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Teen Wolf (2011)
Pleasantly Surprised
Teen Wolf is actually a great series. Aimed at teens of course, this show has solid characterization, plenty of humor, lots of scary moments and exciting action scenes. The action scenes themselves are pretty much what you'd expect from American shows, where two or more superpowered people literally smash the place to pieces, be it a locker room, a classroom, a house, anything. We are talking about some serious property damage, and it's all mostly professional with stunt work etc. Both the action and the practical effects are excellent. The CGI on the other hand is horrible. Especially on the first season, it sticks out like a sore canine. We are talking 90's CGI, at best. But the show is good enough that you gloss over those. What is truly excellent are the characters. These are some wonderfully gray individuals, with dramatic pasts, wants and needs. The bad guys have hidden depths and are wonderfully over-the-top, the good guys are actually putting their brains at work and come up with plans (that fail spectacularly in some twist but at least they tried). Also some characters are a delight, Stiles for example is genre-savvy, alternating between delivering jokes and helpful advice like a machine-gun. There's always the teen drama, but with no love triangles. At one point, I was worried that a love triangle cliché was about to come up, but no, it didn't last. These are some surprisingly monogamous teenagers, fixated on the love of their life. Lol. Regarding sexiness, this show is PG-13, despite the beautiful bodies of both sexes on display during every minute of it. If it were a European show it would have 3 sex scenes per episode, rather than 1 per 6 intercut with tooth-and-claw fights. People die a lot, and some people seem to be unkillable. The magical element is very nicely thought of and has internal consistency, meaning things like being an Alpha wolf gives you more power, wolfsbane is poison and is used by human wolf-hunters etc. The French touch I liked as well, since the mythology of the series places both wolves and hunters coming from France's Loups Garous. The music sometimes stands out and there are some poor choices, you can see the executive meddling from MTV to promote some piece of music that doesn't quite stick at some points. I especially remember a dubstep piece during season 2 with an elevator fight scene with Derek and the female Alpha, it just didn't work at all. But other pop songs fit quite well. Generally, it's an excellent show to watch. Quite suggested.
Trolls (2016)
This movie made me happy
No really, it did. I couldn't believe how nice this movie made me feel as I was watching it. The story is a pretty standard hero's journey, but with the evil trolls or grendels or whatever eating happy trolls to get happy themselves. It seemed a little dark at first, but everything works out in the end of course, as this is a kids movie. It shows good and bad in equal measure, which I believe is how we should educate kids, not keep them in a bubble. The lessons it teaches are actually nice, don't give up, persevere, happiness is within. The boy troll (Timberlake) is so funny, especially in the beginning. Anna Kendrick is hilarious with snappy dialogue. The songs are a bit old fashioned, the fact that the writer is nostalgic really stands out. But they fit the story, rather than being just music breaks, so it's good.
Westworld (2016)
Great idea, poor execution
After the first season, we are supposed to be left wanting. But the show doesn't take the time to make the characters worth our attention, so it's just a big "Meh" in the end. The twists are fine, there are Chechov's guns everywhere for those who want to look for them and see the twist coming but truthfully it's not worth it. The science fiction is all over the place, there are huge plot holes and little is ever explained. We don't really know the capabilities and limitations of the technology, sometimes you think the hosts are as strong and as durable as humans, others they are shown to be stronger and capable. I liked the pursuit of consciousness a bit, but the way it's explored is boring to be honest. It's a shame this big budget show isn't more engaging.
Killjoys (2015)
I just love this show
No, it's not perfect. It's kinda cheesy and it has some clichés. But the recipe is good, and it works out in the end. I just love it. I'd like some more backstory on the quadrant, it looks a bit messy for now. They show it more and more as it happens via exposition, but I still got no clue what happens in this universe. I like that the space aspect is toned-down. The spaceship is not the centre of this show, despite it being an AI and thus an actual character. The show lives and dies by the rule of cool. Cool weapons, cool gadgets, badass lines. The killjoys in-universe seem to get all the fun, the rest of the people are just scrounging around. Except for the royalty. They have all the fun, oppressing people and blessing gardens. Anyway, watch this show.