to ‘take the country back’. This week with the turning of we start with the turning of Lamplighter (Shawn Ashmore) and the best possible chance to take Vought down … if everyone can make it to the hearings alive. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.   

Continue reading →

Countdown – My Personal Top 10 Films of All Time List

Posted on by
47

TL;DR – Today we countdown my Top 10 films of all time; from towns where there are a lot of ‘accidents’, to all forms of Sci-Fi, to do you know the man with six fingers on his right hand, and everything in between.

Countdown –

Recently I watched the CineFix crew countdown their Top 10 films, and it had me thinking what are mine? Now it was at this point where I of course naturally spiralled as how can you reduce thousands of films that you have seen into only a Top 10. Just before I threw my hands up in resignation and chucked in the towel I happened to catch an episode of Movies with Mikey on how he determined the best sequel. With this in mind I wondered if there was a set of criteria that I could use to categorise the films into a list that I would be happy with, and after some work, I came up with the following criteria that work for me.

  • Films that are beautifully constructed
  • Films that mean something to me
  • Films that are always re-watchable
  • Films that have added to my love of the craft of cinema

With this criterion in mind I went through all the likely candidates and with a bit of a struggle I think I have been able to come to a final list, well at least until I change my mind next week, which is always a chance.

Continue reading →