David Weaver from Home And Theater writes: Director Paul Haggis got a lot of acclaim for his feature film directorial debut and best picture winner Crash. With that clout he has since gone on to direct a few other films here and there while sticking to the writing side of things mostly. While it is true he was responsible for the screenplay for one of the best James Bond films of all time with Casino Royale, that remains his single achievement in the world of film thus far. Then you have the self-absorbed and increasingly dull Russell Crowe whom has made it a point to never play in a good film ever again. To say his best work came at the beginning of his career would be pretty spot on as he has done nothing of any consequence since Gladiator, which isn't even his best film, that accolade goes to L.A. Confidential. Then we have both Haggis and Crowe teaming up for what appears to be a fairly straight forward jailbreak movie which is a genre I myself am quite fond of. But wouldn't you know it, they couldn't even get a simple concept as that right and end up making all the wrong choices from casting to execution that turned this possibly fun idea into a laborious bore.
Marvel’s merry mutants are back in all-new, all-different (not really) animated adventures on Disney Plus. A direct continuation of X-Men: The Animated Series, which ran from 1992 to 1997, X-Men ‘97 features a similar art style and most of the same voice actors from the original. The new series borrows heavily from dozens of X-Men comic books, with some original flourishes sprinkled on top and many events chronologically rearranged. In some ways, the series works as a quick and convenient way to enjoy multiple comic-book arcs in 30 minutes. In others, it feels like a nostalgia play that lacks depth and nuance.
To dissect and discuss the first season of X-Men ‘97, RPadTV host Raymond Padilla enlisted the help of Turtle Beach’s MacLean Marshall and PaulSemel.com’s Paul Semel. This episode will mainly be Mac and Raymond talking about what they liked and disliked about the show, with Paul commenting as the curmudgeon that disliked the first episode so much that he couldn’t stand to watch another.
Raymond and Mac will discuss the plot points, changes, performances, problems, and CliffsNotes-ification of the comics in X-Men ‘97. Paul will chime in and (hopefully) explain how he could make it through the wretched Green Lantern movie, but couldn’t watch a sometimes entertaining X-Men cartoon.
The Big Cigar Review: This show is an entertaining and intriguing watch that is thrilling in the right doses.
Baahubali: Crown of Blood Review: This animated series has nothing to offer and makes you question why it was made at all!
