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Sick of It (2018)
Stick with it
This show is worth your attention!
It's great to see Karl change direction and write a series completely different to his Travel programs.
I have to admit I wasn't the biggest fan of the first series - not as many laughs as expected and some of the problems the character 'Karl' bears are unbearable!
However I binge watched series 2 in lockdown and was presently surprised. Karl is such a relatable character that you follow wherever he goes and the episodes are very well written.
Compare this with Gervais' After Life, and maybe I shouldn't, apples and oranges and all that. However Karl, being the writer and actor is excelling at what Ricky normally does best.
It's not ground-breaking but it deserves a lot more attention.
Too Old to Die Young (2019)
Falling asleep.....
Other reviews have stated this well enough but I wanted to chime in because of my frustration.
I love NWR's style: beautifully shot, simple dialogue, relaxed pacing.
But TOTDY is exhausting and I'm only two episodes in and really struggling to get through
There are scenes and pick-up shots that never seem to end.
Every character is subdued and withdrawn.
I thought NWF producing a mini-series could be the best of both worlds - his style with a clear narrative driving each episode.
WRONG. Amazon seem to have given him Carte Blanche and he's given 10 long drawn movies
Game of Thrones: The Bells (2019)
Stuck in the middle
A lot of tribalism going on here as is the case with most issues these days.
There are fans who bend over for any direction the writers steer the show towards. And others who are hating so toxically that they'll slate an episode before it airs.
But this penultimate episode has got to be the weakest of all the showstoppers - including the long night.
For all the spectacle and stunning effects, the writing and construction of the battle is just poor.
Anyone who says the writing hasn't declined is kidding themselves.
After Life (2019)
Enjoyable but far from Gervais' best
I always jump at the chance to watch a new Ricky Gervais release. In everything he does excluding the office(I love that for other reasons), there's a glow to the production. Everything is well shot and the soundtrack's are awesome. I love that he resists shooting UK 'Kitchen Sink Dramas'. The sun always seems to be shining in his series'.
But as of late, Gervais's films and tv series like Derek have always fell short for me compared to the early years with Stephen Merchant. Merchant has commented in recent interviews that part of the reason they've diverted paths is that Merchant spends years developing an idea to perfection until he goes into production, and he's happy to stay out of the spotlight. This point really rings true as of late. Gervais is the opposite, jumping from project to project - stand up tour to comedy series to film to producing american shows. As much as it's infectious watching him have a good time, After Life (as well as his recent projects) feels like Gervais had a great premise and then just ran with it. It could have been moulded into a great mini series if he had taken time and drilled out the idea. All the ensemble actors are there just to serve Gervais's character. Talented comedians who Gervais obviously knows from his radio shows and previous sitcoms have come in for 'bit' parts - all in shock of Gervais' character outlook on life and are never given the chance to properly counter-argue.
And As much as I said it's extremely well made - that holds it back in some of the poignant moments. I never bought into the fact that Gervais's life is as written. His late wife looks like she's in perfectly good health in the flashback videos, the prostitute looks like the actress has just put on a revealing miniskirt, the barrel scraping local newsroom is a nice office with glass walls. This goes on and on....So when Gervais's character is in the bathtub ready to slit his wrists, I'm not convinced he's hit rock bottom.
Gervais jokes that every character he writes and portrays, will speak with the same Reading accent, will wear the same comfortable clothes, will have the same physique. He jokes that he likes to shoot fast so he can finish the day early and go home to lounge in his pants with a glasss of wine.
But when they're showcasing a series with the emotional themes like After Life, he really could have delved in more to make it worthwhile.
For instance, The first episode opens with Gervais already expressing his 'old people rights' by telling everyone surrounding him what he thinks of them and their beliefs. The only way he can get through life is by living with no filter and calling BS when he sees it. But wouldn't it have been better for the first couple of episodes to illustrate this realisation? That's a massive stage of his grief and a revelation that happened OFF SCREEN. Why? Probably because Gervais' is more interested in insulting people straight off the bat because he doesn't care if people are 'offended'.
His work reflects his personal beliefs and outlook on life. Which is great!!!! What you would expect from honest 'artists'!
But it's become so dumbed down now. Any character with any faith has to be the ditziest character to question why he has no faith. If you're a fan of Gervais (which I am believe it or not) and you watch any of his videos, he seems to have the same Schtick in every interview. And when it comes to promoting After Life, he'll describes the premise, what it means to him and sums it all up etc. But when you watch the show I realised he's literally quoting from the episodes - meaning even the characters can sum up what it all mans. There's no subtlety or nuance to it. That's why his earlier work is 10x better in comparison.
Also! To emphasise a beaming light where Gervais is clearly lacking. If you look at the character of the drug addict and the position Gervais puts the characters in with their grief and suicidal thoughts and what Gervais does to 'help' the drug addict! Gervais didn't even scratch the surface on the emotional aftermath and the character's conscious. Why? Requires too much depth for the series.
To sum up the show fell seriously short for me as you can clearly tell if you've read this far.
However in saying that, the series was released less than two days ago and I binged watched it in a matter of hours.
Even when Gervais is not working at his best it's still more interesting than the average comedy series.
The Grand Tour: Pick Up, Put Downs (2019)
Meh.
Ideas are really starting to slide in this new season.