Someone at HBO actually has their head on straight for this show to come back.
Suddenly, out of the blue this comes out and it feels like the show never left. They are still firing on all cylinders. This gives me tremendous hope for the second season.
This is now one of my favorite superhero origin stories. Why can't Wonder Woman or Ms Marvel be this interesting to watch? They did more with an hour than all those 2+ hour-long summer blockbusters seem to be able to do. No wasted time, no plot padding, it never slows down and everything matters to Eve's upbringing and headstrong stumbling into the world of super heroes. One thing specifically, her brief friendship with a normal "weirdo" avoided the worn out trope of bringing said friend back for some emotional beat in the finale. She made a friend because neither of them had friends, she confided an even stranger secret in that friend, and that friend felt threatened and disappeared from her life as a result. No emotional make up after events bring them back together, no tattling to the authorities and threatening her ability to act in the future, it was just over. Big budget superhero franchises need to be taking copious notes while watching this show.
I'm starting to dislike the trope of adults who get reincarnated as children are also somehow masters of political sparring. You were a pastry chef, not a member of the Japanese Diet.
G'iah's shotgun is named Dracarys.
This was one of the strong episodes. Things are starting to congeal and make more sense as more cards are placed on the table. There are still a lot of pieces of this show that feel stilted and undercooked, but overall my approval is going up the further the story progresses. And, just like everyone else says, Olivia Colman is one of the most enjoyable parts of it.
The thought of Nick Fury having graves of himself all over the world is very on-point for his morbid sense of humor. But I rolled my eyes that he had a whole private crypt just for a gun and a change of clothes. It feels like someone watched Terminator 3 right before production began. Fury may as well have had to shoot his way out of the graveyard while carrying a casket marked Phillip Coulson that was actually filled with a bunch of weapons.
Oh my Zod... they gave Superman a transformation sequence!
They must've handed the animation department a blank check. The opening scene looks like an informercial for Tokyo's business district.
Talos to Fury: 'Oh, I'm sorry, did I break your concetration?'
"They have boats... with guns. Gunboats."
"Mr. Teeth was my father, I'm the Doctor in the family."
On a scale of The New Muppet Show to Fraggle Rock Back to the Rock, this is much closer to Fraggles good than it is to New Muppet bad. The music is what is going to make this show stand out. And there are some genuinely Muppet moments. Most of all, it's about damn time muppets outside of the core superstars got the spotlight. So far, so good.
The very definition of "Out with a whimper."
The Empire is Nestle.
(Five.)
Captain Pete, the "bad guy", just wants Mickey to do his job. Meanwhile Minnie is a stowaway, and Mickey abuses every animal on the ship. And I think he might have killed that bird! Different times!
Emotional Support Droideka.
(Two words.)
Hahaha, "poor" Chet.
Angry father, angry grandfather, and Mr. "I'm a lawyer." Way to put the fear of god in him.
It's becoming impossible for The Simpsons to not reference its glory days anymore, huh?
Wow. After all the Saturday morning kids' cartoon stuff, suddenly real stakes. And an ending that rivals a lot of Marvel movies.
THIS is the kind of energy and style that Phase 4 needs to be built on.
Okay, the "villain" this season is such a let down but this episode was a lot of fun.
Cyborg: 'Waffles, waffles, waffles, waffles!'
We lose more Alphas that way...
There is a lot of charm and fun in this movie, it's good to see everybody again (which few they could sign on). A lot of attention was given to recreating the original vibe of the 1993 series. The camera angles, the music, the corny one-liners. ...so many corny one-liners...
And that's where the goodness comes to an end.
This movie is short, less than an hour long. It is painfully obvious that David Yost and Walter Jones were the only two original Rangers they could get. The others are in full costume and say nothing outside of grunting noises (except for a single word from Thui that is probably lifted from an old episode), then are taken off the board very early in the film. Replacing them is a hodgepodge of whichever Rangers from subsequent series they could get - Walter Jones being the only person who doesn't look and sound past his prime.
The evil plot has a lot of potential, especially when you think about how it could open the door for so many different cameos and so much more nostalgia... and then it get's clipped and the finale turns into a bog standard monster fight. There are a number of fun cameos and callbacks, but not as many as you would think. All of that said, the final battle is satisfying. The classic locations and vehicles, which are just as much characters themselves, also get their chance to shine one more time.
This is more of a special extended episode to cap off the original series. Viewed that way, it's nice enough. But the more you think about it, the more missed opportunity you start to notice and lament about. It's obvious that they wanted this to be a send off for Thui Trang more than a cast reunion. I understand her real-life daughter was the best choice to honor Thui as a person, but she was not the best choice to make for the character of Trini's in-universe daughter. In a universe of intentionally-campy acting and stilted writing, she still made certain scenes difficult to watch.
The final bit at the end did make me misty eyed. As much for Thui Trang as for Jason David Frank (who doesn't factor into the plot AT ALL) ...and for seeing all the other missing Rangers who are still alive but couldn't be arsed to be there for whatever reason.
If you grew up watching the American Power Rangers, this is an adequate coda that could have... should have been more. Otherwise, you are probably going to be extremely turned off (or possibly even offended) by all the hokeyness that people like me forgive with the tremendous power of nostalgia.
What in the Donald Duck in Mathmagicland did I just watch??
This might be my new favorite episode.
After weeks of the internet screaming into my face about how I MUST declare this movie the beginning of the end for Marvel... It was pretty good. Fun and silly as an Ant-Man movie should be. Perhaps a little desperate in places, but overall enjoying to watch.
Despite all attempts by the movie, Paul Rudd takes a back seat to no one. He continues to be best part of the Ant-Man family. The first movie without him and his devilish charm will be the first bad Ant-Man movie. Though this movie would have been a lot better with Scott's circle of misdemeanor friends.
Thankfully, the end credit scenes make me very excited for the future of Kang as a Thanos-tier villain ...and the return of a certain mischief-maker.
Definitely was not expecting THAT cameo at the end. Good on Lunella for calling the 'proper authorities' for a target that dangerous.
Every little reference makes a stronger argument that this show is part of the MCU.
Oh.
I had forgotten that the last season wasn't even over. That's how gripping this show has gotten.
Soundly the best episode of the season, and one of the best of the series.
This is what this season has been building to, and it's satisfying seeing threads finally connecting in a way that doesn't feel contrived. IG-12 (I'm calling it Grogu-1, and you can't stop me) finally coming back around, Moff Gideon finally emerging from the shadows, the Beskar Troopers and Gideon revealing himself to be Mandalorian after all. And setting up the future of this series and other series. The father (?) of General Hux being part of the secret cabal of remanent Imperials, mentioning Grand Admiral Thrawn still being unaccounted for but promised to return, locating the Great Forge and finding a secret Imperial base right next to it. And this is just part 1 of 2 for the season finale. Please let the last episode also be 50 minutes long.
How I LOVED the opening sequence. Pretty much Rick Deckard roaming the streets of Los Angeles sniffing out a lead. I enjoy all the love Coruscant is getting now. It should have factored into the Sequels because it is such a rich storytelling landscape. In this season alone we've gotten to see Prequel-era Coruscant and Sequel-era Coruscant. And again in animated form in The Bad Batch. I'll take it all.
There is so much to this episode, but the only other thing I can think about right now is Paz Vizsla. What a fucking tank. I knew the moment Bo cut the hole in the blast door that he wasn't going to make it because it would have been hard for him to even fit through it. How badass you have to be to have an energy staff through your gut and still be trying to choke out someone wearing full armor with your bare hands. We lost a real one. His son Ragnar is the last remaining Vizsla that we know about.
Complain all you want, getting a fun, action-filled adventure of good versus evil with plenty of nods to the fans and unexpected cameos is Star Wars at its finest.
Christopher Lloyd AND Jack Black in Star Wars? I didn't realize it was my birthday already.
What a beautiful planet. I expect it to get absolutely fucked up by Gideon/Thrawn before this is over.
If you think this is not for you because you don't play video games or never got into Tetris, just give this movie a chance. It is an exceptional piece of storytelling with very little cruft. It is witty, it is funny, and it just a wonderful ride from beginning to end. It has a lot of worn-out tropes, but it never dwells on any of them long enough to complain about them.
And the soundtrack must've broken the bank. Not just a who's who list of 1980s hits, but covers in Russian and in Japanese rarely heard outside of their respective countries. And to top it all off, a custom remix of Opportunities by The Pet Shop Boys intermixed with the Tetris theme. This might end up being my favorite soundtrack of 2023.
I know this movie heavily embellishes a lot of fact for the sake of drama. But if there is any truth to the claim that Howard Lincoln not only went to Soviet Russia just to secure the rights to Tetris but also escaped by the skin of his teeth, then my already high amount of respect for the man just went through the roof.
Modifying the game code to create custom visuals for a documentary about said game sets this one shoulders above most others.
This continues to be one of the best episodes of television ever.
Watching Tim Meadows have an argument with an astromech droid put a big smile on my face.
This is honestly the best thing on TV right now... in any country.
Shirley: Say it!
Jack: I'VE ABANDONED MY BOY!!
