Reviews

The first season of Invincible is nothing short of exceptional. The main cast is stellar akin to a live-action production, bolstered by a bounty of recognisable cameos, making it one of the shows standout qualities. The story itself isn't mind blowing, however, the beats within and subplots keep you hooked.

The art style is safe and, therefore, less likely to be polarising. However, the show is a complete gore-fest at times, much like Amazon's other darling property 'The Boys', sometimes to my distaste but that is preferential. Mentioning 'The Boys' is certainly appropriate as many similarities can be drawn between the two shows; so much so that if you didn't like the boys, you'll also not like Invincible. Although, the tone of Invincible is far less bleak than the boys and more inline with your typical Sunday morning cartoon at times.

Overall, the show is a must watch if you're into your Superhero content and a perfect filler between Marvel shows if you're looking for your fix. If you're not so into Superhero stuff, try the show anyway if you have an Amazon Prime subscription as the show is one of apps the best offerings.

Netflix have set a high bar for their documentaries, however, Seaspiracy falls below that of a low budget terrestrial in many areas.

My main gripe with the doc lies with its documenter Ali Tabrizi. Whilst his work behind the camera is absolutely phenomenal, I found his (portrayed) personality extremely irritating. Throughout the hour and a half Ali, a life long vegan and activist, pleads ignorance to many of the issues presented; acting as a blank canvas for the viewer in a way that comes across disingenuous. Instead of ideas being explored in detail they are passed over quickly in order to get Ali's extremely minimal thoughts on the matters at hand, reminding me in many ways of a YouTuber (a completely manufactured personality, giving completely manufactured reactions, for the sake of narrative effect).

Ali's interviewing is also extremely amateurish, often coming across pretentious and cringe inducing. On several occasions Ali attempts to enter into dialogue with certain non-profit organisations by asking overly loaded questions to low-level employees in what I can imagine is motivated by the desire to get some kind of reaction for the camera, often to very little effect. When Ali finally lands interviews in the documentary, he comes across confrontational and at worst contrarian unless it's across from someone who supports his view.

For a documentary supposedly focused on exposing a grand conspiracy between non-profit organisation and the damage caused by the fishing industry, the links are stretches are best and much of the narrative shows a clear bias for militarised activism. Through this bias, you realise the documentary is really an advocation for veganism (or at least 0 seafood consumption) rather than actually exposing any meaningful conspiracy.

The documentary, however, does raise some interesting points and share some startling statistics. It also ends on a very powerful note.

Overall, I'd give the documentary a watch if you're an eco-warrior/ passionate environmentalist but would find it very hard to recommend to your passive nature admirer, over your standard David Attenborough/ BBC nature documentary. Certainly do not watch this if you're looking for meaningful investigative journalism.

Having no expectations or knowledge of the book, the first season of 'The Terror' blew me away.

The story itself begins simple yet gripping but quickly plunges into chaos, increasingly so as sub-plots begin to unravel. These sub-plots all gradually contribute to a lengthy sinister crescendo across the latter, conclusive, episodes.

What stands out about this show above all else is it's ability to build tension through the outstanding performances from all cast members, stunningly barren visuals, and excellent writing. Each scene seemingly tops the tension of the previous, even when you think it's impossible. There are no favourites in this story, the writers are not afraid of the unexpected so do not get to attached! The show conditions you progressively, the simplest of scenes will have your mind racing with all manor of bleak outcomes as you try to predict what atrocity happens next, your wildest predictions are almost always topped.

Some of the more twisted moment in this series will certainly stick in your mind hours after viewing and possibly longer when you realise many depict actual historical accounts.

My primary criticism of the show is many of the characters are treated like cannon fodder, ejected from your screen as quickly as they were introduced with little effect, often leading to 'where's X? Or who's Y' moments.

Overall a must watch for anyone with series commitment issues/ in between series or people into the darker side of television. I can't speak for how the show relates to the book unfortunately, although I've heard it does it justice.

A lot of the jokes don't land but some scenes will have you in stitches. A heart-warming family comedy appropriate for all ages. De Niro is fantastic as are some of the very welcome cameo appearances/ castings. Child actors aren't your typically intolerable cheese-beings.

Not a must see by any means but still a fun watch; short but sweet.

What a way for the MCU to return! Marvel have clearly set their sights on the weird and wonderful post-Phase 3 and what a way to start! Wandavision is by far the most out there MCU project to date. As I'm sure many reviews cover, it is a slow burner initially but a worthwhile watch for anyone who's invested in the previous 23 films for the plot points, easter eggs, and character developments alone. Sadly, as the final episodes approach I'm sure you'll get the feeling 'how will they resolve all this with only a few episodes left' and, whilst most of the threads tie up nicely, you'd be right as much of the ending feels quite rushed and inconclusive.

The visuals are great and the quality of the series feels a lot closer to the films when compared to the previous Marvel Netflix shows, although the CGI is slightly over-ambitions at times.

I'm not sure how well the series would translate to your oblivious viewer who may have stumbled across the show on the 'What's New' section of Disney+, however, as primarily the plot is drip fed to the viewer, ultimately creating more questions than it answers; setting up future installations on the big and small screen I'm sure. The series is also heavily reliant on at least a fundamental understanding of the key events of the MCU timeline, especially for many of the emotional moments to land... an unfair criticism possibly, but a warning at least.

I'd definitely recommend to any Marvel/ comic book fan although I'd watch a refresher on YouTube before diving in. Enjoy.