The House Review

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If you think The House is going to be something radically new from Will Ferrell, you’re going to disappointed. But, if you like, or even love, the likes of Step Brothers or Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby, The Others Guys or Old School, then you’ll probably lap this up. This isn’t classic Ferrell but it’s as close to it as we’ve been for a while and it is damn good fun.

A lot of comedies in recent years have felt like a string of decent set-pieces that are strung together by other stuff, but The House hangs together well and feels pretty cohesive even when some moments seem a bit too by the numbers. A lot of that is thanks to a blend of sharp writing, some impeccable puerile and gross-out humor, some deft comedy turns and some other nice touches including a cameo that is, while not classic, a fun touch.

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Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood Review

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A woman in a striking kimono asks a band of Othardian peasants to prove their loyalty to the Garlean Empire and only one — citing a need to feed his family — heeds the call. It turns out to be a greater sacrifice than he imagined. She tosses a baroquely engraved pistol at his feet and commands him to shoot one of his friends. Trembling violently, he complies. But she's not done yet. She then orders him to kill his parents, claiming they drain the empire's resources. He refuses, and her goons cut him down. And as for me? I watch all this from behind a rock. I do nothing. Famous god-slaying hero or no, I know that any immediate revenge would bring down more hells on the sorry lot. It's tragic, but it's also fairly realistic.

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The Big Sick Review

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Should The Big Sick be described as a romantic comedy? As a family drama? As a topical story? As a timeless story? The answer is yes across the board, since you can use any of those terms and you’d be correct. But more importantly, it’s a terrific, heartfelt and continually funny movie that is easily one of the best films so far this year.

Kumail Nanjiani stars as Kumail (hey!), a Chicago-based standup comic who begins dating Emily (Zoe Kazan), a grad student he meets at one of his shows. Emily keeps saying she doesn’t have time for a relationship, but keeps making excuses to see Kumail, and the two kindred spirits seem destined for each other. However, Kumail’s traditional Pakistani Muslim family don’t even know Emily exists, and him keeping that secret ends up causing a big rift between the two of them.

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Logitech G Pro Gaming Keyboard Review

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Over the last decade, eSports has taken off in a big way. With so many competitive gamers participating in gaming tournaments around the world, it’s natural that companies would release eSports-related peripherals with greater frequency. There are several manufacturers catering to the eSports crowd out there -- with one of the most prominent being Logitech. One of the latest in the company’s gamer-focused G series is the Logitech G Pro Gaming Keyboard (See it on Amazon), which is the first keyboard to be labeled simply "Pro" instead of a bunch of numbers or a mythological name. The message is clear -- this is a keyboard designed for e-Sports professionals, or those who want to use the same gear as the Pros.

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Boruto Episode 13 Review

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Warning: The following review has full spoilers for the episode.

At long last, the day has arrived! After 12 episodes of beating around the bush the demon beast is ready to make his debut, whether Konoha is ready or not. With the culprit identified, all the major characters come together to face her in what feels like Boruto’s most important and best episode yet!

Picking up where the previous episode left off, Mitsuki is ready to reveal the culprits identity to Naruto. Simultaneously Sai has come to the same conclusion, and informs Naruto of the connection between Sumire and The Foundation. Unfortunately both parties are too late, and despite their best efforts to intervene the demon beast Nue is unleashed upon the village.

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Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy Review

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As someone who played the first three Crash Bandicoot games over and over again, the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy delivers exactly what I wanted. The platforming, for better and occasionally worse, retains the demanding, and punishing challenge of the originals coated in a polished, modern sheen that makes even the most familiar levels feel fresh.

And just as Naughty Dog’s original trilogy sucked me in years ago, Vicarious Visions’ remakes have me itching to collect every crystal, gem, and relic yet again.

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Spider-Man: Homecoming Review

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Spider-Man: Homecoming, the web-slinger’s first solo movie under the Marvel Studios umbrella (but produced in conjunction with distributor Sony Pictures), is a sweet, witty, briskly-paced romp that captures everything that has made Peter Parker and his costumed alter ego such a lovable and enduring character for over half a century.

The core dilemma Spider-Man has always grappled with is, of course, “with great power comes great responsibility.” But as the events of Spider-Man: Homecoming show, Peter Parker’s responsibilities aren't just related to being Spider-Man. He has a responsibility to be a good student, to let his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) know where he is and if he’s okay, and to find the balance between his personal and superhero lives. In Homecoming, Peter, still consumed by the excitement of his adventure with the Avengers in Captain America: Civil War, wants nothing more than to win Tony Stark’s approval and become a full-fledged Avenger. But Peter is still just a kid and he will have to realize that he can’t let Spider-Man define who he is; as Tony admonishes him at one point, if he’s nothing without the suit then Peter doesn’t deserve to have it. Peter Parker ultimately has to matter more than the invented persona of Spider-Man.

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Saga #44 Review

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The cast of Saga have rolled with plenty of punches across the series’ run, but that doesn’t mean Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples intend to stop swinging. Their latest further explores the immediate aftermath of recent revelations, in turn adding yet another jarring and wholly unexpected swerve.

To say that Saga carries political undertones would be incorrect, as that would suggest that Brian K. Vaughan is anything less than transparent in his delivery. Despite being only two issues deep this arc has already tackled abortion, miscarriages and affordable health care, with Vaughan depicting each in the straightforward, no frills manner we’ve become accustomed to. That assured nature is further represented by his characters. The sudden emergence of Alana’s Wreath abilities takes over the early focus of the read, but Vaughan doesn’t allow his script to blow past reminding us how she got them. Its bittersweet stuff, and the book’s various interactions reflect as such.

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Secret Weapons #1 Review

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Given the sheer variety of super powers out there, chances are that someone is bound to get the shaft. For every John and Jane enjoying their super strength or laser eyes, there’s likely at least one person forced to accept that simply making things glow will have to do. Superpowers aren’t fair, but that doesn’t make them not fun. From writer Eric Heisserer and artist Raul Allen, Valiant’s latest proves that even the castoffs deserve their time to shine.

One of the first things this book gets right is its easy accessibility. Valiant has built up a pretty solid foundation over the last few years, but you don’t need to know its entire history going in to allow for basic comprehension. Rather, Heisserer uses the early part of the issue to both set up the stakes and lay out the events preceding it, using dialogue as a way of filling in the blanks. Too often these setups veer into obvious information dumps, but the writer does a nice job of getting everything out in a way that’s organic and fits the narrative presented. Heisserer utilizes the ever useful Harada to great effect, reminding readers of his attempt to build and mold an army of psiots. The story takes off when we learn that not all psiots are created equal, with those deemed unworthy or inadequate shuttled off to essentially stay out of the way.

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Star Wars: Droids Unplugged #1 Review

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There's something about Star Wars that lends itself extremely well to the comedic, family-friendly treatment. You have Jeffrey Brown's wildly popular Vader and Son graphic novel and its many offshoots. You have the Star Wars Detours animated series that almost was. And at Marvel, you have Chris Eliopoulos' droid-centric comic strips. Always an entertaining treat after Marvel's cinematic, continuity-focused stories, these droid strips now have the chance to stand on their won thanks to Droids Unplugged #1.

Droids Unplugged reprints three previous stories from Eliopoulos and colorist Jordie Bellaire, tales which span the three Star Wars trilogies. The first, "Probe Droid Problems," focuses on one of Darth Maul's wayward droids as it makes a new friend amid the harsh backdrop of Tatooine. This story plays out a lot like the first half of Pixar's WALL-E, as it's all about one plucky robot trying to cozy up another and mostly foregoes pesky things like dialogue. It works for many of the same reasons, offering a cute, heartwarming little story. This is where Bellaire's coloring shines the brightest ((literally) as she works wonders with the sun-drenched desert landscape.

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Okja Review

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Okja is now streaming on Netflix and playing in select iPic theaters In New York and Los Angeles.

There is no other filmmaker working today like Bong Joon Ho. Through his past efforts, the South Korean writer and director has managed to deliver stories on a consistent basis that are often equal parts entertaining action adventures and social political satires. It’s not just that very few filmmakers have ever managed to so successfully walk the kind of chaotic tonal tightrope than Joon Ho has with say 2006’s The Host or 2014’s Snowpiercer, but very few filmmakers would ever dare try to. There’s a magic at the heart of each of Joon Ho’s films for that very reason, though, which makes it hard not to get caught up in the sheer talent and enthusiasm that he brings to each and every single one of his movies, and his latest film, Okja, is no exception.

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The Amazing Spider-Man #29 Review

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Dan Slott has written a lot of Spider-Man comics, to put it mildly. And while he's drawn in pretty much every major villain supporting character during the course of his long run, the high point of that saga is and probably always will be Superior Spider-Man. Otto Octavius' brief tenure as Spider-Man made for compelling reading, and it's a story that has continued to unfold now that Otto has cheated his own death and been reborn as the Superior Octopus. So the appeal with Slott's latest Amazing Spider-Man arc is less its status as a Secret Empire tie-in and more the opportunity to see Otto at the forefront of the series once more.

Not that the Secret Empire angle isn't without its charms. Outside of Secret Empire #0, we've seen surprisingly little of the early days of Hydra's uprising and how Earth's heroes responded to that global catastrophe. This issue allows Slott and co-writer Christos Gage to explore the rise of Hydra from Peter Parker's perspective, mixing equal parts witty banter and an increasing sense of desperation as the magnitude of the situation becomes clear.

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Edge of Venomverse #1 Review

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The great thing about 2014's Edge of Spider-Verse mini-series is that each issue introduced (or reintroduced) a clever new take on the traditional Spider-Man mythos. Each of those issues subverted expectations, pushed that familiar Spider-Man origin story in new directions and gave readers a worthy new addition to the franchise. There's a reason Spider-Gwen became a breakout character and the star of her own long-running solo series. That's not to say Edge of Venomverse can't do the same, but this issue's Venom-ized version of X-23 is hardly the next Spider-Gwen. This issue does little to combine the two elements into a satisfying, cohesive whole.

It's not difficult to imagine X-23 and Venom being combined into something new and compelling. Laura is a character constantly fighting to keep her darker side in check, and being bonded with a symbiote only makes that struggle more dangerous and immediate. But this issue doesn't show much interest in highlighting that internal struggle. It mainly settles for offering a loose, compressed retelling of the original NYX mini-series, as the Venom-ized Laura hooks up with Kiden and the gang and learns how to survive on the mean streets. That basic formula still has its appeal, to be sure. Matthew Rosenberg does a fine job of building a dynamic among the various teen runaways and exploring the seedy side of the Marvel U. But at best, the issue is just rehashing familiar beats.

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Secret Empire #5 Review

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Secret Empire has lost some of its early momentum in recent installments. Issue #4 in particular served as a weird diversion for the series. There, writer Nick Spencer spotlighted Ultron in an issue that read like a pleasant diversion than a crucial chapter of the main story. But luckily, the series manages to right itself as it reaches the halfway mark. Secret Empire #5 succeeds on a winning combination of strong character work, dramatic plot twists and solid artwork.

The hunt for the Cosmic Cube fragments continues to be the catalyst propelling this conflict along. One of the reasons this issue works as well as it does is that Spencer doesn't treat the quest itself as the end-all, be-all of the story. In one particularly self-aware moment, Spencer even has one of his characters refer to the fragments as a "MacGuffin." The point is more to use the increasingly hopeless and futile nature of that quest to explore the toll this conflict is taking on the Avengers. It's not just the scope of Secret Empire that sets this series apart from many recent Marvel events, but the sense that it actually is having a deep, lasting impact on our heroes. And not for the first time, the series begs the question of whether the eventual fallout, not the conflict itself, is truly the most compelling element of Secret Empire.

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Batman/Elmer Fudd Special #1 Review

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To the best of my recollection, Batman/Elmer Fudd Special #1 is the first comic that literally made me laugh out loud with its first sentence. This comic is every bit as ridiculous as one would expect from an ultra-serious mash-up of the Looney Tunes and Batman universes. But beyond the humor and sheer novelty factor, there's a surprisingly deep story here about two deranged men fighting and bonding over the one thing in life that unites them. It's a far better comic than it has any right to be.

Each of the DC/Looney tunes crossover specials has taken its own approach when it comes to merging the two franchises. Writer Tom King and artist Lee Weeks have chosen to play things 100% straight here, offering a dark, gritty, noir-flavored version of Gotham City where the traditional Batman rogues have taken a backseat to realistic, humanoid versions of all the iconic Looney Tunes. King and Weeks play it 100% straight here, which is the source of much of the book's humor. Elmer Fudd is cast as a brutal, lonely killer much in the vein of Marv from Sin City, yet he still speaks with that trademark speech impediment. Batman is every bit as tortured and ominous a hero here as he is in King's regular Batman series. The result is that you frequently get hilarious scenes like this where the pervasive darkness collides with the inherent ridiculousness of the concept:

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iZombie: Season 3 Finale Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the iZombie: Season 3 finale below.

You have to hand it to iZombie for not playing it safe, with Season 3 functioning as a huge game-changer in a way that truly earned that oft-used descriptor.

It really feels as though the series is now moving into a much more fantastical, “alternate universe” place going forward. Look, obviously any series that is about zombies is fantasy from the start, of course, but with so many of Seattle’s citizens now transformed – and the truth about their existence now revealed – we’re now much more in “What if?” terrain and a look at how society would function under these incredible circumstances.

The glimpses we got at the end of those brain distribution stations, scared/angry humans attacking said stations, and Fillmore Graves essentially running the show, all set in place a very exciting Season 4 that upends all of the “will Liv and the other zombies’ identities be revealed?” aspects iZombie was fueled by for much of its run until now.

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Ever Oasis Review

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At the start of many adventures lies a town in need of help -- even as the threat of a larger crisis looms on the horizon. Ever Oasis manages to up the stakes by casting you as the leader of a settlement that needs both your management and your heroism. Your actions in your oasis matter just as much as those in dungeon battles, seamlessly blending this RPG adventure with town management in a fun way. Even when quests teetered on being too repetitive, the satisfaction of building my Oasis and leveling up my characters, simultaneously, made every task worthwhile.

As the Child of the Great Tree you wield the power to create a life-sustaining oasis for desert-dwelling folk. After witnessing the destruction of your older brother’s oasis by Chaos incarnate, it’s up to you and the water spirit, Esna, to create the last oasis as a beacon of hope and bastion against the increasing darkness that plagues the desert and its creatures. As you build up your town, you’ll gain access to shops, crafting recipes, and more. The town’s transformation from sandy dunes to lush paradise is not only fulfilling, but gorgeous to watch. The routine goes something like this: Attract potential villagers, fulfill requests so they stay, build their booths and stock their merchandise, and finally: collect the profits. The endearing nature of my villagers and abundance of things to do made this routine fun instead of tedious.

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Fargo: Season 3 Review

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Warning: This review will contain spoilers for Fargo: Season 3 - BUT not until the second half. And I'll give you folks another warning before it happens too.

Fargo's third season was, simply by fate and fortune, the show's most daring grab to date. Not that it succeeded in all its endeavors, but it was the first attempt to hand us a story untethered from anything pre-existing. Except, of course, if you count the formula birthed by the two first seasons of Fargo.

But yeah, this third season was the show attempting to display an original(ish) story, free from the confines of the movie and the expectations of its fans. No, the first season wasn't an adaptation of the film, and it wasn't until halfway through the season that we got an inkling that it shared the same universe as the movie, but its main characters were meant to lovingly clone various elements of Frances McDormand's Marge Gunderson and William H. Macy's Jerry Lundegaard. The story, too, had elements and imagery that was was meant to echo the famous film.

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Dragon Ball Super Episode 96 Review

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Warning: The following review contains spoilers for the episode.

The warriors have gathered and the Tournament of Power is set to begin. Although it’s a slow paced episode, it does a great job of setting up our expectations for what’s to come, thanks to well-executed character moments and subtle hints about the power and tactics of the many universes.

It came as no surprise that Frieza was once again a standout in Episode 96. His evil antics make for great entertainment. The moments he’s on-screen you can sense the tension between him and the other characters, which leads to such great moments, like when Vegeta had to get into a ‘friendship circle’ with Frieza. There are decades worth of animosity between these two, and watching Vegeta have to swallow his pride made for one of the funniest moments in recent memory.

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Resident Evil: Vendetta Review

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The Resident Evil live-action franchise may have been the bigger hit, but the CG-animated Resident Evil movies out of Japan are actually closer in spirit to the games than the films are. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re better. Sometimes, they’re like watching a Resident Evil game that you can’t play.

Resident Evil: Vendetta definitely falls into that category, and it’s got a lot of problems. The animation itself isn’t too big of an issue. It’s not up to industry standards, but it’s barely noticeable in the first few minutes when a special unit led by Chris Redfield suddenly finds itself under attack by a new breed of vicious zombies. It’s when the film calls upon the characters to emote and demonstrate their feelings that the animation falters. The lifeless performance of the CGI just can’t handle those human touches. And frankly, some of the games have had better animation.

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The Little Hours Review

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The Little Hours proudly wears its influences on its sleeve, making them known from the moment the film begins. With long opening zooms into the Italian countryside and a top notch score by Dan Romer, The Little Hours looks and feels like a Monty Python sketch with the comedic tone and ambitions of a Mel Brooks parody. It’s by-and-large writer and director Jeff Baena’s most successful directorial outing to date - following the drab Life After Beth and unimpressive Joshy - even if it’s not nearly as funny, biting, or smart as the films it’s so clearly trying to emulate.

Set in 14th century Italy, The Little Hours follows the antics of a group of nuns living in a remote convent far away from any real semblance of civilization. Led by John C. Reilly’s laid-back, lovable Father Tommasso and Molly Shannon’s light hearted Mother Superior, the convent looks on the surface like any other might. What separates it from the rest, however, are the personalities of its three foul-mouthed nuns - Alessandra (Alison Brie), Genevra (Kate Micucci), and Fernanda (Aubrey Plaza) - who jump at the chance to yell at and berate any unsuspecting passerby.

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Valkyria Revolution Review

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"Revolution" is such a nice, punchy word. Generally, it's even a positive word, or so we're generally led to think as we're on the "right" side of a bevy of revolutions ranging from the American to the sexual. But let's be honest—change isn't always good. However noble intentions may be, sometimes a revolution ends up making things worse than they were before. And that, sadly, appears to be what happened with Valkyria Revolution.

In a wider sense, the "revolution" here would be the act of yanking the Valkyria series away from its tactical origins in order to create something that's better described as a Dynasty Warriors-style RPG. The approach never works quite as well as it should. Valkyria Revolution has a rather fascinating narrative premise as its foundation, but all developer Media Vision builds on it are overlong, weakly animated cutscenes with frequent loading screens and a merely moderately enjoyable combat system. It's possible its weaknesses grew out of a need to make Valkyria Revolution less graphically intensive to accommodate a simultaneous release on the Vita, but the approach makes the PS4 version I played suffer greatly for it.

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Preacher: "Mumbai Sky Tower" Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

Two new episodes of Preacher in as many nights isn't a bad way to kick off the new season. And better yet, "Mumbai Sky Tower" proved to be a nice palate cleanser after last night's hyper-violent premiere, slowing down the action a bit and allowing the romance between Jesse and Tulip to blossom. Not that this slower approach did anything to diminish the show's gleefully black sense of humor.

Most of the action we did get in this episode was front-loaded in the first few minutes, as the Saint of Killers directed his wrath against an entire hotel full of gun enthusiasts. Despite the satisfying brutal nature of that shootout, the opening was actually the weak point of the episode for me. For one thing, the resolution to the cliffhanger from "On the Road" felt cheap and lazy. Jesse survived certain death from the Saint's bullet because a truck driver just happened to be driving by at the precise time and speed needed to intercept the bullet? Awfully convenient, that. I suppose you could argue that might have been a bit of divine intervention at work, but there's been no indication so far that God is actually helping Jesse and friends on their quest, or even wants to be found in the first place. Certainly, the source material would suggest otherwise.

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Better Call Saul: Season 3 Review

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Full spoilers for Better Call Saul: Season 3 continue below.

Three seasons in, and Better Call Saul is fully hitting its stride. There's no better time for it, too, as the series is creeping ever closer to Jimmy McGill going full Saul Goodman.

My biggest problem with what was otherwise an excellent Season 2 of Better Call Saul was balance issues: this drama is inherently two series combined into one, with one track following Jimmy's moral struggles and relationship drama, and the second following Mike's higher stakes criminal dealings. Though Season 3 did have a few episodes where we felt the divide between these two narratives, overall it succeeded in resolving those balance issues between its two sides and putting the focus back on Jimmy. It also gave us our first scene of Mike and Chuck together, which was an added bonus.

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Darkest Dungeon: The Crimson Court Review

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The Crimson Court isn’t an essential add-on for Darkest Dungeon, but it does give this grim RPG an infusion of new ideas in both battles and at the town level that freshen things up and make you rethink your approach to problems if things have become routine for you. And, of course, more of that awesomely dire narration.

The most pervasive new crisis you have to deal with is The Crimson Curse, a common and near-permanent affliction that turns your party members into junkies for vials of blood. Early on, becoming infected by the horrific giant mosquito-borne illness seemed debilitating due to rare supply of blood, which could only be obtained through random drops by fighting the new enemy faction; without it they eventually go into a withdrawal state and could potentially die. But in reality, at least playing on Radiant mode, the Curse’s bark was worse than its bite. It actually gives a “Bloodlust” stat buff for a time after consuming a vial, and even when you’re in withdrawal most of the stat penalties aren’t enough to slow a team down much (though it does make them prone to rejecting healing or buffs as though they were irrational). It quickly became a manageable addiction.

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Despicable Me 3 Review

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The negative reception to 2015’s Minions movie looms large over this year’s Despicable Me 3, so it might not come as much of a surprise to hear that the film itself is a jumble of strong and weak points. By the time Despicable Me 3 comes to an end the franchise has officially worn out its welcome once and for all. But the good news is that the film features such a vibrantly stylish adventure that it keeps that negative feeling from becoming too overwhelming until the credits finally roll.

There was something new and fresh about the entire world and characters of Despicable Me when it first arrived on the scene in 2010. Then Universal released Despicable Me 2 in 2013, which saw Steve Carell’s Gru pairing up romantically with Kristen Wiig’s Lucy and officially transitioning from being a supervillain to a professional agent of good. And while Despicable Me 2 was funny enough to be a worthy sequel to its superior predecessor, it was the Minions spin-off in 2015 where it first began to feel like the shiny candy coating covering all of the Despicable Me world was beginning to wear irritatingly thin.

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War for the Planet of the Apes Review

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In one of the more unexpected Hollywood developments in recent years, 20th Century Fox’s dusty old Planet of the Apes series has blossomed once again as a viable big-screen franchise. Even more unexpectedly, with War for the Planet of the Apes it has now turned out to be perhaps the best big-budget trilogy we’ve gotten in some time. To use the parlance of main character Caesar: Apes together strong indeed.

As with its immediate predecessor, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, it’s War’s focus on Caesar and his fellow simians from both a character perspective as well as a technical one that drives the film to greatness. Whereas the performance-captured ape characters of the first two movies (Rise of the Planet of the Apes kicked off the rebooted series in 2011) were groundbreaking, here the work of visual effects powerhouse Weta Digital has finally reached the point where there’s never reason to question the “realness” of the characters onscreen at all. Ape or human, it makes no difference. This world simply exists.

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Veep: Season 6 Finale Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the Veep: Season 6 finale below.

Though it was only mentioned back toward the top of the season, Selina inevitably choosing to run for president again was a no-brainer. And while the writing may have been on the while, I still commend this season for maintaining her ex-president story the entire time, without half the season feeling like she had one foot back in the game. This year was about her legacy and her fumbling attempts to make her one year as Commander in Chief feel historic and meaningful.

I'll also commend this season finale, "Groundbreaking," for pulling the trigger on her new presidential bid and making it feel fresh and fun. Flashbacks were the name of the game here, along with hilarious moments both big and small, as we traveled back six years to Selina putting a halt to her presidential run (the intern running away from Amy was amazing!) and then her first day in office as VP.

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Twin Peaks: "Part 8" Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

Okay, so, um… Well. Where to begin?

After last week’s episode was, in many ways, the most straightforward and “classic” Twin Peaks of this revival season, David Lynch and Mark Frost went into a completely different direction this time out with an episode that was completely bats**t crazy. And I loved it! Look, I wouldn’t be shocked if this was “enough is enough” episode for some people, given how off the rails it went, but it was gloriously off the rails. And I think, maybe, sorta/kinda, it all added up? For Twin Peaks that is.

Here’s my interpretation of what we saw:

In 1945, a nuclear test either created or led to the release of Bob. After this, The Giant -- who has, to date, always seemed a force for good -- and a woman/being he was allied with ("Experiment" is her name, per the credits) were alerted to this happening. The Giant then worked to create something that could battle and stop Bob – and that thing was Laura Freaking Palmer. 11 years later, an egg in the desert opened, freeing a creature that may have been the truth physical “birth” of Bob (hey, 11 years is just your standard birth cycle for an evil possessing killer!). When this occurred, another being from the Black Lodge then used his abilities to knock out the local townspeople, allowing this huge bug creature that held Bob to crawl inside its first human host.

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Preacher: Season 2 Premiere Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

If I were to lob any one complaint at the first season of Preacher, it's that the show took an entire season to establish a framework that the comic managed to build within a couple issues. Preacher is really the story of three oddball friends who hit the road in search of God, and only now as Season 2 kicks off are we really seeing that central quest take shape. But better late than never, right? Season 2 is quickly shaping up to surpass the first, with a clearer sense of purpose and an even darker sense of humor coloring the misadventures of Jesse Custer, Tulip O'Hare and Cassidy the vampire.

"On the Road" picked up pretty much right where "Call and Response" left off last year, with Jesse and friends finally hitting the road, unaware that Annville is now a giant, smoking crater and that a demonic cowboy assassin is hot on their trail. Even with no time jump, though, the show has a much different feel given the change in setting and the drastically reduced cast. I'll be disappointed if we never see characters like Emily Woodrow or Odin Quincannon again, but it is nice to see the series focus more attention on that core Jesse/Tulip/Cassidy dynamic. And it certainly gives the show's narrative an added jolt of momentum.

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Silicon Valley: Season 4 Finale Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the Silicon Valley: Season 4 finale below.

 

There’s a certain destructive pathos that comes with the male-heavy tech culture of Silicon Valley. I’m talking about the actual place, not the Mike Judge-created series - at least for the moment. Over the past few weeks, we’ve bore witness to the fall of controversial Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, and I mention this as a mere example of the sort of balls-to-the-wall hubris many think tanks, start-ups and the like, regularly fall victim to in the often oddball San Francisco tech world the HBO comedy series parodies so well.

As Silicon Valley ended its fourth season, it’s hard not to acknowledge the proverbial mirror the series has continually held up to real life. (Seriously, I used to work at MySpace back in the day -- I kind of feel like I’ve lived this story.) As Gavin Belson (Matt Ross) took a short-lived sabbatical from the story, followed by TJ Miller’s permanent exit -- taking fan favorite Erlich Bachman out of the equation -- it’s no surprise that Pied Piper’s awkward, reluctant leader, Richard Hendricks (Thomas Middleditch), finally took a dark turn and, dare I say, broke bad.

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Fear the Walking Dead: "Burning in Water..." Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

First off, I just want open this review up with a quick shout out -- to the show itself, to Fear the Walking Dead -- for coming together nicely this season and, arguably, elevating itself up and over the original series. Who would have thought that killing off one of the show's stronger characters (stronger, at least, in the back half of Season 2) would help the series find a bolder voice while also better utilizing its unique landscape.

That being all that now, I wasn't crazy about every aspect of "Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame" (named after the Bukowski collection). Mostly, it was the contentious pairing of Strand and Daniel as they headed back to the hotel that felt a bit sore - with all of their trek based on Strand's lie about Ofelia. Last week's chapter, "100," was the best outing this show's ever had, though somehow the actual team up of Strand and Daniel, on the road, made for a frustrating ride. Fortunately, their side saga didn't take up too much time and Ofelia's whereabouts were at the heart of it. So as much as we all wonder, week after week, where she's at, there's at least one faction of this show that's actively searching for her.

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The 100: Season 4 Review

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Note: this is a mostly spoiler-free review of The 100: Season 4, which is currently available on Netflix in the US (and will hit DVD and Blu-ray on July 18th). I'll discuss basic character and plot details, and provide a proper spoiler warning for some brief, most specific discussion at the end of the review.

The 100’s third season was a rocky one, to say the least. I don’t think it was nearly as disastrous overall as some -- as terribly handled and impossible to overlook as the circumstances of Lexa's death were -- but there were multiple examples of clumsy storytelling, even as the show still had a lot of powerful and effective elements at work as well.

Still, the perception for many was that Season 4 needed to get the show back on track. And on that score, it did very well, delivering a year that had some trouble spots along the way, but was built on a strong spine, grew to a crescendo as it continued, and was capped off by some of the best material yet for The 100.

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Doctor Who Review

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Spoilers follow for this episode of Doctor Who.

“World Enough and Time” kicks off the two-part finale of Doctor Who Season 10 while also setting up the very end of the Twelfth Doctor himself. That it does so in something of a bipolar manner, starting off with one story approach and then swinging wildly in another direction, doesn’t necessarily diminish the effectiveness of the adventure… even if the approach does cause a bit of narrative whiplash.

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Opinion: I'm Worried About Marvel's Legacy Relaunch

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Marvel Comics has been following a pretty clear pattern in recent years. First, they ring in the summer with a major crossover event, one that wraps with major status quo changes for the Marvel Universe. Those changes feed into the company's big, annual relaunch, as old books are cycled out and new ones are created in order to offer readers fresh #1 issues and new jumping-on points. This predictable cycle has helped provide regular boosts to Marvel's sales figures, though there are also clear signs that the company is facing diminishing returns with each new relaunch.

The hope is that Marvel's 2017 relaunch, Marvel Legacy, will be different. Much like DC did with Rebirth last year, Marvel is using Legacy as a way of refocusing their attention on their core characters and generally taking a more "back to basics" approach. That's all fine and well, but I'm not optimistic that Legacy will be able to do for Marvel what Rebirth has done for DC. Yesterday's underwhelming reveal of the 52 Marvel Legacy books suggested that it's going to be business as usual for Marvel.

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My Hero Academia Episode 26 Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

After the intensity of the sports festival, "Time to Pick Some Names" slows down the pace considerably, providing the students of U.A. High some much needed time to rest and recover. As such, this week's episode may not be the most action packed or thrilling of Season 2, but its clever comedy and touching character moments make for a great episode nonetheless.

As its title implies, the central focus of this episode was the hero name selection process as the students prepare for their internships, which I found to be both amusing and emotional. I was really hoping Iida would choose to inherit his brother's alias, and was heartbroken when he didn't. Conversely, I was pleased with Todoroki's decision to go use his given name Shoto as his hero name, as it reflects his continued growth in accepting himself. I also really enjoyed Bakugo's horrifically violent name suggestions, as they were hilarious and true to his character.

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Nex Machina Review

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When a top-down shooter like Nex Machina comes along, I’m reminded that even in this age of procedural open worlds and emergent storytelling, you don’t need a lot of buzzwords to have a good time. Its five stages of simple, fast, sometimes frantic bot-blasting can be daunting to the unprepared. But when I got a good run going, the responsive controls and exciting, sci-fi graphics made my frustrations with its sometimes nasty death penalty worth it.

Each stage is divided up into rooms where you have to defeat several waves of robotic enemies, optionally saving defenseless humans to increase your score, before proceeding to the next. The baddies are both visually interesting and clever in their design, and every world introduces new ones so the combat never feels repetitive. Like in one of developer Housemarque’s previous games, Resogun, saving the human hostages adds a sense of urgency and encourages you to take risks and get aggressive.

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American Gods: Season 1 Review

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Full spoilers for American Gods: Season 1 continue below.

American Gods is unlike anything else on television, and when it's at its best, it's some of the most jaw-dropping, impressive and moving work on the air. The highs of American Gods' first season outshine its stumbles, and the conversation it has already sparked about religion, gender, politics and our sense of self prove that this is a series that rewards analysis and repeat viewings.

Showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green took Neil Gaiman's challenging modern fantasy novel and expanded its themes and scope without dumbing down his vision. As such, it was definitely a show that benefited from outside knowledge of the story; if you hadn't read the book before starting episode 1 (or done even a cursory Wikipedia read), then chances are you quickly found yourself in over your head. This is a dense story, and can be alienating for those not already aware of the greater context of this narrative.

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The Handmaid's Tale: Season 1 Review

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Full spoilers for The Handmaid's Tale continue below.

When Hulu’s adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale premiered, it was nearly 100 days into Donald Trump's divisive presidency, and every parallel to the present-day, no matter how minuscule, felt like it was offering a warning to its audience to be careful about what could happen in a political climate left unchecked by public concern.

Of course, Margaret Atwood’s novel, a dystopian cautionary tale, is exactly that, regardless of the decade in which you’re reading (or watching) the story. But the current political climate certainly didn’t hurt just how timely and topical the series felt—and it felt pretty darn current.

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The Beguiled Review

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Throughout her career, director Sofia Coppola has managed to depict and visualize loneliness in a way that few other filmmakers ever have. Sometimes she does it by physically sectioning her characters off from the outside world, like the titular group of girls in The Virgin Suicides, who desperately wish to break out from the confines of their constrictive home. Other times, Coppola has done it by planting her introverted leads in the center of noisy metropolitan areas, like in Lost in Translation or Somewhere. But in all of her past films, Coppola’s characters are separated, either literally or physically, stuck in a stasis that only ever allows them to look out at the world, and wonder why it’s seemingly so easy for everyone else to live in it.

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Boruto Episode 12 Review

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Warning: The following review has full spoilers for the episode.

At first this week’s episode of Boruto appears to be yet another filler fest, but ends with a glimmer of hope for next week’s episode. This Mitsuki-focused story spends most of its time on some lazy character building, but wraps up with an answer to one of the show’s most pressing questions: who is behind the ghost incidents?

Mitsuki spends most of the episode trying to understand Boruto. He watches Boruto help Denki with a ninja mission, watches Boruto help Iwabe on his math, even insists on joining Naruto’s family for dinner so he can learn about his family life. This series of events takes up most of the episode, and while it does offer some setup for Mitsuki’s later actions, it is mind-numbingly typical (borderline humorous) to see Boruto helping his classmates while Mitsuki nods approvingly from afar.

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Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #16 Review

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Recent origin asides and yearly annuals notwithstanding, it’s been a while since we’ve last seen the Rangers proper. BOOM!’s flagship title at last returns to finish what it started, Kyle Higgins and Hendry Prasetya bringing their latest arc to its explosive conclusion.

While technically broken up, the connective nature of the book’s last few arcs makes it feel like the Rangers have been dealing with the one singular conflict for quite some time. Writer Higgins has certainly made the most of that long-form approach, with a detailed attention to world building and some strong character development, yet there was the feeling going into this final stretch that there was just too much to bring it all together. Thankfully, that’s not the case. He mirrors the final standoff with Lord Drakkon to the attack by Rita Repulsa darn near perfectly, his stakes real and his character moments earned. With a split narrative and a slew of similar (or identical) characters dotting multiple timelines, the risk of the plot devolving into a jumbled mess was high. And yet, by keeping the focus squarely on the well-known traits that define his core cast, Higgins is able to bring his finale together with only a few bumps and bruises.

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Fargo: Season 3 Finale Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

There's a quasi-classic filmmaking adage, attributed to Stanley Kubrick I think, about how making a movie is basically having four or five good, memorable scenes connected by a story. Which, come to think of it, makes sense when you're talking about Kubrick due to the slow, deliberate and lengthy nature of his scenes.

A lot of Fargo's third season reminds me of this concept, as a lot of it didn't feel all that fluid, but - damn - there were some really powerful, standout moments that resonated long after viewing. Protracted scenes that took their time as if they existed within a medium that held no time constraints or worry about the balance of narrative.

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Captain America: Steve Rogers #18 Review

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There are a number of parallels to be drawn between Secret Wars and Secret Empire, one of which being that neither event comic seems to have any truly necessary tie-ins. Sure, there are some gems with Secret Empire just as there were for Secret Wars, but even those books written by Nick Spencer himself aren't contributing a huge amount to the larger picture. Case in point - Captain America: Steve Rogers #18. This issue adds some extra context to the strained interaction between Namor and Steve in Secret Empire #4, but there's a nagging sense that more could have been accomplished here.

Perhaps the real problem with this issue is that it never seems entirely sure which side of the story it wants to tell. We see Namor lamenting the fall of his kingdom, but his perspective is only shown through two brief scenes that bookend the issue. Much of the remainder focuses on Steve paying a visit to the UN (such as it is after the fall of New York) and delivering a speech full of bluster and intimidation. But again, the script doesn't really attempt to delve into his mind or explore how Steve is reacting to these events on a personal level. That, more than anything else, should be the goal with this series, but it instead seems content to fill a few gaps and leave it at that.

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Star Wars: Darth Vader #2 Review

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comic doesn't quite measure up to the first so far, but at least the series isn't guilty of recycling the same approach. This is a very different sort of Darth Vader story set in a very different time in the Sith Lord's life. As such, this book has a critical part to play in Marvel's rapidly expanding Star Wars library, even if it doesn't seem in any great hurry to accomplish its goals.

This is one of those cases where the first two issues of a new series really should have been combined into one. Vader now has his first mission - to construct a new lightsaber worthy of a Sith - and by the end of this issue he has a target. But did it need to take that long to get the story to that point. The ponderous pacing isn't helping this new series start off on the right footing ,especially since there;s only so much writer Charles Soule can do to get into Vader's head without resorting to an internal monologue (which wouldn't suit this character one bit). Soule does try to provide a foil to Vader in the form of a helpful new droid assistant, but the droid lacks the colorful personality that made Beetee and Triple Zero such fantastic additions to the cast in the previous volume.

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Weapons of Mutant Destruction #1 Review

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Marvel's new Weapon X series hasn't gotten off to the most auspicious start this spring. If anything, Weapons of Mutant Destruction #1 only highlights how pointless those first four issues have been, doing a better job in one chapter of introducing the new team and their uneasy dynamic. But at least things are looking up for Old Man Logan and his team, with more than a little help from the Totally Awesome Hulk.

Building on the very limited foundation laid out in Weapon X to date, Weapons of Mutant Destruction #1 officially kicks off the Weapon X/Totally Awesome Hulk crossover. Amadeus Cho has joined forces with Logan's band of mutant assassins in order to take down Weapon X and its growing army of cyborg super-soldiers. As far as crossovers go, it's a pretty straightforward premise, but one that helps keep the focus on the characters themselves. Pak is able to generate a strong team dynamic that was mostly lacking in previous chapters of Weapon X. Logan himself is settling nicely in as team leader, while characters like Sabretooth, Deathstrike and Domino are quickly finding their individual niches. As quickly and cleanly as this issue is able to introduce the major players and the overarching conflict, it's enough to wonder why Marvel didn't simply begin Weapon X at this point.

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The Mist: Series Premiere Review

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It’s pretty tempting to throw snap judgments at each new genre series that hits the small screen. Yet, when it was announced that Spike (soon-to-be known as the Paramount Network) was working on a new adaptation of Stephen King’s The Mist, I couldn’t help but perk up and take notice.

As the network aims to change its programming slate -- along with that impending name change -- and banks on multiple original series for the coming year, The Mist is their first attempt at testing the proverbial waters. And to fully get myself in the mindset necessary to step back into Stephen King’s supernatural tale, I gave Frank Darabont’s jaw-dropping film a rewatch. Real talk: the new series doesn’t look anything like its 2007 predecessor.

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Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #1 Review

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Never let it be said that Dan Slott hasn't pushed Peter Parker in new and unexpected directions over the years. That said, sometimes it feels like the core of Spider-Man's appeal is lost in the current status quo where Peter is a globetrotting businessman who funds the Avengers in his spare time. Where's the everyman hero who's perpetually down on his luck? Those who crave a more traditional take on Spidey, but one that still reflects the current goings-on in the Marvel Universe, could do far worse than checking out Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #1.

This new series doesn't ignore the fact that Peter has moved on up in the world, but it seeks to ground him all the same by returning the hero to a New York setting and focusing on his battles with ordinary criminals and rocky romantic life. And in the process, writer Chip Zdarsky focuses less on Peter as a solo player and more on his relationships with both new characters and returning favorites. Zdarsky dispenses with a lot of the usual tropes here, at one point even going meta and poking fun at Peter's habit of rattling off his tragic origin story at every opportunity. Instead, Peter shines through his interactions with others, whether it's his brotherly bond with the Human Torch or the fledgling spark of new romance in his life.

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iZombie: "Looking for Mr. Goodbrain" Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

 A combination of Peak TV, Peak Me Traveling and CW not regularly making episodes of iZombie available to press early stopped me from being able to do weekly reviews this season, but I definitely wanted to jump back in to review the two-part season finale, which kicked off this week.

And man, “Looking for Mr. Goodbrain Part 1” sure had a lot going on! Katty is dead, and Chase may be the killer! Harley became a suicide bomber and took out Natalie and most of Major’s buddies!

The middle of the season got a bit messy as the Fillmore Graves storyline felt somewhat pushed to the side for awhile, and it was a clunky transition from Vivian to Chase as the leader at FG. I wish Chase could have been around all season to make this reveal even bigger (if it’s what it appears to be…), but certainly Jason Dohring is great at playing charming yet dangerous, as we saw a new, seductive side to Chase... and then learned he might be a killer.

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