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davinashadow
Reviews
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)
A pain to watch for JRR fans
I already didn't expect much of this show, given where it comes from and that it is done for making money rather than giving JRR and LOTR fans a gem.
However, I didn't expect it to be THAT bad.
The positive is the CGI and the music - they are beautiful.
The negative is the whole rest that is involved.
Elves who by far lack the grace and beauty that they should actually carry. Galadriel a horribly annoying and unbelievable. Unbelievable and non-relateable characters overall. Wording that is just misplaced and boring. Cheap make-up and wigs, plastic armour that looks as such. Absolutely illogical scenes. I could go on with this.
I am on episode 6 and I am still waiting for something interesting to happen, that would make me hold my breath and sit on the very edge of my couch.
It always makes me wonder, how things like these can even happen. How is it always possible to NOT learn from the past? Peter Jackson has shown us perfectly with the LOTR what is possible. Why not take on his style of storytelling? Why think "oh we disregard the old fans, we disregard the books, and make something that'll bring us some money. We don't care for the rest."
Can not recommend for people who hold JRR and all his lore, all his wonders he created, dear, and who still think that LOTR by Peter Jackson is truly EPIC.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022)
Really nice and welcome in the 21st century!
I am from the 'old' fraction - having seen 99% of the Star Trek universe, and a lot not only once.
For Star Trek newbies this is most likely a 10/10.
For me, it's another repetition of the same storylines we have been seeing since the 60's. I understand that this is kind of a revamp of the old series, but then again it isn't. Although I know that they want to follow that good old recipe - spicing things up has never done any damage to anything!
I am happy though to see that the film industry finally embraces diversity, and that there are a lot of women present - and no degrading macho behaviour!
Spoilers:
The things which I personally find a little difficult is that we see yet another new Spock, and another new Jim (I very much loved the actors who were chosen for the latest new movies, especially as Zachary did an awesome job as Spock, Zoe as Uhura and Chris as Jim) and some of the storylines are pretty flat.
On the other hand: Awesome graphics, some pretty cool Aliens, and a character that made me cry when they died.
And the best part: The intro. Totally love it.
It's really not bad at all, but also nothing that I would binge watch over and over again.
Just to verify where I am coming from: I am a TNG and DSN "child", I really don't like Voyager, I hate the Star Trek movie 4, I love Discovery, and Picard season 1 was ok, season 2 utter rubbish for me. Love the original series, but more because it's the pillar on which everything else has been build, not because it was good. I am not a 50s/60s child, so my mindset re women and machos and back in the days SciFi is a little different (but I keep in mind that it was made for that era).
Absolutely loved all three new Star Trek movies, and very much hope they'll produce more.
2149: The Aftermath (2016)
There is just so much wrong with this movie
I will not give a synopsis, as that is easily found in various online places.
The worst moments for me were the absolutely illogical behaviours of the boy. When someone hasn't moved in over 9 years, and has already had no water whatsoever (after the failure of the pod) they will never be able to go the ways he did.
There are animals outside - and he never wondered how they survived the apocalypse? How they breath?
His Mom isn't answering for years on end - logically that should mean death. Yes, admittingly, he was a wee boy when he was thrown in the pod, but even 9 years later a small boys brain must have given up - especially when taking into consideration that he forogt so much about his former life. That he can't speak is illogical. Or that he doesn't know how to wear underpants. He must have been some 6 or 7 when he got in the pod. So his mom never taught him what underwear is? But those are just the small details, which sum up in the most illogical way ever:
A boy, abandoned by his mother, and a teenager, threatened by the outside world, finds his mother and is kind to her? Doesn't throw a fit, doesn't get emotional, doesn't have any reaction? Doesn't ask anything? Why did you do that? How could you? .....
And she still has her weird vape? Where does she get the supplies from?
Whilst the boy and the settlers had "immaculate " clothing, shaven armpits, hairdresser hair, nice teeth etc (OMG, SOOO illogical!!), oh, and wore lycra pants and tops, the mother looked indeed as if she was in a pod without anything. Except her vape.
Most illogical: An ex-society advanced enough to build the pots, would have been advanced enough to implement sport, diet pills, and astronaut food, along with the possibility of family pods so at least two people could live together.
Nothing of that happened. Jeez, more than half of the civilised world today already gobbles up tons of food supplements each day, has something like the Ringfit at home and dried food like beef jerk! (Which we know since the dawn of the human, actually)
I have done nearly a decade of medieval reenactment, as authentic as possible in Germany, and clothing that has been handsown, never looks like that when you don't have the supply of elastic fabrics, cotton and other industrialised materials anymore, not to mention needles and thread, or power for a sowing machine. And I very, very much doubt that they got their hands on a manual machine.
And the solar panels! They have solar panels on the roof but are afraid of being discovered. Erm, solar panels always produce a glare, depending on the angle a drone flies over? It is an intelligent solution, however, not when one is afraid to be discovered by the drones.
Although I love deep male voices, the narrator was completely out of place.
It could have been a calm storytelling movie, with just more thought and more realistic analysis of the human behaviour, and research on tiny home, outdoor and survival living, and it gets two stars only because for once I didn't have to see endless violence, sex and slaughter (and it seems that is all our nowadays society can film anymore)
I am an avid Scifi geek along with everything dystopian for over 40 years now, and I am starting to loose hope if I will ever see something great again.
A Castle for Christmas (2021)
Lovely movie but close to being an insult for Scotland
I actually started to watch the movie because I saw Scottish castles and wanted to give it a chance and see if I see something familiar.
I am living in Scotland for years on end now, and there's so much wrong with this movie (in terms of the Scottishness)!
The storyline reminds of Rosamunde Pilcher movies, it's cute to watch and fun as well, but very predictable.
The low rating is because this movie prides itself as being relatively accurate...
But with fake Scottish accents, completely wrong geographical video snippets (showing a castle that is on the West coast, and then they arrive at a castle that's at the East coast, which is actually just a stone throw away from Edinburgh airport) and stereotypes which as such don't exist anymore, and some very atypical, supposedly Scottish behaviour it constantly is very, very much on the brink of being insulting.
I wish I would get answers from the film industry on "Why didn't you hire real Scots?", "Why not use one of the castles in the Highlands?" and why not investigate on true Scottishness before doing such a movie?
Obviously I would be oblivious of the above, if I would not be living here for so long.
Altogether, time not wasted watching it, but also not really Scottish Scottish.