Maybe I should stop watching movies all together.
There I was, about to invest three hours into a movie about a man I thought to be one of the most interesting characters in human history, and it left me totally underwhelmed. In fact, I quit at the 2:20 hour mark.
This is not "The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer's role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II." This was more about american communist paranoia, about political intrique then it was about a build up to an event that changed the world. And even that, the Trinity test, was a massive dissapointment to lock at. It didn't look like an atomic explosion but rather just a giant gasoline fire, which it probably was. No fascination or awe or even fear, on my part about the power of nature they just unleashed. Why not make a movie about the project, the challenges, the difficulties when all you can show us of Oppenheimer is - what really ? What did he actually do, what were his contibutions other then sitting in meatings and hearing others talk.
I would like to say the acting was great but I can't as there are hardly scenes where anyone has more then two lines of dialogue in a row. Or longer scenes at all for that matter. You try to put yourself in one scene and it switches to the next, and the next and so on. Add to that jumping throught timelines and you can be left utterly confused. Which will probably be the reason it get's tons of Oscar's.
For me it's a soulless, lifeless and, dare I say it, boring movie stuffed with a massive cast that seemed so wasted on this.
Harris writes historical fiction. He puts a fictional story inside a historical event. I just mentioned that because I've read some comments saying they don't believe something like this happened. It's not based on anything that happened it's him toying with an idea.
I am a huge fan of Robert Harris and have read about all of his books. Many of his novels have been made into movies so I wasn't surprised "Munich" did, too. I can't say how it compares to the book because it is just about the only one I haven't read yet. So I look just at the movie.
Concerning the story - like I mentioned it didn't happen. But it could have, I guess. And that's what I like about Harris. He gives you something to think about. What if Chamberlain had had this info ? Would he still sign the agreement? Did he, like the story want's to make us believe, bought time ? And what if he didn't sign ? Would it ultimately changed anything ? No one can really answer that. It's all theoretical.
I think they got the look alright. You get something from the atmosphere of the time in both, England and Germany. Especially the German arrogance was displayed rather well. Jeremy Irons seem like the reincarnation of Chamberlain from all I know of the historical footage. On the other side Matthes wasn't a perfect look alike. Nevertheless his portrayal of Hitler was very uncomfortable to watch. And I mean that as a compliment. As a whole I did enjoy the movie very much. It's more along the lines of classic film making far removed from blockbuster cinema.
A really good story about the personal implications the Prime Directive can have. Why it can be important sometimes to look past the sheer letters of the law. And, if you know your Trek, you also know that one James Kirk has bended that rule oftentimes for lesser reasons. Yes, it is a story telling tool. But it does work in a way that it provides a moral dilemma where with every decision you only seem to be getting deeper in trouble. I didn't particulary like the selective memory wipe, but with Data placing the stone in her hand there was closure.
I must say I appreciate this episode more now. Usually I thought of it more like a little boring. Not anymore.
But did Data, when trying to erase sever the connection, maybe pushed a wrong button on purpose to strengthen his position ? Interesting way to think about it.
A little nitpicking: When Picard and Troi enter the holodeck, you can see the horse already being saddled. In the next shot from inside the holodeck the saddle is off the horse. I'd never noticed that in multiple viewings. There you have it: The Curse of HD :grinning:
Worf hostility towards Data is strange. I understand it somewhat during the discussion in Picards quarters. But on the bridge ? I understand he's annoyed by what Data does. But since Worf is a lower rank........Data could pretty much do as he pleases.
Was in this purely because of Eva Green. I don't know the book and I have no intention of reading it now.
Even with only one episode left I couldn't bring myself to finish it. It was that awful for me. I lost interest around episode four, the fifth was just running in the background. I was so bored I didn't care. The concept for the story is supposedly interesting but if you can't keep people interested in what you're about to tell, that ultimately has to be considered a failure. What is descripted as "fateful coincidences" you can also call lazy writing. Let's be honest, those coincidences are rather unbelievable. Things happen because they have to or otherwise the story would be stuck in the mud. Maybe I'm lacking the imagination and I don't think I'm the audience for a novel written by a woman in her mid twenties. According to imdb highest rating comes from women 18-29 while lowest from men 45+. Go figure, we need demographics here, too.
It looks good, though. Costumes and sets, but that alone does not cut it. Eve Hewson has the charm of a tombstone. Eva Green does her usual best, the rest tries but ultimately there are to many characters to follow.
It's a love-it-or-hate-it show. But I read many comments by people who read the book and say it's bad.
I've always had an interest in how movies were made, especially SFX. I don't know if people really see the scope of what ILM did for movies. They were always inventing new tech, pushed by George Lucas demands of what he had in his mind. But Lucas wasn't a dictator, he just knew how to get the best out of them. And because of that ILM is still industry standard. They are still there pushing technology to the limit and beyond.
Listening to all of them talking about the times way back when, and seing a lot of photographs and short clips, gives you a great feeling what a tight knit group they were. Those are people with a passion for what they are doing. Plus, those interviews are real and not put together from different sources to make this docu. I was stoked to have Lucas himself in it. Seeing the transition from physical to digital effects was also very interesting to follow from the perspective of the ones who've been there. You feel sympathy for Tippet who was a genius in his field. Althought he didn't became obsolete over night, on the contrary. He was still needed and I hold his work in high regard.
So wether you're just a Star Wars fan, or a movie fan in general, who likes to know how they did it, WATCH THIS ! And quite frankly, avoid the other Star Wars docu that is airing parallel to this.
@andreas1138
Like promised, here's my review.
Not going to lie, this was better than the previous episode. I still just want to make it through the end. And for a show I had high hopes for, that's a statement of disappointment.
The flashback with Obi-Wan and Anakin was really good but should have been in the movie in the first place. It would have explained more back than as it did today. Seeing Vader stomp through the hallways and holding of the transport was another great sequenz. Overall it's still nowhere near what could have been. Because of the writing...
When the Stormtroopers land and take position in front of the door, that's about as un-military as you can get. Line up for an enemy to maw you down. Is this overconfidence or stupidity ? If Reva could have just slice open the door with her Lightsaber than why not do so in the first place ? And when the door does open, Stormtroopers are dropping like flies and I counted three (!!!) "rebels" being killed, including Tala. And Reva stands just behind in the background. The revelation of her story was anything but a surprise, but it's another reminder that this show has the wrong title. And how many other force sensitive people did she kill or helped being killed to get back at Vader ? To avenge what he has done as Anakin ? Killing what was in your words your family for revenge ? Yeah, that totally makes her one of the good guys instantly. (Attention sarcasm)
But here is one thing I really have a beef with and it hasn't even directly to do with the story or show itself:
Why is Qui-Gon dead ?
He got punched in the gut by Maul's saber once. So did the Grand Inquisitor, and so did Reva. Apperently twice !!! And both are alive.
Right now, even another fight between Vader and Kenobi, which would at this point nake no sense, can't save this show.
Acting wise this was probably the best I've seen from Stewart in this show. No, not the lying on his back part. But the sessions with his shrink/father had at times at least some fire in his acting.
As for the story itself, well, I didn't like the presentation. The horror movie scenario looks a bit to B-movie. The part about Picard's mother having some mental illness as explanation of his behaviour towards others doesn't (yet) make sense to me. And now the whole thing isn't about Reneé at all ?
The Alladin like summoning of Q was a bit stupid, too. Here I was hoping we were finally shown the first meeting between him and Guinan. And if El-Aurians can summon a Q doesn't that make them more powerful ? Well, in walks this FBI guy arresting both, Guinan and Picard. End of episode. Another missed opportunity.
The writers throw in some more references to "old" Star Trek. "I'm from Chile, I only work in outer space" - not funny. Oh, and nice job preserving the timeline bringing them on board. Maybe Rios will stay in the past - he obviously likes it there.
The Borg Queen formaly known as Jurati trying to assimilate mankind "before they are ready". Been there, tried that, didn't work. All that really isn't very original.
Like I said before, I see flashes of what could have been a good story for a movie (which according to the internet rumor mill is in the works) but a lot of it is just filler to get ten episodes. This will either cumulate in a spectacular finale or it will be a major dud.
On a side note: I wonder why they released the teaser for season three before this season is even finished. Are they already afraid people will turn away and this is an efford to make them stay ?
I doubt this was a plan they had in mind starting this series, as Stewart always said this will not be another TNG show.
I watched the 2005 movie and therefore decided to give this one a try also when I found the DVD box online.
This wasn't a cheap TV production. And while it surely looks outdated, especially in terms of the SFX and rather like being even ten years older than it is, all this doesn't matter. The movie, according to imdb, had a 180 m$ budget (which is huge) and benefited from better technology. But this is made with a lot of love and dedication for detail and espcially the animal costumes are phantastic.
From the three parts I like "The Lion...." the most. Which is part due to the fact that the protagonists change moving forward and I didn't like Eustace or Jill that much to be honest. There is obviously a strong christian theme which starts and ends with Aslan. Interestingly, as a full fledged astheist, that didn't bother me at all. The funny thing is, I didn't even made the connection until I read about it. Then many things present themselve in a different light.
It's still a great adventure story for kids to dream about traveling to a mystique land and living through a series of adventures.
Every decade has its own kind of special movies and this documentary gives a very good overview. The problem is that it races through the decades and you only get a few sentences about each movie. There is no deeper exploration. Two minutes per movie and on to the next. It also feels a bit selective at times althought I could not point my fingers to what movies they left out. Then there are movies mentioned as being revolutionary and influential that I haven't even heard of.
In my case this was just a reminder of the movies I had seen and the ones I didn't, with little informational content. And that a lot of the high praised and awarded movies did little for me. Maybe it could serve as a guideline for younger movie fans as to what movies they should watch. At the same time I think everyone should explore the movie history on their own.
One other thing. The sequence in which the episodes were broadcast is wrong. I've watched the first three and the third clearly was meant to be the last which would make a lot of sense. You should start with The Golden Age, finish with The 2000s and watch the rest accordingly.
The movie itself is beyond doubt. It is one of the great Hollywood epics with a line up of stars that almost feels unreal.
One thing was disturbing my viewing experience. This is one of the very few movies made in Cinerama which means it was filmed with three cameras simultaneously. And those three strips are then put together. It's made for a curved screen - imagine that in 1962 !! From what I gather the result in cinemas was breathtaking. I rermember watching it on TV way back and that must have been a "normal" version. Now I watched the BluRay which has a great picture in general but those three camera shots are now side by side again and on a flat screen this has serious downsides:
Perspectives aren't right. If you have, say, a horse running across the screen it's performing a curve.
Actors standing on the sides don't seem to look at each other when talking.
In one scene Henry Fonda's shooting at a buffalo. His rifle is pointing slight to the right and when he shoots the animal to his left is hit.
In general you are always aware when the three cameras are used and it can be very confusing. It took me a while to get used to it.
Contains major spoilers !!!!!
Huge and utterly dissapointing. After TFA I said this movie would make or break the story. For me it broke.
Where to begin? Let´s start with my biggest problem.
After that rebel cruisers bridge was hit and Leia was thrown into space we saw her drifting in the cold empty vacuum of space. This was a powerful scene and I had tears welling up in my eyes thinking that would be a great ending for the character dying how she always lived. Fighting. I did not realise, or care, that it would have been a huge coincidence had they written this scene at that point not knowing Carrie would pass away. But as I said powerful scene. And then she opens her eyes and floated back into the ship still beeing alive. At that point I was seriously considering leaving the cinema. It´s scifi but, please, without as much as a hint of an explanation that is just awful writing. It is Disney all over it. Anyway I stayed and watched the rest but in general I was done with the movie.
There are tons of other things I didn´t like.
way to much unnessesary and stupid humor. Most of the time it does not fit and just destroys scenes. Holding for General Hux - that might have been OK once but two or three times it just becomes goofy. And there is more of this througout the movie.
the writing was all over the place. So much things going on that do little to nothing for the general plot and just add playtime. Like that whole thing with the codebreaker, going to the casino. Just sugarcoating CGI.
and speaking of playtime - way too long. About five times towards the end I thought it was over. It could have ended when the reached the rebel base- no let´s add another battle. When they realised they where trapped. With Luke going out to face Kylo. At some point I would have been OK with the movie ending with the First Order defeating the rebels, everyone dying, and the franchise done with. But of course that is not happening and the movie ends.....no, just show us a kid with a broom looking at the stars and indicate he could be the hero of a future movie.
in many ways the continuation of storylines is not satisfiying. They introduce Snoke in the first movie without an explanation who he is, where he comes from and how he got there. Would have been OK, could have done later. So now he´s dead without so much as a fight and there are questions left to be answered.
what about Rey ? Are we really to believe her parents were some drunk and drifting scavengers that sold her for money like Ren said ? That would be very stupid because how in the universe could she master the Force in ways even the best Jedis or Sith couldn´t without as much as years of training. Another void in the storytelling.
too many, shall I call them, homage scenes ? A lot of times I felt I had already seen this movie. The scene in the throne room f.e. Snoke = Emperor, Rey = Luke, Ben = Vader, the destruction of the rebel fleet playing in the background and the Ben killing Snoke is like Vader killing the Emperor. I know that was said about TFA as well but I feel it´s much worse here. The Battle of Hoth reviseted would be another thing where they re-did some scenes to a T. All that was left was tow cables.
Those are just some examples of the things I disliked and maybe there could be satisfactory explanation later. There is a lot more but it would take too much time to write it down. But I doubt I will go to the cinema for the next one.
To be fair there where some positives in this movie.
I liked the scenes with Rey and Luke althought they did not really lead anywhere. But some nice insights into Lukes story after ROTJ.
The conversations between Kylo and Rey where very interesting and I thought there was really potential to steer the story to something new and exciting. Not happening.
So overall I was not satisfied. I really like TFA, it built some expectations that where all crushed with this. As far as I am concerned I am done with this new story. I am not not very eager to find out what else the canibalise and how they try to write themselves out of this. There is nothing left.
This is my view of the movie. If you liked it I´m happy for you.
May the Force be with us. Always.
Without lots of action, without much of the popular Star Wars lore like the Force, Jedi, Lightsabers, this show delivers with every new episode.
It was very interesting to see that Mon Mothma was reluctant to delve fully into engaging the Empire in open Rebellion. We've never seen that side. I also like that they adressed that people are and will be dying like Luthen told her. It's not much of romantisizing. It's war. And the Empire responds the only way it knows how. By asserting even more power. By being predictable, thus playing into the Rebels hands.
"The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers."
Which at least some inside the Empire seem to understand while others still think of their position.
We also see the glimmer of hope from the people that things are about to change for the better when they hear off the attack on Aldhani. And althought Star Wars is not known for portraying contemporary problems within the story telling, I wonder if the similarities are just random.
I really interested how characters like Syril and Dedra will develop moving forward. Could they actually (well maybe one of them) end up with the Rebels ?
Oh, and the world building in this show is also great: Bureau of Standards. It's the Empire put in a single building and again something that reminds me of our present.
This feels much more like mid season episode. That's not saying it was a bad one. Quite the opposite. I had a lot of good laughs and a lot of smiles.
One small point of critique: the whole Lysella story was too predictable. I love the dialogue between her and Kelly. It's obvious where that's aimed at. But why not show her the simulation earlier ? Could've made her understand and accept without all the back and forth.
As for the Clair/Issac relationship - who would've thought it would end in marriage when that started way back. But it works, it makes sense and it doesn't feel forced.
Final thoughts on the season:
"Future Unknown" refers as much to the episode as to the show itself. There still is no news about a renewal. It would be a loss to not have another season. I'm sure they could come up with interesting stories. Ed's daughter, his relationship to Kelly, how Claire and Isaac work out, Lysella - there is tons of potential. But they also made sure we get closure if it ends here. I would miss the characters as they have grown on me. I want to see them again and learn more about them. Experience some more adventures with them. That's a feeling no show has given me for quite some time.
Please come back.
Best episode ever because lightsaber fight !
Seriously ?! It was in parts better but it couldn't save the show as a whole.
OK, I admit I was wrong and there was another match between them. And it was better then the first. But no stupid writing ? Why did Vader just leave Obi-Wan under the rocks ? He couldn't feel he was still alive ? Well, he couldn't feel him sneaking up behind him, couldn't he ? But he knew he was on the little ship. And if that is how it went down why didn't Obi-Wan just kill Vader right there? Could have saved the galaxy lots of trouble. He clearly had accepted that Anakin was gone, he even called him "Darth" (which by the way is wrong because that's a title, the name would be Vader). And they now established that the Empire, and Vader, knew all the time that Kenobi was alive and where he was.
Luke having no memory of being chased in the night by a lady with a crimson lightsaber ? OK, maybe it's one of those selected memory losses.
Reva standing on the surface of Tattoine after taking a lightsaber in her guts just mere hours before ? How is that not convinient writing ? And wanna bet we see her again? Maybe in a spin-off?
Qui-Gon appearing at the end was nice but ultimately useless. This final episode was just ticking up boxes to preserve canon but it also creates logical errors by doing so. And there was never any danger towards the characters.
Hindsight is always 20/20 but after watching what I had high hopes for, I can only say it would have been better it didn't happen.
It's a very good episode but I wish it would have come at a later time. Maybe even next season. But with a fourth season still not confirmed and all but given I think they wanted to set some things straight.
At almost one and a half hours this is practically a double episode and I must say that this was the first time I thought it was a bit too long. The first half was OK. I was really dissapointed by Haveena's decisions. Her motives might've been honorable but I was totally with Ed when he told her what he thought about it. What follows was a predictable way the story unfolded. I'm not sure where they wanted to go with the hinted possible romance between Kelly and Bortus. Especially since they already threw a wrench in it at the end.
Everything really picks up at around the time when Gordon speaks up and calls out the Moclans for what they are. What follows are some powerfull scenes f.e. when Bortus adresses the Council as a father who's child has been abducted and tortured. Those were some hard to swallow scenes seeing Topa being tortured (kudos to Imani Pullum) and MacFarlane once again shows he's not shy to go there if it helps the plot. And I fully expected Bortus to turn around once again and kill the torturer but he didn't want his child to see him kill another.
We finally get the only logical conclusion that the Moclans are thrown out of the Union because everything else at this point would be a cheat. Going back to Gordon, I too am sick and tired of people doing bad things from a position of power and always getting away with it. (Take that sentence for what it is - I will not say anything more).
There is the surprise return of Clyden (I expected him back at some point but not so soon) but I think his change of heart is genuine and believable. Almost loosing your child can change your perspective. And he also makes peace with Kelly. Like I said - all this might've worked even better at some point in the future but who knows if there is one for the show. Now, with Clyden back that hinted thing between Bortus and Clyden makes even less sense.
And why haven't we learned about the "Traitor" on Moclus ? Is that supposed to be falling into background noise or will that be re-visited.
Couple of other notes:
Dolly Parton- it's amazing Seth pulled that of. In hindsight it seems like a given but I never would've thought she'd do it.
LaMarr's "Yeah, Sherlock" had me spill my drink. That was so delivered on point.
It's the character moments at the end that had me somewhere between smiling and, yes, tearing up. Any episode that achieves that is never a bad one in my book.
The Orville is back! And it looks amazing. Although we maybe spend a little too much time looking at space docks and starships. But they compensated with additional runtime so I take it.
The story is again what this is about. It was great that they picked up on the fact that Isaac was re-instated and what that meant for the crew onboard. Althought I think they are all wrong about him. Yes, it's human to hate and they need a scapegoat. But Isaac did only follow his programming, he did what he was supposed to do just like your PC does what you tell him. But he then overcame his programming, choosing (!) to help defeat the Kaylons. He became more then his program.
The whole story is an analogy about online mobbing and how it can drive people to commit suicide. Claire's words toward Isaac at the end make that clear. It's great to see we still follow that formula and wrap the stories around real problems.
But despite the fact that Burke helped at the end, I still don't like her. That's probably what they wanted to achieve with the character. It would have been easy to make her come around and a part of me is glad the didn't take that road. But for her to get on my good side there will be a lot of redeeming involved.
I know most people don't respond well if you say something negative about their favorite show but I can't help it. If you like it I'm glad for you (really) but please allow me my opinion.
I am one of those who doesn't think that this is THE best show ever. It's not even the best sitcom in my opinion. It had its moments but not many. Maybe it isn't fair to judge it 25 years after the fact because that is a long time in TV land and things change. But most of the stuff I dislike has nothing to do with timeframe.
First, why this is called Friends is beyond me. Those are the most dishonest, selfish, egoistic and sometimes even mean group of people I've seen on TV. They constantly try to withhold stuff and most of the comedic situations spawn from that. I don't see where it is funny to go behind your friends backs. There are those moments where there behave like friends should, but those come usually after they screwed up.
Than there is the characters. I've written in some episode's comment that Ross is the most obnoxious character I've ever seen on TV. And I've seen my share. And there is WAY too much of him and Rachel who I also disliked deeply. They pull down every episode they're in which is pretty much every episode. That constant back and forth, the bickering and their pretensious behaviour is so annoying. Joey was funny at first but that wears out fast once you get past 50 episodes. Very one-dimensional. I don't even know what to say about Chandler because he is that bland. Monica went from "I don't care" through "I kinda like her" but ultimately annoying. Phoebe I liked until she, too, got the I-need-to-marry virus. Until that she was honest in that she didn't care what others thought about her and just made her thing. Alltogether there was little character developement in any of them. I couldn't connect with them and was more interested in what guest stars might turn up next.
And what it is anyway with all the girls need to find guys to marry and get babies and the guys needing to score? It is a good thing there wasn't any social media available because with all those gay and trans jokes there would have probably been a lot of heat.
That laughing track is way over the top. It accompanied literally every sentence. It even ruined jokes by starting to early. And what is wrong with building up an emotional moment and going through with it instead of ruining it with a bad joke ?
So, why did I watch, and even complete, it ? It's simple. And I mean that in the true sense of the word. You don't have to pay close attention to the plot, f.e. you don't have to stop it if the phone rings, you can even skip an episode completely. It's like having a radio playing in the background. Sometimes reading the synopsis was as interesting as the actual episode. Let's be honest: continuity, logic and depth of story were not the trademarks of Friends. It is full of holes and errors. But it fitted my daily schedule. I could drop in a couple of episodes here and there. And I punished myself a little bit because I went out and bought the whole series at once. Had I watched the first season first I would stopped there and then.
This is the longest review I've written in a while which shows I thought about this show a lot. I like versitality, it would be boring if every show was the same. That doesn't stop me though from speaking my mind. This is a love or hate kind of show. I don't hate it as such. But there were only just one or two episodes a season I think were more than average. It became better towards the end (either that or I caved) but it was an effort to get through and I am glad I'm done with.
So, let me start with some critique: the whole Janisi story line was really bad. And, NO, not because it put women at the center. I don't mind that. But trying to build trust by lying or misleading. When did that ever work out ? The solution wasn't very good either. But Bortus had some cool one-liners.
What I liked was to see into the history of the Kaylon. Now, of course we already knew about all of this but finally seeing it was great. It might be a common theme in scifi, the cration overthrowing its master, but when you see the treatment of K1 you actually find more than a shred of understanding. I was surprised though they showed the killing of the children. Most shows wouldn't go there. Of course the Kaylon then made the false assumption that all biological lifeforms are like that - just like Charlie assumed all Kaylons are evil. But she finally beginns to understand that she's on the wrong side here. And not too soon I might add.
We also delve again into the relationship between Claire and Isaac, two of my favorite characters (to be honest, aside from Charlie there isn't one I didn't like). When the possibillity appeared that Isaac's emotion are there to stay I wasn't sure where I stood. At the moment it felt to easy that he could get them just like that. It felt convenient to introduce another Kaylon with emotions and that we just copy/paste it onto Isaac. But the scene between him and Claire was amazing. Marc is such a terrific actor and it's almost a shame he has to hide his face behind the helmet most of the time. How he switched from an emotinal state to full Kaylon in an instant was great. Now, for the sake of the character I'm glad he can't keep the emotions. It also gave us another great moment when he offered, for all intense and purposes, his life. Because that's what erasing all his memories stands for. He would not be Isaac any longer. That's the definition of love. And for the same reasons Claire rejects his offer. That's the type of stories I love to see. Those moments between characters.
The "stuff" between John and Talla was also cool and funny. Althought I thought the final scene between them was a tad to much.
Overall some weak spots and maybe a bit too much thrown into one episode. But even with those small points of critique it was another great episode.
Just let me get two things out of the way I think were weak storytelling.
First, putting the drive on the hub was the stupidest thing to do as it could only lead to her getting caught. It also was illogical as it was clear that they would just override it and/or claim it as false. Granted she didn't know about the Janitor room but she knew there was surveilance everywhere and because of that might reach the conclusion that all those feeds had to be watched somewhere. But the story needs to go on so I'll take it.
Second, its hard to believe that they didn't inspect the stuff they brought to Juliette or they would have found the note. Even not knowing what it meant they would not have let it through. Plus, from a storyelling point of view it was giving too much away. Would have been better to not show it. Instead they could insert a scene when Juliette is about to break down to explain that she didn't die. And speaking of dying, Where are all the others that went out? Does someone actually go out to collect the bodies ?
Now, for the big reveal at the end I have to say I didn't see that coming. After making us believe (and I did) that it is safe outside, not only do we learn it is not, but there are literally dozens of silos out there. Does that mean the whole of mankind lives underground ? My guess is that each one thinks they are the only one and each one does have someone taking care that it stays like that. But we still don't have an idea about why ?
There is one thing I noticed that I want to point out. When Juliette told Holland about the door below he seem genuinely surprised. As if he didn't knew. That was the moment he ended the conversation. Just saying.
So, I don't know the books but from reading elsewhere I understand we barely scratched the surface of the story. I wonder how slow they will go with this one. The second season is already confirmed but thre is always the chance of not getting a third, or forth, or however many they need to play this out.
I sure hope we're not getting left hanging in the air atsome point.
On its own this wasn't a bad episode with the Clone Wars flashbacks, the images of Vader overlaying Anakin, and I liked little Ahsoka a lot more than her older self. It still left me very indifferent.
Not a shred of explanation on how Anakin could even be there. I never liked World between Worlds for reasons I already stated in other comments/replies. And here it just seemes to be a tool to have Ahsoka meet Anakin, have them involved in yet another lightsaber battle (I'm curious if they will have an episode without one) and count on the fact the viewer will be satisfied without asking any questions. The whole episode counts on that, it's full of these nostalgic moments with an almost angelic score to back this up. I'm a huge "Rebels" fan and am somewhat happy with how this played out aside from the Anakin part. But I wonder how viewers who don't have that connection will experience this. And why didn't Hera went with them ? I fully expected her to throw her commission at Mon Mothma's feet and go with Ahsoka. What can she possibly accomplish by staying behind ?
Let me make it clear again that I don't hate this show. I still believe that Dave is the Heir to the Empire. Maybe all my questions will be answered once we reach the end of the show. But at this moment the show is not taking me along on the journey I hoped it would be.
Well, the fuse is lit and I expect there will be an explosion of sorts next week.
The tension and build up is again what keeps the ball rolling. You are given just enough to be on the edge yet don't get bored. The acting was really great. You could see the doubt rising in Kino about what will happen once you reach the end of your sentence. We saw a very dark side of Dedra interrogating Bix. And Syril is about to break (with that mother, who could blame him ?). He will be a major player in the story I think. And the result could be devastating.
We discover that Val is Mon's cousin. Not a huge surprise but I still found it interesting how the connections are revealed. I found the scene in the Senat Chamber with Mon especially depressing as it shows again a connection to our time. I'm not used seeing that from Star Wars but they are doing it right and I like that. And althought it was different in a way, it reminded me of Padmé speaking in that same Chambers:
"So this is how liberty dies...with thunderous applause."
which I think is one of the best quotes out of Star Wars. And the scene now seems to be picking up on that liberty is now really dead.
I wonder when they will discover that they already have Andor in custody. Probably after the break. But it makes sense that in a system like the Empire such details get lost in the amount of information at hand. Althought I found the reference "he was shaven and had money and the rebels on Adhani were shaven, too" a bit ridiculous.
Told you they won't show us Spock until the end. The whole episode did not strung a chord with me. Another step sideways instead of forward. I am not surprised Hugh is back, always suspected he would be. They never introduced another doctor. Can't say I care much for the fact or how they did it. The whole explanation was a bit too far-fetched. Plus they milked they whole situation a bit too much. The whole ship is falling apart but again and again they went into all-out "let's explain it to death mode". At some point I was yelling "get the f*** out of there already".
I am somewhat surprised that Section 31 is so out in the open. Tyler walks around displaying his badge to everyone and it seems obvious that everyone knows about them. Kinda weird for a covert ops unit. And I am not just saying that because of continuity. Maybe they were operating like that in this timeframe and where disbanded later, at least officially ?
And Giorgiou is so full of shit. Who in his right mind would ever trust her ?
Best character this season by a wide margin is Pike. He at least seems to be a chip off the old Starfleet block.
So, the most interesting bit of the story is the fact, that Q is dying. But this is but a flicker amongst a chaos of nonsense. Even this fact doesn't seem to be related to the main arc.
But we get to see the long awaited first meeting between Q and Guinan. In the cellar of a secret FBI facility with Q posing as an agent (how did he get in there ? No one seemed to have a problem with him being there. He has no power so he works for the FBI ??). Only this isn't their real first meeting, no. That, according to Q, hasn't happened yet.
The facility is run by an agent who saw aliens visiting earth (Vulcans in the 1970s I suppose which is such a huge thing to add to Trek-lore, it shouldn't be done like that) who then spend his life to the pursuit of proofing that aliens exist. Now where have I heard that before ? Right, that's the kind of "original" writing today.
Now this seems to be a battle between Q and The Borg Queen, who is also still Jurati, who wants to "borgify" humanity. That I get. And Q ? He wants to escape from the timeline he himself created ? Renee is but a means to an end and the fact she's a Picard ancestor just an added extra. If they send anyone else instead of her (which clearly would happen as there are always backup crews) they wouldn't discover whatever she would ?
Meanwhile Rios finally get's to kiss the girl while Annika (she isn't Seven in this reality) and Raffi use every available moment during there hunt for the JurQueen to talk about their relationship.
Where is the cohersion in all that ? I don't know. But I think we'll get five minutes at the end of the season to explain it.
(If you want to tell me that I'm just a digruntled old Trekkie who clearly is way too stupid to understand and aprreciate the new Star Trek, please hit "Reply" now and leave a message after the beep)
More pieces of the puzzle but still no full picture developing.
It actually wasn't too bad. We see more of Q, which is a good thing given deLancies great performance. Concerning Q: Why would he rip himself of his own power in a scenario he himself created ? Doesn't make sense and suggest that someone else is involved ?
So, Laris isn't Laris but a supervisor like Gary Seven. That's an interesting angle that I hope get's further developed than just this short mentioning. I'm also getting some Edith Keeler vibes with Renee Picard in the sense that she was essential for the timeline. Interestingly Keeler's survival would have let probably to the same future as Renee not making the flight. Coincidence ?
The ICE storyline is hopefully done with and it was obviously just there to make a point. Let's leave it at that.
I don't like the Jurati plot because I don't like Jurati. And I'm dissapointed in how they used the Borg Queen so far. But that's just me personally.
Bringing in Brent Spiner as another Soong ancestor is a nice angle that, in a way, gives more depth. Althought I fear he's just a tool here. And Isa Briones finally got to make her appearance in this timeline, too.
One thing that pains me to say a bit is that it feels that Patrick Stewart seems exhausted in almost every scene he's in. It could be intentional in how he plays Picard as a fragile old man. I hope it is because otherwise it would mean it's too much for him. Which could be normal given his age but makes me wonder about his involvement in season 3.
Ray Kroc was probably one of the most unlikable characters there were who was leeching of other peoples ideas and screwing them up all over the place. That can be said about many successful businessmen. The only argument one could make that without him McDonalds might never have become what it is. Personally I found him despicable.
So, why watch the movie ? Well it sets the record straight about what happened and how he got to it, because I´m sure many of us probably didn´t know the story. It´s not totally accurate but from my understanding the general outline is about right. The movie is driven by Keaton who makes Kroc the unlikable guy he was in the story. Unfortunately, due to the facts there isn´t a happy end. But that is how it was. The production of the movie is really good, it looks and feels the part and the lenght of the movie is OK.
It isn´t a 100m $ blockbuster movie and you won´t watch it repeatedly because once you know the story there is no point. But it´s a good piece of filmmaking and if you are interested to know how McDonalds came to be you might give it a shot.
So, I got this book for my birthday called "The Circle". The Story sounded interesting but to be honest I struggled through every page and tossed it away about half way through because I couldn´t stand that stupid, naive, onedimensional and brainwashed character of Mae that sucked up every bit of that corporate crap she´s been served without even as much as a little doubt. (it´s much worse in the book). I mean how stupid can one be ? OK, I´ll take that back I know such people myself.
Anyway, now they made it into a movie and I thought "well, at least I could see how it ends". The plot is still interesting and it is something we all should think about because it is already beginning to happen. Like in real life we are sold BS about the benefits and while at least here they are showing some of the dark sides they make nothing out of it in the end. Yes the villains are exposed but instead of The Circle being shut down the writer/author sells us the same BS again that everything is fine. We will reform The Circle and make it a benefical for society. Like someone mentioned before: If the leaders are watched too why complain ?
So the biggest flaws of the story are rooted in the book. You needn´t bother watching it really. The cast is wasted on this. And the author of the book wasted an opportunity to write something great out of a good initial idea. Instead of criticism he said "don´t worry there are supposed to be bumps in the road but everything will be fine in the end". And that´s when you start to worry.
This wasn't quite the beginning I waited for a whole year. It had way to much action for action's sake. Oh, and way too short for a season premiere.
Started good though. I thought at first this would be some kind of flashback to when Din got his helmet. The monster fight did absolutely nothing other then sugar coat CGI. But we find out what will be the quest for this season: Redemption.
The Navarro part was OKish. I had kind of feared one of the pirates would turn out to be Hondo. Like I expected they explain Cara away with one sentence. Shame that she's no longer there as she really was a great character with potential. Great idea bringin back IG88. We'll see how this plays out.
The space battle was again just showcasing CGI, which does look great, but really did nothing then add action. I kind of fear those pirates will be along for the ride this year.
Din's meeting with Bo Katan was interesting and I hope we see a lot of her this year.
The ONE thing that had my blood pumping were the creatures that Grogu saw in Hyperspace. Those were purgill, no ? Now that's an interesting thing to show us.
Still, the pieces are in place and I'm exited for the story to unfold.
The movie is very well made. Everything from the sets to the costumes and the acting is, in typical Ridley Scott matter, flawless.
However the way the story is told is not to my liking. You have about 45-50 mins of content but, due to the multiple perspective way of storytelling, you have to watch it three times. It's a "he said, she said" that in the end isn't proven one way or the other because, let's face it, "God has spoken" and "an honest man can't die" is as stupid as "you can't get pregnant from a rape because if you don't enjoy intercourse you can't get pregnant. That's sience"
And there lies the biggest issue I have - the movie criticizes a whole society for there misogynistic ways but like with the above that was how it was. Women were property just like men could be. Or what do you thing all the folk working for those nobles were ? From our moral point of view this was wrong but pointing a finger back 700 years in time is easy to do.
Well, it's not a political forum here and I think I will attract comments with what I said no matter what.
The actual duel at the end was great, very well filmed, with the instense and brutality you imagine had to be there in a fight for ones honor to the death. But after sitting through more than two hours it wasn't enough to save the movie in my eyes.
That was good enough for me to want a second season. I must say, though, you could have done all of that as a movie if you cut out the unnessessary stuff. But that's a side note.
The opening minutes had me a bit worried. You leave on a cliffhanger and than come back with THAT !? That was almost SW movie quality of late (yes, sarkasm). Luckily it turned around fast and we got some really good action sequences (Stormtroopers really are the redshirts of Star Wars) along with some more revalations about the Mandalorian and The Little Guy. Personally I don't think he's a Yoda clone. He sure is the same species and maybe we will now, in another season that is, learn more about them. I remember reading, a little while back, about Lucas' original story ideas for another trilogy and maybe this is going in this direction. Who knows. I'm not really in favor of showing us Mandos face. It had to be done at that point but it should have been done off-camera or maybe shot from behind. It takes a little bit away from the myterious side of the character. The ending came a bit too fast and convinient and you could have been rather certain that Gideon wasn't dead.
In any case like I said, I am looking forward to season two.
The visuals are great but the movie not so much.
At first you have to scratch science out of science-fiction because there is none. This claims to be "in the near future" but the technology is probably centuries away. Well, maybe not the tech but what they achieved at this point would take that long. The movie left many questions unanswered instead it gives us moon-pirates and killer apes for no reason whatsoever but to have an action and a horror sequence for the trailer, I guess.
If the movie would have been even close to that description above it could have been great. Instead we get a story about a son who wants to connect with his father and finds out things about himself along the way. Yah, thanks, but you could have told this on earth as well because none of the scifi elements bear any meaning.
Oh wait - there was a message. There is no intelligent life in the universe so we should love ourselves and the people close. Even without taking position one way or the other one thing does not influence the other. And we shouldn't look in the distance for we might miss what's in front of us. Who payed for this movie ? The Church ?!
That's three writing credits by James Gray in a row that earns a solid "5"
