Bookended by Cats was named after Milo and Otis. They are the short, orange, and furry brothers who, upon entering our lives in 2003, often bookended us on our couch. And who are we? We're a geek couple living in PA. We love music, movies, TV, comics, books, and comic cons. And, from time to time, we'll share our thoughts on these nerdy things.
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 30, 2024

Star Trek Prodigy - Season Two


I am in awe of this show. A rag tag bunch of misfits giving us all the story and power of Star Trek. A show supposedly for kids but it made this adult cry, laugh and feel hopeful for a better future. 

Again the last 2 episodes of the season, just like season 1, are all that Star Trek is about. 

I hope there is a season 3 but if it has to end it certainly went out on top. Although I don't think I am actually ready to say goodbye to my new favorite family: Dal, Gwyn, Rok, Zero, Murf, Maj'El and Jankom.

It was a joy to hear some familiar voices on the show and see them in all their animated glory :) We tried not to look things up on IMDB or read the cast credits so we could be surprised when certain people showed up. It was also the reason for us binging the show as best as we could before SDCC. We didn't want to be spoiled but ... in the end we were spoiled with riches ... due to an amazing show and story ;)

I will most definitely be watching the show again and if you haven't found it yet or started it, I highly recommend you rectify that. I don't believe you will be let down at all. Go along for the ride and enjoy the rag tag family of misfits in all their Star Trek glory.

4 paws and a Murf ;)

Tuesday, July 9, 2024

Frasier - 2023 series reboot


We came for Toks Olagundoye and left with a reminder of old friends, incredible belly laughs and even a few tears. Toks is hilarious in her role as Olivia Finch and is an excellent match for Kelsey Grammer as Frasier Crane and Nicholas Lyndhurst as Alan Corwall. The comedic timing of the entire cast is truly amazing. I am glad Toks was in the show because I don't know if we would have watched and we would have missed out on some great comedy.

There are 10 episodes and there was only 1 we were not thrilled with (too much slapstick and cringe) and there is only one character that was a little out of place but by the end they found a way to make the character work. 

It was lovely to see the call backs to the original character of Frasier and the show Frasier. My favorite reference in the show is that the bar they frequent is called Mahoney's and that is to honor John Mahoney who portrayed Frasier's father in the original Frasier show and passed away a few years ago.

I am impressed with how they maintained so much of the original show and character even though we are quite a few years out from the original show. There are so many clever pieces to the show and probably some throwbacks that I might have missed. I do think it is best to watch if you have seen the original but it probably stands on it own too.

4 paws

Tuesday, July 2, 2024

Obi-Wan Kenobi - mini series

There is one main reason I wanted to post about this fantastic show.

Vivien Lyra Blair!!

She portrays 10 year old Princess Leia Organa and I would almost swear she is Carrie Fisher reincarnated! I 100% believe she will grow up to be Carrie Fisher's Leia. In fact, as we watched the last episode I kept crying because it made me miss Carrie Fisher so much.

Vivien is a key piece of this series and she holds her own so perfectly alongside such incredible actors: Ewan McGregor, Moses Ingram, Hayden Christensen, Jimmy Smits, Joel Edgerton and so many more.

I guarantee I missed a ton of great inside pieces in this show that linked to the movies, etc but it stood on its own to me even without knowing all the ins and outs. I did ask Brainwise a few questions to keep me on the right page though.

If you are a Star Wars fan, this is a must see. If you just a casual Star Wars fan, I still say this is a must see. It is well put together and it fills in some gaps and provides us the most perfect 10 year old Leia.

4 paws

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Old Guard - Netflix

 

I had no idea what this movie was about, of course it’s been about 3 years since this was released. I didn’t even remember it was based on a comic book until Brainwise started saying how different scenes looked like the book. 

The number one thing I will say about this movie is that it is ULTRA violent. I mean ULTRA violent. There was quite a lot that I didn’t watch because it was just too much. 

Charlize Theron looked incredible and was superb in this role. The story was very interesting and we found out that a second movie may be coming. I look forward to the story but maybe not the violence. 

Again it was good to see a female main character and a bad a$$ one at that. Kiki Layne was awesome and also very bad a$$ too. I also adored the scene between two of the male characters expressing their love for each other while in quite a bind with the bad guys. 

Such a very different story and incredibly interesting.

3 paws

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Paper Girls - Amazon Prime

 

I know this is based on an excellent comic book but I have not read it nor do I know anything about it. But the main characters are girls and I know it is a popular story so I added it to our watch list last year. 

I am so glad I did. What an excellent series!! The girls were fantastic and the story was extra wild but really good. I didn’t have any issue trying to follow along with the story and while I may have missed some tie ins from the comic book series I don’t think it was anything critical. 

It’s good that I felt satisfaction with the ending since it will not have a second season. Not that I wouldn’t watch more if they had gone on but I felt closure with the story as told. 

The casting was incredible. I easily believed the versions we were shown and I wonder how the actors felt looking at versions of themselves. 

The music in this series was awesome too! Lots of "oldies but goodies" :) 

4 paws

Tuesday, December 12, 2023

America’s Tallest Singing Christmas Tree

 Yes, the title is true and it is spectacular.


And these are all high school students from Mona Shores High School in Michigan. 

I first heard about it a few years ago on TV and put in the list of things I wanted to do. Then two years ago a comic con friend of ours posted about it and I had to know how she knew about. Crazily enough they live in the area and her husband works at the school. I told her that we wanted to visit to see the tree. 

Fast forward to earlier this year and we find out both her children would be part of the orchestra for the Tree. Right then and there we started making plans to visit and see the show. 

We arrived Thursday in Grand Rapids Michigan and then drove to Muskegon Michigan to check in across the street from the theater. 

Saturday we went to the 3pm show and had seats in the lower balcony. There are no words to describe how incredible the show is. They played and sang so many of my favorite songs and the ones I didn’t know are now favorites too. The kids put everything in to the show and we loved it so much we bought tickets to the 7pm show too. The seats this time were not together and we had a person in the last row of each section so now I want to see it from the orchestra seats I might have to go back for the 40th anniversary!!

They live streamed the 7pm show and we are told it might replay at Christmas. I hope so because I would love to see it again. 

If you ever find yourself in Muskegon Michigan the first weekend of December I highly recommend this show. 

4 paws and a tail with a jingle bell collar 

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost


Hallmark Channel blew me away with this one. 

Madeleine Arthur as Ruby is glorious. Simply glorious! I didn't even realize how many things I have seen her in until I looked her up on IMDB. She looked completely different here.

Makeup and costuming deserve awards for styling Ruby. She is stunning at every turn, from her clothing to her jewelry to her makeup to just her incredible self.   

This is such a clever and beautiful story and it’s carried out wonderfully by Julie Gonzalo, Chris McNally and Madeleine Arthur. 

The connection between the two women is amazing and I love how they support each other. I love how they grow and learn and become the best versions of themselves even with over 100 years between them. It's both good and bad to know that some things carry through the times and are the same for people regardless of the surroundings :)

Speaking of surroundings, I loved the set for this movie too. Beautiful home with beautiful furnishings. I would love to know what came first when creating this movie: the story, the setting, the costuming, regardless all of it is perfect and wonderful.

You all know I don't post too many Hallmark movies (I do watch them all), but this one really was just wonderful and different and I had to share my thoughts.

4 paws, 2 ears, 1 tail for all 9 lives ;)

Let’s put it this way, I didn’t delete this from my DVR when it ended because I’m going back to watch this one again. 

Tuesday, October 24, 2023

Secret Invasion - Disney Plus

 

I love Samuel L Jackson and I love Nick Fury so I was very happy he had his own story to tell but this series could have been much much better. I don't even know if I know exactly what was the issue. It was definitely too quiet, slow and it definitely doesn't stand alone... not that it should.

It is shows like this that I am glad I don't try to tell the story in my post. I just state if I liked it and if you should watch it. I definitely could not easily describe what we watched and I would not watch this again but you should watch it if you are a Marvel fan and if you plan to watch more Marvel Universe. I am sure we will need this series to help with the upcoming The Marvels and who knows what else.

It is only 6 episodes, so it doesn't overly torture the watcher and on the good side there is lots of information about Nick Fury that, at least, I didn't know.

2 paws

Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Star Trek: Lower Decks Seasons 1-3

As I wrote in my review of Strange New Worlds, I am so glad we had watched two episodes of this series before the crossover episode. It definitely helped us enjoy the crossover much more as we had background that would have been missing otherwise. I know that sounds obvious but really it made a huge difference with us liking the episode and not liking it.

So honestly, I did not like season one at all overall. It was a little too off kilter for me. The humor is not my favorite and it was hard to get into the silliness of it all.

Luckily, the next 2 seasons were better. They seemed better put together and flowed much better. There was story and things carried over into other episode and everything just worked better and I was able to get into it. I am glad. I know so many friends who rave about this series and I was sad I wasn't feeling it. 

Although I do have to say, if you have never watched any Star Trek, there is sooooo much you will miss in this series and sometimes it does make a difference to liking/understanding an episode and not. I asked Brainwise maybe the most questions during this series than any of the others... that is a lot of questions! I just don't recall past shows like he does, so he definitely enjoys the show much more than I do.

I do refuse to miss out though. I love how all these series fit together in so many different ways. So clever and so difficult and I appreciate it.

2 paws - season one

3 paws - season two and three

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-4

 

Sonequa Martin-Green is glorious in her role as Michael Burnham. She is fierce, strong, independent, brilliant, courageous, confident, loyal and one of my favorites in the Star Trek universe. 

Right behind Sonequa is Mary Wiseman as Sylvia Tilly. She is my spirit Star Trek character. I adore her. She is exactly who I would be if I were in the Star Trek universe. She is a great friend, brilliant scientist, incredible team member and I definitely want to be friends with her.

Over the four seasons we were treated to a roller coaster of emotions. We laughed, we cried, oh how we cried, we yelled, we were annoyed, we swooned, we cheered and we loved almost every second of all four seasons. There were a few wobbles but not enough that I can remember them specifically now to write about them. 

This show is a definite for the Star Trek aficionados and even those that aren't. There are quite a few episodes that lead to deep discussions between Brainwise and myself. You will definitely be entertained by almost all the episodes and if you are a Doug Jones fan, you definitely need to watch him portray Saru. We love him and we knew he was in this series, we just did not know how much he was in this series and we were thrilled. He was spectacular and perfectly cast for this role.

I could go on and on about each member of this cast and how wonderful they are: Anthony Rapp, Wilson Cruz, Emily Coutts, Jason Isaacs, Tig Notaro, and the amazing Michelle Yeoh. Just go and watch and enjoy it all.

4 paws

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves - movie

 

I was unsure, even half way through, if I liked this movie. Then we got to the end and I found myself crying and I realized that I did indeed like this movie. 

I do believe it is MUCH better if you have any DnD knowledge, which I do not but it is a fun movie with more story than I expected. 

I was also very surprised to see Hugh Grant in here but he ended up being the right person for the role. There were a few things I wish were different but overall it was a fun rollicking story and movie.

Chris Pine was excellent in his role as was Michelle Rodriguez. Justice Smith and Sophia Lillis were also perfect for their roles. 

If you are looking for a fun 2 hours, I recommend checking this out. If you have any DnD background, I say you MUCH check it out. Then come back here and let me know your thoughts about it.

2 paws

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Star Trek: Picard Season Three


 Speechless once again.

All my favorites from Next Generation (well almost all) in one place but once again. My heart is happy.

What an excellent story!! It allowed each character to have their moment on their own and together in various ways. I just loved seeing everyone again and in some ways it is like no time has passed at all. Just a little more gray and maybe a slight be slower to run :) I'll take it and I am grateful this was created and that everyone was part of it.

Obviously this season had even more tie ins to previous iterations and I am sure I missed a lot of information but it certainly didn't detract at all for my love and admiration of this show, characters, and actors. My sobbing during the season and at the final episode is a testament to that. The space these people hold in my heart is immense and special. I am forever grateful for knowing them.

Please go and watch and enjoy the pure love that is on your screen, both from the characters and from the actors. Like Strange New Worlds and the love they have for their characters, Picard season 3 is the same. The care that there is for the characters and their stories is impeccable. 

4 paws and a tail

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Star Trek: Picard Season Two


Not as good as season one but still an excellent show.

Brainwise and I both believe this season could have been done in 5 episodes but they made it last 10.

Agnes as Queen was incredible and I completely understand and support what she did. I feel that I might have done the same if I were in her character.

Elnor is lovely but there may be a few too many mentions of him and it is part of the reason 10 episodes seemed too long for this season.

Picard's childhood and Maman was just a bit... ok a lot... overdone. Again this could have been 2 episodes max and it would have covered what was needed but instead it did run over the whole 10 episodes.

I wouldn't tell you not to watch but just be aware that this season may slow down just a bit too much. BUT you need it to cover some very important information that comes from season 1 and appears in season 3.

I would say that the guest star character is not my favorite but it ended up working out and my annoyance was for not.

3 paws

Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Star Trek: Picard Season One

 

I am huge Patrick Stewart fan and an even bigger Patrick Stewart as Jean Luc Picard fan. He is just pure perfection as himself and as Jean Luc. 

I loved this season. I heard many who had issues but I had none. I for one absolutely LOVED every cast member, I though they were perfectly cast and Alison Pill was so incredible (and could possibly be me  if I were in the show LOL). She has one scene that we replayed just because it was perfect and hilarious and soooooo me. 

We also repeated a Rios scene because it was absolute perfection and verrrrry unexpected ;)

There were soooooooo many tears though. Wow, that was truly unexpected. I don't think I realized how much I missed the characters or how much they have impacted my life and this is only the first season!!!

I loved the mystery of the season and I loved the discussions it led to between Brainwise and myself, including could the Romulans actually be right???

I give nothing away and I tell you, just sit down with a box of tissues and jump right in. Patrick Stewart brings it all along with the rest of the cast and we are off on an adventure of a lifetime, or two. I always appreciate the bigger questions that Star Trek asks as this season didn't hold back. There were times I thought I knew what I believed but by the end of the episode I was looking at it all a whole different way. Not many shows can do that after how many iterations. 

To that point, the show opens discussing death and I don't think of Star Trek as being about death. I always viewed it as being about exploration and finding life and helping other beings live their lives. But this season showed me what perhaps I didn't want to see or failed to realize and I am grateful for it. Life is not forever and you should get out and explore as much as you can in the time you have.

There were also tons of tie ins to Star Trek history and again I had to ask Brainwise quite a few questions but I would have been fine if I chose to not ask and just keep watching. Some things were answered as we went along, some things were not necessary in the end and other things helped me better appreciate the story.

We are already going to start Season 2 but I wanted to be sure to get this written before we did that. I am very curious where we are going next but I am definitely along for the ride. I wonder who we might run into this time around :)

4 paws

Tuesday, September 5, 2023

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2


Brilliant and every single possible synonym!!!!

I am practically speechless from this season.

AND the musical episode... who ever in their right mind thought there would be a musical Star Trek episode??? Not me!! BUT it may be one of my favorite episodes of any show ever that I have seen. It was perfection from start to finish, including the opening credits and closing credits... in fact make sure you always watch and listen to them for all the episodes ... they tie in more often than you would expect.

I adore each casting in this show and I am grateful for the love and care each actor has for their character. These are big character shoes to fill and they all do it wonderfully. I can't even call out one of over any other. They all bring their A games every time and it looks like they all get along in real life.

I will also just place a name here which to me is proof of how amazing this show is: Carol Kane!

I am also glad we happened to watch 2 episodes of Lower Decks before we launched into this second season. As there is an episode with a cross over... yup you heard me.. a crossover with an animated show. Again, the brilliance this took to pull this off was outstanding... err out of this world ;) I was grateful to understand the incoming characters by watching the 2 episodes, I am pretty sure I would not have enjoyed it as much without the background.

I do love all the mentions of other parts of Star Trek but I do have to ask Brainwise quite a few questions to keep up with it at times. I just don't have the mental capacity to recall my Star Trek watching history and catch all the tidbits but Brainwise is like a Star Trek Encyclopedia at times :) and I mean that in the most loving way. Also you don't necessarily miss anything if you don't know the history, it just adds a layer if you do know it.

I have to say if you aren't watching this show... get off your butts and then hold on to them while you watch one of the best series out there.

4 paws and a tail (or is that contrail)

Tuesday, August 15, 2023

No Time To Die


 The final movie with Daniel Craig as James Bond.

A perfect send off. I loved this movie. I thought it was a perfect ending for Daniel Craig and even this generation’s James Bond. 

Great story, incredible action, excellent characters. I don't recall what the reception was for this movie but I greatly enjoyed it. I thought it felt like a James Bond movie and while it allowed for an ending that wasn't expected, I quite liked it and felt it was fitting.

There were a few throwbacks to other James Bond movies and I am sure I missed quite a few things also but I felt it paid its dues. I would definitely watch this one again.

4 paws

Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Good Omens - Season One


Amazon prime is where you can find this Neil Gaiman goodie. 

Although I wasn’t as enthralled as I expected through the first two episodes, it did find its footing with me as it went along. I felt like I was watching Monty Python and while I like some of their shows, there are some parts I don't like and I worried about this when it first started. But I hung in there and as I said, it did get better for me and I ended up enjoying it.

The kids were incredible and I feel like they had to really push themselves in their roles as they had very difficult tasks and stories to move through. I adored the relationship between Aziraphale and Crowley and I am sure this is why so many of my friends love this series ;)

I would definitely caution anyone who is easily offended religiously and possibly even generally. This is quite a heavy story and covers many controversial topics. It think overall though it can lead to many good conversations about religion, good and evil and what it means to be a human being.

I have never read the story that any of this is based on but I know Neil Gaiman is a brilliant storyteller so I know we will be watching season 2.

3 paws


And don't forget to check out The Hillywood Show's pardoy of Good Omens on YouTube after you watch the first season!!

Tuesday, July 11, 2023

Tales of the Jedi

 

Animated shorts on Disney +

I am sure for deep dive Star Wars fans these would be met with joy. I however would say I made it through them. I didn't hate them, I didn't love them. 

One of my main issues was the animation itself. It was odd to my eyes and brain. I wouldn't say it was bad animation just odd.

I also had a hard time placing the people in the shorts. Meaning I didn't know who they were without looking up the cast and even if the short told me the people, I didn't know the timeline for where it all fit. So as I said earlier deep dive fans probably got a lot out of these, I had a harder time with them.

2 paws for me but 4 paws for fans

Tuesday, July 4, 2023

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season One

 

I have already written about the first episode of this series awhile ago but now we were able to watch the whole first season on You Tube. Maybe not the best way to watch any series but it did the trick and we were able to enjoy this amazing series overall.

Anson Mount seems like he was born to play a Star Trek Captain. He is perfection to me and I really enjoy his take on Captain Chris Pike. He is engaging, funny, deep, thoughtful, strong, soft, and a great Dad figure to everyone. 

Every actor was perfect for their casting and I am in love with all of them. I would love to be friends with them all, especially Uhura portrayed by Celia Rose Gooding. She is effortless and beautiful and an amazing homage to Nichele Nichols' Uhura but also all her own woman.

I love the humor that is imbedded in the stories, I do wonder if some of it was ad libbed or if it was all actually scripted. Each episode gave each character a front row seat but each character was a part of their story. Even what seemed an oddly paced episode 8: "The Elysian Kingdom", it turned out to be one of our favorite episodes.

As with all Star Trek there is always deeper meaning and ways to connect their stories to either our own lives, the world around us or the universe at large. I always feel that Star Trek stories come from deep history for each writer and it is akin to storytelling in olden times. Stories you would tell around the campfire and would be passed down through every generation. 

It is true that Brainwise might have caught a few more things than me due to his deep history of Star Trek knowledge but it didn't detract from me loving this series. He would fill in the information and sometimes it would trigger a memory for me of watching the original series or a name would ruminate and remind me of something I had seen. 

The filming/cinematography of this series is beyond incredible. You feel like you are in the stories and the lighting at times just adds so much depth to the story in front of you. I love that we laughed as much as we cried and rejoiced as much as we were heart-broken.

I remember being so blown away by that first episode, and yes we watched it again and it held up, that I was so happy that the next 9 episodes were just as good. It is not a spoiler to say that it is nice to know who won't die, since they have to be around for The Original Series episodes :) That allowed us to dig in deep to the stories and see the growth and laying out of the history for all the stories to come.

4 paws and a tail


Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Wednesday on Netflix

 Dangrdafne review:

What an incredible thrill ride. Excellent writing and story. Jenna Ortega was very good as Wednesday but my heart was with Thing. I loved Enid. It blew my mind that all the "teens" were 20+ years old in real life. But perhaps that allowed the actors to bring a different level to the teens they were portraying. 

I loved all the throwbacks to the original show and all the ways they brought in my favorite parts of the original but updated and in clever ways. Two snaps ;)

I loved all the twists and turns and red herrings. It kept me guessing and it was a very satisfying outcome overall. Although I would say I didn't try too hard to figure it out as I just wanted to watch, enjoy and see where we ended up.

I was ok knowing that there may not be a second season as this one was pretty much all encompassing but after it was all said and done and we found out during our binge watching that it would be back, I think it is a good decision and there is definitely more story to tell.

4 paws