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Reviews
Star Trek: Lower Decks: Parth Ferengi's Heart Place (2023)
Keeps improving.
This show keeps getting better. I'm really enjoying this season so far. I don't know what happened behind the scenes, but it's starting to get really good. The characters are way more balanced since the first season and overall the quality has improved. I don't have much to say about this particular episode, except that I liked it and it made me laugh out loud several times. The Ferengi soap opera bits where funny, and the episode is just full of little jokes and references that really work well, at least for me. So yeah, gotta say some more to meet the minimum review length. Nice theme song. Really nice.
Black Mirror: Joan Is Awful (2023)
Take it with a grain of salt
This one has a more frivolous, comedic tone than the usual Black Mirror episode, but I liked it. It was very funny. Having seen 'Kevin can F*8k Himself' recently, I was delighted to see Annie Murphy as Joan. She has a talent for playing neurotic characters and she really shines in this one. I was surprised to see so many negative reviews because I thought they knocked it out of the park with this episode. Granted, if you were expecting the grim, nihilistic realism of your typical Black Mirror episode, then 'Joan is Awful' might be too lighthearted for your taste. I was pleasantly surprised though, although I do like the darker episodes as well. With episodes like this, if you can suspend your disbelief for quite a bit, there might be a lot to like.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Ad Astra Per Aspera (2023)
big morality episode
Una is on trial for having lied about her identity as someone who has genetic modifications. The Federation apparently doesn't like genetic engineering (and lying about it) so this is a problem. Instead of exploring the nature of these genetic alterations and their possible societal impact vs. The rights of the individual, we get a simplistic, overly sentimental, preachy courtroom play about the discrimination of minorities.
This episode is heavily inspired by the TNG episode 'The Measure of a Man', which did it a lot better more than thirty years ago, where there was more room for nuance and looking at the case from different angles before settling on one. 'Ad Astra Per Aspera' could've been a worthy successor had it been willing to actually explore the topic instead of insisting on serving us a one dimensional morality lesson.
I didn't like the acting either, it was often wooden and unnatural. There were also some bad directing choices. For instance there was this scene where Una and her lawyer were having a dialogue standing in fornt of each other the whole time like in a cheap soap opera. If they're gonna talk for a while, why not let them grab a chair like normal people? It's okay to sit in Starfleet. This didn't look right.
'Ad Astra Per Aspera' wants to be a big morality episode and tries to convince you that it is by relying heavily on pushing the sentimental buttons and making dramatic gestures, but ultimately fails due to a lack of substance and actual food for thought.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)
an overdressed amateurish production
Considering this is the most expensive show ever made, it surprises me how bad it really is. Everyone praises the show for how good it supposedly looks, but I completely disagree. Yes, there are maybe one or two shots that look pretty good, but nothing beyond what you'd expect from a production with a half decent budget. Overall it looks totally overproduced and fake. The whole first episode felt like an overextended cutscene from a video game. It looks as if they decided to do everything in post production and went all out with the color correction and stuff. Also the makeup and haircuts look way too modern and out of place in what is supposed to be a very ancient setting. The dialogues and acting are laughably bad, wooden and pompous, especially when it comes to the elves. Galadriel is a humourless overbearing character and everything that involves her is boring. To sum it all up, the big problem with this show is that is not immersive, it doesn't feel like an actual world with actual people in it. The second episode was a little bit better than the first one, but still very flawed. This show should be amazing and excellent on all fronts considering the ridiculously high budget, but it feels like an overdressed amateurish production instead.
The Gray Man (2022)
Grab some popcorn and just give it a go.
I went in with the expectation that this would be just another entertaining action/spy movie, and I wasn't disappointed. The action scenes are very well done, it has some beautiful locations and most importantly: the pacing is solid and smooth. The Gray Man doesn't try to reinvent the wheel, it's actually a very cliché movie, but a lot of fun to watch. I think this movie is a solid 7 but I'm giving this an 8 because it doesn't deserve all the 1 and 2 ratings.
Family Guy: Prescription Heroine (2022)
Not the worst
Some pretty decent jokes and animations, so I'll take it. Resolutions of both plotlines were unsatisfying, but hey, what do you expect? Nothing more to say but I have to type some more to meet the length criteria of this review.
South Park: Credigree Weed St. Patrick's Day Special (2022)
Just quit it with the weedfarn already
I miss the old theys when Randy always had something new to obsess over, now it is weedfarm only. It has been going on for years now, when does it stop? It's not funny, it is barely entertaining even. The Butters story felt very played out. As a take on current day social topics it had some somewhat funny moments, but it lacked the cleverness and substance to really hit.
1883: The Fangs of Freedom (2022)
Predictable
The moment they had sex, I knew he was going to die in the very same episode. He had to, because everything was too perfect, she was too perfect, the moment was too perfect. Ofcourse he was a virgin too, telling his story of how he couldn't get it up in front of a prostitute because he didn't love her. That's a sweet guy. Losing her virginity was beautiful and perfect, because that's how these things go on the trail, at least for her. And then he dies, so she can finally become the real, mature woman carrying serious emotional baggage, like she was always meant to be, staring into the sunset, thinking meaningful and poetic thoughts about life and the prairy.
South Park: City People (2022)
I'm just glad they're back to their old form
Maybe this is not the best South Park episode ever, but I thought it was pretty funny. I never liked South Park's focus on seasonal arcs, so to see that they're back to more self contained episodes is kinda refreshing in a nostalgic way. Yes there were repetative jokes, but they worked for me.
The Expanse: Redoubt (2021)
Underwhelming
I feel that this show lost its sense of urgency. Marco and his son are weak, boring characters. Everything that involves them is dragging and repetitive. Holden has also become weak. His decision from the previous episode should've had more consequences. The dialogue between Amos and Holden was a good one, but then nothing happens? This guy is not fit for command anymore and everyone knows it, but they just go on like it's business as usual. Avasarala feels very underused, as do other characters. Only two episodes left and I should be at the edge of my seat right now, but I'm not.
Family Guy: Christmas Crime (2021)
Watch something else
To say that this christmas episode was bad, is giving it too much credit. It's just... nothing. This didn't make me laugh once, not even a minor chuckle. Every joke is exchangeable, nothing is funny, the plot can't be any more uninspired and boring. Halfway through I was hoping for it to be over. It had that sort of undeserved sentimental ending where people have these cheesy faint smiles with strings and piano on top, the kind of stupid ending we see a lot in Family Guy. Are we actually supposed to be moved? Is it a parody of the cliché sentimental ending in general? It doesn't matter, because the writers clearly don't care, so why should we? The characters are just one dimensional carbon copies of references to themselves anyway, so it's pretty hard to have an emotional investment in them. If you haven't seen this one yet, stay away from it, watch Big Mouth's christmas special, or anything else instead.
Chapelwaite (2021)
Not flawless, but would recommend it
If you're a fan of Stephen King, this certainly has the right vibe. Adrien Brody is very compelling as the main protaganist and he has the right material to work with. The performance of some of the supporting cast was a bit hit and miss, but overall pretty good. I liked the story for the most part. There is some unnessecary fluff here and there that could've been trimmed from the script, maybe even one or two minor characters, but the show doesn't lose track of the main plot and keeps it's momentum. If you're a fan of a bleak, desaturated visual style, you're in for a treat: everything looks delightfully gloomy. In a couple of scenes, the moon looked cartoonishly large though. The finale wasn't that great, but not bad either. The ending didn't make all that much sense, and overall, I feel that this could've been great, but instead it's just pretty good.
Foundation (2021)
Mostly boring
I'm not familiar with the book, so my opinion is based purely on the show's own merits. The story of the Cleons is very interesting and well done, but unfortunately also the only reason I kept watching, because the other two storylines are super boring. Lots of filler and been-there-done-that material, no interesting characters besides the Cleons and the robot. The production values are top notch though, the visuals are a feast for the eye, the theme music is memorable. All and all a very ambitious, but ultimately disjointed and unbalanced show.
South Park: Post Covid (2021)
Better than the previous ones
Some repetitive jokes aside, this one was definitely a step up compared to what we've seen the last couple of years. Not the absolute best, but certainly a reminder of what South Park CAN be. Finally, it was about the kids (albeit in grown up form) again. Also, I feel like they're gonna wrap up the whole 'Tegridy' story (which I HATE) in a satisfying way. Enjoyable throughout.
The Wheel of Time: Leavetaking (2021)
Fake
I've never read the books, but I was excited for this series, I thought: this could be the new Game of Thrones! No. First off, everything looks fake, from the costumes (way too modern and fashony), to the plucked eyebrows to the sets, which look like, well, sets. I was half expecting to see some NPC's standing in weird places with a big mark floating above their heads (get your quest here!). I never once got the feeling that I was looking at an actual medieval village. Why are there like thirteen different ethnicities in this one tiny medieval village, lol. Just the way people are moving around and such feels very directed, not like people just minding their own medieval buisiness. The cgi is just plain bad, shamefully bad. And the lighting while casting magic spells, oh my god. And those monsters... The fighting scenes were as badly edited and choreagraphed as you would expect from a production that fails in almost every other departement. The story didn't suck me in, I didn't care much about any of the characters. It was just boring. The acting was very wooden and I'm-an-important-fantasy-character like. Some guys sweater had me laughing out loud because it looked so out of place.
Midnight Mass (2021)
I want more
Starts slow, but it's worth it. Long scenes with long dialogues that mostly work very well. Some dialogue felt a bit pompous though. Great cinematography. The way the story unfolds kept me on the edge of my proverbial seat (I was lying down watching the show). The priest is fantastic. In the end, it felt a little too short, I wanted more.
Ojing-eo geim (2021)
It's good
Sure, it's pretty predictable at times, but the execution (no pun intended) is excellent. What makes Squid Game so good is it's characters and how they try to manage themselves. The subplot of the cop, I could've done without. It was just filler.
Ready Player One (2018)
Nothing special but enjoyable
Haven't read the book, didn't even know there was a book until I checked the reviews. That being sad, it's a fun movie, good pacing, nice visuals. The characters are a bit bland and flat, they're pretty uninteresting really. They should've done more with them. The story is pretty straighforward and predictable, but it has some good ideas. Overall, nothing special but an enjoyable movie to watch on a sunday afternoon.
Star Trek: Lower Decks: We'll Always Have Tom Paris (2021)
Actually pretty decent
This show can be quite alright when it doesn't keep insisting how awesome and kick ass Mariner is. For me this was the best episode of the show so far. There was a lot going on but it stayed coherent and it had good pacing. Mariner is still an annoying character, but she didn't feel overpowered in this one. It also helps that the male characters weren't constantly being humiliated by Mariner just to prove how awesome she is.
Rick and Morty: Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion (2021)
It's not the same show anymore
It's just not. I feel that R&M has become just another generic brand name writers can latch onto, to have it on their resume "yeah, I wrote a Rick and Morty in one night when I was totally on cocaine, people hated it but whatever, I had a lot of fun with it" I mean you can't just delegate a show like this and expect it to be the same quality, it's like Led Zeppelin or whatever hiring a bunch of people to write new songs for them because they're too busy doing other stuff.
Rick and Morty: Rick & Morty's Thanksploitation Spectacular (2021)
Mediocre
The turkey transformation scenes were funny. For the rest, there was a lot going on, but it was pretty dull.
Rick and Morty: Rickdependence Spray (2021)
Lame
This episode feels like it was written by Family Guy's B Team, it was totally stupid, unfunny and un-Rick&Morty. If an episode like this one got the green light, it makes me wonder how much good material they actually still have at this point.
Family Guy: Tales of Former Sports Glory (2021)
Is this supposed to be a season finale?
Come on guys... You can do better than this. This episode felt like 'where's the actual episode?'
Family Guy: Who's Brian Now? (2021)
Bit lazy
There's one just like this one where Stewie goes living with a more sophisticated family, only to find himself humiliated and longing for his old family. This one doesn't offer anything new or refreshing, I like the premise but the execution was really lazy and disappointing.
Family Guy: Young Parent Trap (2021)
Solid, funny episode
Family guy has been hit and miss over the last years but this one was the funniest I've seen in a long time, I hope they'll keep this up. Chris and Meg were great, maybe the best Chris and Meg team up ever.