Nightmarelogic Reviews

Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer (2019)

I actually did know the story

[7/10 · 16 May 2024]

Waaaaay late to the party. This popped up on my Netflix recommend and I thought it was a cat documentary so I ignored it. Then I heard it was the story of Luca Magnota which I actually heard about from another documentary series. Don't remember which one but I think Worlds Most Dangerous Killers". It is an interesting story of a would be serial killer told by internet nerds who became obsessed with finding him after he put out his first cat video. For anyone who likes these kind of documentaries this is not too explicit. It leaves akot to the imagination. I find serial killers interesting so this was up my alley.

What Jennifer Did (2024)

Boring documentary

[5/10 · 17 April 2024]

This is largely a paint by number documentary that has one major thing going for it : interrogation footage of Jennifer Pan over a couple of days. Other then that it is the usual talking heads. If you know anything about the case (which I did) you won't learn anything new. The crime itself was horrific so I understand why Netflix would want to do a documentary on it but in all honesty this would have been more interesting as a made for Netflix series because nothing of interest done with this.

That being said it is also only an hour and change long so it won't exactly take too much of your time. Not really worth it though if you know anything about the case.

May December (2023)

Either going to love it or hate it

[9/10 · 6 April 2024]

I read a bunch of reviews of this movie and they all seem to either be "this is awesome" or "this sucks" reviews in one way or another. I am one of the people who really enjoyed the movie. The acting and the tone all worked for me. I also really enjoyed what the story was saying about the continued trauma of abuse intentional or not and how more then one person is Affected by a scandal. It is an unsettling character study on three different people. A woman who seduces a 12 year old boy. The boy who is now a man but still in a lot of ways still the child he was. And the actress who wants to play her in a movie. The movie doesn't come to any clear conclusions which may be why people dislike the movie but it is still a fascinating character study.

Apples Never Fall (2024)

The ending is a bit anticlimatic

[7/10 · 15 March 2024]

The ending is a bit anticlimatic but overall it was a decent mystery. I would much have preferred a story about a bunch of kids coming to the horrifying conclusion that dad did murder mom after a terrible fight after weeks of them blaming her for something she did years before. But still this was a decent little story. The main reason to watch this really is Annete Benning. She is the star of this and if you like her in other things she is worth watching in this. She plays a wife and mother who disappears after her husband and her retire from owning/working at a tennis academy only to take in a stranger who knocks on their door one night and to the chagrin of their children never leaves. It won't reinvent the wheel or anything but I was entertained throughout.

Griselda (2024– )

Made Griselda a feminist hero

[5/10 · 3 February 2024]

Netflix tried a little too hard to toe the line for this story. Making Griselda a feminist hero instead of a murderous drug lord. Yes it was quite impressive that she managed to get as high as she did in the cartel being a woman but the show took great pains to be impressed by it instead of horrified by what she did to get there. It also made her out to be a good mother instead of someone who put her children in danger. The ending was quite sudden like someone forgot that this was a limited series. All in all the story wasn't bad just inaccurate and almost entirely in spanish but still worth the watch.

The Brothers Sun (2024)

Bruce is annoying.

[6/10 · 16 January 2024]

The Brothers Sun is one of those shows on Netflix that I would like more choices then "like" "very like" and "don't like" because I kinda liked it. Or more to the point I really wanted to murder Bruce who I thought was written TOO MUCH like a moralistic coward. Not much changed for him through what looks like season 1 of a continued story. There was no real growth for him. While there was plenty of growth for Charles. Which made his character far more interesting.

Honestly this story is fine but Bruce is a real problem throughout but Charles almost makes up for it. He has multiple fun storylines. His relationship with the lady prosecutor is interesting. Plus his love of cooking adds depth to his character.

Fool Me Once (2024)

Entertaining

[8/10 · 9 January 2024]

If you have watched any of the other Harlan Coben Netflix originals you pretty much know what to expect. Rich people doing terrible things and often for dubious and nonsensical reasons. But hey the story is often really intriguing once you get past that. This is one of the better stories. Mainly due to the acting of Michelle Keagan who plays Maya the young widow who just buried her murdered husband and murdered sister who has even darker past of her own. And Joanna Lumley who plays matriarch Judith Burkett, Maya's mother-in-law and the head of her very troubled family.

Its an intriguing story about power, influence, and the truth. Yes it gets a bit silly at times but it is still worth watching if you like these kinds of stories and since it is a limited series and only 8 episodes it doesn't take that much of your time.

Worth watching.

Family Switch (2023)

Typical Christmas movie

[7/10 · 2 December 2023]

It's that very special time of year when every network starts to pull out their reserves of impossibly cute Christmas movies. Some of them are good. Some of them are bad. Family Switch lies somewhere in the middle. The body switch genre has been done a bunch of times before but I did enjoy how both parents switched with both of their kids. (I won't get into the baby and dog thing which was just their for sight gags) The body switch is bad enough but it also happens when they all have pretty important life changing events about to happen.

This is likely going to get alot of mixed reviews because it is silly. It's a Christmas movie and most of them are. It's the silly movie time of year. But the movie also has some real things to say about family. And how parents and children relate to each other. Even if this isn't your usual kind of movie it isn't horrible and at least worth the watch. It's Christmas after all.

Family Switch (2023)

Reasonably cute Christmas movie

[7/10 · 1 December 2023]

Its that very special time of year where all the networks start putting out their reserves of impossibly cute wholesome Christmas movies. Some of them are good. Some of them are bad. Family Switch lies somewhere in the middle. I mean the body switch comedy genre has been done plenty as well but this has both parents becoming their children (I won't get into the baby and dog switching) on the eve of all of them having pretty important life changing events happening.

This is going to get a lot of two star reviews from professional reviewers because it is silly and no new ground is tread but no new ground needs to be. It has the right amount of funny moments. The right amount of heart warming moments. Is it perfect? No. But it is worth at least watching once.

A Man Called Otto (2022)

Bad reviews miss the point of the show

[7/10 · 21 November 2023]

I think alot of the bad reviews miss the point of the show. Otto is alot of people who only see the world through a negative lens. His wife has been dead for six months and he is planning to join her but life keeps getting in the way and keeps giving him reasons to live. First small things then larger things. Being kind and you get kindness in return. That is the point of the movie. Do things for other people and the community as a while and you get a community. The movie isn't perfect but people giving it low reviews are grouchy Otto looking for reasons to be angry instead of looking for reasons to be happy.

The Nanny (1993–1999)

Better then I remember

[8/10 · 2 November 2023]

I am not usually a fan of most sitcoms. I just don't find them funny. The Nanny however had just the right mix of funny and heartwarming to make the show worthwhile. That being said it is also straight out of the 90s which means a lot of the situations and jokes might not work for people watching it for the first time today. Fran Drecher's character's obsessed with marriage may not fit in with today's sensibilities. Also the snarky comment by the butler Niles to his bosses/friends female business associate might strike some as misogynistic but the strange relationship between Niles and CC is one of the most fluid relationships of the series. Also the children actors acting ability is not always top notch but it is hardly horrible either.

The Nanny is definitely a show built for the 90s but if you like a fun comedy that doesn't overstay it's welcome you should give this a try.

The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)

The rise and fall of evil set to Poe

[9/10 · 25 October 2023]

I could go on and on about how good this show is and I tried to and had basically written a full review but it got a little convoluted so I will just go on to say if you liked any of Mike Flannigan's previous Netflix stories this one ranks at the top. Yes you are going to want to rank it to Hill House but I wouldn't too much. They are both their own stories and should be viewed on their own merits. The Fall of The House of Usher is a compelling and tragic story of the rise and fall of a dynasty set to the works of Edgar Allan Poe but you do not need to be familiar with his works to understand. Just know that all the titles of the episodes are set to his works and there are references throught that act more like easter eggs than anything else.

If you like spooky atmospheric stories I would give this a shot.

Sex Education (2019–2023)

If all the pathos of being a teen was talked openly and honestly

[8/10 · 17 September 2023]

One of the truisms of life is that the people who have the least empathy for teenagers are adults because they have blocked out how hard it was to be a teenager. So having a show about teenagers that is actually aimed at older teenagers and adults was an interesting idea. But this works because it started with a teenage boy whose mother is a sex therapist who decides to start his own sex clinic at his school even though he can barely touch his own penis. What also makes this story work is that it is an honest look at what goes on in schools among a certain age group. The pathos of being a teenager is looked at honestly and openly without a laugh track or pointing fingers at how weird someones particular pathos actual is. Sex is an important part of the human experience but it isn't the only part something not to be ashamed of. But the main thesis of the show is that it is something that needs to be talked about honestly and openly as part of the educational system.

Malcolm in the Middle (2000–2006)

No bad actors

[8/10 · 22 August 2023]

This could be what you would call a typical family sitcom without a laugh track except for two things. The first is that Malcolm, the middle child, played by Frankie Muniz breaks the fourth wall and narrates and give insight into what is going on during a particular scene and the second is that there is no bad actors in the main cast which is in itself remarkable for a child actor heavy show. All the main cast of child actors can actually you know....act and were not just hired because they were cute (which they are in different degrees). The adults on the show are also fantastic and don't disappear as the children age up which also often happens in this kind of show which is nice. This is a family show in every sense of the word. All the family members matter and even some side characters matter as well. It stands the test of time and is relatable even now. Worth watching.

21 Jump Street (1987–1991)

Both out of date and timeless

[7/10 · 10 July 2023]

If a show can be both out of date and timeless at the same time then that show would be 21 Jumpstreet. Begun in the late 80s it was the jumping block for alot of young actors most notably Johnny Depp who plays the lead in what was supposed to be an ensemble show but then most ensemble shows (police producedurals and others) do eventually have a lead character. This was an interesting idea for a police show and one that might even work in today's market. A bunch of cops fresh out of the academy who look too young to be believable on the mean streets are sent to a new undercover program to go back to high school and stop crime there before it begins. It sounds silly but drug abuse, bullying, underage drinking, gang activity are high in highschools and so is racial tension. So some of the episodes get rather deeper then you would expect from a late 80s/early 90s tv show. Of course a lot of it is out of date being so old and the black female lead and the male asian lead are relegated to supporting characters while the white male actors are given the main rolls even bringing in a new white male in season 3. It is a fun show to watch and if you like police procedurals this is a good one. Much better then the dumb and disappointing movies that came out. Some of the episodes actually do get quite deep and try to tell a real point.

Worth watching.

Cocaine Bear (2023)

Stupid movie but it know it.

[6/10 · 7 July 2023]

Look not every movie needs to be a contender for an award. Some movies are just fun to watch because they are that stupid. There are plenty of movies that sit on my DVR because they are just guilty pleasure movies that are just fun to watch. Will this be one of them? Not for me but I can see why others might like it. Watching a CGI bear high on cocain go nuts in a group of people in a national park is actually fun. The bear scenes where everyone is trying to either escape or fight the bear are quite humorous. The story itself is paper thin but then you don't really need a story for this kind of movie. It is worth seeing just to say you saw it.

Mayor of Kingstown: Never Missed a Pigeon (2023) Season 2, Episode 1

Season 1 riots leave chaos

[8/10 · 15 January 2023]

Season 1 brutal prison riot is still being felt during the Season 2 premier. With the illusions that the prison guards run the prisons shed and the leaders of the gangs being moved all that is left is chaos inside the prisons and outside in Kingston since what goes on in the prisons ultimately decide what happens outside in the town. Everyone is fighting for control. What I find most interesting about the series and is reiterated through Marian in this episode is the paper thin line between the criminal gangs and the police. Marian even calls the police a gang at one point when they try to over charge a young boy who mugged her and she refuses to press charges not wanting to be a part of the system that incarcerates children forever at a young age. It is a thin line between cop and criminal especially in Kingston where Incarceration is the only real enterprise and only the Mike stands in the way of total chaos.

M3GAN (2022)

Child's Play

[8/10 · 8 January 2023]

The movie was better then anticipated and I anticipated a lot being a fan of The Chucky Franchise. This was similar but different. The story was similar in a lot of ways but also different. One of the similarities is that it focuses around a child. In this case a child named Cady who had just lost her parents in a tragic accident who suddenly finds herself in the custody of her Aunt Gemma who is more interested in her work then in caring for Cady. Gemma is not a bad person but she is stressed out about her job and isn't exactly a good emotional support system for the needy Cady so the brilliant toy maker creates a new doll for her niece....you guessed it Megan. At first everything goes well and Cady Is happy and functioning well for the first time since she came home with Gemma and Gemma is even able to present her new invention to her bosses the problem comes later when she realizes that maybe Cady and Megan have latched on too deeply to each other and Cady has forgotten that Megan is just a doll and Megan is starting to interpret her directive to protect Cady as an order to kill which puts Gemma in an awkward position of having to protect her niece from a creation she herself created.

What I like about the story is that the three main characters are all women even if two of them are in fact young girls. This is a story about women and trauma. It has something real to say about childhood trauma. The story itself has been told a millions times before and the idea of our technology trying to kill us is hardly a new one. The movie does try to tell it in an original way around the trauma of childhood loss of parents. Its not exactly a horror movie but more a thriller and it's a good one. I would highly recommend it.

Wednesday (2022– )

The negative reviews are too negative

[8/10 · 2 January 2023]

For the record I did watch the original tv series and the movies with Christina Ricci so I do get the complaints about this not being exactly what purists were expecting. It is easy to compare to Harry Potter but then any show that takes place in a mystical school setting for the next decade is going to be compared to Harry Potter so unless you want all shows of this type to not be set in schools then it is something we all have to live with. What I liked about this is what alot of Addam's Family purists didn't. This was strictly a story about Wednesday Addams and not about her family who all just appeared in cameos. This is in large part a coming of age for Wednesday who neither fits in in the "outcast" boarding school she goes to or the "normie" town that surrounds it but finds herself making friends in both despite her best intentions while trying to solve the mystery of who is killing people around town. To anyone who says "this isn't the Addams Family" I say so what? Each showrunner has the right to show their own interpretation of what came before and if everyone wrote the same exact story it would get boring after awhile.

Glass Onion (2022)

I actually liked this better then the first one

[8/10 · 30 December 2022]

I really enjoyed this second installment of what looks like a "Knives Out" franchise. Put a bunch of wealthy interconnected people in a confined place and kill off one of them and suddenly all the old angers come to the surface. In this case a rich billionaire invites his inner circle to his private island during the height of the pandemic. Also to attend is the detective who solved the first season mystery but no one knows quite why he is there but the host has a murder mystery game so everyone thinks that is the reason but of course as these things happen someone actually dies. The question remains who is the murderer and what secrets do all the people in attendance have and how does it all lead back to a single act of betrayal that happened years before. What is genius and who has it is a big question the movie asks and how other people take advantage of other peoples genius to the extent of being willing to murder and betray to keep it. This was fun and well done mystery that I actually did like better then the first one and if there are further chapters I will watch them.

Torn Hearts (2022)

Horror, Country Music and Katey Sagal

[8/10 · 8 November 2022]

Horror, Country Music and Katey Sagal what more can you ask for? Torn Hearts is a fun low budget movie in the likes of "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" but instead with Country Music and Katey Sagal. It is about the corrupting force of fame even against sisterly bonds but also the possibility of atonement. In a weird way ir is also a meta commentary on the often insensitive way men treat women in show business. This is also a horror movie grounded in reality which I like. You have two young country western duo who make their way to a legendary artist in order to make a tape but things don't go as planed when she tries to turn them against each other. It is a simple concept but it works as a horror story. How far would you go for fame?

Inside Man (II) (2022– )

Not sure about the bad reviews

[8/10 · 2 November 2022]

I don't understand the bad reviews. For a four episode series this was really well done. All the main characters played their parts well and to all the people who say "I turned it off after five minutes" you missed the highlight of the show because you didn't like an introduction scene of two of the characters? That is a pretty dumb reason to down vote a show. This is an intriguing crime drama that works on the premise that at our core we are all capable of murder. That we are all just one bad day away from killing someone. There are two main stories at play. The first is Stanley Tucci plays a convicted wife murderer on death row who when it suits him gives advise on open cases to whoever he finds interesting. One day a young reporters shows up and asks him to help her find her missing friend at first he refuses but later he agrees to help. The second is David Tennant plays a vicar who through a series of unfortunate events end up assaulting and kidnapping said friend when she believes the vicar's son might be a pedeophile. Both stories converge on the hunt to find the friend before the vicar and his increasingly unstable wife decide to kill the woman. What I really like about the show is the kidnaped woman isn't made out of be stupid. As a matter of fact she is clever in the way she deals with the vicar and his wife and at time she is even given the upper hand despite the situation she is in. Of course everything comes crashing down eventually but the ending is quite entertaining and if you have four hours to spare I would reccommend waching this.

Suspicion (2022)

Just ok

[7/10 · 1 September 2022]

I actually really like this kind of thriller. A bunch of "average" people's lives are upended when they are accused of a horrible crime. Are they guilty or is "someone" just making it look like they did. In this case the horrible crime is the very public abduction and kidnapping of the son of a CEO who is about to be named to a top political position. The people immediately arrested are all British and all are connected to the powerful woman, her son or her company in one way or another but they all insist it is just a considence. However when the ransom demand is that "she tell the truth" but doesn't specify that that truth is things get more complicated and the chase is on for both the police and the Brits caught in a deadly game to find the kidnapped young boy or the truth before its too late.

The story itself is decent one and if you seen Big Bang Theory or Agents of Shield you will recognize at least two of the leads. That was worth the story alone for me and its not a long one and it isn't overly complicated. And the ending at least made sense and didn't come completely out of left field. Was it perfect? I was expecting gotcha moments that came out of nowhere and I am glad they never happened and the big reveal made sense if you think about it. And yes there are some left wing politics to it but none overly dramatic. Characters actions mostly made sense. And I would watch a second season but this isn't the kind of show that usually gets a second season. Then again this is apple plus and not netflix so who knows.

Severance (2022– )

Unexpectedly Good

[8/10 · 30 August 2022]

Was looking for something to watch and then remembered I had free access to Apple Plus so decided to give this a shot. It was unexpectedly good. I mean really good. The kind of good that if it was on Netflix or one of the big channels it would be getting a lot more chatter. I really enjoyed the concept of "innies" and "outies" and how little control the "innies" actually had and how if they stepped out of line even a little how quickly the hammer came down.

Watching the 4 main characters navigate inside "corporate culture" was probably the most intriguing thing and having the new character Helly be outright antagonistic toward it was an interesting approach. What happens when you can't quit your job and it becomes virtual slavery because the "other you" is the one with the power and either doesn't know why you want to quit or just doesn't care.

One season in an there are many questions yet to be answered and the show is playing alot like a thriller which is a good thing. There is a danger of it becoming like "LOST" with too many questions but it also can be just a fantastic corporate thriller about the dangers of too much capitalism and not having a good home/work balance. Either way season 1 was extremely good and worth the watch if you have access to Apple+

Animal Kingdom (2016–2022)

The Journey of revenge

[7/10 · 29 August 2022]

This has always been the journey of revenge. Don't think otherwise. J might not be the most dynamic character but he wasn't supposed to be. While not a perfect show and ranked somewhere (depending on your proclivities) between a 6 and a 8 I would say it was a fascinating one about family disfunction. Smurf is the perfect picture of a horrible mother who uses her children for her own selfish needs and when they don't react the way she wants he has no problem destroying them. I know alot of people didn't like the flashback seasons but they were necessary because up until that point Julia had been a blank slate. You didn't really care about her because all you knew was that she od during the pilot and left J a virtual orphan. It was during the flashbacks that her personality, her dreams and her ultimate downfall happened and ultimately the reason for J's journey of revenge became more dynamic. You also saw the relationship between Pope and Julia and how close they really were which became Pope's original sin in failing to save Julia.

Of course the show lost something when Ellen Barkin's Smurf got killed off but ultimately it was fascinating to watch the boys try and fail to recover from the loss of a mother they both loved and hated. Because through the early seasons she was the source of comfort and destruction in their lives. She was the Ma Barker to a clan of criminals and when she died it left them lost.

I can talk about all their seperate stories. Most notable Deran and his coming out story which was spectacular. An Alpha male living in an alpha male world hiding his homosexuality from his brothers only to find out they knew all along. And Craig the drug addicted party boy who finds love with one of his drug dealers. Of course their is also Baz who I never liked anyway who is the adopted son of the clan but also the man with the plan. But ultimately this is J''s story. But also Pope's story. And to an extent Julia's story.

And the story of a familiy's downfall.