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radunn
Reviews
Sorjonen: Muraalimurhat (2021)
Masterclass in the genre,
1. It is *essential* to have watched all of the episodes of the series prior to watching this film - this film is by *no means* a "stand alone".
2. This film takes all the best aspects of the series (cast, writing, direction, filming, etc) and boosts it to a whole new level.
3. It would be fantastic to see see more like this!
Away (2020)
Forget the criticisms, this is a *great* story!
It is interesting to read some of the comments and criticisms regarding this series - apparently we can have police dramas; medical dramas; legal dramas, etc that take "creative license" to wander outside the parameters of what is considered "realistic"; *but* when it comes to a series set in space, suddenly everything has to be exactly correct and accurate.
So, let's state the obvious - portraying a series in reduced or micro-gravity is *hard* when the film set is located on Earth. It takes an enormous amount to effort with regards to practical and CGI effects to pull off, so it requires a degree of "granularity" in how detailed and accurate such things can be.
Secondly, some people have criticized the portrayal of astronauts and ground support staff. This is a work of *fiction*, it is not a documentary or a biopic (which often stretch the truth anyway). This is a drama relating to people, their relationships and how a group of diverse individuals can solve problems together under difficult circumstances.
So, with all that out of the way, this is actually a very well thought out and acted story, with *sufficient* effects to create the impression that the key characters are actually traveling through space (and is it just me, or does the idea of a ladder leading down from a zero g environment to an almost "normal" gravity one seem scary?? What happens if you fall from the top?? But I digress).
I *might* concede that some aspects of the story are somewhat "sanitized", but it's not enough to detract from the overall tone of the series.
AWAY has a difficult setting, which identifies a number of issues that "real life" has yet to find actual solutions for - including the psychological effects, which I think this series tackles quite well.
AWAY tells a story that in the very near future will actually happen - as well as being a great story, I think this series provides a great "preview" of the issues people might encounter.
It's a shame we get to see the how this story progressed.
The Orville: Midnight Blue (2022)
Best Episode So Far
Okay, so if you have a massive budget and large sphere of influence in a series like this, you should occasionally "push the envelope" and be as creative as possible.
While some might consider this episode "woke", I thought it was very well written, directed and acted, featuring a very special cast.
I don't think I have enjoyed an episode of "The Orville: New Horizons" (or the previous series) more than this one - it also *clearly* shows what can be done when you aren't restricted to a "1 hour" TV format; the extra time adds great depth to the story.
Well done!
True Colours (2022)
True Colours is slow, but well worth watching.
First up, I am Australian, but I am *not* Indigenous. I live in Melbourne, and while I have visited Darwin, I have never been to Alice Springs, so the land portrayed in this series is not something I have seen for myself.
I am embarrassed to say that the aspects of Indigenous Culture and Customs presented here are not familiar to me - although I have heard other references to it. I am therefore glad that it is so clearly presented here.
That said, this is what some would consider a "slow burn" of a story; one that presents as much about place and culture as it does about solving a crime (or two).
Personally though, I like the way that the story unfolds; I like the acting and the portrayal of the characters; and I like the way that it is filmed (especially because it doesn't rely *too* much on drone camera shots!).
For a city person like me, this shows a completely different view of Australia to what I know, but I recognize that this is a landscape that many foreign viewers fantasize about.
I must say also that I enjoy hearing an example of the Indigenous language (my understanding is that there are a great number of languages spoken by First Nations people, so I am not sure how widely spoken this particular language is.
So, don't expect fast pace and lots of action, but *do* expect to see an interesting story very well told and acted.
The OA: Overview (2019)
Um, where is Rahim?
So the nice FBI guy helps get them to Treasure Island (I presume), but then what? I thought he would have stayed with them so the *he* could be the 5th person while BBA stood in the center of their circle - otherwise, what was the point of their movements??
Doctor Who: Flux: Chapter One - The Halloween Apocalypse (2021)
Keep Your Halloween; but *loved* the Apocalyse!
Okay, so a few things first:
- the CGI has been criticized by many for being .... not sure what.
I personally thought the CGI at the beginning was quite reasonable; it maintained proper perspective throughout (as far as I could tell); and worked in a fast-paced way (maybe the image of the antagonist could have been a tad clearer, rather than looking like a brick in an ice cube, but that's being picky!)
- something I want to highlight is that this episode does what so many episodes do well: they introduce characters fully formed in an established scene and make us believe that they belong there. The actors have very little time and usually very few words to establish the characters and yet most of the time they do so rather well. It's hard to know in some cases who we will see again and who we won't, but they are given equal prominence regardless.
- I *do* despair a little bit that so often the pool of actors selected to appear in Doctor Who come from a comedy background; the only saving grace for this is that living in Australia, I haven't heard of most of them. That it appears that only comedians are suitable for Doctor Who is problematic for me.
- Doctor Who has become quite "inclusive" recently - if it wasn't enough to have many LGBTQI characters in it; we now have actors with disabilities *that have no bearing on the story*. This can only be a good thing (and no, I don't consider it tokenistic).
All that aside, I *do* rather like Chris Chibnall's writing; I *do* enjoy Jodie as the Doctor; and I think the acting, directing *and* CGI are all more than adequate.
And for the person who asked who this was aimed at, my understanding is that since 2005, the target audience for Doctor Who is 7 year olds, so each new series has a sizeable new audience, who must get the absolute bejesus scared out of them given some of the aliens featured (cute puppy people notwithstanding).
And just finally, can people *please* stop complaining about the series being "woke" - the world has actually changed a bit from last century; it has changed for the better; and people need to be reminded of the *ways* in which it has changed (7 year olds know this already, it's just the "stupid ape" - as Chris Ecclestone's Doctor called us - adults that need reminding.
In tough times as we've had recently (did I mention that Melbourne is being called the "lockdown capital of the world"?) it is great to have some Doctor Who to watch; I am sad to see we are going to only get a few episodes next year; but I am hoping we go back to a full 13 episode series in 2023 - in all it's CGI, "woke" glory!! (And can we have Jo Martin - the Refugee Doctor - as the next Doctor?? Just sayin'!
Battlestar Galactica: Razor (2007)
A difficult task well done.
Having just watched this, and then read some of the comments that have been posted, I suspect that there are a few subtleties that have been overlooked.
While most people who have commented on this special episode have recognised the use of flashbacks to "flesh out" things we already know have occurred, the development of the back story of the "Old Cylons" did (I feel) link in with a great deal of what has been hinted at regarding the development of the Cylons, particularly their human-like forms; the ability to "see" the future; and their religion (and may I say, rather than feeling "force fed" by writers, the whole concept of machines developing a religious belief system just like my own scares the *heck* out of me! Do the Cylons *really* believe what they are saying? Is it something they collectively discovered; or did a leader get delusions somewhere and infect them all with a psychosis? Worst of all though, is the question "if the Cylons have a belief system like mine, while the humans have a "multi-god" view, then which side should *I* really be on?". But I digress!)
My point is that this issue of (some) Cylons having the belief that they can see the future "because it has all happened before" has been floating around for a long time now. Also I think many people may have missed the hint from this particular episode that the "old" Cylons appear to be the link between Earth and everyone else (in the original series, *** ooh, ooh, spoilers from 30 years ago follow - frak me!*** the Cylons actually made it to Earth - though I can't recall what the outcome was, as by then they had been reduced to parodies of their former menacing selves). It also showed that the Cylons have an aspect of their past that they aren't so proud of either, and the revelation of their treatment of humans made an interesting counter-point to what we saw happening with Pegasus (in both cases, the events are set on vessels "outside" of the mainstream fleet; and in both cases it is hoped that the events can be left on the respective vessels when they are eventually destroyed).
So, I don't have a problem at all with the whole "old Cylons" sub-plot, and I very much suspect that this will become very important in Series 4. And in regards to Adama *not* revealing his previous experience to anyone before, perhaps he didn't understand enough of what he saw to be able to say anything (especially since he would have been pre-occupied with rescuing the other survivors).
Anyway, how about we all wait for Series 4 and see where it takes us, then see if "Razor" fits in with it or not?
Oh, but I can't leave without commenting on one thing - *whose* idea was it to have the main character speak with an Aussie accent? Yes, I know, she *is* an Aussie, but that's not the point - Jamie Bamber is as English as Prince Charles, but *he* can do an American accent, so why do I have to listen to someone who sounds like *I* do? (I mean, Baltar has an English accent because he's a villain, and at least when Lucy Lawless was in it, she did her "Kiwi" accent, which has a minute trace of class about it! Yep, I can just hear those emails already!!!)
So, to finish up - there was a lot of story to cover in "Razor", and while quite a bit of it had already been covered, this presented a new context to it all and was all the more thought provoking for it. I don't agree that any of the production efforts were below normal (I thought the special effects were brilliant - but may be others have forgotten that Cylon spaceships can't *really* fly around - and land it - city environments. And although I'm supposedly "grown up" at age 45, *don't* get me started on how *creepy* the Centurions are - them and the new Cybermen are the stars of my worst nightmares!)
If you've read this far, thanks for staying with me! For anyone associated with making BSG, thanks for keeping me so entertained for the past few years - and giving me plenty to think about! Oh, and if you plan on sending the Cylons to Australia, please start with Sydney, then Canberra ....