The country (world?) may be going to hell in a hand basket but I'm still
here to bring the Monthly Media Recap! As usual, linked titles will take you
to a trailer.
Gatchaman Progress
Only squeezed in 3 this month. Currently up to 72.
Streaming
Two estranged spouses — one a detective, the other a news reporter — vie to
solve a murder in which each believes the other is a prime suspect. Excellent
murder mystery! And you can't go wrong with Jon Bernthal and Tessa Thompson as
the leads, great performances.
The Muppet Show (2026, Disney+)
If this doesn't get a series order, people should be rioting! Not only did the
reproduce the original Muppet theater but they also captured the essence of
the original show. I think more than ever, the world needs the Muppet Show!
Movies
Part of Hulu's holiday horror series Into the Dark. This one has a bunch of
teens playing a haunted board game on Halloween night. There's some drama
among the friend group but I didn't really care. I didn't like any of them and
was pretty much waiting for the body count to rise. The kills aren't anything
memorable but they're okay.
Rating: 5/10
The Jester 2 (2025, Shudder)
I'm torn on this series so far. On one hand, they have some creative kills
inspired by magic tricks. On the other, they keep doing something to make me
not like it as much as I want. In this one, they redesigned the Jester's look
(probably to get away from Art the Clown) and it just looks like a mask on a
mask. At least the plot in this one is more straightforward and it falls an oddly specific sub-genre that I enjoy: kids getting roped into working with the evil.
Rating: 5/10
10/31, Part IV (2024, Tubi or
watch it on YouTube)
Another entry in the Halloween horror anthology series. I went back to see
what I thought of the rest and found I've only seen the first! Of the four
stories, the first, Ejectdead, is my favorite. Imagine The Ring but instead of
Samara, you get a Jason like slasher. There's one other tale that's memorable even if the way they carried it out didn't make a lot of sense. Overall, not bad for an indie anthology.
Rating: 4/10
This feels like it could be in the Fast & Furious-verse: it's loud, dumb, about family, has lots of action and for some reason I really enjoyed it.
Bautista and Momoa play off each other really well, milking the "at odds buddy
cop" trope for all it's worth. My two biggest issues were some sequences with
painfully obvious blue screen and the unbelievable civilian collateral
casualties they cause with no mention.
Rating: 7/10
Some people won't like this because a Predator is the main character and it
removes some of the mystery around them. Me? I've been waiting for this movie
since the original AvP comics came out. Having a young Predator protagonist
allows you to see there's more to them as a species. Elle Fanning is great and
has a lot of lifting to do as she's the only "human" in most of the movie.
Between this, Prey, and Killer of Killers, we've been blessed with some of the
best Predator content since the original.
Rating: 8/10
Mrs Dex found the Six Million Dollar Man on Peacock and we're doing a series
watch. I can't really call it a rewatch because there's no way I caught a lot of these when they aired. Being Gen X kids, we both have nostalgia for the show so it's
interesting to go back and watch it now, especially with the gratuitous use of stock footage. Prior to the show proper, there were three
made for TV movies to get Col. Austin off the ground.
The Six Million Dollar Man (1973)
I've read this is a good adaptation of the original novel Cyborg by Martin
Caidin. I haven't read the book but I'm not sure how anyone saw this and said
"Yes, we need more!" Steve has mental trauma from his accident and replacement
parts which is understandable and is a great theme for a book. But here he's
very dour and the show just isn't that much fun. The fan-made season one
trailer above gives a little peek at how serious the pilot can be.
Rating: 3/10
Wine, Women, and War (1973) &The Solid Gold Kidnapping (1973)
I'm lumping these together as there's not a lot to differentiate them. They
basically turned Austin into James Bond with bionics. He's got a sense of
humor and even drops a couple double entendre! They're dated, as anything from
the 70s will be, but they're a lot more fun to watch than the pilot. They
haven't got around to using the iconic sound effects yet so it's a little
weird seeing him in action without them.
Rating: 4/10 & 5/10
This Month
New: 8 Rewatch: 0
Year to Date
New: 14 Rewatch: 0
