WeView

⭐ 8.5/10 (Originally written by Beans) This is quite an interesting movie that I went into fully blind. It’s categorized as fantasy/romance, which may pique your interest. It feels really psychological but not in a horrific way. It follows Andrew Scott in London as he runs into his neighbour Paul Mescal. They strike up a friendship that turns romantic. Throughout this he visits his parents old house and finds them there as a young couple - the same age they were when they died. So right away you know a lot of this movie is happening in Scott’s head, but you don’t know what all it might be. A lot of this movie centres around being queer. The dynamics of it in a romantic relationship, coming out to your family, and unpacking some of that trauma you experienced as a kid, knowing you were different. I shed quite a few tears and thought it was done really well. The conversation was poignant, the relationship was endearing, and the parents were great. I had to google the ending cause these t...

⭐ 7.0/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) I don't know, it was fine. But Joe was right, two slo-mo "Mamma mia's" was too many.

⭐ 7.5/10 (Originally written by Joseph) This book is subtitled: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History. It was a Pulitzer finalist in 2010, and has killer reviews. I really love learning about Indigenous history, and I really enjoy southwestern American history (basically real life Westerns) so I was all in. So I was pretty surprised that within the first chapter, I was finding this book to be... kinda racist. I would say that I loved a lot about this book and learned a ton, but it is hard to deny that the author uses a lot of insensitive language. I think he goes to great lengths to be fair, and tell both sides, and explains the realities of 19th century Comancheria without sugar coating it. The author also clearly has a lot of respect for Comanches, and isn't shy about admonishing the white settlers for their atrocities... But as a whole I just think this story could have used a bit more sensitivity. Anyways, asid...

⭐ 9.5/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) I've only seen the original movie a couple times, but I had an amazing time watching this. There are several bangers on the soundtrack, many laugh out loud moments, and Auli'i Cravalho was mesmerizing. I do wish they'd chosen a better singer as the lead actress though.

⭐ 7.5/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) Super interesting concept, but the execution went a little over my head.

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) I know all my loyal Weview fans have been wondering why I've written so few video game reviews recently. The answer is that I've been replaying the Witcher 3 for approximately five thousand hours. I kinda wanted to include my thoughts on the game now that I've read the novels and am now a top percentile Witcher fan, but tbh my thoughts have not changed much from that first playthrough. Essentially, I think this game is amazing in a lot of ways. It looks mostly good, and at times great. The music is phenomenal, the voice acting is consistently great, especially considering there are hundreds of characters, and also this was a translation. The story meanders quite a bit, but has its highlights, especially during random side quests. It's also just very funny. This is, without a doubt, one of the great open world RPGs. Still, the game as a whole has its issues. My main one is simply... What's the good part? The combat is good, not...

⭐ 6.5/10 (Originally written by Joseph) So this is a recent Apple TV show about Monarch, which in the Godzilla universe, is the organisation that studies monsters and tries to stop them from destroying the world. As Weview's resident Godzilla fan, I was obligated to watch. This show was actually an interesting study for me into what I think is good TV. This show has a massive budget, some household names (Kurt Russell), and a known IP that I enjoy. It explores the human side of Godzilla's destruction, which I think is great, and the script feels like a lot of effort went into it. Lots of twists, lots of complicated relationships, lots of interesting dynamics. This isn't like the recent Godzilla movies where it feels like the script is hashed out in one sitting. It avoids cliche, and explores some interesting ideas. And yet... I never connected with this show. I'm not totally sure what it was besides that I found a lot of characters annoying, and their decisions often ma...

⭐ 10.0/10 (Originally written by Beans) I literally never listen to the radio anymore and so all of my new music comes from TikTok and I’m a bit ashamed to admit that cause all artists say TikTok is basically cancer for careers but this artist covered Taylor Swift’s cruel summer and really blew up and that’s why and how I checked out their stuff. I would say first and foremost this artist is a drummer, it’s clear that they are very talented and seeing them perform live on videos while singing and drumming is so impressive. Every song on this album has such a great drum track that gets me hyped every time. This album is labeled pop rock, but definitely leans more alternative than rock, and then more pop than alternative. Every year I feel like I find a new artist to be obsessed with, and I guess we’re starting early here. The whole album is very digestible, 12 songs at 40 minutes total. I want to pick a favourite song but honestly don’t know if I can. Baked, Real Life, Worst Person Aliv...

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Beans) This is a dramedy starring Rachel Sennot and Molly Gordon, where the premise is that Sennot’s character goes to a Jewish funeral after party (a Shiva) where she runs into her ex girlfriend (Gordon) and current sugar daddy. Throw in parents and Jewish community and all hell breaks loose. This movie was truly incredible at building up this intense atmosphere pretty much the whole movie and you just want the bubble to burst so bad. There are confrontations and risky conversations and meet ups in bathrooms and frisky texts sent that is so anxiety inducing and just makes you feel crazy. The background music that starts when shit is about to go down is basically like, this horror film style violin where they just pluck a few strings and make a shrill swipe across the instrument. It was really quite funny and absurd, and the bubble never really bursts the way you think it might - but in a good way. This movie kind of feels like most intense episodes of t...

⭐ 8.5/10 (Originally written by Joseph) This is a movie I took a lot of interest in after reading The Wager. It has a ton of similarities: a man-of-war is hunting enemy ships around South America, but then survival becomes paramount when things go south. It's a super authentic oceanic movie, and you can tell tons of attention was given to detail. It feels like they basically recreated a moment in history, and I doubt this kind of movie would be made today. Like, there are tons of real animals, and I suspect we'd be seeing that all replaced with cgi now. So in terms of getting my boat fix, this movie was everything I could have hoped for. It was perfect. Lots of sails, ropes, grimy sailors, canon fire. It also has terrific costumes and dialogue that felt authentic to the time. It's the perfect gear-up for that Scorsese movie that's apparently in the works. However, as an actual movie, I thought it left a lot to be desired. It was kinda just a meh story, with stakes I was...

⭐ 9.5/10 (Originally written by Tim) This may not be the best show I've seen, but its easily one of the most interesting. Nathan Fielder and Emma Stone play Asher and Whitney, a couple trying to create an HGTV show where they move into a community and gentrify it with these garish "passive homes" to help save the environment and revitalize a neighbourhood. I am totally in the bag for Fielder, so I loved this. He has a cringey brand of comedy, but usually it is loosely scripted, where as this is fully scripted. He certainly is trying to say a million things, and every episode has takes on virtue signaling, influencer culture, gentrification, celebrity, privilege, racism, all our modern issues. This show is unexpected in a million different ways, and if using all those words is a turn-off I can guarantee this isn't what you think it is. Nathan is great as this awkward husband trying to be funny and constantly being emasculated. He is really playing the same guy he alway...

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Tim) I started this movie on a plane and finished it at home and loved it! I thought it was an incredibly told story about something in recent history, which made it feel relatable. The story of Blackberry is actually really sad, and while this movie doesn't make the people involved lovable it does make the epic rise and fall seem dramatic. Its cool to see all the buildings I drive by every day in this movie, and living in Waterloo its impossible not to be aware of RIM - I play volleyball at RIM park every week! Its this company that has been forgotten so quickly, with all their buildings being rebranded or sticking out like big pyramids marking the graves of the rich Waterloo tech kings of 10 years ago. I'm sure everyone my age remembers how prevalent Blackberrys were for a handful of years, and the way they were completely discarded shortly after is a great cautionary tale. The movie is told through these zoomed in camera lenses, like we are...

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) If you think I'm making amends with the nation of Japan, you can think again. But this movie was absolutely beautiful. It was the same director as Only Yesterday, another anime I enjoyed recently, so maybe I'm just a fan of him. The movies had a lot of similarities with lots of cute, mundane moments, as well as the absolute yearning to return to simple country life. That latter is something I've come to really appreciate, especially recently as I've moved back to the country myself. It's also something Tolkien and Montgomery are big into and I feel like I'm drawn to anything with those themes. As far as this movie goes, it's a retelling of a traditional Japanese folktale in which a bamboo cutter discovers a fairy in the woods, raises it in his cabin, and then takes her to the palace because he wants her to be a princess. I think this movie wonderfully explores that topic, of what true happiness is, and if we can be co...

⭐ 10.0/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) Opal is a 20-something orphan taking care of her younger brother, doing everything she can to make a better life for him, including lying and stealing. She feels drawn to the mysterious Starling House and convinces its only habitant, the recluse Arthur, to give her a job cleaning it. This is a gothic book that straddles the line between fantasy and horror, with a sinister house and shadowy monsters. Both Opal and Arthur are described as ugly, and both have difficult personalities, but you can't help but love them. The romance between these very damaged people isn't the most central plot, but it was so compelling! And I loved the setting and the themes and the brother-sister relationship and the absolutely gorgeous writing. I have loved all of Harrow's books and this is no exception.

⭐ 6.0/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) I loved the first movie, but this one didn't quite measure up. It's almost three hours and covers too many years and events, so it's hard to feel connected to any characters. Also they spent so much money on making the movie look great visually but not nearly enough on making sure their non-Chinese actors could act.

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Tim) Loved this, and honestly a great movie to see shortly after The Holdovers. All the coming of age stuff is great, and I thought every actor was amazing. I loved the friends (except Nancy), and though the were the source of some of the funniest moments. The teach was great, and I loved how he ducked out of the sex talk assembly. Margaret was great, the grandma was great, and the parents were phenomenal! What a year for Benny Safdie, in this, The Curse, and Oppenheimer! I thought he was amazing as the dad, and McAdams was clearly great as the mother. A convincing family, with lots of cute moments. I wonder if anyone has every left this movie thinking they should now watch Uncut Gems. I liked how timeless this movie felt, which shouldn't be a surprise since its based on a timeless book. I just couldn't help but think about Eighth Grade and the modern version of this, and how the innocent curiosities the kids have feel much grosser with phones in...

⭐ 7.0/10 (Originally written by Tim) Honestly I think this season was maybe worse than a 7, but this kind of becomes a review of the series as a whole. I loved 1-4, but 5 and 6 have been a bit of a let down. I understand that everything royal revolved around Diana at this time, but I feel like the show was totally derailed in season 5, and the first half of this season has to wrap that up before awkwardly trying to get us to care about everyone else after. I think the show was at its best when it showed us things that made Elizabeth consider what it meant to be the Queen. Whether she is still relevant is always interesting, and I liked that this wasn't just a puff piece about how great the royals are. Well this show would have you believe Diana was a saint, and maybe she was, but its more interested in painting a historical picture and re-enacting tabloid moments than it is giving us a fresh perspective on these events. Maybe its because they were so heavily documented that we ...

⭐ 10.0/10 (Originally written by Beans) We are so back!! I’ve read these before about a decade ago, but I’ve returned to this world in part due to the new show adaption, and also cause this series rocks and I wanted to read it again. I didn’t realize how much I had forgotten! I think this is a perfect debut series. We have our main flawed character, complex friends, intriguing quest, so much mystery and magic and incredible characters and great monsters we meet along the way. I think the exploration of gods and myths and faith is super interesting and done really well. This idea of worshipping gods who don’t care about us, but still believing in something greater than us because we need some sort of hope.

⭐ 8.0/10 (Originally written by Beans) HELLOOOOO CHARLES MELTON. I don’t have much to say about this that hasn’t been said. This movie is so uncomfortable and the music plays a superb part in that. There’s a scene where the husband is trying to talk about some uneasy feelings he has/is working through in their relationship, and the wife keeps putting the blame on him and it’s straight from a real life interview of the couple. So incredibly eerie and gross. I’ve been seeing some discourse of how this movie portrays Hollywood and how actors and movie makers will do literally anything to anyone and any story to make money and exploit people rather than working with them. The husband who this is based off of has since said that he would’ve been willing to work together to make this movie a masterpiece but of course they never approached him.

⭐ 9.5/10 (Originally written by Beans) I too was very skeptical about this movie. The filming pics look terrible with Zac Efron’s flinstone haircut, and I didn’t really think twice about watching until I heard more about it and how devastating and great it was. My friend also told me to watch but beware if I have daddy issues. This movie was really spectacular. The brothers chemistry felt real and nostalgic, and the hard ass father was easy to hate but had traits that as a son you kind of look up to. Spoiler coming up in the next paragraph. The scene where they are in the afterlife really rocked my world. It felt very pure and beautiful, especially when they meet their younger brother that had passed way before them. But the most gut wrenching line was delivered by Zac when he was watching his two boys play and said “I used to be a brother”. I couldn’t take it.

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) I had absolutely zero interest in this movie and Beans had to drag me to the theatre. I think wrestling is the stupidest "sport" ever, and all the promo with a goofy looking Zach Efron was a huge turn off. Well, I'm glad I went! Because this movie is incredible from beginning to end and Zach Efron made a believer out of me! I've heard this movie called Little Women for men, and yeah, that's exactly true. It's about a dad who wasn't able to reach a ton of success as a professional wrestler, and so he put a ton of pressure on his 4 sons to achieve the goals he never could (it's a true story, with 2 more sons mostly omitted). The sons are super loyal to him and push the limits as they deal with personal issues, strife, grief and more. It's kinda a sports movie, but mostly a very intense family drama. I think one need not be a sports fan to enjoy this (I sure am not a wrestling fan). But yeah, this movie ranges f...

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) I think kinda similarly to others here, I was a little skeptical of this show. What is even the pitch here? Another sitcom about a white upper-middle class family? It just seemed like a run-of-the-mill network show. But I'd overheard Jess watching it enough times to have a positive impression, and the reviews here convinced me. Anyways, this show is fantastic just like everyone said. I agree that Phil is amazing and kills every scene. I found the child actors totally acceptable and even found Manny funny despite usually hating that kind of character. I also realized that I have never related to a character more than I've related to Jay. That guy is me (for better or worse. Mostly worse). BUT hands down, the guy that makes this show for me is Cam. There is not a single scene he is in that I don't laugh during. The stereotypical gay guy stuff is always funny, but I also love that he has a million hidden character traits that seem contra...

⭐ 9.5/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) I don't know what it is about de los Santos' books, but I've read and loved all of them. The story concepts are always pretty simple, and so I consider skipping one, but the mix of characters and relationships and writing work for me. This is about Cornelia again, and her mom is in the hospital after an accident, asking for the Northern Lights while she's sundowning. She realizes she never knew her mom as well as she thought, so she starts trying to discover more about her past. It's a little more melodramatic than most people's typical lives, sure, but there's still something that feels real and comforting to me. I love Cornelia, her relationship with her husband, and how she is always rooting for love. There's no romance in this one, but the mother-daughter relationship that takes center stage still carried the book.

⭐ 10.0/10 (Originally written by kare) After a very long absence, I am making my triumphant return to this platform so that I may scream about a show I just finished because I don’t see any reviews about it here. I know the show is barely a month old, but I need everyone to know about it immediately because I LOVED IT. Set 15 years after the events in Oliver Twist, the story follows Jack Dawkins in his new life as a surgeon before an encounter with someone from his past shakes everything up. And that is literally all I will say about the plot because I want you to experience it for yourself. Content warning: there was some medical gore, but in my opinion, nothing too grotesque that made me want to turn away.  I thought the plot was very engaging. Revisiting these old characters in a new story was a lot of fun. I’ve always been a fan of Dodger so I enjoyed watching this imagining of what could’ve happened to him after his storyline ended in Twist. The casting was PHENOMENAL. The pai...

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Beans) This was my first time ever watching this and I get the hype! The time it’s set in felt well done, they got the teenager part down really well, especially McAdams and the way she was always giggling or running or hitting Gosling. And my gosh talk about heartthrobs! Obviously Gosling is incredible but I feel like James Marsden is not talked about enough for his role in this. Tying this in with the old people’s story was both beautiful and sad; I hope I never get old enough that I don’t remember who I am. Some of the intimacy felt really clunky in this but I can overlook it. Fave character is obviously Allie’s dad. He had all the right fixings for a true villain and I wish they would’ve gone that way! I also love that the mom was still hung up on her past situationship. Some things never change.

⭐ 9.5/10 (Originally written by Joseph) Alright lemme tell ya, Grann is the mann. I've now read two books of his recently, plus just watched Flowers of the Killer Moon, and have loved everything. He has the very unique ability as a nonfiction writer to pick amazing historical stories that are all mostly unrelated and tell them in interesting, relevant ways. He's got to be my favorite non-fic storyteller right now and I'll buy all his books forever. So this one is mostly about Percival Fawcett and his obsession with finding a mythical city in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest. I didn't know anything about the Amazon going in, so it was truly interesting learning about this perilous stretch of forest that covers half of South America. Like, even today it holds countless mysteries because it is so dense and so dangerous. Lots of indigenous tribes still live there, cut off from modern civilization outside, and we are only now scratching the surface of its history. Unlike ...

⭐ 8.0/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) We're all watching this mostly for the beautiful views and landscapes of the Yorkshire Dales, right?

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) Every once in a while there's one of these coming of age movies that are just perfect. I really liked this one. It's very simple: Margaret moves to another city and has to navigate friends, family and puberty. It takes place in the 70s, but a thing that people have been talking about is how universal girlhood seems to have been for 50 years. This one is super wholesome where no real conflict or bad stuff emerges. It's just funny and mostly light for its entire runtime. Mostly everyone is nice, and Margaret kinda has the perfect childhood with a few exceptions. I think what impressed me most was the child acting across the board. Margaret was terrific, as were her friends, especially that fricker Nancy Wheeler. Everything seemed very genuine and true. I loved the little slumber parties and the interactions with boys, how authentic and nerve-wracking that all is. This isn't the horror movie that Eighth Grade is, but you sure feel bu...

⭐ 6.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) This is the movie adaptation of the book I'm currently reading, which is the true story about Percival Fawcett and his insane drive to try and find a mythical city in the Amazon Rainforest. The book is really great, and in my opinion really lends itself to a terrific movie, which is why I'm pretty disappointed that this movie didn't do much for me. I had a lot of issues with the movie, but one of the biggest ones was the filmmaker's insistence on changing character motivations. They tried to make Fawcett seem modern and altruistic, basically saying that he wanted to find Z to prove that the Amazonian indigenous people were just as capable of creating cities as Europeans. I think this kinda defeats the purpose of the true story, which is that he was sorta mad and maniacal, and also misrepresents who he was and his attitudes towards indigenous tribes (while I think he was certainly progressive for his time, he wasn't radical). I...

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) Yeah, another book inspired by Pride and Prejudice, so what?! In this one Lydia is, of course, a witch, and she's telling her own side of the story. As a child she turns the cat Kitty into her familiar and accidentally promises an ancient power a favour, and at 15 it's time to pay up. The focus is on her time in Brighton with the militia and her friends as she meets more witches and tries to find a powerful stone, in between dancing and flirting with Wickham, the son of a demon. It's told in Lydia's voice to an unknown recipient, and she intersperses her account of last year's events with the present, after her "marriage" to Wickham. It's really inventive and fun. Lydia is aware of her flaws, but since this is her story, we see every side of her and how others took advantage of naivete. I always prefer these different looks at P&P with a twist, instead of retellings of Elizabeth and Darcy's love story ...

⭐ 10.0/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) A great way to start the year! This book is a bit hard to define, as it's set in the late 1800s, has a mystery to be solved, and a romantic subplot, but I wouldn't call it a mystery or a romance. On the surface it's also pretty basic - a spinster is trying to find purpose, so she hires a detective to find her mother, who disappeared a decade ago. She muddles her way through trying to help, liking the idea of becoming a Lady Detective more and more, and trying not to fall for the local detective. But it was just so charming! I loved Violet, the romance was minimal but so adorable, and there are some lines that I keep thinking about and laughing over. Nothing revolutionary, but it did what it was trying to do really well.

⭐ 7.0/10 (Originally written by Tim) The second of Brandon's secret projects, I thought this was much better than Tress until the uncharacteristically brutal ending. I was total sucked in the first 50 pages of this book, where 2 characters live in mysteriously magic places with interesting and specific jobs. They cross paths in sort of a Freaky Friday way, where they need to learn to do they other's job. It was a fun setup, the mystery of it all was intriguing, and I thought maybe Brandon was back in form! Unfortunately writing 4 books in a year probably isn't the best formula for a book with consistent quality. This one feels like he had several great ideas and then patched them together to make a story. He has said he wrote this one as a gift for his wife with no intention of publishing until she told him he had to, to which I say, sure. But its disappointing, he riffs on the ideas of your work and art, whether or not they can be the same thing, what it means to create so...

⭐ 8.0/10 (Originally written by Tim) I wanted to like this one more than I did, probably because I loved the first 20 minutes. Honestly just watch that, its almost like a perfect short story. Michael Fassbender is really great as this serious non-nonsense assassin, who treats his job like he's a high performance athlete. This is a movie about process, and watching all the details of his process is really cool. It becomes even better when you realize he might not actually be great at his job, but he still carries himself like a well-oiled machine. This movie is really stylish, which works in its favour, but I felt myself drifting half way through. Not sure I really understood the motivation for his quest here, and it seemed to go against who he was (maybe that's the point?). Nothing really lived up to the promise of the beginning of this movie, and I actually can't really remember how the movie ends.

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Tim) We loved this one! Weird to call it a period piece, but it takes place in the 70s and is filmed like something from the 70s too. Its a pretty standard story, and you can probably guess how it will end 15 minutes into the movie, but its amazing how that doesn't matter when a movie is this well made. The dialog is funny, and Giamatti is incredible in this amazing as this cranky old boarding school teacher. Honestly its hard to write a review for this. It's a Christmas movie, which is fun, and it has some scenes I found really memorable, but its a pretty classic-feeling movie. No surprises or twists, its not trying to dive into any modern themes. But again, its funny and heart warming and everything you could want this time of year. I would love to say it would be a great watch with the family, but there is a lot of language. It has certainly been added to our yearly rotation!