TV

Gentefied (2020- ) [NETFLIX TV Show Review]

 in TV by

Summary

“Based on the digital series of the same title, Gentefied centers on three cousins who band together to keep their Grandfather’s popular Boyle Heights taco shop in business as the neighborhood becomes more gentrified. Throughout the show’s first season the cousins confront their differences in their connections to their community, their heritage, and their commitment to the family business, all while navigating larger themes of gentrification and the marginalization of Latinx’s in America.”

-From IMDB.com

Review

Now and then Netflix recommends something to me at the top that I immediately stop everything for to watch. This one started auto-playing at the top and after that I clicked play. I am not disappointed.

Similar to In The Heights
This show kind of had a similar feeling to In The Heights with the wanting to get a better life, having a dream, Latino/Latina’s fighting for acceptance, queer acceptance and whites coming in and thinking they know best. It really had a mix of everything as well – love, comedy, pain, small political statements and more.

Powerful and moving.
This was a simple show. About a family, a family Taco shop, and then the secondary story of the queer love and acceptance in an already marginalized group of people. But my god, did it have you hooked, really connected with the characters and at certain moments got super angry at people you wouldn’t think you would. There were subtle political statements which were very pertinent to the story and just made it a little more serious. Much of the show was in Spanish or some mix of Spanglish which I personally loved. It made it so much more authentic. I don’t love shows that are based in a community and/or country that don’t utilize the language or only utilize it a tiny bit now and then.

Colorful and a beautiful representation.
This was a very colorful show and represented these communities quite well – however one must remember that while this show did show struggles certain things got resolved a little too perfectly. It’s not a documentary but just a show about these communities so they make it as real as possible without it maybe becoming too depressing (unless that’s the point of this show). So while it was a beautiful representation it wasn’t 100% accurate on all of it. That certainly doesn’t detract from the story at all because it had this kind of story-like quality but was real enough that you were able to connect that these people were human.

 

And the ending. OMG, you’ll have to watch it but the ending absolutely killed me and I need a Season 2 as soon as possible. I just sat there like, “NO! WHAT?!” because it was one of those endings. I also really wanted Tacos while watching it….makes you super hungry.

Happy Watching!

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Top 10 Spooky Watches on Netflix

 in Holiday / Movies / TV by

It’s SPOOKY SEASON which means it’s the time to watch the ghostly and scary. Netflix has a fantastic collection of scary movies for ones which are kid appropriate to ones that…the little ones certainly should not be around for. We have the B-rated horror movies to some classics as well as those gruesome ones (not my cup of tea) that make you wonder if you should have eaten dinner.

However, here’s a list of my top 10 spooky watches which are on Netflix that are a mix of spooky to a ‘burning-calories-because-my-heart-is-racing’. Enjoy!

1. The Haunting of Hill House

2. American Horror Story (All Seasons)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9KZr2Vn7CQ

3. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybKUX6thF8Q&t=18s

4. The Conjuring

5. Gerald’s Game

6. The Mist

7. Scream

8. The Silence

9. Train to Busan

10. I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOGc7CYm4pY

Books To Movies & TV Shows in 2019

 in Books-to-Movie / TV by

It’s that time of year that the summer is about halfway over, Comic Con just finished (trailer releases) so a bunch of good stuff is on the way. What is coming, you may ask? Check out this list.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KlNosLciNw

The Witcher [Netflix]

Based on a book by Andrzej Sapowski, this 8-part series produced by Netflix may be something you want for your Autumn 2019 ‘to watch’ list. Seems like Netflix may be trying to make their own kind of ‘Game of Thrones’ TV show?

It Chapter Two

Part 2 of Stephen King’s terrifying novel It is finally on it’s way. A continuation from the 2017 movie, this follows the children after they are grown up and come back to once again fight Pennywise. I know I’ll be there, but looks to be a nail-biter! Excited?

His Dark Materials

HBO has found something to keep them afloat after ‘Game of Thrones’ finished off with Philip Pullman’s novel His Dark Materials. A follow on from the movie The Golden Compass, this will be produced as a TV show. Could be good as there’s more episodes, but are you a fan of book to TV show?

Cats

A movie-adaptation of the book Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot. The reviews of the trailer are pretty damning (which you can decide for yourself what opinion you have) but I have to agree with them. I loved the book and the Broadway musical but this? They did this without asking if they should. I’ll be keeping on top of the news regarding this one and haven’t decided if I want to see it. What do you think?

Top 5 Spooky TV Shows on Netflix 10

 in Fantasy / Holiday / TV by

Looking for something spooky for this Halloween season?

These 5 shows are sure to satiate your need!

I know for me, I already finished one and am currently working through Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and absolutely loving it! What are you watching during Spooky Season?

1. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

“As her 16th birthday nears, Sabrina must choose between the witch world of her family and the human world of her friends. Based on the Archie comic.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybKUX6thF8Q

2. The Haunting of Hill House

“Flashing between past and present, a fractured family confronts haunting memories of their old home and the terrifying events that drove them from it.”

Check my review out of it here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9OzG53VwIk

3. Haunted

“A chilling glimpse into the first-person accounts from people who have witnessed horrifying, peculiar, extraordinary supernatural events and other unexplained phenomenons that continue to haunt them.”

4. The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell

“Part cooking show, part sitcom in the vein of the Addams Family and the Muppet Show set inside the enchanted home of Christine McConnell, who has attracted hundreds of thousands of social media followers with her creepy edible creations.”

5. Apostle

“In 1905, a drifter on a dangerous mission to rescue his kidnapped sister tangles with a sinister religious cult on an isolated island.”

 

The Haunting of Hill House [Netflix – TV Show Review] 25

 in Books-to-Movie / Otherworldly / TV by

Starring

Carla Gugino – Olivia
Michiel Huisman – Steven Crain
Victoria Pedretti – Nell Crain
Henry Thomas – Young Hugh Crain
Oliver Jackson-Cohen – Luke Crain
Elizabeth Reaser – Shirley Crain
Kate Siegel – Theodora Crain

Summary

“Flashing between past and present, a fractured family confronts haunting memories of their old home and the terrifying events that drove them from it.”

From IMDB.com

Review

I’m going to start with my overall opinion before I get into the nitty-gritty details, which I don’t normally do.

Overall, I really did enjoy the show. It was the perfect mixture of psychological horror, true horror and small jump scares and a deep back story. So, as a show I thoroughly did enjoy it. However, as a show by the title of The Haunting of Hill House, I really didn’t enjoy it as much.

Not like the book at all.
This show is supposed to be based, or loosely based, on The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. To me, besides some of the names, the name of the home and maybe a few of the small details, the show wasn’t the book whatsoever. In the beginning, I had this feeling that they were going to be connecting it somehow to the book or making it fit into the story. However, I was slightly disappointed when I found out that was not the case. There were some moments that harped back to the book but for the most part, it was just a horror story about a family in a haunted house.

Could have changed the name and it would have been just as good!
The name of the show could have been changed, so it wasn’t affiliated with the book, and it would have been so much better. To many people, the name won’t matter as they won’t have read the book and they most likely won’t have seen the original movie. They may have seen The Haunting with Liam Neeson, which was a little closer to the TV show, but even then, it was quite far off. If they had changed the names of some of the characters and maybe the name of the house, and kept the entire story, I think it would have been better. Maybe some people would have said ‘Oh, this reminds me of…’ versus, ‘I don’t see how this is connected to…’. But making the connection to the book helps to boost shows, even if it’s only loosely connected to it.

Visually it was stunning.
I think the visuals and the way that it was filmed was so good though. It was atmospheric and the lighting really kept you in the mood of this spooky situation. The weather was also used to add to the scare factor. The entire show was filmed in this grey/black/dark green-ish kind of color and many of the situations occurred during the night, or if it was day, it was a grey day.

Quite a few jump scares – good stuff!
The show overall wasn’t terrifying in the way that movies can be, but each episode had it’s own moment that made you jump a little. The music was the key to tell you that something was coming, but more than once it still made me jump. I really enjoyed that because, to me, TV shows sometimes give tension but not the scare. So I did like that touch, but if you don’t like those kind of things then this might not be the show for you. Although it’s perfect for Halloween-season.

Psychological issues or real ghosts?
You did have this constant question going on if the situation was all in the families head and that the family was nuts, or if there was actually something going on. There were references to the psychological situation where you make up a monster to compartmentalize and deal with a scary or traumatizing situation. What added to this was that one of the siblings never saw anything in the house. You knew that there was something going but you didn’t really know how much.

Please no season 2.
While I really did enjoy this season, I do hope that they just finish it and don’t make a second season. If they do, it had better play on the house but with a different story line. They really milked this story for all it is worth. Each episode was 1 hour long and sometimes it really did drag and I just wanted the episode to be over. Admittedly I was binging it, but I skipped through a few parts where it was just senseless conversation that didn’t add to the story at all.

In summation, I enjoyed the show as a show. But as a show related to the book, I felt like it was kind of a reach to connect it to that book, honestly. Do I recommend it? Yes, I do. I think the show is definitely worth a watch. But if you are a fan of the book and think that it will be like that, then prepare to be slightly disappointed.

I give this show 4 out of 5 teacups!

4 Teacups

Happy Watching!