Author: aliceklar

Resident Evil (2022)

Where to find it: Netflix
Length: Eight roughly 1-hour episodes
Synopsis: Teen sisters investigate a creepy company and their own mysterious origins
Recommendation rating: 4/5

What I like about it: good themes, music, young actors
What I don’t like about it: zombies, often too dark (visually and metaphorically)

Review:
Netflix wisely takes a free hand in adapting the horror franchise, creating an interesting and relevant plot to fill the space in between fights with CGI zombified creatures. It opens in the zombie apocalypse of 2036 before flashing back to the far-flung past of 2022 as a young Black family moves into an all-white company town in South Africa, building the creeping dread more than the promise of a zombie virus outbreak. The show has a broad and worthy list of targets; the biopharmaceutical “Life Sciences” corporation at the heart of events is pure evil and there are swipes at NAFTA, Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, among others. The soundtrack is particularly great, utilising up-to-date hits like Billie Eilish and Dua Lipa, indie picks like Reuben and the Dark and considered pulls like a zombie massacre accompanied by Feels Just Like it Should by Jamiroquai.

It’s a very well-made show but the main issue (for me) is its constant insertion of action sequences to hold attention, the action is very competently handled but has no real stakes for the most part and is there to make teenaged boys yell, “Cool!”. If 90% of the zombie sequences were removed, you’d end up with a much better and cheaper six-episode show.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): excessive gore and body horror – this show will try to disgust you, blood, vomit, violence, death

Metric – Formentera (2022)

Length: 47:39
Synopsis: Heavy dance rock
Recommendation rating: 4/5

What I like about it: the opening ten-minute epic Doomscroller, the strings and synths in the title track, the energetic False Dichotomy
What I don’t like about it: a couple of weaker but still very listenable tracks

Review:
Writing about albums is hard! If you like bass, rock, pop and dance you’ll like this one.

Content notes (may contain spoilers):

Light and Magic (2022)

Where to find it: Disney+
Length: Six roughly 1-hour episodes
Synopsis: Streaming service filler about ILM history
Recommendation rating: 2/5

What I like about it: occasional interesting “how they did that” moments
What I don’t like about it: bloated beyond reason, it’s Disney corporate autofellatio

Review:
The first half focuses on the early days at Industrial Light & Magic as they made Star Wars, the second half loses what little interest it had by focusing ostensibly on the computer graphics revolution but meandering around it because the topic isn’t that interesting. I had hoped this would focus on the process of modern ILM as they work on recent projects but it turned out to be hagiographic filler trash.

Content notes (may contain spoilers):

Outer Range (2022)

Where to find it: Amazon Prime Video
Length: Eight roughly 1-hour episodes
Synopsis: A Wyoming ranch comes down with a nasty case of symbolism
Recommendation rating: 3/5

What I like about it: a decent prestige series with good acting and an intriguing plot, Imogen Poots is always fantastic
What I don’t like about it: not quite as smart as it thinks it is, creators really don’t seem to have an endgame in mind, mediocre-to-dodgy CGI

Review:
Josh Brolin leads the cast as Royal Abbott, a simple Wyoming rancher threatened by the bigger, more corporate ranch next door. Weird things are happening on the contested land including roving arrowstruck bison, a privileged New Age camper and a giant gaping hole. Tensions rise throughout the pilot and only continue to thicken throughout the show as some characters seek to understand the weirdness while others seek to hasten or prevent an all-out war between the feuding ranch families. Overall, it’s a pretty good show that needs to figure its shit out before season two, lest it get Lost.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): sex, violence, self-harm

George Ezra – Gold Rush Kid (2022)

Length: 38:46
Synopsis: Radio-friendly pop with little depth
Recommendation rating: 2/5

What I like about it: some songs are musically quite decent, more still are catchy and inoffensive enough
What I don’t like about it: i know he can do better; it feels shallow and even cynical in parts, uses his voice poorly

Review:
A sadly forgettable, though probably commercial, album from the deep-voiced English singer-songwriter.

Content notes (may contain spoilers):

Beyoncé – RENAISSANCE (2022)

Length: 62:14
Synopsis: The Queen of Pop delivers a sexy dance epic
Recommendation rating: 5/5

What I like about it: dancy, catchy, iconic
What I don’t like about it: a couple of underwhelming tracks, some lyrics/vocals

Review:
So many contenders for album of the summer this year and in rides Beyoncé on her Godiva-inspired horse and bowls them all over. Lushly produced, playful, stylish and sexy, Renaissance surpasses even Lemonade in my opinion and is an indispensible record for those interested in pop. My favourites are Cozy, Cuff It, Break My Soul and Thique.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): sex

Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? (2022)

Where to find it: BritBox
Length: Three 1-hour episodes
Synopsis: a mysterious death is investigated by amateurs in rural Wales
Recommendation rating: 3/5

What I like about it: fun
What I don’t like about it: missable

Review:
Hugh Laurie ably adapts this standalone Agatha Christie mystery into an entertaining if convoluted yarn that doesn’t outstay its welcome. Will Poulter’s limited range is well-hidden behind the affable character of vicar’s son Bobby Jones and Lucy Boynton is charming as his friend, tomboyish aristocrat Lady Frankie Derwent. The cast is rounded out by Hugh’s impressive list of old friends such as Paul Whitehouse, Emma Thompson and Jim Broadbent.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): death, murder, hanging, drugs and alcohol

Everything I Know About Love (2022)

Where to find it: BBC iPlayer
Length: Seven 45-minute episodes
Synopsis: Brit coming-of-age Sex and the City stuffed with middle-class millennial nostalgia
Recommendation rating: 2/5

What I like about it: pretty good albeit scattershot soundtrack, occasional interesting moments
What I don’t like about it: way too many interchangeable party and sex scenes

Review:
BBC3’s latest overhyped and overprivileged comedy-drama finds starry-eyed childhood friends trying to make it as young media professionals in Camden. Their divergent paths through young adulthood and differing development rates threaten to tear them apart but friendship will win the day after over five hours of pointless partying, repetitive sex and cheap nostalgia pops.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): a whole lot of sex, drugs and partying

The White Lotus (2021)

Where to find it: NowTV
Length: Six 1-hour episodes
Synopsis: People use people at an expensive Hawaiian resort
Recommendation rating: 4/5

What I like about it: human drama and social satire
What I don’t like about it: feels long and plodding, some storylines and characters are uninteresting

Review:
Mike White’s wonderful empathy is on display in this slow-burning miniseries (since renewed as an anthology) about several unrelated guests at an exclusive tropical resort: a ‘Lean In’ tech CEO and her family, a newlywed couple with a wealth disparity, and a grieving single woman with attachment issues. It opens with a promise that one of these will die, then begins setting up their characters – a process that seems to take the whole first half of the series. The languid pace is likely intentional and, along with the beautiful Pacific imagery and music, sets an enjoyable tone for a binge watch but makes it hard to want to come back to after just one or two episodes.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): drugs, racism, nudity, sex, defecation, violence

Turning Red (2022)

Where to find it: Disney+
Length: 100 minutes
Synopsis: A Chinese-Canadian teenager rebels against her parents as a menarcheal red panda
Recommendation rating: 4/5

What I like about it: good themes, fun setting and cartoon animation
What I don’t like about it: it’s a little forgettable compared to Pixar’s best

Review:
The real Pixar movie of this year, Turning Red is a fun all-ages adventure about puberty and growing up. It’s a very worthy addition to their collection of message movies such as Inside Out and Soul, movies you could watch and discuss with older children to introduce them to certain ideas and themes. I appreciate that this film comes the closest I’ve ever seen in children’s media to endorsing rebellion against parental authority, it’s pretty great to see that barrier being broken down.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): menstruation, friend drama, parental conflict, megalophobia