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marcus-19743
Reviews
For All Mankind (2019)
Started great, descended into mediocrity in S3 and S4...
Was a really intriguing concept from the beginning. The alternative history with a good amount of references to actual historical events was handled well. We had the whole 'what if' scenario that has been tackled before in other shows and movies, but it was done quite subtly in many ways. Enough differences to have it make sense, but nothing too drastic. It's not as if being first to the moon completely defined the USA in the late 1960s and into the 70s, but the show portrays a the world in a slightly different light because of it. We also have a few little things that show how we could be following a different timeline where even things completely unconnected to the moon landing may have played out differently. The whole of the first season was generally pretty good. Yes there was some wooden acting in places, and a couple of bits of poor CGI, but on the whole it was decent. Season 2 maintained that level whilst moving forward in time by a decade. Unfortunately from the beginning of Season 3 it began to lose its way. It began VERY badly with the farcical Ep1, although thankfully recovered somewhat from Ep2 onwards, but continued to become more and more like a daytime soap opera than a (space) drama, and it got progressively worse into Season 4. Some of the character development was very questionable, the standard of acting generally fell, even from some actors that had thus far been fairly decent, and some of the dialogue was laughable. Even the sense of it being an alternative reality was now lost, with 90's technology that we know, now suddenly replaced with tech that would seem current or advanced even today, as if the intensified space race had forced humanity to accelerate its development of all technologies, not just those related to Lunar and Martian travel. Overall I enjoyed the show, but feel a bit disappointed by the third and fourth seasons.
Gen V: Guardians of Godolkin (2023)
Slightly underwhelming finale to an otherwise great season...
So pretty much as per my review title, I found this episode to be a slightly underwhelming finale to an otherwise great season.
For me I felt it was a bit too much action just for the sake of it, and there was a rather rushed feel to it all.
After the events of the previous episode, we knew that the group would probably be split over the death of Shetty, and would possibly end up fighting each other over what to do with the inmates of 'The Woods'. Sure enough that's what happened, and chaos ensued as the former lab subjects ran amok outside the campus buildings.
The ending of the episode was clearly setting up for S2 of Gen V, which is fine, and looks like it's going to run straight into S5 of The Boys as well, with Billy discovering The Woods, and no doubt will get hold of the supe virus.
Overall I've enjoyed the season, and I'm looking forward to S2, but for me this episode just felt a bit too much like a 'filler' episode rather than a finale.
Ahsoka: Part Eight: The Jedi, the Witch and the Warlord (2023)
Zombie Stormtroopers! WTF????
So here we are at the end of the season, and I'm not really sure why I bothered to be honest. On the whole it's been reasonably enjoyable, but there have been so many moments of ridiculousness, and things that almost turned it into a silly kids TV show. It's also been full of rather shallow and uninspiring characters.
The season started promisingly enough, but after the first few episodes it generally went downhill from there, with frankly ridiculous things like star whales, horse sized wolves, 'cute' little shelled characters and zombie stormtroopers. We ended up with a much feared 'villain' that actually seemed more like a boring (but blue skinned) accountant than a galaxy conquering warlord, and had 'heroes' that seemed impossible to kill or injure despite being bombarded with countless lasers and explosives. But then it seems the bad guys (even the zombie ones!) were even more inept than we're already used to!
After all of the fan complaints about the lack of Jedi stuff (i.e. Lightsaber battles) in Kenobi, which was another train wreck of a show, we seem to have had way too much this time round. Lots of boring and pointless fights that looked so stilted and lame, with no real sense of jeopardy over whether our 'hero' would make it through unscathed. All of the clichéd sequences with the pauses and stares and stances, all of the lame mid fight dialogue and posturing. All ending up with the result we expected all along.
And to cap it all off we're presented with the 'cliffhanger' ending that leaves more questions than answers, whilst also knowing that a second season is far from being confirmed at this point. Having said that, even if a second season isn't commissioned, I can't say I'll be too disappointed, as I have no real desire to find out what happens next anyway!
In fact, now I've put my thoughts into words for this review, I now feel I was too generous, so I'm off to knock another point off my rating for this episode! 4/10.
I'm just glad we have more Andor on the way at some point to satisfy my Star Wars Galaxy interest, with a mature, well developed plot and characters with depth!
Spirited (2022)
I hate musicals!
Honestly I generally hate musicals. I am however a fan of both Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds, so I gave this movie a fair chance. I sat and watched it with my daughter, and honestly I really enjoyed it! Yeah okay so it's a rehash of the old Dickens story; A Christmas Carol, but it takes a rather different approach to it. It did take a little while to get used to the fact that Will and Ryan were singing so much, but they really did a great job of it. It's all very self aware and tongue in cheek. Almost self deprecating in places, and has a sense of humour I could easily relate to. The songs are brilliantly written by Pasek & Paul, and there's some very well produced and fabulously choreographed dance routines too. I felt the story worked well whilst sticking quite closely to the well known framework of the old Dickens tale. Overall a thoroughly enjoyable and very heartwarming movie. 9/10.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Awful but enjoyable!
I don't think I've ever found such an awful film so enjoyable! Let's remove the rose tinted spectacles for a moment and be truthful here; this film is terrible in so many ways, but the fact remains that it's really good at the same time. The plot is weak, the dialogue is really cheesy, and most of the acting is very average at best. What makes it great is the way it has brought in the nostalgia from the original, and thrown it together with some amazing visuals and a soundtrack that just has to be seen on a big screen to be fully appreciated. Right from the moment the lights go down, and then you hear the sound of those tubular bells ring out for the anthem during the opening credits, you're immediately transported back to 1986, and all those feelings come flooding back. There's lots of scenes that are basically a reboot of the original, and obviously lots of elements that try to continue the original story but the mix is well balanced. As long as you don't overanalyse it, because some of the decisions and basic physics don't make sense, and can get past the cheesiness of the whole thing, and don't get too bothered by the old 'USA saving the world from the (unnamed communist) bad guys' narrative then it's a thoroughly enjoyable film.
Invasion (2021)
Clearly not what some people were expecting, but very good nonetheless.
So I've watched the first three episodes, and there's clearly a lot of people who did not get what they were expecting. People perhaps looking for mindless action with aliens and monsters and shooting and killing. This is not that kinda show. Much slower paced, with far more focus on the characters, and seen from the perspective of those characters too. Just because it's not constant action it certainly doesn't mean it's boring, and there's no way this deserves so many low scores. Quite the opposite in fact. Give it time folks. The story is building nicely with lots of little details slowly emerging and questions piling up, but I'm sure the answers will come when the moment is right.
Intelligence (2020)
David Schwimmer fans (who also like British humour!) will love it!
Such a funny programme. Clearly the style of humour is not to everyone's taste based on some of the scores, but if you're usually a fan of subtle dry British humour, think The Office (UK version) and This Country, then you will almost certainly enjoy it. Even more so if you're also a fan of David Schwimmer. He is absolutely brilliant in this, with some of his classic physical comedy traits thrown in with the brilliant script and excellent characters. I also like the way they've played around with different camera angles including candid CCTV stuff, and the snappy editing and quirky soundtrack adds to the appeal.
Horrible Histories (2009)
Series 1-5; 10 out of 10 / Series 6 onwards went downhill
The early series of this show were superb. The writing and attention to detail for the sets and costumes was superb. It always amazed me how much effort (and probably cost!) went into each segment. Sadly it went downhill big time from Series 6 onwards. I'm guessing that the writing changed, but I wouldn't be surprised if the budgets were significantly reduced as well.
Jumanji: The Next Level (2019)
It is just like the last one, but then that's the point!
So, several reviews complained that this is too much like the previous one. Well anyone who has played video games before knows that there are usually multiple levels which essentially follow the same theme throughout. Hey guess what, the film is called 'the next level' and that is that is exactly what it is. So if you enjoyed the previous one, then it's a fair bet that you will enjoy this one as well.
Yes there are some new characters here to add a little more to the story, but the format is essentially the same. Get into the game, solve a few riddles, get past some challenges, defeat some bad guys, and rescue something to achieve the goal and restore normality to Jumanji.
The action and humour are just like before and the characters essentially do the same things as before but with a few little tweaks here and there. If you're going into this expecting a completely different film, then you'll be disappointed, but then you would also be a little naive to really expect anything different.
Overall it's fun, with plenty of action and a similar vibe throughout to the previous movie. Myself and my family all thoroughly enjoyed it.
Kraftidioten (2014)
Apparently it's a black comedy
So this apparently is supposed to be a sort of Scandi-Noir comedy! The plot may be based on the dark subject of drug dealing gangsters and murder, but some of the casting is so poor, and the 'comedic' elements so farcical, that it ends up simply as a bizarre mashup of sinister characters played by totally un-sinister actors, and dead pan 'comedy' that really isn't that funny. Overall very disappointing as it could've been a brilliant thriller with the right actors and a better script.