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Blackfish (2013)
Wake-up slap in the face
I will just mention one instance from the documentary and you think about it. There is a short mentioning of how a trainer used to train Orcas that were new to the park by putting them together with older, trained Orcas and asking them to perform the same tasks. When they, inevitably, failed, both animals were punished by being deprived of food. So the older, trained Orca, took it out on the younger, untrained one. Now, sit back and think about the same tactic being employed by human parents against their children. "I don't know who did it, but you are both grounded". There you go – a documentary about whales in captivity that taught you something about your own wrong methods of parenting.
Aside from that, when you are done watching this, you will probably and justifiably never want to go to a marine park show with Orcas ever again. The documentary just works as a wake-up slap. We separate a baby whale calf from its mother and social structure, keep it as grown, 5 ton, apex predator in a pool for its entire life and milk it for its semen. If you ask me, Orcas must be the most mellow creatures on earth, for them to have only killed this few people in captivity
You want to see Orcas? Fly to Alaska or Iceland and get on a boat, to see them as they are meant to be: Swimming free and with erected dorsal fins.
Fargo: Somebody to Love (2017)
Complete and utter letdown
In a completely disappointing ending to a season that created hugely high hopes, the season finale just doesn't add up.
Not that things in Fargo have to make sense. The world is weird, sure.
Sure, we can all agree that in the end, Varga might have been abandoned by his people, because he got snatched, because technology advances and circumstances change and at some point, agencies catch up with even the most advanced or well-connected criminals.
Sure, we can buy that an out-of-the-blue convict would help a complete stranger and even wrap up her personal vendetta. Sure, we can even say that everyone, ultimately, got what they deserve.
However, it is one thing being weird and quite another being Nikki (who was what? an ex-convict that weighs 100 pounds is good at cards and was beaten to a pulp?) single - handedly taking out an entire team of thugs, whose job it is to deal with armed conflict, and who knew that they were headed into a dangerous situation. And manage to move all around a car to grab a shotgun and shoot a policeman who had repeatedly asked her not to move.
It just doesn't sit well with the season's "dry reality" feeling. Nikki's character has always been distasteful, because it displays a figment, the person from nowhere that beats the machine – the thing that just doesn't happen. It just serves to give the audience some feeling of "the victory of the underdog" or "the bad ones got punished" – even if it means we kill and hurt some innocent people. It is stupid and it ruins the ending of an otherwise awesome season. Sad.
Legion (2017)
Beautiful chaos
Legion will, at times, tire you. Not because it's boring, but because it is fast paced and asks you to connect dots. Even when it's slow, this show moves fast. There is no wasted information in this one, no idle dialogue, no redundant scene, no "oh we could have done without that". Things that you see are things that matter, and when that piles on and on, it gets challenging to follow.
That's why I like it however, that's why I give it a solid nine. I think there isn't a single bad actor present. Dan Stevens? Awesomely insane. Aubrey Plaza? Magnificently insane and evil. Jemaine Clement? The out-of-the-blue cherry on top. There isn't a single person involved in this that doesn't stand up to the challenge of his or her part. Their selection is precisely perfect.
Keeping in mind how hard it is to portray a mind-related plot on screen, without it turning kitsch – or stupid, you will have to admit, after watching the first two – three episodes, that Legion hits the bullseye. You are viewing the world of a schizophrenic, complete with the classically corny squeaking flash-scenes of his inner demons, but it isn't silly, it isn't stupid, it doesn't bother. It is, on the contrary, woven very nicely. There is a story to tell, and it is being told in fragments and chaotically – as it should be.
Sprinkle all of the above with the fact that there are superhuman mutant powers involved and you've got yourself a bombshell. Come on, go ahead, try it.
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
Boring and clichéd
Okay, generally, I don't need to write anything more than in the title. The movie is a long, drawn-out addition to the franchise, morally ambiguous (apparently, Magneto killing Polish police is OK and everyone is OK with that at the end, shaking hands and parting ways), clichéd to the max (complete with college bully-in-toilet-scene) and with a plot depth of practically nothing. Avoid with prejudice.
Suicide Squad (2016)
Just a collection of one-liners.
Suicide squad is the one thing that is probably the worst thing for any movie to be – boring. It is made up of a few punch lines, a few clever one-liners and a lot of clichés. It is also cheap. The Enchantress' (probably expensive) CGI scenes are kept to a minimum, while the movie basically unfolds with a lot of talking and action scenes which are mostly made up of combat between actors in normal clothing and stunts in rubber suits – wow awesome
The movie's "ethic" dilemmas are also ridiculous, corny and nothing new, the plot has zero twist, the entire thing flows from beginning to end as expected, right down to the survival of "the guy's sweetheart that was trapped in the witch's body". The brewing Japanese woman with a katana is present, the gaudy Australian with his overplayed accent is present, the crazy girl in shorts holding a baseball bat is present, the friendly monster is present, the assassin who loves his daughter is present; everything exactly as expected. A whole lot of cast spent for a whole lot of nothing. Avoid with prejudice or watch it playing in the background while you are looking for the best deal on a 100-men's sock pack on Amazon.
Black Sails (2014)
A pirate's series for you?
The thing about Black Sails is that it ends on a high note. This is what you need to keep in mind before starting to watch it, and experience has shown that it is very important an achievement for any series; not to mention not as common as you may think. Black Sails tries (and largely succeeds) in taking a period and place in history where exact, verifiable historical evidence is sketchy, decorating it with (mostly) likable and (mostly) convincing characters, mixing it all together with a hefty dose of exceptional representations of naval combat, all to serve you a full plate of delicious please-let-me-watch-the-next-episode pirate ratatouille.
Does it deliver through and through? No. There are deviations from reality that should (and could) have been avoided. There are 18th century pirates, prostitutes and slaves with 20th century morals and social sensitivities, that were probably meant to snake the series around several "issues" – such as the fact that nobody really had a problem with slavery back then and that the "evil" empires of the series were the ones that historically, actually, set forth the initial rules on the "rights" of slaves and how they were to be treated. Feminism is also a bit too present, making the series more palpable to an audience that has gotten used to the idea of equality between the sexes – even though things were, obviously, a bit different back in those days. There is also probably a bit too much psychoanalysis, soul-searching and love between pirates going on.
The above, doesn't extinguish the series' flame though. To a large percentage of the extent that it was possible, the beginnings of the later Treasure Island story of Captain Flint has been nicely woven into historical events. Most protagonists are likable in their own way, and their personas develop a lot during the series. There are no monoliths, going on and on with an unchanging face through the series; everybody gets their fair share of tragedy, elation, happiness, pain and many more emotions – and chances to change or show their true colours. Pirates are pirates and especially these ones will always hold an appeal in fiction because of their law- defying, devil-may-care attitude, the fact that combat between sailing vessels is just awesome to watch and of course, because it all happens in the wonderfully pristine waters and lush vegetation of the Caribbean. If you're into this sort of stuff, Black Sails will grip you in it's first season, keep you asking for more in it's second one, sag somewhat in it's third one and, finally, will make want you want to stop watching in the middle of it's last season (because of those 20th century morals and overdose of psychoanalysis I mentioned earlier) – just before ending high, sealing probably all gaps and leaving you with a smile on your face at having watched one of the best pirate series ever.
Oh, it also has the absolutely best ever opening credits sequence and music – ever – in all of time – of all series – I mean it!
Black Sails: XXIX. (2017)
A pirate's series for you?
The thing about Black Sails is that it ends on a high note. This is what you need to keep in mind before starting to watch it, and experience has shown that it is very important an achievement for any series; not to mention not as common as you may think. Black Sails tries (and largely succeeds) in taking a period and place in history where exact, verifiable historical evidence is sketchy, decorating it with (mostly) likable and (mostly) convincing characters, mixing it all together with a hefty dose of exceptional representations of naval combat, all to serve you a full plate of delicious please-let-me-watch-the-next-episode pirate ratatouille.
Does it deliver through and through? No. There are deviations from reality that should (and could) have been avoided. There are 18th century pirates, prostitutes and slaves with 20th century morals and social sensitivities, that were probably meant to snake the series around several "issues" – such as the fact that nobody really had a problem with slavery back then and that the "evil" empires of the series were the ones that historically, actually, set forth the initial rules on the "rights" of slaves and how they were to be treated. Feminism is also a bit too present, making the series more palpable to an audience that has gotten used to the idea of equality between the sexes – even though things were, obviously, a bit different back in those days. There is also probably a bit too much psychoanalysis, soul-searching and love between pirates going on.
The above, doesn't extinguish the series' flame though. To a large percentage of the extent that it was possible, the beginnings of the later Treasure Island story of Captain Flint has been nicely woven into historical events. Most protagonists are likable in their own way, and their personas develop a lot during the series. There are no monoliths, going on and on with an unchanging face through the series; everybody gets their fair share of tragedy, elation, happiness, pain and many more emotions – and chances to change or show their true colours. Pirates are pirates and especially these ones will always hold an appeal in fiction because of their law- defying, devil-may-care attitude, the fact that combat between sailing vessels is just awesome to watch and of course, because it all happens in the wonderfully pristine waters and lush vegetation of the Caribbean. If you're into this sort of stuff, Black Sails will grip you in it's first season, keep you asking for more in it's second one, sag somewhat in it's third one and, finally, will make want you want to stop watching in the middle of it's last season (because of those 20th century morals and overdose of psychoanalysis I mentioned earlier) – just before ending high, sealing probably all gaps and leaving you with a smile on your face at having watched one of the best pirate series ever.
Oh, it also has the absolutely best ever opening credits sequence and music – ever – in all of time – of all series – I mean it!
The Grand Tour: [censored] to [censored] (2017)
A touch of the old glory
Cutting directly to the chase: This is the first episode of the new series that touches on the good old days of Top Gear. There is a good amount of actual car content, there is minimal idiotic content with irrelevant humourist sketches and there is none of the latter- part-of-the-episode downturn, disappointment and boredom, that permeated most of the previous 11 episodes.
The car review part is kept interesting, has good pace and the jokes and teasing are kept to a decent level, spicing things up without overwhelming the show. Conversation between the hosts at the tent is also good this time, again, keeping things as serious and as silly as they must be.
In, very, short - this is an episode you can watch start to finish and have a good time while doing so.
Westworld: Trompe L'Oeil (2016)
Now THAT's the way to go!
After a rather disappointing episode 6, this one delivers through and through. There is a multitude of topics touched on, the centerpiece being the continuing and deepening perception of the hosts as real beings by the guests – a simple enough topic, to which one can relate to easily even today, but played out excellently in the episode through Dolores and William.
The revelation regarding Bernard is a true "aw yeah!" moment – a moment that begins to slightly lift the fog around the thus far enigmatic Dr. Robert Ford; who has been portrayed as a borderline sentimental old man until now but apparently hides a much darker side.
There are also glimpses at what the Westworld park is truly all about for its owners – a troubling episode if you draw analogies to present reality.
The only reason the 10th star evades this episode is the continuing stupidity of the Maeve / Tech guys exchange which now culminates into a threat relationship between an animated construct and two people who can not only report this but also, as we saw, control her intelligence, perception, strength and other aspect, effectively putting them in a position to render her harmless.