2023 TV Catch-Up / Backlog: The Mixed Bags | Bite-Sized Reviews

(L-R) The Changeling (Apple TV+); Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (Apple TV+), The Crown (Netflix).

In this edition of Additional Bite-Sized Reviews, the point of this post is to function as a review compilation, if you will, of some notable 2023 television series that I’ve either caught up with in the last few months or which I never found the time to write about when they were released way back when (i.e. my review notes backlog). For this post, I have specifically highlighted three shows from the past year that didn’t fully work for me, even though I liked a fair bit about them.


Continue reading “2023 TV Catch-Up / Backlog: The Mixed Bags | Bite-Sized Reviews”

REVIEW: Kong: Skull Island (2017)

Release Poster – Warner Bros. Pictures

The following is a review of Kong: Skull Island – Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts

In 2014, no film disappointed me more than Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla. It’s not a bad film, per se – and I do think Gareth Edwards is a talented director – but it remains one of the biggest movie disappointments over the last few years, for me. Therefore, I was, obviously, apprehensive about the next film in Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment’s monster movie cinematic universe.

My main issues with Godzilla were that Godzilla, essentially, had a story that was populated with mostly uninteresting characters, and that I also felt the marketing had promised me much more of both Bryan Cranston and the titular monster than we were given. Does Kong: Skull Island share those issues? Well. Yes and no. Continue reading “REVIEW: Kong: Skull Island (2017)”

REVIEW: 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)

Theatrical Release Poster – Bad Robot – Paramount

The following is a review of ’10 Cloverfield Lane’, a Dan Trachtenberg film.

Let’s talk about expectations. The tagline of the film, “Monsters come in many forms,” is the truest representation of the film. With the original Cloverfield we were treated to a found-footage monster movie, but 10 Cloverfield Lane is a much more polished, suspenseful, and mysterious thriller. It is a very different movie, so manage your expectations. But I think I actually like 10 Cloverfield Lane more than its titular relative.  Continue reading “REVIEW: 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)”