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Rulley
Reviews
The Strain (2014)
Cool take on vampires, ruined by terrible writing.
The first 10 minutes of the pilot was just painful to watch. It was like the opening of fringe but with terrible writing. I coulden't help but cringe when the air traffic control man says that the plane looks so much bigger in person then on his screen. What! Has this guy never been on a plane or near one? Talk about a terrible line. The awful writing continues from there with an absolutely unbelievable series of events involving how the CDC and government handled the situation. This show is not one that makes you think it could be possible. You must suspend every bit of logic and reason, if you wish to enjoy it. I am not talking about the fantasy aspects.
Fortunently the rest of the episode is picked up by it's great cast, and good production.
There were times in the pilot that my low review made it all the way up to 7-8 stars. The vampire feeding and spreading process was very cool. I loved the blood sucking worms, disease, CDC, and take on the subject matter. I am unsure if I will end up lowering or increasing my rating. I will give it a few more episodes.
Satisfaction (2014)
*Do not make your judgment of Satisfaction based on the commercials*
USA would like you to believe that this is their Thursday night sexy and erotic soft-core porno about marriage dissatisfaction. The commercials made me (an early 20s male) not want to see the show at all. If not for a friend's recommendation I would not have watched one of the best pilots I have seen this year.
Satisfaction is not afraid to ask the hard questions. What is the point of the American Dream? What is living a worthwhile life? Neil Truman has reached the pinnacle of the working mans dream. He has everything a man could want and yet he still can't see the point. Why work so hard making money, when you don't get to spend any of it with the ones you love? His wife is living the "perfect woman's life". She has nice things, a daughter, and a job. The one thing she wants is more attention from her husband. Their daughter Anika, goes to a great school, has a family with money, and everything society says will make her happy. And she too is dissatisfied. It is sad that all three just want each other and instead go elsewhere for satisfaction. Funny enough the highly paid male escort is the only person who seems happy. The pilot goes on to be full of twists and turns as each character fights to find satisfaction in their own way.
I connected with satisfaction because I too ask the question, am I content with the "perfect" life society sells us. Why am I going to college? I am getting in debt just so that I can get a piece of paper, which allows me to get a job. So that one day I will make money, have a family, retire, and die. What is the point?
Are you satisfied with the life you are "supposed" to live?
Matt Passmore, Blair Redford, and Michelle Deshon were fantastic. Each had several scenes that I enjoyed. Matt Passmore plays a strong lead character; Blair Redford played a male escort that I found myself rooting for on more then one occasion. Michelle Deshon had a brilliant scene at her school talent show. I unfortunately cannot say the same for Stephanie Szostak. For some reason she never seemed believable to me, and her performance annoyed me.
Writing 8/10 Cast 8/10 Directing 10/10 Production 10/10
I look forward to seeing if they can keep as high a production value for the following episodes.