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HomeOnMars
My personal rating guideline: (This scale is not linear)
10/S: Personal favorite- Something that I cherish and hold sacred of.
9/A : Perfection.
8/A-: Wonderful! But could use some improvements.
7/B+: Nice to watch.
6/B : Okay / Mediocre.
5/B-: Meh- Just barely worth the time and effort spent watching it.
4/C+: Mostly boring, but with some occasional good moments.
3/C(-): Garbage- Boring and completely a waste of time, (though still coherent.)
2/D : Toxic- Traumatic, repulsive, offensive, broken, or incoherent.
1/F : Abomination- Watching this title could result in severe and/or irreversible psychological damage, or this title is extremely outrageous (e.g. promoting racism/sexism), or the story is utterly incomprehensible.
(All my ratings are entirely subjective. I regard their primary function as to serve as reminders of what I liked and disliked, NOT as predictions of whether it will be enjoyed by the general public, NOR as to decide if it is 'objectively good' or 'objectively bad'.)
Reviews
Westworld (2016)
Season 3 & 4 is still good! (in a slightly different way)
(*Minor spoilers*)
I read a lot of comments stating that this series went bad since season 3. I respectfully disagree. In my humble opinion, although the series has evolved into something different (which makes sense, as they have to explore the world outside the park one day), but that's what makes it more interesting, not otherwise.
The focus of the series shifted from inwards (consciousness and identity) towards outwards. Namely, that is how super-intelligences would interact with lesser ones (mostly humans) and each other, be it one made with best intention in mind (season 3) or don't care about humans at all (season 4), and how humans' (and hosts') desire for freedom and free will will eventually corrupt any 'perfect' order, be it benevolent or not. Which raises the question: is this price of free will something we really want to pay? (The answer can go both ways, I am not taking a stand here.)
My take of the series' message aside- I think the core of this production (which is that this is a sci-fi, and a high quality one) is preserved throughout 4 seasons pretty well, even though there are no longer as many "surprises and violences (and nudities)" in season 3 and 4 to sugarcoat it (if you enjoy those). In the end, it is sci-fi, it is meant to ask what could the world be if there is one (or more) breakthroughs in the field of AI, not to cosplay heros and cowboys. Reducing the amount of these distractions in the latest 2 seasons, in my opinion, actually helps simplify things and make it less confusing.
Of course, this is just my view of this show; others might disagree, and that's okay. Season 4 is indeed a bit slow-paced, and the new semi-linearly way of storytelling since season 3 is a bit less exciting. I don't mind it; but I imagine a significant fraction of the fans of season 1&2 may. On the other hand, season 2-4 have done a wonderful job in expanding and exploring the universe that westworld park is in, explaining the purpose of the park, and how it fit in the world. In terms of the sci-fi side, I reckon it achieved what it set out to achieve, and that is perfect enough for me.
Last but not least: the musics, the acting, and the attention to the details are amazing as always. Evan Rachel Wood's acting in season 4 is superb, and episode 5 of that season is particularly satisfying and thought-provoking.
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Edit: It's such a shame that they decided to cancel this show. I never really understand why people dislike the new seasons so much- was it too confusing? Or not confusing enough? Why are they willing to tolerate the confusion in season 1, but not 3 or 4? To me the plot of the show was always very clear by the end of each season; it's its many viewers that make little senses to me. I guess there might be some similarity to me and Arnold afterall (haha). Now that it's cancelled, we will never know Dolor's final plan, nor what will happen to everyone in the westworld universe. Westworld's take on the fate of human civilization in the age of AI enlightenment (which is beginning in real life right now) thus ends prematurely, and the whole picture losts forever. What a pity.
The Age of Adaline (2015)
Broken, predictable and weird
This film shot itself in the foot by removing Adalines' superpower of longevity in the ending. Instead of actually trying to answer the question of how people with abnormal traits (such as being ageless) can find their place in this world and connecting with normal people (or even fall in love), the film took the easy way out by just removing her ability all together, compromising the narrative sense. Death should never be the answer. Slowly killing herself via aging is the worst possible solution for the protagonist to handle her problem regarding her future with Ellis (her lover).
The other plot twists were also quite predictable in general. On the other hand, Adaline's love story with Ellis' father decades ago was beautiful and heartbreaking, and somehow more convincing than hers with Ellis. This also makes her current romance with Ellis quite weird to viewers like me- Isn't it a little bit bizarre that she is now in love with her ex-lover's son? Yikes!
Ghosts (2021)
Better after episode 6
The show got a lot better from episode 7 (season 1) as they finally start to add some original contents and jokes, which makes the show look much more natural. Before episode 6, however, the show is basically just a knock off of the original British version, and it was done badly.
Entanglement (2017)
This is not a rom-com.
Unlike how it is considered by others, I don't think this movie is a romance comedy. Sure, there is a romantic component, however, as it slowly turns out, the romance is not what it seems to be. This is not exactly a surprise either; the clues are literally everywhere and are really hard to miss. This is not bad, however, as this "not-being-a-surprise" actually makes narrative sense, which is why I like this movie- it all adds up in the end. Except for the ending, which indeed is a little bit rush.
Liar Liar (1997)
Overdramatic
The protagonist has been extremely excited for ever action he did ever after his son made the wish; it's like the actor is trying way too hard. The thing is, humans are not meant to be this excited for such a prolonged time- neither the actor nor the audience. This made this film nearly impossible for me to appreciate. Plus the ending makes no sense, and the action of the protagonist in that is incredibly dangerous and irresponsible, both to himself and to everyone in the plane.
Stowaway (2021)
A lengthy ethics problem demonstration
This so-called "movie" is basically a two-hour visualization of an ethics problem of whether to kill/sacrifice one person right now to save the rest, or do nothing and let everyone die in the near future. Oh and it's taking place in space. That's it. Expect anything more and you will most likely be disappointed.
WandaVision (2021)
I want more comedy
This series starts as a comedy and gradually transform into the usual Marvel superhero stories. Some might prefer the later, but I personally enjoy the first comedy part far more than the superhero part. It would be fantastic if there are more 1960s-2000s-styles sit-com episodes.
On the other hand, this show also tells an interesting and immersive mystery- a mystery about the nature of the world Wanda & vision are in. Also, don't let the funny comedy in the beginning fool you; deep down it is a pretty sad story. Although the show did a good job on explaining the technical aspects of the world, the emotional transition, especially the dealing with the grief, is inadequate in my opinion. Instead of paying full attention on handling all the pain and sorrow, they just let the main character fight off some boring villain and call it a day. An easy way out, if you ask me. It's pointless.