Meg 2: The Trench: Welcome to Fall, although in Ontario it isn’t feeling that way at all as we have an extended summer with temps in the mid 70s (F). It is beautiful out. Last night I decided to watch Meg 2, the sequel to the 2018 Jason Statham vehicle with an improbable explanation of how there could be roaming around the oceans a Megalodon (basically a super-sized great white shark). This is the sequel. The love interest for Statham isn’t in the sequel but his responsibility for a young girl remains. There is this deep part of the ocean that it was beleived to be a solid floor, but in the first version it was found to be this opaque barrier that kept below it another sea of prehistoric creatures, including the Meg.
Thos who know me, will realize that I have been since a very early age a shark fan, and I will watch movies and shows involving sharks. This one is no different. No matter how really bad that it is. Did a sequel need to be made about this? Absolutely not. Does the sequel make such sense at all? No, not really. There are necessary corporate bad people, which don’t take many moments to identify. There are the scientists, and then our hero Jason who does things that are simply impossible, like going underwater without a diving suit in the water at the bottom of the ocean. There is a bizarre explanation of him expending out the air in his lungs to address the pressure, but it doesn’t address the temperature of the water. Enough said. It is also humourous that heroes or those in their party are always master computer programmers and can instantly override a security system. There is a predictable story including with the young girl, and how it all transpires. I cannot recommend this, because the silliness factor just became way too out of hand, even if it has really large sharks. I will further state that the CGI in the creation of the sharks and the other prehistoric monsters are not up to Jurassic Park or Kong levels. So this is a hard pass.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: I really enjoy Last Week Tonight, and I respect John Oliver for respecting the writers and actors strike. For him, it was his writers that were on strike and he supported them. Beyond that, he went and did some stand up comedy at various locations with the proceeds to go support his crew that were off during this time.
Having been off for close to five months, rather than a week in a regular season, there were plenty of things that he could have chosen to speak about from the top. He started with Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy, and him speaking about book bans.
John makes this all very funny. It speaks to the kinds of ridiculous things that the government spends it time on that doesn’t really help anyone in any way, and doesn’t address why they are put into power. Without going into the politics of book bans, and whether this infringes on the right to free speech, in the end John Oliver makes an appropriate joke and ties it in well later on.
I like his humour. I am really glad to see him back on. He provides some good laughs, all the while speaking to issues of the day with some thought. Last night’s issue was Medical treatment in prisons. A touchy subject for many in a country that doesn’t have socialized medicine, and doesn’t cover everyone under the multi-private provider system. The issue of course is much more complex than that and beyond my limited understanding as a Canadian who does have socialized medicine, and people aren’t denied treatment. Glad that you are back John! I welcome your insight on many more subjects to complete this rather bizarre season.
Mondays With Robbie 