Reviews

I actually really liked this show. For a mature audience, it's very intriguing and rather well made. However, the show tries to balance two antagonistic elements -- entertainment and moralism, to portray a character who would, in reality, be a very troubled individual, in a story that is more romantic mystery/tragedy than psychological drama.

Despite the great acting and hooking dialogue, the story and characters can be really contradictory and unexplainable. The main character Hannah, for example -- her actions actually are more consistent with someone with a severe personality disorder, such as Borderline personality disorder. However, her depicted moods and tone don't suggest her actions at all. The kind of "drama" she generates in the show suggests a personality who is a lot moodier, more impulsive and very depressive. Instead the show largely tries to be a "fairytale gone wrong" by depicting her, for the majority of time, as an upbeat and gentle sweetheart who was wronged by the world.

Although the great thing about this show is that it does weave in a lot of complexity. There are characters who (inappropriately) take the blame for Hannah's suicide, and others who reject it. Hannah's subjectivity of experience is highlighted several times, but then ultimately the show sympathizes with Hannah's side of the story.

Sociologically/psychologically the show is pretty inappropriate because it depicts suicide and sets suicide as the final trump card. There is a scene where Clay hallucinates Hannah lying dead in a pool of blood, wearing a beautiful white gown. That scene is almost the epitome of romantic suicide. So sociologically this show is really not beneficial, but artistically it's twisted, dramatic and poignant.

The music, camera work, and editing are awesome. It does a really good job of painting a haunting and tragic yet also innocent and romantic canvas. Although the subject matter is dark the show itself is quite colorful and visually pleasing.

13 RW really does try to bite off more than it can appropriately chew. It tries to be interesting and entertaining yet also attempts to be frank and moralistic. Although it fails in some of those aspects, all in all it's a good show, and, despite the gimmicks, has a lot to offer.

If this movie was a person I think it would be diagnosed with having severe ADD and dissociative personality disorder.

The movie is so unfocused that every third scene is the climax of a totally different movie. It feels like a soap opera -- now this person gets raped, now they cheat, now that one dies, now they kiss, now this one's true nature is revealed, and on and on. And all through this severe lack of focus none of the characters have normal emotional reactions to anything, which is what's supposed to make this movie so amazingly absurdly clever but actually just makes it shallow and annoying. And then back to point one -- since no one really feels much of anything, it's very easy to change from subject to subject until we end up with this silly mess.

There are some good parts. The main character does make you root for her, since she is a typical cool and "strong" female character -- which, in movies, means someone who is devoid of actual feeling and sensitivity. She's got sass and does what ever she wants with little regard for others, except of course when she's coolly letting herself be used and harmed for men's purposes, because of course that adds interest to her character and makes it provocative, gasp. There's the soap-opera intrigue that will keep you watching for some cheap thrills, twists and turns and red herrings and what not. And it is a overall a "pretty" movie with attractive people and places.

But at the end of this movie, as with any soap, one feels cheated and wasteful of time. Skip it.

One of a kind relationship-horror with strong Shakespearean elements of personas and duplicity, betrayal, obsession, jealously, revenge, conniving and plotting, and distrust.

As the viewer we are constantly made extremely paranoid and horrified by the protagonist's life. Constant threats from every side and not a single person to trust. Suranne Jones is absolutely terrific as the two faced doctor who is highly composed and calculating, while a seething wreck inside.

It also portrays the curse of the professional woman -- of how she's "unlikeable," a damnation that often means her doom.

There is no sympathetic character, no hero and villain. And just as how some people hate Hamlet, while others are fascinated by him, so will many viewers hate Gemma, while others will be glued to the screen to watch her every move and expression.

It's also in sorts almost a semi-Lynchian small-town mystery, where everyone has a secret, everyone is very close, yet no one can be trusted.

An amazing and gripping show that makes a intense and horrific portrayal of something as domestic as marriage and it's complications (an understatement). Carrying strong tones of paranoia, calculated revenge, depiction of "natural" misogyny, and with undertones of misanthropy, this show will give you knots and chills and keep you hooked.

This movie has some beautiful music and cinematography, but the story is a total mess, there are way too many extra characters and their own story lines, it switches focus several times to characters and story lines that are barely even relevant. We don't really get to understand any of the characters as actual people; the main character Anwar is hard to understand (because he's not a fully realized character), and near the end of the movie acts in a way that isn't compatible with his previous actions. There are a lot of annoying men of various ages who cry and complain about the stereotypically cold and beautiful women who reject them. In the middle there is an "item song" that couldn't be more out of place in a movie that attempts to be angsty and heartbroken. If you're like me, you saw the songs and are intrigued, please don't watch it. The best parts of the movie are already in the songs, the rest is just a huge mess.

Currently finishing season 1. The animation is good (not as amazing as 2003 one though), the plotting is nice, and the pace is good too. But it's really lacking in drama, maybe lacking a bit too much for my taste. The spirit of Star Wars is really in the drama, in the soap behind the action and adventure. The characters in this show however are really lacking the dramatic personalities we see in the movies (which is why some like this show more than the movies, I suppose).

The problem with that is that I cannot see at all the main character, Anakin, as someone who could ever possibly be Darth Vader. Now the 2003 2D animated Anakin was the only portrayal of Anakin that I think is the most believable in his potential to be both good and yet be capable of evil. The Clone Wars Anakin is really more like a typical wholesome action-adventure hero, who is super adept, has a sassy disregard for rules he is way too talented to bother with, and has a cool sarcastic relationship with Obi Won and Ahsoka.

Padme also, who already unfortunately had very little personality even in the movies, really has no personality here other than as a 'stable, well meaning female senator." There also seems to be no build up for the relationship Anakin and Padme have. Anakin in fact seems way more closer to and understanding of Ahsoka and Obi than he does with Padme.

Then, Ahsoka has more of her master's pizazz of being headstrong and wanting to follow the beat to her own drum. How many snappy, unruly and sassy Jedi are there really? Still she's pretty endearing. And really, all the characters in the show are pretty endearing. It really is more cutesy and wholesome offshoot of the prequels. After all, that is to be expected, the show aired on CN.

Overall though, it is still an entertaining show with a lot of creativity and is still very much Star Wars -- traveling to strange planets, peace and war with various alien people, and lots of stylish pg-13 battle action.

Overall: BSG is intriguing and often amusing, often shows brilliant political and moral dialogue and concepts, and formulates the not-too- common mix of sci-fi with maudlin drama. It is also plotted terribly, is often way too melodramatic, and meanders over 4 seasons too many.

(+) The ship, mise en scene, and special effects are great. I really felt like I was on a ship in the cool darkness of space.

(+) There are moments when the show takes pause to elaborate on really interesting ethical dilemmas. Often the choices made by the characters in response to those dilemmas are very predictable, but they are interesting scenarios nonetheless, scenarios not commonly explored in media. The best vehicle of these scenarios is usually Dr. Gaius Baltar, the most interesting, amusing and loathsome character on the show.

(-) The plot is just terrible. It is a fine example of improvised plotting which gets way out of control and falls flat. The poor plot in turn really negatively affects character development. There are plenty of interesting characters in this show. From Gaius to Adama to Cylons Two and One. But since this is a character-decision driven drama, in order to advance the plot to its next meandering twist, the characters make inconsistent, puzzling and just out-of-nowhere choices and actions. It just comes across as really stupid a lot of the times.

(-) perhaps a reiteration of the point above-- Use of Deux-ex machina (no pun intended) -- The rate of the literal and figurative use of this device is too damn high. It just really took away any suspense or thrill from the show because I picked up on their poor writing patterns.

Take away: It's a classic, with some really poor parts and some parts are are really brilliant.

I love Bollywood romances, and I absolutely loved this! The songs are beautiful (especially Dheere dheere). What I found just as moving as the songs is the depiction of a fantastically pure, innocent and passionate romance between the couple. It's so beautiful in its earnestness and intensity (which the less romantic among us will find very silly) that it's almost haunting.

A sensitive but impetuous young man falls in love with a withdrawn and shy orphan girl. Their love comes across all sorts of obstacles and, of course, overcomes them all. There are good themes about women empowerment, valuing love and relationships, and good winning over evil.

What I found really attractive throughout the movie is the haunting, yearning, love-filled gaze the couple has for each other. There are several scenes where they just gaze into each others eyes with such longing and tenderness that anyone who has ever loved will feel their passion themselves. Anu Aggarwal has these beautiful eyes that communicate both the ecstasy and pain of her love, and Rahul Roy has a soft-hearted passion in his tone.

Yes, there are mannnnyyyy deux-ex-machinas. The tears are always rolling. The bad guys are really bad, and the good guys are really good. But the movie recognizes and even indulges in its silly passion. Towards the end there is a line spoken to one who doesn't understand, perhaps also spoken to those who have groaned and winced and rolled their eyes through the whole movie -- "Yeh tu nahi samjhega. Yeh love story hai. Aashiqui." (You won't understand -- it's a love story. It's passion). It's a fantasy, and for that it's really beautiful -- a fantasy where goodness and badness exist only in purity; where love is good, and good conquers all.

Characters lack personality and depth, relationships/attractions lack any sort of intensity or passion or excitement, dialogue is tepid and mundane.

Olivia Wilde is beautiful and all, but seeing her polite smile for 75% of the screen time in the movie did nothing for me. The guy from New Girl plays his same character here, and Anna Kendrick plays her same character here.

The relationships are awkward and uncomfortable to watch. The supposed attractions are --well-- non-existent. This is probably because everyone has a superficial, work-place attitude towards everyone else, and there is no humanity and depth to their interactions. Only their cutesy, goofy, cool personas are depicted, nothing below that. Therefore, any sort of dialogue other than brief comments or a raising or frowning of the eyebrows is out of place. At one point a character is flirting with another character by bringing up the myth of Sisyphus, and he delivers it so terribly that he embarrassedly smirks at the end.

Very boring.

The vague parts depicting perceived human relationships and character interiority needed a little getting used to. Especially some of the scenes with the mother in them. The subjective (I hate that word) depiction of the mother was always nebulous and spiritual, which made me yawn. The parts with the father-son relationship were interesting though, because of all the tension. Brad Pitt does a great job portraying a domineering father who is dissatisfied with his rank in life and wants his son to end up better.

I was moved by the cosmological aspects. The family of the now dead young man reach out to God or the universe for answers and support. As they do, we hear their questions and pleas echoing through the vastness of time, as the forces of the universe bring everything into existence, and as life crawls out of the primordial soup. The worth of a human life may be said to be linked to all of time and space.

The CGI and cinematography were GORGEOUS. I LOVED all the planetary and spacial sequences, and "The Light." All the nature sequences were marvelous. I loved the soundtracks.

It reminded me of 2001: ASO many times, with the cosmos situated over a score of some classical music. But 2001 seemed to be more concerned with human advancement and evolution. The Tree of Life, I guess, tries to be relevant to the worth and character of humanity and its link to the universe. More often that not, I think, it succeeds.

A very sinister and disturbing work, fittingly shot in black and white, "The White Ribbon" quietly and insolubly shows a hand-me-down chain of wickedness and cruelty. Those who are powerful suppress and abuse the weak, who in turn do the same to the weaker.

Simplicity of style, and the eerie black and white cinematography, often only showing the bare minimum, compounded to my frustration with the characters.

Although incomplete, the story is still presented in a way that in your gut you know, you just know, what happened and who did what.

This is an interesting movie exploring not what happened before WW2, but what happened before WW1 to cultivate a generation that was bred on "malice, envy, apathy and brutality."

Let's see this movie for what it is: a fun, gross, beautiful alien movie.

And, like its predecessors Alien and Aliens, this one is all about provoking and messing with our sense of being contained, clean and whole.

Various creatures bearing remarkable resemblances to the male and female reproductive organs attempt to penetrate, strangulate and grow inside the largely unsuspecting crew, especially in places where we would definitely not want aliens to be. All of this is packaged in a light and amusing story related to the origin of human life on earth.

(Some aspects of this movie's Panspermic theory, in particular how it focuses on human existence and totally ignores all other life forms on earth and their close relation to humanity, caused this biologist to giggle freely.)

The visuals are gorgeous. I loved the huge, magnificent, carved walls and statues. Also really liked the atmosphere of the planet and its caves. The ship was super expensive. Nothing looked cheap or tacky. I liked how gooey and icky and obviously-organ-derived the aliens were. You could really see the money dripping.

I loved the cast. I was totally rooting for them, specially Naomi Rapace's character, as she ... took care of herself... (audience members who are trained in physiology would giggle freely at those scenes, I suppose). Micheal Fassbender himself has said that he does "creepy and weird well," and, boy, does he ever. On one side I was awed and mesmerized by David (Fassbender), played perfectly by a robot....No, that was wrong, he played the robot perfectly -- but my error only proves how well Fassbender does it (amazing actor, by the way). David is cool, precise, highly capable, very charming, and incredibly confused. Although everyone keeps telling him that he can't feel anything, being a robot and all, we can all see that, indeed, he can definitely feel somethings.... And these somethings are what, on the other hand, kind of made me cautious and suspicious of David. Other than those two, I thought the Captain of the ship was cool, and that other woman played by Theron with aggression and crankiness was also cool.

A sequel is promised at the end, which is kind of an irritating way to end, but I still found it better than the "and then they got back to earth safe"-endings.

I suppose one could find themselves ultimately mislead by the very promising, mysterious tone of the start of the movie and also possibly by the advertising, as it promises the explanation of the meaning of everything (in a sci-fi tone, of course). I think it's actually kind of cute how this particular installment in a long line of cheesy alien movies feathers up to be akin to 2001: A Space Odyssey. I think that's one of the reason it was a lot of fun.

The Avatar is back and this time she is a teenager who is far from calm and peaceful.

Compared to Avatar: The Legend of Aang, this sequel has its own appeal: it's really energetic, featuring mostly city environments, has an older cast than the one in Aang, and just has an overall faster, flashier and more forceful pace than its predecessor. That makes it a lot of fun, and a very exciting show, but at times it also makes it hard for me to warm up to the cast, and hard to just take a moment of contemplation, peace, and relaxation like I would with The Last Airbender.

Visually, like "Aang", this show is stunning. Beautiful, intricate and unique environments, with lots of fluid and well-crafted motion. Awesome soundtrack with the series' trademark mix of eastern and western music, but "Korra's" music is more rocky and jazzy, to match with the show's tempo, than "Aang's" smooth and calm scores. The storyline seems to be picking up quite nicely as well, with civil conflict brewing up in Republic City. The show is definitely making its own path and tone, and setting itself apart from "Aang".

But I still found myself really missing "Aang's" serene environments, gentler characters, and the cute, quirky humor. In fact I kind of found it hard to warm up to the characters in "Korra"....Korra is overall a very cool character, but is too aggressive and forceful. I hope that changes throughout the show, as Avatar always shows the evolution of its characters. Her newfound city friends, as well, are not that likable and their friendship is a little distant -- Aang, Katara and Sokka's friendship was as naturally progressing, fun, and close as they get. I also really miss the silly humor! Who can forget the cabbage seller from "Aang", and Sokka's silliness. With "Korra"'s older cast and a very serious conflict and villain already introduced and confronted, I really want more humor to balance the show out.

I think the show needs to calm down a bit, take a breath, and let its characters meaningfully interact a little more before ramping up the action to the 1000th degree. Still, a flaw due to excess is better than a flaw due to lack. The Legend of Korra is an excellent and well-crafted show, and I look forward to seeing it form into a series worthy of its predecessor.

If I were to list the flaws in PB, it would fill pages. However, I still find it to be one of most thrilling and entertaining shows I have seen, and it puts a big grin on my face every time I watch an episode. Before watching Prison Break keep in mind that The Wire this is not. The Wire (another great show) is straight faced and makes accuracy in depicting law enforcement and criminals a high priority. With Prison Break, after a few episodes, the voice in your head that says 'this is ridiculous' won't even bother anymore and you'll be ready to enjoy an extremely thrilling and amusing show, packed with schemes and mind games, constant twists and "developments," crass humor coming from the mouths of incorrigible criminals, violence, chases and more. The first and second (until episode 20) seasons are really where the show peaks. Season 3 is largely pathetic and boring, and season 4, while being just as intense as 1 and 2, suffers from ad-lib plotting and continuity issues. Most of the praise in this review goes out to 1, 2, and 4. Micheal is a genius structural engineer who wants to break out his innocent brother on death row. From an apparently isolated prison escape, the story escalates into complicated levels of global conspiracy (a lot of which suffers from ad-lib plotting). By its name it should be obvious that this show deals mainly with criminals and the corrupt, ensuring colorful and entertaining characters. Along with these amusing characters, the main appeal of the first two seasons is in getting away--getting away from the guards as Micheal schemes and plans the escape, getting away from The Company and their cronies, getting away from the corrupt government agents, etc. While Micheal is a genius with a kind heart, never lacking in "friends," his struggles against the corruption in a largely fantastical legal system also puts him against a variety of interesting enemies and villains. In season one there are the guards, dangerous prisoners and agent Kellerman (who develops into a great and darkly amusing character), and in season two there is the pill-popping, hard-boiled and neurotic Agent Mahone, whose excellent villainous character is downgraded severely at the end of season two. This is where we hit a HUGE flaw in Prison Break: a great waste of good adversaries (on which the intensity of the show depends). Unlike Lost, which carries superfluous amounts of prolonged suspense, Prison Breaks delivers constant change and developments (not all of which are as entertaining as the ones in season 1 and 2 and some of 4). The plot is always changing, and so are the positions and states of characters in the overall story. To make way for villains at higher and higher posts, those at the lower positions are either killed or made into allies (this happens mainly in season 3 and four). With the exception of a certain sniper-handling character in season 2, when these adversaries become allies their character changes drastically and makes them rather uninteresting. Still, as these adversaries are cast aside, newer and more wicked ones make their way forward (take Gretchen). Another aspect I personally like about Prison Break is that youthful, impulsive romance usually takes a back seat to the action (I'm love romance, but not when it gets in the way or is hammered over the head). There are no 'Jack and Kate are stuck together all snug in a net and have to get grab a gun from the others pant pocket'-scenes, or 'Sawyer and Kate are in a cage and something bad is going to happen so they decide to resolve some sexual tension'-scenes, and PB is thankfully devoid of love triangles. I also really like the female characters. Sara's appearance is always plain and simple, and her character is direct, straight-talking, self-aware and compassionate, a refreshing break from constantly pms-ing voluptuous love-interests who are unceasingly plagued by tragic love triangles. Sara's opposite is Gretchen, introduced in season 3, who is a memorable character, yes, but whose depraved character might not be described properly without vulgarities.... The main character, Micheal Scofield, on whose shoulders the majority of the action depends, is in some ways an interesting and natural character, and in some ways not. While I got a kick out of his constant planning and scheming and his composed intensity, at other times I couldn't believe his reactions to be natural. Throughout the series he faces astronomical levels of stress and danger, yet his reaction usually doesn't let it show. At some points I was just waiting for Micheal to break down badly and hit rock bottom. Also, we never really get a sense of what his life was before this whole adventure started, and how he really feels about it? Does he think it's a necessity? Does he loath it, or does he enjoy it? Some of these questions are answered partially later on, but I didn't find them fully satisfactory. However, pangs of Micheal's morality are well depicted, as he repeatedly feels regret for the casualties that result from the means to his desired ends. I also really wish that the creators had hired some graphics help to show us how Micheal's brain dissects structure. They do show a couple of scenes, but I think they should have made full use of 3-D, etc, to show how Micheal's brain really gets the "structure" of things. The actor playing him does a decent job, conveying Micheal's quiet intensity well throughout. The other actors also do well. Purcell's character Lincoln is a really natural and consistent character, quiet, frank, aggressive if threatened -- believable for a person who is simultaneously a caring and devoted father and an ex-street thug. Flaws aside, Prison Break really shines at moments and delivers thrill after thrill. It can be brutal, tender, gratuitously violent, ridiculous, hilarious, frustrating, highly flawed but also highly entertaining and addictive.