Star Wars: Filoni, Favreau are giving us the best SW content we’ve seen in years

Since the prequels were released, the Star Wars fan base has been divided.

So it’s no surprised the Sequel trilogy only fanned those flames. This time, prequel & original trilogy fans were bashing on Disney’s latest attempt to revive the Star Wars universe.

Complaints about Rey’s origin story, the return of Palpatine, and a lack of compelling characters were some of the main things echoed by upset fans. But lets focus on the positive now.

We are watching some of the best Star Wars we have seen in years.

The Mandalorian brought all generations of Star Wars fans together. The Force seemed to become balanced once again. After two hit seasons, Disney & Lucasfilm had to figure out what to do next.

While the Mandalorian is probably pretty tired of carrying the entire franchise on his back for the last couple of years, it’s time for new material.

That brings us to present day. Right now, fans are in awe from the Book of Boba Fett. While it started out slow, most of us realized it would take a couple of episodes to really get to the good stuff.

Cue episode 5 & 6. The greatest content of Star Wars we have witnessed since we saw Luke Skywalker in the Mandalorian Season 2. Ironically, we see Luke again in episode 6 of Boba Fett, too. We also finally get to see our little green friend, Grogu, again as well as Ahsoka Tano.

As a Star Wars fan, I am in a very content place right now. The sky is the limit. With the recent news of Obi-Wan supposed to release in May, followed by the Andor series, Star Wars fans will be feasting in 2022.

Let’s not forget about the Ahsoka Tano show supposed to come out in the near future. Oh yeah, and Mandalorian Season 3.

We’ll have to show some patience once The Book of Boba Fett wraps up in the next few weeks, but hopefully right around that time, Disney will release the trailer for Obi-Wan.

The return of Hayden Christensen to the franchise is enough for me to predict this show will be incredible. Ewan McGregor is the perfect Obi-Wan Kenobi, so yes, you can say my expectations are extremely high. I think with the use of “The Volume,” these stars will truly have all the essential materials to make something special.

I’m hoping we see Obi-Wan travel to different planets, return to Mustafar (where we could see Vader’s Castle), and have force dreams where we see Clone Wars era Anakin & Obi in action.

This rematch with Darth Vader needs to be epic. And my prediction is it will happen on Mustafar. Now with Ahsoka Tano finally being transferred over into live action (Rosario Dawson), I think there’s possibility we see her involved in the show.

Not to mention there’s always the possibility of the return of Darth Maul & Crimson Dawn. We saw Maul’s fate in Rebels, but this was a loss to a much older Obi-Wan.

What are your hopes & predictions for the Obi-Wan show? Comment below or let me know on social media!

Archive 81 Review: Please give us Season 2… and 3!

Netflix came out swinging in 2022.

One of the trippiest, creepy, and mesmerizing shows debuted called Archive 81.

You follow Dan Turner (Mamoudou Athie) on one whirlwind of a journey. Turner restores video tapes for a living, and is contracted by a very large company (LMG) to work from a hidden campus outside of New York City to fix a set of tapes.

Dan has no idea what he’s getting into. He follows the story of Melody Pendras (Dina Shihabi) who is videotaping her journey in the 1970s. Melody is searching for her mom in an old NYC apartment called the Visser. She tells everyone else she’s doing a college project, but really she’s trying to speak with those who live at the Visser to find out who/where her mom is.

Melody was left at a church when she was a baby, so she never knew her mother. This left her hungry for answers, and potentially closure.

As Dan works through Melody’s old tapes, eerie things begin to happen. She hears chanting through the vent of her apartment. She walks in on what appears to be some sort of statue-worshipping service where all her neighbors seem to be in a trance. There’s also this music… this EXTREMELY creepy music that one of her neighbors plays for her that ends up making Melody very upset and unconscious. This melody (no pun intended) ends up being the “hymn” the cult members sing throughout the show.

So why has this company employed Dan to recover these tapes? What about them is so important to the owner of LMG? As the show goes on, you find out the owner, Virgil Davenport (Martin Donovan), is brothers with the head of the cult. He claims Melody murdered his brother Samuel (Evan Jonigkeit) and he “just wants to know what happened.” Likely story, Virgil.

Dan catches wind of Virgil’s plan and has to come to a decision on what to do. Does he continue to help Virgil with the tapes, or does he leave it all behind? So what is drawing Dan in to these tapes that keeps him going?

Throughout the season, Dan and Melody are somehow connected. They are able to speak to one another through some sort of supernatural vortex, but each wake up later on and think it’s a dream. But it feels so real… is it?

Turns out, the cult was trying to summon a god/demon creature, Kaelego, who is from another universe. They believe if they worship him enough and bring him to Earth, they will be a part of his kingdom. While doing the spell to bring him to Earth, we find out Melody was actually taken to Kaelego’s world. But somehow, through the tapes, Melody and Dan are able to communicate.

Does Dan ever find Melody? And does Kaelego end up being unleashed upon the Earth? You’ll just have to find out. It’s a pretty easy watch, but I’d recommend only watching 1-2 episodes a day. The episodes are deep and dark, plus they’re not very short. They average about 53 minutes an episode.

Let’s just say, the way the show ends leaves plenty of room for a Season 2, and 3! Plus it seemed that the show was doing very well as it was #Trending on Twitter. If you’re a fan of horror, sci/fi, cult, or thriller shows… this one’s for you.

Prison Break Review: Bring on Season 6!

Cliffhangers, contingencies, and captivating.

That’s an alliteration I never thought I’d write. But then I watched Prison Break.

Starring Wentworth Miller, Dominic Purcell, and Sarah Wayne Callies, Prison Break is anchored in the story of two brothers, Michael Scofield (Miller) and Lincoln Burrows (Purcell).

Burrows becomes the pawn in a murder-for-hire set up in Chicago, Illinois. An all-powerful, all-knowing organization known as “The Company,” makes it appear that Burrows killed Caroline Reynolds, the Vice President of the United States’, brother.

The Company basically makes the world go round. It controls politics, economies, federal agents, and more. The staged murder was calculated by the Vice President, to send the VP’s brother away to a hidden mansion in Montana. Later in the show you find out the Vice President and her brother had a romantic relationship that the Company would take public if she did not follow their every order.

Back to the brothers.

Michael Scofield is nearly the smartest guy that ever lived. He has a condition that allows him to create maps out of tattoos. Literally, he tattooed almost all of his body so that he could read the blueprints of the Fox River Penitentiary in Illinois. To the normal human being, it would’ve just looked like gargoyles and demons. To Michael Scofield, it was he and his brother’s way to freedom.

As every good show does, the main characters pickup some friends… who can also be enemies… along the way. These friends are Fernando Sucre (Amaury Nolasco), Theodore ‘T-Bag’ Bagwell (Robert Knepper), Brad Bellick (Wade Williams), Benjamin ‘C-Note’ Miles Franklin (Rockmond Dunbar), and the love of Michael’s life, Dr. Sarah Tancredi (Sarah Wayne Callies).

Why’d I use the word contingency at the beginning of the article? Because each person is a contingency. They’re used for a specific purpose to try to achieve the end goal. Freedom. Normal life. That’s the whole goal of the show. And somehow, it takes 5 seasons of cliffhangers, contingencies, and captivating story-telling to achieve yet.

As the show goes on the acting gets better, the story gets better, and the stakes get higher.

Season 1 is all about getting out of Fox River (which is just a couple hours from where I live). After that, it’s all about trying to open a surf shop in Panama. I’m kidding, sort of.

Like I mentioned before, the whole goal is to obtain normal life. Michael & Lincoln’s idea of that is escaping the U.S., where now they’re both seen as criminals, to open a surf shop in South America. How will they get there, you ask? Well, Michael has a plan.

Michael meets a man in prison named Charles Westmoreland (Muse Watson). Charles is just his alias, his real identity is DB Cooper. A man who had a whole lot of money, but was on the run from the law and got caught. Westmoreland tells Michael about his secret stash of cash in Utah, which is how Michael and his brother would get out of the country.

As everything else goes in Prison Break, nothing ever goes to plan. The Company figures out Michael and Lincoln escaped, and now send their inside people at the F.B.I. after them. Cue Alex Mahone (William Fichtner). Mahone is practically a mercenary hired by the F.B.I. Then you find out The Company really just placed him in the F.B.I. to try and kill the brothers and have a “legal” way to cover the Company’s tracks.

While the brothers goal is to obtain freedom, the Company’s is to stay a secret.

Eventually, the group does get to Panama. But not how they originally planned. They find themselves in the worst prison you could imagine, referred to as ‘Sona.’ Except this time, Michael’s behind bars along with T-Bag, Bellick, and Mahone… and Lincoln’s on the other side.

While season 2 wasn’t actually about breaking out of prison, season 3 took us back to the show’s roots. Michael putting together a plan to get himself out of prison, and once again, picking up frenemies along the way.

Of course, they get out of prison, they always do! Now the group is in full battle-mode against the Company and coming for them.

Then comes Scylla.

Scylla is first known as the Company’s “black book,” but it turns out to be much more than that.

Scylla is how the Company was going to take over the world. It’s all surrounding futuristic intelligence that would let the organization control everything. A big part of that is energy. The research done by the Company puts everything they want to do nearly 50 years into the future of the rest of the world. And when you have that kind of power, money is the name of the game.

Now Michael is ready to go after the Company and its leader, General Kranz. He devises a plan to find Scylla and get it away from Kranz. What I learned from the show is to never bet against Michael.

If I went into every storyline in this show and what happened, you’d be reading for hours and I think I’d get sucked into the computer or something. So let me just tell you that there’s a whole lot more story left in this show, and you’ll just have to watch it on Hulu to find out what happens.

Prison Break might be one of top 3 favorite shows of all-time. It’s fresh in my mind, so that makes it my favorite right now, but I haven’t been as drawn into most of the other shows I’ve seen as I was with Prison Break.

The show ends after Season 5. What you should know, is that in 2009 Season 4 ended. Season 5 didn’t come until 2017. I think they could’ve left things were they ended at the end of Season 4, but I think the fans were blood-thirsty enough that they decided to revitalize it. Plus, let’s just say there’s one very big jaw-dropper at the end of Season 4, that if I were watching “back in the day,” I would’ve been very upset if the story didn’t continue.

So will there be a Season 6? Reports back in 2019 suggested a Fox executive said there would. A year later, and those reports stated the opposite. There has been rumors, as soon as fall of 2021, stating that many of the main cast want to keep the story going and that “if the story was right,” they’d return.

So let me give a couple of storylines I’ve thought up that could work for future seasons.

1: Russia. Who doesn’t love a good U.S. spy story in Russia? At the end of Season 5, the Director of the CIA tells Michael that he’d like to have him work in the Department. Michael declines, but later gives the Director a look that (to me) shows him pondering the decision. Tangle the spy story with modern day tension between the U.S. and Russia, and I think you could have a compelling story. Invite Alex Mahone back into the story, and the Americans head over to Russia on a rescue mission. There they’ll find Americans locked away in a prison and their goal is to break them free.

2: South Korea. In Season 5, Michael meets a man named “Ja” who is from South Korea. He says he just wants to get back to the safety of his own home, but at one point he decides to stay in a little port-side town in the Middle East while everyone else continues to escape. He says he wants to live a quiet life and living in the open land became appealing to him. My idea would be for Ja to be found by South Korean officials after another “Company-like” organization tried to awaken Michael Scofield. This new organization, let’s call them Rogue, somehow alerts Michael that Ja had been captured in hopes to lure him out of normal life. An insider of Rogue is at the CIA, and offers Michael the job for a large sum of cash. Michael accepts and heads out on the mission, but in turn gets captured in the South Korean prison. Now you’ve got another Prison Break on your hands.

3: Northern Europe. One thing Prison Break didn’t show much of (past Season 1) is snow. Alex Mahone is back at the F.B.I. as a Special Agent and is investigating potential conflict at the Finland/Russia border. There he is captured and the CIA alerts Michael they want him to go break him out. Michael agrees only if he can choose his crew to break Alex out, where then he chooses Lincoln, Sucre, Bagwell, and C-Note. I hesitate to put Bagwell on this list because of all the bad blood he has with the team, but at the end of Season 5 he is definitely redeemed and you almost feel bad for where he ends up. So since Robert Knepper did an excellence job acting as Theodore Bagwell and is a huge component of the rest of the show, I say the more the merrier.

Like my ideas? Take them to social media & let the writers know! Send them over to Fox. Start a petition, shoot I don’t know! I’m just letting the ideas flow and seeing what sticks.

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All in all, I give Prison Break a 4.9/5.0. The only reason I am not giving it a 5/5 is because I thought Season 4 drug on a bit. After awhile, the story felt like it just went on and on and on. But hey, I love the action and the missions make you think, so I was there for it.

I hope you liked my review of Prison Break, follow me on Twitter at @mattsheehantv and Instagram at @themattsheehan to read more!

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Cobra Kai, Ozark actor Dustin Lewis exclusive interview

From Canton, Illinois to screens across the globe, Dustin Lewis has landed roles in some of your favorite shows.

He plays Mr. Palmer in Cobra Kai and was also in Ozark season 2

He got his story in theater while in Fulton County. Now he lives in George owning a real estate business and auditioning for roles.

I interviewed him about his career and what’s next for him. He says he’s in a Chris Pine film that comes out this spring.

You can read the whole article here!

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Sometimes the worst movies can make the best nights

Mom and dad need a date night. Luckily for them, two of their daughters’ favorite people live ten minutes away. 


Cue Aunt Rachel and Unky Matt for babysitting duties. 


Now, the time has come. The candy and popcorn you bought for them at Christmas is about to show it’s true colors. There’s no turning back, and it’s all your fault. 
Don’t forget to mention the $1 movie you bought at Dollar Tree for an “all-inclusive movie night.” Now you have to sit through “Adventures of Petey and Friends,” the worst movie ever known to man. 


So the scene is set. Two lollipops, two popcorn bins filled, Sweet-Tarts candy, and “Mermaid Juice” (Green Hawaiian Punch mixed with some Skinny Syrup’s mermaid mixer). 

Little did you know, there would be a 5 minute montage smack dab in the middle of the movie where a nurse helicopter, Kylie, flies across the desert looking for Petey, a douche-bag fighter jet who has also been framed for murdering his best friend (yes, this is a kids movie). 


There’s no dialogue, just sad music as she goes through all of her memories with Petey… which of course, all happened in the last 12 hours. 


This calls for a time of song writing. 


As uncle, you have the opportunity to make up ridiculous things that your nieces just find hilarious. In this case, it was the “Petey Song.” Here’s a snippet below:


“Petey, where are you? Where’s your laser beam? I need it, oh Petey. Petey, I miss you. I’m thinking about when we met at the gas station, it was stinky.”


The context? Petey has a laser beam that he drags people with when they can’t fly. 
And the gas station? The chopper found Petey stealing the desert base’s gas supply at the beginning of the movie and all the planes proceeded to take Petey into custody. 


This is also an opportunity to really see the dynamic of personalities shine of your nieces.


The 5-year-old is very emotionally aware and feels very deeply. So she freestyles a heartbreaking love song from the perspective of Kylie the Helicopter. “All of my love, I was looking for you. You would look in my eyes, baby my eyes…” 


The 3-year-old is more of a free spirit. A bundle of sunshine and a ball of energy. “I love you, my Petey” she sang over… and over… and over…


Of course once the movie is done, what do the kids want to do? Watch another movie. This time, a much better film. Disney’s Encanto. 


Sadly, mom & dad’s date night ends in the middle of the movie. A true travesty (to the girls). 


Before leaving, the 5-year-old randomly walks into the kitchen and gently hits her mouth on a wooden chair. This turns into a major meltdown where popcorn is thrown across the floor, “I hate you guys” is said to everyone in the room, and crying proceeds underneath the coffee table. 


The meltdown ends with “I’m so tired.” And then a sweet apology filled with her tears and a hug for uncle & aunt. 


The night ends, and it’s time to go home. And after the whirlwind of emotions, the 5-year-old tells mom and dad “That was the best night of my life.”


Oh, and the best part about Petey? He’s not even the green plane on the cover. He’s the Orange fighter jet right behind him. Such a stupid movie, but such good memories.

Thanks, Petey. I pray my nieces never ask to watch you again. 

The Unexpected, Magical story of ‘I Met a Girl’

You don’t need Hollywood or New York City to make an amazing movie.

You need a compelling story, a vibrant vision from the directorial team, and a cast who can really sell the story. That’s what you’ll find in Luke Eve’s I Met a Girl.

Starring Brenton Thwaites, Joel Jackson, and Lily Sullivan, I Met a Girl takes you on a magical cross-country road trip all in the search for love.

Thwaites shines in this film, playing a man with schizophrenia named Devon. When I interviewed Thwaites in April 2021, he told me he met with mental health groups about how to play a man with schizophrenia well, and respectfully.

You can view that interview here.

In this film, you follow Devon through a journey filled with hallucinations, heartbreak, and heartwarming moments.

I watched the movie on Amazon Prime Video (twice) when it first came out. Now it is available to rent or buy on the streaming service, and last I heard it was available to stream on Netflix in the UK.

After votes were compiled for the film on IMDB, I Met a Girl was given a 6/10.

But I’d have to agree with the viewers on Amazon Prime Video and give it a 4.5/5.0 or a 9/10. Give it a try! It might not be your mainstream Marvel film or the latest hit comedy, but I’d bet that you’ll come away from the movie feeling like you watched something meaningful.

Read Brenton and I’s whole article here!

The beautiful message from Disney’s Encanto

Family. There’s not another topic in the film world that can match up to the story of family.

Disney’s Encanto was a perfect example of that. But Encanto took a different take on family than what we’re used to, all while staying true to the message Disney has shared all along.

Our families aren’t perfect. Sometimes, more than we’d like to admit.

It was a breath of fresh air to see Mirabel fight for the Family Madrigal (cue catchy song at the beginning of the movie). Her story, like many other Disney characters, starts off with her not having special powers like her family. She’s an underdog. But she doesn’t act like one. She holds her head high and loves her family all the same.

Disney Animation Studios Production Supervisor, Nick Ellingsworth, says the film is so successful because it resonates with everyone.

“You can pick a topic or character and find something you relate to,” Ellingsworth said. “It’s universally resonating right now.”

Ellingsworth has worked at Disney for over 10 years. He was a part of Moana, Wreck It Ralph, Frozen 2, Big Hero 6, and many more.

Ellingsworth said the film also dives into self-worth.

“How much do we know about our families? How much do our families know about us? Then there are all those questions about self-worth. Am I worth enough? Am I worth what I contribute? Am I only worth what I contribute?” Ellingsworth said.

These lines have stuck with me the last few days. “Am I only worth what I contribute?” That’s something most people don’t think of.

Society seems to measure your success by what you do. Your prestige, your salary, how many projects you land. But this movie says forget all that, you can save the world just by being you.

Be adventurous, take chances, and stand up for your family even when no one else seems to care. Even the strongest people need love and support.

Encanto is a beautiful movie filled with catchy songs, a colorful world, and a great story of family. “We Dont’ Talk About Bruno” is one of Billboard’s top hits right now, but don’t count out “Family Madrigal” and “Surface Pressure.”

If you’d like to watch the full interview with Ellingsworth and I, click here!

DC Titans Coverage

Sheehan secured numerous cast interviews for HBO Max’s DC Titans. You can hear from Brenton Thwaites (Nightwing), Curran Walters (Jason Todd/Red Hood), Joshua Orpin (Superboy), Jay Lycurgo (Tim Drake), Damaris Lewis (Blackfire) and showrunner Greg Walker.

Spend a day in beautiful Roatan, Honduras

5 years later and I’m still thinking about Roatan, Honduras.

From private beach, to snorkeling in a coral reef, to tasting iguana! Roatan was a day I was looking forward to, but I didn’t realize it would have made this kind of impact.

I was glad to write an article for Mike Wittry, the Roatan Real Estate expert, about my experience. We stopped in Roatan for a day on a cruise I was on with my friends. I wrote about my experience in hopes of inspiring other people to travel there one day.

You can find Mike’s website here!

Below you will see the paragraphs I wrote that have been shared on Mike’s “Articles” section on his Instagram pages. Enjoy!

Timothy V. Murphy Interview

One of the joys I have is to interview actors doing great things in Hollywood.

The most recent was actor Timothy V. Murphy. Born in Ireland, he and I share similar family backgrounds. Both from similar parts of Ireland, Murphy told me he knew many Sheehans.

I was able to hear about his career and what’s next for him. He shed some light on some of his most note-worthy roles, but the cool thing was that some of his favorite roles were ones people don’t talk about as much.

He enjoys stories about being a farmer, a man in the wilderness, a man protecting his family. You’ve probably seen him in S.W.A.T., Criminal Minds, and Sons of Anarchy.

He has over 120 roles to his name. While he’s stayed busy in Hollywood, the Pandemic hasn’t been easy for him. He hasn’t be able to go home to Ireland to see his family, but he hopes to this year.

He trained at the Focus Theater in Dublin. It’s the same place Liam Neeson studied acting.

If you want to see our video interview, click here!