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Reviews
Mako Mermaids: Turning the Tide (2016)
The Problem with Joe...
This episode isn't the best, but what always really bothered me is what David's brother Joe was doing taking over the café from Mimmi. Okay, so he's always been a bully and a complete A-hole. But he no longer owns any part of the café, and David (an actual co-owner) put Mimmi in charge for the day. To me, that's a huge plot hole.
Chosen (2022)
Made we want to scream...
I haven't written many reviews, but I had to get this off my chest. I've kept away from Danish productions because the ones I've seen have always been gloomy and depressing. But I liked the premise of this series, so I decided to give it a try.
The first episode was actually pretty good, albeit a tad slow, and it kept me interested. By the second episode, I was having doubts. And by the third, I literally wanted to scream in frustration and anger.
The person I hated most was the lead character, Emma. She starts out well as a teenager who is sick of people lying to her, and all she wants is the truth. But by the end of the series, she herself has lied to everyone and badly hurt the people who love her most.
The character I hated the second most was Mads, the budding megalomaniac tyrant in a wheelchair. He's the kind of person who goes to any lengths to ensure people only listen to him, while he attempts to be the only person who knows the truth and how to discover it. For this reason, he turns the other characters against one another and betrays them.
I couldn't identify with any of the other characters, and none of them are in any way likeable, with one huge exception: Marie. She's shy and honest, and really wants to believe Emma loves her. Of course, Marie is also the person Emma hurts the most.
Emotionally and otherwise, the series makes little sense. For instance, why would the super-powered alien help Emma? There's no real reason for it. And if he senses when people lie, why can't he sense her lies? Of course, when he discovers the truth about who Emma really is in the final episode, he turns on her. But how is it possible he didn't kill her? He has super-speed, and Emma was standing only a few feet away from him. She turns and runs, and he should have had her in a split second.
Of course, the end leaves everything open for a second season after the super-powered alien destroys the ship in which Emma was supposed to escape. But if the war on their planet is over and they can all go home again, why is a super-powered alien here who is trying to kill them all? Doesn't really make sense.
I'll keep an eye out for the second season (should they even decide to make one after this bomb) to see if they can in any way redeem themselves from this fiasco. But I could only be tempted to watch it if Marie has a much more dominant role, and Emma can somehow reform herself and become a bit likeable. Like I said, the premise could be interesting (although it's been done before), but what they've created with it leaves me mainly just sad and disappointed.
Roswell, New Mexico (2019)
Pleasantly Surprised
I'm a fan of the original series and was hoping I would also like this reboot. I was therefore a bit disappointed when I found it difficult to get through the pilot episode. But a week later, I got up the courage to continue watching and was pleasantly surprised when the plot and characters really started drawing me in.
I found it cool that, instead of Liz Parker (her name in the original series), they made Liz Mexican and reverted her last name to Ortecho, which is her actual descent and last name in the Roswell High books on which the series is based.
The reboot is more serious and slightly darker than the original series, but since the characters are adults in this version (and not teenagers as in the original), that seems appropriate. I enjoyed seeing Claudia Black again, who has been cast in the role of Max and Isobel's mother. The season ends on a hugely interesting and actually quite satisfying cliffhanger (really, I never saw that one coming, so kudos!). I look forward to seeing how the various storylines play out in the second season.
Charmed (2018)
The new Charmed series is much better than everyone says...
I was a fan of the original Roswell series, but the new Roswell, New Mexico reboot wasn't at all to my liking. As a matter of fact, I could hardly get through the first episode, it seemed so boring. I was therefore afraid I would have a similar reaction to the Charmed reboot since I was a huge fan of the original series, and I went in expecting the worst. So imagine my surprise when I actually liked it! To be honest, I've only gotten through half of the first season, so I might have to revise my opinion, but so far it's at least as good as the original series was, just updated by a fews years and dressed up in a new format.
I think the main reason this reboot has been getting so many negative reviews is because fans of the original series were disappointed that it was redefining the show, and it's possible they couldn't let go of the original characters or format. Yes, the CW might have used a different premise, for instance a continuation instead of a reboot, but that might have been just as disappointing to the original show's fans.
So for anyone who's not a die-hard fan of the original series, this reboot is definitely worth your time. It's not a dark remake like some of the new series out there and has its own style and humor. I hope other reviewers will be willing to review this show with more objectivity and give it the rating it truly deserves. Under normal circumstances, I would probably give this show seven or eight stars, but I'm a non-conformist at heart and hate when anything is given an undeserved beat-down, as is being done with this series, so I'm giving it ten stars because of the unfair treatment it's been getting.
UPDATE: In the meantime, I've been able to watch through to the end of the season, and I still like the show very much. Yes, the pilot wasn't great, but the episodes get much better very quickly. I'm glad the show will return and hope they can maintain the same quality in the second season.
Skyline (2010)
Unconventional films tend to disappoint viewers...
After watching this film, I was surprised that it received such negative reviews and it made me wonder why that might be. I suppose it's mainly because it doesn't give people what they want or expect. In any given alien invasion movie, several quirky, dedicated, and/or brilliant characters come up with a plan to beat the odds and kick alien butt.
Not so in Skyline. Instead, we get a conglomeration of unlikeable characters who obviously can't cope with the situation and additionally have to experience how every last glimmer of hope is shattered. To summarize, the CG are great (I was amazed that the effects were so good for a movie with such a low budget), but that in itself doesn't make this movie different. Neither do the actors or the script. But it does show us how unheroic most of us would react in a similar situation and how little we could actually do about it.
In an actual conquest by such a superior invading force, we really wouldn't stand much of a chance. And maybe that's why this film isn't getting many positive reviews. We're all so petrified by 9/11 and the current economic and political situation that we don't want to have a mirror of hopelessness held in front of us. We'd rather see some form of hope, no matter how unrealistic.
That's where this film gives us a breath of fresh air. Seen from an historical perspective, what happens in Skyline is actually quite accurate. The conquered culture might be destroyed, but if the conquered culture is integrated into the invading culture in any form whatsoever, the conquering culture is also forever changed. We get a glimpse of such possibilities at the very end of the movie, which is why I'm really looking forward to the sequel.