Some of the best episodes and plot developments ever - for a casual and random Sunday morning animated show at least. Also, better than the Simpsons. But damn, that last season was completely dry and almost pointless (except for the last episode).
I'm not too sad they stopped the show, for it's had a great run and you can only do so much before it gets stale.
A little (way) over the top, and I'm not sure if it is canon anymore (or if it ever was) now with the introduction of the Clone Wars animated series (that I haven't seen at this point).
It's quite good however - from an animation and cinematography point of view. Much more interesting and enjoyable than the clusterfuck prequel movies themselves and quite possibly my favorite piece of Star Wars fiction so far.
Everyone else has already praised the ambition, realism and cinematography of this show. For me, what I especially like about this series is that in just two seasons, so much has happened.
SO many twists and turns, so many characters have come and gone, and story arcs that would have taken entire seasons in lesser shows happen here each episode.
The story never feels contrived, it's never forced and never lingers in complacency.
To everyone struggling with the slow start of the first few episodes - It gets so much better!
Also, the casting - it's damn perfect I tell you.
Like the others haver said, the presentation is shallow, dumbed down and clickbaity but the movies themselves (and their stories) still hold up and offer some good watching.
One of the best mini-series of late.
Good
- visuals (cinematography, color grading, costumes and sets) & audio (score, soundtrack) are all top notch!
- great performances (Anna Taylor Joy is amazing as usual but big props to child actor Isla Johnston also)
- interesting setting, captivating characters
- the fact that she is a girl in traditionally male-dominated field is relevant, but not shoved down our throats like in other "progressive" shows
- with a few notable exceptions, the story and dialogue seem mature & well balanced - the real world isn't always black and white, people change, shit happens, life is a constant struggle and sometimes antogonistic characters can become friends or lovers in the future
Bad
- Beth Orton is way too much of a Mary-Sue (and it becomes downright annoying towards the end)
- Thomas Brodie-Sangster can't really be taken seriosly as a chess maverick/hunk (he does his best but the casting is to blame)
- a few minor issues with the age difference (between the actor vs the played part) in some scenes
- a few blatantly naive/childish moments in an otherwise captivating story
What a meandering mess of a movie! (And yes, I've watched the extended edition in it's full 3 hour glory, the one that is supposed to fix things from the theatrical cut).
Somewhat of a better watch than it's predecessor, probably because of the better pacing afforded by the extra actions scenes and the satisfying closure (to some extent) of the story.
Probably the best ever screening of the classic Frank Herbert story, but still not there in terms of capturing the magic and feel of the original book. I think.
Still kind of flat, lifeless and wooden as most Villeneuve flicks.
A cinematic spectacle, yet somehow flat and lifeless.
Like most of Villeneuve's projects, it's missing something to truly make it memorable.
Improves on subsequent views.
Definitely flawed and at times unbearable to watch, but quite unique and interesting.
Great costumes, set design and atmosphere, horrible pacing and atrocious acting.
Rushed, chaotic and cringey, but still a classic somehow.
Probably one of the first classic episodes.
Bart is kind of a piece of shit.
Being able to relate to George is probably not a good thing.
Gdamn Elaine looks so cute in that oversized shirt.
Much like the rest of Ridley Scott's other historical dramas: an ambitious, grandiose and satisfying cinematic experience, but quite a bit dumbed down for the average viewer's entertainment and thoroughly offensive if/once you know the historical subtext.
Also Orlando Bloom with one of the performances ever.
Meh.
Denis Villeneuve on par for the course.
Breathtaking cinematography, brooding atmosphere, hamfisted dialogue. Plot feels disjointed and flat, scenes have no weight, characters lack arcs or human qualities.
Entire scenes go by one after another and you get lost wondering if a random detail is important to the story or just there to make the characters look cool or something.
You could argue that is just the way that book was written, but I've seen this in everything I've watched from Villeneuve.
Some damn good casting though - I suspect everyone in Hollywood wants to get involved in one of the few big filmmaker projects remaining - It's either this or Marvel movies these days.
Did not impress me in any way, but it's a good (yet overhyped) movie. Will see part 2 and will probably remain the best version of Dune put on screen.
Jesus fucking christ.
The movie itself is nothing groundbreaking- it's actually kind of thinly made for a documentary and leans perhaps a bit too much on emotions for my taste.
But being exposed to the details of this persons plight and struggle literally filled me with dread and anger as I was watching.
It's absurd. How can one of the biggest contemporary artists be reduced to a child with no personal rights and be transformed into a money making machine selflessly filling the pockets of the few people that were supposed to protect her?
How could the American legal system let that piece of shit father of hers completely destroy her life like that in front of our eyes?
Also what the fuck was her mother doing through all of this exactly?
PS - that Adnan guy actually seemed to be the most decent person out of all of the bunch.
I know that this show isn't meant to be realistic, but keeping up the suspension of disbelief is kind of hard when some of the stuff that happens on it is kind of well... dumb.
Things like Butcher finding another safehouse at his drug dealer aunt that nobody thought about checking out before, Black Noir spending the better part of an afternoon on a roof and then doing a cartoon cop out over "some pictures" or the fact that everyone still has money to pay for food and gas somehow while "living off the grid" in some random basement for the past few episodes
Especially when some of the other stuff (like the social commentary on showbusiness, american politics as well as the shitty state of modern humanity in general) are all pretty great.
Completely aimless, tonally confusing, and ultimately boring.
It's definitely watchable, but don't believe the hype - If this mediocre thing raked up no less than 7 Oscar nominations that should tell you something about the current state of the US movie industry.
I really, really wanted to like this movie.
The subject matter is insufficiently explored by modern cinema and the more honest conversations we have on this topic, the better.
But this ain't it, chief.
Beyond the limited cinematography (which isn't necessarily the movie's fault since the play it's based on takes place in only one apartment - and that's kind of the point) the characters are also a bit too one-dimensional for a atmospheric drama and the scenes end up being corny instead of impactful.
Darren Aronofsky kind of has this tendency to push everything over the top and here it kind of turns into shock value schlock at times.
It didn't seem to help his cause that what he had to work with was apparently a high schooler's-level-of-depth-attempt at a essay about life, depression, regret and morbid obesity.
Kind of an interesting/unusual setting but the series' disregard for traditional tropes and plot structure means that 30 min go by and you barely understand wtf is going on.
Also all the characters seem a bit too much like pretentious caricatures of themselves.
Shit goddamn. Okay that was some good television.
Reminded me a lot of "Sieranevada" (2016).
Ultimately hamfisted and rarely engaging or believable, kind of like the show itself.
Open ends, plot holes, and a lot of undeveloped story points that were rushed out the window to wrap up things neatly in the end.
Also a lot of vague teasing for future projects that you will need to consume later to keep the big Marvel-money-making-machine going.
It's too bad, it's not like I was hoping for something like The Avengers (the last two of which were brillant) but the format had potential and I was at least expecting some sort of satisfying story arc, not this pointless mess.
It seems astonishing that the MCU universe has now managed better world-building, character arcs as well as plant and payoff reveals than fucking Game of Thrones at this point.
It's a wonderful thing to be able to find beauty in mundane things and be entertained by everyday life.
What was this, a Mentos commercial or something? Some of the "B-roll" scenes of were downright cringey.
So you're trying to tell me that your average obnoxious Chicago bum can come in off the street and "stage" at the "best restaurant in the world"? While everyone gives him all the love and support that he needs to scrape himself off of rock bottom? For no fucking reason other than to advance the plot?
Ok that was some pretty damn good television.
I'm... not sure I like this. I like the setting and the premise, but the characters seem a bit formulaic and the tension feels forced and artificial. I guess I'll see.
I'm not sure I want to watch this any further.
I mean sure, the maladjusted sociopaths of the elite rich are people too. They have everyday struggles, personal slaves and their own hopes and dreams just like the rest of us, sure.
But I don't give a shit.
I'm not rooting for any of the characters. I'm neither enthralled nor am I having any fun really.
Ugh.
- Why were they keeping around a deranged supervillian kid as an orderly and why were they letting him interact with the other potential child superheroes?
- How exactly did that chip keep him from manifesting his powers? Isn't that like critical information to stop other gifted kids gone rogue in the future? Would that chip/thing/whatever work on a demogorgon/mind flayer? Why couldn't he just rip it out of his neck himself?
- why does everyone keep wanting to have Nancy get back together with Steve? Pandering to the kiddie audience or something?
- we're never getting away from that dumb Russia subplot until the very last episode, aren't we?
- Hopper and Joyce are CRINGE
De-aging CGI is getting pretty good overall I'd say.
Useless Russia sub-plot is useless.
I feel the big baddie has been revealed far too early and his design kind of looks comical now.