Not a whole lot for us this week so I’ll start with a nice, little movie you may or may not have heard of, Top Gun: Maverick. I’m joking obviously because it’s the biggest movie in the world and 2022’s best. Yep, the sequel to Tom Cruise’s 1980s classic Top Gun is as fantastic as you’ve heard. You’ve most likely seen it because it crushed at the box office. I mean CRUSHED because it’s one of the highest grossing films of all-time now. Like Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it takes the nostalgic feel of the source material, adds in some new characters and combines it all to redefine current blockbusters. Even after decades in the business Tom Cruise is still at the top of his game. He’s fantastic in his return as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell and schools (pun intended if you’ve seen the movie) the younger actors in the film. He has an age appropriate relationship with Jennifer Connelly (who somehow looks even more gorgeous) and brings tears to your eyes in one scene with a surprise cameo. It’s my favorite movie of the year and it’s not even close. There is Top Gun: Maverick and everything else as far as I’m concerned. The home video release is jam packed with great bonus features showing how some of the scenes were shot, all the stunts Tom did on his own and so much more. It’s a must own because the film is a must see (multiple times). Top Gun: Maverick is as good as blockbusters get and Tom Cruise is still the king.
Second we have Rubikon. This sci-fi thriller takes place in the near future with experts trying to solve how our species will survive thanks to climate change. I’m already tired of climate change being used as a plot device at this point, but the film has some decent effects with most of it taking place on a space station. It’s not something we haven’t seen before, but it’s at least watchable. I’m not familiar with anyone in the cast and I think it might be a foreign film dubbed in English, but I’m not 100% sure. I think the ending saves it. It doesn’t quite end how I expected which is good. It is pretty generic overall with similar stories and characters we’ve seen dozens of times and I can’t see myself watching it again, but I’m a sucker for sci-fi so I didn’t mind it overall.
Third we have Dark Winds: Season 1. If you like the show Yellowstone you should like this. I had never heard of this series from Executive Producers George RR Martin and Robert Redford. It takes place in the 1970s and is about an armored truck heist and murder of two Native Americans. Are they tied together or separate incidences? A new cop might have his own secret and past trauma could be connected as well. I thought the location was great and the leads were solid too. I love Yellowstone so that’s an easy comparison although that show is better than this. But if you are looking for something to watch in the meantime, Dark Winds is an easy binge. I watched the six episodes over two days and liked it.
The Nerds Templar 