Tag Archives: television

Series Reviews

Series Review: Shining Girls (2022)

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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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Series Reviews

Series Review: Slow Horses (2022)

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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 Reviews

Series Review – Roar (2022)

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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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Series Reviews

Series Review: Surface (2022)

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Surface has to be one of the most disappointing psychological thrillers I have ever watched. While it may play around with some interesting concepts, it falls flat and even has the gal to sequel bait. If you have an Apple TV subscription, I suggest you skip this series.  

After a failed attempt at suicide, Sophie finds herself alive but without any of her memories. Now she must begin her life anew as she scrambles to reclaim her memories and learn who she was. However, her search becomes complicated as she begins to uncover the dark secrets that surround her life. Will she ever be able to make sense of her past? Will she be able to become who she once was? Will she like what she discovers?  

The acting is okay, but there are some cringe-worthy line reads that are hard to overlook. The pacing is a huge problem, and the show will often rely on sex to act as filler. The series has some interesting twists but chooses to do nothing with them. Instead, you follow Sophie down a convoluted rabbit hole that leads to disappointment. The show ends on a cliffhanger, but not one strong enough to keep me invested in the series. I will honestly forget that I watched it when the second season comes around.  

This show has a cool premise. I liked that the main character is piecing together her own mystery. Each piece gives Sohpie new perspectives and theories, but none of them ever make her whole. Whenever she begins to get a grasp on her reality, some new piece of evidence proves her wrong, and she has to start over. This of course becomes very convoluted. 

I liked that there is a separation between Sophie’s identity post and pre-suicide attempt. It is an interesting way of looking at personality because it begs to question of who the real Sophie is. The more she finds out, the bigger the separation grows between who she believes she is and who she actually was. Unfortunately, this show isn’t as interesting as its concept. Instead, this is a slogging series of misdirections. Skip it.

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Movie Reviews

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power – First Impressions

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Amazon has just released its Lord of the Rings show, and I have to say, I am addicted. I am not the biggest fan of the series, I haven’t read the book and have only watched the Hobbit, but this show definitely sparked my curiosity. I am living proof that you don’t need extensive knowledge of the lore to enjoy this show, but having the wiki open might help you get a deeper understanding of what is going on. If you are intimidated to get into Lord of the Rings, don’t be. It is a very in-depth fantasy, but it is well done.

This is a prequel to the series as it details the events that led up to how they crafted the rings. So far there are only two episodes out for the series with new episodes coming out weekly. The acting is fantastic, the story is interesting, and the setting is beautiful. The first two episodes do a great job at introducing the different factions, setting up the world, and getting you hooked for more. They spent a lot of money producing this show, and it shows. My only complaint is that I have to wait another week to see what happens next.

If you are patient, hop on this show immediately. If you aren’t, wait till it is all out. I am definitely excited to see where this series will go.

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Series Reviews

Series Review: The Rehearsal (2022)

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The Rehearsal is a hard show to sell because Nathan Fielder’s humor isn’t for everyone. He is very dry and awkward in his deliveries, but somehow he makes it work. I believe it has to do with how his personality is contrasted against very serious situations that make the shows he makes work. If you can get past his awkward and dry sense of humor, you get an interesting show that explores how we make decisions. 

Nathan Fielder uses HBO’s money to help people overcome difficult tasks in their lives. In the first episode, Fielder helps a man who wants to come clean about a lie he told his friends long ago. The lie has been weighing heavily on his conscience. Fielder promises to help him overcome the fear of the situation by helping him prep for the confession. The Fielder makes a replica of the location, gets actors to interact with, and goes over every possible outcome. The idea is to prep the subject by making him encounter every possible outcome. By the end of the rehearsal, the subject should be ready to overcome the task at hand. The show gets stranger as he will often turn the camera on himself and evaluate the morality of what he is doing. 

Fielder uses this show to explore the social and situational factors that influence how we make decisions. Fielder will take a simple task or scenario and examine it from every possible perspective. He will also consider every possible outcome of a situation. Fielder uses the data he collects to manipulate situations to result favorably for him. You will sit there as he reevaluates a single moment in the show, dissecting it in order to understand why it resulted as such. If you like studying human behaviors and social dynamics, this is a fantastic show for you. 

I fear I might not be doing this show justice because it is a hard one to explain. It is a comedy that isn’t bound by its genre. Instead, it is an in-depth study of the psyche of decision making. If you can get past Fielder’s stale personality, you find yourself with an interesting show. You can stream it on HBO. 

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Series Reviews

Series Review: A League of Their Own (2022)

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I haven’t seen the movie this series is based on, nor can I comment on its historical accuracy, but I can definitely recommend it because it is a good show. If you are on the fence, don’t be. Go, stream it now.

The series follows one of America’s first women’s baseball teams. The series focuses on the adversities they faced and how they overcame them. The series covers social issues such as racism, sexism, and homophobia. While I do have to admit that it addresses these topics in a fantastical wholesome manner, it does so respectfully, and I can’t take issue.

This show is incredibly wholesome with a fantastic cast, a fun narrative, and a lot of baseball. The characters are unique, and watching them grow and become a team throughout the series is truly inspiring. The Peaches face a lot of obstacles because they don’t fit the traditional role society has assigned them. They just want to play baseball and be who they are, but that isn’t what a traditional woman is. The show does a great job at showing that the traditional woman is a myth, and it instead broadens the definition by including a more inclusive representation of womanhood.

It is inspiring to see all that these women had to endure and to see what they accomplished. This is an important narrative and one that needs to be told. My only complaint is that the narrative is a little too whitewashed, but the intent of this show is to be wholesome and fun, not real and heavy. I’ll let it slide. You need to watch this show.

You can stream this on Amazon with a Prime membership.

Series Reviews

The Patient (2022): Initial Thoughts

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The Patient is a new psychological thriller starring Steve Carrell. The show is on a weekly release, and you can stream it on Hulu. I suggest you wait for more episodes to release because although the acting is excellent, the first two episodes don’t leave much of an impression.

The story follows a therapist named Alan who has been kidnapped and kept prisoner by a murderer, Sam. Alan is forced to live his days chained into a room while he is forced to help Sam with his therapy. Sam doesn’t want to be a murderer, and kidnapping Alan seems to be his only option for getting better. Trapped in this room, Alan must deal with a person that is clearly unstable while he wrestles with his own demons. Will Alan be able to help Sam and earn his freedom, or will he become another victim?

The show is just okay. The acting is great, and the setting is neat, but the story doesn’t do enough to hook its audience. The first two episodes are set up for the series. You are introduced to Alan and get a sense of his specialization as a therapist through a series of sessions. These sessions are often disturbed by flashbacks that paint Alan as a flawed person who still needs to work through his own issues. You are also introduced to Sam, and slowly through their many conversations, get a sense of his motivations. Both actors have terrific chemistry and work well with each other. The isolation created in the house helps set the mood, but these two episodes are rather slow. I fear that releasing this show weekly might hurt the engagement of this show because it isn’t anything special yet. There is potentially based on the cast, but it seems too early to know for sure. A show like this needs better pacing if it is going to be successful.

The second episode ends on an obvious cliffhanger that does nothing for my curiosity. I will keep watching because I have to, but you should wait until there’s more to the series. 

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Series Review: This Fool (2022)

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As far as sketch comedy shows go, This Fool is just okay. I thought it was funny enough, but it isn’t something you should be rushing to see. If you are looking for something to throw on in the background to watch passively, this is an option.

This Fool is about an ex-con and the cousin who helps him with his rehabilitation. The series is about Mexican-Americans in Los Angeles. The show deals with the problematic penal system, the hardships of adjusting to life after prison, and trying to find ones place in society. 

The acting is okay, the story is fine, and the comedy is mostly funny. The show has a narrative it follows loosely, but it mostly moves from skit to skit. The problem with these types of shows is that not all of the jokes and skits are funny. There are some episodes that are really lackluster and skits that are a chore to get through. Although I did laugh and enjoyed the concept, This Fool didn’t leave much of an impression.

What I liked most about this show is how it handles important social issues. This country’s penal system is broken, and life for those who go through it is hard. The show makes some valid criticism of the system while also showing the hardships people face when they are released from prison. While they do keep the subject light, there are some very real moments that I appreciated.

Other shows in this genre tend to lose their novelty after a couple season. Inspiration dies and the shows stop being as funny. I thought the first season of this show was fine, but I doubt it can survive another season. I just don’t think there is enough material.

If you like shows like Broad City or Portlandia, it might be worth checking out. Keep in mind that this was written from the Mexican-American perspective and a lot of the humor relates to the culture. While I thought it was hilarious and appreciated the nuances, others might not understand or catch the jokes. I recommend watching this show when you have other stuff to do, it doesn’t deserve your full attention. You can stream it on Hulu.

Series Reviews

Series Review: The Sandman (2022)

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I can’t recommend The Sandman enough. This is fantasy at its finest. The story is amazing, the acting is mostly great, and it is such a beautiful show. I can’t speak on how close of an adaptation it is to the comic, but I can speak on what a good show this is.

The series deals with the gods and forces outside of the human realm that affects the human experience. Forces like death, desire, and dreams are manifested as gods, each with its own domain to rule. The natural order of things gets complicated when a series of events lead to the capture of Dream. Years go by, and Dream’s kingdom crumbles. The show focuses on a newly freed Dream as he tries to rebuild his Kingdom and his power.

I have been impatiently waiting for any new fantasy to hold me over till the next season of The Circle of Time. This definitely helped soothe my impatient heart, but now I fear I will be impatiently waiting for this next season of The Sandman as well. It is safe to say that I am obsessed with this show, and there is a good reason for that. The narrative is interesting, full of well-generated tension, interesting villains and heroes, and some pretty fantastic world-building. I love that Dream isn’t a traditional hero. Dream will often act whit his own interest in mind because he is not limited by human morals. He will slowly realize that this is not always in the universe’s best interest, and his thinking slowly changes as a result of his experience. It is very cool to see a hero who learns from his journey as he deals with his flaws and inhibitions.

The narrative style for this show is unique. Each arc seems to have its own voice, keeping the series fresh and exciting. It is nice to see fantasy that doesn’t follow the usual tropes. My only complaint is with the inconsistency of the acting. Some actors give amazing performances, while others do their best but have awkward delivery. It isn’t a terrible problem, but it is noticeable. I also had an issue with the pacing. I felt it slows down towards the end, but I never felt like it was unwatchable. 

This is a great series and you can watch it on Netflix!

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