arconner Reviews

Doctor Who: Boom (2024) Season 1, Episode 3

Peak

[10/10 · 19 May 2024]

I am one who thoroughly enjoyed Space Babies and The Devil's Chord. I think the direction of this new series is phenomenal so far, Gatwa is amazing as the Doctor and Ruby's story is becoming ever more compelling. Boom was certainly a step in the right direction to continue this season.

So we've had a campy, classic, goofy Dr Who episode, a fun villain and musical adventure, and now Moffat brings us back to a suspenseful take with the Doctor in quite a predicament. What a progression!

And next week's episode looks like a nice, spooky & mysterious adventure that reminds me of the Van Gough episode or something from Smith's run as the Doctor. I'm expecting a stellar mid-season episode, likely with a lot more build up to where the season will end.

Doctor Who: The Devil's Chord (2024) Season 1, Episode 2

Cuppa Tea

[7/10 · 19 May 2024]

I'll admit, the musical number at the end is... interesting. Lyrics don't make any sense, but seeing how much fun the cast had with it makes it tolerable. Ncuti and Gibson are adorable.

I honestly enjoyed Space Babies, and this episode was even better. Jinx absolutely slayed as Maestro, the callbacks to Susan and Jackie were great little Easter eggs, the story was fun and interesting - a world without music?! Even despite its issues, the musical number at the end has so many callbacks to all time classic musical and dance numbers, so that saves it a bit more too.

Glad they're expanding on the Toymaker storyline with the introduction of Maestro & their ominous warning at the end, not to mention Henry's appearance in the background of the musical number. I enjoyed the little more mystery we got around Ruby's character. Something tells me this season arch is building up to something intense, amazing and trippy - can't wait to see how they stick the landing.

Doctor Who: Space Babies (2024) Season 1, Episode 1

Techy and yet Campy

[7/10 · 13 May 2024]

What I loved about classic Doctor Who, and new Who up through Tennant, was how campy it was. Some baddies are goofy, some aliens are ludicrous (talking babies were creepier to see than the boogie-man). And then with Smith, New Who became more new-age, techy, and there were high stakes in every episode. Not necessarily in a bad way, it was a change in direction to fit with modern television viewership.

But this show has created something beyond that now, and can revisit its old runs with those weird, ludicrous, somewhat stupid villains and still remain a fan favorite show.

Was it the best Doctor who episode? By far, no. Will it be forgotten a year from now? Probably. But are there those of us who will go back and rewatch the series 15, 20 years from now and remember it as that "oh yeah space babies snot monster episode"? Absolutely.

Timeless, and yet not a classic.

Doctor Who: The Firemaker (1963) Season 1, Episode 4

Episodes 1-4

[7/10 · 16 January 2024]

While we needed this episode to wrap up this storyline, I don't think we needed this episode.

I don't know what it was in particular, maybe just the same old "I'll let you go haha just kidding" from Za and the tribe.

Clever move to distract them and fake your death to get away, good job Ian.

I just think they could've put Kal's death or exile at the end of the previous episode and called this storyline a wrap. Show them how to make fire, don't, just get out of there.

Anyways, not much else to say about this episode I feel. For this one in particular I'll give a 5/10, but since this was the close to the cavemen storyline, we'll average from episodes 1-4, giving us a 7/10.

Doctor Who: The Forest of Fear (1963) Season 1, Episode 3

This is Doctor Who

[10/10 · 16 January 2024]

This is what Doctor Who is about!!

I was pleasantly surprised with this episode. While this storyline is not my personal favorite so far, this episode showed a lot of character growth and development. The banter between Ian and the Doctor was great. I think the two will learn a lot from each other for as long as Ian is around. Old and young people forget what they can learn from each other.

I can see the seeds being planted here for the Doctor's growth even into what we see with the reboot continuation. He used to be selfish, but as we can see with fear. He's scared deep down, scared of whatever it may be, and while we still see that further on his fear turns him from selfish to selfless. Both of which have their downfalls.

But this episode teaches some good lessons to the group, from within themselves and helping Za and Hur. And I was actually genuinely intrigued with the storyline of the cavemen as well in this episode. The lies, deceit, murder...

All in all, for what this episode is, I'm giving it a 10/10. This episode had enough good moments whatever might have been cringe due to aging can be ignored. Can't wait to see what's next.

Doctor Who: The Cave of Skulls (1963) Season 1, Episode 2

Doctor Foreman? No, that's not his name

[6/10 · 16 January 2024]

One thing I did like about the reboot series so far is when Christopher Eccleston picked up, they went to the future. The end of the world, to be exact. And while I know classic Doctor Who's episodes are different than that of the newer stuff (each episode here is part of a series, a series being a story instead of each episode being a standalone story...)

So episode 2 here picks up in the time of caveman. The exciting part about the episode is Ian and Barbara have time travelled and who is the Doctor Foreman not Doctor Forman guy?

Counting the 20 minutes here on its own... it's not a great story. Looking at the reviews of this first series in season one versus the upcoming Dalek storyline in season one, I can see a lot of people agree.

In my review of episode one I did mention it was a different time, there were different interests but time (haha) didn't age this series in the show well.

Credit where it's due, Ian and Barbara's characters are slightly more likable now that they're grasping what is going on. The Doctor does show guilt when they're taken to the Cave of Skulls for getting them into this mess, so respect there. Still think Susan is whiny but we'll see where that goes.

They made the cavemen stupid, haha cavemen fighting over women, resources, and who gets to be king or whatnot. So I guess that's on par?

I know this episode was setting up the upcoming episodes in this particular series but it did feel like a drag at times. I'll give it a 6/10 for character development and good acting.

Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child (1963) Season 1, Episode 1

A Different Time

[7/10 · 16 January 2024]

Okay so the jist of the episode is 2 schoolteachers, Ian and Barbara, are curious and concerned about a student of theirs - Susan, who is brilliant and at times, they think, stupid (for the mere fact she knows more than they do in this time period) - when Barbara obtains Susan's address and finds an old junkyard where a house should be.

And what do they do? Well they make an unexpected visit to the Susan's "home".

Only to find a strange, rather condescending old man in the junkyard who lies straight to them about the whereabouts of Susan (spoiler: she's in the TARDIS), then trApS Ian and Barbara inside of the TARDIS and takes them, well, at the end of the 20 minute runtime, we don't know where in time and space.

And so begins my journey across every single episode from 1963 onwards into the Doctor Who universe... that's attainable, that is (ofc the lost episodes that are animated I will watch and review and patiently wait for them to recreate the rest).

It was a different time. While I did find the Doctor condescending, Ian wasn't much better. But it was entertaining, it was intriguing, and in 1963 I would've come back for episode 2 no problem.

At the time of this review, I have only seen some of the newer seasons with Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, and Matt Smith. I fell off and got bored with Capaldi's Doctor but since Tennant's brief return and Ncuti Gatwa's appearance, I wanted to start from the beginning and try to find the love I once had for the show again. (I saw some of the earlier episodes from the original run and the TV movie reboot attempt as well beforehand, but only a small amount of the original content.)

It's Doctor Who... graphics were never a big concern. Some oddball, boring aliens are not an end all for this show. It's a show about adventure and companionship. So we can ignore tiny details like kidnapping, yeah? LOL

Overall I'm rating this episode a 7/10. I never go lower than a 5/10, for the record. I can't say any of the characters are a favorite so far, but the show definitely keeps you pondering what just happened and what's going to happen next. I like Susan's character as an idea... the Doctor's granddaughter, huh? Not something explored in the newer series much at all. It's humorous when she explains things to Ian and Barbara that the world hasn't discovered yet, even if she does sound whiny. And I love the backstory of the Doctor and Susan being... banished?.... from their home planet. It'll be a fun story to explore for sure, and to all the die hard Who fans out there who know the outcome of this story I'm sorry for how naive I am right now.

As someone who couldn't stand older television and movies until recently, this was decent for 1963.

And away we go....

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium (2023) Season 1, Episode 3

Snakes!

[10/10 · 10 January 2024]

I totally spaced and forgot to write a review for episode 3... snakes!

Honestly, I liked this episode a lot. It was a good runtime, we had great performances from the whole cast - better than we've had in episodes 1 & 2 - and the episode was one big adrenaline rush.

Yes, this episode strayed a lot from Medusa's story in the book, but I'd beg to argue instead of that making the episode worse, it made it better. We got to get a story from Medusa that elevated our character's arcs and relationships with their own parents, something I felt greatened out character development and plants the seeds for what is coming.

I can't choose a favorite episode yet, of course, we still have 4 episodes in season 1 from the time of my writing this and (hopefully) another 4 seasons, but if I had to list a best episode so far, its a tough tie between episodes 3 & 4 here. And Jessica Parker Kennedy slayed the Medusa roll.

All in all, a great installment in our story. So excited to see what's to come.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: I Plunge to My Death (2024) Season 1, Episode 4

Best Episode Yet

[10/10 · 7 January 2024]

I got to the end of this episode and thought to myself "wow, that was amazing." It wasn't until after the episode I realized it was so short - because I was reading the reviews complaining about the runtime.

And yeah, the episode in hindsight felt short, but in the moment I was so enthralled by the story, the acting, the adventure - and I think that's what a lot of people are missing when they go into each episode.

Watch the recap. Allow yourself to submerse back into Percy's world each week. Have a little excitement going into each episode instead of looking for anything and everything to tear apart, and maybe you'll start enjoying the show for what it is.

It's an adaptation for television, folks. It's not going to be the same as the books. At least it isn't as unfaithful as those gosh awful movies.

If you think about it, this format is a way for Rick to retell his story in a way he sees fit for television.

And yes, it sucks that the episodes aren't longer, and that's something Rick has mentioned (trying to fit a 370 page book into 8 episodes), but they'll never get the chance to be anything longer when y'all keep hating on what they are able to give us right now. They're testing the audience. Maybe show some love and excitement to indicate they have the audience to constitute longer episodes in the future seasons?

Anyways, I loved this episode. Each one gets better and better. Can't wait for the next one!

Percy Jackson and the Olympians (2023– )

First Seasons are Rough

[10/10 · 3 January 2024]

First seasons are rough.

They always are.

New actors finding their footing, awkward dialogue and over-explaining, not putting the budget in the right spot, finding a runtime that works for the script and audience. In our case, book changes that are necessary for television but still keep in line with the source material.

There's a lot of hiccups in a first season, but none of which enough to constitute this a "bad show".

My biggest gripe throughout the whole thing is maybe the runtime. Episodes were too short for only having 8 episodes. But there is a lot that goes into those things behind the scenes and I'm sure it was for good reason.

So first seasons are a learning curve, and that just means the future seasons can get better. Think of all the great shows you can binge nowadays that you go back to rewatch and 99% of the time can't sit through the first few episodes again or the first season again, odds are this could be the same situation for you in the future.

I'm sure Rick and the show developers are taking all of our criticisms to heart, and hopefully season 2 steps up its game.

That being said, episodes 7 and 8 of season 1 really set a bar the previous episodes hadn't yet, and that bar can definitely be raised.

Give us longer episodes in season 2, especially if we only get another 8 episodes per season. Show more, explain less. An extra 10 mins per episode would allow for longer fight scenes, more tension, more mystery, etc. With that, no reason we can't see the whole PJO story unfold on the screen in the coming years.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom (2023) Season 1, Episode 2

A Stronger Series

[10/10 · 23 December 2023]

Holy crumpets - episode 2 outdid episode 1 and that's impressive to say the least.

Avoiding spoilers; I love this entry into the series and I love how it picks up as fast as the books with getting to the main plot, the adventures & fun!

Not only that, but this episode shows more of Percy's immersion into his new world and in accordance with the books I think they did a very good job. I love being able to plot lines and scenes from the show directly to the book.

I will admit, as some of the other reviews let onto, some scenes and lines feel forced and acted. I'm not so sure if it's a scriptwriting issue or an acting issue, but the show is still so fresh it doesn't matter. They still have time to grow and develop the characters. If we're lucky, they have not only the next six episodes but then the next 4 seasons to become the heroes they're meant to become. So I'm not judging a new show for being new.

Can't wait for episode 3!!

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher (2023) Season 1, Episode 1

Giving it a shot - fan of the books

[9/10 · 20 December 2023]

So is it different than the book? Absolutely. Scenes changed, dialogue of course changed, etc. Do I still love it? Absolutely. As much as the book - in a way, yes.

So it's different. My biggest irk is Disney definitely was cheap with the visual effects and graphics so far but that could change if we get the momentum we need to see a proper series finale in 5 years!

But man, am I impressed! Rick, Walker, and the whole team and cast did a wonderful job at bringing the world of Percy Jackson to television.

I feel connected with the characters already, maybe even more than I did in the book. It was very fast paced, and I wish they made the episode a little longer to flesh out more of the scene with Mrs. Dodds. But other than that?

Amazing start to what I hope leads to a universe of TV shows for Rick's amazing worlds.

Tusk (I) (2014)

Mr. Wallace

[8/10 · 11 June 2023]

A24's catalog of movies that fall into the horror genre always deliver something special in my opinion, and I think it's because the studio really allows creativity to run wild.

I was actually looking into why people like horror movies, being a horror fan myself, and one of the reasons is because humans as a species are curious creatures, and I feel like A24 allows writers and producers and directors and even the viewers to explore that curiosity to the fullest.

"Tusk" was one of the more disturbing flicks I've seen in a while. Now, I'm no expert in biology, but I am pretty sure none of what happened is physically possible. But on the psychological level, this film was gruesome. And they didn't shy away from the gore (too much - it was gruesome but in a flick like this where we're being outlandish with real world possibilities, that gut-wrenching feeling could have been more present).

I liked Wallace's character arch, as much as he was a jerk in the beginning. Despite the horrifying and painful things he went through, as a person, I feel like he grew. Unfortunately, Wallace is now a walrus for the rest of his life, but he learned a lesson, folks - the lesson of what separates human from animal.

Now, no horror flick is perfect, but in terms of a film that keeps you pondering and unable to believe what your eyes are showing you, "Tusk" delivers. Out of 10, I'll give it an eight. It was just gruesome enough with blood and detail that I got some knots in my stomach, and at no point did I think of turning off the movie, so that to me gives it a 5/10 automatically. Given it's an outlandish concept, that's no reason to dock points. My only real critique is that the characters weren't the most likable. I know, a petty critique, but everyone cheating on everyone or being absolutely plastered the whole time - it was hard to feel for them.

But final note: a kudos to Justin Long's performance as a walrus - maybe it was the thought of the sheer physical shift Wallace's character underwent that really connected with me, being so gruesome no one should ever have to go through that that made me sympathize with Wallace's character more, despite his crummy actions. But something about Justin's eyes on the screen and the increasingly more animalistic screams he lets out - the terror and pain that can be seen - really sold the performance.

It (I) (2017)

Best Horror Film ever Composed... because it's not a horror film

[10/10 · 9 September 2017]

This was honestly the best horror film I have ever seen, and I've read the book about nine times through, and I think I know why it is. Because it's not a horror film. Yes, I know, the label says "horror" and it's based on a horror novel, and I acknowledge that the horror factor was definitely there, but it wasn't a horror film. Hear me out.

Horror films never do well in theaters because they try too hard to scare people. If it's not scary, then it sucks; if it's only kinda scary, then it sucks; if it's too scary, then it sucks. It's an endless cycle we've put horror movies into, but notice how "IT" is getting better reviews than some Marvel movies right now. That's because they never wrote the script to be a horror film.

Also notice that the label says 'drama' alongside 'horror'. "IT" was written to be a comedy with the horror factor always present, thus making it a horror movie like the book and something that appeals to the audience. Hence the constant jokes throughout. This horror film is great because it's not a horror film.

Definitely worth seeing in theaters. Twice.

Oculus (2013)

You'll never look in a mirror the same way

[10/10 · 1 June 2016]

I simply cannot spoil anything out of this movie, even if it is small, so I'll keep this simple. THIS MOVIE WAS A DREAM FOR THE HORROR LOVERS Dear God the ending even had me thinking. I've seen many horror movies and have a definition: the one that gives you jump scares throughout but leaves enough questions behind at the end to give you chills is what makes a good horror movie. I was very proud of this movie. It set a standard and now horror is making a comeback in the cinemas. Thank you for a great movie. The ending was wonderful. As a fan of Doctor Who is was cool seeing Karen Gillan star in this movie. Bravo to all the actors, especially Katee Sackhoff for wonderful acting. You all were great

Ouija (II) (2014)

The Board that can summon the Dead

[9/10 · 1 June 2016]

I feel that this movie did not get the recognition it deserved. The Ouija board has been around for hundreds of years. It's a cult classic idea, and what happened here was a modern interpretation of it, and I loved it. I have been watching horror movies since I was little, so of course the random jump scares didn't have much of an effect on me. But I have found that what makes a horror movie good is the one with amazing jump scares throughout, but leaves enough questions at the end to give you chills. That is part of the reason I cannot watch horror movies during the day otherwise you don't get the same effect afterward, I loved this movie, and I gave it a 9/10. The graphics were great, the idea behind it was great, and as a big fan of the Insidious movies I was happy to see Elise, even if she was a bit insane in this movie.

Revenge: Betrayal (2011) Season 1, Episode 3

A True Stabbing

[9/10 · 19 December 2015]

In my review for episode 2, I said to be careful who you put your trust in because you never know who is waiting for the perfect moment to stab you in the back.... And this episode helps prove my point.

But to be fair, this entire series is built off betrayal, at least the first season is. But when a friend that you helped out countless times, for a political position as well comes to turn you in, it is no longer child's play. This is revenge. Literally, the show is called Revenge.

I have to say I would do exactly what Emily did in this case. I wont say much more on that matter because I want to keep this spoiler free. But if you're considering this episode, go ahead.

Which brings me to another point. I read questions and reviews and see that people are "just getting into a show" or "just starting", and ask if there's any episodes they should skip. If you really are "just getting into a show", NEVER skip any episodes. Of any series for that matter. You can never say that you are a true fan if you don't watch EVERY SINGLE EPISODE there is.

But that's not the point. Revenge is the point, and this episode will not disappoint.