olgaanto
Joined Oct 2016
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olgaanto's rating
I'll start by saying I haven't read Stephen King's book, but the concept of a dystopian death march with one winner and no finish line sounded pretty intriguing.
Turns out, it's just... walking. For almost two hours. Straight.
I didn't know exactly what to expect, but I guess I should've known better - watching people walk (and talk, and occasionally fall over) probably can't carry an entire movie. The film kind of flatlines early on and just keeps dragging its feet, literally. Nothing major really happens - it's just endless walking with bits of dialogue sprinkled in, and none of it feels impactful enough to justify the runtime.
It's like watching a horror movie without horror, or a war movie without war - just the awkward middle bits where everyone's sweaty and miserable. The concept had potential, but it feels like it forgot to actually go anywhere (ironically).
Most of the characters are forgettable or painfully stereotypical: the cocky one, the quiet one, the emotional one, the guy who clearly won't make it past the halfway point, and a few randoms who seem to exist just to fill the quota of "people who can die later". Some are purposely annoying, some are just... there. And while I get that the point is supposed to be bleak and psychological, it ends up feeling weirdly hollow.
The film tries to say something deep about humanity, sacrifice, survival, or whatever, but it never quite lands. In the end, it's just a story about a short-lived friendship that won't last, told through the world's longest, most uneventful walk.
I wouldn't say it's bad-bad.. it's just frustratingly dull. It's one of those films where you keep waiting for something to happen... and then the credits roll.
In essence, The Long Walk is a long watch.
Turns out, it's just... walking. For almost two hours. Straight.
I didn't know exactly what to expect, but I guess I should've known better - watching people walk (and talk, and occasionally fall over) probably can't carry an entire movie. The film kind of flatlines early on and just keeps dragging its feet, literally. Nothing major really happens - it's just endless walking with bits of dialogue sprinkled in, and none of it feels impactful enough to justify the runtime.
It's like watching a horror movie without horror, or a war movie without war - just the awkward middle bits where everyone's sweaty and miserable. The concept had potential, but it feels like it forgot to actually go anywhere (ironically).
Most of the characters are forgettable or painfully stereotypical: the cocky one, the quiet one, the emotional one, the guy who clearly won't make it past the halfway point, and a few randoms who seem to exist just to fill the quota of "people who can die later". Some are purposely annoying, some are just... there. And while I get that the point is supposed to be bleak and psychological, it ends up feeling weirdly hollow.
The film tries to say something deep about humanity, sacrifice, survival, or whatever, but it never quite lands. In the end, it's just a story about a short-lived friendship that won't last, told through the world's longest, most uneventful walk.
I wouldn't say it's bad-bad.. it's just frustratingly dull. It's one of those films where you keep waiting for something to happen... and then the credits roll.
In essence, The Long Walk is a long watch.
Let's get one thing straight - most of the 1-star reviews here are clearly from people who haven't even watched Red Alert, but rate it down simply because it's about Israel. Ignore that noise.
Now, as someone who DID watch it - all of it, in one sitting - I can say Red Alert is a solid, well made mini-series. It's engaging, emotional, and offers an interesting perspective by focusing on a handful of people sharing their experiences of that day. It does a good job of humanizing the chaos, and it's a solid production.
That said, as someone who actually experienced October 7th in Israel, I have mixed feelings. The show is impactful, yes, but it's way too "safe". Too restrained. It feels... castrated. The creators clearly held back.
It's not graphic enough and doesn't even scratch 10% of the horror, the chaos, and the inhuman brutality that truly happened that day. This wasn't just another tragic day - it was a massacre, a horror beyond imagination. And while the series touches on fear and uncertainty, it never truly shows the brutality, the terror, the real scale of what happened.
I understand that maybe they wanted to make it accessible to a broader audience. But I think that was a mistake. This story deserved an 18+ rating and a brutally honest depiction of what took place - the murder, the rape, the burning, the slaughter. The real horror was stripped away, leaving a sanitized version of something that should have hit much deeper.
And that's where it loses points for me. Because if you're going to tell the story of October 7th, tell it. Don't soften it for comfort. Those who lived it don't get that luxury.
Still, putting that aside, Red Alert is a gripping and emotionally heavy. It gives a voice, even if a muted one, to the victims, survivors, and their stories. And for that alone, it's worth watching.
Now, as someone who DID watch it - all of it, in one sitting - I can say Red Alert is a solid, well made mini-series. It's engaging, emotional, and offers an interesting perspective by focusing on a handful of people sharing their experiences of that day. It does a good job of humanizing the chaos, and it's a solid production.
That said, as someone who actually experienced October 7th in Israel, I have mixed feelings. The show is impactful, yes, but it's way too "safe". Too restrained. It feels... castrated. The creators clearly held back.
It's not graphic enough and doesn't even scratch 10% of the horror, the chaos, and the inhuman brutality that truly happened that day. This wasn't just another tragic day - it was a massacre, a horror beyond imagination. And while the series touches on fear and uncertainty, it never truly shows the brutality, the terror, the real scale of what happened.
I understand that maybe they wanted to make it accessible to a broader audience. But I think that was a mistake. This story deserved an 18+ rating and a brutally honest depiction of what took place - the murder, the rape, the burning, the slaughter. The real horror was stripped away, leaving a sanitized version of something that should have hit much deeper.
And that's where it loses points for me. Because if you're going to tell the story of October 7th, tell it. Don't soften it for comfort. Those who lived it don't get that luxury.
Still, putting that aside, Red Alert is a gripping and emotionally heavy. It gives a voice, even if a muted one, to the victims, survivors, and their stories. And for that alone, it's worth watching.
I started Wayward completely blind - no trailer, no reviews, no spoilers. Just me, curiosity, and a vague hope for a decent mystery. Tall Pines, the small town where all the weirdness happens, immediately gives off that "everyone seems nice, but you know they're hiding something" energy. You know the drill - smiling faces, dark secrets.
Alex (Martin) is a young transgender cop with a violent past who moves to this too-perfect town with his pregnant wife, Laura - who, surprise surprise, used to study at the creepy local boarding school that runs the whole place. The school is ruled with an iron fist by Evelyn Wade (Toni Collette), a mix between a strict headmistress and a full-blown cult leader. Meanwhile, two girls find themselves trapped there for smoking one joint too many, and when one of the boys escapes, Alex starts digging into the town's past.
So yeah, on paper it's a decent setup. Small mysterious town? Check. Creepy boarding school? Check. People who look innocent but clearly aren't? Check. A cop with a dark past and personal demons? Double check. The problem? We've seen this formula a thousand times - and Wayward doesn't really bring anything new to the table.
The first half? Solid. Not groundbreaking, but good enough to keep me watching. But the second half falls apart fast. The plot holes start showing, the tension fizzles out, and the characters become so flat you could use them as cardboard cutouts. The writing tries to juggle too many ideas and ends up dropping them all.
And about Alex's gender identity - it's barely addressed in the script, yet somehow it's constantly present in every scene, in a way that doesn't feel organic at all. It's like the show is trying to make a point but can't quite figure out what it wants to say, so it just keeps waving it in your face.
But the real problem hits in the final episode - when you realize Netflix is clearly setting up a season two. Honestly, we need to stop with these lame endings that are intentionally bad just to justify a season two. If you can't wrap up one story properly, you don't deserve another.
Bottom line: decent start, disappointing finish. Wayward had potential, but it collapses under its own ambition and clichés.
5/10 - and that's mostly thanks to Toni Collette, who somehow manages to shine even when the script doesn't.
Alex (Martin) is a young transgender cop with a violent past who moves to this too-perfect town with his pregnant wife, Laura - who, surprise surprise, used to study at the creepy local boarding school that runs the whole place. The school is ruled with an iron fist by Evelyn Wade (Toni Collette), a mix between a strict headmistress and a full-blown cult leader. Meanwhile, two girls find themselves trapped there for smoking one joint too many, and when one of the boys escapes, Alex starts digging into the town's past.
So yeah, on paper it's a decent setup. Small mysterious town? Check. Creepy boarding school? Check. People who look innocent but clearly aren't? Check. A cop with a dark past and personal demons? Double check. The problem? We've seen this formula a thousand times - and Wayward doesn't really bring anything new to the table.
The first half? Solid. Not groundbreaking, but good enough to keep me watching. But the second half falls apart fast. The plot holes start showing, the tension fizzles out, and the characters become so flat you could use them as cardboard cutouts. The writing tries to juggle too many ideas and ends up dropping them all.
And about Alex's gender identity - it's barely addressed in the script, yet somehow it's constantly present in every scene, in a way that doesn't feel organic at all. It's like the show is trying to make a point but can't quite figure out what it wants to say, so it just keeps waving it in your face.
But the real problem hits in the final episode - when you realize Netflix is clearly setting up a season two. Honestly, we need to stop with these lame endings that are intentionally bad just to justify a season two. If you can't wrap up one story properly, you don't deserve another.
Bottom line: decent start, disappointing finish. Wayward had potential, but it collapses under its own ambition and clichés.
5/10 - and that's mostly thanks to Toni Collette, who somehow manages to shine even when the script doesn't.