Category: TV Reviews

REVIEW: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power – Season One (2022)

Morfydd Clark as Galadriel in THE RINGS OF POWER — PHOTO: Ben Rothstein/Prime Video

Show Developed by J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay — Season Directed by J. A. Bayona, Wayne Che Yip, and Charlotte Brändström.

Late next year we’ll be twenty years removed from the release of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. That means it’ll also be twenty years since ten-year-old me sat in a theater and sobbed as Frodo said his goodbyes. Peter Jackson’s first three films in the Tolkienverse fully got me. I remember asking my mother if movies would ever get that good again, and she assured me that they would. She was right.

However, you wouldn’t know it from Peter Jackson’s second Tolkien trilogy, the prequel films, The Hobbit trilogy. Those three films disappointed someone so deeply emotionally invested in the universe so much that I chose not to see all of them immediately as they were released in theaters. So, I was skeptical when it was announced that a return to Middle-Earth was on the horizon at Amazon Prime Video. However, while it suffers from some notable problems, I think the first season of The Rings of Power mostly works. In any case, I’m happy to say that I loved being back in a universe that I didn’t realize I had been missing for quite some time.

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REVIEW: She-Hulk: Attorney at Law – Season One (2022)

(L-R): Mark Ruffalo as Smart Hulk / Bruce Banner and Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer “Jen” Walters/She-Hulk in Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.

Show Created by Jessica Gao — Directed by Kat Coiro and Anu Valia.

The first Disney+ Marvel Cinematic Universe series, WandaVision, was released in early 2021. Now, in October of 2022, Marvel Studios has fully released eight different Marvel series on the Disney streamer. While I’ve enjoyed watching all of them, I really do think that many of them would’ve been better as films, as these shows — like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier — still swear by the classic Marvel template. Honestly, I think only WandaVision, Loki, What If…?, and Ms. Marvel were right to be made into series rather than films. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, however, is the kind of story that feels appropriate for the streamer as a series. It doesn’t take the overarching Marvel storylines all that seriously and, even though I’m a fan of the MCU, that feels really refreshing.

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REVIEW: For All Mankind – Season Three (2022)

Scene from “For All Mankind,” now streaming on Apple TV+.

Series Created by Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert, and Ben Nedivi — Available Now on Apple TV+.

For All Mankind is my favorite Apple TV+ show, which is saying something considering how much I absolutely love Ted Lasso. Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert, and Ben Nedivi’s historical fiction series started as ‘what if the Soviet Union had reached the Moon first and, as a result, the United States continued and accelerated the space race,’ and the second season explored this alternate history science-fiction by having the Cold War take place in outer space, essentially. If the first season was a ‘small step,’ and the second season a ‘giant leap,’ then this third season cements that the previous season wasn’t just a fluke. For All Mankind is still one of the best ongoing shows on any streaming service.

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REVIEW: Black Bird (2022 – Limited Series)

Ray Liotta and Taron Egerton in “Black Bird,” now streaming on Apple TV+.

Series Developed by Dennis Lehane.

Apple TV+ is starting to pick up steam as a serious streamer with several fantastic shows. Black Bird, from award-winning novelist and screenwriter Dennis Lehane, is one of its latest solid series. Unfortunately, since Apple TV+ is yet to have a massive subscriber count, shows like it, For All Mankind, Severance, Shining Girls, and so on and so forth will probably struggle to find an enormous audience. Black Bird should be an easy sell for many people in this day and age where true crime adaptations are all the rage. The mini-series is based on James Keene and Hillel Levin’s autobiographical novel In With The Devil: A Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption.

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REVIEW: Better Call Saul – “Nippy”

The following is a recap and review of the tenth episode of the sixth and final season of Better Call Saul, available on AMC in the U. S. and on Netflix internationally. Expect story spoilers.

In the tenth episode of the sixth season of Better Call Saul — titled Nippy — “Gene” (played by Bob Odenkirk) tries to convince someone to take part in a con job with a very brief time window. Nippy was written by Alison Tatlock and directed by Michelle MacLaren.

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REVIEW: Better Call Saul – “Fun and Games”

The following is a recap and review of the ninth episode of the sixth and final season of Better Call Saul, available on AMC in the U. S. and on Netflix internationally. Expect story spoilers.

In the ninth episode of the sixth season of Better Call Saul — titled Fun and Games — Mike (played by Jonathan Banks) meets with Nacho’s father, while Kim (played by Rhea Seehorn) makes a definitive decision about her future. Fun and Games was written by Ann Cherkis and directed by Michael Morris. The episode is dedicated to Julia Clark Downs.

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REVIEW: Better Call Saul – “Point and Shoot”

The following is a recap and review of the eighth episode of the sixth and final season of Better Call Saul, available on AMC in the U. S. and on Netflix internationally. Expect story spoilers.

In the eighth episode of the sixth season of Better Call Saul — titled Point and Shoot — Lalo Salamanca (played by Tony Dalton) demands that Jimmy McGill (played by Bob Odenkirk) or Kim’s (played by Rhea Seehorn) must kill Gus Fring (played by Giancarlo Esposito). Point and Shoot was written by Gordon Smith and directed by series co-creator Vince Gilligan.

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REVIEW: Better Call Saul – “Plan and Execution”

The following is a recap and review of the seventh episode of the sixth and final season of Better Call Saul, available on AMC in the U. S. and on Netflix internationally. Expect story spoilers.

In the seventh episode of the sixth season of Better Call Saul — titled Plan and Execution — Jimmy McGill (played by Bob Odenkirk) and Kim’s (played by Rhea Seehorn) smear campaign against Howard Hamlin (played by Patrick Fabian) plays out for all to see. Also, Lalo Salamanca (played by Tony Dalton) finally returns to Albuquerque. Plan and Execution was written and directed by Thomas Schnauz.

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REVIEW: Better Call Saul – “Axe and Grind”

The following is a recap and review of the sixth episode of the sixth and final season of Better Call Saul, available on AMC in the U. S. and on Netflix internationally. Expect story spoilers.

In the sixth episode of the sixth season of Better Call Saul — titled Axe and Grind — Jimmy McGill (played by Bob Odenkirk) and Kim (played by Rhea Seehorn) continue with their plan to ruin Howard Hamlin (played by Patrick Fabian) and get an early Sandpiper case payout. Elsewhere, Lalo Salamanca (played by Tony Dalton) tracks down one of Werner Ziegler’s colleagues. Axe and Grind was written by Ariel Levine and directed by Giancarlo Esposito, who made his television directorial debut with this episode.

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REVIEW: Better Call Saul – “Black and Blue”

The following is a recap and review of the fifth episode of the sixth and final season of Better Call Saul, available on AMC in the U. S. and on Netflix internationally. Expect story spoilers.

In the fifth episode of the sixth season of Better Call Saul — titled Black and Blue — Howard Hamlin (played by Patrick Fabian) finds out that Jimmy McGill (played by Bob Odenkirk) and Kim (played by Rhea Seehorn) are messing with his reputation. Elsewhere, we finally find out what Lalo Salamanca (played by Tony Dalton) is doing. Black and Blue was written by Alison Tatlock and directed by Melissa Bernstein.

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