Reviews

While this isn't a bad series in itself - it does have good acting and a somewhat engaging story - it only appears as a cheap knock-off of the brilliant "Young Royals". Even the main characters look the same. For me, it seems like a successful show made in Sweden was deemed in need of a more international iteration, so they produced this UK version. However, where "Young Royals" scores with impeccable acting, electric chemistry, flawless writing, natural dialogue and a roller-coaster story, "Heartstopper" under-delivers on all of these. I was particularly annoyed that they needed animations to illustrate the emotional atmosphere, not trusting their cast to convey these nuances on their own, and got fed up with the placative and on-the-nose presentation of some topics.

While I am willing to award points for effort, it's just a pale image of what a gay teenage love story could be.

I could barely get through this episode. The medicine was so horribly wrong that even I, as a lay-person, could not bear it. Everybody was behaving so incredibly unprofessional. I have not watched the show in a while and after this, I will not continue. It's just too jarring to have to witness, again and again, how medicine and science is completely disregarded.

I can't claim to have understood this film. It was very much like a mix between "Moon" and "2001: Space Odyssey". I sort of expected it to be more of a kind with the former, to be honest. I can't stand the latter. Anyway, the film was visually pleasing but I doubt I would have sat through it if not for the main actor. I also liked that they obviously didn't have the money for zero-gravity-simulation-shots but they did not let themselves be deterred by that and if you accept that there are no floating people on the ISS in this film, it's enough that they simply flipped the picture over in some shots to give the illusion of weightlessness. The story went over my head. I did not get the message at the end at all. What does all this have to do with love?! Anyway, Angel and Airwaves did well with the soundtrack. I think I'm going to listen to more of their music. So, this was a philosophical piece, almost as confusing as, but a lot more compact than Space Odyssey. Definitely Art-house material and not really suitable for light entertainment.

It's weird how you almost instantly love the nerd kid. But it's sort of hard to dislike Hugh Jackman. Though his character's written as an utter asshole. Dakota Goyo was breathtaking. Fantastic discovery! He'll remain an actor to watch if he hones his talent. Anyway, the script was too slow-paces. The film failed to draw me in within the first hour. Emotionless remote-controlled robots are just not very appealing. Then again, if you give a robot a personality and emotions, sending him to a fight like a dog or bull or cock is just inhuman and cruel. The film picks up visibly in the second half. The kid takes the lead, educating his father. That is quite nice to watch. But there are still some spots where the pace is lagging. Then again, the last fight was intense and refreshingly ambivalent. I found it a bit disappointing that they left the ending open concerning Max' and Charlie's fate. Be that as it may, this film would definitely have done better with only 90 minutes. Visually, it was more than okay. I watched it in crap quality but I really never stopped to think about how the robots were all just computer-generated. They looked real enough. Good job by the CGI-department here! The soundtrack was well-chosen, too. Normally I'm not one for rap music but it fitted. And Danny Elfman wrote a moving score for the parts in between. So, maybe not the most thrilling film I've ever seen (I was immensely bored a lot of the time because the story just didn't move on) it's an okay way to spend the evening. It did have it's moments.

Great film, powerful and moving. It ranges somewhere between "A Single Man" and "Tree of Life" and definitely belongs into the "Arthouse"-section. If you enjoy slow-paced, poetic storytelling and are not opposed to the odd figurative metaphor this is definitely a good tip.

Anyway, at first I was frustrated because I didn't understand a lot of the dialogue. But the subtitles distracted me from the scenes and so I turned them off. I only realized about half-way through the film that it was really quite unimportant what they were talking about. It was the mood that counted, the emotions and the dynamics between the characters. To me, their emotional journey was beautifully illustrated and underlined by the gradual loss of their luggage - their worldly possessions, so to say - and artificial means of help, leaving them literally on their own with barely anything besides their naked emotions in the end, and here only the stuff that really mattered. I think one can safely say that the film truly "boils down" to its ending. Here I have to say that ALL actors were brilliant. The breathtaking Benedict Cumberbatch might have had the leading role and the most screen time in total but EVERYBODY did a fantastic job at showing the conflicting emotions that occur in this kind of situation. I also thought that everything was pretty realistic, thanks to a fabulous script. The anger, being envious of the people around you for the time they still have, the regret and bitterness but also the peace and the feeling of security that comes with knowing your destination are all feelings that one can relate to.

Besides, the film was beautifully shot and edited. The quiet pictures of the sea or of birds wheeling overhead alternating with the scenes of emotional tension, the soundtrack... it all fitted together perfectly. Anyway, prepare a big box of tissues if you plan to sit through this one. BC's performance will break your heart.

This is definitely worth watching if you are a fan of George Orwell's famous novel "1984". The series takes on much of the same material and ends in an equally depressing way. So if you are not bothered by the lack of a happy end, go ahead and watch this. Aside from the frustrating story, this does include some fabulous acting, though. Benedict Cumberbatch gave an Oscar-worthy performance. He really did all he could with his - admittedly - rather badly written character, Steven Ezard. It was very hard to emphasize with Steven because he was so unpredictable and not all of the inconsistencies could be chalked up to his mental state. But BC managed to draw you onto his side, at least. The script itself has some confusing dialogue and takes a long time to explain what was actually going on. It's okay that you have to keep guessing who's on what side but the key elements of the story and the main parties should have become clearer a lot sooner. Still, the time to review the series' issue is certainly here. Public surveillance and monitoring of individual citizens is not a distant vision any more like it was for George Orwell. It is very real and present at this date. Just think about smartphones. Or credit cards, bonus club cards,... Let's not even start with CCTV! We really ARE just one small step away from the scenario in this series and that is a system to combine and cross-reference all the data gathered through the various monitoring tools. If something like that would be found you'd be just where "The Last Enemy" begins. So, the series might be founded on frightening fiction that will probably become fact really fast, but it still should have ended on a more uplifting note. I do hope our future is not THAT bleak.