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Reviews
Baby Reindeer (2024)
Knowing that this is autobiographical kind of ruins the show
The show is well written and well acted, and if it was a fictional thriller my rating would be much higher. But knowing that this is autobiographical and the guy plays himself as the main protagonist, I can't help but get a bad taste in my mouth as the show progressed.
Baby Reindeer is essentially about how a man suffering from past trauma and shame makes self sabotaging mistake after mistake, and in the process puts people who love and care about him in terrible situations that hurt them. There are many scenes where he re-traumatizes himself or digs himself into a bigger hole, such as when he got into the habit of masturbating to the photo of the woman who stalked and terrorized him. He goes back to these people who have greatly damaged him when he could have gotten them out of his life, because he misses the attention and praise that they provide him. (I was honestly shaking my head at how he didn't bring up Martha's assault on his transgender girlfriend Teri, nor the fact that she's a convicted stalker when he made his police report.)
On one hand, I think it's worth applauding that he's so willing to air out his dirty laundry so that we get an intimate view of what happened from the victim's perspective. But on the other, this feels like feeding someone who is severely in need of professional help the attention and validation that he craves.
It is strange, because by all accounts this show is very well made, but it also feels like you spend seven hours watching an incredibly traumatized and unlikable person keep making bad decisions. Mostly, I just wanted Teri to find someone else, because it became quite unpleasant seeing her continue to get hurt by his mistakes.
True Detective (2014)
Season 1 is worth watching, the rest not so much
It's very hard giving this show a score, because the seasons are incredibly uneven. Overall, True Detective has had an excellent season (S1), an okay season (S3), a bad season (S2), and a terrible season (S4). Unfortunately, I can't give the show above a six due to this reason, and most of that score is coming from S1.
The first season really is one of the best detective shows out there, and if you are a fan of a genre, I highly recommend giving it a try. Well acted and well written, with an interesting plot and a dash of the supernatural, if you don't mind slow-burn detective dramas, this is a fantastic watch.
I don't remember much about season two to be honest, other than the plot being kind of dumb and the story ending up rather boring/cheesy. There isn't enough of a draw to make me want to go back and revisit it.
Season three is the only other season that I'd recommend if you enjoyed season one, mainly because of Mahershala Ali. This one is even more of a slow burn though, and if unreliable narrators aren't your thing, this might be one to skip as well. But overall, I still enjoyed most of the mystery on screen.
Having just finished season four, I can confidently say that this is by far the worst season of True Detective. Season two may be cheesy and forgettable, but season four made me actively angry with its incoherent plotline and storytelling, unlikable characters, endless virtue signalling, and ham-fisted references to S1. I was dumbfounded by how terrible the ending was, and they couldn't even get the "detective" part right as 80% of the detective work was done off screen by another character. It was so bad that this season might have killed off my remaining interest of True Detective, and it's such a shame.
(If you are looking for mystery shows with female showrunners/leads that are actually good, I highly recommend Unbelievable or Sharp Objects. For a detective show that has an Indigenous lead, try Dark Winds instead. Don't waste six hours of your life like I did watching S4 when there are better shows available.)Season 1 is worth watching, the rest not so much.
Wo hu cang long (2000)
Still my favourite wuxia film after all these years
When one thinks of wuxia films, usually the first thing that comes to mind are the fantastic fight scenes. Crouching Tiger is no exception, featuring top notch fight choreography. What really stands out is the variety offered, from a heart pumping night chase flying across rooftops, to a quiet, mesmerizing duel of wills atop the bamboo forest.
The soundtrack is one of the best that I've ever heard. Whether it's traditional drum beats that amplify each punch and kick, or the sweeping, melancholic beauty of Yo-Yo Ma's cello, all of the music composed by Tan Dun fits each scene perfectly. There are some pieces that still bring a tear to my eye when I hear it.
But what really sets this film apart, is having Ang Lee, one of the best character directors of our time, inject his brand of sensitivity and romance into the wuxia genre. This is a tale of two love stories, of people caught between tradition and freedom, as well as the struggle between enlightenment and holding onto one's earthly connections. I love that there are so many strong wuxia heroines in this film, and there's a specific scene involving a teacup that was just masterful in showing their battle of wits and skill.
This movie really feels like a blend of East and West in terms of content, sentiment, and filming technique. If you are new to the genre, I highly recommend this one as your starting point. Since Ang Lee is a Taiwanese director, there are also no Chinese censorship or weird political talking points, and I was absorbed in the story from beginning to end.
Really can't say enough to praise this film. The actors are wonderful, the music is excellent, the plot is engaging, the cinematography is beautiful, the fight scenes are exhilarating, and the ending of both love stories moved me deeply. If you haven't seen Ang Lee's masterpiece of a wuxia film yet, I highly recommend it!
Tár (2022)
Blanchett gives a powerhouse performance, but the film itself is slow and too long
I imagine that most of the people watching this movie are watching it for Blanchett's performance as Tar, and she absolutely delivers. This really feels like a movie made for her to be in contention for an Oscar. We watch as a musical virtuoso loses everything that she has worked for, and the subtle madness that comes with that journey.
Unfortunately, even though I usually don't mind long movies, Tar is also has extremely slow pacing and dragged on for much longer than it needed to. At 2.5 hours, I thought they could have easily taken off 40 minutes and told the story in a more succinct manner without losing the coldness and moodiness of the character.
However, I will say that I loved the scene in which Tar shredded a student and his extremely shallow view of Bach's music. Tar may be a terrible person, but her love for music and conducting is real, and you felt her passion through the screen. (It was very telling how the student immediately fell back on the types of insults that would put him on the same level as those "old, white" composers whom he judges and looks down upon. The edited video of her lecture, in which her words were spliced to generate rage in the court of public opinion, was a nice condemnation of internet culture today.) I commend this film for not being afraid to make arguments like this.
The Fabelmans (2022)
Too self indulgent
The Fabelmans is a semi-autobiographical tale about Spielberg's journey in discovering his love for movies, as well as his family turmoils growing up due to his cheating mother. I wish there was more focus on the art of moving making itself, because those pieces were the best parts about the movie. Overall it felt more like 65% of the time was spent on family and school drama.
This is a bit of an Oscar-bait movie about one's love of Hollywood and films, but it was nowhere near as captivating as something like "The Artist". Too long and self-indulgent, and unfortunately not particularly inspiring either.
A large chunk of time is spent dealing with the fallout of his mother's cheating, but I had very little sympathy for her and her constant excuses and attitude. At least she admits that it's the most selfish thing that she's ever done, but the fact that she kept going on and on about how much she cares for her children despite her actions just really started to grate. There's a scene earlier in the movie where you see the mom driving her car towards a tornado with no regard for the safety of her kids in the backseat, and it nicely foreshadowed how she never stops to think about the emotional trauma she inflicted on her kids and spouse.
The protagonist Sammy, who is much closer in personality to his mother, isn't exactly relatable either. By the end of the movie I mostly felt bad for the dad. He was patient and kind and loving to his family, and even though he wasn't 100% behind Sammy going into the movie industry at first, he still spent tons of money buying toys and filming equipment for him. He was there whenever Sammy had a screening, and he put up with a lot of BS from his family. I can't imagine having to deal with your best friend screwing around with your spouse after you mentored him and got him some really nice jobs.
With so much time spent on family drama in this movie, at least the emotional turmoil of the kids were spot on, though I wonder if all of the kids were so forgiving (assuming this is how it was like for Spielberg), or if he chose to make the relationship rosier than it actually was after the fallout of the divorce.
It's such a shame, because certain cameos in this movie are excellent. If only there was more focus on the craft of film making itself, or of Sammy/Spielberg's experience working his way up in Hollywood, because those scenes were truly wonderful.
The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
A quiet, soft, horror film about the breakdown of male friendship
The premise of this movie is simple: two men (Colm and Padraic) who were best friends experience a drastic change in their lives when one of the men suddenly don't want to be friends anymore.
I'm honestly quite surprised at how much I ended up enjoying this movie, it felt like watching a train wreck in slow motion that gradually speeds up until everything ends in an explosive ball of fire. All of the actors and actresses in this were wonderful, and it really touched on how self-destructive male loneliness and the unwillingness to compromise can be. We watch as a man who is known for his niceness turn into a monster because he has little else to sustain himself on outside of this single friendship.
Padriac's sister Siobhan was a huge highlight for me. Often playing the mediator between these two men's petty squabbles, she is often the only source of vibrant colour that you can see in the film, and makes for a great contrast with the rest of this dreary Irish island.
Throw in a little bit of mysticism, and this movie had me captivated for its entire duration.
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
This movie made me ugly cry at rocks
This is my favourite movie of 2022. It does what Multiverse of Madness failed to do, which is present an interesting multiverse tale, while never losing sight of the emotional core of the movie AND exploring deep philosophical ideas at the same time.
Everyone on the cast and crew of this film brought their A game. It's incredible how good the visual effects look when you learn that it was all done by a team of 5-ish people. It made me ugly cry at rocks. There are certain scenes that will stay with me forever, especially when it comes to the character of Waymond Wang. (If you're a Superman fan, Waymond is probably the best "Clark Kent" character that I've seen on the big screen in years. He proves that being kind and believing in the best in others has never gone out of style.)
I don't want to give away any major details since half the fun of this movie is being pleasantly surprised at all of the things that happen in the film. Please go watch this movie!
Imawa no Kuni no Arisu (2020)
Interesting first season, terrible second season
Having finished both seasons 1 and 2, I must say I am extremely conflicted when it comes to recommending this series. There are some mild spoilers for this review, but I will try to keep most of it vague.
Most of the stars are for season 1, which had great physical and mind games that the characters needed to survive in order to move onto the next level as they try to figure out what's going on. If you enjoy Battle Royale/Liar Game/Hunger Games/Squid Game etc, season 1 is a pretty safe bet as long as you are okay with some of the usual manga tropes. However, unless you have a lot of spare time on your hands, I would not recommend continuing with the second season.
Season 2 is so ridiculous and badly paced that it drained a lot of the goodwill that I had for this series. There's only one prison game that was satisfying to watch (IIRC episodes 3-4 if you want to catch that one).
The rest of the time it felt like a bad action movie where the main characters should have been killed in multiple instances but by some miracle live. (For example, people being in horrible car accidents without seat belts on and getting away unscathed, or being stabbed and shot multiple times in what should have been fatal wounds, but then most of them don't die from their injuries.)
As a result, I was bored by everything that had to do with the King of Spades since the setup for that game is just so stupid, and I fast forwarded most of the scenes with Arisu and Usagi because the romance felt very stilted while the scenes dragged on forever.
The final answer as to why they are in Borderlands and what actually happened on that day is meh, and it drives me crazy that they broke their own internal rule for how Borderlands is supposed to function by bringing back a character who died there.
Taking both S1 and S2 together, this series was pretty disappointing. At times it also reminded me of the weakness of manga adaptations, because characters and scenes that work in manga don't necessarily work in the live action format. Overall I would say watch season 1, then catch episodes 3-4 in season 2. The rest can be skipped.
Poker Face (2023)
Calling this show a "modern Columbo" is incredibly misleading
I gave this show a try because they marketed it as a "modern Columbo", and came away extremely disappointed after watching three episodes.
For me Columbo always stood out because it rarely relied on leaps of logic to solve its cases, and many of the clues that the detective found the audience could also see, we were just missing the context required to piece it all together.
The protagonist of this show is a "human lie detector"; she can always tell when someone is lying. What this results in, is that instead of finding clues and going off those clues to solve a case, often her starting point for realizing something foul is afoot is because she became suspicious after someone lied to her. But I was willing to accept this premise if the rest of the show was good. Unfortunately, there are so many nonsensical plot points that I had no desire to continue beyond episode three.
I want to provide some examples so you can decide if this show is still worth watching, but there will be spoilers for the first three episodes, so please stop reading at this point if you do not want to be spoiled:
1. In the first episode, we see a scene in which the killer is able to murder someone in the dark with a single shot. Later in that episode, there is a scene in which the same killer is unable to kill the protagonist, even though they are in a well-lit hallway about the same distance away from each other as the first kill. She does get shot while running away in a straight line (after the killer missed two times), but the wound is apparently so inconsequential that she could drive for a couple of days without going to the hospital, and was fine after some truck lady put superglue on the wound.
2. The protagonist is not a cop. She is not a P. I. either. In fact, she hasn't had any sort of training as far as I can tell when it comes to self defense. She's not particularly buff or young or intimidating. Yet, she constantly puts herself in extremely dangerous situations with no way out (such as confronting people she knows are murderers alone without backup), but she makes it through with the power of plot armor. What ends up happening is that the bad guys have be even dumber than she is, in order to make her getting away make sense. It doesn't make for good television if you're constantly wondering why everyone on screen is an idiot.
I understand if they wanted to stay away from making her police due to the current social climate, but at the very least they should have made her an experienced P. I. Her only credentials in the show are playing cards and being a waitress.
3. All of the cases she comes across falls under "right place, right time". She's actually on the run from some dude who owns a casino, but she somehow has the time to solve random murders that conveniently happen while she's around. Except she's not law enforcement or an investigator, so you'd have to swallow that strangers would just let her nose around/break into private property/show her their security camera footage. It's absurd, and the more I watched, the more absurd it became.
4. Sometimes the messaging of this show makes me want to cringe. There is an episode in which a seasoned pitmaster, who takes a lot of pride and care in his work, watches the movie "Okja", and then decides that he no longer wants to cook meat because that makes him a "murderer". Now, I'm totally fine with whatever people want to eat, I believe that we should respect each other's food preferences. But this got real close to "the unbearable Vegan who everyone hates because they're constantly preaching" territory. Throw in a random MAGA dog that conveniently ends up being the key to solving this case, and the story is just a mess.
If you're not bothered by the things above, then I guess give this show a watch. But honestly, I'm hoping that my review saves you a couple of hours if you came into this hoping for an actual Columbo successor, because this was not it. The one thing that I do like about the show is its structure, where it shows the murder first, then goes back in time to make their way to and beyond the murder. If only everything else combined wasn't such a disappointment!