It’s that time of year when deliveries get hectic so a lot of home video releases for December have been delayed in coming my way so I have a slew of titles that came out throughout the month of December already. This is going to be a long one so grab yourself some hot cocoa and a candy cane.
Up first is the best of the bunch, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Season 2. I enjoy this prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series because it’s quirky like the original and has that oddball vibe that Discovery and other newer shows lack. Season 2 starts with Number One on trial for lying about her past and what she is. We get more about Spock and his love life and Captain Pike and his as well. We get more backstory on the doctor and Nurse Chapel and the musical episode! The actress that plays young Uhura has a set of pipes on her from doing Broadway and knocks it out of the park. Star Trek: Picard grew on me after Season One, but Strange New Worlds is my favorite newer series. Season 2 is just as enjoyable as Season 1 with more of the Kirks and more backstory for all characters. It does end on a major cliffhanger so I can’t wait for Season 3.
Sticking with TV we have Creepshow Season 4. I don’t think I realized the latest version had been around for that long already. From The Walking Dead’s Greg Nicotero, the show has some hits and some misses like all anthology based projects. The best of Season 4 is The Hat which involves a writer getting a hat that belonged to a famous author and it helps him write best seller after best seller. Of course the hat has a secret which the writer’s agent knew about. Other stories involve a photographer who won an award for a photo that might not be what it seems, a woman showing up at another woman’s house with a monster, there’s a family of vampires, a video game episode with the underrated Lochlyn Munro, an estranged father allowing his estranged daughter to get married on his estate and more. It’s a decent show with stories being good and bad.
Third we have Mrs. Sidhu Investigates: Series 1. This is a 2 disc, 4 episode series about a caterer who happens to find herself involved in crime cases. Her father was a cop, her husband is dead and her son is now living at home. The first episode finds the daughter of her friend involved in a murder at a gym and introduces a new cop who butts heads with Mrs. Sidhu. Episode 2 involves a Game of Thrones type convention where one actress is killed in the same style she killed someone on the fantasy show. Episode 3 involves the death of the CEO of a software company. Episode 4 involves the kidnapping of an up and coming fighter. We’ve seen similar shows from England & Ireland before especially having that small town vibe (despite not taking place in a small town). She snoops around noticing things and talking to people the authorities wouldn’t or couldn’t all while cooking food for the catering jobs taking place at the crime scenes.
Speaking of small town vibes, Doc Martin: The Complete Series came out earlier in the month. Doc Martin was a show that really grew on me the more I watched it. At first it came across as just another oddball show, but Martin Clunes is great in the role and there’s a ton of fun side characters that you want in small town living. If you like oddball medical issues, neighbors getting involved in each other’s business and a doctor not wanting to be involved with any of it then this is the show for you. This box set features all 10 seasons, 2 movies and the fantastic Farewell Doc Martin retrospective. It also has interviews and 7 hours of behind-the-scenes features. If you are a fan of the show then this is a must own.
Rob Schneider stars and directs Daddy Daughter Trip with his own real life daughter. Schneider plays a wannabe inventor who delivers food while his wife works at a grocery store. Their daughter wants some fun during school vacation and Schneider promises her she will. He can’t afford all the things she wants, but when they run into a rich family who accidentally hit him with a guy, the hilarity ensues. They get involved with the rich family’s life because he keeps getting hurt and the daughter loves her time with her dad and her new friend (the son of the rich family). It has a nice, family friendly ending and Schneider fans will enjoy seeing him act opposite his real life daughter.
I Can is also a family friendly film about a girl who was born with one arm, but is a star softball player. A knee injury ends her season and she questions why god would make her the way she is and if she’ll ever play again. Yes it’s a Christian movie, but the story is based on a real girl who would go on to be a college All-American despite only having one arm. It’s pretty heavy handed and is definitely a faith based film, but the story of this girl’s drive and determination is important to hear about. I’m not a religious person, but I can see why this story is being shared. It’s not going to win any acting or filmmaking awards, but watch it for the story.
Divine Influencer is also a faith based film about a social media influencer who leaves her phone on accidentally recording herself saying bad things about a client and loses her social media world. She moves in with a friend, but that goes sideways and ultimately gets a job as a resident advisor at a homeless shelter so she has a place to live. It’s run by an old classmate and of course she struggles at first coming from quite a different lifestyle. But with God’s help she finds her way and learns along the way. It’s not for me, again, not a religious person, but I can appreciate the story of trying to influence people in the right away and taking care of those less fortunate.
Next is Bad Things which unfortunately doesn’t have many good things about it. It’s about a woman who inherits a hotel and she brings her girlfriend and two other women for one last weekend. She must decide if she’s keeping it or selling it. It has a shady past and appears haunted with one character who no one really likes seeing ghosts. They get rid of her, but then a guy who’s with the main woman’s mother shows up and the main woman has a bad past with the hotel as well. It didn’t work for me. I hated all of the characters and found them all super annoying. I don’t think the ghost angle really worked and it could have just been a psychological thriller with the main woman’s past involved. Molly Ringwald has a small role in it, but even that really isn’t worth watching for.
Last we have Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. I missed this over the summer and had heard really good things about it. It has its pros and cons, but I think I’d say I was more disappointed in than liking it. It has some great Easter eggs in it which you’ll pick up if you are a TMNT fan. I grew up on TMNT and have seen most of the different versions throughout the decades. My issue with the film is that it’s too current. The Turtles are teenagers in today’s world wanting to go to high school, make videos and fit in. The music isn’t for me although it did throw in a rap song that long time TMNT fans will laugh with. I think I liked the animation which has a comic book style to it. I grew up on 1980s TMNT comics and the original ones weren’t even in color so this animation style feels like a throwback which I appreciate. I did like Jackie Chan as Master Splinter, but teenagers today doesn’t work for me. The Turtles were always into pop culture using slang (like cowabunga) of the time, but I don’t like today’s pop culture so it feels out of place. The 4K is absolutely gorgeous though so if you are going to pick this up I highly recommend the 4K. If Mutant Mayhem brings in a new generation of TMNT fans that’s great, but I do wish I liked this one more. I think it did well at the box office so hopefully the sequel brings in Shredder because Ice Cube’s villain didn’t work for me.
The Nerds Templar 