Director Carl Weathers Brings Good Old-Fashioned Action While Focusing Back on Main Story – “The Siege” Review”
by Hunter Johnson
[Editor’s Note: The following contains minor spoilers for “The Mandalorian” Season 2, Episode 4]
So far in this season, showrunner Jon Favreau has led viewers down detour after detour, some exhilarating and some less so. In “The Siege,” “The Mandalorian” finally returns to the central storyline established in the first season. Along the way, it brings back multiple characters as well as returning to the primary setting of season one, the planet of Nevarro.
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Episode Three Delivers Great Action as it Connects to Animated “Star Wars” Shows – “The Heiress” Review
by Hunter Johnson
[Editor’s Note: The following contains minor spoilers for “The Mandalorian” Season 2, Episode 3]
The third episode of this new season finally begins to fulfill showrunner Jon Favreau’s promise of an interconnected collection of episodes tied together by the story of a lone gunner and his unlikely sidekick. Along the way, “The Heiress” opens up the series to the vast world of “Star Wars,” addressing storylines explored in other TV shows in ways this series ...
A-OK: “The Right Stuff” Season Finale Splashes Down Without Fanfare
by Breanna Beers
[Editor’s Note: The following contains minor spoilers for “The Right Stuff” Season 1, Episode 8]
The eighth and final episode of National Geographic’s Disney+ exclusive series “The Right Stuff” closes season one with cynical commentary plastered over with a thin veneer of hope. The end of the episode leaves the characters with more tension than resolution.
The first 20 minutes of the episode are relatively straightforward: the same launch sequence copied and ...
Ignition Sequence Start: “The Right Stuff” Episode Seven Fans the Flames
by Breanna Beers
[Editor’s Note: The following contains minor spoilers for “The Right Stuff” Season 1, Episode 7]
As launch day approaches, the animosity between our two leads comes to a head. Strong writing and cinematography reinforce rather than distract from the key themes and storylines. This episode brings the moral ambiguity that has lingered in the background for much of the series out into the open, forcing both the characters and the audience to think through what the ...
Episode 2 Brings Horror to “Star Wars,” Sacrifices Story in the Process – “The Passenger” Review
by Hunter Johnson
[Editor’s Note: The following contains minor spoilers for “The Mandalorian” Season 2, Episode 2]
While Jon Favreau promised that the newest season of “The Mandalorian” would focus more on a cohesive storyline, episode 2 takes this promise to an unnecessary extreme, sacrificing substance in the name of connectivity. “The Passenger” is a placeholder episode, stretching out Mando’s journey from episode 1 to 3 into an entire chapter of its own.
Din Djarin is ...
“Clouds” Review: A Heartfelt True Story about a Life Worth Living
by Kristina Birt
“What do you want to do with your one wild and precious life?”
“Clouds” follows the true story of Zach Sobiech (Fin Argus), a goofy, music-loving high school senior who finds out that his cancer has become terminal and that he only has six months left to live. To make the most of the time he has left, he decides to pursue his dream of writing music, with the goal of releasing an album before his death.
Together, director Justin Baldoni (“Five Feet Apart”) and ...
Going Strong: “The Right Stuff” episode six continues skillful story development
by Breanna Beers
[Editor’s Note: The following contains major spoilers for “The Right Stuff” Season 1, Episode 6]
While episode six returns to telling separate stories after the cohesive climax of episode five, “The Right Stuff” generally continues its positive trajectory with engaging characters and palpable tension.
NASA is at risk of dissolution under the scrutiny of the President’s Scientific Advisory Committee (PSAC). In a bid to keep the public on their side, they ...
“The Mandalorian” Meets Boba Fett…Kind of – “The Marshal” Review
by Hunter Johnson
[Editor’s Note: This episode contains minor spoilers for “The Mandalorian” Season 2, Episode 1]
“The Mandalorian” is back for its season two premiere, and it doesn’t go quite where fans may have been expecting.
Series showrunner Jon Favreau directed this episode. Similar to some of the middle episodes of season one, it takes its time enjoying a fun detour from the main story of the show. Some may even view this as a filler episode as the show simply bides ...
“Rebecca” Review: Is This Genre-Bending Film Netflix’s Latest Flop or a New Classic?
by Kathryn McDonald
For Hitchcock fans around the world, the prospect of remaking his film “Rebecca” induces either terror or excitement: terror at the idea of a masterpiece becoming defaced or excitement that a new director might recapture the original spirit of the classic psychological thriller.
In directing Netflix’s adaptation of the film, Ben Wheatly attempts to recreate the suspenseful drama of Hitchcock’s genre-bending movie. The storyline itself reeks of tension, and ...
What It Should Have Been All Along: “The Right Stuff” Episode Five Hits All The Storytelling Beats
by Breanna Beers
[Editor’s Note: The following contains major spoilers for “The Right Stuff” Season 1, Episode 5]
As we enter the second half of the series, “The Right Stuff” is only improving. Episode five is by far the most engaging, most suspenseful and most cohesive watch of the show so far.
Up to this point, each episode in this series has felt disconnected from the others. While their isolated vignettes are supposed to be pushing the plot along, there’s never the ...
