the_oak Reviews

Star Trek: Enterprise: Carbon Creek (2002) Season 2, Episode 2

Wholesome, nice and emotional

[8/10 · 11 May 2024]

I like Carbon creek a lot. It tingles my imagination, at the same time this small town is so wholesome and nice, it's easy to understand why one of them wanted to remain there.

Carbon creek reminds us of what great sci fi is. It's looking into the human condition, how we got where we are and how to move on. It's not big explosions and evil entities.

These 3 vulcans fit in nicely in Carbon Creek, and for me this episode is both wholesome, it tickles my imagination, it's quiet, yet grand because it is warm hearted, respectful and positive.

I also liked the ending where T'Pol in an interesting way aquires money for the boy's college fund, and the very end where she looks at the purse from 1950's Carbon Creek, only she has it in her quarters!

Star Trek: Enterprise: Exile (2003) Season 3, Episode 6

Good if you understand loneliness

[7/10 · 9 May 2024]

I have always liked this episode. It has clear sci fi elements, bordering to fantasy. The lonely creature resides in a mountainous castle on planet all alone, wind swept and snowy, being exiled from his home planet for his mind reading abilities. He has a crystal orb allowing him to extend his mind reading so that he can contact minds far away. This allows him to find a partner to stay with him. He is 400 years old and very lonely, and grave stones in the forever windy and snowy garden implies he has outlived several companions.

So the question is will Hoshi be his next one? He reads her mind and knows she is lonely, too. He offers to help the ship learn about the Xindi, but on the condition Hoshi stays with him as he extends his mind outwards to get information.

The problem is that Hoshi might not want to, plus the solitude and isolation has made the mind reader kind of desperate.

The other story line involves the ship trying to find and access to a moon sized alien orb they just discovered, only to end up realising there are maybe 50 more in that area of space. There are a few nice scenes here, for example one where the shuttle mal functions as they examine the orb's surface.

Basically for me Exile is about loneliness, and I like it a lot.

Nina Frisk (2007)

Do not believe the ratings

[8/10 · 25 April 2024]

Nina Frisk is a better movie than the ratings suggest! I think maybe those who don't like it expect something else than the movie is. Nina Frisk is a comedy on the surface, but if you pay attention, eventually it is about complicated family relations, discovering who you are and finding love. Nina Frisk meets a guy, and it could be love, but his demons and dysfunction leads him on a different path, while Nina continues on her own, a little wiser maybe. The closest bond she has is with her slightly neurotic brother and a flight attendant friend. Her father has been absent her whole life, and her mother lives with an obnoxious semi alcoholic whom she's not willing or able to leave. Nina tries to navigate this mess of a life, and she has heart, a great smile and towards the end, as her illusions are shattered, she becomes straight forward and honest and tells some rude people to xxxx off, and then eventually as the movie ends, we know Nina Frisk will do alright.

Dead Man's Shoes (2004)

Powerful

[10/10 · 24 April 2024]

A powerful, old testament tale of justice, revenge doing what's right and consequences. It's filmed hand held camera and looks very real. In the end it's so real that I ended up believing in it and feeling it in my bones that the story told is timeless and one that could be in the old testament. Take away the murder and mayhem, and you have a story that most of us can relate to. Who of us have not done wrong upon someone weaker, or stood by doing nothing? What kind of redemption is there here other than take heed and try to do what is right? I watched the movie on YouTube, so thank you to whoever uploaded it. By the way, the movie is absurd and funny as well, even though it's deadly serious.

Dalecarlians (2004)

Deep movie about dysfunctional family relations

[10/10 · 23 April 2024]

I loved this movie! In the beginning it's weird, slightly awkward, but then as I get familiar with the characters, it gets deep and emotional and goes right to the core of the dysfunctions of a rural swedish family and some of their friends. They have come together to celebrate the 70th birthday of their father. There is more and more the sense that something has got to give. Lots of feelings, lot of catharsis and opening up and moments of reckoning and trying to find a way forward. There is more than a few moments of comedy as well, and in the end this is a positive movie, not a depressing one. At the same time there is despair, dysfunction, tragedy. For me a great movie.

Black Mirror: Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too (2019) Season 5, Episode 3

Weird, but with a happy ending

[9/10 · 7 April 2024]

Don't believe the nay sayers! This episode is weird, yes, but it's too weird not to be typical Black Mirror. For me, the best part of this episode is that it ends well, not leaving me feel there is no hope for humanity. I also liked how the main characters are cute girls, and that one of them looks like my colleague.

Now I'm looking forward to watching the rest of the episodes. I wouldn't mind them being equally as good as this one. Even my cat liked this episode, but right now I'm just filling in characters to meet the 600 character requirements, which I'm not sure leads to better reviews for IMDB or worse..

Dune: Part Two (2024)

A masterpiece that lacks in emotions

[7/10 · 5 April 2024]

I had no problems watching the whole movie despite it's long duration. Everything looks and sounds amazing, and it's easy to believe I'm really there. However, I'm not sure how much I care. Dune 1 had an emotional presence, it felt like a fairy tale. The hero entered the desert and discovered his legacy. It was powerful in such a way that I wrote my own life and legacy into the film and found it about myself. I didn't feel this with Dune 2.

Ithink Dune 2 should have been more emotional and psychological, for example I think the Water of life ceremonies should have been more explicit and taken us into Paul and Jessica's minds to show us what they saw in their visions. Seeing as the Water of life completely changed Paul and transformed him into almost a super human, we should have seen more of how the psychoactive water really worked.

Also, when Paul is instructed to experience and getting to know the desert by himself, suddenly Chani is there and the next thing we know they are back in camp. I thought he would have to spend 3 weeks or something in the desert. It was more like 3 hours. The atomic bomb part also seems more like filler material than something essential for the story.

In my opinion Chani and Paul look like adolescents, and I don't really feel anything or particularly care about their relationship and bonding. I don't buy into how Chani effortlessly kills scores of nasty, top trained enemy soldiers. I also found it disrespectful and out of place when Chani storms into the cave where Paul lies after drinking the Water of life. She yells at everyone and doesn't seem to understand at all why Paul drank it, yet for the viewer it's totally obvious, and she should have known that, too! In stead she acts like a fool.

This is why I don't really care much when Paul asks for the emperor's daughter's hand at the end.

It might have been a mistake to introduce a third villain. The baron and his nephew from Dune 1, Glossu Raban, should have been developed more to show their nastiness and evil. Instead there is another, more psychotic nephew as the Dune 2 main villain. I didn't like how Glossu Raban basically was portrayed as raging lunatic in some scenes, and a coward running away from battle in others.

For me, the movie got better as Paul got his act together. I liked the scene where Paul convinced the masses of fundamentalists in the south by reading their minds. By the time the movie was over, I already looked forward to Dune 3.

All in all not a bad movie, but a perfect 10? No.

Dune 1 I could have watched over again, but I don't think this one. I suspect it more lies the ground for Dune 3, so let's hope it delivers.

Wonka (2023)

Don't believe the nay-sayers

[10/10 · 19 February 2024]

Seems those stuck in 1971 can't find anything right with Wonka. I liked this movie very much, and can't really find anything wrong with it. It seems to me either you are disgruntled from the start, or you watch with an open mind. I'm happy I had no expectations and no pre conceptions.

The main actor and the rest of the cast are great, so is the story and everything else. The story told is one of having dreams and overcoming adversity, about imagination and wonder, family and childhood and finding a place to belong.

I thoroughly enjoyed Wonka and had a great time at the cinema, and so will you.

Moneyball (2011)

I know little about baseball, still liked Moneyball

[8/10 · 10 February 2024]

Some of the low rating reviews said Moneyball is not accurate and therefore misrepresents what baseball is really about and is not true to what really happened.

Since I know very little about the MLB and not much about the sport itself, I could enjoy the movie unhindered.

First of all, I think Brad Pitt and the other actors do a good job. Secondly, the story tells about people who failed and got another chance, and about outsiders and under dogs coming in to challenge people who think they have all the answers. I found it entertaining and heart string pulling.

Someone wrote the ending didn't make any sense and was too depressing and ambiguous. Well, I liked it, and I liked the relationship between Pitt's character and his daughter.

After watching Moneyball I read the story about Billy Bean and it helped me to fill in the blanks.

Warren (2019)

Totally miserable stuff

[7/10 · 5 February 2024]

I can't begin to explain how miserable this driving instructor is. He is cheap, self centered, rude, pedantic and I don't know what. I can understand why someone would find this funny, but I think it's more embarrassing than anything else. I have no idea what childhood trauma or setbacks in life made him this way. I think he simply is a caricature and I'm happy he is not my neighbour or my driving instructor. If this first episode is indicative of the rest of the show, then we are in for loads of pedantic, cheap, ridiculous, rude, idiotic, seif centered and miserable situations. The writers should get credit for coming up with such a ridiculous character.

Knowing (2009)

The children get it while the grownups are hysterical

[7/10 · 21 January 2024]

I found Knowing to be exciting, thanks to the mystery of the numbers the girl scribbled down, eventually leading up to an ending of Biblical proportions. The men in dark coats, the black pebbles they leave behind, the unintelligible whispers they emit - what are they and why do they all through the movie seem to follow the children? There is a sense of nostalgia and resignation to Cage's character. The sense we get is that the children are the future, and the grown ups are not able to listen or to change. The woman in the movie is hysterical and quite frankly annoying. She knew what was coming, but she still refused to accept it. What do I think about the very end? I'm not sure. It's not very clever, merely completes the Biblical narrative already laid down.

Star Trek: Picard (2020–2023)

Season 3 tries, but falls short

[5/10 · 7 January 2024]

I haven't seen the first 2 seasons, only 5-6 episodes of the third. At first I had a few moments of cheering and joy and nostalgia as classic characters like Worf and Riker were introduced. But the whole thing is very self centered, and in stead of being classic Star Trek, it's more nostalgia and looking back. What's worse is that the characters have changed. Picard is suddenly unsure, Worf is doing meditation, Jordi is more concerned about protecting his daughter in stead of doing what's right, which was especially annoying, since it's cheap story telling and a nostalgic mess where they make changes that does not fit into classic Star Trek story telling and then we're supposed to clap our hands when Jordi finally comes around.

There are emotional moments, but I feel they are drawn out and self centered and in between moments of lots of action.

I haven't even mentioned captain Liam Shaw, totally unbelievable and I'm not sure about the motivation for portraying him the way they do.

My preference is Star Trek driven by deep exploration of space, the human condition and tickling of my sense of wonder.

Migration (I) (2023)

Cliched, boring and constant antropomorphism

[4/10 · 3 January 2024]

I didn't like this movie very much. Sure, it's beautifully animated, but the story is nothing new, nothing here is archetypal and deep, so the viewer really doesn't care what happens, unless the viewer is a small child. I might be a misantrope, but I'd much rather see a movie were animals behave like animals instead of having a duck family wanting to see the world with all the clichés that entails. Furthermore, that nasty chef is not really a good villain. He has no motivations whatsoever that we care about, and the good guys don't go slaying dragons or have cathartic experiences. Or maybe they do, but since the story is so childlike and full of clichés, we really don't care.

My autistic friend loved it, and maybe smaller children will, too. For me I guess it's thumb down.

Planet of Lana (2023 Video Game)

Addictive, relaxing and beautiful

[10/10 · 31 December 2023]

This is the best game I've played on my Xbox s. I don't like open world games, they make me nauseous because of all the movement. Planet of Lana is 2 dimensional and not stressful to the senses whatsoever. In fact, the whole experience of playing the game is one of relaxation and contemplation. The puzzles are not extremely difficult and there is not a lot of frustration, not a lot of thing you need to remember and not many places to get stuck. There are moments of great beauty, but it doesn't become boring. Some of the sequences are quite suspenseful and fun. The music and sounds in a gentle way add to the atmosphere of the game.

For me this was better than Inside, a game I also loved. You can't go wrong trying out Planet of Lana.

The Red Turtle (2016)

Eternal story of humanity

[10/10 · 16 December 2023]

I don't really see any fault with this movie. You might say it's sad, but it tries to show us a human life in all it's simplicity and difficulty, bonding with a partner, having children, living with nature, having the children grow up and eventually leave home on their own adventures, and all in close relationship with nature and animals.

At one point I thought that in order for the woman to trust the man, he had to show sensitivity to Mother nature, since the woman is Mother nature herself. However she needs the man, so she refuses to let him leave the island.

It's simple and beautiful, a tale of how it should be, when things are not corrupted. The biggest foe here is the elements themselves, not the evil of man.

Justified (2010–2015)

Show with depth

[9/10 · 10 December 2023]

I like the rugged, southern feel to this show. I like the southern hospitality coupled with ruthlessness. It's kind of comical. My favourite part of this show is how there is a vein of deep searching into the human soul and psyché. For example, themes like forgiveness, sins of the fathers, redemption, friendship, love and more run deep. The bad guys are believable, because they are likable and also at times and invariably they do good deeds. This is also the case with the good guy, who is no saint, either, but we know clearly which side he is on. I've only watched first season, but I like it a lot.

Snowpiercer (2013)

Redemption, heroism, sacrifice

[9/10 · 29 November 2023]

Great movie! There's a lot of action, but also science fiction-elements and at some point I felt like in a Roald Dahl-story, especially how some of the characters are portrayed. The movie manages to be humoristic, yet quite gruesome in some parts, but I felt that the horrific scenes and the funny ones were there for a reason. For example to make us hate the bad guys or laugh of them.

At one point near the end the hero has to step forward and make a sacrifice, and the story built up to that point throughout, and especially with an emotional scene just prior where the hero showed vulnerability and exposed his inner demons.

The ending is similar to most stories where the world as we know it comes to an end.

Nomadland (2020)

A deeply humane movie

[10/10 · 22 November 2023]

Listen, if you think this movie doesn't have any storyline, did you notice that the movie ends where it started? With the storage garage where Fern has her belongings, only at the end we get to see maybe the reason why she became a nomad. Also, little by little we're introduced to this man who shows an interest in Fern, and there is tension around how it will turn out. In another scene Swankie talks about her cancer and that she doesn't have very long to live, and she tells Fern about a time she was out in nature and she saw hundreds of swallows nesting, and she knew if she died right there and then, she would be happy. At a later point in the movie, Fern gets a message from her from Alaska with a video of nesting swallows, and Fern knows Swankie made it. All this and more is storytelling.

By the way, I love the idea presented in Nomadland that looking back at my life, small moments like an experience in nature, some gesture of kindness, something experienced in solitude, things that doesn't have anything to do with success, money, having children and other criteria there might be for putting labels on people, might be the most cherished moments.

Who knows why a person prefers loneliness and what in their past made them become a nomad. I think a person can be a nomad without travelling much physically, also. This movie tries to explore how living such a life can be a life of precious moments, friendships and gratitude, the pain, sadness, loss and loneliness, the other side of the coin. But really, is that much different from every single human life ever lived?

100 Million BC (2008 Video)

The story is good, the rest is kitch, comedy or crap

[2/10 · 18 November 2023]

I liked the story. It's good sci fi. However, the special effects suck big time. Come to think of it, only the concept in the story is great. The script mostly sucks, and the acting is amateur like, or should I say it's very B-movie like. I didn't at any time feel connected to or cared about any of the actors. I would say that one of the best things about this movie is that no animals were hurt during the filming. I kept being freaked out by how white the teeth and how perfect the hair of one of the male actors were despite having been stranded 6 years 100 million years in the past. One thing is sure, I won't watch this again.

A Cure for Wellness (2016)

Brilliant, dark, weird, but drawn out

[6/10 · 14 November 2023]

The movie is perfect in it's scenery, weirdness and darkness. However the script is not focused enough, so as a viewer I struggled to pay attention. Come to think of it, maybe that's intentional. The whole experience seems in retrospect like a bad dream. Unable to escape the sanatorium, the main character might as well be having a nightmare. There are some especially memorable scenes that will stay with me. I also might think differently about eels in the future. I hope I don't have to go to a sanatorium anytime in the near future. One where they try to cure wellness would really be a nightmare.

Alien Code (2018)

Creative sci fi with depth

[7/10 · 13 November 2023]

The movie is a little slow to get going, and in between it's b movie antics, there is some good acting, weird and interesting scenes, a bit creepy aliens and at the end a cool and Bergman-esque dialogue between the protagonist and the aliens from another dimension. Kind of reminded me of some Star Trek TNG episodes where aliens are curious about humans, wanting to learn about us, because we are very different from them, especially those existing in other dimensions. The female co protagonist looks haunted by her experiences with the aliens and trying to decipher the code, and I liked how she appears at the very end, ending with kind of an open ending, but a hopeful one. All in all worth your time.

Warcraft (2016)

Absolutely worth the watch

[7/10 · 12 November 2023]

I watched the whole movie and I was engaged in the story. The animation is cool. The orcs are nasty, huge, scary warriors, kind of like klingons or vikings on huge amounts of steroids. Importantly, some of the orcs are noble and honourable, but most of them are consumed by their loyalty to the evil sorcerer orc. So basically this is a fundamental story about good vs evil and about how it's never too late to do the right thing and that there is always hope. The choice of Travis Fimmel as Anduin Lothar gives earth and the humans a great warrior to fight the orcs. Generally, I liked the whole casting. Good bad guys and good guys. Probably I would really have loved the movie when I was a child or teenager. As a 45 year old I rate it 7.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Quality of Life (1992) Season 6, Episode 9

Emotionally engaging

[10/10 · 9 November 2023]

I just rewatched the episode, and again found it emotionally engaging. This episode is not so much a comment on the value of life from the eyes of humans, as it is from the viewpoint of Data. Data is a machine, and he has experienced the same as the exocomps have. Data stands up for them, and Picard has empathy with him. This has a powerful impact on me as a viewer. Why is it so hard to imagine that these machines can be intelligent? Just because they do not have two legs? This is science fiction! When Data blocks the transport of the exocomps, we get another very powerful moment, and the ensuing dialogue between Data and Riker is another high point.

The exocomps are shown to be intelligent, but even more importantly we see how intelligent and good Data is. There is just a good feeling to this episode, because of the inherent goodness of Data, but also because we can feel the compassion and empathy of both Picard, Riker and LaForge.

Star Trek: Discovery: What's Past Is Prologue (2018) Season 1, Episode 13

I don't see myself coming back

[6/10 · 9 November 2023]

I have always come back to episodes of TNG, DS9 and Voyager. Because of the interesting moral, ethical and philosophical questions raised. I can not see me coming back to any episode of this new series. Some of them are not bad, it's just that they do not offer a lot below the level of action and suspense. I can list many episodes of TNG, DS9 and Voyager that I'll rewatch for the rest of my life. The newer shows don't interest me. Maybe I'm getting old. Who knows. Anyways. I wish you a peaceful day. Say hi to your cat from me. Here in Norway it's freezing temperatures and I'm taking swims in the lake.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Perfect Mate (1992) Season 5, Episode 21

Picard reminds me of Horatio Hornblower

[7/10 · 9 November 2023]

I liked this episode. Picard's sense of duty reminds me of Horatio Hornblower. Hornblower marries a woman whom he does not love, and he does it because she loves him so dearly, and he remains true to her until she dies. These philosophical and ethical discussions is why I love Star Trek so much. Once again I need to write more to fullfil the imdb review board's demand of required characters, so you out there reading this, my fellow ape, soul, star dust creature: I'm glad you enjoy Star Trek as much as I do. I wish you a peaceful day. Say hi to your pet from me. Greetings from frozen november land in Norway.