It’s Virgo season! (AKA my birthday month, hehe).
THE QUEEREST THING I WATCHED THIS WEEK
Interview with the Vampire (AMC)
FILM
REWATCH
Descendants (available on Disney+)
As a leadup to watching the fourth film in this franchise with my “Bad Movie Musical Club”, my roommate and I watched the first three. I’d seen the first one before, but remembered almost nothing about it. It is quite poorly written, but some of the actors do their best with the material (Dove Cameron, mainly), and some of the songs verge on being bops. But yeah, overall, it’s a stinker. 2/10. Queer Factor: 0/7.
The Old Guard (Netflix)
We talk about this on the most recent Agree to Disagree, but I like this film a lot and am excited for more films in this world to come out. 9/10. Queer Factor: 3/7.
Center Stage (available on Tubi)
This movie holds up in a lot of ways that I wasn’t expecting. A lot of the acting is on the wooden side, because most of this cast aren’t actors. But you’ve got Donna Murphy, Debra Monk, Peter Gallagher, and a baby Zoe Saldana, and they do some of the heavy lifting. However, this movie isn’t about the acting, it’s about the dance, and it lets dance take the lead in a way that no other dance movie comes close to. It’s also very progressive and realistic as an early 2000s film with an openly gay character whose sexuality is not a concern for anyone, and the discussion of sexuality is completely normal. Really enjoyed this rewatch. 9/10. Queer Factor: 2/7.
NEW TO ME
Descendents 2 (available on Disney+)
This is the best of the four films, but it is still not a great film. The addition of China Anne McClain as Uma (Ursula’s Daughter), Thomas Doherty as Harry Hook (Hook’s son), and Dylan Playfair as Gil (Gaston’s son) add some acting chops and some serious vocal prowess on McClain’s part, and the script was a good sight better than the first film. That said, the bar was super low, and this is still not a great movie. 4/10. Queer Factor: 0/7.
Descendents 3 (available on Disney+)
Everything that made the second film better was gone in this one. The villain was lame, the writing was worse than ever, and there was nary a bop to be found. They did, however, have Cheyenne Jackson as Hades, and it was fun to see him, but it did not make it a more enjoyable watch. 1/10. Queer Factor: 1/7.
The Watchers (available on MAX)
This is the directorial debut of Ishana Night Shyamalan, M. Night’s daughter. This falls within the expected genre of a Shyamalan film, and is decently competent, if a bit obvious. My prediction about who the titular watchers would be was incorrect, and I won’t spoil it here, but it was a pretty interesting concept. The why of the cage that the protagonists are in gets revealed in a satisfying way, and the “twist” is predictable but not in an eye-rolling way that I’ve found with some of her father’s work. It’s nice to see Dakota Fanning again in something so soon as well. 6/10. Queer Factor: 0/7.
NEW ON STREAMING
Descendents: The Rise of Red (Disney+)
And at last we arrive at the reason for having watched the others. It all started because my roommate and I kept seeing clips that made it seem like this had more bops than the others, and it boasted the return of Brandy and Paolo Montalban as Cinderella and Charming from the 1997 Cinderella movie. It only had one returning cast member from the previous three films (Uma), instead introducing the daughter of the Queen of Hearts (Rita Ora), unimaginatively named Red (Kylie Cantrall). She ends up back in time with Cinderella’s daughter, Chloe (Malia Baker) to stop her mom from becoming evil. And if you thought that time travel was the worst part of this, you’d be wrong. There were definitely some bops, but this was truly a terrible film. 3/10. Queer Factor: 0/7.
The Deliverance (Netflix)
I forgot that I don’t like possession films, but was swayed by director Lee Daniels and a really strong cast: Andra Day, Glenn Close, Mo’Nique, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, among others. The movie is slow, and while it does tackle some real issues affecting certain parts of the Black community, once it gets into the actual possession, it moves from metaphor into Jesus-land very quickly for a slow paced film. The acting is good, but this reaffirmed my dislike of possession films. 3/10. Queer Factor: 1/7.
TELEVISION
COMPLETE SEASONS
Lessons in Chemistry (Apple TV+)
I did not expect to like this as much as I did. Adapted from the novel of the same name by Bonnie Garmus, this follows Brie Larson’s Elizabeth, a chemist in the 60s and her relationship with fellow chemist Calvin Evans (Lewis Pullman). The show tackles social issues for women and people of color in that time period and the challenges they faced to be taken seriously in the realms of science and law. The cast fills out with Aja Naomi King, Stephanie Koenig, and Patrick Walker, with notable guest stars Kevin Sussman, Marc Evan Jackson, Rainn Wilson, Beau Bridges, and Rosemarie DeWitt.
I wasn’t initially interested in this, but it was nominated for Emmys, so I gave it a go, and was pleasantly surprised. Each episode has its own little quirk, and the writing and directing are fantastic. I honestly think this is some of Brie Larson’s best work to date, and she does a phenomenal job with some truly excellent writing. 9/10. Queer Factor: 0/7.
After Baywatch (Hulu)
This was a quick fun look at the behind the scenes of the Baywatch phenomenon, with interviews from nearly every major actor who had been on the show. It talked about the creation, syndication, and success of the show, how the show impacted the careers of most of the actors, and the damaging effect fame had on some of the shows younger actors. It was a pretty interesting watch. 7/10. Queer Factor: 1/7.
Terminator Zero (Netflix)
I’m a fan of the whole Terminator franchise, so I was excited for an anime take on the series. This takes place around the same time as the second film, and focuses on a different group of time traveling humans and Terminators in Japan as a scientist builds an AI capable of rivaling SkyNet. It’s got a lot of the usual tropes, with some twists toward the end. It’s a little convoluted, but honestly, they all are. It was a fun, quick binge and I’d watch more, but I’d also be fine if this was one and done. 7/10. Queer Factor: 0/7.
STARTED SEASONS
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu), Season 4, Episode 1
CONTINUING SEASONS
What’s New, Scooby Doo (available on MAX), Season 2, Episodes 3-5
Interview with the Vampire (available on Netflix), Season 1, Episodes 4-5
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (ABC on Hulu), Season 3, Episode 8
Press Your Luck (ABC on Hulu), Season 6, Episode 6
Lingo (CBS on Paramount+), Season 2, Episode 13
Futurama (Hulu), Season 12, Episodes 5-6
Kite Man: Hell Yeah! (MAX), Season 1, Episodes 7-8
That’s it for this week! Grand total: 33 episodes, 8 films
Thanks for reading! Until next time, stay queer out there!