I watched so many television (and/or streaming) shows this year. In my notes, I was trying to jot down all of the shows that I had seen and, given that I also watch a lot of movies every year, I was even a little bit shocked at how much time I spent watching entertainment (especially because I was very busy with other stuff this year). But, hey, I do love crashing and/or chilling in front of the television, watching a good show, and then jotting down my notes. And, you know, there were a lot of good shows this year. Some of the shows that it hurts to have to leave off the list this time around are Bad Sisters, Disclaimer, The English Teacher, Under the Bridge, The Boys, and Sugar (and I could, honestly, go on). But there can only be ten shows on this list, and let’s now have a look at what shows made it!
Continue reading “Top Ten TV-Shows of 2024”Tag: Disney+
Top Ten TV-Shows of 2023

The long-awaited (and very late, sorry) list of the top ten TV or streaming shows of 2023 is finally here! I watched a lot of excellent shows in 2023, and I loved a great many shows that couldn’t land a spot on this list, such as Shrinking, Silo, Black Mirror, and Hijack. But, in the end, there are only ten spots on this list, and, well, there are some outstanding series here that just had to be on the list. Speaking of which, let’s now finally get to that very list.
Continue reading “Top Ten TV-Shows of 2023”The Contestant (2024 – Documentary) | REVIEW
Clair Titley’s The Contestant tells the astonishing and disturbing true story about how one man, known as Nasubi (whose real name is Tomoaki Hamatsu), was fooled into appearing on a Japanese reality television show in which he was asked to live entirely on magazine competition prizes inside of a tiny apartment after having been stripped of his clothes. He had signed no contract, didn’t know the footage was being shown to the public weekly (or that he was eventually live-streamed), and he didn’t know when (or if) it would ever end. It’s a true story that you have to see to believe as it is equal parts Peter Weir’s The Truman Show and Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy, and the doc also prominently features the infamous television producer, Toshio Tsuchiya, who essentially was a devilish or sadistic taskmaster to Nasubi. As the film laid out the story, I was again and again shocked by what happened to Nasubi and horrified by how people reacted to it. It was essentially a social experiment writ large.
Continue reading “The Contestant (2024 – Documentary) | REVIEW”Nimic (2019) | Short Film Spotlight
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things; The Favourite; The Killing of a Sacred Deeer) — Story / Screenplay by David Kolbusz (based on an idea by), Yorgos Lanthimos, and Ethymis Filippou.
Recently, I rewatched Yorgos Lanthimos’ short film Nimic starring Matt Dillon, in which we follow as his character leaves his family to go to work, but then, on his way back, a strange woman stalks him and mimics his every move in an attempt to prove that she is actually his wife’s husband and the father of his children. What follows below are my two first reactions to the film, which were originally posted via my Letterboxd profile.
Continue reading “Nimic (2019) | Short Film Spotlight”‘Bottoms (2023),’ ‘The Little Mermaid (2023),’ and ‘The Meg 2 (2023),’ | Bite-Sized Reviews

In this edition of Additional Bite-Sized Reviews, I have had a look at one of the very best and funniest movies of the past year, a live-action remake of an animated classic, and a, for some, much-anticipated summer movie sequel. All of these are 2023 flicks that you may or may not have missed. Click below to learn more about my thoughts on the specific films.
Continue reading “‘Bottoms (2023),’ ‘The Little Mermaid (2023),’ and ‘The Meg 2 (2023),’ | Bite-Sized Reviews”
NO ONE WILL SAVE YOU (2023) | REVIEW
Directed by Brian Duffield — Screenplay by Brian Duffield.
It is possible to sometimes find true hidden gems in the vast library of streaming services. Frankly, sometimes studios opt to dump strong films onto streaming services, even though the film in question possesses a clear and obvious theatrical release potential. This is one of those occasions. Brian Duffield’s NO ONE WILL SAVE YOU is the kind of horror science-fiction film that knows exactly what it is and how it can carve out its own place among the many inspirations that will probably be clear for most people to see. It’s exactly the kind of film that I would go crazy for in theaters, but which we have been provided with from the comfort of our own homes. Subscribers of Hulu (or Disney+ depending on your location) have been given a special little science-fiction invasion film about alienation and a specific alien home invasion.
Continue reading “NO ONE WILL SAVE YOU (2023) | REVIEW”Vacation Friends 2 (2023) | REVIEW

Directed by Clay Tarver — Screenplay by Clay Tarver.
Two years ago, Vacation Friends was released on Hulu, Disney+, or one of the other international Disney-owned streaming services. It boasted a relatively strong main cast, and it was a solid and charming enough comedy flick that I enjoyed much more than I expected to. Back then, I found that John Cena’s excitable comedic energy elevated what was essentially a passable but definitely enjoyable streaming comedy. Parts of that first film felt disposable, but there was enough good there for me to remember the so-so original comedy fondly. Now, two years later, Clay Tarver and 20th Century Studios have gotten the original cast back together for a direct sequel hoping to recapture that same magic. Tarver doesn’t fully succeed, even though there are moments here that do work (and some that work better on paper than as it has been carried out on screen).
Continue reading “Vacation Friends 2 (2023) | REVIEW”Flamin’ Hot (2023) | REVIEW

Directed by Eva Longoria — Screenplay by Lewis Colick and Linda Yvette Chavéz.
Based on Richard Montañez’s memoir titled A Boy, a Burrito and a Cookie: From Janitor to Executive, Eva Longoria’s Flamin’ Hot follows Richard Montañez (played by Jesse Garcia), a Mexican American, as he gets a job as a janitor at Frito-Lay, which he hopes he can build a career from by slowly rising up the ranks. When the Frito-Lay factory where he is employed hears about the potential of significant layoffs, Richard tries to ‘think like a CEO.’ He comes up with the idea to pitch a spicy chip to Frito-Lay, which utilizes the kind of flavors that Mexican-Americans grow up with. However, when his own bosses won’t listen to him, he has to contact the CEO of PepsiCo (played by Tony Shalhoub).
Continue reading “Flamin’ Hot (2023) | REVIEW”Ed Sheeran’s The Sum of It All is Better Than Your Average Modern Music Documentary | Review
Everyone gets a documentary nowadays. Whether it’s Apple TV+, Disney+, or Netflix, you can find several documentaries highlighting musicians. Naturally, some of these documentaries are more fascinating than others. Some music documentaries are put out to function as tell-all documentations of a tour or the construction of an album, others function as these musician origin stories that are obviously heavily constructed by the musician so that the right story is told from their point of view. The very best music documentaries get to find a way under the skin of their artist. On the surface, this Ed Sheeran docu-series may look exactly like one of the many unremarkable types of music documentaries. But once you dive right in and follow along, you are met with the kind of documentary that goes more than merely skin deep.
Continue reading “Ed Sheeran’s The Sum of It All is Better Than Your Average Modern Music Documentary | Review”REVIEW: The Mandalorian – Season Three (2023)

Series Created by Jon Favreau — All Episodes Available on Disney+ Now.
To a certain extent, The Mandalorian was once the kind of show that united the Star Wars fanbase after the divisive sequel trilogy. However, the show that spun off from the excellent second season of the show — The Book of Boba Fett — was not only uneven, it also undid the very end of The Mandalorian season two through these episodes that were always more episodes of The Mandalorian than The Book of Boba Fett, even though they were sandwiched into the latter show. Since then, live-action Star Wars on Disney+ has featured the very satisfying but safe nostalgic Obi-Wan Kenobi show, as well as the outstanding course-correcting dark and mature Star Wars series Andor. It was always going to be hard for this third season to live up to Andor, but what is really frustrating is that it doesn’t even live up to its own previous seasons. The third season of The Mandalorian is a little bit of a disappointment.
Continue reading “REVIEW: The Mandalorian – Season Three (2023)”




