Reviews

I'm fine with suspending disbelief for a good story but when the entire premise is based on the possibility inherent in day to day reality, that's a lot more painful to do. Maybe it's a personal pet peeve but I simply can't stand when a story entirely hinges on multiple characters being way too pushy, entitled and hurried and the characters opposite them being completely incapable of communicating the very simple points that would clarify the misunderstandings that are the only reason for the intense conflict.

When a character who communicates for a living can't give the detailed explanations that would help remedy their extreme dilemma, I'm just too frustrated to care anymore. I just hate that writing trope and it happened over and over again with multiple characters and situations of contention. One would be way more pushy than is normal and the other would panic wildly and not offer the obvious words that that would end the conflict and things compound from there. It's hard to explain but I've seen it in storytelling so many times and it's infuriating to watch. You don't see it very often anymore in good productions but when it shows up its just far too ridiculous and obviously just a lazy way of putting the characters in direct, intense conflict.

In only this follwing paragraph, some almost spoilers ahead, I'll reference specific instances very vaguely, so it won't truly spoil anything but if u have seen it, you'll know what I'm talking about. If u don't want to chance it, skip this following paragraph.

There's also several plot points and character behaviors that just don't add up or maybe are pheasible but added to everything else, further enraging to watch. If only our innocent family had thought about the fact that if police can trace who's computer it came from,which they can do and the lead made mention of twice, THEN U DONT HAVE A PROBLEM. And if you're thinking along those lines, why the hell are we repeatedly using our devices to Google things and email things which would certainly implicate us? If the manipulative "victim" were so clever, why didn't she ever clue in to the fact that the most reasonable explanation for her circumstances would be that what the family was saying was true or at least discuss it with them and get more information instead of jumping to conclusions and putting everyone in their respective corners... or maybe, just maybe, stop focusing on how clever you are for one moment and notice that the person supposedly responsible for the material at the heart of this, keeps asking questions about it which make it BLATANTLY obvious that he knows nothing about the contents and therefore could not be responsible for them.

I liked the idea of the characters and their conflict but the execution was excruciating to watch. It's really such a shame because there were a lot of likeable, interesting aspects to most of the characters. There was much more potential than was achieved. The acting was all brilliant all around, I don't mean that. The direction was middling, I wanted to shove the cameraman off the merry go round in the park scene with the reporter and the Scottish thief, dear God, I got vertigo from watching two people sit still and talk. But the plot and the limitations placed on the characters robbed it severely.

The concept was a good one, sort of... the central idea was that ordinary, decent people can become murderers in the right circumstances. This concept is true and should be better explored and understood. But it's laughable when they lump serial killers with ribcage magazine racks and pedophiles with obvious psychological damage and behavioral disorders in with them like they're all the same... they aren't. And this was a poor example of when that is true. Sure, people do stupid things all the time, especially when freaked out enough to murder someone, but the characters were so distractingly shoehorned into contention by the writer and denied the common sense solutions to their misunderstandings every single time. It's just incredibly aggrevating to watch. There were aspects of most of the characters that I really liked... it could have been so much better. There's some great humor in it, which I really enjoyed. And occasionally there was a really pure moment of honest humanity and true psychology. But overall, I resented watching it.

This is so bad. It takes a lot to make me not appreciate a film but this just made me miserable from start to finish. I almost quit halfway thru because I just wanted the ride to end so badly.

-There were problems with the writing.

-Problems with the depiction of the psychology.

-Unbelievable characters and plot points.

-Lots of unlikable characters.

-Story was utterly lacking in suspense, dragged and I literally figured out the entire plot by 1/3 of the way thru.

-The thugs couldn't have been more goonish. Not in a stylistic choice kind of way; in a B movie kind of way. I've seen far better B movies, to be honest.

-Many of the positive reviews reference all of these great classics but I can't see them in this except in a handful of very derivative ways.

I would have expected this to come from some cut-rate director. It just seems thoroughly unskilled. I think the reverence for some of the names involved in this influenced some of the positive reviews. I simply can't imagine that many people truly found this gripping or interesting.

It felt like it had more potential than was fulfilled. I expected it to be a little more profound and unsettling. They had me in the palm of their hands by the end and could have really taken advantage of that but left it more like real life leaves things. Artistically, I think there was a lost opportunity there but it's not really for me to say since I don't know what their original intent was in telling this story. You can certainly draw your own conclusions as to the 'moral of the story' and what it means in relation to life in general... and perhaps that's exactly what was meant to do.

It was worth watching. I wish more films took chances like this and went by their own formula. I thought the effects were quite good, as was the general ambiance and the acting was terrific. I was expecting a very slow pace and minimalistic approach and I think its important, at least for American audiences, to know that in advance.

Good luck trying to make your inner 13 year old stop asking 'who effed that sheep?' so you can take it seriously.

I can't remember the last time a show had me so completely hooked from the pilot. I can't wait for more episodes. And to think, I almost passed it up because the plot sounded thoroughly uninteresting to me.

I can't say much about the series as a whole, only the first episode is out so far. But I would really like to encourage others to check it out. I was totally engrossed and eager for more by 30 minutes in, a huge feat for a series.

I dont think I could possibly do it justice if I tried to describe it because what's so great about it is the execution. So often, you have rich material that's unfortunately mishandled and ill-explored... that is NOT the case here. It's a thing of beauty to witness the opposite - content that could easily be kitch, perfectly realized in every aspect. And most importantly, a good soundtrack. Expertly shot and edited with superb sound effects and placement that constantly remind you of the razors edge at your throat. Even the mundane teen life scenes have an underlying tension that reminds you of what's to come. It also serves as a decent bit of time travel for those of us who were teens in the US in the 90's. You won't know from the descriptions if you'll enjoy it because the way its done is what's so great about it but you'll know in one episode if it's your bag, so why not try it?

How is no one talking about the character/actor Nils Hammer/Mads Ousdal?! Definitely the best thing happening in this series. I'm not sure what I like more, the character or the actor... Why have you been hiding this guy, Norway?!

As for the series, oof this is a hard one to judge. I am a huge fan of Nordic Noir. I've seen nearly every one that's been made. This is not the best one but it does have enough that makes it worth watching.

Many of the characters are rather 2 dimensional and while most of the acting is very good and natural, some is bland and wooden. I hate to single anyone out but by far the least enjoyable are the lead's kids, especially the daughter, its a bad role and the acting makes it even more intolerable. But to be fair to the actress, it would be hard not to make her annoying. That did get a little better in the second half though. In the first half, it felt like the writer had seen too many cheesy American movies. Between the 2D characters and the lack of unique story, the lull of the momentum made it hard to hang in there in the beginning. Within a few episodes, I was glad I did, mostly because I became invested in some of the characters. But there were still many moments that took me out of it because I thought, really they're doing that?! Every known trope, every done to death plot device, the kind of things like the old girl running from a killer, trips and twists her ankle kind of things that I thought got left behind long ago. The scene in the barn at the climax of the first half was a perfect example of this. It's almost like someone intentionally trying to write the most stereotypical scene here. Unfortunately, the entire way thru the story, I was frequently calling the next actions and plot points that were coming and wasn't very surprised by the story. The second half did get a lot better as far as that goes.

The only thing I really couldn't understand through it all was why everyone was so down on poor Wisting. Do they have completely different fathers in Norway? Compared to 90% of the fathers I've known, this guy is a frickin Saint. But his kids kept acting like they were so fed up with him and he would just stare at them, perplexed, and I would say, me too, buddy, me too... I have no clue what their problem is. I'm waiting for a season 2 backstory where they explain that he was rolling around naked with hookers and blow while their mom was dying or something because otherwise I don't get it. Guy is mourning and working his butt off to solve these terrible murders and save lives... you're always gone, Dad... like he's at the strip club or something, keeps showing up for dinner... you never spend any time with us... dude stares.... im thinking, wtf is going on here?! Also... THEY ARE ADULTS! Not to mention how the daughter keeps acting like his job as a Chief Investigator is to feed her career as a journalist. Then he saves the day, turns out the seemingly minimal amount of time he's spending away was for a very frickin good reason and benefited everyone including the family... still just pissed at him like he was playing GTA all day instead of coming to their birthday party or something... idk. Then in the second half, everyone turns on him, nicest guy there is, dude can not catch a break. *sigh* I digress.

It was still thoroughly enjoyable. The production value was great, it was still entertaining even if it wasn't very challenging. Most of the acting was very good and I love being exposed to nearly an entire cast that was new to me. Especially, as I said, the actor who plays former narcotics detective Nils Hammer, every scene he was in was on another level and scenes with him and Wisting playing off of each other were the best. Carrie Anne Moss brought her usual cool, solid performance. (BTW, although she has appeared in Hollywood films, she is a Canadian actress. Some people took issue with her being there like they needed a Hollywood name or something but I don't think that's what happened here.)

The writing could be better- plot and characters, production is great, direction is pretty good, acting is mostly very good and believable with some not so much and some exceptionally good. Overall not the best but worth watching if you're a fan of the genre, a couple of the actors will make it worthwhile. I'll watch season 2 for sure. I hope they'll get into Hammer's character more, I'd be interested to see who he was before he moved to that station, they eluded to quite a history there.

It's such a shame to me that this rating is so low. I think the biggest problem for most who don't like it is that they took it seriously, this is not the typical straight forward film. It might help that I originally saw it when it came out. I don't know if it might hit differently for current audiences. This has always been one of my favorite films that no one has seen. I have no idea how I'm just noticing it was directed by Danny Boyle. It is quirky, heavily late 90s styled, has a great soundtrack and is unlike most films. A lighthearted sense of humor, hopeless romanticism and a love of movies from throughout all of the decades and genres of film are probably prerequisites for fully enjoying this. It's a really special movie and although definitely not for everyone, I hope it gets It's due one day.

So, we're all good with picking on actual little kids? Did anyone involved think this through at all?

First of all, these animated shows are rarely ever actually funny anymore. I guess they get green lit easily because they are cheaper/easier to make and easier to get big name actors to do voice work but the writing is usually garbage and it's no better here. If u can't make me laugh after 3 bowls, u can't call it a comedy.

I think its extremely tacky and lazy to have to target a real family like this but to center it on the children?!? Actual, real life children are the center of the ridicule here... how is anyone okay with this?

IT IS WRONG TO USE AND BULLY A CHILD LIKE THIS PERIOD.

This show is absolutely maddening. There's plenty about it that, for a network/cable TV show, is compelling enough to want to keep watching... but there's so many increasingly terrible plot points that you end up clawing your own eyes out, ironically, ending up needing your own seeing eye dog. By season 2, you could make a drinking game out of how often you uncontrollably blurt out a "UGH", "oh come on!", or "why don't u just...?!"

Most of the first season is pretty good, its a little cheesy and contrived but theres enough well done, interesting bits of compelling characters and situations that you never see and yet are believable enough to enjoy the ride. There's some good acting and production quality that's really not bad for regular TV. A mix of comfortable & relatable and new & interesting. But although there was much to appreciate about the characters and their relationships, it was still fairly white savior-y and inauthentic and the overall plot was basic.

I appreciated seeing a disabled person living with all kinds of trauma and the personal manifestations of those struggles while still being a strong, relatable, lovable lead. But even she became more and more of a caricature.

The plot was ok, not groundbreaking but watchable enough until the painfully contrived twist ending, by which point it was clear that they'd had to stretch the season through too many episodes. But by season 2, its irritatingly unwatchable as they basically keep trying to squeeze every last drop out of the first season setup. It's just a myriad of ridiculous choices, unnecessary misunderstandings and forced conflict/endangerment. Not to mention all the lost opportunities on characters and relationships that just fall to the way side while painfully drawing out the ones that remain. Its just absurd.

I keep trying to just go along for the ride but I'm beyond seasick from how hard it tries to twist and turn within such a thin frame. It feels like a showrunner had an inspired moment and then instead of really working it through, just handed the basic idea off to a class of writing students to fill in the bulk of the story.

The actors, for the most part, do a great job with what little they are given but as the show stretches on, it doesn't go any deeper so the characters just get more and more thin.

I genuinely hate to criticize, generally if I write a review, its in defense of a production but this had such potential and then got so mercilessly strangled that someone, somewhere, needs to know what they did... and I'm guessing producers and execs are as much to blame as the writers. Its just a shame.

Just to be clear, like most of his work, this is manifest imagination and reflective adorations with some inspired performance and a loose skeleton of structure. Its something somewhere between art and comedy. If, for some reason, you came to it looking for something else, you'll be disappointed. If you can let go and enjoy the quirk, its absolutely wonderful.

Its topical and random, profound and meaningless and really funny. As always with this kind of thing, you need to be in the right mood and not every skit is gonna kill with everyone but I laughed enough to bother to leave this and that's saying something. Really glad I found this today, it's a shame they only had one season.

The writing is basic and obvious, that's the most painful part. Every character and plot setup is like waiting for someone to.tell u the end of a knock knock joke in slow motion. It leaves you mostly just thinking, "I know the whole thing, why am I still waiting to hear it?" Because it looks good is the answer. It's simultaneously overly imagined and yet not at all thought out. There's no depth, there's lots of silly attempts at it though, which kind of peak your interest and then leave you with things like, right, so... The Irish are all faeries and the Scots are all half sheep and the underlying theme is, 'racism is bad'.... Okaaaay. But the world is an often lovely and well imagined steampunk fantasy. Although not as fanciful as the leads love affair. The whole thing is hollow. I want to like it so much but they just won't let me. Maybe they're trying to fit too much history and plot into each episode and that's why it comes out so thin and empty... Although it feels like a slow march. I generally don't bother with these reviews unless it's in defense of something mischaracterized but this is just such a shame.

If this is your first studio film, you may be shocked by the fact that this adaptation is not the same as the source material. This is not Hawthorne's insightful, profound, crushingly depressing novel. As with most studio adaptations, it's been made more tantalizing and easily digestible with a sort of happy ending. In order to enjoy this film, you have to let go of the fact that it only borrows from the characters and theme of the novel and let it stand on its own. You also must accept that it is more entertaining and emotional and less thought provoking. Its also helpful to keep in mind that this is a very 90's studio film.

This is a solid romance movie. Gary Oldman brings painfully beautiful depth to a character that, although well written, could have easily been made off-puttingly weak and vanilla, had it been played by one of the typical leading men of the time. The movie is worth watching for his performance alone, despite being made at the eroding peak of his alcoholism. I think this was Demi Moore's finest performance. I would have never thought of casting her for this role but she delivered a believable woman of great strength and character. She could have easily been annoyingly selfish and obstinate but instead, measured with subtlety and calculation, she is both relatable and inspiring and manages to hold her own among her accomplished male counterparts. Robert Duvall gives a solid, yet uncomfortable performance. He felt a bit alien from the rest of the cast but, in a way, it suits the character. The entire supporting cast is absolutely fantastic. The score is one of the best elements of the entire film. Direction is good, there are some awkward aspects but the overall production is beautiful and well conceived.

If you take the movie for what it is and just relax, it is quite enjoyable. If you are a romantic and a fan of any of the actors, you will love it.

If you want to see a showcase of the perfection the writers, actors, editors and director's collaboration is capable of, watch SEASON 2 EPISODE 14 "PEPPERWOOD".

When this show first came out, I was intrigued, it had the bones for a good show but I wasn't quite sure if it would all come together in that magic way that a show has to in order to make it great... I gave it a chance. I am so glad that I did! The writers and actors have done a phenomenal job developing characters that are so realistic and funny. Each character has elements that remind you of yourself or someone you know, making each thing they do that much more compelling. They have definitely created something that you can feel connected to, that sort of vested interest that keeps you coming back each week while still keeping it so light and funny. That's what stands out the most for me about this show, it's a welcome reprieve from life and even most other shows which keep you tense. This show has a brevity about it that makes it so easy, almost rewarding. While the characters are still very realistic and have dramatic life issues like any of us, they just manage to bring it all out with great dialog and excellent character interaction which is just hilarious. Actually, they are very considerate as well which is very nice... and rare... but don't worry it's not saccharine at all. Of course Zooey is the gem with her quirky adorableness but the other main characters are just as incredible, most especially, her roommates. This show has everything it needs to become a much beloved, long run series.

I really enjoyed this movie. Sorta low key, more of an indie vibe. If you're in any kind of transient state in your life, relationship-wise, job-wise, whatever... if you're just one of us who feels derailed... lost... pressured.... check out this movie. It's not gonna change your life but it's really enjoyable and helps with perspective. Hat's off to Jenna, great project choice and excellent execution. Well cast. Astonishingly, this movie deals with depressing issues, most likely to be viewed by depressed people, and it pulled off something that they rarely ever do, especially in the world of indie film, it doesn't make you feel depressed, not once it's concluded at least.