My Review of Venom (2018)

Written by Jeff Pinkner And Scott Rosenberg And Kelly Marcel

Directed by Ruben Fleischer

Eddie: "All right, fine, I'm sorry. So, what do you want to do now?"

Venom: "The way I see it, we can do whatever we want."

With the MCU having their way with everyone's favourite Web slinger and Tom Holland proving successful in that role, of course Sony weren't going to sit back and let the rest of the IP do nothing. This line of thinking has been a blessing and a curse for them.

With Sony garnering success with Miles Morales in the Spiderverse movies, for live action,  the idea was to play around with some of Peter Parker's known villains turned antiheroes for ideas. Starting with one of his biggest rivals made sense.

Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) was a smart mouth journalist who rubbed people up the wrong way but seemed to have the charm to fall back on. He also had a loving girlfriend named Anne Weying (Michelle Williams) but when Eddie pissed off the wrong guy aka, Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed), his relationship with Anne soon ended.

Eddie's mistrust of Drake however ended up being justified as the latter had found an alien parasite from space and he wasted no time callously using unwitting subjects to experiment on with it. One of the parasites named Venom attached itself to Eddie when Drake's scientist Dora Skirth (Jenny Slate) let him investigate the Life Foundation. Needless to say, this was where the movie picked up.

Eddie's symbiotic relationship with Venom definitely provided a source of comedy, battle of wits, a team up with Anne and her new man, Dr Dan Lewis (Reid Scott) and of course, the wrath of a very annoyed Drake. Oh and when Eddie wasn't trying to calm Venom's almost insatiable appetite, there was also another parasite named Riot that took control of Drake with similar results.

While this movie certainly has the entertainment factor, it's the big battle where things went off the rails. Carlton Drake isn't particularly intimidating to begin and his possession of Riot isn't as well thought out as it could've been. The fights between Venom and Riot alone are surprisingly rushed in a rather flat third act. 

On the plus side, once the big fight was dealt with, Eddie managed to get back into Anne's good grace and strike a compromise with his new best friend. We even got a scene where the pair help snarky convenience store owner, Mrs Chen (Peggy Lu) from getting robbed without killing. 

- Mid credit scene had Eddie make a prison visit to serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson) who promised "Carnage".

- Post credit sequence was a long clip for Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse. 

- Stan Lee had a brief cameo near the end of the movie, walking g a dog and talking to Eddie.

- John Jameson (Chris O'Hara) appeared at the start of the movie to introduce the symbiote into things.

- Standout music: Enimem's Venom and Pusha T's No Problem.

- Chronology: There's a six month time jump during the movie.

Venom definitely has an entertaining factor that for the most along with a lively lead performance from Tom Hardy does carry this movie more than it should. The third act is a letdown with Riot being a poor counter villain and the love story with Anne does feel a tad tacked on. Saying that, the fun factor does outweigh logic gaps and certain creative choices.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Scoop (2024)

 

Written by Peter Moffat And Geoff Bussetil

Directed by Philip Martin

Prince Andrew: "If I do an interview, the question is, why you?"

Sam: "With respect, you know how people see you."

Prince Andrew: "Spell it out."

Sam: "Randy Andy."

After six seasons of The Crown, I guess Netflix's appetite for Royal Family wasn't sated enough. So, came this movie where the public downfall (but not really) for Prince Andrew (Rufus Sewell) came to the forefront.

If the poster was anything to go by, you'd almost think that BBC newsreader Emily Maitlis (Gillian Anderson) was going to be the central figure of this movie or even the disgraced Andrew himself. Nope, instead the film quickly established that TV producer Sam McAllister (Billie Piper) was really the main character of this piece.

Sam's a single mother and a determined career woman. When she's not getting the interviews and stories that others aren't, she's confiding in her mother, Netta (Amanda Redman) about her worries while also noticing that her son Lucas (Zach Colton) has a crush on a girl a class above him. However the main emphasis for Sam here of course was her job.

A job that she's great at but at the same time, her determination rubbed certain co-workers like Freddy (Jordan Kouame) the wrong way. Saying that with a contact like Jae (Connor Swindells) in New York, Sam soon realised that the story between Prince Andrew and his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein (Colin Wells) was going to hit the fan.

Sam's determining got her a meeting with Andrew's private secretary Amanda Thirsk (Keeley Hawes) and once, Epstein's home had been raided, Sam had the upper hand in getting Andrew into agreeing with the BBC Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis. Needless to say, an interview that wouldn't benefit the grubby Prince either.

There's a masterclass of acting between Gillian Anderson and Rufus Sewell during the big interview itself. An interview that undid whatever good will Andrew had with the public while also redefining both McAllister and Maitlis's careers. Both women really exposed a monster in quite a public fashion.

- The movie was based on McAllister's book, Scoops: Behind the Scenes of the BBC's Most Shocking Interviews. 

- Amazon will have their own counter to this movie with upcoming miniseries A Very Royal Scandal. Emily Maitlis will be an executive producer for that.

- Billie Piper's wig for playing Sam McAllister cost over £11,000, which was ludicrous.

- Chronology: Started in 2010, New York with the majority of the film in 2019 and the interview taking place on November 16th.

Scoop delivered some strong performances from all four leads but if I'm honest, it's Billie Piper who well and truly delivered the most. It's her central performance that does anchor the whole thing long before the big moment appeared.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Doctor Who - Varada Sethu Confirmed For Season 2 (Series 15)

Well, it only took three months to confirm something that arguably should've been revealed earlier but we're finally here nonetheless.

Joining the 15th Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) in their second season/Series 15 of Doctor Who will be Andor actress Varada Sethu and she will be a regular for the second season. Yes, with the first season focus on one companion, the second season will have an additional member to the TARDIS. 

Earlier this year, it seemed like Varada Sethu's casting was an indicator that Millie Gibson had been axed from the series or that her role as Ruby would be greatly reduced. According the press release from the BBC, it appears that she will still be a regular for the 2025 series. 

As of now, details are still being kept under wraps as to who exactly Varada Sethu is playing but executive producer and showrunner Russell T. Davies has made it clear that the stakes will be higher for the next season.

I have to admit that it does feel a bit odd talking about Season 2 (Series 15) when we're exactly four weeks away from Season 1 (Series 14) airing but that's how crazily ahead this production has gotten. To add to the craziness, they're now filming the Season 2 finale. In an Instagram post, Russell T. Davies labeled the new TARDIS dynamic as "The Three Who Rule" and if that isn't an episode title for Season 2, it'll be a missed opportunity. 

While we're talking about the next season, what can be revealed? In terms of writers, Russell did point out that there would be more new ones while in terms of directors, you've got Alex Pillai (Christmas 2024), as well as Amanda Brotchie, Peter Hoar and Ben A. Williams for now.

In terms of guest actors for the second season, both Nicola Coughlan and Joel Fry were confirmed months ago for the Christmas 2024 special. Within Season 2 (Series 15), you'll have Jemma Redgrave, Ruth Madeley Alexander Devrient reprising their UNIT roles of Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, Shirley Anne Bingham and Colonel Christofer Ibrahim as well as Michelle Greenidge, Angela Wynter and Anita Dobson as Carla Sunday, Cherry Sunday and Mrs Flood while other guest actors include Jonah Hauer-King, Lewis Cornay and Blake Patrick Anderson.

We've got some truly exciting times ahead for the show in the next two seasons. I'll post more announcements as they come in.

Doctor Who airs Saturdays on BBC1/iPlayer/Disney+ from May 11th.

My Review of Fellow Travelers: "Make It Easy"

 

Written by Anya Leta And Jack Solomon And Ron Nyswaner 

Directed by Uta Briesewitz 

Hawk (to Kimberly, re Tim): "He wasn't my friend. He was the man I loved."

Oh, wow. Eight episodes and I made it to the finale and what an absolute stunning piece of television. It's been a hell of a journey but now the story has ended for both Hawk and Tim.

Interestingly, we went back to the 1950s for some of this episode. Hawk and Lucy were married, mostly happy and the latter was expecting Jackson. Tim on the other hand, just got out of the army and yes, he reunited with Hawk.

Tim's time in the army not only made him want go move into social work, but the sexual dynamic between Tim and Hawk took a turn. Tim even got to top Hawk during a scene that had a jab at Tim drinking milk. Of course though, happy reunion wasn't going to stay on the cards.

Mary, who had disappeared a few episodes back returned to warn Tim about being an inconvenience to Hawk. Her words ended up being true but before Tim could do anything about them, Jackson was born and that kind of nixed that confrontation.

In 1986 though, Tim was getting closer to death and Hawk wanted to be with him for his final moments. There was a lovely scene with Tim and Lucy as the latter realised how much Tim meant to Hawk. I got why Lucy wanted to properly meet Tim and it certainly gave her the sense yo leave Hawk for good without any bitterness for her husband.

As for Hawk and Tim, their last scenes were some of the best we've had in the entire miniseries. Tim however did make Nawk step aside while both him and Marcus along with several other protestors made one last stand in order to bring awareness to the AIDS crisis.

The last scene with the memorial broke me a little. I knew Tim was going to be dead but watching Hawk breakdown at Tim's "beyond measure" memorial flag and admitting to Kimberly that Tim was the man he loved. Yes, I did cry at that scene but what a beautiful final moment. 

- Both McCarthy and Cohn's deaths were covered in this episode. Cohn's flag had "Coward. Bully. Victim."

- Jerome admitted to Marcus that he was positive. Frankie wasn't sad when Cohn's death was announced.

- Standout music: Johnny Mathis I Look At You and Arthur Russell's Love Is Overtaking Me.

- Chronology: 1957, 1986, 1987, 1996, 2012 throughout the episode.

Make It Easy made for a gut wrenching, absolutely beautiful finale to a poignant miniseries. I've enjoyed this from start to finish and the love the series has gotten was justified. Sublime performances from Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey but everyone was fantastic to watch along with the quality in writing and directing. Everyone should be proud of this production. 

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Fellow Travelers: "White Nights"

 

Written by Brandon K. Hines And Ron Nyswaner 

Directed by Destiny Ekaragha 

Tim (to Hawk): "Everything we said last night. Everything we've been through. What is wrong with me?"

The penultimate episode and another big time jump. We trade a groovy decade for one with flairs and one of the biggest protests to happen for the queer community. We also had another awkward reunion between Hawk and Tim.

Since the last time the two of the clapped eyes on each other, things have changed for the pair. Tim spent time in prison, came out to his family, moved to San Francisco with Marcus and Frankie and worked with the latter as a social worker. However in spite of those positive changes, he was still drawn into Hawk's orbit yet again.

As for Hawk, his marriage was barely hanging on, he somewhat wrecked Kimberly's (Brittany Raymond) baby shower and Jackson died between episodes due to a heroin overdose. That, along with the excessive drinking and drug use, Hawk seemed to be hellbent on killing himself. 

Going to Fire Island on Hawk's beck and call certainly turned out to be a mixed experience for Tim. Sure, he made some new friends like Rafael (Carlos Gonzalez-Vio) and also clashed a bit with Hawk's new boytoy/dealer, Craig (Morgan Lever). Though not as bad Craig clashed with Hawk when he dared to bring up Jackson at the worst time.

Yes, this episode had Tim realising that he needed to completely break away from Hawk while in 1986, Hawk was by Tim's after the latter's latest setback in the hospital. Then there was the Lucy and Kimberly scenes where the latter did all the work in figuring out for herself that her father was gay.

As for the Marcus and Frankie storyline, there was the origin of how Jerome came into their lives. The backdrop of Harvey Milk's death and the protest that followed at the Elephant Walk Bar was a great way of bringing these three characters together. 

- Not too surprising that Hawk preferred the term "homosexual" while Tim and everyone else preferred "gay". 

- Plenty of talk of the meat rack on Fire Island while in San Francisco we had Cleve Jones (Augustus Oicle) also talk about Milk being murdered  y Dan White.

- Standout music: Dan Hartmann's Relight My Fire, David Bowie's Boys Keep Swinging and Sylvester's You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real).

- Chronology: 1979, Fire Island, San Francisco and Washington. 1986 San Francisco. 

I loved White Nights. Two very important plots in regards to gay politics and culture and both done so well too. It was nice to see more focus on Marcus and Frankie as well as what seemed to be the end of Hawk and Tim yet again.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of American Horror Story: Delicate - Ave Hestia

 

Written by Halley Feiffer 

Directed by Jennifer Lynch

Ivy (to Adeline): "Motherhood is always a blessing."

Why is that the one episode that doesn't feature Anna Victoria Alcott turned out to be the best episode of the season? I'm not kidding. Not only was this episode much needed but it made wonder what this season might have been had we had a different protagonist all along.

The episode opened up a very long time ago with Ivy giving birth in an abandoned shed. Well, technically she had to cut her own stomach open in order to give birth to two very familiar characters. The connection these characters have won't shock but it does work beautifully here.

The connection being that Sonia Shawcross and Adeline Harding are actually sisters and Ivy was revealed to be their mother. Adeline being the odd one out as she tired of giving birth to demon babies and defected for a normal life. That meant being married to Dex and running a feminist vegan restaurant named Ave Hestia.

Even these bouts of normalcy didn't stop doing some after hours magic and it certainly explained her reluctance to have children with Dex. Unfortunately, abandoning her coven came with consequences as not only did both Sonia and Ivy come for her, but so did Nicolette and Talia. Needless to say, things didn't end well for Adeline this episode.

As a protagonist, I found Adeline far more interesting in this one episode than Anna has been in the previous six. This brand of magic does seem more in line with Satanism and while Dex might be an innocent in this, his father certainly wasn't.

Virginia was right all along when she said that Dex Sr was in league with Satanism. I mean, we watched him knock out his own wife while witches drained her blood and he fucked one of them. Even Dex Jr got his memories wiped when he walked in on the ritual. Why did it take so freaking long for the show to get to the more exciting stuff?

- Adeline was able to perfect an American accent, something which both Ivy and Sonia couldn't do. Cara Delevingne's Irish accent was surprisingly decent for the most part.

- Talia sold her soul to join the witches and birthed multiple kids during her business trips.

- I had to laugh at Dex admitting he was a rubbish painter. I'm assuming his parents knew about Adeline than Dex himself did.

- Anna's Super Fan (does that character even have a name?) appeared at the drug store where Adeline bought a pregnancy test. 

- Anna, Siobhan, Dr Hill, Ms Preacher and Kamal were all absent from this episode.

- Chronology: 42 AD Western Europe, 1243 Galway, Ireland and 2013 Brooklyn, New York.

Ave Hestia finally gave this season a much needed shot in the arm. Nothing against Emma Roberts but Annabelle Dexter-Jones did an absolutely fantastic job here as Adeline and Sonia and this story finally got interesting to watch. It shouldn't have taken this long but I'm glad this episode delivered big time.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of Fellow Travelers: "Beyond Measure"

 

Written by Dee Johnson 

Directed by Uta Briesewitz

Hawk (to Jackson): "There's nothing wrong with you. You're gonna be fine. We're all gonna be fine."

After five episodes in a largely 1950s setting, this episode finally decided to move things a bit further ahead by throwing us into the late 1960s. To recap, Senator Smith killed him, Hawk and Lucy got married and Tim joined the army.

At the start of this episode, Tim's time in the army had not only seen him becoming staunchly anti war but his actions in one of his protests with Father Lawrence in Baltimore led to him becoming a wanted man. That alone meant a reunion.

Well, a reunion somewhat facilitated by Marcus who contacted Hawk about Tim's predicament. Over a decade might have passed but it didn't stop Hawk from going out of his way to actively Tim, in spite of the latter being a bit resistant to his ex lover's help. 

Tim stayed in a cabin while Hawk tried to find a way to get Father Lawrence to take the rap for the anti war protest. It didn't take long for Hawk's son, Jackson (Etienne Kellici) to find him and for the two of them to bond with one another. 

Jackson got a lot of focus in this episode with both him and Hawk largely at odds, until the last scene. While Tim's presence might have upset Lucy, he did manage to reunite Hawk and Jackson before turning himself into the police. 

As for Marcus, when he wasn't putting Hawk and Tim back into contact with each other, he was looking after his father. Not surprising Marcus's father was unaware he was gay and thought Frankie was a strange name for a girl. Frankie on the other hand had his own plot that would take him to San Francisco. Yes, between episodes, both him and Marcus had broken up and this episode didn't reunite them.

- Lucy had no problem telling Tim that she burned one of his letters to Hawk. She also admitted to an affair from her past.

- It seemed like Marcus was asking out that woman who was looking after his father. 

- Lucy's mother was definitely aware of Hawk's extramarital affair. It also seemed like they were hinting at mental health issues for Jackson.

- Chronology: Mostly 1968 in Washington and Baltimore as well as 1986 San Francisco.

Beyond Measure was a nice way to shake up the timeline and one that was definitely needed. Hawk's family dynamic might have been on a shaky ground but in his own way, I do believe that he loves them as much as he does Tim. There was some truly brilliant scenes here.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Mary & George: "The Queen Is Dead"

 

Written by D.C. Moore And Anchuli Felicia King

Directed by Florian Cossen

Mary (to George/Kit): "I'll need things of you both."

Heading into this penultimate episode, you had both mother and son on the ropes as it seemed like their enemies were closing in around them and their allies were no longer going to be of use to them. What were they to do?

Edward Coke might have agreed to his daughter wedding John Villiers but he's certainly soured to the reality of their ill advised union. Not only that, he went out of his way to take down both Mary and George in his own rather spiteful way. Also, Francis Bacon and Sandie.

Sandie's part in murdering Sir David certainly came back to haunt her that her death was massively signposted throughout. She tried to warn Mary, who in turn resorted to her own desperate measures in order to secure Sandie's freedom. Sadly for Sandie, even when she manage to get a pardon, it didn't prevent her from being a casualty. Francis Bacon certainly knew how to hold a grudge.

Bacon's downfall this week also felt rather telegraphed. Mary was quick to use George's disadvantage with Coke in order to have Bacon stripped of his titles. Mary asked a lot of George but for Kit, she asked very little by comparison. George got even by having Sandie removed from her.

George certainly was manoeuvring a lot this episode. When he wasn't trying to prevent Coke from killing him and Kit, betraying Bacon and being at the behest of his mother, there was also his scenes with King James and Prince Charles. Those scenes were definitely interesting to watch.

It took a lot to snap the King out of his funk over Queen Anne's death and the expense of her funeral but he eventually did it. Then there was facilitating Diego's (Unax Ugalde) plot to get Charles to marry Maria Anna of Spain. It helped that Charles seemed keen on the idea. 

- Sandie revealed that her real name was Cliona to the woman who would end up murdering her in the carriage.

- George grew his hair between episodes. It now looks similar to King James's. He also became a father to a girl named Mary.

- The last two episodes have been short on sex scenes between George and James. We did have George fooling around with Katherine though.

- Chronology: 1619, following the death of Queen Anne.

The Queen Is Dead made for a solid penultimate episode. We got downfalls, deaths, marriage plans, new heirs and so on. Now just the finale to get to.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Fellow Travelers: "Promise You Won't Write"

 

Written by Katie Rose Rogers And Robbie Rogers

Directed by James Kent

Cohn (to Tim): "Kid, you're a terrible liar. You should work on that."

Well, I think this episode might have served as a wake up call for Tim Laughlin. I mean, be became disillusioned with both his politics, employers and relationship with Hawk. To his credit, he didn't just mope about it.

Instead, he did certain things about his disillusionment. First thing, upon realising that Roy Cohn used a forgery image during further Army-McCarthy hearings, he told McCarthy what Cohn had actually done. McCarthy however didn't want to hear it, which was a mistake on his part. 

Then there was Tim's bathroom confrontation with Cohn himself. A tense scene brilliantly played by Jonathan Bailey and Will Brill. Cohn was definitely his repugnant self with the way he patronised and tried to intimidate Tim. Tim's entire political beliefs in McCarthyism went out the window. He did the sensible thing and quit his job.

However he just traded one system of oppression for another as he enlisted in the army instead. Tim also ended his relationship with Hawk, but given that the latter was lying to him, putting distance and entering a lavender marriage with Lucy Smith, Tim made the right decision to end things.

The Smiths were more focused this week too with Leonard getting arrested for lewd behaviour and sent to an aversion therapy centre. There's a bitter commentary on how Hawk replaced Leonard along with the sudden suicide of Senator Smith when Leonard's secrets were about to be made public.

Last but not least, I'm not surprised that Marcus's position in The Post didn't go as well he wanted to. Saying that, at least he got leave on his own terms, we got some backstory on his relationship with his father and some nice scenes with Frankie. Saying that, both characters could do with a bit more screen time.

- Frankie and Storme are going on a tour. I've liked the few scenes Storme has appeared in.

- Jean certainly didn't hold back with her anger over McCarthy not getting her pregnant while Schine "dumped" Cohn towards the end of the episode.

- I expected that Leonard was going to reveal that Hawk took his virginity but instead they just jetted off together when they were younger.

- Chronology: A few weeks since Christmas in the 1950s while still 1986 during two brief scenes where Hawk saw Tim in the hospital.

Promise You Won't Write definitely played on the theme of disillusionment with many characters and those characters in return certainly doing something about it. That included characters I wouldn't root for as well.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Game Of Thrones Universe: House Of The Dragon Season 2 Approaches And Other Spin Offs On The Way

Yes, it's been a while since I've posted anything in relation to the expansive fantasy universe created by George RR Martin but here we go.

First of all, the second season of House Of The Dragon has gotten into it's swing, promotion wise. Over a fortnight, HBO released this character poster for the eight episode second season as well two new trailers.

The first trailer focusing on The Blacks with Emma D'Arcy (Rhaenyra Targaeryan) voicing the introduction while the second trailer had Tom Glynn-Carney (Aegon II Targaeryan) drumming up support for The Greens. As a marketing ploy, this was a great way to illustrate that both sides were going to war. Saying that, I'm still Team Black though as the show will make it's return during the summer on HBO.

HBO of course seem determined to stay in the A Song Of Fire And Ice business because the next show to happen will be A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. The series will have Steven Conrad as a writer and executive producer while Peter Claffey and Dexter Soll Ansell will lead the series. Claffey will play the Knight in question, Dunk while Ansell will be the Squire, Egg.

This prequel series will take place before the events of Game Of Thrones but after the events of House Of The Dragon. The series will be going into production soon and will air on HBO in 2025.

If that wasn't enough, it was also recently confirmed that Mattson Tomlin (The Batman) will also writing a series based on Aegon's Conquest, which might be the most ambitious series yet, should it get picked. There seems to be a lot different spin-off ideas in various development stages, including the much mooted Jon Snow sequel series, a show focusing on The Sea Snake as well as some animated shows to boot. Now whether or not these shows will get off the ground is another thing. In recent weeks images from abandoned spin off Bloodmoon also leaked online as well. 

House Of The Dragon Season 2 will air Sundays 9pm on HBO from June 16th with UK/Irish viewers will get it the next day on Sky Atlantic.

My Review of Fellow Travelers: "Your Nuts Roasted On An Open Fire"

 

Written by Anya Leta

Directed by James Kent

Hawk: "How did I do?"

Fred: "We're not supposed to say. What the hell, it's Christmas. Clean as a whistle."

Hawk: "Happy Holidays."

Ooh, a Christmas episode within the middle of this miniseries and this one certainly had a bittersweet taste among some of the festive cheer. By screwing over one hypocritical closeted guy, Hawk and Tim also helped two equally undeserving ones to boot.

The last scene of the previous had Hawk photographing evidence of McCarthy with a man. I mean the photo wasn't explicit but certainly incriminating enough. The type of photo that Joseph wouldn't want to get out.

However Hawk wasn't going to keep it to himself and while Tim appeared to court favour with Joseph and Jean, he also happened to deliver the photo to David Schine. An opportune delivery too, considering that both Schine and Roy Cohn were on thin ice this week.

Yes, Roy's pestering of the army to keep David within the United States saw pressure on McCarthy to throw both Roy and David under the bus to protect himself. However with that photo now in Cohn's possession, McCarthy's now at a disadvantage. 

As for Hawk and Tim, they did have some nice scenes together in the 1950s while the former managed to cheat Fred Treband's (Michael Therriault) polygraph test, even to the latter's bewilderment. Then there was Hawk getting closer to Lucy while congratulating Marcus on his improving career move.

Then there's the San Francisco side of the episode. Tim being an AIDS activist as well as a political switch up made a lot of sense as did that fight between him and Hawk. The end scene with Hawk finding out that Tim was hospitalised was rather devastating.

- Tim got Hawk a nice tie while Hawk palmed off some old cufflinks to Tim while giving Lucy a nicer necklace. I loved that phone conversation between Tim and Lucy in 1986.

- We met Marcus and Frankie's son, Jerome (Jude Wilson) while the rather spiteful Miss Addison (Keara Graves) put Hawk into Fred's crosshairs. Fred seemed unmoved by gay men raking their lives as was Jean.

- Standout music: Frankie's version of Santa Baby, Dean Martin's The Christmas Blues and Klaus Nomi's Silent Night.

- Chronology: Christmas 1953 in Washington as well San Francisco 1986. Hawk has been working for Senator Smith since 1948.

Your Nuts Roasting On An Open Fire was definitely an enjoyable, tense episode. Hawk under the scrutiny of a polygraph test while McCarthy,  Cohn and Schine were all trying to either save each other or throw each other under the bus. The secondary romance with Marcus and Frankie also got some nice focus too.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Fellow Travelers: "Hit Me"

 

Written by Ron Nyswaner And Brandon K. Hines And Jack Solomon

Directed by Destiny Ekaragha

Tim (to Hawk): "It's not who we sleep with. It's who we love."

Well, this was certainly an episode, wasn't it? Between the past and more recent for Hawk and Tim, this episode really ran the gamut for the two of them.

In the near present day, Hawk got to see for himself how ill Tim had become and it was certainly an eye opener for him. It was so much of an eye opener that Hawk had no choice but to get himself tested by the end of the episode. 

Back in the past, the events from the previous episode had seen Haek and Tim estranged, until the former decided to "forgive" the latter and the two took a trip to San Francisco for the first time. Not only was it a means for Hawk to spend time with Skippy away from prying eyes but he had another motive for the change of scenery.

While Tim almost gave into having sex with an older man in a bathroom stall, Hawk along with an old army buddy, Bill (Craig Arnold) got disgraced soldier, Daniel (Robert Bazzocchi) to open up about enemies of Senator Smith. The ending of this episode certainly gave Hawk an advantage over McCarthy and his cronies.

This episode certainly gave more focus to McCarthy as Jean Kerr challenged his masculinity, resulting in a marriage proposal. Then there was Cohn's scenes with David Schine (Matt Visser). I found them particularly riveting to watch, given their messy dynamic.

Going back to Hawk and Tim though, I did love that Tim's drunken antics at the restaurant resulted in that sexy as fuck "hit me" scene between the two of them in their room. Not to mention the more poignant one on the beach where Tim talked about who we love. You can tell that speech affected Hawk more than he wanted to admit.

As for Marcus, his relationship with Frankie mirrored Hawk and Tim as well. He didn't want to admit that Frankie was a boyfriend and a racist/homophobic encounter outside a bar certainly brought out their differences. Saying that, I did enjoy the focus the two of them had this week.

- In the time that Hawk and Tim fell out, the former embarked on a relationship with Lucy and the latter had a birthday.

- The start of the episode had Hawk photographing Tim.  The latter kept the photo over three decades later.

- Standout music: Freddie Mercury's The Great Pretender and Tim's drunken rendition of Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps.

- Chronology: Four weeks since the events of the previous episode. 

Hit Me was definitely unabashed in the sex scenes with both Hawk/Tim and Marcus/Frankie while examining the horrible hypocrisy of McCarthyism. There was so many fantastic moments throughout this whole episode. 

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Fellow Travelers: "Bulletproof"

 

Written by Dee Johnson

Directed by Daniel Minihan 

Sandy: "I take care of myself. I work out. I'm young, dumb and full of cum."

Hawk: "You're bulletproof."

Second episode in and still with the timelines splitting, we pick up from where Hawk had landed in San Francisco and the first thing that happened was meeting with Tim's sister, Maggie (Edie Inksetter). She wasn't particularly pleased with Hawk and she made sure he knew it.

Not that Hawk was too deterred by a disapproving relative. Nope, he still wanted to reunite with Tim but before he did, he took in some of the younger gay scene. That included a rather interesting scene where a younger gay man named Sandy (Max Kobetich) and his friends displayed a carefree way of life that Hawk clearly envied.

As for the reunion between Hawk and Tim, it was certainly tense between the two of them. Yes, there's some bitterness as we're told that Tim couldn't love anyone after Hawk and he was quick to remind Hawk that his condition wasn't airborne. 

Going back into the early days of their relationship, there was more tension between Hawk and Tim when the latter struck a friendship with Hawk's secretary, Mary (Erin Neufer) and the latter's live in girlfriend, Caroline (Gabbi Kosmidas). On one hand, it was great to see Tim's friendship with Mary and Caroline. Unfortunately,  it's a friendship with consequences.

With more investigations this week, it was Mary and Caroline that were hounded by McCarthy and Cohn's snooping into the gay community. Just as frustrating was Hawk forcing Tim into sabotaging Mary and Caroline's relationship in order to take the heat off Mary. Caroline on the other hand was thrown under the bus.

As for the rest of the episode with Hawk and Tim, we had the former paying a visit to his family, spiting his dying father, going to lengths to protect Senator Smith while also growing closer to Lucy. Then there was Tim confessing his sins to a priest again. He's certainly not really working through his guilt.

- We got a title sequence for the miniseries and as I didn't mention it, I do like Hawk's Skippy nickname for Tim.

- Marcus got a love interest in drag entertainer, Frankie (Noah J. Ricketts). Storme DeLarverie was played by Chelsea Russell.

- I got the impression that Hawk might have had a previous sexual history with Senator Smith's son, Leonard (Mike Taylor) while I liked Tim's scenes with Luis (Nck Name).

- Chronology: 1953, Washington and 1986 San Francisco.

Bulletproof had its moments, subtlety discussing the AIDS crisis in between the political collisions, the tense scenes between various characters and of course, the reunion between two former lovers. Not to mention the religious and family discourse throughout.

Rating: 8 out of 10

911 - Network Changes, 100 Episodes And Evan Buckley

Yes, it has been a long while since I've talked about 911, the firefighter drama created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear, but I decided to write this short piece.

Why, you may ask? Reasons could vary. I mean, 911 did spend six seasons on FOX (2018-2023) and managed to spawn the equally successful spin-off, 911: Lone Star. The show then moved to ABC for it's seventh season and with four episodes having just aired on it's new home, it bagged itself an eighth season. It also hit a very massive milestone for network television.

In the seventh season's fourth episode, titled Buck, Bothered And Bewildered (a crossover event with The Bachelor), the main takeaway from was that along with being the 100th episode of the series in general, this episode also had another milestone in it. The milestone involving regular Evan 'Buck' Buckley (Oliver Stark).

For as long as the show has ran, the character of Buck was mostly presented as a straight man with various female romantic love interests, the most notable being a relationship with 911 operator Abby Clark (Connie Britton) during the show's first season. Of course there were others, but far less successful ones in terms of audience interest in them.

With this seventh season, the reintroduction of another firefighter named Tommy Kinard (Lou Ferrigno Jr) brought some unexpected change. Buck initially saw Tommy as a rival for his friendship with fellow firefighter Eddie Diaz (Ryan Guzman) but by the end of last night's episode, it was revealed that Tommy was interested in Buck and the feeling was mutual. Buck was definitely into that kiss Tommy planted on him.

Now, having the previously assumed straight Buck revealed to be a bisexual character was definitely something I didn't expect the show to actually do. For years, a certain fandom has wanted Buck and Eddie to become a couple and I never entertained the idea of it ever being a reality. However thanks to co-creator, Tim Minear, maybe it will be one.

I'm not expecting Buck and Eddie to be a couple anytime soon. Even I think if it happened in the remainder of this season, it might be too quick for it's own good. I also want to see how Buck and Tommy's relationship develops during the rest of Season 7. Buck and Eddie can wait at least until next season tbh.

In terms of LGBT representation, 911, prior to this latest development with Buck wasn't exactly lacking. We have fellow firefighter Henrietta (Aisha Hines) and her wife, Karen (Tracey Thoms) as well as Athena's (Angela Bassett) former husband, Michael (Rockmund Dunbar) and Maddie's (Jennifer Love Hewitt) co-worker, Josh (Bryan Safi). 

Then there's spin-off, 911: Lone Star. This show has ran for four seasons and in that time, we've had the very prominent relationship between firefighter/paramedic TK Strand (Ronen Rubenstein) and police officer Carlos Reyes (Rafael Silva). Those two have been through the ringer but managed to get married in the fourth season finale while fellow firefighter Paul Strickland (Brian Michael Smith) is a trans man to boot. 

911's seventh season continues to air on ABC, Thursdays at 9pm while 911: Lone Star's fifth season will premiere on FOX during the autumn. 

My Review of Fellow Travelers: "You're Wonderful"

 

Written by Ron Nyswaner

Directed by Daniel Minihan

Tim: "I'm your boy, right? And your boy wants to go to the party."

Hawk: "How much does he want to go?"

Yeah, I know. I should have reviewed this months ago but I didn't. However I am now and it was certainly worth the wait. This episode kicked things off to an intense start.

Bouncing back and forth between the 1950s and 1980s, this miniseries opened with a much older Hawk Fuller (Matt Bomer) at a family birthday party where his friend Marcus Gaines (Jelani Alladin) delivered some bad news about Hawk's former lover, Tim Laughlin (Jonathan Bailey).

Early in this episode, we're aware that Tim's ill and both him and Hawk didn't end their relationship well. Hawk also married his childhood friend, Lucy Smith (Allison Williams) and while they had two children and grandchildren, it's pretty much a marriage of inconvenience between the two of them. Lucy wasn't best pleased when Hawk went to see Tim. It's the older scenes that bookends the episode.

The bulk of the episode largely focused on the beginning of Hawk and Tim's romance and it's rather hot and messy. There's no denying that Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey radiate chemistry and their sex scenes (along with some toe sucking) certainly heated up the episode. No, seriously, they're that great to see.

Of course, while Tim and Hawk bond over sex, they somewhat differ politically to a point and a party hosted by Roy Cohn (Will Brill) certainly brought out their differences. Saying that,  it didn't take too long for the two of them to reunite in the episode.

As for the rest of the episode, we had the whole McCarthyism layed out, with both Hawk and his friend George (Jameson Kraemer) throw one of Hawk's former one night stands, Eddie (David Tomlinson) under the bus. That had some pretty disastrous results.

- Tim talked a lot of about being religious in this episode. He also drank milk a bit and mentioned his first lover being a priest. Hawk's was a guy named Kenny.

- The bar that Hawk, Tim and Marcus went to was the Cozy Corner. Chris Bauer played Joseph McCarthy and Linus Roache played Lucy's homophobic father, Senator Wesley Smith, a mentor to Hawk.

- Standout music: Stevie Wonder's If It's Magic and Anita O'Day's You Turned The Tables On Me.

- Chronology: 1952 and 1986 Washington, along with a trip to San Francisco.

You're Wonderful has gotten this miniseries off to a great start. Yes, there's political intrigue, a split timeline and unabashed sexiness with the two leads. Looking forward to the rest of this.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of American Horror Story: Delicate - Opening Night

 

Written by Halley Feiffer

Directed by Bradley Becker

Siobhan (to Anna): "Why don't you stop whining about what you're scared of and focus on what you can change and that's how hard you fight for that little gold man?"

Has it really been over five months since the first half of this season has aired? It's certainly felt longer but it's back with four more episodes to conclude this nightmare pregnancy season with some flair.

An expansive pre title sequence showed us the birth of Anna Victoria Alcott to a reasonably nice bunch of parents in White Plains, New York where Mommy sang Rockabye to soothe the baby Anna while Daddy noted how creepy the song's lyrics actually were.

Then one night, the mother died of an embolism and the father couldn't cope at the hospital. Oh and apparently Nicolette doesn't age because she was the nurse who sang that lullaby to calm Anna down. Not suspect at all, huh?

Anyways, present day had Anna reacting to Babette's death and being blindsighted by Siobhan and the Ashleys by being the speaker at Babette's funeral. Yup, and it was a rather awful and insincere speech that Anna gave at the funeral to boot.

Fortunately other interesting stuff happened in this episode, such as Dex not being a dick to his wife and realising how awful his father (Reed Birney) was. I even felt sorry for him when he found his mother dead in the bathtub. I mean Dex's still a weak character but he wasn't awful in this episode, so that's a step up, right?

As for Anna, when she wasn't getting her face scratched by a cat and finally paying attention to that other scar on her, she was getting new scars around her belly, making the link with the locations of all her dolls and even managed to cut through Talia's passive aggressive bullshit to boot. Anna also called out the lack of CCTV in the basement, which Talua poorly deflected from.

However where this episode really soared was with two specific scenes. At Dex and Sonia's opening, we had Anna surrounded by Sonia, Nicolette, Ivy and Talia in a manner that gave off some serious Coven vibes. Then there was Siobhan slapping the shit out of Anna when the latter almost threw in the towel for her Oscar campaign. I rather enjoyed the campiness of that particular scene.

- Ivy told Anna that she was an assistant at the art gallery and failed three times at biology.

- Hamish tried to expose both his and Siobhan's deception and ended up dead. Anna's weird stalker from the second episode was back with similar results from last time.

- Babette died while performing oral sex on her limo driver. Both Ashley and Ashleigh pointed out that Anna's reel only did so much to save her.

- Ms Preacher finally reached out to Anna with her card. 

- The cat that scratched Anna was a stray that Nicolette named Felix. I genuinely thought Anna was going to eat the cat at one point.

- Chronology: Aside from the opening scene in 1988, the rest of the episode picked up from where the previous one left off.

Opening Night felt like a bit of a step in the right direction but also, not too much really happened. It seems every woman except Preacher (and Virginia, who's now dead) really is out to get Anna. Saying that, Sonia did seem to cure Anna of her face scar but it's definitely time for more concrete answers with what's going on with these women and their fixation on Anna.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Mary & George: "The Golden City"

 

Written by D.C. Moore 

Directed by Alex Winckler 

George: "I didn't do it for Spain or for gold. I didn't do anything. James did."

Francis Drake: "Yes, that's the story we shall tell and keep telling. Good boy."

This week, we had an episode where one half of our mother/son Duos influence began to grow while the other's was starting to diminish. Not hard to guess which applied to which.

George had grown fed up of his mother's controlling ways and this week, he found himself in a position where a marriage alliance could be used to his own advantage. Hence his union with Katherine Manners (Mirren Mack). Well, one that took some persuading.

You could argue that Katherine was manipulating George as much as his mother has been doing this series but George soon realised that being married to Katherine could work along with maintaining his relationship with the King as well. A relationship that nearly came to blow this week.

George certainly overstepped in the council meeting in relation to how to handle the rebellious Sir Walter Raleigh (Joseph Mawle) the best. It took Sir Francis Bacon to get George to see what Raleigh was really up to, which then led to the latter's execution when George and King James made up again.

As for Mary, having George slowly getting more politically savvy along with Bacon's influence, she was beginning to lose her hold on George. George even had no problem standing up to his mother and even calling out Sandie in the same breath. 

Not only did she lose her hold on George, but even her other son, John was completely out of her control. His marriage to Frances had fallen apart and Mary had only choice but to get him committed. 

- Mary might have gained a Countess title but her marriage to Thomas Compton also came to a halt along with her alliance with Queen Anne.

- Charles told George that he was family. This episode was signposting Anne's imminent demise.

- Frances had been cheating on John with Sandie aiding her in an abortion.

- Chronology: 1618, given the execution of Sir Walter Raleigh here.

The Golden City certainly showed the reversals between mother and son while also cementing both their future downfalls. The handling of Raleigh's story was handled decently.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Doctor Who - Season 1 (Series 14): Episode Titles/Writers Revealed/New Trailer

With less than six weeks to go, things are full steam ahead in promoting Doctor Who. Not only did we get a new trailer for the upcoming series, but the episode titles and writers confirmed as well. Here goes.

Season 1 (Series 14) will comprise of the following episodes ....

Space Babies: Written by Russell T. Davies. Directed by Julie Anne Robinson.

The Devil's Chord: Written by Russell T. Davies. Directed by Ben Chessell.

Boom: Written by Steven Moffat. Directed by Julie Anne Robinson.

73 Yards: Written by Russell T. Davies. Directed by Dylan Holmes Williams.

Dot And Bubble: Written by Russell T. Davies. Directed by Dylan Holmes Williams.

Rogue: Written by Kate Herron And Briony Redman. Directed by Ben Chessell.

The Legend Of Ruby Sunday: Written by Russell T. Davies. Directed by Jamie Donoughue.

Empire Of Death: Written by Russell T. Davies. Directed by Jamie Donoughue.

On top of the writers and episode titles being confirmed, we also had other guest actors revealed to be joining the 15th Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) in their debut series.

Golda Rosheuvel (Queen Charlotte from Bridgerton) will appear as Jocelyn in the opening episode. Other guest actors confirmed yesterday included  Callie Cooke, Siân Phillips, Bhav Joshi, Majid Mehdizadeh-Valoujerdy, Tachia Newall and Caoilinn Springall. 

As for the actors playing The Beatles in the second episode, CultBox confirmed that it's George Caple as Paul McCartney, James Hoyle as Ringo Starr, Philip Davies as George Harrison and Chris Mason as John Lennon respectively. The episode will also be a musical, which the trailer pretty much revealed.

Anyways to get the elephant out of the room, I can see both sides in the current discourse over writers tbh. Yes, it would've been nice to have had at least one or two new writers but Russell T. Davies has seemingly confirmed that we'll get more writers for Season 2 (Series 15), which is currently halfway filming. As for the spin-off rumours, we're still no closer to figuring out what's going there.

Last but not least, Doctor Who has bagged some Hugo nods for the specials Wild Blue Yonder and The Giggle. Meanwhile, former showrunner Chris Chibnall will adapt the Agatha Christie novel, The Seven Dials Mystery as a series for Netflix. Russell T. Davies recently confirmed that he asked Chibnall to write an episode for the new series but the latter declined. I don't doubt Chibnall will come back at a later date.

Season 1 Trailer 2: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pAwebgSJ60k&pp=ygUSZG9jdG9yIHdobyB0cmFpbGVy

Season 1 (Series 14) of Doctor Who will premiere on on BBC1/iPlayer and Disney+ from May 11th.

DCU Blog - March 2024 Edition: Teen Titans Movie Go, The Penguin Trailer Released And More

Another busy month for DCU fans with a lot of information being spilled. 

In news that will shock absolutely no one, it was revealed that The Batman Part II will now be released from October 2nd 2026.

Joker: Folie A Deux will be a jukebox musical and contain at least fifteen cover songs. Lady Gaga has written music for the movie.

A potential costume reveal for David Corenswet in Superman will likely happen when the character starts outdoor filming next month.

James Gunn has confirmed yet again that no film will be officially greenlit until there's a script DC Studios are happy with.

A movie focusing on the Teen Titans will be written by Ana Nogueira, making this her second script following Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow.

Patty Jenkins has confirmed that her Wonder Woman journey is over. She's recently confirmed to be back for Rogue Squadron.

My Adventures With Superman will get a comic series released in June, serving as a bridge between the first and second seasons.

Action figures for Batman Forever will be released during summer 2025. The set will include Batman, Robin, Two-Face and Riddler with parts to build the Bat Creature from Bruce's nightmare.

The Penguin will premiere in the Fall on Max. The first trailer released this month, hinting at a rather violent and dark show.

The second season of Peacemaker will begin filming in June as confirmed by Jennifer Holland.

Waller won't begin filming until next year and will come out after both Superman and Peacemaker Season 2.

Sean Gunn has mentioned playing a more grounded version of Maxwell Lord for the DCU.

Douglas Smith has been cast as Jimmy Olsen for the final season of Superman And Lois. Yvonne Chapman will play Amanda McCoy.

Another trailer for Suicide Squad: Isekai was released but a release date for the series has yet to be confirmed. 

Dead Boy Detectives will be released on Netflix from April 25th.

Production Weekly have listed a Constantine movie being in development.

That's it for this month. Let's see what happens next lol.

My Review of Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)

 

Written by Sarah DeLappe And Kristen Roupenian

Directed by Helena Reign

Alice: "Don't call her a psychopath, that's so ableist."

Anyone up for a hurricane party? Well, this might be the movie for you. Or not. Nah, kidding, it's pretty good but given the genre it's in, you can tell exactly where this would be going.

You've got a lesbian couple, comprising of working class Eastern European Bee (Maria Bakalova) and rich girlfriend, Sophie (Amandla Stenberg). Together the two of them go to a fancy house, owned by Sophie's friend, David (Pete Davidson) for the hurricane party and they're not the only ones in attendance.

There's David's aspiring actress girlfriend, Emma (Chase Sui Wonders), podcaster Alice (Rachel Sennot) and her older boyfriend, Greg (Lee Pace), the mysterious Jordan (Myha'la Herrold) and Max (Conner O'Malley) but there's barely any focus on him as a character.

Instead the rest of them during the hurricane party decided to play a "murder in the dark" style game (you will guess the title) for fun. Instead, it devolved into arguments among the group and when David ended up dead, it didn't take too long for this splintered group of people to assume the worst in each other.

In fact they were way too quick to fling accusations at each, assuming the worst of poor Greg before the girls all turned on each other. Between talks of addiction, mental health, fake college attendances and hate listening, none of these girls came across that well. Not to mention more deaths as things got more and more heated with everyone.

Yeah, this movie definitely proved that it was all fun and games until someone lost their life. Trying to figure out the actual killer was amusing (I really did think it was Sophie) though. The actual reveal of the real catalyst of the disastrous evening was more of a mixed bag for me. I got why it was done but I'm not sure I liked it.

- That story about Amandla Stenberg's response to a reviewer's thoughts on this movie was wilder than the movie itself.

- There's definitely a Gen Z whiff off And Then There Were None with this movie.

- Standout music: Azaelia Banks 212, Catherine Slater's Daddy AF and Charlie XCX's Hot Girl.

- Chronology: Present day for Gen Z. 

I think Bodies Bodies Bodies had it's moments but as a satire of Gen Z, I'm not entirely sure if it really landed as well as it could've done. Most of the characters grated at times and even without the hurricane and choice of party game, you wouldn't want to spend a great deal of time with these people.

Rating: 7 out of 10