mariellealien Reviews

I can't reach you (2023– )

Perfect for its genre

[10/10 · 27 March 2024]

This adorable fluffy story about friendship and first love is one of the best I've seen of the genre. I've not seen one with two boys before, so that was a nice change - albeit not a big change. If you're familiar with this genre at all you know everything that's going to happen basically - but this is so sweet, so adorable and so cozy that that doesn't matter.

When I saw that it was boys and not the usual hetero relationship, I was a bit concerned that homophobia would be a big part of the storyline - but it was not, to my relief. They go through small squabbles, and come through stronger - it IS very by the book and by the recipe - but if it ain't broke, why fix it?

Mob Psycho 100 (2018)

Fun and pretty wholesome

[8/10 · 16 March 2024]

I have not read the manga, seen the anime, or watched any other adaptation, and I really enjoyed this. If you accept it for what it is, its a quirky show with anime facial expressions, and it's over the top good fun with big emotions.

This reminds me of the style of older (think 90s and 2000s) series that have been adapted from manga or anime. It's got the same vibe, the same over the top emotional outbursts, silly antics, and animated facial expressions and body language. If you can look past all that and enjoy it for what it is, it's got a good message, and it's full of heart.

I recommend it!

Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior (2011)

Criminal minds in name only

[4/10 · 7 January 2024]

They are trying too hard, and not hard enough at the very same time.

The actors are doing their best, but they can only do so much. The characters aren't given enough scenes to let ut care about them, to let us find out who they are, what their lives outside of work are - we are given no reason to care about them, like we are in criminal minds.

The detective work is also pretty .. underwhelming. In criminal minds they teach us what they do, why they do it, and so on. Here they attempt to do that, but it's again not given enough time to really be engaging or that good. They try to pull on all the heartstrings when it comes to victims, like crime shows do - but it's ineffective.

It's really disappointing, maybe especially because there are several exceptional actors in this.

Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare (2023)

Could have benefitted from being a series

[6/10 · 5 January 2024]

There was so much material and so many things that were only mentioned briefly, I really think this would have benefitted from being a series, or at the very least, an hour longer.

So many things are just touched briefly, like the sexual assault described in the last seven minutes of the documentary, and I think the victims of these horrendous camps deserved more openness and more time to share what they went through, more evidence shown etc.

It could have also been made a series, focusing on this first, and then the other camps that have sprouted from this first branch of camps, and how many horror stories have come from those.

Overall, I'm glad it's being brought to more light again and this does work as an introduction to these horribles places, and their origin.

Matt Rife: Natural Selection (2023 TV Special)

Not offended, just disappointed and bored

[1/10 · 25 November 2023]

The first twenty minutes of this was just so bad. I've seen the backlash - and I figured I would be a bit offended at least, but I wasn't. His jokes are very tame recycled versions of stuff that's been done for years. The delivery does not land once, and it's honestly just.. boring.

Also netflix, when three people laugh it's not "audience laughing hysterically", calm down.

He does this one bit that had potential about people saying mean things on the internet, but it just spirals out into a gross joke and a boring rant that again, doesn't really land, mostly because we've all heard the "getting cancelled" routine from everyone and their mother already.

His routine doesn't really work, it's not really offensive, it's just dull, and I honestly expected more.

Lockwood & Co. (2023)

Charming and steady

[8/10 · 24 October 2023]

I had not read the books, but I thoroughly enjoyed this series. I am hoping that there will be more seasons, as I find this series both charming and secure in its world building. The concept of the ghosts and visitors and the other side - and how this alternate world deals with the phenomenon is explained at a good pace and very smoothly. We get to know the characters better as the show goes along, and it feels natural.

The action scenes and SFX are quite good as well, and the characters feel well thought out. I really enjoyed this series, its characters and I am really hoping for more. The ending of the season leaves me hopeful. The actors as well are quite good and they have great chemistry.

Uncharted (2022)

Wasted potential

[1/10 · 16 March 2023]

As someone who hasn't played the games, and thus have no background knowledge, I won't comment on game to movie adaption, but just comment on the movie itself.

The dialogue is comically bad - even for a silly adventure movie. There's no depth to the characters, and in the rare instances where depth is attempted it just doesn't work, it's given too little time to actually have an impact. It's 'just' a silly action movie, and I could forgive that, but the action scenes are very far from believable, even for a treasure hunting adventure movie, and honestly some of the 'hidden locations' in the story is so badly hidden it would have been found hundreds of years ago.

The actors in this movie are not bad actors, but this is not the movie they'll be remembered fondly for. If you want to watch a movie you can mock,or if you can somehow find it in your heart to ignore and excuse all the bad stuff - find the popcorn. If not, steer clear.

Best of Stand-Up 2022 (2022)

Unfunny even from the best performers

[1/10 · 17 January 2023]

I really looked forward to this, but this was a big yawn sadly.

They've chosen jokes that might be funny in the context of the set, but doesn't work when you put them by themselves in a collection of others.

There are so many good comedians in this - it's honestly almost impressive how incredibly unfunny this collection is. Maybe they need to incorporate longer bits from each comedian to set the tone more.

In addition the comedians are all very different and the themes are very different, but instead of a nice mixed bag it's just like a collection of scrap pieces they've not used anywhere else.

Vegg Vegg Vegg (2022)

Komprimert lykke

[10/10 · 4 September 2022]

De fleste som søker ut denne dokumentaren er allerede Karpe-fans, men jeg håper den når flere. Å se hvordan disse arbeider, hvordan ideer og konsepter vokser frem, og omhuen de legger i alt de gjør er rett og slett en fryd.

Man får være med bak kulissene og se hvordan de ikke bare planlegger og bygger ut kulturhuset de har kjøpt, men også på showet de holdt der, og på planlegging av det, hvordan de kaster ideer frem og tilbake. Man får se hvordan forholdet deres seg i mellom er, man får se tilbakeblikk fra når de var i startgropa, det er virkelig øyeblikk på øyeblikk med gull. Ingen over, ingen ved siden.

Dead End: Paranormal Park (2022)

Demons, teens and a talking dog

[8/10 · 3 August 2022]

It's similar to Gravity Falls in that it features the paranormal and the art style is the same, but this in my opinion has more relatable characters. There's diversity within the characters and believable story arcs, without anything too much. A lot of the 1 stars reviews are due to there being LGBTQ+ characters in it, and that's honestly just silly. The show is great, I watched it with my kids and we all look forward to next season.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

What an absolute joy of a movie

[9/10 · 11 May 2022]

What do you get if you mix myth and MCU, wuxia and superheroes, and add a whole bunch of great stars? You get this absolute joy of a movie.

The humour in this movie is Marvel all the way through, and it doesn't feel out of place, or disturbing for the serious parts of the movie. The fight scenes are beautifully choreographed and it's just plain old good fun.

Will 100% watch this more times, I enjoyed myself throughout.

No One Gets Out Alive (2021)

Pay attention

[7/10 · 2 October 2021]

From the other reviews its blatantly obvious who paid attention and who got into the movie after getting popcorn and whatnot after everything had begun. It's a strange combination of heavyhanded and subtle, and I really enjoyed the way they portray the increasing unease.

Soul (2020)

It's.. fine

[6/10 · 26 December 2020]

If you don't hate jazz, I imagine you can find a great deal more joy in this movie than I did. It's got the New Pixar Look, which is also fine, but starting to feel empty. What's more important, it's got a message and story that does have some impactful moments - it just doesn't hit the spot for me personally - simply because jazz is very much not my thing.

Greenleaf (2016–2020)

A highly underrated show

[8/10 · 15 August 2020]

There is heart in this show. Now, as an atheist I would expect that the religious aspect of the show would bother me at some point, but it doesnt. If you like dramas, and House of Cards-esque settings, this might be your thing. It really is a great show. Not perfect, but if you get into the storylines, it will keep you hooked till the very end.

Jim Jefferies: Intolerant (2020 TV Special)

Predictable, boring and just plain bad

[2/10 · 8 July 2020]

The jokes are recycled, and so predictable I'm honestly worried for the people in the audience laughing. Honestly, I don't think I've seen worse by Jefferies.

Hot Gimmick: Girl Meets Boy (2019)

A disappointment

[3/10 · 21 June 2020]

As someone who loved the manga, all I want to say is; read the manga instead. The cameracrew must have smelling their socks while filming, the cutting is horrible, and the plot is only thinly displayed, could've used more meat. The acting and lines are either horribly translated or just poorly written. If they had made it into a series, they still would have to change most of the actors for it to be decent. BUT and it's a big but, it gets more true to the manga at the middle, and that really lifts it a bit. Not enough to be good, because there is so much missing in between the changes.

Hannah Gadsby: Douglas (2020 TV Special)

Literal perfection

[10/10 · 29 May 2020]

I loved her last special, so if you didn't like that, chances are you won't like this. But this, to me was perfection. It made me chuckle and roar and it was just everything I needed on this rainy day. Brilliant mix of jokes and joke-types, wasn't bored for a second.

For The People (2018–2019)

Brilliant law-drama

[8/10 · 10 May 2020]

Why this only has two seasons I will never know. The characters, you fall for them, the acting is light when it needs to be and the plots are tearjerkers when they need to be.

Really enjoyable law-drama with a lot of varied themes. Not a moment wasted, in my opinion.

Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector (2020)

Waste of time

[1/10 · 15 April 2020]

I wanted to like it, I really did. But it's like cardboard figures, on a cardboard background, terrible acting, stiff characters, it just all falls flat. So disappointing, because the actors themselves aren't bad (I've seen them in other things), and the bone collector plot could've been great.

Deadwater Fell (2020)

Ignore the warnings of "too slow"

[8/10 · 9 April 2020]

..this isn't an action movie, it's one of BBCs miniseries. They're not known for high speed, but for quality heart-tugs and slow-paced brilliance. David Tennant plays his part to perfection, and that's all you really need to get started.

The Angry Birds Movie 2 (2019)

You know what you get

[7/10 · 27 March 2020]

Fun, visually good, lots of good characters. Just overall a good time.

Circle (II) (2015)

What absolute drivel

[1/10 · 23 March 2020]

It's a philosophy discussion about the value of humans, slapped some aliens on it as an excuse for a plot, and it feels like it's written by an edgelord thirteen year old.

Department Q: The Keeper of Lost Causes (2013)

Brilliant

[8/10 · 20 March 2020]

I really enjoyed this - there are so many layers in this movie, the characters feel real, the plot feels believable, the scenery, although familiar to a scandinavian eye has an eerie undertone to it. Really worth watching if you enjoy the crime genre.

Hellboy (2019)

One star for cool effects

[1/10 · 17 March 2020]

And that's all it gets from me. No chemistry between actors, dialogue feels forced, honestly the whole movie feels more like someones "Things that must appear in action movies" -list than an actual movie. It has no soul or humour that lands, atleast not for me. Which is really a shame, it has such a multitude of talented actors.

A Cure for Wellness (2016)

Disturbing

[8/10 · 16 March 2020]

I rate it 8 due to the aesthetics and the fact that I probably won't be sleeping tonight. One of the most disturbing movies I have ever seen. If you have any need for tws, READ UP on the in advance.