Peacemaker: Season 2 Review

Peacemaker retains its heartfelt magic while never slowing down the crazy. John Cena portrays a character who’s dim-witted and destructive, yet has become emotionally intelligent and a deeply good friend.

John Cena as Peacemaker in a chaotic action sequence. — John Cena returns as the chaotic but big-hearted *Peacemaker*.

Danielle Brooks proves herself as the most talented performer of the lot and a national treasure. She’s remarkable, nuanced, and irresistible as Chris’ best and least problematic friend, Leota Adebayo. Jennifer Holland also gets so much to work with and steps up her outstanding game as Harcourt. Not to mention Steve Agee as Economos and Freddie Stroma as Vigilante — the constant is that everyone has grown thanks to Peacemaker’s friendship (except maybe Vigilante; he’s still an idiot).

Frank Grillo is excellent as the restrained yet vengeful Rick Flag Sr., giving a very calculated and unexpected performance. Tim Meadows is hilarious as expected, and Sol Rodriguez is also great.

Though the multiverse concept has been done to death in recent years, especially in superhero content, this approach still feels fresh and exciting. The humor is always at an 11, and at its core lies a beautiful and vulnerable heart thanks to James Gunn’s love for his characters.

The needle drops are all top-notch, and the story keeps surprising and exciting, with the plot turns and jokes playing off each other. Peacemaker builds on its character and world-building while remaining a brilliant and wholesome delight.

Rating: ★★★★½☆

Review by: Gal Balaban

The Mandalorian Season 3 Review

Listen, I love Star Wars. I will always love Star Wars. The original and prequel trilogies were a big part of my childhood, and helped shape my love of cinema. While The Mandalorian isn’t among my favourites in the franchise, I thought it had a promising first season and a significantly stronger season two. Season three had so much potential, but a frustrating lack of focus held it back from greatness. This show’s always had a bit of an identity crisis, but it’s never been as clear as it is here. Does it want to be a procedural-style adventure of the week, or tell an epic, multi-season spanning arc? Season one leaned toward the former, while Season two found a satisfying balance of both. Season three tries to find that balance, but the overarching story it wants to tell is bigger than the few episodes allotted to do so. There are only 8 chapters, some barely over 30 min. That’s a fair...

Boss Level Film Review

Boss Level is a new addition to the time loop genre, with a twist. Ex-special forces officer, Roy Pulver, played by Frank Grillo, relives the same day until he dies. Every day he is hunted by assassins and when killed, he wakes up back in his bed where he started, only to have to try and survive all over again. Roy has no idea why he is stuck in this infinite time loop but he must do what he can to survive, and the longer he survives, the more he uncovers about his particular situation. Unlike most action films that take time to build up, this film gets right into it and offers tons of non-stop combat sequences that would satisfy any lover of action films. Its erratic flow makes for some fun action scenes which come out of nowhere since Roy can expect the assassins to attack at any moment. If you play video games often and have ever been stuck on a level for hours or even days, you know the feeling of having to repeat the same thing over and over again u...

Better Man | Review by: Benjamin Garrett

What at first feels like a CGI gimmick allows Better Man to climb and swing it’s way beyond standard biopic conventions. This larger than life musical is worth a watch even if, like me, you needed to ask “Who the hell is Robbie Williams?”. A pop icon in the UK who didn’t quite make a household name for himself in North America, Robbie Williams bares his life (the good the bad and the drug fueled ugly) in this dazzling account of his rise to fame. Musician biopics often focus too heavily on the creation of the artist’s work, and not enough on the actual artist. Better Man gives audiences a sobering portrait of the man behind the monkey, with his songs placed in pivotal life and career moments to move the narrative forward. This works especially well if you aren’t entirely familiar with Williams’ work, because you won’t find yourself waiting to hear specific needle drops. Instead they flow organically into the story, with gorgeously choreographed musical numbers. And bo...

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