Stranger Things, S3, Ep1, Suzie, Do you copy?, Review By Case Wright, (Dir. Matt and Ross Duffer)

Posted on July 6, 2019 by casewright

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And…..We’re Back!

This series is special to me. It’s the first I ever reviewed for this site. It was awesome- Read Here

I have watched every episode of this series. The first season was epic and even engendered a ride at Universal Studios. Season 2 was a show that was aired on Netflix with Sean Astin. This season has a new big bad who looks a lot like last years big bad. So….I hope it’s better than last year’s terribleness. This episode opened with a bit of meh, but better than Season Two’s sophomore slump. I’m guessing that it will be kinda of fun to watch. In any case, I write for an entertainment blog, so this is happening!

Cold Open: The Russians are trying to open the gate and they are EVIL! One guy goes full on Ivan Drago (Rocky IV) and lifts a guy by the neck and chokes hims to death! Their experiment apparently releases the smoke monster again and he’s pissed at Hawkins!

Our older heroes are really not doing well. Nancy is a gopher at a sexist newspaper. Jake Busey is one of the reporters. I’m not sure if Jake knew this was a role or if he thought, “I’ve always wanted to work at a newspaper in a dying town!” and just ran with it. Creeper has found his niche working as a creepy photographer for a creepy newspaper. We’re better off without elitist journalists anyway. All Hail The Bloggers!!!!

Steve is working at the mall at a terrible ice cream shop and striking out with every girl in Indiana. I suppose this is possible. He wears a dorky outfit, but he’s still Steve. I kinda doubted this whole constant rejection he’s getting. I think it’s the writers were thinking that the moment good looking people leave high school, they are nobody. This doesn’t make sense because IRL beautiful people make tons of money as actors and generally do pretty well getting dates. It takes me out of it a little.

The gang is all about their hormones. Mike and El are constantly making out and disrespecting Hop, which I really can’t stand. Hop is troubled by and turns to his unrequited love Joyce who tells him to get to get all kumbaya and I just can’t watch. This comes to a head at the end of the episode where Hop loses it and I’m hoping he smacks Mike around- in a nice way.

Dustin returned from science camp and he built a Radio Tower to speak with his girlfriend in Utah. Everyone keeps acting totally shocked that Dustin could have a girlfriend. This came across as mean and dickish to me. I mean Dustin isn’t Brad Pitt, but he’s smart and nice. Anywho, they erect the radio tower and Dustin can’t reach her, giving his girlfriend claim a “My girlfriend is in Canada” feel to it. To my Canadian readers, we down south have been claiming that you were our girlfriends for generations. I know this sounds weird, but here we are. He does pick up a signal from the Russians and they are trying to open their own gate to evil town.

Ok, Cara Buono is at the pool as is Mullet-guy. Mullet-guy is now the lifeguard and they going to have an affair. This all seems to be ready to go, but the smoke monster is taking up space in the abandoned Steel Mill and eats him or something. Why a Steel Mill? Well, the Smoke Monster is really into depressed real estate and factories can be converted into lofts for the hipster set. It’s really forward thinking on Smokey’s part.

I would say this episode is a bit clunky, but good. Is it the thrill ride of the first season? NO NO NO, but honestly what is?! Stranger Things season 1 was a television event up there with The Stand, Shogun, or It. In fact, it was never meant to be a recurring series until the last minute, but hey it’s better than watching re-runs of Parks and Rec.

See you soon for ep 2!!!

Titans, S1E3, Origins, Dir. Kevin Rodney Sullivan, No review ep 4

Posted on June 24, 2019 by casewright

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This episode – Origins – digs deeper into Dick and how he evolved into Robin and how Dick, Koriand’r, and Rachel evolved into the Titans. I don’t mention Beast Boy because he joins in the next episode and he is kinda lame. Speaking of Beast Boy, I won’t review Episode 4- Doom Patrol. It’s a backdoor pilot for the eponymous show that was reviewed on this site – check it out here.

The episode opens with my only critique for the season. Rachel is captured, but doesn’t use her Goth powers to kill everyone. Why not? This was not explained. It seems that somehow her powers were neutered, but I’m not sure how. She ends up being driven around by the world’s creepiest suburban family. This quick cuts to Koriand’r searching for Rachel and kicking serious ass kinda unnecessarily. I mean these were cops and she just breaks one guy’s arm when he begs for mercy. OUCH! Koriand’r catches up to the “Nuclear Family” and sets the dad on fire and rescues Rachel. Koriand’r sets more people on fire than the Romans did! Not too long after, she practically tears apart a wife beater at a diner! WOW! Koriand’r takes Rachel to a convent where she discovered Rachel spent the first few years of her life. All the while, Dick is on the hunt for them both!

The B- Story is Dick Grayson’s youth and how he became Robin. I wasn’t sure how I thought of this device, but it re-centered the story around Dick to keep the narrative clear: This show is Dick’s Story. Young Dick Grayson is adopted by Bruce Wayne who doesn’t speak, but lurks around the house staring at Dick. HMMMM. Anywho, Dick starts breaking out of Wayne Manor using his acrobat and car stealing techniques. He’s caught and brought into his social worker who is certain that she knows the way forward: reason with the boy. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get it. Dick isn’t running away; he’s hunting his parents’ killer to kill them. This causes Bruce to take an interest in Dick and recruit him into becoming Robin.

If you look at Dick as someone with deep-seeded PTSD, (which is exactly what’s going on) Bruce and Dick’s actions are very logical. They have repressed rage and, unlike many of us, the means and ability to exact revenge on people who mirror the cause of their trauma. Most of us just end up in therapy, but I admit that I envy these guys. Yes, it’s easier on your family to go to the VA and work through your justified rage, but wouldn’t it also be fun to wear some sort of leather and beat the ever loving snot out of a bunch of wife beaters, drug dealers, and child molesters?! It’s be a lot more fun than therapy and far fewer group sessions where you get slightly better than mediocre ham sandwiches.

Dick, being a pretty good detective, catches up to them and Rachel loses it full-on Carrie style. Dick Koriand’r and Rachel back to the convent and has a heart to heart with Rachel. He said something that stuck with me. Rachel was going on about how no one can really help and Dick admits, Yes. He thought Bruce could solve his problems by having him beat the snot out of people, but no one else can be responsible for your pain. You have to channel it yourself into something constructive, but it never goes away because it did happen to you.

It turns out that the sisters decide to lock up Rachel in the basement for her own good while Dick and Koriad’r step out for a few. This seems like an odd choice for the sisters. It’s obvious that Rachel is still there and why would they think that Dick and Koriand’r would be okay with her being locked away in a basement?! Kinda weird. Other than a few flaws, the episode lays the framework for an expanding family. I really do enjoy watching this group evolve into the Titans and they are really good at showing the subtle sparks that Koriand’r and Dick have for one another. Once again, I’m impressed with how accurately and directly they deal with PTSD and how that would affect all superheroes.

Professor Marston and the Wonder Women- (Dir. Angela Robinson), Review By Case Wright

Posted on June 24, 2019 by casewright

What does Wonder Woman, S&M, and Polyamory have in common? Pretty much everything. Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (PMWW) was…dull. You’d think with all the whips and ropes that the movie would pull some interest, but the scenes were shot hamfisted and clinical. I guess that makes sense to a degree because the stars were playing Harvard nerds who liked kinky sex, but man what a snore!

The movie was a Biopic about Professor Marston the creator of the lie detector test and I will forever know this because it was repeated over and over and over and over again. UGGHHHH. Professor Marston was a Harvard Professor who was married to fellow professor Elizabeth Marston. They are social psyche professors who are developing a lie detector test and are determined to bring Olive Byrne into their cult-like love life. This would be considered very creepy today, not for the S&M stuff, but because of the professor/student boundary crossing. They aren’t shy at all about their relationship, causing everyone to get expelled/fired. Honestly, I don’t blame Harvard on this one. He not only seduced a student, got her pregnant, and they all lived together. It reminded me of those separatist compounds.

Since no one is working, money gets tight. Eventually, Professor Marston puts his kink into high gear with ropes etc and this gives him the idea of Wonder Woman. He uses the two personalities of his two wives to give Wonder Woman a dual identity. It’s not a terrible analogy, just a terrible movie. Their unconventional marriage is discovered by their suburban neighbors and as a result; they split up for what seemed like 6 days. I blame the director on that.

There’s nothing wrong with being into an unconventional marriage or bondage, but I just didn’t expect it to be so boring. If anyone has an interest in S&M, just watch this film and you’ll be so bored of it, you’ll try something much more exciting like papier-mache! The movie concludes with a bookended plot line of him being investigated for using Wonder Woman to normalize bondage and polyamory and he even admits as much. So?? I don’t know if I’m supposed to care or not. Basically, I might be done with sex for good because I like a little excitement in my life and this apparently is a dead end.

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Titans, S1 E2, “Hawk and Dove” Review by Case Wright (Dir. Brad Anderson)

Posted on June 18, 2019 by casewright

titans I used to say that Hope was a useless emotion. So many things come close and never quite make it. A surgery, a marriage maybe, finding the right job, or a myriad of things we try for and fail. As we get older, our hope is hesitant and reality becomes our future.

Titans encapsulates those near misses and the familiar heartbreak that doesn’t sting like it used to. It is the most brutally realistic show I’ve ever seen. It’s almost like watching a documentary. This is really what it would be like if heroes were real and we can see their touchstone in the faces of Veterans.

Brad Anderson wherever you are- You can bring it! The PTSD of this show is Battlestar Galactica levels of real. The fight scenes are sometimes hard to watch, but you can’t look away. You really can show disappointment. This episode was all about coming up short. You missed it by this much! It’s Superhero Noir.

The episode introduces Hank and Dawn/Hawk and Dove. They are a tough duo with a history with Dick/Robin. By history, Dove and Robin knocked boots. Dick failed Dawn. Dawn failed Hank. Now, Dawn and Hank are living on the margins, trying to take down/ripoff a gunrunner or just die. It’s sad. Hank gets beat up a lot, he needs a new hip, he’s alcoholic, addicted to pain pills, and steroids. Dawn is resigned to her fading life with a broken man who will need long-term care- if he lives. She has a broken partner and she pines for Dick Grayson; the true love of her life.

Dick has the great idea to abandon Rachel with this well-adjusted duo in DC. It works out…..terribly. Dick agrees to help Hank and Dawn ripoff of the gunrunner and he proceeds … well …see below. There’s hedge clippers to the balls and a throwing star R to the eye. It is brutal. To be fair, Dick doesn’t believe that he is father material. Well, maybe he’s right?! Unfortunately for Rachel, Dick is all she’s got because the cult that is out to kill Rachel has tracked Dick down to DC.

The cult has a Leave it to Beaver family juiced up on super steroids and they totally beat the snot out of Hank, Dick, and Dawn. Dawn is thrown off a building for good measure and appears to be dying. Rachel is kidnapped by the cult….again.

What makes this show great is that they are trying to make rational choices, but life still wins and they still lose. They are competent, but just outmatched. Titans taps into real humanity because success is rare, they understand how flawed they are, and they’re just not good for anyone. The photo below of Dawn looking down on her broken drug-addled boyfriend summed up the whole episode: Hank to Dawn: I promise this time will be different and Dawn’s face says – no… no it won’t, but it’s nice for you to try.

Minka Kelly, Alan Ritchson, Brenton Thwaites, and Teagan Croft’s performances were so painfully spot on. You felt that their failure was yours.

Titans, S1 E1, Review By Case Wright (Dir. Brad Anderson)

Posted on June 17, 2019 by casewright

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Titans isn’t your Dad’s superhero show, unless your Dad was awesome and loved Watchmen and if that’s the case he EARNED the World’s Best Dad mug!!! This is also different because it’s on the DC Universe subscription site and you’re like ….

But Case, I already already have Netflix and Hulu and Comcast and a burgeoning Methylphenidate habit because I’ve got this Calculus exam and I’m afraid of losing my funding….I mean …..smoking.

My response is:

DROP HULU and get this subscription!!!! You get digital access to EVERY SINGLE DC Comics, Movie, show, anime, tv series, and this AWESOME SHOW!!!!

Back to the show!!!

The show takes place in Gotham? NOPE. Metropolis? Nope! Vaguely Vancouver? Well….

It takes place in Detroit! The story revolves around an Angry PTSD Robin. Honestly, it’s pretty accurate! I have friends that have looked for trouble and found it. They see a guy beating up his girlfriend or harassing a lady and they mete out the justice right there. That’s who Robin is. He’s angry and worked for Batman: a rich guy who liked to beat the snot out of troublemakers. I am not saying it’s right and I never indulged in that kind of wrath, but I understand. The law can be supine when it comes to justice, it’s good at order, but justice…not so much. This is the world where Robin and the other Capes live. A world where the justice is instantaneous and the world shrugs. It comes from a real place. Afghanistan and much of the World operates the same way: the criminal justice system is corrupt, incompetent, feckless or all three, leading people to embrace extra-judicial solutions, but their vigilantes wear surplus fatigues instead of costumes. By far, that’s why we failed in Afghanistan, the Taliban could offer something we could not: instant brutal justice.

The show is brilliantly written by Geoff Johns and Greg Berlanti. If you don’t know who they are: Wonder Woman, Arrow, Smallville, Flash, and everything with the DC on it- they did. If you notice the fast pace and lived-in dreariness, that’s all Brad Anderson. He directed the pilot as well as the Hawk and Dove episode. Brad is a veteran of the show The Killing- a gritty dark murder mystery that takes place in the greatest city on Earth- SEATTLE. He is a David Fincher 2.0 with his brutal dystopian realism. Every shot is almost always near winter as if the seasons themselves have given up. The cities are as decaying and broken as their inhabitants.

The story starts rolling with Rachel Roth who is confused, angry, and on the run. She watches her mother get killed by an unknown assassin and she goes scary as shit and whoops ass! Then, she flees for Detroit and is nearly human trafficked, but her alter ego warns her in a reflection because it has to be done in the most creepy way possible. I am not sure if keeping this girl alive is really in humanity’s best interest.

This forces her path to cross Dick Grayson (Robin) who has left Batman to become a Detroit Police Detective. He tries to be on the right side of the law for awhile, but he sees child abusers go free and dons the cape again to mete out justice. By mete out justice, he beats people within an inch of their lives: see below! After Robin gets his 30 lbs of flesh, he gets pulled into a mystery surrounding a girl named Rachel Roth who just might be the harbinger of the apocalypse. Side note: I have known A LOT of cops over the years; the Army’s lousy with them. Brenton’s portrayal is very accurate for a long-term detective: he self-deprecates, but he’s really hard to know. I would have him make some more practical jokes or kid around more a bit. Most guys like that hide their feelings in humor a lot, but other than that, it’s flawless.

There is one scene, which is in a gif below: Robin is cleaning up his weapons after beating people nearly to death and that reminded me of my Soldier days. You finish your training exercise or patrol. Maybe you fought. In any case, it’s over. Everyone gets quiet, some shirtless, all the cleaning implements are placed neatly, and you methodically clean your weapons in a very zen activity. This was a great and accurate detail.

Our next hero is Koriand’r – she has no idea who she is, but she knows how to dress. She’s a mix of badass, sexy, and neck breaking! She does all three. There’s Russian dudes out of nowhere and she goes full-on Firestarter and burns them to DEATH! You feel almost kind of bad for them. Almost. She has a 70s soundtrack wherever she goes. I’m starting to blush. Anyway. She ascertains that she needs to go to Detroit and find Rachel Roth. In this show, who doesn’t realize that?!

The show cuts back to Rachel who meets Dick, but she’s kidnapped by a very unlucky man. Rachel wakes to see her mother’s killer. Wow, did he pick the wrong lady to mess with! Dick goes to rescue her, but Rachel’s dark nature takes over, she enters and explodes her would-be killer!!!! It’s AWESOME AND GROSS!!! Dick becomes her protector. Kordiand’r is on her way to Motown. We even meet Beast Boy who likes to commit petty theft as a green tiger.

This series is the best show on television. PERIOD.

If you like my work, read the rest of it, retweet it, re-blog it, tell my editor @lisamariebowman that you like my work. Of course, if you hate my work, I suppose there’s got to be a pill for that.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Review by Case Wright, Dir: Michael Dougherty

Posted on June 1, 2019 by casewright

Godzilla: King of the Monsters is like eating a huge handful of different colored Jelly Bellys all at once; it’s fun and kinda sticky. It was written and directed by Michael Dougherty (Trick ‘r Treat, Krampus, or anything that’s filmed for a few hundred bucks and a sandwich). Dougherty is known for inexpensive genre films like Krampus, which was kind of fun in a goofy way. This is a much bigger budget and if it weren’t for the dialogue, it would’ve been great. Honestly, you don’t really need to listen to the dialogue and Dougherty is a lousy writer; so you’re better off tuning the people out.

The cast was everyone you like: Coach Taylor, Eleven, Tywin Lannister, That Lady from the Conjuring, That Science Teacher from Stranger Things, West Wing Guy, What’s His Face, and the guy who was in the last one who wanted the monsters to fight. On the monster side: there was Mothra, King Ghidora, Rodan, Michaelangelo, Godzilla, and the rest. They were all thrown at the screen like water balloons hitting you in the face.

The movie opens with Dr Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga) and Madison (Millie Bobby Brown) at a Monarch facility where baby Mothra wakes up and everyone seems to want to touch it. Gross. They’re gonna get a dino-rash! Terrorists enter, kill everyone, and take ….. did I write take … I meant pick up Dr. Russell and Madison.

Why? Dr. Russell lost her son to the last Godzilla attack and has decided that everyone should die because that makes sense…somehow. So, she sets up her Doctor Doolittle machine to talk/wake up all the Kaijus to kill everyone. Her argument is really annoying and has a makeshift powerpoint presentation. She is the embodiment of every sanctimonious Seattleite, Vegan, Composting, Apologist, Whiner all rolled into one; she figures if the monsters kill all the people that the world will be better off- think if that horrible Lorax finally got the money to kill for the trees. They’re why I refuse to recycle …. EVER!

Anywho….she wakes up all the monsters and Coach Taylor who is Dr Russell’s quasi-ex-husband scientist is granted crazy authority over the military to figure out how to stop all the monsters from killing everyone. And man do they ever fight?!!! I mean it do they ever fight? I counted only four monster on monster fight scenes- kinda skimpy. Also, Godzilla had to be recharged with nukes or radioactive spa time to keep going; I guess Godzilla decided to upload the latest Apple Update.

Godzilla ends up on top….literally. He gets on top of a mound in Boston and all the other monsters bow down to Godzilla, except Mothra – She curtsies (she’s from another time). There’s good CGI and Monster fighting- when they do fight. Just don’t go trying to find deeper meaning. I loved these movies because they’d be on tv for the nerd set when I was a kid. I saw them all. In fact, in King Ghidora v Godzilla, Godzilla tries to help the Japanese win world war II or at least one battle. It was awesome. These movies are great because you can unplug and watch some awesome destruction. This movie brings the boom. Enjoy!

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Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, S2 E9, Dir: Rob Seidenglanz, Review by Case Wright

Posted on May 26, 2019 by casewright

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The finale!!! Don’t forget to check out Lisa’s review here! This season was without a doubt a televised story that Netflix paid to make. It had its downs and would roll credits. By the end of this season, I am excited to speak with the show’s fan.

Last season was a triumph and this season was …. just trying. Why? I didn’t mind that the characters separated and returned together; that’s a critical part of storytelling. I also don’t totally mind what Lisa pointed out: Sabrina sucks at her job. She’s amazingly incompetent. That’s kinda refreshing. Usually, incompetence is just the purview of fat husbands married to pretty wives on sitcoms. Sabrina blunders through everything she does and manages to survive because everyone cleans up her messes. This time with Nick’s life, but I’m getting ahead of myself. This is the finale so let’s get our flashlights out so we can see anything on our screens and try to figure out: Whaaa Happened?!

There was something different about this episode. It wasn’t directed like it was done by an overtired cashier at The Last Blockbuster Video (Alaska) who couldn’t turn on the lights. The direction popped and there was actual humor. Why? Am I watching the right show? Rob Seidenglanz directed this episode. He is known for a number of dramas: The Following, Parenthood, BUT he also directed Party Down- a no kidding great comedy!

This episode and the season can be summed up in one word: burritos….wait, I’m kinda hungry….I meant failure. Our heroine and her friends can barely tie their shoes correctly. They should all get chaperones in case they try something challenging like getting their own mail or cutting up their own meat.

Last episode: Our heroine figured out that she was manipulated…oh wait she didn’t. She unleashed Lucifer by “killing herself” her double. In this episode, Lucifer gets released and Sabrina challenges him right off. Wait, no she…has dinner with him. In fact, we learn that Lucifer is her father, but Hilda never thought to mention it. Ok, did the writers’ room just decide to eat bunch of turkey and nyquil sandwiches this season?!!!!!

Sabrina and the aunties try to kill Lucifer, but they bungle that too. It’s kinda funny. Sabrina’s friends also fail to keep the gates of hell closed. Sabrina does a …. song and dance number????? Huh??? But, Why? Why? Why? It’s apparently a scheme to trap Lucifer in a puzzle box of her Adoptive Father’s design and it……fails. Is someone around to bail out Sabrina? Yep, Nick! He makes Lucifer possess him and does a sleep spell. Luckily, Ms. Wardwell is around to carry them both off to hell. The shot is reminiscent of The Beyond, but no one goes blind from the revelation.

The episode ends with Sabrina and her friends planning out season 3 by deciding to try to go into Hell and rescue Nick. Poor, poor Nick. Maybe you should stop doing…you know…things. See you next season. Maybe, Lisa will review it again if you beg her as I will!

This season as gif:

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Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, S2, Ep6, The Missionaries, Review by Case Wright

Posted on May 1, 2019 by casewright

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This is the first time in a long time where I rooted for the “villains” to kill off every character. It’s a hard thing to watch a show you love slowly fail. It’s like a bad relationship that slouches on from inertia and the inconvenience of setting up a separate bank account. This is how I feel about CAOS. I was really hoping that this episode would be the last one, but….not so much.

I would normally describe the director’s technique, but it’s Alex Pillai again and…man it has all the subtlety of a Lifetime MOW. Not to say that I don’t REALLY like a good guilty pleasure lifetime live tweet, BUT that’s a different animal. Lifetime movies are supposed to be campy and over the top ridiculous, but CAOS is supposed to bridge comics and realism and instead it’s just giggle-inducing borefest.

The episode opens with Nick being tortured by a guy who looks like a Mormon missionary who is about to chop his hands off. Oh well, Nick kinda got on my nerves; maybe they’ll have to write a soupy episode featuring Nick titled: Who needs the clap? Ambrose is still locked up without a shirt doing pull-ups. This show has more gratuitous beefcake than Arrow season 1 and that is saying A LOT! I do give Chance Perdomo credit on his abs. I’m developing my abs and it is a process. Chance, tip of the hat to committing to the shred!

The “Missionaries”of the episode aren’t really missionaries per se, but they ARE gorgeous blonde angels named Jerathmiel and Mehitable (Spencer Treat Clark and Bayley Corman)! I guess it makes sense that angels would be pretty, but WHOA! It turns out these angels are avenging angels armed with the latest in …..Ancient Weaponry… wait, what?! Why?! Really, why are they armed with crossbows? Most states just require a driver’s license to purchase any gun you want; let alone what you can get on craigslist. This just seemed unnecessarily antiquated and dumb like really dumb….really! Crossbows are heavy, awkward, take a long time load, hard to aim, and are ridiculous. Bleh.

Jerathmiel and Mehitable spent most of the episode blundering through town trying to kill all of the witches of Greendale. Why bother? We already learned in previous episodes that the teenagers are unvaccinated and catch the Chicken Pox. Just send in Jenny MacArthy’s measles carrying minions into town and you’ll have the whole town on its knees in matter of hours!

Jerathmiel and Mehitable catch most of the witches and start purifying the town. I guess this says a lot about how the show has degraded because I really rooted for the Angels. I thought to myself…Self, maybe they could just go full-on Hamlet?!!!!

This main plot is interwoven with the more compelling love story between Wardwell and Adam. He wants to take her to Tibet. She is about to accept when the Devil finds out about their escape plan, so the Devil turns Adam in Wardwell’s diner. REALLY. It’s really sad, but sets up a great revenge arc for Wardwell that looks MUCH more interesting than the primary storyline.

Jerathmiel and Mehitable have all the witches cornered and even put a few arrow bolts into Sabrina, but the Devil resurrects Sabrina and gets the Angels to renounce God and envelopes the angels in flames. Honestly, I thought this scene was just plain terrible. The angels spent the whole episode being intrepid crusaders, but they were easily cowed by a floating Sabrina?! Really?! It came across as contrived. The angels were so brave for the entire episode and then… nope. It was just awful in an awful way, not like Lifetime which is bad in an AWESOME way.

I’m not sure what the show should do or where it should go, but it needs artistic honesty because without it, the suspense withers away like a dried out orange.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, S2 E5, “Blackwood” (Dir: Alex Pillai) Review By Case Wright

Posted on April 23, 2019 by casewright

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First of all, it’s always so fun to read Lisa’s reviews. I hope she wants to review another one of these episodes. She always sees things that I don’t like HERE!!!! and HERE!!!!. It has been a true pleasure working with/for her over these years. This series is making me already plan for my October reviews!!! Weren’t they awesome last October?! Yes…Yes…They were.

Is this season getting better? Yes, but that’s mostly because the first episode of the second season was so very unsatisfying and disappointing. The series seems to be evolving into a Tales From The Crypt over the top fest. I loved TFTC, but that’s not what I expected Sabrina to become. I saw this series as a scary in your face we’re mad as hell at the patriarchy and we’re not gonna take it anymore! The feminism is still there, but it really hits you over the head with its agenda ….every….single…episode; It comes across as a PSA sometimes. When done right, like last season, you root for the agenda, but now I’m lectured by it. It’s kind of annoying when you already agree.

This episode was directed by Alex Pillai (Riverdale) and he did a fine paint by numbers job with the episode. It got the job done….fine, not great, but definitely fine like the Chicago Cubs in the 2000s or Two Buck Chuck (Charles Shaw). The episode was all about marriage, the loss of feminine identity, and misogyny…lots and lots of misogyny. Really, this Church of Night is a bunch of knuckle dragging dirtbags. I get the whole- we’re evil bit, but it doesn’t really work all the time. The characters are mostly strong women and the constant subjugation that the Church imposes seems kinda silly that anyone would put up with it let alone these powerful heroines. Also, the constant “for Hell’s Sake” “Your Unholiness” “Your Dishonor” just makes me laugh; I look like loon when I’m on the elliptical watching this.

In the episode, Aunt Z is getting married and she’s all jittery and worried about being exposed for stealing one of the Blackwood babies. Also, Father Blackwood is going full-on misogynist pig. He wants the church of night to go back to its old ways of chauvinism. His plan is to write up the basic philosophy and give it to the Anti-Pope (Ray Wise). (Side Note: God, I love Ray Wise. He’s awesome in everything he does and was the best devil ever in Reaper. Unfortunately, he’s only in the show for a couple of minutes.) Sabrina catches wind of Blackwood’s Misogynist plan because Ambrose tells her .

The Solution: Sabrina gets her Dad’s manifesto that’s all women and men are equal, witches should marry mortals, and powertrain warranties are bullshit. Sabrina has Nick retrieve it from the bottom of the sea. Just as the Anti-Pope will read it, Father Blackwood has him murdered and frames Ambrose for it!!! DUN DUN DUN!!!! Basically, all of Sabrina’s plans fail: Aunt Z and Blackwood marry, Blackwood has Aunt Z walk behind him (bleh), Ambrose is jailed, Sabrina and Nick are expelled, and Aunt Hilda becomes lactose intolerant. Bad all the way around.

I normally don’t get into subplots, but spring is in the air. Ms Wardwell and Adam are falling in love. It’s really sweet. She explains that marriage is a complete destruction of a woman’s identity. Wardwell looks at Adam expecting a fight, but instead he accepts her, her values, and just wants to be with her. It’s …well….sweet. I was a bit moved. Satan gets jealous and wants her to kill him, but instead she makes him a ring of protection. I hope these crazy kids make it work.

The show is moving in the right direction, but the show seems to collapse under its own weight sometimes. It has these big themes and plots, but can’t quite deliver them this season because of the campiness, clunky dialogue, and endless subplots that grind the suspense and gravitas to dust. Maybe this is the way Riverdale is? I never wanted to watch that show and now I really don’t want to. My guess is that season 1 was Ruth Chris Steakhouse and season 2 is Red Robin and yes I did get food poisoning from them once.

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, S2,Ep2 Review By Case Wright

Posted on April 10, 2019 by casewright

sabrina

Hello friends. Last time we spoke, it was really hard. I wondered if my second favorite show after Santa Clarita Diet went Lost Season 2 on me. The season opener was bad…really bad. It was scary for me to watch the second episode. I was actually worried that the show was a season 1 fluke or maybe I misread or willfully blinded myself to a meh show. Well, I’m happy to write that this episode was a solid …. Not Bad. Its flaws were LEGION (and we’ll go over those), but the story had a theme, character growth, and despair. Honestly, through in some Adele and Ben and Jerry’s and you got the makings of a lonely night in as you watch yourself age and love sulks away from you, broken, and never to return.

The episode is all about unrequited love and who We should be, but who We really are. It’s fun, if you’re in the mood for it. It was written by new writer Mj Kaufman and Christina Ham (Orphan Black) and these writers capture the loneliness of all of the most interesting characters.

The Devil talks to Ms Wardwell who we know is Lilith (Adam’s First Wife). He not too gently casts her aside and tells Wardwell/Lilith that Sabrina is to be Satan’s Prophet and Queen, not Her. The heartbreak is palpable, but the Devil’s Costume looks like a step above Party City and it really takes me out of it. Lilith asserts that Sabrina is too goody goody to be the Devil’s main squeeze and they wager on it: have Sabrina steal a stick of gum. Sabrina resists.

I gotta ask why? She seemed all on board the Midnight Train to Gethsemane with Old Scratch, but she just can’t bring herself to steal the forbidden Fruit Stripe. I would’ve been all in for the Freshen Up gum…ya know the one with the goo inside…I liked it….Whatever. Because she refused, Satan starts hurting people around Sabrina by giving them Chickenpox. WHAAAA? Chickenpox?! What kind of anti-vax town is Greendale?! Let it burn to the ground! They’ll give us all measles! To make amends to Satan, she starts to burn the school down as per Satan’s command. Well, why bother?! They’ll all get Whooping Cough soon enough away. Come on, Lucifer…this town is doomed and weird.

There are good subplots the Lilith story, which is a nice evil love story where Ms Wardwell watches her life portrayed as entertainment. The Evil Dean wrote and produces a play of Lilith and Satan falling in sort of love. It might of brought her a smile, but instead it brings tears because Satan has found a new special lady and Lilith’s destined to be eternally alone. We see in Ms Wardwell AKA Lilith how love is supposed to be, but how it withers and dies.

Suzie is now Theo is the focus of the other subplot. She should be accepted as a boy, but it doesn’t quite work out that way. Theo tries to change in the boy’s locker room and is mocked by some, but gawked at by all. The shot is done very well. We close up on the known bullies from the previous episodes, but then the camera pulls back and ALL of the boys are gawking silently, waiting to see female nudity regardless of her gender identity. They simply can’t help it. Where we should be, but who we are. It’s disappointing, realistic, and sad.

Sabrina and Harvey react to a sensual spark and begin making out, but her tie to Satan destroys the encounter and ends their love affair forever. What their love should be and the reality cannot be.

This was a good episode overall. It allowed you to see and not be told Lilith’s story and the struggles that everyone has against loneliness and despair.