Funkaairo Reviews

Snowfall: The Struggle (2023) Season 6, Episode 10

This is so real

[10/10 · 23 September 2023]

Franklin was never in the wrong, but he made the grave mistake of not feeding in to his peers' sense of greatness due to the power and money he gave them. Instead of supporting their delusions, he gave it to 'em straight.

That can't be all, right? Of course. His family could never trust him either, not because he had not done them right, but because they could not understand his drive for money.

We all will get alienated from our loved ones if we pursue things that are out of their scope, because they'll never understand why you do the things you do. They are comfortable with normalcy while the ones who want to get ahead, not get in line, will go to severe lengths and risks to achieve what they want. In Franklins' case, the lengths in question were countless of bodies.

Make no mistake, though, he didn't get betrayed by everyone because he killed people. He got betrayed because he claimed all his hard work was just his hard work. Reality is everyone had a role in the greatness. It was just Franklins' idea, but everyone together got them to where they are. Some did more some did less, but either way they're going to want to be recognised for the work they've put in. Franklin couldn't do that properly and so they turned on him.

Moral of the story? Let your friends do whatever they want to do, and deal with the consequences. Franklin couldn't afford the consequences because his game was ruthless and he'd be in a body bag by S1 if that were the case, but most games aren't. Whatever you lose can be built back up, as long as you make sure your loved ones stay close with you.

These are just my first impressions right after finishing the series. Consider my thoughts provoked. Thank yóu for an amazing show. I'll grow after this.

Snowfall: The Rubicon (2017) Season 1, Episode 10

Franklin

[8/10 · 19 September 2023]

I really enjoyed the first half of this season because E1 was a banger. It got a bit tired by the second half of the season with Franklin's story arc being the only interesting one.

Another gripe was them insisting on doing recaps at the start of each episode forcing me to skip forward like 35 seconds everytime i start an episode. Like first of all; there is no reason whatsoever to be doing recaps because we're not watching for the plot, we're watching for the characters and how they evolve. We're going to be watching them evolve for multiple seasons, so how about giving the viewer an ounce of trust? I can understand Season recaps but every damn episode? Jeez

Besides, the plot is not even that good. It detracts from the story and the characters alongside it...

Which is a big shame because the characters here are incredibly well portrayed (except the CIA agent who is a little bit too cliché).

-- Despite its faults, this show is still very good. Most dialogue is pretty much how it'd go down in real life which makes the immersion and realism in this show top notch.

Boardwalk Empire (2010–2014)

Incredible show

[10/10 · 10 September 2023]

The writing has been incredible, there are no plotholes whatsoever and all the questions we consumers might ask throughout the show will be answered in sly, but also direct fashion.

What sets this show apart from pretty much everything I watched is the fact that we are not assumed to be dumb. Everything that is depicted on this show happens for a reason and whatever reason that is will show itself at a later stage. We are rewarded for scrutinizing every encounter and analyzing all behaviors, down to every last word. It all matters and it is all connected in the plot, that reveals itself consistently and graciously.

There is an incredible attention to detail. Both scenery/outfits/sets, and in all conversations, in all words. Even character dynamics such as Nucky and Margaret or Luciano and Meyer are displayed exceptionally well.

One major note in this show, is that sex scenes were all amazing:

Not because of nudity, but more for the hot atmosphere that accompanied every single sex scene. There was always an unique emotion attached to it! Any other TV-show and the sex is mostly:

-"we have not seen eachother for long so we must have sex", -"im drunk and laughed at your joke after a dinner, fast forward to sex" funnily we had that instance too, but it was with the two girls who shanked Nucky during S5 lol.

No, the sex scenes here were all exciting and unique. We had dynamics introduced like mom and son sex, that was surprisingly hot, or Gyp Rosetti's submissive sex scenes. Even the moment where he talked with Gillian about his desires felt so real.

Another fun sex scene i enjoyed was that Italian who was traded for Eli's son, right before getting caught. The whole sex with the cheating wife act was exciting. Either way, I think my examples have demonstrated just why Boardwalk Empire was on fire with their sex scenes. Well done on being unique.

---- As we reach S5 it felt like the writers' had written their piece already, as the show got a bit tired and slow.

Boardwalk Empire: Farewell Daddy Blues (2013) Season 4, Episode 12

The critics to this episode are harsh

[10/10 · 9 September 2023]

I agree with what is being said in terms of critiscism, but I think it does not do the show justice because of its harsh nature. With that said, I'll add one more feature that is up for discussion:

Multiple cliché moments this episode with the camera moving to Gretchen Morgan in her jail cell, the fight between ex-sheriff and CIA agent, and lastly; the failed assasination shot with the sniper due to emotions. I am completely fine with these cliché's as they were necessary to keep the storyline going just as it has been, consistently and fluidly.

They were way more focused on the story telling and I applaud them for not compromising their quality.

We are being spoken with through emotion, evident by the amazing performance by Mango Bingham, who had her send-off with an amazing song and lyrics that resonates with us. Farewell daddy blues made the entire episode and with that, the season.

I am in awe of this beautiful television. I've watched a lot of TV shows over my years, but nothing will impact me as much as this one in my everyday life. All the characters are fascinating and inspiring.

Boardwalk Empire: Under God's Power She Flourishes (2011) Season 2, Episode 11

im completely shocked lmao

[10/10 · 26 August 2023]

This whole series has had incredible writing so far, this felt like a season-ending episode but there is still an episode 12 somehow waiting for me. We were foreshadowed of this Gillian and Jimmy relationship since the beginning but seeing them end up in bed was still surreal somehow. Their relationship is wicked and the dynamics are ridiculous. I am in awe (if i hadn't made that clear already)

I disagree with the other reviewer saying "-" because Margaret is dislike-able here. I also liked her a lot in the beginning, and I also agree that she is dislike-able.

However I also see that the writers intended for us to dislike Margaret considering she has been stealing (as was hinted that she could do right as she moved in to the big house), despite seeming to be strongly against it. Then we realise that she was stealing from her family in ireland too... Then she cheats... Then she wants to throw everyone under the bus because she dislikes her own actions and wants to repent (at the cost of the people around her), justifying it by saying that he murdered her husband (who was abusing her).

Some people may resonate with Margaret and agree, but those people are not the target audience in this series at all lol.

Point is Margaret is supposed to be disliked and while it is not always funny, any show needs a villain at all times and Margaret is apparently creeping onto the spotlight now. Previously it was the Sheriff who still makes me seethe with anger whenever he appears on the show.

Make no mistake, I love this show and can without a doubt say it's one of the best I've watched personally, so far at least. I'll slowly continue watching the next 3 seasons as well. Bright times ahead of me :)

Rome (2005–2007)

Everything perfect except the accents

[9/10 · 14 August 2023]

I was super conflicted at the start. I was hit with questions like: "Why do they have posh English accents when they're making a series about Rome?" "Is this just people who are trying to pose cultures they aren't part of?"

Luckily I was answered within E1, the creators wanted to emulate rome as genuinely as possible and it appears the accents and the nationalities were their achilles' heel, which would soon be transcended by an exquisite plot, many historically accurate depictions such as orgies, and a masterful depiction on the caste civilisation (slaves, freedmen, civilians, etc) without making it glaringly obvious.

They really just wanted to depict rome and that they did. There were no plotholes whatsoever, no questions that go unanswered despite showcasing multiple perspectives at once. We were able to follow the thread in a chaos of different storylines, which ended up becoming a big symphony and it was beautiful from start to finish.

I feel rude making this a 9/10 due to the accents, but it's a flaw and not a small one. Other than that I loved it and will rewatch.

Tour de France: Unchained (2023– )

No better fuel for bikers

[8/10 · 5 August 2023]

I Adore this series and enjoyed every damn second of it. Me being big into biking plays a big part in that. Great shots especially one where Fabio was racing against the clock and made it with 16 seconds before the time threshold. Seeing him collapse after reaching the finish line brought a tear to my eye. Beautifully depicted although i hate the fact that they had to over-dramatisize the whole ordeal.

Which brings me to some negatives: The "main characters" in this documentary need to be declared in the beginning, and the different stages need to be done in chronological order to prevent confusion. I can't follow a red thread in this docuseries if new protagonists are introduced randomly and if we jump to different stages back and forth in time. At least one of the two have to be proper. If we had followed a chronological time-order with the different stages, new protagonists popping up along the way wouldn't have been annoying. I understand why they decided to skip some stages and then jump back to some stages (dramatic value for their fabricated plots) but I really don't think that's necessary. I'd argue it's overdone, especially for a docuseries. The bike race in itself is already loaded with emotions, there is no need to overdo the dramatic scenes (and on top of that reach far and wide for new plots when the big plot is in front of you). This made the actual race storyline suffer due to creating unneccesary plotholes. At the end I got really annoyed by this. Stop trying so hard and let the race carry itself.

Despite these negatives, I still gave it a 8/10 as it was still entertaining, and it's about biking. I can't ask for much more, but I do feel that this genre of docuseries need some better directors.

True Detective (2014– )

Season 1 is a masterpiece

[10/10 · 16 February 2023]

Cohle and Hart play off eachother so amazingly well, and I was stunned by the constant wisdom on humanoids thrown out by Cohle constantly in the first episodes. I've never felt such a deep connection to a characters' thoughts ever and was taken aback by how deeply I could resonate to these thoughts on humanoids.

These constant spurts of wisdom sold me on S1 from the first episode. It was amazingly depicted and I had to calm down through the dialogue and replay some bits because there was just so much stuff being said which required processing. I'll return to S1 in a couple of years to understand the wisdom bits deeper, and enjoy this masterfully created piece again.

There was not a single dull moment in this series, despite being a slow-burner if that's what you want to call it. I'd say it's similar to mindhunter S1 but they're not really comparable in that way. You'll understand once you see it.

Hart and Cohle played their characters ridiculously well and built this incredible depth to their stories and personalities that I have never seen before in TV. It made the series feel extremely mature in a sense that only people with proper understanding of their own emotions could understand the thought processes depicted in the series. Maggie was such a perfect character to make sure these thought processes were fished out. Amazing performance! I really have nothing but praise for S1.

Just like Maggie said, Hart did not know what he wanted, and Cohle knew what he wanted. It is such a small line but it says so incredibly much. This world is divided like this and you can see it in all adults of all ages. Some people know who they are and therefore content with themselves, with integrity (just like Cohle) and some people are figuring things out at their own pace, but never really reaching the destination in terms of self actualization (Hart). Maggie was much more similar to Cohle and it was depicted masterfully.

Either way I'm just going off on nothing here. Best Series I've watched and I feel like I evolved as a person after S1. Thank you!

I'm not mentioning S2 and S3 and will not watch them as other reviews have made it clear I shouldn't. Haha.

Killer Ratings (2019)

By episode 5 I abandoned it

[5/10 · 13 February 2023]

It was very interesting at first, but there is just way too much non-sense thrown at you for so many minutes (and even hours) on end that just bores you.

I understand Wallace's sons standpoint after the first interview clip, we don't need to see another 60 minutes of interview content of his son saying nothing but how baffled he is at the accusations and how sad he is and so on. At some point, after seeing his son talk about the same thing for the 5th time in episode 5, I just abandoned the "documentary" because it was just way too tilting to watch.

You have an amazing story at hand here, like what else could you even dream of? You could have made an incredible documentary just based on the plot and information at hand.

It's actually super interesting but the documentary doesn't do this wicked story any justice simply because I was forced to watch emotional nonsense for way too long. My patience ran out! Such a shame. I think the viewer would get more satisfaction by reading about this through wikipedia since we wouldn't need to get numbed by the countless of pointless interviews with the Wallace family members.

Girls from Ipanema (2019–2020)

Magical atmosphere - playful, dramatic, intense

[10/10 · 24 January 2023]

This series did so much, we get to see mens sexism, womens struggle in a society that is very against them, the divided community within brazil (rich and poor), amazing display of bossa nova, nasty scenes and scenes that just makes your blood boil.

The setting, the atmosphere, the colors and the playful mood of Rio is so beautifully depicted here.

The characters and the plot are super realistic and believeable. I absolutely adore this series and felt the need to leave a review because it is simply that good.

This was my first dive into the romance-drama genre but I already believe it'll be hard to top this experience. Thank you so much for this amazing TV as well as a beautiful display of Rio.

The Last Kingdom: Episode #5.10 (2022) Season 5, Episode 10

Amazingly wrapped up, best TV I have laid eyes upon

[10/10 · 20 January 2023]

The whole series was amazing, if I am really picky I can pick out just a tiny few flaws (like not giving some characters enough screen-time), but that would mean more episodes and surely there were a few restrictions, as the final episode was so intense it almost felt just a tad rushed.

With this in mind, the final episode was also the end of an high that lasted for 5 seasons straight. We embarked on a journey throughout the series and here we reached the end of the high.

What really tied it all together was the final scene where Uhtred looked out over the sea, thinking about all the sacrifices that were made on the path that ultimately led to him standing in Bebbanburg as the true lord. The particularily striking part about the flashbacks to the past, is that us viewers also miss all of these characters that were lost on the journey. This makes this homage so much more meaningful and allows us to get nostalgic alongside Uhtred. So amazingly depicted, and the viewer could get sentimental about this and relate the need for sacrifices to, for example, career climbing.

The tiny flaws were tiny and not nearly enough to bring this down from a 10-star rating, as I feel 10 stars aren't enough.

I could write a book on how amazing this series is but I'll restrict myself here and say thank you for producing this masterpiece which I will rewatch periodically within the coming decades.

Banshee (2013–2016)

Action, violence, sex, gore

[10/10 · 7 March 2022]

If you're tired of series with "hidden messages" or entertainment products that want to appear "deep" or political or whatever, look no further, Banshee has you covered with action, gore and sex, with hot characters. It's just enjoyable cliché-y stuff, and it isn't trying to pose as if it's deep, or whatever. They know exactly what they're here for and how to do it. For that reason, i give this series a 10/10.

With that said, some suspension of belief is needed as some fights might go on a bit too long for it to be real (and i'm not complaining, just saying). And also some useages of CGI felt a bit unneccesary, such as in the opening episode.

Lucifer: Partners 'Til the End (2021) Season 6, Episode 10

Went from a thrilling, mysterious crime drama to romantic drama

[4/10 · 18 September 2021]

For the whole season they managed to drag out lucifer becoming god until the very last episodes. On top of that, the series felt like it was moving so slow. Barely any wits, barely any thrill and barely any action except for the second to last episode.

Really, it was just all drama. This is not what you would expect from Lucifer, and it is certainly not the reason i began watching it in the first place. This series started out as a crime drama, and turned into something completely else. The writers lost the theme and the plot. I expected alot more, even though i didn´t expect much after that terrible s5 ending.

I´ll just say this series ended OK. First 3-4 seasons were way better, and it turned sour after s5 and s6. The episodes since s5 have been dragged out, although some episodes in s5 were way better. In this season, we get a hint of "what´s to come" and then they spend 5 episodes dragging out "what´s to come" with nothing but romantic drama. If ur into that kinda stuff, cool, but this was certainly not what i planned to spend my time watching, when Lucifer is a crime drama at heart. It just felt like a chore to watch through.

I am disappointed.

But hey, at least this ending was better than the s5 ending.

The Last Kingdom (2015–2022)

This is not about one character

[10/10 · 7 July 2021]

We do have a main character of sorts, but this main character is not even half of what makes this series. I mean this in a good way. Every character and every single person we have been introduced to has their very own storyline of doing what's right. It is all so beautifully directed, because we manage to follow a lot of people with no misguidings of where we are in the plot, it is all evidently clear what is going on, with no "time travel" stuff a lot of series resort to.

The character development here is absolutely stunning. I've watched quite a few series, but my god, the character development in this one is incredibly good. It all unfolds so naturally and you, the viewer, will see the characters evolve together from day 1 to day 1000. On top of that, the director does not take you for a fool because there are so many intelligently hidden remarks in the conversations that you would notice only if you pay attention, as well as battle strategies that were true to what happened back then.

It is a symphony of all the elements i want in a series. Blood, gore, character developments, love, hatred, sadness, grief, and obviously the great humor that come from certain characters.

I do not think it is fair to compare this one to GoT, the last kingdom is so extremely well done that i even think it is better. There is never any "downtime" in the series, the momentum builds from s1 all the way to s4. It just gets better and better. It is a rare sight to behold when a s2 of a series is better than the first, and s3 better than s2, and so on.

With that said, I will probably not enjoy another series for a while because this one won over my heart. I NEED S5.

Lucifer: A Chance at a Happy Ending (2021) Season 5, Episode 16

Good god

[7/10 · 28 May 2021]

The last couple of episodes have been so goddamn emotional, I guess it's nice for a change but jeez.

Not sure how this series is going to go forward from here. Dan, who was the pillar of the comedy in this series is dead, Lucifer is now god so can he still be humorous? What's the tone going to be for the next season? It feels like a lot of options have been removed with the death of Dan.

(i could also be biased because i loved Dan and what he brought to the series)

I guess I'm intrigued to see what Lucifer will do as god. Is the next season going to be about heaven? Or is he still going to roam around earth as he cut off Michaels' wings?

Idk but this season finale didn't leave me overjoyed, man. It is a bittersweet victory with some key figures missing. Hopefully they resuscitate dan somehow.. fingers crossed.

Lucifer: Is This Really How It's Going To End?! (2021) Season 5, Episode 15

So sad

[10/10 · 28 May 2021]

I didn't cry during Schindler's list, but when i heard trixie say "dad?", man...

Lucifer: Bloody Celestial Karaoke Jam (2021) Season 5, Episode 10

Not a big fan of musicals

[8/10 · 28 May 2021]

Although it was very musical, it wasn't executed poorly. With that said, I still don't like musicals lol.

The part where dan met with god was so gosh darn hillarious though lmao. Good rating simply because that part made me laugh so hard.

Joker (I) (2019)

Just putting this rating out there

[1/10 · 27 May 2021]

Great acting.

But the story.... oh man, the story.

This man is supposed to be funny in his own twisted way, kill people, you know. I was slouched so deep in my chair I couldn't get up. Absolute torture.

I was really forced to just sit and watch a man with a mental illness that polarizes the audience from the diagnosis more than anything else. The laughing is just a part of his illness so there's really no deeper meaning to it, just like this entire movie.

When stuff finally happened near the end It was like I was brought back to life from watching myself in 3rd person, only to realise that the action was lackluster and oh-so utterly predictable i wanted to puke. The build-up was so terrible that I expected at least something not-so terrible, but remarkably the director managed to make the action even more boring. Absolutely astonishing how he managed this.

If you want to watch a man laugh and dance for no reason, be my guest. I have enoug madmen running around the downtown city for that content.

Dark (2017–2020)

yeah...

[1/10 · 18 April 2021]

Great acting throughout the series, but the storyline kind of falls apart during S3. The endless loop concept got boring by S2 and i mostly just watched out of respect for S1

We follow one too many characters into their solo ventures, which made me lose empathy towards the main characters.. The writers just spoonfeed every storyline to you, leaving you with nothing to figure out by yourself, and i got really annoyed that young Jonas and Martha did what they were told the entire series. No solo adventures, realising stuff on their own.. No, They were told what to do every step on the way and man was it annoying. Questions never get answered, characters cry all the way from S1 to the end of S3, it's really just a depression fest.

The ending was quite weird, we realise by Claudia, who's supposedly a supporting character, of all people, that Adam and Eva had been doing it wrong for infinity (on the last 2 episodes of s3). The whole storyline is so confusing that this big moment of revelation didn't mean a thing to me, i just couldn't care. The ending itself was not climactic either with Jonas and Martha just vanishing... They end an infinite loop by standing in front of a car and making a couple drive back to daddy, then they just simply vanish! Pathethic.

The only character i liked was that Proficient police officer that got sent their way, he got stuff done and asked the right questions. However, like everything else he also vanished from the "plot" with the apocalypse, which, by the way, didn't matter, because we could be 100 years away from the apocalypse the very next scene if the scriptwriters felt like it. Don't delude yourself into thinking you can comprehend this mess because i guarantee you the writers were just as clueless as you.

Utter waste of time, the ending made me wish I'd never seen this series in the first place. This series is disgustingly overrated. I originally gave it a 3 because of my respect for S1, which wasn't all too terrible (before they made the plot incomprehensible), but after reading the abundance of 10-star reviews, i had to even the scales a bit.

The cinematography was great, however!

Ozark: All In (2020) Season 3, Episode 10

This season ended just the way it started

[10/10 · 29 March 2020]

Cold, gruesome and non censored violence. They managed to build up quite the tension near the end, and boy, that tension paid off. The series started with a slice and ended with an awesome bang. Greatly written series, and I am not ashamed to admit i watched the entire series in 2 days, just because it was too awesome from start till finish.

No characters were despicable to the point i couldn't stand them, they all had their own qualities and brought their own set of cards to the table.

This ending was frightening, thrilling, crazy, insane, yet i loved every second of it.

The Mechanism (2018–2019)

Captivating, brilliant, PERFECT.

[10/10 · 6 April 2018]

The actors, the camerawork, the scenery, the dialogue and the story, I lack words as to how perfectly executed it all was.

It is all fiction. You can tell from the camerawork, the characters, the dialogue - that this is a TV-show. I Commend that because they don't try to follow real-life events to the nail, instead, they do whatever they can to grant the viewer a wonderful TV-experience with completely captivating camerawork and characters. The suspense and tension in some scenes just blow my mind. I'm simply amazed.

Sure, some "insight" is given to how brazil government works, but absolutely no conclusions is to be made from it, as this is just one brilliant TV-series that obviously did not try to give the viewer a lesson on how brazil works.

The first season has left me baffled and I just can't wait for another season. I NEED MORE

El Chapo (2017–2018)

Somewhat amateur-ish but the story itself keeps me watching

[7/10 · 25 June 2017]

It first throws you into the action with El Chapo battling the clock with an intense drug delivery, The story itself is compelling, but it was executed to a sub-par level, to say the least. The scenery is great, dialogue is alright, but the timer which counted down the hours was simply way too off-touch, i want to get a sense of reality, but the timer made it feel like another amateur made action film, however this was just the first episode.

Later on i felt some actual intrigue and satisfaction from watching the story progress, i was satisfied that they played out interesting parts of the story while copying real-life footage into the movie to show us what character is who, interesting technique.

I absolutely love that they compared that one guy's political rise to power with El Chapo's, they were both playing the same game, with similar goals. Just different rules and different places.

I'm just talking about the first half of the season however, the latter episodes were all about El Chapo's stay in the prison, which i feel is a little drawn out. We get to know the characters and prison brutality but i fail to see where it's going to lead us, i certainly hope it won't be prison break V2 and more of El Chapo's childhood transition into adulthood, that's where the real story's at.

This series still has potential but it's not really looking promising with the way it's headed, failed attempts and tries to get out of prison over and over and over, that was all we got from the last episodes. If it's prison break V2 i'm going to be very sad because this story carries so much potential, i sincerely hope the potential will be used fully.