‘Legends Of Tomorrow’: ‘Outlaw Country’ Review

Legends of Tomorrow has at this point discovered that an evil speedster is now their newest enemy that they have to deal with. As the team tries to figure out how to deal with this new foe, this week’s episode of the show takes them back to the Old Western for another Aberration.

As they arrive, they discover their old ally Jonah Hex being in a bit of trouble and they save him before he finds out that Rip Hunter is currently missing. The baddie that they have to deal with this time in the Old Western is Quentin Tumbull who is trying to take over the West.

Nate is beginning to stepping outside of his comfort zone as he takes on the role of hero, but during an encounter with Tumbell, he is shot by a Dwarf Star bullet that is revealed to be one thing that can go through Nate’s steel-skin. Nate begins to doubt whether he should be a hero, but Ray steps in with several encouraging words.

Meanwhile, Stein is beginning to see flashes of a mysterious woman that he has never seen before, but yet has some connection to. Jax and Stein together figure out that due to him interacting with the Stein in the past. As they realize that, Stein begins to fear that maybe his history with Clarissa may have been erased from his timeline in 2016.

With everything that went down in the episode, there is a lot that we want to discuss and breakdown. So hit the next button below and let’s breakdown the top moments and highlights from the Legends of Tomorrow Season 2 episode: “Outlaw Country”

#5: Nate’s Weakness Revealed

#4: Return To Wild Western

#3: Stein Begins To Feel Changes

#2: The Return Of Jonah Hex

#1: Setup For The Crossover

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‘Suicide Squad – Extended Cut’ Review: What’s New?

First things first: the Extended Cut is not to Suicide Squad as the Ultimate Edition is to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Whereas the latter uses an extra half-hour to reshape and clarify its plot and characters to their original intent, the former merely embellishes what is already there. The Ultimate Edition is, by director Zack Snyder’s admission, his preferred cut of the film. David Ayer on the other hand professes that the theatrical cut of Squad, despite all the production drama and cut or altered scenes, is his.

The new footage in the Extended Cut revolves mostly around the Squad and their relationships, whether it is the Deadshot/Flag bro dynamic, the Joker/Harley toxic romance or Killer Croc with everyone. Much of it amounts to extra quips, gags, and character moments in between the bombast of the action scenes. More than anything, they feel like a taste of “what could have been” with this divisive film if it had been a more coherent, focused story.

Without further adieu, whether you’re a Squad lover or just a glutton for punishment, here’s a list of what’s new in the Extended Cut. Click Next to scroll through gallery.

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‘Arrow’: ‘Vigilante’ Review

Arrow has been crowded with vigilantes more than ever this season, as Oliver Queen a.k.a. the Green Arrow has recruited new members like Rag Man, Wild Dog, Artemis, along with Mr. Terrific. But in Star City, there is no limits to how many vigilantes there can as this week’s episode marked the introduction of one of Arrow’s most brutal vigilantes.

Team Arrow begins to discover that someone is cleaning up the streets of criminals, but in a more violent way than the team is operating with. He is simply known as Vigilante who clashes with Green Arrow because of their different methods of protecting the city.

In the Russian flashbacks, Oliver is being kept hostage by Konstantin Kovar who is insisting that the Bratva are actually corrupt. But Oliver isn’t giving in to his words as he tries to challenge the Russian baddie.

Quentin confesses to Thea about his alcoholic problems and his blackouts, along with the mysterious throwing star as well as that he woke up covered in blood. The two realizes that Prometheus is trying to paint Quentin as the new evil archer, which leads Quentin to resign as deputy mayor.

While Vigilante gets away, the episode ends on a huge Prometheus moment as we discover that one of Oliver’s allies has betrayed the team. Given how packed “Vigilante” was, we have a lot to breakdown so hit the next button below and let’s go through some of the highlights and important moments of the Arrow Season 5 episode: “Vigilante”

#5: Oliver’s Bonding With Susan Williams

#4: Konstantin Vs Oliver In Russian Flashbacks

#3: Quentin Deals With His Problems

#2: Enter Star City’s New Vigilante

#1: Team Arrow 2.0. Has A Traitor

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‘The Flash’: ‘Shade’ Review

The Flash has focused a lot this season so far on Wally West trying to get his speed and become a speeding hero. In this week’s episode, “Shade”, Wally begins to having dream of his time as Kid Flash in the Flashpoint Universe.

As he suffers from the effects, Barry finally decides to tell Wally and the whole gang what happened to Kid Flash in the other timeline. With Wally finding out what happened, Joe tries to convince him to not pursue trying to get his speed, until eventually accepting his son’s wish and trying to help out. However, Alchemy is trying to reach Wally mentally and tempting him with his former life.

Caitlin reveals to Cisco that she has ice powers and admits her fear that she is turning into Killer Frost, the way her Earth-2 counterpart became a villain. She asks him to vibe her future and see if things go bad, which it does as Cisco sees him, as Vibe fighting Killer Frost. Cisco decides to reveal to the team her secret as secrets just hurt the team.

As the team decides to go after Alchemy and stop him once and for all, things go really south as Alchemy is one step ahead. The Doctor reveals another ally of his as the episode ends on more than one big cliffhanger.

Given everything that happened in tonight’s episode, there is a lot we want to break down and discuss. So hit the NEXT button below and let’s go through some of the important moments and highlights of The Flash season three episode: “Shade”

#5: Flash Villain Shade Introduced

#4: Caitlin Reveals Her Secret

#3: Wally Hunts For Speed

#2: H.R. [Really] Tries To Help

#1: Cliffhangers & Debut Of A New Villain

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‘Fantastic Beasts’ Review: Welcome Back

It’s been five years since our last big screen adventure in J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, and when you look back, the Harry Potter movie series as a whole was a great cinematic achievement. Over the course of eight movies, audiences from around the world got invested into the exciting universe that Rowling created in her popular books that helped shape the pop culture zeitgeist of this generation. And for a while, it seemed as if the book was closed on more magical adventures in this world.

Thankfully, audiences will triumphantly return to the Wizarding World once Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opens in theaters this week. Set 70 years before Harry was born, we follow Hogwarts alum Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), a self-proclaimed magizoologist who visits New York with a magical briefcase that happens to contain many magical creatures. Newt only intended to stay for a few hours, but when his briefcase lets these titular beasts free, it’s up to Newt and his new companions Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston), Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), and Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol) to play Wizarding Pokemon throughout New York.

This film is a much different experience for Harry Potter fans, because with the original films, we were already familiar with these characters thanks to the books, so we had a pretty good idea of what we were going to see on the big screen. This time around, we are meeting these newly established characters truly for the first time. Fantastic Beasts is Rowling’s first screenplay, and for a first-time screenwriter, she manages to make all of these new characters charming and memorable in their own way.

Newt Scamander is a much different protagonist compared to the boy who lived. Newt wasn’t the most sociable type, and had quite a connection to magical creatures that he could never find with his fellow humans. Redmayne slides into Rowling’s world perfectly, and he adds such an unconventional charm to Newt that we don’t see often in films of this scale. It helps that he is accompanied by a terrific ensemble that help elevate this adventure. Newt’s new friends are all fun to be around, especially Jacob, a No-Maj (American term for Muggle) who provides much of the endearing comic relief.

Beyond our main heroes, we also meet new characters such  Percival Graves (Colin Farrell), a high-ranking Auror, Mary Lou Barebone (Samantha Morton), a No-Maj activist against witches and wizards that reaches near-Dolores Umbridge levels of disgust, and Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller), Mary Lou’s adopted son that may have a few secrets of his own.

Much of the pure entertainment value of Fantastic Beasts is found when the main quartet goes on the run to find these creatures before it’s too late. While some creature designs stand out more than others, the creativity and imagination truly shines. In particular, Newt’s runaway Niffler and trustworthy Bowtruckle have some of the more memorable moments from the film.

Fantastic Beasts has its faults, which can be attributed to the development of some of the supporting characters. The film could’ve used more development on the Barebone family, because whenever they appeared onscreen (especially Miller’s Credence), I wanted to learn more about their history. Also, with four more films on deck for this spin-off series, one can’t help but feel some of the set-up that this film creates for the upcoming adventures.

Thankfully, while the film does open the door for the upcoming sequels, it still satisfies on entertainment value and as a standalone story. Director David Yates and Rowling accomplished their goal in introducing a new era and set of characters within the Wizarding World. Once the film ended, I felt excited for what new adventures are in store with these newly established characters.

Rating: 8.5/10

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’Gotham’: ‘The Executioner’ Review

Gotham has slowly, but safely been taking Captain Nathaniel Barnes down an incredibly dark path that in this week’s episode came to a head as the infection within Barnes has completely taken over.

After discovering that Barnes was up to no good in last week’s episode, Gordon takes it upon himself to investigate and keep an eye on Barnes. But things go really south when Barnes is one step ahead of Gordon and puts him in a hot situation as the two GCPD officers end up in a stand-off.

While Gordon is dealing with Barnes, the grown-up Ivy reveals herself to Selina at last that she has transformed as Selina tries to process the new development. However, Ivy has already gotten herself in new troubles and it’s up to Selina and Bruce to help her out.

After the tragic death of Isabella, a grieving Nygma tries to get to the bottom of how she died. Penguin however is trying to cover up that he had something to do with Isabella’s death as he fears that his love will abandon if, should Nygma learn the truth.

As usual, a lot happened in this week’s episode of Gotham that we want to break-down and discuss. So hit the NEXT button below and let’s go through the top 5 highlights and important moments of the Gotham Season 3 episode: “The Executioner”

#5: Nygma Deals With Isabella’s Death

#4: Ivy & Selina Reunited Once Again

#3: Bruce & Selina Gets Ivy Out Of Trouble

#2: Gordon Vs Captain Barnes

#1: Fall Of Captain Barnes

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‘Moana’ Review: Disney Sets Sail For Fun

Disney’s latest film Moana is one that I’ve been looking forward to for a while. It’s Disney’s first animated musical since their smash hit  Frozen back in 2013. The film explores Polynesian culture and creates a brand new hero in the young, Moana. With a year filled with several Disney films that have each proven to be worthy in their own right how does Moana stand among that list? The answer is very high!

The plot of the film revolves around Moana ( Auli’i Cravalho). The young daughter and future chief of the people that live on the island of Motunui must find the powerful shapeshifter and demigod, Maui (Dwayne Johnson) to restore the heart of Tehiti to save the world. This quest is filled with obstacles including convincing the incredibly stubborn Maui. They must work together regardless of their differences to make right what was wrong and bring order back to the world.

The plot of this story reflects the hero’s journey, but instead of focusing on Maui as the hero it puts Moana squarely in that position which is a great change. The story is very simplistic, but that works really well for this film. It follows a fairly straightforward narrative, while making enough unique twists and changes that it is able to balance a classic Disney tone while still maintaining a fresh feeling.  In this way it manages to make it feel like a very distinctly Disney film while straying away enough from the norms that it becomes instantly memorable and unique. The implementation of the Polynesian themes is done extremely well. It’s a celebration of the culture and shows the great spirit of the people.

The cast also give outstanding performances voicing the characters. Dwayne Johnson steals the show portraying the stubborn and self-absorbed, Maui. He brings a sense of charm that keeps the character likable consistently throughout the film. He is the perfect choice for the role as well as Auli’i Cravalho, who brings Moana to life. Her portrayal of Moana is one of sincerity, heart, and strength. This was her first role and her talent shines through in spades. In addition to these two Jemaine Clement makes an appearance and he is also noteworthy as Tamatoa.

Seeing as this is a musical it is safe to say that there is always a question as to whether or not the music would be good and to no surprise the music is not only good. It’s great. The music was produced by the team of Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mark Mancina, and Opetaia Foa’i. They worked together to create a blend of Disney quality musical as well as Polynesian sounding music. This combination is reminiscent of what was done on The Lion King, which Mark Mancina also worked on.  The lyrics written by Lin-Manuel are all excellent and reflect the musical/hip-hop quality that he brought to the stage in the hit musicals In the Heights and most recently Hamilton. The songs are catchy and are a lot of fun. I’m certain that after hearing the music the soundtrack is going to sell extremely well.

Final Thoughts

The film is a classic example of Disney done right. It took several years to produce and it really does show. It carries the Polynesian culture respectively without being heavy handed with their approach. The characters are memorable, the story is simple but fun, and the music is excellent. There isn’t much I could say that I found to be wrong with the film other than one or two instances of implementation of modern jokes that don’t quite land. Regardless the film is beautifully animated and it’s definitely up there as not only one of the best Disney films of the year, but also one of the best films of the year period. I highly recommend it if you are a fan of Disney.

Final Score

8.9/10

So what do you think of my review? Let us know in the comments!

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