I really wanted to like this, JK always has a powerful screen presence and I will pretty much watch anything that he is involved in. However, selling something as Science Fiction when it is clearly a drama is bound to be a disappointment to me. Maybe if they had been more honest about what this show actually was, I would respect it more. There were many roads this could have gone down and every single time, they took the longest route and never really ever got anywhere near the destination. It almost seemed like they wrote a weak story and decided to last minute to add a SciFi hook to it. They have decided (quite quickly as well) to cancel the series after the first season. I am not bothered by the cancellation, it gives JK an opportunity to get involved in something else to knock the stink off from this fake scifi drama.
This is a movie that when I am ranting about other films is the "Ten" in the "on a scale of One to Ten..."
Example: On a scale of One to Southland Tales, how frustratingly painful was this movie?"
I watched this movie over a decade ago and I still feel the poison of it in my veins to this day. I guess if you are going for memorable, that is one way to go about it. I have spent too much time in my life (including writing this) thinking about, researching and even ranting about this film. What I have found prevalent by the positive reviewers is that
1- (bad excuse) It was bad editing
2- (deflection and projection) You are not smart enough to understand this film
3- (more recently) It is a prophecy, telling the future in the Trump Era
The way I see it,
1- No amount of film that was cut out of this movie could patch the huge plot holes that are gaping through this mess.
2- My imagination should never have to fill in the blanks of bad writing and make up a plot for them to make this film work. That is the job of the writers and the director. This is the rhetoric of those that also think that the movie Inception was a profound work of cinematic genius. (Spoiler: It wasn't! )
3- I couldn't give two steaming piles of Southland Tales about your personal politics, they still wouldn't make this movie bearable even if they dead-on had Donald Trump play the role of POTUS in the film.
The casting was very confusing. Nearly all of the actors involved are amazingly entertaining (in other films and media). In this movie however, they are misused and wasted. They could have spent 1/10 of the casting budget and still had the same result when it comes to execution.
The only way to sway my opinion is if somehow, 20 years from now, it is discovered that those responsible for this film systematically crafted this project to infect a small percentage of human brains. Like a virus that stores itself in the darkest corners of the mind to make people rant about it. Thus causing others, unfortunate enough to have to listen to that rant, to be curious enough to watch it for themselves to see if it could possibly be that horrible. (Spoiler: It is! )
I have read a lot of the reviews for this and have only seen half of the episodes, here is my take:
Some people need topical comments, political jabs and softball lob styled jokes before they consider a show funny. If you need a laugh track to know where you are supposed to laugh, you probably won't enjoy this show. To me, this is Silicon Valley meets The Orville. Don't expect an educational experience in astrophysics, you are going to be disappointed. There are inaccuracies in many aspects scientifically in this show. There is no reason to come to the comment board to coat the show in a cloud of orbiting turds.
EDIT: I am now 100% watched and 100% all-in for the ridiculousness to commence in Season 2!
I hate to be negative but...
James S. A. Corey (the pen-name of the two original authors) did all the hard work for you. They wrote a compelling story that was, pardon the pun, light years ahead of most science fiction out there. Most of the cast members are strong and sell their character convincingly. Avasarala, Alex, Bobbie, and especially Amos have become the faces I see when reading the books that have come out since the series premiered. For some reason, new characters have been fabricated that have far too much screen time and pinnacle characters have been killed off that have much more story left in them. The problem is, the video entertainment world is doing things that most shows rely on when they don't have a strong writing team. Weak plots are fortified by unnecessary drama and romance. This show is now saturated with awkward over-dramatic, non-plot related scenes that make me feel like they were just filling time obligations rather than telling the story THAT WAS ALREADY WRITTEN FOR THEM! The show has spent so much on emphasizing the Belter characters (identified by that horribly ridiculous accent) that at this point, if they continue the show into new series, they will have to abandon the rest of the book series. Honestly, they should have just made a different show called "Over-the-top Soap Opera in Space" and allowed people who respect excellent science fiction and writing to produce the show.
Edit - a few days later:
I just found out why the Alex character was killed off... the creators get a pass on that. What else could you do when you have a predator on the set?
I just finished watching this and now want to do something productive for an hour and a half to offset the amount of time wasted on this. It is reliant on a suspenseful score and sound effects to artificially inflate the sense of mystery and creepy-factor. I love Sci-Fi and am a fan of small budget films that have an interesting story to tell... this is neither.
It is amazing the advancements in technology that we have made that allow a movie like this to take on the appearance of a well crafted film while having all the talent and substance of a home movie done in the 1980s by a pre-teen with a VHS camera.
I feel offended and wronged now having spent time on this as it was sold in the synopsis as something interesting... again, it was not.
Please, please, please, for the love of all that is good in the world of entertainment, give this movie a wide berth.
I am not sure where the disconnect is between the first two seasons and the third.
In the first two seasons, there were clear and concise story paths that were complex but thorough in sculpting the web-like story line. Nearly every time there was a twist or a turn in the plot, it was seemingly valid and relevant to the story. This is one of those rare shows that appeared to be water-tight, perfectly engineered and constructed...
...and then season three started.
Apparently the original story line was replaced with gimmicks and intentional confusion. It appeared as though they scrapped the story-boards and writers and decided to replace them with an improv writing team on set. The editing team, I assume, was somehow contractually obligated to use all of the tools in their new video effects software suite.
I cannot rave about the first two seasons enough. This was about as near to perfect of a series as I have ever watched. If it weren't for the fact that I sadly needed closure to the story line, I would recommend stopping at the end of season two. Unfortunately, you will have to wade through looooooong drawn-out scenes of characters just staring at each other for painful lengths of time to get to the conclusion of the series. It stopped being entertaining from the very beginning of the third season and was riddled with hollow plot devices and unnecessary drama as though they were just trying to eat time off of the clock.
I am not attempting to do a smear-piece on this series, 2/3 of it truly was a masterpiece. I hope to find another series that is as well crafted and engaging as the first two seasons of DARK. With that, I hope its creative integrity isn't compromised should I ever be so lucky to find another.
This is one of the greatest movies ever. Bill Murray gives us so many memorable quotes throughout the film that 30 years later I am still quoting them along with the character (much to the annoyance of my wife). This was such an original concept that the title is used to describe monotonous and repetitious activities in modern day conversation. Like watching A Christmas Story every year on Christmas, this should be a annual "must watch" on February 2nd.
The first season was good, it had an interesting premise. They lost steam in the second season. By the third season they completely forgot what they were doing (probably an all new writing staff) and turned it into a confusing mess. Do yourself a favor, stop after season two and just pretend season three doesn't exist.
