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Manner of Death (2020)
BL but make it ~crime
It can be hard to compare shows like this to others because the genre is still developing, and unfortunately productions tend to focus too much on fan service and often shy away from meaningful depictions of, well, anything.
Manner of Death manages to do justice to it's mystery / crime plot, deliver well developed characters, explore (if briefly) issues around reproductive rights, familial duty, sexuality, and abuse at different levels of society - and still deliver on the more conventional expectations of the BL genre.
It's not perfect and the last few episodes betray a sharp turn toward the melodramatic, but by that point I was solidly invested and, honestly, grateful for the effort put into this series on all fronts that i could forgive it almost anything.
This series made some great strides for the genre and I hope newer productions follow it's lead.
Shadow and Bone (2021)
Good fantasy series
This is very well written and well made tv show. The actors do a great job, the world looks stunning, and the different story elements come together in a very satisfying way while leaving room for further seasons.
I'm often frustrated by shows that attempt to drag out bits and pieces of plot until everything is threadbare, stretched across multiple seasons. Shadow and Bone doesn't fall prey to this trend. It manages to introduce conflicts that will need more time to be resolved, while also focusing on its energy on telling a story to its audience now, rewarding our interest and attention with good payoffs and satisfying moments for our protagonists.
There are some inconsistencies in the way the world is presented to us - mostly its scale, which according to dialogue is huge, but within each episode distances between places seem to shrink to fit the episodic format. Mostly noticeable i think because one of the folds great evils is an imposed geographic isolation. Also, the influences of real-world geography is clearly present, but regional accents don't seem to be applied to the bulk of the cast, which was a bit weird.
That said, i've very little else to complain about. Easy to watch and easy to follow, complex enough to be interesting, and characters weird and conflicted enough to be lovable. All round good YA show, recommended binge watching.
The Watch (2020)
Disappointingly boring
The first episode of this series is poorly directed, poorly written, poorly edited, and poorly acted. The only people doing their jobs the art department.
im all for a kind of neo-noir, punk, fantasy mashup - and i truly do not care how far it strays from the discworld source material, but what we have here is just very bad tv.
structurally, the pacing is off- everything takes too long. every scene could do with a firmer hand trimming the clips. did they simply not film enough content to pad out the episodes? was the script that bare? did no-one make a decent storyboard??? and yet, nothing links scenes together. the camera cuts with abandon at the wrong times, movement is all over the place. there is no follow through from one moment to the next. were they trying to reinforce their genre pastiche by just... not having a plan when it came to the nuts and bolts of how a camera sees the action? i mean, the drunken passing out scene - it was so obvious what they were going for, and they so terribly botched it, how do you manage that?
the script is terrible, and whoever came up with this vimes... made bad decisions. this portrayal of a man with nothing is somehow neither funny, nor sad, nor haunting. he garners no sympathy or pathos or any feeling at all except irritation.
the most i can say for the characters is that cheery at least had some potentially fun throwaway remarks.
i really wanted this to be fun! it could have been, so easily!! i would love to be able to dive into into a cute little genre show with a bit of bite! but i cant! its terrible! it could have at least been a kind of fantasy cop version of killjoys, im so sad.
Elementary (2012)
Easily Enjoyed
This is a great series, with complex relationships between the characters, really good mystery of the week vibes, and fun longer plots that are well written with good payoffs.
Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)
Not the homage it was trying to be
I went and saw this film with a group of people interested in science fiction and fantasy films. Very few of us enjoyed it. Let's get this out of the way straight up: Oz the Great and Powerful isn't quite a prequel to old films, nor does it fit in with the written canon. I'm not particularly bothered by either of these things- but i do think that other adaptations have made more interesting versions of the story.
So, we take the legend of the Wizard of Oz and make a film about one man's journey to some kind of redemption, or enlightenment, at the cost of the happiness of others (in my opinion). Of course, our hero is also fighting for the oppressed, the gentle, and the humorous at the behest of another pretty woman.
The film attempts to reference elements of the style of the previous films. A kind of mash up of black and white, 3D and collage aesthetics that works not at all. We get the obligatory, over saturated colours of Oz, though some familiar costuming contrasts with a few more modern choices that, honestly, seemed baffling.
The acting left a lot to be desired. I tried to pass some of it off as aping the 1930's idea of the loud and over the top ring master, a kind of stage presence theatricality, but mostly it was just bad. Franco possessed none of the quick talking charisma his character was supposed to embody. Rachel Weisz was the only exception to the rule.
The 3D was gimmicky, like most 3D, and whilst some individual animation was nice (the china girl was adorable, and had the best lines in the script) it never really fit together with the live action elements.
The plot was what you would expect- some at attempts at humor, but for me, they mostly failed. I feel like the film wasn't sure what it's primary purpose was- make something new, or re-make something old. They caught in a limbo between both options.
Overall, an often pretty but always lacking re-hash of a redemption story. I had so hoped for something more enjoyable.