(trailer review) - Predator: Badlands

The braintrust, illumanati or equivalent responsible for the resurrection of the 'Alien' and 'Predator' franchise are a group of well-intentioned, creative visionaries, because, as I see it, the Predator franchise was dead after 'The Predator' by Shane Black. I am not sure if that film was terrible, as I never saw it, but I heard it got mixed reviews and possibly did not reach the levels the studio wanted, especially having opened to just over 20 million on opening weekend. The Alien vs Predator movies ran the alien franchise into the ground and Scott did not help with his prequel films like Prometeus and Covenant. The thing is, everyone loves the Alien, Predator and The Terminator franchise, so having all of these tank from pretty much bad writing and over inflated budgets, puts us, the viewers/fans and the studios where we are today. With that said, the film 'Prey' brought us back to where the franchise needed to be. Prey was great. Alien: Romulus did the exact same thing, so now we are back on the Predator-train and this trailer not only brings us closer to the Alien vs Predator franchise again, but possibly some stories we will soon see love and enjoy. We hope.

So this trailer shows us, what looks like a young predator going through what seems to be trials to possibly level up within their hierarchy structure, or is he the protagonist on a planet on a mission here? It is a little unclear at this point as this is only a teaser trailer, but what is very interesting to see, is the woman in the trailer, when her eyes roll back, is the same thing that Andy does is Alien Romulus that proves he is an android, so she is obviously and android too, especially as you see the Weyland company logo on the backs of her eyes. You see a few other Predators and a huge beast the Predator will obviously need to fight. I am not entirely sure how this movie will do and another trailer will give us a bit more to work with, but considering this movie is being directed by the same person who directed 'Prey', Dan Trachtenberg, so lets just wait and see how deep they go with this, the lore and see where it takes us and how well they do. 

(trailer review) - Wednesday: Season 2

I am sure that I have mentioned it before at some point on this site in a review somewhere, but I watched the first season of Wednesday and I really enjoyed it. I grew up on the Addams Family movies, and Wednesday was one of my favourite characters. Her sadistic behaviour, played wonderfully by Christina Ricci was great, and Jenna Ortega was equally great. I even heard that she didn't blink, and on the rewatch, I do not believe I saw Jenna Ortega blink once. Even the dance she did at the dance was so Wednesday, cooky and weird and great, it started a trend after the show had concluded. Here we are, a sequel, and equally, this trailer makes it seem as though the second season will be just as great as the first.

If you are new to Wednesday, the beginning of the trailer set you up with what you are expected to see, shenanigans and lots of dark twisted humour and shenanigans as we start of with Wednesday travelling and she has to go through a metal detector and all the things you should never have on you as a person, let alone carry on a flight is hilarious. Talking to Thing about the sun screen is funny, but it is the music that does it for me in this trailer as we see all the clips of things going on and the stare-down with the beast, Wednesday is scared of nobody and nothing. Seeing the other classmates is cool, as there will definitely be dynamics between them again, like Elphaba and Glinda. There is like to be something else sinister afoot in the town and Wednesday is going to solve the mystery, but as it stands, on the back of the first season and this trailer, I am interested as I had fun with the first one, let us just hope they keep with the same energy.

(episode review) - Star Wars: Andor: Season 2 - Episode 1-3

I did not write a series review for the first season of Andor, likely because I was caught up on everything else going on, but I did watch the show and really enjoyed it. In short, Andor is about a man named Cassian Andor who, through oppression, joins a faction of Rebels to fight against the evil Empire. In a bit more detail, Cassian is hunted for the murder of two imperial troopers by two passionate and eager imperial officers determined to track him down, but when he meets a man named Luthen, he decides to work with him and his team of Rebels to take down an empire garrison to hopefully help ignite the passion of other Rebel forces across the galaxy with the funding of Mon Mothma in whom the Empire is monitoring.

The first season is excellent. There are some amazing moments with great characters, but the show is slow-paced and very political. It is spies and double-crossing. There are gunfights and space battles. A lot will say, THIS IS STAR WARS. For me, well, I guess I would agree. It is not what I grew up on, but it is, dialled down and heavily fleshed out. Star Wars is not just laser swords, blasters and explosions; it is politics, it is spies, it is good vs evil. So now that the second season is out, released 3 episodes at a time covering the span of 4 years before the events of Rogue One, the first 3 episodes were good.


Episode 1
Having now joined a Rebel faction under Luthen, Cassian is a spy working within the Empire as a test pilot. His plan to steal a Tie-Fighter goes horribly wrong when the Tie-Fighter he steals is a new prototype, and he lands on a planet to meet his contact, only to find a bunch of Rebels who do not trust him. Meanwhile, across the galaxy, Bix and Brasso try to keep a low profile while they wait for Cassian. Director Krenic has a meeting with other imperial officers to spearhead an anti-Ghorman whispering campaign to obtain their minerals. The three-day wedding celebrations have started for Mon Mothma's daughter, but she has an unexpected guest arrive.

Episode 2
Luthen's assistant Kleya has trouble trying to get hold of Bix, having not heard from Cassian. Held captive, Cassian tries his best to rally his captors together, as they struggle to work together whilst being strapped for food. Syril tries to instil confidence in a new recruit to be like him. The imperials visit the area, Bix and Brasso are held up as they continue to carry out immigration audits. Mon Mothma's husband shows his jealous side, and her beneficiary starts to get cold feet about the cause and his involvement in it.

Episode 3
Bix and Brasso realise they may not be safe as the imperials are closing in, and one officer approaches Bix in an aggressively violent manner. Mon Mothma has a misunderstanding with her daughter and realises she is on her own. Syril and Dedra have dinner with Syril's mother. Kleya is able to speak with Cassian.

These were 3 great episodes. Slow, building character and developing a story which is going to be around the Ghorman people, it would seem. Set 4 years before the Battle of Yavin, these 3 episodes are designed to show us how the Empire are trying to resource minerals for their Death Star project, where Mon Mothma is with the cause financially, how unorganised the Rebels are and how it will never be safe for Cassian, Bix and Brasso. The third episode had some dark scenes and imagery, but I cannot help but love the realism of the characters. Someone of a high rank will definitely abuse their power. And the last shot of Cassian was so upsetting. Let's see how far they go with the excellence of this show.