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Reviews
Hit and Run (2021)
Don't watch this - ends with cliff hanger
This could have been pretty great if made into a six episodes mini-series, with a distinct resolution. Its suspenseful and characters are believable. But it slowly turns into a soap opera or one of the all to common modern series only aiming for the next season. This one will not have a second season, it's cancelled. The strong recommendation is - don't watch this. Producing, deliberately, TV-series that are dead in the water need to be discouraged. They waste your time. Unless, of course, they put you off so hard that you turn of Netflix and spend you time elsewhere. On second thought perhaps it a good thing to watch this.
The Last of Us (2023)
Flawless beginning - ep01
You get to know real people, people you care for. In 15 min you are more invested than in any Marvel movie, and many modern superficially glossy blockbusters. Have you played the game seemingly ordinary conversations, details, are ominous. The direction is pitch perfect, you don't notice it, the story grabs you. This may well be the best adaptation of a game ever made. Future episodes will tell. We experience the fall of civilisation from the ground, from the perspective of one having less information the most. We don't know more than the protagonist, a first person perspective effectively told.
Dune (2021)
Why is it not awesome?
I liked it in the cinema but why was I not overwhelmed? It has many great components - the soundscape, the thopters, the shields, the worms and the vibrations in the sand. I know that when leaving the theatre I was missing a musical score, something to remember the movie by. The trailer with PF's Eclipse is more gripping than the feature film. But the choice of more of a soundscape over a musical, melodic, score is a deliberate choice. Upon rewatching on HBO one flaw became apparent - in several scenes we are told what is happening rather than shown - not with emotional impact so we as the audience can observe, draw our own conclusions and feel. We are told that the shield were taken down, communications jammed not shown, that the attack was over the whole planet on all major cities not shown, we see fighting in Pauls dream of a coming religious war but then Paul tells us in a monolog how terrible this is - we are not shown, not really. If you rewatch you will spot other instances (we are told that the spice is very valuable...).
Ah-ga-ssi (2016)
A disappointment. Beautiful but superficial.
Feelings after. Its not the gripping saga it could have been. It has its moments but does not really connect. Lots of sexual content, visually and at the base of the story. Feels like a cheap trick, like over seasoned food. Convoluted with twists but still simplistic.
Doom (2005)
One of the best worst movies.
Still pretty cool. Delivers. Could have been great.
Altered Carbon: Nightmare Alley (2020)
Here's hoping for s03.
It could be saved. Restarted. The first season had originality and gravitas. This feel cheap, exploiting s01 not building brave new worlds.
We Own the Night (2007)
Best car chase in move history
The car chase in the rain is brilliantly executed. A thing to study. Why is it so good?
When They See Us (2019)
Tough watch! I left this after the first episode.
This is excellent but not entertaining. The behaviour of the police woman in charge, the interviews and the terribly poor judgement by the father of the protagonist (episode 1) all add up to a situation you want to fix, do something about. Just watching this unfold is not something I need in my life. Probably excellent for police training.
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
In light of the recent films... this made me smile!
Going in with high expectations you might be disappointed. But having seen the sequel trilogy and mostly feeling sad, well then this is satisfying. It's rather fun and with the right feel. It may give you a new hope.
Survivor (2015)
Wasted opportunity - annoying writing
Acting is decent, cast is stellar (expensive) and the director has a very strong pedigree with the excellent V for vendetta. It's an interesting movie to watch and trying to figure out why this is not a solid thrilling movie. What took me out of the story were a couple of unrealistic exchanges. Characters acting unbelievable och stupid. It feel like this movie is fixable. Deleting 10 minutes and reshooting, rewriting and it might stick together. Prehaps.
Zhan lang II (2017)
Geopolitically an interesting watch!
It's what's on the cover and an average 5. Giving this an 8 is inflated. Then your up against Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. A 5 makes this as good as The Last Jedi...
But a Chinese protagonist (pr, propaganda take your pick) makes the movie. Replace the Chinese with Americans and this would be ... business as usual. But as it is this is educational.