DC TV Weekly #26

Supergirl 'Far From The Tree' Review
Okay let's check the register: Martian Manhunter driven episode? Check. Silver Age levels of silly fun? Check. Hard hitting emotional B-Plot? Check. Carl Lumbly guest starring!? Check Check Check Check Check!
...I really fucking liked this episode. Starting with the B-Plot, everything about it worked, the estranged relationship between Maggie and her father, trying to rebuild the relationship but his own prejudices just get in the way, but you know what? I like his motivation behind the prejudice...okay that came out wrong. What I mean is I respect that they gave him actual development and reasoning behind why he is the way he is, most shows would just take this one-off character and have him be an ignorant jerk, but by giving him very believable reasoning makes the drama between the two that much more emotionally effective.

Then there's the main plot of the episode which is equally brilliant. Another estranged relationship-except this time between J'onn and his father M'yrnn, their first scene together where he doesn't believe it's his son was heartbreaking, and their eventual reunion proper where they share a memory was so honest and joyful. Sprinkle in some of Supergirl having fun with the space car-and ya know I love it when these shows go all Silver Age on us. But to top it all off, having Carl Lumbly-the original Martian Manhunter appear playing the father is quite possibly my favourite guest star this show has ever had. The only issues are minor, mostly being that the drama in this episode was so good, I was kind of not looking forward to the action scenes because it prevented more great conversations between characters. But that is the nittiest of all picks, really well done guys, brilliant job. 9/10.

The Flash 'Luck Be A Lady' Review
Crap...I can't believe this is happening...I really don't wanna say it...I think this show is getting too silly. But I thought you love it when The Flash is silly! I know! I do! It's when the series is at its best and they were finally embracing it! But I was watching this episode and thinking "Wow, that was too dumb". Barry slipping on coins and then a sign falling on him? Really? That's supposed to stop The Flash? It's important to note that yes-Silver Age is one of the best ages in comic books, not every comic from the time is incredible, sometimes passing something off as silly is just a disguise for bad writing. To top it all off, I just found this villain to be annoying. She really didn't seem like she had the right motivation to be a bad guy, and the actress just played the character to be more irritating than a threat. 4/10.

Legends of Tomorrow 'Zari' Review
Of all the shows in this franchise to have a "by the numbers episode" Legends of Tomorrow should not be one of them. With each episode having them travelling to a new location, new time, new characters, it should always feel fresh. Even with the first episode of the season, at least that still had some new stuff in it with the time bureau and the Legends trying to have normal lives. I guess we got a new thing with the new teammate Zari who is...fine. Oh, and Nate going on a drug trip was funny as hell. So I guess I did have some fun with the episode, but as I'm writing this, I am struggling to remember 70% of the episode, it's just one of those eps I guess. 6/10.

Arrow 'Next of Kin' Review
Oh wow, the same thing happened two weeks in a row, thin plot-great action, they really do have this down! And hey, one giant fight scene going from outside the car to inside is pretty creative, granted it very obviously wasn't one shot, but I appreciate the effort on what I'm guessing was a tight schedule. To be fair, the plot isn't completely thin. Diggle's arc which is being set up for multi-episodes is always something I appreciate and he's a character that very rarely is seen to be the insecure one, most of the time he's the one that gives people advice. Even ending the episode by introducing a new element of whatever that drug he's taking. So he's got mental problems, physical problems and now a drug problem, way to beat the guy down guys. Sadly the dressing around the main course is just stale, boring villains, generic plot, all of it is just not very interesting. But not completely irredeemable thanks to the action and Diggle. 6/10.

-Danny

DC TV Weekly #25

Supergirl 'Triggers' Review
I have to say, while I may not have enjoyed Mon-El as a character, I sure enjoy the impact he's left on the series. What do I mean by that? Well, usually in shows like this *cough* Flash *cough* the protagonist will go through a life altering event that supposedly changed everything, even though the effects only last for one episode so they can go through a one episode arc and then it's back to the status quo. Yet here we are, two episodes in and Kara still hasn't recovered from losing Mon-El, but it's not just a repeat of last week, they're cycling through the different emotions. Last week she had completely shut herself in, refusing to feel any emotions at risk of what might happen, and here, we see why, she suffers from survivor's guilt and paranoia over possibly killing Mon-El, and it doesn't seem like this is the end of it either. Again, while I personally never liked the relationship, I can at least appreciate the effort the show is going into in exploring the consequences of it. So good for you Supergirl, have a positive rating! 7/10.

The Flash 'Mixed Signals' Review
Woohoo! Fun Flash is back! Ever since Serious Flash basically went down the shitter back in season 2, the only Flash I can enjoy anymore is Fun Flash. The best episodes last season in my opinion were 'Escape From Gorilla City' and 'Duet' both of which were fun, silly, over the top episodes that embraced the silly nature of the property. In this episode's case we have...something that is similar to that, in the sense that it's very silly & fun, but maybe not in a comic book sense, more of in a Judd Appatow film sense. Barry & Iris going to couples therapy: That's funny. Barry's new Flash suit breaking down: That's funny. Cisco & Gypsy trying to be a superhero couple: That's funny. No matter what the show never lost that sense of fun, so I think it's smart to focus on that strength. Even past that this episode was still able to continue setting up the plot line for the season, introducing a mystery of how the villain of the week got his powers, and how he's connected to DeVoe AKA Thinker, the main villain of the season. Overall: Solid episode. 7/10.

Legends of Tomorrow 'Freakshow' Review
This might come across as a bit hypocritical considering last week I used it as a criticism: But this episode felt like basically a standard Legends episode, and I think it worked a lot better here. Last week was the first episode, it should really better establish the main story of the season, and I feel it didn't. This being the second episode, has a lot more freedom to just tell a fun story, which it does. PT Barnum and his merry band of circus freaks is certainly a creative foil for our Legends, as well as Nate getting drunk makes for a fun scene. Not only that, it goes ever further. It brings back Amaya and has some good drama between her and Nate, as well as hinting at the main villain of the season, so this not only works as a middle episode, but it does better as an establishing episode than the actual establishing episode. 7/10.

Arrow 'Tribute' Review
Oh hey look at that, Ollie is proven to not be the Green Arrow...for the third time in the show's run...why did they bother with this again? On top of a repeated plot element that has no tension to it, this is the worst type of episode to write about because nothing of importance happens! Sure, Anatoli coming back is a big deal and will probably lead to big things, but as for this episode? His actions are of no consequence, he's basically just a boring villain of the week mafia gang. Not only is that barely interesting to watch, it's even less interesting to write about! The best thing I can say about this episode is that it had some incredibly action sequences, long takes, creative environments, clear shots of the actors performing the action. But it kind of made me notice a trend, whenever the show is aware that an episode is thin on plot, they try to spice it up by going all out on the action in hopes of having something redeemable. I guess it's better than nothing, 6/10.

-Danny

DC TV Weekly #24

Wasn't entirely sure what to title this one. It's a brand new season, and going back to #1 is the comic book thing to do...But that also makes it very confusing to organise these reviews, so continuing with the original numbering it is! In any case, new year, new DC Shows to talk about.

Supergirl 'Girl of Steel' Review
I wish this wasn't the first of the shows to premier this season, because honestly it kinda put me off watching the others, because man what a dull start! I understand the idea of not wanting to jump into things and having characters reflect upon the prior season seems like the smart thing to do, but this very much feels like slow burn of a very thin candle. Supergirl throwing herself into work after losing Mon-El is a strong concept, and Melissa Benoist does give a great performance, but it just doesn't feel earned, mostly because the relationship between the two was never that strong. On top of that almost every other character is given very little to do in this pilot, the villain was incredibly lame-both the one off villain as well as this walking business tycoon trope, and is it me or has Katie McGrath's accent gotten even worse between seasons? Honestly after the mixed reception season two got from fans, if they were expecting to win anyone over with this first episode, it didn't really achieve it. The reflection upon the last season didn't feel earned and there was very little to set up this season's plot lines, leaving a lot of meandering middle for our cast of characters. 5/10.

The Flash 'The Flash Reborn' Review
Guys. Please. For the love of god. Stop trying to make Iris important! She's not meant to be leading Team Flash, she is not a scientist, she is not a superhero, she is not a police officer. She is literally the least qualified person to be on the team, let alone leading it. This is very much the show trying to make her important because she's important to the protagonist. The evidence is crystal clear when by the end of the episode she gets herself captured in hopes that this will cure Barry of his mental state because...well she has absolutely no reason to think that. They have no idea how to define Barry's mental problems, and no way to solve them, her reasoning here makes no sense except that the script says so. Shame as well, because if they weren't going to keep Barry in the speed force for at least several episodes minimum, the deteriorate mental state angle was actually fairly engaging and any chance to give Grant Gustin a chance to flex his acting skills is always appreciated. Just please, for the love of god Flash, be good again. Of all the shows I want to like, this is the one above all else, please, be good again. 5/10.

Legends of Tomorrow 'Aruba-Con' Review
Yep. That is definitely an episode of Legends of Tomorrow. Got time travel, wacky shenanigans, fun character interactions. Admittedly the Time Bureau is a concept I'm not all too excited about because I feel like it negates the point of the Legends, but whatever, flimsy logic is this series' bread & butter. Mind you, they can stretch it too far, like how Julius Ceaser is somehow able to best or even be a challenge for a bunch of time travelling superheroes/government agents! And...that's frankly all I have to say. Which seems about right seeing as all this episode had to do was explain why the Legends will still be going on adventures, and the rest of the episode was just your standard Legends adventure so...overall, pretty decent. 6/10.

Arrow 'Fallout' Review
Seriously, does Willa Holland just not want to be in the show anymore? Thea barely did anything last season, and this season opens with her in a coma? What the heck. Oh yeah, the rest of the episode...uh...it's fine. It's kind of like all the other episodes this season, they don't really feel like they established any new status quo for the season or long running plot lines, instead they just come across as...regular episodes. There's not much harm from that, but it also means very little stands out. The only real standout is Oliver now has to raise his son, which can definitely lead to some interesting stories during the season. Diggle seems to have some kind of physical issue, but let's be honest, that'll last maybe 2-3 episodes, not the whole season. Oh, and Oliver has been revealed as the Green Arrow, I can't wait to see how they'll weasel their way out of this one! 6/10.

Kind of a slow burn to the first few episodes of the season, not much feels achieved. Flash seemed to be the only one who actually established a season long plot line, the rest either didn't know what they were doing or just told average stories. We can only hope it can get better as the year goes on.

Why Kingsman's Negative Reviews Are Upsetting

Kingsman: The Golden Circle is the sequel to the smash hit Kingsman: The Secret Service released in 2014 and was one of my favourite films of that year. So naturally I was very excited for the sequel, and while granted I doubt Golden Circle is going to make my top 10 films of the year, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. It had amazing action, great characters, plenty of humour and heart, and despite the 2 and a half hour run time, it never dragged for me. It was a fun thrill ride from beginning to end. Yet despite that, the film got very mixed reviews, currently sitting at a 56% on Rotten Tomatoes. Now I'm not going to deny the film certainly has it's problems, the plot has several large holes, some cast members are used far too little while others far too much, and the explanation on how Colin Firth is alive is complete nonsense. But there's two criticisms that seem to pop up in a lot of the reviews that I really don't agree with. One of them is people saying it's far too silly, and it steers away from the tone of the original film that-while still very over the top-was a pastiche of the James Bond-esque spy films that were popular back in the day. The other is people saying the film repeats far too much from the previous film and doesn't do enough new to justify it's existence.

Here's why that really irks me, Kingsman with only two films to its name, is already getting criticised for being too repetitive. Yet James Bond-the franchise that they're claiming they're steering too far away from has been getting away with doing the exact same thing for 24 films. Now you might make the argument that James Bond is able to keep it fresh by changing up the cast and the tone every few films, after all films like Moonwalker and Casino Royale have practically nothing in common apart from a name. But those are all stylistic changes, changes by the way that are so vast that it should just further the notion that James Bond as a franchise has no core identity and is one of the main reasons it's terr-that's besides the point. Content wise, each Bond film is practically the same, if you were just to explain the plots, what would be different?

Kingsman: The Golden Circle is by no means free from criticism, it does have flaws and yes, the argument that it repeats too much is legitimate. But the idea that this makes it bad, or even unfaithful to the tone of the original is unjustified. It's still a film with fantastic action sequences, likeable characters, creative settings, good music, great art design, and above all else: is fun. Why is that such a crime in films to just want to be fun?

-Danny

Fargo Season One - Cheap Thoughts

Yes, I'm late, I said a long time ago that there's just too much damn good television shows to watch, but I'm finally making my way through some of them. So, Fargo season one, this is the television adaptation of the acclaimed Coen Brothers film of the same name, it takes place in a small town in Minnesota and follows the story of Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman) who in a fit of rage kills his wife, and ends up getting roped in with a psychotic hitman (Billy Bob Thorton), all the while two small town cops Molly (Allison Tolman) and Gus (Colin Hanks) try to solve the murder.

Fargo the film, is quite possibly my favourite Coen Brothers film, and after seeing the talent involved in the television show, and the high praise it received, I was excited to watch it, and you know what? It was a damn good show.

Now I could talk all about how great a job the actors did-especially Billy Bob Thorton who gave the best performance I've ever seen from him. Or how amazing the directing was, creating effective suspense through minimal set-up. Or maybe even point out the small flaws with the show such as the bad CGI or some convenient plot points...so I guess I just did.

What I want to talk about is the big selling point behind Fargo as a franchise, the stories they are "based" on. For those who don't know, both Fargo the film, and Fargo the series open with the same text, saying that it's based on a true story, but out of respect for the victims, they change the names. This however, is a complete lie, everything we see is completely made up. I remember the first time seeing the film-not knowing it was a lie thinking of several plot holes with the film, but things I could let go because "hey, it's based on a true story, i guess that's just what happened". Then of course when I found out I was just very confused. "Why bother saying it's based on a true story if it's not based on a true story!? Are they just doing that so they can get away with the plot holes!?". But nowadays I more appreciate the craft of the film for while not being actually biographical in origin, the Coens did a great job at recreating that feeling of watching a biographical film and the characters and story felt grounded and real.

The television show, despite it's quality, I have to say doesn't recapture that feeling. Everything in it feels like a television show, and I don't just mean with cinematic lighting, pacing and writing, those could all be brushed off as artistic license. It's more of the events and characters not feeling like real people, too many moments break that verisimilitude that this is supposed to feel like real life. Things like Thorton's character being a master assassin, or Freeman being able to escape from a hospital without anyone seeing him. It's not to say this is bad storytelling, it's just when a story is sold to you under the guise of being a true story, and then goes out of it's way to challenge that, it makes these plot points more obvious, especially when each episode starts by claiming it's a true story.

This isn't necessarily a criticism that hurts the show overall, more of just an observation of the change in style from the film to the show. Like I said, I still overall really liked it, and I look forward to seeing the new types of stories they tell in each subsequent season. It's a show with great acting, great writing, great directing, but if it could fool its audience into thinking it's real life like the film could. But I'd still overall recommend it to people.

-Danny

They Didn't Fuck Up Arya!

Hallelujah! They didn't fuck it up! All that BS drama of making it look like Arya was going to kill Sansa got thrown out the window! The season ends with Arya, Sansa & Bran teaming up to take down Littlefinger and kill the son of a bitch! That-is-Stark-loyalty-bitches!

Now this doesn't clean things up 100%, the choice to go for a dramatic reveal means we never see how or why the two sisters come to terms, nor how long this charade has been going on. It also doesn't change the fact that the prior scenes of the two fighting still feel out of character. Nevertheless, I'm just thankful that they were able to fix things before they hit the point of no return.

So...yeah. That's it, just a quick update on the fact that they didn't fuck up Arya like I expected them too.

Oh, and the rest of the finale was good too.

-Danny

What The Fuck Is Happening To Arya?

Arya is my favourite character in Game of Thrones, and this latest season we got to see something we've been waiting to see for years. Arya coming home to Winterfell. She's reunited with her family and is back where she belongs, it was a long and dangerous journey, but she's back...She's also kind of a bitch. In the latest episode at the time of this post (Episode 6) she has lied to, argued with, and threatened her sister Sansa Stark. Saying she's going to reveal awful things about her that will make the lords of Winterfell lose trust in them, and in the final episode even threatens to kill Sansa.

What-the everlasting-Fuck is going on!? You wanna know why Arya is my favourite character? Because in a series where everyone is manipulative, corrupt, selfish, violent or is horrible in someway, Arya was always clear with her intentions. She wanted to be home, with her family, she wanted them to be safe, to be together, to be happy. She went on this huge journey where she learnt to fight so she could get revenge for the family she lost, and protect the ones she still has. Everyone else has ulterior motives or sought money & power, she never did, and that's what made her stand out to me in a series like this.

So now that she's back in Winterfell, the writers have apparently forgot about all of that? Her entire motivation, one of the biggest traits of her character, and not just her, but the Starks in general. I understand that you have to have conflict, but that conflict does not need to be internalised within the Starks. They still have tons of enemies, even some within their own walls, Littlefinger being a great example. He's someone that neither Stark girls trust or like, but they still need him for his armies. Now all of a sudden in one episode Arya is threatening Sansa, so in return Sansa is turning to Littlefinger for help!? No! This is such contrived bullshit, and I can only hope that they can somehow turn things around by the final episode of season because I really don't want them to ruin my favourite character from one of my favourite shows.

-Danny