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Quicksand (2019)
It doesn't work.
There are series that you just can't put down. Series that you wish had even just a few more minutes, to get a glimpse of the characters this little longer.
Then, there are series that you constantly keep your finger on the fast forward button. I am afraid this is one of those cases.
I did want to see where it's getting at but (to me) both the road to get there (character building) and the actual outcome/climax is just plain disappointing and not worth the wait.
I can see what the creators are trying to do but it just doesn't work. You don't get to feel anything for any of the characters, be it resent or sympathy - for me it was just puzzling, from the beginning to the end. An incoherent and incomprehensible behavior leading to dire results. Characters (or was it the casting) that can't convince you.
Other than that, yet another Netflix production dragging for an unjustified number of episodes, with many useless scenes where you are simply left wondering "why".
Beef (2023)
Somewhat puzzled
I 'll admit it's a refreshing story, largely devoid of cliches related to love stories and money hunting.
Acting is good enough and the characters well-built for the most part.
It is a very brave look into people's personal struggles and how they can overwhelm them into doing stupid things.
Still, once more, the culmination left me somewhat disappointed. I got this feeling that, it's a great story basis, a solid idea, but the climax just won't deliver. It's more and more the case with Netflix productions, hanging after a few episodes, many series dragging through a story that just can't keep up (e.g. You, Dead to me, Bloodline).
Beef doesn't exactly drag, but you still have this "where is he going with this?" feeling throughout the series, after the first episode. And in the end you don't exactly feel "vindicated".
All in all, worth watching, entertaining throughout but will probably leave you somewhat puzzled.
The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe (2022)
Very good
There is something about a story being true that keeps me on my toes, especially when I have not heard about the outcome or had the details beforehand.
Had you not been told that this story was true, you would find it neither believable nor interesting. You would just go: "nobody's that stupid". Seldom do you feel embarrassed on behalf of someone else but if that's on TV, well, that's amazing.
Cliché, but reality beats fiction.
All in all, this is a great piece of work: paced just right, with the right amount of length (4 episodes is just fine), good production values and some great acting, especially from the two leading actors.
Very refreshing work indeed (the story works by itself, really), and I 'll also tell you this: you get a few hours of "what's gonna happen next" entertainment without a single punch thrown or gunshot fired. This is getting more and more rare.
Wild Card (2015)
Solid flick
I' ll never understand how people review films. This should be around 7, not 5.
Jason Statham films are becoming (if they haven't already become) a genre on their own. If you don't know what to expect just watch one of them.
And that's absolutely OK. In fact, I got to see that movie today because I was in the mood to see such a movie. This kind of reassuring knowledge (that there are, actually available movies like the one you are in the mood for) is very valuable.
This is a solid flick:
- There is a DEFINITE and clear plot (some people argue in their reviews that there isn't one).
- There is enough character building, and the director achieves one of the most challenging things in movies: we care about the main hero.
- There are great (GREAT) action scenes in the film, but not abundant: just enough for you to pay attention and enjoy them.
- There is resolution - and a solid one, at that.
If there's something off with it, for me it's the "no-talk, no-action" sequences that drag a little longer than they should for such a film.
Other than that, I cannot make sense of bad reviews in here. It's not a masterpiece, but it's well above average and definitely worth viewing.
Vatican Girl: The Disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi (2022)
Bad direction
The documentary genre is difficult on its own. Nowadays, it's getting even harder for documentary producers, what with all the available information sources, that can kill the suspense for viewers.
And while there are stories that you already know with documentaries about them putting a worthwhile spin or meta-info on (say, The Last Dance), that's not one of them.
Even worse, I would go as far as to say that, if you are acquainted to this story beforehand, heart-wrenching as it may be, there's actually almost nothing to see here.
But the real let down is the direction: I lost count of how many times reconstructed or otherwise footage and narration was repeated, how many times we were led on to believe there's some sort of revelation coming up or how many scenarios/conjectures were coined/considered/discussed for way-far-too-long before the actual "conclusion" is presented.
I would LOVE to see an actually jaw-dropping documentary about the Vatican scandals and wrongdoings, but that's not it.
Entrapped (2022)
Hmmm no.
Disappointing.
I was a huge fan of the original Trapped series (1). If you haven't watched that, do it now.
However, both the first sequel and, even worse, this one don't live up to the standards set by the first one.
Acting and general production values are high, however, there's just way too much time wasting and implausible twists in the story. Too much of the story looks like uninteresting subplots-decoys. Sometimes, characters do silly stuff - that's by far the worst way of resolving a situation in fiction. Resolution comes out clumsy at the end.
I would have preferred a classic crime story with the same heroes, some good old police work and some private stories here and there, instead of an excessive effort to create a wow factor.
Ad Astra (2019)
We need better stories
Space exploration can be completely boring to an outsider - it involves a lot of waiting and sitting around, and rare "wow" moments. Not good ingredients for a movie. So, for Sci-Fi films to work, some exciting story is needed to shift the focus off space/science.
Unfortunately, I can't say that Ad Astra is successful in that. The main story, although a good idea in its base, is poorly narrated. What's more, at some point it unravels hastily, as by that time our attention has been wasted with useless subplots or scenes that don't really offer anything but visuals.
The production and visual effects are absolutely stunning. Absolutely fantastic. It's because of that that I find it all the more important to find better "space" stories to tell.
Finally, a word on the science of Ad Astra: I don't want to be "that" guy. I understand science should serve the plot and not the other way around, but - sorry to repeat myself - you need a great story for that. Otherwise, details can get under scrutiny what with in today's information availability. The Martian is a movie that helps you forgive any science "holes". Ad Astra is not.
The Pledge (2001)
Dissapointing
This isn't a bad film, however it has a couple of serious flaws:
1. It is based on a ridiculous premise.
The mother of an 8-year-old murdered girl asks a retired (but-not-just-yet) cop to promise that he will find her daughter's killer. And he does just that - he pledges. I think we all agree that a cop would NEVER promise to catch a killer in real life. They would promise to TRY.
Because the whole movie is based on such an absurd premise, the scene HAS to be powerful and "poetic/cinematic". Unfortunately this scene, so important in the film, fails miserably.
I love Jack Nicholson but here I just don't "feel" it: he is neither the super ethical hero, neither a badass detective, nor someone who comes off as a workaholic, 24-hour obsessed-with-his-work cop. If anything, he looks tired, fed up and confused.
So he seems like someone who wants to simply "be done with" the difficult question of a mother who just lost her child. At the same time, Clarkson doesn't cut it as a desperate mother. So there: instead of a "wow!" you are left with a "why on earth did he..?"
2. I could have lived with 1) above, but also, the film has a very unfortunate ending.
Get this: you are watching a nearly 2-hour film about a man who has devoted all his time as a retiree, a lot of money and too much of his sanity (all, by the end of the story) to finding a child molester/killer. And the culmination of the story is based on a coincidence, where the murderer is killed in a random accident and none of our main characters ever know what happened.
Our main character doesn't fail or succeed (any one of the two would be fine, if "served" right). He doesn't even KNOW what's happening.
Life can be shockingly overwhelming AND unexciting at the same time. Fiction cannot. It just fails.
If you need an analogy of what happened, imagine Keyser Söze being hit by a bus before he gets to testify. I am sorry - it's plain wrong and does not respect fiction and story telling.
I think it's been said many times. A successful book doesn't necessarily mean a good movie. The reasons are obvious. I haven't read this book, but I can easily imagine the differences, now that I 've seen the movie.
Kastanjemanden (2021)
Not bad
Let's face it: it's difficult to see an original police drama these days. There's just so much film production going on that writers simply can't keep up.
On the other hand, you don't necessarily need a completely original story to enjoy a whodunnit. A few tweaks and changes here and there, good production, decent acting and and job done.
So this series manages to provide enough plot twists and suspense to keep you interested - and as an added bonus, it's rather short. Production and acting are indeed solid, so I would say, it' enjoyable and very much watchable.
If I had a couple of objections, these would be:
1. I understand this is Nordic Noir, but man was it dark. You better watch it in a dark room because, put simply, in 6 episodes I don't remember one person turning on a light bulb. You simply can't see what's happening in some scenes.
2. There are so many clichés in action scenes, that it makes you wonder if there is some particular reason really. Sometimes it just feels that people behave in stupid ways to get the plot going. I really do hope to see the filmmaking industry getting past the point where they need someone to walk alone in a dark house (only to be blindsided a few seconds later) to get things going.
The Adam Project (2022)
Full of clichés
Time travel is an idea so fascinating that movies that revolve around it will always have a fan base, whatever the outcome.
However, it seems to me that this movie is not a genuine time travel flick. I mean, of course, time travel is in the center of the action, but the whole meaning of the movie is more important than that. Family ties, coming of age, reflecting on life are all issues you will come across in this film. And that's not half bad for me.
But it's so absolutely full of clichés both action- and dialog-wise that for me it doesn't cut it. I knew every line that was going to be thrown and every plot outcome right from the start - I caught myself fast forwarding all the time.
It was somewhat fun at certain points, and if you are into this kind of action sci-fi films you might enjoy it. But there's so much computer animation potential these days (making FX more or less irrelevant), that script should paid more attention to.
Don't Look Up (2021)
Netflix has accumulated way too much money
10 minutes into the film and you already know that something is off.
The core idea is totally fine and the what-if premise of what the world would be like in such an event, is spot on.
All the rest is simply off. Characters for which you feel nothing, meaningless & hasty subplots, and a film that for 2+ hours cannot decide whether it's satire, comedy, drama or science fiction (not).
It seems to happen more and more often, to see such a stellar cast in such run-of-the-mill movies, with great SFX and poor stories.
I can only guess that Netflix has accumulated a lot of money and as such, produces movies by the dozen, but that causes the overall quality to take a serious hit.
Mindhunter (2017)
Hidden gem
I know it's not hidden, but, what I really mean is that Netflix doesn't do this show right by its trailer. These days, with content being (a little annoyingly) abundant, you must rely on a trailer to decide what show or movie to devote your (often scarce and precious) time to.
The trailer of Mindhunter is good but it still prepares you for a "who dunnit" show. Well, this is unfair because this is absolutely nothing short of refreshing, insightful and (at long last) original drama/crime series.
This is a great story that doesn't care to clearly paint the "good guys" cops who solve a crime and help people no matter what. This isn't about heroes. This is a story that 's different in that you get to think why people do horrible things.
No need for unnecessary gore, or forced vindication. Just pure and witty dialog between could-be-real people, nice character building and just the right amount of suspense.
My personal movie foe is clichés. I just can't stand being presented with the same old cop and serial killer storyline and stereotypes, and it seems that (even new) flicks are full of that. But this? No. Clichés are largely criticized here and you get a fresh view of possibly how criminology got to where it is today.
Cobra Kai (2018)
It didn't need a 3rd season, let alone a4th.
I second all the users in here who say this was a surprise. It definitely was, especially in the beginning. But this show is one more example of not knowing where to stop.
If you were a teenager back in the 80's, you know that the Karate Kid was one of the landmarks of that movie generation, whether you were bullied or not. I bet that the original idea for Cobra Kai, emerged based on that premise, targeting 40-year-olds and not hoping to gather new audiences. But as it turns out, it can be appealing to all ages.
The series 1st season really works a great story, with balanced and well placed references to the movie, avoiding clichés as much as possible, and demonstrating a refreshing focus on an anti-hero. By the end of season 1 you are left wanting for more. (7/10)
The 2nd season is still interesting but some exaggerations make their appearance here and there. The story gets somewhat complicated and you are starting to feel that it's dragging a bit. (6/10)
By the 3rd season it's obvious that the story background has been supported as much as possible and simply cannot be developed further. Silly things start to happen, if you think this is about karate lessons. To be honest, I was surprised to see that a 4th season is coming! (5/10)
I am not saying it's bad - it's an entertaining show. But the wow factor of the 1st season could not be upheld (naturally). It would be great if it wrapped up by the second season.
Lucy (2014)
Hit and miss? Or just miss?
It's one of those movies - you see Luc Besson, Morgan Freeman, Scarlett Johansson, I mean, how bad can it be? Well, it turns out, not that good.
The premise of utilizing more of our brain potential is always intriguing, there's some action and a nice message. But the concept gets tedious and difficult to follow, until it turns out sheer simplistic and kind of silly in the end.
If you are interested in catching a "what-if" movie about utilizing more than 10% of our brain, go see Limitless, which is enjoyably plausible.
Toc Toc (2017)
Refreshing and funny
I think I 've had enough with political correctness, which is slowly becoming a problem for this world, just like anything extreme.
This great flick is a refreshing comedy with just the right amounts of humor and self-sarcasm, trying to get a genuinely good message across. Its breezy approach to the issue and a clever little twist, will only leave you in a feel-good mood, even if you have an OCD yourself. And let's face it, we all do at some degree.
Excellent work. If you are not smiling in the end, you should look into it.
Line of Duty (2012)
Excellent TV
I see why many people are not exactly thrilled with this show. In my opinion, it's because of the absence of stereotypes: the main characters are not particularly attractive (certainly not hot), neither Rambo school alumni and their homes are not idyllic penthouses with stunning views. They are ordinary people, well-trained policemen, and when you see them at work, their dialogue and actions are not superman-like, just pretty damn realistic.
The show does not work a lot with character building in terms of subplots related to their personal lives - we merely get a glimpse of that, only to confirm that we are not dealing with supermen here.
So why would you watch this then?
Well, this is a great, pure police mystery show, having you wondering, all the time, what 's going on and who 's guilty or not. And even though anything goes (at some point or another you have doubts about all of the characters) the show brilliantly, slowly helps you build a concrete, unshakable faith that your main characters serve one god only: integrity.
A fantastic production all-round. Great plot, with each season following and closing a cycle of events (no cliffhangers between seasons, which is great) but each season (and all of them together) subtly being connected to a one large super-plot.
If i had a couple of complaints, these would be:
1. Sometimes the plot might get a little convoluted, although not so much or so often as to ruin the fun
2. It would be nice to have a longer lasting "redemption" part. I mean you wait and you wait and you wait for resolution and it only lasts for 5 minutes sometimes.
An excellent show overall, only second to Broadchurch, a must-see.
Dead to Me (2019)
(Not) Knowing when to stop
I love what-ifs. Together with books, TV & Cinema are a great way to explore extraordinary situations. For movies, it's easier to get your point across. After all, it's an hour or two. But when it comes to TV series it's harder. Because you need to know when to wrap it up.
"Dead to me" starts off great and proceeds even better. Character development, just enough scenario twists to keep you interested and an intriguing plot core. But as soon as a climax is reached things go south. This might not be accurate (I don't know the exact launch timing), but I am assuming that the "problem" lies with the popularity of the 1st Season, which must have led creators to prolong the length of the series.
["Unbelievable", for example, was amazing partly because of keeping the number of episodes just right]
By the time you get to Season 2, the series decides to go over the same recipe all over again, devising forced twists and turns just to keep things going. The series is moving further and further away from developing the characters (in a way that would make sense). Liking or caring about them becomes irrelevant, and gradually you are left more and more with a "meehhh" feeling. Because the wow factor can only be evoked so many times.
Season 1, I would recommend to most people. Season 2 onward is more of a waste of time.
How to Get Away with Murder (2014)
Disguised failure
There 's a certain sweet spot of twists and turns in a plot, that will have you hanging on the edge of your seat. If you go past that, you risk coming out ridiculous or boring (or both). Some shows or movies do just that - they are downright outrageous about their stories. But they can be enjoyable because they won't hide it. You will probably understand within the first 15 minutes that the creator isn't going for realism, and that actually helps you enjoy what you watch - it gives you a premise.
HTGAWM lacks that: premise. Is it a legal show? Is it a soap opera? Is it a who dunnit? You can't tell and while you can't decide, interest drops. It starts like a "normal" legal show with a nice touch (the "tough" professor/lawyer backed up by hand picked, brilliant law students) and (oh my God) slowly turns into an anything-goes, I-couldn't-care-less-about-the-main-characters story, that just won't climax - it keeps twisting and turning and twisting and turning, until you just don't care anymore.
And it's not a GoT type anything-goes, no. It's a "we had a base plot 10 episodes ago, but we need a way out of this complete mess of a story" anything-goes, much like the one that ancient Greek tragedy used to deploy (Deus ex machina), or even worse in some cases ("let's just try going down that road (too) and see what happens").
All that, amidst subplots that are just not interesting enough to follow and some completely irrelevant (or relevant in some cases, whatever works for the script, really) court room action, which, from what I read is not close to reality either. I am not interested in law accuracy at all in the movies, as long as it is enjoyable and looks plausible in my non-lawyer eyes. But truth be told, it's not even that, an intense/satisfying court drama.
Never had a TV show taken me so long (a whole season) to come to terms with the fact that it just won't deliver. Thank God for the beginning of 2nd season that helped me put it down finally.
The Lobster (2015)
Lost at the end
Nothing can prepare you for any Lanthimos next scene. A lesson I should have learned by watching Dogtooth.
I pretty much had the exact same feelings (as the ones when watching Dogtooth) almost throughout the film: a sense of "what if", a disturbing curiosity about people behaviors in situations that you know just cannot exist.
The problem was that halfway through, the narrative loses its orientation. Is it a social commentary? Is it an extreme love story? Is it an allegory?
I can live with the disturbing images and ideas because I expected them beforehand. It's just that, the film loses focus and feels like it could have concluded almost an hour before it did.
And had it done so, we would be speaking about a whole different movie.
Narcos (2015)
Great show
This is a really top-notch production, keeps you on your toes, and - my favorite part - is very faithful to what really happened (with regard to the facts, not their dramatization of course).
Don't miss it, but do yourself a favor: if you do not already know the facts, try to learn as a little as possible about them before you see the show because some of the things that happened are really fascinating and are successfully depicted as such.
Love & Friendship (2016)
A let down
I don't usually consider to leave midway through a film in the cinema, a lesson learned from "Lucky Number Slevin" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0425210) which, in case you haven't seen yet rush to do so.
"Love & Friendship" though, had me seriously thinking "what am I doing here?" halfway through. Heck, I am sure that even the film title was decided based on the fact that it's hard to understand what it's about.
Early on, it is hard to follow, as it throws names and faces to you (in a cute, supposed-to-be-funny manner) and you eventually realize that you actually DO have to remember all these names and faces.
The plot unravels very slowly: you soon have the impression that "something will happen". And it never does.
In my humble opinion, Kate Beckinsale is not fit to play the cunning lady Susan. She is an elegant yet cute (if not hot) presence, that doesn't come through as a manipulative widow.
All in all, I would say that transferring a novel to the big screen is not merely using nice costumes and scenery. Cinema is a different art - aiming to stimulate different feelings. It shouldn't feel like someone is reading dialogues to me.
Ófærð (2015)
That's what it should be like
Each time I watch a Hollywood movie/TV show that involves some kind of heroism or similar extraordinary act, I always think to myself how the characters rise to the occasion so easily and their acts are so explicit.
Trapped avoids this pitfall beautifully.
I reckon that, the utter realism of the characters portraits, their difficult decisions that DO feel difficult, the fact that they are likable and dis-likable due to plausible, human behavior is the most strong attribute of this TV show.
I won't even delve into effects, cinematography, music and general production quality: it's the BBC for crying out loud.
I will stick with the great, could-happen-but-still-extraordinary story (with suspense, nice twists and turns and cliffhangers), the excellent character build, and the subtle satisfaction that things don't just fall into place conveniently, nor the director throws stuff to my face: the story unfolds naturally and I can even relate to the main characters.
It's excellent - don't miss it.
UPDATE after Season 2
----------------------------
If these two seasons were separate shows, I would still give Season 1 a 9*.
But Season 2 would barely get a 6. And as usually is the case for me, the problem is the storyline.
I have to disagree with other viewers who blame the "liberal agenda". I don't care about that, and I don't mind any agenda in a film/show, as long as it serves the plot right and it's entertaining. That's not the case here.
The problem with the plot is that it gets unnecessarily (and unjustifiably) convoluted this time, in (what seems to me as) an effort to multiply the wow effect when the revelation time comes at the end. But this time, the story doesn't add up. There are too many "why ON EARTH did he/she do that now?" or "So what?" or just plain "Why?" moments in the 2nd Season.
I hope Season 3 has a better thought plot.
Elysium (2013)
Oh my God!
This is what happens when you combine money with today's best movie- making means and no story at all. Utter crap.
Every scene in this film, you have seen before. Every line in this film, you have heard before (only, better). Every character in this film, you guessed it: you have seen them in a thousand other films. If you are looking for new scientific ideas or some kind of breakthrough, forget it: this film simply defies a bunch of stuff we already know, because it fits the story.
There simply isn't enough time to explain how this film fails on every level (except for visuals).
This movie combines 80 years of Hollywood cheesy dialog, plot shortcuts, clichés, totally unreal/indifferent characters and comfortable twists with state-of-the-art CGI.
Spotlight (2015)
Catchy story, but the film...
Earlier in my life I would instantly "rate" a film after having seen it, based on feelings it invoked to me. Nowadays I tend to ask myself a question: "what is it that will make me remember this?".
Unfortunately for this movie after seeing it, I think that the overwhelming issue, the elephant in the room, remains the very subject that this film is occupied with in general. Almost nothing you see in this movie will "stay" with you.
Very nice cast, very nice acting all in all, but story and character building is "flat" in my humble opinion. I never gotten to feel something for some character: not enough sympathy for the newspaper team (not threatened or risky enough - they didn't have to sacrifice anything), not enough dislike or wish for vengeance towards priests/Archbishop (did not actually see/hear their demeanor or reaction to this - just reported attitude), not even particularly sorry for the victims (just not convincing enough).
A few years from now I think I will probably just remember that some journalists in Boston uncovered a lousy pedophilia scandal within the Catholic Church. And although pedophilia is a vast, shocking problem, well, you knew that before seeing this film.
Cosmos (1980)
Breathtaking
I first came across this series a few (maybe 5) years ago. When I started watching it I knew nothing about who Carl Sagan was, what he had done for space science, or anything else related to him or his work.
I have to admit that it wasn't easy to pick up. I mean here you are, waiting to watch a 30-year-old documentary about space/universe etc, and this guy starts off and goes on and on about species and natural selection.
Before I go any further, let me just say that ever since I watched it, Carl Sagan became one of my top-3 most notable history personalities.
What a breathtaking, all-revealing, larger-than-life experience! If I had to compose a scenario on how to describe this world (and others!), I would never had come up with the right questions as he has. Well, Carl Sagan, nothing short of a genius, has created a series that will ALWAYS be relevant, no matter what science discovers in the years to come, making visual effects irrelevant, and involving each and every one spectator as much as a "documentary" possibly could.
No, this is not a documentary - this is a "personal voyage". Do not miss it.