This isn't for you. it's for me.
Deep Cover: Directed by Tom Kingsley. With Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom, Nick Mohammed, Sean Bean. Three improv actors are asked to go undercover by the police in London’s criminal underworld. Hilarious and always abides by the first rule of improve of “Yes and…”. Buy On Amazon!
The Fantastic Four: First Steps: Directed by Matt Shakman. With Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn. Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, the Fantastic Four must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer. This is one of the first Marvel movies in a long time that requires absolutely no knowledge of any other comic book film, no knowledge of the comics, and just an appreciation for a retro-futuristic take on a classic family of adventurers. There’s a perfect soundtrack that goes along...
Murderbot: With Alexander Skarsgård, Noma Dumezweni, David Dastmalchian, Sabrina Wu. A security android struggles with emotions and free will while balancing dangerous missions and desire for isolation, evading detection of its self-hacking as it finds its place. Murderbot! I received the first four or five short stories during the covid pandemic, but never got around to reading them, then they announced this television show, so I consumed the stories quickly, they’re very easy reads and had a ton of action that I loved. This television series isn’t as good as the books, but it has many of the elements of...
Ben Madsen is used to chasing fugitives in LA. Now he’s got an otherworldly fugitive to chase through an intergalactic city hidden right here on Earth. A frustratingly good book that includes the first 5 issues of the series, but that’s it. There’s nothing else! The art is amazing, the story is well done, the characters are believable, and I loved everything about it, except for the fact that it just ends right in the middle of the story. Buy On Amazon!
The Acolyte: Created by Leslye Headland. With Lee Jung-jae, Amandla Stenberg, Manny Jacinto, Charlie Barnett. An investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master against a dangerous warrior from his past. As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems… Oh this was good, but with how it was received, I doubt we’ll see a direct sequel to it. The bad guys are cool enough that we’ll be seeing them in other series though. At least I hope! Buy On Amazon!
Hellboy: The Crooked Man: Directed by Brian Taylor. With Jack Kesy, Jefferson White, Adeline Rudolph, Leah McNamara. Hellboy and a rookie B.P.R.D. agent in the 1950s are sent to the Appalachians, where they discover a remote community dominated by witches and led by the sinister local demon, the Crooked Man. I actually watched this …months ago? It might have even been last year, but I was so unaffected by the film that I forgot to even put it on a “to review” list. It’s not actually a terrible film, but it had such a limited budget that all it really...
Whisper of the Heart: Directed by Yoshifumi Kondô. With Yoko Honna, Issei Takahashi, Takashi Tachibana, Shigeru Muroi. A love story between a girl who loves reading books and a boy who has previously checked out all of the library books she chooses. This is another exceptionally well crafted look into the lives of normal yet captivating characters that are just living their lives in their normal manner, but through the fascinating lens of Studio Ghibli. I’m about 90% sure that this movie is the inspiration for the lo-fi girl youtube channel that got me through many long nights of studying...
Star Trek: Section 31: Directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi. With Michelle Yeoh, Omari Hardwick, Sam Richardson, Robert Kazinsky. In Star Trek: Section 31, Emperor Philippa Georgiou joins a secret division of Starfleet tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets, and must face the sins of her past. There’s a couple soundtrack elements that remind me of the Borg themes from First Contact, which was a vastly superior film. Also, quick question, at the beginning of the film, when the evil Terrans beam down, there’s like a thousand people there that stretch about a half mile back. can they even hear...
Captain America: Brave New World: Directed by Julius Onah. With Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas. Sam Wilson, the new Captain America, finds himself in the middle of an international incident and must discover the motive behind a nefarious global plan. I have it on blue rays now! It’s a pretty film that missed a couple cool opportunities to be cooler and didn’t stick the landing in the 3rd act. I was ultimately satisfied, but imagine what could have been! Buy On Amazon!
Severance: Created by Dan Erickson. With Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Zach Cherry, Tramell Tillman. Mark leads a team of office workers whose memories have been surgically divided between their work and personal lives. When a mysterious colleague appears outside of work, it begins a journey to discover the truth about their jobs. Season one was vastly better this second season, but I think I feel that way because they were asking some really cool questions and setting up some really weird situations, but hadn’t tried to answer any thing yet. The answers provided in season two don’t work for me...
