Tag Archives: amazon prime video

Series Reviews

TV Series Review: Chloe (2022)

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Amazon has seriously upped its game when it comes to its original programming. There are enough new originals begging for your time, and Chloe is one that is well worth yours. This psychological thriller will keep you at the edge of your seat as you watch Becky trying to piece together the truth of her childhood friend’s death. This is all I can say without spoiling your experience, but believe me, when I say that this is a ride worth getting on.

The show has a fantastic cast to tell a very fascinating narrative full of twists, lies, and missunderstandings. With each new piece of evidence found, your assumptions and perspective will constantly change until the big reveal at the end. It is a wonderful build-up to a pretty satisfying ending. This show deals with a few dark themes as it contrasts the fantasy that is created through social media against the dark reality of the life that happens in between the pictures. This is a psychological thriller so be prepared for dreams, memories, and delusions to blend into the narrative. It is masterfully done as it is able to tell a unique story that will keep most guessing till the end. 

If you like mysteries, drama, and thrillers, this is a great one. Best of all, there are no annoying cliffhangers. This narrative is nicely packaged into one concise season. Watch this on Amazon if you have a prime membership.

Movie Reviews, movies

Movie Review: All the Old Knives (2022)

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All the Old Knives is a new movie on Amazon. It is supposed to be this suspenseful mystery about a detective trying to find the traitor, but all that is uncovered is deep disappointment.  

The poster has you believe that you will get a murder mystery type movie, where the main character goes around investigating the different people involved. You don’t. The whole movie is a long-drawn-out conversation between two people who share absolutely no chemistry. There are flashbacks mixed in to give the movie variation, but they are pointless and add nothing to the plot. This movie uses most of its run time on a conversation that slowly builds to an obvious and disappointing twist. All the Old Knives fails at creating any tension, suspense, or mystery. Without these, the plot doesn’t work.

For this movie to work, it needs more moving parts. The whole movie is a conversation between two people. A conversation that merely summarizes events that don’t matter. It is easy to figure out what this movie is building up to early on. When the big reveal happens, I think disappointing is too nice a word. I wanted to break things. There should have been more narratives to keep the audience guessing. Anything to keep the audience invested in the mystery. The twist is garbage and they should change it. Anything is better than what they chose and I stand by this statement. Even comedies like Clue or Murder Mystery understand how to create a more effective mystery. 

This movie is missing the essential components needed for the plot to work. Skip it. If you don’t believe me, you can watch it on Amazon with a Prime Membership.

Movie Reviews, movies

Movie Review: Kept Woman (2015)

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Kept Woman is a horror movie where the monster is toxic masculinity. The film is about a strong, intelligent, independent Jessica who is kidnapped and forced to live the rest of her life as a 1950’s American housewife in her neighbor’s basement. It is a story about the struggle between modern womanhood and the pressure of an always creeping outdated ideal. Kept Woman attempts to create horror in the mundane, almost like in Stepford Wives or Get Out. The monster isn’t scary, but rather the need for idyllic perfection. As a result, there are some beautiful set designs, but faulty execution.

The movie spends the first half of the movie establishing Jessica as the here. She is a quirky and intelligent amateur sleuth. The movie wastes so much time on her development, that the horror is limited to the last 30 minutes of the film. It is dull and disappointing. I believe the intent was to build up to a powerful moment when she escapes, but it doesn’t pan out as such. It feels rushed and forced. Some cool moments in this movie suggest that a bigger budget and better writing might have saved this movie, but as is, this movie is a waste of time. 

If you want a movie with the same plot done better, watch 10 Cloverfield Lane. It has the same plot done better, even with the whole alien subplot. But if you don’t believe me, you can watch it on Amazon Video with a Prime subscription. 

Series Reviews

TV Series Review: I Know What You Did Last Summer (2021)

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I have mixed feelings about this series. I am really impressed with what this show does well, but it is slow. It builds proper suspense and mystery, the death scenes are well done, there are some cool set designs, and the twist is surprising. The biggest problem with this show is that it is too long. You have to sit through a lot of pointless relationships and teen drama to get to the good parts. There are a lot of plot points and development that lead nowhere. I tuned out a lot of this show because of this. But some well-done moments kept me interested till the end. It is hard to recommend this show because of how slow it gets.

The show follows the same formula as the original movies. A group of friends is out partying and they hit someone with a car. They decide to hide their crime and live with the guilt. Someone knows what they did and now is terrorizing them, hunting them down one by one. For the most part, this show presents a solid mystery. That is if you can sit through all the filler. Most of you have better things to do. I think if you are the target audience, you might fair a little better with all the teen drama than I did.

I wish this series were a movie instead. If they cut out all the filler, you have a solid mystery and some impressive creativity. There are some fun death scenes and some suspenseful moments, but the pacing takes away from this. I want more creative deaths and mystery because the show does the few it has well.

I also thought the use of shifting perspectives was a neat idea. Every episode would follow a different victim and you would get a different perspective of a shared experience. It provided context and deeper insight into each character. The problem is that it got repetitive, and often it would be a rehashing of the same story you’ve already seen too many times. I think if each retelling added useful information about the mystery instead of drama it would have been more effective. Maybe even have some details misremembered because everyone was so high. But I appreciate the attempt nonetheless.

I am not surprised it got cancelled after one season. I think it ends fine enough, any story after would have been too off the rails to be tolerable. Overall, the pacing really hurts the show. Watch this if you want something that doesn’t require much attention because you will zone a lot of this out. I wouldn’t rush out to watch this, but it is something to check out if you have nothing else to do. You can check it out on Amazon if you have a Prime membership.

Series Reviews

Streaming Series Review: Outlaws (2021)

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Outlaws is a show on Amazon about a group of strangers that meet doing community service. Whether by circumstance or action, crime has brought these strangers together. The show weaves several different narratives as you explore each character’s past and growth. Most of the narratives fit together nicely, but some leaps are made to make the whole narrative work. There are some magical moments that you need to suspend your disbelief to believe. This narrative hinges on its serendipity where fate is the reason why everything works out.

As far as stories go, this one is fine. It is a little cheesy, as in friendship is a powerful force that one should cherish. The acting is fine, the characters are unique, and the story is entertaining enough; albeit the ending is a bit fantastical. If you like cheesy rom-coms where everything works out in the end, it is essentially the same sentiment but where strangers become friends.

I only fear that they will make a second season of this show. This first season wraps up well enough. There are a few story threads that they don’t revisit, but I don’t think they need to. I don’t have faith that they can address some of the emotional beats seeing how they solved gang violence.

Overall, if you are looking for a cheesy show that requires little effort, look no further. You can watch it now if you have an Amazon Prime membership.  

Movie Reviews, movies

Movie Review: School Spirits (2017)

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School Spirits is a kids/young adult movie about ghost hunting. The plot and acting are pretty good for a kids’ movie. This movie is a little slow at points, but I didn’t hate it. There is some cartoonish over-acting, and some awkward line reads, but it is a kids’ movie. There is also a bit of ex machina, but that is expected.

As far as kids’ movies go, this one isn’t annoying. The characters are a bit on the quirky side, but I never felt like they were trying too hard. I was never annoyed, even by the more cartoonish characters. School Spirits is about a group of teen girls who hunt ghosts to help them cross over. You have the tough one, the smart one, and the spiritual one. The movie does a decent job at making the main characters complex enough that they aren’t boring archetypes. Some tropes are still present. The girls work well together and were overall a positive representation. I like that this movie doesn’t fall into the overbearing girl power trap some of these movies tend to do. Every other line isn’t devoted to reminding the audience that these are girls and they are capable. Instead, the movie spends time developing plot points and character arcs well enough. I liked this ghost hunting group, and I was invested in their adventure.

I can’t recommend this movie unless you are a kid or looking for a kids’ movie. As far as kids’ movies go, this one is solid. The plot is simple, the acting is fine, but unless you are the target audience, it isn’t going to make much of an impression. Don’t get me wrong, if you are forced to sit through this, you won’t hate it, but I wouldn’t seek it out. 

You can watch this on Amazon Video if you have a Prime Membership. 

Movie Reviews, movies

Movie Reviews: Cashback (2006)

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Cashback is an odd artsy movie that is a bit pretentious. The film works as an exploration of loss, specifically the loss of a relationship. Sean has just gotten out of a relationship and is dealing poorly with his heartbreak. He doesn’t sleep; Sean spends the whole movie trying to hide from life and his pain.

The way that Sean deals with his heartache is by freezing time. Freezing time is a metaphor for his escapism. Sean doesn’t want to deal with the pain of his break-up, so he escapes into a world frozen in time. 

A world where he can appreciate its beauty without getting hurt. These moments usually turn into pretentious monologues about seeing the beauty in everything. Sean uses this time to express how this ability is unique to him because he is an artist and only artists can truly appreciate beauty. This message wouldn’t be problematic if it wasn’t constantly being repeated. But this movie does a great job at showing escapism. Sean isn’t the only one who chooses to escape the pain of life. You will be introduced to a collection of broken individuals who themselves need to escape. Each character has their unique method of escape, but you only get to see Sean’s dramatized. It is an interesting narrative that does address a lot of how people cope with the difficulty of life. I just wish it didn’t get so preachy. 

This movie isn’t for everyone. Unless you like artsy and weird movies, you probably won’t like it. A bit of warning, there is a lot of nudity. The movie tries to justify it as artistic expression, but it gets a bit creepy. There are some awkward monologues about the beauty of the woman form that get a bit uncomfortable to sit through. 

That said, I did enjoy this movie. Cashback is a solid movie with good actors, memorable characters, and a decent story. However, it suffers from its presentation. I appreciate its unique narrative style, and it did leave an impression, but it is hard to get past the pretentiousness. I get it, beauty is in every moment, and only an artist can understand this. I guess I am not an artist. You can watch it on Amazon if you have a Prime subscription.

Movie Reviews, movies

Movie Reviews: The VelociPastor (2019)

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I loved this movie, but I can’t recommend it. It’s not good. The VelociPastor was made for a certain type of audience, but it wasn’t a mainstream audience. Unless you love watching bad cheesy movies for fun, you are going to have a bad time.

The VelociPastor is about a Catholic priest who has lost his faith. He goes on a pilgrimage to find his faith, but he finds the power to turn into a raptor instead. With the help of a prostitute, he uses his powers to fight an origination of evil ninja. It is insane and I loved almost every minute of it.

Again, this movie isn’t for everyone. The writing is bad, the fight scenes are cheesy, and the costumes and special effects are terrible. This movie looks like it was shot at someone’s house. That said, the acting was surprisingly good, the soundtrack was great, and the sound was amazing. It is often the case with low-budget movies like this for the sound to be awful. I’ve seen movies where dialogue is barely audible or full of reverb. The VelociPastor has its sound on point and I appreciate the filmmakers for it. I can forgive bad acting and terrible special effects, but the sound is hard to overlook. That said, a normal audience will not enjoy this movie.

I am not normal, and I enjoy watching bad movies. I loved this movie for what it is, a goofy attempt at a polymorphing action movie. The one-liners, the costumes, the action scenes, and the big twist at the end were all very much appreciated. It does slow down towards the middle, I think they were running out of ideas, but they were able to bring me back in with a grand finale. This is easily my favorite bad movie. 

If you like making fun of bad movies, check this out. For the rest of you, it’s hard to recommend. The lack of structure and overall goofiness isn’t for everyone. If you are interested in watching The VelociPastor, do not take it seriously. Have fun with it. You can watch it if you have an Amazon Prime membership.  

Series Reviews

TV Series Review: Utopia (2020)

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Utopia is an appropriate pandemic thriller that I believe everyone should be watching. It has tension, suspense, action, John Cusack; what more can you ask for? I have not seen the original British version, so I don’t know how this compares. Instead, I will be basing this review only on the American version, streaming now on Amazon Prime.

Utopia is about a group of nerdy, regular people who stumble upon a huge conspiracy. Someone has weaponized diseases and is using them against people. Through a series of comics, this group of average Joe’s pieces together clues that will hopefully save humanity. I love that this show isn’t about extraordinary people destined to save the world. These protagonists are flawed. Although they are smart, they are not highly trained and, for the most part, are frightened about the whole situation. I am excited to see how this group grows as they continue to deal with adversity.

I don’t want to get into too many specifics because the mystery that shrouds this show is what makes it fun. Utopia does a great job of keeping the audience guessing. Every new clue or new bit of information adds to this fun and exciting experience. I can’t wait for season 2.

If you love tense and exciting mysteries full of action and conspiracy, check out Utopia! I am confident it has a little something for everyone. Watch it on Amazon Prime!

Series Reviews

TV Shows Review: Upload

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It is hard to recommend Upload because it isn’t for everyone. I would describe this show as a cheesy, sci-fi romance novel about death. It does a good job of going over different philosophies about death. I really like the concept of saving a person’s consciousness so that it lives forever. What I don’t like is that it can be preachy at times. We get it, capitalism is bad, and true love is awesome. That aside, it’s a pretty cool show. The acting is decent, although some actors are better than others. The plot is fun, some of the technology is inconsistent but I think that is the point. The characters are all unique and for the most part, interesting.

This show is about a future where they have the technology to save a person’s consciousness in a simulated world. The “Uploads” live their lives in words run by big corporations. The show focuses on the blossoming romantic relationship of Nathan, an upload, and Andy, Nathan’s customer service representative. She is alive, he isn’t, and the whole series is a will they, won’t they, should they ordeal. There is murder, mystery, suspense, death, and of course, a lot of romance.

For those of you who do not like cheesy romantic movies, this is not for you. Although it isn’t over the top, you get to sit through some rough monologues. But, the pacing is good and the show makes a lot of interesting arguments about death, reality, technology, and economic disparity. If you find yourself looking for something to watch, this isn’t a bad way to spend a couple of hours. You can watch it if you have an Amazon Prime Membership.