The Bear Season 1 (2022) Review

For years I have heard just how good The Bear is and how many awards it has won. However, I have never got around to watching it. But with the newest season set to be released in the near future I have decided to binge the show and that starts with the first season. The premise of the show sees a chef from fine dining return to his home to run his brothers sandwich shop. 

Main Character

Jeremy Allen White plays Carmen and he is fantastic here. You really see the stress affect him throughout the season. He is coming from this regimented approach and really struggles with understanding others and their needs. He owns his role and gives a monologue in the final episode that is award worthy and he knocks it out of the park. 

Supporting Characters

Ebon Moss-Bachrach plays Richie and he is one of the most complex characters on the show. He is an annoying character at first and the conflict between him and Carmen is really clear, but Moss-Bachrach really portrays this character well and you start to understand why he is the way he is. 

Ayo Edebiri plays Sydney and she is the newest member of the restaurant and she has really high aspirations and her character arc mirrors Carmen from his previous life. She is great in her role and her journey is one of the more important over the show. 

Lionel Boyce plays Marcus and he was probably the character I liked the most. He really tries to improve as a desert chef and though that doesn't always go right, he does have the best intentions and he was a positive aspect of the show. 

This show is full of characters and all of them are fantastic and really deliver on their roles in the show. 

Story

The story here is incredibly intense, this is one of the worst work environments you will ever see and you see how these people and their egos go against each other causing chaos. The show does a fantastic job in developing characters and making the viewers understand their backstory and intentions. My only criticism is that it feels a little bit episodic in its nature and the ending doesn't quite have the punch that I wanted with it feeling just like a build up for the next season. 

Script

The script is really where the show excels. It is incredibly well written with some really intense drama that feels really natural and like what could happen in this intense environment. I have seen this show being presented as a comedy which isn't really true but it does have some funny moments littered in here. 

Style

The style of the show really focuses on the food and the fast pacing of a restaurant environment. It is a really dark and depressing show at times but it never becomes too much and I think that is due to the pacing of the show and the retro cinematic techniques used. 

Overall

Overall, The Bear Season 1 is fantastic and a show that deserves all the praise that it has received. It is really intense but the performances and writing make it truly worthy of a watch, 

Rating - 9/10

 Prey (2022) Review

Prey has been getting plenty of rave reviews and today I decided to sit down and watch the film and here is my review for it. The premise of the film is set in the same world as the Predator franchise and sees a young girl try and protect her tribe against The Predator. 

Main Character

Amber Midthunder plays Naru and she does a really great job, she represents her Comanche tribe and she is a really easy character to root for. She goes through a real journey throughout this film and when she eventually clashes against The Predator it is really entertaining to watch. 

Supporting Characters

It is really cool to see that there was an actual person playing The Predator and that it wasn't just CGI. Dane DiLiegro plays the role and this is a fantastic rendition of the character as by now we know The Predators motivation so just seeing him in action is brilliant and a great job is done here. The rest of The Comanche tribe do a really good job too despite their much smaller roles, the main one being Dakota Beavers as her brother who plays an effective role. 

Story 

The story is really good, I really like the time period that it is set in and seeing this low technology tribe having to compete with the really high tech Predator brings some great concepts. A true development of the main character too, this franchise has overcomplicated things in the past and this film keeps it simple. But my one issue is something that occurs in the last act and kind of comes out of nowhere, I won't go into details because of the spoiler nature of this thing. 

Script

There isn't actually that much dialogue in this film but I thought it was all well handled, with sprinklings of drama and humour. The film is well written and goes for the less is more approach which I really enjoyed. 

Style

The film doesn't hold back, there are some brutal action scenes and it is fantastic to watch without it feeling cheap and just horror movie tropes. The film clocks in at around 90 mins and the pacing is brilliant, films don't need to be that long and this film proves that for sure. 

Overall

Overall, Prey is a fantastic film that literally came out of nowhere. This is going to be a sleeper hit for this year and hopefully this signals a great new future for The Predator as a franchise. 

Rating - 9/10