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ErikRF
Reviews
Den som dræber - Fanget af mørket (2019)
Season 3 review
In the first part of the season a young man is seeking revenge on the people who failed to look after him as a kid. This is a fine enough plotline. The problem is that the police work is terrible. They fail to take any preemptive action, such as thinking that maybe he will contact his only remaining family, or his old school teacher. This half season ends with the boy randomly assaulting our main character outside her home. Luckily a policeman was there and shot him. Not exactly a well-deserved or statisfying result to this 3-hours of drama.
Skipping ahead. There is a lady (Alberta) who benefits on killing (directly or through neglect) her patients and robbing them. We know she is a psychopat, from many sources. Even so, our main character decides to move in on their farm collective, and immediately goes snooping around in the personal items of the suspects there. First of all, this is extremely out of character as our main character is afraid of her own shadow, and sometimes afraid to enter her own apartment. Suddenly she is fine as an undercover agent? Secondly, she is clearly risking her life here - she will predictably be attempted murdered - and there is no way the police would allow this strategy.
The owner of the collective farm (Jon) is a manipulative serial child and women abuser and rapist, and several people know this. But when the police finally take action, they only arrest the aforementioned lady, who he used as a scapegoat. Not Jon. No cross-examining of eveyone on the farm, and everyone who lived there, which is the obvious procedure in a case of attempted murder and abuse, and which with high certainty would have yielded enough information for a conviction. They are instead content with sending the one officer to interrupt Jon's dinner, make some vague insinuations, and leave.
I could go on, but you probably get the point. Terrible plot, mainly due to the garbage policework and very unrealistic development. Cinematography, dialogue and acting give three stars.
Silo (2023)
Should have been a movie
Like so many mystery series, the first episode is strong to pull in the viewer and secure first reviews, but after that the story completely grinds to a halt.
Barely anything happens, in fact you can easily skip the middle half of any episode and not be confused. There is snail's pace development, little drama and no payoff.
Good example: The episode where they have to fix a big machine. They just fix it. There was no cost or consequence or gain. What was the point?
There needs to be a bare minimum of development, drama, payoff, for people to bother watching. There is none of that, and no humor or even likeable characters either.
This story should have been a movie, and if done well I'm sure it could have been a good one!
But this is a trainwreck.
The Last of Us (2023)
While currently overrated (Second highest of all time on imdb!?) this really is a great show, and a must-watch for fans of the genre(s)
Story: This is the regular zombie apocalypse plotline that we all know and love, but with a twist regarding the nature of the infection, adding some interesting new elements. The story is mostly well-executed. There are a number of cliches, but admittedly they are hard to avoid in such a well-explored genre, with The Walking Dead as the obvious forerunner. There were some issues with slow pacing in the second half of the first episode, where I feared the show would lose momentum and devolve into a passive dialogue-driven drama, but this was quickly alleviated in the second episode which keeps you on the edge of your seat and wanting more. The show shines the strongest with few characters on screen, exploring the post-apocalyptic world with the accompanying life-or-death struggles.
Immersion and worldbuilding: Probably the strongest point of the show. The production value is absolutely incredible, the visuals are stunning, and it makes everything believable and amplifies the drama and the plot. The (ambient) soundtrack fits very well when it's used, and most importantly they also know when not to use it.
Acting: There are two main characters. Pedro Pascal as Joel works very well, although it is arguably a simple role to play with Joel being a fairly closed and stoic figure. Ellie is played by Bella Ramsay. Bella is actually 5 years older than the character she portrays. This is a little disappointing, with shows like Stranger Things recently proving that child actors can play main characters, and I feel this choice somewhat negatively affects the impression of the character. In the story, Ellie apparently is supposed to be a bratty kid, complaining a lot and quite naive (of course). But, acted by a 19 year old, you instead get the impression of a young woman acting like a child, throwing tantrums, and that she just needs to pull herself together. It reduces the sympathy and tolerance for stupidity you have for the character. You get used to it, but it was quite annoying initially when they were establishing the character's personality.
Kastanjemanden (2021)
Engaging if a bit silly
The plot is contrived, and makes no sense when you start considering the events. The criminals are blessed with both omnipotence and omniscience, yet still at times make inexplainably illogical choices. The police meanwhile are completely inept, and you can expect the criminals to get the upper hand in every encounter no matter the odds - unless it's the last half of the last episode.
Overall though, this is not much of an issue as the show manages to keep up a great deal of tension and is actually very entertaining. While full of holes, the plot is interesting and keeps you engaged throughout.
Arcane: League of Legends (2021)
Fun show, even if you don't know anything starting out
The visuals are excellent, very colorful and unique (to me) style. You really feel drawn into this world thanks to excellent and lively animation. Story-wise, this is a kids show. To the trained viewer, most plot «twists» and character developments are painfully obvious from very early on. Which is expected from an animated show. That doesn't make it boring however! Watch this if you are looking for some light-hearted fun.
Gekijô-ban Kimetsu no Yaiba Mugen Ressha-hen (2020)
Weird but strangely immersive. Suffers from a weak plot.
The movie has 3 parts. The first is just the main group hanging around on the train, and trying to figure out what is going on there. It has a very eerie feeling overall, where you know for sure something is up. I liked this part very well, it somehow reminds me of a creepier Harry Potter, with kids solving evil mysteries and all that.
The second part is a long fight scene against some tentacle lady (or guy?), which was far too drawn out in my opinion, the oucome was a foregone conclusion and made no impact. The third part was very cool. It's also just a long fight scene, but this one carried a lot more emotional investment, and was overall much more interesting.
Overall, animation, acting, music and storytelling are all very good, and it keeps everything together and makes it quite enjoyable. However, the script is very weak. Characters have no development, except maybe some of them being somewhat sadder by the end. The plot also is incomplete and does not warrant a 2 hour movie. Most scenes are drawn-out. There is no introduction and background, and no conclusive ending. If you saw the series I guess it will all make sense so do watch it, but if you, like me, didn't, it doesn't, so don't.
Dan Carlin's Hardcore History (2006)
The best storytelling of the century
I will simply say, that the quality of this show can not be overstated.
Locke & Key (2020)
Fun idea, boring execution
Each episode is about five minutes of fun and engaging action and discovery, ten minutes of disappointment that they don't explore new discoveries further, and finally thirty minutes of boredom. This is like Harry Potter or The Spiderwick Chronicles, except the kids aren't at all interested to discover what this world has to offer. What if Harry Potter received his Hogwarts invitation but then said "no, I'd rather do a film project at my local muggle school"? Now that's a show I don't want to watch, and I won't return for season 2.