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bilgedeger
Reviews
The Queen's Gambit (2020)
Best Netflix Original of 2020
The Queen's Gambit was a random find for me. I started watching it without any expectations but the first episode was just enough to keep me interested. As I kept watching, it kept getting better and I must say the 7th episode was one of the best finale to a series that I have ever watched. The character developments for even the minor characters were well-thought-out and I immediately formed an emotional connection with most of them. The finale was so well done that it almost felt like an end to a show with several seasons rather than a limited series. The show also had very good messages sprinkled in between, they were subtle and didn't make me feel like an agenda was being showed down my throat. The acting was marvelous. The cinematography was great with some very impressive scene transitions. The score was amazing and really set the atmosphere and the tone of the show. If you are reading this before watching the show, go ahead and watch it. You won't be disappointed.
His Dark Materials (2019)
Deserves more recognition!
HDM is nothing like Harry Potter. I am guessing that the concept of a young child being a part of a big prophecy makes people immediately think of HP but as the show goes on you will really be able to see how much these two series differ. With all that being said I think that if you like HP you should definitely give HDM a go because it has a really strong storyline with a very strong young cast. In fact, HDM has a darker feel to it and deals with some heavier questions. I thought that both the younger and older actors were cast perfectly. What also impressed me was the quality of the CGI and the sound effects. You can clearly see that they didn't cut back on the budget like some previous book to movie adaptations.
I specifically wanted to write about Lin-Manuel Miranda. His character Lee -who by the way gave me serious Han Solo vibes- was for me definitely the most entertaining to watch, I just loved all the scenes that he was in. Hope that we can get to see more of his character in the second season. Also kudos to James McAvoy for his portrayal of Asriel, he made the character so easy to hate and I am not used to 'not' liking his characters at all. My only complaint would be that sometimes the pacing felt a little bit of. Especially when it cut from Lyra's side of the story to Will's side, I just kind of wanted to skip some parts of his storyline because it progressed way slower than Lyra's. But overall HDM is a great watch. I can only hope it gets the recognition it deserves in the later seasons.
Zodiac (2007)
A Realistically Real Story
I'll be the one to admit Zodiac is not the most fast paced or action packed movie -in fact there is rarely either of those things in it- but its sometimes very slow and repetitive nature does rewards us with the exact feeling that the people investigating the Zodiac killer experienced back in the days when they went YEARS with radio silence not knowing if they ever came close to finding him or not. Does it have a extremely satisfying and epic ending? No. But that's the beauty of this movie. It doesn't betray reality for the means of making a blockbuster. A definite must watch. You just need to keep a open mind while watching it.