Category: TV Reviews

REVIEW: WandaVision – “On a Very Special Episode…”

Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff and Paul Bettany as Vision in Marvel Studios’ WANDAVISION, exclusively on Disney+. — Photo: Disney+ / Marvel Studios.

The following is a recap and review of the fifth episode of WandaVision, available exclusively on Disney+. Expect story spoilers and general Marvel Cinematic Universe spoilers. 

In the fifth episode of WandaVision — titled On a Very Special Episode — Vision (played by Paul Bettany) starts to question everything about the reality inside Wanda’s bubble universe, while Wanda and Vision’s twin boys age rapidly. Meanwhile, Monica Rambeau (played by Teyonah Parris) wakes up and immediately starts to work out a way that they can enter into the bubble universe without being altered by its time period. But S.W.O.R.D. is about to find out that Wanda (played by Elizabeth Olsen) doesn’t like intruders. Continue reading “REVIEW: WandaVision – “On a Very Special Episode…”” →

Additional Bite-Sized Reviews, Jan. ’21: ‘Cobra Kai’ and ‘Uncle Frank’

Paul Bettany, Sophia Lillis, and Peter Macdissi in ‘Uncle Frank,’ — Photo: Brownie Harris/Amazon Studios

In this edition of my monthly movie and television catch-up article series titled ‘Additional Bite-Sized Reviews,’ I take a look at Alan Ball’s latest film, Uncle Frank, starring Paul Bettany and Sophia Lillis, and I talk about how I’ve binge-watched the delightful YouTube/Netflix Original Series, Cobra Kai. Continue reading “Additional Bite-Sized Reviews, Jan. ’21: ‘Cobra Kai’ and ‘Uncle Frank’” →

REVIEW: The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020 – TV Series)

Photo: Eike Schroter / Netflix.

Series Created by Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House; Doctor Sleep) — Available on Netflix.

I’ve been a huge fan of Mike Flanagan for a couple of years now. He is a horror-focused filmmaker, who hasn’t yet made a huge misstep. Instead, he has actually made some of the previous decade’s very best horror films. Gerald’s Game was one of the best and biggest film surprises of 2017, and his sequel to The Shining, Doctor Sleep, was phenomenal. On Netflix, he has also been given the chance to create, direct, and shepherd the outstanding horror series The Haunting of Hill House, which was such a runaway success that it became an anthology series. The Haunting of Bly Manor is the next chapter of that great horror anthology series, and, even though it is not as good or memorable as Hill House, Bly Manor is another great entry in Flanagan’s increasingly impressive horror oeuvre. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020 – TV Series)” →

REVIEW: WandaVision – “We Interrupt This Program”

Teyonah Parris and Elizabeth Olsen in Marvel Studios’ WANDAVISION, exclusively on Disney+. — Photo: Chuck Zlotnick / Disney+ / Marvel Studios.

The following is a recap and review of the fourth episode of WandaVision, available exclusively on Disney+. Expect story spoilers and general Marvel Cinematic Universe spoilers. 

In the fourth episode of WandaVision — titled We Interrupt This Program — we are introduced to Monica Rambeau (played by Teyonah Parris), as the show switches perspective and shows us the events of the first three episodes from the perspective of the outside world. Monica Rambeau is ‘Geraldine,’ the neighbor who was thrown out of the bubble universe after having mentioned Ultron to Wanda. In this episode, when Monica disappears after having investigated a missing person’s case, FBI, S.W.O.R.D., and several scientists set up a base outside of Westview, New Jersey for the purpose of figuring out what exactly is going on. Continue reading “REVIEW: WandaVision – “We Interrupt This Program”” →

REVIEW: WandaVision – “Now in Color”

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Teyonah Parris in Marvel Studios’ WANDAVISION, exclusively on Disney+. — Photo: Disney+ / Marvel Studios.

The following is a recap and review of the third episode of WandaVision, available exclusively on Disney+. Expect story spoilers and general Marvel Cinematic Universe spoilers. 

In the third episode of WandaVision — Now in Color — the now-pregnant Wanda Maximoff (played by Elizabeth Olsen) is losing some control of her powers, as her pregnancy progresses extremely fast. Meanwhile, her husband, Vision (played by Paul Bettany), is trying his best to read up on what is expected of him and Wanda during the pregnancy. However, as Wanda’s pregnancy causes the whole neighborhood to lose power, Vision starts to notice that something isn’t right in the small town of Westview. Continue reading “REVIEW: WandaVision – “Now in Color”” →

REVIEW: WandaVision – Episodes 1 and 2

Wandavision Still Image 1
Elizabeth Olsen is Wanda Maximoff and Paul Bettany is Vision in Marvel Studios’ WANDAVISION, exclusively on Disney+. — Photo: Disney+ / Marvel Studios.

The following is a recap and review of the first and second episodes of WandaVision, available exclusively on Disney+. Expect story spoilers and general Marvel Cinematic Universe spoilers. 

When we last saw Wanda Maximoff (played by Elizabeth Olsen), she attended Tony Stark’s funeral at the end of Avengers: Endgame. However, the last time we saw Vision (played by Paul Bettany) he was lying lifeless on the ground after Thanos had ripped out the mind stone from Vision’s forehead in Avengers: Infinity War. Therefore it would be a massive understatement to say that it is more than odd to see Vision and Wanda together in a 1950s, or 1960s, sitcom-style television series in Marvel Studios’ first Disney+ series WandaVision. Continue reading “REVIEW: WandaVision – Episodes 1 and 2” →

REVIEW: The Mandalorian – Seasons One and Two (2019/2020)

The Mandalorian Still Image
‘The Mandalorian,’ Still Image — Photo: Disney / Disney Plus / Lucasfilm.

Had it not been for the fact that I think there is a notable jump in quality from the first to the second season of the Disney+ Original series, it would’ve been really difficult for me to separate the two first seasons of the first-ever Star Wars live-action series. You see, while, for Americans, there was an entire year in between the two seasons, Disney+ didn’t arrive in Denmark until September of 2020, and Disney made the decision to release the first season week-by-week. They did this so that when it ended, the second season would be ready to begin, but they also did it in an attempt to keep people on the streaming service for as long as possible. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Mandalorian – Seasons One and Two (2019/2020)” →

Additional Bite-Sized Reviews, Dec. ’20: ‘Unhinged,’ ‘The Good Traitor,’ and ‘Equinox’

Vores Mand i Amerika Still Image
‘Vores Mand i Amerika,’ Still Image — Photo: Katalin Vermes / Nimbus Film.

In the first-ever monthly movie and television catch-up article series titled ‘Additional Bite-Sized Reviews,’ I take a look at a solid Danish film from 2020, I tell you whether or not you should watch the new Danish television series that was released on Netflix on New Year’s Eve, and I also finally tell you what I think about the Russell Crowe starring vehicle Unhinged. Continue reading “Additional Bite-Sized Reviews, Dec. ’20: ‘Unhinged,’ ‘The Good Traitor,’ and ‘Equinox’” →

Recommending Danish TV: ‘The Mole,’ ‘The Investigation,’ and ‘Cry Wolf’

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‘Efterforskningen / The Investigation,’ Still Image — Photo by Henrik Ohsten — TV2.

Lately, I’ve been watching a lot of Danish television. I did this, in part, to prepare for my article on Mads Mikkelsen, but I’ve also been binge-watching a lot of Danish TV in anticipation of the upcoming fourth season of Borgen, which will be a co-production between Netflix and the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR). But I’ve also recently watched three Danish shows that were released over the course of the last few months. Today, I want to tell you about Cry Wolf, The Mole, and The Investigation. Continue reading “Recommending Danish TV: ‘The Mole,’ ‘The Investigation,’ and ‘Cry Wolf’” →

REVIEW: Defending Jacob (2020)

Release Poster – Apple TV+

The following is a review of the Apple TV+ mini-series “Defending Jacob,” — Directed by Morten Tyldum and written by Mark Bomback.

Morten Tyldum and Mark Bomback’s Defending Jacob is a crime mini-series based on the William Landay novel of the same name. The series follows the Barber family — Andy (played by Chris Evans) and Laurie (played by Michelle Dockery) and their teenage son, Jacob (played by Jaeden Martell) — from Newton, Massachusetts. At the outset of the series, Andy Barber, the assistant district attorney, is assigned to prosecute the murder of Ben Rifkin, one of Jacob’s classmates, and he is quick to identify a prime suspect. However, soon Andy is forced to abandon the case when his son is charged with the murder of Ben Rifkin. The Barbers are naturally shocked, and, in the series, they must try to clear their son’s name, find the actual culprit, and endure the harsh spotlight that they, as a family, have suddenly been put under. Continue reading “REVIEW: Defending Jacob (2020)” →