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Series Reviews

Series Review: The Imperfects (2022)

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The Imperfects is Netflix’s new show about superhumans, and it is not half bad. It does take an episode or two for it to get interesting, but it ends up being a solid story. If you like X-men, it touches on many of its central themes. It is a solid attempt at the metahuman narrative, and a much better adaptation than any of the modern live-action X-men movies.

The show is about a geneticist whose obsession to cure mankind’s diseases unleashes a series of unforeseen mutations into the world. The show focuses on three youths whose mutations have manifested in unique and unwanted abilities. Frightened by their new development and desperate to be normal, they seek a cure. The problem is that the only scientist capable of making a cure has gone missing. Will they ever be able to find a cure, or will they live the rest of their lives as monsters?

I was surprised by this series because I have been disappointed by this concept many times before. The Imperfects may not be the perfect metahuman show, but it does show promise. While it may be limited by its budget, I can’t fault it for its creativity. If anything, this series proves you don’t need Sony’s budget to make a good series about metahumans. At its core, it has a strong enough narrative played by a good cast. Some of the writing isn’t great, and the show carries a general cheesiness, but it has an unmistakable charm that kept me interested till its season finale.

I loved the characters. Each lead has his or her own back story and goes on an important journey where they experience some kind of growth. It is refreshing to see a show like this have characters who aren’t the same at the end as where they started. The Imperfects is a unique take on the superhero narrative in which the characters don’t want to be burdened by their powers, or be heroes. Instead, they pursue a selfish goal but are constantly being tested into acting selflessly. It makes for an interesting dynamic in which the characters constantly face difficult decisions. It has its flaws. Some of the powers are imbalanced and they don’t know what to do with all their characters, but it remains a solid attempt.

I can only hope that this series takes off and we get a second season. You should watch this if you like the superhero genre and are waiting for something to watch. Even if you aren’t interested, it is worth a gander if you have nothing else to watch. You can stream it now on Netflix. 

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Series Reviews

Series Review: Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

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I went into this show blind, not knowing anything about the established lore except that Cyberpunk started as a tabletop RPG. I have never played an RPG because I could barely get a dungeons and dragons group together. I haven’t played the video game either because of the debacle that game turned into. After watching Cyberpunk Edgerunners, I will be desperately trying to convince my D&D playgroup to allow me to run some games in this system. I can only hope that this show gains popularity so that there will be interest in the RPG.

The show takes place in a dystopian future. The city is run by corrupt corporations that are constantly at war with each other. If you are lucky, you can land a corporate job and live a normal life. But most citizens aren’t lucky and are forced to live in the slums of the city, fighting for scraps. There is no easy way to get out of the slums. If you aren’t homeless or dying from drug addiction, the only way to survive is to join one of the city’s many gangs. The corporations use these gangs as paws to serve the corporate agenda. 

The story focuses on David. His mother struggles to keep him in a prestigious school with the hopes that he can climb the corporate ladder and have a good life. But destiny has other plans for David, and a car accident robs him of a mother. Now alone in this cruel world, David is left with mounting and crippling debt. In his desperation, he joins the gang that will become his family. Will David find his new meaning with his gang? Will he be able to climb the ranks of the underworld, or will he be another wasted pawn for the corporations?

I loved everything about this series. The art was beautiful, the narrative is great, and the music is fantastic. The voice acting is good for the most part, but the dialect is a bit odd. I believe that the creators were trying to invent a futurist dialect, but it comes out a little awkward. That said, I appreciate the attempt and wouldn’t change it for any other dialect. This is a well-made animated series, but one that is full of nudity, violence, and gore. Viewer discretion is advised. 

Cyberpunk Edgerunners is a hyperactive vision of a dystopian future run by corrupt corporations who only care about money. It makes some very valid commentary about income inequality, skewed opportunities, and the issues with capitalism. It is very well done, and my heart still races from the experience. My only true complaint is that I have already finished the series. 

Do yourself a favor, and watch this series. If it is appropriate of course.

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Series Reviews

Series Review: Cobra Kai

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What a terrific end to a series I have thoroughly been enjoying since the first time I sat down and binge-watched the first season on YouTube Red. As a huge fan of The Karate Kid, this was a much-welcomed reboot to a series I was sure died with Jaden Smith. I’ll admit, with the trend of bad reboots we’ve gotten in recent years, I was skeptical of Cobra Kai. I have since dismissed that skepticism and am fully content with its conclusion.

Cobra Kai is the story of where Daniel and Jonny ended up after the events of The Karate Kid. Daniel is a very successful car salesman with his own dealerships, and Jonny is a down-on-his-luck loser trying to get by. Their lives completely change when Jonny decides to reopen Cobra Kai and teach the kids of the valley karate. But the trauma Daniel and Jonny carry from their youth has a way of complicating things. Tensions grow high, new rivalries form, and the battle for the valley erupts into some of the most fun displays of Karate I have seen in a while. This isn’t just a rehashing of an old story, but a proper continuation and conclusion to the beloved IP.

If you are holding off on watching this series, don’t. This is a fantastic narrative with great actors and lots of karate. Sure the fan service, the callbacks, and the high school drama get a little overbearing and slow the show down, but there is enough good within this series that makes it worth your time. This season is in no way the best of the series, but it does close it out in the best way possible. Sure there are some rushed bits and some slow ones, but all the loose ends are tied up relatively nicely.

The action scenes in this show are so fun that I don’t mind that they used a lot of stunt doubles. A huge shoutout goes out to the people responsible for the choreography, editing, and stunt work for making the series so much fun to watch. But while the karate was much appreciated, I stayed with this series for its stories. You have betrayal, redemption, and some of the best character growth I’ve seen recently. It is very cool to see how they incorporate a lot of what happened in the movies to make this series not only a homage but a proper hero’s journey for more than just the main characters.

I’ll admit, I have some bias because I loved The Karate Kid. This was an incredibly influential film for me growing up, and I have seen everyone since, even the bad ones. This series honors the beloved IP and adapts it for a modern audience. Sure it may not be perfect, but as I fan, I couldn’t ask for more. Check it out on Netflix. It is well worth your time!

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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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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Series Reviews

Series Review: Surface (2022)

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Image by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay

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: 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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Image by Sammis Reachers from Pixabay

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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