Author: James Swift

There are two things I’m often on the lookout for on Netflix. Anime, horror series, and true crime. There’s so much of each on the platform that it can be hard to get around to new stuff when it drops. If you’re a true crime fanatic, Netflix is a buffet of true crime documentaries and mini-series. Yes, Netflix true crime is serious.  We’ve all heard of Making A Murderer, now in its second season but one that really gets me is Wormwood. Dropping in 2017, this Errol Morris project details the questionable death of Army scientist Frank Olson. Now when you get a true crime series on TV, often each episode details…

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Netflix’s Castlevania recently dropped its third season and it’s a wild ride. I won’t give anything away but this is an anime that really escalates as the seasons go on. The storytelling is steady and the action is great. Each episode burns through quickly and before you know it the season is over. I like that each season gets more episodes and the story stretches further without falling into lulls. Let’s take a quick look at season one and two in case you forgot what happened.  Season 1 Abridged  The first season one kicks off in Wallachia, the Romanian region ruled by the…

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Better Call Saul fans, you’ll be excited to know that the series will be back next month! The series stars Bob Odenkirk, Giancarlo Esposito, Rhea Seehorn, and Jonathan Banks among others and is a sequel to now concluded AMC hit series Breaking Bad. It begins a few years prior to chemistry teacher Walter White’s entry into New Mexico’s drug scene as a dealer.  A Refresher on Better Call Saul  Picking up in 2003, season four starts with Jimmy McGill—living in Omaha, Nebraska as a Cinnabon manager. As expected, Jimmy—now known as Gene Takovic—isn’t pleased with how his life is going and wants to practice law. After all, he went through a…

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Late last month, The Witcher debuted on Netflix to middling reviews. The reviews are generally a good indication of whether or not a show is a must-see or must-miss one. However, does The Witcher really warrant its mediocre score?  The Witcher Season 1 on Netflix  Eh, it depends. The Witcher followed the Netflix formula of a slow or mid-tempo start and excitement in the closing stretch. There’s a lot of build from the start towards the middle, so the pacing is nothing new for Netflix. The Witcher benefited from a fantasy background so there would have to be some action and adventure involved.   This means you’ll be sparked…

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If you watch several seasons of any show, eventually you’ll run into the most annoying person. For some reason, this person just really irks you. This is usually the person who ends up getting got or getting other characters killed and harmed. Let’s look at five of this decade’s worst characters on prime time. King of The Worst Characters: Zach Goodweather This brat. Oh my god, Zach was a horrible character! I hate violence towards children in shows but he was the exception. Honestly, the last entrant on this list didn’t warrant a “Just feed him to the vampires, bruh.”   When making…

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In The Walking Dead universe, there are several characters who could be considered badasses. When a big conflict with other humans happens, they’re there. Some of the group are trapped and death certain? Here they come. There’s some dirty work that others don’t want to do? This badass will do it standing on one leg. Here is my list of the five baddest characters in The Walking Dead franchise.  Carol (The Walking Dead Season 1-present)  This is one of the characters who had the best development. In the show since the first season, Carol went from a meek, battered wife to probably the coldest person in the show. Actually,…

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I’ve been sitting down with the South African series Shadow over the Christmas holiday. As soon as I started in on the series it was over. Let’s dive into this blur of a series.  Shadow Season 1 Review  Johannesburg is a town rife with crime. The police are having trouble handling all of this. An ex-cop—Shadow—never stopped delivering justice but his methods would be more extreme. Now, that isn’t to say this is a hyper-violent, grim, gritty, gory show. It’s just that Shadow’s methods would be outside of what police would cool with. Shadow isn’t afraid to run into a drug dealer or blackmailer’s…

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Monkey Twins is a Thai-language crime/martial arts series picked up by Netflix in 2018. In the main roles, we have a few actors who have worked with Tony Jaa, known for Ong-Bak and The Protector. Monkey Twins is what you would get if Tony Jaa either produced a Netflix show or his films were spread into TV shows.   Season 1 Review of Monkey Twins  This is a story of three characters with agendas that cross at the same point in the Thai underworld. We’re first introduced to Mawin, an undercover cop who can hold his own. His duty brings him into contact with the other two via a shared enemy.   Recently…

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So, Netflix renewed Danish sci-fi thriller The Rain for a third and final season. The first season dropped in spring 2018 and is one of those sleeper shows on the service. Season two keeps up much of what the debut season brought to the table.  The Rain Season 2 Trailer  It’s not a fast-paced series at all but it not syrupy slow. The Rain alternates the pace in season one with the viewer being dropped into day one of virus rain falling. A researcher gathers his family and heads to a bunker, giving the children little information about why.   With our two protagonists and siblings…

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If you’re a fan of Donnie Yen or the Ip Man franchise, you’re probably excited about Ip Man 4: The Finale. Donnie Yen really broke out a popular action star in the West in the last decade. Fans of martial arts fans—hey y’all!—were familiar with him for years via his films prior to the Ip Man series.   Personally, I took to Yen’s work after Kill Zone (or SPL: Sha Po Lang). While he had roles in several films that reached the West., it was Ip Man that really made his star took off in the here.   The first one didn’t do too hot against its budget but the second and third films…

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