southdavid Reviews (2,118)

The Venture Bros. (2003–2018)

If it ain't Brock, don't fix it.

[10/10 · 23 April 2024]

I've written reviews of each season of "The Venture Brothers" as I've watched it again over this last year or so, you can find those against the final episode of each season. I knew that I loved what I'd seen before, but each viewing only seems to make me appreciate it more, as I make the connections of the show.

As a child Thaddeus 'Rusty' Venture (James Urbaniak) was the son of a super scientist, travelling the world and getting to unimaginable peril at every turn. Now an adult, and scientist himself, things have not turned out well for him as he's been unable to escape his father shadow. Along with his own two sons, Hank (Christopher McCulloch) and Dean (Michael Sinterniklaas) and their bodyguard Brock (Patrick Warburton), the family continue to travel the globe taking whatever opportunities come Rusty's way and avoiding the supervillains that target them.

Whilst poking fun at superhero characters and plot, as well as spies, secret agents and, of course, Johnny Quest, "The Venture Brothers" grows far beyond being a simple parody. Whilst never sacrificing the humour, there's a depth of thought in the storytelling, the seeding and the call backs that few shows attempt to engage with. I suppose the trade off is that quality of writing meant that the show, entirely written by the duo of Jackson Publick (Chris McCulloch) and Doc Hammer, took twenty years to produce just 86 episodes - often leaving gaps of two or three years between episodes, which makes it difficult to maintain a fanbase.

But it's brilliant, funny, thoughtful stuff - though never unwilling to add a lowbrow joke along the run. The animation looks a little shaky in the opening season, with the occasional off model character, but it settles down and looks brilliant throughout the remainder of the run. The vocal performances are universally great, and the choice of guest stars is another tremendous element of the series.

It's unquestionably one of the shows of my life and the only question now is how long I leave it until I watch it again.

The Venture Bros.: The Saphrax Protocol (2018) Season 7, Episode 10

Season Seven Review

[9/10 · 23 April 2024]

And so, sadly, my latest run through one of my favourite ever TV shows comes to an end (apart from the movie) as, for the first time, I watch season seven of the show. I was not disappointed.

A new and terrifying problem at the VenTech Tower building leads to revelations about the parents of both Dr. Venture (James Urbaniak) and The Monarch (Chris McCulloch). The Monarch disavows his Blue Morpho period and settles down to work for the Guild, trying to raise his threat level so he can return to arching Rusty. Dean (Michael Sinterniklaas) heads off to college, but his problems seemingly come with him. Hank (Chris McCulloch) is enjoying his relationship with Sirena (Cristin Milioti) but worries about being kept apart by both her schedule and her villainous father.

The three-part opening to this season is utterly fantastic and might be the best set of stories that the show has ever done. It's another wonderful series overall though, again mixing the humour with revelations and callback to moments we've seen in the show. Case in point being a recontextualiation of the problem light that was flicking on Gartantua-1, all the way back in the second episode of the first season, or the significance of previous Monarch arch Dr. Dugong.

This seasons storylines also allow for a return for Dr. Orpheus and the Order of the Triad, and for Dermot, as well as a continued showing from Wide Wale and Red Death.

Brilliant stuff, perhaps the best season that the show ever did. I just have the movie left to go! Then what will I do !

I Am a Killer: Something Hideous (2020) Season 2, Episode 10

Season Two Review

[6/10 · 23 April 2024]

It's taken me three years to get around to watching the second season of Netflix's "I Am a Killer". Re-reading that review now, I could almost post exactly the same one here as my thoughts are the same.

As with Season One, we meet an inmate who was formally on Death Row, but has had their sentence commuted, usually due to a change in the law regarding sentencing guidelines. The inmate explains their crime from their point of view. From there, we meet other parties in the story, victims, associates, or law enforcement who give their assessment of what happened and either support or (more often) dispute the specifics. Three months later, the inmate is interviewed again and gets to react to the details provided by the other parties.

So essentially, it's ten more stories following the same formula that worked in the first run. Again, generally the criminals were selected because of some aspect of their story that might be considered as a mitigating factor, even if that mitigation is only the difference between first- and second-degree murder. Again, the show leaves the conclusion to you, the audience, as to whether you feel the sentence was/is justified. I can't remember if it was true of the first season, but it certain is striking here how many of the inmates tell a similar story of parental neglect, or abuse, a degree of sexual abuse is often involved too, leading to drug taking from an exceptionally young age and often directly to the crime in question.

I feel about the same here as I did about the first season. It's not particularly revolutionary or memorable, and though I made it through this second run, the fact it took me three years to get back around to it probably tells you something about how enthused I was about the show. I will take another break and get back around to the shorter season three, probably not another three years this time though.

Blonde Bait (1956)

Four out of Ten(ko).

[4/10 · 23 April 2024]

Another Hammer movie watched to go with the "House of Hammer" Podcast and after a few welcome weeks of otherworldly horror, we're back with a noiry crime thriller. I usually write my reviews a few days after watching the film, so as an aide memoire I usually make a couple of little notes. Here I've just written down one word, in big letters, "BORING".

Angie Booth (Beverly Michaels) a lounge room singer of some renown, plans to marry her shady boyfriend Nick (Paul Carpenter) on New Years Eve. With Nick out of the country, Angie is imprisoned for an assault on her murderous club promotor and will miss the arranged date. However, the British and American authorities are aware of the planned nuptials and, using an informant, 'Granny' (Thora Hird), try to organise a Prison break, so Angie can lead them to Nick.

Despite not one, but two, salacious titles, the version of this film I saw on Youtube was catastrophically dull. There appears to be two very different versions of the film, with "Blonde Bait" recasting Nick and adding new actors and scenes, I think I was watching the original though.

The women's prison seems remarkably clean and organised and there's not much antagonism going on between the staff and convicts. Some of the other prisoners have an impact on the story. Marguerite, played by April Olrich, has had a baby that will be taken from her and put up for adoption soon, as the rules of prison dictate and so joins the escape and bigamist Babs (Sheila Burrell) who has married twice and is released before the escape takes place. There are a couple of recognisable actors in this, recognisable to me anyway. One is Thora Hird, who is playing a character called Granny in 1956, it's almost incomprehensible that she'd still be playing elderly characters on TV fifty years later, she's great though. Gordon Jackson is also in the film too.

What should be an interesting thriller, about a state mandated prison escape leading to the capture of a wanted felon gets hopelessly lost in the mundanity of the second act, so much so that I can't even recall the specifics of if they catch Nick at the end. It's not surprising that a new ending was created for "Blonde Bait" as this one is very underwhelming.

This feels like a step backwards for Hammer, after the horror successes of the last couple of films and I'm glad it doesn't appear to last too long.

Upload: Flesh and Blood (2023) Season 3, Episode 8

Season Three Review

[5/10 · 19 April 2024]

In my review of season two of "Upload" I used the term 'grudging completionism' as to why I was still watching it. I think that, had it not been announced that the fourth season will be the last, I'd be drawing a line under it here but, as I'm so close to the end, I will watch the fourth run.

Having uploaded into a real body again, Nathan (Robbie Amell) tries to begin a relationship with Nora (Andy Allo) in the real world. They continue to investigate the business dealings of Horizen, and return disk drives of people to their families but Nathan is hiding that his body may be failing. Panicking about there not being a version of Nathan at Lakeview anymore, Tinsley (Mackenzie Cardwell) restores him from a backup. This back up doesn't remember leaving Ingrid (Allegra Edwards) for Nora, a fact that Ingrid decides to exploit.

My problem remains that "Upload" is neither fish nor fowl. Admittedly mixing genres can work for an interesting and inventive time, but it doesn't here, for me anyway, and "Upload" has too much daft humour to work as a comedy drama, but too much convoluted plot to work as a sitcom. I don't know if it's my brain, that is conditioned to work one way with what I perceive as a comedy, but almost none of the plot points of this show will stick in my head. I don't remember who killed Nathan, I only vaguely remember why, I couldn't remember what the court case that leads into the conclusion of the series was about. It might be that, or it might be that I actually only care about the love story between Nora and Nathan and, like in all these shows, it's another occasion where the show no longer works once that "will they won't they" is concluded. That is slightly untrue though, as I also care about Ingrid, and again it's all the credit to Allegra Edwards that what would have been a one note rich girl character is imbued with enough heart that I sympathise with her.

Let's not go overboard, generally it's amiable enough stuff that I don't hate my time with it, but, as I say, were it not for the confirmation that the show is ending with the next run, I think I've had my fill.

American Horror Stories: Organ (2023) Season 3, Episode 4

Season Three (A??) Review

[4/10 · 19 April 2024]

I'm not sure what's really going on with season three of "American Horror Stories". It might have just been truncated by the SAG-AFTRA strike, or that might be it for this run and the show will return with season four at a later date? For now, I'm going to review these as 'season three', and if more are added I'll review those as 'season 3B'.

A young girl is encouraged to acts of violence and self-harm by a friend she meets online. During a pandemic, an art dealer bonds with his new virtual assistant, until she becomes fixated on him. An aspiring model goes to extreme lengths to maintain her weight loss and stay at the top. A sexist womaniser has his kidneys stolen following an online hookup, but a new unidentified organ is there in its place.

I keep saying this about all forms of "American Horror Story" at the moment, both these and the main show, they're not scary - they're just boring. Again, I wonder if the problem with this series is that, what could be a high-profile showcase for new and inventive writers, is largely dominated by the existing team that Ryan Murphy uses. Two episodes of these four are written (or co-written) by Manny Coto, who unfortunately passed away last year, but has been a regular contributor to Murphy's work. The rest are written by regular producers on other Murphy shows.

The scariest is probably the first one "Bestie" and that uses the unfortunate trope of a physical disfigurement as the basis of the horror. That one at least had me guessing as to what might be going on, and I maintain that my idea for the resolution of the episode would have been better. The other three are all painfully obvious from the premise, each of which can be explained in a couple of words and none of which have a resolution worth talking about. The opening credits of each episode remain the best aspect of show, maybe whomever does those should be asked to contribute an episode.

I'm disappointed to learn that I've been alive long enough that Seth Gabel now plays, father of protagonist, rather than slightly unhinged, charismatic protagonist though, that was a shock to the system.

It's an anthology series still, so I guess at any point one could come along and be brilliant, but it still feels like a pedestrian show, unwilling to do anything too interesting or clever to be worthwhile.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: S.O.S. Part 2 (2015) Season 2, Episode 22

Season Two Review

[7/10 · 19 April 2024]

I enjoyed rewatching the first season of "Agents of Shield" more than I thought I might. The "Whedon" style worked more for me than I thought it might and the integration with the big Marvel Movies of that year was well done. The drift away though is underway now, as the Hydra twist and the fall of SHIELD effectively resets the show for this second season.

Though now operating with no budget and stolen resources, new Director of SHIELD Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) tries to battle the remaining forces of HYDRA, whilst not getting caught by General Talbot (Adrian Pasdar) who is bringing the army's might around in him. Daniel Whitehall (Reed Diamond) leads the Hydra forces, and seeks an obelisk of Alien origin and is using Raina (Ruth Negga) to get it, she has another, superior, leader though.

The first half of this season is spent dealing with the fallout of the HYDRA situation, which leads to the arrival of the Inhuman's in the MCU (Though not the Inhuman's series, that is still a little way away). This gives us the resolution of Daisy's parentage, including a fun performance from the always welcome Kyle MacLachlan. This season introduces Nick Blood and Adrianne Palicki as Lance Hunter and Bobbi Morse, whose chemistry was such that they hoped to spin them off into their own Marvel series, but it didn't progress beyond the pilot stage. The series also finds ways to keep Grant Ward involved in the story.

It's tie into "Age of Ultron" is a little stranger outside of the context of the film. It does explain where the Helicarriers came from in that film, but there's little return context here, or payoff to Raina's visions of "Metal men". In fact, Ruth Negga is perhaps the most illtreated by this season, robbed of intrigue, caked in prosthetics and then killed off.

It's another fun season of the show and I'm still enjoying it, perhaps more than I thought that I would. We'll see long it lasts into season three.

Julia (2022–2023)

Cooking with Gas

[7/10 · 19 April 2024]

I've written a review of each season of Julia, that you can find against the final episode of the season, but now the shows cancellation is confirmed, I thought I'd put something here too, so sum up my overall thoughts.

Another show that I decided to watch based on its appearance on the Guardians Top TV of 2022 list. I enjoyed "Julia", if perhaps I felt it was a little too frothy for its own good.

Having published a book of French recipes, to moderate success, an appearance on a literary TV show, for local Boston public television inspires Julia Child (Sarah Lancashire) to attempt to produce a cooking show for the little seen network. With the loving, though not perhaps unwavering, support of her husband Paul (David Hyde Pierce) the show is produced and goes from being minor splash to countrywide phenomenon, thank to Child's unique charm and the hard work of her friends and the TV station support staff.

It was perhaps a bit of an easy set-up, given that the real Julia Child is such a broad character, but Sarah Lancashire is really great at the heart of this comedy drama. Pierce is perfect too, so it's interesting to learn that he only took the role when Tom Hollander (who I'm sure would have been great too) left the project. It did remind me across the board of "The Marvellous Mrs Maisel" given that the show share producer Daniel Goldfarb. It's a period piece, obviously, and is focused on smart women operating in on their own - though neither show make the men in them "the problem" and Paul Child is an interesting and layered character just as Joel Maisel is.

I'm not sure this is much of a criticism, but the show isn't particularly interested in the deeper aspects of the story. For example, It does show Alice Naman, a black producer at the network, deal with the dismissive sexist views of her fellow producers, but it's hard not to imagine that there wouldn't have been more of a racial element to that, even in a progressive Bostonian liberal environment.

I'd have watched another season, had it been forthcoming - though they might have had to do a time jump by a decade or so to find more interesting aspects of Julia's life. As it is though, the show was a light-hearted comedy drama that I enjoyed.

Julia: Lobster Américaine (2023) Season 2, Episode 8

Season Two Review

[7/10 · 19 April 2024]

I watched the first season of "Julia" as it was on the Guardian's Top TV of 2022 list. Whilst it was a bit too frothy for his own good, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed this second season two, though I was already starting to wonder if maybe we'd run out of plot and the cancellation, whilst not welcome, was perhaps understandable.

Julia (Sarah Lancashire) is in France between seasons of The French Chef and is struggling to reach a consensus with Simca (Isabella Rossellini) about what recipes to include in their second cookbook. The station is struggling, as they're attempting to come up with a show that can rival Julia for viewing figures. Pilots are produced by Alice (Brittany Bradford), of a talk show dealing specifically with women's issues and by Russ (Fran Kranz) with a documentary on current affairs. The studio has hired a new director for The French Chef though, Elaine Levitch (Rachel Bloom) from CBS - however, on her return Elaine and Julia's chemistry is not right.

This second season is similarly as light, funny and charming as the first was. Again, it threatens at darker storylines, this time largely focused on a (frankly bizarre) storyline involving the FBI looking for left wing agitators working at the studio. This is introduced by the arrival of Paul Guilfoyle as a former friend of Julia, who threatens to go public with allegations about Paul, unless Julia provides information. It's not so much the idea of this storyline that is bizarre, as it is the way that it's overcome.

Performances are really good. Lancashire remains utterly lost to the character and David Hyde Pierce is fabulous and gets to play his characters twin brother in one episode of this season.

I'd have watched another season, had it been forthcoming - though they might have had to do a time jump by a decade or so to find more interesting aspects of Julia's life. As it is though, the show was a light hearted comedy drama that I enjoyed.

Boat Story (2023)

The moor the merrier.

[7/10 · 16 April 2024]

This BBC comedy crime drama was on the Guardians' best of 2023 list, despite appearing quite late in the year. I've been working my way through that countdown and landed on this a few weeks ago. It's a funny but dark series with a tone that reminds me of the Coen Brothers work.

Two strangers, Janet (Daisy Haggard) and Samuel (Paterson Joseph) discover a boat washed ashore on the coast of the town they live in. It contains two bodies and a large amount of cocaine. Despite being singularly unsuited to a life of crime, the pair agree to take the drugs and sell them, splitting the proceeds. Whilst the police are an immediate issue for them and trying to work out how to conduct a deal and who with, of bigger concern is French Gangster 'The Tailor' (Tcheky Karyo) owner of the drugs, who sends his hitman, Guy (Craig Fairbrass) locate them.

Despite being quite a stylish production, with its self-aware narration and meta 'play within the story' device, the key to the success of "Boat Story" is probably the casting of Haggard and Joseph as the two leads. Both play their roles as normal people who make an extraordinarily bad decision and keep their characters likable, but always with an edge that they might betray each other at any point. Craig Fairbrass is good too, with his beavy/hitman a bit deeper and more unusual than he might otherwise have been, there's an air of Martin McDonagh's writing in him - and his desire to make vases and go the Chinese restaurant with his coupon.

I suspect that you're either going to like the style of this series, with its chapter headings, flashbacks, allusions to an old French movie, ultra violence and humour, or you're going to hate it and whilst it's a novel change for the BBC, truth be told there's not much that original about it.

I found it fun though, carried along on a strong cast doing good work. It makes me want to start "The Tourist" now.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder (2023 Video Game)

Wonder-ful.

[8/10 · 16 April 2024]

It's been years since I properly played a 2D Mario Platform game, perhaps even all the way back to Super Mario World. The 3D one's I've been more involved with, but not a traditional one like this. And it's my loss, because this was a brilliant. A fun, imaginative and memorable time that will stay with me.

Seemingly bored with kidnapping the princess, Bowser uses the power of the Wonder Flower to merge with and steal the castle of Prince Florian, of the Flower Kingdom. As one of 12 heroes, you traverse levels capturing Wonder Seeds that reverse Bowsers dark magic and allow access deeper into the world. Each of the six Worlds has a Royal Seed, that destroys one of the cloud piranhas protecting Castle Bowser.

So, the basics of Mario games, established decades ago, remain. The aim is to travel from left to right across a level, jumping between platforms, avoiding or squashing enemies and make it to the goal. The variation this time comes from three new power ups, Drill Mario - who can dig into the bottom or top of a level and traverse along it; Elephant Mario, who can swat enemies with his trunk and hold water; and Bubble Mario, who can generate bubbles that trap enemies or can be bounced on to reach platforms. Each level also allows you to equip the character with a 'badge', variations of which can be collected as you play through the game - these may enhance existing skills, such as higher jumps or increased speed, or have another effect such as attracting coins to you or generating extra platforms to make levels easier. There's a real "Super Mario Bros. 2" (the "Doki Doki Panic" version) vibe in some of these, such as the badge that allows you to crouch and charge for a really high jump.

It's platforming perfection as you'd imagine from the company that has been making these for so long. Each level also has a second wonder seed that can be collected during the run. Each of these is found by activating a Wonder flower, which produces strange and imaginative effects on the level, such as the marching, singing, piranha plants, the pipes moving, or stampedes of enemies destroying the level. They are almost universally brilliant and stick around just long enough to divert and not overwhelm.

So, if it's so brilliant - and it is - why have I given it 8 out of 10 and not 10. The difficulty is the reason for that. I took one mark off because the game is generally quite easy, you can effect this a little, with your character and badge selection and I'd urge you to be careful with that if you can, trying to stay away from playing as Yoshi too much, or using a real 'cheat code' badge, like the extra blocks one, but even then it's still a breeze to get through. Except that is for the special world level "Climb to the Beat" that easily took 200 lives off me as I struggled to get through it. I took another point off just because of how staggeringly harsh that level is compared to the rest of the game.

It's brilliant overall though, even with those frustrations. Just a staggering good time and I'm already looking forward to the next 2D Mario game I can play.

Moneyball (2011)

Beane on toast.

[7/10 · 16 April 2024]

Despite being a big Aaron Sorkin fan, I hadn't actually seen "Moneyball" prior to this viewing, nearly 14 years after the films initial release. I found it a little dryer than similar films about politics or business, though maybe that's my general disinterest in Baseball rather than the fault of the film.

Feeling that he's taken the Oakland Athletic Baseball franchise as far as he can on the budget he's allowed, Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) is facing losing three star players to higher paying teams. Looking for a revolution, he meets Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) an economics graduate who believes firmly that baseball is misunderstood by those in the game and that using statistical analysis he can build a successful team utilising unfashionable players within their budget. The pair though meet resistance to the tactic, both from the former players who make up the scouting structure and the teams manager Art Howe (Phillip Seymour Hoffman).

Whilst I wouldn't say the film grabbed me like "The Social Network" or "Molly's Game" did, I did enjoy "Moneyball". It's a great central performance from Pitt and is chemistry with Hill is really strong. It helps that Oakland had a really interesting first season under the Sabremetrics plan, losing consistently at the start, then going on the longest winning streak in the history of the game - which was completed in the most dramatic fashion possible. Despite not being that familiar with Baseball it was easy to follow what was happening in the games and the data driven recruitment methodology as transcended Baseball to be used in all sports - though, gloriously, sport still has the x-factor of human frailty that stops it from becoming over predictable.

Again, it's just that little bit dryer that other Sorkin scripts, and the dialogue doesn't quite pop in the same way. I'm glad to have finally gotten around to it, but I can't see myself revisiting it as often as some of the others.

Back to Black (2024)

You Know I'm No Good

[5/10 · 15 April 2024]

Intriguingly "Back to Black" seems to be a film that is finding little consensus amongst the professional reviewers. I found the central performance excellent, but wonder if it's decision to, perhaps realistically, not portray anyone as the villain of the story, hurts its entertainment value.

A prodigiously talented singer/songwriter Amy Winehouse (Marisa Abela) has a growing reputation and a hit album. Before starting work on the next album, she meets Blake Fielder-Civil (Jack O'Connell) in a Camden bar and the pair begin a relationship. Already struggling with Bulimia and alcoholism, Blake's own hedonistic lifestyle sends the pair into a spiral of violence and addiction. When they break up, Amy's pain forms the basis for the songs on "Back to Black" her second album, which has worldwide success.

I think Marisa Abela is great as Amy. I know her from the BBC series "Industry" and her performance here, which includes her singing impression is maybe reason enough to see the film. In fact, it might be the only reason to see the film. Maybe that's a touch unfair, the performances from O'Connell, Eddie Marsan as her father Mitch and Lesley Manville as her grandmother Cynthia are all decent, even if none of them stretch much beyond what we've seen them do before. (In fact, I'd really like to see O'Connell play something other than a swaggering, self-destructive character).

The consensus narrative that has been told about Winehouse is that Fielder-Civil was the junkie that dragged poor Amy down and that Mitch sacrificed his daughter's health in order to not risk her success. Both ideas are present in the film, though it paints neither as the villain. Perhaps that's realistic, certainly it doesn't rob Amy of agency in her own story, but I did, at times, feel a little bored by what the film chose to present. It's quite long, at two hours, and whilst her talent was prodigious, maybe her life story wasn't full of as many different types of experiences as would justify this films existence.

I don't think the film adds up to enough for me to recommend it, which is a shame for Abela, who is really giving her all.

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

Liz-ard's days night.

[7/10 · 15 April 2024]

Been a while since I watched the Garfield era Spider-man films. At the time I felt, perhaps like most, that Garfield himself was a strong Peter Parker, but that the films, particularly the sequel, were a bit underwhelming. This version of the character was given a popularity boost by "No Way Home" so much so that rumours continue to persist that it's this version of Spiderman that Sony should use for their extended universe films (they should). I feel pretty similar after this viewing.

Raised by his Aunt May (Sally Field) and Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) since the disappearance of his parents, Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) discovers a connection between his father, and Scientist Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans) who works for science conglomerate OsCorp. Whilst sneaking away from a tour, Parker is bitten by a Spider from an experiment, which given him superhuman strength and the ability to climb up walls. Parker provides Connors with an equation that his father was working on, to stabilise combining animal genetic material with human. Though the aim is to regrow his missing limb, like a Lizard might, instead the serum transforms Connors into a giant powerful creature, though retaining his intelligence.

The cast are all really good, though Garfield is particularly strong. He's already in his late twenties, so doesn't particularly convince as a teenager but he nails Parker's shy wit and intelligence, and his wisecracking Spider-man is closer to the comic character than perhaps either of the two cinematic incarnations we've seen. Emma Stone, is of course brilliant too as Gwen Stacy, doomed love interest of Parker and a brave, smart companion for him. I like Rhys Ifans too, even if his, internally confused villain, conflicted and talking to himself rings a little close to Defoe's Green Goblin.

The film in general is perhaps solid, but not great. Spiderman's action scenes are good, and his battles with The Lizard are first-rate. It's saddled with a bit too much back story and origin business to deal with though, it includeds the death of Uncle Ben again, as well as the Spider bite and the transformation, but now there's added intrigue by tying Peter's Parents back into the story and to OsCorp. It makes the film feel very long, cramming so much in. The Lizard isn't a great looking character - personally I don't think the issue is with poor or rushed CGI work, as has been with recent Marvel films, but rather more that the character design is odd. Not really resembling a recognisable creature, in fact the nearest thing I thought of was the Goomba's in the Mario Brothers Movie.

I hope they can find a way for Garfield to play Peter Parker again as he's so good, and never really got the films to match him.

Halo: Halo (2024) Season 2, Episode 8

Season Two Review

[8/10 · 10 April 2024]

My thoughts on the first season of "Halo" were that it was fine, but I didn't love it like I hoped I might. I did say that I'd watch the second season though and indeed I have. The first few episodes of the season were again a bit of a chore but then I felt it really picked up, so much so that I enjoyed it overall and am actually looking forward to season three.

Whilst rescuing residents of a planet, the Master Chief (Pablo Schreiber) comes to realise that the Covenant were on the planet for a while, before beginning their "glassing" attack. He rescues a marine named Talia Perez (Cristina Rodlo). The Chief comes to believe that the Covenant were practising for a bigger attack, a claim that is dismissed by new Spartan team overseer James Ackerson (Jospeh Morgan) and then undermined by the testimony of Perez. Soren-066 (Bokeen Woodbine) is lured out of hiding by the promise of capturing Dr Halsey (Natascha McElhone) but is betrayed by his men and arrested.

As I say, the first few episodes of the season weren't much of an improvement. There is decent battle in the first episode but from there it's boring political manoeuvring, tedious scenes of Dr. Halsey's imprisonment and another B-Story I'm not particularly interested in, involving Bokeem Woodbine's former Spartan, as he is captured. However, as we reached the midpoint in the season, the slow building storylines kick into gear and we get recognisable, though different variations on recognisable Halo mythology, the fall of Reach, the Arbiter, the Halo ring itself and even some teases towards The Flood. Without getting too far into spoiler territory, this season finale also sidelines, or straight up kills, a number of the characters that I felt drew away from where I'd want the focus to be, which again bodes well for season three.

So yes, an improvement on what came before and I'm certainly more interested in a third season now, than I was a few weeks ago.

The Venture Bros.: Red Means Stop (2016) Season 6, Episode 8

Season Six Review

[8/10 · 9 April 2024]

Powering straight on into season six of "The Venture Brothers" these are the last episodes that I've seen before, with the final season and the movie being entirely new to me. This season, more than almost any other, show the commitment to change within the show, with new venues, new characters and new scenarios.

The death of Jonas Jnr sees Rusty (James Urbaniak) inherit his thriving business. The Venture's move to his New York skyscraper and Rusty's new increased profile sees Brock (Patrick Warburton) reinstated as the family bodyguard. The Monarch (Chris McCulloch) has also relocated to New York, to his childhood mansion, that's in need of quite a bit of work. With Doctor Mrs. The Monarch (Doc Hammer) now a key member of the Council, she is away quite a bit. The Monarch and 21 (Doc Hammer) discover that his father was previously a minor superhero, Blue Morpho. They reinstate the character, and his chauffeur Kato, but specifically target the villains who are between The Monarch and his old arch enemy.

Unfortunately, the move from the compound sees the departure of several characters. Dermott is perhaps the biggest loss along with Baron Orpheus and his Triad team. The Investors and Killinger appear to have finished their story, as have the rest of the Revenge Society, with only Phantom Limb returning to play a role in this run. Wide Wale is the most integral new character, a character based on Wilson Fisk, though also a mutated whale. He joins the council, lives opposite the new Venture Building and has a daughter Sirena, who Hank falls for.

Visually it's still as strong as it ever was. There are still a load of jokes and references to movies, comics, and music. The performances are excellent, Clancy Brown joins the cast in the final episode as the legendary Red Death, a version of the Red Skull who balances his dark tendencies with a warm and friendly home like.

I still love it. It's genuinely one of my all-time favourite shows and I can't wait to see how the well the final episodes go.

Luca (2021)

Luca Brasi Sleeps with the fishes.

[8/10 · 9 April 2024]

I was very happy to see that Disney were to give short run cinematic releases to the quarantine films, the three that were released on Disney Plus during the covid outbreak. I missed "Turning Red" unfortunately but saw "Soul" last month and made it to "Luca" this weekend just gone. Whilst not quite as strong as "Soul" I really enjoyed "Luca" too.

Luca Paguro (Jacob Tremblay) is a sea monster, living off the coast of the Italian town of Portorosso, with his parents and grandmother. He meets Alberto Scorfano (Jack Dylan Grazer) another sea monster who, though a similar age, lives alone on an island in a rundown lighthouse. After Alberto convinces Luca to come out of the water, where, provided they remain dry, they appear like normal human boys, the pairs combined love of Vespas embolden them to head to town. They meet Giulia (Emma Berman) and together the trio agree to compete in a local children's triathlon event, where the prize is enough money for rundown scooter.

It's actually a fairly simple story of acceptance and bullying hidden within the strange confluence of 1960's Italian culture and sea monsters. They hide who they are, as best they can, to fit in and learn about who they really are and what they want. It looks great, there's a little tweak to the usual Pixar style that makes it feel almost stop motion in its movement, with everything just a little bit more rounded than in other films.

It maybe says something about the other films that Pixar has made, more than this one, but the only real negative that occurs to me is that it's only dealing with those issues like bullying or acceptance, and not grappling with the fundamentals of the human experience like say "Coco" or "Soul" do.

I enjoyed "Luca" though and thought the characterisation and performances were really strong.

X the Unknown (1956)

X Gon' Give It To Ya

[7/10 · 9 April 2024]

After "The Quatermass Xperiment" last time out, Hammer kept things pretty similar for their next release "X - The Unknown" another Britain set Horror film that continued the companies pivot from noir thrillers towards the horror genre that would generate them big returns in the next few decades. I was watching this film along with the "House of Hammer" podcast - though I remain about six months behind their release schedule.

Whilst conducting an exercise in a Scottish field, Soldiers suffer through an explosion that badly injures several of them, whilst exposing a seemingly bottomless crack in the Earth. Dr Royston (Dean Jagger) from a nearby Atomic Energy Laboratory is called in, as the injuries are consistent with radioactive burns. When more burn victims are discovered in the surrounding area, Royston orders an investigation of the crevasse, where they discover a creature, drawn to the radioactive material, has escaped, and is growing.

I quite enjoyed "X-The Unknown" maybe even a little more than last times "Quatermass Xperiment". It's not surprising to learn that it was initially hoped to be a Quatermass sequel, until Nigel Kneale refused the usage of his character. It's easier to warm to Dr Royston than it was Quatermass though because Dean Jagger makes the character warmer than Brian Donlevy did his. (And also, this whole incident is not Dr Royston's fault, he's just here to help). The Scottish setting is fun, with the soldiers including Monty Python producer Ian MacNaughton and singer songwriter Anthony Newley amongst their number. If you know who you're looking for, one of the kids in the story is very recognisable as Doctor Who and Emmerdale actor Frazer Hines also.

There's quite a solid visual effect, of a mans face melting as the blob like creature burns him away with its radioactive presence. There's a fairly extensive use of miniatures in this production, which I've not seen Hammer utilise before.

The ending is perhaps where the film is a bit of a letdown. It's all a bit too easy for Royston to pull his mechanism together from an experiment he happened to already be working on - then there's a slightly confusing last second tease of what might have come in a sequel, but one was never forthcoming.

It's an easy watch though, fun and pacey enough to keep you on board, even during the occasional leap of logic that the film requires.

Monkey Man (2024)

Monkey Puzzle Tree

[7/10 · 8 April 2024]

After a complicated production, and an even more complicated distribution, Dev Patel's "Monkey Man" finally opens in UK cinemas. It's a tough, violent, thriller that imbues its old school revenge storyline with allusions to Indian mythology. However, it makes one technical decision that I can't get on board with and which nearly undermines all the good work.

Eager for revenge after the death of his mother and the massacre of his village when he was a child, "Kid" (Dev Patel) acquires a job at Kings, a nightclub/casino/brothel in Yatana, India, to get access to Rana Singh (Sikandar Kher) who is the chief of police and was responsible for the carnage. He tries to take his chance to kill Singh but is thwarted by co-incidence and has to fight his way out of the building.

Written, produced, directed by and starring Dev Patel, "Monkey Man" is, rather lazily, being referred to as his "John Wick" - but really the film only resembles "Wick" in the final few scenes, when Patel kicks an unimaginable amount of henchmen's ass in a nicely tailored suit. The rest of the film is a bit deeper, but also feels like it's not too far from the 80's actions films. You could easily see a retooled version with Jean Claude Van-Damme in the lead, though perhaps it skews nearer to the sorts of Hong Kong action movies that Donnie Yen or Chow Yun-Fat would star in. There's a thick layer of social commentary in it, both regarding venerated politicians and the role of transgender people in society.

The one aspect that worked against the film for me was the use of "shaky cam". I know that it's supposed to (and for some people does) convey the sense of kinetic energy in a scene but I felt it was selected to hide any limitations in either the effects, or the stunt work, and it just made me feel tired from looking at it.

It's fascinating to see how far the kid from "Skins" has taken his career and he definitely should direct again in the future, hopefully if nothing else this is a really strong calling card for him.

Seize Them! (2024)

Queen's Gambit

[5/10 · 8 April 2024]

A film watched for no other reason that its starting time fit in with my leaving a previous screening, the trailers for "Seize Them!" weren't particularly inspiring though were a fair guide to a film that I didn't particularly enjoy, but also wouldn't go as far as saying that I hated.

Dagan (Aimee Lou Wood), the unpopular and spoiled Queen of medieval Britain is overthrown in a people's rebellion led by Humble Joan (Nicola Coughlan). Dagan is spirited away from the castle by a servant Shulmay (Lolly Adefope) and, along with a peasant they meet, Bobik (Nick Frost) heads towards the East Coast where her Scandinavian family will restore her to power. Along the way she learns an appreciation for life outside the castle but is pursued by Leofwine (Jessica Hynes) who was formally in Dagan's court, but has switched sides and looks to prove herself.

It's definitely not good. Let's get the clear now. It's just not funny, despite all the talent involved on screen. There were only a few laughs and almost all of them were a) from Nick Frost and b) based on his delivery rather than the joke itself. There's nothing wrong with the performances from any of the lead characters though, the recreation is .. cheap, but works well enough. But the fact it's not that funny is perhaps the only one that really matters.

I would also say, and this might just have been my particular screening, but the final act, that takes place on a beach looked very odd. The colour kept bleeding out of the images in a way that reminded me of old cassette-based video recording. Like the saturation levels were wrong. Again, I'm not marking the film down for this as it might have been a problem in my screening only but I felt I'd mention it.

Writer Andy Riley wrote the series "Year of the Rabbit" a few years back, which I enjoyed and, perhaps not unsurprisingly, given the subject matter here, wrote on "Horrible Histories". I'd say it's "inoffensively not funny" by which I mean that whilst I didn't laugh at it, I never came to resent it that much for not being so.

Mars Attacks! (1996)

Martian Manhunter

[5/10 · 5 April 2024]

Struggling for something to watch with my son, who loves space and disaster movies, I naturally turned to Tim Burton's "Mars Attacks". I've watched the film sporadically over the last thirty years and I think that I convince myself, in the in between times, that it's better than it actually is. I did so again this time but maybe writing a proper review might help it stick.

The arrival of a spaceship, from Mars, causes a variety of emotions amongst the people of Earth. Within the White House of President James Dale (Jack Nicholson), General Decker (Rod Steiger) wants full military readiness and the nuclear codes, but the President's lead scientist, Professor Donald Kessler (Pierce Brosnan) argues that an advanced species would be beyond the need for something as simplistic as war. A miscommunication at the initial meeting causes the Martian's to attack, killing several army personnel with their death rays, but after an apology, the Martian ambassador asks for the chance to address Congress.

I guess the problem with the film is that Burton, and screenwriter Jonathan Gems, admitted to picking up the cards they were interested in using and the retrofitting the story around them - and it really feels that disorganised, and virtually plotless. A great number of characters are introduced to us, most of whom don't serve much real purpose as we get further into the film. I get that the idea was that they're supposed to die, as they would in any of the disaster movies that, Burton was homaging, but I do think perhaps it would have helped if they weren't all awful people and I cared that any of them were killed.

Tonally it's off too, which is unusual as Burton usually managed to tie his eccentric taste in with the subject matter really well. It's not exactly gory, but there's an awful lot of burning skeletons in a film that is, I guess, supposed to be a comedy. I feel like it's never sure how serious or how funny to be and that leads to some uneasy performances from the cast, who presumably weren't sure either.

The visual effects are actually still pretty good though, which is quite impressive for a movie this old.

I don't know why I always convince myself that Burton in this era could do no wrong. In retrospect, looking at his career this was the first misstep and, whilst there are occasionally stronger films from what was to come, it was mostly downhill from here. I think I can leave "Mars Attacks" for another few decades though, maybe I'll convince myself once more.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

Skar Tissue

[6/10 · 5 April 2024]

I was surprised about how uninteresting I found a large parts of what should be a big, dumb, fun Kaiju movie and certainly that wasn't what I felt about "Godzilla vs. Kong". In fairness it picked up towards the end though.

A signal coming from somewhere within the Hollow Earth causes Godzilla to begin to strengthen himself for an upcoming battle. Within Hollow Earth, Kong unwitting reveals a deeper level, that was previously sealed off and within that level are other giant apes, ruled over by a tyrannical king Skar. Kong challenges Skar but is wounded in a losing effort. Desperate he heads to the surface to convince Godzilla to join him in the battle.

That all sounds pretty exciting I know, but its all belaboured by a relatively boring middle section, that we spend with the human characters, exploring the Hollow Earth. The humans themselves are actually pretty good. Dan Stevens is great in everything and he's having a lot of fun here. He has good chemistry with lifelong friend Rebecca Hall and with Bryan Tyree Henry, both of whom are reprising their roles from "Godzilla vs. Kong". Still though their voyage through Hollow Earth is lacking in peril, or excitement. (Whilst we're here, the "Monarch" TV series established that time moves much slower in Hollow Earth than it does on the outside world - a fact that this film ignores entirely.)

It does, as you might imagine, pick up for a zero gravity multi-Titan battle that takes place leading into the films climax. From that moment on I was engaged with the film and enjoyed it through to the ending.

I don't know how helpful it is to compare this with "Godzilla Minus One" as despite sharing the same character, they have very different objectives in the stories they tell. But I did feel this was inferior to the last Monsterverse film and I'm not sure where I'd take the series from here.

The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin: Turpin Time (2024) Season 1, Episode 6

Season One Review

[7/10 · 5 April 2024]

I'm a big "Mighty Boosh" fan, so anything with Noel Fielding or Julian Barratt isn't going to have to work hard to get me to watch it. So, I did watch "Dick Turpin" straight away and I have to say, enjoyed it quite a bit.

Having rejected the chance to apprenticeship in his father John's (Mark Heap) butchers, as he's vegan, Dick Turpin (Noel Fielding) decides instead for the glamourous life of a highwayman. He inherits a team consisting of Honesty (Duane Boachie), Moose (Marc Wooton) and Nell Brazier (Ellie White), who had plans to lead the team herself. His desire for no violence, all showmanship, heists earns him a bright reputation, helped by positively spun stories written by journalist Eliza Bean (Dolly Wells) but he also attracts the attention of bounty hunter Jonathan Wilde (Hugh Bonneville) who sets his sights on the gang.

It'd be interesting to know how early Noel Fielding became involved in the production of this show, because, whilst he's a credited writer on two episodes, it does feel very tailored towards him being the star. Turpin is not that different a character to Vince Noir, and neither seem to be too far away from Fielding himself. Indeed, the show has a lot of the British comedy scene playing characters that aren't dissimilar to something that they've played before, though they are universally welcome when they arrive. The style of humour is not quite the same as "The Mighty Boosh". It certainly doesn't have quite the same surrealism, but it does have the same delivery style and I'd imagine if you liked the Boosh, you'll get something out of this.

I would imagine though that they'll be a group of viewers that don't get much out of it, it does require you to attune to that style, and I'm sure they'll be people that can't and will vehemently dislike it. It's a bit broader and more 'jokey' than the current taste in sitcoms tends to be. I liked that, but again I'm sure that it will rub some people the wrong way.

Not me though, I really enjoyed it and hope that it's relatively low cost will mean that Apple is happy to fund some more.

Battlefield 1 (2016 Video Game)

Kaiser Chiefs

[8/10 · 4 April 2024]

I'm pretty late to this party, I accept, but the next game alphabetically on my Playstation Plus account was "Battlefield 1" and it's been a while since I engaged in a proper online shooter, so I was ready for this. I should say, I only played the base game, not any of the various expansions that came afterwards but even 8 years later, I found the servers still populated and I enjoyed my time quite a bit.

Set during the various theatres of war during World War 1, "Battlefield 1" sees players select one of four categories of character and engage in large scale wars for territory. The solders are customisable (within the four categories) in terms of which weapons, perks and skills they have and a good game requires a mix of the playing strategies to succeed. In addition, there is a single player mode, which sees you play as five unrelated characters, again in the varied locations that WW1 took place in completing a story.

Comfortably the best - and therefore with the biggest numbers still playing it is Operations mode. This sees a large battlefield split into smaller fields of war, each of which have a number of key locations. The attacking team has a limited number of lives to take those locations at the same time, and thus clear a section and move on to the next. Sometimes, depending on the campaign, at the completion of that the whole game may move to another nearby location and continue on. The attacking team will have three attempts to win, and on their second and third attempts will be supported by a "behemoth" a Zeppelin or armoured train to help the assault. As well as all that, the game regularly allows both sides use of specialist characters and vehicles to help with the attack or the defence.

I loved playing this mode, I am the sort of (evil) person that loves to play as a sniper, hiding at the back of the map trying to pick people off, but I did play as all four-character types, to level them up. A headshot snipe, in this game, is perhaps the single most satisfying split second, I've ever experienced as a gamer, the bell noise and the slight judder is perfect. The game looks and sounds great, occasionally, as with any game of this sort of size and complexity, it glitches but it's not overly common. The single player mode was fun too, whilst not particularly difficult it did provide a complete experience of the game, with only the stealth sections proving frustrating. There are lots of historical context provided to the battles and what they meant, with regards the overall war and, despite the bombastic nature, the game, particularly in the single player story, goes to great lengths to acknowledge that "war is hell".

I would say, there wasn't an awful lot to that base game though. The single player mode could probably be completed in a couple of settings, though there are challenges and collectables to locate within that which would extend it. There are probably six locations where Operations take place and you will see and get to know them all pretty quickly. There were four DLC packs that followed the release though, if you want to keep going.

I really liked my time with "Battlefield 1" and will look back on it fondly in years to come.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)

Egon again.

[6/10 · 4 April 2024]

This is going to be an interesting one to write because, nearly a week later, I'm still not exactly sure how I feel about "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire". I . . . Didn't dislike it . . . I guess, but neither did I love all of it. Let's explore.

Now established as the Ghostbusters in New York, the Spengler family and Gary (Paul Rudd) are thrown into a battle against an ancient evil, when Nadeem (Kumail Nanjiani) sells a mysterious orb to Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) unaware that it is a prison for a spectral power. When it is opened, the malevolent spirit plans to raise an army, by freezing New York and releasing the ghosts from the fire stations containment unit.

I guess my problems were that this feels like a greatest hits remix, rather than a new film. The beats are the same, Nadeem's unwitting power legacy mirrors Lewis Tully in the original, the containment until is again turned off firing a stream of ghosts out as it was in the first one. William Atherton is a government official that wants to shut them down again. The ghost in the library comes back, Slimer comes back, the stay puft marshmallow men come back. Two of the characters from the last film, Celeste O Connor's lucky and Logan Kim's Podcast are crudely crowbarred back into the film and serve no purpose other than to just be there. The most sacrilegiously feeling aspect though is that it doesn't really need the original cast to be in it, in fact, the more time we spend with them, the less time we got to spend with the more interesting dynamic, which is the new cast trying to make their blended family work in a new high-pressure setting. Winston funding them sort of makes sense and Ray was a nice way for them to find out about the orb and the evil, but Bill Murray and Anne Potts are just two more character, in a really busy movie, who stand around in scenes serving little purpose.

But, there are some aspects of the film, away from the relentless nostalgia, I quite enjoyed. McKenna Grace is still great and, though he too is sidelined by a character heavy story, Finn Wolfhard is good too. I liked James Acaster and the ghost lab. The visual effects are quite good and occasionally there's a funny line or two. I like the central family, even if the dynamics are strange, are Gary and Callie in a romantic relationship? The film talks about him being a surrogate father, but not about them being a couple. If there is to be another Ghostbusters film, and it seems like there might be, then I'd really rather the film focused on them, rather than the legacy characters again.

It's fine, I guess, is by bottom line but with a little less nostalgia it could have been even better.