Film & TV Reviews
Film & TV Reviews
Contributors Street Fighter A Wild, Nostalgic Ride That Needed More Fighting
A lifelong Street Fighter II arcade rat saw the new movie twice on opening day. One screening changed how it felt, and one casting choice never stopped bugging him.
October 16, 2026 →
News R.L. Stine on Tubi Tubi Is Making R.L. Stine's The Babysitter, and Showed the First Afraid of Clowns Clip at NYCC
Tubi used its R.L. Stine panel at New York Comic Con to announce a live-action adaptation of The Babysitter for 2027, debut the first clip from Afraid of Clowns with Jimbo as Ringmaster Rollo, and put Pumpkinhead 2 in front of the room. Here's the whole Stine slate.
October 12, 2026 →
News BlumFest I'm Not a Horror Fan, and Mike Flanagan Got Me Anyway
I spent Friday afternoon at BlumFest at New York Comic Con with MatPat hosting, Chiwetel Ejiofor on stage and the first trailer for The Exorcist: Martyrs. Here's what got a guy who avoids horror to walk out with a watch list.
October 9, 2026 →
Reviews By Any Means The Ending They Typed Instead of Shot
The last ten minutes of Paramount's Mississippi thriller hand you a bibliography instead of a final scene. A sourced breakdown of what the files actually say, and the ending that was sitting right there.
September 5, 2026 →
6.5/10 Reviews By Any Means Good, and That's the Frustrating Part
A spoiler-free press-screening review of Paramount's 1966 Mississippi FBI thriller, from a filmmaker's read on where the money went and where it didn't.
September 3, 2026 →
8.5/10 Reviews The Odyssey Everyone Found a Casting Problem, They Found the Wrong One
The discourse picked Helen of Troy as its hill. The real casting problem is in almost every frame of Christopher Nolan's film, and it leads straight to what this movie actually is.
July 28, 2026 →
The Files Real Talk The Franchise Confidence Test
Space.com put nine sci-fi shows on the board for 2026. Run them against the Know-It-All Index and it stops being a watch list and becomes a franchise confidence exam.
June 25, 2026 →
The Files Stargate Amazon Bought the Gate and May Not Know What It Opens Into
Amazon announced a new Stargate series, fans got excited, and then it died before a single episode existed. The reported reason is what turned disappointment into fury.
June 13, 2026 →
The Files Star Wars Why the Franchise Doesn't Clear the Room Anymore
Star Wars still has recognition, but recognition is not relevance, and relevance is not authority. What The Backrooms and Obsession just proved about the box office, and why Hollywood's safety math may be broken.
June 2, 2026 →
8/10 Reviews The Boys Why the Ending Works for One Very Strange Reason
The Boys didn't just get messier over time. It started collapsing in the same shape as its world, and that's exactly why the finale lands. A look at restraint failing, Homelander's evolution, and the emotional debt the show finally paid.
May 28, 2026 →
8.5/10 Reviews Michael A Controlled Resurrection I Don't Fully Trust
Antoine Fuqua's biopic is safe, selective, and protected. It also gave me goosebumps anyway. Wrestling with why the protection and the power are the same thing.
May 3, 2026 →
10/10 Reviews Project Hail Mary The Adaptation That Should Have Failed and Sings Instead
Andy Weir's material could have frozen up on screen. Instead the movie translates the thinking into tension, personality, and scene life, and earns a perfect score.
March 21, 2026 →
The Files Project Hail Mary The Andy Weir Adaptation Problem Nobody's Talking About
Andy Weir might be one of the hardest modern authors to adapt, and it has nothing to do with the science being complicated. It's about where his tension lives.
March 17, 2026 →
8/10 Reviews Scream It's Being Judged for What People Wanted, Not What It Is
The critics called it a gimmick. I walked out holding my breath. A filmmaker's breakdown of how Scream 7 changed the franchise's fear language, and what that swing costs.
February 28, 2026 →
The Files Scream Why Solvability Is the Ceiling Ghostface Can't Cut Through
After a back-to-back marathon of all six Scream films, one structural truth won't go away: the whodunit chassis converts fear into logic, and logic is safety.
February 26, 2026 →
10/10 Reviews A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms The Show That Refused Irony and Landed a 10
Episodes 4 through 6 were the stress test, and the show never flinched. A filmmaker's breakdown of how the trial of seven, Baelor's death, and a quiet finale kept the promise.
February 25, 2026 →
Reviews A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Why This Show Shouldn't Work (But Does)
Four episodes in, HBO's Dunk and Egg series is doing almost everything wrong by modern franchise logic. A production breakdown of why the discipline holds.
February 11, 2026 →
10/10 Reviews Fallout The Show Took Away the Guardrails
I didn't finish Fallout Season 2 impressed. I finished it exposed. A breakdown of a season that wins by accumulation instead of escalation, and why that nerve earns a perfect score.
February 9, 2026 →
8/10 Reviews Send Help The Most Honest (and Meanest) Film Sam Raimi Has Ever Made
Raimi has always been cruel. What's new in Send Help is that he takes away every escape hatch he usually gives us. A diagnosis of a film that refuses to be merciful.
January 29, 2026 →
7/10 Reviews 28 Years Later Why Nia DaCosta Pulls Her Punches
The Bone Temple wants to live in the neighborhood where the infected stop being the main problem. It just doesn't commit to the most dangerous version of the idea.
January 17, 2026 →
The Files Fallout Why Todd Howard Refuses to Protect Canon
Somewhere in the middle of Season Two, a place I recognized was just gone. It took me a while to understand that the problem wasn't what the show did. It was the way I expected it to behave.
January 16, 2026 →
7/10 Reviews Stranger Things A Good Close to a Book With Rocky Chapters
The finale sticks the landing hard enough that I'm satisfied, and I still can't shake what a mess the season around it was. Dueling disappointment and satisfaction, explained.
January 3, 2026 →
9/10 Reviews Fallout Robert House, the Mind Control Chip, and a Show That Earned My Goodwill
Three episodes in, Fallout Season 2 is threading the needle the same way Season 1 did, with a mind control chip tying the past to the present and Hank's darkest secret finally out in the open.
January 2, 2026 →
Reviews Stranger Things Why the Finale Has a Mountain to Climb
The Abyss reveal, the lore retcons, and the most divisive episode in the show's history. A breakdown of the first seven episodes, and why I'm withholding a score until the finale.
December 31, 2025 →
Reviews Stranger Things The Will Scene Stopped at the Surface
Every Doomsday trailer has leaked so far, the Will scene in Stranger Things 5 lost the reality of the era it's set in, and Avatar is still style over substance. Notes from the first Mr. Know-It-All live stream.
December 29, 2025 →
News Real Talk Big Channel Changes and the New 2026 Schedule
Mr. Know-It-All Live on Mondays and Wednesdays at noon, Friday Night Nerd Fights every week, a Substack for the critical work, and the honest reason the channel went quiet after the Tron: Ares review.
December 27, 2025 →
9/10 Reviews IT: Welcome to Derry Welcome to Derry Episode 2 Review: A Shining Connection and the New Standard for Horror
The Thing in the Dark proves the pilot wasn't a fluke. The town of Derry is as frightening as the clown underneath it, and Dick Hallorann from the Overlook Hotel just walked into the story.
November 12, 2025 →
10/10 Reviews IT: Welcome to Derry Prestige Horror Is Here
I'm not a horror guy, and the Welcome to Derry series premiere still had me watching through my fingers. A perfect score for a pilot that looks like a feature film and expands Pennywise without explaining him away.
October 28, 2025 →
8.5/10 Reviews Tron: Ares Ares Review: The Critics Are Seeing the Code, the Fans Are Seeing the World
There are two conversations happening about Tron: Ares right now, and only one of them is about the movie. An honest fan review of the visuals, the Nine Inch Nails score, and the performance everybody is getting wrong.
October 14, 2025 →
7/10 Reviews Tron Does the Original Hold Up Before Tron: Ares?
Before Tron: Ares redefines the grid, a trip back to where it all began. The 1982 original was the first of its kind, a box office disappointment, and a James Cameron movie before we had James Cameron.
October 9, 2025 →
8/10 Reviews Alien: Earth Earth Season 1 Finale Review: The Comic Book Ending
The Season 1 finale breaks a lot of rules for a finale. No clear climax last week, no bigger bang this week, and I'm still more excited for a next season than I've been in a long time.
September 24, 2025 →
8/10 Reviews Alien: Earth Earth Episode 7 Review: Backup Protocols, Dirty Synths, and the Rise of an Evil Genius
The kids are out of control, Kirsh keeps getting dirtier, and Boy Kavalier finally tips from genius into evil genius. A spoiler-heavy read on the penultimate episode.
September 18, 2025 →
6.5/10 Reviews House on Eden KallMeKris Made a Found Footage Movie That Justifies Every Camera
I don't normally review horror movies, but this one was made by one of us. KallMeKris wrote and directed a found footage movie that blazes no new territory and knows exactly what genre it's in.
September 4, 2025 →
9/10 Reviews Alien: Earth Earth In Space No One Review: Morrow's Backstory Is the Show We Thought We Were Getting
Episode 5 rewinds to the Maginot and hands us Morrow's full story. It's the series we all assumed we signed up for, and then it blows that version out of the water.
September 3, 2025 →
8/10 Reviews Alien: Earth Earth Episode 4 Review: The Xenomorph Comes Back as a Newborn
After an episode and a half with no xenomorph in sight, Episode 4 brings the acid-blooded nightmare back as a baby, and Wendy pets it like a puppy. Character work, not filler.
September 1, 2025 →
8/10 Reviews Alien: Earth Earth Episode 3 Review: Great Episode, One Cheap Cut
This week raised a lot more questions than it answered, but the answers we do get are juicy. Then the show cut away from the best fight in the episode, and that is where it lost me.
August 22, 2025 →
Reviews Alien: Earth Earth Series Premiere Review: The Prequel a Guy Who Hates Prequels Really Digs
The first two episodes of Alien: Earth waste no time aliening, expand the lore with corporations that run like nations, and play like classic sci-fi that doesn't treat us like we're dumb.
August 15, 2025 →
8/10 Reviews Rick and Morty Why Episode 2 Feels Like the Real Season 8 Premiere
Valkyrick puts Rick and Space Beth on a mission together and picks his growth back up where last season left it. It's the episode that should've opened season 8.
June 9, 2025 →
8/10 Reviews Ballerina John Wick Shows Up and Doesn't Put Her Over
Ballerina lets John Wick clobber its own lead, and that's why Eve works. Mrs. Know-It-All calls the story basic, I say it was enough, and we both land on the same number.
June 8, 2025 →
8/10 Reviews Ballerina Simple Story, Amazing Choreography, and Who Cares
Ballerina is girl wants revenge, girl goes on a killing spree, and that's the whole plot. The choreography is amazing, Ana de Armas takes her lumps, and it needs to be seen on the big screen.
June 6, 2025 →
9/10 Reviews Doctor Who That Regeneration, Billie Piper, and a Season That Stuck the Landing
The finale redeemed the episode before it, brought back Thirteen, and handed the Doctor Rose Tyler's face. Mrs. Know-It-All and I talk through all of it, spoilers included.
June 2, 2025 →
8/10 Reviews Doctor Who A Narrative Car Crash I Had a Blast Watching
The Reality War is a mess, with a wasted Rani, a wasted Omega and a regeneration that makes no sense. I enjoyed every minute of it anyway, and one line in the credits has me asking what Billie Piper is actually playing.
June 1, 2025 →
6.5/10 Reviews Rick and Morty The Season 8 Premiere Is a Season 6 Re-Tread
The season 8 premiere traps Morty and Summer in Rick's matrix for 17 years, a concept the show already ran in season 6. One late reveal about Summer is the only thing that earns it a 6.5.
May 26, 2025 →
7/10 Reviews Doctor Who Classic Villains Return and the Setup Is a Mess
I've loved this entire season, and Wish World is a bit of a mess. A ham-fisted message, a wish baby MacGuffin, a lackluster Omega reveal, and a Rani who plays like Missy 2.0.
May 25, 2025 →
10/10 Reviews Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning Impossible - The Final Reckoning Review: Nearly Three Hours and I Never Felt It
A no-spoilers review of The Final Reckoning. The stakes are personal, the stunts serve the story, and Ethan Hunt's last mission is a 10 out of 10 that I had more fun with than Dead Reckoning.
May 24, 2025 →
9/10 Reviews Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning Impossible - The Final Reckoning Spoiler Review: Why My 10 Became a 9
Mrs. Know-It-All and I spoil all of The Final Reckoning the day after our fan screening. The Rabbit's Foot payoff, Luther's exit, the villain I'd have written differently, and why my 10 came down a point.
May 24, 2025 →
9/10 Reviews Andor Episodes 10 Through 12 and the Rebellion That Wants to Forget Luthen Rael
The last three episodes of Andor walk straight into Rogue One exactly as promised, and the price of getting there is the part the Rebellion on Yavin would rather not talk about.
May 15, 2025 →
9/10 Reviews Doctor Who A Barbershop, a Betrayal, and a Love Letter to Storytelling
The Story and the Engine takes the Doctor to a barbershop in Lagos where stories have literal power. The revenge plot is ham-fisted, the ending is forgiveness, and it's one of the most original episodes in years.
May 11, 2025 →
Reviews Andor The Ghorman Massacre and the Speech That Names Palpatine
Week three of Andor Season 2 goes from simmering tension to full-blown tragedy. Ghorman burns, Cassian meets K-2SO, and Mon Mothma stands up in the Senate and calls out the Emperor by name.
May 8, 2025 →
Reviews Andor Salty Says the Show Never Proves the Empire Is Bad
Halfway through Andor Season 2, Salty came on Nerd Fights to argue the Empire hasn't done anything wrong on screen. I plugged in a microphone, and by the end I had to hand him one piece of it.
May 7, 2025 →
6.5/10 Reviews Doctor Who A Pretty Mess That's Really a Soft UNIT Episode
Lucky Day sidelines the Doctor and Belinda for a Ruby Sunday rom-com that turns into a thriller, and Kate Stewart makes a call that's going to follow her. It's bold, it's expensive, and it's messy.
May 4, 2025 →
9/10 Reviews Doctor Who Midnight Comes Back, and So Does the Show
The Well picks up the second Lux ends, drops the Doctor and Belinda on a dead mining colony half a million years out, and then tells you what the planet used to be called. One of the best reveals Doctor Who has pulled in a long time.
May 1, 2025 →
8/10 Reviews Andor The Empire Wants Ghorman to Rebel
Episodes 4 through 6 of Andor Season 2 slow the pace and deepen the intrigue. The Empire is letting the Ghorman resistance build so it can crush it in public, and Luthen is fine with letting it burn.
April 30, 2025 →
8.5/10 Reviews Doctor Who Animation Meets Live Action and the Fourth Wall Barely Holds
Lux traps the Doctor and Belinda inside a 1952 Miami movie house with a cartoon god of light. The ending's cheap and the fan scene runs long, and it's still the Doctor Who I've been missing.
April 30, 2025 →
9/10 Reviews The Wheel of Time It Rearranged the Books and Still Told the Story
Season 3 swapped the fall of Tear for Rhuidean, cut off Siuan Sanche's head, and left Moiraine on a cliffhanger. Mrs. Know-It-All is back to talk through all of it.
April 30, 2025 →
7.5/10 Reviews Doctor Who The Robot Revolution Has a Pulse
The Robot Revolution isn't rewriting time and space, but it did something Season 1 rarely managed: it made me want to watch next week. A skeptical new companion, a Doctor finally written for Ncuti Gatwa, and a muddy allegory that doesn't sink it.
April 27, 2025 →
Reviews A Minecraft Movie So Unserious You Have to Take It Seriously
Baby Know and Boyfriend Know saw it in two different theaters and came home with the same answer. As a film, about a five. As a good time, close to a nine.
April 10, 2025 →
Reviews The Wheel of Time The Best Exposition Dump You'll Ever Watch
Rand walks into Rhuidean, the show walks backwards through three thousand years of its own history, and it never once stops to narrate. A book reader conversation with my buddy Gonzo, no scores.
March 21, 2025 →
Reviews Reacher Three Episodes In, It's Back to the Charm of Season One
We kept Reacher to ourselves for two full seasons. Three episodes into Season 3, the show's gone smaller and more manageable, and it's better for it.
February 27, 2025 →
Reviews The Wheel of Time Eleven Minutes, and It's Not Even as Good as It Gets
Amazon put out eleven minutes of The Wheel of Time Season 3 and the Black Ajah tore the Hall of the Tower apart. A book reader's reaction, and what he's hoping the show is building to.
February 23, 2025 →
8/10 Reviews Star Wars: Skeleton Crew The Galaxy Gets More Dangerous, and Star Wars Remembers Who It's For
A maybe-Jedi with a pirate name, an owl with maps to everywhere, and a home planet that vanished from the charts. Episode 3 is the nostalgia play done right, and it's an 8.
December 13, 2024 →
7.5/10 Reviews Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Skeleton Crew Episodes 1 and 2 Review: A Hidden Old Republic Planet and Ewok Adventure Vibes
Skeleton Crew opens with brutal pirates, Star Wars suburbia and a kid paying for lunch in Old Republic credits. It's a giant nostalgia ride, and I think At Attin has been hiding on purpose.
December 3, 2024 →
6.5/10 Reviews Twilight of the Gods Zack Snyder's Bold and Bloody Norse Saga Is Not for Kids
Take the slow-mo and the live-action habits away from Zack Snyder and there's a story here. All eight episodes of Netflix's Twilight of the Gods, the blood, the sex, and the ending I didn't see coming.
September 22, 2024 →
8/10 Reviews Beetlejuice Beetlejuice The 30 Years Later Sequel That Feels Like They Wrapped Last Month
Most sequels that show up three decades late can't find the old rhythm. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice rolls right into it, packs a ridiculous amount into an hour and 45 minutes, and has enough fun to cover its sins.
September 7, 2024 →
7/10 Reviews The Acolyte Relief or Frustration?
The Acolyte is over and I can't tell if I'm more frustrated or more relieved. The finale has some of the best lightsaber work Star Wars has put on screen, and almost none of the connective tissue that would make it matter.
July 17, 2024 →
7/10 Reviews The Acolyte The Right Flashback in the Wrong Place
Episode 7 finally hands over the Jedi side of what happened on Brendok, and it's good. It's also the second to last episode of the season, which is exactly the problem.
July 10, 2024 →
Reviews The Acolyte Not a Bad Episode, Except It's Not an Episode
I was intrigued by Episode 6, and I mean that. The problem is that it cuts off halfway through its own story, and this whole series has been built that way.
July 3, 2024 →
6/10 Reviews Star Wars The Acolyte Episode 5 Review: Night Is the Fight We Waited For, and the Writing Still Can't Keep Up
Night is the second half of an episode they cut in two, and the lightsaber choreography is glorious. The script it's attached to belongs to a different show. Episodes 4 and 5, judged together.
June 26, 2024 →
7/10 Reviews Doctor Who A Part Two That Showed Its Work While It Cheated
Empire of Death resolves its main threat two thirds of the way through and spends the rest on an answer that undercuts the setup. Mrs. Know-It-All and I work through a long list, spoilers included.
June 22, 2024 →
3/5 Reviews The Acolyte Half an Episode Gets Half an Index
The writing got better, the Jedi got caught flat-footed, and then somebody cut the back half off the episode. Stopping right before the fight doesn't make it a cliffhanger.
June 19, 2024 →
9/10 Reviews Doctor Who The Best Part One Since Early RTD
The Legend of Ruby Sunday is everything I'd want from a Russell T Davies penultimate episode, and it still pays for a season that didn't build up to it. Mrs. Know-It-All and I land a full point apart.
June 16, 2024 →
4.5/10 Reviews Star Wars The Acolyte Episode 3 Review: The Trappings Are There, the Heart and Soul Is Missing
The Acolyte Episode 3 is a full flashback that rewrites how the Force works and hopes forty years of Star Wars fans won't notice. I've got problems with it, and they aren't the ones everybody else is arguing about.
June 13, 2024 →
9/10 Reviews Doctor Who No Notes on the Most Doctor Who Episode of the Season
Rogue drops the Doctor and Ruby into a Bridgerton ball, hands the Doctor a bounty hunter to flirt with, and slips the Shalka Doctor into the lineup of faces. I said no notes, and I meant it.
June 10, 2024 →
7.5/10 Reviews Star Wars A Revenge Plot Where the Jedi Don't Act Like Jedi
Two episodes dropped and neither one feels like its own episode. The Acolyte is blazing new Star Wars territory with a mystery that isn't giving me enough, and Jedi who seem dense.
June 5, 2024 →
9/10 Reviews Doctor Who Finally, an Episode That Feels Like Doctor Who
Dot and Bubble is a social media allegory that never once feels preachy, and its last scene is the moment I learned who Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor is.
June 2, 2024 →
7/10 Reviews Doctor Who A Brilliant Episode That Never Gives You an Ending
73 Yards has brilliant acting, a real mystery in Wales and a Doctor who vanishes in the first few minutes. Then it resolves itself with nothing, and I can't tell you what it was about.
May 25, 2024 →
6.5/10 Reviews Doctor Who Steven Moffat Forgot He Wasn't Writing for Matt Smith
Steven Moffat comes back to write Boom, and it plays like he's still writing for Matt Smith. A bottle episode on a landmine that preaches more than it moves, and the first miss of the season for me.
May 18, 2024 →
8.5/10 Reviews Doctor Who The Toymaker's Kid Steals Music, and Ruby Doesn't Add Up
The Devil's Chord is the first time this new era picks a villain back up, with Maestro arriving as the Toymaker's kid. It's groovy, it's fun, and a cosmic entity looks at Ruby and says something is very wrong.
May 13, 2024 →
8/10 Reviews Doctor Who The Babies Look Atrocious and That's When I Knew It Was Doctor Who
Space Babies is shiny, glossy and full of Disney money, and it still has talking babies, a bogeyman and a spaceship that farts. Mrs. Know-It-All and I both land on the same number.
May 12, 2024 →
9.5/10 Reviews Fallout All 8 Episodes From a Guy Who Never Played the Games
I walked into Fallout knowing the mobile game and nothing else. Eight episodes later I knew exactly what was going on, and that's the whole reason this series lands where it does on the Index.
April 16, 2024 →
9/10 Reviews The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare Guy Ritchie, Based on True Events, and It Doesn't Disappoint
Guy Ritchie takes the three most magical words in cinema, based on true events, and delivers exactly the movie he sold you. Henry Cavill, Alan Ritchson, and the mission that gave Ian Fleming his M.
April 15, 2024 →
7.7/10 Reviews Civil War It's Nothing You Think It's Going to Be
The marketing sold a movie about a civil war. What Mrs. Know-It-All and I actually sat through is the weirdest road trip movie you're ever going to see, and it only has something to say three times.
April 12, 2024 →
9/10 Reviews Invincible Every Thread Is I Thought You Were Stronger
The Invincible Season 2 finale sends Mark through the multiverse, hands us a Spider-Man who can't be called Spider-Man, and hangs every storyline on its own title. A 9 for the episode and an 8.5 for the season.
April 5, 2024 →
7.5/10 Reviews Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire The New Empire Review: They Should've Just Called It Kong and Friends
I went in expecting nothing more than a fun monster flick, and that's what we got. Not a lot of story, a very convenient power glove, and a movie I'll watch again all day.
April 1, 2024 →
8.5/10 Reviews Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Frozen Empire Review: If You Liked Ghostbusters II, You'll Have a Good Time Here
The pundits have piled on this one, and I'm going to disappoint them. Frozen Empire feels lived in, it finally gives the franchise a villain who isn't Gozer, and it belongs right in line with the other movies.
March 23, 2024 →
9/10 Reviews Halo They Walked Us Right Up to the Door of the First Game
The Halo Season 2 finale is titled Halo for a reason. We finally get the complete Master Chief, the Flood shows up, and the show butts right up against the very first game.
March 21, 2024 →
7.5/10 Reviews Invincible It's Not That Simple, and the Cliffhanger Gets Hand-Waved
Invincible Season 2 Episode 6 comes off a really good cliffhanger and resolves it with no tension at all, then spends the hour on a breakup in slow motion. A filler episode, and a 7 and a half.
March 21, 2024 →
9/10 Reviews Halo Thermopylae Puts Everybody Through the Fire
The penultimate episode of Halo Season 2 is the setup for something huge. John takes his suit back, the Spartan-IIIs get handed a lie, and Halsey walks through a Forerunner door.
March 14, 2024 →
7.5/10 Reviews Invincible Too Much Story, Not Enough Room
Invincible comes back for the second half of Season 2 with a bang and crams a whole lot into one episode. I like where it's going. I just wanted it to breathe.
March 14, 2024 →
Reviews The Crow Mrs. Know-It-All Hates Reboots, and She's Seeing This One in Theaters
The first trailer for the new Crow dropped and we recorded the minute it ended. It isn't rebooting the 1994 movie. It's going back to the graphic novel, and for the first time this story looks like it was shot in a real city.
March 14, 2024 →
8.5/10 Reviews Halo Onyx Pulls Every Thread Toward the Finish
John's out for revenge, Kai goes looking for the truth, and Makee turns to Cortana. Onyx takes every thread this season has been laying and gives it a very satisfying pull toward the end.
March 7, 2024 →
The Files Real Talk What I Love About Science Fiction Is the Hope
Michael asked what makes science fiction enjoyable for me. It starts with Back to the Future, runs straight through Star Trek and Isaac Asimov, and lands on a better tomorrow.
March 5, 2024 →
10/10 Reviews Dune: Part Two Part Two Review: A Milestone in Cinema, and I Know Where This Story Goes
A lot of people are calling Dune: Part Two a perfect movie. I don't know about perfect, but it's a 10 all day, and it's a cautionary tale about messiahs that the third movie is going to make very uncomfortable.
March 2, 2024 →
Reviews Halo The Fall of Reach in a T-Shirt
Halo gave us the Fall of Reach with Master Chief out of the suit, then paused the whole show for character development. One of these two episodes earns it more than the other.
February 29, 2024 →
Reviews Doctor Who Who's Your Favorite Doctor? Mrs. Know-It-All Picks David Tennant, I Pick Matt Smith
Mrs. Know-It-All pulled me in front of the camera to talk Doctor Who: where to find the Doctors before Tom Baker, the movie with Paul McGann, and why Matt Smith is my Doctor.
February 9, 2024 →
7/10 Reviews Halo Sanctuary and Sword Land Like a Spartan's Punch
The Halo season 2 premiere settles the Cortana question in its first scene, brings the action down to earth, and hands Master Chief a new problem named James Ackerson. A solid 7 out of 10.
February 8, 2024 →
6/10 Reviews Argylle A Spy Movie That Can't Find Its Footing in Action or Comedy
Matthew Vaughn's Argylle has a stacked cast and a clever story-within-a-story premise, and it buries both under a confusing plot and a runtime that's a marathon. A 6 out of 10.
February 5, 2024 →
Reviews Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Frozen Empire Trailer Reaction: Walter Peck Is Back and I'm Down for It
The new Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire trailer hands its opening to Walter Peck, and that sent me straight back to the IDW comic where he ended up running the Ghostbusters.
January 31, 2024 →
Reviews Awards Season On the Road to the Oscars, Cillian Murphy Has Nothing to Fear Except Paul Giamatti
The Critics Choice Awards got out of their own way, the Emmys threw television the party it deserved, and animation got pushed off camera. Where all of it leaves the road to the Oscars.
January 17, 2024 →
7/10 Reviews The Beekeeper Jason Statham's '90s Action Throwback Delivers
The Beekeeper is a throwback to the golden era of '90s action, with Jason Statham as a retired assassin who'd rather use a gasoline pump than a gun. A solid 7 out of 10, and a ride worth taking.
January 13, 2024 →
Reviews Doctor Who Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson Are Already Being Asked What Comes After Season Two
One Christmas special into the new run, both leads are getting cagey about life after their second season, and it's raising alarm bells. I'm excited, I'm not worried, and I don't think you should be either.
January 10, 2024 →
Reviews Golden Globes Taylor Swift Needed to Read the Room
Jo Koy took the beating for the 2024 Golden Globes, but the room he was working is basically a roast. Plus why Barbie winning the first Cinematic Achievement award actually means something.
January 10, 2024 →
News Real Talk Taylor Swift Needed to Read the Room, and Star Trek Needs Legacy
The first Know-It-All Nation live show: Jo Koy and Taylor Swift at the Golden Globes, Barbie's new award, Star Trek: Legacy, the Kirk snub, Star Wars, Doctor Who, Tom Cruise, and Echo.
January 10, 2024 →
Reviews Star Wars The Mandalorian Movie, Rey Skywalker's Return, and the Only Thing I'm Asking For
Lucasfilm has a Mandalorian movie in production, Ahsoka Season 2 got announced in a single sentence, and the new Rey movie's director said something that set people off. All I want is a good Star Wars movie.
January 10, 2024 →
News Tom Cruise He's Not Putting on Tights to Do It
Tom Cruise is setting up shop at Warner Bros., and the internet already has him joining the DCU. He's not. The bigger story is what it says about Paramount and who survives the streaming wars.
January 10, 2024 →
9/10 Reviews Doctor Who Ncuti Gatwa Sprints Into the TARDIS
The Christmas special is back where it belongs, Ncuti Gatwa feels at home as the Doctor from his first scene, and Mrs. Flood has the whole Know-It-All household guessing.
December 28, 2023 →
9/10 Reviews Rick and Morty The Season 7 Finale Hides Morty's Biggest Fear in a Denny's Bathroom
The season 7 finale drops Rick and Morty into a Fear Hole in a Denny's men's room, and what's waiting at the bottom is Morty's fear that Rick doesn't need him. A solid 9.
December 18, 2023 →
8.5/10 Reviews Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Legacy of Monsters Episode 6 Review: Godzilla Rises From the Desert and Hiroshi Is Finally Found
The mid-season episode, Terrifying Miracles, finds Hiroshi in the Algerian desert, outs May as a traitor and brings Godzilla up out of the sand. An 8.5 on the Know-It-All Index.
December 15, 2023 →
7.5/10 Reviews Rick and Morty Ragnarick' Review: Bigfoot, the Pope and a Trip to Valhalla
Baby Know-It-All fills in for her dad on Season 7, Episode 9, where Rick dies on purpose to rob Norse heaven and Bigfoot ends up working for the Pope. Quite entertaining, and a 7.5.
December 11, 2023 →
10/10 Reviews Doctor Who Two Doctors, One Toymaker, and a Goodbye I Wasn't Ready For
The third 60th anniversary special brings back a villain from a lost 1960s story, splits the Doctor in two, and lets David Tennant's Doctor finally stop and go home. Spoilers for all of it.
December 10, 2023 →
7.5/10 Reviews Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Legacy of Monsters Episode 5 Review: The Way Out Trades the Monsters for Cate's Backstory
Episode 5 shows Godzilla and the Titans only in brief flashbacks and puts the spotlight on Cate, her mother, and what G-Day actually did to her. A 7.5 on the Know-It-All Index.
December 8, 2023 →
10/10 Reviews Violent Night A Santa Like No Other
Day 5 of the 25 Days of Christmas takes a wild turn. Mercenaries hit a wealthy family's home on Christmas Eve and don't count on Santa being there. A perfect 10.
December 5, 2023 →
8.5/10 Reviews Doctor Who Something So Bad the TARDIS Ran Away
The second 60th anniversary special is a two-actor bottle episode at the edge of the universe, and it's about as RTD as Doctor Who gets. Mrs. Know-It-All and I walk through all of it, spoilers included.
December 3, 2023 →
8.5/10 Reviews Rise of the Guardians All the Holidays Became Superheroes
Day 2 of the 25 Days of Christmas. Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Sandman and Jack Frost get brought together to protect the children of the world, and it's the movie that showed me everything Christmas could be.
December 2, 2023 →
7/10 Reviews Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Legacy of Monsters Episode 4 Review: The Ice Titan Chases Everybody in Circles
Episode 4, Parallels and Interiors, is a filler episode. The leads literally go in circles in Alaska while an Ice Titan eats their campfire. They did a good job with it anyway. A 7 on the Know-It-All Index.
December 1, 2023 →
8/10 Reviews The Nightmare Before Christmas Why Halloween Invaded Christmas
The 25 Days of Christmas starts with the movie that makes you question which holiday is truly the spookiest. Jack Skellington, Oogie Boogie, and a new kind of stop-motion Christmas.
December 1, 2023 →
8/10 Reviews Rick and Morty Season 7 Finally Gives Summer Her Due
Season 7, episode 7 was teased as a Morty and Summer adventure and turns out to be a Rick and Summer episode, with a Kuato on her belly and Rick choosing a favorite. A solid 8.
November 27, 2023 →
9/10 Reviews Doctor Who Tennant and Donna Come Back Like They Never Left
The first 60th anniversary special skips the new-Doctor warm-up, puts David Tennant and Donna back in the same room, and feels like a warm hug. Mrs. Know-It-All and I walk through all of it.
November 26, 2023 →
8/10 Reviews Invincible Nolan's Back, and Debbie's Done Waiting
The Invincible mid-season finale, It's Been a While, puts Nolan and Mark in the most awkward father-son reunion ever while Debbie finally lets go, maybe at the worst possible time. A solid 8 out of 10.
November 24, 2023 →
8.5/10 Reviews Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Legacy of Monsters Episode 3 Recap: Godzilla Gets Nuked and Lee Shaw Breaks Out
A 90-year-old relic busts out of Monarch's retirement home in a rented minivan, and in 1954 the Army drops a nuclear bomb on Godzilla. An 8.5 on the Know-It-All Index.
November 22, 2023 →
8/10 Reviews Rick and Morty A Clip Show Built From Adventures We Never Saw
Season 7, episode 6 has Morty cashing in several seasons of adventure punch cards, and Rick calls in an all-seeing Observer to audit the receipts. A solid 8, and a season 1 throwback.
November 20, 2023 →
9/10 Reviews Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Scott Loses the First Fight and Everybody Else Gets a Story
The anime starts like the story you know, then Matthew Patel wins and the whole thing pivots. Mr. Know-It-All and Baby Know-It-All walk all eight episodes and land on a solid 9.
November 19, 2023 →
8/10 Reviews Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Legacy of Monsters Premiere Review: More Monsters Than I've Seen Since Saturday Morning
The first two episodes of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters don't waste any time. Two Russells playing one man, a story told across several time frames, and monsters like you've never seen before.
November 18, 2023 →
7.5/10 Reviews Invincible I Read the Comics and Still Wasn't Ready
Mark goes to college, Allen the Alien gets an origin story, Debbie can't find peace anywhere, and the cliffhanger lands sooner than the comics had me expecting. A 7 and a half.
November 17, 2023 →
Reviews Rick and Morty The Psychological Showdown and What Evil Morty Did to It
Rick Prime tells Rick C-137 he would've been him, and that one line about a garage is the whole fight. A look at the narcissism, the revenge and Evil Morty's return.
November 14, 2023 →
9/10 Reviews Rick and Morty Rick Prime's End and Evil Morty's Gambit
Unmortricken gives us Evil Morty's origin story, a battle royale of Ricks and the end of Rick Prime, and then lets Rick's victory ring hollow. A 9 out of 10.
November 13, 2023 →
8/10 Reviews Invincible This Is Where a Superhero Creates Their Own Villain
The Invincible Season 2 premiere opens on Invincible and Omni-Man conquering the world, introduces Sterling K. Brown as Angstrom Levy, and shows the part where a superhero creates their own villain. A solid 8.
November 3, 2023 →
Reviews Invincible Every Episode, From It's About Time to Where I Really Come From
With Invincible Season 2 right around the corner on Prime Video, here's the saga of Mark Grayson one episode at a time, from the Guardians of the Globe to the day Nolan finally says we need to talk.
October 31, 2023 →
8/10 Reviews Rick and Morty A Recovering Narcissist Watches Rick Run Into His Ex
Air Force Wong puts Rick back in a room with Unity and puts the President on Dr. Wong's couch. It's a much deeper episode than I expected from a 22-minute adult cartoon, and it's a solid 8.
October 30, 2023 →
Reviews Five Nights at Freddy's Your Kid's First Horror Movie
Five Nights at Freddy's is an entry-level horror movie built for a young audience, and if you watch it that way, it's a fun time. A 7.5 from Mr. Know-It-All and an 8 from Mrs. Know-It-All.
October 28, 2023 →
9.0/10 Reviews Rick and Morty A Mind Swap That Feels Like Classic Rick and Morty
The Jerrick Trap merges Rick and Jerry into one mind in two bodies, and it's good old-fashioned Rick and Morty fun. The Know-It-All family lands on a strong 9.0.
October 23, 2023 →
8.5/10 Reviews Rick and Morty The Season 7 Premiere Jedi Mind Tricks You Into the New Voices
The season 7 premiere had to sell two new voice actors as Rick and Morty. It does it by surrounding them with every voice you already know, and it feels like a rebirth.
October 16, 2023 →
7.5/10 Reviews The Continental: From the World of John Wick Theatre of Pain Works Really Well Until It Doesn't
The final night of The Continental is nearly a two-hour movie, and the hotel siege is one of the most satisfying third acts I've seen. Then the lights go out, and the ending gets handwavy.
October 6, 2023 →
10/10 Reviews The Wheel of Time Mat Blows the Horn and the Show Earns a 10
Everybody thinks Rand has to blow the Horn of Valere. In "What Was Meant To Be," Mat blows it instead, Egwene frees herself, and Moghedien walks in. Mrs. Know-It-All and I talk through the finale.
October 6, 2023 →
9.0/10 Reviews Star Wars Ahsoka Season 1 Finale Review: The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord Left Me at the Beginning of Something
The Ahsoka finale gives Sabine the Force, gets Thrawn home, and hands Ray Stevenson one last majestic shot as Baylan. The only complaint in the house was the zombies.
October 4, 2023 →
8.5/10 Reviews The Continental: From the World of John Wick Loyalty to the Master Gets Things Rolling
Night 2 of The Continental picks up right where we left off, with Winston building a crew to take out Cormac. The fights are top-notch, the threads are piling up, and Charon picks a side.
September 29, 2023 →
8/10 Reviews The Wheel of Time Daes Dae'mar Sets the Stage and Stops There
Lanfear walks through a town flicking fire, Moiraine gets the Source back, and the Amyrlin Seat uses an oath as a weapon. Mrs. Know-It-All and I agree on the number, and on what the episode was missing.
September 29, 2023 →
7/10 Reviews Star Wars Ahsoka Episode 7 Review: Dreams and Madness Is a Penultimate Episode That's Just Kind of There
The second-to-last episode of an eight-episode season is supposed to be great. Part 7 gives us Kung Fu Ezra, Baylan cutting Shin loose, and Thrawn doing the math, and it still feels like it's telling us there's no resolution coming.
September 27, 2023 →
7.5/10 Reviews The Continental: From the World of John Wick Brothers in Arms Opens the Hotel and Leaves Winston With a Question
The first night of Peacock's John Wick prequel nails the action and the 1970s mood, still plays like a made-for-TV movie, and sets up a question about Winston Scott it's going to have to answer. A 7.5.
September 22, 2023 →
9/10 Reviews The Wheel of Time Eyes Without Pity Breaks Egwene, and Madeleine Madden Carries It
Eyes Without Pity puts Egwene in the kennels and doesn't look away. Mrs. Know-It-All and I talk through the pitcher, the Sitter of the Blue on the other side of the wall, and Mat finally being the Mat I always wanted.
September 22, 2023 →
8.5/10 Reviews Star Wars Ahsoka Episode 6 Review: Far, Far Away Is a Good Bridge Episode With a Lackluster Ezra Reveal
Part Six finally answers where Ezra is, puts Thrawn on screen with his suit perfectly pressed, and hands us the Ewoks of another galaxy. It's a bridge episode, a good one, and the reveal we waited for is the one beat that falls flat.
September 20, 2023 →
Reviews The Continental: From the World of John Wick 7 Things to Know Before You Watch the John Wick Series on Peacock
An alternate 1970s New York, Winston's brother stealing from the hotel, and a three-week stunt boot camp. Here's what you should know before The Continental drops on Peacock.
September 19, 2023 →
9.5/10 Reviews The Wheel of Time Damane Is the Name Drop Episode, and Nothing Got Lost
The Seanchan, the Black Ajah, Aviendha and a pile of Forsaken names all land in one hour. Mrs. Know-It-All and I couldn't find a single thing we didn't like.
September 15, 2023 →
9.0/10 Reviews Star Wars Ahsoka Episode 5 Review: Shadow Warrior Got Me Back
Last week's ending had me upset. Shadow Warrior makes up for it with Anakin Skywalker, the first live-action Clone Wars, and a ride out of the galaxy in the mouth of a purrgil.
September 13, 2023 →
8.0/10 Reviews The Wheel of Time Daughter of Night Made Me Stop Nitpicking
Selene turns out to be Lanfear, Moiraine goes home to Cairhien, and Perrin finally learns the wolf's name. Mrs. Know-It-All and I talk through the episode that got a book reader to put the books down.
September 8, 2023 →
6.0/10 Reviews Star Wars Ahsoka Episode 4 Review: Fallen Jedi Is the Second Half of Last Week's Episode
Part Four has an excellent rematch, a great duel and Hayden Christensen back as Anakin. It's also 34 minutes that should've been stapled to last week's 24, and that's what the score is about.
September 6, 2023 →
Reviews The Wheel of Time Three Episodes, One Change That Tripped Me Up
Season 2 opens a year later with everybody scattered and Rand presumed dead. As a fan of the books I didn't trip over anything until Nynaeve walked into the third arch. Mrs. Know-It-All joins me, and we don't agree on the scores.
September 1, 2023 →
8/10 Reviews Star Wars Ahsoka Episode 3 Review: Time to Fly Is a Setup Episode That Packs a Lot Into 34 Minutes
Part Three is a short one, a bridge episode with a lightsaber fight on the wing of a ship and our first real look at the purrgil. Mr. and Mrs. Know-It-All on why the setup works and why the Rebels complaints don't.
August 30, 2023 →
Reviews The Wheel of Time The Bones Are the Same, Just Rearranged
A book reader who's been turning these pages since The Matrix on what Amazon's first season kept, what it cut, and why Brandon Sanderson being on board was good enough for me.
August 29, 2023 →
8.5/10 Reviews Star Wars Ahsoka Series Premiere Review: Two Episodes That Feel More Star Wars Than The Mandalorian
Master and Apprentice and Toil and Trouble, judged together the way they were served. Mr. and Mrs. Know-It-All came in without the animated homework, and the premiere never made them feel it.
August 23, 2023 →
Reviews Star Wars From Anakin's Padawan to the Hunt for Thrawn
Before Star Wars: Ahsoka debuts on Disney+, here are the seven things you need to know about her, from the Clone Wars and the white lightsabers to Thrawn and the question of where Ezra is.
August 21, 2023 →
10/10 Reviews Barbie Baby Know-It-All's Recap, and Why Allan Is the Best Part
Baby Know-It-All takes the chair for Barbie, walks the whole movie from the Dream House to the gynecologist, and hands it a 10 out of 10 for how slay it was.
August 17, 2023 →
Reviews The Mandalorian Chapter 24, The Return, Gives You Everything You Wanted
The Mandalorian closes Season 3 with 35 minutes of jetpack war over Mandalore, a Moff Gideon plan that's worse than it looks, and an adoption that hit me right where I live.
April 19, 2023 →
8.5/10 Reviews The Mandalorian The Spies Is the O.K. Corral, and the Bad Guys Are Winning
Chapter 23 puts Moff Gideon back on screen in beskar, drops Thrawn and Hux into a Shadow Council meeting, and finally gets this season moving. An 8.5 on the Know-It-All Index.
April 12, 2023 →
7.5/10 Reviews Star Wars A Five-Minute Payoff at the End of a Side Quest
Guns for Hire gives you Lizzo, Jack Black, Christopher Lloyd and a droid bar, then crams Bo-Katan taking back the Darksaber into the last five minutes. I liked it, and that's what bothers me.
April 5, 2023 →
8.5/10 Reviews Star Wars This Should Have Been Episode Three
Chapter 21: The Pirate finally moves The Mandalorian in the direction I thought we'd be going from the start. Nevarro gets bombed, the covert answers the call, and Bo-Katan takes her helmet off.
March 29, 2023 →
7/10 Reviews Star Wars Grogu Starts Training, and the Episode Ends Too Soon
Chapter 20: The Foundling puts Grogu into Mandalorian combat training and sends Bo-Katan on a rescue that earns her a seat by the fire. It's a lot of fun, and at around 25 minutes it's too short.
March 22, 2023 →
7.5/10 Reviews The Mandalorian The Convert Is a Bridge Episode That Stays Interesting
Chapter 19 parks Din Djarin and Bo-Katan for most of an hour to live a day on Coruscant with Dr. Pershing. It's a bridge episode, and I enjoyed it immensely anyway.
March 15, 2023 →
8.5/10 Reviews Star Wars Grogu Carries The Mines of Mandalore
Chapter 18 runs 44 minutes and doesn't feel like it. Grogu's personality is at its peak, Bo-Katan cuts up fools with the Darksaber, and there's a live mythosaur under the water. An 8.5 on the Know-It-All Index.
March 8, 2023 →
Reviews The Mandalorian Chapter 17, The Apostate, and Not a Thing Wrong That I Could Find
Mrs. Know-It-All is back for The Mandalorian Season 3, and the premiere lays a foundation in about 35 minutes that gave us more than most of last season did. A 9 from him, a 9.5 from her.
March 1, 2023 →
8/10 Reviews Doctor Who The Moment Eccleston's Doctor Becomes the Doctor Fully
Mrs. Know-It-All had never seen the Christopher Eccleston series, so we fixed that. Episode six puts the last Time Lord in a room with the last Dalek, and neither of them walks out the same.
February 5, 2023 →
8.5/10 Reviews The Last of Us A Slow Burn on Purpose, and It Had Us Sobbing on the Sofa
The Last of Us is a show based on a game, and it's no joke. Episode 1 makes you invest in Sarah before it takes her away, and that's the whole reason the rest of it works.
January 17, 2023 →
7/10 Reviews Willow I'd Like a Little More Willow in the Willow Show
The Willow finale, Children of the Wyrm, is ridiculous all day, and I enjoyed the ride anyway. A Val Kilmer cameo I needed, Willow's grand entrance, and a 7 out of 10.
January 11, 2023 →
8/10 Reviews Doctor Who I Was Wrong to Tell People to Skip Season One
World War Three lands the two-parter that Aliens of London started, with farting aliens, a jar of pickled onions and a fire sale on planet Earth. Mrs. Know-It-All and I both had a great time.
January 10, 2023 →
8.5/10 Reviews Willow A Good Episode After Two Bad Ones, and I'm Mad About It
Beyond the Shattered Sea is the penultimate episode of Willow, and it's good enough to make me angry about the two before it. A begrudging 8.5 on the Know-It-All Index.
January 4, 2023 →
7.5/10 Reviews Doctor Who Rubber Suits, Forehead Zippers and a Cast That Commits
Aliens of London is about as campy as Doctor Who gets, with rubber suit monsters, our first look at UNIT and Harriet Jones. Mrs. Know-It-All and I talk through part one of the two-parter.
January 1, 2023 →
6/10 Reviews Willow Prisoners of Skellin Is Better Than Last Week, but Not by Much
There was no Willow review last week because Episode 5 was a bridge episode and it was bad. Episode 6 is better, but with two episodes left the show is about an episode behind where its story should be.
December 28, 2022 →
Reviews Doctor Who First Christmas, Part 11: A Warning
An original Doctor Who audio story. Herod finds the Time Lord he locked up leaning in his doorway, and learns how the Time War ended, before the Doctor gives him one warning about the child.
December 25, 2022 →
Reviews Doctor Who They Perfect Light
Amy runs from a mob through Bethlehem, Rory picks up her trail with the shepherds, and the Doctor finds out the star the three wise men are following is the TARDIS.
December 25, 2022 →
Reviews Doctor Who The First Noel
Amy runs from a mob straight into a stable in Bethlehem, Rory turns up with shepherds, and the Doctor rides in on a camel with two priests and a gift. Part 13 of First Christmas.
December 25, 2022 →
Reviews Doctor Who First Christmas, Part 14: Loose Ends
The Doctor holds the newborn in the stable, hears something only he can understand, and tells Amy and Rory who the child really is. The final chapter of my Doctor Who Christmas story.
December 25, 2022 →
Reviews Doctor Who First Christmas, Part 9: We Three Kings
Part 9 of First Christmas, a Doctor Who Christmas story by Mr. Know-It-All. Three priests wait on King Herod, and Balthazar finds a drawing of a man he just saw down the hall.
December 25, 2022 →
Reviews Doctor Who First Christmas, Part 8: Watching Over Their Flocks By Night
Part 8 of First Christmas, the Doctor Who Christmas story. Rory wakes up in a flock of sheep, meets four shepherds who don't much care for Romans, and looks up to find a light in the sky that's brighter than the moon.
December 25, 2022 →
9/10 Reviews Doctor Who A Christmas Episode the Way Die Hard Is a Christmas Movie
Charles Dickens, a funeral parlor in Cardiff in 1869, and the first real look at what the Time War cost somebody else. Mrs. Know-It-All and I rewatch Series 1, Episode 3, and we don't land on the same number.
December 18, 2022 →
9/10 Reviews Willow The Whispers of Nockmaar Is Member Berries Done Right
Willow Episode 4 walks its heroes into Bavmorda's abandoned castle and lets the ghosts of the 1988 movie do the exposition. It should have been Episode 3, and it's still a solid 9.
December 14, 2022 →
8/10 Reviews Doctor Who Psychic Paper, Lady Cassandra, and a Doctor Fresh Out of the Time War
Mrs. Know-It-All has never seen the first season of the 2005 reboot, so we're watching it together. Episode 2 takes Rose five billion years out to watch the Earth burn, and it holds up better than I remembered.
December 11, 2022 →
The Files Doctor Who The Know-It-All Files
Somebody asked what happens if the Doctor goes up against Freddy Krueger or Michael Myers, so I wrote both episodes out loud. Plus what's wrong with the Doctor, the Jenny show I want, and the woman Doctor question again.
December 7, 2022 →
7/10 Reviews Willow A Fun RPG Fight and a Storyteller I Can't Trust
The Battle of the Slaughtered Lamb has a pitched fight in the rain I'm all the way down for, and a Boorman reveal that makes me question the writing. A 7 on the Know-It-All Index.
December 7, 2022 →
8/10 Reviews Doctor Who Mrs. Know-It-All Meets Christopher Eccleston's Doctor for the First Time
Mrs. Know-It-All had never seen the first season of the 2005 Doctor Who, so we went back to episode one. Bad CGI, a hot mess of a mom, a vial of anti-plastic, and a quieter Doctor than I remembered.
December 4, 2022 →
The Files Doctor Who An American Doctor, the Doctor's Wife, and Whether Q Survives the Time War
Eight Doctor Who questions, answered. Yes, an American could play the Doctor, and I know exactly how you'd do it. Plus River Song, Russell T Davies, the Q Continuum and why the TARDIS keeps redecorating.
December 2, 2022 →
Reviews Willow The Muffin Girl Was Elora Danan All Along
Two episodes in, the Disney Plus Willow series bans magic, hides Elora Danan even from herself, and finds its focus once Willow's dream turns out to be a death sentence. A 7.5 for the first episode and an 8 for the second.
December 1, 2022 →
8/10 Reviews Willow It's Harder to Sell Magic Than a Laser Sword
Before the new Disney+ series, a very special Know-It-All Files on the original 1988 film: who the Nelwyn are, who Willow Ufgood is, how the story runs, and why a very good movie took years to find its audience.
November 30, 2022 →
10/10 Reviews Andor Rix Road Sets One Town on Fire for One Man
Everybody in the galaxy lands on Ferrix at the same time, Maarva gives the speech of the season from 50 feet in the air, and the post-credit scene proves Mrs. Know-It-All right. A 10 from both of us.
November 23, 2022 →
Reviews Doctor Who Why the Doctor Can't Go Back for Amy and Rory, and Seven More Doctor Who Questions
Eight Doctor Who questions pulled from Quora and Reddit, answered in one sitting: Amy and Rory, Russell T Davies coming back, a Harlan Ellison episode, the first Black Doctor, and why the Doctor ran from Captain Jack.
November 23, 2022 →
8/10 Reviews Andor Daughter of Ferrix Puts Every Storyline on a Collision Course
Maarva is gone, the Empire wants a funeral it can box in, and the Rebellion finally shows us what it costs. A setup episode that doesn't feel like one.
November 16, 2022 →
Reviews Andor One Way Out Earns the Second 10 I've Given an Episode
Four episodes of Andor in one sitting: Announcement, Narkina 5, Nobody's Listening and One Way Out. A prison built on 5,000 men and a handful of guards, and the hour where they finally do the math.
November 9, 2022 →
Reviews Doctor Who Russell T Davies' Master Plan, and Why I'm Not Scared of the Mouse
Doctor Who is moving to Disney+ in the United States, and I'm not taking it the way everybody else is. Russell T Davies said out loud in 2021 that he wanted an empire, and he's the one guy who can build it.
November 2, 2022 →
8/10 Reviews Doctor Who I Wish This Level of Writing Had Gone Into Everything
The Power of the Doctor hit on all cylinders for me, the companion support group was a chef's kiss, and then David Tennant walked out of that regeneration. Here's my theory on how Donna gets us to Ncuti Gatwa.
October 28, 2022 →
Reviews Star Wars Give Me Lightsaber-Wielding Space Wizards
Mrs. Know-It-All and I sit down and take stock of Star Wars in 2022: the prequels, the beautiful mess of the sequel trilogy, Kathleen Kennedy, Dave Filoni, and why the Disney Plus shows have us both voting good.
October 21, 2022 →
10/10 Reviews Andor The Eye Is the Heist We Wanted, and the First 10 This Show Has Earned
The Aldhani heist finally goes off, Cassian becomes the man we met in Rogue One, and a 45 minute episode plays like a movie. Mr. and Mrs. Know-It-All both land on the same number.
October 14, 2022 →
Reviews Andor The Axe Forgets Is a Setup Episode, and a Good One
The Axe Forgets is the night before the heist. Everyone has their own rebellion, Cassian admits he's being paid, and the only fear in our house is that the heist gets chopped in half.
October 5, 2022 →
6/10 Reviews Andor Aldhani Starts a Second Movie and Stops Before It Gets Going
The first three episodes of Andor were a movie. Aldhani is the opening of the next one, a Star Wars heist film with a Mon Mothma story running beside it, and it ends so abruptly it cost the episode points.
September 28, 2022 →
9/10 Reviews Andor Three Episodes That Add Up to the First Act of a Movie
Disney Plus dropped the first three episodes of Andor on the same day, and you needed all three. Mr. and Mrs. Know-It-All on a two-hour origin story for Cassian Andor that feels like Rogue One and plays like a spy thriller.
September 21, 2022 →
Reviews Star Wars Obi-Wan Kenobi Part 6 Review: Two Old Fighters Clubbing Each Other in the Street
The finale gives you the Obi-Wan and Vader duel you wanted, an origin for Uncle Owen's limp, and a Reva who can't go through with it. Mr. and Mrs. Know-It-All on Part 6, and on where the Path could go next.
June 22, 2022 →
Reviews Star Wars Obi-Wan Kenobi Part IV Review: The Jailbreak Episode, and a Leia With Nothing Left to Learn
Part IV is the Star Wars jailbreak episode, with Obi-Wan on the sneak and Vader raw as can be. It's also a ten-year-old Leia who's already as capable as she is at 19. Mister and Mrs. Know-It-All, two scores.
June 20, 2022 →
Reviews Star Wars The Obi-Wan We Know Starts His Climb Back
Part Five is so much better than last week's episode, and it still doesn't feel like the one before a finale. Mr. and Mrs. Know-It-All on Reva's real target, Obi-Wan taking charge, and how this thing ends.
June 20, 2022 →
8.5/10 Reviews Star Wars We Got Everything We Wanted, Just Not the Way I Wanted It
Part 3 finally gives us Darth Vader versus Obi-Wan Kenobi, with James Earl Jones sounding like he never missed a beat. The fight itself is lackluster, and I think that's because it's the first of a couple.
June 1, 2022 →
8/10 Reviews Star Wars The Return of the Jedi and a Shocking Reveal
Parts I and II of Obi-Wan Kenobi turn out to be a ten-year-old Leia story, they answer a question about A New Hope I never thought to ask, and they end with Obi-Wan learning Anakin is alive. Mrs. Know-It-All joins me for the first time.
May 27, 2022 →
Reviews Halo Master Chief Lets the Countdown Hit Zero
Solace isn't as action-packed as last week, and it doesn't need to be. John locks Halsey in a decontamination chamber to find out what Cortana can really do to him, Halsey loses the Spartan program, and the hour ends on the ring.
April 28, 2022 →
10/10 Reviews Halo Reckoning Brings Master Chief's Fury to a Boil
Master Chief gets his origin story back, Halsey proves how dirty she is, and the Covenant shows up for the best fight since the premiere. The first 10 out of 10 on the Know-It-All Index.
April 22, 2022 →
9/10 Reviews Halo Homecoming Has Three Plots and I'm Hooked on All of Them
John digs up proof that his memories are real, Kai cuts out her pellet and puts pink in her hair, and Kwan finds out what's left of Madrigal. Episode 4 of Halo is a 9 out of 10.
April 15, 2022 →
Reviews Halo Emergence Hands John a Partner Built From a Flash Clone
Episode 3 of Halo is the one where we get Cortana, and the show builds her out of a flash clone of Halsey. John cuts out his own pellet, Makee walks through a massacre, and the storytelling stays strong.
April 7, 2022 →
9/10 Reviews Halo Unbound Lays the Groundwork, and Chief Should've Kept the Helmet On
Halo Season 1 Episode 2 goes light on action and heavy on story: a Spartan who ran, a Covenant that needs humans, and Halsey putting Cortana on the table. The helmet is the one complaint.
April 1, 2022 →
7/10 Reviews Halo A Good Opening, and a Helmet That Came Off Too Soon
I've never played the games, so I'm taking the Halo premiere clean, as a sci-fi series and nothing else. The action is right, the in-helmet shot is right, the compositing isn't, and Master Chief's face shows up about three episodes early.
March 24, 2022 →
Reviews Spawn Questions, Todd McFarlane's First Complete Story
Todd McFarlane wasn't looking to just spin a monthly comic yarn. Here's the whole of Questions, Spawn issues one through four, from the deal with the devil to the heart getting ripped out of his chest.
March 20, 2022 →
7.5/10 Reviews Turning Red Pixar Made a Safe Movie, and Disney+ Is the Right Place for It
The technique is the best Pixar has ever put on screen and the puberty story is dead on. The style, the supernatural through line and the story itself are where Turning Red comes up short.
March 14, 2022 →
Reviews Cyberforce Everybody at Image Had an Answer to Wolverine
Thirty years of Image Comics, and we're going back to Cyberforce #1, The Tin Men of War part one of four. Ripclaw, Cyblade, Impact: everyone on this team is a response to something else happening in comics, and the story does eventually outgrow it.
March 10, 2022 →
Reviews Spawn Spawn Has His Heart Ripped Out in Questions Part 3
Thirty years of Image Comics, straight from my pull list. Spawn #3 is the one where he finds Wanda, finds out she's moved on, and gets his heart pulled out of his chest by the Violator.
February 21, 2022 →
10/10 Reviews Star Wars Boba Fett Rides the Rancor and Grogu Saves the Day
Chapter 7, In the Name of Honor, is sixty minutes of everything we wanted this show to be: a rancor in a kaiju fight, Cad Bane in the street, and Grogu choosing to go home to dad.
February 9, 2022 →
10/10 Reviews Star Wars Luke Skywalker, Grogu and Ahsoka Tano Steal the Show
Chapter 6 of The Book of Boba Fett is barely a Boba Fett episode. It's a love letter to Star Wars fans and, in my opinion, a backdoor pilot for a Luke Skywalker Jedi temple series, and they proved they can pull it off.
February 2, 2022 →
Reviews Image Comics The Book That Got Me Into Image Comics
The Image Comics 30th anniversary pull list reaches July of 1992, when exactly one Image book came out. It was Erik Larsen's The Savage Dragon #1, and it's the reason I started collecting all of them.
January 31, 2022 →
Reviews Youngblood Rob Liefeld Loved Him Some Pinups
The Image Comics 30th anniversary read-through hits June 1992 and Youngblood #2: a book dedicated to Jack Kirby, the debut of Prophet, and a hero pose in every single panel.
January 24, 2022 →
8/10 Reviews The Book of Boba Fett Alliances Form and the Mandalorian Theory
Chapter 4 gets Boba his ship back, closes out the flashbacks, and ends on a music cue that has me convinced Din Djarin shows up next week. Consistent storytelling, if weak storytelling.
January 19, 2022 →
Reviews Spawn The First Image Book That Had Something to Say
For the 30th anniversary of Image Comics, Mr. Know-It-All rereads Todd McFarlane's Spawn #1 from May of 1992. It was called a poor man's Batman at the time, and the artwork carried a story that turns out to be not bad at all.
January 14, 2022 →
9/10 Reviews The Book of Boba Fett Rancors, Pykes, and the Mos Espa Gang War
Chapter 3 hands Boba Fett a rancor, a Wookiee who whoops him in spectacular fashion, and a dozen Pykes stepping off a starliner. It's the turn this show needed, and it's a 9 out of 10.
January 12, 2022 →
8/10 Reviews The Book of Boba Fett The Tribes of Tatooine Finally Makes the Tusken Raiders People
Chapter 2 confirms the two-timeline structure, stages a full Western train heist in the desert, and gives the Tusken Raiders a weight and depth Star Wars never bothered to give them. An 8 out of 10, and the reason I've come around on this show.
January 5, 2022 →
Reviews Image Comics The First Image Comic Is a Roll Call With Two Front Covers
Image Comics turns 30 in April, so I went back to the very first book with the imprint on it. Rob Liefeld's Youngblood #1 is flashy, there's no substance here, and it tells you everything about where comics were in April of 1992.
January 5, 2022 →
6/10 Reviews The Book of Boba Fett How Boba Fett Survived the Sarlacc
Chapter 1 opens inside the belly of the Sarlacc and finally answers the oldest question about Boba Fett. Then it slows way down, and I'm okay with that.
December 29, 2021 →
6/10 Reviews The Matrix Resurrections Better Than the Other Sequels, and It Still Didn't Break Any Ground
The Matrix Resurrections is a love story wrapped in nostalgia on a level I've never really experienced. I think it beats the other sequels, and I still skip everything until they get Neo out.
December 27, 2021 →
The Files Santa Claus Why Saint Nick Is More Powerful Than Superman
People say one man can't deliver presents to the whole world in one night, and no normal man could. There's nothing normal about Santa Claus. Nine powers on record, counted down from omniscience to immortality.
December 23, 2021 →
7/10 Reviews The Wheel of Time Blood Calls Blood and the Grief Lan Can't Express
Blood Calls Blood spends its hour on a warder most viewers just met, and people online want to know why. The answer is Lan, and a funeral scene that got me where I live.
December 6, 2021 →
Reviews The Wheel of Time The Thing I Was Worried About Is the Thing They're Not Doing
A book reader's first look at the opening episodes of The Wheel of Time on Amazon. The pacing works, the changes aren't slamming into me, and my wife fell in love with it from episode one without ever reading a page.
December 1, 2021 →