Pegasus Actua

While I had heard of the original Perry Mason series I had never watched a single episode as it was very much before my time, although I quite enjoy the original Twilight Zone series. Before watching this remake or reboot or whatever you wish to label it I however watched a few episodes of the original 1950s series. and while It took some getting used to as I am too used to serialized storytelling and not the loose continuity episodic feel of tv shows from days gone by, I was hooked with each episode and wasn't bored once. HBO's remake of the series is a very different beast however, your grandpa's Perry Mason this is not. This variation of Perry Mason is a much more morally questionable character who is not above breaking a few laws to get results in a truly dark and gritty depiction of 1930s Los Angeles, and who I might add is suffering from major PTSD after serving in the trenches of World War I. Despite his actions however this is a captivating character and we slowly see him start to morph into the iconic lawyer he would become so well known for. He has a long way to go still to truly redeem himself but a flawed hero is way more intriguing than a goody two shoes stock protagonist. If you can stomach the shows more violent and sometimes very depressing content then this is very much a show with one of the best recurring themes of second chances I have ever seen. Not just for Perry but several other characters get their chance to turn their lives around for the better too and that takes some truly good writing to achieve this without feeling cringe or cliched. This isn't a series I can guarantee will appease all fans of the original series and if you go in expecting more Raymond Burr style courtroom shenanigans then you sure as hell won't find it here, but for more open minded viewers this is a rare remake that justifies it's existence by recontextualizing the themes and narrative of the original while also simultaneously staying faithful to the spirit of it's contemporary. It's also a really well acted and beautifully shot so that helps too.

Moonfall is a special kind of movie. A ''so bad it's good'' movie that is actually competently directed, with a high budget and some pretty good special effects. However this film features many of the usual trappings of this subgenre or category or whatever you want to call it of entertainingly bad and that is subpar acting, unintentionally funny moments and a script that is so bats--t insane that it looks like a fake parody movie you would see in an episode of 'Rick and Morty' or 'South Park'. This film is the embodiment of everything wrong with big budget Hollywood Science Fiction all spun in a blender and then poured out onto celluloid. It takes every single cliche and trope that plagues the scifi disaster movie subgenre and plays it completely straight without a single sliver of irony or self awareness. It's a 130 minute film that is so insane from moment to moment that it feels like only 20 minutes have passed. It's therefore such a breezy watch that I can't help but recommend this to the same audience that loves 'The Room' or 'Troll 2' or 'Samurai Cop' or 'Fateful Findings', as I believe those types will welcome this madness with open arms.

I can't help but roll my eyes at the reviews here complaining that this is a comedy...which was obvious if you saw literally any of the promotional material. Are we not allowed to look back on a ridiculous chapter of history and poke fun at just how insane it truly was? The events surrounding this story were insane, the key players were insane, and the impact it had on American politics was arguably unmatched. How can you not milk comedic value out of that?