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jackiehedstrom
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Peaky Blinders (2013)
Brilliant at the start, but the last two seasons are unwatchable...
Peaky Blinders is the rare diamond of a TV show that has great writing, great casting, great cinematography and a brilliant use of music.
For the first 3 seasons, that is...
Already at season 4 it begins to go down - the writing is weaker, the cinematography is becoming more standard TV style. But still watchable.
However season 5 loses everything that made this show great - the writing style is totally different than before, the pulse is gone, the dialogues are often weak. The music shifts to a totally depressive wailing style of mournful misery. Political propaganda is also shoved into the plot (along with a completely no-personality badguy in the form of real historic Fascist Mosely)
Season 6 is simply unwatchable. Had the series begun like this it would have been cancelled after 3 episodes...
Dark and gloomy, zero style in the horrible music and camera work, bad, weak dialogue - so bad in fact that long silent ugly dark "sequences" are used to kill time.
The remaining actors are still brilliant, but what can even Cillian Murphy do with such weak material? It feels like his scripts are just filled by the sentence "long brooding look". No logic, depressing, no artistic value. A stark contrast to the firey, brilliant and inspiring seasons at the start.
I just wonder how a show can spiral down like this? Who left, and who came in to mess it up?
Demolition (2015)
Great acting, but too weird
Jake Gyllenhaal does a really good job in this movie - it is really only thanks to the actors that I didn't give up on this movie in the middle of it.
It is one of those collisions of a nutty director and a not very sane screenplay. There comes a point in the movie where any sane person starts thinking "OK, so this is supposed to be a metaphore for something?" , and you start looking for what "hidden message" we are to be emparted. If you are really desperate to get a high grade from teacher, you might say that the final motto is "when you don't feel, you destroy, and when you connect with your feelings you build and preserve" Which seems to be a totally BS wisdom, tbh. In real life people who feel the need to destroy are deeply hurt, they are drowned in strong feelings that they try to repress, and destruction is an urge that emanetes from chronic fear, stress and pain. Watch one deep interview with Sean Strickland about his childhood, and you will have a roadmap to where the urge to destroy really comes from.
So the story of this movie has nothing to teach neither from a psychological nor moral point of view.
Also, the story is just too silly and insane, the obligatory sprinkling in of the "naturally" gay child, (oh, Hollywood), the bulldozer, the shooting...I can not believe the guy who wrote this did so sober.
The acting is stellar, though. Especially Gyllenhaal brings in so much humanity just through his reactions, expressions. He does not even get too much dialogue to work with.
But overall this feels like a Scandinavian film - weird, sad and with no point to it. Not to rewatch ever.
Black Widow (2021)
Very well cast movie that is good despite too insane action
In the jungle of predominantly weak superhero movies (one day they will laugh at our decade, saying "didn't they know how to make any other films??!") this one actually has a heart. Florence Pugh is awesome in both comedy and emotion, Rachel Wiesz can convey every emotion with a sinle glance, Scarlett Johansson is fragile and forceful, and even the guy playing their dad was funny. There is a big part of this movie that is actually a movie (not just fights and stuff blowing up), and that part was excellent. Good dialogue, connection to characters.
Then there was the big final battle, and that just went overboard. Felt like there were levels, and every win made a restart in a lose position on another level. The CGI was not all that fabulous either. I was really sick of the fight sequence when it was coming to the end - too long, too unrealistic, neverending. Thank god they stuck a piece of actual movie at the end of it! Still the Red Room storyline has a little too much of a dystopian feel for my taste. Kinda depressing.
Florence Pugh's character really should be developed in further films - she is excellent and her dialogue delivery in the Russian accent is to die for!
Is there any way she and Jensen Ackles can be cast together in a flick with a good script? They would be so fantastic as they are the same kind of comedy/drama geniuses.
Justice League (2017)
The worst one I've seen...
A superhero movie built on a bunch of weak one-liners, bad acting (but who knows what the actors could do if they had an actual script?) and lots of bad looking CGI and explosion-action.
I have never seen a superhero movie suck as badly as this, and there are a lot of bad ones made...
By the end this feels more like watching a video-game that someone else is playing.
After "Argo" and especially after the excellent "The Tender Bar" I really began to count Ben Affleck as a pretty good actor. You would never think to say that of him after watching this piece of...
I am not one bit surprised they are recasting Batman, Superman and getting James Gunn to save this frachise. Gunn did a better job with Guardians (at least there you get the comedy, music, link to reality and connect with the characters), and if they pick Jensen Ackles for Batman this could be saved. But for goodness sake - make a movie, with dialogue and emotion, not a vidogame on a CGI crimson backdrop!
Supernatural: Into the Mystic (2016)
major themes wrapped around a sideline story
I really liked this episode - I am noticing how the Badham/Thompson episodes are always of a better quality than average. Also some really good acting here with Misha Collins as Lucifer and Jensen Ackles really doing an excellent job giving a subtle but perfect Dean involuntarily in love with Amara.
Thompson always writes the episodes in such a way that Sam and Dean become more human, more real. The scenes at the end, going to bed, Dean's inner turmoil, the music to that - there is a value to scenes like that, which build the carachter-viewer connection.
And there are a few funny moments in this one too. The whole Banchee story seems irrelevant to the big picture, and I certainly am not amongst those that are happy Eileen got added to the show regulars. If you are going to have a deaf carchter (usually to be PC), can't you find a beautiful,or at least charming deaf actress? Especially since this was developed into Sam's love interest, and later we are informed that Eileen is "hot". Sure, hot like Meryl Streep...
Supernatural: Baby (2015)
Oh, Baby!
A master class in how to be original and not mess with, but improve upon the original. This episode is an absolute pleasure to watch. I do think a lot of the credit must be given to the writer Robbie Thompson - his dialogue and the way he works with music is always a thing of beauty and lifts the episodes to new hights. The directing here is also noteworthy - the decision to leave backround music out, to fill out with scenes of "real" moments (of wich some were actually shots from not shooting!)
Jared and Jensen are so good at this kind of situations, and especially Jensen Ackles has a enviable skill at getting the humor, drama and brotherly love all into the scenes with just his acting. The close-up, unusual angles and heavy on the leads format was perfect for them!
I loved this when I saw it the first time, and now that I am rewatching the whole series, again this episode stands out. The good thing with streaming is that you can just skip over the horror parts (which I never liked) and just go straight to the good stuff. But with this episode there is nothing to skip over, and several scenes to wach over a few times (singing to Night Moves!).
Supernatural: First Born (2014)
The perfection of the Dean-Crowley teamup
An episode about as perfect as it gets. The first one where the Dean-Crowley team begins to operate, and that was always a recipe for perfection (I am rewatching the whole thing, so I got some perspective). There is no doubt that both Jensen Ackles and Mark Sheppard are excellent actors, and that makes their scenes together rise to perfection every time (and is also why the whole demon-Dean era was really good).
Perfectly written and cast (the guy playing Cain is so well chosen!), this episode is Supernatural perfection - drama, a good story, humor (Crowley's dialogue in particular) and even the fight-scenes are good! But I suddenly had the thought... why are the demons always nice enough to bring only fists or knives to fight our heroes? I mean, if they brought a gun, just once, the demon blade wouldn't even get close ;) Not that I'm complaining - we are very grateful our boys made it through all 15 seasons! I bet they could make it through some movies too...
Supernatural: Goodbye Stranger (2013)
Drama, love and perfect dialogue
This is the episode where I really realized what a reliably brilliant writer Robbie Thompson is (that is, waching it when it first aired - now I'm just rewatching the whole thing...). This episode has such great emotions in it - the unbreakable friendship of Cas and Dean put to the ultimate test, the strange attraction-bond between Cas and Meg (Their conversation as he bandages her wounds is a memorable moment for sure), and once again Dean's love for his brother is well played.
And my lord, the banter in this one! Every word out of Meg's mouth is perfection (I always remember the Unicorn...) and the way Rachel Miner delivers those lines is just beautiful. It's episodes like this that can lift a side character to really being loveable and a fan favorite - even a demon! I think they managed that often on this show - Bobby, Cas, Crowley and even smaller parts like Charlie, Meg or Benny were given so much personality, and so well cast and played that we miss them too.
Love this episode.
Supernatural: Let It Bleed (2011)
An emotional ride
Very good episode - emotional, very well acted (especially by Ackles), well written. Many scenes that live on the strength of the pent up emotions - the fractured friendship between Cas and Dean, the hopless love between Dean and Lisa, Deans fatherly feelings towards Ben.
An then there is Crowley - witty and crude, and Castiel in his most loveable position - the feeling, torn, but strong and dedicated warrior.
The episode moves fast and gets more story into the 41 minutes then one could imagine possible.
The final scenes are beautifully done and acted, and really seal the Ben and Lisa saga the right way.
Supernatural: Clap Your Hands If You Believe (2010)
So funny!
A perfectly written, acted and directed comedy episode! The dialogue is so good, and the fight with "Tinkerbell" and the microwave is superb! Jensen and Jared are really good comedy actors, and they really get to explore that here. The ad-lib line about "why didn't I do that before?" is also perfect - almost breaking the fourth wall in this one.
Soulless Sam is so much lighter, and effortlessly funny when being his "authentic self".
The way they pull off episodes like this in the middle of a very dramatic series is one of the biggest strengths of Supernatural.
And the title just makes you smile from the start.
Dog (2022)
A loving film that makes you think
Nothing at all like other dog-movies. This is a drama, with some funny scenes sprinkled in, that talks about the effects serving in war has on the psyche - in humans and dogs. It doesn't go so deep as to depress the viewer, but enough to really make you think about the fate of both soldiers and army dogs.
The movie is well made, and it made me cry two times! People who understand the dog- human bond will melt watching this. And cat-lovers will probably like it too...
And for everyone who is thinking of getting a cute Malinois just like the one in the movie - be aware that they really are power-packed with energy, and your life needs to be all about the dog if you have one like that. I know - I have a Tervueren (the long-haired version), and he is the center of all I do now! But chewing out seats, barking the breath out of whatever - that comes naturally to them, and they do not need to be traumatized in heavy fighting to be very difficult sometimes. And if your response is not very loving, calm and intelligent, you might just mess your dog up yourself. But at the same time no dog is as attached to you as a Belgian Shephard - they love, follow and protect you every step you take. So a good choice to show a dog that did just that and deserves to be repaid with the same, and not just abandoned for being "difficult".
Supernatural: On the Head of a Pin (2009)
GREAT episode all the way
This is when we all fell in love with Castiel. When he really became Castiel, the way we know him.
And Jensen also gives an impressive performance, delivering emotion beautifully - we get deapth to Dean here on a whole nother level.
This episode lifts the angels higher than they ever were later on - they are so much more than demons, they are superior. In later seasons that got very flattened, probably because a majestically powerful angel befriending out heroes was a difficult status quo to carry on with constantly.
Misha is so perfect as the feeling, unwillingly compassionate rebel angel (and good looking too!) that Supernatural could never do without him after this. But I also noticed that this episode was written by Ben Edlund, who also introduced Crowley to the show. And actors need good dialogue and story to shine - so cudos to Ben aswell.
Supernatural: Yellow Fever (2008)
should be called "Eye Of The Tiger"
Even though the ghost story is nothing special really, this is one of the best episodes. It allows for Jensen Ackles to show off some of his comedic skills, which are top notch. I am rewatching the whole series, so now I look closer at the details. The whole speech Dean has about how it is nuts to be pursuing monsters on purpose is really cool to watch when you think about how much of that scene really has to come from the actor, from the delivery of the lines. Imagine that on paper, and consider what gift it takes to nuance that, to merge the comedy with the drama that way.
And then there is the absolutely perfect "Eye Of The Tiger" with Jensen and the Impala at the end. The best ad-lib ever! The fact that they kept filming, put that in the episode, gave it a little cool title credit in beat with the song - that is why this show lasted for so lang; creative talent and intelligence in front and behind the camera.
Episode gets a 10. And I don't even like ghosts...
Supernatural: Byzantium (2018)
One of the best episodes made
Beautifully written and acted - such an emotional, stong and engaging episode. Actually made me cry, and that's hard to do! The story is stellar, the acting is brilliant and I do think they all get to shine due to the excellent writing (same writer that wrote "Regarding Dean", which was a 10 out of 10 episode aswell)) - even the best actors need a script they can build on. Jensen, Misha, Jared, Alex, were great as usual, but the two ladies - Courtney Ford as Kelly and Veronica Cartwright as Lily Sunder were excellent.
I think episodes like this are why this show has lasted so very long - when they grab you emotionally, play on the loyalty, family and love, and tone down the horror-aspect in favour of just magic, angels, sacrifice and an undying willingness to do whatever it takes. This is the magic coctail of Supernatural.
Absolutely perfection.
Supernatural: Carry On (2020)
The episode that should not have been
While "Inherit the earth", the penultimate episode, provided a sort of upbeat ending, a massive finale resolution (a weak one, but still - it left a positive afterglow, and it felt like it was the final episode), this last episode just ruins everything. It feels like the people running the show think that after you finish a good book you should set it on fire and stomp on it, because it is a FINISHED chapter of your life? Dean, who we love so much and would all like to get some fun and good coming his way, gets killed in a "the producers want you dead"-way. This guy has ressurected a ton of times, but just so we dont hold on to hope that he can come back, we get to see THE FUTURE unfold until the happy event nr 2 - the death of Sam. Jesus, who greenlighted this as the final script??!
If I were a little more conspiratorial of nature I would think they did it this way to ensure nobody ressurects the Supernatural saga and brings Dean and Sam back. Because - you know how Shatner and Nimoy made a ton of films way after their TV-show ended? Not gonna happen here.
Supernatural has always been a fusion of brilliance and dumbness (killing Crowley for one, the extreme horror episodes for another), but it is just sad when the final episode is such a waste of opportunity.
I remember Jansen Ackles saying at some Con I saw on Youtube, that the ending could be Dean riding off on a motorcykle. That would have been way better - tie up the deamons in some cage, peace on earth, Sam goes back to school and Dean drives off into a better future, with Miracle in a basket on the back of the bike...
Anything really, just not this depressing, bad and actually stupid ending.
Supernatural: The Scorpion and the Frog (2017)
Fun episode, and a good demon got smoked too fast
Always good when Dean gets to complain and then connect with a side character, as he does here. A different episode, with none of the horror element, which I always prefer at a bare minimum (or none alltogether!)
Also, David Cubitt as the new crossroads demon was excellent - a real presence and has that unextinctable humanity in the eyes - the same thing that made Crowley so easy to flip between good and bad. This guy should have been used as a long-running foe, instead of for example Asmodeus (who is just ridiculous with the "Southern slave-driver in white suit" persona). Instead, our new promising crossroads demon gets smoked in an ending that tells me that the writer Davey Perez was told "remember - this is a filler episode, nothing in it can go beyond that episode".
I guess it is no surprise they would waste a good character - after all , these are the same people who thought that "Wayward Sisters" was well cast and had a shot... They sure knew better back when they cast leads with Jansen, Jared , Misha and kept Crowley going for 8 years (should have never killed him off at all).
Knives Out (2019)
Murder of someone else's idea?
Had great expectations for this, considering the all-star cast (probably the main reason anyone ever saw it). Turns out it is a complete dud of a movie. Its like they want to copy the old comedy "Murder by Death" (which was brilliant), and season with some Agatha Christie standards, but what comes out does not even have the quality of a freaken Poirot episode!
A huge waste of great actors - Daniel Craig not connecting with the audience at all, doing a horrible semi-southern accent that takes all the soul out of his speech (compare to Kevin Spacey brilliantly speaking southern in "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil"), Jamie Lee Curtis almost doesn't have a role at all, same goes for Don Johnson.
Ana de Armas has the lead, and she can't carry this load of dung either.
The cinematography and sets are just horrible - like the set of a slightly more gloomy sitcom. The script is pure crap - feels all the way through like somebody once had a good idea, but all that is left of it is the logline. This film has no humor, no good dialogue, no chemistry between any of the actors (or any room given to have some). At the end you really don't care who dunnit, you just want it to freaken end.
The only actor that managed to connect - slightly - with the audience was LaKeith Stanfield as the cop (whom I've never seen before), and I really don't know why - must have been just the look on his face - because he sure didn't get any good dialogue either.
Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood (2019)
Tarantino's weakest film
So dissapointing... I was really looking forward to see this film - the trailers were great, the reviews were excellent, and the film was... crap.
The Tarantino genius seems to be entirely missing from this film. Did he even really write the script? No memorable scenes, the best dialogue is Brad Pitt talking to his dog. No amazing use of music - the oldies are thrown out one on top of another, as if to fill a soundtrack double CD, but never used to elevate the scene, which is what we loved in other Tarantino films (Django, Jackie Brown, Reservoir Dogs).
Even worse - there is no storyline to follow, no point to the scenes. The violent ending has a bit of umph, but I am starting to suspect that Tarantino is focusing on buying real-estate, or doing something else with his time, and just threw this one together on a weekend to get a paycheck.
And finally - the actors...
The only one that was reasonably good was Brad Pitt, who brought some personal attitude to his role and crammed that into the weak dialogue. Leonardo Di Caprio was colorless and boring to a scary degree. It seemed unplausible that he would be a TV-star at all, at any time. With the exeption of The Departed, Di Caprio has never seemed a very good actor, and bad actor + bad script = disaster.
Margot Robbie had some "Joy from My name is Earl" charm to her, but all she really got to do was walk around and look to the front. Al Pacino brought Al Pacino to his utterly non-consequential scene and role (added in just to throw his name on the poster?).
Somebody wrote that they would never have made this film if it wasn't Tarantinos creation, and boy is that a true statement. Even a producer's son would get a scolding from daddy if he wanted something like this greenlighted.
Too long, no point, boring, no story and bad acting. I'm just glad I saw it on TV for free.
Supernatural: Regarding Dean (2017)
Beautifully done episode
I liked this episode so much that I just had to write a review! It is light, and deep, entertaining and emotional. Especially Jensen shines in this one, showing all his range as an actor - a natural in comedic scenes, while academy award level brilliant in the scene where he is starting to lose who he is. In a way this episode is like a mini-movie on its own, and the montage at the end - which I loved - really ties a bow on this excellent "filler" episode. If filler episodes were all like this, we wouldnt dare call them filler episodes...
I find it so strange that some of the best actors live in the world of these type of sci-fi/fantasy shows, and they just fly under the radar never getting recognition for their talent outside of the fanbase. They wonder why Supernatural has so many diehard fans - it is because we get to see some of the best actors and some of the most fun writing out there. We get Al Pacino (just better looking !) and Shane Black for 41 minutes many times over in the year. Though they get no awards, and they dont get all that fame, but they get undying love and appreciation from the fans.
Yellowstone (2018)
when great writing and acting come together
Heard great things about this show, and now they started showing it here in France, so I gave it a shot. I really like it - The Cowboy/horses/ business setting is a refreshing touch after years of shows that all look the same. The writing is REALLY good - great lines one after another! The actors really get something to play with here, and I am really impressed by the way Kelly Reilly does her character. I read in the reviews how many of you absolutely HATE her, but I think you are just letting the characters antipathy affect your view of the actress - she does an amazing job!
Also really like Luke Grimes - there is a lot of sensitivity in him, like a younger Jeremy Renner. Of course Kevin Costner is brilliant as always. And Cole Houser playing Rip - real classic western vibe from him - could hold one of those 60's westerns all alone with a horse, no problem.
My mother didn't like the show - "too much violence". But she likes the Bold and the Beautiful, so , no comparison...
I am just on the beginning of season 2 (tonight!), and I will stick around as long as it goes. I have only seen "Hell or high water" from Tyler Sheridan, and some bits of Wind river, but it would seem the guy has special skills and always delivers a true style - just like Quentin Tarantino.
People dont like the woke messaging that surfaces from time to time - well, guys, this is TV in the era of Biden, what do you want? Just close your ears when its too much ;)
But don't miss this show.
Baby Driver (2017)
A music power pill
This film is so clearly written by someone who loves music, and for people who love music. Not only does it play one amazing song after another, but the hero's persona is of a person who lives and breathes music. For those of us who are the same, it is absolutely brilliant.
Everyone who is still feeling sick after seeing something horrible like "La La Land" should watch this to get back to life.
The story is very good - you like your hero, you wish him well, and you get an ending that makes you feel good. A tight story, no filler, and excellent side characters. This is what Hollywood was built on.
Jamie Foxx and Kevin Spacey are so good - those two never disappoint. Even Jon Hamm finally gets a role that's original for him.
They're talking about a sequel. I would go see it.
La La Land (2016)
A weak overhyped movie
If Hollywood only made movies like this the industry would perish within one year. Such a truly bad movie. To begin with - it wants to be a "musical", but doesn't contain even one good song, and both leads can really not sing at all. They just sort of whisper through the lullaby melodies, the way people who can't sing tend to do. The story is more like a premise - it all fits into the logline, and has been done a hundred times before (and better). There is not too much dialogue, not too many details, a lot of walking/swanning about to dubious elevator music. The musical-scenes murder any hope to be able to get into the characters - the end is as weak and unengaging as the rest. So happy I saw this on TV, and didn't pay for it. Otherwise I would have been pissed.
Gosling and Stone, though bad singers, are both very good actors and to know that you need to see "Fracture" and "The Help" - not this turd of a film.
The Bourne Legacy (2012)
Jeremy Renner is way better than Damon
What made me write this review is the fact that in IMDB ratings this movie does not qualify in the top 10 of Jeremy Renner's movies - which is so wrong, since it is one of his best films. I can see from the reviews that it all comes down to everyone who was so upset that they dumped Matt Damon from what was essentially his "Bond-series", and i can understand his fans being pissed, but they just never really looked at the quality of Bourne Legacy as it's own movie.
Jeremy Renner is, in my opinion, a much better actor than Damon, and brought more emotional depth to his character than was the case in the previous Bourne movies. It is also a very well made action movie, never losing pace, the combat scenes and stunts were outstanding, and they also gave enough room to get to know and like the characters, and finished with a really good ending.
This is the only Bourne movie I really liked, and the only one I have re-watched several times.
Had this film come out simultaneously in competition with the first Bourne movie, with no Damon-loyalty bias against it, THIS would have made a series, and Damon would be looking for another franchise.
The Bourne Legacy deserves a much higher rating than it has. I am sure history will correct that.