Yup, KING OF THE HILL Season 15 takes the throne

Up On The Hill

By TIM DAVID HARVEY 

10 Episodes. Starring: Mike Judge, Kathy Najimy, Stephen Root, Pamela Adlon, Lauren Tom & Ronny Chieng. Created By: Mike Judge & Greg Daniels. On: Hulu & Disney +.

We'd say we were in the golden age of animated television, but the yellow family of sitcom's 'Simpsons' already took care of that, from the crude drawings of when you millennials were born, until around about now. That's despite that J. Cole lyric about Kendrick Lamar falling off, which we all know isn't true. He retracted all that (DOH!) and didn't want the smoke. Forget albums with no guest features. How about thirty something seasons and counting?

Half that and you get the fellow Fox come Disney + and Hulu show 'King Of The Hill', still created and show ran by Mike Judge & Greg Daniels, no matter how many times Hank Hill throws that lawn sign in the trash can...things like that were hilarious back in my day. I can't believe I'm saying that, but they still are. The Hills took an extended hiatus when Hank and Peggy moved to the middle-east, but propane proved to still be king when they returned last year to rave reviews. And just wait until you watch the last episode of this new set of ten which we hope gets us a sweet sixteenth season. Because 'King Of The Hill' may once again be the best thing on television, if you can still call it that, I tell you what. Animated or not. Couple that with Prime Video's 'Batman: Caped Crusader' spiritual sequel to 'The Animated Series', not to mention Disney's 'X-Men '97' reboot and it's not just a golden age, it's a nostalgic one. What a time to still be alive.

Mike Judge, Kathy Najimy, Stephen Root, Pamela Adlon, Lauren Tom are joined by one of today's funniest men Ronny Chieng in a show that throughout its history have added Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston and Meryl Streep to its lawn. Yup, it was Streep, Pitt and 'Friends' big back in its day and way. The picket fence stance with a tin of beer being their equivalent of a couch gag from 'The Simpsons', with as little as an "uh-huh." Back in the day it used to be the big-three of those two families and 'The X-Files' on Fox. I want to believe in small screen successes like that again. Now, in the revived blue-collars of Arlen, Texas, there's a few more wrinkles and a little less hair (same). Not to mention an all grown up Bobby Hill, no gout, who fuses Japanese food and loves BTS (OMG SAME!). Just wait until he talks to Hank about his favourite member and whether he'd jump off a bridge with "her", too.

In this season there's a failure to hard launch (alright, alright, alright, Mr. Texas, Matthew McConaughey once guest starred on this show too. We can't wait until Mickey Mouse brings all the seasons back) with Connie, a scruffy but lovely dog that will have you in "the feels" (Hank Hill voice) of your fondest memories. Scams, nerds and actual relation-SHIPS, in some comedic and compelling couple counselling. Not to mention a golden girl, a celebrity chef that makes Ramsey look as lovable as family. So literally cuddle up with someone (because there's an episode about that, too) before the rooster sounds another morning and just remember the good ole times of our lives and the shows that reflected them on the tube. 'K.O.T.H' knows how to keep up with the times (see, I put it in an abbreviation, I do, too), but isn't afraid to stay in its own lane. Because that's the sweet spot. And like the end of its Gracie Films like, quotable I.D.'s, season fifteen knocks it out the park.

BATMAN: CAPED CRUSADER Season 2 holds all the cards

The Caped Knight

By TIM DAVID HARVEY 

10 Episodes. Starring: Hamish Linklater, Jason Watkins, Eric Morgan Stuart, Krystal Joy Brown, John DiMaggio, Gary Anthony Williams & Michelle C. Bonilla. Created By: Bruce Timm. On: Prime Video.

Crusade your way through the golden era of the 90s, when M.J. was the G.O.A.T, in both music and basketball, and they even fed that animal to a T-rex in 'Jurassic Park', and you'll see and feel that entertainment was just different. Even before the real dawn of superhero movies, from Robert Downey Jr's "same mask, different task" Iron Man, to the 'Doomsday' the 'Oppenheimer' Oscar winner is going to bring back to the M.C.U., things got really animated.

There used to be a DC vs. Marvel debate. Which animated series was better. The 'X-Men', or 'Batman'?

Well we all know which one had the better theme tune, as you'll never hit "skip into", but Batman's opening card was art, too. Now the debate has been reignited with a rush of nostalgia to the pimply forehead. Because not only have Disney + brought back the 'X-Men '97' throwback redux for a second season, Amazon's Prime Video have also given us ten new episodes of 'Batman: Caped Crusader' for their own second series. Helping bolster Prime as a third wheel in the big-three battle of Netflix and Disney streaming services. Especially with their fellow film-noir superhero style of Nicolas Cage's madcap live-action version of his 'Spider-Noir' into the verse. An utter delight, live in living colour, or in true hue black and white.

This 1940s period piece doesn't need its live-action affair. From Keaton to Pattinson, we have too many brilliant Batman's for all that. Yet, how about one more in the late, great Kevin Conroy honouring Hamish Linklater (of 'Legion' fame)? He heads a vocal cast of Jason Watkins, Eric Morgan Stuart, Krystal Joy Brown, John DiMaggio, Gary Anthony Williams and Michelle C. Bonilla that are stars in this rogue's gallery war, even without the legendary Mark Hamill's iconic Joker voice and laugh. Because wait until you get a load of the one that will have you dying with a smile on your face here. Like 'Folie a Deux' with a lady going Gaga as Quinzel. What more could you expect from a show so brave, bold and brilliant enough to have Minnie Driver playing the penguin? Waddle aside, Colin!

You see, 'Batman: Caped Crusader' is more than a spiritual successor to the original and outstanding 'Batman: The Animated Series'. It's damn near an actual sequel, making its own legend in its own right. So much so that even the brilliant Bruce Timm is back to help (re)create Bruce Wayne. Not to mention every villain in the frame's origin story. A penguin with different plumage, a more gangster enigma, and a clown with a British accent who calls you brother?  Not to mention a beautiful Batmobile bonnet even bigger than this Dick Tracy's Desperate Dan chin. This J.J. Abrams Bad Robot produced gem with the help of latest Bat director Matt Reeves is the real Gotham knight the city deserves.

This wonderful Warner Bros. animation gets psychological, personal and profoundly powerful in parts. This young Wayne even has help with more Barbara Gordon than a killing joke...and it's not on us. The criminal foreboding continues on this super second season. Spinning its wheels, but not changing the mood of its Arkham ancestors. This season you'll have a rocketeer, zombies and even the devil himself. But it's when the cards are finally dealt that you have to give this crusader a hand. It's one deal you'll just shake on, even if you know in your bones, something in your hand will go buzzzzzz! But have no cape fear, this knight is the darkest and the dawn of more things, like before, to come.

A brand new SPIDER-MAN for a 'BRAND NEW DAY'

The Spider-Web Chronicles.

By TIM DAVID HARVEY

145 Mins. Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Tramell Tillman, Michael Mando, Liza Colón-Zayas & Mark Ruffalo. Screenplay: Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers. Director: Destin Daniel Cretton. In: Theatres.

Climbing up the water spout, back along comes a spider. The last time we caught Tom Holland's Spider-Man in 'No Way Home' (2021), he had a spell with Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor...excuse me, Stephen (still feels weird) Strange. One that reversed all the damage that Jake Gyllenhaal's Mysterio did to Peter Parker's alter-ego in 'Far From Home' (2019). So much so, now nobody knows his name like fellow New Yorker Alicia Keys. But in the concrete jungle where dreams and superheroes are made, your friendly, neighbourhood web crawler is back like the Knicks in five, baby! Ready to do battle with Prime Video's 'Batman: Caped Crusader' noir spiritual successor to 'The Animated Series'. In revenge for the cruelly cancelled ambition of Marvel's 'Wonder Man'.

The real marvel, helping to save a franchise some see as floundering (not me, I can't wait for the 'Doomsday'), was one the late, great Stan Lee conjured up when he was bored one day in his Manhattan office, staring at an arachnid scaling the walls. There's plenty of Easter Egg nice nods to some classic comic covers here, too, for this amazing fantasy and superior Spider-Man film that's as amazing as one of his old friends. This has been the longest time in-between Holland Spidey films, with good sense, as Tom's trilogy had two years between each film. It's now been four and almost ten years since his 'Homecoming'. It's actually, amazingly been a decade since his debut, shield and scene-stealing in 'Captain America: Civil War'. Yet this anniversary milestone provides Peter with a fresh start.

'Brand New Day' is not to be confused with the 'Desert Rose' of a Sting album. Although Parker is working with the police, and a cucumber cool, cop character chopped and cooked up by 'The Bear's' Liza Colón-Zayas. She's joined by her former head chef Jon Bernthal, who is having quite the year with his own 'Gary' episode of the Chicago town place of gastric worship. And his 'Dog Day Aftenoon' thing on Broadway with another member of the front of house. Not to mention his 'One Last Kill' standalone epic episode of The Punisher in bloody and brutal, disgusting and devastating, undeniable ultraviolence...especially for a Disney property. Mickey Mouse didn't do Frank Castle wrong. Apart from that GTA wasted CG.  And neither has the teenage superhero in redder spandex that gets right under Castle's skin than Daredevil. Although there is a swear jar, with a webbed lid on it.

To be Frank, Parker and The Punisher actually relate to each other in an outstanding odd couple for the cinematic canon. Especially when Castle brings his own shooters to Peter's web of intrigue. Stepping into the Robert Downey Jr. ('Homecoming'), Jake Gyllenhaal ('Far From Home') and Benedict Cumberbatch ('No Way Home') big brother role of mentoring, Bernthal nails what quite possibly might be his greatest turn in the skull spray-painted bulletproof vest yet. Especially when he brings his legendary truck to bear. Not to mention being the only M.C.U. character in the movie mainstream world that can get away with dropping the F bomb, alongside a couple of claymores. "Above his paygrade?" Nah, this is what fans have wanted to see from the street-level Marvel heroes, ever since the days they were defending for Netflix before the Disney deal.

Cool cameos keep this film compelling, but collected, as too many supes don't spoil the broth. And neither will we. But don't expect any Peter twos or threes. And those biggest fan theory dreams are truly the stuff of pipes and hype. Yes, Spider-Man fights The Hand in a prison, as well as on Google maps, but that doesn't mean you're going to see another red. That one catches a brick. We do have a Hulk though, and seeing Frank take on this tank is like another classic comic crossover, as Mark Ruffalo gives us the not so jolly green giant's most considered character conflict in years. Hulk CLAP! Holland, Bernthal, and Zendaya (who alongside Jacob Batalon's best friend gives us even deeper meaning as you are thrown through a gauntlet of emotions) are having quite the summer with this 'Brand New Day' and 'The Odyssey' of the latest and greatest Christopher Nolan epic. 

Yet the real fun lies here. Filmed especially for Screen X's big-three, but like 'Odyssey', inspired when it comes to the IMAX depths scaling skyscrapers. DO look down! Set to a strong, yet sweet script from Chris McKenna ('American Dad', 'Community') and Erik Sommers ('The LEGO Batman Movie', 'Ant-Man & The Wasp'), and directed with redefinition by 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'' very own Destin Daniel Cretton ('Short Term 12', 'The Glass Castle', 'Just Mercy'), who had some fight scene set-piece help from Jackie Chan and his team...and it shows! Delightful, dark. Heart-breaking, healing...and damn hilarious. This all feels brand new, even though Tom now wears his spider suit like a second skin...and that spider might have even more bite with science bit narration from the great Keith David. 

Naomi Watts' vocal assist, 'Mission: Impossible' submarine scene-stealer Tramell Tillman, and Michael Mando's Scorpion sting gives this tale even more teeth. But just you wait, and don't speak (no doubt), until 'Stranger Things' star Sadie Sink gets into her secretive, surprise role that could just be as iconic as her running up the hill with Kate Bush and rising above it all. Is that a hint? Or should you just watch? A fantastic film, like the four, that throws all sorts of red herrings at you, all before the countdown to the end of Marvel's calendar year. You'll see none of that here. But the closing credits of New York just being New York are as refreshing and as beautiful as the city becomes when you really see it for what it's worth in the world. With possession scenes straight out of Denzel Washington's 'Fallen' playbook, amazing action and signature Marvel sauce to spice up the malaise, this is the spider's day, man. Now, with more films than the legendary Tobey Maguire, Tom Holland is Spider-Man. 

Further Filming: 'Spider-Man: Homecoming', 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings', 'The Odyssey'.

This is the way back for 'THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU'

This is still the way for a galaxy far, far away.

By TIM DAVID HARVEY

Every year where I live, in Yokohama, Japan, they go all out, like Tokyo a train over, when it comes to celebrating May the 4th (be with you). This year was no cosplay exception, with seemingly everyone about town in some sort of Star Wars costume. But the biggest attraction was a big Baby Yoda, meditating like he did with those 'My Neighbor Totoro' dust bunnies for that sweet Studio Ghibli short.

It may always be Baby Yoda for me, but The Child still takes the biscuit...with the most adorable force. 

Grogu, the cutest thing in cinema since Disney neighbour Marvel's Baby Groot in 'Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2.', deserves his name in laser bright light credits, alongside 'The Mandalorian'. After three-seasons of the hit Disney + show, and seven years since the last Star Wars movie ('The Rise Of The Skywalker'), despite many spin offs and shows on the Mickey Mouse streaming service, 'The Mandalorian and Grogu' is now in theatres, looking to out moonwalk 'Michael' and do a deal with 'The Devil Wears Prada 2'. All before 'Supergirl' and the 'Doomsday' of the new 'Avengers' movie takes superhero flight for the rest of the calendar that will surely belong to 'The Odyssey' of Christopher Nolan.

Yet, there's nothing like a big box-office blockbuster on an incredible IMAX screen to get your summer started. As Jon Favreau, who did for The Mandalorian and Star Wars what he did for Iron Man and the M.C.U., is back in the saddle with his Russo Brothers like partner Dave Filoni to bring George's Lucasfilm vision back to Hyperspace. As soon as that iconic Mando music comes back in, for his theme tune, you just know it's on. 

Critics may be complaining (no wonder I switched from reviews to column writing), but Star Wars hits all the right Cantina notes with this Mando lore. The opening act, teased on Disney Plus for the last month, white walks with the best snowscapes seen on scenes. And that cliff face will kick you right into the reason you purchased that IMAX seat, and not for one of the cool limited-edition posters. A couple of dogfights and barroom brawls later (not to mention an arena for gladiators) and you'll be so glad the chrome dome is back on the head of the new Reed Richards of 'The Fantastic Four', Pedro Pascal as Din Djarin...even if his legions of fans may deem that "monstrous."

Stuntmen Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder also deserve their due as Mando, like the Grogu puppeteer's and Werner "you are cowards" Herzog do for the cutest creature creation. Who would have thought that some old green goblin would be everyone's favourite Christmas present, like Buzz Lightyear, returning for 'Toy Story 5' this summer? Yet this kid is more than alright. We could watch his sneeze snow and tap his father's helmet all day long. But the beautiful bond, that will reduce you to tears is much more than that, patting down mud. "The old protect the young, and then the young protect the old," is one of the best lines since "this is the way", and any other Star Wars soundbites you love ("I know"). 

Mando and Grogu may ride again, but some are missing in the fold. Like a fired Gina Carano, who didn't last that long on Netflix, either, and the late, great Creed of Carl Weathers with the 'Predator' hand clasp. But there is a new cast of characters to add to your rogues gallery of favourites. Most notably, in size at least, being 'The Bear's' Jeremy Allen White offering more humanity to a Hutt. Some call it a curious choice for the Emmy winning star of 'Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere', but who else would pass up the chance to play The Boss and a space slug?

Elsewhere there's strong support from 'Dune' actor Stephen McKinley Henderson who always brings heart to everything he does. Whilst the iconic 'Alien' actress Sigourney Weaver adds an X-Wing pilot to her resume, doing for this franchise what 'Terminator' legend Linda Hamilton did for 'Stranger Things', or what Weaver did for Marvel's 'Defenders'. The biggest surprise, mind you, might be one of the greatest directors of all-time Martin Scorsese playing a chimp like shopkeeper cooking up something to rival Favreau's favourite grilled cheese sandwich from 'Chef'. Armed with more hands than Marvel has movies. Absolute you know what.

Scored by 'Sinners' winner Ludwig Göransson and what sounds like a Lady Gaga number, some say 'The Mandalorian' should have never shown his face again. Others think this merely plays like a couple of episodes of the TV show tacked together. More like the other way 'round. These shows were always known to be filmed on the same cameras as Scorsese cinema. We all know what the real "Asset" of this Star Wars lore is...especially when he finds some similar minded and sized friends, but under the hood, 'The Mandalorian' and his foundling, have so much more humanity and heart. And there's art in the ultimate space western for the best science fiction of our past, present and any future you can think of.

There is no way quite like this.

TV REVIEW: PARADISE - Season 2

3.5/5

Paradise Lost

8 Episodes. Starring: Sterling K. Brown, Julianne Nicholson, Sarah Shahi, Nicole Brydon Bloom, Krys Marshall, Charlie Evans, Aliyah Mastin, Percy Daggs IV, Enuka Okuma, Thomas Doherty, Cameron Britton, Shailene Woodley & James Marsden. Created By: Dan Fogelman. On: Hulu & Disney +.

Ready for another season in 'Paradise' on Hulu and Disney Plus? This eight-episode wonder of a second series, from the 'This Is Us' creator/actor team of Dan Fogelman and Sterling K. Brown, will leave you thinking it's some sort of 'Lost' and 'Wayward Pines' hybrid. Or 'Prison Break' in reverse. And if you thought you heard that cover of the classic Phil Collins (there's even a President that looks like him, here, now the Cyclops of James Marsden has stepped down) song too many times, wait until 'The Final Countdown' of an epic, 'Exodus' end. Under the dome of the first season, we got to see the divide between the haves and the have nots, reflected back to the turbulent times we live in right now, like a mirror to the future. But this season, those locked below decks in the Titanic are coming up from the bowels of the ship for air.

Cliff-hangers rarely literally throw you out of a plane, but that's where Sterling K. Brown ('The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story', 'American Fiction', 'Black Panther') left us, out of 'Paradise', to end the first season. Now, the multiple Emmy and Golden Globe winner has to leave his kids (great performances from Aliyah Mastin and Percy Daggs IV) as he looks for their mother and his beloved, Enuka Okuma. The great Brown, knows how to bring 'Waves' of lump in the throat emotion, even to more straight-forward scripts, and it's this nuance that helps propel a narrative that's anything but linear. Meanwhile, there's a power struggle inside the bunker, now the great Marsden is reduced to a recurring role. His son, Charlie Evans, isn't, mind you, maturing before us. Julianne Nicholson's Sinatra wants things done her way, but Sarah Shahi is determined to make her think about what she's done and the consequences of her actions. Not just that, agents Krys Marshall and a livewire Nicole Brydon Bloom, could give Eva Longoria in 'The Sentinel' or Taye Diggs in 'The West Wing' a run for their guns.

Flashbacks and more back story than the notebooks of 'Wonder Man', for a show sandwiched between the marvels of that and the second helping of the Disney 'Daredevil' from Hell's Kitchen, 'Born Again', help with depth and the introduction to some welcome guest stars. All whilst seemingly setting up more in a stepping stone of a second season, which takes tricks and tips from 'Prison Break' in extending its sentence. 'Mindhunter' and 'The Umbrella Academy' star Cameron Britton ('A Man Called Otto', 'Mickey 17') can bring a mix of sweet and sinister, like no other, and here he plays a postman that compels like Costner. Whilst Thomas Doherty's (a 'Descendant' of many a Disney movie) Dylan gives more life to the outside in this post-apocalypse that looks like ides this March. That's where he meets superstar Shailene Woodley ('The Fault In Our Stars', 'Divergent', 'Big Little Lies') on horseback, holed up, with people storming the gates of Graceland, as an Elvis tour guide. The scene-stealing best in show has barely been better, too. 'Paradise' find even more, with another way to turn trouble into television drama of the highest third season order. Ready to go deeper underground? TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'Lost', 'Wayward Pines', 'Prison Break'.

DUAL REVIEW: BTS - THE COMEBACK - LIVE/THE RETURN - A DOCUMENTARY

4/5 (The Comeback)

4/5 (The Return)

Back To Seoul

62 Mins (The Comeback) / 93 Mins (The Return). Starring: RM, Jin, J-Hope, Suga, Jimin, Jung Kook & V. Directors: Hamish Hamilton & Cameron Whitelaw (The Comeback) / Bao Nyguen (The Return). On: Netflix.

Switcheroo. Last week, Flea, candid and compelling, offered moving stories about his late, great guitarist bandmate in the Netflix documentary 'The Rise Of The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother Hillel'. The same time RM, Jin, J-Hope, Suga, Jimin, Jung Kook and V of South Korea's very own leading K-Pop act BTS made their long-awaited after their mandatory military service. All for 'Arirang', their highly-anticipated, brilliant, brand-new album, featuring the streaming single 'Swim' and the 'Body To Body' opening dancefloor number. Giving us 'The Comeback' live on Netflix in the same weekend. Much like how fellow boy band phenomenon Harry Styles gave the streaming service 'One Night In Manchester' to coincide with his solo release, 'Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally'. This New Music Friday, Flea blew the trumpet on his first ever solo album, 'Honora', in honour of the bassist's family. All on the same day we got ready for 'The Return' of BTS again, in their new Netflix documentary film. Don't call it a comeback...that was so last week.

Netflix may have lost out to Paramount when it came to the acquisition of Warner Bros. (thanks a lot, Trump), but look what else they've picked up. Most recently, not only being the only streaming provider to televise this year's World Baseball Classic, they also gave us the MLB opening night between the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants. But it's the N x BTS deal that may just get an ARMY of new subscribers following. Disney used to be the Kingdom of BTS. From the 'Monuments: Beyond A Star' series detailing their hiatus, alongside the 'Permission To Dance' swan song live in LA, to all the documentaries about the solo work of J-Hope ('J-Hope In The Box') and Suga ('Road To D-Day'). Not to mention the hugely popular 'Are You Sure?!' travel series by Jimin and Jung Kook, which just sky-dived its second season in Switzerland. Yet that was the past and the best to come that was promised. And kept, as we see the future now, live on everybody's favourite streaming service that belongs to their best friend.

Now, what better way to debut their return record than with a homecoming in Seoul, South Korea, like no other...live? How about in the heart of the city, live from Gwanghwamun Square? The iconic temple that feels like a gate to the city featuring brushstrokes of projection mapping, added on to it for the effect at night, similar to what the digitally iconic TeamLab Borderless did to Kanazawa Castle and more, here in Japan. Classic, like the traditional dress of women singing the album title name's folk song as they sway in love, sorrow and endurance. Yet when the silhouettes of the magnificent seven appear on the map of the heart of Seoul, you just know it's on, like one of their biggest hits. Performing powerhouse records like 'Mic Dop', 'Dynamite', and other smooth like 'Butter' numbers, to go along with instant classic choice cuts off the new album. "Swim...swim." All as RM coolly took a seat, like this was a 'Yet To Come' performance, thanks to his going hard in rehearsals leaving him down on one knee, in matrimony with the Boyz II Men ballad seat.

In the engaging 'The Return', a documentary directed by Boa Nguyen ('Live From New York!', 'Be Water', 'The Greatest Night In Pop'), BTS debate whether they are using too long a sample of 'Arirang' in their album lead off track 'Body'. But as they sing, "my beloved/Who leaves me behind and departs/Your feet will tire/Before mine ever do," it's clear to hear that in-yun in 8,000 past lives, these boys would still be together. Most break...not this bulletproof squad. Candour and conviction are matched with a camaraderie that shows even the military couldn't tear apart what was already an army. And when they reunite on a beach, live online for their legions of fans, BTS behind the scenes like when Jimin asked Jung Kook if he was sure, you just know this one is more than just seven strong. Sealed with viral moments and a labour of love and trust of the process in a studio setting in Los Angeles, California. All the way back home across the shore and a live, studio plugged version of 'Swim'. A new lap for a group that has already taken its victory one and is about to run, run, run together again. The return has come all the way back. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'BTS - Monuments: Beyond The Star', 'BTS - Permission To Dance: On Stage - LA', 'Are You Sure?!'

REVIEW: MERCY

3/5

The Mercy Seat 

100 Mins. Starring: Chris Pratt, Rebecca Ferguson, Kali Reis, Annabelle Wallis, Chris Sullivan, Kylie Rogers & Kenneth Choi. Screenplay: Marco van Belle. Director: Timur Bekmambetov. On: Amazon Prime Video.

Just mercy. That's all that 'Guardians Of The Galaxy', 'Jurassic World' and 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' franchise face, Chris Pratt wants in this A.I. sci-fi movie (I promise this review wasn't composed by Chat GPT...it wouldn't have this many errors) that speaks to the changing, terrifying times we live in. 'Project Hail Mary', the new Phil Lord and Christopher Miller space movie, based on 'The Martian' novelist Andy Weir's book, starring Ryan Gosling, just gave Amazon MGM Studios it's biggest opening ever. See it in all its big-screen, IMAX glory, as Gosling tells us it's their (moviemakers) and not our (the audience) jobs to get us back in theatres. I must admit, if I knew it was a Prime movie going in, I may have waited for streaming (we see you...or wait to see you, Chris Hemsworth's 'Crime 101'), because I sympathize with his bicycle riding (not for health) teacher. But I'm glad I didn't. On the other hand, Chris Pratt's 'Mercy' is worth the home viewing seat wait.

Not quite, the 'War Of The Worlds' Ice Cube franchise melting bad, 'Mercy' is a pretty decent movie. Captured with that 'Searching' screenlife genre that doesn't completely sap the life out of storytelling when done correctly. Pratt's ('Passengers', 'The Tomorrow War', 'The LEGO Movie') cop character has been accused of murdering his wife ('Peaky Blinders' star Annabelle Wallis...'The Immortal Man', Cillian Murphy, may have something to say about all this), and now he is literally at the mercy of 'Mission: Impossible' franchise star Rebecca Ferguson's (who actually is in 'Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man', on Prime Video's Netflix rival, this week) A.I. judge. He's got 90 minutes, or around this film time, to get his guilt level below 90%. Otherwise that digital courtroom chair he's sitting in will turn into an electric chair. With shades of 'Minority Report' and all those Philip K. Dick science-fiction stories that came before, Timur Bekmambetov's movie (off a slick, Marco van Belle script) has something to show and tell. Even if it comes at you more like the algorithms of modern-day pop-ups you just want to block.

Accept these cookies though, Bekmambetov ('Night Watch', 'Wanted', 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter') is the master of his screenlife domain ('Unfriended', 'Searching', 'Profile') no matter what you think of last year's 'War Of The Worlds' ("it's you...IT'S YOU!"). At least there isn't much Amazon product placement here, even if there are cool drone bikes, although it feels like they're resisting temptation as best they can. The real stroke though is the theatre between the charismatic Chris and Ferguson, serving looks and intelligence that is anything but artificial as she excels in playing a non-human in this art with smarts. Staring straight at you and boring holes in us at a thousand yards. There's also great support from 'True Detective: Night Country' partner Kali Reis, the Taserface of 'This Is Us' star Chris Sullivan, and the generations of Marvel Morita's, Kenneth Choi. Yet it's 'The Whispers' of young star Kylie Rogers ('Miracles From Heaven', 'Collateral Beauty', 'Beau Is Afraid') who offers more heart for this digital age. But what about the questions of how dependent we are on artificial intelligence these days, and how this assist could end up stealing our personal information if we don't take care of our privacy settings? The 'Mercy' seat is waiting for us. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'Minority Report', 'Searching', 'War Of The Worlds'