nina_samothrake Reviews

The Crown: Aberfan (2019) Season 3, Episode 3

Heartbreaking

[10/10 · 18 February 2021]

This was heartbreaking. Unimaginable suffering. I pray for all those little souls and their families.

What I was wondering... it is a small detail, but still. The Queen's clothing is never a coincidence. When she visits Aberfan in the series, she is wearing a red dress. Red, a signal colour. I wonder if this was the actual colour the Queen was wearing while visiting Aberfan. If so, I would be shocked by this lack of compassion.

The Crown: Paterfamilias (2017) Season 2, Episode 9

Very sad episode

[9/10 · 17 February 2021]

Scenery and music were chosen well. This episode was very personal. It showed the tragic youth of Prince Philipp and the difficult childhood of his son, Prince Charles. Prince Philipp hopes that the school he went to would help Charles to develope in a way that it has helped himself. But what every parent has to (or should) realize: what worked for you doesn't necessarily work for your children. The final scene was just heart breaking, even though I am full aware that it is fictional. Charles returns home. But instead of being greeted by his parents (Philipp only pays attention to Anne, the Queen stays inside and watches from the window), the only persons showing affection towards him are the nanny of prince Charles and his butler.

The Midnight Sky (2020)

I really liked it

[9/10 · 5 February 2021]

I cannot understand the negative critics. This movie is not about an apocalypse, not about the discovery of a new planet and not about the return to earth. There is no need for their resolution, as it isn't the focus of the film. It is a very personal story of a father full of regrets, trying to save his daughter who he never met in his real life. It is his only ambition and his remaining purpose to stay alive. I really liked it.

Vikings: The Ice Maiden (2020) Season 6, Episode 7

...

[10/10 · 14 March 2020]

Cried most of the time during this episode. That sais it all.

Vikings: What Happens in the Cave (2019) Season 5, Episode 19

Farewell

[9/10 · 12 March 2020]

Liked this episode, even though it was really sad. Seeing the end of Floki, who I liked, was hard to watch. After losing his daughter and wife, he had to realize minutes before his death that his 'land of the gods' has been explored by the Christians before and therefore everything he did was for nothing... the realization of insignificance brought tears to my eyes. Well done.

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (2019)

Quite alright

[8/10 · 30 December 2019]

I liked the end. Of course, it wasn't as suprising as the original trilogy was, but I guess that is just the fate of sequels... the idea just isn't new anymore.

I liked the contributions to the old trilogy. It is, in a way, history repeating itself. People being people and not learning from the mistakes of the elder generations. The same struggles, the same hopes. And in the end: the balance of the force.

Spoiler alert: it has been shown already in "the last jedi": Ben/Kylo and Rey are completely equal in their power, they are both sides to the force. After killing Snoke, both try to reach for the light saber... non of them gets it, instead, it breaks in the middle. Why do people say in their critics, that Rey is stronger than everyone else? It is just not true. She wins the fight with Kylo on the broken death star, but only because Kylo gets distracted by Lea.

After all that has happened, the movie ends with the perfect balance of the power. Both materialised sides of the force, the Skywalker and the Palpadine bloodline, come together and unite both sides of the force to bring back the balance of the force to the galaxy.

The rise of Skywalker is a figure of speech. Even though he dies in the end, Ben rose as a Skywalker in the final scene. His personal development made the final victory possible.

The movie was fast and furious, yes, but not irritating. I had no problems in following the actions. The character building has been done in the previous part (where -except in the entrance scene - there was absolutely no big fight between the good and the bad side). This part was about bringing the balance back to the galaxy - the final battle.

Game of Thrones: The Iron Throne (2019) Season 8, Episode 6

At least he cuddled the Wolf..

[3/10 · 21 May 2019]

I am so disappointed. Not so much about the ending itself (I could live with Dany getting killed by Jon who gets punished for it), but the story itself was so unrealistic. And boring. Really, the Dragon burns the iron throne and then rides to the sunset? How cheesy is that? Tyron disrespecting Dany in front of her army and he doesn't get killed by her immediately like Lord Varys? Jon, who has always fought for justice and the "right thing", never really thinking about politics and consequences, tries to justify Dany's actions?! Lord Varys spreading the word about Jons true identity and it even doesn't get mentioned once during the election of the new king? Arya becoming the next Galileo Galilei? Bran after getting elected as king just sais "why do you think I came here?". He said before he can see the past and the present, but now he knew the (or his) future and always wanted to be on the throne?

There are just so many inconsistencies in the story. Best part was when Jon finally cuddled his Wolf...

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

Surprisingly liked this episode!

[9/10 · 15 May 2019]

I really didn't like the battle in Winterfell and episode 4 also was very unrealistic, so I was really sceptical about episode 5. But I really liked it! Yes, the development of characters was rushed, because they had only 6 episodes for wrapping up everything. They should have put more focus on the development of Daenerys, instead of for example showing the unrealistic flirt between Brianne and Jaime.

BUT I see so many bad reviews, because so many people write "how could they do that to my beloved character Daenarys? ". I never really liked Daenerys (had many discussions with my husband about her), because I always thought that there is something cruel about her. She was really convinced of herself as being always right and a messias for the people, which is a dangerous thing to believe, because it justifies all your actions. If you think about previous seasons, she never showed mercy and only let people live if her advisers convinced her to do so. Even when she freed the people of ... (I just now forgot the name of the city) she just did it to overthrow the rulers of this city and built herself an army. It has never been pure mercy towards the people, but calculation. All the ever wanted from episode one was an army! She repeatedly talked about it.

I really loved the Hound and Arya. The hound was a remarkable character. In all the seasons, he never cared about the realm, the thrones, the wars or other people's motivations. He was only driven by thoughts of revenge. And just by accident he formed Aryas character and in the end, he saved her from becoming the same hate driven person he has become. He in fact was what Arya could have become in the future if she did not stop following her "death list". Because just like him, she didn't really ever care about the realm of the throne, just her personal vendetta. They were so different and yet, so alike.

I also liked the ending for Cercei and Jaime. Yes, she was a bad person, but she always did everything for her family. So her last words were no signs of sudden weakness, it was all she ever cared for from the beginning.

Jaimes actions have been misunderstood by many, I believe. He didn't return to Cercei because he was convinced, that she was right and he wanted to fight FOR her. He wanted to be WITH her and try to save her life, because he knew that she would loose this battle... and despite all her actions, he has always loved her.

Summing up, I thought it was a really great episode. Highly intense and unethical and inhuman, the way life just is sometimes.

Game of Thrones: The Last of the Starks (2019) Season 8, Episode 4

Unrealistic twists

[6/10 · 8 May 2019]

I am dissapointed.

Ok, the party was ok. Too long, but quite entertaining. Tormund was funny to watch.

But then the last 30 min. I will not repeat all the valid critics about the Dragon ambush. It is all said . I believe I could even forgive some illogical plot twists. But what happened to the characters? Cheap soap opera...

Jaime and Brienne?! Jaimes character developed for 7 seasons (also, in each season, in which he moved further away from his sister's actions, his hair got darker). He got mature and serious and didn't believe blindly in all his sister Cercei said and did. He became a man of honour. And just after some bed action he disappears at night to fight side by side his sister? 7 seasons of character building just went down the drain.

And Brienne?? Come on! Tough woman of honour.... sleeps with a man for the first time and immediately becomes a crying girl who begs a guy to stay? How soap opera is that?! Sorry, but that is just NOT the character of this woman?! I could go on and on. Jon is the only one who stays true to himself: always honest.