REVIEWS Posts
The 2nd movie in The Hobbit trilogy, The Desolation of Smaug picks up where An Unexpected Journey leaves off. This one is more or less the group getting bailed out repeatedly by Bilbo until they finally make it to the Lonely Mountain. Even though I do think this is one of the better trilogies, as far as each movie being good, this one still ends on a cliff hanger. It's not quite as bad as the typical trilogy filler 2nd movie, but I feel like Bard should have got his big scene in this movie, instead of the next one. It is nice to pick up some new characters along the way and the changes of scenery in this one keep it from getting as boring as I felt The Two Towers felt in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. We see Sauron for the first time, but it's on one of Gandalf's side quests, which kind of feels forced, just a little, to have it in the movie. This movie is slightly shorter than the first movie and that helps a little. Overall, it's a must watch if you want to watch the trilogy ;)
Stargate (1994) is one of those movies that I just have to watch once in a while. Growing up in the 90's, it was something so new and different. I remember hoping they would make a new Stargate movie every year. This movie had a lot going for it. A new concept that could be expanded upon, great visual effects, a good story, good actors, it just had it all. On top of that, there was a big shift in franchises at the time. We had just had the last season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was building up, but didn't hit the same. The Star Trek movies were winding down. Star Wars was getting old and dated, with nothing new in sight. Stargate was a fresh idea and a new direction.
Stargate is about a team of soldiers (technically, airmen, because they were Air Force!), accompanied by a scientist, that travels through a stargate to another planet. The stargate was discovered in Egypt and people had spent their entire lives trying to unlock its secrets. A scientist is brought onto the team to help decipher the language and discovers it is a portal to another place. The team travels there and learns the secrets of Ra, ancient Egypt, and finds themselves facing a far more advanced foe, with only a primitive native people to aid them.
It's been years since I watched all of the Stargate franchise, but I think I'll revisit and write about them. Something funny...I actually had a flat top haircut, inspired by this movie and, when I look back, was probably one of the things that made me want to join the Air Force. I did join the Air Force, and served 20 years, but I never got to see a stargate :)
Halo (2022-2024) is a TV show, based loosely on story from the Halo: Combat Evolved video game. I do mean loosely. It has Master Chief, Cortana, and the Convenant. Beyond that, it's kind of it's own story. It's a good show, don't get me wrong, especially the 2nd season, which pretty much everyone agrees was better than the 1st. Unfortunately, it was cancelled, just when it was starting to get good, so there is no 3rd season. It's still worth a watch, if you just want to watch a good sci-fi action show, that isn't too long. I'd watch it again and even watched it after it was cancelled, so I knew what I was getting into. Overall, I can appreciate alternate story lines that reveal "untold" beginning stories and new characters, even if this one may have went a little overboard on additional characters - along with their side quests. Maybe it'll get another season one day to give it an ending.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) is the first of The Hobbit trilogy, which is a prequel to The Lord of the Rings (LofR) and based on the book titled The Hobbit (1937) by J.R.R Tolkien. The trilogy is about a group of dwarves, Bilbo Baggins, and Gandalf traveling to Erebor, or the Lonely Mountain, to recapture the home of the dwarves from Smaug, the dragon. This movie is the first leg of their journey and introduces several prominent characters from the LotR's. It mostly focuses on Bilbo's character development, from a home loving hobbit to a selfless adventurer. We learn how Bilbo comes to possess the One Ring and how darkness has already began descending upon middle earth. I feel like this trilogy is actually broken up properly, so all 3 movies are good on their own, unlike pretty much any other trilogy ever made. This movie is good enough to make you want to watch the 2nd one, but also good enough if you don't have time to watch a trilogy all at the same time. Overall, I'll watch it again I'm sure.
A Complete Unknown (2024) is a movie about the life of a young Bob Dylan, played by Timothee Chalamet. It begins just before Dylan rises to stardom and his transition from folk singer to rock & roll. Chalamet is a good actor anyway, but he transforms into Dylan nicely. I've always been a Dylan fan, so I was skeptical, but I have a hard time thinking of anyone who could have played him better. Overall, this was a good movie, maybe not great, but a good biographical. I'd watch it again, it just wouldn't be my first choice when picking between movies about famous singer/song writers, but it would be in contention.
11.22.63 (2016) is a mini-series, based on the Stephen King novel. It stars James Franco, who uses a time rift to go back in time to 1960, with the intent of stopping the JFK assassination. It initially released on Hulu, but I watched it recently on Netflix, where it has held a top 10 spot of TV shows. He can use the time rift as many times as he wants, but the caveat is it resets time from 1960 every time he enters it. He also has to live in the past for 3 years to get to 1963, without changing too many other things.
I liked this show and would watch it again. I've always been interested in learning about the JFK assassination, because it's my birthday (not the same year of course). Also interesting tidbit, I was once ID'ed at a gas station and the guy behind the counter did a double take at my ID. It turns out his birthday is the same as Lee Harvey Oswald's murder, on November 24. Was cool at first, but quickly became awkward, haha.
The show wasn't as predictable as I thought it would be, with some twists and turns, but it ended pretty much as I expected. I'm decent at predicting what will happen in movies and shows, so that doesn't necessarily mean I was disappointed. I would have done some things differently, but it's not my book or show either. Overall, if you like history and action/drama, it's a good watch to binge on a cold weekend.
The Beauty (2026) is a new show by FX, I watched it on Hulu. It currently has 3 episodes, all released 21 January, of a total 11 episodes slated for Season 1. Episodes will begin releasing weekly beginning 28 January. The show is based on a comic by the same name, The Beauty, by Jeremy Huan and Jason A. Hurley. I've never read the comic. The show is about a new drug that makes people beautiful, and is described as the fountain of youth, which can be transmitted from person to person. The corporation behind the drug is trying to stop it's spread, which will cut into their revenue. There is also a side effect, which is gruesome and deadly, but the show hasn't revealed the cause of the side effect yet.
I'm not big on horror and gore, but the sci-fi side of the show is interesting to keep me interested. I like it, enough, so far to continue watching it. I don't want to provide any spoilers, so I wont go into too many details. It has a decently star heavy cast and so far I think the acting may be carrying the writing/directing, somewhat. My theory is the "drug" requires a booster to prevent the side effect, but it's possible a person to person transmission expedites the effect. At this stage (through episode 3), it is almost like 2 shows running in parallel, with few explanations, other than the overlaps. One is law enforcement, investigating the deaths, which occur from the theorized side effect. The other is the corporation trying to contain the spread.
Overall, it's interesting enough to keep me watching, for now. I can't think of another show similar enough to compare it to, but it feels like a prequel to some dystopian stories, where a corporation makes you dependent on it and you have to keep going back to it to live. It also has some Alien: Earth similarities, very thinly, but you'll probably see where that thought comes from if you watch it.
Quantum Leap (2022 - 2024) is a sequel TV show to the original series from 1989. There are several tie-ins and references to the original show and it's pretty much a modern version, but thankfully not a remake. I liked the original, it was one of my favorite shows as a kid. I also like the new one, but it unfortunately doesn't have a finale, as the show was cancelled after the 2nd season. The show has a recurring role starred by Eliza Taylor (from The 100), which made for an interesting twist or two. Overall, I like it a lot and wish it had continued, but it's similar to the original in it feels repetitive and kind of the same types of scenarios over and over. One thing I do like more than the original is how it has a story line in the present, so there are more characters in this show. It's another show that had a lot of promise, but killed off too soon.
Designated Survivor (2016-19) was a TV show, starring Kiefer Sutherland and decently loaded cast, originally on ABC and then on Netflix. It ran for 3 seasons and was cancelled without a finale. I enjoyed the show, which was about a terrorist attack on the US government, during the State of the Union address. When the presidential succession is all together at once, a designated survivor is selected to carry on succession. Tom Kirkman is the selectee and becomes president with basically no legislative government. The show is fast paced, with constant problems and conflicts for the new president to fix. I've only watched it once - I watched it all in 2019 when it moved to Netflix - but I'd possibly watch it again, even without an ending.
The 100 (2014 - 2020) is a TV show that ran for 7 seasons - with a finale. The earth has had a global nuclear war and is believed to be uninhabitable by the survivors who have lived their entire lives aboard the Ark, a space station. An aging Ark forces the leaders to test the survivability of earth, by sending 100 young prisoners to the earth. The cast is great, but you can sense some inexperience with either the writing, the directing, or the acting in the earlier episodes, maybe all of the above. This show takes some patience, but the longer it runs the better it gets.
I've watched this show all the way through a few times. There are some seasons that are better than others, but the story evolves nicely as it goes along and the different settings of the seasons add some intrigue and mystery. It has some cool concepts, which are revealed over time (including time specifically in some cases). If you just read overviews of the seasons and episodes, they can seem sporadic, but everything does connect in one way or another. This is one of my favorite shows to watch, if I have to pick a show to re-watch. It has great music and the central characters are interesting enough to keep you watching. The finale is an actual finale too, which is rarer these days than it should be.
Brightburn (2019) is a Sci-Fi / Horror movie set in Brightburn, Kansas. The story is about a couple, who struggled to have children, then finds a baby after a spacecraft crashes. Being in the horror genre, you can probably imagine this is pretty much an inverse of Super Man. Elizabeth Banks (the mother) and Jackson A. Dunn (the boy) are great casting, but the casting overall is probably above average and isn't held back by the acting so much as the story. Unfortunately, the story develops slowly and becomes increasingly predictable as it goes on. The writers likely thought they had a sequel to build upon with, but instead we are just stuck with what should have been a small piece of a story covering many more years with an actual conclusion. It's not the worst Sci-Fi / Horror movie I've ever seen, but not one I'm really looking forward to watching again (unless it's the sequel).
I watched The Bad Batch (2016) on Netflix, just on a whim. It has a good cast: Keanu Reeves, Jason Momoa, Jim Carrey, Suki Waterhouse. The setting is a Texas wasteland, where outcasts are thrown out of society. Unfortunately, the story was, more or less, also a wasteland. It's more of a shocker than a horror and would have probably been unwatchable with a lesser cast. It's not something I'd likely watch again, but it wasn't the worst movie I've ever seen. Visually, it has some cult classic opportunities, it just doesn't deliver in any other way.
Darkest Hour is a movie set at the onset of World War II. The story follows Winston Churchill, played by Gary Oldman, as he is thrust into power as Prime Minister of Great Britain. I really enjoyed this one, being a history buff, and a lover of old war stories. The movie does a good job of demonstrating the turmoil within Britain and the world around it, as Churchill has to prepare his nation for a war, while it's leaders are in denial. Gary Oldman is one of my favorite actors and he transforms into Churchill like I never thought possible. I appreciated how the movie showed the many sides of Churchill and how an unlikely, even inconvenient, leader can sometimes rise to be the leader you need in that moment, against all odds. It's a movie I could watch again, I've seen it twice now.