Category Archives: Prime

Spider-Noir S1 E7, E8

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“Nobody’s Hero”

“The Man in the Mask”

The final two episodes of Spider-Noir wrapped up our story with Ben Reilly in the final showdown with Silvermane and the other superpowered henchmen.

This show does a great job of building towards everything. Ben came out of episode six in a bad place, at a bar, drinking heavily, and getting into a bar fight with some loud mouths.

The finale gave us some Spider-Man action, with a big time battle with Sandman and Megawatt.

Nicolas Cage is amazing in this. There is a scene in the bar that Cage is completely stunning with his performance. A shoutout needs to go to Lamorne Morris, whose performance as Joe “Robbie” Robertson was excellent.

There were some great moments in the trope of mirrors, like a funhouse when Cat Hardy is confronting Silvermane. I will say that Silvermane’s death felt a little anti-climactic. Still, I was pleased that Cat was able to get the final shot on Silvermane.

Another shoutout for this series is Karen Rodriguez, who played Ben’s secretary Janet Ruiz. This secondary character was awesome and she felt like she was the glue holding everything together. The montage of Janet finding out the “truth” about The Spider (over and over) was hilarious.

I also loved how this show was full out fil noir without any excuses or apologies. The black & white version that I watched was so beautiful. I am curious about the color version, so I may have to watch that some time during the summer.

Spider-Noir S1 E4, E5, E6

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“A Mistake I’ll Never Make Again”

“Betrayal”

“Nightmare on a Gurney”

I watched the next three episodes of the Amazon Prime series, Spider Noir. I loved the first three episodes of this pulpy-fun and we jump right back into the action.

When episode three left off, Silvermane was shooting someone, and it turned out to be just another guy with Winston.

We are introduced to another ex-army platoon guy, who turns out to be a low-level villain from Marvel Comics named Megawatt. The Spider fought him in public and does defeat him.

We are introduced to actress Amy Aquino’s character, Dr. Faber. She was the connection between the four villains, as she treated them all just before their powers manifested. She was a decent person who made some bad choices trying to save her son, who was another person in the experiment.

We get an origin of The Spider, and see how he is connected to Sandman, Tombstone, and Megawatt. It was one of the scarier moments of horror in the show as Ben got bit by a transformed man-spider.

The third episode, “Nightmare on a Gurney,” felt very much like a sci-fi, B-movie, crazy scientist noir. The show has been great, using all noir tropes in the different episodes.

An interesting point mentioned in that third episode included Faber’s son telling Ben Reilly that they were looking for the Spider, but he had changed his name, so they could not find him. Could Ben have been originally Peter Parker and changed his name to Ben Reilly. We know they could not use the name Peter Parker because of rights and technicalities, but this way covers the base.

Ben Reilly has been playing this character as anything but a hero. He is downright selfish, but it feels as if that came form Ruby’s death more than anything else.

Nic Cage is spectacular in his Cage-i-ness. Brendon Gleeson has been doing a great job bringing the sinister to Silvermane.

This has been great. I can’t wait to watch episodes 7 & 8.

Spider-Noir S1 E1, E2, E3

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“Step Into My Office”

“Tread Lightly”

“Double Cross”

Amazon Prime’s new series, Spider-Noir, starring Nicolas Cage as Ben Reilly, aka The Spider.

The Spider was a character from Marvel Comics, a version of Spider-Man from the 1930s. It became even more popular when the character appeared in the Sony animated film Into the Spider-Verse, voiced by Nic Cage.

In a brilliant piece of business, the episodes of this series are available in both color and black & white. I, of course, chose the black & white version.

This was such a great first three episodes. Ben Reilly was a private detective, struggling, and no longer the Spider, since his girlfriend was killed by drowning.

Our main antagonist is Silvermane, played by Brendan Gleason. Other characters we get are Cat Hardy, played by Li Jun Li, Robbie Robertson, played by Lamorne Morris, Flint Marko (Sandman), played by Jack Huston, and Janet, played by Karen Rodriguez.

This had a real noir tone. We got the Sandman, and also Tombstone. I get a feeling we are getting more too.

The end of the third episode was a solid cliffhanger. I have really enjoyed the story we are starting here, and Nic Cage was in all his glory.

I loved the secretary, Janet. I hope there will be more with her.

The music is great. I actually immediately purchased the theme song, “Saving Grace” by Kirby, on Apple Music.

The dialogue is wonderful. The Nic Cage performance as Ben Reilly is really witty and funny. It is beautiful to watch in the black & white. There are so many awesome shots.

After three episodes, I am a big fan of the series. The whole series was dropped on Prime today.

The Boys S5 E8

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“Blood and Bone”

Extremely satisfying conclusion for this series.

The characters of The Boys were all served very well in this conclusion. They all feel like they have taken this full circle, back to the beginning. As I said, this was so satisfying of an ending. It is hard to make a finale that really hits all the right notes, and I believe this one was special.

Hughie stepped it up big time in this episode as he really came through. Apparently, much of the ending matched up with what happened in the comics (which I have not read). The end of the episode with Hughie and Butcher facing off over the virus, with Butcher wanting to kill all the supes and Hughie killing him. It was wonderful that Hughie got be be a leader again.

I have had a difficult relationship with Butcher over the five seasons

Homelander’s fall in the White House’s Oval Office was fabulous. The battle between Butcher and Homelander was brutal and the use of Kimiko and Ryan in the battle was great. The final death of Homelander with the crowbar was perfect and gross at the same time. The use of Frenchie’s memory for Kimiko was beautiful, reminding her that rage was not what she did best, that herpower came from her heart .

Annie getting to be the one who finally brings down The Deep is a full circle moment, and the way they paid off the sea creatures getting their revenge on “Kevin” is great. There has not been a character in this show more despicable (except for Homelander) than Deep.

I did not expect that Soldier Boy had been killed last week. I thought Homelander only choked him out, but, apparently, he did kill him. Homelander made a comment about dropping him in the Thames, so I guess that was the end of Soldier Boy.

Sister Sage had her powers taken away with the Kimiko blast and she is happy about it. She does not have to lobotomize herself to enough Taco Bell and reality TV. Sage heading off to Harry Potter land in Orlando is a great end for that character.

MM is reunited with Monique and they get remarried. It also seemed as if MM is taking Ryan in too. It was one of the happier ends of the characters.

Of course, Annie pregnant at the end and involved with Hughie’s “start-up business” was cool too. It felt like another pay off for this relationship that had endured for so long through so much tragedy and turmoil. With Annie being pregnant after aborting the child in a previous season, I think that throwback is another strong character beat.

Terror RIP.

The performances of this show were all outstanding. From Karl Urban and Jack Quaid to Antony Starr and Chace Crawford, from  Karen Fukuhara and Tomer Capone to Daveed Diggs and Colby Minifie, from Erin Moriarty and Cameron Crovetti to Laz Alonso and Jensen Ackles, the cast brought it every episode and made these characters pop (sometimes even literally as head were exploding in moments).

The Boys finished off a strong season and a top-notch super hero satire.

The Boys S5 E7

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“The Frenchman, the Female, and the Man Called Mother’s Milk”

Penultimate episode. Heart crushing end.

I really hoped that Frenchie and Kimiko would end up together at the end. I should have realized that when Frenchie told Kimiko he wanted to settle down and have the three kids she wanted, someone was doomed. Frenchie was the heart of this season and with him gone, I am not sure what levels the show will go to.

Frenchie sacrificing himself to Homelander to save Kimiko and Sage was so beautiful and so tragic. Kimiko’s screams crushed me. I never saw his demise coming. Once he closed Kimiko and Sage in that zinc place, I knew he was going to die.

Even still, when Frenchie actually died, I was so sad. I have never cried while watching the Boys… but this one got me.

There are a lot of things this episode that were incredible. Some examples:

  • The Deep backing away from helping someone who was drowning because he was afraid to go into the water. Samuel L. Jackson voiced a hammerhead shark.
  • Mother’s Milk gave a speech that was amazing.
  • Starlight and MM saved a focus group from being assassinated.
  • Ashley’s mental powers let her read the president’s mind- leading to Homelander killing him.
  • Butcher and Hughie have a great scene with a mind controller.
  • Homelander choked Soldier Boy out when Soldier Boy tried to leave him. I doubt he killed him, but Homelander wants him to stay.
  • Jeffrey Dean Morgan returned for a fabulous scene.
  • Jesus made a cameo.

But Frenchie is easily the most emotional and haunting moment of the show.

One more episode in the series.

The Boys S5 E6

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“Though the Heaven’s Fall”

The new episode of The Boys continued the march to the show’s finale with major moments. I have to say, there were some moments that also felt really dumb and out of place.

The bad:

  • The talking fish that dies with Deep. Too much of a cartoon for this tone.
  • The bleeding out of his ass in the background was iffy.
  • Not sure how I felt about the swinging ball sack…

The Great:

  • Paul Reiser. He is fabulous. His scene with Homelander was sensational.
  • Sister Sage’s arrogance right up to the point where Soldier Boy gave the V1 to Homelander. Sister Sage trying to help the Boys was a shock.
  • Homelander got the V1 and injected it in his veins.
  • The showdown with Hughie and Starlight against Oh Father. Hughie should play poker with his bluffing skills.
  • The Deep murdering the new Black Noir after Noir confessed that he broke the pipeline killing a bunch of the fish.

The theme of living forever is throughout this episode. Golden Geisha brought it up and we find out that Kimiko and Annie had discussed the problems brought about by immortality.

I think Mother’s Milk is starting to regain his mental capabilities after some real anger issues.

Soldier Boy and Bombsight fight was rough, but, in the end, it was words that stopped the violence and led to Soldier Boy handing the V1 to Homelander. By the way, the dialogue they give Soldier Boy is so funny and Jensen Ackles delivers the words so perfectly.

Two mor episodes to go and a potentially immortal Homelander may have made the virus irrelevant.

The Boys S5 E5

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“One-Shots”

What seemed like it started out as another filler episode turned out to be one of the most significant episodes of the year.

The episode is split into sections featuring different characters including Firecracker, Sister Sage, Black Noir, Soldier Boy, and… Terror, Butcher’s dog?

Each of these sections focus in on these characters, seeing their real thoughts and their struggles.

And what a bloodbath…

We lose Adam Bourke to eels going up his butt while sitting on the toilet.

We lose Malchemical, Mr. Marathon are killed by Soldier Boy. The Supernatural reunion of these characters did not last long.

Then we lose Seth Rogan, Kumail Ali Nanjiani, Will Forte, Christopher Mintz-Plasse… all brutally killed as Mr. Marathon runs through them all… set up by Soldier Boy.

And… most shocking… Firecracker, as Homelander stabs her head with the eagle statue’s wing.

This was way better than it should have been. The different POV’s of the episode were truly amazing. It went from unbelievably hilarious moments to horrendous dramatic moments.

We get Sister Sage’s master plan. We get further trouble between Black Noir and The Deep. We get Stan Edgar broken, thanks to a threat to his granddaughter. Terror ate some chocolate and dreams of humping Homelander.

The show is rushing toward the finale. No one is safe.

The Boys S5 E4

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“King of Hell”

You wouldn’t think that they would need to have a filler episode in their final season. Yet, that is exactly what it felt like when watching “King of Hell.”

That is not saying that it was not a great episode. It just did not feel very significant to the overall story that has only a few more episodes to go.

I did like the reunion between Annie and her absentee father, and the family that he had now built. This was some good character work and was the best part of the episode.

With Butcher, Frenchie, Hughie, MM and Kimiko in search of the original V1 formula, they head to Fort Harmony, which was anything but harmonious. There were spores in the building that made everyone become raging assholes (I mean… even more so, in Butcher’s case) which would lead the Boys to try and kill each other.

They also dropped a bunch of angry lines and comments that were cutting with their honesty. While this was entertaining, it felt like a side quest that did not truly mean much of anything with the exception of Frenchie and Kimiko apparently breaking up (maybe?).

Oh, and Homelander has decided that he is the savior… that he is God. And he told Firecracker that she was in charge of making everyone believe it.

Homelander is simply off his rocker completely. His patheticness is reaching new levels of disgusting behavior. There is just so much mental illness in Homelander right now that I have no idea what is going to happen next.

It is fun to know that “The Walking Dead” and “The Last of Us” are canon in the Boys universe.

Invincible S4 E8

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“Don’t Leave Me Hanging Here”

I have to say, I found this finale for season 4 to be very interesting. There were no major massive blood fest battles. No one is ripping the literal guts out of Mark. No huge planetwide destruction. Chicago doesn’t get trashed again.

Instead, Mark returned from the war with loads of PTSD and guilt over things he did or did not do.

Eve admits to having an abortion, which was a shocking revelation for me. I was scared that Mark would react in a negative way toward Eve, but instead, he turned those feeling inward to the core of his being. He took the stance that he was not here for her, that he left her alone. It just added one more psychological trauma to the young man’s psyche.

The hallucinations that Mark continued to have all episode, seeing Thragg brutally murdering the people he loved, was weighing on his mind drastically. It was sending Mark into a deep depression, filled with anticipation of what he was not going to be able to prevent.

We discover that Debbie had broken off her relationship with Paul. When she found out that Oliver was injured and was left on Talescria, Debbie decided that she was going to be with Oliver. This seems to be the way Debbie and Nolan are going to get back together, even if he should not be allowed to do so. I am not sure I want to see them back together.

Mark is out for a flight to clear his head, when he come across Thragg. However, Thragg is not in a mood to fight. He has an offer. The remaining 37 Viltrumites are going to live on earth and try to reestablish their race by mating with humans. In return for being left alone, Thragg promised Mark that they would never do anything to hurt the earth or anyone again.

It was a deal that Mark did not want to accept, but the realization that, if he did not accept it, the earth would be the center of the war, most likely killing billions of people, if not devastating the planet.

Mark agreed to the deal. Thragg tells Mark that he saved everyone on the planet.

Quite a different finale than what we have been used to from Invincible. I liked the change of pace and the characterization of Mark is really strong. Of course, things are not finalized here because Alan received a message from “beyond the grave” by Thaedus that sent Alan to find the ultimate weapon, the virus that kills Viltrumites and gave him instructions to use it, even if it killed the whole human race.

Oh… not good.

That was a twist that reconceptualized the whole series and the allies. Things look as if they only going to get worse.

Invincible S4 E7

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“Don’t Do Anything Rash”

We got a massive battle in space between the Viltrumites and Mark, Nolan and the rest. I mean… brutal and bloody.

Grand Regent Thragg seems to be unstoppable. He crashed through Mark, Nolan, Oliver… and decapitated Thaedus.

However, the biggest and most vicious maneuver of the whole thing was when Mark, Nolan and Thaedus flew through the planet of Viltrum, completely destroying it. Seriously, that was a horrific choice, even though the planet did not have much of a population remaining (and most of them are flying around space and fighting Alan and the others).

Thragg and the remaining Viltrumites disappeared after Thragg left Nolan, Mark and Oliver floating in space desperately imjured.

I really thought Nolan was dead from this. Why were the other Viltrumites seemingly easier to kill than Mark and Nolan? Is it just because they were the “red shirts?”

Apparently, it looks like Thragg and the Viltrumites are on their way to earth.

That’s not good.

Amazing episode this week.

The Boys S5 E3

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“Every One of You Sons of Bitches”

The Boys final season has been really brutal and all of the lies are coming back to haunt people.

Maverick was the son of Translucent and he joined up with Butcher’s gang as he believed that Homelander was the one who killed his father. Butcher’s group let him believe this even though they knew that Hughie was the one who killed Translucent.

We find out why Soldier Boy did not die from the virus. The first generation of V1 was in Soldier Boy’s blood. The compound was highly dangerous, only working five times.

This leads to Homelander to search for V1 so he could be immortal like his father.

Ryan returned with anger of his own. Homelander beat the crap out of him at the end of the episode. Butcher had tried to convince Ryan to throw the virus in Homelander’s face, killing him. Of course, it would also kill Ryan. Thankfully, Butcher’s insane plan was broken when Dr. Sameer Shah discovered another truth that Butcher killed Victoria instead of Homelander. Shah destroyed the virus that had been made.

Who knew that Mork & Mindy was a Netflix Documentary?

And a cool invisible fight with Maverick taking on the very visible Hughie. Poor Maverick gets killed.

The Boys are struggling through the season so far. Homelander is getting crazier by the episode. Soldier Boy and Firecracker had sex. Annie took off after Hughie nearly died.

Lots of big things happen as the show has five remaining episodes.

Invincible S4 E6

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“You Look Horrible”

After Mark got his guts ripped out of him last episode by Conquest, he has to take some time to heal. Two months? Sure, why not. Mark is unconscious for two months and Nolan and Oliver are left to pour liquid protein into his mouth.

The episode served as a series of bonding moments for Nolan and Oliver as they get past their personal issues and spent time training, hunting and eating some really gross looking food (that apparently Oliver loved!).

Nolan buried Conquest out of respect. In one of the post credits scenes, the show went back to the grave and lingered on it with dramatic music and I waited for the fight to come out of the grave. However, the music went silent and there was no reveal of anything. I really do not want Conquest to come back and so I am not sure if this was meant to foreshadow his return or to show that he is not coming back. Please let it be the latter.

The Viltrumites brought the war to Talescria where the Coalition was based. Things were looking bad until Mark, Nolan and Oliver arrived to switch the momentum. The war at the end of the episode was amazing.

Alan was the MVP of this episode as he was all over the episode.

The Boys S5 E1, E2

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“Fifteen Inches of Sheer Dynamite”

“Teenage Kix”

The Boys are back on Amazon Prime for their final season, and all the crap is hitting the fan.

Homelander is in charge of everything. He is the top boss, the ultimate ruler. He’s ordering the president around, making him get drinks.

Yet, Homelander is not happy. Everyone is leaving him (in his own, warped mind).

Butcher is every bit as horrible of a person as Homelander. He has been pursuing the virus full scale and has gotten to a point where he had a usable version.

Kimiko (who talks now), Butcher, Starlight entered one of Vaught’s concentration camps to rescue Hughie, Frenchie and Mother’s Milk, despite knowing it was Homelander’s trap. The prison camp break was shocking. MM strangled the living penis man with his own penis. Who would ever guess that I would write that sentence.

The first episode brought a major tragedy. Homelander broke the neck of A-Train. A-Train showed up to help Starlight and the others escape by distracting Homelander. I hated A-Train for the longest time, but just when I really started to like the guy, he gets murdered.

Homelander unfreezes Soldier Boy and talks him into helping. He sent Soldier Boy after Butcher, and the confrontation led to Soldier Boy being exposed to the virus and apparently dying. Of course, at the end of episode two, Soldier Boy, in a body bag, sat up, indicating that the virus did not kill him. It sure looked like it did.

There is so much going on in the first two episodes (Ashley is vice-president and has a second head growing out of her head, giving her psychic powers, among other things). Starlight and Hughie are suffering from depression over the past year. Butcher is just off the deep end. Frenchie and Kimiko are hot and heavy. And Homelander… he is completely crazed… barely dealing with the world around him. He is obviously a metaphor for some of the current world events going on, and it is not even subtle at this point.

I have no idea where this season is heading, but I have to believe that Homelander is finally going to get his. How that is going to happen is anyone’s guess. The Boys is one of the best superhero shows on TV and literally anything could happen.

Jury Duty: Company Retreat E6, E7, E8

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When I started watching this season of Jury Duty: Company Retreat, I was unsure how I felt about it. By the end, I found myself absolutely lovoing it.

The last two episodes continued the storyline of the purchase of Rockin’ Grandma’s by the Triukas group and the reveal that they had a sinister motive behind the deal, giving Anthony a chance to come in at the end as a hero to stop the deal.

The Talent Show section of the show was absolutely amazing, and bringing in Sia as a guest star in the talent show was such a ridiculous, over-the-top moment, but worked so well.

Anthony Norman was such a wonderful man, and the perfect piece for the heart of the show. He was willing to take on all sorts of craziness from the collection of characters around him and he did it with such leadership and empathy. I did not think this show could top Ronald Gladden from season one of Jury Duty, but I think maybe Anthony was able to do it.

The final episode of Jury Duty has been when they go behind the scenes after the final reveal to the non-actor and it has always been one of my favorite episodes of the season because you get to see how intricate things have to be and to what lengths they take things to make this show work. Being able to see Anthony with his eyes finally open to what was going on around him is so much fun.

It also truly showed how much of a bond he had made with the actors, how connected he was with these fictional characters in real life and how much of an effect he had on them is so sweet and heart-warming. It gives you the message that if you are respectful and kind to people, good things will happen. I would be curious to see what would happen if they guy they bring in to the series would just freak out or not go to the extremes that they required him to do.

I am sure they spent all kinds of time researching their non-actor, making sure they would find the strongest possible candidate. They truly succeeded in that aspect this year.

I was iffy on the show at first, but it quickly turned into one of my favorite shows. It was easy to watch, always funny and entertaining and had a fabulous message. Jury Duty ahs had two stellar seasons of TV on Amazon Prime so far. Here’s hoping for a season three down the line.

Invincible S4 E5

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“Give Us A Moment”

Holy crap.

Okay, that was as gruesome and as brutal as anything I have ever seen. I was shocked and disturbed by the imagery of Conquest ripping Mark’s intestines out of his body while Mark choked him to death.

I mean… clearly Invincible is not dead, but I have no idea how he survived that ending of this episode.

I sure hope Conquest is finally dead. The show made it appear that he is done, but I know super hero shows bring dead people back.

This episode seemed to be a slower episode as Mark and Oliver prepare to leave earth with Omni Man and they dealt with a bunch of the moments on the planet. The face off with Debbie and Nolan was amazing. Debbie was brutal as she listened to Nolan’s excuses but responded with so much vitriol.

There was a nice meeting with Nolan and Art, and Art’s reaction to Nolan’s departure was great and very understandable. When Art told Nolan that he had closed his account because he only does costumes for heroes was rough.

It seemed like everything else was just a pre-fight episode… and then all hell broke loose.

The battle between Mark and Conquest was absolutely insane. I was actually screaming at the TV when Conquest shoved his hand through Mark’s gut. I can’t believe how devastating this fight was and how vicious the struggle was. Mark, refusing to break his grip from around Conquest’s neck no matter what happened, was amazing.

I know Mark does not die… or at least, he is still alive in the comics. I don’t know if there is some kind of death but resurrection coming. Mark sure was left in a horrendous state.