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Resident Alien: The Alien Within (2022)
Well-connected
I'm generally good at seeing twists but I genuinely didn't see this one coming. And this was the kind of twist that was not forced, in fact one that linked everything together in the entire season. Congrats to the writers.
The episode is also generally funny. I would say above TV dramedy average but below the show's overall average.
I have read some reviews and I'm baffled how some users are watching the show. Social and environmental issues are as much part of life as everything else and someone will get triggered over the morally better choice they see in an episode of a TV comedy, that's a pretty sad turn of events.
Resident Alien: Here Comes My Baby (2024)
Happiness is not just getting love, but getting TO love
To a certain film critic, hijinks of the alien behavior may seem over-the-top, but I'd argue this is the exact kind of thing that differentiates Resident Alien from other, conventional, boring extraterrestrial film/show genre. If there are aliens in the universe, why would aliens have two feet and two hands like humans? Why would their ethics be similar to ours? Baby alien fight scene with the Cats In The Cradle in the background was one of the most hilarious scenes this season.
But the fact that an alien learning human ethics is exactly why this show is still going strong in its 3rd season. Particularly the therapy scene and a reference to another therapy scene from another episode:
When I snap my fingers...
You will wake up...
And you will remember...
EVERYTHING.
Resident Alien: Lovebird (2024)
Not the best but possibly the funniest
To be clear, there are better Resident Alien episodes than this one. But something about doubling the number of clueless aliens, and even putting them into a relationship took it over the line for me.
I laughed out loud multiple times in this episode; sometimes it's about the avian behavior, sometimes it's how the outsides species could perceive us humans.
There's something that Resident Alien does really well: Not staying within the boundaries of human ethics. It's interesting to see these species being baffled by our ethics, while themselves adopting their own sort of ethics. But the characters are so genuinely surprised that this commentary doesn't actually feel forced, it just becomes hilarious. For me this episode was a prime example of such a commentary.
Only Murders in the Building: Sitzprobe (2023)
Another masterpiece
Sitzprobe takes OMITB's unique storytelling one step further. What could be considered a twist of an entire season is casually addressed early in the episode, but this twist holds the viewer so attached to the screen that the viewer internalizes every piano note, every violin chord and every conversation throughout the entire episode.
Multiple stories converge while the music in parallel builds up to the finale of the episode, where the viewer is simply left in awe. Not because there are any surprises or big twists, but because of the way this masterpiece appeals to your senses.
You can intellectually expect what's about to happen in OMITB but you can never emotionally be prepared for it.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
It could've been so much more
I'll start with a few positives: The idea of entire universes at the subatomic level is very exciting and the cosmetic choices to establish the rules of these universes are well made. The cast is excellent and I've found CGI to be at a good level (considering the amount of CGI that had to be packed into a completely new realm, one or two weird glitches are fine).
But the story is written horribly. There is an obscene amount of circumstantial events, multiple characters behave in the way that makes no sense considering their backstory, on several occasions the previously established events from previous movies are ignored, and the expectation of an impending danger in the Phase 5 does not live up to the level we'd expect from Marvel.
People interested in storytelling will definitely find themselves thinking of dozens of alternative directions the writers could have gone with this material, because the idea of a quantum realm is incredibly interesting. Just for that, I finished the movie feeling inspired. But none of this feeling can be attributed to the writers of this movie.
Ted Lasso: Man City (2021)
Unexpected
If you asked me who the top acting performance of the week would be, I wouldn't jump and say Phil Dunster (Jamie Tartt) despite his obvious talent. Well, here we are.
What a rich episode with 5 different storylines beautifully woven together.
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)
I didn't expect this movie to be this good
Personally I don't even watch Eurovision that much, maybe if I happen upon it once in five years. Still when I first saw this movie on Netflix, I thought it'd be another attempt for Americans to make fun of European stuff because it's easy to sell "different" as a comedy to audiences that don't demand much. I like Will Ferrell, but him being in this movie was a red flag in that sense.
I was absolutely wrong! The movie was funny (not in an arrogant way), emotional and it had a lot of culture! The music in the movie is in no way "mocking", many songs could easily compete and potentially win in actual Eurovision. The comedy comes from the naivety of the characters, absurdity and hilarious running gags. Add the beautiful views of Iceland and you have a genuinely nice movie.
Since there is no Eurovision this year due to COVID19, I suggest enjoying every bit of this beautiful movie.
Snowpiercer (2013)
Forced dystopia
I love dystopian future genre. Showpiercer tries to feed off of this genre with a ton of resemblances to Brave New World, Hunger Games, etc but it falls short due to dozens of plot holes.
It almost looks like someone really wanted to push a dark dysoptian setting with a plot to symbolise societal failures; so they came up with the train idea and forced it but forgot to fill in logic in their plot to support their idea.
I should also say, there's nothing new said by the symbolism in this movie.
The good: Acting performance, the setting and visuals.
Knock Down the House (2019)
Add 5 points to the average review
If you check the standard deviation of the review score, you can see the organized low score attack on the movie by people who haven't really watched it.
The documentary is telling on the stories very powerfully. If you asked me before I watched, I would've probably wanted more AOC time in the movie but actually the stories of other politicians are also very powerful.
It doesn't matter whether you're Democrat or Republican. Unless you actually admire establishment politicians (you shouldn't), you should watch this movie.
This Is Us: Memphis (2017)
Masterpiece
"This is Us" is an incredibly good show; touching, beautiful, smart, artistic, well-told, well-acted, well-produced... But this episode! I can't find the correct words for it. It's all-out perfection. Imagine one very powerful emotion (that consists of all your emotions) wrapped up inside you, and suddenly it explodes and all your emotions flow out. That's the closest I can describe this episode.
Story? Amazing. Conversations? Not a single word wasted. Acting? World-class. Cuts between scenes? So correctly adjusted that your emotions will no way of staying inside anymore. Camera angles, lighting, perspective; all as perfect as humanly possible. And finally; music? Read carefully: They freaking wrote masterpiece of a blues song for this episode. This is how incredible this episode is. THEY WROTE A MASTERPIECE SONG FOR A TV SHOW EPISODE!
After seeing this, I don't know if I'll ever be satisfied with TV again.
Jane the Virgin: Chapter Eighty-One (2018)
The best episode of the season
--- SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER ---
You might just expanded that spoiler box in curiosity. Maybe this is a habit now. But think again. Are you really sure? This no ordinary plot twist. This is the biggest, hardest, the most incredible surprise in the history of Jane The Virgin.
So this is your last chance. SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER...
Jane The Virgin is ahead of its time. The only shows that found a place in the TV lately have been dark comedies or cynical stories that show as many "unbelievably awful" things humans can do. This comes from the greed TV us watchers have, we want to be shocked, and TV writers think the easiest way to do so is by showing cynicism and emptiness in people's actions.
The reality isn't this grim though. People are bad, people are good. There are thousands of inspirational stories all around you if you look close enough. Jane The Virgin writers show both sides successfully, feeding our sense of inspiration on the way. And that's not the only successful writing in the show, they do it while also showing how a person should carry her/his integrity; whether s/he's a parent, a child, a grandma, a boyfriend, a girlfriend, a wife, or a husband who'd do everything to protect his family, even if that means he'll have to stay dead for a few seasons...
Jane The Virgin was progressing slowly in Season 4, but definitely made a huge leap in the season finale. It was the best episode of this season. In the finale, JtV appealed to the aspects that made it such a good show in the first 3 seasons. Jane The Virgin was good because it was a mix of several genres. It had dynamic angles to the relationships and it had crime, on top of the regular drama and comedy. Season 4 lacked some of its strongest assets with Michael's death. No more crime investigations, no more dynamic relationship romance, no more being inspired by the sheer good, and its victories against cynical evil.
And now, all of them are back. My only criticism is to the producers... How can you make us wait with this cliffhanger? Bring the season 5 next week!
Brooklyn Nine-Nine: HalloVeen (2017)
Best heist of all!
What I love about Brooklyn Nine-Nine is that they squeeze the content of a 40 min series into 20 minutes. This is why it's still interesting after 5 seasons. And they do this without falling into cynicism - they still keep it funny, entertaining and endearing.
In this episode, with all the hints that Jake can't surprise anymore, I expected a cool surprise in the end of the episode, but I didn't expect this! This was incredibly well arranged, cute, sweet, and beautiful.
Well done!
Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia (2012)
Don't lose time reading this, go and watch this movie immediately!
That, my friends, was beyond television. Maybe one movie a year (maybe!) comes out as good as this Sherlock episode. I am embarrassed to say that I've seen this only now in 2015, and my God, I'm still shaking. This is my first ever review on IMDb, bear with me..
The story, the acting, the editing, the music, the atmosphere, the scenery and camera angles, the twists and turns.. This movie/episode had all 10/10. There was not a single moment that I got bored or distracted. And it's not only the excitement; it's how every little piece in the story links to each other, the details, the emotions... If you pay attention, even the background music evolves during the whole episode, starting with just unplugged sounds from Sherlock's violin; and ending with a whole-out orchestra as the story concludes. Which movie does that???!!!
Thank you, whoever involved in this production. Seriously.