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herbigame
Reviews
New Girl (2011)
In every age I find a new favourite show
I never heard of the show until someone recommended it to me recently and I got lost watching the entire season during the weekend. I have mixed feelings. First of all, it is the best show I can remember right now. Period. Way before House, Parenthood and other bizarre shows I enjoy watching.
But, at the same time, I think it stinks. Why? Because this is so close to be looking like a new Seinfeld show, that it gives me the creeps to anticipate how the writers of the show - which are not the actors - will mess the entire thing up after a few seasons.
But that may be just a tear of sadness that reminds me how quickly fantastic shows turn awkward. It happened to House, it happened to Family guy. Right now I do not see enough dynamics to let this show work for more than the first season. Nevertheless it is a fantastic show and I recommend it to anyone that wants to have a good time.
Srpski film (2010)
A portray of the psyche of a survivor?
++ Note that I actually talk about the END of the movie. If you are not interested, do not read.++
I just read a few reviews and it has been more than a year now since I watched this particular flick. One thing does not seem to be described, yet. What made me truly appreciate the movie, or, let's say: the reason why it is not a scam-exploit movie to me is - not mentioning the cinematic quality - : the psychological portray.
I understood the entire movie as the premise for the final minutes of the movie to work on the psyche. +++ SPOILER: The contrasts from relief, hope, despair and nihilism in the final scenes of the movie can only be felt deeply and hence understood if the movie had a stronger impact on the viewer.
Drawing the connection between the happenings in the movie and newer history of the regional area connected to the title of the movie made me at least glimpse at the problem of what it means to have survived horror.
Gainsbourg (Vie héroïque) (2010)
I liked the reference to post-war cultural development
###### Might contain spoilers ######### I personally found the portrayal of decay one of the most impressive features in the movie. The character's fall naturally depicts the transition of the haute-couture from the war-years, which was yet a reminiscence of Golden Era, yet with a little less social exclusion, towards the chaotic and disturbing culture the re-building process in the post-war years.
You can see it first in the transition of the protagonist's manners, which change from subliminally provocative in childhood towards openly ironic during the time spent with Brigitte Bardot - every attempt to remain sincere and "ernst" during this time must have been felt as a facre - , towards unreflected vulgar anti-everything proclamations you see in the re-make of the sex-driven song and the years after.
Also, you can see it in the changing clothing, which slowly progresses and finally finds its point of no return when Gainsborg finds his British wife. First of all, it's the inter-national coupling, which of course introduces compromises on all sides, and which also makes him send away his visage, which is basically a symbol of his genius overall. What he sends away is the normed cultural knowledge he gained as an aspiring French intellectual. Accepting to embrace the then more inter-national culture, he becomes basically a perverse anti-hero which resembles the Proustian portray of Bloch. While he learns and transcends the inter-disciplinary approach towards the new culture, he becomes a torn-apart individual and ultimately an outsider for both the French and the British society, in which he lives, becoming truly an international cultural outlaw. (The first hint at his outlaw status is the rejection of his song written for Brigitte) So, his clothes change towards what you would think a typical drug-addicted rock-n-roll star outfit and has not the slightest scent of culture and style left. He resembles a little bit the latest pictures found on Dylan.
But most interestingly is the attempt to relate this final breakdown with the his experience of WW2, something that is dominantly present in the scenes where he performs the Marseillese. You see that subconsciously, he still is haunted by his past, and while his embracement of earlier haute-couture allowed him to feel at home and at peace somehow with his country and intellectual background, the emergence of a new form of pop culture - loud clubs where electronic music is played, an Asian looking girl friend, a ton of Garbage art on his estate -, you can see that this last piece of hope and divinity, which he found in the art of chanson writing, falls apart and leaves him with nothing left than ruins.
The entire biopic hence deals somehow with the cultural breakdown of the entire society due to the rebuilding process of post-war Europe, and the massive dilution of cultural products across borders, and the end of self-consciousness it introduces with itself.
The last dignity, initially spared by the war experience and conserved in the intellectual networks of Paris, vanishes. And even worse, he probably experienced to have contributed to this mess. When the Asian looking girl comes straight to the point asking if he wanted to "fuck" her, while he was still trying to frame his intentions more elaborately as a gentleman, he must have ultimately realized that everything was over. He was not even part of the outlaw movement anymore. He was just some random individual that was perceived as following its most primal instincts. At that point, he say "NO. Don't you dare to leave." Another point of no return.
Yes, because there he was. An alcoholic, post-intellectual and vulgar individual. What was left to do, but to escape everything and forget about what he once deemed important by making another baby and becoming a family man after all. The rage and violence have vanished in the final scenes, simply because anything that he could rage about was dead.
Apart from that, as already mentioned, the film was catchy, atmospheric and somewhat epic.
Persons Unknown (2010)
A somewhat twisted story
####THE REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS UP Until THE LAST EPISODE####
Idon't get the bad criticism of the show. First of all, this reminded me in no ways of lost. The show was not about pressure, group dynamics at bay and steady danger. And it was a lot more static regarding the psychological development.
The only violence that occurred was that of the prime actor that killed the surveillance guy and the hotel manager (who survived anyway in the form of Captain hook). The answer why he did it was deferred to the 2nd season. The first indicator.
the second indicator being the fact that ms Fairchild reappeared at the end of the show. We also don't know why she was taken off the experiment in the first place. Was she the hedgehog? no answer why or who she would be ... until season #2, level 2.
Also the grey haired hippie will be in the focus of the 2nd season. and his conflict with the director, who right now appears to be nuts. The purpose of the entire program has not been revealed, yet. What higher purpose would it serve to have people play this ridiculous game?
Ex post, it was clear that the dynamics of the group converged to stronger bonds, it was clear all would survive. looking the last episode and knowing the program was not destroyed, it was clear that there would be a new series, again, and that most of the players would reappear. Interestingly enough that in this episode there is no restart, but the game begins with strong bonds and relationships already in place. room for different scenarios and the question: what can destroy the bonds, and what is the purpose of the "superhuman leader"?
So, I think this show still has potential after the last episode and has the potential to be superb ex post if the first season was only a warm-up round into the twisted world of the experiment the Mansfield Institute.
First of all, it appears the experiment involves both on-camp and off-camp actions. The detective that took Janet in episode 12 is apparently the mastermind of the off-camp experiment. this leads to the question what will happened to the Italian mafia guy, who will become involved in 2nd episode (the hippie of the board of directors? the good cop? Janet's mother? ) So there will be need of some good story writing to reveal with issue.
Then there have been some absurdities that need to be explained: Why did the protagonist from previous round kill two people? There must be some reason dating back to the first experiment in which the protagonist failed (as the program level 1 restarted)
Is the director nuts? Power-obsessed? Or does the program really serve a purpose?
Why did the 2nd hotel manager get killed? he obviously was part of the experiment. He cant be killed for loving the female protagonist. he should have foreseen the ending anyway.
What happened to Ms Fairchild? And what will be the crucial role of the crybaby. Apparently he "knows more than one would think", since he knew the name of the businessman's wife.
So I suppose in season 2, psychological development will be a lot more interesting (hopefully the writers do their math), the org will be exposed and one finally knows what the experiment is about; the bonds will be destroyed and re-built by the "superhuman leader". Season 1 was about context-less individuals. It was a re-start of everything. Season 2 on the "lost souls" ship seems to promise more morally challenging situations, mainly regarding the guards. To kill or not to kill. Eventually the crew might find out that they can only pass to level 3 if they don't kill the guards, which would be the first action to do if the guards where the end of the hierarchy.
Also I cant believe there will be any question on how to escape anymore. I think the end of the first season was to establish the idea that there is no way out, only a way through the program. Also they should know by now that they actually do have a choice. While they had not choice to escape the program, the did choose to not end up in the body bags dead.
So overall, I enjoyed the show and believe it will transcend the boring inter-individual character dynamics of lost quickly