Bahahahaha, wahahahahah, snigger snigger snigger guts, gore and egomaniacal genetically modified, super heroes. The chat up with The Deep’s gills was pure genius. This series is a complete satire on life as we know it. I love it. I thought Season 2 couldn’t possibly be as completely engrossing and original as Season 1 — I am so pleased to be absolutely wrong. This is not for children. I love the gruesome pleasure of even Homelander’s breast milk fetish. Every episode leads to the overwhelmingly intense desire for more, more, MORE. PS - It’s no coincidence “Stormfront” is named thusly (white nationalist, white supremacist, antisemitic, Holocaust-denialist,and neo-Nazi term) proven by her murdering last words to Kimiko’s younger brother Kenji. Highly recommended. 5/5

After 8 Seasons, it is ultimately the caliber of the outstanding acting, and transitional phases that these women would realistically go through, that keep this show in a number one slot. No one, NO ONE, stays the same, they all evolve and do so with conviction. This show has it all; gore, horror, betrayal, love lost, love found, drug use, recovery, and “top dogs”. I couldn’t possibly illustrate adequately what a quality show this is. It is not a melodramatic piece of goopy, nonsense pie; it is a delicious array of savoury elements that leaves the viewer wanting more…even if their favourite is killed off/or otherwise. Highly recommended. Start from the beginning and watch how it evolves. It’s binge-worthy and contemplative. 5/5

This show is one of the worst supposed survivalist shows around. Talk about your impracticable bunch of ill-prepared wanna-be’s. Give it a miss or have a laugh. They are so scripted and pre-screened to be weird it’s only funny in a “how stupid is this target audience supposed to be anyways?” kinda way. -10/5

All in all Season 2 was the worst edited, directed and acted horror show of its time. Episode 5 was amazing, and stood out as a “this is how you tell a story”…the rest, meh. I cannot recommend the television adaptation of this wonderful book at all. The boy who plays “Bats” is simply the worst child actor I’ve ever seen. If you pay attention, you can actually see them giving him his queues. Zachary Quinto is wasted in this Season. 1/5 for episode 5 (which should be considered a stand-alone episode).

What?? In “Ava” and “Rogue” apparently 5’4”, tiny women are actually lethal killing machines… of course you need a few cheap and cheerful wigs and some CGI lions to top it off. -100/5 …jeesh who were these films made for anyways?? Seriously an affront to all women everywhere. Avoid.

That was the most staged, theatrical play on the expectations of the viewer finale I would never have expected. Any viewer that watched Roland realised what a selfish person he was from the get go. Then he “admits” it via telling the viewer that in “training” for Alone, he refused to go to his mother’s funeral. Jump ahead, and suddenly Roland is admitting to treating his family poorly, his sister shows up and the theatrics begin. I have never in my whole life seen someone so uncomfortable with emotion, touching, or being close. From the looks of it, they did a couple takes of his sister hooting and hollering for joy. The parting shot of Roland shows a man who knows he has a part to play for an audience. This whole winning and coming to terms was unnecessarily over the top and contrived. The voice-overs for this whole season were pure sensationalism, and the “on camera” events were quite obviously staged. Roll back to Seasons 1, 2, 3, and 4 and Alone was quite a different animal. 1/5

This is one of Paula’s more intense and riveting episodes…the depravity and sheer horror of what this obviously life-affirming and beautiful, young woman went through is beyond reckoning. To dismember the body of someone you live with, and have a baby with, with the baby in the house, and to stuff her remains (torso only, the legs, arms and head have never been found) into a suitcase, and then place it under your child’s car seat whilst you drive it to a dumpster to dispose of it…is pure evil. The tragedy is two families lost their children, forever.

The facts contained in this series about Charles Manson were never released to the public during the whole Helter Skelter trial(s). I’m not in any way suggesting that Manson was innocent of coercing and manipulating the 4 most obedient followers (Charles “Tex” Watson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Linda Kasabian) into the murders. However, Manson is definitely an argument for lack of healthy formative nurture, in the Nature vs Nurture debate. He was abandoned, institutionalised for most of his life, demeaned, beaten… should society have expected something else? Society made him. This is where the whole “system” fails. The result is what happened. The whole Dennis Wilson situation just served to further catalyst a sense of betrayal, core rejection and solidified an idea that fueled Manson’s paranoia and [almost necessary] sociopathic tendencies (which were also learned/taught to him through his long institutional life as “life skills”). This series creates a lot of questions in the mind of the viewer. Heartbreakingly large “what if?” questions.

Season One of this Series was by far the best. This season, I’ve basically lost all hope that it isn’t rigged + they’ve now been allowed to bring way too many comforts and equipment to constitute authentic survival. Every time one of them mentions how their ancestors did this very same thing here [in Alaska] I literally role my eyes. Not one of them has any Eskimo heritage. They are (all but one) practicing survival as a “hobby” to reinforce their egos, and one even “chooses poverty during the Summer” and retreats to the comforts of her home when the going gets tough. Do the poverty stricken, and those facing harrowing circumstances in the wild ever choose these things? The remaining contestants (Kielyn Marrone aka “approval seeking screamer girl”; Callie Russell aka “let’s make talking puppets out of dead things”; and Roland Welker aka “I’m a man because I eat the blood of my kill”) as of this episode are at best annoying, and coached to emote. Any viewer can clearly see the repetitive coaching the producers are doing on the subject matter, and the obvious dramatic tactics for ratings boosting at work. The redundancy of what is given focus is a dead give away. Unfortunately, after recently reading several articles that contain statements from previous contestants, the fact is that the outcome is rigged by a popularity consensus in viewership stats. This episode, observing the one contestant that deserved to win “tap-out” (the only participant that was actually learning the value of being a part of — rather than apart from — the natural surroundings) and is gone. Each episode has been more annoying than the last as of this season, due primarily to the aforementioned remaining participants. To top it off, the interview process at the end of each episode Colby Donaldson post talks, with his florescent-white teeth blinding the viewer. It is well and truly the ruination of my loyalty to this show. 1/5 for all the planned theatrical nonsense.

“Bay of Silence” is a mystery/love story with thriller elements. Sadly, the pacing of this story is so far off it feels like several films thrown together. Claes Bang, “Will” (from BBC’s re-imaging of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” 2020) is a strong, and very versatile actor, who is surrounded by a veteran supporting cast (Brian Cox, Alice Krige) as well as Olga Kurylenko as the vulnerable, mysteriously confused “Rosalind”Will’s girlfriend/wife. It turns out Rosalind has been hiding schizophrenia from Will (I’m not sure why it’s a surprise with the medication she takes and her erratic behaviour). Nonetheless, the viewer is asked/forced to believe that Will is blind to this, despite being portrayed as strong, capable, and insightful. This is my main issue with the film, and the pacing flows from the decision to force the viewer to ignore the obvious. It’s not an awful film, but it does no service to the very capable actors or the viewer. 2.5/5 a one time watch for Claes Bang

Edmund Kemper. This man was/is 6’9” of high IQ serial killer. He turned himself in, believe it or not. Look him up. He is impressive in every sense. Anyone, anyone, would be a mere twig in his hands… and his crimes, his brutal crimes of dismemberment, sex with dismembered corpses, killing his mum and putting her vocal cords in the kitchen disposal to grind them up…etc. are some of the most (if not THE most) horrific, ever. To willingly turn himself in shows something so baffling for someone like him. His mother sounded like a true monster, but the women he killed must have been completely helpless and utterly terrified. The voice you hear on this episode is Edmund Kemper. Bone chilling.

Contrary to what an initial glance at the name of this short series might suggest, this is not a search for Bigfoot. “Bigfoot Files” is a scientific analysis (DNA) of the (many) hair samples taken from the United States, Nepal and Russia to discover the actual animal origins. It is surprising in many ways, one of which uncovers that the Yeti has direct DNA to an ancient Polar Bear that was believed to be extinct over 40,000 years ago. It’s an enjoyable watch, if you want to uncover the truth/facts of what has been presented so far as “evidence”.

Right, he [Justin] didn’t know what it was he was looking at from the cozy confines of his truck, so he shot it. Then, when they saw smaller ones (of whatever it was) he walked up to them and shot them, too. Blood all over himself with it’s “human-like” eyes staring at him”. These type of individuals make me sick — “let’s just kill it”.

Action?? Horror?? Drama — yes, melodrama, for certain. This so called Action/Drama/Horror was awful. Simply awful. It was one scene after another of interpersonal high melodrama…with a croc. The croc isn’t the main feature; the “issues” with the people are. The cast is also too old to be playing the projected age group of twenty-somethings. All in all, this film is annoyingly boring beyond consideration. What a disappointment. NOT recommended. 1.5/5

This series is brilliantly and authentically acted to the point of feeling like a voyeur in the lives of Connell and Marianne. I was thoroughly engrossed by the book, and the film follows the book with dedication, until the ending. Although not drastically different, I do wish they had not changed it. The ending in the book would have had just as much impact, without changing the intent of the writer, which this adaptation most certainly did. 4/5

What makes this Documentary/Biography different from all the other pieces on Manson is the fact that it does not make him a sort of “criminal superstar”, like so many of these Documentaries do. The first episode seemed to be a mishmash of typical “Manson” remembrances, and somewhat followed the tone that sensationalised the murders in broad strokes. However the tone of this episode is completely different. It’s focus is on the people around Manson (including his mother, grandmother, uncle, etc. before his birth), the times they lived in, the institutions, factual records/evidence, prison time, as well as methods he learned and used to essentially manipulate and “win friends and influence people” — and to keep others at bay. Somewhat “dry” at times, it is none-the-less incredibly unique and interesting. I would definitely call this a Biography, and a thorough one at that. It is very well presented and narrated in part by Manson biographer Jeff Guinn, and people who actually grew up with Manson as they are now. 4/5

This story is a heart-breaking tragedy. It’s not the story of a criminally, evil murderer, although the murder of Mark is soul numbing beyond words. How they didn’t have a psychiatric evaluation for obvious PTSD is unjust and baffling. Even in the footage from Paul’s interview (after the shooting) with the police, it is clear he cannot distinguish reality from delusion. It is a well-known fact that combat soldiers who are wounded in battle suffer from excessive trauma. This type of trauma leads to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or other mental health conditions. Further, PTSD for soldiers wounded in active duty often times includes psychotic symptoms like hallucinations and delusions. I really cried during this episode. So much heart-break, and no resolution or accurate assessment of this horrific “event”.

This film (at its core) is about sexual exploration. There is full frontal male nudity, couple sex, swapping partners, group sex, drug use, a random, anonymous hand job to a complete stranger at a massage parlor, ETC. I completely disagree with the genre label of “Mystery”. To say it is a mystery is very misleading in and of itself. It’s not a laugh-out-loud comedy; it’s more uncomfortable, shocking and ironic in the tone of humour used. “The Overnight” is very reminiscent of the 1969 film, “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice”, which was also labeled as “light hearted” (and it certainly wasn’t). A lot of people will be offended at the “adult situations”, so if any of the above doesn’t suit, don’t watch it. I found it interesting, and I was strangely unable to stop watching it. It deserves a 3/5.

Yet another example of a corrupt, useless legal system. No proof whatsoever, no DNA, multiple leads and “witnesses” unexplored, a lead detective who has a record of planting false evidence. This makes me sick.

This woman has a resiliency and bravery that is nearly inspirational. After being kidnapped, beaten, raped, tortured and manually strangled/left for dead, this story nearly blind-sided me with its blackness, until the closing segment and her commitment to be an absolute survivour.

Overall this is a mildly to moderately enjoyable farce. After the first episode, the continuity and factual errors become a nuisance. A glaring mark against this series are the continuous factual errors around actually living and going out into the sub-zero temperatures of Antarctica (going out into minus 40-60 without a hood on, excessive vulnerable body parts exposed, no sign of cold air when speaking, etc. etc. etc.). The clues that Maggie is one of Sarah Jackson’s two daughters is there from episode two. The rape scene that is about to turn violent, and leads to Sarah’s murder, combined with the subsequent haranguing over convincing and persuading everyone into collusion, was a waste of valuable screen time and felt counterfeit in and of itself. The last act, and last 8 minutes of the series, was hastily thrown in as we learn of Aki’s fate; murdered by [fake] Maggie to cover up the revenge plot. Truly, this would have been so much better if they’d simply stopped the obviously contrived and spurious efforts, and concentrated on keeping it simple. 2.8/5

I loved, loved, loved the first episode. The amazingly compelling re-imaging and re-telling of Bram Stoker’s terrifying novel was completely mesmerising for me. Sardonic, irreverent, terrifyingly unique and riveting due to mostly Danish actor Clase Bang and his delivery, timing and overwhelming “presence” as Count Dracula. This actor has a presence that cannot be denied. However, the second episode worked (again, anytime Clase Bang was on-screen it was riveting) even though it was more of a “mystery” than a horror, but it worked. The third episode made me wonder a true WTF happened. Again, though, anytime Clase was on-screen as Dracula, the quality went up. He is truly multi-dimensional and underrated. Dolly Wells as Agatha (especially in episode one) has amazing timing and delivery. Talk about a cheeky nun! The third episode seemed to have a pacing and [choice of] actors that fell well below the first two. The ending was a complete disappointment. Episode 3 falls into the melodramatic unevenness of a soap opera. Nevertheless, I would still recommend this series, with the knowledge that it does turn arseways from the magnificent start. 3.5/5

“The Old Guard” is a very watchable and interesting fantasy, graphic novel adapted to the Netflix “big screen”. I didn’t particularly care for the “big villain”, but the writers’ didn’t take the predictable route in many of their plot choices and that makes this adaptation fun, gory, gritty and curious…and, certainly appears to be a trial effort towards a part 2 or Netflix limited series. Recommended. 3.8/5 Charlize Theron’s axe scenes alone are worth the watch!