Reviews

The director of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Wes Ball had big shoes to fill following the success of the movies that came before it. Kingdom had to justify its existence on top of introducing a new era set generations after the modern apes movies. He generally succeeds in that venture with interesting new characters, different but familiar locations to explore, and a story that sets up future movies to come.

A lot of care was put into the setting and lore of Kingdom. Ball is a relatively young director who is best known for directing the Maze Runner trilogy but his appreciation of both the original and modern Planet of the Apes movies can be seen throughout. There were many callbacks that were taken in new directions. Since Kingdom is largely separated from the trilogy, the story is also welcoming to newcomers.

While all the apes can easily be differentiated from characters in earlier movies they aren't too memorable. Their conflicts and relationships with one another are interesting enough but you don't get to know a whole lot about them. The Orangutan Rakka teaching our main protagonist Noa about the history of the apes was intriguing but not enough time was dedicated to it. Freya Allan was convincing as Nova but a lot of her backstory is vaguely revealed through conversations. It's nice to clue in the audience but seeing certain plot points unfold would've drastically helped viewers appreciate her and the rest of the characters a lot more.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Planet of the Apes is a solid start to another set of modern apes movies. Aside from surface-level character development, the story has enough to potential to warrant further exploration.

The saying fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me applies to The Strangers franchise tenfold.

The simple but effective premise of masked killers hunting down unsuspecting couples and/or families in an isolated location is a timeless one that has somehow been butchered more often than not. Chapter 1 had the chance to right the wrongs of the previous 2 films but managed to make the same mistakes and then some.

The opening starts off strong with some compelling facts about crime in the U. S. shown in text similar to the start of the original film. After the text disappears it all starts to fall apart.

We follow a young couple taking a road trip across the country who manage to get stranded in a small town in Oregon. They are greeted with deadpan stairs from the locals and a suspiciously quick temporary solution to their problem. That solution: finding an isolated Airbnb while mechanics wait to get parts to fix their car in the morning...

This setup along with the marketing for Chapter 1 made it seem like there is something shady about the town but like the rest of the movie, nothing comes of it.

While the performances of the 2 main leads are adequate it's overshadowed by the terrible writing. There is literally a scene where a killer is destroying a door to get to them and the boyfriend's best course of action is to quote "get down"... The Strangers themselves look good thanks to the awesome camerawork, music, and overall tone but the fact they let their victims be idiots for what feels like an eternity is absolutely frustrating. I understand things need to happen in order for the plot to progress but logic is thrown out the window here. There didn't seem to be an attempt at making anything coherent in fact the final act just happens all of a sudden, there isn't any type of build-up or payoff just constant setup for cheap jump scares. The killers silently teleported from place to place constantly which got old fast and on top of all this nonsense there were barely any kills none of which were worthwhile.

Ultimately The Strangers: Chapter 1 was a misleading slasher remake. Solid performances and great cinematography are the only redeeming aspects of this massive waste of time.

How many monsterverse movies will it take for Legendary to understand we want more monster action and better human characters?!

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is the 5th entry in Legendary's Godzilla and Kong universe but like the movies that came before it, The New Empire has the SAME problems.

None of the characters are memorable much less relatable and they still take up a lot of the runtime. Godzilla Minus One proves you can have a healthy balance of well-written human drama and kaiju conflict but Legendary prefers to take the turn-your-brain-off approach which doesn't work. There's so much exposition that even the characters had to guess what was happening in the movie itself because nothing made any sense.

There are moments of uninterrupted fights between the Titans which are fun but they are few and far between. There are dozens of monsters from Toho's lineup at Legendary's disposal but instead, they opt to create an uninspired and not-so-menacing threat. At no point did I ever feel like anybody was in danger.

Speaking of Godzilla, he was an afterthought for no apparent reason. I loved Kong's story and even the addition of Baby Kong had me more excited than any of the human elements of this story.

The New Empire was a nonsensical slog that had some fun action scenes between monsters but offered nothing else. The script is contrived and the lack of Godzilla is criminal yet part of me hopes this franchise continues and improves.

Unsettling is the perfect word to describe The First Omen. This prequel to the 1971 classic maintains the atmosphere and dread of the original while adding a few of its own twists and turns to the lore for better or worse.

Exploring the dark forces behind Damien's birth is one of the best parts of the First Omen. The tension that builds up to the final act is equally as compelling. Thankfully there were only a few cheap jump scares with the film opting for more disturbing imagery. There were many scenes where you knew something was going to happen but all you could do was either watch it play out or turn away. If you do decide to stick with it you will find the graphic moments satisfyingly disturbing. The First Omen does not disappoint when it comes to fully utilizing its R-rating.

One of the worst aspects of the film is the narrative. Hauntings kind of just happen for no particular reasons and some of the changes to the lore in The Omen don't quite jive not just with the original but within the context of The First Omen itself. All of the actors did an amazing job in their respective roles but a majority of the supporting characters needed more development. Nell Tiger Free's Margaret stood out as the leading protagonist while her friend and ally priest left me wanting to know more about them.

For me, the pros outweigh the cons but the lacking story is worth considering if you are on the fence about seeing The First Omen in theaters.

Whether you are a fan of the games or know nothing about them, Fallout does an amazing job satisfying both types of viewers. The creators of the series made the brilliant decision to create a new story in the Fallout universe that can coexist with all the games. Director, writer and producer Jonathan Nolan made it clear that he didn't want to drastically change any of the established lore but instead contribute to it and he accomplishes that goal remarkably.

We follow 3 main characters on their journeys across the remnants of Southern California in a retro-futuristic nuclear fallout. The switching of perspectives from across a 200 year period of time is done often but the transitions are seamless and warranted. All the characters connect with each other in ways that feel natural. Some of the story arcs are deceivingly complex while others are mysterious in nature which will have you wanting to start a new episode as soon the current one you're on ends. Even the side stories involving supporting characters were compelling and led to some of the best moment in the entire season.

The action, humor and drama in the series is evenly placed. Prime Video spared no expense when it came to the costume design, graphics and post apocalyptic alternate history setting.

Fallout proves you can tell an original story without changing the core of the material to attract new viewership. In sticking with this idea, Prime Video set a new standard for future video game adaptions to follow.

Dev Patel's directorial debut Monkey Man is as good of a start as anyone can hope to achieve. When you take the circumstances of the pandemic, modest budget, and restrictions of the bubble during the filmmaking process it's easy to understand all the hard work poured into the film.

The simple yet effective premise of a man getting revenge on people who murdered his mom and the entire village is a welcomed one thanks to culture and setting. Colors are used in the costume design and lighting to help Monkey Man stand out in a crowded revenge subgenre. The use of Indian myth and legend also does a great job of setting up the protagonist's origin story.

It's been reported that there had been issues with the tech on set which could be the reason for a ton of shaky cam in the first act of the movie but once you get past that the action is shot clearly and concisely similar to films that inspired Monkey Man such as Enter The Dragon and The Raid.

The 2-hour runtime for Monkey Man could've either been cut in some areas or used to fully flesh out the supporting characters more efficiently. While I found myself sympathetic to Dev Patel's character, the rest of the supporting cast felt wasted aside from one of the two villains.

Monkey Man's long-feeling runtime and lack of worthwhile supporting characters do little to derail the brutal action on display. Writer, actor, and first-time director Dev Patel successfully crafted an action-revenge film integrated with a culture rarely represented in the genre. His performance in front of the camera and direction for Monkey Man off of it are commendable. Monkey Man serves as a fresh take on a popular genre.

Alex Garland is a writer and director who knows how to capture the scale of fictional worlds that leave audiences thinking about the worlds long after the credits end. 28 Days Later, Ex Machina and Annihilation are perfect examples of this. However, his latest film Civil War didn't capture that same feeling.

The filmmakers of Civil War chose to show the neutral perspective of the intense events through photojournalists whose job is to shoot the story objectively. Not only was this the safest decision to handle the subject matter but I found it to be the smartest as the audience can decide what they consider is "right or wrong" throughout this fictional war.

My problem lies with the messaging, to me, it isn't clear what the filmmakers are trying to say. If it's about the hardships the press experiences in times of crisis it fails due to the lack of the protagonist's development. They did absurd things that were unbelievable given the contexts of their background and the scenarios they faced. If it was an anti-war message then it fails on that front because everything in the movie was resolved in combat. Lastly, if the message was about the political climate of the United States then the movie should've provided more context as to how the U. S. got that bad and maybe posed ideas for how America can improve itself. I love ambiguity in films but to me, it came across as lazy writing.

Aside from the cinematography being on point, solid performances all around, and intriguing concept, Civil War is a slow-moving road trip that features journalists who are terrible at their jobs inexplicably experiencing a cruel and war-torn America.

The story of the Von Erich's is a surprisingly powerful one. All of the best and worst aspects of a family dynamic are on full display in The Iron Claw resulting in a moving narrative that to not many people's surprise goes beyond the sport of wrestling.

Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Lily James and the rest of the cast give excellent performances in their respective roles. I have to commend the amount of work everyone put in to capturing their real-life counterparts because it pays off tremendously.

Each of the family members are given a perfect amount of screen time ensuring that audiences can connect with the family as well as understand what wrestling and brotherhood mean to them.

As someone who knows little to nothing about the sport of wrestling, I found the rules and stakes easy-to-follow thanks to relationship between Kevin Von Erich and Pam. Just the right amount of time was spent explaining wrestling to people unfamiliar with the sport.

Similar to most biopics, The Iron Claw takes liberties with the real story but it's a compelling one nonetheless. Impressive performances, beautiful camerawork, and emotionally heavy themes makes The Iron Claw standout in 2023 and the sports genre as a whole.

Don't let the rotten tomato scores fool you, Rebel Moon is far from a terrible movie but it's also a ways away from being a perfect one.

Rebel Moon has everything you come to expect from a Zack Snyder flick however it feels and legitimately is a movie made specifically for a studio. Snyder has gone on record stating that his agreement with Netflix involved making PG-13 movies AND unfiltered/rated R versions of said movies. The results stemming from this decision are noticeable.

Although the diverse group of characters have intriguing backstories, the film doesn't have enough time to fully delve into the formation of the team. You just have to accept these are tough people fighting together because they hate the antagonists for one reason or another.

The action is surprisingly tame while simultaneously pushing the boundaries of the PG-13 rating. It's easy to imagine more intense firefights and gory brawls had there not been a "leash" on the filmmakers' vision.

Naturally there are a lot of exposition dumps to explain the lore of this new sci-fi world. There's a lot more telling than there was showing when it comes to narrative but all the performances somewhat alleviate this shortcoming. The spectacular visuals and stylized action also makes up for it to a certain extent.

Rebel Moon is an enjoyable film with a fair amount of shortcomings. This sci-fi universe is fascinating and has a lot of potential for growth. If you're a fan of Zack Snyder's work or sci-fi in general I'd recommend at least checking it out but I think the better version of this film is unfortunately yet to be released.

There are so many holiday themed scary movies mostly centered around Christmas and Halloween but now we finally have Thanksgiving, a horror flick directed by horror movie legend Eli Roth. Die-hard fans of the genre may know that Thanksgiving is based off the mock trailer in Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's double feature Grindhouse which Eli Roth was also attached too.

Thanksgiving, the movie not the holiday, is about a serial killer attacking people from the town of Plymouth Massachusetts a year after a tragic Thanksgiving/Black Friday event. Although the Grindhouse film was campy from beginning to end, Thanksgiving felt like a more serious movie with campy aspects to it. However, the execution of that concept doesn't always work. There was a more "grounded" tone when it came to mystery of who the killer might be and his motives but it was always undercut by the absolutely dumb decisions made by the most unlikeable cast of characters one of which played by TikTok star Addison Rae for some reason.

Eli Roth movies are known for their over the top violence and this movie is no exception. There are quite a few slow moments but Slasher fans will be happy when the killer does his thing because he gets the job done in some creatively disturbing ways.

The writing is the weakest part of the film. For example I think Eli Roth made the characters here extremely unlikeable on purpose which would've been a great idea if he didn't try to spend a good part of the movie making audiences care for teens by the end.

Eli Roth has worked with many horror movie connoisseurs so its unfortunate Thanksgiving falls into so many generic tropes including many leaps in logic when it comes to the killer getting to his victims. On top of that time the killer's reveal and motivation made the ending feel pretty anticlimactic.

Despite Thanksgiving's shortcomings, it's an enjoyable slasher movie. Eli Roth knows how to deliver on the gore, suspense and camp at times but the film as a whole left a lot to be desired.

I understand that Godzilla films aren't known for their excellent writing but we have to talk about the dialogue and characterizations in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. The series premiered with 2 out of its 10 episode season last night on Apple TV+ and while there's a lot of good things going for the show, the story was painful to get through so far.

The series follows half siblings who meet for the first time under irregular circumstances that connect them to Monarch, the secret government organization that studies Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism or MUTOs for short or Titans... since 1940s.

On paper that sounds great but the characters are generic and feel cartoony in many respects. The siblings have to learn how to get along, said siblings do things that are contradictory to what they initially set out to do, Antagonist don't go through chain of command because they want to contain the situation but make things worse in the process, scientists make the worst decisions and more.

It's only the first 2 episodes so hopefully it gets better but so far it's giving me flashbacks of bad stories found in the other American Godzilla films.

Despite the mostly negative reactions to The Marvels and some surprisingly high praise from a few media outlets I did my best to go into the theater with an open-mind. I always go into a movie hoping for the best especially when it comes to all things superheroes but unfortunately The Marvels is bad movie. Is it the worst MCU entry? I actually don't think it is despite the buzz and lack of interest in this film. Let me explain why.

The 3 main leads were actually fun to watch on-screen. I know a lot of people don't like Brie Larson but I think she's a great actress and a good Captain Marvel but the writing and lack of direction fails her yet again. She delivers emotion during times that require it but you don't feel the weight of it due to poor setup and lack of time to develop anything. This is the shortest MCU movie to date the lack of runtime is extremely noticeable.

Iman Vellani was a standout as well pouring her love for the character on-screen with an infectiously positive performance. Teyonah Parris was also great as Monica Rambeau once again but like Brie Larson she was given little to do in the movie.

There were even a decent amount of well choreographed action sequences but all that does not make up for zero character development, low stakes, directionless plot, terrible villain, bad VFX, cringe side objectives and so much more. I can't go into too much detail without spoiling anything but despite my complaints there is still SOME enjoyment to be had (even if some of it is unintentional laughter from how bad it is at times).

Five Night's At Freddy's finds itself somewhere in-between being a passion project made by fans of the games and a terrible video game movie adaptations of decades past.

It manages to pay respects to the creepy animatronics in terms of appearance and lore (to a certain extent) but the movie severely lacks all of the new story elements made specifically for the film. A game can't just be simply copied onto the big screen especially the Five Nights At Freddy's Franchise where the story is told throughout several games and other media in a non-linear manner.

For the uninitiated, Five Night's At Freddy's is about a security guard who is forced to monitor the night shift for Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, a long-forgotten restaurant that closed years ago only to discover the animatronics are not as they seem.

The movie tries to characterize the security guard by giving him a tragic backstory and a sister that he has to care for and protect but it doesn't work at all. The entire cast gives it their all but the writing doesn't do anyone justice. Important backstory comes across as heavy handed exposition at times and key information was withheld from other characters for no reason at all. Logic, a majority of time, is thrown out of the window and your mileage on ignoring it will vary.

Five Nights At Freddy's only saving graces are the movie's beautifully haunting camera work, the iconic animatronics and popcorn-filled campiness.

The Exorcist: Believer is a non-sensical, boring, unimaginative, and a not so-scary movie that doesn't warrant The Exorcist title.

Director and writer David Gordon Green tries to craft ANOTHER requel, a reimagined sequel to an iconic horror film that ignores everything after the original. This idea worked to a certain extent with Halloween but here Chris McNeal's return was laughably bad. She had no baring on the possessions that were transpiring, she got in the way and provided no help whatsoever.

The idea of having 2 girls being connected in a possession could've been interesting but the film fails to develop any sympathy for all the characters. One family is more prominent than the other so it left me wondering what was even the point of having 2 possessions?

On top of that the girls appeared more abnormal than possessed for a majority of the runtime and when they were clearly possessed it felt like a cheap imitation of what has already been done in not just the original but the genre as well. The possessed children spoke creepily, puked a few times, and one of them levitates but the context of it all is far from fear-inducing.

Rarely ever does a film make me want to leave early but The Exorcist: Believer managed to make me checkout as early as the halfway point. Its uninspired story was both boring and uneventful. David Gordon Green should not be given the reigns to anymore more classic horror franchises after this one because The Exorcist: Believer is unbelievably terrible.

Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau are carrying Star Wars on their backs. They've adapted George Lucas's work with so much precision and care. It's truly unbelievable how different this show feels from everything else fans have gotten from the franchise lately (in the best ways possible).

The cinematography is clean, the action is amazing, the score elevates every scene, the visuals are superb and every character seems perfectly casted so far.

You do not need to have prior knowledge of Rebels or Clone Wars beforehand to enjoy this show but it will elevate your experience if you know anything about it.

A sign of a shows quality is if an episode can end with you wanting to watch more of it and I think Ahsoka managed to do that in its 2 episode premiere. I'm extremely interested to learn more about the antagonists and more about Rebel's crews past since the series ended.

If you're a fan of the franchise you can't go wrong with Ahsoka.

The first two episodes of My Adventures With Superman captures the essence of the iconic superhero with familiar but fresh takes on supporting characters like Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen.

Although we've seen Kal El's origin numerous times (most of which have been amazing) My Adventures With Superman manages to reveal bits and pieces of the origin story throughout the first two episodes in a way that leaves the door open for future exploration of Krypton. Instead of dreading another retelling of how he came to Earth I'm looking forward to finding out more because of the "mystery" behind what Jor-El left him.

Seeing Clark, Lois, and Jimmy Olsen at start of their Daily Planet career has been fun to watch thanks to incredible cast and writing. The humor is witty and I love the relationship the three of them share. It's much better than drama that usually rifts the three apart in other iterations.

Lastly, I appreciate what has been setup narratively. New antagonists have been introduced but classic DC villains are bound to show up.

There's a lot of potential to explore the more hopeful, bright, and optimistic sides of the Last Son of Krypton that fans haven't seen in awhile. Hopefully My Adventures with Superman can continue to deliver!

John Wick Chapter 4 ups the ante in everything you have come to expect from a John Wick movie. The action continues to surprise, the cinematography is visually stunning, the world of assassin's is expanded upon brilliantly, and there are interesting new faces to the franchise that are welcome additions.

The variety of weapons, locations, and circumstances John Wick is put through help differentiate Chapter 4 (and even the other sequels) from becoming stale or too repetitive. However, like all the sequels before it, it maintains what makes the franchise so special in the first place. If you are a fan of John Wick you will love this sequel. If you're not a fan then your mind will probably not change.

Chapter 4 will definitely do down as one of the best action movie sequels as well as one of the best movies of 2023. It is definitely worth watching if you are a fan of Keanu Reeves, John Wick, and/or the genre itself.

Shazam: Fury of the Gods is a solid sequel that improves on the original in every way.

The effects were improved, the family dynamic is more fleshed out, the action is more grand, the dialogue is wittier, and even the villains (although not the most memorable in terms of comic antagonists) were interesting thanks to their motivation and portrayal.

I'm pleasantly surprised with how well it sets up the DCU's future as well. Both end credit scenes are important so don't leave the theater!

Don't expect The Dark Knight level of nuance going in otherwise you are setting yourself up for disappointment because that's just not the type of movie it's trying to be.

However, Shazam 2 is worth seeing if you are a fan of the superhero genre, dc, and or action/adventure movies.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is not a bad show by any means... the visuals are perfect, the acting is phenomenal, and the imperial/Jedi in hiding setting is truly amazing... however I expected more. One of my concerns was there would be too many flashbacks but here they are used sparingly; they do a great job conveying what certain characters are feeling and it setups future plot points well. We spent a lot of time with a specific child (trying to be vague to not spoil it) but a good majority of it is pretty unnecessary and a particular chase felt borderline comical. Considering we know the fate of Obi-Wan I was hoping the threat of the show would be extremely compelling (to make up for us knowing he's not in any real danger) but so far the inquisitor's have felt underwhelming in these 2 episodes. Although Reva's story will be further explored in the series, her introduction doesn't do her any favors. Maul and Vader's introductions for examples are straight up terrifying while here she is impulsive and somewhat similar to Kylo Ren in the way in which she complains whenever things aren't done her way... we see her do parkour but there is no sense of tension whenever she's on screen. The other inquisitors so far, have also not done much which is a shame because they appear a decent amount and look great... they should be stealing the show aside from Obi-Wan and Vader... hopefully the show picks up for the character's and story's sake but overall it was a decent start just not as amazing as I was expecting it to be especially if you take into account it's only 6 episodes.

The premiere for Strange New Worlds starts off strong with an adventure and crew with familiar characters as well as brand new ones. It is very reminiscent of the original series with a modern look too it which is a stark contrast to Picard and Discovery. I'm sold on the actors playing Pike, Spock, and Chappel respectively and I'm sure with more time I'll come around to liking Uhura and the rest of the cast/characters as long as they develop them as good as they did here. Everyone was interesting and how they tackled the story of the week was great and again very original series esk. Hopefully the show can keep up the great storytelling every episode along with making audiences fall in love with the crew like we have with TOS and Next Generation.

Everything Everywhere All At Once is more than likely one of the most imaginative movies you will see all year if not ever. The way in which it delves into the concept of the multiverse is truly breathtaking from both a visual and symbolic standpoint. All of the costumes and locations are vibrant and meaningful to the main characters in more ways than one. This makes every setting and every decision these characters make feel extremely important throughout the entire movie. There's a ton of multiverses that are explored too and the same can be said about the symbolic messages and "hidden" meanings behind this film. The story was executed so brilliantly that there's plenty of time for audiences to adore every single character, provide intense sci-fi action, tons of humor, and serious tones/themes together seamlessly. One minute you might find yourself laughing pretty hard, the next you might be trying to hold back a tear or two. Everywhere All At Once has a lot to say regarding the human condition yet somehow manages to still be a sci-fi epic. A24 movies aren't for everyone but the originality and amazing execution from a filmmaking standpoint is simply undeniable here.

Moon Knight delivers on superb storytelling, fantastic acting, unique action/dark humor, and more. Oscar Isaac kills it as Moon Knight/Mark, Stephen, Ethan Hawke is a convincingly sinister (pun intended) villain, and the camera angles are just perfect. After the pilot ended I was upset that viewers have to wait a week because it was just that strong of a start to this new MCU series.

If you disregard it's connection to the flagship franchise that it is based on then you may really like it. The action is entertaining, story is set up decently, and the acting is good. Knowing it's apart of it's own canon known as the silver timeline there's still some enjoyment to be had.

However if you are a fan of the games then there's a lot to hate here... Unnecessary changes were made to make Halo appeal to a wider audience. The entire time I watched the show I didn't get a sense the creators ever played the games at all or even know what makes Halo... Halo! Other than the look of the world... I didn't get that feeling I did when I played the games. Chief doesn't sound or act like Chief, covenant wouldn't work with a human like they do in this show, and most importantly there was no reason why they couldn't make this show align with the games... whether that be a story from the books, Chiefs early years, In-between the games, etc.

This show could've been so much more, such a waste of potential. Part of me hopes it can get better...

Venom: Let There Be Carnage is an improvement over the original film in practically every aspect. Each of the side characters have more to do, the humor is a lot less cringe, the VFX are better, and the action is more clear. The story itself is more engaging too because there's a lot less exposition needed this time around but that doesn't mean it wasn't a bit underwhelming. Director Andy Serkis wanted the movie to feel like a rollercoaster; a wild ride that ramps up and ends without being too drawn out. He managed to succeed in that idea but the origin of Carnage felt half baked for such a fan favorite Marvel character. A large reason for that is the heavy focus on Brock's complicated relationship with Venom. Although the chemistry worked a lot better than in the original movie, audiences had already seen it before. Carnage deserved much more screentime because he's one of the biggest draws to the sequel and is extremely interesting in his own right. The entire cast did a phenomenal job portraying their respective roles but some regurgitated plot points from the first movie are done here too such as Symbiote vs Symbiote, Venom and Eddie's strained bond, etc only done better. If you are a fan of Marvel or Venom/Carnage this movie is definitely worth a watch but if you aren't this movie might not change your thoughts on the superhero genre as a whole. It's worth noting the end credit scene is an 11/10 though.

Even though there are many gameshows that require contestants to survive for one reason or another, Squid Game stands out thanks to its breathtaking visuals and superbly written characters. The former is done through colorful scenery that perfectly fits the "kids games" theme as well as the organized nature of a secretive organization's facility that houses so many people. As for the latter, EVERY character is struggling to make ends meet but how they put themselves in that position is extremely unique. The group is diverse with the main guy having to pay a debt he owes to land sharks, his friend having embezzled money from his business, an old man who is living out his remaining time with a brain tumor, a gangster who stole money from his boss, a woman who got scammed and more. Add to that the dark humor, an unraveling mystery surrounding the game show, and violence and you have the recipe for an addictively bingeable show.