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Reviews
Star Trek: Discovery (2017)
Amazing, no. Chronically underrated nonetheless.
There is no fandom like the Star Trek fandom when it comes to complaining about change. It was the original. It is one of the loudest. Ironic considering that an ongoing theme throughout every single series is the idea of keeping an open mind, but we humans are an emotional race, of course.
There is fair criticism: it being very focused on Michael Burnham being the most accurate. It is much less of an ensemble than previous Treks have been, which in my opinion leaves it feeling like more of a spin-off than anything. In addition, they have taken unnecessary and somewhat off-putting visual direction in places, particularly with the Klingons - I mean just why? It's as though they just did it to troll their most trollable followers. Then there's the wobbly camera, the jaunty camera angles, the dingy sets...It's trying too hard to be down with the kids and missing by a mile.
However, all that said, a lot of the complaints are just reactionary nonsense. "IT'S NOT STAR TREK!!1", I see repeated over and over, and that's really very unfair. Just a few episodes into the first series you're dealing with themes of racial identity, racial tension, corrupt power, not judging a whole person based on single factors, the ethics of animal testing for scientific development, the treatment of prisoners of war, the effects of PTSD...I could go on. They're just not presented in the in your face "this is the issue we're looking at today children" way that they would have been in the older series. If people are missing these things then it being dumbed down is not the issue.
As for it being "dark", honestly that's laughable. It's darker than TOS and TNG definitely, but that's really not hard. I'd put it on par with DS9 which was full of war crimes, grey morality, rebel sympathy, religious bigotry, eugenics, racism, the whole bag. Of course it broke that up with the "comic relief" like Quark's disgusting objectification of women, the ambiguous relationship between Bashir and O'Brien being played for laughs, the toxic masculinity Worf repeatedly threw at Jadzia, but that was just good fun right?
Anyway, I'll stop, I think you've probably either got my point or furiously downvoted me by now. I would certainly not be put off by the most critical of critics here though, make up your own mind, be objective, THAT is Star Trek.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Let He Who Is without Sin... (1996)
It's OK, lighten up.
I'm giving this one a 10 it doesn't deserve to counter the 2's it doesn't deserve. Choose to be Dax 😉
On a semi-serious note, there is a little chat towards the end that gives some nice insight into the stick up Worf. It deserves some credit for that at least. The rest of it is just silliness.
Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Survivors (1989)
Uncomfortable but impressive. ASD T/W.
I find this episode very difficult to watch, but not for the main plot; it's Deanna that gets me.
I don't know if it was intentional (probably not due to when this was made), but Marina Sirtis portrays a sensory overload as perfectly as I've ever seen on film. I'm autistic, I've felt that feeling. Even if Sirtis had little awareness of autism at the time I'll bet whoever she used as research / reference suffered with it, whether they had an official diagnosis or not. She nails it perfectly; the way her response to stimulus builds from her looking just a bit distracted, to uncomfortable, to rattled, to screaming, to meltdown; the way she becomes clearly disorientated, the pain and desperation on her face, the need to stay grounded in her room. Been there. Have spent 30+ years learning to hold that feeling in for the comfort of others. Been accused of being oversensitive or histrionic or just plain nuts when my barriers break and it comes out anyway. I can imagine some people would apply that assessment to Sirtis' performance as well, but that says more about their understanding of what's going on. Personally, I applaud her very, very much. Doesn't make it any easier for me to watch though.
I'm 8-starring it. I loved her performance, I'd max it for that, but I barely recall the rest of the episode in comparison so I can't really. There was a really nice looking matte painting when the away team landed - that stuck out. The rest of the reviews suggest that it was good overall, so go by those.
Fargo (2014)
Definitely not background viewing.
It's good. I can agree with all the grounded positives in the other reviews so there's not much point in me repeating them in depth. It's very clever, well written, well acted, nice to look at etc etc.
The one thing I will mention...it's not ADHD friendly haha. That's the only reason I've knocked off stars. I accept that as my problem, and not an issue with any of the production, but I thought it relevant in case you're likewise afflicted. I will admit to have found myself zoning out on it more than once. There are a lot of quiet spots in it, and if you're not paying attention during them you can lose the plot in a moment. I've had to make myself turn it off and come back later a few times. I can imagine this being frustrating for a lot of people, but honestly if you can tolerate it then it's worth it imo. I was always the "clever but could try harder" kid - if you were too, consider the heads-up before you write it off as boring; it's not, it just takes a bit of effort.
Heavy Rain (2010)
New player; pleasantly surprised.
I never played this game when it came out but I, an obsessive, found myself in possession of Detroit: Become Human a couple of months ago (thanks psn), and after bleeding that utterly dry I thought I'd give this a crack. Honestly, not disappointed. Well, maybe a bit; I liked the flowchart in Detroit (as mentioned, obsessive), and this doesn't have that, but I'll live.
Firstly, it's old and it shows. I didn't have any idea HOW old until I came on here though, it's aged really quite well considering.
The controls are a bit dodgy in places, lots of flipping around, not quite facing in the right direction which is annoying, but fortunately that's not generally much of a problem considering you're usually only walking around freely when not much is happening; if you can take occasionally bumping into doorframes it's fine. The action sequences are all QTE so it's not like you're going to accidentally punch yourself in the face (someone else might if you don't have muscle memory though).
I can't judge the graphics fairly because I never saw it new. By today's standards they're not great, but they're not the worst thing I've seen either. I got icked out by the uncanny valley a few times but Detroit did that to me too, I think maybe it's just the stylistic choice. The lighting, effects, set composition, and general atmosphere are actually still really visually pleasing in my opinion; you can tell they went all out there.
I've seen the voice acting mentioned here repeatedly and it didn't bother me at all, but I'm not American. If you are, I spose it could sound as bad to you as it sounds to me when you try to sound English. Not sure why they cast a bunch of barely known English actors to play Americans in a French game...cost? Dry humour? No idea.
The story is good. It's not groundbreaking or anything, but it's solid. There are some plot issues and some wtf moments but name me a game without any. The characters are a bit shallow, but generally likeable. On the negative, I think for today's audience the women getting shower scenes and sidelined would probably cause a fuss (maybe it already has, idk, I don't have the mental energy for that side of the Internet).
Overall, good game, aged well(ish), more engaging through character driven narrative than by gameplay but that makes a fun change. If, like me, you played Detroit, liked it, and that's why you're here, go for it, it's obviously it's predecessor. Can't say much more on it really.
The Do-Over (2016)
Solid 6
Is this up there with Tarrantino? No. It's a buddy action / comedy featuring Adam Sandler and David Spade, if you were expecting more, that's on you.
It's stupid, it's full of dick jokes, trashy action sequences, unbelievable plot, and two grown men acting like frat boys - and that's funny. If it was real, it probably wouldn't be, but it's not, it's a silly movie that's designed to be nothing but mindless entertainment; no philosophical questions, no moral, no lasting implications. If you don't find that funny, then why are you here?
It's well shot, good to look at, the chemistry between the two leads works, and it's not trying to be more than it is. If you like this type of movie and you've got a spare bit of time just watch it, might as well.
Love, Death & Robots: Blindspot (2019)
Sidetracked by cartoons...story of my life.
The kid in me who watched Power Rangers and Thundercats in the 90's was pretty happy with this episode.
Plus bonus Brian Blume.
It was *not* the intellectual peak of the series, but it was fun. Solid 6.
Love, Death & Robots: Helping Hand (2019)
Lol
I'm full starring this one just to counter all the Internet physicists from the school of Google haha. It was cool, gross, and the space effects were pretty, and that's all that needs to be said really. Suspend disbelief people, or why are you watching something called Love, death, robots?
Love, Death & Robots: Shape-Shifters (2019)
Eh...
GI Joe with werewolves *shrug*
Nice animation though.
Love, Death & Robots: The Witness (2019)
Meh...pretty but pointless.
Not much point in this one apart from aesthetics. It is nice looking...in a real doll meets Nine Inch Nails video kind of way...honestly that's it, I can't even think of anything else to say about it.
Dragon Age II (2011)
Better than you've heard.
I'm 10 starring this game to do a little to counter the negative pile-on; it has a bad reputation but it's actually really worth a play, especially now at the price it tends to go for these days. I'd actually give it about an 8.
Is it as good as the first one? Nope. As open as the third? Nope. Is it short? For an RPG, yes. Are the maps recycled? Oh yes, I would call this the most deserved complaint of the game.
On the other hand, it has a decent plot (especially if you read the accompanying books), genuinely wonderful, well written companion characters ranging from adorable, to charming, to absolute anti-hero, a customisable protagonist who you can play in multiple ways (think Commander Shepard only with the addition of a third snark-master playstyle alongside paragon and renegade), the voice acting is fantastic, really engaging and actually pretty star-studded to be fair, it isn't long enough to get overly grindy, the graphics are dated now but their cartoonish style tends to fit well with the overall tone, the battle system is fast paced and has a fair amount of variety in difficulty depending on your settings, but most of all the whole thing is just *fun*. It hearkens back to the days when games didn't pretend to be sports or services - when they were immersion into a different world (and no teenagers claimed to have had relations with your mother), when they did dare to be a bit silly but still knew when to reign it in when the action got going. Honestly - if you've never played it don't be put off by all the negativity, just give it a go. Yeah buying it at full price (plus DLCs) when it was new only to find out that you could finish it in a week was annoying, but it's only about a tenner now for the whole lot, what's to lose?