Star Trek: Picard - Season One (2020)

Star Trek: Picard - Season One (2020)

10 episodes, approx 44-55 minutes each.

Firstly, the important date stuff: it's set in the year 2399, which is twenty years after the tragic loss in ST: Nemesis (2002). We're told that Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) has been retired from Starfleet for fourteen of those years. No longer trotting through the stars on impressive starships, he resides now at Chateau Picard, overseeing the family business. [1]

Visually, it's modern sci-fi, which means it's darkly lit, has glary lens flare (real and CGI), and periodically weighs every happy moment down with a semi-dystopian undertone. As someone who loves the bright, futuristic, optimistic look of The Next Generation era of Star Trek, it's an affront to my eyes on almost every level. Even so, I watched all 10 episodes, because there was room in my life for more Picard adventuring.

Ju-on: Origins (2020)

Ju-on: Origins (2020)

Dir. Shô Miyake | 6 episodes, approx 29 mins each.

Despite the title, Origins isn't a prequel to the previous Ju-On films. Rather, it presents itself as something that's 'inspired by real events'.

Presumably, that's the same 'real' events that the original films were based on, which were dreamt up by Japanese filmmaker Takashi Shimizu.

The series also makes the claim that its story is "far more frightening than the movies" were.

The first falsehood enables it to benefit from the groundwork and reputation of Shimizu's works without being wholly tied to them, while simultaneously implying a level of spurious credibility by suggesting that it's more factual - more 'real world' and less 'fantasy' horror.

With regards the second half of the claim, and keeping in mind that fear is as subjective as humour, nothing in Origins came close to the horror of Ju-On: The Grudge (2002). The horror in Origins is more shock value grotesqueness than spine-chillingly supernatural happenings.

The Matrix Comics: 20th Anniversary Edition (2019)

The Matrix Comics: 20th Anniversary Edition (2019)

Authors: Various | Illustrators: Various | Page Count: 400

"The answer. It's right there. I can touch it. It's beautiful. Simple. And it scares the hell out of me."

Beyond the infinite possibilities offered by a virtual world, part of what keeps The Matrix universe so appealing is that it hasn't been milked to death by a greedy studio. Exploitation and oversaturation would've killed it as easily as it does any other commodity.

I assume the Wachowski's had some hand in regulating that, so kudos to them and everyone else who stuck to their guns. Yes, one of the siblings made a fourth film, but not until eighteen years later. (Having said that, I'd really love another anime collection like The Animatrix.)

The 20th Anniversary Edition of The Matrix Comics combines both of the original TPB publications into one larger than normal US comic format HB book.

That in itself is a generous amount, but it also includes four stories that weren't in either of the two previous volumes, which came out in 2003 and 2005, respectively. After doing the maths, the 'anniversary' label must refer instead to the first Matrix film, which was released in cinemas in March 1999.

Bill and Ted Face the Music (2020)

Bill and Ted Face the Music (2020)

Dir. Dean Parisot

I've not featured Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey (1991) on the 7th and Last because, simply put, I hated it. I mention it now only because it's somewhat necessary to have seen it to understand the relationship between Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) and the Grim Reaper (William Sadler), all of whom returned for Face the Music (2020).

The titular duo's destiny, as foretold in Excellent Adventure (1989) — which is to write a song so emotionally stirring that it'll unite all of humanity in glorious, peaceful harmony — hasn't happened. The world is largely unchanged, as are Bill and Ted, except that they're older and each has a daughter - that's them on the cover art: Billie (Brigette Lundy-Paine) and Thea (Samara Weaving).

The initial promotions had me worried that it would be another example of Hollywood trying to force some element of gender-swapping, but happily the story avoids that. And while I didn't warm to the new duo much at all, they didn't feel like they were in the way, and they'd a genuinely vital, complementary role to play in the story.

Goedam (2020)

Goedam (2020)

Dir. Hong Won-ki | 8 episodes, various lengths (approx 74 mins total)

A Korean horror anthology based around the idea of urban myths, with episodes of various lengths, the shortest being approx seven minutes and the longest around fifteen minutes. The individual incidents aren't connected to each other, but a few of them do take place in the same location.

It's an interesting experiment, but the result is only 12.5% successful. That might seem like an odd figure to have choosen, but it’s exact and easy to calculate: seven of the eight episodes are dire.

The only exception is the final episode, Birth, which is the most complete, the most beautiful, the most terrifying (i.e. the kidnappings), and the best edited short of them all. The picture that I've chosen to accompany this post is taken from that episode.

Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045: Season One (2020)

GitS: SAC_2045: Season One (2020)

Dirs: Shinji Aramaki + Kenji Kamiyama | Eps: 24, approx 25 mins each.

At first glance SAC_2045 seems to have many favourable ingredients in place: it's co-produced by Production I.G; has Kenji Kamiyama onboard as co-director; it features many of the original Japanese and English language voice cast; and continues the Stand Alone Complex continuity.

Alas, in reality the continuation fails to live up to its positives. It's a soulless venture with little to offer beyond its superficial 'on paper' credentials.

Viewers who are relatively new to the franchise, perhaps having advanced from the live-action movie, may understandably surmise that such weak plotting is the norm, but I suspect that many longtime fans will be wondering why the lofty concepts and aspirations of the SAC series have been abandoned and the characters disrespected.