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Reviews
Focus on Infinity (2014)
Unique and poetic
Whether this is a documentary is debatable. It doesn't set out to explore or prove a specific point. I would rather call it an ambient film: it immerses us into a world that exists hidden from the general public, allows us to get a feel for the world of physics research at our own pace and leisure. We get to see beautifully filmed landscapes, giant telescopes and cold underground sites, often as static images or deliberately slow pans and long cuts. Accompanied by sounds from the environment, like buzzing lamps, or sparsely decorated by an eerie ambient soundscape. From time to time, someone tells us about their views on cosmology, religion, philosophy, or the human condition. Their views are widely varied - as much as these people are bound by the subject of physics, so far apart is their interpretation of it. There is no conclusion to be made from these interviews, and that, in my opinion, is the greatest accomplishment of this film. If you can handle not being led to conclusions, love photography and ambient music, then I think this is a great watch. If you want a documentary that explains the current state of the research, there are plenty of other fish in the sea. This one is unique and poetic, an ode and a lament to the human condition. I found it profoundly beautiful.
De slag om de Schelde (2020)
Creaking at the seams
Given the reviews I read here, I thought this movie would be at least as good as, or better than Dunkirk. And I must say, it certainly looks the part. I loved the cinematography, the costumes and the sets. To my eye it all looked believable. The music was well done, and the acting certainly good enough.
Where it all falls apart is in the story department. This movie tries to bring the story from many different points of view - but does it in a slow, meandering way. By the 30-minute mark, we've been introduced to many different characters - from soldiers on both sides, to your normal citizens and then some. These characters are all fleshed out in great detail. We know who their parents are, what job or function they have, and why they are where they are. But nothing actually happens. There is no sense of urgency, of cadence, of story arc or crescendo. There is also no feeling that these stories are meaningfully intertwined. My feeling in the end, was that this movie doesn't know what it wants to be about. Is it a drama about daily life under occupation? An action film about a historical battle? A resistance thriller? A philosophical piece that asks the big questions about war? It tries to be all of these, but it's creaking at the seams.
And because of that lack of focus, I was bored halfway through, and I stopped watching.
For All Mankind (2019)
Could have been great if it just stuck to the initial premise
I rate the first season a solid 7/10. I liked the alternate history setting, both the internal politics of NASA and the international implications of them, the exploration of space, and some of the personal drama. Acting and direction were not up to the highest standards, but certainly good enough for me. The set pieces, costumes and music were great and led to my suspension of disbelief. But it lacked a bit of grandiosity that I expected of space exploration, and the pacing could fluctuate wildly from boring to exciting during an episode. I also disliked that almost every character is an alcoholic, and that binge drinking is presented as both the ideal way to celebrate as it is to solve personal problems. But most of all, as the series progresses, the characters start taking more and more irrational decisions, to the point of utter stupidity. This didn't sit well with me because in my view, astronauts are supposed to be straight-thinking, intelligent and rational people, able to make split-second decisions in the worst of circumstances. The astronauts in this series? Not so much.
The second season though, it focuses almost entirely on the drama. Episode 4 for instance, plays entirely on earth. We don't even get to see mission control. All we get is people making bad decisions, losing it, having fights, regrets, and personal issues. This could have been fine if the drama was rooted in the story and the characters, but I didn't get the feeling that this was the case. To my mind, it came out of nowhere and most of it is utterly implausible. To the point where not only do the characters seem irrational, but just plain fickle. And that confuses me so much that I lost all interest in this series. I stopped watching season 2 in episode 4. Therefore I wouldn't recommend this series to my friends. It's a shame, it could have been great if it just stuck to the initial premise.
Treadstone (2019)
This could have been so good
I expected an exciting action thriller. What I got was a confusing mess. A few distinct storylines are mixed up wildly, cutting from one to the other in an almost random fashion. The characters in this story are action thriller tropes, you've seen all of them before. The same goes for the plot, it is entirely predictable from the get-go. The camera work is either too static or too sloppily done from the shoulder, with many camera angles not suiting the type of lens mounted or resulting in distracting imagery. The editing is confusing too, with many scenes ending with at the wrong moment or on awkward rhythms. I quite liked the acting itself, and I think the action choreography is amazing. It's just a shame the actors had to work within the confines of a low class production. What a shame, this could have been so good :'(
Giri/Haji (2019)
Dark, depressing, filled with substance abuse
I watched all episodes and apart from one cringe-worthy arthouse scene near the end I didn't skip anything. So, I do think this series has it's merits. However, quite a few times during the series I found the actions of the protagonists entirely unbelievable. Some scenes were also downright boring to me, to the point where I lost all interest and had to force myself to continue watching. But what really annoyed me is the drug abuse. Nearly all characters smoke and drink daily, and it's never just one drink either. But when they get in trouble, it's the age-old "I need a drink", and that's the hallmark of substance abuse. It got on my nerves. Apart from that, a few characters are casually smoking weed, sniffing coke, and doing whatever they can get their hands on. Given that the story itself is not a happy one, that the protagonists are corrupt and guilt-ridden, that substance abuse is such a casual thing, this series made me feel depressed and therefore I will not watch it again, nor will I recommend it to friends. If you love film noir and you don't mind the substance abuse, your opinion might be very different from mine.
Food: Truth or Scare: The Truth About Alcohol (2016)
Lots of drinking in this one...
This is popular science, with lots of popular and little science. It shows imagery of people drinking all the time. The maker of this so called 'documentary' invites them to do so, for example to 'find a cure for hangovers'. And many of these people stress that they 'do like a glass, yes'. Given the title, I would have expected to find a lot of good science and hard facts. Instead I got the feeling I just saw an add for the alcohol industry. To avoid, unless you are looking for a reason to have a good drink. After all, you could do it to find the truth. Right?