Change Your Image
alexanderlunenborg
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
New Kids Turbo (2010)
A deep critique on the flaws of our modern capitalist society
Deep philosophical insights in the form of a lighthearted film. The film follows the lives of young men trying to make the best of life despite all odds. Living in a rural and quiet town in the Dutch countryside, the cast faces a host of problems when economic crisis reaches their traditional community. When confronted with unemployment and a failing social system, the heroes of the story attempt to take matters in to their own hands, only to find out that the country they live in is anything but theirs. Incompetent police, a failing justice system and corrupt politicians do everyting in their power to enforce the status quo and when everything else fails, do not shy away from brute force to deal with the "problem".
Now this is of course a popular topic, but the film delivers an all too familiar story in a unique package. The background is The Netherlands in the 90s, a very characteristic time and place. We learn a lot about local culture, like the atmospheric music by the accomplished artist Paul Elstak who produced a lot of classic Dutch music during that period. Also we get a taste of local cuisine featured in a traditional Dutch eatery. All in all, a very underappreciated setting which we rarely see used in cinematography, but makes the storytelling all the more interesting. What is art but something unique? And that is exactly what you get when you watch this film. And that simple fact can only mean that this film must have a 10/10 rating.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Alloyed (2022)
All in all, pretty decent
The episode ties everything together nicely. The Halbrand reveal was well done after the little twist trown in there regarding the Stranger. The overly long farewell scene of Nori was a bit tedious but then again, it was a bit of a nod to the end of the original trilogy where there is scene after scene of goodbyes. Elrond was very good, especially at the end. He was clearly torn between the situation regarding Halbrand and the beauty of the 3 rings now completed.
Now lets adres the elephant in the room. I think all the hate the show is getting is undeserved for the most part, and more caused by YouTubers looking for views and therefore revenue by creating a controversy. Tolkien's work is of course as no other suited for this. A lot of people grew up watching the movies and the IP is close to their heart. What most perhaps do not understand that this special feeling of seeing Lord of the Rings for the first time all those years ago is just something that was an unique experience. Its like going to Disneyland for the first time as a kid with your parents and just have the best day ever. That feeling is just special and going back to Disneyland later in life will just no be the same. Perhaps too many have hoped that this show would somehow bring that magic back, and many influencers saw an opportunity to monetize this nostalgia.
Watching it was entertaining for the most part. I rate it obviously below the original trilogy but I think the show was actually better done than The Hobbit movies. I think it respected the original lore enough. Obviously it took some liberties with timelines but this was to be able to tell the different stories that eventually lead to the events in Lord of the Rings at the same time. They sort of had to do this because its story is of course puzzeled together from mulitple works of Tolkien. All in all, pretty good. Dont let others put you off and tell you what you should or should not like and try to make up your own opinion. If you are a fan of Lord of the Rings and are interested about what went on before, I absolutely recommend this show. Solid story, interesting characters and great visuals. Not the masterpiece we hoped for but still very much worth a watch.
Heaven's Gate (2020)
Well made but lacking.
The documentary is well made. Lots of original material, interviews with ex members. No annoying voice-over or anything like that. Its really masterfully edited in order to be able to tell the story in such an authentic way. Also nice it caputures the time period contect of the story. Its a period of over 20 years so its interesting to see other things going on that might have inspired or influenced the cult. What I find lacking is that it tries to hard to explain what happens to much from the perspective from the cult members. They do have some outside experts on cults and psychology and all that but what happened is only discussed very broadly, about general techniques used by cults to "brainwash" people. What is unique about this cult is that it started quite large but over the course of those 20 years more and more left, only leaving the people that, well to be frank, apparantly were not 100% there.
What I kept thinking when watching all the cult members performing some acts: These people are obviously completely insane. Not only because of the eventual suicide but also with other things, like performing dangerous surgery in the form of castration on their own members. And of course literally looking at Star Trek for inspiration. I thought the moment that they returned a fancy telescope to the store because they thought it was broken, they couldnt see the UFO through it. Very telling... I had the idea if I was watching a documentary of the local psych ward instead of a cult at times. Usually there is at least some form of coercion by the cult leadership through hierarchy or some other method. People are prevented to leave by threats or something. Nothing like that here, they even all went to Seaworld just before it ended.
Especially because the group was never violent in any way, or tried to hide what they thought, you really got to wonder why these people were never helped. Everybody seems to have been thinking: Oh well, if thats what they want? Or that is was sort of funny to watch these idiots make a spectacle out of themselves. Anyway, the second half of the final episode is quite interesting as it shows all the reactions the event got. But for the most part during the 4 hours I was thinking: Im not watching a documentary about a cult, Im watching home videos of people suffering from mental illness in desperate need of help.
House of the Dragon: Driftmark (2022)
Mostly filler im afraid
What the show does becomes more and more clear and explains why nothing happens. Its because its the same thing over and over again: Rhaenyra wants to hook up with Daemon. Rhaenyra and Alicent are jealous and the good old king just want everybody to be friends. This is and has been the exact story for 6 episodes now. The cast change barely hides this but I suspect that was the idea.
To spice it up just random terrible stuff happens to side characters who are completely irrelevant and mostly simply discarted at the end of each episode, like the Kings first wife, Ser Harwin, Lady Lana, Ser Leanor's boyfriend, Daemons first wife, the crabfeeder guy, that kid who lost an eye... Oh plus of course dragons that are used as extravagant mounts for kids to fight over, must not forget that this is fantasy in the Game of Thrones universe, right?
Yeah the last 5 minutes were interesting, but mostly because finally something happened in an episode that was just dark and silent for a large part. But again, its the the same thing as before, this episode its Ser Leanor that gets discarted. He actually lasted a couple of episodes which is more than most. I mean, its pretty clear nothing else is going to happen in this season. The fight between Alicent and Rhaenyra is going to continue, Alicents son is probably going to end up as the new king and its all really unfair for Rhaenyra.
What I really still dont get, I mean either its a matter of budget or an artistic choice, is why the show does not have multiple storylines. This was pretty much the trademark of A Song of Ice and Fire and subsequently Game of Thrones. House of the Dragon is like they took one of those storylines and then bloated it up to make up the entire show. And without all the things that made the original so interesting: The different religions, cultures, landscapes, all seen through different characters in different parts of the world. House of the Dragons is basically just the "Kings Landing" part of Game of Thrones. As one of multiple storylines it could have worked but as the whole thing its just boring in the end. Just look at this episode... the same story could have been told in 10 minutes, the rest is just filler.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Udûn (2022)
Episode that made the season
Im very glad that this episode ties everything neatly together in a grand spectacle that is the first one in season 1 that reminds us of the Peter Jackson movies. Even Galadriels much debated arc makes sense now. It seems fair to start with her because she is of course the topic of lots of discussion. Her story started in episode one with her brother Finrod telling her that sometimes we can only know which light to follow once we have seen the darkness. This now comes to full circle when confronted with Adar. Many didnt like the fact that she was just angry all the time but at least there was a good reason for this in the greater character arc. She is so mad she wants to kill Adar and not only that, she wants to make him watch while she kills every last ork in existence before that. Adar remarks that the dark lord might have found his successor. Galadriel now has seen the darkness, she now understand how one might become "evil" because she has felt the temptation herself.
For me this fixes a lot of the problems I had with her character. The fact that at least it was all clearly a very deliberate choice in the greater narrative to make her behave like that. And this is fortunately true for other things as well. The tunnels the orks were digging all this time were not just a really dumb way to get around during sunshine, but were instrumental to the plan. The hilt Theo carried around indeed was more than just a "evil" weapon. The show perhaps shot itself in the foot a bit by so carefully setting up all these plotlines only to come together in the 6th episode. But im very glad it did. Even little things from earlier episodes became very significant like the Alfarin seeds planted by Adar, showing a reflection of his long lost Elven form. Other great references as well. Tolkien himself struggled with the fact that orks are irredeemable and just plain evil by nature. Adar addresses this issue in a thoughtful way and asks: arent orks just creatures as any other? I doubt he himslef thinks that but its a nice nod to the thoughts Tolkien himself had on the issue.
All in all, the episode ties everything together very expertly and therefore a 10/10 because it really makes the show up to this point.
House of the Dragon: The Princess and the Queen (2022)
Well, the elephant in the room...
Well, the elephant in the room : The cast change. Why on earth did they do this? It seems completely unnecessary because the time jump is only 10 years or so. It just seems they replaced young women with other young women. Especially weird because other characters didnt change at all. Fabien Frankel, Ser Criston still looks exactly the same for example, just with some facial hair. So either something went wrong and were forced to make changes and they are simply not telling us that or its extremely bad writing. An actress around her 20's is perfectly capable of playing a 17 year old and a 27 year old.
Now the episode itself. Not much better im afraid. First of all the overdramatic birth scene. Now the problem here obviously is that we have already had an overly long tragic birth in the first episode. If you want to make a point, make it... Yes, giving birth is extremely dangerous, both for the child and the mother in those circumstances without modern medical care, but now you are just pushing it and if that isnt enough another tragic birth scene later in the episode. Really running out of ideas are we? What followed was a whole new score of Targaryan children, in episode 6... And oh what do you know Ser Leanor is probably not the father because his children dont look like him... What an original idea, not at all like Joffrey and his brother and sister who didnt look at all like King Robert.
Other than that it was just average. To bad because the last two episodes were quite good but this show somehow just cant seem to get its pacing right. It keeps introducing new characters, some to just discard later in the same episode, by now it just feels like lazy writing. The first queen in the first episode, Daemons concubine and later his wife, the crabfeeder pirate, Ser Leanor's boyfriend, half the cast is switched up for no apparent reason further breaking immersion. And now ser Harwin? Okay he made a brief appearance before but he is practically another new character thats murdered almost immediatly after he is introduced, although we dont actually see him die so I feel a plot twist incoming... sigh...
The point is rather that you cant just conjure up new people, or old ones played by new actors because anything that happens to them will fall flat. I mean, Daemons (second) wife, what the hell was that? Just needed a dramatic suicide by dragon but really didnt feel like writing a sensible reason for that to happen? I dont know if this is for the TikTok generation or something where drama must be concluded in a single episode because nobody has any concentration for an arc lasting an entire season or something? We're only in episode 6... Introduce people for a reason please, not just to magically create drama out of thin air by killing them off again, sometimes even in the same episode. It is almost the exact opposite of what George RR Martin did, with character arcs spanning multiple books and thousands of pages...
This is not how you carefully construct drama. The point is that we grow in to caring about these people so we think what happens to them matters, so that we are invested... Not by just showing a lot of blood in childbirth or see some guys face smashed in... When that happenend to Oberyn Martell it was so shocking because we cared about him. We followed him for an entire season, we knew why he wanted to fight The Mountain because of the terrible things he did. We wanted him to win because we were rooting for Tyrion. It was shocking because it just sucked so much that he lost, and he even almost had it. Why we are so much in shock of The Red Wedding wasnt becasue of what happened, it was about to who it happened, people we started to love and care about after following them for 3 seasons. This type of drama that really pulls you in and practically makes you want to scream at your TV is just completely absent here. Its not bad, its just so painfully average.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: The Great Wave (2022)
The show knows where it wants to go.
By this point all the plotlines and characters are well established and the show clearly knows where its gonna go from here. It still has some little twists and turns. Is Adar really Sauron and where did he come from and what happened to him? What are the lies he is referring to? What exactly is that hilt that Theo found and where is the conspiracy regarding Sauron going to go? Pretty good stuff.
Galadriel keeps disappointing me though. Her 2 character traits, determined and angry is still all she is about and I understand that especially the writing of her character gets a lot of criticism. A lot better is the interplay between Elrond and Durin and every LOTR fan will immediatly recognize the similar bond Gimli and Legolas had. Lots of good banter and humor. Also great to see Moria in its heyday and to see more of Dwarven culture. I also like the bond between Bromwyn and Arondir. Its perhaps a foreshadowing of what LOTR calls "a last great alliance between elves and men".
Of course we know what is going to happen but there is still some mystery left and im genuinely excited for the next episode. Its just better to enjoy what we have and see the good things in a product instead of being angry. The show is never going to recapture that first time we watched LOTR in our childhood and fell in love with Middle Earth and its unfair to burn it down for failing to do that. Its just a good Tolkien show.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)
The problem this show has its just good
The show is good, no doubt about it. It looks great and over the whole its a great prologue to the events in Lord of the Rings. The only way however is that it could only have been a succes if it was the best show ever made. It is not of course.
For me the inconsistencies with the original lore are not a problem. They mixed up the timelines a bit to be able to tell "what came before" simultaniously and in a interesting way. If you are the type of guy that says "BUT HOBBITS DONT EXIST IN MIDDLE EARTH IN THE SECOND AGE" then well... Its a Tolkien show, it just got to have Hobbits. In way the LOTR did the same thing with Arwen of course replacing Glorfindel, the complete absense of the Old Forest and Tom Bombadil and many more smaller changes.
A problem I do have is with the characters and how they are written. People have an issue with Galadriel and I somewhat agree. She is just angry all the time. Now I understand that she suffers a bit from the Cassandra complex and that makes her anger understandable. However, she could show other emotions other than anger and determination from time to time. And this counts for other characters as well, the show is not especially deep in that regard, almost cartoony in a way with stereotypical roles.
Although the show certainly looks very pretty, it looks a bit too much like pure CGI at times. I would have appreciated a more gritty realistic look here and there. Music does its job with a nice fantasy score but it hardly stands out, pretty forgettable. Even when I write this not a single tune comes to mind.
All in all, while flawed, its good and entertaining. I once learned that when you review a product, you got to review the product as is, and not what you wanted it to be. Thats what most people seem to be doing and probably the best people in the world with an unlimited budget couldnt make what people want it to be.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (2022)
IP made for anime.
If you like Cyberpunk, youll love this. Dark, gritty and badass. Great call to make it in to an anime, the style suits the material extremely well. The makers clearly played and understood the game. Some of the elements are directly from the game, like the sounds the "phone calls" immediately triggering all the good vibes you got from the game. It is a bit style over substance, but then again, isnt that the whole point?
I cant really judge how the show must be if you havent played the game, but let me recommend that too. Dont believe the initial bad reviews it got. Eveerything is completely solved with the constant free updates and its in my opinion one of the better games out there, and when it comes to story, music and worldbuilding, perhaps one of the best ever made.
House of the Dragon: King of the Narrow Sea (2022)
Finally it's getting interesting.
I wasn't exactly bedazzled by the show. It's a far cry from the classic fantasy brilliance of Game of Thrones. However finally the show manages to capitalise on the stage its been setting. Rhaenyra is turning in to a very interesting young woman who is apparently not so innocent as she seems. Her escapade with Daemon in to the dark underbelly of the city is without a doubt the highlight of the show thus far. Its the only scene that approaches the dark and surreal world that Game of Thrones have delighted us with so many times. The story finally commits and takes us to a place that is unfamiliar and worth exploring. I am genuinely excited for the next episode to see where the story goes and that's for the first time. I still think the show falls short in its world building though. Where Game of Thrones showed us what was going on, House of the Dragon only takes about it. Whether this is simply a costs issue or an artistic choice I don't know, but it would be great to actually see the world instead of listing to people talking about it. At least the talking is getting pretty interesting and the Rhaenyra and Daemon scene is a sign that it's a show that at least does its best to reward its audience.
House of the Dragon: Second of His Name (2022)
Its not getting better im afraid
My opinion remains unchanged... Its not bad per se, its just painfully average. I mean, were 3 hours in and I still couldnt tell you what the story is about. The crab feeder guy was nice and creepy but apparently he's irrelevant too, because he is already dead. Rhaenyra is now basically telling us for 3 episodes that she is a big girl and she can do what she wants... Ok good for you but ehhh...The king is already having kids from his second wife in the 3rd episode so eh yeah, is this one that matters and we should care about, or will she be dead too in a couple of episodes? The king completely had it with his brother but no, now he wants te be friends again and sends an army to help him out because his (second) wife thinks thats a good idea...
Daemon was rebelling but apparently a 15 year old girl didnt like that so now he's not and gives the egg back like a good boy... And yeah dragons... they breathe fire... on stuff... and some random "evul" guys, I guess. But yeah, the guys run to a cave completely unforseen and that makes them near undefeatable. So whats the message here? Cave > Dragon I suppose... The only way to kill a couple of 100 pirates in a cave is apparently for Daemon to solo the entire army and almost die, because that will lure them out of that "magic" cave that grants invulnerability... Its just all over the place man... Isnt Lord Corlys Velaryon supposed to be the most powerful admiral with the largest fleet around? And he cant deal with a some pirates in a cave? Game of Thrones (well, A Song of Ice and Fire actually), took such great care to make sure things like that made sense in the context of the worldbuilding and the lore. Such attention to detail thats just missing here.
Look, a weak king and the intrigue behind the curtains for power and control is in principle a good enough premise. In essence its the same story as Robert Baratheons but maybe most wont notice that because they are of course completely different personalities. Perhaps it works as one of multiple storylines, like in GoT. Apparently there is this tri-city alliance in the free cities thats behind the pirate guys. Why dont we get to see them, their motives etc? Why isnt the Oldtown faction partially in Oldtown with a seperate storyline there, explaining more about Otto Hightower's motivation? We could learn more about the Maesters there, classic GoT stuff, right? And just switch between the stories and locations just as GoT did to prevent thing from dragging on and making sure everything feels and looks fresh and exciting.
Fantasy is ultimately about the world. The main character in Lord of the Rings is Middle Earth. In Game of Thrones its Westeros and the lands across the sea. In other fantasy novels the same thing, The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss, Robin Hobb books and the likes. Thats why the characters in fantasy stories almost always travel, because we get to see that world in that way. The landscapes, the cultures, weird and wonderful cities, all that good stuff. That classic fantasy foundation is completely absent here, it just relies on Game of Thrones for that. Without borrowing so heavily on what came before, its just a very average palace drama.
True Detective (2014)
Worth it to watch again.
Some shows are all about the plot. There is nothing wrong with that, its just that when you've seen it, you've seen it. True Detective Season 1 is not such a show. Although it is certainly a murder mystery, and its has its plot, and a very good one at that, its really not what this show is about in my opinion.
Then what is this show about? Well, where do I begin? First of all the acting. What Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey pull off here is extraordinary. Much has been said about it of course, but has to be mentioned. When you rewatch it this becomes all the more clear. All the little subtle gestures and expressions even stand out more when you know where the story is going.
Secondly the music. Is an awesome eclectic mix that is just so well chosen to set the mood and underline the story and visuals. It also knows when not to play, preventing the music to come across as bombastic and pretentious. Its just one of those soundtracks you go look for on Spotify and just listen to long after you finished the show.
And of course the visuals. Most famously of course the single shot at the end of episode 4. The whole show is full of absolutely genius directing and camerawork, so much so that its almost impossible to appreciate it all in one single watch.
I could ramble on and on about how much I like the show, but to come to a conclusion: Even though its a murder mystery, there are many reasons to watch it again even though you already know how it ends.
House of the Dragon (2022)
Not bad but disappointing
As a political fantasy drama its not bad. A sort of Shakespeare-lite with dragons. The fact that makes it underwhelming is that we just dont care about these characters. They all get introduced one after the other in a big info dump. Immediately after all sort of terrible things happen, one after the other. Yes the death in child birth is tragic, but we barely know this woman. Yes , we can see this is a pretty terrible situation for the king, but we dont know him that well either, we dont even know we like him so do we feel sorry for him or what? The thing is, the first season of Game of Thrones got us heavily invested in the characters, thats why the beheading of Ned Stark just hurt so bad... We were all rooting for him: "You fool, just get your men and go for it.... Dont trust that b.... Cersei!!!" In House of the Dragon is just feels rushed and therefore it falls flat.
The only remotely interesting character is that of Matt Smith, Daemon Targaryen. Its not completely clear what his character and personality are. Is he really a tyrant? Or is he a victim of a political game designed by the Hand of the King, who perhaps much rather has a weak king in place so he can rule in all but name? Its what makes the show watchable (just) but its hardly deep or original.
The show feels very stale. The genious of Game of Thrones is that they tied the characters to specifuc locations which were all very different. The visuals aid the very complicated plot. The frosty north, the Meditarranean Kings Landing and the plains and deserts of the oversees lands. They could have done this with House of the Dragon too. The "Oldtown" faction could have actually played in Oldtown. Its a very iconic city from the books that they could have used to break it up and place different characters in different settings to distinguish themselves. For me all these beautiful and fantastical locations is what made the show. This was just people having conversations in a palace with just a dragon and a tournament thrown in there to break it up.
The whole point of Game of Thrones (And A Song of Ice and Fire) is that we got to explore the world through the eyes of the main characters: We got to explore the North, The Nights Watch and The Wall through the eyes of Jon Snow. We got to experience the intrigue of the court through the eyes of Tyrion and in a very different way through Sansa Stark. We got to experience how it is to be down and out and having to fight for every crumb through Arya Stark, and of course the ways of the nomadic Dothraki and exotic slave trader cities through Daenerys. So it was never about these people, it was about the world in which they lived. That feeling was completely absent for me in the first episode of House of the Dragon. It was a very static and very conservative "palace drama" that could have been anywhere and anytime, it wasnt even fantasy apart from the dragon that was just trown in there and did absolutely nothing for the story.
Acting is a bit hit and miss too. Matt Smith and Paddy Considine are great and already knew and love them from many other good shows, the rest however is completely forgettable. Especially the "new Daenerys" (already forgot her name tbh) was completely forgettable, but dont blame the actress per se as she had very little to work with. All in all, it was entertaining though. Good production value, good acting here and there and its just great to be able to visit The Seven kingdoms again... They just could have done a great deal more with all the material this IP can provide.
Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)
Its for kids
Lets just face it, its for kids and not for us. Its not bad, I mean, it is but in a sort of intentional way if that makes any sense? I for one cant really believe that its so cliche just because its simply not well written. Apparantly they are just not going for any deep and rewarding experience. The story is just an excuse to have explosions, space ships and of course cool glowy swords.
Now an honest reviewer looks at something as it is, not as how he wants it to be. And to be fair, what Disney is going for is done reasonably well. I dont like what they are going for but well... Thats another matter. It looks and sounds good, its short and snappy, has all the famous characters and elements. It serves its purpose.
The Batman (2022)
It was "ok"
The film started really promising. A moody "noir" take on the subject. A serious and believable detective story with a "Batman theme" dripping with atmosphere.
Too bad it didn't really double down on this, like for example The Joker did. About half way through it became a rather generic and familiar tale. Where the movie really falls short is both the Falcone and Riddler climax.
The "Oh no the politicians are corrupt and the mob lord has them in his pocket" is hardly a surprise and very anticlimactic. They try to give it a twist by making it seem Thomas Wayne was a rather nasty guy but Alfred makes clear this was hardly the case, so yeah... not very interesting.
Worse though was the Riddler plot. During the entire movie there are suggestions that he and Bruce share some sort of past. The whole orphan story line, the orphanage on the Wayne Manor grounds.... but this was all just fluff... In the end apparently it was simply just that "he was wealthy and I was poor and that's not fair!!!"
Now we are of course spoilt by films like The Dark Knight and The Joker. In all honesty, it's a tough act to follow and in the end, The Batman falls well short. Its an OK movie in its own right though, I gladly watch it over any McMarvel flick, but I did expect more.
Don't Look Up (2021)
This movie is severely misunderstood.
This movie is not about a comet, or a metaphore for climate change or anything like that. It's much more simple and perhaps a lot darker. Its about the fact, Jennifer Laurence screams it loud and clear into the camera: Death. The reality is, is that we are all going to die. Modern media, culture and the sorts almost seem reluctant to acknowledge this . Death is always something that happens to the other guy, something remote, something that we shouldn't think about because that's depressing, right? Well, this movie seems to argue, maybe we should and we might just realise that money, fame, "being on the cover of a magazine" as DiCaprio puts it, is just shallow and irrelevant as Death is coming for us with a 100% certainty, or perhaps its 97,3% as the film jokingly puts it, small chance of an actual heaven and all that. Maybe if we think about that a bit more often we would appreciate our lives and that of those around us we love just a litte bit more. Because believe it or not, that comet is coming for all of us so we best make the most of it. The end scene just illustrates this the best of course. Death is coming, and it sucks! But that doesn't mean its all for nothing. "We really had it all" DiCaprio says surrounded by the people he loves sitting around the kitchen table. Just think about this every once in a while... Not every day the whole time, but just enough so you remember that when the end comes, which it will, what were the things that really mattered the most!
Scenes from a Marriage (2021)
I really wanted to like this.
I had my hopes up. Good cast, HBO, all that. Have to admit, I dont know the original, but maybe that's a plus sometimes. Got snacks, a drink ready to immerse myself in hopefully a future classic. It started alright, acting was great, cinematography good, nothing wrong there. But after a while, during the dinner with friends scene I was getting more and more annoyed. I just didnt care for these people and I thought they were adults behaving like emotionally underdeveloped, egotistical highschoolers. And yes, some people are like that, fair enough, but why would I watch that voluntairaly in my spare time?
Now usually there is an overarching plot, a developing story that gives you at least a reason to keep watching. Nothing like that here, just people complaining how hard it all is for them without any respite. Now I dont care if this is true to the original or not. Darn, that series was from 1973 so I feel its completely fair to judge this product on its own merit, and after 40 minutes I really couldnt think of a reason to keep watching this and turned it off.
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Beautiful But Not "Film Noir"
In essence, its just a pretty average action movie dressed up real pretty. The stroy has little to do with the original. For example, a very traditonal "good"vs "bad" story is in place. This is made so childishly clear by Jared Leto's character Niander Wallace and his pet replicant played by Sylvia Hoeks. These characters are pretty much the stereotypical one-dimensonal bad guys and therefore completely unrelatable.
The whole point of the original is that there is no good or bad, its all just a grey mess and were all equally victim of how the world turns. Even Rutger Hauer as the legendary leader of the rebellious Nexus 6's is quite relatable, even though he is a cold-blooded killer. You feel kinda sorry for him and you think: Well, i'd probably react like that in his situation. What am I suppose to do, just roll over and die?
If you look up the definition of the "noir" genre its says : "a style or genre of cinematographic film marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism, and menace." And thats exactly what the original is. The remake is anything but that. Its in the end a very generic story about hope and overcoming evil, Its a decent film and certainly pretty, but it has nothing to do with Bladerunner.
Dune (2021)
Faithful retelling of the book, perhaps too faithful?
Dont get me wrong, the movie does everything right in bringing the book to life. The visuals are gorgeous and Frank Herbert's work is clearly understood and respected. But there is something slightly off, cant really put my finger on it. While the attempt David Lynch made (Dune, 1984) was a bit too out there and the filmmaker took too many liberties, Denis Villeneuve (Dune, 2021) was perhaps a bit too determined to not make the same mistake twice.
Ive read the book a few months ago so I was still perfectly aware how the story develops. This made the film, dare I say it, a bit on the slow and dull side here and there. This was, like I said, more than made up by the gorgeous visuals and sounds, but I cant shake the thought that the story could have been told in a slightly more energetic way.
All in all, a small complaint, and people who are new to the franchise, which I suspect will be many, perhaps do not feel that way. In the end I left the theatre more than satisfied, so still a 9/10 for me.
The Serpent (2021)
Great show but... (no spoilers)
Jesus... I know that people smoked alot more in the 70s but this is completely ridiculous. I have never seen that many sigarettes lit up in a TV show. Once you really start to notice it, it becomes extremely annoying to a point some scenes are pretty much unwatchable because its breaking the immersion. Ive nothing against smoking, im a smoker myself, but this is just taking it way to far.
The Expanse: Oyedeng (2021)
Season is going downhill
This episode just has to much filler. The drama between Naomi and Filip drags on way to long and is just full of cliche's . "I know what you are going through, you dont know me, blah blah...oh lets cry and hug" Its all just recycled mediocre drama thats already been gone over in previous episodes and it just goes on and on and on...
Lets be fair, this is not why we love The Expanse... I was so happy that the next scene arrived with Alex, Bobbie, Chrisjen and Holden and I was finally watching an episode of The Expanse again, to bad we were already 20 minutes into the episode and exactly nothing had happened yet.
Better Call Saul (2015)
Impressive.
Impressive how the show evolved from a spinoff with the wacky adventures of Slippin' Jimmy to a first rate crime thriller, rivalling the best episodes of Breakin Bad.
Extraction (2020)
Call of Duty : The Movie, basically.
Just a good action movie and pretty unapologetic about it. If you are looking for something badass this is it.
Rogue One (2016)
Disney shows that they can honor this IP
The theme of this movie is without a doubt sacrifice and its very consistent in showing this. From the first scene to the last its completely uncompromising. From the main characters to the villain. Everyone makes a sacrifice. I am truely surprized that Disney approved a movie this dark, and , yes ill use the word again, uncompromising.
For me this is easily the best Star Wars movie since the original trilogy. It doesnt lean on the popularity of the franchise to succeed. There are no Jedi, no lightsabre battles and none of the original characters (apart from some cameo's but they dont influence the story).
This is how the intellectual property should be treated. Just make a good movie and use the rich lore of the Star Wars world as a context, not as a main focus. I think this movie should be seen as a stand-alone product, and not be judged in the light of the dissapointing main movies.
In the end this movie provides hope. It shows what interesting stories could be told within the Star Wars universe without being handicapped by its legacy!