Nerdy Squirrel Reviews by Pasckie Pascua

“The Crown.” Netflix. Historical drama. Sixth Season, upcoming. About the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, and all the political intrigues and soap opera thrown in. It doesn’t really matter to me whether the narrative in/around The Queen’s family is factual or fiction. What interests me are the events that surround those years. And yes the “soap” part is sudsy interesting, too.        Season 1: Elizabeth's marriage to Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in 1947 to the disintegration of her sister Princess Margaret's engagement to Group Captain Peter Townsend in 1955. Season 2: The Suez Crisis in 1956 to the retirement of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in 1963 and the birth of Prince Edward in 1964.         Season 3: Spans 1964 to 1977, includes Harold Wilson's two periods as prime minister, and introduces Camilla Shand. Season 4: 1979 to the early 1990s and includes Margaret Thatcher's tenure as prime minister and Lady Diana Spencer's marriage to Prince Charles. Season 5 as in S

“The Crowded Room” (Apple TV+) psychological thriller . The miniseries follows Danny Sullivan (Tom Holland) after he was arrested for his involvement in a New York City shooting in 1979. Danny unveils his life through a series of interviews with interrogator Rya Goodwin (Amanda Seyfried), and slowly details to Rya, and the audience, his mysterious past that led him to the fateful incident. As Danny retrospectively examines his life, he reckons with his past and a few pivotal moments, ultimately leading him to uncover a life-altering revelation.         Although based on a real story as chronicled in the book "The Minds of Billy Milligan" by Daniel Keyes, "Crowded…" altered some pertinent facts. Danny (or Billy) was "convicted" for rape, not a botched shooting.. So that entirely alters the moral trajectory of the story.         Known as “The Campus Rapist,” William Milligan (who died in 2014 at age 59) was the subject of a highly publicized court case in O

“Bad Sisters” (Apple TV+) Irish black comedy . Story revolves around five sisters who live in present-day Dublin. After a sister’s abusive, controlling husband dies unexpectedly, the sisters find themselves at the center of a life insurance investigation. Unlike “The Staircase,” which we already know what’s up later, “Bad Sisters,” we don’t know. Or we did, but did we?         Based on the Flemish series “ Clan ,” the miniseries is bedecked, or littered, with multiple characters but I never got lost, confused, or bored. The five Garvey sisters—Eva, Grace, Ursula, Bibi, and Becka—are not stereotypes of what they seem to represent (as women?) and “bad bro in law” (to the four) JP, a taunting wimp but not the classic baddie hubby, more of a juvenile ass inside a grown-up’s Halloween costume, if you know what I mean. Portrayed by Claes Bang , indeed it is a quiet bang.         The chemistry of the siblings, ably melded by S haron Horgan , Anne-Marie Duff , Eva Birthistle , Sarah Greene , a

“The Sinner.” Netflix. 4 Seasons. Crime drama. The basis for the First Season, and which the series is named after, is Petra Hammesfahr’s 1999 bestselling novel, a critical success in Germany. The series delves more on the psychology of the crime more than the cat and mouse police-work aspect of the investigation.         Bill Pullman is near-perfect as Det. Harry Ambrose, gruff and troubled but clinically incisive and wickedly cerebral—which in a way, works for him since he is also navigating his own fugitive demons as he explores and chases the evil in the criminal mind.        The first season navigates the past of a troubled woman. Second season, a child confesses to poisoning a couple. In the third season, a fatal car accident unravels a much larger and disturbing case. And in the fourth season, locale changes to northern Maine from upstate New York as Det. Ambrose investigates a family tragedy.         Season 1 and Season 2 are much better watch than the last two though. Jessica

THESE days TV series are more interesting and better than full-length movies, which are mostly CGI-smothered bombast or politically correct moralizing. But I still watch movies, in between my lineup of a dozen and more series. Though it takes me more than 3 or 4 “sittings” to finish one.  <>“Everything Everywhere All at Once.” (2022, Amazon Prime.) A bsurdist fiction , comedy-drama , surreal comedy , science fiction , fantasy , martial arts films , immigrant narrative , and animation . All in all (to me) the movie or video game(?) is that jumbled, gung-ho, and trippy-wild. Not in a good way. But that’s just me, okay?         Meanwhile, when was the last time or year when a Hollywood movie won 7 Oscars, or more? Ben-Hur? Titanic? West Side Story? Well, "Everything…" grabbed 7 out of 11 nominations at the 95th Oscars, in cluding Best Picture . Not at all convinced though. I am (unapologetically) Asian. Yet there’s nothing “Asian” about this movie that claims to explore ph

“The Americans.” Hulu. 6 Seasons. Set during the Cold War, it follows the story of a couple, Soviet KGB intelligence officers posing as American partners living in a Washington D.C. suburb, with their two children. The show also explores the conflict between Washington's FBI office and the KGB Rezidentura by following the perspectives of agents on both sides.        This is an intelligent show, told in a very objective manner, beyond what other political series that tend/s to caricaturize foreign dignitaries especially from those governments with contrary policy to/with Washington. The series begins in the aftermath of the inauguration of President Ronald Reagan in January 1981 and concludes in December 1987, shortly before the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Very educational as well. Recommended viewing.         “The Americans” should, as well, prod those who seek to know more to dig deeper and wider pertinent