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Making History (2017)
Entertainment that doesn't stress you out!
I'm a post-modern human being so watching TV-Series is, of course, one of my favourite things, except that shows containing a lot of earnest violence, tension, cliff hangers, love triangle situations, murder, sadness and/or a general abundance of negative situations stress me out more than they entertain me.
I'm the kind of person who enjoys shows that employ a "make-fun-of-yourself- sometimes" kind of humor, have relatable characters, plots that are fun to follow and at least one female character that's not just there to make the male ones look tough. That's why I like 'Making History'! It has/does all of the above. It's hilarious, and manages to be that without making insensitive cheap-shot jokes about gender or race! There definitely are a lot of jokes based on stereotypes, but they usually go against and not with them and I like that a lot.
I recommend this series to people who enjoy shows such as 'New Girl', 'Modern Family' and 'Parks and Recreation'. It's just really good for relaxing and having a good time, and it's also great for watching with friends that enjoy different genres of shows but all like a good laugh, since elements from several genres kind of come together here. As in those other shows the actors here seem really good at their jobs, and the terrible jokes are delivered with great comedic timing so that they are extra funny.
I would not recommend it to people who need sequences about time travel to be science-y and believable, think sarcasm is the best kind of humor and/or hate puns, because this show will probably annoy them.
Taboo (2017)
A Good Show To Watch When You're Angry
Watching this show it is obvious that it has a high production value; the images, costumes, sets and actors are all lovely to watch and together create a sense of a whole that really pulls the viewer in.
I'm aware that the title of the show is 'Taboo' and the trailer made it pretty clear that the show was going to be rough, but even so there were some things that were not in line with the high opinions I had of the people involved with making the show.
I finished the show a few days ago, but as far as I can recall all the women in the show are either prostitutes or in love with the main character who is, of course, a tall man in a long dark coat. A strong female character who enters the plot in a way that establishes her as being clever, self-sufficient and enduring ends up doing whatever the main character tells her to do, worrying about him even though he is unkind all the time, and depending on him to survive. I thought that was a shame.
Some might explain away the main character's terrible flaws by talking about how complex he is but all I read him as was a selfish, cruel man who gets away with the worst crimes and also with hurting people for no reason.
All people of colour are ever depicted doing is screaming, dying, being dead, being nightmares or being henchmen, but mostly screaming and dying. The only exception I can remember is Mr. Chichester, who is made a fool of. At the same time the white main character, who appears to have been born in England to a Native-American Mother and an English father, is repeatedly referred to as being a N-word and an 'African' and sometimes also identifies himself as being African because he spent a couple of years in Africa - after drowning an entire ship full of actual African people. Can we really not do better in the year of our Lord 2017?
If 5 of the 10 stars are for the production and the other 5 for the plot, then I'd like to give the full five for the first, which I really liked and none for the plot, which to me seems like just another show about a man in dark coat getting away with being the worst.
(DO NOT WATCH if you are sensitive to depictions of intense violence, murder, incest, rape, infanticide and child abuse.)
Barbarians Rising (2016)
A Great Use of Modern Resources, Very Captivating
I just finished watching the this series and I enjoyed it very much!
I cannot say how much I appreciated that people who were, historically, from the African continent, had dark skin. That was so lovely to see! I'd never seen a dark- skinned Hannibal before, even though it makes worlds of sense that he wasn't white. Some commentors are complaining about this and stating he shouldn't have been "African looking" because he was descendant from Phoenicians? Well, my mother and every single one of my ancestors from her side are white Germans, yet looking at me, you would not know. Human genetics sure are a thing of wonder! Trying to hide the fact that you do not want a great figure of history to look a certain way behind a pseudo-scientific comment on a TV series is a strange thing to do. Personally, I was so happy that it occurred to someone that Hannibal and his people, no matter what he looked like exactly, couldn't have been white and cast the actors accordingly because it's 2017 and it matters.
Another thing I appreciated a great deal was the diversity in the historians and other experts that were consulted. It was so so refreshing and what they had to say was extremely interesting to me! There were many historians consulted, of course, but also other professionals with relevant input. A CEO speaks when it comes to explaining the mindset of an opportunistic ruler and actual Civil Rights fighters from the USA share what they know whenever the topic of slavery arises, which it often does, or when the psyche/actions of an oppressed group needs to be analysed and explained.
Furthermore, I'd like to mention that for the first time in any historic documentary I've ever seen, not all of the historians are old white men! Young, accomplished historians of different ethnicities speak on several topics. There were a few interviews with an expert who was a woman, too, but not many. I like the idea that for the purpose of dealing with an empire that influenced so many different cultures and ways of life across such a large territory, people with different viewpoints and strengths came together. I liked that the documentary focused on a small number of female figures, too. I'd never dealt with Boudica before and now I know of her.
I do not doubt that things were left out, as this series has four episodes, each of them being roughly the length of a movie. I do, however, feel that they did very well giving the layman an overview of what resistance to the Roman Empire looked like throughout the centuries. All four directions and the borders running along them are talked about and the maps, which are shown repeatedly, are extremely helpful and visualize the shifting of the borders well. I imagine that a selection for peoples to go into detail about had to be made and I like the results.
As for the violence: Every episode starts with a warning about intense violence and there truly is a lot of fighting, killing, and a general realistic depiction of human suffering. However, unlike in many other series of this kind, there are no unrealistic amounts of blood spurting, there are no sex scenes, no zooming in on corpses with maggots everywhere and there is no nudity.
Une nouvelle amie (2014)
life-affirming
What a beautiful film!
This movie is definitely one I will recommend if asked. I enjoyed watching the plot unfold and was never bored. The visual experience is comfortable since there are many calm scenes shot in beautiful places and soft light.
Considering the subject of this film I want to point out that it might not be a movie that trans* individuals find themselves relating to a lot, but rather one that is educational for people who wish to get an impression of what changes this kind of realization brings about in a person and their relationships.
The first statement I made because David, as he undergoes his transition to Virginia, faces just enough problems to give outsiders an idea of what it must be like to find ones whole life changed in such a way while also establishing a background for her that means that her transition is mostly the only thing she has to worry about.
She is privileged in many ways and thus never faces the additional problems a lot of trans* individuals do, simply because they have to work and/or have limited funds at their disposal. Virginia is laughed at by a man in public, but other than that does not appear to live in a part of the world where she needs to fear for her safety leaving the house as herself. She is fortunate in that way, too. This is not the norm, and movie-goers should keep that in mind.
It was very good to see that there was no fuss made about the little child the main character has. Her ability to be a parent is not brought in relation with her gender identity.
Trans* individuals hoping to find themselves in Virginia might be disappointed because this movie focuses less on the worldly everyday troubles that tend to dictate a life and much more on Virginia's relationships and how they evolve together with her identity, so many conversations are specific to her situation. Cis individuals will definitely recognize their own reactions in those of Virginias friend Claire, as one tends to have them in the exact same moments as she does throughout the movie.
If by the end of this visually pleasing, beautifully underscored movie one finds oneself ashamed for having sympathized with Claire when she told Virginia that her behaviour was 'ridiculous' and that she needed to 'stop this', then one would be right to feel that way.
Jupiter Ascending (2015)
a true masterpiece
this movie is the best terrible film i have ever seen and i loved it.
it has everything pretentious movie goers hate but secretly have wet dreams about: - a convoluted plot w/ parts that lead absolutely nowhere (e.g. the weird thing Caine has about ripping throats out? what happened there? we don't know!) - completely unnecessary loss of life (epic battles amid sky-scrapers who cares about people ugh) - references to vampirism?? this is literally a story about a Russian cleaning lady queen whose nickname is JUPE and a werewolf military man who wants his wings back so sure why not - fight sequences that escalate out of nowhere, blur into explosions and glimpses of Channing Tatum's cool werewolf face and also feel as if they last a quarter of an hour heck yes - Channing Tatum's werewolf face!! - frickn disgusting looking aliens wow wth were those (i mean the tiny ones who are described as watch-dogs but look like the unholy spawn of a slug and a rat and f**k everything up all the time you'll know them when you see them) - a surprisingly cool explanation for crop circles (don't blink or you'll miss it) - did i mention the gaping plot holes? they are gr8 i swear. the whispery villain who dresses like an amped up Ziggy stardust is not above killing his mother but it never occurs to him to zap the memory of the girl who is about to take his inheritance away from him?? as in he has the technology to make her forget that she ever owned anything but no a super elaborated battle to the death is way cooler so lets do that - the frickn bees man, idk what that was but i dig it
in conclusion i'd like to say that this movie may seem like an amalgamation of every scifi cliché ever created but still there were times when i was sitting in my seat not knowing what would happen next because in this movie literally anything could happen at any given moment and it is gnarly
i like this movie so much it is so problematic yet so cool pls watch it u won't regret it!!