I have seen enough bad Netflix adaptations and spinoffs to be skeptical about the success of Wednesday. While the casting seemed perfect, I refused to get too excited. I was pleasantly surprised by this spinoff. While it may not be perfect, it is a solid series that you should consider watching. 

After a terrible prank, Wednesday is sent to Nevermore, a school for gifted outsiders. The school is full of werewolves, vampires, and people who just don’t fit into the rest of society. Wednesday is resistant at first but slowly comes to tolerate the change. There is something sinister lurking in the woods around Nevermore, and Wednesday loves sinister. Wednesday finds herself in the middle of a mystery full of murder, mayhem, and conspiracy. It is enough to put a smile on her otherwise pale and gloomy face. Can she get to the bottom of things before the year is out?

This is the fourth show in this supernatural school genre I have seen this year. While I noticed that are a lot of parallels, it manages to be a unique enough narrative. The story and lore are tame and easy to follow, the aesthetic is visually appealing, and Wednesday is a fantastic protagonist. Some of the writing and acting aren’t great, but it isn’t bad enough to stop watching. 

The mystery in this series is well-developed. It will keep most audiences guessing until the big reveal at the end. I can assure you that there is enough misdirection to muddle your theories as soon as you make them. If you are paying enough attention, there are enough clues to solve the mystery early on. It isn’t overtly obvious unless you know what you are looking for, so I would avoid spoilers. It is refreshing to see a mystery with good attention to detail. There is nothing worse than watching a sloppy mystery where the solution is over-rationalized nonsense at the end. 

The characters in this series are fine, although they get sloppy the farther removed they are from Wednesday. The acting is inconsistent between the supporting actors unless they are close to Wednesday. It isn’t bad, but it is noticeable. This might be intentional since outside of Wednesday, most characters are one-dimensional.

Wednesday is a fantastic protagonist. I was afraid they were going to make her a generic brooding goth girl, but there is some surprising depth to Wednesday. I like that Wednesday isn’t perfect. She makes mistakes, loses, and is even wrong sometimes, but she learns from her downfalls. She may not admit when she makes mistakes, but she tries harder, attempts to make amends, and experiences meaningful character growth. The series does a tremendous job of building up her growth and highlighting those important moments. Wednesday will not end in the same place where she started her journey.

My only complaint about this series is that the ending is a bit sloppy. I lost interest because the pacing feels rushed as the series tries to close up all the different plot threads it’s set up throughout the season. It still remained an enjoyable experience and one that I recommend to everyone. This is a different tone than any of the source materials. This is a lot more serious dark and structured more like a teen drama. It has a lot of similar themes, but with a lot less fan service. That said, this is honestly one of the better ones of the genre I have seen. You can stream it now on Netflix. 

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Movie Reviews

Movie Review: So Vam (2022)

August 23, 2022 josechurape Leave a comment

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

It has been a while since I have seen a movie this rough and unpolished. So Vam is a low-budget vampire movie that you are better off not watching. While well-intentioned as it addresses important issues that affect the LBGQT community, it just isn’t a good movie. The acting is rigid and stiff, the writing is inconsistent, and the story isn’t interesting. At least the camera quality and the sound is good.

The movie focuses on a young gay kid who just wants to live his life and be who he is. The town he lives in doesn’t accept him for being gay. As a result, he experiences a lot of bullying and discrimination. He is an outcast in this town and dreams of going somewhere where he can be who he is without any judgment. His life changes when a strange man turns him into a vampire. With the help of a few trans and gay vampires, he learns to use his powers for good. He now has the confidence to be who he wants to be, but there is a dark force after him. Will he and his new friends be strong enough to defeat this lingering evil from another time, or will evil prevail?

This movie has too many issues, and it isn’t worth your time. I liked that they try to redefine the vampire mythos, but the writing is too inconsistent to do so properly. There is no effective world-building aside from narrative existing in a small town, no consistency in the powers the vampires have, and no clear distinctions between the faction except that one are the bad one. The villain is one-dimensional and flat partly due to the bad writing and largely due to the rigid and emotionless acting that is thematic for this movie. The writing isn’t good, full of some notable holes and continuity errors. For example, there is a character in this movie that uses the they/them pronouns at the beginning of the film, but then is changed to he/him later on. This inconsistency is glaring for a movie that boasts of being an LGBTQ film early on. If you are going to make an LGBTQ movie, at least get the pronouns right. 

I can forgive low-budget movies when they are fun like Velocipastor, but there is nothing fun here. You can stream this on Shudder, but it isn’t worth your time.

Movie Reviews

Movie Review: Day Shift(2022)

August 17, 2022 josechurape 4 Comments

Day Shift is a buddy comedy about vampire hunters that certainly has its moments, but I wouldn’t rush out to go stream it unless you have nothing else to watch. While it may not be the worst movie on the platform, its inconsistencies leave it in an awkward place where it is hard to recommend.

Jamie Foxx is a rogue vampire hunter that plays by his own rules. This flaw makes him a broke vampire hunter, desperate for money. In an effort to stay afloat, he must join the heavily regulated secret organization of vampire hunters. Here he is assigned Dave Franco, an inexperienced desk jockey who does everything by the book. The two find themselves in a conflict against a powerful vampire and her clan. They now must learn to work together to save Los Angeles from a vampire uprising.

Day Shift is just okay. The acting is fine, the jokes are inconsistent at best, and the story is generic. I don’t think there was a clear road map for this movie as it feels like a series of unfunny sketches strung together with some decent action scenes. If you cut out the dull and unfunny bits, we wouldn’t have a movie.

There is nothing special about this story. The characters are forgettable. Dave Franco and Jamie Foxx don’t have enough chemistry to pull this movie off, but I will blame the script for that. The villains have no presence, leaving the film without the suspense and tension it needs to be interesting. This would be forgivable because this movie is a comedy, but most of the jokes aren’t funny. The movie always goes for the cheap laugh and it doesn’t always work. I will commend the movie’s attention to detail. There are some small insignificant bits of lore that are set up very nicely, but I only noticed them because I was losing interest in the movie. 

The action is this film’s only redeeming feature. Whoever designed the action scenes in this movie had a lot of fun with their job. Not all the scenes are equally fun, but there were enough to save this movie from being terrible. The first couple of fights in this movie are fantastic, but the movie definitely loses its steam towards the end. 

If you are thinking of watching Day Shift, do so passively. Not everything in this movie is worth your attention. Otherwise, I wouldn’t go out of my way to put this on. You can stream it over on Netflix. 

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Movie Reviews, movies

Movie Review: Once Bitten (1985)

June 7, 2022 josechurape Leave a comment

I was unimpressed by Once Bitten. This comedy has not aged well. A lot of the jokes no longer land, making this movie feel as eternal as the life of the vampires in it. Once Bitten is an absurd and unstructured comedy that relies heavily on the absurdity of the narrative. You have a matron of vampires who are starving for her eternal youth. To achieve this, she must drink virgin blood three times before Halloween, or she will age terribly. As a result, this movie is full of misunderstandings, innuendos, and horny teenagers. 

This movie isn’t terrible, the acting is fine, and the soundtrack is fantastic, but the pacing is a problem. The pacing is already slow, but it feels slower because you will have to sit through a number of unfunny and uncomfortable scenes. This isn’t the hyperactive Jim Carrey you might know him as, but a rather subdued character trying to figure life out. He like this movie is instantly forgettable. 

The only positive worth mentioning is the soundtrack. I love the music in this movie, but it isn’t enough to save this movie. The only scene that I enjoyed was the dance fight that happens towards the end. The music choice, the choreography, and the energy that the actors bring to their performance make me sad that this movie isn’t a musical. If you haven’t seen it, check it out because it is fun! Unfortunately, the rest of this movie lacks this energy and it suffers for it. 

You can watch this movie free on YouTube, but I wouldn’t bother. It isn’t terrible, but there are better uses for your time.

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