pauljonasdesign Reviews

The Changeling (2023– )

Never watch this!

[1/10 · 23 January 2024]

The Changeling starts off like a quirky romantic comedy but by episode 3 it turns into a horror story. I was sickened that it tricks you in then involves you in a violent horrible story that you didn't sign up for.

Other Reviewers here seem to talk about the great cinematography and the 'pacing'. Well this series lost me at the beginning of episode three. Episode two was a downer but three hit rock bottom.

Who watches this stuff? I've never understood horror. Do people need to see degradation and injury in order to feel something? Why would anyone keep watching? Why is this on Apple TV+? The acting at the beginning was so good. I'm not going to wade through this horror to see if there is a redemption arc. Do yourself a favour and don't watch it.

Poor Things (2023)

Nasty arty horror porn of a film

[1/10 · 19 January 2024]

I think this is a misogynistic film. Maybe also a pedophiles' dream as Bella the central character has a babies brain. It's a tired old trope that the woman is supposedly in control 'exploring her sexuality' when in fact she is a victim of all the men who create her or study her; or desire her. It's a nasty arty horror porn of a film.

It's sort of like a Frankenstein's fairy story but the central message, if there is one, is something dark and disturbing about a constructed woman who is like a child and has no guilt. But yuk it is all very disturbing. Maybe it's exploiting the trope of a wild and 'innocent' woman who is also highly sexed. A sort of male fantasy. Like Ex Machina she's constructed by men so she can be under their power. Or any number of Luc Bresson films like Fifth Element, Nikita etc.

The production design, the sets are admittedly amazing, but maybe that's to just to sugar the pill of the rest of the film's bitterness. No woman chooses to work in a brothel because she 'needs sex and money'.

I know this film is based on an award winning book but all the controversy seems to be about the film not being set in Glasgow like the book. I would have thought the controversy would be about the Frankenstein monster of a film about an artificial women/baby. It's not funny and it's not clever, just nasty.

All the Light We Cannot See (2023)

Interesting but strange

[5/10 · 6 November 2023]

I wanted to like this series but I do find the language a bit like a magic realist book and not naturalistic enough for me in a war-based scenario. People seem to talk in a way which is overly 'meaningful' or philosophical. It's like it's trying to be the 'Book thief' but not achieving it. I also found the set up of the war situation a bit confusing. Didn't the Americans only bomb during daylight and the British bomb at night? And why could no one leave the city because it was locked? Surely people could escape. And why is the blind girl making these radio broadcasts and how could that Jules Vernes 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea be a code, unless the text has been altered or certain words need to be picked out as in a classic book code?

Secret Invasion (2023– )

Terrible writing, nonsensical, boring piffel

[1/10 · 29 June 2023]

What the hell happened to the writing in this series? Nick Fury has become 'old' so is therefore stumbling around and has some sort of PTSD or something. Various improbable plot points happen in the first few scenes, a very trusting paranoid guy and huge bits of exposition tell Nick Fury his own story and why in 30 years he hasn't found the Skrull a new home planet. I fell asleep twice watching this because it is just so boring. Why don't Disney spend more on the writing and less on the effects? They are treating the audience as idiots. This will just fritter away the credit of Marvel. Compared to Jack Ryan on Amazon with it's great characters and story telling this looks like it was written by Ai. I won't be watching the rest of this piffle.

Citadel (2023– )

Trying to be Bond and failing

[2/10 · 29 April 2023]

Oh dear I did want to like this. Right from the beginning it looked overly CGIed. The characters tried a bit of bondesque cool dialogue that felt unreal. Chopra Jonas struts through a train with 'honey trap' written all over her. Any spy who was bumped into by her would be stupid to not realise what she was in her overly revealing dress. A bit of boring flirty dialogue with Madden trying out his generic American accent. Then into the straight out of Bond fight in a train toilet where both actors take impossible numbers of blows like three elbows to the head! Then out of nowhere loads of shooting stabbing and impossibly smashing a laminated high speed trains window. Weirdly unreal and boring and nothing new. Nothing like as good as 'Night Agent' or 'The diplomat'. Unwatchable my partner and I turned it off after the first few scenes.

The Diplomat (II) (2023– )

Snappy dialogue and a great cast

[8/10 · 20 April 2023]

I thought this was a great start. Seen first two episodes. The dialogue really is snappy and had me laughing. Liked all the cast. It's to me like a mix of the West Wing and a political thriller. Great cast and good central characters, great settings in London.

To me it doesn't have to be all car chases and machine guns. It has some twists so far. So keeps me interested. I love shows with a bit of gritty language dropped in by powerful clever people trying to work to hold the world together and not just focussed on the usual 'baddies'. Liked the fact the woman is the diplomat and her husband an ex diplomat. The staff around them all great. British politicians played by great actors too and are not stereotypes.

The Undeclared War (2022)

Bloody Brilliant

[9/10 · 2 July 2022]

This was a really good watch. I've only seen first three episodes. Great actors. Interesting story. I think some of the haters don't like the ethnically diverse cast but they won't say that directly. Make up your own mind.

Utopia (2020)

Killed off a major likeable character episode 2!

[1/10 · 26 September 2020]

I haven't seen all of the uk version. But that's not the issue got me about this US version. If you kill off a major likeable character in Episode 2 then I am not going to watch any further! End of story. End of review!