Doctor Who Reviews: Spyfall Part 1 SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Review

Doctor Who fans series 12 has finally started and my god does it feel good to be back doing these weekly reviews for you all. I'll admit that when I first started this episode I had the fullest of intentions of making it a spoiler free post but then something happend if you've seen the episode you'll know full well what that something is and so here is my spoiler filled review of Doctor Who series 12 episode 1 Spyfall Part 1.

The plot of the episode is someone or something is attacking various spies around the world and MI6 call in The Doctor and her companions to find out who's doing it and more importantly why. Now since this is a two part episode the story doesn't get resolved which is understandable and the story really does need two hour long episodes in order to do it any kind of justice and it's a story that really did have me gripped to the edge of my seat all the way through.

Starring as the guest cast are Lenny Henry as Daniel Barton , Stephen Fry as C , Shobna Gulati as Najia Khan , Ravin J Ganatra as Hakim Khan , Bhavnisha Parmar as Sonya Khan , Melissa De Vries as Sniper , Sacharissa Claxton as Passenger , William Ely as Older Passenger , Brian Law as Operative (US) , Buom Tihngang as Tibo , Asif Khan as Sergent Ramesh Sunder , Andrew Bone as Mr Collins , Ronan Summers as Rendition Man , Christopher McArthur as Ethan , Darron Meyer as Seesay , Dominique Maher as Browning and Struan Rodger as The Voice of Kasaavin.

Of course also starring in the episode are Jodie Whittaker as The Doctor , Bradley Walsh as Graham O'Brien , Tosin Cole as Ryan Sinclair and Mandip Gill as Yasmin Khan. The acting from both the regular cast members and the guest cast where actually on point for this two part episode and given who some of the guest actors are that's to be expected and if the acting is good in this episode then it gives me high hopes for the rest of the series.

SPOILERS START HERE SWEETIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You might have noticed that I missed of one name from the guest cast list and that's because I wanted to go more into detail about him in the spoilers section of the review. That name was of course Sacha Dhawan as O / The Master I have to admit during the scene where O reveals himself as The Master my jaw hit the floor and the way Sacha portrayed the character at the end of the episode was just so good he was just ooosing with insanity if that makes any kind of sense.

Altho if you recall at the end of series 10 the John Simm version of The Master shot and killed his future self so one has to wonder how the character survived. Which is the only downside of the episode for me personally just because the character was quite clearly dead at the end of series 10 and it is something that does have to be answered since he's a key character not only to The Doctor but also to this story.

Now as any Doctor Who fan will tell you Yaz didn't really get that much screen time and things to do in the last series and while she did have a bit more to do in this episode what truly shocked me was the fact that she got alot more screen time. Sadly tho that screen time isn't used to develop her character at all so she is still kind if a one dimensional character but it is a sign that the writers have listened and are making some effort to fix that issue.

They also lean in a little bit on Yaz's police career by giving her a Ryan a spy mission which was honestly rather cool and it was good to see Yaz use something the things that she picked from the police force. Sadly tho we don't get to see her use any of those skills for to long which is a shame because like I said it was really cool to see but those to the test and it's a shame that Chris Chibnall didn't take advantage of her screen time to develop her character a little bit more.

As we all knew the title is a reference to the James Bond film Skyfall but oddly enough the references don't really end there. As you all saw in the trailer The Doctor says her name in the same way that Bond would introduce himself and even the music during the party sequence takes on a James Bond style which I honestly thought was a rather interesting way to go about things since the music of James Bond isn't that well known.

Also taking on kind of a James Bond style is the action scene near the end of the episode and the fact that there's pretty much a pre-credits sequence. To me the pre-credits sequence in this episode was much like the pre-credits sequence from Live And Let Die just because they have the same kind of premise with agents all over the world getting killed and as for the action sequence it reminded me of the opening action scene from Skyfall but it was done in more family friendly way if you get what i'm saying.

SPOILERS END HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Overall this was a rather solid debut story altho why they chose to have this episode air on New Years Day is beyond me since episode two is airing in a few days wouldn't it have made sense to have the episodes air a week apart in order to build up more hype for the next episode. So far this does seem to be an improvement over some of the last series episodes but there is one thing in here which really felt out of place i'm not going to say what it is just is just screams of being woke to me and so this episode gets a 7.5 out of 10 from me and yes all the reviews for this series will be spoilers reviews it just makes it alot easier to talk about the episode and I will be mentioning the creatures in the next Doctor Who review. #DoctorWho #Spyfall

  

Some Of My Favourite TV Shows From The Past Decade

With the passing of 2019 we are now officially in a new decade and that means we have ten years worth of TV shows to loom forward to. So I thought that for this post i'd tell you some of my favourite shows from the past ten years and please note that is just my personal opinion and so that will mean that chances are your favourite show might not be featured and so let's get on with the post shall we.

Westworld

This show along with another show in this post took the world by storm when it first debuted and it's not hard to see why. The show actually treats it's viewers with some degree of intelligence and presents us with challenging themes while at the same time giving us great story lines , characters , action and acting on paper this show shouldn't work and yet somehow it not only worked but it became a huge hit.

Euphoria

This is a show that I don't see alot of people talking about and I have no idea why that's the case because it's a great show. Yes this is a teen drama and I can see why that would put people off but it deals with issues that teens today are going through and it treats them with the right amount of respect and intelligence which is something that alot of shows that handle teen issues just don't even try and do.

Girl Meets World

This show was criminally cut short when Disney decided to end it in 2017 and I say that because out of all the shows that were airing on Disney Channel at the time this was easily the best one. Not only did it give you the type of stuff you expect from a Disney Channel comedy but it also gave you alot of heart and alot of great characters and unlike a lot of shows where the friendship between the main characters feels false here it felt real because they spent the time to develop it and the characters but I guess Disney doesn't care about making good TV shows that are also really funny.

Any Show From The Arrowverse

You can honestly put any show from the Arrowverse in this slot and it would work just fine because I watch alot of them apart from oddly enough Arrow the show that started it all. Yeah from the Flash to Batwoman if it's in the Arrowverse then i've seen it I won't always love the shows that they put out infact I don't really enjoy Batwoman but when the Arrowverse got it right they really did get it right and due to the fact they introduced the multiverse we can have different heroes from different earths appear.

Game Of Thrones

Say what you will about the final of the show and trust me many have said alot about that final season. To me it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the show because alot of what went down in the final episode apart from one thing and that's who they have become king of the seven kingdoms just because it wasn't built up and it doesn't make sense for this character but alot of what the show did really worked for me and it's one that i'd gladly go back and re-watch old episodes of.

The Mandalorian

Yeah there was no way in hell I was going to not include this show because it really is such a good show. To many myself included this show is better The Rise Of Skywalker because i's actually closer to what Star Wars is rather then what Kathleen Kennedy wants it to be and that makes the biggest difference because what we ended up getting was a show that not only honoured what Star Wars is it also told it's own story.

My Top 5 Best And Worst Films Of 2019

Film fans i'm writing this on New Years Eve and so we are just a few short hours away from not only the end of the year but also the end of the decade. So that means that it's time for my yearly post were I take a look back at all the films released during the year this year tho i'm doing it a little bit different instead of creating two different posts for both the best and worst i'm combining the two and i'm doing 5 for each and as for the rules I have to have seen the film and it has to have been released in 2019 and all kinds of films are allowed not just theatrically released films but also straight to DVD and TV films and so here we go.

WORST

5) Wonder Park

This film could have been so cool if only the film makers had what this film keeps on preaching about imagination. Instead tho all we get is a by the book film with nothing new or interesting thrown in nothing about this film is redeeming in anyway it all just feels bland from the characters , to the jokes , to the story and more importantly the animation which is not only bland but just boring to look at.

4) Ma

Like Wonder Park this film had an interesting idea and it even cast good actors who could help pull it off. However the finished product just didn't deliver the thrills that one expects from a horror film and so when a horror film isn't scary it's got a huge problem adding to those problems is the fact that the characters be it the main villain or the heroes just aren't likeable which is always a huge issue no matter the genre and the script just isn't that good despite having the actors good enough to pull it off and make it good.

3) The Curse Of La Llorona

From one bad horror film to another and they both had the exact same issues since they both took a really cool idea which had the cast to pull it off and make it good but they failed to take advantage of it. Like with Ma there's nothing scary in this film at all the only thing that's scary is how bad the film is and that's really it which is a shame because the idea is actually pretty solid and could have had some decent scares.

2) All The Live Action Disney Remakes

I really couldn't think of just one film to take up this slot and so I had to go with the live action Disney remakes. What makes these films bad is that they not only fail on basic level of actually telling a good story it's painfully obvious to anyone who watches even one of these films that there only made to cash in a popular franchise and nothing more but what is a true shame is that remaking older movies isn't a bad idea if the film there remaking was already bad instead there picking these classic films that everyone loves and telling the same story again only now with live action actors so there's nothing new being thrown in which makes them feel like a spit to the face of not only the original films but those who made them and those that love them.

1) Charlies Angels 2019 (AKA Charlie's Angels The Woke One)

What can I say about this film that hasn't been said it's so freaking bad and what makes worse is the director / writer/ producer / star of the movie is proud that it's a bad film. This film had the potential to be good it really did it had a great set of actors and it had a solid writer / director but it became obvious to those who saw it that it was more interested in saying that all men are bad then it was telling an actual story and if you think i'm making that up actually think about it for a minuet all of the men in the film are either all evil or dumb as a rock where as the women are all good guys gee I wonder if there's an agenda going on here.

BEST

5) Jay And Silent Bob Reboot

Now that we are done with the bad films from last year let us now talk about what i think are some of the best films of the year. This is a film that I was so hyped about that I even went back and re-watched Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back and thank god I did because they make a lot of jokes about that movie and if i'm being honest here alot of the jokes I thought were really funny and it just proves that this duo can still make people laugh.

4) Godzilla: King Of The Monsters (2019)

This film was also released as Godzilla II: King of the Monsters in some countries but for the sake of this post i'm going by the American name of the film. I'm not going to lie this film was fun as hell it wasn't deep on plot or character and character progression because that's not what you want from a Godzilla movie you want to see Godzilla kicking butt and that's what this film gives you see the King Of The Monsters take on other famous minsters from the likes of Rodan of Ghidora and it is just fun to see play out plus it has freaking Mothra in it and they somehow made her look cool do you guys know how hard that is to achieve so bring on next year for Godzilla Vs Kong.

3) 1917

Now I recently reviewed this film and when I say recently I mean it was yesterday and so I won't go into that much detail as to why it's here since i'd just be repeating myself. I will say tho that this film needs to be seen by alot of people that's how good the film is I don't care if your seeing it because your a fan of the director or any of the cast just as long as you go and see this film and experience the film.

2) Avengers: Endgame

This is wear I get very lazy because all i'm going to do is copy and paste what I put about the next two films from my previous post but i'm only doing it because i'd be hitting the same points. Now I want it to be known that I really love this movie so much so that I reviewed it twice and the fact that it's second on this list doesn't make it a bad thing it's only here because I had a very tough choice to make. What else is there to say about this film that hasn't been said by everyone else who's seen it it's a great movie and a great conclusion to over ten years of storytelling , world building and character development and this is the only movie this year where I cheered loudly in a theatre and that is something I never do.

1) Joker

Now you know why I had a tough choice to make regarding the number one spot because both this and Endgame are so good I highly recommend seeing both of them. What topped it tho for me was the fact that this film stayed with me for days after seeing the film where as I stopped thinking about Endgame the night after I saw it there really is nothing more I can say about this film that hasn't been said other then just go and see it it's that good. This film also made me think which is something that a movie regardless on if it's a comic book movie or not never makes me do yes there are movies that require you to use your brain like Arrival by Denis Villeneuve but none that have made me think. 

My Top 5 Best And Worst Comic Book Films Of 2019

Ladies and gents since we now one day away from the end of the year I thought that i'd do something that i've not done before and that is list of my personal top 5 worst and best comic book films of the year. To make things very easier on my self and and also because so few comic book companies have released films this year not every comic book company is going to get mentioned in this post and so here we go.

WORST

5) Men in Black: International

Do I even need to say why this is on the worst list it's a film that is so bad and is so obviously there just to push an agenda it's beyond a joke. The idea of having multiple MIB organisations across the globe is a cool idea but the film does nothing with it because it's more focused on shoving an agenda down your throat then it is telling an actually good story or creating lovable or in this case even likeable characters.

4) Dark Phoenix

This film spat in the face of everything that came before it watching this film to me felt like an insult because i've spent nearly twenty years with this franchise through it's ups and it's downs and in one film they said none of that even matters. You know how I now that because this is meant to be a prequel to the original films and there are things done in this film that don't add up when you factor in all of the other movies people who are alive in the very first X-Men movie die in this one and what's worse is this could have been such a cool film if they split it up and gave us time to get to really know Jean but they don't at all.

3) The Kitchen

This is a film that's so bad that to this very day i've not seen it all the way through i've only seen enough to form an opinion on it. There's no character progression at all  and worst of all there's no plot to the film whatsoever I don't know how this could have worked as a film because i've not read the comic book and after seeing the movie i don't want to because of the fact that I could be getting more of what I hated about the movie.

2) Hellboy

This film could have been so freaking cool and indeed there are cool things in the film the issue is it's bogged down by unlikable characters and a plot that is so cliched that you know what's coming. With the Hellboy franchise you have the power to go anywhere and yet by sticking the film in present day London and not going anywhere else it makes the film uninteresting and the worst crime that this film commits is that it's forgettable a Hellboy movie no matter how it is should never be forgettable.

1) Captain Marvel

The MCU mostly turns out solid comic book movies and very rarely do they get one wrong this is one of those cases for me. Since like with MIB: International it's more focused on shoving an agenda down your throat then telling a good story and having a likeable hero mush has also been made about Brie Larson's acting which given the script not even the best actors could make it work so I have to give her a pass on that however I won't give the film a pass on the fact that it adds nothing to the overall story of the MCU you can skip this movie and go straight into Endgame and you'll miss nothing important.

BEST

5) Spider-Man: Far From Home

This was the film to follow Avengers: Endgame and while it's not as good as Homecoming in my opinion it does a good job of showing us what the world is like following both the events of Infinity War and Endgame i'm going to try and not spoil any of these films but you see Peter struggling to cope with what I think is PTSD as well as grief and that's not something shown in comic book films and it really does work here.

4) Shazam!

This film proved that the DCEU is capable of turning out a good film when they really want to and that studio meddling does indeed result in bad films (i'm looking at you Rise Of Skywalker  and Suicide Squad). This was honestly a really fun movie and that right there is the one thing that a Shazam movie should be it should be fun because it's a kid in an adult body how are you meant to take that idea seriously it just lends it self so well to being fun and goofy and it works so well in my opinion.

3) Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The first and only animated film to show up on this lost and trust me I could have made a whole list just based of DC animated films. Like Shazam the best thing about this film is that it's fun and given the title that's really what this movie should be it didn't need a deep story or deep character development it just needed to be fun and that's exactly what it was it was a fun movie and one that I recommend anyone to watch.

2) Avengers: Endgame

Now I want it to be known that I really love this movie so much so that I reviewed it twice and the fact that it's second on this list doesn't make it a bad thing it's only here because I had a very tough choice to make. What else is there to say about this film that hasn't been said by everyone else who's seen it it's a great movie and a great conclusion to over ten years of storytelling , world building and character development and this is the only movie this year where I cheered loudly in a theatre and that is something I never do.

1) Joker

Now you know why I had a tough choice to make regarding the number one spot because both this and Endgame are so good I highly recommend seeing both of them. What topped it tho for me was the fact that this film stayed with me for days after seeing the film where as I stopped thinking about Endgame the night after I saw it there really is nothing more I can say about this film that hasn't been said other then just go and see it it's that good. 

  

Worzel Gummidge 2019 Miniseries Review

Worzel fans incase you didn't know a new miniseries based on the classic children's character has just finished airing and since I did my first impressions of of the series it was only right that I deliver on my promise and review the series. I'll full on admit that this series was alot better then what it had any right to be and like alot of people I was excited to see this show and so then here is my review of Worzel Gummidge 2019.

The premise of this miniseries is John and Sue are orphans sent to live with The Braithwaites and while there they get up adventures with a walking talking scarecrow called Worzel Gummidge. This premise is honestly timeless it worked back in the John Pertwee series and it works here. I have to say that it's premise because there's no real plot to the show which in this case I do think works because Worzel Gummidge doesn't really need a plot it just needs a basic set up.

Starring in the show is writer / producer and director Mackenzie Crook as Worzel Gummidge , India Brown as Susan , Thierry Wickens as John , Zoe Wanamaker as Lady Bloomsbury Barton , Rosie Cavaliero as Mrs Braithwaite , Steve Pemberton as Mr Braithwaite , Vicki Pepperdine as Aunt Sally , Monty Python and travelling legend Sir Michael Palin as The Green Man and Francesca Mills as Earthly Mangold.

I said this in my first impressions and I would like to say it again because sadly it is still true the acting from the child actors sadly isn't that now I have no doubt that they will improve with age but here they just didn't do that good of a job. The adult actors tho I honestly felt were really good I really liked Mackenzie Crook as Worzel he's not going to top Jon Pertwee and he's not trying to he's making the character his own and it works for this version of the character.

One thing which I really don't get is that they chose to make Micheal Palin's character basically The Crow Man. He's The Crow Man in every way except the name instead he's called The Green Man for some reason so why didn't they just call him The Crow man since that what his character boils down to being and while Micheal is indeed great in the role he does not suit having dreadlocks they just look bad on him.

Now since I covered this in my first impressions i'm not going to mention the makeup in this review because honestly i'd just be hitting the same point. I will say tho that the make up in these two episodes is better then the makeup used for Worzel in the original series which I know means i've put a target on my own back but it's also something that's true and like I said in my first impressions how Worzel looks here is closer to how he's described in the actual books.

One of the issues that I had with the first episode was that it wasn't scary well the second episode actually does have a creepy moment in it. From the above picture you can pretty much guess what that creepy moment is because yeah those designs are pretty creepy and I loved it for that because the Jon Pertwee show did have some scary moments in it and so in my eyes any Worzel Gummidge adaptation needs to be a little bit scary.

I think that anyone who's seen this miniseries regardless on if they liked it or not can agree on the fact there are some really pretty shots. There where alot of times during these two episodes were I found my self saying "oh that's a pretty shot" because there are alot of shots in this series that honestly look beautiful and almost cinematic and it was something that I honestly really did like about the show because it shows that there was a lot of care put into making the show visually appealing.

For some strange reason the BBC chose not to promote this series at all in fact I don't even think that they released a trailer on TV for it. There was a trailer released but it wasn't by the BBC and it wasn't released via official BBC channels so I have to wonder why the BBC chose to hardly promote this series since this was pretty much one of there crowns in their Christmas schedule it just makes no sense to me what so ever maybe they were banking on the name alone but you still need to promote something that you've put time and money into making.

I did enjoy the new show and as such I actually wouldn't mind if this miniseries became a yearly thing. It could be something that aired over the Christmas holidays every year since it's great children's entertainment and to them this is there version of Worzel Gummidge just like the Jon Pertwee was the version that many of us consider to be the definitive version of the character and since this is after all a children's show there's nothing wrong with that in my opinion as long as you keep the core of the character the same it would work.

Now then since this is a comedy that does mean that we have to talk about the comedy that's in the show itself. I honestly feel that the comedy is very hit and miss there are jokes in both episodes which do work and are very funny but then there are jokes in both episodes which don't work with perhaps the worst offender being the fact that they include a fart joke which I hate because there just not funny at all.

Overall I really did enjoy this series it's not a perfect miniseries by any stretch of the imagination but it could have been so much worse. I'm glad that this version does exist because it means that a new generation of Worzel fans are being formed right as we speak and guess what those fans will want to do they'll want to go back and check out the Jon Pertwee version if only for curiosity sake and like I said this miniseries isn't good but it's also not bad and so it gets a 7 out of 10 from me.

My First Impressions Of The Worzel Gummidge 2019 Miniseries

Ladies and gents there are alot of shows on over the Christmas period some have proven to be decent some not so much. There is however one show which i've been looking forward to seeing ever since it was first rumoured to be happening and well the first episode of it aired last night and episode two is due to air tonight and so I thought I thought that i'd bring you my first impressions of the new Worzel Gummidge miniseries enjoy.

The plot of this episode is that orphan John and Sue arrive at Scatterbrook Farm and quickly befriend scarecrow Worzel Gummidghe and as it turns out the seasons are locked and so it's up to the trio to get the seasons moving again. In terms of story it's not that bad but I do wish that they had taken more time introducing the characters and letting us get to know them more but I did honestly find the plot to be rather enjoyable.

Starring in this episode is writer / director / producer Mackenzie Crook as Worzel Gummidge as well as India Brown as Susan , Rosie Cavaliero as Mrs. Braithwaite , Tom Meeten as HMS Odney , Steve Pemberton as Mr. Braithwaite , Vicki Pepperdine as Aunt Sally , Tim Plester as Clarty , Stephen Samson as Builder and Thierry Wickens as John. I have to honest when this miniseries was just a rumour and they said that Mackenzie Crook was rumoured for Worzel I was so pleased because he just looks like a scarecrow even with makeup.

In terms of what I thought of the acting in this episode it was at best passable which for a first episode is to be expected. However at the same time for something that's going out when alot of people are going to be watching I wanted the acting to be better especially from the child actors that being said however Mackenzie Crook is honestly really funny as Worzel and Steve Pemberton is always a joy to watch.

Now both when the first image of Worzel and when the trailer was released the look of the character got alot of backlash from fans of the Jon Pertwee series. To that I have to say that the character in this episode looks alot closer to how he's described in the original books and that this is series is pulling more inspiration from the books then it is from that version of the character and I honestly like the way he looks yes it does take some getting used to but once you get used to his new look it's not that bad.

Like I just said this show is pulling more from the books then it is the Jon Pertwee series and as such the character relationships are going to be more in line with the books as well. Nowhere is that more evident then in the character of Aunt Sally since in the books she was Worzel's Aunt and was only made his love interest in the Jon Pertwee show sadly tho the character only gets basically a cameo appearance in this episode which is a shame because it seems like she has quite an interesting story to her.

Sadly one of the things that I wanted this miniseries to be is so far missing because I wanted it to be scary which was something that the Jon Pertwee version was at times and I know that I shouldn't compare adaptations but when something works so well in one version but then fails in the other it should be talked about. The only kind of scare they do have is just a lazy ripoff of a more effective scare in the original series which made it feel like a let down in my opinion.

There is a very strong environmental message in this episode and when I say strong I mean they hammer it down your throat. Saying that people need to recycle more is a good message and one that should be present in some kids shows but it doesn't need to shoved down our throats so much that you can't wait for it to be over you could have told that message in a more subtle way something which honestly would have worked better then shoving it down peoples throats.

I couldn't help but notice that there are alot of parallels between this episode and the first episode of the Jon Pertwee version. There are alot of scenes which are very similar which was something that I both liked and didn't like at the same time because it didn't really give this version a chance to forge it's own identity because it's reminding you of another version but at the same time it was pretty cool to see those scenes play out with new twists thrown in.

Since this is a comedy that does mean that we have to talk about the comedy that's in the actual episode itself. I honestly found the humour in this show to be cute that's the best word I could use to describe the humour in this episode I honestly don't think I laughed out loud but there was alot of times where I just smiled and for this show that's not a bad thing and even better is the lack of fart jokes just because there not funny and never will be.

A little bit of me was saddened by the fact that they didn't try and do the classic opening sequence from the Jon Pertwee show just because I feel that that opening is as iconic as the character himself. However the titles that they do have are pretty nice to look at and they do a good job of setting up the mood for the episode but nothing is going to top the original opening credits and they don't do the classic end gag either which is a shame in my opinion.

Overall I honestly found this episode to be rather enjoyable and I do think that those who were hating on the show before it even aired should at least give it a chance. That said the episode did have a lot of issues which i've mentioned but you could also say that about alot of debuting episodes so yeah I do think that people should give this show a chance and since this is the debut episode there's not going to be rating and tomorrow will be my review of the miniseries as whole.