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Star Trek: Discovery (2017)
Started Off Okay, Now It's Pretty Bad
Unprofessional is how I would describe this show. It started off okay with the first two seasons and I had it rated a 7/10, with the second season the best so far. But after watching season four, my rating has dropped to 4/10. They really need to cancel this show before it gets even worse.
I think the writers want to push the message that it doesn't matter who or what you are that you'll be accepted in this show. And that everyone has problems, and in this show we'll help you get through them. Also, if you are feeling awkward with your first sexual relationship this show is here to say it's okay to feel awkward. Now, if this doesn't sound like Star Trek and sounds more like some teen drama show, then you realize why I have lowered my rating to a 4/10.
The writers have lost it. I think they have decided that their audience is teenagers, and have decided to focus on issues that affect coming of age kids, and as a result this is no longer a mature show. None of these characters act like they are professional members of Starfleet. It's too bad that they have driven this show into the ground with the last two seasons.
The Last of Us (2023)
If you played the game you'll love it, others maybe?
Myself, I gave up at episode 6. My HBO subscription ran out and don't find this show appealing enough to continue for another month.
After saying that, I do think it's a pretty decent show. It's got a ton of money thrown at it, so it looks great, and Pedro is, as always, a great actor. The girl, although is another matter. She jokes around the whole time and takes nothing serious. It's like she's in a comedy and not in a horror show.
Two other things bug me about the show. One, it's not scary at all. Two, in Episode 5 we got a new mutant fungi zombie that was very "Boss Battle" video game like. It just ruined any type of post-apocalyptical fantasy I was living in and immediately threw me into a video game.
I was a big fan of The Walking Dead early seasons, and it was scary, and it dealt with character development (which is almost completely missing from this show), so the fancy special effects and big sets are not going to do it for me. Or maybe I'm just burned out on the zombie apocalypse genre.
Still, not bad, just not great. 6/10.
House of the Dragon (2022)
Average Fantasy Soap Opera with No Stand Out Characters
GOT had fascinating characters and actors who portrayed them. I'm just not finding any in this new iteration of GOT with House of the Dragon. So, it really hurts the show. Plus the characters are all over the place. In one episode they are evil, in another they are good. The writing keeps contracting itself. Maybe they're trying to create complex characters and falling flat on their faces with the execution. I don't know? Also, if you can name more than five characters in this series after the first Season I congratulate you, because they were not that memorable to me, which is unfortunate.
The first season is really a soap opera about two women growing up, and the children they bear. There's only one linear story, and no plot twists that you weren't expecting. The political intrigue that was so fascinating in GOT is here, but it's taken down a lot, to feel like it's "watered down".
Now, they do copy the look of GOT really well, and it feels like GOT, so they get props for that. But, that's not enough to raise this above an average show. Also, with the ending of the final episode it does give hope that maybe Season 2, might be more exciting. So, there might be hope. Btw, I'm amazed at all the great reviews. It's like we were watching different shows? Or maybe we are just so desperate for more GOT we are more forgiving of it's faults. I for one, was not. Still, it wasn't a disaster, just not that good. 6/10.
The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
a good ending to the series, but forgot its origins
Matrix revolutions was a ton better than the previous move, but is still pales in comparison to the original Matrix.
Basically what happened is they decided to create a great story and focus on that. And, on this premise it does very well. It wasn't the ending that I wanted, but it was still very good and was very engrossing. Overall, I gave this movie a 9, as it was really entertaining.
My complaint was, not lack of action, like some others stated, but lack of really cool camera action. The Matrix had great original camera angles that mimicked comic book shots. Examples were a camera angle shot through the crook of Trinity's arms, reflections of Neo off sunglasses and spoons, etc. Toward the ending it had one real cool comic book shot (excellent, btw), but that was it. This disappointed me as this movie decided to focus on story and forgot about all those cool camera tricks that were introduced in the first Matrix.
Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo (1981)
A very emotional movie.
I have just finished viewing Christiane F. this morning, and I can say that I have been thinking about nothing else for the last 7 hours. This is a very powerful movie that will leave you very sad and depressed about the story of Christiane. I have been on the verge of tears all day thinking about this poor child's life.
As noted in other reviews, this is a very dark film that portrays childhood drug abuse in Berlin in the late 70's. It is not for the faint of heart, as there is death; many needle scenes, vomiting from the characters and prostitution scenes. The story is not happy and it is a downward spiral of one child's sorry life in Berlin. The only happy moment comes in the last 30 seconds of the film, as it is depressing all the way up to the end. But, this is a love story (a dark one) about Christiane and Detlev and their journey through the life of drugs as teenagers in Berlin. Even though the relationship is damned, it is still touching.
Now to the facts, the film boasts some very good teenage actors in a 14-year-old Natja Brunckhorst as Christiane and Thomas Haustein as Detlev. Both portray emotions common to the characters: lack of confidence, desperation, depression and denial very well. Both characters are very believable and you will form an emotional attachment to both. The soundtrack is all David Bowie, which really provides an excellent set of moments with the music. I was very impressed that his music could be placed so well into a movie.
The DVD version comes in the original German language version and a dubbed English version (which I saw). Now, I wish I knew German (or it had subtitles) as I would much rather have heard the original actors voices, than the 20-year-old voice that is dubbing Christiane. Regardless, the movie can still be enjoyed in this format. The DVD also comes with no frills; it's just the movie. I really think a movie of this caliber should have actor interviews, a Christiane biography, or whatever, as this film will leave you wanting more. Hopefully they address this with a future release, as well as English subtitles for the German language version.
This movie I feel is really a lot stronger than some of the other drug movies that I have seen: Drugstore Cowboy, Traffic, etc.. and I would highly recommend it over the others, as it is a very touching story about the dark side of life.
And last show it to your kids to show them the realities of drugs. Kids need to know that they can die form drugs. The only problem I have is this movie is based off of heroin, which is not a popular drug today, so it might not be as believable to teenagers. (EDIT 2017 - well 14 years later heroin is back in popularity, and killing children all over the US. This movie is would be very applicable to teenagers today)