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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)
The problem lies within the audience EDIT
EDIT: I stand corrected... they managed to turn this into utter rubbish, sadly. It began really well in my opinion and for the first to episodes I stand by my original review (down below), but from then on there is no coherent vision, no heart, no deepness to it. It's more like a corporate checklist that had to be worked. No creativity, silly dialogues, bad acting and worst of all is the directing.
The story itself promises and promised to be intrigued and that stays the same, there are also a few shimmers of good in the series, I especially like Elront. But I despise the acting by Galadriel, they could've done a better job casting someone who doesn't project that much lame cockiness that she does.
That's it...
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
You read that right, dare I say it again? Yes, the main problem with this show is the audience. Why?
The answer is quite simple but complicated at the same time. If I had to boil it down to one word, it'd be "expectation-bias" (you might argue those are two words, yes...).
As a whole generation grew up watching the unmountable task peter jackson delivered some years ago and locked the memory of watching this incredible trilogy deep into their hearts, we cannot and should not expect that we, this generation, could possibly start an affair with this new approach without nostalgic longing for our old love.
That being said, I started the first two episodes as neutral as possible, but still with a healthy amount of skepticism.
Then it happened, throughout the second episode, when Erlond was visiting the dwarfes and had lots of snappy but heartfelt dialogue with his old friend and his wife, giving us a also sense of how characters perceive time differently. I fell in love. Not with the visuals, which are great, or the score, which is phenomenally original and still invoking the past.
But with the overall picture! The story is daring but not too far away, everything feels natural, the dialogue is (mostly) great, the characters don't feel too forced, especially regarding the color-blindness and finally: it is really Tolkien-esk! The fun is there, the darkness, the light-heartedness, the romance, the fantasy... Everything feels exactly right and, without wanting to offend anyone, I was transported back to Jacksons Trilogy!
I really do hope they will continue this path and I won't have to edit this review in a few weeks time.
Back to my introduction, how do we come by the problem of bias? Maybe we can't, maybe just a few can. But I have the feeling that in retrospect, which could take up to a few years, only then we will finally agree throughout how good this show really is. Until then, try to keep in mind what I said and don't expect a straight continuation of LOTR by Jackson.
For now it's a "go" from me, this show is worth the wait and the watch!
The Power of the Dog (2021)
Best Picture this year so far
For all the reviewers complaining there's nothing happening, you didn't pay attention. If you give this movie the attention it deserves, the whole range of emotions and storytelling will unfold before your eyes. Here I am one day later and I'm still thinking about a lot of the scenes now that I understand what really happened. To be fair, you will have to think a little on your own, the point is not on the nose and as easy as "a gay drama like brokeback mountain". If you think that, you haven't seen the real movie. But I don't want to spoil it for you, just keep in mind that (SMALL SPOILER AHEAD) anthrax can be deadly and not everybody is how they seem to be...
Cowboy Bebop (2021)
Not an anime/manga fan, completely unbiased
Well, my title says it all; haven't read the mangas or seen the anime or whatever (because I'm generally not a fan of the genre) but I thought the trailer looked nice. So I watched three episodes and I'm in love, great actors, unique camera technique and cut, good soundtrack, interesting setting and story. Honestly, this show is one of the best underdogs for me this year! To all the fans out there who are unhappy with that adaptation: I understand you and I see you, but in my honest opinion you should give the showrunners some credit and let them express their freedom with the source material. Try to watch the show from outside your fan goggles and maybe that'll help you.
Venom (2018)
critics?
Usually I take imdb as my first impression, luckily I didn't this time. when I checked ghe reviews after watching the movie I was shocked. I would personally even say that this was one of the better and unique marvel experiences, a lot like ragnarok in that regard. I had fun and I'm looking forward to part 2!
The Witcher (2019)
Too rushed
I try so stay objective in writing this review and I'll keep it very brief, because I'd need a ten minute video to really explain myself in depth. With this in mind; I loved the Games! Though I didn't really like the books... but I absolutely don't like the series so far. Let me explain why.
First, except for Geralt and Dandelion, I believe almost every Role was miscast. Cavill was superb, all others mediocre at best.
The whole season felt extremely rushed, nothing was clearly explained, there's no conception of time. Dialogues are mostly dull, empty and misplaced, CGI seems cheap at times. The last Episode, portraying the Battle of Sodden, was so low budget and dull, it seemed like straight out of a B movie. There was no battle plan, real army or dialogue, just close up shots of faces and a very small and cheap set (the door seemed like it could be broke by a little wind, and surprise: it did...).
All in all: My problem doesn't lie within the material, they could've matched GoT if they'd slowed the pace immensely (by half at least). I am very disappointed, they should've concentrated more on character development and dialogue, so that we get real bonding and background. For a battle like Sodden you would normally need three Episodes, one for the preparation and two for the battle itself...
Well, from here it can only get better (I hope)
The Irishman (2019)
Balanced, perfectly paced and sentimental
I saw the movie yesterday in a theater, and upfront I have to tell you this: in contrary to most other reviews, I wish I had seen it at home! Because this film needs an intimate atmosphere and the movie theater just didn't deliver that for me, I can't comfortably show emotions in the cinema (might just be me).
The first half of the film reminded me very much of the typical scorsese gangster movie era of the 90s. Except for one fundamental difference, the funny moments are not solely cynical but more vivid and genuine. This indicates the direction scorsese follows with this movie: he wants to make something more grown up and mature. It is in fact a testimonial of someone who did horrible things in his life, that will naturally haunt him in his late years.
And for the first time, marty actually shows us those late years in a manner, that is truly emotional and disturbing.
His pacing is purposefully slow at times, so that in the end, you can have the same melancholic look-back at franks past and indulge in his misery.
I loved it and I'm going to rewatch it on a slow, silent, melancholic winter night...
Joker (2019)
Todds interpretation of the Joker is the dumbest thing you'll ever see
I'm going to list the mediocre-good aspects at first: camera, cut, acting, set and costume.
Sadly, all this vanishes once you realise the story Todd constructed for the Joker. Let me explain to you something at first. The Comicbook-Joker and how Heath interpreter him (obviously the movie is supposed to be the Background to Heaths Joker), is the personified chaos that doesn't need any reasons for anything, he just does things that are horrible to others. And by the way, those things are always thought through by the mastermind of his!
Todd, due to a lack of intelligence, dumbs the Joker down to some working class hero with a troubled childhood who snaps and starts shooting people randomly without a clear plan and point.
The original Joker didn't have a backgro story so that we can use our imagination on who he might be, but in the end he was never explainable, because he's not supposed to be!
Todd does exactly that in the worst possible way and shows us the story of a lonesome loser who was left behind by society, has daddy issues and is as dumb as bread. All this is the opposite of what the Joker was supposed to be.
Todd ruined it, which is why I will have to forget this movie.
(In other words: if you were a highly intelligent psychopath with no emotion at all, would you behave like this little girl with daddy issues and a lack of love? Obviously not)
The Operative (2019)
Can't get any worse
One of the main problems is, that they tried to fit in more than ten ideas in each scene, which caused disturbances and made everything confusing. The actors didn't have the script to play convincingly, so no blame there, they tried. Locations are often too dull. The shooting is very bad and doesn't even try to bring something unique to the screen. The story is just plain idiotic and bad due to the lack of explanation (I don't need every detail, but they just left out a lot and thus made it illogical at too many times). All in all they wasted their budget on a giant mess that should've never been filmed like that. Don't watch unless you're an art student that needs to see a bad example for filmmaking.
It's Bruno! (2019)
British humor in america
Finest, driest humor that any american TV show ever delivered, I love it!
Disenchantment (2018)
Something new and exciting
Disenchantment is a special new series with unique humor and well written characters. The storyline is new territory and I'm already hooked. You should really give the series a chance if you're into grown-up humor with lots of satire.
Happy! (2017)
All inclusive
Let's make on thing clear: This is one of the best shows this decade, if not ever!
Look for the #edit in the end
I've only seen the first two episodes so far, but from what I've seen I can tell, this show includes about everything I love in a good series. It's got some nasty, dry and black humor, reminds me more of a comic book for adults, the graphic scenes are brilliant and above all... The actors are simply brilliant in their respective roles. Especially the main character though! I gotta hand it to them, they created one of the best shows this year (for now). Let's see if it holds on to that as I get further. (will edit in case it worsens)
#edit I've seen the whole thing now and WOW, it's just the best show so far this year. I am speechless and I can't get my head around the low 8,3 rating on here. It's easily a 9.. at least, that is
Actors 9/10
Story 10/10
Effects 9/10
Humor 10/10
and the list goes on... as I said in the title, it's all inclusive!