Movies & TV Archive

For us the weakest film in the series — angry, uneven and oddly hollow. But Dolores Umbridge is one of cinema's great villains. A middling 3.5/5.

For us, the absolute best film in the series — Alfonso Cuarón's darker, richer Hogwarts is a masterpiece and the saga's turning point. A fantastic 4.5/5.

The cult film that opened the Wizarding World. On our full-series rewatch, the first Harry Potter still casts its spell. A magical 4/5 first step.

An Unexpected Journey is a charming but overstretched return to Middle-earth — a 3/5 weighed down by huge expectations. Riddles in the Dark is a highlight.

The Battle of the Five Armies closes the Hobbit trilogy with a feature-length battle that runs out of breath. An honest 3/5, saved by Smaug's opening and Thorin.

The Desolation of Smaug gives us a magnificent dragon and the trilogy's best set piece, but sprawls with invented subplots. An honest 3/5.

Peter Jackson's Fellowship of the Ring is the perfect entry to Middle-earth — a 4.5/5 opening best experienced in the Extended Edition.

The Return of the King is the fantastic finale to cinema's greatest trilogy — eleven Academy Awards and a perfect 5/5. Watch the Extended Edition.

The Rings of Power Season 1 is a lavish Second-Age opener that builds to a brilliant Sauron reveal. A strong 4/5 if you set expectations right.

The Rings of Power Season 2 unleashes Sauron and ends on a 9-tier high — including the jaw-dropping one-take Battle of Eregion. A strong 4/5.

The Two Towers is a flawless middle chapter — Helm's Deep, Gandalf the White, and Gollum. A perfect 5/5 in the Extended Edition.

The War of the Rohirrim is a gorgeous anime expansion of the Helm's Deep legend — a rich addition to Middle-earth and a strong 4/5. More of this, please.

The complete order for every Middle-earth film and series — release vs chronological, where Rings of Power fits, and the one rule that matters.

A parent's honest age guide to every Middle-earth film and series — the scary scenes, the right ages, and where to start with kids.

Season 4 opens with some of the best episodes the show has ever made, sags a little in the middle, then sticks the landing. Not its best season — but still genuinely great. Rating: 8.

Avatar Book 1 introduces Aang, the gang, and a war-torn world. It's charming and funny on the surface, and quietly lays every emotional foundation the saga will pay off.

Book 2 is where Avatar levels up: Toph joins, the world darkens, and the season builds to one of the great gut-punch finales in all of animation.

Book 3 brings everything home: Zuko's redemption, the Day of Black Sun, and a four-part finale under Sozin's Comet that pays off three books flawlessly.

Netflix's live-action Avatar is a genuinely good remake — gorgeous, respectful, well-cast — that still can't match the humor and emotional precision of the cartoon.

Korra's debut book drops a brash new Avatar into a modern metropolis facing an anti-bending revolution. A confident, stylish, self-contained start with a great villain.

Korra's most uneven book is also home to its most beautiful hour: the 'Beginnings' two-parter, which reveals the origin of the very first Avatar in a stunning new art style.

Book 3 is Korra firing on every cylinder: the franchise's best villain in Zaheer, spectacular action, and its darkest, most powerful finale. The series' peak.

The final book pairs a sensitive recovery arc with a fascist conqueror, a colossal finale, and an ending that quietly made television history. A powerful close.

New to Avatar? A clear, beginner-friendly guide to the Four Nations, the four bending arts, and the Avatar — everything a parent needs before starting it with the kids.

Avatar or Korra first? How the two shows differ in tone, hero, and themes — and the simple answer on where to start, plus which one might be more your speed.

A deep-dive on Korra's stunning 'Beginnings' two-parter — the story of Wan, the first Avatar, the lion turtles, and where bending and the Avatar truly came from.

A faithful, joyful adaptation of the East Blue saga with pitch-perfect casting that gets better every episode. The live-action curse is broken. Rated 4/5.

Into the Grand Line is bigger and braver than Season 1, and its Drum Island back half is the show at its absolute best. A fantastic 4.5/5.

How to start the 1,100-episode One Piece anime without burning out — where to begin, how to handle filler, and how a busy dad can keep up.

Wes Anderson's most awarded film is also his most complete — a perfectly framed caper of murder, friendship, and pastry that earned four Oscars. Rating: 4.5/5.

Wes Anderson's most alienating film is also one of his most rewarding — a grief-soaked nested narrative that baffles before it illuminates. Rating: 4/5.

Din Djarin and Grogu make the leap to the big screen with everything intact: the father-son bond, the action, the heart. The Space-Dad story cinema always deserved. 4/5.

Apple Immersive Video puts you pitch-side at the Bernabeu with 80,000 fans. Goosebumps guaranteed. The finest spatial sports experience ever made. 5/5.

Denis Villeneuve's Dune (2021) is the sci-fi adaptation fans waited 40 years for. A 5/5 spectacle and one half of an all-time great.

Dune: Part Two is the rarest thing in cinema, a sequel that surpasses the original. A 5/5 and one of the greatest theatrical experiences ever.

Tom Holland, the Spider-Verse, the PS5 games and more — one dad ranks every Spider-Man film and game honestly, with Spider-Man: Brand New Day now the new #1.

New to Dune and not sure where to start? Our complete beginner's guide covers whether to watch or read first, the right order, and how to enjoy Arrakis.

A gloriously cheesy Sony Marvel relic — Nicolas Cage as a flaming skull stunt rider. A nostalgic, fun guilty pleasure. Not good cinema. Absolutely worth watching.

The grittier, cheaper, considerably weirder Cage sequel. The film around him is a mess. He is not. A honest 2.5/5.

Our Halo Season 1 review. Paramount's bold, divisive live-action take on Master Chief — strong action and a great lead, but a story that strays from the games.

Our Halo Season 2 review. Paramount's darker, tighter second season course-corrects toward the games and builds to the Fall of Reach. The better season — a 4/5.

Kraven the Hunter goes hard-R with brutal hunt-action and genuine grit. The script is thin but the tone is more serious than anything else in the SSU. A fair 3/5.

Madame Web had the bones of a fascinating premise — clairvoyance, fate, the spider-web of destiny. The execution is a 2/5 stumble.

Morbius is a generic, weightless vampire origin that produced some of the internet's finest memes and one of the SSU's lowest points. Honest 2.5/5.

Spider-Man 2 is the Raimi trilogy's peak -- a 4/5 sequel with Alfred Molina's unforgettable Doc Ock, the train fight, and a hero worth rooting for.

Sam Raimi's 2002 Spider-Man is the first genuinely great comic-book film — a 4.5/5 origin story that still earns its place in cinema history.

Spider-Man 3 is a 3/5 mess -- ambitious, overstuffed, and tonally confused. The emo dance is real, the disappointment is real, and Raimi clearly lost the fight with the studio.

Spider-Man reimagined as a 1930s noir detective with Nicolas Cage. Stylistically stunning, tonally unlike anything in the genre. A genuine, enthusiastic 4/5.

Overstuffed with studio ambition but emotionally devastating where it counts. Garfield and Stone deliver the best Spider-Man romance ever filmed. A 4/5.

Marc Webb's underrated reboot gives us the best Peter Parker yet. Garfield is magnetic, Stone is electric, and the film earns its place.