Amy Winehouse was a British singer-songwriter known for her soulful voice and distinctive style. Her second album, “Back to Black,” released in 2006, catapulted her to international fame with its raw and emotionally charged tracks, including hits like “Rehab” and “Back to Black.” Despite her undeniable talent, Winehouse faced personal struggles with addiction and mental health issues, tragically passing away in 2011 at the age of 27. Back to Black “Back to Black” is a 2024 biographical drama film based on the life of British singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse, portrayed by Marisa Abela. It delves into Winehouse’s rise to fame, tumultuous relationships, and the making of her Grammy-winning album, “Back to Black.”   Back to Black Review In a film glorifying a manic alcoholic, “artiste” spiraling out of control only to crash land into an early grave, Back to Black benefits from capable, surprisingly self-restrained hands behind the camera. Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson (50 Shades of Grey) and shot by cinematographer Polly Morgan (The Woman King), Back to Black never manages to engender non-fans to its subject or build any emotional bonds to the narrative. Furthermore, the film’s earnest performances never quite transcend to captivating. This is almost entirely due to the light in which Winehouse is portrayed as emotionally immature and seemingly unpleasant. Further hindering the actors is the prioritization of intervals that ostensibly took place between more traditionally interesting dramatic moments, robbing the performers of their chance to stretch and shine and stealing any opportunity for the audience to connect. One notable example is that of a drug-induced fight between Whinehouse and her husband. In lieu of what must have been an emotionally charged confrontation and the almost certainly empathetically identifiable details leading up to it, the film depicts the conclusion of them chasing one another down several very public streets and its quick resolutive embrace. Perhaps this resolution would feel meaningful if we were ever given a reason to bond with the characters outside of Amy’s talent. Unfortunately, even her adoration for her grandmother (one of the only interpersonal relationships even mildly explored in the film) is portrayed as shallowly based on her “style” and early sexual exploits. The same can be said for the alcoholism for which Winehouse is as well known as for that of her music. While she is regularly shown drowning her feelings in a bottle, the root cause of her addiction isn’t much explored beyond the sentiment, “That’s just Amy.” Without a doubt, Winehouse was a beautiful vocalist and a talented composer. However, the over-celebrated perceived “edginess” of her beehive hairdo, ample tattoos, and tendency to intersperse crass lyrics and curse words into traditional-sounding soulful jazz, along with her unfortunate and virtually unexplored substance abuse, isn’t enough to carry a nearly two-hour narrative.   WOKE ELEMENTS NOTE: I would have rated the Woke-O-Meter lower save for the fact that the film strongly portrayed the importance of a loving father in Winehouse’s life. Despite some of her lyrics, the film also clearly showed that she yearned for a more traditional life as a wife and mother. Subsequently, it boosted the percentage. Dash of Man-Hate Some of the lyrics to songs sung early in the film glorify the degradation of men. This One is Tough The big one—the one that cost the movie most of the 50 points that I removed but could arguably be ignored or cause to mark the movie as completely Woke—is that of its message. Winehouse is portrayed as a manic and substance abuser who repeatedly physically abused her husband and ultimately killed herself with alcohol. She’s also (especially in the first half of the film) portrayed as an unlikable and sarcastic brat who is overly dramatic, rude, and thoughtless. However, it’s very difficult to tell whether the film’s tone is one of celebrating these qualities as the mark of a “strong, independent woman” who carved out her own path or if it intends to show how these personality traits led to her early demise. Ultimately, I heavily penalized it due to the film’s last line, a narrated reading from a letter Winehouse wrote as a young(er) girl. It read something to the effect that she just had to be herself. This would suggest a celebration even though “being herself” meant dying of alcohol poisoning before the age of 30.

Garfield, created by cartoonist Jim Davis, made his debut in 1978. The lasagna-loving, Monday-hating orange cat quickly became an iconic figure in comic strips. Over the years, Garfield has expanded into various media, including animated television shows, movies, and a plethora of merchandise. Today, the Garfield franchise generates between $750 million and $1 billion per year, solidifying his place as one of the most beloved comic characters of all time. The Garfield Movie When the father who abandoned him as a child unexpectedly shows back up in Garfield’s life, the two will have to come to an understanding if they hope to survive the evil machinations of the twisted Jinx.   The Garfield Movie Review For nearly 50 years, Garfield has been a staple of American childhoods. That’s a long time to get to know someone, even a fake someone, which can make it hard for more seasoned audience members to divorce the familiar from the new when studios decide to once again cash in on a beloved property. So it is with The Garfield Movie. Simply put, this is not the Garfield of your youth. It may look like it. After all, it has an almost flawless Garfield veneer featuring everything that you remember from those happy days – everything, that is, except Garfield. Unfortunately, for all of their lovingly placed Easter eggs, references, and adherence to general canon, the lasagna-loving fat cat with an attitude has been pod-peopled. Sure, he’s still a selfish (except when he’s not) lazy glutton, but gone is the sardonic, wisecracking, disinterested swagger that almost always got him into more trouble than he could handle. Instead, he’s a much blander, less interesting, and slightly less intelligent facsimile of what generations of audiences have come to know. Generally a capable voice actor with an emotive range that fills the room, Chris Pratt‘s uncharacteristic lack of dynamism, naturally higher pitch, and bright timber do not fit the legendary languid and lethargic layabout. The result is a well-fed feline with a wholly new feel that some may warm to but longtime fans will likely reject. Without Garfield’s traditional dry wit, The Garfield Movie relies on splat humor, with Garfield most often the target of the gags. Whether he’s being bounced from tree to tree or hit by various objects, the laughs are almost entirely of the childish pratfall variety (no pun intended). Furthermore, while it serves up one or two heartfelt moments, Hollywood’s obsession with infusing meaning into the backstory of every character trait and two-dimensional character notwithstanding, the entire deadbeat dad who’s not entirely a deadbeat dad schtick is not only worn out; it’s completely out of place for a Garfield cartoon. The bottom line is that Garfield isn’t supposed to be that deep, and spending almost two hours watching him repeatedly deal with deep-seated emotional wounds received from his childhood abandonment is a downer that no amount of pies to the face or wasted Snoopdog cameos can balance out. Regrettably, the film’s aimless plot structure does it no favors. Since its A plot lacks enough juice to carry it for the full minute-forty one, two even less interesting subplots are introduced late into the runtime, and it takes nearly an hour to introduce the antagonist. On the positive side, little ones probably won’t feel as bogged down by the emotional baggage or the character’s fundamental tonal shift. The animation style is an almost successful blending of the old claymation aesthetic modernized via CGI. The colors are pleasing, most of the voice acting is adequate, and the pacing is fairly brisk, with jokes plentiful enough to keep them laughing. Unarguably, the film’s brightest spot is Hannah Waddingham (The Fall Guy), who voices the evil Jinx. She gives full breadth and width to the feline felon’s mania, providing audiences with an off-kilter and over-the-top villain worthy of loving to hate. Ultimately, this iteration of Garfield is a bit generic and depressing and is a far cry from classics like 1985’s Garfield’s Halloween Adventure or  1984’s Garfield in the Rough.   INAPPROPRIATE ELEMENTS The Cat’s In The Cradle The film is relentless with its reminders of Garfield’s dad abandoning him as a child.   WOKE ELEMENTS Argument to Be Made Even though Jon is barely in the movie, he’s still his usual pushover self. Some might consider him being a beta male as woke, but he’s been that way for 50 years. If anything, during his brief screen time he’s portrayed to be far less dumb than in some past iterations. Instead, he appears to be a pushover because he is so compassionate and loving. Dead Horse ***SPOILER*** Even though it turns out that Garfield’s dad wasn’t a deadbeat, the movie spends 90% of its runtime driving home the idea that he was. Why even introduce this into a children’s program? ***END SPOILER*** You Tell Me There’s a single brief scene at a rural fair on a farm in which two men are very briefly shown getting their picture taken together. Obviously, that’s not Woke unto itself. However, take a look and let me know what you think. The stand-in photo board is that of a bull and cow holding hands, and the way that the guy on the left is looking at the other guy isn’t how I would look at any of my guy friends. A scene from The Garfield Movie depicts two men looking at one another lovingly.

The history of dinosaurs in film began in 1914 with “Gertie the Dinosaur,” an early example of animation that captivated audiences. This was followed by the 1925 silent film “The Lost World,” which amazed viewers with its groundbreaking stop-motion animation. The genre reached new heights in 1993 with Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park,” utilizing advanced CGI to bring dinosaurs to life in stunning realism. Continuing this legacy, the animated series “Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous,” launched in 2020, explores new adventures and characters within the Jurassic Park/World universe. Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (season 1) Taking place during the events of Jurassic World, in the first season of “Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous,” six teenagers win a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend an exclusive adventure camp on Isla Nublar. However, their experience takes a terrifying turn when the dinosaurs escape their enclosures, throwing the island into chaos. The teens must band together to survive and find a way to escape the island, all while facing numerous perilous encounters with the rampaging dinosaurs. As they navigate the dangers, they also uncover secrets about the park and form a close-knit group, relying on each other’s strengths to endure the ordeal.   Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (season 1) INAPPROPRIATE ELEMENTS It’s impossible to know who the audience for this show is. The human character designs, both their animation and personalities, would suggest that it is for younger children; so too does their cute dinosaur sidekick. However, the animation of the carnivores as well as the extreme intensity of every episode, are on the level of programs for young teens. That Escalated Quickly Without exception, every episode is packed with life-and-death situations as the main group of children narrowly escape death (almost always from that of a charging and toothy dinosaur). Murder Death Kill Forget “intense situations;” at least one person (often more) is chased down and eaten by a dinosaur in every episode, including the opening moments of the very first one. While it usually happens just off-screen, we always see it right up until that moment when the camera then cuts to a reaction shot of (usually) a child watching in horror as someone’s terrified screams are cut short. However, there is one instance when the camera doesn’t cut away; instead, we see the Indominous Rex munch down on a screaming victim. Only the victim and the Rex’s snout are hidden behind a bush. They see at least one dead and mangled human body just off-screen. We see them see it. We’re just not shown the bodies. He’s Dead, Jim Nothing says children’s cartoon series like a dad who dies of cancer. The main protagonist is motivated by the slow death of his loving and devoted father. At one point, we even get to see a flashback of him weak and withering, all but trying to prepare his young son for his impending demise.   WOKE ELEMENTS (season 1) Diversity is Our Strength The cast looks like the animated version of a Target commercial. Guess Who The Only Competent Male Is While not precisely girl bosses, the girls are vastly more mature and less of a caricature than their male counterparts. Except for the only main black character, the men are all lesser than the ladies. The male counselor is a headband-wearing goober, while the woman takes charge and takes care of business. The Asian boy is rich, spoiled, a chronic liar, and arrogant. The white boy is a weak and pathetic coward. Down With The Patriarchy The only father actually shown on screen also happens to be a loving and devoted one… who dies of cancer via flashbacks. He’s also black. The only other father mentioned is a cold and uncaring one who ignores and disapproves of his son. While completely dismissing the boys’ feelings, one of the girls unironically says the line, “So, this is what toxic masculinity looks like.”   Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (season 2) Season 2 of “Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous,” finds the stranded campers still on Isla Nublar, struggling to survive without any adult supervision or communication with the outside world. They search for supplies and safety while facing new and more dangerous dinosaurs. The group discovers a potential escape route but must overcome numerous obstacles and work together to outsmart both dinosaurs and human threats. As they grow closer, they learn more about themselves and each other, solidifying their bond as they continue their fight for survival.   Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (season 2) INAPPROPRIATE ELEMENTS The children still face life-and-death situations in each episode, but no one is eaten, and the overall intensity level is greatly reduced from that of the first season.   WOKE ELEMENTS (season 2) Both the worthless white boy and the Asian come a long way from season one, especially the white one. In fact, he’s The Diversity Algorithm It’s the same mathematically “correct” diversity ratio as in the first season. Hippy Dippy Decisions After spending weeks narrowly avoiding death at every turn, seeing dozens of people eaten before their eyes, and scraping by an existence on canned fruit and dwindling hope, the children come upon caged and starving carnivorous dinosaurs. First, one of the kids feels bad for them and wants to set them free into nature “where they belong.” Then, when two other dinos of the same species as the caged one starts clawing at the outside of the cage, naturally, another of the kids sees them as a family that “deserves to be together.” Of course, the dinosaurs immediately attempt to eat the kids. This is beyond stupid. The sentiments being expressed are the same shortsighted, think-with-your-feelings nonsense being fed to our kids on a daily basis.   Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (season 3) In the third season of “Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous,” the campers continue their quest to escape Isla Nublar, encountering even more perilous challenges. They discover a hidden lab that houses a mysterious and dangerous hybrid dinosaur, the Scorpios Rex, which poses a new threat to their survival. As they navigate the increasingly hazardous island, the group must use their wits and teamwork to evade the predatory creature. Their journey is further complicated by a potential rescue mission, pushing them to the brink as they strive to finally find a way off the island.   Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (season 3) INAPPROPRIATE ELEMENTS Intensity The intensity is back up, with multiple people (not as many as in the first season) being eaten just off camera or from behind an obstacle that only just covers the carnage.   WOKE ELEMENTS (season 3) The Diversity Algorithm It’s the same mathematically “correct” diversity ratio as in the first two seasons. Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Climate Change It’s said as a joke, but it’s not a joke that makes fun of it, “You’re worried about carbon emissions.” Animals Are People Too As in the last season, two children are nearly killed by a dino (Blue, the raptor from the movie), but then because “all life is precious,” they help to save her from being pinned beneath a vehicle (moments after she tried to eat them). It’s so much hippy nonsense that didn’t fit into the scene, let alone reality. Stupid Rich Asian The rich, spoiled Asian boy who was much improved last season is once again a dummy. We Are Family If it were up to the Left, you could call your toaster “family.” A close-knit group of friends, while excellent, is not the same thing as family. Some families are good, and some are bad, but the Left wants nothing more than to destroy the very idea of family, and for years, one of their tactics has been to make the word meaningless. This group of friends begins to refer to themselves as “family” in this season.   Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (season 4) In Season 4 of  Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, the six teenagers—Darius, Brooklynn, Sammy, Yasmina, Kenji, and Ben—find themselves stranded on a new island run by Mantah Corp. This mysterious island holds secrets that they must unravel while facing new dinosaur threats. As they explore the uncharted territory, they’ll encounter unexpected challenges, forge alliances, and continue their quest for survival.     Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (season 4) INAPPROPRIATE ELEMENTS Sociopathic Murderer If the constant near-death scrapes with prehistoric beasts weren’t enough, Season 4 adds a sociopath who regularly subjects children to psychological torture (well, psychological distress, anyway). Did I Say Psychological Distress? One of the early subplots in this season is one of the teens dealing with extreme PTSD (you know, from narrowly escaping certain death on a daily basis for 6 months). When I Get That Feeling There’s a not-so-subtle amount of sexual tension between two of the teens.   WOKE ELEMENTS (season 4) The Diverse Diversity Is Diverse The main cast hasn’t changed. Whitey Be Trippin’ The white kid who started the show as a complete puss and then transformed into Rambo is now a weepy, frightened mess again. Guess Who Be Da Bad Guy Two new characters are introduced this season: the well-meaning but flighty gal scientist who happens to be black and the sociopathic narcissist who… you guessed it… is a white nerdy guy. How ‘Bout Your Sister And Me The continued push to replace the family with a group of randos continues. Dinosaur Lives Matter PETA must have written this season. After spending six months running and hiding from dinosaurs every single day, so much so that they all have nightmares and at least one suffers from PTSD, the group has a sudden epiphany that all dinosaur lives are as valuable as their own. They spend most of the season either running from certain death or complaining about the prehistorics’ treatment as little more than animals. At this point, they are virtually unconcerned with getting off the island and away from the creatures that cause them nightmares and debilitating trauma.   Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (season 5) In the fifth and final season of Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, the six campers—Darius, Kenji, Brooklynn, Ben, Yaz, and Sammy—face betrayals and twists. Kenji’s father’s true colors emerge as he manipulates Kenji and unveils his sinister plans to cockfight mind-controlled dinos. The campers must band together to save the dinosaurs and secure their own survival.       Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (season 5) INAPPROPRIATE ELEMENTS PG is For Children Ages 8-12 If dodging deadly dino attacks every few minutes while watching countless people get eaten (some of whom were also actively trying to murder the young teens) wasn’t enough, this season introduces psychological torture administered by a sociopath as likely to use his robot army to tear the kids apart or enslave them as he is to play video games with them. Emotional Abuse Kenji’s father is an emotionally distant man who uses his son’s desire for approval as a cudgel, regularly passive-aggressively putting him down so that he can manipulate him into working for him.   WOKE ELEMENTS (season 5) Isla Sáfico They waited for 5 seasons before even hinting at it but get ready to swallow the rainbow. The pink-haired girl now has two dads, as we discover in an unnatural conversation that exists only to let us finally know this fact within the first episode’s first few minutes. Once the homosexual dike springs a leak, it doesn’t take long to burst. From then on, we get to spend vast swaths of each episode hearing about Yaz’s confused feelings, that is, until Sammy, who has never hinted at having feelings for anyone on this children’s show, bursts out with affection for her. After that, we are reminded about every five minutes that they are girlfriends, including multiple passionate liplocks. What’s worse is that the show goes out of its way to let the audience know that the 15-year-old Yaz has only ever been attracted to boys and is just now experiencing these confusing feelings – feelings that her friends are only too happy to affirm and push as exciting and normal. It is an absolute grooming episode.

The Mad Max franchise, created by George Miller, is a series of post-apocalyptic action films that began with “Mad Max” in 1979, starring Mel Gibson. The series is known for its high-octane chases, dystopian landscapes, and innovative stunts. “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015) introduced the character Furiosa, portrayed by Charlize Theron, a fierce warrior seeking redemption and freedom. Furiosa Starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is a 2024 post-apocalyptic action-adventure film that serves as both a spin-off and prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road. The movie follows a young Furiosa, abducted from her homeland, as she navigates a battle between warring factions in a desolate world.   Furiosa Review The technical achievements of many modern sequels, spinoffs, and reboots vastly outstrip those that came before. No series of films better exemplifies this than the Alien franchise. Yet, with budgets that dwarf those of the originals by a hundred million dollars (even after they are adjusted for inflation), Prometheus, Alien vs. Predator, and the like are utterly generic, with characters no one remembers and plotlines better forgotten. Conversely, Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley remains legendary nearly fifty years after the release of the original Alien. The reasons for this are enough to fill pages. Suffice it to say that films like Alien, Predator, and Mad Max were creative pieces filled with compelling characters about whose well-being audiences cared and original villains and environments that piqued the imagination. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for most of their grandchildren. 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road, while an imperfect film that focused far too little on its titular character, was unique in modern sequels in that it built on and even improved on many aspects of the original. Those who watched were treated to some of the most exciting and viscerally provocative visuals since the first Matrix. However, the charismatic performances and easy chemistry of its central trio of characters are what kept the audience grounded and engaged with the relentless high-octane action. Tom Hardy, who played Mad Max, could make a C-SPAN transcript seem captivating, and Academy Award winner Charlize Theron is no slouch. However, Nicholas Hoult’s full-bodied transformation into a zealot-turned-traitor whose naivety and relative innocence were the surprising emotional glue for the picture. Despite its over-the-top action and relentless explosions, audiences found themselves invested in the main trio and their flight from tyranny, even if the dialogue was minimal and the plot thinner than mountain air. Fast forward to today. Taking audiences from her childhood all the way to the events that initiated Fury Road, Furiosa is less compelling than even the narrative acid trip that was Beyond Thunderdome (at least that gave us Master Blaster). This is largely thanks to director George Miller’s excruciatingly slow pacing and the film’s bloated 5 Act structure. Its two prologues (yes, there are two) are each longer than a Catholic Easter Vigil and provide such needless and redundant info that it’s difficult not to drift to your favorite app while watching. The frustration is that Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga has a number of interesting ideas and plot points that are maddeningly underdeveloped and used more as excuses to move the action along and to get characters to where they need to be than as organic storytelling components. For instance, three strongholds are within driving distance of one another in the Wasteland, each possessing something the other needs to survive. When Chris Hemsworth’s Dr. Dementus gains control over one of them, it throws their balanced symbiosis into chaos… at least that’s what we are told. Really, it’s just an excuse to keep him out of the way and in one place long enough for Furiosa to grow up and still know where he is when it’s time for his part in her story to continue. With all of this, the film’s almost crippling weakness is its lead character. Ostensibly, Furiosa would like to get revenge on those who caused her pain at an early age, but she seemingly has no plan or will to act until a lifetime of happenstance places her within striking distance of those who wronged her. Instead, she’s a virtual non-entity for much of the film. When she is finally arbitrarily promoted from Faceless Nobody who’s excellent at everything to Ill-defined Somebody who’s excellent at everything because it says that it’s time in the script, audiences will likely not care. None of this is helped by the character’s almost complete silence throughout, nor the way in which she expresses her pain. Fury Road was an almost tactile experience that tapped into the primal core of every man, whereas Furiosa’s silent weeping sucks the energy out of scenes. In a recent interview, Miller patted himself on the back while informing a reporter that the two actresses who play Furiosa have only 30 lines between the two of them in this two-and-a-half-hour movie. If those she interacted with were mildly interesting characters who filled the silence, or the action leading up to her promotion and final showdown were meaningful, this wouldn’t be such a big deal, but except for Chris Hemsworth’s Dementus (who is painfully absent for three-fifths of the film), there is no one who says or does anything that anyone cares about. There’s an attempt to introduce a love interest for Furiosa, but he and Taylor-Joy have as much chemistry as a broken Bunsen burner, and he comes off as a very poor man’s Mad Max. While competently filmed, the action seems like mostly perfunctory filler that establishes much of what was already and far more masterfully established in Fury Road. Furthermore, most of it feels redundant, repetitive, and recycled from both previous scenes and its predecessor (some of it actually is from Fury Road). Finally, there are several instances when large panning establishing shots and even many action pieces don’t entirely pass the CGI muster (I saw it in an XD theater. It could be that other cinematic experiences do a better job of hiding these imperfections.). Furiosa gets two things very right. The first is its unrelenting attention to detail. Every feature of the design feels authentically post-apocalyptic and organic to its surroundings, and the overall aesthetic is true to the previous entries. The second is Hemsworth. He swings for the rafters in every scene and is utterly unrecognizable as twisted Dr. Dementus. If you’re a Mad Max junkie, or you just want to watch some $#!t blow up, Furiosa might be worth a viewing, but if you’re not interested in an early draft of Fury Road that’s 45 minutes too long, maybe wait until it’s streaming.   WOKE ELEMENTS Mixed Chicks In Flicks There’s a very tiny amount of Hollywood-mandated diversity that makes very little sense based on the world of the film. It’s annoying, not because of the diversity, but because it feels out of place and artificial. However, I promise it is very little – just enough to make the filmmakers feel good about themselves. The opening scene shows a small society almost entirely made up of spindly armed supermodel women who also happen to be Amazonian-like warriors. However, the film never makes anyone into a “girl boss” that’s the physical match of men, much larger and stronger than them. Rather, they are excellent marksmen and riders (both of horses and motorcycles) and quick on their feet. This is another very brief sequence and almost not worth mentioning.

Dr. Ming Wang, an ophthalmologist based in Nashville, is renowned for his expertise in vision correction procedures such as LASIK and cataract surgery. With a background in both medicine and engineering, Dr. Wang is known for his innovative approaches to eye care, blending cutting-edge technology with compassionate patient care. He has earned numerous accolades for his contributions to the field and is widely respected for his commitment to improving vision and changing lives. Sight Sight is based on the true story of Dr. Ming Wang, an impoverished Chinese prodigy who became a pioneering eye surgeon in America. Starring Greg Kinnear and Terry Chen, the movie follows Ming as he confronts the trauma of living through China’s violent Cultural Revolution while restoring sight to a blind orphan.   Note from the author: Delivering the following review gives me no joy. However, I’m no good to you if I’m not always honest in my reviews. I continue to believe in Angel Studios’ mission and that they will continue to deliver quality content despite this mistep. Sight Review Since 2023, with the films Cabrini and Sound of Freedom, Angel Studios has begun to establish itself as a premiere conservative alternative for quality films. This makes it all the more heartbreaking that Sight is not one of them. While the subject matter and the real-life story of Dr. Wang’s life are poignant, Sight suffers in nearly every conceivable way as a film. Both Terry Chen and Greg Kinnear deliver dramatically better performances than the dialogue or direction warrant, but neither is enough to save this Hallmark-level offering. In a film plagued with problems such as amateurish dialogue, Sight’s most significant deficiency is its disjointed story structure and insistence on simultaneously telling what are essentially two disparate stories better told separately. As it jarringly transitions from Wang’s past to the present, it gives neither a chance to build momentum or breath. Whereas in The Blind, director Andrew Hyatt only occasionally hurt the film’s momentum with awkward and unnecessary cutaways to a more mature Phil Robertson discussing his life, Hyatt leans on the convention as a crutch in Sight and demolishes the pacing and the audience’s ability to connect with events. Certainly, some films successfully tell non-linear stories in which aspects from the past influence the future and enrich the narrative. Unfortunately, Sight isn’t among them. The “present-day” story of Wang’s breakthrough in optical surgery is a miracle of modern science, but the discovery itself consists mainly of the two leads doing research and expositing research. While the filmmakers attempt to infuse this with some drama and give a human connection, it largely fails. Conversely, Wang’s young life is one of trials and tribulations that explore the human condition through the prism of China’s Social Revolution. It offers moments both harrowing and touching that do nothing as flashbacks but would have made for a Cabrini-level experience told independently, with Wang’s breakthroughs better left as a title card at the film’s end. Ultimately, Sight is a swing and a miss for Angel Studios.   WOKE ELEMENTS None Blessedly Woke-Free

The history of science fiction films is fascinating and spans several decades. The genre emerged during the silent film era, with early attempts like Georges Méliès’ groundbreaking 1902 film “A Trip to the Moon.” This short film depicted a spacecraft launched to the moon in a large cannon, drawing inspiration from Jules Verne and H. G. Wells. Over time, science fiction films evolved, incorporating special effects technology and social commentary. Notably, Fritz Lang’s 1927 film “Metropolis” set in 2026, featured an autonomous robot, a dystopian society, and elaborate futuristic sets. Fast forward to the present day, and Netflix’s most recent sci-fi film, “Atlas,” stars Jennifer Lopez as a brilliant data analyst with a deep distrust of artificial intelligence. Atlas Jennifer Lopez plays the role of Atlas Shepard, a military intelligence officer who has spent years pursuing the intergalactic terrorist who murdered her family. Now, she finds herself in space overseeing a mission to capture him at his remote planet hideout.   Atlas Review Netflix’s Atlas is a mishmash of elements from sci-fi games, movies, and more that feels like a one-on-one tabletop role-playing campaign played by kids who’ve only seen women on TV over the last ten years. J Lo’s uninspired and overdone performance is only matched by her juxtapositionally overdeveloped yet uninteresting character. However, in fairness, she’s not helped by an equally bland and overlong script that runs out of ideas a third of the way in and wouldn’t exist were it not for epic levels of sloppy, ill-considered techno-MacGuffins that hold the film together like chewing gum. The film’s not all bad; Gregory James Cohan, who voices Jenny’s mech suit, Smith, does the impossible with such an inept script and brings his robotic character to life, making it not only the only sympathetic character but the only interesting one. Secondly, director Brad Peyton manages to keep the pacing lively despite the script’s many many weaknesses. As mediocre as Atlas is, it’s still better than Rebel Moon. It might even be worth turning on for background noise.   WOKE ELEMENTS Pronouns One of the sentient mech suits corrects Lopez’s character when she refers to it as “it.” The suit says, “My pronouns are she and her, not it.” J Lo corrects someone who refers to her as a “clever girl” with a “clever woman.” Virtue Signaling Casting The cast looks like a Target commercial, algorithmically chosen to maximize the filmmaker’s sense of pride in themselves. We’d Like To Teach The World To Sing The entire reason that the villain wishes to kill most of humanity is to “heal” it from mankind’s inability to live in peace with the world (i.e., we eat animals and abuse natural resources, etc.)

Since audiences first saw the words “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away” emblazoned in laser blue on movie screens worldwide in 1977, Star Wars has captured imaginations everywhere. Even with its divisive prequels, abysmal sequels, and mostly low-rent spinoff series, the spark from its core magic continues to burn in the hearts of generations of fans. It’s why, after years of abuse at the hands of Disney and Kathleen Kennedy, you’re here reading about their latest offering, The Acolyte, hoping but not really believing that the nightmare has come to an end and Star Wars has stopped drinking for good this time. Star Wars: Acolyte (S1:E1 & E2) Little Orphan Raggedy Ann and her very intimidating moptop are on a dark side-filled rage quest for revenge against the four Jedi Masters who betrayed her. Little does she know that her identical twin sister survived the fire that killed the rest of their family when they were children, and now the two find themselves on opposite sides, each looking for justice on their own terms.   Star Wars: Acolyte (S1: E1 & E2) Review The original Star Wars (eventually retitled A New Hope in 1981) was objectively imperfect. Some of its dialogue is rather cringeworthy, and some narrative elements are less than developed (ex: Luke being more upset over the death of a man he’s known for a few days than Leia is about the death of her entire planet, including her parents). However, its grand scale, fun characters, perfect score, and rousing story make it easy to overlook these imperfections and enjoy Episode IV and its two sequels for the epic and sweeping adventures they are. While the first season, and in a small part the second, of The Mandalorian managed to capture the scope and texture of the Star Wars universe unlike anything since the original trilogy, the unfortunate reality is that small screen Star Wars has been largely a bitter disappointment. The Book of Boba Fett was a mess, Obi-Wan Kenobi was a canon-busting disaster, and Ahsoka was an uninspired low-T vanity project. This brings us to the first two episodes of the fan-fiction cosplay that is The Acolyte. Between Kathleen Kennedy and Disney setting the bar so low with their slow, torturous murder of Lucasfilm, it’s difficult to be disappointed by this latest offering. From its ill-fitting Wookie costume to its charismas-vacuum characters and its laugh-out-loud dialogue, The Acolyte could be worse, but with an average budget of three-quarters of a million dollars per minute, it manages to eek its way to mediocre. No single element of the show can be targeted as the anchor that keeps it from achieving greatness. Instead, Star Wars: The Acolyte is wholly middling on every level. Amandla Stenberg, who plays the leads (yeah, you read that correctly), is as adequate a performer as anyone else in the program, but her flawless complexion and tiny tiny stature combined with the horror show that is her evil COVID-gator costume, ridiculous Rick James braids, and some truly horrendous dialogue relegate her to passable. Furthermore, there’s nothing about her pretty face or soft feminine physique that’s remotely menacing, or that speaks to a hard life of loss and pain. The Dark Side’s a hell of a drug. Stenberg isn’t alone; amid the Jedi Knight’s Abercrombie and Fitch robes and the poorly crafted story, no one’s performance exceeds sufficient. Accentuating the show’s general blandness is that no environment seems real. Everything looks like a set on a soundstage. Yet, most of these weaknesses could be overlooked if the fight photography and story structure weren’t so hackneyed. The fight choreography is structurally fine, if uninspired and derivative, but its timing is sorely lacking. So far, the fights lack the crispness to excel past the practice stage. Instead, you can practically hear the performers counting the moves in their heads (step, 2, 3. block 2, 3. 1st position, 2, 3. etc.), and everything has a waltz-like metronome count feel as a result. Moreover, its filming leaves much to be desired. Each physical conflict consists of dozens of cuts spliced together in the editing bay, ostensibly to help overcome combatant deficiencies. Additionally, its many nods to the original Matrix only serve to contrast The Acolyte’s underwhelming offerings with the intense training that each of The Matrix performers went through to look believable and natural. Perhaps the show’s greatest flaw is its story structure. Scenes consist of what the show incorrectly contends are heated battles or harrowing adventure beats followed by long and unnecessary exposition dumps that take the characters to the next heated battle and consequent dump. Plot twists are ruler-straight, and tension never builds, thanks to poorly handled character development and worse logic. In fact, the show seems to have no internal logic. Characters perform actions to either clunkily set up later unnecessary scenes or because someone thought they would look cool (they don’t), and The Force is an inconsistent MacGuffin machine used to help the writers out of the many narrative corners they paint themselves into. However, unarguably, the show’s most illogical addition (the single worst change to canon since Greedo shooting first) is the handling of lightsabers. Responsible gun owners are fully aware that you never point a gun at something that you aren’t prepared to destroy, but not even the most responsible gun owner has The Force to direct their aim. Despite decades of canon to the contrary, these Jedi “never arm their lightsaber unless they are going to kill someone” (except when they inconsistently do just that in multiple scenes). It’s a show mechanic designed for the sole purpose of letting the not-fully-trained villain fight toe-to-toe using three-inch knives against Jedi Masters. A single severed arm would have ended the series in its first poorly handled three minutes. With rumors swirling that pronouns will soon be Star Wars canon and that this series exists to somehow literally make The Force female, The Acolyte, is on track to do what the Emperor and Darth Vader couldn’t: destroy the Star Wars universe. Kathleen Kennedy and her all-female team wearing The Force is Female t-shirts. WOKE ELEMENTS White Boys Must Be In A Different Galaxy, Even Further Away There must have been a mass migration of whities in the intervening 100 years between The Acolyte and Episode I because there are few in the background and even fewer in the foreground. In fact, between two different Jedi temples on two different worlds, there are only two white male Jedi in either of the first two episodes (that’s a lot of 2’s), and one is on screen for two (another one) or fewer minutes while the other has one line and ***SPOILER*** kills himself rather than reveal a dark secret ***END SPOILER*** All The Single Ladies Kathleen didn’t put a chick in it and make it lame. She put all of the chicks in it. If you’re tired of three-foot-tall gal superheroes, you’d better watch something else. The Acolyte has been ratioed. On multiple occasions, the girl padawan, who is on her first mission, exhibits more maturity, composure, and wisdom than her full male Jedi Knight counterpart. Evil Moptop exhibits all the menace and rage of your average sofa cushion. She’s not a terrible actress, but her Noxima commercial-clear skin, generally soft features (not fat or anything—just soft—as a lady should be ;), and 5′ 3″ stature (the actress’s actual height) do not scream Dark Lord, and nothing in the script helps overcome the deficit. Instead, she’s your run-of-the-mill girl boss with unearned power and a chip on her shoulder. Good Moptop is nearly as underwhelming. Nothing about her looks hard or worn or suggests any life struggles. The Fatside of The Force The brave showrunners of Star Wars: The Acolyte have broken through the glass floorboards and given Star Wars fans the world over exactly what they’ve always wanted and needed to feel seen and safe and represented and equal and heard. I give you Obese Wanton Cannoli, Fatawan of the Jedi Order. Fatawan Obese Wanton Cannoli  

Adoption in the U.S. has evolved significantly since its early days in the colonial era when informal arrangements were common. The first modern adoption law was passed in Massachusetts in 1851, emphasizing the welfare of the child and the adoptive parents’ suitability. The mid-20th century saw a rise in international adoptions, particularly following the Korean War. Recent decades have focused on open adoptions, the rights of adoptees, and the adoption of children from foster care. Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot sheds light on the foster care crisis and encourages viewers to make a positive impact in their communities. Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot Inspired by a powerful true story, Sound of Hope tells the tale of a small-town pastor’s wife igniting a fire in the hearts of their rural church community in Possum Trot, East Texas. Theirs is a mission to embrace the unwanted children in the foster system, the damaged young souls who have been thrown away. Against all odds, this modest village in the middle of nowhere adopts 77 of the most broken children and proves that with God’s love and a lot of prayer, the battle for America’s most vulnerable can be won.   Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot – Review Some people in this world have harrowing tales of courage and bravery, and some whose selflessness and trust in Christ glorify the Lord so profoundly that their stories inspire generations. Possum Trot’s people are truly God’s children, and their good works surely please Him greatly. After the disappointment that was the mishandled Sight, Angel Studios has redeemed itself with another powerful movie about the soaring heights of human compassion. Sound of Hope succeeds not only in subject matter but on all cinematic fronts. Every actor gives a present and natural performance while delivering economic and organic dialogue filtered through the relatable experiences of the character’s extraordinary times. The result is that Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot is a grounded story that stays out of its own way. The filmmakers clearly understood the inherent power of this real-life drama and they let it unfold like beautiful music, allowing it to envelope the listener with rousing peaks of optimism and the desperate isolation of fear and doubt only to soothe audience’s wounds with the depth of God’s love and the power of giving over to his will. While it’s not without its flaws, for instance, the early narration is largely needed and a little heavy-handed, the flaws are nothing in comparison to what the filmmakers get right. Sound of Hope will reaffirm your faith and move you to tears of sorrow and joy. More importantly, it will move some to action. Whereas Sound of Freedom taught us that God’s children are not for sale, Sound of Hope teaches that God’s love can change the world.   WOKE ELEMENTS Zilch Woke free, and it feels so good.

  Bad Boys: Ride or Die FULL REVIEW COMING SOON   WOKE ELEMENTS Systemic Racism and Equal Opportunity Villains Not every white guy is a villain, nor is every villain a white guy, but white villains be trippin’. All of the top villains are white guys, and even the convenience store robber is a white guy. These racist villains, with their race-based glass ceiling, have no problem with “tough” gals in their paramilitary outfit. The ladies are all background noise. One has a couple of lines. It just looks silly.