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meanyowen
Reviews
The L Word: Generation Q: Questions for the Universe (2022)
Cliche and Harmful
Glorifies drug use as some fun, exciting, mind-opening experience when in reality it can cause permanent bodily harm and is not a substitute for therapy. The characters know this. The writers know this. The producers know this. The viewers know this. Everyone knows this, so why does this keep getting written into television shows? The answer is the writers couldn't think of any other excuse to film an irrelevant fantasy musical number with Shane as a sailor, which they wrongly assumed would be more entertaining than an actual well-written plot that takes place in the real world of the show.
This is a tired, cliché drug trip episode that is so over played out in television. It's a harmful trope that wasn't fun to watch the first 5000 times in 5000 other shows, and it's not any better in this one.
Follow Me (2020)
Better than Expected
Honestly, I didn't expect to like this movie as much as I did. I've seen a lot of bad horror movies, and I didn't think the writer/director's previous movie Escape Room was all that strong in the script department. I also read almost nothing but negative reviews for this movie and just wasn't expecting much. But I actually enjoyed it quite a bit.
The cinematography looks nice, and the acting is really solid all around. Keegan Allen gives a great performance as the lead. That last scene - chills. You can really feel for his character.
The dialogue is also good. There were actually a few moments where the dialogue was surprisingly organic, and you really got the sense that these characters have been good friends for a long time. There's a couple of cheesy vlogger lines that are generic and played up, but that's kind of the point, and for the most part those few vlogging scenes work well. The social media overlay was also well done, clean, and easy to digest. Additionally, there are some Easter Eggs if you know what you're looking for. Cole is following several people from the production of the movie like Will Wernick and Jeff and Kelly Delson. I thought that was a fun touch.
I saw some critique of the lack of subtitles. There was a significant amount of Russian in this film and not a word is captioned. Personally, I didn't mind. You can basically understand what they're saying just through context - or so it seems at least. I admittedly don't speak Russian.
I've also seen people say that the plot is unoriginal and a bad rip off of Saw, Hostel, etc. While some of the escape room torture puzzles are familiar, there's a lot from this movie that I haven't seen done in exactly the same way before. I actually thought the plot for this movie was fairly strong, much better than Wernick's previous Escape Room (to which this movie bears little resemblance, despite involving escape rooms and previously in production being titled Escape Room: Moscow). There's some good twists, and the plot keeps its suspense through most of the movie. The pacing was fine for me.
I won't get into spoilers, but there are some logistical plot holes that end up not making much sense. By the end of the movie, you spend a lot of time reflecting and going "Wait, how did they know/do/expect that?" and that brings my review down a couple stars. But it's nothing egregious as I've seen some people complain about. It's your standard horror movie bad logic, which is seen enough to be tolerable by people who spend a lot of time watching the genre.
Overall, this is actually a solid movie. It's not my movie of the year or anything, but it's a decent thriller that put a new spin on the genre and did it pretty well. I'd recommend it.
Overthinking with Kat & June (2018)
The Best Comedy of 2018
It's a shame how under the radar this series has flown, at least in my circles. If you happen to stumble upon it, know that it's more than worth your time.
Alexia Dox is a future superstar with impressive range, fabulous comedic timing, and captivating presence, and I'm surprised that I haven't heard of her before now. Tenea Intriago is just as lovely in her delivery and her physical embodiment of Kat. Intriago's Kat is all shameless confidence; a perfect counterpart to Dox's anxious and awkward June. The two make for a comedy duo endlessly entertaining to watch and root for, even as two flawed characters who make their fair share of mistakes and social faux pas. They're both quirky yet relatable, both totally extra yet totally realistic. It's a wonderful balance that the show pulls off well enough that I can't pick a favorite between the two. Kat and June are equally fun to follow, in their own scenes and in their shared ones.
One of the biggest achievements of the series is that every character is their own unique character who has never existed in another show. There are no archetypes or filler roles. Even minor characters with minimal lines and one-off appearances have prominent personality quirks that make them memorable and loveable. Nick Fink is fantastic as a sexy hipster artist who mansplains tattoos and sells painted rocks for a living. Montana Roesch stands out as an ex-alcoholic film extra who gives an impassioned, impromptu soliloquy on her past then manages to fling herself off the wagon. Kelli Goss pulls off a kind-hearted, high-end prostitute who defies any preconceived notions the audience may hold about her. And those are just the single episode guest roles. In the regular supporting roles, there's Sasheer Zamata as an airy yet semi-successful manager of a pharmaceutical company whose sheer averageness makes her a hilarious role model for June. There's Emily Hinkler and Elizabeth Hinkler as Kat's rowdy best friends, two lovably strange thespian twins whose every spoken sentence is weirder than the last and successfully implies an unspoken personal history that only twins would have and that the audience only gets beautifully interesting glimpses of. There's Justin Kirk as a depressed widow/landlord who Kat and June are obsessed with yet never pay attention to.
It's the writing that makes even the strangest characters feel real and believable. The script carries a confidence that is reflected in the actors' performances. Every character is well fleshed-out and fills a full space in this universe, no matter how briefly we see those characters on screen. The effect is stunning, in that I find myself asking questions and wanting to know more about every person who is seen or even mentioned. How did Hannah get that neck brace? How did Kat meet Molly and Tessa? What are David's kids like? What is Kat's sister like? Who the hell is Pepper? I'm confident the show could pull out both unexpected and hilarious answers for any of these questions and would still leave me wanting to know more. Future seasons could build upon any of the existing characters, and I would be glad to get to know them better. The show has an infinite potential of options to explore in future seasons, and I sincerely hope that it does get future seasons.
The show also has surprisingly good rewatch value. I lost count, but I want to say I've seen the first season all the way through at least five times in the two months since its release. (Some episodes I've watched more than others. The show has a few seasonal arcs, but you can also watch the episodes out of order without being lost.) I still laugh out loud at the same jokes, and I still find myself noticing new little details, like the rotating list of puns on the chalkboard in Kat's room.
The set design is great; lots of bright colors that keep the show visually stimulating and lots of details that work well with the character's personalities. Kat's room says everything you need to know about her, from the light up pizza sign to the chill swing, and June's boring office work environment is a great contrast to her spastic thoughts and wacky outfits. Wardrobe is also fantastic, particularly in the case of June with her "Depression-era home ec" dinosaur sweaters and adorably quirky strawberry slice and bagged goldfish earrings. Kat's wardrobe is also reflective of her personality and the twins receive some aptly strange and androgynous fashion choices that are, in some episodes, scene-making.
The writing is tight. The plot flows. The quick editing keeps the pace fast and engaging. The wit is sharp and dry. The score is fun and memorable.
I could honestly find something good to say about every aspect of this show, and if there's something missing in this review that you were wondering about, I'm going to go ahead and guess that the thing you're thinking of is done well too. Watch Overthinking with Kat & June.
Flowers (2015)
Gore for the Sake of Gore
This movie is gore for the sake of gore. I understand it's a genre, and while it's not my favorite genre, there's probably some decent films in it that have some kind of deep message about human nature or death or something. This movie does not have that. It's completely disjointed. The girls' stories don't intertwine on any level, and if I hadn't looked up this movie's summary on IMDb, I wouldn't have understood what the plot was at all. And that's because it didn't have a plot. The different girls just provided a way for the writer to write as many sick, gruesome events as possible, as everything that happens to the girls in this movie couldn't have happened to just one girl. She wouldn't have survived it. There's no common thread in this story except excessive gore, and the ending isn't satisfying in any way.
Making an "artsy" gore movie with excessive violence and no dialogue doesn't make your movie good or deep. The only thing good about this movie was the soundtrack, and it wasn't impressive enough to redeem the poorly done story.
The 100: Stealing Fire (2016)
Too Much Violence, Not Enough Hope
Yikes. This show is trying way too hard to be dark and edgy. There's a difference between portraying a grim world at war and showing a man's brains get blown out and bleed to death into a muddy puddle while his girlfriend watches, a man slit his own throat and drown in a bathtub, and a woman covered in blood throwing the severed heads of children into a crowd all in one episode. It's not good TV. It's disturbing and depressing. It doesn't help that all nine of the characters that died this episode were ones vying for peace, while the murderers and usurpers get to live another day. At this rate there's not going to be any good people left on the show. At this rate, there's not going to be anyone left on this show. There are only so many important characters you can kill in such a short amount of time, especially when their deaths serve no purpose other than shock value or making the remaining characters suffer some more.
The 100: Terms and Conditions (2016)
More Bad Writing (Not to Mention Boring)
Despite the (inaccurate) summary for this episode, Clarke isn't in it, meaning the entirety of this episode revolves around the Arkadia/Bellamy/Pike story line, which is by far the least interesting and most frustrating story line this season. It's a rehash of season one, Bellamy's character is so wishy-washy, Bellamy's character development (regression) makes no sense, and Bellamy's inevitable redemption arc (which this episode hints at) is undeserved considering the atrocious crimes he's committed this season (and even in this episode!). It makes no sense that a character like him who has messed up so much and has been one of the bad guys all season is going to get a heroic story and more respect than characters like Lexa and Kane and Lincoln who have been consistently punished (without sign of that stopping anytime soon) for being nothing but good characters striving for peace. What kind of message is this show and this episode trying to send?
Not to mention, the fact that Clarke wasn't even in this episode and we don't get to see her grieve for Lexa is a complete disrespect to her and Lexa's relationship AND the progress for peace the two of them have made politically this season. Sidelining them does just that - sidelines them, and you can't sideline a main character like Clarke. She's the /main character./ The writing this season has taken a turn for the worse, in ways that make no sense (Bellamy's entire character arc) and ways that are downright offensive (the perpetuation of the lesbian death trope with Lexa's death).
After the just plain bad writing of the last episode, this episode was important for judging whether or not this show and this story can be redeemed or if it's all downhill from here. And trust me, there's now no doubt that it's all downhill from here.