Dragava

Granted it's good, and I like most of PTA's films, but it's not like this is anywhere near as brilliant as something like There Will Be Blood or The Master.

The plot is very simple, and while that's not a bad thing, I found it difficult finding anything substantial to grab onto. The performances are certainly good but again it feels like all the actors with the exception of probably Chase Infiniti and maybe Sean Penn aren't given a whole lot to do.

In my opinion this was far less interestingly photographed than something like Phantom Thread, and with less compelling characters than something like The Master, and lacked the spectacle and gravitas of something like There Will Be Blood.

Still better than most films releasing these days, but if you're looking at all the rave reviews like I was and expecting a masterpiece, from my perspective I'd be lowering my expectations.

It gets a 7/10 for being well performed and pretty well written, but I can't go beyond that because it lacked the depth I'd normally be seeking from filmmakers of PTA's caliber.

Honestly I don't know what they're doing with this show. Why is everything so neutered? Why has all the brutality that was in the game been stripped for the show? Why are things added that are unnecessary like Kathleen and Perry's story when the episode is already only 45 minutes? Why is Joel and Ellie's connection so lacklustre? Why does the budget feel so restrained? Why, why, why?

This literally felt like a filler episode, even though we just had an episode previously that had nothing to do with main plot. This show is feeling like the off cuts from the game. The dregs from a once great brew that has long gone cold.

Watching this, for the first 7 episodes I was thinking well, this is very well written, well shot well acted etc. Etc. But that's kind of it, there's nothing really deeper going on here. I felt there wasn't much more than the surface level stuff, even if that surface level stuff was nicely done.

But then episode 8 kicked in and he's talking about his brother and what he actually feels and I felt like an idiot, because of course, the whole series has actually been about him trying to fix himself and his feelings about his brother, not really the restaurant itself. It made me view it in a whole new light. And then the whole episode built up to those beautiful last two shots which reinforced the message. Just perfect.

I'm not saying episode 8 was like a nice coat of a paint on a crappy car. More like the most satisfying garnish to an exquisite dish.

Really phenomenal work.