19
May
This The Handmaid’s Tale review contains spoilers. There’s really no such thing as understatement on this season of The Handmaid’s Tale, is there? This episode, and the ones preceding it, have played out at a deafeningly high emotional volume. Every speech is emphatic, every exchange is urgent and tear-filled, every decision is literally life or death. It’s a good job that Elisabeth Moss, Samira Wiley and the others are able to pull off this level of sustained intensity, because with a lesser cast or less controlled direction, the high drama could easily turn into melodrama. If not for the judicious use of pre-Gilead…
25
Mar
The mundane mingles with the supernatural in a enjoyably goofy episode. Riverdale Season 5 Episode 8 “It is better to know the truth and make peace with it.” In a bit of selfless wisdom, Cheryl states the above words to Betty in tonight’s bonkers installment. The context being that Betty doesn’t want to tell her mother that it looks like Polly is a goner. So she goes to Cheryl basically to inquire whether she feels that her cousin’s life would have been better had she not known Jason’s true fate. The from-the-heart response that Cheryl gives her is quickly ignored,…
18
Mar
This Riverdale review contains spoilers. Riverdale Season 5 Episode 8 “Am I crazy or have you been feeling the same way too?” Since Jughead’s narration opens most episodes with the most obvious observations possible, I’m going to return the favor by stating the following: Riverdale is not a series known for its profundity. Over its five seasons to date it has proven to be a dumb show that is more often or not done smartly. Or maybe its ability to constantly induce narrative whiplash has be semi-concussed and believing that the program is way better than it has any right…
16
Mar
This Black Lightning review contains spoilers. Black Lightning Season 4, Episode 6 The Ship of Theseus thought project asks if you replace all the parts of a thing over time is it the same thing or something else. There is no easy answer, except in the case of Jennifer Pierce, who is the same in all but appearance. A person is not just their body; they are the culmination of all of their experiences. And that persists even when the body is altered or damaged—or, in the case of Jen, unmade then made anew. Still the question has to be…
11
Mar
Riverdale meets The X-Files in a bizarre, hilarious outing. This RIVERDALE review contains spoilers. Riverdale Season 5 Episode 7 “Something very strange happened in Riverdale last night.” It’s increasingly difficult to review Riverdale because this remains a show that has transcended criticism. To be blunt, it just does not give a single fuck. Not that it has to at this point. We’re not even ten episodes into the series’ fifth season yet and the sheer volume of things happening right now is whiplash inducing. This latest episode featured, ahem, UFOs, serial killers, art forgery, irresponsible firefighting, ham-fisted commentary on contemporary…
09
Mar
This Black Lightning review contains spoilers. Black Lightning Season 4, Episode 5 This episode of Black Lightning is impressive, and it raises the stakes in several exciting ways. The family discovers Jennifer blew up in the ionosphere but Jefferson can feel Jen’s energy so he suits up and goes up there to absorb her. The amount of power is almost too much for him, but he is able to capture her particles. They are able to store Jennifer’s essence while they use a hadron particle condenser—which Barry ran over to them, off-screen naturally— to convert her energy to matter. (“I…
02
Mar
This Black Lightning review contains spoilers. Black Lightning Season 4, Episode 4 Black Lightning has been dealing in trauma for the entirety of its run and that has not changed in this, the final season. And while that can be exhausting, writers have used it to a mostly positive effect, driving the emotional core of the show. Jefferson has cocooned himself in his grief and he expels those feelings in fits of violent rage that have left more than one—admittedly deserving— person severely injured. Fighting in Lala’s illegal cage matches may have given Jeff an outlet, but he still carries…
23
Feb
This Black Lightning review contains spoilers. Black Lightning Season 4, Episode 3 Jefferson said in the season premiere, “Black Lightning’s dead.” In this episode, Jeff relinquishes his suit to Gambi, putting another nail in the coffin of his vigilante alter-ego. It’s one thing to have the suit and not wear it, and something else entirely to put the suit out of reach. Jefferson is unsure about a lot, but one thing he is sure of is that being Black Lightning endangers his family and wearing the suit does not protect them. When Marcel returns to work after grieving the loss…
18
Feb
Archie, Jughead, Betty and Veronica are back home, but will they — and Riverdale — ever be the same? This RIVERDALE review contains spoilers. Riverdale Season 5 Episode 5 “Spread the news far and wide that Riverdale and its children will not be at the mercy of Hiram Lodge’s destructive whims.” Of course, this being Riverdale, the above declaration by Toni was immediately undercut by the fact that, yep, once again the town and its children are at the Mercy of Hiram Lodge’s destructive whims. (It’s somewhat shocking an emo cover of “Once in a Lifetime” didn’t immediately begin playing,…
16
Feb
This Black Lightning review contains spoilers. Black Lightning Season 2, Episode 4 Nothing in Freeland is the same, but things are a lot like they used to be. Metas are no longer a secret, and Chief Lopez wants to register and tag them like domesticated animals. She is promising to bring in new DEGs (directed energy guns) which are specifically harmful to metas. The 100 and Kobra Cartel are warring in the streets, putting lives in danger, with gun violence and the drugs Lala’s crew pushes. The city is back to where it was when Black Lightning began, but more…
11
Feb
Riverdale reinvents itself as the fifth season properly gets underway. This RIVERDALE review contains spoilers. Riverdale Season 5 Episode 4 “To be honest, it doesn’t even feel like Riverdale anymore.” You can say that again Archie. Following three episodes originally intended for last year and a seven-year time jump, Riverdale‘s fifth season gets well and truly underway with an installment designed not so much with shaking up the status quo but reinventing it completely. To borrow the name of a Flaming Lips song — you just know NYC writer’s block-stricken Jughead listens to lots of the band’s output — suddenly…
09
Feb
This Black Lightning review contains spoilers for Season 4, Episode 1. Jefferson Pierce has had enough. His family barely survived the occupation of Freeland by the ASA and the proceeding war with Markovia, a year ago. He lost his best friend, Henderson. And both of his daughters, and his partner, were soldiers on the front line. Blood is on all of their hands, and Jefferson has to reckon with his responsibility in all of that. He couldn’t help being a meta as much as he couldn’t help passing on powers to his daughters, but being a vigilante was a choice.…
04
Feb
This RIVERDALE review contains spoilers. Riverdale Season 5 Episode 3 “Are we doomed to just be haunted by this town for the rest of our lives?” So asks Jughead Jones in this most emotional episode of Riverdale, and it’s a question that is uttered almost rhetorically even though we all know the answer. There’s a valedictorian feel to this installment in every sense, one that subtextually speaks of how the series is closing the door on what is what in order to reinvent itself. And friends, it’s arguably the most grounded episode the show has ever done…and maybe the best?…
28
Jan
This RIVERDALE review contains spoilers. Riverdale Season 5 Episode 2 “So now we have a preppy murderer on the loose…” The most valid criticism about Riverdale over the course of its now five seasons is how the series constantly drags out its ongoing mysteries, only to frantically race to wrap them up. Due to the pandemic, what was initially intended as last season’s big resolution episode just played out before our eyes and it was….kind of meh? Let’s examine the wrapping up of these various plots from most to least successful, shall we? As I speculated in last week’s wrap-up,…
21
Jan
This RIVERDALE review contains spoilers. Riverdale Season 5 Episode 1 “Clearly our last two weeks of high school are going to be fraught…” Friends, on this day we find this country starting a new chapter, one that is full of hope and excitement for the future. I am of course referring to the airing of Riverdale‘s season premiere, a somewhat wheel-spinning, melodramatic affair that feels more like the closing pages of a book than the start of another story. And that’s because it is precisely that. This episode was a leftover from last year, filmed but not completed production until…
02
Dec
Fortnite Chapter 2: Season 5’s Battle Pass is finally here, which means it’s time for parents everywhere to watch their wallets as children across the world prepare to throw money at Epic Games’ absurdly popular battle royale title. In all seriousness, the launch of a new season really is the best time to get back into Fortnite, especially if you’re going for all the new items. This particular season’s unlocks are highlighted by Mandalorian cameos, gladiators, anime visuals, and a mysterious being known only as Mancake. Here are the best Battle Pass unlocks for Fortnite Chapter 2: Season 5 that…
28
Sep
As HBO Max — the massive new streaming service launched by Warner Media this past summer — continues to add to its vast programming selection, this October bring a wealth of new horror titles to the platform just in time for Halloween. HBO Max not only has scores of horror movies already licensed to HBO from other studios, but the service can also delve deeply into the legendary Warner Bros. Pictures vaults as well. And one of the prized finds that will debut on HBO Max next month is a selection of classics from the storied library of Hammer Films.…
27
Aug
As teased for the past few days, the Marvel universe has returned to Fortnite, this time for a battle much bigger than last year’s Thanos Avengers: Endgame crossover. Fortnite Season 2 Chapter 4: Nexus War brings some of Marvel’s greatest heroes to face Galactus, the classic world-eating villain who threatens to devour the island once and for all. Iron Man, Wolverine, Storm, Mystique, Doctor Doom, She-Hulk, and Groot join Thor in a fight stop Galactus before it is too late. This story, which seems to be a tie-in to a Thor arc in the Marvel comics, was foreshadowed within comic…
23
Aug
Something big is coming to Fortnite. As we already discussed last week, teasers and rumors are pointing to some kind of big Marvel crossover for the game’s Chapter 2 Season 4. It’s not the craziest idea, especially since Fortnite previously brought Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet to its battle royale mode to tie into Avengers: Endgame last year. We already know that this event will revolve around Thor in some way, which is way more fitting than Thanos, considering how Thor played Fortnite in Avengers: Endgame with his Warbound brethren Korg and Miek. But Thor ain’t coming alone. The island…
