My Review of Superman And Lois 4x03: "Always My Hero"

 

Written by Brent Fletcher And Todd Hellbing 

Directed by David Giuntoli

Sam (to Lois): "I guess this is goodbye for now. I love you pumpkin, more than you could ever know."

Oh, Sam Lane. You've had quite a trajectory. From being a skeptic of Superman to the Man of Steel's very saviour. I knew this season would have to tie up loose ends for a lot of the supporting cast but this was unexpected.

In flashbacks, we had Sam learning of Clark and Superman being the same person and yeah, it wasn't something that Sam reacted to the best. In fact he saw him pressuring Superman into joining the DOD and even telling Clark to leave Lois because he feared that she would be hurt by him at some point.

Now we know that Clark didn't listen to Sam and instead married Lous and we even got flashbacks to the say itself where Sam drew comparisons between himself and Clark. He wasn't subtle in his comparisons but he wasn't wrong either. In fact by the end of this episode, he was too spot on with the comparisons.

Continuing Lex's nasty streak, the unfortunate Jones was forced into getting Sam to admit where Elizabeth's whereabouts were and Sam literally faced up to Doomsday instead of giving Lex what he wanted. While it did sadly result in Sam's death, it turned out that Sam intended to die all along.

I can't believe that Sam was so determined to get a heart donor for Superman that he made sure his own heart would suffice. It was a plan he only let John Henry Irons in on and one that might work if Lara's calculations were anything to go by. With Sam dead, it also seems like both John and Natalie will be sticking around the DOD.

As for the rest of the episode, Jonathan got powers and a rivalry between him and Jordan intensified as a result. Lex didn't waste time in telling Jordan about the choice he forced on Lois from the previous episode. Jordan's reaction was predicable but with bigger stakes at play, at least we didn't have to focus on it for too long. Now let's get to bringing Superman back from the dead.

- Elizabeth Tulloch's really life husband, David Giuntoli directed this episode. I wonder if he'll appear in a later episode.

- John and Natalie were officially given the names Steel and Starlight by the DOD while Amanda was annoyed by Lex being more fond of Doomsday than tending to LexCorp in Metropolis.

- We got a return of Martha and a brief flashback to the pilot when Jordan first discovered his powers.

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

Always My Hero was quite the episode. A touching final episode for Sam with great character driven flashbacks and a solution to the dead Superman problem. Dylan Walsh did a wonderful job and along with Lex's continued nastiness, John and Natalie's returns and Jonathan's powers coming to the forefront, this was fantastic.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Salem's Lot (2024)

 

Written And Directed by Gary Dauberman

Ben (to Susan): "I've always written stories about things that are so terrible, you'll run away til your brain won't remember."

I did watch and review the previous versions of this adaptation, so of course I was going to watch and review this one. We've had two miniseries and now it was time for the movie version. Albeit not one for theatres during the scariest month of the year.

Rethreading this again, you've got writer Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman) returning to his home town of Jerusalem's Lot and noticing that the Marsten House as well as a local antiques store has been bought by the mysterious Kurt Barlow (Alexander Ward) and his right hand man, Richard Straker (Pilou Asbaek). Of course it's not the only thing he noticed.

There was local girl Susan Norton (Makenzie Leigh) that he struck up a romance with as well as the bizarre behaviour of the locals. Then there was the spate of mystery deaths and yes, it turned out that vampires had taken over the town. Fortunately for Ben and Susan, they had allies in their corner.

The allies included teacher Matthew Burke (Bill Camp), Dr Cody (Alfre Woodard), faithless Father Callahan (John Benjamin Hickey) and of course, escape artist wannabe Mark Petrie (Jordan Preston Carter). Most of the same beats are explored here yet again.

We saw Matthew's attempts of helping local lad Mike (Spencer Treat Clark), resulting in the latter being beyond help as well as Callahan's lack of faith coming back to haunt him, Mark losing his parents and the tragic relationship between Ben and Susan played out yet and being the dullest version of said relationship in live action thus far.

As for Kurt Barlow. He looks good and Alexander Ward does give a decent performance. I mean he does really go for it and the design certainly doesn't jar. I just didn't find it particularly terrifying or as compelling as it could've been.

- Originally this was meant to be a theatrical release before it got sent to Max. UK and Ireland did get a theatrical release.

- The movies shown at the drive through were The Drowning Pool and Night Moves.

- Standout music: Gordon Lightfoot's Sundown.

- Chronology: Despite being a 2024 release, the film is set in the 1970s like the book itself.

Look, it's not a bad version of Salem's Lot but at the same time, it's not a shock this went to Max instead of a wider theatre release. Diverting but not a must see. 

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of The Penguin: "Cent'Anni"

 

Written by John McCutcheon

Directed by Helen Shaver

Sofia (to Julian): "What did it feel like to get to watch a person unravel?"

I swear if this episode doesn't at the very bare minimum solidify an Emmy nomination for Cristin Milioti, then there's no justice, lol. Expectations were high for this episode. Did it deliver? Oh it certainly did.

At the end of last week's episode, Sofia's alliance with Oswald came to something of an end with Nadia Maroni gatecrashing their Bliss operation. Oh and before Oswald abandoned Sofia to her fate, Nadia made sure to inform Sofia that Oswald was the one to have killed Oswald.

Anyways as Sofia called Julian Rush to come to her aid, the show jumped back a decade to the days of the Hangman. Well, more Sofia getting roped into that saga because it turned out she wasn't lying when she told Oz that she wasn't the Hangman. Nope, instead it was Carmine Falcone (Mark Strong) who got that story.

I had mixed feelings about this change up but given that Sofia's noticed were different in Dark Victory, it kind of fit having Carmine being the Hangman in this continuity. After all, we're talking about a man who had no problem trying to murder his other daughter on the night of his death.

When Sofia actually listened to reporter Summer Gleeson (Nadine Malouf) about her father being a serial killer, she didn't want to believe it. Unfortunately for Sofia, despite being Carmine's favourite, he had no problem framing her for hiscrime and getting her sentenced to Arkham State Hospital. 

Sofia's decade long spell in Arkham definitely did a number on her between jolts of electricity, savage beatings, the lack of a trial and a family (minus Alberto) that hung her out to dry. As for Julian, he's not exactly discreet with his attraction to Sofia but he was the only in her corner during this episode in the present day.

As for the rest of the episode, Sofia finally decided to take back control and live up to a monicker that had been forced upon her. I find it interesting that she spared Johnny Viti but not surprised that she didn't extend her murderous revenge to Gia (though she's likely made her an orphan). Long live Sofia Falcone. Oswald, you better watch your back.

- Mark Strong replaced John Turturro as Carmine while Peter McDonald reprised his role as William Kenzie from The Batman.

- Summer Gleeson originated in Batman: The Animated Series. This was the first live action version of the character to my knowledge.

- Alberto might have been the least favourite but I liked how he tried his best to actually help Sofia throughout the episode.

- Sofia's "best friend" at Arkham was Margaret (Marie Botha), also known as Magpie. This is the third live action version of the character, following both Gotham and Batwoman.

- Standout music: The Stranglers Strange Little Girl.

- Chronology: The flashbacks took place a decade before the events of The Batman.

The show absolutely hit a high with Cent'Anni and it definitely cemented a powerhouse performance from Cristin Milioti. This was her episode from start to finish with Sofia being such a captivating character to watch. I actually didn't mind the reduced screen time for Oswald because the Sofia stuff was just so fantastic to watch.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of The Voyeurs (2021)

 

Written And Directed by Michael Mohan

Thomas (re Seb/Julia): "I wanna become their friends."

Pippa: "You want to become BFFs with the neighbours we now seem to be stalking?"

Anyone call for a voyeuristic version of Rear Window? That's exactly what this movie will offer you, while posing the question about whether or not it's a good idea to spy on your neighbours. Spoiler alert, it's not as two couples found that out the hard way.

The first couple in question being optometrist Pippa (Sydney Sweeney) and her tech savvy boyfriend, Thomas (Justice Smith). They've moved into a nice apartment where the latter liked to feed the birds and oh, yes, spy on the couple across from them.

Couple number two included photographer Seb (Ben Hardy) and his former model wife, Julia (Natasha Liu Bordizzo). Pippa and Thomas took far too much interest in their neighbours antics (including Seb's sleazy bed hopping) to the point where they gatecrashed the couple's Halloween party to put spy equipment so they could hear their conversations.

Making matters even more complicated was Julia befriending Pippa by going to the latter's place of work for new glasses while Thomas realised that they were doing the wrong thing. Of course it was a case of too little too late when Pippa thought she might have caused Julia's death and Thomas ended up dumping her. 

Now where I think the movie got a lot more interesting wasn't just with Thomas's death but more the fact that Seb and Julia had been playing something of a long con on Pippa and Thomas. Seb not only seduced and photographed Pippa but both him and Julia made Pippa and Thomas into their latest exhibition. Oh and one of them clearly killed Thomas for dramatic effect.

The ending I think really helped this movie just about land. There was something satisfying in seeing Pippa play both Seb and Julia at their own game. Also satisfying was how she used their own voyeuristic tendencies against and took away the very thing they had taken for granted. As a twist, I found it worked well.

- Before learning their names, Pippa and Thomas kept referring to Seb and Julia as Brent and Margot.

- Sydney Sweeney and writer/director Michael Mohan worked together on short lived Netflix series Everything Sucks and after this movie on the horror feature, Immaculate.

- Standout music: Angel Olsen's Eyes Without A Face and Kamasi Washington's Desire.

- Chronology: Present day Montréal, Canada where the movie was also made.

For an Amazon origin, this wasn't too shabby. The Voyeurs posed the consequences of spying on your neighbours and also had an erotic thriller aspect to, which mostly worked. Not a classic take on the genre but certainly a good viewing nonetheless.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of The Deliverance (2024)

 

Written by David Coggeshall And Elijah Bynum

Directed by Lee Daniels

Alberta (possessed to Ebony): "I should have flushed your ass down the toilet when you were just a blood clot!"

I've been keen to catch up on this one. For a movie that temporarily inspired a Twitter meme and was based on a true story, I was hoping this would have a bit more to it. I hate to say it, but I was a tad underwhelmed here.

Anyways, we've got struggling single mother Ebony Jackson (Andra Day). She's got three kids - Nathan (Caleb McLaughlin), Shanti (Demi Singleton) and Andre (Anthony B. Jenkins) and she's just moved into a new home. It's a home that she didn't tell her social worker, Cynthia (Mo'Nique) about and that last bit might be the least of Ebony's problems.

The movie established that Ebony had a drinking problem and could be violent at times. We get an example of that when she dealt with a kid who bullied Andre but then there's her contentious relationship with her now religious mother, Alberta (Glenn Close). 

Personally, I'd say the dynamic between Ebony and Alberta would be the highlight of the movie. With the latter dying of cancer, Ebony goes from trying to pay Alberta's medical expenses to constantly reminding her of her shortcomings and the crappy childhood she had. Basically the way Ebony treats her own children wasn't dissimilar to how she was treated as a child herself.

Getting to the horror aspect of this movie, Ebony had to move into a haunted house and it's not long before everyone in that house became infected by it's demonic presence. The kids ended up with bruises and had to be hospitalised, while Ebony had blackouts and terrified her children without remembering what was going on.

Of course, this did lead into a rather sluggish third act where that meme moment from Alberta was given its context. On top of that, Ebony teamed up with Reverend Bernice James (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) to save her children as well as making a believer out of Cynthia. The ending does come across as very rushed if I'm being honest.

- The movie is based on the real life Ammons haunting case from 2011 in Indiana. They mention the case at the end of the movie.

- Omar Epps pops up briefly as Melvin in the movie. 

- Standout music: Andra Day's I Know Who Holds Tomorrow.

- Chronology: The movie is based in Indiana but ended with Ebony taking her children back to Philadelphia to reunite with their father.

As a horror movie, The Deliverance had one or two decent moments but it's a bit too schlocky even for my tastes. The pacing was all over the place and the actual scares and demon stuff were sluggish to watch. There's some good performances but not enough to make this a movie I'd want to watch again.

Rating: 5 out of 10 

The League Of Gentlemen - Series 4 Review (2017)

Written by Jeremy Dyson And Mark Gatiss And Steve Pemberton And Reece Shearsmith 

Directed by Steve Bendelack 

Benjamin: "You know, Aunty Val. Sometimes you can't go back."

Val: "I know. I know."

Benjamin: "But you can visit."

Val: "Yes, you can visit."

It's a bit odd that these series of specials came out when they did. They were two years too early to commemorate the show's 20th anniversary but at the same, it was also 15 years after the series had ended. Excluding the movie, which these specials don't acknowledge. 

At the time both Shearsmith and Pemberton had put out three full series of Inside No. 9 and Gatiss had completed work on both Sherlock and Doctor Who. To revisit this series with these specials was a way of giving audiences one last hurrah for many of the characters that stoked opinions.

First of all there was Reverend Bernice Wooddall, who had now become Mayor of Royston Vasey after brokering a deal with Papa Lazarou for her freedom (and other characters). Of course that freedom came at a cost with a spate of new disappearances getting more and more noticed.

Oh and then there was possible disappearance of Royston Vasey itself. There were plans to merge the village into a bigger and local xenophobes Edward and Tubbs had no problem holding a journalist (Lyndsey Marshal) and council worker (Gatiss) hostage in order to prevent such a thing. Let's just say the ending for the hostage wasn't particular pleasant for the negotiator (David Morrissey).

As for other stories in this three part event, poor Pauline was suffering from dementia with both Mickey and Ross trying to help her. Then there was the hapless Geoff killing Pauline by mistaking her for Mike's wife, Cheryl. Not a great way for Pauline to go.

Other than that, the creepy Pops returned to antagonise both of his sons, played by Gatiss and Shearsmith as well as his daughter in law (Sian Gibson) but he got a deserved comeuppance of his own. As for the Dentons, Harvey died and Val and the twins used Benjamin as a vessel for Harvey until they realised they preferred Harvey being dead. 

- Episode titles for this series were Return To Royston Vasey, Save Royston Vasey and Royston Vasey Mon Amour.

- Victims of the Wife Mine included Iris and Tubbs. Papa Lazarou was wisely relegated to a very brief cameo.

- Chinnery still inadvertently kills animals, Barbara was militant in their activism, Les McQueen ran a floor polishing business and Legs Akimbo were no more with Ollie relegated to being a teacher for Year 9.

- Charlie was shown to be in a relationship with a man named Gordon (Gatiss) while Stella had an abusive toy boy lover named Scott.

- Mickey was aware of Pauline and Ross having sex and even joked about it. Pauline nearly broke Ross's jaw when her memories were being triggered.

- Chronology: Several years since the events of the third series. Bernice in particular had aged a bit.

As a group of specials, this was a good bunch of episodes. I don't think we needed them as such but it was a nice revisit of a show that while still funny in large parts, has not aged well in others. Now I just have to go and revisit another show from this particular team.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Doctor Odyssey: "Plastic Surgery Week"

 

Written by Ryan Murphy And Jon Robin Baitz And Joe Baken 

Directed by Bradley Buecker

Tristan (re plastic surgery clients): "I see we have a lot of new faces this year."

It was twenty one years ago on the cable channel FX where Ryan Murphy's first big TV hit funnily enough was a show about plastic surgeons. Yes, that show was called Nip/Tuck and even to this day, it's influence has resonated in many of Murphy's shows.

Cut to 2024, now we have this show celebrating Plastic Surgery Week by featuring an antagonist for Avery, a surprise inspiration for Max and Tristan's mum. Yeah, it's a real diverse crowd here but each of these plot hit better than expected.

Let's start off with Max, shall we? If you were worried the show had forgotten his COVID backstory, the arrival of Human Ken Doll (Justin Jedlica) was a good reminder of said plot. It turned out that Max was something of a fan of Ken and even spent some time with the guy before the latter quickly died of sepsis.

Yes, the first death on The Odyssey and it hit Max pretty hard. It turned out that Ken's reality show had been something of a lifeline to Max when he was in recovery and the last scene where he talked to Ken's friend about the impact they had on him was rather sweet. Max being a fan of trashy reality TV was the kind of character but I needed.

Then there's Max and Avery. Yes, they hooked up and yes, Tristan caught them but the end result was far different to the opening episode and all the better for it. I was hoping this show would nix this triangle sooner than later and perhaps I got my wish. The way it's nixed even felt organic enough.

Having Tristan's mother, Caroline (Constance Marie) on the ship and seeing the number she's done on him (albeit, not maliciously) certainly gave context to the way Tristan has viewed women and in particular, a certain crush of his. I liked that he realised that he wasn't in love with Avery and also that he wasn't going to pose an obstacle for Max and Avery either. As for the Huntington's plot with his mother, I don't doubt we'll get more on that later in the season.

As for Avery, she had spent most of the episode incurring the wrath of the ship's owner's wife, Lenore (Gina Gershon). The latter was also hosting this week's theme and came close to firing Avery. Then Avery managed to save Lenore's assistant and suddenly Lenore liked Avery. Lenore had a campy potential as well as an insatiable desire for Robert. The character didn't wow me but there's hope for her yet as a recurring presence.

- The cases outside of Tristan's mother and Ken included Lenore's assistant botched boob job and a British woman's botched rhinoplasty. A guy literally pulled stuff out of his own nose in front of Max.

- Tristan's clearly from a money background and seems to be an only child. The episode gave no details on his father.

- Max seemed annoyed with the fact that the flower shop was used as a place to hide deceased passengers until they got to shore.

- Chronology: It's definitely 2024 given that one exchange between Tristan and Max near the end of the episode.

I think this show in the space of three episodes has definitely gotten closer to finding it's feet. Plastic Surgery Week gave Max, Tristan and Avery all good material to work with and I'm happy that triangle has been quickly resolved.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Grotesquerie: "Good Caesarean Work"

 

Written by Ryan Murphy And Jon Robin Baitz And Joe Baken 

Directed by Max Winkler 

Maisie (to Lois, re Grotesquerie): "If he wanted you dead,  you'd be dead. He has bigger plans for you. For you to be a martyr."

And just like that, shit got a lot more weirder for Detective Lois Tryon. I think having a serial killer like Grotesquerie wanting you to be a martyr might be even worse than having him simply want to kill you.

The path that led Lois to this realisation was nicely executed though. She brought both the baby and elderly Maisie from the last episode to the hospital. Quickly it got revealed the woman couldn't be the baby's actual mother but that was she was a delusional former fanatic who had worked with Grotesquerie. Also she kept saying Glorious a ridiculous amount of times that Lois should've copped on earlier.

Yes, the mentioned Glorious McKall appeared in this episode when Lois and Franklin paid the new minister a visit. Glorious sort of revelled in Lois being slow on the uptake before filling in the blanks about Maisie and Grotesquerie's connection some more. Then she got arrested but as a foil to Lois, I did find Glorious rather entertaining and I hope we get to see more of her this season.

As for Lois, that later conversation with Maisie really was unsettling. Maisie laid it on thick with talking of the Antichrist, black goats and the fire pits but Lois did seem genuinely unsettled by being factored into a serial killer's much bigger plan. On the plus side, at least Lois and her team found the babies.

The final few minutes of this one had Lois and her team not only find those babies but several women who were being milked for them as well. Then there was Lous coming very close to death until she got a lucky shot in. Of course the episode ended with Lois seeing her attacker but not us. Father Charlie? Franklin? An unknown perhaps? We better find out next week.

- Nurse Redd had an affair of sorts with Marshall before his coma and Lois reacted far calmed than Redd deserved. Redd had a home in England and Brough Lois Croatian vodka.

- Sister Megan woke up at the end of the episode while Merritt and Eddie watched a cooking show on the farmer's laptop.

- Standout music: Otis Redding's My Lover's Prayer and Mozart's Requiem.

- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off.

Good Caesarean Work was another shorter episode but it did manage to deliver where it needed to do so. The Nurse Redd subplot sort of broke up the main story, the Maisie and Glorioys scenes were great and the last few minutes delivered. I enjoyed this one.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Grotesquerie: "Red Haze"

 

Written by Ryan Murphy And Jon Robin Baitz And Joe Baken 

Directed by Max Winkler 

Lois: "I hate it here. Something so off about this place."

Sister Megan: "Yes it is."

Picking up from the last episode, Lois and Sister Megan soon realise that the mystery naked woman in their car went by the name of Andrea. As a character, she mostly remained a mystery but she did bring Lous and Sister Megan to a motel in the middle of nowhere.

A motel where both Lois and Sister Megan were desperate to leave but both found themselves getting caught up in events. There was the desk clerk trying to conceal her bruises and the abusive owner Nick, whom took an immediate distrust to everyone. You also had Lois and Sister Megan clash too.

I guess at some point, Lois's cynicism would be a bit much for Sister Megan but even when clashing over their different methods of handling stress, both women were caught up in the craziness of the motel. Fender benders were one thing but the killer showing up, abducting Andrea in from of them and shooting Sister Megan. It all happened way too fast.

It also brought out a harsher side to Father Charlie, who seemed a bit too happy to call out Lois's disregard for others while pointing out the killer was after her specifically. Earlier episodes already established that fact and while it was informative watching Hanover list some of Lois's rogues gallery, it didn't get us any closer to the killer.

Also keeping up with the title of the show, Grotesquerie used Lois being out of town to perform horrific caesarians on pregnant women, killing them and taking the babies. They also left another cryptic clue and Lois also found herself having to calm a woman down in the middle of nowhere with a bloodied baby wrapped in newspapers. This was definitely the most stressful episode so far.

- At least six of Lois's rogues were mentioned with Glorious McKall being the only released around the same time Grotesquerie started killing. Red herring, right?

- Nurse Redd could heard in a phone conversation with Lois talking about end of life for Marshall. 

- Ash mixed with chlorine can make for acidic but purple looking pool. It also reminded Lois of an aviation cocktail.

- Chronology: From where the last episode left off.

Red Haze was shorter than the first four but it certainly was the most batshit one so far. Several moments almost didn't seem real, mostly involving the motel scenes. Speaking of scenes, Lois had some good ones with characters like Jack and Franklin, bringing out a more determined but clear headed side to her.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Superman And Lois 4x02: "A World Without"

 

Written by Katie Aldrin And Kristi Korzec

Directed by Sudz Sutherland

Superman (to Lois/Jonathan/Jordan): "I'll always be here at the fortress to help, however I can but out there, it's just going to have to be the three of you."

Yup, this two part opening episode just didn't let up with the heavy stuff. A dead superhero, a vindictive arch enemy and a family desperate to get their patriarch back, regardless of the consequences. Oh and more former regulars involved in the mix.

With Superman put in a regenerative status at the Fortress of Solitude, it was up to Jordan to play hero and try and retrieve his father's heart. Unfortunately for Jordan, not only did Lex not find him remotely intimidating but he also was several steps ahead of him. In fact, who wasn't Lex ahead of this week? It felt like he was outsmarting everyone.

I mean he easily saw through Sarah's attempts of keeping him distracted and there was something particularly evil about the way he forced Lois to choose between her sons. Then there was his glee in tormenting Jordan while stamping on Superman's heart. Again, this might be one of the darkest iterations of Lex we've seen in a while. His insistence with remaining in Smallville to torment Lois bring the icing on the cake.

Worse than that, Lex now knows that Superman and Clark are the same person and Lois now has to deal with the imminent fallout of Lex eventually using that knowledge to blow the Kents apart. Still, there's still something amusing in watching Lex's associates bring baffled by his fixation on Smallville while ignoring the say yo day activities of LexCorp.

The last scene with the Kents in the Fortress of Solitude was particularly heartbreaking. As much as I don't want this dead Superman story to be dragged out, especially given that we have less episodes this season, the acting in these scenes are brilliant. Everyone has brought their A game for those moments as the Kents are barely holding together.

I also thought this episode utilised both Lana and Sarah rather well with both of them having their own interactions with Lex. Lana in particular was willing to incur Lex's wrath by trying to stop his acquisition of the hotel across from the Gazette. However, its pretty clear that Lex will be more than a match for Lana but I look forward to more scenes between the two of them.

- Amanda was trying to get Lex to do an interview with Janet Olsen. We'll be meeting Jimmy Olsen this season.

- Though she has yet to physically appear, we already saw pics of Elizabeth Luthor (Elizabeth Henstridge) as Amanda helped Lex get closer to finding her.

- Absent from this episode included Sam, John, Natalie, Kyle and Chrissy. Chuck also worked out that Superman was Clark Kent.

- Chronology: Exactly where the previous episode left off.

A World Without certainly didn't let up and it upped the tension big time. They've really written themselves into a corner with Superman's death and it's going to be interesting to see how they resolve this one. These first two episodes have kicked things off brilliantly for the show.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Superman And Lois 4x01: "The End & The Beginning"

 

Written by Brent Fletcher And Todd Hellbing

Directed by Gregory Smith

Lois (re Superman): "This was not supposed to happen. Not before me."

It's been over a year since the events of the third season finale and with the arrival of the fourth and final season, the era of the CW take on DC will culminate to its conclusion. It's been quite an interesting 18 years, hasn't it?

Anyways, last time we encountered the residents of Small illegal, we had a newly released Lex Luthor trying to bully Lois Lane into retirement, kidnap her father and of course, he managed to transform poor Bizarro into Doomsday and sicced him on Superman. Yup, this version of Lex Luthor isn't fucking around.

In fact this opening episode made it abundantly clear that his grudge against Lois wasn't going to end any time soon. He threatened her yet again with him also blaming her for his own daughter abandoning him and almost came close to killing Sam Lane this week.

Yeah, poor Sam. He almost escaped Gretchen and Otis but ended up being buried alive for his troubles. Fortunately Jordan actually managd to get to him in time but it was certainhly rough going before the big rescue moment.

As for the Superman side of things (and Clark too), we weren't too short changed. There was a lot of flashbacks with Superman/Clark and Lois and yet again, I'm reminded of the sublime chemistry between Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch. These two are absolutely amazing to watch and I'm going to miss them when the final episode airs.

Getting back to the present day stuff, the Superman and Doomsdsy fight was brilliantly choreographed with the farmer's heart being removed by the latter for Lex Luthor. Then the episode decided to end by giving us it's own version of The Death Of Superman arc. Yup, that's story again but that end scene was suitably devastating.

- Lex's other right hand woman, Amanda McCoy (Yvonne Chapman) popped up and she's definitely got feelings for Lex. Lex had hair in his flashbacks with Lois at the Daily Planet.

- Absent from this episode were Lana, Sarah, Kyle, Chrissy, John and Natalie.

- I liked that local guy Chuck (more on him next episode) had Jonathan and Jordan's backs when the boys met Lex at Vickys.

- Chronology: From where the previous season finale left off.

I thought that The End & The Beginning was a great way to open up this final season. The stakes have definitely be raised by this more vindictive version of Lex as well as the brutish Doomsday and the hints of Brainiac. Is Superman going to be dead for most of the season? Let's hope not. Still, a great opening episode. 

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of The Substance (2024)

 

Written And Directed by Coralie Fargeat

Elisabeth: "You have to..."

Sue: "CONTROL YOURSELF!"

One of the most hyped about original horror films of the year and a potential career boost for Demi Moore? Of course I was gonna have to see this one and I'm seriously glad I did. Oh boy, this was a doozy.

Demi Moore in this movie played Academy Award winning actress Elisabeth Sparkles. She's an aerobics instructor, heading her own popular fitness show but her age has caught up with her and mostly because of sexism.

That's perfectly exemplified in gruesome producer Harvey (Dennis Quaid) who took great pleasure in pointing out that Elisabeth was now 50 and the show needed a fresh face. For Elisabeth, the events of a car crash would lead to her chance of getting the exact thing she wanted.

A mystery man clued Elisabeth into The Substance. This being a compound that resulted in the activation of a younger version of herself named Sue (Margaret Qualley). Of course for the best results, one needed to be put for the count while the other moved about freely along with a stabilising serum that Sue needed from Elisabeth.

Because of the genre, of course things ended up going badly for Elizabeth almost in record time. Not only did Sue easily step into her former life but the latter also became overzealous in what she'd taken from Elisabeth. The more career opportunities that came Sue's way, the more grotesque the consequences that Elisabeth ended up having to suffer as a direct result.

Of course, the greedier Sue has become to permanently live, the more she too suffered as a consequence. The results of Elisasue felt like the natural outcome to this horrifying cautionary tale as the price truly wasn't worth it in the end. The final scene alone was truly horrifying but what a way to end this biting satire.

- Not only did this get a theatrical release (it's nearly made it's budget back) but it's also currently on Mubi.

- Ray Liotta was originally cast as Harvey and gets a credit in the "thank you" credits. He passed away before filming began.

- Standout music: The use of Pump It Up really worked for the context of this movie. 

- Chronology: It took place over several months before culminating in a New Year's Eve TV event.

I think The Substance might be my horror favourite of 2024. It's definitely in my Top 3 and the performances from both Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley are sublime. Both really go for it as Elisabeth and Sue and there are a fair amount of scenes that genuinely made me turn away at times. Grotesque but an absolute must see.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of The Penguin: "Bliss"

 

Written by Noelle Valdivia

Directed by Craig Zobel 

Oz (to Victor): "You should do it. Fuck what they think. Let 'em wait. You know, take up space. You got fight in you, Vic. Gotta let it out."

For the past two episodes, I've been heaping a lot of deserved praise for both Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti that I almost forgot to give it to another deserving actor. Yes, I'm talking about Rhenzy Feliz.

While he's not totally a novice in the acting game, he's still a relative newcomer and its not lost on me that not only can he easily hold his own with Farrell and Milioti, but Victor's the closest to a grounded character we've had. Unlike both Oz and Sofia, Victor has actually been directly impacted by the Flood.

This episode opened up from his perspective of that night. We got to briefly see his family life (and he had a pretty good one) as well as Victor, his friends and girlfriend, Graciela (Anire Kim Amoda) witness Gotham getting flooded. For Victor, there's at least a reunion with Graciela with her telling him that she was leaving for California and wanted him to come with her.

At first Victor seemed reluctant to do that in fear of Oz taking him out but as the episode progressed and he fumbled the bag (literally in this instance), Victor actually made it clear he was leaving. Oz didn't exactly react in the most mature of fashions but his words to Victor ended up coming true in record time.

Whether he liked it or not, Victor was now immersed in the crime world. He was the third wheel in Oz and Sofia's big scheme with the Bliss drug and he ended up coming to their rescue when Nadia Maroni realised that Oz was playing her family. Granted they did leave Sofia behind but I'm sure she'll be fine.

Speaking of Sofia, I do like that because she decided to throw her lot in with Oswald in order to take down Johnny and Luca, it doesn't mean she blindly trusts him either. She's still keeping him at arms length and still viewed him as a rat. The trailer for next week's episode seemed to indicate that Oswald might have been the one to have ended her Hangman days but even with all that resentment and double crossing, there's no denying that Oswald and Sofia make a great dynamic to watch.

In fact the way they managed to get Triad leader Feng Zhao (Francois Chau) on board was rather impressive. Sofia's actual negotiation skills are as impressive as her penchant for violence. Not that Oswald didn't play his own part in getting the job done too but Sofia was better. Now she just needs to survive Nadia Maroni.

- The boy that Sofia killed in the opening episode was named Calvin. Victor didn't tell Graciela about his death. Does Victor even know he's dead?

- Victor's mother worked in home health care and his father was a mechanic that wanted to be a chef. Victor told Sofia he was a mechanic.

- Oswald orchestrated it so that Sofia would walk in on Johnny having sex with Luca's wife, Tina. Oswald almost killed Johnny as well when the latter used his Penguin in a derogatory manner.

- The Bliss drug was something that was used to keep Sofia and other inmates docile in Arkham. 

- Standout music: Bob Moses Broken Belief.

- Chronology: Not long from the previous episode.

Bliss might have been more chaotic than the title but it was more proof that this show has been a worthy addition to The Batman universe. A great focus on Victor, a dangerous new drug and more context for Oswald and Sofia's complicated relationship. A winner all round.

Rating: 9 out of 10