Eden W

I’m genuinely surprised by the negative reviews, though I suspect many viewers came in expecting something akin to TWD. This show, however, stands on its own and, in my opinion, for the better. Where TWD leans heavily into character drama and is soap-opera-esque, Black Summer opts for raw, visceral intensity. The zombies here are fast, relentless, and terrifyingly rabid, adding a sense of realism that makes a zombie apocalypse feel disturbingly plausible. What’s particularly unsettling is the hint of lingering human intelligence in the zombies—just enough to make them far more dangerous. The show’s rules are clear and straightforward: if you die, you turn. A bite will seal your fate too. It doesn’t waste time over-explaining itself, which I appreciated. For fans of dark, gritty, and realistic zombie stories, this series delivers. If you’re looking for deep dives into character backstories, this might not be your cup of tea. Personally, I loved every tense, heart-pounding moment. Black Summer is an exhilarating take on the zombie genre that’s both haunting and refreshingly different.

I’m surprised people don’t realize this is a parody… That scares me a bit. It’s very obviously a reference to The Woman in the Window or other dramas involving wino women and ridiculous plots! Because of it, I enjoyed it.

At first, I didn’t understand the negative reviews. I was a few episodes in and pretty damn entertained. **SPOILERS** It wasn’t until the later episodes where I realize the protagonist, Liv, is not a victim at all. She’s an antagonist who murdered her husband’s mistress in a fit of drunken rage, was ready to frame the victim’s innocent husband, and then ultimately decided to frame her cheating husband for the murder. We’re supposed to cheer for her because she was cheated on? Because she was wronged? Two wrongs don’t make a right, and infidelity is not equal in crime to murder. It doesn’t matter if she meant to kill her husband. And let me remind you, for cheating! Either way, she still murdered someone, chose to conceal the crime, and framed someone else. Absolute rubbish. Skip this, and save yourself the headache. The creators of the show were trying to pull off a Midsommar-esque ending but failed miserably.

It felt very forced and rushed. What could’ve been a great or interesting plot was just a little bland and contrived. It tried to be absurd, weird and thoughtful, but it fell short, felt superficial and try hard. Sure, watch it. It’s watchable and okay, but that’s it— just okay.

Without offering any spoilers and at the surface, the series follows four young paper girls that cross paths on their route and find themselves head-deep in a war between time-travelers and desperately trying to get back to their timeline. Not sure where people are getting the comparison between Stranger Things. I guess any sci-fi series with a cast of young adults will be compared to Stranger Things, unfortunately. In my opinion, this was so much better than ST, and I binge-watched the entire season in 2 nights. If you ever wondered what your life would be like if you made different choices and also enjoy sci-fi, this is a series for you. Watch it!

The movie begins with a semi interesting plot: a girl escapes rehab to visit her dying mother but is trapped at a community center due to a winter storm. There, she finds a young girl trapped and tied up in a van. During a card game with other stranded strangers, she tries to maintain a poker face and discover who the van owner is and how to rescue the girl. From there, it quickly went downhill and became a corny, Hollywood-esque poorly written thriller. Some of the decisions made by the characters were ridiculous—or downright silly scenarios— only for the sake of pushing the plot forward and dragging the movie on. For example, when she’s trying to escape with the kidnapped girl, she gets in a mild low-speed car accident and is conveniently knocked out to delay the chase scene. What?! Who is knocked out from a low-speed car accident? Cop dispatched for the text regarding a child abduction NEVER requests backup. Honestly, after these frustrating scenes, I turned it off. Meh.

Rather than cover the awful and dreadful events of the young Baudelaire lives, I will skip ahead of the unpleasantries and begin the review from the comfort of my childhood. As a child, I was an avid fan, if not obsessed, with this book series— it’s mystery, quirkiness, morbid stories, and references and allusions to great poets or figures in literature (e.g., Beatrice in reference to Dante Alighieri and his tragic love, Mr. Arthur Poe as a nod to Edgar Allen Poe, and Baudelaire as a nod to Charles Baudelaire). It’s surreal and absurd nature impacted my sense of humor, literary interests and curiosities as a young child in such a way that I cannot thank Lemony Snicket enough for. This adaptation really does the books justice, and if you loved the books as a young child or you just so happen to enjoy a depressing story, you will appreciate this dreadfully wonderful series as much as I do. Now, if you’re looking for a story about cheerful youngsters and pleasant happenings, you should probably find another series as this is not for you, and if you’ve somehow found yourself here, I recommend turning the TV off now and never turning back.

Deeply disturbing and haunting— not your typical post-apocalyptic film. If you’re looking for something like Birdbox, look elsewhere. The people giving it a 1-star review are likely the people that need the plot spoon fed to them and peppered with unnecessary jump scares and filler dialogue. Ignore the noise and watch. My heart was pounding throughout the film. Absolutely dreadful.

One of my favorite films this year and definitely a delightful surprise for one of the more quiet years for cinema. Haunting score and beautifully written. The protagonist is a lovely and complex character following in his father's footsteps and also being followed by tragedy-- the only good doer in town and the heart of the movie navigating a world of depravity. I can't believe it wasn't well-received by the critics, but they gave Cuties a 5-star rating... Probably because they identify with Robert Pattinson's character.