Category: 2019
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Tony Denison is finally back. Not for very long in sort of a “let’s defer Tony Denison some more” way, but it’s nice he’s back. It gives second-billed but at least fourth in the show’s heart Wilson Bethel something else to do this episode besides prosecute extremely sympathetic non-binary young adult experiencing homelessness J.J. Hawkins…
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Something about this episode feels like it ran into the show’s budget. Though there’s some location shooting. Kind of a lot of it, but there’s no action at the locations. There’s standing or sitting. And it’s never on the A plot, always B or even C. On the A plot, outside Jere Burns as a…
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This episode could be a lot worse. It does have some significant lows—like when Azie Tesfai has to pretend to cry, which she’s absurdly bad at doing. Like, it’s uncomfortable. Especially when you realize they went with the best take. Got to be able to cry on “Supergirl,” it’s one of the show’s many go…
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This episode has no awesome Batwoman action. The only Batwoman action scene is not very good, in fact. It’s all that stealthy Batman Begins type action as Batwoman breaks into estranged sister and supervillain Alice’s base and takes her prisoner, presumably leaving all the thugs unconscious… even though they then wake up and start attacking…
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Constantly charming if not particularly ambitious coming of age story about eighties British Pakistani teenager Viveik Kalra (in a great lead performance) and his discovery of Bruce Springsteen at just the right time in his life. The film does a fine job showing how working class travails can be utterly unrelated to geography or ethnicity,…
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The only times “Watchmen” doesn’t feel calculated are when you can’t imagine the shot as a David Gibbons comic panel. Every couple minutes you can feel how the sequence of shots would feel as a Watchmen comic, showing how just because DC Comics could never figure out how to do it without the original creators…
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Nadia Gray’s back this episode, which is surprisingly distinguishing as Gray doesn’t make much impression other than everyone making fun of her name—Ria’s hard for them—and boyfriend Wilson Bethel’s general eye-rolling at her being a supermodel brand influencer. Of course, Bethel doesn’t really want to be dating her because he and Simone Missick are best…
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Todd Williams shows up for the first scene—he’s top-billed Simone Missick’s husband who’s been MIA most episodes—and gets her off to work. They still don’t have much chemistry together. Even if Missick and Wilson Bethel don’t have romantic chemistry together, they’ve got something. Missick and Williams haven’t got anything. They’re kind of ludicrously mismatched. Sure,…
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I’m very curious how this episode went through standards and practices. Was there a version of it where Black bailiff J. Alex Brinson doesn’t give a heartwarming speech about how the sheriff’s department needs to work within the system to fix the system. It’s just after Brinson has approached the fellow deputy (Christopher Amitrano) pulled…
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Going into this episode, I thought I had the show figured out. It was “‘Major Crimes’ universe,” where white cops could be progressive about gay and trans rights and so on. Still pretty invested in white supremacy, but maybe not as much as usual. And no talking about killer cops. Progressive, just not actually progressing.…
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I wanted to watch “All Rise” because it’s Simone Missick’s new show. Missick was awesome on “Luke Cage,” figured I’d try it. But you know who else is in “All Rise”? Bullseye from “Daredevil,” Wilson Bethel. They play best friends. She’s a new judge, he’s her ex-fellow district attorney. She’s Black, he’s white, but they’re…
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It took me a while to like Mehcad Brooks’s “Don’t Call Me Jimmy” Olsen. The character’s fairly flat, the show never really let Brooks do much either. He’d always get in the orbit of a controversial topic and then rush through a couple episodes and move on. Let’s not forget the show didn’t let he…
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Carl Lumbly shows up in this episode and you almost remember when you liked the stuff with J’onn (David Harewood). Barely. Lumbly’s voice brings back that warm feeling, so long missing on the show. And he’s got to be there because this episode’s all about Harewood finding out why he doesn’t remember his brother (Phil…
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This episode ought to be called “The One With All the Whining.” First, there’s still Lena (Katie McGrath) whining—entirely to her super-Echo—about how Kara never told her the Supergirl thing. McGrath’s new plan is to pretend everything’s cool and exploit Supergirl’s friendship. Of course the scenes with Melissa Benoist being earnest and caring about Lena…
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Not much has happened since we last saw our heroes; Kara (Melissa Benoist) still hasn’t told Lena (Katie McGrath) about being Supergirl, even though she really, really wants to tell her, she really does… meanwhile Lena has created a talking AI to bitch at about how much she hates Kara for never sharing the secret.…
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I didn’t pay enough attention during the opening so I didn’t realize Rachel Matthews’s Magpie was going to have the stupid neon wig. Magpie’s the villain from John Byrne’s Batman and Superman team-up issue of Man of Steel. “Batwoman” could score some major points if Magpie was awesome. Magpie is not awesome. Magpie is incredibly…
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Ruby Rose flirts with a bartender played by Brianne Howey from “The Passage,” which basically makes the episode. It's in the middle of Rose investigating Tommy Elliot (Gabriel Mann in a part he really ought to appreciate more), billionaire pal to Bruce Wayne who seems to know about Bruce’s other life. Rose has time for…
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It’s a much better episode. While it’s not great, it’s at least enjoyable this time. The direction’s a lot better than the pilot; there’s not a lot of Batwoman action, but there’s a lot of action. Including civilian Nicole Kang having to defend herself from a bad guy because the show’s all in on the…
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There’s something up with the racial optics on “Evil.” The all-Black Catholic parishioners is a thing. The show kind of dares you to notice it, but it’s a thing. Black Catholics are not a familiar TV trope; I can’t think of one besides Frank Pembleton and they made a big deal out of the Catholic…
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The show goes a little overboard with the scary tech angle. Even more than last time. This time it’s pedophiles hacking AR games and grooming kids when they’re playing on their headsets. The kids in question are lead Katja Herbers’, as it’s not clear the problem child at the center of the episode (Luke Judy)…
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It’s a big sad episode, with all the men going through their pre-Crisis sads about Barry (Grant Gustin) dying in just six weeks. Cisco (Carlos Valdes) is sad so he steals the super-cure they’re supposed to be stealing to save villain Sendhil Ramamurthy, who is stunningly bad at the acting thing. They clearly hired him…
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At this point, not even halfway through the second season of “Discovery,” it seems like the only way they’re going to redeem it at all is if they go full absurd. Like the Red Angel, which is actually a time traveling humanoid in an outfit with metal (as in heavy metal) wings. Unless it’s Matt…
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If it never does anything else, “Evil” was probably worth it just for this John Glover performance. It’s John Glover as a brilliant theatre director who’s a tad eccentric and has gotten to be mean in addition to it. Dascha Polanco (from “Russian Doll”) is the one who brings them the case; she’s his Catholic…
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“Evil” doubles down on the debunking of magic this episode. This time it’s about a miracle, not a possession. The heroes are looking into a girl being pronounced dead then coming back to life after a priest whispers to her. Dakin Matthews plays the priest. It’s a small part but it’s nice to see Matthews.…
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I’ll just say it now. “Evil”’s religious politics are either going to get it in a lot of trouble or they’re going to do some “Heaven is for Real” shit. It’s going to be one or the other. And the pilot really makes it seem like it’s going to be the former, but not in…
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Congratulations, show, I’m less interested in Indiana Jones Wells than I was Sherlock Holmes Wells. Make better choices with Tom Cavanagh; he’s the show’s second secret weapon (first is Jesse L. Martin, even now); don’t make us wait until halfway through the season to actually like whatever asshole variation of Wells he’s playing. Also don’t…
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It took me a few minutes to realize what’s going on with this episode of “Flash.” It’s a pretty good episode. It’s been a while since the show’s had a pretty good episode without some major qualifications—last season had way too much bad acting from the season guests and way too little Jesse L. Martin…
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Outstanding black comedy about a poor family insinuating themselves into the lives (but mostly house) of a wealthy one. Director Bong and cowriter Han Jin-won don’t overtly emphasize the clash, rather focus on how the everyone’s relative naïveté exacerbates the clash (and rift) between classes. Great performances–especially Jo Yeo-jeong as the rich mom and Song…
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“All-new short film” is actually an uncut montage sequence from SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME. A perfectly entertaining three minutes thanks to Tom Holland and company, but so lazy it doesn’t even have opening or closing credits. DVD, Blu-ray.Continue reading →
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After a brief revision to last season’s finale, this episode skips ahead four months, missing the summer where everyone recovered or reacted to last season’s upheaval. So instead of seeing Barry (Grant Gustin) moping all summer, instead he’s just faking enthusiasm to mask the mope. He and Iris (Candice Patton) are still mourning the loss…
The Stop Button 