We'll have to do some terrible things. For the greater good.

The Boys S4 — 3/5

This show is best when it’s a cartoon. Homelander and Billy Butcher might be the truest representations of comic book bigness put into a small square. With their combination of personality and powers, there can be no claim to them existing in the real world (while traipsing around in real world analogues). It’s real life, imagined anew, and what fun it is to see imagination run amok. They also might be the truest live-action representation of Garth Ennis as a writer. In the “perpetual second act” of serialized comic book stories that will never end, he is one of the most capable people I’ve read in the form who realize that comics aren’t about the endings, but about the moments. You’re not building up to a conclusion; you’re building up to a character moment. A person saying or doing something that feels true to the character, either exposing them or destroying what we think of them. It feels small when written out but trust me when I say that these are the things I live for. I probably love more single panels than I do any single issue. Combine that with his dislike of superheroes and his desire to push you away with his crudeness, and you have this show. It feels like him. If you can get over the disgusting little bits, it gives you a reward. I think season 3 ended with a great build-up and reward, and the problems with season 4 amount to having to start all over again back at ground level. I spent most of the season waiting for the build-up, and then I got excited all over again for the next season. There are few better moments on TV than the glint of inspiration in Billy’s eyes, or the sudden shift of Homelander’s quickly fading facade. The characters meet the moments. And I can’t wait to see those two big cartoons fight. On the other hand, the show is at its worst with everyone else, scrambling to find purpose when we only really care about the two people who will inevitably meet in the final issue to finish it off.

What kind of human being would I be if I did that?

The Faculty — 2.5/5

I watched this because I read an article about how cool Josh Hartnett was. I agree. He was very cool. He's very much in control of his body. He knows how he looks onscreen. The movie is whatever. It had potential to tell some clever, multi-layered story, but it's only just aliens taking over a high school. Fine at that.

A convenient idiot.

Confess, Fletch — 2.5/5

I don't even remember watching the original 'Fletch,' but I remember not loving it. Even so, every time Jon Hamm spoke, I imagined it coming better from Chevy Chase. There's an arrogance to these clever sorts of detectives and, imagining Chevy Chase, it's a particular type of arrogance that he provides. He knows everything and, if he knows it, it's below him. It's a punchable characteristic, and who doesn't want to punch Chevy Chase? Jon Hamm, I don't want to punch him so much. He's lovable. I really like the guy and I think he's a stellar natural comedian, but he hasn't figured out how to be most himself on screen. He's forcing himself into Fletch and it's not his skin. But, even so, there's a light breeze running through this thing that makes it easily watchable, even as it can't keep up with its mystery. It's the small charm you would have hoped for with something like 'Hit Man.'

Go until you can't go no more.

Shoresy S3 — 4/5

The show continues its pace and I think I'm at a point where I retroactively like the previous seasons more than I graded them at the time. I think the closest comparison is James Gun's work in 'Guardians of the Galaxy.' There's a shit-ass with a big heart in the middle. Casual characters burdened with glorious purpose, which separates Shoresy from his Letterkenny roots. Like Letterkenny, it's a world outside my own that I am being invited into (as unwelcoming as it seems). Unlike Letterkenny, it doesn't seem to have a problem with progressing beyond even that. I'm excited to see where it goes.