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Reviews
Fate: The Winx Saga (2021)
Typical Teen Show-Modelled After Harry Potter
It's VERY much a teen show. A lot of teen tropes. And it's clearly modelled after Harry Potter (British school and cast; the fairies are "sorted" in a sense-due to what kind of fairy they become; students learn magic; going outside the barrier is dangerous just like it is going to the Dark Forest; tragic/unknown family backstory; main character placed & grows up in the mortal world for their safety, through they're not human) meets Hunger Games/Percy Jackson (with the training sessions). As well, the Burned Ones look like the villains in I am Legend but with the backstory like the Nagzul in Lord of the Rings (mysterious figures who were once men/witches but now have changed shape & are evil).
The mythology of the story appears to be the most problematic part. It feels like the showrunners just cherrypicked a bunch of fantasy ideas from series and mashed them all together, for example with the view "how can we make a show similar to Harry Potter? I know-let's make it about fairies instead and make it female-centred." The mythology in this fairy world in many ways lacks originality and cohesion and is also not that robust (at least in the first season). A lot is unknown and needs better development. Like-where are all the fairy students from? Why are they all learning combat when supposedly their only real threat (the burned ones) is "gone"? Why don't the fairies have wings? What is a blood witch?
The fact the series is a "Winx Saga" adds to the confusion and kind of cheapens the show to be especially corny....modelling a teen / young adult show after a cartoon and toys.
There are some good aspects of the show, however. One is the characters-they have interesting, distinctive personalities and are in certain ways well rounded. A lot of the show is about female friendship which is often rare in film. The show also has a very light tone-would be good for viewers who just want escapism and for their mood to be lifted. Finally, the show is female-centred which is also rare. The main characters (with the exception of a couple men) are all women, as are the most powerful characters. But it also seems a bit gender stereotypical. Most of the fairies shown are women and they're told to control their emotions (so as to control their magic), whereas most of the men shown are just warriors, admired for their strength.
Superstore (2015)
Witty, Funny, Somewhat Boring
The acting is solid and so is the writing. A lot of the dialogue is hilarious-and witty. It's obviously carefully thought out. No complaints about the actual filming of it, either.
I find the setting of Superstore boring. Yes, there are creative ideas (Eg in what happens in the store), but it's still a superstore. I agree with another user's comment about the similarities between this show and the office-I largely agree. But the setting in the Office is a lot better in my opinion, although I can't exactly place why. Other than this drawback the show is completely fine!
The 100 (2014)
Pretty Boring
I had to stop watching the first episode about halfway in. This TV show has an ambitious premise (which starts out in space with a post-apocalypse backstory) yet is difficult to take seriously, in part because almost all of the characters are teenagers. The acting appears to be pretty bad and the characters are fake (especially the main one).
I stopped watching because I was bored to death and the show gave me little reason to invest in it...no compelling characters, no compelling or clear motivations, etc. Perhaps the show will get better-kudos to those with the patience to see-but I'll take a pass on seeing the rest!
Sense8: Amor Vincit Omnia (2018)
Confusing, Convoluted (Though Good)
Sure, the episode is good. But so much happens in the episode that is hard to keep track of-it's all very convoluted and confusing. My impression was that because the finale was "fan demanded" (released long after the original finale due to popular demand) the showrunners expected viewers of the episode to be fans of the show (that is, that viewers have seen all two seasons of the show and likely multiple times). To get a good understanding I do not think that seeing the series once or binging it is enough-you have to have an in-depth understanding of the show. I found it hard to follow even watching the episode right after finishing the series.
Additionally, I found it a bit bizarre how the rest of the series is not primarily action. It's more sci-fi with some action / drama on the side. However, this episode was almost exclusively action. I suspect this was intentional as a good way to include so many characters at once.
It seems that the showrunners wanted to end the show with a full circle. For example, the couple focused on at the end was also a focus of the beginning. I also find it interesting how the show ended in Italy and France (the countries of "love" or "romance") and at the Eiffel Tower (arguably a symbol of hope and unity)-what the show is about.
Finally, adding to the confusion was the emphasis on several characters that were not at all significant in the series. For example, the Scottish guy and Puck. They contributed to the plot and understanding of the mythology/sci fi world...but this had pretty minimal impact. The introduction of the old lady near the end (in sort of an alternate reality) and her followers did not clarify much...supposedly the intention of that was to shed light on the sensate world but the inclusion of this was so random and brief that it was not really impactful.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Chapter Thirty-Six: At the Mountains of Madness (2020)
Shockingly Bad.
Netflix, shame on you. This is the worst finale on a TV show I have ever encountered. A confusing mess of an ending and terribly unsatisfying. And such great emphasis on two characters that were hardly present throughout the season-Wardwall and Father Blackwood. The last scene has Nick and Sabrina when for several episodes of CAOS Nick was the worst boyfriend ever! It's not believable that she suddenly takes him back and then they're prepared to spend eternity together....and it seems to trivialize/romanticize suicide...
Additionally, the tone and themes present in this episode are so different compared to the rest of CAOS. There's so few deaths in the whole series-only two I can think of (Harvey's brother and Dorcus) and then suddenly the finale has 3 deaths? And throughout the series a lot of people "die" and come back to life...like Aunt Hilda. The characters go through difficulties but they come out of them unscathed. But in the last episode suddenly mortality-related themes are at the forefront (eg Sabrina starts ageing very rapidly and then is sacrificed). The tone of the finale is quite depressing and the ending of it is intended to be hopeful but really isn't considering the circumstances (eg that Nick has been a terrible boyfriend and then he committed suicide to be with Sabrina). It seems odd that suddenly the show took such a drastic turn. It went from "Sabrina the witch" to "Sabrina...the human who dies."
Also a last note: the colour choice is interesting. Sabrina throughout the series wears mostly red and black (power colours) but in the finale wears purple, blue, grey, and then white. It's almost like Sabrina has lost her own power and identity-just like the show!
The Order (2019)
Uninteresting, Boring, Wooden
The dialogue is really bad, the acting is bad, the stories are bad, the characters are irritating (especially Gabrielle).... everything is just awful. I can't even think of a good aspect of the show. The first season was so cringe and bad that it was actually entertaining. But then it just got boring and I couldn't watch it.
I was looking forward to the James Marsters cameo because I love him as Spike in Buffy. But the episodes he's in are really bad as is his dialogue and acting (though I blame the writing not him as an actor).
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018)
Cool Show, Too Much Riverdale
I started out loving the show. How unique and gothic and interesting it is, and the aesthetics of the series (eg Sabrina's cool fashion). Also the soundtrack of the first season was really nice-and then deteriorated to be less distinctive.
What I really didn't like was the increasingly frequent Riverdale cameos. Especially because Riverdale has been renewed for however many seasons and CAOS (in my opinion a much better show) has been canceled... it feels like CAOS is a cheap form of advertisement. CAOS only had 8 more episodes left and they decided to give Riverdale that much airtime.... when Riverdale has been renewed for multiple seasons? In the last season it was so distracting having so many Riverdale cameos and references. And the addition of the Riverdale-style musicals and band things was too silly and didn't really belong with the rest of the show.
The last season also felt incredibly rushed and the cameos from Sabrina the Teenage Witch also detracted a lot from the show. The writing was also noticeably bad-a bunch of it not making much sense. For example, the whole Lucas Hunt plot and how it went nowhere and the Mambo Marie reveal.
It appears that this last season really lacked the "magic" that is CAOS. With the cameos and Riverdale references and themes, to a bunch of cliches and very common tropes (eg the whole twin plot that's been done in Lucifer... in very similar circumstances, the Pleasantville-style alternate universe, love triangle...). Also there's no major internal conflict for Sabrina...all the previous seasons had conflicts around self-doubt, identity, mortal vs witch obligations, love life.... this season there's very little conflict like this and it's not very compelling. And what's up with the Sabrinas choosing problematic men? Finally there's a bunch of characters who have such minor roles and don't contribute very much. For example, Wardwell (also so much is unclear-why did she, a very Christian woman who liked Sabrina, suddenly join the church of night and give Sabrina an F on her paper?) and Blackwood (when just a head).
Van Helsing (2016)
Way More Than Gore
At the beginning of the series (Eg season 1) the show felt very cliched (the common apocalyptic/vampire themes) and was a bit difficult to watch considering how morbid and gory it was. However, as the series progresses it gets a lot better. It gets more distinctive and complicated and easier to watch (a bit less morbid/gory). The viewer also gets a glimpse into the characters' backstories.
Do I think the series is absolutely amazing? No. But it's a pretty good source of entertainment. Season 1 was a bit too gory/cliched for me (though entertaining nonetheless). Season 2 was very good in my opinion (although the plot line of Vanessa being sidelined was a bit pointless and had very limited impact on the rest of the story). Season 3 so far is a bit shaky (Eg Vanessa's motives are less compelling and believable, the plot is more confusing, there isn't a main setting-the characters move around a lot which is confusing). Throughout the series it gets a bit difficult to keep track of all the characters because there are so many and some characters move in and out of the story.
The characters are all compelling. Vanessa is a strong protagonist (and arguably a complicated and at times confusing character). A bunch of the other characters are fun to watch. Sam is SCARY. My only complaint regarding characters: Dimitri was really badly written or portrayed. The acting/dialogue was extremely cheesy and it just felt like a stereotypical vampire villain with a Slavic accent. He turned out to be a completely pointless villain-he did basically nothing and was not a believable threat. His death was quick also.
More into season 3 it suddenly seems like the writers got out of ideas and the show got budget cuts...a bunch of the plot lines are boring (Eg when Vanessa gets stuck in the "trap" and imagines ghosts which doesn't really add anything to the plot or character development) or lacking in creativity, and some of the dialogue has been noticeably bad. Worst of all is how all the characters are separated (most in groups of 2) and difficult to keep track of-and how Vanessa is noticeably getting a lot less screentime (perhaps due to budget cuts).
Season 4 I found good overall but was very irritated how often Vanessa was absent from the story (an issue in season 3 also) and how there were a couple of new characters also. The show seems to have suddenly taken a very different direction. Also it doesn't seem realistic how many lesbians (or non straight women) there are on the show...it ended up becoming kind of excessive (one lesbian couple, all of the lesbian brides, Jack and her potential love interests, etc).
The Pretender (1996)
One of the best shows!!
The Pretender is a criminally underrated show. It is one of my all time favourites. The plots, characters, themes are all very intriguing. You can be anything you want to be-just look at Jarod!
Jessica Jones (2015)
Not Amazing, but Pleasant
I loved the idea of the noir/mystery style of old films being revived. Jessica is a good protagonist and relatable for anyone who is either introverted or kind of a social outcast-or has experienced grief and loss.
The show has dark and sometimes sad themes-around loss, grief, mental illness... serial killers. But it still manages to have a light-hearted tone. It's a superhero series but without all the booms and flashes-it's more down to earth.
Some of the characters I found pretty irritating (Malcom, Trish, Eric) and sometimes observing Jessica would be depressing due to her nearly constant depression and reoccurring PTSD symptoms. But overall, it was a good show. Not amazing but good. Considering the writing, dialogue, acting, themes and so on I didn't notice major problems. Some of the plots seemed to drag on too much. All of the main villains received so much screen time and I would have liked to see Jessica doing more PI work in contrast to focusing on Kilgrave and her mother, etc.
The finale episode was a bit disappointing-it didn't feel like much resolve. It was interesting how the show ended at the train station, with Jessica alone but also surrounded by so many people. It fits with how Jessica doesn't have a lot of social connections or deep relationships (the only relationship that comes close was with Trish and we know how that worked out) and identifies and lives as a social outcast. But at the same time she really lives her life amongst others, helping them.
Warrior Nun (2020)
A Bore
I rate it as a 4 as opposed to lower because it might get better. Corny but interesting premise-a twist on supernatural TV. The main lead appears to be a strong protagonist and it's not hard to sympathize with the character considering you hear her internal dialogue.
That said, what a slog. I couldn't even finish the first episode. I agree with the other reviews which take issue with the quality of writing. The first episode should be the best (or even good) to encourage viewership-it was written quite badly. The dialogue is cheesy and it is hard to keep track of what is happening (especially because it is all such a bore).
40 Days and 40 Nights (2002)
Worst movie ever!!
I don't get the point of this movie. There was nothing good about it-it wasn't funny or enlightening in any way. The dialogue was really cringe, as were a lot of the scenes which were socially inappropriate but not funny. The character's motivations were unclear and not very logical (why was he suddenly compelled to abstain from sex for 40 days? How would this help his ex issues?). The personality of the main character's love interest also didn't make much sense-she flipped out and even broke off things given the littlest issues. The main character was a total pushover and didn't stand up for himself at all (especially at the end). He lacked a personality-had more of a cardboard demeanour than Archie from Riverdale although there are similarities. Worst was the rape scene at the end which was casually glossed over.
The Substitute (1996)
One of my favourites!
One of my 5 favourite movies and that says a lot as I watch a lot of great films! Really entertaining, action-packed, and meaningful.