Tag: Pedro Pascal

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026) | REVIEW

Din Djarin, also known as ‘The Mandalorian,’ and Grogu get ready to take off in their spaceship in Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian and Grogu — PHOTO: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Jon Favreau — Screenplay by Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, and Noah Kloor.

Now, don’t get me wrong. For someone who, after the release of George Lucas’ prequel trilogy, once (and for a while there) was worried he would never get to see another movie set in that faraway galaxy, getting to see a new Star Wars movie in theaters is probably always going to feel like a treat. But I have to say that I don’t think I’ve ever been looking forward to a live-action Star Wars theatrical release less than here with The Mandalorian and Grogu. This is coming from someone who has seen every single episode of the Disney+ show it spun off from, who loved the first two seasons of the series, and who enjoys the titular duo a great deal. But despite that and the seven-year wait between this and the last theatrically released Star Wars film (J. J. Abrams’ critically panned The Rise of Skywalker), and even though last year’s second season of Andor was a miracle of intelligent and political storytelling that rivals the best films in the franchise, something about this next big release just feels off. Maybe it’s just because of the disappointing third season of the show, but it could also be the ill-judged marketing campaign (what with the faux-beer commercial as their Super Bowl ad). I have long sensed that the main problem is that the studio and the storytellers have, through three seasons, trained audiences to expect these stories on a streaming service, and even though this is an expensive Star Wars story that you’re putting the next ‘chapter’ of on the big screen, it doesn’t change the fact that people are going to view this as a TV-movie because of its origin on the streaming service. Nevertheless, I was hopeful that this would still be an enjoyable moviegoing experience. Having now seen it, I can say that, as a fan of this universe and these characters, I enjoyed seeing them on another adventure fine enough, but I was largely underwhelmed by what I was presented with, and I am really concerned about what this film may mean for the future of the franchise.

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The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) | REVIEW

The Thing, the Invisible Woman, Mr. Fantastic, and the Human Torch in THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS — PHOTO: Marvel Studios / Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Matt Shakman (WandaVision) — Screenplay by Josh Friedman (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes), Eric Pearson (Thunderbolts*), Jeff Kaplan, and Ian Springer.

Although the Avengers are today the most well-known superhero group, even though the X-Men dominated the big screen in the 2000s, it was, in actuality, the Fantastic Four that were the original Marvel Comics team. Though Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the Fantastic Four and found great popularity for the team often referred to as the ‘First Family,’ the team of four has long struggled to find the same success on the big screen that the Avengers and X-Men have enjoyed. Prior to this new live-action attempt at making a successful Fantastic Four film, there were four other films, none of which found success with fans and critics. There was the 1990s Roger Corman-produced, low-budget, and unreleased adaptation, then Tim Story got to release two fairly campy films about Marvel’s First Family in the mid-2000s both of which were largely dismissed by critics, before Chronicle-director Josh Trank got to sit in the director’s chair for 20th Century Fox’s Razzie Award-winning dark and gritty reboot, which Trank, notably, disowned publicly on Social Media during its week of release. It seems that it isn’t all that simple to make a good film about four of Marvel’s most iconic characters. Thankfully, this latest attempt succeeds where prior films failed. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a strong superhero film that possesses a strong audiovisual identity and aesthetic, and it also does a good job of honoring the characters and the original creators. 

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The Last of Us – “Convergence” | REVIEW

Bella Ramsey in THE LAST OF US: CONVERGENCE — PHOTO: Liane Hentscher / HBO.

This is a recap and review of the seventh and final episode of the second season of HBO’s The Last of Us. Expect spoilers for season 1 and game 1 (and the episode itself, of course), but also some references to and comments about the second game (though without spoilers).

In the seventh and final episode of the second season — titled Convergencee — Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey) and Jesse (played by Young Mazino) search the streets of Seattle for Tommy (played by Gabriel Luna. However, when Ellie sees something in the distance, she parts ways with her friend. Convergence was written by Neil Druckmann, Halley Gross, and Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and directed by Nina Lopez-Corrado (Supernatural; Mayor of Kingstown).

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The Last of Us – “The Price” | REVIEW

Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in THE LAST OF US: THE PRICE — PHOTO: Liane Hentscher / HBO.

This is a recap and review of the sixth episode of the second season of HBO’s The Last of Us. Expect spoilers for season 1 and game 1 (and the episode itself, of course), but also some references to and comments about the second game (though without spoilers).

In the sixth and penultimate episode of the second season — titled The Price — we get multiple flashbacks to various birthdays, as we see how the Joel (played by Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey) dynamic and relationship changed over the years in Jackson. The Price was written by Craig Mazin (Chernobyl), Halley Gross, and Neil Druckmann, and directed by Neil Druckmann, the co-creator of the games.

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The Last of Us – “Feel Her Love” | REVIEW

Ellie (Bella Ramsey) explores the body of an infected in THE LAST OF US: FEEL HER LOVE — PHOTO: Liane Hentscher / HBO.

This is a recap and review of the fifth episode of the second season of HBO’s The Last of Us. Expect spoilers for season 1 and game 1 (and the episode itself, of course), but also some references to and comments about the second game (though without spoilers).

In the fifth episode of the second season — titled Feel Her Love — Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey) and Dina (played by Isabela Merced) opt to move through a warehouse that WLF soldiers are strangely leaving unguarded. Meanwhile, WLF Sergeant Elise Park (played by Hettienne Park) reveals why she had to lock her own soldiers inside of an infected zone. Feel Her Love was written by Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and directed by Stephen Williams (Lost; Westworld).

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The Last of Us – “Day One” | REVIEW

Bella Ramsey as ‘Ellie’ playing a guitar in The Last of Us: Day One — PHOTO: HBO/Liane Hentscher.

This is a recap and review of the fourth episode of the second season of HBO’s The Last of Us. Expect spoilers for season 1 and game 1 (and the episode itself, of course), but also some references to and comments about the second game (though without spoilers).

In the fourth episode of the second season — titled Day One — Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey) and Dina (played by Isabela Merced) explore Seattle, deepen their connection, and search for the W.L.F. crew that killed Joel. Elsewhere, we experience how far W.L.F. leader Isaac (played by Jeffrey Wright) is willing to go to fight back against the religious Seraphites. The Path was written by Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and directed by Kate Herron (Loki: Season 1).

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The Last of Us – “The Path” | REVIEW

Bella Ramsey in THE LAST OF US: THE PATH — PHOTO: HBO.

This is a recap and review of the third episode of the second season of HBO’s The Last of Us. Expect spoilers for season 1 and game 1 (and the episode itself, of course), but also some references to and comments about the second game (though without spoilers).

In the third episode of the second season — titled The Path — we get a three-month time jump, as the Jackson settlement and its wounded — including Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey) — recover in the wake of the tragedy in last week’s episode. However, when Dina (played by Isabela Merced) reveals a secret to Ellie, it sets in motion an appeal to gather up a crew to hunt down those who wronged them and killed Joel. The Path was written by Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and directed by Peter Hoar (The Last of Us: Long, Long Time).

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The Last of Us – “Through the Valley” | REVIEW

Bella Ramsey in THE LAST OF US: THROUGH THE VALLEY — PHOTO: Liane Hentscher/HBO.

This is a recap and review of the second episode of the second season of HBO’s The Last of Us. Expect spoilers for season 1 and game 1 (and the episode itself, of course), but also some references to and comments about the second game (though without spoilers).

In the second episode of the second season — titled Through the Valley (for reasons that I’ll get to in just a moment) — the Jackson settlement gets attacked by a horde of infected. Meanwhile, Joel (played by Pedro Pascal) and Dina (played by Isabela Merced) run into someone in need of saving, and, elsewhere, Jesse (played by Young Mazino) and Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey) explore Eugene’s secret hideout. Through the Valley was written by Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and directed by Mark Mylod (Succession, Game of Thrones, The Menu).

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The Last of Us – “Future Days” | REVIEW

Bella Ramsey with her back to the camera in THE LAST OF US: Future Days — Photograph by Liane Hentscher/HBO.

This is a recap and review of the premiere of the second season of HBO’s The Last of Us. Expect spoilers for season 1 and game 1, but also some references to and comments about the second game (though without spoilers).

The wait is finally over. It’s been more than 2 years since the release of the season finale of the first season of HBO’s adaptation of the beloved and critically acclaimed video game series known as The Last of Us, the two parts of which are my favorite video games ever made. Now, the second season premiere has been released on Max around the world, and the showrunners are now officially no longer adapting the first game, but rather the highly discussed, more complex, and much longer second game (click here to read my spoiler-filled thoughts on The Last of Us: Part II). How did the season premiere live up to the excellent games and the strong first season? Well, let’s have a closer look.

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11th I’m Jeffrey Rex Awards – 2023

I know. I didn’t just forget which year we’re in. We’re about to say goodbye to 2024, and here I am with a list of the very best films, shows, and whatnot from 2023? That’s certainly a choice, right? Look, I’ll be honest. I’ve been pretty busy this year, and I, around summer time, felt like I might as well wait until I had seen the two or three films that I felt I had to watch before publishing my lists for 2023. It kind of makes sense, right? If it’s already late, then I might as well make sure the choices are bulletproof, you know? Anyhow, here we are, and I’m going to be running you through all of my winners in a single post. Some awards have been canned (e.g. poster, trailer), other fresh ones have been added (e.g. stunts). It’ll take some time, but stick with me here. Oh, and look on the bright side, this way the wait between the 2023 and 2024 lists won’t be all that long. Anyway, let’s get to it (and happy holidays!). 

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