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Alan Wake II (2023)
A monster with my face
Oh no, this is not a masterpiece. Gameplay-wise, it is not very challenging. You don't get to defend yourself very often, and your adversaries are pretty easy to defeat or evade, even on hard mode. However, if you enjoy stalking through creepy areas and solving some riddles, which I do, this game does provide some thrilling entertainment. The graphics are impressive and well-staged, although the performance on PS5 is often problematic.
This game fancies itself as a story-driven, movie-esque experience. After solving a murder case for Captain Obvious, filled with flat characters, there is at least an interesting development at work that draws you into the game. But after you reached the point where it is abundantly clear what is at stake, the developers overextend their Twin Peaks-Stephen King hybrid, telling the same story over and over again, adding layers over layers, turning loops into loops until it becomes boring and confusing.
Alan Wake himself is a mediocre writer constantly alluding to "something" and "someone," the case board is totally annoying, Saga's magical meditation-profiling is cheap af, and the game tries too hard and for too long to keep you in suspense instead of letting the player actually do something. Some elements work perfectly fine, like the atmosphere, graphics, acting, and humor, while others don't work as well, such as the story, gameplay, and character-building. This game is not like a movie; this movie fails tyring to be a game.
The Last of Us (2023)
Simply no
Please don't tell me how great this show is, because it isn't. It's mediocre at best and falls flat compared to the storytelling of the original game. All the variations and modifications here are disappointing. They didn't take the time to tell the pandemic's outbreak properly. They took all the edges of the characters away and turned them into middle class role models put in a post-apocalyptic scenario. And was it so inconceivable to let the Millers be a struggling white family? Pedro Pascal is a decent actor but he misses completley the anger and energy of Joel. That Mormont kid is just freaky and shallow compared to Ellie. And what the heck did they do to Bill? What is this? Modern Family with some bandits and infected outside the gated community? I recommend you watch a gameplay walkthrough of the PS5 Remake or the movie Children of Men for that matter. I hope you'll see the difference.
House of the Dragon: The Green Council (2022)
By far the weakest episode
Compared to the standards set by the show this is undoubtedly the weakest episode so far, unfortunately at a crucial point of the story arc. Let's begin with an ending. When exactly did Viserys die? I was under the impression the King did his last breath the same night after the royal dinner, where all family quarrels seemed to be dissolved in front of him. Conveniently Rhaenyra and her family left King's Landing (on their dragons?) ultimately after that meal. The Princess' family completly disappeares from the picture so the whole commotion at court after Visery's death seems forced since the only source of danger is not present and her ally Rhaenys Valeryon is easily locked away. Why did the heiress of the throne leave her dying father anyway, after her position was so impressively reassured? If not now she would never stand above this constant bastard talk. No better way to ruin your accession to power than to leave the decision center in a critical moment. Instead of a Bartholomew Night's situation in the Red Keep we get a bizarre inconclusive stand-off at the council over a corpse nobody dares to remove, than a Lord Commander taking a time-out who nobody dares to stop and a controversy between male hardliners (or realists) and a staggered Queen, who is constantly ruthless and empathic at the same time since all female characters in this show find always some love in them. So no new Cersei in this show by now.
After some experience as a ruler in her own right and a lifelong influence under Otto Hightower, Alicent is still too naive to not assume that the men in charge around her already plotted for an usurpation. What a lucky coincidence that she herself is freshly convinced (or half-convinced) that her son Aegon is now her late husband's actual choice as successor. But we do need some suspense in this coup scenario. So a race begins to find lost Aegon, because this would somehow ultimately decide which course or which style of action this regime will take against its opponents. Thus we have some sort of split between Queen Alicent and her Lord Hand father, but its superficial at best in defiance of all the rhetoric. They still stick together and Alicent has really no idea how to deal with those contender akin to her who admittetly will never bend the knee but who she doesn't want to kill off anyway. What does she really wants? I don't take her for a grey character, she is blurred at best in this show. She is more driven than ambitious to me. I really don't get what the writers intend to express with that character, though Olivia Cook's performance is surely impressive.
So we have this lame chase for Aegon that unveil a good deal of exposition. Look at Aegon's decadence in the capital's slums, look at his bastard son crouching in the corner, chain around his neck. Look how clueless cool looking Aemond actually is when it comes to his brother who he would love to replace because it's actually him who does all the studying and all that homework fit for a ruler. And then there is Miss Mysara White Worm who used her information skills and took Aegon as a hostage in this critical situation, but then easily surrender him for some ransom and especially for an empty promise to put an end to those child abuse spectacles in the city in which the same Aegon, the future was heavely involved. What a sobering sideshow.
After a not very subtle depiction of Lord Larys' fetish we come to Aegon's coronation in the Dragonpit. This scene is pretty strong with some dark empire and public manipulation vibes. For the first time Aegon seems thrilled. And then the beast beneath the board eruptes, squishing many, many poor city-dwellers to death. Rhaenys brutally presents the legitimate party on her dragon that nobody cared to guard, in her dragon suit which apparantly laid in a cupboard beside the animal. Confronted with this WMD unit pointed at them the green party doesn't even think about fleeing from the stage, instead they all stare back like rabbits caught in the headlights. But Queen Alicent put herself in front of her son and demands Rhaenys attention. It works. There was some serious mother's talk between the two ahead of the usurpation. Rhaenys is not able to eradicte the greatest danger for her own family and for peace for the whole nation. She leaves the Greens just behind after a stern, vociferous warning issued by her dragon.
The female characters in this show refuse to get rid of some some fellow aristocrats, to sacrifice the few to spare the many, meaning avoiding civil war. Thinking of this poor people in the Dragonpit, I came to the conclusion that Otto Hightower was maybe right.
House of the Dragon: Second of His Name (2022)
Flawed but by all means impressive
The course of battle at the end was a bit stupid, nevertheless the filming was great. Every second of the production is made by people who know how to make impressive, even beautiful pictures yet the scenes never seem unnatural (Dragons apart) or excessive. There was real drama between Viserys and Rheanyra, where Paddy Considine's performing as lonely, struggling king was simply superb.
Nevertheless I struggle to see Westeroes as a headstrong patriachal society, this notion seems to depend only on a cluster of assertions by some characters, most women seem strong and educated enough, I really don't see the force of tradition hindering a women to take the throne.
Obi-Wan Kenobi: Part III (2022)
Low-key tragic
I mean, it's tragic because Ewan McGregor is certainly the perfect middle aged Obi-Wan. But like nearly any adult in that universe he's unable to catch a nine-year old precocious Leia, who is constantly running away from him. The writers still try to fob the audience with massive plotholes, it's Obi-Wan's story arc though, we expect serious business here. We all appreciate Darth Vader's death stare when somebody is slipping through his fingers, escaping in a space ship, even so it's ridiculous how this time he let Obi-Wan get away off-handedly, suddenly forgetting how to use the Force or refuse to rely on his super armor (if he would be afraid of fire, he hardly would choose Mustafar as his residential planet). And obviously the Empire is unable to distribute a picture of Obi-Wan to its soldiers.
Nice settings, music is okay, story awful.
The Expanse: Babylon's Ashes (2022)
I'm okay with it
This finale season was at least one episode too short. Too much happened in the last (inconclusive) episode, it wasn't explained properly enough in my view and the pacing didn't feel quite right sometimes. The CGI was not always top notch, it was okay for me though. Inaros' end was pretty underwhelming and in conference rooms our beloved Camina Drummer came across a bit one-dimensional. Too much dramatic music for my taste.
Nevertheless it was a good experience. I'm so glad that this series with its great story and its sympathetic characters exist. You can enjoy the whole thing from beginning to the end.
The Expanse: Redoubt (2021)
Lucky Earther
"Don't ever feel bad about not killing someone"
Well directed, nice camerawork, there a lot of talented people on this show.
Camina Drummer.
The Expanse is a gem of Sci-Fi.
The Expanse: Azure Dragon (2021)
Great entertainment
One of the finest episodes of this series. Skillful handling of characters by writers and actors as well, the story was definitively enthralling, we saw hitting dialogues and the action scene was superb. Every section of production made a fine job.
I don't understand why so many people refuse to enjoy this piece of work. It has its flaws, there are some bad patches in it, but this episode shows that it's still an excellent character-driven sci-fi drama. Let's hope for an appropriate ending - not an easy target.
The Beatles: Get Back (2021)
Priceless
This hidden gem, cut by Peter Jackson, allow us an unbelievably intimate, immersive look on the Beatles. You literally sit in the studio with them, watching them creating art, living their troubled, albeit deep friendship, making spontaneous references to nowadays historical events of this phenomenal band. Due to its extraordinary length we live through an exhausting, but priceless experience. Indeed, it is a time machine.
1917 (2019)
Merely technical
This movie lives on Deakins' awesome cinematography and McKay's powerful performance. Nevertheless the story is weak and fairly conventional, enfolding a time-compressed stream of events with a nearly permanently moving camera which I found hard to follow all the time. It's a naturalistic depicition of war tolerating some loopholes in the script, a impressive technical display of a movie lacking some narrative substance.
Dune (2021)
Okay
I've got what I expected. Visuals were great, but the story didn't affect me at all. I don't consider Frank Herbert's Dune a remarkable novel and it's only interessting character, Liet Kynes, is reduced to a escape helper in this movie. I liked Rebecca Ferguson's performance, the other actors were decent. It's a good si-fi movie, but I wouldn't call it a masterpiece (like Blade Runner 2049).
Incendies (2010)
Stirring experience
85/100
From the very beginning I was hooked on this movie with its powerful pictures and the human tragedy conveyed by them. Every second of the scenes in the unmentioned Arab nation are pure empathic cinema, seemingly true to local relations and the essence of history. I was inclined to give the movie an even higher rating, but eventually the plot contains a twist too much for my taste, so I had to curb my enthusiasm. Nevertheless it is a great movie, a stirring experience and I will surely watch it again.
Dead Pigs (2018)
Better to cry in a Mercedes than to laugh on a bicycle?
This is one of those movies dealing with the effects of capitalism, as if they were essentially some sort of a Chinese thing. There seems always money available to fund a movie that deals with commodification, estrangement and deracination, even exploration and criminality in China, an established relocation of Western middle class anxieties. Dead Pigs, as part of this agenda, is mostly watchable, with truly compelling cinematography and a splendid performance by Vivian Wu and Yang Haoyu. The screenplay nevertheless left me skeptical. There are some nice absurdities in it and there is a unsettling colonial vibe with some white models in a theme park housing complex. Nevertheless the main characters' background were unconvincingly cobbled together and the author doesn't seem to take their misery all too seriously. I had some issues with the gleefully soundtrack, a vexing contrast to the perceptive camera, underlining Yan's willingness to change instantly from depression to irony, culminating in the scene with the excavator with its surreal turn, after which the movie came to a conciliable, even optimistic end. But then during closing credits you see dead ducks floating in the river, accompanied by a bittersweet pop song, the very same the crowd chanted in front of the excevator, a last indication of the director's waywardness (I probably didn't get the symbolic message).
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Ridiculous story
Direction and soundtrack do provide some suspense, I get it, still the screenplay is simply ridiculous. The story is so immature and convulted, abounding in half-baked solutions, with no sense for pacing or build-up. Heroes and villains are always in the right spot at the right time, even CEOs are right at hand to do the next thing and there is always a bad guy subordinate, failling to kill off one of the heroes instantly, pushing him or her around instead until another hero emerges from God knows where and clears the situation. The only decent scene is Batman's humiliation by Bane, the directors took their time with it and it wasn't even melodramatic, but in the end Wayne is dozing in a not too shabby bed, Bane sitting at its edge like a relative, which was comical. The armed occupation of the stock exchange promised to be a interessting situation, yet it is wasted as an in-and-out-raid to manipulate some data core, which seemed strange to me. I never understood the role of Daggett and Stryver, they are completly redundant, even more than Catwoman. The movie is nearly three hours long and never bothers to explain anything properly.
Therefor some questions remain:
How exactly did the child climb out of the pit? How did it manage to make that decisive jump to the next platform that grown-ups according to legend always failed to perform (in one case conviently shortly after Bruce Wayne was brought there)? Why did the blind foreign prisoner start to speak English all of a sudden? Why has never anybody suspected Bruce Wayne to be "the Batman", since he evidently secluded himself from any public affairs the same time the Dark Knight disappeared? So enough money was siphoned from the unattended corporation to build fancy new weapons further on while the orphan foundation was shut down and Bruce Wayne is okay with that? For what reason did Bane allow the supply of the trapped police officers with food and water and therby preserve the only potential counter force to his rule, when he actually intended to wipe out the city for good? To sustain the hope of the people? What a weird, unconvincing move which backfired big time. But who could ever be so stupid and so hysterical to order every single police unit of a metropolis to the underground in the first place? How did it come that all the officers after a months long detention in the sewers wear unblemished shiny uniforms and neat haircuts, apart from their speedy en masse re-adaption of eyesight? (Because they are police, stupid) How could the cops stormed Banes' headquarter in an open street and were not mowed down by all the automatic weapons of their enemies? How could that attack with two parties bristling with guns ever deculminate in a mass brawl like some peasants on a village green? Who won and how? How could Bruce Wayne return to cordoned off Gotham from another continent in such a short time? I think he was broke? How unspicious were all these men of fighting age promenading in deserted, clean streets, decidedly looking like agents while tracking down the bomb? Why did Miranda play their game after all rather than to arrange their swift execution? How could Commissioner Gordon (the guy who ordered all the police to the same area) walk so easily to Foley's surprisingly modest home from that secret meetingpoint that his deputy had preferred to avoid? When Gordon was sentenced to Exile / Death, did Batman knew in advance the Commissioner's exact path over the ice in the dark, so he could dispense the incendiary composition and put the flare right before his feet? How did Miranda manage to take over the wheel of the truck and get rid of the driver's body at full speed?
And besides does this movie really deserve that average rating of more than eight (!) stars?
The Expanse: Nemesis Games (2021)
Nah....
I don't know, there was enough stuff for two episodes or at least a longer one, so I had a feeling of compression watching this. They packed a huge amount of new development in the last third of the episode to produce a cliffhanger, which was predictable by then and pretty clumsy. Everyone's celebrating and then massive new troubles arrive, accompanied by mediocre dramatic music. Who would thought of that... Alex's death was certainly very crudely handled, maybe that was the best they could do, given the circumstances, nevertheless it was awfully irritating. It was also irritating to see Bull now possesing Alex's drinking cup, underlining the changeover, which seemed a bit encroaching to me (they never met). I doubt that grumpy Bull can fully replace the charming Martian. Furthermore I had the feeling, that when Amos, Naomi and Steven reunited, the old dynamic even between the actors had vanished. Last but not least the showdown between Drummer and Karal was fully conventional. I was surprised how careless Karal went into that situation since Drummer had regularly indicated that she could cause a problem. The only highlights were the way Naomi was rescued by Bobby and when Amos tricked his captain into welcoming the very woman on board who once tried to completely destroy him.
Therefore this finale was slightly disappointing. That leads me to the whole season which was probably the weakest of the show, though it was definitely not that bad. I enjoyed most of its episodes, but there are some issues with the preferences of the script, an inclination to sentimentality while the devastation of Mother Earth was limited to background noise. So this whole season was a mixed bag. However at this point Game of Thrones was even more off course, so I think there is some hope. Anyway it's easier to enfold a great story than to conclude it skillfully.
The Expanse: Winnipesaukee (2021)
Yet again
Yet again there are some (very few) crucial scenes with Naomi Nagata, so some people can still follow their sillly agenda and express their alleged disappointment by the developement of a show which they claim to love, though they never realized its merits. Because obviously this episode is as good as ever. They refuse to enjoy any meaningful dialogue or any character development. They see a woman at the center of a story and that's it. Maybe they wished this season would be more about Amos (which is definitely a very interessting character), but while he has lesser screentime than Naomi, he is seemingly going soft, thanks to another female character. Too bad for them. I don't care. For me, at this point, The Expanse is still the most advanced SciFi show ever. It's essentially about relations in times of epic crisis and its makers , except for a short moment, never lost their way in doing their job.
The Expanse: Hard Vacuum (2021)
Very good
I found the Inaros family situation clearly overstretched, but this was actually a really tense episode, so I don't understand the whining about too much Naomi here. It was made in best Expanse tradition, except maybe the dialogue between Amos, Clarissa and Erich, which settled things all too easily. If you don't like Naomi Nagata (anymore), then you probably shouldn't watch this show, because it's not about highlighting favourite characters.
The Expanse: Oyedeng (2021)
A bit disenchanting
I think, in this episode we have too much discussions about things we already knew and which were already dealt with on the same spot. It's the first time in this series that I had a feeling of delay and of filling a storyline with iterations. This three part conflict between father, mother and son is not so rich and so deeply woven that we have to undergo it time and again.
The Expanse: Gaugamela (2020)
Brilliant
This is brilliant storytelling. With genocidal methods, Inaros made in fact a decisive move to establish the oppressed Belters as the prominent bearers of the future of humanity. The solution of this perilous situation cannot be in restoring just the old order. This is SciFi using the lessons of history and its unavoidable political implications. That is the central reason why The Expanse is so good, beside all the other evident qualities and maybe also the cause why so few people get the appeal of this series, which is too bad.
Blue Ruin (2013)
A sensitive revenge movie
Firstly, the film excels in telling its story until its culmination. Secondly, the pictures are great, mostly calm and beautiful, which contributes not only to the atmosphere, but to the element of suspense, too. The protagonist, or dare I say the tragic hero, is a really interessting character, its fascinating to see him making his way, to join his observations, go through his adjustments. I admire how Marcon Blair act as the most unlikeliest candidate for a revenge course and is still one of the most undeterred figures I ever seen. He is awkward and reflective and he is not driven by pure anger, but something more nuanced which I found difficult to discern. That is maybe the most uncommon element in a movie that serves a classic genre in a slighty different way. I think Jeremy Saulnier did a very good job here.
The Mandalorian: Chapter 14: The Tragedy (2020)
Not that great
Honestly, this episode wasn't that great. Big plothole with the jetpack. Much to and fro running by Mando. It's getting boring with all those easily fought off Stormtroopers in this series. Why didn't Moff Gideon bring in his Dark Troopers in the first place? From his Light Cruiser he could have easily laserbombed the whole area as well as the approaching Slave One. This was a surreal confrontation and the encounter between Boba Fett and Mando was a bit stiff. The Mandalorian's strangely mild reaction to Grogu's kidnapping irritated me, subverted my expectations so to speak.
The Expanse (2015)
Outstanding
I watched Season 2 to 4 for the second time and I was stunned again. I badly hope they can keep up the good writing for the fifth season. Many good series declined at that point. Nevertheless I am cautiosly optimistic, because The Expanse is really outstanding (maybe like The Wire was) and it may help that the show never got the attention it actually deserves. What can I say? It has nearly everything. Science, drama, authentic and profound dialouges, plausibel emotions, plausibel conflicts, awesome scenery and details, unobtrusive diversity. The acting is superb and even secondary characters are amazingly important. Only Anna is a minus point, since this adherence to a pastoral perspective is entirely anachronistic, even for American standards and it annoys me that they would conceive a fully committed person only as a churchwoman. On the other hand The Expanse spares us with ridiculous aliens wich are only humans with varied features and extrapolated human characteristics. Here instead, aliens are a great and mighty unknown, powerful like gods and demons maybe, but still mortal, still a thrilling story to unfold. I really don't want to see the conclusion of all of it botched up like it happend so many times before.
The Last of Us: Part II (2020)
A long, dark journey
Despite some minor flaws in pacing and character motivation (Ellie), this game is a uniquely long, dark journey which clearly surpasses its predecessor in terms of complexity and emotional exploration. What Game of Thrones achieved for TV standards, the way it dealt with the protagonists fate, TLOU 2 established for the games industry. This game presents a hidden hero, a surprise hero actually and forces the player to switch side, to see and to live through the eyes of the alleged enemy. This is a challenge games actually a designed for and this is what TLOU 2 masterfully and relentlessly pursued. This game could possibly have a large impact. I think all its bitter and vitriolic opponents are on the wrong side of history.
Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood (2019)
Still disappointing
Great filmmaking, but Tarantino seems no longer capable of writing an inspiring script. Caught in (self-)references, he indulges in redundant figures and not all too funny dialogues. He seemingly lost his sense of how to convey a story.