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laura-saaristo
Reviews
Mayans M.C. (2018)
Average show, probably not worth watching further
Been watching 6 episodes now, and i rarely get so irritated by an actor so that i have to write a review about it... that someone is Sarah Bolger as Emily. She is like kirsten Stewart in Twilight, overly dramatic, twitching, plain bad acting in otherwise OK cast. I have no idea how the casting people felt like she was a good fit.
I shouldn't compare the show to SOA, but how can you not since the mayans and other cast of the show are the same. I was hoping for more. It's not completely rubbish but i wouldn't be overly sad if i had to stop watching the show and not know what happens in the end.
Tunturin tarina (2021)
Stunning, mesmerizing, magical.
I can higly recommend this film if you want to watch something relaxing and beautiful - skip it if you don't like slow paced, serene films that isn't filled with action. But if you are looking for a break of all the hassle and noise in your life, you're in for a treat.
The shooting is beyond anything I've ever seen before, I was in awe the entire time. The score music is perfect and carries the story amazingly throughout the film. The voice of Peter Franzén is calm and relaxing and he is a great choice for narrator. I also enjoyed the mystical stories about Lapland and it's nature. All in all - I loved it!
Shadow and Bone (2021)
Superbly done!
As a huge fan of the books I have anxiously waited for this show. I had high hopes since this was a Netflix production - and they totally delivered. It was like watching my imagination come to life.
I knew that the story is not going to be exactly like in the books, but the adaptation works superbly. I loved how the non-linear storytelling brings the stories from the trilogy & duology together. The sets, the acting, the costumes, the cinematography and the music are spot on. The pacing was good and there was a good balance between humor, romance and dark/gloomy atmosphere. I enjoyed how Jasper was represented as the funny, mischievous gunslinger. But I have to give a standing ovation especially to Ben Barnes and Freddy Carter - they truly brought Darkling and Kaz Brekker to life.
One downside for me was how Inej was represented. She is _The Wraith_, one of the most feared, mysterious and deadliest spies. I felt that she was merely Kaz's sidekick. I also felt that Matthias's and Nina's storyline was completely separate from the main storyline - I kept wondering why their story was told so early on, but I can only assume they play a bigger role in the seasons to come.
Some of the reviewers were disappointed that the 1st season did not dig deeper into the characters' history - I think it was a smart decision to tell only the relevant histories/backgrounds of the few lead characters and not confuse the audience with too much information. Some of us have five books worth of information, but some/most of the people watching this haven't read the books. Yet!
I am very satisfied and pleased that Netflix has been true to the books and created a wonderful world of Grishaverse. I can't wait to see how the story develops in the future.
Black Sails (2014)
A potential masteripiece sank to endless dialogue about feelings, strategies and the future of Nassau
I highly enjoyed the first season of Black Sails: the ship was loaded with all the elements for a great pirate tale. There was a good development in the main characters and enough depth to make them credible and interesting. The scheming and violence added delightful color to the story, and like in all great pirate tales: there was a treasure beyond belief, waiting to be found.
Unfortunately these ingredients did not carry the show to the end, far from it. I started losing interest somewhere during the second season and in the 4th season i just couldn't wait for the torment to be over.
The biggest question that remains is: what was the point of it all? First it was the Urca gold, which eventually was utterly pointless. Then it was the future of Nassau, and the main goal and reason for that fight changed a million times. Was it about loyalty, about revenge? about friendship? During the final three seasons none of it mattered anymore, because everyone had already betrayed everyone ten times over for insignificant reasons. No one was the villain or the hero, and everyone forgave everyone because there was another plot to be made and it was for the future of Nassau and that plot was THE ONLY WAY.
All that remained was countless hours of agonizing dialogue about feelings, strategies, negotiations and "what happens next" - things that eventually meant absolutely nothing. I could have jumped from the middle of the second season to the middle of the fourth and nothing would have changed in between: someone has taken over the fort/bay, died and then resurrected, betrayed a captain or two, bargained with people or gold, stolen a ship from another crew or nearly died because of a terrible beating. No one trusts another, no one is loyal, and the one thing everyone constantly keeps searching is other people's trust. At the end i felt like all the characters were just empty shells talking nonsense and I had zero interest who betrays who and which party eventually prevails.
The show told a great tale for the first 8 episodes, but unfortunately showed all its cards at the very beginning. Then it lost its element of surprise, and what could have been a great show, slowly and painfully sunk itself with the lack of a common thread, pointless and confusing storytelling and insufficient character development.