suse-prinas Reviews

Catch-22 (2019)

Not what I was expecting

[6/10 · 29 July 2019]

Let me say that I've never read the book (or even heard of it) before this. I've heard of Catch 22, but never really knew what it meant.

Now this was supposed to be a comedy (or at least a bit funny). It is definitely not that. It's not funny at all, and all of the bloody death scenes made me angry. I guess that part was sort of intended. But really the whole thing seemed like a distasteful mess. It is both ridiculous (and trying to be funny) and gross at the same time and these two things just don't mix well. If I just wanted a bloody war miniseries I would just watch Band Of Brothers. It is is much better, and at least it makes sense.

The period shots are nice, the acting seems decent enough and the story will leave you wanting more... at least for the first two episodes until you get to know the pattern of how this works. Then it becomes a bit boring and pointless.

You Are Wanted (2017–2018)

Not bad at all

[8/10 · 30 December 2018]

When I first saw the ratings I said "I'll pass". Bit then it came in front of me again and I just decided to give it a go. And I was pleasantly surprised.

Episode 1 was a bit weird but then the things started getting pretty good. And by the end of season 1 I actually really enjoyed the show. Season 2 then really changed the pace. Everything went fast paced with a lot more action and everything. A lot more fun as well.

Is the acting bad at the beginning? Yes. Is the story a bit weird and it doesn't make sense at first? Yes. But then you start getting things and the things make a lot more sense. Acting improves as well. It still is a German crime drama at its heart. And I loved those when I was a kid. As for people complaining that the english dub is crap - learn to use the subtitles and watch the original. That's why they are there.

Now I am a techy. I work as a programmer. And the hacks and the hacking shown are actually pretty accurate which is a rarity for television. Sure everything is over dramatic, but the basics are actually there. Hackers use a command line, he gets hacked via an attachment that he clicks, he uses tor and duckduckgo for the basics in internet annonimity, ...

Beach Rats (2017)

Doesn't really go anywhere

[5/10 · 15 November 2017]

This is another one of those gay themed movies that tries to show some deeply hidden emotions or something, but instead goes nowhere.

Let's start with what's good first... Most of the cinematography is pretty good - expect for overly shaky camera in few scenes. There is a lot of eye candy in terms of shirtless guys and more - can help in making the movie at least a bit more interesting. And the acting isn't totally bad. At least the actors don't feel stiff.

Sadly that is where good things end. There is little dialogue in the movie, though that is not always a bad thing. But in this movie it actually is. Because we don't really see any character development and no real story. We have a young guy that takes drugs, has sex with older men and spends time with his friends doing stupid things. That's almost the entire story. Backing characters have no names, no personality and really don't do anything. Main character... pretty much the same. No ambitions, no desires, no anger, nothing. He just is. Pretty much the whole thing can be seen in the trailer.

You will get the same story if you look at pictures of random strangers in a city near a beach. Though those will probably have more depth. Overall I can't really recommend this one. If you want teens coming to terms with life and their sexuality go watch something like Hidden Kisses or Boys and leave this one alone.

Skam (2015–2017)

"The" TV Show

[10/10 · 16 April 2017]

I've seen a lot of TV shows during my life (probably more than most people) and I am having serious issues finding a show that is better than this.

As a 24 year old guy I am probably not the primary audience for this, but I've never once felt like I am too old for this or that this was written for somebody else. It instead made me feel nostalgic and reminded me of my high school experience, which was pretty similar to what is shown here (just with less partying). There are no classic "jocks and nerds" groups in this, just different groups of friends that interact with each other. I don't know if this is because the high school experience is different in Europe than in the US (where most popular TV shows are from) or something else. But it certainly felt closer to home.

The first two seasons were brilliant, but season 3 felt so real that it made me cry more than once. The character of Isak could have been written after any closeted gay boy during high school. And that basically struck so close to home. I pretty much fell in love with Tarjei Sandvik Moe and his character. His acting ability at 17 pretty much makes every other actor seem like an amateur. He expresses so much emotion through his body language and facial expressions that I believed that this is actually what he was feeling.

Season 4 has just started and I am going to watch the first episode after I finish writing this. Sure it probably won't be as good as season 3 (mostly because I pretty much saw myself in season 3), but I have no doubt that it will be brilliant. The main issue is - where do we go after Season 4? Season 4 is supposed to be the last one and I have serious issues finding a suitable replacement. To be honest... I pretty much lost interest in all other TV shows because none of them can compare to this.

Class (I) (2016)

A breath of fresh air

[10/10 · 30 October 2016]

After the first three episodes I can safely say that this show is awesome. Especially the third one, and I can't wait for more.

It is somewhat like Torchwood meets The Sarah Jane adventures. It's not as bleak as Torchwood, but it is way darker (and with more blood) than The Sarah Jane adventures. It is the right combination of dark and humorous. I like how it focuses more on characters and how meeting aliens affects them, instead of on the actual monsters itself. It's not just another "monster of the week" type of a show.

The diversity of characters is great as well. Being part of the LGBT community myself I really like the fact that we are finally getting a main character in a Sci-Fi show that seems to be gay. Yes, Torchwood had similar, but with that we never really had as much time to actually enjoy those scenes. With this being a slightly lighter show focused on the characters we actually can do exactly that. But at the same time the fact that those characters are gay doesn't really detract from the characters overall personality. I think that this show made the first perfect gay character. One that will appeal to straight and gay population.

For me the Doctor Who spin-offs were always more interesting than the main show (I still love the main show of course). And I think that this show is continuing that tradition. It's been a long while since the last time I was so anxiously waiting for a new episode of any TV show. And I am glad to have that feeling again.