TV/Film Reviews

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    Review – The Mysterious Benedict Society

    The Mysterious Benedict Society is a new Disney+ series based on the 2007-2008 YA novel (written by Trenton Lee Stewart and illustrated by Carson Ellis). The show’s basic premise is that Mr. Benedict has recruited a group of children to infiltrate The Institution (run by Mr. Curtain) to stop Curtain’s nefarious mind-control plans. The series stars Tony Hale (playing two roles, Mr. Benedict and Mr. Curtain) and also features Kristen Schaal (as Number Two), MaameYaa Boafo (as Rhonda), and Ryan Hurst (as Milligan).   We’ve been watching as a family each Friday, and we’ve all enjoyed the show. As many know, it can be challenging to find a show that the…

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    Review – Ted Lasso

    Ted Lasso is joyous. It’s a show that makes you happy—but not in a saccharine, overly sentimental way. It shows us a character who knows himself. It shows us what believing in ourselves and others can do. I’m a somewhat pessimistic person in general, and this show got me right where it counts. And it’s funny as hell, too! All of the above is in no small part due to Jason Sudeikis’s prowess as a comedic performer and personality. If Ted were in someone else’s hands, things could go off the rails quite easily. Sudeikis has confidence that shines through his performance; it’s not cocky, but it is assured—just like…

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    Review – The Orville

    I want to like The Orville. There are positives. For example, I think Seth MacFarlane as Captain Ed Mercer is likable as our Every-person, our guide to this world. The relationship with his first officer, Commander Kelly Grayson (played by Adrianne Lee Palicki) is an interesting one, even if the evenness of MacFarlane’s reactions to her could be better (or more enlightened): his character alternates between making digs at her expense and saying he is over her affair. Making the main female character the ‘unfaithful’ cause of the end of their marriage might also be considered a bit tired and clichéd: one could hope for a fresh take, a more progressive…