frode-hauge Reviews

The Shape of Water (2017)

Overhyped, but good.

[7/10 · 2 March 2018]

This is not a revolutionary movie. Heck, if you ever watched a movie before, you'll know the general gist of how it ends within the first few minutes. I mean that quite literally. You'll think "oh, this scene would not be here unless a scene so-and-so will come later, because this scene by itself is nowhere near important enough to spoil a PG-13 rating". There's a second scene as well, which I can't mention without getting into potential spoiler territory for the first-time movie viewer. It's in the first five minutes, though (again, literally).

But, still, I found it endearing. I'm of an age and life situation where I have a soft spot for romance. Also, I really love Sally Hawkins. There was nothing much awry with it. Great acting, direction, and so forth. There just wasn't anything particularly special about it. A standard story told very well. I'd certainly recommend it, but it got way overhyped.

The Orville (2017–2022)

The Star Trek TNG inspired show you never asked for

[4/10 · 23 September 2017]

Let's go on a nostalgia trip. Think back to the first time the Enterprise encountered the Ferengi. Picard looks at the view screen, nudges Riker and whispers "you could fit a penis in that ear!"

There you go, that's The Orville. Star Trek drowned in toilet humor (literally, this show's equivalent of the Vulcan pon farr is one year between urinating).

If that sounds like your kind of humor, you'll love it. For me, I wish they'd cut the "humor" down to about a third and had someone older than 12 write the jokes.

I'm giving this a 5/5, as in not horrible but exceptionally forgettable.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2015)

Well, that was refreshing

[9/10 · 3 January 2016]

This will be spoiler free.

I only just finished watching this series over the course of the weekend. As is evident by my rating, I enjoyed it tremendously.

I did not know the book existed until I saw it mentioned in the credits, so I watched with no preconceived notions apart from what could be gleaned from the synopsis and cover image. In other words, a period piece set in England with magic playing some part. I did not know whether there would be magic performed, or just talked about. Whether it would be a costume drama, or something more.

What a ride it turned out to be. I enjoyed literally every single character, which is unusual for me. For the most part, there tends to be some that just annoy me for one reason or the other. In this case, I even found the character that appeared designed to be annoying to be strangely entertaining. Multiple characters were believably multifaceted and conflicted with regards to their place in the unfolding events. This is something the British seem to be consistently far superior at compared to the Americans' penchant for more caricatured portrayals.

I found the setting and world building to be a breath of fresh air. Granted, it touched on some familiar themes, but rarely in a straight forward fashion.

I so wish television were filled with shows of this caliber. Sadly, reality will likely remain that a show like this comes around once in a while, gets poor ratings in comparison to shows that are so bland they appeal to everybody, and then time passes until someone is brave enough to try something new once again. We can do little but treasure these rare gems.

Constantine (2014–2015)

Sad

[5/10 · 25 October 2014]

This is based on the first episode only:

Such a missed opportunity.

Given a script doctor to work on the exposition and dialog, this could've been an 8.x show. Instead it's a 6 at best (I landed on 5, after some deliberation -- that's "decidedly average", by the way, not "horrible").

The acting is, in places, decent. In others, it seems like the actors read the script, thought "this is abysmal, how do you expect me to deliver this?" and more or less just read the lines out loud.

Several scenes seemed cut for the sake of cutting. As if they had a two minute scene, were told to get it down to 30 seconds, and just used the first 15 and final 15 seconds and called it a day. There's not a surprising moment in the entire first episode, it's all broadcast well beforehand, but the way it's played out it seems the intent was to surprise. It's like cutting the audio in a horror movie, thinking no one can guess there is a jump scare coming.

It's possible that I'm just too old. That the target audience is 15-18-year-olds (I'm just about 40) and that this is quality to them. However, considering members of my family fall into that age bracket, that seems like an insult.

In my opinion, this should have been a rejected pilot. Re-shot and resubmitted as a great supernaturals show. As it stands, it's a missed opportunity that does not deserve a time slot unless what it's replacing is a reality show of some sort.

I'll watch an episode or two more, hoping my first impression is off, but I don't have high hopes.

Breathe In (2013)

So much promise..

[6/10 · 26 December 2013]

I wish I could have given this a standing ovation, really I do. I loved the first half. The second could have been so good; all about impossible feelings and the characters accepting that fact, thriving on what little could be had and growing from it. But it was all squandered away in an apparent belief that "stuff has to happen."

I'll admit it would have been rather predictable even if it had been completed in a proper manner. But the mood and production was such that I don't think it would have bothered me. I am left with a fraction of the magic that could, nay should, have been here.

This ought to have been a strong 8. Instead I must score it a 6. And that makes me sad.