Tuca And Bertie: Sleepovers

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Bertie has a hard time being alone and Tuca finds it hard to balance her friendship with Bertie and her new relationship.

I honestly can’t tell at this point whether it is the friendship between Tuca and Bertie that is toxic or each as individuals. Neither can seemingly let the other be happy or live/ enjoy life without the other constantly with them, which of course means sabotaging anything that might separate the two of them. I understand there will be friendships like that out there, but it makes the characters and their friendship hard to root for.

Moreover, I am starting to find the show a little immature. Yes it does now and again touch on some very adult themes and issues and handles them well, but my issue comes from how the characters behave on an episode by episode basis. We are expected to view these characters as mature after all they have been through, however they act like children often. This episode is the perfect example of this behaviour, whereby Bertie essentially has a temper tantrum because Tuca is not giving her enough attention.

The one pro I would say for this episode is I liked what they did with Tuca’s storyline. I thought the exploration of her new relationship was interesting and seeing whether she can allow herself to be happy and seeing whether the other most important bond in her life will also become toxic were interesting questions to ask. I thought the cliff-hanger ending worked well, and I am intrigued to see how the series will resolve her arc.

Overall, the characters and their friendship are becoming more and more toxic, though I do like the arc that is being set up for Tuca.

Pros.

Tuca’s storyline

The ending

Cons.

Bertie

Their friendship is toxic, I’d rather see them drift apart or fall out then resume the status quo

The Bertie storyline is surprisingly immature

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Rick And Morty: Rick And Morty’s Thanksplotation Spectacular

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Rick wrongs the President again and has to go undercover as a Thanksgiving turkey in order to try and secure a pardon, things quickly spiral from there.

Meh.

This was a very throwaway episode of Rick and Morty, destined to be no one’s favourite. Though I did enjoy what the episode did with the exploration of Rick and the President’s relationship and potentially budding respect for each other/friendship. I like the idea of Rick learning to like people more and maybe even having friends, other than the few we have already met who are now mostly dead, in later seasons.

Other than that though I thought there was nothing much interesting about this episode. The plot about evil turkeys just feels thrown together at the last minute in order to have a Thanksgiving episode, as it serves no real purpose as it neither provides us with a fun adventure nor does anything to push the cannon forward.

I would have liked to see more of the siege of the Smith’s house by the president and how it affected various members of the Smith family, we know that it affected Jerry’s cooking but that’s about it. I think buried under all the schlock and monsters for the sake of monsters there is something interesting in this episode that is left mostly unexplored which is a shame.

Overall, not a bad episode but certainly weaker.

Pros.

Rick and the President’s arc

It is very watchable

The end credits scene is a good laugh

Cons.

It feels slapped together

It is incredibly forgettable

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Batman The Long Halloween Part Two: DC Animations Best In Years

4.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Part Two finally brings to light the identity of the Holiday Killer, as well as seeing many of Batman’s most well known villains take to the streets of Gotham to wage war on the Falcone crime family.

This is the best thing out of DC animation in a while, a long, long while. By this I mean both parts of The Long Halloween viewed as one complete piece, but still on merit this is a strong second half. Not only is it a compelling mystery that gives us quality time with almost all of Batman’s rogues gallery, but it is also a surprisingly strong crime film.

I enjoyed the world set up by this film. I thought it made several changes to the source material and comics cannon that work well in this new context and serve to better the film. The films make the Falcone’s so interesting that you are almost sorry they didn’t split the graphic novel into three films, so you get to spend more time with them.

Furthermore I enjoyed the animation style and thought it looked just enough like the classic cartoons of my youth to be fondly remembered whilst also having more than a little clear anime inspiration. Both elements work well together and create for an animated feature that is a delight to watch.

My one slight criticism of this film would be that Batman gets beaten a lot. Now this might be my own fault for not knowing the timeline, but surely this happens after Year One, so it makes little sense to have a Batman that is clearly still very green in a lot of ways. Batman gets beaten by almost every villain in this film and yes I get that the film is trying to show us an inexperienced Batman but instead he comes off as almost out of his depth.

Overall, one of the best DC animated films in years.

Pros.

The animation

The world

The character development of the Falcone family

The story itself

Cons.

Batman is a little too easily beaten

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Tuca And Bertie: The Moss

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Tuca and Bertie’s building gets new management which causes a crisis for all the residents.

This is Speckle’s episode. Speckle is often there on the side-lines supporting Bertie and waiting for something to do, this episode finally gives him that. Honestly I didn’t like this episode for a lot of reasons, that I’ll get into later, but the one thing that worked well was Speckle- honestly he was hilarious. Speckle’s descent into madness was always very entertaining, and I thought his rants were standout.

I also enjoyed Tuca’s storyline as she was fighting to prevent change, which is very in keeping with her character, and to keep everyone together. I thought the scenes with her, and he ghost were interesting and I would like to see more of Tuca’s bonds with other people who aren’t Bertie.

Bertie here is simply awful; she would rather stay in a moss riddled flat with her friend that live with her boyfriend who has never done anything other than support here. If this episode proved anything it is how much of a toxic relationship they have and how Speckle and could and should be with anyone else. Why does she not want to live with him? Because he made some design choices she didn’t like……… Really? Worst of all we are supposed to still like her after this.

Overall, the episode until the final decision to revert was good, but the ending spoils everything, perhaps even the series.

Pros.

Speckle

Tuca

Cons.

Bertie

The ending

The morals of the show at this point

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Rick And Morty: Amortycan Grickfitti

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Rick, Beth and Jerry go on a trip to hell curtesy of a Hellraiser parody, and Summer and Morty go on a joyride in Rick’s spaceship in an effort to impress the new kid at their school.

This I would put in a very similar category to last week’s episode of good but ultimately forgettable. I thought the Rick storyline was far more enjoyable than the Morty one for multiple reasons. Namely, I thought the character work between Rick and Jerry was strong here and it is nice to see that Rick does in fact have some feelings towards him and that maybe at some point in the show’s future they could even be friends.

Moreover, as a fan of Hellraiser I found the parody to be much more entertaining that I would if I had never heard of or seen the films. This was my issue with the Captain Planet parody episode, as I was unfamiliar with the characters I didn’t really get the parody and it all just seemed strange and out of character, for Morty especially. However, here I enjoyed the parody, and I thought the episode’s version of cenobite hell was fun to explore- hopefully they will return to it at a later date.

With the Summer and Morty storyline I thought that the car/space ship was the standout and stole all the good comedic lines along with the lime light. This B plot did not really advance either Morty or Summer’s character and instead felt very throwaway and is without a doubt filler.

Overall, another good but forgettable episode of season 5.

Pros.

The Hellraiser parody

Rick and Jerry

The car/spaceship had a few funny jokes

Cons.

Morty and Summer’s storyline was just filler

It is forgettable

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The Bad Batch: Rescue On Ryloth

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Following on from last week’s episode we see Hera ask the Bad Batch to break into the capital and save her family, where they have another run in with Crosshair.

I am glad this show is using Crosshair more, he makes for far more of an interesting antagonist than whatever random villain of the week they would otherwise use. Though in this episode the confrontation between Crosshair and his former teammates is not as thrilling or as tense as it has been in the past there is still enough there to make it enjoyable. Moreover, the series promises a bigger confrontation going forward as Crosshair is finally sent to hunt the Bad Batch down.

I enjoyed the Ryloth characters and seeing the show tie into Rebels, however, I think in doing this the show creates an inconsistency. Howzer is a clone, who despite the inhibitor chip can still disobey the rule of the Empire and think for himself- therein lies the problem. If Howzer and later other clones can disobey their programming then why can’t Crosshair, is the showing trying to suggest he was always bad so therefore his morality wouldn’t force him to break orders because I don’t think that is true. The episode as a whole glosses over this issue but it needs to be addressed.

Finally, as I have said before so won’t belabour, Omega is the worst character on the show and her naïve self-righteousness doesn’t make her any more likeable as a character.

Overall, for the most part a good episode

Pros.

The promise of more Crosshair

The action

The wider lore being set up

Cons.

The Howzer inconsistency

Omega

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Tuca And Bertie: Vibe Check

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Bertie receives unwelcomed sexual fantasies and Tuca worries if she has been ghosted by her hopefully new girlfriend.

At this point I don’t think this show is a comedy anymore. It is never funny and is more often than not depressing. That is not to say it is bad, rather to adjust your expectations with the show.

For this week’s storylines I thought Bertie had by far the stronger arc. I think the further exploration of how Pastry Pete affected her is important character work, I think the storyline is handled maturely and actually makes some great points about sex and relationships widely.

Tuca however…… The show does not seem to know what to do with her this season, we have established that she is lonely and that she pushes people away, but the show does not want to seem to explore these issues deeper, rather it just gives her character throwaway storylines such as this. For most of the episode she worries she has been ghosted, and then she hasn’t been, that is the depth of the arc here.

It seems to me this show is far more interested in exploring Bertie and her character than Tuca and if that is true that’s fine, but then it shouldn’t really be called Tuca and Bertie it should just be called Bertie.

I may give this show up as I don’t find myself enjoying watching it and if anything it often bums me out.

Overall, Tuca is side-lined once again but Bertie has some interesting, nuanced character work.

Pros.

Bertie’s storyline

Exploring the aftereffects of abuse

Important conversations about trauma, sex and relationships

Cons.

They don’t know what to do with Tuca this season

It is depressing

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Rick and Morty: Rickdependence Day

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Morty uses a piece of surgical equipment for elicit means and creates a worldwide disaster, that leads to humans having to patch up their long standing feud with the subterranean CHUD people.

This was a fun episode of Rick and Morty,not too heavy and mostly just throw away fun. The premise of the episode is a little icky for my tastes, but I enjoyed how they built the reveal of the sperm monsters origins as a point of tension between the titular pair as Rick did not know what Morty had done.

Moreover, I thought Summer and Beth really stood out as characters here. Their comments on sexism and how women and their ideas are often overlooked and basically ignored were both insightful as well as humorously delivered.

I thought the episode had a few funny moments such as the joke at the expense of Marvel frontman Robert Downey Jr, but struggled to keep that comedy up throughout. For the most part a lot of the jokes in this episode just left me cold and were a little bit too gross out for my tastes.

I thought the CHUD people were an interesting addition to the episode, and it made for a great Rick moment at the end. However, I am starting to become perturbed by how this show keeps creating new characters and civilisations and then never references them again, it feels a little throwaway and I prefer it when the show builds up a character or group and makes them important to the wider narrative of the show.

Overall, a fun episode of Rick and Morty that struggles to be anything more.

Pros.

The Robert Downey Jr joke

Summer and Beth

The tension between Rick and Morty

The ending/ The CHUDs

Cons.

Some of the characters feel throwaway

Not all the jokes land

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Monsters At Work: Welcome To Monsters, Incorporated

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A new character who has always dreamed of being a scarer, has to come to terms with the change in direction at Monsters Inc and try and find his place.

So this show is exactly what I was expecting it to be- needless. There is no reason for this show to exist at all, did we really need to see how the business would run once they switched over to laugh power instead of fear? The answers we get are boring and easily guessable.

Furthermore, the new characters, whose names I cannot even remember are also entirely pointless. Clearly they are being written to fill the whole in the show that comes as a result of Mike, Billy Crystal, and Sully, John Goodman, taking a reduced role. Can they even hope to be worthy replacements? If this first episode is anything to go by no.

Finally, I am left to wonder who is this for? If it is for long time fans who loved the film when it came out and have then grown up with it why only have Mike and Sully in such small roles, if this is to attract new people then why not just create a fresh idea altogether. As it stands this show is for no one.

Overall, the only reason it got a 2 is because the animation is good, and the score is suitably jazzy.

Pros.

The animation

The score

Cons.

The new characters are bland and uninteresting

Why does this exist?

It answers questions no one asked

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America The Motion Picture: Free Bird

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A mash up origin story for The United States Of America.

I want to preface this review by saying I am a big fan of Archer the animated series. Though many who are involved in that series clearly lent their hand to this project, the charm, wit and nuance of that show is woefully abandoned to produce one of the dumbest films I have ever seen.

Netflix animation is clearly betting on some of the big name talent involved with this film to sell it, as their animation studio is far behind the likes of Pixar and DreamWorks. The animation itself is good, that is not the problem, the issue is the non-sensical, lets throw ideas at the wall and see what sticks approach to storytelling that makes this film feel like a fever dream.

The voice cast is made up of some talented people, sadly not one of them is given anything memorable or interesting to work with and instead they just spout garbage that almost makes being poorly informed and unintelligent seem like the preferred way to be, almost as if it is trying to bash people who will be smart enough to see this film is bad.

The one moment of the film that I enjoyed that I gave the film one whole bonus point from what I was going to give it was having Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd be America’s nation anthem: that scene was very enjoyable.

Overall, this film proves once again why Netflix shouldn’t let a machine green light its projects.

Pros.

Free Bird

I liked Benedict Arnold being a werewolf

Cons.

It is so dumb

None of it makes sense

The characters are unlikeable

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