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Reviews
The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin: A Legend Is Born (Sort Of) (2024)
Quippy, fast paced, ridiculous fun!
I really miss silly low-stakes TV shows, it's been a long time since I saw something funny that didn't take itself too seriously.
Apple TV+ has some good comedy shows, but this is a different breed - it's snappy, endearing, full of charm and wit, that knows it's not aiming to be too complicated or high-browed, meaning you're left with 35 minutes of fun. It's what I hoped to see in "Our Flag Means Death" - more light hearted silly stuff and less of an over-serious plot.
The pacing is excellent for this type of comedy, and Noel Fielding does what he does best here as Dick Turpin, being somewhere between a bumbling, naive doofus and a courageous outlaw gentleman.
All in all, I can't wait to see where this is heading and if the rest of the season is this fun - sign me up already for season 2!
Secret Invasion (2023)
A waste of talent on a mediocre show
What a shame they brought in all this talent and couldn't figure out how to make this show somehow better. The motivations of everyone are very superficial and it's clear this show was nothing but a filler to connect some dots to The Marvels, if at all.
Sam L. Jackson as Nick Fury felt like he's phoning it in for a lot of it. It could be that he's gotten older, or he just wasn't getting it. He can be a tremendous actor, we all know that, but they gave him such poor scenes that barely reflect what he's capable of. We never got to see Fury unhinged, lost or pushed to the corner with no way out. He always knew what to do and was always a few steps ahead, which makes it feel like it's not really a battle for him, and if there's no real risk there's no real thrill when he comes out triumphant or wounded.
I didn't really care for Fury's love life with a skrull, which is portrayed as something we should've known or cared about, but the fact is we don't know this lady so why should we bother? It's really annoying that they spent maybe 25% of the show on this, and they don't even have great chemistry together. It's clear she was shoehorned in for the romantic/dramatic effect, and not really as a figure to move the plot forward.
G'iah is a completely flat character, her relationship with her father feels underwhelming and banal, with forced character development and easy deus ex machinas to keep her along for the ride. There's a lot of questions regarding G'iah's new powers now, I mean she's as strong as all the Avengers + GOTG combined, how do you have a character with such power when moving forward with your universe? It's impossible not to think of her as a solution to any and all problems from now on.
Gravik is supposed to be this big, daunting villain because he's cool, calculated and calm until he snaps, then he yells and is supposed to be frightening but he isn't. His motivations are lacking; supposedly he feels like Fury used him so he'll burn the planet to occupy it with skrulls, but then he wants to kill all the skrulls too so that everybody dies. It feels like such a let down after seeing so many great villains from Marvel, and this one is the least developed of the bunch.
In terms of a series arc, the fact that they chose a global-level threat and not something a little less significant feels wrong. Usually this is when an Avenger or two are called, but here Fury fights alone and saves the world. How utterly grandiose. It could've been such a smaller scale, but they went with global-threat. They also never really utilized the "who can we trust is real and who's a skrull?" element of a show like this to its fullest, perhaps out of fear that it'll be overused or an easy way out in a lot of scenarios. When it is used, it's incredibly predictable and boring.
The plot is honestly uninspiring. For a spy thriller, it was dull. Some action here and there but nothing really jaw-dropping. CGI was ok, not really groundbreaking or significant. The intro is long, way too long, and having it AI generated is a nice gimmick but damn that intro is long.
Can't believe they killed Agent Maria Hill for this show. What a waste.
Platonic (2023)
Fun, chill, enjoyable and entertaining
I'll start off with the obvious - Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne have an undeniable chemistry and it really pops on screen. This show seemed to be tailored to their friendship, and it's all so fluid and fun to watch.
The story is actually a pretty good one, and the moment you realize there's not going to be any emotional or sexual tension between them, it makes for a much more enjoyable show about two friends just getting the best and the worst of each other.
The cast may not be star-studded, but every supporting character brings their unique personality into the story. Every episode brings out the highs and lows of Will and Sylvia, together and independently, and it's great to see how their friendship does endure without the soppy "I'm so sorry, would you ever forgive me?" They just shake it off and move on.
This show is fun, it's energetic and doesn't take itself too seriously. There's something nice about this kind of comedy that has a lot of heart, a lot of character, some great actors and a heartwarming story about how our closest friends can make us better.
Stan Lee (2023)
Heartwarming, but skips a big chunk
There's a lot of heart in this documentary, and the fact that it's all in Stan's voice makes it very unique, but also somewhat one-sided.
It's interesting to see the life of this man, who rose from a measly go-getter in a small comic cook company, to become its publisher while touching lightly on what he went through personally during that time.
There's a lot of focus on the creation of certain characters and how they fitted in the comics, Stan's philosophy to creating heroes and stories, which is all very interesting considering his lengthy career.
That said, it's a shame there sin't more about the man he was beyond the comic books.
It did a little bit of a dive into the altercations with Ditko and Kirby, but didn't have much beyond that. They mention for a minute or two his relationship with Joan, and that they had a daughter, but that's pretty much it. From after Marvel being sold - which the movie doesn't say why or to whom - to the 2010s, there's a huge skip where we don't get to see what Stan did, and mind you that's a 40 year gap. It's a shame we didn't get to see a bit more of what happened to Stan away from Marvel or his opinions on what happened to his characters afterwards. To me that seems like a missed opportunity.
It's a lovely tribute to a man who feels at times like a larger-than-life character, who created some of the most iconic characters in modern media. I just wish it told us more of the man, less of the icon he has become over time.
Tetris (2023)
Fun and exciting
This movie is just fun. The pacing is good, the acting is great, sets are fantastic. Sometimes the story is a little too unbelievable, but it gets the message across - this was no ordinary game to develop and distribute.
Pajitnov and Rogers are both executive producers of this movie so I can assume some dramatization was added, but also that it was based on their genuine friendship and collaboration.
The movie itself is really enjoyable - the plot continues to twist and turn, new challenges emerge constantly, and the casting is great. From the get go you feel invested in Henk Rogers, although his drive is sometimes unclear. Another thing that is often unclear is the whole deal with the rights - contracts, letters of intent, sometimes it feels too convoluted to keep up, despite using flashy 8-bit transitions that befit the topic.
This movie is somewhat of a love-letter to the late 80's - the USSR on the brink of collapse, PCs are making their ways into homes, the Game Boy is just about to launch and the original console wars of Nintendo vs. Sega are the hottest debate. How fitting for Apple of all companies to produce and stream such a movie.
It's a fun movie to just sit back and watch.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law: The People vs. Emil Blonsky (2022)
It's ok! All in all, it's ok!
I love the 4th wall breaking, it's a nice and refreshing storytelling tool that I hope Marvel is testing ahead of Deadpool 3. I'm still not sure of Emil really is rehabilitated, everything so far points to "yes", but honestly who the hell know, right? Also, having some actual court cases involving superheroes and other non-humans is an interesting take, I'd love to see how else aliens and meta-humans will impact the law. Will they always be judged by the same rules, or are the rules going to have to change in some cases to accommodate a wider view? I hope they'd dig more into that. Jennifer Walters, being both an attorney and a superhero struggling to find balance and favoring the former over the latter, would maybe have a hard time reconciling over the idea that laws might need to be malleable in some cases. Wong's reference to Spider-Man NWH was great, and Wong in general was great. Wish we knew where in the timeline this is in respect to Doctor Strange MoM.
Now for what I disliked: this episode felt like a marketing plot for Meghan Thee Stallion, who I swear I thought was a made up character. Who is she? Why was her name mentioned so many times in this episode? Why is she in the episode? Who cares? How does this drive the plot? Why was this whole angle necessary?! And that twerking and dancing at the end, what the heck was that all about?! I had to close that scene because I just couldn't handle this level of cringe, why did anyone think this is a good idea for a scene? What does this teach us about Jennifer? What do we as an audience learn? That she can twerk in Hulk mode? How is this necessary for the plot? The little gang attack near the end was a little weird too, I think they could've found a better way to introduce the key arch nemesis for this show than a bunch of goons with no acting ability using "Asgardian construction tools", I mean come off it. And stop leaning on New Asgard that much, for god's sake, we get it. Thor 4 didn't really deliver, so now this is your deus ex-machina for everything?
This is the 3rd episode of 9, so it's ok for the pacing to be a little slow in the overall plot line, and while some aspects are enjoyable, there's a lot to be desired. Waiting for episode 4.
Family Guy: And Then There's Fraud (2021)
What the hell...
There are 20 episode ideas in this episode, none of them are fulfilled to the max, but instead mashed together and executed poorly over 17 minutes. I say 17 because out of the dedicated 22 minutes of this episode, 5 were a useless clip of an old show, running twice. It was insulting to consider this as "humor". Nothing in this episode worked, and this is just the latest in a long chain of unfunny, time-wasting, poorly-written episodes in this season. I love this show with every fiber of my being, but maybe it's time to pull the plug.