Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

• Creator: Chris Black
• Starring: Kurt Russell, Wyatt Russell, Anna Sawai, Mari Yamamoto, Anders Holm, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe
• Eight episode season, five episodes watched for review

Grade: B-

Hey you! Yes, you! Do you like seeing giant monsters destroying things, wreaking havoc on everything they come across? Of course you do! Do you have at least a passing familiarity with Godzilla? Great! Do you like only seeing those monsters, including Godzilla, for a couple moments at a time, surrounded by many, many scenes of people talking about mildly interesting conspiracy theories? Have I got a show for you!

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Season 1

• Creator: Bryan Lee O’Malley, BenDavid Grabinski
• Starring: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Brie Larson, Kieran Culkin, Anna Kendrick, Allison Pill, Aubrey Plaza, Ellen Wong, Chris Evans, Brandon Routh, Jason Schwartzman
• Eight episode season, eight episodes watched for review

Grade: A-

You may ask yourself, while sitting down to watch Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, why am I watching this? Why did this need to be made? You may recall that Edgar Wright directed the film adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s comic series in 2010, and was seen as a mild disappointment at the box office, but still garnered mostly positive reviews. You may also notice that the voices of Scott Pilgrim Takes Off are the same actors playing the same roles from the original film adaptation. You may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile. (Sorry.) So why make an animated series, when Wright injected so much energy and visual flair into a film that already felt like a live-action cartoon?

The Buccaneers Season 1

• Creator: Katherine Jakeways
• Starring: Kristine Frøseth, Alisha Boe, Imogen Waterhouse, Aubri Ibrag, Josie Totah, Guy Remmers, Matthew Broome, Mia Threapleton, Josh Dylan, Christina Hendricks
• Eight episode season, three episodes watched for review

Grade: B

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: women in Victorian England had little-to-no agency over their lives. Whether it’s arranged marriages in order to climb the social hierarchy, the lack of job prospects outside the home, or the inability to claim their own sexuality, it was a dour time for the fairer sex. Which is why the recent surge in films and television to give a sort of revisionist history to the period has been both refreshing and a little repetitive. By the time you finish the first three episodes of AppleTV+’s newest series The Buccaneers, you’ve likely seen everything it’s depicting in one way or another, whether it be in shows like Bridgerton or films like Emma. and Emily. However, don’t let that stop you from checking The Buccaneers out, because it’s full of care and compassion that isn’t easy to come by.

Invincible Season 2

• Creator: Robert Kirkman
• Starring: Steven Yeun, Sandra Oh, JK Simmons, Zazie Beetz, Walton Goggins, Gillian Jacobs, Andrew Rannells, Zachary Quinto, Jason Mantzoukas
• Four episode season, four episodes watched for review

Grade: A-

While sitting down to watch the newest installment of Invincible, I was trying to figure out what it is that makes the adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s landmark graphic novel series stand out from similar superhero properties. The show doesn’t entirely lean away from the genre’s tropes, but it does distinguish itself in many noticeable ways to make it feel refreshing. It’s clear that Kirkman has a great affinity for comic books of old and the epic struggles of heroes, but he finds ways to subvert expectations at nearly every turn.