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aribak
Reviews
A Christmas Carol (2019)
An okay movie but lacking the scary aspect of Death
Well, I have to applaud Steven Knight for his added darkness to the story. I really enjoyed watching the history of Scrooge's life, and the added details to it. They gave his cynical view on life more depth. The scenes where Scrooge thinks about what he and Marley did also makes the movie a bit more mature than the famous Disney version. I also enjoyed how they had some scenes depicting the spirits themselves on their way to Scrooge's house.
But eventually through the ending, I found Scrooge's spiritual transformation of repentance and regret to be lacking. I felt Knight really didn't put enough emphasis on it. And some parts of the story he removed completely, which I though was pointless.
Firstly, I disliked the fact that the spirit of Future Christmas to come, i.e., the unknown one or Death, was not scary at all. The cover of the film shows a hooded character, which was something I was looking forward to see, as I was waiting to be scared. Yet, Death did not look like that at all. He was a man with his mouth stitched together, and looked more like Wilko Johnson in game of thrones. Death is unknown and special for every human being and should therefore be hooded and shrouded. Death in Robert Zemeckis' version was way scarier. The point of meeting death as the last spirit, is to show the point to Scrooge that he has lived his life in a meaningless way. Knowing the finite-ness of one's life, especially a life unlived, is the ultimate prime anxiety, creating the right conditions for change. Scrooge did not really seem scared or changed by the picture of his own grave. Instead, he welcomed it. According to him (at least in that scene with Marley and the graves), he was already doomed and did not wish to change. It was really strange that when the dreams were over, THEN he suddenly completely changed his life philosophy. The scene with death had no strength to it, which ultimately understated Dicken's message on the importance of one's knowledge of death.
Also, some of the final scenes were quite odd. As Scrooge shows up at the Crachit family house, knowing that Mrs. Crachit hates him, he tries to explain to them that he had spoken to spirits etc. Even though this seemed like a more realistic depiction of "what would Scrooge really say the morning after his struggle", the scene portrayed Scrooge as more of a crazy Opium addict than anything else. At least the Disney picture(s) got the point of that scene and did not go that far. Some scenes should rather be understated.
Shrinking (2023)
The perfect feel-good show
I love this show.
Jason Segel has always intrigued me as a comedic actor. In HIMYM he masterfully showed this loving, between-the-lines thoughtful, crazy, impulsive Beer-cules persona that is both composed and irrational. I guess his capability to act in this way also makes him a fantastic drama actor, shown in the movie Our Friend. His character in this show is no less different, and I love it!!
Harrison Ford REALLY impressed me. Being used to him playing action figures, his role as a somewhat grumpy, careless (and loving but angsty) grandpa in Shrinking suprised me in a good way. It was unusual.
As a psychology student, I really loved the HBO show In Treatment, as it is more realistic in its depiction of the therapeutic process, the thoughts of therapist and the patient. However, its more heavy and therefore more tiresome in the long run. Shrinking though, is less realistic (all the therapists say stupid stuff, its hilarious), BUT way more fun!! Its light hearted, full of sarcastic and poking banter, AND loving, emphatic and thoughtful conversations.
I also love the fact that Shrinking includes people of different backgrounds and heritages without shoving it in the viewer's face. Between the comedic banters and hilarious situations, we see emotional encounters between people with meaningful messages.
Last but not least, Jessica Williams is fantastic in this show. She is perfect for this show, and counter-balances both the irrational Segel and grumpy Ford with the funniest lines. I laugh my ass off! I can't wait for the next season!