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Reviews
Tales from the Loop (2020)
Almost but not quite
I'm a big fan of Simon Stålenhag, the nostalgia, etc. This series is in the Twilight Zone , Black Mirror, Electric Dreams genre, except it evolves around a common universe, a family and small community as imagined by Simon Stålenhag's work. It is very well made, made with love. Stålenhag's visual vision is closely mirrored. They got the machinery, they got the Volvo lights in the twilight, etc. In that way you cannot fault the effort that went into it. But it's still like a movie about Beethoven or Van Gogh, no matter how well made, it works or it doesn't. Or someone learning to paint like Van Gogh, getting the technique right, but not the hearth of the work. This one didn't work, for me. It tried too hard with the visuals, the music and the stories, but I didn't feel it. Maybe it does for you. The nostalgia has been a bit Americanized in favour of it's Scandinavian feel, maybe that hits the spot for you, maybe it doesn't. With such an artist, everyone has a personal interpretation. A shame, for me, as it was a good, honest attempt.
Electric Dreams (2017)
Entertaining short sci-fi stories
So this is basically a collection of short sci-fi/mystery stories, like The Twilight Zone or Black Mirror, and some stories are a bit weak while others are great. There is quite a bit of cliché virtue signaling, you know, everyone is strong but white men get the roles of the weak or bad. As the series was made by two white men, you can almost smell their fear and see them checking boxes, haha. It's not done well like Game of Thrones where everyone can be strong/good/weak/bad and it's much more real. Some A-list actors, but surprisingly not in the best stories. I'll excuse the one with Bryan Cranston, as that one was just a bit of unpretentious, campy fun as an ode to a classic B-movie, he must have enjoyed that one. While some stories and premises are a bit simple or not original, I still give it 7 stars because I was still entertained and because there were some real gems in there as well to counter my criticism. I especially loved The Commuter, it's original and the sci-fi is just a tool to tell a very moving, human story. That is how you do it.
Tenet (2020)
Like Avatar
This movie reminded me of Avatar. Not the story, but a famous director who had this really big premise for a movie for years, but not a real story to tell, and then goes through various scripts in order to create a story to fit the premise. And he gets all the budget and creative freedom to make it happen. And it failed, there is clearly not a story on a human level to be told. What's left is a chaotic roller coaster which isn't even entertaining for the night like a silly B movie could be.