Reviews

Unlike other reviews I have done before, I will not do a full synopsis of this eight-episode 2022 Amazon Prime series. The Terminal List stars Chris Pratt as Navy SEAL Commander James Reece who loses his entire squad in a special operation in the Middle East. Through a series of unexplained flashbacks, Reece learns that something sinister is behind his platoon's deaths. While state-side Reece's investigation leads him down a rabbit hole of vengeance against those responsible for the deaths of the people he loves and the strange flashbacks he keeps experiencing.

There is only one thing to say about The Terminal List, it is great!

While I agree with some of the comments on IMDB about the video appearing a little dark, it is nothing that cannot be tweaked. The look of the film is intentional and would appear the same if viewed in a dark theater however with much greater definition.

Now back to the series. While the plot is a little predictable the cast is exceptional led by Chris Pratt, Constance Wu as the intrepid reporter, Taylor Kitsch as the former SEAL buddy, Riley Keough as wife Lauren, and Arlo Mertz as daughter Lucy.

The twists and turns that Commander Reece must navigate as he learns of his fate and who is pulling the strings is wonderful. The love for family and the strong bond created by the SEALs are well depicted by Pratt.

The series is only eight episodes long and so far Amazon has not indicated that there will be a season two. But the possibility is there and if so, I will be waiting.

In a year of dealing with a deplorable president in the White House we now have this movie about deplorable parents that will go to any means to protect their daughter. Even murder. This is yet another film about white privilege and stars one of my all time favorite actresses Mireille Enos (The Killing). The idea is intriguing, but just did not cut it for me.

Although the movie ends in a surprising twist, perhaps in another time I would have enjoyed this film. But I will recommend a pass on this one.

A unique group of tight-knit mercenaries is pressed into action by former CIA operative Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) to rescue a group of schoolchildren held hostage in South Sudan. When the mercenaries arrive there, they are ambushed, and all four mercenaries are shot dead. Within minutes the four mercenaries wake and proceed to slaughter the squad of soldiers responsible for their death. They soon realized that Copley had set them up and recorded the massacre to expose their apparent immortality.

The mercenaries are led by Andromache "Andy" of Scythia (Charlize Theron) the oldest at over 6000 years old. The other three immortals are Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts), Joe (Marwan Kenzari), and Nicky (Luca Marinelli). All four of these warriors are centuries old and possess regenerative healing abilities that Merrick, a pharmaceutical company will go to great lengths to learn how their regenerative powers work.

Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, a US Marine Nile Freeman (KiKi Layne) is mortally wounded while tracking down an Afghan criminal. Like the other four immortals, Nile quickly recovers to the dismay of her and her unit. She is ordered to go to Germany for further testing. Before shipping out Andy tracks her down in Afghanistan and hijacks her taking her to meet the other three immortals that are now hiding in Paris. Nile unwilling goes with Andy so that she can find out what is happening to her. Why did she not die when her throat was slit? After a discussion with Andy, Nile decides that the life of an immortal is not for her when a group of Merrick operatives infiltrates the old church the immortals are staying in and captures Joe and Nicky leaving behind a wounded Booker. It is up to Andy, Nile, and Booker to infiltrate Merrick's laboratories and rescue the other two immortals. There Andy and Nile do battle with CEO Steven Merrick (Harry Melling) and his forces.

The Old Guard started streaming on Netflix over the weekend and is rated 80% fresh tomatoes. The Charlize Theron film is an adaptation of a graphic novel by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez and is directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. The film is rated R mostly because of the violence and the blood and guts that fly about during those violent scenes. I never read the comics, but I did enjoy the film immensely. To me, it was a refreshingly original take on immortality and I look forward to the sequel. Yes, there will be a sequel, I am not sure when, but there will be one. The film is tightly edited and with action just around every corner.

There is a lot more going on in this film that I will not go into so as not to create spoilers. But it is well worth the time spent during this pandemic to get introduced into a new action-packed adventure. And Charlize Theron is certainly a breath of fresh air.

"The Old Guard" on Netflix is rated R with a running time of 2h and 5m.

This is such a unique and novel idea. A foreign government sends astronauts to another planet without the world especially the USA not knowing about it. How is this even possible? Could this really happen? The Cold War ended in 1991 with the desolation of the Soviet Union. But what if, the USSR was able to send a manned mission to a planet in our solar system, say Mars without anyone knowing about? That is the premise behind the story written by Josh Bernhard and Bracey Smith for the crowdfunded limited series "Pioneer One".

I just binged watched this little gem on Amazon Prime. The series was made in 2010 starring a bunch of unknown actors and shot on a non-existent budget. Although everything about this six-part series was amateurish the story was not bad. Three episodes in I was ready to give up because the acting was so bad. Not so much the actors themselves, but the directing and the script heft a lot to be desired. In any event, the story was so intriguing I had to watch this to the end.

The story or the idea of some country, other than the USA, with the ability to send people to Mars, is so intriguing. I want to know more. I want to see how this can be done especially in the 1980s. In the 1960s and 70s America was able to put men on the moon and then abruptly stopped. But the old Soviet Union or even China would have the technology and the will to want to continue their respective space programs. So, it would be totally plausible for these superpowers to accomplish their exploration of space without the blessing or the help of the USA.

Pioneer One is supposed to have a second season. That did not materialize, and perhaps we do not need a second season. From what the last moments of episode six showed us, it appears that this story will go off into the preverbal "cat & mouse" chase that has ruined so many promising Sy-Fi dramas. What I would rather see is this story fleshed out into a motion picture much like "The Martian" "Interstellar" or "Ad-Astra". These are great films based on real science. I am not so sure about "Pioneer One" but certainly seems that this could be possible. Historians remind us that in the early days of the space program in the Soviet Union, safety and was not a priority one. Nor was it a priority to humanly conclude their animal experiments. It is sad to think this way but, it would be entirely possible that the Soviet Union would have sent people on a one-way trip to Mars during the last three decades of the twentieths century. And just suppose that these brave souls would have survived.

Wow, this short series with the less than perfect production value makes you want to think, hummm! Why not? Let's not think about the impossible, after all in the early 1800s pioneers headed West into the unknown and made great discoveries. Discoveries that would not have happened without the bravery, perseverance, and the will to go into the unknown.

Creators: Josh Bernhard, Bracey Smith Writers: Josh Bernhard, Bracey Smith Stars: James David Rich, Alexandra Blatt, Einar Gunn

WARNING! The language in "TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY" is so foul that if you took out all the F-bombs, this season would only be two episodes long.

When season one of "13 Reasons Why" started streaming in March 2017, the premise was simple, teenage angst. Based on the 2007 young adult novel by Jay Asher, the novel and the first season takes a long hard look at jock culture, bullying, sexual assault, mental health, and suicide. Season one was groundbreaking by shining a light on the negative culture in our high schools.

The next three seasons after that is a huge departure from what the novel was meant to be. Although the series still focuses on mental health, the show no longer is about teenagers. The young actors have outgrown their characters. So, it seems only right that the show would also take on adult issues. It got a little old watching a bunch of twenty-somethings act like teenagers. Although almost four years have gone by, watching, especially season four, it is hard to believe that these actors are still in high school having high school problems. I would never stand to hear my teenage daughter use the kind of language these so-called teenagers use. I question, is this television show about high school kids with high school problems or collage kids with adult problems?

I enjoyed season one, it was real and there was a lesson to be learned about how the mental health system is failing our young people. I believed the strength the characters such as Hanna Baker (Katherine Langford) and Clay Jensen (Dylan Minnette) showed. We saw the honesty and demons of Tony Padilla (Christian Navarro), Justin Foley (Brandon Flynn), and Tyler Down (Deven Druid). Even the villainy of Bryce Walker (Justin Prentice) and Montgomery de la Cruz (Timothy Granaderos) could be appreciated, by that I mean the performance, not the act. However, with every passing season, I have grown to dislike some of the characters especially Jessica Davis (Alisha Boe), Ani Achola (Grace Saif), and Clay Jensen who was the strongest and always the moral compass in the first two seasons. Even; Tony Padilla (Christian Navarro), Alex Standall (Miles Heizer), and Zach Dempsey (Ross Butler) left a lot to be desired as their characters changed into a bunch of needy and confused kids with not much to do except to spout foul language.

In the fourth and final season, the writers and producers ran out of things to talk about. Every sentence began and ended with an F-bomb. And for good measure, the writers added drug addiction, domestic violence, homophobia, deportation, police brutality, steroid use, homelessness, HIV, abortion, and school shootings, into the mix over the last three seasons. Did I mention the ghosts?

Just because it is politically correct to be openly gay, or a person of color, or be in a mixed-race relationship does not mean that it should be a major plot point. To me It is not right, to exploit one's sexuality, color, or race just for the sake of ratings or whatever points Netflix gets for streaming this television show.

The final episode wraps everything up for us into a nice little package for us. All the important kids graduate and go away to college. With the help of Dr. Robert Ellman (Gary Sinise), we circle back to season one and revisit Clay Jensen's emotional connection to Hannah Baker. We saw Clay Jensen make peace with Hannah's death twice before; at the end of season one and then again in season two after getting justice for what happened to Hannah. Somehow the ghost of Hannah Baker still seems to haunt Clay and us three and half years later. I get that we are all in love with the Hannah Baker character, but again this is another one of those manipulative plot points because the writers did not know where to take the story. Because of how Hannah Baker died, is the whole reason why there is a "TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY" in the first place. But it does not justify the events that take place after season one.

Controversial as it may be, watch season one of "TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY" read the book. Maybe watch season two, but skip the rest of the series. It is not worth your time. And definitely, DO NOT LET YOUR CHILDREN WATCH.

I just completed watching the tenth and final episode of "Star Trek: Picard" on CBS All Access. The series is created by Kirsten Beyer, Akiva Goldsman, Michael Chabon, and Alex Kurtzman. Patrick Stewart is the executive producer and stars as Jean-Luc Picard along with Santiago Cabrera (Cristóbal Rios), Michelle Hurd (Raffi Musiker), Evan Evagora (Elnor), Alison Pill (Dr. Agnes Jurati), Harry Treadaway (Narek), and Isa Briones (Soji/ Dahj). We also get to see some familiar faces such as; Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine) Jonathan Del Arco (Hugh) Brent Spiner (Data) Jonathan Frakes (Will Riker) and Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi).

In the March 27th issue of The Guardian, Stephen Kelly's review of Star Trek: Picard, says this in part, "Trek used to be a vision of an optimistic future. . ." Kelly goes on, as he sets the scene of a speech made by Captain Picard to some folks just revived from suspended animation, "A lot has changed in the past 300 years. People are no longer obsessed with the accumulation of things. We've eliminated hunger, want, the need for possessions. We've grown out of our infancy." In these couple of sentences, Kelly paraphrased exactly what Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, had in mind when he envisioned the futuristic world of Star Trek in the 1960s. Throughout the numerous television series and films those ideals were held true. Although I loved revisiting old "friends" and learning what became of them after 26 years, I was disappointed that the original Roddenberry vision was jeopardized in this latest Star Trek outing.

One thing "Star Trek: Picard" does have is plenty of action. Plenty of dynamic visual effects. Plenty of stories. Plenty of history. And plenty of new faces; such Isa Briones who does double-duty playing a mysterious young woman, Dahj, in need of help from an old friend she does not know, Jean-Luc Picard. Dahj, unfortunately, survived two episodes when she was murdered by a secret society of Romulans. But she has a twin, Soji, who oversees a Borg reclamation project deep in Romulan space aboard an old Borg Cube they call the Artifact.

There are other new faces such as Dr. Agnes Jurati (Alison Pill ) a doctor working at the Daystrom Institute of Advance Synthetics Research lab in Okinawa. The Daystrom Institute, if you recall, is where Data's creator Dr. Noonien Soong, was a professor of cybernetics. Then there are two former Starfleet officers each with their own demons. One close to Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, Rafaella "Raffi" Musiker (Michelle Hurd) was a Starfleet intelligence officer who served as Picard's first officer during the Romulan evacuation. Cristóbal Rios (Santiago Cabrera) is captain, pilot, and owner of a starship for hire called La Sirena. And lastly, there is Elnor (Evan Evagora) who is a Romulan refugee rescued as a child by Picard during the Romulan evacuation.

A lot has happened in the 2 decades since Star Trek: Nemesis 2002. Of course, we all know that Data sacrificed himself saving the lives of his captain and shipmates. The crew of the Enterprise all went their separate ways with their own commands and assignments. After a short marriage to Jean-Luc, Dr. Beverly Crusher commands her own starship (USS Pasteur) providing medical assistance where needed. There were also two huge events that impacted Picard in the worst way possible.

Ambassador Spock approaches Picard about his concerns over a star near the Romulan Republic that is about to go supernova. The Federation agrees to help their former enemy evacuate Romulus and orders a fleet of starships ready to transport the billions of Romulans to a new world. Here is where Nero the Romulan time traveling villain from the Star Trek 2009 reboot gets involved, creating the alternative (Kelvin) timeline from the original Star Trek franchise.

Meanwhile, in the Picard timeline, Admiral Picard, being the true humanitarian that he is, prepares plans to move billions of Romulans from their home-worlds before the Hobus Star goes supernova. When the Utopia Planitia shipyard on Mars is attacked by a group of rogue A.I.s called "Synths" on what would have been the 323rd anniversary of "First Contact Day" leaving over 3000 dead and the Federation to band all synthetics.

Due to the lack of resources because of the attack on Mars, the Federation had to renege on their promise to help Romulus, leaving Admiral Picard and his first officer Rafaella "Raffi" Musiker in a precarious position with the Romulans. As result planets, Romulus and Remus were destroyed. Being of strong character, Admiral Picard resigns his commission in protest of the Federation's decision to abandon Romulus.

Now enough with the history lesson, my thoughts on Picard is mixed. Yes, I loved all ten episodes. And the new characters especially Santiago Cabrera as Captain Rios and Michelle Hurd as Raffi Musiker. The chemistry between all three characters is dynamic. Did I happen to mention Cabrera's other five characters? They are all emergency holographs and provide a little bit of humor along the way. There are plenty of protagonists onboard. Newcomer Harry Treadaway as Narek who is Soji's on-again, off-again boyfriend, Peyton List as Narissa Narek's sister, a member of the Zhat Vash and Tamlyn Tomita as Commodore Oh a half-Romulan and operative of the Tal Shiar are wonderful as the Romulan villains. Another character to keep an eye on is Elnor played brilliantly by Evan Evagora, the Romulan refugee, who does not know either to hate or love his old mentor Picard for abandoning him when he was a child.

There is plenty that I do like about "Star Trek: Picard". I will recommend this as a MUST SEE. But there is one point of contention. The same point that Stephen Kelly brought up in his article in The Guardian. When Gene Roddenberry created the Star Trek universe, he envisioned a world free of hunger, vices, wants, and the need for possessions. Throughout any of the series and movies for the exception of the Ferengi, there was hardly any mention of the need for money and personal profit. Perhaps, in the end, Roddenberry was envisioning some sort of a Socialist culture. He was defiantly promoting humanity.

With every reiteration of any television or movie franchise that comes along, the new producers and writers feel the need to "modernize" the story. Keep in mind Star Trek happens in the future, what is there that needs to be modernized? I appreciate the "grittiness" of Picard. I appreciate the dark pessimism in the Federation. I even appreciate the morally bleak outlook for humanity. I appreciate that the producers maintained a lot of the visual history of cities such as Boston, San Francisco, Paris, and Okinawa. Who knows how these cities will look like in three or four hundred years?

In the effort to modernize "Star Trek: Picard" here is what I do not appreciate; the foul language, the vaping, the divisiveness, and the needless use of pain and suffering. This is not the Star Trek that Gene Roddenberry had in mind. A lot of what we saw in past Star Trek stories had nothing to do with television broadcast standards of yesteryear. We saw how Roddenberry pushed the envelope when Kirk and Uhura shared that kiss on broadcast TV. We saw it because Roddenberry truly believed the kiss would not be an issue, in three hundred years. So why now are we seeing Star Trek characters vaping, suffering from addiction, cursing at one another, randomly chopping heads off, androids having sex, and treating others badly? Yes, all this is real, it happens today in 2020. But not in Roddenberry's futuristic vision.

Michael Chabon, defended "Star Trek: Picard" new direction in an Instagram post; saying that "shadow defines light", that "if nothing can rock the Federation's perfection, then it's just a magical land". While I can agree with rocking the Federation's perfection, I cannot agree with how we get there. To enjoy the next two seasons of "Star Trek: Picard" we must lose the language, the smoking, the gratuitous sex, the vaping and addictions. I get the need to "modernize" a classic to include the vices of TODAY, but Star Trek happens in the world of TOMORROW where all of these have been solved or eliminated.

One more pet peeve, if androids, synthetics, or A.I.s are all as sophisticated in the future world of Star Trek's future, why the need for retina scans or any kind of security to unlock a door? Aren't these synthetics already connected to a network of some kind, and all they must do to unlock a door is just command it through the Positronic Brain's neural network? Just wondering.

It is April 1917. The 2nd Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment is poised to attack the Germans near the Hindenburg Line in northern France. General Erinmore has learned that the 2nd Battalion is walking into an ambush. He sends two British soldiers to warn the Devonshire Regiment not to go forward with the attack that would decimate the more than 1,600 men of the Devonshire Regiment. They have less than 24 hours to find the regiment and deliver orders to Colonel MacKenzie to stand-down.

The film is produced by Sam Mendes whose grandfather, Alfred Mendes served in World War I. The film is based on a narrative by the elder Mr. Mendes about two young British soldiers that crossed enemy lines to save a regiment that is walking into an ambush. The film stars; George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Claire Duburcq, Colin Firth, and Benedict Cumberbatch. The cinematographer is Roger Deakins who is known for creating long continuous shots in one take. He is a master of using zoom, pan, and tilt technics with a steady-cam that follows a character through numerous scenes in one single shot.

The film opens with Lance Corporals Tom Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Will Schofield (George MacKay) napping on a grassy hill when they are summoned to report to General Erinmore (Colin Firth). If you remember from history, World War I was called the "trench war" because both the British and German soldiers dug deep elaborate trenches on the battlefield. This would allow soldiers to move around freely while protecting them from small arms fire, artillery shells, and mustard gas. The land between the two opposing armies or fronts was referred to as "No Man's Land". Anyone crossing into this zone was considered, dead. A barbed-wire ran parallel to the trenches was usually littered by dead bodies both human and animal.

The two soldiers set out running through a labyrinth of trenches, then crossing "No Man's Land" into the German front making their way through the German trenches and finally behind enemy lines. Along the way, they run into trouble but they manage to keep one another motivated with one goal in mind; to save the men of the 2nd Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment as well as Corporal Blake's brother, Lieutenant Joseph Blake (Richard Madden).

The film is a cinematic masterpiece. Sam Medes managed to take the audience into the trenches. We were made to feel the corporals' cold and wet as they crawled in and out of bomb craters. As well as the smell of death that surrounded these two brave men. We experienced the fear of Corporal Schofield as he ran from German snipers and other soldiers as he hid in the bombed-out village of Écoust-Saint-Mein. There Corporal Schofield comes across Lauri (Claire Duburcq) a French woman and a baby hiding in a bombed-out building. As dawn came, the corporal had only hours to find the 2nd Battalion and when it was time to leave it was heartbreaking to watch him walk away from Lauri and the baby as he had to move on to complete the mission.

We cheered Corporal Schofield on as he sprints through the battlefield as soldiers from the 2nd Battalion poured on to the field amidst the artillery shells raining down on the troops. The corporal finally makes his way through the trench to Colonel Mackenzie (Benedict Cumberbatch) to deliver the orders from General Erinmore. The battalion is ordered to stand-down and the corporal is left with one more mission to complete. He finds Corporal Blake's older brother, Lt. Joseph Blake, to give him the sad news about his younger brother, who was killed by a German pilot they saved from a burning plane. As the two stand there, we feel the pain that both of these men shared.

"1917" received 10 nominations including Best Picture and Best Director and of course Best Cinema-photography. This is a definite must-see if not for its historical value, but for its photography and storytelling from the point-of-view of someone that was there slogging through the mud in the miles of trenches.

Is he, or isn't he? After US Troops are pulled out of Syria, the caliphate launches an attack on Damascus, holding it under seize. A man stands in the middle of a haboob in the Middle East preaching to a group of young men and soon the small group of 2000 followers, led by this mysterious man, is walking through the desert towards the Israeli border. He has piqued the interest of a CIA agent. Who is this mysterious man? Those that follow refer to him as 'Isa (Jesus) or "Messiah".

Season one of the 10-part series is streaming on Netflix and was created by Michael Petroni who is also one of the producers along with Mark Burnett and wife, Roma Downey. Burnett and his wife also produced The Bible and other faith-based scripted series such as A.D. and the Dovekeepers.

"Messiah" stars; Mehdi Dehbi as Al-Masih, Tomer Sisley as Aviram Dahan, Michelle Monaghan as CIA case officer, Eva Geller, John Ortiz as Pastor Felix Iguero, Melinda Page Hamilton as Anna Iguero, Stefania LaVie Owen as Rebecca Iguero, Jane Adams as Miriam Keneally, Sayyid El Alami as Jibril Medina, Fares Landoulsi as Samir, Wil Traval as Will Mathers, Michael O'Neill as Cameron Collier and many others.

The series was shot on location internationally including the Middle East; Amman, Jordan, Ramallah, West Bank, Palestine, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Israel Temple Mount. USA locations include; Texas, Washington DC, Arkansas and New Mexico.

The main character Al-Masih (Mehdi Dehbi) comes across as simple and unassuming. He is mysterious with a history he is hiding. And Eva Geller (Michelle Monaghan) a CIA Case Agent will stop at nothing to find out what Al-Masih is hiding and who he really is. Could he be ISIL or Al-Qaeda? With the help of Aviram Dahan (Tomer Sisley) an Israeli Security Agency officer the two bash heads over how to handle the investigation. While interrogating Al-Masih, he seems to know too much about Dahan's past and feels threatened by his presence. The following day Al-Masih seemingly disappears from his cell and shows up at the Israel Temple Mount where he is noticed by the visitors who are familiar with who he is and a crowd forms. In the mayhem, a boy is shot dead and Al-Masih raises him from the dead. A miracle.

Agent Geller searches through surveillance footage from cameras overseeing the steps at the temple shows exactly what happened including the apparent resurrection of the boy and the disappearance of Al-Masih who suddenly appears in Texas just in time to redirect a tornado threating a small church. He befriends Pastor Felix Iguero (John Ortiz) who has lost his faith and his wife Anna (Melinda Page Hamilton) and sixteen-year-old daughter Rebecca (Stefania LaVie Owen). After seeing the miracle with the tornado that Al-Masih performed Pastor Felix is convinced that their strange visitor from the Middle East is for real. Soon everyone from across the country treks to the small town of Dilley, Texas to see the Messiah including FBI agent Will Mathers (Will Traval) who immediately arrests Al-Masih as a foreign national. Together, agents Mathers and Geller work to discredit the Messiah.

The third miracle, if you are keeping count, is walking on water. After getting to Washington DC following that long drive from Dilley, Al-Masih and a couple thousand of his followers head to the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial. There Al-Masih makes a proclamation; those that have faith will see the miracle while those that do not will see what they want to see (something to that effect). Al-Masih then proceeds to walk across the pool. On water.

Here is where religion, faith, and politics begin to convolute. The pastor and his family that lost their way needed Al-Masih to help them regain their belief in God. Where thousands of Americans bring their sick to Dilley Texas in hopes of the real deal that will make their loved ones well. While in the Middle East, the young man Jibril Medina (Sayyid El Alami) who was left for dead at the hands of ISA Officer Aviram Dahan after being tortured. Medina's strong faith in Al-Masih leads him to a new life as a disciple of the supposed Messiah. Politically the US Government wants the Messiah gone. Government official Cameron Collier (Michael O'Neill) is pulling all the strings and is upset that the president and Al-Masih had a clandestine meeting without him. After meeting with Al-Masih, President Young (Dermot Mulroney) is now in doubt of his own faith.

The series is controversial to Netflix. Regardless of faith or politics, there is something in the "Messiah" that will annoy some and make others rethink their faith and beliefs. Although fictional, the idea that our government manipulating one's faith and beliefs is reprehensible. "Messiah" demonstrates how gullible people can be when they are searching for something to believe in. Whether it is a politician trying to suppress the truth or someone desperate for a cure to their illness, this series serves as a guide to understanding that God has a plan for every living thing on Earth. The Messiah brought peace to those in pain. We saw that with the prostitute that did not follow through with her assignment and some may say that she was healed. The little girl who had cancer, Al-Masih did not heal her but instead quelled her fears about death. She went quietly and peacefully in the end. Or did she? We saw Samir (Farès Landoulsi) a pilgrim traveling with Jibril as they followed Al-Masih to the Israeli border take a whole different direction than Jibril becoming a disciple of ISIL.

There is a lot here for everyone. Some may like the series and it will return for a second season on Netflix. Others will not like "Messiah" and it will end here. Time will tell.

You would think this being the last Star Wars in the series, it would be EPIC. But this fell way short of expectations. This new plot is a recycled plot from "Episode VI - Return of the Jedi". Remember? Back then, the Rebel Alliance heads out to destroy yet, another Death Star. This time the evil Emperor Palpatine is on board the Death Star overseeing the construction himself along with his prodigy Darth Vader (voiced by James Earl Jones). Like in the first Star Wars movie (Episode IV), there is a huge celebration by the Rebels for their victory over the Galactic Empire and the motley crew of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Han Solo (Harrison Ford), and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) are awarded medals for saving Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) from what would have been certain death at the hand of Lord Vader.

The destruction of that last Death Star happened in 1983, now fast-forward to 2019 in what appears to be the last film in the Skywalker/Han Solo saga. These are the parallels between "Episode VI - Return of the Jedi" and "Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker", the Luke Skywalker character is replaced by Rey Palpatine (Daisy Ridley) and the Darth Vader character is replaced by Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). The Han Solo character became Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and the evil Emperor? Well, he is still around, sort of. Except for these changes in characters and absent a few Ewoks the plot is almost exactly the same as "Return of the Jedi" including Lando Carlrissian (Billy Dee Williams) and Leia Organa who is now a General in the First Order.

The Galactic Empire is still a threat except now it's called the First Order. Thanks to the almighty, there is no Death Star or Death Planet a la "Episode VII - The Force Awakens". No this time the Emperor has done one better, he amassed a huge fleet of Star Destroyers outfitted with planet-killing cannons. Like in "Return of the Jedi" a small group of Rebels, from the New Republic lead by Fin (John Boyega), must somehow infiltrate the main Star Destroyer to disable technology meant to protect the rest of the fleet. Without rehashing the last two Star Wars films, there is still that battle between good and evil. Rey the light of hope, is struggling with her destiny, while Kylo embraces the dark side. He is even more intent on destroying Rey at the urging of Emperor Palpatine who somehow still survives after being tossed into the reactor core by Darth Vader in Episode VI.

As Luke and Darth Vader fought in Episode VI, so do Rey and Kylo on the planet Kef Bir where the second Death Star fell 30 years earlier in "Return of the Jedi". In the end, there was peace and redemption between father and son, as Anakin Skywalker lay dying on the floor of the crumbling Death Star. Watching the energy between Rey and Kylo in the latest film was Déjà vu from "Return of the Jedi". However, the battle between Luke and Vader played was much better because it was real, as there was no CGI in 1983.

Like I said before, I was expecting the end of the Skywalker saga to be epic not a rehash of "Return of the Jedi". Was this playing it safe or was there no more story to tell? This was a huge disappointment re-watching what I saw 36 years ago. Perhaps, for the new generation, this is refreshing and exciting. For die-hard fans, I can not recommend this film. But it will make a ton of money for Disney.

Netflix's "Lost in Space" 2018-19 is not your dad's Lost in Space (1965-1968). When watching the latest version of the Irwin Allen classic, it is important to keep that in mind. I grew up watching the original saga of the space family Robinson each week on CBS. I enjoyed this new science fiction program immensely. Then in January of the following year, ABC launched a new television series about a batman. It was edgy, colorful, and campy. Giving my Lost in Space a run for ratings. The following season "Lost in Space" had to be campy, it had to be edgy, and it was in color. The science behind interstellar space travel was gone and the show turned into the monster of the week freak show.

There was a Lost in Space film made in 1998 that starred William Hurt as Professor John Robinson, Mimi Rogers as Maureen, Mark LeBlanc as Don West, Heather Graham as Judy, Lacey Chabert as Penny and Jack Johnson as Will. The Robot was redesigned for the movie but was still voiced by Dick Tufeld who was the voice of the Robot throughout its entire 1960s run. A few of the original cast members had cameos in the movie.

In April 2018 release, Netflix launched its version of "Lost in Space" which I will refer to as LiS from here on out. The cast includes; Molly Parker, Toby Stephens, Maxwell Jenkins, Tylor Russell, Mina Sundwall, Ignacio Serricchio, Brian Steele, Douglas Hodge, and Parker Posey as the incorrigible Dr. Z. Smith. Bill Mumy and Angela Cartwright (Will and Penny Robinson respectively) from the original series made cameo appearances in the first season of LiS. The premier of the new LiS was mildly received by audiences with a 68% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The biggest complaint was, go figure, the lack of the campiness of the original.

The story behind Lost in Space was inspired by the 1812 novel "The Swiss Family Robinson" who were Swiss immigrants shipwrecked on an island on their way to Australia. The Netflix series and the movie were re-tooled from the original Lost in Space, focusing instead on the science and family dynamics instead of the campiness. Gone was the "monster of the week" concept that would have made Irwin Allen and Guy Williams who played Prof. John Robinson, happy since they opposed that concept in the first place.

In all three versions of Lost in Space, the Earth is in trouble. In the 1960s version, a deadly asteroid is headed our way. In the 1998 movie, global warming and pollution are at its peak. And in the 2018 version, a meteor hits the Earth causing all kinds of environmental issues. Unbeknownst to anyone the meteor contained some alien technology that would eventually help humans get to Alpha Prime in the constellation of Centaurus. Earth scientists learned that the alien technology could bend time and space, allowing for an interstellar spacecraft to go from point A to point B in a short amount of time rather than taking years or decades to get there.

Season one of LiS was received with mixed reviews. Some old-timers were put off by the seriousness of the new LiS. Sure, the entire Robinson family is there. But as I watched the first episode, I kept wondering where is the Robot? Flashbacks showed Major Don West (Ignacio Serricchio) and this woman pretending to be Dr. Smith (Parker Posey) up to no good as they steal a Jupiter during a catastrophic event aboard the star-ship Resolute. Many of the families aboard the star-ship escape to the planet surface in their own Jupiter habitat crafts. The Robinson family in their Jupiter lands on a partially thawed glacier and immediately gets into trouble.

By the end of the 10th episode of Netflix's LiS, I was all in. Yes, Major West showed up eventually, and Dr. Smith is even more dangerous and manipulative than ever, and the Robot (Brian Steele) finally makes his appearance. But not like how everyone would expect him to be. Without any kind of explanation, this time the Robot is a sentient being. Like Star Trek's the Borg, this Robot is from a part of the universe where Artificial Intelligence and machines are the superior race.

The Robot is also a victim of what happened aboard the star-ship. His spacecraft was damaged and crashed on the same planet all the rest of the colonists from the Resolute escaped to. After falling through a cravas, Will Robinson (Maxwell Jenkins) comes across the damaged Robot making an instant connection while helping the Robot repair its self. Meanwhile back at the Jupiter 2, Will's older sister, Judy (Tylor Russell) who is trapped in the ice talks her younger sister Penny (Mina Sundwall) through a difficult medical procedure to save their mother Maureen (Molly Parker).

A few weeks after the first season of LiS was released, Netflix announced there will be a season two. I was excited to hear that, but with a bit of trepidation. I was afraid that season two of LiS was going to fall flat. It did not. It was dramatic, exciting and it filled in those loose ends from season one. Yes, there are a lot of backstories this season. We learned about the relationship between John Robinson (Toby Stephens) and Judy. We learned who Maureen made a deal with to change Will's scores so that he would be eligible to travel with the rest of the colonists on board the Resolute to Alpha Prime.

We learned a bit more about the race of robots as Will, Maureen, and Captain Ben Adler (J.J. Field) who is in charge of the "Scarecrow" project onboard the Resolute, search for Will's Robot on the desolate planet. However, Captain Adler is up to something else. Dr. Smith poisons the head of security and comes face to face with the daughter of the man she blew out into space in the first season. Penny reconnects with an old friend. Major West and John spend a little time in the brig while Maureen plans a mutiny to save the mission.

Will and the Robot finally come together but Adler and Hastings (Douglas Hodge) had other plans for the Robot once they got it back to the Resolute. As the episodes rolled on, the Robinsons became closer as a family. Before leaving Earth, John Robinson was a Navy SEAL. He and Maureen become more and more distant as he was always deployed half a world away and Maureen worked on the designs of the star-ship Resolute and the many Jupiter's that are essentially spaceships that will also serve as habitats for the families once they get to Alpha Centauri. Unlike the original Lost in Space, Netflix's version spends a lot of time dealing with family issues. Which is compounded by the fact that they are also space travelers. Those family dynamics are even tested when Dr. Smith is up to no good. There are a couple of times when Smith saves the day and eventually learns how a family always sticks together.

At the conclusion of episode 10 of the second season, the Resolute is under attack by the robot race. To save the mission, Judy comes up with a plan to at least save the more than ninety-one children, including Penny and Will, that are on board the Resolute. With the help of the Robot and the "Engine", the device capable of bending space, a transport carrier is sent through to what the children hope is Alpha Centauri. But is it? And if the race of robots is after the "Engine" will they follow the children? And finally, what happened to the Resolute, Dr. Smith, and the Robinsons?

As I said before, this is not your dad's Lost in Space. This adventure drama is a roller-coaster ride. There is science, drama, laughter, sentiment, and suspense. A bit of the plot is formula writing, but it does not matter because the show is so much fun to watch. The only thing that would make it even better for me, if there were maybe fifteen or twenty episodes per season. I definitely recommend Netflix's Lost in Space. It currently is streaming.

This is one of those obscure movies that kinda gets you in the end. I did not expect this at all. And it was nice to see Sadie Sink's acting chops in something else other than the "Upside Down" (Stranger Things). This is the latest suspense thriller in the Netflix library. The 1hr and 38min movie started streaming just in time for Halloween.

The film is about a boy Eli played brilliantly by Charlie Shotwell, who is suffering from an auto-immune disorder. His mother Rose (Kelly Reilly) and his father Paul (Max Martini) take Eli to an old nunnery where a mysterious Doctor Horn (Lili Taylor) treats Eli with three different treatments supposedly to cure him. While at the old mansion strange things start to happen that only Eli can see and experience. Then Eli meets Haley (Sadie Sink) who he can only visit with through a pane of glass.

I enjoyed this film, maybe because I am really not into horror, but I found this entertaining. I think we will see a lot of Charlie Shotwell in the years to come he brilliantly carried the movie from a vulnerable sick kid to what he ends up as at the end.

"Another Life" is Netflix's latest space drama. A 10-episode series that started streaming on Netflix, July 25, 2019. The series stars Katee Sackhoff, Selma Blair, Tyler Hoechlin, Justin Chatwin, Samuel Anderson, Elizabeth Ludlow, Blu Hunt, A.J. Rivera, Alexander Eling, Alex Ozerov, Jake Abel, JayR Tinaco, Jessica Camacho, Greg Hovanessian, Barbara Williams, Lina Renna, and many more.

A Mobius Strip looking flying object lands some where on Earth. The craft sits there for days without moving or making a sound. They call this object the "artifact" and scientist Erik Wallace (Justin Chatwin) is sent in to figure out how to communicate with the aliens inside the craft. After a while, a crystal monolith grows from the Mobius. After several attempts, Erik and his team does make some progress but is later stalled. The United States Interstellar Command decides to fly a starship to the "artifact's" homeworld to find out if they are friend or foe. To command the mission the USIC calls on Wallace's wife Niko Breckinridge (Katee Sackhoff).

Now I am a sucker for anything Katee Sackhoff is in. She spent several years in northern New Mexico filming the long-running series Longmire (2012-2017) as Deputy Victoria 'Vic' Moretti. The ship is capable of traveling at 3 times the speed of light so the crew of the starship Salvare is placed in hibernation for the long journey. As with any long-distance space, travel protocol calls for the commander to be woken up if there is an issue. Guess what, the ship is knocked off course and Captain Niko is awakened.

It's a SyFy drama like any other. Except for this one maybe should not have been made. There is really not that much more to say about it. The diverse crew is made up of a bunch of 20-somethings from different walks of life. There is also one AI onboard his name is William (Samuel Anderson) who has an interesting relationship with Captain Niko. There are approximately eight astronauts on board the Salvare. Right off the second in command Ian Yerxa (Tyler Hoechlin) is killed at the end of episode 1. Caption Niko then defrosts another 20-something Cas Isakovic (Elizabeth Faith Ludlow) to replace her number one. It turns out Captain Niko has a history with this individual as well. From this point forward, the captain loses a crew member every other episode. She then goes back to her frozen supply of astronauts and defrosts another. No telling how many spare astronauts she has in the freezer.

There are so many goofs in this adventure to count. First the set, as for the exterior of the starship the CGI looks great. Go inside the ship, it looks nothing how the ship should be laid out. The wall panels look cheap with a poor attempt at looking technical by place colored conduit on the wall panels. The other issue, when venturing out into space, you stick to the script. If the protocol says an astronaut will not open his face-plate for any reason, you do not. Do not bring alien soil back to the mother ship without isolation. Use the buddy system, you never leave sight of your fellow astronaut. And you never go on a spacewalk by yourself. If you use something such as a particle accelerator as a power source, do not place that thing inside the spaceship with the humans. William the AI pilots the starship mostly in autopilot, when human intervention is required Captain Niko jumps into the pilot's couch and straps down while the rest of the crew kind of stands around. Although there were a few times the crew was ordered to buckle up into these temporary jump seats. Most importantly do not let your computer AI fall in love with you.

Meanwhile back o Earth, there is a lot of drama going on. Captain Niko's husband although making some headway with the alien artifact, has been able to open a portal into the Mobius. The Secretary of Defense Egan Harrison (Martin Donovan), whose son is a crew member onboard the Salvare, shows up and, as in many SyFy dramas, has his own secret agenda. During one of Secretary Harrison's attempt to enter the Mobius, Jana Breckinridge-Wallace (Lina Renna) Captain Niko's daughter was caught in the melee and was inflicted with leukemia which she never had. Her dad, Erik Wallace is beside himself with guilt and will do anything to save his daughter. Including consorting with the enemy or alien who has inhabited Internet reporter Harper Glass's (Selma Blair) brain.

My thoughts on Another Life is; poor acting, stupid science although interesting concept, ugly sets, profanity, soft porn lots of it, more useless profanity and did I mention the over the top every other word profanity? There is talk about a second season. Because I will watch anything with Katee Sackhoff in it, I did manage to make it to the last episode. However, not so sure I can watch more of the same thing in a second season. Bottom line, unless you are into porn and profanity, then go elsewhere watch "Howard the Duck," "Stranded," or "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" for quality SyFy. Or better yet if you still want to watch a Katee Sackhoff movie besides "Battle-star Galactica", tune in to "2038 Origin Unknown" it is also streaming on Netflix.

Many Many spoilers ahead

The latest installment of "Stranger Things" (NETFLIX, July 4, 2019) from Matt and Ross Duffer, is fun to watch, to say the least. It is a huge improvement over "Stranger Things 2". The kids are getting older and so, therefore, the stories are becoming darker with even more danger. This season, the Duffer brothers spend more time with the adults of Hawkins Indiana where in season 2 was spent showcasing Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown). Don't get me wrong, I love Ms. Brown's performance. She is a wonderful actress and has created one of the most interesting and beloved characters on television to date. Perhaps, the time spent on this one character was the thing to do. We got to learn more about Eleven and how she got to be a test subject at the Hawkins National Laboratory. In a detour to Chicago, we learned there were more test subjects out there. We met Kali (Linnea Berthelsen), test subject number Eight who has even stronger powers than Eleven. Maybe all this will make sense in "Stranger Things 4" when we might see the other test subjects from the Hawkins National Laboratory show up to help El with her next encounter with the Upside Down.

A few observations, some of which were mentioned here by other viewers. The comments referenced the term "PC" for Political Correctness, at least I think that is what they were going for. "Stranger Things" takes place in the mid-1980s. It is about flawed people dealing with everyday problems that sometimes go to the extreme. Topics such as one's sexual orientation, race, or women's equality were not openly discussed or easily accepted as it is today. One viewer commented about the acceptance of a black boy or even girls into their small group that just happens to be nerds that spend all their free time playing Dungeons & Dragons. Being outcasts in 1985, these boys did not pay attention to race or if someone was a boy or girl, they just wanted to have fun enjoying the things they all had in common. The brothers got the treatment of women in the workplace right. The humiliation that Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer) had to endure while working at the Hawkins Post was right on even if it was a little overplayed.

Among the many reasons, being Politically Correct is why we see a lot of strong "kick-ass" women in films these days. Which is great, but does this impact the creativeness of filmmakers when they produce period films such as "Stranger Things"? In the 1980s and 90s, these exceptional women were made to stay in the shadows because women were not supposed to be smart or independent. Can you imagine what would happen to Nancy if she stood up to those bullies in the newsroom?

The Marvel Universe gave us Agent Peggy Carter played brilliantly by Hayley Atwell. Agent Carter was part of the team in the 1940s that transformed Steve Rogers into Captain America. She was described as a brilliant "badass" part agent part scientist that could hold her own in any situation. These are the traits we see in Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder), Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer), Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink), Robin (Maya Hawke), and even little Erica Sinclair (Priah Ferguson) the ten-year-old little sister to Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin). These are the ladies that save Hawkins from the monsters of the Upside-Down once again.

Here are other observations we saw this season. Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), after playing such a huge part in "Stranger Things 2", his role was rather limited this time around. Will wants things to go back to the way it was before he was whisked away to the Upside Down. Before Eleven showed up. Before the Mind Flayer possessed his body. The comment from Mike to Will, "It's not my fault you don't like girls . . . yet," left many viewers wondering if the missing word "yet" was intentional? Russian spies in the middle of Hawkins? Why are they wearing uniforms if they are to remain hidden? With the end of the Cold War just around the corner, how was this huge underground complex built in middle America without anyone being the wiser? At the hospital, what's with the RED M&M? This is 1985, more than a year before the MARS company included the any Red dye in their candies. Does Chief Hopper really need to chain-smoke? Does he really need to take his anger out on the kids? But again this was the 1980s before second-hand smoke was considered to be a problem and yelling at children was how discipline was handed out. Although, he did manage to kick-ass with the guy that looked an awful lot like the TERMINATOR. I have a feeling that guy might be back.

On the plus side. It was great to spend more time with adults. The chemistry between Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) and Jim Hopper (David Harbour) was refreshing even with the constant bickering between them. The banter between Scoops Ahoy employees Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) and Robin (Maya Hawke) was very entertaining. And of course, the camaraderie between Steve and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) continues as it did in "Stranger Things 2". All three characters just seemed to click when they got together to decode the Russian transmissions. The blossoming romance between Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard) and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) was nice to see continue and then watch it change along the way after Eleven and Max spent the day at the Starcourt Mall just being teenagers. It was great to see Millie Bobby Brown's fashion sense carry over to her character Eleven. I was not a fan of Max Mayfield's stepbrother, Billy Hargrove (Dacre Montgomery) in "Stranger Things 2". He was absolutely horrible to his little sister Max and that's pretty much all the actor (Dacre) was given to do. That evilness made it easy to accept him as the villain when he was possessed by the Mind Flayer. In the end, however, Billy had enough humanity left in him to save Eleven from what would have been certain death.

Ignoring the logical fallacies "Strange Things 3" is fun to watch. While some of the episodes moved slowly, the viewers had time to understand what was happening to the characters. With so many things happening, the Duffer brothers juggled the four plot lines masterfully. We had to keep track of the Russians, the teenage angst, Hopper and Joyce, and the creatures from the Upside Down. All of this had to come together in a nice little package in chapter 8, The Battle of Starcourt. It was a nice touch and perhaps a little corny, but the song "Never Ending Story" sung by Dustin and Suzie (Gabriella Pizzolo) turned into the never-ending song.

The kids are growing up and moving on, the series has to grow as well and the Duffer brothers are allowing that to happen. When the kids were younger, of course, they were coddled a bit. In "Stranger Things 2" we saw how dangerous El's powers can be. This season, she and the rest of the gang were allowed to experience death first-hand, love, angry people, gay people, and painful goodbyes. Eleven and Max lost a lot this season. They both lost people they loved and cared for. Neither one of the people they lost were perfect, but they were all they had. The children grew up alone and isolated with only one parent or in El's case no parents. Otherwise, both of these girls will grow up to become exceptional young ladies which I hope we get to see as "Stranger Things" continues. It was a solemn moment to watch the Byers pack up and leave Hawkins. Even if there were not a "Stranger Things 4" the last fifteen minutes of chapter 8 gives us closure. If we never go back to Hawkins, that would be fine with me. I think there is enough story with Eleven, the Byers, Kali (test subject number Eight), and of course Nancy and Jonathan. Maybe Max could come to visit or even move in with the Byers for more fun and adventures.

It has been five years since the "Blip" as they call it, that took away half the universe's population, a lot of Peter Parker's classmates have aged a bit for the exception of Peter who is still a 16-year-old junior in high school. Months pass after the Avengers beat Thanos and brought everyone back from the nether or wherever they ended up. Peter/Spider-Man (Tom Holland) feels that he needs a vacation to help him grieve for his friend and mentor, Tony Stark/Ironman (Robert Downey Jr.). Luckily Peter's class is headed to Europe This is where everything goes south.

The gang is all here; Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), MJ (Zendaya), and Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon). The class first heads to Venice when suddenly a water creature called an element wreaks havoc on the group of students. Conflicted about staying with his class or jumping into the fight, Peter reluctantly joins forces with a new "superhero" Quentin Beck/Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal). Together both of these superheroes manage to beat back the water creature. Enter Nick Fury who insists that Spider-Man steps-up since he is the only remaining Avenger on Earth at the moment. The class then moves on to Prague and then London for the last showdown.

The latest Spider-Man has plenty of action to complement the thin story that includes a lot of teenage angst. If it were not for the strong performances by the main cast this spidey version would have fallen flat. Diehard spider fans may not like the direction the last two Spider-Man versions (Garfield and Holland) have gone, however, Tom Holland's version is refreshing and fun to watch. I did have problems with the whole Mysterio thing. Although it was meant to be a roost, it was thinly played out and a bit awkward. It was not until Mysterio finally revealed his true intent that I got to enjoy the villainy angle, even if it still felt contrived. Overall the film is enjoyable and fun even if it ran a little long.

Everyone has a bucket list of some kind. A terminal illness adds urgency in fulfilling what is on that bucket list. Sometimes it can't be done without help from very special friends and family. "Then Came You" is about a teenager named Skye, played by Maisie Williams, who is dealing with a terminal illness. Along comes, Calvin played by Asa Butterfield who thinks he has just about every illness that is out there. The two meet at a cancer support group.

A contributing factor to Calvin's hypochondria was the death of his twin sister several years before in an auto accident that also left their mother in a severely depressed state. To help deal with his phobia Calvin attends the cancer support group. Then comes Skye, a Spitfire free-spirited young lady that makes an instant connection with the very studious no-nonsense Calvin. Although the connection seems to be one-way at first, Skye pushed on to gain Calvin's friendship by going to his work at the local airport where Calvin works as a baggage handler. Her daily visits then begin to rub off on him and soon Calvin gains his confidence back and loses his hypochondria along the way as he helps Skye fulfill her bucket list.

The movie is a great example of what true friendship is. No doubt it is a tearjerker and Maisie Williams is amazing as Skye and carry's the movie all the way to her conclusion. Asa's performance, however, came across as bored. There were a few scenes where Asa looked as if he was somewhere else. His piercing blue eyes rolled a few times whenever Maisie delivered her lines. There was some chemistry between the two actors, but not enough to care what happens to Calvin and his love interest Izzy a stewardess played by Nina Dobrev. Her performance was also flat and one dimensional. I found it hard to believe that Izzy would fall for a guy that looked almost ten years younger than she was. One last thing, who's idea was it for Calvin to show Skye the coffin he made for her. Choosing a coffin was on her bucket list. Calvin made Skye a promise to help her complete that list. I think Skye just knowing that Calvin had taken care of that item would have been enough without being too creepy.

The movie was released direct to video in February.

Imagine a world with no Coke, Oasis, Harry Potter, Cigarettes, and the Beatles. Ok, a world without cigarettes would be a good thing. This is exactly what Directory Danny Boyle was going for in his latest film "Yesterday" starring Himesh Patel (Jack Malik), Lily James (Ellie Appleton), Sophia Di Martino (Carol), Joel Fry (Rocky), and Ed Sheeran (Ed Sheeran). Jack is a down on luck, struggling, an unattractive songwriter who one night, on his way home, gets hit by a bus during a worldwide blackout. The blackout is key to what happens next.

Laid up in the hospital with two missing teeth, Jack's best friend and manager Ellie pays him a visit. She breaks the news to him about his broken guitar and his sort of comical looking smile. When Jack references an old Beatles song "When I'm Sixty-Four", Ellie completely misses the reference. In fact, he learns that nobody knows anything about who the Beatles were. For some reason, Coca-Cola and Harry Potter do not exist either. Some of the user reviews on IMDB compare the movie to an old Syfy television show from the 80's that deals with parallel universes phenomena where somebody, either Jack or everyone on Earth, in this case, is transported to an alternate universe. Was this divine intervention or can a simple solar flare somehow change history?

The point is not to over analysis the movie. Accept it for what it is and enjoy the music. Too bad however there was not more of those nostalgic songs that made the Beatles famous in this universe. There was some familiarity in the plot that reminded me of other films but watching Jack and Rocky interact with Ed Sheeran was still fun while at the same time watching Jack struggle with his moral dilemma. What should Jack do, tell the world who is really the musical genius behind his success? No one knows who the Beatles are so what harm will it cause?

Lily James is adorable as Jack's love interest and manager Ellie Appleton. Or perhaps it's the other way around, as Ellie is in love with Jack without him realizing it. The underlying message is that one does not need to be beautiful or charismatic to find love or become a huge star. You just need to be honest with yourself. Know your limitations and find a way to challenge those limitations to be the best YOU, you can be.

"Yesterday" is no superhero movie by far. But it was the only "non-super hero" film where only those that were at least 60 years old and older stayed through the end credits just to listen for more original Beatles music.

I love Godzilla movies. Even the bad ones. I grew-up watching the atomic lizard as he came up from the depths of the sea to teach mankind a lesson about pollution and atom-bomb testing in our oceans. In the recent Godzilla film, it comes out to save mankind from several monstrous titans set on taking over the Earth for their own good.

Guest starring in the latest film is Mothra, Rodan, King Ghidorah, and a few others. But these guys along with Godzilla got the most screen time. On the human side we have Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Ken Watanabe, Ziyi Zhang, Bradley Whitford, Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, Thomas Middleditch, Aisha Hinds, O'Shea Jackson Jr. amongst a cast of many. Our little Millie Bobby Brown is growing up before our eyes. One of the young stars from "Stranger Things", Ms. Brown who play Eleven on the Netflix series, plays Madison the daughter of Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler) and Dr. Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga). Farmiga one of my favorite actors wasted a lot of her talent in this film. Kyle Chandler, another wise wonderful actor, performance as the estranged father and husband was a little over the top. Good thing I am a real monster lover, else I would have walked out.

Is Godzilla: King of the Monsters really a bad movie. No, the CGI is what drove the film. A good monster fight here and there to break up the monotony is what kept everyone's attention. I found the notion of a secrete organization whose mission is to find and keep an eye on monsters a little hard to believe. King Ghidorah is not of this world. The writers should have expanded on that story and leave the rest of the "titans" out of it so that Godzilla could fight with them another day.

We already know that Godzilla will head on over to Skull Island to visit an old friend. And Millie Bobby Brown is already cast to be in the next installment of the MonsterVerse series. Godzilla vs Kong is sure to be the biggest monster fight of the century, or at least until the next big CGI creature comes along.

Not the greatest of the Godzilla movies, but not the worst if anybody saw the ones from the 50's and 60's. If you are in the mood for a good monster flick, go watch Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

When Designated Survivor debut in 2016, I liked the premise of a low-level cabinet member all of the sudden becoming president of the most powerful country in the world. No one else but Kiefer Sutherland could pull this off with such grace and brilliance. The first season on ABC was great and I found it very intriguing. I waited in anticipation for the second season which I did not find as intriguing or interesting as the first. In fact, it was a little out there as if the show was being written by several different people. As much as I loved the show, I understand why ABC did not want to go with a third season especially given the turnover of writers and show-runners which ultimately lead to the decline in ratings.

I am six episodes into the new Designated Survivor which is sort of a return to the intrigue of the first season. The language is much bolder since this show has become a Netflix property. The show has also taken liberties with how and with who sex is depicted. But the biggest change is how the show is using events happening around the country to make a statement. At least that is what it looks like to me. So far everything but the kitchen sink has been thrown into the first six episodes. Transgender, the high cost of education, the high cost of prescription drugs, insurance coverage, immigration, blackmail both political and extramarital, bad politics, overzealous media, lying politicians, cancer, single parenting, the right to die, poor living conditions, child marriage, bad infrastructure, social media, white supremacy, DNA testing looking for lost family members, homosexuality, and something we have not heard about in a while HIV and AIDS. All happening in just the West Wing alone.

That is a long list, but there is one more plot-line. To me a huge issue that has not been talked about much in the media, Biohacking. Perhaps that is for the best. In season two, President Kirkman (Kiefer Sutherland) and FBI Agent Hanna Wells (Maggie Q) severed their professional relationship with Agent Wells losing her job with the FBI. In season three, in an off-shoot from the main story line, Agent Wells, who now works for the CIA, is investigating some mysterious deaths and an illness that seems to be targeting a minority group of the world's population. More on this topic later but, enough said for now.

This reincarnation of Designated Survivor with its many plot-lines, I am sure will hit a nerve with many demographic groups across this country and around the world. The producers' very cleverly inter-cut real interviews into the show to help drive home the point that the issues facing Americans are real. President Kirkman, an Independent, running for re-election is demonstrating how the two-party system in America is a hindrance to humanity. It is a broken system. If this show is designed to make people think, especially those in high places, I hope it succeeds. Yes, the show commingles a lot into its 40 plus minute format. But it says a lot about where this country is headed if things continue the way it is now. One clear message the show deliveries is how influential social media has become in our lives and in our politics. Those in government are too busy posturing instead of doing the job they were elected to. Thoughts about healthcare, infrastructure, education, environment, and peace all take a backseat to make sure that these folks are being "socially correct" and that their two-minute sound-bite sounds good. The news media is no help when they sit in judgement instead of reporting the news sometimes becoming the news.

Now for Biohacking. The process of editing DNA thus manipulating genes from just about any biological source. Any living thing from plants and animals to viruses and bacteria can be altered in a DIY laboratory in a neighbor's garage. Vary scary and very real. Called "a freedom to explore biology" many universities have opened up their biology labs to biohackers. These folks with a curiosity of how biology works are allowed to experiment and learn. Those experimenting unsupervised in their own home labs can be concerning. In Designated Survivor a White Supremacist group is believed to have bio hacked a virus to target only those they deemed unfit for humankind. I am no biologist, but could this really happen? Again, thanks to social media, there is talk around the Internet about how radicals can build Weapons of Mass Destruction such as a "dirty bomb". Could someone unintentionally create a real zombie apocalypse by messing with some virus?

Whatever the agenda is for the new Designated Survivor, I for one hope that President Kirkman wins re-election and that there is a season four. These are the qualities in a leader that our nation needs right now. Male or female whatever color that person is, we can only hope that he or she has some of the same qualities that Tom Kirkman demonstrates. If anything, there is something to be learned from watching Designated Survivor. Especially from the interviews the producers embedded into each episode.

Whenever a movie plot has to rely on time travel as a way to fix things, it usually means that the writers "painted themselves into a corner" and don't know how to get out of it. When done well such as in "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" (1986), the time travel gimmick can work wonders. In the original "Back to the Future" (1985) the time travel gimmick worked very well, but in subsequent versions of the "Back to the Future" franchise the time travel gimmick got old and hokey. In the latest, the fourth and final installment in the Avengers franchise "Endgame", we all saw it coming, time travel had to be the way to make things right in the universe again at least in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Like a couple of the other user reviews here, the more I thought about "Avengers: Endgame" Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, the more disappointed in the film I became. Last year's "Avengers: Infinity War" was the best. This film did not even come close. I am sorry. I really wanted to enjoy this movie enough to happily recommended it. It was the most highly anticipated film of the year. The first hour of the movie dragged so much that I felt it was unnecessary and added nothing to the film but made it an hour longer.

I have a question, why was Captain Marvel even in the film? If Tony Stark is to die at the end of the film, then he should have died in space at the beginning of the film. Just saying. There were many other directions the time travel plot could have gone that would have made this movie work better. There were many bothersome points in this film. Aside from Rocket who initially survived Thanos's finger snap the other Guardians of the Galaxy were irrelevant especially if Gamora at the end of the film was not the Gamora that had to give her life for the soul stone in "Infinity War". I guess we will see how this all turns out in the next Guardians of the Galaxy. I wonder if Yondu Udonta who died in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" will show up somewhere unless of course, he died before the finger snap in "Infinity War". I also wonder what happened to Dead Pool and the rest of the X-Men. Oh, I guess they are way on the other side of the MCU.

We all know, time travel or not, that the infinity stone that Dr. Strange had in his possession was the key to how the universe is saved. That stone, however, had to be retrieved to restore the universe back to the way it was. That is one of the many plot holes that the whole time travel gimmick left for us.

Now for the things I disagreed and agreed with. It was nice to get most of the Avengers back. However, I was not pleased with the loss of the Black Widow. Especially after investing a whole hour with her doing her best to hold things together. It seems to me that she would have made it back after Iron-man's finger snap that erased Thanos and his army from the universe. I don't even want to go into Steve Rogers going back in time to be with his beloved. I like the Tony and Pepper Potts had a child. It showed a softer side of Tony Stark. A beautiful daughter to carry on his legacy. And speaking of legacy it was nice to see Stan Lee's cameo once again.

If you have three hours to spare then go watch the whole movie. If you only have an hour and a half and if you time it right, you can watch the best that "Avengers: Endgame" has to offer. If you really want to see a good time travel movie, then watch H.G. Wells' "The Time Machine" (1960) starring Rod Taylor, Alan Young, and Yvette Mimieux directed by George Pal. "The Time Machine" won an Oscar for photography.

Remember the old saying, "if a film is short, it must be good." This is a short film for real, and it left me wanting to see more. What will happen to this kid after finding the TV in the basement? Who was watching? Where did he go? The emotions were raw and the dark and gray appearance of the film captured the coldnest of where the film takes place. The last 4 or five seconds of the film raised chills up and down my back.

With that said, it seems that Director Kevin Phillips could not make up his mind to make a teenage soap opera or a horror film. In either case, the plot would make an excellent movie. The Kid, played by Tristan Lake Leabu, played his scenes well, as did Esther Zynn who plays the Girl.

Hope to see more from this young director and the two actors.

There has only been one great sequel to Halloween, and that was Halloween II. The 2018 version of Halloween was supposed to be the next best sequel in the franchise, but did it meet expectations?

Critics and many moviegoers have said online that "Halloween (2018)" was the best of the franchise and a "must see". A return to the simplistic creepiness of the original John Carpenter film from 1978. A little late, but I finally got around to watching the latest version of Halloween starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, and Haluk Bilginer as Doctor Sartain the new "Dr. Loomis" originally played by Donald Pleasence in the 1978 version.

Depending on who you talk to, "Halloween 2018" is the best horror film for all of 2018, for those born after 1990 and have seen just enough "Halloween" movies to know enough of who the characters are. True "Halloween" fans will look a little deeper and be more critical. Although not the worst of the "Halloween" films in the franchise, I was still a bit disappointed and underwhelmed with this one.

Micheal Myers or The Shape whatever you want to call him has to be in his 60's by now. Twenty-four hours of mayhem murdering 13 adults 1 young boy and 3 teenagers and the guy did not even break a sweat. Each murder more gruesome than the last. In the end, it still looks as if the evil one escaped death once more. Wonder how much more punch is still left in Jamie Lee Curtis?