TL;DR – An interesting start that gives us a real direction as to the tone and where the series is going.
Score – 4 out of 5 stars
Review –
I was coming into Disenchantment with a bit of a mixed mind as I have an interesting relationship with Matt Groening’s work. When I was growing up we were not allowed to watch The Simpsons so when you did see it at a friend’s place it was this little rebellion, so I hold some of those early episodes to be quite dear to me. However, I can’t tell you the last episode I watched, at this point, I could be over seven seasons behind. On the flip side, while all this was happening Futurama came and went, and then came again and then went again, and I would count it in the top ten TV Shows I have ever seen. So where would Disenchantment fall? Well from the first episode we can see that it is at least going to be interesting.
TL;DR – This is a film with a lot of promise and an interesting hook, but it’s missing that final level of polish needed for a film like this and the ending did feel like a cop-out.
Score – 2.5 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
It has been a good year for Science Fiction TV on Netflix, I mean it is only halfway through the year and we have already had such gems as Altered Carbon (see review), Lost in Space (see review), Star Trek Discovery (see review) & The Rain (see review). However, when it comes to Science Fiction films it is a bit more of a mixed bag, ranging from the excellent Annihilation (see review) to the quite disappointing TAU (see review). Today we look at the next film that Netflix has saved after having its theatrical release pulled Extinction, which has some good ideas going on but didn’t quite get there with the execution.
TL;DR – We started with a group of people on a ship in space, and over the season, as adversity after adversity piled up, we ended with a crew. I mean I just wrote 1000 words just on the cast, the show is that good.
Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars
Review –
This year has been a strong year for Sci-Fi on TV we have Lost in Space, Altered Carbon, The Rain, as well as more Westworld, 3%, and The Expanse. In the middle of all this was a release, which for me was probably anticipated more than anything else, a new Star Trek series. Now the fact that I really like the Star Trek franchise should come as no surprise, indeed a wrote an article all about my love for Star Trek Deep Space Nine. However, there was also a lot of trepidation going in, since DS9 we had Voyager that had some great individual episodes but nothing really came together as a series, and Enterprise that took three seasons to find out what type of show it wanted to be and when it got there decided to end on just about the most insulting note that it could (yes I know it was not meant to be a series finale but still). However, I went into this thinking that I can at least give it a season, and boy what a season it was. So in the first season of Star Trek Discovery the broke it up into different chapters, we took a look at Chapter One here, and today we are going to take a look at Chapter Two which was the back half of the season but also some of the themes that transcend all of the season, you can also see all of our reviews for the individual episodes here. With this in mind, just a warning that we will be looking at the season as a whole, and as such there will be some major [SPOILERS] discussed in this review. So caution is advised if you have yet to finished Season One of Star Trek Discovery, and we would recommend you giving the first season a watch.
TL;DR – This is a show about helping people out of the problem they find themselves in, with more than a few tears along the way … mine that is
Score – 4 out of 5 stars
Review –
When I first heard they were going to do a reboot of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, titled Queer Eye on Netflix, I honestly wasn’t that into it. I was starting to get really burnt out by the reboot fever that hit over the last few years, and this was before they started to find their groove with shows like Lost in Space (see review). However, over the months, things about the show would just pop up in my feed from time to time as the people around me watched it and after a while, I thought ‘blast it let’s give one a watch’ … well several hours later and much crying I had watched Season One all in one sitting. So when I heard there was a Season Two coming, this time I decided not to miss out and I watched them all over the first few days it was out and while it still had the moments of the first season there were a couple of more problems that did appear the second time around.
TL;DR – TAU is one of those films where there is an interesting core of an idea here, but then really the movie spends almost all of its time not exploring it.
Score – 2 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no Post-Credit Scene
Review –
Watching a good film can be joyful, watching a bad film can at least be interesting, but watching a film that clearly had potential only to not deliver on it … well, that can be torturous. This week we look at TAU a film that unfortunately falls into the latter category. It is a film that is trying to take the AI computer genre in a different direction but unfortunately falls into just being a pastiche of other films, and not even a very good version of that.
TL;DR – This does everything you need the first episode of a new season to do.
Score – 4 out of 5 stars
Review –
The first season of Luke Cage (see review) started off so strong, with such an amazing cast, and the first big dive into African culture for Marvel in the lead up to Black Panther (see review). However, like many of the Netflix/Marvel TV Shows it lagged in the middle, but unlike the other shows, it just could not stick the landing, with one of the most underwhelming season finales so far. However, while there were real issues, there was also such an amazing potential which we got to see a bit of in The Defenders (see review). So today we take our first steps in the follow-up season as a new player enters the scene in Harlem.
TL;DR – A beautiful, haunting, and often brutal look at what we do for those we love.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Post-Credit Scene – There is no end-credit scene
Review –
There was a time not that long ago where zombies were this interesting subset of the horror genre. Now in a world where every second video game has them as an enemy and we have seen nearly every possible permutation of it on the big and small screen, it honestly feels like we have become saturated with the living dead. Now frankly, this is a great pity because out there in the world of media there are still very powerful works of art being made that deals with these issues, like The Last of Us and Train to Busan. Well, today we are looking at a film that is joining these lofty heights with Cargo.
TL;DR – This is a fascinating look at a world of complete inequality, and how that affects the lives of those within.
Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars
Review –
Today after watching The Rain (see review) I wanted to continue to explore more of the different Sci-Fi TV shows from around the world, and it just so happens that with the ending of The Rain I was recommended 3% from Brazil. So today we jump from the Post-Apocalyptic realm, and into the world of dystopia, stark power differences, and a world where the haves and the have-nots could not be further apart. In today’s review, we will be looking at both Season One and Two of 3% so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead for especially Season One but also some of the events that happen further along.
TL;DR – An interesting take on the post-apocalyptic genre from Denmark, which blends a number of common elements to make something quite interesting, if not that unique.
Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars
Review –
The Post-Apocalyptic genre is one of those settings that can either be gold or a complete drag or in the case of one current series on TV at the moment, it could start off as gold and then drag into oblivion. At the heart of what makes these settings work is the focus on the characters and the human stories among the devastation. This is why films like Mad Max, The Matrix and shows like Jericho, and even video games like Fallout are so evocative. Today we are looking at another entry into this genre from Denmark with The Rain.
TL;DR – Blllaaaare baba bi bop bum barrrr, Blllaaaare baba bi bop bum barrrr, blllaaaare baba bi bop bum barrrr, blar, blarrrrrrr
Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars
Review –
Rebooting an old and much-beloved TV series is a fraught proposition. Now from a business perspective, it makes perfect sense because you have an inbuilt fanbase to launch the show to. However, it also comes with a lot of baggage with fan expectations and a wealth of information that you have to wade through and decide what you will keep and what you will ignore. So for every Battlestar Galactica or Doctor Who you have a Knight Rider and Bionic Woman that failed to get that balance right. Today we have a chance to look at a series reboot that actually gets that balance right, both showing it understands and respect of the original, but also a show stepping out and doing its own thing. Now as we go on there will be some [SPOILERS] as we will be looking at the season as a whole, so just be warned if you have not seen it yet.
TL;DR Movie Reviews and Analysis 