Well, this is an entertaining series. Nowadays, every decent productions seems to get more than 7 points here. However, in my opinion, this doesn´t quite live up to the expectations, at least not if you advertise it with "high octane action" and "written by Cobra Kai Writer". It has good actors and iconic figures - like the police chief and the clown (who I agree is the best clown roll I have seen so far in a series or movie). Over all, Twisted Metal seems kind of low budget - don´t expect "high octane" like in Fast and Furious or Mad Max. Also, the writing is not as genius as Cobra Kai and you can´t identify or sympathize with the roles in a comparable way or experience some unforseeble plot-twists. Well done, but not outstanding or groundbreaking (like Mad Max, Fast & Furious and Cobra Kai).
Reviews
12 Reviews
Wunderland
(2023)
Great!
30 March 2024
I would not have thought a documentation about miniature wonderland could be this entertaining. In fact, this is more than a documentation and at the same time a small biography of the two brothers Frederick and Gerrit. I have not been to the Miniatur Wonderland in Hamburg myself, nor have I seen any other documentations, but that doesn't matter. I also don't think it's necessary to be a modelling freak to like this movie, the fascination, enthusiasm and dedication for this hobby or profession is very well transported. Very well done and one of the most entertaining documentations I have ever seen. Not a minute of it is boring.
Madam Secretary
(2014–2019)
Perfect Utopia!
4 March 2024
This is the Disney-Version of Homeland or Borgen. Elisabeth McCord (protagonist Tea Leoni, secretary of state) is a perfectly stress-resistant, CIA-trained politician and of course also a loving, relaxed mother and sexy, loving wife. Her husband is, how could it be any better, a former soldier and jet-pilot, at the same time sophisticated professor of religion as well as a commited, caring father.
Although this is a setting you would find in the cheesiest womens-novels, the cast of the series is really, really good and the stories are interesting. I like the fact that despite all the politically complicated settings, this is a positive series which idealizes life but still is not boring. It shows a series does not have to be depressive to be taken seriously, as recent productions like Ted Lasso or OnePiece also show. But this stands out as one far before those two. I just discovered it now and I don´t know how many other successful series with "positive seriousness" there were when it came out (2014). It may be even kind of a pioneer. Well done!
Although this is a setting you would find in the cheesiest womens-novels, the cast of the series is really, really good and the stories are interesting. I like the fact that despite all the politically complicated settings, this is a positive series which idealizes life but still is not boring. It shows a series does not have to be depressive to be taken seriously, as recent productions like Ted Lasso or OnePiece also show. But this stands out as one far before those two. I just discovered it now and I don´t know how many other successful series with "positive seriousness" there were when it came out (2014). It may be even kind of a pioneer. Well done!
The Marvels
(2023)
Nah.
12 February 2024
This is a good-mood-movie, but somehow the timing isn't right and it does not come up with new ideas. Maybe they should take more time to produce real quality scripts for the overcrowded marvel-universe. Another super-villain popping up and getting defeated, another side-character getting lost, suns, planets and dimensions in danger of being destroyed. It seems, they overdid it and at the moment, there is nothing new to find. Still, it's mostly the weird timing, which somehow makes everything happen too quickly and casually, that makes this an average movie which is more a disney-plus-catalogue-addon than for the cinema.
Meh! Good try but no banana.
31 January 2024
This movie contains - maybe too intentional - all reknown Indiana-Jones elements and consists of car chases magic artifacts, insects, strong women and journeys around the world. The story has no real surprises, this could have been done better.
What really bothers me is the portrayal of old men and women in some important Hollywood movies. Why do they have to be disillusioned, kind of messed up elders? This is neither worthy of a figure like Indiana Jones, nor of Luke Skywalker and yet, there it is. For me, the whole settng of Indys Life in the sixties (appartment, university, relations) is kind of depressing. It´s a shame, George Lucas would definatly have done better. Indiana Jones could have gotten some wisdom, or maybe some relaxed charm like his movie father Sean Connery. In "Shrinking", you can see Harrison Ford more like that.
What really bothers me is the portrayal of old men and women in some important Hollywood movies. Why do they have to be disillusioned, kind of messed up elders? This is neither worthy of a figure like Indiana Jones, nor of Luke Skywalker and yet, there it is. For me, the whole settng of Indys Life in the sixties (appartment, university, relations) is kind of depressing. It´s a shame, George Lucas would definatly have done better. Indiana Jones could have gotten some wisdom, or maybe some relaxed charm like his movie father Sean Connery. In "Shrinking", you can see Harrison Ford more like that.
Blue Beetle
(2023)
Well done! 👍🏻
15 January 2024
I was not so sure at first, but this is a really well done piece - at least for me. Superhero and Cobra Cai-Atmosphere are well brought together in this one. I like a lot that this is a movie with positive atmosphere that still has some tension. Marvel tried to make these positive family-settings in Hawkeye and Ms. Marvel, but for once Blue Beetle does not seem like a less good DC- clone but like the original. This is due to the good cast and of course Xolo Maridueña, who has a very charismatic presence, more then his female colleagues in the marvel series. In my oppinion, Blue Beetle would also make a good series or at least deserves a sequel. Fun Fact: Like the other DC-Movies, this movie happens in the fictional 'Palmera City'. I'd rather live there than in Gotham.
L'Opéra
(2021– )
Really, really good!
8 January 2024
I'm quite surprised there are so few reviews of this series. It's really entertaining, completely unpredictable and has a great cast. This is a production of international, timeless quality. It claims to be completely fictional but very obviously wants to show life behind the curtains in the opera business. I'm a professional musician myself, so I know some things about rehearsals and preparation before being in the spotlight. I also know a professional ballet dancer, which is the brother of a good friend of mine. I can say for sure that this series is realistic and that life as a ballet dancer can be like this. I'm also sure it can be completely different, depending of where you are, who directs and which group dynamics exist there - this is something I experienced with orchestras. A great, tense, dramatic and quite erotic production that at least I can't stop watching.
Ragnarok
(2020–2023)
Good acting & surprising ending (no spoiler!)
5 October 2023
I'm not going to spoil what happens in the end but don't watch the last episode if you want to stay in the style. People disliked it very much, as you can see in the scores, but for me it worked, even if it was a bit awkward and not 100% logical with what happened in the beginning. If you want a conventional ending, just stop watching after season 3, episode 5 und you will be happy. You could say this series has an alternative ending with episode 6.
It's extremely impressive how they created an international hit out of a low budget series. What contributes to this is extremely good acting of the norwegian cast, which absolutely has international qualities. Really good!
What I don't like is the old-fashioned depression-style of the series, which consists of lots of hatred, anger and unfairness as ingredients. Those were used in many Netflix-Series in the past and are - for gods sake - outdated. In my opinion, Ted Lasso (which is not Netflix) managed a shift here and showed that you can catch peoples attention also with positivity and leave them with a better feeling. Now there are series like OnePiece which catch up on this. Great, in my point of view. Despite this, Ragnarok is still a very good, unique piece of art. I'm giving 7 points because of the toxic ingredients, but I'm considering if it deserves more. It probably depends on how long the impression lasts.
It's extremely impressive how they created an international hit out of a low budget series. What contributes to this is extremely good acting of the norwegian cast, which absolutely has international qualities. Really good!
What I don't like is the old-fashioned depression-style of the series, which consists of lots of hatred, anger and unfairness as ingredients. Those were used in many Netflix-Series in the past and are - for gods sake - outdated. In my opinion, Ted Lasso (which is not Netflix) managed a shift here and showed that you can catch peoples attention also with positivity and leave them with a better feeling. Now there are series like OnePiece which catch up on this. Great, in my point of view. Despite this, Ragnarok is still a very good, unique piece of art. I'm giving 7 points because of the toxic ingredients, but I'm considering if it deserves more. It probably depends on how long the impression lasts.
Cobra Kai
(2018–2025)
Still very good!
10 September 2022
1 stars, 2 stars, 3 stars? Is everyone insane? Yes, after 5 seasons it did become a bit less genious (honestly this already happened afer season 1), but who manages to maintain genious as a standard? Bach, Michelangelo, The Beatles, George Lucas: None of them managed to make every single work as good as their best ones. In Cobra Kai, Season 1 is just pure genious, but even Season 5 made me watch all 10 episodes in two days til late at night. And I disagree the kids are not important (which someone of the lastes reviewers claimed) - bringing the old and the new together is especially what makes this series interesting.
Y: The Last Man
(2021)
Meeh....
10 November 2021
Average. 6.0 (at present, november 2021) is appropriate. This does not mean the series is average in everything. For example, it's quite intelligent that the story is more about the psycholigical circumstances of being only women than about coping with an armageddon scenario (which happens in almost all other series of that kind). The actresses and actors are good, too. However, few surprising or story-twisting things happen. Compared to tense epic series like Westworld or Game of Thrones this is a lot of unimportant things happening within not much of a plot. Also, it probably is intended to picture the male protagonist and his sister as real superloosers that just don't get anything together throughout the whole 10 episodes. Intended or not, it's getting on the nerves! Good idea, good people - get a better writer for the next season.
Ted Lasso
(2020– )
10 for season one, less for two
15 August 2021
For me season one is a masterpiece of a perfect series. However, in season 2 something changed and the genius is gone. It's obviously not like this for everyone. But for me, every episode in season one just fit perfectly in every detail while in season 2, you are starting to ask questions. It's somehow like J. J. Abrahams was asked to do a new season - all the characters are there and lots of cult-details from the first season are quoted or continued, but somehow the magic of the show has disappeared.
Still 10 out of 10 cause you HAVE to watch season one, but probably there should have been only one.
Still 10 out of 10 cause you HAVE to watch season one, but probably there should have been only one.
War of the Worlds
(2019– )
No money left in the end?
23 May 2021
I also suggest to not listen to the 1-point-reviewers. If you want a pure action-series, look somewhere else or watch Avengers :) It´s exactly the not so action loaded approach which makes this series interesting. The first episode is horribly realistic and, although not done with a lot of action and effects, the entrance of extraterrestrial life on earth is the most scary so far.
The first episodes develop well, but somehow in the later episodes, it can´t really keep up with the tension of the first ones and not really much happens. Also, there was some really well and special chosen music like Nick Kave's "Into my arms" and one or too other songs which created a great atmosphere, but there´s nothing like this anymore in the last episodes. It somehow does not seem consistent und runs a bit out of ideas in the end. This does not mean it´s boring, however, and if season two manages a bit more dense plot, it might turn out to be a really good series!
The first episodes develop well, but somehow in the later episodes, it can´t really keep up with the tension of the first ones and not really much happens. Also, there was some really well and special chosen music like Nick Kave's "Into my arms" and one or too other songs which created a great atmosphere, but there´s nothing like this anymore in the last episodes. It somehow does not seem consistent und runs a bit out of ideas in the end. This does not mean it´s boring, however, and if season two manages a bit more dense plot, it might turn out to be a really good series!
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