I can tell you that Game of Thrones is phenomenal, visual beautiful, fantastic, exhilarating and action-packed thrilling rollercoaster that in many ways has not been seen yet in a tv show. I could say that and be absolutely right about it, but unless you have been living under a rock without an internet connection for the past 2 years than no doubt you already heard, seen or read for yourself what a masterpiece the books and/or this tv series is.
Game of Thrones is exactly like the title says: A game for the throne. Played by the people who think its their right to claim, conquer or inherit it. They all have different goals and different ways of getting to that point, but their goal is in essence in one way or another the same for all of them: to be recognized and remembered for their deeds. Off course that is not so weird since everyone in real life at some level thinks like that. But the main characters in Game of Thrones are different, either through noble descent, the power and money they have, intelligence or sheer luck they have become a member of one of the noble houses that rule the countries and can decide the fate and lives of hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of people within the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos.
The story, setting and characters are all taken from a broad range of European history. Most of what we see of the continent Westeros (castles and tournaments) is taken from High Medieval Western Europe from around the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries. But the story takes bits and pieces from other time periods as well. For example the wildfire that was used in season 2 in a brilliant strategic move of "The Imp" Tyrion Lannister during the Battle of the Blackwater is in fact Byzantine "Greek fire" which was invented and first used in the 7th century during battles between Muslims and Byzantines. This and other historical events, devices and characters based on real people out of history are all as it seems perfectly interwoven into each other into the fictional world of Game of Thrones by the author of the books George R. R. Martin.
For the actors who play the characters i have nothing but utmost respect. The performance they manage to show episode after episode is definitely what makes this tv show so popular. There is one in particular that without a doubt is one of the more popular stars of this tv show: Peter Dinklage who plays the role of "The Imp" Tyrion Lannister. In the 1st season he was portrayed as nothing more than someone who took advantage of his noble status and money to do whatever he wanted. But in season 2 (and hopefully the next seasons too) he transformed despite his disadvantage of being born as a dwarf (who during medieval times and in this fictional world are considered "lesser" humans) into a brilliant military and political strategist and someone who can very good and enjoys as he so very accurately said himself "play the game".
Game of Thrones is without a doubt the hit tv show of this decade. It started out with a story about medieval times, but slowly with every episode we see the world of the Seven Kingdoms transform into a place where mythical creatures exist, magic and dark powers are used as a weapon against enemies and where the dead are once more walking again.... Winter is coming, and i have no doubt it that it will be as spectacular and story-wise phenomenal as we have have seen in the previous seasons.
What a phenomenal show! Being a Marvel production, I fully expected something of quality, but my expectations were blown entirely out of the water. Daredevil has easily taken its place among my favorite shows currently on air and far surpasses the current lineup of comic book-based television properties (including Marvel's own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.).
The cast is great. Charlie Cox brings emotional weight to Matt Murdock and an intimidating presence to his vigilante alter ego. Supporting players Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, and Rosario Dawson, all make their respective roles feel critical, never distracting or annoying. But it's Vincent D'Onofrio that really steals the spotlight as Wilson Fisk, bringing to life a villain who is not only vicious and truly terrifying, but also heartbreakingly pitiful.
Daredevil's writing separates it from the current crop of superhero television. The progression of the plot is well organized and dialog rarely (if ever) crosses that line into comic book corniness. You really get the sense that the show runners had a clear vision for where they wanted this freshman season to go, while still laying groundwork for future seasons. Never does it feel like you're just being strung along for bigger and better things to come next season. And the show doesn't constantly try to remind you of the broader Marvel Cinematic Universe, as any references to it are (usually) subtle.
But perhaps Daredevil's greatest strength is its cinematography. Fight sequences are expertly choreographed and coherent (not to mention brutally gritty), even rivaling those of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The production value is top notch, probably thanks to the refreshingly limited reliance on CGI. But what impressed me the most was the brave willingness to let the camera linger or even meander occasionally. Ending episode 2 with a minutes-long single take fight sequence had me speechless, and is a testament to the level of quality brought to the show.
Daredevil is a strong addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I think Marvel's partnership with Netflix could prove to be one of their best decisions regarding their television properties and I look forward to future shows like A.K.A. Jessica Jones and Luke Cage.
Heavy with style but lacking in substance. That's the sum of Peaky Blinders.
Peaky leans hard on slow motion shots and a modern punk/indie rock soundtrack that you'll either love or hate. I actually like the choice of music but how many times do we need to see someone walk past a fire breathing factory with a cigarette in hand and punk rock blaring in the background before some actual character development happens?
Cillian Murphy is excellent but aside from one or two other characters the rest of them are very one dimensional. You see all the faces in the background pic on this page? Less than half of those faces have any real narrative in the show. Because of this you are left with just a couple of prominent figures that tend to be overused
The story-lines are never all that compelling either unfortunately, style wins out here as well.
I thought the first season was decent and I was curious to see if they would improve for the second. When it was announced that Tom Hardy would be joining the cast I was pretty excited. Sadly his role isn't featured that much so his impact was minimal.
I see people trying to compare Peaky Blinders with Boardwalk Empire and I just don't see it, Boardwalk had compelling story-lines and an ensemble cast it actually used. Here's hoping season 3 will be different.
I feel like this a low rent Nashville that makes black people look terrible. The music is mediocre, the story generally lazy and hacky. It's like a show that were it given the attention of an HBO or Showtime might make you feel immersed in, but you're left with seeing how much Terrance Howard and Taraji can carry the series. (edit: Nov 2016 I recently finished watching Power which is a glimpse at what Empire might've been like on a different network) Extra points for making me hate Cookie so much, that's powerful acting or character development.
The relationships are soap opera like, the writing fairly blah and redundant. What could be compelling story lines are wrapped up quickly or ignored all together. It feels like the show can't pick a direction. I don't understand why it's so hyped, it certainly can't be from the song quality, and the superficial glance at the scatter-brained roles each character is supposed to play doesn't endear me to any character in particular. There's way too much TV to compare this to for this to stick out for any other reason than Black-ish does. It caricatures black people and requires zero effort to follow. (Black-ish has laid off the accelerator...a bit)
I started watching The Time Traveller's Wife last night. I loved the book and read it so many times i dogeared the copy I had.I hated the movie that came out some years back. Eric Bana and that Adams chick just didn't capture the characters for me.
Theo James though... oh gosh, he is Henry. He's absolutely Henry. Rose Leslie is a good actress, and she's doing a good job, I am not sure I like her as Claire. I'm not sure why, but she's just not fitting the picture I made in my head about this woman with guts and long love. I can't fault her acting though, she's doing a great job. But it's Theo doing it for me.
I honestly am yet to not like him in anything. I can't tell if I think he's pretty, or if he's a good actor or a bad actor. I just like watching him... he makes me believe every character I've seen him play. And say what, for me, he has definitely captured Henry's humor, his fear, his kindness, his ruthlessness, his wily cunningness, all of it... I particularly loved the scene with him and Rose Leslie in The Stacks where Henry introduces Claire to his mother.
Gosh... he totally sold me.
I read a half and half kind of review from a big outlet a couple of weeks ago, and was very surprised someone attempted this story again, and was totally prepared for another wan attempt, but no... I am really liking this.
This is definitely doing some justice to Niffenegger's beautiful love story.
Apparently, the former entry on trakt was removed in favour of this new entry which is now recommended on my Dashboard instead.
Sooo...I am going to copy my previous writeup of the now first season here again:
Reminds me of a German book named "Fettnäpfchenführer Japan: Die Axt im Chrysanthemenwald", loosely (and rather literally) translated it's something along the line of "Putting your foot into your mouth-Guide Japan: To act like a brute". It follows the fictional character Mr. Hoffmann, a German "salaryman", who goes to Japan without any prior knowledge. The book is supposed to be a guide into all the - for westerners - weird and confusing customs of Japanese culture. You know, like to not wear shoes inside a house, present giving out of respect, slurping noodles in public, how to behave around your seniors, how to talk to elders and how to kids, hierarchical stuff where to sit in an office and so on. The problem with the book, though, is this:
It's incredibly stereotypical. Hoffmann is the embodiment of every stereotype of an idiot, ignorant white man from the west, embarassing himself whenever he can. All of this is an attempt at giving the fictional situations a way of "teaching" you, the reader, what not to do. But it's over the top, very cringeworthy and heavily unrealistic, because Hoffmann is behaving like an idiot throughout, the character is unlikable and has no merits, no positive attributes at all.
This show is basically the filmed version of the book in very different situations. May, however, isn't an idiot like Hoffmann in this. At least. Even if it seems like he is deliberately setup in situations to be embarassed. But or because of that, he is very often - if not most of the times - very condescending, narrow-minded, cynical and incredibly judgemental and very rude to most of his guides and their culture to their face. I am sure, when they filmed it, they told their guides in some way, that they'd make some fun but in the cut version that you see these scenes do not paint a constructive, positive and respectful picture at all.
The moments where May is more behaving like a respectful adult are when he is in his own element, so cars or food basically. The most shallow ways to go about this, I'd say. These things get not a lot of screen time, though. Surprising in terms of food. But they seem to be the only things May has visible interest in. Even if that literally means showing scenes of him doing some gymnastics in a factory where they aren't allowed to film anything else of interest. Where I was wondering why'd they put that into this show at all then? Wasted time.
Now, I hear May fans say "you didn't get his humour then". Yes, that is another thing, add in British humour to this mix and you get an a-hole of a host. Not that British humour tends to be that way, but in combination with his behaviour you do in this particular show. I am not sure if May has any interest of doing this or if it is simply his twisted dry British humour that comes off as like he just doesn't give a damn. Either way, May is highly unlikable in this. So much so, that I assume you need to be a James May fan to be entertained by him as a host. Saying people disliking this do not get his humour are supporting that claim (look at the reviews on Amazon to see these kind of deflective responses).
Maid Cafe scene is a great example. You could argue, that Maid Cafes are an over sexualization of maids and a cafe is cashing in on that fantasy. I can see where this argument is coming from, yes. But the Cafe in on itself isn't sexualized. If you've seen videos of Maid Cafes on YouTube you know they are cringeworthy but nowhere near sexual at all. If you make this a sexual thing, that is on you.
Maid Cafes and all sorts of these are an experience, often cringeworthy at worst, I might add. May, on the other hand, is the best version of his narrow-minded, judgemental character he can be in this particular scene. Flat out disrespectful. If he doesn't like it, or simply doesn't want to do it, that is fine. To each their own. But this show is about the Japanese culture, and Maid Cafes - to some extent (keyword "Cosplay" as his guide brings up) - are a part of it in a way.
This is yet another scene making me think, why did they cut this in? Is it supposed to be funny, how May tries to escape his guides to not be in this type of Cafe? The issue here is, it uselessly stigmatizes the whole thing, not just Maid Cafes, but also Cosplay even more and undermines the show's intent on bringing you closer to the modern Japan and making May "truly understand the Land of the Rising Sun". There's no critical exchange about it. Just "it's sexual and gross" - Cut. Next scene. There's no open mindness, no understanding in this, no reasoning, no critical contemplation. Again, why then put this in this particular show?
If this is the desired show's morale, the off-scene of the statue with a sword on his waist that May says looks like a penis (it doesn't, imo) while hysterically laughing is the other side to this but equally questionable why that was put in. To show that May isn't as bad of a character he comes off as otherwise?
There are scenes that are funny and do work, but they are rare ("Bim" is one of the best ones in this).
The filming and locations overall are great but at times oddly chosen (snowball fight teams?). The host is awful. The guides are well chosen. The concept doesn't work in it's cut version at all and feels like a rag rug of scenese with a Japanese backdrop. Seems like the people involved didn't really know what to do with this show either. At best you get a few glimpes here and there into Japanese culture, but it's always only superficial and often done to be made fun of.
What's this show really about? Cashing in on some of that juicy Amazon money?
This is terrible. Completely unbelievable in every way:
- When does the police ever let a civilian lead an investigation? The famous author Marcus stumbles upon evidence, time and again quite easily, that the police sergeant failed to catch during his investigation of the same case.
- Marcus honored Harry’s request to burn his notes without looking at them, especially given that a copy of the manuscript was found with Nola’s body.
- How is it possible that Nola and Luther maintained a regular correspondence (enough to write an entire book) but neither Nola nor Harry realized this during all the days they spent together?
- The police deiced to check when the missing girl’s mother died only in the eight episode. What a twist, huh?
Wooden, unbelievable characters. They could have come straight out of the most banal stereotypes - reclusive famous author, tough black detective, secretive small town folk, Lolitaesque nymphet - Nola, (it sounds like Lola, which is reminiscent of Lolita, how clever, right?) has literally no personality. She is the epitome of a manic pixie dream girl, wearing skimpy summer dresses, traumatized by life.
The acting is not that great either, reminded of a poor lifetime movie. Horrible ageing makeup, and Patrick Dempsey was supposed to look 34? Yeah, right.
