Tag: Kristen Bell

Spoiler-Free Review of “The People We Hate at the Wedding” on Prime Video: Some moments of heart and humor

*This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!*

“Weddings can be stressful…”

The People We Hate at the Wedding premiered on November 18th 2022 on Prime Video. The rom-com film stars Kristen Bell, Allison Janney, Ben Platt, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, and Dustin Milligan. It runs for approximately an hour and forty minutes.

Tensions flare between siblings when they travel to their half-sister’s wedding.

Here is the trailer:

The People We Hate at the Wedding has a fun cast with a predictable, but fun premise. Is it worthy of your next watch? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Images courtesy of Prime Video

Fun cast.

Kristen Bell was the best part of the movie. Her dry humor landed quite a bit and she elevated a lot of the scenes. The other characters put forth a valiant effort as well and I believed the dynamic between the family, but she really shined here and then some.

There was good chemistry between her and her love interest as well.

Good balance of heart and humor.

Even though this film stumbled quite a bit in the beginning, it eventually settled in and found a happy medium of heart-warming family moments and outrageous humor. I enjoyed the second half of the movie a lot more than the first and the ending was actually really cute.

The Cons:

Images courtesy of Prime Video

The crude humor didn’t always work…

The first half of the film felt very unsure of itself. The majority of the crude humor didn’t work and everything just seemed very forced and unbalanced. Thankfully this improved later on, but it was a rough start.

The film was also really predictable and generic in a lot of ways, but as long as you accept that and manage your expectations accordingly, you’ll still have some fun watching this.

So am I in or out?

Images courtesy of Prime Video

I’m in about 75 percent…

Entertaining enough for a quick watch with a worthy cast, but there were some rough edges to work around.

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on The People We Hate at the Wedding in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

THIS COMPETITION IS KILLER…

When former friends, Shay and Adriana team up to participate in a Halloween scavenger hunt with a cash prize, they temporarily put their differences aside to outsmart their opponents. However, they soon start to realize that a dangerous threat is playing their own version of the game, stalking them during each hunt.

Winning is now a necessity as their lives are at stake. As old wounds and memories re-surface, Shay and Adriana attempt to unmask the threat before the night is over, but soon learn that Scream Hunt is not done with them just yet…

My young adult horror thriller is out now! I hope you enjoy!

Scream Hunt is available here!

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Spoiler-Free Review of “The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window” on Netflix: Say that five times fast…

*This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!*

“Playing detective is a dangerous game…”

The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window premiered on Netflix on January 28th 2022 with eight episodes available to stream now. The parody-thriller series stars Kristen Bell, Michael Ealy, Tom Riley, Shelley Hennig and Mary Holland. Each episode runs for approximately 25-29 minutes.

The series is meant to be a spoof of films like The Woman in the Window and The Girl on the Train but it also has its own mystery embedded into it which makes things over-complicated for our female protagonist.

Here is the trailer:

The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window has a promising premise and a female lead to die for, but does its own plot go off the rails along the way? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Images courtesy of Netflix

No one but Kristen Bell could pull this off…

I am a huge fan of Kristen Bell and I loved her on Veronica Mars. We’ve seen her solve mysteries on her own over the years, but she is going about it in a completely different way this time around. This type of show is tricky to review and I am actually going to commend her on her intentional “bad acting,” which was so spot on and on another level.

It’s not easy doing this without looking completely ridiculous and somehow Kristen Bell just makes it work. She’s no stranger to doing voice-over narrations and she brought a charm like no other, which I think saved this series in a lot of ways for me.

The rest of the cast does a good job too and there is one cameo at the end worth sticking around for!

Short episodes.

This show is really easy to binge-watch. I finished all eight episodes in just one night since they are all just under a half hour. Even though the pacing needed some work at times, things moved pretty quickly for the most part. If the episodes were longer, I might have tuned out, but this worked in the show’s favor.

The Cons:

Images courtesy of Netflix

Over-complicates things…

I was really excited about this show and I was hoping it would nail the premise, but this was no easy task. This series wasn’t just a spoof like Scary Movie. It actually took a real story and plot and then just tried to really poke fun at a lot of the tropes we saw in The Woman in the Window.

The mystery itself kept me invested, but I don’t think all of the humor landed. I realize that this was an ambitious concept, but it may have got lost in translation along the way.

That being said, I still think there is enough worth sticking around for and Kristen Bell elevates the series in so many ways.

So am I in or out?

Images courtesy of Netflix

I’m in about 75 percent…

Kristen Bell really puts forth a valiant effort and keeps things fun, but I guess I had really high expectations for this one and it fell flat at times. That being said, I still think this is an enjoyable watch especially if you find yourself watching guilty-pleasure thrillers from time to time. You’ll appreciate the point of the series and will probably find yourself trying to figure out the mystery as well.

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

DON’T TAKE THE JOB…

It was only supposed to be temporary…but when Olivia Crewe accepts a new position that seems too good to be true, she soon discovers that twelve other girls previously had the same job as her. Only none of them lasted for more than thirty days. No notice. Nothing…right before they mysteriously disappeared without a trace.

My supernatural thriller Girl Number Thirteen is out now! I hope you enjoy!

Girl Number Thirteen is available here!

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Spoiler-Free Review of “Gossip Girl” Reboot on HBO Max: Why So Serious?

**This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!**

“Been a minute…did you miss me?”

The reboot of Gossip Girl premiered on HBO Max on July 8th 2021 with the first episode. The remaining nine episodes will air weekly. Each episode runs for approximately 55 minutes. The reboot stars Jordan Alexander, Whitney Peak, Tavi Gevinson, Eli Brown, and Emily Alyn Lind.

Kristen Bell returns as the voice of Gossip Girl, but the rest of the original cast do not. The Upper East Side is back on display as we follow a new group of teenage elites and witness them go to scandalous measures to get what they want while attending Constance Billard. The original Gossip Girl website may have shut down, but a new source emerges to keep the dirt coming.

Here is the trailer:

Gossip Girl (2021) has a lot to live up to as the original series was an entertaining guilty pleasure to indulge in. Are we ready for a reboot of the series and does it do enough to find a voice of its own? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Images courtesy of HBO Max

A more diverse cast.

Much like the Saved by the Bell and Charmed reboots, we are presented with a more diverse cast for the reboot of Gossip Girl. I think this is a step in the right direction to be more inclusive this time around.

Sibling rivalry and a new Gossip Girl.

The main plot reminded me a little bit of One Tree Hill. We have half siblings who end up in the same school and drama is high as a result. I think this is the best part of the show so far and I’m interested to find out more about the true intentions of both siblings and how far they will go to keep up appearances.

We also get a twist on the new “Gossip Girl” and learn the identity right away. This takes us away from the outrageous reveal at the end of the original series and also gives us a chance to connect with a different set of characters that may see things a little bit differently. I’m intrigued by this so far.

Images courtesy of HBO Max

A familiar voice to put us at ease.

It wouldn’t feel right with anyone else narrating the show as the infamous “Gossip Girl” and hearing Kristen Bell’s voice made me feel right at home. Sure, the dialogue is a little outrageous, but there was a much needed nostalgia present as a result, especially since the rest of the cast is absent…even though we get plenty of reminders and name drops along the way to keep us tuned in.

The Cons:

Images courtesy of HBO Max

Don’t lose sight of what made the show work in the first place…

My biggest con with this reboot is that it takes itself way too seriously. The dialogue is beyond atrocious. I understand we are focusing on a new generation, but no one talks like this. While Riverdale presents us with some over-the-top dialogue as well, it still manages to keep us entertained because it knows when to lighten the mood even during some of the angst-filled melodrama.

In similar fashion, the original Gossip Girl worked because it was so outrageous and it embraced this. The cast really elevated the characters and made you care about them…even though they were horrible human beings!

Blair Waldorf is the iconic Queen Bee of television and even though Chuck Bass was beyond ridiculous, he was so entertaining to watch! The back-stabbing and twists just somehow worked because the show understood that it was meant to be a guilty pleasure teen drama.

The reboot is having an identity crisis and is taking itself too seriously, which makes the execution flat and uninspiring. I don’t care about any of the characters yet and it was honestly really difficult to watch a lot of the pilot episode, which is beyond disappointing.

So am I in or out?

Images courtesy of HBO Max

I’m 50/50 on this one…

I want to give this show a chance to get better because I am a fan of the original series. However, the majority of the pilot episode was painful to watch. I am going to give the show at least three episodes to change my mind, but it needs to really make some major changes if it wants to connect with a new generation and fans of the original series.

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on the Gossip Girl reboot in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

DON’T TAKE THE JOB…

It was only supposed to be temporary…but when Olivia Crewe accepts a new position that seems too good to be true, she soon discovers that twelve other girls previously had the same job as her. Only none of them lasted for more than thirty days. No notice. Nothing…right before they mysteriously disappeared without a trace.

My supernatural thriller Girl Number Thirteen is out now! I hope you enjoy!

Girl Number Thirteen is available here!

**If you enjoyed this blog, I would love it if you would click the follow button on your way out to subscribe.  Thanks for your support!

My performance of the week ending 7/20/19 on TV goes to…

Kristen Bell as Veronica Mars on Hulu’s Veronica Mars season 4.  I have been a huge fan of Kristen Bell since the very start of the Veronica Mars series and the show still has a secure spot in my top 5 series of all time.  I was so disappointed when the show ended after three seasons, but was pleased when fans finally got to see the movie and I have been counting the days until the release of season 4 on Hulu, which surprise….it’s out a week early!!!!! What???!!!!

I’m so glad I finished my re-watch of the series early so that I can binge-watch all weekend and I have to say that Kristen Bell is still as charming as ever.  Veronica Mars may have more of a mature feel now, but that makes sense since we aren’t in high school anymore.  Veronica still sticks to her roots, challenging authority, taking chances, and speaking her mind, which brings quite a few laughs along the way.  She may be a marshmallow now, but she is also quite the bad-ass and I am having so much fun watching the new season.  **Please note spoilers have been left out for your convenience so feel free to read on!

One of the reasons why I love Veronica Mars so much as a character is because she is far from perfect.  Sure, she tends to be the one to solve the case and she often notices clues before the local Sheriff’s office, but she is also guarded with major trust issues, which can get in the way of some of her friendships and relationships.  Veronica has a supporting father, some great friendships, and an amazing boyfriend, but she tends to do things on her own. 

Some of my favorite moments with her are when she lets that guard down and is finally vulnerable, revealing her doubts and insecurities.  I connect with her so much and my heart has broken along with hers over the years.  Through it all, Veronica Mars continues to stay true to herself, reminding us that our purpose is sometimes right in front of us.

What’s next for Veronica Mars?  We’ll have to wait and see, but I’m wondering if a season 5 is possible?  The premise of the show allows a new case or mystery to set the scene and I have been loving the fun cameos and nostalgia sprinkled in across season 4. I’ll always be a Veronica Mars fan for life and Kristen Bell’s performance is real, inspiring, and super fun too!  If you haven’t seen the show yet, all of the episodes (seasons 1-4) are now streaming on Hulu and you can watch the movie on HBO GO/Now.  That’s all for now Marshmallows!  Enjoy the binge-watch!

Stay tuned for a recognized performance on TV each week!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

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Have a performance on TV that you think is simply outstanding? Feel free to contact me with your nomination for the week by Friday at midnight! 

**Do you love television shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Once Upon a Time, Lost, Charmed, The Vampire Diaries, and Supernatural?  Do you enjoy dark fantasy, fairy-tale retellings, paranormal romance, horror, and mystery?  Then you may like my book series, Dreaming of Wonderland…available on Amazon!  Thank you for taking the time to check it out and I appreciate any feedback as well.  I really hope you enjoy!

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