Tag Archives: reviews

Star Trek: Lower Decks: Fully Dilated – TV Review

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TL;DR – This might be one of my favourite episodes this season because it nails its premise.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

The USS Cerritos over the time planet.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –

There are a lot of episodes of Lower Decks out there, and not all of them work for me. Their best combination is wherein they balance their deep Star Trek knowledge and in-jokes with telling a compelling story in their own right. Today’s episode is a good example of just how to do that.   

So, to set the scene, the USS Cerritos has found another of those pesky subspace ruptures and has been tasked to close it off. However, before they can do that, the crew discovers a Starfleet signal on a nearby pre-warp civilization. Not wanting to breach the Prime directive, they beam Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Tendi (Noël Wells), and T’Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz) down in disguise to destroy/retrieve anything before it can contaminate the culture. The only problem is that this planet is living under a slight time dilation, so all Rutherford (Eugene Cordero) and Boimler (Jack Quaid) need to do is stand at the transport controls, wait a couple of seconds and beam them back. What is the worst they could do in just a couple of seconds …? We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Latency (Hana’s Game) Review: A Missed Opportunity in Sci-Fi

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TL;DR – Latency is a film that explores an exciting topic but feels more defined by its limitations than what it was trying to achieve.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Aliens converge on Hana.

Latency Review –

Today, we are looking at a film that explores the interface between biology and technology, which is probably one of the significant issues that will impact people in the not-so-distant future. This is the kind of science fiction that we have seen a lot of in the last couple of years but with more of a video game lean to it. Which I always find fascinating.

So, to set the scene, we open with Hana (Sasha Luss) hearing something crashing against her door when it crashes open and aggressive aliens storm in. She takes out her gun and despatches wave after wave on them until she notices one of them glitching through a wall. She likes QA work because she has agoraphobia and struggles to leave her unit with only her friend Jen (Alexis Ren) able to come inside without Hana having a breakdown. But when Hana gets a surprise package of the next Omnia headset, she has to try it out. But it is more than just a game. It is a brain-computer interface that can interface with every device in your life and learn from your brain patterns. It should give zero latency to gaming. It is revolutionary, but it also has the stink of a corporation messing where it shouldn’t.

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Rumours Review: A Surreal but Flawed Experience

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TL;DR – A film that had a premise for half an hour that is stretched out to a feature and even a cast list like this can’t fix that central issue. Surrealism for just the sake of being surreal.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

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

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

The G7 leaders standing for a photo op.

Rumours Review –

Before we start, a little history about me. My professional qualifications are in International Relations and the exploration of politics on a global level. So, when I got invited to a horror/mystery/comedy/weird film set during a meeting of the G7. You can imagine I was excited because this was right up my alley. Well, that was until I actually got to watch the film.

So, to set the scene, several calamities are happening in the world, so the G7 leaders Hilda Ortmann (Cate Blanchett), the Chancellor of Germany; Edison Wolcott (Charles Dance), the President of the United States; Maxime Laplace (Roy Dupuis), the Prime Minister of Canada; Sylvain Broulez (Denis Ménochet), the President of France; Cardosa Dewindt (Nikki Amuka-Bird), the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Antonio Lamorte (Rolando Ravello), the Prime Minister of Italy & Tatsuro Iwasaki (Takehiro Hira), the Prime Minister of Japan. As the leaders walk to a private dinner to discuss the proposal from the meeting, they discover a bog body has been found on the property. But as they sit for dinner, suddenly, they can’t contact any of their staff and soon realise that they are all alone.  

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Citadel Honey Bunny – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is the first Citadel show that I think captured what set out to do with this series.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Doing a motorbike stunt.

Citadel: Honey Bunny Review –

We are now three seasons deep into this grand Citadel experiment from Amazon Prime. The first season was a complete mess, but that might have been more about behind-the-scenes issues than anything else. On the second outing, Diana jumped over to Italy and was an improvement on the formula. But today, it is India’s turn to show what they can do, and spoiler for the review: what they can do is quite a bit.   

So, to set the scene, we are in Nainital in the year 2000, and Hanimandakini “Honey” Raj (Samantha Ruth Prabhu) is dropping her daughter Nadia (Kashvi Majmundar) off at school and building up a café. However, things take a turn when Honey notices that she is being followed in the market. She dodges her pursuer, sends a coded message of alarm to her daughter Nadia (Kashvi Majmundar), and almost gets a surprise attack, but she misses the second tail. For you see, back in 1992 in Bombay, while Bunny was trying to make it in the acting world, she met Raahi “Bunny” Gambhir (Varun Dhawan), who was on the stunt team. But when Honey struggles to get work and is in desperate need of a job, she discovers that stunts are not all that Bunny does for money. On the side, he and his group Chacko (Shivankit Parihar) and Ludo (Soham Majumdar) also engage in a little corporate espionage. We will be looking at the season as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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The Boy & the Octopus – Movie Review

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TL;DR – For what is essentially one big ad, it is still charming to boot.     

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

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

The Octopus.

The Boy & the Octopus Review –

Can an advertisement have artistic merit? That is the question that we are asking today as we explore a short Christmas film from Disney that is crammed with product placement to the point of rupture. But does that make it not worth the watch?

So, to set the scene, one day, a small boy (Solomon Horta) went swimming in the reefs and found an octopus friend who refused to leave his head. Even when they fly home, it is still there. Now, it goes with him wherever he goes, including the Christmas markets.

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Star Trek: Lower Decks: Starbase 80?! – TV Review

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TL;DR – A weird little fun episode that gets to put the cap off the running joke of Starbase 80

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Starbase 80.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –

One of the recurring jokes on Star Trek: Lower Decks is that no one ever wants to get transferred to Starbase 80. The very joke of it is enough to put a pause on any dubious activity. We have known how bad it was since way back in Season One and now it is time to find out if the legacy lives up to the reality.

So, to set the scene, after cataloguing a bunch of algae on the ocean planet Piskes 9, the USS Cerritos was meant to head to a Captain’s Conference on Casperia Prime. However, after a navigation malfunction, the ship had to drop out of warp because they were flying blind. That is no problem. There is a Starbase they can reach by impulse. The only problem is that base is Starbase 80: Insert creepy music here. We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Piper (The Piper) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While Piper has a solid premise, it does not have the narrative to hold you for the runtime.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

The Piper on a roof top.

Piper Review –

Today we are looking at an interesting film, in that I think we have something with an interesting premise, is conceptionally quite sound, yet ended up feeling more lacklustre than anything else. It is an odd disconnect that I hope to explore.

So, to set the scene, Liz (Elizabeth Hurley) and her daughter Amy (Mia Jenkins) have moved across the world to a small town in Germany. The town is so quiet and charming that they didn’t need their local prison so they turned it into a school where Liz will now work. Just don’t ask about the wi-fi. But beyond the charm, this is a city with a dark secret, but secrets are everywhere, and these secrets could kill.

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Star Trek: Lower Decks: A Farewell to Farms – TV Review

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TL;DR – Crack out the Bat’leths and open the good Bloodwine casks because it is time to visit Qo’noS

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Lower Decks Title Card looking over a Qo-noS sunset..

Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –

When you have been watching shows for quite a while, you pick up telltale signs that something big is about to happen. One of those is the lack of a Title Sequence. Wait, the cast names not on the backdrop of a coming calamity of Borg, Tholians, Klingons, Romulans, Pakleds, oh and is that V’ger? But instead, it was on a warm sunset in Qo’noS. Well, you know something big is about to happen.

So, to set the scene, we are on Qo’noS, and Captain Ma’ah (Jon Curry) has been sequestered/banished to labouring work on the family farm. He is making Bloodwine (from worms, most likely Gagh) and raising Targ. He stubbornly avoids the comm call with a Federation signature. But if Mariner (Tawny Newsome) is one thing, it is persistent. He is stuck because the one who stripped him of his captainship is now the one who decides if he can get it back. Although Boimler (Jack Quaid) does know a lot about Klingon Bureaucratic minutia, and the Ritual of J’ethurgh is right there. We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Saturday Night – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A movie that embraces the chaos of its subject matter with such reverence it ends up hurting the final product.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film

30 Rock.

Saturday Night Review –

Today, we are looking at a bit of an odd duck of a film. One that swings wildly, stampeding through the chaos of its subject material with the gusto of a rhino in full tilt. However, that approach is going to be a boon or a detriment for you, depending on how you are approaching this film. For me, I am not someone who religiously tunes into Saturday Night Live. Sure, occasionally, a sketch from the show will bubble into the subconscious like Natalie Portman, Undercover Boss, or the recent Mother. Also, the most impacting sketch for me and my comedy journey came almost wholly disconnected from the show. So, you always know it is there, and its legacy in the movies that have and have not worked and the comics it has brought to the forefront. It is within that framework we look at the film today.

So, to set the scene, it is October 11, 1975, and Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) is out in front of 30 Rockefeller Plaza trying to get an audience to see his show with an NBC Page (Finn Wolfhard). That is because it is 90 minutes before his first show goes to air, and nothing is going right. The studio is having less and less faith in his vision, the cast is in chaos, the crew is in a state of revolution, oh, is that a fire, and why is there a llama? There are only 90 minutes to pull this all together, but that is going to be hard when there is not even a runtime yet.

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Double or Nothing – Movie Review

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TL;DR – Snippets of chaos that never come together as a whole

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film

The Gold Coast skyline

Double or Nothing Review –

We are currently in the midst of the Brisbane International Film Festival, or if you are friends, BIFF. It is a cozy festival where I always find a gem or two every year. Today, we are looking at a small Aussie movie filmed in my backyard (metaphorically) about what happens when you get trodden on over and over again.

So, to set the scene, Turbo (Andrew Ian Pope) and Nick (Rowan Howard) are cousins who never quite can get their luck together. Turbo always owes people money, and Nick is just trying to get through his parole without rocking any feathers. But they both need money to survive, and this means doing jobs for their boss, Col (John Jarratt), of a more explosive nature. But when there is a shift in management, the boys find themselves up a certain creek without a paddle.

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