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Kitipurr
Reviews
Supernatural: Weekend at Bobby's (2010)
One of the best 'no boys' stories
What viewers of SPN forget is how much writing goes into the background, and all the secondary characters. Jodie, Rufus, and Bobby get fleshed out here, along with building Crowley's character, to show the world beyond angels and demons and boys who kill bumps in the night. The lore and the research we usually just get bits and bobs of is laid out a bit more, along with the issue of bodies and evidence - remember why the vampires always went poof on Buffy? So there wasn't all the clean up? Seeing the background stories makes a lot of what we see weekly even more enjoyable. Plus, this episode is a real start of building the extended universe down the road (say hi, Garth! We'll see you next year!) This is an excellent episode set around the world we don't see, giving us reasons to care about the people we usually only get a few moments with here and there, and it gives the writers a whole new mine of jewels to dig into.
Black Adam (2022)
It could have been so much better
I'm not going to bother with who might have done what that caused this movie to be so much less than it had the potential to be. The stories in the press go round and round - was it Johnson's ego? Was it DC's plan to kill off the Snyderverse? Was it James Gunn's plot to take over the world? Was it that stupid caterpillar?
In the end, it boils down to this - the storyline is... well, it's okay. I mean, on the page, you can see how it might have worked. Ultimately, they COULD have had another Shazam or The Suicide Squad, and instead for some reason they wanted to 'add gravitas' or god knows what. They had a cast of serious players who have the ability to balance drama and comedy in the way that Gunn excels at, and they tanked it. Johnson has proven he has the ability to raise a good script - hell, even a mediocre one - to be thoroughly entertaining. Aldis Hodge was the star they should have gotten credit for breaking onto the A list with his expert talent to balance all the shades of dark vs light, handle the big info dialog dumps, AND keep the important scripted plot points well in hand. Brosnan has a long career in the dramedy realms from Remington Steele through Bond to Mama Mia showing he can take a weak script and making it entertaining (if you can come out of a tacky disco musical demonstrating you can't sing at all and STILL be seen as suave and sexy, you can do ANYTHING). And the new kids actually seem to be able to hold themselves against these guys.
This should have been the brightest star in the DCU, and instead it's dead on arrival. It's staid, it's slow, it's unexciting, it's just dull. It's not even BAD, which would be a saving grace - think the non-Gunn Suicide Squad, which is BAD, but can entertain once you stop caring about that problem and how many of the cast are absolutely phoning it in. This isn't even bad. It's just... MEH.
And that's a huge shame. Especially for Hodge. I mean, Johnson has a list of high level films where he's shown how he can shine given the right script and direction, so odds are he'll spit out a couple mea culpas and be forgiven - not to mention, he can just produce a couple big films and everyone will forget. Hopefully in the future, Hodge will have studios and casting people skip this and look at his work on Leverage/Leverage: Redemption and One Night in Miami to contrast and compare his massive talent and what Black Adam could have used to make it a box office blockbuster. To be honest, Johnson should back something for Hodge, as an apology; let this kid shine without crapping all over him. Unlike Johnson, Hodge could carry a whole film without needing a foil - a Reynolds, a Hart, a Cast-of-F&F/Jason, an Emily. Hodge can fiddle all by himself and make everyone around him his London Symphony Orchestra. If Johnson is truly apologetic, he'll set up the chairs and hire the band for Hodge to front, even if this mess wasn't entirely Johnson's fault. The man has the power to make things right. (Hey, toss Leslie Odom Jr into the mix, he never gets a chance to show his comic abilities these days either.)
Just imagine, for one moment, letting Johnson and Hodge go toe to toe in an improv challenge while they battle in the skies. With Brosnan quipping from the sidelines. Seriously, what could have been just hurts to even think about. Instead, we got this. And THIS is just. MEH. Whoever really is responsible for this? Please, get out of the business. The fans deserve better.
Supernatural: Roadkill (2007)
Honestly, possibly one of the BEST episodes
I know there are people - some reviewers here even - who don't like this episode. Honestly, I think it's possibly one of the best of the entire series. There's something hauntingly beautiful about watching the boys, who clearly know something they're not saying as they figure out how to solve this 'mystery' and save the girl. Tricia Helfer is a genuine treasure of emotion, and there's a special beauty to the story that we don't always get in Supernatural. There's also the turn of the guys admitting they don't know what happens to the spirits after they do their job, a job that must be done regardless, and how each guy faces that fact in his own typical way. There's an understated gravitas to the story that adds shadow and light at the same time, and honestly I think it's pretty beautiful.
Leverage: Redemption: The Belly of the Beast Job (2023)
A new twist on the Leverage we love
Leverage has a set formula we know and love: set up the premise, present the victim and prepare the con, hit the snag either by being too good or underestimating the baddies, solve the snag, fulfill the promise of the premise, gloat.
This is the way of Leverage. Now, we have a new snag, and it comes from the fact that we know what already happened: introducing the Snag 5 minutes in, by giving us people we don't WANT to see damaged as they are screwing up the team's entire plan. This? This is fun! We already know the Leverage team has other teams, now we can see how those teams get built: finding potential new blood who have skills and just need a little training. Will we get to see Hurley overseeing Jenna and Keith? Will Harry's lawyer trainee join Leverage Jr? Will Breanna be torn between the OGs or the Kid's table? Is this the means of a spin-off, or a new complication for the team when the kids get in too deep?
Shows have to evolve, just like the team, and Leverage is showing they can stay fresh with new ideas. I look forward to seeing how they keep evolving. Meanwhile, PLEASE can we have Keith meet Hardison, Harry and Hurley for the next Boy's night out? Poor Eliot, he won't be able to keep up with the trouble they'll cause!
The Irregulars (2021)
I tried, I really did...
I watched the whole season all the way through, hoping to have my time rewarded. But in the end, it's just not good enough. It's not even GOOD. It maybe reaches 'eh'.
It's not the premise. I can accept the supernatural and occult in Victorian London, I can accept a group of street urchins trying to solve puzzles and the baddies finding something special in them. But you have an Emo-whiny Sherlock that just doesn't fit the character AT ALL, a John Watson supposedly brooding and evil but really just jealous and pouty and not even that smart, and why do we even need a prince slumming it out of boredom (and afraid of his footman squealing on him to Queen Mum when he could literally just have tossed the guy in Newgate??) as the love interest of butch-Buffy urchin leader whose sister is this powerful creature but ALSO the daughter because of course she is? It's just ... unnecessary.
And how would Sherlock who runs around in dirty pajamas with an asylum buzz cut and obviously in need of a bath convince anyone he was the ultimate genius? It's not plausible. None of it. Worse, it's not worth the effort. It's lazy plotting and even lazier writing and the historical/ACD stuff is thrown in like leftover carrots in bad stew without accuracy or attempts at reason.
It never gets me to care about ANYONE in the show at all. It had such potential to be interesting. But instead it's a meandering teenage fan fiction where the Mary Sue is Sherlock, and Watson wants to be Moriarty, and I don't care about the kids at all. Which is problematic since the show is supposed to be about them? EH.
The Magicians: Have You Brought Me Little Cakes (2016)
Love the show, but it's not a lighthearted romp
Watching it again for probably the 10th time, but since the first few times I watched it there's been time. I'd forgotten just how dark it can be, how very REAL. This is not your sweet granny's bedtime story Narnia; this is real, adult, human story-telling. It's dark, people are vile and unpleasant and do terrible things, and they have to deal with it. Magic in the hands of such people is exactly what it would be if it was real; it's what The Boys is to superhero tales. There's sex and violence and gross matter and making stupid, weak errors and being terrible to each other.
And that's part of why I love it. Because it's not just about happily ever afters. It's about how to deal with the unhappily nows and trying to move on and deal. If you want a happily ever after or a story where the good guys are always good, there are plenty out there. If you want to walk through the darkness and see how complicated it is but still hope your flawed, tortured characters get through everything, this is for you.
CSI: Vegas (2021)
Thankfully goes back to the early seasons
I was a loyal CSI: Investigation fan for the original years, through the Lawrence Fishburne seasons. The last few years of the original saw a dwindling in writing quality (they even plagiarized their own plots in one case) that was disappointing, and the characters never lived up to the quality of the casting during the Elizabeth/Ted years.
Thankfully, this series goes back to the original quality - Paula Newsome is excellent as the department lead, and the new CSIs hold up to what we expect. Having Gil and Sara back infuses what we loved about their characters and the romance in a way we never got to really see fully. I would have liked to see some of the original Lab Rats beyond Hodges return, but Hugo is a great quirky step-in for Dr Robbins. I thought the cast gelled well, and I really hope we get to see Gil and Sara come back for a second season (after all, they'll need to testify, right?). Here's hoping maybe Kathryn, Nick and Greg could be brought in as well?
I really enjoyed the full season, and hope we get to see more. Miami and NY never quite did it for me the way the original series did, but Vegas, baby. There's nothing quite like Vegas.