prestonloyola Reviews

Episodes (2011–2017)

fantastic so far (as of ep 3)

[9/10 · 25 January 2011]

After watching the first 3 shows, I'm impressed, will be a great show if this level of writing can be sustained. "Episodes" is a cross between "Entourage" (minus the glorification of wealth and conspicuous consumption), "Curb your Enthusiasm" (minus bad acting), and "Extras" (minus cameos, and bits that sucked of which there were many).

I don't know why there are so many negative reviews (as of 1/25/2011) - perhaps Americans are having trouble relating to the lead British couple? In any case, seeing the inner workings of Hollywood's entertainment industrial complex through their down-to-earth eyes is a great premise, casting Matt LeBlanc was a genius touch, and I hope this gem continues for a lot more 'episodes'.

Restrepo (2010)

interesting reporting? yes. award-winning documentary? no.

[4/10 · 27 December 2010]

It's a sad commentary on contemporary journalism that a film like Restrepo can win a prestigious award like the Grand Jury 2010 Sundance Best Documentary Award. Basically, the film-makers embed themselves with a US platoon in Afghanistan, document the experience, and intersperse interviews of some of the soldiers (taken after the period in question) throughout. There's no attempt to place the events in a larger context, no narrative to tie anything with the policy decisions taken in Washington, all we get is a raw "life in Afghanistan" seen through the eyes of soldiers on the ground in a single location. Don't get me wrong, it is quite interesting to actually see some of what is going on the ground in Afghanistan, after the thousands of hours of TV punditry and miles of newspaper column inches that media heads have filled with opinions, debates, tirades and justifications of the so called "war on terror". But this is the kind of reporting that should be omnipresent in our media, something you might see in a segment on 60 minutes, or some other outlet for investigative journalism (of which there are fewer and fewer).

Unfortunately, as we know, investigative journalism is expensive, and has dramatically been cut down in our age of media mega mergers. It's a lot cheaper to stick a few people around a table to mouth off on TV (and then cover the debate in the print media), then it is to ship true journalists across the globe (and around the centers of power in the US) who are not afraid to stir things up and take on the powers that be.

And so something like Restrepo - which is a bog standard journalistic piece - becomes an award winning documentary film. Examples of the kind of items that might be included in a wider scope documentary film worthy of awards: - Restrepo like footage in multiple locations in Afghanistan - similar footage of the other side (Taliban/AlQaeda or whomever is actually doing the fighting) with interviews on the reasons - interviews with the policy makers in DC explaining what the policies are and why, what they are trying to achieve - compare these goals with what is going on the ground - facts and figures about how much money is being spent on the war (compare to how much is being spent on Afghan aid), start digging into which corporations are making the most profit out of it - look at the cozy ties between retired DoD personnel and defense contractors etc, etc, etc you can just keep pulling at strings forever really... Tie everything into a cohesive narrative, maybe start actually providing answers to the still unanswered question of what we are actually still doing in Afghanistan, and maybe we would have an important documentary film worthy of an award. But a context free year in the life of a US platoon - sorry guys, that just doesn't cut it.

Exhibit A (2007)

Good first half, but takes a wrong turn and drags afterwards.

[6/10 · 25 December 2010]

The film starts off well with a realistic middle-class family setting, and dad trying to keep appearances up at home after not getting a promotion. The financial stress slowly leads the father to dig a deeper and deeper hole for himself until about midway through the movie, a breaking point is reached. At this point things veer off into a less than satisfactory direction. I won't give the plot away, but the father's actions no longer seem realistic and relatable. The scenes also drag on for far too long with little plot advancement. 10-15 min could easily have been edited out without losing anything. Good concept, but the execution falters in the 2nd half.

Mutants (2009)

nicely shot, but unsatisfying plot

[3/10 · 20 December 2010]

Mutants starts off with some promise, a French take on 28 days later - complete with shaky cam action sequences - set in a desolate Alpine region. The cinematography is well-done with gorgeous establishing shots (usually a dead-giveaway, when missing, that you're watching a cheapo, low budget horror film), competent realistic sets and make-up, good use of atmospherics in the soundtrack. All in all a solid production.

But unfortunately, very little thought appears to have been given to the actual plot. The actions taken by the main characters make no sense given their circumstances, and it becomes very hard to remain invested in their fates when they take decisions that seem ridiculous. The pacing of the film is also off.

Horror movies always place characters in absurd, perhaps preposterous situations. A good horror movie has the protagonists react to their circumstances in a way that makes sense and the viewer can relate to. Unfortunately such movies are few and far between, and this is not one of them.

Gilgamesh (2003–2004)

style over substance

[3/10 · 5 June 2010]

This starts out promisingly enough - something goes wrong at a gigantic international scientific facility, causing the sky to turn into a mirror and civilization as we know it to end - but the pace then grinds to a halt. Episode after episode consists of kids brooding around, striking poses, and looking cool in muted colors to the background of sparse musical notes.

As is too often the case in anime, and TV series in general (Lost comes to mind), the characters seem completely uninterested in asking the most basic questions about their situation and circumstances. This quickly makes it very hard to care about them or their 'actions' (which most of the time consists of them standing around wide eyed and frozen as the camera slowly pans across).

If you are looking for a post-apocalyptic story that makes no sense and proceeds at a glacial pace, this one's a winner!

Gyakkyô burai Kaiji (2007–2011)

high stakes gambling in a dark world

[10/10 · 7 November 2009]

This genius anime series follows a young, indebted, menial job worker called Kaiji as he becomes entangled in a series of escalating stakes gambling games. As the series progresses, we discover that the games are organized for the benefit of rich businessmen who enjoy watching the poor and desperate players competing against one another. The stakes get quite high as losing can mean a life of slavery and even death, whereas overcoming the odds and winning may result in a ticket to riches and escape from a lifetime of minimum wage jobs. The games develop slowly with the story being told from Kaiji's point of view, and his inner thoughts always weighing and analyzing the implications of each decision. Each game lasts 3-4 episodes and each episode usually ends in a cliff hanger with Kaiji in a desperate situation trying to overcome insurmountable odds. The strength of the series is the realism and complexity of the games themselves. The rules are always clearly explained (often with graphical animations) at the beginning, and we follow Kaiji's thoughts as he first watches the game develop and tries to figure out his best move. There 's a strong "prisoner's dilemma" backdrop to the proceedings, as Kaiji often tries to rally his fellow players to work together against the people he perceives as the true opponents - the organizers of the games - but the games are designed to reward the temptation of self-interest, will Kaiji succeed?

If you like gambling movies like Rounders but in a darker setting - the dark backdrop of a world of haves and have-nots, rich businessmen and a perpetual underclass of young men with no future - and without the Hollywood fluff and formulaic structure, then I highly recommend this series.

The Long Good Friday (1980)

A miscast Bob Hoskins and effeminate minions ruins the promising screenplay

[5/10 · 26 August 2008]

The premise of the film is good - gangster kingpin under attack by forces unseen. I also loved the score, but I'm a sucker for that late 70s early 80s analog synthesizer sound. So why only a 5? It boils down to the cast: Bob Hoskins is supposed to be this dark, tough character controlling London's underworld, but instead he comes across as an inept figure with hardly a hint of menace about him. His underlings, presumably the top thugs of the streets of London, look like they'd have a hard time keeping a toddler's birthday party under control.

We should be feeling that the scenes are happening at a nexus of power in the criminal world, but the overall impression is that we are following a gang of ineffectual, somewhat inconsequential characters. It's hard then to care much about what happens in the plot (which is often too drawn out). Good performance by Helen Mirren though.