The Twelve Tasks of Asterix (1976)

The continued ability of one small Gaulish village to hold off the  might of the Roman Empire causes some to hypothesise that the Gauls must be gods.  Or demigods, at least.  Julius Caesar does not believe this: and why should he, with the way the Gauls tell every second person they meet that they have a magic potion?  He offers Vitalstatistix, who is the village chief, a challenge: if the villagers can complete 12 tasks he sets them, he will accept that they are gods and hand over the Empire to them.  If they fail even one, they must accept Roman dominion.

Vitalstatistix accepts and dispatches his smartest warrior (Asterix) and strongest (Obelix) to take on the 12 challenges, from outracing the Olympian champion to resisting the lures of the Isle of Pleasure to getting a form from the world's most Byzantine bureaucracy.

Openly inspired by the Twelve Labours of Hercules, this film is (so far) unique in the Asterix franchise in that it was based on original screenplay and later adapted into a comic book, instead of being adapted from page to screen.  It's also a bit out of the franchise ordinary in explicitly acknowledging itself as a film and repeatedly breaking the fourth wall.  This was apparently quite controversial when it was released, though over time the consensus has swung over to "it's a pretty fun film, so let it go".

I tend to side with the consensus on this.  I'm not 100% enamoured of some of the ways the "we know this is a film!" concept is used, but at other times it is rather clever and overall it makes for an enjoyable movie.  It's easily the most entertaining of the first three Asterix films, though it's certainly not without its missteps.

Eureka, Season 5 (2012)

The Astraeus Titan Mission crew return to Earth, but while it seems like moments for them, they discover they have been missing for four years prior, and that Eureka residents had considered them lost and things have changed dramatically in the time the team were away.

Or have they?

Eureka already threw a fairly significant 'reality change' at its cast and audience in season four, and you probably won't be surprised that the situation here is not quite what it appears to be.  Which is for the good, since it would have scotched some four-season-long plotlines in the space of ten minutes.

Unfortunately, at least in my eyes, what is going on is Consortium shenanigans.  I've always considered this by far the least interesting of Eureka's ongoing concepts, and nothing in this season changes my mind about that.  Quite the opposite, in fact, since I find the arc this season - and it does take place across the whole season - unconvincing and contrived, even within the context of the extreme and wacky Eurekaverse.

The cast remain likable and there are certainly plenty of funny moments and entertaining scenes in this final season, but for my money this swansong has way too many bum notes.  A rather disappointing conclusion, all told.

Prophecy of Eve (2014)

Eve's life is forever altered when her parents vanish without a trace after being attacked by supernatural agents. Growing up on the streets, Eve learns the art of self reliance. When she runs into the members of the mysterious 'Order' - a shadowy organisation to which her parents bore allegiance - several unanswered questions from Eve's childhood re-emerge. Why were her parents attacked? Who was their assailant? What is the source of her own supernatural powers?

Spoiler: none of these questions will be answered by this film, or frankly even matter.  Prophecy of Eve is a 10 minute prologue bloated out to 70 minutes through copious amounts of recapping, unrelated scenes, and slow-mo.  Probably in some part this last item is also to try to disguise the weakness of the action sequences.  It's not successful, though.

And I do genuinely mean it when I say that this is a just prologue; it flat out ends with "To Be Continued".  And sadly, this is actually better than if the ending of the film was actually intended to be the real ending, because it this was truly the end, it would be Dexter levels of bad.

This is badly acted, badly scripted, massively padded nonsense.  And not even fun nonsense.  Steer clear.

The Last Ship, Season 1 (2014)

The US Navy destroyer USS Nathan James is in the Arctic, operating under a communications blackout as they conduct secret weapons tests.  They're also acting as couriers for a couple of scientists who are studying birds.

Or so they think, up until the point that Russian special forces try to abduct the scientists.  The weapons test mission is just a cover, you see, and the scientists aren't in the Arctic to study birds at all: they're looking for the "primordial strain" of a highly lethal, highly contagious disease that is sweeping the world.  Quite how none of the crew were aware of this pandemic when it was apparently urgent enough to send people on secret missions to the Arctic is not explained.

Anyway, the whole world's dying and the scientist aboard this ship is the only one who has the primordial strain, and so might possibly be able to find a cure.  So off they all must sail to find the facilities and materials for her to do so, whilst also keeping themselves supplied and one step ahead of everyone else who wants the cure.  Since those people are foreign and therefore evil.

In 2020 after months of restrictions and hundreds of thousands of deaths, the idea of a pandemic-themed TV show may be a little on the nose, but back in 2014 it was an entirely theoretical concept, and this this program - very loosely based on a novel with the same name - came to be.  How loosely?  Well in the book the disaster is nuclear war, not disease, and the Russian characters are ultimately good guys, so ... very very.

So if we ignore the problems that the concept might have in today's situation, since the show really can't be held accountable for that, how is it?

Frankly, it's fairly mediocre, with overly familiar plot-beats and shallow characters.  It has also got a lot of problematic elements in its casting.  For one thing, Adam Baldwin is in it; for another, when you cast someone as the face of your evil social elite, you should maybe not cast an African American woman.

Furious 7 (2015)

Everything seems to be looking up for Dominic Toretto.  He's still rich from this team's Brazilian adventure, no longer wanted by the law, and he has the formerly-believed-dead love of his life back.  Heck, his best friend and his sister even got hitched and gave him a nephew.  All is roses!

Unfortunately no good deed goes unpunished and taking down international gangster Owen Shaw has put Dom and his team in the sights of Owen's older, meaner brother Deckard.  An elite special forces agent gone rogue, Deckard announces his presence by murdering one of Dom's friends (who we actually already saw die in the third film of the franchise ... the Fast and Furious chronology is a tad odd) and trying to explode Dom and his entire family.

Naturally, Dom growls something about mi familia and we're launched into another two hours of explosively over-the-top superheroic antics where everyone's superpower is "cars".  Unless they're played by Dwayne Johnson, in which case their superpower is "I'm the Rock".

Furious 7 caps off what is probably the best run of films in the franchise (everything from the 4th film to this one is great, gonzo fun).  Jason Statham is a fun antagonist, the original crew is still all together (actor Paul Walker unfortunately died while the movie was still filming, making this no longer possible), and they haven't quite yet reached the point of over-stuffing that arguably begins to creep in with number eight.

iZombie, Season 2 (2016)

Liv Moore is still a zombie, still eating brains to maintain her human intelligence, still helping to solve crimes with the visions said brain-eating provides, and still living with the twin fears of either (a) being outed as one of the undead or (b) a Romero-esque zombie apocalypse unfolding.

So no real changes, then?  Well, not entirely.  Her former fiance and her best friend both now know that zombies are real, and that Liv is one. Neither of them seem to be coping with this very well.  Oh, and there's the question of what happened to her nemesis Blaine; and what socipathic businessman (and inadvertent cause of zombiesd) Vaughn du Clark is up to; and who the guy going around murdering zombies is; and ... well, it's safe to say that Liv has even more worry balls to juggle than she did when she first woke up with an overwhelming hunger for brains.

Season two of iZombie builds on the first in satisfying ways, introducing several fun new characters and relationship dynamics and throwing a bunch of curveballs at the cast.  It remains darkly funny and enjoyable.  I'm not 100% convinced by the direction it seems to be setting up for season 3, but the show has definitely entertained me enough so far that I will be back to check it out.

Asterix and Cleopatra (1968)

Cleopatra and Caesar have an argument over whether or not the Egyptians are still a great people, despite being conquered by the Romans.  To prove her case, Cleopatra promises that her people will build a new palace within three months.  She summons Edifis the architect to lead the effort, promising him that he will be showered in gold if he succeeds, and fed to the crocodiles if he does not.

The hapless Edifis, recognising that the task is all but impossible, and with no desire to end up as a crocodile chow, immediately sets off to Gaul to enlist the aid of his old friend Getafix the druid.  Getafix, of course, beings his friends Asterix and Obelix along to help, and Obelix brings his canine companion Dogmatix along too.

Even with the aid of Getafix's magic potion, the Gauls will have their work cut out for them, as Edifis's rival Artifis is eager to see the project fail, and more than willing to help make sure it does.  As, indeed, is Caesar himself ...

Asterix and Cleopatra is the second film based on the famous French comic books, and the first to actually involve the creators of the series.  It is definitely a step up from the first entry, with better animation and voice acting, and more chuckles to be had.  I still can't exactly rave about it, though.  It definitely shows its age at times.

This is probably only for dedicated fans of the comics.  Everyone else can skip it, or just watch the best part: Artifis's Arsenic Cake Song, below.

Just don't blame me if you get an ear worm!

Lost Girl, Season 2 (2010)

Succubus Bo and her human best friend Kenzi have more or less settled into their new lives amidst the Fae community.  Fae, in case you have forgotten, are creatures with magical powers who keep their existence secret from most mortals.  They're divided into two factions, Light and Dark.

As something of an iconoclast, and having a lot more affection for humans than do most Fae, Bo has refused to join either faction, and makes her living working as a Private Investigator for both sides.  In practice though, it must be noted that she has rather more Light Fae friends than Dark Fae (and to be fair to show, the characters themselves do note this).

Just dealing with the Fae would probably be drama enough for anyone, but Bo also has to confront the fallout of a terrorist attack on the light Fae leadership, some very complicated relationship issues with partners both new and old, and oh just by the way, a potentially Fae-destroying threat that could see her and all her friends dead.  Bo is going to need to make some uncomfortable new alliances to save herself and those she cares about, this time around.

Lost Girl really feels like it has found its feet in this second season.  The individual episodes are fun, and the over-arching threat and themes are quite well executed.  It's the character relationships where it shines, though.  Bo's friendship with Kenzi, the complexities of her love life, and the rivalries and camaraderies of the supporting cast are all very enjoyable.

If you like urban fantasy and you haven't seen Lost Girl, check it out.