True History of the Kelly Gang

/ / Home Video
  • Title: True History of the Kelly Gang
  • IMDb: link

True History of the Kelly Gang Blu-ray reviewTrue History of the Kelly Gang takes liberties with the history of Australian outlaw and folk hero Ned Kelly (George MacKay) for “entertainment” purposes. I put “entertainment” in quotes because True History of the Kelly Gang is anything but entertaining. The film is a slog through Kelly’s cheerless childhood to learning the outlaw ways and eventually running his own gang (while skirting issues of his sexuality and motivations at every turn). I’m not saying you couldn’t find a way to make an entertaining movie about a crossdressing cowboy, but this certainly isn’t it.

Adapted from the novel of the same name, the script adapted by Shaun Grant spends quite a bit of time on Kelly’s relationship to his parents (Essie Davis and Ben Corbett) and offering an explanation for where his later violence was born, but it doesn’t have much to say about Kelly as either an outlaw or a man. The tone shifts wildly from dark and brooding to at times nearly whimsical leading to an uneven experience that leaves me disinterested in learning anything more about Ned Kelly (or ever seeing this film again).

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S.W.O.R.D. #1

/ / Comics

S.W.O.R.D. #1 comic reviewMarvel resurrects the Sentient World Observation and Response Department with S.W.O.R.D. #1 with Special Agent Abigail Brand in command of the space agency looking outwards to threats to Earth from among the stars from the space station known as the Peak.

The new S.W.O.R.D. has deep ties to Krakoa, and a staff that includes a mutant contingency such as Magneto and a group of six mutants who use their combined abilities to travel through space and time (in a way that isn’t explained and takes place mostly off-panel).

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NCIS – Blood and Treasure

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: NCIS – Blood and Treasure
  • wiki: link

NCIS - Blood and Treasure television review

NCIS investigates a murdered sailor who had a treasure map cut out of his stomach the night he died. The case leads to an eccentric former businessman (Thomas F. Wilson) who buried one million dollars in gold leaving coded clues to its location. Treasure hunts are always fun, even if the one presented in “Blood and Treasure” is a bit goofy as the map worth killing for doesn’t lead to the treasure leaving the killer in need of further assistance. When the killer kidnaps the man’s daughter (Mariana Klaveno) for answers, he’s forced to chose between family and keeping the treasure’s location a secret.

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #112

/ / Comics

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #112 comic reviewWhereas several of the previous issues have focused on how well things are going for the reunited Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #112 shifts to examining the cracks in Mutant Town. Picking up on the pain of rejection Mona Lisa felt after revealing her mutation to her parents, this month’s issue continues to feed that theme by introducing the sullen Jay whose mutation into a venomous frog has made it impossible for him to touch another living soul.

All of this leads into a mutant support group for those struggling with their new lives where tempers flare over injustices, the Mutanimals, and even the Turtles. It also provides one of the more humorous panels of the series attempting to sum up the Turtles’ bizarre history.

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Star Trek: Discovery – Die Trying

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Star Trek: Discovery – Die Trying
  • wiki: link

“It was raining Starfleet officers.”

Star Trek: Discovery - Die Trying television review

“Die Trying” offers the crew of the USS Discovery the opportunity to prove their worth Fleet Admiral Charles Vance (Oded Fehr), the current head of Starfleet, who is reluctant to trust a group of time travelers from the distant past. Despite the initial frosty reception, Discovery is given a mission with Michael (Sonequa Martin-Green) in command that shows off the usefulness of the ship’s Spore Drive and offer a strong argument for the ship’s crew to remain together rather than be dispersed across other ships of Starfleet. It seems the crew has found a new home, as something as a mascot for Starfleet, but it also offers foreshadowing concerning Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) playing well with others in their new surroundings.

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