twist-bite Reviews

Sierra Burgess Is a Loser (2018)

A worse copy of 'The truth about cats and dogs'

[2/10 · 7 September 2018]

Maybe it's just me and I'm getting old, but there is no originality anymore in the romantic / comedy movies. And this title proves exactly that by being a copy of the 1996's 'The truth about cats and dogs'.

The premises of this movie is that a teenager who is considered a loser by the most popular crowd is part of a prank made by the queen bee (Veronica) who gives her number to one of the hottest guy in school who's also a quarterback, but somehow he's not popular (maybe because he has a deaf brother and he has to take care of him so he doesn't have much time? maybe because he's too into nerd stuff so he has friends with similar interests as him? ) To be honest, I have no idea because the movie doesn't address this, instead portraits him as a hot guy, showing him shirtless also and the only humane thing about him which makes him a bit different from your average quarterback Joe is the fact that he has to take care of his little brother. I mean, don't get me wrong, he doesn't go at parties, he probably never had a girlfriend, but somehow, at the beginning of the movie he gets courageous enough to ask the most popular girl in their high school out.

After he receives the number, and actually talks to Sierra (the loser, not sure why she's a loser, but I would assume it's just because she's fat, usually people with talented parents are being sucked up on, but whatever, for the sake of the movie let's just pretend), it's when s hits the fan. Their texts are TERRIBLE, with no substance, only pictures with animals, selfies and half naked selfies. And somehow, the guy thinks the woman he's chatting on the phone is SMART and FUNNY. I mean, talk about low standards.

Afterwards, Sierra, the smart girl of this movie, would like to pretend forever and doesn't anticipate that this guy would actually want to take her on a date (since he already knows her face to face from high school). And the plan is to pretend that Veronica is actually the same girl he chatted with. And to avoid kissing Veronica because Sierra is so jealous even though she doesn't want to tell him the truth and see what happens.

Anyways, the worst part of it all is that Sierra actually becomes the bitchiest character of the entire movie by telling her real friend to piss off, embarrassing Veronica in front of the entire school by posting a tweet with (#Moronica) and showing the entire school that Veronica was dumped via text by a loser and not doing her assignment, thus disappointing the only teacher who seems to give a damn about that school.

The ending is predictable and it's actually worse than the one of "The truth about cats and dogs" because it teaches us nothing. The guy who was lied to accepts Sierra without any questioning and seems to be super understanding about it. I mean, I get it, he listened to a song she wrote who was from her heart, but what does that mean? That if we are a bitch to someone or lie to someone is enough to just create a song and send it to them? And they will forgive us, no conversation, no questions asked? I highly doubt it. TL;DR Watch this teenage drama only if you haven't seen 'The truth about cats and dogs' and don't expect to learn anything from it.

Grown-ish (2018–2024)

Is it grown-ish or wannabe dorkish?

[1/10 · 11 January 2018]

I like Black-ish, but I think this spin-off is extremely bad. The show is trying too hard to switch the character of Zoey from a super popular high school queen to a dork-ish college girl. She is exaggerating everything around her.

On top, the themes being treated such as drug addiction are superficial and are not consistent throughout the show. In one episode Zoey is a bad girl who doesn't respect her new friends, on the other is a drug addict, now, in the third episode it seems that she has fallen in love after kissing a guy. Instead of the writers creating a complex character, they are creating a new uni-dimensional character every episode. Don't waste your time on it. Go see Freaks and Geeks or the 70s show instead.

I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017)

Raises some questions about today's society

[7/10 · 29 October 2017]

I think this movie was interesting, not only thanks to its plot and characters, but also because it sends a message to the people living in today's world.

It is a story about a middle aged white woman working as a nurse and having to deal with daily issues that are actually really easy to relate to. For instance, when wanting to buy an item at the store, your line is cut by another person who has at least 10 items without having the decency to give priority to someone who would be done in just a couple of seconds with their ONE item. The main character has reached a low point due to some events in her personal life, but also because of the ignorance and selfishness of today's society.

She unfortunately gets robbed, as described in the synopsis and finds a new purpose in life by tracking down the people who did this to her. What I find disturbing about this situation is the fact that the justice system doesn't want to deal with this type of burglaries because they don't think they will get too far with finding the person responsible for the burglary either because there have been too many cases that have gone nowhere or it just happens too often for them to keep track. This unfortunately points out a major issue in today's system as there are a lot of people who are asked to politely wait for new information even though the police doesn't take a real interest in this type of cases.

In this story, the character, nicely played by Melanie Lynskey (Rose from Two and a Half Men), takes the lead on this investigation, but tries to involve the police as well in intermediate steps.

What happens next? You should watch the movie and find out, I think you won't regret it as the story is quite captivating to keep you interested until the very end.

While I wouldn't say it's one of my favorite movies from this year, I did find it rather entertaining and I loved the essence and messages it tries to sell to the audience. I would recommend it for people who like indie films with a solid story, close to real life or those who are either depressed or in need of a Sunday movie on a rainy day. I think you won't regret watching it and after you finish think about the impact of the message from today's society and ask yourself whether it can be better or not.

Take some popcorn and.. ENJOY!

The Babysitter (I) (2017)

Good gore where the evil side has shifted

[7/10 · 28 October 2017]

I have got to start by saying that this movie was entertaining. I've never asked myself how much time has been left form it, not even once and I usually do that with most gore movies (even though I am a bit of a fan) because they lack substance and are just made with small parts of gore followed by a lot of useless dialogue.

While the premises of this movie has lacked substance and the motivation of the characters hasn't been sufficiently explained, it doesn't really matter for this movie genre and you receive enough to get an idea of what's going on.

The movie starts with a shy little boy, always being bullied who is the only one in his neighborhood who still has a babysitter which embarrasses him and puts him in an inferior position. However, this is about to get challenged as you can spot from the trailer as well.

Without giving any spoilers, I want to say that it was a good surprise for me. Directing was good and character's dialogue while not that smart was quite fitting for this type of movie. I am giving it a 7 for its genre of slashers/ gore films and I think it's quite there alongside The final girls and Tucker and Dale vs Evil.(although I found Tucker and Dale funnier than this one)

It wasn't much of a comedy although it has its moments, but just expect a few bits of sarcasm along the way and dark humor delivered through various murder scenes. I recommend it for people who like slasher movies and are not in need of a story full of substance to enjoy them. I don't recommend it to parents whose kids still have a babysitter and this might complicate their lives!

Scrubs (2001–2010)

Can't even begin to describe how much I loved this show

[10/10 · 10 October 2017]

I am one of those people who like to exaggerate when they see/ find something they like and this was one of the best occasions to do so.

I don't want to give any spoilers so I will just present some of the reasons why I think everyone who knows good humor, likes smart drama and wants to watch a show because the characters are well developed should DEFINITELY give this a try.

One main character, JD is a person who just started as a resident in a hospital and will have a lot of experience trying to improve himself as a doctor. He meets a lot of interesting people and you shortly find out that in fact, there are multiple main characters who are evolving and experiencing everything from love to hate in their unique way.

What I found interesting is that throughout the entire show, even though it's supposed to be comedy, all the important moments are taken seriously and there is a morale attached to each of them. You can actually have your kids watching this without any issue because it never goes overboard or overdoes the jokes.

All in all, except for the last season which is garbage, this show is super funny, witty, full of interesting moments that you can empathize with and actually learn a lesson and IT'S GOOD 20 minutes ENTERTAINMENT when you eat or after a rough day at work. It will put a smile on your face trust me! If not, I will give you the evil eye!

The Voices (2014)

I liked it!

[7/10 · 8 October 2017]

To be honest, I wasn't expecting this movie to be any good based on the trailers. But given the fact that it had a good crew to work with Reynolds, Kendrick etc, I thought I might just give it a chance and I don't regret it a bit!

Without giving any spoilers, the movie revolves around a likable guy who just happens to talk to his evil pets. What I found interesting about this is that it's pretty easy to empathize with the main characters because there are a lot of explanations nicely wrapped either through the voice of the main character or sweet memories.

I would recommend it to people who like to watch dark comedies and are amused by the weirdness of having a head inside a fridge (without any type of real desire to kill other people of course)!

The Good Doctor (2017–2024)

As a House & Sherlock fan, there's nothing much the show has to offer

[3/10 · 25 September 2017]

Just finished the first episode and to be honest I think it's going to be a show full of clichés that people have already seen in other similar shows.

On short, it's about a young boy who suffers from autism, but also "savant syndrome" and he is a phenomenal doctor who gets a chance to save a life in the first act, just in time to change everyone's minds about having him work at the San Jose Hospital.

Just as I was googling the hospital's name, I found out that this drama is in fact based on a Korean show that aired for only 20 episodes: Good Doctor (Korea, 2013).

There are a lot of things that I find wrong in this show, starting from it being directed similar to BBC's Sherlock (drawings and writing floating in the air) to it trying to be deep just like House MD. (background story of main character who had a rough childhood and his only motivation lies in the pain of the past that he doesn't want to experience again)

On the bright side, it might be a decent show for people who haven't seen BBC's Sherlock or House MD, but boy .. I suggest you go see those instead. I like Freddie from Bates Motel, but he may have been more suitable for Norman's role than this one. He seems too young and his character seems to suffer from a weird form of autism in which he conveniently socializes when the plots asks for it. The story tries too hard to make him look weird and out of place. For example when he brings in the boy, after saving his life, he's kicked out from the hospital (with a bit of comedy?) even though everybody who came with him knew that he saved his life and that he was a legitimate doctor.

But anyways, I am not going to bore you any more with this review. I will wait and see if the next episodes will be better than the pilot, but by the look of it, it might just end in the first 10 max episodes.

EDIT: Watched the second episode and it's even worse. They are trying too hard to make it look like Dr Murphy's current actions always trigger a memory from the past and in given situations he has to "fix" the past by helping other people. I find it extremely disturbing the justification of being irresponsible and ordering a lot of test just to have an example of a patient who would have been helped if the test was ordered. He's supposed to be a resident, why is no one taking care of them around this hospital? They are ALL busy with an operation? Is it difficult to have more than one doctor taking care of the students to make sure they are not screwing up? It's people's lives at risk!

Also, the other characters are just fillers and don't seem to have an impact whatsoever. Take for example, Dr Claire who promised a patient that she's gonna make it after the surgery even though all the medical records proved otherwise. Why wasn't she punished for this? And then.. when they had to make the unbelievable call by none other than Dr Murphy (who's the best of the best and can't even be surpassed by people who are doctors for more than 20 years), Dr Claire refuses to take the risk and help the patient letting her emotions control her and proving once again that she's not ready to be a doctor. Well, lesson learnt! In the end, she even takes credit for saving the patient's life. What a great hospital that I would never want anyone to go to. I understand it's fiction, but at this point, it feels like bad reboots of previous shows. (Take Scrubs as an example if you want to make better television!) Lowering this to a 3. Not worth and I am not going to watch any other episode. I'd rather rewatch the better shows this one is based on.

Monster (2004–2005)

For its genre, it's an anime that exceeds all expectation

[10/10 · 16 September 2017]

This anime has surprised me in a lot of ways. When I first encountered it in my recommendation list, I thought it's just going to be another typical anime, but boy.. I was wrong!

The premises is one that I find rather interesting. It's about repenting one self for something that you may have done done it intentionally. The questions on morality that are raised throughout the anime are extremely deep and there are a lot of characters whose perspective can make you question everything you thought up until one point.

I would totally recommend this anime to all fans of suspense/ thriller and even if you don't like anime at all, you should still watch it because you will quickly forget the way it's wrapped in, you will be more hooked by the story itself.

The Wrong Girl (2016–2017)

Entertaining show with an Australian flavor

[7/10 · 2 September 2017]

This is an Australian show about a girl who's 29 years old and seems to be a mess. I don't want to give any spoilers. All I am going to say is that the drama works in most of the cases, but there are also some cringe-worthy moments.

There is a bit of a comedy and there is a lot of heart, the emotions of the characters, their opinions and their desires are shaped across this show. There is no evil character, but only complex characters with both evil and good sides, both professional and naive, both lovely and cruel in their own ways which makes for a lovable show. Furthermore, all the characters go through some intense moments that help them evolve and look at situations in various ways. You could additionally see some very well known formulas such as last moment interventions or last minute saving from awkward situations, but I think they fit kinda good inside this show.

So if you are interested in drama-based show with spice of a comedy, but which highly focuses on emotions and emotional conflict, this show is for you! The Australian accent is a plus!

Date My Dad (2017)

Forced sitcom with stereotypical plot

[3/10 · 16 June 2017]

This comedy has been done so many times before, with the same formula of a single parent raising his/her kids. In this scenario, the three children of the family want to find the Dad a person to live with in order to improve his life (or better said get his own life), exactly as the title suggests.

The emotions feel extremely forced, at least in the first two episodes (couldn't get further than that). The actors seem to be beginners or lack experience with sitcom/ TV shows and do not have any good material to work with. And to top it all, the minutes are 42 minutes long which I don't remember to have seen in any of today's sitcoms, most of them are around 20 minutes, enough to catch a meal while watching them.

All in all, I do not recommend this show. It's a time waster, doesn't have any morale to it and no character to root for.

Fresh Off the Boat (2015–2020)

So far this show is entertaining

[8/10 · 27 April 2017]

Started watching this a couple of days ago and I am barely at episode 7, but I must say I find it funny and witty.

It's similar to Everybody hates Chris, but with a Chinese people. You don't learn much about their culture, only some stuff on a superficial level and you learn that most of the Americans don't have even the tiniest understanding of other people's traditions.

The characters seem quite stereotypical in the sense that you have a loving working dad and the though mom which is something that's nowadays in a lot of shows (exp: Modern Family), but somehow here it works better than the others. The kids are a bit exaggerated with their features, again something that seems a superficial view of Chinese culture, but they are interesting in themselves.

On the bright side, the kids are not hateful towards each other and actually collaborate. They listen to their parents, are not disrespectful, and there are quite a few lessons that they are being thought. Probably because they are too young, but I will wait and see!

Overall, I would recommend it for people that liked shows such as Modern Family, Black-ish and Everybody Hates Chris because it fits that humor pattern.

Bates Motel: The Cord (2017) Season 5, Episode 10

It wasn't quite as good as expected

[5/10 · 25 April 2017]

While the finale of this episode was ideal for most of the characters except Romero who didn't get his revenge, I feel that the show should have gone on a darker note. The writing of the season finale seemed rushed and it felt they were left without material and had to reuse some footage from episode one.

The death of Norman, who is finally reunited with his Mother, comes after he completely reset of everything that happened in his life and goes back to the beginning of the show where everything was nice and dandy and they just moved to the motel. I don't think he could have snapped so easily from it, especially that now he did it knowingly of all the bad deeds for which he was responsible for.

I also didn't think it was appropriate for Dylan to kill him off, especially because he says at some point that he knows he will end up dead if he calls the sheriff. So the question comes, did he just want to do it himself to get some kind of revenge for his lost mother? I thought all this time he wanted Norman to be safe, but alas.

So all in all, I loved this show, it will remain in my top 100, but season finale could have been so much better.

Like Crazy (2011)

Not what it was presented to be

[4/10 · 15 February 2017]

Without giving any spoilers, I must say I do not recommend this movie. After viewing it, I was left with a feeling of confusion and I've read the the screenplay was written add-hoc which would explain why the movie feels random, in a bad way. I think there are other more interesting films out there which share a relatable love story without constantly giving the impression that the main characters do not actually try to find a way to be together and even though they are offered options they seem to hesitate until it's too late for their romance to actually continue.

All in all, I give 4/10 for the main female character which was courageous and interesting in her own way.