Tag Archives: Netflix

TV Review: Wednesday (on Netflix)

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By Andrea Alfaro

Now streaming only on Netflix, the much anticipated horror-comedy, Wednesday, has made its debut on the 23rd of November with well known director, Tim Burton, directing the entirety of this series’ first season. 

This 8-episode show is based on the iconic Addams Family, created by Charles Addams. It follows the only daughter of the Addams, Wednesday, played by Jenna Ortega throughout her investigation into the secrets of her new school for outcasts, Nevermore Academy.

It features all the elements someone can ask for from a horror comedy targeted towards teens. Satirical humor, a gloomy but beautiful atmosphere, and a story full of entertaining, but predictable, twists. Unfortunately, what this series lacked was a full cast who had both the chemistry and equal acting ability to share a screen. Along with a monster who looked strangely like an ugly snapchat filter.

What really makes a show great is the cast. They have the important job of bringing fictional characters to life and immersing an audience into the narrative. Without a good cast a movie could completely fall apart and become a laughing stock rather than a respected form of media. A great example of this is The Room, which is probably the only drama/romance everyone can agree deserves to be labeled as a comedy with how terrible the whole production was, especially with its horrendous acting.

Wednesday is definitely not as bad as The Room. It includes a line up of very talented actors, like Jenna Ortega and Gwendoline Christie, who plays Nevermore’s principal. Actors like them are what made the show so interesting to watch. 

Some of the cast sadly did miss the mark, such as Luis Guzmán, who plays Gomez Addams. He looked great, physically, for the role, but as I saw his portrayal of Gomez, I realized that it felt as if he was cosplaying as Gomez rather than being Gomez. His performance lacked energy and enthusiasm which made him seem out of place and his lines forced. The absence of chemistry between Guzman and his co-star Catherine Zeta-Jones, who played Morticia Addams, didn’t help his already poor execution either.

Along with the acting comes the issue of the CGI. The show featured a beautiful setting and nice wardrobe that really displayed each character’s personality. Filming in such a place that creates such a dark ambience and acquiring clothes that match each character exactly must have cost a pretty penny, which is why I’m assuming the CGI took a hit. The supposedly terrifying monster in the show had a big part in breaking my immersion. Whenever it made an appearance instead of feeling scared I found myself being more puzzled as to why it looked like a zombie from the Plants vs Zombies games. When I was supposed to be gasping because of shock I was instead gasping for air when I couldn’t stop laughing at how strange and unreal it looked. 

With the Addams Family being such well known figures in pop culture, I would think the casting would be spot on and the CGI would be great. The lack of chemistry, passable CGI, and good acting from certain people was disappointing.

However, overall the negatives didn’t outweigh the positives. It was honestly a great show with a storyline that kept me on the edge of my seat.

Practically everyone and their pets know or have at least heard of the Addams Family, so I viewed this season with some high expectations. I’m happy to say that they didn’t entirely disappoint me.

In my opinion it was a show worthy of 4 stars. Was it perfect? No. Was it an amazing show? Absolutely. Hopefully if there’s a 2nd season it will be worthy of a full five star review. Until then 4 stars seems like the perfect score for Netflix’s new show Wednesday.

Film Review: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

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By Muna Agada

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Cast: Daniel Craig (Benoit Blanc), Janelle Monáe (Cassandra and Helena Brand), Kathryn Hanh  (Claire Debella), Kate Hudson (Birdie Jay), Edward Norton (Miles Bron), Leslie Odom Jr. (Lionel Toussaint), Dave Bautista (Duke Cody), Madelyn Cline (Whiskey)

Director: Rian Johnson 

Screenplay: Rian Johnson Distributed by: Netflix

Synopsis:

Detective Blonc (Daniel Craig) is back at it again, when he’s invited to tech billionaire Miles Bron’s (Edward Norton) deserted Greek Island for a murder mystery party that takes a turn when someone really ends up dead. Now Blanc is on the case to try and figure out who was the culprit.

Things I liked: First thing I liked would have to be the set: the deserted island, and the scenery of it all was just beautiful. The cast would have to be another thing, it’s made up of a lot of A-list actors, which worried me. Most of the time movies with big known actors tend to be bad, but this was good. You could tell that the actors were committed to their roles and were giving it their all. I liked the spin that they had with this movie.

The first Knives Out movie got big in the first place because it added a twist to the average, everyday murder mystery film. And this film was no exception. You find out that Detective Blanc wasn’t really invited by Miles, but by Helena Brand (Janelle Monáe), to discover who killed her twin sister Cassandra, who used to be friends and business partners with the group, but was stabbed in the back by them. She was ready to get her justice but ended up dying from an apparent “suicide”. There was also two murders being investigated, because Duke Cody (Dave Bautista) also ends up being killed. 

Things I hated: I feel like the murderer in the film was pretty obvious from the get go, which the first film did as well, but I was hoping it wouldn’t be so predictable this time. Spoiler Alert: the killer ends up being Miles, the one who killed Cassandra and Duke. And Duke’s cause of death was obvious, he dies when Miles slips him a drink with pineapples in them, something we learn from the beginning, he’s allergic to. I figured that out from the second he dropped dead. 

I was also disappointed that they didn’t use some of the actors more, like how they did for Janelle Monáe–I mean she plays two characters. Like Dave Bautista who ends up dead within the first 20 minutes and Madelyn Cline who they made a big deal out of in the promos, but barely used her. I just thought her character was useless and meaningless. In the movie Cline is dating Bautista’s character and they had a rocky relationship. The movie could have used that to their advantage and made Cline be the one who killed Bautista out of revenge for treating her like garbage in the relationship. He would basically sell her body to promote himself.

Dave Bautista as Duke Cody

Sweet Home: Manga Review

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By Paul Kang

Sweet Home was originally a manga from an app called Webtoon, but now, you can watch Sweet Home on Netflix. The show is about a society that has a virus that turns people into monsters. Once the people become monsters, they exhibit and act upon the hidden and deepest desires they had while they were human. 

Turning into a monster!

The main character Hyun Cha is an orphan who lost his family in a car accident.  He and his neighbors fight vigorously to defend themselves from these creatures. Cha’s apartment becomes a safehouse for non-infected humans. 

Both the manga and the show give chilling thrills and freaky jump scares that really put you to the edge of your seat!

Creators and Info

The manga of Sweet Home was created and drawn by both Carnby Kim and Youngchan Hwang while the show was directed by Lee Eung-boks.

Sweet Home is a Korean manga, and it’s important to note that the show contains some profanity. This might not be a good fit for those squeamish around gore; however, it is a really good thriller and action paced manga and show.

About Hyun (Manga version)

Hyun lived with his family until the fateful day he chose not to go on a family trip with them. While driving on the road,  his father became distracted which resulted in the family’s fatal car crash.  

Instead of mourning, Hyun brags about how he is going to survive on the money he inherits. He makes no plans to attend his family’s funeral which results in his relatives  kicking him out. He goes to live in a small studio apartment by himself. Over time, the world becomes filled with monsters.

Manga Info

The manga provides amazing character development, allowing you to become attached to each and everyone of them. Though the manga has ended, this doesn’t stop fans from wanting more. So fans continue to beg the creators and ask them if they will continue the series. So far, the fans’ petitions have gone unanswered.

Show Info

The show has received over 1.2 billion views because of the intense excitement from the manga readers!  It received 80% on Rotten Tomatoes and many other positive ratings.

Though season one is over, the cliffhanger ending has fans all hoping there is more to come. Sweet Home fans–stay tuned!

TV Review: The Guest

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Horror show will make you shiver

By Eliza Rodrigueza

Netflix has a new Korean show called The Guest. It takes place in South Korea and will get you hooked on the very first episode. Of course, that may not happen if you’re not a fan of horror.

Heaven of Horror explains the opening of the show this way: “In episode 1 of The Guest, the three main characters are introduced. First, we meet them as kids as we essentially witness how their lives end up being shaped by brutal events in their childhood.” You soon see them as adults. One is a psychic taxi driver who was born into a long line of shaman, one is a Catholic priest, and the third is a detective who is following in her mother’s footsteps.

Although at first the action and events in The Guest may seem slow moving, the more you watch, the more addicting it becomes. Give episode one about twenty minutes, and then WATCH OUT!

So far, there is only one season on Netflix, but all sixteen episodes contain situations that will leave shivers running down your spine!

Warning: This show is not meant for young children. It contains bloody and terrifying subject matter.

Cobra Kai Season 3 Review

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By Brandon Nunez

The third season of Cobra Kai has officially wrapped up with 10 new episodes. It has the return of most of the ensemble cast reprising their roles, including but not limited to Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso, William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence, Xolo Maridueña as Miguel Diaz, Martin Kove as John Kreese, and Tanner Buchanan as Robby Keene, among many others.

Season 3 takes place directly after the events of the school karate fight and John Kreese’s takeover of Cobra Kai in season two’s ending. The story also has Miguel in a coma and paraplegic from his injuries that he sustained from Robby, who is now on the run.

The story then continues with multiple different storylines such as Miguel learning to walk again, the negative reception of karate by the Valley after the school fight and its effects on the cast, and on the relationships that become repaired and broken from the aftermath of the school fight. It all culminates in a fight at a Christmas party between the students of Kreese’s Cobra Kai and a coalition of Johnny and Daniel’s students, and another fight immediately after–at first between Johnny and Kreese, then Kreese and Daniel.

The season also gives some much needed backstory on John Kreese’s youth and his time in Vietnam to show why he became the ruthless villain that he was in the movies and is in the show. It also has returning characters from the first and second Karate Kid movies such as Daniel’s former love interest Kumiko (reprised by Tamlyn Tomita), his old rival Chozen Toguchi (reprised by Yuji Okumoto), and Daniel and Johnny’s old high school girlfriend Ali Mills (reprised by Elisabeth Shue). All three of which help at least one of our protagonists for the better and even manage to (perhaps indirectly) bring the two together in the final episode.

The show has gotten flack for not including a major Asian character in the show (with the exception of Kumiko and Chozen who only appeared in some episodes of this season) as a show based on Asian martial arts should have at least one main Asian character. This criticism is fairly justified as many of the minority characters are often relegated as side characters with the notable exception of Miguel, and to some extent his mother Carmen (reprised by Vanessa Rubio).

Despite this, the show shines in almost every other aspect from a cohesive plot and likable characters to dialogue and action, which can become corny in some aspects but never enough to be overwhelming and never for very long.

Dash & Lily: The Perfect Binge-Watch for Romance Lovers

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By Hermaione Sanchez

Christmas time + Quarantine = an even more perfect time to binge-watch holiday romance shows. The endless possibilities might have you going crazy but Netflix can definitely help with that, giving us Dash & Lily. When a movie is too short to touch base on things it should, and a show is dragged way too long, people tend to stay away (for the most part). 

Dash & Lily is an 8-episode rom-com series that takes place during Christmas. Dash (Austin Abrams) is a teenager who hates Christmas; he convinced his divorced parents that he’d be staying with each other during this time, and they were free to travel or whatever they wanted. This left him alone in his dad’s apartment in New York. He spends his time in a bookstore called The Strand, just like our second main character Lily (played by Midori Francis).

Lily is a teenage girl looking for love. She was left alone with her brother, Langston for Christmas while her parents traveled to Fiji, and her grandpa visited his secret girlfriend in Florida.

The show brings its focus to Langston (played by Troy Iwata) at times. He finds himself in a new relationship with Benny and is sort of trying to figure out how serious it is. Although the show mostly focuses on Dash and Lily, Langston learns some lessons and has a meaningful story. 

During one of his times at The Strand, Dash finds a book written by a mysterious girl. It is a series of dares and riddles. He finds a lot of interest in this and realizes whoever must’ve written it must be sadistic and sophisticated. Before returning the book, he writes his own set of dares. Leading to a constant exchange of it, daring each other to get out of their comfort zone. Once one of them completes the dare and writes their dare and entry or riddle, they leave the notebook where they completed the dare, whether it’s with a friend or hidden from the public. Slowly, they start to fall in love. Of course, not everything is perfect. The two teens have their own set of problems that might pull them apart… but that’s for you to find out by watching.

The dramatic irony implemented had me clicking “Watch Next Episode” the second after the previous one was done. The show did change a lot of things from its original source: Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn. But both are still enjoyable and perfect for this time of the year. I loved everything from the casting to the music choices and even the book allusions.

I also especially liked the representation. The series has diversity which is something a lot of people love seeing. Lily’s brother, Langston is part of the LGBTQ+ community and his relationship with Benny is a big part of his story. Lily’s family is Japanese, and the show was not afraid to display her heritage on multiple occasions.

Let’s talk about the cast. Austin Abrams plays Dash in the series. He’s best known for his role in The Walking Dead as Ron Anderson. He also appears in Euphoria, and This Is Us, as well as in films like Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and Chemical Hearts, with Lili Reinhart. Midori Francis plays Lily. She is best known for her lead role as Lily in the film Good Boys. Her grandfather is played by James Saito. He has been working in the industry since 1970. He’s the original shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), and is well-known as Dr. Chen in Eli Stone.