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The Witcher (2019)
Season 3 baffles me
The Witcher had everything in it to be something for me to thoroughly enjoy: a rich fantasy setting, an epic main character played by a formidable actor and lots of schemes and betrayal. Plus, I hadn't read the books - that seems to be a problem for many as well.
But season 3 simply isn't much of a story anymore. Characters' motives for doing things are either too vague or simply not properly developed. The way characters suddenly pop up where the story needs them to be without even attempting to explain how they got there is also very confusing. But most of all, the lack of a plot other than 'everyone wants to capture Ciri for very unspecified reasons' is the biggest buzzkill of all.
Really a big waste of opportunity and recourses. I can appreciatie why Henry Cavill decided to call it quits.
The Night Agent (2023)
Not the renewal this genre needs
First off, I binged this show, so despite my critique it's obviously good enough to keep someone hooked.
That said, it baffles me a bit how this genre of series is never brought to the next level. There are a lot of them (24, Designated survivor, Nikita, Bodyguard, etc) and they almost always have the same problem: badly developed 'bad guys'. A well-written bad guy as an understandable motive and takes logical steps to achieve their goal. The bad guys in The Night Agent don't have a clear motive, which kind of pulled me out of the series by the end because it became so obvious they were just bad because the plot required them to be.
The writing is a problem for much dialogue, too. There comes a point were the leads supposedly try to charm each other with 'humor', but they end up laughing akwardly hard at very mediocre jokes.
I also wonder why the director never told the lead female to act less like every traumatic event happening around her is only a huge inconvenience to her that requires to other emotional response than to be bitchy, and why the director never told the lead male to stop shouting out state secrets in public (as he is supposed to be a trained FBI-agent)
Shadow and Bone (2021)
Season 2 is bad
I was honestly psyched for season 2 coming out after the first season, which was marvelous, but they really dropped the ball with this one. There is only a handful of characters left that are well written en well acted (Bahgra, Kaz, Nina), and the writing in general has become way more corny and young-adultish. The chemistry between Alina and Mal (or rather the lack thereoff) kills the most important scenes and storylines, and the lack of Nicolai's gravitas most of the others.
The Crows are really what saves this season, and even they do not escape some corny writing and badly executed story-telling. I pray someone at the network has the good sense to give the Crows a stand-alone/spinoff, and to hire some decent writers and producers for it, because there is so much potential there.
Warrior Nun (2020)
This could've been epic (it wasn't)
Let me say first of all that I didn't read the books and am not religious - I could undersand how either of those would effect your view of this show. Let me draw up my pro's and con's
The pro's:
+ Very interesting premise
+ Some excellent filming and scenery going on
+ Quite a lot of ass-kicking by women, which is a nice change of pace from most male-dominated stuff out there
+ Excellent combat scenes
The con's:
- The dialogue is some of the most cringy stuff I have seen in a TV show of late
- Not much effort has gone into story writing here, with plot twists being unimaginative or even silly. The appropriation of christian objects like the crown of thorns comes of as corny
- Most acting performances, save for standouts Silvia Di Fanti (Superion), Olivia Delcán (Camila) and Thekla Reuten (Dr Salvius), are mediocre and pulled me out of it
- Ava, the main character, is annoyingly teenager-ish at the best of times, and cringworthy at the worst. I don't know if it's meant like that or it's the way Alba Baptista plays her. She is unquestionably pretty, but seems to have been cast because she looks like Jennifer Lawrence more than for the gravitas she brings to the role
Conclusion: Though I watched this till the bitter end, I don't think I would recommend anyone doing the same, unless they are a angsty teenager with too much time on their hands.
The Gilded Age (2022)
Not just a Downton-rehash
I have to admit that the first episode left me wondering if this was just Downton Abbey swept away from England and dumped in New York circa 1880. The whole upstairs/downstairs dynamic and the trivialities of upper class life almost made it seem like they tried to copy everything from Downton to the letter.
But furtheron, the story takes off and stands in its own right. The actors are enigmatic to a fault, and the scenery and backdrop-elements are wonderful. Its a really good show for anyone with a fondness for historical dramas. I really have my fingers crossed for another season to follow .
Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)
More holes than plot
For everyone who grew up with the original Star Wars movies, having Darth Vader in a series, voiced by the legendary James Earl Jones, has such a potential for sentimentality.
But alas. The plot is so full of holes that it would be a very good Emmentaler cheese. Neither within the context of the original Star Wars story, nor even if looked at in isolation, does it make any sense. Events just happen because they need to happen for the script, not because there is anything much like logic to it. The dialogue is mediocre at best and painful at worst.
My advice: fast forward to the scenes with Vader and skip the rest.
Killing Eve: Hello, Losers (2022)
Did i miss something or was it that bad?
I keep going over the ending and wondering if I missed something that makes it less random and haphazzard than it seems. So I scrolled down the reviews for this episode looking for a review that was at least a little bit positive. But I got tired of scrolling...
Don't Look Up (2021)
Horrifyingly realistic
Its quite likely that humanity will be faced with a calamity in the near future that will threaten our excistence as a species. Dont Look Up explores how we would deal with a comet-implosion variant, without walking on eggshells. What scared me most was that the story was, in most part, highly believable when it came to humanities deficiencies in planning short term vs long term, and gain of the individual vs gain of the collective. So much so that I need to go get a pint of icecream to eat my Weltschmertz away now.
The Morning Show (2019)
Reminiscent of The West Wing
It's quite a feat to be able to tackle #MeToo in the world of television without a story becoming onedimensional. The Morning Show is anything but that. It serves us a stellar cast of characters with very raw, human flaws, set in a fast-paced story with walking-shots and blunt cynicism that are reminiscent of The West Wing.
The only negative for me was Bradley Cooper's accent. I'm not from the States so I can't judge if its actually on-spot. All I know is that it sounds like she's having a perpetual aneurysm.
El Cid (2020)
Don't be put off by the troll-ratings
As so with so much shows these days, it's very possible to be a good one and still get bad ratings because a few trolls are mad that women are allowed to speak more than two lines or that two people from the same gender get to kiss on tv. Don''t let it rob you of a great show about one of the lesser depicted stories from medieval Europe.
It's a testament to the show that I thouroughly enjoyed it and needed to keep watching it despite personally disliking most of the characters. After all, isn't a well-crafted unlikable character the most intrigueing thing? El Cid/Ruy spends most of his minutes on screen looking stoic and like he needs to evacuate his bowels and doesn't get a much wider range of expressions as the series progresses, but most of the other characters show real growth - sometimes even into something likable. I say, worth your time!
Das Boot (2018)
Better then most whiners here say
This series has to cope with the backlash of angry internet people unfairly comparing it with the original and/or that there are women (and heaven forbid, persons of color and lesbians!) in it. Ignore them, like you should always ignore them.
This series keeps you on your toes. I do agree with some people arguing that it could have been stronger if they hadn't added the 'inland plot', but the actors are incredible, the usage of both french. german and english quite engaging, and there is very little plot armor for any of the characters.
The worst I can say about this is that in season 2, there are some story problems, like the script was too hastily written (either that or some of the characters become very very stupid very suddenly). But all in all a very good watch for everyone enjoying WOII dramas
The Man in the High Castle (2015)
Disturbing
This series is disturbing in the best of ways. It really makes you think about the evil in humanity and how a lifetime of small deeds can amount to something great (for good or bad).
You should not listen to all the haters about season 3 and 4. If anything, it's the same group of people you get here nowadays everytime LGBT of black people are introduced. Storywise, I was at the edge of my seat till the very end (although I agree it's sad that a major character suddenly disappears without much explenation, obviously for casting issues)
The only complaint I have about this series is the extreme and brutal violence. Now, I don't mind violence being depicted if it helps the story. But in some instances, it seemed rather 'just for the sake of it'. But I guess that's Ridley Scotts trademark.
The Prom (2020)
Wonderful Mess
Just finished watching this, and boy what a roller coaster it was. It is both funny and not funny, emotional and cringeworthy. Let me try to gather my thoughts into pro's and con's.
Con's:
- The plot is very weak at points. For example: somewhere in the beginning Nicole Kidman's character walked in, and at the end I still had no idea what she was doing in this movie
- Half way through the mean, conservative teenagers are suddenly converted into supporting LGBTQ-activists in three minutes because of Andrew Rannell's character singing a musical number about idiosyncracies in the Christian faith. I mean, really? It wasn't even that great a song.
- Even though there are some touching, emotional moments, there are also moments that feel like an explosion of sugar that will give you a toothache for days on end
Pro's:
- Meryl Streep
- Some excellent songs
- Inspiring story for LGBTQ-teens struggling in backwater towns with conservative mindsets
- Meryl Streep belting
The Great Wall (2016)
Enjoyable action-flick
I think this movie has fallen prey to an unbalanced amount of negative comments from bitter and angry people. Granted, its easy to find faults: the plot isn't particularly original or surprising. But the acting is decent, the battles are a joy to watch and both the scenery and costuming are magnificent. It's a beautiful piece to watch on a night when your brain isn't in the mood for much activity, and you love visually stunning medieval large-scale battles drenched in a tasteful asian sauce
Naui Nara (2019)
Visually stunning, great acting, yet some laziness
If you're anything like me and love asian culture and landscapes, you won't be disappointed by this. Any romance in this series hardly requires any acting with such superbly romantic scenery. Not that the acting performances are wanting. Especially the male lead performances are astoundingly good.
Now, I live and die for a good political drama with lots of twists and turns set in a historic background, and My Country certainly delivers. It's gritty, but there is one problem: plot armor. I can deal with some coincidences favoring the survivability of main characters, but it starts being a problem for me when guys get impaled by swords and then stand to perform an additional amazing flurry of strikes while only ever absentmindedly grabbing their wounds, just in case the viewers forgot they got stabbed. Meanwhile, hundreds of extra bite the dust after a mere scratch, often after vaguely waving their swords in the air (not even in the direction of a particular target).
Oh, and while I'm busying myself with constructive criticism: playing the same songs every episode, sometimes even multiple times, is lazy. The world is full of excellent songs. The world is your oyster!
The Avengers (2012)
Only fun if you like things blowing up
I've been struggling for a while now with superhero movies. I'm really into fantasy and science fiction and most of my friends like superhero movies. This supposedly being the ultimate superhero movie, I gave it a go.
There are some good things to be said for The Avengers. The special effects are quite decent, there are some funny moments and actors like Johanson and Hiddleston do an awesome job.
However, I simply can't fathom how people can so tremendously and even zealously enjoy a movie without a story. In effect, what this movie does is tie together a couple of superheroes, introduce a threat to earth and spin that around for 2,5 hours into some unnecessarily long action sequences. And don't even get me started on all the major plot holes. It is a shame that, for all the money that goes into a big production like this, it seems they didn't spare any to hire some half-decent writers.
Norsemen (2016)
Very funny at times, but poor storywriting
I loved the first season of this. The dry, morbid humor is just my kind of thing and the scenery is gorgeous. Sadly, the costuming en special effects are quite poor. As is the storywriting. While I appreciate that a comedy can take some liberties with common sense in favor of the funny, towards the second season major plotchanges become increasingly stupid and unrelatable. For me, comedy needs to be relatable to some kind of reality in order to be funny. It's a shame that by season 2 of Norsemen, everything in the story becomes so arbitrary that it's simply no fun anymore
Knightfall (2017)
Gave me chills, and not in a good way
First of I need to say that I only watched just about 15 minutes of the first episode. It gave me chills, or more something akin to a mixture of chill and cringe. The setting for this series has every potential for a neat GoT-like brutal medieval series, but is a mockery of history and television in general. The CGI is childlike, the acting mediocre at best, the story is laughable and the writing could well have been done by a five year old. I truly feel sorry for all the professionals involved that wasted their time making this.
So to sum it up: not a big fan.
Medici (2016)
Rob Stark in medieval Italy
Let me star of on a positive note: - the scenery is gorgeous - it's great that they decided to cast some actual italians for a series about italy's history.
But then: - the fact that the lead actors aren't Italian makes up for a most confusing mix of British and Italian accents. - Also, why is Rob Stark in this? I don't mean just the actor, but the actual character. Sadly, unlike in game of thrones, he doesn't get killed because he is a goody two shoes unable to make hard decision. As the president elect of the USA would put it: SAD. - There are many plot twists without so much as an explanation as to why it is at all realistic.
All in all i don't feel that Rob Stark belongs in medieval Italy. And if he truly did, he'd been killed in the first few episodes.
Penny Dreadful (2014)
Tasteful Bloodbath
I've found this series quite unique amongst it's current peers. The intertwining of popular folklore within 18th century England provides not only good storytelling and numerous surprising plot twists, but first and foremost some gorgeous costuming and scenery.
The way the series is masterfully directed, the richness of each storyline, the wondrously gruesome gore and epic imagery makes this series, in my opinion, the most tasteful bloodbath that ever made it to television. I would recommend this to both lovers of costume dramas as horror series. If you're anything like me and love them both, Penny Dreadful will knock you of your feet.
The Walking Dead (2010)
The dead walk as slowly as the story
I honestly tried to like this show. I'm a sucker for a good old apocalypse with zombies. With it's premise, the show had everything to be the next Lost (though hopefully with a more worthwhile ending).
While the story is carried on a brisk pace in the first few episodes of the first season, it quickly turned into a glacially paced soap opera, it's only redeeming qualities being the impending doom of zombies. Especially in season 2, episode after episode is filled with intergroup drama, almost each character being awarded their personal break down moment. Nobody seems to feel much urgency to seek redemption (permanent safety, a cure, etc).
On top of that, the zombies are somewhat laughable. They look like extras that got their head dipped in a makeup kit. Presumably they are.
But first en foremost, i stopped to watch this series after season 2 because of the kid-character Carl. There hasn't been a single scene in the first two seasons in which i didn't feel an overwhelming desire to see him get killed in a gruesome way. Sadly, there are enough cases in which such a death would be more than justified based on the kids enormous stupidity, but other people end up dying for it rather than him. To put it in Cersei's terms: Shame, Shame.
Il racconto dei racconti - Tale of Tales (2015)
Dark, bloody and absolutely fantastic
If you like the Hollywood-blockbusters that have become the standard in the fantasy genre, this movie is probably not for you. For me, as someone who appreciates originality and creativity over the usual combination of action scenes and plots full of unlikely heroism, this was something of a very pleasant surprise.
The acting of almost all characters is absolutely top notch, the story is unusual and gripping and the scenery is breathtakingly gorgeous (watch this in blueray if you can). Like any good fairy tales the stories are riddled with hard lessons about avarice and envy. I like my fairy tales dark, gritty and bloody, and this movie has it in spades.
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)
The force awakens, but the creativity certainly did not
Although i'm a fan of the first six movies, i waited for The Force Awakens to come out on Blueray before watching it. As so many old classics that get a modern follow up these days, you can but expect two and a half hours of disappointment.
Granted, The Force Awakens has the same ingrediënts of about every movie of the first six: some misty blabbering about the force, a bad guy with a helmet, controlled by an even bigger bad guy with a wrinkled face, a death star, a planet full of sand, a droid with crucial information, and some twisted soapy familydrama.
Therein lies it's failure for me. It's not enough to simply copy everything for the first six movies to make a good quality Star Wars movie. In order to continue with an old classic, you need to re-invent it. Sadly, while the force awakened, the creativity most certainly did not.
The Shannara Chronicles (2016)
Cinematic torture (haven't read the books)
Normally, I would tell anyone to disregard reviews from people who read the books of a series or film and are disappointed by how it is brought to life. There are many of them for this series as well. I, however, haven't read the books, and am here to warn you to never ever watch this. It's absolute cinematic torture. A semi-serious storyline in an MTV/Twilight setting.
The main male and female character are obviously selected based on only their physical appeal. Granted, their lines are some of the worst in the fantasy-themed cinematic history, so it remains ambiguous if they can actually act or not.
The only redeeming quality of this series is the appearance of Manu Bennet and John Rhys-Davies. That being said, their appearance in this horrifyingly bad series is at the same time no doubt the low point in their acting careers
Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
A great epic
I've always adored this movie, and watched it quite a few times. It's scenery is gorgeous, the story lavishly dramatic, and many of the actors are incredible.
The best thing in this movie, for me, is the portrayal of Saladin and King Baldwin and their relationship. It shows wisdom and kindness of two great leaders of the different sides of a very bloody crusade.
The movie would've been perfect if it wasn't for the main character, Balian. It's not that Orlando Blood is a terrible actor (well, not a great one either), but it's the decision the character makes that leaves a lot to be desired. Especially in the directors cut: Balian is presented with the opportunity to save the kingdom of Jerusalem from the clutches of an evil ruler and in doing so, marry the love of his life.
But no, Balian has to be goody two-shoes, and choses piety and a weird sense of morality over the faith of the realm. Such people should, in my humble opinion, be killed.