The Last Of Us: Please Hold My Hand

Summary

Joel, played by Pedro Pascal, and Ellie, played by Bella Ramsey, continue their cross country road trip until they run into some bandits that force them off the road.

I enjoyed this episode for the most part, but I will admit that the stuff with the bandits at the end of the episode has me a little trepidatious as I worry that we might see another Woodbury situation, which for those unaware was when in the Walking Dead the whole pace of the show slowed to a near halt and a relatively minor event in the comics ended up stretching into multiple seasons. I want Joel and Ellie to be done with the bandits and away at least by the end of the next episode and not have this drag out and start to feel like network TV.

The scenes with Joel and Ellie together in the car driving and bonding were really well done and felt straight out of the game so it gets points from me there. Ramsey has fully grown into Ellie to such a point wherein I couldn’t see anyone else play her, I also thought the inclusion of the joke book was a stroke of sheer genius.

Seeing Ellie shoot someone for the first time, even though she didn’t kill them, felt like the momentous occasion it should have been and I enjoyed how the show had Joel deal with it, sending her into another room in a futile attempt to preserve her innocence. The show is really excelling in implementing the proper weight and emotion to these scenes and having them feel important and meaningful rather than just going through a check list of events from the game that need to happen in the show and checking one or two off per episode.

Overall, another good episode but the stuff with the bandits at the end has me nervous as I have been hurt in that regard before.

4/5

Pros.

Joel and Ellie bonding

The acting across the board

The significance the show gives to Ellie’s first time shooting someone

The joke book

Cons.

The bandits seem to be getting a lot of focus

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Star Wars The Bad Batch: Truth And Consequence

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The Bad Batch are called in to help Rex steal the data drive from Admiral Rampart’s Venator which proves he was responsible for the attack on Kamino.

I know I have talked a lot of trash about Omega in my reviews of the Bad Batch and for the most part I stand by every word I have said, she ruins a lot of the episodes she is in because her inclusion forces the tone to be goofy and family friendly, however, that is not the case here. This episode is moody and dark despite Omega and for that I am proud to call this an exception to the rule. Moreover, the scene in which Omega is saying goodbye to Echo at the end of the episode hits on all the right notes and really helps these two connected episodes to feel like they matter.

I also enjoyed seeing more of Palpatine, particularly more of his long game playing and how he actually rules the Empire in the day to day, some of the other Star Wars media, that is still considered cannon, has eluded to this but not shown it in much detail. Seeing him as a true villain and master manipulator really reinforced the stakes of not just this episode but the show as a whole he really is the evil of the Empire.

On the action front this one is a little lighter than The Clone Conspiracy and feels too concerned with being family friendly during its shootouts, I have never liked the fact that the Bad Batch and now Rex are only using stun rounds and have long thought it made no sense. You could make the argument that they don’t want to hurt their brothers but surely by this point in the timeline not all troopers would still be clones and there would be some conscripts in there as well and it makes no sense that they hold back from shooting to kill them as they would not do the same for the Batch. Once again it is an example of Disney struggling to know what to do with characters that they can’t stick on a lunchbox, characters that aren’t the clean cut good guys, in many senses this is exactly what went wrong with the Book Of Boba Fett.

Overall, another good episode but the action is a little lacking

4/5

Pros.

Palpatine

The emotional goodbye to Echo

The stakes

The surprisingly dark tone for an episode which features Omega so heavily

Cons.

The action is lacking and the use of stun settings is starting to become ridiculous

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Star Wars The Bad Batch: The Clone Conspiracy

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Admiral Rampart cleans house and has one of the clones who served under him during the destruction of Kamino killed, prompting a Senate investigation and the return of Rex.

I am truly starting to believe that the episodes of The Bad Batch that don’t feature Omega in any major way are examples of the show operating at its best. When the show embraces the darker side of things and moves past the family friendly wrapping that Omega as a character forces on the show then it is truly up there with the hights of The Clone Wars.

I enjoyed seeing the events shown in the end of season one of The Bad Batch come back around to be so important and relevant in season two, it felt rewarding to me as a long time viewer of the show. Moreover, I liked seeing Rex come back and would like to see more of his solo adventures in between this show and Rebels, maybe even a spin-off show?

This episode also benefits from a nice amount of action and is definitely one of the most action packed episode of the whole season, if not the whole show. Honestly the difference between an episode like this and one like Entombed is so night and day that it makes you question whether you are even watching the same show.

Overall, a fantastic episode of The Bad Batch that will be remembered fondly for a long time.

4.5/5

Pros.

Bringing back Rex

Tying in events from both The Clone Wars and earlier seasons of The Bad Batch

It is action packed

The more serious and dark tone

The best episode in a long time

Cons.

The emotional work with the characters could have been better

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Knock At The Cabin: Would You Let The World Burn?

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A couple, played by Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge, and their daughter, played by Kristen Cui, must choose between sacrificing one of their own, or letting the world burn.

I think this coupled with Servant really does seem to suggest that M. Night Shyamalan is back on top form and hopefully this can last for at least a few more projects. Admittedly I did think a similar thing when Split came out and then he released Glass and Old so what do I know maybe another slump is just around the corner.

I thought the best thing about this film was the premise. For a lot of the film you don’t know if what the dooms day people are saying is true, but as the film progresses and we see that it is and that the magnitude of the destruction is massive, this then shifts the film into being a thought experiment in ethics. I really enjoyed the themes and ideas Shyamalan tried to explore here and I thought that unlike Old this film has some real depths to it.

Groff and Aldridge made for a very believable couple, and thanks to the well-used flashbacks you do end up caring about them as a couple as well. This is very important as the emotional core of the film comes down to whether you could lose the love of your life to save the planet and that needs to hit emotionally in the film, which I can safely say it does. I thought the supporting cast of the dooms day preventers were also good, if a little underdeveloped, Dave Bautista’s Lenard gets the most attention on that front and he does give a solid performance though I would say he isn’t given much to work with.

Overall, M. Night Shyamalan’s best film in years.

4.5/5

Pros.

The performances

The emotion

The premise and what they do with it

The ending

It is well paced and maintains its tension throughout

Cons.

The supporting cast are a little wasted as their characters are underdeveloped

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Mr Harrigan’s Phone: Just What You Needed Some More Apple Product Placement

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A teen, played by Jaeden Martell, communes with his recently deceased billionaire pal, played by Donald Sutherland, through a phone with not so surprising horrifying results.

Lets get one thing perfectly clear at the start of this review, this film is not a horror film. It doesn’t matter how the trailer makes it look, or how Netflix categorises it, it simply isn’t a horror film. There is nothing remotely scary about this film, yes the ghost kills two people that Martell’s character asks him to, that’s it, we never see the ghost, the kills happen fairly off screen, and the film can’t even seem to manage a jump scare. It is silly that this film is being put out there under the horror genre because it really doesn’t belong there, however, on this topic I have a theory as to why this is happening.

I believe that the reason this film is presented as a horror film is because if it was presented as what it is, a coming of age film, then a lot less people would have bothered checking it out, as I imagine the possible audience for coming of age fare is less than horror. Also Netflix needed this film to be a horror so that it would fit its pre Halloween line up. I think the saddest part of it is that this film isn’t even a very good coming of age film, when you compare it to something like Ladybird or The Edge Of Seventeen you see that this film is just the same festering and pungent teen cliches and tropes rewarmed and with a horror label to try and cover the creative rot.

The only good thing I have to say about it is that the few scenes with Donald Sutherland in them are good, Sutherland still has it and he puts everyone else in this film to shame.

Overall, yet another flop for Netflix, when will they ever learn the lessons of quality vs quantity.

1.5/5

Pros.

Donald Sutherland

An interesting premise that is quickly wasted

Cons.

It isn’t a horror film in any sense

As a coming of age film it is lazy and overly familiar

Martell is awful

It is tedious

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Babylon: Hollywood’s Continued Love Affair With Itself

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The lives of a group of actors, writers, and others involved in the films industry are forever changed as Hollywood leaves the silent era.

I think this film is at its best when it is going wild, whether that is the hedonistic dance number or Tobey McGuire covering his face in grease paint. When it loses track of the wider points it is trying to make about chasing stardom and your dreams never turning out to be what you want them to be, all of which have been made before and in a much more nuance and layered way that this film, the film is fun. The grotesque spectacle of Hollywood as a playground for broken millionaires does have some mileage, and that is why the party scenes are the highlight of the film.

I think personally, this is one of Chazelle’s most accessible films for me and the only one outside of Whiplash that I could really ever get into. This again was more a result of the gross levels of debauchery and ideocracy that you can’t help but stare at then as a result of the plot. For the most part the narrative of the film is fairly aimless and tries to be insightful whilst going through the motions, all the while you are just counting down the moments to the next manic burst of energy that you know is coming.

Margot Robbie tries her best to anchor the film and keep it afloat but struggles, however, I don’t really think any of the actors in this film would be strong enough to carry it on their backs. Even veterans like Brad Pitt can light up the screen for a few scenes but are then quickly put back in their box as the film doesn’t know what to do with them. Diego Cava’s Manny is a serviceable and likeable protagonist but there isn’t enough fresh about him to really make him stand out against the likes of Robbie, Pitt and a greased up McGuire.

Finally, though no one is watching this film for a history lesson I would be remiss not to point out that by all accounts the version of Hollywood this film portrays is not only not accurate in a historical sense but is also incredibly and I do mean incredibly sanitised. Any notions of racism, sexism or predatory sexual practice, all of which we know would likely have been fairly common at the time are conveniently left out so Hollywood can fetishize its early days and blow more hot air up itself.

Overall, fun when viewed for the wild spectacle and silliness, but when things turn serious the film begins to crack.

3/5

Pros.

Everything about Toby McGuire’s role

It can be a lot of fun

It is fairly well paced for the epic that it tries to be

Cons.

It sanitises and rewrites history on a number of things

It has nothing new or insightful to say yet thinks it does

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Shotgun Wedding: Get Those Divorce Papers Ready

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Tom, played by Josh Duhamel, and Darcy, played by Jenifer Lopez, have their wedding taken over by terrorists and must work together to try and overcome them.

This is watchable yet entirely forgettable. Honestly, this kind of action comedy is nothing new and has been done many times before. Sadly, in the long history of newly weds teaming up to take down armed bad guys this film isn’t high up on the list.

The main reason for this is because of how tame it is. In almost every regard this film feels like it is holding back, be it in the gore and the violence, the swearing or even in the relationship drama. No couple I have ever met interacts like these two, the way they talk and generally just are around each other feels off and oddly formal at times. It would be an understatement to say that Lopez and Duhamel have no chemistry if anything I wouldn’t be surprised if it comes out over the next few years that the two of them hated each other whilst making this.

Overall, this is the sort of lazy film that reminds you that Hollywood, in this case Amazon, think they can just serve audiences with any old trash and that we will just happily consume it. Well I for one will spit out this rancid meal and will call out Amazon for this, consumers deserve better.

1/5

Pros.

It is not offensively bad

Cons.

It is tedious

It didn’t need to be made

It has no charm

It is horribly paced

The leads are both awful

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Sweet Home Alabama: Evangelist Propaganda

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A New York based fashion designer, played by Reece Witherspoon, travels back home to yes you guessed it Alabama to try and get divorced from her husband, played by Josh Lucas, so she can marry her new beau, played by Patrick Dempsey.

I put this on as it is February, the month of rom-coms, and after looking up non-toxic rom-coms I was fairly sure this was going to be a wholesome classic. Deary me how wrong I was, this film like many others in the genre is quite hard to watch and teaches some pretty bad lessons. These include but are not limited to, hey kids you should leave your life and dream job so you can move back to your home town and get with your ex, if you have a romantic moment as a child with one of your friends that means they are your soulmate forever, and finally when acting out it is perfectly okay to out your LGBTQ+ friend to everyone in town. That’s a big yikes.

Moreover, as the film progresses not only does Witherspoon’s character become more and more unlikeable, but also you begin to question why she is doing what she is doing. Clearly her and her ex have problems, clearly they are badly suited to each other yet they end up together because the film wants them to as it perpetuates myths. In many senses it is plain to see that Witherspoon’s character would have been better off with Dempsey’s character yet the film doesn’t allow that to happen as it would rather push the cliched destiny angle and suggest that women should stay with their exs because you never know they might change.

Overall, watchable yet fairly troubling.

1.5/5

Pros.

It is watchable

It has a few funny moments

Cons.

It has some really poor messages

Witherspoon’s character is fairly unlikable

The central romance of the film doesn’t work on a number of levels

It has pacing issues

Plane: Plummeting To The Ground In More Than One Sense

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Gerard Butler is a pilot who must face off against violent insurgents after his plane goes down.

Meh.

I could really leave the review there as there isn’t much more to say. It is a perfectly serviceable action film but nothing more. For anyone hoping for a do-over of Olympus Has Fallen this is nowhere near that level, nor is it near the levels of awfulness that make something like God’s Of Egypt fun. It is exactly what you would expect it to be and that is why it is so disappointing.

Perhaps the only thing of note that is positive about this film is the fact that Butler gets to go fully Scottish and let his accent come out which is nice as his barely faux American accents were starting to get grating. In terms of his performance Butler is as he ever is here, if you have ever seen one of his films then you know what that entails. There is a scene in which one of Butlers character’s passengers gets killed and he throws himself around and looks emotional whilst in the arms of Mike Coulter’s character, that I suppose could count as Butler trying to do some acting here but even then it is still fairly thin.

In terms of Mike Coulter if he thought this was going to be his breakout action role, in a post Luke Cage sphere, then he was sorely mistaken. His character is really more of a prop, being there to service Butler’s character and the plot, being whatever it needs him to be. It is strange that the script never really addresses the crime his character was accused of doing beyond stating it once, they set up a whole narrative that never comes to anything at all. To his credit Coulter’s incredibly limited performance makes Butler look like he deserves an Oscar so if nothing else I am sure Butler is thanking him.

Overall, not campy enough to be fun and too formulaic and familiar to be interesting.

2.5/5

Pros.

It is watchable

Some of the CGI is hilariously bad

It is short

Cons.

The performances are awful

The script feels like it is copied and pasted from many other action films with barely anything unique to it

It never addresses Coulters character’s backstory

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Star Wars The Bad Batch: Tribe

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The Bad Batch help the Wookie Jedi Gungi escape capture and return him to his home world.

I enjoyed this episode, and thought that it made a nice change to the filler of the past two weeks as it actually had the Bad Batch play a role in the wider fight back against the Empire and for once they turned off the stun setting on their blasters. Now, whilst I don’t think this episode was as good as the Commander Cody/Crosshair one I certainly think that there was a lot of promise here.

I was also interested to note how the Bad Batch are around Jedi’s after everything that has happened, and for the most part it was a similar fatherly relationship to how they treat Omega. However, this got me thinking about other possible Jedi’s that could appear on the show and also thinking again about how the show needs to get the Bad Batch way more involved with the early war against the Empire rather than just have them do mission of the week episodes with Omega. This episode had a weighty tone which worked for it a lot more than last week’s National Treasure spin off.

Overall, this is the sort of episode that this show should be putting out every week.

4/5

The darker tone

Seeing the Jedi interacting with the Bad Batch

The Bad Batch finally getting more involved in the war

Well-paced, with no lulls

Cons.

I could have done with being longer

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