“You like when I do the whole cryptic thing.”

The 17th season of NCIS certainly ended with just that kind of vibe. The showrunners did a great job of keeping secret that Ziva would show up in the very last frame of the season. Everyone was sure she was dead, and while that’s often no reason not to bring back a character in the fantasy genre, it doesn’t often work in something like this. It brings up a lot of questions that were not going to be answered for several months. How is she still alive? Why is she here? Is she now a good guy or a bad guy? I’m sure you spent the summer with plenty of questions that didn’t get answered for a long time. But it’s finally aired, and now the whole story is out for home video as CBS releases the 17th season of NCIS. The team has changed faces over the years. Few of the original members remain, but as long as Mark Harmon remains in the starring role of Gibbs, there’s life in this show yet. This season sees no real change in the characters of the show, but it does allow for even more growth for those still on the train. NCIS is about to enter into its 18th season in just a short time. That in itself is a remarkable accomplishment in the days of short attention spans and hundreds of shows to keep that attention.
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“It’s crazy the things that happen at work.”

The beginning of 2020 certainly created some crazy things everywhere in the world. A pandemic arrived and shut down productions all over the globe. Films are missing long-anticipated release dates, and most network television shows were forced to close down early to protect their casts and crews. Seasons have been called with whatever episodes were already finished. Most of those shows will continue to shoot those episodes as part of their next season when they are finally able to get back to work. That won’t be the case for Hawaii Five-O. Late in this 10th season it was decided the show would wrap it up for good.  We got 22 episodes, and they even managed to get out a series finale. If it all feels a little rushed, that’s because it was. This wasn’t the best year to have to say goodbye, and it certainly adds to the sadness for the show’s participants and fans. Now CBS is offering those final episodes before we all say aloha.
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After enjoying Shudder’s revival of Creepshow, I’ve been looking forward to seeing what else they’d be bringing to their streaming service.  When Belzebuth came along, I’ll admit I wasn’t exactly excited about the title. At first glance it seems like yet another possession/exorcism movie.  Maybe it’s because I went into this with lowered expectations that this film managed to make an impact on me, but one thing is for certain, nothing about this film is “typical”.  Recently I has reviewed Season 1 of Evil, and I’m glad that show is still simmering in the back of my mind, because Belzebuth is a nice companion to the show with one big exception. Belzebuth doesn’t pull its punches, and I’ll say this right now: it’s not for everyone, and it’s a film that will get under your skin. Grab your crucifix and keep a bottle of holy water nearby, because this little film out of Mexico isn’t afraid to show us what evil may really look like.
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Let me start by saying that my daughter was all about this movie. Leading up to the watching of the film, she literally asked me almost like clockwork when we were going to watch the movie. With me there is always a bit of reservation when it comes to animated films since becoming a parent. I suppose you can call it bias, but I prefer the cartoons (as we used to call them in my day) of my childhood over the present content. I think that opinion is one many share. To Trolls World Tour’s credit, it does impart a lesson that I believe is very important in the present climate that the world is facing. To that end, I can say that I found the film to be quite enjoyable. The comedy was more of a situational variety and very clearly directed towards a younger audience, which meant that most of it went over my head, but the aforementioned lesson that the film taught was time-honored and showed the importance of diversity and tolerance. Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake reprise their roles from the 2016 original film and are joined by a host of celebrities that include Kelly Clarkson, Sam Rockwell, Rachel Bloom, and music legends Mary J. Blige and George Clinton.
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In the local newspaper here in the Tampa Bay area there has been a long-running series of articles called One Tank Trips or something of that nature. The idea is that the writer would introduce you to some natural or otherwise splendor that you could visit in a relatively short distance but which you might not even know exists in your own back yard. I can’t exactly make the connection, but that series kept intruding on my thoughts as I watched the first season of these little experimental Star Trek shorts. The idea appears to take us to places in the television universe of Star Trek to small events that we didn’t even know were going on but which might have even had a large impact on the things we did know about. The first of them were pretty much extras on the Star Trek: Discovery DVD releases and told prequel/side stories directly related to episodes of the main show. They play pretty much like the kind of release extras you might get with any home video release. Somewhere along the way someone got the idea that these side trips could go beyond the current episode supplement idea and reach across the world of Star Trek, leaving the window open for almost any era, place, or character to show up, often in some unexpected form. An idea like that has great potential, but it’s fraught with the danger of a very uneven presentation, and that’s the inherent blessing and curse you will find in this single-disc DVD release of Short Treks.
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From the creators of The Good Wife comes a show that attempts to explore if demonic possessions, miracles, and other supernatural occurrences are real or simply manifestations of the mind.  This is one of those topics that have always fascinated me, being brought up Catholic and with what some might consider an unhealthy obsession with horror.  It was a no-brainer growing up that I would gravitate to The X-Files, and over the years there have been several shows attempting to capture the dynamic of the skeptical FBI Agent Dana Scully and the true believer agent on a crusade, FBI Agent Fox Mulder.  Evil just may have the potential to be the show that explores the unknown and deliver the same quality drama, though I wouldn’t say it deserves the cult hit status just yet. Dr. Kristen Bouchard (Katja Herbers) is a clinical psychologist who is typically used by the local D.A. to testify on the sanity of a subject who is on trial.  A big deal is made about her being a climber that has reached numerous summits, but nothing is really done with this aside from making it a plot device we never get to see her put into action.  Her husband is absent from a good portion of the show because he is taking time off to climb Everest, leaving behind their four daughters in the care of Kristen.  To help Kristen take care of the girls, her mom, Sheryl (Christine Lahti) steps in to play babysitter.
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So knowing nothing of this series as it pre-dates my existence, I did not expect to identify with it at all. I expected for the jokes to be generational, and for the subject matter to be irrelevant. Fortunately, this was not the case, as Head of the Class appears to be a series that in my opinion stands the test of time and provides invaluable life lessons that society is still very much in need of. It stars WKRP in Cincinnati’s Howard Hesseman as Mr. Moore, a substitute teacher who finds himself subbing for a high school’s Individualized Honors Program (IHP), an elite program for the kids with the highest IQs. Expected to little more than read magazines while the kids basically educate themselves, this idea does not sit well with Mr. Moore. Though a laid-back person by nature, he endeavors to do more than just sit back and pass the time, much to the chagrin of Principal Dr. Samuels, who prides himself on the program he designed as well as pushing its participants to academic excellence. Though academically advanced, these students know little of the world, as well as never venture out of their comfort zone. This is where Mr. Moore has the opportunity to make a difference by showing them that they can be more than what society expects them to be.
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Over the past decade we’ve seen a resurgence of reboots, remakes, and anthologies, so it isn’t much of a surprise that the beloved horror anthology Creepshow would get the reboot treatment. To be fair, this is an extension from what the first films set out to be, though the big difference is instead of just being a film with a few stories, it is now a TV series, each episode containing two tales to horrify and entertain.  When I first heard about the series, I was cautiously optimistic. The first two films I consider classics, as do many other fans of the horror genre.  Then there was that third Creepshow that I feel we all just want to forget and pretend never really happened.  Without George Romero being around, I just wasn’t even sure I’d want to see a show that could possibly just water down everything that was great about the films and simply turn out to be a cheap imitation.  Now that I’ve watched Season 1, how does it fare alongside the previous films?  Honestly, I found myself impressed with what I saw, and there is plenty of potential to be refined here.
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Written by J. C.

“Welcome! Everything is fine.”

One of my favorite bits from the dearly departed Inside the Actors Studio involved host James Lipton administering a questionnaire that concluded with “If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?” It’s a momentous question that often drew a humorous response. The Good Place opens with its main character waking up in the afterlife and being greeted with bright green lettering that says “Welcome! Everything is fine.” It’s a reassuring sentiment, to be sure, but let’s be clear: there is nothing just “fine” about The Good Place. This sharp, hilarious, and goodhearted fantasy/comedy is spectacular!

The series begins with Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell) sitting in an exceedingly pleasant waiting room. Eleanor soon meets Michael (Ted Danson), who cheerily informs her that she has died and arrived in the afterlife. The reason Michael is in such good spirits is because he gets to inform Eleanor that she has arrived in The Good Place, a highly-exclusive, neighborhood utopia. Michael is also the architect of The Good Place —the first such neighborhood he has designed — so he gives Eleanor a tour and introduces her to pre-determined soulmate Chidi Anagonye (William Jackson Harper). But as Michael recounts Eleanor’s many humanitarian exploits, there is one nagging problem … Eleanor didn’t do any of the stuff Michael is talking about. She has arrived in The Good Place by mistake!
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I do believe that this film was deserving of a theatrical release. I don’t think it would have been a box office hit, but it deserved to reach a wider audience. That is not to disparage home media, which I’ve been plenty thankful for the many hours of entertainment that it has provided me given the state of affairs lately. Jeffrey Dean Morgan stars in this film based off a book from crime writer, James Patterson and Swedish journalist/crime writer Liza Marklund. The background of this collaboration was a particular interest to me, as the two reportedly corresponding back and forth via email, with Marklund writing the first draft and Patterson doing the second draft. Both are established crime writers and their decision to co-author a book together is a clear example of their respect for one another’s contribution to the field. Thanks to this mutual, a book that served as the basis of this adaptation, got off to the right start. Joining Morgan is the Good Fight’s Cush Jumbo as well as Taken’s Famke Janssen. I swear I am not trying to give you a history lesson, but the origins of this film is very interesting in my opinion, as it spent several years in what is known as development hell (media jargon for a project that spends a long time in the development phase, usually resulting in changing of production crews, scripts and actors dropping in and out of the project), and was originally slated for Patrick Dempsey in the lead role and Dakota Fanning in the supporting, which then changed to Britt Robertson in the supporting role that eventually went to Jumbo. Truth be told, I think that this situation worked out for the best, as well I can’t imagine someone else doing the role of Jake Kanon the justice that Morgan did.
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Jane Austen is a novelist from the 18^th century whose novels continue to stand the test of time; though she gained prominence during her lifetime, I would dare say that she has become very fashionable, with many of her novels being required learning for most schools or at the very least on the summer reading list. Her credits include Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Mansfield Park; however, the novel that serves as the basis for the film we are reviewing today may be her most famous work, Emma. This property is no stranger to adaptation, having been adapted in the form of a 1996 television film starring Kate Beckinsale, as well as that same year into a theatrical film starring Gwyneth Paltrow. This time around, the film stars Anya Taylor-Joy in the titular role. Though this is not the film I was hoping to see Taylor-Joy in this year (this is my subtle ploy to demand the release of The New Mutants), I must admit that she does a fine job of taking on the role that has already been tackled by top talent. Granted, this is not the type of movie that I am normally drawn to; it is my wife’s bread and butter, so naturally it was an experience that we shared. Basically a period piece romantic comedy, as anticipated it was a big hit with her, and fortunately there was some humor for me to appreciate as well.
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So I had an interest in this film since I saw the preview for it; Blake Lively cast in her own revenge film. I know there is no shortage of this type of film. Luc Besson has actually made a career out of this type of film archetype, with each film being excellent in my opinion. Lively has never attempted anything of this nature, which I always find intriguing, to see an actress stretch her creative muscles. Sadly, I wasn’t able to convince my wife or my friends of the film’s potential, so on the rare occasion that I attend movies in a personal nature, I wasn’t able to steer anyone towards seeing this film with me. I mean, Blake Lively, Jude Law, and Sterling K. Brown — you would have thought I wouldn’t have to do that much convincing, but sadly everyone I showed the trailer to felt that the film’s premise had been done before. I won’t dispute that there have been several films that are similar, but in my opinion, The Rhythm Section brings a unique grittiness to the genre. It took some type to see the film, and though I do feel that the film rushed its conclusion, I thoroughly found it enjoyable, and the mentor/mentee dynamic between Law and Lively was a huge selling point for the film.
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