My Review of The History Boys (2006)

 

Written by Alan Bennett 

Directed by Nicholas Hytner

Rudge: "How do I define history? It's just one fuckin' thing after another."

Another LGBT themed movie I've wanted to catch up with in a while was this one. I mean it's a who's who look at some of the most known British actors on television and many of whom have also appeared on Doctor Who over the last few years.

Set in a Sheffield grammar school, the students in question are a rowdy but eclectic bunch. There's the ringleader himself, Stuart Dakin (Dominic Cooper), who's something of a cheeky chappy but what of the others?

Well, there's the Jewish David Posner (Samuel Barnett), who's gay and in love with Dakin, Muslim Adi Akthar (Sacha Dhawan), part time milkman Jimmy Lockwood (Andrew Knott) as well as golf enthusiast Peter Rudge (Russell Tovey), stoner Anthony Timms (James Corden) and the snarky Donald Scripps (Jamie Parker).

Like I said, they're a riotous bunch and their relationships with various educational figures as they waited for exam results are handled amusingly enough. On the least prominent relationship would be with gym teacher, Wilkes (Adrian Scarborough) who's an ineffectual authority figure on the boys. 

Their relationship with General Studies and English teacher, Douglas "Hector" (Richard Griffiths) was the most explored. Hector's wandering hands with the boys certainly hit murky territory with even the much hated Headmaster Felix (Clive Merrison) trying to force Hector's retirement to come into effect early than Hector would've liked. Oddly, it's the boys - Dakin specifically who ended up fighting Hector's corner.

The temporary History teacher, Tom Irwin (Stephen Campbell Moore) had a different style of teaching with the boys. He was partially a foil and a meal for of sorts to them. Posner had the courage to come out to Irwin while a post exam results Dakin tried to get him to come out for a drink with him.

The last act of this movie had great moments. A look into the boys future with mixed results into their futures. Some of these lads prospered, some didn't and one of them found himself in a similar position to a former teacher. There's a bittersweet ending to this movie.

- While this is a very male led film, there's some nice supporting roles for Frances de la Tour, Penelope Wilton and Georgia Taylor respectively.

- At least one of the boys died off screen. The ending in the original play was bleaker compared to this adaptation.

- Standout music: Rufus Wainwright's version of Bewitched as Samuel Barnett and Jamie Parker's version, New Order's Blue Monday and The Smith's This Charming Man.

- Chronology: 1983 Sheffield for most of this movie.

The History Boys took a great play and delivered a great movie adaptation with an arguably better ending for it too. The standout performances are hard to nail because everyone single actor brought their A game here. It's a funny, touching, clever and bittersweet movie.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of Starred Up (2014)

 

Written by Jonathan Asser 

Directed by David Mackenzie 

Eric: "I'm just saying. Said this therapy goes well and it changes my life and I rehabilitate. And then you lay it on for the next geezer and it works for him, and the next. And everything's sweet yeah? Crime rates starts to come down, police got less people to nick, courts got less people to convict. Pretty soon you're out of a job. Do you mind?"

I fancied watching a prison drama that I hadn't seen before and I landed on this one. I had heard of it before but never watched it until yesterday. Suffice to say, I'm glad I did.

Focusing on Eric Love (Jack O'Connell), he's a "starred up" prisoner and had transferred into the big boys pen for his history of violent behaviour. In fact he's barely five minutes into an adult prison before he attacked an inmate and that's barely the icing on the cake.

Instead of gracefully facing the consequences for his actions, Eric took on several officers and literally had one of them by the balls. Then there was Oliver (Rupert Friend), a volunteer group therapist who wanted to take Eric under his wing and get the best out of him. At times, it seemed like he was going to succeed.

Having Eric in a therapy of mostly black men got to see Eric open a bit more about his past and be somewhat a more thoughtful individual. Then there was Eric's father, Neville (Ben Mendelsohn). His presence certainly complicated things for Eric.

Throughout the movie, there didn't seem to be a lot of love lost between father and son. Eric promptly ignored any advice that Neville tried to give him, Neville tried to lay the law down with Eric only to get rebuffed. Oh and Eric wasn't best pleased when he realised that his father was in a relationship with his cellmate, Eric went pleased either.

There was also the threat that was Dennis (Peter Ferdinando). It seemed like he was the Top Dog of the joint but that didn't stop Eric from attacking him and then Dennis trying to have Eric killed. Dennis's plan ultimately failed and the movie ended on a tender note between Eric and Nevile with both father and son's lives taking different turns.

- A lot of this movie's based on Jonathan Asser's experience as a volunteer therapist at HM Prison Wandsworth.

- A "starred up" prisoner is someone who goes from a juvenile to an adult prison. Eric's 19 in the movie.

- There's almost no music in this movie at all, barring one scene.

- Chronology: Eric's stated to be 19 in the movie while Neville has a life sentence.

Starred Up is a great look into the prison system and the complicated relationship between an estranged father and son. The performances from Jack O'Connell, Ben Mendelsohn and Rupert Friend are sublime.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Monsoon (2020)

 

Written And Directed by Hong Khaou

Lee: "You should visit your old home."

Kit: "Yeah, I'm going to."

After watching The Old Guard 2 the other day, I realised there was a movie that featured Henry Golding that I had been meaning to catch up with. Yup, this one.

In this film, Henry Golding played a British-Vietnamese man named Kit. It's been over thirty years since he set foot in his birth country and the death of his parents was the thing to bring him back to Vietnam.

Throughout the movie, we're dripfed information about why Kit left Vietnam as a child with his parents. There's also plenty of scenes where Kit was reconnecting with an old childhood friend named Lee (David Tran), who happened to be his cousin.

Then there's also Lewis (Parker Sawyers). He's an American who's father fought in the war and there's a nice spark between him and Kit. Their romance was nicely underplayed throughout the film as Kit's journey was the bigger story priority.

There's a lot of scenes in this film that are quiet and intense. There's plenty of moments where Kit's mulling over his family's past and it's interesting to see how much Kit had to remember as the movie progressed. 

The journey Kit took to find the right place to scatter his parents took him into very interesting places and at times, it did feel like we were sightseeing with Kit as a character. The movie did end on a rather nice note with Kit putting his ghosts in the past. 

- Kit and his family were boat refugees after the Vietnam War. Kit had even forgotten how to speak Vietnamese.

- The film was originally meant to be a two hander between Kit and Lewis. The latter was originally intended to be a White American character.

- Standout music: Kumi Solo's I Know What Boys Like.

- Chronology: Set in Vietnam with Kit going from Saigon to Hanoi in the present day.

Monsoon is a lovely film, looking at one man's attempts of reconnecting with his roots. There's a very thoughtful and understated performance from Henry Golding and the whole movie in general feels like that too. 

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of The Old Guard 2 (2025)

Written by Greg Rucka And Sarah L. Walker

Directed by Victoria Mahoney

Discord: "For centuries I've watched you fight to protect hunanity while forsaking your own kind. I will destroy you and even you stand for."

Does anyone remember the first movie? Netflix released it fi e years ago and while I immensely enjoy it at the time, I hadn't gone back to revisit since then. In some ways, this sequel felt like it came out of nowhere and with very little fanfare to boot.

Picking up six months from the events of the previous, you've got Immortal crew of Andromache of Scythia (Charlize Theron), couple Yusuf Al-Kaysani (Marwan Kenzari) and Nicolò di Genova (Luca Marinelli) as well as new members Nile Freeman (Kiki Layne) and James Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) indulging in drinking games for team morale.

Since the first movie, Andy's lost her immortality and former team member, Sebastian Le Livre (Matthias Schoenaerts) aka Booker has been exiled. The latter also ended up getting kidnapped by another immortal named Quỳnh (Veronica Ngo) and she wanted revenge.

It turned out that Quỳnh spent quite some time imprisoned underwater and there's the hint of both her and Andy being former lovers. Their reunion didn't get off to the greatest of starts and then there was Discord (Uma Thurman) to contend with.

The real villain of the piece and quite the counter to Andy in how both women truly viewed time. Like Andy, Discord has lost her immortality and she wants it back. If that meant kidnapping Andy's team and manipulating Nile into taking the others immortality to give to her, then that was what Discord was willing to do.

As an antagonist, Discord certainly had potential and I'm all for this current career Renaissance that Uma Thurman's undergoing but she's also a fairly underdeveloped villain with this movie deliberately ending on a cliffhanger. Saying that the scenes she shared with Charlize Theron and Kiki Layne are actually some of the best in the movie.

Getting back to the cliffhanger part of things, I did like that a team up was formed with Andy and Quỳnh. It's even more amusing that neither one was willing to submit to the other but Quỳnh did seem to be on better terms with Andy than she was when they first interacted here.

- There's a decent supporting role for Henry Golding as Hang Tuah.

- Nicky and Joe seemed to be at odds with one another at the start of the movie. Nile is the last immortal and can take others immortality. Discord was the first immortal.

- Quỳnh was trapped in an iron maiden underwater for five hundred years. No wonder she was pissed that Andy didn't find her.

- Chronology: Six months from the first movie. Locations included Paris, Seoul, Rimini, Rome and South Tangerang.

I actually thought for the most part, The Old Guard 2 made for an okay sequel. Saying that, the third act was rushed, the cliffhanger was frustrating and some of the characters weren't as well developed this time around. Will it get a third? If so, let's hope for a satisfying conclusion.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Anastasia (1997)

 

Written by Susan Gauthier And Bruce Graham And Bob Tzudiker And Noni White

Directed by Don Bluth And Gary Goldman

Anastasia: "Yes, let this be a sign, / Let this road be mine, / Let it lead me to my past, / And bring me home - at last!"

When is a Disney movie not a Disney movie but still has all the trappings of a Disney movie? Well, when it's this one I guess. For years, I genuinely thought this was a Disney movie. Of course I was wrong. 

However like any Disney movie playing around with a historical character, this isn't a movie where accuracy was priority of the day. Nope, it's a very creative liberty taking version of what happened to the Romanov princess. Basically not the sort of thing that will please history buffs.

Taking some inspiration from Sleeping Beauty, an embittered Rasputin (Christopher Lloyd) decided to put a curse on the Romanov family. Shortly afterwards, that fateful night came to play and a young Anastasia (Kristin Dunst) barely managed to escape with her grandmother, Maria Feodorovna (Angela Lansbury) as Rasputin fell to an icy death.

Fast forward a decade later and an older Anastasia (Meg Ryan) had no recollection of her former life but soon found herself in a scheme with handsome cob man Dimitri (John Cusack) and Vladimir (Kelsey Grammer) in order to make some money. All Anya had to do was pretend to be the lost Princess Anastasia.

During the movie, we went through the classic romantic tropes between Anya and Dimitri. Their constant bickering evolved into a mutual attraction that was then threatened when Dimitri realised that Anya really was Anastasia. Oh and there was the return of rotting corpse Rasputin and his exasperated albino bat companion, Bartok (Hank Azaria).

A slight minus with this movie would be that Anastasia's reunions with both her grandmother and Rasputin are somewhat rushed and needed a little more breathing between them. Rasputin himself was given a very rushed comeuppance while Anastasia and Dimitri also speedily ended the movie by eloping.

- Other voice actors for Anastasia included Lacey Chabert and Liz Callaway.

- Anya took on a cute little dog named Pooka, who was responsible for giving her a sign.

- In real life, there were rumours of Anastasia surviving but the women who claimed to be her were debunked.

- Despite not being a Disney movie, you can actually watch the movie these days on Disney+.

- Standout music: Journey To The Past, Once Upon A December, In The Dark Of The Night and At The Beginning.

- Chronology: 1916, Saint Petersburg, Russia before moving a decade later to the Soviet Union and Paris.

If you're looking for historical accuracy, then Anastasia definitely will not be the movie for you. If you're looking for the Disney esque fairytale version, then there's plenty to enjoy here. It's a pretty entertaining movie overall.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Before I Wake (2016)

 

Written by Mike Flanagan And Jeff Howard

Directed by Mike Flanagan 

Jessie: "No one ever really goes away. Not completely. Because they live in our minds, and in our hearts."

Okay, it's a little crazy to think that in 2016, Mike Flanagan released three movies within the horror genre. I've already reviewed both Ouija: Origin Of Evil and Hush, so I just had this one to watch and review.

Focusing on a grieving married couple - Jessie (Kate Bosworth) and Mark Hobson (Thomas Jane), this movie had something to say about how not letting go of your grief can nearly destroy you. Jessie and Mark lost their son, Sean (Antonio Evan Romero) in a tragic accident. It's deeply affected them ever since.

To cope with their loss, they've decided to foster a boy named Cody Morgan (Jacob Tremblay), signed off by Natalie Friedman (Annabeth Gish). So far it seemed that taking Cody in was a way to help both Cody and the Hobsons cone to terms with their grief. On paper it looked like a potential good thing.

Then it transpired that Cody had a rather unique ability. His dreams could come to life and that came with mixed results. He could dream of butterflies but he could also dream of scary monsters. He could also dream of the dead and that's where Jessie's morality became rather compromised. 

Jessie seemed to have no problem with manipulating Cody into dreaming about Sean and even resorting to drugging him when he couldn't sleep. The consequences resulting in Mark's death, Jessie looking bad and Cody being taken by social services. 

The last act of the movie did introduce a former foster parent, Whelan Young (Dash Mihok) and had Jessie in a compromising position. Would she really kill Cody in order to stop the Canker Man (Topher Bousquet) or would she unlock memories of Cody's mother to save the day? Take a wild guess here.

- The only Flanagan released movie in 2016 not to feature Kate Siegel at all.

- The original title for the movie was supposed to be Somnia. I would've preferred that title.

- Jessie and Mark are seen watching House On Haunted Hill (1959) at one point in the movie.

- Chronology: Present day America. It was filmed in late 2013, Fair hope, Alabama.

Out of the 2016 movies that Mike Flanagan had, I might go against the grain and say that I found Before I Wake the weakest of the bunch. Saying that, it's still a pretty solid movie with a nice story and some good jump scares.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of The Wicker Man (2006)

 

Written And Directed by Neil LaBute

Edward (to the cult): "THIS IS MURDER! *MURDER!* YOU'LL ALL BE *GUILTY!* AND YOU'RE DOING IT FOR *NOTHING!* KILLING ME WON'T BRING BACK YOUR GODDAMN HONEY!"

Well I watched the original movie and I really enjoyed it. I watched the sequel and found it out. I had to go and watch this American remake and I didn't care for it.

Now I'm generally a fan of Nicolas Cage but I think we can all admit that every now and then he ends up starring in a right stinker or two. This would be one of those stinkers in a row that's he's absolutely miscast in.

Taking on the role of a policeman named Edward Malus, we had our soon to be unlucky protagonist reunite with ex-fiancee Willow Woodward (Kate Beahan). Their daughter, Rowan (Erika Shay Gair) has gone missing in an island of Neo Pagans. They're not a helpful bunch.

In fact, they pretty go out of their way to be as obstructive as humanly possible. The teacher, Sister Rose (Molly Parker) went out of her way to deny Rowan's existence and other characters like Sister Honey (Leelee Sobieski), Dr T.H. Moss (Frances Conroy) and Sister Beech (Diane Delano) aren't any better either.

I mean the movie does play out like the original but it's an American setting, Rowan's the daughter of Edward and the villagers who are predominantly women believe that sacrificing Edward will save their honey. They're led by Sister Summersisle (Ellen Burstyn) and of course she's also Willow's mother and Rowan's grandmother.

Edward never really stood a chance and it did feel like this movie tried to up his suffering before he was burned alive compared to his 1973 counterpart. That doesn't however make this a more compelling version. In fact, it's the exact opposite.

- This film got five Raspberry nominations but managed not to win a single one of them.

- This movie's so bad that even Robin Hardy had his name removed from the credits.

- Standout music: Paescod's Carnival Of Bones.

- Chronology: 2006 in an island off the coast of Washington. Sister Summerisisle's name is a reference to the location in the original movie.

One of the worst remakes, I've ever watched. This version of The Wicker Man was excruciating from start to finish with Nicolas Cage delivering a genuinely awful performance. Just don't bother.

Rating: 3 out of 10 

My Review of Conversations With Friends (RTE/BBC/Hulu Miniseries, 2022)

 

Written by Alice Birch And Mark O'Halloran And Meadhbh McHugh And Susan Soon He Stanton

Directed by Lenny Abrahamson And Leanne Welham

Frances (to Bobbi): "Who knows what happens with two people when they're alone?"

Following my catch up with Normal People, of course I had to watch Conversations With Friends for the first time. It's funny that this came first in terms of source material but second in terms of adapttions.

With the focus on one couple last time around, this time there's two couple who made up the focus here. Well, one of them being a former couple between bisexual writer, Frances Flynn (Alison Oliver) and her lesbian ex-girlfriend, Bobbi Connelly (Sasha Lane). They like to recite feminist slams for anyone who'll listen.

In terms of people listening to their writing, there was essayist Melissa Baines (Jemima Kirke) and her actor husband, Nick Conway (Joe Alwyn). It didn't take long for both Frances and Bobbi to get involved with the pair. Two arguably more so.

Yes, there's an affair that kicked off instantly between Frances and Nick and it pretty much made up the main storyline of this twelve part miniseries. Needless to say that it's an affair that also impacted both Melissa and Bobbi who had their own side flirtation going on.

Frances and Nick's affair was definitely frustrating and at times, didn't portray either character in a positive light. By the end of the series, it felt like the slightly toxic cycle they created was going to further continue when it really should've stopped. It doesn't help that the show never really gave a compelling reason for them to be together as a couple.

Most of Frances's better stories came through her health issues, examining her former relationship with Bobbi and her turbulent family life. In particular her relationship with alcoholic father, Dennis (Tommy Tiernan) could've done with more focus along with Frances's writing.

While Frances was the character with the most focus here, there was some sympathy afforded to Nick, Bobbi and Melissa at times. There's a great phone conversation between Frances and Melissa in the finale and another conversation in a pub with Nick that touched on his mental state. Saying that, despite there being four leads, it really did feel like Frances's story for the most part.

- There's a nice supporting role from Kerry Fox as Melissa's agent, Valerie Taylor-Gates. I liked that she called Frances out as well on her writing.

- Unlike Normal People, Sally Rooney didn't write any of the episodes for this adaptation.

- Standout music: Cyril Morin & Eric Gourlain's Raindrop, James Blake's Atmosphere, Mitski's First Love/Late Spring, Roxy Music's More Than This and Wyvern Lingo Feat. Loah's version of Just A Girl.

- Chronology: Mainly set in Dublin, though two episodes are in Croatia during a celebration of Melissa's book.

While it doesn't quite hit the same way as it's predecessor, I actually think there's enough to engage in when watching Conversations With Friends. It can be a bit frustrating in parts but it's certainly worth the watch and the four leads do a good job with their characters.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

New York Calling Again

As usual, it's been a while since I've done this but a brief look into some of the shows I've been watching over the last few weeks.

And Just Like That: I often wonder why I keep watching this show because even with certain character exits and guests like Rosie O'Donnell and Patti Lupone, this show has remained a train wreck. Carrie and Aidan haven't progressed as a couple, Charlotte's story with Harry should've been taken more seriously and it's early days with Miranda and Joy. The subplots that other characters have had are a mixed bag but overall, it's been another uneven season so far.

Dexter: Resurrection: It was only a few months ago this franchise was getting back on track with prequel show Dexter: Original Sin. The first two episodes of this sequel series certainly glossed some obstacles from Dexter: New Blood while also setting up a whole new playground for both Dexter and Harrison. There was a lot fan pleasing cameos in the first episode, Angel's now in the same boat that Doakes/LaGuerta once were, Dexter's made a new friend with Blessing and his family, Harrison's developing his own code and Uma Thurman's Charley is involved with other serial killers. It's off to a strong start tbh.

Ironheart: I had such mixed feelings about this show. I didn't particularly care for the title character in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and I did think it was a MCU show that we didn't need. Saying that, it's mostly an okay show that served as a good place to have Riri Williams get her own suit, work through the grief of losing her best friend while also introducing Sacha Baron Cohen's Mephisto in the finale. The stories with both The Hood and Ezekiel Stane were a bit uneven but in general, it's not a bad show.

Poker Face: I have loved this second season and it's done a great job with its guest cast. It's also done a great job in setting up the seemingly sweet and innocent Alex into Charlie's intellectual nemesis. It's only taken the show two seasons to give Charlie her own Moriarty but they did it and perfectly with this particular character. We also got a cliffhanger ending for Alex or did we? Oh we're definitely getting that character if the show returns for a third season.

Sirens: Netflix and Greek mythology themed shows again. Less than a year after the short-lived Kaos, there's this five part series, centred on sisters Simone and Devon and the former's enigmatic boss, Mikaela. It's a show that revelled in it's opulence, was more subtle in the actual sirens part and had some solid performances from Milly Alcock, Meghann Fahy and Julianne Moore. Oh and Kevin Bacon certainly had his moments too. Not the best Netflix series this year but with five episodes, it certainly didn't outstay it's welcome.

The Bear: I watched the fourth season in two days and mostly, I did like it. Not as much as the first two seasons but more than the previous one. The fourth and seventh episodes in particular were highlights. The former focused on Sydney spending time with her cousin and the latter's daughter. The latter episode being a big wedding one with the most amount of guest stars, including Brie Larson as Francine, the much hated rival of Sugar's. Carmy got some interesting scenes with Claire, Donna, Sydney, Richie and Sugar this season but there's a repetitiveness with the restaurant being in trouble that I wish the show would move past.

• Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Richard Madden and Marcia Gay Harden will be regulars for upcoming Netflix series, Trinity.
• Murderbot has been renewed for a second season by AppleTV+
• ABC have commissioned a new series of Scrubs for the Fall schedule. 
• HBO Max have cancelled Duster after one season.
• Stranger Things fifth season will be released on Netflix November 26th, December 25th and 31st respectively.
• HBO Max have ordered to series Stuart Fails To Save The Universe, the latest spin off from The Big Bang Theory.
• Queer Eye will end with it's upcoming tenth season on Netflix.
• Virgin River has been renewed for an eighth season on Netflix.
• Filming for The Boys final season has wrapped. Amazon will release it in 2026.
• Filming for third season of Interview With The Vampire has started. It'll air on AMC in 2026.
• Devil In Disguise: John Wayne Gacy will be released on Peacock from October 16th.
• Slow Horses has been renewed for a seventh season by AppleTV+
• Season 4 of Monster will focus on Lizzie Borden. The Ed Gein season will be released on Netflix later this year.

My Review of Superman (2025)

 

Written And Directed by James Gunn

Lex Luthor: "Super... man... he's not a man. He's an it... that's somehow become the focal point of the entire world's conversation. I will not... accept that."

Since December 2022, has there been a movie with such a target on it's back? You've got two different types of fandoms actively rooting for it's failure while DC fans have been wondering if this can truly get the DCU off to a positive start.

There's no denying that James Gunn has become something of an increasingly divisive figure within the fandom and media circles alike. He's done the more adult DC content with The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker and Creature Commandos, but can he make that family friendly transfer with Superman? Well, this was quite the attempt.

The movie started with our titular hero (David Corenswet) in the Arctic badly wounded with an overly playful Krypto not helping the matter. Of course the robots, a message from Jor-El (Bradley Cooper) and Lara (Angela Sarafyan) and some sun and he's 83% ready to do further battle with the Hammer of Boravia yet again.

Yes, the Hammer's our opening threat but he's one being controlled by Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) and team while right hand woman, The Engineer (Maria Gabriela de Faria) located the Fortress of Solitude. Within the first half hour of this movie, a lot comes into play.

First of all, there's Superman's interference in the conflict between fictional countries, Jarhanpur and Boravia with sympathy on the former as the latter's president, Vasil Ghurkos (Zlatko Buric) was revealed to be in league with Luthor. Lex of course has an interest in both countries while also going out of his way to destroy Superman in every key aspect.

Then we had a battle with Kaiju and Justice Gang - Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) where Superman's reputation was tarnished when it was revealed that his parents intended him to be a conqueror. Then Lex got to send him to a pocket dimension with Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan) being forced to make kryptonite to keep him under control.

Fortunately for Superman, he had Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) in his corner and when she wasn't doing interviews grilling Superman's impulsivity, she was teaming up with Mister Terrific to rescue him. Out of the Justice Gang, it's not hard to see why Mister Terrific has emerged as a new fan favourite character. Throughout the movie, he certainly lived up to his monicker.

That's not to say that Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl and Metamorpho didn't have their moments because they certainly did. Especially in the third act when Lex had no problem nearly tearing Metropolis apart with a black hole while The Engineer and Ultraman (actually the Hammer of Boravia from earlier) tried to take out Superman. They nearly got close to succeeding as well.

If you're a comic book fan, you'll know that Ultraman was a clone of Superman and this one was a dumber version with messy hair. I don't think either The Engineer or Ultraman were that compelling as villains but they made for decent physical threats. Lex on the other hand was a true monster, even down to his treatment of current girlfriend, Eve Teschmacher (Sara Sampaio) and the unfortunate Malik. Nicholas Hoult was so good at making this Lex an effective if petulant foil to Superman.

Speaking of civilian characters, I found Eve's subplot with Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo) rather amusing. Jimmy's the only Daily Planet member who did anything while Perry White (Wendell Pierce), Cat Grant (Mikaela Hoover), Steve Lombard (Beck Bennett) and Ron Troupe (Christopher MacDonald) seemed to be there to make up the numbers. 

Then there's the Kents themselves - Jonathan (Pruitt Taylor Vince) and Martha (Neva Howell). They're a bit more country bumpkin than I expected but they're so very endearing. In particular, there's an absolutely beautiful exchange between Clark and Jonathan that tugged at the heartstrings. Both actors are well cast and make the most of their small screen time.

Last but not least, the romance between Superman/Clark Kent and Lois Lane. David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan absolutely sold it to perfection. It's a very modern take on the iconic romance but still felt familiar as well. The two of them are incredible together and I wouldn't be surprised if this movie propels them into the big league, career wise. 

- The credit scenes include a sweet one with Superman/Krypto and a funny one with Superman/Mister Terrific.

- Other appearances in this movie included Supergirl (Milly Alcock) who reclaimed Krypto. There was also Rick Flag Sr (Frank Grillo), Peacemaker (John Cena), Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn), Otis Berg (Terence Rosemore), Sydney Happerson (Stephen Blackeheart) and Flo Crawley (Tinashe Kajese-Bolden).

- Maxwell's company, LordTech sponsored the Justice Gang. He's also not a fan of Lex Luthor.

- Yes, there's voice over roles for the likes of Alan Tudyk, Jennifer Holland, Michael Rosenbaum, Michael Rooker and Pom Klementieff along with Will Reeve on screen.

- Standout music: The score music from John Murphy and Dave Fleming is superb but of course there's the use of 5 Years Time by Noah And The Whale in one particular scene that stood out. Oh and Iggy Pop's Punk Rocker at the end.

- Chronology: Metahumans have been around for 3000 years, Clark Kent is thirty years old and has been Superman for three years. He's been dating Lois for three months.

Superman had so much riding on it as a real test for the DCU and so far, it might just pass that test. It's got it's flaws such as pacing issues and some of James Gunn's usual writing ticks that don't always land. It also had a lot of heart, an array of fantastic performances, hints of an expansive universe and the bundle of terrible joy that was Krypto. So far, my favourite blockbuster movie of 2025.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of Normal People (RTE/BBC/Hulu Miniseries, 2020)

 

Written by Sally Rooney And Alice Birch And Mark O'Rowe

Directed by Lenny Abrahamson And Hettie MacDonald 

Marianne (to Connell): "It was different with you. I didn't have to play any games, it was real. I would've done anything you wanted me to. Anyways, how are you?"

Has it been five years since this miniseries first aired? Yes, it has. Am I only catching up with it now? Sort of. I did watch most of it when it first aired but earlier this week, I went back to give a proper watch of the show overall.

In the space of twelve half hour episodes, it's little wonder this show managed to propel both stars Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones the way it did. They're absolutely incredible throughout this whole show.

Mescal took on the role of the popular GAA playing Connell Waldron while Edgar-Jones was social outcast Marianne Sheridan. Despite the varying odds that seemed to be against, both leads found themselves drawn to each other, both through their school days and their journeys into adulthood.

The first three episodes focused on the school days side of things. Connell's mother, Lorraine (Sarah Greene) worked for Marianne's mother, Denise (Aislín McGuckin). There's a noteworthy contrast in how both Lorraine and Denise treat their respective children and there's a contrast in how Connell and Marianne are generally treated by others.

Marianne in particular did spend the majority of this miniseries being mistreated by everyone. Her own brother, Alan (Frank Blake) openly despised, classmates in her school repeatedly mocked her and outside of Connell, all of her boyfriends were horrible to her.

The boyfriends in question being the pretentious Gareth (Sebastian de Souza) along with abusive ones like Jamie (Fionn O'Shea) and Lukas (Lancelot Ncube). There's an attempt to explore BDSM through Marianne's lack of self worth and then there's the contrast with Connell as well.

Connell on the other hand had other relationships with girls like Rachel (Leah McNamara) and Helen (Aoife Hinds) as well as friends like Rob (Éanna Hardwicke) and Niall (Desmond Eastwood) at different points in the show. Still, it's his relationship with Marianne that was the driving force of this whole thing.

The chemistry between Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones is undeniably good. It's easy to see why Connell and Marianne, even when partnered with other people are so drawn to one another. It's a constant pull and push with certain things separating them. This didn't change by the finale but things ended on a note that could be inferred as optimistic nonetheless.

- Sally Rooney who wrote the source material also wrote/co-wrote the first six episodes. 

- Normal People was Rooney's second book but the first to be adapted into a miniseries. Her first book, Conversations With Friends was adapted after this, also as a miniseries.

- Marianne's only positive friend was Joanna (Eliot Salt). Peggy (India Mullen), not so much.

- I have to single the tenth episode out as a brilliant look into male mental health with Connell's session with therapist, Gillian (Noma Dumezweni). Amazing stuff.

- Standout music: Anna Mieke's Warped Windows, Yazoo's Only You, The Sei's Metrona, Nerina Pallot's Love Will Tear Us Apart and Goldmund's Sometimes.

- Chronology: Several years passed throughout the twelve episodes with Connell and Marianne in Sligo, Dublin, Italy and Sweden. Connell also got a chance to study in New York.

Now that I've properly watched it, I really do have to admit that Normal People was an incredible. Star making roles for Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones to one side, you had a beautifully complex relationship between Connell and Marianne that took many twists and turns. An exceptional miniseries.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of M3GAN 2.0 (2025)

 

Written by Gerard Johnstone And Akela Cooper

Directed by Gerald Johnstone 

Cady (re M3GAN): "Everyone deserves a second chance."

Two and a half years ago, homicidal android M3GAN (Amie Donald/Jenna Davis) became an overnight sensation. Surely, the sequel was going to propel her to even greater heights. As it would turn out, the opposite would be true.

Going down a route not dissimilar to Terminator, this sequel also had a lot to say about the rise in AI but none of it particularly original so to speak. Oh and there's another killer android, this one named AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno). She's also one of the drawbacks of this sequel.

Let's just say the government had access to M3GAN's schematics and thought they could replicate the idea and keep it under control. That illusion quickly got shattered when AMELIA went off script pretty fast and soon, a lot of people had a target on their backs.

One of them was assumed to be Gemma (Allison Williams), the creator of M3GAN. Since the first movie, she's faced consequences for her creation's killing spree, become something of an advocate/celebrity while also still struggling to connect with her niece, Cady (Violet McGraw). Cady's also taken up self defence and has become increasingly intolerant of Gemma's evasiveness concerning important issues.

AMELIA's arrival however did force Gemma into reluctantly teaming up with M3GAN in order to stop AMELIA and it's a diverting enough journey. Between Gemma and Cady learning to lean on each to Gemma's co-workers, Cole (Brian Jordan Alvarez) and Tess (Jen Van Eps) getting suckered into the thick of things, who would've thought the villain would be more on the anti AI side of things? You heard correctly.

With M3GAN being a chaotic source for good this time with a fairly decent character arc and AMELIA being more of a useful idiot, it's really anti AI cyber security guy, Christian Bradley (Aristotle Athari) to assume the big bad role. Sadly he's a very flat and unengaging to watch as a character that even his comeuppance wasn't that satisfying to watch.

- There's a decent supporting role from Jemaine Clement as tech billionaire, Alton Appleton. M3GAN got temporarily placed in the body of small robot, Moxie (Fryda Wolff).

- The end credits did say "This work may not be trained to use AI".

- Standout music: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard's Mars for The Rich.

- Chronology: Two years have passed since the events of the first movie.

M3GAN 2.0 on paper seemed like it had the right idea to land a successful sequel and the ideas are good on paper. The execution's largely flat as are the villains of the piece. M3GAN kind of worked as an anti hero and this movie did set up another sequel that's not likely to materialise anytime soon.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of The Serpent And The Rainbow (1988)

 

Written by Richard Maxwell And A.R. Simoun

Directed by Wes Craven

Peytraud: "You've got a pretty face. The girls must like it. Do you like it, your pretty white face? I asked you a question."

Dennis: "...Yeah... I like it..."

Peytraud: "I like it too. I'll leave the face..."

A while back I decided to watch more movies directed by Wes Craven and I've been watching a few of them. Last night, this one was a first viewing for me. I gotta say, it's a bit of a doozy.

Largely set in Haiti, the movie started with the death of a man named Christophe (Conrad Roberts). Then he's buried and then he wakes up in his own coffin. It certainly got the movie off to one hell of a start. It's not even the strangest thing to happen here.

Focusing on another male character - an American doctor named Dennis Alan (Bill Pullman), who finds himself in the same village as Christophe and soon enough, he's making friends and enemies respectively. On the friends front, there was Dr Marielle Duchamp (Cathy Tyson). She was one of the few characters who didn't either threaten, drug or attempt to kill him.

Yes, Dennis drank a potion and with that potion came some pretty unsettling hallucinations, including being dragged into the ground and attacked by snakes. On the other hand, the reality wasn't much better with certain characters going out of their way to make his life a living Hell.

There was being tortured by Captain Dargent Peytraud (Zakes Mokae) and having been sold rat poison by Mozart (Brent Jennings). Add a potential framed for murder scenario and even Dennis was desperate to get out of Haiti pretty fast after all of that.

The rest of the film has Dennis return to Haiti, wind up being buried alive, having his soul taken and then using white magic to ultimately defeat Peytraud. By doing that, Dennis did mange to free a village of an evil grasp.

- There's a a nice supporting role from Michael Gough as Dr. Earl "Schoonie" Schoonbacher.

- Based on the book of the same name by Wade Davis, which was critiqued for scientific inaccuracies.

- Standout music: Le Roi Coupe Cloue's Madame Marcel.

- Chronology: Started in 1978 before moving into 1985. Mostly set in Haiti with some scenes in Boston.

I think The Serpent And The Rainbow might be an odd one for me. I didn't love it but I was intrigued by it as well. I think it's mostly an okay but strange take on zombies and voodoo.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Absentia (2011)

 

Written And Directed by Mike Flanagan

Tricia (to Callie): "Don't underestimate the attraction of oblivion. Not until you've lived a little longer."

Long before the days he hit the heights of his Netflix shows or made a well received sequel to The Shining, Mike Flanagan had to have his first movie get the crowdfunding treatment. It was his debut and it's one that's not lacking in premise.

The premise involving a pregnant woman named Tricia Riley (Courtney Bell) having to legally declare her missing husband, Daniel (Morgan Peter Brown) dead in absentia. Of course this wouldn't be the only thing that Tricia would have to deal with here.

There was the return of her younger sister, Callie Russel (Katie Parker). A former addict, Callie was there to be a support system for her pregnant sister but Callie seeing things that seemingly weren't there somewhat put her at odds with Tricia. Funnily enough, Tricia was also seeing things that weren't there.

With Callie, she encountered another missing man named Walter Lambert (Doug Jones). His son, Jamie (James Flanagan) would later get accused of being a killer, having fed dogs to his own father but of course there was more to it than that.

For example, Tricia's romance with Detective Mallory (Dave Levine) got derailed when Daniel actually returned but even his return was short-lived. Tricia was resentful towards him being back and Callie realised that the tunnels were behind several disappearances in the last century.

The ending was something of a downbeat one. Tricia ended up disappearing first and when Callie tried to make a sacrifice to get her sister back, she disappeared too. The end scene likely set up a future disappearance for other characters.

- Courtney Bell, who played Tricia was Mike Flanagan's partner at the time. She'd also appear in Oculus and Before I Wake. Mike's brother James appeared as Jamie.

- It's an updated version of Three Billy Goats Gruff. Callie's also reading a comic book version of a Stephen King novel.

- Standout music: Beezle's Bleed With Me.

- Chronology: Seven years had passed in Glendale since the dusappearance of Daniel Riley.

While not a personal favourite of mine, I can see the influences that Absentia would have on Mike Flanagan's work as a horror writer and director. It's a good debut, playing well into the notion of hidden monsters and other worlds that people could be tormented in. The sister dynamic with Tricia and Callie did hold it together.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of The Sandman: "Family Blood"

 

Written by Jim Campolongo

Directed by Jamie Childs 

Dream: "What is it that you want?"

Johanna: "Perhaps a bit more time with Orpheus."

As always if there's a Constantine in the mix, my interest will increase for this show. We might not have John, but we can have Lady Johanna Constantine (Jenna Coleman) and she's just as much as fun as her male counterpart/descendant.

It had been five years since Lady Johanna had encountered Dream and Hob Gadling and since then, she's made herself into quite the occult expert. That alone had Dream seek her out for a very special task. Johanna was going to recover the head of Dream's son, Orpheus. It didn't take much to persuade Johanna to embark on such a dangerous mission.

In fact, aside from Dream promising Johanna anything within his mind, the element of danger alone seemed to excite Johanna. It also didn't take her long to find Orpheus's head and attract the attention of Maximilien Robespierre (Jonathan Slinger). Robespierre was a bit too overeager to make an example out of Johanna. 

Instead both Johanna and Orpheus made quite a team together and managed to bring about the downfall of Robespierre. I really liked the Johanna/Orpheus rapport and she seemed to be something of a bridging between Orpheus and Dream.  There's a father/son reunion that came with deadly consequences. 

The previous episode made a thing about Dream not being allowed to spill family blood. Dream broke that rule when gave Orpheus exactly what the latter wanted. The Kindly Ones in particular were very interested in the consequences of Dream's mercy killing of his son. It was a great way to set up the second half of the season.

As for family reunions, we had some great scenes with Dream, Delirium and Destruction. Of course Destruction didn't want to return but at least Delirium got some closure of her own and a friend of sorts with Barnabus to measure. Delirium seemed pretty happy with that outcome.

- Johanna figured out for herself that Morpheus was the King of Dreams. 

- Out of the Kindly Ones, it was the Crone who seemed the least compassionate towards Dream killing Orpheus.

- Destruction prepared a meal that neither Dream or Delirium were interested in eating.

- Was that a laughing magician reference during Johanna's captivity in Robespierre's cell? She did laugh manically at one point.

- The next five episodes of the season will be released on Netflix from July 24th.

- Chronology: Wych Cross, England - June 28th 1794, then heading to Paris before going elsewhere to keep Orpheus's head safe.

Family Blood was another delightful episode. The resolution of the Orpheus storyline that now has led into a bigger one for the second half of the season. The reunion with Destruction. The welcomed return of Lady Johanna Constantine and her scenes with both father and son. Excellent stuff.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of The Sandman: "The Song Of Orpheus"

 

Written by Shadi Petosky

Directed by Jamie Childs

Dream: "You've made your choice. Just as your life is your own, so too is your death. Farewell my son, we shall not meet again."

Orpheus: "Please kill me."

Well, this was even more brutal than the previous episode. I mean, there's three big stories here and they all connected rather well to each other. Let's focus on the big one first.

First of all, there was introduction of Dream and Calliope's son, Orpheus (Ruari O'Connor). He's been having sone dreams of future events that he's chosen to ignore. Mostly because he's been distracted by his upcoming nuptials to Eurydice (Ella Rumpf) to focus on the grave warning. 

The wedding almost went without a hitch. All of the Endless attended and offered nice platitudes for the happy couple, except for Destiny. Then the death of Eurydice happened and it sent Orpheus on a very desperate path to get his beloved back.

Dream essentially warned Orpheus not to venture into the Underworld to retrieve his love but the latter persuaded Destruction and Death to help him. Orpheus persuaded Hades (Garry Cooper) and Persephone (Antonia Desplat) to give him back Eurydice. However as the story went, Orpheus couldn't follow the conditions to the letter, lost his head and Dream refused to kill him.

The Dream/Orpheus plot was by far the strongest but it was a strong plot in a sea of many. Dream realised his antics had gotten Wanda killed and he did a nice thing by making sure her grave was marked with her chosen name. Wanda in particular had a rather beautiful scene with Death that gave the character some closure.

As for Delirium, I think she forgave Dream rather too easily after the shit he pulled but I did love their scenes together and with Destiny. The latter was almost helpful in his own way with Dream and Delirium. He probably could've been a bit more helpful though.

- Delirium mentioned being married once when talking to Orpheus and Eurydice. 

- What Orpheus lacks in the dancing department, he made up in the singing one. The Kindly Ones on the other didn't care for it.

- Dream and Calliope were effectively divorced in this episode. Dream also saw another side to Nada during one particular scene.

- Orpheus referred to all of his aunts and uncles by different names. Death's realm is also rather messy.

- What Wanda's family did to her was rather disrespectful to her. In the source material, Barbie had a role in this story but was absent from here.

- Chronology: There was a flashback between Draam and Destruction in 1675 London as well as Ancient Greece.

I absolutely loved The Song Of Orpheus. The longest episode of the season  and the best one so far. Just brilliant from start to finish with a great guest performance from Ruari O'Connor to boot. 

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of The Sandman: "Brief Lives"

 

Written by Austin Guzman

Directed by Jamie Childs

Wanda (to Dream/Delirium): "I miss my books. They were my companions. I was obsessed with the Oz books when I was growing up."

Okay, if I had to cite a stunning guest performance for this season so far, then my God, I have to give it to Indya Moore. I mean, in the space of a few scenes she did an incredible job of making me fall in love with Wanda and then there was those last scenes. They were just devastating.

We all know that Dream can be a massive dick but in this episode, he really did manage to outdo himself here. All Delirium wanted was to find Destruction. Dream was more interested in stalking Nada than help his sister out.

Worse than that, Dream knew that "helping" Delirium to try and find Destruction would lead to others being killed but still went along with it. It might not be often that Desire will get the moral highground but their rage at Dream by the end of this episode was totally justified. It was also the first time that Desire showed genuine disgust in Dream's actions.

Getting back to the casualties, Wanda sadly fell into the "Bury Your Gays" trope or in this case, trans. There's a lovely scene where Wanda filled both Dream and Delirium in about being trans while trying to help them go through Destruction's list of contacts. I know her death happened in the comics but it still devastating to watch nonetheless.

As for the other casualties, Death was there to comfort Wyvern (Nonso Anozie) after his long life came to a crashing end. Then there was Ishtar (Amber Rose Revah) herself. Her scenes with Dream showed that he ruined her relationship with Destruction. We had too little screen time with her but she made a solid impression before her demise.

Last but not least, when we weren't getting the rapport between Dream and Delirium, there was Destruction himself. Barry Sloane is a beautiful man, I cannot lie and it was nice to finally meet the character. In his short scenes, we did see Destruction interacting with talking dog, Barnabus (Steve Coogan) while doing a spot of painting. God, he's a handsome fella. 

- Delirium seemed very amused with being apprehended by Martin Tenbones (Lenny Henry). She's also previously met Matthew though it's not happened for him yet.

- Dream bumped into a young woman who resembled Rose Walker but it wasn't her.

- Wanda mentioned Tip/Ozma from the Oz books. Only one live action property had handled that storyline properly, the shortlived NBC series, Emerald City.

- Indya Moore, Steve Coogan and Nonso Anozie have appeared in other DC related projects in the last few years.

- Despair had refused to help Delirium to find Destruction. Despair and Destiny sat this one out.

- Chronology: Outside of the Dreaming, there was a trip to Philadelphia to meet Ishtar.

Brief Lives may have given us brief looks into Destruction, Wanda, Ishtar and Wyvern but the episode certainly packed an emotionally wallop. Wanda especially was fantastic to watch along with that final scene with Dream, Delirium and Desire.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of The Sandman: "More Devils Than Vast Hell Could Hold"

 

Written by Alexander Wise

Directed by Jamie Childs 

Dream: "Perhaps when you have seen the world, you might come back."

Nada: "No, my Lord."

Dream: "But I love you."

Nada: "No, you do not."

At the end of the last episode, Dream had something of a dilemma. He could either surrender Hell to Lord Azazel or the latter would consume Nada's very soul. I said that Azazel would live to regret pulling such a stunt. I was right.

At first, Dream tried to play nonchalant by telling Azazel to wait until tomorrow for his answer. However an illuminating conversation with Nuala seemed to give Dream some clarity on how to deal with his Hell dilemma. Nuala was full of surprises this episode as was another character.

Azazel overplayed his hand by trying to attack Dream in his own realm. Dream punished him appropriately, leaving some room for mercy. I'm not sure I would've extended the same courtesy to Azazel and nor do I think the latter will return the favour should he break free either.

As for Nada, her anger for Dream was beyond justified. He deserved that slap and arguably worse. He deserved her anger and Nada's decision to live in the mortal realm was at least hers to make. However despite wanting space, Dream didn't seem like he was going to respect Nada's wishes on the matter. 

The rest of the episode then gave us more of Nuala and Cluracan. They might not have gotten their wish for Hell to remain unoccupied but Nuala was gifted to Dream and in flashbacks to her first encounter with him, there was a rendition of A Midsummer Night's Dream to fill in done backstory. 

Last but not least, we had Loki pulling a switcheroo. It looked like he was bound and gagged and being dragged by Thor and Odin to go back to his wife but instead, he glamour someone else into having to endure his punishment. He managed to strike a deal with Dream to stay out of his prison but how long before he's caught?

- In flashbacks we met Puck (Jack Gleeson), King Auberon (Royce Pierreson) and Queen Titania (Ruta Gedmintas) as well as a new William Shakespeare (Luke Allen-Gale).

- Nuala dropped her glamour to reveal her Irish accent. Titania had previously disapproved of it.

- Who was Cluracan getting intimately acquainted with? Either way, his antics got on Nuala's nerves.

- Is it me or did Shimmering Jemmy/Chaos look like a mini Harley Quinn?

- Lucifer briefly appeared, now in retirement and not bothered that Dream gave Hell to two of God's angels.

- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off.

More Devils Than Vast Hell Could Hold certainly didn't waste too much time in resolving both the Hell and Nada problems for Dream. They're handled pretty well with both the Nuala and Loki subplots also being quite enjoyable.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of The Sandman: "The Ruler Of Hell"

 

Written by Ameni Rozsa

Directed by Jamie Childs

Dream: "This is your revenge on me."

Lucifer: "Perhaps it will destroy you. Perhaps it won't but I doubt it'll make your life any easier."

Last season, we had the battle of wits and cunning between Dream and Lucifer. If you were expecting Round Two to be as theatrical, you might be disappointed. Dream's second trip to Hell in this show had a far stranger outcome than expected.

As Dream came looking to rescue Nada, Lucifer spent that time evicting everyone out of Hell, including Nada. On top of that, Lucifer was less interested in fighting Dream and more fixated on giving up on Hell altogether. They were done with the place and there wasn't anything that Dream could say otherwise on the matter.

Instead Dream got to cut off Lucifer's wings before the latter handed him the key to Hell. Dream didn't want to rule Hell and Death refused to let him palm the place off on her. Instead, Dream would have to host a lavish banquet that would serve as a decider as to whom should rule Hell instead.

This episode was a way to introduce a lot of new characters,  arguably too many all at once. There was Odin (Clive Russsell) and his sons Thor (Laurence O'Fuarain) and Loki (Freddie Fox), a sea god (Kristofer Kamiyasu), Chaos (Lyla Quinn) herself, as well as fairy siblings Cluracan (Douglas Booth) and Nuala (Ann Skelly). The last two were more keen on Hell remaining unoccupied than ruling it.

Of course the most desperate to get their hands on Hell was Lord Azazel (Wil Coban) himself. He made the most noise about wanting to rule Hell and certainly played the most dirty to get Dream's attention. There was offering Choronzon (Munya Chawawa) as a revenge offering. Then there was using Nada to strong arm Dream into surrending Hell to him.

Personally while it did look like Azazel had the upper hand to begin with, I think using Nada might have brought about his downfall. Dream didn't look best pleased and given how he punished Richard Madoc for mistreating Calliope, I imagine Dream will subject Azazel to a similarly nasty fate for hurting Nada.

- Tom Sturridge's mother, Phoebe Nicholls had a role as Taramis in this episode with them sharing a scene together.

- Dream didn't seem pleased with Odin releasing Loki from prison. Dream also destroyed Thor's hammer.

- Of course Cain's party piece would involve sawing Abel in half and turning him into sausages.

- Cluracan was flirting with men and women in this episode. Seven out of nine fairies usually end up in Hell. Nuala was keen to avoid that.

- Dream confessed to Lucienne he had two candidates in mind to take over Hell but didn't tell her who they were.

- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off.

The Ruler Of Hell offers an abrupt change of direction for Lucifer but within that chaos, it certainly succeeded in putting Dream in such a dire position. It loses points for too many new characters and not enough time to spend with them.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of The Sandman: "Season Of Mists"

 

Written by Allan Heinberg

Directed by Jamie Childs 

Dream: "Walk any path in Destiny's garden and you will be forced to choose."

Has it really nearly been three years since the first season of this show? Yes, it has and a lot has happened since then. We had a shortlived spin off with Dead Boy Detectives and there's no ignoring what's been going on with Neil Gaiman behind the scenes.

Anyways to the opening episode of this final season, we're introduced to Destiny (Adrian Lester). He doesn't waste time in summoning Dream (Tom Sturridge), Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste), Desire (Mason Alexander Park), Despair (Donna Preston) and Delirium (Esme Creed-Miles). Basically, family reunion time.

This lot haven't been together in a realm for a long time and it took very little for Desire to respectively stir the pot. Mostly needling Dream but also managing to annoy other siblings as well. Desire really did push the button, specifically the one called Nada (Umilisa Gahiga). Yes, remember her?

Last time Dream saw her in Hell, he had other things on his mind. Now he was determined to save her but not before filling Death in on his complicated romance with Nada. The latter chose to be tormented in Hell out of guilt. Dream also swore Death into keeping quiet about it. Destiny already knew that Dream was heading to Hell and filled the rest of the siblings in on it too.

Dream seemed to be eager to get his affairs in order. He refused the assistance of Matthew (Patton Oswalt) and put Lucienne (Vivienne Acheampong) in charge of the Dreaming during his absence. Funnily enough, he also admitted to being afraid of Hell.

Of course, Dream had good reason to. Last time he humiliated Lucifer (Gwendoline Christie) and the latter hadn't forgotten that slight. In fact, Lucifer seemed to be delighted with Dream's mission to Hell and had a plan of their own for Dream. It offered a solid cliffhanger to this opening episode.

- Other characters to appear in this episode included Merv Pumpkinhead, Cain, Abel, Goldie,  the Fate Sisters, Hippolyta and baby Daniel and Hob Gadling.

- The missing Endless sibling was Destruction (Barry Sloane) who chose to abandon his siblings ages ago. Delirium and Despair miss him the most.

- Nada was the Queen of the First People and found herself being pressured into finding a husband. Dream proposed to her.

- Desire seemed to enjoy their impact being felt during their time at an art gallery. The butterfly trick was rather cruel.

- The DC Studios logo popped up during the closing credits of this episode. This season has been split into three release patterns from Netflix.

- Chronology: A while since the events of the previous season finale.

Season Of Mists was a good starter for this final season. I enjoyed the siblings get together, the expansion of Dream's history with Nada and his farewell tour of sorts. A very good start.

Rating: 8 out of 10