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Reviews
The Batman (2022)
Long, poorly thought out, and underwhelming
It's a visually beautiful movie, and there are some decent action scenes. Aside from that, the movie is disappointing because of a host of plot and directorial decisions. First of all, he's supposed to be the world's greatest detective and it took him 45 minutes of the movie to figure out that Falcone might be the rat with wings? Seriously? You went to penguin before falcon for that? The movie drags on largely because the director refused to cut down scenes that were way too long. The endless scenes of Batman walking into rooms while the police look at him are the most egregious examples. The car chase scene with Penguin dragged on far too long (by the way, how do you not arrest him after a car chase where a bunch of people died). Bruce Wayne as a character is a complete waste in the movie. Utterly boring. I can respect not making him a playboy, and aiming for something different but there was nothing remotely interesting about Pattinson's portrayal of him. Pattinson was a good Batman but a dreadful Bruce Wayne. The introduction of Joker at the end was incredibly forced, and it made the final act drag out for no reason. Also, apparently everyone in this film is a worse shot than stormtroopers. The dialogue was wooden and often cliched. There were some good acting performances scattered through the movie (particularly the criminally underutilized Andy Serkis).
How I Met Your Father: Pilot (2022)
I was terrified coming in, but this was really good
I was very nervous coming in. HIMYM is one of my favorite shows of all time, and I thought this was bound to disappoint. I was wrong. It wasn't perfect by any means, but it was a really good start. It has a lot of the same cadence that the original had with its jokes, even though this hasn't hit its stride quite yet. I'm a little curious to see if a couple of things will work. The ensemble feels a bit bigger with 6 feeling like permanent members of the main cast so far rather than 5 in HIMYM. The original expanded later in its run with various partners for Ted, Robin and Barney, but I think it's a little risky to have that many characters to build emotional stakes with off the bat. Which brings me to the next thing. I'm not sure a half hour format is going to be enough for them with only 10 episodes per season. With a show centered around the love lives of its characters, I don't know if that's going to have enough build time for story arcs. My last concern is there really doesn't seem to be a natural analog to Barney's character, and I wonder if the show will have some weaker plots because it doesn't have the weekly vignettes of Barney's plays to play off. Overall, though, I think this was a great start and I absolutely loved that Sid and Jesse live in Ted, Marshall and Lily's apartment. Brought a tear to my eye to see it all updated with different furniture for its new owners but with the swords still in their rightful place.
Ted Lasso: Do the Right-est Thing (2021)
One of the show's best episodes; brilliant setup for the rest of the season
Quite frankly, the people who are baffled by this show dealing with a locker room are insane. How could you have a coach that is as player-oriented as Ted Lasso without running into a locker room protest in 2021? You couldn't. A "player's coach" like Ted, who gives players room to speak their minds and emphasizes personal growth over wins and losses (leading a locker room with players from around the world no less) is bound to encounter situations like this. Whether you agree with the specific protest or not (if you side with the corrupt company, then you've got some problems) I cannot see how you lodge a complaint against this being a storyline. It was inevitable. Ignoring this dynamic of the locker room would have been unconscionable. The character arc they are building with Jamie is very promising. Sam continuing to find his voice in the locker room is massively exciting for the show. The reintroduction of "Sassy Smurf" was smart, and giving Rebecca an honest to God motivation to grow (being a role model for her God-daughter) were great steps for the rest of the season. If you disliked this episode, you disliked it because you (wrongly) don't think athletes should ever protest. You didn't dislike it because it told a story badly.
Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)
Vastly Overrated
Snyder fans make this out like it fixes all of the original movies problems, but the truth is that it's bloated and still suffers from the same fatal problem as the previous movie - it was a rushed response to the MCU's success. Is it better than the original? Sure, but that's a low bar. Cyborg/ Victor Stone gets more screen time but the development of his character is still lacking. Aquaman and the Flash (remember that the Aquaman movie came a year after the original Justice League) are still woefully underdeveloped. Forget the hype in the intervening years: if this movie was released instead of the original Justice League, it still would've been a significant disappointment. It, combined with the stunningly bad Batman vs. Superman, have placed the DCEU in the weird purgatory of having a Wonderwoman and Aquaman that are too popular to start over but having ruined their other main characters to the point that the franchise will be significantly hamstrung if they don't reboot. What's the answer? I don't know, but I certainly don't trust Warner Bros to figure it out.
Brockmire: Favorable Matchup (2020)
What the...?
The first 2 seasons were incredible. The 3rd season was a little more uneven but still very good. This episode was where it completely jumped the shark. Such a complete shift from the previous 3 seasons in a bad way. Just completely out of left field.