charlesschroeter Reviews

The Wheel of Time (2021– )

Here's a honest take

[4/10 · 24 December 2021]

I've read the books many years ago, so of course I'll reiterate what many have said, this is far from the books. Many details needlessly changed, and that hurt this series greatly. Game Of Thrones stayed remarkably close to the source material, all the way to the end of the published books, and was the largest show in the world for it. Wheel Of Time is a story that rivals Game Of Thrones, in my opinion surpasses it, so this could've been an outstanding show.

Having said that, I'll remove my feelings on that to give a honest take. If you're a fantasy fan you can watch this show and be slightly entertained. It's not good, but it's not all bad. The characters have some merit, the plot has some intrigue. The narrative is disjointed with poor timing but the cinematography is good. All in all I'd say skip this show, especially if you're a fan of the books. But if you just really like fantasy and magic, give it a shot.

Outlander (2014– )

Excellent show but.....

[8/10 · 24 July 2019]

First two season were some of the best TV I've ever watched. But it jumped the shark after the second.

Swamp Thing (2019)

This is a really good show

[9/10 · 16 June 2019]

I do not understand why DC cancelled this show. It is quite awesome.

Game of Thrones: The Bells (2019) Season 8, Episode 5

This season is a major disappointment

[3/10 · 13 May 2019]

This is what happens when budget gets tight and contracts run out of time. The first six seasons were well spaced and had good development and narrative timing. The last two (especially this one) are super rushed and feel like an avalanche. I see a lot of complaints about bad writing, and I don't disagree, but more so trying to do too much in too little time. The saving grace for a guy like me (I started reading the books way before it was a TV show) is that the story can still be told properly in print. The bad thing for a guy like me is GRRM will probably die before he finishes the series. I've never seen slower writing from an epic fantasy writer.

Lucifer (2016–2021)

Netflix did a great job with season 4

[8/10 · 9 May 2019]

I love this silly show. It's pure popcorn ridiculousness, but I do enjoy the hell out of it (no pun intended). I really hope it does well enough to warrant a season 5, I just stayed up way too late on a work night to binge season 4.

Game of Thrones: The Long Night (2019) Season 8, Episode 3

It was okay, extra points for effort

[7/10 · 29 April 2019]

The episode was fine, but a little too hectic. As many has said, to anticlimactic. Having most if not all of the main characters survive was a weak move. Here's a plot twist I woulda done, the NK walks up to Bran, raises his hand to his sword, then Bran leaps out of the chair and stabs him with the valarian dagger. After the Whites disintegrate, bran pulls off his face and it's Arya doing her Many Face God trick, Bran is sitting behind the tree or something. That woulda been an interesting twist.

Castle Rock (2018–2019)

Very intriguing

[9/10 · 26 July 2018]

I'm only one episode in, but I'm already hooked. Great directing so far, and of course good writing (this is a Stephen King work after all). I dig the pace of the show and the mood is very apt, a little twisted but not overtly so. Just enough to keep your eyes pinned to the screen....

Deadpool 2 (2018)

A bit of a let down

[6/10 · 19 May 2018]

I'm a huge DP fan, read most of the comics and loved the first movie. This movie is nowhere near as good as DP1. On its own it's okay, but measured against part 1, it's a let down. Domino is great, that's about all that I have to say that lived up to expectations.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017–2023)

This is a really good show

[10/10 · 7 May 2018]

I just started watching this show a few hours ago just to see if it was worth putting on the quere. Long story short, binged the whole season. This show is great.