thepolishgirl Reviews

Ooku: The Inner Chambers (2023– )

This is not an "ode to feminism"

[10/10 · 11 July 2023]

I wasn't sure what to expect from this anime, going in. I think I was hoping for an inverted history of Japan, where women have taken over, and all is right with the world, with a bit of erotica and "I told you so" thrown into the mix.

That's not what I got, though. Sure, it's about a world where women do and decide everything; but nothing is without its consequences. It's not all fun and games. In fact, I might even venture a politically incorrect opinion that it's worse.

Men are still men, with all their urges, needs and shortcomings. Women are still women, with all of their fallacies. It's just an upside down version of the world as we know it, and everything that that would realistically entail in a medieval setting.

There is a trigger warning to this anime - sexual violence. I was expecting it to be graphic, in true anime style. Nothing of the sort. And yet, violence abounds, in ways I never expected to see it. It spares no-one, regardless of gender. It's not the presence of violence, though, that is key. Is how people deal with it, react to it. What they choose to do afterwards. This violence serves an important plot purpose. It is a rite of passage for the characters and isn't there just for fan-servicing purposes.

This anime is so much more than it lets on at first glance. It takes real-life qualities of people and applies them in inverted-power-dynamic circumstances. It has been a while since I came across something so mind-bendinglly captivating on Netflix. I literally could not peel myself away. The story doesn't impart any superpowers to anyone, it doesn't create unrealistic relationships, or unrealistic characters. It does however show how people deal with extraordinary circumstances in a believable way. I can see myself in the characters' decisions. This could have very well been the top secret, completely justified reason for Japan's utter isolation policy back in the Edo period.

The Mother (2023)

Alpha female strikes again!

[8/10 · 11 July 2023]

J-Lo is a controversial choice for this part. Some love her, some hate her and nothing in between. J-Lo looks good even when she has bags under her eyes and is covered in dirt, grime and blood. This is just the way she is, and no amount of scene make up will change that. I know women like that. Real-life women, who simply look good no matter the situation.

I think the chief qualm of reviews with this piece is just that - how can a woman officially past her prime look this good in such situations? It's not believable. And I think this is why this movie gets lower ratings than it deserves.

There is, however, merit to the claim that the background story isn't developed as well as it could be; there are plot holes here and there; and those fur coats will get any eco-geek screaming. Anybody who has never experienced the wild outdoors in their most primitive, no-indoor-plumbing, no-electricity, and NO INTERNET state, will simply not understand what is necessary to survive them. Hunting and foraging for food when you are off the grid is a necessity, not brutality or abuse of nature. Not eating animal meat as a source of protein when it's -30 C outside is not an "option". You can't go to the store to get tofu-rkey! This movie brings certain unquestionable truths to the surface, and it's uncomfortable.

The daughter's instincts are also not entirely convincingly explained - ok, we can kind of guess who taught her the two-fingered tapping technique. But the rest just hits us out of the blue. I understand what the authors were getting at here and what effect they wanted to achieve, but it wasn't delivered as well as it could have been.

All that said, the underlying is completely believable. A mother doing the impossible to save her child is a story as old as time, far too underrated and far too rarely explored in Hollywood. Could this film have been done better? Yes. Do I want to see more such stories, after watching it? Yes, absolutely.

The Witcher (2019– )

Final good season ahead, and then it's downhill...

[10/10 · 15 November 2022]

I expect the 3rd (and final season of The Witcher that I'll ever watch) to be a good one - chiefly so because of Henry Cavill. To have an actor with his resources and his love for the source material WANT to play Geralt is trully a God-send. I've already downloaded the Henry Cavill face extensions for all my Witcher games; in my mind's eye he will always be Geralt. It is absolutely mind-boggling that having him, having the other cast members, the producers made the decision to slaughter the goose that lays golden eggs. I suspect this will top the blunder of Firefly in terms of fans and revenue lost. With all the love I have for Liam - he is simply not Geralt, and no amount of make up, white wigs or leathery body armour can change that. R. I. P., best fantasy ever brought to life. It's been a good run. One day, in a decade or few, perhaps a new hero will rise, loving the original story as Henry does, hopefully having at least a fraction of Henry's looks and dedication to this character, and we'll give it another go. Hopefully I'll live to see that day.

Bridgerton (2020– )

Binge-worthy

[8/10 · 29 March 2022]

Just binge watched season 2 over the weekend. Shondaland does it again! This series is definitely one of the more surprising ones to me. I literally clicked on it because I had no clue what to watch and wanted something to melt my brain to. But I was captivated instead!

To be sure, season 1 is better. There is better writing, better character development, the story is fresh, even though if you've read one romance novel, you've read them all. Season 1 manages to be beyond that, it meets your expectations, but it exceeds them as well.

Season 2 is a little less well written by comparison. Certain situations appear drawn out; there are several missed moments when characters could experience pivots in their approach to things (their pigheadedness notwithstanding); some events end up being sprung on us even though the build up to them was so long and tedious; some stories end up not being told (I'm looking at you, Penelope!); and some characters are down right "out of character" (for shame, Eloise!!!). I suppose the writers wanted to leave something to tell during season 3.

On certain situations being drawn out for no good reason - the long glances, the internal turmoil between emotion and duty - we get it already. It makes sense for about two-thirds of the show, then it becomes just arduous and painful to watch. We expect certain characters to get together from the start; we just want to be taken on a fun journey observing how they get there; no need to complicate things artificially. Take Anthony's journey to the realization whom he really loves, and indeed the fact he LOVES someone at all. There were at least two moments in the show where he could have made the transition to understanding, and it wouldn't have seemed forced; also the Queen's role could have been better developed here. As it is, it seems almost like an afterthought. Some potential wasted.

On certain events being sprung on us after an inordinate amount of time building them up - well, the ending really. As I mentioned earlier, we know what happens in a sense, we expect things to end a certain way, but we want a nice story that makes sense, without any shortcuts or plot twists that really don't make sense. The Queen suddenly being so open minded tied up loose ends, yes, but it wasn't a great script maneuver.

On some stories not being told - Lady Whistledown gets her story, but not Penelope. Miss Calper, who seems to down on her luck yet again. Some characters are down right gone! I understand space must be made for new ones, but let's not dismiss the original ones quite so soon. Other characters are afforded so little meaningful attention that they go and do stupid things. Which brings me to my next subject.

On certain characters being "out of character" - I had trouble making up my mind about Anthony at some point. It's not fun to follow a character's development, only to begin suspecting him of actually being a scoundrel, judging by his actions and decisions. However, all this is nothing compared to the terrible development of Eloise.

I understand Eloise is meant to be a force for change and progress on the show. I don't know whether it's on purpose or not, but they way she has been written in season 2 represents everything we've learned to hate about feminism - which is, I suspect, what Eloise is meant to espouse. She is however so inconsistent, childish and obnoxious in her ways, I cannot possibly root for her. Not after the way she treats her best friend in the end. You'd think Eloise would be grateful, if indeed all of her disdain for the "ton" is real. Her actions in the season finale seriously make me wonder. She is indeed all bark and no bite; ironically, it is the soft-spoken, entrepreneurial Penelope that is the true feminist around.

In case this was done on purpose, I can't wait to see how the writers rehabilitate Eloise in the next season. Guess we'll just have to wait and see. It might also be interesting to do a season from the servants' perspective, take a page from Downton Abbey so to speak.

Masters of the Universe: Revelation (2021)

Kevin Smith did not surprise us...

[5/10 · 4 January 2022]

...in failing to do justice to a great series. It takes humility, talent, and some more humility to take a thing that is already great on its own, already has a mad fanbase, and not only not break it, but to build upon it, giving fans a new reason to love it all over again. Smith has no such skill. But on to the "why".

The things that made the original Filmation Heman so wonderful were thus:

• the "moral of the story" element;
• the portrayal of the most powerful man in the universe as someone who can be responsible, restrained, kind and gentle, breaking certain male hero stereotypes;
• the evolution of the characters even though there was no real chronology to the series;
• the rotoscopic animation, which made everything seem lifelike, but also quite simply beautiful;
• portrayal of characters a realistically looking; even He-man being all-powerful does not look ridiculous, or like the actual toy he was meant to sell; he looks "possible", achievable;

So the ingredients of a great show were all there; one had but to pick them up and use them. And we already saw an anime take at MOTU with Mike Young productions of 2002 (I think?), were we saw the characters typically exaggerated - in the way they were drawn, in their behaviour, in their temperments, etc. That did not do great.

Kevin Smith repeated all those mistakes. Not least of which was making Teela into a she-male - in her appearance, her tone, her actions, going as far as cancelling all of her original character evolution, reducing her back to a hot-headed bimbo, only now she's literally muscle-bound. She looks more manly than Adam! This is not the Teela we know and love.

The original Teela's strength lay in the fact that she was entirely feminine looking, but had the wit, patience, training and ability of a truly independent woman. In what possible universe does a woman need to "look" manly to be taken seriously or to be a good warrior? I suppose in Kevin Smith's...

In contrast, we have Adam, who looks and acts like Teela's kid brother at best instead of her equal. I fail to see what this gender swap exercise was meant to accomplish here. For a moment, I expected there to be a love story between Teela and Andra - just so we can make sure we've checked all the PC boxes. And don't get me wrong, I have LGBTQA family, so I'm all for representation, but it needs to be BELIEVABLE and in keeping with canon!!

Next, the complete and utter falling apart of the family that is the Eternos palace - Adam's parents, Duncan, Teela, Orko... falling apart at finding out the Adam IS He-man?? Based on what we know about the characters, this plot twist simply does not hold water.

Having gone all out about having control over the universe if you have the sword of power in season 1 and 2, I am curious to see what possible feat Kevin Smith will throw at as to top that.

The reason why I did not give this show 1 star is because there were interesting new elements - Lyn's relationship with Skeletor, and Beastman(!); the choice of voice actors; putting Teela at the center of a whole season, however poorly; Lyn's evolution; there were things that were really cool about it.

I guess the best thing about this show is - since Kevin Smith is yet another director in line of failures to capture the essence of He-man, we may be in store for another attempt some day, in the near or distant future. I for one will never give up hope that eventually, one day, a hero will emerge who will humbly do justice to the legend of Masters of the Universe.

Disenchantment (2018–2023)

Medieval Futurama

[9/10 · 5 November 2021]

I am partial to all of Matt Groening's creations, and naturally I had to jump on this one, as soon as it came out. This show has tons of potential, millions of plot lines to be explored, but I feel the writers can't settle on the direction they want to take. The first season set us up for Elfo's story, but then we saw no continuation. Bean suddenly exhibits lesbian tendencies along the way, which seems a little forced. The show is light hearted at first, but political and social parallels creep up near the end of the third season. Bean is a female version of a happy go lucky spoiled prince, but she is slowly but surely realizing she does have something to live and work for in her life. She discovers she cares about her heritage, and wants to make a difference. I think Groening provided so much material to work with here, but I suspect the writers are torn between doing their own thing and writing what's popular. It really shows in how the story progresses and in the subjects that appear. And that is a recipe for disaster because you can't please everybody. I hope the writers grow some balls and just do their own thing, keep it real, instead of looking over their shoulder for what sells right now. This show could literally be the next Futurama, just in a medieval setting, but as we all know, Futurama was its own thing, unencumbered by trends.