serdeatalay Reviews

Stranger Things: Chapter Six: E Pluribus Unum (2019) Season 3, Episode 6

I haven't rolled my eyes this much in a long time

[6/10 · 7 July 2019]

A very brilliantly written and directed show is sliding into stupidity and cliche right before our eyes. I really don't get this unsubstantiated appreciation of season 3 because of a general ST fandom. I love this show too, at least I did until season 3 began but, let's be honest, it just became impossible to ignore all this illogical stuff happening. Most people here mentioned them, so there is no need to repeat. After watching episode 4, I felt like the show is coming back again but, no, these last two episodes took away that charm again. I don't know how the season ends yet but, I hope I will have some better things to say.

And seriously, what is that Russian terminator nonsense? Or in general, - and I keep saying this since the very first episode of the season - what is all that nonsense about Russians?

Stranger Things: Chapter One: Suzie, Do You Copy? (2019) Season 3, Episode 1

Nope

[5/10 · 4 July 2019]

Low start. Full of repetition, nothing new. I always felt that this show should've ended after 2 seasons and this episode only proved it for me. I don't understand why the current rating of this episode is that high. I hope it gets better by every other episode but I lowered my expectations considerably. With kids growing up and nothing new happening, the show really lost the charm it had especially on season 1.

Also, involving the Russians? Come on. That alone is like the confession of how much they ran out of material. And that Billy Hargrove, oh my god, I have never seen a more repulsive character in my life. It really wasn't wise for the writers to put that dude back in the story as if he is some sort of sex god. He is a totally unnecessary and stupid character, I don't know why they keep bringing him back.

Barry (2018–2023)

Loved it

[10/10 · 3 June 2019]

I binge-watched the whole 2 seasons of this show, because I just could not stop watching it once I started.

Barry is a unique dark comedy which can be scarcely found in this too crowded environment of many similar sit-coms. The whole story is actually shaped around a central question of "evilness". While the main character tries to deal with this throughout the show, he is surrounded by his past and, this being the comedy aspect of the show, all the ridiculousness it carries along with it.

The show can go really dark sometimes but the darkness is so well embedded in the story that you kind of love it. Because it can also manage to make you laugh so hard so unexpectedly, reinforcing the sense of reality somehow. With every other episode, you sense how cleverly this show is written a little better and especially season 2 just keeps getting better and better.

The cast is amazing, of course. I won't even mention how great Bill Hader is, that guy is a legend and being almost everything of this show, I think he seriously went beyond himself this time, especially with his acting. But the rest of the cast is great too. I want to specifically mention Anthony Carrigan's superb performance here, he just kills it. Also NoHo Hank, his character, could be the best character I have seen in a tv series for a long time, that dude's just awesome.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: The Box (2018) Season 5, Episode 14

Literally the best episode of B99

[10/10 · 25 May 2019]

I just watched this episode once again (for the third time) following the end of Season 6, and my mind has not changed (it probably never will): This is the best episode of B99. No doubt. One of the most cleverly written and well-acted episodes I have ever seen in my life and I don't mean just the episodes of this show, I mean all the shows that I've watched so far. Just amazing.

The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience (2019)

So damn good

[10/10 · 24 May 2019]

This is, once again, The Lonely Island at their best. God I laughed so hard for 30 minutes. I loved how they kept this whole thing a secret until the very last second, the element of surprise made it even more fun. I hope they earn some notable musical nominations with this content like they did before, they totally deserve it. Also, hopefully this "visual poem" doesn't get underrated as Popstar did (and still does).

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Suicide Squad (2019) Season 6, Episode 18

A befitting season finale for B99

[10/10 · 17 May 2019]

When you look at all the best season finales (and perhaps episodes, remember The Box) of B99, they are always the ones where superb police work is combined with the wonderful inside jokes and humour of the squad. This episode is a perfect example of it and as such, it was one of the best season finales so far. I enjoyed it so much, especially the very last scene. It was a perfect wit. True 99 fans will love this episode which includes very familiar faces from the past who are genuinely funny and references to some old moments & rivalries.

Also, I know from the social media that people were expecting some big Jake and Amy moment of sorts, but I gotta say that I love how maturely the writers handle their relationship. This is a police comedy which has a lot more to offer than the cute moments of that duo. I love their relationship too and it is definitely an indispensible part of the show, and the writers embed it in the show very well when necessary. There was no room for that kind of storyline in this episode and I appreciated that they did not try to squeeze it in. I am sure we'll see something big (yeah, I'm talking about pregnancy) happening to them next season. Thank god there is a next season!

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Cinco de Mayo (2019) Season 6, Episode 16

One word: a w e s o m e

[10/10 · 11 May 2019]

I was worried that there wasn't gonna be a heist this season, so when I heard about this episode's plot, I was relieved. Every single heist episode of this show is just awesome and so was this one. Maybe even a bit more awesome in the way how they all got really far and freaky this year. So much fun stuff happening in so little time. Especially fun to watch after the disappointment caused by last week's disastrous episode.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Return of the King (2019) Season 6, Episode 15

What?

[5/10 · 5 May 2019]

This is by far the worst episode of the series. I didn't laugh a second. I gave it a 5 because of my love for B99, but seriously, what was that? And I was actually looking forward to see Gina come back. Season 6 has been really good so far, I just wish that they had not shot this episode at all.

Pop Aye (2017)

A pleasant cinematic experience

[7/10 · 29 April 2019]

I have had the chance of seeing this film at 2019 Ankara International Film Festival. The plot offered in the festival pamphlets motivated me into buying tickets for it despite being a complete stranger to the cast & crew and pretty much every other component that made this film possible.

Pop Aye offers its audience the journey of an elephant and a man who experiences various disappointments and a general sense of unhappiness at work and home and becomes sort of weary of everything that shapes his life. I will not disclose the nature of their relationship here, in order to avoid any possible spoilers and because of the fact that I believe what makes you enjoy the film is to discover it yourself as you watch it. Suffice it to say that the man holds the elephant very dear to his heart and I believe, that was the magic of the movie. The interaction between the two, how they witnessed each other's sufferings (physically and mentally) and how they came across very different people with different stories who suffer in various (but somehow similar) ways were the defining features of the film.

Defining this movie as such might make one think that it is sort of a cliche, but it really wasn't and that was the success of the film. I appreciated Kirsten Tan's writing and unique perspective in that sense. Especially, the way she paid attention to the stories told by diverse people was commendable. A road movie is supposed to show different journeys of different people, crossroads and comebacks. Pop Aye, although not to the point of perfection, managed to pull this off.

BoJack Horseman (2014–2020)

A masterpiece

[10/10 · 27 April 2019]

BoJack Horseman is so great in every sense that I don't even know where to begin to praise it.

I started watching this series after a couple of my friends recommended it. I am sort of new into this whole adult cartoon territory and have not overcome my prejudices completely yet (with the exception of Rick and Morty and South Park), so watching BoJack was kind of a big deal for me at first. Especially when you consider that characters are human & animal mix, I remember thinking "what is the deal here?" But at that point, the fact that the lead character naming the show is a human & horse mix admittedly aroused my sympathy towards the show (because, well, horses) and as it seems, there was some serious deal going on in this show.

You start watching BoJack and at first it seems like some weird comedy series peppered with a bit of original thinking, cynicism and not much different stuff to offer. WRONG. This show probably offers the best and deepest content on TV (whatever it means nowadays, Netflix) right now and what I love the most about it is the way it manages to get tremendously better every other season. I have not seen that kind of improvement in any other series, ever.

BoJack is basically the story of a famous-ish Hollywood actor who is well-known for the part that he played in a 90s sitcom and had not accomplished much since then. As you watch the show, you are invited to observe the phony Hollywood world through the life of this cynical, self-destructive and sort of messed-up-on-every-level (horse)man by means of wonderfully written scenes, characters and dialogues. I say wonderfully written without hesitations, because I have never seen a show that takes that much risk and pulls it off every single time. Each time I thought that they couldn't handle it or get any better than that, they somehow did.

This is as much compliment as I can offer without spoilers. Do not listen to anyone who might say that the show is pointless or stupid, I don't understand how anyone can say that about BoJack anyway. This is a must-see, raise your expectations by all means. Be prepared to feel a thousand mixed emotions, oh and if you get hooked on it, make sure to follow the show's official twitter account. It's awesome.

Veep (2012–2019)

Perfect

[10/10 · 27 April 2019]

As you would expect anything that involves Julia Louis-Dreyfus to be, this show is perfect. Not just because of her, obviously, but I cannot imagine this show being that good without her.

Writing political shows and films must be incredibly difficult, especially if you want to make it realistic and almost flawless. Making a comedy out of politics must be even harder (ironically). But this show has a good grasp of it and the writers are doing a great job. This is complemented with other high quality aspects of the show, like directing, acting, set decoration etc. Then again, I have to go back to Louis-Dreyfus at this point.

There are wonderful women comedians out there who deserve a lot of respect for almost everything they do. But when it comes to acting specifically, I always thought that Louis-Dreyfus is unmatched and this show proves it. She is so amazing that sometimes you just forget the whole plot and every other thing that is going on in a given scene and watch her in awe and with an unstoppable laughter, over and over again.

However, it is not just her. The rest of the cast deserves a lot of credit too. I think the most important factor for any show's success is its ability to connect the audience with its characters, if it cannot do that well, I usually quit watching the show. Veep is great at bringing characters to life and the actors play the most important part in this of course. They are all very well cast and they deliver great performances. I want to praise Chlumsky and Hale's performances particularly.

All in all, this show is a must watch if you are into what it offers: politics and politicians might seem somehow glamorous and cool from afar, but in reality, it is a complete mess out there for the most part. If you want to enjoy that mess, you should watch Veep.

Brigsby Bear (2017)

Did not expect it to be this great

[10/10 · 25 April 2019]

Some films I try to rate based on artistic & cinematic quality and how I perceive it, some I rate solely based on how it makes me feel. This film belongs to the second category, and that is why I rated it 10. Sure, a lot of things can be said regarding the other aspect, but I prefer not to do it. Suffice it to say that the film just made me feel great. So intimate, ingenuous, loveable on every level.

Picking/watching indie films is always risky. I just started watching this one with no prior recommendation or anything, it caught my attention owing to a number of people involved in its cast and crew, whose work I love and respect. I had no expectations when I started the film but ended up genuinely enjoying it. Story may not be the most original thing ever, but I appreciated the dialogues and loved the characters.

Overall, if you enjoy films about intimate stories of everyday people told in a naturally joyous, effortless and calm manner, I highly recommend it.

Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé (2019)

Respect

[10/10 · 24 April 2019]

I am not sure how healthy it is to write a review about this documentary right after watching it because of how much it fires you up, but I just wanted to say a few things despite that reservation after I saw some seriously flawed reviews. Obviously people have the liberty to not like it, that's no one's business, but I think criticism must be fair here. And most of the ones that I see are not.

I am not a hardcore Beyoncé fan per se, but this is one of the most amazing things I have ever watched, not just for the incredible stage show but with every element of it. I deeply respect every single person who made this show possible. You can see how hard they worked, how passionate they were, how much they valued what they did. This is historical. I appreciate how political Beyoncé gets with her music and every single detail of it, and that quality is perfectly immersed in this film. She is truly an inspiration and I believe that this documentary captures the essence of it.

You may not agree with her or not get along with her thing, but you should at least respect that woman, and definitely see this film.

I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson (2019– )

Guaranteed laughs

[8/10 · 24 April 2019]

I am not going to say that this is the funniest thing I have ever watched, as some people did on social media, but it surely offers a lot of guaranteed laughs. I have been looking forward to this show ever since I found out that it's been produced by The Lonely Island, of which I am a huge fan and those guys did not make me regret a thing once again. Not every sketch on the show is funny, I didn't laugh at all at some of them but I laughed so hard at a considerable amount and generally enjoyed watching it a lot. This is a very specific type of comedy which will not appeal to everyone, maybe won't even appeal to most people out there, as some reviews here show. But if you love weird and sort of demented stuff and like The Lonely Island's work in general, don't miss it. Also, Tim Robinson's performance is genuinely funny, I loved the way he depicts how people deal with many socially awkward situations in such ridiculous ways. Overall, I think it is definitely worth watching within the confines of what I said above. I for one plan on watching it a couple of more times honestly.