DCU Blog - January 2024 Edition: Supergirl Casting, Suicide Squad Discourse And More

Well, it's the end of January and the first month of 2024 has certainly provided plenty to discuss. 

Milly Alcock will play Supergirl and will appear in Superman: Legacy (which will be shot in IMAX)  before heading up Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow.

Other candidates for the Supergirl role included Emilia Jones and Meg Donnelly, the latter who voiced the role in Tomorrowverse animated movies.

A director for Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow is being sought but at least one may be in contention if social media likes are anything to go by.

James Gunn has confirmed that Batman will not appear in Superman: Legacy. 

Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom has made over $412 million theatrically and was the number one movie upon it's digital release last week.

The script for The Batman Part II has yet to be submitted but rumours are that filming will start later this year.

Daniela Mechior (Ratcatcher 2 from The Suicide Squad) has confirmed that she's not in the DCU as of now.

Apparently Ta-Nehesi Coates Superman movie is still in development.

Anya Chalotra has officially been confirmed to be playing Circe in Creature Commandos. The show will premiere in late 2024 on Max.

Jared Abrahamson has been cast in an undisclosed role for The Penguin series, which will be released on Max in late 2024.

Filming for the final season of Superman And Lois has begun. David Giuntoli (Elizabeth Tulloch's real life husband) will direct an upcoming episode.

James Gunn is currently writing the last episode of Peacemaker Season 2. Filming could start later this year.

Yes, I've seen THAT scene from Suicide Squad Kills The Justice League. I get the discourse but here's something else.

Kevin Conroy has voice roles for both Caped Crusader and the final part of Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths. 

The Christopher Reeve documentary Super/Man will be acquired by Warner Brothers for $15 million.

Reginald Hudlin confirmed that DC's animated Milestone movie will still be going ahead.

And that's a wrap up for January. The DCU really is truly underway now.

My Review of Seed Of Chucky (2004)

 

Written And Directed by Don Mancini

Tiffany (to Glen): "Who are your mother and father?"

Chucky: "Judging by that face, my guess they're hiding."

In the previous movie, we were introduced to Tiffany Valentine (Jennifer Tilly) and she was fantastic. She also completely changed the game for Chucky (Brad Dourif) as a character but Don Mancini also felt that as well as Chucky having a wife, he also needed a child. 

This was where Glen/Glenda (Billy Boyd) came into things. At some point they had become separated from their parents and ended up in captivity, being horribly mistreated and wetting their parents. Meanwhile Chucky and Tiffany had ended up in Hollywood and that's when Glen/Glenda made the decision to reunited with their parents.

A Hollywood setting isn't a first in a successful horror franchise but there's fun to be had with Chucky and Tiffany "killing" a fake Santa Claus (Jason Flemyng) before killimg a props guy between takes. Then there was the star of the upcoming slasher itself - Jennifer Tilly playing Jennifer Tilly. Yup, let's get meta here.

Jennifer Tilly clearly does have a lot of fun in this franchise and can easily send her up here. While there are pointed jokes about her career, previous hits (of course Bound was mentioned) and her sexpot reputation, none of this came across as mean spirited. You could argue the jokes were more at the people who don't take her seriously as an actor.

Anyways Redman (playing himself) was reluctant to cast Jennifer as the Virgin Mary and when the latter ended up the victim of a voodoo pregnancy, he was quick to ditch her. Then Tiffany killed him and that was the result of an amusing subplot where both her and Chucky tried to give up killing to be better parents for Glen/Glenda.

It's a hilarious subplot because not only did both fail (Chucky never tried to give up) but Glen/Glenda naturally turned out to be as murderous as their parents. Just ask poor assistant Joan (Hannah Spearitt) who got fired, quite literally. Or even Peters (John Waters), another victim of Glen/Glenda's. The family that slays together stays together.

Except once you've got Chucky and Tiffany turning on each other and their child getting a little axe happy. Ultimately Tiffany got the happy ending of possessing Jennifer Tilly's body and having both Glen and Glenda as human children while Chucky promised to come back yet again.

- I felt a bit sorry for Stan (Steve Lawton), Jennifer's lovestruck chauffeur. He didn't get the girl and also died during a voodoo ritual gone wrong.

- Chucky mentioned Tiffany's sister and the fact he killed her mother. He also killed Britney Spears halfway through the movie.

- Standout music: Blondie's One Way Or Another.

- Chronology: Six years since the events of the previous movie.

Seed Of Chucky might feel more like a TV/streaming horror movie than theatrical (which was the fate of the next two installments) but again, I love that this franchise doesn't take itself seriously and can just have fun. This was a lot of fun. Glen/Glenda's another great addition to this franchise.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Bride Of Chucky (1998)

 

Written by Don Mancini

Directed by Ronny Yu

Jesse: "How'd you end up like this?"

Tiffany: "It's a long story."

Chucky: "Let me put this way. If this were a movie, it would take three or four sequels to do it justice."

In some ways, this movie not only marked a new era in the series but somewhat redefined the rule set to boot. However, going by it's title, it also introduced the most iconic character in this universe outside of Chucky (Brad Dourif) himself.

Yes, I'm talking about Tiffany Valentine (Jennifer Tilly) and once she was added into the mix, the series never was the same again and I mean that in the best way possible. I absolutely love the batshit craziness that Tiffany has added to this series and this movie was an impressive debut for her.

The movie opened with Tiffany acquiring Chucky's remains, piecing him back together and then using the Voodoo For Dummies book in order to bring her homicidal boyfriend. Of course, kinky goth guy Damien (Alexis Arquette) had to interrupt things in a desperate bid to impress Tiffany before ending up as the newly revived Chucky's first kill in the movie.

On the surface Chucky and Tiffany are probably too alike to really function as a couple. When he disappointed her over not proposing marriage, she locked him in a crate with a Belle Doll. Chucky retaliated by killing Tiffany and trapping her soul in the Belle Doll. After a quick hair change, Tiffany somewhat went along with her new body.

Of course because this movie was more couple oriented than before, we needed a counter point to Chucky and Tiffany. That's where Jesse Miller (Nick Stabile) and Jade Kincaid (Katherine Heigl) came into things. That and the fact that both of them were needed for Chucky's latest attempts to get into a human body with Tiffany wavering on the idea.

As protagonists, Jesse and Jade are not quite as beloved as Andy and Kyle or later ones such as Nica, Jake, Devon and Lexy but they're decent enough. They're impetuous enough to get married almost to spite Jade's petty uncle Warren (John Ritter) but spent a lot of the movie constantly doubting each other and getting their gay best friend David (Gordon Michael Woolvett) killed in the process.

However the two of them are savvy enough to pick up on Chucky and Tiffany's insecurities and play the two off each other. At this point in this franchise, you had Chucky point blank admit that he'll be back while Tiffany ended up giving birth in front of Lt. Preston (Lawrence Dame), ending this movie on quite a note. As for Jesse and Jade, they lived to tell the tale, though this was the last we've seen of them.

- David was the first gay character introduced in the series and while he wasn't the best written, he would be a sign of better things to come, LGBT wise in this franchise.

- Fans of Michael Myers, Freddie Krueger, Jason Voorhees and Leatherface should definitely pay attention to the opening scene.

- Standout music: Rob Zombie's Living Dead Girl. Brad Dourif would go on to appear in Zombie's Halloween movies.

- Chronology: A month since the events of the third movie and set in Lockport, New York as well as Hackensack, New Jersey.

I absolutely loved Bride Of Chucky. By far, the best movie in the franchise, a superb introduction for Tiffany Valentine and the Heart of Dambala necklace and overall, the most unbridled level of fun and chaos. Even with the threat of domesticity, Chucky's at is best/worst here. Just excellent stuff all round.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Child's Play 3 (1991)

 

Written by Don Mancini

Directed by Jack Bender

Andy: "No, you're dead. We killed you!"

Chucky: "You know what they say. You can't keep a Good Guy down."

Often horror franchises can vary with their sense. Sometimes you had to wait ages between movies (which did happen to this franchise as it progressed) and other times, it's just a year in between releases. Chucky really was proving to be quite the moneymaker. 

However while it might have been a year between movie releases, the actual chronology was eight years. Gone was Alex Vincent as Andy Barclay and now playing the character as a relatively troubled teenager was Justin Whalin. Thankfully, he did a great job in his only time playing the character.

Clearly running out of foster homes to get kicked out of, Andy ended up in Kent Military School and yet again, any time he dared to mention a certain Good Guy Doll, his fears were either ridiculed or straight up dismissed. At the same, there were a few believers.

Notably a young cadet named Tyler (Jeremy Sylvers) who made friends with Chucky (Brad Dourif) but it took him until the third act before realising what exactly his new friend really meant with "hide the soul". Yet again, Chucky survived with his blood mixing into a new doll and when he wasn't killing CEOs, he was going after people in Andy's new school.

Yes, there was Chucky's attempts of using Tyler as a vessel (guess how that'll turn out) but in between that, Chucky had fun terrorising and killing both Sergeant Botnick (Andrew Robinson) and a driver as well as causing Colonel Cochrane (Dakin Matthews) a fatal heart attack. Now that was a moment that even took Chucky aback.

The one thing I do like about these sequels is the fact that Andy gets thrown into new environments with new characters to play. Serving as a minor antagonist was the jerkish Shelton (Travis Fine) while Whitehurst (Dean Jacobson) and da Silva (Perrey Reeves) were the only two friends Andy this time around. Well, the latter did shape up to be something more than a friend for Andy.

As for the big battle between Andy and Chucky, it was nice to see him more proactive and considering that the character was aged up, it made sense. In some ways, his role was akin to Kyle's from the second movie. Once again, Chucky was defeated and once again, it's implied that he'll return to cause more chaos. 

- A link to this movie had been made to a real life murder case in England with the movie being removed from UK distribution at the time.

- Originally there was a plan to introduce multiple versions of Chucky but the idea for scrapped for budget reasons.

- This was the last film (until the 2019 remake) to have Child's Play as a title and to be strict about the specifics of who Chucky can possess at a time.

- Chronology: Eight years after the events of the second movie.

Child's Play 3 could have served as a good ending for the series overall. It certainly felt like a good way to end Andy's story with follow up movies pivoting the franchise in interesting directions overall. For a film that's supposed to be Mancini and Dourif's least favourite, it's pretty good actually.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Child's Play 2 (1990)

 

Written by Don Mancini

Directed by John Lafia

Chucky: "Did you miss me, Andy? I sure missed you. I told you we were gonna be friends til the end. And now it's time to play."

Following the surprise success of the first movie, there really wasn't time wasted in getting a sequel off the ground. Two years has passed and the factory behind the Good Guy Dolls are trying to rebuild the brand's tattered image. However a certain someone might make that impossible.

Yes, Chucky (Brad Dourif) managed to survive being horribly burned to death in the previous movie as the CEO of the company foolish had Chucky restored and some conveniently timed lightning revived him. It's not long before Chucky decided to go on a new killing spree to get to his intended target.

With two years having passed, an unfortunate Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent) has found his mother being institutionalised and Andy himself being sent to a foster home, run by Phil (Gerrit Graham) and Joanne (Jenny Agutter) Simpson. They're not horrible people as such but it's clear that neither are particularly equipped to deal with Andy at all.

It's also not long before Andy and Chucky are actually reunited and the latter tried yet again to take over the former's body. While Phil and Joanne aren't helpful, Andy at least had one ally in his corner. That being of course, fellow foster kid, Kyle (Christine Elise).

Kyle's the big sister that Andy didn't really ask for but throughout the movie he definitely needed. She's something of an emotionally distant character, not wanting to embrace either Phil or Joanne and like everyone else at first, she didny believe Andy's story about Chucky/Tommy. Then when the bodies really began to pile up, Kyle realised that Andy wasn't lying after all.

The final showdown in the factory between Chucky, Andy and Kyle definitely had its moments. Chucky realised to his horror he could longer possess Andy and for a second movie in a row, he got subjected to a rather justified but painful death. As for Andy and Kyle, at least they had each other.

- Originally both Karen Barclay and Mike Norris were supposed to appear in the opening scene before the idea was scrapped in favour of a new direction.

- Parts of the movie's novelisation delved into Chucky's family backstory a bit more than what we got here.

- This was the movie that gave us Chucky's iconic laugh for the first time.

- Chronology: 1990 Chicago, two years after the first movie. An early draft had it set during the Christmas season.

Child's Play 2 really maintained the bar of the first movie. Throwing Andy into a new environment, introducing Kyle and highlighting Chucky's desperation to live all worked in this movie's favour. It's a great sequel to the series.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Child's Play (1988)

 

Written by Don Mancini And John Lafia And Tom Holland

Directed by Tom Holland

Chucky: "Hi, I'm Chucky and I'm your friend til the end. Hidey-ho!"

For a franchise that's edging towards forty years, you can forget there was a time when it wasn't as highly camp as it's current form. Back in 1988, the introduction of this horror franchise had its humour but it was a little bit restrained compared to nowadays.

Opening the movie, you've got serial killer Charles Lee Ray aka The Lakeshore Strangler (Brad Dourif) on the run from Detective Mike Norris (Chris Sarandon) and their chase ended up in a toystore. As Charles was about to die, he used a bit of voodoo to enter the body of a Good Guy Doll named Chucky. The rest would be history.

Cutting to our protagonist, it's a six year old boy named Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent). It's his birthday and the one thing he wanted was a Good Guy Doll. That was something his mother, Karen (Catherine Hicks) couldn't afford until her friend Maggie (Dina Manoff) got her in touch with a peddler who had one. 

Needless to say, Andy soon made a friend in Chucky and when Andy wasn't the only one whom Chucky would really speak to, the latter was going around bumping off as many characters as humanly possible. Starting off of course with Maggie who got one of the most brutal deaths in the movie. However Andy's attempts to warn people about his new friend being alive were largely ignored until they weren't.

I did like that Karen went from having a believable skepticism about Chucky being alive to using her own methods of getting the murderous doll to reveal his true nature. There was something highly camp in Chucky's first attempts to kill both Karen and Detective Norris as Chucky realised that he could be killed even in doll form.

Then there was the Chucky and Andy connection. The latter even to this day and despite the many enemies the former has made does remain the most iconic thorn in Chucky's side. Chucky had to resort to trying to possess Andy in order to prolong his life, only for things to come to a rather fiery conclusion. Simply put, Chucky chose the wrong child to terrorise.

As a villain, this was a great starting point for the character. I've never found Chucky that scary but I do enjoy his menacing side as well as how manipulative he can be when trying to achieve his goals. He's also pretty funny to boot. Andy and Karen are sympathetic protagonists and while Mike is a hot Detective, he did get bested a few times here.

- Chris Sarandon who played Detective Mike Norris also worked with director Tom Holland on Fright Night as Jerry Dandrige.

- Chucky's real name does come from infamous killers such as Charles Manson, Lee Harvey Oswald and James Earl Ray.

- The My Buddy and Corky dolls were inspiration for this movie, which was originally intended as a satire on the toy industry before becoming a horror film.

- Chronology: November 1988 Chicago for the majority of the movie.

Child's Play was a modest start to what would evolve into one of the best and most campy of horror franchises going. Chucky quickly established himself as a potent threat and both Andy and Karen made for great protagonists. Not to mention some genuinely grisly moments certainly made this movie pop.

Rating: 8 out of 10

The Post Office Ratings Win

First TV Jumble Blog of 2024 and it's a varied one with two Marvel shows, two ITV shows and the long awaited return of a HBO hit. Here goes.

Archie: ITVX might be on to something with these biopics. They struck gold in early 2023 with Nolly and their four part look into the life of Hollywood icon Cary Grant was another success story. Jason Isaac gave a great performance depicting the older and later in life version of the screen legend while Calam Lynch was equally strong as the younger version. We saw most of Archie's troubled childhood including his volatile relationship with his mother and his wife. It's genuinely worth a watch if you haven't seen it already.

Echo: The first MCU show of 2024 and it's nice that they're willing to change things up a bit. Aside from releasing the five episodes in one go, there was also the fact that this show had a mature rating as well. Alaque Cox does well enough leading the show, exploring Echo's heritage, reconnecting with her family and of course, her more complicated relationship with Wilson Fisk/Kingpin. There's also a very brief Daredevil cameo during the first episode. Overall, it's not bad but the pacing can be very sluggish in parts. Not the best MCU show but not the worst either.

Mr Bates Vs. The Post Office: The biggest UK drama hit so far in 2024 and for now, rightly so. ITV offered up a very gripping depiction of the post office scandal that devastated a lot of workers lives due to a faulty system they refused to take account for. Toby Jones and Monica Dolan are the heart and soul of this whole miniseries but there's also sterling performances from Julie Hesmondhalgh, Shaun Dooley and Will Mellor to boot. I definitely see this winning a lot of awards over the next twelve months.

True Detective: Night Country: It's been nearly five years since the third season of this show and my, haven't things changed here? You've got a new show runner, a reduced episode count and a much colder climate in Alaska with Jodie Foster and Kali Reiss playing sparring leads trying to solve the mystery of several dead bodies. Add some more mysticism, a few character subplots and supporting roles for Fiona Shaw, Christopher Eccleston and Finn Bennett and this might be a return to form for the show. At the very least, it's getting HBO's 2024 off to a good start.

What If ....: I really struggled with the first season of this animated but I have to admit that the second season turned out a lot better. The last MCU show of 2023 with an episode being released each day over the Christmas period. It was an interesting strategy with the overall arc involving Captain Carter and newcomer Kahhouri posing quite the threat to a much darker and corrupted Doctor Strange. In between that there was interesting scenarios for characters such as Nebula, Hera and Happy Hogan as well as a fantastic Christmas special spoofing the most obvious movie and doing it well. I'm actually looking forward to the third season now.

• Wilson Bethal, Deborah Ann Woll and Elden Hensen will reprise their respective roles for Daredevil: Born Again.
• The White Lotus third season has gone into production. Leading the cast includes Jason Isaac, Carrie Coon, Walter Higgins, Michelle Monaghan and Parker Posey to name a few. It'll air in 2025 on HBO.
• Filming for American Horror Story: Delicate has now completed. An airdate for the second half has yet to be confirmed.
• Chloe Sevigny and Javier Bardem have joined the cast of Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story. Cooper Koch and Nicholas Chavez will play the title characters.
• Sara Ramirez will not be returning as Che for the third season of And Just Like That. Meanwhile Netflix will stream Sex And The City from April. 
• Kaley Cuoco recently confirmed that The Flight Attendant has ended.
• Tom Ellis has joined the cast for the second season of Tell Me Lies. BBC have the rights to the show.
• WW2 miniseries Masters Of The Air will stream on Apple TV from tomorrow.
• Morena Baccarin will headline an upcoming spin off for Fire Country.
• Netflix have released a teaser for Ripley, starring Andrew Scott, due for release in April.
• The second season of The Last Of Us will feature Kaitlyn Dever, Young Mazino and Isabela Merced as Abby, Jesse and Dina respectively.
• The second half of the third season of Chucky will air from May.
• CBS have a spin off of Young Sheldon in the works.

My Review of Thanksgiving (2023)

 

Written by Jeff Rendell

Directed by Eli Roth

John Carver: "Sorry, Jessica! This year, there will be no leftovers."

With nearly every holiday that could be potentially mined for horror, I'm surprised it took almost this long for Thanksgiving to join the line up but here we are. 

The motivation for the killer was made clear at the start of the movie. You've got a Walmart stand in experiencing the most violent display during Black Friday, resulting in various bustbups and the death of a woman named Amanda Collins (Gina Gershon). Some people really should just stick to ordering online.

A year then passed and there's a killer on the loose donning a Pilgrim costume and a John Carver mask and one by one, the bodies begin to pile up. It's quickly established the victims are being murdered due to the role they played the previous year and the deaths are pretty damn gruesome to watch. The fact that the market in question was preparing for another Black Friday sale only angered the killer even more.

The deaths though that we did get to see included a surly waitress named Lizzie (Amanda Barker), a RightMart security guard named Manny (Tim Dillon) as well as students Amy (Shailyn Griffin) and Lonnie (Mika Amonsen), a young woman named Yulia (Jenna Warren) as well as her father. Then there was the current wife of RightMart owner Thomas Wright (Rick Hoffman), who arguably got the worst fate of all the victims. Kathleen (Karen Cliche) really got the nastiest moment in the whole movie.

For every good villain, you need some protagonists and the close knit teen group somewhat made up for that. There was Jessica (Nell Verlaque), Gaby (Addison Rae), Bobby (Jalen Thomas Brooks), Evan (Tomaso Sanelli) and Scuba (Gabriel Davenport). Mostly they were decent protagonists with Jessica largely stepping up to the plate and being the one who ultimately brought down the killer's whole plan.

As for the killer - of course it was Sheriff Eric Newlon (Patrick Dempsey). His motive was at the start of the movie and Dempsey certainly leaned into his menacing side when his identity had been revealed. It's probably one of the best performances in Dempsey's career as he made for a very convincing horror villain who also got his just desserts in a fiery fashion.

- A sequel is already in development for a 2025 release given how quickly this film had become a hit.

- The idea for this movie goes all the way to the Grindhouse thing from 2007 where there had been fake movie trailers.

- Standout music: Arlo Guthrie's Highway In The Wind.

- Chronology: Present day in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

I really enjoyed Thanksgiving to the point where I'd say it was the best thing that Eli Roth has made in his career. The kills were inventive and gruesome enough, the main characters likable and Patrick Dempsey really can play a horror baddie so well. I'll take seconds please.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Inside No. 9 - Series 8 Review (2022-2023)

On to the penultimate series of the show and it's chock full of surprises, including one of the most different stories ever done. All episodes are written by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton and directed by George Kane, Jesse Quinones, Barbara Wiltshire and Ian Bevitt.

Episode 1: The Bones Of St Nicholas

Christmas came a little early for the series and for the second time, we had a Christmas episode air during the festive period. So far, every Christmas episode has been a winner for the show and this happily was no exception. Local vicar Dick (Simon Callow) has resorted to "champing" in order to raise funds for the church in need of repairs. On a spooky Christmas night, he had three guests. There was a husband and wife named Pierce (Shearsmith) and Posy (Shobna Gulati), who in spite of their jolly demeanor and failed Lapland plans were nursing the pain of a deceased child. Then there was Jasper (Pemberton), who had booked the church with his mother, only for that to be a lie. Jasper was far more interested in the jawbone of St Nicholas and had no qualms scaring Pierce and Posy in order to get. However things took something of a very dark turn by the end of this one. 9/10

Episode 2: Mother's Ruin

Now technically this could be seen as the real opener for the eighth series given the gap from the rest of the series and the previous one. In this one we've got brothers, Edward (Shearsmith) and Harry Blackwood (Pemberton). Their parents were East End gangsters who did some bad things but left money behind. Money that Edward wanted more than Harry and because both parents were dead, Edward was willing to resort to necromancy in order to retrieve the missing cash. Then they got interrupted by rival gangsters Frances (Anita Dobson) and Reggie (Phil Daniels), resulting in one of the brothers losing a foot and someone else being dead. The lesson of the episode being that necromancy works but always have a parrot nearby nonetheless. 8/10

Episode 3: Paraskevidekatriaphobia

The title alone for this episode was a mouthful but simply put, it means a fear of Friday the 13th. That's the problem for middle class Gareth (Shearsmith) and it's gotten so bad that his wife Dana (Amanda Abbington) had to resort to an acting troupe doing every bad luck thing to try and snap Gareth out of it. The troupe comprised of Johnny (Pemberton), Sue (Samantha Spiro), Shelley (Moyo Akande) and Bethany (Ayda Kiiza), the granddaughter of Gareth's therapist Dr Rogers (Leon Herbert) to help Gareth get past a school trauma he suffered on that particular day. Add in a subplot involving Dermot O'Leary and a £130,000 win and overall you've got a very good take on this unlucky of days. 7/10

Episode 4: Love Is A Stranger

Online dating can be tricky, huh? It certainly appeared to be that way for Vicky (Claire Rushbrook) as her quest for love seemed to be one disaster after another. First there was Edgar (Matthew Horne) who blew her out and then there was Norman (Shearsmith) who was unbelievably rude towards. Things had looked like they were picking up with Manny (Pemberton) but he had a rather disgruntled wife Polly (Menyee Lai) who threatened Vicky. Then there was Lesley (Frances Barber) but she was interested in getting Vicky on a diet programme than love. Last but not least, there was Jai (Asim Chaudhry) and things looked like thry were going well in that regard. Then the Lonely Hearts Murderer struck again and given the way this episode was going, their identity won't be a shock. 9/10

Episode 5: 3 By 3

Originally we were supposed to get an episode called Hold On Tight. Except we weren't because that doesn't exist but hats off to Shearsmith and Pemberton who committed to the ruse well up until actual transmission. With their complete absence from the actual episode itself we got Lee Mack hosting a new quiz show called 3 By 3, which had three teams of three players and there's a prize. Anyways the emphasis was mainly focused on mother and daughter Margaret (Gemma Page) and Catherine (Saskia Wakefield) as they got the furthest in the game while family secrets spilled out and things escalated. For an experimental episode, I liked it more than Dead Line but it's weaker compared to others from this series. 6/10

Episode 6: The Last Weekend

If this show hadn't been renewed for a ninth and final series, this very well could've been the series finale. Although I loved this episode, I'm glad it wasn't the last one. Anyways, Chazz (Shearsmith) and Joe (Pemberton) have been together for nine years and it's been a fraught relationship, especially with Joe's tumour. A weekend away at an old house run by Mollie (Sheila Reid) was a means of giving the couple a break. During the episode we learned that Chazz had a failed career in a boyband and as a solo artist and vented his failures on aspiring musicians MySpace pages. This would be very relevant when Joe's true motives for being with Chazz for nine years came to light. Revenge might be a dish served cold but milk, honey and oats can lead to a very slow and painful death as Chazz had the misfortune to find out. A very grizzly ending to a strong series. 9/10

All episodes of Inside No. 9 are available on BBC iPlayer and Amazon. 

Inside No. 9 - Series 7 Review (2022)

I'm close to completing my overall reviews for this series and this was a series I think I enjoyed a bit more than others did. As usual all episodes are written by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton and directed by Al Campbell, Louise Hooper and Kieron J. Walsh.

Episode 1: Merrily, Merrily

It took seven series to do but the show finally managed to get Mark Gatiss to appear and there's a sense of completion in that. The premise for this episode involved a reunion between former college friends. Laurence (Shearsmith), Darren (Pemberton) and Callum (Gatiss) are unexpectedly joined by Darren's new girlfriend Donna (Diane Morgan) and soon enough, all four of them are on an uncomfortable boat ride in the middle of nowhere where it became clear that Laurence had an ulterior motive for the reunion. It's a more tragic than sinister one when it's revealed that he wanted to be reunited with his dead wife. By the very end of this episode, it's clear that he got exactly what he wanted. 8/10

Episode 2: Mr King

Another thing I'm surprised about this series was that it also took this long to set a story in a school. It's also one of the most unsettling episodes with one scene involving new teacher Mr Curtis (Shearsmith) forced to have his privates photographed by Mr Edwards (Pemberton) with not so blind cleaner Winnie (Annette Badland) catching an eyeful. Then there's the "Mr King" aspect of it all. Technically there is no title character. At least there wasn't until the last act where the kids of the school decided a sacrifice needed to be made. Let's just say that things didn't end particularly well for Mr Curtis here. 8/10

Episode 3: Nine Lives Kat

Want a little spin on the detective novel genre? Well this one might be for you. We start off with hard boiled cliche of a detective named Katrina (Sophie Okonedo) is trying to solve the case of a missing boy. Only it's revealed that Kat's a fictional character from a burned out author named Ezra (Pemberton) who wanted to replace Kat with a different cliche type of detective - the more eccentric Barnabus (Shearsmith). Then it turned out the missing boy was his stepson after a miscommunication with his wife, Philippa (Robin Weaver). However the twist being that Ezra himself was a creation of an acclaimed writer named Matilda (Siobhan Redmond), whilst good, didn't quite land as well as it should've done. 7/10

Episode 4: Kid/Nap

And this one like the previous one had twists with twists but also like the previous, the landing didn't quite stick. Hedge fund manager Dominic (Shearsmith) found himself in a pickle. His wife Lara (Daisy Haggard) had been kidnapped by two men named Shane (Daniel Mays) and Clifford (Jason Isaac) and he had to pay 1.3 million to get her back. Except he didn't really want to do that and given the nature behind the kidnapping, he might have had a point. Needless to say, Lara wasn't in any real danger because she set up the whole thing, including playing both kidnappers off each other, fooling her own husband and even hostage negotiator DI Ellis (Pemberton). It's not actually a bad episode, just didn't really stick the landing though. 7/10

Episode 5: A Random Act Of Kindness

The best episode of this specific series and all because it involved time travel and the volatile relationship between a mother and son. Helen (Jessica Hynes) was at his wit's end with teenage son Zach (Noah Valentine) and then Bob (Pemberton) came into their lives and seemed to have a positive impact on Zach. When that was threatened, Bob had no choice but to reveal his real connection to Zach and it's a very well done reveal with a positive outcome for mother and son. Shearsmith appeared as a rival scientist named Rudolph, somewhat resentful of the advances that "Bob" had made in terms of curing cancer. I loved this episode. 9/10

Episode 6: Wise Owl

There have been a lot of dark episodes in the series but I genuinely think this might be the darkest thing that Shearsmith and Pemberton have ever written. Half the episode being in animation also didn't help lighten the mood either. The plot focused on a taxidermist named Ronnie (Shearsmith) who relived painful memories of his sister's birthday that ended in a house fire and her death. His mother Dinah (Georgie Glen) desperately wanted Ronnie to talk to a therapist while his father Wilf (Ron Cook) - the "Wise Owl" of the piece had a far more insidious relationship with the traumatised Ronnie. The ending's rather powerful too with Shearsmith giving one of his best performances in the series. Pemberton briefly appeared as Mr Blenkin who wanted to avail of Ronnie's services before changing his mind. 9/10

All episodes of Inside No. 9 are available on BBC iPlayer and Amazon. 

My Review of Catwoman (2004)

 

Written by John Brancato And Michael Ferris And John Rogers

Directed by Pitof

Catwoman: "You saved my life, Midnight, but somebody killed me and I've got to find who and why."

If there was a contender for Worst Live Action DC Movie Ever, then yes, it's very likely that Catwoman would be that very movie to bag the accolade. I do my best to give every movie the benefit of the doubt, but woo boy, this one's an out and out stinker.

Halle Berry might one of the most talented actors in Hollywood and at the height of her career when this movie was a thing. On paper, this should've been a surefire winner but it's more of a classic case of everything that could wrong going wrong in such spectacular style.

First of all, the script is pretty awful with some genuinely horrible dialogue, hackneyed comments on personal freedom and being an outcast and on top, Halle Berry was given the most ridiculous looking of costumes for Catwoman ever commited to live action. Oh and fortunately, it's not a version of Selina Kyle she's playing here.

Instead it's a new character called Patience Phillips, a meek designer who discovered that an upcomin beauty product had dangerous effects and was killed because of it. In a lot of ways, this movie heavily borrowed the Batman Returns origins, right down to a cat named Midnight causing Patience to be reborn and to embrace her cat like side.

The movie attempts to explore a mythology about cat women freeing themselves from the confines of society. You've got Frances Conroy as Ophelia Powers, who's there to fill Patience on all the exposition while the latter also dabbled in a bit of petty thieving before being framed as a murderer.

Getting to the villain side of the movie, Sharon Stone had the fairly thankless role as beauty mogul, Laurel Hedare who's not murdered her husband, George (Lambert Wilson) but had no problem framing Catwoman for the crime. Not to mention the use of Beau-line giving her ridiculous strength as well.

As villains go, Laurel's a poor woman's Max Shreck and the fight scenes between her and Catwoman are sorely lacking. There's supporting roles For the likes of Benjamin Bratt as good guy detective, Tom Lone (also a love interest for Patience) while Alex Bornstein does okay as best friend, Sally. Both are inoffensive but not great roles for the respective actors.

- Before this movie was even a thing, there was talks of Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman getting a spin off. We see an image of her Selina Kyle in this movie.

- Needless to say this film was nominated for and won several Razzies, which Halle Berry even collected, showing that she could have a laugh about the whole thing.

- Standout music: Misteeq's Scandalous.

- Chronology: Present day I'm assuming here. 

Catwoman was an out and out stinker of a movie with everyone (especially Halle Berry) looking like they'd have rather been anywhere else. Coupled with a horrible script, lame fight sequences and terrible effects, it's no wonder this movie was been so reviled. You can laugh at the sheer ineptitude of the whole thing or do something more productive with your time.

Rating: 2 out of 10

My Review of Pearl (2022)

 

Written by Ti West And Mia Goth

Directed by Ti West

Pearl: "It's not about what I want, Mitzy. It's about making the best of what I have."

Following the chaos of X, instead of jumping straight into what Maxine Minx (Mia Goth), the movie went back sixty one years to show how Pearl (Mia Goth) became the way she did. Needless to say, it's not pretty.

The first World War served as something of a backdrop as did an influenza pandemic. Our antagonistic protagonist was a married girl with her sweetheart Howard (Alistair Sewell) off fighting in the war. Pearl was at home with her sick father (Matthew Sutherland) and domineering mother, Ruth (Tandi Wright) and a lot of resentment festered.

Pearl had aspirations to be a star. Aspirations that Ruth openly criticised when she wasn't being an out and out bitch to Pearl throughout the whole movie. While Ruth would be proven right about Pearl's psychopathy, her own venomous animosity towards her daughter certainly didn't help matters. 

For the most Ruth projected too much of her own resentment and shattered dreams (she clearly hated being trapped on the farm as much as Pearl did) onto her daughter that Pearl snapping was inevitable. Ruth pushed Pearl too far and lost her life because of it. Sadly so did Pearl's father and he was genuinely innocent in the whole mess.

However making herself an orphan wasn't enough for Pearl. During the movie she managed to strike up a romance with The Projectionist (David Corenswet) but when he rejected her, she resorted to murder. Doing that, Pearl proved that she couldn't suppress her true nature as her hopes for stardom were fading fast.

Then there was the chorus audition that could've changed everything. Pearl's hatred for blondes came about because of unsympathetic judges not liking her for being plain and poor Mitzy (Emma Jenkins-Purro) also paid the price for Pearl's rage too. The same Mitzy who was Pearl's sister in law and was actually nice to her throughout the whole movie.

Then there was the last minutes of the movie where Pearl had to resign her to the fact that she was never going to be a star. She tried to make the best of it by throwing a "nice" dinner for a returning Howard. She might not be a star but at least she can put on a smile.

- I was surprised to find out that Mia Goth co-wrote the movie with Ti West. I wouldn't be surprised if she does more of this going forward.

- The end credit with the very pained smile plastered on Pearl's face was pretty horrifying in its own way.

- Why didn't Pearl get rid of that maggot filled roast pig? That was disgusting to look at.

- The stag movie The Projectionist showed Pearl was A Free Ride. Yes, it really is an actual movie.

- Standout music: Arthur Fields Oui Oui Marie.

- Chronology: 1918 rural Texas. Pearl's family were German immigrants.

I really enjoyed X as a first outing to this trilogy but Pearl clearly was the better outing. It's delightfully twisted, whimsical and tragic with a superb led performance from Mia Goth. One of the best horror films of the 2020s and here's hoping Maxxxine will close this trilogy on a satisfying note.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of X (2022)

 

Written And Directed by Ti West

Pearl: "You don't think I know who you really are? I saw what you did in the barn. You're a deviant little whore. We're the same. You'll end up just like me."

Maxine: "I'm nothin' like you."

One of the most talked about horror movies in the 2020s, I had to see what the fuss was about. The first in a trilogy that also comprised of a prequel and a sequel. X certainly got off to a chaotic start.

Set in 1979, we've got a film crew making a pornographic movie in a relatively abandoned farm in Texas. There's also an elderly couple running the farm. You can sort of predict where this film will go, but there's a surprise or two in the mix.

The crew themselves comprise of director RJ (Owen Campbell) and his assistant girlfriend Lorraine (Jenna Ortega), nicknamed Churchmouse as well as producer Wayne (Martin Henderson) as well as adult actors Maxine Minx (Mia Goth), Bobby-Lynne Parker (Brittany Snow) and Jackson Hole (Scott Mescudi). They're a reasonable bunch of characters but only one of them was the true star of the movie.

That being the theme of this movie - being a star and having a certain X Factor. Maxine believed that she was destined for greatness and that everyone would know her name. She also didn't realise that there was a stigma with adult movies and yes, the murderous couple on the farm.

The couple being Pearl (Mia Goth) and Howard (Stephen Ure), who not only disapproved of their farm being used as the set of an adult movie, but took things into their own hands by murdering nearly all of the crew. Of course, the star herself Maxine survived the ordeal.

What made this film interesting was seeing Mia Goth playing off herself as both Maxine and Pearl. Pearl had the same dreams as Maxine and has been resentful ever since and Maxine had no problem resorting to murder herself in order to ensure that her own dreams wouldn't end before they truly began. 

- The movie and ended with the aftermath of the main events with the Sheriff (James Gaylyn) pointing out that the events looked like a horror movie. Maxine's preacher father (Simon Prast) also appeared on television.

- Pearl made a point of hating blondes given her treatment of Bobby-Lynne as the latter was trying to be nice to her.

- No opening credits and the title doesn't appear until the end of the movie. 

- The other movies in this trilogy include prequel Pearl and upcoming sequel, Maxxxine. 

- Standout music: Bobby-Lynne and Jackson's version of Landslide, Blue Oyster Cult's Don't Fear The Reaper and Moon Martin's Bad Case Of Lovin' You.

- Chronology: 1979 in rural Texas.

X got things off to a good but chaotic start for a trilogy. There's commentaries on ageing, beauty, sexuality and being a star with both Maxine and Pearl being on the opposite sides of this. There's nice homages to certain movies as well as well as various genres.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

Inside No. 9 - Series 6 Review (2021)

Onto the sixth series of this anthology show and it's certainly a good selection of stories. All episodes are written by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton and directed by Guillem Morales and Matt Lipsey.

Episode 1: Wuthering Heist

If you like your series openers to be rather lyrical like Zanzibar, then this episode will definitely appeal. For me, it's an okay opener follower on a heist in the style of Commedia dell'arte. Our characters include an undercover cop named Columbina (Gemma Whelan) who has infiltrated a diamond robbery gang led by Pantalone (Paterson Joseph). In that gang you also had Hortensia (Rosa Robinson), Scaramouche (Shearsmith), The Doctor (Pemberton), Arlo (Kevin Bishop) and Mario (Dino Kelly). Needless to say, it's a heist that's not quite the success it could've been with various characters reading ahead of script, secret loves and covers blown. Not my favourite of opening episodes but it had its moments. 6/10

Episode 2: Simon Says

We all know that Game Of Thrones had an extremely unsatisfying series finale and for this episode alone, a series titled The Ninth Circle was a very thinly veiled cover for that. The creator, Spencer Maguire (Pemberton) has had to deal with everyone telling him that the seventh season finale was a poor ending for the popular show and worse that, two fans - Gavin (Nick Mohammed) and Simon (Shearsmith) have made it their mission to force Spencer into commissioning a more fan pleasing series finale. It's an idea even Spencer's agent Loretta (Lindsay Duncan) could get on board with but as the episode unfolded, Spencer eventually gained the upper hand from his overzealous admirers. Let's just say that Spencer wasn't above killing for a good idea. 8/10

Episode 3: Lip Service

A lonely man in a hotel room with a woman he hired. Not quite the way this episode played out as it had some good surprises. The lonely man in question being Felix (Pemberton) who hired lip reader Iris (Sian Clifford) to interpret a conversation between his estranged partner and her boss, Dimitri while also avoiding scrutiny from hotel manager, Eric (Shearsmith). It's an episode that touched on loneliness and seemed to hint at a mutual attraction between Felix and Iris. That was until the very last moment when Iris's true motives were revealed and it gave the episode a brutal ending. I wasn't sure of this one at first but I liked it more on further watching. 8/10

Episode 4: Hurry Up And Wait

It's an episode about the making of a real life child disappearance in a drama. You've got James (Shearsmith) playing an extra named The Bobby and when he wasn't inadvertently rubbing the star of the production Adrian Dunbar (as himself) up the wrong way, he was being ignored by production assistant Jo (Bhavna Limbachia) and making false accusations about a family in relation to missing boy Ryan. Or were they false accusations? The family question - Stan (Pemberton), Oona (Pauline McLynn) and their infantalized daughter, Bev (Donna Preston). It's a solid instalment with an ending that might have confirmed James's suspicions after all. 7/10

Episode 5: How Do You Plead?

The best episode of the series and one I thought would've been the finale. It's the supernatural themed episode and they're the ones that I gravitate towards the most. You've got the dying Webster (Derek Jacobi) being assisted by his nurse Bedford (Shearsmith). The men converse between pithy jabs at one another but Webster knew that his time was coming to an end. When midnight approached, the Lift Attendant (Pemberton) was revealed to be the Devil and he was there to collect on a pact he had made with Webster. Needless to say, Webster tried to replace himself with Bedford only for the latter to reveal that he wasn't so good after all. A brilliant episode and after being a voice role in The Devil Of Christmas, it was nice to see Derek Jacobi in live action here. 9/10

Episode 6: Last Night Of The Proms

And for something different. Usually the finales go the supernatural route but for this finale, we got what the title said. A very UKIP style family with husband Mick (Pemberton) and Dawn (Sarah Parish) celebrating the event with the latter's racist father, Ralph (Julian Glover) as well as Dawn's sister, Penny (Debra Gillett) and Penny's liberal but closeted husband, Brian (Shearsmith) and son, Oliver (Jack Wolfe). Add a mysterious man named Yusef (Bamshad Abedi-Amin) into the chaotic mix along with a subplot involving Dawn's heritage, a religious epiphany and of course a character death and this finale ended this series on a decent note. 7/10

All episodes of Inside No. 9 are available on BBC iPlayer and Amazon.

Inside No. 9 - Series 5 Review (2020)

Without further ado, this specific series of Inside No. 9 by far was the best series of the show. As usual, all episodes are written by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton and directed by Matt Lipsey, Guillem Morales and Steve Pemberton himself.

Episode 1: The Referee's A W***er

Series 5 opened with an episode focusing on a sport that I have no interest in but did it so brilliantly nonetheless. Martin (David Morrissey) had one match between United and Rovers left and then he would be able to retire on a high note. Except everything came crashing down around, notably his clandestine relationship with footballer Calvin (Dipo Ola) being revealed while there was plenty of fighting amongst other characters in the changing rooms. Characters including the annoyingly pedantic Brendan (Shearsmith), the cheating Oggy (Pemberton), vain footballer Phil (Ralf Little) and mascot Mitch (Steve Spears). It's an episode that certainly heated up off the pitch than on the pitch with Martin's retirement in disgrace. 8/10

Episode 2: Death Be Not Proud

Did anyone want a new episode of Psychoville? Because that's exactly what this episode and if you loved everything involving David Sowerbutts (Pemberton) and his deceased mother, Maureen (Shearsmith), you'll love this episode. I certainly did. Young couple Beattie (Jenna Coleman) and Sam (Kadiff Kirwan) have bought the Sowerbutts home and after a few spooky incidents, Beattie wanted to leave. Instead she met David and listened to him tell everything that happened after the events of Psychoville instead, including a twisted love story him and Emily (Sarah Solemani). Of course, even in death, Maureen was still a menace and the way things ended for Beattie were unexpected on first viewing but made more sense since then. One of my favourite episodes from the series. 9/10

Episode 3: Love's Great Adventure

Another Christmas episode within the series itself and one that felt very much like a kitchen sink drama than anything else. That's not a criticism by the way. With this episode, you've got an ordinary couple named Trevor (Pemberton) and Julie (Debbie Rush) doing their best to get through another Christmas with daughter Mia (Gaby French) and grandchild Connor (Olly Hudson-Croker). Then there's their son, Patrick (Bobby Schofield) - an addict who's also Connor's dad and who has messed with the wrong crowd. Off screen there's an indication that Julie might have sorted Patrick's problem out. Reece Shearsmith has a small role as family friend, Alex who was both Mia's driving instructor and was mourning the loss of his wife, Sandra. It's a very grounded episode in the series. 8/10

Episode 4: Misdirection

Back to one of the most crafty of episodes, this one really does prove that karma can and will eventually catch up to someone. Neville Griffin (Shearsmith) desperately wanted to be a famous magician and had no problem killing fellow magician Willy Wando (Pemberton) and taking his secrets in order to achieve his goal. A decade passed and Neville met Gabriel (Fionn Whitehead) - a student journalist and wannabe magician himself. At first it seemed like Gabriel's attempts of pulling the wool over Neville were rookie mistakes before it transpired that he was the grandson of Willy Wando and trying to get revenge for his grandfather's death. While Neville ended up getting his just desserts, it was ultimately his unfortunate wife, Jennie (Jill Halfpenny) who really paid the heavy price. 9/10

Episode 5: Thinking Out Loud

If there was an episode of this series (and there's definitely a few) that could be an absolute masterclass in writing, it's got to be one. At first,it just seemed like we were getting a series of unrelated vignettes here. You had politically incorrect Bill (Phil Davis) trying his hand at video dating, housewife Nadia (Maxine Peake) revelling in the neighbours getting a divorce, serial killer Galen (Pemberton) talking about murdering his parents, influencer Angel (Ioanna Kimbook) setting her followers on a troll, blind singer Diana (Sandra Gayer), unseen therapist (Sara Kestleman) and the dying Aidan (Shearsmith). All separate characters until the reveal that most of them were split personalities of Nadia who then went on to murder her abusive father, which happened to be Bill. An exceptional episode with every single performance a standout. 9/10

Episode 6: The Stakeout

Keeping the tradition of every other finale so far, we're back to a supernatural tale but it's under the guise of both a police stakeout and an examination of the tropes surrounding police dramas. There's the grizzled PC Thompson (Pemberton) who recently lost his partner DS Dobson (Malik Ibheis) and landed a new one named SPC Varney (Shearsmith). Between games of fortunately/unfortunately, a potential drugs bust and both men learning about each other, there was one trope that Thompson should've brushed up on. It's a good testament to the show that they managed to wait five seasons before tackling a vampire story and it's very well done. A fantastic end to the best series so far. 9/10

All episodes of Inside No. 9 are available on BBC iPlayer and Amazon.