My Review of House Of The Dragon: "Faceless Men"

 

Written by David Hancock And Shyam Popat

Directed by Loni Peristere 

Oscar: "I made a promise to the dead, Cole. I promised I'd build a sept out of traitors bones. I don't have near enough bones yet."

Much as I do think Fabian Frankel has done a great job with Criston Cole as a character, I've been looking forward to the character's demise. Instead of a heroic blaze of glory, Criston went out in a rather anticlimactic way.

It even happened at the start of the episode. He was surrounded, had Oscar Tully talk about making his bones into a sept while Alysanne Blackwood (Annie Shapero) was the one to kill Criston from afar with arrows. Not exactly the glorious deaths that Criston was hoping for. 

Of course with Criston out of the way, there was more screen time for the rest of the Greens. First of all, I am loving the dynamic that's with Ormund, Daeron and Gwayne. I love that Daeron wants to be a decent person and his conversation with Gwayne reinforced that. Daeron seriously needs to stand up to Ormund.

Then there's Ormund himself. He's certainly threatened by Gwayne's influence on Daeron but had it not been for Gwayne's smart, Ormund would've been a dead man in this episode. Ormund might not like Gwayne but right now, he can't afford to lose him either.

As for the other brothers - I'm also really loving the bond that Aemond has developed with Alys. It's pretty clear that it's going to turn romantic within the last two episodes. Alys absolutely feeds into Aemond's ego and he's letting her do so.

Aegon II on the other hand decided that Essos would be his best bet. It's not something that Tyland agreed with but both him and Larys ended up going along with the idea. This story felt like a means to put Aegon II on pause until next season. Right now, he's the least of Rhaenyra's problems.

The problems kept piling up for Rhaenyra this episode. She had to get stricter with both Alicent and Helaena before sending the former to Harrenhal. On top of that, she was showing herself to be unsympathetic to the small folk. In fact, a certain moment also happened that was expected a few episodes ago.

As for Daemon, he's certainly dealing with the Gold Cloaks problem in the way he best could. I was impressed with the undercover job he did and it was nearly successful until Ulf had to open his big mouth. That's both Rhaenyra and Daemon that Ulf has pissed off these last two episodes.

- Lady Jeyne went that step too far by slapping Rhaena. Why is the latter getting the Meg Griffin treatment this season?

- Baela seemed to be getting close to Addam last episode but closer to Alyn this episode. Alyn gets points for calling out Corlys's hypocrisy.

- Mysaria lied about not knowing of Helaena's pregnancy. I think Rhaenyra picked up on that when she wasn't getting cut by the Iron Throne.

- Alys showed Aemond a batch of dragon eggs while talking of their future prospects.

- The episode ended with Corlys being captured by Jon Roxton. Ormund puked over the sight of blood and practically revealed that Gwayne might be gay.

- Chronology: Not long from where the previous episode left off.

Faceless Men started off a little sluggish but got better as it went along. Criston's death was anticlimactic but made thematic sense and the downfall of Rhaenyra's rule kicked off with this episode. 

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of My Adventures With Superman: "The Ex Games"

 

Written by Sari Cooper 

Directed by Jen Bennett 

Good Lex (re Superman): "Did everyone know this but me? I regret not listening to Superman when I had the chance."

If you ignored the trailer for this episode, I guess it was still a little surprising that it was Mxyzptlk who actually kidnapped Clark, Lois, Jimmy and Kara at the end of the previous episode. His motives though were even more surprising.

It turned out that Mxyzptlk was getting divorced from Ms. Gsptlsnz and the former couple wanted to use our gang, plus their alternatives (swap out Superman for Good Lex) to play a series of games in order to see which imp would comd out on top.

Having the gang face their counterparts was a good way of getting some self reflection. Lois faced up to her own insecurities and there was some further movement on the whole Jimmy/Kara story that's made up their screen time this season.

The most amusing part was seeing Clark and Good Lex interact. The latter's reaction upon realising that Clark was Superman was a highlight in the episode. This episode also seemed to turn a corner on Clark accepting his humanity while using his wits to defeat Mxyptlk for good.

Then there's the last scene. Lois and Clark got a tender moment and it's interrupted by a returning Jon and a young woman. I'm guessing the woman's meant to be Lara Kent but nothing has confirmed that as of yet.

- There was no need for Clark and company to be Baywatch ready but it kind of worked.

- The Cosmic Anvil was a device that both Mxyptlk and Gsptlsnz were competing for in order to reshape the universe.

- The Hell Hippos were more cute than menacing. They did make for good treats.

- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off.

The Ex Games had a good idea and ran with it pretty well. The games were fun, Mxyptlk and his wife made for good antagonists and the last scene was a good set up.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

SDCC 2026: MCU Edition - Avengers: Doomsday, New Movies Announced

San Diego Comic Con has come once again and while I'll be covering the DC content next week, Marvel fans weren't lacking in that department.

To no surprise, there was a large focus on both Spider-Man: Brand New Day (July 31st) and Avengers: Doomsday (December 18th). In fact, the majority of the cast for the latter movie were on stage as was Kevin Feige. Ryan Reynolds also popped up as a grey version of Deadpool and the re-release of Avengers: Endgame will contain an exclusive look at Avengers: Doomsday. Spider-Man: Brand New Day also had exclusive footage shown, involving the Punisher and Incredible Hulk.

Now while I was slightly disappointed we didn't get anything on the X-Men, we did get the announcement of two movies that will be coming out in 2028. First up, there's Ghost Rider with Ryan Gosling in the title role. The movie will be directed by Shawn Levy, who last directed Deadpool & Wolverine. This definitely feels like it's being fast tracked for a summer release. 

Of course the biggest news concerned Black Panther III. Not only was the movie officially dated for December 15th 2028 and Ryan Coogler confirmed to direct but that wasn't the only announcement. David Jonsson was confirmed to be playing an older version of T'Challa and would be assuming the Black Panther mantle along with his aunt Shuri. Letitia Wright was also confirmed to be returning for the film. The film will also be shot on a larger former celluloid film.

Overall, I think this was a good panel. We got two movies announced and more hype for the two that are coming this year.

A Series Of Glorious Failures

It's been a few months since the last TV Jumble Blog and here's a look at some of the things I've been watching over the last while.

Interview With The Vampire: Or as Season 3 was known as The Vampire Lestat. Seven episodes of Sam Reid taking the lead and going all glam rock with Lestat doing a tour with his band. It's a series of mostly good new songs, deep dives into Lestat's past, including his incestrous relationship with his own mother and both him and Louis being on a more even playing field. For the most part, it's a solid season but weaker compared to the first two. Daniel and Armand's arcs are particularly unsatisfying and the Claudia/Regina storyline just seemed like an excuse to bring the actor back. Saying that, the set up for the next arc was good.

Rivals: It was back to 1987 for the second season of this campy series and I had forgotten just how much fun it was to watch. I shouldn't have been shocked that Tony wouldn't be dead and these first six episodes had fun with being alive. Tony took great delight in making Cameron, Declan and Rupert's lives as difficult as possible while he got involved with Declan's wife while his own wife ended up dying. Going the route of so many shows these days, this was a split season with the remaining episodes set to be released in November.

Spider-Noir: I'm not sure if 2026 has been a great year for superhero shows. A few years ago, Nicolas Cage leading a noir themed show as Ben Reilly would've blown up on social media. This year, barely a whimper and that's in spite of having the option to watch it in black and white or colour. The show itself was mostly fine but even I waited over a month to actually watch it. Cage was good in the title role as was Brendan Gleeson as the main antagonist of the piece.

The Bear: Setting the majority of the final season over the course of a night with the restaurant practically collapsing in on itself was certainly a creative choice and all the while everyone finding out that Carmy had quit the business. It made for a stressful time but lead to some really enriching character bits. I can happily say that while the third and fourth seasons had some hit and miss moments, the fifth season was an excellent return to form. The final episode in particular managed to stick the landing.

Widow's Bay: I didn't think this show would be quite the powerhouse for Apple TV as it would turn out to be, but what a pleasant surprise. The first half was a nice set up for the show but the second half ventured into some truly mad places. There was a flashback episode with Hamish Linklater that might be one of the best bits of television this year. Matthew Rhys has had plenty of acclaimed television roles over the last twenty years but this one might be his most definitive yet. It's not hard to see this show has really dominated at the Emmys and why it's got a second season.

• The Baywatch reboot will air on FOX from January 2027. 
• The Beauty will not return for a second season on FX. The actors have been released from their contracts.
• Queen Of The Damned will be the title of the fourth season of Interview With The Vampire.
• Crystal Lake will premiere all eight episodes on Peacock from October 15th.
• Filming has completed on Ryan Coogler's pilot episode for The X-Files, starring Danielle Deadwyler and Himesh Patel. It'll air on Hulu.
• Zosia Mamet has joined the cast of HBO's Industry. The fifth season has gone into production.
• David Tennant, Jodie Whittaker, Nicola Coughlan, Sean Teale and Simone Ashley have joined the sixth season of Only Murders In The Building.
• Carrie will also drop all eight episodes on Amazon Prime from October.
• Francois Arnaud recently joined the cast for Count My Lies. It'll air on Hulu in 2027.
• Disney+ have picked up the zombie themed Afterlife With Archie for a Halloween 2027 release.
• Both Sky and AMC will both air upcoming supernatural drama, Yaga from Crave. The show stars Noah Reid, Carrie-Anne Moss and Hudson Williams.
• The upcoming fifth season of Apple TV's The Morning Show will be it's final season.
• Tom Hardy will continue to be a part of the main cast for Paramount+ show, MobLand for its third season.

My Review of The Odyssey (2026)

 

Written And Directed by Christopher Nolan 

Odysseus: "Don't look for gods in men; you'll always be disappointed."

I intended to watch this movie opening day but things took a turn and in the last few days, I completed my Christopher Nolan rewatch of movies. Now, I've actually caught up with this one, was it worth it? I'd like to think so.

Having Christopher Nolan do an adaptation of Homer's Odyssey wasn't something that I expected and like many, I was concerned that he'd ground some elements too much fof his own good. He kind of did but not really. Perhaps Nolan has realised a little fantastical can be a good thing.

If you're familiar with the story, you've got Odysseus (Matt Damon) who left his kingdom Ithaca abandoned for twenty years, following the Fall of Troy. This left his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) fighting off unwanted admirers such as Antinous (Robert Pattinson) while refusing to accept the possibility of her husband being dead.

Then therss Odysseus's son, Telemachus (Tom Holland). Both him and blind servant, Eamaeus (John Leguizamo) believe in Odysseus being still alive and both were desperate to keep Penelope's unwanted admirers at bay. Telemachus even sought out Sparta King Menelaus (Jon Bernthal) and Helen (Lupita Nyong'o) during the film. 

Of course the film largely focused on Odysseus and his men. There's a good deal of focus on the Fall of Troy and the consequences of that particular action. The death of a soldier named Sinon (Elliot Page) would have quite the impact on Odysseus as would encountering at least three prominent women during his journey to get back home.

Athena (Zendaya) would show up to give Odysseus sage advice that would of course end up becoming true. Circe (Samantha Morton) would take delight in turning Odysseus's men into pigs until Odysseus could persuade her to reverse it and help him. Both Zendaya and Samantha Morton gave some great performances here.

Then there's Calypso (Charlize Theron). She fell in love with Odysseus and kept him tethered to her for seven years. It was her realising they Odysseus loved Penelope more that had her let him go.  Add in some stuff with sirens and a Cyclops and Odysseus had one hell of a journey in getting home.

Having Odysseus taking so long to get home also meant that the movie almost had to wrap up the unwanted admirers and reuniting with Penelope and Telemachus a bit quickly. Antinous was a delightfully snivelling baddie who got one hell of a deserved comeuppance. I really loved Robert Pattinson in this role. 

As for the family reunion, it's a very beautiful moment throughout with Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway and Tom Holland playing out their respective scenes wonderfully. Ithaca ended up with a new ruler and there was a mission of redemption that ended things on a powerful note.

- There's so many support performances to also note from the likes of Mia Goth, Himesh Patel, Corey Hawkins, Travis Scott, Logan Marshall-Green and so on. Lupita Nyong'o also played Helen's sister, Clytemnestra. The latter also murdered her husband, Agamemnon (Benny Safdie).

- I loved the practical effects for the use of the Cyclops. That scene along with the Circe plot really leaned into pure horror.

- Calypso used the lotus flower in order to keep Odysseus around. Then she helped him get back on his journey to go home.

- The idea of Odysseus's dog waiting for him to return home before dying was one of the most touching moments in the movie.

- Standout music: Ludwig Göransson's score was beautiful. James Blake and Travis Scott's When I'm Home was good.

- Chronology: Odysseus was missing for twenty years before he finally returned to Ithaca.

The Odyssey (2026) might be the best summer blockbuster this year. It's by no means perfect but there are so many Standout performances, character moments, showing the power of the gods and of course, the battle sequences themselves. Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Samantha Morton and John Leguizamo were the standouts here.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of The Prestige (2006)

 

Written by Jonathan Nolan And Christopher Nolan 

Directed by Christopher Nolan 

Cutter: "Now you're looking for the secret. But you won't find it because of course, you're not really looking. You don't really want to work it out. You want to be fooled."

The timing of this movie's release couldn't have been more interesting. Imagine being the film that was sandwiched between releases of the first two movies in The Dark Knight trilogy. 

After a grounded take on one of the most popular heroes of all time, I could appreciate a bit of sleight of hand with this film. A tale of two magicians who would take their competitive ambitions to extreme lengths.

The magicians in question were Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale). The former was a bit of an upperclass twit and the latter was more working class. The film saw Alfred on trial for the death of Robert and only former stage engineer John Cutter (Michael Caine) could help him.

The bulk of the movie explored the rivalry between Alfred and Robert in great detail. At one point, they were assistants to Milton the Magician (Ricky Jay). Robert had fallen in love with other assistant Julia McCullough (Piper Perabo) and Alfred inadvertently caused Julia's death.

Julia's death caused one hell of a rivalry between the Alfred and Robert and as both ventured out as solo magicians, both men also fought incredibly dirty in order to ruin one another. Whether it was stealing tricks, assistants like Olivia Wenscombe (Scarlett Johansson), employing the help of Nikola Tesla (David Bowie) or framing each other for murder, there was no line that either man wouldn't cross to get even.

It's an incredibly dirty rivalry with Robert having no problem with raising Alfred's daughter just to punish him further. The final twist in regards to Alfred's fate was an impressive way to end this film.

- Robert was also known as Lord Caldlow and "The Great Danton". Alfred was known as "The Professor" and had a twin brother. The twin loved Olivia while Alfred loved Sarah (Rebecca Hall).

- The movie was based on Christopher Priest's story of the same name. Andy Serkis also appeared as Tesla's assistant.

- Standout music: Keith Nichols Drinkin' Down the Rose & Crown.

- Chronology: It started off in 1890 London.

The Prestige (2006) had plenty of impressive tricks and sleight of hand on display. It's an excellent showcase for both Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman with Michael Caine providing great support for both men. I do think it could've utilised both Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson a little better though.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Memento (2000)

 

Written And Directed by Christopher Nolan 

Leonard: "Now ... where I was?"

After the modest debut of Following (1998), the second directorial outing for Christopher Nolan also played into his love for the non linear. This time with bigger name actors and an American setting of course.

You've got Guy Pearce as Leonard Shelby. He worked in an insurance company where he had been responsible for denying Sammy Jankis (Stephen Tobolowsky) insurance and there was a few backwards conversations with Sammy's wife (Harriet Sansom Harris). Did she really trick her husband into killing her?

An important aspect of this movie was Leonard's memories. Specifically the fact that he was unable to make new ones. This resulted in him taking photographs of various people he's encountered as well as writing things down. There's also flashbacks to his wife, Catherine (Jorja Fox) and her rather brutal death.

Throughout the movie, there's two vital people that Leonard kept encountering and who were rather dubious, trust wise. There was his "friend" Teddy (Joe Pantoliano). The movie started with Leonard killing him and Teddy's backstory with Leonard was obviously told in reverse order.

There's also bartender Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss). She was friend, foe and love interest for Leonard all in one. She also wasn't above using Leonard in order to try and get rid of her abusive boyfriend, Dodd (Callum Keith Rennie). The latter in particular definitely deserved to be taken out of the equation.

As the movie sprawled to it's conclusion, there was a tale of revenge that Leonard had embarked on. It was one that he even succeeded in but he had needed Teddy to fill in some of the blanks before figuring out the rest himself and accepting the consequences.

- The movie was based on Jonathan Nolan's Memento Mori.

- Parts of the movie were set in black and white and parts in colour. Leonard got a lot of tattoos that provided clues for him.

- Standout music: David Bowie's Something In The Air.

- Chronology: Set over the course of a nonlinear timeline in California.

Memento (2000) played with the nonlinear narrative a bit better than Nolan's debut. It's a hard boiled thriller with an excellent performance from Guy Pearce. 

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Eden Lake (2008)

 

Written And Directed by James Watkins

Brett: "Follow the blood!"

I had this on my watchlist for a while and with James Watkins about to bring the DCU into the world of horror with Clayface, it was definitely time to get this one over with. 

Released around the time when there was an influx of Broken Britain films, this one focused on a rather middle class couple. Jenny Greengrass (Kelly Reilly) and boyfriend, Steve Taylor (Michael Fassbender) just wanted a nice getaway. Instead they got the vacation from Hell.

The titular place looked idyllic itself but it's locals were anything. Especially the youth themselves. They were violent, murderous and horrible little shits and Jenny and Steve found this out the hard upon having the misfortune of encountering them.

There's no real sympathy offered to these youngsters. Led by Brett (Jack O'Connell), these youths also included Cooper (Thomas Turgoose), Paige (Finn Atkins), Ricky (Harry Gill) and Harry (James Burrows). Brett had a tyrannical hold over them and they took much delight in tormenting both Jenny and Steve.

The moment that Steve's unsuccessful attempt to recover his car resulted in the death of Brett's dog, that was when things really went to Hell. Brett might be one of the evil characters I've ever seen because he took pleasure in killing Steve and getting the unfortunate Adam (James Gandhi) into burning the body.

I don't think I've seen a protagonist in horror suffer as badly as Jenny. Her boyfriend git brutally killed and she barely survived Brett and his gang. I don't blame her for snapping and killing two of them. Unfortunately for Jenny, she came afoul of the adults of the community, which included Brett's psychotic father, Jon (Shaun Dooley). The ending might be one of the most horrific I've ever seen in a movie.

- It turned out that Brett had two dogs. The way he coldly wore Steve's raybans as Jenny was being killed, that was chilling.

- Brett also killed one of his gang members who defied. The film implied that Brett was abused by his father as well.

- Standout music: Dan Black's Gimme What You Got.

- Chronology: Over the course of a few days at the title place.

Eden Lake was an unrelentingly brutal film that certainly seemed to encapsulated aspects of the decade it was released in. Jack O'Connell in particular was absolutely chilling as Brett. A terrifying and hateful character who actually got away with his horrible misdeeds.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of The House That Dripped Blood (1971)

 

Written by Robert Bloch And Russ Jones

Directed by Peter Duffell

Carla (to Paul): "We loved your films so much we wanted you to become one of us forever. Welcome to the club!"

I'm going to honest. I found this movie at random and a huge motivation into watching it was down to a certain Doctor Who actor. I'm also glad I watched this film.

There's four separate but connected stories and they're supported by a Framework of course. This of course revolved the sceptical Detective Inspector Holloway (John Bennett) talking to Sergeant Martin (John Malcolm) about the house of the film and the dangers it posed. Holloway's scepticism would eventually be his downfall, so let's get to the stories.

The first one - Method For Murder kicked things off well. Horror writer Charles Hillyer (Denholm Elliott) and his wife, Alice (Joanna Dunham). Charles found that his writing was coming to life in the house a bit too well. For example, his character Dominic (Tom Adams) actually did come to life and it was driving Charles.

Nobody and that included Dr. Andrews (Robert Lang) believed he was telling the truth and that didn't end well for the doctor either. It also turned out that Dominic was an actor named Richard and a lover of Alice's. Yup, Alice was gaslighting Charles big time and it almost worked until she came afoul of her very method lover.

Second story - Waxworks was the weakest one for me. It's still pretty watchable and of course, I should note another Doctor Who actor was involved. Yup, there's Peter Cushing as Philip Grayson and Joss Ackland as Neville Rogers. Both men were friends. Both men were also in love with the same woman.

The woman in question also happened to be dead and also a waxwork creation. The creation was owned by the woman's vindictive and creepy husband (Wolfe Morris). He's a possessive and unsympathetic character, who's jealousy over his dead wife's hold over men resulted in beheadings. Like I said, it's the weakest of the stories but still engaging enough.

The third story - Sweets To The Sweet added some much needed witchcraft into the mix. It's nicely threaded throughout with a rather and daughter - John (Christopher Lee) and Jane Reid (Chloe Franks). Add in a governess named Anne Norton (Nyree Dawn Porter) and things got rather heated.

Anne genuinely thought that John was an abusive father and overly strict. It turned out that John's attempts of keeping Jane ostracised had merit. The little girl turned out to be a witch and had no problem using a wax doll to kill her father. It's a delightfully dark story, maybe the darkest story of them all.

The fourth and final story however turned out to be my favourite. The Cloak had my one of my favourite Doctor Who actors Jon Pertwee as horror actor Paul Henderson. Paul's an actor totally commited to his craft and not pleased with the current horror film he's making.

In fact, Paul's so annoyed that he went out and purchased a cloak from Theo von Hartmann (Geoffrey Bayldon) and found himself becoming a vampire. This caused problems with co-star and girlfriend, Carla (Ingrid Pitt) until the last moments revealed that Paul's commitment to horror was something the vampire community respected. It's a brilliant ending to a fantastic story.

- The last scene had A.J. Stoker (John Bryans) taking to the audience about the house reflecting the owner's personality.

- Robert Bloch, who co-wrote the film also wrote the book, Psycho.

- Paul was a fan of Bela Lugosi's Dracula. The man had good taste. No wonder the vampires wanted him as one of their own.

- Chronology: The Framework took place over a night before Holloway's encounter with Carla.

The House That Dripped Blood was a movie that I didn't even know existed until yesterday. It's an enjoyable watch with a strong framework but of course the vampire and witch stories were the ones that stood out the most.

Rating: 8 out of 10