Author: Alex

A New Hope for Westeros It is no secret that the Game of Thrones franchise has had a turbulent decade. From the divisiveness of the Season 8 finale to the behind-the-scenes creative struggles of House of the Dragon, fans have been desperate for a win. Enter A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Based on George R.R. Martin’s beloved “Dunk and Egg” novellas, this series takes us back 100 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen. There are no world-ending White Walker threats (yet), and the dragons are gone. Instead, we have a muddy, rainy, intimate story about a massive man…

Set Phasers to “Dumb” “Do you just want to hate Star Trek?” That is the question fans of the Gene Roddenberry universe have been asking themselves for nearly a decade. Under the stewardship of Alex Kurtzman, the franchise has seen highs (Picard Season 3) and abysmal lows. Now, arriving in 2026 as potentially the final chapter of the Kurtzman era, comes Star Trek Starfleet Academy. Set in the 32nd Century—800 years after The Next Generation and following the events of Discovery—the show promises a fresh start. It is a time of rebuilding the Federation. But instead of the high-minded sci-fi,…

Breaking the January Curse? It is a tale as old as time in the film industry: “F*** you, it’s January.” Traditionally, studios treat the first month of the year as a landfill for horror movies they have no faith in (see: Night Swim). So, when Paramount announced Primate, a killer chimpanzee movie released in the dead of winter, expectations were underground. However, Primate manages to be a pleasant, albeit flawed, surprise. Directed by Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City), the film eschews the complex, “elevated horror” tropes of recent years for something far simpler: A…

Introduction: Floating High Expectations When HBO announced a prequel series to Andy Muschietti’s IT films, skepticism was high. IT: Chapter Two left a sour taste in the mouths of many horror fans—a 3-hour CGI fest where the ancient cosmic entity was defeated by being bullied into submission. The idea of Welcome to Derry initially felt like a “Gotham” situation: a show about a setting without the main attraction. Would Pennywise even be in it? Would it just be a procedural about a spooky town? Fortunately, Welcome to Derry defies the odds. Developed by the Muschiettis, the series maintains the cinematic…

After a mixed but promising start with Volume 1, we went into Stranger Things Season 5, Volume 2 (Episodes 5, 6, and 7) expecting the Duffer Brothers to hit the gas. We are, after all, hours away from the series finale of one of the biggest shows in television history. The pieces were on the board, the stakes were set, and we were ready for the endgame. Instead, we got three hours of spinning wheels, bizarre narrative choices, and a distinct lack of tension. Our team at TheBigBois sat down to watch the penultimate chapter of the Hawkins saga, and…

James Cameron is back with his third entry in the Avatar saga, Avatar: Fire and Ash. With a budget of $400 million and a runtime of 3 hours and 17 minutes, this film promises to expand the lore of Pandora by introducing the aggressive, volcanic “Ash People.” Our team at TheBigBois headed to the theaters to see if Cameron could strike lightning (or un-obtainium) for a third time. The result is a film that is undoubtedly the most visually spectacular thing ever committed to screen—and simultaneously one of the most narratively exhausting and repetitive blockbusters in history. Visuals: 11 out…