Author: aliceklar

High School (2022)

Where to find it: Amazon FreeVee
Length: Eight 25-minute episodes
Synopsis: Tegan & Sara biopic
Recommendation rating: 4/5

What I like about it: thoughtful, more realistic than anything aimed at teens
What I don’t like about it: grunge/alt-rock soundtrack not my scene

Review:
Clea DuVall adapts a memoir by Canadian singers Tegan & Sara into a wise and wistful series about adolescence. Uses quiet reflection and a shifting point-of-view to great effect, you’ll feel a lot of empathy for the characters.

Between this, Sprung and comfortable comedy Primo, it’s a surprisingly high batting average for Amazon’s ad-supported service.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): mental illness, drugs and alcohol

One Piece (2023)

Where to find it: Netflix
Length: Eight 50-minute episodes
Synopsis: Eternal child Monkey D. Luffy gets himself a ship and crew and sets off to become King of the Pirates
Recommendation rating: 4/5

What I like about it: absurd silliness, incredible VFX, commitment
What I don’t like about it: $19m/episode and still it’s just One Piece, Emily Rudd

Review:
When asking themselves if some element of long-running manga/anime One Piece was too silly to depict in live action, the creators of this series always answer, no. It’s a level of commitment and love for the franchise that soon won me over even though I had no interest to begin with. Every penny of its $150,000,000 price tag shows in its amazing effects and set pieces (it wasn’t spent on big names, though its young cast mostly do a great job). It’s a very silly live-action anime and an exceedingly fun diversion – like Speed Racer but much better.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): violence, self-injury, cannibalism

Interview With The Vampire (2022)

Where to find it: Buy on Amazon, now on iPlayer
Length: Seven 50-minute episodes
Synopsis: Camp, gory gothic fun à la True Blood
Recommendation rating: 3/5

What I like about it: writing, acting
What I don’t like about it: source material, season 2 a step down but still fun

Review:
Aging New Journalist Daniel Molloy travels to Dubai to re-do an interview with immortal vampire Louis De Pointe Du Lac, who tells the story of his afterlife through flashbacks. It’s a remarkably clever adaptation and is paced reasonably well.

Unfortunately it’s still Anne Rice – accursed grandmother of a million Twilights – and her flowery prose and unsettling obsession with young flesh make it to screen largely unscathed. Adds some good stuff around Louis being Black and a pimp in 1910s Storyville but criminally under-utilises its “birthplace of jazz” setting.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): violence, gore, sex, sexual assault, racism, domestic abuse

Unprisoned (2023)

Where to find it: Disney+
Length: Eight 25-minute episodes
Synopsis: Heart-filled sitcom about a wounded healer
Recommendation rating: 4/5

What I like about it: psychological, fun, acting
What I don’t like about it: not the funniest

Review:
Paige (Kerry Washington) is raising her teenage son and has a career as a therapist/influencer when her father (Delroy Lindo) is paroled into her custody, bringing up many childhood traumas that Paige hasn’t worked through as much as she thought she had.

It’s very informed and well-acted, once an episode Paige’s inner child shows up to swearily tell her off and it’s always the highlight. Also explores the sorry state of America’s prison-industrial complex, healthcare system and employment security.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): sex

Ted Lasso (2020)

Where to find it: Apple TV+
Length: 34 one-hour episodes
Synopsis: American football coach with winning personality takes over English football club with losing record
Recommendation rating: 3/5

What I like about it: gentle, occasionally gets a chuckle
What I don’t like about it: unfunny, unrealistic, costs too much, inconsistent acting

Review:
This transatlantic comedy-drama is easygoing but bland, full of painfully performative writing and paper-thin liberal fantasy characters. Being an Apple product, it burns through needless millions and far too much of it takes place on iPhone screens.

Content notes (may contain spoilers):

Nimona (2023)

Where to find it: Netflix
Length: 100 minutes
Synopsis: A chaotic teen assists an exiled knight
Recommendation rating: 4/5

What I like about it: writing, themes, characters, animation
What I don’t like about it: some design choices, surprisingly heavy

Review:
Set in a medieval futuristic fantasy world that underscores the timelessness of its message, the film frontloads its exposition to explain that the kingdom follows rules laid down by its founder and is very attached to its queen and her royal guard, a heriditary cadre of knights who are treated as celebrities. Scandal engulfs the kingdom when the order accepts a new member, Ballister Boldheart, who is not of the exhalted bloodline. Despite the reassuring presence of his boyfriend and team captain, the even more improbably-named Ambrosius Goldenloin, Ballister proceeds to have the worst possible first day on the job but is soon assisted by Nimona, a mysterious and chaotic-neutral teen obsessed with being his sidekick.

What follows is an almost perfect metaphor for the queer point-of-view; societal and cultural punishment of divergence is the villain of this movie. Characters use it to reinforce their power, other characters have their self-image destroyed by it to the point of attempting suicide, all in a manner easily understood by older children and oblivious normies. It hit me pretty hard but the quickfire gags and montages made it a fun ride along the way.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): violence, suicide and ideation

The Muppets Mayhem (2023)

Where to find it: Disney+
Length: Ten 25-minute episodes
Synopsis: Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem get a family sitcom
Recommendation rating: 3/5

What I like about it: puppets, consistent characters, funny enough
What I don’t like about it: not very funny, forced drama, musical numbers, tiresome cameos

Review:
We’re introduced to legendary touring band Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem, who have never recorded an album, and Nora (Lilly Singh) who works for a failing record label. When Nora discovers an unfulfilled contract for a Mayhem album, she believes she can save the label, but corralling Muppets is never an easy task.

The script could have used a few more passes, there’s too much exposition about Nora’s dead dad and the endless cameos are mostly expendable. The musical numbers are horrific and it wasn’t a good idea to have screechy puppet voices cover “classic” rock songs as much as they did. Whether to watch this one depends how much you like the Muppets, I don’t regret it but I’d watch them file taxes.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): drug references

Rap Shit (2022)

Where to find it: No UK streaming
Length: Eight 30-minute episodes
Synopsis: Odd couple form a rap duo
Recommendation rating: 5/5

What I like about it: great comedy in first half, great drama in second; knows itself well
What I don’t like about it: Instagram gimmick feels forced (but is used less as the series goes)

Review:
Shawna is an independent conscious hip hop artist. She was briefly signed to a big-shot producer but after refusing to compromise her artistic vision for commercial success, she is now working in a Miami hotel and posting topical political raps to an Instagram audience of a dozen people. She reconnects with her old friend Mia, a confident beautician and dancer, and convinces her to start a rap duo after they drunkenly freestyle. The two are opposites in many ways: Mia is outgoing and likes dancing to popular rap with her friends in clubs, Shawna sits alone in her apartment ranting about how popular rap is vapid. They attempt to overcome this and find fame with the help of a hustling local pimp and Shawna’s sideline in credit card fraud.

The show is really funny and its biggest strength is that it doesn’t make a single concession for a broader audience: this is a show by and for Black women, not one line is wasted on awkward exposition and although I’m outside of that target audience, I found it much better for it. It has great satire on the rap game and its portrayal of chasing fame in that field seems cynically realistic (the show is loosely based on City Girls, who also consult).

Content notes (may contain spoilers): explicit sex, sex work, drugs

Cinderella (2021)

Where to find it: Amazon Prime Video
Length: 1hr 50m
Synopsis: Fairy tale musical
Recommendation rating: 4/5

What I like about it: dynamic, beautiful, funny, the talent, costumes, choreography, it’s very gay
What I don’t like about it: some weak jukebox numbers, overplays its strengths

Review:
Camila Cabello showcases her enviable talents in the lead role of this non-Disney fairy tale adaptation; colourful, hyperactive fluff with a charming level of effort. The voiceover narration (Billy Porter as the Fabulous Godmother) introduces us to Ella – for ‘Cinderella’ is an unwanted nickname = who lives in the cellar of her wicked stepmother (Idina Menzel) and spoiled stepsisters. Ella makes dresses and wants to sell them but is informed that women are not allowed to conduct business in this particular fantasy kingdom.

The setting is also introduced during the first number, a reworking of Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation, as a land where everyone follows tradition without question and also sing and dance a lot, providing a plausible and very silly reason for all the choreographed pop hits. There are lots of them; also appearing are the songs Somebody to Love, Material Girl and a mash-up of Whatta Man with Seven Nation Army. I was in a go-with-it mood but this film is probably torture if you don’t like musicals. Far and away the best number is the villain song, Dream Girl, a bitter and wistful reflection on the traditional place of women in society written and performed by Menzel.

Currently holding a 4.3/10 on IMDb, I will die on the hill that this is a good movie and everyone involved deserves to be proud of their efforts. Kay Cannon’s writing and directing is funny and dynamic, even if the reliance on gags, numbers and hyperactive editing gets a little tiring. The costumes and choreography are delightful and visually stimulating. There are also great turns from Pierce Brosnan (whose infamous singing ability is lampooned) and Minnie Driver as the King and Queen, and a particular comic highlight in their daughter, the ambitious liberal Princess Gwen who is ignored in favour of primogeniture. If – and only if – you like spectacle, camp and fluff, you’ll find this an enjoyable diversion.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): James Corden

Inside Our Autistic Minds (2023)

Where to find it: BBC iPlayer
Length: Two 1-hour episodes
Synopsis: Autistic mission doc
Recommendation rating: 2/5

What I like about it: autistic people
What I don’t like about it: not very informative, self-important host, inspiration porn

Review:
Chris Packham hosts this BBC documentary in which he meets four autistic people and helps them make a short film about their perspective, which they then show to their friends and family. Despite many encouragements to understand autistic people, it doesn’t do a great job of explaining us, preferring ambiguous statements about how we’re all different. Occasionally hilarious, such as using VFX to show autism as some kind of Iron Man-esque superpower, but more often manipulatively ‘uplifting’ or uncomfortably intrusive.

Mostly, the show and its host seem to have a higher evaluation of their importance than I do and spend most of the time talking down to the audience, assuming they will have many negative impressions of autistic people. Thankfully Packham, patron(ising) saint of autism, is here to realise for us that people who don’t speak are still people.

Content notes (may contain spoilers):