Paul Madley – Google

* Derivative and ultimately unfulfilling * Poorly executed * Terrible dialogue * Inane plot/story * Absolutely no character development (apart from Kora) * Pretty much no exposition * Visually underwhelming I literally watched Dune immediately afterwards because I was so disappointed. Yes, I understand the background with Snyder and Star Wars. And yes, I saw The Seven Samurai first about 20 years ago. It's basically "Andor: The Movie" (so, Rogue One), but nothing like as good as Rogue One or Andor. Oh and they put together their very own Phoenix Squadron via the planet that was being sold surplus grain. It's painful to watch. Ending Spoiler: They pull a Revenge of The Sith revival of a near dead corpse of the principle antagonist. I say "spolier", when I mean "WTAF?" I hoped Snyder would pull this off. I was rooting for his movie. In fact, I'd go so far to say that this was Snyder's follow on to Rebels. Most characters are barely one dimensional. Most dialogue is... 'adequate', other times it's just poor. Plot is thin and unoriginal. And at points nonsensical. 2/3 is tedious. I'd say that as soon as they leave the farming moon, the movie falls flat. The "Nordic" farm moon with its longhouse didn't make sense either. But that was actually the most coherent part of the film. Why have [some guy] tame a not-a-Thestral, fly it about, then not reference it at all? Oh and the "Nemesis" woman, she's definitely not-a-Jedi. Right?! I don't even remember why definitely-not-Juba-from-Gladiator is in it. Or if he's alive at the end. Some of it looks nice at times I suppose.

In another universe, this would get one star. Inverse? Squeezes a 5 out of a 4.5. Bafflingly; worryingly, the 1 star wannabe critic contrarians are trying very hard to invent fault here. Perhaps because it serves up many genres. All at once. I dunno. Rather than dissect the piece for critique, I'll simply say I enjoyed it immensely. It's an extremely good movie with a frankly astonishing comic turn from Michelle Yeoh. Dooooooooo it.

Old man moans about stuff, makes stuff up, and brags about stuff he did, or at least claims he did. For some reason I expected something clever. engrossing, even nuanced. But no, this book can be summarised as: TRUMP BEST BIG BOY IN WORLD. I'm British, I have no stake in this. It's a truly weird book. Apparently Trump handpicked all the photos - why did he sign only half of them? Well, at least he didn't include the fake Time cover.

Season 1 was just a horrible mess. If Season 2 hadn't had "Star Trek" in front of it, we'd be saying it was interesting, promising I guess. Season 3 feels more "Federation" than the two before it, but really ruined the ending, for me anyway. It was almost the perfect season up until that convoluted two-parter. Good stuff with pretty minor quibbles. Burnham doesn't need tearful, epic emotional voyages every episode. Loved Saru's new take on "engage". "Let's fly" from Burnham? Urgh. Season 4? With The Burn dealt with, what next? What to do? Oh right, let's rip off Asimov and The Expanse. Hell, they even cast Shawn Doyle. Sooooooo bored now.

Worryingly relatable in parts! It's ultimately a story about a pasta making machine. I'm late to this party. I watched it entirely over the last few days. I'd recommend a short break between seasons. The first two S1 episodes are a bit silly. "It's just going to be Tom Haverford becomes an actor", I thought. Which I was okay with; I love Parks & Rec. I was wrong. A couple more episodes in, it changes gear. Boom! The humour cycles between ridiculous and darkly cynical. It's better for it. It takes off and then doesn't stop until the final 5 seconds of the final episode of season 2. It may stumble a little here and there, this is still one of the finest shows like this I've ever seen. The second season was a masterpiece to some, slightly disappointing to others (when compared to the first). I'm in the first camp. I saw what they were doing and fell instantly in love. I guess that A Level in Media Studies finally paid off! Season 1 is anything but a straight forward comedy. Ups and downs for many key cast members, addressing all sorts of issues and largely generating laughs throughout. Season 2 tries some high concept stuff. I thought it worked really well. Just like the ending to S2 worked so, so perfectly. At least the way I interpreted it. There's been debate about whether a couple of the Italian actors' characters weren't fleshed out properly. I wonder if that's literally the point though. Slight spoilers: Did Dev fall for an idea? A romantic dream? Maybe. Welcome to the club buddy! Did he grow as a person but still act a bit selfish? Yup. Again... been there. Had it both ways myself. Will he go full circle and return to Rachel? That'd make perfect sense too. I don't think I've led a particularly interesting life, but I really do relate to lots of the situations. Apart from being a black lesbian in the US; "Thanksgiving" was beautiful and insightful. More of that please. Season 3? I know what I'd expect to see, romance wise. I want to see more of Dev's friends again. And Dev's parents. They're amazing. Who'll like it? It's got a lot of Parks & Rec DNA. Also some times it's a little Arrested Development. It sits comfortably alongside these greats. Also, BoJack; if you like BoJack, you'll like this. Fleabag is in this mix too, or vice versa.