Reviews

So here's my take on this:

The show is very well crafted. Visuals, soundtrack + sound design, casting and acting are all 10/10. Seriously.

However, the story is only "just" a 7/10. It's not bad. It's good, even. But Tolkien's work and the Peter Jackson adaptions have been 10/10 masterpieces. So seeing a 10/10 story adapted into a 7/10 plot, can be disappointing. I can see why fans of Tolkien don't love this show.

That said, I do not think it's fair to hold this show or any other media to the LOTR-trilogy standard. Nothing will ever touch it. This show is the only fantasy TV show that I even dare to compare to Game Of Thrones (while not nearly as good). That in itself, is already a big accomplished.

Also, we need to keep in mind that Amazon *does not* have the full rights to Tolkien's works. They're very limited in what lore they can adapt.

Overall, I think that Amazon has done a stellar job on this show. I'm very interested to see more.

I have honestly never been so touched by a pilot episode. It's only been one episode and I already feel like I've been in a rollercoaster ride. This episode is heartbreaking, gut-wrencing and a spectacular opening to what might become a legendary show.

This is simply 60 minutes of peak Game Of Thrones. 10/10.

Toy Story is a legendary franchise and Buzz Lightyear might be among the most iconic animated characters ever created. Taking risks and telling an unique story with these priceless assets is therefore a daunting task. A task which Pixar could not fulfill.

Characters in the early scenes of the movie are well written and the relationships well established. The newly introduced characters (which you spend most of your time with) are not. They all got potential, but they fail to connect with Buzz and therefore fail to connect with the audience. The main antagonist has the same issue. He could've been an interesting character, but Pixar went for the easy route instead. This means that we got to see a very generic evil villain, one of which we've seen countless times before.

The plot was predictable. Lightyear never tries to surprise you, stun you, wow you or shock you. You simply go from A to B to C (sometimes with an obstacle in the way) till the movie is over.

Lightyear isn't unique. Lightyear isn't touching. Lightyear isn't worthy of being called a Pixar production.

Except the cat, the cat was incredible.

Let me get this straight: this isn't a perfect movie. It definitely has flaws. But this is Zack's vision, and it's beautiful that after everything that has happened, he has been given the chance to do this. For himself. For the fans. For Autumn.

It's 90 minutes of clever jokes, catchy songs and a wholesome story. I guess you could say it's 90 minutes of more Phineas and Ferb, and I couldn't have wished for more!

I have a love/hate relationship with musicals. I absolutely love The Lion King, Les Mis and Hamilton, and absolutely hate everything else. I know, it's weird. My sister is a theater kid, and used to blast Hamilton back in 2016. This is how I was introduced to Hamilton. At first I was annoyed, but the hiphop influences interested me in so I started to listen Hamilton by myself. Back then the only musical that I even tolerated was The Lion King. I fell in love with the music and the story. It made me want to visit the show. I have been to The Lion King multiple times and loved it each time, it's actually a huge part of my youth. But living in Europe, I couldn't just go out and buy a ticket for Hamilton. Instead I waited. And after 4 years of waiting, I was finally able to experience Hamilton in full. And let me tell you: it was worth it.

If you're going to watch this movie, avoid any spoilers, even spoiler free reviews. Which is why I'm not going to say anything about the movie. Not even my opinion. All I'm going to say is:

The crowd applauded 3 times during the movie, and stood up to clap their hands after. This I have never witnessed in a Dutch cinema. Dutch crowds aren't usually passionate about this. I checked the row where I was sitting, and people were crying. After the movie, I was seeing people with smudged mascara. That's all I have to say about the movie.