Tag Archives: Sarah Shahi

Paradise: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – Cornerstoned by some fantastic performances, we explore a world where things might be perfect, as long as you don’t look any deeper.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Xavier walks up some stairs.

Paradise Review –

It might just be the current climate, or the fact that rewatching The West Wing makes me feel a growing sense of naivety. But I have been trying to find a new political or politically adjacent series to stick my teeth into. My first attempt was the delightful The Residence, which made its mark. But I wanted to find something with a bit more bite, and today I think I found it.

So, to set the scene, Secret Service Agent Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) was doing his usual daily rounds in the sleepy town of Paradise. The sort of town where you can jog to the President’s house as part of your morning commute. Xavier did the usual handoff to the agents on site, including Jane Driscoll (Nicole Brydon Bloom) and Billy Pace (Jon Beavers). However, something was off that morning, POTUS, Cal Bradford (James Marsden) was still in bed, which was odd even for a man who spends most of his day in a bathrobe. But as he goes into the President’s room, he is accosted by the sight of blood and the body of the President. Xavier should call it in right away, but he locks the site down before word can escape, and before he loses control of the first murder scene in Paradise’s history. Now, from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Red, White & Royal Blue – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A perfectly fine rom-com, but the narrative never gets beyond the surface level.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a post-credit scene.

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

A forced photo shoot.

Red, White & Royal Blue Review –

While some might find them sappy, I will openly admit that I love a good rom-com, especially an excellent political rom-com like Dave or The American President. In fact, I have not seen one of these in quite a while, so when I heard there was a new one out on Amazon, well, I had to check it out.

So to set the scene, we are in London at Westminster Abby, where Prince Philip (Thomas Flynn), the future King, has married his childhood friend Martha (Bridget Benstead). But this is not the heart of the story because also in attendance is Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine), his sister Princess Beatrice (Ellie Bamber), the son of the President of America Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez) and the granddaughter of the Vice President, Nora Holleran (Rachel Hilson). Henry and Alex intensely dislike each other, shenanigans occur, and oh, is that a falling cake and a forced fake press damage control tour?  

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Black Adam – Movie Review

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TL;DR – This is a film where nearly anything of interest was sandblasted off to give us a bland expedition with some moments of interest.     

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene

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

Black Adam floats in the ocean.

Black Adam Review –

I came into this film with a lot of trepidation. To say that Warner Bros has had a challenging year with its merger would be an understatement, losing nearly any goodwill they had with them. Add to this that the DCEU has struggled with very straightforward hero narratives. How would they go with an anti-hero? But if nothing else, the charisma of Dwayne Johnson is strong, and if anything can help a film, it is that.

So to set the scene, 5,000 years ago, in 2,600 BCW, in the land of Kahndaq, Black Adam (Dwayne Johnson) was chosen by the wizards to stand up to the local despot. SHAZAM, and the palace explodes. In the present, Kahndaq is still under the control of occupiers, and Adrianna Tomaz (Sarah Shahi) is trying to hide treasures from the Intergang mercenaries when she finds Black Adam’s tomb. He is finally let free, but all that time has not blunted his desire for revenge and rampage. Seeing a potential threat, Hawkman (Aldis Hodge) and the Justice Society Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), and Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo) try to show him a different path or at least get him to surrender peacefully. But then, the Black Adam is not peaceful.   

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