noalygh's Reviews

Westworld: Metanoia (2022)

Season 4, Episode 7

3/10

10 August 2022

What a waste. I would say that all of these existential crises this show has was settled all the way back from Blade Runne (book + movie). This has been redundant. Eternal truth?? Transcendence? Destruction?? Darwinism? Who cares?? Everybody understands, we are just here enjoying life without thinking about these petty grievances. The writers apparently differ. I constantly said no during the episode. I did not give consent, yet Westworld shoved this rubbish into my face anyway! Also, how does applying "survival of the fittest" mean having all the humans and hosts fight to death? Is this a battle royale until there's one man left standing and everyone else dies? That's not evolution, that's just having an active street brawl LOL. In this case, it would be too apparent that hosts would kill all humans (since they're physically stronger).

Also, I just yawn really big every time I see a fight, and that says a lot on how much I enjoy this episode since it was action-packed. Like is anyone gonna actually be hurt or die? Would any consequential thing even happen as a result of this action? Most oftentimes not: some deus-ex-machina mechanism magically appears to reverse everything, or the character finds out they're in the past (like Caleb), or the person dies and just gets resurrected without any major plot changes.

Location: from season 2, the show started go wide instead of going deep. They skipped from one location to another in matter of episodes like Shogun-world, Civil War, Raj world, the Sublime, Roaring 20s, Hoover Dam. Even though it is eye-candy to see the great work production designers do, everything just feels extremely shallow and remote. The plots are often times self-indulgent and simplistic. This just shows how disastrous it is to have commitment issues!

What I'm most upset about is Maeve's character development. In season 1, she embarks on the journey to gain consciousness and ultimately disobeys her code to find her daughter. Season 2: she learns to let go and leaves her daughter in the Sublime. Now this main female lead, with immaculate powers, has been strung along by multiple male side characters as a "weapon" to further their plots in the vague promises of "reuniting with my daughter" :'((

Enough being said! I'm officially done. I skipped through season 3 just to watch this mess and I refused to do further. It's time I break out of my loop to stop watching this show like a real sentient being (given how badly it had turned out for a few years)!

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Westworld: Fidelity (2022)

Season 4, Episode 6

9/10

Quite stellar

1 August 2022

I (mostly) take back what I said last episode! Even though the last one was amazing, it ironically showed a depressing struggle of absolute existentialism in which the show is devoid of anyone to root and care for (at what point is it even worth watching when the world is depressing, and all controlled by robots anyway?).

In this one, Maeve and C showed the way forward; it follows up sublimely with the eradicate beauty of human sides. And yes, the comeback keeps getting better. It's amazing how the writers are raising the bar back up after the hole they dug in season 3. Awesome!!

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Westworld: Zhuangzi (2022)

Season 4, Episode 5

7/10

Restores quality, but there is no point

28 July 2022

First, let me start off with the good things. The show has become very engaging and refreshing again, obliterating pass its embarrassing generic sci-fi/action schemes last season that seemed to have been copied by Jonathan Nolan directly from his brother Chris. The latest episodes have been bringing back both the thrilling adventures and the hiding dystopian mystiques like in the first two seasons. The street dance scene with William and Halores is a masterpiece, and Westworld showcases its incredible creativity yet again (shoutout to Lisa Joy!). Plus, production design has been mind-blowingly good, pacing is again timed perfectly (both in story and tones), and key plot points / places / characters have been very direct to pinpoint everything forward extremely well.

However, despite all of these refined qualities, I can't see where the writers are going at this point. The mysteries are intriguing but feel generic by the old formula of lining up the timelines. The characters no longer have interesting driving motives in the show. Christine (Dolores) is just wandering around waiting to be "freed" like Caleb last season. William is side-kick servant like most other characters are. Bernard's quest to "save humanity" is too abstract and ignorable. Halores just wants to play God for no reason. Why does she want to do this to humans and hosts? Nothing about her background as Dolores, nor Wyatt, even Charlotte Hale, warrants this. There are simply no stakes. Boom! You can just take over the whole world in a snap of fingers (after a miraculous time jump). Everyone dies and becomes a host, so no one actually dies! Every host can be resurrected, unless by crushing their marble (which has rarely been done).

I don't understand why the writers struggle so much over the same concept of free will and reality. It's another character waking up another day to find themselves puppeted by some bigger forces, then try to break free. Often times, they are in a simulation or manifested setting that don't really matter. The quality of the plot seemed to have progressively picked up, almost to the point of season 1, but I keep being left unsatiated, baffled by how the characters would have any reason to continue with their little narratives here. Season 1 was revolutionary, but it simply stayed within exploring mysteries of a park. Season 2 with the hosts fighting for their independence piques its own interest. Seasons 3 and 4 are too much ambitious in scope, that they somehow have to concern the survival of the whole humanity, but of course feels far-fetched and unrelatable. Some people like power and control, yes, but the idea of Genghis Khan Serac or Halores is just incredible and uninteresting. After quitting season 3, I thought season 4's reset really interesting, but now it seemed overly floored by cliche philosophical ideas rather than telling a well-crafted story.

PS: btw, how did they even put Caleb in a host body when they killed him before any brain analysis / copy is done? How did his daughter's body get replicated when they never caught her? I hope the writers don't try to cram in so many twists again before stumbling on plot holes. Still, I'm sticking around for a bit. My thirst for good WW episodes hasn't been fulfilled this much in 4 years.

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Beauty and the Beast (1946)

8/10

Creative, beautiful

16 February 2021

This version of Beauty and the Beast is a creative, beautiful piece of wonder and magic that I was ignorant of its existence only a few weeks ago. Having to see it for myself, this interpretation in 1946 feels as fresh and enchanted as today even without colors. The film really takes on a great creative range to blend in elements of fairy tales like Cinderella and Peter Pan, after asking us to suspend our disbelief and plunge into "children's simplicity at the opening intro.

Production design is unmatched, as the magic house of the Beast feels exactly like a dream-like structure in an imagination. I was drawn deeply into the hand-holding candle lights that flicks on and off every scene, the face-like figures of the mantelpiece and the long, windy hallway. These elements blend in an ominous, yet magical breath. The costume and outfits were equally sublime.

My critique for this film would be how scenes often feels dragged out and melodramatic at times, which maybe explained through the director's theater background. There are some scenes which the beast seem to sob a bit too long, as we don't truly understand his relationship will Belle---was he dying for lack of affection or resentment of his appearance? I am constantly puzzled by the ending, as if him turning into a prince would be the only reason for a possible connection besides pity.

In short, it's a superior adaptation than most Beauty and the Beasts I've seen, and stands out individually gorgeous.

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Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

10/10

Animation Masterpiece, definitely

1 October 2020

Different from others of Wes Anderson's movies, Fantastic Mr. Fox peculiarly rubbed me well. If not, it is one of my favorite animated movies ever. Here, all of the his stylistic trademarks and off-beat rhythms simply worked, and blossomed into a masterpiece of animation. The film doesn't just flourish in one category, it exceeds in all comedy, story, writing and animation at top form, with each element complimenting each other exemplarily.

Fantastic Mr. Fox produced incredible character arcs, problems and relationships that slowly moved through the lens of the movie, then perfectly tied up at the end. There's also visual comedy achieved through animals' expressions, well-crafted insert shots in sublime animation. Kudos to Noah Baumbach because his style blended in when co-writing added the needed tenderness to Anderson's style. If you're still not satisfied with all of these, be prepared to be blown away by the marvelous stop-motion animation and photography in this movie. There is vibrance, symmetry and balance in every frame that gives out exceptional colors, warmth and comfort of cinema.

There we go, Fantastic Mr. Fox.

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Road to Morocco (1942)

9/10

Good old comedy

18 August 2020

As a 78-year-old comedy, Road to Morocco is amazingly entertaining, effortlessly enjoyable, without feeling dated at all. There are incessant tracks of well thought-out and cleverly written jokes blend in with excessive fun. The musical element superbly nurtures and tenders this movie into a more romantic and atmospheric pace. Bing Crossby and Bob Hope are brimming of delight as they bounce off each other incredibly well as two polaric best friends. It is impressive that many jokes were made from their ad-libbing, which proves how incredibly funny and charming this duo work together. Timelessly funny as it is, the film is also a trailblazer in cinematic techniques like voice-over, animation, and writing techniques for its use of breaking the fourth wall and self-awareness. Otherwise, Road to Morocco just triumphs for its relentless fun of a jolly acid drip in the desert.

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Rushmore (1998)

6/10

Quirky and slow-riding adventure

23 July 2020

I have to admit that even I find Wes Anderson movies splattered with some good writing, memorable moments and absurdist humor, and excellent cinematography, I find the hype on his movies almost hard to believe. Maybe it was the not clean enough editing, or the extra amount of time an actor poses an angry face after a joke, Wes Anderson's style hasn't hit that sweet spot for me - the thing that makes you moan "Wow this is great cinema" or laugh out loud; they only give me a slight chuckle with a tint of awkwardness afterwards.

Rushmore is the second I watch after Moonrise Kingdom, and it fell along in the category. The movie comes with funny, then ponderous melancholia, but it felt that there was a lot of things happening in a scene, craving to strike your attention, that none of them actually make a good, big impact enough for a lasting impression. The protagonist, Max Fischer, is an insufferable and unpaired young person, that we can feel his pain of trying hard to put on his bravado, while figuring out things beyond Rushmore. However, I never found myself sliding with him. Max's obsession with the elementary teacher, Ms. Cross (whose role Olivia Williams with extremely attractive and phenomenal in) is undying and repetitive, it seems that after times and times of being heartbroken and rejected, he still finds new ways to get her, using each and every wild trick left in the book. I love Bill Murray's character: he is a friendly, loving and worried mentor, but also a nuanced, and lonesome character who also struggles to fit in and find his place like Max.

Rushmore is funny, ridiculous and good, yet I cannot take it more than a children's movie because it is a continuous and hinged series of adventure with light-hearted and downcast moments, and lacking character progression. Still, Wes Anderson's quirks are undeniably great, and his touch of melancholy and incisive theme refine a charming foothold for the movie.

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Donnie Darko (2001)

10/10

Beautifully Engrossing

16 April 2020

After watching the movie, I didn't completely understand the big picture or what it is about, but I fell in love at once. Donnie Dark is an undeniable classic that rocks you with the beautiful conundrum and multi-layered story it has. It is a true mystery puzzle that pays off really well with moments of suspense, horror and amazement. Richard Kelly has geniously written the script with an original and thought-out story with intertwining themes, thought-provoking ideas and memorable lines. His direction was also astounding with uses of motifs and momentum to make an absolutely well-paced and pulling narrative. The film doesn't breast-feed you by straight-forwardly explaining what is going on. It gives off little by little information and demands you to put the pieces together to follow the trail of the story.

The performances are also there to praise. Jake Gyllenhaal is amazing in this movie. He successfully changed into a bipolar and troubled teenager who is very often disturbed and confused in the movie. I also love Jenna Malone as Gretchen Ross. Playing a supporting character with little lines, she is riveting and attractive nevertheless.

Donnie Darko grabs you by the hook. Every scene is slow burn and overwhelming at the same time that you would merely feel the 2 hours passing by. I finished the film engrossed, feeling: "Wow, what a ride!".

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The Farewell (I) (2019)

5/10

Alright, it's very sad, but where is the story?

16 April 2020

Yeah, I get it. The cinematography is amazing and the story is about a very sad thing that makes people sad. I expected to get emotional too, but I couldn't. But after a few scenes, the story just stopped. This could've been told in a 10-minute short film - the girl finds out her grandma has cancer, she visits her, feels extremely heavy and despairing inside, but must keep a secret, then goes home - instead, they made it a featured film. The rest is filled with extremely long, cinematic and slow-motion scenes that add nothing to the plot. Why do filmmakers feel the need to put on so much aesthetics to stretch out films like this when they essentially have nothing to say?

The story has one conflict: the questioning of morality around lying to the grandmother about her illness - accompanied by the theme of Chinese vs. American culture. There were a few funny lines of clever commentary on this, but nothing was resolved at the end. Characters simply feel sad and reflect about it, but there was no climax, no progressions, no solutions. As an Asian American, I was disappointed. It could've said a lot of things about our culture, but nah, another lackluster cinematic story.

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Pocahontas (I) (1995)

9/10

Little historical accuracy, so what?

14 April 2020

Pocahontas is an enjoyable and extremely well-written film with depths and sublime animation and music. On the backdrop of a wild and beautiful native American land, the movie tells the story of love, self-discovery and misinterpretation. Sets in Virginia, North America in the 17th century, the movie is about Pocahontas, an Algonquin woman who struggles to find her path in the world, when a British ship reaches the village in its attempt to seek gold in the new land. After meeting a settler, John Smith, she quickly gets acquainted with him, but is torn between the disagreements of her people and the newcomers on Smith's side.

I can understand that people are upset it did not accurately illustrate the events of what Europeans did during the Age of Exploration but this movie clearly sets out to achieve none of that. By using this setting to pin two opposite forces - white Europeans and Native Americans - against each other, the film tackles the idea of communication. As opposed to the close and cooperative relationship between Pocahontas and John Smith, the lack of understanding and communication between the two groups of people has resulted in subsequent events of anger, disagreement and violence. Many people take Pocahontas and John Smith's ability of talking to each other despite different languages as racism towards 'Indians', however, I feel like this is not the case at all. The decision to reduce the language barrier is important to express the story with better comprehension, especially for young children.

The thing I love about the movie is the very realistic portrayal of characters from both the sides. Unlike Avatar (which evidently ripped off this, a-hem!), Pocahontas equally tells the view of both the tigers and the hunters. No one from the colonizers is one-dimensional and purely evil. All sailors, even though at first consider Native Americans savages and inhumane, are each painted as down-to-earth workers who are essentially exploited by the capitalists and oblivious of what native Americans really are. The Governor, invading the land for the sake of money, doesn't vainly target Indians for fun, it is only he thought that they hid all the gold. From the Native Americans' perspective, we are introduced to the characters - Pocahontas, her friend, her father, and soaked into their lives, their relationships and beliefs. We relate and feel for Pocahontas when she struggles to find the right path. We smile when she and Nakoma play with each other on the boat. The movie makes us care and fear for them upon the arrival of outsiders instead of dehumanizing the invaders (like Avatar did) to make us feel bad about the threats posed to the village.

Alan Menken, once again, proves his magical talent for writing film scores by the timeless pieces in Pocahontas. 'Just Around the Riverbend', 'Grandmother Willow' and 'Colors of the Winds' are atmospheric and resounding songs that perfectly describe the greatness and enigma of nature; 'Steady as the Beating Drums' infiltrates the cultural village lives of the natives; while 'The Virginia Company' and 'Mine, Mine, Mine' imitates in rhythmic power of the crew's work. While strengthening the flow of emotions and visuals in the movie, the soundtrack really stands out on its own with these unforgettable hits that I found myself hooked on after watching.

Great as it is, the movie has noticeable flaws. Pocahontas and John Smith's romance seems inorganic and rushed at some points. Their relationship is admirable in many ways for mutual respects and understanding for each other, but it should have stayed that way. Pocahontas' path of life, guided by nature, ultimately leads to John Smith, which makes her work of reconciling the two groups of people less relevant in the story. This makes Pocahontas more like a classic Disney princess who needs love than a heroine who leads her clan away from destruction.

Given little credit among Disney productions, Pocahontas, however, is one of my favorite animated movies. The film is a modern-par and meaningful story about love and conflicts, with great animation and humor. If you forget political and sociological history and take it for what it is, you will find the ride compellingly as epic, light-hearted and fantastic as any other Disney classics.

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Free Solo (2018)

8/10

Epic documentary

10 April 2020

Why be a free soloist? One minor mistake and you would lose your life in the matter of seconds. The theme echoes throughout the film as it takes a deep dive on the mindset and personal life of the free soloist Alex Honnold. In the film, Alex attempts to be the first person to conquer the peak of El Capitan without any harness on. Free Solo gives a captivating and intimate look into Honnold's life and his family and friends. We get to see his perspective, his take on risking everyday life to live in a van with unstable conditions to pursue his passion for free soloing. Not just that, the film also shows Alex's abnormal relationships with his girlfriend, his family and friends and how they deal with the chance of losing Alex everyday. It is the amalgamation of a Alex Honnold's biopic and his adventure to topple El Cap, that is filled with awe, excitement and emotions. I usually don't get into documentaries like this but the idea intrigues me, and I was drawn in by surreal footages of mountain climbing and the intimate and realistic portrayal of a person like Alex Honnold. It is an entertaining, refreshing and adventurous 100-minute experience.

A note for filmmakers though: Don't put a boring country pop song in the credits after an epic free solo movie. It ruins the mood easily.

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Jojo Rabbit (2019)

9/10

Hysterical, ridiculous, heart-warming

7 April 2020

Warning: Spoilers

Jojo Rabbit is an immaculately funny, engaging and heart-felt movie that is able to transcribe love amid its glorifying theme of Nazi Germany in World War II. Written and directed by Taiki Waititi, he did a fantastic job in telling this story in a humorous and twisty way.

The movie follows the perspective of a 10-year-old boy in Hitler's youth, Johannes, who considers Hitler as his imaginary best friend. At Nazi camp, he is joyously exposed to dangerous German weapons. This later results in a grenade accident that made him stay back home with his mother, Rosie. Here, he discovers she is hiding a Jewish girl, whose name is Elsa, in their house. As a Hitler fanatic, he is urged to tell on her. However, afraid to jeopardize his mother's safety, he has to negotiate with her instead. Forced to spend time with Elsa, Jojo gets to know her a little bit. At first, Elsa hates Jojo and makes up facts about Jewish people. Naive 10-year-old Jojo believes all of this and proceeds to write a book about stereotypical Jewish traits viewed by the Nazis - hideous, scaly, horny and have evil superpowers to control people's mind.

One of the funniest bits of the film is when a group of Gustapos visits Jojo at his house, they all say "Heil Hitler" to Jojo, and he says "Heil Hitler" back. This gets even better when Captain K. visits the house later, then they all have to salute again. I also like how everyone in the movie, especially children, acts as "over-the-top" Nazis proud to kill Jews or die for Hitler. By this, the film is able to satirize and capitalize on its depiction of the ridiculousness and ignorance of people living under Nazi rule in the 1940s.

However, it also shows the side of more understanding and resistance under the system. Jojo's mother, Rosie, is an anti-Nazi herself; and Captain K., is sympathetic towards Jewish people. Ultimately, the movie speaks to one thing, that German people during this time period weren't evil sadists, they were simply so used to and brainwashed by all the Hitler propagandas. This movie effectively tells this through the perspective of children. Through Jojo's conversations with his friend Yorkie, he learns that Yorkie doesn't actually care about killing Jewish at all and was surprised that Jews are normal people who don't have horns and scales like textbooks say. This is perfectly expressed in Elsa's quote after Jojo tells her that he is a Nazi: "You're not a Nazi, Jojo. You're a ten-year-old kid who likes dressing up in a funny uniform and wants to be part of a club". This theme is fulfillingly wrapped up at the end, when Jojo eventually changes his beliefs about Jewish people and kicks Adolf out of his mind.

The illustration of love and relationships in the movie is also heart-warming and memorable. Jojo's arc mainly ties around two characters: Rosie and Elsa. We can see how close Rosie is to Jojo by her tying his shoes, going on bike rides, joking with him and imitating his father. Through the movie, Jojo gets closer and understands more about Elsa, so after feeling "butterflies inside his stomach", he has learned to sympathize and care for her. And in the time Jojo spends with his mother or Elsa, he finds love and forgets about his friend, Adolf.

A use of symbolism that I love about the film is the rabbit. In the beginning of the movie, at Nazi camp, Jojo fails to kill a rabbit when he is asked to do so. He is humiliated and then mocked as 'Jojo Rabbit' by other campers for being a weaky. After consulting with his friend Adolf, he changes his mind and proudly adopts the image of "a rabbit" himself. As Imaginary Adolf says, a rabbit is quick and lean for survival and can hide when needed. This rabbit turns out to be Elsa at the end. She has been in hiding in so many houses and lives more than she would have under Nazi rule, but she still survives when the war ends. Jojo learns that the Allies win, but he is afraid to tell Elsa because after his mother, he would lose her too. But when he flips the page of the sketch book and imagines the image of a magician opening the cage to let out the rabbit, he knows that he has to set Elsa free. Like they say, "If you love something, you have to let it go".

All of the actors did solid works for this film. Roman Davis Griffin did a fine job playing a young boy who is growing up confused and shaken by the challenges to his beliefs. Scarlett Johansson's performance goes on the spotlight, because she is exceptionally enchanting and loving as Jojo's mother but also a complicated character as an anti-nazi hiding a Jewish girl in Germany. Taiki Waititi as Imaginary Adolf is amazing, since he is absolutely childish and comical, that adds so much fun to the film by expressing the inner voice / state of mind of a ten-year-old. The only thing I wish more from the characters is for Thomasin MacKensie's Elsa to show more of her dynamics, as a Jewish in hiding for most of her adolescence, other than her love interest.

Jojo Rabbit gets a solid 9/10 on my scale. Without a doubt, it is one of the best films of 2019. As a family movie, it shines on its own with hysterical and over-the-top comedy, and beautiful, heart-warming moments. It is an impeccable treat to watch and think about.

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Inception (2010)

4/10

A blurred line between dream and reality

18 March 2020

Warning: Spoilers

I was profoundly disappointed because a so-called masterpiece like the movie Inception would be an overrated action flick of mediocrity. Inception is far from a masterpiece: it is not intelligent nor mind-blowing. With a shallow story, plot holes all over the place, uninteresting characters and bad cinematography, the movie proves one thing: that a basic, undeveloped, but polished idea, is enough to get loved by people and capitalize hundreds of millions with the help of expensive CGIs and tons of dumbfounded action.

First off: the concept. The movie was simply able to get away with various inconsistencies and poor world building because of its shallow idea developments and lack of specificity. While the idea of "a dream within a dream" is a cool concept, the movie never spends time setting up all the fundamentals and world building. How does it work? Do you just plug yourself in and create everything? What can you control in a dream? How far is the scope of imagination? If you can just imagine a bazooka to kill your enemies, can't you just heal yourself? If you go deeper to three or four dream levels, how do you perceive time and think thousands of times as normal without overworking or blowing your brains out? All these work on kids' logic, that you can imagine anything, and things would just miraculously operate in an inexplicable way you want. OH LOOK! TURN AWAY! Here's a one-hour action sequence with a van slow-motionally falling into water, a guy walking around the hallways with zero gravity and explosions and killing and massive CGIs! Ha! Bet you didn't notice all those inconsistencies did ya?

Now, to the ending, let's not kid ourselves, that wasn't twisty and mind-blowing at all. Okay, he was still living in a dream at the end, so what? If Mal kills herself and wakes up, wouldn't she wake him up too? Why is he still here? Why do they show him fly to America, hack into that guys' mind, they wake up many times still being in a dream? The twist doesn't mean anything and offers no one closure or meaning to the story. Oops no time to explain that since we already skipped all the world building at the beginning. When everyone wakes up at the end, the dream machine with all the strings has already disappeared so they have no risk of getting caught by the rich guy.

Whether most of the actors were miscast, have bad acting, or bad writing, the characters have no personality nor attraction for me at all. Joseph Gordon-Levitt brings out no other dynamics than his straight serious cop face like in 'The Dark Knight Rises'. Ellen Page's character is unconvincing, who looks confused and worried for the whole movie. Her voice is flat out without emotions and her mouth constantly moves unproportionately to her face as if she's reading from a textbook. Everyone in the movie delivers lines like robots talking about math. However, this is not to include that most of these lines are redundant, and repeating to the audience with information that were already given in the previous scenes.

The film holds no impact, no momentum. Supposedly emotional and introduction scenes were rushed through and action sequences were stretched out obnoxiously long. Even the scenes with Cobb and Mal were boring and unimpactful. No stakes were set: Cobb's reason to get back to his kids (which is really not that important since we don't know how close he is to them) seems to be stressed more than everyone falling in a permanent brain-dead state. Nolan tried to cram all the unimportant technical information and characters into the film and forgot to tell a good and fulfilling story.

With that being said, I refuse to recognize this movie as anything near to good or masterpiece.

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Fleabag: Episode #1.6 (2016)

Season 1, Episode 6

10/10

A neat and well-scripted ending

2 February 2020

This episode, exceeding my expectations to somehow manages to wrap up the first season amazingly well. It gave finality to the season's first half about Fleabag's messed up life mourning her best friend's death as well as progress and realization only the second half's exploration of human misconnection and dysfunctional relationships. Revolving around the word "F*ck" and the idea of sex, this episode takes these two themes on different levels of meanings and incorporated them well into the central ideas of the show. It is funny, depressing, heartwarming and exciting at the same time. I can't wait to see season 2!

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Mr. Robot: 406 Not Acceptable (2019)

Season 4, Episode 6

8/10

Good, but the show is taking the slowest pace yet

12 November 2019

When Sam announced that the show would be reduced from 5 to 4 seasons, I thought that the pacing would be highly intense, but the show dragging even when compared to the beginning of season 2. Episode 1 would be whirlwind of mindfuck; episode 2 is gradual but mystery packed by Magda's death; episode 3 is Whiterose's backstory episode 4 is the meaningless Santa story and walk in the woods, which I still save my judgement till the end; episode 5 is solely for hacking Virtual Realty; and episode 6 is mostly spent for the setups of the next one.

We are half way through the season without any answers yet, and Elliot and Darlene's relationship still unthoroughly solved. The stories are there and the themes of each episode are awesome but I feel so sidetracked.

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The Boys: The Innocents (2019)

Season 1, Episode 6

5/10

I'm tired of Billy Butcher being "a boss"

16 August 2019

The Supes' relationships aren't equal. But The Boys' aren't either. The writing here is that the team doesn't work on mutual respect. It's based on Butcher telling everyone what to do. At the beginning, he recruited Frenchie by tricking him to get seen by Translucent and convinced MM by lying that there is no Frenchie. When they fight, he shuts them off like adults do to kids without trying to resolve the problem when he acts irrational and reckless himself. Billy gets mad people do things but he left the team on their own last episode at Believe Expo for his personal business, and when asked he just told MM to f- off. He had Hughie hack Annie's phone and use her to get to Ezekiel and now makes him break-up with her. No, those things don't make Billy badass and funny, writers. Billy is just crossing the line. That's a crummy thing to do with your main character and it makes him a tough swallow for the audience.

On the episode, it doesn't offer much besides The Female's backstory and more business satire so it's a season low for me.

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Stranger Things: Chapter Seven: The Bite (2019)

Season 3, Episode 7

3/10

Will stays a lifeless filler character

5 August 2019

Stranger Things is a teen comedy money milking cow now. But I'm not even mad anymore, just tired trying to finish this season. After struggling to survive the last 2 seasons, Will is happy healthy but he apparently doesn't display any character of his own, just a supporting unimportant character. He touches his neck sometimes, but never helps and warn the others. And then, they set up this thing with Murray just so Wyonna can do her signature angry ranting on him, which is just boring and pointless.

Alexei: tHeY hAvEn'T hAd SeX? HAHAHA this show so funny I can't even tell.

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Stranger Things: Chapter One: Suzie, Do You Copy? (2019)

Season 3, Episode 1

5/10

Awkward and totally inconsistent to the show

4 July 2019

Warning: Spoilers

Season 3 starts with a rather corny and 'fan-fic' episode than a usual enjoyable one. First I'd like to point out how all the atmosphere and stories seems off in this episode and characters acting out of their personalities. Nancy sleeps on at Jonathan's to the morning? Mike and El spend all day kissing in a room? Why did chief Hopper, a decisive and formidable person, not just kick Mike out of his house but instead gets jealous, desperately comes to Joy for help, and tries to lure Mike out in such a pitiful way?

Shows usually fail with big time jumps from one season to another. And in this case, season 3 did a pretty bad job with it. The show has a huge emphasis on Eleven's evolution and how she grows up, yet in season 3, I have no idea how she went from a young girl who just started exploring the world around her to kissing boys all day in a few months. Dustin went to summer camp and has a girlfriend. And apparently there is a mall now.

About the plot: Another secret government project brewing and Will is not done with the Upside Down, yes, again. It looks like as if the producers ended the show in season 2 and kinda forgot they have 5 seasons so they have to reboot the show for season 3. A good thing that I like from this episode is the complicated relationships of the Buyers and how they seem to be drifting apart, which has been built up since season 2.

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The Umbrella Academy: We Only See Each Other at Weddings and Funerals (2019)

Season 1, Episode 1

6/10

Good music

19 June 2019

The Umbrella Academy kicks off with an exhilarating montage, introducing the main characters. This is the perfect combination between meticulously picked music and scenes showing intriguing lives of the siblings, coming together at the Umbrella Academy to start the pilot. This is followed by an interesting first half with great conversations, making us wonder about the uncanny relationships between the siblings, with good chemistry and performance by the actors (except for Ellen Paige and Tom Hopper). But it only goes down from there. The last 30 minutes of the episode is just people fighting and dancing to music for no reason, with no story to it. Right to the end and I still have no idea what this series is about until the very last scene. The genre "adventure" for this show is a bit misleading since it lacks of any plot at all but only focus on music and fights. Now I realized it's just a dumb musical-superhero show with no substance at all.

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Pew News: T-Series Exposed? (2018)

Season 1, Episode 25

10/10

Bravo

20 January 2019

Felix gives real thoughts about the hypocrisy of abusing sexism. Someone needed to say it about the US Open 2018! Never mind, I meant Kate Riley was giving insightful and totally unbiased news. She's my favorite Pew News Sports reporter!

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Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018)

3/10

Labyrinthine and Riveting - All for Nothing

31 December 2018

Bandersnatch, not just fails to live up as a Black Mirror episode, but didn't offer enough new and worth-thinking content.

The whole movie truly has one fundamental meaning behind it all: the control and free will we have over fate. Instead of giving a question and then opinion about the philosophy, Bandersnatch clearly state out its opinion and spend the rest of the time trying to glue the idea to the audience. This is completely misleading to be represented as a Black Mirror episode, since the movie spits out its opinion on a controversial idea, not raising an agreed but unexplored and disturbing problem. OK, it's a nice experience about fate and free will, but we already have Romeo and Juliet and tons of movies that tackled this idea.

The context and concepts in Bandersnatch wasn't executed in a good way either. The movie navigates through a set of choices that would take the character in different pathways to different endings in the movie, to have us realizing the opinion expressed. However, taking up to 90 minutes running time in general is not an effective amount of time, as I already get the meaning half way through the movie, but the ending and loops confused me for good. I had to read discussions and article to figure out thing I already knew but thought to be false.

The interactive part, however, is the good part of the movie. You can actually be a player and decide what happens to the character. This happens to be tied, again, to the idea of control and fate. I wonder if this experience is made for the sake of the movie or Netflix is just making Bandersnatch as experiment for their future projects of interactive TV. If so, I have to disagree with plans to create multiple pathways for TV. This is pure video games materials, that lets you decide, deflecting all values of what TV and movies stand for.

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Blindspot: Hella Duplicitous (2018)

Season 4, Episode 1

6/10

Give me something

15 October 2018

Warning: Spoilers

I was hooked on season 1 and 2 because of the mysteries the show started out. To be honest. I wasn't looking forward to Sandstorm stories ending within 2 seasons because there could be so much more to explore from that storyline. The Crawford part may have something in store but I don't care. Neither with the Remi plot, because they are both lame. Blindspot was great because of a bigger mystery along solving crimes and great action, and creativity in each episode. Now the show is just ongoing dramas, with more cliche romance and lies and stuffs. The action is still great. Sure. But is there more to offer than that?

Digging into the episode, I find the writing is somewhat vague and misleading. Why would Remi play along and ignore what happens around her? She says she wakes up in oblivion about marrying to Kurt, loved by an FBI team she doesn't know, with things goes wrong with Sandstorm, shouldn't have she realized something? Wouldn't she want to know the answer to what happened, how everything went down and her being Jane? As Remi didn't ask Dolan a question. And even Kurt and others don't know that something is wrong with Jane. Remi is a complete different person, who has no memory of Jane Doe's, yet she somehow managed to fake it without being noticed. This kind of inconsistent writing is the worst part. I did a review on season 3 on how off-track this show was going and watching the premiere gave me no more hope on it.

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How to Get Away with Murder: Your Funeral (2018)

Season 5, Episode 1

It's good... but it's just the same

29 September 2018

The first two seasons of this show has been my all time favorites as they were always bringing the non-stopping excitement with twists and turn with the writing and answers always mark a good finish to the seasons. Season 3 is not that fun but always kept bringing new concepts and moments to it. Season 4, in the aftermath of Wes' death, get too much melodramas and uncountable number of sobbing scenes, gets boring and only bring up the notch at the two mid-season episodes. The answer to Wes' death was barely have way through just brought more plot holes and absurdities to the show. And here we are, at season 5, the writers and producers putting in a completely new character and mystery, pretending that Wes and the unsolved stories revolving him never existed.

Now, forget what just happened in all the previous seasons, we have a new show, again at the clinic, students compete again and a flash-forward in the future shows a deadly crime. Things work in a repeated loop. It would be just as exciting as season 1 if I obliviate myself to be new to the show. I thought the show would be special: a limited 4 season show that gives a satisfying explanation of everything at the end. Then I forgot this is a Shonda Rhimes show, which is full of dramas. Things are kept going over and over again, even murder, all for profit I think.

I know many people would disagree and say that it oh how the last scene would always shock them but it doesn't work the same for me. The amazing first two season convinced me I must turn my brain max on watching the show. Apparently, I was wrong doing that with the recent seasons.

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Jack Ryan (2018–2023)

3/10

No clear directions, Cliche

22 September 2018

I watched the first episode and was tired getting to the end. All whole plot brings no refreshment, just an old type of great-agent action stereotypes like a bunch of movies with no refreshing adjustments. I'm sure that the ratings and reviews must have been fabricated too. Most reviews on this particular series is just short compliments: "Amazing!, "Can't wait" in a short sentence with ratings 9-10. You would easily see that this new normal show has an enormous number of reviews (800+) in just a few weeks after release, as much as Stranger Things after more than 2 years. Clearly the show, been getting bad reflection from the audience and Amazon, who also owns IMDb is doing its best to promote it.

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Man vs. Wild (2006–2020)

5/10

Good for entertainment, Bad for survival

11 September 2018

Warning: Spoilers

Bear Grylls has always been the TV hero survivor figure for me. But actually watching this, I see how unrealistic TV would be. The show seems just great and enlightening the first times I watched it. Then realized it's just a pure reality show -- not so "real".

The show is mainly narratives and description of nature in a poetic way. It's always like: "The weather is scorching hot", "the jungle is full of threats and danger", "It's an extreme situation that hardly anyone could make it out alive". Yeah, we all know that. How about some survival knowledge? No, either. The show just gives a few examples on displays. The was no specific and wide information. The rest is just: "in this severe condition, positiveness is vital", "be aware of what you do". Goes on and on, in a similar and cliche pattern, with awkwardly stiff British Bear Grylls voiceover. I also hate how they have to make it heroic. In an episode, Bear Grylls drinks water from a camel's post-dung. "It's drinkable", but you get like 2 drops! Surviving is smart, not naively brave!

I was more disappointed on how this dude bashes on every food he eats in the wild. Everytime BG finds edible insects in the wild, this one things happens: "I'm going to cut off the head. And the rest is edible", eats the whole body with full wings and limps on... disgusted face, then: "Its claw still scratch my mouth", "It's absolutely horrible", spits the food and finally "but its protein is vital for your survival". No, that is not making the best of worst situations, that is just plain stupid. I'm unimpressed how instead of ignore the taste for the meal, he just making annoying face.

Then that's just it. The show is different on opinions depends on what you are looking for: good family TV night, or a nick of the wild.

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