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.