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After the shocking end of last week's episode, Arrow S8E4 dumps us right back where we left off. Oliver and Diggle face-to-face with these kids from the future, Mia, William and Connor. This episode is packed full of little tidbits and when you tie it back to last season and all the questions we had, everything starts to come together. And welcome back Curtis. We missed you. Curtis comes back...with a beard. And we get Holt/Smoak 2.0 with him hacking right beside William. Like he never left. 

Also we're even more convinced this is all part of The Monitor's plans. Because by the end, it seems like the future has to be different now and when the kids do go back, they'll be faced with a much different future than they left. Also, as we said last week. The Monitor has to know Oliver is trying to build a weapon to stop him but what if that's the point? Listen to our review and let us know what you think.

Kriss and Dpalm record the Mailbag at the end of every month. If you want to send in your own questions and thoughts, email us: [email protected]

 

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This week on The Flash we get the obligatory "Take Barry off the board for an entire episode" for S6E5 but this season it feels really natural. The writing this season has really trusted the other characters to come into their own. So having Barry off the board didn't take away from the episode at all. And unlike other times, they sent Barry and Iris on a much needed vacation which also showed the level of comfort Barry has in trusting his team to handle things.

And handle things they did. Cisco was obviously the focus here and it was good to see him able to really come into his own. After 6 seasons, we as the audience already know how much Cisco can second guess himself and this episode really forced him to get over that and he stepped up. We also can't help but think about how awesome it is that the legendary Danny Trejo is on The Flash. We remember him from Desperado and here he is...still kinda sorta looking the same. 

We round out everything with Wells and Joe trapped in tunnel together. And Wells admits that he has information that could...save Barry. Give us a listen and let us know what you think about The Flash S6E5.

Kriss and Dpalm record the Mailbag at the end of every month. If you want to send in your own questions and thoughts, email us: [email protected]

 

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Kriss is back with another episode of the Insanity Check to cover this week's dose of insanity in the world. This week he's joined by 

Topics:

* Kriss finally has the Popeyes Chicken Sandwich. It's good but not getting stabbed good

* Shaming black people and poor people for...living

* Gender reveal leads to plane crash

* TI shows how ignorant he is when talking about his daughter's sexual health

* El Bloombito is back...that time of year where Michael Bloomberg threatens to run for President

* Bill Gates and other Billionaries feel threatened by Elizabeth Warren

* Do You Even Sci-Fi Bro?

* US Military will stop using floppy disks to hold nuclear codes

* Cannibal ants escape soviet nuclear bunker

Guest:

* Website

* Twitter - Instagram - Facebook

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Doctor Sleep avoids most of the pitfalls that usually plague sequels that are released decades after the original. Part of that reason is that unlike other attempts to do sequels to classic films, Doctor Sleep is still based on actual source material that is fairly recent. Stephen King released the followup to The Shining in 2013. This gives this story more substance than just being a sequel to The Shining. To be honest, the story told is actually interesting enough to work as a stand alone. Still, the homages to The Shining at the beginning and final act of the film feel way too heavy handed and hurt some of the freshness of Doctor Sleep.

Let’s talk about what works since there is quite a bit. The cast of this film works extremely well together. Ewan McGregor channels his inner-Obi Wan (or Qui-Gon depending on how you look at it) as the grown up Danny Torrance. Rebecca Ferguson has quickly become a personal favorite and is extremely captivating as the villain Rose The Hat. Doctor Sleep introduces the True Knot, who are essentially soul-sucking vampires who feed on the released shine of their victims. Ferguson’s Rose is the leader of this group. The true standout of this film though is Kyliegh Curran who plays Abra Stone. It’s impossible to tell that this is only Curran’s second film. She spends a lot of screen time with both McGregor and Ferguson and fits right in as a veteran. It’s exciting to think what could be in this young actress’s future (If Kevin Feige is looking for a RiRi Williams, the search might be over).

It should also be pointed out that Mike Flanagan does a great job directing. Flanagan’s last work was the much talked about The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix. He brings the same level of quality to Doctor Sleep.

What doesn’t work for Doctor Sleep is those pitfalls it spends most of the film avoiding. The more heavy-handed homages to The Shining distract from the interesting story of Abra, Rose and The True Knot. When doing a film sequel to a movie that came out almost 4 decades ago, the homages and connections are usually forced in to make sure that the audience who may not have seen the first film, can understand the new one. There are significant changes from the Doctor Sleep novel and it feels as if that was to ensure that audiences weren’t too confused by what was happening and draw more direct connections. As stated before, the story of this film could actually stand on its own without being tied directly to The Shining. Of course that’s always a balancing act. Too little attachment to The Shining and there’s a fear that audiences won’t be drawn to it. Too much and it just feels like a rehash and money grab. Doctor Sleep balances fairly well between these too but could have done a better job.

The other issue is that while 150+ minutes is long for a horror film, it still simultaneously feels not enough for a Stephen King film. Audiences will be left wondering if with someone like Michael Flanagan directing, who has already shown the capability to do a horror series, if Doctor Sleep might not have made for a better series than film. Or at the very least, been broken up into two films.

Overall this is still a good movie even with the shortcomings. It just can’t help but be felt that it could have been great instead of just good enough. 

You can listen to our non-spoiler review above or on your favorite podcast app (Search Movie Trailer Reviews). MTR Premium members can listen to a more detailed spoiler review below.

 

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Kriss is back with another episode of the Insanity Check to cover this week's...well...the last several week's... dose of insanity in the world. This week he's joined by People's Critic, Tim. We cover a wide range of topics from the backlash to the Harriet movie to white people needing natural predators (maybe don't lay in a bed with an 8 foot python). But most importantly on this November 3rd (when this was recorded) we talk about the most important thing: The return of the Popeye's chicken sandwich.

Topics:

* The Harriet movie has it's issues but you don't have to make them up

* The speed and staying power of false information

* Thanksgiving needs its own music or its gonna keep going from Halloween to Christmas

* Bill Maher Says the Dumbest Things

* Woman found dead with snake around her neck in house with 140 snakes

* I don't care about the gender of your baby...especially not enough to die from it

* Rudy Guiliani is an idiot

* White House Halloween party let kids "build the wall" because...teach them racism & bigotry when they're young

* This week in 'No One is Cancelled' - Harvey Weinstein showed up to an actor's hour

* Great Moments in White Privilege

* Felicity Huffman doesn't even serve her full 14 day sentence

Guest: Tim - @peoplescrtic

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Terminator Dark Fate is a shell of Terminator 2. That may be enough for some audiences but it also begs the question of why are we back here? For all the talk that James Cameron has about other big franchises (never forget when he claimed Wonder Woman wasn’t ground breaking), his big tentpole films are incredibly formulaic with painful dialogue and one-dimensional characters. Terminator Dark Fate, to no surprise, is more of the same. The one shocking (and unforgivable) thing though is that it doesn’t feel like it has the same quality when it comes to visuals. 

 

Now let’s be fair. Terminator Dark Fate isn’t directed by Cameron. Tim Miller is the director here and Cameron only wrote and produced. However, the Terminator franchise is one of Cameron’s babies and Dark Fate seeks to erase everything after T2 and so it’s very clear that Cameron wasn’t just some passive producer. He’s even admitted to having some “creative differences” and “battles” with Miller over some of the creative decisions in this film and honestly, you can tell. The plan was simple: Bring back Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor, bring back Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-800 and then have Gabriel Luna as the new T-1000 type Terminator with Mackenzie Davis and Natalia Reyes being the only real changes. Now don’t get me wrong, there is more to it than that. The infamous “Terminator Time Travel Logic” strikes again. But overall, the same story beats of T2 are all here and no real new ground is broken.

 

This isn’t a bad film, it’s just fine. Audiences will watch it and enjoy most of the action scenes (while glossing over the parts that look really bad). Luna is great as a Terminator and Davis is as well as a "Cyborg" even though she's ultimately underused. In the end this film could have been much worse and disappointing and manages to escape that. But one can't help but wonder if at some point James Cameron just needs to walk away. Dialogue has never been his strong suit and between this and Alita Battle Angel, his scripts are really the weakest link in what could be much better films.

 

***UPDATE***

The Spoiler Review for Terminator Dark Fate is now up for Premium members. 

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Edward Norton's passion project Motherless Brooklyn hits theaters this Friday (Nov. 1). Once again, Brandon and Ro agree to disagree...sort of. 

Motherless Brooklyn is a vintage private eye story with pitch perfect 1950s vintage look and feel; the story, however, falls slightly short of the mark. Based on the novel of the same name by Jonathan Lethem, writer/director Edward Norton breathes life into what easily could've been stock crime novel characters. Ro and Brandon both felt a more streamline story and judicious use of the gumshoe voice-over by Norton would've made for a far more engaging and tension-riddled film. 

Instead, Motherless Brooklyn feels bloated and occasionally too detached. Set in 1957 Motherless follows junior detective Lionel Essrog as he commits himself to unraveling the case that led to the death of his friend and mentor, Frank Minna (Bruce Willis). Lionel is an focused, talented, obsessive-compulsive investigator with Tourette syndrome. His condition(s) presented in the film - with ingenuity that works to treat his behavior as his normal - is both a blessing and a curse. Essrog's unique perspective allows him to work his way through a myriad of an ever twisted mystery to a secret that implicates the city's most powerful man, Moses Randolph (Alec Baldwin). Baldwin's Randolph is gritty, compelling and disturbing. Had Norton decided to focus on showing the story more than "telling" the story, all the pay-off would've been huge. Instead there's an scattered focus and uneven attention to detail..which is ironic given Essrog's particular struggles. 

Motherless Brooklyn is a good movie that too often forgets it's not just about the character study when it comes to crime solving.  

Ro's enjoyment of Motherless Brooklyn is rooted in the use of jazz music and an abnormal attachment to noir flicks in general and PI stories specifically. Brandon found the story's messiness and flaws far more irritating. Both agree the individual actors gave stellar performances even if the whole fails to gel. One thing's for sure, Ro will be picking up the vinyl when it becomes available in December. 

Listen to Ro and Brandon dig into Motherless Brooklyn in the spoiler-free chat. 

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The Flash S6E4 reminds us once again that out of all the Arrowverse shows, The Flash has the best acting. The touching scene with Grant Gustin and Jesse L Martin is a great moment to remind us that Black Fatherhood moments are still going strong on this show after 6 seasons and that these two have some of the best chemistry on TV. But not just them. This entire cast is working well together this season (and has been for a while now). This is a far cry from seasons 3 and 4 where it felt that the writing of the show wasn’t giving this strong cast the room to show just how much of a load they could carry. Ironically enough, with the theme of the opening of this season being Barry making preparations for the team to carry on after he’s gone, the show is giving the rest of the cast a chance to carry parts of the story without leaning so heavily on Gustin. 

 

At the end of the day, The Flash (both TV and comics) is about family and this season has done a great job showing that. Each member of team Flash is taking the news that Barry has to die so billions can live different ways and they all feel genuine. Even Ralph, who is one of the newer members of the cast has his emotional reaction feel real. Barry is the whole reason Ralph has the life he has. One because Barry literally saved his life but also because Barry helped him get back in touch with being a real detective and helping people. Then when you take all of this and Barry’s acceptance of his fate and juxtapose that with Rosso and his refusal to accept he will die, we have a compelling story.

 

Also…once again, a Wells showing up is always connected to the larger plot. And Nash Wells is hunting the Monitor. What could go wrong?

Kriss and Dpalm record the Mailbag at the end of every month. If you want to send in your own questions and thoughts, email us: [email protected]

 

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Harriet Leader of the Underground Trail Mix

So yeaaaaa, that Harriet Tubman film, a project that was originally in the hands of Viola Davis where it should have stayed, is finally due north to the big screen this weekend.  And while this may not be the fierce, shotgun toting, Union spying, underground railroading breaker of chains, it’s the only Harriet film we’ve got.  So you'll just have to deal with it --just like you'll have to deal with the fact that Cynthia Erivo's talented ass isn't going anywhere.  Surprisingly, a safe and basic telling of the revered historical figure leaves all the interesting details in the past sharing nothing new to anyone with a paragraph's worth of required Black History Month reading knowledge on the heroine.  

You can practically see through the thinly layered script that Kasi Lemmons and Greg Allen Howard shopped around Hollywood for almost a decade exploiting the talents of Cynthia Erivo, Janelle Monae, and Leslie Odom Jr.   It’s an un-extraordinary softcore slave story that makes any strategy used to develop the Underground Railroad about as complex as a relay race.  Simultaneously, it turns Harriet "Minty" Tubman into a superhero who’s powers get yada-yada’d through montages, surface deep character development, and Negro Magic.  I pray we get a Harriet Demon Slayer film next.

What it Got Right

It would be irresponsible to ignore things the film showed up for, one of them being the cinematography.  Scenes where mysticism overtakes Harriet are pretty much gorgeous.  Who knew witnessing a slave running from a gang of crackers and hound dogs through unforgiving woods and rushing rivers under endless stars could be shot so beautifully.  Hollywood doesn’t have the best reputation for capturing darker skin tones, then Barry Jenkins showed them Moonlight.  Here, John Toll uses his Cloud Atlas experience to Jupiter Ascend the audience through slave escapes into the Philadelphia free lands.  

The costume designers had a chance to flex big muscle too in scenes filled with black Abolitionists, some you may even recognize hiding in the foreground unacknowledged.  Janelle Monae floats throughout the film in scene snatching dresses, using a well crafted accent.  Leslie Odom Jr. is tailor made for a Black History biopic.  Cynthia captures the small part of Harriet she was provided through her mannerisms, emotionally dynamic range, and songbird of the south vocals.  There’s enough here to keep audiences distracted, that’s for sure.

Without diving too deep into this for fear of never being able to think happy thoughts again, most of the actors you'll recognize on screen deserved a better film than this and they show you why.  Moving on...

Final Verdict

It’s a hard no for me dawg.  

When people said they wanted a Harriet Tubman film after seeing Aisha Hinds in Underground, the sentiment was pretty clear.  Black people wanted to see a film that Nate Parker promised and failed to deliver in Birth of a Nation but about Harriet Tubman.  A Black woman on screen freeing her self in addition to dozens upon dozens of other slaves motivated by the fear of capture yet guided by the voice of God and a firm grip on her shotgun looking for a reason to use it, and that was only the start.  Sadly, that’s where this film peaks.  As Kriss says in our review, the most interesting parts of a film should not be in the captions right before the end credits.  That was the movie you were supposed to make, the one about the one they called Moses, and Harriet the Spy and Harriet the Humanitarian.

***UPDATE***

The Spoiler Review for Harriet is now up for Premium members. 

This is MTR Premium Network content. If you are already a subscriber please

Arrow continues its march to the series end with a trip around to some of the most important places with some of the most important people with Leap of Faith. This episode Oliver is back at Nanda Parbat and meets up with Thea and Talia to gain more information on The Monitor. In the future, Connor, Mia, Zoe & William try to take down and stop JJ and it ends up with fatal results. That is until they get transported to the past and end up in the bunker...with Oliver. This all leads to an important question: Was this all part of a plan of Mar Novu/The Monitor? He's a cosmic being and while Oliver's whole reason for going to Nanda Parbat was to dig up information on him, wouldn't Mar Novu know this? So far, every episode, he's being sending Oliver to different places to gather different things for him. In this episode, where he doesn't show up, it's easy to think this was a break from that. But a closer look we see that by the end of this episode, three things of significance happen:

* Thea basically wins the title of leader of what's remaining of the League of Assassins & then partners with Talia to form a "League of Heroes"

* Lyla and Diggle save a young Connor and Sandra Hawke, paving way for Connor eventually being raised by Diggle & Lyla

* Mia, Willam and Connor from the future are transported back in time (oddly enough the same way the Monitor movies through time and worlds) and end up in the bunker with their father(s) and Team Arrow

In the end, this all seems like manipulations by Novu and that Oliver, while thinking he was doing something of his own free will, was actually unwittingly doing his bidding. And...it also continues the smoke screen of making his dealings seem shady when they're all part of a larger plan.

Kriss and Dpalm record the Mailbag at the end of every month. If you want to send in your own questions and thoughts, email us: [email protected]

 

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