Star Trek Strange New Worlds: The Serene Squall

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

After beaming onboard a vessel supposedly in distress Pike, played by Anson Mount, and co find themselves taken prisoner, whilst at the same time those remaining on the Enterprise must fight off against space pirates.

I thought this was a serviceable episode, it is not so much that it is a bad episode but it certainly is a step back from the last few. The space pirate plot feels very generic and been there done that, I understand the final tease of Spock’s’ half sibling might lead to interesting things in the future, but for what it was it was fairly forgettable.

I enjoyed seeing Pike lead a mutiny aboard the space pirate vessel and I thought that this part of the episode was tonally spot on, it let Pike have his heroic moments but also balanced that with some levity. I thought that once again he and Rebecca Romijn’s Una had fantastic chemistry.

What I thought was the weakest part of the episode was the Spock, played by Ethan Peck, subplot about his human side effecting his and his wife’s relationship and sex life with a number of different characters being brought it to be potential other love interests for him. I just thought that tonally this didn’t really fit at all and felt like they were trying to force in a love triangle for the sake of it.

Overall, a fine episode but not one that will be remembered long after watching.

Pros.

Pike continues to shine

It is watchable

Some good action

Cons.

Spock’s relationship drama

The villain was fairly obvious and nonthreatening

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The Starling: A Favourite Film Of Guantanamo Bay

0.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A couple cope after the sudden death of their child.

Boy this film was badly on quite a number of different levels. However, I think one of the roots causes of this film being awful was the casting of Melissa McCarthy. Some people would argue that like Adam Sandler that McCarthy cam be good in the odd dramatic role here and there, the same people would point to her performance in Can You Ever Forgive Me? However, I would argue that her performance in that film was nothing more than a fluke, and that by and large she is only capable of giving one kind of performance loud and obnoxious, and that is true in whatever film she is in comedic or dramatic. It certainly is true here.

It has to be said though that the failings of this film cannot be entirely blamed on McCarthy, as the script is also frequently terrible, being not only overly sentimental but also incredibly tonally off at times. There is a scene in this film wherein the message seems to be that it is okay to be angry at suicidal people for being that way which sends a hell of a bad message even if that is not how the writer intended it to come across.

Overall, the film is incredibly generic, it is the very definition of the kind of trash we have collectively come to expect from a Netflix original over the years.

Pros.

Timothy Olyphant is always great and a welcome presences

Cons.

McCarthy

It is very generic

It has a bad message

The tone is all wrong

It borders over-sentimentality

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The Warriors: Shirtless Street Gangs

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A street gang from Staten Island must get back home after a get together of all the New York gangs goes awry and they become hunted.

To many this is a classic cult film and whilst this didn’t hit me in the same way something like Battle Royale did in that regard, I did find a lot to like about this film.

To get the negatives out of the way first I didn’t like the pacing off this film, it felt far longer than it actually and does drag in places. Moreover, the performances are a deeply mixed bag some of them are good but some are laughably bad, to the point where there is no way you can imagine them as gang members.

In terms of what I enjoyed, I liked the style of the film I thought it was very distinctive and had almost an apocalyptic feel to it that I thought worked really well. Furthermore, I also thought the film communicated great threat during its runtime, as such you were worried for the fate of the characters as danger seemed to lurk around every corner.

Overall, not perfect but very much a snap shot of a point in time.

Pros.

The style

The ending

The threat

Cons.

The pacing

Some of the performances were quite bad

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Star Trek Strange New Worlds: Lift Us Where Suffering Can’t Reach

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The Enterprise gets tangled up in an ethical quagmire after saving a ship in distress.

I thought this was yet another good episode of Star Trek. I particularly enjoyed the moral dilemma between should the crew interfere with how this other civilisation operates or should they let them kill a child and not get in the way and cause a conflict, it felt like older series of the show. I also like how dark they were prepared to go with it having the kid being effectively tortured by the machine, before he is inevitably saved, it was surprisingly twisted and mature.

I liked that Pike, played by Anson Mount, got centre stage here he really made the most out of every scene he got. Mount continues to be fantastic in the role and prove what a skilled and capable actor he is, hopefully we have some more Pike centric episodes coming up in the rest of the season.

My main issue with the episode was that the new character, at least to me as I don’t watch the other modern Star Trek shows, with whom Pike had a history was really written as being incredibly one dimensional. She was a generic love interest and then she turned out to be the villain in the end, with almost an air of the psycho girlfriend cliché to her that felt more than a little sexist.

Overall, I think that this current Star Trek show is really starting to hit its prime and come into its own.

Pros.

The ethical conundrum

How dark it gets

Mount is fantastic as Pike

There is no needless filler

Cons.

The villain ends up feeling like a sexist cliché

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Gods Favourite Idiot: Possibly The Antichrist

0/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Clark, played by Ben Falcone, is hit by angelic lighting and later told that he is to be God’s messenger tasked with stopping the apocalypse.

This is hot garbage don’t watch it.

In the not too distant past Netflix made a statement which basically boiled down to they were going to focus on making quality programs rather than lots of trash, did this show miss that memo?

If you thought the films made by Ben Falcone and his wife Melissa McCarthy were bad then boy howdy you haven’t seen anything yet. With one of their films you at least get the reprieve that it is only on for two hours tops, however, this is on for a lot longer and wants you to feel every horrible minute of it.

There are so many ways in which this show sucks, such as having the comedy be lazy, bland and dry. Think about a Melissa McCarthy film from the last ten years, think about the kind of jokes you would expect and then turn it up to the max. Not only does this show stretch its jokes so thin that it kills them but it is also trying so hard to be funny and to appeal to younger audiences that It just comes off as desperate.

Worst yet neither of the two central characters are in any way likeable, Falcone’s Clark is incredibly bland and feels like a cliché of the timid man in almost every sense, whereas McCarthy is driving around a modified rascal shouting at people and demanding special treatment from those around her… Need I say more?

Overall, awful, just awful.

Pros.

None

Cons.

McCarthy

Falcone

It isn’t funny

The characters are deeply unlikeable

It is terribly paced

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Lightyear: Back In The 90s This Would Have Been A Good Idea

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The film that inspired Andy to buy Buzz in Toy Story.

I think this film makes a pretty clear cut argument for how Disney has slowly corrupted and ruined Pixar, forcing the studio to make sequels, prequels and spin-offs that don’t need to exist and to sacrifice their heart and soul in doing it.

I am not going to say this film is awful and needless all the way through because that isn’t true, it does have good moments here and there, but by and large the biggest issue here is that this film never justifies its existence.

I thought the writing was exceptionally weak, which is a shock coming from Pixar. This can be seen with lazy storytelling choices such as having the important crystal be destroyed but then moments later they just have a new one and can go back out into space, with no mention as to how that is. Moreover, the character journey of Buzz having to learn to trust other people and then having an older version of him be the villain of the piece just feels insultingly obvious and on the nose. I understand that this film is for kids so it is not going to have the best writing, but come on this is just so lazy.

Chris Evans is fairly fine as Buzz Lightyear, you forget it is him after a while and the difference between his voice and Tim Allen’s become less noticeable over time.

Overall, fairly meh. Nothing special.

Pros.

It is watchable

It has a few sweet moments

It is fairly short

Cons.

It doesn’t justify its existence

The writing is poor

It is very forgettable

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It’s A Wonderful Afterlife: Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past Got Real

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A mother, played by Shabana Azmi, becomes so obsessed with who her daughter, played by Goldy Notay, is going to marry that she starts killing people who she views as getting in the way or to have slighted her daughter. Sadly for her these people later come back as ghosts that haunt her every waking moment.

I thought this film had a lot of charm, is it the best film ever? No. However, there is more than enough to enjoy here. I liked the spin this film put on the idea of the traditional mother worried about daughter being single storyline and thought the added horror comedy elements really helped to bring it all together in a strong way.

I thought a lot of the jokes landed and I found myself laughing a fair bit throughout, I thought Sally Hawkins’ best friend character had all the best lines, though maybe some would say these days there was an element of cultural appropriation within her character.

My main issue with this film is as it so often is the pace of the film. I thought the film was overly long and had too many needless asides and sub-plots, it could have been a lot better if it had been half an hour shorter is what I would say.

Overall, above average though not quite up to the level of Gurinder Chadha’s later work Blinded By The Light though few films are.

Pros.

It is a lot of fun

The performances are good

Sally Hawkins

Cons.

It is too long

A few of the jokes don’t age well

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Star Trek Strange New Worlds: Spock Amok

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Spock, played by Ethan Peck, swaps bodies with his betrothed, played by Gia Sandhu.

Many people may dislike this episode because it is a lot more light hearted and silly and whilst there is a somewhat unavoidable feeling of filler to it, I actually really enjoyed it.

I liked that we got to see a more human side to these character than we normally would if they were off fighting in space wars or exploring doomed worlds. Though the premise is silly it gave us a great insight into Spock at this time in his life and allowed us to see his perspective in a more clear sense. Further, the episode did not use a lot of the cheap jokes and plot lines of the body swap writing device and largely tried to do something new with it, playing it mostly straight, I enjoyed this as I feel handled differently it would have become trite and played out fast.

I thought the b plot and the later subplot about the negotiation with the new alien race were both inferior in a lot of ways to the body swap idea though one was better than the other. The La’an, played by Christina Chong, and Number One, played by Rebecca Romijn, shore leave b plot was fun and fairly light, Romijn’s acting felt a little forced during this part of the episode but maybe that was the point as her character is supposed to be a fun killer so having fun wouldn’t come naturally. The later subplot about the negotiation mostly felt flat, boring and like a convenient way to include both Pike, played by Anson Mount, in a meaningful way as well as to do something with the body swap.

Overall, mostly a fun episode with a lacklustre b plot and a boring resolution.

Pros.

Seeing Spock’s perspective

The fun of the body swap

It is nice to see a more human side to the characters

A few funny moments

Cons.

The sub plot about the negotiations was boring and the b plot felt forced

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Ms. Marvel: Crushed

4.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Kamala, played by Iman Vellani, starts to use her powers whilst also crushing on the new boy at school.

This show continues to be excellent.

So many times I criticise films and TV shows for not understanding the youth of today and for not being able to write for it, however, this show proves that it can be done and gives me hope for the future. I really enjoyed all of the teen angst of this episode, and thought that once again Vellani was just excellent in the role.

It was fun to see Kamala learning more about her powers, it is interesting to note that in the episode they make a point to say how her powers are a product of her and not the bangles, which means her being an Inhuman might still be on the table. I also thought the sequence of her saving the kid was really well done and I liked that it did not go perfectly first time, it feels like good character progression.

Moreover, I thought the scenes with Kamala’s friend Nakia, played by Yasmeen Fletcher, about her Muslim identity and fitting in were really powerful and well written. It also serves to highlight the importance of good well written representation as it can take someone’s innermost thought or struggle and showcase it on screen showing others who might have the same issue that they are not alone.

My one criticism of the episode is that the clearly villainous DODC agent, played by Alysia Reiner, feels incredibly on the nose. I am fine with it if she is just going to be a throw away villain of the early part of the series, but it would really be a disserve to the show if she were to stick around until the end or serve as the shows main villain and she feels like a cliché walking.

Overall, this continues to be one of Marvel’s best TV shows.

Pros.

Vellani

The music

The representation

The teen voice

It is a lot of fun

Cons.

The DODC agent feels almost cartoonishly evil

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iCarly: iThrow A Flawless Murder Mystery Party

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Carly, played by Miranda Cosgrove, takes over party planning for Freddie’s birthday after everything Pearl, played by Mia Serafino, has planned goes wrong. This leads to issues within Freddie, played by Nathan Kress, and Pearl’s relationship.

Since the first season it has been obvious that the show was setting Freddie and Carly up and I for the most part have been onboard with it. I don’t like the fact they have dragged it out this long, with the characters only really talking about it in the final moments of this season finale, with the will they won’t they decision happening in the first episode of the next season if it gets renewed. I would have preferred to see them get together in the final frame of this season and then have next season be primarily focused on them as a couple, but no they just had to end with a cliff-hanger.

I thought the emotional stakes of the episode felt right, the scenes wherein Pearl is realising that her and Freddie aren’t a good fit are tough to watch and do feel sad. Though the show wants you to care about the possible Carly Freddie relationship, it also wants to give Freddie and Pearl and earnest send off.

The side plot about Spencer, played by Jerry Trainor, and Harper, played by Laci Mosely, both trying to leave the party to meet their blind dates, with it actually turning out they were going to meet each other, was fun if very obvious.

Perhaps this show is gearing up to do a Friends and have most of its main characters in relationships with one another.

Overall, a good end to the season that leaves us wanting more.

Pros.

Will they won’t they Freddie and Carly

The drama

The jokes

Spencer and Harper’s B plot does provide some much needed comedic relief at times

Cons.

The cliff-hanger

It was very obvious Spencer and Harper were each other’s dates

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