Reviews

I was sceptical going into this. I loved the book hugely and think I must have read it about four times at this point. The trailer didn't put me in super high hopes for it in all honesty and it took me a little bit to adjust to the format that the show was going for instead of the books.

I gave it a chance though and was massively rewarded. It captures the comedy and the tragedy of the book perfectly while also creating a wider cast of recurring characters to anchor the show to a single place. The supporting cast are really fantastic and in particular just watching them do their jobs is absolutely gripping and shows how much NHS workers go through on a day to day basis. Best of all though has got to be Ben Wishaw in the lead who absolutely captures the show . I really commend Adam Kay for not shying away from making himself look bad at certain points. He just feels so human.

There's a lot of surprising elements to the story that I really enjoyed particularly in the role that certain characters play. The fourth wall stuff is also really good in allowing the audience to relate to the action as we understand more about what are after all complicated medical procedures as well as Adam's thoughts.

Just fantastic. I'm tempted to start it all over again immediately.

This film really captures the uncertainty and insanity of youth in way that I have never seen. Really worth a watch despite the third act not being all that great.

I love this film. I love the indie feel. The harsh and horrific look at a reality that exists and in our world and most importantly the lives of the people that live in it.

This film is so human, in so many ways it feels real. You see people that can be believed and scenes that are truly ugly with a terrible sense of black comedy. This film does not shy away from things that would be deemed highly controversial and that's only possible with the low budget that it operates on.

Seriously don't research this movie. Just watch it and experience one night in the lives of the characters that inhabit this world.

Genuinely great.

Also the sound track is excellent especially the credits song with Iggy Pop singing.

I had no idea what Fresh Meat was when it popped up on Netflix and just decided to watch because I recognised Joe Thomas and Jack Whitehall. By god though this show is so watchable. The writing of series is so natural and the characters are hilarious but also very relatable. I particularly love Jack Whitehall in this but all the main characters are great and each one is so unique and different from the others. The dynamics between them all are outstanding.

What this show does absolutely amazingly however is building up incredibly awkward and messed up scenarios with a huge amount of complexity. When those episodes show up and you get these amazing scenes where loads of the plots intertwine it makes for some of the funniest scenes in television.

Basically I 100% recommend this show for an outlandish snapshot of uni life that likes to get experimental and weird. Genuinely very good.

Also I really love the soundtrack for this with lots of electronic music. Just wish I could find more of the stuff on Spotify!

I originally rated this episode as a 4/10 but having watched again I have reduced this to 1/10. This episode has left me feeling physically dead inside in a way I thought a piece of entertainment could never have done. The worst part about it all is that I was watching scenes that in another context could have been amazing and satisfying resolutions to a story I've waited so long to see. The issue comes with the actual series I've watched being an absolute nothing honestly. The awful part is you can see the effort that was put into this show. HBO were prepared to make more episodes. The set design, cinematography, directing, costume and music are absolutely phenomenal. The acting in this final season was incredible. In particular Emilia Clarke has really come into her own, Peter Dinklage has been as fantastic as ever and Sophie Turner's portrayal of Sansa has become way more convincing. But the decisions of David Benioff and D.B.Weiss with the writing on this show has been absolutely awful. The ending has been a train wreck. This whole season has been a trainwreck. If I'm honest this show has been on a real downhill trajectory since season 5 but had never been this absolutely awful. I really hope Benioff and Weiss pay for this because their selfish decisions have left this awful feeling in my chest.

What happened with this episode? What happened to this show? D&D seem to display that they have absolutely no idea exactly what story they are telling anymore. The ending of this episode is one of the worst decisions I have ever witnessed in terms of writing. Inconsistencies are absolutely everywhere and the editing is awful. Constantly characters are forgotten about and can seem to look like they die before suddenly being okay the next time they show up.This episode isn't only easily the worst episode of the show but also ruins the entire point of the previous 7 seasons.

Umbrella academy kept me going through itd amazing cinematography through the whole season. I've not seen a TV show that has this level of attention that is usually reserved for a TV show. It was amazing and gorgeous to watch.

However, the failings of the script immediately become apparent as the dialogue often feels jilted and unnatural. Many big plot points are just shrugged off my the characters even when they should be deeply affected. That said in the last two episodes I think this is greatly improved with some genuinely good and interesting moments.

The acting is mixed with great performances and some on the side of bad. Ellen Page is fantastic as her character naturally evolves in believable ways. I also really liked Cameron Britton as Hazel and to some extent Robert Sheehan as Klaus who is best when talking to a certain dead character who I won't mention for spoiler reasons (although I just wish the writers would take a break with Klaus sometimes.) Aidan Gallagher is another great one as Number Five especially given he's only 14. Tom Hoppers performance as Luther is mixed sometimes being really fun and sometimes unnatural. Emmy Raver-Lampan as Allison I found be weak sometimes especially in emotional scenes with Ellen Page. That said I do buy her story with her daughter which she pulls off well. Last there's David Casteñeda as Diego, he puts in a solid performance but I just wish he could show more emotion at some pivotal scenes.

Overall The Umbrella Academy is conflicting show. Some parts are great; most others not so much.