1st Reviews

  All good things must come to an end, and last night, one of the greatest series of all time took a stunning final bow. Season four of Succession is a near perfect season of television, giving us exceptionally fitting closure for the Roy family, and the legacy we’ve watched them build (and destroy) over the past five years. The sharp and quick witted writing we’ve come to expect from the series is even sharper in this final outing. One of the most beautiful things about the way it’s written, is that even when the business jargon goes over your head, the show is never hard to follow because of the characters. Yes, this is a show about a massive media conglomerate, but it’s always been more about personal motivations and familial conflict. Even when you’re lost listening to the terminology they toss around, you’ll know exactly why these people make the choices they do. The performances are the knot that ties it all together, and honestly, I can’t think of a better acted show current...

  There have been many Stephen King adaptations over the years; some have been better than others.   The Boogeyman   is unique because it is a short story in King’s anthology series   Night Shift.  Co-writers Scott Beck, Bryan Woods and Mark Heyman adapted a 10-page story into a feature film, which turned out well. The lore of the boogeyman has been around for decades, and King added depth to what the creature did. The boogeyman is meant to prey on children, but it does prey on weakness in this adaptation. After Lester Billings (David Dastmalchian) walks into Will Harper’s (Chris Messina) office to seek therapy, the creature that killed his children and terrorized his family passes through to Harper’s home. The boogeyman needed to feed on a new host.  Life has been hard for Sadie (Sophie Thatcher) and Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair) Harper. They recently lost their mother in a car accident, and their father hasn’t opened up to them. Adding this backstory for the...

  Eco-political thrillers often find their activist messages overpowering the thrills, or, in simpler terms, they can come across too preachy to be engaging. Despite a crystal clear stance on its subject matter, How to Blow Up a Pipeline delivers the adrenaline rush you’d expect, and rarely feels like a story with a political agenda.  Just as the title states, the movie finds a group of environmental activists (or terrorists depending on your own political viewpoints) as they plan to blow up a pipeline, sending a message to the oil companies polluting the world. The viewer is thrown directly into the culmination of their efforts, with backstory and character motivations being filled in by flashbacks throughout. This narrative structure gets your heart racing immediately, as you know the basics of what’s going on, but almost none of the fine details.  Even with those character focused flashbacks, this is a lean thriller that gets right to the point and rarely takes a momen...

  When two families come together to celebrate the union of their children, it’s always a wonderful thing. A good old family comedy is scarce in this cinematic climate. Sebastian Maniscalco decided to retell the story about growing up with his father and how he was his hero. Sometimes people can lose their way because they’re so set on building their own life away from home that they forget their parents have lives too, and we need to share them with them. Maniscalco honoured his father, Salvo, by casting Robert De Niro to play him and make him as charming as ever.  About My Father  has Sebastian (Maniscalco) ready to propose to his girlfriend Ellie (Leslie Bibb) over the Fourth of July weekend. Ellie’s parents are officially comfortable with him because they extended the invite to their White Oaks Country home for the festivities. When Sebastian visits his dad, he kindly asks for his late mother’s ring, but Salvo wants to meet the family face-to-face. Ellie’s family is w...

  Arnold Schwarzenegger is an icon, starring in some of the biggest, boldest and best action movies the 80’s and 90’s gave us. Here he is, decades later finally making his television debut in FUBAR, which sadly doesn’t come close to the kind of fun its titular acronym alludes to.  One of the benefits of a platform like Netflix, is that its content doesn’t have to conform to the boundaries that network TV shows face. I’m not saying all streaming shows need to be chock full of f-words and nudity, but FUBAR occupies a weird kind of in-between space, never sure if it wants to push ratings boundaries or play it safe. The show has a strange aversion to cursing in some episodes, subbing in words like “fluffin” for their harsher counterparts, but then it’ll go off in another episode with a handful of actual f-bombs.  Besides the occasional bad word, this show plays almost everything else incredibly safe, feeling closer to a dated, run of the mill network show than a premium strea...

  Disney’s live-action remakes have tried to recapture the magic of the animated features by changing some aspects. Fortunately, for some remakes, the reimagining of characters and musical numbers has worked in their favour. It’s difficult to translate a classic fairytale years later without losing some of the magic that made the original special. Rob Marshall’s  The Little Mermaid  redesigned iconic moments and modernized the love story between Ariel (Halle Bailey) and Prince Eric (Jonah Haur-King) for a new generation to enjoy. The beauty of the Disney vault means endless iterations of the films we all loved growing up while updating and changing them for new audiences.  The introduction of the wonderful Halle Bailey in her first leading role as a Disney princess held this film together. Bailey’s performance was charming, sweet, and overall lovely to watch. She embodied the role of Ariel and carried her spirit throughout. Bailey has always been a real-life princess...

  Starling Girl follows the story of Jem and her struggles to adapt to the norms and responsibility of her Christian fundamentals community.  It is  an interesting look into a modern young adult's beliefs clashing with those of the community around her.  Eliza Scanlan ( Jem Starling) is an independent woman who wants to make decisions for herself but is constantly finding herself at odds with; her church, her parents and her community when it comes to even the smallest of decisions in her life. She becomes in charge of her church dance troupe but soon realizes that she truly does not have any control over the style of dancing she and the team are allowed to do.  Her parents are also trying to court her into a relationship with their friend's son who is similar in age. All of these moments that show her that she truly has no control over her life, lead her to begin a rebellious relationship with her youth pastor, Owen. Owen has recently return...

  The  Fast  and Furious  franchise has gone on for ten films, and it’s hard to believe it has remained consistent. That doesn’t mean that it has been consistent in quality, but it has delivered a fun cinematic experience. As each film has been released, the stunts and missions have gotten more absurd. Sometimes the franchise can take itself too seriously, but now  Fast   X   (supposedly the beginning of a mini trilogy) is very self-aware, and that’s why it is the best one since  Fast  7 . It’s a bold statement, but   Fast   X   is a thrill ride from the beginning and doesn’t let up on the characters making fun of themselves. Like all the other instalments, this one had plenty of heart because of the love of family.   In this tenth instalment, Domenic Toretto (Vin Diesel) is very connected with his son Brian (Leo Abelo Perry) and shows him the ropes. Dom keeps mentioning legacy and what it means to pass down what he d...

  During lockdown, many people were in despair and tried to find ways to occupy their time. Some started learning a new instrument or another language. Others turned to movies and books to escape from this reality. In  book Club: The Next Chapter,  the four women who read  Fifty Shades of Grey  all those years ago reunite in this adventurous sequel. The film begins with the four friends in lockdown learning new technology and still taking part in their book  club through Zoom. Once they are free from lockdown, each of their lives changed drastically, and so did their perspective on life. Even though they read many novels during the lockdown, the one they decide to highlight is  The Alchemist  by Paulo Coelho to justify their decisions.  The novel pushes them to have the girl’s trip they never had, all because Carol (Mary Steenburgen) found an old ticket to Italy while she was cleaning. On top of that little omen, Vivian (Jane Fonda) is e...

  Crater is the newest direct to streaming film from Disney +. Set in the year 2257, earth has fully colonized many parts of the universe but our time is spent on a fully colonized lunar mining colony. Caleb  (Russell- Bailey) is to be permanently relocated to a faraway planet called Omega after the recent death of his father after a recent mining accident. With the overwhelming thoughts of losing both his parents in his life, he must also shoulder losing all of his friends.  Before leaving for Omega, Caleb must fulfill his dads wish to visit a crater. Using an upcoming meteor shower lockdown as a way out, Caleb embarks on an adventure to the crater with his three best friends, Dylan (Barratt), Borney (Hong), Marcus (Boyce) and a newcomer from Earth, Addison (Grace). The five kids steal a rover and escape the mining colony before the lockdown has commenced knowing nobody would come looking for them during this dangerous time. The kids know th...

  A   mother ’s love knows no bounds; she will do everything to protect her children. In   The   Mother ,  directed by Niki Caro, one   mother   is pushed to her limits to save her child. Jennifer Lopez plays an ex-assassin who uncovers   a     mob secret. She was involved with two men: Hector Alvarez (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Adrian Lovell (Joseph Fiennes), who were trafficking weapons and drugs. When she discovers their horrible secret, she runs to   the   FBI and warns them. Unfortunately, she is in danger, and Lovell finds her. In   the   opening scene, we find out she’s pregnant, and Lovell will stop at nothing to kill her and   the   baby. Fortunately, after   a   makeshift bomb, she escapes. But she is forced to put her daughter in   the   foster system to give her   a   fair shot at   a   normal life.     She asks FBI agent Cruise (Omari Hardwick) to k...

  The Muppets return in a new musical adventure in   The Muppets Mayhem . The Electric Mayhem Band goes on an epic musical journey to finally record their first studio album. During this process, they need someone who can navigate the music industry. So a junior A&R executive named Nora (Lilly Singh) proved to herself and everyone that she deserved to be part of this industry. The music industry has changed drastically since Electric Mayhem started, and the team has many challenges ahead this season as they try to integrate into mainstream music. Singh was a great choice as the human lead in this series because her high energy matches the Muppets in the band.  Electric Mayhem learns valuable lessons throughout this season as they try to go platinum. The Muppets have always been old-fashioned and used that mentality to make a difference in a new generation. Nora gives them that rude awakening that the world doesn’t work like that anymore, but they keep pushing their ag...