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Calviin
Reviews
10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
A compelling and clever story
10 Cloverfield Lane shines insofar as Dan Trachtenberg manages to keep us on the edge of our seats with a single setting and a very limited set of characters.
The strength of the movie is the fact that it always encourages us to question ourselves about the truth behind this bunker. Just like the character, we cannot make up our minds and each new piece of evidence nulls the previous one.
Having not seen Cloverfield (from 2008), I have to admit that I don't know how to feel about the ending. On the one hand, I fell that the alien invasion plot line is actually clever, since that would mean Howard was not just a psychotic madman, but on the other hand, I would've almost preferred a 'conventionnal' ending, making the movie a regular behind-closed-doors thriller.
In any case, the execution is flawless, the tension is here, the doubt is here, 10 Cloverfield Lane is definitely one of the most powerful movies of the first half of 2016.
Jordskott (2015)
A perfectly developed and breathtaking fantasy polar.
I am someone who loves Scandinavia and folklore. What do I love more? Scandinavian folklore.
Jordskott, which begins as an apparently regular polar, builds its interesting fantasy storyline progressively as you learn to know the characters and their motivations. The different stories of the different characters relate pretty seamlessly to each other, and the show manages to build tension progressively and intelligently. The acting is also very convincing and coherent.
The visuals are gorgeous, with a good choice of colors and clever shooting locations, especially for the scenes taking place in the forest, and even the transitions between two major scenes.
The folkloric/fantastic part of the show is relatively good, even though it would have been nice to actually see more of the supernatural creatures, and not just their powers or repercussions on the plot. The characters are well designed and somewhat lovable, even though most of them, at some point, happen to make bad decisions.
The closing scene, with Josefine finally returning to where she "belongs", is a very moving moment of the show, and ends the first season beautifully.
A second season would obviously be welcome, notably so that we could maybe learn more about the creatures that used to live (and still live) in the forest, such as Muns, but also so that we can discover who exactly are the people being the organization Vaas is a part of.
In a nutshell, the show illustrates magnificently the strength of Scandinavian series, with emotion, gorgeous cinematography, immersive and well integrated CGI, coherent characters, and an really interesting and not so common storyline.
Jordskott's atmosphere and general tone reminded me a bit of Real Humans, not regarding the story but rather the overall development and the feeling it left me dealing with when it was over.
I definitely recommend this show and I hope a second season will come.