The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Season 1 (2022)

 

Thousands of years before the events of The Lord of the Rings, Middle-Earth was in a time of relative peace.  The fallen god Morgoth has been cast down by the might of Elves and Men.  His Orcs are scattered, and his great lieutenant, the dark lord Sauron, is missing, believed dead.

Believed dead by most, that is.  The young Elven commander Galadriel is one of the few who believes that the dark lord is still lurking, rebuilding his strength for a new conflict.  Galadriel's insistence on this point, in fact, drives a wedge between her and the other elves at exactly the time they need to be unified: the light that sustains their people is dwindling, and the days of the elves in Middle-Earth may be dwindling.

Meanwhile, in the bucolic lands of the Harfoot people, the lives of these small, secretive nomads is disrupted by the arrival of a stranger, a man who looks human but who fell from the sky like a star ...

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power attracted considerable controversy when its first trailers appeared, as bigots frothed and ranted about the casting of non-white actors.  The usual pack of hateful clowns tried to review bomb the series as a result, and also harassed the actors online.  Neither the actors not the show deserved this, of course, but decency is not a factor in the behaviour of racists.

I do think The Rings of Power does have some issues, but none of these are the casting.  The actors are consistently good in their roles, because of course talent has no relation to skin melanin.

Instead, the show's biggest issue is its pacing.  The plot development in the earlier episodes is rather too deliberate and slow, while the intermittent ambitious action sequences feel like a not-very-successful attempt to inject more verve into the pacing.

Around episode four, however, the show's disparate threads begin to coalesce and the story picks up impetus.  It's helped greatly in this regard by Morfydd Clark's great performance as Galadriel, as she slowly begins her metamorphosis from brash, arrogant warrior to wise, far-seeing leader.  The deeper I got into this first season, the more and more engaged by The Rings of Power I became.  Which is honestly the reverse of my experience of Peter Jackson's films.

One thing the show gets right from the very first moment, however, is its production values.  It looks and sounds amazing throughout.  Having recently re-watched the Lord of the Rings movies, it's very evident how much film effects have improved over the two decades since they came out.  The Rings of Power consistently looks more convincing and more fully realised than the films.  The only exception to this is that it is a bit more lax with its use of forced perspective to make its dwarven characters look shorter than the elves with whom they interact.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is something of a slow burn, but once it gets going it works well.  Give it your time.

Memory (2022)

 

Alex Lewis is a contract killer living in Mexico.  He is suffering from early onset dementia, but a combination of medication and his own condition management techniques have so far allowed him to continue to work effectively.

Alex's latest job includes two assassinations.  The first is Ellis Van Camp, who has made a copy of information that the criminal cartels do not want revealed.  Alex completes this kill and collects the information ... but then discovers that his second target is a young girl.  He refuses the job, stating his conviction that kids are off-limits.

Of course, the cartel (a) has other assassins, and (b) very little patience for a hitman who doesn't perform his assigned hits.  Alex finds himself in a battle both with his former employers, and with the FBI, who have linked him to the killings.

Can one aging man with a debilitating disease really find some kind of positive outcome to this situation?

Memory is chapter I'm-not-sure-what of Liam Neeson's "Deadly Grandad" career arc.  And hey, more power to the guy: he's had a lot of success in the action drama.  This film, however, is not one of those successes.  This is not in any way Neeson's fault, mind you.  His performance is as solid as always, and - speaking as someone whose father suffered from the same condition - his depiction of early onset dementia felt authentic.

The film's problems are with the script.  First of all, it lacks a villain that's engaging.  Monica Bellucci would absolutely be up to the task if given the opportunity, but she is simply not on screen enough to do so, and the movie fails to prevent any other alternative. While the film is not short of bad guys to hate, it doesn't give any of them the depth or opportunity to really engage the audience, or put them in a situation where they can be overcome in a satisfying climax.

More generally, the film is drab and grim and a bit depressing. Its thesis appears to be that the wealthy have the resources to ensure that the law does not apply to them, so the only way to punish such people is with vigilante violence.  I understand the frustration of the feeling that the rich are immune to the consequences of their bad actions, but there are better approaches to addressing this than murder.

Killjoys, Season 5 (2019)

 

"The Lady" of the Hullen has managed to re-enter our world, and has used her ability to control human memories to seize control of every planet in the Quad.  Dutch, D'Avin, Jonny and almost all the rest of the Killjoys crew are now among her victims, believing themselves to be very different people and living other lives.

Fortunately, I did say almost all.  D'avin's son Jaq - the half-Hullen, half-human hybrid The Lady so desperately desires to control - is still free and on the run, as his his step-mother Delle Seyah.  And closer to home, Zeph has broken free of the Lady's conditioning and is trying to understand why her memories are so conflicted and confused.

But these are small glimmers of hope, and even if Zeph, Jaq and Delle Seyah can stay free and win more allies, The Lady doesn't keep all her (literal or metaphorical) eggs in one basket.  Thwarting just one of her plans won't be enough to save the Quad.

Overall, this final season of Killjoys continues the show's "odd-numbered seasons are the good ones" pattern.  Zeph in particular is awesome; the addition of Kelly McCormack's character as a series regular in season 3 was definitely a smart decision by the writing team.  She does a great job here as both "crazy" Zeph, struggling to cope with a world that makes no sense to her, and as something much closer to her normal self once the team remembers the truth.

Even the seemingly inevitable "the main characters go to space prison" and equally inevitable "the prison has a plot-critical fight club" sections of the season - seriously, these must be among the most over-used narrative elements out there - are executed much better than such things usually are. Credit for this I think goes to the writing team for making the prison's Warden a much more nuanced and interesting character than they usually are in such arcs.  Credit also to Rachael Ancheril for her performance in the role.  She has good chemistry with the main trio, which really helps their scenes together work well.

This is not to say that the season is flawless, though.  As a 'final boss' threat that has been built up for the entire run of the series, The Lady is honestly a  little bit underwhelming as a threat.  She makes a number of what at best could be described as 'sub-optimal' decisions.  There does seem to be an theme that being in a human host is affecting her, to explain this; her inexperience with the emotions of her human host are affecting her in ways she does not understand and struggles to control; but I still feel like she comes across a little underwhelming, overall.

I will give Alanna Bale a thumbs up for her performance in the role, though. She does a good job of conveying both The Lady's arrogance, and the emotional turmoil she is desperately (if not very effectively) trying to control.

Overall, this was a decent conclusion to the show.

Prey (2022)

 

In 1719 in the Great Plains, Naru, a young Comanche woman trained as a healer, dreams of becoming a great hunter like her brother, Taabe.  While tracking deer with her dog, Sarii, she witnesses bright lights in the sky which she interprets as the Thunderbird, a sign that she must prove herself, despite the resistance of her family and fellow tribe-members.

Of course, we know that those lights are actually a Predator spaceship, and the hunt that Naru and her brother are about to commence a far more dangerous hunt than they could ever imagine.

And that's without even factoring in the arrival of another, hitherto unknown threat: European fur traders who have no more compunctions about killing a couple of Comanche than they do about slaughtering herds of Buffalo ...

I consider the original Predator to be one of the great "must see" science fiction films, but the franchise has rather struggled since that first entry.  Other movies in or related to the franchise have attracted at best mixed reviews.

Prey finally reclaims the heights achieved by the original film.  It is an excellent new entry into the Predator franchise. It smartly sets out to capture the feel of the original while featuring enough of its own distinctive elements to set it apart, as well as action set-pieces that update the (by modern standards somewhat limited) fight choreography of the original.

The film is anchored by Amber Midthunder's excellent performance in the lead role of Naru.  She has great on-screen charisma and makes the most of all the opportunities the narrative gives her to shine.  And there are plenty of those opportunities.  The script-writers have recognised that the key to creating tension is to give us characters about whom we care, rather than simply empty spectacle.  They smartly ties the whole narrative tightly into Naru's personal journey.  Every fight thus carries immediate, identifiable and important stakes.

Prey also does a good job of handling the fact that it is the latest entry in a well known franchise.  It includes many small call-backs to the original, giving long time fans those 'I got it!' moments which evoke well-liked associations with the original, while keeping them incidental enough that first time viewers won't feel like they are missing anything, and also without devolving into an obvious pastiche of the original.

The film also looks great on every level.  It has solid special effects, varied and well-executed action choreography, and makes excellent the use of the Canadian wilderness.

Hunt this one down.

Werewolf by Night (2022)

 

Monsters stalk the shadows of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Hunters stalk those monsters.

For years, the leader of these Hunters has been Ulysses Bloodstone, but with his death, the position is now open.  Five experienced monster hunters, including a man named Jack Russell, are summoned by Ulysses' widow, Verussa, to Bloodstone Manor. There, they are instructed to participate in a competitive hunt to determine their new leader, who will wield the powerful Bloodstone. Gate-crashing this competition is Ulysses' estranged daughter Elsa, who - despite Verussa's clear hostility - also demands the right to compete for the Bloodstone.

The hunt begins in a large maze on the grounds of the manor, with a captured monster that has been implanted with the Bloodstone as the hunters' quarry.  Kill the creature, retrieve the Bloodstone, become the boss.

It all seems very straightforward, except that not everyone at the hunt is there for the reasons they pretend ...

This Marvel special presentation is a one-hour one-shot that draws a lot of inspiration from - and includes a lot of references toward - the Universal Films monster movies of the 1930s and 1940s.  As an aging, long time film geek, I enjoyed and appreciated these elements.  I do wonder how of it they will translate for a younger, more casual audience.  While I think that Werewolf by Night is entertaining on its own merits, I do wonder if people will be confused by some design choices when they don't have the context of those (now nearly 90-year old!) films.

The most obvious design choice coming from this inspiration is that the show is filmed almost entirely in black and white.  I think it's a good choice.  It looks great overall, with lots of excellent shadow work.  It also allows the show to really highlight the Bloodstone, which is left a bright ruby red and thus really stands out in the footage.  It also allows the final coda of the film to be in colour, providing a nice contrast to the gloomy proceedings that preceded it.

It turns out that Werewolf by Night is as much Elsa Bloodstone's story as it is that of the titular character. Elsa is played by Laura Donnelly, who was one of the two best things about Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands (Ed Speelers was the other, thanks to actually having a character arc to work with).  I hope we will see more of her in the wider MCU - possibly in the upcoming Blade movie?  I certainly don't intend to take anything away from the rest of the cast in this, though - everyone does a good job.

Overall, this is a howling good time.

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019)

 

The Lego world finds itself under threat from bizarre invaders from another realm.  These attacks leave great devastation, and the realm of Brickburg has become "Apocalypseburg", a ruinous, devastated wasteland populated by grim, hard-bitten survivors.

Well, by grim, hard-bitten survivors and Emmet, who somehow still manages to stay upbeat.  Possibly because he hasn't quite grasped the seriousness of the situation.  Certainly, that's everyone else's perception.

Even Emmett's positivity will be tested, however, when the invader General Sweet Mayhem kidnaps all of Emmet's friends, including his love interest Lucy, and takes them to the shape-shifting empress of the "Systar System", Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi.

Emmett sets out in pursuit, but is knocked off course and nearly killed.  Only the last-minute intervention of the rugged adventurer Rex Dangervest saves his life.  The duo team up, determined to thwart whatever evil plan the Queen is hatching.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first Lego Movie.  I thought it was a very clever, and a huge amount of fun.  This sequel is ... okay.  I didn't dislike it, but it didn't quite hit the same heights, for me.  While it did feature plenty of clever jokes and exciting adventures, there are a couple of flaws that detracted from it, for me.

One of these is that the setting of this film is much less grounded in Lego itself.  I loved the original film's use of both Lego's infinite capacity for reconfiguration, and its fundamental abstractions from reality, to create the literal 'building blocks' of Bricksburg and its inhabitants' lives.  This second film uses lot of other kinds of toys as well, all of which are significantly less versatile.  As a setting, this melange is technically more varied, but to my mind less interesting.

This film also includes many more 'real world' elements and footage included here than the first film; we're regularly reminded that the characters are experiencing the 'in fiction' version of real world events.  I'm not a huge fan of this.  It's a risky thing to remind the audience that what they are seeing is not real, and I really don't think I have ever seen it pay off.  Reminding the audience 'this is all toys' does tie in to certain specific plot elements later, but it also underlines that certain other plot-points make no sense if the Lego world is not real.  You can't have it both ways, movie.

Ultimately, I thought this was decent, but I did not like it anywhere near as much as the first.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022)

 

Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Walters just wants to focus on her legal career and isn't really interested in becoming a superhero. But when your cousin is The Incredible Hulk, you don't always get a choice in these things.  In this case, accidental exposure to her cousin's blood leaves Jen with her own case of a burly, super-strong, green-skinned alter ego.

On the plus side, Jen doesn't have anywhere near the anger management issues of her cousin.  Life as a woman has taught her a lot about controlling her negative emotions.  So she figures she can just continue living her life as she has been.

That works about as well as you might expect.  A superpowered influencer named Titania attempts to trash Jen's courtroom in a big to escape her own trial. One 'Hulk out' moment later, the escape attempt is over; but so is Jen's case and her career as a public prosecutor.

Jen finds her only job offer is from the firm Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg & Holliway, which specialises in cases involving superhumans.  And they want 'the She-Hulk', not Jennifer Walters.  Oh, and her first case is to try and win parole for her cousin's former adversary, The Abomination.

Things can't get worse from here, right?  Well, unfortunately for Jen, this is the 21st Century, and there are always to tear down and humiliate powerful, successful women.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law blends elements of two different runs of Marvel's She-Hulk comic.  One is the series where she was a lawyer who happened to have super-powers.  The other is the series where she knew she was in a comic book and would often break the fourth wall to talk to the writer or the audience.  The show similarly has Jen pause the on-screen action to directly speak to the audience.

Acknowledging the audience can be a risky technique to employ.  It's not uncommon for people to find that it jars them out of their suspension of disbelief, for instance.  And some people find it reduces their emotional connection because the characters are acknowledging that it is 'fake'.  Still, there are plenty of cases where it has worked, often in comedies; which She-Hulk definitely is.

Directly addressing male privilege and toxic masculinity are also risky things to do; if you mock man-babies, they will react badly.  And indeed, they predictably lost their minds about this show and tried to review bomb it.  Thereby rather proving the show's point, if you ask me.

Overall, I thought there was a lot to like about She-Hulk.  Tatiana Maslany is predictable excellent in the lead role, demonstrating once more her exceptional range and adaptability.  She is ably supported by the rest of the cast, as well.

I also liked that the show makes clear that Jen wants to be accepted and respected for her purely human abilities, such as her intelligence and hard work, and not just for the super-powers that have been dumped into her lap.

There were a lot of complaints about the visual effects, particularly She-Hulk herself.  In my opinion, these are overstated, and probably at least in part stem from the above-mentioned man-baby review bombing: complaining about special effects rather than the "toxic masculinity is a problem" themes gives plausible deniability about why the review bombing is happening.

Do I have any complaints?  Just one, really.  The show's finale ties heavily into the 'breaking the fourth wall' aspect of the series, and it certainly went in a direction I did not expect. I can't say that I liked it very much, honestly, and I was not alone in this. I thought it was an unsatisfying way to resolve things.

On the other hand, I know some people really did like - it is definitely a controversial choice that has provoked a lot of interesting discussion - so you may really enjoy it.

Even though I didn't much care for the final episode, I enjoyed the show overall am I glad I watched it.  I would certainly give a second series a shot.