I’ve had a lot to say about the first two seasons of Halo I’m glad I had this opportunity to discuss it with a fellow Halo fan over at Halo Evolved! Season 2 ended on an auspicious note with a rock solid episode that nonetheless seems to have put the next season in an akward position. We get into all of that as well as why I feel season 1 worked better than season 2, and we share some theories as to what we can expect in season 3! If I have any regrets about this podcast, it’s bringing up the randos on Reddit. As funny as I found that one comment to be, talking about it here came off less like discussing a an observable phenomenon in the community and more like the airing of grievances. In my head, I thought of it as a vindication for the way I saw the fandom react to this show, but instead it just seemed kind of petty. Perhaps my thoughts on all of that will be better explored at another time.
Cinema Dispatch: Hundreds of Beavers
Hundreds of Beavers and all the images you see in this review are owned by SRH
Directed by Mike Cheslik
It’s always interesting when my local theater gets a movie in for a single screening. I’m curious what the motivation is for something like that, as they did the same thing with Cade: The Tortured Crossing. Is there just someone on staff who really wanted to see it, or do they think it’s got enough juice in this town to fill the theater once before interest fizzles out? In any case, this strange little comedy that I’ve barely heard anything about certainly caught my eye with its odd trailer, so perhaps the person they brought this movie in for was me the whole time! Is this an underappreciated gem that will delight whatever audiences can find it, or is this better off being screened to as few audiences as possible? Let’s find out!!
The Applejack magnate Jean Kayak (Ryland Brickson Cole Tews) is living his best life serving apple infused alcohol to the local fur trappers while indulging in his product as often as he can. Sadly, his life is brought to a screeching halt when his distillery is destroyed in comedic fashion, and he’s left with nothing but the clothes on his back in the harsh and frigid wilderness. He works his way from chasing rabbits to catching raccoons and eventually finds himself seeking the hand of the local fur trader’s daughter (Olivia Graves) while apprenticing under a master trapper (Wes Tank). As Jean hones his craft and is forced to seek his fortune on his own, he gets the attention of the local population of beavers, who seem to be up to something and don’t much care for this new interloper. Will Jean win the affection of the fur trader’s daughter before bumbling his way into an early grave? What do the beavers have planned to stop him from interfering with their secretive plans? Does it possibly involve a large number of said beavers? Maybe in the three digit range?
Cinema Dispatch: Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and all the images you see in this review are owned by Warner Bros. Pictures
Directed by Adam Wingard
We’re five movies deep into the Monsterverse, plus one TV series I haven’t bothered to watch yet, and excepting Kong: Skull Island, none of them have left much of an impression on me. A bit of an odd thing to say when it comes to movies about giant monsters getting into fist fights, but something’s always felt missing that kept me from engaging with it beyond a very rudimentary level, and it seems unlikely that we’ll be pulling things back to see what can be fixed when they can just go bigger with each movie. Then again, we’ve come quite far since the dreary days of Gareth Edwards’s Godzilla feature, and if nothing else the addition of a robot arm for Kong and pink highlights for Godzilla show that they aren’t afraid to escalate the goofiness which could be just enough to get me back on board. Will the pieces finally fall into place in this latest monster mash, or has this franchise simply left me behind without even glancing in the rearview mirror? Let’s find out!!
With the discovery of the Hollow Earth, the world has somehow managed to keep on trucking with Godzilla on the surface to bash any monsters that start giving humanity funny looks, and Kong enjoying an early retirement in the Hollow Earth; chilling under waterfalls and basking in whatever the equivalent of sunlight is in the Earth’s core. Still, retirement can be a lonely thing for the last of one’s kind, and Kong can only talk to his awesome warrior axe so many times before it gets weird. Thankfully, the Hollow Earth is like an ogre in that it has many layers, and he stumbles into the home of a race of giant apes like himself. Before we can throw Kong a family reunion, however, it seems these apes are not too friendly towards the big guy and something about their reemergence has put Godzilla into butt-kicking mode as he powers himself up for whatever happens next. What are these apes up to in their own little corner of the world, and will it spell doom for the surface world? Can Kong show these apes a path towards peace, or will he be forced to take them down alongside his frenemy Godzilla? Seriously, who had the foresight to make Kong a power glove? What, did they think he’d have to win an arm wrestling tournament to save humanity!?
Cinema Dispatch: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and all the images you see in this review are owned by Sony Pictures Releasing
Directed by Gil Kenan
I came into the last Ghostbusters film with more than a little ambivalence, and to this day I still think I overcorrected and gave it half-a-star too high in the final score. I can’t say I’m any more optimistic going into this one, since it looks like all the same nostalgia bait without any of the context, but I’ve been wrong before about movies I expected to disappoint me. Maybe by doing away with any pretense, we can get a proper adventure movie that forges its own path instead of an attempt at redoing the comedic magic of the original! Ghostbusters on Ice? Lots of potential there! Will this take advantage of its premise to grow past the shadow of the franchise, or is this content to stand still and not budge an inch as long as people continue to clamor for Venkman, Stanz, and Zeddemore? Let’s find out!!
Following the events of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the Spengler family consisting of Callie (Carrie Coon), her two kids Phoebe and Trevor (Mckenna Grace and Finn Wolfhard), and their new step-dad Gary (Paul Rudd) have moved to New York and into the good ol’ firehouse to start up the Ghostbusters yet again. Things seem to be going well as the kids are growing into their roles as busters, but after a particularly destructive chase through town gets them in hot water with Mayor Peck (William Atherton), Phoebe is shelved until she turns eighteen which leaves her with nothing to do but be a teenager, and who wants that, am I right? On top of that, an ancient artifact ends up at the bookshop of Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) which seems to contain a spirit more powerful than anyone has seen before and seems to be connected to the family of Nadeem (Kumail Nanjiani), the guy who sold to Ray in the first place. On top of that, there’s also a new Ghostbusters franchise being led by Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) that’s making some interesting discoveries about ghosts, but perhaps are missing the forest for the trees when they’re confronted with Ray’s mysterious artifact. Oh, and on top of that, Trevor is trying to catch Slimer in the attic because… well, I guess if you’re gonna get Finn Wolfhard, you’ve gotta give him something to do. Can Phoebe find a place that she belongs, especially after meeting a fellow teenage ghost who seems to understand her better than her family? Will this artifact unleash a great threat to the city that only the Ghostbusters can take care of? What do you say, fans? Is any of this doing it for ya!?
Cinema Dispatch: Road House
Road House and all the images you see in this review are owned by Amazon MGM Studios
Directed by Doug Liman
There are a lot of movies that I still need to catch up on, but I never thought the original Road House was necessarily one of them. It had the vibe of something that was a clear product of its time, and with so many amazing action movies since then, I was pretty confident that I hadn’t missed out on much. Perhaps that makes me the target audience for this remake, which certainly looked impressive from the trailers, and I’m always happy to see follow Jake Gyllenhaal to whatever wacky project he signs onto. Is this the update to an eighties classic that both fans and newcomers can love, or will this be another soulless cash grab for those nostalgic bucks? Heck, we already got a crappy Point Blank remake, so why not a lousy Road House one too? Let’s find out!!
In the Florida Keys, there is a bar that is being besieged by drunks and punks who like to get belligerent and tear up the place. If the owner (Jessica Williams) wants to keep the bar from collapsing, both financially and literally, she’s gonna need someone to deescalate situations and put a hurt on anybody who takes things too far. What better person for that role than a down on his luck UFC fighter named Dalton (Jake Gyllenhaal) who’s good at breaking arms but can’t mend the pain in his soul! Still, a few weeks on sunny beaches drinking coffee and tossing out drunks couldn’t hurt, right? Well, it turns out that there are more than just a few boozehounds trying to take down the bar, and what should have been a period of self-care for the man turns into the greatest challenge of his life. Can Dalton keep the peace in this small town despite being an outsider? Who is behind these vicious attacks on the bar, and what’s waiting in the wings if they can’t get the job done? Imagine being this cool while ALSO having starred in Bubble Boy!
Super Recaps: Halo Season 2 – Episode 8
Halo the series is owned by Paramount Plus
Directed by Dennie Gordon
It’s all come down to this. We’ve been on a wild ride with a lot of ups and downs to be sure, but this is the moment that fans wanted to see since the show was announced all those years ago. The Halo show finally gets to Halo, and lo, did the fanboys rejoice! Well, maybe they did, and maybe they didn’t; it’s going to be interesting to see how the fandom reacts now that we’ve gotten to where a lot of them felt we should have started, but we’re here to look at the episode itself and not the endless Reddit threads this is sure to produce! Is this a great finale for both fans of the show and fans of the game, or does trying to bring these two worlds together leave nobody happy? Let’s find out!!
With everyone converging on the Halo ring like a violent space version of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World, Chief (Pablo Schreiber) has the lead on everyone and can practically taste the perfectly preserved dirt on the planet’s surface when he realizes that he can’t just leave everyone else to die and so turns back around to join the battle; leaving Makee and The Arbiter (Charlie Murphy and Viktor Åkerblom) to call dibs on the ring shaped space station. What he doesn’t know, however, is that the artifact Miranda and Halsey (Olive Gray and Natascha McElhone) brought back from the secret alien laboratory is carrying something far more sinister than a mere fleet of Covenant starships. A long extinct spore known as The Flood has woken up and is hungry for meat which it finds readily on this human outpost, and so Kwan Ha and Soren (Yerin Ha and Bokeem Woodbine) need to find Kessler and Laera (Tylan Bailey and Fiona O’Shaughnessy) before they get caught in this grotesque outbreak that Kwan seems to have some sort of connection with even if she doesn’t quite understand it herself. With Chief trying to help the Spartan IIIs being led by Kai (Kate Kennedy), Makee fighting with Cortana (Jen Taylor and Christina Bennington) as they barrel ahead towards the ultimate weapon, and the rest of our heroes fighting off Space Zombies, will this be humanity’s last stand as they valiantly fight against impossible odds? What’s waiting for everyone if they do make it to the Halo ring, and will they have enough strength left to stop Makee? It’s taken us two seasons to get to the darn thing, so was the wait ultimately worth it!?
Cinema Dispatch: Love Lies Bleeding
Love Lies Bleeding and all the images you see in this review are owned by A24
Directed by Rose Glass
Somehow we got two lesbian crime movies released within weeks of each other, and while I sadly didn’t get a chance to see Drive-Away Dolls, at least not yet, this one became a top priority for me when I saw the trailers. Kristen Stewart is already a good indicator of quality for me and A24 has a mostly solid track record, so the math added up, and I went to check it out as soon as I had a window in my schedule. Was this grimy slice of eighties mischief worth getting excited for, or is this a situation where all the right pieces are there, but it just doesn’t come together in the end? Let’s find out!!
One night in Nowhere Middle America, a woman comes into town with big dreams and even bigger muscles. Her name is Jackie (Katy O’Brian) and she catches the eye of the local gym manager Lou (Kristen Stewart) who gives her a place to stay and the two fall madly in love. Sadly, the Beatles were incorrect when they said love is all you need, and their lives start to encroach on their whirlwind love affair as Lou’s estranged dad (Ed Harris) is a local gun runner always on the outskirts of their lives and Lou herself is not exactly the perfect partner for someone who’s been through as much as Jackie has. It all comes to ahead when Lou’s sister (Jena Malone) is in serious trouble and Jackie’s instincts lead her down a dark path that will drag Lou and her entire family down with her. Can Lou keep her love life and her family in one piece despite barely keeping her own life intact? What does Lou’s dad want from her, and what does he want from Jackie as well? Seriously, if there’s this much drama around why don’t you just move? It’s the eighties! People could actually afford that back then!
Super Recaps: Halo Season 2 – Episode 7
Halo the series is owned by Paramount Plus
Directed by Dennie Gordon
We’re over the hill and barreling down at lightning speed towards a conclusion that everyone is scrambling to get ready for. The last episode was certainly a lurch with how much they tried to cram in and how they tried to stitch it all together, but with that work out of the way, does this episode ramp up more organically as it takes us into the big finale? Let’s find out!!
With Chief and Cortana back in contact, there’s not much that can stand in his way as he gets revenge against Ackerson and finds his stolen armor. Of course, that ends up being small potatoes when it turns out that the Covenant fleet is within spitting distance of the Halo and the UNSC are still in bad shape after the attack on Reach. With little more than the barely trained Spartan IIIs to throw at the problem, Parangosky makes a fateful choice that puts Ackerson in a rather awkward position, and that’s before he runs into the mighty fists and burning wrath of Chief as well as Kai who is similarly ticked off about being lied to. Humanity’s hope may lie in what Halsey, Miranda, and Kwan have found in the caves of Onyx, if only they knew how to activate it, and time is running short as Makee and The Arbiter are on their way to the ring with little on their mind but salvation through utter annihilation. Can Chief put aside his anger long enough to save humanity now that the Covenant have their eyes on the celestial doomsday weapon? What secrets will we learn once Halsey, Miranda, and Kwan open the door to the long dormant secrets left beneath the surface of Onyx? I’m still unsure why ONI thought Chief was better suited as a dead poster than as a butt kicking warrior, but you do you, I suppose.
Super Recaps: Halo Season 2 – Episode 6
Halo the series is owned by Paramount Plus
Directed by Otto Bathurst
We are well over halfway through the season, and from the very start we knew that the destination was to have our characters arrive at the Halo ring before the end of it. The path to getting there, however, is still rather fraught as the show has made some bold moves in its breaks from canon, but we only have so long to replace it with a new status quo which isn’t getting any easier with the Spartan III program cramming itself in there as well. Still, the last episode got us back on track as far as I’m concerned, and I’m optimistic that they can get us over the finish line without falling flat on its face. Does this continue the upward trend of the season since the Fall of Reach, or are we falling back on bad habits now that we’re in-between set piece episodes? Lets’ find out!!
On the remote planet of Onyx, Kai (Kate Kennedy) is in charge of a new program spearheaded by Ackerson (Joseph Morgan) to create the next generation of warriors; the Spartan III program. Kai, being a Spartan II, is more than qualified for the role and is making great progress with the new recruits, including Perez (Cristina Rodlo), but the mission they’re training for seems hopeless, and the troops are far from ready for such a task. Things don’t get any easier for her when John (Pablo Schreiber) shows up and starts wrecking the place as he looks for answers and justice for what happened back on Reach. Meanwhile, the rest of John’s ragtag crew of misfits and outcasts are off doing their own thing with Soren and Laera (Bokeem Woodbine and Fiona O’Shaughnessy) searching for their son Kessler while Kwan Ha and Halsey (Yerin Ha and Natascha McElhone) are looking underneath the Onyx facility for something that will get them closer to the Halo ring. If that wasn’t enough drama, Makee (Charlie Murphy) and the Arbiter (Viktor Åkerblom) are having a tough time convincing the rest of the Sangheili crew that they know where they’re going; especially with the ship’s priest demanding that they turn around and ask the Prophet’s for directions. Will John get the answer he seeks from ONI and the UNSC, even if he has to go through Kai to get it? How much longer can Makee keep the Sangheili placated with promises of the Halo ring, and is Cortana going to help her out despite them being ostensible enemies? Maybe it’s a good tradeoff if it means she can actually get some screen time!
Super Recaps: Halo Season 2 – Episode 5
Halo the series is owned by Paramount Plus
Directed by Otto Bathurst
The Fall of Reach has come and gone with some surprising changes to the status quo and many questions to answer before we finally get to that darn ring everyone keeps talking about. Still, a big event like that needs some time to decompress so it’s time for a budget-friendly talky episode that I tend to enjoy much more than the action. Sure, it’s there if you want it, but a show has to be more than that and this season has had a bad track record of developing its characters and establishing themes. Will this be the turning point for the series that I’ve been waiting for, or is it back to business as usual after the big mid-season blowout? Let’s find out!!
With the fall of Reach, humanity is on the brink of annihilation as few defenses remain between The Covenant and Earth. The UNSC is fighting amongst itself due to the machinations of Ackerson and the ONI, Makee (Charlie Murphy) managed to get one of the sacred artifacts off Reach before it blew up, and Silver Team lost Vannak (Bentley Kalu) in all the chaos. While Chief, Halsey, Soren, and Riz (Pablo Schreiber, Natascha McElhone, Bokeem Woodbine, and Natasha Culzac) were able to escape the planet with the help of Kwan Ha and Laera (Yerin Ha and Fiona O’Shaughnessy), there’s little hope to be found on that ship as they head their way to a remote mining planet where Soren and laera hope to find their son Kessler (Tylan Bailey). It’s a dark chapter for The Master Chief as the galaxy presumes him dead and the ONI did everything in their power to make it so. Chief is used to having his back against the wall, but with so much against him, can he get back on the saddle and finish the fight, wherever that fight may be? How is everyone else dealing with the fall of Reach and the loss of everyone there? Do you think maybe we can chill out on this planet for a while longer as it’s not bathed in constant darkness? I mean, it still doesn’t have sunlight but at least I can finally see what’s going on!
The Reviewers Unite 