The cast of the hit sitcom Friends recently reunited for an HBO Max special. As far as TV pitches go, “six friends live in New York City and do friend things” is not exactly what many people would call inspired or exciting, yet somehow the world ended up getting 10[Read More…]
Author: T.J. Reid
Shadow and Bone fills tall order of high fantasy
For a genre that is bound only by what can be dreamt up in limitless imagination, there are a surprising amount of commonalities and suspiciously similar themes that often crop up in fantasy literature. Why is it that so many fantasy stories, for instance, seem to be set in eras[Read More…]
Stowaway tucks good moments into messy plot
Toni Collette, Daniel Dae Kim and Anna Kendrick tackle some tough questions in Netflix’s Stowaway. Our reviewer says the story requires viewers to make too many leaps of faith, but there are worthy moments along the way. “Do not grieve, Admiral. It is logical. The needs of the many, outweigh…”[Read More…]
Marvel bridges gaps into new, occasionally too familiar territory
Anthony Mackie’s Sam (Falcon) and Sebastian Stan’s Bucky (Winter Soldier) work through some bro issues in one of the laugh-out-loud scenes from Disney+’s The Falcon and Winter Soldier. (Photo courtesy Disney+) Out of all my many hobbies, the most taxing on my wallet has always been comic book collecting. Issues[Read More…]
Netflix art heist doc needs focus
One thing that I’ve always appreciated about streaming services is that they give film and television makers an unprecedented level of creative control that might not be possible through more “traditional” means. Free of outside pressures such as strict rating guidelines, the need to attract advertisers, and time constraints, platforms[Read More…]
A beast brawl free-for-all on HBO Max
When RKO released the cultural touchstone that is King Kong in 1933, the titular titan served as a dire warning of how man should not exploit nature or attempt to control it for selfish reasons. When our other favorite giant beastie, Godzilla, showed up 21 years later, he was a dark, serious[Read More…]
Netflix pirate doc is (AAARRGH) painful
Our reviewer says The Lost Pirate Kingdom is a mix of genres that fails to gel. When the Disney World first opened in 1971, there was one Disneyland attraction that was conspicuously missing: Pirates of the Caribbean. According to park lore, this was done because it was initially believed that Floridians would[Read More…]
Nomadland a meditation on restlessness
I was a sophomore in high school when The Great Recession hit, but if my future grandchildren were to ever ask me what it was like to live through such a historic time, the only thing I could respond with would be shrug. Not only was my past ignorance and[Read More…]
REVIEW: WandaVision, Marvel’s latest, tells un-herolike story, wows anyway
Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda Maximoff) and Paul Bettany (Vision) star in Disney+ first addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and set a high bar for everything to come. Here’s a not-so-fun fact for you: Thanks to some stupid virus that you’ve most likely heard of by now, 2020 was the first[Read More…]
Reviewer: Outside the Wire is more grind than gold
Anthony Mackie and Damson Idris star in Netflix’s Outside the Wire. We live in a world that has had flying cars and robots that are indistinguishable from humans for at least two years. This advancement has happened despite the perpetual war that has been fought by our totalitarian superstate for[Read More…]