great list! Thany you very much!
Dune was an amazing visual and audial experience, and it definitely captured the vibe of Dune very well, but it lacked almost all of the depth of the book, from the lore, to the characters, and especially the plot. They cut out a huge chunk of the plot in the book, almost all of the political intrigue, and that resulted in it feeling incredibly rushed and the decisions of the characters often seemed odd and unexplained. For example, in the book, House Atreides know that House Harkonnen is planning a trap, they know the Emperor has turned on them, and they know to expect the Sardauker. They also strongly suspect there's a spy among them, and the drama surrounding this is incredibly interesting, and acted as a brilliant build-up to Doctor Yueh's betrayal. Alas, all of this was cut, and the film suffered for it.
Another fairly major gripe I had was the portrayal of Lady Jessica. In the book, she was an incredibly powerful character and was feared and respected by all. She was calm, collected, intelligent, and strong. In the film, she comes across as a mentally unstable mess, constantly crying and having mental breakdowns, and very little of her Bene Gesserit power was shown.
I had mixed reactions to the other characters. Paul and Leto Atreides were great, but Rabban Harkonnen felt very odd and not like a Harkonnen at all. Thufir Hawat was also disappointing, first they made him fat when he's supposed to still be strong (albeit ageing) warrior, but then they removed any mention of him being a Mentat and cut most of his scenes from the book.
And let's not forget to mention they cut my favourite scene from the book, which featured a dinner party and acted as very important character development for Paul, as well as showcasing the political situation on Arrakis as well as the extent of the Bene Gesserit powers.
In general, it felt like this film was less of an adaptation of the story and more of an illustration of it - omitting much of the plot, lore, and character development, and replacing it with beautiful visuals and music. Overall however, despite my disappointments at the various cuts and changes, and although I will continue to wonder what could have been achieved if the story had been split into 3 films instead of 2, this remains a fairly faithful adaptation of a book which is notoriously difficult to adapt to the screen, and as a result I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to the sequel.
I knew he’d show up but not that version!
That was crazy and I absolutely love it!
For the love if shit, people. Without the first 3 episodes we wouldn't have this episode. Without the first 3 episodes this one wouldn't be as impactful. It's storytelling and all part of a larger whole. Stop saying, "finally we're getting somewhere," or "this is what the show should have been from the start." Its a journey. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. Holy shit.
Much better than I had feared. From some of the rumors I had heard my expectations were low. Screw all that. It was pretty good. I'm not saying they still don't have time to cock the whole thing up but some of my optimism has returned. Let's hope this is more Mandalorian than Last Jedi or Fall of Skywalker.
Wow, this was way better than I expected it to be.
A bit sad, that the federation seems to have strayed from its main mission.
The participation of Star Trek veterans as producers shows. Buildings and technology look like they belong in the ST Universe, no 2 million gigantic technological leaps in the first 45 minutes (well one, but that one is kind of needed...)
Best of all: They concentrated on the story instead of preaching some agenda.
So thats a 9/10 from me.
MOTHERFUCKER
– mrw watching another lindelof masterpiece
I didn't think I could see a worse final than the Game of Thrones final. I was wrong.
Despite it being slow, I like the show. But come on guys.... Of all character exits in TV-shows, Donna's must be one of the worst, most nonsensical ones EVER. Especially considering there were multiple options before it, that would've made so much more sense. Deathstroke, Connor, even Gar.. Any of them killing Donna would've made more sense than this crap..
ANYONE could've evaded the mast, including Dawn, making Donna her sacrifice unnecessary. Conner, who just regained his control and can withstand more than Donna, could've catched it instead - or even jumped in to take over from Donna before the electricity became fatal. Both Conner and Donna could've saved any retard that didn't move with their super speed, instead of catching the mast. And last of all, she is fucking Wonder Girl and had just (for the first time) finally showed on screen how much she can withstand, in her fight with Conner. So how the hell could she not survive this?
And then I haven't even gone into the Deathstroke part of the episode...
Whoever wrote this (and approved it) should be fired and never be allowed to touch a script again, EVER!!! This just basically threw a big bucket of shit, over the whole season (ending).
That Baby Yoda is too damn cute!! OMG I laughed so hard when he pressed the button after being told not to touch anything.
New faces and new scenery and still Baby Yoda continues to steal the show. A good balance of action and storytelling but I'd be happier if the episodes were longer. The AT-ST Raider was a nice surprise too. It's cool to see the concept art at the end of each episode.
Talk about edging. This episode kept me on the edge the whole time. Like something I really wanted to see could happen at any time. Only it never happened.
My investment in this season is dwindling. It started off semi-strong. Now, each episode feels like a chore to get through.
Nice, short. Not as fun as the previous one, and, right after the initial reveal, it was pretty predictable where things were going to play out, but, still a nice 10 minute diversion.
Tribbles ! :grinning:. Every Star Trek show needs a Tribbles episode. They're so furry and cute and.. impossible to get rid of.
For some reason this is already out on Crave. It's very funny.
Wow, just watched this movie for the very first time.
It's freaking awesome!
unlike most of the other CW superhero shows, Black Lightning isn't overblown with soap opera type storylines. yes, there is some family drama thrown in, but that's to be expected with the main character being a family man, but it's not overdone. good first episode and if this keeps up, i think we have a winner. i also have to mention his costume, which looks awesome by the way
Is it rough on the edges?
Yes.
Is it high on teenage drama like other cw series?
Not yet.
Even that alone is saying something.
Enjoyable but incredibly overrated and an absolutely terrible ending.
The title seems to have a double meaning. Not only for the 'monster' of the film, but it is also one of those movies that gets under your skin. I can't stop thinking about it.
The film has very unique feel to it, an 80's vibe, a creepy unique premise and a constant feeling of unease, I can now see why this has been getting so much press throughout the horror scene.
A Must Watch!
It Follows did a lot of things right, and not much wrong.
Everything about this movie was unsettling. From the time period, to the premise, to other more subtle aspects.
This has the feel of your standard horror/thriller movie, but as you unravel what is going on you start to see the depth this movie brings. The cinematography was excellent, and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.
There were a few things that felt a bit disconnected, and unexplained (in a bad way) and that's about all I can fault this movie.
Very well made, and would definitely recommend to horror/thriller fans.
I get emotional every time. Deep Space Nine ends with a beautiful farewell that manages to cover a lot of bases. It wraps up the Dominion War and gives - mostly - satisfying farewells for these characters. This show had by far the characters with the most depth and development in the franchise. There is no room for arguing that fact at all. They felt real. They had faults and they had arcs and evolved throughout the show.
So, it's a real shame that this is the final on-screen appearance for all of them bar Worf. If there was any Trek show that deserved a continuation in film format it was this one. The stories developed here were so rich, and even though this episode wraps things up it still leaves enough open questions and paths for exploration (with one MASSIVE cliffhanger in particular).
This episode itself is strong though certainly not without problems. The pacing is mostly good, but every time we cut to Kai Winn and Dukat on their pah-wraith search it really spoils the momentum. I've now learned (thanks to online forums that didn't exist for me back in the day) that a lot of people were not fans of any of this storyline. I can kind of understand why, even though it never bothered me too much. I really like the mythos that was slowly built up around the Bajoran religion, and certainly when I was younger I couldn't see the way elements became shoehorned in. The pah-wraiths amount to little more than hand-waving magic when you really look at them and they had the effect of turning both Winn and Dukat into pantomime villains.
I don't really accept the way that Winn changed her entire religious beliefs so readily, even though she tries to justify it. I also don't quite understand most of Dukat's motivations after he loses his daughter in season 6. If we are supposed to believe that he's just gone a bit insane then it could have been portrayed better. The whole showdown is over and done with far too quickly and it all gets a bit Star Wars (which I adore, but Star Wars is fantasy-based whereas Star Trek is science fiction/technology based). It doesn't fit. And we get a fast wrap up where Sisko and Dukat just fall into the fire which is... silly, to be polite.
The rest of the episode makes up for this, though. The final battle of the Dominion War is a visual feast and a gripping rollercoaster. The space battle is a tremendous accomplishment for 1990s television standards, but the best part is the Kira/Garak/Damar resistance storyline. Those three characters have such rich histories of conflict to mine that putting them together leads to nothing but joy on screen. The death of Damar does feel like a gut punch even though we've spent so much time hating him for his actions over the course of the past few seasons. It's a shame that his murder of Ziyal is never directly addressed by Kira or Garak. The love-to-hate-him character Weyoun gets a satisfying send off, and the war is ended with a moment of compassion and understanding when Odo offers to give himself up to save everyone.
The individual character bookends are also greatly satisfying, and often bittersweet. Odo leaves, O'Brien leaves, Worf leaves. Odo's decision feel natural even though he leaves hurt people in his wake, but Miles' is much more unexpected and actually the more emotional for me. The O'Brien/Bashir bromance was among my favourite parts of this show, so the video collage of their past moments is heartbreaking for me. Worf's departure is a bit stranger, since we will see him again in Star Trek: Nemesis and it doesn't acknowledge his decisions here at all. Additionally, I will be forever disappointed that there are no flashback to Jadzia due to licensing reasons.
In happier endings, Julian and Ezri are finally together and I like it. It was all a bit forced but I'm just happy at the thought of them together. Nog gets promoted to Lieutenant (take that, Harry Kim), Kira is in charge of the station and Quark gets to keep running the bar while Rom has become Grand Nagus!
That leaves the saddest ending of all: the Siskos. In particular, I think Jake gets the short straw. His dad is gone but just within reach. Benjamin has not only left his son behind, but his pregnant wife. It's a bold ending that leaves you wanting to know more, and extremely bittersweet. Ben and Jake were the heart and soul of this show from the very beginning and I think it's appropriate that it finishes on a shot of Jake thinking about his dad while being comforted.
I said in my review of 'Emissary' that DS9 was my favourite TV show of all time. This rewatch has solidified that statement for me. The characters here are mismatched, broken people who grow and evolve into true friends and take us on that journey with them. It has also really struck me how much DS9 continues to stand up to today's modern TV landscape, while the other Trek shows feel very much liked dated products of their time. Here we have a tale of terrorism, religion, war and through all that a thread of hope and idealism.
I absolutely can't leave it here, and I'm going to be delving into the "relaunch" novels that pick up where the show ended and continue the journey. It's not official canon and could easily be overwritten at any time (especially given the announcement of all the new Trek heading our way on TV), but that doesn't take away from these new stories at all, and given the "black sheep" nature of DS9 in the franchise I have a feeling that these stories are probably the best I can hope for. There's also the upcoming documentary What We Left Behind to look forward to, and maybe one day we'll get a nice HD upgrade for the show.
See you again down the road, DS9.
Really great show. Once you get past the first two episodes it becomes quite compelling. Yes, it's a teenage drama, that doesn't make it a bad show.
Don't be fooled by those comments, the show isn't as bad as they are saying, it was most likely not directed towards them. Everyone has a type of show they like, so if you aren't a fan of teenage drama this obviously won't be a show for you (duh).
Ps: if you are into teenage drama meets mystery this one is for you, the first few episodes are more of the former but it gets way better as the episodes pass. It had a the 100 and under the dome vibe.
I have to say, I really don't understand why so many people rave about "The Godfather: Part II." I mean, yeah, it has some decent moments here and there, but overall, I found it to be a pretty lackluster film. For one thing, it's just way too long. I mean, come on, who has the patience to sit through three hours of this stuff? And even then, I didn't feel like the story was all that compelling or well-told. To be honest, I found myself checking my watch more than once during the movie, just waiting for it to be over. All in all, I'd give it a generous 6 out of 10 at best. I really don't understand why this movie is so overvalued in the eyes of some.
I’m gonna come out and say it. The Cabin in the Woods is a straight up masterpiece! A must see for every horror fan that has ever felt bored or irritated by the over use of cliches left over from the 80s. While most discussion around this film tends to revolve around the genius call-backs to classic horror films and Easter eggs but I believe focusing on these elements does a disservice to the film as a whole. This is far more than a serious of Easter-eggs. All of the horror elements are genuinely effective (especially Jules’ death scene), all the humour lands perfectly and the third act says everything that Goddard and Whedon wanted to say about the horror genre. “We would rather let everyone die than let the old gods have their way.” It is a truly remarkable film that needs to be seen again and again to be fully understood and appreciated.
Denis Villenueve. A solid lineup. A different take on first contact. I loved Sicario but went in expecting a cerebral epic sci-fi.
That was a mistake.
Good things:
- Some really nice visual scenes
- Interesting aliens Calligraphy aliens!
- Clear theme of communication is omnipresent
- A neat score that might be awesome in a different movie
Bad things:
- The acting
- The lack of emotional reaction to ALIENS! The students asking to turn on the TV, all of the main characters
- Lack of useful characters Only the aliens and Louise actually did anything the entire movie.
- Supporting characters are very stupid in an attempt to foil the main character slightly
- Very clumsy exposition. Genre-typical news reports, voice-overs, dumb characters asking stupid questions.
- Very slow pacing. This worked in parts of Sicario, but didn't work in this movie because there was no tension. The main characters never seemed remotely threatened.
- Lousie showing up at school thinking everyone will be there after aliens arrive and there's a state of emergency
- Why can't you translate alien language like you can translate Farsi. This is a paraphrase but in the spirit of what Colonel Weber was saying.
- Useless love interest when the costars have no chemistry.
- Ultrasecure military base lets someone steal a ton of explosives and put it in an ALIEN SPACECRAFT without anyone noticing.
- Many unbelievable plot points
- Poor dialogue Let's make a baby - real quote
- Poor handling of the major plot points Looking through time seems to undermine the fact that the aliens need help. Why did one have to die if they could see the future? Why did only one die when they were right next to each other?
- Very heavy handed moral messaging that didn't align with the rest of the movie.
- Why couldn't Ian also see into the future as he studied the language, or any of the others?
Overall extremely disappointing. I'm honestly surprised critics or general moviegoers like this. The premise was very good. It's a real shame the execution failed so miserably.