Three I guess unpopular opinions on this:
1. it's a teen action/horror kinda CW-style, fun, entertaining, with some things that don't work but that remains entertaining until the end, with also a nice crescendo. The teen parts are better but the adult parts include Ella Balinska, a giant worm, a giant spider and a giant alligator, so they're fine. Also, Lance Reddick :hearts:;
2. in terms of production valuse there's of course no contest but I still think this is a hundred times better than the astonishingly boring Boba-Fett and Obi Wan shows or than the pedantic Falcon & Winter Soldier one;
3. this show is how I think adaptations should be made: you keep the pillars (action horror with a pseudo-scientific lore, over the top bad guys, silly melodrama for the main characters, no shame at all whan you decide to use silly stuff from the original source), you keep some literal things you want to use (monsters, some characters, some locations/object/thing) and then you do whathever the hell you want with it.
The Olaf expo dump was probably the best comical moment in Frozen II and they already reused in the post credits scene, so of course they had to do a miniseries based on different Disney classics. They kinda remind me of those old commercials for Lilo & Stitch but these are even more nonsensical thanks to Josh Gad improvising stuff all the time. And he should do that, this shit is funny. My favourite is the Tangled one.
Physical kinda reminds me of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend for how it talks about trauma and mental disorder in such a brutally dark way but while always finding a light and entertaining way to do so. Even though it's a bit less fun and a bit more dark, at least in how it conveys the main character's trauma and inner turmoil not as beautiful musical numbers but as the most brutal voiceover you can imagine. As it usually happens, it takes a couple of episodes to find its voice but then it becomes really good and season 2 raises the bar. The cast is good, Rose Byrne is amazing, the half hour runtime is perfect, it's not a masterpiece but it's a good show. I only fear the repeated cycle of hope/despair could get repetitive but I guess it depends on how many seasons they're gonna make.
This is exactly the level of low key darkness I needed in my life.
This may be my favourite MCU show and in my top three post Endgame things. I loved how commited it was to the bit: a teen comedy that tackles specific themes from beginning to end, even when it has to show more superhero stuff (which is perfectly integrated in the general tone). So it's not the usual "let's promise something that will be there for 20 minutes and we will then spend three hours doing crossovers with other stuff. Which also means that when the crossovers come they work better because they don't feel out of place (and even when they are kinda out of place they are not annoying, because it's just a small homage, a dialogue in the final minutes, that kind of stuff). It's not perfect but it's really good and it's really good at doing the thing it's trying to do. It's not like Hawkeye, which felt like an A.I. was desperatyely trying to write a Shane Black script. The visual style, the directing, everything works and feels contextualized. Iman Vellani is so charming and the whole cast is really lovely. Generally speaking, it maybe doesn't reach the highs of Wandavision (but it also doesn't plummet to its lows) and it's not as consistent as Loki, but I really really liked it, I had fun, it even genuinely moved me here and there.
The Boys uses a very classic narrative structure and writing approach, almost Arrowverse style, but with the desire of constantly raising the bar in terms of gruesomeness, crass jokes, deconstruction, splatter, giant penises, which is instead very contemporary TV stuff. The mix works (also) because of the contrast and because it's very good in building the characters and making them evolve through time, finding a balance that goes much deeper than the dumb characterization Garth Ennis used in service of themes in his comic book. From the same direction also comes a certain sense of repetitiveness that in the long run could become tiresome. That's why I hope they stop after four or five seasons, while they're still going strong. But who knows? Oh, also, I got only love for Anthony Starr since before this, Banshee is still deep in my heart and spleen. But the highs he is reaching here... Jesus.
A great cast (I particularly love Dave Franco and Ilana Glazer but they're all great), a good detective story built on small details and deceptions, a great concept with the "movie genres" idea (which I've seen before - it reminded me of some episodes from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - but never in such an extensive way), lots of laughs and some of the crazy moments you would expect from Phil Lord and Chris Miller. It takes a couple of episodes to really start working but then it becomes a very good show.
I'm sure the "two volumes" format worked in terms of buzz and post production but that month of waiting, hype, chatting and watching trailer is, I think, part of the reason why the ending didn't move me as much as it could have. I was too focused on that, on guessing deaths, on the wait, and even though I had lots of fun, something didn't click for me. And I found a confirmation of that when I rewatched some scenes and found them more emotional on a second viewing. So I really think I would have enjoyed this so much more if I had the two final episodes ready two watch a day or two after the seventh. I guess I will never know.
That being said, I still think it's the best season after the first one, I still think the ending of episode four is one of the best moments of all Stranger Things (and that may also be part of a problem, because after such a high in the middle, you wait for something as powerful to come, and it doesn't), I still think that the longer episodes are not a problem because sure, they could have cut something here and there but it was always very enjoyable and in fact the length helped them to give dignity to all storylines, like it happened in season one and didn't really happen in two and three.
The new bad guy really works, even though he looks ridiculous and his info dumps can be quite annoying. The cast is amazing as always and the Duffers confirmed their talent in introducing characters that I don't really care for at first sight but I end up loving. It happens at least three times here, in very different and successful ways.
And of course the point, as usual for Stranger Things, is in how good the characters are and how well they are used. They are amazing, with great chemistry, really well written. Even in its worst moments, this show is always great with characters and relationships. And every episodes has got two or three amazing moments of comedy, drama, sweetness, beautiful interactions that are the engine of Stranger Things. Because they are the reason to watch it.
But it really is time to end it: the seams are visible, there's so much repetition and a huge risk of having emotions deflated by predictability. It kinda happened for me here with how it ended, I have to say.
Hope they don't miss the landing. They never did in season finales, but a series final is a different and tougher beast.
We Own This City is like if a sixth season of The Wire came from the multiverse, with returning actors in different roles and a complete change in style. The Wire was very emotional and personal but told through a docufiction visual style, We Own This City is a very dry and journalistic story told through the cinematic, messy, vital, temporally broke, ioncredibly effective vision of Reinaldo Marcus Green. And then there's a spectacular Jon Bernthal, who roams around the episodes like he's the shark from Jaws, swimming here and there, always ready to bite and chew everything when it matters. It needs a couple of episodes to really get there, but it's a great show, full of interesting ideas and with an amazing final episode.
Watching Obi-Wan Kenobi after seeing everybody get angry about it for weeks, I kinda expected it would rob my house and harass my family. In the end, i found it less boring than The Book of Boba-Fett. Now, "less boring than The Book of Boba-Fett" is not a great compliment but, I mean, this is the usual Disney+ mediocre shit that's got a few really good ideas but lets them go to waste because it doesn't want/doesn't know how to develop them and it dilutes in six hours of TV a story that (maybe) didn't deserve more than a two hours movie. Also, I'm not sure about which creative decision I find more astonishing between (1) "let's throw away the script about Obi-Wan protecting Luke because it's too much like The Mandalorian and use a script about Obi-Wan protecting Leia instead" and (2) "finding narrative tension in a story about a protagonist and an antagonist who aren't really in danger is hard, so let's focus on putting in danger a third character who also cannot really be in danger and having a fourth character who only wants to kill one of those three characters (who cannot die)". And let's shoot ourselves in the foot, while we're at it. Then of course, even starting from that, you still can do good stuff if you can write in a way that creates narrative tension based on deep characterization, relationships, character's journey, developing those ideas that, I repeat, are there but, as usual, don't have any depth. Or maybe you can save the show with a spectacular visual approach, great action, those kinds of things. And sure, there are some good moments but mostly this is a show with amazing production values wasted on a visual and narrative approach that feels twenty years old. Which also makes me think that these shows are starting to really feel very flat and samey in terms of looks and I'm wondering if the celebrated StageCraft is the guilty party in that.
All that being said, I didn't find it particularly worse than the usual mediocre silly pop stuff that we get on Disney+. You know what didn't help? It being released while Stranger Things, Ms. Marvel and The Boys were reminding us that you can do silly pop stuff that is not even remotely perfect but has got so much more personality and/or ideas and/or interesting visual stuff.
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.
A smart and surprising adaptation, that widens the scope, adds interesting storylines and plays with structure, opting to narrate the story by alternating different periods of time. I didn't like all the differences and I'm particularly perplexed by some choices they made with the Eighties stuff, but then again, they had to change a lot there, because of the structural changes. Also, it's to be expected when you watch something based on a novel you read. Overall, if you can live with the tipically eastern love for melodrama, this is a great show, with amazing production values, that beautifully recreates so many different time periods and locations, populates them with cray good actors (the three Sunja are out of this world but everybody is really, really good) and tackles in such a deep a smart ways all its themes and the idea of time changing a lot but also thing always staying the same. Plus, I love how deep it dives in eating food, preparing it and all the fish market dynamics, and the whole mix of languages, with korean, japanes and english, is really fascinating. I hope it gets renewed.
Probably unpopular opinion: I (moderately) liked Moon Knight. The first three episodes have some nice ideas but are fairly traditional MCU stuff, borderline boring. Episode 4 is when it really starts working and it's a nice Marvel version of the Indiana Jones/The Mummy genre. Episode 5 is my favorite: smart, funny, entertaining and for once quite effecting in how it tries to inject mature themes and drama in a MCU thing. Episode 6 is what you would expect from it, but I enjoyed the new dynamic between the two versions of Moon Knight, the action with the "egyptian superhero" and the whole kaiju/gods aspects. Overall, I liked how it used cuts to (not) show the different personalities, I thought the acting was frankly much better than what the show deserved and I'm all for it embracing the more surreal stuff, with anthropomorphic beastly gods fighting each other. I didn't love the show but I enjoyed and while I don't think it's as good as Loki or as the first few episodes of Wandavision, it's certainly much better than the second half of Wandavision and than Hawkeye and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
OK, the second half of the season is a bit better, especially the final couple of episodes.
This is a smart and very well acted show with all the ups and downs of an anthology series. When it works, it's great, when it doesn't, you still kinda like it for trying. I probably would have liked it more if it wasn't a bit less on the nose, but maybe it's just me.
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.
I didn't love the first couple of episodes but then it found its rhythm and it became quite good. The final stretch is emotional, funny, smart and overall it's a very good companion to Big Mouth.
A really solid, impeccably made show, with great acting and a good writing. All the cliches of the "true story" genre are there, but in a good way.
The first couple of episodes didn't completely work for me but by the end I was fully in love with the cast and characters, the tone, the overall mood, the plt and the action. This is way better than any MCU show, apart maybe from Loki.
What a great ending for a lovely show. It's a pity some of the actors couldn't return (I didn't miss the therapist though) but the writing, acting and directing is better than ever. And that final image...
This starts really out of whack, the first three episodes really don't work in terms of gags and drama. Too much. But then it finds a balance and it becames a really good final season, funny, heartfelt and with nice closure for all characters.
What an amazing show! Visually stunning, full of ideas, easter egg, homages, and so frigging funny. I loved watching it with my daughter.
Like season 1, this takes a couple of episodes to really become good and I have to say after the beautiful ending of season 1 that was a bit hard to swallow. But then it gets back on track and delivers some great moments. I cannot stand the therapist, though. I don't think he's that funny and it's the only character with no real development or usefulness in the overarching story.
It takes a couple of (quite good nonetheless) episodes to really get on track but then it becomes a very, very, very good show, extremely funny, sad, deep and light at the same time. Really lovely. Plus, it could have absolutely worked as a single season, with a very nice ending, so I'm curious to see what he did in season 2.
The Walking Dead if The Walking Dead was consistently great in every single episode, didn't last too long and didn't sound incredibly dumb when it tried to do drama. Great acting, writing, directing and such lovely writing, always interesting in how it's constructed and so caring and uplifting in how it takes care of its characters. What an amazing show.
They should have squeezed the first three episodes in a bottle episode during The Mandalorian season 2 and then they should have used the storyline of the last three episodes as The Mandalorian Christmas Special. Maybe, that way, it wouldn't be boring as shit. Instead, we got the usual, well produced, moderately fun, moderately boring, kinda wasted opportunity we tend to get from Star Wars/MCU TV shows, just a little more boring than usual.
Do not get me wrong: there's some good stuff and some fun stuff in here and I'm kinda fascinated by the idea they are basically making one big "Tatooine Tales" TV Show with different titles in different seasons, but really, this was tolerable only because I decided to watch it while doing laundry.
A lovely show, that makes both me and my daughter laugh so much with its monty pythonesque humour but is also touching, lovingly real, crazily imaginative. What a huge surprise.
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.
A return to form from first to last episode.
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.
