Skyline, Beyond Skyline and Skylines

Don't look at the light!

Skyline

Attending a birthday party in LA turns out to be full of surprises for Jarrod (Eric Balfour), the biggest one being that aliens decide to invade the very next day while everyone should still be having a hangover! Pity the aliens are in no mood for laughs as they send in hunters to catch those who eluded their opening, super effective vacuum cleaner attack. Never mind those poor saps, our unlucky protagonists are stuck in a posh penthouse of a huge building. Whatever should they do?

Silly decisions and bad luck drive the script at this point but you know what? It's still quite entertaining in a B-grade horror type of way. Most importantly, it sets up for the next movie. I just hope you enjoy your popcorn with cheese. Two fire doors out of five. Strangely I think I would watch this again!

Beyond Skyline

Set at the same time as the first movie (which is fortuitous as it means they can reuse CGI shots from last time), this one follows a group led by Mark (Frank Grillo) who is put through the wringer when the aliens arrive. Combat experience, iron will and a ton of HP from our main hero makes this a far more action orientated outing, especially in the surprising second half which randomly features some pretty good martial arts.

All up a better flick than its predecessor, though you might get confused if you don't watch that one first. This one gets three wrist blades out of five, and yep - I'd watch this one again too since I'm a Frank Grillo fan. The blooper reel during the credits is worth sticking around for.

Skylines (or Skylin3s)

What happens if you didn't watch  the first two movies first...

I sure hope you watched those first two movies before attempting this, otherwise you'll be reliant on the info dump narrator at the start to understand what's happening. Also, the aliens have learned to speak growly alien-english now so you'd best have those subtitles turned on as Rose (Lindsey Morgan) is recruited to travel to an alien planet to find a cure for an illness spreading on Earth.

While this movie leans heaviest into the Sci-fi genre of all three it still randomly features some epic martial arts sequences which always get thumbs up from me. The plot is way more flaky though, and I'm not sure they really needed all the "meanwhile back on Earth" segments which feel like filler. Two and a half tentacles out of five. Again stick around for the blooper reel, and yes I think I'd watch this one again too!

State of Decay 2: Team Fortress

[Part of the Diary of Zombies]

As the sole survivor, Goose becomes the defacto leader of Team Fortress and recruits Doctor Drew, hard nose Mia, Len, and ex-con Bryson in the continuing battle against the plague hearts. Alas Bryson is killed by a feral after destroying his target and Len falls to the same southern fast food heart that Maddie did. They are replaced by Aaron, Adriana, Sera and old Mary who learn from past mistakes and successfully clear all remaining hearts from the map!

It's safer to attack plague hearts from outside if possible.

During this time, Goose also befriends a representative of "The Network", a large commune of cooperative individuals on the radio as well as an odd group that sells "mystery meat". While this meat isn't so mysterious to her, at least they are sociable enough unlike the numerous zombies all over the place and she lets them stay - taking two of them and Doctor Drew as backup when the inevitable bandit invasion arrives.

While the two cannibals are killed against the bandit scouts, Goose works out the bandit base location then makes good use of noise makers and stereos to let zombie hordes do most of the work. She and Drew then chase the remaining three survivors to the rooftop where it comes down to good shotgunning and taking cover to win the day. With that her legacy is secured (map victory)! She only can hope that the other away team (now going into the Nightmare zone) finds less losses than she did to achieve it.

Insight: One feral seems to consistently spawn when attack plague hearts on this difficulty and above so look out! Also if you are in a non exploded but upside down or on the side car - keep driving and turning, somehow the vehicle will right itself.

Spectral Travelers Batman Ninja

Two movies and a TV show where weird things happen!

Spectral (2016)

Having strange encounters with spectral beings in war torn Moldova, the US Army brings in a specialist engineer (James Badge Dale) to help investigate the phenomenon as it soon proves deadly - a trait befitting that of a horror movie. Only it's not really that scary. Given that it can't even be seen without special gear (great way to save on the FX budget btw) makes some serious scenes hilarious. The plot demands some stupid decisions too, even from the entities that fail to realize their full abilities.

I do have to give credit to the entity design though in that it is a unique one, and for all my dissing above it is actually a pretty entertaining movie. If you like the combination of horror and war, this will probably be right up your alley. I give it two and a half cameras out of five. Not sure I'd watch it again though.

Travelers (TV Show)

When the only way to try prevent a grim future for humanity is time travel, you know things are going to get strange really fast. The writing is superb and we found each episode to demand our full attention, not because our brains were melting trying to connect the pieces (though there is some of that) but more because we really loved all the characters and each mini-cliffhanger just wanted us to hit play on the next one.

It's now easily one of my favorite shows.

This is how you make an epic TV show. I only wish there were more than three seasons of it! Highly recommended to everyone, even those who aren't of a sci-fi slant. I'd would watch this entire series again and give it five messengers out of five.

Batman Ninja

When Grodds time machine sends Batman and a number of other well known Arkham regulars back to ancient Japan crazy hijinks ensue. How can Batman possibly survive as his toys run out? How did the Joker get so good at close combat? How much more absurd can the story get? Well, I can definitely answer the last one: A lot more absurd.

With most of the best story arc in act I, it only gets worse from there and it is surprisingly reflected in the art: mostly it is realy stylish high quality CGI but there's a segment in the middle where its like they ran out of budget and just went with line drawing, crayons, and stills. Why? It's not even one of those 10 second comedy bits that Japan likes doing. It's an entire segment that actually matters to the ridiculous story. All up, even as a Batman fan I disliked this one and give it one banana out of five. Not recommended as it just makes a monkey out of Batman.

State of Decay 2: The Dread Zone

[Part of the Diary of Zombies]

Des, Goose and cowgirl Maddie head to the dread zone and setup camp at a Firewatch tower. Since this is a higher difficulty than previous wins, the boons from the previous leaders cannot be used to help them forcing them to start from scratch. It is instantly obvious how much less stuff there is in each location, and how conversely there are far more zombies, plague hearts and a high infection rate. A plague juggernaut is even sighted right on day one but thankfully the girls can easily avoid it as they find fuel and tools to repair the initial vehicle they arrived in.

This car doesn't last long as when Des helps neighbor Casey to confront some thieves, Casey is killed, the car exploded and Des brought near death before a horde of plague zombies actually save her from the enemy shooters. The other two manage to hike and find a replacement vehicle (two actually, after a horde accident destroys the first). Des then takes on the first plague heart with molotovs as per usual and while she succeeds in destroying it, she also burns to death in the process.

Due to this loss Maddie recruits locals Yolanda and Taylor before moving base to a fortified truck stop. She also tries recruit Sharon who is hunting a southern plague heart at a fast food place. Unfortunately it is Sharon and Maddie on the menu as they are ambushed by hordes of hungry zombies. The other girls attack a different plague heart and while Yolanda's sword skills are awesome she still perishes to the hands of a feral. Goose finishes off that heart and takes a badly wounded Taylor back to the truck stop. Alas, Taylor now has the plague and without any remedy (rare to find samples on this mode) - Goose decides to euthanize her instead.

Bullets can also be the cure.

Insight: At this difficulty you should try avoid hitting things with your car, as not only are they great transportation devices but if you stand on the roof most zombies can't get to you. This is your safe spot for attacking plague hearts visible from the street, a lesson I learned during this play through.

The King (2019), Outlaw King & Kingdom (Korean TV Series)

People with heavy heads.

The King (2019) (geez so many movies have this title, putting the year is mandatory!)

Prince Hal (Timothée Chalamet) has no desire to be king or to war with anyone, but despite his best intentions fate has other plans for the young prince. Especially since this is basically a war flick! That said, the story and acting is decent and the fighting scenes are cramped, dirty, messy "do what needs to be done" type which is probably more realistic than flashy displays of swordsmanship.

I'm also glad they didn't try force a love story in there for the sake of it, this way we can just focus on Hal's growth and all the people influencing it. Good movie and one I can recommend. I give it three and a half Dauphins out of five and would probably watch it again.

Outlaw King

The English have all but conquered Scotland as the remaining nobility including Robert the Bruce (Chris Pine) bend the knee to King Edward I. Anyone that knows history though can tell that Robert doesn't bend the knee for long and instigates a rebellion. While the action bits are good and the opening is one of the best I've seen in a while, later cuts are very strange but keep the film moving at a reasonably fast pace.

Not a great title nor promo pic, but an OK movie.

There's a fair bit of singing too as I suppose was the way back then, but there's actually enough to make mention of it. All up this film is better than what I thought it would be but could have been better still. Give it a watch and see if you like it - especially if you've watched Mel Gibson's Braveheart recently. I give it two and a half bogs out of five.

Kingdom (Seasons 1 & 2) & Kingdom: Ashin of the North

During the time of swords and funny hats in South Korea, the cure to "save" / revive their dying king quickly turns into a pandemic... of zombies! This one surprised me in that a) it is a period piece and b) they found a way to make their zombies unique. It also helps that the action scenes are very good and the secondary plot of succession helps move things along when the zombies don't. Definitely recommended for zombie fans to try out!

Ashin of the North is a prequel to the tale, and while it is decent there are more holes in the plot and much fewer zombies. If you enjoyed Kingdom then by all means you should broaden the world building by watching this. Otherwise you can probably skip this and not miss out on much, should a season three ever arrive.

State of Decay 2: Hamlet Squad

[Part of the Diary of Zombies]

Despite all their talk, Rev maintains her leadership and finds more ammo thanks to the assistance of Red-Talon over the radio. David and Little Joe join her army and warn about an opposing army entering the area and much like the bandits that Val dealt with - Rev takes Joe to get information from their scouts (violently) then attacks the stupid leaders who unlike the bandits, have no backup and are meeting in a shed? Rev softens them up by luring a speedy feral into them before executing the trio to secure her legacy (map victory).

"Tell me what I want to know and I'll shoot!"

A trading team named "Hamlet Squad" composed of squidman Dan of "Team Humanity" and "Stragglers" Lory and Beth are then sent to Meageher Valley where the starting house is AGAIN almost a carbon copy of the other starting houses. Lazy much? Dan is elected leader while Team Sanctuary again provides utilities Team Humanity delivers a HUGE stockpile of weapons, ammo and grenades (benefit of winning as warlord) to them. This, along with the fact that pretty much every neighboring enclave is some form  of military group, makes the plague hearts in the region a piece of cake.

Squidman Dan wastes no time in recruiting soldiers Zeb, Rocio, Hailey and Kraken and establishes a trade summit among all the remaining soldiers. Some idiot thieves try to crash the party and get themselves killed easily. The zombie horde that comes to checkout the gunfire afterwards takes longer to clear out but are not a problem for a room full of armed and trained soldiers (on this difficulty). Once Zeb and Dan kill the final juggernaut in melee, the summit is a success and Dan secures his legacy (map victory). These successes have let the survivors expand the territory greatly, but now find their borders next to zones where the blood plague is more intense.

Insight: Trader leaders seem to be rare, and that's possibly because their legacy quests are super easy. Also without fail, every single game one survivor is going to have a prepper aunt whose quests eventually provide a jeep and a .22 silenced rifle.

F9 (Fast and Furious 9) and The Suicide Squad

A contrast of what to do with large casts.

F9 (Fast & Furious 9)

Plot armor front and center.

Dominic Torreto's (Vin Diesel) quiet life is interrupted when his crew come to him for help on an urgent mission which involves a lot of vehicles, explosions, and a few decent fight scenes. Plot wise though... the writers must have looked at the previous movies and said "how can we make this even more ludicrous?" They succeeded.

Gangsta's in space yo

Almost nothing makes sense in this film so if you watch it, it is purely for the spectacle of the action scenes and to see them use the "oh this character isn't actually dead" again trope which they've already previously done. Much like bloat of superhero shows these days if the writers are braver in pruning characters (especially favorites) I think it would make for a stronger series. As it stands I don't think I'd give it a second viewing and score this two space cars of five.

The Suicide Squad

A high death count makes for a great movie.

They're a fun bunch!

Much better than the previous Suicide Squad, this movie again throws criminals with special abilities into an important yet dangerous mission in a foreign country. It is funny, gory, violent and very entertaining. The main crew are quite likeable this time around, and surprisingly it is Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) who seems to be the odd-girl out with an unnecessary side plot but she is fantastic as usual so I'll let that slide. Not much else to say other than I highly recommend it and would definitely watch it again! Four starfish out of five!