Autumn TV Finales - Servant - Season Three

Servant served up one hell of a season finale! Lives in the balance, a stair case push/fall? It was a big final episode ahead of the fourth and final season next year.

Created by Tony Basgallop and executive-produced alongside M. Night Shyamalan, season three has just wrapped up on Apple TV+.

Lauren Ambrose from Six Feet Under stars along side Toby Kebbell, Nell Tiger Free and Rupert Grint.

The ten-episode fourth and final season will hopefully land early 2023 similar to the last two seasons. Its actually enjoyable watching a 30 minute horror/thriller season week to week.

This season has whizzed past. It really went super fast from its debut back in late January.

Will the park people finally get answered in the fourth season? What on the earth will be the end game for baby Jericho?

So many questions ahead, so many M. Night Shyamalan vibes throughout the season.

Apple TV+ will see one of its longest running series concluded next year. With an ever building line up of series coming to Apple TV+ it could be in the streaming game for the long haul.

You can check out seasons one - three now on Apple TV+. Its raining again so have a binge why don't you?

For a more in-depth recap, head HERE

The Masked Cinema 2022 - X

X is the latest slasher film written, directed, produced, and edited by Ti West. Before the blood starts to flow. We follow a cast and crew who gather to make a pornographic film on an old couple's rural Texas property but get caught and find their lives at risk. 

Starring Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, Martin Henderson, Brittany Snow, Owen Campbell, Stephen Ure, and Scott Mescudi. 

Martin Henderson is on home soil as the film is filmed in NZ, while Scott Mescudi AKA Kid Cudi shines as the porn star with a rather large....

The film received critical acclaim, with praise aimed towards the homage to classic slasher films.

In March 2022, it was revealed that a prequel film was shot back-to-back in secret with the first film.

Written and directed by Ti West, photography took place in New Zealand, and upon official announcement was already in the post-production stage. 

Goth will reprise her role as a younger-aged Pearl. A24 produced the project, with Jacob Jaffke, Harrison Kreiss, and Kevin Turen serving as producers, and West, Goth, Mescudi, and Sam Levinson to executive produce.

Pearl, will be set during WWI in 1918 and explores the origins of Pearl, the villainous character from X. The events take place prior to the previous film, and explore how the cabin, where the "massacre of X" takes place, was once used as a boarding house during the war.

I enjoyed the film, violent, camp, 70's porn vibes. It continues a long running number of horror films making it to the cinema of late.

I enjoyed this trip to the cinema. It both was sexy whilst being gory (but not to gory). I am not sure this will top box office records or win awards, however it was a decent film. 3.5 Stars.

Autumn TV Finales - The Afterparty

The Afterparty concluded at the start of this month. I basically binged it in between all the other American series that have recently been returning, coming back from lengthy breaks or just plain hitting the Australian streaming platforms.

This latest series aired on Apple TV+. Early March, 2022, the series was renewed for a second season.

The series takes place at a high school reunion after party with each episode a different character's perspective of what happened that night.

Take a look at the trailer below.

Tiffany Haddish leads an all star cast of Sam Richardson (Veep), John Early (Search Party), Ben Schwartz, Ike Barinholtz, Ilana Glazer and Dave Franco.

Upon the second season renewal announcement, it was reported that Haddish is set to reprise her role as Detective Danner, but a new cast of suspects for the second season.

I will give season two a go. Halfway through the season I found myself playing with my phone a little more than I was at the start of the eight episode run.

It was a super easy watch. Along with Servant (concluding Friday) Apple TV+ are really starting to churn out the content right about now.

The Afterparty might not be as gossip worthy as MAFS however it's a little distraction from ScoMo, Floods, War, Killer flies, the Rona year III etc etc

The Masked Cinema 2022 - Dog

Sweet movies don't come along everyday, so when they do, rush out and seem them. With everything going on in the world, sometimes it's nice to zone out, unplug, get out of the 24/7 news feed and head back to the The Masked Cinema.

So in NSW masks are not required at the gym, however if you are in Mark McGowan's WA, you must still mask up. So my series for films in 2022 is still kind of relevant as we head out of the first quarter.

So what did I see on this sunny Sunday? Sunny on Sunday in NSW? What?

Dog is my first road film in quite some time. I lost my dog several years ago, so I was hoping this wasn't too painful.

Spoiler alert it wasn't. It was actually sweet AF.

Directed by Channing Tatum and Reid Carolin, both making their respective feature directorial debuts. The film also stars Tatum as an Army Ranger who must escort the dog of his fallen commander to the funeral.

Tatum also solo stars along side Lulu in this film. U.S. Army Ranger Jackson Briggs (Tatum) is tasked with bringing Lulu (Tatum almost solo stars alongside Lulu throughout the duration of the film), a Belgian Malinois military working dog, down the Pacific Coast from Joint Base Lewis–McChord in Washington to Nogales, Arizona, in time to attend her handler's funeral. 

Along the way, Briggs has to come to terms with his post-traumatic stress disorder as well as his difficulty with making emotional connections.

It received generally positive reviews from critics and has grossed over $59 million against a budget of $15 million. Which in the current streaming VS cinema world, is a box office hit.

2022 has been a rocky year for film. Few have impressed me (although the Batman was fun) so for this sweet, tender film, I was hooked. In my eyes this could be Channing Tatum's best work.

3.5 wholesome stars.

Autumn TV Finales - The Cleaning Lady (American TV series)

The Cleaning Lady is really a no brainer for a season season. The FOX drama is based on the 2017 Argentinian television series La Chica Que Limpia. The series commenced early January, 2022. A brief ten episode season run basically ran straight through the end of the Australian summer.

The Cleaning Lady is a drama that centers on Thony De La Rosa, formerly a Filipina medical doctor who is currently working and living in Las Vegas. Her reason for being in the US on an expired visa is her five-year-old son, Luca. 

Luca has a rare and life-threatening medical disorder for which he needs a cutting-edge bone marrow treatment, which is only available in Las Vegas. Until she gets treatment for her son, 

Thony makes a living not as a trained doctor but as a cleaning service worker, alongside her sister-in-law, Fiona. After Thony accidentally witnesses a serious crime and is discovered hiding by the perpetrator, Arman Morales, she is offered a job both as a cleaner and a doctor within their criminal organization that could pay well enough to help her son and her family. 

Crossing into a moral gray zone, Thony begins to live a double life, keeping secrets from her family, all the while cleaning up murder scenes and dodging the law.

The season ends with a family cliffhanger along with tidying up a few loose ends. I enjoyed the finale along with the entire ten episode run.

Élodie Yung as Thony De La Rosa is a great leading lady. The story of helping her son, mixed with crime on the side was an interesting mix.

The Cleaning Lady has aired week to week on Binge. This is a little gem amongst some of Binge's other bigger titles.

So if you are looking for a new drama to consume now Euphoria has ended, give The Cleaning Lady a red hot go.

Until next time, here is a full recap along with the season two gossip!

Autumn TV Finales - Pam & Tommy

Pam & Tommy based on that tape, featuring Pamela Anderson and Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, played by Lily James and Sebastian Stan. James is exceptional, Stan is equally great, however the 8 eight miniseries belongs to James.

The miniseries chronicling the marriage between actress Pamela Anderson & Tommy Lee, during the period their unauthorized sex tape was made public. 

Based on the 2014 Rolling Stone article "Pam and Tommy: The Untold Story of the World's Most Infamous Sex Tape" by Amanda Chicago Lewis.

The first three episodes of Pam & Tommy premiered on Hulu (Disney+ in Australia - honestly Disney for a story about porn WTF?) on February 2, 2022.

The eight episode run of Pam & Tommy depicts the turbulent three-year marriage between Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee, with particular emphasis on the theft and illegal distribution of an infamous sex tape the couple recorded privately during their honeymoon.

The theft by Rand Gauthier (Seth Rogans first role for a while, or maybe I have missed some of his work) was a part of the story I never knew. As a horny teenager I remember vaguely seeing it on the dial up internet or somewhere.

It's crazy to think how viral some things have gone in the past, compared to now. This would have been up on Porn Hub in a matter of minutes in 2022. The series has a wonderful 90's soundtrack whilst concluding with Dolly's version of I Will Always Love You. Sweet. Very sweet.

It really was an interesting love story between Pam and Tommy. The series was enjoyable for the most party whilst equally confusing this was on Disney+ in Australia.

I can't believe the miniseries is done and dusted. It's been a busy few weeks of TV with a number of series returning. Kung Fu today on Binge, Shining Vale starting on Binge this week with a double episode and The Walking Dead really stumbling all the way to the finish line of the series. Whilst already announcing one spin off. Another is apparently coming in 2023. This time Negan and Maggie. Oh boy!

Pam & Tommy is a fun, sad (for Pam) whilst an easy binge. Stream it all now. Welcome to Autumn y'all!

#RATED - Summer Slack (Dec-Feb) TV Finales

It's been a long, hot (at times), (extremely) wet, COVID isolated summer. So here are a number of series I regularly watched, concluded the season over summer (or just outside of the traditional Australian Dec-Feb summer months) season 2021-2022.

So this is a long ass list of BIG TV hits some shows have now concluded, there are a couple of TV movie wrap films. It's a bit of a mixed bag really.

So let's get it. Either discover your favourite show(s) aired over summer, you could have missed it. Or discover a brand new show via my recommendations. Or on the other hand avoid a show at the bottom of the list I wasted my time on, saved you the time on watching.

1. Somebody Somewhere - Season One (FEB 2022)
2. Total Control - Season Two (DEC 2021)
3. Love Me - Season One (DEC 2021)
4. Insecure - Season Five/Series Finale (DEC 2021)
5. Succession - Season Three (DEC 2021)
6. The Righteous Gemstones - Season Two (FEB 2022)
7. Bump - Season Two (DEC 2021)
8. Gossip Girl (2021 TV series) - Season One (DEC 2021)
9. After Life - Season Three/Series Finale (JAN 2022)
10. PEN15 - Season Two/Series Finale (DEC 2021)
11. Yellowstone - Season Four (JAN 2022)
12. Emily in Paris - Season Two (JAN 2022)
13. Batwoman - Season Three (Early MAR 2022)
14. Chucky (TV series) - Season One (DEC 2021)
15. 1883  - Miniseries, sequel series 1932 coming soon! (FEB 2022)
16. The Tourist (miniseries) (JAN 2022)
17. Cobra Kai - Season Four (JAN 2022)
18. Power Book II: Ghost - Season Two (FEB 2022)
19. Five Bedrooms - Season Three (JAN 2022)
20. The Book of Boba Fett - Season One (FEB 2022)
21. Hightown - Season Two (DEC 2021)
22. Dexter: New Blood (miniseries) (JAN 2022)
23. Queens - Season One (FEB 2022)
24. Euphoria - Season Two (FEB 2022)
25. Landscapers (miniseries) (DEC 2021)
26. Claws - Season Four/Series Finale (FEB 2022)
27. Wolf Like Me (miniseries) (JAN 2022)
28. Guilty Party (DEC 2021)
29. Ray Donovan: The Movie - Series Finale Film (JAN 2022)
30. Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas) - Series Finale Film (DEC 2021)
31. Firebite - Season One (FEB 2022)
32. Fistful of Vengeance - Wu Assassins potential Series Finale Film (FEB 2022)
33. The Sinner - Season Four/Series Finale  (DEC 2021)
34. The Walking Dead: World Beyond  - Season Two/Series Finale  (DEC 2021)
35. Legends of Tomorrow - Season Seven (Early MAR 2022)