Tales Of The Underworld

Tis' a good day.

Tales Of The Underworld is I feel a story of two halves, one being a more light story that gives a bit of character depth for Ventress and the other being a pretty rock solid heavy drama story about the evolution of for my money the best bounty hunter in the galaxy Cad Bane. Although I will come out front and say the Ventress story really has two things to do with the seedy criminal underworld of Star Wars, jack and shit and jack left town. However an enjoyable and decent story it still was with her taking on a protector role for a young Jedi in hiding and trying to locate the Hidden Path, with fantastic chemistry and banter between her and young Lyco with plenty of lightsaber action to assuage nerds like me. Oh but Star Wars never change, it shows how long I've been doing this when we see a new Imperial Inquisitor and I'm calling that he's dead in two minutes and not even a name will be put to him until a book comes out, which spoilers I'm right again as always! But duuuuuuude WOW this Cad Bane story justifies the whole flip flapping series for my money, taking an evolutionary look from rapscallion youth, to henchmen young adult, to fastest gun this side of the Hydian Way mature badass. And this is a short story, keeping in the style of the Tales series where each arc is pretty much forty minutes without credits so you can knock this sucker out in the course of a meal, but how much emotion and dramatic storytelling they can squeeze in without it ever feeling forced or too densely packed is really damn impressive! It takes the western archetype of main character has someone close to him die by gunslinger who he swears revenge on, tweaks it just a notch, and it becomes a new and interesting story proving Star Wars will never get old. Vocal performances are still top notch, obviously all the love goes to Nika and Corey who have brought these fan favorite characters to life, but even the new talent like Lane Factor as this bit of a smart aleck Jedi or Artt Butler as Cad's oldest friend turned lawman with such short appearance runtimes craft something uniquely theirs. Do I even have to mention the animation? It's pretty clear we're only climbing higher and higher with the attention to detail, movement, and atmosphere with each subsequent series since technically Rebels before even last season of Clone Wars, and this is no exception. Of course I'm an easy sell on this universe, but I will admit I don't always need something groundbreaking as the next big project for Star Wars. I love the side stories, the brief snippets of character development, the connecting threads in this ever expanding tapestry, cause I just find it interesting and really cool. Even if some of the newer stuff doesn't grab your attention trust in me when I say there's been something you haven't experienced in the past almost 50 years of this franchise that will. Considering the grossly uneven (yet still good) caliber of the stories within, I'll give this 3.5 stars, 8.5/10! And truth be told, I honestly think Andor will be next cause new movie wise consider May a graveyard for reviews so we'll see how it goes.

Twin Peaks: Season 3

Ooookayy then...

Not really what I was expecting. When I say the word conflicted, I don't think I've ever meant it more in my entire life. I do want to say first and foremost I am not going to be one of those people who lauds this season but I'm also not a person who is actively hating this season either. Cause it did hold my attention and interest for the ungodly 18 hour runtime mainly due to the very simple question of, "Where is this going?" and the thing is you're not gonna get much. I think this honestly is my Inland Empire where I don't really get it and I don't know what to do with it. It's rather interesting to watch this season because you think, my God 18 episodes at an hour a piece soooo much must happen! And it...just does not. I can sum it up in three instances, Cooper gets out of the Black Lodge physically but not fully mentally, Gordon Cole is slowly piecing together more on the Red Room and the return of Cooper through murder investigations, and we follow the evil doppleganger of Cooper as he tries to circumvent being trapped in the Black Lodge again. Now I'm going to share with you a technical term of writers that you typically do not see in media: non-sequitur, is the word I would describe this season as. Essentially it means that the very next scene to anything has no bearing or impact in the long run. But to be paradoxical for a second, is a non-sequitur still a non-sequitur if it continually happens again and again? Because when I tell you that this season at least 80% of the time feels like filler cul de sacs I'm really not exaggerating. This season meanders, and plods, and wanders to a limit where most people's patience would burn out before they got a quarter of the way through it. But as I said I was too intrigued and curious to ever call it quits! I was shocked, puzzled, laughed, and cried at moments that kept me engaged to the end of it all but I safely can say this is not for everyone if not the vast majority of anyone. Yet the production and David's full time creative mind is on solid form, broadening the horizons of the world to the point where I'm not even fully sure it can be called Twin Peaks anymore due to how little we are in that town (yeah I'm sounding like one of those people I knowww), it does admittedly lose a bit of the magic with it's post 2010 look yet it still looks pretty gorgeous at times, the music is the absolute highlight of the entire season for me without a shred of doubt almost to the point where I want to say to hell with the show buy the soundtrack, the new additions and returns of the old cast are still handled very well albeit criminally short for our returning castmates, and it does have entertaining moments. Now was I fully expecting some hardcore nostalgia riding into the aftermath of the season two finale? Frankly, not even a little bit. I had faith in David to continue this strange torpedo while still bringing something entirely fresh and new to the story without having to really tread over familiar ground beyond the town of Twin Peaks itself. And I eventually did get that! 14 episodes in out of 18, and hell Cooper isn't fully back to 100% until episode 16! It still wasn't too little too late for me at that point, but I am almost fully endorsing the most disputed of golden calfs in any fandom ever created, the fan edit. I have only touched a fan edit one single time and it was for The Hobbit trilogy and the one I found honestly is the only way I will watch it from now on. I'm at least trying to give you a different angle to approach this finale. Coming from an individual who's patience is near boundless and can easily sit through higher than average runtimes, 18 hours is shockingly unnecessary for this. There are a virtual army of The Return truthers out there who will praise and gush over this series without so much as an average opinion on any aspect, and I envy those people. The oh so simple easy way to throw out terms like, bait & switch or unmitigated high expectations, to flow from my lips is striking but I don't really feel that. No one, I repeat no one could make a television series like this on accident, there is something to it that David wanted to convey. Just because I don't get it doesn't mean it's bad. I don't know entirely what I'm feeling though at this time. What do I even rate it? A big fat question mark would be appropriate but I try to center myself on something. As a whole, both of production and story, I'm gonna give it a 7/10. May have broken new ground ten years on since starting this show, cause television series ratings do not go down each subsequent time on this website. I don't even like that this was what it came to be, but what can I do to change it? Nobody can change it. You either accept it or deny it. I'm willing to accept even if not happily. But it certainly does not diminish or taint my love for David and the creations he has brought to this world and I'm happy to have gotten through this show regardless. I hope you all have more days of beautiful blue skies and golden sunshine all along the way. Everyone have a great day!

Twin Peaks: Season 2

NO! NO! YOU DO NOT GET TO PULL THAT!

Are you frick fraking serious right now?? I have never freaked the hell out this hard over a season finale in my life, and the worst part is I can't even talk about it! Yeah yeah, 30 year old show, don't care cause you need to watch it! Okay, gotta breathe, inner peace. Whew, I got this. Don't really know where to start, but I got this. So Twin Peaks, resounding success despite the Lynchian aspects to it comes back swinging with a whopping 22 episodes for this season making it the longest (and possibly most involved) season of the entire show. So much happens in fact I have no choice but to do it a tremendous disservice and not cover everything because 1. The plot greatly expands beyond the murder of Laura Palmer, and 2. Because of the length I had to watch it over the course of 4 days and my memory has more holes in it than a sponge! But basically after the attempt on Cooper's life the case continues on and even I will admit I was shocked how quickly we found out who killed Laura Palmer, now massive cock up on my end with watching Fire Walk With Me first that is all on me, but even still not half the season passes before we get the resolution on that. And this is actually one of the biggest detractions I have heard about this series, that nobody really gave a shit about the show after the murder mystery was solved and that it was pushed heavily by the studio who didn't want to see it naturally conclude. That's bullshit and very frustrating but here's the thing from my perspective: The show is called Twin Peaks, and not The Case Of Laura Palmer. We spend oodles of time situated in this town, getting to know these people, sinking into their own lives and drama and indeed following the aftermath of the killer I was still strongly invested! Did it wane a little bit before it got close to the finale? Yes, but ultimately the story that follows with this psychopath from Coop's past setting up shop in Twin Peaks for his own devious schemes isn't horrible! I feel the show has to juggle so many plot threads eventually some just get dropped without even a remotely satisfactory conclusion, but truth be told that's the only major strike against this season. Production wise in nearly every aspect if it isn't as good as season one it certainly has been improved upon. Now I know that David at this time pretty much from episode one of this season was off filming, if memory serves Wild At Heart, and for a fraction of a second loses that unique enigmatic charm that pervades the entire first season but rest assured it finds it's own footing again by episode two. And indeed the remainder of the season has charm, laughs, surprising twists, and a good fair few cliffhangers that made me dash to the next episode. It's still a very good season despite the naysayers that have accumulated since the original broadcast dates. I'll certainly tell you this, the characters are not dull and have plenty to do. Kale is still on stellar form regardless of scenario or unexpected twist as Coop, and it's no wonder him and David were thick as thieves since Dune. Michael Ontkean goes through the ringer this season and we see a lot more from Harry than just a stalwart good police officer, which is nice and obviously a good sign of expansion which a lot of the characters, for good or ill have. Richard Beymer has a full on 180° as Ben Horne which was unexpected and certainly kept me guessing to the point where I'm infinitely curious if he'll turn up in the third revival season. Sherilyn Fenn I think has the hands down most full character arc of the show when you really break it down, from anarchist teenager to growing businesswoman under her father so she got nothing but range in this series! If I could just shoutout Don S. Davis as Major Briggs, he already had my attention in the first season but even though he is still on that side character podium his performance and cadence is nothing short of spellbinding, and...just that moment in the diner when he's telling his son Bobby about his dream, I'm just gonna say it that's not only my favorite scene in the entire show thus far but is one of the crown jewels of the series. Also strongly have to shoutout Frank Silva as Bob who is simultaneously one of the most intangible threats in fiction and yet extremely terrifying, I have no doubts the man was a joy in real life but how they direct, and shoot, and write about Bob eugh, it just gets under my skin so perfectly. And our replacement villain is an interesting bat shit force to be reckoned with played by Kenneth Welsh, and the personality of this well read almost thespian murderous psycho with a penchant for chess is still just that right amount of weird for Twin Peaks. And just to lightning round my thoughts on the other side characters, Donna and James have moments but mostly is kinda filler hate to say, same kinda goes for Ed, Norma, and Nadine but ooh Nadine is very much my kind of lady woman, Shelly and Bobby pretty much are still on the same page as season one with some fresh elements thrown in here and there but ultimately average, the will they won't they with Lucy and Andy I rather adore and was a persistent highlight for the season with me, Pete you're still my king and you deserve the world, oh sweet bloody Mary can we just talk a sec on the guest appearances? How in the nine circles of hell itself did no one, I repeat NO ONE, ever bring up the fact that David Warner the legend himself is in this, Dan O'Herlihy of Halloween 3 fame who by the by you cannot convince me for a micro second that's not Conal Cochran resurrected from witchcraft fuckery, David Duchovny who is a transgender woman in the FBI by the name of Denise in 1991 before either women were permitted in the bureau and The X-Files was a thing so props to you for being surprisingly progressive, and we got Billy Zane as a romantic side character cause why the hell not! Don't get me wrong I'm here for it 1,000% percent but I'm still reeling from that information even as I type it! To touch a bit more on the production, it feels bigger than the first season with the sets and directing, the cinematography is still very nice for a TV show and does lend itself to cinematic moments for sure, the Angelo Badalamenti score is the stuff dreams are made of and despite only a few new pieces of music never gets dull in my opinion, the lore or mythos of Twin Peaks gets strongly expounded upon and if the Red Room was kinda losing you abandon all hope ye who enter here because it gets out there! In fact it got more out there than even I anticipated and how that finale goes down, it's done super well and can be effectively disturbing but knowing there was a 26 gotdamn gap and for all intents and purposes that was the ending, I am counting my lucky stars that I was born the year I was, I'm watching Twin Peaks the year it is now, and I don't gotta wait! How in the fuck did you people do this?! I'm flabbergasted just thinking about it! So, what do I rate it? It isn't as good as the first season which is a rare occurence on my show but it is a good season and that's all I really need. This was a scatterbrained review if I ever friggin' wrote one and there was so much to unpack I know I forgot something it was as inevitable as the sun will rise and the sun will set, but it is worth watching all the way through. 3 stars, 8/10, and we got one more before we go.

Twin Peaks: Season 1

We're here.

I didn't even begin to have an inkling of what Twin Peaks was, and I gotta say upfront it is not like Fire Walk With Me really at all. Obviously I've only seen the first season of this show thus far and to be honest the thing I saw most in association with this show out in the wild as it were was, there's some great big underlying mystery that people have tried for decades to crack, and maybe I just read stuff on face value but this first season while not necessarily cut and dry is very easy to grasp, understand, and enjoy. Not the wisest decision to watch the film first, that's my bad but I'd be lying through my teeth if I said I wasn't hooked. Spanning only a modest 8 episodes we follow Special Agent Dale Cooper as he arrives in the rural town of Twin Peaks to aid in the murder investigation of Laura Palmer. But it's not really the full extent of the show, we spend a lot of time getting familiar with this town and vastly more so it's residents. Who they are, what they do, what's their link to Laura, what relationships do they have with each other, it's really impressive storytelling to see this engrossing web get weaved episode by episode and not for a microsecond does it get dull. Obviously a show has groundwork to set up and ample time to do so, but it really does craft this character in and of itself for the town of Twin Peaks all on the backs of these characters in relatively a short span of time, and the writing is really damn good at it. It's more an ensemble series rather than a main star and a revolving door of supporting characters. In fact it was really hard to narrow down the cast list for this review because there's that many! I suppose we'll start with Kale as Dale Cooper who is easily my favorite character of the show, I seriously have no clue what it is maybe it's the script maybe it's the delivery but he just cracks me up in this! It's impossible to describe, you just gotta see it. Which kinda sums up this show so far for me, I'm not a fine enough wordsmith to articulate what I have seen here and there's almost too much to talk about. I can't remember who said it but they equated Kyle playing Dale as David Lynch, and it clicked eerily well so maybe that's why I love him so. To lightning round the characters so we don't spend all day just discussing that we'll focus on main supporting cast. Agent Cooper works in cooperation with Sherrif Harry S. Truman (Yes I'm serious.) played by Michael Ontkean who is head of the modest yet dedicated police force of Twin Peaks. We meet Laura's best friend named Donna played by Lara Flynn Boyle who takes the murder investigation into her own hands seeking answers, where she interacts with anarchy incarnate rich girl Audrey played by Sherilyn Fenn and biker boy James played by James Marshall to aid in her investigation. But there's other goings on in Twin Peaks and not all of it is good but you'll have to watch the show to learn more, and there are a lot of names so I recommend having a notepad to help keep all the strands untangled. It's worth it, that's all I'm saying. Very interesting to watch especially by episode 3 which everyone claims is the make or break episode for audiences, the first two episodes get you situated in this world with these characters and takes it's time to build the world, and thennn the 3rd episode happens and all I have to say is The Red Room. I don't even know what, but I'm rolling with it. Then the show adds supernatural otherworldly elements into it, but nor does it lean heavily into it either! It's just sorta there and isn't made that big a deal of, but I get why people would be turned off on that because the first two episodes for the most part are a mystery drama and people don't like when something shifts genres unexpectedly. I call it the From Dusk Till Dawn effect. But I was so engrossed in this show that it was just another layer of enjoyment for me! Some people might laugh at the almost soap opera-esque moments but I feel that was intentional on David's part. I'm kinda having a hard time to describe why I liked it as much as I did, I can't even remember the last show that got me so hyped and scrambling to put the next episode on because of the last episode's ending. I can't pin it on anything specific like the mood or style, or the fine acting, or the deepening story with all these characters affecting it, I'm really stumped on this. I just loved it. Couldn't recommend it stronger if I tried in all seriousness even when I know it just isn't going to be everyone's damn good cup of coffee. I haven't seen anything else like it in my life and most likely never will again, so I feel compelled to spread the word. Even though this show just had it's 34th anniversary so it's been around in the ether for some time, I don't care you have to watch it. I have spoken. Great start so far, 4 stars across the board, 9/10! !kcor s'teL

Sinners

Fwack me sideways that was a great damn movie!

Not to like pat myself on the back or anything but I just sure know what I like and I know how to pick em'! I saw the trailer and the simple concept of Michael B. Jordan fighting what looked like daemons and I was pretty much sold but I got oh so much more than that! Set in 1930s Mississippi we follow the Moore brothers who come back home and open their own club while getting back in touch with all the people they left behind before well, it gets very From Dusk Till Dawn. And what I appreciate so much is they don't rush this by a hot damn minute, there be no weak ass setup just to get to the survival horror but instead rock solid buildup where you kinda forget the movie is heading in that direction watching all these characters who've had history reconnect. It's great stuff and the period piece setting with heavy emphasis on blues music as the score really embeds you in that time period, and it doesn't shirk away from the unpleasant realities even if it doesn't come right out and say it. Michael B. Jordan does fantastic working playing both brothers Stack and Smoke, honestly to the point I just kinda forgot it was the same actor cause I just saw the characters with Smoke being the more aggressive business type and Stack being the silver tongued devil which is a good mix. But the real star in my opinion is Miles Caton in his first role as a young man named Sammie just wanting to sing the blues and gets hired to perform, holy moly is he good in this with a fantastic voice both speaking and singing the man just has incredible talent and I sure hope I get to see him in more roles soon! Jack O'Connell is our villain here not as a demon from the bowels of hell but rather a vampire who has his eyes set on Sammie, and without any major tropes of horror movies is effectively creepy and a real threat, you don't know who he is or where he came from or what his ultimate goal is with Sammie and it makes your mind race with possibilities! Jayme Lawson, Hailey Steinfeld, and Wunmy Mosaku play the holy trinity of love interests for each of our protagonists bringing a fair bit of heart and no small amount of attraction, each very striking and memorable, and the romance angle while more on the side is a welcome addition to the overall story. The production design is top notch from the clothes to the cars, the cinematography has some dat look gud moments for sure, Ryan knows how to make a movie engaging and interesting visually, and the muuuuussssiiiccccc! Ohh when I tell you hearing Sammie perform nearly made me just shout out in that theater "GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY!" I tell you no lie. I'm a sucker for blues and there ain't no heavy metal without blues (something the movie directly connects) so soundtrack alone fffffucking 12/10! The horror elements are very good without getting in your face, in fact somehow I will never know how this movie made an irish jig the most heathen thing which is actually kinda funny cause the movie could maybe just maybe be considered a musical. It's weird man but I love it and it did not detract from anything. I love how it starts, I love how it goes, I love how it ends, I am practically begging to the summits of heaven and the depths of hell that this movie not only does extremely well but gets a very large fanbase. I fully believe it deserves it! The film truly does it's own thing even with similar elements from other movies and I have no problem saying we already got a contender for top 10 of the year. So glowing 4 stars from me, 9/10, and alas this will be the last new movie for the month but I have something special planned to both begin and end the birthday week. 

The Amateur

We got movie sign!!

I'm back, new release new review. Pretty much what you see is what you get from the trailer of this movie, with a decryptor working for the CIA who's wife is killed in a hostage situation leading him to start developing new talents to hunt down her killers while evading every nation's governmental forces. I had no clue whatsoever this is in fact a remake of a 1981 film bearing the same name but I'm happy the direction this film goes probably does differentiate it from the original. 40 odd years of cinema upgrades notwithstanding the sheer crux of this being a revenge flick where the hero doesn't have the nerve to actually pull a trigger is fascinating and Rami Malek is very believable in the role, using his meticulous mind and scientific know-how to eliminate his targets is neat to watch even if it might lean a notch towards Jigsaw type deaths. But the motivation is strong, it does have drama to it when it comes to the relationship between this guy and his wife who was taken far too soon, and while it doesn't dwell on it long it dwells on it just long enough. In fact the entire pacing of the film is quick, clean, and direct like a bullet where we get the pertinent information and not much time is wasted on even side stories, this is a very streamlined film clocking in just at 2 hours with credits and foes exactly what it sets out to do. I like the country hopping aspects which keeps it fresh and varied, the action is very limited but has weight to it and consequences, the score is quite nice, the acting is just right across the board, and it does make for an interesting sit. Even after the main conflict was over I was still a fair bit uneasy about the actual ending right before credits, cause well...I don't trust american government offices that much especially leaning towards the military/espionage branch. It's a good movie that's worth seeing either at the cinemas or at home, I give it 2.5 stars, 7.5/10! And if my calculations are correct, next week we reach one of my most anticipated films of the year.

Death Of A Unicorn

Weirdest damn ending I have seen in considerable time!

But bless A24 for just existing. If you've seen the trailer for this movie, it is exactly what is advertised! A dark comedy centered on a single dad and his daughter who meet with a very affluent family after ramming into a unicorn on the road and have the bright idea to bring the mostly dead creature with them, until bodies start getting gored by the big mama of the family. I would claim fucking white people as to why there are so many consecutive horrible decisions in this movie but I can much more safely say fucking rich people, oh big shock there that they continuously rape a situation from bad to worse but my dear lord I have rarely seen a cast of characters so utterly contemptable and annoying in all my years. When there's only two characters I like, Wednesday and Victor Zsasz we got problems! Yeah, even Paul Rudd is a tool of the highest proportions which on one hand I commend to see him as this not 100% altruistic guy like usual but oof, he was getting zero love from me from almost the word go. Not to say the acting is bad, quite far from it! Do I look like the kind of Dude who is going to be upset seeing Richard E. Grant in anything? Him, Tèa Leoni, and Will Poulter play these self serving rich asshats so incredibly well with good humor sprinkled in, that I kinda forget I'm watching actors. It's that Umbridge Effect as I like to call it. It's actually funny how if you took the bloody as hell kills and swearing out, this is almost shockingly like a low effort family film, this distant work addicted dad gets to grow closer to his daughter after harming a mythical creature that these money grubbing swine that he works with want to capture and profit from the magical beast but they stop them in the end, hooray! Which is either unintentional genius or they knew what kind of tone they wanted and just cranked up the adult elements. But it's an okay movie, the dark humor doesn't hit constantly but certainly had it's moments, the setting is simple and it does have pretty scenery, the soundtrack once again was kinda doing it for me, the effects are solid and the way they kinda get free reign to make up the magic abilities of the unicorn was fun, and the story while simple still worked. I think I do see it more as a movie that gets a bigger crowd years down the road once it hits video, but it's worth a watch at the cinemas if the trailer striked your fancy a little bit. Far from their best but decent stuff! 2.5 stars, 7/10, and that about does it for a good while until the next new release comes out so be safe, be good people, and I'll see you at the movies.