Not quite the "feminist Western" which Netflix seemed to promote it as, but that's fine because it didn't need to be. Godless is a lush and rich Western miniseries which somehow feels fresh while still embodying many tropes of the genre. We have a tired sheriff with an overeager deputy, a band of outlaws seeking revenge and a mysterious stranger on the run. All this happens in and around a town populated almost entirely by (badass) women.
It's to the shows credit that it makes each of these clichés feel unique and interesting. The sheriff is losing his eyesight and is regarded as a coward by the women he's charged with protecting, while simultaneously struggling with feelings of resentment to his own little daughter. The evil outlaw (played superbly by Jeff Daniels) is actually a man capable of incredible compassion and acts of love alongside his brutality. And Whitey, the overeager deputy, turns out to be one of the most enjoyable and unpredictable characters in the whole thing.
But it's the girls of La Belle who do manage to steal a good portion of the show. Maggie is tough as nails and doesn't back down an inch when confronted with male posturing, as well as being engaged in a very natural relationship with Callie. Meanwhile, Alice lives her life exactly on her own terms as she raises her son along with her (awesome) Native American mother-in-law.
Godless is not an action-fest, although when things go down it's extremely satisfying. This is more of a measured story which lets things breathe. The cinematography is absolutely glorious and my jaw dropped at the staging of several scenes. I found it to the show's benefit that we spent so much time just taking things in as my attachment to the characters grew more and more. To give a specific example there's an episode in which a lot of time is spent with horses, and while it doesn't further the plot significantly, it pays off down the line and only allowed me to enjoy the experience all the more.
The cast are uniformly excellent, and it's easy to forget that three of the main characters are Brits. The writing is also of a high quality, and while this is not in the same league as the poetry and magnificence of Deadwood, it's very much going for a different vibe and doing its own thing. This feels more like an epic Western whereas the HBO show had a tighter focus on the comings and goings of the town it was set in.
That's not to say the show is perfect. I'm definitely not the first to notice, but there are a number of plot threads which are introduced but go absolutely nowhere. We meet characters like John Doe who have a mystery set up and then no more is given to us. We don't really get any huge revelations into Bill's past with his wife or situation, and what the Indian and his dog were all about. The (fantastic) German character Martha is only introduced at the very end. And we don't even get a proper explanation as to why Roy betrayed Frank in the first place. It definitely feels to me like there is plenty of room for a continuation, but this appears to be a one-off.
But I absolutely loved Godless. It manages to be incredibly satisfying despite its flaws, is one of the best looking shows you can watch right now and when it kicks off the thrills are absolutely glorious.
Wow, what a trainwreck. Didn't even realize this should have been NBC's next "big one", before reading some comments and reviews. At first I thought they might be cross-promoting something from Comcast's basic cable channels, like USA. But no, those shows tend to have far better casting and acting; and partially even writing. But good news for all Millennials: now you can join the NYPD, even if you're unqualified and unmotivated. My highlight is Daryl Edwards' portrayal of the smirky, resignated actor - um, sorry meant to write NSA Director - who perfectly delivers a very deep message in each scene, without even speaking: "Oh man, in what kind of a silly production have I ended up? I really need to speak with my agent... or consider a new representation. No, Daryl, no, don't start laughing hysterically mid-scene, 13 episodes still pay the mortgage, with a back-nine, you're really good."
In fact, this might be the single most important aspect of the whole production: Crew & Cast will make a few bucks off, of it. Otherwise it's extremely unoriginal, dull, generally very slow paced (don't explain intention before and after each scene), and almost painfully boring, thanks to acting and writing (sorry, you can't fix "everything" in post-production). Good luck, folks
Amazing series depicting some events that, in it's own way, changed the world as we knew it. It's well-acted and concerning, especially since not much has changed since then. In the long run it's a story about a terrible man-made tragedy that effected many innocent people. The effects that a failing and distorted system filled with corruption and hubris has on those who are forced to live under it.
It's a story about the little man who has to clean up for the errors of those who control the strings and the few individuals who attempt to cut those strings in the name of justice and correctness. It's great to see a series where pretty much the "bad guys" can get sympathy and allows the viewer to see what extreme measures had to be taken by brave men who did what they had to (under duress or not).
I've never seen a documentary on Chernobyl, I vaguely remember being called in in school and not being allowed outside to play so I enjoyed this show very much. It also made me want to play STALKER again for the umpteenth time before giving up on it cause of lack of time or lack of skill.
Chernobyl is a must watch and will probably push you into the pit of all the great post-nuclear war/accident movies that are out there. Glad I got my iodine pills... Lots of good it's gonna do me or my families...
I both love and hate this show. I LOVE the whole idea/concept of it. It makes me laugh when smart people try to say it's a biography. It's entertainment - a story that was created, then manipulated by the network to try and get the highest amount of ratings to fill the Board's pockets with million dollar incentives for showing up once a month at a board meeting. I hate that the network is either trying to dumb it down for a bigger audience or the actual script words aren't well created. The ideas and concepts are good. Sometimes it feels like the people who make the words in between are in a hurry and really don't care. Big Bang Theory has GREAT scripts and all the words count. I feel with all the great acting talent they have in this show, the quality of words to tell the story needs to come up a bit. The whole "will they or won't they" thing with Walter and Paige has also gotten way too old. Every one of the main story lines they're creating have great merit and would be fine with a little positive sprinkle of Walter and Paige coming together. All the "yes they can, no they can't" is the oldest, most boring plot mechanic in serial TV. I frequently think writers in Hollywood are incapable of writing relationships. Doing the cheap "will they, won't they" just seems lazy. Enough please. Pull up your big boy pants and let Walter and Paige slowly get into a relationship they can both learn to accept and become a role model of relationships for Paige's son. Stop making it about when they're going to jump in bed. This show has a cast well worthy of excellent words and deserves the opportunity to prove how great the show can be.
I do like the show, but it's not Star Trek. If this was just a new sci-fi show that existed in its own universe, it would be incredible. However, the fact that they've tried to pass this off as Star Trek when it's clearly not sullies the experience.
If it wasn't already apparent, Paramount and CBS have no idea what made Star Trek great, and don't care either. The simple explanation is that the world of Star Trek is supposed to be optimistic; this is pessimistic. And I do enjoy pessimistic sci-fi, but there's so much of it, and to see one of the few optimistic sci-fi worlds turned into something pessimistic is a shame.
Fortunately, we now have The Orville, which is doing Star Trek better than anything has since Voyager ended in 2001.
The show is supposed to take place between Enterprise and TOS, but the technology is very different. For example, there are holograms everywhere. Why try to do a prequel again? Why not set this after Voyager? That would make a lot more sense, and they'd be able to add whatever technology they like, and not be constrained by existing continuity. Fortunately, it's not too late for the showrunners to say "hey, we made a mistake, this actually takes place X years after Voyager".
Last, they fucked up the Klingons. For almost 25 years, they had the look of the Klingons figured out perfectly. They're iconic. But this show (and the reboot movies) messed them up and made them look like generic sci-fi bad guys. What happened to their hair and beards? Also, the costumes are ridiculous, and their ship interiors look like they're made of coral. I do like the idea of having an albino Klingon though.
And I applaud their desire to use the Klingon language on the show, but it's pretty annoying having every Klingon scene subtitled. The previous shows used a common sci-fi conceit: the actors speak a language that the audience understands, but it's accepted that they're really speaking a different language. The viewer effectively has a universal translator so they can understand what's being said.
Also, it looks nothing like Star Trek. Once again, The Orville got that right, and this didn't.
All of that said, I do like the show. The characters are interesting (especially Doug Jones), I've enjoyed each episode, and I think the storyline is pretty interesting. But goddamn it, why did they have to try to make this Star Trek when it's not?
This was obviously done by people that really hate Star Trek, this show is atrocious and the sad part is that they could have done a fine job because the aesthetics is fine, the writing on the other hand is horrible, they could have done a whole series in the TNG universe and we would have love it, instead we get this lame attempt at humor, you know that kind that really piss you off.
The characters are filled with your expected trope, the rebel girl that insult all regulations but that in the end somehow saves the day, therefore reinforcing the message that you have to break the rules always and not only you don't face the consequences but you actually solve the problem! The comedy relief that of course is the one that wants to follow the rules of starfleet and instead becomes the target of all the insults and fails at everything.
Then comes the "class warfare" the elite on the bridge vs all those poor people in the lower decks, and of course the ones in the bridge never solve anything making them useless, but additional to that are bad people because never acknowledged the work of the "poor" in the lower decks. Do I need to go on?
The message of optimism in Star Trek are a thing of the past, now everything is dark, unfunny and with class hate. Btw all dumb characters are white and male and all smart and witty are female and of any other color than white, very subtle there guys, very subtle.
Guess they have a villain that looks like Trump! BTW I'm not even american and I'm already tired of that crap wish I could vote Trump just out of spite. Fuck off with this garbage.
In a nutshell Picard isn't all bad. But it doesn't exist in a nutshell - the complete title is "Star Trek":Picard. And with that comes a certain obligation.
I have the highest respect for Patrick Stewart and Picard is one of my favorite characters ever. But to be blunt this show is mostly generic action sci-fi that catches fragments of Star Trek lore along the way. It misses on the part of the Trek philosophie and/or vision. And please spare me the "this is darker Star Trek because we live in a different world" speach. You can make a dark Trek show while still staying true to the principles. Do a season spanning arch and still have seperated episodes that deal with characters. See DS9.
The new characters are not something I care for about much. I actually liked Raffi in the Una McCormack novel that predates the events in the show. But it didn't carry over. As I mentioned it's not all bad, at times a glimmer of that philosophies shines through but is mostly put out fast. And that was frustrating every time. It was great seeing part of the old crew again and there was a lot of closure on that behalf. Which is about the one thing I got out of this show.
All this would have been better suited as a final TNG movie with a lot of stuff removed. Of course that would have limited the target audience a lot. I would still watch the second season althought I have no idea what they could do story-wise.
Star Trek needs someone like Michael Piller again.
The human darkness and the inhuman ability to resist even in deep struggling: this is Handmaid's Tale. And it's definitely not for the faint-hearted. It pushes our minds into an universe of evil and cruelty: if the women's condition is one of the (few) things that western society concords about, here we see this fall apart completely in front of us. All directors (especially Morano) plays with our perspective: the power of details is incredible. Facial expressions, sounds, scenery, all lead to reveal the world as it is: a place not fit for humans like this. The Janine' suicide attempt scene in the ninth episode is the most powerful example of this: one can really hope that the suicide take place, because, for a fragile mind like her, death can be the only pain-relief possible, a vision that Offred refuses during the entire season. Offred is just a baby-making slave, but the character evolves to became a powerful leader that can literally save the world, because the pain she suffered has created a monster in her, maybe even more powerful than her masters. By the end, the story turns into a carousel of resistance images.
The level of oppression really stands up near the one in Oldboy (Chan-wook Park, 2003), which is one of the most terrifying in cinema history.
As someone, who didn't really like Vikings (it was average for me, most of the time it was boring), but loved Ivar and the overall concept of the original show, I didn't really had any expectations about this one. And I think this is the only thing that saved Valhalla from being rated 1 star.
Sadly this show was the definition of boredom. It lacked tension, it lacked really anything. The characters were too weak, they didn't stood out, however they wanted to - except Jarl Haakon, but only because she was portrayed as a black woman. If she would have been portrayed as any other viking, she could have been an other one of those average characters as her companions. Not even the main characters were interesting enough. Leif was too silent for most of the time, Prince Harald was just too much, and the actor played his role too badly, and he had the cringest scene of all time. Freydis... well, with her, her character arc could have been better, too bad this show lacks the same as its origin: good time management. Freydis was a hunter, and overnight she became a fearsome shield maiden. Prince Harald and Leif became insta-brothers just because our Prince lay with Leif's sister. One moment Freydis doesn't like Prince Harald, the next she is in love with him...
Not much is going on on the english side too, unless you count Edmond. I think he could have been a great character, but thanks to Godwin... well, let's not say just anything. And of course Godwin, I don't think he has any logic behind his acts. I mean I couldn't figure out his motives. I thknk they wanted to create somebody like the Kingmaker in Henry VIII's time, but though they chose a good actor for him, Godwin (and the whole series) has the main issue: we don't get to see their inner motives, the behind the scenes. With that, the show could be better.
So lack of good story telling, bad dramaturgy, and boring characters with average actors - Valhalla could have been a great show, the main story behind it is interesting (chatolic vs. pagan vikings), sadly it lacked even those tiny good things that the original show could stand out with (great characters, interesting myths and worldbuilding).
Not sure, if I'm going to continue with this one.
Bryan Cranston stars as a judge who confronts his deepest beliefs when his son is involved in an attack that confuses an organized crime family. Faced with a series of impossible choices, he discovers how far a father will go to save his son's life.
I was a little late starting this series, but when I saw Cranston in the lead, I knew it had to be good! This does not disappoint! This show actually has shades of Breakin Bad in that Brian is once again in a position to make up stories on the spot, make up the lies, and get himself and the ones he loves into deeper and deeper nightmare scenes. The tension is palpable and heartbreaking and intense, right from the start ... This show hooks in and won't let go. Powerful renditions here of someone's worst nightmare ... Ordinary people try to cope with an unfathomable situation as best they can, but create an ever-worsening cascade of domino-like events, one of which triggers the other, and so on. The son does a fantastic job and the mafia boss's choice is perfection to play out Cranston's portrayal of a loving and honorable father who is suddenly pushed to the limit and as he tries to protect his son, he becomes the polar opposite of everything. he was dear before. Stellar and absolutely compelling storytelling ...
Ahh, the sound of the nattering naybobs of Trekdom furiously trying to clap with one hand. You see, unless a program meets the narrowly specific parameters of what they will accept as "proper" Star Trek lore. Reminds me of those YouTube videos of entitled 16 year old's getting a new Lamborghini or BMW, and then pitching an absolute fit because it wasn't the color they desired. "This is NOT the Trek I was looking for"...... OK Obi Wan Kensnobby you win, we'll all go sit in the basement and watch reruns of the original series, or better yet, just the SPECIFIC EPISODES in each series that meet with your awesomely discerning taste. They rest you may send to the cornfield!!!!
Personally, I thought the producers and writers did a pretty good job of giving us a brand new crew, a brand new ship, an at least interesting situation as far as the story arc, while maintaining the connection to traditional "Trek" with appropriate amounts of fan service and character call backs. The animation, stylistically, is light years ahead of what is offered on "The Lower Drecks, er...Decks", and, the storytelling is aimed more toward the dramatic rather than the comedic. If that's not your thing, cool, but, neither should it be dismissed out of hand.
Personally, I found the amount of tension, thrills and FUN just about right, and the mix of immediate story and long arc balanced enough to hold my attention and leave me wanting more. Again, for a show aimed at the Nickelodeon demographic, that's no small feat IMO.
So yeah, I plan to continue watching it, and, it will be interesting to see if this version of the "Trekverse", can go where the others haven't gone before, or if the naybob's will be successful in stirring up enough negativity to eject the warp core and leave the crew stranded.
As a Turkish person i thought that it is really non-sided and great everything was good the costumes the acting the special effects the battle sequences there was some flaws of course i thought Guistiniani had more screen time than it should have and Aksemsettin was not present in the show at all (he was always with Sultan he was his teacher and mentore he convinced the Mehmed to capture the city when Mehmed thought of giving up) other than that it was great i recommend you to watch it it feeds you with information.
The both empires were great; Ottoman and Byzantium. In this Tv serie there might be some problems about historical reality... I mean we cannot consider the tv serie is a historical documentary. But as a tv serie it was good. As a Turk, I believe all countries make movies or tv series that their army so great, so mercy and so strong. Yes it is good to watch if you are a nationalist and your nationality so great in the movies. But we should of course know the reality. If we can't see the reality we can't be friend. I see all countries find bad stories about their enemies. Actually governments like it, because nationalism is a key for strong governments. In real we are just humans, we cant decide that which nationality we can have. So there are two type peoples. Bad people and good people.
Having read the trilogy, I have small runts regarding the adherence to the book (from what I've seen so far it tracks the first book of the series, or part of it). Seen around 7 episodes, so here goes nothing:
Basically, I'm being let down by certain cinematic selections:
Actors seem to act in this theatrical way. From what I've seen in the last 10 years, in Chinese movies (also Korean and Japanese) this is some sort of de facto way to play on screen. Personally, it alienates me. Would love to see those people talking/acting like actual people. The hardened cop in the book becomes almost a comic relief element. FFS, there is no need to insert to a sci-fi story with a huge drama element these shots of witless humor.
The books are gloomy. The music fails to reproduce this, having even happy sing-along songs about the end of the world as we know it. Most of the episode duration is dressed with some sort of anxiety-raising beat. Seriously, silence can speak volumes
Finally there's a lot of scene repeats. Pretty useful for thick-heads like me, since I totally forget what I've seen some episodes ago, but the level of repetition is too much.
Disclaimer: I didn't play the game, so I can't comment on how well it was ported to a TV screenplay. Asides from that I really have to say that the show caught me off-guard in multiple episodes. Going in, expecting another bland post-apocalypse setting with people fleeing zombie hordes à la TWD, it soon became apparent that this will be an emotional and protagonists-centered series. And boy do they deliver. Despite essentially being a rebrand of the Mandalorian "deliver the child" plotline TLOU really shines from stellar performances of Ramsey and Pascal. Given the extensive acting career of Pascal, it's really Bella Ramsey who deserves all the praise for portraying genuine emotions all through-out the 7 episodes I've seen thus far. She really lives up to her earlier GoT appraisal.
One particular point I want to stress is how well the story deals with the LGBT topic. Even as a left-leaning millenial, I do support the conservative notion that this often feels forced into the script in recent (streaming) productions. Don't get me wrong. The exposure should be there for people of the community to identify with but not feel tokenized. TLOU really handled that gracefully and organically in Episode 3 and most recently 7 with Ellie's sad backstory. Episode 3 alone could've been a full-length feature film thanks to memorable performances of Offerman & Bartlett. People commented that the episode made them depressed but I honestly felt happy for a grumpy character (classic Offerman) who found true love after most of the world was already in shambles.
Having said that, I'm really looking forward to how the story plays out and hope that the chemistry between Joel & Ellie keeps on giving.
