Reservation Dogs: Fckin Rez Dogs

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

We are introduced to the Rez Dogs and get to explore their world as they try and save up enough money to move to California.

I had the wrong expectations about this show going in, I was expecting a breezy half hour comedy but there is actually far more sadness, drama and depth than I was expecting. If I had to classify this show I would call it a dramady yes there are some comedic elements, but I felt myself being concerned for the kids and their well being more so than laughing. There were a number of scenes that were actually quite heart-wrenching to watch.

So far, I think all of the actors are doing a good job. I think the dichotomy of trying to explore these characters as both heroes and villains is interesting as we see the impact the character’s actions have on the lives of those around them in a negative way. I like the moral complexity and I think it leads to the characters being stronger as a result.

I am intrigued to see where the gang war story line goes, and whether it will lead to a change in their perspective about living on the reservation or just make them want to leave more. I hope the series doesn’t find a way to unify the two groups as the warring gangs storyline is good for creating tension across the series.

Overall, fun but not what I was expecting and often more affecting than funny.

If you enjoyed this review, then please head over to my Patreon to support me, I offer personalized shoutouts, one on one Q and As, the ability for you to pick what I review next and full access to my Patreon exclusive game reviews. Check it out!

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

iCarly: iTake A Girl’s Trip

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Carly, Miranda Cosgrove, and Freddie, Nathan Kress, head out on a girls trip that quickly becomes more intimate than either were expecting.

This might be my favourite episode of the revival series so far. I certainly found it to be the funniest, with the episode making me laugh consistently throughout: at both A and B plots.

Moreover, I liked the dynamic between Carly and Freddie in this week’s episode, I thought the two actors played the scenes well and had a strong back and forth together. I think the show is heading in the direction of them getting together, and I am becoming more and more okay with that and if anything this episode suggests that they would actually make not only a good couple, but an interesting one to watch as well.

Furthermore, the series finally seems to know how to use Harper, Laci Mosley, after a long time of giving her nothing much to do. I enjoyed the jealousy angle they had with her character this week when her best friend/cousin becomes romantically involved with Spencer, Jerry Trainor. I think the dynamic between Harper and Spencer has been used already quite a lot by the show but even so there is still a lot of ground to cover and more depth to explore.

Overall, this is probably the best episode of the revival so far, it is fun to watch and funny.

Pros.

Carly and Freddie

Finally giving Harper something to do

It is funny

There are a number of sweet moments

Cons.

We need deeper exploration of the Spencer Harper dynamic beyond surface level competitiveness

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

The Exchange: In Search Of A Similar Soul

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A small town teen, Ed Oxenbould, sets out to get a sophisticated French pen pal in order to find someone else like him. However, the exchange student he gets proves to be more than he bargained for.

Beneath the teen coming of age comedyiness of this film there is actually something quite soulful and human there. For every joke about sex, or some other teenage cliché, there are several deep comments about self-acceptance, racism and finding your place in a world where no one is like you.

I thought the cast across the board was strong, Oxenbould has come a long way since his days rapping in The Visit, and here he manages to capture acute social anxiety and embody the outsider better than any other actor I’ve seen in a teen film in a long while. Moreover, Avan Jogia is a delight here, he is the heart and soul of the film, and his character is beautifully written. Though he might seem like a young man with everything he could ever want in the world, he is actually far more troubled than that. I thought it was an ingenious choice to never really elaborate on what Jogia’s Stephane has experienced back home, but rather elude to it.

I would say the film’s humour is hit or miss. For the most part I didn’t find the teenage humour particularly funny, but I did find Justin Hartley to be hilarious. Hartley is truly an underrated talent; I found his man child character to be easily the most broken and most amusing character of the whole film.

Overall, a surprisingly insightful comedy film with a lot going on under the surface.

Pros.

Jogia

The deeper trauma

The coming of age elements

Oxenbould

Cons.

Not all the jokes land

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

13 Going On 30: Taking Advantage

1.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A young uncool teen wishes themselves into the body of a thirty year old so that they can finally have the life they always wanted.

The premise of this film is icky as hell. This film places this girl in the body of a woman in many sexual situations where she is uncomfortable and does not know what to do and then plays it off as a joke. Worse yet it gives her a romance arc, where the thirty year old version of her friend who has a crush on her, pursues a romantic relationship with her, despite her being the younger version of herself: and the film wants us to cheer for this……..

How exactly is this film supposed to be a classic?

I think these glaring issues are made all the worse by the fact that Jennifer Garner plays the character with such a sense of childlike innocents and naivety, which only compounds the problematic elements further.

The only reason this film doesn’t get lower from me is the fact that there are a few funny lines, albeit unintentionally. I found myself laughing quite a few times during the film which helped me get through the horror show that the rest of it is. A very poorly thought out idea.

Overall, troublesome.

Pros.

Unintentionally funny

Cons.

It is problematic

The central romance is icky and weird

The ending

Garner

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

iCarly: iMLM

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Carly and co become obsessed with a a new miracle product called sand, which can help with things like courage, calmness and feeling emotion.

This might be the funniest episode of the revival so far; it was not a laugh a minute or anything but there were a good few solid jokes that actually made me laugh out loud.

This episode has further convinced me that Freddie, Nathan Kress, is the best and most well written character on the show, as his character seemingly gets character work in nearly every episode and we know far more, and care far more about him and his life because of it. I think Carly, Miranda Cosgrove, could do with some more character work in the rest of the season as so far all we have learnt about who she is now, post revival, is someone who is scared of celebrating her birthday and that’s about it.

I enjoyed the gimmick of sand and thought the reveal of what it actually is was well done and actually smart in the context of the episode. Furthermore, I like that the show finally gave Harper, Laci Mosley, something to do. She gets to be the one that doesn’t fall for what turns out to be a scam and eventually expose it, which feels very true for her character and in keeping with the personality established.

Overall, a strong episode.

Pros.

It is funny

They finally give Harper something meaningful to do

Freddie

Cons.

Carley as a character needs fleshing out more, she is staring to become a secondary character on her own show

Not all the jokes land

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Tuca And Bertie: Sleepovers

2/5

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

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

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

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

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

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

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

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

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

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer