Cold Bananas Movie & TV Reviews
Reviews of movies, TV, comics and books by John Hansen, Michael Olinger and Shaune Redfield.
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watched the trailers of some notable summer movies so you don’t have to (but they are embedded here if you want to). Here are my thoughts on each, along with a “Go Bananas” Level (on a 10-point scale) of how excited I am for the picture:
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hese are the movies and TV shows I’m looking forward to in the new year:Continue reading “Movies and TV shows John is looking forward to in 2019 (Commentary)”
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n the tradition of legendary matchups such as “The Cape” vs. “No Ordinary Family,” “Almost Human” vs. “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and “Riverdale” vs. “Supergirl,” I ask the question on the mind of every fan of middle-of-the-road superhero television: Which is the less bad show – The CW’s “Black Lightning” or Fox’s “The Gifted?” Rather than go by gut feeling, let’s break down these sophomore sci-fi series by category.Continue reading “Which is the less bad show? ‘Black Lightning’ vs. ‘The Gifted’ (TV commentary)”
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t’s been a strange year for the “X-Men” Universe. “Legion” Season 2 and the excellent “Deadpool 2” came out, but those are peripheral stories. Two films – “Dark Phoenix” and “The New Mutants” – were pushed back to 2019, so no stories on the main timeline had been told since “The Gifted’s” (8 p.m. Eastern Tuesdays on Fox) first season ended in January. For me, this week’s Season 2 premiere, “eMergence,” is an exercise in “Wait, what happened again at the end of last season?” and “Oh yeah, I remember that guy.”Continue reading “First episode impressions: ‘The Gifted’ Season 2 (TV review)”
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n 2016, I begrudgingly acknowledged that “Deadpool” served up exactly what its fans wanted, even if it didn’t totally connect with me. I got much more into “Deadpool 2” – now available for home viewing – because it has great new characters and fun action sequences (including one that hits the sweet spot of being darkly, brilliantly funny). But quite possibly I have also adjusted to the rhythms of this type of comedy. (Note: This is a review of the theatrical cut, not the Super Duper Cut.)
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o a Google search for “Sequels that are better than the original,” and you’ll be busy for an afternoon, at least until you get tired of reading the 100th list that points out that “The Empire Strikes Back” is better than “Star Wars.”Continue reading “10 sequels that are WAY better than the original (Movie commentary)”
In the May 2018 Movies in Review episode, Michael reviews:
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ith “The New Mutants” and “Dark Phoenix” pushed back to next year, 2018 has gone from a massive year for “X-Men” fans to a more mundane year – although with “Legion” and “The Gifted” on TV and “Deadpool 2” hitting screens on May 18, we’re talking about First World Problems here. Before the “Deadpool” sequel breaks fourth walls nationwide, here’s a look back at all the “X-Men” Universe films, ranked from worst to first.(Updated in December 2018 with “Deadpool 2.”)
Continue reading “All 11 ‘X-Men’ Universe films, ranked (Movie commentary)”
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n the Summer 2018 Movie Preview episode, John and Michael each pick their “three to see” this summer.John’s Three to See:
Michael’s Three to See:
In the May 2018 Movie Preview episode, Michael previews: