"This is going to hurt ... a lot!"

If you are at all familiar with the NCIS franchise, you know that the show tends to follow a bit of a formula. Each spinoff has some unique style aspects, but the episodes tend to be relatively self-contained. That means you can start with Season 5 of NCIS: New Orleans and still be able to appreciate most of what's going on. You'll get to know and understand the characters pretty quickly. The franchise has leaned more toward continuous story arcs of late, and NCIS: New Orleans does that more than the others. So while you could certainly enjoy this release on its own, I still recommend you go back and catch up on the first four seasons just to get caught up and maximize your enjoyment. The good news is that we can help you with that. You don't have to wade through 10 years of Jag, 17 years of NCIS and 9 years of NCIS: L.A., although that might be one heck of a fun binge. Just catch up on the first four seasons of this show and you'll be ready to go. You can check out those reviews here.

In case you missed it, ever since Disney acquired the Star Wars property they have been milking it for all it is worth.  For kids (and some adults), this has been something to be excited about.  I’ve seen some pros as well as cons since the acquisition took place, and really, I don’t know if I’ll fully make up my mind any time soon considering we still have another Star Wars film coming out in December as well as the live action series The Mandalorian coming to the Disney streaming service soon.  I want to be excited, but after seeing The Last Jedi, I’m a bit nervous.  It was a film I was excited about, one helmed by a writer and director I have a lot of respect for, but I hated that film, something I never thought I’d feel towards a franchise that is near and dear to my heart.  I bring all this up because the first season of Star Wars: Resistance is geared towards kids but also takes place during the events of The Last Jedi.  What I can happily say is that despite a shaky start, the first season of Star Wars: Resistance tickled the kid inside me who first fell in love with the series so many years ago.

For nine years Blue Bloods has been a staple on CBS, giving Tom Selleck a chance to completely redefine his television career. The once cocky and carefree Magnum P.I. now has established himself as the wise patriarch. It's a transition that a 1970's audience would never have bought. But now he's become a new kind of airwaves icon. The show has also managed to make it through eight years with very little change in the cast, and most of that coming from additions. This season is the first for the show to lose one of the major players and a rather beloved character on the show. Instead of making the season weaker, I think this might well be one of the strongest yet for the series.

When you guys try to destroy the world, it’s just an error in judgement. But when it’s one of us, it’s lock them up and throw away the key.”

For years now, the only thing my daughter has had to talk about is Descendants. I’ve had to endure the movies; I’ve had to buy the memorabilia. She has even had a Descendants-themed birthday party. So, we can go into this review knowing that good or bad, this film was going to have the Nalyce stamp of approval. Bias, I know, but fortunately we can depend on me to go into the film with my eyes open. Of the three films, this is quite possibly my favorite of the franchise, as it speaks real truth, especially the quote above.

Lucille Ball was originally a radio personality starring in a popular comedy, My Favorite Husband. It was here that she began to develop the character she would continue to play for decades in television through several shows, all bearing her name in one form or another: I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy, and Life With Lucy. See the pattern? Anyone who was a fan of the radio show would instantly recognize the red-haired actress even though they had never actually seen her on the radio. That exaggerated cry was already a staple of her physical comedy, even when she couldn't be seen. She had also toured for many years with her real-life husband Desi Arnaz. When they could not convince a network to film a pilot of a show featuring both of them, they made it on their own dime. CBS was so impressed with the pilot they reimbursed the couple, and in 1951 I Love Lucy hit the airwaves.

In 1975 a group of guys thought it was a good idea to steal $30 million from the mob. Vault just happens to be the “Hollywood” version of how that heist went down.  This is the kind of story I’m surprised has taken so long to make it to the big screen. While I’m not familiar with the facts on the heist and how it went down, something tells me there we plenty of liberties taken with this film.  Here’s the thing, though; whether the whole story was fiction or a true story, it’s a good idea and should have resulted in a fun heist film.  I’m impressed by how this film took such a good idea and turned it into the snooze-fest that we get here.  Despite having Chazz Palminteri, Don Johnson, and Vincent Pastore making appearances and a running time of 99 minutes, I can’t understand how this manages to feel like an over-bloated missed opportunity.