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Reviews
Masters of the Air (2024)
No emotional hook to the characters
After the season ending, the feeling was just meh...
Didn't feel like a Steven Spielberg effort. A few problems with the series.
First, characters. Not particularly likeable. At the beginning, not enough introduction was provided. A lot of characters was introduced at the start which was a bit disorienting. Some of three characters was killed early which was a surprise. There was no emotional anchor.
Maybe about the quarters of the way then it started for the audience to identify who were the leads and the stories that we're supposed to be invested in.
The repetitive narrative of the series. Base camp antics, followed by briefing, then mission with all the shock factor. Not much to keep you riveted.
Not much follow up. Story threads were started and then conveniently closed. Such as the rescue attempt of the downed pilots. A brief intro was given but the story is swept aside as an after thought.
A lot of the characterisation was wasted like Crosby's relationship with his wartime paramour and his relationship with his wife. This was not really explored. The viewer has to make some emotional assumptions.
Or for the matter of Rosenthals deciding to extend his tour. Even the camp escape didn't make an impression. The Tuskegee pilots was basically a filler.. not much there also.
Monsieur Spade (2024)
Too little too late
Sam spade is the typical noir detective story. I can see Clive Owen trying to bring his character to life with his depressed introspective cynical side. But in south of France with cafes, bright sunlight, good food, wineries and friends? The environment just don't work..
I expect him to be chirpier with his new found life and romance with Gabrielle. The story just clashed with the sudden murder and there's no character development that the audience can empathize with. We are expected to know Sam spade from the Maltese falcon but a lot of new audiences have no idea about that movie and there is basically not much back story.
The cinematography is great but can't say much of the story at the moment just after 2 episodes.
30 Monedas (2020)
Just getting started
The first scene already captures your attention.
A deadly combination of mysticism, magic, the occult.. what's not to like.
Some areas seems to be overkill. Like the baby who turned into a spider like creature. That seemed to be stretching believability.
Still the story was strong enough to carry the audience along. Overall it was entertaining. Hopefully it can minimize the over the top stuff and give us a tight suspenseful series. The potential is definitely there.
Loved the machine gun toting priest. It was certainly refreshing.
The comical mayor trying to make sense of everything. These are certainly characters to look out for.
Bastarden (2023)
Deep Empirical Resonance
Wonderful emotional performances all round. Solid cast. Overcoming adversity amidst trying conditions.
Holding on to his beliefs and trying all means to reach his goal. Mads stoic performance really wins you over to the characters inner turmoil and struggles as he is constantly being put into situating where he had to make tough decisions.
Really a revelation in his performance.
The underlying love story between the him and the female lead is deep and poignant. The love shared in the care for the Romani child between them is resonant.
I was disappointed that they tried to wrap things up quickly. His adopted child leaving him for her future might not ring true as seeing him alone, i don't think that she would have left him to fend for himself. And the diem freedom that drove him to abandon everything to free his love just was to convenient even though I appreciated the emotional closure. I am sure that viewers will enjoy.
Excellent..
Reacher (2022)
Season 2 is a problem
Season 1 was pretty great. Can't say the same for season 2.
Too many new characters suddenly introduced Created a lot of confusion. The chemistry amongst some of the characters just isn't there. Somehow the character of O' Donnell was just plain irritating.
This sudden reveal of reacher*s past breaks down some of the mystery around his character which was kinda what drove the narrative..
The mystery was fun and kept me along for the ride. The special investigators portion fell flat. Didn't see any particular characteristic that made them special. The so called romance between reacher and Dixon wasn't really convincing.
The only highlight character so far was the police detective going after them. The actor was good.
Les trois mousquetaires: D'Artagnan (2023)
Interesting take on an old story
Amazing sets. I take it that they shot at actual locations.
However some stuff kept bugging me. How come the musketeers look so dirty. It's a of they never cleaned themselves. And their clothes... somehow I don't think that they will wear like that when they are presented to the king. Just seemed that Richard Lester version was more accurate and managed to capture the essence of the story with the humor to carry the story along.
The story was a bit weak and unnecessarily convoluted. I think the sub plot regarding Athos was an unnecessary diversion. Just added some level of confusion by throwing the conflict of the protestants and catholics into the mix. And This story depends a lot on the interaction between the newest member of the musketeers and the others. Which somehow didn't seem to be very well fleshed out. Lester's version showed a lot of camaraderie through interacting with each other. This show stretched their relationship. However I loved their interpretation of the period.
Eva Greene as usual was transcendent. She was a sight for sore eyes.
For All Mankind (2019)
Rocking Season 2
Just finishing season 2 and even had a slow start, I rediscovered this show over the holiday seasons.
Its being a cool ride so far.. Interesting take on a what might have been.. I liked the progression from the 60s to today.. Speaks volumes that the show is able to sustain till now.. The characters are well written and the acting cast is pretty solid..
I have some apprehension about the upcoming season 3 due to some of the negative reviews about it. But I will probably power through it and see where it leads me.
Still so far my favourite character is Gordo.. His redemption arc is fascinating to watch.. I hope he gets the girl finally.. haha.. Dont spoil it for me..
Molly Cobb is still one of the most original characters of the show. Always refreshing to watch the actress perform the character.. Shes so different from the rest. Margo Madison is also interesting although her character can be quite one dimensional at times.
Greenland (2020)
Great Spin on a traditional disaster tale
This movie went under the radar but I discovered it recently and thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Even though some of the scenarios were a bit stretched but it gave a very different perspective to end of the world scenarios.
Some of the tropes were similar to what was shown in 2012. But it was refreshing and was different enough to drive the movie forward and keep you entertained. The actors were good and the script was pretty good. Some of the scenarios seemed a bit too manipulative to engage the audience but doesn't seem realistic enough. Still if you can overlook this or suspend your disbelief then the broader strokes of the movie will be enough to keep you going.
Overall a good little movie and a good representation of how humanity will behave under duress. It ain't pretty.
A Murder at the End of the World (2023)
OMG. Did I just waste my time
This is such a drag. It started with some promise but then it just slowed to a grind. The main character keeps on saying hacker stuff which is just laughable. Guess it's attempting to fake it till you make it.
The relationship between Darby and Bill has zero chemistry. I just can't buy the relationship and the back story about a bunch of people interested in trying to solve old mysteries. The motivation was not convincing to me. And what were they doing at the Iceland resort? Were they supposed to come out with some plans but can't seem to see any Innovation coming out of it besides the swarm robots shown for a few minutes. Jeez. I expected more from Brit Marling.. but I guess she's no Agatha Christie.
Emma Corrin unfortunately couldn't do much for this role.
Ready or Not (2019)
Entertaining from start to finish
I caught the movie just as afternoon. Get away and my goodness, it blew me away. The story and the suspense was great. The actors were well cast.
And they delivered over and beyond especially Samara Weaving. ( Is it me or is she a dead ringer for Margot Robby)
I was a bit disappointed that Weaving didn't do much kick ass fighting back. She was just reacting to the situation and cursing to the high heavens which was funny to watch. Which on hindsight might be more realistic but it would have been more fun to watch. The actors obviously had a good time. Some of the scenes just stretched imaginations. Sometimes the actors just appear out of nowhere which just makes me laugh.
Blue Eye Samurai (2023)
Blown away
It's an amazing effort. I sat through it in one afternoon. Just couldn't resist. Excellent story, well paced and with a deep spirituality tightly wound around the Japanese feudal principles of honour and prejudice.
There's some aspects of western influences seeping into the story telling but it kind of make it more relatable in a modern sense. Although the main character of Mizu was almost veering into being like a Mary Sue.
The characters were well fleshed out and acted. The talents involved were impressive and did their performances very well..
Although some of the modern musical choices were a bit out of sync with the Japanese feudal sensibilities. Can't wait for the second season. It can't come fast enough for me.
True Blood (2008)
I can't stop watching
Just discovered the show it's a fantastic combination of comedic talent and horror. The stereotype of the typical redneck Southerner who is a bit slow in the uptake and who is sex craze is funny as hell. Many of times I just can't believe that they actually are portraying these types of stereotypes. The talent in this show is amazing I can't believe some of the characters portrayed by the actors. I am watching halfway through the series and I just can't stop. The characters just make me keep on coming back. It is just amazing for a binge watching session. Just don't watch it with the family the explicit content can be a bit overwhelming sometimes well unless you are a stereotypical redneck.
Encounters (2023)
Disappointed
It felt so flat for me. I just couldn't believe what I was watching.. I think instead of convincing the audience it actually made them more meh.. especially the Zimbabwe incident.. why in the world was the guy brought in to refute the evidence of the 60+ kids that they were lying. He didn't have any reference from new footage that he was interviewed by John Mack.. he looked like a bum they dragged off the street just to give an alternative view for the sake of it? Disappointed narrative. Could have been so much stronger. Even the teachers were introduced as skeptics.. and had one teacher who was abducted 3 times after the incident.. this story element was introduced out of left field. Just made p people more confused.
The Pacific (2010)
A clumsy version of Band of brothers
Characters were too scattered. And not much of followup. You kinda get lost trying to follow the characters only for them to exit the story. And there's no in depth look at the mechanics of the operations. I was also kinda disappointed at the clumsy way the emotional impact was depicted. All of them looked shell shocked. Which might have been true but didn't really come across as genuine. Instead it was seemed to be long drawn as the filmmakers wanted to milk the impact as long as possible. The battle scenes were exciting and traumatic but I felt it was overly long. Made it fatiguing to watch. Perhaps it would have been better to focus on a single character like Leckie or Eugene Sledge. Non of the characters were particularly likeable which was disappointing.
The Midnight Club (2022)
Young adult not horror
After watching midnight mass which was amazing, I was disappointed at the attempt here.
Midnight club is a very slow burn without much horror elements. It just didn't do enough to keep my attention, especially coming after midnight mass, this was a step down. Perhaps I was expecting something different. Still for those looking for teen drama, it might be right up their alley.
Totally different from what I was expecting. I couldn't finish the series. Finished about episode 8 and then went to Wikipedia for the rest of the story. Didn't want to waste my time on the show. But the actors did well.
Downton Abbey (2010)
Excellent and riveting
Stumbled on this series during the covid period.. It's certainly grabbing. Can't seem to be able to put it down. Have been bingeing and currently in season 2. Trying to avoid spoilers on the Internet. Some of the situations seemed a bit too convenient but I can understand how the writers had to frame it that way.