"Those are... flamingos."
What in the nonplussed, haunting soliloquy was that?! Went in completely blind and that was the right choice. It felt like watching an M. Night Shyamalan movie. It's essentially a psychological drama comedy with a "mysterious event" happening in the background—a great mix! The characters are interesting, the drama works because of this and some well-placed sharp comedy. It's weird, creepy and the mystery is intriguing.
This was actually my first time seeing Julia Roberts in a movie and she was hilarious. Really good acting from everyone. Myha'la is a newfound favorite. Simple yet effective suspenceful score, artistic visuals, nice camerawork and editing. The back and forth between two suspenceful scenes technique is done really well here. Incredible how many themes this movie tackles, there's always something to disect on-screen.
Some weird nonsensical character decisions that are a bit frustrating at times. Too long of a runtime which would make a rewatch difficult, it was totally possible to trim down. Favorite moments are the boat scene and the Tesla scene—on the edge of my seat! I thought the ending was perfect. There are sooo many clues and hints dropped throughout the movie that there's no way it could feel unresolved at the end.
I've never watched Friends
Hey Zach, not every action scene needs slow motion. For fucks sake
Funny how now the Empire Remnant has a secret underground resistance against the New Republic. How the tables have turned.
This episode was way better in terms of storytelling but it left me very frustrated. I know that the Mandalorians are not likely to win if they want to keep the mythology. But just for once I'd like to see them come out on top. Gideon has become a bit ridicolous. He's the archetype of a bad guy. He was more interesting when he wasn't flying around as a Vader look-alike. I hate to see Vizla die but I should've seen that one coming because I really grew to like him. Grogu inside IG ? Come-on, he's a Force user. Despite the fact he choose not to train with Luke he still has the ability, no ? And we still must have a monster, doesn't we ?
Now, those are personal and, yes, biased points on my behalf. Like I said it was a great episode as such. In the end I see it as a win for the author if he invokes those reactions from me. There were also moments that gave me serious goosebumps. Like when Bo told them what happened between her and Gideon and subsequent how Din told her why he's following her. The talk about Thrawn didn't surprise me. I expected that pretty much from episode one forward.
Only one episode left and I hope there'll be some silver lining.
That was such an incredibly sad but perfect and correct ending.
I don't understand people who didn't like the ending because their favorite character didn't win. After 4 seasons with these despicable characters did anyone expect the Roy kids to unite and defeat the bad guy with the power of love and friendship? It was never going to end that way.
The three siblings just could never get over their egos. They all proved, through the 4 seasons, that they’re basically useless and the only reason they were ever in the discussion to be CEO is because Logan was their father. They'd rather destroy everything than have only one of the trio take the upper hand. Shiv just could not let her brother have a win, even if it meant her losing as well. Perfectly summed up their whole family dynamic and the show as a whole.
The siblings are so entitled and self-absorbed they never saw Tom coming. They’ve never had to work for a damn thing. I don't like Tom, but it makes sense for someone like Tom, who worked his way from the ground up and earned himself the position he was in.
The scene with the siblings making that awful smoothie and them watching their dad reveal yet another side of himself was so nice among the insanity that came in between.
That penultimate shot with Shiv and Tom in the car was phenomenal. Complete shift in the power dynamic. After marrying him specifically because she thought he was weak enough to keep holding power over.
Kendall not winning every season. That’s rough.
Willa revamping Logan's apartment with a cow print couch.
In the end Conor was the only one to have any kind of a relationship with Logan, the other kids are never shown having moments with him like he did at the recorded dinner.
Greg translating the Swedish in real time is the smartest thing he’s ever done. Four seasons and I cannot for the life of me understand why he would put up with that. His uncle offered him $250mil to get away from the firm.
But the biggest thing for me coming out of this episode is Kendall’s son isn’t really his. It really came out of nowhere and seemed more like a fact than a rumor the way everyone reacted to it.
All in all, Succession stuck to the show’s core till the end. In a way it’s a predictable ending but because it’s television and we expect some twist where a cool character comes out on top we don’t expect the expected. The outcome is pretty much what you’d expect from all the characters knowing their faults
This episode was amazing. But why is this listed as a special?
Very powerful movie! I don't need to repeat, what the other comments already pointed out.
The only 2 things I found a little bit weird, were 1st: that it seemd like nobody told Ruben, that his hearing will be different after the surgery. I don't think (or hope) that the doctors he probably talked to, wouldn't tell him that.
And 2nd, I feel like "Metal" as a genre, probably hasn't been handled fair here. I do not listen to Metal myself, but obviously for a lot of people it sounds just like "loud noise" which Ruben turns off at the end.
So metaphorically... Maybe that thought goes too far, but I feel, that metal as a genre was handled a little negative. Like these two only played Metal because they were hurt from the past and that they had to get out of it, to start living a normal life again. But still for the characters, as they were presented, I think storywise it worked and the journey they had, was resolved very very well.
But these really are the only issues I had. People should definetly watch it! Great movie! :)
I liked the film, even though logic was often sacrificed for effect. For example: G.H. reaches the beach and discovers a wristwatch sticking out of the sand. He uncovers the watch and discovers an arm. He looks up and sees the body of a pilot belonging to the arm. He continues to look around and sees that there are bodies and debris all over the beach, including huge pieces of debris from the plane. The effect was nice, but of course you would have seen the debris and the bodies immediately, and not discovered the watch first.
That might’ve been one of the best pieces of storytelling the MCU has ever told. The allegory on determinism weaved in with the ought/is argument within the frame of individual wants and purpose-driven choice… As a season the first as a whole is still better, but this isn’t just the best episode of the series - but up there with the best moments of TV in recent memory.
Not to mention the implications for what this poses on the future Kang arcs and Renslayer’s future as a seemingly(? vaguely left to interpretation) foil of larger importance. Watching the relatively well done caricature that was Loki upon initial introduction into deeply multilayered literal time god/jailer (again beautifully vague) of the multiverse over a decade later was so well written. I think I’m even still absorbing some of what I just saw.
Balancing comedy, brevity and existentialism - all while maintaining impeccable pace. 10/10, hats off to everyone involved.
Monologues. That should be Mike Flanagan's middle name: Mike Monologue Flanagan.
So much of his work consists of one person talking to someone else in some grandiose monologue that drags on a bit longer than I wish it would. It becomes it's most egregious when those monologues aren't in line with the theme of the show or when they talk for three minutes when they could get the same message out in thirty seconds.
It's exhausting. I zone out so quickly.
As someone "smart" Saul is easily the dumbest person on the show. Why did they write him like this?
Am I crazy or did some of the dialogue audio get messed up in this episode? Almost like something very slightly muffling the audio of Jin and the shooter.
If they can hack into 3 automated cars to kill Saul, TF they doing when he's on an airplane, just malfunction some microcontrollers on the plane and crash it.
Also if the probe is flying at 80km/s as they show after the 3rd blast, the velocity is not increasing, hence there is no acceleration hence no force acting hence no stress in the joints, how TF did it snap.
Besides all of this, if their proton computer can mess up results of a particular accelerator, and they fear humans, just set off the abundant nuclear weapons we have. problem solved. why the elaborate plan of taking down humanity with taking down science.
Well that was a complete waste of time. Nothing happens after episode 5. They should’ve ended the season at episode 5
Very good start, getting you hooked in the narrative. I don’t think splitting the book character Wang Miao into 5 characters is a big problem. Although I fear that the oxford 5 might stay a little flat as characters.
Round 3 of Gareth Edwards proving he’s a great visual director that doesn’t know how to breathe life in his scripts. Its best asset is easily the worldbuilding, combining influences from other science fiction material to create a new world that feels fresh. The technical execution is also really well done, with its cinematography and CGI being among some of the most visionary stuff I’ve seen since Avatar 2. Unfortunately, the sci-fi concepts this is working with are stale, it’s all stuff you’ve seen before and the movie doesn’t know how to put its own creative spin on it. Add to that a bunch of characters that aren’t written in the most compelling way (as well as bland, understated performances that will keep everyone questioning whether JDW is actually a good actor), and you have a movie that’s already pretty dull from the start. Now, a big saving grace of Rogue One and Godzilla were their strong climaxes, however that’s not the case here. Instead, The Creator starts to rush to the finish line, which leads to the big emotional beats not hitting the mark. It’s like the pacing of this movie is constantly either rushing or dragging, annoying my inner Terence Fletcher in the process. Overall, while I’d love to champion this as the savior of original science fiction, there’s not much more originality here than a typical franchise film. I don’t want to call Edwards another Zack Snyder, because I think he’s certainly more talented, but he’s suffering from the same problems and doesn’t seem to learn from his previous mistakes.
5/10
Strong start, and I say that acknowledging that Asimovian truism is obvs not their goal. I legit love where they’re taking the whole “prophecy” narrative, since that aspect of the OG story would be hard to convey as a TV show..
Making it a battle of rebellious, savant-tier genius vs a technologically elite Empire of forgotten dreams—whose ruler is a clone controlled by an actual robot—really makes it feel relevant to our experience: moneyed royalty building an algorithmically-powered, AI driven—chatGPT, Google Bard, etc)—but potentially distopian future… Pretty excellent.
Despite the glowing advance reviews, "The Flash" is not the best superhero film of all time, the year, or even the month. But it is definitely a good movie overall. The humor is mostly spot on, the effects are impressive, and Ezra Miller is consistently convincing in the lead role. Michael Keaton still fits the Batman mantle pretty well, and Sasha Calle also delivers an excellent first impression as Supergirl. On top of that, of course, there are some neat cameos.
The pacing of the film isn't bad, either. It starts with a really entertaining sequence before the time travel plot picks up speed. The plot is comprehensible throughout and, above all, not as overly convoluted as in many other genre representatives. However, "The Flash" also has the usual problem of similar stories, that the fate of the characters never really gets to your heart, since it is not crucial for the "canon" anyway. But there is no such thing in the dying DCU anyway. In addition, there is not really a good villain, but then again, none was really needed here.
Overall, I would say that "The Flash" is neither a good conclusion to the old DCEU nor a good transition into the new DCU. You can still have a good time at the cinema, though, as the film works on its own and should appeal to fans of old DC works as well.
"Greg, do not put any more lemon water or wasabi in his eyes!"
So is it just me or is the Doctor's mother CLEARLY a younger actress made to look old. It's as obvious as 'old' Pruitt clearly being Hamish Linklater last ep.
They're also pulling the pin on all this very early. Esp having Riley be attacked as well.
My end game prediction is that his dream is a prophecy of him sitting waiting for the sun as it will kill him. And I thought that even before he got bit. Was expecting it much later.
I hope it all isn't this predictable. Really wanted to be creeped out not watch an average vampire tale.
I always loved the monologues in Hill House and Bly Manor but I find myself so bored in this one!
Na who cares about murder and shit, but shouting at sally like that is an absolute no
The whole bomb sequence was great. Dying especially at "Okay, sounds like we were successful. Is there anything else I can help you with today?"
As someone who hasn’t read the books nor knew anything about this story, I consider this to be a solid show.
However I think it lacks depth and an emotional anchor. Who’s the main character? Eiza? Benedict? Jin? Like I get that the show revolves around a friend group but someone’s perspective has to stand out. I personally would’ve liked for Benedict to be the center of the show, but I get that would’ve made it more of a detective show, so I wanted more out of Eiza and Jin.
Also I feel like the show was missing something visually, if you were to choose 4 screenshots to represent the vibe of the show which ones would be? I think when Vera jumps inside that golden room, when her mom and tatiana are watching the sunset in china, when saul and that other guy are in the beach house and that’s it?
There was way more to exploit out of this show, more character develop needed, more world building.
Imagine if this was an HBO show! I can think of the Leftovers, that most of it was set in the suburbs, it didn’t need crazy settings or crazy effects but you could feel the show.
I’ve read some comments about how adapting the book can be challenging, but I feel like this was extremely digested for us, and everything was solved within the same episode, by episode 4-5 there wasn’t any mystery left.
All this aside, it’s an interesting and solid watch, hopefully we don’t have to wait 2+ years for a second season.
Mixed feelings as a book reader.
I like how they stuck to source material for the Wallfacers bit, even quoting lines from the book verbatim. It was kind of like an apology for episodes 6 and 7 being 100% original material, not in the books, and both episodes sucked...
Spoilers from this episode below - - - - - - - -
Ok, I'm really confused what the writers were thinking. They made up the entire brain rocket plot, only to have it fail. Why make up a bunch of dumb shit up only for it to be entirely inconsequential? Were they trying to make it more emotional? The book was plenty emotional if they didn't strip away all the depth and nuance in their adaptation. Also, the author goes into detail about how nukes don't work in space, so they can't just nuke the alien fleet. Then these moron writers make an entire plot line around nukes in space. While writing adapting the very book that says that's impossible.
I'm glad they at least included the bug scene at the end as a nice way to wrap up until next season. Like, ok, maybe we are bugs, but we still have hope for survival.
I think this was a reasonably good episode overall, it somewhat brought the spark back after extinguishing it in episodes 6 and 7.
Now I'd like to see the show directors forced to write "Stick to the source material" on a chalkboard 900 times before they work on Season 2.
After reading the book, I did believe that its component parts would be very difficult to adapt to the screen. My fears were that it would be mangled in the same fashion as the dreadful mess that is 'Foundation'.
I have also watched the first episode of the 2023 Chinese 'Three Body'. That has problems. It is terribly slow-paced; repetitious and, on Prime Video, fairly poor video quality & indifferent subtitle translation. It did seem to be sticking to the plot of the book, but glacially. After seeing this version, I won't be going back..
The opening scenes are shockingly graphic. Mao's 'Cultural Revolution' in the mid-1960s was brutal. Well done to the writers for starting with this part of the story.
As an aside, why do so many of the characters smoke? In the scenes set in the 1960s, fair enough, but those in 2024?
Anyway, many of my misgivings were allayed. The story elements are coming together by the end of this opener and I look forward to the rest.
A very interesting portrayal of the banality of evil. The horror is not in what’s shown, but what isn’t. The compartmentalization, the routine. While gunshots and screams echo and smoke billows, they have their idyllic little life, better than they dreamed. Anything that brings too much attention to the other side of their life is an intrusion, an annoyance, like the mother who can’t stand the flames. The droning score and the bright colors underscore this, banging at the door to be let in and acknowledged and shut out by this family. Most striking of these was Rudolf under a blindingly white sky while a soundscape of death paints the picture, and a close up of the flowers of their happy garden while the ashes of the people they’ve murdered rest in the soil.
The revulsion the film inspires with Rudolf sharing how the only thing he could think about at a party was the logistics of how to gas them all, as if it’s a fun thought experiment and anecdote, is impressive. As is Hedwig’s entitlement towards her idea of a perfect life and her lashing out at the Jewish servants when it’s threatened. Or the eldest son playing a cruel trick on his younger brother, licking him in a greenhouse door and imitating a gas chamber.
It’s all so innocuous to them. Just background noise of their life. The repetition is as droning as the score, leaving you desperate to escape this mindset and terrified of the ways that we too suffer from it.
Didn't love it, didn't hate it, it was alright. Saltburn tries to do too much (subplots, themes, genres...) which leads to it not focusing on anything, enough. The end result feels messy but I appreciate how ambitious it is. It has some original shocking moments i've never seen before but the story itself is nothing original. The themes felt convoluted to me and the pacing isn't very good.
I really enjoyed the first act, it offers an intriguing mystery and interesting characters. The introduction to the Saltburn mansion was the strongest part of the movie. The story got a little boring for me after that but what kept me engaged was the characters. Then you get to the third act and it's a complete cringe fest of sillyness. They spoon feed you with a montage (the same ones they do in the Saw franchise once the twist is revealed). It's a good twist but I totally predicted it. After that our main character does some illogical decision making that'll get him arrested for sure. Everything is suddenly rushed and we get an immature last scene that means nothing really. The movie should have ended just before the montage... now nothing is left to interpretation.
A stellar cast, stunning set, shot extremely well, perfect needle drops, the boxed in aspect ratio gives the characters more proximity and the dark comedy was my favorite aspect of the movie. Barry Keoghan's character is one of the most interesting i've seen in a while and an Oscar worthy performance from him. Rosamund Pike was hilarious here, couldn't get enough of her. Archie Madekwe surprised me. Also, thank god for subtitles!
Americans saying that "original" was better than this one. Little do they know that "Alive" wasn't the first film about this accident. Actually, a mexican movie released in 1976 was the first one ever made and it wasn't bad at all.
Yes, this version is slow paced and with less action than previous movies, specially the american one, but technically and emotionally is way above the first two movies. J. A. Bayona goes deeper in the emotional part of each character, this time, using the real names of the survivors, besides, it was filmed in part in the same spot where the accident took place. Hey, we even have cameos of some of the survivors.
Sorry, but people saying this "remake" is bad, is just lazy people that don't like to read subtitles. This movie will be nominated for an Oscar, I can tell you that.
Be careful of claiming you are burdened with glorious purpose... You just may end up being so. What a great character arc. Series stands so far above much of the rest of the drek Marvel/Disney is churning out.
The best growth of any character in the entire story, period. Amazing. As sad as it is he was destined to be alone, he always did have glorious purpose.
Listen up, folks! I gotta confess something here. This show has got me hooked like a fish on a line. And let me tell you, the lead character is the bee's knees of 2023 television.
Signed,
Manly Bachelor heterosexual man in his early 50s
