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David McK (3557 KP) rated Star trek strange new worlds in TV
May 27, 2023
This, I feel, is a strong contender to be the best of the recent Star Trek shows.
It's just a pity that so few have seen it, locked away behind yet another streaming subscription paywall.
This goes back to the original, story-of-the-week, style of Star Trek storytelling (although there is a plot arc running throughout in that Captain Pike knows of his fate), with Ethan Peck reprising his role as Spock from whaterver-season-it-was (3?) of Star Trek: Discovery, as does Anson Mount as Captain Pike and Rebecca Romijin as Number One.
As it is so heavily serialised, some of the episodes are better than others: the standout one, for me, being the penultimate episode which borrows heavily from Alien(s) and Predator!
It's just a pity that so few have seen it, locked away behind yet another streaming subscription paywall.
This goes back to the original, story-of-the-week, style of Star Trek storytelling (although there is a plot arc running throughout in that Captain Pike knows of his fate), with Ethan Peck reprising his role as Spock from whaterver-season-it-was (3?) of Star Trek: Discovery, as does Anson Mount as Captain Pike and Rebecca Romijin as Number One.
As it is so heavily serialised, some of the episodes are better than others: the standout one, for me, being the penultimate episode which borrows heavily from Alien(s) and Predator!

David McK (3557 KP) rated Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017) in Movies
Mar 21, 2020 (Updated Sep 28, 2024)
Also known as "Salazar's Revenge" (instead of "Dead Men Tell No Tales") in certain circles - I think maybe Dead Men is the American subtitle? - this is the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean film, with Johnny Depp again reprising what is (for me) his most iconic role of the Pirate Captain Jack Sparrow.
This ties itself closer to the original trilogy than the last entry ("On Stranger Tides"), with the return of certain key characters from that trilogy 'bookending' the plot, and with a close familial tie to one of the key characters of this.
Indeed, we're also back to basics with the plot of a supernatural threat to Sparrow, and of his wish to reclaim the captaincy of the Black Pearl (his ship), ALONGSIDE the return of Captain Barbossa (yet again)...
This ties itself closer to the original trilogy than the last entry ("On Stranger Tides"), with the return of certain key characters from that trilogy 'bookending' the plot, and with a close familial tie to one of the key characters of this.
Indeed, we're also back to basics with the plot of a supernatural threat to Sparrow, and of his wish to reclaim the captaincy of the Black Pearl (his ship), ALONGSIDE the return of Captain Barbossa (yet again)...

Awix (3310 KP) rated Shazam! (2019) in Movies
Apr 5, 2019 (Updated Apr 5, 2019)
The second Captain Marvel movie in as many months is an effective piece of entertainment, although I'm not entirely sure how it manages this. Foster-child Billy Batson (Angel) is chosen by an ancient wizard to become his champion - all he needs to do is say a magic word to be transformed into a powerful superhero (Levi), known as... well, the film awkwardly dodges the issue of what his actual superhero codename is, as DC have (essentially for legal reasons) decided to stop calling this character Captain Marvel, even though that was his name for over seventy years. Lawyers, eh?
Anyway, what ensues is recognisably a Captain Marvel movie, featuring all the things you would hope to see in one, but it's also really a spoof not just of this character but of the superhero genre in general. As I say, it undeniably works, due to good performances (Mark Strong is customarily good as Cap's nemesis Dr Sivana) and a sharp script, even if I can't help thinking that a character who was once the most popular superhero in the world, bar none, deserves slightly better treatment. Let's look on the bright side: it could have been a lot worse, and the general upward trend of DC Comics movies seems to be continuing.
Anyway, what ensues is recognisably a Captain Marvel movie, featuring all the things you would hope to see in one, but it's also really a spoof not just of this character but of the superhero genre in general. As I say, it undeniably works, due to good performances (Mark Strong is customarily good as Cap's nemesis Dr Sivana) and a sharp script, even if I can't help thinking that a character who was once the most popular superhero in the world, bar none, deserves slightly better treatment. Let's look on the bright side: it could have been a lot worse, and the general upward trend of DC Comics movies seems to be continuing.

David McK (3557 KP) rated Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) in Movies
Nov 27, 2020 (Updated Nov 27, 2020)
"Captain Jack Sparrow. You are, without a doubt, the worst Pirate I have ever heard of" / "Ah, but you have heard of me ..."
The first Pirates of the Caribbean film (based on a Disney theme ride!), this is far less bloated and self referential than any of the later sequels, with Johnny Depp's portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow a breath of fresh air (at the time) in a genre that had become increasingly stale: indeed, I can't even remember there being any other pirate films in my lifetime other than 1995s Cutthroat Island.
The plot, here, makes much use of the superstition and folklore of the Caribbean - "You better start believing in Ghost stories again, Miss: you're in one!" (to paraphrase a certain other character - with the crew of the Black Pearl all cursed to an everlasting life by an ancient Aztec curse unless they can restore all the stolen coins.
And this is where Will Turner comes in, as the son of 'Bootstrap' Bill, a colleague of Captain Jack Sparrows before his crew mutinied, stole the treasure, and were cursed. When the governors daughter Elizabet Swann is kidnapped, Turner sets off to rescue here in the company of Sparrow and a crew of n'er do wells, in a very entertaining slice of Pirate action!
The plot, here, makes much use of the superstition and folklore of the Caribbean - "You better start believing in Ghost stories again, Miss: you're in one!" (to paraphrase a certain other character - with the crew of the Black Pearl all cursed to an everlasting life by an ancient Aztec curse unless they can restore all the stolen coins.
And this is where Will Turner comes in, as the son of 'Bootstrap' Bill, a colleague of Captain Jack Sparrows before his crew mutinied, stole the treasure, and were cursed. When the governors daughter Elizabet Swann is kidnapped, Turner sets off to rescue here in the company of Sparrow and a crew of n'er do wells, in a very entertaining slice of Pirate action!

Tintin et l'alph-art (Tintin and Alph-Art) (Tintin #24)
Book
Sketches of Tintin's 24th and unfinished adventure - first published in book form in 1986. While...

Movie Critics (823 KP) rated Gifted (2017) in Movies
May 10, 2017
“Gifted” was an absolute joy to behold and I was captivated from the very beginning. Never once does the story veer into absurdity, rather, it sticks with sensibility and is a faithful rendering of real life
Critic- James McDonald
Original Score- 5 out of 5
Read Review: http://irishfilmcritic.com/movie-review-gifted-proves-that-captain-america-can-flex-more-than-just-muscle/
Original Score- 5 out of 5
Read Review: http://irishfilmcritic.com/movie-review-gifted-proves-that-captain-america-can-flex-more-than-just-muscle/

Jpb (34 KP) rated Captain Marvel (2019) in Movies
Jun 2, 2019
The beginning
So the long awaited Captain Marvel, this is a easy watch with a few funny part's. Unlike most of the other Marvel movies you do not have to watch any of the others to understand what is happing as it is a stand alone film (it does lead into endgame). This makes it alot more appealing to the veiwer.

David McK (3557 KP) rated The Flash, Vol. 1: Move Forward in Books
Jan 30, 2019
First entry in the New 52 reboot, this (I felt) was a good jumping-on point for those of you who, like me, have really only seen the Grant Gustin starring TV show.
This, I felt, has some pretty dynamic art and a relativley straight-forward plot even if (to me) I couldn't quite get used to the version of Captain Cold!
This, I felt, has some pretty dynamic art and a relativley straight-forward plot even if (to me) I couldn't quite get used to the version of Captain Cold!

!Fantasy Football Surgery
Podcast
If Fantasy Football consumes your entire week, whether sneaking in transfers at work, making captain...

Dark Run
Book
The Keiko is a ship of smugglers, soldiers of fortune and adventurers, travelling Earth's colony...