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andreastornqvist
Reviews
Archive 81 (2022)
A good show which should never have been canceled
This show being canceled is another example of Netflix canceling good shows. It's quite good, with an interesting mystery. It works itself through an initial intriguing setup into an increasingly paranoid and claustrophobic conspiracy. The main character becomes unsure of what is real and what is madness - with an otherworldly flavor to the story. It is slightly Lovecraftian, but with more of a slow, creeping horror than the immediate "monster horror". The acting was solid, the weird cult stuff done in an appropriately off-putting and scary manner. I was really disappointed to read that it was cancelled, and honestly am not surprised, since Netflix loves cancelling solid shows because they don't have a high enough revenue.
The Wheel of Time (2021)
A cool fantasy show
I believe that this show might be the most interesting for those of us who have read the books (and can view an adaptation without breaking down in tears). The way the story has been adapted for the cinemagic format is quite interesting. The actors are genrrally good and the visual world of The Wheel of Time is made real in a pretty splendid way. It's not the books (luckily) but the core of the story is still there. Looking forward to season 2!
Cloak & Dagger (2018)
2 episodes in
So, there is a bit of an overused method in this show, where one of the protagonists is the most unlucky son of a gun in the universe. Basically everything that COULD go wrong for an African-American boy in the upper middle class does. That's not to say there is a persecution complex on the writers part, which a lot of suspiciously racist reviews seems to imply. I've given the show an 8, as the acting, cinematography and writing is all good. I would have wished more risks taken with the music, but other than that, it's a solid show.
Beruseruku (2016)
It's quality content despite obvious flaw
I need to get this out there; This show IS good, but you need to get used to the animation. It is not as horrid as some people say, it's more of a hate/love thing in accepting the fact that it IS 3D with some frame rate issues. Quite frankly, once I decided to watch it no matter what, the 3D didn't really bother me too much. I was more interested in continuing Guts' adventures than nitpicking the animation apart.
Don't misunderstand me, I've no idea why they simply didn't do a good 2D animation on this and continued the 1997 story straight off the bat, and as such it is a flawed product. But definitely not flawed enough to deserve being called 'ruined'. That's childish.
This show continues the story of Berserk and is definitely for people who've seen the original 1997 animated series. It's dark, grim and surprisingly funny for such as dystopian tale. Guts slaughtering his way through mounds of enemies and facing all sorts of impossible challenges, all the while having to watch 'weaker' people die around him, is exactly what I wanted, and exactly what I got.
Looking forward to season 2! (Though seriously, whoever made this, considering improving your 3D drastically or switch over to 2D.)
Akame ga Kill! (2014)
Some wasted potential, overall pretty good
So, one thing I will immediately say about this show - it does some stuff really well. The characters, animations, action scenes and most of the story stretches from good to great. However, having an ending that feels conflicted (and made me conflicted about this whole show) and a few 'drama over logic'-things present throws the show away from the Anime Hall of Fame and into a basket of 'yeah sure, it's good, but it disappoints'.
Spoiler: 8 out of 10 main characters die. Brutally. And the main character is one of them. All of these deaths are well executed (no pun intended) except for the main character's, which is rather ironic. But it doesn't hide the fact that a few were completely unnecessary, or just served to further the plot or remove plot elements such as romantic interests, probably to keep the viewer guessing.
That's one of the major faults - the treatment of the wonderful characters. Most of them are killed, at appropriate and logical points, which creates a good sense of continuity as their 'Imperial Arms' are inherited by other members of the team or even by enemies.
But then one of the assassins are killed in an episode that basically screams it out a good while before it happens (having the stereotypical 'what are you gonna do when this is over'-talk with the main character) and it just goes downhill from there, with the main character dying by the next-to-last episode, being dead in the finale (wtf) and another lovable character dying tragically for no other reason than the creator's wanting Akame and the forgettable 'Boss' left standing. Akame for the sake of the show's symbolism and an after-credits scene.
There's the issue of the tone as well, with the show being extremely brutal and gory but also very, very childish in it's humor. Many of the shonen-anime clichées are there. Harem, nosebleeds, chibi faces. Honestly, I wouldn't be able to stand the crap if it weren't for the fact that the humor is decent. But it really doesn't sit well when people are killed left and right. Especially one character only got mentioned TWICE after he died awfully, despite being an integral part of the team. It was simply poorly written out of a logical standpoint.
With that said, if you're looking for a complete story arc, some awesome fights and some stereotypical shonen anime with a couple of flaws, I recommend this.
Though I'll never forgive the creators unless there's some sort of sequel series with Akame as the main character...
Ghost Hunt (2006)
Watch if you love interesting ghost stories
I gave this anime a 7 since the individual adventures (or rather, 'Files', as they are called in the show) that stretch over a few episodes each are quite good. It doesn't deserve higher since it's not finished. The show would've ended perfectly where it does with just one extra episode or a couple of scenes to wrap some stuff up. But as it is, at least one major element is left unexplained (but is very easily researched as this is based of a manga)and a main character doesn't feel like he's developed that much at all by the end.
Despite not finishing the manga's arc, missing it's own as well, it's quite enjoyable as the individual cases that the 'gang' work on throughout the show all have their own interesting arcs and it's always a game of cat and mouse with guesses and information as the tools of progressing the story. This is one of my favorite animes despite being cut short. Perfect for anyone who likes ghost shows with investigative properties.
Snabba cash - Livet deluxe (2013)
Weaker but decent finish to a great trilogy
I think the Snabba Cash-trilogy has an undeservedly low rating here on IMDb, it might be just because it's a 'foreign' film to anyone not Swedish or it might be because great crime-thrillers have been made for a long time, just not by Swedes.
Anyhow, as it usually is, the first movie is the strongest, with every sequel being a little weaker than the last. And while the second one was really close to the mark of the original Snabba Cash, the third one really wasn't, and here's why.
First of all, Jorge, JW and 'Martin' were our main characters this time. I liked all thee of them - a bit too much actually, as I'll explain in a moment. First of all, this was without a doubt Jorges movie. I didn't mind that too much as he's a really good character and when he finally gets to that light at the end of the tunnel, you feel happy for him and kind of relieved that someone made it out of the criminal underworld with scars but alive. Martin's end wasn't bad but a bit too abrupt and without exposition about his future, whether or not he actually strikes down on the Serbian crime family now led by Nata. I also thought Nata's turn to her 'darker' side were a bit sudden and really should have gotten some more time - or realistically - she shouldn't have shunned Martin without demanding some kind of explanation, especially since he clearly went well beyond his authority to help her. The weakest end by far was JW. Yes, it wasn't his movie. Yes, it's just another believable example of what can happen in the criminal world. Yes, his death can be viewed as sort of redeemed by the director since he actually did get his revenge of Radovic. However, this guy was the most interesting character in both first movies, which made his 10 minutes of screen time here a bit... shameful. He shouldn't even be on the cover of the film. Kinnaman does a great job as usual but whenever you see him on screen, you want more, which is denied. I think that's a bit sloppy. They could easily have given him a more interesting ending or more screen time by cutting some from Jorge (did we really have to see him yell at construction workers at Spain or chase that little kid who stole his jacket?).
With that said, this movie also had some storytelling flaws compared to the other two. The whole 'it was "minor character in the background" all along!' was a bit predictable and almost a cliché by the year 2013. There were also a bit too many moments that rode on the suspense of disbelief that you can usually lend a movie like this just so the plot can get rolling. Too many deadly situations being turned because the main character somehow managed to 'sneak' or were just damn lucky.
So how do I rate this somewhat weaker but still decent end to the trilogy? 7/10! Still a good movie with some really adrenaline pumping scenes. Could've used more JW, less abrupt endings for the main characters (only one out of three got a proper one to be honest) and some smarter writing overall that didn't feel like it needed cop-outs to deliver. See it if you liked the other two!