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Reviews
The Mandalorian: Chapter 19: The Convert (2023)
Great Story Telling and ambitious writing
This season something feels different about the adventures of Din Djarin and Grogu. There is a level of maturity and narrative consistency that seems very cohesive.
This episode explores what happens to agents of the Empire after the Battle of Endor. It shows how indoctrination leaves a taste of nostalgia and how good life can be if you're the one doing the oppressing. There's a disturbing conversation that would be on par with post war War Germany where there's a harp back to the "glory days". This was carefully worded and crafted. While Andor approaches these types of scenes with more groundedness, this was a big step for the Mandalorian.
Remember, this is a show that for the two previous seasons relied heavily on villain of the week format with the narrative advancing slowly. This season focuses heavily on story telling mixed with action and it pays off.
The only let down this season is that some scenes have sub par special FX. This is new territory for the Mandalorian as up until now the FX have been stellar. It doesn't take away from the story.
A very good episode. Strong writing. This is the way!
Poker Face (2023)
Poker Face
A Columbo meets Murder, She Wrote meets Natasha Lyonne's grit - mystery of the week show.
The shows premise is the same in every episode, Charlie (Lyonne) arrives in a town and sets about working and living her life when the unexpected happens... a murder occurs. Whether it's someone directly linked to Charlie or by a certain degree of separation, she begins to investigate the murder.
She is aided by her instincts on when people are lying. She has a nervous tick when people lie, she calls "Bullsh!t". She utilises this in routing out the murderer.
The issue the show faces is that the murderer is revealed to the audience at the start of the episode and so the rest of the episode shows us how Charlie solves the mystery. This is where things get challenging, if there's no element of discovery for the audience and we know that things are made somewhat easy for the main character as they are a human lie detector then really you're left watching is for the quirks, gimmicks and the A lister of the week guest spot.
The show could benefit from having the audience journey along with the mystery element. If the audience is in on the secret but Charlie isn't then her discovery of the facts don't always thrill. It would be a better shift for the shows longevity to keep the element of surprise so that the audience can discover and question things as Charlie does. With the reveal coming at the end of the episode.
When the murder is revealed the audience at the start of the episode it makes the narrative much easier. Instead of solving a mystery, the audience are being bread crumbed so that Charlie can solve it. It's a premise that's good for some episodes but ultimately when watch a murder mystery show, you want to be surprised.
Natasha Lyonne is a character in herself and no matter what character she plays, she is always authentic to herself. She's charismatic. I wish her every success with the show. It's a solid and entertaining entry into the quirky murder mystery genre.
The Last of Us: Please Hold to My Hand (2023)
Another fantastic episode
The Last of Us: Another great episode last night. What I like about it is how human it is, there has just been maybe two scenes where zombies appeared and you hardly even notice it.
The real story is the human element, not the zombie apocalypse.
I think where shows like the Walking Dead made their mistake was constant repetition of the same narrative.
It is early to say but I feel the benefit of the The Last of Us being based on a game is that it has a finite and self contain story where that story already has a test audience.
I also like how the show pays homage to video game styled missions... the "I'm too big to fit in there, can you fit through that tiny hole and open the door" so I don't have to smash the window etc. I haven't played the game but I know that's a tried and tested video game technique.
I also think that it kinda adds more reality to it in a way, cos I wouldn't smash a window... I'd be like, get in there and open the door. 😂
Once again we have a whole episode which explores relationships. So far that has been the focus;
Joel and his daughter, Sarah.
Joel and his partner, Tess.
Bill and Frank
Joel and Ellie.
It's very nicely done because it shows us that as much as Joel wants to be this cold blooded self serving person, there are people he cares about.
It's really refreshing to have a series that crafts these relationships without it feeling overwhelmingly expositional.... Although pretty much most of it is a character study and exposition. It's just done well and written cohesively.
Willow: Children of the Wyrm (2023)
A sad end to a bad show
Willow: The Series is a disappointing continuation of the beloved 1988 film. The show suffers from poor writing, uninteresting characters, and a lack of coherence in its storytelling. The special effects, while visually impressive, are not enough to save the show from its numerous flaws.
The pacing of the series is often slow and unengaging, and the show fails to capture the same magic and excitement of the original film. The new characters introduced in the series are one-dimensional and fail to add depth to the story.
The themes of power, redemption, and responsibility that were handled so well in the original film are mishandled and underdeveloped in the series. Many of the story choices made in the series feel forced and unnecessary, detracting from the overall experience.
Furthermore, the series deviates too much from the tone and themes of the original film, leaving fans feeling disappointed and disconnected from the story. The handling of some of the characters from the original film was also poorly done, leaving a bad taste in the mouth of the fans.
In short, Willow: The Series is a major letdown that fails to live up to the legacy of the original film. It's a poorly written and executed show that fails to capture the magic and excitement of the original.
Willow: Beyond the Shattered Sea (2023)
Dawdling
This episode tries its hand at similar expositional story telling as the truth plums episode but doesn't tell us anything new.
It's a new setting, with a battle and montage showing the cast preparing for the final battle but it reads more like a video game than it does a television production.
The biggest problem this show has is the aesthetic is nothing like that of Willow the movie. Costumes with zippers, store bought costumes, modern attire mixed with medieval attire. Instead of feeling in-world, it feels jarring, cheap and uninvested.
Showrunner, Kasdan clearly didn't invest themselves in creating a continuation to unique product. Moreover, it seems inspired by high school dramas, such as those Kasdan wrote in times gone by.
This means, the narrative never feels focused. It feels frenzied and the dialogue is disjointed. Once again, this occurs in this episode. Considering the previous two episode showed signs of improvement, this episode reverted back.
The episode dawdled around preparing for the final act, like the Boss monster in a video game.
Willow: Wildwood (2022)
Plodding clumsily along
This series has really struggled with what it wants to be. It tries to bend the mature themes of the movie into a very superficial premise. One that kinda feels like "Saved by the Bell". And, while these weeks episode is a general improvement on the previous episodes there's still issues with production.
Brownies are no longer tribal looking, they were pyjamas and onesies/overalls. Their cultural ambiguity seems to have swayed towards Latin oriented, kinda racist in some ways.
The group find themselves amongst a cannibalistic tribe that use the skulls of their victims as masks. However, the group lose their fear of them pretty quickly and the episode becomes somewhat throwaway and joy filled as they celebrate with the cannibals.
There was so much this series could do but chose not to and it's the missed opportunities of this series that hurt most of all. The choices made are poor, the production design is poor, the story feels less like a continuation and more like a parody.
That said, it is getting better. Now, if only we could ignore the first 3 episodes.
Willow: The Battle of the Slaughtered Lamb (2022)
Doesn't know what it wants to be
As the series progresses it seems that the show runners didn't really understand the assignment.
Willow the series really struggles with who it wants to entertain. It tries to plaster a teenaged high school drama veneer over a high fantasy setting and it spends more time jarring and coming undone than it does creating a sense of narrative.
A grave mistake was to have so many main characters that are very similar to each other. There are no distinguishing characteristics between the Princess and Elora for example. Both seem spoilt, petulant and in the case of Elora/Dove - she is completely counter to her life experience as a servant.
This episode kills off a character that stood their own and of course, it isn't a regular sized person but a little person. A character who was different from the cookie cutter characters in the main cast.
There's also a very jarring and world breaking experience in the woods with two women, dressed in workers wear from the 1930's while giving off Wild West vibes. It seemed very wrong from the outset and that doesn't improve throughout.
About the only positive was the arrival at Knockmar. Overall, this episode along with its predecessors just seem reductive and frustratingly broken. Kazdan doesn't understand the toys he's playing with and the hearts he is breaking.
1899 (2022)
Mysteries without resolutions
Finished 1899 tonight.
It was a good series, plenty weirdness and mystery to keep it going.
It is kind of like Lost, Titanic and the Matrix had a baby and named it Prometheus. It borrows elements from all of them but in a unique way for period drama.
A very good use of a multilingual cast. The ensemble are very good and surprisingly, the SFX I thought were very good.
The final episode doesn't answer all of the questions posed in the series and I found it a little difficult to keep up with but it was an interesting ride.
My main concern is that it ended with a cliffhanger and with Netflix's tendency to cancel everything, then who knows if there will be a Season 2.
Still though, a fun ride.
Wednesday (2022)
A well made continuation of Wednesday's Story
Tim Burton brings us an authentic representation of Wednesday Addams from the Addam's Family.
It's a great mash of Burton's darkness but funnelled through more serious tones than usual. A Nancy Drew mystery that unfolds over several episodes.
The story is so well told that you find yourself leaping from character to character in a "who-done-it" capacity - trying to guess who the murderer is!
The series starts and maintains its high quality throughout, the performances are all very on point and the ensemble interact well together.
Jenna Ortega really brings something twisted to the character, that goes beyond humour and into darker weirder territory... and it fits. Wednesdays development as a character is subtle but notable throughout.
Wednesday is damaged and weird, doesn't want to let people in and there's something of her self preservation that will resonate with everyone.
It is well edited, well written; the special FX and sets are well put together. This seems like a series that was a labour of love, that took time, and it pays off.
Maybe a little heavy for kids at times but the grown ups will love the humour, weirdness and fantastical surrounds.
The series is a great example how you can mix genres and still turn out a class product. This series comes well recommended.
It should serve as an example of how you take revered and loved characters and bring them to a whole new audience. Well done!
Willow (2022)
Forget all you know... or think you know.
Willow (the movie) is a darling of a movie, great production, writing that works for the world building and has excellent performances throughout.
Willow (the series) forgets the foreshadowing of the movies and reduces it to a level of superficiality. The world does not feel textured or well built.
The dialogue is random at times and leaps to inject emotions that don't fit with the context of the conversation. They've ramshackled conflict between Sorsha and Willow that doesn't really need to exist or add value to the story.
Elora's reveal as a petulant teenager doesn't fit with the background of the character, not in the context in which we are first introduced to her.
So much about this is lacking it's as if the Director's and writers spent no time with the source material and tried to force the key facets of story telling upon characters and arcs where it doesn't fit.
Two episodes in and there's a density to the villains that doesn't provide any sense of clarity as to the villains main aims. In the movie Bavmorda had purpose, and intent, corrupted by dark powers in the pursuit of power. In the series, we lack this.
From a production standpoint, the world doesn't seem lived in. It seems purpose built to look pretty. Tir Asleen also seems to have moved from being inside of a crag in Wales to now resting on a hillside. Which I wouldn't mind so much if everything else married up.
The young cast also seem out of place but really, that's again because they don't feel like they're part of the world in which they inhabit. Their clothing is all laundry fresh, their skin is clean as though they've just emerged from the shower and each of them is bathed in perfect lighting for the duration.
It makes the production look cheap. There's jarring elements that pull you out of the world also, like the store bought, machine made clothing of Elora.
The aesthetic is different from the movie, less textured, less reality based and it shows. The throne room set piece is about the only exception. It feels in world. Also, the Nelwyn are Fraggles now... living underground.
There was so much opportunity with this show that just seems squandered because it was lead by someone who didn't understand the confines of the world it's about... and doesn't know how to write for characters in that world.
I hope that it improves... but for now, I'm just going say..."Forget all you know... or think you know," they've made something with the Willow name, but it is not Willow.