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Afterlife (2005)
Brillinat, spooky, superbly written and performed
Nothing about Afterlife feels fake in fact the spirits feel as real as the characters. What helps Afterlife become a great show is its outstanding cast in Andrew Lincoln who plays Robert brilliantly and Lesly Sharp who brings a reality to the character of Alison, the directing is done simply, never trying to be too clever and the writing which brings in each episode a great story that is both scary, thought provoking and emotional. This is superb TV and storytelling done right. The phrase 'less is more' sums up the approach I feel they took to making it and it pays off.
Whatever you do, just watch this.
Breaking Bad (2008)
They film an episode in 8 Days
It says something about a TV show when even the episodes could be called, 'filler' are entertaining and do something great. Breaking Bad is a show where no episode, scene or moment is wasted. Everything about it is brilliant, the writing is masterful, handling characters and plots with ease with each season building on the next. Delivering both funny, profound, shocking and heartbreaking moments. The directing is superb especially considering they film each episode in only eight days. It always tries to do different things while always serving the story. Visually it is wondrous to behold. The acting is top notch, Bryan Cranston delivers Walter Whites slow decline into villainy wonderfully and Aaron Paul will only be remembered for his role as Pinkman.
This show delivers, when people say it's great, they mean it. It is one of the best shows I have ever seen.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
It's fun but all the problems came earlier
While I have enjoyed this trilogy it has begun to feel like it was stretched a bridge too far. You get a strange feeling two would have been better for adapting the 300 page book and they probably debated this in the writing process but sadly they went the way that meant it began to feel too long and filled with padding with events and characters you didn't care enough about. The cast deliver as always and while there are parts of the film that I liked and thought were strong it suffered from its previous entries mistakes. While the scene in which Gandalf is rescued is done well and provides a fight scene with wizards and elves against the dark lord, it feels like the mystery origin story of the villain wasn't very interesting or entertaining because you knew what was going to happen. Seriously, you know what's going to happen and this film and neither of the others provide any relevant or new information that changes the story dramatically, it just shows what Gandalf was doing while the dwarfs were off being caught every so often. However, I was glad to see a good end to the dwarfs story which to me should have been the end of the second film, but I digress. The action was fun if punctured on occasion by scenes that didn't need to be there. I think Peter Jackson could have done better by getting as far away as he could from The Lord of the Rings and concentrated on the story of The Hobbit. Maybe one of two nods to the trilogy but never in your face. Less is more.
Basically a conclusion to a trilogy that was bogged down by a subplot that didn't do anything interesting in the origin story of Sauron, coupled with the dull love story, secondary villains and perhaps an over reliance on CGI.
Just all a bit too much in the end.
The Maze Runner (2014)
It had everything but the Script
OK, the actors are good, the maze itself is brilliant and stunning but sadly the thing that lets this film fall flat is the script that cuts just that little bit too much out of the book. The book is packed with plot and character moments that are important and I can understand that adapting this book would be a real challenge but they lose too many of the moments that help build character and mystery. I find the premise falls flat after the great opening. The mystery seems to evaporate and it never gains ground as the plot is simplified just that little bit too much. The scenes go by without enough breath between them and it never quite builds in terms of character and mystery. Teresa is a good example of a character who has been made less important and interesting thanks to the plot and mystery becoming thinner. The direction is strong enough to deliver tension during the scenes in the maze but when it comes to the story telling it loses it way with too little. The movie to me should have bee 2 hours plus with events following the book more closely. Particularly with Teresa who in the film doesn't do much for the plot or story. In the book, her and Thomas can telepathically communicate making the connection between the characters stronger and making the mystery deeper and more complex. There are moments in the film where I can see brilliance but the story didn't do enough to help make them more powerful. Overall, the script over simplified a complex story. I hope the next one doesn't suffer from the same troubles.