Thursday, July 10, 2025

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 

Wednesday, July 09, 2025

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 

Monday, July 07, 2025

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 

Sunday, July 06, 2025

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 

Saturday, July 05, 2025

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

Friday, July 04, 2025

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

Thursday, July 03, 2025

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

My Review of The Wicker Tree (2011)

 


Written And Directed by Robin Hardy

Sir Lachlan Morrison (to Steve): "Laddie, you are a prince among men, a king. We all, all salute you. You will give your life so that a new generation of our people will be born blessing your name. Children will be called after you. Hallowed be thy name."

Why yes, I did skip the American remake of The Wicker Man in order to tackle this legacy sequel of sorts first. Don't worry, I will get back to it though at some point this month. Curiosity just got the better of me with this one.

A legacy with two of the original cast members returning and the same writer/director of the first movie? It's pretty unheard of. Does it result in a great follow up? Not really to be honest but I've seen worse.

Our protagonists here are a slightly vapid Christian couple made up of pop singer, Beth Boothby (Brittania Nicol) and her handsome cowboy fiancée, Steve Thompson (Henry Garrett). They've found themselves in Scotland to spread the good word and to get to know the locals. Oh and for their relationship to unravel at the same time.

The locals in questiion include Sir Lachlan Morrison (Graham McTavish) and his wife, Delia (Jacqueline Leonard). It also included local temptress, Lolly (Honeysuckle Weeks) who wasted no time in seducing Steve (it did not take much). Then there was returning Daisy (Lesley Mackie) and gruff butler, Beane (Clive Russell).

In this movie, both Daisy and Beane were tasked with preparing Beth for the May Queen, which turned out to be a trickier task as she had more fight in her than they were prepared for. Steve on the other hand had been set up as the Laddie for the May Festival and it didn't end particularly well for him. He really was too pretty to live.

It didn't exactly end well for Beth either. She might have gotten one good kill in but it didn't stop her from the suffering the same fate as the other May Queens. As for Steve, he may have gotten the worst death in this movie but his legacy lived on through Lolly as the crazy residents got what they really wanted from him.

- Christopher Lee does pop up as Old Gentleman in the movie, though it's not a huge role.
- A third movie had been considered before the passing of Robin Hardy. This film had a limited theatrical release.
- Standout music: Britannia Nicol's Follow Me.
- Chronology: April and May of the current year in both Texas and Glasgow. 

I'll admit that The Wicker Tree falls into that category not being great or awful. It's simply just okay in mostly rethreading what the first movie did along with some expansion on the villagers dangerous rituals. 

Rating: 6 out of 10