The Pliley Review

  Genre:  Fantasy, Drama, Horror, Science Fiction Rating:  TV 14 Synopsis: The new Starcourt mall is the talk of the town. But when strange things start happening with Billy, Max's brother, it's up to our favorite band of misfits to get to the bottom of the mystery.  Straight off the bat in this season, it was amazing. Immediately there is a mystery, drama, and the start of a creature of some kind. The new characters like Mayor Larry, Cary Elwes did amazing and as a huge fan, it was awesome to see him in the show. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of Lucas's little sister's character but Priah Ferguson did a great job with the material she was given and towards the end I felt better about her being there.  Everyone did such an amazing job with this season. From the writers to the actors and everyone in between. Special shout-outs this season are most definitely Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven and Dacre Montgomery as Billy. Both were just freaking incredible in their respe

  Genre:  Fantasy, Drama, Horror, Science Fiction,  Rating:  TV 14 Synopsis:  Reeling from his experience in the Upside Down, Will adjusts to life among the living. While everyone else in town prepares for Halloween and something sinister is growing.  Immediately we are thrown back into the weird and wonderful. Everyone is dealing with the aftermath of season 1. New characters are introduced immediately and at first, I wasn't sure but then Billy got out of the car. Mainly kidding but seeing Dacre Montgomery and Sean Astin I had high hopes for this season. I also felt that Sadie Sink as Max was a welcome addition to the group. None of the new characters pulled away from the original cast, in fact, I believe they added layers to them. Each of them did an incredible job.  The action and adventure scenes were amazing as was the CGI. The new creatures were just incredible and played their part perfectly. Trust Dustin to make a friend.  The major downside to this season was how long it t

Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Horror, Science Fiction Rating: TV 14 *If you want your kids to watch it you may want to check it out first to see if they can handle it. Synopsis:  When a young boy vanishes, a small town uncovers a mystery involving secret experiments, terrifying supernatural forces, and one strange little girl.  Right from the start, this show throws you into this small town, where something huge is happening. We're introduced to the main cast, Will, Mike, Dustin, and Lucas as they play a game of D&D. Within the first few scenes you understand that this show is not afraid to put the kids in danger and whatever is out there means business.  The 80's vibe is just perfect with the houses, cars, and even the small details like name brands of products that are in the background, etc. Clearly, the Duffer brothers knew what they wanted and went to great lengths to ensure everything was perfect. It is exactly how it should be. And the soundtrack matches each scene and mak

  Genre: Documentary, Music & Musicals, Social & Cultural Docs.  Rating: TV-MA - language Synopsis:   Global superstar Jennifer Lopez reflects on her multifaceted career and the pressure of life in the spotlight. I'm not usually one for documentaries and it's not for any specific reason, aside from the lack of dragons. I tend to lean more towards fantasy, science fiction movies, TV shows, and books just simply because real life is already too depressing.  However, I'm a fan of JLo but I wouldn't say that I'm a super fan who has all her albums etc though I do love some songs. I have seen all of her romantic comedy movies as I love watching her in those roles. I also watched the super bowl halftime show that was just incredible.  I also think she is a fascinating person so I was intrigued when I heard about this documentary she released about her journey to the super bowl show and her life before that. I honestly did not know much about her life until this doc

Published:  July 16, 2012 Genre:  Science Fiction, Dystopian, Mystery, Adventure Rating:  PG13  Synopsis: The Trials are over. WICKED have collected all the information they can. Now it's up to the Gladers to complete the blueprint for the cure to the Flare with a final voluntary test. But something has happened that no one at WICKED has foreseen: Thomas has remembered more than they think. And he knows WICKED can't be trusted ... The time for lies is over. But the truth is more dangerous than anyone could have imagined. This book starts off where we last left Thomas, alone in a room. And this time he is taking no chances. Finally, he has had enough and refuses to trust anything about Wicked.  About damn time if you ask me. That last book...ugh.  This book was a complete shift from the last as right away the story feels more thought through and executed in a way that gives you plenty of action, but also human moments that I loved from the first book. Each character plays their

  Published:   October 12, 2010 Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian, Mystery, Adventure Rating: PG13  Synopsis:    Thomas was sure that escape from the Maze would mean freedom for him and the Gladers. But WICKED isn’t done yet. Phase Two has just begun.    The Gladers have two weeks to cross through the Scorch—the most burned-out section of the world. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.    Friendships will be tested. Loyalties will be broken. All bets are off.    There are others now. Their survival depends on the Gladers’ destruction—and they’re determined to survive. This book is where the main storyline changes dramatically from the movie. This actually made the review a lot easier as it's not a side-by-side comparison like the first.  I will state for the record that scorch trials is my favorite movie from the franchise but I promise I did my best to remain neutral.  The Scorch Trials waste no time in throwing you back with Thomas an

  Published: September 25, 2009 Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian, Mystery, Adventure Rating: PG13 - Scary scenes and violence.  Synopsis:   When the doors of the lift crank open the only thing Thomas remembers is his first name. But he's not alone. He's surrounded by boys who welcome him to the Glade — a walled encampment at the center of a bizarre and terrible stone maze. Like Thomas, the Gladers don't know how or why they came to be there — or what's happened to the world outside. All they know is that every morning when the walls slide back they will risk everything — even the Grievers; half-machine, half-animal horrors that patrol its corridors — to try to find the way out. For the record, I'm a huge fan of the movie series. I was intrigued by the fact that they were books first so decided to read them. The entire cast will still be pictured as the characters though since I love them all.  After finishing the first book of the series I can see why they decided

 Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi Rating: TV 14 Synopsis:  The mercurial villain Loki resumes his role as the God of Mischief in a new series that takes place after the events of “Avengers: Endgame.” If you are unfamiliar with Avengers Endgame then this TV show will make little sense. Although that being said time travel always has very confusing situations come up. After Endgame it was already confusing how they would proceed with a Loki TV show. However watching the first episode, they have a clear idea, and honestly, it works.  Just like Hawkeye, this season is only six episodes, which as a huge Loki fan was a massive disappointment. I'm not sure why they classed Hawkeye as a mini-series and this as a season but whatever.  The first episode was pretty emotional, action-packed, and brought in some new characters that are both intriguing and mysterious. With all of the revelations over the course of the series, I thought the first episode was by far the best.  As the sto

  Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime, Mystery Rating: TV 14 Synopsis: Former Avenger Clint Barton has a seemingly simple mission: get back to his family for Christmas. Possible? Maybe with the help of Kate Bishop, a 22-year-old archer with dreams of becoming a Super Hero. The two are forced to work together when a presence from Barton's past threatens to derail far more than the festive spirit. To be crystal clear and upfront Hawkeye is my least favorite avenger. I mean when you compare him to the others he is, for lack of a better term, basic. Although being a badass ninja, archer and former assassin is definitely not something most would consider so. Compared to other regular people he is beyond awesome, but when compared to someone who can control lightening it's different.  Anyway on to the series.  In order to understand what is going on in this series, you need to have watched at least the original Avengers movie as well as Avengers Endgame. Both have clear references that

  Genre :  Action, Adventure, Science Fiction Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of action, some violence, and language Synopsis:  Four years after the destruction of Isla Nublar, dinosaurs now live--and hunt--alongside humans all over the world. This fragile balance will reshape the future and determine, once and for all, whether human beings are to remain the apex predators on a planet they now share with history's most fearsome creatures in a new Era. As the synopsis states, this movie is based on the events that occurred in the previous one, Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom. You will definitely need to know what happened in the last movie before seeing this one.  From the moment I saw the trailer I knew we were in for a fantastic ride and our family are huge fans of the series. My son especially is one of the biggest fans of the franchise I've ever met. That being said I'm going to be completely honest with my review.  Seeing Alan, Ellie and Malcolm were a joy and the ac

  Netflix Original - No copyright intended Genre : Science fiction TV, TV thriller, TV horror Rating: TV MA After the glorious success of the last volume, I was hoping and praying that this would live up to the hype. Admittedly I was disappointed again seeing it was only 9 episodes, however, it did not disappoint.  Three Robots: Exit Strategies = 4 out of 10 Bad Travelling = 8 out of 10 The Very Pulse of the Machine = 7 out of 10 Night of the Mini Dead = 7 out of 10 Kill Team Kill = 8 out of 10 Swarm = 6 out of 10 Mason's Rats = 6 out of 10 In Vaulted Halls Entombed = 8.5 out of 10 Jibaro = 7 out of 10 Final Thoughts This volume was filled with crazy journeys, incredible visual effects, and just insane situations. This volume was filled with some amazing additions and others, while gorgeous and well-acted, were just hard to understand and keep up with. My favorite hands down were In Vaulted Halls Entombed. If you watch it you'll understand why. I want either a video game or a