Lainfan

78 followers

Netherlands
36

Gotham

The worst thing about this show is that it is not absolutely terrible. It is sometimes pretty good.

If it sucked, then it might get cancelled and we could all stop watching. Instead this show is a stark blend of good and bad elements.
It has some pretty decent noir detective style stories, where the main character, Gordon, is the only honest cop in a totally corrupt town. Then a guy called Penguin eats sandwiches after he randomly stabs people. Gordon is a cop so committed to doing the right thing he will literally sort through the shit to find the truth (evidence in the sewer). But later a guy asks a bunch of Riddles and everyone says he Riddles too much.
The other main cop, Bullock, is an interesting mix of corrupt cop but still has decent sense of justice. Then a young rich orphan is sad a bunch, while people tell him he will do great things one day (that we will never see).

Even though the "Gordon cleans up police alone" is the best part of the show it also has contradictions, for instance there is already another whole department of honest cops. And he also has a super successful, rich, and supportive fiancé who could completely take care of him if he quit being a cop. So he isn't really struggling with his life in any way. It makes him copping about look more like a whimsey, as opposed to a duty.

This show has a pretty decent core narrative, it's all the auxiliary stuff dragging it down. It also does a good job of not being entirely episodic. Often minor plot points from previous episodes will impact the next one.

For a show based on Batman, the worst parts of the show are the Batman bits. Like when young Bruce Wayne, or Selina Kyle ("Cat"), or the Penguin or the Riddler show up. If they cut out all the Batman things in this show, it would be much better.

I want to either love this show, or stop watching. But I can't do either. Instead I keep watching a mediocre series and hoping it improves.

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It disappointed me too for being not great. It is not bad, but it not being great is just not enough for Batman anymore xD

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The Expanse
10

Shout by Deleted

omg what a cool scishow finally something complex and bold. they say it's the show that's standing up to BsG, but I say it's time we had a space opera that's worthy.
also, I'm amazed how many details they can cram up inside a pilot without getting it too overloaded.
a big plus for me are the space cam sequences and the sfx are eye candy.
a minus is the fact that even today's tv shows can't avoid this trap: there's no soundwaves in space, the vacuum has no air to propell the sound. so why the frak do we always hear big booms and afterburners ?
all in all, this is one to keep your eyes on.

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@fvr-deleted-1483869193 Sound in space (nearly) always gets done wrong. To make that part faithful is more a bonus point than a condition. At least it is for me.
It is way easier to make a movie or series while ignoring the limitations of a vacuum, in stead of having to think of something to replace it (in case you don't want to create tons of dead silent shots.) You need to get really inventive, become limited in what you can do with shots and audio and it certainly influences the feel of a film heavily. Sound is a big part in film and it is exceptionally difficult to NOT use it. Think of it as trying to make a movie like Lord of the rings with only practical effects. Or a Die Hard movie without Bruce Willis :P Yes it is possible, but it is really hard.

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Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
7

Shout by Aiven
BlockedParent2019-05-19T18:12:41Z— updated 2019-09-28T20:37:37Z

Great animation, but full of cliche, with hollow predictable plot.

Edit after finishing 1st season:
Half way through it became more interesting, I'm glad I didn't drop it after first 3 boring episodes.

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@aiven Same here. Just watched it (Season 1) for the animation bc it is from Ufotable, but disappointed about the writing.

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Fate/Zero

A lot of people call Zero better than the earlier Fate/Stay Night creation (which is about 10 years after Zero.)
Zero is better in technical terms, but it is also made 6 years later. The main reason why people call Zero better (besides the purist to the original story) is the leap in visual effect. However, when Stay Night came out in 2006 I was impressed by the visuals as well. It's kinda like comparing the 1st and 2nd Matrix movie in SFX. Therefore, those 2 arguments are not valid enough for me personaly to pick a better one.

Stay Night has a side with a more romantic part in it (which is a bit awkward sometimes) where Zero lacks a bit of mystery I did feel with the first series. But in the end they are both great series, and I would advice every anime fan to check both series out, starting with Fate/Stay Night (Always watch stuff in order of their release.)

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With the new Unlimited Blade Works edition from Ufotable, which is clearly created as a step-in anime, it is probably best to watch Zero as the last anime (or second if you decide to ignore the 2006 DEEN version.)
Prequels always get spoiled by the main story, that's why they are sequels.

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Fate/Zero
9

Shout by ManiacB
VIP
OG
12

Those who liked the tone and feel of Fate/Zero should try Kara no Kyoukai/The Garden of Sinners. Also animated by studio ufotable and "kinda" set in the same verse as Fate, it's a series of movies about mages, vampires and stuff. It was considered the precursor to Tsukihime (again set in the same verse as Fate) which also has an anime adaption (or not, depending on who you ask :P)

http://trakt.tv/show/the-garden-of-sinners

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I hear this a lot, but I thought the themes were very different and Kyoukai is more mature and dark. Kara no Kyoukai is a great franchise though!

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Fate/Stay Night

Hi guys, just FYI F/SN and F/Z are now separate entries.

F/Z can be found here http://trakt.tv/show/fatezero

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Thanks, I just noticed.
Do you know why? Since this website usually groups all seasons together. This is a bit inconsistent.

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The Flight Attendant

If I have read all the reviews here instead of at Imdb, I would have never bothered to turn my TV on to watch it. And it would be a mistake, because it is funny and engaging, acting is excellent, fresh editing really good for the action's tempo, For me it was great fun.

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@jerzyjerzy Same here. I did not expect much before I watched it, so I was positively surprised.And tbh it shows how Cuoco's talents were wasted on BBT.

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Serial Experiments Lain

You could call this a real cyberpunk anime.
A pretty abstract and philosophical story about identity and who we really are. It leaves the viewer questioning about more than just the series itself.

Juicy detail: It is rumoured to be one of the series that had an influence on The Wachowski brothers for The Matrix story. However I don't know if this is ever confirmed or true, and it probably was a minor one compared to Ghost In The Shell. After all it was aired only 1 year before the release of The first Matrix movie.

It is not for everyone, but if you have an open mind and like more gloomy and philosophical stories, it is definitaly worth it.

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@aiven i know, i mentioned that.

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Debris

what is strange is that i just found out that this was cancelled after one season
how
why

my bet is that the tv that payed this is probably small?

Best hope now is that netflix pick this serie and produce more seasons... plenty of things to explore

#netflix lets go, buy debris rights!

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@nelsonserie It was broadcasted on NBC, and created by Universal. Both are big industry leaders. It is not a money thing, it is a ratings issue. The show had promise, but ultimately it did not attract enough viewers (especially for NBC standards) and it probably was simply too average to attract enough viewers.

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The 100

Clarke is a major B with moodswings where people with a personality disorder can be jealous of...
Pretty bad show with bad writing and worse dialog.
Ps. Who names a female character after Superman?

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@johang2012 oh that is a nice detail :)

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Legion: Season 2

Finally, a Marvel show about the X-Men universe! This is already better than the best seasons of the best ever Marvel shows (S02+ of Agents of SHIELD and Daredevil)... and certainly much better than the Iron Fist or The Defenders!

SEASON 1:

Be warned, the show is extremely confusing - being from the perspective of a mental patient - and has a bit of a slow start, though it picks up significantly in E03, at which point it upgrades to merely "very confusing" until the penultimate episode. Sadly, this resulted in my wife loosing interest before getting to that point, so be sure to stick with it.

I love the chilling glimpses - and brilliant soundtrack accompaniment - of the antagonist: the "monster." They are by far the best representation of this creature/character, ever!

Also, there are subtle hints as to how this show, and its protagonist, tie in to the story of the better-known X-Men.
This takes place in the past, similar to X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: First Class, so it shows some interesting prototypes of well-known technology and even appliances (Espresso, anyone? ;).

I am sad to see there are only 8 episodes, with it ending just as soon as things start to come together and make sense.

When Season 1 ended after finally explaining (a few) things, I thought Season 2 would finally be less confusing...
WRONG!

SEASON 2:

S02 jumps forward an unknown amount of time, we have to peice together what happened in between.
Not only am I not sure what is reality, at times, but even if I'm watching a TV show anymore.

At times it turns into an International Indie Film (complete with Chapter titles, and Interludes), a Nature Channel animal documentary, and even a Hip-Hop Ballet (though a good one!).
Wow!

SEASON 1 RECAP (for SEASON 2):

Here is a recap of the ending of Season 1 to help get you started, to make things (slightly) less confusing:

https://screenrant.com/legion-season-1-finale-mid-credits-sequence-explained/

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@powersheetexcelbi And then Season 3 hits and makes Season 2 look like elementary school xD
ps. A belated thanks for the link, i remember finding it useful back before I watched S2.

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Doom Patrol: Season 2

i'm wondering how many episodes there are in Season 2. is there a definitive resource where i can check?

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@ajmal-email-yahoo-co-uk Originally 10, but filming for the last episode was not finished bc of COVID19, so it remains at 9.

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Into the Night

1253/5000
I didn't expect much when I accidentally stumbled across this new series on Netflix. Apocalyptic scenarios are not necessarily new; not even in the series segment. But the premise "the survivors have to flee ever further from the sun with an airplane" seems so absurd when reading that one cannot do anything else than to think beforehand "Okay, then I can at least do something else on the side".

The series starts off a bit confusing and rushed, just like the situation for the characters must be. At the end of the second episode I realized that I really wanted to keep looking. Right now. And until the end, I watched the twists and turns that the small group of survivors had to face again and again. I attribute a large part of this tension to the music. Not even concise or pushy, but with a steadily fast beat she is able to convey this typical feeling of "what's lurking around the next corner". At the end of the 6 episode series, I would like to know if there is a sequel. Apparently my first impression was wrong and I'm glad I tried it anyway. 7/10

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@cthalin A sequel has not yet been confirmed, but if there will be a 2nd season it will most likely go into a completely different direction (if it follows the source material in any way.)

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Westworld: Season 4

Way better than season 3, and possibly better than season 2 during some moments but the first is absolutely still the peak of this show. I hope they get to wrap things up in season 5 but overall I think this season was solid!

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@thetrophymunchers I thought the end of this season (4) was a great place to finalize the story. I thought this would actually be the last season lol.

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True Detective: Season 4

I don't see what the whiners are seeing; I thought this was great and especially Jodie Foster was fantastic. Sure, the season is slow, but this isn't an action Jackson show and if you're just looking for your daily adrenaline fix, this show won't please you. The rest of us, though, may find plenty to enjoy here.

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@werecatf I didnt understand it either. Sure, the mythical aspect was a bit off for this anthology, but other than that everything was quite in line with earlier seasons. Both in quality and style.

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True Detective: Season 4

Made the mistake of reading the IMDB comments. Lots of angry guys complaining about the big “Eskimo” cop somehow taking on someone who is twice her size. Obviously, these people don’t know who Kalis Reis is. I’d like to see them try.

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@jackdecarlo_ I didnt know her, looked her up while watching, then was surprised she lost the fight vs 3 dudes xD but ig that made more sense for her story at that point :P

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Another Life

This is the "Prometeus school of little space explorer" all over again.

They have the technology, they have the know-how, but for some reason they put the worst possible people in charge of the most important mission of human history.

It's like NASA put highschoolers inside Apollo 11.
Why writers can't write a good sci-fi show without making people complete incompetents?

I miss SG1

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@canardu The mining crew from Armageddon look like experts compared to these bunch of incompetent idiots xD

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X-Men

"What would you prefer, yellow spandex?"

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But he never got it... xD

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The Avengers
10

Shout by Deleted

Awesome movie! Great for kids and adults!

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A bit too violent for kids imho, it's more a 13+ movie.

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The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
10

Review by lira
BlockedParentSpoilers2013-11-16T00:59:27Z

Just perfect. Kept to the storyline of the book to an impressive level. In some parts, specially near the end, it was clearer than the book. When the uprising in the arena began, we knew pretty well who was on Katniss's side.
One thing to love: everything. If you had any reservations concerning Jena Malone or Sam Claflin, just don't. They were perfect for their characters. The SFX are just something else. The poisonous mist had an eerie Stephen King-ish look to it. The training center was pretty good, and I don't even have words to describe the areena. Hollywood mastered action tracks eons ago, so I don't know why I'm mentioning it.
One thing to hate: fangirls. Bitches screamed and squeaked through half the fucking movie. “Omigod Sam Claflin.” “Hahaha Peeta and Finnick are kissing.” “I want Johanna Mason to murder my vagina.” Ugh, please, I didn't pay to listen to that. (Maybe I thought one or two of these things but at least I kept it to myself.) But maybe you're like me and you, too, feel a sadistic pleasure in telling people to STFU.
And if you're wondering how a mortal watched the movie one week before premiere: I'm from Brazil suckers ;-)

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That's why I wait 2-3 weeks before watching a movie in cinema. 90% of the fangirls are out + you have better chance at a good seat :)

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Nope
6

Shout by Corvus
BlockedParent2022-02-22T23:45:12Z— updated 2022-08-27T19:59:19Z

What's with the bad votes it didn't even come out yet-

Edit: Fair enough.

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@rubilior Plenty of films can be watched before their official release date, most notably on film festivals. Also, release dates are still often at different dates in different countries (and the us. date or country of origin date is also not always the most earliest date.)

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The Bourne Identity

Watching it a second time, 12 years later, with my dad. Extended version, great film.

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I think you made a mistake with your rating, considering your shout ;)

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Doctor Who: 12x05 Fugitive of the Judoon
10

Review by Mario A. Luna
BlockedParentSpoilers2020-01-27T23:12:39Z— updated 2020-02-13T05:34:43Z

We've known for a while now that the Judoon would be coming back to the show. A few pictures from set leaked a couple of months ago and I must say… I'm pretty impressed. The BBC managed to keep the "big stuff" from the episode a secret until today. We got a bunch of surprises! At the start of every new Doctor Who Series, there are always rumors. Characters and monsters supposedly coming back, here and there. But there is always one fan favorite: Captain Jack Harkness.

The immortal Time Agent that used to travel with the Doctor. Chibnall brought him back. We knew a character would be coming back for this week's episode, but I never would've thought (not even in my wildest dreams) Jack Harkness would appear on screen again. Now the Easter-egg from "Spyfall Part One" makes sense (the head of MI6 name-dropped both UNIT and Torchwood). This ain't just one-off appearance, this stuff is big. I think we'll see him again during the finale or during Series 13, I'm sure.
Also, he dropped a couple of bombs that could turn into story arcs later on. Maybe an answer for the Timeless Child thing? We'll get those answers! "She needs me and I'll be there". Maybe this version of Captain Jack is from the future. He seems to know the Cybermen are coming back and they will encounter the Doctor and her Fam later on. He's trying to warn the Doctor about something that will end up happening anyway. Maybe.

It was fun to see the Judoon back on screen again! There were a bunch of callbacks to the "Smith and Jones" episode from Series 3 (their first appearance) and they worked really well during the story. They kind of got overshadowed by the biggest surprise from the episode, though. But before that… let's talk about another character for a bit: Gat. A Time Lord that used to work alongside with the Doctor. She is, allegedly, from a previous point in her timeline and the Doctor doesn't remember her. She was trying to capture her under someone else's orders. I think this is, precisely, where all starts to get a bit… "timey-wimey". Apparently, there is a new version of the Doctor out there. A face we, the audience, have never seen before. And it's getting pretty hard to trace back into his/her own timeline to make it work properly.

First we got introduced to this woman named "Ruth". She turns out to be an alien in disguise, hiding from the Judoon on Earth alongside a man, protecting her. Later on, we found out that she got her memory wiped and that she's using technology like the Fob Watch from Series 3. Fob Watch: a device that allows a Time Lord to re-write his/her own biology to turn into a human. A MacGuffin created during the Russell T. Davies era, used by both the Master (Utopia/The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords) and the Doctor (Human Nature/ The Family of Blood). So, it turns out that the lighthouse was working as a kind of Fob Watch thing. Time Lord technology, so this "Ruth" character must be from Gallifrey. And that's when the episode slaps you right in the face… the Doctor finds the graveyard with THE FUCKING TARDIS BURIED THERE. Holy fuck! So this Time Lord MUST be the Doctor! But we've never seen this face before, so she must be from later on… right? RIGHT?! This can't be… the timelines must be out of sync.

And this is where it gets a bit… wonky. This Doctor still calls her TARDIS "ship" and it looks very similar to the "default" console room of the Type-40 TARDIS the Doctor stole when he ran away from Gallifrey 2000 years ago. Look, the round things! What are the round things? Our Doctor doesn't remember being her. Her TARDIS looks like a police box, that means the chameleon circuit is stuck with that look… so she MUST be from the First Doctor's future. That's when the TARDIS' got stuck with the blue look, after he landed on Earth during the 60s. Okay. This could work… I think. If she's from the First Doctor's future, she can be a version between the Second Doctor and the Third. After "The War Games" story, we never saw the Second Doctor regenerate. After his trial with the Time Lords, they forced him to regenerate. We never saw that regeneration. What we saw was the Second Doctor's trial and the Time Lords exiling him to 20th Century Earth.

Later on, we just saw a NEW version of the Doctor (Spearhead From Space) falling out of his TARDIS after regeneration. We never saw him change, did we? So the Time Lords punished the Doctor by condemning him to exile on Earth during the 20th Century and by forcing a regeneration on him. "Ruth" did say she moved into the city on 1999, right? That's still 20th Century Earth. Maybe they could've wiped his memory too, I guess? Or she could've wiped her own memory. She seems to be on the run from the Time Lords, that can work too. But that still doesn't explain why our Doctor doesn't remember being her. Also, there's a bigger problem here. A Time Lord has 13 lives, a cycle of 12 regenerations. Right? Adding up a regeneration between the Second and Third Doctor would brake this old rule. That's why the Time Lords granted the Eleventh Doctor a whole new regeneration cycle during "The Time of the Doctor" story as a reward for saving them during "The Day of the Doctor" story.

Another explanation I can think of is that this version of the Doctor is a previous face from a different regeneration cycle (1st) prior to the events of the "An Unearthly Child" story from 1963. She could die and regenerate into the First Doctor after being granted a new cycle. But what about her TARDIS? Well, maybe the chameleon circuit still works and she just happened to be using the police box look and that's why the Doctor used it later on in the timeline and then it just broke and never got fixed. Right? I'm bending the canon as much as I can. There's the problem with this theory. During "The Name of the Doctor" story, Clara entered the Doctor's time stream and got broken into a million pieces. A bunch of Claras all over the timeline. We know what the default look for all TARDISes is. We saw a Clara helping the Doctor. She helped the Doctor and Susan while they were running away from Gallifrey. This Time Lord version of Clara told the Doctor what kind of TARDIS he should be stealing.

The third explanation I can think of is multiverse. Maybe this Doctor (if she is in fact, the Doctor) is from another universe and she ended up in another universe by accident or because she needed to scape from the Time Lords from her universe. I don't know. And the last one is that she isn't the Doctor. Maybe she's another Time Lord (the Master, the Rani, Romana, etc.) that's using the Doctor's DNA as a template for a biological disguise or something. Someone is lying, I can feel it.

Rule #1: THE DOCTOR LIES.
But for now… she's the Doctor. Let's roll with that. It's always fun to see how the Doctor sassies herself, hahaha. Classic.

"How did I end up like… that? All rainbows and trousers that don't reach".
"How did I end up like you? I've never been anything like you. Trust me, I'd remember… specially that shirt".

Overall: great episode, definitely big. But I do think that Chibnall's walking on thin ice here. This retcon stuff is hard to pull off, I just hope he can do this. For the sake of the show's history. I don't want him to break the fucking canon. I'm excited! Fun stuff!

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@chuchitzu Your text would be easier to read if you used paragraphs. Just a tip.

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Doctor Who: 9x02 The Witch's Familiar (2)

Reply by Lainfan
BlockedParentSpoilers2015-09-30T15:05:20Z

I do happen to like the way they subtly hinted that The Doctor has enough regeneration energy for another go, at least. What I don't like is that this comes along with recent Peter Capaldi's comments on interviews about him being too tired of shooting Doctor Who, after just two series. That means that he's leaving after series 10?. Most likely. Cast a 57 y.o. actor in a physical demanding role, and what do you get?. The episode introduces the concept of a new Doctor in just a couple of lines, and that kept my attention off for the rest of it. When I went back to watch it again, there it was, I wasn't wrong. So, I'm expecting the beginning of the casting process after S9's Christmas special, and a proper send off after wrapping S10. Wearable technology?... sure.

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I think they actually gave him a full regeneration cycle. Which would indicate 12 new regenerations. I could be wrong ofc.
I think 2 seasons (of 12 episodes in stead of 13) is a bit low on the numbers too. Especially with the confirmed leaving of Jenna Coleman. The first season was only used to introduce Capaldi, and not much more. The sunglasses are finally a unique feature they added to give him more character (besides his eyebrows.) I am also hoping for a S10 with Capaldi, and a bit more seasonal storyline than the 8th season offered us.

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Doctor Who: 12x03 Orphan 55

Shouldn’t the TARDIS have caused the Cyrillic sign in the underground tunnel to appear as English?

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@danterner Who is very consistent in being inconsistent. The Tardis was not with them though, although that not explains how they understood the other people.

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Doctor Who: 12x05 Fugitive of the Judoon
10

Review by Mario A. Luna
BlockedParentSpoilers2020-01-27T23:12:39Z— updated 2020-02-13T05:34:43Z

We've known for a while now that the Judoon would be coming back to the show. A few pictures from set leaked a couple of months ago and I must say… I'm pretty impressed. The BBC managed to keep the "big stuff" from the episode a secret until today. We got a bunch of surprises! At the start of every new Doctor Who Series, there are always rumors. Characters and monsters supposedly coming back, here and there. But there is always one fan favorite: Captain Jack Harkness.

The immortal Time Agent that used to travel with the Doctor. Chibnall brought him back. We knew a character would be coming back for this week's episode, but I never would've thought (not even in my wildest dreams) Jack Harkness would appear on screen again. Now the Easter-egg from "Spyfall Part One" makes sense (the head of MI6 name-dropped both UNIT and Torchwood). This ain't just one-off appearance, this stuff is big. I think we'll see him again during the finale or during Series 13, I'm sure.
Also, he dropped a couple of bombs that could turn into story arcs later on. Maybe an answer for the Timeless Child thing? We'll get those answers! "She needs me and I'll be there". Maybe this version of Captain Jack is from the future. He seems to know the Cybermen are coming back and they will encounter the Doctor and her Fam later on. He's trying to warn the Doctor about something that will end up happening anyway. Maybe.

It was fun to see the Judoon back on screen again! There were a bunch of callbacks to the "Smith and Jones" episode from Series 3 (their first appearance) and they worked really well during the story. They kind of got overshadowed by the biggest surprise from the episode, though. But before that… let's talk about another character for a bit: Gat. A Time Lord that used to work alongside with the Doctor. She is, allegedly, from a previous point in her timeline and the Doctor doesn't remember her. She was trying to capture her under someone else's orders. I think this is, precisely, where all starts to get a bit… "timey-wimey". Apparently, there is a new version of the Doctor out there. A face we, the audience, have never seen before. And it's getting pretty hard to trace back into his/her own timeline to make it work properly.

First we got introduced to this woman named "Ruth". She turns out to be an alien in disguise, hiding from the Judoon on Earth alongside a man, protecting her. Later on, we found out that she got her memory wiped and that she's using technology like the Fob Watch from Series 3. Fob Watch: a device that allows a Time Lord to re-write his/her own biology to turn into a human. A MacGuffin created during the Russell T. Davies era, used by both the Master (Utopia/The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords) and the Doctor (Human Nature/ The Family of Blood). So, it turns out that the lighthouse was working as a kind of Fob Watch thing. Time Lord technology, so this "Ruth" character must be from Gallifrey. And that's when the episode slaps you right in the face… the Doctor finds the graveyard with THE FUCKING TARDIS BURIED THERE. Holy fuck! So this Time Lord MUST be the Doctor! But we've never seen this face before, so she must be from later on… right? RIGHT?! This can't be… the timelines must be out of sync.

And this is where it gets a bit… wonky. This Doctor still calls her TARDIS "ship" and it looks very similar to the "default" console room of the Type-40 TARDIS the Doctor stole when he ran away from Gallifrey 2000 years ago. Look, the round things! What are the round things? Our Doctor doesn't remember being her. Her TARDIS looks like a police box, that means the chameleon circuit is stuck with that look… so she MUST be from the First Doctor's future. That's when the TARDIS' got stuck with the blue look, after he landed on Earth during the 60s. Okay. This could work… I think. If she's from the First Doctor's future, she can be a version between the Second Doctor and the Third. After "The War Games" story, we never saw the Second Doctor regenerate. After his trial with the Time Lords, they forced him to regenerate. We never saw that regeneration. What we saw was the Second Doctor's trial and the Time Lords exiling him to 20th Century Earth.

Later on, we just saw a NEW version of the Doctor (Spearhead From Space) falling out of his TARDIS after regeneration. We never saw him change, did we? So the Time Lords punished the Doctor by condemning him to exile on Earth during the 20th Century and by forcing a regeneration on him. "Ruth" did say she moved into the city on 1999, right? That's still 20th Century Earth. Maybe they could've wiped his memory too, I guess? Or she could've wiped her own memory. She seems to be on the run from the Time Lords, that can work too. But that still doesn't explain why our Doctor doesn't remember being her. Also, there's a bigger problem here. A Time Lord has 13 lives, a cycle of 12 regenerations. Right? Adding up a regeneration between the Second and Third Doctor would brake this old rule. That's why the Time Lords granted the Eleventh Doctor a whole new regeneration cycle during "The Time of the Doctor" story as a reward for saving them during "The Day of the Doctor" story.

Another explanation I can think of is that this version of the Doctor is a previous face from a different regeneration cycle (1st) prior to the events of the "An Unearthly Child" story from 1963. She could die and regenerate into the First Doctor after being granted a new cycle. But what about her TARDIS? Well, maybe the chameleon circuit still works and she just happened to be using the police box look and that's why the Doctor used it later on in the timeline and then it just broke and never got fixed. Right? I'm bending the canon as much as I can. There's the problem with this theory. During "The Name of the Doctor" story, Clara entered the Doctor's time stream and got broken into a million pieces. A bunch of Claras all over the timeline. We know what the default look for all TARDISes is. We saw a Clara helping the Doctor. She helped the Doctor and Susan while they were running away from Gallifrey. This Time Lord version of Clara told the Doctor what kind of TARDIS he should be stealing.

The third explanation I can think of is multiverse. Maybe this Doctor (if she is in fact, the Doctor) is from another universe and she ended up in another universe by accident or because she needed to scape from the Time Lords from her universe. I don't know. And the last one is that she isn't the Doctor. Maybe she's another Time Lord (the Master, the Rani, Romana, etc.) that's using the Doctor's DNA as a template for a biological disguise or something. Someone is lying, I can feel it.

Rule #1: THE DOCTOR LIES.
But for now… she's the Doctor. Let's roll with that. It's always fun to see how the Doctor sassies herself, hahaha. Classic.

"How did I end up like… that? All rainbows and trousers that don't reach".
"How did I end up like you? I've never been anything like you. Trust me, I'd remember… specially that shirt".

Overall: great episode, definitely big. But I do think that Chibnall's walking on thin ice here. This retcon stuff is hard to pull off, I just hope he can do this. For the sake of the show's history. I don't want him to break the fucking canon. I'm excited! Fun stuff!

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@chuchitzu Oh really? Then i said nothing :p

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The Bourne Legacy

This is a typical Bource film but... without anything that made the Bourne Trilogy a good series of Movies.

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Exactly this. If it didn't had the name 'Bourne' on it, people probably would have liked it much more.

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Dune
9

Review by Jordy
VIP
8
BlockedParent2021-09-15T13:12:54Z— updated 2022-05-17T16:59:33Z

Denis Villeneuve is the man!
There’s only one word that came into my mind after watching it: finally.

Finally, a blockbuster that isn’t afraid to be primarily driven by drama and tension, and doesn’t undercut its own tone by throwing in a joke every 30 seconds.
Finally, a blockbuster that puts actual effort in its cinematography, and doesn’t have a bland or calculated colour palette.
Finally, a blockbuster with a story that has actual substance and themes, and doesn’t rely on intertextual references or nostalgia to create a fake sheen of depth.
Finally, a blockbuster that doesn’t pander to China by having big, loud and overblown action sequences, but relies on practical and grounded spectacle instead (it has big sand worms, you really don’t need to throw anything at the screen besides that).
Finally, a blockbuster that actually feels big, because it isn’t primarily shot in close ups, or on a sound stage.
And of course: finally, a blockbuster that isn’t a fucking prequel, sequel, or connected to an already established IP somehow.

(Yeah, I know Tenet did those things as well, but I couldn’t get into that because the characters were so flat and uninteresting).

This just checks all the boxes. An engaging story with subtext, very well set up characters, great acting (like James Gunn, Villeneuve's great at accentuating the strengths of limited actors like Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa), spectecular visuals and art design (desaturated but not in an ugly washed out way), pacing (slow but it never drags), directing, one of Hans Zimmer’s best scores: it’s all here.
I only have one real criticism: there’s too much exposition, especially in the first half.
It can occasionally hold your hand by referencing things that have already been established previously, and some scenes of characters explaining stuff to each other could’ve been conveyed more visually.
Other than that, it’s easily one of the best films of the year.
I’ve seen some people critiquing it for being incomplete, which is true, but this isn’t just a set up for a future film.
It feels like a whole meal, there are pay offs in this, and the characters progress (even if, yes, their arcs are still incomplete).

8.5/10

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@jordyep "And of course: finally, a blockbuster that isn’t a fucking prequel, sequel, or connected to an already established IP somehow." Hate to point this out, but Dune is very much an already established IP. As you mention at the end of your review, it is an adaptation of a novel (with a rather large following), and it has several earlier adaptations in several media including a not so small movie in the 80's.

"I only have one real criticism: there’s too much exposition, especially in the first half." + "... conveyed more visually."
Totally agree, my main issue with this movie is the same. Even the impressive big shots do not manage to distract from the pacing issues of all the exposition that had to be discussed. Also, I found the main character somewhat lacked to show some character in the first act. It was mostly others describing/planning for him.

(Edited for some nuance)

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The King's Man
6

Shout by J.T.
VIP
8
BlockedParentSpoilers2021-12-27T06:51:29Z

Not quite what I was expecting. The backdrop of World War I to do some The Matrix/Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon stunts was some serious juxtaposition. There was history but this was a lot of fluffed up action, which wasn't always done really well. Some of the scenes involving the goat laden mountain top area just didn't work, specifically the parachute jump. Absolutely ridiculous. The special effects used a little bit after that where characters were being suspended off the side of the mountain looked terrible on the big screen of the movie theatre. We are talking Darth Maul falling to his cut in half death in The Phantom Menace.

Last big problem was making Woodrow Wilson into a Great War era Bill Clinton getting caught in sexual misadventures in the White House. COME ON!

The easter egg in the closing credits with a smirking Adolph Hitler makes you think there is more of these to come. I hope they improve on them a little bit.

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@bob-frapples You forgot to use some spoiler tags.

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The Suicide Squad

Bloodsport: “Nobody likes a showoff.”

Peacemaker: “Unless what they showing off is dope as fuck.”

James Gunn recently said in an interview that he finds superhero movies “mostly boring” right now. Anything ranging from safe and boring or technically well-made but disposable, at best. Gunn received at bit of heat from fans for those remarks, but in some sense, he’s not wrong. Because sometimes following the same formula will eventually wear fin and more risk taking needs to happen.

And here we have ‘The Suicide Squad’, the soft reboot to the 2016 film, but this time directed by Gunn himself, where he delivers a highly entertaining movie that is bursting with creativity and ultra-violence. James Gunn once again shakes up the superhero formula with a slick style. I’m just glad DC is finally letting directors have a voice and a vision, and I hope it stays like that.

The first 10-15 minutes tells you exactly what the movie is going to be.

I just can't believe we got something like this. It's 2 hours and 12 minutes long, but it's always on the move. It’s bonkers from start till finish, and I enjoyed every minute of it. This is probably one of the best shot movies in the DCU. The soundtrack is great as well and used effectively. The action scenes were insane and made the overall experience one of the most fun I had at the cinema in a long time.

A massive improvement over the 2016 film, AKA ‘the studio cut’, is that the movie doesn’t look ugly and isn’t chopped together by trailer editors. The movie is vibrant in colours that made it look pleasing to the eye. The structure at times is messy, and yet strangely well-paced, as there’s a lot going on.

Did I mention the movie is very gory? It’s cartoonish violence, or what people call "adult superhero movie", so it's not for kiddies or for the faint of heart. You would probably guess that not everybody on the team is going to make it to the end credits, so deaths are to be expected, but how certain characters “bite the dust” are so unexpectedly gruesome and brutal, it took me by surprise each time. The marketing for the movie was right, don’t get too attached. As I said before, James Gunn had complete creative control over the movie, and he doesn’t hold back on what he wrote and show on screen. But then again, it's a movie, it's not real, the actors who die on screen are fine in real life...I think.

All the cast members have equal amount of time to shine, and you like these super villains this time around, as each character had wonderful chemistry with each other. John Cena plays Peacemaker, who can be best described as a “douchebag version of Captain America”. An extreme patriot who will do the most horrific things for liberty. John Cena excels in the deadpan line delivery for comedic effect, but surprisingly enough, worked well in the serious moments. Looking forward to the spin-off show ‘Peacemaker’.

Margot Robbie once again nails the role of the chaotic but gleeful Harley Quinn. While the character isn’t front and centre this time around, more of a side character, but whenever the character is on screen, it’s instantly memorable.

Idris Elba plays Bloodsport, a contract killer who’s doing time in prison after failing to kill Superman with a kryptonite bullet, while also dealing with family issues, especially with his daughter. While the character may sound like Will Smith’s Deadshot from the 2016 film, but trust me, the execution here is much stronger. This is by far Elba’s best work in a while. Charismatic and a strong leading presence.

Polka Dot Man, played by character actor David Dastmalchian, a socially awkward, weird, and lame sounding character that has some serious mummy issues, which has a funny running visual gag throughout. However, because of Gunn’s writing and Dastmalchian's performance, the character is more than a joke, but a unique character to watch.

Ratcatcher 2, played wonderfully by Daniela Melchior, who brought so much warmth and heart to the film. I loved how they tied in her tragic backstory into the finale, as it honestly made me cry. And let’s not forget the king himself, King Shark, voiced by Sylvester Stallone. He stole every scene he’s in, because he’s so adorable and has such kind eyes, but when he’s hungry, he can be a killing machine.

The rest of the supporting cast, even in the smaller roles, still manage to stand out amidst all the chaos. I liked Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag a lot more this time around, because the actor was given more to work with in terms of good material. Viola Davis is brilliant as the cold and ruthless Amanda Waller. And Peter Capaldi is always a pleasure to see. Also, I like the character of Weasel, who I can describe as a unholy offspring of Shin Godzilla and Rocket Racoon. He may not be beautiful to look at, but he's beautiful to me.

Like ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, the movie has a lot of heart and I like how they took certain characters, who on page sound stupid and ridiculous but are handled with such love and depth, while also being self-aware of its own characterization.

You can literally watch this as a standalone movie and you won’t be lost or confused, as you don’t need to watch 22 other movies to understand it. This is by far the strongest entry in this jumbled mess of a cinematic universe.

Overall rating: Nom-nom!

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@bradym03 I agree mostly with your review, however my main complaint is that I found the editing horrendous at times. Some scenes are too chaotic, camerawork is sometimes questionable and there are utmost unsettling cuts. It is definitely nice to see the artistic freedom the director is given, although it not always succeeds in this case.
Some smaller complaints; The finale was a bit weird, especially in the coloring, making it feel somewhere between serious or some kind of Legends of Tomorrow's Beeboo level joke. Some characters were a bit underused and flat, but for this type of movie I would not expect too much in that area anyway. Overall it is way better than its predecessor, which makes this a success in my book.

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