thuganomics85

Yay, we got to my favorite Reacher trope: when a group of assholes try to act tough, Reacher practically begs them to just walk away, they naturally don't, and he disposes of them with ease. Richard's high school bullies will rue the day that they didn't listen to his words of wisdom! So, it turns out that Beck is working for this Gabe character (who might actually be Quinn?), and is mainly doing his bidding. Gabe was even the one responsible for Richard's initial kidnapping and loss of ear (and Paulie was the one who cut it off. Yikes!) It does sound like Beck was already doing some duplicitous things beforehand with customs and whatnot, but it really was just for his rug business, and it was Gabe who made him get involved with whatever else is going on. Still don't see a happy ending for Beck, but I wonder if this will lead to him at least doing the right thing at the end or having a "noble sacrifice" of some kind. Reacher seems to be getting set up with two potential love interests, with Duffy eyeing him shirtless (and more) and clearly enjoying what she saw, and this French maid that seems to be developing a bond with him. The DA's prisoner is clearly going to end up trying something and Eliot/younger agent will suffer for it. Reacher already getting himself likely promoted by killing Duke and making it look like a shootout gone wrong. I bet Paulie is going to love that!

Figured "Angel Doll" was going to eventually stick his nose in things and cause trouble, but I wasn't expecting Reacher to already take him out! Not sure how he's going to explain that away, unless his plan is to contact the DEA agents and have them clean the area and dispose of the body. Looks like Reacher's shipment of rugs was really just rugs and it was all a loyalty test, more or less. We'll see if Beck trusts him with the more nefarious assignments soon. First Neagley sighting of the season! Silly Reacher: you should know by that now that being cagey and dismissive of her getting involved is probably just going to make her even more gung-ho about assisting. Sounds like Beck really just the middle man/cog in the wheel and it's really this Quinn character that is running the show. Or maybe it will end up being someone else? I wonder if we'll see this Officer Grunert again. Especially if he brings Pfizer!

A little disappointed in myself that I didn't see the twist with the opening sequence coming. Really thought Reacher accidentally killed a cop and I was wondering how it was going to be explained away: plus him dealing with any emotional fallout. It all being a set-up made sense: especially since I thought he was acting colder and even more aloof than normal, but I now see it was all an act for the kid's sake. The DEA agents all seem one-note for now, but they have potential. Always great seeing Sonya Cassidy, even if her attempt at a Maine accent (I think?) didn't quite hit the mark. The younger agent reminded me a lot of the Newman character from The Fugitive film almost thirty years (with Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones), and I'm wondering if he'll have to same fate that character ended up having. Noticed Maria Sten is still billed as a regular, so I'm guessing Neagley will factor back in at some point. Anthony Michael Hall was having fun sliming it up as the likely big baddie of the season. Well, maybe not the big baddie in the physical front, because clearly that's the security guy that can somehow dwarf Reacher himself! Welcome back, Reacher!

I'm guessing it was the principal of the matter or whatnot, but considering that Eve mentioned she can literally create gold out of thin air pretty much, I'm not sure why getting a paying job was a necessity. But, again, I guess it was a case of neither she or Mark wanted to feel like they were cheating the system that way. I was wondering if we were going to see Machine Head again. Forgot how much he cracks me up. Jeffery Donovan + Autotune = apparently comedic gold for me. At least Titan seems to be free of the syndicate for now, but I imagine this isn't the end. Man, Multi-Paul's initial attempt to break out of prison was all kinds of messed up. Something bad is going to happen to either Rex or Rae now, right? Mr. Liu is resurrected already. The show really does avoid killing anyone off for good, with the exception of maybe one or two characters.

The White Lotus finally returns to do what it does best: bring us to a beautiful, vibrant location with breathtaking scenery, culture, and history, and watch a bunch of rich assholes squander this opportunity to better themselves or have a happy life despite their wealth. Never change! I obviously knew there was going to be some shady stuff with the Ratliff clan, but I was not quite prepared for just how insane it went. Sure, the mom seems to be popping pills like candy and the dad is clearly involved in something illegal and might be going down for it, but apparently we got ourselves a good old-fashioned Targaryen situation with the siblings! HBO and potential incest: there has never been a more popular pair post-Game of Thrones! Rick is clearly up to no good and pretty much personifies the mid life crisis douchebag, with the smoking, horrible Hawaiian shirts, greasy hair, and having a much younger girlfriend. Normally I'd ask what she sees in him (besides potentially being rich), but after I saw how many thirsted over The Ghoul on Fallout, I've learn to underestimate Walton Goggins' sex appeal at your own peril! Right now, the trio of friends seems to be the most shallow on the surface, but I think they could end up going in some interesting and surprising directions. I wonder if there will be more to Carrie c****'s character besides being just jealous over the other two's supposed success and lives? Another romance involving two of the staff members. Considering how those played out in the previous seasons, I don't have much faith on this ending on a good note. Glad that Belinda (and eventually her son) is here. She better make it out of this in one piece. On the flip side, fucking Greg! Of course, that asshole is still around, visiting various White Lotuses and has his own younger girlfriend. I wish the worst on him, but knowing how things tend to go, he'll probably keep popping up every season. Right now, Saxon is the contender of being the worst, but to be fair, with that name, he was pretty much destined to end up like this. On the other end, Chelsea (Rick's girlfriend) and Piper (the daughter) were probably the most likable outside of Belinda. Cast was great as expected, although Jason Isaacs' attempt at an Carolina accent was dodgy at best. But, hey, this won't be the worst thing he did to the Carolinas compared to his actions in The Patriot! Looks like the mystery this time is some kind of shoot-out that will lead to at least one dead body. So far, the most obvious sign is pointing to a potential confrontation between Rick and Daddy Ratliff who are already butting heads, but it really could be anyone. I also have to imagine that the poisonous fruit the staff member mentioned will factor in somewhere this season. Maybe the twist will be everyone dies this time (except Belinda, dammit!) Can't wait to see what crazy shit Mike White has plan this go around!

Well, as one of the biggest MCU apologist out there (even defending the likes of Eternals and Quantumania), I didn't think this was horrible as some were suggesting and I still found things I liked about it. That said, this really might be the closest to The Dark World in that it was kind of just dull on a lot of levels and almost felt like everyone was going through the motions. The look, the action, the dialogue and overall writing, the acting, etc.: nothing was horrid but it just had low energy all around. I really wonder how much of damage the reshoots did because it just felt like it was never on solid footing. The biggest issue was that it really did feel like it wanted to in the vein of The Winter Solider with all of the political intrigue, the hero at odds with the US government, and even a little mind control. But despite the potential of it all, I just felt like it didn't deliver like it should have. And then there was all of the stuff with President Ross. It really did feel like they reconed the character where we were suppose to find him to be a decent man who did questionable things that he believed was for the good of the world, instead of just a raging dick who made it his mission to thwart the Avengers at almost every turn. A lot of that probably is because Harrison Ford is just at the level of fame now where not many will buy him as a straight-up asshole like they did with William Hurt. But the character just felt half-baked and it was hard to get invested in it, which is a problem since he was such a major factor here. Also, definitely just nitpicking, but I found it hard to believe that someone like Ross would ever be elected President. Ignoring any actual political views, Presidents these days usually need some form of charisma or ability to play to the crowd (for better or worse), and I just don't see Ross pulling that off on any potential campaign trail. Realistically, he strikes me more as someone who would have been selected as a VP pick for a more charismatic presidential candidate. Kind of wish they did that and he became President after the original one resigned or died or something to that nature. Again, I know I'm thinking way too hard about that aspect but it kind of bugged me. Definitely think Anthony Mackie has been overly-criticized at times for not being Chris Evans, and I still think Sam has potential to be a great Captain America. Mackie did his best here, but the writing definitely let him down. Did enjoy his easygoing chemistry with Danny Ramirez/Joaquin. I swear, I love Giancarlo Esposito, but will Hollywood ever let him play a character that isn't the same one that it feels like he's been playing since Breaking Bad? Great seeing Isaiah Bradley again. Carl Lumbly is a treasure. The Ruth Bat-Seraph character left almost no impression and seemed wasted here. Tim Blake Nelson was good as always, but Samuel Sterns' new look didn't quite work for me. Wish we had more Betty/Liv Tyler. I don't care if it is fanservice to end all fanservice: loved that they did bring in Bucky for at least one scene. Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan's interplay and chemistry can't be beat. Almost we see more of the duo in future team-up films. The visual effects weren't the best but I feel like they've been over hated as well. I've see so much worse: even in other MCU films. Do kind of respect that both Eternals and The Incredible Hulk were major factors in all of this. The franchise certainly isn't shy about involving their outcast films lately. So, yeah, disappointing and will probably fall short at the box office but, well, at least it ain't Secret Invasion a.k.a. probably the only MCU product I can safely say I didn't like/almost hated.

Mark knows that Cecil has the ability/technology to immobilize him, but still just bargains into the Pentagon like a wrecking ball instead of using any kind of tact. Yeah, Mark can be kind of dumb at times. That said, while he wasn't behind the droid Mark found, we do know they are spying on the Graysons by a different method. Debbie's new boyfriend is starting to look suspicious now! I guess it would make sense that the Immortal could end up being driven mad after centuries of living while others die around him, which would lead to him being a tyrant. One of the downsides to immortality, I imagine. Still, his need to rule the world and not just take himself out shows that a darkness and selfishness is always there in him. Interesting how quickly Mark was able to take him out once he wanted to. Mark (and Nolan) really are OP compared to the other heroes in the world. Mark and Eve's second attempt at a first date fails thanks to Mark's trip to the future, but at least they follow that with a nice sightseeing tour of the entire planet, and then end up in bed together. Did find it funny that Eve has the ability to make their clothes disappear, but kept her bra on. I guess she wanted to do that herself! Keep things spicy! Battle Beast! Glad to see him again. Love just how insanely powerful he is and getting Micheal Dorn to voice him is still one of the best casting choices in this show. Only question I have is how did he get imprisoned in the first place? Unless he went in willingly. Allen and Nolan have escaped and are kind of friends now! And Nolan just reveals that there are only fifty pure Viltrumites left in the galaxy, so it's not that far out of the realm of possibility to stopping them.

Heh, Mark gets a new suit now that he is no longer part of Cecil's squad, but now everyone thinks he's actually a different hero and refer to him as Invinciboy instead. That would actually check out if superheroes were a thing in real life. Damn, the Maulers might be done for finally. Granted, with this show, another mysterious clone is not off the table, but it was still wild watching villains who have been around since the beginning get dropped with ease. Oliver is dangerous! Despite his claims at the end, I really don't think he understands why what he did was wrong and even if the Maulers might have deserved it, it is easy to believe that a point will come where Oliver will see someone as a threat and try to kill them as well, but they actually don't deserve it. Hope Mark and Deborah keep an eye on all of that. I wonder if Amber's scene was a final send-off of some kind or if she's going to factor back in. Almost wondered if Art was recast, because his voice sounded really different, but that was still Mark Hamill apparently. Meanwhile Titan was voiced by someone who wasn't Mahershala Ali, but I didn't realized it until the credits. New guy did a pretty good job there. That voice at the end was Angestrom/Sterling K. Brown, right? I guess a variation of him is still around.

Finally got ourselves some Cecil flashbacks! Nothing too surprising there, but it helps explain why he is the way he is now. Almost wished we got a full episode of how he became king of that prison, because that had to involve a lot of work! As for his actions now, I suspect it will end with him being in the wrong and maybe even his downfall, but I don't think he's completely wrong about Mark possibly going off the deep end in some form. I don't think he'll end up like his dad, but he clearly has shown to have a temper and with that kind of power, it can really be deadly. The Guardians definitely took a big hit as almost all of them left after finding out the truth about Cecil, what he did to Mark, and who else he is working with, and that leaves them with just the Immortal, Black Samson, Dupli-Kate, Shapesmith, and a newly recruited Darkwing. Yeah, I guess we will see just how reformed that latter is.... Mark and Eve talk it out and it looks like they are now officially dating!

Invincible is back and promised us we won't have a long ass cap in between the season this time! Leave it to Amazon to somehow find a way to stretch out eight episodes to six months last season. Not surprised that despite the carnage last time, they pretty much walked things back and almost everyone is still alive. Even Dupli-Kate is still around since she had a clone stored away this entire time. Despite the brutality, this show rarely pulls the trigger on permanently killing a character. Mark finally asks Eve out, but might have already ruined things by revealing what Alt-Eve had said and now Eve wonders if Mark only asked her out because of that instead of having real feelings for her. Maybe William was on to something there, Mark. Recognized Simu Liu as the voice of Multi-Paul. Have to imagine this isn't the last we've seen of him. Oliver already has powers. So, Cecil is working/using both Darkwing and Dr. Sinclair as weapons, and Invincible is none too happy about it! Aww, Allen and Nolan are kind of becoming friends!

I had fun with it, but granted, I've been pretty lenient on all of the NuTreks and can usually find enjoyment in them despite being different/not reaching the levels of the original outings. Of course, I really can't complain about more Philippa Georgiou and Michelle Yeoh being her normal awesome self! I wonder if her being a big time Oscar winner now means the likely hood of an actual series is off the table, but I'm glad she at least came back here, and maybe we could get another movie or two going forward. Supporting cast was great as well. Omari Hardwick more than held his own opposite of Yeoh, Sam Richardson got some decent laughs, and it's always great seeing Kacey Rohl. Been a big fan ever since I first saw her as Abigail Hobbs on Hannibal. Bummed that Melle died because the actress played/voiced the lead character on the Star Wars: Outlaw game, and it's always fun when someone I knew from video games/voice work pops up on screen! The heist/mole stuff was fun, but pretty predictable. Knew that San was going to be alive because James Hiroyuki Liao has enough credits to not just play a character for one flashback sequences, and I knew Fuzz was going to be the mole due to whole "small alien being inside of a Vulcan android's body" concept. The Jamie Lee Curtis cameo at the end was unexpected. I wonder if she did that as a favor for Yeoh? Either way, mini-Everything Everywhere All at Once reunion!

Pretty good finale, although I guess they are banking/hoping to continue this series, since there are still a lot of questions to be answered. A little worried since the lack of buzz might mean it doesn't have huge viewership, but hopefully there is enough to at least give it another season to wrap up. If we do come back, I certainly hope we delve more into Jod's past and how he became who he was. Basically confirms he was trained by some kind of Jedi, but it sounded like it was kind of off the books more or less, and she/the Master did die in from of him after Order 66. Either way, he was an interesting antagonist here. So menacing and could certainly say and do horrible things, but there was always a sense he was holding himself back from crossing certain lines. Hell, he even seemed legitimately upset over the fake-out death with KB. Certainly helps that Jude Law gave it more than 100% here. Couldn't tell if any of the X-Wing pilots were cameos since that is usually what the Disney+ Star Wars series have done in the past. Glad they worked back Kh'ymm into things. SM 33 continues to be clutch: even if he's currently carrying his severed droid head around! At Attin sacrificing its shield at the end is certainly an interesting wrinkle. Along with the reveal that The Supervisor was an automation droid the entire time and is now taken out of commission. The planet is in for some interesting times! Hope this series comes back. Law and the younger cast playing the kids all did great jobs, and it was a fun little adventure.

Jod really isn't helping his image: ranging from executing his former boss in cold blood (to be fair, he isn't really a good guy at all either), to threatening to harm the kids' parents if they fall out of line, all the way to cackling like a madman once he sees (and feels) all of that gold. That said, the fact that he still seems to go out of his way to not harm the kids themselves despite his posturing makes me still wonder if a part of him is preventing him from being a complete monster. Still think he's mainly bad, but more in a self-serving pirate way and not actual Dark Side of the Force way. Definitely recognized Stephen Fry's voice as The Supervisor on the intercom. I wonder if we'll actually see him or; as others have suggested; he's been gone/dead for a long time and it's been automation running the show. Would explain a lot about this planet, frankly. Hopefully SM 33 is not down for the count. He's a droid: losing a head can be fixed! Curious to see how the finale plays out!

Doing drama first, I see. The Brutalist is certainly emerging as a contender, but damn! Over three and a half hours! Going to have to prep if/when I watch it. And I guess I need to que up Emilia Perez on my Netflix soon.

Telecast was probably always destined to go over, but Adrian Brody made extra sure we got there!