Author: Shmee

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She-Ra Continues Netflix’s Reboot Success!

I have been singing Voltron‘s praises for a while now, so I was intrigued when Netflix and DreamWorks announced a reboot of She-Ra.  I was skeptical after the trailer.  I wasn’t a huge fan of the new look, but like I said, they had earned a little of my faith, and they largely came through.  I wouldn’t say it is as amazing as Voltron, but it is much, much better than the She-Ra of the past.

The basic setups are the same between the old and new shows.  Adora is an orphan kidnapped by the Horde, but then she finds a magic sword that lets her turn in to the super strong Princess of Power, She-Ra.  A lot of the characters from the old show are in this one as well, but what is different is that you care about all these characters.  They have stories and arcs.  The entire backbone of this first season is how Catra’s and Adora’s relationship defines and makes them who they are.  You know, a real theme and plot!

Not everything is perfect though.  While I appreciate that the series is mostly hand drawn, it is not drawn with a lot of depth.  You can tell that they did not have a massive budget, and while it is mostly smooth, it can still feel a little cheap.  Some of the story beats that do not belong to Catra or Adora can feel rushed or muddled, and Swiftwind is super annoying.

The Michael Bay Transformers broke me, and I never wanted anyone to reboot anything ever again, but then it turns out I just don’t want people to reboot things poorly anymore.  DreamWorks and Netflix can reboot whatever they want at this point.  However, this shared universe Roald Dahl show sounds like a bad plan, but they have earned my eyes for at least a few episodes because She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is better than I could have hoped for.

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Shmee Listens To Sabrina’s Chilling Tales!

If you haven’t been following Archie Comics lately than you wouldn’t know that they have gotten an update to their grocery store checkout sensibilities, and their reemergence has been so successful it has launched a new TV show on the CW, Riverdale.  Riverdale has been a hit for the CW, so the CW went to Warner Bros. Television for another show to sit alongside it.  What they came up with was a little too dark for network TV, but before Warner could go back and retool it, in swooped Netflix, and Netflix was more than happy to have The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina get as dark as it wanted to get.

The setup for The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is very similar to the 90’s sitcom, Sabrina the Teenage Witch.  Sabrina (Kiernan Shipka) on her 16th birthday will have to leave her human life behind and become a full witch, she is only half witch on her father’s side, but like any teenager she doesn’t want to do what she is told.  This is where the changes start to appear.  You see the Dark Lord really wants her on his side for some reason, and he sends in his team to sway her to the dark by any means necessary.

The word ‘Chilling’ from the title is best descriptor for the show.  It isn’t outright scary, but it is darker and much gorier than anything the CW has ever put out.  So much so I am wondering if they punched it up once the show moved to Netflix.  However, most of the show’s storylines fit firmly in the teenage drama genre.  It is still a CW show at its core.  No amount of witchcraft can change that.

If you want a teenage drama with some gore and some spookiness, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is probably what you are looking for.  It has a good cast doing crazy things, and it feels like Riverdale’s cousin, so those are all positives.  Though all the talk about and interaction with the Dark Lord are big negatives for me.  I guess how you feel about the show will depend on if you are looking for a dark gory teenage show where a girl has to rebel against the Devil or not.

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Shmee Is Invited To A Destination Wedding!

Destination Wedding asks a simple question, “Are Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves charming and talented enough to pull off a movie all by themselves?”  Answer: almost.  The problem is that the script and the production as a whole don’t give them a lot to work with.  Which is a shame because these two leads are very watchable, and even more watchable together.

Destination Wedding sets up two unlikable people and traps them at a wedding that they don’t want to be at, and that no one wants them at, so they are forced to spend time together.  It is like a very long sitcom elevator episode except that the elevator moves around to different locations.  Also, we aren’t really sure about anyone’s motivations for inviting these two because only Winona and Keanu have speaking roles.  Well maybe technically a mountain lion speaks, but I am not sure roars and hisses count.

Speaking of the mountain lion, it is the only real thing that happens in this movie.  Otherwise it is just Winona and Keanu trading barbs, and most of the time they are pretty good at it.  The issue is that when you have to spend an hour and a half talking with only two people, that is a lot of dialog, and a lot of it doesn’t hold up.  The leads do their best, but there is only so much they can do, and the only props they are given are wine and food, so they literally chew and drink the scenery.

Listen, putting Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder together is a brilliant move, and they are excellent at delivering witty banter and trading insults, but to have the whole movie just be two people talking to one another the script has to be perfect.  Destination Wedding’s is not.  Reeves and Ryder have their moments, almost enough of them to carry they movie, but the effort falls short in the end.  Hopefully we get a more fleshed out movie with these two again soon because they are great.  Destination Wedding, not so much.

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Shmee Hangs With The Thief Of Thieves!

Apparently Rival Games has been playing a lot of Hitman, and is very fond of Telltale style narrative games.  Because Thief of Thieves, based on the Kirkman comic of the same name, attempts to be a mashup of the two.  Since this “first volume” (AKA Episode 1) is availble free as part of Xbox Game Pass, I gave it a try.

Let’s get the good parts out of the way first.  It looks great.  It looks like a comic book come to life, with clean lines and vibrant color.  Rival clearly has a good art and graphics team.  Also the diolog and story seemed pretty good.  It is hard to say because the first episode is really short, so I didn’t get a clear picture of how the story was shaping up.

Now on to the things that don’t seem to be working very well.  In an attempt to frame the action like a comic book, Thief of Thieves has set camera angles.  It looks great, but it is frustrating to not get a clear view of what is going on.  Likewise, while I am on board for a story based stealth game, it plays like someone added Hitman mechanics in to Telltale’s stiff old engine.  Which is to say, they do not work so great.  You are supposed to be a spry thief, but you move like a Mack Truck with a transmission problem and a power steering fluid leak.  The first episode is pretty easy, but I could already see that I will be hating things if they get any more complex.

If I was told this was a proof of concept for a Kickstarter, I would be excited.  The fact that this game is already out and completed on PC, so the stiff unresponsive controls probably will not be sorted out, gives me pause.  The cool look and interesting story are enough for me to recommend a download for people with Game Pass, but I would hesitate to recommend paying anything more for it.  If things get better as the series progresses, maybe.  Though I wouldn’t hold my breath.  However, I am curious where things are going next, so if the next episodes all end up on Game Pass, I will probably keep playing them.

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You’re A Bland One Mr. Grinch!

As I have said before, the hardest reviews to write are the ones for movies that are just okay.  There is nothing to point out that is poorly done, and there is nothing to laud.  Illumination’s The Grinch is such a film.  It is bright, the characters are cute, and the digital sets are amazing, but it is still the same story stretched over eighty-six minutes.  Which feels about forty minutes too long.

If you have read the book or watched the Chuck Jones original short, you know the story.  The titular Grinch, this time played by Benedict Cumberbatch, hates Christmas because his heart is two sizes too small, so he attempts to steal Christmas from the Christmas loving Whos down in Whoville.  Illumination attempts to add some context, so that we can at least understand why the Grinch doesn’t like Christmas, he doesn’t like it, no not at all.

I will say that at least it isn’t as horrifying as the Jim Carry/Ron Howard movie from 2000, but at least that movie is actively bad, so I can feel some emotion about it.  This 2018 Grinch attempts to delete itself from your memory as soon as you watch it.  It is kind of like paying $15 for sugar free cotton candy.  You probably will not hate it, but you should have spent your money on something else.

The biggest compliment that I can give Illumination’s The Grinch is that my four year old daughter loved it, and I think that is the target audience for this movie, so I guess they hit that mark, but we have been so spoiled lately with animation that works for adults and children, it is hard not to be disappointed with this outing.  If you need to take your family to a movie, and they can’t wait for Ralph to break the Internet, The Grinch is a family movie that exists and is fine, and even better, it is short.  Did you know you can get the Chuck Jones’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas on Blu-Ray for less than the price of a movie ticket?