My Review of The Beauty: "Beautiful Patient Zero"

 

Written by Ryan Murphy And Matthew Hodgson 

Directed by Michael Uppendahl

Clara: "Is this a dream? Did I die?"

Mike: "Actually, Clara, you're the dream now."

We're slap bang in the middle of the show and it was time to mostly step back again and look at some origins. Half this episode focused on Byron Forst and the second half filled some other gaps.

The episode opened with a captive Dr Ray having the misfortune of watching Byron having sex with a stewardess, who would be later killed off in the episode. Byron wasn't pleased that he had 855 days left before he could explode.

In fact Byron nearly killed Dr Ray until the latter persuaded him that he could find a way to keep Byron alive. Then there was Byron monologuing his great plan to Franny. I absolutely love the unbridled hatred that Franny showed Byron but I'd also love to know what made her marry him in the first place and have two children with him? I'm sure we'll find out soon.

Anyways, do you remember Joey Pollari popping up in the second episode in Italy, getting no dialogue and being taken out by The Assassin? Well, the second half of this episode was dedicated to the events that led to Byron wanting Mike McGuinn to suffer as he died. 

Yes, in an unsurprising turn of events, Mike looked a lot different. In fact you could say that he looked like Eddie Kaye Thomas. Mike was working in Zone 1 at the Corporation and was friends with a trans woman named Clara Gardner (Rev Yolanda). In fact their friendship was rather sweet as Mike and Clara both lifted each other up while not being afraid to dish out some needed truths.

Mike also had a crush on Zone 4 worker Jennifer King (Laura Dreyfuss) but learned that she was engaged. I do think Clara might have been a tad harsh about Jen when cheering Mike but an incident involving a chimp named Larry going berserk in Zone 4 gave Mike an idea.

Yes, he stole the Beauty and the boosters needed to prevent combusting and gave it to himself. Then he gave it to Clara and she ended up looking like Lux Pascal. Both of them were happy with their new bodies. Then we circled back to Mike being killed. I would've liked more of Joey Pollari in this show.

- Cooper, Jordan and Jeremy all sat out the events of this episode but the trailer for next week showed the latter two meeting.

- I assume we will properly meet both Byron and Franny's children before the season ends, right? They've been mentioned a lot.

- Standout music: Tame Impala's Run From The Sun Like Dracula.

- Chronology: Two years before the events of the first episode.

Beautiful Patient Zero did fill in a few needed gaps but that was two flashbacks in a row. There's a daft musical sequence that played in Ashton Kutcher's physique. I think the Mike and Clara story was better though.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Industry - Season 3 (2024, HBO/BBC1)

 

Written by Mickey Down And Konrad Kay

Directed by Isabella Eklöf And Zoé Wittock And Mickey Down And Konrad Kay

Eric/Robert (in unison): "I am a man and I am relentless."

There are a few things I have to got to say about this third season. First of all, it's my favourite season of the show so far and secondly, it felt like it was being primed as a final season for the show. The last episode really did work as a potential series finale.

Of course, this season didn't end the show because the fourth season has been airing but had things been different, this would've been a glorious ending for the show. The stakes felt higher and the writing felt more elevated than it had already been. Not to mention so many dynamics shifted.

For example, Harper Stern was no longer working at Pierpoint. Instead she had moved on to working at FutureDawn. It didn't take Harper long to play partners Anna Gearing (Elena Saurel) and Petra Koenig (Sarah Goldberg) off each other. Harper was on a roll this season with her bullshit as the likes of Eric, Yasmin and Rishi all got caught in her crossfire. This led to one of the best fight scenes between Harper and Yasmin.

Speaking of Yasmin, how the hell did Marisa Abela not get an Emmy nomination for this season alone? It's easily her best work as Yasmin went through a very public fallout of her father's sex crimes coming to light. On top of that, the season largely teased the idea that she might have murdered him before flashbacks revealed a far murkier answer to that particular question.

Of course this season also addressed the dynamic between her and Robert as both of them got involved with Lumi CEO (a green energy company) Sir Henry Muck (Kit Harington). The latter's a spoiled manchild that treated Robert like a dogsbody before eventually getting engaged to Yasmin. It's not a relationship that's really built on love by the looks of it.

By the end of this season, not only are both Robert and Yasmin out of Pierpoint but the former also left thd country for his own opportunities in California. Pierpoint itself was also taken out of the equation with Eric being well and truly screwed over. It definitely felt like the end of an era here, adding to my earlier sentiment that this season felt like a final season to me.

As for Rishi, talk about a character journey. Sagar Radia was another actor who I'm shocked didn't get Emmy nominated. There's a whole episode dedicated to Rishi's gambling addiction and it's one of the best episodes of television that I've ever seen. It also came to a devastating head in the finale that made me actively dread where thecshow will go with the character next season.

- Episode titles were Il Mattino ha L'Oro in Bocca, Smoke And Mirrors, It, White Mischief, Company Man, Nikki Beach, or: So Many Ways to Lose, Useful Idiot and Infinite Largesse.

- Eric fired Kenny at the start of the season. Kenny came back with Daria and Jackie at the behest of Harper making her own moves against Eric.

- Yasmin was implied to be abused by her father as a child. Her lawyer, Denise (Fiona Button) was the sister of her former boyfriend, Seb.

- Nicole died at the start of the season and Robert was traumatised by her death. We saw Robert on a drug trip in the second half of the season.

- Other prominent characters this season included Sweetpea Golighty (Miriam Petche), James Ashford (Tom Stourton), Viscount Alexander Norton (Andrew Havill), Ali El Mansour (Fady Elsayed), Vinay Sarkar (Asim Chaudhry) and Tom Wolsey (Harry Hadden-Paton) to name a few.

- Chronology: Some time since the events of the second season. Rishi's episode was set during Christmas.

I absolutely love this season. If the show had ended with this one, it would've been one hell of a note to have ended the show. I'm glad it hasn't ended though because I've really gotten into it over these last few weeks. This show really proves that when a show can be allowed to grow its audience, it can truly deliver.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of Saw II (2005)

 

Written by Leigh Whannell And Darren Lynn Bousman

Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman

John: "Those who don't appreciate life do not deserve life."

Eric: "My son appreciates his life."

John: "But do you appreciate yours? Do you appreciate your son's?"

And I'm on to the first of many sequels for this franchise. If the first movie kept it reasonably simple, then this was the beginning of making this incredibly complicated going forward.

First of all, there's the prominence of John Kramer (Tobin Bell) aka Jigsaw Killer himself. After the brief screen time he had in the first movie, he's a far bigger threat this time around. Oh and he's got cancer, so threatening his life won't do shit to get him to do the right thing.

That was something that corrupt Detective Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) had to find out the hard way. His sins caught up with him when his estranged son, Daniel (Eric Knudsen) was one of many unfortunate people caught up in Jigsaw's second round of torturous games.

Let's look at the batch of victims themselves. There's Daniel and a returning Amanda (Shawnee Smith) being dragged into this mess but they're also joined by Addison (Emmanuelle Vaugier), Laura (Beverley Mitchell), Xavier (Franky G), Jonas (Glenn Plummer), Obi (Timothy Burd) and Gus (Tony Nappo). They're all nearly cannon fodder.

To be fair, they're all people mostly linked with crime and put through the usual tests that fitted their flaws. The emphasis was largely on Amanda and Daniel. Both of them made it out of the movie alive. The not so shocking reveal though was Amanda actually working with John all along.

It's heavily telegraphed in the movie that Amanda viewed John as someone who saved her from herself, so it was fitting that she became his accomplice. Then there's Eric. He was largely a selfish character throughout and his fate ended on a cliffhanger to boot.

- Other characters of note in this movie included Alison Kerry (Dina Meyer), Rigg (Lyriq Bent) and Michael (Noam Jenkins). The latter was the opening kill.

- Billy the Puppet had a lot more screen time in this movie.

- Standout music: Marilyn Manson's Irresponsible Hate Anthem.

- Chronology: Not long after the events of the first movie.

I'll admit that Saw II made for a decent sequel. I think this movie helped to cement both John Kramer and Amanda as oddly sympathetic villain protagonists. Meanwhile, the actual protagonist Eric Matthews felt rather unsympathetic by comparison. Funny that.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Saw (2004)

 

Written by Leigh Whannell 

Directed by James Wan

John (to Adam): "Most people are so ungrateful to be alive, but not you, not anymore. GAME OVER!"

I've been iffy about this franchise. I don't hate it but it's definitely a franchise that wants to have it's cake and eat it. You've got a horror antagonist that seemed delight in abducting people and putting them through psychological warfare and have then killed in often sadistic ways.

However this first movie was more lower scale. Two men are trapped in a grotty room together with a dead body. The first man -  Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Lewes) was an inattentive husband and father to Alison (Monica Potter) and Diana (Makenzie Vega). This would come back to haunt him.

The second man named Adam (Leigh Whannell) seemed to be a mostly innocent guy but it turned out that he was spying on Lawrence's extracurricular activities. That put both men at odds and their mystery kidnapper Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) seemed to revel in testing their resolves while delving into their flaws.

For Lawrence there was the added dilemma of having both Alison and Diana being terrorised by Zep Hindle (Michael Emerson). It turned out the latter was being blackmailed by Jigsaw but fortunately Alison was able to save herself and Diana. If it were up to Lawrence, they wouldn't have made it out of the movie alive.

There's a lot of parts in this movie. You've got both Adam and Lawrence fighting for survival, Zep being as much as a victim as they are and the reveal of John Kramer as the real Jigsaw. I'll admit that was the best part of the movie along with hints of Kramer's backstory.

Another aspect of this movie involved detective duo David Tapp (Danny Glover) and Steven Sing (Ken Leung). Both men tried desperately to catch Jigsaw and save other victims. They didn't exactly succeed in either aspect and Sing himself ended up being another casualty. 

- This movie introduced us to Amanda (Shawnee Smith), a survivor of one of Jigsaw's previous games. Billy the Puppet appeared very briefly.

- This originally started life as a short movie and was even meant to film in Australia before budget reasons changed it to Los Angeles.

- Standout music: Pitbull Daycare's You Make Me Feel So Dead.

- Chronology: Present day in Los Angeles, including flashbacks for various characters.

The first Saw movie (maybe the first three) arguably was the strongest of the bunch. Later movies will over egg everything that made this ons work but for now, the psychological games and Jigsaw all worked pretty well. A strong debut.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms: "Seven"

 

Written by Aziza Barnes And Annie Julia Wyman And Ira Parker

Directed by Sarah Adina Smith

Ser Duncan: "Who will stand and fight with me? Has courage deserted the nobles houses of Westeros? Are there no true knights among you?"

Ah, Ser Dunk. Talk about being damned either way. He went from punching out a spoiled Prince to fighting out that his squire was another prince and his life was also on the line. It was not his day/night throughout this episode.

Looking into the Egg or shall Prince Aegon Targaryen reveal. I can't say that I blame Dunk for taking it badly. I also don't blame him for accusing Egg of trying to make fun of him, even though the latter made it clear that he didn't intend any malice. Egg just really wanted to get away from his own family.

Egg's hatred for Aerion was made very apparent in this episode. He genuinely wanted to see his older brother dead and didn't care if Baelor disapproved of him saying it aloud. I also liked that when the chips were down, Egg maintained being Dunk's squire. Dunk kind of had no choice but to let him.

This episode further cemented how cruel and petty Aerion could be as a character. He couldn't simply let Dunk do trial by combat but insisted upon the trial by seven. He even managed to undermine Dunk's attempts to save himself by getting to Steffon. To be fair, I don't think it would've taken much to get Steffon to switch sides.

I guess what really elevated the episode was of course Baelor himself. Baelor has proven to be receptive to Dunk on the show and having him step in at the last minute to give Dunk the team he needed was a nice moment to cheer things on. I don't think Aerion will be pleased with more family members making their hatred for him publicly known.

As for Daeron, I think this episode made him a bit more tragic. Like other Targaryens, Daeron admitted to having prophetic dreams and even apologised for making things worse for Dunk. In a few scenes, I've grown to like his character.

- Aerion genuinely believes that he's a dragon in human form and he killed Egg's cat while threatening to castrate him. 

- Tanselle fled the scene  while Lyonel knighted Raymun to replace Steffon. I like that Raymun has become a good friend of Dunk's.

- This episode along with the latest one from Industry were released on HBO Max due to tonight's Super Bowl.

- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off.

Seven was easily the best episode so far. A fantastic character study into everyone, but especially Dunk. A fantastic use of the Game Of Thrones/House Of The Dragon theme music and those last few minutes were sublime. This show really found it's groove.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of Shell (2024)

 

Written by Jack Stanley

Directed by Max Minghella

Samantha: "I guess I just wanted you to look at me and see someone else."

If the idea of ageing actress resorting to an experimental beauty with dire consequences hadn't been explored enough in The Substance, then there's Shell. While former was in theatres, this one was doing the festival circuit. Does it work as an idea? I'd say yes it did.

The actress in question was Samantha Lake (Elisabeth Moss). She was known for a cheesy but feel good sitcom but the acting roles have dried up. Even when Samantha auditioned for a role that was suited to her, she lost out to the much younger Chloe Benson (Kaia Gerber). Chloe was a girl that Samantha used to babysit for back in the day.

Anyways Samantha's desperation to revive her acting career put her in the cross hairs of Dr. Hubert (Arian Moayed). He worked for Shell, which was founded by Zoe Shannon (Kate Hudson). Samantha underwent the procedure and ended up making friends with Zoe. On top of that, she also booked an acting gig. Things were looking up for her.

However if you've watched The Substance and Death Becomes Her, you'll know there's a downside to those type of rejuvenations. Samantha kept getting these grotesque black moles on her skin and Chloe's disappearance quickly alerted Samantha to the dangers of Shell.

There's a point in the movie made about Samantha being too trusting. It's evident in the way that it took very little for Zoe to get her on side. It's also something that Zoe had no problem throwing back at Samantha when she didn't need to pretend to be nice.

Anyways, the cops/FBI were under Shell's payroll, Dr. Hubert helped Samantha stabilise her condition but was still untrustworthy, Chloe turned into some hideously monster that was darkly lit and Zoe got her just desserts. The ending was a bit happier for Samantha compared to the other movies I've mentioned in this review.

- Elisabeth Moss and Max Minghella (the director) worked together on The Handmaid's Tale (2017-2025).

- Elizabeth Berkley popped up at the start of the movie as Jenna Janero. It didn't end well for her.

- Standout music: Connie Francis's Young At Heart.

- Chronology: Present day Los Angeles. Samantha write a book about her experience months after the events of the movie.

Shell had some interesting enough ideas that were executed well enough but at the same time, I think they could've pushed them better. I'll give both Elisabeth Moss and Kate Hudson their due as I think they did well with their respective roles.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Possession (1981)

 

Written by Andrzej Żuławski And Frederic Tuten

Directed by Andrzej Żuławski

Anna: "Goodness is only some kind of reflection upon evil. That's all it is."

With a remake of this movie on the horizon, it was definitely time to see what the fuss was about the original. A movie that wasn't a commercial success upon it's initial release but gained cult status over the years.

To start off with, this doesn't feel like a traditional horror movie about the nature of possession. For the most part, it's very much a kitchen sink drama with a small dose of espionage talk in the mix but even the latter bit felt somewhat muted until the last few minutes of the film.

The focus was on separating couple Mark (Sam Neill) and his dissatisfied wife, Anna (Isabelle Adjani). Their whole relationship was an exercise in pure destruction to watch. If they weren't screaming at each other in nearly every scene together, both of them were physically assaulting each other to boot. It's a bit exhausting at times.

On top of that, they've got a son named Bob (Michael Hogben) that neither make an effort to look after or reassure during their volatile outbursts. Although Mark did try to fight for custody of Bob early in the movie. Also, there was the matter of adultery itself and how it factored into both Mark and Anna's actions.

Mark started an affair with Bob's teacher, Helen. Helen looked exactly like Anna and was even played by the same actor. Anna was also sleeping with Heinrich (Heinz Bennent) but oddly enough, his best scenes were with Mark rather than Anna. Oh and he was eventually killed by Mark.

As for the possession itself, it was a creature driving both Mark and Anna (the latter moreso) into absolute madness. The creature eventually became Mark's doppelganger and by the end of the movie, the volatile couple were no more. In fact, the movie ended on a rather horrifying note.

- The upcoming US remake will be directed by Parker Finn and produced by Robert Pattinson. A Malaysian remake came out in 2024.

- There's a character called Man with Pink Socks, played by Maximilian Rüthlein. I think that's a neat name for a character.

- This film was actually banned in the UK until 1999 and was written while the director was going through a divorce.

- Chronology: 1970s West Berlin for the duration of the movie.

Possession (1981) was something of a wild movie. I don't think I love it but I couldn't keep my eyes off it either. It's such a fascinating look into an absolutely destructive pairing with a very bleak ending. It's definitely a movie that'll stick with you.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of The Beauty: "Beautiful Billionaires"

 

Written by Ryan Murphy And Matthew Hodgson 

Directed by Alexis Martin Woodall 

Byron (to other billionaires): "Let's get poked."

Who had Vincent D'Onofrio transform into Ashton Kutcher on their bingo card? I didn't but it made sense for such a transformation to have happened. We knew Byron was one of the early candidates for the Beauty.

It was also less of a shocker that other billionaires were roped into Dr Ray's experiment as well. We got to briefly meet Byron's contemporaries Axel Zufo (Peter Gallagher), Waylon Lemming (Billy Eichner), Roland Wylde (David Pittu) and Kitty Munson (Julie Halston). I say briefly because it didn't end well for them.

All of these billionaires took the poke. All of them suddenly became a lot younger but only Byron lived to tell the tale. Why did Byron survive and not the others? Oh, because Byron killed all the other billionaires. Byron's a man who didn't want to share.

I mean he's been pretty vile so far on the show. His lack of concern over his son alienated his wife, Franny. He's also been cheating on her and called her bluff when she wanted to burn everything down. Surely, Franny's going to kill Byron before the season ends, right?

Then there's Cooper and Jordan. It didn't take too long for Jordan to convince Cooper who she was or to fill in the gaps since the last time they saw each other. I'll give Jessica Alexander her due because she's doing a great job matching Rebecca Hall's performance but I still miss the latter as well. Cooper also made the sensible decision to not sleep with Jordan for the time being.

As for The Assassin and Jeremy, well they spent the episode hunting Nate (Matthew Laureano). Eventually they caught up with him. Under Byron's instructions, Nate's corpse was left in Cooper's apartment with that symbol smeared on the wall. I'm not sure why Byron thought that was a bright idea.

- The other billionaires made their money through mining/fossil fuels, cryptocurrency, banking and multinational retail.

- Byron referenced having two sons. Tig is played by Ray Nicholson. Jordan had dodgy contacts get her back into the US.

- Standout music: Christopher Cross's Ride Like The Wind. The Assassin really did convert Jeremy into a fan.

- Chronology: Byron has been transformed for the last few years. Half the episode was his villain origin story.

Beautiful Billionaires filled in some needed blanks about the origin of the Beauty itself. Yup, Byron's horrible as hell and definitely needs to get one massive comeuppance. I would've liked more of Cooper/Jordan but there's always next week.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Send Help (2026)

 

Written by Damian Shannon And Mark Swift

Directed by Sam Raimi

Linda (to Bradley): "Do you ever hunt? I think I like it."

My second 2026 movie fortunately turned out to be a much better choice, albeit in the same genre. Yes, it's a horror but also a comedy and maybe one of the best movies released so far this year.

Let's take a work trip and throw them on to an island. It'll be like Survivor but with a comedic horror twist. It's also got two people who actively hate each others guts but they're forced to work together in order to survive being stranded on an island together.

The two people being put upon corporate strategist, Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams) and new CEO Bradley Preston (Dylan O'Brien). The latter's absolute contempt for the former would be his eventual undoing. If there was an employee to antagonise, Linda was the wrong one to go up against.

Bring stranded on the island and a shameless Survivor fan girl, Linda seemed a lot more adept of knowing her surroundings (including poisons) and generally fending for herself. She was also far too good at hunting boar as well. Bradley by contract was useless at the most basic skills to survive.

Another thing that Bradley was useless at was trying to poison Linda and making a boat of his own. There's a scene that echoed Misery in which Linda made it clear to Bradley that her kindness wasn't to be mistaken for weakness. Bradley should've paid more attention to that warning.

Of course as the movie went along, it became clear that Linda was deliberately keeping hervand Bradley away from help. She even killed Bradley's well meaning fiancée Zuri (Edyll Ismail). That poor woman was actually trying to help save them. The final confrontation between Linda and Bradley was brilliant. Both of them showed their absolute worst qualities and only one of them could come out on top. The one who did wasn't surprising.

- Linda had a husband that Bradley accused her of killing. She also had a cockatiel.

- Other cast members in this movie included Dennis Haysbert, Xavier Samuel and even Bruce Campbell (long time collaborator of Sam Raimi) had a photograph appearance.

- Standout music: Blondie's One Way Or Another.

- Chronology: A year passed by the end of the movie.

Fair play to Sam Raimi because he absolutely nailed it with Send Help. I really thought this was a riot. Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien were absolutely brilliant from start to finish. Some genuinely horrifying moments and some really funny ones as well.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of God's Creatures (2022)

 

Written by Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly And Shane Crowley

Directed by Saela Davis And Anna Rose Holmer

Sarah: "I suppose every house around here has the same ghosts. I wonder how they'd tell them all apart if they came back."

Following the birthday of leading man Paul Mescal, I decided to check one of the few movies of his that I haven't seen before I get to Hamnet later this month. I chose this one. Also, it's an Irish movie and I want to review more of those for this blog.

Set in a remote small Irish fishing village (they never specify where exactly), we've got a young man named Brian O'Hara (Paul Mescal). He's returned from Australia and his mother Aileen (Emily Watson) might be one of the few people actually to see him back.

It's established early in the film that Brian had an antagonistic relationship with his father, Con (Declan Conlon) and Brian himself was also vague about what happened when he was living Down Under. Brian also wanted to revive the family oyster business while Aileen was a manager at a seafood processing plant. 

Then there's Sarah Murphy (Aisling Franciosi). She's experienced marital problems with her husband, Francie (Brendan McCormack) and then she fell faint as a result of the oyster containing fungus. Of course that wasn't the worst part for poor Sarah.

It turned out that Brian assaulted her and Aileen had given him an alibi, which caused a lot of friction in the village. That friction only worsened at the funeral of Aileen's father in law, Paddy (Lalor Roddy). 

Brian's actions negatively impacted both Aileen and Sarah, essentially making them both outcasts in the village. On top of that, Aileen had to deal with the fact that her own son was a rapist and as a result, there's a final comeuppance for Brian that little to make either Aileen or Sarah feel better about themselves.

- A moratorium was declared on Aileen's place of work because of the fungus in the oysters.

- Fungus can cause long term health risks but oddly enough, it doesn't cause food poisoning.

- Standout music: Aisling Franciosi's version of I The Lord Of Sea And Sky was rather nice.

- Chronology: Present day, small Irish fishing village. The movie was shot in Donegal.

A gothic tale, I really liked God's Creatures. An interesting setting with a well handled set of themes. There's top notch performances from Emily Watson, Paul Mescal and Aisling Franciosi.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms: "The Squire"

 

Written by Hiram Martinez And Annie Julia Wyman And Ira Parker 

Directed by Sarah Adina Smith

Prince Aerion (to Dunk, re Tanselle): "Why did you throw away your life for this whore?"

Well, well, what did we have here? First of all after hints of Prince Aerion being a right little scumbag, this episode really went above and beyond to demonstrate that. Like Joffrey Baratheon and Ramsay Bolton after him, Aerion isn't a man who took a slight lying down.

That's in spite of the fact that his horrible reputation was completely of his own making and the mocking brought upon him by Tanselle was also on him. Personally, I think she went easy on the miserable sod but Aerion retaliated in kind by snapping her finger in front of everyone.

Aerion's attack on Tanselle brought out Dunk's violently protective side. Dunk hasn't been subtle in how he's attracted to Tanselle to the point where Egg teased him for it. It was Egg who also alerted Dunk about Aerion going after Tanselle. Dunk didn't hold back with the punch. Aerion also didn't hold back with trying to punish Dunk either.

Book fans knew the Egg reveal. Yes, he's Aerion's younger brother, Aegon. Yup, the great grandfather of Daenerys Targaryen but that's a long way off. Needless to say, Dunk looked pretty shocked when he realised who Egg really was. Aerion on the other was more annoyed with being reunited with his younger brother.

Dunk and Egg's banter was on absolutely fine form with this episode. They had formed a brotherly bond of sorts and enjoyed mocking one another while enjoying the tournament. That was before everything went shit and Egg's real identity came to the forefront.

I'm actually shocked they didn't leave it until the finale but this midway reveal might actually work better for the show. So far, it's been relatively tame but this reveal was absolutely the best thing that could've happened to the show. Just how will Dunk and Egg's relationship change after this?

- Plummer wanted Dunk to take part in a rigged joust against Lord Ashford's son Ser Androw. Egg also bonded more with the horse Thunder and learned of his future fate.

- Did Dunk and Egg invent the breakfast sandwich? It looked really nice. 

- The next episode will be released on HBO Max on Friday due to the Super Bowl on Sunday.

- Chronology: We've been in the same place for the first half of the season. 

The Squire was by far the best episode so far. Devoid of unnecessary bowel movements, genuinely fun banter with our leads and that reveal at the end. This was the shot in the arm the show needed and it came at the right time as well.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

 

Written by Kirk Wise And Gary Trousdale And Joss Whedon And Bryce Zabel And Jackie Zabel And Tab Murphy

Directed by Gary Trousdale And Kirk Wise

Milo (to himself): "Okay, Milo, don't take no for an answer. "Look, I have some questions for you, and I'm not leaving this city until they're answered!" Yeah, th-that's it. That's good. That's good."

Would you believe there are some Disney movies I have never seen? Well this was one of them until last night. I thought I'd correct that by actually sitting down to watch this one. I do like an underwater adventure and this one had it's moments.

Focusing on a linguist and cartographer named Milo James Thatch (Michael J. Fox), this movie had our main character with a mission in mind. Milo was determined to find the lost empire of Atlantis. The only problem was that no one wanted to indulge Milo's flight of fancy.

That was until Milo encountered an eccentric millionaire named Preston B. Whitmore (John Mahoney). He was a friend of Milo's grandfather and not only gave Milo the means to go underwater to find Atlantis but he also gave Milo a crew with the relevant skill set to aid Milo's quest.

The crew in question included demolition expert Vincenzo "Vinny" Santorini (Don Novello), Dr. Joshua Strongbear Sweet (Phil Morris), Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke (James Garner), mechanic Audrey Rocio Ramirez (Jacqueline Obradors), radio operator/photographer Wilhelmina Bertha Packard (Florence Stanley), chef Jebidiah Allardyce "Cookie" Farnsworth (Jim Carney), geologist Gaetan "Mole" Molière (Corey Burton) and Lieutenant Helga Katrina Sinclair (Claudia Christian). Yup, that's a lot of characters to keep up with.

On top of that, there's also Atlantis being real itself and Milo and the crew making themselves known to it's King Kashekim Nedakh (Leonard Nimoy) and his daughter, Kida (Cree Summer). There's a bubbling romance between Milo and Kida but there's also treachery afoot when it turned out that the crew only wanted to discover Atlantis for selfish reasons and posed an actual threat to the underwater empire.

From a visual perspective, Atlantis looked great onscreen but it's definitely lacking on two fronts. One the romance between Milo and Kida was by far one of the least convincing and poorly set up and two, the villains of the piece were poorly handled. Both things don't ruin the movie but they are disappointing nonetheless.

- David Ogden Stiers had a brief role as Fenton Q. Harcourt. He didn't support Milo's endeavours. There's a sequel named Atlantis: Milo's Return (2003).

- The Atlantean language developed in the movie was by Marc Okrand. He also developed the Klingon language for Star Trek.

- Standout music: Mya's Where The Dream Takes You.

- Chronology: 1914 Washington, D.C. and Atlantis.

For the most part, I did like Atlantis: The Lost Empire. It's just the unconvincing romance and poor villains somewhat let it down as a movie. It's not bad, just average to be honest.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

DCU Blog - January 2026 Edition: TBII/MOT Update, Lobo Spotlight And More Blue Beetle

As we reach the last day of January, the DCU certainly provided some tantalising information about upcoming projects. Let's dive right in.

Sebastian Stan has been cast for The Batman - Part II (October 1st 2027). It's rumoured that he'll be playing Harvey Dent. Filming begins in April.

Cristin Milioti has confirmed that Sofia Falcone won't be returning for The Batman - Part II. 

Superman (2025) and Peacemaker have been nominated for Saturn Awards. The former bagged eight nominations while the latter got three nods.

Superman and Spider-Man will share an upcoming crossover in their respective comics.

Christina Hodson has been confirmed as the writer for The Brave And The Bold. This reunites her with Andy Muschietti as the two previously worked on The Flash for the DCEU.

Ana Nogueira could also be reuniting with Craig Gillespie for Wonder Woman, depending on the success of Supergirl.

Man Of Tomorrow (July 9th 2027) will introduce the character, Maxima. Expect casting news soon.

A recent spotlight for Supergirl (June 26th 2026) focused on Jason Momoa's Lobo.

Diarmaid Murtagh will be playing a space pirate in Supergirl. Krem will lead a bad of space pirate/human traffickers in the movie.

Lanterns star Kyle Chandler recently talked about his experience working on the show on Today. The show will premiere on HBO late summer.

Angel Manuel Soto has confirmed that we will see Blue Beetle and his family soon in the DCU. We still need progress on that animated show.

Filming for the Jimmy Olsen spin-off will take place around the same that Man Of Tomorrow will start filming.

The Mister Miracle animated series will take place in the DCU and will see the debut of Darkseid.

Hamish Linklater has confirmed that Season 2 of Batman: Caped Crusader will be released on Amazon Prime this year.

A good start for information in the first month of 2026. I'm expecting bigger casting news over the next few months.

My Review of Industry - Season 2 (2022, HBO/BBC1)

 

Written by Mickey Down And Konrad Kay

Directed by Birgitte Stærmose And Isabella Eklöf And Caleb Femi 

Eric: "People are just knots of fear. We loosen them and we win."

Yup, I'm still flying through this show in order to catch up and this second season once again brought back Harper, Yasmin, Robert and Gus, albeit all four of them feel a tad more disconnected from one another.

In fact, this second season removed Gus from Pierpoint altogether, having him working in a different area altogether. However the presence of main Pierpoint client, Jesse Bloom (Jay Duplass) did manage to keep Gus still connected, especially when the latter hooked up with Bloom's son, Leo (Sonny Poon Tip).

Of course, it's Jesse's presence that was more prominent for Harper. She was the one who got Jesse into business with Pierpoint but she was also the one who somewhat struggled to maintained his business. Jesse turned out to be a rather slightly and volatile client.

Harper this season still had the ability to completely fuck people over. This extended to Eric but also Rishi. The latter bubbled along in the background in the first season but here he was given a more expanded role. He's actually a great foil to Harper at times while pretty boy, Daniel Van Deventer (Alex Alomar Akpobome) was a near love interest for Harper.

As for Yasmin, I did find this season gave her some interesting things to do. The relationship with her father, Charles (Adam Levy) felt like it was going to mend before being completely shattered. There's a brief "friends with benefits" dynamic between Yasmin and Pierpoint Private Wealth Manager, Celeste Pacquet (Katrine De Candole) but even that ended badly as well for her.

Last but not least, there was Robert's arc. He lost his mentor, tried to be sober, tried to mentor Venetia Berens (Indy Lewis) and also worked through his mommy issues with Nicole. It's not as strong as the first season and I did miss the interactions between him, Harper, Yasmin and Gus as the four interacted less with each other.

- Episode titles were Daddy, The Great Squid, The Fool, There Are Some Women ...., Kitchen Season, Short To The Point Of Pain, Lone Wolf And Cub and Jerusalem.

- Robert likened his mother to a tyrant and briefly reunited with his father during Christmas. He has a brother too.

- We met Harper's brother, who resented her and Yasmin learned that she had a half sister because her father got her former nanny pregnant.

- Rishi was engaged but despite his overtime dislike for Harper, he nearly copped off with her. Kenny was also trying to be a nicer person.

- Jackie got to spend time with Harper and Yasmin for an episode. Daria returned and got her own back at Eric and Harper. Venetia also accused Nicole of sexual assault.

- Chronology: COVID-19 factored into this season. Harper, Yasmin and Robert were in their third year.

While a little lagging compared to the first season, I am loving this show in general. Most of the new characters worked well enough and once again, the show really did show the cutthroat world of Pierpoint succinctly.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Firestarter (2022)

 

Written by Scott Teems

Directed by Keith Thomas

Charlie (to Hollister): "Liar, liar. Pants on fire."

If it takes me a lifetime, I will tackle every Stephen King adaptation going. This isn't one thst I imagine will be anyone's favourite list but it was first time watch for me last night.

Focusing on a couple with abilities. There was Andy McGee (Zac Efron) had telepathic powers while girlfriend Vicky Tomlinson-McGee (Sydney Lemmon) had a daughter Charlie (Ryan Kiera Armstrong). The latter had powers of her own and they were rather dangerous.

Charlie was a kid who literally lived up to the title of this film. She could cause things to burn and because she was a child, she wasn't able to control. Andy and Vicky tried to protect Charlie from the world and from others. Needless to say, they weren't successful.

In fact Charlie's power got so out of control, not only did she end up burning her own mother but the latter also ended up being killed by the villain, Rainbird (Michael Greyeyes), a bounty hunter. It turned out that the government had designs on using Charlie as a weapon.

Throw in DSI villain Captain Jane Hollister (Gloria Reuben) and the disgraced Dr. Joseph Wanless (Kurtwood Smith) and you had both Andy and Charlie on the run. There's an alliance of sorts with Irv Manders (John Beasley) but it's rather short-lived.

Ultimately, the movie pretty much put Charlie in a position where she had to embrace her powers and had to burn everything down. There's also a redemption of sorts for Rainbird but it's rather rushed.

- One thing I didn't need to see was Charlie scorching a cat but that's exactly what we've seen.

- In the book, Hollister was a male character but here the role was written for a woman.

- Standout music: Marty Cooper's Tell The Singer I'm Sorry.

- Chronology: Present day America.

I wouldn't highly recommend Firestarter (2022) but it's not that bad either. It's just an okay remake that plodded along nicely enough. 

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of The Beauty: "Beautiful Chimp Face"

 

Written by Ryan Murphy And Matthew Hodgson 

Directed by Alexis Martin Woodall 

Cooper: "Do I know you?"

Jordan: "It's me. It's Jordan."

When this episode opened with a flashback with Cooper and Jordan in Rome, I had a feeling it was going to end with Cooper meeting the newer version of Jordan. Suffice to say that I wasn't wrong here.

In flashbacks, Jordan quizzed Cooper on how well he actually knew her and Cooper passed. At a fountain, Cooper was hoping and praying that Jordan wouldn't fall in love with him. Somehow I don't think his wish came true.

Back into the present day, Cooper talked to a former partner of Harper Rose's named Ashley and it appeared that he was possibly infected. More time however was spent on Manny (Ben Platt), who worried about his dogs/mother/boyfriend before he broke free and changed into Isaac Powell halfway through the episode. This led to quite a scuffle between Manny ang and Cooper.

Between Jordan's transformation, Manny nearly beating the crap out of him and a discovery of some mad scientist antics, Cooper had enough. On top of that, his cat Nine Lives (unfortunate name choice) had been dead for two months. It really wasn't his day.

As for the baddies of the piece, while they didn't have as much screentime as the previous episode, The Assassin and Jeremy still make for a good team. The Assassin taught Jeremy how to navigate sex now that he's been transformed while also upgrading his wardrobe.

Last but not least, Byron Forst wanted to move up official release of his product on World Beauty Day (September 9th). This also meant him ignoring the advice of lead scientist, Ray (Rob Yang) and generally being obnoxious. I'm so hoping for Byron to get the worst comeuppance before the end of this season.

- Jordan liked Dr Seuss and Simone de Beavoir as well as movies such as Last Tango and Conformists.

- Manny had a labradoodle and a terrier. Cooper mentioned having a Jack Russell when he was younger.

- Standout music: Nice use of opera music during one scene with The Assassin and Jeremy.

- Chronology: It's been 1238 days since Byron started this whole beauty mess.

Beautiful Chimp Face was weaker compared to the first three episodes. It's not a bad episode but it did feel like it was plodding in parts. Hopefully things move a bit faster from next week onwards.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of I Saw The TV Glow (2024)

 

Written And Directed by Jane Schoenbrun

Owen (re Maddy): "What if she was right? What if I was someone else? Someone beautiful and powerful? Buried alive and suffocating to death on the other side of a television screen?"

I've been meaning to watch this movie for a while and yesterday, I managed to get around to finally seeing it. It's premise certainly intrigued me.

Television shows can be a bonding experience for a lot of people and for two outcast teenagers, one particular show resonated with them. The show was called The Pink Opaque and it focused on the connection between girls Isabel (Helena Howard) and Tara (Lindsey Jordan). Oh and their ongoing battle with Big Bad Mr Melancholy (Emma Portner).

Now that's the TV show I'm talking about. In the real world, the connection was between Owen (Justice Smith) and Maddy (Jack Haven). Owen wasn't allowed to watch the show at home, so he'd go to Maddy's to see it or she'd tape it for him. Either way, The Pink Opaque was a source of comfort for the both of them.

Both Owen and Maddy had crappy home lives. Owen's mother, Brenda (Danielle Deadwyler) was dying and his stepfather, Frank (Fred Durst) was a bit of a jerk. Maddy also had an abusive father that she was desperate to get away from. Halfway through the film, she ended up missing and Owen's life didn't exactly go anywhere positive either.

Before their big reunion, Owen lost both parents and was barely scraping by with his life. Maddy then reappeared and told him a fanciful story about being buried alive and that both her and Owen were really Isabel and Tara from their now cancelled show. Of course Owen wasn't willing to be buried alive in order to find out if Maddy was correct or had lost the plot.

The idea in itself that both Owen and Maddy might be from The Pink Opaque and that the world they've been living in isn't real, well it's a good idea. Unfortunately, I do think the execution let it down with the ending being incredibly frustrating.

- The Pink Opaque seemed to be something akin to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers than Buffy The Vampire Slayer. The Ice Cream Monster feels like something the former would've done more than the latter.

- Speaking of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Amber Benson had a nice scene with Justice Smith. I miss seeing her in things. 

- The movie did seem to imply that Owen was gay and Maddy was trans. Owen also battled asthma and depression in later life.

- Chronology: Started off in 1996, moved into 2006 and 2010 before getting closer to the present day.

The more I think about it, the more I do like I Saw The TV Glow than I dislike it. I do think the ending was something of a letdown but the build up was great, there's something about the 90s setting I loved and yes, I think boys my age at that time had that show for girls that we loved unashamedly.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Return To Silent Hill (2026)

 

Written by Christophe Gans And Sandra Vo-Anh And Will Schneider

Directed by Christopher Gans

James: "Our place. Our town. Our love."

Okay, so this will be the first movie released in 2026 that I'll be reviewing for this and I really should've picked something. For clarity purposes, I haven't watched the previous two movies and I've never played the game series, so this will be fun.

Last year I watched Jeremy Irvine in two gay themed movies. One I loved and the other I didn't. In this movie he's playing the leading protagonist James Sunderland. As an actor, he's a bit hit and miss and sadly more in the latter category here.

The movie started with James meeting the love of his life, Mary Crane (Hannah Emily Anderson). She was trying to get out of Silent Hill but thanks to James, not only did she return to her hometown but also got into a relationship with him. Things between James and Mary were good until they weren't.

Present day had James as an alcoholic that was seeing a therapist named M (Nicola Alexis). She wanted James to work on his issues. A letter from Mary brought up old issues for James. Mostly they brought him back to Silent Hill.

The rest of the movie felt like something of an unsatisfying mess. There's flashbacks that revealed Mary to be in a cult that she wouldn't leave for James. James had several creepy encounters and there was a pyramid monster called Pyramid Head (Robert Strange). Like I said, I never played the games.

As for James and Mary, I was thoroughly bored by their love story throughout. Both actors were absolutely devoid of chemistry and the ending was an absolute cop out. It should've hit differently but it was an ending that failed to stick the landing.

- The previous movies came out in 2006 and 2012 respectively. I may review them later in the year.

- Evie Templeton reprised her role as Laura from the Silent Hill 2 remake. She was Agnes in the second season of Wednesday.

- This movie was based on the second Silent Hill game.

- Chronology: James and Mary were together for a few years before everything went to hell.

I know we're only a month into 2026, but I definitely can see Return To Silent Hill being a contender for one of the worst movies of the year. A dull, lifeless and plodding exercise in pure tedium.

Rating: 4 out of 10 

My Review of A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms: "Hard Salt Beef"

 

Written by Aziza Barnes And Ira Parker 

Directed by Owen Harris

Tanselle (to Dunk): "All men are stupid. All men are Knights."

That might be a tad harsh there, Tanselle. Saying that, she might not be entirely wrong with that statement. This episode may have made too fine a point about the perception of Dunk's general intelligence.

I don't think Dunk might be the sort of person who's well read but he does seem to have a practicality about him and this week, he seemed to be getting closer to being a Knight. While unaware of Egg's true identity, he did meet some of the latter's family throughout the episode.

Yup, this episode was overloaded with the presence of House Targaryen. In the space of thirty one minutes we were introduced to Egg's father, Prince Maekar (Sam Spruell), brother Prince Aerion (Finn Bennett) and uncle Prince Baelor (Bertie Carvel). Out of the three, Baelor taking an interest in Dunk made him the most likable of the pair.

Even when Baelor was correcting Dunk on Ser Arlan of Pennytre's true achievements, he was surprisingly considerate to Dunk's feelings. By contrast, both Maekar and Aerion in their most fleeting interactions were both condescending, rude and disdainful towards Dunk.

Circling in on the strength of the show so far, I really do love the rapport between Dunk and Egg. They're a fun duo to watch and while Egg was desperate to avoid being spotted during a night just, Dunk was more than happy to talk more about his relationship with Ser Arlan. Yup, there's more flashbacks with the latter to start and end the episode.

As for the only woman on the show so far, I'm really liking Tanselle as a character. Her interactions with Dunk are endearing and both being tall was something they could bond over. I don't know if a romance can work long term but their scenes are sweet together.

- Another Targaryen we met was Prince Valarr (Oscar Morgan). He's the son of Baelor. We also met Ser Roland Crakehall (Wade Briggs), Ser Donnel of Duskendale (Bill Ward), Lord Ashford (Paul Hunter) and his daughter, Gwin (Cara Harris).

- Did we need to see all of Ser Arlan in that regard? This show might be giving audiences the type of nudity they don't want to watch.

- Ser Dunk wanted a signal of an elm tree and stars. Tanselle was tasked with that due to her puppeteering expertise.

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

Hard Salt Beef felt a bit more of the same as the first episode. I get this will be more of a smaller scale story compared to the other shows and I did like the jousting bits but will it retain it's audience? I guess we'll see but no more gross nudity wouldn't go amiss.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Aquaman - Rage Of Atlantis (2018)

 

Written by Jim Krieg And Jeremy Adams

Directed by Matt Peters

Aquaman: "Well, what are we waiting for? People need our help!"

A couple of months before Jason Momoa's solo outing as Aquaman hit the big screen, Lego had their own adventure with the character. Granted, it's more of a Justice League movie with Aquaman (Dee Bradley Baker) but it's the thought that counted.

In this movie, Aquaman's the King of Atlantis and in a serious relationship with Mera (Susan Eisenberg). He's also far too trusting of his half brother, Orm/Ocean Master (Trevor Devall). It's rather jarring as Orm did a bad job of keeping his resentment towards Aquaman at bay.

On the surface world and thanks to Lois Lane (Grey Griffin), Aquaman was something of a laughing stock during his altercation with Lobo (Fred Tatasciore). Then again, the rest of the League - Batman (Troy Baker), Superman (Nolan North), Wonder Woman (Grey Griffin), Cyborg (Khary Payton) and Jessica Cruz (Cristina Milizia) didn't fare much better.

The reason for Lobo being at the scene of that particular crime did play a much bigger role. For example, Orm was successfully able to remove Aquaman as Atlantis's ruler and took over the kingdom himself. He was also aided by Atrocitus (Jonathan Adams) and Dex-Starr (Dee Bradley Baker). Both characters emerge as the true villains of the piece.

Anyways, the League ended up on a different world with the water being in short supply and forged a reluctant alliance with Lobo. Mera succumbed the Red Lantern as did most of the Atlanteans and Orm learned pretty quickly that he was being duped by Atrocitus. Needless to say, Orm decided to switch sides as well.

There was fun to be had with Aquaman, his half brother, the remaining League members and Lobo working together to stop both Atrocitus and Dex Starr. It's a fun team with two characters getting to redeem themselves and Aquaman getting his Kingdom back.

- Other character appearances included Jimmy Olsen (Eric Bauza), Batgirl (Alyson Stoner) and Robin (Scott Neville).

- The ending set up that Gorilla Grodd was attacking Kathmandu.

- Jessica Cruz had a whole subplot about being able to control her ring and gaining self confidence. She's a newcomer to the Justice League.

- Chronology: Present day Atlantis, Dread Lake and a desert world with a red sun.

Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Aquaman - Rage Of Atlantis made a decent movie splash for the often ridiculed character. I did like the use of Atrocitus as a main villain in this one as well. The character was utilised well.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Industry - Season 1 (2020, HBO/BBC1)

 

Written by Mickey Down And Konrad Kay

Directed by Lena Dunham And Tinge Krishnan And Ed Lilly And Mary Nighy

Harper: "I only want to ever be judged on the strength of my abilities."

Eric: "And paid for it."

It should go without saying that I've been late to this party and for that, I do apologise. As much as I wished I had caught onto this show sooner, I've finally decided to watch it from the start and I now see why so many have gravitated towards it so much.

Set in the cooperate world of investment banking, this show introduced five new entry level workers - Harper Stern (Myha'la Herrold), Yasmin Kara-Hanani (Marisa Abela), Gus Sackey (David Jonsson), Hari Dhar (Nabhaan Rizwan) and Robert Spearing (Harry Lawtey) into the world of Pierpoint & Co abd needless to say, it's a tough world to be a part of.

Yes, the trading/banking industry has been portrayed as a ruthless and mercenary one and within the first episode, Hari ended up working himself to death as a result of the environment being such a pressure cooker. I mean, it's a really brutal world as the four remaining protagonists found out.

This first season alone largely focused on Harper, Yasmin and Robert with Gus getting less screentime than the other three. For Gus, he's got a good friendship with Robert, the fallout of Hari's death and a relationship with a closeted research analyst named Theo Tuck (Will Tudor). I would've liked more screen time with Gus.

That's not to say that Harper, Yasmin and Robert because they are and it's not surprising that those characters and respective actors have become the face of the show. There's a lovely triangle of sorts with the three of them throughout the first season that can be as frustrating as it was interesting. Outside of that, there's plenty of tension with the way they navigate themselves professionally.

Harper in particular was shown to be an utterly ruthless character. She ended up being a protégé for Eric Tao (Ken Leung) while occasionally stoking her line manager, Daria Greenock's (Freya Mavor) ire. Then there's also Harper's dynamic with client Nicole Craig (Sarah Parish) and the way Pierpoint often failed to seriously tackle issues such as sexual harassment.

Yasmin and Robert by comparison were a lot less ruthless but also rather determined to prove themselves. Yasmin tolerated abuse from Kenny Kilbane (Conor MacNeill) until she didn't while managing to bring in a new client with mixed results. As for Robert, there's a nice subplot with his manager, Clement Cowan (Derek Riddell) as well as hints of him having a less privileged background compared to the rest of his peers.

- Episode titles were Induction, Quiet And Nice, Notting Hill, Sesh, Learned Behaviour, Nutcracker, Pre-Crisis Activity and Reduction In Force.

- While the show wasn't shy in sex scenes and overall nudity, one of the most shocking scenes was Robert allowing Usman Abboud (Amir El-Masry) to snort cocaine off a certain area during the office Christmas party.

- There's a few hints of Robert being bisexual but mostly he spent the season trying to get closer to Yasmin. A threesome with Harper almost happened in the penultimate episode.

- There's some supporting performances from Priyanga Burford (Sara), Ben Lloyd-Hughes (Greg), Mark Dexter (Hilary), Andrew Buchan (Felim) and Caoilfhionn Dunne (Jackie) to name but a few.

- Standout music: Nathan Micay's score was nice, there's certain Christmas songs used well in the sixth episode and the title sequence was short but I like it.

- Chronology: The first season seemed to span over several months before our main characters got officially hired at Pierpoint.

Better late than never I guess. This was a brilliant debut season, throwing both the audience and these characters into the cutthroat world of finance. The characters are flawed, believable and engrossing to watch.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of The Beauty: "Beautiful Christopher Cross"

 

Written by Ryan Murphy And Matthew Hodgson 

Directed by Ryan Murphy 

Jeremy: "What do you need?"

The Assassin: "A protégé. A killer."

Oh now this was quite an episode. The decision to pair Anthony Ramos and Jeremy Pope as actors. Brilliant. These two work so well together. They're easily the highlight of the whole episode. I'm not kidding.

The Assassin started his day by killing the guy that infected Jordan before being ordered by Byron to clear up another mess caused by Dr. Dilegre. Yes, that pesky surgeon came afoul of The Assassin by not before tricking Jeremy into revealing his location.

Jeremy apparently didn't bother going home. Instead he stayed in that hotel and continued to sleep with and kill women. Then Jeremy found himself coming face to face with The Assassin and he was forced to bring the latter to the home of the last woman he slept with.

Needless to say the newly infected woman ended up being dead and Jeremy's lack of concern for his own life softened The Assassin's stance towards him. In fact, both The Assassin and Jeremy had riblets at Applebee's and by the end of the episode, the latter became a new protégé for the former.

As for The Corporation aka Byron Forst, well he's such an obnoxious jerk that even his wife, Franny (Isabella Rossellini) prayed for his demise. The woman had one scene and she already made me want to root for her. I do hope she gets to see Byron die in such a horrible manner.

Last but not least, the incident that was supposed to bring Cooper and Jordan back to New York was shown at the start of the episode. If you wanted to see someone going feral on Ben Platt and Meghan Trainor, then the character of Harper Rose (Amelia Gray Hamlin) more than sufficed in that regard. It's a comically violent opening scene that's capped off with Cooper back in New York to face the survivors of that incident.

- Jordan was a no show this episode, while Meyer advised Cooper to detach himself from her. Meyer also had some backstory about his brother.

- The Assassin's name was revealed to be Antonio, he had a son and he's 65. Jeremy's father abandoned him and Byron/Franny also have a son.

- Standout music: Phil Collins Easy Lover and Christopher Cross's Sailaway. The Assassin's a massive fan of the latter.

- Chronology: Venice, Croatia, New York and Indianapolis.

Beautiful Christopher Cross brought about a great double act with Anthony Ramos and Jeremy Pope. They're a brilliant pair to watch and got the best scenes of the episode. Everything else was pretty good too.

Rating: 7 out of 10