Knightfall: “You’d Know What To Do” Review

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This is a spoiler-free review of Knightfall: “You’d Know What To Do.”

History’s Knightfall delivers a fascinating story centered around the Knights Templar and their quest to find the Holy Grail in the early 14th century. Like the network’s flagship series Vikings, Knightfall proves why History needs to develop more original dramas.

Knightfall goes big and bold right from the beginning with a large-scale battle set in the city of Acre. For a TV budget, the assault on the stronghold looks great, but it’s the use of intricately placed cameras that make the sequence shine.

Typically, an actor that wears a helmet, like Thor, finds a reason to take it off, in order to better show the actor’s face. Studios don’t want to pay someone millions of dollars to hide beneath a helmet. Instead of taking the helmets off, Knightfall puts the cameras inside the helmets. It’s a brilliant choice because it creates a feeling of claustrophobia that adds to the intensity of the fights.

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What Did You Think of Tonight's Gotham?

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While I work up the review for tonight's episode of Gotham, "Things That Go Boom," let everyone know what you thought of it below...

Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association (TCA). Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at http://ift.tt/2aJ67FB.

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Fullmetal Alchemist Movie Review

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Fullmetal Alchemist screened in Japan and at the Anime NYC convention.

In life, there are certain unshakable truths. The tides will flow. The sun will rise (for now, anyway). And live-action movie versions of big-name manga rarely work out. Just this year, we had to witness the crash-burn wreckage of Tokyo Ghoul on the cinematic tarmac. And in 2015, the first Attack on Titan movie was poorly received, making its sequel the same year an embarrassing box office disaster.

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Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Review

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Not so long ago I would’ve balked at the idea of living inside a stomach. Yet, after dozens of hours of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, I've fallen in love with the kingdom of Uraya’s vibrantly colored forests and cascading, strangely tinted waterfalls. It’s but one of the massive living Titans that serve as floating islands or continents and home to the citizens of the ocean world of Alrest and the setting of this impressively large role-playing game. Much like Xenoblade Chronicles 2 itself, they grow more interesting the further you venture inside them.

You see most of this through the eyes of Rex, a young man initially found making his living by sifting through the junk of dead civilizations on the ocean floor. His boundless optimism somehow never gets annoying, perhaps thanks in part to the excellent English voice acting for him and virtually every character in Xenoblade Chronicles 2. (For purists, a Japanese language pack is available for download at launch.) It's not long, though, before Rex finds himself permanently bound in a symbiotic relationship with a sentient living weapon known as a Blade – one of the most powerful his world has ever known.

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Venom #158 Review

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"Lethal Protector" has been easily the strongest arc of Mike Costa's Venom run to date, which is why it's disappointing that issue #158 fails to stick the landing. The fourth and final chapter misses some big opportunities, both in terms of Venom's own personal growth and his rivalry with Kraven. It's an underwhelming end to what could have been a defining story for the character.

Issue #157 ended with Venom being buried under a massive pile of rubble. When it comes to Spider-Man comics, that can mean only one thing - another riff on Amazing Spider-Man #33 and that iconic moment where Peter Parker willed his way out of certain doom. Except that's not really what happens here. We see Eddie wrestling with his predicament and reflecting on his troubled relationship with the symbiote, but there's never that big, epic moment where he saves himself through sheer willpower. Maybe there's something to the idea that he's rescued instead by the very creatures he's been fighting to protect, but the script never really swells on that notion one way or the other.

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South Park: "Super Hard PCness" Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

As vague as the episode descriptions for new South Park episodes tend to be, it’s hard to know exactly what to expect going in each week. Who would have guessed that an episode about PC Principal finding love in the workplace would also evolve into a full-fledged sequel to South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut? This episode proved to be one of the more convoluted installments of Season 20, but it did offer a fun trip down memory lane.

The worst that can be said for “Super Hard PCness” is that it’s another case where the various plot threads failed to come together as a cohesive whole. Try as the writers did, it never seemed like the Netflix/Terrance & Phillip backlash connected with the PC Principal/Vice Principal Strong Woman storyline in a satisfying, cohesive way. It often felt more as though Trey Parker and Matt Stone were bouncing a bunch of ideas off the wall and hoping they stuck. As a result, this episode never delivered the clever, insightful take on the many sexual harassment scandals dominating the news cycle that it could have.

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Vikings: Season 5 Premiere Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

 If you'd like to check out my interview with WWE Hall of Famer Edge about his new role on Vikings (he'll debut in the December 20th episode), click here.

Vikings roared back to TV with a double-episode premiere that saw Lagertha face down her would-be-usurper Harald Finehair - and then make the mistake of allowing him to live, so that he could then escape and swipe Astrid from Kattegat.

Now, I actually enjoyed Lagertha's choice to let Harald live, as I also actually believed Harald when he said he was done going after the throne since he'd, you know, murdered the woman he'd been trying to woo and impress. But I should have known there was a double cross coming since Harald had volunteered to be the one to go back to Kattegat in the first place. He wouldn't have done that if he had no interest in the crown, and in seeing a possibly overthrown Kattegat waiting for him. That's on me.

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Sword of Ages #1 Review

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As much as IDW may focus on big properties like TMNT, Ghostbusters and the Hasbroverse, they've also published their fair share of great creator-owned comics to boot. None made a bigger splash than Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez's Locke & Key. Now one half of that team is back with a brand new space fantasy series. Sword of Ages may try to cover far too much ground in its first issue, but you have to admire the passion Rodriguez is bringing to the table on this one.

Sword of Ages draws from a number of different influences (everything from Tarzan to the works of Moebius to the Dune books), but it doesn't feel particularly beholden to any one property. Rodriguez has clearly put a lot of thought into this vast universe, from the races and cultures that inhabit it to the politics and religion. That really comes across in this densely packed first issue, as Rodriguez traces the early hero's journey of main protagonist Avalon. All the trappings of an epic, fantastical adventure are in place by the end.

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Batman: Creature of the Night #1 Review

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I consider Kurt Busiek and Stuart Immonen's Superman: Secret Identity to be one of the best Superman stories ever published, so you'd better believe I was looking forward to this book. Batman: Creature of the Night is a spiritual sequel of sorts to Secret Identity. Once again, you have a young boy whose love of an iconic superhero is so great that the boundaries between reality and fantasy begin to blur. Creature of the Night has all the makings of another great superhero story that's as much about the real-world legacy of that hero as it is the hero themselves.

In this case, Busiek and artist John Paul Leon introduce readers to Bruce Wainwright, a younger whose obsession with all things Batman is only fueled by the fact that he almost shares his name. Like Secret Identity's Clark Kent, Bruce find his life growing uncomfortably close to that of his fictional idol when tragedy strikes and his dreams become haunted by a demonic bat creature. This isn't as simple as a story of a boy being compelled to dress in costume and fight crime. There's something more surreal and compelling to the way Batman bleeds into the real-world setting of this tale.

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SyFy's Happy! Is Great Comic Book Fun

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Happy!: "Saint Nick" Review

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This is a spoiler-free review of Happy!: "Saint Nick." 

Stories centered around cops are nothing new in the television landscape. Everything from Law & Order to The Wire has brought their own unique perspectives to the genre. So, can one show reinvent the police drama wheel?

Well, SyFy’s new series Happy!, which is based on legendary comic book writer Grant Morrison’s graphic novel from Image Comics, tries to do just that. Happy! is centered around ex-cop turned hitman Nick Sax who is determined to kill himself by consuming large amounts of alcohol and drugs.

Christopher Meloni (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) is the ideal choice for the role. He’s already played a cop for over a decade, but since his departure from Law & Order back in 2011, the veteran actor has been stretching his wings in the comic book and video game arenas. Meloni was even Hal Jordan in the 2009 DC animated movie, Green Lantern: First Flight.

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John Wick #1 Review

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It's tough to think of a recent action movie franchise better suited for the comic book treatment than John Wick. The first two films are practically comic book movies anyway, what with their extreme displays of violence and colorful sense of pageantry. There's ample room for a spinoff that explores how John Wick came to be that fearsome destroyer of men he is in the films. Unfortunately, the first issue casts doubt on whether this series can actually make good on that promise.

This series serves as a prequel to the films, unfolding back in a time when Mr. Wick is a rough around the edges freelancer still new to the ways of the underground assassin community. In addition to following his rise up the ranks, this comic also aims to flesh out his childhood as a reckless street urchin in Baja California. Sadly, the latter element is almost entirely superfluous. The interplay between recent past and distant past isn't handled very elegantly, and those brief childhood scenes don't wind up telling us very much about the character.

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Lady Bird Review

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There are more coming of age movies than anyone would probably want to count, but the journey from youth to (at least a little) maturity isn’t always all that interesting. A lot of times we are simply young, do a lot of dumb things, and then realize - usually a little too late - that we made a bunch of mistakes. So we make a personal vow not to do them anymore. Dust off your hands and put away your childhood: you’re more mature now.

So it is to writer/director Greta Gerwig’s credit that her new film Lady Bird (her first as a solo director) could be boiled down to such a simple essence and yet still feels distinctive, and maybe even original. The story of a teenaged girl named Christine - who insists on being called “Lady Bird” - is a constant little battle between her ego and her sentimentality. She clearly has a heart. She sometimes forgets to use it, because she’s young and trying to be cool, independent, and wise beyond her years.

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Batman Annual #2 Review

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Tom King's Batman run is consistently one of the best things about DC Rebirth, and that run is never better than when King focuses squarely on the romance between Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle. That's all the justification DC needs for this annual issue, which steps back to explore the very first date between the Bat and the Cat. "Date" being a very loose term for these two oddballs.

King's take on the Cat and the Bat resonates so strongly because it taps into that shared sadness uniting the two characters. They're both basically lonely, lost orphans. This issue continues building on that theme even as it focuses on the sheer thrill of Catwoman putting Batman through his paces for the first time. It's certainly fun watching Batman confronted with some a crafty. wily foe, but even at this early stage, there's a profound bond uniting the two. King's script sprinkles in just enough humor and silliness to offset the otherwise moody, introspective tone of the story.

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DC's Legends of Tomorrow: "Crisis on Earth-X, Part 4" Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

This crossover turned into quite the emotional rollercoaster. What started as an opportunity for wacky hijinks and Nazi-punching has now morphed into a breeding ground for some of the most depressing and the most uplifting moments in Arrowverse history. I don't know that "Crisis on Earth-X" made the most of the Earth-X setting in the end, but it sure gave us a nonstop stream of great character beats.

Above all, this crossover completed the big sendoff to Victor Garber's Martin Stein. Sadly, that sendoff went in a much darker direction than expected. Even with "Part 3" ending with Stein being shot, it seemed hard to imagine the writers would choose to sacrifice the character and deny him the happy, quiet retirement he's been working towards all season long. Part of me would have been content knowing Stein was still out there, bonding with his family and remaining free to join up with the Legends again should the need ever arise. But alas, it's not to be.

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The Flash: "Crisis on Earth-X, Part 3" Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

This episode certainly turned the whole crossover around. After a slow start in "Crisis on Earth-X, Part 1" and a fairly underwhelming follow-up in "Part 2," the crossover finally seemed to click in "Part 3." The conflict grew much darker in this episode, but not to the point where it lost sight of the inherent fun of the "Superheroes vs. Nazis" concept.

If anything, "Part 3" makes me wonder if the writers should have brought our heroes into Earth-X sooner. That change in scenery definitely feels like the catalyst the crossover had been needing. Right away, "Part 3" established the scope and gravitas that had been lacking as it explored a world where humans are still herded into concentration camps for being gay or Jewish or just deemed generally undesirable by those in power. The true evil of Earth-X and its masters was made fully apparent in the opening moments.

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Dragon Ball Super Episode 117 Review

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Warning: The following review contains spoilers for the episode.

Things went a radically different direction from the Goku-focused episodes of recent weeks as the Androids fighting the Maidens of Love from Universe 2 took center stage. With an emphasis on hilarious moments and fun interactions, Episode 117 is able to bring a much-needed break from the intensity of Goku’s current situation while still offering up interesting tidbits about Ultra Instinct and Vegeta’s future.

Dragon Ball’s take on comedy has been inconsistent, but Episode 117 is a good showcase of when Dragon Ball Super gets it right. From subtle things like Vegeta getting punched over and over, to the always adorable Zen-Ohs pretend fighting each other, there was no shortage of moments that made me chuckle. Beyond being funny, these moments were integrated into the story in a meaningful way, which is something Super has often struggled with in the past.

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Marvel's Runaways: "Fifteen" Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

"Fifteen" continued to carefully unravel the mystery of the show while bringing the teen heroes closer together. All the while too, the parents' Pride faction started ripping apart at the seams - so much so that the Yorkes almost up and left, in a blink, in an attempt to escape the craziness.

It was already made clear on the series that the parents here, the Pride minions, aren't exactly harsh one-note characters bent on world domination. They're not "supervillains." They're morally questionable people who got roped into some sort of really twisted sacrificial pyramid scheme and are now, finally, fifteen years later, experiencing the consequences.

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Amazon Fire TV with 4K Ultra HD Review

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In a bid for your 4K streaming dollars, Amazon’s Fire TV with 4K Ultra HD (See it on Amazon) makes a compelling case by packing a ton of features into a tiny package for a low price. It costs less than half of the Apple TV 4K with a similarly powerful voice-enabled remote. At $69.99, it’s priced the same as the Roku Streaming Stick+ or the Google Chromecast Ultra, but the Roku’s voice-search capabilities can’t compete with the Fire TV’s Alexa-powered remote, and the Chromecast Ultra lacks a remote altogether, to say nothing about a slick on-screen menu.

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Resident Evil: Revelations 2 for Switch Review

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When we first reviewed Resident Evil: Revelations 2 in 2015, we gave it a 7.0, for Good. Here’s what we said about it then:

“Resident Evil Revelations 2’s pulpy story, occasionally brilliant co-op gameplay, and excellent Raid mode balances out its dull environments and overused enemies. While I would have liked Capcom to have aimed higher, this is a mostly enjoyable horror experience, albeit an unmemorable one.” Read the full Resident Evil: Revelations 2 review.

The Switch version reproduces that same experience well, with the added bonus of decent motion controls and amiibo support.

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Arrow: "Crisis on Earth-X, Part 2" Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

With “Crisis on Earth-X” now half over, I’m not optimistic this crossover is going to live up to last year’s “Invasion!”. The deeper we get into the actual meat of the crossover, the smaller and less monumental this war between heroes and Nazi doppelgangers actually feels. I’m hoping the writers have some serious tricks up their sleeves for tomorrow night, because this storyline needs something more.

“Crisis on Earth-X, Part 2” peaked pretty much immediately, what with the surprise reveal that Earth-X’s Prometheus is none other than Tommy Merlyn. That was certainly a cool twist, and it makes you wonder why Part 1 didn’t end on that reveal, rather than the far more generic, expected reveal of Dark Arrow and Overgirl’s identities. Regardless, it was really great seeing Colin Donnell back in action, however briefly. And I assume this was also a way of acknowledging the popular fan theory from early on in Arrow: Season 5 that Tommy was Prometheus. In a way, that theory turned out to be correct.

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Supergirl: "Crisis on Earth X, Part 1" Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

This year's big Arrowverse crossover already has one huge advantage over "Invasion!" in that all four shows are equal participants. None of this "Supergirl is completely irrelevant until the final 45 seconds" nonsense. "Crisis on Earth-X" clearly isn't in much of a hurry to get where it's going, but at least it's not wasting the potential in having so many heroes under one roof.

Plot-wise, this crossover isn't much to write home about yet. It doesn't feel as though we learned anything at all about the brewing conflict between heroes and Nazi doppelgangers that wasn't already apparent from the trailers and promotional materials. All we know so far is that Earth-X is home to some Nazi-flavored versions of characters like Green Arrow, Supergirl, Reverse-Flash and Prometheus, and even that reveal was dragged out till the last possible minute. Revealing the basic premise behind Earth-X isn't really the most memorable way of capping off the first quarter of the crossover. It was all the more frustrating because it forced the Nazi versions of these characters to wear masks and disguise their voices for most of the episode, which really limited the intimidation factor.

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The Walking Dead: "The King, the Widow, and Rick" Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

In whatever it is that you'd like to call "The King, the Widow, and Rick" - a rest episode, a snoozer chapter, a catch your breath installment - we saw small stories span all over the landscape, in each of the three communities and beyond.

I suppose I should kick things off with what I liked here - what resonated. What landed the best. Because this episode, for the most part, was a cluttered mess. With this in mind...hey, everyone, it's Michonne and Rosita! And they're doing stuff!

Specifically, Rosita was blowing an a-hole to bits with a missile launcher! That sure was a fun, over-the-top action beat. I think it helped too that it came during a detour/side mission and from two characters who haven't been a part of the ongoing (never-ending) battle. Meaning, they were both baggage free. They could have this side quest to stop the Saviors from solving their herd problem (with speakers blasting opera) and explode a guy with a rocket. They weren't doing anything else and all they did here was help, so good on them. They're not woefully defeated and depressed like Ezekiel or in the middle of purposefully getting captured by the still, and always, RIDICULOUS garbage folk out at the junk yard like Rick. "Why back after?" Go to hell, you jerks.

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Hey, Arnold!: The Jungle Movie Review

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Answering long-held mysteries about the football head’s past and future, Hey, Arnold! The Jungle Movie feels engineered to be a crowd-pleaser for fans who watched the series over a decade ago. As a result, all the big moments my much-younger self hoped to see happen, but because those answers are so expected, it's instead the little, unexpected homages to what made Hey, Arnold! such a joy originally that mark the high points of The Jungle Movie.

The Jungle Movie in many ways picks up where “The Journal,” the last Hey, Arnold! episode made for TV, left off, with Arnold still wistfully hoping to find his parents. And a possible class trip to San Lorenzo — his parents’ last known location — makes that hope a reality.

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Arrow: "Thanksgiving" Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

You have to question The CW's decision to air this episode tonight, both because it's a major American holiday and because it makes for a pretty depressing way to spend the evening. But on the other hand, it's not as if there's any time to waste. Arrow needed to set a number of wheels in motion in order to set the stage for next week's "Crisis on Earth-X" crossover. "Thanksgiving" managed to accomplish that goal while also doing a great deal to address Season 6's biggest flaws.

Legends of Tomorrow aside, it's been a strong week for the Arrowverse in general. The reasons seem pretty similar all around. Like Supergirl and The Flash before it, Arrow succeeded this week in delivering a more plot-driven episode that establishes a clearer conflict for the season as a whole. It says a lot that Ollie being arrested by the FBI was just the opening salvo in a night full of dark developments and character conflict. In the process, we now have a two-pronged conflict for Team Arrow to contend with. Ollie faces an imminent trial that could land him behind bars for life (if not put him on death row). And the team faces a resurgent threat from Cayden James, a man who seems to have a very personal grudge against the Green Arrow.

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Star Wars #39 Review

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Rogue One wound up adding more to the Star Wars mythos than a lot of fans were probably anticipating. Episode IV is only improved by learning about the other Rebel heroes who fought and died so that Luke Skywalker could strike that decisive blow against the Empire. And as new writer Kieron Gillen is proving with his first Star Wars storyline, there's more yet to be gained by exploring the lingering legacy of Jynn Erso and her team.

Gillen is often know for exploring the seedier, more humorous  side of the Star Wars franchise with his other books. But here, Gillen crafts a more somber, even poignant script that seems only too appropriate given the Jedha setting. There's plenty of great character work to dig into in this issue. The standout scenes involve Luke and Leia reflecting on the actions of the Rogue One crew. Gillen offers a fascinating glimpse into Leia's mind as she rails against the cowardly Rebel leaders who refused to fight the Empire when the moment came and now reap the rewards of Rogue One's sacrifice.

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Thanos #13 Review

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There's no question that a villain as complex and nuanced as Thanos deserves his own solo series. But with writer Jeff Lemire and artists Mike Deodato and German Peralta telling a very complete story over the course of their 12 issues, it's enough to wonder if Marvel stands to gain anything by keeping the series around in Marvel Legacy. Thankfully, Thanos #13 serves as a resounding "Yes." If anything, this series looks to be on its way up thanks to the new creative team.

Thanos #13 marks the second time in as many weeks that writer Donny Cates takes the reins of a prominent Marvel title. And once again, he manages that tricky balance between honoring the tone of the previous creative team and still crafting something that feels new and original. It certainly doesn't hurt that he's joined by God Country co-creator Geoff Shaw for this book. It was pretty obvious reading that series that Cates and and Shaw are born to work on the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe.

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Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters: Season 1 Review

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Note: this is a spoiler-free review of the first season of Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters.

The Stretch Armstrong franchise seems like an ideal choice for an ambitious animation team. The character has that all-important brand recognition factor, but no real mythology or supporting cast to speak of. Despite all the many attempts to bring adapt the Stretch Armstrong toy to film and TV, he's still essentially a blank slate of an IP. That gives creators almost total freedom to interpret the character and build his world however they choose. With all that freedom, it's a little disappointing to see Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters develop into such a formulaic teen superhero story.

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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR Review

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When VR headsets became a reality, I made a list of games I wanted to experience from that perspective. It was primarily games with fantastic worlds – games like BioShock, Half-Life 2, and, naturally The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Since then it’s become clear that adapting conventional first-person games to VR wouldn’t be easy, and Bethesda’s Skyrim VR is an example of how many of those challenges remain unsolved. It’s definitely great virtual tourism in a familiar land of dragons and magic, but this perspective doesn’t do the famously clumsy combat any favors.

I never really appreciated the size and scale of Skyrim until I was standing on the Throat of the World, or seeing a dragon up close. Creatures looking big on screen because is one thing; towering over you is another. I don’t have a particular hangup about spiders, but seeing the huge Frost Spiders in the early dungeons come at me sent chills down my spine. It's an absolute joy to see this world from this perspective for anyone who's spent a lot of time here.

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The Shape of Water Review

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While not as powerful as his Spanish language classics Pan’s Labyrinth and The Devil’s Backbone, The Shape of Water is director Guillermo del Toro’s strongest Hollywood film to date. It’s a visually and emotionally engrossing fable, one that synthesizes so many of this unique filmmaker’s peculiar tastes and diverse artistic influences. It is a fairy tale, a monster movie, a Noir, a social commentary, and a valentine to the Golden Age of Hollywood, but above all else, it is a love story. It is poetic yet accessible, and earnest without being maudlin. Its biggest flaw is that its plot ultimately takes a surprisingly conventional route for such an otherwise unconventional Hollywood release.

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DC's Legends of Tomorrow: "Welcome to the Jungle" Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

Sometimes I’m convinced there’s an unwritten law that we can’t have great episodes of both The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow in the same week. Even as The Flash’s fourth season finally picked up the pace this week, Legends suffered from an unusually weak outing. It’s all the more frustrating given that Gorilla Grodd played a prominent role in “Welcome to the Jungle.” Grodd has always been such a great addition to the mix on The Flash, but that appeal didn’t carry over to this series.

Watching “Welcome to the Jungle” raises the question of whether the Vietnam War setting was even a great idea to begin with. It’s not a conflict that really lends itself well to the genial, lighthearted tone of this series. There’s a reason they don’t make many Vietnam War comedy movies (other than Good Morning, Vietnam, and even that’s a pretty bleak film in its own way). There was a real sense that the writers were holding back with this one, neither leaning as heavily into the team’s zany antics as usual nor fully embracing the dark, psychedelic trappings of ‘Nam.

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The Flash: "Therefore I Am" Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

There was a pretty stark tonal shift between this week’s Flash and the previous six episodes of Season 4. Where things have been pretty lighthearted and goofy this year, “Therefore I Am” felt much more reminiscent of the darker direction the series took in Season 3. And while it would be nice if The Flash could strike more of a balance between those two extremes, the darker approach definitely seemed justified this week.

As much as this season has frustrated with its reliance on the “monster of the week” formula in the last six weeks, at least the writers aren’t dragging their heels where Clifford DeVoe is concerned. The DeVoe conflict took a major leap forward in this episode, with Barry coming face-to-face with his latest grand adversary for the first time and getting a small taste of how dangerous the world’s smartest man can be. I appreciate how rapidly the writers are moving with DeVoe (more on that decision here). Just think how long it’s normally taken Barry to get to this point in previous seasons. Heck, Season 3 was practically over before we knew Savitar’s identity and back-story. Yet after a mere seven episodes, we already know a great deal about how Clifford DeVoe became the Thinker and what drives him as a villain.

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Coco Review

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Both figuratively and literally, Coco is Pixar’s most human film. The movie delivers a compelling story centered around memorable characters that feel alive -- even as they’re taking a journey through the Land of the Dead. The animation is top-notch as well, which adds to Coco’s effectiveness in telling its story.

The central conflict in Coco revolves around aspiring musician Miguel (newcomer Anthony Gonzalez) gaining new insights about his family’s history and their relationship to music. Miguel’s hometown has a rich musical history, but his family views music as a curse. Instead of singing songs and playing instruments, Miguel must put all of his energy into the family shoe business, which he despises. Miguel’s search for musical independence away from his family is deeply engaging.

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Molly's Game Review

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Aaron Sorkin is one of the most instantly recognizable writers of the modern era, whether or not you have any idea what he looks like. The creator of The West Wing and The Newsroom, and the screenwriter of The Social Network and Steve Jobs, has a knack - or at least a propensity - for telling stories about fast-talking intellectuals whose brains are overflowing with observations and anecdotes, most of which are thematically important by the end of the conversation… a conversation that had at least a 40% chance of being given while the characters walked somewhere.

Sorkin’s particular writing style has a tendency to overpower even the most dynamic filmmakers. It would be difficult to confuse the films of David Fincher and Danny Boyle, and yet their films The Social Network and Steve Jobs are clearly connected, for better or worse, by a single voice. So it was always going to be interesting to see what such a distinctive writer would do in his directorial debut, and find out whether he’s as sharp behind a camera as he is with a pen.

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Darkest Hour Review

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There are only three constants in this topsy-turvy world of ours: death, taxes and World War II movies. There’s not a whole lot we can do about death, and taxes will probably be a point of contention until the day the sun explodes. But there’s no particular reason to complain about World War II movies, at least if they’re as good as the riveting, albeit one-sided Darkest Hour.

Darkest Hour tells the story of Winston Churchill, the Prime Minster of the United Kingdom during World War II, a celebrated orator and an outsized personality. The film kicks off the day before he’s appointed Prime Minister and only gets as far as the evacuation of Dunkirk, approximately one month later.

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Battle Chef Brigade Review

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Not unlike a fine stew, Battle Chef Brigade could only be as good as the ingredients it’s cooked with. Fortunately, a hearty mixture of puzzles, platforming, and even a dash of visual novel-style storytelling help keep this melange fresh most of the way through its six lengthy courses.

Despite all the other diverse activities involved, Battle Chef Brigade’s engaging match 3-style cooking puzzles are your main means of progression through the campaign. The gradual introduction of modifiers, including poison gems and increasingly complex sets of tools with different bonuses and multipliers, ensure that this aspect never becomes too easy to whisk through, and never so difficult that you’ll want to toss your Switch in the oven. The challenge in Battle Chef Brigade is often dependent on how prepared you are when heading into a match, which consists of a combat phase and a puzzle phase.

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Godless: Netflix Series Review

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This is a non-spoiler review for all seven episodes of Netflix's limited series Western, Godless - premiering Wednesday, November 22nd.

"Welcome to No Man's Land," states the apt tagline for the new seven-part series Godless.

Created by Scott Frank (The Lookout, Logan) and executive produced by Steven Soderbergh, Godless brings the Western back to (streaming) TV in a big, beautiful way with a sweeping saga of love, loss, revenge, and redemption set in and around the small isolated mining town of La Belle - a community populated, and run by, mostly women after all the able-bodied fathers and husbands lost their lives in one fell mining accident swoop. "83 good men" gone, leaving the town seemingly vulnerable to conniving industrialists and crazed outlaws.

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Dragon Ball Super Episode 116 Review

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Warning: The following review contains spoilers for the episode.

Saiyan juggernauts Goku and Kefla came to blows in their insanely powerful forms this week, providing a visually stunning display. While Episode 116 didn’t use all of it’s time wisely, the time it did spend in battle was a spectacle to behold. A brilliant use of color and animation set this week's battle above nearly all others, while the weeks of build-up around Kefla help make her character compelling and worth rooting for.

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Marvel's Runaways: "Rewind/Destiny" Review

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This is a review for Marvel's Runaways episodes "Rewind" and "Destiny - the second and third episodes that, along with the pilot, were all released Tuesday, November 21st on Hulu. For a review of the first episode, which we saw when it screened at NYCC, you can go here.

Warning: Full spoilers for the episodes below.

Starting next week, with Episode 4 ("Fifteen"), Marvel's Runways episodes will settle into a once-a-week basis so this should be the only double-up review of the bunch. It's not an ideal way to review episodes, especially since the second episode, "Rewind," really acts as a solid follow-up to the pilot episode, being that it takes place on the same day shown in the premiere and gives us the story from the parents' perspective, but we'll make do.

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What Did You Think of The Gifted?

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The review for tonight's episode of The Gifted, "threat of eXtinction," will be posted Tuesday. In the meantime, let us know your thoughts on this episode in the comments.

Joshua is IGN’s Comics Editor. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Game of Thrones are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.

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Supergirl: "Wake Up" Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

This year’s Arrowverse crossover is fast approaching. It seems as though this week is ushering in a wave of plot-driven episodes designed to prep these shows both for “Crisis on Earth-X” and the midseason finales that will follow. Given how Legends of Tomorrow is the only one of the four that really seems to have found its groove so far, that’s definitely a good thing. And “Wake Up” certainly helps kick Supergirl’s third season into gear, even if it makes a few questionable choices along the way.

Obviously, the big news this week involved the return of Chris Wood’s Mon-El, a character who’s been keeping pretty darned busy since his disappearance at the end of Season 2. Before I get into my problems with how Mon-El’s return was handled, I do want to focus on how well the reunion between he and Kara was handled. This episode included two very emotionally charged scenes, first with Kara coming face-to-face with her long-lost boyfriend in the spaceship and then when she began to realize the depth of his deception. That latter scene in particular was extremely well-acted. As much as I’m still ambivalent about the darker tone of Season 3, there’s no denying that Melissa Benoist has really made the most of this bleak phase in Kara’s life. You can really feel that combination of hurt, confusion and rage rolling off of her. And while Wood’s performance was comparatively more subdued, there was a nice, quiet agony to his performance as well.

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LA Noire For Switch Review

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Especially considering it originally came out in 2011, I was impressed that playing through LA Noire on the Nintendo Switch amazed me all over again. From the top-quality voice acting and the still-unmatched facial animations to the multi-layered crimes to solve, the parts that really matter work great on the Switch. The old-looking and empty open-world parts in between, not so much.

Six years later, LA Noire is still a unique game. (Read our original LA Noire review.) There are cops-and-robbers car chases and occasional gunfights, but most of it is a smartly paced, contemplative challenge that keeps you thinking. As a Los Angeles cop working in the 1940s, you’ll be sent to a weird and wonderful array of crime scenes where you find clues, interact with witnesses, and draw conclusions with a limited amount of hand-holding. I never thought I’d find myself interested in the forgery of pink slips until I met the diverse cast of suspects and witnesses involved in a grand theft auto scheme, and using the right pieces of evidence against each of them presented a test of its own. A few of the 21 cases are a little repetitive, but every time I was close to feeling bored, something completely unexpected would happen and draw me back in again.

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The Disaster Artist Review

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There are good movies, there are bad movies, there are awful movies, and then there’s The Room, a movie so mind-explodingly incompetent that it feels like it shouldn’t exist. James Franco’s new film The Disaster Artist reveals the strange but (apparently) true story of how the worst movie ever made actually got made, and it’s an unusually heartwarming ode to outsider art.

Dave Franco stars as Greg Sestero, a struggling actor who can’t seem to break out of his shell. James Franco co-stars as Tommy Wiseau, another struggling actor who seems to have broken out of his shell by force, and with a chainsaw. What Sestero lacks in confidence, Wiseau compensates for with weird bravado, and together they embark on a journey to Los Angeles, where Wiseau - a mysterious millionaire with an unplaceable accent - already owns an apartment. He just never had anyone to move in with before.

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The Sims 4 Xbox One and PlayStation 4 Review

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After struggling to get the cursor to select the “Save” button in the foreground menu instead of toggling between my Sim’s aspirations menu in the background, I somehow finagled a way to save my progress. It was tense for a moment there: I nearly lost a few in-game days of hard work. That is just one of the many small but constantly aggravating issues I had with The Sims 4 on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Even so, I did stay up embarrassingly late playing on a few occasions because building and guiding my Sims’ lives is still fun.

The Sims 4 first launched on PC in 2014 (read our Sims 4 PC review), and the transition from mouse and keyboard to a controller for the console version comes with expected challenges when condensing all the functions into so few buttons. Original developer Maxis and console port developer Blind Squirrel Games make an admirable attempt by using the View button/touchpad to toggle between two sets of controls: the menus that border the Sim world are one set, and all in-world actions are done with the other set with a cursor. It takes awhile to get used to navigating the menus, but pressing the left thumbstick for a quick control guide reference made learning them a bit easier. I would have appreciated a way to change the speed of the cursor, though.

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Batman: The Enemy Within - Fractured Mask Review

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WARNING: Mild spoilers for Episode 2 follow.

Just as great seasons of television aren’t immune to bad individual episodes, Telltale’s TV-style format adventure games are just as prone to failure. It happens! For Batman: The Enemy Within, Episode 2 was such a misfire in Bruce Wayne’s ongoing struggle with duality, and thankfully, Episode 3: Fractured Mask gets Season 2 back on track and makes the previous episode look like a fluke.

We pick up right where we left off, with the mystery of Riddler’s frozen body quickly explained resolved in a logical way. (Thankfully, it did not go down the Man of Steel/Jor-El path it had lightly foreshadowed.) Even better, we get back in the Batsuit, with Bruce having to use both of his identities to burrow deeper into Harley Quinn’s undoubtedly evil plan. Though I’m still not a fan of her voice here, I quite enjoy how, in another of Telltale’s Batman tradition-flipping moves, she is the leader of the gang and John “Still Not Joker Yet” Doe is her unsure and internally conflicted apprentice.

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Doomsday Clock #1 Review

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Note: this is a spoiler-free advance review of Doomsday Clock #1, which will be released on Wednesday, November 22. I'll do my best to avoid all but the most basic plot details. But if you're worried about being spoiled, just know that it's well worth your time to hunt down a copy of this comic on Wednesday.

No doubt many comic book fans are opposed to the very existence of Doomsday Clock. Watchmen is one of the most revered comics ever published. It's about as close to a sacred cow as the superhero genre has, and the idea of trying to craft a sequel (without the involvement of the original creative team, no less) must seem like sacrilege to some. It's not as if the Before Watchmen prequel line did much to justify its existence. But if DC is going to continue to the Watchmen saga, better they do so with a story that matters. Not something that coasts by on the reputation of and nostalgia for the original, but a story that finds something legitimately meaningful in the intersection of the DC and Watchmen universes. Doomsday Clock shows every sign of being that story.

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The Walking Dead: "The Big Scary U" Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

Given how long The Walking Dead has been running, and the "one long movie/battle" aspect of the Season 8 episodes so far, it's easy to feel like things are in a rut. When things feel stagnant, when there's a "sameness" from week to week, one looks for something, anything, out of the ordinary to spike the story. This week, in "The Big Scary U," we got that, though it still didn't save the chapter from focusing way too much, and giving way too much screen time, to characters we don't know or care about.

Gregory, Simon, Regina, any of the strife in the Sanctuary - it was all more or less a placeholder. Sure, Dwight could get caught being the mole for Rick's team, but do we necessarily care about that after he shot Denise in the eye with crossbow bolt? Or do we care if Eugene accidentally takes the fall for Dwight because he's everyone's easy pick for the person undermining Negan's plans? We really didn't need this intense of a peek inside the Sanctuary right now - even if it was trying to graciously show us the other side of the conflict (along with the actual meeting that was happening when Rick rolled up with his "hillbilly armor").

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Marvel's The Punisher: Season 1 Review-In-Progress

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Now that Marvel's The Punisher is live on Netflix, please keep up with all of IGN's reviews as we complete them below. We'll be binging along with you to try to find out what happens with Frank Castle's story.

We've completed all of our individual episode reviews (see below) as well as our full season review.

Marvel's The Punisher: Episode 1 - "3 AM" Review (Spoiler-Free) - COMPLETED

Marvel's The Punisher: Episode 2 - "Two Dead Men" Review - COMPLETED

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Marvel's The Punisher: "Memento Mori" Review

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Full Spoilers Following for Marvel’s The Punisher: “Memento Mori.” Make sure to keep up with all of our Marvel's The Punisher binge here.

Marvel’s The Punisher ends on a quiet note for Frank Castle. Without a war to fight, the troubled soldier must find a new way to exist in a society that still fears him. “Memento Mori” does everything a good finale should do, but not in the moments of over-the-top action and violence. Instead, the episode is at its best when dealing with the aftermath of this bloody season.

There’s a price to pay for Frank’s vengeful rampage across New York City. Having consequences is a necessity in order to tell an effective story centered around Frank Castle. If he just killed hundreds of people and felt no remorse or sorrow, then this would be a less effective series.

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