jronly

The first season of From was good, or perhaps even very good. The series was refreshingly different and quite creepy at times. From is certainly innovative. Imagine ending up somewhere where you can't go outside after sunset. You can't find your way home and you have no idea what's going on. The acting isn't bad, although that doesn't apply to everyone in the series, but it's generally solid. After the second season, however, From starts to feel a bit like a soap opera. The novelty wears off, and the suspense diminishes. Let's hope that season four will be as strong as the first.

While the first film about the Scandinavian trolls was original and at times entertaining and even exciting, Troll 2 quickly became tedious. The story is predictable, so you already know how it will end from the start. It's a battle between good trolls and evil trolls, and that quickly becomes tedious. Characters are barely developed, if at all, making the film feel rather flat. Furthermore, film-watching audiences are often less impressed by fantasy films that make extensive use of CGI (computer-generated images).

For a fantasy film to work, it has to be truly well-made, and that's not the case with Troll 2. It's a shame, because it could have been so much more.

Claire Danes may be a good actress, but she does repeat her acting often. In her previous roles in Homeland, she essentially played the same role as she does now in The Beast Within. A nearly constant dramatic expression, teary-eyed and desperate, is how she manifests herself in this otherwise excellent drama. The script is good, the acting is solid, but Claire, oh, she exaggerates so often and so much that it almost becomes a comedy. Claire is hysterical, which is a shame because the series has real potential. A different actor for Claire Danes could help.