DCU Blog - March 2024 Edition: Teen Titans Movie Go, The Penguin Trailer Released And More

Another busy month for DCU fans with a lot of information being spilled. 

In news that will shock absolutely no one, it was revealed that The Batman Part II will now be released from October 2nd 2026.

Joker: Folie A Deux will be a jukebox musical and contain at least fifteen cover songs. Lady Gaga has written music for the movie.

A potential costume reveal for David Corenswet in Superman will likely happen when the character starts outdoor filming next month.

James Gunn has confirmed yet again that no film will be officially greenlit until there's a script DC Studios are happy with.

A movie focusing on the Teen Titans will be written by Ana Nogueira, making this her second script following Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow.

Patty Jenkins has confirmed that her Wonder Woman journey is over. She's recently confirmed to be back for Rogue Squadron.

My Adventures With Superman will get a comic series released in June, serving as a bridge between the first and second seasons.

Action figures for Batman Forever will be released during summer 2025. The set will include Batman, Robin, Two-Face and Riddler with parts to build the Bat Creature from Bruce's nightmare.

The Penguin will premiere in the Fall on Max. The first trailer released this month, hinting at a rather violent and dark show.

The second season of Peacemaker will begin filming in June as confirmed by Jennifer Holland.

Waller won't begin filming until next year and will come out after both Superman and Peacemaker Season 2.

Sean Gunn has mentioned playing a more grounded version of Maxwell Lord for the DCU.

Douglas Smith has been cast as Jimmy Olsen for the final season of Superman And Lois. Yvonne Chapman will play Amanda McCoy.

Another trailer for Suicide Squad: Isekai was released but a release date for the series has yet to be confirmed. 

Dead Boy Detectives will be released on Netflix from April 25th.

Production Weekly have listed a Constantine movie being in development.

That's it for this month. Let's see what happens next lol.

My Review of Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)

 

Written by Sarah DeLappe And Kristen Roupenian

Directed by Helena Reign

Alice: "Don't call her a psychopath, that's so ableist."

Anyone up for a hurricane party? Well, this might be the movie for you. Or not. Nah, kidding, it's pretty good but given the genre it's in, you can tell exactly where this would be going.

You've got a lesbian couple, comprising of working class Eastern European Bee (Maria Bakalova) and rich girlfriend, Sophie (Amandla Stenberg). Together the two of them go to a fancy house, owned by Sophie's friend, David (Pete Davidson) for the hurricane party and they're not the only ones in attendance.

There's David's aspiring actress girlfriend, Emma (Chase Sui Wonders), podcaster Alice (Rachel Sennot) and her older boyfriend, Greg (Lee Pace), the mysterious Jordan (Myha'la Herrold) and Max (Conner O'Malley) but there's barely any focus on him as a character.

Instead the rest of them during the hurricane party decided to play a "murder in the dark" style game (you will guess the title) for fun. Instead, it devolved into arguments among the group and when David ended up dead, it didn't take too long for this splintered group of people to assume the worst in each other.

In fact they were way too quick to fling accusations at each, assuming the worst of poor Greg before the girls all turned on each other. Between talks of addiction, mental health, fake college attendances and hate listening, none of these girls came across that well. Not to mention more deaths as things got more and more heated with everyone.

Yeah, this movie definitely proved that it was all fun and games until someone lost their life. Trying to figure out the actual killer was amusing (I really did think it was Sophie) though. The actual reveal of the real catalyst of the disastrous evening was more of a mixed bag for me. I got why it was done but I'm not sure I liked it.

- That story about Amandla Stenberg's response to a reviewer's thoughts on this movie was wilder than the movie itself.

- There's definitely a Gen Z whiff off And Then There Were None with this movie.

- Standout music: Azaelia Banks 212, Catherine Slater's Daddy AF and Charlie XCX's Hot Girl.

- Chronology: Present day for Gen Z. 

I think Bodies Bodies Bodies had it's moments but as a satire of Gen Z, I'm not entirely sure if it really landed as well as it could've done. Most of the characters grated at times and even without the hurricane and choice of party game, you wouldn't want to spend a great deal of time with these people.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Mary & George: "The Wolf And The Lamb"

 

Written by D.C. Moore 

Directed by Alex Winckler

Peter (to George): "Who the fuck do you think you're talking to, you wee English slut?"

Kit: "Me. He was talking to me."

Following the downfall of the Somersets, you'd think things might have been smooth sailing for George in his quest to keep the King, but this episode proved that boyish good looks can only get you so far. George had another adversary this week.

The adversary in question being the Earl of Somerset's cousin, Peter Carr (Dylan Brady). At first, Peter appeared to be a friend for George, one that even became a lover. George trusted him almost a bit too naively, in spite of his other brother, Kit (Jacob McCarthy) being far less trustful.

Anyways as the episode progressed, Peter's presence during the trip to Edinburgh caused tension between George and King James and the latter wasn't a bit happy about the two of them being indiscreet in their sexcapades. It was enough though to get George temporarily dismissed and for Peter to almost get his revenge.

If it hadn't been for Kit, then George would've been a dead man in this episode. Kit came at the right time, killed Peter before the latter could kill George and earned himself a position in the King's. Now Mary's hold on the King got that much bigger.

Yes, we had King James and George reunite and we got two perspectives on George's love for the late Lord Lennox, not to mention the retrieval of his heart. The King really did care about that man, given the lengths he went to retrieve the embalmed heart.

As for Mary, this week she chose to ignore the fact that John was spiralling and thought kidnapping Frances Coke and forcing the girl to marry John was the best course of action. She succeeded but she certainly passed off a lot of people in her mad quest to further protect her family's future.

- Mary's being as open about her affair with Sandie as the King has been with George. George got bit and licked a lot this episode.

- At least Thomas Compton tried to keep John from nearly drowning even if the latter still managed to attack Jenny again.

- Mary made it clear she still intended to pick George a wife during John and Frances's miserable wedding. Elizabeth Hatton paid for the very thing she desperately tried to prevent. 

- Chronology: 1617, Edinburgh and of course, Ruthven Castle.

The Wolf And The Lamb wasn't as strong as the previous ones but it had its moments. I did enjoy learning more of the King's former love and Mary's scheming certainly got worse in this one. 

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Femme (2023)

 

Written And Directed by Sam H. Freeman And Ng Choon Ping

Jules: "You like it. Not the ending you want. Yeah. I'm not your type. Yeah. You want a big man to treat you like a little bitch."

Preston: "Maybe."

Jules: "Come on then. Let's go. And you'll do what I say."

Okay, so here's a movie where you've got two men. It's not a love story but one where the themes of revenge and dominance absolutely blurred the lines as our leads meet under the worst of circumstances.

One night, you've got a confident gay man named Jules (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) who moonlights as a drag act named Aphrodite. Then there's Preston (George Mackay), a deeply violent and closeted guy. Jules and Preston get into during an altercation at a convenience shop and the former ended up being beaten by the latter and his friends.

Being the victim of a homophobic attack ended up shaking Jules to his core with his friends Molly (Antonia Clarke) and Toby (John McCrea) unable to get through to him. However Jules encountering Preston at a gay sauna (the latter not recognising him) gave him the perfect idea for revenge.

For the rest of the movie, Jules entered a clandestine relationship with Prsston, even lying to the latter's dodgy friends about being a former cellmate. He even charmed Preston's friends but the relationship was one where Jules initially submitted to Preston,  even enduring the latter's volatile temper in parts.

However, it didn't take long, not only for Jules to regain his confidence,  but also to reverse the dynamic between him and Preston. Preston seemed to enjoy the idea of Jules dominating him, even opening to Jules filming a sexual encounter between them when he wasn't making an effort to get to know Jules's friends. 

In some ways, the movie did try to engineer a bit of sympathy for Preston, in spite of his dangerous tendencies. Jules intended to expose him online before changing his mind but Preston's reaction to Jules's deceit ensured this movie ended on an uncomfortable but believable note.

- The writers/directors originally had this as a short with Paapa Essiedu and Harris Dickenson in the Jules/Jordan and Preston/Wes roles. 

- Preston leaving Jules an authentic designer hoodie after his fake one got destroyed in his confrontation with Jules. He was definitely falling in love with Jules.

- Standout music: The score from Adam Janota Bzowski had some good moments, including Sauna Reprise, Glutton For Punishment and Aphrodite Reveals to name a few.

- Chronology: There was a three month gap between Jules's attack and his revenge plan on Preston.

Femme oftentimes made for an uncomfortable watch, but it's lead with two captivating performances from both Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and George Mackay. Both excel in their respective roles with a tightly nuanced script, sublime direction and some very chilling moments. An absolute must see.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of The Burning (1981)

Written by Bob Weinstein And Peter Lawrence And Brad Grey And Tony Maylarn And Harvey Weinstein

Directed by Tony Maylarn

Camp Counselor (re Cropsy): "Every year he kills. Right now he's out there. Watching. Waiting. So don't look; he'll see you. Don't breathe; he'll hear you. Don't move; you're dead!"

Ooh, look. It's a slasher movie set at a camp and both Jason Voorhees and his mother are nowhere to be seen. This movie certainly came out at a precarious time, a year latwr to what would be an enduring horror franchise.

We start at Camp Blackfoot where unfortunate caretaker Cropsy (Lou David) fond himself the victim of a prank. A prank that resulted in him being horribly burned. The fire should've killed him but it didn't. However it did awaken a desire for revenge as members of another camp had the misfortune to find out.

The other camp being Stonewater, years after the events of his horrible burning. In this camp, the closest to protagonists were responsible but hunky counselor Todd (Brian Matthews) and outcast camper, Alfred (Brian Backer). In the sense, they're the only two survivors of note.

The rest of the movie itself introduced a variety of characters such as the bully Glazer (Larry Joshua) and his girlfriend, Sally (Carrick Glenn) as well as the oversexed Eddy (Ned Eisenberg) and his girlfriend, Karen (Carolyn Houlihan). Needless to say, their characters are there to be cannon fodder along with other campers who all get killed in a gory fashion.

Of course, there's also the counselor Michelle (Leah Ayres), the only female survivor of the movie who did one of the few sensible things by trying to get the police involved. There's a romance of sorts with her and Todd as well.

As for Todd, he did make for a reasonably good hero with both him and Alfred directly being the ones to take Cropsy down. Visually, Cropsy does look horrifying, got some good kills and a rather bloody comeuppance to boot. Alfred made for an okay distressed dude but it's not hard to see why some of the campers didn't care for him.

- The movie opened with Cropsy's burning and ended with another campfire telling of his haunting of the woods. Cropsy seemed to favour pruning shears as a weapon.

- A young Holly Hunter appeared in this movie, this being one of her first acting roles.

- The idea behind this movie revolved around a campfire story that was circulated at summer camps in New Jersey and upstate New York.

- Chronology: There's a five year gap between Cropsy's burning at Blackfoot and his attack on Stonewater.

Unfortunate timing to one side, I have a soft spot for The Burning. While it doesn't outshine a certain movie, it's a damn sight better than the majority of sequels that movie would have. The kills are decent, Cropsy looks creepy, Todd's nice to look at and I really did that end scene.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Miller's Girl (2024)

 

Written And Directed by Jade Halley Bartlett

Jonathan: "Don't you get scared, walking through those woods?"

Cairo: "I'm the scariest thing in there."

Doing some channel hopping last night, I opted for a short movie, recently released that wasn't in my usual things to watch and I went with this. I did not choose wisely I'm afraid.

In the short space of time, Jenna Ortega has definitely catapulted her career as an actor, picking a succession of projects clearly to test her range as an actor as well as her general appeal outside a social media prism. I can't commend that enough.

Unfortunately while this movie definitely saw something of a departure for her (and I can see why she would go for something like this) but I think she picked a dud. It's a shame because on paper, this could've been a winner.

In this largely uneven "erotic thriller", Ortega plays an insufferably precocious rich high school student named Cairo Sweet, who decided to take a creative writing class for extra credit. The class being ran by burned out writer Jonathan Miller (Martin Freeman) and soon, both teacher and student find themselves bonding.

Well, in truth, it's more a case of Cairo and Jonathan massaging each others egos, leading to a writing assignment where Jonathan encouraged Cairo to write like one of her favourites. She chose Henry Miller (banned on the school curriculum) and penned a tepid/horribly derivative prose on an affair between a teacher and a student. Needless to say that Jonathan wasn't impressed at all by this.

Of course he had good reason to as it didn't take long for everyone except Cairo's friend, Winnie (Gideon Adlon) to assume it was true. In rapid succession, Jonathan lost his job, his wife Beatrice (Dagmara Domnczyk) and even his biscuit baking coach friend, Boris (Bashir Salahudden) chewed him out. Still, at least he got out of his writers block.

- The movie kept highlighting that Winnie was a lesbian with a crush on Cairo. Cairo stole her idea to seduce a teacher.

- Cairo certainly wore a lot of white in her scenes with Jonathan with some bits of black too.

- Standout music: Johnny Copeland's There's A Blessing.

- Chronology: Set during a school semester, seems to be in the 2020s.

Miller's Girl tried too hard to be a subversive take on the old erotic thriller genre and wound up being too tepid for its own good. There's a decent comment on emotional violence (which Cairo lived up to) but overall, it's just a messy movie with characters too exasperating to care about.

Rating: 5 out of 10

Doctor Who - Season 1 (Series 14) Trailer, Steven Moffat Returns And More

It's been a week since my last Doctor Who blog. A lot has happened within a week. For example.

First of all, a gorgeous and rather funky promo picture of Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson as the 15th Doctor and Ruby Sunday. This pic also has orange, green and yellow backgrounds.

More importantly this also lead to the trailer being released by both Disney+ and BBC (albeit an hour apart from each other). The trailer showed various scenes for both the Doctor and Ruby as glimpses of many of the actors confirmed for this series. 

In the eight episodes we're getting, we've got the consequences of the Butterfly Effect, a musical episodes with the Beatles, landmines, the return of UNIT, a bird like villain in the Regency era and the return of UNIT. Glimpses of plenty new monsters and locations but no returning ones as of yet.

However an essential piece of casting that I've not talked about but feel I need to now would be of course Susan Twist. Already she appeared as Mrs Merridew in Wild Blue Yonder and an unnamed woman in The Church On Ruby Road. Why I am bringing her up now?

I'm bringing her up because Susan Twist will also be a recurring character in the first season, playing a tech businesswoman named Susan Triad, the head of Triad Technology and an ongoing threat for the upcoming season. Adding in Anita Dobson's Mrs Flood (also confirmed for Season 2/Series 15) and the foundling mystery of Ruby, it definitely seems like Russell T. Davies is delving into Steven Moffat's playbook of mystery women for his second era.

Meanwhile in the worst kept secret going, the BBC finally confirmed that Steven Moffat would be returning as a writer for the first season. It seems that Moffat has written the third episode, directed by Julie-Anne Robinson. The former showrunner had this to say about his return to the series.

"Yes, okay, fair enough - apologies to everyone I’ve very slightly misled - I am in fact writing an episode of the series of Doctor Who. Exactly like I said I never would. What can I tell you? There was begging, there was pleading but finally Russell agreed to let me have another go - so long as I got out of his garden. Working with old friends and a brand new Doctor I couldn’t be happier. Sorry I was a bit reticent on the subject for so long. It was all part of an elaborate plan that would have delighted millions but at the last minute I forgot what it was.”

The reception to Moffat's return has largely been positive, though some fans are still clamouring for newer writers. So far, Kate Herron and Briony Redman are the only new writers confirmed for Season 1/Series 14, though with two slots left to be confirmed, perhaps another new writer is yet to be announced.

Last but not least, not only will the month of May see the debut of the new series on BBC1 and Disney+ but you can also catch up with the 15th Doctor and Ruby in comic book form with their debut adventure seeing the pair going up against the Cybermen, due for release from June 26th. On top of that, expect action figures of the pair to be released later this year while an audition piece involving the 15th Doctor and a character named Robin was also released on the BBC Site. I'm providing a link to that below.

Season 1 (Series 14) Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoyV65HoRFA

15th Doctor Audition Piece: https://www.doctorwho.tv/news-and-features/read-the-fifteenth-doctors-audition-script

Doctor Who Season 1 will air from May 11th on BBC1/iPlayer at 12am and a regular evening slot and on Disney+ at 7pm from May 10th.

My Review of Mary & George: "Not So Much As Love As By Awe"

Written by D.C. Moore

Directed by Oliver Hermanus 

George (to Robert): "Most hours I long for death but like my mother, I just wanted to fuck you. And it'll be the last thing you think of before you hang."

Ooh, this episode definitely got a little spicy, didn't it? Both Mary and George looked like they were losing King James to Robert Carr and his wife, but then things took a rather interesting turn of events. The Carrs certainly overplayed their hand.

At the start of the episode, George was forced to play music while having to watch the King fuck Robert and other pretty boys while at court, the countess took great pleasure in humiliating Mary and ensuring she left a bad first impression on the King. It really looked like they were being taken out of the game.

Fortunately for the scheming mother and son duo, they had allies in their favour. For Mary, her ally came in the shape of the Earl of Essex (Matt Barkley). He was revealed to be the ex husband of the Countess and a walking reminder of what happened to anyone unfortunate enough to make an enemy out of her.

Yes, the theme of witchcraft played heavily into this episode with rumours of both the Somersets being responsible for the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury and Mary gathering enough evidence of their guilt. However she wasn't the only one to play role in their downfall.

While George fell conveniently ill to smallpox during a heated confrontation with the Somersets and the King, at least he had Sir Francis Bacon (Mark O'Halloran) advising him somewhat better than his mother. We got a nice sex scene between George and Robert and then everything went wrong for Robert and Frances.

It was easy to not feel too bad for the Somersets as this episode really portrayed the pair as cartoon villains.  By the end of this one, George got closer to the King, played music while Mary also got the better of Elizabeth Hatton as well as getting in the good graces of the King herself.

- It seems that Frances resorted to a bit of voodoo to make George ill. King James seemed disappointed that the threat of a witch was over.

- Mary strategically allowed herself to make a show in court as well as having Sandie dressing her up garishly.

- I'm loving the bitchy rivalry between Mary and Elizabeth. Nicola Walker is eating up the pithy dialogue she's given.

- Chronology: Frances Carr was hanged in 1632 but I don't think we've had that huge a time jump between episodes.

Not So Much As Love As By Awe was immensely enjoyable.  The downfall of the Somersets, delving into the King's fixation on witches and both mother and son finding new allies for their cause. I had a lot of fun with one.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Madame Web (2024)

 

Written by Kerem Sanga And Matt Sazama And Burke Sharpless And S.J. Clarkson And Claire Parker

Directed by S.J. Clarkson

Cassandra: "If you want to live, you have to trust me."

The first live action comic book movie of 2024 and we are definitely not off to the greatest of starts, are you? The curse of Venom being a hit was that Sony had a misguided belief that there was an audience for Spider-Man adjacent projects. This film currently bombing in theatres should put paid to that.

So, snarkiness aside, how bad a movie is Madame Web? I'll let you on a secret, it's not strictly bad per se, just painfully average and too plodding for it's own good, following by a very rushed conclusion, a desperate to bag a sequel and other stuff in between.

The movie started in the jungle of Peru where Ezekiel Sims (Tahir Rahim) betrayed his whole team, just to get his hands on a spider. This included leaving the heavily pregnant Constance Web (Kerry Bishe) for dead, only for a tribe of Spider people to deliver her baby girl.

Thirty years later and the baby in question turned out to be a snarky, emotionally distant woman named Cassandra (Dakota Johnson). She's a paramedic working with Ben Parker (Adam Scott), the uncle of you know who and pretty soon a freak accident at work managed to awaken Cassandra's psychic abilities. 

At the same of that the very rich Ezekiel had his girl Friday, Amaria (Zosia Mamet) track down three teenagers. The teenagers being Julia Cornwall (Sydney Sweeney), Anya Corazon (Isabela Merced) and Mattie Franklin (Celeste O'Connor). Apparently these three will grow up to be Spider-Women and bring about Sims downfall, so he's desperate to take them out first.

Because of that, the three teenagers and Cassandra become entwined with each other and the latter's powers continued to manifest, she took it upon herself to learn more of her mother's past while also stopping Ezekiel (who donned a black Spider suit) from killing Julia, Anya and Mattie.

The funny part was that while also this was happening, you also had the subplot of Mary Parker (Emma Roberts) being creeped out by Cassandra during her baby shower and of course giving birth to Peter, though his name was never stated in the movie. It's amusing but doesn't influence the main story itself.

Other than that, the last battle between Ezekiel and Cassandra was something of a rushed job with the former defeated in a rather anticlimactic fashion and the latter getting blinded and paralysed for comic book accuracy. As for that ending, yeah, we're never getting a resolution to that one.

- The original idea for this movie was actually Cassandra and the Spider-Women protecting a pregnant Mary Parker from a time travelling Ezekiel Sims, which would've made more sense.

- Despite marketing the leads in costumes, you barely see it. Superhero movies need to stop with grounding things like that.

- Standout music: Britney Spears Toxic, Cranberries Dreams and Yeah Yeah Yeah's Miles Away.

- Chronology: 1973 Peru and 2003 Manhattan during this movie.

Madame Web has definitely gotten 2024 off to a rocky start with this particular genre and it might not be the only movie to suffer as a result. It's far from the worst I've ever seen but there was clearly a better movie that got massacred with studio interference and far too many rewrites. Memes aside, this one should be quickly forgotten about.

Rating: 5 out of 10

My Review of Darby O'Gill And The Little People (1959)

 

Written by Lawrence Edward Watkin

Directed by Robert Stevenson

King Brian (to Darby): "Three wishes I'll grant ye, great wishes an' small. But you wish a fourth and you'll lose them all."

I wanted the perfect movie for St. Patrick's Day, review wise and there were a few contenders but none quite as perfect as this one. It might not be set during the day itself but it's definitely a quintessentially Irish movie nonetheless.

Set in a small Irish town (aren't they always?) named Rathcullen, you have the titular character of the piece. Darby O'Gill (Albert Sharpe), who happened to be the caretaker of Lord Fitzpatrick's (Walter Fitzgerald) estate, living in the house with his unmarried daughter, Katie (Janet Munro). So far nothing out of the ordinary there.

However it's quickly established that Lord Fitzpatrick intended to replace Darby and Katie with Dubliner Michael McBride (Sean Connery) but far more interesting than that would be Darby's fixation on leprechauns. Not just them, but specifically, King Brian (Jimmy O'Dea) himself.

The battle of wits between Darby and King Brian made up a lot of the screentime of this movie. King Brian had fun in tricking Darby into making a fourth wish so the latter could lose the lot, only for Darby to trick the Leprechaun into being his prisoner while he considered a new set of wishes.  

Of course with Darby spending too much regaling the locals of Leprechauns and a slow burning romance between Michael and Katie brewing, the closest to real antagonists in this film were the nosy widow Sheelah Sugrue (Estelle Winwood) and her loutish son, Pony (Kieron Moore). Both of them were foils to Darby and Michael with Katie caught in the middle of their schemes.

Speaking of Katie, the movie had her the victim of death and the banshee and the Dullahan came to collect her. However more treachery from King Brian following a noble attempt of self sacrifice from Darby meant that this movie ended on a rather happy note.

- Director Robert Stevenson would go on to make such film as Mary Poppins and Bedknobs And Broomsticks.

- The movie is based on a book titled Darby O'Gill And The Good People. Walt Disney had the idea of an Irish movie since 1947 and the idea went through various stages before we got this.

- Standout music: Both Michael and Katie singing Pretty Irish Girl at various points.

- Chronology: Presumably 1950s Ireland.

Darby O'Gill And The Little People is always a joy to watch. It's fun, mischievous and has a great battle of wits between both Darby and King Brian. Not to mention I found that Banshee and Dullahan pretty spooky at the time I first watched.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Doctor Who - Season 1 (Series 14) Airdate Confirmed/That Other News Discussion

Yes, finally, I'm doing another Doctor Who blog as today some major news came out in relation to the new series.

After a hefty period of radio silence, the BBC confirmed today that Series 14/Season 1 of Doctor Who, starring Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson as the 15th Doctor and Ruby Sunday will premiere from May 11th on BBC1 and May 10th on Disney+, albeit with a twist.

First of all, we're getting a double bill to begin with and secondly the episodes will premiere first at 12.00am on Saturdays before getting a regular slot on Saturday evening. Every week after that will be single episodes. Those first two episodes will also precede this year's Eurovision on BBC1.

The eight part series, which has yet to announce it's full writers at least has reiterated some of the guest cast. You can expect Michelle Greenidge, Angela Wynter, Anita Dobson, Jinkx Monsoon, Aneurin Barnard, Jemma Redgrave, Yasmin Finney, Indira Varma, Jonathan Groff, Bonnie Langford and Lenny Rush with more names to be announced over the comimg weeks.

As for series itself, showrunner and executive producer Russell T. Davies had this to say ....

"At last, it’s my great delight to unleash a whole new season of the Doctor and Ruby’s adventures together. Monsters! Chases! Villains! Mysteries! And a terrifying secret that’s been spanning time and space for decades. Don’t miss a second!"

Of course with this much needed news released today, I hadn't forgotten about another item that leaked two months ago. Yes, time to talk about this one.

Back in January, it was revealed that Andor actress Varada Sethu had been cast as a regular for Series 15/Season 2. In fact it had been revealed that Sethu's character would be the main companion for the 2025 series while Millie Gibson's Ruby would be a recurring character, scheduled to appear in three episodes next year.

I have to say that the handling of this situation has been extremely disappointing to say the least with the press being needlessly nasty towards Millie Gibson in particular. However I'm not too surprised that perhaps Ruby Sunday will be a shorter term companion compared to the longer term ones we've had in recent years. As for Varada Sethu, I'm guessing we'll be waiting a while before her casting will be confirmed officially.

Last but not least, there's a rumour going around that this year's upcoming Christmas special, starring Ncuti Gatwa and Nicola Coughlan might be written by Steven Moffat. If true, that's a surprise turn of events as it was assumed that Russell T. Davies would be writing it. At this point, it's definitely safe to assume that Moffat is back for the series.

Doctor Who will air at midnight on BBC iPlayer/BBC1 from May 11th and stream on Disney+ at 4pm/7pm from May 10th.

My Review of Feud: Capote vs. The Swans - Phantasm Forgiveness

 

Written by Jon Robin Baitz 

Directed by Gus Van Sant 

Babe: "I never thought society would simply evaporate. What happened?"

Slim: "Everything ends. Shall we go have lunch?"

And there it was. A finale that like the previous season touched a little on the fantastical side of things. We saw the death of Truman Capote in the previous episode. This was the moments that led to his end.

Capote was determined to use Answered Prayers as a means to apologise to his beloved Swans with his own mother providing her own literary notes along the way.

For CZ, it was about sexual liberation.  Going to Mexico to trade her nude portrait for two whiskeys after Truman lied about parts of what he wrote about her. CZ was always the most likely to forgive Truman the easiest and she did.

As for Slim, it turned out that letting her get the venom out of her system and a black and white ball in her honour would be the perfect way to forgive Truman. That and meeting her last great love on the very night that honoured her certainly helped.

Lee on the other hand, giving her a book that was her own voice, something her much more famous sister couldn't take away from her would be the perfect method of forgiveness.  Oh and killing her closeted husband would be the cherry on top.

Only none of those things actually happened because between ghostly visits from Ann Woodward and Truman's own mother, Truman never got to actually write the book. He did however relive his mother's suicide while both Demi Moore and Jessica Lange finally got something to really do, material wise in this finale.

Then we went back to Joanne telling Jack about Truman's death before the final scene in the future with Capote's ashes being sold at auction. The fantastical bit being four of the Swans bemoaning the death of culture as they sashayed away into the afterlife. That's it folks.

- Jack's toyboy lover was called Nick and he was a fan of Capote's writing and big on forgiveness.

- Truman changed everyone's names in his fiction except for Lee and Ann. He called himself PB Jones.

- Of course the black Swan from the opening scene recreated was his mother. There was emphasis on two bidders that went nowhere at the end.

- Chronology: 1984 for the majority of the episode, 2016 for the last scene. We also got a flashback to Truman as a kid having to be quiet while his mother snared a man.

Phantasm Forgiveness made for a good finale. Yes, the show didn't quite hit the same heights as the previous season but it was a good second act and hopefully we won't be waiting seven years for the next season.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Scream VII/7 - Neve Campbell/Kevin Williamson Returning

Well, in a move that can be either seen as Spyglass doing ultimate damage control or a much needed step in the right direction, this just happened. I'll let you decide on this outcome.

After not paying her worth for Scream VI, it seems that Spyglass decided to change their stance as Neve Campbell will be back for the upcoming seventh movie. Taking to Instagram yesterday, Neve announced her return to the popular horror franchise and so far, she's the only confirmed returning cast member for the next movie in the series. However she's not the only return that was confirmed.

Also confirmed yesterday was franchise creator himself Kevin Williamson, who in a very surprising move was confirmed to be the director for the movie. Williamson replaced Christopher Landon, who stepped down back in December. The seventh movie will be written by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick with Radio Silence also producing the movie.

Now as for where this seventh installment will go, given that the Core Four won't be returning and Sidney Prescott will be the focus again has yet to be revealed. I'm assuming that now Sidney is married and a mother herself that her family will be the target of a new Ghostface. I'm also assuming we'll not only see Mark Kincaid (Patrick Dempsey) but Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) will likely be back as well.

As for Melissa Barrera, sadly it seems that Sam Carpenter's story is over for the time being. Melissa did express interest in returning to the franchise but not while Spyglass are in charge of it. However, she does have three movies coming out this year. There's vampire movie, Abigail (April 19th) that she worked with Radio Silence while Your Monster and The Collaboration will also release in 2024. 

I have to admit my feelings on this news has been mixed. I can't deny that I'm happy to see both Neve Campbell and Kevin Williamson back into the Scream fold but it doesn't change the fact that Spyglass's treatment of Melissa Barrera is still reprehensible and I hope that Melissa continues to get more and more work. 

Filming for Scream VII/7 will start later in the year for a 2025 theatrical release.

My Review of Mary & George: "The Hunt"

 

Written by D.C. Moore

Directed by Oliver Hermanus

King James (to George): "Take me, bury me. I want to forget who I am. I am nothing but your subject."

For a courtship, it felt like George had to go the extra mile to get his man but it also felt like he had to make no effort at all. End result though, he's certainly gotten King James well and truly hooked.

It was amusing at the start of the episode watching him go the other part of the road to try and meet the King, only to be leered at by a strange man and wind up in the mud. However bad information to one side, George still managed to charm the King.

Of course as George got closer to the King, he also put a massive target on his back by the Earl of Somerset. The latter spent so much of this episode acting the jealous boyfriend and instead of dissuading George, his various actions, including a sabotage during the hunt only brought George and James closer together. The King even bottomed for his new paramour.

Saying that, George's success wasn't solely down to him. Yes, Mary definitely continued to play her role in securing her second son's future and even enlisted the help of Sir David (Angus Wright) and Queen Anne (Trine Dyrholm) in order to do that. Having those who hated Robert definitely worked in Mary and George's favour this week.

One of the delightful parts of this episode did involve Mary's rapport with local prostitute Sandie (Niamh Algar). I could've watched more of their scenes together as they were so good. The two of them as a team also didn't end well for Sir David either.

As for the rest of the episode, Mary did try to secure her first born son John's future but thanks to Queen Anne's lady in waiting Elizabeth Hatton (Nicola Walker),  that was a bit of a disaster. Elizabeth and Sandie brought out some of the best scenes for Mary this episode.

- John murdered a dog in this episode. Mary and George couldn't cover for him and failed to get Sir Edward Coke's daughter as a bride.

- Mary had more chemistry with Sandie than she's had with either husband so far. 

- Sandie hinted at a shady past and Mary killed Sir David by poisoning prunes.

- Chronology: It was 1615 for this episode.

The Hunt definitely brought George and James together while giving Mary some great scenes with other characters. The sex scenes had an edge without feeling exploitative and there was plenty of treachery afoot as well.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of The Holdovers (2023)

 

Written by David Hemingson

Directed by Alexander Payne

Angus: "I don't think I've ever had a real family Christmas like this before. Thank you, Mary."

Mary: "You're welcome."

I didn't think I'd be reviewing a Christmas movie in March but with the Oscars on last night, I thought it was time to catch up with this one. I'm really glad I did.

Set in a New England boarding school, the focus of this movie was largely on three very different characters and the effect each of them had on each other. You got classic professor Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti), smart mouthed student Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa) and cafeteria manager Mary Lamb (Da'Vine Joy Randolph). An interesting trio of characters but what brought them together?

Funnily enough the title itself. With this film largely taking place during Christmas break, Paul found himself having to chaperone students who weren't going home for the holidays, which was where Angus fell in. As for Mary, she was grieving her son, Curtis and didn't want to spend Christmas with her own family.

Having these three characters bond and bicker over the course of this two hour plus movie definitely had its moments as we learned a lot about them. For example, Angus initially let Paul and Mary believe his father, Thomas (Stephen Thorne) was dead, only fot it to be later revealed he was institutionalized. 

Of course along with that, the movie made a lot of Angus's acts of defiance against Paul (one resulting in a broken arm at one point) make a bit more sense. Dominic Sessa walked the line with Angus, keeping the character pretty sympathetic and likeable, even when he was being a pain in the backside.

As for Paul, I think this role will definitely be a career defining one for Giamatti as an actor. Paul's a character who's not respected by his peers or his students, had a plagiarism accusations levelled at him with consequences and doesn't seem to be able to tell fellow worker, Lydia (Carrie Preston) that he likes her. However when the chips were down, he came through for Angus despite the consequences being dire for him.

Then there was Mary. A lot of the times, she was a mediator to both Paul and Angus butting heads with one another but her grief for her son and reconnecting with her own family was a nice done arc. It's no wonder that Da'Vine Joy Randolph bagged the Oscar for Supporting Actress. She's on fantastic form here.

- Some of the other Holdovers students included a jock rival for Angus, a weed dealer and a Japanese exchange student, who disappeared for a large chunk of the movie.

- This movie having a plot about plagiarism also manifested recently in real life itself.

- I had to laugh at Paul giving both Angus and Mary the same book about meditation. Mary had a near romance of her own with Danny as did Angus with Lydia's niece.

- Angus was originally meant to be younger but was aged up for Dominic Sessa. 

- Standout music: There's an abundance of Christmas music here so the highlights are Carol Of The Drum, Silent Night, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and Jingle Bells to name a few.

- Chronology December 1970 and January 1971. Mostly in New England with a trip to Boston as well.

I really wished I had watched The Holdovers during Christmas because it was an absolute delight finally catching up with it. All three leads were excellent, the characters engaging and the rapport sublime throughout. 

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Ready Or Not (2019)

 

Written by Guy Busick And R. Christopher Murphy

Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin And Tyler Gillett

Grace (to Alex): "I want a divorce."

Ah, wedded life, eh? It should be the greatest thing in the world but for this movie, an argument can definitely be made for being single. Or at the very least researching your betrothed's family.

That was definitely something that the slightly mysterious Grace (Samara Weaving) should've done. Aside from being revealed as a foster child, there's not much else revealed about Grace as a character. That's not a criticism in a sense, just an observation. She's a bit of a blank canvass as a character who ended up getting thrown into quite the life and death situation.

Marrying into the obscenely wealthy Le Domas family by marrying son, Alex (Mark O'Brien), Grace knew that the family she was marrying into didn't quite like her but she wasn't prepared for a game of hide and seek that would end up in a ritual sacrifice if she was caught.

It seemed that a long time ago, the Le Domas family made a deal with Belial and every once in a while they have to sacrifice someone marrying into the family or they die themselves. This was something that parents Tony (Henry Czerny) and Becky (Andie MacDowell) were keen to avoid, being the most determined to avoid death along with daughter, Emelie (Melanie Scrofano), aunt Helene (Nicky Guadagni) and daughter in law, Charity (Elyse Levesque).

All of these characters along with Emelie's idiotic husband, Fitch (Kristian Bruun) and the butler, Stevens (John Ralston) go out of their way to try and kill Grace but most of the time, it was the unfortunate staff getting killed instead. Meanwhile alcoholic son Daniel (Adam Brody) went from trying to kill Grace to helping her survive until the crack of dawn.

As for Grace and Alex's relationship, it was never going to survive this and predictably, it didn't. Alex did try to help Grace for most of the movie and did seem reluctant to actually help his family kill her but he also turned on her too and sealed his own fate. In the end, Grace barely got out of this movie alive.

- Guy Busick and James Vanderbilt, both of whom would go on to write the fifth and sixth Scream movies have very brief cameos in the movie.

- The opening flashback saw Helene's husband go through the same game. Needless to say, he didn't survive but Helene felt a bond with Alex, who saw Belial as a child.

- Standout music: Love Me Tender, The Hide & Seek Song and Bossa Noches.

- Chronology: The flashback was in the 1980s with this movie being set in the 2010s.

Ready Or Not was a blast of a movie. A great but deadly take on Hide and Seek with a top notch cast, some inventive kills and a comeuppance for the family reminiscent of hiw vampires used to die in True Blood. Great stuff.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Halloween TV Series To Be A "Creative Reset"

You wait a while to get news on a movie franchise getting the TV/streaming series and boom, you've got some news.

Yesterday we got Miramax head Marc Helwig quote the following to Deadline when asked about the upcoming Halloween TV series.

"The foundation of it is the original film, the John Carpenter movie, the characters of that film, and perhaps a group of characters that we haven’t really focused on that much in recent film versions or even in a number of them."

Adding to that, Helwig went on to confirm that the show was a top priority with the company having talked to people about the direction in which the show would take, with a creative team likely to be announced soon. He also mentioned the show being a creative reset, spinning off only the first movie from 1978 and none of the sequels. 

Overall, while I think an anthology route would be the better way to go with a Halloween series, what this interview does make clear is that Michael Myers will very much be front and centre of whatever this show will turn out to be. 

I really can't wait for more information to come out over the next few months. You really can't get rid of the Boogeyman, can you?

My Review of Mary & George: "The Second Son"

 

Written by D.C. Moore

Directed by Oliver Hermanus

Mary (to George): "If I were a man and I looked like you, I'd rule the fucking planet."

It's been a while since we've had a rather sexy and salacious period drama and finally we've got one that's off to a very promising start. Oh and the title characters are quite the mother and son duo.

The episode opened with Mary Villiers, Countess of Buckingham (Julianne Moore) giving birth to her second son, George. As the episode would go on to demonstrate, second sons aren't looked upon favourably and have to make it in the world without the benefits of the first born.

Cut to an older George, 1st Duke of Buckingham (Nicholas Galitzine) attempting to commit suicide and pining for a serving girl he had fallen in love with. Mary wasn't sympathetic to his plight and decided that he needed to go to France to be trained into being a suitor worthy of getting a suitable mate.

George might have resented being sent away but it didn't take him long to largely speak French and he definitely became intrigued by his mentor Jean (Khalil Ben Garbia) seducing men in the more liberal household. The episode quickly revealed that George was bisexual, which would prove advantageous for Mary.

During George's absence from England, Mary didn't let time waste after her husband, Sir George (Simon Russell Beale) died. She quickly married Sir Thomas Compton (Sean Gilder) but more importantly, she set her sights on getting her new husband to host King James VI and I (Tony Curran) and decided that his lust for younger men would work in her favour.

This was where a returning George would be bested suited. Instead of a nice wife, Mary wanted her son to be the King's new lover. The only problem being that the King's current lover, Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset (Laurie Davidson) was definitely an obstacle for Mary's overall scheme. George came close to losing a hand had the King not intervened.

I'm actually a little surprised we didn't get more of the King in this opening episode but Tony Curran certainly made the most of his screen time here. Despite embarrassing himself, George managed to make a positive first impression on James and Robert certainly felt threatened by George's presence. 

- We met the other children of Mary for a few scenes in the episode. Oldest brother, John Villiers (Tom Victor) making a good impression.

- For some reason, SkyTV have all the episodes now but US viewers will have to wait until April 5th for it to air on Starz.

- Mary talked about her own humble beginnings in life when getting George to go along with her plan to seduce the king.

- Chronology: The episode started in 1592 England with the majority taking place in 1612 in both England and France.

The Second Son has started this unapologetically baudy drama off on a strong note. Both Nicholas Galitzine and Julianne Moore are a delightfully scheming pair and there's some delightfully biting dialogue and a generous helping of male flesh on display in this first episode alone.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Feud: Capote vs. The Swans - Beautiful Babe

 

Written by Jon Robin Baitz 

Directed by Jennifer Lynch

Jack (re Capote): "Did he say anything?"

Joanne: "He said he was cold. Mother. Mama. Then he said."

Capote: "Beautiful Babe."

All season long we've been heading towards the death of Babe Paley and for the penultimate episode, that's exactly what we got. I expected the penultimate episode to be the one to do it. The episode certainly delivered on that front.

The opening had Babe making it clear to Bill that she had six months to live and she was fairly blunt about it too. We had Babe and Bill tearing into their parenting (lack of) skills before Babe began to make preparations for her own funeral.

That meant one last scene with Slim, CZ and Lee where they talked about Capote once again. Babe never did reconcile with Truman but he certainly was the last face she saw before dying. It was a rather interesting scene with an actual Swan in the bath. Then Babe died and Capote wasn't invited to the funeral and wake, despite CZ pleading his case.

Of course, Babe wasn't the only character to meet their end in this episode. In a slight surprise turn of events, the final act of this one also had Capote himself die with Joanne looking after him after Jack finally severed ties with Truman.

Having Babe be the last person that Truman saw as he was dying, I guess it was rather fitting. Both Tom Hollander and Naomi Watts played those scenes to perfection. Yes, they laid it on thick about Babe almost being a maternal figure to Truman but it worked rather well.

As for Joanne, she was there for Truman in his last few hours of life but boy, was she rather unappreciated? The other Swans had distanced themselves from her and Truman was more fixated on Babe. I wish we had seen more of Molly Ringwald in this season because she was great with her limited screentime.

- I'm surprised that Truman didn't see his mother before he died. Did Jessica Lange only agree to appear in just two episodes?

- Jack's younger boyfriend was Sully from American Horror Story: NYC. We also saw Rick in Capote's final dream in a nice red swimming trunks.

- Jack talked about having to publish Capote's final book, which the latter admitted was mostly written in a scattered manner. 

- Chronology: 1978 again for this episode as well as 1984, covering both Babe and Capote's respectively deaths.

Beautiful Babe delivered as a penultimate episode.  Excellent performances from both Tom Hollander and Naomi Watts throughout the whole episode, though everyone brought their A game. It's gonna be interesting to see where the finale will go.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Green Lantern (2011)

 

Written by Greg Berlanti And Michael Green And Mark Guggenheim And Michael Goldenberg

Directed by Martin Campbell

Hal: "I, Hal Jordan, do solemnly swear to pledge allegiance to a lantern that I got from a dying purple alien in a swamp."

It was a matter of time for me to revisit this one. For all the divisiveness that the DC Extended Universe generated in the last decade, things could've been even rockier had this movie been the one to have kicked off that particular universe. Is it as bad as originally believed? Hmm, let's get into it.

To start with you get a fairly quick look at the Green Lantern Corps lore almost immediately as fallen Lantern Abin Sur (Temuera Morrison) sacrificed himself in order to stop the deadly Parallax (Clancy Brown) but were his efforts in vain?

That's the thing. On one hand, Abin Sur's power ring quickly found a successor in cocky but charming enough pilot Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) but likewise Parallax found a vessel in his own in disgruntled scientist Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgaard). Because of that, a clash over the fate of the planet between the two was inevitable but was Hal really up to the task of being a hero?

He certainly had his doubts about his own heroics and there was plenty of people, including family members and fellow pilots who questioned him a different points in the movie. He also had a best friend in Thomas Kalmaku (Taika Waititi) wowed by the Lantern side of things and then there was Carol Ferris (Blake Lively) herself.

Yes, she's the childhood sweetheart, on-off girlfriend and general confidant for Hal. There's a good rapport between Carol and Hal made the more complicated with Hector being an embittered admirer of her. She got Hal to step up as a hero but she wasn't the only one. Of course I'm talking about the Green Lantern Corps themselves.

The group of characters selected here were Sinestro (Mark Strong), Kilowog (Michael Clarke Duncan), Tomar-Re (Geoffrey Rush). They challenged Hal, had their doubts about him and even embraced him on Oa when the cocky pilot defeated Hammond and Parallax. I actually liked their scenes.

I guess the element that was the weakest was Parallax and Hammond. Neither are particularly awful villains but both felt somewhat slight and almost a bit too speedily dealt with. Hammond in particular had one of the most underwhelming defeats in a DC comic book movie.

- Angela Bassett popped up as Amanda Waller, who was in a more scientific role here.

- A post credit sequence set up Sinestro to be corrupted by Parallax for a sequel that never materialised.

- Tim Robbins also appeared as Hector's father and he got a rather fiery demise.

- Chronology: Present day with flashbacks to a younger Hal and his father in 1993.

Maybe time has been kinder to this movie or I'm in a generous mood but Green Lantern wasn't awful. It's serviceable at best and Ryan Reynolds does a decent job as Hal Jordan. Even the effects aren't that jarring tbh.

Rating: 6 out of 10

My Review of The Butcher Boy (1997)

 

Written by Patrick McCabe And Neil Jordan

Directed by Neil Jordan

Narrator: "And the Francie Brady Not A Bad Bastard Anymore Award goes to - Great God, I think it's Francie Brady."

For this month alone, I decided to do a few movie reviews of the Irish kind. It won't be every day but I have a good idea of the movies I intend to rewatch and review and I thought I'd start with this black comedy.

Centring around a mischievous twelve year old Francie Brady (Eamonn Owens), this movie really highlighted the consequences of mental health being untreated and the dangers of slipping into a violent fantasy world. Francie took on both the hero and villain role of the film.

As a character, he's dangerous but tragicaly sympathetic in equal measures. His family life comprised of his mother, Annie (Aislimg O'Sullivan) struggling with her own demons and a violent, alcoholuc father, Benny (Stephen Rea), who blamed Francie for his mother's passing.

If Francie's family life wasn't bad enough, having the rather snobbish Mrs Nugent (Fiona Shaw) as an enemy certainly didn't help matters. It was a mutual hatred between the two with Nugent's son, Phillip (Andrew Fullerton) and Francie's best friend Joe Purcell (Alan Boyle) somewhat caught in the middle of a rivalry that came to a violent end.

Yes, as Francie kept slipping into a darker fantasies about aliens invading the town and being rattled about being likened to a pig, it was Mrs Nugent who ended up being butchered like one. It's a brutal for a horribly unsympathetic character to go but one that well and truly highlighted how low Francie could sink as a character.

On top of that and in one of the most inspired bits of casting ever, you had Sinead O'Connor appearing to Francie at different points in his life. Casting her as the Virgin Mary was a genius move and she's excellent in the limited screen time she's given. By the end of the movie, a much older Francie (Stephen Rea) does seem to be a lot calmer than before but still haunted nonetheless.

- There's nice appearances from Ardal O'Hanlan and Brendan Gleeson. The former playing Joe's father and the latter playing a priest who tried to straighten Francie out.

- Stephen Rea narrated the movie as the older Francie Brady. The red wig he had on at the end stood out like a sore thumb.

- Standout music: Sinead O'Connor's version of The Butcher Boy of course.

- Chronology: 1960s in the town of Clones in County Monaghan.

The Butcher Boy is definitely one of my favourite Irish movies and a very dark movie to boot. You had a child who's both sympathetic and horrifying in equal measures in an era where there was no adequate help for him and his downward spiral was horrifying to watch, in spite of the dark comedy surrounding it. It's an excellent movie though.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Feud: Capote vs. The Swans - Hats, Gloves And Effete Homosexuals

 

Written by Jon Robin Baitz

Directed by Gus Van Sant

Capote: "I've gone out of style."

We're two episodes from the finale and here was an episode that largely had Truman at his most self pitying. Also at his slightly creepiest given the way things were with his ward, Katy/Kerry.

Yes, losing his Swans (not really because CZ never pulled away from him) has done enough of a number on him that he decided to try and get Kerry styled like a woman much older than her years. The thing was that everyone knew what he was doing and had no problem calling it out.

Richard Avedon was quick to get his own assistant into allowing Katy to dress how she would've preferred while Lee told her to wear her hair down. Then Katy told Truman to sober up, which he faked doing while in Palm Springs.

The most memorable part of the episode was Capote's fling with a straight air conditioner guy named Rick (Vito Schnabel). In a lot of ways, this fling felt like a parallel to Truman's former relationship with John O'Shea, albeit with a slightly different outcome.

I mean, it was a fling that didn't last and Rick went back to a fiancée he initially abandoned but it wasn't a toxic break up. Rick didn't deceive or mistreat Truman and the latter seemed to be fine by Rick leaving him. I wish Rick had lasted a bit longer but he was a charming guest character.

As for the rest of the episode, Truman was also on the verge of being sued by Gore Vidal with only Lee being the one who could help him out. In the end, Lee chose not to help and Truman seemed unwilling to acknowledge his own role in her turning against him. 

- Lee also made a homophobic remark about Capote and Vidal when she wasn't setting to marry another lover.

- Babe and CZ both felt their age when a certain store no longer included a glove section. That and the article about CZ and Capote dancing at a disco made them feel out of style.

- Standout music: Last Night A DJ Saved My Life and Perfect Day.

- Chronology: 1978 for the duration of the episode. Jack also decided to remain in Switzerland.

Hats, Gloves And Effete Homosexuals might not have been a sharp as last week's episode but it had some great moments. Notably a strong guest performance from Vito Schnabel, who worked well with Tom Hollander.

Rating: 7 out of 10