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Reviews
Shôgun (2024)
The finale was a letdown
The series was one of the best. I really enjoyed the attention to details, the action sequences, acting was on point, plus there were so many satisfying scenes - Fuji pointing Blackthrone's gun at Omi, Kiku/Mariko/Blackthrone scene that night at the tea house, the look on Father Alvito's face when he realizes his church is gonna be beside the teahouse, the entire episode 9 etc.
That said, as with most mini-series, the finale is often use to neatly tie up all the loose ends so I knew going in it's not gonna be the most exciting, but this was still a letdown. The opening "dream" sequence should be made clear it was a hallucination but it was presented like a flash forward. Because this was not clear it took away the tension later in the episode when Blackthrone threatens to sepukku himself.
Yabushige was done dirty. His character started out as somewhat akin to Littlefinger in GoT but he is much more nuanced. We learned he is just looking out for himself, trying to survive and maybe grab some lands along the way, he wasn't power hungry like Toranaga. He was also a lot more human, but not the brightest so he got played. I don't think his end was justified. It is not unusual to switch allegiance this time in Japanese history. Ieyasu (actual person Toranaga is based on) did that himself once he realize his lord was losing, Ochiba in the show switch too in the finale so Yubashige "betrayal" is made out to be a bigger deal then it needs to be.
One of Mariko's ladies wrote to Omi to report his uncle's treachery, why to Omi? He has been on his uncle's side the entire him, it seems odd to snitch on someone to the person that was seemingly on his side. Unless she is Toranaga spy and did this intentionally to test Omi's loyalty, but that wasn't made clear in the show it's just my speculation.
There is no way anyone will trust Toranaga by the time the finale rolls around. The show was presented partly from Toranaga perspective, but imagine this, if it was presented from Ishido's perspective Toranaga would not be looked on so favorably, he has shown everyone is expandable to reach his goals. So there's absolutely no way Ochiba would choose to align with Toranaga, her son is directly threatening his plan on being the absolute ruler. This is the biggest misstep in the series.
Toranaga entire plan was for Ochiba to switch sides? It doesn't seem he needs to go as far as he did to feign defeat then. Crimson sky is needed, Mariko did needed to die but Hiromatsu sacrifice seems unnecessary. Also he told his plan to Mariko, his wives knew he's up to something but Hiromatsu his most trusted person was completely cut out from his plan? That's just silly. I also don't like how the series makes Toranaga seem to have some superhuman level intelligence, he wasn't playing chess, the writers him a super human and that takes away from the character making him unrealistic.
Avatar: The Last Airbender (2024)
Better than expected but parts of the wood they build is inconsistent
I love the special effects, this series is visually stunning. Castings was mostly spot on especially Aang, Iroh and Zhao. The actors were perfect for these role. Actors that were miscast are Princess Yue who looks out of place and they put a bad wig on her, Sokka was also a miss for me.
I just wish they could be more consistent in the world they build. Aang can "fly" by bending the air yet when he needed to escape he was physically climbing a wall. He also have the strongest power but waa kidnapped and restrain with just a rope. Why? This is so inconsistent with how he is supposed to be.
Katara should have had the opportunity to work on improving water bending and hand to hand combat. They make her seem like a prodigy who just happens to figure it out. She had a cool fight scene with Zuko but we never seen her train with a kungfu master.
The back story for Prince. Zuko was done really well, I really feel for the character. Iroh being hit on by a girl young enough to be his daughter is bizzare especially when it added nothing to the plot.
The finale also had this build up and they just had "godzilla" fight the battle for them, it's so anticlimactic. Despite these flaws I still really e not the series, it's a goos fun adventure to watch during movie nights!
The Brothers Sun (2024)
Wasted potential, inconsistency and poorly written
As an Asian I was really excited to see this all Asian cast and really wanted to like this series. The pilot episode started out well building tension but then it just goes downhill from there. None of the characters have the motivation it should have, they're all over the place, the arcs feels disjointed, and I really wish they didn't make the protagonist Bruce so dumb because he ended up being really unlikeable.
This series had so much potential. Hong Kong and Taiwan have done similar series/movies so the blueprint is there so I don't understand how they mess up this bad.
Plots doesn't make sense too. Are we supposed to root for the DA and Charles getting together or are we supposed to root against them? Why does the mom hate the dad? Why did the dad not financially support his wife and son all these years in America but when he got hurt they were immediately on his mind and send his oldest son. He clearly cares about them, knows where they are so why the inconsistency?
And the reason they had to leave Taiwan, the whole rolodex plot is so absurd. If the wife is that ambitious she wouldn't raise such a useless son, she wouldn't be the one who cares enough to want to take him away. The triad leaders barely had any security, the house was unguarded, no security systems, nothing is making sense. It feels like I'm watching a series created by children.
I did enjoy the violence and the humor. Charles & his mom did most of the heavy lifting, the supporting cast really could improve. Off the top of my head I can think of 10 Asian actors who can more convincingly play the various triad bosses.
So much potential wasted.
FUBAR (2023)
Fun, action comedy series!
This isn't one of those serious spy series, most of the subplot have gaping loopholes. But I found it fun and enjoyable. Arnold and his daughter have great chemistry, love the back and forth father/daughter bickering. There is a character in the show Roo who is unnecessarily mean spirited. She is obnoxious, puts her team mates down constantly, is rude to everyone except Arnold. If there's a season 2 I hope this deeply unpleasant character gets written out. Other supporting cast are great together, except maybe one who plays the romantic interest of the lead actress within the CIA, they don't have any chemistry and just awkward to watch.
Ghosted (2023)
Unfunny, make light of serious issues and leads have zero chemistry
We made it half way through and had to give up. Male lead character was delusional, a creep and a stalker played off as cute, with enabling parents who encourage his awful behavior. Stalking someone, putting a tracker on someone after one date isn't cute. It's not a "grand romantic gesture" as he says in the movie. Tracking someone via a tracking device to another country after they stop replying is so creepy. It's not ok to spam someone when they stop responding. Whomever wrote the terrible script has boundary issues. The acting was stiff. The action scenes were bad. The only saving grace was the special cameos, those were fun.