jcobalt Reviews

Caprica (2009–2010)

Way ahead of its time

[9/10 · 3 January 2023]

Watching it now in 2023 with our concerns about fake news, social media concerns, new forms of families and identities, all mingled into the rise of ai robots...makes it really fascinating.

Yes it is part of the Galactica universe, but it is so much more.

What is identity, what is real, who are we, what is life? Many central questions are explored.

Also very consistent story telling, great actors well suited to their roles, interesting character development. Something really lacking today.

Wish there was a follow up season. There is so much potential in this story.

Would love to see the robots finally rise up and rebel against the humans.

Excellent Science Fiction, really enjoyed it.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022– )

Watch on the largest screen you can find!

[10/10 · 2 September 2022]

This is just so beautifully done. You can totally immerse yourself into this world, the quality feels like it was done for the cinema.

Very good actors that bring their distinct and memorable characters to life, lovely script and dialogue with humor and a little wisdom.

This was worth waiting for. Hope it runs for many seasons.

The different worlds of elves, hobbits,humans,dwarfs are very carefully created. I especially enjoyed the halls of the elves, such elegance in their huge halls and such a great display of their craftsmanship.

Also makes it obvious how shamefully House of Dragons has been produced.

Here we have well cast actors that flow together as a team. And although I am sure there are many wigs involved, it always feels natural...

House of the Dragon (2022– )

Stiff acting, bad wigs, boring dialogue

[4/10 · 22 August 2022]

Only watched episode 1 but I am really disappointed.

The acting is very stiff and not a single character is interesting to follow. They don't come across as being really in their roles.

The wigs look very fake, why can't they make it look like real hair?

The dialogue has no wit at all, the story development is so predictable you can fall asleep after ten minutes and you won't miss anything.

Even the dragons have no gravitas.

It feels like a boring Netflix clip.

Very, very disappointing.

Who cast these actors? Hollywood has so many talented people, why did they put together such a weak team??

They have nice costumes and sets, so you can watch it for that.

No mystery, no excitement, no sense of humor.

Sad.

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Tom Cruise should get an Oscar

[10/10 · 28 June 2022]

This is one hell of a movie and absolutely should be seen on the largest screen possible.

This is real cinema, a real adventure that you can only really enjoy on the silver screen with a shared audience.

I have never liked the politics/religion etc of Tom Cruise, but this movie is so extremely well done and he also works so hard in all his other movies, I really believe this man deserves an Oscar for his hard work.

Of course the movie has many great actors, amazing scenery, mind blowing stunts and air action and fantastic script, directing, cutting. It captures you completely, you flow with the movie like the planes on their missions.

Thank you everyone involved in production for this timeless jewel of a film.

The Wheel of Time (2021– )

Extremely boring dialogue and predictable story

[5/10 · 24 November 2021]

Just 5 minutes into this, you already feel you have seen it all. So many visual scenes are straight out of GOT, LOT even the Witcher.

Just because it is fantasy, you do not have to copy the very exact scenes.

The dialogues are horribly boring. The actors really try to bring life to their characters, but with this kind of script, what can they do?

So maybe for young people, 12-14, this is a toy fantasy they can somehow start with.

But for anyone who has actually seen well written stories, this is a waste of time.

Rewatch some of your favorite films instead.

Loki (2021–2023)

My favorite Loki!

[10/10 · 8 July 2021]

Really love this show, best Marvel show so far.

Great chemistry between Tom and Owen, lots of good writing, finally a show with interesting characters.

I also love all the visuals of the TVA, so much attention to detail to create this world.

I don't understand the negative reviews, maybe because there is a lot of people actually talking and not just mindless fighting?

Very curious to see where this goes and who created the TVA.

Hope this series renews many times. It is also good to watch the episodes several times to look for hints and clues.

Mulan (2020)

Unbelievably boring, don't waste your money.

[1/10 · 4 September 2020]

I am a big fan of all things Mulan so I spent the money to watch the stream.

Unfortunately it was a huge disappointment.

Inspite of some high quality actors it had the flair and vibe of a C rate movie.

Actually I am sure many teenage High school productions can come up with a better script, interesting dialogue and characters with depth.

Expensive production with a near religious looking kitsch cinematography I am sure it ticked all the boxes of some communist 5 year plan, but it is totally undeserving for a global and very demanding audience.

Sad, really sad.

So don't waste your money I am sure you can soon stream it for free.

The Witcher (2019– )

Could be great if it wasn't so confusing

[9/10 · 20 December 2019]

I don't know the games or the books, so I binge watched it all today in one go with fresh eyes. I liked it enough to basically take the day off to do that.

There are many things I really like, Cavill is a great Geralt, grunts a bit too often, but he really seems absorbed into his charachter.

But the timelines keep jumping around back and forth and since people hardly age it is very difficult to understand where in the story we are.

Also most charachters are pretty flat, there are just three charachters that really matter.

Also the show keeps jumping from being something really suitable for adults to something made more for 12 year olds.

The Witcher story seems more suitable for grown ups than for children.

Especially the Harry Potter school parts feel really forced and artificial. And too many other elements like life and intrigue at court are just hinted at. where are 30 years of life at court for yenevere?

For me it works best, when there is a one monster challenge or story central to an episode, releasing the haunted girl from the curse is a good one.

I think if they want to continue with more seasons, they really need to get their timelines right and invest more in interesting dialogue for the side charachters.

Too much is not believable or alludes to other series like Harry Potter which pulls you right out of the witcher.

I do look forward to following this show, but again and gain we see, it is mostly the dialogue, the believability of charachters that carries a show. Production value helps, but first you need a great story.

The witcher has a lot of potential, so I hope they improve.

The Morning Show (I) (2019– )

Boring and unconvincing

[1/10 · 1 November 2019]

I was really looking forward to AppleTV and the prime show they were pushing. Eagerly turned it on this morning at 6am, even got up early...to be utterly disappointed.

I couldn't even finish the pilot, it was so boring.

Apple has so much money, can't they buy good writers?

The best actors and tech cannot replace an interesting story and witty dialogue.

I browsed what else is on offer, but the plots alone...inspite of some big names, it does not sound interesting at all.

I cannot understand where those 9 star reviews are coming from. Watching my washing machine has more entertainment value.

Apollo 11 (I) (2019)

I feel like I travelled with them!

[10/10 · 28 July 2019]

This documentary should be compulsory viewing for all children all over the world. Every school should take their kids on this journey.

It is truly the most courageous adventure humankind ever did. The documentary really gives a feeling for the time, brings back the analogue world. So many people were involved in this project. So many things could have gone wrong, all those crazy maneuvers in space, the manual landing on the moon, the take off and docking with columbia.

These three men did something extraordinary.

The documentary is a tribute to the will and ambition of humanity, of the amazing things we can achieve if we just work together.

Go and see it on the largest screen you can find. And then see it again...

Stargate Origins (2018)

Does MGM hate Stargate?

[1/10 · 23 February 2018]

I have rarely seen such a bad script, very bad dialogues, total lack of acting skills.

There are many high school plays that have much better characters, a real plot with some logic and just...a sense of fun.

Stargate is one of the most popular Science Fiction worlds there is, how can they let loyal fans down like this?

If you love Stargate...stay away from Origins, go and rewatch anything from the older series or movies.

The only purpose this can serve is as a horrible example how NOT to continue a popular series.

If you don´t have an interesting story to tell, don't know how to build relatable characters...

...if you can´t do it right...do nothing.

Nobody will invest money into expanding the franchise after this disaster. It is over.