Tag: Television Review

In The Bad Guys Haunted Heist, What Can Go Horribly Wrong?

Between the two Halloween specials that are one-shots rather than as part of a series, The Bad Guys Haunted Heist isn’t too bad. It just needs more howl!

The Bad Guys Halloween HeistAlthough DreamWorks The Bad Guys isn’t the greatest work in their movie catalogue, I still wanted to see what this studio would dream up for this year’s special. When it’s simply labelled The Bad Guys Haunted Heist, I was morbidly curious.

Unlike this studio’s past works, which are enjoyable to watch, this latest lacks the spice that made past specials–Shrek: Thrilling Tales and Scared Shrekless, along with Monsters vs Aliens’ Mutant Pumpkins and Night of the Living Carrots–a joy to watch. These pieces were basically about the title characters celebrating the season and I always play the compilation release, Six Spooky Stories (Amazon link) when Halloween weeks rolls around. Hopefully there’ll be an update that will include the ones that are part of their animated series rollout (My favourite episode is “The Po Who Cried Ghost” from Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness.

What The Bad Guys do is invert the formula from Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? and tell it from a villain’s perspective. To say who would have gotten away with it isn’t all that surprising, as I easily guessed how the tale would go.

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Taking Aim at NFTs in Futurama “The One Amigo”

Fans will be pleased Futurama has not lost any of its wit and satire in this latest release. And there’s more crazy stuff still to come on a weekly basis!

Futurama Season 12Airing Mondays on Hulu

These new episodes of Futurama are taking a deeper aim at today’s modern trends and I’m loving it! Not every season tends to be as this nasty, but when compared to the past, I’m glad what’s examined is technically reverent. This series has always been Matt Groening and David X. Cohen‘s way of critiquing what’s wrong with today’s ills, strange digital norms and everything else in between!

“The One Amigo” pokes at what Non-fungible tokens represent. And to make it all about Bender is hilariously perfect! Not only is this episode able to explain what they are to those who don’t understand tech, but also criticise for whether it’s even transferable.

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Ninjago Dragons Rising. The Magic is Back in Season Two!

A lot of repeat watches of Ninjago Dragons Rising were required to figure out where the series is going.

Ninjago Dragons Rising PosterWhen the lives of many winged reptiles are in constant danger in Ninjago Dragons Rising, just who can save them will require new and old heroes of the realms uniting. That premise defined season one, and it made for a decent continuation. It wasn’t all that memorable or standalone very well since it had to deal with establishing why old fans should care about Arin, Sora, and Wyldfyre. When I wanted to see the old team and only learn they’ve been individually sent across the multiverse, I got worried!

Thankfully half the team manage to find their way home. They’ve reunited in The Merged Realm and are the new masters to teach the new team some tricks. While I didn’t get much from the first season, I still appreciated the fact there is some continuity between the various series. What’s presented isn’t trying to recon. But in order for the series two to excel, it had to delve into why Dragons are suddenly very important. What fans get to learn is that these dragons are the embodiment of ideas Greek theologians would speak of–had they been aware of the big bang. 

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When X-Men 97 Forgets What Made the Original Tales Special, Is This Animated Series Worth Watching?

As long as the viewer isn’t a long time fan of the comic books, they won’t be wise to recognise how X-men 97 changes story beats around.

X-men 97 LogoSpoiler Alert

The rebranded version of X-Men the Animated Series off to a rocky start. Although I enjoyed the first two episodes of X-Men 97, the next pair were not as good. After seeing how the Inferno storyline got compressed and spat out, it seems nobody in the writers’ room really understands the key moments that define that story arc.

In the original tale, S’ym and N’astirh plan to invade Earth. These demons need Illyana Rasputin’s powers to make it happen, and along the way, Madelyne Pryor, becomes part of this entourage after she realises her relationship with Scott was a sham. In all her grief and loathing, Mr. Sinister appears to explain why he created her, and soon afterwards, she would become the Goblin Queen instead of what the cartoon has changed around.

This moment in the life of being an X-Men ranks as #2 of my most favourite storylines from the Chris Claremont years. And without that without the invasion plan in place, the Rasputin storyline and her becoming Darkchylde wouldn’t be as impactful. Morph’s transformation into her really makes no sense as there’s no acknowledgement concerning why the Goblin Queen is important to the grander scheme. As for why she could awaken Illyana’s evil side, I’d have to reread the Uncanny X-men and New Mutants comics (Amazon Kindle links) to know.

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All Eyes are on Superman & Lois

It’s hard to say where this new series fits in the Arrowverse since the Crisis of Infinite Earths crossover event. I suspect it has to be before the alternative dimensions merged.

Superman and LoisBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Thankfully, Superman & Lois‘ entry into the Arrowverse is a departure from all the other DCEU television shows. When most of these programs are dealing with superheroic adventures of the title character to save the Earth (or someone) from a villain of the week, this take has a different focus. These parents have to teach their values to the next generation!

The world found here continues with Tyler Hoechlin playing Clark Kent. I still have trepidation whenever he’s in Kal-El mode. He’s certainly gained some mass since appearing in Supergirl, but the look doesn’t work. Part of the reason is that his hair is too slicked back. Over the years after Reeve took on the role in cinemas, finding the ideal actor who can fill in the suit (after his passing) has been tough. Brandon Routh’s swagger makes playing Supes easy and he easily channels the awkwardness of being a Clark that Christopher made famous.

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