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RustyBoyz
Reviews
The Mandalorian: Chapter 24: The Return (2023)
We Are Stronger Together!
This episode is an action-packed and very satisfying finish for this season and does amazing at pulling all of the storylines together in a riveting finale.
I know that this season has had some small missteps along the way and some unneeded side stories, but I think it still did a great job overall at continuing the story told in the other seasons.
The season finale shows us the big battle that was begun in the previous episode, and the action here does not disappoint. Mando, Grogu, and the other Mandalorians each get a chance to shine and prove themselves, but it's not easy for them and takes a toll.
I was cheering as I watched, I was jumping up and down, I was biting my nails at times, and I finished feeling satisfied and thoroughly entertained. It's a great payoff and makes me very excited for the doors they've opened for what season 4 will hold.
The Chosen: Clean, Part 2 (2023)
I Feel Jesus' Love
Each episode of this series brings the life of Jesus and his followers more to understanding, and "Clean, Part 2" is one of the best at doing so. I love how personal this episode made the administrations of the Lord as he interacts one on one with those he heals and helps. The emotion and caring he showed to the woman with the issue of blood felt so real and genuine. It was a powerful moment that my whole family felt.
And Jesus teaching his apostles personally got my kids excited because they recognized the teachings and the meanings behind them. I felt like this season has been building to this episode, and now we're in anticipation for each New Testament sorry to be brought to life by the next episodes.
Willow (2022)
A great movie was ruined
I've been looking forward to seeing the Willow series since it was announced. I got my whole family pumped up to see it, and we watched the original this past Summer in preparation. Then we watch it and turned it off at the 12-minute mark when the two girls kiss. That was just the final straw though since this episode was torture to watch almost from the get go. As mentioned in other reviews, the dialog is terrible and not fitting at all, the boys and men are either wussies, annoying, no personality or all of that, and the plotline is overwrought, predictable, and uncreative. Hopefully Disney can learn from their many failed projects this year and start putting out stuff that their target audience actually wants to see.
Andor: Rix Road (2022)
That's How You Start a Rebellion
The only downside of this episode was how impatient I'm going to now be for the next season to come out. I was on the edge of my seat the whole episode - directors and studios everywhere could learn from this how to be patient in building the intensity and anticipation and how to get the viewer totally invested in the scene. I thought Luthen's and Kino's speeches from the previous episode were amazing, but Nemik's and Maarva's words in this episode are downright inspiring! This is the true prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy. This is the story that needed to be told about how the rebellion began! This is how Disney needs to make sure all Star Wars stories are told going forward! This is how you fight the evil that lurks in the darkness!
The Rookie: The Fugitive (2022)
Ok episode in a great show
I'm getting tired of Bailey and her ability to do anything, appear anywhere, and just being a Mary Sue. And her involvement in this episode is just as bad as the last episode. Ali Larter and even Chen were better with Nolan.
And Officer Juarez is a little much - her whole psychic abilities and focus on horoscopes is getting old quick and too much. I'm hoping she gets assigned to a different division and written off the show. We don't need the supernatural to come in and ruin the show like it did at times on "Castle".
On the other hand, Lopez, Harper, Chen, and Thorsen were great in this episode! I think Lopez and Harper are great working together. And Thorsen needs to be given more to do - it's ok that the story isn't as focused on him as it was last season, but he's still a great character and needs more story.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Alloyed (2022)
Better, but nothing was great
I didn't even realize until after It's finished this episode that this was the season finale. Because nothing felt really epic or having built up to a great moment. Not much action, no big battle or conflict. Lots more talking and characters staring concerned into the camera - Galadriel staring at Elrond and he staring back, Nori staring at her family, the Stranger staring at everyone, the camera lingering on the mithrial and forge; just too much with the long lingering shots. The only good part of the episode was with the Stranger, and that was ok at best.
The "big reveal" wasn't believable nor did it make a ton of sense. Too many lucky happenstances had to have happened to bring it about. The director probably thought the ending shots were epic but they were boring, predictable, and took too long.
And my whole family all laughed out loud at the song in the closing credits. Whatever stoic feeling there may have been was quickly dashed the moment that song started. Hopefully the writers and directors take note of what needs to be fixed and make Season 2 a whole lot better. As had been said before, I feel like all that happened this whole season could've been covered in a 4-minute prologue.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Partings (2022)
It is So Slow
After 5 episodes, the total screen time is 5 1/2 hours long. And yet almost nothing has happened. Everyone talks slowly or takes 5 pauses in one sentence. What few action scenes there are can't go more than 3 seconds without going to slo-mo. And the conversation between Galadriel and Halbrand with the back and forth quick shots of close-ups of their faces was amateurish at best and laughably bad at worst.
If they needed this amount of time for character development, they've wasted it because I don't care about any of these vapid, one-dimensional characters. I've seen more action and character development in a 3-min cartoon than this bloated, self-important, boring monstrosity has conjured up.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law: Is This Not Real Magic? (2022)
Even Wong Can't Save This
These episodes are getting worse, and it's like they knew it ahead of time as evidenced by Jen Walters breaking the 4th wall to speak directly to the audience and tell you where you should care. And as much as I was excited to see Wong, they even managed to emasculate him some and make him less powerful and awesome. Some of his lines were funny, but some fell flat. And the help he seeks from Jen is needless and even lame. I swear this series is trying to get us to no longer like all the things that originally appealed to us in Marvel movies. To borrow from the DC Universe, this is the Bizarro Marvel story that's the exact opposite of everything good about the other Marvel films and shows.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law: Superhuman Law (2022)
Slow progress
Not much was accomplished in this episode, and questions from the previous episode were left unanswered, like who is Titania and where did she get her powers, and why was she trashing the courtroom? And the dynamic with her family literally seems pulled from an 80s sitcom and like a completely different storyline. This better come together quickly, or people are going to bail in droves.
LEGO Star Wars Summer Vacation (2022)
Just Not Funny
The original Lego Star Wars videos were hilarious and very entertaining. Some of the other recent Lego Start Wars episodes have been ok. This one was just not good at all.
The whole family watched it together, and at no point did anyone laugh at all except maybe a half-hearted chuckle here and there. And the flashback moments were just a reminder of way better Star Wars moments. My kids even started yawning halfway through and asking when it was done.
Disney, you can do better and not just expect everyone to automatically like it because it's Star Wars and Legos.
Obi-Wan Kenobi: Part VI (2022)
First episode in the series that felt like Star Wars
Episodes 1-5 have had varying degrees of good and bad, with Episode 4 having the most bad. Even the good parts of the previous episodes never really felt like they were part of the Star Wars universe. This final episode finally makes up for that and is the only one that truly belongs. If this series (or a full-length movie of Obi-Wan) goes forward, hopefully the creators remember what went right from this final episode and so much of what went wrong in the previous episodes. Good - Ewan McGregor, Joel Edgerton, use of the force in ep 6, tying up ends left from Revenge of the Sith. Bad - Reva, kidnappers chasing Leia, gaping plot holes, illogical behavior & choices.
The Wheel of Time: The Flame of Tar Valon (2021)
Biggest changes are pointless.
I get that the writers wanted to change up the story some to not just make it their own, and I'm ok with most of their updates. But making Moiraine and Siuan lesbians is beyond stupid and betrays the story. Thom risks everything for Moiraine later in the story because of their relationship, and this ruins any chance of that working. Yes, some of the Aes Sedai are lesbians, but these two weren't and shouldn't be. Don't get me started on how Rand and Egwene never hooked up in the book - these shows don't need that, no one wants it, and no one asks for it, and it just upsets anyone who knows the books.
A Million Little Things: Junior (2021)
Gone downhill
Before this season, this was one of my favorite shows. This season has left me very disappointed, and not just because of the overabundance of woke talking points they keep cramming into the plotlines. The story lines haven't been as compelling, they haven't made the characters as sympathetic to the viewers, and it all just feels forced and no longer enjoyable. And this episode was all the bad elements rolled into one. It's a real shame.
The Good Doctor: Irresponsible Salad Bar Practices (2021)
Favorite show no more.
This was one of my favorite shows. I thought it was fresh and new. I enjoyed seeing the world through Shaun's eyes (especially since I have friends and loved ones on the autism spectrum) and seeing his unique ways of solving problems. This whole season has gone out of its way to be too PC, and this episode was the straw. I won't try to cancel it or force it out, but I'm quietly stepping away and won't be watching any more. Really sad to say goodbye, but that's my choice.
Designated Survivor (2016)
Fans didn't want this
Netflix needs to ask themselves one question - did they gain any audience with the added language and sexual content of Season 3, and how many did they just lose who would've watched without this unneeded content? My guess is they just lost way more than they gained. Way to ruin a show that was great before and unwatchable now.
Captain Marvel (2019)
Much better than expected!
Don't believe the 1- or 2-star reviews. No way was this a 1-star movie - that's saying it's the worst thing out there, and it definitely wasn't (Adventures of Pluto Nash was a 1-star movie by comparison). This may not have been as action-packed as The Avengers or as funny as Thor: Ragnorak, but it definitely had lots of great moments, was very entertaining, and I thought was a great representation of the character. And my kids thought the cat, Goose, stole the show.
Inhumans (2017)
Big Disappointment from Marvel
I preface this with stating that I'm a big fan of Agents of Shields and really liked Agent Carter. This show on the other hand was awful, and I couldn't even watch the pilot past the 25 minute mark. It's biggest flaw is I don't care about any of the characters - they have no qualities that make me interested in them, there's not one I was rooting for, and their personalities are so one- dimensional and boring. And the "bad guy" is a big wuss, not menacing at all, and it seems that a big slap upside his head is all it would take to beat him. Unfortunate waste of time!