"I'm telling you, it's empty nest syndrome. First Jess leaves for California. Then Torres volunteers to go deep under cover. And now McGee is applying for the Deputy Director position. Poor Parker. The man is alone." 

Mark Harmon as Gibbs was the soul of the NCIS franchise. When he finally called it quits after nearly 20 years, I have to admit I wasn't sure how much longer the show could go on. I mean, there has to be a reason for this kind of longevity. All of the spin-offs have now come and gone. NCIS: Hawaii has now ended.  NCIS: New Orleans shuttered its doors three years ago now after a mere seven years. The longest-running of the spin-offs was L.A., but even they have gone now after only 10 years.

“I read somewhere, thou shalt not steal. I think it was in the Bible, "Thou shalt not steal." That's not complicated, is it? But, if you do have a problem with that, you can always take it up with God, or Karl Marx, or the Kardashians, or anyone.”

Unfortunately, even Anthony Hopkins wasn’t enough to elevate this film beyond just an OK watching experience. A remake of a remake, Locked stars Hopkins as well as Bill Skarsgard, who I am convinced struggles with picking good movies to become attached to. Not saying that this is a shining example of those difficulties, but I doubt it will do anything to further his reputation in the industry. The film is a remake of the Argentine film 4x4 (2019), which was previously remade in Brazil as A Jaula (2022). Despite not being in the same room for the bulk of the film, I will say that the two played off one another quite well, which I attributed to both actors having significant stage presence. That aside, the film drew too many parallels to another psychological thriller franchise starring an enigmatic actor whose character had penchant for entrapping individuals who needed to learn a lesson.

"My dad used to say, wherever you go, there you are. I guess he was right. No matter how hard you try, or in my case, how far you go, you can't leave it all behind. There is no such thing as a clean slate. They're always there. They're always with you, the stories you've told. Hell, even worse, the ones you never could. This is a story I never tell."

Mark Harmon as Gibbs was the soul of the NCIS franchise. When he finally called it quits after nearly 20 years, I have to admit I wasn't sure how much longer the show could go on. I mean, there has to be a reason for this kind of longevity. All of the spin-offs have now come and gone. NCIS: Hawaii has now ended.  NCIS: New Orleans shuttered its doors years ago after a mere seven years. The longest-running of the spin-offs was L.A., but even they have gone now after only 10 years. I say only 10 years. For most shows a 10-year run is rarefied air.

"I can see the future. It's full of pals helping pals, and being a boss. I'm on the edge of life, and the view is gorgeous." 

Andrew DeYoung has actually been around for quite a little while. He's been directing television episodes a short features since around 2008. And so into every working director a feature film must eventually fall. For Andrew DeYoung it turns out to be the self-written feature film for A24, Friendship. He took a pretty safe route, choosing to work with an actor who has shown a pretty similar shade of dark comedy as Tim Robinson, who plays the lead and very tragic figure. If you've seen episodes of The Office, there's a lot of that kind of humor here. Of course it goes off the rails quite beyond anything you might have seen from the show or Tim Robinson.

Ultraman is a huge part of Japanese culture and pretty much has been since the original live-action show in 1966. Perhaps Godzilla started the ball rolling, but Ultraman brought us these monsters on a regular basis. In Japan, Ultraman is like our Superman. He’s an iconic hero and a huge part of the pop culture. Since the 60’s he has appeared in many forms, most of them animated. But it is this 1966 series that made a ton of us kids fall in love with him and an entire genre. Yes, there were many from the era: Space Giants featured a giant fighting robot who fought monsters and sometimes converted into a spaceship (yes, before transformers were ever thought of); Johnny Socko had his giant robot; and the list goes on. But it was Ultraman who started it. Eiji Tsuburaya, who created the original Godzilla, formed a new company outside of Toho Pictures. Ultraman was pretty much the first thing out of the new shop.

"We have sold the last of our herd, keeping only four bulls and 100 heifers. The seeds with which you must rebuild the ranch that trickery and laws drafted by loan sharks have stripped from us. The road to Bozeman is snowed over now, passable only on horseback. Our movement is restricted to the lodge and the pastures around the barn until spring. We dare not kill a beef, so the men hunt. Gone are the great feasts of summer. It is stews and stale bread and bland fuel of substance. Like the bear, we hibernate, impatiently awaiting spring." 

It is the second and likely final season for the Yellowstone prequel 1923. I have heard whispers that there will be more, and we might see Harrison Ford and Helen Miren again in a series likely to take place a little later, hence a new name, and focused more on Brandon Sklenar's character Spencer who will, no doubt, be raising the grandfather of Kevin Costner's patriarch character in Yellowstone.