Tag: 4

Common Side Effects (2025)

Where to find it: Channel 4
Length: Ten 20-minute episodes
Synopsis: Mycologist has a cure They’re willing to kill for
Recommendation rating: 4/5

What I like about it: humour, animation, themes
What I don’t like about it: ugly style, incohesive plot

Review:
The animation team from Scavengers Reign return with another imaginative anime-inspired adult cartoon in which a renegade Paul Stamets type finds a panacaea and fights against a deep state-big pharma conspiracy. Though the character design is bafflingly offputting, the visuals come into their own during the psychedelic trip scenes. The plot can feel perfunctory but it’s well-paced enough to go with it and the writing is psychological and satirical. Unlike Scavengers Reign, this has been renewed for another season and is well worth following.

MILD SPOILERS: My favourite touch, which I’m certain was intentional, is when the panacaea is given to an autistic child and he remains autistic. I held my breath for a minute there!

Content notes (may contain spoilers): body horror, violence, weapons

The Franchise (2024)

Where to find it: NowTV
Length: Eight 25-minute episodes
Synopsis: Marvel movies make for easy satire
Recommendation rating: 4/5

What I like about it: funny lines and actors
What I don’t like about it: inconsistent, tries a bit too hard, arrives a few years too late

Review:
In this sitcom, which Armando Iannucci is at least somewhat involved in and is definitely modelled after his work, a thinly-veiled Marvel movie is being made with many disasters and squabbles along the way. Has a lower hit rate than, say, The Thick of It but it gets better as it goes, deserves a second season it probably won’t get.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): inventive swearing

Somebody Somewhere (2022)

Where to find it: Now TV
Length: 21 half-hour episodes
Synopsis: Low key comedy about everyday Kansans
Recommendation rating: 4/5

What I like about it: cozy, sweet, occasionally funny, Murray Hill’s incredible charm
What I don’t like about it: can be a bit boring at first

Review:
Sam marks schoolwork for a living and is mourning her sister/best friend when her coworker Joel invites her to his queer church choir, run by breakout character Fred Rococo. Sam’s other sister Tricia runs a basic bitch shop called Tender Moments which sells scented candles and embroidered pillows. They all spend the rest of the episodes alternately giggling and arguing, going about their daily lives in something that may be a sitcom, I can’t tell. Cute though.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): religion, interpersonal conflicts, death

Barry (2018)

Where to find it: Now TV
Length: 32 half-hour episodes
Synopsis: A psychopath is torn between two fitting career paths: hitman and actor
Recommendation rating: 4/5

What I like about it: funny, engaging, clever direction, NoHo Hank, seasons 2 & 3
What I don’t like about it: weak opening, terrible ending

Review:
Bill Hader writes, directs and stars in this HBO comedy-drama with pulpy crime plot, strong action scenes and fantastic Hollywood satire.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): violence

Search Party (2016)

Where to find it: BBC iPlayer
Length: Fifty 25-minute episodes
Synopsis: Genre-hopping blistering satire about self-involved millennials
Recommendation rating: 4/5

What I like about it: satirical, engaging, constant reinvention, comic acting
What I don’t like about it: inconsistent (gets better as it goes)

Review:
Four selfish Brooklyn hipsters investigate the disappearance of a college acquaintance, things escalate. The last three seasons in particular are full of ambition and quality but nearly impossible to talk about without spoilers.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): violence, sex, swears (after switching network in season 3), slurs

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

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

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

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