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georgejbhornsby
Reviews
Masters of the Air (2024)
A pale shadow of the show that inspired it.
Cliched, historically inaccurate, Hollywood at its worst and most indulgent. I tuned into this hoping it would be a refreshing substitute for all the superhero dross pumped out across the airwaves only to discover it is all that just with a new pair of clothes. The characters are one dimensional cliches and the script reads like it was a coproduction between a room full of twenty something kids with zero knowledge of the subject matter and a Call of Duty fan insisting it wasn't gung-ho enough and he needed more explosions. That last sentence didnt really work and rather than fixing it I'm just going to leave it as is since that is the sort of effort that appeared to go into writing this crap.
The Witcher (2019)
A show made for idiots by idiots
The writing of this show is simply terrible, there is no other way to describe it. Plot points are dropped at random and make very little sense to begin with. Dialogue is either unintentionally hilarious or mind-numbingly bad. The actors do a decent job with what they're given but they aren't given much. The show looks ok but considering the budget it has that isn't much of an achievement.
A seriously dumbed down adaptation of the books where any ambiguity or moral complexity that threatens to spark is quickly doused to make space for terribly choreographed action. I am of the opinion adaptations don't have to be faithful to the source material so long as you do something interesting with it. That is not the case here: different and worse.
I'm sure some teenager is Iowa half watching while on his phone will love this but if you are hoping to get anything more out of it you're out of luck.
Ps. Apologies to any Iowan teenagers.
Watchmen (2019)
Fantastic acting, plot, and cinematography. Let down by editing.
As a fan of the original watchmen (graphic novel and first film) I love what this tv show has done with the source material. It is a bold re-imagining of the sort I wish more adaptations would do. We already have the original so why not try a different take?
Regina King is compelling in the lead with Jeremy Irons also back to near his best. The rest of the cast pull their weight as well although the actress who played Lady Trieu was a little overshadowed by the rest of the performances.
The themes are incredibly strong and pertinent, if a little on the nose. The ideas of inter-generational trauma and the exploration of the complexity and failures of characters like Ozymandias really hit home in the current climate of the re-evaluation of historical figures.
Cinematography and effects are also top notch especially with the flashback episode to the 1940s. Heavily stylized and fantastic for it. I also like the decision to shoot in 16:9 rather than the 2.39:1 more and more high budget tv shows are doing. This is fundamentally a character drama and crime show not an action piece and it benefits from that.
My main criticism is with the editing especially when it is clear they do not respect the intelligence of the audience. Repeated flashbacks to previous scenes in dialogue kill the atmosphere of those scenes and shows they clearly think the audience need all nuance fully explained to them to get it. LET THE SCENES BREATHE AND LET THE AUDIENCE USE THEIR BRAINS TO LINK INFORMATION THEY HEARD EARLIER!
This is constant but perhaps the worst case of it is in episode 6 set in the 1940s where the episode starts with a very memorable scene where the older black police officer whispers to our protagonist "beware the cyclops", a very memorable moment. Later when our protagonist is casing a market he remarks in his internal monologue on what the Lieutenant said to him earlier "beware the cyclops". We then get a flashback to the scene where the Lieutenant says "beware the cyclops".
In the space of 20 minutes we are hammered with the same info 3 times, 2 of which occur within 5 seconds of each other. A far better approach would be for our protagonist to remark "I thought back to what the Lieutenant said earlier" or even have him repeat it to reinforce it but to then have a flashback is just insulting my intelligence.
For a show with as mature in themes as this one you don't have to treat us like inattentive children. Is the expectation that modern audiences are half watching this while on their phones?
The Mandalorian (2019)
Is it me or has the show gone downhill really fast
Enjoyed seasons 1 and 2 as a pulpy space western thing. Writing wasn't anything to write home about but the action was great and the plot compelling. Watched season 3 off the back of Andor and it just seemed average by comparison.
Maybe I've been spoiled by Andor's incredible writing and direction but you know the show has gone downhill when a ridiculous Jack Black cameo was the highlight in an otherwise pedestrian season.
Coincidentally Pedro Pascal was not available on set for this season so I wonder if the lack of plot and character development is partially due to the show's lead being MIA.
Land of Hope and Glory (2017)
Important viewing for UK
As a country that prides itself on having some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world this is shocking viewing. It is easy to live with the delusion that although animal agriculture is bad in other parts of the world eating British products makes you somehow exempt from those problems.
This dispels any notion that British farming is even close to humane, hard viewing but worth a watch.
Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet (2021)
Chill it with the ridiculous cgi graphics!
It's like this show is made for ADHD sufferers, you don't have to flash up cgi neural networks or bombard us with clips within clips to keep us engaged. Let the content speak for itself.
Black Sails (2014)
It shouldn't be this good but it is
It's a strange show, the mix of average acting and titillating sex would seem to put in on the same sort of level as the Starz Spartacus series; a pleasure but a guilty one. However it manages to somehow go beyond that and really hit you hard emotionally. You are drawn into the world and are really captivated by it, despite the ridiculousness of some of its features. The overarching feeling of a small piece of the world collapsing under the weight of empire and modernity is incredibly poignant and lends a real character to the show.
Toby Stevens is utterly mesmerising. He manages to act out an engaging and slightly subversive main arc and whatever he does I cannot help but have sympathy for his cause however futile. For all the campy characters that pop up he grounds the show time and again and without him the show would be a far lesser one.
Definitely give this show a chance, you may be put off by some aspects but it has a depth at its core that elevates it beyond what you would expect for something produced by Michael Bay for Starz. I cannot believe it is this good.
PS. Did I mention Toby Stevens is incredible