(TV SERIES) The Shards Season 1 - Disappointing Thriller Series with too Much Focus on Coming of Age Stories

I have actually completed this series few days ago but just got the chance to write it today. It was something that I was interested in ever since I found out about it on Disney+ 1.5 month ago. However the final episode was only released on 9 September while I was away on holiday trip with my wife, so I only got the chance to watch the full season after I returned last week. Anyway, let's just get to the series.

Brief Story Line

Story was set in the year 1981 about a tight group of popular students in an elite high school in Los Angeles. They consisted of the narrator Bret Easton (Igby Rigney - The Midnight Club TV series, Midnight Mass mini series etc), his girlfriend the very wealthy Debbie Schaffer (Singer Hayes Warner) and their best friends the student body president Susan Reynolds (Kaia Gerber - Shell, Palm Royale TV series etc) with her boyfriend star quarterback Thom (Graham Campbell). However things started to change with the appearance of new mysterious student named Robert Mallory (Homer Gere) who became part of the group and somehow ruined their dynamics.

(TV SERIES) We Were Liars Season 1 - Interesting Enough Teen Drama Which Felt More Like Soap Opera than Psychological Thriller

I read somewhere about this newly released 8 episode series on Prime Video that I think critics were quite raving. The classification of psychological thriller and having brief yet intriguing synopsis made me quite interested. So I decided to give the series a try starting from last Thursday and finished on Saturday. All right then, why don't I just get on it.

Brief Story Line

The series focused on the large really wealthy family of Sinclairs that consisted of the parents Harris (David Morse - Double Vision, Disturbia etc) and his wife Tipper (Wendy Crewson - The Kid Detective, On the Basis of Sex etc) with their three daughters, the eldest Carrie (Mamie Gummer - Emily Owens, M.D. TV series etc, Out of Blue etc), the middle Penny (Caitlin FitzGerald - Masters of Sex TV series, Lost on a Mountain in Maine etc) and the youngest Bess (Candice King - The Vampire Diaries TV series, After We Collided etc). Every summer, they would all gather in Beechwood island where the Sinclair sisters brought along their children to spend holidays there. While Penny was divorced and Bess' husband was always busy, only Carrie who always came with her partner Ed Patil (Rahul Kohli - Death and Other Details TV series, The Life of Chuck etc).

(TV SERIES) Bet Season 1 - A Series Inspired by Popular Manga/Anime and Live Action Series "Kakegurui"

This series went unnoticed for me till I saw it in the Coming This Week section on Netflix. When I read that it was adapted from Japanese series Kakegurui I thought it might be interesting. So I gave it a try last Thursday and finished it the day after. Without further ado, here's more on the series.

Brief Story Line

After continuously making troubles at various schools with her gambling addiction, Yumeko (Miku Martineau - Kate, Star Trek: Section 31 etc) got transferred to St. Dominic's private school which was having a hierarchy system based on gambling winnings. It was run by the student council president Kira (Clara Alexandrova - Danger in the Dorm etc) along with her group that consisted of her sister Riri (Anwen O'Driscoll - Burden of Truth TV series etc), social media queen Suki (Ryan Sutherland), the psychotic Dori (Aviva Mongillo - Backstage TV series etc) and Mary (Eve Edwards).

(TV SERIES) Chastity High - A Teen Drama with Interesting Premise Albeit Sensitive Subjects

This Saturday I was thinking of seeing movies that I was unable to do last week as I was on holiday with my wife. To my surprise though, they were only playing in very few cinemas that we decided to just skip them. Since there was no new film on streaming service that interest me, I opted to watch this newest series on Netflix which has an intriguing premise. OK, let's get on with it then. 

Brief Story Line

In Asura private high school for students from wealthy family, a new strict rule was implemented by principal Ms. Ikushima (Shinobu Terajima - The Demon Over There etc) where boys and girls were prohibited from romance, and having sexual intercourse would get them expelled. To enforce the rules, student council led by Sawa (Shiori Akita - 17.3 About a Sex etc) was assigned to patrol around and outside school to catch students in the act. Ichika (Ai Mikami - Yu Yu Hakusho live version series etc) who came from poor family and struggling financially was one of the council members, together with Kanda (Rintaro Mizusawa - The Way Back Home etc) and several others.

Do Revenge - A Fun and Interesting Teen Drama Comedy with an Intriguing Premise

I was a bit late to watch this movie as it was released while I was on my way home from holiday and I only got the chance to see it last night after my wife watched it the night before. So let us get on with it then. 

Brief Story Line

Drea (Camila Mendes - Riverdale TV series, Palm Springs etc), an ambitious girl from average family was very popular in Rosehill private school where she was best friends with the very rich Tara (Alisha Boe - 13 Reasons Why TV series etc) and few others. Drea's boyfriend was the most popular boy in school named Max (Austin Abrams - Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark etc). After an incident, Drea somehow became the school's pariah and she decided to do revenge on the people who did this to her after she met with another girl named Eleanor (Maya Hawke - Stranger Things TV series, etc).

(TV SERIES) One of Us is Lying Season 1 - Interesting Enough Murder Mystery Series in High School

During last weekend, I started to watch this series. There were actually tons of new and ongoing series available on Netflix in the past few weeks, but I decided with this one as it intrigued me the most with its premise. Well, I will get into it now.

Brief Story Line

In Bayview Highschool, there was an online gossip group called About That which was moderated by Simon (Mark McKenna - Sing Street etc) who was best friend with Janae (Jessica McLeod). On the first day after the summer holiday, five students that included popular cheerleader Addy (Annalisa Cochrane), a straight A student Bronwyn (Marianly Tejada), a talented baseball pitcher Cooper (Chibuikem Uche), the school's bad boy/drug dealer Nate (Cooper van Grootel) and Simon were put in detention.

(TV SERIES) I Know What You Did Last Summer Season 1 - A Long Version Adaptation of the 1973 Novel with Different Style Compared to the 1997 Movie

After premiering its first four episodes back in October on Prime Videos, I was waiting for it to complete before starting to watch the whole season. But somehow I forgotten about this and only realized few days ago that the first season have all been released for more than 2 weeks. Anyway, I just got the chance to watch it since Sunday and finished it yesterday. So, how was the series? Let's find out now, shall we?

Brief Story Line

Lennon and Alison (both played by Madison Iseman - Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween, Annabelle Comes Home etc) were twin sisters who went to the graduation party held by Lennon's best friend Margot (Brianne Tju - 47 Meters Down: Uncaged, Scream TV series etc). While Alison was a shy and depressed girl, Lennon was a real party girl. In the party, there were also Margot's best friend Johnny (Sebastian Amoruso), Alison's crush Dylan (Ezekiel Goodman) and his best friend Riley (Ashley Moore).

He's All That - A Very Light Teen Rom-com Movie and a Gender-Swapped Remake of 1999 Movie

I have been meaning to watch this movie when I noticed the title which seemed familiar to me. Once I read a bit on the premise, I was definitely intrigued to give it a try, especially since it seemed to promise light and fun entertainment. So last night I watched this movie together with my wife who just finished watching a Japanese animation series. OK, let's get this started.

Brief Story Line

Padgett Sawyer (Addison Rae) was a high school student and famous influencer who received lots of endorsements and income. She kept it for her college fund in order to help her mother Anna (Rachel Leigh Cook - Josie and the Pussycats, Perception TV series etc) who was working as a nurse. Padgett was best friends with Alden Pierce (Madison Pettis - American Pie Presents: Girls' Rules etc) & Quinn (Myra Molloy) and having an equally famous boyfriend Jordan (Peyton Meyer - Girl Meets World TV series etc).

Spontaneous - Extremely Dark Teen Drama Romance Movie with a Touch of Sci-Fi

I have seen the promotion of this movie on HBO for a while now and I was intrigued by its interesting premise. It was not a brand new film, but it has a limited theatrical release back in October 2020 which was not that long ago either. So when it was released yesterday on HBO Go, I immediately watch it. All right, will get to the movie now.

Brief Story Line

Mara Carlyle (Katherine Langford - Cursed, 13 Reasons Why TV series etc) was just a normal senior high school student at Covington High with her best friend Tess (Hayley Law - Altered Carbon TV series etc). But their lives changed when one of their classmates spontaneously combust in classroom. After that incident, Mara grew close with fellow classmate Dylan (Charlie Plummer - All the Money in the World, Words on Bathroom Floors etc) who had been having a crush on her for a while.

(TV SERIES) Outer Banks Season 1 - Better Than Expected Teenagers Treasure Hunt & Love Story

Last weekend there were not too many new movies/series on various platforms that I was really interested in, so I turned myself to the "not so new" series which I thought would be worthwhile to invest my time. After browsing through the list, I decided to give this a try as it seemed to have intriguing premise about treasure hunt. All right, I'll just head on with it now.

Brief Story Line

In a town located in the string of islands along North Carolina (known as Outer Banks), a group of local teenagers that consisted of their leader John B (Chase Stokes), his best friend J.J (Rudy Pankow), the smart kid Pope (Jonathan Daviss) and the only girl Kiara "Kie" (Madison Bailey) loved to hang around and surf all day. As locals who lived in the working-class neighborhood (referred as Pogues), there was a lot of tension with the wealthy people who lived on the other side of the town (referred to as Kooks).

Moxie - A Teenager Feminist Movement Movie

It has been a very hectic past few days at work which resulted to me coming home late and did not have the time to watch films. But last night I did get the chance to watch a new teenage movie released on Netflix that I thought would be light enough. And how was the movie? I'll get into it now.

Brief Story Line

Vivian (Hadley Robinson - Utopia TV series etc) was just one of the common high school girl with introvert personality whose best friend Claudia (Lauren Tsai - Legion TV series etc) was equally introvert. But when Vivian met with a new student named Lucy (Alycia Pascual-Peña) who was confident and not afraid to go against football captain & bully Mitchell (Patrick Schwarzenegger - Midnight Sun, Echo Boomers etc), it opened her eyes that the school's being too receptive in the annual degrading "branding" on its female students.

(TV SERIES) Fate: The Winx Saga - A Much Better than Expected Series of Magic Fairies based on Popular Animated Nickelodeon Series

I saw this series promoted few days ago on Netflix and I decided to give it a try as it has magical element in it. Plus it only has 6 episodes which I should be able to complete easily in 1 day. OK, I'll just get into it now.

Brief Story Line

In the world where fairies and magical creatures exist, a 16 year old girl named Bloom (Abigail Cowen) started to go to a special school for fairies in Alfea. Being a person who just realized she was a fairy, made Bloom having difficulties to adjust with her new life. Luckily she stayed in a suite together with friendly first year students like Aisha (Precious Mustapha), Terra (Eliot Salt), Musa (Elisha Applebaum) and a snobby second year student Stella (Hannah van der Westhuysen). Bloom also befriended a second year specialist named Sky (Danny Griffin) who has a best friend fellow specialist Riven (Freddie Thorpe). Aside from those students, there was also a new fairy named Beatrix (Sadie Soverall) who had a knack for Alfea's history.

(TV SERIES) The Wilds Season 1 - Surprisingly Quite Intense & Dark Teenage Survival Series

As I was browsing for series to watch during last weekend, I realized this one that I postponed a bit since I was in the middle of something else. It was released through Prime Video on 11 December, so it's not that late. I was intrigued by the premise as it reminded me a lot of a series which I loved a lot. Well, I'll get more into it now.

Brief Story Line

A group of high school girls went on a retreat to Hawaii for a trip which were supposedly good for their mental health. The teens consisted of the depressed Leah (Sarah Pidgeon), the strong willed Dot (Shannon Berry - Hunters TV series etc), the all American girl Shelby (Mia Healey), the short fused Toni (Erana James) and her best friend, the always positive Martha (Jenna Clause), the twins Nora (Helena Howard - Madeline's Madeline etc) & Rachel (Reign Edwards - The Bold and the Beautiful soap opera etc), the party girl Fatin (Sophia Ali - Truth or Dare etc) and the cheerful Jeannette (Chi Nguyen). 

Secret Society of Second-Born Royals - A Mediocre Teenage Superhero Movie

Yesterday I noticed there were few new movies released on Disney+, and my eyes was fixed on this as it seemed interesting (whereas another one was an Indonesian comedy movie which I lost interest after its 2nd sequel and the rest were not intriguing). OK I'll get right on it now.

Brief Story Line 

Sam (Payton Elizabeth Lee - Andi Mack TV series etc) was the second-born royal in the kingdom of Illrya where she was quite rebellious with the monarch tradition and often having disagreements with her mother, Queen Catherine (Elodie Yung - The Hitman's Bodyguard, G.I. Joe: Retaliation etc) and her older sister/future queen Eleanor (Ashley Liao - Fuller House TV series etc). With her childhood best friend Mike (Noah Lomax), Sam sometimes did things against the regulation.

Weathering With You - Another Lovely Work from Makoto Shinkai

I was interested in seeing this movie due to being dubbed as another work from Makoto Shinkai, who was quite famous for directing one of the loveliest anime movie I had ever seen, i.e. Your Name aka Kimi no Nawa. Anyway, as the movie only played in certain cinema chains, I set my mind to see this during the weekend but it was not meant to be as I underestimated the enthusiasm of his fans since the studios were mostly fully booked. But finally I got the chance to see it yesterday. Well enough of that, and let's just get to the movie now.

Brief Story Line

Hodaka Morishima (Kotaro Daigo) was a 16 year old high school student who ran away from home to Tokyo only to find that life was very difficult. Luckily he managed to get a job from Keisuke Suga (Shun Oguri) to become an apprentice in his magazine. There was also another college girl named Natsumi (Tsubasa Honda) who worked part time.

(TV SERIES) Sex Education Season 1 - One of the of Most Interesting Teen Drama Comedy I have Ever Seen

While I was looking for something refreshing in a TV series, I stumbled across this one which was shown on Netflix and categorized as comedy. I read a bit about it and felt it seemed like an interesting series that I should be able to enjoy, plus it had two quite well known stars in it. So I will just get to it now.

Brief Story Line

Otis (Asa Butterfield - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, The Space Between Us etc) was a seemingly invisible teenager whose mother was a famous sex therapist named Jean (Gillian Anderson - The X Files TV series, The Spy Who Dumped Me etc) and always made him uncomfortable. He sometimes felt ashamed of her profession and also felt a bit intimidated due to his lack of practical experience in terms of sex. But it did make him very knowledgeable for his age. His best friend was a gay named Eric (Ncuti Gatwa) who despite being bullied all the time, especially by the school bully Adam (Connor Swindells - The Vanishing etc) was still a positive and cheerful person.

(TV SERIES) Impulse Season 1 - An Intriguing Series from Jumper Universe

When I was browsing through the list of series that I planned to watch, I noticed this one which had been there for quite some time. I was intrigued by it since it seemed like an interesting science fiction series. As it only has 10 episodes for the first season and it was already shown back in 2018, I thought this would be a good time to start watching it. And it took me around 3 days to finish it, which surprisingly took longer than I foresaw. Anyway, let us get on with the series now.

Brief Story Line

Henrietta "Henry" Coles (Maddie Hason - Twisted TV series etc) was a teenager who just moved to a small town with her single mother Cleo (Missi Pyle - A Haunted House 2, The Artist etc). They lived together with Cleo's boyfriend who also had a daughter similar to Henry's age named Jenna (Sarah Desjardins). Henry was feeling like an outcast in school, especially since she was a loner and was distant with Jenna who was a popular girl.