Reviews
Billions (2016)
Best ending ever?
I never write reviews. I have 71 favourite shows in my list. I've seen Ray Donovan, Ozark, Mindhunter, Homeland, etc. But this is the best of the best. There is so much betrayal, backstabbing, alliances forged, broken, reforged, moral boundaries crossed. It is very messy and at times unfathomable, but very true and human. What are we willing to do to get what we want, how badly we want it and is the pursuit of any goal or objective absolutely justifiable. I love the complexities of characters. I don´t know if in real life hedge fund teams are as diverse as Axe´s, but the representation is as it should be: diverse team of different skills, sexes, races, etc. And the only measuring stick is MONEY. People complain about season 6 and 7. That´s because Mike´s drive and motives are more complex than Axe´s. It´s easy to understand the boxing match between Axe and Chuck from 1-5. It´s actually quite simplistic and the characters develop very little. With the cloak and dagger stuff and hyperdrive on money and politics that is introduced with Mike Prince and his true motives that come to light only later, that´s more difficult to understand and analyse. Loved that the ending starts earlier than the last episode and starts properly gearing in the 10th-11th episode of the final season. The anticipation is prolonged as the chess moves are brought to light. Last episode might be just one of the best last episodes in TV history, if not the best. So if you still haven´t seen it, put it on your shortlist and guaranteed that you will binge it. The only issues I have is that later on the series, the constant references to some people or characters in the US culture, makes it harder to follow the dialogues for Europeans. 99% of the time, I don´t know to whom they were referring to. That´s the only thing you´d have to get over to in the dialogues. The constant references and quotes that make no sense if you´re not from the US, I guess.
The Book of Boba Fett (2021)
So incredibly boring
For absolute fans of the universe. Otherwise, skip it. Or at least the first three episodes where Bobba just lives with the desert people. No memorable dialogues or action. Gets a bit better later, but still boring. Baby Yoda and Mandalorian appearances don't save the show.
The Batman (2022)
A 3 hour depressionfest that ends the way it started
When the trailer came out I was excited to see how it would be different from Nolan´s Batmans and already watching the trailer I remember thinking, where this is going. "I am vengeance". Vengeance for what and why? And after 3 hours I still don´t know why. In short, it is a three hour depression pic that drags along wayyy too much (could have been easily only 2 hours) and with undeveloped characters. Must have been at least three or four times when I thought that I don´t really care what happens to any of them. This could have been so much better, with a better DIRECTOR.
Key takeaways:
1. OK. We have a depressing Batman, but why is he depressed. It´s an interesting interpretation, but it is superficial. And the entries to his diary that are narrated....so annoying. He´s not a good thinker either, cause his observations don´t leave the spectator with an "ahah, interesting" moment.
2. Catwoman, Penguin, Riddler - so Catwoman is driven by revenge and money. Simple enough. Would have been nice if we could have known a bit more about her past, e.g. How she´s so good at kicking ass. Is it yoga or sth else. Cause that´s what she does. Doesn´t talk too much and just kicks ass.
Penguin - I guess this is an intro movie to Penguin, so not too much to talk about
Riddler - so Riddler is driven by a couple of events that happened in his childhood that are summed up in a 5-10 minute dialogue at the end of the movie with Batman. If this isn´t s*it character development, I don´t what is.
This movie has no direction and no purpose. Everybody just does something. Everybody just speak just enough, cause they are all so depressed. It´s not intense, it doesn´t keep you guessing and you lose interest halfway through the movie. Wait until you can watch for free and in the meantime rewatch Nolan´s masterpieces or Jim Carrey´s Riddler.
La casa de papel (2017)
A perfect example how a show turns into a caricature of itself
They should have stopped with the first heist. Period. Cause the second heist dragged on like snail crossing a highway. What was it supposed to be: an action packed drama or a soap opera spiced with a bit of action? It is the latter for sure. Never mind the overacting that is so typical of Spanish television (before going to take a piss in the toilet, there is an emotional dialogue about whether it is the right thing to do) that just adds the soapy taste to pretty much everything. During the second heist it just became surreal. Got to the point where I was playing with my phone, while the neverending dialogues lasted. Luckily, Najwa Nimri´s character basically singlehandedly saved the show and made it worthwhile to watch. Fernando Cayo´s and Enrique Arce´s characters were just caricatures. Not even funny. Just plain illogical. As I haven´t seen them perform more, can´t say if it was just awful directing or awful acting. Save yourself from watching the second heist. It´s like a bad remake.
The Power of the Dog (2021)
Animal cruelty
Thanks PETA for pointing out unnecessary animal cruelty taking place in the set and during preparation. Will not watch and recommend to avoid. In the 21st century it's unnecessary to castrste bulls or terrify horses just to add some more minutes or make the character more "believable". Campton, you should be ashamed.
Finch (2021)
Type of movie that asks you to stop playing with your Instagram account for 2 hours and focus, as if you´re reading a book
It´s a movie that requires attention, cause there are really just three characters: a brilliant engineer, a dog and a robot and how relationships develop between these three characters.
It´s not a zombie killing apocalypse movie, where the best hunters survive. It´s post-apocalyptic because of a natural event and where the brilliant minds survive, not the best alfas or hunters. Reminded me a bit of Interstellar in that sense.
Some say there´s not enough drama. It´s a survival movie in an uninhabitable Earth. The setting itself is dramatic
Some science fiction purists complain about the truthfulness. Guess what science fiction in itself is science + fiction. Very few science fiction can actually predict future. Sure, it was easier for industrialists to predict post industrial futures, but nowadays, with advances in computing, nobody is a fortune teller. A natural catastrophic event wiping out the population is as possible as zombie virus or humans colonizing planets. Science fiction is about wild imagination and not about how accurately we can predict Blade Runner type of society coming true.
Finally, it´s a movie about friendship, companionship, survival, a bit of regret and of course hope. So it is not dystopian. Anyone who is vegan/vegetarian and owns a dog or dogs, will probably shed a tear in the end. Will check out future movies from this director.
Mare of Easttown (2021)
Pretty good. Not a boring moment really.
Bingewatched in a few days. Reminded quite a bit of Broadchurch (small town, secreta that start to emerge, etc.), but still quite different
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Stowaway (2021)
Slow and boring
When you start checking your phone during a movie, something's wrong. The movie never takes off, drags along and there's no tension. Couldn't care about any of the characters and their motives are unclear. Seems like the director likes to do these survival movies.
Modern Toss (2006)
Timeless classic
Modern Toss is a timeless classic. Yes, there's quite a lot of swearing, but the humor is dry and witty. Difficult to find a show like this nowadays.