45° and Moderate rain
The Mandalorian Season 3 Episodes 7 and 8 (Disney+): The seventh episode was definitely stronger than the finale, considering how much it is trying to thread the needle between the original trilogy and the sequels. The Thrawn tease is fantastic and sets up Ahsoka to be pivotal going forward. The finale has the moment with the destruction of the Darksaber that fits thematically because now Mandalore has been saved so using a symbol to decide who leads is no longer needed but it is still weird that Bo-Katan has never mentioned her sister that died during the Clone Wars and motivates her to become the ruler of Mandalore.
The Power Episodes 5 and 6 (Amazon Prime): The arrival of an almost real-world style dangerous group of extremists creates a kind of open antagonist for the last three episodes, which does shake things up quite a bit. Similar to the Intelligencia in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Urbandox (and real-world groups on the internet) reflects a group of people who feel threatened by women in power, however, here there is a concrete threat that could usurp the current paradigm and power structure that will be interesting through the rest of the show.
Judy Blume Forever (Amazon Prime): Much like Reggie, Judy Blume Forever is a competently made documentary about one of the most influential mid-grade writers of the modern era. The documentary does a great job of breaking down her life, how her life influenced her writing, and then how her writing influenced people all around the world. The testimony from various people who read her books makes the narrative land and the animated portions with voiceovers from the books bring life to her story in an interesting way.
Ghosted (AppleTV+): Ghosted is not the worst movie of the year, but it is definitely in the bottom five. It just does not work on any conceivable level. It is the first AppleTV+ dud, which is a shame because the service usually releases competently made content. Maybe if one is a fan of Ana de Armas or Chris Evans they can have some enjoyment from this but it’s like a run down version of last year’s The Gray Man.
This Week In Theaters:
Polite Society: Following its success at Sundance, Polite Society makes its debut in theaters. The movie follows Ria as she tries to stop her sister from getting married. It is a very entertaining action comedy that is worth viewing in a theater. For a full review, click here.
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret: As an adaptation of the iconic book, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret delivers a heartfelt look at the transition from childhood to adulthood with strong acting performances and a great score. For a full review, click here.
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi: For its 40th anniversary, the final movie of the original Star Wars trilogy returns to theaters for a week.
Last Week At The Box Office:
The Super Mario Bros. Movie: $58.2 Million
Evil Dead Rise: $23.5 Million
The Covenant: $6.3 Million
John Wick: Chapter 4: $5.8 Million
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves: $5.4 Million
Programming Notes:
This week marks the release of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, the follow-up to 2019’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. The game is only available on PS5, Xbox Series X, and Windows PC. Keep in mind the game has a pretty massive download size (about 140 GB) and the game is priced at the new industry standard $69.99. This week is also CinemaCon in Las Vegas for members of NATO (National Association of Theater Owners) to see what the studios will be bringing to theaters. This summer’s The Flash will be screened publicly at this time so first reactions are expected to surface this week as well as trailers for some of the major releases in the back half of the year including Dune Part II, Wonka, Ghostbusters Afterlife II, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
