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jan-maska
Reviews
Atlantis (2013)
Slightly below average family show
I do not really care for details, neither I'm going to base my opinion on factual and historical mistakes or logical fallacies. Truth is, this show makes complete mess of its topic.
Die-hard fans are going to argue that it's "just a show", but at the same time they'll meticulously replicate costumes from this show in a cosplay, and rain fire and sulfur on anyone who doesn't get ALL the details perfectly right.
It's ridiculous and pointless, much like the lineup of the show. Modern TV and film have already made a huge mess of various adaptations. Greek mythology is beautiful the way it is. Trying to reinvent it destroys not only the beauty but morality of the stories as well.
This lightweight TV show manages to go even one step beyond ridiculous mess: it mixes mythological characters with historic ones, places them into a completely wrong timeline at completely wrong locations.. I could go on and on.
But yes, it is "just a show". It's here, and will be gone and forgotten soon. Greek mythology will survive even this attempt at reimaging it, and will remain, like it has for several thousand years.
Man from Shaolin (2012)
On Low-Budget Movies
Nothing would please me more than writing a positive review full of superlatives; it's been a long time since a film really left me speechless. Unfortunately the Man From Shaolin isn't a film I would care to watch again.
There is a certain feeling of purity and almost childish naiveté with which the main character dares the cold reality of modern western civilization. But most of the purity is wasted in overly long shots and instead of leaving a sense of wonder in you, they leave an urgent need to fast-forward through the next few scenes.
Low-budget films have a great potential because they need to rely on story, characters, and all of the good stuff that is almost nonexistent in AAA films. But they need to be in control of it, both the director and the actors. The Man From Shaolin tries to be poetic and instill a sense of melancholy in the viewer, but it presses too hard.
Its white-background scenes in which the film tells parts of the Shaolin myth don't really come out as a sort of dreamy sequences. Instead, they show the low-budget and lack of anything that would replace missing effects.
Don't get me wrong - the story was touching, and some of the acting wasn't entirely so bad. But it deserved more effort, and more love for the material.