Wow. Just wow. This is funny, deep, full of amazing performances, incredibly smart in how it's able to tackle very tough stuff while balancing lotos of great laughs, some very interesting drama and sudden, amazing moments of thrilling, unbearable tension. The last two episodes are out of this world.
They recently added six episodes as a "Season 1 - Part 2" bundle and I gotta say I think they got quite better. The series was already smart and cute but these new episodes are more fun, confident, even moving at times. I love watching it with my daughter.
The first four episodes are a nice and entertaining warm up, then it becomes fucking amazing for the rest of the season. Fucking. Amazing. Between this and Mindhunter, Netflix is really hitting it out of the park.
I have to admit it took me two or three episodes to get into it but in the end I loved it. The choice to tone down the more absurd elements of the comicbook and make it more grounded, in a way, really worked for me. There's still a lot to laugh about but when the supes do their crazy shit it's much more effective (the airplane scene is really great). Overall it's a good adaptation and a smart TV show.
The first half of the season is out of this world, then it loses some momentum (maybe because of the changes on the director's chair) but it's still really, really good. The private life stuff and the way it intersects with work is good, even though sometimes it feels a bit forced/tacked on. The interviews and the investigations are amazing as usual and the Wayne case is treated very well. It also manages to reflect on various issues that are still quite relevant today in a smart way. Overall, though, I have to say that I may be a little biased because I have a young daughter and a whole season 90% based on kids being murdered and/or having issues is quite affecting to me.
The writing is a mixed bag. Dialogues are mostly made of dull expository monologues and tragically unfunny humor, while being constantly over the top and coming from really clichéd characters. But the lore is somewhat fascinating, keeping the climax for the penultimate episode is something I always like and I think that the overall structure, with the good guys doing nothing and the bad guys moving the plot, constitutes a nice choice. Plus, I like that it's moody, slow, never in a hurry to please with action. Visually, it's also a mixed bag: backgrounds are often beautiful, while the characters are atrocious and the action, when it kicks in, is quite good. Overall, it's an interesting adaptation and a decent animated show, with a nice crescendo, some very good moments and a good voice cast. It takes a couple of (quite boring) episodes to find its strides but then It's fine.
Visually, the stop motion is really, really cool. Even when the story is frankly a bit boring for me, I’m still amazed by the aesthetics and my daughter has fun anyway. The lessons are always clearly explained by the main character (many different variations of “Oh, I figured it out: I have to do this and that”), so it can be a bit dull for me, but it’s smart, full of interesting things, and it’s about kids playing outside, learning things by experimenting with stuff and getting their hands dirty. Which is a cool thing I hope my daughter will do more and more, even though she hates having her hands dirty.
So, again, it's only for kids, but it’s good. And there's two or three episodes near the end of the season that I really, really loved, not as a father, just as a spectator: Parachute Play is quite moving, I dare say, while Bedtime Story and A Treasure Hunt are visually and structurally really well made.
It still manages to trojan horse a smart satire of adult life into anime rom-com cliches and it's even lovelier in how it uses and embraces those cliches. Plus, it expands the musical theme in a fun way. I'd say its even better than season one.
It's enjoyable from start to finish but clearly not as good as the great cast would make you think. At least for the first six episodes. then there's the AMAZING episode seven, which is one of the best episodes of TV in recent years. The rest of the season does not deserve it, even though the final stretch is quite good (and I'm one of the few people who liked the amibuity of the ending). But episode seven is from a different dimension. That's why I'm giving the season an 8 instead of a 7.
A good season, with some great moments, but also some not so great ones, and an almost beautiful ending. It would be nice, though, if death meant something in this show. Also, maybe the Whedon family uses the whole "person possessed by god-like being" thing a bit too much.
With a rewatch, you can really notice how season 2 was slowly evolving in terms of tone: it's still dark and dramatic, but the more fun vibe that will go on to dominate season 3 is coming out here. Overall, it's a good season, maybe less effective than the first one but still a great ride, with a pretty cool evolution for many characters, some new great dynamics and an amazing second half. But yeah, episode 7 still sucks, even though I like its intentions and I think the beginning an the end of it are great. The execution of the middle part, though, is kinda lame.
I finally managed to convince my wife that she would love it and that it's not too scary for her, so I'm doing a rewatch while she's watching it for the first time. In going back after season three, apart from the fun of seeing the young actors as little kids again, it's amazing to see how different the vibe was. This is really dark, desperate, and there are almost no laughs, just a few smiles. I'm not against the evolution they decided for, I'm just noticing how different it is. Anyway, season 1 is still really, really good, even though of course the tension is not the same, knowing nobody is really at risk.
They really went all in with the political themes and they added a whole bunch of bizarre ideas that feel a bit like what they did in Braindead. It doesn't always work, but when it does it's really good.
It's better than season 2 in how it uses the whole nostalgia thing and after a couple of episodes it really gets into a great rhythm. The bizarre thing is that almost everything that happens is incredibly predictable but still it manages to be tense, entertaining and moving. As usual, I think that's because of the great cast and the adorable characters.
So, yeah, it's possible to get better with the second album, even if the first one was a masterpiece.
The Marvel/Netflix shows can suck a dick. They actually kinda did.
Such a perfect ending, it really is one of the best ever, I think.
Jesus, what an amazing ending.
The usual Bojack: sometimes it's great, sometimes it's decent, sometimes it's amazing. Which is what I wrote for season 4 but, well, it's still true.
A nice show, well acted and decently directed, maybe a bit too on the nose in the way it talks about contemporary issues.
It never stops changing and challenging its core concept and it manages the incredible feat of being traditional and completely fresh at the same time. Season three has the flavor of someone who now really knows what he's doing. Amazing.
This is alway funny and entertaining, with amazing moments of completely surreal humor (Santa Claus) that I love and a nice overall sweet soul.
Impeccably written, directed, shot and acted, this is a great production through and through and I'm happy I've watched but, I don't know, something's missing, at least for me. I wasn't able to emotionally get into it, even though as a parent I should be able to feel at least part of the emotional struggle. Also, I think the second half of the season, in which we see the dawn of the rebellion I assume we're gonna watch in the following seasons, is less effective than the "no hope oppression" of the first half.
The engine is now running at full force and show is almost constantly amazing: funny as hell, quite engaging, full of great ideas, never scared of reinventing itself and with a great bunch of actors. I also almost have to admit that Kristen Bell is an acquired taste by now.
Like a lot of comedy shows, it takes a bunch of episodes to find its groove but when it clicks, it really does, despite having a very very very bad actress as the main character. The rest of the cast is amazing, though, and the way the season evolves, by destroying network comedy shows clichés and reinventing itself instead of sitting on a bland repetition of it's basic plot is amazing. It's really smart, funny, great TV.
Yep, still amazing, even as a rewatch.
Incredibly well written and acted, it's got an amazing way of subverting cliches and expectations and it's so good at balacing laughs, tension, drama, emotion.
Less consistent than season one but probably even better in its high points.
Saying it's a slow burner would be quite the understatement but when it burns, it really does. And it's so beautifully shot and acted that you tend to forgive every mistake.
It's really cute and visually fascinating, plus the voiceover is quite good. Of course, being clearly targeted to children, it's really on the nose with its "messages", but it's still a nice watch. And my three-year-old daughter loves it.
