elnexusben Reviews

The Wheel of Time (2021– )

Season 1 was the warm up, 2 the true First Act

[8/10 · 5 December 2023]

Having meandered my way with some effort through the ok first Season, I didn't have high expectations for the next Season. Thankfully my expectations were far below what Season 2 delivered. At last the writers, directors and actors found their footing in this really solid narrative of the continuing epic storyline.

The quality of the dialogue and the performances were a sign of professional level direction, and instead of having to sit down every night and force myself through another hour like in S1, I found myself looking forward to the next thrilling experience in the world of Light and Dark as the Last Battle draws near.

If you have misgivings after S1, throw them away and throw yourself into S2.

S1 - 7/10 S2 - 9/10.

Severance (2022– )

The Most Original TV Series since Breaking Bad

[10/10 · 19 October 2023]

Having just rewatched Season 1 just now a second time, I can confirm that this was easily the best TV show of 2022, and probably my most enjoyable TV experience since Breaking Bad over a decade ago.

The key premise of the series, that an individual human being can be separated into multiple mutually unknowing parts seems so simple in concept, yet so deep in terms of possibilities, it's a wonder no-one has taken this up before.

Each episode pulls you deeper into this disturbing, surreal, heartbreaking, sometimes laugh-out-loud and maddening world to the point where, at the climax of the season you are on the edge of your seat, telling the characters to SAY IT! SAY IT!

But what makes this perfect TV, in my view, is how the producers and directors (notably Ben Stiller who helmed the key first and last episodes), took Erickson's brilliant story, and made each scene, angle and frame, focused, lit and zoomed in perfectly. This cinematography is a key part of bringing this disturbing other world into brilliant focus.

All the actors performed just brilliantly, making you sympathise 100% with the plight of the "innies" while demanding the heads of the remarkable villians.

10/10 - TV Perfection. My innie is demanding justice in Season 2, whenever that will be!

Star Trek: Picard (2020–2023)

"The Best Generation" (but skip Season 2)

[8/10 · 21 April 2023]

Having just watched the final episode of Season 3, I can say, overall that Picard was a wonderful conclusion to the career of Jean Luc.

Season 1 (9/10) had many detractors, but personally I loved it.

Season 2 (5/10) ... what the hell happened? Bad writing, corny lines, woke themes... did the millenials suddenly take over? After this debacle, my hopes for the next season were low, but...

Season 3 (10/10) - WOW! It took a few episodes to get going, but by the time Ep 5 came around, things just came together, and the last 3 episodes in particular stand out as some of the best in all of the Star Trek series. Yes, there was lots of nostalgia, but it was handled with care and respect by the directors and writers. The Finale was a perfect tribute to ST:TNG, tying in all the themes and characters of yesteryear beautifully. It was fair emotional!

So overall, an 8/10, let down by Season 2. But 1 and 3 just superb.

This from an old-timer who watched Capt Jean Luc on our screens 1987-94.

You will be missed!

For All Mankind (2019– )

Great when it focuses on core Space Themes. Awful when it loses its key audience in mushy soap themes

[7/10 · 7 March 2023]

As a big space and scifi fan this show initially excited me. Great alternate history of the US space program envisage by (former Nazi) von Braun continuing to receive massive funding from Congress, staying on the moon, going to Mars etc.

And when the script focuses upon these key engineering and human achievements, it excels, pulling the user into the problem solving they must undertake to get through the various deadly environments outside of Earth.

The drama between the Soviet Union and US is very well done, with some great espionage subplots.

Where this show badly misses the mark is in misunderstanding its key audience, namely space fans like me, by spending endless amounts of time in millenial touchy-feely dialog about relationships (and yes, I'll say it, a HUGE amount of time on completely irrelevant-to-the-core-theme-of-space-flight LGBT issues).

As more seasons have gone on, I have found myself hitting the FFWD button on my remote more and more.

It's a shame that so much time is lost in ticking diversity boxes rather than focusing on the key engineering and human decision-making that is the core of space flight. But in this day and age of box-ticking, I guess one should never get ones hopes much about anything in TV these days.

Overall a 7/10, because, despite these irritations, when it sticks to the main plot, it excels.

Gomorrah (2014–2021)

Italians tell their own tale the best. A modern masterpiece

[10/10 · 23 May 2022]

I just finished the final season of this modern family crime drama. What a journey it has been. It has echoes of Shakespeare in the tragic arcs that so many of the characters take.

I could write pages on this, but I'll keep it short. It's simply one of the best TV series ever produced. The acting, scirpt, direction, cinematography, music is all just so right.

Naples never looked so gritty. Almost cinema verité. And rightly so as it's based loosely on real events in this city.

It feels like anything we "Anglos" produce now is paled in comparison to this dramatic masterwork.

Stop whatever you're doing now, and start watching this!

The Expanse (2015–2022)

Like a good wine, it gets better with age. Persist with it!

[8/10 · 16 February 2022]

The Expanse is, in theory, everything a hardcore sci-fi junkie could want. Ultra-realistic "hard" science fiction. With all the physics being correct.

However, I struggled through the first three seasons. The acting and direction felt lack-lustre and it was hard to connect or sympathise with the protagonists. This perhaps explains why it was going to be cancelled.

But a friend told me to persist, as unlike most shows, it actually gets better with age. I recently watched Season 4 and it was much, much better. Perhaps a new director and producer now that it had shifted to Amazon Studios?

And just as I thought that season couldn't be topped, Season 5 was SUPERB. Really gritty set design and locations, some excellent set pieces, and some brutal unflinching tragedy. I also felt much more connected with the characters, especially Amos.

Just about to start Season 6 as I write this, and my expectations are high!

So, my advice is, stick with it, and you'll be rewarded.

Dune (2021)

From a reader of all the books... THIS IS FLAWLESS

[10/10 · 24 October 2021]

Having waited a year beyond the years of previous waiting for this... the most anticipated movie in my life probably since Lord of The Rings, let me say, expectations were high.

My excitement was tempered knowing that all other attempts to put this, the greatest sci-fi novel of all time, into film, had failed, either critically, or to get off the ground at all.

I was a bundle of nerves going into the cinema, and that mood... did not cease throughout the entire film. I cannot recall a time where I was emotionally so involved in a movie. I, of course, knew every plot move, and have replayed each in my mind for years, having read this and all the other books of the DUNE series. But yet, to see these moves executed with aesthetic and dramatic perfection by Villeneuve and his crew made me feel like I was there, again, being dragged through the unending torture that is the rite of passage of Paul Atreides.

The performances, the direction, the cinematography, special effects, casting... I could not find a single flaw in this perfect diamond of a film.

The brooding menace that came from so many angles, the Harkonnens, the Emperor, the Bene Gesserit, traitors in the midst of the Atreides, the savage Fremen, and the planet itself... and its unique "fauna"... I can't think of a film that captured this threat more than this.

And the depiction of a future mankind, thrust 8000 years into the future, was as chilling and "realistic" as any I've witnessed. It captured Herbert's tone beautifully, and were Frank alive today, then I know he would be satisfied.

I have only just recovered enough to write this review. I was left literally speechless at the end, as my friends looked at me, wanting me to say something. I could only muster one word.

"Flawless"

The Lighthouse (I) (2019)

Crisp B&W cinematography and intense performances, but ultimately felt unfulfilled

[6/10 · 23 August 2020]

I had no idea what to expect going into this. The 4:3 aspect ratio was the first surprise (and to be honest, something I didn't like throughout).

The atmospherics around the lonely lighthouse, and the conguring up of the late-Victorian time period are superb.

You're pulled step by step into a world of madness, and before you know it you have arrived. So the first half of the film is intriguing. But by the second half, it seems to descend into "shouty theatre", and this ultimately left me feeling unfulfilled and disappointed.

If you want to experience something different, then go for it, but be prepared to be left short-changed at the end.

Klondike (2014)

A big disappointment

[5/10 · 7 June 2016]

I typically love historical epics, and I'm fascinated about stories of the West and gold rushes etc. However, "Klondike" blew it in so many ways, I'm not sure I can enumerate them all.

The camera work, scenery and set design was marvellous, and definitely needs acknowledging. The rest? Well it was great to see Robb Stark again, and he comes out unscathed. The remainder of the characters are cardboard cutouts and I felt no sympathy for them, good or bad. Tim Roth was embarrassing.

The plot was simple enough, but was cut to shreds by jumping around here and there, which makes me think the editor should never work in Hollywood again.

I could go on, but, you get the point, I'm sure. I don't normally write critical reviews, so the fact that I'm doing so means this was missing it all, really wide of the mark. Mediocre - 5/10.