volvuspa Reviews

Blackout (II) (2021– )

A fairly realistic collapse scenario

[8/10 · 26 August 2023]

I hate series. Few of them have a script that could keep you entertained for an hour, and then they make ten episodes out of it. And they never finish, because they want to produce a second season.

Blackout has a good script and grabs your attention because the actors are good and the plot is realistic. It's about the collapse of modern civilization, but not due to zombies or alien invasions. It's about a power blackout, and the chain reactions that leave modern European countries without heating, food, transport, law and order. Soon after the light goes out, we're without Internet, tap water and supplies. Many details are implausible, but the series makes you aware of the vulnerability of modern cities.

The Underground Railroad (2021)

Fake history

[3/10 · 31 January 2022]

There's a disturbing tendency to re-create our past into something that's political correct and at the same time gives us a good dosis of the graphic violence many of us crave. This movie is well made, has beautiful scenery and good actors, but America in the 1850's wasn't like that.

Fake movies about King Arthur and the Middle Age could be discarded as amusement. But the more we approach our own times, the more serious the distortions of the past becomes. People who know next to nothing about history (the majority of all Americans) believe that this is a true representation of slavery in the mid-19th century, because the costumes are so nice and the actors so good. And if you say that that it's fake you're not woke enough.

The Barrier (2020)

A good script for 1 ½ hours. They produced 12 hours.

[7/10 · 18 November 2021]

They had the script for a great movie. Instead, they opted for 13 episodes with the hope of a contract for yet another season. Netflix goes for volume, not quality. My suggestion for a future movie professional: Grab hold of these bloated series, cut out the fillings and make a good movie out of it.

The Endless Trench (2019)

The ditch we're all in

[8/10 · 28 February 2020]

This film is about a man who went into hiding when the Spanish Civil War started, and stayed there for 33 years. It's about living in a cave behind a cupboard, watching the world changing around you, and becoming afraid of the street life outdoors. It's also about manliness: watching behind a crack in the cupboard while other men make a pass at your wife, how your only contribution to the family is to help your wife sewing, how your son, who grows up to be a socialist, accuses you of being a coward, hiding out while your comrades were fighting. It's a great film with universal qualities.

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Worst American war movie ever made

[1/10 · 30 September 2009]

The Americans, as usual, are the Good Guys and the Germans the Bad Guys. But in this movie the yanks win by being more treacherous and brutal than their adversaries. They are supposedly of Jewish origin, which makes them Good Guys, but that's a flimsy excuse for sadistic violence. And the setting and plot has only a remote resemblance to whatever could have happened in France in 1944. You can of course make a fantasy movie about Merlin or about Caribbean pirates just for entertainment and nobody cares about historical accuracy. WWII is now just background scenery for those who enjoy senseless violence. I found the movie disgusting and, ever worse, boring.

Kurtlar Vadisi: Irak (2006)

A run-of-the-mill war movie with the Americans as the villains

[5/10 · 9 July 2007]

A small group of heroes penetrate deep into occupied territory to perform an act of revenge. The vileness and cruelty of the occupying force justifies their heroism. Heavily armed soldiers drop dead as soon as the heroes fire a pistol shot at them. And, of course, there is a beautiful girl involved. The plot is familiar, with the only difference that the villains are not World War II Germans: they are the American occupying force in Kurdistan, Iraq, and the good guys are Turkish. As all war propaganda movies, this one contains a clever mix of historical facts and pure fiction. Facts: The US troops did bomb a wedding party, killing the groom and a fair number of invited guests. Also: the abuse of prisoners in the Abu Gaib prison is well documented. However, when US soldiers and the "Sam" guy are presented as lunatic killers, an American public will get queasy stomacs. Serves you right! Did Hollywood ever give a fair treatment to the enemy in their war movies?