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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Jungle Cruise: The New Pirates Of The Caribbean?

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Based on the Disney Park ride, Jungle Cruise sees an adventure, Emily Blunt, and her well-meaning brother, Jack Whitehall set off into the heart of the jungle to find a mythical treasure.

If I had to describe this film in a few words it would be dumb fun. Really it is neither hugely good, nor hugely bad, it is just dumb watchable entertainment that passes a few hours.

Certainly this film is trying to be the next Pirates of The Caribbean, you can feel it throughout, and though the film has similar vibes to POTC it lacks the compelling edge. The story for the most part is very throwaway action fare; a group of people head out looking for a mythical treasure and get into high jinks along the way- nothing new.

However, the cast do manage to elevate it somewhat. Rather surprisingly Dwayne Johnson is not on top form here and though he is passable enough in the lead role, he is increasingly out done at nearly every turn by Blunt. Blunt really is the star of this film and her presence helps it immensely. Originally, when I heard that Jack Whitehall had been cast in this I was expecting a disaster, as though he is hilarious he is not a proven actor by any means, however, this film entirely convinced me that he can hold his weight with the big guys and made me feel a lot more confident about his Clifford film.

I won’t go into the villain issue here but suffice it to say it is bad. There are two villains, one of which is entirely needless, and the other is Jessie Plemons who looks like he is having fun, but the film doesn’t know what to do with him.

Overall, a fine film to watch once.

Pros.

Blunt

Whitehall

The world

Cons.

Johnson is off form

The villains

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Limbo: The Struggle To Start Over

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Limbo tells the offbeat story of a refugee’s experience in rural Scotland.

I think this film needs to be seen. It should be mandatory viewing for just about everyone, as it shows the horrors that refugees have to go through once they arrive in the country: everything from the uncertainty of their asylum status to visits from the police to be deported back to the country they fled. It is heart-breaking and moving.

However, I don’t want this review to make the film sound too dower and serious, there are also a number of light hearted moments that provide some much needed respite and allow us to feel a sense of hope for proceedings again. I thought the ending of finally having Omar, Amir El-Masry, play his oud again was a wonderful choice as it highlights this enduring sense of optimism that maybe everything can be okay.

I think this film is incredibly timely and will open your eyes to something you may perhaps have never thought about before. I think it’s message is needed, now more than ever.

The performances across the board were all terrific with every single member of the cast having their own time to shine and individual moments that really help to make each character standout and be memorable.

Overall, I can’t recommend this film enough and though it might not always be the easiest of watches it is very needed.

Pros.

The message

The performances

The ending

The powerful emotion

Cons.

It is bleak at times, truly bleak

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iCarly: iLoveGwen

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Millicent’s mum re-enters the picture prompting hopes that her and Freddie will get back together.

I think the only character that this series seems to understand is Freddie, Nathan Kress, as this and the previous episode proved. He is the only character that the series seems interested in exploring and developing; the rest they don’t really seem to know what to do with.

I enjoyed, once again, seeing the Freddie storyline here I think his relationship with Jaidyn Triplet’s Millicent is easily the best thing about the revival so far, or certainly the most meaningful at least. I thought the idea of having Millicent constantly seeing things that suggested her parents were getting back together, only for them not in the end was both maturely handled and surprisingly heart-warming.

As I said before this episode doesn’t know what to do with any of its characters other than Freddie and Millicent, Carly, Miranda Cosgrove, is awkwardly along for the ride and Spencer, Jerry Trainor, and Harper, Laci Mosley, are forced into a competition for no real reason at all. With Carly you can’t ignore the fact that the way she is behaving is not charming or funny, as she is too old to behave like a child and with Harper and Spencer it is just a joke that you have seen before- still not funny. Harper seems to just be mean to every one of the male characters in the show for some reason, I don’t understand why she has been written this way?

Overall, perhaps a more mature episode of iCarly which is appreciated but is really wastes most of its character and that can’t be ignored.

Pros.

Freddie and Millicent

Further emotional and character growth

Well intentioned

Cons.

Harper

It wastes most of its characters who aren’t Freddie and Millicent

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Jolt: Missing A Spark

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Kate Beckinsale’s Lindy is a woman with an explosive temper and a keen set of skills. As she re-enters society after years kept hidden away she falls in love, then her new beau is killed. You know what happens next.

Never has an actor needed to reinvent themselves more than Kate Beckinsale. Beckinsale has been on the forefront of the action genre for longer than I have been alive, but if her recent output is anything to go by the spark is gone.

As you might imagine from the premise Jolt is a very by the numbers film, it is passable action, but it is neither good nor bad just deeply average. What this film has going against it is a deeply generic plot that has been done so many times over the years in films and tv shows that you can’t help but role your eyes when you see it done yet again here.

Moreover, the cast aren’t bringing anything to the roles to make them or the film memorable. Yes, Beckinsale is a capable enough lead, but her character is forgotten the moment the film is turned off, and Jai Courtney………. Has no one told the makers of this film that Jai Courtney had his moment and blew it? The moment I saw him show up I immediately knew the film was going to be bad. If ever there was an omen to suggest a film is going to be bad, it is the casting of Courtney.

Again the action is fine, but it is nothing new.

Overall, you have seen this film before.

Pros.

It is passable

Everything is fine

Cons.

It is generic and played out

Courtney

The pacing

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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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iCarly: iNeed Space

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Spencer’s new girlfriend tries to lure Carly and Harper into a cult.

This is a very average episode of iCarly, there really isn’t much more to say about it than that. It is neither particularly good nor bad, rather it is just bland. However, it does say a lot that the B plot revolving around Freddie, Nathan Kress, and Millicent, Jaidyn Triplet, bonding over their own version of the girl scouts, is far better than the A storyline revolving around Carly, Miranda Cosgrove, and the Cult.

I think the reason for this is because the show has been building the relationship between Freddie and Millicent for a while now and it is nice to finally see them share some emotional scenes together. Personally, I thought the scene where she finally called him dad was sweet and very well done. As such this storyline feels weighty to the audience, whereas the Carly in a cult storyline feels the opposite, incredibly throw away.

I do like however, that the series is moving away from ‘internet culture’ based jokes and commentary and is instead dipping it’s toes into more out there storylines where we actually get to know these characters between.

A big issue within the episode for me was Harper. For the most part Harper, Laci Mosley, has been a very so, so character but at this point in the series she is starting to become annoying- I imagine this will only get worse as the show carries on. The reason for this is that all of her jokes fall into three categories ‘straight people are weird’, race jokes, and I don’t know what that is, none of these are particularly funny, at least to me, and as such become irritating the more they are repeated.

Overall, a fine episode, nothing more.

Pros.

Freddie

Millicent

The emotion

Cons

Harper

The A story is boring and throwaway

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Space Jam 2: Blatant Product Placement Strangely Works Here

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

I will admit I went into this with very, very low expectation. However, the film completely took me by surprise and I actually ended up really enjoying it. Yes, the film is a blatant excuse by the higher ups at WB to constantly advertise all their various properties, and yes it is excessive with the product placement, but in a strange way it all works well.

I think the reason this film works so well is because of how self-aware it is, it knows what it is, it knows what it is doing, and it makes a joke out of it. Honestly, this film is quite funny in a lot of places and it often has you laughing or at least smiling. Yes, there are a few cringey lines here and there, but they aren’t bad cringe and some of these lines prove to be amongst the funniest.

Lebron James is by no means a natural actor, but he is very watchable, and I would say he does a better job than Michael Jordan in the first film. I believed his bond with his son and in that respect I found the ending of the film to be surprisingly touching. Additionally, James has strong chemistry with the Tunes and him and Bugs are a good pairing. I would like this film to get a sequel so we can get more of them together.

In terms of being a Looney Tunes property this modernised the characters well and gave them a compelling motivation to help James and in doing so return to the court. The one comment I would make in this regard is that this is very much a Bugs Bunny film, and though the other well known characters appear he gets pretty much all of the screen time. Bugs ending runs the gambit between heart breaking and cheer-worthy, and you feel every minute of it.

Overall, the strongly negative response this film has brought out from a lot of people seems to be out of a sense of nostalgia, they are comparing this to the first film that they make have childhood connections with and viewing it like that this film never could have lived up. However, I think not only is this a good film, but I would say it is even better than the first.

Pros.

James

The Tunes characters

The emotions

The jokes

Cons.

It is a little blatant with the product placement

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