Marvel 616- Season 1

7/10 

Marvel 616 on Disney+ is a collection of eight documentaries covering a wide range of subjects based around Marvel. This was an interesting show.

616's best strength is it's versatility. If there's an episode that doesn't interest you then there'll probably be another you would like. (I found the ones on the Japanese Spider-Man show and female comics creators to be particularly interesting.) 

All the documentaries are well handled. Credit should be particularly given to the episode on weird and forgotten Marvel characters featuring and starring Paul Scheer for trying a different approach than the others. 

The episode on foreign comics illustrators though having a decent topic did feel slow-paced and not as dynamic as the others. Whereas they felt pretty dynamic with several interviews, this had very few to go back and forth through. 

If you're interested in Marvel in general, I recommend this. You'll find out a lot of things you didn't know before.

Burrow

 

9/10

Burrow is a Pixar short currently out on Disney+. It' about a rabbit trying to build a burrow, but the creature, preferring to be left alone, keeps running into neighbors. This was a really sweet piece.

Although from Pixar, this is in 2D animation and not 3D. You know those types of children's picture books  that feature underground anthropomorphic animals' houses from the side view? That is this short in a nutshell, perfectly mimicking the timeless quality of this format. Everything has a hand-drawn feel.

As for the story, it's cute. There's no dialogue and it does a great job of non-verbal humor. Plus, it's got a nice ending.

So if you've got Disney+, I say give this a shot. It's only six minutes long. 

Carmen Sandiego- Season 4 (Final)

NOTE: There are no spoilers for this season, but there is one comment that could possibly give something away if you hadn't seen the end of the last season.

8/10 

Season 4 ends the show with Carmen's final battles against the criminal organization V.I.L.E. 

This is another fun season. Not much to say about the core of the show that hadn't been previously said: it's a fun, action kids show with fun characters. One specific highlight to this season is that Inspector Devineaux (voiced by Rafael Petardi), who in the past has been convinced that Carmen (Jane the Virgin's Gina Rodriguez) is a villain, has finally realized that isn't the case. I actually found the character a lot more fun to watch now that his job isn't just to be stubborn and fall prey to forced television misconceptions. The character gets a chance to demonstrate that he is a competent detective. Also, this has one of the show's best fight scenes.

A lot of fans online have complained that they found the finale wasn't as strong as they wanted or was lacking an expected, big action-packed finale. Personally, I disagree. I liked the finale; it paid proper closure to all the characters. In general, I felt people wanted too much out of the show. I think they wanted this to be like a lot of kids television programs that have more adult crossover appeal and get away with more than kids programs back in the day did. CS has never tried to be that. It has usually gone with a softer, more child-friendly touch, such as the villains wiping the memories of captured agents instead of eliminating them, and there's nothing wrong with that. 

That having been said, there were parts where the writing could've been stronger. This show suffers from something that I've seen a few kids shows over the years suffer from: being more focused on stand-alone episodes than the overreaching plot, which results in a final season that definitely didn't feel fully planned out ahead of time. The pacing could've been better. The show has a lot of villains, and the writers obviously didn't have the time to give them all a final send-off. Surprisingly, Paperstar (Kimiko Glenn), one of the most regular and dangerous foes in this, gets short shrift. And those two new V.I.L.E. cadets from last season, who were implied to be prominent threats, don't appear at all. Also, Carmen's hacker friend Player (Stranger Things' Finn Wolfhard) has go to attend regular school for the first time. This is a subplot that goes nowhere, adds nothing, and eats up precious final season time.

Overall, if you or kids like this show so far, you should still have a good time with this. 

Yearly Departed

7/10

In this comedy special, a group of female comedians, including Tiffany Haddish, Sarah Silverman, and Rachel Brosnahan, attend a funeral for the year 2020 as they each do a eulogy tackling something that people lost during that year. 

Yearly Departed is alright. There's some good jokes and material here. However, I found nothing to be laugh-out-loud funny. I also didn't like the gimmick of the other comedians reacting to whoever's doing the stand-up. These reactions often feel forced and took me out of it. (Not to be surprised things didn't feel natural since due to COVID, a lot of the reactions were filmed without anyone up on stage.)  

I really can't strongly recommend or not recommend this. If you're a big fan of one the comedians in this, this would probably be worth a watch if you like them in most things.

Fatman

 

9/10

In Fatman, we get a sort of semi-grounded and semi-realistic take on Santa Claus (played by Mel Gibson), in which he has become grumpy and is losing his faith in humanity. Meanwhile, a particularly nasty child (played by Good Boys' Chance Hurstfield) has hired a hitman (Walton Goggins) because he got coal in his stocking. This is one of the most original films I've seen in a while. 

What's so remarkable about Fatman is that it's able to balance dark comedy and human drama in a story about Santa Claus. The whole thing weirdly manages to fit Chris as he's called in this into the real world. Instead of a traditional, classic Santa's workshop and village we get a farm with a factory that looks like an actual factory. Directors and screenwriters Eshom and Ian Nelms do an excellent job of directing. The majority of Fatman is the buildup to the hit on Santa. The movie is rife with exposition and characterization, but I never got bored because the directors do such a great job of pacing everything and switching between the various cast members. It doesn't hurt that the dialogue is great.

Great cast across the board. Mel Gibson does an excellent job portraying an Old Man Logan/Wolverine style of Santa. He manages to still imbue the traditional aspect of Santa's generosity toward his fellow man beneath his tired exterior. (I'm complimenting the performance, not the person). However, it is Goggins who steals the show. His hitman (referred to as Skinny Man in the credits) is a wonderful combo of quirkiness, charisma, intelligence, and cold-blooded efficiency. The movie is almost as much his as it is Santa's. 

This was clearly filmed on a budget, but the Nelms did a great job with what they had. A lot of the locations they picked looked pretty good, and they did a surprisingly good job of the more fantastical elements of Santa. (No reindeer, though, sorry.)

I highly recommend this unless you're not a fan of R rated films in general. (Yeah, in case the hitman didn't tip you off, this isn't your traditional Christmas family fare.) If you're looking for something else, than this is for you. It's just a hell of a well made film. 

Santa Chronicles 2

 

8/10

In The Christmas Chronicles 2 on Netflix, Kate (played by Darby Camp), one of the leads from the first film, finds herself and Jack (Jahzir Bruno), the son of her mother's boyfriend, transported to Santa's village. Though they're naturally thrilled to be there, there is a sinister reason behind their trip and they and Santa Claus (Kurt Russell) and Mrs. Claus (Goldie Hawn) have to save Christmas.

This is an enjoyable sequel. I did like the first film more, because I felt it brought a little more to the table. This is more of a traditional Christmas film complete with the well-worn trope of the villain who wants to ruin the entire holiday. But, it's a polished predictable film. This is directed by Chris Columbus (Home alone 1/2, Harry Potter 1/2, and Adventures in Babysitting) who is well versed in how to pull off family fare. A lot of stuff is squeezed into this (including a giant mountain lion!). Whereas the first one mostly took place in the mundane world and only a little at the South Pole, this is the exact opposite. Santa's village is the primary location here. It looks nice and really fits the bill. I appreciated the first one for being a little edgier than expected for a Christmas film. This plays things safer, but there are a couple scenes where the film took chances.  

Again, Kurt Russell as Santa is the best part. He's sort of like a hip, fun uncle Santa. Hawn ain't too bad herself as Mrs. Claus.

Understand that only so much money went into this and the computer effects aren't always perfect.

I recommend this. Christmas Chronicles 2 may not be the most ambitious of films, but it's fine holiday viewing for you and your kids. 

Power Rangers Beast Morphers- Season 2

7/10

NOTE: There are no spoilers for this season, but there is a comment alluding to an outcome to the finale of the first season.

This iteration of Power Rangers concludes as the Beast Morphers continue their fight against the evil computer virus Evox and his forces. This remains a decent season, though I can't say this is one of the standout PR shows or that it is as strong as season 1.

I mean for a kids show, this is fair viewing and it maintains the PR tradition of campy monster fighting. With Hasbro in charge, the writers have been given more leeway to make the show a little more story heavy with arcs. However, the arcs are just alright and not as ambitious as last season. They don't have that personal level that Devon's strained relationship with his father or Blaze and Rocky's comas did. Speaking of Blaze (Colby Strong) and Roxy (Liana Ramirez), I'm disappointed with how underutilized they were. The whole first season was about getting them out of the coma, but now that they are, the writers didn't know what to do with them. They tried using them in the first couple episodes and then mostly gave up. I think they definitely dropped the ball on Blaze. His first appearance showed him as having maybe a bit of mean streak. They could've have him have a rivalry with Devon (Rorrie D. Travis), since he took his position as the Red Ranger. But no, Blaze's just bland and a goody-two shoes now. Like with the fathers in Dino Fury and Ninja Steel, PR currently has a weird habit of dropping characters the moment their mystery or predicament is solved.

Also, there are still a lot of episodes with morals, and they still feel unnecessary.

I know, I'm over-analyzing PR. It's not Shakespeare. I'm just saying that between the late 1st Saban and Disney eras that the show was more ambitious and higher-quality. (Higher quality when grading on a curve I mean.) It's not one of the best, but it's by no means a bad season. Like I said, young kids will like the fighting, monsters, and characters. Adult PR fans should find this to be an okay watch.

Hilda- Season 2

 

9/10

This show on Netflix continues the adventures of Hilda (voiced by Bella Ramsey), who lives in the city of Trolberg and regularly encounters various creatures, often from Scandinavian folklore. It took two years for the second season to come out, but I'm glad to say the wait was worth it.

Hilda continues to be great. It is one of the most unique kids' shows out right now. It has this sort of old school children's fantasy world feel to it and, for a show that's shock full of weird beings and magic, a surprisingly relaxed feel to it. (I confess that some kids may not have the attention span for this). The writers get more ambitious creatively. Though this show is mostly about the adventure and comedy, I was impressed that this season actually had a couple of really emotional sad moments.

I continue to be impressed by the animation, which has this pseudo-hand drawn comic book style to it. However, I still can't get over the muted color scheme.

Highly recommended to adults or kids. 

Next- Season 1

7/10

Next is about tech billionaire Paul LeBlanc (Mad Men's John Slattery) and FBI agent Shea Salazar (Fernanda Andrade) trying to stop the dangerous sentient AI program neXt. 

I remember seeing the first trailer for this in approximately the summer of 2019. However, there was no word of it come Fall schedule, nor Winter. The fact that it ended up coming out this fall as a schedule filler due to COVID makes me believe that Fox originally intended to dump this in the summer. Considering, that this was cancelled after three episodes, it makes me see why the powers-that-be weren't confident in this. I admit that this is no great work, but it was decent and kept my interest till the end. 

I think that the biggest issue with the show is that it doesn't bring anything new to the table. The whole AI goes rogue story has been done to death. Plus, neXt is only supplied with some really basic, unsatisfying answers for why it wants to wipe out humanity. But, it is a competently made show, and to be fair, some of the stuff neXt does can be fairly creative.

The cast is good. Slattery is the best part. Yeah, he's playing a cookie-cutter egotistical, anti-social genius, but he gives it his all. 

If you like these kind of shows, then yeah, I would recommend this. Like I said, it's just alright, but there's nothing wrong with that if you want to spend some time. (Though this got cancelled, the final episode doesn't end on a cliffhanger, so you won't feel cheated out of your time.)

Cobra Kai- Season 3

 

9/10

Season 3 has the cast all trying to pick up their lives after the momentous events of the last season's finale. I'm happy to say that the show remains great. 

You get the same effective mix of karate, comedy, and pulpy character drama. The characters' storylines are more segmented, which I felt helped. There are more events going, plus the show avoids focusing too hard on and dragging out plot points. The over-the-top teenage drama works a lot better here than last season because it's use feels more economical. Though, I admit that not every part has a chance to breathe. (Budding psychotic karate girl Tory Nichols (Peyton List) feels particularly underused). 

Johnny Lawrence (played by William Zabka) remains the core of the story and its main draw. However, I felt Daniel LaRusso, who's always been the secondary protagonist, was given a lot better material this season, including what is his best and most emotional scene in the show. What helps this season is that it's slowed down Johnny and Daniel's rivalry, which admittedly was the original drive of the show, but you can only extend reasons for them disliking each other for so long. This gives the guys more time for their own stories and actual growth.

This season, evil karate sensei John Kreese (Martin Kove) is written better and bear in mind that I rather liked him last season.  He takes center stage, having gotten what he wants and no longer having to be subtle, and he is a wonder to watch. The man is just fascinatingly horrible and manipulative, especially how he's obsessed over something as small picture as teaching teenagers karate. Yet, this season manages to make you understand where he's coming from and how someone so twisted is the hero in his own story. This is basically Kreese Begins as we learn about his time in Vietnam, and the backstory is effective. Kove, WHO IS IN HIS 70'S!, still does a great job of being intimidating.

Stingray, the man-child, one adult student in Cobra Kai, and the biggest mistake of season 2, is gratefully cut. The guy was just too comical as compared to everyone else and his presence always felt forced. Unfortunately, Aisha (Nichole Brown) is cut this season because the writers were having trouble fitting her in. This is too bad since she was one of the more prominent Cobra Kai members. On the plus side, this season does manage to bring back some recurring characters they didn't have time for last season. 

If there is any major issue, it is the same one that has popped up before, but is far, FAR more prevalent here: the fact that no one ever calls the cops for very obvious crimes. I mean the show has always suspended belief, but belief is in a coma because it got hit over the head one too many times. (The show does do a good job of showing actual and logical consequences for the fallout of last season.)

Overall, another great season. I'd ranked it below season 1 and above season 2.

Death to 2020

 

8/10

Death to 2020 is a Netflix mockumentary about the less-than-stellar events of the year 2020. It includes interviews with a host of fictional characters. I found this to be pretty amusing.

We've had a bad year, and it's nice to make light of all the awful trying stuff that has happened.  The jokes in this work pretty well, and the show has fun with the documentary formula. 

Great group of characters and cast. This even got Samuel L. Jackson and Hugh Grant. By far the best performances in this are Grant as a historian and Palm Springs' Cristina Milioti. Grant has really been given it his all these past few years to show he's a versatile performer and not just "the romantic movies" guy, and he does a great job of parodying the British authority on a subject. I won't spoil Milioti, as her character isn't defined in the trailer, but she's great and has the best line delivery in the film.

Understand that this involves American and British talents/creatives, so the emphasis is mostly on those respective countries. The film is only an hour and fifty minutes, meaning the year's events are gone through pretty quickly. I wished there was more time to go more in depth and over more subjects.  

If you're conservative, you might not like the fact that the jokes are more from a liberal bent, but the films does poke some fun at the Left as well.

Overall, I recommend this. It's a fun time-waster.

The Midnight Sky

7/10

The Midnight Sky, based on the novel Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton, takes place on a post-apocalyptic Earth. Augustine (played by George Clooney who also directs), a dying scientist in the Arctic tries to contact others while a spacecraft  on a scouting mission for potentially habitable new worlds is returning without any of the crew knowing what is going on. This was decent.

Midnight Sky is half survival film (both in Arctic conditions and outer space) and character piece.  The best word to sum this all up is: interesting. I'm glad I saw it. It's definitely something different (both optimistic and pessimistic). Plus, there is one thing they've done with space that I don't think I've seen anyone do before that really sticks out. However, the dialogue could've been stronger. This is one of those films that felt it could've been polished a little more.  

Clooney does a decent job of directing. I particularly applaud how he handled the final scene. However, every once in a while there is a decision that took me out of the film.

A good sum of money went into this production, but not a huge amount. The computer graphics for the spaceship don't feel real enough. However, it is a really distinctive design, both inside inside and out. I also think the scenes out in the Arctic look really good and desolate in a strangely beautiful way. 

The cast is good. I didn't think David Oyelow got enough to do and say as the ship's captain, but he has this wordless scene where he absolutely kills. Also, I've got to say: Clooney really rocks an old man beard.

Overall, I recommend this. It's the sort of movie you may want to watch if you want to go with something philosophical.

Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks (Special)

8/10

This New Years special has the Doctor (played by Jodie Whittaker) stuck in space prison. Meanwhile, people on Earth are trying to control Dalek technology with naturally dark results. This was a fun episode.  

Yeah, this is an average Dalek story, and yeah, they are overexposed, but I felt it was well executed enough with a strong ending. It had more of an older seasons DW feel, combining humor, adventure, and a little horror. 

There was a lot going on in this, I mean it in a good way; kept things varied. The longer running time allowed more time for the cast members, including the Doctor, to have emotional moments, some of the best of the 13th Doctor's run. (Though Graham (Bradley Walsh), my favorite of the gang, doesn't get quite as much screentime as the others. In fairness, he got a lot of exposure these last two seasons.) 

Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) is back. It's nice to see him again, and Barrowman's giving it his all, but I also felt writer and current showrunner Chris Chibnall leaned a little too hard on the humor with him. He felt slightly like a caricature. Corrupt businessman Jack Robinson (Law & Order's Chris Noth) from Arachnids in the UK is back. Though I'm still not that fond of him, he is definitely better written here.

The Daleks get a sleeker redesign here, and I'm not hating it. I prefer the rounder ones, but these aren't too shabby. 

There are a couple issues here. I felt the episode got a little nihilistic with the deaths. Yeah, there has always been death in Doctor Who, but there's a difference between death existing and being knocked over the head with it. (Also, there's one death that felt like a cheap tug at the emotions.)

Also, Chibnall never really made clear why the Doctor was in prison. That part really felt like a waste. 

Overall, I recommend this. Yeah, it's a formula episode, but there is a reason the formula works.

We can be Heroes

 

8/10

We can be Heroes is the newest kids film from Robert Rodriguez and a spin-off to his 2005 entry The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D. (One of the main characters is SB and LG's daughter Guppy (played by Vivien Lyra Blair)). In it, the world's biggest superheroes are captured by aliens and their children, most of which have powers of their own, go to rescue them. I felt this was good for what it is.

Rodriguez is known for his very specific style of kids film. He's doing these specifically for children (I hear he's gotten ideas and input from his own kids) with no worries about "real world rules" or adding stuff for adults. They're mostly just goofy fun. Sometimes I think these movies work, like Spy Kids and SK 4-D, and sometimes the plots are so thin that they don't, like SK 2 & 3-D. I'm happy to say that this is one that works. It's got a tight and clear and story that knows where it is going and what it is trying to say. In fact, I think it's much better than Sharkboy and Lava Girl, which threw too many things at the fan.

The kid heroes work better than the SB & LG characters as well. They all have clear personalities and fun powers. (My favorite was the "big diva musical performance" lover A Cappella (Lotus Blossom)). Though there are eleven of them, their screentime and characterization is balanced surprisingly well. I mean, there's no deep character development; this isn't one of those type of films. The kid actors all did a good job. Blair, the youngest, does feel like she's reading lines from a cue card but she's pretty good with the nonverbal stuff. 

I meant it when I said this was a spin-off and not a sequel to SB & LG. Sharkboy (JJ Dashnaw replacing Taylor Lautner) and Lavagirl (Taylor Dooley) aren't in this very much as are the rest of the parents. (Yeah, I don't know why they don't rename themselves Sharkman and Lavawoman. I mean they're still in their twenties but sooner or later the names won't match the appearances). The characters aren't given much room to breathe, but all the actors are having fun. There are a couple of refreshingly surprising known names here that I won't spoil if you don't know yet. 

Overall, this isn't high art, but it serves its purpose: entertaining kids. Both my nephews really liked this and watched it more than once. If you generally like Rodriguez's kids films or like some but not all of them then this is worth taking a chance. If you straight up get nothing from these than, yeah there's nothing to change your mind here. The director's staying the course.