I feel that the show really finds its footing this episode. Last 20 minutes is absolutely gripping, edge of the seat drama. Superb acting together with really good writing is so wonderful to watch.
Grateful for this adaptation.
Reviews
6 Reviews
Tenet
(2020)
Lacking any soul and sound clarity
7 September 2020
As many others reviewing here, I love Nolan's work and I never thought I'd be giving his movie any less than an 8. Boy was I wrong.
Sound After the seeing Tenet in IMAX, I am shocked that someone actually okay-ed this to be released into cinemas. I have no idea what anyone was saying for about 80% of the movie. I read somewhere that it's up to the cinemas to control the sound levels, but how come it's not such a major problem with other movies and the issue is so consistent worldwide? What a joke.
Characters and storyline Even if the dialog was crystal clear, here's where the movie lacks the most. The core of most Nolan's movies lies in a character or a human quality that viewers can relate to, set in an awesome-concept universe. The concept was secondary, while the human quality was usually the primary focus of the movie. Tenet flips that around. The time-inversion is the core of the movie, while the characters are just there and stuff is happening to them. From the very little information I gathered from the dialogue, there is absolutely no background to them, not even the main protagonist (pun intended), no motivation, very little charm, and no relatability. The story is full of clichés and old tropes that were cringeworthy at best. I did not care if anyone survives or reaches their goal. That was the most disappointing part for me.
Visuals and action The only reason I gave this 4 stars is because at least most of the action scenes were quite entertaining. The special FX and visuals were beautiful and fun to watch. On the other hand, in my opinion they don't compare to the stuff we got to see in Interstellar or Inception.
All in all, I do not recommend this movie. It's painfully long and forgettable. I hope Nolan will surprise us again in the future, but for now, I will stick to re-watching his previous fantastic works. Though many reviewers suggest it, I will not watch Tenet again to 'comprehend its genius'. It had its chance with me and failed terribly.
Sound After the seeing Tenet in IMAX, I am shocked that someone actually okay-ed this to be released into cinemas. I have no idea what anyone was saying for about 80% of the movie. I read somewhere that it's up to the cinemas to control the sound levels, but how come it's not such a major problem with other movies and the issue is so consistent worldwide? What a joke.
Characters and storyline Even if the dialog was crystal clear, here's where the movie lacks the most. The core of most Nolan's movies lies in a character or a human quality that viewers can relate to, set in an awesome-concept universe. The concept was secondary, while the human quality was usually the primary focus of the movie. Tenet flips that around. The time-inversion is the core of the movie, while the characters are just there and stuff is happening to them. From the very little information I gathered from the dialogue, there is absolutely no background to them, not even the main protagonist (pun intended), no motivation, very little charm, and no relatability. The story is full of clichés and old tropes that were cringeworthy at best. I did not care if anyone survives or reaches their goal. That was the most disappointing part for me.
Visuals and action The only reason I gave this 4 stars is because at least most of the action scenes were quite entertaining. The special FX and visuals were beautiful and fun to watch. On the other hand, in my opinion they don't compare to the stuff we got to see in Interstellar or Inception.
All in all, I do not recommend this movie. It's painfully long and forgettable. I hope Nolan will surprise us again in the future, but for now, I will stick to re-watching his previous fantastic works. Though many reviewers suggest it, I will not watch Tenet again to 'comprehend its genius'. It had its chance with me and failed terribly.
Here we go!
18 November 2019
Warning: Spoilers
After seeing the 2nd episode, I was a tiny bit disappointed with its strange pacing, which got me worried about whether the series will be able to fulfil my expectations based on the books.
This episode completely dismisses all my doubts, and I believe it will do the books justice. The writing was great - lots of action, paced very well, which finally gave the actors an opportunity to shine. Ruth Wilson's Mrs Coulter is starting to really grow on me, and we are starting to see how twisted she really is. One of several bright moments for Dafne Keen in this episode was when Lyra was told of her mother by Ma Costa. The Gyptian families' meeting scene gave me goosebumps. What I like about the writing of this episode is, that even though I read the books, I was still on the edge of my seat during the suspenseful moments not knowing what to expect. I must also appreciate the soundtrack, which wonderfully complemented the storyline and beautiful cinematography. It is also interesting to finally see how does our world's early inclusion in the series play into the story - I didn't like it at first, but now I understand the background it provides for the 2nd season. I am curious to see whether they will continue to expand that storyline, or whether they will save it for later from now on.
All in all, an absolute 10/10; loved the episode and cannot wait for next week.
This episode completely dismisses all my doubts, and I believe it will do the books justice. The writing was great - lots of action, paced very well, which finally gave the actors an opportunity to shine. Ruth Wilson's Mrs Coulter is starting to really grow on me, and we are starting to see how twisted she really is. One of several bright moments for Dafne Keen in this episode was when Lyra was told of her mother by Ma Costa. The Gyptian families' meeting scene gave me goosebumps. What I like about the writing of this episode is, that even though I read the books, I was still on the edge of my seat during the suspenseful moments not knowing what to expect. I must also appreciate the soundtrack, which wonderfully complemented the storyline and beautiful cinematography. It is also interesting to finally see how does our world's early inclusion in the series play into the story - I didn't like it at first, but now I understand the background it provides for the 2nd season. I am curious to see whether they will continue to expand that storyline, or whether they will save it for later from now on.
All in all, an absolute 10/10; loved the episode and cannot wait for next week.
Looking for Alaska
(2019)
Pulls the right strings
19 October 2019
I read the novel when I was 15. I enjoyed it. Partly, because at that age, I found the concepts presented in the book very cool. Now, I find these declarations in the book a bit pretentious, and I had a similar feeling when watching the trailer for the series.
Out of curiosity, I watched it. It started out as I expected. Some lightly cringy lines and humour. But after a short time, I found myself enjoying it, despite not necessarily relating to these ideas. The first few episodes are harmless, even funny at times. I quickly began getting attached to the characters, just the same as I did when I first read the book. The series explores them quite in-depth (for a teenage-drama series), and they do it fairly well. I especially enjoyed the backstory of Dr. Hyde and his expanded involvement with the characters. Kristine Froseth is a good Alaska, and embodies the complicated and mysterious character very well. But in my opinion, Denny Love, who plays The Colonel totally steals the show. He has multiple scenes (in the later episodes) where his performance and intense emotional expressions really left an impression on me. I hope I will get to see his performances in more series.
The show sets up a wonderful atmosphere, and with great music, watching it was quite an experience. I wasn't planning on it, but I binge watched it all. Yes, not everything about it was perfect; the cinematography was nice, with few bright moments, but not exceptional. Acting of the supporting cast was similar. The reason I give it a 9, though, is because it did exactly what it was supposed to - that is, make you care for the characters and their story. It was quite an emotional roller-coaster, and for me, that makes it worth watching.
Out of curiosity, I watched it. It started out as I expected. Some lightly cringy lines and humour. But after a short time, I found myself enjoying it, despite not necessarily relating to these ideas. The first few episodes are harmless, even funny at times. I quickly began getting attached to the characters, just the same as I did when I first read the book. The series explores them quite in-depth (for a teenage-drama series), and they do it fairly well. I especially enjoyed the backstory of Dr. Hyde and his expanded involvement with the characters. Kristine Froseth is a good Alaska, and embodies the complicated and mysterious character very well. But in my opinion, Denny Love, who plays The Colonel totally steals the show. He has multiple scenes (in the later episodes) where his performance and intense emotional expressions really left an impression on me. I hope I will get to see his performances in more series.
The show sets up a wonderful atmosphere, and with great music, watching it was quite an experience. I wasn't planning on it, but I binge watched it all. Yes, not everything about it was perfect; the cinematography was nice, with few bright moments, but not exceptional. Acting of the supporting cast was similar. The reason I give it a 9, though, is because it did exactly what it was supposed to - that is, make you care for the characters and their story. It was quite an emotional roller-coaster, and for me, that makes it worth watching.
A visual masterpiece
28 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
This episode is the most compelling work of art in TV I have witnessed. I don't know, whether the art directors got an extra paycheck, but it was well worth it. Stunning work.
The drama continues and I like the exchanges between Serena and June. Serena's transformation to her old self is a bit stretched, but believable enough, backed up by her character's history and life motivations. The Nick plot-twist did not make sense to me. There had never been any sign of such devoted behavior to Gilead from Nick's character before, which means, the writers only added this for the wow factor and to create more drama. Not a fan of that.
Despite that, I enjoyed this episode very much.
"How tempting it is to invent a humanity for anyone at all"
9 June 2019
This episode had me gripped from start till the end. I want to applaud whoever wrote the script, as the dialogues between the characters are engaging and intelligent; some lines gave me shivers, making me want more. All this would be useless without the brilliant delivery by the talented actors who have great chemistry. Namely, I love the interactions between Ofjoseph and Lawrence, and Serena with Ofjoseph. The characters develop, and they're not what they used to be in the first season. That keeps the show interesting, and I'm very curious where it goes. Combine that with beautiful music, cinematography, and symbolism and you get a masterpiece that the Handmaid's Tale is.
Tell Your Friends