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About Time (2013)
Like seeing an old friend.
I'm a film buff. I love 2001, Tokyo Story, Paths of Glory. My tastes range from classic cinema to modern drama and action, but most of the time rom-coms fail me. I find the romance forced and the characters sappy and unrealistic. And yet this film is unabashedly my favorite film of all time.
As I rewatched it tonight for what might be the tenth time now, I noticed new things just like I always do. I fall in love with Rachel McAdams just that much more. And I cry more and more every time. Director Richard Curtis chose to separate this rom com not through adding a sci-fi element, even though that's present, but by making this a story about life. About love. About Time. And as we see his characters grow naturally after we meet them for the first time, we attach to them and become a part of their family. We grow with them. We cry with them. And it always brings me to tears by the end, a long flow of tears of happiness for how beautiful this film is.
Tonight, I had a new experience with About Time, too. When I watched it, and I rediscovered these wonderful fictional people, it was like I saw all my old friends from high school. Like I got to sit in a cafe and share life stories with them. And I loved every second of it. Just another reason to love this film.
Marco Polo: The Wolf and the Deer (2014)
A Big Improvement Over the Pilot
Having watched the pilot several months ago, the only thing I can recall is what I disliked about it. It had poor acting and overall felt quite dull. I enjoyed it in the most part, however, as it focused much more on the Khanate and the Chinese rather than Polo, giving him the role of the perspective for the viewer.
In this episode, we get a bit more action and a bit more time spent with Polo, something I didn't mind. We also got more time dealing with the familial rivals between the Chinese established last episode (plus a very R rated action sequence) along with those among the Khans. Kublai is still the most interesting character on the show, and I intently listen whenever he's on screen.
This episode also takes time to introduce us to some of the commoners Polo meets, including a tax collector and a peasant woman. I liked these as they helped to establish the world these characters are in and kept me engrossed.
Overall, I was entertained by this episode much more than the last. For those complaining about the dull pacing of this show and the poor acting, watch this episode along with the pilot before deciding on judging Marco Polo. You might thank me later.