03 | Weekly Roundup #1
In this issue: Wednesday, 1899, Mythic Quest, Disenchanted, and Good Bad Girl.
Howdy! I hope you had a good week!
For this issue, I’ve decided to open up a new segment called “Weekly Roundup” where I review the titles I’ve watched recently, or well, in the last week. This will cover a few movies/TV shows as soon as they’re released, helping you decide whether or not you should watch something you saw trending on Twitter.
For Weekly Roundup #1, there’s a surprising collective of horror/fantasy releases (that too this close to Christmas). Well, let’s get into it!
Wednesday
Genre: Supernatural Comedy Horror
Language: English
Gist: After her disruptive incidents at “normie” schools, Wednesday Addams is enrolled into Nevermore where she learns of her new powers and tries to catch a monster lurking around the school.
Review: Jenna Ortega beautifully embodies Wednesday and makes her, her own. This show really prods into the emotional aspects of the character: her complex relationship with her mother, her general anti-socialness, and her love for all things morbid which wrestle against her staunch values and stubbornness. I feared that by placing Wednesday under a microscope we might lose her charm. Thankfully, it does the job so well1 that you’re bound to crave for Wednesday the moment the show ends and miss her (and her witty quips) in the days to come.
Enid: Want to take a stab at being social?
Wednesday: I do like stabbing.
What I did not enjoy and where the show lost points was the story itself. It dipped into the oversaturated supernatural teen drama whose universe could not be differentiated from that created in any other show — essentially robbing the Addams of the appeal they command over the audience. Perhaps S2 can rectify this.
SYWT? Definitely! You should not miss Ortega’s performance.
1899
Genre: Sci Fi Mystery Epic
Language: Multiple Languages
Gist: In 1899, Kerberos a ship is sailing from England to New York. Suddenly, it gets a signal from Prometheus, a ship that was lost at sea four months ago. When the captain decides to help the lost ship, strange things begin to happen.
Review: This is one I’m divided about, especially because it had so much potential. On one hand, the acting is great, the mystery is gripping and it has the right touches of suspense and horror. On the other hand, the big “reveal” or answer to the mystery is not rewarding at all! The show builds on an extremely over-used sci-fi trope, and to me that is a huge, unforgiveable oversight.
SYWT? It’s nearly not as good as Dark and the pacing is too slow. Can you skip this? Sure.
Mythic Quest (Seasons 1-3)
Genre: Comedy
Language: English
Gist: The misadventures of video game creator, Ian, (pronounced Eye-Ann) and his dysfunctional team who must ensure that Mythic Quest is the best game ever.
Review: A sitcom is only as good as its quirky characters, and thankfully Mythic Quest has plenty of them, making the show a fun, volatile ride. But what I love most are the emotional beats that stem out of the most chaotic moments. Another high point? Its super luxe production value!
If you’re into gaming, some of the attention to detail about the industry’s history will take you by pleasant surprise. And if you’re not… well, this may make you want to try out gaming.
SYWT? If you’re looking for your next sitcom, MQ season 1, in particular, is worth watching!
Disenchanted
Genre: Musical2 Fantasy Comedy
Language: English
Gist: Fifteen years after the events of the first movie, Giselle searches for a new “happy ever after” and puts the lives of those in the real world and Andalasia in grave danger.
Review: Bitterly disappointed doesn’t even begin to cover what I felt while watching Disenchanted. I very much wanted to like something, anything about it, but all I could marvel over was the familiarity of Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, and Idina Mensel returning to their roles, with the new addition of Maya Rudolph.
Essentially, Giselle relocates the whole family from NYC to a suburb because she thinks this is where she will find her happy ending. But this only disheartens her family. In addition, she also accidently unleashes a curse, which makes her a stepmother. Adams playing into the cruel stepmother was somewhat fresh, but the whole plot was otherwise convoluted, clunky, and left much to be desired.
SYWT? No, go watch Enchanted again instead.
Good Bad Girl
Genre: Comedy Drama
Language: Hindi, English
Gist: A lawyer who is a pathological liar fakes that she has cancer to avoid getting fired. Her lie wins her several perks including a new boyfriend and social media attention… but for how long can she keep up pretenses?
Review: Maya Ahuja3 doesn’t mind bending the truth and even committing outright fraud if it guarantees her a happy ever after. Maya’s unhinged lack of conscience is what pulls you into the story, with the itch to know just how far she’ll push it. Or perhaps, you’ll enjoy anticipating when she’ll crash and burn. Her antics that contrasted by a compelling, poetic, and rather astute narrator seals the deal for this web series.
The acting in places is questionable, but also forgivable given the limitations of the platform.
SYWT? If you like Hindi dramedies and are looking for your next fix, then sure!
That’s it for today! I hope you liked this issue and this new “segment” — If you have suggestions about it (or the newsletter in general), please do leave me a comment! And yes, hit that like button 💜
PS: Another thing to leave in the comments is your Spotify Wrapped top artist and most played song. Spill! Mine is BTS and Nobody Else by LANY.
Before I go:
In honor of Mythic Quest, here is a website where you can play retro video games. Enjoy!
If you’d like to read the previous issue, here’s a link to SYWT’s archive.
Looking for any title in particular? Cue the database — This has the list of movies/TV shows covered so far with ratings and links to the newsletters they were reviewed in.
What’s stuck in my head:
With all my love,
sal.
I am looking forward to seeing more of Ortega’s Wednesday with a much-improved story. Thanks, Tim Burton.
One point cut for the fact they have a song called “Badder.” I’m no grammar police but even I can’t overlook this.
I’d describe her as a more unhinged version of Devi from Never Have I Ever.
Wednesday came as a breath of fresh air for me, tbh. It's been a while since I've managed to get into a show but you're right, it didn't have some of the classic Addams Family vibes. It did feel very basic (I sussed out the plot pretty early on) but maybe I'm a bit nostalgic for early 2000s cw teen/angsty shows (thinking of supernatural here).
My most played artist was BTS this year (5th year in a row) and Woman by Doja Cat was the #1 song (dethroning BTS after five years and I'm shocked).