Change Your Image
IvanPupyshev
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Lists
An error has ocurred. Please try againHere is the ranked list of films released in 2019:
Reviews
Stranger Things: Chapter Nine: The Piggyback (2022)
Overcharged in preparation, deflated in execution.
S4 started in a bit slow mode with regular packaging: another vicious creature from the Upside Down, a traditional Eleven coming-of-age story and repetitive character pieces from the ensemble cast. However, after a couple of episodes, it progressed into a supercharged machine heading towards a thrilling conclusion supported by strong direction and recharged storyline. All things considered, the final episode reached the high bar of expectations in terms of production values but lost in terms of writing and story advancement.
The obvious yearly challenge for The Duffer Brothers is how to spread screen time across memorable characters played by talented actors and, from a certain point of view, in this entry they reached a perfect balance: reduced overly used Mike-Eleven relations, isolated Joyce-Murray comic relief into supporting tier and delegated the lead to the best-yet gang of young adults - Steve, Robin, Nancy, a new kid on the block Eddie - and Max, Dustin and Lucas from the teens' side - it perfectly combines comic elements, analytical parts and emotional tensions. I wish there were more of Lucas' sister Erica, but still, she had her moments. Traditionally Jonathan has been left out and is at a dead-end in terms of character development, while his brother Will sadly accompanied him this time along with newbie Argyle, who was occasionally just a plot-mover / comic-relief. Hopper's part was fresh and good but didn't have that much impact on the story or characters. Unfortunately, I can't say that the final episode brought justice to all of that.
The biggest issue with the season finale is that it undermines all the previous preparations for the final battle and strips this season's leading characters of their star hour in favour of a standard "twist" where Eleven saves the day, while her powers are adjusted by authors according to the story needs. Forthcoming emotional impacts of loss and defeat are also sabotaged due to writers' inability to play risky and properly end or continue characters' arcs. Creators are in dangerous waters here because they too freely use plot devices (actions, events and creative choices that make not much sense), character logistics (they may go forward only to realise that they need to go backwards) and lazy writing (characters may discuss an important issue but ignore it in favour of moving the plot). On top of that, we have great visuals, sound design and other stunning production values which allows sequences to be suspenseful and make the overall experience enjoyable, but you start to notice lost potential both for the story and characters, gained during the previous 8 episodes.
STRANGER THINGS finishes 4th year on an overall strong note, but the final episode feels a little underwhelming due to lazy writing and inconsistent pace - despite being for 2+ hours, I can't say it was more packed than the previous ones, felt overlong and still had gaps in the storyline. It prepares the ground for the showdown and raises anticipation, but, if to be fair, the season would have been more valuable without it.
Yellowstone: Going Back to Cali (2020)
Just An Another Day At Yellowstone
Yellowstone continuous its strong Season 3 with slow-tempo, but a great episode which once more shakes ground for many characters.
After a game-changing events of the previous episode we found Dutton and his associates returning to normal, ranching, camping or plotting against its enemies. Episode is a little too melodramatic as barely every character shares a relationship moment during the runtime - at one point it even becomes annoying, however, cuts at the right moment. Yellowstone was always great at showing characters' everyday occupations and 3x04 does a great deal of it, though in a perfect world it could be less generic at times. Nevertheless, the last 5 minutes strikes with a bang and bring one of the best subplots of the series, leaving the audience on a really high note.
The season so far is a slight improvement over the last one, where we got a fight against some sort of cartoonish Beck-brothers characters and proceeds stronger with every episode. Though, there is no visible story improvement, Yellowstone continuous to tease the audience with the anticipation of the culmination.