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Enderyemenicioglu
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Reviews
The Protector (2018)
Entertaining, but could be better.
A super-hero series with Istanbul in background is already interesting, as it is not a common topic for turkish productions. You can find some old super-hero movies like Kara Murat, Tarkan or Battal Gazi, but these movies have all something common: the events are in history, and they serve to pump up nationalist feelings. This series is totally different. The story occurs in the modern Istanbul, with many references to historical and cultural artefacts in the city. And it has no rough political agenda.
I have missed to see some swearing, smoking and alcohol drinking in turkish productions, as the censor forbids to show these things on public TV. They use the advantage of being an internet series, and go easy with the topics, which is a relieving.
I agree that the story has some plot holes, but not worse than La Casa de Papel. The bottleneck is the dialogues. They are sometimes really cliche and feels like translated, not natural (in turkish). The acting of the main characters is faint, but you can see good performances by supporting actors like of Mehmet Kurtulus or Mehmet Yilmaz Ak.
I would give 7 for this series, but I wanted to support the effort. It might be a trailblazer for better productions, and I hope it continues with a second season (but with better dialogue-writing and acting).
The Cut (2014)
Nice try with good intentions, but an average movie
I should say Faith Akin is currently one of the most important directors from Germany of Turkish descent. He brought a fresh spirit to German and Turkish film scene. He shows also great courage with the theme Armenian Genocide. He explains a personal story, but also takes a step to the Armenians from Turkish side, and try to say "we understand your suffering." Regrettably that is enough to be excommunicated from Turkish community, because it is still a taboo to talk about Armenian problem in such a way.
It is a pity that he missed such a great chance to create a good film with his humanistic intentions. Most of the scenes feel like staged, acting is mostly average. The main problem with the movie is the atmosphere. When I see a good movie, I forget that it is a movie and create an emotional connection with the characters. That is the most important thing for me as I evaluate a film. And it lacked completely for me. It could be the worst cinematographic work of Faith Akin till now. Still deserves above average from me.