3 movie reviews

Netflix/YouTube

‘3%’ is one of Netflix’s biggest shows—but is it any good?

The brazilian sci-fi series is one of the world’s most popular..

Eddie Strait

Posted on Jan 2, 2018     Updated on May 22, 2021, 6:23 am CDT

Netflix last month released some viewership statistics and the Brazilian sci-fi series  3% turned out to be one of 2017’s most popular binges in the world. It ranked No. 2 on the list of “most devoured” shows, meaning most people watched at least two hours of it per sitting. That put it ahead of buzzy and controversial smash  Thirteen Reasons Why . Yet seemingly few Americans have seen or heard of it. What were you missing?  Not much, as it turns out.

I reached my breaking point with 3% halfway through the show’s eight-episode first season. 3% is what you get if you take Lost and strip away everything that made the story of the Island and the castaways interesting. The biggest mystery surrounding the show is how this series, created by Spanish filmmaker Pedro Aguilera, rose to the top of the streaming crop when Netflix has so many better offerings.

The show is set in a dystopian future where the population goes through “the Process” in hopes of making it through, where upon completion they are granted access to “the Offshore,” while everyone else is condemned to the poverty and struggle of “the Inland.” The Process amounts to watching teens and 20-somethings tackle brainteasers and stress tests to weed out the 97 percent. There’s more going on, with the overseers of the Process wrapped up in some kind of conspiracy. The show slow-plays the macro plot to the point of frustration. In the moment some of the challenges are kind of interesting. Groups are presented with a dinner scene staged with mannequins and have to deduce what event they’re seeing. In another, they must run through dark corridors while the air fills with gas that makes everyone hear voices and grow paranoid.

Each episode spotlights a different character and tells their backstory via flashbacks. We have Fernando, confined to a wheelchair and determined to make it through the Process; Marco, the entitled son of a family that always makes it through the Process; Moana, an orphan who grew up on the streets. The characters are diverse in their circumstance, but they are united and weakened by dull writing.

The show is obviously setting up a long-term payoff by the way the story is structured, but playing coy with the details ends up burning the creative team because none of it is particularly compelling. At eight episodes, with more on the way, it’s an easy binge. If you get bored and frustrated with 3% like I did, you won’t feel bad cutting your losses.

Still not sure what to watch on Netflix? Here are our guides for the absolute best movies on Netflix , must-see Netflix original series and movies , and the comedy specials guaranteed to make you laugh.

*First Published: Jan 2, 2018, 7:52 am CST

Eddie Strait is a member of the Austin Film Critic Association. His reviews focus primarily on streaming entertainment, with an emphasis on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and other on-demand services.

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• Times Of India

Story: School student Ram (Dhanush) falls in love with Janani (Shruti), who is also a Class XII student, and woos her through college. When her family decides to move to the US, she burns her passport because she can’t bear to live without Ram. They get married finally, but will they live happily ever after? Movie Review: Dhanush is one of those rare actors in Indian cinema who is at home playing a school student and also a businessman battling his inner demons (as he does in “3”) or a young salesman searching for his bike (in “Polladhavan”) or a uneducated rustic who only knows how to breed and fight roosters (in “Aadukalam”, which fetched him his first national award for acting). An actor at the peak of his craft, he doesn’t break a sweat while portraying the two extremes of Ram, though his performance as a schoolboy in love is more entertaining and watchable than the changeover into a married man in the second half.

Shruti Haasan does a very good job as a schoolgirl, with her shy countenance and demure looks. Though dialogue delivery lets her down in some scenes, her work in “3” is a good example of her growing maturity as an actor in her second performance in Tamil after “7 Aum Arivu”. Sivakarthikeyan is a roar, and keeps the laughs coming in the first half. He is sorely missed in the second half when the screenplay takes a turn for the serious. Sunder Ramu as Senthil, a friend of Ram, has sadly nothing new to offer, his role being very similar to the one he played in “Mayakkan Enna”. Veterans Prabhu, Bhanupriya and Rohini are also sadly underused, though they shine in the limited scope offered to them. Composer Anirudh shows that there is more to him beyond “Kolaveri”, which unfortunately will be the main reason to drag the audiences into the theatres. “Kannazhaga” (Shruti and Dhanush) and “Po nee po” (Mohit Chauhan and Anirudh) are sure to find repeat listeners among the discernable audiences.

Aishwarya R Dhanush shows sparks of brilliance in her directorial debut, and marks herself as a name to look out for in Tamil cinema. She establishes her credentials in the first scene itself, when she shows people grieving over a dead body (a rarity in Tamil cinema), and displays a commendable grasp over the medium. Though uneven in her treatment of a sensitive subject (which can be easily attributed to lack of experience), she comes out with a fairly engaging movie, though it does portray shades of characters seen in recent Tamil movies. Besides the opening scenes, a couple of others are worth a mention – Dhanush’s interaction with his father (played by Prabhu) and the way Rohini examines her daughter (Shruti) the first time she meets her after her marriage.

What is irking is the way Janani’s kid sister, who we are told is born with a hearing impairment, suddenly starts speaking, and the “message ending” after a slightly tedious second half. Why this kolaveri?

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A Quiet Place: Day One First Reviews: A Tense, Surprisingly Tender Thriller Anchored by Fantastic Performances

Critics say michael sarnoski's horror prequel isn't quite as terrifying as its predecessors, but it makes up for it with stellar character work from lupita nyong'o and joseph quinn, as well as a scene-stealing cat..

TAGGED AS: Horror , movies

Did we need a prequel/spinoff of A Quiet Place following all new characters through the silence-focused alien-invasion apocalypse? Well, you could just as easily ask whether or not we need any original movies in the first place. Fortunately, according to the first reviews of A Quiet Place: Day One , the third installment of the franchise justifies its existence with a thrilling trip through a decimated Manhattan. It may not be as scary as the first two movies, but for some, that’s not a bad thing. It also may not be as epic as expected for this kind of film. But critics mostly agree that it works as another character drama from Pig writer-director Michael Sarnoski and particularly thanks to the performances by leads Lupita Nyong’o , Joseph Quinn , and a cat named Frodo.

Here’s what critics are saying about A Quiet Place: Day One:

Is this a worthy addition to the franchise?

A Quiet Place: Day One is another excellent installment in the franchise, delivering the tense set pieces you’d expect, but also with an emotional core that you might not. — Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy

This is a prequel done right and a real pleasant surprise. — Joey Magidson, Awards Radar

This prequel resonates more deeply and thoughtfully than its predecessor – and far more than the third installment of a franchise has any right to. — Aisha Harris, NPR

It is my favorite movie of the three so far. I found it breathtaking. — Rachel Leishman, The Mary Sue

Fans of the first A Quiet Place who are expecting another breathlessly tense sci-fi horror film, are likely to be disappointed by a blockbuster as reflective and, well, quiet as this. Day One bucks the expectations for what a Quiet Place movie, and really a blockbuster film, should be, and instead delivers something much more moving and poignant. — Hoai-Tran Bui, Inverse

It’s not often we get a post-apocalyptic saga that remains so personal, so in touch with human loss as something not just forgotten in the next jump scare but given room to linger, an aspect that survives the shift away from parents protecting their children. — David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

A Quiet Place: Day One can’t boast the freshness of concept of the first film, but, in pure emotional payoff, it’s the most satisfying of the series. — Clarisse Loughrey, Independent

(Photo by ©Paramount Pictures)

What makes it stand on its own?

A Quiet Place: Day One transforms into a truly singular blockbuster movie that sheds the immersive spectacle of the first movie in favor of something more tender and wistful. — Hoai-Tran Bui, Inverse

While John Krasinski’s two previous Quiet Place films were family affairs, Sarnoski’s entry into the series is more interested in found family. — Kate Erbland, IndieWire

Sarnoski has done a laudable job, cooking up a spinoff that adheres to the rules of the first two movies by staying focused on the smallest group possible of core characters while spreading the fear factor and suspense across a much larger canvas. — David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

It’s more of a footnote than a bold new chapter in the series, but this prequel’s relative smallness has its advantages. — Tim Grierson, Screen International

A Quiet Place: Day One feels more like an ambitious indie than a summer studio movie, and its downbeat tone leaves an unexpectedly glum comedown. — Damon Wise, Deadline Hollywood Daily

(Photo by Gareth Gatrell/©Paramount Pictures)

Is it still scary?

The less we see of the aliens, the better, and Sarnoski leans heavily on the abject fear his characters (and audience) feel once someone makes just a hair too much noise, knowing exactly what’s coming next. — Kate Erbland, IndieWire

It avoids the trap of over-explaining anything, making the terror here arguably even more primal than the previous films. — David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

What the film does well though is deliver a precisely balanced combination of jump scares, intense situations and confrontations with truly horrible creatures. It’s an effectively scary story, and it’s through the silence of the audience that you can measure this film’s success. — John Kirk, Original Cin

It’s not scary anymore, but it’s stressful in the way that makes you dig your nails into your palm. — Clarisse Loughrey, Independent

In an attempt to build moments of tension and induce scares, the pressure cooker feeling of the deafening silence being broken feels as if it isn’t stretched to its possible limit. That being said, for someone whose second feature is a bonanza of horror-action set pieces, Sarnoski does a sound job. — Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture

Sarnoski doesn’t have quite the same handle on the kind of immersive action that Krasinski displayed in the first two Quiet Place movies, and it shows: the jumpscares are mostly by-the-book, and the film’s most tense moments are nothing we haven’t seen in horror before. — Hoai-Tran Bui, Inverse

While it’s designed to be the Aliens to the Alien of the other films, this one doesn’t thrill quite as much as it intends to. — Joey Magidson, Awards Radar

Call me macabre, but I expected to see a lot more carnage than Sarnoski’s dismayingly sappy spinoff provides. — Peter Debruge, Variety

How is the change of scenery?

Seeing New York swarming with vicious monsters — scrambling over buildings and leaving giant gashes in their walls, while the streets are lined with burning car wrecks and destroyed storefronts — makes a big impression…production designer Simon Bowles and DP Pat Scola take full advantage of the opportunities afforded by New York. — David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

The bustle of the city is terrifying because every single noise could end up taking someone from the “city of dreams.” Still, director and writer Michael Sarnoski didn’t ruin what makes this city special. It still feels warm and busy and full of life as people are dying constantly around Eric and Sam. — Rachel Leishman, The Mary Sue

It evokes some of the iconography from 9/11. This isn’t uncharted ground — War of the Worlds and Cloverfield have this pretty well covered… but it’s a rich vein for a good filmmaker to tap into. And Sarnoski does this in ways that feel earned, not exploitative. — Patrick Cremona, Radio Times

As far as the action goes, there are times where Sarnoski uses the distinctive geography of New York City well – most notably a killer sequence that sees our protagonists chased into the subway system. — Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly

There’s nothing to these set pieces we haven’t seen in the previous two movies, meaning it can feel overly familiar at times, but they’re so precisely honed that you’ll find yourself holding your breath all the same. — Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy

What about Michael Sarnoski as director?

Michael Sarnoski was the perfect fit for this movie. — Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy

Michael Sarnoski blew me away with Pig and here, he manages to show that he potentially can do just about anything. — Joey Magidson, Awards Radar

The filmmaker manages to bring much of his sensibility and overall texture to the series… Much of it is thanks to Sarnoski’s ability to pull deep emotionality out of his stars and audience almost immediately. — Kate Erbland, IndieWire

Sarnoski is working on an auteur wavelength. He often lets the momentum stagnate just enough so the viewer can truly take in the staggering annihilation of a city now in ruins, full of death, and inherent quiet beauty. — Gregory Ellwood, The Playlist

Sarnoski’s strengths as a filmmaker play better into the film’s more intimate moments compared to the larger action-oriented spectacle. — Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture

How ist Lupita Nyong’o’s performance?

Nyong’o carries the movie on very capable shoulders. Never under-selling the crippling terror that rules Samira’s every move, the actor conveys the conflict between the character’s bitterness and her humanity, remaining tenacious and decisive even when her body starts seriously failing her. She keeps you glued throughout. — David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

Nyong’o commands the screen, every emotion conveyed by her facial expressions. Samira’s development across the movie might be conventional – stoic loner to trusting friend – but Nyong’o makes it feel fresh and earned. — Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy

Nyong’o’s work in Jordan Peele’s doppelganger horror Us felt leagues apart from anything we could casually term “scream queen.” She returns to that same territory here, concentrating all the primal terror of a scream into a single tear rolling down her cheek. — Clarisse Loughrey, Independent

A Quiet Place: Day One may feasibly do what Jordan Peele’s Us so unfairly didn’t, and if it does carry her through to awards season, it will finally prove that the old saw about genre movies and the Academy is finally a thing of the past. — Damon Wise, Deadline Hollywood Daily

Not once does it get old watching Nyong’o dive into her bag of tricks, especially for horror films. Nyong’o continues to elicit some of the most fear-induced expressions (while flexing that one tear-drop magic), giving audiences an unlikely lead that leaves a mark. — Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture

Quite simply: Nyong’o elevates the franchise. — Aisha Harris, NPR

And Joseph Quinn?

Quinn is enormously moving. — Caryn James, BBC.com

Joseph Quinn [is] wonderfully vulnerable. — Hoai-Tran Bui, Inverse

The British actor manages the feat of delivering an overstated performance that still somehow feels understated… With some actors, an overly emotional performance inspires eye rolls. Quinn makes you want to give him a hug. — William Mullally, The National

He delivers a far more sweet-natured performance than the emboldened personality that everyone came to know him from in Stranger Things . — Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture

He shows the benefits of casting a face we don’t already know from a string of movies. His sensitivity is so acute, and his big brown eyes so brimming with feeling that Eric’s resourcefulness and steadily summoned bravery almost catch us off guard. — David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

What about the two of them together?

The actors’ chemistry yields deeply affecting impact in their tender final scenes, rendered more powerful by their wordlessness. — David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

Samira and Eric’s friendship also brings a deeper emotional aspect compared to the previous two movies. If you thought Lee singing “I love you” to Regan in the first movie was a lot, wait until you get to a beautiful sequence in a bar between Samira and Eric. You’ll cry over pizza. — Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy

Nyong’o and Quinn have a good sense of camaraderie, with them realistically heroic as the film goes on, and willing to sacrifice their well-being for the other. — Chris Bumbray, JoBlo’s Movie Network

Any other standouts?

The other star is Frodo, a screen cat for the ages to rank with Ulysses from Inside Llewyn Davis or Jonesy from Alien , played by two chonky black-and-white felines named Nico and Schnitzel. He has the gentle nature and cuddliness of a service cat but also the badass curiosity to explore precarious situations and feed his humans’ anxieties. — David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

The film’s best character [is] a pet cat who is the best on-screen feline since Ulysses in 2013’s Inside Llewyn Davis . — William Mullally, The National

Nyong’o and Quinn are superb, but they can’t compete with an adorable cat who clearly does not give a damn that he’s in an apocalypse. — Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy

It has one of the greatest pets ever in a film. — Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture

Will it leave us wanting more Quiet Place movies?

If this is how the franchise is going to be treated going forward, I think there’s potential to continue on with more installments. Either way, the trilogy we have now is among the better ones in recent memory. — Joey Magidson, Awards Radar

It has to be said that A Quiet Place has turned out to be a franchise with better legs than any of us thought, thanks to the smart people behind it and the top-notch talent on the screen. While it’s the least of the series, it’s still quite good, and it feels like a franchise that could sustain another movie or two. — Chris Bumbray, JoBlo’s Movie Network

While this is a solid entry in this franchise, the whole appeal of A Quiet Place (which sometimes can be quite gimmicky) and its implementation of silence feels like it will run its course sooner rather than later. — Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture

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‘3 Body Problem’ Is One Great Big Miss

By Alan Sepinwall

Alan Sepinwall

For years, fans of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series believed the books simply couldn’t be adapted to the screen. There were too many characters, spread across multiple continents, in stories that would take years to intersect. And much of the plot was inspired by events that took place decades, if not centuries, before the contemporary action. It was an impossible task, everyone assumed. No one could do that.

Then David Benioff and D.B. Weiss actually did it. HBO’s Game of Thrones was a global smash, made on an epic scale that no one had ever imagined TV could achieve. Benioff and Weiss had to streamline Martin’s sprawling narrative here and there, but for the most part were able to satisfy both readers and non-readers — until, at least, the bumpy last two seasons, and the disastrous series finale, which some have blamed on creative burnout and others on the showrunners no longer having Martin’s books to refer to(*). 

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(*) Though several of the actors are either from China or of Chinese descent, the shift in geographic orientation will be extreme to anyone who’s read the books. At one point, one of the Chinese-British characters is asked about an old Sun Tzu saying; he shrugs and says, “I don’t know. I’m from Manchester.”

None of these characters have the depth or vibrancy of almost anyone from Westeros, but all of them feel like actual people, and are played by an excellent ensemble. Simply injecting a small amount of humanity into the story works wonders throughout. There’s still a fair amount of time spent inside the VR game, for instance, but those scenes are much less tedious here, because Jin is the primary player, and Jess Hong makes palpable the pleasure Jin takes at being inside this bizarre virtual construct. (In addition, Jack eventually gets to join her, and John Bradley is good for a welcome amount of comic relief.) Clarence and Wade, meanwhile, could exist entirely to move the story along — especially since each of them possesses a level of authority that seems to transcend all barriers of nation or class — but Wong and Cunningham find ways to make each of them feel like they existed long before they got thrust into these roles.

No matter how much the creators spruce up the edges, though, they can’t do much with the abstraction at the heart of the story. The aliens, we are repeatedly told, are about 450 years away, by which point everyone currently on planet Earth, and any children, grandchildren, or great grandchildren they might have, will be long dead. (Well, almost everyone; this is science fiction, after all, and there are ways for people to still be around long after they should be six feet under.) Various characters wonder why anyone should care about something that won’t affect them or anyone they might ever care about, while others like Wade insist they owe it to future generations, even that far into the future. You can read it as a metaphor for climate change, especially since Ye Wenjie finds great inspiration in Silent Spring , Rachel Carson’s groundbreaking book about the damage that humanity is doing to the natural world. But as a work of dramatic fiction, 3 Body Problem never makes a compelling enough argument for why its central quintet would be invested in this — and, thus, why the audience should be.

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At one point, one of the members of the conspiracy is surprised to realize that the aliens don’t understand the concept of lying. He attempts to connect it to fiction, only to realize they also don’t understand storytelling. Benioff, Weiss, and Woo all have a very clear understanding of storytelling. There’s just only so much they can do to find a way to make this particular story interesting in their medium of choice.

All eight episodes of 3 Body Problem begin streaming on Netflix on March 21. I’ve seen the whole season.

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Despicable me 3, common sense media reviewers.

"Threequel" has more action, strong sibling relationships.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Kids will learn the value of friendship, siblings,

Not all families are alike, and that's OK/great. Y

Gru is a great dad: He's protective, compassionate

A villain uses multiple '80s-themed weapons, inclu

Gru and Lucy are married and affectionate with eac

A few insults -- "loser," "failure," "screw up" --

No product placements in the movie, but Despicable

Dru, Gru, and Lucy have wine glasses in front of t

Parents need to know that Despicable Me 3 is the third installment in the hit Despicable Me franchise about reformed supervillain Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) and his new wife, Lucy (Kristen Wiig), who are both Anti-Villain League agents. This time around, Gru, Lucy and their three girls are invited…

Educational Value

Kids will learn the value of friendship, siblings, and families -- and that not all families are alike.

Positive Messages

Not all families are alike, and that's OK/great. You might think you're "useless" or a "loser," but that's not true, and there are people who will appreciate, encourage, and support you. Strong themes about sibling and parent-child relationships, as well as teamwork, communication, and the idea that if you pay attention and work hard, you can accomplish something (even though that something might be stealing -- albeit from a thief). Some crude humor.

Positive Role Models

Gru is a great dad: He's protective, compassionate, and sweet and will stop at nothing to make sure that his girls are safe. Lucy is trying to be a good mother to the girls, and she's brave and capable (even more so than Dru and Gru). The sisters adore their dad and are good to one another and Lucy. Dru and Gru develop a strong brotherly bond. Even though they fight, they love and defend each other. Dru does encourage Gru to return to his villainous ways, which isn't role model behavior. The cast isn't particularly diverse.

Violence & Scariness

A villain uses multiple '80s-themed weapons, including robotic action figures, enlarged chewing gum that can incapacitate people, and aircraft. Lots of action, chases, and explosions. In one scene, it looks like Dru will fall on spikes surrounding the villain's lair. Many people are in danger in Hollywood when the villain unleashes his anger.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Gru and Lucy are married and affectionate with each other. Margo unknowingly participates in an engagement ceremony in a foreign country, and the boy wants to date his "future bride." A weapon causes Gru's -- and, much later, the villain's -- clothes to fall off; they're naked, but viewers only see skin in a blur, and then their bodies are partly covered by chewing gum. A few minions show parts of their butts. In one jokey scene, a minion is wearing a Hawaiian coconut bikini top, which pops off. It reveals nothing but smooth yellow skin, but the minion next to him covers the skin anyhow.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

A few insults -- "loser," "failure," "screw up" -- plus "boobs" in minion-ese.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

No product placements in the movie, but Despicable Me (especially the minions) has plenty of merchandise tie-ins -- toys, games, apparel, accessories, and more.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Dru, Gru, and Lucy have wine glasses in front of them at dinner.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Despicable Me 3 is the third installment in the hit Despicable Me franchise about reformed supervillain Gru (voiced by Steve Carell ) and his new wife, Lucy ( Kristen Wiig ), who are both Anti-Villain League agents. This time around, Gru, Lucy and their three girls are invited to Freedonia to meet Gru's long-lost twin brother, Dru (also Carrell). While the violence is mostly cartoonish and silly (think super-sized, sticky chewing gum; violent action figures, and dart guns), it does include high-tech weapons and a destructive super-sized robot with lasers. There are plenty of chases and explosions, and generally it feels a bit heavier on action than the previous movies. Language is mild ("loser," "failure," and "screw up," plus "boobs" in Minion-ese), but the minions occasionally look partially nude (buttocks, etc.), as do Gru and the movie's villain after a weapon blows off their clothes, leaving them strategically covered in pink bubble gum. As with all the Despicable Me films, you can expect strong messages about the power of family and friendship, as well as teamwork and communication. Lucy is a positive female role model, but the cast isn't particularly diverse otherwise. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say (34)
• Kids say (80)

Based on 34 parent reviews

Despicable Me franchise never disappoints!

What's the story.

In DESPICABLE ME 3, Anti-Villain League agents Gru (voiced by Steve Carell ) and Lucy ( Kristen Wiig ) are now married. They team up to take down the latest supervillain to pose a worldwide threat: Balthazar Bratt, former child star of a short-lived 1980s TV show called Evil Bratt . Emotionally stuck in the '80s, Bratt ( Trey Parker ) wants to make Hollywood pay for cancelling his show and turning him into a has-been. Gru and Lucy successfully capture the diamond Balthazar was after, but they aren't able to arrest him. So the new head of the AVL fires them, leaving Gru restless and jobless. All but two of his minions leave Gru's side when he won't go back to being a villain, and then he's informed of something unthinkable: He has a long-lost identical twin, Dru (also Carell), who was brought up by their father (Gru thought he had died) in the foreign country of Freedonia. Gru, Lucy, and the girls set off for Freedonia, where they believe Dru to be the country's richest pig farmer. But then they discover that he's secretly hoping to be a villain like his late father and twin brother. Gru uses Dru and his secret lair full of high-tech weapons and vehicles to stop Balthazar, while Dru believes they're on a twin mission to become villains.

Is It Any Good?

Predictable but fun, this "threequel" is an amusing, kid-friendly mix of sibling interaction, '80s humor, and irresistibly silly minion jokes. The double dose of Carell -- one dark and bald (Gru), one with a head full of blond hair and a different accent (Dru) -- is hilarious, if formulaic. The twin material (they try to "trade" places for a dinner, fooling absolutely no one but remaining endearing all the same) is funny and easy for even the youngest audiences to understand. The subplot in which Lucy attempts to rise to the occasion as a mother is also quite sweet; watching her go into "mama bear" mode is one of the movie's highlights. And Pharrell Williams' score is enhanced by '80s hits from the likes of Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Nena, as well as one showstopping minionese version of Gilbert and Sullivan's "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General ."

As for the villain, Parker's Bratt is definitely more memorable than the antagonist of the second movie, and his voice is perfectly suited to play a resentful middle-aged man who never came to terms with his fall from celebrity. The '80s jokes and sight gags should appeal to Gen X/Y parents, and Parker's costume itself is worth several laughs. The filmmakers have toned down the extreme minion focus since the second film, which is for the greater good, as a little bit of minion humor goes a long way. But there's still something lacking in this film, which can't quite meet the standards set by the first. Still, while this isn't the best of the Despicable Me movies, it at least promotes positive messages about families, siblings, and loyal friends.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how Despicable Me 3 compares to the earlier movies in terms of action/violence. Which parts did you find scary ? Did the fact that some of the weapons were silly/cartoonish affect the impact of the scenes they were used in?

How do the characters in Despicable Me 3 demonstrate communication and teamwork ? Why are these important character strengths ?

Do you think the movie's humor is appropriate for young viewers? Why or why not? Why do you think the minions are so popular with kids?

This series has lots of lovable villains (or former villains). How does the movie make Gru a sympathetic character? Is it OK to root for someone who is/has been a bad guy?

How do sequels typically compare to the original movies? How does this one further the story? Do you think there should be more movies in this series?

Movie Details

• In theaters : June 30, 2017
• On DVD or streaming : May 22, 2018
• Cast : Kristen Wiig , Steve Carell , Jenny Slate
• Directors : Kyle Balda , Pierre Coffin
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Universal Pictures
• Genre : Family and Kids
• Topics : Brothers and Sisters
• Character Strengths : Communication , Teamwork
• Run time : 90 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG
• MPAA explanation : action and rude humor
• Last updated : June 17, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ Review: Alien Invasion Prequel Arrives Full of Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing

Instead of providing answers or much in the way of suspense, director Michael Sarnoski’s contribution stars Lupita Nyong'o as a terminally ill cat owner tiptoeing through a mostly off-screen apocalypse.

By Peter Debruge

Peter Debruge

Chief Film Critic

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As it happens, director John Krasinski’s excellent 2020 sequel flashed back to Day One, revealing the pandemonium the aliens’ arrival caused for unsuspecting humans, before jumping forward more than a year in the “Quiet Place” chronology. In theory, what “Day One” promises — but doesn’t actually deliver — is a more expansive look at the mayhem. Most of the action occurs off-screen, and no one (not even the authorities) so much as attempts to fight back.

What about cats? Is Frodo ever really at risk? For the curious, Sarnoski includes a tough-to-decipher scene where a trio of aliens feed on what looks like a feathered version of the ovomorphs from “Alien.” Perhaps this explains why the Death Angels are so aggro: They didn’t pack enough snacks for their intergalactic mission, and Earth doesn’t have what they need. But what do they want?

Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, “Day One” is served up as a disaster movie, à la Roland Emmerich’s “Independence Day,” with money shots of the Brooklyn Bridge collapsing into the East River and deserted streets that suggest “I Am Legend” by way of 9/11. Where did everybody go? “Day One” makes it look like just a few hundred people call Manhattan home. Surely New York would be crawling with residents, pouring out of the skyscrapers and into the streets, or else retreating into their apartments. It’s Day One of the invasion, and the city is a ghost town.

It’s kind of a fluke that Samira agreed to come along for a field trip to a Manhattan marionette theater, led by a nurse (Alex Wolff) who should have worn quieter clothes. When the aliens land, they immediately start picking off the noisiest humans. Scream, and you’re toast. Call out for your missing partner or child, and a Death Angel is guaranteed to spring from off-screen and rip you in half. While the characters try their best to keep silent, the film’s sound designers do the opposite, using low tones to make the whole theater rumble (Imax and 4DX viewers can literally feel the attack unfolding off-screen).

In the two previous films, the thrill came from watching how characters reacted to these sinewy, double-jointed monsters, whose rattling, Venom-looking heads fold open in a series of flaps as they stop to listen. The terrifying creatures can’t see, but their sense of hearing is hyper-acute, which is why our world went quiet . For some reason, all that stuff it took humans 474 days to learn in the other movies is already known by the characters in this one (like using running water to confound the aliens).

As Samira hides out in the marionette theater with a crowd of strangers (including Djimon Hounsou, the film’s lone connection to the previous installment), military choppers fly overhead, broadcasting instructions: Keep silent. Stay off the bridges. Carefully make your way to the South Street Seaport, where ships are standing by to evacuate people. As an inexplicably small crowd of survivors move south, Samira and Frodo walk in the opposite direction. She wants that pizza.

Through it all, she remains more committed to protecting her cat — which is ironic, since the animal seems all but guaranteed to attract the wrong kind of attention. It is Frodo who finds Eric and leads him to Samira. Their instant bond feels contrived, though a more charitable viewer might be moved by this nothing-to-lose connection between two lonely souls — what writer-director Lorene Scafaria called “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.”

To his credit, Sarnoski orchestrates a few high-tension set-pieces. But there aren’t nearly enough of these for a movie set in the “Quiet Place” world, as Sarnoski (who put Nicolas Cage through all kinds of nonsensical behavior in “Pig”) winds up putting sentimentality ahead of suspense.

Just compare these movies to the century’s best zombie franchise: “A Quiet Place” ranks up there with “28 Days Later” in its immersive, world-turned-upside-down intrigue. “Part II” was bigger and scarier, à la “28 Weeks Later.” “Day One” ought to have been the mind-blowing origin story, and instead it’s a Hallmark movie, where everyone seems to have nine lives — not just that darn cat.

Reviewed at AMC The Grove, Los Angeles, June 26, 2024. MPA Rating: PG-13. Running time:

• Production: A Paramount Pictures release and presentation, in association with Michael Bay, of a Platinum Dunes, Sunday Night production. Producers: Michael Bay, Andrew Form, Brad Fuller, John Krasinski. Executive producers: Allyson Seeger, Vicki Dee Rock.
• Crew: Director: Michael Sarnoski. Screenplay: Michael Sarnoski; story: John Krasinski, Michael Sarnoski, based on characters created by Bryan Woods & Scott Beck. Camera: Pat Scola. Editors: Andrew Mondshein, Gregory Plotkin. Music: Alexis Grapsas.
• With: Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff, Djimon Hounsou.

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‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ Review: Silent Beginnings

The chills are more effective than the thrills in this prequel to the “A Quiet Place” franchise.

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By Elisabeth Vincentelli

The cat. It’s all about the cat.

No matter what else happens in “A Quiet Place: Day One,” no matter how sensational Lupita Nyong’o is — and she is — her character’s feline buddy is going to take over the story and, likely, the discourse around it.

Mind you, there also was a cat, Jones, in “Alien,” a movie that’s a major influence on the “Quiet Place” universe — one in which aliens land on Earth and massacre everybody for no reason besides sheer killing instinct. John Krasinski’s “A Quiet Place” (2018) and “A Quiet Place Part II” (2021) laid down the basic parameters, mainly that the creatures’ extremely developed hearing makes up for their blindness, and they hate bodies of water.

But Jones was peripheral to “Alien,” the masterpiece that kicked off a franchise revolving around body invasion. Our fearless new hero is very much embedded in the theme running through all three “Quiet Place” movies: the importance of family, whether biological or chosen.

In Michael Sarnoski’s prequel, Frodo (played by both Nico and Schnitzel) is the support cat of Samira (Nyong’o), a New York City poet living in crippling cancer-induced pain in a hospice. She takes Frodo everywhere, including an outing to a puppet show, where the audience members include a man (Djimon Hounsou) whom viewers of the second movie will instantly recognize. When the invasion begins, he is quick to impart the importance of making as little noise as possible to avoid alerting the attackers.

Somehow borne on meteorites (don’t ask), the aliens immediately get down to their gruesome business. The movie allows us a few good looks at the toothy monsters, who made me think of hellish Giacometti sculptures. But otherwise Sarnoski (who made the endearing Nicolas Cage drama “Pig” ) does not add all that much crucial new information to their basic character sheet — “Day One” is refreshingly free of origin story explaining.

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

• Performing Arts
• Pop Culture

What does 'The Bear' restaurant review say? We take our best guess

Linda Holmes

Jeremy Allen White as Carmy Berzatto. FX hide caption

Haven’t watched the season finale of The Bear yet? Then you probably don’t want to read this. Don’t blame us for spoilers. 

So what does that review say?

At the end of the third season of The Bear , Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) looks at his phone late one night and sees a review of his new restaurant, The Bear, in the Chicago Tribune . All we see are flashes of words and phrases, some seemingly good and some seemingly bad, and then Carmy says, "mother------," and that's the season.

And look: The idea is to leave you uncertain about what the review says, and to be clear, the review could say a lot of things. Trying to decode the words we can see and come up with an idea of whether this is a good or a bad review is rank speculation. Rank, I say! So let's speculate.

I'm really not excited to reveal how long I spent doing this, but what I am about to show you is the best rendering I can manage of the words (and parts of words) that they show in this little sequence. I present them in the form of a poem, since I can't offer you screenshots. (These groups of words, of course, are undoubtedly not in this order in the actual review. And yes, I think this is a show that's probably playing fair; I think these probably are all consistent with the actual review that we will eventually learn much more about.)

In ‘The Bear’ Season 3, experimentation is still on the menu

Will they? Won't they? And ... why do we care?

of flavors both d the confusing mis any apprehension

an almost sloppy fas f innovative d nu was a testa complex array , as each dish arrived, there were excellent, sho rt, leaving me fee

focus on pushing true culinary gem my experience at

tto, offering a palpable dissonance b ng the chef’s brilliant cr disappointed and craving Feeling disapp

and downs, t inconsistent as resting on

undeniable inco of delicious pe tchen couldn’t

e. However, was simple an s the potential

s not subtract f

felt overdone

incredible Carmen Berzatto

What to watch this summer: Here are the TV shows we're looking forward to

t stale a talent

Clear as day, right?

For my money, the most interesting phrase comes from the screen that highlights the word "delicious." Below that, you can see "tchen couldn't." My guess is that the full review uses the words "kitchen couldn't." And I'm going to further guess that "undeniable inco" is part of something like "undeniable inconsistency" or "undeniable incompleteness" — in other words, something negative. And in the middle, the word "delicious."

So: what if the review is basically saying that there is an inconsistency in the operation because the kitchen isn't doing a solid enough job?

That would also fit with this bit right here:

Now, the "tto" is probably the end of Carmy's name (although I suppose a word like "risotto" is possible). But right in the middle, you have "the chef's brilliant cr," which might be "the chef's brilliant creations" or "the chef's brilliant creativity" or something like that. And before that, you have "dissonance." And after it, "disappointed." Again, what if this is saying Carmy is a brilliant genius, but something is amiss in the staffing and the execution?

Could this also be what "an almost sloppy fas" is about? What if that says the dining room — Richie's beloved dining room — operates in an almost sloppy fashion? It also occurred to me that it could be a reference to The Beef, that The Beef was "almost sloppy fast food" or something. Or perhaps Neil Fak is a little too sloppy for this reviewer's refined tastes.

Here's another interesting part:

f innovative d nu was a testa complex array

That middle line should be "menu was a testament," right? The menu is a testament to something? Probably Carmy's brilliance? The changing menu he's been obsessed with? And that would fit with "f innovative d," which could be, say, "of innovative dishes."

A prediction

Go back and read it all, like a poem, all together, and let it wash over you. Here's what I think the review might say: Carmy is an amazing chef, full of potential, creative and amazing. But the rest of the team is not living up to his great ideas. In other words, I think the review says everybody else at The Bear needs to get on Carmy's level.

If it says that, then that would explain why, after reading a review that (probably) calls him "brilliant," he swears angrily. It would also complicate his obsession with his own standards to see the system he insisted on (the changing menu especially) wind up making him look good, but interfering so much with how the place runs that other people look bad.

I want to stress that if this is all completely and totally wrong, it will be no surprise. The whole thing could be a misdirect, every word could be misleading — "the chef" might not be Carmy, "nu" could be "Keanu" instead of "menu," you get the idea.

But to me, it would be consistent with this season if Carmy had the most pyrrhic of pyrrhic victories, and this review gave him what he wanted at the expense of the people he works with.

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‘the bear’ season 3 review: jeremy allen white’s funny, haunted, infuriating return to the kitchen.

Christopher Storer's FX-produced Hulu series continues to be packed with food porn, surprising guest stars and deep thoughts on the magic of cooking and mentorship.

By Daniel Fienberg

Daniel Fienberg

Chief Television Critic

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It’s possible that Carmy has always been Hamlet, the prodigal son returned from studies abroad to a death-rocked kingdom he doesn’t recognize anymore, a fatherless figure in search of mentorship and yet failing as a mentor himself.

After two seasons that pushed the narrative forward at an astonishing rate — sandwich shops very rarely become fine-dining establishments in such short order — the third season of The Bear finds Carmy in a true morass. He escapes the prison of his restaurant’s freezer to turn the entire establishment into a prison of nebulous rules and unmeetable aspirations. He’s stuck, but doesn’t realize he’s stuck because he’s turned a professed desire not to repeat himself into its own sort of repetition.

The Bear has, in this season, become a series filled with characters out of Hamlet. Sydney ( Ayo Edebiri ), who might seem like Ophelia if you’re fueled by the truly bizarre desire to forge a romance between Carmy and Sydney, is unable to make herself sign a partnership agreement that would give her what she once dreamt of. Richie ( Ebon Moss-Bachrach ), who might have found purpose last season thanks to a week staging at high-end restaurant Ever, seems like he could be Laertes, on the verge of leading a front-of-the-house revolt. But he can’t even make himself RSVP to his ex-wife’s wedding.

On an episode-by-episode basis, the third season of The Bear is as good as anything the show has ever done. Possibly better?

The season stars with the deceptively titled “Tomorrow,” directed by series creator Christopher Storer . Think of it as a deconstructed “Previously On” montage, stretched from three minutes to 36, or almost as an elevated clip show, looking backward as much as forward. It’s an expressive tone poem that chronicles Carmy’s journey , both the moments that filled him with wonder and the moments (courtesy of guest star Joel McHale) that irreparably damaged his psyche.

Speaking of this as a season of birth, the premiere is almost natal in its treatment of the culinary canal through which Carmy has emerged. With very little dialogue and no storyline to speak of, disconnected and beautifully shot memories — practically every guest star the show has ever had makes a return engagement — are fused by Joanna Naugle’s editing and a miraculous ambient and amniotic score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (the 2025 Emmy races in several categories feel like they’re already over).

It’s one of those episodes where, by the time you fully realize and internalize what it’s doing, it’s finished and you’re thrust into the true season of the show with the equally impressive “Next,” an abrupt transition from the elegiac to more trademark chaos.

Indecision can be exciting and I found the risks The Bear takes in these 10 episodes to be thrilling. But if you’re hoping to see things progress at an adrenalized rate, this is a season in limbo that reflects its main characters and their respective holding patterns.

It all builds to a finale that’s impossibly joyful and impossibly miserable, perhaps as pure an evocation of the rollercoaster of depression as I’ve ever seen on television. The restaurant is part of Carmy’s family legacy — “legacy” is one of many running themes this season — but depression is as well and if the big question of this season isn’t “So… Now what?” it’s “What do you do when you get the thing you want and the thing you want doesn’t make you happy?”

What does it mean for viewers, when the show appears to have reached a point its characters wanted to reach and decides not to make audiences happy?

If Carmy and Sydney and Richie aren’t finding gratification, why should you? If Carmy is paralyzed by his inability to reconcile the things Claire (Molly Gordon) overheard him say in the finale, why should the show rush? If the delay in a review from the Chicago Tribune is tormenting Carmy, why should the show rush that review to the screen? If Nat is tied in knots by an ongoing pregnancy she worries will never end and will end too soon, why should the show rush that childbirth?

Hamlet at least had the decency to end with nearly everybody dead, as closed as closure gets. This, then, is less Hamlet than an Empire Strikes Back situation, where the point we reach in the finale won’t satisfy anybody, in musical theory terms a calculated denial of what is called “the tonic.”

But, again, it’s very easy to be satisfied on an episode-by-episode basis. “Next” is as funny and manic an episode as the show has ever done, another celebration of the series’ peerless use of editing to capture that razor’s edge between hilarity and tension.

Longtime series first assistant director Duccio Fabbri makes a confident directing debut on “Doors,” which somehow ratchets the chaos to new highs, while Edebiri makes her own effortlessly exceptional debut behind the camera on “Napkins,” which single-handedly makes up for how underused I felt the tremendous Liza Colón-Zayas was in the second season. “Ice Chips” is an intimate counterpoint to last season’s “Fishes,” booking Elliott’s seat at the 2025 Emmys.

Oh, and let’s start the “Thomas Keller for guest actor in a comedy” Emmy campaign now, because the French Laundry proprietor and chef has one monologue that convinced me he’s got a career as a wisdom-spouting character actor if that whole cooking thing doesn’t work out for him.

White is as impeccably frenzied and weary as ever, never softening the character’s escalating flaws. Moss-Bachrach continues his push toward making Richie the show’s hero, never fully erasing the character’s diminishing flaws. Except that Sydney is obviously the show’s real hero and Edebiri continues to deliver hilarious and heartbreaking earnestness like nobody else.

So maybe season three of The Bear really is just wheel-spinning and dragging things out. Maybe it gives the impression of being an indecisive show rather than, as it actually is, a show about characters trapped in a moment of indecision. I can’t say if this season will make viewers who watch for the plot happy, but these 10 episodes made me very pleased indeed.

Exit, pursued by thoughts of The Bear .

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There are any number of thrilling passages in “John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum,” but a moment of true inspiration—when you know that you're in the hands of filmmakers who are intent on creating a work of wit, style, and vision—comes relatively early. Our hero, soulful assassin John Wick ( Keanu Reeves ), is at the New York Public Library to find a very specific book when he's interrupted by one of the approximately 11 million people who will attempt to kill him over the course of the next two hours of screen time. Eventually John kills him by utilizing the book he's holding as a weapon. That part is great, but the moment of true inspiration comes next when he goes back and replaces the book on the shelf where he found it. This detail works not because it is funny, but because it fits the character so perfectly that it would almost be weird if he didn’t do it. In a genre where impersonality is the name of the game more than ever, it's a delight.

In the original “ John Wick ,” we were introduced to Wick, the recently widowed former member of a shadow cabal of assassins governed by the rules-obsessed High Table, who was spurred back into action when connected punks killed the dog left to him by his late wife. In "John Wick: Chapter 2," he was still enmeshed in the world that he had successfully left behind and at the end, he killed a member of the High Table while on the grounds of the Continental Hotel, an establishment designated as a safe ground for those in the assassin trade. This move leads to his being designated “excommunicado” by the High Table—all of his rights and privileges are stripped away and an open contract is issued for one and all on him with a payoff beginning at $14 million—though colleague Winston ( Ian McShane ) gives him a one-hour head start, partly out of friendship and partly, it appears, for his own amusement.

Granted, this is not quite as generous as it sounds since it appears that everyone in the Wickiverse, at least those with speaking or bleeding roles, is an assassin themselves. Wick’s plan is to make his way to Morocco in the hopes of tracking down the secretive leader of the High Table in order to make a personal offer to atone for his grave transgression. Although no one in the organization is supposed to offer any assistance to Wick, he does receive some aid from a couple of people from his past—his onetime mentor ( Anjelica Huston ) and Sofia ( Halle Berry ), a onetime killer who now runs the Morocco branch of the Continental and owes Wick for a past favor. While he is off trying to find the head of the High Table and fighting off all comers, another member of the organization, known only as The Adjudicator ( Asia Kate Dillon ) arrives in New York to set things in order and punish both Winston and The Bowery King ( Laurence Fishburne ) for daring to aid Wick. To help carry this out, they enlist the services of Zero ( Mark Dacascos ), a sushi chef with an endless array of deadly ninjas at his service, all of whom seem giddy at the possibility of fighting the legendary John Wick.

When the original “John Wick” came out, audiences expecting just another dopey action film were shocked to find that it was a borderline brilliant work that contained an unexpectedly smart and funny screenplay, a performance from Keanu Reeves that bordered on the sublime in the way that it properly utilized his unique persona, and action sequences so stylishly executed that they reminded viewers of the best works of such genre masters as Walter Hill , John Woo , and Luc Besson . Amazingly, the follow-up managed to more than clear the high bar set by its predecessor by doubling down on the action beats and by expanding the film’s universe in fascinating ways. If the original “John Wick” was “Mad Max”—a work that transcended expectations to become an instant classic—"John Wick: Chapter 2" was “The Road Warrior,” a work that took off from an impossible-to-top source and proceeded to top it.

As it turns out, “John Wick 3” is not quite the “Fury Road” of the series but is easily its “Beyond Thunderdome,” a work of pop cinema so blissfully, albeit brutally, entertaining that you come out of it feeling even more resentful of its multiplex neighbors for not making a similar effort. The problem is not with the staging of the action scenes—director Chad Stahelski (the former stuntman who also directed the previous installments), along with cinematographer Dan Laustsen , and production designer Kevin Kavanaugh , present us with an endless array of stunning visuals and stuntmen, wreaking gloriously gory havoc with everything from guns and knives to the aforementioned book and even a horse. Where the film does stumble a bit, however, is that the attempts at further world-building are not quite as inspired as in the previous films. The Adjudicator, for example, seems like an interesting idea for a character but nothing much comes of their presence—Dillon is fine but pales in comparison to previous memorable franchise characters played by the likes of  Adrianne Palicki and Ruby Rose .  

Still, there are a number of wonderful elements on display in "Parabellum." There's Reeves, whose ability to make the most out of the least amount of dialogue would leave the likes of Bronson and Eastwood agog. There are moments of unexpected humor that blindside you—the location where Wick meets his mentor yields a bigger laugh than most actual comedies. And the consistently exciting fight scenes also yield a lot of big laughs, especially during the kills where Wick is forced to use something other than a gun. Oh yes, I almost forgot the dogs. Halle Berry's character is accompanied by a couple of dogs who go on to steal practically every frame of film featuring them, more than holding their own during one of the movie's big fight scenes. No, I haven’t seen “A Dog’s Journey” yet, but if you see only one movie sequel featuring dogs this weekend, I guarantee that “Parabellum” is the one to beat.

Peter Sobczynski

A moderately insightful critic, full-on Swiftie and all-around  bon vivant , Peter Sobczynski, in addition to his work at this site, is also a contributor to The Spool and can be heard weekly discussing new Blu-Ray releases on the Movie Madness podcast on the Now Playing network.

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John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019)

Rated R for pervasive strong violence, and some language.

130 minutes

Keanu Reeves as John Wick

Halle Berry as Sofia

Ian McShane as Winston

Laurence Fishburne as The Bowery King

Anjelica Huston as The Director

Saïd Taghmaoui as The Elder

Mark Dacascos as Zero

Lance Reddick as Charon

Asia Kate Dillon as The Adjudicator

Jason Mantzoukas as Tick Tock Man

Tiger Hu Chen as Triad

• Chad Stahelski

Writer (based on characters created by)

• Derek Kolstad

Writer (story by)

• Shay Hatten
• Chris Collins
• Marc Abrams

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• Dan Laustsen
• Evan Schiff
• Tyler Bates
• Joel J. Richard

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‘House Of The Dragon’ Season 2, Episode 3 Recap And Review: Old Feuds And Bad Blood

House of the Dragon

Sunday night’s episode of House of the Dragon opens on an old feud. A group of Brackens and a group of Blackwoods argue over the border of their lands. One side has committed to Rhaenyra’s cause; the other, to Aegon’s. It seems likely that the only reason they’re supporting different sides is out of spite. Hotter heads prevail when it comes to a kingdom on the precipice of war, even if no bloodshed is as appalling to the gods as that of kin slaying kin.

This petty squabble ends with words and shoving. One young man draws his sword. Then the scene cuts to sometime later and the same field littered with the corpses of both Houses as far as the eye can see. The countryside is slick with blood and wreckage. The old windmill has seen better days.

So the first real battle of the Dance of Dragons has finally taken place, albeit offscreen (I think to great effect). It won’t be the last. It seems that much of Season 2, or at least its first half, will be devoted to the early rumblings of war rather than to the war itself, and to the cooler heads’ attempting to call the whole thing off. Daemon (Matt Smith) and Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) want war, clearly, but what about Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and Allicent (Olivia Cooke)?

Allicent and Rhaenyra

Rhaenyra discusses the coming bloodshed with her aunt, Rhaenys (Eve Best) and decides she must go to King’s Landing to meet with Allicent face-to-face. She asks Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) for help, and the White Worm gives her the one location the Queen Dowager visits without anyone watching: The Great Sept, where she goes to light candles and say her prayers.

Rhaenyra disguises herself as a nun and makes her way to the Sept where she finds Allicent and kneels beside her, much to her once-friend’s shock. She pleads with Allicent to do whatever she can to avoid war, and then the conversation turns to what exactly King Viserys I said in his dying moments. It’s a pretty big revelation to both of them when it turns out he was discussing “the prince that was promised” and the Song of Ice and Fire—not Aegon his son at all. But Allicent, though clearly shaken, says it’s too late. War is coming and there’s nothing she can—or will—do about it.

Allow me a moment to complain, not about this show but about Game Of Thrones. I’m reminded of just how desperately silly the ending was and the many foibles made especially in Season 8. I maintain, though I’m not sure George R.R. Martin will ever finish his books to prove me right, that Jon Snow is the Song of Ice and Fire. He is the prince that was promised—not Daenerys, as the show kept hinting at, stupidly, before making it clear she was anything but.

In fact, the show simply discarded all prophecy as gracelessly and clumsily as possible. Jon didn’t fight and kill the Night King. Arya swooped in at the 11th hour and managed that because the show gave her massive superpowers for no good reason whatsoever, making her far, far less interesting as a character in the process.

Then Jon kills Dany and is exiled, while Bran of all people becomes king! Jon was the heir to the Iron Throne! He was the blood of Stark (ice) and Targaryen (fire)! House of the Dragon makes it clear that this prophecy is a big enough deal to include in a prequel but it just reminds me of how badly Thrones screwed up.

Anyways . . . Rhaenyra’s attempt to avoid war was only a half-baked one at best. She never offered Allicent anything as a bargaining chip. All she did is insist that she was the rightful heir, that her father loved her and that Allicent was mistaken. Did she hope that simply stating her belief about the throne over again would somehow convince the Queen Dowager, and that she would then—empty-handed—be able to avert war? Convince Aegon to what—give up the throne? There was a time for that, when Aegon clearly didn’t want it, but that ship has sailed.

A few other very significant things happened this episode. Rhaenyra sends her youngest boys away with Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell) Daemon’s daughter and younger sister to Beala, to go to the Vale. Rhaena, as you may recall, is the one family member who still doesn’t have her own dragon. This makes her feel very left out of all the fun, especially the “fly a dragon around patrolling for enemies” fun. But along with the children, Rhaenyra sends Rhaena off with a clutch of unhatched dragon eggs. This mollifies her to some degree. (It turns out that these are, indeed, Dany’s eggs in Game Of Thrones, though this is a major departure from Martin’s Fire and Blood ).

Daemon, meanwhile, makes his way to a very wet, very dreary and mostly unoccupied Harrenhal where he meets with the steward, Ser Simon Strong (Simon Russell Beale) and takes up residence, eager to raise armies and rebuild the massive fortress. The Riverlands, it appears, are the key to the entire war and both Team Green and Team Black are making their preparations to bring the lords of the Riverlands to their respective sides. Old Grover Tully is ancient and infirm, however, and his bannermen fractious and unruly as a result.

At this dark castle, Daemon has a strange vision of a young Rhaenyra—Milly Alcock’s first appearance on the show since the first half of Season 1 and quite a surprise!—sewing young prince Jaehaerys’s head back on.

Side-note: I love you, George R.R. Martin, but if you had made these names easier to spell, you might have finished Winds of Winter by now. Sigh.

Daemon in Harrenhal

This is not a normal run-of-the-windmill vision, but one that a witch lends the taciturn prince—er, my pardon, your Grace— and mark my words, this particular witch will have a much larger part to play as this story progresses. “You will die in this castle,” she tells Daemon. Witches are always prophesying the dourest things in Westeros.

I don’t think the show conveys this well, but Daemon effectively just captured Harrenhal for Team Black without shedding a drop of blood. Landing his dragon, Caraxes, on the roof certainly helped. Strong’s dislike of his relative, Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) doesn’t hurt. Larys, meanwhile, becomes Master of Whispers this same episode, thanks to his endless good advice for young Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney).

We also meet two other significant new characters. The first is Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox of Slow Horses who plays this type of character too well) Alicent’s brother who has apparently spent all this time in Oldtown rather than at court. I’d say he showed up offscreen in the past but since he’s only first introduced to Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) this episode, I suppose he’s just never been to King’s Landing before. He comes across as arrogant and spoiled, and even the Lord Commander is irritated with him—and I hate agreeing with the Dornishman about anything!

Ser Criston Cole

Speaking of Cole, he’s off with an army to the Riverlands and Harrenhal. He’s tired of all the talk, of all the hand-wringing. He wants action, and so he takes action. Ser Gwayne accompanies him and as they make their way west, Gwayne and his retainers leave the body of the army to find a nearby inn. Cole follows, annoyed at the young knight’s lackadaisical nonsense, and it’s at this point, in an open field, that he spots the dragon high above.

He urges his mount forward and tells the others to ride hard for the trees. Up in the sky, Baela (Bethany Antonia) is on her dragon, Moondancer. She spots the glint of armor and descends as the knights gallop for their lives. Later, we learn that she was close enough to identify Criston Cole, though the Hand and his men do make it into the cover of the forest before any harm can come to them, and Gwayne expresses his gratitude, earning the Lord Commander another loyalist.

The other new character we meet in this episode identifies himself as a Dragonseed—that is, a Targaryen or Valyrian (including House Velaryon) bastard fathered in the Blackwater Bay region. In this series and in Martin’s Fire and Blood, these include (and yes, this is spoilery but I think it will help to understand):

• Hugh Hammer (Kieran Bew) the blacksmith we’ve met earlier this season;
• Addam (Clinton Liberty) and his younger brother, Alyn of Hull (Abubakar Salim) both Velaryon bastards, though their parentage remains in doubt.
• Ulf White (Tom Bennett) the man we meet at the brothel tavern in this latest episode, though we spotted him by the ratcatcher gallows last week. He exposits some on his lineage, which is why I thought it worth expounding upon in this post.

There are others we haven’t met yet who I will leave off the list, but these will all be very important characters as the war unfolds thanks to their unique lineage even as bastards. We also hear, once again, about young Daeron and his dragon Tessarion. Alicent’s youngest has yet to show his cherubic face on House of the Dragon, but he’s on his way.

In that same tavern that very same night, two brothers come to visit. One is loudmouthed and obnoxious; the other is cool as a cucumber. Neither really ought to be there.

We learn earlier that Aegon has replaced the dead Kingsguard with his lackeys, showing all the wisdom and foresight of a lump of coal. None of these slouching ingrates appear to have much training or discipline, another annoyance for Criston Cole, who I’m almost starting to feel empathy toward (yuck). As they dress him for battle—he insists on following after Cole’s army against the wishes of the Small Council—they mention going out to the brothels with a squire who has yet to lose his virginity. “But you swore vows of chastity,” Aegon tells them, sternly. They laugh at first, but are quickly quiet as their king seems to be totally serious. (This is just after Larys convinces the king not to go to battle, after all, through some clever little lies that play right into Aegon’s lack of self-confidence).

Perhaps he was serious about those vows, but hours later we see him stumble into the brothel drunk as a skunk, laughing and shouting, like some scrawny young Robert Baratheon. Perhaps he’s more like Robert than he is Joffrey, but either way he’s hardly acting the part of king, or grieving father. He finds his brother, Aemond, laying on the lap of the older prostitute and mocks him mercilessly. Aemond ends up leaving, a look of grim determination on his face, but not before we see him completely nude. It’s not the only somewhat shocking bit of nudity we get in this scene, as there’s a bit of (dare I say unnecessary) felatio just before. It’s almost as though HBO is trying to balance the scales when it comes to male and female anatomy shown across Game Of Thrones and House Of The Dragon. It’s perhaps mildly ironic that this season of The Boys is showing so much full-frontal male nudity at the same exact time.

In any case, lots and lots of moving pieces and characters both great and small this episode. Nothing quite so violent and shocking as the Blood and Cheese incident, or the battle of the Cargyll twins, Erryk and Arryk, but still a terrific episode that continues to build, however slowly, toward all-out war. It appears next week’s episode is called A Dance Of Dragons which suggests that the war will kick off in earnest soon enough.

A Council of War

Scattered Thoughts:

• The exchange between Alicent and poor Helaena (Phia Saban) was very interesting, especially when the daughter tells her mother she forgives her. “What?” Alicent asks, taken aback. “I forgive you,” Helaena says again, clearly of the mind that it needs no explanation.
• We see Seasmoke, Laenor’s dragon, and wonder “Who will claim this majestic beast as their own?” Hint: We’ve already met the character, but only just this season.
• I already miss Rhys Ifans even if Otto Hightower is a right bastard. Other characters I miss: Graham McTavish’s Ser Harrold and King Viserys I, played so perfectly by Paddy Considine.
• Both Aegon’s Small Council and Rhaenyra’s annoy me. I suppose they’re meant to since they annoy both Aegon and Rhaenyra to no end. The gall of Rhaenyra’s lords trying to shuffle her off to “safety” so they can lead the war planning. Then again, I’m not sure Rhaenyra is really up to the task, either.
• I’ll add more scattered thoughts as they come to me.

What did you think of this episode and how are you enjoying the season so far?

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Insidious: Chapter 3

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Watch Insidious: Chapter 3 with a subscription on Max, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

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Insidious: Chapter 3 isn't as terrifying as the original, although it boasts surprising thematic depth and is enlivened by another fine performance from Lin Shaye.

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