The first three episodes are beautiful but a bit of a slog. It's purposeful though, because it immerses you in the mood and then everything speeds up. And what a great show! Impeccably shot, with great acting, a very interesting plot, fascinating themes and such a good work on charachters and relationships. Can't wait for season 2.
Six episodes of slow, masterful buildup and then three fucking masterpieces.
Certainly not a masterpiece but so much better than I expected. Good writing, great acting, nice twists, a couple of smart homages to the original story, the multi-language international setup and the right level of cruelty make it an intriguing watch. It's basically a version of The Walking Dead that doesn't pull any punches and doesn't dilute itself in too many episodes. Also: I'm in love with most of the actresses.
I already loved the show but this season floored me. It's amazing from the first episode to the last one, it capitalizes so well on all the work done on characters and relationships, it's so good in showing (with writing, acting, directing) how much they all mean to each other, all the history they have. It's amazing to see how far they all have gone, how they developed, how real they feel. Episodes 7 and 8 blew me away: I expected it but I still was a mess, I was so amazed at how they were put together and they stayed with me (plus 8 reminded me of The Body from Buffy). 9 and 10 were an amazing finale, perfect in every moment, and they left everything and everybody in a lovely place. It's melancholic and sour but also uplifting and calming, in a way. This was an incredible show, it's up there with the best stuff I've ever watched and after a few days I can't stop thinking about it. Wow.
Less consistent than season one but probably even better in its high points.
The decision to focus more on the female characters was incredibly wise: everybody and everything benefit from that. This is where it becomes a great show.
As usual, more episodes mean more diluted storyline. Also, the whole setup of the finale battle and Sunny's behaviour in that situation are quite stupid. That being said, there's still fun to be had from Marton Csokas and Emily Beecham hamming it up, Daniel Wu and Cung Le jumping around, the nice fighting scenes and the whole bizarre mithology. Plus, Nick Frost.
A really good second season, that doesn't betray the ideas and the setup by falling into the "will they or will they not?" formula. Instead, it works on telling how a love story between two troubled and fundamentally human persons can evolve. Really, really nice.
What a beautiful, beautiful season. Deep, funny, emotional, amazing in the way it brings forward all of the storylines. Maybe it's a bit heavy handed in how it connects to the real world stuff, but that's it. The rest is great. And it's not news, but what a great cast. Jesus.
Even more weird, over the top and fun than season 1. It's got ups and downs, but certain scenes made me cry out of laughter.
It's not as good and ambitious as Fleabag, more of a typical sit-com with all its clichés, but it's fun and smart.
Great themes, amazing sense of place, wonderful use of the soundtrack, very nice ideas and some beautiful moments, but also the usual Marvel/Netflix issue: this shit is too long, it would benefit sooo much from shorter seasons and less fucking around.
It's different enough from the main series to be interesting, even though themes are obviously similar and also in terms of structure it doesn't go very far from it. Some missteps, but also a bunch of really good moments.
Pulpier, bloodier, campier, more romantic and more fucked up than season one. A beautiful second season, more daring both in narration and visual style. Plus, the native american Mazinger and Julian Sands almost compensate for the loss of the albino guy.
A really, really good third season, with quite a few standout episodes (4,722 Hours, Closure, Parting Shot, Spacetime, Ascension... ) a compelling storyline, some nice character evolution and a villain that's much better than what I expected. Plus, finally we're seeing a bit more superpowers.
Idris Elba on a hijacked plane? I’m in! Also, the plot twist: he is not a superhero, not a secret agent, not a soldier, not a cop, not even a boxer, a martial arts expert, someone who learned how to fight at the school of hard knocks. But he does have a superpower: the art of negotiation. And he will use it to defeat (?) the terrorists. Hijack doesn’t have high TV drama ambitions and it’s not a masterpiece, but it’s got tempo, thrills, fun, all the stuff you want from something like this. It kinda reminded me of 24, not in terms of structure, clearly not because of the main character, but in its general vibe.
Halfway through the third short I literally said "What the fuck am I doing?" and I turned it off.
By now I put Big Mouth in the same "relax zone" Rick and Morty is. I'm always there for them because I love the shows, I love the characters, I love they intelligent way they tackle certain themes, but also because there's always a couple of great episodes and they don't take too much of my time. At the same time though, I feel their best years are long gone and maybe they should end before things start to go really bad.
Industry does something that i love: 85% of the time I have no fucking idea of what they are doing or talking about and still I find it riveting like my life depended on it. Or my cat's life, at least. The cast is amazing, so full of new faces and/or old faces that do something completely unexpected. The soundtrack, production design, costumes, everything is impeccable. And the direction is really ambitious, with stuff like "Let's shoot this stock exchange operation like if it was a bank heist directed by Michael Mann". Season 1 is all about explaining the context, season 2 is about the charactes and what they have inside. I have no idea what they are going to do with season 3 but the premise is really good and I can't wait.
A beautiful show, it represents in a very thoughtful and specific way the work in a restaurant, reproducing quite well - I'm told - certain obsessions and struggles, even though there's some "poetic licenses", of course. But it goes beyond the specificity and becomes relatable by anybody thanks to the impeccable writing, the great cast of actors and the ambitious direction, both in small things and in bigger stuff like the tracking shot episode. The guest stars are also amazing, particularly "that one": it's already great when you hear that voice in one of the first episodes but then he appears and suddenly the two charismatic stars become gregarious and awestruck. Also, huge shout out to Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who approaches this show charged up like someone who spent twenty years coming from the bench, finally has got the chance of a lifetime as a starter and gives you 42 points, 18 assists, 13 rebounds and 6 steals.
This is exactly what you would expect from a second season. It is of course less "new and exciting" but it's more confident and it knows from the beginning what it wants to be. It gains a few guest stars that want to be in the new shiny thing and it works very well on the knowledge that we are here watching it because we like spending time with those characters. It never made me laugh to the point I had to pause it like it happened twice during season one ma it really entertained me and, apart from the mystery plot and the humour, I liked how characters and storylines evolved. I also liked a lot that it tied everything up and used something (apparently) completely new to set up season three.
The problem with this show is that Michael Mann directed the first episode and didn't direct the rest. Once you accept that, you find a good show, not particularly original but fun, engaging and well acted. Plus, the locations do most of the work.
As always with MCU shows/movies, there's great stuff here but it's buried under the usual formula and the need to setup a hundred other things by taking time away from the core of the story. This was sold as the Marvel version of a Shane Black movie but it's basically an anesthetized version of Shane Black.
A (mostly) very good cast for a (mostly) very dull show.
Lots of ups and downs for half a season, it gets back on track in the second half, when it starts fucking around with the formula.
A fun show, full of lovely easter eggs, with some nice surreal humour and a plot I actually ended up almost caring about.
I understand it being a disappointment after the masterpiece that was season 4, but this is still an incredibly good ending for this show, that ties up everything in such a lovely and moving way.
The amazing chemistry between cast members, the lovely writing, the humour, the tension, it's amazing.
This is bold, rich, it's got personality and identity, a great cast, an amazing look and very good direction. It's interesting, deep, thrilling, funny and moving at times. But even though in many ways it's perfectly fitted for long form, I can't shake the feeling that it could have been better as a movie.
Such a perfect ending, it really is one of the best ever, I think.
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.
