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Reviews
The Last of Us: Long, Long Time (2023)
How??!?!?! How could they make this?
How the the producers of this show make such an episode?
The storyline is beautiful but tense, the characters interesting without being overbearing, and the general mood ( lighting, SFX, music, setting ) is brilliantly chosen.
Bit the main clincher for this being a perfect episode is that in the tiny amount alotted for each episode, it tells a self-contained story. This is so rare. Often, am episode tells a great story for the first 90% of its run time and then finally realised it must finish up and crams all necessary conclusions int the last 10% , thus leaving behind a bad taste in the viewer's mouth.
Not so here. Here, a well rounded, well chosen and certainly perfectly acted-upon story is told in an episode I didn't even know I had missed until I had watched it.
Highly recommended re-watchable material.
Well done.
The Witcher (2019)
Excellent writing, crisp costumes, good acting
This is how one generates an enjoyable cinematic experience. Especially season one with its constant shifting in time as well as main characters makes this thoroughly enjoyable. The humor is on point and actually funny, a rare treat for Hollywood, the actors are great and refreshing, the sets are well chosen, the CGI does not distract from the acting and the soundtrack is phenomenal. So, overall the show has everything going for it, at least within the first two seasons. With the recent abomination of Blood Orogons coming out it has become obvious, though, that this franchise has ended here, terminated by Netflix itself. A pity, since this could have become one of the great franchises.
The Witcher: Blood Origin (2022)
About as bad as Eragon
This is the trashiest, cheapest production that I have had to endure recently. The stories are so convoluted, one hopes the writers will never again be employed anywhere in Hollywood except maybe at some checkout counters where they can do no further harm. The cast seem to be thoroughly intimidated by the obnoxious, toxic atmosphere on set and thus there is zero chemistry between any of the actors on screen. Overall, I cannot stress this enough, this show makes for one miserable viewing experience. I highly unrecommend it (and how I wish there was such a word in English). Horrible series, unfortunately. Reminds me of the movie adaptation of Eragon. The source material books are good, and this is best described as garbage. Do not waste your valuable life time on this and you will come to thank me later.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)
Surprisingly good.
So, I started watching the series late, with everybody telling me that it is the worst show ever on his planet and I dreaded watching it.
And so, I was positively surprised to thoroughly enjoy myself.
Fantastic score, supreme costumes ans set design, good CGI, and a good story so far.
On the downside, there are specific things I did not enjoy but they did not detract from the overall positive impression I garnered.
Some specific points about the series:
1. Most elves except two are weak and lackluster. I cannot even put my finger on it. I thoroughly enjoy the performances of Cordova and Clark, the only two elves who are not 2D flat versions of beings just breezing through life, but who actually seem to care enough about themselves and the world to do something about it. Both should be highly praised for it. Sure, Galdariel is unnecessarily abrasive to everybidy around, but I guess the idea was to make her more interesting to the viewer. And for me, that works. If she were just like the rest of the elf fare I would totally drone her out. And maybe she needs another couple of thousand years to mellow down and develop people skills... Unfortunately, neither Elrond nor Sauron-in-disguise as an elf nor any of the other elves shown have left me interested in their characters so far. A pity, but we still have the entire season to wait for improvements.
Also, part of the disappointment in elves was the abandonment of Gabriel's command in one of the North's strongholds. Why???? Completely unnecessary and just painting them as cowards in the face of adversity or the enemy. Imagine a squad of marines giving up, because it gets too cold and telling their commander they are leaving, after he/she killed some guard dog and they just watched. Unimaginable.
I hope the writers got their stuff together and beefed up the elves spines later during the show.
2. I have not yet seen enough of the dwarves to have an opinion on on them. So far, I enjoyed their underground halls.
3. Sauron seems to be hiding too well. He is usually described as a cunning master of manipulation. Until now, I have only seen him as a master of quietude. Room for improvement.
4. The half-lings are really sweet. What I don't understand is why they are so harsh on their own for helping a full-grown. This makes no sense to me. Otherwise, I also enjoy their storyline so far.
In general, I think the switches between the different places and storylines are too quick. I thoroughly enjoy David Attenborough's eighties and nineties Nature documentaries, with looooong shots of events and slow transitions between shots. Granted, compared to 2020's television, that is a recipe for sleepiness, but I hope this series could just tone down on the switches a bit, maybe add a few establishing shots, landscape shots, etc, just to prepare the viewer for another location. And, no just racing over a map with the name " now we go here" glowing cutely as it was done in the series does not cut it for me.
So, anyway, overall I really enjoy the series despite its sgmhortcomings and I am looking forward to seeing more of it.
Young People Fucking (2007)
Embarrassing
Well, I must say, the story of "The Friends" (one of the couples) is halfway watchable with a somewhat humorous dialogue and follow-able plot. Some of the other stories were sadly too embarrassing, in a ridiculous, stupid kind of way, and overall, I did not enjoy this movie, as it falls flat as a comedy, and does not have enough drama for a drama. This is sad, since the initial trailer showed a lot of promise, and this movie won the Toronto Film Festival Award. One of the problems in the movie is the forced storyline, that neither makes sense, nor instigates a sense of realism, or much of a comedy. Some of the dialogues are sadly painful and embarrassing to watch.
Loving Annabelle (2006)
Relaxing, yet very soulful movie
The movie is carried by excellent performances of its main characters, who develop a believable and stunning chemistry. The eye-contacts alone are amazing to see. The movie makes you want to watch it to the end, and relate with its content, as well as wish all of the characters luck in their future. From a cinematographic point, while the main part of the movie is not outstanding, the small segues between scenes are characteristically made, with amazing shots and good, calm music, and give this movie a characteristic look and feel that makes you want to return to it. The mood of the entire movie is amazing, and ranges between electrifying to very calm, without being overloaded. All in all a highly recommended movie for every audience.
Scent of a Woman (1992)
unexceptional
The main story between the main characters, the boy and the retired army veteran, about a school prank feels, sadly, very shallow and with no chemistry whatsoever. Watching these two in their home town is painful and may require a fast forward until they finally fly to the big city. Here, the developing relationship between the two, the dialogues, and the forward-moving-action are excellent, pepped up by one of the best dance scenes in movie history (without any expert fancy moves to top). Once the characters fly back, the movie may be stopped, as the entire power it derived from the road trip falls into itself again life a soufflé that has been out of a furnace for more that a minute.