Change Your Image
spoofmasterc
Reviews
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: The Broken Circle (2023)
Mono-sci-fi
Another nostalgic reboot has fallen victim to the monoculture of 2020s action sci-fi.
The repeated pattern of taking content copyrighted and recycled into something that could be any other show continues in this episode.
This was very evident in a slo-mo, strobe light fight scene straight out of any Star War/Trek/Comic book movie/show. Lens flares, dramatic close-ups, obligatory CPR and overwrought symphonic music galore.
A bit too TV mad-lib with Eater eggs thrown in to satiate the Trekkies thirst for any reference for which they can say "hey, I know that".
And it's a shame because I mostly liked the first season.
Andor: Nobody's Listening! (2022)
Evil empire on the job
Dedra Meera character is great. The actress who plays her has a great twitch smile when pleased with her evil doings.
Getting to know the Empire as much as the rebels has been a very rewarding approach.
Along with the wealthy contributors among the complacent, the working class complacent too busy to see what's happening in front of them, and the 'I'm just doing my job' cogs of the Empire, this is much closer to the obvious comparison to real-world societies of the past.
The dangerously mentally ill fellow with Norman Bates vibes is a creepily nice touch.
The only thing that bugs me is the same reason this show works so well: lack of droids. Their slave existence was an underlying theme never played out in this universe. But as Andor said, people are cheaper and easier to replace.
Prey (2022)
Hunting vs Suspense
Predator is scary because of the building of suspense. Prey is a hunting trip. Not the same thing.
I liked a lot of elements: the lead was good as a 'you should really listen to me' character, and I liked the French's attempts at the big guy.
But it needed to be sneakier.
Unfortunately most reviewers who don't like it are too busy having their little culture war to do a real review.