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24 Mar

The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers Review (Spoiler-Free)

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Get this: a new series based on an existing film franchise is hitting a streaming service this month. Shocking, right? With the streaming wars in full effect and beloved, existing intellectual property coveted by media conglomerates more than ever, it’s safe to assume that reboots, reimaginings, and retreads will be hitting Netflix, HBO Max, and Disney+ until the end of time. Everything old is new again. And again. And again. And again. Disney deciding to dust off The Mighty Ducks franchise is not the least bit surprising. If anything, it’s surprising that a reboot has taken this long. Perhaps the…
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22 Mar

Solar Opposites Season 2 Review (Spoiler-Free)

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This Solar Opposites review contains no spoilers. The aliens of Solar Opposites are like a classic sitcom family, sort of. They try to learn a lesson at the end of each episode, but they’re also opportunistic jerks with access to all manner of overpowered sci-fi technology, so the path to learning is always paved with a lot of human corpses They’re also very stupid aliens, so all they usually end up learning is that they’re stuck together on Earth. But they love each other …maybe? Kind of. In contrast with Solar Opposites’ creators Mike McMahan and Justin Roiland’s other show,…
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19 Mar

Invincible Review (Spoiler-Free)

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Ultra-violent superhero stories are anything but uncommon these days. But back in 2003, when Robert Kirkman’s Invincible debuted on comic shelves, it was unique in its juxtaposition of startlingly vivid violence and gore with colorful, Saturday morning cartoon imagery. And the violence wasn’t for show—unlike most popular superhero stories, characters in Invincible die all the time, and for the most part, they stay dead. The blood and guts splattered across the panels were a constant reminder that this superhero story had real stakes. Eighteen years later, Invincible is now an animated Amazon Original, with Kirkman attached as writer and executive…
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18 Mar

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Episode 1 Review (Spoiler-Free)

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Believe it or not, the kids call it the “Disney+” model.  While airing episodes weekly was the norm on television for just about all of history, the arrival of Netflix as the major streaming player changed everything. Since House of Cards premiered in November 2013 (or if we’re being pedantic since Lilyhammer premiered in 2012), the all-at-once model has reigned supreme in the streaming world, with outlets like Amazon Prime and Hulu following suit. To the delight of TV purists, Disney’s major streaming venture Disney+ has returned to the weekly episodic schedule, and was rewarded with massive, sustained weekly buzz…
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10 Mar

The One Review (Spoiler-Free): Not a Match Made in Heaven

Netflix, New DVD release, , ,
First, to clear the dirty plates from the table: yes, there’s already a TV series about a DNA-based dating app that matches people with their perfect partner. It’s AMC’s Soulmates, it’s on Amazon Prime, and premise aside, it bears no similarity to this new Netflix drama. Soulmates is a US anthology series, each episode of which tells a discrete story with a new cast and characters. The One is a UK serialised drama based on John Marrs’ 2017 novel – to which, incidentally, it also bears very little similarity. Call it convergent evolution, or just the way TV works.  (The team behind The One also made the…
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02 Mar

Pacific Rim: The Black Review (Spoiler-Free)

Netflix, New DVD release, , ,
This review contains no spoilers and is based on the first three episodes of PACIFIC RIM: THE BLACK season 1. Guillermo del Toro’s neon-drenched monsters-vs-robots epic Pacific Rim wore its influences proudly on its elbow cannon-equipped sleeves, so an anime-style spin-off makes a certain kind of inevitable sense. Pacific Rim: The Black is a seven-episode Netflix Original that seeks to expand the Pacific Rim mythology – think “extended universe” rather than “sequel”. Created by Thor: Ragnarok co-writer Craig Kyle and X-Men: Evolution head writer Greg Johnson, the show follows siblings Hayley (Gideon Adlon) and Taylor Travis (Calum Worthy) as they…
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27 Feb

Debris Review (Spoiler-Free)

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What if The X-Files or Fringe had a grand unified theory that attributed all of the mysterious phenomena its government operatives investigated to one cause? Such is the question posed by Debris, J. H. Wyman’s latest sci-fi offering premiering on NBC March 1. The series’ title refers to pieces of wreckage from an alien spacecraft that induce unexplained phenomena wherever they land, including the conveyance of powers coveted by dark operatives and hoarded by government agencies. It’s a compelling premise, but it looks like it may take some time to gel based on a preview of the pilot. That cautious…
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24 Feb

Superman & Lois Episode 1 Review (Spoiler Free)

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Hollywood has spent the last three decades trying to reinvent Superman. After the Christopher Reeve franchise fizzled with 1983’s awkward Superman III and 1987’s truly dreadful Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, there seemed to be a prevailing impression that the character was broken, and that audiences just wouldn’t respond to a traditional interpretation of the hero. Hence nearly two decades of development hell as increasingly unrecognizable Superman screenplays failed to get made, 2006’s uneven Superman Returns, and 2013’s moody and violent Man of Steel and its unfortunate sequel. Even on TV, at least in live action, it seemed like…
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19 Feb

Netflix’s Tribes of Europa Review (Spoiler-Free): Brutal German Sci-Fi

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The way that our world is headed, with natural disasters, global warming and political big shots at constant loggerheads, would it be that hard to imagine everything we know crumbling before our eyes? Netflix’s new sci-fi drama Tribes of Europa focuses on three siblings that set out to change the course of the world after a global disaster that happened 45 years prior to 2074, when the series is set. We’re not exactly sure how this dystopian, post-apocalyptic world came to be the norm. All that is revealed of what once was is the mention of ‘Black December’, when the…
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06 Feb

Clarice Review (Spoiler Free): No Hannibal, No Problem

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This Clarice review is based on the first three episodes and contains no spoilers. CBS’s new federal cop procedural Clarice is a little bit grittier than the majority of crime shows on network TV. It also flips the perspective on the mainly male POV of the genre. Both of these innovations can be attributed to the source material. The series is a sequel to the story told in Jonathan Demme’s psychological horror classic The Silence of the Lambs. It distinguishes itself from the film and the original book in two ways. The first is the crimes which are being investigated.…
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21 Jan

Fate: The Winx Saga Review (Spoiler-Free) – Tween Fairy Tale Wants to be Gen Z Potter

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This Fate: The Winx Saga is based on all six episodes and contains no spoilers. Fate: The Winx Saga, the newest YA fantasy effort from Netflix, is the live-action remake of an animated series that takes the story and pitches it at an older age group. There’s a magic school surrounded by gorgeous landscapes (courtesy of filming locations in Ireland), a group of students trying to uncover a conspiracy protected by the teachers, and more than a couple of secrets about the origins of our main character. If that sounds familiar, that’s because it is. The 6-episode series borrows liberally…
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20 Jan

Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous Season 2 Review (Spoiler-Free)

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This review contains no spoilers and is based on all eight episodes of Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous season 2. The stakes have changed with Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous season 2, moving from the frantic “get off the island before the ferry leaves” pacing of the first season to a survival-oriented, mystery-solving season where the dinosaurs get some kinder treatment. If you missed Season 1 but are familiar with the legacy of Jurassic Park, you are probably aware that the series revolves around a theme park with genetically engineered dinosaurs. If you’re familiar with the movie Jurassic World, Season 1 of…
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14 Jan

WandaVision Episodes 1 and 2 Review (Spoiler Free)

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Never let it be said that Marvel Studio doesn’t take chances. After an 18-month gap following the last film set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Sony/Marvel co-production Spider-Man: Far from Home, the Disney-owned content juggernaut is finally launching its highly-anticipated Phase 4 slate with…a black and white sitcom that looks like someone has used the Time Stone to port it to the present directly from the 1950s. Of course, we’re talking about WandaVision, which premieres this Friday on Disney+ with the first two of its nine episodes. As promised after months of hints, teases, photos, and finally trailers, WandaVision…
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14 Jan

Miss Scarlet and The Duke Review (Spoiler-Free)

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Masterpiece Mystery’s latest offering, Miss Scarlet and the Duke, gives viewers a taste of the darker side of Victorian London and a bold woman detective to root for. The show produced by A+E International along with Alibi UK became a cult hit last summer in the UK. Once fans get past the elements that break with the period mystery tradition, they will be rewarded with compelling mysteries and plots that challenge gender norms.  Eliza Scarlet (Kate Phillips from The Alienist) is the daughter of a retired officer and private detective. Her father (Kevin Doyle) taught her many of his professional…
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11 Jan

Search Party Season 4 Review (Spoiler-Free)

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This review is based on all ten half-hour episodes of Search Party season 4 and contains no spoilers. “But you told the truth, and the truth set you free…” Search Party debuted as a dark and provocative mystery and, even though each season has subscribed to that model, the show has evolved and become radically different each year. It’s not unusual for plot-heavy series to play chicken with their narrative in this way, but Search Party triumphs through each step of the progressively dark path that Dory heads down.  Search Party season 3 actively had the audience question if Dory…
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08 Jan

A Discovery of Witches Season 2 Review (Spoiler Free): Is the Magic Still Strong?

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If the first season of A Discovery of Witches was like cooler, sexier Twilight for grown ups then season two might be likened to the later, less sexy installments of that saga. There’s nothing that ruins a fizzy will-they-won’t-they relationship like the couple getting together and being happily in love.  Season two finds our protagonists witch Diana (Teresa Palmer) and vampire Matthew (Matthew Goode) hiding in time. Just beginning to get a handle on her considerable powers, Diana has discovered she’s a ‘timewalker’ and transported her and Matthew back to Elizabethan era London where the two plan to search for…
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29 Dec

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 4 Review (Spoiler-Free)

Netflix, New DVD release, , , , ,
This Chilling Adventures of Sabrina review contains no spoilers, except for some information that was presented in the series’ trailers. It is based on all eight episodes of season 4 that were made available to critics. “Once more into the fray, right guys?” Let’s just bottom line things right up front here: This is Chilling Adventures of Sabrina‘s strongest — and most entertaining — season. So naturally (in what is rapidly becoming the streaming giant’s signature move) Netflix canceled the series just as it reached its creative peak. The eight episodes of this fourth and final chapter of the Archie…
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23 Dec

Vikings Season 6 Part Two Review (Spoiler-Free)

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This Vikings season 6 part two review is based on all 10 episodes and contains no spoilers. Vikings has always been Ragnar Lothbrok’s (Travis Fimmel) story. First, we witnessed the rise of the man himself from farmer to visionary to earl to king to legend. Post-Ragnar, the show became an exploration of how Ragnar’s legend suffused and inhabited his sons, and the consequences of its interpretation upon enemies, frenemies, kith, kin and Kings the world over. And, now, the saga comes to an end with the second half of Vikings swansong sixth season, ten episodes that drip with all the…
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30 Nov

Big Mouth Season 4 Review (Spoiler-Free)

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This Big Mouth season 4 review is based on all 10 episodes and contains no spoilers. Part of the appeal of animated series is that characters can remain the same age and exist in a place of stasis that’s impossible in live-action. Netflix’s Big Mouth, however, is one of the few animated series that allows its characters to actually grow older because these changes are fundamental to the types of stories it tells. Big Mouth’s characters are at a sensitive age where a year can feel like a lifetime.  This passage of time allows Big Mouth to feel fresh and…
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23 Nov

Great Pretender Season 2 Review (Spoiler-Free)

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This Great Pretender season 2 review contains no spoilers. There’s absolutely nothing like being left in a dumbfounded stupor after a multi-stage con has been properly executed. Stories that revolve around conmen and grifters operate with a very specific kind of jubilation and when they’re done right there is no greater high. A perfectly planned con is no different than an immaculate magic trick or an effective third act twist. As much as cons involve the stealing of something valuable, they’re even more concerned with an understanding of human nature.  Great Pretender’s previous episodes have set a very high standard…
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DVD Guide reviews current dvd releases of movies and TV shows. The reviews of these dvd releases are my thoughts and understandings of the movie, dvd releases or TV show and not be taken as fact.

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