April TV Finales - Married at First Sight - Season 8

Australia's biggest show in 2021 is Married at First Sight. You may have heard of the toxic couple Melissa & Bryce or the fame hungry Rebecca & Jake?

If not you avoided the insane eighth season of MAFS. Yeah it's much better known around the office water coolers as MAFS

Samantha & Cameron, Booka & Brett, Coco & Sam were all destined to fail as couples however Alana & Jason had some serious sexual energy.

Joanne & James ended up rather toxic at the end whilst Belinda & Patrick were perfect reality TV gold.

Beth & Russell were random and never really stood a chance, whilst the main couple set up for success were Kerry & Johnny.

Georgia & Liam ended on a super sour note whilst Jaimie & Chris never really took off after there were questions (rightfully so after COVID) about washing their hands.

The show is ghetto AF and I have avoided it for the past seven seasons, however I got super into it around the midway point.

I missed a number of the early episodes but I saw enough dinner parties and drama to talk about the show like a seasoned viewer. Reality TV is king on network Australian TV. Maybe that is why so many of us are now drawn to streaming services. Disney is slaying, Stan is a great local option whilst Netflix will also pull a crowd.

MAFS had some serious duty of care moments towards the end, the contestants however should also know eight seasons in this show is a train wreck where your life may end up in disarray. However these Instagram influencers wannabes might not care either way now the final episode has aired.

MAFS will be back in 2022 for sure. The show was heads and tails ahead of its competition. Sadly the Amazing Race Australia or Dancing with the Stars have suffered due to the shows massive success.

So like wise people say. If you can't beat the masses join them. With MAFS I joined the masses to be included in casual workplace chit chat as I try and avoid the C word as much as possible. I mean Covid, not cunt.

April TV Finales - The Falcon & The Winter Solider

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is yet another miniseries from the streaming powerhouses Disney+. Netflix is sliding in new members, however Disney+ following the finale of The Falcon & The Winter Solider, killing it!

Based on the Marvel Comics characters Sam Wilson / Falcon and Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. The events of the series take place after the film Avengers: Endgame.

Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie reprise their respective roles as Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson from the film series. 

Also starring in the blockbuster series, Wyatt Russell, Erin Kellyman, Danny Ramirez, Georges St-Pierre, Adepero Oduye, Don Cheadle, Daniel Brühl, Emily VanCamp, Florence Kasumba, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier premiered back in March, 2021, running for a short and sweet six episodes.

It concluded just ahead of Anzac Day, so sorry for the last post. Above I linked to the great recap here on my favourite TV blog TV Line. 

They also have a load more The Falcon & The Winter Solider content. The series is also part of Phase Four of the MCU, with Loki coming soon to Disney+. Hawkeye is also set to air in 2021, making Disney+ hosting some of the biggest series in 2021.

With the Oscars flopping hard this week, streaming is officially the new king. With the main Oscar films extremely depressing, maybe the world is craving more Disney and Marvel escapism in their lives. The Falcon & The Winter Solider is a really great place to start, it's amazing TV.

Return to Cinema 2021 - Every Breath You Take

Every Breath You Take starring Casey Affleck (Triple 9), Michelle Monaghan (True Detective - season one) and Sam Claflin (The Hunger Games). Basic plot of the film is, a therapist finds his family life disrupted after the death of a patient, once her brother introduces himself.

While the twist is something my man saw coming, I was slightly surprised. It has had bad reviews which is sad as I actually had high hopes for this film.

Some of the dialogue was second rate, whilst Casey Affleck at times looked bored out of his brain.

The scenery in Vancouver is sensational for the filming. Yes it's set in Washington state, but from my year in Vancouver I could tell that beautiful scenery belonged to the city close to my heart. They even talk about holidaying in British Columbia in the film.

Every Breath You Take is an old school thriller with some sexy twists and psychological turns, however it does suffer from a poor script substandard casting.

The second half sees the film improve slightly, however I can only pass this one due to my high expectations. 2.5 Stars.

Return to Cinema 2021 - Mortal Kombat

Mortal Kombat is back in 2021! Starring Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Tadanobu Asano, Mehcad Brooks, Ludi Lin, Chin Han, Joe Taslim, and Hiroyuki Sanada.

This film serves as a reboot to the Mortal Kombat film series last seen in 1997.

Production for this HBO Max US title, took place in Adelaide, South Australia. So it looks like Australia is the place to film in 2020/201.

In Australia the film is rated R meaning younger audiences will have to sneak into cinemas or find another way of seeing the film. Now honestly I don't believe this film was that violent.

I have seen a lot worse, actually to be honest Nobody, the John Wick style revenge film was way more violent!

The fight scenes are well done whilst some of the biggest moves in the video games actually translate well on the big screen.

Mortal Kombat will not win any awards, however from the ending I really see a new film series being set up here. 

3 Stars

Return to Cinema 2021 - The Unholy

The Unholy is one of the first films I have seen filmed post COVID-19. One of the main killers of the big screen is the lack of quality films being consistently released at present. In 2021 there has been some stellar films. French Exit, The Father, The Dry, Promising Young Woman, Minari, High Ground and Penguin Bloom. But with the good comes the forgettable like Chaos Walking and Cosmic Sin.

The Unholy is neither good not bad.

A supernatural horror film written, produced, and directed by Evan Spiliotopoulos based on the 1983 novel Shrine by James Herbert. Starring the Walking Dead's most deadly bad guy, Negan AKA Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

There was some jump scares that got me, however over the film shot and based in Boston is a bit of a flop.

Released by Sony Pictures The Unholy has received generally negative reviews from critics. Here is a non professional critics panning too, 2 Stars. B Grade religious horror at best. For more scares check out The Nun.

Black Lightning Season 4 Returns with Painkiller

but more importantly it returns with hunk Aussie Alexander Hodge!

Returning after around a month off, Black Lightning or rather Painkiller is back for the remainder of season four. The final season.

However like Arrow last year, a spin off lead by Jordan Calloway as Khalil Payne / Painkiller could be in the works. Last year the Green Arrow and the Canaries aired as the second last episode in Arrow's long running story.

So with this episode dropping in viewers maybe Painkiller will also be passed on. The CW already has a packed roster for the 2021-2022 TV season with all major series (excluding the OG Black Lightning and Supergirl) returning for future seasons.

With Kung Fu following Walkers strong ratings, Kung Fu looks almost certain to return for a second season.

Jordan Calloway is handsome AF but I don't know if that will be enough to get this next DC series off the ground. Maybe Alexander Hodge however will save the futuristic looking Black Lightning off shoot.

April TV Finales - Pennyworth - Season 2

Pennyworth has not yet been renewed for a third season, however season two left the series wide open. Not only that by Alfred ain't that old dude serving Bruce Wayne just yet. 

The series finale has a sneaky "six months later" final moments in which (SPOILERS) Thomas Wayne and Martha Kane give birth to a girl, not BRUCE. They also get married.

Finally in the final scenes Alfred and the remaining main character lead a surge against the New Raven Alliance army.

It was an action packed 50 minutes of TV, also an inspiring season of a show I uncovered just as the first four episodes of this season aired.

I think season two was a little violent than season one, however there were still some fairly hairy scenes.

Waiting for a third season renewal will hopefully not be a long wait, I have a feeling this show is not done quite yet.