mhdreiling Reviews

Good Grief (IV) (2023)

It's OK

[5/10 · 7 January 2024]

Good Grief is not a "bad" movie by any means. It has great production values to support a great idea of a movie. The issue here, at least for me, is that I found it ultimately disappointing, and at times affected and then a tiny little bit Hallmark-y. It has its good moments, but sometimes it just doesn't fly from here to there. The way some of the characters speak, sometimes in broad generalisations trying somehow desperately to make us, the audience, feel the intended feeling is a big drawback, it pushes me away from everything that is happening in the movie. Some speeches feel overlong, indeed. I must say that I specially loved Ruth, Himesh and Arnaud, both actors and characters.

Given the pedigree involved I expected it to be a little bit better than just OK or merely watchable. I look forward to Dan next project.

And perhaps that was the problem for me: my own expectations about the whole thing.

Heartstopper (2022– )

A beautiful series

[10/10 · 3 May 2022]

It's such a fresh, nuanced, tender series that it's nearly impossible to watch it just once. The acting is phenomenal, the writing is excellent (it's a perfectly balanced act between comedy, romance, drama, fantasy and harsh reality, with an impeccable timing), and it's suitably directed.

I can only wish I had a series like this when I was growing up, but now I can only be thankful for it's existence today.

Queens of Mystery (2019– )

Something is missing

[5/10 · 10 December 2021]

Ok, I get it, it´s not supposed to be particularly original, just entertaining enough. But it's a bit inevitable to compare it unfavourably with previous products like Pushing Daisies or even Amelie. It's too obvious.

And I know it's fluff. But it's too fluffy without having a particularly interesting insight on the quality of being fluffy.

Rick and Morty: Rickdependence Spray (2021) Season 5, Episode 4

What's going on?

[5/10 · 3 August 2021]

Well, after this lackluster episode I'll probably skip the rest of the season.

Occassionally I'll check next episodes' ratings to see if somehow they become even remotely bearable at some point.

I really hope next season makes an improvement.

Master of None: Moments in Love, Chapter 1 (2021) Season 3, Episode 1

What is this

[5/10 · 23 May 2021]

The first two seasons are kind of an endearing masterpiece, a personal favorite of mine. But I couldn't even finish the first episode of the third season. I didn't feel the need or the pleasure or the appeal of doing it. It may be good, the season may be good (I'll probably won't end up knowing), and it may be telling a different story from a different angle within the same contemporary universe, but for me it felt like a completely disjointed and even unnecessary continuation of a perfectly balanced and already told story.

Unknown Origins (2020)

Painful to watch

[3/10 · 29 August 2020]

The idea is good, as are the setting and actors (good chemistry between the 3 main characters). The problems are the screenplay (it goes downhill fast) and the amateurish direction. It starts somehow enjoyably but quickly becomes an incoherent mess. Music is mostly annoying.

The Old Guard (2020)

Not good

[5/10 · 10 July 2020]

Half baked script, ok acción scenes, cartoonish characters, a couple of really not surprising plot twists, absolutely beyond awful music. Hardly entertaining as a whole. It had a lot of potential but the end result doesn't live up to it.

Tales from the Loop: Home (2020) Season 1, Episode 8

Breathtaking

[10/10 · 16 May 2020]

Probably the single best last episode for a series that I've watched in a long while. Subtle acting, superb writing and directing, and the whole setting of the story and the emotionally effective way it closes and connects the whole season will stay with me for a long time. This episode is a gem of pure poetry.

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (2019)

Painful to watch

[4/10 · 5 May 2020]

I'm still in awe of what I watched. I can't believe that somehow someone managed to make a SW movie this bad. Don't get me wrong: I know this movies are tailor made for our entertainment only, that they're intended to be fun, popular, escapist machinery. But this one is just plain bad. A dull exercise of nonsense.

Avatar: The Last Airbender: Zuko Alone (2006) Season 2, Episode 7

One of the best episodes

[10/10 · 26 February 2020]

This is probably one of the finest episodes in a series that is by itself one of the very best ever. The writing is masterful, bringing a depth to characters usually unseen in any kind of show, let alone an animated children's show. The flashbacks are used in a way that expand the narrative for the whole series. And this episode is the one that makes Zuko the best character, the more layered and nuanced one, in a series full of great characters.

Gentefied (2020–2021)

Good show

[8/10 · 24 February 2020]

This is a good show, with a very good idea underneath, a powerful message, very good actors, and some great scenes. As the episodes advance there's a noticeable improvement in the writing of the main scenes that make everything more cohesive. I love the attempt at creating an entangled ensemble of relatable and endearing characters with intersecting storylines and different points of view. That attempt is mostly succesful, but it can be better. Given time, this show can grow into something really special. For now, I'm looking forward for a second season.

The Good Place: Whenever You're Ready (2020) Season 4, Episode 13

Beyond perfect

[10/10 · 23 February 2020]

This double episode was probably one of the most (if not the most) beautiful, thoughtful and fitting of endings ever aired. Since its beggining this series had been something really special. It had comedy and heart in equal measure, and a masterful simplicity ingrained in every second of its quirky storytelling. This series has been a unique trip since its very beginning, and I'm thankful for it.

Next in Fashion (2020–2023)

It's mostly about the craft, thankfully

[9/10 · 13 February 2020]

So, here's the thing. I don't usually watch reality tv shows, but the fashion designing ones had been kind of a guilty pleasure for me. A few years ago I had an interest in some other fashion competition shows, but I ended up feeling tired of them because, after all, I felt that they ultimately relied in some sort of ego war between the contestants to be somewhat entertaining. I felt they became less about the fashion designing process than about the interpersonal factor, noticeably fueling cattiness all around (or at least that's what they ended up showing). So I started to watch this one with a grain of salt. As the episodes went by I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a fun and tasteful show centered around the design and creativity process with a business oriented mind, and that people seemed to care about each other and treat themselves respectfully enough (with some feather ruffling, of course, but extremely limited and somewhat understandable). Tan and Alexa are fantastic, they're both full of joy and they seem to know the business. They set the tone of the show and really anchor the whole thing. The designers are mostly great, and I loved the winning collection. I definitely recommend this one and I hope there's another season.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner (2019)

A misfire

[4/10 · 3 November 2019]

It lasts only four episodes but it sure gets really exhausting really fast. It's not about the food, or the places, or the guests, or David, or the people they meet. It desperatly tries to be about all that. It mostly fails. I really like David Chang and his previous work, but this is a misfire, perhaps a necesary one in his career. I look forward for his next good series/season to clean the strange memories of this one.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)

Oh yeah. It is THAT bad.

[3/10 · 7 June 2019]

I love all the actors involved. They're usually ranging from good to great. But this movie is painfully bad. Mostly because the script is laughable level bad. Direction is almost amateur level. The music is annoyingly omnipresent. Visual effects are good though. It's a really sad ending for the comic book franchise that started it all.

Street Food: Asia (2019– )

Ultimately pointless

[6/10 · 11 May 2019]

As usual, it's beautifully shot, and the concept of the show is interesting. But it manages to be neither about the food or the people that creates it. It's not even about the places. It tries to be about all that, but in the end the lack of focus frustrated me and I couldn't care less about what I was watching. And I also found that the role of the critics and journalists (almost) operates more in the line of an annoying fan club.

Star Trek: Discovery: Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2 (2019) Season 2, Episode 14

Stunning

[10/10 · 19 April 2019]

I loved it. Outstanding season ender. I can't wait for season 3.

Star Trek: Discovery: Through the Valley of Shadows (2019) Season 2, Episode 12

Great episode

[10/10 · 5 April 2019]

It was a fantastic episode, a difficult balance act between various focal points of attention. For me, it simply worked. And (no spoilers) that Pike scene was heartbreaking. Anson is terrific.

I have to admit that at first I didn't quite like this series, but I persisted and it finally grew on me. During my life I've never identified myself as a total fan. Star Trek has always been something that I was somewhat interested in (because I love everything space related), something that I occasionally watched, as if almost by chance I found a TNG episode on cable TV on a rainy day. But this series, besides all the fuzz and the criticism that's been around since it came out, has done for me something really unexpected: it was the platform that made me a fan. Curiously, that first happened because I wanted to understand the criticism, and because I wanted to "get" what I considered missteps in the series (some of them are still bugging me though). Nowadays I'm watching Enterprise for the first time, and after that I'll watch another series and so on. And I can't wait for the last episodes of the season. Live long and prosper.

After Life (2019– )

A tour de force

[10/10 · 13 March 2019]

I've just finished watching the first season and I found it nothing short of outstanding across the board. It's a heart-wrenching must watch with the exact balance between those outbursts of laughter that can emerge from pain and the deepest sadness that comes before hope. I expect a season 2 at some point, but if there isn't one, as it is quite a self contained story the ending is more than satisfying.

Killing Eve (2018–2022)

Nothing short of amazing

[10/10 · 11 March 2019]

I can't stress this enough: this is the one of best series released in the last few years by far. The acting and the writing are superb. Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh are explosive together. Highly recommended.

Captain Marvel (2019)

So...

[5/10 · 10 March 2019]

... I wanted to like this but it's such a step back for the MCU that I have to rate it 5/10. Over the years I've loved the MCU's characters and the build up towards something that felt like a unity, like a team of flawed, hard working heroes who overcame themselves for something greater, for something good. I can't find that insight, that spirit of humbling shared experience, in this movie, no matter how hard the movie aims to that, and no matter how hard I really tried to give it a pass. Obviously there are some highlights (Ben Mendelsohn, Samuel L. Jackson, the 90s setting) but the elephant in the room is triple headed: uninteresting combo of script and direction, Brie Larson is awfully miscast here (she's been insanely good in other movies, but she really gets on everyone's nerves with that squeaky voice and blank look in her face), and a general landscape of been here, seen this, done that. Over the years the quality and consistency of the MCU has built a huge amount of goodwill among the general audiences. I really hope that this one sadly mediocre and pivotal movie doesn't make people start forgetting about that.

Star Trek: Discovery (2017–2024)

It gets so much better

[6/10 · 9 March 2019]

At the beginning I had high expectations on this one. After the first few episodes I started getting cautious, somehow disappointed and starting to feel that so much on line trolling might be onto some valid points. By the end of the first season I thought there was hope for this. And then came season 2, and it proved me that it was a worthy wait. I really like the characters, the story, the pacing, the visual effects, and I'm genuinely waiting for each weekly episode. The most troubling plot points were somehow better integrated to the whole series, or discreetly managed to be almost left into some distant background. I love Saru and Georgiou, and a Pike series would be something awesome to watch.

Russian Doll (2019–2022)

Terrific show

[9/10 · 2 February 2019]

A great concept, perfectly cast actors in interesting characters, given a fantastic script with adequate directing. The length of the episodes and of the whole season allows the construction of an accurate narrative device. Bravo, Netflix. You did it again.

Friends from College (2017–2019)

Huge improvement

[9/10 · 26 January 2019]

While season 1 was uneven to say the least, season 2 is a delight. It's a show that somehow understood that it had a great potential to live up to, and oh boy do they committed to achieving it. It's not an easy feat to turn the tables so beautifully and so precisely. There's a fantastic balancing act between comedy, drama and pure awkwardness that makes every scene a treat to watch. The acting, the writing, the pacing and the directing are top notch. I can't wait for season 3!

Sex Education (2019–2023)

Outstanding series

[10/10 · 24 January 2019]

Simply put, it's the best series I've seen in a long time. Engaging characters, awesome chemistry between the actors, superb writing, funniest comedy scenes suddenly turning into jaw dropping drama and then back to comedy. I can't wait for another season.