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sophoclese
Reviews
3 Body Problem (2024)
Well worth the watch
The series is well produced has some good acting and kept me entertained. The concept behind the plot is fascinating and original. I have not read the books yet but I did watch the Chinese produced series after the Netflix.
I'm not going to drive into which series is better, far too subjective of a task. I will say I enjoyed both productions very much though for different reasons.
I am not sure if dividing a main character from the book into 5 separate screen characters is the best route but it works ok here. The characters were relatable and this adaptation allowed for a more efficient story line.
It did feet like the later episodes really wanted to go all out "Independance Day" in dealing with the impending crisis. This began to overshadow what, for me, was super interesting: is all out war the only or best approach such an event?
If you are seeking a new sci-fi series you'll likely find this entertaining and satisfying. If you do want to go further down the rabbit hole, the Chinese series is worth a look also.
San ti (2023)
Not perfect but very good.
I have not read the trilogy. I learned about this series from my research after watching the netflix adaptation. I found the netflix series entertaining and well produced but I could tell it was drawing from source material more complex than what was presented. Thus my research to find out more about Liu Cixin. I was planning to start reading the trilogy (and I will) but saw this Chinese production.
So, I am pretty nerdy and I love more expository, detailed sc-fi. The flashy stuff is fun but give me some complex ideas to chew on and I am in heaven (think Mindwalk, Jacobs Ladder, Stalker). The Chinese production, Three-Body, has that in spades, maybe even too much. For me this series really drew out the existential crisis of the impending arrival of an more advanced extraterrestrial civilization. The motives of the various chacters are well developed as are the philosophical and scientific concepts. I found the acting and screenwriting mostly well done. The production quality was ok, though uneven (especially the soundtrack). I personally found the insights into modern Chinese culture quite fascinating as well.
I did find the subtitles to be poorly executed, often flashing too briefly to read easily. One episode had the subtitles out sync which obviously made for a tough watch. The pacing is uneven but really improves in the final 10 episodes (out of 30).
Overall I have really enjoyed the series. There is enough intellectual stuff to keep me engaged and the production is pretty good but not perfect. I look forward to reading the trilogy and then watching the series again.
The Circle (2017)
Interesting premise but falls way short
The excellent cast struggles with a rather lazy and clunky script and almost complete lack of character development. The editing is just sloppy in some parts (particularly the chase sequence with the Mercer character). Still it was nice to see some of my favorite actors and there was some decent cinematography.
The premise is interesting and relevant but we are not engaged enough to care at all (except maybe for the protanganist's parents) In fact, my sense is that at the end of the film most viewers miss that the protagonist continues to hold their basic beliefs about the use of the technology (which is quite creepy). I could see if the message was 'well the genie is out of the bottle, how do we move forward?) But there is no concluding elaboration of the protaganist's position, consequences for the company or how the technology is subsequently used by the world.
I suppose we are stuck with social media and the challenges to personal privacy. I am not sure we are ready for the conclusion this film arrives at (equal invasion of privacy for all).
Knock at the Cabin (2023)
Not horrible but ultimately not satisfying
M. Night Shyamalan is a director for whom I usualy cut alit of slack. I find most of his effprts fairly original and entertaining. I find him to be a consistent 7/10 rating director. He may have done well to stick with the final ambiguity of the source material but he would have done better to go with a truly profound ending. Instead we're offered a milk toast reiteration of abrahamic mythology. I enjoyed the acting and script for the most part and Shyamalam's cinematography always hits the mark for me. But, damn that ending. Why couldn't we get the ending that would really have us all agog in horror and existential crisis: the skeptical/traumatized husband realizing the captors' story is true, shoots his daughter, spouse and them himself in a moment of realization that humanity is nothing but a toy to a callous bloodthirsty super powerful entity and would rather see all he loves dead than be be subservient to said entity.
Karppi (2018)
An ambivalent experience.
I enjoyed 'watching this series. The acting was good and the production values were very high. I did find it frustrating trying to get a grip on who the two main characters were as people. I mostly found them as humans, rather contemptible and their behaviors were often quite questionable to say the least. Nurmi had some redeeming qualities by the end but I felt Karppi would likely go on being a really crappy mother and continue solving cases as long as her luck held out. Having said that I'd probably watch another season. Funny how low my standards are these days. As an aside, it was interesting seeing how modern Finnish life was portrayed. The series made it look like life is just as crappy there as in North America.
Forsvinningen - Lørenskog 31. oktober 2018 (2022)
Hmm...Which is more frustrating....
The acting and production are pretty good. I found the series, for the most part, engaging. However I realized by the end of episode 2 how the series was going to end up and this made watching the final 3 more an act of obligation than anything else. Of course watching a series that has no resolution is quite frustrating, especially when not set up in a way that prepares the viewer for such and makes the lack of resolution a key part of the narrative. Maybe something was lost in translation but I felt kinda ripped off. Though, I gotta ask, are Nowegian police really that incompetent? I mean there were things known right at the beginning, at least according to the series, that should have had the police focusing on a theory other than kidnapping. Were they too defferential to the status of the husband to consider him a suspect or what? If you like the genre, this will likely satisfy you, though not thrill you. If you don't like series that don't reward your time investment, e.g. Lame endings, you might want to pass.
Ad Astra (2019)
Visual treat, story goes nowhere
The film's creators appear to have blown all their creativity on the visuals. And the film is tasty sci-fi eye candy. But damn this story is shallow. At least two themes (father's fall from grace and/or the existential horror that we may be all alone in the universe) could have been developed to fine effect. Hell it would have worked as a straight ahead save the world story. But instead we are provided with barely luke warm morsels of any of these themes. In fact the first two themes above are casually tossed off in one line near the end. It was actually a bit embarrasing to watch that level of amateurish writing. And yes some of the science was increadibly silly for 2019. But I can easily cope with such sillines if the story is good. It just didn't work for me at the story level.
Mindhunter (2017)
Potential squandered
First things first: this is a very good series. High marks for overall production, directing, acting and writing. The first season was very tight. The purpose was clear and the characters motives and actions mostly made sense. The focus on the serial killers and the developing methodology was really quite fascinating and engrossing.
But the second season seemed a bit lost. The serial killer interviews and science were secondary to...whatever the focus was supposed to be. Ford's character development stagnated, Carr's took a rather nasty and somewhat inexplicable turnb such that I felt much for them by the end of the season. Only for the Tenches did I continue to binge watch. Holt MaCallany and Stacey Roca really shine and their story arc is done quite well. But to what purpose?
At the end of season two I have less understanding of what the Bureau has learned overall. The drawn out attention to the Atlanta story took us nowhere. The ADT killer scenes went nowhere. Even the killers' interviews felt peripheral. So while there was just enough to keep me engage at the end I felt a little cheated. I await season 3 with far less anticipation than i did for season 2.
Suspiria (2018)
A bit heady but superb craftmanship
This film its definitely not for everyone. Most of today's films are so bland and with evything so spelled out that i wonder what's the point. Movies like this do require a bit of brain work but the artistry carries you through all that work and leaves thou feeling something different than when you started. That's my king of entertainment. This is a simple story about resetting balance with very good acting, engaging cinematography and interesting soundtrack. But it is probably most suited to the art house crowd.