Category Archives: TV Show Recaps/Reviews

Netflix Adventures #NeoYokio Review

Posted by Yvonne Nicolas on

“While attempting to distance himself from his demon-slaying past, Kaz Kaan, a wealthy magistocrat, is forced to question everything he knows about Neo Yokio.”

Let’s talk about Neo Yokio, the American-made Japanese series on Netflix.

I admit it; I saw the preview and I was instantly sold on this show. I knew I would love it! How could I not? Not only did it have an anime vibe to it (You guys know I love anime), and a supernatural flair in the storyline (Hello, paranormal romance writer here!), it starred a person of color (Boom, baby!).

Win—win, right? *deep sigh* Wrong. Oh so wrong.

There were some positive components in the show, but they were overshadowed by the not so engaging storyline and stilted voice-acting by the lead actor. I forced myself through the 6 pilot episodes because I got this thing about completing something I start. It wasn’t horrible, it was just difficult to finish.

I will say that I appreciate what the writers tried to accomplish with this series. Deliver something new and fresh. Granted, the story was indeed new and fresh, it was just poorly executed. And that’s just my anime-loving opinion on that.

I must say the art was nice, bubbly and fun. Some of the characters even made those goofy expressions you sometimes see in anime. Many people in the FB comic groups complained about the art style, but I think the style went well with the theme of the show.

Jaden Smith portrayed Kaz Kaan, an aristocrat demon slayer. I love Jaden, I really do, but he may have to take an “L” for this one. His voice acting was detached, lacking that special pizzazz that would make him desirable to listen to. Perhaps, that’s how it came off because the character is pretty monotone and removed from emotion, unless the situation involved his ex-girlfriend. I’m sure he’ll get better with more practice.

Jude Law, Susan Sarandon and Steve Buscemi did great as their characters! I expected nothing less from them.

But the shining light for me, and quite possibly the reason I kept watching, was Arcangelo Corelli. He was one of the comic reliefs as well as the antagonist. That being said, he was the jewel of the show, which is unfortunate for Jaden, because his character was supposed to be the star.

I also enjoyed Kaz’s friends whenever they were on screen. They were amusing.

What really bothered me about this show was the lack of representation of women of color. We simply didn’t exist in the high society created on the show, unless we were cronies to an uppity white girl or a masked performer who received no less than 5 seconds of screen time. Ah, I forgot to mention the episode when Kaz’s best friend jumped into a pool full of cursed water and was turned into a woman for the day. I guess we can count that as a WOC sighting. How disappointing. The main character is a person of color, but the writers couldn’t be bothered to give a woman of color a slot in the main cast.

Needless to say, if Neo Yokio gets a second season, I won’t be watching.

★★ out of 5 stars

My thoughts on #theWalkingDead Season 7 Premiere #TWD #AMC

Posted by Yvonne Nicolas on

YN_logo_Whitetwd-comic-con-2016-picThe premiere was hard to digest.

Two days later and I’m still recovering. I’m sure 80% of the TWD fans are still recovering as well. I feel your pain.

**WARNING: Spoilers below**

This will come out as somewhat of a rant. Bear with me, please.

The season 6 finale left us with a chilling cliffhanger—the sounds of a cranium being smashed and Lucille (Negan’s “vampire” bat) covered in blood and brain matter. I had a feeling it was Abraham. I didn’t want any of them to be killed, but I figured Negan would eliminate the one who seemed to be Rick’s right-hand man, which in all rights is Abraham. I don’t think it was a toss of a coin. Negan knew who he was going to kill before the beating began.

Observation: Did you notice Abraham gave Sasha the peace sign before Negan hit him? It was their thing, their way to say goodbye to each other, which makes his brutal death sting even more. *sigh*

My hubby warned me there would be another death, and it will most likely be Glenn, because that’s the way it happened in the graphic novel. He said this after the season 6 finale. I told him he was wrong.

Of course the writers had to go and prove him right. Ugh…

Glenn… *welp*

My heart hurts as I type this. Yes, in the graphic novel, Negan kills Glenn IN THE SAME HORRIFIC WAY IT HAPPENED ON SCREEN, but the show hasn’t been following the exact path of the GN’s storyline. They only took bits and pieces from it. I had hoped they would spare him. Especially considering the outrage fans displayed when they thought Glenn was dead last season. The writers threw us for a loop.

WHY?

I could’ve done without all the gore, the repeated smashing, his twitching fingers… God, it was hard to watch! *sob* I was shocked at first, staring at the screen with my mouth agape, then I was horrified and utterly heartbroken. When he said, “Maggie, I’ll find you.” I almost couldn’t stand it. I cried like a baby, then I went to our bar and poured myself a drink, ‘cause goddammit I needed it. *sigh*

However, the shining beacon in my opinion was Carl. Even in the eyes of death, he stared Negan down like a predator staring down a prey. He wasn’t scared, not even a little bit. When Negan told Rick to cut his arm off, I almost lost it when Carl said, “Do it.” I literally ran out the room! It was too much, too much suspense, too much death.

Why the hell do I watch this show? It’s torture to my eyes and emotions.

Damn you, TWD writers! I almost gave up on you last night. I was prepared to throw my hands in the air and say, “That is it! You will no longer rile my emotions with your gore and death. Assholes!”

But I’m going to give you another chance. Show me there was a purpose to killing our beloved Glenn and Abraham. I hope the remaining characters become stronger as a result, especially Maggie. She has lost everyone. She deserves a “bitch mode” episode. I want to see her GO HAM! And I’m sure I’m not the only one.

Abraham and Glenn, 2 characters who touched my heart. I will miss you both.

 

“Suck my nuts.” ~ Last words of Abraham Ford

“Maggie, I’ll find you.” ~ Last words of Glenn Rhee

Just in case you’ve missed the first 6 seasons of the Walking Dead, below is a recap voiced by John Cleese.

British accents make EVERYTHING sound awesome!

http://nerdist.com/john-cleese-recapping-the-walking-dead-is-simply-delightful/

My Korean Drama Addiction #PlayfulKiss #KDrama #Netflix

Posted by Yvonne Nicolas on

PlayfulKissI started this K-drama with the assumption there would be a whole lot of kissing. I mean, it is titled Playful Kiss. *grin* However, there wasn’t an overabundance of kissing, but that’s not to say it wasn’t enjoyable.

I was drawn to this title, not only because Netflix suggested I watch it, but also because Kim Joong Hyun from “Boys Over Flowers” portrayed the character Beak Seung Jo. That man is so effin’ beautiful, it’s hard to pass up on a show with him starring in it.

His counterpart, Jung So-min, was brilliant as Oh Ha Ni, although majorly annoying at times. She was foolishly smitten with Beak Seung Jo. And this is not a crush that went on for a few months. This was a crush that lasted 4 years! She followed him around like a lost puppy and he didn’t even return her affections. Or better yet, he pretended not to be into her. Unfortunately, this only made her fall deeper in love with him. *rolls eyes* The more he pushed her away, the tighter she clung onto him.playfulkiss3

Get this… In high school, she wrote him a letter professing her love to him. You know what this dude did? He edited the letter, corrected the grammar and the spelling errors, then he gave it back to her with a big fat D on it. And he did it in front of the majority of her peers, totally humiliating her. I was floored! If a guy did that to me in high school, I would’ve slapped the crap out of him. After that, I would never speak or associate with him again, no matter how good looking he is.

Freaking jerk!

playfulkiss7The thing about him though… the moment he thought she would drift away as his personal fan girl, he would do something to keep her hanging on. Like kiss her. The first kiss he gave her was done out of pure malice, but it was enough to leave her speechless and wanting more. He was such an asshole. Although, I have to admit, it was hard to hate him because he was so damn fine.

In the beginning of the show, Oh Ha Ni and her father found themselves homeless after an earthquake destroyed their house. An old friend of her father’s saw the tragedy on the news and reached out to them. He and his wife opened their home to Oh Ha Ni and her father. Well guess who also lived in that house.

Yep, Beak Seung Jo!playfulkiss6

That’s when things got good. I knew it would be awkward for them two to live under the same roof, but I also knew it would get heated somewhere along the line. And it did! When Seung Jo dropped his guard and kissed her in the rain… Ohh, such a hot scene. I don’t know about the characters, but I needed that kiss. It almost made up for all the times he was jerk to her. Almost.

Even though Seung Jo shunned and humiliated Oh Ha Ni every chance he got, he did little things to stay close to her. Like attend the same college. She was accepted at a college by pure luck, because although she’s crafty and a hard worker, she wasn’t that bright. Seung Jo, who was an outright genius, could attend any school he wanted to. He was even courted by a few Ivy League universities, but nope. Once he found out what college Oh Ha Ni was attending, he applied at the same college, which was the first sign that he really liked her.

As far as supporting cast, Seung Jo’s mother was awesome! She fell in love with Oh Ha Ni on sight. In the previous K-dramas I watched, the hero’s mother was always a stone-cold witch. She would do everything in her power to get her son away from the undeserving heroine. But in Playful Kiss, the mother used her tricky ways to get them together.

That was a refreshing change.

playfulkiss4By the end of the series, I too was smitten with Seung Jo. When he admitted his love for Oh Ha Ni, it was the highlight of the series. Of course, he did this when he was on the verge of losing her for good. He still teased her at every turn, but he did it with love.

In short, this was a great series. It was bubbly, fun and even sad at parts. Watching the two characters grow and come closer together made the show extra exciting. I’m glad I watched it.

This was another 5 star journey for me. Thanks again, Netflix.

Next on the list; Coffee Prince.

My Korean Drama Addiction #SecretGarden #KDrama #Netflix

Posted by Yvonne Nicolas on

I must say, Secret Garden is by far my favorite K-Drama!

**Warning: This blog post contains spoilers**

SecretGarden3The storyline was beautifully done and it was thoroughly enthralling. It carried just the right amount of humor and a satisfying amount of dramatic emotion. It started off a little slow, but managed to keep me locked in.

At first, I thought it would be another romance where a spoiled, privileged rich hero falls in love with a poverty-stricken, sassy heroine. That was the way it started, but then it unfolded into something else entirely. The gem in this show is the underlying dark mystery that rears its head in Episode 5.

Like a fairytale romance, the two main characters were fated to be together. And the powers that be made sure that would happen, no matter how many obstacles emerged in their paths. And believe me when I say they had to endure many obstacles in order to secure their love.

What I enjoyed most about this show is by the time I got to the last episode, there were no stones left unturned. I was left satisfied with no unanswered questions. The ending was everything! It pulled together the big mystery within, and I found myself in tears.

Yes, it was that powerful. SecretGarden2

The actors who portrayed the main characters, Gil Ra Im (Ji-won Ha) and Kim Joo Won (Hyun Bin) were phenomenal! The scenes where Gil Ra Im and Kim Joo Won switched bodies made this show so entertaining. I imagine those scenes were a challenge for the actors, but they played out so masterfully. All of the emotion they delivered on screen was felt in the comfort of my home. When they gazed at each other, it was crazy magical, because during some of those moments, they didn’t say a word. Not one. The whole scene was just them looking at each other. And yeah, it seems odd now that I’m typing it out. But I tell ya, they delivered something so intense. It was better than watching a sex scene. I could literally feel the unspoken emotion radiating from the screen, and it gave me the chills.

SecretGarden1There was a scene where they were at the Christmas party and Kim Joo Won kissed Gil Ra Im in front of everyone, with no shame at all… OMG, I melted! Keep in mind, he was a filthy rich guy kissing a poor woman, against his mother’s wishes. It was so right on point and incredibly sexy. He didn’t just kiss her, he made love to her lips. No people, this wasn’t a 5 seconds kiss scene. It was more like 5 minutes, and there was nothing boring about it, at all. Seriously… *fans self* Good job, Kim Joo Won.

I adored the supporting cast. Choi ‘Oska’ Woo Young was my favorite! Every time he was on screen, he did not disappoint. He was a Korean Wave Star who’d lost his drive in the music industry. His journey to finding himself was just as entertaining as watching Gil Ra Im and Kim Joo Won endure each other’s lives when they switched bodies.

I honestly don’t have any grips about this show, which is surprising for me. I enjoyed it to the fullest, from the first episode to the last, and I appreciate Netflix for suggesting I watch it. Thank you Netflix.

Next on my list, Playful Kiss.

My Korean Drama Addiction #BoysOverFlowers #KDrama #Anime #Netflix

Posted by Yvonne Nicolas on

News Flash! I am officially a K drama fan!

When a fellow anime lover suggested I watch some K-drama, I was reluctant. Simply because I’m not fond of subtitles. I usually don’t even watch an anime until it’s dubbed in English. However, once I watched the first episode and got locked into the storyline, the subtitles didn’t bother me in the slightest.

I started with the show “Boys Over Flowers”. It is a live action remake of an anime/manga series, which in all honesty, is what drew me to the title. Even though it held a 5 star rating on Netflix, I didn’t expect it to loop me in like it did.

BoysOverFlowers

High school student, Geum Jan Di gets an offer to attend an exclusive academy—Shinhwa High after she saves a student from committing suicide. During her first day of school, she runs into F4—a group of super cute, privileged, arrogant boys. Goo Joon Pyo, the leader of the F4 pack pretty much runs the school. His best friends, who are also members of the notorious group, Yoon Ji Hoo, So Yi Jung and Song Woo Bin, are basically the academy’s princes. They are all feared by their students and even the teachers.

Jan Di has a run-in Joon Pyo, where she berates him with a few choice words and a roundhouse kick to the face for his bold rudeness. After that, she finds out firsthand what happens when you cross F4; she becomes the victim of school bullying. But in an interesting turn of events, Joon Pyo falls for Jan Di. However, she only has eyes for Ji Hoo, Joon Pyo’s best friend.

And the love triangle begins.

I enjoyed every part of this series. In the beginning, I was rooting for Ji Hoo, then later, I found myself rooting for Joon Pyo, which is amusing ‘cause I couldn’t stand him at first.

I finished this series (25 episodes) in 5 days. My only gripe is I feel like Song Woo Bin was left out in the rain when it came to character development. We were shown the backstory of all the main characters. Yet, he was the only one who wasn’t expanded on when it came to the storyline.

Nevertheless, I was thoroughly entertained. I agree with the 5 stars on Netflix because the series was well worth my time.

My next k-drama addiction… Secret Garden.

So Long, Dr. Derek Shepherd. I’ll Miss You. #GreysAnatomy

Posted by Yvonne Nicolas on

***WARNING: Spoilers below***

***If you’re behind on Grey’s Anatomy, please don’t read this blog post!***

Okay, now that I’ve had the weekend to cool down, I can talk about last week’s Grey’s Anatomy episode without getting pissed the hell off. If you follow me on Twitter, you know I spouted many expletives during the show. Here’s a few tweets in case you missed my rant…

Grey1Grey2Grey3Grey4Grey5

Shonda Rhimes created a thrilling, yet disheartening episode that literally had me on the edge of my seat. And at the end, it had me in tears.

Why did it have to be Derek?!

It’s my understanding Patrick Dempsey desired to leave the show to pursue other goals in his career. I can respect that, and I’m sure Shonda could too, but it left her with a hard decision to make. I also heard she and Patrick exchanged some unpleasant words and it resulted in his character’s abrupt departure from the show. I really hope that’s just a vicious rumor made up by the internet masses. If it isn’t, maybe he felt that was his only way out of his contract. *shrug* No one truly knows but Patrick, Shonda and God, so I won’t bother mulling over it.

Nevertheless, she had to think of a creative way to axe one of Grey Anatomy’s most beloved characters. So, her muses led her to this end… hit him with a goddamn truck. *sigh* Damn, that scene was hard to watch. The following scenes were even harder to watch.

The man who’d saved countless lives throughout the existence of the show had to suffer being treated by a team of incompetent doctors at a facility that wasn’t made for ER. What the bloody hell…! It was a harsh ending and Derek didn’t deserve that. But you know what, it happens. Good people lose their lives under the care of incompetent doctors everyday… so, I guess I could see that being realistic.

Still, there had to be a better way to send Derek into the afterlife, Shonda! *You can’t see me, but I’m giving you the evil eye*

I’ve been thinking of other ways his character could’ve exited the show. Some people were saying he should’ve stayed in DC. I disagree! His wife and kids are in Seattle. Why would he just ditch them like that? For the pretty little doctor with the bright doe eyes? C’mon now! That’s a horrible exit. I would’ve hated his character’s guts for all eternity after that. It couldn’t be the same as Yang’s departure. She didn’t have anything or anyone tying her to Seattle. Sure, she had Owen and Grey, but that wasn’t enough to keep her grounded. The way she left was perfect for her character, but not for Derek.

He went out as a savior. At least that’s the way I’d like to look at it.

Many Grey’s Anatomy fans are calling it quits on the show, because they were so displeased with the route the plot took. I admit, I thought about giving up, simply because I carried a soft spot for Shepherd, but then I remembered the reason I started watching in the first place. I watched for Grey. After all, the show is titled GREY’s Anatomy, not SHEPHERD’s Anatomy. Sure, I’m emotionally invested with many of the characters on the show, but it’s Grey who encourages me to sit in front of my TV with a glass of wine every Thursday at 8p. I’m curious to see the next chapter in her life. She’s lost her best friend and now her husband. How will she piece together her shattered emotions?

I’ll be watching to see. Will you?

#Empire (Sins of the Father) My 2 cents

Posted by Yvonne Nicolas on

EmpireI have to admit I didn’t care much for the episode of Empire this week (Sins of the Father). 😦 It hurts to confess that since this is one of my favorite shows.

I understand certain characters had to make some unexpected shifts to get plot ball rolling in a desired direction, but much of it seemed forced for shock value.

Andre’s bi-polar crisis fits perfectly in the storyline since it was introduced early in the series. Trai Byers does a great job at delivering the symptoms of bi-polar on screen. His performance last week was outstanding!

On the other hand, Vernon’s drug habit came out of left field and I wasn’t sure how to feel about it because it seemed so out of character. And Luscious admitting he’s Lola’s father… It was a good twist, no doubt, but the way it was delivered seemed off. It was a tad bit uncomfortable to watch.

Just my 2 cents. I still love the show though.

Every week I look forward to more Cookie! LOL! Can’t get enough of her. Taraji P. Henson is flawless.

Can’t wait for next week’s two-hour finale!