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The Mandalorian: Chapter 19: The Convert (2023)
"The Mandalorian" attempts to be "Andor"... and fails miserably
I can appreciate the attempt here by the showrunners to take a break from monsters and Grogu and try to show something else. It was interesting to see the Empire in a different light and how ex-imperials tried to fit in within the New Republic.
Showing the inner workings and human side of both the good and the bad side in Star Wars is something that "Andor" did, and brilliantly. That was mainly due to great dialogue, interesting story arcs and compelling, profound characters.
This however is not the case for "The Convert". The characters were bland, the dialogue was cringeworthy and furthermore all other aspects were bad, ie the music, the costume design, the set designs.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that this episode truly showed just how awful "The Mandalorian" is compared to "Andor". And I mainly liked seasons 1 and 2. I would even say that this episode is the best one of s3 so far.
People were talking about "Andor" and how its immense quality could actually be hurtful to SW as a whole brand, as it would expose how bad most of the other stuff really is.
I'm starting to see what they meant...
Andor: One Way Out (2022)
New level
This episode is without a doubt one of the best pieces of SW-media I have ever seen. This episode is so good that any review probably won't do it justice, but I'll try.
Even though Mon Mothma was not at the center of this episode, her scene was really interesting and served brilliantly in deepening her character. She now basically has to decide whether or not to give up her daughter in order to secure the future of the Rebellion. Yeah. That's happening in a Star Wars-show. However, the main event was of course what happened on Narkina 5.
As the previous episode promised, "One Way Out" features the prison break that has been looming for the past few episodes, and it couldn't have been handled any better. Similarly to the heist at Aldhani, we're really in on the plan thanks to the previous episodes build-up, and this makes the execution feel so earned and satisfying.
The tension leading up to the attack had me gasping for air, with Cass narrowly avoiding being caught soaking wet and the inmates nervousness, realizing that the plan is actually coming to fruition. From there on, we get impeccable action and Golden Globe-worthy script writing, with all other levels of the prison joining the fight encouraged by Kino's epic speech. It was so profound to see this broken man and slave to the programme rise up and become a true leader.
Exactly this made the escape bittersweet, as Kino ironically cannot flee Narkina 5 himself due to his inability to swim. The way the scene was handled made tears run down my cheeks. In any other show, Kino probably would've panicked and started screaming in desperation. But his quiet "Can't swim..." made the scene so more effective. The hope that made an entire prison rise up shattered in a second... I hope this is not the end for the character as Andy Serkis has been incredible in the role, but it looks like that might be the case.
However - as per usual at this point - Stellan Skarsgård steals the show, yet again. His character just works perfectly in showing the Alliance in a new light. The dirtiness and the sacrifice these early rebels had to endure, explained astonishingly through Luthen's monologue at the end. "I'm condemned to use the tools of my enemy to defeat them [...] What have I sacrificed? Everything!". Luthen Rael is honestly already my favorite Rebel figure in Star Wars history.
The ending to Luthen's scene leads into the last scene where we see Andor and Melshi running away, freed at last, with probably the best music of the show so far. There's really not much that can be said about Nicholas Britell's score, but I'll settle with stating this: it is absolutely unbelivable totally incredible.
As you probably can tell, this episode is in my opinion the best one of the season so far, and that's really saying something given the immense quality of the previous ones. I'm sad that there's only two episodes remaining, but thankfully a second season appears to be on its way.
This episode absolutely deserves a 10/10 rating. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!
One way out!
Andor: Narkina 5 (2022)
This is almost getting a bit too good
First of all I have to say that the rating system for episodes have become broken. Nowadays it seems like episodes have to have a big, big event in order to get a rating of 8.7 or higher. This is a shame because even though this episode is "calm", there's so much going on!
There are so many storylines brewing and becoming more interesting by the minute. Cyril growing into the main villain, Cassian in prison, Luthen out in the galaxy looking for anyone who can help the rebellion.
Acting-wise this episode was top class. I mean, we're getting Andy Serkis as this disturbing prison inmate desperately clinging on to the hope that he will one day be released, in contrast to the cynicism of the other prisoners. That scene, when the floor was about to become red, was so intense. Cassian learning that it's all a dream, that his sentence is probably double or even triple that of what he was told (six years).
We also, for real, got a scene where Stellan Skarsgård and Forest Whitaker (!) discuss politics, revolution, the Republic and the Separatists. These two fantastic actors having a grand existential debate within the Star Wars-universe! You understand where Saw is coming from, but as Luthen brilliantly put it: "It's easy to promote anarchy when your hiding in a cold cave, looking for spare parts".
That scene particurarly got me thinking about the Rebellion in a new light. As Saw Gerrera states, the Rebellion contains not only people from the old Republic, but also former Separatists who also hold a grudge against the Empire after the events of ROTS.
I think we just always looked at the Rebellion as the "former Republic good guys", but it's really so much more complex than that. And this episode made me understand that.
I really feel for this show. People are probably so tired of Star Wars after the disasters that were "Obi-Wan Kenobi" and "The Book of Boba...". We are getting this original, highly entertaining Star Wars-content, and no one seems to notice it!
I am genuinely worried that season 2 might be cancelled, because this is shaping up to becoming the most interesting story within SW since... 1980?
As for now, this show feels sort of like an underground movement. We who watch must convince others to give it a chance, because it is getting virtually no media attention compared to HOTD or Rings of Power...
9 stars out of 10!
Orkestret (2022)
One of the best Scandinavian shows I've seen
This is for me a classic Scandinavian comedy show with self-deprecating humor and multilayered characters. The interesting and fun plots of each episode gives room for really comedic situations which both makes fun of the musical world while at the same time respecting it and showing its worth.
However, the main takeaway for me is the brilliant way characters are set up and then developed throughout the series. A person can be both awful and deeply tragic at the same time, and this goes for most of the main characters of the show.
The performances are all-round nuanced and well-acted, and the direction is very interesting and in tune.
I would love to see more of this show!
When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
A perfect romantic comedy
I grew up watching romantic comedies. My mom tenaciously forced me to watch them when I was young. I hated most of them, but one stuck out.
"When Harry Met Sally..." is the perfect romantic comedy. It revolves around real emotions, and never seems out of this world. The characters seem real, like people we would know.
The story is beautiful. About a friendship no one knows how it will end. The friendship is also something that this movie respects. Instead of fast-forwarding all the time, it takes it's time. Long walks in Central Park, dinners, museum-visits. This is a well-crafted story.
Bruno Kirby and Carrie Fisher are both amazing. You feel like you would like to be friends with them and go to their dinner parties. Amazing.
All in all this is a wonderful romantic comedy. The romance feels real because it takes it's time and is earned. The characters are cozy and the jokes are perfectly executioned and subtle. And it's set in New York City.
10/10 - a perfect romantic comedy!
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Oh I don't think so
The Rise of Skywalker is possibly the worst Star Wars-movie I have ever seen. Do not let the "decent" rating fool you, I only give less than five stars to movie without either story, good dialogue or nice production. This is a good looking movie, but with no real story or any good dialogue...
I liked TFA, and I loved some parts of TLJ. Ultimately both those films please me. Episode IX on the other is a complete mess and failure.
The film introduces us to a whole new story based on nothing we have ever even heard of in the previous two films of the trilogy. Why is the Emperor back? Why? It is so lazy and most of all desperate.
None of the characters are given interesting storylines and all "good" moments are rushed. The quotation marks mean that they could've been good if they were given more time. One major plot-point though make it impossible for me to even appreciate some of these moments...
SPOILERS AHEAD!
SPOILERS!
Why, WHY, is Rey the granddaughter of Palpatine? Where did THAT come from? From nowhere, and they expect us to care? In the original trilogy storylines where given time, more specifically, they were given three whole movies. Here comes a rushed plot-point that is supposed to make us feel something. Guess what, it does not. Nothing leading into to this film has hinted to this. Nothing. It feels SO un-earned.
Finn, who in TFA was built up as a lead character, does nothing in this one. He's a side-character, a human Chewbacca. Scratch that, Chewbacca is far more interesting and emotional. I can't even understand what Chewie says yet his big emotional scene when Leia dies gives me more than anything Finn has ever said.
Poe is ok in this one, but his backstory feels so rushed as well, and I will never buy him being some sort of weird womanizer.
Hux being a spy, what was that? Where did that come from? Lando is ok, but let's face it he's just there to make us think of better Star Wars-films,
Disney failed with this trilogy because there is no overlaying arc. It feels as if three people made three films without seeing the others (and yes I know JJ made TFA but that's what it feels like).
My biggest flaw with this film comes in the final battle where Rey and Kylo (who turns good OF COURSE) start to have a cool scene fighting together but it cuts short and we get the quite possibly worst moment in Star Wars history where Rey has an Iron Man-moment and wins against boring Palpatine. Compare that to Luke's "I'm a Jedi, like my father before me"... Jesus. And then Kylo and Rey kiss. WHAT?! Why? Why ruin their somewhat of a sibling-relationship built up in TLJ? It's so cheesy and frankly, dumb.
So more to say, but for now let's end this by saying that this is for me the worst movie in the saga next to Phantom Menace. Even Clones is better, and nothing says more than that.
If you liked it, that's great. I don't understand you, but my allegiance is with democracy!
Game of Thrones: The Bells (2019)
All in all - disappointed.
Let's start with the positives:
This episode was visually stunning. Everything about it felt real from a visual standpoint and the battle sequences were brilliant, as you would expect from Miguel Sapochnik the director.
Also, I thought the burning of the city was very powerful. There were problems with it, as I will get into, but seeing all those innocent people get burned alive really moved me, so the episode worked on that point.
Also Jon saving that woman: hero!
That's it for positives... Here come the negatives
Varys. A character we've learned to be probably the smartest and cleverest man in all of Westeros, dead in like 12 minutes because he could not be silent about the secret while in the company of the people he wants to "betray". Is this justice for this brilliant character who knew the Game better than anyone? Of course not. It feels like the writers have completely forgot about the fact that in Westeros, the big action-heroes will not always succeed. It's the people who know the Game who survive the longest. But because Varys can't throw a spear from 30 metres he has to die in some weird rushed way.
Euron, a character I liked in season 6, now feels like a B-movie villain who makes a last entry out of nowhere to kill Jaime. Why is it that the main characters always survives situations like that? Plot-armour is what it is, and it's painful to watch.
Cersei. This brilliant character we've known for 8 seasons, this master of tactics and playing the Game. She did tell Ned Stark: "When you play the Game of Thrones you either win, or you die". She did die, but she was hardly playing the game. She stood with a monster and Qyburn for almost all of the episode.
I can bring about so much more but let's wrap it up with Dany. Did it feel rushed as to how she became mad? Yes. Did it make sense for her to kill like thousands of innoncent lifes so quickly? Not really. The only good explanation I can find is that somehow Bran connected her with the past and she heard her father scream "Burn them all!" which made her descend into madness. I guess that would be kinda cool, but don't think it will happen.
So all in all - disappointed. But never forget that we will always have seasons 1-4.
Thank you for reading!
Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)
Do not get fooled by these hate-reviews
The Last Jedi is special. It is an entertaining movie which gives more well-needed deepness to all major characters ahead of IX.
Overall, I am extremely happy with this movie. However, there are some negatives:
- A place in this movie looks too much like Earth, it does not feel like Star Wars
- Luke's Theme is over-used, should have been saved for extra special moments
- Sometimes the humor is over-played. The audience does not need to laugh in every scene
Other than that, this is a fun and thrilling Star Wars-movie. I would even say it's better than TFA, because it challenges what we thought we knew about the Force and does so in a good way. In other words: TLJ is more creative.
Finally, all these hateful reviews are embarrassing. People complain about things that do not resemble earlier films. Well two years ago you guys complained about TFA being to similar to A New Hope. How's it going to be? Different or the same? George Lucas essentially ruined the prequels with bad dialogue and too much CGI. Here comes a new director with fresh ideas and good storytelling, but he gets all this hate because he doesn't do it as Lucas would have. Lucas blew it, Johnson delivers. TLJ is a great film, which every true Star Wars fan will love. 8,5.
Fantastic Four (2015)
Can this movie get a lower grade than Batman & Robin? I think so...
So what's the plot of this 100 minute disaster? The two young scientists Ben Grimm and Reed Richards have worked one a teleporter for years and so they are appointed by one Dr. Franklin Storm to complete a so called ''Quantum Gate'' together with his children Sue and Johnny as well as Storm's protegé Victor Von Doom (I hate that name). The five youngsters succeed in trying out the teleporter which allows them to travel to different dimensions. However, the machine gives them supernatural powers. Four becomes good, one becomes evil. You know the rest.
Even though this film contains good up-and-coming actors such as Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell and Michael B. Jordan it totally fails as a comic book movie. The plot leads up to these great and epic events and twists but they are executed terribly. You are literally sitting at the theater knowing that something bad-ass will happen and when it doesn't. And you just feel dooped.
When the director of a film states to the public that the film sucks... well then you know it's gonna suck. Unfortunately this was the case with Fantastic Four. According to reports, the director Josh Trank who created Chronicle (2012), a movie I loved, had to change almost the whole script in order for it to be more ''audience-friendly''. I literally cannot understand that part. Even though I believe that a story like Fantastic Four should be more for kids than say Iron Man, I still think that it could be serious. And if Trank could have done that his way, I am certain we would have a different, better movie today. But it became serious in a pretentious way that does not work. Heck even the CGI looks terrible from time to time. How did they go wrong THERE with THAT budget.
Now, the question you are all asking: ''Is it better than the 2005 movie starring Ioan Gruffud and Jessica Alba?''. Even though I absolutely hated that movie, I'll have to say yes. Because that movie didn't take itself as seriously as this one. Even the Silver Surfer is better. Jesus...
Like I said in the summary, I do believe and hope that this movie gets an overall grade LOWER than Batman & Robin (1997). As much as I hate it, George Clooney's nipple suit and Arnies puns still beats this crap. Go watch Mission Impossible instead, a movie containing Tom Cruise hanging off an airborne airplane is a far better choice. Trust me.
Goodnight from Sweden!