This isn't for you. it's for me.
Civil War: Directed by Alex Garland. With Nick Offerman, Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Jefferson White. In a dystopian future, four journalists travel across the United States during a nation-wide conflict. While trying to survive, they aim to reach the White House to interview the president before he is overthrown. Now that I own this on disk I can rewatch that final scene as often as I want. Buy On Amazon!
Moon Knight: Created by Jeremy Slater. With Oscar Isaac, Ethan Hawke, May Calamawy, Michael Benjamin Hernandez. Steven Grant discovers he’s been granted the powers of an Egyptian moon god. But he soon finds out that these newfound powers can be both a blessing and a curse to his troubled life. I received this as a Christmas gift and have now successfully rewatched this, but this time instead of streaming it, I watched it on my overpriced 4k disk player! The story is much more palatable when consumed in just a single day, with all the hints of the giant twist...
Heat Lightning: Directed by Mervyn LeRoy. With Aline MacMahon, Ann Dvorak, Preston Foster, Lyle Talbot. Two killers stop at Olga’s gas station alongside a California highway. A funny yet mature glimpse into the lives of multiple intersecting groups of people in a tiny rest stop in the middle of nowhere, set against the backdrop of a distant storm. It’s a great story with some fun interactions among people that aren’t all exactly as they present themselves. This was on my radar because of the amazing Glenda Farrell, who plays a rich sister that flaunts her riches and body a little...
Need a gigantic, marauding starship explored? Is your global computer system starting to break down? Call in the crack team from the Starfleet Corps of Engineers. Overseen by Captain Montgomery Scott from his office at Starfleet Headquarters, the S.C.E. can build, rebuild, program, reprogram, assemble, reassemble, or just figure out everything from alien replicators to doomsday machines. Just don’t expect them to perform miracles — unless they absolutely have to. A great start to the series, with some extremely non-Trek horror elements and episode follow ups that I wasn’t expecting at all. Buy On Amazon!
The honeymoon is over. Finally married to Kitsune (again!), Astra settles into Heroes Without Borders work with Joyeuse Guard, this time in Malawi. The small and poor African country is experiencing an influx of refugees from the Mozambique civil war across the border and HWB has set up a base in dusty Marka to provide relief. It should be a relatively quiet posting; the actual fighting is far away and not something Joyeuse Guard has any authorization to get mixed up in but they’d be doing good and not every HWB assignment needs to be high-stakes. Except somebody decides...
Thunderbolts*: Directed by Jake Schreier. With Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lewis Pullman. After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap, an unconventional team of antiheroes must go on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts. Watching this at home means that I can re-view some of my favorite scenes over and over again, and boy howdy does this movie have a lot of them. There’s a ton of backstory for every character in the “Thunderbolts” team, with two tv shows and 3-4 movies as required viewing if you want to...
Outlander: Directed by Howard McCain. With Jim Caviezel, Sophia Myles, Jack Huston, John Hurt. During the reign of the Vikings, Kainan, a man from a far-off world, crash lands on Earth, bringing with him an alien predator known as the Moorwen. Though both man and monster are seeking revenge for violence committed against them, Kainan leads the alliance to kill the Moorwen by fusing his advanced technology with the Viking’s Iron Age weaponry. I think I watched this all the way back when it originally came out in 2008, I remembered a couple of the big set pieces, but I...
The discovery of objects approaching from Jupiter’s orbit sets humanity on edge, sending cities into panic. Most is unknown, but thanks to the popular Astral space app, everyone knows the few facts the government has tried to hide: The objects are enormous spheres numbering in the dozens, maybe hundreds. They are on an approach vector toward Earth … and they will arrive in six days. Entrepreneur Meyer Dempsey is in New York, realizing the time has come to act on all the preparations he’s made without ever consciously knowing why. For years Meyer has been preoccupied by a dreamlike sense...
Heads of State: Directed by Ilya Naishuller. With Idris Elba, John Cena, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Paddy Considine. When the U.K. Prime Minister and U.S. President become the targets of a foreign adversary, they’re forced to rely on one another to thwart a global conspiracy. Much more fun than I thought it was going to be, John Cena and Idris Elba are an odd pairing, but it works in every regard I care about. Buy On Amazon!
KPop Demon Hunters: Directed by Chris Appelhans, Maggie Kang. With Arden Cho, May Hong, Ji-young Yoo, Ahn Hyo-seop. A world-renowned K-Pop girl group balance their lives in the spotlight with their secret identities as demon hunters. I’ve heard great things about this movie and everything I heard turned out to be true. The character designs are inventive, the songs are catchy, and the demons were indeed hunted. Buy On Amazon!
