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Reviews
De brutas, nada (2019)
Is it even a comedy anymore?
This is the second time I watch a Mexican " comedic" series (first was Sobrevivir Soltero) and it had the same problems. It starts with a good idea, likeable characters, a few very good moments, then it bursts like a soap bubble. In both cases, the first series was good enough to make you wait for the following, but instead of having the same atmosphere, the second series was just a mosaic of stressfull situations and nasty people doing nasty things masked as a comedy. If that's because of a lack of ideas or just a poor choice I don't know, but it sure is a missed opportunity. Makes you want to stop watching it, so definitely the latter.
Almost Paradise (2020)
Old style entertainment
Good old action fun without presumption. Reminds me of older series from the 80s/90s. Only thing is, the protagonist recently started talking with a very low voice (Arrow style) that can put you to sleep, because apparently that's how heroes are supposed to talk nowadays: mildly annoying. Otherwise the actors are good enough, the atmosphere is a nice mix between classic detective action and comedy, the location is different from the usual. Interaction between the various characters could be deeper (they just started to develop something but the series ended, really hope there will be a third season). Don't understand why in the second season they just dropped the main character's heart condition: it made him more human. Overall the series is pretty enjoyable and it's nice to see Kane back in action: he was good in Angel (Buffy's spin-off).
Cómo sobrevivir soltero (2020)
Let down by 3rd series.
What happened? The first two series were so good, while the third one just concentrates on very cringeworthy humor, which makes you feel uncomfortable more than entertained most of the time. Sorry to say that, but the series is not funny anymore, just hard to watch. Is this what people want, or did they just ran out of good ideas? I hope they realize and go back to the old pace because, why change something that works? Then, of course, maybe this will be a great success and it's just me not liking the humor but really, I was watching it to disconnect, not to feel bad about all of them living awful situations that are supposed to be comical but are, in fact, annoying.
Team Marco (2019)
Please forgive this Italian guy's curiosity
Couldn't really watch this movie because of Anthony Patellis's accent, so I am keeping the vote as neutral as possible and just ask a question. As an Italian I have a legit doubt: do Italian-Americans really speak with that accent that sounds forced out of a cartoon? Or is it just a loop in which in movies they have to because people expect them to do that, even though nobody does it in real life? I find it so weird. Italian is a musical language, why on earth in these kind of movies would it sound like a robot exaggerating every ending consonant and unable to tie two words together? I might have lost a good movie, guess I'll never know because my ears started bleeding. Thanks for your time.
Our Italian Christmas Memories (2022)
American-Italian Christmas Memories
First of all, please consider that what you see in American movies is American-Italian and hardly ever Italian. Immigrants brought their traditions with them, often from small towns, they became famous there and now everyone believes they are in Italy too. For instance, I had never heard of the Feast of the Seven Fishes until I watched the American movie by the same name: nobody knows about it here, apart maybe from some small area in the south (Like mandolins, for God's sake please stop using them in every Italian movie you make :-) ). It was funny to hear them say "Sugo is regional" when the word just literally means sauce (sometimes used to describe tomato sauce, as you can imagine not a regional thing). Unfortunately the movie is right about one thing, kids not wanting to learn how to cook, people stopped learning a couple of generations ago or more. The movie itself is not bad compared to others in its genre, at least it's not just the copy/paste big town person going to a small town and falling in love, there's more here. Just one more thing that makes me smile: nono/nona means ninth in Italian, you need to add an "n" in the middle to make it grandparents. Would I recommend this movie? If you, like me, are addicted to feel-good Christmas movies I would definitely say yes.
Andor (2022)
British Star Wars
A lot of people seem to like it, so it must be me. I like a slow pace movie or series when there's something deep to describe, when the plot slowly develops, or even when the aim is to show good photography. Unfortunately Andor is not the case, with its infinite serious but shallow dialogs. That's what Andor is: serious people saying and doing serious but pretty basic things in a grey environment (Sorry but who mentioned Blade Runner said an heresy). And the plot? So far similar to Obi Wan, people chasing, people running away or hiding. I did my best to like it, I gave it a chance till the fourth episode, but that's where my run with the series ends. Nothing to say about the actors, the cast is good, their performances believable even in a sci-fi context. All very, very serious, but in a tedious way.
Toscaanse bruiloft (2014)
TIL there aren't modern cars in Tuscany apart from Fiat 500.
You know a movie is good when the people from the foreign country it's filmed in are just a clownesque farce from the 50s. You know there has been a deep research when the soundtrack is folk music from the South of Italy that has nothing to do with Tuscany. You know there was attention to detail when the name "ambulance" is written in Spanish (that one was particularly absurd). Plotwise, as shallow as humanly possible (it starts raining when things get dramatic, how convenient). My Dutch friend warned me but I had to see it with my own eyes.
Angel: The Girl in Question (2004)
Worst episode of the whole series
Makes the episode with puppet Angel look serious. Italians are frivolous stereotypes with laughable accents; "Rome" looks a lot like a recicled Paris set I've seen in various other movies and it probably is; seeing "Buffy " dance reminded me of post mortem clones of Bruce Lee in those cheap Hong Kong productions; the plot is forgettable and not in tone with the series' atmosphere. Seriously, what were they thinking? Fortunately just a faux pas in an overall very good series.
The Shannara Chronicles (2016)
Bring the noise
My girlfriend likes it, so I decided to give it a try. The fact that the show is different from the books really didn't bother me, although it's true what other people said before me: acting is pretty lame and it looks like the target is teenagers. I've watched worse series than this one, so I persevered until... well until I couldn't take it anymore because of the constant background music that follows you non-stop during the entire episode. It's loud, sometimes interfering with the dialogues; it's far too dramatic: even when someone boils an egg you hear a loud TADAAAAAN! And, guys, it never gives you a break. Don't know whose choice was that, but it was definitely a poor one. First time in my life I had to stop watching something because of the soundtrack.