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Lego Masters - Dutch (2020)
great show, production could be better
Just discovered this series. Loved playing lego's as a kid and find the challenges very interesting.
There were a few things that bothered me. I quickly checked fragments of the season 2 and 3 to see if they were not beginners problems.
You can expect for a first season the budget to be on the safe side. And it shows. The decor is a bit too random. Besides the shop and the ceiling lights there isn't much of a great vibe coming from it. It all looked like cheap paint effects done by amateur arts and crafters.
The acoustics were terrible in that hangar. I did notice that by season three, acoustics have improved.
The use of the golden brick reminded me of Australian Masterchef (golden pin) that I am currently binge watching as well. Maybe production could have a look there. The decor has a great vibe and is a good background for any contestants outfit. Translate that into a Lego thing and you could have a winner.
Presentation lacks swagger. It is okay to not be one of those presenters that look like they are on cocaine but at many moments they seem to fail to trigger enthousiasm with the viewer. Other times they are just quite flat. The brickmaster does have a lovely warm, charming not to hyper enthousiasm that i love. I notice that in season 3 there has been a change in presenters. Unfortunately one of them has a voice i am not too fond off. How well they present, i can't say just yet.
None of that stopped me from watching. And yes, i will check 2nd and 3rd season. I hope to see maybe some mini educational moments. A show like this can be so inspiring. To see a couple of how to's of elements of complex structures would be nice.
De gek op de heuvel (2006)
an irritating movie about people being irritated by autism (and each other)
I was somewhat confused. It felt that the autism was reduced to a couple of traits picked up by a brochure. A bit of research revealed that the author of the book had very close experience with autism. It seems that the problem might reside in the adaptation to the screen.
When doing adaptations a couple things tend to get lost. It is good to leave the family saga elements behind (subplots relating to the grandparents). The book spanned a longer time frame and in it you would see the evolution of the child and of how the parents related to the child. The writers seem to have picked a couple of elements but it wasn;t nicely woven together. Instead of the weaving there seems to be too much negative space. Add to that the not very captivating acting af several actors, and i ended up using the fast forward button quite a few times.
Of the other elements of filmmaking such as cinematography or music, not much is to be said. It wasn't awful but never really special, captivating or inspiring.
I think there might be better movies about autism or documentaries. There could be some catharsis in it for parents who are dealing with the challenges of raising a child with special needs. And for them... it sounds like the book might be the better option.
Los Flamencos (2013)
funny enough despite pacing issues
The basic premise is not new. Three seniors want to do one more robbery. Not of a major Hollywood size but nice enough to make some small dreams come true. But the execution of this set up is nice. As everything gradually gets more complicated. The writing is nice but there is not enough to fill a whole movie. I appreciate they went for the slow humor approach instead of fast paced Hollywood style action but because of thelack of content, it results in some pacing issues. This is a movie that would benefit from a remake. With this kind of set up you actually need a higher pace and more jokes.
The comedy got a few laughs out of me but not every joke.
The actors are well experienced and do a great job, even though there is one of them i do not enjoy on the screen (he has a minor role so it doesn't bother me too much).
Great for those moments when you're sich on the coach and don't want to guess plots and rather watch some story unfold.
Arcadia (2023)
Too much suspension of disbelief required even though this is already real
The foundations for these kind of series is to create another society. Such a society is created with a) an environment and b) a culture. And that is exactly where it went double wrong.
A)
The architectural choices are interesting. Too often production designers rely on high tech, blue glowing goodies. But they fail to create a real world. Beside a market in a low class neighbourhood, there are no stores nor is there any sign of a delivery system (should people not have to shop but government disperses item). There are just some functional buildings and some housing as you also get in a computer game where you have to build a society and then go to war. Nor are there citizens going about there business. How can you believe a builing is a hospital if no extras are going in or out? Streets are empty and deserted ( and not intentionally). It doesn't feel like a real city at all.
B)
As mentioned earlier, the second aspect of creating a society is creating a culture. I am not referring to the points system but the way of behaving, talking,... Besides things specifically written in, it is as if noone seems to be affected by this way of live. They all behave too contemporary. The belgian/netherlands mix doesnt work either.
It is common to do coproductions. Not only can you apply to two subsidy jars, you also have a bigger target audience. Belgian and Netherlands culture is quite different. And both parties can be very irritated by just the sound of the different accents. I find that the mixture they created does not work. If there would be a future where there is more mingling, habits and language would have rubbed off on one another as well.
This problem could have been fixed by director and actors working closely together to create such a society, but apparently everybody just practiced their lines and did minimal prep.
In short the series was made by people who love scifi but do not realise what it should be build upon: a credible fantasy.
The pacing is, especially in the beginning, a challenge, but i did find myself wanting to find out how it would evolve.
The most fascinating thing is that this is presented as the future where in a certain country this is already in practice.
Kafka (2017)
nicely made
Many sketchshows are often quickly thrown together cheap tv with leftover jokes, told very slow to get extra seconds of cheap footage.
This show is beautifully produced in many aspects. I loved the production design, the editing, even the music works nicely.
The casting is also superb. What a great actors.
And , most importantly, it is actually funny. I gave it a seven because i estimated that 7 out of 10 jokes/situations put a smile on my face.
I'm not sure how well this works internationallly because there are so many very belgian aspects about it.
Be sure to check out some of these actors in other work.