Weekly Streaming Recap: Week of January 6th, 2023

Willow Episodes 6 and 7 (Disney+): Honestly, these episodes have some of the worst effects of the show yet. I know I said I wouldn’t talk about it anymore after the last episode, but it can’t not be stated after this nonsense. Couple that with the fact that the action that is, at best lackluster, obfuscated behind relationship drama between two characters who have zero chemistry makes the whole experience just ridiculous.

National Treasure: Edge of History Episodes 4 and 5 (Disney+): Arguably bringing Riley back from the original National Treasure and National Treasure: Book of Secrets is a cool idea, however just having him there to decode a message while trapped in a room seems silly, especially when a pin pad puzzle was just used in the prior episode. Beyond that, the whole “someone is a mole” subplot is ridiculous because anyone with half a brain knew the target of the accusations was not the actual mole and the resolution feels rushed to the point that it should have just been omitted altogether. That said, Billie saving Jess from the incident at the Governor’s Ball is an interesting introduction that, based on past episodes and the movies prior, will probably lead to Billie teaming up with the protagonists and then turning on them at the last second.

The Bad Batch Season 2 Episodes 1 and 2 (Disney+): With the return of The Bad Batch, Star Wars continues telling stories about the rise of the Empire and the things that happened during the era that led to the rebellion as seen in the Original Trilogy. While Andor dealt with what happened that led to the rise of the rebellion, this season of the show is showing the propaganda campaigns that changed public perception between the Clone Wars against the separatists and the Galactic Civil War. Specifically, this show highlights how the conflict with the Confederacy is being portrayed, specifically that Serenno, home world of Count Dooku, was using the other planets to their own benefit. Changing that key context about it is coupled with Andor’s (and to a lesser extent, A New Hope’s) local control of systems so long as they can keep the people in line to make a situation where the (arguably rightful) claims by the Confederacy regarding taxation and overreaching control of the Republic over places that they don’t have a presence are heard by the new regime. That said, the episode itself is far less interesting than the world building subtext as it is just a self-contained Clone Wars/Rebels-esque heist episode.

Doom Patrol Episodes 5 and 6 (HBOMax): Much like Titans, this season of Doom Patrol has been split into two parts with season 4A ending with episode six. Moving Cyborg’s arc in this direction is a great decision because it seems like an entirely new direction for the character to let him be “cured” and not have his cybernetic enhancements. The transformation into teenagers for the team was a fun way to mix things up and allowed for further exploration of Jane, who just continues to be MVP for this season. It is not clear where the rest of the season will pick up but it will be exciting nonetheless.

This Week In Theaters:

A Man Called Otto: Tom Hanks stars as Otto, a severely depressed man who goes through his life hating everyone following being laid off from his job and his wife dying. He meets a new family that moves in next door that revitalizes him and makes him reconsider his life.

Plane: Gerard Butler stars as a pilot of a plane that goes down in a war zone. When all his passengers are taken hostage by insurgents on the island, he has to team up with a convict that was being extradited (Mike Coulter) to save everyone and bring them home.

Last Week At The Box Office:

Avatar: The Way of Water: $45 Million

M3gan: $30.2 Million

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish: $13.1 Million

A Man Called Otto (Limited Release): $4.2 Million

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: $3.4 Million