Star Wars: Visions

9/10

This Disney+ anthology contains nine Star Wars-themed, non-canon anime short tales.

This is a really, really good looking show. The nice thing about short animation projects is that you can visually achieve stuff and fluidity you're less likely to get in a long form project. Each episode has a distinct look. The most stylish and best executed one is the first The Duel, which goes for a black-and-white old-school film look with excellent fighting scenes.

Admittedly, most of the episodes want to focus specifically on Jedi and lightsaber fighting rather than keeping the content more varied. (I know that Tatooine Rhapsody, about a space band, is the least liked episode, but I liked that this was the only one that really went for something different.) However, every episode manages to do things differently enough that this never becomes an issue (okay, there are two pairs of episodes that cut too close to each other in basic story, but I still liked them all). In fact, I think all the ideas here are decent. I particularly recommend The Ninth Jedi, Akakiri, and The Elder.

The English dub cast is surprisingly strong, including many known names, such as Lucy Liu, Henry Golding, and Joseph Golden Levitt.

The music to this is all pretty good, too, and definitely has that Star Wars/John Williams feel to it.

Highly recommended. This is a short and entertaining program that one can quickly breeze through.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine- Season 8 (Final)

7/10

In the final season, the cops of the Nine-Nine end up going through changes in their lives.

It's B99, so the show brings the same sense of humor it's known for and does a decent job of wrapping things up and bringing back recurring characters for final bows. (No Vulture surprisingly. And, would it hurt to show Terry's wife or Boyle's longtime girlfriend one more time after years of being forgotten?) However, like the last couple of seasons, the show is no longer it's prime. It's still B99, but it sometimes feels like it's going through the motions and the jokes don't have the punch they used too. Also, there's an episode about Boyle's close-knit, weird extended family, a joke that I think has been ground to a fine dust by this point and definitely didn't need a whole A plot for.

One admirable change of this season is that it has a few episodes addressing the lack of accountability for police. Sure, the cast has grappled with cynical, corrupt, or selfish other members of the force before, but it was in a TV show-ish non-political way. With the exception of one episode about racial profiling, the show has shied away from real world controversies with police abuse of power. I give them credit, albeit belated and their hand may have been forced due to the current climate, for actually addressing hard issues.

This season has a new antagonist, police union president Frank O'Sullivan (played by Scrubs' William McGinley). On the one hand, the character feels too similar to other rivals within the force that the characters have had. Plus, he's a momma's boy, and all the jokes about that are as old and predictable as you'd guess. On the other hand, he does have some fun lines and McGinley is a comic delivery pro.

Though this season was mostly just alright, they nail the annual heist (which always risks running out of steam but never does) and the final episode is done really well. This finale tries for tugging at the emotional heartstrings like its creator Michael Schur's earlier show Parks and Recreations did. This doesn't quite hit that mark but doesn't miss by much.

Also if you're a fan of Hitchcock (Dirk Blocker), I must be the bearer of bad news: probably due to COVID, his screen time is teeny tiny. 

If you're a fan, you probably will want to see this. It's not one of the best seasons, but it ends the show well enough.

Venom: Let There be Carnage

7.5/10 

In this sequel, the alien symbiote Venom and his host Eddie Brock (both played by Tom Hardy) have to go up against the deadly symbiote Carnage and his host and serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson).

The first film felt like an older pre-Dark Knight/the MCU superhero movie> this also feels like it was made before the golden age of these films, but it feels like a movie that was made closer to that period. Let There be Carnage manages to avoid the flaws of its predecessor, such as a poorly written villain. This is a leaner, quicker-paced film. 

The filmmakers realized that what everyone liked about the last film was the comic back-and-forth between Eddie and Venom. It can be pretty entertaining; the symbiote can be so delightfully weird. However, the movie spends waaaaayyyy too much time on them. They don't even do much fighting in this (really, just in the final act.) It's just a lot of them arguing with each other. This seems to be at the expense of other characters. I like the character of Brock's ex Anne Weying (Michelle Williams) in these films, but she's given so little to do here. Also, they lean a little heavily on Brock getting in trouble with everyone.

BUT, all the scenes with the villains are loads of fun. Harrelson really pulls off the psychotic, and strangely interesting killer really well. He nails the body language. The most underrated character in this may be Naomie Harris' Frances Barrison/Shriek, Kasady's equally crazed lover. (The trailers really didn't pay her much attention.) Harris does the best character work in this. She and Harrelson have excellent chemistry as the crazed Bonnie and Clyde types. (I haven't seen Stone Cold Killers, so I can't say how similar Harrelson is to his character in that.) Also, I love their clothes in this.

As for Carnage itself, the movie really does the Venom's greatest enemy justice. His savagery and the versatility of his powers are really captured here. I mean he may be one of the best "monsters" in a superhero movie. If you're worried about the fact that the final villain of the last movie was also a symbiote, you don't need to worry about  rehashing. Carnage leaves far more of an impression. This is directed by Andy Serkis, best known for his long history of motion caption acting, and he appears to bring a real sense of movement. Carnage is a very flexible, fluid being, and the movie plays around with what he can do as much as it can. Heck, all the cinematography choices in this are really good. Harrelson and Harris's first scene together is truly something. 

The fact that this movie is about a serial killer should give you a heads up that this leans toward the dark. It's PG-13, but pushes the envelope as far as it can. If you haven't seen the first film, understand that Venom is an antihero. The film can feel didactic as it both shows him trying to be a hero while also doing some indefensible stuff.

Recommended. Definitely better than the first but still far from perfect. The back-and-forth bits can be trying. However, it's worth it for the villain scenes and the fights. They are really worth watching.

Nine Perfect Strangers- Season 1

 

9/10

In this Hulu show based on the book by Big Little Lies' Liane Moriarty, nine people, each with their own emotional baggage/damage, visit Tranquilium, a wellness retreat, lead by the charismatic but enigmatic Masha Dmitrichenko (played by Nicole Kidman). She is said to get results, but her methods soon get controversial. 

I didn't set high expectations when I walked into this. The trailer looked interesting, but I didn't quite know what to make of it. I'm pleased to say this show really took me by surprise. The writing's really good. All the characters and all their personal issues gel. Dialogue is strong.

I like that this is a "dealing-with-your-demons" story, but it isn't trying to be too serious or dark. There's sad stuff in this, but this show isn't about being defined by it. It's also refreshing to see a mystery show that is also not trying too hard to be serious or dark, which feels like a rarity these days. Shocking, kinda trippy, unexpected stuff does happen, mind you, and you're definitely kept interested in what happens next. Though you may be able to guess some of the characters' story arcs, you won't be able to predict all the ways this story will go.   

I do think the show does go a little overboard with Masha's indecipherableness and her quasi-new ageness. There's a subplot with her and her employees that felt like too much.

Has an amazing cast full of big names and familiar faces. Besides Kidman, there's Michael Shannon, Melissa McCarthy, Samara Weaving, Luke Evans, Bobby Canavale, Regina Hall, and The Good Place's Manny Jacinto, (who proves to be very versatile in a completely different role than his humrous Jason Mendoza character). They're all good. Shannon and Asher Keddie here are the real acting heavyweights as a couple with tragedy in their past, and the former gives one of his best performances. Weaving as an influencer and Hall as a woman trying to restart her life give the best character work I've ever seen them do.

Highly recommended. This is a very interesting show. I can't say there are a lot exactly like this.

Foundation- Episode 1

 

6/10

In this Apple+ TV show based on the Foundation books by Issac Asimov, the known universe is ruled by an intergalactic empire.  Mathematician Hari Seldon (played by Jared Harris) has made a prediction about the empire's future and angers its emperors. 

I decided not to continue watching after this episode. I wouldn't say I disliked it, but I already have a lot of shows on my plate, and Foundation didn't do enough to convince me to keep watching. (I haven't read the original books, so I can't say how this compares to them. I've heard this is fairly different.)

This is an impressively developed, complex world the audience is dropped into. The backstory and culture of the empire and its various worlds is really well thought out. However, the show tries to juggle way too many things. A lot of plot points feel glossed over, and it's easy to lose track or be confused. 

This is a space opera and at times I feel like it's trying too hard to feel grand and important. It bugs me that for a show trying to take itself seriously, it suffers from a villain, Emperor Day (Lee Pace), who feels a little silly. Pace does a great job acting, and the character is clever with some good lines. But, he seemed to suffer from inconsistent writing. Like they try to have him be both smart and controlled, but also be a bit of an entitled brat but not in a convincing way. There's something he does in this that feels very arbitrary.

Seldon and his new pupil Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell) are likable protagonists, and their respective actors' performances are one of the strongest parts of the show.

Visually, the pilot episode is fantastic. Practically movie quality in terms of special effects. The technology and architecture of the planets in this really work.

Overall, I think there is an audience with this. Like I said, this does epic sci-fi well and impressive in its world-building. However, I think others may be bored with it and think it's just a bunch of stuff thrown at you.

My Little Pony: A New Generation

8/10

This new MLP movie on Netflix (intended to sell the new toyline and kick off a new show) takes place in the land of Equestria, presumably long, long after the events of the Frienship is Magic TV show. Magic no longer exists in the land, and the three different types of ponies no longer co-exist and each live apart from each other in fear and distrust.  One earth pony Sunny Starscout (voiced by Vanessa Hudgens) meets and befriends a unicorn Izzy Moonbow (Kimiko Glenn), and the two team up to bring magic back to the land. 

Friendship is Magic became an unexpectedly big hit because it went above and beyond what you'd find in your usual girls cartoon in terms of world building, writing, and characterization. To the best of my knowledge, none of the show's writers worked on this. So the question, is this new world on the same level as the FiM? No, it doesn't quite have the magic it did. Feels a little simplified. It particularly shows in the ponies living in three specific places whereas the show made it clear that many towns and cities existed. (To be fair, the movie's only an hour and thirty minutes, and you can only do so much.)

However, this movie doesn't trail behind the original show by that much. Effort definitely went into this. The script is fun and there are several good lines. Thought is given to the world here. The pegasi mountain city is the most impressive. 

Some genuine heart is given to Sunny's storyline. Her loyalty to the memory of her father, who taught her that all the ponies once lived in harmony, and desire to get the ponies to all get along feels honest and earnest. 

The computer animation in this ain't too shabby. This was originally supposed to be a theatrical release before COVID hit and there is clearly a decent budget. My compliments to the scenery designers; being MLP, the animators are given carte blanche to be as colorful and whimsical as they want. (There is one scene with a tree in a field of flowers that's really pretty.) The direction and camera angles felt very basic. Though, there is one shot in the first act that bridges sudden changes in mood really well.           

Songs are decent. None of them are memorable, but they're not bad.

Recommended for kids or general MLP fans. Again, not on the same level as FiM. Not the most unique work, either. But it is a well made, good-natured work. 

Cinderella

6/10 

Found on Amazon Prime, This is the general tale of Cinderella (played by singer Camilla Cabello) except the lead is more interested in starting her own business than finding her one true love.

I'll be honest from the start, I'm not the audience for this. I've never been a big fan of Cinderella, any adaptation. I've always found this fairy tale kinda slow and uninteresting to me, probably because the lack of any action to it. So, bear this in mind as you read on.

Considering that this is written and directed by Pitch Perfect's Kay Cannon and featuring some big names, this doesn't feel like a big film. The whole thing feels like a made-for-TV movie you'd find on Hallmark. The story is so-so. Not bad, just doesn't leave a lot of a lasting impression. It doesn't help that you can tell where the story is going way ahead of when it happens. The modern flairs given to this feel predictable as well as Cinderella's journey. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to poo-poo the message of her story of female self-empowerment, I'm just saying it is done in a very unoriginal manner.)

The film is weirdly bipolar. It tries to both have characters act in a modern way, but it also tries to incorporate medieval social standards, and the two don't mesh. Cinderella is very a free spirit and willing to speak or stand up to anyone, except she's suddenly in the more traditionally downtrodden role when it comes to her stepmother (Idina Menzel) and stepsisters.

Jokes are hit-and-miss. The ones that do work are pretty good, though.

The sets and locations feel like a bit of a letdown.  Feel a little medieval/fairy tale bare minimum. I know this is more of a comedy, so the budget may not be that high, so it may be unfair of me to judge. Outfits are good.

This is a jukebox musical. (I believe two are original pieces.) I liked the song selections. The choreography is decent and vocals are great (not surprising since Cabello and Menzel are in this.)

No complaints about the casting. Everyone's giving their all (and Pierce Brosnan as the king is really rocking the beard.)

Again, not for me. Feel it's an unoriginal rehash of a worn-out story, plus I think it's odd they'd revisit the tale not too many years after the Disney live action one came out. But, I don't dislike this the way many critics are. I can't say it does anything downright wrong; it's just light viewing. My sister loves this, so there's got to be an audience for it. If you like the Cinderella story, romantic comedies, or jukebox musicals, this may be for you. Just don't walk into this with high expectations.