Update: Sneak Peeks Added to Manifest Episode 5: Connecting Flights Post

The new clips can be found at Manifest S1 Ep5- Connecting Flights Promo [Updated with Videos].

NBC has released the preview clips for this week’s episode of Manifest, so I’ve added them, with commentary, to the post I put up earlier in the week, HERE and added them to this post.

And a link to a third clip, after the cut!

Continue reading “Update: Sneak Peeks Added to Manifest Episode 5: Connecting Flights Post”

Manifest: Watch the First 10 Minutes of NBC’s New SciFi Show

Manifest, or Prince Charming Takes a Plane and Gets Lost, as I Like to Think of It, Premieres Monday, September 24th at 10 ET/9PT.

Update: My recap of the Pilot (episode 1) is HERE.

NBC has released the first 10 minutes of this year’s entry into the broadcast network scifi genre, where the real suspense is whether the show will get a second season, or the unicorn of the genre, a third. (#NeverForgetRevolution)

Much of the first act has already been seen in clips and trailers, but seeing it all together and in order gives it a sense of context. The new footage is some of the most meaningful, which could lead to interesting, original storylines if they pursue those avenues.

The video and more after the jump.

Continue reading “Manifest: Watch the First 10 Minutes of NBC’s New SciFi Show”

The Innocents Season 1: Review of Episodes 1-5

mv5bywvmyzgxy2itztm2os00ymqxlwe2zwutndgyowq2ymrlyzaxxkeyxkfqcgdeqxvymjiwnti1mtm-_v1_sy1000_cr006751000_al_

Tonight Mr Metawitches and I spent the evening binge watching episodes 1-5 of Netflix’s new supernatural teen romance, The Innocents. Y’all don’t know him as well as you know me, but believe me when I say that the fact that he stayed awake through 5 straight episodes (of any show) is a massive complement!

The Innocents follows June and Harry, 2 British 16 year olds who have decided to run away from home, rather than continue to live with their parents’ oppression. June’s (Sorcha Groundsell) father is moving her to a remote, isolated island that probably doesn’t even have internet and Harry’s (Percelle Ascott) father is severely disabled, requiring constant caregiving. His mother, Christine (Nadine Marshall) expects him to pitch in when she’s busy. Since she’s a cop, she’s very busy.

At the start of the series, they’ve kept their romance a secret from everyone but June’s agoraphobic brother, Ryan (Arthur Hughes), who lives semi-independently in the garage. Ryan is also physically disabled and devoted to his sister. He brings moments of charm, silliness and outright comedy to the series.

The secrecy means that June and Harry really are innocents, as the title suggests. They communicate by secret love letters (handwritten on paper!) instead of by texts, and haven’t gone any further than kissing. June’s stepfather, John McDaniel (Sam Hazeldine) has always been strict and overprotective with the two children. Harry’s been kept busy with responsibilities at home, and has a strong moral compass.

Continue reading “The Innocents Season 1: Review of Episodes 1-5”

The Man in the High Castle Season 3: First Full Length Trailer and More

Among the world-changing events in Amazon’s new trailer for season 3 of The Man in the High Castle are the Nazi’s bid to rewrite American history by melting down the Liberty Bell, Juliana taking charge of the Resistance, and U2 allowing Pride (In the Name of Love) to be covered by another artist for the first time ever. Bono and the Edge must be fans of the show.

The new trailer is more than 2 minutes long and finally shows much more detail than the teaser trailers did, giving us a good idea of where Castle is going this season. It looks bold and exciting. They are taking the next step in world-building, opening up the parallel worlds for exploration and discussion among more of the cast and the original world.

Overall the trailer shows a natural progression of the storylines from their individual, secretive beginnings in season 1 to an organizational, national level in season 2, bringing us to an explosive, global, possibly multiuniversal level in season 3. With only 10 episodes and a season 4 renewal already in the bag, I’m willing to bet that the conquest/true exploration of the multiverse will wait for the next season, while this season is spent fighting over who is in control of the world when the gates are breached on an official basis.

The trailer and more after the jump.


Continue reading “The Man in the High Castle Season 3: First Full Length Trailer and More”

Netflix’s Upcoming Series The Innocents: Poster and Trailers [Updated 8/22/18 with Reviews and More Videos]

innocents_vertical-montage_pre_uk

Let’s take a look at Netflix’s new supernatural series, The Innocents, a story of Romeo and Juliet among the shapeshifters, which will be released 8/24/18. Season 1 of the British show, filmed in Britain and Norway, has 8 episodes. Hania Elkington and Simon Duric created, executive produced and wrote the series. Simon Duric previously worked on The Force Awakens and The Crown.

8/22/18: The reviews are coming in and they’re fantastic. More after the jump, including a Behind the Scenes video and interviews with the cast.


Continue reading “Netflix’s Upcoming Series The Innocents: Poster and Trailers [Updated 8/22/18 with Reviews and More Videos]”

Netflix’s Altered Carbon Renewed for Season 2: Anthony Mackie Takes Over as Takeshi Kovacs

AnthonyMackieFilmIndSpiritAwards2016crop copy
buzzfuss / 123RF Stock Photo

Netflix has given us some great news to start the weekend! They’ve finally officially announced the season 2 renewal of their neo noir sci fi thriller Altered Carbon. It seems they were waiting to make the announcement until they could also announce who the new co-showrunner and star would be.

Anthony Mackie, who’s most well-known for playing the Falcon/Sam Wilson in the MCU Captain America and Avengers films, will play the new sleeve of former Envoy and Protectorate soldier Takeshi Kovacs. Mackie has been in numerous other films, notably the critically acclaimed The Hurt Locker. His only other major foray into television was the 2016 HBO film All the Way, in which Mackie played Martin Luther King, Jr opposite Bryan Cranston’s Lyndon Johnson. That film was also well received.

Continue reading “Netflix’s Altered Carbon Renewed for Season 2: Anthony Mackie Takes Over as Takeshi Kovacs”

The Man in the High Castle Season 3: Release Date and New Trailer from SDCC

mithc-s3

As expected, Amazon took the opportunity to announce the release date for season 3 of The Man in the High Castle at the San Diego Comic Con last weekend. The entire 10 episode season will drop on Amazon Prime on 10/5/18. Amazon also gave us a bonus announcement: The show has already been renewed for season 4, which is a much needed show of faith after an almost 2 year wait between seasons and the number of shows that Amazon has already cancelled recently.

Continue reading “The Man in the High Castle Season 3: Release Date and New Trailer from SDCC”

Kiss Me First Season 1 Review (Spoiler Free)

mv5bmtuzmdgznzmznl5bml5banbnxkftztgwmtu5mdi3ntm-_v1_sy1000_cr006901000_al_

Kiss Me First is a new Netflix/British Channel 4 series that is loosely based on Lottie Moggach’s 2014 debut novel of the same name. The six episode first season focusses on Leila (Tallulah Haddon), a young woman whose mother has just died, and Tess (Simona Brown), a mentally ill woman with a troubled history.

Both women escape from the difficulties of their lives using a ubiquitous gaming program called Azana Planet, but Tess, known as Mania within the game, has found her way into a hacked section of the program that’s set up as a private meeting space. It’s reserved for friends of a gamer who calls himself Adrian (Matthew Beard), who collects troubled young people and theoretically gives them what they need.

Eventually Leila, who goes by the name Shadowfax in the game, also finds her way into the private space. The club and its virtual clubhouse are known as Red Pill, for the pill Neo took to get out of the Matrix, rather than the Men’s Rights Activists’ delusion of choice. Before long, Leila suspects that Adrian isn’t as benign as the others thinks he is. Her real world investigation of Adrian involves the rest of the Red Pill members and becomes high stakes, as members start meeting sinister fates, one by one.

Continue reading “Kiss Me First Season 1 Review (Spoiler Free)”

The Handmaid’s Tale Season 2 Finale: Did June Betray Rita and the Marthas by Staying in Gilead?

mv5bn2u0mgjlmwqtnmm4mc00ota0lwe3zdatytywytiznzlmmjayxkeyxkfqcgdeqxvymjywnda2mde-_v1_sy1000_sx1500_al_

In the season 2 finale of The Handmaid’s Tale, June chooses to stay in Gilead rather than escape with her baby daughter, despite several Marthas and others having risked their lives to help her and Nichole. This has become a controversial choice with the audience. I’ve seen many commenters who feel that June was selfish to stay behind, because the Marthas had taken serious risks to get her and the baby out. Some people think that the Marthas will feel angry and betrayed when they find out that June didn’t leave. Since even major outlets were shocked and disgusted by June’s choice and agree with the judgement that it makes her selfish, I’ve decided to address it in a separate post from my already extra long recap/analysis.

This is a complex issue. First, calling June selfish for sending one child to safety but giving up her own chance at freedom so that she can try to save her other child and work with the Resistance to save more people, is blatantly ridiculous and misogynistic. What would be selfish is saving herself without a thought for the other people it would affect, which is what the Marthas expected her to do.

Second, June didn’t ask the Marthas to get her out. She owes them now that her baby is hopefully free, but she wasn’t required to take them up on their offer, since she didn’t request it in the first place. Even if she requested it, she would have been allowed to change her mind. Her life and her children’s lives are the lives most at stake in an escape attempt. If she wasn’t comfortable with what was happening, she had the right to change her mind. After all of the uproar about the rapes in this show, are people now saying that June doesn’t have the right of consent to the escape plan that others devised for her and her children? That’s insane. Hannah and Nichole are the most innocent victims, and as their parent, June’s first responsibility is always to them. She has the right to consent to the plan or not, and to withdraw her consent if needed when conditions change. Which they did, when she saw that she could send Nichole to Canada with Emily.

Continue reading “The Handmaid’s Tale Season 2 Finale: Did June Betray Rita and the Marthas by Staying in Gilead?”

The Handmaid’s Tale Season 2 Episode 13/Season Finale: The Word Recap

THT213June'sDilemma

Also: Serena’s Doors and Windows; June and Serena’s Journeys in Season 2 and the Future; Silencing the Women of Gilead; The Changes in Gilead: From Motherhood to Obedience to Polygamy?; Baby Nichole’s Big Adventure; John 1:1 and Teaching Daughters to Read the Word of God; The Martha Relay Race; and Maps of Gilead and Interpretation

In season 2 episode 13, The Word, Serena reads a Bible verse out loud to the Council that ends by saying the word was God. In this episode, the word is also Out. Everyone wants out of their current situation. Serena and the wives speak out for their daughters and all of the daughters of Gilead. The Marthas out themselves as the true Resistance. Rita is outed as the Black Widow of Gilead, just as I always knew she was. Emily and Nichole get out of Boston, maybe Gilead. Fred wants disobedient women out of his life. June opts out of escaping, choosing instead to work toward getting Hannah and all of the daughters of Gilead out of danger from the growing reign of terror. And Lydia is taken out of the game by Emily, at least temporarily.

By the end of the episode, everyone is outside of their normal status, and it’s unclear whether they’ll ever go back to what had become normal. In the beginning of season 1, Aunt Lydia promised the handmaids that the rules and restrictions of Gilead would come to feel normal and ordinary to them with time. She was wrong. In the last few episodes we’ve seen women and men at every level of Gilead society rebel, from a high-ranking commander to an Unwoman who barely got a reprieve from the Colonies and death.

Serena quoted Isaiah last episode, verse 49:25, in which God promises to deliver the captives and save the children. This episode, a captive was delivered, and a child was saved, but they were brought out of their captivity in Gilead, the enemy of the good. She left out the next verse, where God promises to “make your oppressors eat their own flesh” (Isaiah 49:26*). This is literally and figuratively what’s happening in Gilead. Gilead is cutting up its people, a piece at a time. In this episode, we saw Commander Putnam, who has one hand; Cora and Janine, who each have one eye; Emily, who had a clitorectomy and lost a tooth; Serena, who gave up a finger to the cause; and we heard Aunt Lydia refer to Lillie, who had her tongue cut out. Mr Spencer metaphorically ate his own flesh by turning his daughter in to the Guardians, leading to her execution. Commander Lawrence drove his wife insane by becoming a mass murderer in service of Gilead.

Continue reading “The Handmaid’s Tale Season 2 Episode 13/Season Finale: The Word Recap”