I have never enjoyed movies that are based on real people or events, and The Beanie Bubble is no exception. This movie is about the women responsible for creating the bubble and the man responsible for popping it. If you want to know the history around the Beanie Baby bubble, there are probably podcasts, YouTube videos, or articles that do a better job. This is a boring attempt to sensationalize an odd moment in history. It isn’t worth your time.
The acting and production are solid. The cast is fantastic, the colors and costumes are beautiful, and there is some cool editing. Unfortunately, the writing and the way this story is told is terrible. The movie jumps between three different women, jumbling the timeline and bringing it all together at the end. It’s an interesting idea, but the story isn’t interesting enough for it to work. The movie relies too heavily on narration, and the narration is overbearing. A lot of the plot is told through explanations of important events and internal monologues, essentially turning this into an expensive podcast. The tone of the narration becomes an issue because when it isn’t too quirky for its own good, it feels like the narrator is talking down to the audience. It also makes the movie boring to sit through.
The movie was intended to be an inspiring story of an empowered woman triumphing over a terrible man, but it was poorly executed. The monologues and dialogue are generic and lazy, Ty is too cartoonishly villainous to be taken seriously, and the sensationalized tone takes away from the woman’s accomplishments. When the pivotal moment comes when the woman breaks off from Ty, it doesn’t feel monumental because the women don’t feel real, and I had stopped caring a long time ago.
The biggest issue with this movie is that it tries to cash in on 90s nostalgia when people have moved on to something else. This movie throws up 90s nostalgia and will stop to show its audience how 90s it is. This slows down the movie and takes away from a story that isn’t good to begin with.
I wouldn’t bother with this movie. It may not be terrible, but it isn’t good either. If you lived through the craze, or are curious about it, there are better sources out there for this story. You can stream The Beanie Bubble on Apple TV, but I wouldn’t bother.
Series Review: Shining Girls (2022)
If you haven’t watched Shining Girls, you need to stop reading this and check it out now. This well-made and confusing mystery is worth every twist and turns it throws at you. You can stream it now on Apple TV. Trust me, this show is at least worth the free trial.
Years after her assault, Kirby is still having trouble adjusting to life. She plans to move to Florida in hopes that starting anew will help ease her trauma. But before she can make her move, a recent murder of a woman changes the course of her destiny. The details of this new murder are frighteningly familiar to hers. Could this murder lead to the identity of her assailant? Determined to put an end to her nightmare, Kirby must now piece together a mystery that gets more confusing the more she uncovers. Will she be able to solve the mystery of her assailant, or is this whole ordeal an obsession-induced delusion?
This show understands how to establish proper tension. If you are not at the edge of your seat throughout this series, you are not paying attention. This is a disorienting trip that gets more confusing as you go. It all makes sense in the end, but you might need to watch this show a couple of times to catch some of the nuances. I liked that I was consistently confused throughout this series because this confusion is frightening. Kirby doesn’t know what is going on and it scares her. We get to experience a similar fear.
What really makes this show work so well is the acting. Elisabeth Moss is a fantastic actress, and watching her cement herself in this genre has been a treat. The fear she emotes helps create the tension that drives this narrative. The chemistry with the rest of the cast is what gives this show its substance. Together they create one of the strangest thrillers I have seen this year. We cannot ignore Jamie Bell’s frightening performance as the series’ villain. Without him, we wouldn’t have the compelling narrative this turns into. You should at the very least be watching this show for the acting. I wish I could say more, but I don’t want to ruin it.
If you are a fan of thrillers and mysteries and don’t mind being confused, check out Shinning Girls on Apple TV.
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You can also read the book this series is based off of. You know its always better!
Series Review: Slow Horses (2022)
Slow Horses is a spy thriller that you can stream on Apple TV that is based on the book of the same name. While I cannot speak on how good of an adaptation it is, I had a lot of fun with this show. Slow Horses has everything you want from a spy thriller. It is a show full of deception, double-crosses, gun fights, and a race against the clock. If you like the genre, this is a solid entry
Slow Horses focuses on the disgraced agents of MI5 who are sent to Slow House. Most have come to terms with their punishment and wait out their sentence till they can retire. Some still hold on to the hope that they earn their redemption. Opportunity strikes when a young Asian British man is kidnapped by an extremist and racist group that plans to execute him publicly. The members of the slow house jump to the task as the race is on to find the young man alive. Will they save the day and earn their redemption, or will they remain a disgrace to the organization?
This was a fun and enjoyable spy thriller. The acting is great, the story is interesting, and the pacing is perfect. While it does have some of the familiar spy thriller tropes, it is a unique enough story to keep things interesting. This is a team of imperfect misfits who are trying to prove themselves. They will make mistakes, but they will learn from them. As the series progresses, they slowly regain the spark they lost when they were sent to Slow House. This makes for an excellent redemption story, but also one with sufficient tension.
Sometimes with spy thrillers, you get characters who cannot fail because they are too perfect. This makes the story boring because any adversity they face is easily overcome. It is nice to see a group of people fail and then scramble to overcome their failure as they race against the clock. It is what makes a good thriller, and I can only hope that future entries to the genre continue with this trend.
Anyways, Slow Horses is a different but same kind of spy story, and you should watch it on Apple TV if you have a subscription.
Series Review – Roar (2022)
Image by Ian Lindsay from Pixabay
Roar is a horror anthology series on Apple TV that deals with women’s issues. Each episode is a different scary story that tackles a specific issue. The show deals with subjects like discrimination, sexism, and abuse, to name a few. If you like shows like Black Mirror, you might enjoy this more than I did. Ultimately, while many of the concepts were interesting, I was left with a disappointment that makes it impossible for me to recommend this show.
There are a few technical issues that are hard to ignore with the acting and writing, but ultimately the show’s biggest issues are with the pacing and endings. The endings ruin this show for me. The show does a decent job at setting up an interesting narrative, only to fall flat as it struggles to achieve its empowering and happy ending. As a result, this show becomes very preachy, and the narrative suffers for it. I don’t mind morals of female empowerment, but in Roar, it seems forced and out of place.
Each episode is limited by the same simple formula. A woman encounters an issue that gets personified into some kind of magical and inexplicable presence. The presence can be a disease, a person, or even a monster. The idea is that the issue the protagonist faces is tangible and something they can overcome. There is some solid setup and buildup, but it is all wasted on some ex-Machina. The protagonist will always easily overcome their ordeal, and the episodes will sort of just end. It is very anti-climactic and a waste of some interesting concepts. It also creates an issue with the pacing that I cannot overlook. Halfway through the episodes it feels like there is a sudden rush towards a happy ending.
As is tradition with these types of shows, not all the stories are good. Some stand out, but it is always a gamble on what you are going to get. If you enjoy this type of storytelling, you might have a better time than I did. I would suggest you skip it because none of the stories are good enough to earn a recommendation.
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TV Series Review: Severance (2022)
I loved severance. The only issue I have with the series is that it is over and I have to wait for the next season to find out what happens.
Severance plays with the idea of identity as it explores a future where people can separate their consciousness in two, one that lives a normal life, and one who only works. These two personalities will never interact. The idea being that a person can live life without the distractions of work and vice versa. Although the company of Lumen does everything in its power to make this idea seem utopian, there is something sinister afoot, and we as the audience slowly begin to uncover what that is.
Severance is a quirky and dark mystery full of suspense and philosophy. It is fantastically acted, well written, and beautifully shot. I usually criticize shows for their pacing, but here the slow pacing works to add the suspense that will keep you at the edge of your seat. The sterile and chimerical work environment, the positively chipper attitudes of management, and the isolation truly create a well-made psychological horror. If you like movies like Get Out or The Stepford Wives, this is the show for you.
I love how it can create horror through Lumen’s seeming perfection. The constant almost robotic references to protocol, the small mandatory celebrations, the mystery of the work being done, and the consistent positivity from the employees give this show its dark undertones. Let me not forget that the casting is perfect. Every character is well performed and truly give this show its vibrance. Milchick is my absolute favorite villain. Tramell Tillman earns his praise as he plays the chipper helicopter supervisor that is always smiling. It is his toxic positivity that sells the shows psychological horror. Lumen is up to something, and it drives me crazy that I don’t know what it is.
Severance makes valid criticisms about work and individuality. It also explores topics of religion, freedom, and escapism. It addresses each topic effectively by creating an engaging narrative that gets weirder the longer you stick with. This show is weird in the best possible way. If you haven’t seen this show yet, you need to go watch it now. You can watch it on Apple TV. If you don’t have a subscription, it is worth the trail because you need this show in your life.