By Dave B.

In Colossal (2017, currently on Hulu) Anne Hathaway plays Gloria, an unemployed alcoholic who returns to her hometown after being kicked out of her boyfriend’s apartment after repeatedly lying to him and making little effort to improve her life despite promising to do so for months. She runs into Oscar (played by Jason Sudeikis), an elementary school classmate. As Oscar helps her rebuild her life, Gloria discovers that she is unconsciously manifesting and controlling a gigantic monster that is terrorizing Seoul, South Korea. Colossal is one of those movies that is likely to be more appreciated the less that a viewer knows about it before seeing it, so I’ll try to be particularly careful about what I say in this review.

By Dave B.

The Innocents (Netflix) is an eight episode young adult, science-fiction, romance, mystery starring Sorcha Groundsell as June and Percelle Ascott as Harry. After her mother left the family three years prior, June’s stepfather, John, forces her to live under seemingly unreasonable restrictions on where she could go and what she could do. He also drugs her with sedatives on a daily basis. After John unilaterally decides to move June and her agoraphobic older brother to a remote Scottish Island, June chooses to run away from the small town in which she lives to London, with her secret boyfriend Harry, on the eve of her sixteenth birthday. Unbeknownst to the young couple, however, June possesses a dangerous ability and is a threat to everyone around her. As the mysteries of her power and her mother’s disappearance unfold, the bond between June and Harry is tested to it’s breaking point. 

By Dave B.

​The Beyond (2017, currently on Netflix) is a science-fiction movie that takes place in the near-future and is about a wormhole opening in Earth orbit with the story told in documentary format. There’s a global space agency named “Space Agency” that is tasked with discovering what is on the other side of this wormhole and if it poses a threat to humankind. I have to admit, I loved the premise immediately. Unfortunately, there are some glaring mistakes, contradictions, and errors that made me enjoy the film less than I otherwise may have.

By Dave B.

​Disenchantment (Netflix), brought to us by The Simpsons creator Matt Groening, is an animated sitcom that takes place in the fantasy world of Dreamland (despite the setting and the cutesy names, this show is not for children). The heroine, Princess Bean, is a violent, lustful, foul-mouthed, alcoholic who is being forced into an arranged marriage by her father. In her attempt to escape the situation, she acquires two companions: Elfo the elf and Luci, her personal demon. Together, the three go on various debauched, alcohol-fueled adventures and  engage in various self-discoveries.

By Dave B.

​Time travel movies are often frustrating. Curvature (2018, currently on Hulu) is no exception. In it, the protagonist, Helen, wakes up one morning with no memory of the past week. She receives a mysterious phone call warning her to get out of her house immediately. From that point on, Helen tries to uncover clues as to what has happened to her, who the phone call is from, and what sort of danger she faces. As a mystery, the movie isn’t terrible, but it has a lot of flaws. 

By Dave B.

​If you ask most television fans to name the most creative and unique shows on TV, a lot will name Legion. Some lesser amount may name Dirk Gently. But often overlooked (unfairly I might add) is a show that preceded them both: Z Nation (Syfy, also currently on Netflix). It campily infuses the post-apocalypse zombie genre with humor, horror, and a psychedelic sensibility that is unlike anything else you’re likely to come across. 

By Dave B.

​If you’ve watched previous seasons of The 100 (CW, currently on Netflix) you have a pretty good idea of what you’re in store for: exceptional world-building, questionable decision-making, inconveniently timed bouts of morality, the death of at least one significant character, moderately decent acting at times, and exceptionally strong female characters. And if you’ve stuck with the series up to Season 5, you’ve learned to love these aspects of the show. The question is, does the fifth season deliver what fans want? The answers are “No” and “Hell Yes!”.

Dave B.

​I can’t believe that a movie as boring as Bokeh (2017, currently on Netflix) exists. I also can’t believe that I actually watched the entire thing without falling asleep. To be fair, the movie’s premise had the potential to be somewhat interesting. On a trip to Iceland, a young couple (Jenai and Riley) awake to find that everyone else in the world has disappeared. Unfortunately, it takes real talent to make an interesting movie that contains only two characters and there was absolutely no evidence of any talent within 10 light years of this film. 

By Dave B.

​What do you get when you combine the reality TV show Big Brother with the zombie apocalypse? Answer: Dead Set (2008, currently on Netflix), a five-part miniseries that happens to be the best zombie-related TV show that I’ve ever seen. Set in the United Kingdom on Big Brother’s eviction night, where huge crowds have come to greet the housemate who has most recently booted from the show, our heroine Kelly, is in the process of again cheating on her boyfriend of four years, Riq, when the zombie apocalypse break out. She eventually finds relative safety in the enclosed, but monitored “house” where the Big Brother contestants have been staying for months in complete isolation from the outside world. Meanwhile Riq, who is miles away from the studio, sets out on a journey through a decimated England to find and rescue his beloved Kelly.

By Dave B.

​Have you ever wanted to see Dolph Lundgren as a socially conscious demon hunter with an arsenal of non-lethal weaponry? If so, then Don’t Kill It (2017, currently on Netflix) is the movie for you! The movie’s premise is simple, but clever: in a small Mississippi town with an extremely well-armed populace, there’s a demon inhabiting people’s bodies and if you kill the host body, the demon inhabits you. Bloody mayhem (and some laughs) ensue. Enter Lundgren, a vape smoking, demon hunter who gives douchebags harsh lessons on the meaning of consent. Profit.