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Reviews
Avoidance (2022)
I really wanted to like it because I like Romesh but overall it's dull and awkward
I am a big fan of Romesh when he is playing himself. He has acting potential and his dry delivery of one liners never misses but ultimitely the show feels like something is lacking and it just isn't particularly funny. It's a very boring plot and the dialogue does not make up for it. I find alot of the scenes/ dialogue to be empty, drawn out and often awkward. There are no laugh out loud momements but there are some mildy humorous aspects. I want Romesh to explore all creative outputs but for me he really shines when he isn't as strictly scripted and responding to other actors. Unfortuntely some of the acting is not the best and it doesn't help the with akwardness of the line deliveries and lack of substance of the plot etc.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023)
A terribly disappointing pantomime masquerading as a Hunger Games movie
This movie was terrible in every fundamental aspect. I can not understand the 'nuance' viewers seem to be finding that lends to the overall rating. I can see why children or young teenagers might like it as it ticks some of the boxes that the Twighlight saga did in terms of concepts, tropes and it's connection to the much loved Hunger Games series. For adults, it was boring and a far cry from the earlier movies.
This may be controversal given people have praised the singing but in my opinion, no matter the technical accumen of the singer in performing live, the songs were poorly written and it was an extremely odd, ill-fitting and annoying aspect of the movie. I felt as though i was being forced to listen to that annoying musical friend who thinks they're a great songwriter, and so sings their 'original music' at every opportunity, no matter how unwelcome. Just as the singing was distracting and uncomfortable, the dialogue and (over-) acting were terribly forced. I must say it's likely not the actors' fault but more the writing and the direction (with the caveat the actual professional writers were likely snubbed or under tremendous pressure). However, i would say the result was a pantomime like feel and this was only emphasised by the silly musical element. For example, the farsical singing the snakes away scene, which was meant to be serious and impactful, but was actually just laughable and uncomfortably drawn out. I felt I was watching Dora the Explorer musical gone wrong and i wanted the snakes to win. Singing aside, generally, It's difficult to feel immersed and to relate or care for the actors when the dialogue is so forced and delivered in an overly emphasised pantomime-like way. It's easier to see the chracters as one dimensional when the acting is overdone and the writing is ammature/ fanfic like. This was particularly evident in the delivery from Dinklage, which had me cringing and laughing consistently because i could not take anything he said seriously. Moreover, the motivations of the characters, as well as their development, were utterly lacking. Snow's actions made no sense and were contradictory. He read to me as a pycho having multiple personality episodes, and whose actions were purely random as a consequence. The romance was also abrupt and confusing; how could the audience care for a romance between a couple who just met and had no meaningful interactions other than 'you saved me that one time'. Consequently, it appeared to me as a poorly written fanfic for teenagers that was hastily made into an overly long movie where the director was a theatre kid who demanded it have musical moments, and told the actors to make up some of the dialogue on the spot.
Finally, the sets were boring. I did not find the 'warehouse', which took up a significant portion of the movie time to be an exciting or thoughtful location. It was a lazy bland choice and paled in comparison to those used in the original series. All of the deaths that happened there were not impactful, just filler. In fact, if Lucy Grey had perished, i would not have minded; it would also have meant the writers couldn't merely rely on her being the only significant factor underpinning Snow's nonsensical character development. Really she had no meaningful or logical impact on the sotry or his transgression anyway.
Simply put, you can not compare the original series to this pile of doodoo. I wouldn't even call this movie related if it wasn't meant to be Snow's backstory. I gave two stars as a nod to the VFX, props, make and hair teams but really it's a zero for the movie. Go back and re-watch the original Hunger Games instead...
Sneaky Pete (2015)
Season 1: 7.9 stars. Season 2: 6. Season 3: 5
I liked season 1 for its decent acting and cinematography, intriguing and well designed plot. However, it very quickly goes down hill with a lot of repetitive scenes, such as table discussions, introductions or reintroductions and overly dramatic truth telling. The acting continues to worsen from season 2 episode one onwards, with a lot of unconvincing, overacting that crucsendos such that season 3 is a cringe inducing viewing experience. The plot, including the cons and twists becomes lot less impressive and engaging in season 2. By season 3 any semblance of plot or direction is ivisierated and all that is left is a collection of cheap and tacky scenes strung together awkwardly. In season one I felt invested in the shows characters and relationships; by season 3, I couldn't care less and I felt as though several new actors with uncomprelling story lines and/ or contributions were continually being forced on me. Several twists regarding long lost family members were silly, repetitive and uncompelling; truly a lazy and overused plot device!
It is as if the director(s) and/ or writers for season 1 went missing in one fall swoop as season 2 set off. I am so disappointed and I can not believe the rave reviews on here. Sure watch season one but honestly, I wouldn't bother with 2 or 3. Perhaps they needed to better incentivise their writers ey?