Reviews

The start of a brand new season can´t get any more insignificant, dull and soapy as The Orville demonstratet with this one. It should have smacked STD in the face - instead, it hid under the couch and played with some ball of wool. There was no real theme that needed a sci-fi setting, nothing was really funny (as for example in S01E01 - the funniest EP in my opinion) and nothing really interesting happened at all. It´s the "look who´s dating who on the orville"-episode and "watch what happens when kids get their hands on some booze and mom finds out. I can´t believe so many people were involved in the making of this pale an insignificant story. I was a fan from the very start but The Orville will lose me with two more of these suckers and I hope for the better with the new Picard series, skipping STD as well.

Killjoys is annoying pop trash that barely deserves to be called sci-fi.

Watching this show as an adult just feels like having to watch a kids show. There is just no cliché they left out and it's full of bad copies of a thousand things you've already seen. Imagine a network boss saying to a filmmaker who just graduated from film school: "build some halfway decent sets, put some action scenes in them and do some closeups of people talking to each other. And yeah... do something with flashbacks like they did in "lost", you know, back stories and stuff."

The pilot makes it really hard for me to care about anything or anyone at all in this show. Poor dialogue, a cheesy 90s-pseudo sci-fi pop soundtrack and a mediocre camera work in a cheap video look put this show below average of how sci-fi should look and feel in the year 2015. Prepare to be a witness to a lot of silly stuff that makes you angry. In fact, I had to turn it off right in the middle of the pilot when a shooting scene takes place and the female character comes walking in a fancy dress, ready to kick some ass - all in slow motion of course, since we want all clichés on board. That was all of a chance I am willing to give this show.

All in all it's nothing but annoying and pretty painful to watch. Go out and buy some new shoes! It'll be more fun than this. You will at least make use of your brain for a bit. This show should be canceled asap.

Since I don't know enough about all political issues surrounding the background of this story (like discussed in reviews before me), all I can have an opinion about is the movie I saw - and this European piece of film just got my jaw dropping! I really have to admit: in terms of lighting, acting, locations or music this is the most ambitious detective flick with film noir elements I have ever encountered! The camera work is pure eye candy, the acting all the way believable, the efforts in shooting every take as detailed - or should I say - as "perfect" as possible is just breathtaking! I even caught myself once or twice forgetting to pay attention because I was often asking myself "how in gods name did they pull all this off??"

My deepest respect to the creative staff behind this project! This is a HUGE movie made in Europe and I can recommend it to everyone who loves believable stories combined with highly aesthetic imagery and sound.

As for the acting and directing I can only say that it convinced me all the way. Very subtle and smart directing. If I were a director, this would be my "perfect film" so far.

As a visitor, this movie came t me as a huge surprise, since I think most of us can already feel how deep these technologies change our lifes. But this film takes a step out of the usual "facebook-ruins-your-life-picture" and tries to show interdependencies of the protagonists instead of pointing at a scapegoat. Some reviews claim that there are too many clichés in this film. Well, sure, it's not the only film that shows bullys that make life a living hell for another teenager, but "Disconnect" proves that even they are caught in system that makes them feel as a victim - and it's for the viewer to decide whether or not this is a development caused by technology.

As for the visual and auditive aspects I can only say it is a motion picture that is beautifully shot on RED cameras and it got superb color grading in post - this subtle greenish tone supports this story very well. All together the cinematography is a blast! AND: They don't need shaky cams to get close to the protagonists and their stories. The music does not push itself in front of the story - the composer delivers a very decent and moody score that has the power to make you goosebumps.

The film leaves me with a little insight: since there is no real scapegoat for this situation we have today, we're all in this together - as users of internet and mobile technology. It's not about who or what started it or why. The question should be "How does every one of us want to deal with this from now on? Social networks came over us pretty quickly (compared to the 40000 years before that!) - even still too fast for some people to realise there's an immense change going on in human interaction and communication. We have to become more aware of our online behaviour and we must realise that the things we love the most might get damaged because of our use of these technologies.

Parts of the movie can be entertaining - if you can live with the fact that this is going to be a cheesy ride through the "best-off crime thrillers", which is obvious after just a couple of minutes. Lovely camera work, nice sets, Cusack is alright despite the poor writing.

But,...man!...! This messed up twist of the worst kind really spoiled my day!! I feel cheated and robbed - time and money! Do not make the same mistake as I just did - don't let this horrible storyline be the last thing of the day your mind gets to play with! If you think you need to watch this sad time killer anyway, do it in the morning! Before breakfast! Because by the time you finish your orange juice, this movie will already be erased from your memory and your second slice of toast with another topping will be the first real twist of your day!

When I think of shows like "Outcasts"(2010) - which probably had an even remotely interesting moment only every fourth episode and got an entire season to deliver more of this boredom, I just can't believe "Virtuality" didn't even get the chance of a first season! The story is more than just believable - it's compelling and it sucked me in; the cast is awesome; the dialogues are well written; if you're a fan of "BSG" or "Caprica" you know what to expect in terms of acting, camera work and directing. This show could probably be even capable of delivering the "next big thing" after BSG. Its all there - too bad its always a ratings game in this business. A show sometimes needs some time to get started. This one performed kind of a kick-start and got pulled off at top speed.

Even though its just a pilot for a show that never got picked up - this pilot is definitely worth a look and can be considered a movie with an opened end.

(Sorry if my English is not perfect, I'm German)