Marvel's The Defenders Season 1 Netflix Series Review

Marvel's The Defenders (2017-)
Season 1 - 8 episodes (2017)

Watch Marvel's The Defenders on Netflix
Developed by:  Douglas Petrie, Marco Ramirez
Starring: Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter, Mike Colter, Finn Jones,Sigourney Weaver, Jessica Henwick
Rated: TV-MA

Plot
Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist team up to fight crime. They each have their own series, now they're together.
Sigourney Weaver plays the villain.

Verdict
This brings four heroes together, but doesn't go anywhere. This season could have been three or four episodes, and that would have been a benefit. There's nearly an entire episode of them sitting in a restaurant talking. What this season needed was an enigmatic villain. Weaver does a great job, but she's too far removed from the action. The Defenders fight the hand, but it's hard to hate a faceless group. If The Defenders returns, it needs a good bad guy to rally our ire. Danny Bland... I mean Danny Rand being at the center of the story doesn't help either. Iron Fist may have ruined Netflix-Marvel properties for me.
It depends.

Review
I enjoyed Daredevil and Jessica Jones. Luke Cage had potential, but by the end I was barely paying attention. Iron Fist peaked in the first couple of scenes while OutKast was playing "So Fresh, So Clean."

The Defenders is inherently fun because it combines characters from four television shows. The best parts are when they work as a group to fight, but there is a lot of lead up to The Defenders teaming up as we catch up on each character. This pulls in all the side characters from the shows which often feels like unnecessary filler. Danny Rand being a major component doesn't help either. Iron Fist may have soured me on the Netflix-Marvel ventures. That might be the only accomplishment from the show.

Episode three finally gets going. That's a long time to wait before the plot unfolds and the super heroes are paired off. The show did a great job using color for each hero and maintaining their unique voices. They don't become a unified weapon, and I like the tension between them. The internal conflicts from their respective shows carries over. It's just strung out too long. Eight episodes is too many and the story feels the full effect. The Defenders are fighting the Hand again. They want to rule the world or something, who knows.

Sigourney Weaver does a nice job as the villain as the show weaves in hints that she's immortal. I don't think anything came of that, but by the end I wasn't paying much attention. She's once removed from most of the action, I don't know what her goals. Jessica Jones had an enigmatic villain with David Tenant's Kilgrave and the faceless hand just don't match up. Heroes can't be heroic without a good foe. The Defenders relies on its inherent qualities without delivering anything new or unique.

Colossal Movie Review

Colossal (2016)

Rent Colossal on Amazon Video
Written by: Nacho Vigalondo
Directed by: Nacho Vigalondo
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis, Austin Stowell, Tim Blake Nelson, Dan Stevens
Rated: R

Plot
Out-of-work and kicked out of her apartment, Gloria (Anne Hathaway) moves back home while news reports surface that a giant creature is destroying Seoul, South Korea. Gloria realizes she is somehow connected.

Verdict
Colossal is a great premise, but it doesn't quite deliver what it should. The explanation for this weird avatar is a cop out. I wanted the reason for its existence to be more introspective or to delve farther into the abuser-victim scenario that develops. It's almost there, but that could just be coincidence. The juxtaposition of genres makes this interesting by default. Mixing drama with Godzilla and not creating a terrible movie is an accomplishment itself, but the lack of depth and meaning behind the avatar is disappointing. It could be a manifestation of her anxiety, but there is just no foundation to that meaning. It gives me ample room to ascribe my own views, but a big revelation at the end to tie these two 'worlds' together would have helped. The only thing close to an explanation the movie provides doesn't track with the rest of the movie.
Watch it.

Review
Realizing that the creator of Colossal also did Timecrimes (2007) only heightened my interest. Timecrimes is a low budget but well crafted looping time travel movie. It showcases Vigalondo's skill as  there are no effects to hide behind.

This takes a while to get started, and even then then I wasn't quite sure what this is about. Is this about Gloria, Oscar (Jason Sudeikis), or a metaphor for how big our problems seem? For the bulk of the movie I was waiting for something to happen. There are moments of well done tension, but neither the movie nor the characters know exactly what to do for the majority of the run time.

This is pretty much a character drama with massive, monstrous creatures. It touches upon social media, but without providing anything new it's just a tired commentary. Gloria's friend Oscar becomes an interesting, though one dimensional character. We don't know what drives him. I have to assume unrequited love for Gloria though we never get an answer. The movie claims they were friends as kids but haven't stayed in touch after she moved away. He becomes petty, demeaning Gloria and his friends. His manipulation knows no bounds, and it gets really uncomfortable. He tells Gloria to drink a beer or he'll terrorize Korea. He knows she quit drinking, but Oscar has no regard for people whatsoever. He is using this strange avatar to force Gloria into doing his bidding. His villainy is subtle. At first he seems normal, but with this power he is taking full advantage.

Gloria's relationship with Oscar is built on them being friends, but the flashback in the beginning that slowly grows shows they weren't. The conclusion is that lightning created the weird situation in the movie. That's just not enough, less of an explanation would have been better. This is a manifestation of Gloria's anxiety to a large degree, but the avatar isn't a direct result of that. It's always been present, but only appears when Gloria is in a specific location.

This is almost an empowerment movie as Gloria stands up to her abuser, but the movie only hints at that. It's certainly creative and a fully confusing premise. There's a lot of untapped information about Oscar, leaving us to imagine why he is so cruel. Gloria concludes its because he hates himself, but that feels completely off. He's cruel sure, but I don't know how Gloria would back up the claim that Oscar is a product of self hate. Maybe he's discontent that he never left town or that Gloria left him behind. Maybe he finally likes wielding power. With his desire to control Gloria, she certainly seems to be at the center of his rage. I want this movie to give me some kind of foundation, and what it tells me seems wrong. It's a cheap explanation like the lightning. Vigolando knew we'd have questions and provides flimsy answers. That robs this movie of the power it could have had.

The central mystery is fine. Don't provide an explanation and have it a result of Gloria's anxiety that increases as we see who Oscar truly is. The movie just doesn't have a handle on him.

Disjointed Season 1 Netflix Series Review

Disjointed (2017-)
Season 1 - episodes (2017)

Watch Disjointed Season 1 on Netflix
Created by: David Javerbaum, Chuck Lorre
Starring: Kathy Bates, Aaron Moten, Tone Bell, Dougie Baldwin, Elizabeth Alderfer, Elizabeth Ho
Rating: TV-MA

Plot
Ruth (Kathy Bates), a lifelong advocate for marijuana legalization, is finally living her dream as the owner of an Los Angeles cannabis dispensary.
Joining her at Ruth's Alternative Caring are three "budtenders" that include her entrepreneurial twenty-something son and a very troubled security guard.

Verdict
In a world where television has gotten impressively ambitious, this stoner comedy is directionless. It invokes the typical and uninspiring stoner jokes, employing a laugh track just in case you forget to laugh. It's network television in design with R-rated language. After two episodes I had seen more than enough of this filler.
Skip it.

Review
This is a typical network sitcom that revolves around Ruth opening a marijuana store. The jokes are tired and obvious, fully relying on stereotypes. Ruth's son Travis is black, apparently just for the jokes. "Butterscotch babies" is a terrible joke that the show refused to leave behind. The laugh track is annoying. It's a shallow, network type comedy. It doesn't attempt genuine comedy, it's just a string of weed jokes.

This isn't without promise. The security guard and his PTSD were a potentially interesting plot. With this upstart business, we get a glimpse of Travis treating it like a start up and trying to market the store, but the show has no interest in that reality. The episodes are cut with a daily weed moment, a promotional video uploaded to an application like Youtube. These short segments are an attempt to be funny, but it doesn't play, much like the show.

I know what's funny, and the laugh track telling me jokes are funny when they aren't becomes obnoxious. The cast delivers lines geared to the laugh track, often pausing. This takes advantage of being on Netflix with R-rated language. I don't have a problem with language, but it's out of place on what is basically a network comedy.

Netflix is going wide instead of deep. I don't blame them for attempting to house a show for anyone and everyone, but this is filler at best and unwatchable at worst.

Jack Whitehall: Travels With My Father Netflix Series Trailer

Jack Whitehall: Travels With My Father (2017-)
Season 1 - 6 episodes (2017)

Jack Whitehall: Travels With My Father premieres September 22

Comedian Jack Whitehall takes his unadventurous father Michael, a former theatrical agent, on a a six week trip through Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Jack finishes the gap year trip started in 2009 cut short.

Travels with My Father was announced on August 21 with a video.

 

Damien Chazelle Creating New Series The Eddy for Netflix

The Eddy (TBA)
Season 1 - 8 episodes

The Eddy is a musical drama set in contemporary multi-cultural Paris revolving around a club, its owner, the house band, and the chaotic city that surrounds them. It will be shot in France and feature dialogue in French, English, and Arabic.

Damien Chazelle is executive producing and will direct two episodes. He received critical acclaim for Whiplash (2014), read my review. He won and Oscar and a Golden Globe for La La Land (2016), read my review.

Chazelle stated, "I've always dreamed of shooting in Paris, so I'm doubly excited to be teaming up with Jack, Glen and Alan on this story, and thrilled that Netflix is home for it."

Written by BAFTA Award-winner Jack Thorne (National Treasure, This is England, Wonder),  Emmy-winning producer Alan Poul (Six Feet Under, The Newsroom) will also executive produce with original music written by six-time Grammy Award-winner Glen Ballard (Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill, Michael Jackson's Bad).

Press release

Thursday Movie Picks: Television Edition: High School

Welcome to another Thursday Movie Picks, the weekly series hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves that consists of picking three films to fit the week's theme. 

It's the last Thursday of the month and that means it's time for another television edition TMP. The theme is high school and the struggle to pick three shows was real because I've seen so many, I didn't know which to choose.

The O.C. (2003-2007)

It follows the dramas of a group of (for the most) rich high school kids in Orange County, California. This is one of the first shows I watched and I loved it. I can't believe it has been 10 years since the final season. 

One Tree Hill (2003-2012)

It follows the rivalry both on the basketball court and in the heart of their friends of two half-brothers living in Tree Hill, North Carolina. I started watching this at season 3 I believe, but it was so good I checked out the first seasons as well. I haven't seen the last couple of seasons though.

Pretty Little Liars (2010-2017)

When the body of their missing friend is found, four high school girls must team up against A, a mysterious/anonymous figure who threatens to expose their deepest secrets. At the beginning it was great, then it all became too ridiculous and boring. I even stopped watching it at season 6 but then restarted it because they said season 7 would be the last. And it was. And it also was a disappointment. 

Y Tu Mamá También (2001)

Genres

Drama, Romance

Director

Alfonso Cuaron

Country

Mexico

Cast

Maribel Verdú, Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna, Diana Bracho, Andrés Almeida, Ana Lopez, Nathan Grinberg, Veronica Langer, Maria Aura, Juan Carlos Remolina, Daniel Gimenez Cacho

Storyline

After their girlfriends have left to travel through Europe, two friends, Tenoch (Diego Luna) and Julio (Gael Garcia Bernal) embark on a road trip with Luisa (Maribel Verdú), the beautiful wife of Tenoch's cousin (Juan Carlos Remolina).

Opinion

Iñárritu's is basically all the Mexican cinema I know and I love it. But his is not all the Mexican cinema which is why I decided to check out Y Tu Mamá También, one of Cuaron's earlier films and that also has been on my watchlist since the dawn of times. And I was amazed by it.

I read somewhere someone saying this was the Mexican version of American Pie. That couldn't be more wrong because this film isn't a stupid teen sex comedy, but a deep and very compelling drama about life.

Y Tu Mamá También is that kind of movie that doesn't need a plot, twists and all that to keep you engaged. It's the character-driven kind of film with impressive development and believable characters whose behaviours could be easy to relate to. The leading trio, Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna and Maribel Verdú, is at the top of their game and the performances are nothing short of fantastic.

Also, the film beautifully explores the relationship between two friends and the relationship each of them has with the woman they met while dealing with serious matters such as death either caused by diseases or road kill.

At last but not least, the film is a visual splendour and the credits go to the one and only Emmanuele Lubezki. 

30th European Film Awards - Film Selection

A few days back the European Film Academy announced the Film Selection for the current edition of this European film award.  The list with fifty-one (51) films features fiction films recommended for a nomination for the 2017 EFA awards and has 31 European countries represented plus no doubt that once again illustrates the great diversity in European cinema.

In the 20 countries with the most EFA Members, these members have voted one national film directly into the selection list. To complete the list, a Selection Committee consisting of the EFA Board and invited experts Péter Bognár (Hungary), Dave Calhoun (UK), Giorgio Gosetti (Italy), Christophe Leparc (France), Jacob Neiendam (Denmark) and Alik Shpilyuk (Ukraine) has included further films.

In the coming weeks, the over 3,000 members of the European Film Academy will vote for the nominations in the categories European Film, Director, Actor, Actress and Screenwriter. The nominations will then be announced on 4 November at the Seville European Film Festival in Spain. A seven-member jury will decide on the awards recipients in the categories European Cinematographer, Editor, Production Designer, Costume Designer, Hair & Make-up Artist, Composer and Sound Designer.

The 30th European Film Awards with the presentation of the winners will take place on 9 December in Berlin.

2017 Film Selection

A Ciambra, Jonas Carpignano, Italy, USA, France and Sweden
A Date for Mad Mary, Darren Thornton, Ireland
A Fabrica de Nada (The Nothing Factory), Pedro Pinho, Portugal
A Monster Calls, J.A. Bayona, Spain
Ana Mon Amour, Calin-Peter Netzer, Romania, Germany and France

Baba Z Ledu (Ice Mother), Bohdan Slama, Czech Republic, Slovakia and France
BPM (Beats Per Minute), Robin Campillo, France
Bezbog (Godless), Ralitza Petrova, Bulgaria, Denmark and France
Brimstone, Martin Koolhoven, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, Sweden, UK and Hungary
Du Vorsvinder (You Disappear), Peter Schonau Fpg. Denmark and Sweden

Estiu 1993 (Summer 1993), Carla Simon, Spain
Fortunata, Sergio Castellitto, Italy
Frantz, Francois Ozon, France and Germany
Frost, Sharunas Bartas, Lithuania, France, Poland and Ukraine
Happy End, Michael Haneke, France, Germany and Austria

Hjartasteinn (Heartstone), Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson, Iceland and Denmark
Home, Fien Troch, Belgium
In Zeiten des abnehmenden Lichts (In Times of Fading LIght), Matti Geschonneck, Germany
Indivisibili (Indivisible), Edoardo De Angelis, Italy
Insyriated, Philippe Van Leeuw, Belgium and France

Istambul Kirmizisi (Istambul Red),  Ferzan Ozpetek, Turkey and Italy
Jupiter Holdja (Jupiter's Moon), Kornel Mondruczo, Hungary and Germany
Koca Dunya (Big Big World), Reha Erdem
Kongens Nei (The King's Choice), Erik Poppe, Norway Denmark, Sweden and Ireland
Krotkaya (A Gentle Creature), Sergei Loznitsa, France, Germany, Lithuania and Netherlands

Lady Macbeth, William Oldroyd, UK
Layla M., Mijke de Jong, Netherlands, Jordan, Belgium and Germany
Moya Babusya Fani Kaplan (My Grandmother Fanny Kaplan), Olena Demyanenko, Ukraine
Nelyubov (Loveless), Andrey Zvyagintsev, Russia, Belgium, Germany and France
O Gios tis Sofias (Son of Sofia), Elina Psykou, Greece, Bulgaria and France

Ostatnia Rodzina (The Last Family), Jan P. Matuszynski, Poland
Pokot (Spoor), Agnieszka Holland and Katarzyna Adamik, Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Sweden and Slovakia
Powidoki (Afterimage), Andrzej Wajda, Poland
Rai (Paradise), Andrei Konchalovsky, Russia and Germany
Rekvijem za gospodu J. (Requiem for Mrs. J.), Bojan Vuletic, Serbia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Russia and France

Return to Montauk, Volker Schlondorff, Germany, France and Ireland
Sameblod (Sami Blood), Amanda Kernell, Sweden, Denmark and Norway
Tarde para la Ira (The Fury of a Patient Man), Raul Arevalo, Spain
Testrol Es Lelekrol (On Baody and Soul), Ildiko Enyedi, Hungary
The Killing of a Sacree Deer, Yorgos Lanthimos, Ireland and UK

The Party, Sally Potter, UK
The Square, Ruben Ostlund, Sweden, Germany, France and Denmark
Toivon tuolla puolen (The Other Side of Hope), Aki Kaurismaki, Finland and Germany
Tom of Finland, Dome Krukoski, Finland, Germany, Sweden and Denmark
Un Beau Soleil Interieur (Bright Sunshine In), Claire Denis, France

Un Juif Pour L'exemple (A Jew Must Die), Jacob Berger, Switzerland
Ustav Republike Hrvatske (The Constitution), Rajko Grlic, Croatia, Slovenia, Czech Republic and Macedonia
Ucitel'ka (The Teacher), Jan Hrebejk, Slovakia and Czech Republic
Vor der Morgenrote (Stefan Zweig-Farewell to Europe), Maria Schrader, Germany, Austria and France
Western, Valeska Grisebach, Germany, Bulgaria and Austria

Wilde Maus (Wild Mouse), Josef Hader, Austria

New in Theaters for September

A lot of movies are premiering in September, but only a few of them interest me. This is why they might be worth watching... or avoiding.

WATCHING

Kingsman: The Golden Circle (September 22, 2017)
The first movie was fully aware of the spy genre and James Bond and crafted a fun ride that often poked fun at spy movie conventions. The church fight was spectacular, and I'm expecting more of the same.

It (September 8, 2017)
Sometimes hype overcomes my reservations. This is one of those times. The original It, based on the Stephen King novel, is a classic. I'm hoping the budget allows for creative freedom but doesn't lead to making everything CGI and losing the gritty feeling a movie like this needs.

Granite Mountain Hotshots (September 22, 2017)
This is an action movie with firefighters starring Miles Teller, Taylor Kitsch, and Josh Brolin. I'm expecting something along the lines of The Perfect Storm and Lone Survivor.

Rebel in the Rye (September 15, 2017)
A biopic about author J.D. Salinger is a huge gamble, but with as cast that includes Kevin Spacey, Sarah Paulson, and Nicholas Hoult, I'll give it a shot.

AVOIDING

Flatliners (September 29, 2017)
Is this a remake of the Julia Roberts-Kiefer Sutherland movie from 1990? Why?

American Made (September 29, 2017)
The Tom Cruise missile strikes again on the heels of The Mummy just a few weeks ago. While Cruise makes entertaining movies, I have to wonder if this, like The Mummy, is made just to stroke his ego.

American Assassin (September 15, 2017)
Two Taylor Kitsch movies in one month? Friday Night Lights fans rejoice. While this does have the esteemed Michael Keaton, these two actors aren't selling me this time. Honestly, I'll probably watch it eventually. I have a healthy Michael Keaton appreciation and I watch more Kitsch movies than I should hoping he'll recapture that FNL magic. What's this movie about? It's in the title.

Adventure Time Season 1 Review

Adventure Time (2010-2018)
Season 1 - 26 episodes (2010)

Buy Adventure Time Season 1 on Amazon
Created by: Pendleton Ward
Starring: John DiMaggio, Jeremy Shada, Tom Kenny
Rated: TV-PG

Plot
A human boy named Finn with his adopted brother and best friend Jake the Dog, protect the citizens of the Land of Ooo from foes of various shapes and sizes.

Verdict
While certainly creative, it's almost too wacky. I prefer something more grounded, and I wasn't expecting Finn and Jake's unique adventures. It's my fault for expecting something more traditional, and upon a second watch I'd probably like this much more.
It depends.

Review
I've been on an animated series kick, finally watching the shows I've heard a lot about. I love Rick and Morty (read my review), and I really enjoyed Gravity Falls (read my review), but Adventure Time just didn't grab me.

The episodes are surprisingly short at just ten minutes. This is a strange show full of odd adventures, aimed at those with short attention spans.
Some of the episodes get emotional with surprising accuracy, but it didn't capture my fascination. It's a little too odd and weird for me. It might just be a show I need to revisit later. Watching this after Rick and Morty, which is incredibly clever, insightful, and crude, and Gravity Falls, which is wholesome and adventurous with exquisite animation didn't help either. When you compare anything to the top examples in the genre, it's going to suffer.

This is a show that isn't what I expected. I was hoping to watch this with my son, and I quickly realized that wasn't a possibility. While it's rated PG, it's really pushing the limits. I had double checked a few online reviews, and I don't agree with the numerous people claiming it's just fine for a child to watch, nor do I agree with the PG rating.

One day, and that day may never come, I'll return to the land of Ooo. I expect my second visit to be more enjoyable than the first.

Heroin(e) Netflix Documentary Trailer

Heroin(e) (2017)

Heroin(e) premieres September 12

In the face of the opioid epidemic in a West Virginia town, three women, a fire chief, a judge and a social worker, are giving their community a fighting chance in this documentary.

 

Long Shot Netflix Documentary Trailer

Long Shot (2017)

Long Shot premieres on September 29

Juan Catalan was arrested in 2003 for a murder he didn't commit. To save his life, all he had to do was prove he was one of 56,000 people at a Dodgers Game that night. That's where Larry David comes in. Footage from his show Curb Your Enthusiasm proved Catalan was at the game.

 

 

PODCAST 271: The Fury & Jennifer [Carrie Rip-Off Edition]

This week the Horror Duo take on a pair of films inspired by the success of Carrie. Forest shares his thoughts on another telekinetic effort from director Brian De Palma, The Fury. Cory reviews Jennifer, a a film that rips-off Carrie more closely.

CONTINUE READING

Baywatch (2017)

Genres

Action, Comedy

Director

Seth Gordon

Country

USA

Cast

Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, Alexandra Daddario, Kelly Rohrbach, Priyanka Chopra, Jon Bass, Ilfenesh Hadera, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Rob Huebel, Hannibal Buress, Jack Kesy, Oscar Nunez, Amin Joseph, Belinda, Izabel Goulart, Charlotte McKinney, David Hasselhoff, Pamela Anderson

Storyline

While babysitting an insubordinate former Olympic swimmer (Zac Efron), vigorous lifeguard Mitch Buchannon (Dwayne Johnson) must do some undercover work to find out who's selling a new synthetic drug on his beach.

Opinion

Apparently, m.brown's review over at Two Dollar Cinema wasn't enough of a warning because I still decided to watch Baywatch. And it was exactly how I thought it would be, hundred percent trash.

I have never seen the TV show, only a few scenes here and there and they were enough for me to see how stupid it was (so it totally makes sense Hollywood decided to remake into a movie) and the movie is no different. The story is absolutely ridiculous, stupid, pathetic, cheesy, predictable and I think I'm out of adjectives to describe it.

And it's filled with equally terrible characters. They all are paper-thin and stereotypes. The men are all morons, the women are all smart and witty. I'm a woman and I love seeing witty women on screen, but these characters are just pathetic and insulting throward those movies that actually features smart female characters. Also, they are so bland, I couldn't care less about the predictable outcome of their mission. To be honest I was rooting for the villain. I'm not saying the villain was a better character, I just have a huge crush on Priyanka Chopra. I mean, isn't she hot and charming as hell? She was basically the highlight of the film for me.

The trashiest thing about this film is easily the humour. I haven't laughed a single time. Not even chuckled once. Almost all the jokes are old but not gold dick jokes. There are some gags, however, that I've seen for the first time but that didn't make them any better than the others. Like that scene where Zac Efron is touching a dead man's dick. How is that supposed to be funny?

Oh, by the way, that's pretty much it with the nudity. If you are a guy expecting to see boobies, well, you better pick another movie. Other than some over used slow motion, there's nothing to make you happy. 

Hunt for the Wilderpeople Movie Review

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)

Rent Hunt for the Wilderpeople on Amazon Video // Read the Book
Written by: Taika Waititi (screenplay), Barry Crump (based on the book "Wild Pork and Watercress" written by), Te Arepa Kahi (additional writing)
Directed by: Taika Waititi
Starring: Sam Neill, Julian Dennison, Rima Te Wiata
Rating: PG-13

My rating is simple, Watch It, It Depends, Skip it. Read my previous movie reviews!

Plot
A national manhunt is ordered for a rebellious kid and his foster uncle who go on the run in the wild New Zealand bush.

Verdict
A unique pair of characters make a story we've seen before entertaining enough as a man and his foster son run from the police. This is the type of movie that's usually incredibly bland. This is part comedy with a crazy cast of side characters fueling the adventure and an endearing dramatic duo in Ricky and Hec. Hec is the stereotypical Australian bushman while Ricky is a hip hop obsessed kid.
It depends.

Review 
Waititi's previous film was What We Do in the Shadows (2014). As I state in my review, it's understated, hilarious, and incredibly quotable. His next film will be Thor: Ragnarock (2017). That's an incredibly varied group of movies.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople is a character driven drama. It has quirky characters, and while it's not a comedy, it's funny in the way real life can be funny. Two outcasts are brought together, learning from each other and their situation. It sounds like a tried and true premise. It is, but Waititi creates great characters with a hip hop obsessed kid and his backwoods guardian. They develop a real bond. The movie doesn't tell us this, it shows us.

When foster child Ricky (Julian Dennison) is threatened with being removed from his current home, he comes up with a plan to evade child protective services. His plan is dark and hilarious. He creates a dummy of himself and attempts to burn it, resulting in the barn burning down. He and Hec (Sam Neill) end up in the brush for six weeks, though it didn't seem that long. At this point you know their odd couple pairing will form a friendship. Six weeks is a long time for Ricky to be in the wild when he's used to creature comforts. He seems to handle the situation rather well.

Ricky is a fun character. He's earnest and well meaning, but fully retains the naivete of a kid. The cabin scene when Ricky explains they've been in the woods and the hunters think Hec has been abusing him is hilarious. Ricky is completely obvious.
Ricky and Hec feel real, but all of the other characters are overtly comedic, even the hunters in the cabin. The cop is inefficient at the least and the child protective services agent is well meaning but misguided. These characters would be right at home in an outright comedy, but only feel slightly out of place in this.

Game of Thrones Season 7 TV Review

Game of Thrones (2011-)
Season 7 - 7 episodes (2017)

Watch Game of Thrones on Amazon Video with Amazon Prime - Get a free HBO 7-day Trial
Created by: David Benioff, D.B. Weiss
Starring: Emilia Clarke, Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington, Sophie Turner, Lena Headey, Maisie Williams, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Aidan Gillan, Gwendoline Christie 

Plot: 
HBO's fantasy drama series adapted from George R.R. Martin's book series A Song of Ice and Fire follows the civil war of kings and usurpers in Westeros who wish to sit on the throne. The scale and scope of the story is staggering, fully realized with a large ensemble cast.


Only six episodes remain. Daenerys finally reached Westeros at the beginning of season seven. Winter has arrived after seven seasons, and the white walker threat is real and imminent.

Verdict
With a shorter season this season moved quickly, in pacing and sheer physics. Everything that's been coming for the past six years is coming into place. Characters that have never met finally share the screen, and there are many reunions. Episodes four, five, and six are a great run. The show has maintained the focus from season six and just gotten better.
Watch it.

Review
If you just want to read my season eight speculations, scroll to the end. If you want to read my episode by episode recap, click here.

This season may be peak Game of Thrones. It's full of milestones and reunions, even if the real threat has yet to start. That threat is so close now. The first episode of season eight will have to deal with the undead army.
 Season seven was putting the pieces in play, but it didn't feel static. It had great character development, big set pieces, and lots of excitement.

My Game of Thrones interest had begun to wane around season four. The cast and lore had just gotten so large that you needed a list of the characters. Episodes often felt like a clip show as each one tried to cram in all the characters. I never abandoned the show, but by enthusiasm had decreased. Season six changed that, refocusing the story. It did away with an unnecessary character (Ramsay Bolton), and put us on the course to the end. Ramsay's virtue to the show can be debated, but we always knew he wouldn't be the enemy at the end. He served to develop other characters, but the show never did him justice as  real character. He was a puppet.

Six years of drama are now converging. Not only that, this show is correcting any deficiencies. The pacing is perfect, and the focus has narrowed. We're heading to the end, whatever that may be. There's no more filler. Now, it all matters. There are still many characters that require a cheat sheet to keep track of, but this show is firing on all cylinders. Even if you don't know a character, the show keys you in on whether they are important.

Episode three

Jon is desperate to protect Westeros and forges an alliance with Daenerys for dragon glass to create weapons. It's a testament to how big this show is that Jon and Daenerys are first sharing screen time after six seasons. There were lots of hints at Jon's heritage and the feelings developing between the two Targaryens. Season six revealed Jon's parents.
Cersei still thinks she can retain the Iron Throne. In her defense, she's still there. Daenerys is ready to make her claim to the throne. With all of her might she didn't put up much offense. Both Tyrion and Jon cautioned her against violence, urging her to be a fundamentally different ruler.

Episode four - Arya and Brienne

Episde four was big, the kind of episode that usually closes a season.. The living Stark children are reunited at Winterfell, what a milestone.  The two female warriors Brienne and Arya square off, and best of all a dragon is unleashed in a battle. It's a devastating battle.

Episode five was a great followup, developing the Jon-Daenarys relationship and showing Daenerys Jon is unafraid of dragons. There's a lot of characters speculating about the ruler Daenearys might be. It also starts the Sansa-Arya plot line that wraps up in episode seven. The biggest thing is that it sets up episode six, the journey beyond the wall. The only way to prove the white walker threat is real is to bring a wight to Cersei.

Episode six

Episode six goes North of the wall to capture a wight and prove to the Lannisters there is a larger threat. While the pacing and focus has been improved, this episode highlights one of the problems with fewer characters, the writing has to drastically reduce travel time to make stories work. No longer do we abandon characters until the next episode. This is good and bad.
Gendry was able to run back to the wall in twenty minutes after what seemed like a multi-day trek. A raven flew to Dragonstone to Daenerys and Daenerys rode a dragon to North of the wall in one night. The physics don't add up, which put a damper on a compelling story.

Episode six - The night king

Episode six - The wight dragon

The show gave us a huge clue that killing the night king could singe handedly destroy the entire wight army. The problem with that aside from the army and lieutenants between the night king and everyone else is that the night king now rides a wight dragon.

Cersei and Qyburn thought they had built a crossbow that could kill a dragon. It didn't. Thinking dragons just couldn't be killed, episode six gave us a shock.

Episode seven - Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow (Targaryen)

Episode seven was full of reunions. We haven't seen this much of the cast in one place since the first few episodes of season one at Winterfell.

Winter is here. Season 7 has ended and we must wait for 2018 or 2019 to see the final season of Game of Thrones. If it follows the typical schedule, we should see it in April of 2018, but the final season is understandably different. Don't think the final six episodes mark the end of Game of Thrones, once the final season is done HBO plans to investigate multiple prequels with one of them developed enough to turn into a series.

Speculation
My speculations for season seven were hit and miss. While I predicted that despite being a Targaryen Jon Snow still wouldn't hold the iron throne, so far I'm right. He's never wanted to be a king. While he has the best claim now that we know he's not a bastard Targaryen, I don't think that's going to change for him. He's made his choice to follow Queen Daenerys. While the show is teasing he may sit the throne, I don't buy it. That and Daenerys is determined.

I predicted Euron Greyjoy would make an early exit in season seven, and I wasn't wrong, though he did come back in episode seven only to leave again.

I predicted Arya would create more chaos than she actually did. I was sure she'd trim the cast, and while she did off a few characters, she was more subdued than expected.

I predicted the Stark children would reunite, and what do you now. Sansa, Arya, and Bran ended the season all in Winterfell.

Will the show figure out what to do with Bran? Season six made his visions flashbacks which offered some energy, this season he flatly states whatever viewers need to hear. It's just boring. He has the ability to warg, but hasn't used it to any effect. At one point he saw the wight army approaching, but shouldn't he be keeping tabs on that? Shouldn't he have been scouting when they broke through the wall to end episode seven? For someone that knows everything, he isn't used to any great effect. Couldn't Sansa and Arya have used him in their Baelish plight?

I expected Daenerys to sweep across Westeros before the white walker invasion, but despite a battle here and there, she didn't make much progress other than a truce. I speculated that Daenerys might not make it to the end, and I stand by that. That might be the fire Jon Snow needs to conquer everything. Then again it's a quaint image to have Jon and Daenerys as King and Queen when the series concludes. Sansa is still my pick as queen, but I think a dragon born is more likely.
Cersei is still around, but I don't see her lasting. My predictions of who would live were right, but my death predictions were off. There wasn't a lot of dying in season seven, though I did call Baelish.

So what's going to happen in season eight? Cersei is in a pretty safe spot initially, breaking an oath to fight white walkers while staying behind in King's Landing. The rift between Cersei and Jamie is growing. Jamie might be the only one to stop her.

At some point Jon and Daenerys will discover their relation. They won't like it, may refuse to accept it, but eventually they'll have to. Daenerys will be concerned about Jon's legitimate claim, but he will give it up to her.

There are going to be a lot of glorious, going down in a blaze of glory main character deaths. The show isn't going to leave much on the table. Houses will fall. HBO is developing a number of prequel stories with new actors. They can't do spin offs because I don't think many characters will be alive at the end.
There are a couple redemption stories in the making. Theon has had the roller coaster ride and he's going to attempt to save his sister. I expect he'll die, but at least he finally did something. Unfortunately there are too many other more interesting characters, so his story just doesn't matter.
Jamie is another character with extreme highs and lows. He's going to be the only one to stop Cersei. We don't hear him called king slayer as often, but his final moniker will be kin slayer.

My predictions are that Sansa, Tyrion, and Bran will live. Everyone else is a tossup. Cersei, Daenerys, Jamie, and Jon won't make it. Prove me wrong season seven!

Jeff Dunham: Relative Disaster Netflix Comedy Special Trailer

Jeff Dunham: Relative Disaster (2017)

 Jeff Dunham: Relative Disaster premieres on September 12

American ventriloquist, producer, and stand-up comedian Jeff Dunham has also appeared on numerous television shows, including Late Show with David Letterman, Comedy Central Presents, The Tonight Show, and Sonny With a Chance. He brings his rude, crude and slightly demented posse of dummies to Ireland for a gleeful skewering of family and politics.

Stranger Things Netflix Series Level Up video

Stranger Things (2016-)
Season 2 (2017)

Stranger Things Season 2 premieres on October 27

Ahead of the season 2 premiere, this video overlays 16 bit video game RPG styled text and interface over scenes from season 1. The Hawkins gang fills their inventory and levels up before landing a critical hit on the monster. The video ends with the text, "to be continued."

The release date for season two was confirmed in July with the comic con trailer releasing later that month. A Super Bowl ad ran back in February.

Season one was set in 1983 where a mother tries to find her son after he disappears mysteriously in the small town of Hawkins. Check out my review.
Season 2 is set one year later, and is more of a sequel than continuation. There will be more scenes in the upside down world, more monsters, and additional settings.
The Duffer brothers have confirmed season 3, and are planning a season 4 as the last season.

All of the original cast is returning, including Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) while adding two new regulars - Max and Billy.  Billy (Dacre Montgomery) is a black Camaro driving bad boy and Max (Sadie Sink) is his tom boy step sister.
Sean Astin will play Radioshack manager Bob, a high school classmate of Joyce (Winona Ryder) and Sheriff Hopper (David Harbour).
Paul Reiser is Dr. Owens from the Department of Energy, a suit tasked with containing the events from last year.
Roman (Linnea Berthelsen) is an emotionally damaged woman that suffered a loss as a child. She is connected to the lab from season 1.

The Duffer brothers and many writers from season 1 will return.The Duffer brothers will draw inspiration from '80s action-adventure sequels, namely Temple of Doom, The Empire Strikes Back, Aliens, and Terminator 2.
Finn Wolfhard who plays Mike suggested watching The Goonies, Aliens, and Ghostbusters in preparation for season 2. 

'71 (2014)

Genres

History, Thriller

Director

Yann Demange

Country

UK

Cast

Jack O'Connell, Richard Dormer, Charlie Murphy, David Wilmot, Sean Harris, Killian Scott, Sam Reid, Barr Keoghan, Paul Anderson, Jack Lowden, Martin McCann, Babou Ceesay, Corey McKinley, Paul Popplewell

Storyline

Accidentally abandoned on the streets of Belfast in 1971, a young British soldier (Jack O'Connell) must survive the night alone and find his way to safety.

Opinion

I've been meaning to watch '71 for a very long time but always put it off because of its storyline. Eventually Jack O'Connell got the best of me and I finally watched it. Jack O'Connell is the only reason why I don't regret watching it because it's pretty much a mess.

I know very little about Northen Ireland's history so I thought this film would be a great opportunity to learn more, but it just wasn't the case. The storyline, although heavy, was interesting but the execution is terrible. The plot doesn't see to go anywhere, there are too many pointless subplots, it is very confusing and therefore not only I didn't learn anything about the Belfast conflict, I also struggled to understand who was fighting who basically because there are too many characters that looks pretty much all the same. Also, comparing this to other similar films I've seen, I feel like '71 doesn't really show what people were going through back then.

Something I did appreciate was the director's choice to focus on the emotional side of the story and character rather than the action which, by the way, was decent. The hand-held camera was annoying at times, but during the action sequences, it gave more realism to the film. 

At last, there's the only thing truly worth watching this film for, Jack O'Connell's performance. His portrayal of the lost soldier is incredible. 

Message from the King Review

Message from the King (2017)
Watch Message From the King on Netflix

A South African man travels to Los Angeles to avenge his younger sister's death, uncovering the seedy underbelly of the city.

Ward: 2
Eric: 2
Rod: 2