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Reviews
Stranger Things (2016)
Nuclear hype.
At first I believed the hype was earned but I began to realize that is all that it is, hype.
This is really just Riverdale on steroids, it's the same stagnant, shallow, insular, recycled blueprint in a very expensive elaborate disguise with kid actors suspiciously shoehorned in.
Riverdale can be entertaining though only because it taps into our primordial instincts by throwing glamorized erotica, violence and turmoil at us wrapped up in decadent self congratulatory zingers, retorts and hollow poetic speeches.
Stranger things dials this up to 'eleven'. The first seasons were more organic and at least had this semblance of immersion, drama and freshness but as it goes on it begins to over rely on shock-and-awe and tired formulas.
It's beyond flat. It inverts and comes out to grip you like a magic mirror gone rouge, the flashing reflective tentacles gripping you into a stupor. It tells you, yelling, demanding, that it's sole perfection through loud leading music drenched over stale cliches instead of letting us simply experience it for better or for worse. It's the stench of desperation perfumed with the scent of blissful overconfidence, the recipe for nuclear hype.
There is a sense of protectiveness of the series by the creators and the fans which wandered into over-protectiveness which may explain the avoidance of stepping into new territory and clinging to obsolete blueprints. In the same way overprotecting a child can cause arrested development we can see the same thing with Stranger Things, outside of its highly curated bliss bubble it meltdowns at the slightest scrutiny just like that child that didn't grow or toughen up because they were suffocated by overinsualtion.
M3GAN (2022)
Skeleton of a horror movie.
Take the formulaic blueprint of the average horror movie then act as if you barely have a grasp of it and you get M3GAN.
It's as if no one has standards anymore and these "creators" know this so feel at ease with getting away with not even trying and/or their blundering overconfidence.
Manufactured hype/FOMO, tribalism/status anxiety and memeability/viralness is more important than the movie now and it shows. Everything could be concluded from the trailer and even without that this movie was beyond predictable, unfleshed out and nearly robotic in its delivery which produced zero immersion, intrigue or scares.
It's 100% premise and a cold caricaturization of frankenstein blueprints by people who are simply out of their element but insist on having a death grip on the medium and art. If you simply rewatch all the available trailers and clips you will miss absolutely nothing.
Wednesday (2022)
Solidifies new genre: Regressed prep.
This is what I would call regressed preppy: it's safe, insular and fluffy yet violent, erotic and toxic, that thing where it simultaneously feels like a very young children's tv show AND an X-rated movie. A very jarring experience with continuous whiplash, just totally caught off guard by the combination. It's Spongebob Squarepants meets Freddy Kruger.
It's like being immersed in an identity crisis, wanting to be perceived as sweet, soft, and innocent yet that repressed wild side and agenda can't help but peek through. It makes for a very calculated experience which is totally unimmersive.
For example, you can just tell that they used White coded passing bullies in that overcorrection/overcompensating 'see, we're not biased' way. Then you can see how they specifically, actively, put a Black coded passing bully for another scene as a way to balance it out and/or stick to their comfortable biased routine.
Or how the characters keep emphasizing how "white" Wednesday is which is just poorly cloaked Casteism. Wednesday might as well ask a mirror 'who the fairest of them all' is.
Then you have the questionable romance/social plots which almost seem to normalize or glorify toxic behavior. You know, rude for no reason, zero empathy yet is still supposed to be likable and is liked by others or insta-love type of stuff. It's starting to become disturbing and not in a good way.
Other than that it's just very predictable and flat entertainment due to the approach: the lore, tone and aesthetic is just superficial wrapping on another typical teen drama with flat trope characters and identity cult propaganda. The Woman cultism was in full effect: Men are 2D-evil except love interest(s), perfect female protagonist has unlimited skills, abilities and knowledge and wispy/waify/skinny character with little to no muscle tone can beat up anyone, typically a male.
The over reliance on formula is also clear, I mean, a werewolf character that says 'This kitty has claws'? Just because it has been used successfully before in other media and vaguely correlates? Since when were (retractable) claws the weapons of werewolves? Fangs would of made more sense or why not just make them say 'This puppy has claws' or make them a Werecat? Instead they just put tropes, cliches and formulas in a blender without a lid and used whatever flew out. It can also been seen in how Wednesday literally talks in wry, sarcastic, macabre come backs. We're talking 95% of Wednesday's lines and that is zero exaggeration.
Lastly, the exposition. Why are you using all of the dialogue to explain to the audience what is currently happening right in front of our faces? Dialogue is there to weave a story and express characters, not to talk down to us.
This IS just a magic mirror for the matching demographic (light featured, dainty, logical/socialite Women and the 'Latinx' Women/Other Women that aspire to be them) which is what all shows are becoming, 'chosen one' simulators. At least if it wasn't your vibe or matching demographic it was watchable but now it's just so bludgeoning, obstructive and exclusionary.
If you're the matching demographic you may enjoy it and why not as I said most demographics seem to be doing it but what happened to stories, character flaws, and creativity instead of risk-free formulas, decadent self worship and identity cult propaganda?
Arcane: League of Legends (2021)
Predictable, Toxic, Beautiful.
With the fresh and beautiful aesthetic you go in expecting a fresh deep experience but it's rather formulaic and shallow entertainment.
You get the golden boy who fails up, the tough work focused cop with a soft side and the Harley quinn-eqsue character with an unjustified grudge.
This manic pixie character, Powder/Jinx, blew up a building out of carelessness causing it to collapse/injure people then lost the loot from it because one was in over one's head. Powder/Jinx's teenage friends made fair observations about this in a teasing way, a bit of bullying but nothing too severe. Powder/Jinx then realized oneself blew up the building with a crystal so used several of the same crystals in-a-building which killed several of one's friends brutally all out of the self absorbed need to prove oneself which only proved that the reasoning for their demands and anger were valid, that Powder/Jinx wasn't ready.
The angle is abandonment but that wasn't abandonment it was walking away in disappointment and actually abandoning her would of been fine since it would of been self preservation by a traumatized person trying to get away from a bomb making kid who gets upset when they can't go on missions they clearly aren't ready for.
I do like how they touch on how we can turn others into monsters by judging them or with the power of our words and how abandonment can enhance trauma bonds but the execution was very poor if not irresponsible.
The 'quirky insanity' was also a bit toxic, it bordered on glamorization and it felt like Jinx was framed as someone I was suppose to empathize with or even see as cutesy or cool but her actions made that nearly impossible.
We also get the over worked dying scientist so the tropes and cliches are plentiful though I would say many of the side characters that got less screen time were rather endearing, more so than the main characters.
It's a very indulgent series, waify thin characters taking down muscular fighters and 'science' being this all powerful force which just comes off as flattery and praise for the hyper logical/STEM devotee original fan base.
Plot holes and inconsistencies are ignored just to push the plot forward, for melodrama and insta/too easy resolutions. Like characters having flashbacks of events they didn't see, getting a slap on the wrist for basically starting a caste war, surviving a bomb detonated one foot away and hard-and-fast opinions flipping quickly for feel good moments and twists.
Though with its faults it's still pretty entertaining. The world building is pretty solid and it had more cool combat than expected. It's sort of like a gritty, magical, steampunk adjacent action-thriller. I would of liked to see more variety of hextech, it leaned more tech than hex but what I did see was pretty cool.
The heart of the story does come through in the end but there would of been more connection if it was approached it bit more courageously and humbly. If self care and caste warfare is going to be touched on I expect more consistency, depth and dimensions. This was more of a easily digestible, flat, binary 'rich bad/poor good' and 'insanity sad/healthy boring' take.
Overall, it has that roller coaster feel you get from a movie when you actually yearn for immersion that a series could provide but at least it's an entertaining roller coaster. The world building, characters and technicals are all there so a less rushed/compressed flow would really bring it to the next level.
Incorporated (2016)
High quality mediocrity.
This is very typical cookie-cutter stuff which can be rather shallow and overstimulating though the concept and visuals really bring it into something that is entertaining.
I would say it's a realistic view of power hungry mega corps and dystopian futurism. So that's a pretty intriguing ride yet nothing really stands out as again this is pretty formulaic stuff with mediocre acting. Yes, it does have an action/thriller vibe sometimes which it does pull off but it can be a bit jarring and one note.
If they slowed down a bit so we could go a bit deeper this would of been more interesting but I would suggest a view if your interested in those genres or topics.
The Handmaid's Tale (2017)
Perfect character syndrome.
The writers narcissism seem to have produced perfect character syndrome.
They can't see flaws within their population/demographic so even when these characters do very bad things they are quickly redeemed or the behavior is simply ignored which produces a pretty disturbing nonsensical narrative.
I get the dynamics of trauma bonds or making the worst of a bad situation but characters will literally have playfull chit chats or alliances with characters that literally sexually violated them/tortured their psyche in the prior episode.
Even within the world of the show characters are redeemed by their captors even after murdering them. You can see the strings where they simply wanted to bring back a popular actor or are attempting to draw out more seasons.
Going into the 3rd season it seems like they just hit the reset button which enhanced the tragedy porn vibe the show gives off. If someone wants to wallow in self pity and sorrow this is the show for them. I mean, most shows staring Men is victory porn so why can't some Women have tragedy porn?
For me being sensitive/intupathic it's a bit much though. It can rely on gore, violence and sex too much. I also resent the forced diversity as the brown people are regulated as exposition and doting worshipers to the main character. It's okay for shows to be mono-demographic more so if the source material or writers room is mono-demographic.
Besides that the shows does provide juicy drama, refreshing writing, and just an interesting world or dynamic to be dropped into which does have echoes of current Patriarchal society. So if you fit the specific niche, I would check it out.
Charmed (2018)
Messy melodrama.
I tried watching this three or four times but can never get into it. I like witchy, mystical, psychic shows so I thought this would be good choice more so because of the reflective/diverse cast.
Yet, besides the formulaic played out script there is so much posturing and melodrama. The dialogue is very unnatural as if they're trying to come off as posh and preppy, very stifled. Then it's sprinkled with blatant heart pulling scenes that aren't earned. It's just gratuitous flattery and psyche manipulation of the audience.
Personally I don't like feeling like a spoon fed baby. Then when it comes to reflection it's off. It's supposed to be a Latino heavy cast but they still draw from eurocentric sources primarily. They also connotate darkness with bad and light with good which isn't a good look when they insist that none of the main Women have dark/brown skin.
Basically the shows comes off as very assimilative and it doesn't help that the acting and script is jarring, immature and boring. It's a no for me, dog.
Here and Now (2018)
Refreshing Psychic Drama.
This was launched in the wrong atmosphere. There is so much tension and chaos in the world that it's causing status anxiety so many shot it down before really giving it a try.
Yes, there is lots of identity politics but they missed out on an intriguing drama.
I won't call it a family drama, maybe a domestic drama. The identity politics angle was rather recycled and shallow but they did explore some new territory as well.
I also liked the psychic elements, it was woven really well except the acting did get a bit melodramatic sometimes.
The Republic of Sarah (2021)
Life Simulator.
This is basically a liberal savior simulator, the person matching the demographic of the main character gets to live a liberal savior fairytale.
On paper this looks good, women led, great premise and diversity.
Well, the diversity is model checkbox diversity, I mean too on the nose.
Ethnicity, Orientation and Gender are not personalities or character traits.
Unsurprisingly they all gravitate around the main character and literally praise and applaud said character.
AI could of written the script I mean, cookie cutter. It's a TV show, everything doesn't have to be crushed into the pilot. When the characters spoke to each other they literally announced their character, their diversity check box and plot in place of a natural conversation, it was cringe.
Cringe can be fun though so maybe you can coast on it to get through the show.
Reservation Dogs (2021)
Intriguing yet barely entertaining.
This was more Identity cultism, that thing where a specific identity tribe hypes and worships themselves and pushes agendas which can alienate viewers and detracts from the story.
This was still intriguing because reservation culture is not heavily represented or explored and there were some fun and entertaining moments yet this doesn't exactly land. It's angled as a comedy but I never really laughed and maybe had a smile here and there.
Overall this feels a bit too on the nose, forced and formulaic.
I can respect it as a love letter to a demographic but it's way too niche in many ways to appeal to a broader audience and would of been better as a long movie.
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019)
Slightly entertaining formulaic cash grab.
There isn't anything that's grossly horrible about the movie but there isn't anything high quality.
Not sure how CGI can be so high quality but so low quality but it is. That's the strength of the movie and everything else is pretty predictable and formulaic. There are even some parts that feel like filler, nothing is happening except sound effects and poor CGI action.
Otherwise it's a bit interesting, I mean the premise does deviate a bit and the world is fun, sassy fae realness.
It could entertain a very narrow demographic (four to ten years old?) on a slow day.
Maleficent (2014)
Meh
This was an interesting twist on the typical Disney fare. It's like Pan's Labyrinth for the younger set.
Queer Eye (2018)
Forced Joy. Pop Consumerism.
Some episodes are breezy casual fun and others are inspiring and sweet but it's just a bit too inauthentic, manufactured and forced for me.
The friendship between the crew feels forced sometimes and some of the people being made over seemed like they're being forced into awkward or intimate moments.
Yes, it's sweet and joyful but also kind of vapid and shallow. It's about objects, clothes and googled recipes, pretty wrapping paper over deep issues.
Even though it's largely forced at least we get to see real everyday people, some with rich personalities, experiencing magic and their potential.
If you're choosy about episodes and pick the more mellow few, it's okay.
Young Royals (2021)
Well Crafted Drama.
The acting was fairly good, it leans realistic. The cinematography and score was also enjoyable, it added a level of immersion and really elevated the drama.
It was slow in some parts and young adult/teen romance movies can only be so fresh so it got a little predictable and boring at times but it was a well done for the genre.
The sister role seemed a bit underwritten and some of the characters were a bit tropey but overall these were interesting characters. Light spoiler, the ending of season 1 was a bit bittersweet and movies with m-m romance ending that way is getting pretty offensive, a happy ending would be nice.
Girls (2012)
Outlandish yet real.
It's hard to find shows that don't spoon feed everything to you and that are not so melodramatic that they border on toony.
This show has realistic acting with realistic story lines that aren't afraid to explore human flaws, challenging subjects, and the perils of adulting.
Yes, it can be a bit outlandish sometimes but it mostly meshes well and can be humorous.
The only downsides that it did fall into the typical drama tropes and cliches at points, it occasionally came of as a bit self important as if they liked hearing themselves talk, and there was some Castiesm with the creators prioritizing actors from their tribal group.
The last season wasn't that great either as things got a bit repetitive and inconsistent but overall strong characters, relatable drama, with rare nuance and depth.
Genera+ion (2021)
Tries too hard.
I can tell it tried really hard to be this realistic, gritty, witty drama but it comes off as a bit forced and jarring.
It had moments when it could breathe where it wasn't that bad but overall it's pretty much a whirlwind. It does explore unique aspects of open teens and underrepresented characters which I liked and sometimes the drama could be entertaining.
It pushed this liberal agenda that I didn't vibe with. Do what ever, but show, don't tell. Perform don't preach. Some subtlety would be nice.
Sex Education (2019)
Technically well done but universal soul is missing.
The dynamic and premise was really fun with this one. It was also executed well. Lots of characters but it wasn't jarring, it flowed really well and the cinematography was well done. Not just the camera work but also how they captured this colorful aesthetic and world that was really cohesive.
Though I can't rate it higher because it fell into some pretty played out tropes and cliches. The Black coded Gay sidekick is getting really old and they placed him in a fairly toxic situation. The main character came off as a bit White Savior as well.
Other gripes: Some aspects are glaringly unrealistic as we do live in the age of google at our finger tips. I do find super close parent-child relationships kind of weird and the identity mania/everything is valid stuff can be a bit much but overall a fun series.
Élite (2018)
DRAMA.
I would say it's like a very well done soap opera. It's drama turned up high and while the plots can be outlandish it's grounded with good writing and acting.
I would say the series does get progressively less entertaining though and it can be weird how graphic and violent it can be when this is supposed to be set in a high school with the latest season feeling a bit pornographic.
There a twist, turns, mystery, schemes and more. Again, this got a little ridiculous in the later seasons on almost a parody level. If they turned up the realism again it could get a few more seasons.
Love, Victor (2020)
Suprisingly entertaining.
I don't know if it's the fresh premise or they hit the lottery on some good writers but for all the toxic tropey formulaic pitfalls this was entertaining.
I binged watched the whole first season as Victor navigated coming to terms with one's desires and identity. They captured the family dynamics really well and the acting carried it through.
It had this mature quality at times and more nuance and depth than the average teen drama. Still had some pretty toxic moments presented as normal which I don't appreciate that messaging and some times it got a little melodramatic and farfetched for me.
These increased in season 2 so I can only give it a seven stars yet it was still enjoyable. I also can't give it more stars because it's more straight actors in queer roles and it got straightcentric at times.
The Mitchells vs the Machines (2021)
Forced and Formulaic.
The animation was refreshing and it had its cute moments but this felt really forced.
I was thrown off with how formulaic it was which made it feel very flat and predictable. All the typical bits, lines and gags condensed into a movie made it feel almost jarring. Even the dumb quirky pet shtick is getting pretty old.
You can tell it wants to be a smart, witty, movie but when it's beaten over your head you can't help but recoil and question if it really is interesting as it presents itself.
Vikings (2013)
Jock Fairytale.
The premise was really interesting and the cinematography/acting was fair enough but the wish fulfillment and near fantasy of it all kept me from being immersed.
These warriors are just supposed to be people but they have extreme battle after extreme battle and live to fight another day.
Cool if it happens occasionally but this was mowing down enemies superhero style constantly. The people that want to relive the warrior life through the characters would it enjoy but it's best to not pander to that audience too hard if they want a broader audience.
Then the semi-graphic assault scenes on Women by the male characters was a bit much more so when this series feel like wish fulfillment for jocks dreaming about when barbarians ruled.
Jupiter's Legacy (2021)
Low effort copy cat.
You can instantly tell it was quickly cobbled together because the success of other series.
Like when Game of Thrones just ended they quickly cobbled together Carnival Row.
When the Hunger Games was successful they quickly cobbled together the Divergent series.
Some people saw that the show The Boys had some success and they quickly cobbled together this mess.
Get a played out template preset with a storyline, cinematography and dialogue, switch some things around and you get another predictable carbon copy like Jupiter's legacy.
You can't help but imagine all of the people with great stories to tell who would die for this wasted budget.
I turned it off after fifteen minutes because I've already seen this 5000 times.
Kung Fu (2021)
Cookie Cutter but charming.
Extremely cookie cutter, lines, scenes and set ups that all have been done before with low/mediocre quality everything. Same old tribal notes, we get it, strict tiger parents, school is important, blah blah blah.
There was still something endearing about it. Even with the recycled formula it's still refreshing since there is so little Oriental Caste representation and the supernatural martial art plot is kind of fun.
It's watchable. Fold your clothes, scroll through your phone, nothing else to do kind of watchable with a bit of potential but I wouldn't count on it being renewed, It's just too dated and played out.
Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)
Cotton Candy film. Sweet pretty poison with zero nutritents.
This is a good example of a cotton candy film.
Its visuals were woven beautifully but the message of the film is pretty toxic when you really consider it and all the sweet moments are really hollow. It's the equivalent of feeding your child cotton candy as a meal.
I lost interest throughout because it's basically recycled junk food, super predictable.
Also, people are praising the representation but it seemed like it was done lazily, I didn't get strong Southeast Asian vibes because it was so watered down by combining all of the cultures and many of the voice actors were White Caste East Asians, not Southeast Asians.
WandaVision (2021)
Predictable roller coaster.
It presents itself like this fresh mystery/thriller but it's the same old ride. Pleasantville, The Truman show and many Sci-Fi/Fantasy dramas come to mind.
Really it's tropey, cookie cutter, check box diversity with middling acting. The tension is a doubled edged sword, it fluctuating between excitement and anxiety inducing.
I was left wondering if it's actually exciting or is it just the rapid pace, tense music and attachment to the intriguing fandom?
The first few episodes are bland and over rely on the "unique" concept but the series does pick up a few notches in later episodes.
The mystery elements weren't to hard to solve either so it felt like I was just going along for the ride on a slightly tweaked roller coaster I rode before.
I expected more nuance, depth and character from a property that has such a wellspring to draw from but I can see how it could be entertaining for the busy person/family wanting to fill some time with some superhero drama but this feels like the plateau of the MCU.
It's like a casual fine dining restaurant. It's better than fastfood, it's tasty but safe and predictable, there are other options and you can live with or without it.