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The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live: The Last Time (2024)
Everything I wanted to see played-out!!
It had everything you'd want to see since Rick flew away in that helicopter in season 9. Not sure what people were expecting to give negative reviews. You cannot put everything in there to complete their story, you have to leave opportunity for a potential future story.
Out of all the recent spin-offs, this was the 1 they absolutely needed to nail and they did. Awesome series - maybe the trick is to have the stars be as involved as Andrew and Danai were. They are also fans and the most invested. Now we just need to see a reunion for Rick and Daryl on screen!!
That's 3 out of 3 new spin-offs scoring above 7/10. As much as I crave more than 6 episodes for each, less seems to prove to be more.
The Handmaid's Tale: Together (2022)
Another wow
By season 5 of any show, it would not be surprising to get a slight dip in the quality of storyline and performance. You can almost sense lethargy or repetition at this stage, but not with The Handmaid's Tale. I have always followed Elizabeth Moss's career since 1st knowing her as Zoe Bartlett in The West Wing, but I did come to this show late on - mainly due to watching episode 1 without immediately watching the following 2 or 3 episodes. I do believe that this is a show, in the beginning anyway, where you have to binge a block of episodes for the intrigue to grab you. When it does, The Handmaid's Tale awakens an addiction that makes you hope, in vain, that the episodes never end. By the time I actually sat down, determined to watch a block of episodes, I was lucky that 4 seasons had already been released - I watched them all in a week and a half, as well as re-watching them a couple of times since. It's a masterclass in how such fantastic source material can be structured and delivered in episodic storytelling. The acting is of course fantastic, but so is everything else from the cinematography, to the score & soundtrack. It is all beautifully crafted and it's un-rushed, nuanced style means that you can watch a 20 minute scene of just 2 characters' dialogue and it be just as enthralling as a 20 minute, action-packed sequence. CHECK-OUT THE 5 EPISODES ELIZABETH MOSS DIRECTED.
Back to this episode and what I said at the start of this review; we are over halfway through a 5th season and it feels just as fresh as it always has. You could be forgiven, if you anticipated it will repeat itself by recapturing June again and taking her back to Aunt Lydia again, but then your trust is rewarded by them applying a neat little twist. Although you can sense what might actually happen at earlier points in the episode, the delivery of the last scene - both performance and production-wise - still got the adrenaline pumping and me cursing those damn credits for rolling.
The Handmaid's Tale: Together (2022)
Another wow
By season 5 of any show, it would not be surprising to get a slight dip in the quality of storyline and performance. You can almost sense lethargy or repetition at this stage, but not with The Handmaid's Tale. I have always followed Elizabeth Moss's career since 1st knowing her as Zoe Bartlett in The West Wing, but I did come to this show late on - mainly due to watching episode 1 without immediately watching the following 2 or 3 episodes. I do believe that this is a show, in the beginning anyway, where you have to binge a block of episodes for the intrigue to grab you. When it does, The Handmaid's Tale awakens an addiction that makes you hope, in vain, that the episodes never end. By the time I actually sat down, determined to watch a block of episodes, I was lucky that 4 seasons had already been released - I watched them all in a week and a half, as well as re-watching them a couple of times since. It's a masterclass in how such fantastic source material can be structured and delivered in episodic storytelling. The acting is of course fantastic, but so is everything else from the cinematography, to the score & soundtrack. It is all beautifully crafted and it's un-rushed, nuanced style means that you can watch a 20 minute scene of just 2 characters' dialogue and it be just as enthralling as a 20 minute, action-packed sequence. CHECK-OUT THE 5 EPISODES ELIZABETH MOSS DIRECTED.
Back to this episode and what I said at the start of this review; we are over halfway through a 5th season and it feels just as fresh as it always has. You could be forgiven, if you anticipated it will repeat itself by recapturing June again and taking her back to Aunt Lydia again, but then your trust is rewarded by them applying a neat little twist. Although you can sense what might actually happen at earlier points in the episode, the delivery of the last scene - both performance and production-wise - still got the adrenaline pumping and me cursing those damn credits for rolling.
House of the Dragon: We Light the Way (2022)
Will be listed as a classic
Reminiscent of those Game of Thrones episodes that started as 1 thing and delivered a satisfying opposite. This episode clearly marks the end of setting the stage and the start of getting down to business. An episode that intelligently builds in tension, that makes you feel convinced that there'll be a pounce of some sort. The way the feast scenes take their time and keeps the focus on the event, circulating around the interactions of the key players is comparable to the storytelling of the Red Wedding. I have been enjoying this show, but this marks 1st time where I cannot wait for the next episode.
The Matrix Resurrections (2021)
Ignore the nay-sayers
If you are a true fan of the franchise, then you will love this film. It looks stunning, glossy, colourful and plays cleverly with the narrative of the original trilogy and it's place in the minds of the characters in this new Matrix.
I'm glad I read the interview with Lana Wachowski explaining where this story came from and the reason she revisited this universe. Knowing her reasons allows you to experience the story differently, as a beautiful love story of characters that are so obviously important to her.
I was also impressed/relieved with how the resurrections are explained - even though this is Sci-fi, it made sense and not too far-fetched. Very clever stitching of the bridge between the original 3 films and this new story. Nothing is erased or apologised for, which is awesome and full of integrity.
Give it a chance.