mra-62472 Reviews

Halo (2022– )

We can never have enough sci-fi

[9/10 · 26 March 2022]

First let's address the elephant in the room. Beloved franchises are often harshly judged by their fans when they stray from the "norm" of what some so called super fans may expect. Star Wars, Star Trek, Cowboy Bebop, Aliens, and now Halo just to name a few.

As someone born in the early 70s I'll be the first to tell you that I am grateful to live in a golden age of sci-fi both on television and in the theaters.

Now on to Halo. Only one episode in and this show is off to a solid start. I get a few of the complaints with a moment or two of wonky CGI, a bit of stiff acting and a couple of sci-fi cliches here and there but otherwise this pilot was pretty kick-ass. An excellent mix of action, intrigue, drama, mystery, humanity, some gore, borderline evil authority figures and definitely evil bad guys checked all the boxes and set the table for a fun filled ride through a new yet familiar Universe.

As a casual Halo fan who has played all the games but never read the books, I had little to no problem with any of the plot choices or character direction. There maybe nothing new under the sun but that doesn't mean there's nothing fun. I for one am looking forward to a wild ride another with a new hi budget sci-fi franchise to fill in my TV time. Do yourself a favor and at least check it out with an open mind. It may not be a 10 quite yet but it's a far cry from the 1's the trolls continue to award.

The Book of Boba Fett (2021– )

2 types of Star Wars fans

[10/10 · 6 January 2022]

I'll start off here with the obvious elephant in the room. There are basically two types of Star Wars fans. Those who love the romantic hero driven universe of light sabers, the force, the rebellion, the empire and good vs evil and those who love the Star Wars universe itself along with all the other stories it has to offer.

The Book of Boba Fett pays homage to the latter. It gives us a deep dive into legendary characters and tribes along with fleshing out the planet that the Star Wars stories originally began upon. 2 episodes in and I've learned more Star Wars history than I have since I sat in the theatre as a mesmerized 5 year old boy seeing George Lucas' epic space western for the first time.

Don't get it twisted. This isn't an action packed, force powered thrill ride. This is a long overdue drama set in the vast universe full of lore that fills in many blanks. Some of which we never realized were even mysteries. Fett may be physical shell of the bounty hunter he once was in his formative years but it's obvious he's learned from his near death experiences and gained wisdom and patience through his many trials since his ignominious pseudo death in ROTJ. Don't confuse his new found persona with weakness though. This iteration of our favorite bounty hunter still has sharp teeth but now has the experience to know better when to use them.

The backstory, easter eggs and nods to Original Trilogy canon is nirvana to us geeks who read the novels and dominated all of our friends and family in SW Trivial Pursuit during the long dearth of SW movie and TV content. From Hutt cousins laying claim to Jabba's crime empire, Trandoshans drinking tea at an outdoor cafe, an Ithorian (hammerhead) as mayor of Mos Espa, a gang of Weequay raiders and Max Rebo getting a new club gig all the way to a Wookie assassin working for the aforementioned Hutts. This show delivers the Star Wars goods in spades. No force or lightsabers? Who cares?!

I feel truly bad for those who can't appreciate such an in depth homage to a beautifully crafted universe with endless storytelling possibilities because it doesn't fit their personal Star Wars narrative. Iconic settings, legendary characters, in depth creature cameos. If you hate this show you just truly don't understand Star Wars.

The Mandalorian (2019– )

Where are all the Cantina bands?

[9/10 · 6 December 2019]

First of all let me start by saying I love this show, it is everything I had hoped for in a Star Wars TV series and more. Just one issue though. The Mandalorian has been in at least three different cantinas so far and there hasn't been a single lick of music playing in any of them! Where are my Cantina bands? Where is Sy Snootles?! If you're listening Favteau I demand Cantina music!

The Mandalorian (2019– )

No Force no sabres no problem

[9/10 · 12 November 2019]

I literally couldn't sleep last night, I was too excited for this. It's 6:30 am EST and I've already watched it twice.

The first 20 minutes I felt moved along a little fast but the episode settled into a great groove once it got going.

Cinematography, special effects and sets were 100% Star Wars but my jury is still out on the musical score.

Overall a great start especially considering the high level of expectations that come along with the first ever non-animated Star Wars TV series.

Counterpart (2017–2019)

Best show never seen.

[10/10 · 25 February 2019]

I had no idea that Counterpart was on until about three episodes into season 2. Luckily this allowed me to binge watch season one which made the complicated plot much easier to keep up with. Unfortunately I could see how viewership would be low considering watching individual episodes a week apart could be very confusing. I found myself having to re-watch the prior episode during season two when I had to wait a week for the next installment. (I would recommend this anyway because it's easy to miss little details and conversations on just one viewing). This show would have absolutely killed it on Netflix.

Counterpart's Intrigue, mystery, political maneuvering, love stories, betrayal, moderate action and sci-fi keep you wanting to continue hitting play episode after episode J.K Simmons and Olivia Williams are brilliant playing mirror images of themselves who travelled differing paths once their world was split. The tales of their separate lives along with those of ALL the characters make for a unique TV experience amidst a wasteland of cliche and redundant shows available these days.

I was extremely sad to see it got canceled by Starz after two seasons but don't let that stop you from watching it as the final episode of the series was one of the most satisfying finales in all of my 46 years of TV watching. The majority of the storylines were tied up nicely and just enough was left to the imagination that the overall tale would benefit with or without additional seasons. A rare happenstance these days.

Not many shows or movies move me enough to write a review but Counterpart is well worth the 20 episode binge. Fans of several genres will enjoy the ride. Give it a few episodes and you won't be disappointed.

Happy! (2017–2019)

Unbelievably stupid concept SO entertaining

[9/10 · 17 February 2019]

I saw multiple previews of this show and thought it had to be the stupidest thing ever. Not sure why but I decided to give the first episode a chance and now I just can't stop watching it. It's an irreverent, over the top thrill ride filled with violence, humor, a bit of humanity and an imaginary blue unicorn but oddly enough it works. Don't let some of the negative reviews and wonky commercials turn you off. There's not much else like this on TV which in and of itself makes it worth a few hours of your time to make your own decision. I got so tired of Christopher Meloni on SVU that I stopped watching it but this has got to be hands-down my favorite role he has played. If you're look king for something off-the-wall yet entertaining and well written give this show a go. You won't be disappointed.

Lost in Space (2018–2021)

The extremely vocal minority strikes again.

[8/10 · 11 May 2018]

Just to recap 1 to 10 scoring for those of us who seem to have lost track of how it works. 10 is pretty much perfect or the greatest thing ever. 1 is like the condition of that nasty gas station restroom you have to stop in when you just can't hold it any longer. I've been in thousands of public toilets that weren't even close to a 1 but we're pretty awful so I would say anyone reviewing this show with those kind of numbers is well...confused.

Lost in Space is not perfect and yes you'll stop and scratch your head asking why would they do that from time to time. Yes the most powerful leads are female (Which may actually be the root of the problem with many reviewing this show). Yes it often spends more time dealing with family issues than being stranded on an alien world. And yes the science is at times questionable. Does the show deserve to be flushed though because it's not perfect?? Well the obvious answer is yes judging by the number of crap reviews put up. Look, the wife and I are in our early 40s, have loved sci-fi since we were kids and happily binged it in a couple days so take that for what it's worth. Give the show a chance and don't let people who feel their opinion is the only one that matters ruin a good viewing experience for you.

Violet Evergarden (2018)

Better than Ambien

[5/10 · 27 April 2018]

This show looks great and is fairly well written but man what a snooze fest! The lullaby of a musical score alone is enough to send you off to dreamland. I'm all for good drama and a good love story but Violet Evergarden is just plain boring.

A.I.C.O. Incarnation (2018)

Watch with subtitles

[9/10 · 26 April 2018]

I really enjoyed this anime and managed to binge the whole season overnight into the next morning. I've been hearing many complaints about the English dub but luckily I didn't even know that there was a dub so I watched in Japanese with English subtitles.

The cast of characters is diverse and each has their own motive for participating in the deadly mission put before them. Many mysteries unfold throughout the 1st season and the pacing is handled quite well.

All in all one of my favorite Anime series in quite a while. If you like Knights if Sedonia you'll find much to love in A.I.C.O. 12 episodes wrapped up the story line perfect while leaving room to explore much more in (hopefully) future seasons.

Krypton (2018–2019)

I'm not a bot

[7/10 · 2 April 2018]

Apparently if you like a show these days you are automatically a fake account. Of course these opinions are from the same people who believe that because your parents are British you should have a British accent. Forget the fact that you were never exposed to them or their culture in the first place and instead raised on a farm in rural America. I digress.

This is an interesting new show set in the DC Universe Obviously revolving around the Superman mythos. Unfortunately much Like the rash of crazed fanboys who continually slated the new Star Trek series (solid 9 by the way, do yourself a favor and binge the whole 1st season before you judge), Many reviewers feel that you should not watch this for yourself, just because they said so.

Yes most of the actors have British accents and yes you will probably dislike some of them but aren't emotions what a decent show is supposed to evoke? It's a good start and yes there's room for improvement but there is plenty of opportunity for good story lines and I for one will finish out the full first season before I make a final decision.