Reviews

So far I'm enjoying Tales of the Empire, but this episode... stands out and not in a positive way.

This episode follows former Jedi Barriss Offee and her descent into the dark side of the Force, where we see her undergo "training" to become a Sith Inquisitor.

Now, normally I'm not one for nitpicking or griping too much, but this episode was the poorest one so far.

Apparently all you need to do to become a Inquisitor is to push your teacher, give him a nosebleed and then duel your bestie in a duel of death.

Hilariously... PG. Even for Disney this was a poor showing.

From the comics, to the Clone Wars, to nearly all of the media that depicts the Inquisitors shows that their training is brutal, torturous and downright sadistic. Disney however didn't even show 1% of that!

It was a waste of an episode and sadly a very much unbelievable one.

Dune: Part Two doesn't drop the ball when it comes to the narrative, visual and audio masterpiece that it is. Having seen it in IMAX quality, definitely an experience and one that I will look forward to seeing again outside of the Cinema.

Butler's role as Feyd was impressive despite the limited screen time that he had, although it's hard to say he amounted to much in the film but this is how the book narrative goes so it isn't surprising.

I've seen the original David Lynch's Dune, which is still decent for what it is, but the modern takes are far superior in almost everyway.

One thing that I enjoy about these films is the audio impact. Denis Villeneuve cannot be criticized for the sound design on these films; they feel iconic, impactful and futuristic, particularly certain scenes that have the mongolian-like throat singing being uttered as a different language.

Visually, just like Villeneuve's Blade Runner, it's beautifully shot and there are some amazing visuals of the Dune stretched sand plains. Despite it being a desert, you still get the sense that this is an alien planet.

I did personally feel the ending was almost rushing towards its conclusion and the big battle that takes place towards the end was let down in scope and design somewhat. It was one of the very few areas that I thought the David Lynch film did better, if only slightly. It didn't sour the experience though.

Denis Villeneuve has made a setup for part 3 and that is most certainly gonna happen.

One disappointing post-movie element that concerns more about Villeneuve than the film itself is his obsession with refusing to release deleted scenes. Normally these things get brushed under the carpet and rarely discussed, but so much talk about this has popped up in the media recently and the reason is because the actors in these scenes have spoken out concerning these scenes.

Villeneuve seems almost obsessed with the notion that his theatrical vision is finale and the fat that he trims from the film are discarded. This is understandable and you can't fault him for it, but it is disappointing that this is his stance.

You could look at Blade Runner's disappointing theatrical cut vs the directors final cut and you can see the difference; the directors cut is the superior with deleted scenes added in and the narrative greatly improved.

What if we never saw Saruman's downfall in LOTR: Return of the King if Peter Jackson decided that infamous scene should remain cut?

We have the same problem in Part 2 with a certain character who was in Part 1 conspicuously absent. One could make the argument that Villeneuve's vision is somewhat hampered by him fighting the runtime limits enforced upon him by having him cut important scenes that sometimes add the missing context.

Regardless of that, Dune Part 2 can't be missed; Part 3 is going to have a very tough time to follow up considering it's story is profoundly different from the previous two iterations.

It can be said that whenever Star Trek has it's 'dark episodes' such as Yesterdays Enterprise, Best of Both Worlds or Balance of Terror, it brings out the best in Trek.

Under The Cloak of War explores M'benga's history with the Klingons and it proves to be a complicated one.

This episode goes heavy on the horrors of war and the PTSD effects that it has one those who suffer through it. It's a solid episode with some good writing and it can leave you conflicted.

We see a Klingon Ambassador arrive on Enterprise who speaks highly of the Federation and seeks to redeem himself from his reputation known as the 'Butcher' from a brutal colony conflict that M'benga and Nurse Chapel participated in.

Throughout the episode, it's easy to doubt the sincerity of the Klingon considering the crimes and butchery he's responsible for. This is compounded by M'benga's flashbacks to the conflict and the emergence of his PTSD, his struggles in dealing with the presence of the Klingon.

There's a message here, but it's a muddy one; the ending of the episode complicates things greatly. We see M'benga essentially murder the Klingon, albeit, after warning him to leave and wanting to be left alone. It's a tragic turn of events made even more complex by the fact that his crime is covered up with Nurse Chapel and M'benga stating that the Klingon started the fight, grabbing the knife.

This is a very bold ending because it puts these two characters in a very dark light and makes one an accomplice to murder and the other a murderer, both of whom are covering each other's tracks.

What's interesting is that we don't actually see how this fight plays out, which may suggest that more remains to be seen.

I do hope there will be consequences for M'benga and Nurse Chapel, because if not; then not only is this the wrong message to send out to trek fans, it's not very Trekky.

There's none. Zero. There is no chemistry between Spock and Nurse Chapel; what little there was in TOS has given incentives to write a romance for Spock. It didn't work in Abrahms film and it doesn't work here.

Aside from that, the episode was of decent affair but extremely odd. The 'first contact' that they have was bizarre, featuring corporate mentality aliens with strange dialogue that seems to be purposefully written for comedic purposes but lacking any sense of humor as well as not fitting in with the general theme of Star Trek.

Comedic episodes are great when done right. One review called this the most comedy-centric episode of Star Trek yet. I'd love to be smoking whatever they were having.

An action packed start to season 2. This went from an excellent season 1 of Strange New Worlds to Discovery: Strange New Worlds.

How utterly ridiculous was the scene of Nurse Chapel and the Doctor kicking ass bourn-style to a bunch of Klingons who take the Worf meme of getting beat up all the time to a whole new level.

Unfortunately episodes like this are not a rarity when it comes to Kurtzman and co and if this is merely a taste of what's to come then I am deeply concerned for season 2 of Strange New Worlds.

I enjoyed season 1 of Discovery, until the quality took a sharp turn in the writing. Picard season 1, 2 suffered throughout until it found its place in season 3.

Strange New Worlds season 2 has got a lot of potential to carry on from an excellent season 1; lets hope that it doesn't get lost amidst its own love for over-the-top action sceens.

Picard has come to its conclusion. There should be no season 4, this is a fitting end; but of course, who knows, as the studios may try to milk more out of it. That would be a tremendous mistake.

It's just a damn shame that Season 1 and Season 2 of Picard are utterly rubbish and could easily be skipped in their entirety. It's almost as if Season 3 was specifically designed to be standalone. Despite a far better and much improved Season 3, Picard remains a flawed show with persisting issues in plot and writing that bled into Season 3 from the prior ones.

But there is no more fitting end than the one that was given as the Last Generation bid farewell and a new one takes up the mantle.

I'm not sure how to feel about ST: Legacy. A prominent character that I dislike (Raffi) will seemingly continue to be a feature of the show, and she has just not grown on me since her introduction in Season 1.

There's also a notable absence of Janeway. The Showrunner has expressed the reasons as to why (budget and studio overheads) but if there ever was a fitting moment for Janeway, season 3 was it. With her name being dropped on more than one occasion, it seemed almost too much of a tease and ultimately led to disappointment when she did not turn up.

Despite this, the episode was a thrilling one and saw expertly well-done fan service deliver what was a very good finale of Picard.

This episode sees the return of Ro Laren. A character that I was excited to see return because it completely surprised me.

But once again, like they did with Hugh the Borg in an earlier season, they just don't know how to develop a character without killing them off. Any worthwhile cameo is quickly done away with.

Ro Laren is the most criminally underused cameo that has popped onscreen yet, and could have been a terrific redemption arc that did not need to come to a conclusion in one episode. It's frankly just lazy writing, not to mention it made little sense as to how she went out.

While Season 3 of Picard has proven to be a pleasant surprise, there are still incidences of when the writing and plot lets itself down. This is one of them.

Good GOD the Music! Good GOD the plot! Holy moly is the editing bad!

I thought we were done with slow moving action scenes after the dreadful chase scene in Boba Fett. Please, let us never again have to watch a 4 foot small child run through a forest being chased by 3 grown men who are incapable of catching a small child let alone dodging tree branches. It really looked like a Disney resort action scene with some random kid having a goofy time.

A wise man who happened to be a well known star wars voice actor and fan once said to me, "You don't have to like it, or embrace it, but you can be thankful for it existing. Because it makes you appreciate the prequels and Lucas more." He was right.

I appreciate Kenobi existing. I would rather have it, than not. I like star wars content. Good, bad and the ugly. Give me more star wars. Even if it ends up being tepid or woeful, I can find the good bits in it.

With Kenobi, Ewan McGregor is a treat and delivers a great performance as Obi-Wan, and he cannot be faulted. As does the voice work for Vader, which sounds much crisper and clearer than his Rogue One cameo. Their scenes, while problematic from a editing sense, are always fun to watch.

I think the biggest complaint I have about the Kenobi series, which to me is an odd one considering the show has much greater issues (writing), is the music. I really dislike Natalie Holt style for this series. You look at her credentials, impressive as they are, and you can see why her particular style does not meld well with Star Wars. It's far too boisterous, loud and in your face. Anytime there's a Sith Inquisitor landing or doing something important, the music kicks in and you feel like you are watching a Disney cartoon villain reveal. It's heavy and unapologetic for it kicking your eardrums in.

Kenobi has unfortunately inherited a lot of the problems that Book of Boba Fett had. From editing, to plot pacing, episode structure and writing, there's no real 'grit' with Kenobi. I like the off-planet stuff. I like the involvement of Leia. I haven't got an issue with the general concept of the plot. The implementation of it, how it's done, it all feels like Disney have hired a full crew of film students and let them go at it.

That's obviously insulting, and isn't the case, but Lucas was very much involved in all his projects, always checking in and lending his input. Not always a good thing, lets not pretend Lucas didn't have problems producing quality content. But it feels like Disney have too much input and their influence here is perhaps better if they take a more stand-offish attitude.

Easily the weakest episode so far with about 5-10 minutes of actual narrative development.

Most of the episode is filler, with Raffi/Seven driving around in a boring chase, Captain Cigar flirting with Ice Officers, and some decent but ultimately unfilling dialogue between the Borg Queen and Sassy Woman.

Unlike episode I & II, this one had the least memorable bit. Even Black Krrsantan encounter with Boba Fett felt off, further emphasized by the poor mismatch of putting him up against what is essentially a out of placed biker gang that is comprised of street kids that look like a bunch of pikeys from a london suburb. One even chats to Boba Fett in a very thick British accent, calling him, 'Mate'.

However the worst part of this episode was that painfully slow chase scene. Both Mando and Boba Fett have suffered from poor episodes. It's a given. However this episode is right at the top I feel, out of all the episodes in Mando and Boba Fett, this one is up there for being the worst so far.

The acting can be a bit spotty as well at times, especially from the supporting cast - but again, nothing new, but at the same time it still feels genuine and has a certain charm to it.

Loving the series so far - but they need to stop including these scenes that are done in a way as a homage to George Lucas. If you plan on doing a scene like this, do it proper and make it star wars. It felt like I was watching a crossover of American Graffiti and Star Wars. Who wants that?

I also feel the director of this episode (Rodriquez) who also directed episode I, shows his weakness and it really comes to the front here. Both this and episode I have so far been poorly received.

As a fan of the show, I hope this pattern doesn't repeat itself.

Season 2 is a vast improvement over season 1. My main gripe with season 1 was the confusing nature of the different timelines. That and the horrendous Nilfgaard armor which got memed to bits, rightfully so. It wasn't until episode 3 in season 1 that things began to fall into place.

Season 2 however has resolved a lot of the issues. The production value seems to be higher, and while Geralt gets a little less screentime, that's understandable with Ciri taking the forefront in some episodes.

Yet despite this, oddly enough the Showrunner is still making the odd mistake. I'm not alone in this either, having conversed with other fans of the show about this aspect; that is the locations/places that the cast end up at throughout the course of the story. If it wasn't for the fact that I played the games, and read the books, I had some understanding of where someone was at any point in the show. I knew they were in Oxenfurt at one point, but that involved some deduction on my part.

There's a lot of this going on, and I don't know why they don't just put down the name of a place on the screen for us to understand. It makes it very hard to get a sense of where people are going, where they are and the sense of the world.

Season 1 suffered from the timeline issue that was near-universally criticized. Season 2 is now suffering from a similar issue, except it's to do with locations. There's more travelling about in this season, so it's even more important. The showrunner should not be making these mistakes.

There's also a lot of misinformation going around about the show vs book form. One article in Forbes was horribly misinformed; apparently some fans were upset about a scene that takes place that shows an eyeball being taken out with some kitchen ware. It's very reminiscent of a scene in the game. But Forbes seems to think it was book fans that got upset over this, as it was meant to feature a character called 'Gaunter O'Dimm'. Sorry to say Forbes, but Gaunter O'Dimm wasn't in the books, he was created for the games; so it wasn't book fans that got upset, if anyone at all got upset over it.

But I'm sure some did; because of one little idea stolen from somewhere else. Some of the reviews trashing Witcher season 2 for the most basic things are people who don't have the mentality for a show like this and either want a straight video game conversion or a true to book show.

Changes are to be expected specifically with Eskel and other characters. TV is a different medium and I completely understood why they went with Eskel. But this isn't Game of Thrones, which did some notorious changes that I was not happy with at all.

The Witcher so far has only made changes that have made sense, and if anything, knowing the quality of the books for what they are, I do hope the show steers away from the books a little more. Especially some cringe-worthy chapters that come to mind...

I am hopeful for season 3, and certainly hope that the showrunners can at least get the ball rolling with making this series less confusing as possible, especially for the book/game virgins out there.

There's such a thing as milking something to the point of saturation.

3 films and 2 seasons, are we not sick of Mick Taylor's seemingly immortality at this point? I sure am.

Much like the SAW films, you can milk something to the point that it just ends up being glorification. That's where we are at now with Wolf Creek.

Even the conclusion of the Wolf Creek's series leaves a shadow of doubt concerning what should be an implausible scenario where Mick Taylor somehow survives getting impaled, and manages to escape just in time. It's a cheap trick, a very cheap trick that belongs to the annuls of Friday the 13th and Halloween.

The first film was great for its grounded approach. Mick Taylor was a sick twisted human. In later films and in this series, he starts to transcend into mythical status as something more than that. The series is no longer grounded in sick reality, but simply just sick from its own refusal to give closure to what was once a fun character to hate and despise.

Will Mick Taylor return? I sure hope not, for enough is enough.