'Legends of Tomorrow' Season 3, Episode 13: 'No Country For Old Dads'

This episode focuses on Ray, who is still in the clutches of the Darhks.  It turns out his captivity is a blessing.  Not only does it allow him to acquire some key pieces of information that will help the team later on, but it makes for great viewing material for us.

It should come as no surprise that Ray's boundless optimism and goodness clashes with the Darhk's perspective.  It allows for some "buddy comedy" elements to come into play when he and Nora are dispatched to retrieve a scientist who has cracked cold fusion so that said information can be used towards reassembling the fire totem.

It also allows for some solid character development.  Even though Nora is still a villain.  We see that she does have layers.  Her time with Ray does start to change her a bit (something even Damien admits he should have seen coming) and her relationship with her father gets both examined and developed over the course of the episode.

Speaking of Nora's father. Damien was in rare form this episode.  His hammy comedy worked, his menace remained intact, and we actually got some genuine pathos from his devotion and commitment to his daughter.  This was what made him such a solid villain before and it felt like it had been lacking as of late.  We see that there is still some fuel to the Darhk fire and it's refreshing to say the least.

There's not much for the rest of the team to do, but we do get some plot advancements there as well.  Amaya learns that the Darhk's possession of the totems is corrupting the spirit plane.  Rip also alludes to some dark secret of Ava's that could threaten her relationship with Sara.

That last part seemed a little shoehorned in for forced drama, but we'll see what the secret is and how its inevitable reveal plays out.

Wally joins the team in earnest.  He doesn't get a whole lot of screen time, which is a bit sad seeing as not being utilized was one of the major criticisms for his character on "The Flash".  He does get to save the day, though.  He and Sara also have some nice exchanges peppered throughout.

It was also nice to see Rip start to get accepted back into the group.  He isn't exactly welcomed with open arms, but it does seem like the wounds are starting to heal.  His genuine remorse and determination to fix things probably had a lot to do with that as well.

While Mallus himself doesn't appear, his arc does get advanced on several fronts.  We know how the anachronisms tie into his end goal and he appears to take over Nora at the episode's end.  Oddly enough, Darhk seemed unfazed by this.  Yeah, her voice didn't change and her eyes didn't go red, but those big black veins around her forehead seemed like a dead giveaway.  I guess we'll see how that develops later.

Overall, this was a very strong episode.  The script was solid, the cast all did great, and we saw some pretty big developments for the season's story as a whole.  It was also nice to see the heroes come away with a win.  It seems like it's been a while for them.  True, they didn't get Amaya's totem back yet, and Nora now seems to be attuned to it, but Wally did snag the fire totem and Ray still has the formula for cold fusion, which I figure has to be a game changer for the future of the Arrowverse's Earth.  There's only a handful of episodes left, so it should be interesting to see how things play out from here.

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'Jessica Jones' Season 2, Episode 13: "AKA Playland'

The second season comes to its end.  As is befitting of a season finale, this episode manages to cram in quite a lot.

While Alisa may have initially taken Jess hostage, it isn't long before Jess is coaxed into going along with the plan.  Even with everything that has happened Alisa is still convinced that the two of them can work together for the greater good.  Jess is skeptical, even invoking a similar plea from Kilgrave (something Alisa seems to take offense to), but the episode gives us another example of the two actually working quite well together as heroes when they save a family from a burning car.

Alisa is even convinced that the two of them can go to some other country to feed the hungry or bring supplies to the sick.  Jess gives an odd look, but it was an oddly heartwarming moment.

It's enough to put Jess' two worlds at war.  She's reluctant to leave her life, but at the same time, she wants to reunite with her mom.  Similarly, Jess' old life isn't too keen on seeing her leave.  Both Acosta and Trish take it upon themselves to try and save Jess from the situation, even if she is on board with the plan.  It even seems like Alisa herself is second guessing the plan.  She has a nice moment with Jess where she's

Alas, things aren't meant to be as Trish's actions result in Alisa's death.  On a somewhat related note, Trish is a freakishly good shot.  Anyway, as you can imagine, Jess does not take too kindly to this.  Trish's pleas and reminders that she had Jess' best interests aren't enough.  Just as it was with Malcolm, Jess' connection to Trish seems irrevocably severed.

You'd think that this would give the episode a dark, downer ending.  Impressively enough, it actually ends on a more positive note.  Jess decides to start living her life and she has a nice dinner with Oscar and Vito.  The resolution is bitter sweet, but considering how much crap Jess has thrown at her, it's nice to see her get a nice moment like that.

All in all, this was a strong ending for the season.  It managed to tie up a lot of the season's loose ends and still sow some seeds for the next one.  Granted, it'll be a while before we get to that, as there are a few other Netflix MCU shows to cover, but it'll be interesting to see where the show goes and how it all wraps up.

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'Cell' (2016) Movie Review

John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson reunite to partake in another adaptation of a Stephen King novel.  Sadly, the results aren't nearly as impressive as the first outing.

The plot is fairly simple and straight forward.  A mysterious cell phone signal triggers what basically amounts to a zombie outbreak.  We follow an artist named Clay (Cusack) who makes it his mission to find his family amid the ensuing chaos.

There are moments here and there, but the movie largely falls flat.  There isn't nearly as much tension as it seems like there should be.  One major problem is with the phoners themselves.  They don't come off as particularly menacing due to the fact that the extras playing them make them come off as more ridiculous.  Given that their extras, one might forgive their lack of talent, but the camera spends a lot of time on close ups of them, making it a more noticeable flaw.

Things do get better when they start to coordinate and become more than just the typical rage zombies, but it isn't enough to make a lasting impression.

The human cast fares slightly better, though they don't have a whole lot to work with.  Samuel L. Jackson brings some of his trademark gravitas to the table and his character does have a lot of the best lines, but you can see better from him in other films.

Stacy Keach also could have used more screen time.  He's great in the portion of the film he's in, but he's pretty much a one-scene wonder.

Isabelle Furhman stands out as the only one who seems to be making a genuine effort.  She's the only one who shows signs of shock, grief, and horror at what's going down.   She's probably the one you connect to the most.

As a result, even the film's attempts to be more emotional don't work as well as they should.  When Clay goes on what amounts to a suicide mission, the big goodbye should be a powerful and moving moment, but it's just kind of there.

The movie also has structural problems.  The group just kind of wanders from place to place.  I honestly forgot what their end goal was at one point, which is odd given that it's pretty simple.  There needed to be more of an impetus behind the characters' actions.

Even when Raggedy shows up, not much is done with him.  He's just there because he was there in the book.  Granted, he wasn't the most impressive King villain in the source material, but at least he did stuff.  There's no development or exploration of what he is or what his end goal is. He just stands there.

Pacing is also a problem.  Like in the book, the pulse hits very early allowing for the action to start almost immediately.  However, with only a 98 minute run time, the film's plot feels both underdeveloped and unnecessarily padded out.  A part of me wishes that the movie had more time to explore certain aspects, but it didn't really use the time it had very well.

The Pulse itself is never really explored.  Even the speculation scene amounts to one line from Jackson's character.  It's pretty much just a plot device.

Overall, this was a lackluster outing.  It had potential and there are sparks here and there, but it is another film that isn't really worth going out of your way to see.

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