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review

23 Aug

Lucifer Season 5 Episode 3 Review: ¡Diablo!

Netflix, New DVD release, , , ,
This Lucifer review contains spoilers. Lucifer Season 5 Episode 3 “Things have changed up in Heaven.” Workplace relationships in the real world typically prove challenging for all involved, and television writers continue to draw on the compelling conflicts that often arise out of these situations. The Moonlighting Myth has long been dispelled, and putting a television couple together doesn’t necessarily mean a show loses its edge and ultimately its audience. Good writing prevails.  That said, Lucifer may be heading down a path that’s been travelled too far, too long, and at this point in the series’ history, completely unnecessary. The…
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22 Aug

Lucifer Season 5 Episode 2 Review: Lucifer! Lucifer! Lucifer!

Netflix, New DVD release, , ,
This Lucifer review contains spoilers. We have a spoiler-free review here if you prefer. Lucifer Season 5 Episode 2 “You are different, but sometimes change is a good thing.” Though I’m generally not a fan of the doppelganger as a primary plot device, Lucifer takes a risk and trots out our titular hero’s twin brother in a story that gives the detective a chance to solve a case and pave the way for a welcome return to the status quo. The murder investigation takes a back seat to a crime of the heart perpetuated by the archangel Michael, but “Lucifer!…
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22 Aug

Muppets Now Episode 4 Review: Sleep Mode

New DVD release, , ,
This Muppets Now review contains spoilers. Muppets Now Episode 4 I should have seen the warning signs when I found out that Muppets Now was produced in six days. It’s easy to crank out several episodes so quickly when you’re filming the same segment over and over again in one go. The farther the show goes, the more annoying the lack of variety is. As “Sleep Mode” is the fourth episode of Muppets Now, that means that there have been sixteen total segments so far. Of those sixteen, there are seven types of segments. That’s it. Only the “Muppets Masters”…
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21 Aug

Tenet Review: Christopher Nolan’s Sci-fi Spy Movie Explodes Into Cinemas

New DVD release, , , , , ,
For better or worse, Tenet is the most important film of 2020. Sure, it’s the new Christopher Nolan film, an event movie shrouded in secrecy with a terrific cast which in any year would be an important mark on the cinematic calendar. But this year, when cinemas have been closed for months, where streaming services are king and several big releases have eschewed a theatrical opening altogether or been pushed back to 2021 and beyond, all eyes are on Tenet. Or rather Warner Bros. is *hoping* all eyes, or at least a decent number of eyes, will be on Tenet…
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21 Aug

Lucifer Season 5 Episode 1 Review: Really Sad Devil Guy

Netflix, New DVD release, , , , ,
This Lucifer review contains spoilers. We have a spoiler free review here if you prefer. Lucifer Season 5 Episode 1 It’s been over a year since the endearing Prince of Darkness last graced the small screen, but the fifth season premiere of Netflix’s Lucifer quickly reminds fans of the fantasy police procedural why they’re so inexorably drawn to the show. After last season’s devastatingly emotional conclusion, “Really Sad Devil Guy” brings back an old foe whose presence allows the Devil and the detective to take the first steps toward what viewers hope will be a short-lived separation. Lee (Jeremiah Birkett)…
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21 Aug

Microsoft Flight Simulator Review: Around the World on a PC

New DVD release, , , , ,
I’m going to level with you. I review video games, and as Microsoft Flight Simulator’s title clearly indicates, it isn’t exactly a game, at least in the traditional sense. It’s a simulator that tries to get as close to the real thing as possible — and it’s a massive one, to boot. Diving into the latest iteration of Microsoft’s long-running series was a daunting endeavor to say the very least. Fortunately, Microsoft Flight Simulator is absolutely delightful, its true-to-life approach to air travel one of the best simulations of flying ever created. But it’s also an incredibly challenging game. The…
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21 Aug

Hoops Review (Spoiler-Free)

Netflix, New DVD release, ,
Coronavirus has halted production on many projects in Hollywood, but not animation. Animated series have been largely unaffected by shutdowns, with animators and voice artists alike being able to perform their duties from home. Though Netflix claims that their 2020 slate will go ahead uninhibited, it’s fair to assume many other networks and streaming services will be turning toward animated projects to fill programing schedules. Many animated pilots that would have had an uphill battle to be picked up by a network may just find themselves in luck. It’s amazing that Hoops isn’t one of those last-minute replacement animated series.…
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20 Aug

Star Trek: Lower Decks Episode 3 Review: Temporal Edict

New DVD release, , , , ,
This Star Trek: Lower Decks review contains spoilers. Star Trek: Lower Decks Episode 3 If one of the unspoken goals of Lower Decks was to make Galaxy Quest-style jokes, but more on-the-nose, the third episode of the show, “Temporal Edict,” succeeds. In Galaxy Quest, when Tim Allen’s Commander Taggart gets his shirt ripped unnecessarily, the Trek people in the audience get that this is a joke about Captain Kirk. In Galaxy Quest, the joke worked without having to say the name “Kirk,”  but, in Lower Decks, making jokes about Kirk’s shirtless machismo comes with name-checking. As a series, Lower Decks…
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20 Aug

The 100 Season 7 Episode 12 Review: The Stranger

New DVD release, , ,
This THE 100 review contains spoilers The 100 Season 7 Episode 12 Early on, the episode gets down to business and notches up another death with Sheidheda killing Nelson after shooting all of the Children of Gabriel for refusing to kneel. It’s been a relatively bloodless season, which means we’re either poised for a bloodbath or The 100 might actually have a happy ending. At this point I’m not sure which would be the bigger surprise. It’s too bad that Nelson didn’t have more to do, narratively, before he died. All the same, someone needed to defy Sheidheda and it makes sense…
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20 Aug

Battletoads Review: Rocks Harder Than the Original’s Pause Music

New DVD release, , , , , ,
Battletoads is one of those ’90s franchises that, despite a handful of video game releases and a very short-lived cartoon, fizzled out for all except a group of dedicated fans. For those of us who do remember Battletoads, the classic beat ’em up/platformer remains a classic. What started as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles clone became a NES title notable for its legendary difficulty and the way it altered the gameplay from level to level. Now, with a revival of the series about to drop for a new generation, the question is: how do you make a modern Battletoads game?…
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19 Aug

Lucifer Season 5 Part 1 Review (Spoiler-Free)

Netflix, New DVD release, , ,
This Lucifer review contains no spoilers. Lucifer had a long road to Netflix. After Fox cancelled the procedural comic book adaptation in 2018 for the crime of having a consistent fanbase of mediocre numbers, the streaming service picked it up in a shock acquisition, and its strong fourth season appeared to do quite well in its new home. Lucifer fans were convinced that the show and its stars, Tom Ellis and Lauren German, would be back for a triumphant fifth season, but more mixed news arrived instead: Season 5 was a go, but this time it would be Lucifer’s last…
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19 Aug

Unhinged Review: Russell Crowe Descends to Slasher Shlock

New DVD release, , , , , ,
Unhinged opens with Russell Crowe–identified only in the credits as “Man”–sitting in his pick-up truck outside a suburban house, staring at the tiny match he’s lit, his face impassive and his eyes narrowed. Abruptly he gets out of the truck, grabs an axe and a can of accelerant, and breaks down the door, cutting the man and woman inside to death before burning down the house. The camera watches all this from a slight distance, as if director Derrick Borte (The Joneses) wants us to view these events, at least at first, objectively. We don’t know who this Man is,…
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18 Aug

Lovecraft Country Episode 1 Review: Sundown

New DVD release, , , ,
This Lovecraft Country review contains spoilers. Lovecraft Country Season 1, Episode 1 We’re introduced to Atticus “Tic” Freeman (Jonathan Majors) in a dream sequence. What begins as a straightforward black and white scene of Tic in the trenches morphs into a colorful panorama of the fantastical, a smorgasbord of sci-fi hors d’oeuvres. Overhead, flying saucers hover, while creatures of unknown origin fly about the sky. A red woman (Jamie Chung) descends from a spaceship, and alerts our hero to the imminent threat of a rising Cthulhu. Before the Elder God can raise hell, Jackie Robinson smashes it to shit with…
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17 Aug

Train To Busan Presents: Peninsula Review

New DVD release, , , ,
Four years ago, the overused and increasingly predictable zombie genre got a shot in the arm with Train to Busan, a South Korean film from director Yeon Sang-ho about a young father desperately attempting to get his little daughter to her mother via train as a zombie pandemic breaks out all around them. Even if it veered close to outright sentimentality at times, Train to Busan differed from most of the films and TV shows we’ve seen in this genre due to its genuine bond of love between its main characters, and the flickers of empathy and humanity found therein.…
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17 Aug

Wynonna Earp Season 4 Episode 4 Review: Afraid

New DVD release, , , ,
This Wynonna Earp review contains spoilers. Wynonna Earp Season 4, Episode 4 With all of the genres Wynonna Earp regularly dives into, it can easy to forget that this show has some straight-up horror tendencies. Every once in a while, it will drop an episode that is terrifying and remind us all that, while this may be a queer found family drama that believes in the power of love above all else, it can also scare the shit out of us. “Afraid” was one such episode. Last season, the trees ate people. This season, the rocks are coming for the…
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17 Aug

NOS4A2 Season 2 Episode 9 Review: Welcome to Christmasland

New DVD release, , , , ,
This NOS4A2 review contains spoilers. NOS4A2 Season 2 Episode 9 There’s a certain sadness that comes along with parenting. As a first-time parent of a toddler, I’ve been spared most of it, but even though my child is still in the early stages of learning to speak and developing higher motor functions, there’s already a little maudlin joy in watching her grow and change. The little potato-shaped baby I fed and cuddled on the couch doesn’t snuggle in immediately when you pick her up. If she wants something, she’s quick about expressing her opinion, mostly with body language. If she…
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15 Aug

Muppets Now Episode 3 Review: Getting Testy

New DVD release, , , ,
Muppets Now continues to roll on with their third episode. In what’s supposed to be a modernized update of a beloved variety show is starting to fail when it comes to actual variety. The whole setup for Muppets Now hasn’t been perfect, but it’s been fairly sound. Four segments in the form of online shows are framed together thanks to quick bits of Scooter tossing them up online with his “Rainbow Connector.” Considering it’s the variety of characters, talents, and behaviors that make the Muppets work, this channel surfing style can definitely succeed if done correctly. The problem is that…
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14 Aug

Teenage Bounty Hunters Review (Spoiler-Free)

New DVD release, , , ,
This Teenage Bounty Hunters review contains no spoilers and is based on the first five episodes. When it comes to television shows about teenagers who stumble into a purpose greater than that experienced by their peers – something both dangerous and occasionally thrilling – Teenage Bounty Hunters is in some very good company. Whether it’s the classics like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Veronica Mars, or some of the more recent superhero fare, it’s not hard to find shows that want to capture the particular demographic-conquering magic that comes with this kind of premise. The series follows twin sisters Sterling (Maddie…
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14 Aug

UFC 4 Review: Best of the Series, But Still No Champion

New DVD release, , ,
Here’s a brief summation of my Career mode experience in EA Sports UFC 4 over the past week: My fictional fighter, Cullogan Ogle, began his career with a kickboxing background. He stormed through the amateur scene and first few professional fights in the UFC, tenderizing opponents’ thighs with a brutal array of leg kicks, lead leg side kicks, and nasty oblique kicks. But along the way, behind the scenes, Ogle spent much of his training camps working on grappling. He drilled armbars, kimuras, and d’Arce chokes, steadily leveling them up to become more effective. Ogle got so good at them,…
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14 Aug

Ted Lasso Review (Spoiler-Free)

New DVD release, ,
In an early episode of Ted Lasso, the new Apple TV+ comedy about a fictional Division II college football coach from Kansas (Jason Sudeikis) hired to lead a struggling English Premier League Team, an uptight journalist details Ted’s many flaws, but determines that he “can’t help but root for him.” It’s the perfect way to describe the new series developed by Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence (Scrubs), Joe Kelly, and Brendan Hunt (who co-stars as Lasso’s strong, silent assistant Coach Beard); Ted Lasso may not be the comedy that will make Apple TV+ a must-have, but it’s a charming, easy watch that…
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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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