Change Your Image
ajmurmann
Reviews
Physical: 100 (2023)
Good idea and contestant but meh execution
Really liking the positive atmosphere between the contestant and their attitude. It's generally exciting and fun to watch. A few issues though:
1. Later challenges suffer from low budget and several could be done at a kids birthday party
2. Later challenges focus too much on one or two aspects of fitness and first out everyone who isn't superior to someone else in that exact aspect. An obstacle course with multiple tasks would have been so much better. Some challenges would have been much more exciting if they'd been done in parallel between contestants, but they only had one setup so they happened after another with score or time being held secret from everyone till the very end.
3. Editing: Constant, unnecessary replays. Even things like starting a match get 3-4 replays. Very annoying and sometimes. It takes the wind out of things that could be more exciting. You also never have any clue how much time had passed in many challenges because they rarely show you.
4. Uncomfortably bad safety like wrestling next to a metal fence made this at times more worrisome than exciting.
WandaVision (2021)
Strong start then boring same old super hero stuff
The first few episodes start out funny and charming. Very much like asit-com with some amount of meta humor. I could have watched several seasons off that stuff.
Then the actual story unfolds and it all becomes all boring action-focused boringness. I guess if you are really into Marvel you'll find the second half exciting. If you aren't that much into Marvel and all its self-referential content, you might want to turn off after episode three outer four. All the charm gets sucked out of it by the standard Marvel stuff. Plots about other events in there Marvel universe, predictable fights, BLA huh blah.
For All Mankind: New Eden (2022)
We are on Mars, time to go soap opera
Now that the crews have arrived on Mars the show turned to a soap opera in space. Most of the episode is about interpersonal drama that in large part comes from unrealistically, unprofessional behavior. At least one character is also acting out of character to drive the story forward.
Raised by Wolves: Lost Paradise (2020)
This is where it really stopped making sense
Why do the two atheists disguised as religious zealots not just side with the atheist Android's? Especially once most zealots are dead?
Why does it take mother significantly longer to fly back to the settlement than it takes the soldiers to run there?
The answer of course is that that's what the writers needed to make the story work the way they wanted. What an embarrassment of a show!
The Witcher: Much More (2019)
Story starts to come together but suffers from budget
It's good to finally see storylines, characters and timelines come together. Unfortunately most of this episode is made up of what clearly I'd supposed to be a big battle, but ends up feeling like a few gangs attacking a handful of women and children in a deserted castle who are helped out by a handful of unorganized sorcerers. I can see that this could have been a great battle, but the show just needs much more budget. Unless they really double down on this show it will remain closed to Beast Master than GoT or LotR in terms of overall production.
In Praise of Nothing (2017)
Stunning work of art
This is easily my favorite movie that I've watched so far this year. I'm not much one for poetry, but the writing of the narration in this movie was beautiful, amusing and profound. The cinematography was not only very well done, but more beautifully combined with the great narration by Iggy Pop and the wonderful musical score into a masterful piece of art.
Halfway through I knew I wanted to watch this again. I'd also love to read the narration on its own.
The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2018: Live Action (2018)
Very well made and very sad
This year we see a very depressing collection of short movies. Three of the four, Madre, Fauve and Detainment, are like watching a show motion train wreck. They are all very well made though. Especially the acting of the children in Fauve and Detention is phenomenal. I'm truly astonished by the mastery shown by actors this young!
Marguerite is well done as well. It's tone is somewhere between melancholic and heart warming.
The last movie, Skin, was a little bit of a surprise and came closest to a happy ending of all the films nominated this year. The production felt less good than the other four movies, but its ending was more than welcome after the other four movies.
It's a strong year for the life action shorts, but it's also a very tough to watch selection. I usually appreciate the variety one gets when watching the Oscar shorts. We don't get that this year, however we get to see some really well done movies.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Mid-way to Mid-town (2018)
The dog is gone!
The show gives up the super cute dog which at this point was the main reason to watch the show. On top of that some of the characters expose themselves as heartless monsters who don't even try to keep their dog but make it find a new home/pack. Heartbreaking! All empathy for these characters is gone!
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Simone (2018)
Struggling to find it's voice for the season
The episode better has a as interesting story as the previous season had, not is it nearly as funny. The most adorable little dog gets introduced though and now it's my main reason for watching this. Unfortunately the dog gets hardly any screentime. I'm not sure the showrunners understand their own show and what makes it good (the dog!)
You Were Never Really Here (2017)
Beautiful and inspired
Beautifully shot, written and acted and has incredibly well edited sound. Phoenix definitely should at least get a Oscar nomination for this.
Won't be liked by people who want sorry heroes and explosions though.
Killing Eve: Don't I Know You? (2018)
Characters doing dumb things to progress story
The main character gets a very clear message that she should is being threatened but isn't alert at all although she should know better. Meanwhile another agent does not only the worst and most obvious trailing job is recent movie history but also gets lured into a more than obvious trap. Too bad the writers couldn't accomplish the same outcome in a way that's clever and not demeaning to the characters.
The Leftovers: No Room at the Inn (2015)
Well acted, but annoying story
Very likeable character gets himself into entirely unnecessary trouble. It's annoying because it was entirely avoidable and predictable. The trouble should have been really resolvable but nobody does the obvious thing or even ask the right questions because that would prevent the writers from telling the story they want to tell. Lazy, amateurish work!