daniel-s-ogalde Reviews

Shadow and Bone (2021–2023)

Season 2 is horrible

[4/10 · 31 December 2023]

To imagine that this show would make me, an almost 40-year old man, eagerly await season 2 was a very nice surprise. Season 1 got me hooked and I loved the premise. The acting was, with some few exceptions, very good. The series looked visually stunning and the story was well written. How do you screw this up?

Season 2 is awful. It starts ok but by episode 4 you can see that someone has butchered this with the editing. Instant teleportation. Story lines that feel shorter than logical. Lots of loose ends and just soap opera dialogue.

We get no character development for the most important roles and therefore no deepened relationship to them. Result? We don't care. The focus and the pacing is weird with almost three episodes focusing on flash backs we've already seen with some strange overpowered Asian lady. So disappointed.

From (2022– )

The acting is so bad

[1/10 · 1 May 2023]

The story is an interesting one. It even has potential. The problem is the execution with the main problems being the horrible acting and dumb characters.

For example they put spikes on the road instead of boulders, why? If they want to keep bpeople away boulders would way more effective. Instead they sabotage their own car by driving over the spikes while running away from the monsters. So incredibly dumb.

The second problem is the acting which is mediocre at best. The most talented actors would be ok supporting roles along side better actors, but they can't carry a show. We also have the issue of the younger actors, especially the children. The can't act.

This show is so frustrating, unbelievable and stupid.

Motherland: Fort Salem (2020–2022)

The acting and the script

[5/10 · 31 December 2022]

As an almost 40-year old guy I'm totally aware that I'm not the shows main target audience. I can also say that I appreciate its "shallowness" as it makes it possible to have going in the background while I work and not lose the plot. It can be entertaining and the creativity is impressive.

With that being said my biggest problem with the show is it's lost potential. This could have been so much more. The main problem is the storyline that goes from epic to really petty trying to create tension where none is needed. The same interpersonal bickering is not interesting nor credible the fifteenth time it's brought up.

The acting seems to be a reflection of the script, very immature and unnatural. I dare say that basically every actor is quite mediocre. They act, they don't actually feel or believe what they're doing. It makes it fake and unbelievable. Notice how many of them have the same gestures, expressions and movements as each other. It's like mass manufactured acting.

Lastly the effects. Motherland is a show that has proven to use some cool effects. Unfortunately this is combined with some really bad ones which takes you out of the experience. With all the gestures and motions that magic requires it's already a bit over the top. The show could benefit from "less is more". You don't have to show the general talking to her daughter via a mirror, we understand and their acting skills are not good enough to hold up that kind of scene.

Raised by Wolves (2020–2022)

Pretentious mess

[2/10 · 17 June 2022]

There are many ways of interpreting this series. It's very stylish and well played and yes it started well but my god did they mess this one up. This series is so pretentious and so eager to focus on the epic news that it totally forgets to tell a real story. The characters are whiny, one dimensional and just plain boring. And the story, a flying serpent... really?!

Superstition (2017–2018)

Don't waste your time with this cringe

[1/10 · 11 July 2021]

People have mentioned Buffy as some sort of reference. Buffy knew what it was, it was fun, camp and therefor cool. This series thinks it's much more than it really is and ever could be.

The most obvious problem with this series is the bad acting. It feels like a soap opera, the cheap kind. Not even the main actors are doing a good job with facial overacting, over dramatic poses and cheesy lines. I guess they didn't have much to work with but this is painfully cringe. The dynamics between the actors is just awful.

The second issue is the story. If you wanted to be nice you could say that Superstition gets its inspiration from other creations, if you wanted to be honest you'd say that that's the only thing it has. There's no originality here. Not in the story, not in the style, not in the script.

The effects are very unstable. From ok to green screen blurry mess. If the other parts weren't so bad it could be ok but now it just adds to the pile of garbage that this series finally is.

Sweet Home (2020– )

Boring, annoying and ridiculous

[1/10 · 19 December 2020]

I suppose that if you haven't read the comic or the webtoon you're will be quite lost watching this. Unfortunately this series is plagued by a bad script, empty annoying characters and ridiculous plot. The worst thing has to be the horrible music. Is this an action or a horror? Had hoped for the latter but the music destroys any atmosphere. Save your time.