Jarl86 Reviews

The Wire: The Target (2002) Season 1, Episode 1

Didn't quite hook me

[5/10 · 30 July 2023]

I struggle to grasp the purpose of the pilot.. Realism is all good, but this is so bleak it's borderline depressing. I can't manage to root for any one character. The law "enforcement" are a mix of nonchalance and exasperation, everyone moaning "why me?" when told to do their job. It paints a really sad picture of the men and women supposedly protecting the streets of America.

The one sensible line comes from an FBI agent letting the MC know that drug surveillance takes the furthest backseat possible as attention shifts to anti terror following 9/11. Definitely dates the show, along with some white police captain just casually throwing the hard r n-word into a conversation.

On the crime side dealers do be dealing, but it's all run of the mill, seen 100 times over. Frankly the most sympathetic character there is a guy who we're told killed somebody for lack of a better option. The appearance of a fresh faced Michael B Jordan was a welcome surprise.

Took me until the last 3 minutes of the episode to see the spark of an actual storyline as an addict makes a decision based on the reason his friend ended up in a hospital bed. It came a little abrupt which was prob the intention, but up until that point I was yawning my way through every scene.

Only thing keeping me watching the next episode is the familiar faces on the cast and the shows reputation..

The Last of Us: When You're Lost in the Darkness (2023) Season 1, Episode 1

Ho. Lee. S**t.

[10/10 · 16 January 2023]

I'm a licensed veteran to the game to put it mildly. I've played both original and remaster at least twice each. Every DLC and the sequel. Interviews, recordings, BTS and you name it of the cast. Multiple playthroughs and reactions to the more infamous scenes.

There's a certain glee in watching a fresh player experience the first 30 minutes of the game for the first time, and the gut punch they inevitably experience. The game's been lauded for its emotional impact often enough.

The shows first episode is more than equal to the game. It's plenty original, with enough verbatim picks from the game that a fan like myself grinned like an idiot. "Drugs. I sell hardcore drugs".

I thought I'd be satisfied with Sarahs brief appearance that I didn't much care for who played her. But... Nico Parker man. Even if she's the main focus of the first part, she doesn't get to shine enough. She WAS Sarah, through and through. The death scene for the game was shot around 10 times for the director to be satisfied with Troy Bakers emotional response, which was only met when he was exhausted enough to feel the desperation. Pedro Pascal shines as Joel. Equally charming and cynical. I can easily see him be gruff, dismissive and irrationally angry, but also kind and soft when he needs to be.

One of the most contentious subjects after the trailer was Ramsey and how much (or little) she looked like Ellie. Ellie was modeled after a young Ellen Page who was not made aware of that decision at the time, nor appreciated it as she had given her likeness to another game. Ramsey hardly looks like Elliot Page did at that time, nor does it matter. Her acting definitely is Ellie to a T. The sass, language, it's all there.

The set pieces is a character in themselves. They are often shot with the clear intention of making it look like stills from the game. At times I could never be sure if a set is a direct copy from the game or something original, it's all so seamless.

This is the best live action adaption I've seen of any game. That bar is low, but in the future I almost worry that this show sets a bar others will be unable to meet.

Supergirl: Bunker Hill (2018) Season 4, Episode 8

Don't listen to the conservatives.

[8/10 · 4 March 2019]

That's really what best defines the anti-Supergirl "reviews" of the show. Occasionally there's a valid argument like Mehcad Brooks lacking chemistry with his co-stars, to which I mostly agree. His role would've been better suited like Flockhart was. The background character that lends a link to Superman, but no active plot-direction. No, he does not need a camera. He WAS a photographer, now he's an editor-in-chief. See the difference? But the complaints that being a liberal show is bad, including unlikely character developments to "pander" to the audience... Superman has pandered to white dudes for decades! The all-American quarterback with an unwavering moral compass. How is that not unlikely? And you can't even base his emotional state on being superhuman, because that has nothing to do with it. Raised in Kansas and American through and through. His family are his values, which raised him inclusive, empathetic and kind. *cough* Supergirl *cough* There's too many comicbook purists that doesn't like where their superheroes is headed, but think of how many young people who see these heroes now and relate because the world they are fighting mirrors their own, sans powers. The entire point of Superman/girl is that they are supposed to represent what's best in every human, to solve problems not through force, but through heart.

That said, the inconsistencies around Nia is not to be ignored. Born male, but somehow develop powers only female genes would lend her. That's iffy continuation right there.

Supergirl: Rather the Fallen Angel (2018) Season 4, Episode 7

Misplaced criticism?

[7/10 · 4 March 2019]

The only real issue with other commentors I can agree on is that Supergirl is way less Super than you'd expect from a superhero show.. But I think that's the issue. The problems Supergirl faces are in large part not physical. She can't punch hatespeech and ideals. Sure in most cases there's a physical manifestation in some way (Jensen) that gives the illusion that she solves the problem as you'd expect a Superhero to do. Superman faced anti-alien propaganda as well in Lois&Clark, but the 90s weren't as good at shining a light on the reasoning behind the hate. Just let him punch the problem and flash that jawline at the cameras and it's all good.

I find it interesting that the major complaints towards the show is that it promotes socialism? And focuses on issues based in racism, sexism and various types of phobia? The rhetoric that this is a problem is what I usually see Trump and his extreme conservatives argue against. That change is bad, attack on American values etc.

Speaking as a person from a democratic country that governs by socialist values, us and our neighbors are literally ranked the happiest and most thriving countries in the world. If the comments on Supergirl have taught me anything, it's that Superman appealed to the pure-blooded beat-your-chest American man, and adapting a Super to modernday issues is somehow a threat to that..? Don't fight change, embrace it. Or you'll be left behind.

The Punisher: Scar Tissue (2019) Season 2, Episode 4

Hollywood never gets the source right...

[5/10 · 12 February 2019]

If there's one thing Hollywood botches time and time again, it's the prostetic makeup of disfigured characters... Jigsaw's face is supposed to be a literal patchwork of scars and skin. In Game of Thrones, Tyrion's facial scar removes his nose entirely, leaving only a hole in addition to his uneven legs and mismatched hair color. Not exactly in line with Dinklage's roguish good looks and charm. In Mortal Engines, Hester gets cut in the face as a child, costing her her left eye, a missing nose and a permanent drooping right jaw. What movie-Hester got was a scartissue not that different from Tyrion.

If you're building a character, removing a visual representation of the mental scars that character possesses insults the source material and inhibits the actors ability to portray that to the audience. CGI can do what makeup cannot, we have seen that often enough. But we've also seen how great a good makeup session can be, so Jigsaw is just a letdown to everyone, hopefully even to Barnes.

Titans: Donna Troy (2018) Season 1, Episode 8

Solid show that improves per episode, but struggles to stand on it's own feet.

[7/10 · 9 February 2019]

The show is undeniably beating down critics with solid characters, actors and a driven plotline, even if it derails a little from time to time.

It just needs to let go of the world everyone knows it's connected to, but never fully adapts. They namedrop the DC greats time and again, as if it needs to remind the audience who these kids/youngsters are. "Diana" this and "Bruce" that defeats the purpose of knowing who Donna and Dick are.

Charmed (2018–2022)

How do you miss this badly?

[1/10 · 21 November 2018]

In it's attempt to be pro-woman in the modern climate, it aggresively attacks every male in the pilot, somehow forgetting that you can be pro-woman without being anti-man.

Right off the bat it seems we're meant to dislike younger sister Maggie. She's aggresive towards most authorative figures, especially the man who replaced her mother as head of women's studies. While this appointment is certainly odd, her anger would seem justified if she was against him because he replaced her mother which she's still not over, rather than being "a cis-male heading women's studies". I'm not american nor have I attended college there, but is that actually the language now? How does one tolerate hostility for just existing?

Then there's the display of every man with dialogue shown to us in the first few scenes are hostile towards women in some way. Creepy friend stalking his crush while trying nto to be obvious about it, old disabled professor back on campus after being exonerated of sexual harassment, upon which the first thing he does is compliment older sister Mel, who by her labcoat is obviously a brainiac, about her nice blouse, which conspicuously show a little cleavage. Oh, those quirky old professors and their casual sexism *lightly scoffs*

Then there's wayward sister Macy, who just shows up at their doorstep with a photo of herself as a baby in the arms of Mel and Maggie's mom. So new Charmed skips the Piper entirely and introduces Paige right away, which of course Mel hates just because.

All of this is 12 minutes into the show, and already I don't think I can stomach more. It would take several seasons of redemption story for me to look past Mel's horrible character, and so far the show has barely hinted at anything magical. It'll come I'm sure. But I have 0 faith that magic will be center and the political commentary will be sidelined.

Prue, Piper and Phoebe thrived in a male dominated world because of their wits, and it was a show of female strength because women are strong. not female strength because guys suck.

Cloak & Dagger (2018–2019)

Lesson in "Assumption is the mother of all mistakes".

[7/10 · 3 July 2018]

I got excited about this show from the moment I saw the trailers, thinking it would match Marvel's Netflix titles in tight narrative and slightly-better-than-TV action and choreography. I had brief memories of C&D from my favorite Spider-Man comics, and although little is shown or told of them through him, they still come off as a mysterious and capable duo. So naturally their origin story was something to look forward to.

First of all, like most others here agree on, 5 episodes in, the show is sloooooooww. There's little to no action or display of their respective light/shadow powers, but that is to be expected in the first season of any origin story. The appeal is the characters and why are are who they are and do what they do. Adjusted for the modern teenagers, there's plenty of PC culture, prejudice and privilege showcasing here. I'd put it on the level of Supergirl in its CBS first season and the way female power was quite literally showed down the viewers throat. But this is nothing new either and C&D does no worse than any other superhero show in balancing moral and ethics as a cornerstone of the characters' psyche.

Going in, I assumed this would be close to Netflix in action, and maybe The Gifted in production. It's not. It's clearly quite below the budget of either, probably because it's a title not known to many but the hardcore comic/Marvel fan. But it IS a show worth watching and having faith in. They succeeded in making me care about Tandy and Tyrone, even if I can't relate to either, and I feel as if their everyday life, tho extreme, can be relatable in their struggles to the american teenager, which I am not. The music is probably a bit overexposed and on-the-nose, but it fits the modern day where you rarely get a silent moment in your waking day. If you are new to the story of Cloak & Dagger, and start this wanting to explore those 2 and little else, there's potential here. If you're looking for instant gratification in the thread of the average viewer, steer clear. you won't have the patience for this show.

Power Rangers (2017)

Loved it!

[8/10 · 31 March 2017]

Disclaimer: I'm 30 years old, grew up with Mighty Morphin PR, but the TV channel that aired it took it off after the first 3 seasons, I never had experience with newer iterations of the show until this year, in which I watch the entire marathon that Twitch was streaming. I owned the Zord play set that combined into the Megazord and everything. Actual die-hard fan.

Going into this movie, I had a little prior knowledge. I knew it was an origin story, so I did not expect it to show a lot of suit/zord action, and from the trailer and spoiler-free reviews I saw, I did not expect it to be as campy as the show was. First of all, the Rangers themselves impressed me a lot, all of them. There's enough family drama there that I hope modern kids can relate to, especially peer expectations and even those with disabilities. Billy having mild autism was a pretty brilliant move on the writers part. But what sold me on them was that I knew nothing about any of the actors. All unfamiliar to me, and it made it a lot easier to let the movie sell their personality traits to me. I always identified most with Jason as a kid, not his physique or looks, but his attitude. Protective, caring and responsible. My current self likes this Jason a lot more. As the movie developed though, RJ Cyler steals every scene with all 5 on screen. He's lovable, dorky and heartwarming, and every bit as excited about being a Ranger as any kid would be. The ladies I struggled a bit more with. I didn't really feel they got the same family portrayal that the guys did. I hope as we get more movies (and we know we will get more), they build more on the less showcased Rangers Zack, Kim and Trini. I assume if they introduce Tommy in the next and keep to the character development from the show, we'll learn more about Kim through Tommy.

When it comes to Rita, I have mixed feelings. She started out legitimately scary, but devolved into semi-comical as the movie went on. Show-Rita was never a ranger, and Rita being the earlier Green really ties into the creation of Tommy, versus the candle-magic we're accustomed to.

Once the Rangers actually get a hold of their zords, man does the movie kick off into every nerd fantasy a MMPR-fan like myself could have. The fighting choreo is clever, each of the Rangers have their own style that matches the zord-characteristic. I still wonder what kind of zord Zack has. The other 4 have the same ones from the show, but that really did not look like a mastodon :p And my god the Megazord. It was everything I always wanted the original to be. Instead of all 5 suddenly appearing in a shared control room, each cockpit was strategically placed to the limb each controlled. And the Pterodactyl turned into useful swords this time, instead of that chest plate I always felt was a little weird.

As for plot execution, already in the mention of the crystal Rita is chasing can you tell Saban has planned for many future movies. I've heard the script for 6 movies are mostly finished, but the fact that the Zeocrystal is already mentioned hints that they are aiming to carry the Ranger legacy on, maybe even past these 5. I feel they could have been a little more mysterious as to Ritas plans beyond assembling Goldar. And thin as it was, I did not mind the way they played off the look of the zords. The show never told us why they were mainly dinosaurs, so the "they take the form of the most powerful animals on the planet at the time" thing was a clever one. Also might hint that they evolve in later movies, rather than be replaced.

What pulls the movie down for me.. PRODUCT PLACEMENT! Goddamnit Saban. I think the movie aimed to make us all fat, stereotypical cops the way they literally showed Krispy Kreme down our throat. The number of name drops, glaring neon signs of the logo or Rita literally eating a donut as Goldar is tearing up the building around her. It took me out of the movie every time and annoyed the hell out of me.

I would also have appreciated them paying more respect to the original soundtrack. The themesong for MMPR the series is one of the most iconic for 90s TV, and the movie treats us to a remix of it.. for barely 10 seconds, the first time we see the zords in action. If you are going to be campy with one-liners ("It's morphin' time" "Make my monster grow"), please be campy and blast the theme song during combat. The soundtrack was far from bad, a lot of radio hits and familiar tunes that I bet kids/teens today are really into, but the old "Go, go Power Rangers!" is still very much popular.

In conclusion: I had a great time. I enjoyed most, if not all, characters, the combat was solid. Solid character development for the Rangers, although there's a lot more to be shown there. if you are a fan like me, you will appreciate the nods to the show (Cameo by OG Kim and Tommy after the final fight), if you are not you might just appreciate it for the action-drama it is, though the action starts a bit later than most movies in the same genre does.

The Flash: Duet (2017) Season 3, Episode 17

Reminiscent of Grant and Melissa's days in Glee.

[6/10 · 29 March 2017]

Firstly, it's a filler. And for that I think people hate it out of principle. Fun be damned unless it furthers the plot or characters. People seem to have forgotten that Flash and Supergirl are supposed to be the more lighthearted shows to the dark and gritty Arrow. We should want to see them have fun and be goofy and campy. But I get it, if you don't like musicals, you won't like this. Secondly, the plot is not there. And I don't care. I get to see people from several of the DC shows interact AND SING! So who gives a damn, it was fun to watch, and there's surprisingly good voices in this, if you manage to listen past the studio edits. Thirdly, Gustin and Benoist have AMAZING chemistry. Had they shared a show I would've shipped them harder than anything. Mostly because their characters are both super in one way or another, and I've never been able to buy into superhero relationships where one partner is human and the other not. Relationships need 2 equals to work, realistically. I get that comics has a human partner to keep the Super one "grounded" in his/her humanity, but that's OK for drawn characters. Put them on the screen like this and it's harder to buy. Fourthly, I appreciate the Glee-vibe this episode gave. Darren Criss, Melissa and Grant have all proved to be great voices, though frankly they really underused Darren with the air-time he got. Eh, oh well.

Glee: Shooting Star (2013) Season 4, Episode 18

Powder-keg of emotions.

[12 April 2013]

This episode contained both the least and most captivating scenes of the series for me so far.

The opening didn't hold much promise as to where the episode was going. Most fans have already deduced who Ryder's catfish really is, and Brittany has had to many ditsy convictions lately to make the asteroid theory any more then a minor nuisance or giggle to whether or not you like her character.

The gunshots immediately snapped my attention back. I went from the mindsets "Oh well, guess this won't be nothing more then some good songs" to "Oh damn, this is going to create reactions". Glee has been known to handle many heavy society issues, like homophobia, racism and bullying to the point of mental depression, but personally I feel like none of the previous ones have so far touched a nerve among American high school children like this one. I cant speak for them, not even being American, but i've read and seen enough about it in media to know that there is a real fear in high school about this.

I only felt slightly disappointing to the "culprit" behind the gun. I didn't for a second believe that it was actually Sue. Sure she's an ass, but even she draws the line somewhere.. I only wish they had come up with a more feasible source then Becky. Sure she suffers from DS, but she has proved to be smart and thoughtful. Bringing a gun because you're scared of high school ending? That just seems like a worse reason then say Ryder for being angry at Katie, or some unknown kid who they would discover had been mentally disturbed in some way.

In the end, this had so much potential, which I felt was left unresolved in more then one way..