Guilty Pleasures #34 - Outcast

So, we start the year with my first review of a movie with an actor who might show up again a few times this year. Nicholas Cage.

Known for his comedic overacting, especially when it comes to bees, Nicholas Cage is down to do just about anything as long as he’s paid for it. Paired up with is Hayden Christensen, who I last saw back when I was reviewing the Star Wars prequels, now that was a while back. He could act well his body but it was ruined every time he opened his mouth. But, let’s give him the benefit of the doubt for now.

Released in 2015, this movie currently has a meagre 5% rotten tomatoes rating but it’s only based on the views of 21 critics, not many all things considered. But it’s hardly favoured well with audiences either with only a 22% audience rating.

How do I feel about? Let’s take a closer look.

Star Wars Rebels season 3 episodes 12-15 review - Ghosts of Geonosis/Warhead/Trials of the Darksaber

Rebels is back! Actually, it's been back for a few weeks and has just gone on another hiatus. But let's take a look at what came out

4 issue test #34 - Trinity

Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman in the same issue. Sold. Writer: Francis Manapul… ok, expectations lowered a bit.

Look, I have not read a lot of Francis Manapul’s work, I dropped the New 52 Flash after the first issue, I was less than impressed. And I’ve seen what happens when someone tries to do double duty as both writer and artist on the same title, JLA was not a great, sure it isn’t the same writer but the constant delays of a title like this worry me. But DC seems interested in getting titles out at their allotted time lately, so we have Clay and Seth Mann and Scott Anderson doing #3 and Emanuela Lupacchino, Ray McCarthy and HiFi doing the art for #4. Could this ruin the feel of the book? Let’s take a look.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 4 (LMD) episodes 9-10 review - Broken Promises/The Patriot

We enter the second act of Agents of S.H.E.L.D. with LMD.

Guilty Pleasures #33 - Doctor Who: The Return of Doctor Mysterio

I know someone out there, somewhere is thinking I bash on Moffat too much and should probably review a Russel T Davies episode, there are many flawed episodes to look over from his era. But Moffat is clearly a talented writer with potential, and I hate to see this potential squandered time and time again. So, if you want someone to bash on Russel episodes, go watch Diamanda Hagan, in the meantime let’s take a look at the latest Doctor Who Christmas special.

OK, you know what you’re in for with a title like that. A fun superhero romp is how Peter Capaldi described it and I’m not against a lighter toned Christmas special, it is Christmas and if you want depressing, you can always watch the soaps. My problem is 'superhero'. Doctor Who has mixed with superheroes in the past but we now live in an era where superhero films make the big bucks, last year 6 DC or Marvel superhero movies came out and there’s no sign of the pace slowing up. There are TV shows dedicated to superheroes that are growing in popularity to the extent that they're expanding on an almost yearly basis.

What I’m saying here is that this isn’t the show trying something different, it’s the show cashing in on a popular trend, and it would have to pull out all the stops to convince me otherwise. So, does it? Let’s see

#42 - Doctor Who - Hell Bent

It’s January and it’s time to correct a mistake with a review of Doctor Who’s series 9 finale, Hell Bent. Heaven Sent was a magnificent episode, featuring one of Capaldi’s greatest performances to date and was by the far the best episode of the series. What followed it was… it was bad, very bad and I was mistaken when I initially proclaimed it to be OK. Why have I changed my mind? Let’s take a look.

4 issue Test #33- Gotham Academy: Second Semester

 

Time to look at DC Rebirth Again!

Not all DC Rebirth titles had rebirth specials. Neither of the two we’re covering this month did. Gotham Academy: Second Semester doesn’t even come under the rebirth banner at all. Gotham Academy had a decent start to it, but something went wrong just before December last year, one of Kerchl’s last issues was delayed and the following issues, following a yearbook anthology motif, were drawn by other artists, most notably Adam Archer, who you may remember drew the Ratchet and Clank comic.

In this series, Kerchl joins the squad as a writer, with Adam Archer providing the art all the way through. But does this affect the quality of the comic? Well, let’s take a look