Tag Archives: Todd Stashwick

The Accountant 2 (The Accountant²) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A surprisingly fun romp that finds a way to make an odd 8-year-old sequel work in the context of now.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

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

A precise breakfast of three eggs, bacon, and pancakes.

The Accountant 2 Review –

When I got the invitation to see The Accountant 2, I was honestly surprised. I had not heard much about a sequel, and I think that the first film might have aged a bit better than some of its contemporaries. I still only have vague recollections of the movie with an interesting premise, a strong performance, but it is also profoundly messy on every level. But, even if that first film didn’t quite live up to the potential it merited, there was enough there for me to wonder what would happen if they got a second bite at the apple, and this is what we are looking at today.

So, to set the scene, it has been eight years since The Accountant and Christian “Chris” Wolff (Ben Affleck) is still auditing banks and deals for organised crime, travelling around in a trailer home, and also giving tips to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Well, the former head of the FinCEN, Raymond King (J. K. Simmons), is only semi-retired because now and again, he picks up a case that means something to him. But when a meeting with a mysterious woman (Daniella Pineda) goes wrong, he leaves a note for his successor Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) to contact The Accountant. Because only they might be able to solve this puzzle.

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Star Trek: Picard – The Last Generation and Season Three – TV Review

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TL;DR – They stuck the landing.   

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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

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

The USS Enterprise-D

Star Trek: Picard Review –

The third and final season of Star Trek: Picard has come to an end, and more like any season so far, this felt almost like Star Trek: The Next Generation season 8. There was a little concern coming into the start of the season as to whether they could make it more than just a nostalgia fest. Now, don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of nostalgia on offer here. But there is also a lot of heart. In today’s review, we will first look at whether they stuck the landing with the final episode and then at the season and maybe the series as a whole.

So to set the scene, in Võx, we discovered the terrible secret that Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) had been holding so tight that even he did not know, he is The Borg. Or at least he had inherited some of the DNA changes The Borg made to Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). This made him reach out to the voice in his head … The Borg Queen (Alice Krige/Jane Edwina Seymour) herself. Which sets in motion The Borg’s final plan to trigger the Borg DNA inserted in all the young officers and remotely assimilate them using Jack’s ability, and it works. The fleet is taken over, most of those not assimilated are killed, and only Spacedock stands between The Borg and the extermination of Earth. 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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Star Trek: Picard – Võx – TV Review

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TL;DR – This week’s episode was electric, with every reveal, every twist, and every moment landing perfectly  

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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

The fleet comes together.

Star Trek: Picard Review –

There have been a lot of beautiful episodes of Star Trek that have been aired in its 57-year history. Indeed, back in the year 2020, I made my own list of My Personal Top 25 Episodes out of the 743 episodes that had aired up to that point. I bring this up because, as of today, I know I have to amend this list because I just watched one of the finest hours of Star Trek so far.

So to set the scene, after securing the USS Titan-A from the Dominion invaders in Surrender. The whole old crew of the USS Enterprise D and E came together for the first time in an age. Picard (Patrick Stewart), Data (Brent Spiner), Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Troi (Marina Sirtis), Crusher (Gates McFadden), Geordi (LeVar Burton), and Worf (Michael Dorn). There are ill omens in the air because while the Dominion elements have been defeated, it is clear that something is set to occur on Frontier Day, and they have still not worked out what that is. But before they can do that, one question that can be answered is what is happening to Jack (Ed Speleers) because Deanna Troi can help him find what is locked away and is causing him such grief. But no one was prepared for what they found. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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Star Trek: Picard – Surrender – TV Review

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TL;DR – This week’s episode had me on the edge of my seat for the entire runtime

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

The Shrike looms over the Titan.

Star Trek: Picard Review –

There is an art to naming an episode. You want it to be relevant, and the more esoteric, the more disconnected you leave your audience. Indeed, Chuck famously titled all their episodes a version of Chuck Versus the Colonel for that reason. However, you can’t be too literal with the title because why watch a show when you already know what will happen. The goldilocks of episode titles are those that are relatively straightforward but then can have multiple meanings. This is what we get this week with Surrender.

So to set the scene, well, things are actually at the darkest [I hope] for the crew of the USS Titan-A. Because in last week’s Dominion, Seven (Jeri Ryan) didn’t sacrifice Shaw (Todd Stashwick), Vadic (Amanda Plummer) was able to storm the bridge and take over the ship. She is looking for Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) and is now using the crew as pawns to lure him out of hiding. Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Crusher (Gates McFadden) do not want him to turn himself in, knowing they will destroy the Titan once they have their prey. But that is easy to say but hard to do when you hear the voices of the crew being killed around you. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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Star Trek: Picard – Imposters – TV Review

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TL;DR – Things go from bad to just fundamentally worse, like just about the worst of the worst.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

Two captains and an admiral.

Star Trek: Picard Review –

I need to stop saying that ‘It’s Always Darkest Before the Dawn’ because I fundamentally misjudged where the bottom was for the USS Titan-A and her crew. Because … oh wow … we are in a bad place, like fundamentally almost the worst place you want to be.

So to set the scene, after fighting off The Shrike and escaping the nebula, the USS Titan-A limped back into Federation space to make repairs. But while the crew wonders why the Changelings are not reverting to goo, Starfleet shows up. Riker (Michael Dorn) and Picard (Patrick Stewart) did break more than a few laws to save Beverly (Gates McFadden). But when the security crew from the Duderstadt class USS Intrepid arrives, we find the exanimation undertaken by an old friend … or enemy? Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead for the show.    

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Star Trek: Picard: No Win Scenario – TV Review

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TL;DR – ‘To boldly go’ is a good motto as anything else, but it is rare to see it captured in an episode quite like this.  

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

An energy wave hit the USS Titan

Star Trek: Picard Review –

What do you do when your back is against the wall, and there is no easy way out? Star Trek has a term for that, the Kobayashi Maru, a term they may have put on repeat recently. However, only when all the chips are down can you honestly tell the mantle of a crew and their captain.

So to set the scene, the crew is on edge after hours of The Shrike coming from nowhere and attacking the USS Titan-A, which is not helped by the fact that there is a Changeling on board who is sabotaging. A moment of incredible frustration boiled over when Captain Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Admiral Picard (Patrick Stewart) disagreed over the course of action, which is when The Shrike’s new portal weapons were used devastatingly. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead for the show.     

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Star Trek: Picard: Seventeen Seconds – TV Review

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TL;DR – A bit of a rocky episode, but that is to be expected when you are at your lowest point.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Picard's hand on Riker's.

Star Trek: Picard Review –

As far as we know, Thomas Fuller was the first to write the phrase ‘It’s Always Darkest Before the Dawn’. As a theologian, he had a particular view on what he meant by that, and being written in 1650, I am not sure he ever would have thought about how those words would be translated in a cinematic context. But now more than ever, It is always darkest before the dawn.

So to set the scene, a while ago in the past, back when Captain Riker (Jonathan Frakes) was new to the USS Titan, he sat down [in another new uniform, I weep for the cosplayers] with his old mentor Admiral Picard (Patrick Stewart). Deanna (Marina Sirtis) had just given birth to their son Thaddeus, and they were celebrating. In the now, after deciding at the end of Disengage not to hand over Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers), the USS Titan-A dives into the nebula to avoid detection. Still, not even that may save them from the Shrike and her captain Vadic (Amanda Plummer). Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead for the show.

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Star Trek: Picard: Disengage – TV Review

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TL;DR – This episode was full of electric moments that I could not look away from.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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

The Shrike comes out from the nebular.

Star Trek: Picard Review –

There are many things I look for in an episode of Science Fiction. Sometimes I am in the mood for an action scene, sometimes, it is a character marching into an entire soliloquy captivating the screen, and sometimes I just want to be shocked by what just happened. Well, today, we get an episode of Star Trek that does all this and more.   

So to set the scene, in The Next Generation, Picard (Patrick Stewart) is almost on his way off-world to spend some time with his love when he gets a message from Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) and old friend, an old flame, and someone who he has not talked to in 20 years. But she was in trouble, and with the help of Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Seven (Jeri Ryan) [and no thanks to Captain Shaw (Todd Stashwick)], they went past the edges of Federation space to mount a rescue. But when they got there, they found a couple of surprises, including Beverly’s son Jack (Ed Speleers), but also that they might have led the person hunting Beverly right to her. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead for the show.    

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Star Trek: Picard – The Next Generation – TV Review

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TL;DR – A beautiful start to the final season.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

Commander Seven of Nine

Star Trek: Picard Review –

I have enjoyed the first two seasons of Star Trek Picard, even though they have been very uneven. But I did have some hesitations coming into Season 3 because it felt like the show was dumping most of its supporting cast to give The Next Generation crew one last run. Was this nostalgia going to be a lovely swan song for the final season or an anchor to drag it all down? Well, this first episode makes it feel like it is not the latter.

So to set the scene, we open in the 25th Century as we zoom through a nebula to the SS Eleos XII, where Captain Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) is under attack from unknown assailants. After dispatching them but gravely wounded, Beverly sends an encoded message to Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), a man she has not spoken to in 20 years. Jean-Luc needs to go help his old friend, but how else are you going to do that by bringing in some help from old friends in the form of Captain Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes). Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead for the show.

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