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Reviews
Oderbruch (2024)
Can compete with DARK in terms of ambition and scope
Rare quality show on ARD with international cast
Without spoiling where this is going: I recommend watching the whole series either in one go or split into two.
Definitely watch the first 3 or 4 episodes back-to-back, since the first episode alone is not a good representation of what the show is like on the whole.
Those of us who live in Germany know better than to expect good writing, direction and cinematography on top of okay acting.
We do have a number of extremely talented actors here, but more often than not, the production around them fails them completely.
Not the case with "Oderbruch".
It starts benignly enough with a flood situation of the river Oder near the German border to Poland, but the flood is, like many things in this wildly ambitious series, merely a metaphore.
I mentioned DARK in the title. This series has nothing to do with DARK in terms of content or plot. It's totally different in every single way except one: like a folded piece of paper, both Oderbruch and DARK unfold bit by bit. And every time a new information is added, the nature of the series is changed forever.
This makes this series not only watcheable, but rewatcheable. Even the first episode, which as I said does not represent what the show is like, gives you more the second time around.
Not only is Oderbruch twisty, different and interesting. It is also ambitious. If a second season gets made, I am sure the story will expand even further in its scope. I am very willing to sacrifice the Fernsehgarten for that, even though the bosses at ARD would disagree with me.
Mr. Malcolm's List (2022)
I feel like Mr. Malcolm didn't deserve Selina
The premise of the movie is quite simple: a wealthy gentleman has a number of requirements that he is looking for in a wife, which he put together in a list. When he spurns Julia, the protagonist Selina's best friend, amongst other reasons because "she bats her eyelashes too much" and Julia appears in a horrible caricature that greatly tarnishes her reputation (a big deal for her, not so much for him). Julia enlists Selina to be the perfect bride to be for arrogant Mr. Malcolm, and Selina reluctantly agrees.
The problem: Selina is not much of a schemer, and is way too nice for a charade like this, and as she gets to know Mr. Malcolm, she starts to feel that he isn't the evil man that Julia makes him out to be. And I agree; he is 't evil by any means. But he is callous, and uncaring about other people's feelings and also ignorant on women's station in life and how a silly caricature may be an annoyance for him but devastating for Julia. Even as he gets closer to Selina and knowing that Julia is her best friend, he keeps making snide comments about Julia and other women as well.
This I found vulgar and unenjoyable and it has made me dislike Mr Malcolm a lot. Selina's kindness and empathy is wasted on a character that will never apologize to Julia or even be understanding of her. Is Julia being a petty villain who obstructs Selina's happiness? Yes, but Mr. Malcolm deserves every bit of that, even if Selina doesn't.
I wish Mr. Malcolm had some redeeming qualities, but apparently he can only be civil to Selina's face, and is otherwise still the entitled person he was in the beginning.
Napoleon (2023)
Even if you don't care for accuracy, this was also dull and tedious :(
Many historians can better explain why this movie should not be viewed as a history lesson. But bad research (or intentional changes) aside, the movie was long and bad. Movies in the past have been historically ridiculous but also wildly entertaining, or even cinematically masterpieces. Obviously we didn't expect this to be a brilliant movie like "Master and Commander".
Galdiator and Kingdom of Heaven, also directed by Ridley Scott, were and remain fun to watch, despite the complete lack of realism. Or maybe because of it.
"Napoleon" on the other hand, was just ... bad. It was bad in terms of accuracy. It was bad in terms of a biography, because OG Napoleon has been described by his contemporaries as a very different man from what was shown here. It was not a good character study, because Josephine's role was inflated and took away from Napoleon. It was no fun to watch and none of the characters were engaging. To top it all off, the movie also had the sad, desaturated colors of a "based on a true historical event" story. We couldn't even enjoy the colors in the costumes because everything was dark and grey!
In short, this was pathetic and we will not watch it again or even recommend it for one-time viewing.
Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)
"Kenobi"? More like "Reva, Baby Leia and cute droid Lola"
I went in with low expectations despite loving Ewan in the role of Kenobi and also despite being delighted to see Hayden Christensen returning to the role of Anakin/Vader, even in the form of this short limited series.
BUT
It just doesn't feel like the series is about Kenobi and his path to enlightenment (being able to hear Quigon Jin and eventually becoming a force ghost himself). What do we get instead? Little child actors who run away in poorly choreographed sequences, sometimes being chased down by several (!) adults who can't seem to manage to grab them. Let me be clear: this is absolutely not the child actors' fault. If 10-year old Leia's lines are crappy (they are) and her personality inconsistent (she wavers between super spoiled child and wise woman) that's on the writers & directors. If direction and camera can't make a child flee in a way that looks convincing, then maybe they should give up writing scenes like that altogether.
The actual protagonist: Reva, AKA Third Sister. A turned Jedi now working under the Grand Inquisitor, she is portrayed as an emotionally unstable, rabid dog of the Inquisition. She does not have herself or her plans under control, she frequently snaps and messes up ... yet she is the one character in the series who has the most consistent screen time while also being active and making choices (when in contrast, Obi Wan is just being pushed around by the choices and actions of others, even tiny Leia's ... which seems ludicrous). Whether one likes Reva or not, she is given a story and character arc, in a way that I wish had been done for Obi Wan instead.
Little Leia is a super big presence in the entire series. Not just because the plot heavily relies on her being kidnapped and rescued: but also because the writers thought they ought to give 10-year old Leia "insights" and "agency". From the very beginning of her introduction, Leia is seen making choices: she runs away, rebels against her "mean" cousin, gets snatched by villains, mouthes off to the evil inquisitor who threatens to torture her, later runs away from Obi Wan, and drills him with questions/demands. At the same time, her personality is inconsistent: sometimes little Leia appears much more childish than the 10 years of age she supposedly has (not realizing the danger she is in as a captive of the Inquisition, and later not being phased by any of it, like a seasoned soldier). She is brattish in parts, but more than anything I was bothered by her lack of emotional response to anything except when things didn't go exactly as she planned. Her bossiness with Obi Wan might have been intended to show the Rebel Princess and leader she would one day become, but sheltered children raised in palaces just don't act like that! Also, the mortal danger the series put her in wasn't enough for me to care about the role, because little Leia didn't feel like a three dimensional person to me, more like a plot tool to keep Obi Wan in check.
Obi Wan was totally stifled here. Probably in order to avoid him being an over-powered Jedi super-general who is used to dangerous situations and combat, the show strips Obi Wan of his grasp on the Force, gives him emotional instability and traumatic nightmares. Obi Wan is left a bitter, mulish man. He wants nothing to do with anyone unless he spends his time spying on little Luke with creeper binoculars. I guess "keeping a low profile" is the reason why he lives in a cave outside town, has no friends, no hobbies, no social life of any kind, no nicer job than working in a meat processing plant, but also why he does anachronistic things like having his lightsaber hidden and locked up for the past decade, and not even using the Force in everyday life when he is alone. The Force as I understand it should be so much a part of a Jedi that to try to completely divorce oneself from it would be nearly impossible. The idea that Obi Wan can't be calm or concentrate enough to contact Quigon makes sense to a point, but losing his grasp on the Force altogether, as if he is ungifted? That's silly.
There were many more issues in the series. They even showed Quigon as a visible Force ghost, even though the movies make it crystal clear that Obi Wan was the very first Jedi who could truly become one with the Force post death and also appear, while Quigon could only be heard, but never seen, because he had not been able to completely ascend, so to speak.
Obviously the producers were desperate to have the viewers see that they got Liam Neeson back (I love him in the role, by the way). It killed the impact of the scene for me, honestly, because all I could see and here was "oh, look how much we paid for our famous cast". Yes, Liam Neeson is great. Please don't destroy the canon even more just to display him, though.
Honestly this could've been a low action, highly meditative arthouse-style Passion of Christ-like movie. Instead it was just a cheap cash-grab that reassembled the amazing prequel series cast, only to dump them in this ludicrous plot.