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Reviews
The Wheel of Time (2021)
You have all been robbed
I've been struggling to put into words exactly what it is that makes me dislike this tv show, the best I can do is say that Rafe Judkins has removed, changed and added so much that the resemblance to this book series is at best passing. What he has created from a classic fantasy story is a Frankenstein's monster with a rushed story that makes little sense in a world robbed of any character or depth. I watch because I love the book series, and seeing them mangle one of my favourite series is like witnessing a car crash happen in slow motion, I don't want to watch but I can't bring myself to look away.
I could go into detail, but nobody wants that so I'll save you that torment. The book readers know what the changes are, and the tv show enjoyers don't really care. Each to their own, Keeping Up with the Kardashians has been on television for 20 years so it's not like the bar is incredibly high. The crux of my criticism of the Wheel of Time steaming series is this; Rafe Judkins believes himself a better storyteller than Robert Jordan, that is the only way to explain how and why he made the changes that he did. That is the only way to explain it. There are moments that could have been book accurate, but weren't. For what reason? Only Rafe knows.
Invasion (2021)
Maybe have it on in the background
Apple+ tends to either be hit or miss, and this is a miss. Centered around the human experience of an
alien invasion rather than grand spectacle, Invasion tells a story about peoples lives just before start of the
shows namesake, Invasion.
This is an original concept, at least as far as I am aware. However, the drama we are provided in place of
aliens whizzing about with lasers is a collection of people who just are just quite frankly uninteresting. The crux
of the issue and why people are reviewing Invasion so poorly, is that in the face of the world coming to an end a boy standing up to his bullies, while heartwarming, feels unfulfilling.
Without the aliens taking the stage in any meaningful way you are left with what seems like a story of unfortunate events that happen to people who are mostly unaware that it's aliens.
Star Trek: Discovery (2017)
Only watch if you've never watched Star Trek before
I've found that this show is more enjoyable if you consider it non-canon, but not by much. Star Trek Discovery has very little in common with the tv series that precided it, which is a shame because they still hold up without the modern special effects. If you love the older shows your reaction will range from bitter dissappointment to seething anger. If this is your first Star Trek experience then I'm sure its an entertaining sci-fi show. That being said its as deep as a parking lot puddle so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
It is not all bad, but those few bright spots are few and far between. Every episode must culiminate in some deep emotional connection or realisation, it becomes exhausting and I am only halfway through the third season.
My main gripe with this television show can be put into one thought, and that is that whomever is in charge either never watched Star Trek, or never liked it in the first place. Most of the characters do not behave like Star Fleet officers, and the stories mostly consist of go here and do a thing, the only character I can say for sure that would fit in the Star Trek universe is Saru.
Poor story telling and very badly written characters, I'd say watch Next Generation, Data's poetry has more heart than this show.
Tenet (2020)
Great movie, still don't understand.
Warning: If you found Inception confusing you're going to have a bad time. If you enjoyed Inception then this film is right up there.
There is a video of Christopher Nolan (the director and writer) explaining the story telling process of Momento, another one of his fantastic films. The story of this film is like that except that it is two rings that overlap and interchange except we are perceiving it along a linear timeline. I know that doesn't make sense, but the very nature of this movie makes you question the concept of time in both our perception of it and how it interacts with our physical universe.
This film will take a few watches to grasp everything that is happening, but the fact that 2 days later I am still thinking about it means it is a fantastic film.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)
Very Disappointing
I have to say not all aspects of this film were bad. The visuals were quite good, and the acting as well on the mostly, but there were a number of aspects to the film that let it down in a number of areas. The one that I found most annoying besides the poorly plotted and tenuous story was the score. Very rarely did the score match what was happening on screen, whoever took charge of this somehow managed to ruin showing Hogwarts. It completely takes you out of the moment. It may seem like I am nitpicking but the camera work is what I can only describe as unimaginative. Overall give this film a miss until it comes out for mainstream distribution, I couldn't wait for it to end.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Better than I expected, but still no good.
Is this the worst superhero movie of all time? No. Is it the best superhero movie of all time? Still no. After the initial reviews and finally getting to see it, I can see why it got panned by critics, but also why fans loved it. Ben Affleck as Batman is better than I expected, dare I say he would make a better Batman if he was under the direction of Christopher Nolan. My only issue with him is that he isn't "Batmany". The world's greatest detective, master of stealth and subterfuge I did not see evidence of. Maybe he's just a different version of Batman than what I am used to, but in this movie he fights with brawn more than brain a lot of the time. Then again Alfred claims that Bruce was a master of deception from a young age. The biggest transgression being when he stole the kryptonite from Lex Luthors labs, it looked like a warzone, implying he waltzed in and just wrecked anything in his way.
Generally what this movie suffers from is bad writing. For the average person they don't really notice, or care. Ignoring the plot holes, and there are some, it is just shoddily put together. Superman vs Batman relies on the spectacle, but lacks real substance. I have a feeling it will go the way Man of Steel did for me. On the first view I thought, hey this is pretty good. On the second viewing it was so boring I barely paid attention. This movie I think is an improvement, but really the story lacks depth for it to stand the test of time.
I do think people are being too harsh on this film, and that many critics are jumping on the bandwagon. The amount of nitpicking is ridiculous, as well as expressed by people who don't know the universe this picture is set in, and won't take the time to try and find out.
As a writer there are badly written movies that you enjoy anyway, that have some endearing characteristic that lets you ignore the stories flaws, but this is not one of those films.
Colony (2016)
Like a Lazy Sunday
I've always liked sci-fi, and after shows like V and Falling Skies I was looking forward to watching this. To put what this show is like simply, I watched the entire first season over a weekend, but I didn't get that feeling of emptiness you get when something finishes and you have to wait for the next.
What this show lacks is that its too in between. Its not quite an action, not quite suspense, not quite sci-fi. There is no focus on one aspect, instead it molds all of that into one story, or should I say tries to. If Falling Skies is a Friday night, then The Colony is like a lazy Sunday.
Being the first season I'd like to think that it could become a truly great show, not all series can be as good as Firefly on their first go.