Knuckles: Life In The Fast Lane

Summary

Knuckles, voiced by Idris Elba, is back and this time he is patching up father son relationships, or trying to at least.

I was really, really looking forward to this and possibly I went in expecting a bit too much. I thought this was going to be the next chapter in the Sonic universe, I was expecting much more in the way of cameos and maybe even some more games characters being introduced that were more Knuckles centric. Alas we didn’t get that, and maybe I expected too much, this was an incredibly self-contained show and without the opening credits, the villains being vaguely tied to Robotnik, and a brief first episode cameo, you could watch this and not even realise it was related to the wider Sonic universe.

Another odd choice was that the main character of this series isn’t Knuckles, but rather Wade Whipple, Adam Pally. Now there is nothing wrong with Wade he is quite a funny character and you can easily relate to and root for him, but he isn’t the show’s namesake. I expected far more time to learn who Knuckles as a character was, learn more of his back story, maybe through flashbacks to before the Owls attacked, but again no. We don’t learn much more about Knuckles from this show other than he likes grapes. That said I did like Wade’s quest to become a warrior and to defeat his dad, Cary Elwes, who was comically evil.

I also thought the bond between Wade and Knuckles was quite endearing, they genuinely seemed to care about each other, in a sort of human pet way, or maybe even a father and son way.

The humour of the show was good and it was mostly funny, there were a couple of times were they let a joke drag on for too long or repeated an unfunny joke but for the most part it was funny.

A final word I would like to say that no doubt will get me hate, but hey I am not going to stop, is that I liked that this show gave an upfront portrayal of the Jewish Shabat dinner and had a lot of good Jewish representation without reducing the characters to stereotypes or having it be all they are. I think in these politically divided times, I am writing this in May 2024, where antisemitism is on the rise and more and more people seemingly hate Jews, for something that is not their fault, they are not responsible for state policy, it is nice to see positive representation, it shouldn’t be needed to combat all the hate as the hate shouldn’t exist but that is the world we live in.

Overall, a nice, fun self-contained series but one that left me a little disappointed

3.5/5

It is funny

Wade and Knuckles

It provides much needed representation

It sets up new adventures

Cons.

It is not as big in scope as I would have liked it to be

It repeats a few unfunny jokes

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Swede Caroline: Growing Wild and Free

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A mockumentary film about the world of competitive vegetable growing.

This may be one of the best surprises of the year so far, it seemingly came out of nowhere and had little to no fanfare but it was easily the funniest film of the year by a wide margin. Whilst I often say of comedy films that they had some good laughs but it was not a laugh a minute, I would argue this was. For the most part I was laughing consistently throughout.

I thought the characters were all very likeable and distinctive and that is a hard feat considering that for some of them we only meet them for about 5 minutes or so, yet still they manage to leave an impression. I think why the characters worked so well is because they are believable, as in perhaps it is a British thing, but I for one could see parallels between the characters in this film and to people I know in the real world.

I think the only area where it lost me somewhat was when it tried to hit into darker subject matter. I understand the parody was of true crime docuseries so it needed to have those darker themes but I thought that it would have been better served by maintaining a consistent tone throughout.

Overall, a hidden comedy gem.

4/5

Pros. It is funny

It is relatable

It is original

It uses its runtime and cast well, there isn’t any waste

Cons.

The darker moments and the inconsistent tone

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Mindy Kaling: The Modern Embodiment Of Hating Your Audience And Then Wanting Them To Watch Your Show

Written by Luke Barnes

This piece will talk about Velma and how the show optimises three key concepts, firstly the idea of the out of touch celebrity, secondly the disrespect of fans, and thirdly the idea of being edgy for the sake of it and then using your gender or race as a shield to hide behind when facing criticism.

Let me lay my cards down on the table for you, I watched the first season of this show I didn’t bother with season two as I knew what to expect and thought I would spare myself for once. I don’t like Mindy Kaling as she is problematic, with the alleged stories of her forcibly kissing someone and writing it off as a joke, as well as her repeated fetishisation of white guys in her various shows. She has also been accused of presenting Indian women as losers who despite being treated badly by white male characters keep going back to them. In many respects she is a bad person. Yet she thinks as a lot of Hollywood celebrities do that they are above you and I, she thinks that through her stupid adult Scooby Doo show watched by a grand total of 5 people that she can tell you how to live your life and that by her messages in the show she is doing something to make the world a better place. How out of touch and into yourself can you be? Moreover, another issue with Kaling and this show is that her Velma character is a self-insert, meaning when a writer doesn’t try and come up with a character of concept but rather puts themselves into the show or film instead. Kaling turns herself into Velma and then plays the character entirely alien to how we have ever seen her before in the franchise. In that frame Kaling’s Velma is a racist, sexist, bully who treats everyone around her like dirt and then uses manipulative tactics in order to force them not to leave her, she is a reciprocal for vitriol.

As with many modern shows they can’t be made without insulting the fans of the IP you are trying to win in order to watch it. Of course anyone that doesn’t like her bastardisation of a beloved franchise rather than be told oh well we’re sorry you don’t like it you can watch the older series or another series if there is another Scooby Doo series airing at the same time, I don’t know if there is, she attacks fans and calls them sexists or racists or bigots, as that is a great way to try and win people over. Anyway the first season was widely hated by the fans and it has only got a second season likely because of a contract agreement for it, it seems that with the fact there has been no publicity at all with this second season it has been sent out to die and rightfully so. Hopefully we get a cancellation notice before too long.

I think at the centre of this whole mess is Kaling, she thought she was important enough to take over a beloved franchise and try and self-insert and to change it fundamentally into something else. That speaks to a level of delusion as surely someone must have told her hey the fans aren’t going to like this, there will be a backlash. I think the issue I have with this is that rather than be like yes we are trying to do something different, yes not everyone will like it but maybe someone will and pressing on, she has to be adversarial from the start and then play the race and gender card to mask her from any criticism. It is perfectly okay for her Velma to be racist, sexist and to treat the rest of the gang like dirt but if you call her out for her own characterisation or writing then you are racist. There is nothing racist about calling someone out for doing a bad job and being a hypocrite. Obviously some people will be racist and take it too far and I condemn them, there is no need to behave like that all it does is give Kaling more ammunition to play the victim and scream bigotry.

God I hope this is the last time I had to talk about this show

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Seize Them: An Aimless Trek Through The Welsh Countryside

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A queen, played by Aimee Lou Wood, loses her thrown and must go on a journey to get it back.

So with the cast this film had I was optimistic, I thought that it had every chance to be a new British comedy gem, but it just didn’t go far enough. My main criticism of this film is that it is too tame and really quite underdeveloped.

Whilst I thought Wood and co.’s adventures were enjoyable to watch they weren’t very funny, the humour widely didn’t work as it was too tame and felt like something out of a family film. Any chance the film had to be bawdy or edgy it never uses as it prefers instead to be incredibly safe. Moreover, the characters never felt three dimensional, they try and give them some personality and some backstory but even then you never understand them in more than just a puddle deep sort of way. The ending of the film is also incredibly predictable.

The main praise I will give this film is that it put Aimee Lou Wood, really in my opinion the star of Sex Education, up front and in many respects Wood is easily one of the best British actors working right now but too often she is overlooked or cast in a supporting role so it was nice to see her starring here. However, they don’t really give her much to do except be bratty for most of the film, that is except for the scene where her toes get blown off wherein she gets to do some acting.

Overall, Wood shines but this film is far too safe to be either funny or good.

2/5

Pros.

Wood

The toe scene

Cons.

It isn’t funny

The ending is so cliché and trite

It is too safe

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Spy X Family Season 2: Overview

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A spy, an assassin and a telepath pretend to be a happy family this time with added cruises.

I think this second season is even better than the first, in many senses the series really hits its stride here and gets into what you want to see from it.

The world building on display is solid and we get to find out a lot more about the lives of the characters we met in the first season and though there isn’t as much high stakes action as in the first season I think the character work here is stronger and that makes up for it. Also Yor’s fights on the boat more than match any of the action scenes we got in the first season.

The family boat trip is easily the best part of the entire second season, not only do the a and b storylines work really well together, it feels like an epic event as it spills out over so many episodes, and the final of the mini arc where they get to enjoy a nice family day out at the island is one of the most wholesome things I have seen on tv in a long time.

Overall, a fantastic follow up season with my only real complaint being that it is a lot shorter but hey at least we are getting a film fairly soon.

4.5/5

Pros

It is wholesome

It ups everything that worked from the first season

It has great action

The boat mini arc is my favourite so far

It is a lot of fun

Cons.

It is too short

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Spy X Family: Season One Overview

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A spy, an assassin and a telepath pretend to be a happy family.

This is one of the best animes I have watched in a while, and easily replaced some of my favourite animes in my all-time ranking. I would put it up there with Way of the Househusband, and Demon Slayer for sure.

I think what works so well about the first season of Spy X Family is how wholesome and sweet it is, but rather than have it be so soft that there are no stakes and nothing to care about and move the story forward, you have the action and the comedy elements as well which provide for a nice contrast. I think the three areas mesh well together as the healing aspects, action and comedy work together to create a well rounded package that does have something for everyone.

My one criticism of the first season would be that some of the B stories drag. Often you get an episode with an A and B story that both work well together and that provides the contrast I was talking about earlier, but sometimes you just get a random tacked on feeling B story that doesn’t add much and just feels like a way to pad out an episode which can then hamper even the most well done A plot.

Overall, a delightful time and an anime that I would say truly for everyone.

4/5

Pros.

The wholesomeness

The action

The comedy

The character work

Cons.

Some weak B-Plots

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Ghostbusters Frozen Empire: Now With Added Ghost Romance

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The family from the legacy sequel that some call Afterlife move into the fire house and take over the Ghostbusters mantle.

My immediate reaction to this film is that there is a kernel of goodness in it. Don’t get me wrong this film isn’t perfect and we’ll get to that shortly I just wanted to say that this film does do some things right, such as its ending that feels like the perfect note to end the series on with new respected Ghostbusters ready to carry on the legacy, quit whilst you’re ahead. Another thing it gets right is how integrated the original cast is and how the film gives each of them a moment to shine and shows them the proper reverence.

However, this film also does a lot wrong. I’ll break this down into three key areas. Firstly you have the fact that Carrie Coon who is a tremendous actor is barely featured in the film at all, she gets one scene early on busting a ghost with a drone and that is it. That’s a massive waste. The film also does the same thing with Finn Wolfhard but he is a less good actor, by a fairly massive factor so that isn’t much of a shame. Secondly, McKenna Grace is much more insufferable here, she is written as Hollywood writes all teenagers she knows better, she thinks she’s always right and then she screws up, and I think therein lies the problem we have seen this type of character before if anything it is a fairly hacky cliché. Worse yet the film bloats itself giving her a quasi-love story with a ghost, but the film doesn’t go far enough with this concept and actually commit. I think this was done to keep the culture war around this film to a minimum as people would freak out over a ghost lesbian relationship ‘the globalists are pushing their LGBTQ+ agenda but now with added occultism’ they would scream at their family who at this point tune them out. Personally, I think they should have either explored the idea of a ghost relationship more or just not included it as it stands it feels half baked.

Thirdly, there is far too much going on in this film in terms of characters. There are a lot of new characters and returning characters and in an effort to try and give everyone their moment the film doesn’t give some of the central family members things to do, see above complaint, and that to me just seems like such a glaring oversight. The concept of less is more clearly didn’t register with anyone over at Sony as they looked over the script.

Overall, a step back from Afterlife, but an okay note to end on.

3/5

Pros.

It does write by the old characters

There are some laughs to be had

It is a good time

Cons.

The cast is overstuffed and wasted

The ghost love arc

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Kung Fu Panda 4: The Battle Against Irrelevance

Written by Luke Barnes

Po, voiced by Jack Black, is back and like every modern movie he needs to pass the torch onto a new dragon warrior.

So for the most part I thought this was fine, it was watchable enough and not particularly offensive in anyway. I think this was probably the worst written of the series and had the weakest plot and also emotional stakes, though I did like the moment Tai Lung, voiced by Ian McShane, gave Po his respect at the end of the film.

The successor narrative is one that Hollywood seems to be obsessed with recently, all of our beloved heroes need to pass the mantle to keep the franchise going as the creators don’t realise that there is a reason that Batman has stuck around for decades and hasn’t been retired just recast. My point is that rather than recast and move on they should keep Jack Black front and centre as he is who people are coming to see, people don’t want a new Dragon Warrior.

In terms of other narrative elements I thought Awkwafina’s new character was weak as hell, it was obvious she was a baddie who would turn it around and I didn’t buy the relationship between her and Po the film tries to set up. I understand that animation is often seen as for children but that doesn’t mean they can just serve dumb churned out slop. Moreover, the two dads, yes they do that joke a lot, b plot has some laughs but they mostly exist to kill time as the film quickly gets to its end point and then goes wait a minute we need to kill some more time what can we add.

The new villain is easily the worst of the series, for two key reason’s firstly she has no emotional backstory or personality you can engage with again she has a few jokes but that is it. Secondly, rather than have her own fighting style or anything like that they just have her use past villains moves, it is like creatively they are bankrupt so they decided to go instead of creating a new villain let’s just remix all the old ones within a bland new shell.

Also the lack of the Furious Five is a glaring omission.

Overall, a disappointing and unnecessary new entry.

2/5

Pros.

A few funny jokes

It has a good set piece battle on a cliff edge

Cons.

The villain is weak

The new Dragon Warrior is bland

The missing Furious Five

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Drive Away Dolls: Incredibly Sexualised Lesbians

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Two young women, Geraldine Viswanathan and Margaret Qualley, travel across the States to find themselves and deliver a rather compromising package.

I want to preface this review by saying that I have never been a fan of the Cohen Brothers, though their films are lauded I only ever liked Inside Llewyn Davis. Here we only get one half of the directing duo and I have to say that is a deeply average film.

At the risk of offending, this film makes lesbians, both of the lead characters are, out to be sex crazed. Whilst a lot of films have done this with men over the years, so why not women is a valid point, but I would say that it is reductive. In the case of Viswanathan’s character they try and do more with her and develop more of who she is, her backstory and her hopes and dreams, whereas with Qualley’s character sex is all she is. I am a sex positive person and have no issue with any character being sexual but Qualley’s character is nothing more than that. Watch the film and tell me any character detail about her other than she likes sex, go on I’ll wait. She opens the film doing it, travels cross country doing it at every stop and then engages in sex with her friend turned girlfriend at the end of the film. I just think it would have been nice to get to know the character with her clothes on and as more than just a sexual object for the lesbian gaze. I think that the characterisation of the leads will make for an interesting research paper one day.

That said I think this film can get quite political at times, as you would probably expect. I think as with a lot of cases in modern Hollywood it is surface level, its commentary lacks any kind of wit or deeper engagement, its just yes right wing politicians are bad and its up to liberals to punish them and take them down. It is so nuanced that you would have to read copiously on the topic to be able to understand just a tenth of what they are saying, not.

The main pro I will give this film is that it has a good sense of humour. Beanie Feldstein has a decent number of humorous moments which make the film more bearable.

Overall, a paper thin film that struggles to entertain or be relevant.

Pros.

A few funny moment

It is short

Cons.

It over sexualises Qualley’s character

The political commentary is thin

It is boring and fairly predictable

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Anyone But You: When In Doubt Throw Yourself In The Harbour

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

After a misunderstanding a pair of people who hate each other must pretend to be a couple in order to not ruin a wedding.

A plot that has been done so many times I have lost count, originality is not one of this films special skills. You know where this is going, they pretend to be a couple then they become a couple and then they break up and then they have a big run to the airport moment reunite and the films over.

I think where this film shines is with the chemistry between the leads Sydney Sweeny and Glen Powell, both of them do a really good job with it and have a strong back and forth and that makes this better than your standard rom-com.

I think a lot of the wider cast are just unnecessary and leave you feeling irritated when they are on screen as the film does nothing to make you care about them even slightly.

Overall, there isn’t much to say about this one, it is on the better side of average.

3/5

Pros.

The chemistry

A few funny jokes

A sweet singing scene

Cons.

It is predictable

The rest of the cast are wasted

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