December 2019

The Farewell

/ / Home Video
  • Title: The Farewell
  • IMDb: link

The Farewell movie reviewBased on a true story, writer/director Lulu Wang‘s film showcases a major cultural difference between China and America in dealing with life-threatening illness. When the oldest member of the family (Shuzhen Zhao) is diagnosed with cancer in China, the family chooses not to reveal her condition. Instead, the family orchestrates a wedding as an excuse to bring the full family back to China. However, the gathering’s true purpose is to say farewell.

There’s a philosophical question at the base of the film that Wang refuses to loose herself in. While showcasing a very different view of medicine and death (even the doctors in China help the family to hide the old woman’s condition), Wang doesn’t attempt to argue one method is better than the other. Instead, the movie focuses on how Nai Nai’s (Zhao) condition, and the decision to hide her prognosis from her, effects the entire family – primarily her granddaughter Billi (Awkwafina) from America who isn’t brought over with her parents because her family fears her ability to keep the secret (but who comes anyway to spend time with the grandmother she loves).

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NCIS – The North Pole

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: NCIS – The North Pole
  • wiki: link

NCIS - The North Pole television review

In a callback to “Out of Darkness” and “Into the Light” which returned Cote de Pablo as Ziva David, “The North Pole” deals with the remaining mission Ziva wished to accomplish before returning to her family. The set-up of NCIS’ involvement is a bit awkward involving Odette Malone (Elayn J. Taylor) lying and tricking Bishop (Emily Wickersham) in order to secure the help of NCIS in the attempt to save a contact and friend of Ziva’s who was her lifeline during her years on underground. The twist the episode involves the reveal that the Sahar (Mouzam Makkar) killed was a lieutenant and not the true terrorist leader (Louise Barnes) who has been living under Gibb’s nose all this time.

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #100

/ / Comics

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #100 comic reviewThe long-running “City at War” storyline comes to a close with the over-sized Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #100 which opens with Kitsune‘s attempt to bring forth the Dragon into the headless body of the Shredder. There’s plenty of action here in an issue that features a giant dragon, small and large battles, the reunion of brothers, and a large number of appearances from various TMNT characters (including Alopex, who makes her stand against Kitsune) before ending on a surprising note with a sacrifice and a return.

I’ll freely admit that my interest in the comic waned in recent years, but issue #100 does offer a payoff for those who have stuck around for the full run (and just enough hints for the rest of us to make out the broad strokes of what’s happening here).

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Rick and Morty – Rattlestar Ricklactica

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Rick and Morty – Rattlestar Ricklactica
  • wiki: link

Rick and Morty - Rattlestar Ricklactica television review

“Rattlestar Ricklactica” dials up the crazy when events to fix something go horribly wrong. In the main story, Morty (Justin Roiland) is bitten by a space snake when ignoring his grandfather’s orders to stay in the car. Realizing the snake astronaut’s death will have repurcussions on a world of snakes (that produces some pretty good Snake Jazz) leads Morty to dress up an Earth snake and return him to the planet starting a series of events leading to time traveling snakes, snake Terminators, and all kinds of carnage. The episode’s B-story centers around Jerry getting into trouble when Rick (Roiland) decides to help by decreasing Jerry‘s (Chris Parnell) mass so he can put up Christmas lights without killing himself. The result? Jerry almost kills himself.

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