marko_ru Reviews

The Lost Room (2006)

Very tempting but lacking in the big picture

[8/10 · 17 December 2006]

I am not a real sci-fi fan, but The Lost Room got me hooked. I just wish that it had had more content to the story, and that some of the underdeveloped story lines had either been shot complete or just cut away. In other words: now that we've seen the prototype, someone should re-do it to make it a 10/10.

Some not so important notifications: - Julianna Margulies looks surprisingly fresh for a 40-yo. - I loved the cast with all the not-so-perfect faces (Ewen Bremmer got to do Spud all over again as Harold) - I usually don't like American child actors, but I think Elle Fanning did good.

Brothers & Sisters (2006–2011)

Basic drama with a few surprises

[7/10 · 23 October 2006]

B&S is a neat basic drama: well produced, nicely shot and casted with adequate charisma. It has enough angles to draw attention, but I think it lacks the true edge to make it memorable. To make it really work for me, the script and the characters should have more unexpected reactions and moments - such as the purifying dip Nora takes in the pool.

To credit B&S, I think it boldly tries to tie together personal and political. A family divided by separating political views is nothing new (All in the Family, Family Ties), but as the politics has become more alerted and polarized, it really isn't all that funny anymore. To being forced to choose whether to be on an ally (unintentional, ha ha) or the enemy, even though there are bonding elements, such as love and a shared lifetime.

What puzzles me most with the starting point of B&S is that grown up children move back home to live with their parents. Also puzzling, as commented earlier, the real-age difference between the actors playing the siblings covers a range of 15 years, yet the siblings seem to have a lot of shared memories, as if they all had been there at the same time and of the same age.

Yet another mystery: I wonder how big a goldmine the family business actually is, because the house seems huge (and the pool party for 25 people had at least 4 people working for them). Also the siblings must have high-payed jobs to keep up their spacious living-arrangements.

The Class (2006–2007)

Could be great, but sadly it's only average

[4/10 · 23 October 2006]

The Class is a comedy series that portrays a bunch of 27-year-old former class mates.

I like the idea of the show. That's why it saddens me that The Class is not funny, even though it has the obvious potential. It's not enough corky, just dorky. (Haha.) This is due to a slowish tempo and the lack of actually hilarious punch lines. Also some actors have difficulties with timing.

Most inventively written characters are the twins Kat and Lina Warbler (Lizzy Caplan and Heather Goldenhersh) but even they seem just a little too square for the good of the show. On the other hand the characters I find most uninteresting are the main character Ethan and the used-to-be- couple Duncan and Nicole.

What bothers me with the series is that the only Latino character Aaron is being picked on for his accent (even though by a non-respectable character, but anyway).