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Review of the crime/superhero/drama, The Penguin. From DC and MAX based on the 2022 film, The Batman

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  Hello boys and girls and welcome to the concession stand here on the KB radio network. I am your host Kevin Reed and ladies and gentlemen, I've been waiting what about two months. for this and we're finally getting it this is the review of max original dc's the penguin which is an extension of the batman film which starred robert pattinson and uh directed by the great matt reeves and this show blew my mind on how amazing it is this is an amazing show um there's no point there's no point cutting corners and leading you on or you know trying to tiptoe around it this show was phenomenal hbo max whatever they're called today they they continue their excellence in television this goes back to sopranos and the wire and game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, the list goes on and on and on when it comes to television series that come on HBO and Max. It's phenomenal television. Phenomenal. And it didn't stop here. The Penguin is set in the world of Gotham City that we all know from the comics, from Batman comics. And we know the character of the Penguin, you know, with the. monocle and the top hat and the cigarette and the umbrellas and you know giving batman hell but we're more grounded especially coming from the 2022 film the batman is very grounded in reality it's about close to reality you can get when a man dressing around dressing up as a bat hopping around a city fighting crime but this is uh such an interesting approach to that property batman being my favorite comic book character uh from a kid and onward i was a big fan of the movie i felt that the movie was probably the best on-screen depiction of batman that we've ever gotten you know as far as the accuracy of the comic book and whatnot it was more of a detective story show it wasn't just punchy punchy smashy smashy it was more cerebral than that and i i loved it for that it reminded me of the animated series from the 90s is and you know that's basically what that was you know it wasn't just a a saturday morning cartoon or whatever that was just there to please children actually that show was more adult than 99% of the other programming that was on around that time. But yes, the movie was great. So when they made the announcement that they were going to do kind of a spinoff or a continuation of the movie and be centered around the Penguin, I was like, okay, because I love the character in the movie played by Colin Farrell, who returns. to reprise the role in this show i was all in on that because colin farrell is one of the best actors working today uh he dives into every role that he's in and he dove head first into this one to the point nobody knew that was colin farrell at first nobody knew i was shocked to learn that my wife didn't know it even when we started watching the show the first episode and she was like oh that was that's colin farrell so yeah it was colin farrell in the movie and i didn't know that yeah that's colin farrell uh under all that prosthetic but the show the show um is is basically the rise of oswald cobb not cobble pot in the comic books but cobb and his rise to become the king of the criminal underworld of god And this is what these eight episodes were based on. And man, you talk about a show. All eight episodes were top-notch television. beautifully written beautifully acted i think this is clearly the best show to come out in 2024 i know agatha all along was giving it a run for his money for a minute but those the last it didn't end well the plane landed but there was a little turbulence before it hit the runway with agatha all along with me i know a lot of people enjoyed it and it was enjoyable but it was a little rough landed this was a smooth smooth landing with this show the takeoff was good the ride was good going through the clouds and we came down smooth like a feather on a pillow and this review is a non-biased review yes i'm a huge batman fan yes i'm a huge the batman fan from 2022 but giving an honest opinion an honest assessment of this show this show was phenomenal everything about it if it was bad i would say it was bad i was actually going into this show i was nervous i was scared because i didn't believe they could pull this off with this character and we're doing a quote-unquote batman show without batman and how are we going to tell this story how are they going to you run around Gotham City, organizing this crime syndicate and not have Batman incorporated in it. And I was waiting for that moment. And it was, you know, at moments it was getting to the point like, OK, at at some point, at least Jim Gordon got to show up or something, you know, stuff like that. But once the show goes on and it starts. telling the story and you understand where they at and what they're doing and how Gotham City is set up you know uh infrastructure wise you get why you get why Batman wouldn't be there or making his presence felt around this time because we know that uh from the film from the 2022 film that this Batman is more cerebral he's he's more of a detective he gets his you ducks in a row before he acts so in that regard yeah he wouldn't just pop up so it makes sense um colin farrell is great but he wasn't the only one in this show starring alongside colin farrell you had christine miliani uh resin right right henry right there rahensy felix i got it right you uh, Deandra O'Connell, Clancy Brown, Carmen Ejago, uh, uh, Michael Kelly and Mark Scrooge, just to name a few. Mark Scrooge was taken over for John Totero in the role of Carmine's, uh, Falcone. And he did a great job, you know, replacing John Totero. I think it was only for one episode, maybe two, but he, uh, he filled the shoes. fairly well uh but starting off with the acting before we break uh go through the episodes colin farrell as good as he was in the film even better in this show in the show oswald has the filter off you know with the film is pg-13 really can't get loose you know really can't show how uh evil of a character he is how uh vulgar of a character he is or everybody in that regard but in the tv show you can let loose and he let loose well it and it was a beautiful thing to watch colin farrell's depiction of this character is so despicable um at moment it's only moments throughout the show all episodes total maybe three moments where you found yourself kind of feeling sorry for Oz, that you was kind of cheering for Oz, hoping that he gets through this, that he gets himself out of these situations, that he comes out on top at the end. But just when you start feeling that way, he shows you how much of a monster he is, how much of an evil individual he can be. And I love the show for that. Because at the end of the day, this is a villain. This is a villain. To be technical, everybody in this show was a villain. There was not one hero in this show. Not one. Everybody's a villain. Everybody. There is nobody to cheer for. Normally, that is the kiss of death when it comes to film and television. You need to have somebody to cheer for in order to... connect to these characters but this show found the way that you can connect to all of these characters even though they are vile despicable beings it is it's crazy and when we get to the last episode I guess the conscendo of everything that's took that has taken place it's earned everybody gets their comeuppance to a degree and it's It's heartbreaking to a degree. Very heartbreaking. I mean, very. Let me tell you, I'm shooken up by that last episode. It's so soul-crushing what happened. But we'll get to that in a minute. Colin Farrell, give him his Emmy now. There's no point holding the ceremony. Give him his Emmy now. And when you pass his to him, pass Christian Miliani's hers, actually give it to her first because she stole this show as Sophia Falcone or, uh, Giuliani, uh, who she later, uh, names herself. I didn't know it was, didn't know she had it in her. I've seen her in a few things and enjoyed her. in everything she's been in uh palm springs was incredible loved her in that movie i loved her in uh made for love the little short-lived tv show that was that was on max uh she was great in that there's another show on peacock that she was on that i enjoyed her on oh lord the names escaping me but i think it came out last year maybe but she was great in that she's great she isn't you great actor but I didn't know she was this great I didn't know it was levels to greatness but she is top tier her performance in this show was so good it was I mean it's everything you can these this is the type of performance but that you would normally see Meryl Streep perform I mean I'm and i'm not speaking in hyperbole here i mean serious i've never seen a performance like this honestly she went from this innocent human being well when we first introduced to her she's already this menacing figure but when we get to episode five it is soul crushing that she started off as an innocent person innocent person uh not like everybody else on the show uh this is the one character you can cheer for because she was literally made to be the way she is she was turned into what she became and it's heartbreaking what she went through and that episode showed it from beginning to end how she broke you Every stage that she broke it, it was, oh my God, her performance, people. Throughout the show, every episode, you know, those eyes, her ability. She's a small woman. And if you know Sophia Falcone in the comics, this is a big, hawking woman. You know, this is a big woman in the comics, you know, very menacing, the hangman. Well, she wasn't the hangman in the comics. Actually, it was Alberto Falcone. Kong that was the hangman in the comics but whatever we we did a little switcheroo's and all this here but that's fine I didn't care uh because I like the story they were telling here but uh technically she wasn't the hangman uh actually it was uh uh Calmon uh the other Falcone the dad can't get his name out anyway yeah he was the hangman but they pented all on her and she had to go to Arkham she was in in Arkham for years and went through all this torture. Oh my God. You know, she was having this psychotic break and she eventually broke. And man, the transition for this character, when she went full Pharaoh and just wiped out the entire Falcom family in that house, it was so cold. It was cold blooded. It was cold blooded. But she did that, man. Rahensi Felix as Victor. I was a little hesitant with this. addition to the show because I'm like why we got to give everybody a sidekick you know I just didn't like the sidekick element you know going into the show I mean the penguin's the pink he doesn't need a sidekick and that's virtually what Victor is he was the Robin to his Batman and I just I wasn't with it until I pressed play on the show and I love this guy's performance I've seen him before in uh the Runaways uh that Marvel show wasn't the biggest fan of that show but I liked him in it I like virtually all the kids that was in that show but he was pretty good but I hadn't seen him in nothing else pops up in this and oh once again great performance great performance also had a story uh pausing for a minute Just to sum it up, everybody here has an excellent story, excellent origin story, and it's told so well and is not told in a way that it deviates from the main storyline that's going on. Everything connects in its weird, strange way. Everything connects. You're deeply invested in the story being told. backstories these flashbacks and stuff like that it still connects to the main storyline you know you get those storylines in film or in television when they tell a backstory that has absolutely nothing to do with what you're watching and it takes you out of the movie a little bit or it takes you out of the show but not here not here it is done so well and it didn't eat up time it didn't it wasn't like filler episodes that they did it with it no everything fit perfectly and victor's was great he also a heartbreaking story how he lost his whole family and how uh you know he he latched on to the penguin he latched on the eyes and looked at us as family and man crushing at the end the final episode is look this is spoilers so it's no shock when Oz killed him, I kind of seen it coming, kind of, but I was holding on to hope that Oz wouldn't kill him, that Oz would keep him alive. But then I thought about it. This character does not exist in any Batman comic book. And so then when that realization came to my head, I said, he's going to kill him. there is no way he's gonna survive everybody else in this show exists in the comics except him i'd say well he's he's gonna die but the way it the way it went down was oh man and it was soul crushing soul crushing i'm really you know when you about to cry and you kind of like moving in your chair to kind of reposition yourself maybe that'll stop the tears from coming that's that's what i was doing during that scene oh no and then it and at this point you know oz is completely evil you know he doesn't care he doesn't care about nobody or nothing yet and still i was holding on to hope and it just my hope was dashed away in a minute it was it was oh man heartbreaking but the performance was amazing another great performance who also deserves an emmy is deirdre o'connell as francis cobb uh oz's mother wow that's all i could say wow a powerful powerful powerful performance by deirdre o'connell i i mean i'm getting chills now thinking about i don't even know what to say is is that great I'm telling you, if you have not watched this show... oh it's just another superhero show no no watch this show if you love uh sopranos and breaking bad and um what's another one that comes to mind uh heck the wire i'm not saying it's as good as the wire but i'm just trying to say in that tone this is the show it's not superhero it's not comic book this is not a marvel show trust me it's not that this is gritty violent and all the good stuff that we love from this type of show um yeah i i am super impressed with it uh my favorite episodes i mentioned the one with sofia uh that was episode four uh her flashback to tell her story on how she became the quote-unquote hangman uh that was just a soul-crushing episode because of you know they basically made her and how her family portrayed her and turned her into this killing machine basically you know but uh that was my that was one of my favorites the other one would have to be the last one the final episode of great in Little Thane, episode eight. Great episode. Oh, another acting performance I wanted to mention is the young man who played the young Oz. I had his name and I lost it. But anyway, the young actor who played the young Oz, great, he did awesome. I loved how he, I believe that that was the young Oz. You know, it's like he was a... a mini Colin Farrell in prosthetics. Great man. I mean, where did they find this kid? I mean, with the speech pattern and the way he carries himself. I mean, everything. He emulated Colin Farrell's performance to a T. Didn't miss a beat. Did not miss a beat. It was awesome. Great job by all of the showrunners, all of the writers. All of the actors, the set, the designs was great. It felt like Gotham. It felt dirty and gritty, just like it was set up in the movie. I mean, I have no complaints, zero complaints. And I honest to God was trying to find one. So it wouldn't seem like I'm being biased, but I honestly can't find one. All eight episodes slapped. As the young kids would say, I loved it. I loved it. And I don't, I doubt they do a season two. It's really unnecessary to do a season two, but if they do, cool. But according to Matt Reeves, who is currently preparing to do the Batman 2 with Robert Pattinson, his thought process or his plans is that the Penguin show. Once it ends, we go right into Batman 2. Now, how this show ended, the Pingram is now on top. He is the king of the underworld, of the criminal underworld in Gotham. Got everything he wanted. His mother, even though she's in a vegetated state now, she is sitting in the penthouse like she asked for, looking out the window. He's dancing with a prostitute dressed up like his mother, which is the creepiest. It's the creep. That was the creepiest thing in the entire show. That's the moment where I almost lost it. Only what is going on right now? But in any event, you had that. And then as they're dancing. the camera pans out of the window we get a sweeping shot of the gotham skyline at night and the bat signal comes on and it fades to black and so that's how the show ended what does that mean does that mean that the penguin will be the main villain in the batman 2 or uh are we setting up for something else i don't know i don't know i don't for a moment there they were setting up the court of owls i thought that's what they were doing when they had got that little correlation together of all the mob bosses and all this here But apparently that ain't happening because all of the underlings killed all the bosses. And that's how Oswald became the creme de la creme. And so, yeah, I guess he's going to be the main baddie in the Batman 2. And I'm not mad. I'm not mad at it. In Matt Reeves, I trust the penguin, which all eight. episodes are now available on max gets a letter grade of an a plus excellent television people excellent television and if you haven't watched the show i'm jealous of you if you decide to go back and watch it because you get to binge you get to watch them all back to back to back and i plan to go back and watch them all like that too to see if it's just as exciting um watching it you binge style as opposed to week to week but i did enjoy it in that fashion you know it grew anticipation every sunday you know to watch it um but i would love to know what did you think of the penguin is this is this a real good adaptation of a dc and dc needed this dc needed this just like marvel needed agatha all along DC needed this and this is a huge win for that company. I think I wouldn't go crazy because I read reports where they're discussing more spinoff shows from Batman villains in the future. You know, set in this world. I mean, where where else? What else would you do? The Riddler, you know. his exploits in Arkham or something like that the Joker I would like to see a Joker show but it'll have to be some time I'll say some you know four or five years from you know we got to get the the Joaquin Phoenix Joker out of our head you know and not to say this bad because I'm one of the five people that actually enjoyed Joker too but I know a vast majority didn't and They want to get that taste out of their mouth. So it'll be years before that. I don't know if they should run and jump and do another one. But of course, that being said, I questioned it when they announced they were doing this show. And look how it turned out. So I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the show. Whatever they decide to do. But I am super looking forward to the Batman 2. But I would love to know your thoughts moving forward. And what did you think of the show? Email the show. kbradiopodcast at gmail.com you can also search on all social media platforms the kb radio network you can leave comments there as well don't forget about youtube subscribe to the kb radio network channel and like this video don't forget about the five stars the reviews and sharing this show if you're listening on apple podcast spotify iheart radio wherever you are currently listening to the concession stand here on the KB Radio Network. Everybody, thank you for joining me for this review of the first season, the only season, the limited season review of The Penguin. Now I gotta figure out what to do on my Sunday evening. But I want you all to know that I love you. Continue to love everyone. And until we speak again, you all be blessed.