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.