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My Adventures with Superman (2023)
Should not be called Superman
I read through a few reviews before even attempting to watch this. I'm not too fond of the idea of changing the gender or race of long-established characters regardless of motivation. I gave them a pass when they race-swapped Jimmy Olsen for the CW series Supergirl because the actor doing the part was likable.
This cartoon version of Jimmy is not likable and in no way resembles "Superman's pal", in looks or behavior, etc.
This brings me to the drawing style reminiscent of Teen Titans Go. I understand they want to convert Superman is young, and still learning and discovering, but the childish, amateurish art style does nothing to enhance the narrative, in fact the opposite, it makes the viewing less enjoyable.
I couldn't even manage to get 5 minutes into the first episode and I gave up on it.
This show, despite the promising premise, is a complete failure in my book.
57 Seconds (2023)
57 Seconds
After watching this movie I have many questions.
1. How much money did they have to pay Morgan Freeman to appear in this?
2. Did Morgan Freeman lose a bet that meant he had to do this movie?
3. Who wrote this & decided 57 seconds was a good amount of time to use as the primary plot device?
Those are just the three that came to mind first.
The lead actor is okay, but not particularly memorable for any reason. The same can be said for just about every other person in this film. The only reason I even considered watching it and continued to watch it past the first 15 minutes was because of Morgan Freeman.
The idea of being able to go back in time is intriguing, but I have seen other movies and television shows exploit the idea better.
In summary, It's always worthwhile and enjoyable to witness Morgan Freeman act, or even just to hear him speak. Sadly not even his level of charisma and acting ability & star power can save this movie.
The Rookie: Feds (2022)
Good idea in theory
I have watched and enjoyed The Rookie from the start. It has a good mix of comedy, action, and drama and the cast works well together.
I've only managed to struggle through 4 episodes of The Rookie: Feds so far (mostly because of the crossover storyline I wanted to see the actual ending to).
Sadly somebody decided after her guest spot on The Rookie, in what I believe is known as a back-door pilot, to give Niecy Nash her own series, with the same basic premise. I would agree the idea is a good one, with the exception of one major flaw...casting Niecy Nash as the lead.
Ms. Nash has no charisma, her voice and personality are grating. Her only qualities that would suggest how she managed to land the role to begin with, are her breasts, which are far too often prominently focused on in clothing no federal agent would wear (unless undercover in some sting involving the sex trade).
Far too often, almost every other time she speaks, her first words are "back when I was a guidance counselor..." as if that previous profession gives her magical mythical insight into the minds of dangerous criminals and fugitives the likes of which the F. B. I. Usually hunt down.
If they did away with the character of Simone Clark and toned down the absurd family/relationship melodrama the show would be infinitely more enjoyable and garner higher ratings I'm sure.
I'll probably struggle through watching the rest of the season, mostly for any further guest spots by more likable characters from The Rookie but I won't be surprised or upset in the least to learn this show gets the axe.
NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service: Kompromat (2023)
A nod to the past
Maybe not the best episode of the season but definitely one of the best.
One simple reason. An appearance by wise old Ducky.
He gets less than 2 minutes of shared screen time with Palmer, Parker and McGee, via video in MTAC. Yet despite the short duration he manages to make a reference to his character from the old TV show The Man From U. N. C. L. E.
There's a lot more of a story in this episode than some of the previous ones (the one involving Parker's dad). It references and tries to tie up loose ends from previous shows involving Russian spies. No need to worry too much if you missed those episodes the major plot points are rehashed in the NCIS bullpen similar to how they usually go over suspects and known associates.
NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service: Unusual Suspects (2023)
The Alden Parker Show
(Cue the canned audience applause as Alden Parker finally appears on screen holding severely unhealthy plants).
Sarcasm aside, this is 2 episodes in a row now more focused on Parker than anything remotely Navy related.
At least the previous episode had more sound reasoning for digging into his backstory & introducing more characters. In this case we get to meet his dad. We don't need to meet his dad. All of the interactions with his dad could have been just as effectively conveyed via phone conversations where we only get to hear Parker's side of things.
The more the writers or producers try to force Parker on me the more I miss Gibbs. I think Parker is fine, just let him play to his strengths, be the elder team leader who delegates and lets the well oiled NCIS squad he's inherited do what they know how to do.
Get back to Navy/Marine related crime/mystery solving or cancel the show and let us relive the glory days by watching reruns of past seasons.
NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service: Old Wounds (2023)
A bit more about Parker
While it may not qualify as a filler episode there's not really anything here to drive the overall story along. Instead what we get is a little more explanation of how and why Parker came to be the multi hobbyist pastry king of the NCIS franchise.
Cue the intro of his old F. B. I. Partner, who as fate would have it years ago ended up in a wheelchair after their last case together. This we are led to believe is the fault of the episode's bad guy of the week, another link from Parker's pre-NCIS past. A supposedly reformed drug dealer turned tech company CEO.
It seems to be a recurring theme of this season in particular to have one-off episodes where one of the team has to deal with some sort of demon in their past coming back. The only minor deviation from that plot device was when Nick was dealing with his alcoholism and turned to Dr Grace for support, thereby allowing the subplot to show her own past demons and how she dealt (or failed to deal) with them.
Parker is a capable agent and leader and likable, but he'll never be anything more than a placeholder for McGee or Gibbs orDiNozzo (if either of the latter 2 ever return to the series).
My only real complaint about this episode was that Parker years ago accidentally shoots his partner, and his partner somehow manages to cover it up. I find it very hard to believe that the F. B. I. Didn't recover the slug after whatever surgery was performed & immediately trace the forensic ballistics back to Parker's service weapon.
The Flash: A New World, Part 4: Finale (2023)
The end of The Flash
Nine years. I've watched every episode of The Flash from the start. Even the sappy, less than worthy ones (which counts for most of season 9 sadly).
I've watched and re-watched crossovers and guest starring spots of him on Arrow, Supergirl and vice versa.
The chemistry and camaraderie of The Flash and the Green Arrow was and always will be a joy to witness. Likewise the interactions with Diggle and Felicity and Supergirl.
It's so sad to see such a great show and hero go from such heights to ending at such a low.
They brought back nearly every one of Flash's major negative speed force baddies for a big winner take all showdown and true to recent form, instead of allowing the title hero do most of the battling the sidekicks of "Team Flash" unbelievably pair off against them and in a matter of moments take them all down, when previously these "Big Bads" were the arch villains of entire season arcs.
It would have been nice to see Cisco make an appearance near the end when everyone was celebrating, but apparently it was impossible due to scheduling and other commitments.
On the one hand I'm sad that the show as a whole has ended but on the other I'm glad they ended it before doing any more damage to the character or his legacy.
The Flash: A New World, Part 2: The Blues (2023)
Another wasted episode
Only 2 episodes left in the final season of The Flash & the powers that be decide "let's just do another show where everybody but the Flash has a shot at saving the day".
These are all fine actors and actresses, but they should stick to their prescribed role of supporting cast, aka sidekicks. An episode here or there, 5 or 6 years ago, whenever these newer characters were first introduced to help showcase their abilities would have been fine, but less than a handful of episodes left to wrap up the entire series and this is what they decide to do?
I will continue to watch this show until the very end because despite how they are treating the title character, I believe the show deserves a chance to prove they can do an ending worthy of the hero the Flash grew into and became.
The Flash: It's My Party and I'll Die If I Want To (2023)
Finally
After eight episodes of mostly downs and spinning our wheels going nowhere, we get the much longed for return of a favorite. Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen/The Green Arrow/The Spectre.
As fun as this episode was it would have been even better as a 2 or even 3 parter. Bring in even more cameos of others from the Arrowverse like Cisco, or another variation on Harrison Wells.
The fight scene choreography was top notch. It was great to see Stephen Amell again and witness his charm and chemistry with Grant Gustin. It had me smiling to see Oliver once more admonishing Barry for somehow messing up and still standing by his side to fix it & remind him he's a hero and his friend.
If only this were nearer the beginning of the season and not instead almost the series end. Far too many filler episodes with little to no substance or advancement of overall story or character development to this point.
Overall though a very enjoyable outing.
The Flash: Wildest Dreams (2023)
Wildest Dreams
Was the episode title, but it could be more accurately named Wasted Time.
The series is called The Flash, named after the title character who is considered rightly so by many to be among DC's most powerful heroes...and yet here we are halfway through the final season of the show and he doesn't even get a single second of screen time. Instead we get the civilian alter ego, Barry Allen, and a guest appearance by a supporting character from the Supergirl franchise, Dreamer.
To make matters worse, or less interesting, Barry doesn't even figure into the main plot or even the secondary one. He's a throwaway character.
Wildest Dreams easily ranks at or very near the top of all time worst.
The hero doesn't attempt to use any of his speed, or powers, doesn't even suit up once.
There is only one small saving grace of this episode. Danielle Panabaker as Khione.
True Grit (2010)
A Watchable Remake of a Great Film
As other reviews have stated, this version of True Grit is nearly word for word, and scene for scene a rehash of the John Wayne version.
There are some scenes from the original that have been left out, while not essential, they do help to more fully explain some of the interactions and behavior of the characters.
Jeff Bridges is a very talented actor and well deserving of his many awards and nominations through the years. However having said that, I don't think he, nor anyone else can ever portray Rooster Cogburn, without being compared to the larger than life John Wayne.
Hailee Steinfeld brings more depth to her rendition of Mattie Ross than Kim Darby did in the 1969 film. Likewise Matt Damon, shows more range to the character of LaBoeuf than Glen Campbell did previously.
Overall this movie deserves a spot on the list of well made westerns, but falls short of the mark if it hopes to be better than the original. There is really only one reason this movie isn't as good, in my opinion. The 1969 version has John Wayne...this one does not.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Subspace Rhapsody (2023)
Once was enough, never do it again
Star Trek is many things but one thing it should never attempt to be is a musical. I can appreciate the studio or the writers or whomever decided "we need a musical episode". They wanted to go outside the norm, try something different, but this strays far beyond anything Star Trek is intended to be, IMO.
This episode did little, if anything to advance any story lines, subplots or character development. The musical numbers and even the singing itself wasn't without some small measure of enjoyment, but they didn't need to be there. It all felt so forced.
I echo the sentiment of another reviewer that mentions musicals best left to shows with a better track record of comedy and light heartedness. Shows like Lucifer, or Supernatural, where unexplained outbursts of song could be forgiven and even expected.
In the end I gave this episode a generous 3 star rating. One star each for three separate little things.
1. The cameo by Bruce Horak as the Klingon General Garkog, who gave me flashbacks, courtesy of the eye patch, of another fine Canadian actor, Christopher Plummer and his portrayal of General Chang.
2. The inclusion of the snippet of the original Star Trek theme, at the conclusion of the crew ensemble number.
3. Uhura's apology of "sorry, ear worm" just evoked another involuntary but humorous flashback of poor Chekov having an alien worm tunnel into his ear.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022)
Better than Discovery
At the time of writing this review I have so far watched season one of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and episode two of season 2.
SNW is by leaps and bounds much better than Discovery in my opinion (and in essence that's all this review is, my opinion, should you choose to agree with, dislike it or whatever).
I somehow made it through the first season of Discovery and two or three episodes of season two. At that point it became impossible to watch or somehow convince myself this was or should in any way be connected to anything Trek, past, present or future.
Strange New Worlds, by contrast gave me a familiar feeling. It does its best to connect to older fans of TOS like myself by including favorite characters like Spock, (played by Ethan Peck) while still introducing new ones such as Hemmer (played by Bruce Horak) to the mix.
Is SNW perfect? No, but no show is, not even the much heralded and revered Original Series.
Looking forward to at least a few more episodes like episode 2 of season 2, Ad Astra Per Aspera & maybe a little less of those in the vein of season one episode seven's The Serene Squall.