My Review of Vertigo (1958)

 

Written by Alec Coppel And Samuel A. Taylor

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Scottie (to Judy): "One final thing I have to do and then I'll be free of the past."

Ah yes, the greatest movie. Or at least one of them. Or more realistically, one of the greatest movies from a certain director. A director whose work I'll gradually review  for this blog, bit by bit and mostly at random if I'm being honest.

This thriller certainly is up there with some of Hitchcock's finest as we focus on a retired detective named John Ferguson (James Stewart) or Scottie as he seems to be referred to for most of this movie. With a crippling fear of heights and suffering from vertigo, the lead case of this movie would prove to be his undoing.

Assigned to keep an eye on the beautiful Madeleine Elster (Kim Novak) by her husband and Scottie's former colleague, Gavin (Tom Hellmore), its not long before Scottie and Madeleine fall in love with one a other and embark on an affair. It's also even shorter before Madeleine falls to her death at a bell tower and a traumatized Scottie finds himself sectioned as a result of her "suicide".

Attempting to adjust to the real world again, John couldn't let go of his time with Madeleine. This certainly became apparent when Scottie ended up stalking and coercing mystery woman Judy (Kim Novak again) into a relationship. It also didn't help that because Judy looked like Madeleine, Scottie demanded that she completely transform into the dead woman, right down to the hairstyle.

Even before the big reveal, I have to admit that watching Scottie completely try and mold Judy into another version of Madeleine was unsettling to watch. Judy seemed to alternate between being genuinely frightened of Scottie to being besotted with him, which I guess did something for her own role in his grief and madness.

However Scottie working out that Judy had been Madeleine all the time and that Gavin had actually murdered his wife and paid Judy off once her usefulness was outlived did pack a punch. The confrontation at the bell tower was brilliant done and that final scene was a genuine shocker to behold.

- There is definitely a noticeable age difference between the leads with Novak being nearly thirty years younger than Stewart. I do wonder why they didn't cast actors closer to each other, age wise.

- Loved the use of certain colors to highlight flashbacks between the main characters in the movie.

- Despite it's reputation now, this was a poorly received movie upon it's initial release.

- Chronology: Late 1950's setting in California.

I'm not sure I would say that Vertigo is the greatest movie of all time but it feels like it's an important one and definitely one any aspiring film student or cinema buff should see at least once in their lifetime. Both Stewart and Novak are incredible to watch.

Rating: 9 out of 10

DCEU News: Black Canary Flies Solo, Blue Beetle Cast And The Latest CW Crossover Event Revealed

It's been a busy month with a lot of news items being revealed. Some genuinely exciting stuff coming on the horizon for DC fans.

Jurnee Smollett will reprising her role as Dinah Lance in a solo Black Canary movie for HBO Max. Misha Green will be penning the script. 

Pre-production for the Batgirl HBO Max film has begun. There are rumours that Michael Keaton's Batman might be appearing in the movie.

Black Adam and Shazam!: Fury Of The Gods are nearing completion with several cast members from both films having finished up.

Xolo Maridueña has been cast as Blue Beetle for the HBO Max movie. Filming will begin later in the year.

Elizabeth Gilles will be voicing the title role in upcoming animated movie, Catwoman: Hunted, due for an early 2022 release. The Injustice animated movie will be released in October.

Ben Affleck will finally film his scenes for The Flash in September. Set pics have revealed that characters such as David Singh, Patty Spivot, Gary, Ed Wade and Albert Desmond will appear in the movie.

Speaking of The Flash, the CW's five episode event will be titled Armageddon and has cast Tony Curran as Despero. Other cast members due to appear are Cress Williams, Chyler Leigh, Brandon Routh, Katherine McNamara, Osiric Chau, Neal McDonough  and Tom Cavanagh.

Filming has begun for the first season of Naomi while the second season of Superman And Lois will begin filming from September 27th.

Netflix have renewed Sweet Tooth for a second season while filming for The Sandman has wrapped.

Y: The Last Man, starring Ben Schnetzer in the title role will premiere on FX on Hulu from September 13th. UK viewers will get it on Disney+

The sixth and final season of Lucifer will be released on Netflix from September 10th. It will consist of ten episodes.

Bridget Regan has been cast as Poison Ivy for the third season of Batwoman. The upcoming season will also feature Mr Freeze, Nora Fries and Killer Croc.

DCFanDome panels will be able to be seen on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Twitch this year. The event will happen on October 16th.

Exciting stuff ahead, huh?

My Review of Legends Of Tomorrow's 6x14: "There Will Be Brood"

 

Written by Ray Utarmachitt And Marcelena Campos Mayhorn

Directed by Maisie Richardson-Sellers

Constantine (re Fountain of Imperium): "I killed it. I killed it, Astra."

Well, this went to shit pretty fast, didn't it? Mick, Spooner and Constantine all looked like they were taken out of the equation but given what we know about next week's finale and next season, things aren't so crystal clear here.

If Mick hypothetically had to die then I guess saving one of his spawn from a bomb courtesy of Bishop would've been a noble way to go but we're not done with the character just yet. After all even the trailer couldn't keep up the pretence.

Then there's Spooner herself. Throw anyone into a situation where they can save their mother from being murdered and of course, they'll do it. Spooner knew there would be consequences to changing her own personal history but did it regardless. However again, the trailer for next week revealed her fate.

Spooner's scenes with her younger self and her mother were genuinely effective and it's good that the show has solved the mystery of what actually happened to her. It was also nice to see Astra step up as a friend to Spooner as well, given her own experiences with losing a mother.

As for the Constantine and Bishop pairing, was it really that shocking that the tw would try and backstab one another? Sadly for John, Bishop was just that bit more clever so his newly regained powers also came with a death sentence for Constantine.

I'm really not sure how I feel about Constantine being killed off like this or if it will even stick. If it doesn't then guilt for betraying the Legends will likely force his hand to leave. However I do think his death will ultimately stick. 

As for the rest of the Legends, they were largely trapped in John's house until Gary had the novel idea of using alien social media to get Kayla to help. Other than that, this episode largely belonged to John, Astra, Spooner and Bishop. The latter now having cmplete his mission to destroy the Fountain and leave Earth vulnerable for his own schemes.

- Mick admitted his feelings for Kayla and she did not seem to be opposed by them.

- Was there any point to John/Zari 2 pairing this season? I do feel that plot should've been scrapped last season as it added nothing overall to his downward spiral.

- Maisie Richardson-Sellers did an excellent directing job here. I do miss Charlie.

- Chronology: 1925 Odessa, Texas, where Spooner is really from. 

There Will Be Brood excelled in the emotional moments with Spooner and her mother, Astra and John but I'm not sure how I feel about the latter being killed off. I hope the finale can end this season on a strong note.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Titans 3x05: "Lazarus"

 

Written by Bryan Edward Hill

Directed by Boris Mojsovski

Red Hood: "You still trying to save me?"

Molly: "Always."

It's that time in the show where we were get an episode that largely does little to advance the main plot because it's mostly a flashback. On the other hand, this one also filled in some gaps between the surprise partnership of Jason Todd and Jonathan Crane.

The events of the previous season and isolation from the Titans truly had a negative impact on Jason. He had nightmares of failing as well as cryptic visits from Donna Troy (why, Donna? I don't remember her being really close to Jason). Worse than that it appeared that Jason's time as Robin were coming to an end long before his fateful encounter with the Joker.

Bruce managed to get Jason to attend therapy sessions with Leslie Thompkins (Krista Bridges), which actually seemed to be going well until Bruce took Jason to Crime Alley and told him he didn't want him to be Robin. Jason of course didn't react to this news at all well, leading to the team up that Bruce should've seen coming.

Having Jason open betray everyone in order to get Crane onside definitely worked a treat. Crane even arranged for Cyrus to dump Jason into the Lazarus Pit underneath Arkham and helped Jason become the Red Hood. Both Red Hood and Scarecrow have the goal of sending Gotham into terror and with Crane out of Arkham, it looks like that's where the season will take things.

Of course, while we've seen Jason cause the death of Hank this season, this episode did potentially hint that he might not be an entire lost cause. In flashbacks, Jason wanted to help his friend, Molly (Eve Harlow) find a missing kid and upon becoming Red Hood, he succeeded where Jason couldn't in regards to helping Molly.

If Molly can tap into some humanity left in Jason, it could go either way for that character. I could see Crane taking her out of the equation to maintain control over Jason or the latter actually being saved by her more than his former mentor or teammates. Either way, there does seem to be a tiny bit of hope left for Jason.

- Jason, Crane and Donna were the only regulars in this episode. Rose also got a brief mention, so I guess the snow hasn't forgotten the character.

- I'm no prude but this pot smoking version of Scarecrow comes across as too try hard in parts. I'm also curious to see which Gotham related character will materialise next on the show.

- If Scarecrow can move around in Arkham easy enough to go check on Jason, post revival, why not just escape of his own accord? It's Arkham after all.

- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off but also weeks before the events of the first episode.

Lazarus certainly filled in all the needed gaps and as a flashback episode was one of the strongest we've had in the series. I thought Curran Walters did pretty well leading the episode to his credit and the smaller cast this week also helped  keep things focused.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of American Horror Story: Double Feature - Pale

 

Written by Brad Falchuk And Ryan Murphy

Directed by Loni Peristere

Belle (to Harry): "There's nothing more addictive than success. You've tasted it now and you're never going to be able to live without it."

Okay, so this first half of Double Feature has an overwhelming message what people are willing to do in order to tap into their innermost talents. You take the black pills (or the Muse as Austin referred to them), you either become something akin to a functioning bit hungry vampire or if you ain't got an artistic bone in your body, you become a flesh phantom.

Neither option has any real appeal but it's interesting to see both Harry and Alma succumb to the black pill and it's deadly side effects while Doris seems incapable of picking design patterns for one room, let alone design an entire house. I wonder if she's destined to become a flesh phantom in the next few episodes. I think she likely will.

Harry got an almighty high from the pill and wrote his best material, none of which we actually got to see while also succumbing to his own bloodlust, learning more about his new diet courtesy of Austin  and Belle. Harry even got himself a new set of chompers, courtesy of dentist meets tattoo artist, Leslie Feldman (Billie Lourd) or Lark as she likes to be called. 

While Lark was working on Harry's teeth and Alma took to eating animals to satisfy her own hunger, we also saw Mickey take the black pill too in order to finish his own screenplays. Karen, on the other hand, seemed adamant about not touching them, in spite of her own clear talent with painting.

I really enjoyed the scenes with Karen and Mickey in this episode. So far he's the only character on the show to have shown Karen some kindness, but like Karen, Mickey also has been depicted as an outcast. I was convinced he'd turn into a flesh phantom but that didn't happen here. Unless the process takes time. I mean at least one main character has to turn into one of them.

As for the origin of the black pills, Austin did give a bit of an information dump on it. Notably he referred to their creator, known as the Chemist and with four episodes left to go of this segment of the season, we better be meeting the character next week.

- Harry's script bagged him a Netflix deal and interest from Joaquin Phoenix, according to Ursula. I did cringe when he was gushing about Tarantino and Sorkin, though I got the point he was poorly trying to make.

- Belle talked about Burleson being a potential problem, which seemed to contradict her uninterested stance in the previous episode.

- Standout music: Massive Attack's Teardrops.

- Chronology: From where the first episode left off, then about a week passed halfway through. 

Pale kept up the pace, added more to the overall story while the Gardner family began to fall apart. The highlights though we're Harry's scenes with Austin, Belle and Lark more than his own family as well as the Karen and Mickey scenes. Two episodes in and this season has been off to a strong start.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of American Horror Story: Double Feature - Cape Fear

 

Written by Ryan Murphy And Brad Falchuk

Directed by John J. Gray

Harry (to Austin): "I don't like choices you can't come back from."

After a two year absence, a spin-off that was a tad hit and miss, the main event has finally returned and because it's a show that's in its tenth season, of course it would be time to mess around with the format of the show.

Gentle viewers, we're not just getting a new season of American Horror Story, no we're getting two half seasons merged into one and I'm assuming with a connective issue that will make more sense once things move along .

Opening up this first half season, we have struggling TV writer, Harry Gardner (Finn Wittrock) moving to Provincetown, Massachusetts. Harry's accompanied by his pregnant interior designer wife, Doris (Lily Rabe) and violin prodigy daughter, Alma (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), the latter of whom also likes to count roadkill for some random reason. 

Of course with family moving out to Provincetown for creative inspiration, it didn't take long for the weirdness to creep in with the Gardner family soon getting stalked by pale Nosferatu looking vampires (yes, we're doing that again) as well as Harry encountering a few eccentric locals and visitors along the way as well as the rather unhelpful Chief Burleson (Adina Porter).

These eccentric folk range from relatively harmless hustler Mickey (Macauley Culkin), scatty vagrant Karen (Sarah Paulson) who repeatedly tells Harry to leave the coastal town, which he nearly did at the end of this opening episode. However it's drunken playwright Austin Sommers (Evan Peters) and erotic novelist Belle Noir (Frances Conroy) that stand out  the most here.

Austin himself eventually wore Harry down into taking a mysterious black pill that gets the creative juices flowing while Belle not only was revealed to be a vampire but seems to have control over the others and has Karen bringing her babies for protection. Both Peters and Conroy eat up these particular roles and were the highlights of this first episode.

- The first half of this season is Red Tide and it seems this season will break the rules with a very different genre that will make up the second half of the season.

- Both Evan Peters and Sarah Paulson are producers this season. Leslie Grossman also appeared as Harry's agent, Ursula. 

- Standout music: I wasn't expecting to see Evan Peters and Frances Conroy to duet on Islands In The Stream but it worked for the scene it was setting up.

- Chronology: It's Winter time in Provincetown, so very late 2020 or possibly early 2021.

Cape Fear got the ball rolling well enough, introducing most of the essential players right off the bat. Harry and Doris aren't new in terms of seemingly normal couples thrown into a world of madness and while I'm wary of vampires being explored again, I'm intrigued to see what this half season will add to the mythology nonetheless.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Legends Of Tomorrow's 6x13: "Silence Of The Sonograms"

 

Written by Phil Klemmer And Morgan Faust

Directed by Nico Sachse

Bishop: "You know when you fight yourself, you're destined to lose."

Sara: "Destiny's so last season."

As we head towards the end of this season, Bishop has finally come back just so that he could be a gigantic pain in the backside to the Legends. He might also want to be a big more strategic and play them off each other as well to a certain point. 

Bishop started well enough with Sara and Ava, feigning loneliness and using the latter's own hangups about being a clone while helping to organise her wedding. As someone who isn't always the biggest fan of Ava, this was actually a pretty great episode for the character.

Then there was fighting with Sara and anticipating her every move. That's what happens when you have 6% of someone who you previously kidnapped at the start of the season. However the physical sparring between Sara and Bishop was pretty cool to watch though.

Of course it wasn't just the happy couple that Bishop targeted this episode. He managed to trick them into inducing Mick's labour and while on any other show with a similar plot, Bishop would've went after the 48 babies, Bishop set his goal a little higher.

The object Bishop's goal was of course Constantine, who absolutely gave into his worst impulses by the end of this one. Zari did her damnedest to get Constantine back on track and it almost worked but his days are numbered on this show and I really don't see a good ending in sight for John.

Now why Bishop needs Constantine, I'm not sure, but as we head into the last two episodes, it'll be interesting to see how he's ultimately defeated as a baddie. This episode alone did more to make Bishop a credible threat than the first half of the season did.

- Did Behrad just skip this episode? Oh wait, he did as he's gone to see his parents. 

- The show let Constantine smoke, almost to really drive home the fact that he's gone to the dark side now. Astra also fixed Spooner's missing memory from John.

- Standout music: Lou Reed's Perfect Day during those scenes with Ava and Bishop.

- Chronology: Exactly from where the previous episode left off.

Silence Of The Sonograms certainly delivered both with Mick giving birth nasally with his kids and everything concerning both Bishop and Constantine. Definitely hopeful for these last two episodes sticking the landing with this arc.

Rating:  8 out of 10

My Review of Titans 3x04: "Blackfire"

 

Written by Stephanie Coggins

Directed by Millicent Shelton

Blackfire: "Where are you taking me?"

Starfire: "Are you serious? You'd rather stay down there?"

Blackfire: "I don't trust you."

Starfire: "Goes both ways, sister."

After spending the first three episodes creeping around and causing Kory to have some psychotic moments, it was finally time to reintroduce Blackfire into the fold and this was certainly a way to introduce her.

For someone who was able to murder her own parents and take over her own world, you'd think Blackfire wouldn't have easily been caught and locked away in an underground facility but that's exactly what happened to the character. It also was revealed her mental attacks on Kory were to get the latter to help her as well.

Needless to say, Kory and Gar track Blackfire down, the sisters rake over the past during their reunion and Kory considered leaving her sister to  remain imprisoned before helping her escape. I'm not sure that was Kory's best idea bur let's see where Blackfire will go from here in the remainder of this season.

As for Dick, he figured out that Scarecrow was mentoring Red Hood and when the latter tried to get to his former mentor, Dick got there first and took Crane to an abandoned cabin in the middle of nowhere. The perfect place for more raking over the past.

With Jonathan repeatedly trying to get into Dick's and it being abundantly clear that he knew everything about Batman and the Titans, it didn't take long for Dick to turn  things to his advantage. He knew exactly how to use Crane in order to get to Red Hood and things almost worked for him.

The fight scene alone with Dick and Jason was evenly matched until Barbara's men swooped in and Nightwing got clipped. This also meant that Jason must have gotten his hands on Crane while Dick had to tend to his wound alone. So close, Dick, bit still somewhat far.

- Conner blamed himself for Hank's death and lashed out at Gar while Dawn decided to go to Paris. I'm not sure if she'll be back later in the season.

- Who was that organisation holding Blackfire prisoner and how did they get her? Last time we saw Blackfire, she had taken over someone else's body. Who's ruling her homeworld in her place?

-  It does seem like Blackfire suffered abuse at the hands of her parents, fueling her resentment towards Starfire.

- Chronology: A few days since the events of the previous episode.

Blackfire continues the streak of a more focused season and if this episode is an indicator, then perhaps the show can manage both the Red Hood/Scarecrow and Blackfire plots with relative ease. However there's also the possibility that maybe some of these villains can be saved as the season goes on.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of American Horror Stories: "Game Over"

Written by Ryan Murphy And Brad Falchuk

Directed by Liz Friedlander

Michelle: "Do you wanna play again?"

Rory: "No, I think I've spent enough time in the Murder House."

It's almost like a point was nearly made about overemphasis on something but at the last minute was then somewhat ignored. I mean we all love a certain house but at the same, has the time to come to put that particular house to rest?

Ryan Murphy definitely seems to be aware that American Horror Story fans have those conflicting feelings and this episode debuted with a Tate/Violet shipper couple played by Noah Cyrus and Adam Hagenbuch as they visited the infamous house, met some past residents and then some other people who really shouldn't be in the house and then things took a turn.

The turn being that the opening few minutes were part of a video game by ambitious developer Michelle (Mercedes Mason) who seems to have a hard time connecting with her son, Rory (Nicolas Bechtel) as the latter cannot deal with her impulsive behaviour while at the same time being a massive fan of the show.

Of course Michelle then decides the best way to get a handle of the game would be to trick realtor Tim (Tom Lenk) that she was interested in buying a certain house. Michelle then got to meet the likes of Ben Harmon, Andi, Maya and her friends before being  trapped in the house courtesy of Ruby and Scarlett. Yup, they're still a thing.

However while Michelle became a little reflective in death, Rory decided to do something that I'm surprised no one else considered and burn the house to the ground. Needless to say Ruby was the only ghost against that idea and Scarlett herself couldn't bring herself to die with Ruby as the place went up in flames and seemingly free all the ghosts.

Saying that, Scarlett  did move into one of the condos that replaced the house and it seemed like her and Ruby got their happy ending. Only that was actually an upgrade to Michelle's game and while Rory seemed more happy with her by the end of this episode, it just highlighted that while this show might park a certain house for a while, it'll never be completely forgotten.

- We got to see Bloody Face, Twisty the Clown and Addie Langdon during the opening sequence as well as the commentary of Sarah Paulson's views on Roanoke.

- Scarlett becoming an assassin between episodes wasn't that much of a shocker to be fair. Tim's reaction to her brutal honesty was funny though.

- I'm surprised they didn't pull in more residents for this episode but likely due to COVID and scheduling, we're lucky we got who we did.

- Chronology: Over a decade since the events of the opening two parter for the series.

Game Over makes for a decent but not spectacular finale to this spin-off's debut season. I did mostly have fun with this show but I definitely feel there's room for improvement and less reliance on earlier seasons would help it as well. Anyways onto the main series next week.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Superman And Lois 1x15: "Last Sons Of Krypton"

 

Written by Kristi Korzec And Michael Narducci And Brent Fletcher And Todd Helbimg

Directed by Tom Cavanagh

Tal-Rho: "All I ever wanted was a family, Kal."

Superman: "You had one. We were brothers."

I have to be honest. Following the tradition of some Arrow universe first season finales, I was expecting a major character death. A few times in this finale, it felt like one was going to happen. It did not. 

That doesn't matter though because plenty of interesting things did happen. One the surprise of Tal-Rho being defeated but ultimately not killed off. While I seriously cannot see him being the main antagonist again next season, I do wonder where else they can take this character or Leslie Larr for that matter.

Then there was Zeta-Rho. He took over Jordan's body and mind while his son tried and failed to bring Krypton to Earth. It took both Lois and Jonathan to save Jordan and it was done in a suitably satisfying way.

With both Zeta and Tal defeated by the Super family and Steel, we also got to see the rest of the town save themselves, something which Superman also noted. On top of that both Lana and Kyle were forgiven by the townspeople, so they won't be leaving Smallville anytime soon.

Then there was John Henry Irons himself. He came close to death when helping take out Tal Rho and almost left Smallville. However the arrival of Natalie soon put a stop to that and Lois meeting her doppelganger's daughter will make for some great drama next season.

I was expecting the last few moments would set up next season's threat but the arrival of Natalie was just as effective. I can't wait to see how she affects the dynamic going into next season and at least we're keeping John around for longer too.

- Lois and Chrissy will now be partners in the Gazette but I wonder who Chrissy was originally going to sell it to.

- Sam has left the DOD, so I guess that means we'll be seeing less of them next season.

- Jordan and Sarah got closer after the events of this episode and the writers are definitely pairing Jonathan with Tegan.

- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off.

Last Sons Of Krypton felt like a modest ending to a fantastic first season but truth be told, I loved it. The CW have struck gold with this show and I do hope further seasons can sustain the high quality of this first run. 

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Legends Of Tomorrow's 6x12: "Bored On Board Onboard"

 

Written by Keto Shimizu And Leah Poulliot

Directed by Harry Jierjian

Beast (to Constantine): "You love this world. You love the power. You love me."

Of a list of things that Legends Of Tomorrow must have to do, I'm sure that a mystery murder was on that list. Thanks to this episode, it can now be crossed off.

With Gideon taking longer to get the Waverider back to Earth, Gary's suggestion of Beast Slayers suddenly became more appealing to a bored group of Legends and Constantine just had to up the ante by making the game all the more real.

Once the game took place outside of the ship and in John's home, it didn't take that long for each of the group to be bumped off with Ava, Nate and Sara being dispatched rather easily and then Astra and Spooner to also meet their fate at the hands of the Beast of the game.

The Beast bemg a darker version of Constantine made sense. His addiction has gotten worse and here he as puttng everyone's lives in danger, with only Behrad spotting that something was amiss while Zari 2 seemed n complete denial about.

However by the end of the episode just as Zari was about to profess her love for John, she realised that he was off the deep end. Going by the trailer for next week and with only three episodes left, things don't look good for John. I really do think he could be killed off.

As for Mick and Gary, well they spent a fair chunk of this episode reunited with Kayla. The latter not being too happy to see either of them before admitting that she was working with Bishop. After a four episode, Bishop's back to be a pain in the backside for the Legends as we finally get into the final part of the season.

- All the Legends were aptly given their respective roles in the game.

- I'm not surprised the male of Gary's species are subservient but Kayla did spare Mick's life and his new hairdo, so she must like him.

- It was nice to have the episode mention characters such as the Flash and Black Siren, even if Ava didn't want them at the wedding.

- Chronology: Present day, but something of a 1920's setting for the game.

Bored On Board Onboard definitely had a lot of fun with its main theme while also setting up Constantine's imminent exit. At this point, I'm convinced he's going to die and I'm not sure how I feel about that. Also with Bishop back in the fold, it'll be interesting to see how his story ends too.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Titans 3x03: "Hank & Dove"

 

Written by Jamie Gorenberg

Directed by Millicent Shelton

Hank: "Tell Dawn I love her."

Well, this went exactly as predicted. If I didn't know that Alan Ritchson hadn't signed for a new series on Amazon, maybe I would've been surprised by this turn of events. However I did and this show needed a way to solidify Red Hood as a legitimate threat. For that to happen, Hank had to die.

Hank has often been my least favourite member of the Titans but after this episode, I think Jason has earned that title and he definitely ensured that any hope of talking him around went out the window. He even managed to play Dick and Dawn off each other before Hank was blown to bits.

Again, even with Jason trying to tear the Titans apart, we did see them working together. Conner had managed to figure how to deactivate the bomb before Jason tricked Dawn into killing Hank while Kory and Barbara worked together to give Dick a lead into that warehouse.

Jason's goal might be to tear his former family to pieces but after this episode, I think it's not only obvious that he's working for a bigger threat but that threat in question actually happens to be the Scarecrow. Crane made it clear himself during his brief conversation with Dick, only the latter wasn't paying that much attention to him.

As for Hank, the threat of death certainly put the character in a reflective mood. He wanted Dawn to know he loved her and he warned Dick not to let Jason ruin the Titans. Hank had more effect here in this one episode than the first two seasons alone. I'm not sure however if Dawn will last much longer without him though as a character.

As for Bruce, his absence really has caused problems. His own technology and Jason's manipulation of it caused Hank's death and even Barbara seems to resent the Titans being in Gotham more than she did Batman. Surely we're due some return of Bruce now that he must know Jason's alive thanks to Gar.

- Cyrus Peak who helped remove Jason from the morgue didn't last long in this episode. 

- Conner's role has definitely been the tech guy so far this season. I think I would've angrier had the show killed Krypto though.

- Kory got another attack at the GCPD, courtesy of Blackfire, who will be the main focus of the next episode.

- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off.

Hank & Dove seems to be the beginning of the end for this particular duo. The episode worked in cementing how far Jason will also go to take out his former family. Three episodes in, this season has certainly upped it's game.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Titans 3x02: "Red Hood"

 

Written by Tom Pabst

Directed by Carol Banker

Red Hood (to Nightwing): "I got a new name now. You'll be hearing it a lot around here. Red Hood."

Well, the show didn't waste time in introducing this character now, did they? One episode in and Red Hood ain't messing around when it comes to the criminal underworld of Gotham and of course with the Titans themselves.

Red Hood made himself now when he took out the number twos of the Gotham criminal underworld and got the number ones to fall in line. He then targeted terrified parents in order to get them to commit crimes while also giving the Titans a run around for good measure.

Fortunately this did lead to the Titans continuing to work well together as Hank and Dawn also rejoined the team, attempted to put their differences to one side but it was Nightwing who made the discovery of who Red Hood actually was and even he seemed surprised with how far Jason had fallen. The question now is how far will the show take Jason as Red Hood and can he be redeemed?

Villain wise, at least Jason is proactive, so the show feels as organised as the Deathstroke plot from the previous year rather than the messy Trigon story of the first season. I'm not entirely sure of Curran Walters acting as he doesn't really sound menacing as Red Hood even if the character was effective throughout the episode.

Of course Red Hood wasn't the only Bat related villain of the piece. Dick wasn't best pleased when Barbara told him that the GCPD were availing of Jonathan Crane's (Vincent Kartheiser) services from Arkham. This role does give the former Scarecrow a Hannibal Lecter style role and his scene did play well enough with Dick. Though I'll be surprised if he remains in Arkham for the whole of the season.

As for Barbara this episode, I have to admit she was almost too antagonistic with Dick this week. I get her reluctance to have the Titans around Gotham following Batman's exit but the whole complicated ex-lovers bit with Dick will wear thin if they're constantly sniping at each other. As it did with Hank and Dawn during their scenes this week.

- Kory almost scorched both Gar and Conner and kept seeing that vision of being captured. Blackfire's doing or something else?

- One of the crime lords in this episode also appeared on Superman And Lois as a therapist to the latter. 

- Still no sign of Rachel or Donna yet this season. When we will see them on Themyscira?

- Chronology: From where the opening episode left off. 

Red Hood feels like a promising start to this particular arc. There were some nice nods to the comic and even the animated movie throughout this one and it's nice that the team feels like a proper team. Maybe this season really is in good hands. 

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Titans 3x01: "Barbara Gordon"

 

Written by Richard Hatem And Geoff Johns

Directed by Carol Banker

Barbara: "No more Robins, Bruce."

Never mind the Boy (or Girl) Wonder, by the end of this episode, there may be no more Dark Knight. If Dick Grayson has any sense, he will not take Bruce on his offer. No doubt he could do a better job saving Gotham than this version of Bruce Wayne but I do not want to see him suit up as Batman.

Dick has only just begun on this show as Nightwing and he's so much better for it. Seeing him along with Starfire, Beast Boy, Superboy and Krypto protect San Francisco, that was finally the Titans show I wanted to see and it's taken too long for even something that simple to happen. I don't want that to be ruined because Bruce lost the plot in this episode.

Yes, Bruce lost the plot big time and all because this episode opened with Jason getting himself killed by the Joker and a grieving Batman then killed the latter offscreen. The good news from a viewer perspective though means that we're getting the Red Hood story this season but it's inevitably going to be bad news for the Titans who already feel guilty for failing Jason.

Jason's death led to Kory giving both Gar and Conner sound advice, newcomer Tim Drake (Jay Lycurgo) somewhat despondent and a tense reunion between Dick, Bruce and Commissioner Barbara Gordon (Savanna Welch). Barbara might have been happy to reunite with Dick but she wasted no time in tearing Bruce apart for his irresponsible treatment of Dick and Jason.

It's interesting that this season has started off on the most Gotham driven off all things and with Red Hood and Scarecrow both on their way, you'd almost think that the show has forgotten about Blackfire. This opening episode didn't feature the character but given that something strange happened to Kory, I wouldn't be shocked if her sister was involved in it.

As for Dick, he was the most proactive he's ever been on the show. He looked into Jason's sudden interest in chemistry, only to find the fallen Robin had a secret loft and a drug lab while also being disgusted at Bruce for looking into replacements for Jason. Brenton Thwaites really has made Dick Grayson into his own and it's great to see but Iain Glen still struggles to convince as Bruce Wayne or an offscreen Batman. 

- Bruce was looking into Stephanie Brown, Carrie Kelly and Daxton Chill as replacements for Jason. Mr Freeze also was responsible for Jim Gordon's death and Kory clearly is getting a love interest in Justin Colt.

- Nice early scene with the Titans fighting Gizmo over a dangerous toxin as well as Gar wanting to up his game with his animal transformations.

- A lot of absences with Rachel, Donna, Hank, Dawn and Rose all sitting this one out. Ravager seemingly will not be a regular this season.

- Chronology: I think it's three months since the second season finale. 

Barbara Gordon has kicked the season off to a promising start. With HBO Max dropping the first three episodes on the same day, I plan to catch up with the remaining two over the weekend. This show has often been a challenge but maybe just maybe, this will be the season where things finally come together. The pieces are certainly there.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of American Horror Stories: "Feral"

 

Written And Directed by Manny Coto

Feral (re Jay/Addy): "Who are these people?"

Jacob: "Dinner."

After hitting something of a high with the previous episode, this one while enjoyable felt like it went a bit backwards. I mean its arguably than some of the first four episodes but not by much. Anyways getting on with the review.

Happy couple Jay (Aaron Tveit) and Addy Gantz (Tiffany Dupont) take their son, Jacob (Colin Tandberg) on an outdoors vacation in the woods in a lovely park and initially, it appears that nothing out of the ordinary has happened.

That soon changed when Addy spotted a mangled deer in the woods and Jay lost their son. Cut to a decade later, the grieving couple divorced and their lives ruined, it seems that Jay and Addy might get a chance to reunite with their son, thanks to skilled hunter, Birch (Blake Shields) who feeds them a story about a cartel and human trafficking.

It's not long until Birch reveals himself to be a fraud and the episode itself bares it's teeth by having Birch die at the hands of a Feral. With the title of this episode and the obvious influence of Wrong Turn, it's apparent that cannibals are on the loose.

This was also where Cody Fern's Australian park ranger, Stan Vogel came in handy. Stan basically gave Jay and Addy an exposition dump on what really happens at National Parks and when I was convinced that he was going to murder the grieving couple, Stan only went and got murdered by the Ferals himself.

As for Jay and Addy, they did get to reunite with Jacob but what a horrible ending for the pair of them. Usually in these situations, at least one of then would've made it out of the episode alive but both Jay and Addy found themselves on the menu thanks to their son. I'm genuinely surprised that happened.

- Aaron Tveit is the first actor to play two different characters on this season. While I preferred Adam, Jay was the more sympathetic character.

- It was nice to let this episode to have Cody Fern use his own accent even though he had less screen time than expected.

- They mentioned the Wild Men in this episode as they did in the Christmas one.

- Chronology: Ten years did pass within this one.

Feral felt like a little bit of a step down compared to the high standard of the previous episode. However the lead couple were likable enough, making their fate all the more horrible and while it would've been nice had he gotten more scenes, Cody Fern did a solid job as Stan. 

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Superman And Lois 1x14: "The Eradicator"

 

Written by Max Cunningham And Brent Fletcher

Directed by Alexandra La Roche

Townsfolk (to General Lane/Lois): "We want answers."

We're finally getting to the end of the season and with the amount of breaks we've had, it's almost here. One more episode to go and then a second season to look forward to in 2022. As penultimate episodes go, this one certainly hit the right notes.

Adam Rayner has gone from corrupt businessman Morgan Edge to Superman's previously unknown half brother Tal-Rho and now he can add the Eradicator to the list of characters he's played this season. It's probably the last role but it's certainly going to be an impacting one.

The Eradicator didn't waste time in freeing Leslie Larr, making a few new Subjekts and causing some havoc in Metropolis, only to then turn around and drastically alter Jordan by the end of the episode. Is Jordan gone forever? I doubt it to be honest.

Speaking of Jordan, he was definitely getting closer to Sarah, only for the latter having to tell him that her family were leavig Metropolis for Briscoe City. There was a moment where it looked like Jordan was about to come clean to Sarah about his abilities as well. I can see that being revealed next season.

As for Lois, she had a near brush of death, with Steel saving her and of course, she tried and failed to help Sam do damage control at the town meeting. Lois almost succeeded in getting people to calm down until Derek Powell's mother turned up and raised more questions about the DOD's continued presence in Smallville.

Speaking of Sam, those injuries don't look particularly great either. Maybe I'm reading into it, but is he a possible goner? I can't help thinking we're going to get a death in the finale. 

- John did seem a bit too dismissive of Jonathan wanting to work with him but it did seem fitting he got to save Lois from death in this episode.

- Tegan revealed that she's from Central City and her father is prison. I wonder if he's one of Barry Allen's rogues and which one.

- Chrissy may be selling the Gazette to a conglomerate, Tamara turned out to have Kyle's back and Clark and Lana had a lovely scene as well this week.

- Chronology: Three weeks since the previous episode. 

The Eradicator is a strong penultimate episode, furthering the consequences of Edge's hold on Smallville while also setting  what should be one hell of a confrontation between Superman and his son in the finale.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Legends Of Tomorrow's 6x11: "The Final Frame"

 

Written by James Eagan And Ray Utarmachitt

Directed by Jes Macallan

Buddy (to the Legends): "It's great seeing folks having a good time in the bowling alley again. How about a team photo?"

I have to admit the trailer to this one kind of filled me with dread. After the brilliance of the previously dark episode with Constantine on his descent to doom, I didn't want something overly light. Fortunately this episode struck a decent balance.

Sara, Mick, Astra and Spooner found themselves transported to a space bowling alley where the owner, Buddy was a kind old man but not in control of what happened in his established. Nope, the control was at the hands of the Pin Killers and they're an awfully competitive bunch.

Led by Mike the Strike (Nicholas Bishop), these competitive aliens hold planets prisoner when the competition loses, meaning that Sara and company not had to win their bowling game against the Pin Killers but if they lost, the Earth was definitely doomed.

Fortunately both Sara and Spooner were excellent bowlers. Mick and Astra, not so much but to make this even more tense was Astra having to be the one to bring the Legends to victory. Needless to say, Astra did just that and there's no doubt we'll likely see the Pin Killers at a later date for a rematch.

As for the rest of the episode, Constantine had everyone believing his magic came back naturally. The only person not fooled was Buddy, who just had to tell us the audience that Constantine would die. Given that we know he's on the way out, character wise, I actually would not be surprised if he is killed off by the end of this season.

As for Nate and Zari 1, they had a camping adventure that involved an annoying couple named Jeff and Jamie while Gary kept Ava distracted with wedding dress antics and Behrad assisted with some spellcasting with John. Everyone somewhat got something to do this week.

- Third time Nicholas Bishop has appeared this season as an antagonist character. Just the show trolling or s it leading to something?

- Spooner and Mick had some nice scenes mulling over their respective pasts.

- Ava should figured out something was amiss when Gary kept adding to her wedding dress.

- Chronology: 2021 Kansas and Alaska for this episode.

The Final Frame was a solid directorial debut for Jes Macallan. The A plot in the bowling alley was a pleasant surprise and the B plot with Constantine's erratic behaviour and what its leading to also worked.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Ending With A Kang

It's been a while since my last jumble blog but here's some things I've been watching of late.

911: I've really been enjoying this season quite a lot and with six episodes left, I can't wait to see how it'll end. There's been some great moments with Buck learning more about his family history and trying to date again, Hen's mother arriving on the scene as well as Maddie and Howie preparing for parenthood and Eddie getting a love interest too. The emergencies have also been excellent this season too.

911: Lone Star: Although I always find the parent show much stronger, I have to admit this season has felt like an improvement on this first one. Tommy has been a stronger addition to the season, both TK and Carlos have had some great individual stories, especially in the eighth episode and the dynamic between Owen and his ex has been fun to see. 

Loki: With another MCU show about to start on Disney+ next week, the last two episodes of this show were particularly strong. I loved seeing the different Lokis, especially the Classic and Alligator version and the arrival of Kang along with Sylvie messing with the Multiverse. Let's just say it's a good job this has been renewed for a second season.

The Flash: Season 7 has without a doubt been the absolute worst season of this show and a damning sign that the CW need to bring this show to a close instead of needlessly dragging it out. However the finale with the gang as well as a returning Nora, Bart and Jay Garrick taking on a Godspeed civil war did show that the series can still deliver. I just hope that next season isn't such a mess like this one has been.

• Ian Anthony Dale has joined the final season of The Walking Dead.
• American Horrors Stories will stream on Disney+ for UK/Irish audiences from September.
• American Horror Story: Double Feature will be split into two titles - Red Tide and Death Valley. It will stream on Disney+ from October.
• Alan Dale has departed the current season of Dynasty.
• Pose's third and final season will air on BBC2 from August 8th in double bills.
• South Park has been renewed for a further six seasons and fourteen movies.
• The fourth season of Stranger Things will be released on Netflix from 2022.
• Raza Jeffrey has joined the cast of The Serpent Queen.
• American Crime Story: Impeachment will premiere on FX in September with Cobie Smulders replacing Betty Gilpin as Ann Coulter.
• Cobra Kai's fourth season will stream on Netflix from December.

My Review of Sublet (2020)

 

Written by Eytan Fox And Itay Segal

Directed by Eytan Fox

Michael:"Hey, I got an idea. Why don't we pair up?"

Tomer: "No way! You want me, a blue sock with white stars to pair up with you, a simple yellow sock. It would never work."

I really wanted to review this movie during Pride Month but things kept getting in the way and two months later, I finally got around to watching this movie. Was it worth the wait? Absolutely. They say better late than never but I could kick myself for not watching this earlier.

The premise is straightforward enough - travel writer Michael (John Benjamin Hickey) finds himself in a sublet of sorts in Tel Aviv. His goal is to give an honest look at the city for his employers and to help him achieve that is aspiring film maker, Tomer (Niv Nissim) and this movie forms one beautiful dynamic between the unlikely pair.

Tomer is happy to show Michael around his city, giving the latter an insight that no conventional tour guide would offer and between the two, there's a playfully affectionate generational gap between their respective experiences as gay men and the lives they've led. 

Tomer prefers hook ups and no strings fun while Michael has a long term partner in David (Peter Sears) and the fallout of a surrogacy that went wrong as a source of tension between the pair, especially with Michael being reluctant to try again. There's a beautiful scene where Tomer's mother, Malka (Miki Kam) offers some heartfelt advice to Michael about parenthood. 

Over the course of the movie, both Michael and Tomer learn more of the other and the connection formed between the two feels beautifully authentic. There was a part of me that was surprised that it led to a brief hook up between the pair before Michael left to go back to New York but I honestly didn't mind. 

Tomer and Michael definitely learned a lot from one another throughout the brief time they got to know each other, with both leads playing off each other wonderfully. I'd like to think that both remained in touch with each other after their time together in Tel Aviv.

- Tomer is a horror fan and even had a poster of Freddy's Revenge and now I want to watch that movie again. He also mentioned Downton Abbey while Michael previously had written a book titled Complications.

- Tomer had his bike stolen but reclaimed it by the end of the movie while his friend, Daria and her boyfriend were moving to Berlin.

- Niv Nissim's own dog  appeared in the movie while Miki Kam's real son had music that featured here too.

- Chronology: The movie takes place over the course of five days.

Sublet is a delightful gem of a movie with engaging performances from both John Benjamin Hickey and Niv Nissim. The latter in general definitely deserves a major role in a US gig after this performance. Michael and Tomer might have seemed like an unlikely pair but I definitely wanted to see more of them and if Eytan Fox and Itay Segal ever want to do some continuation, I'd definitely watch it.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of American Horror Stories: "Ba'al"

 

Written by Ali Adler And Manny Coto

Directed by Sanaa Hamri

Ba'al: "We stay."

Liv: "Only on one condition. You give me another baby."

It might have taken five episodes and maybe it's a bias I have towards a certain season of the parent show, but we finally have an episode that highlights what this spin-off can achieve when there's more effort put into the storytelling over prioritising the shock factor.

Liv (Billie Lourd) and Matt (Ronen Rubenstein) seem like an average enough couple. They've been trying for a baby and are on their last viable attempts with IVF. Liv is desperate to be a mother, Matt's the supportive husband and the answer to both their prayers might be down to a sympathetic receptionist named Bernadette (Virginia Gardner).

Or more specifically, it might be down to a fertility statue of a Sumerian deity named Ba'al. Seemingly the statue works and over a year later, Liv and Matt have a son named Aaron. Liv also seems to have post partum depression, but feels there's something more supernatural at play.

When various methods to connect with her son go awry and the house keeps bringing up strange events along with an badly thought out game of Ouija with friends also brings out Liv's increased paranoia, its up to a certain banishing spell to save the day. Except for Matt getting inadvertently stabbed and a guilt stricken Liv to commit herself for her own sanity.

So far, all of this was some nice human drama with a good dose supernatural horror. However things get really shocking when it's revealed that Matt and his friends (including Bernadette) were actually gaslighting Liv all along. It's a sinister revels when it's pointed out that they were doing it for an actual TV show and were going to target other people as well.

However what Matt and his horrible friends hadn't factored in was Liv being successful in summoning the real Ba'al, who then killed everyone except Matt. Matt then got his own just desserts with Liv leaving him to rot in prison while she struck a deal with Ba'al for another baby.

- The credit sequence definitely went for a similar vibe to both Coven and Apocalypse. One of the guest actors from the latter season played Matt's friend, Rory.

-  Given that witches are public knowledge in this universe, I'm surprised more of a big deal wasn't made of it. Missed opportunity not to feature a character from Coven in this one.

-  This was the longest episode so far at 49 minutes and it certainly made use of its extra time.

- Chronology: The events of the episode took place over a year and a half.

Ba'al demonstrated that this spin off can hold its own along with the main series itself. Billie Lourd was excellent throughout as Liv and Ronen Rubenstein delivered as well as Matt. The supernatural elements were handed the best and I'm hoping the last two episodes can deliver like this one managed to do.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

 

Written by Chris McKenna And Erik Sommers

Directed by Jon Watts

Mysterio: "It's easy to fool people when they're already fooling themselves."

After an Iron Man reliant first solo adventure for the infamous webslinger, it was definitely time for Peter to have some adventures without Tony Stark. At least in theory.

While Tony might be dead, his ghost definitely lingered on and it was the turn of Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) to Peter's guide as the young hero went on a tour throughout Europe with his classmates for this sequel.

Taking the action out of New York for most of this movie was a smart idea as Peter found himself being paired with the enigmatic Quentin Beck/Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) to face the Elementals. Only things were not that simple.

As Peter showed some doubt with being suitable enough to use Tony's new AI EDITH, Beck was quickl revealed to another in a long line of people that Tony pissed off and despite some teasing of the Multiverse, Quentin was from this Earth after all.

As a villain, Mysterio is easily one of the MCU's most successful yet. Gyllenhaal is perfectly cast as Beck and his big brother type of rapport with Holland works a treat as Mysterio devastates Peter in more ways than one.

After the way this movie ended with Peter being outed as Spider-Man, courtesy of Beck getting the last laugh, it's going to be interesting to see how the MCU deals with this plot going forward.

Not that Peter's identity wasn't due to be exposed. Several characters noticed his absence at different points and even MJ casually figured out that he was Spider-Man as the two of them got much closer together in the movie. Not to mention a certain someone also made their debut in this movie, who will undoubtedly cause problems for Peter going forward in the MCU.

- The certain someone being J Jonah Jameson with JK Simmons reprising the role. 

- The other credit sequence involved the reveal of Skrulls such as Talos assuming the identity of Fury and Maria Hill while Fry himself was elsewhere.

- Ned got himself a summer romance with Betty Brant while Peter wanted to have a conversation about Aunt May and Happy being a couple.

- Chronology: Post blip with the tour taking in Italy, Croatia, Germany and the UK.

Spider-Man: Far From Home for me is an enjoyable sequel to the MCU's Spider-Man. Taking the action out of New York, Gyllenhaal's Mysterio and some truly great action sequences make this one of the best movies in this franchise for me.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Batman: The Long Halloween Part 2 (2021)

 

Written by Tim Sheridan

Directed by Chris Palmer

Two-Face (to Batman/Commissioner Gordon): "The Long Halloween is over."

I'm genuinely surprised that unlike Batman: The Dark Knight Returns that they didn't have a wider gap between releases of both parts of this adaptation and am pleased that unlike Batman: Hush that this wasn't a massive misfire.

The cliffhanger from the previous instalment saw Bruce Wayne under the control of Poison Ivy (Katee Sackhoff) thanks to Carmine Falcone. We pick up with Bruce being forced to sign over assets until Catwoman pays a visit to Wayne Manor and managed to snap him out of Ivy's control.

Of course everyone's favourite plant lady wasn't the only rogue member under Falcone's employ. We had Batman also doing battle with both the Scarecrow (Robin Atkin Downes) and Mad Hatter (John DiMaggio), both with and without Catwoman's help for good measure.

On top of that, there was also the downfall of Harvey Dent. Falcone continued to go after Dent but it was Maroni (Jim Pirri) who brought on the arrival of Two-Face himself and once, the latter was added into the game, the Roman's days were numbered.

With Batman and Catwoman versus Two-Face and the help of Solomon Grundy, Poison Ivy, Joker, Penguin,Scarecrow and Mad Hatter, it certainly made for one hell of a final confrontation. Needless to say, Falcone died, the Long Halloween was declared over and Two-Face handed himself in for all the Holiday crimes.

However going by the actual comic itself, and unlike another adaptation that ruined the killer reveal, this one stuck a bit more to script. Except for the fact that Gilda Dent was solely the Holiday Killer and her connection to Alberto worked as a good surprising twist. Though Batman's decision to let her go was something unexpected. I'm not sure how I feel about it if I'm being honest.

- Sofia Falcone's fate seemed a bit ambiguous. Did she actually die? Catwoman also got her mother's name from a dying Carmine.

- The next animated movie will be Injustice, scheduled for later in the year.

- The post credit scene had both the Flash and Green Arrow showing up at Wayne Manor to recruit Batman.

- Chronology: Started at Valentine's Day and ended appropriately with Halloween.

Batman: The Long Halloween Part 2 was a strong second half to this adaptation. Overall the comic will always be the better version but the changes done here work well and don't ruin the overall story. Jensen Ackles also has proven to a solid take on the Dark Knight.

Rating: 8 out of 10