janefgdoe Reviews

The Sandman (2022– )

Great story, great execution, too much wokeness

[8/10 · 5 January 2024]

I didn't know the story is based on a comics - I found it out from the imdb reviews. I didn't even know what it's gonna be about, I just had a feeling I'd like it and when I had time, I binge-watched it. And I loved it.

I love the dark atmosphere and the gloomy Morpheus, the Greek mythology foundations, the way the characters are built and the way the story evolves. I don't mind the slow pace, it worked for me to create a dreamy state which is perfect for the story. Contrary to the reviews I saw, I enjoyed more the second part, because it is when we got some action and when the characters stopped being just weird.

I need to say it. There's too much wokeness and it hurts the story and shrinks the possible audience. Don't get me wrong - I don't mind people with different orientations. But if only 1/3 of the characters are not on spectrum, that bothers me. I cannot watch this with my partner, because even though the show is great, he wouldn't like that everyone is gay and/or trans. I wish the producers didn't go that wild with the gender assignments. I think more people would have enjoyed the show.

In any case, I'm looking forward to the second season because the quality of the story and the world-building gives me enough satisfaction to be able to ignore what I don't like. But well, I'm growing more and more tired of shows betting on sexuality to drive views.

Time After Time (2017)

It starts with a True Blood energy but then it loses it

[6/10 · 17 February 2023]

I liked the series, the plot starts more or less standard and then evolves into something pretty cool. The naive scientist, the woman-fighter and the charming monster. I particularly liked the island episodes as they reminded me of Lost. As a whole, the chemistry between the 3 main characters is great and gave me the hope we'll see something like a love triangle. I guess this is why I got progressively upset after episode 9. Maybe because I was really thinking about something like True Blood where everybody has a very questionable morality. In this case, however, the morality wins and things get very black and white. Which dissipates the energy. The characters simple do not change, they don't have an arc, they do what they do. Also I need to warn anyone watching this, the mortality rate is something like True Blood. People just die and die and die. But anyway it was fun binge-watchin and I looked for season 2 and I was a bit disappointed it got canceled. With better writers, it could be a fun world to explore.

Wednesday (2022– )

Exactly what I wanted to see

[9/10 · 7 December 2022]

I really enjoyed the series, it's what I wanted to see and what I needed to see. The plot is not that original, you can guess what is going to happen pretty early in the show. But the execution is marvelous. Jenna Ortega is very convincing as Wednesday and the script and dialogues are very well written, very entertaining and witty. The cello and the dance are both very nice touches, like the cherry on the top. The supporting cast is also good and the side stories are not annoying despite the whole story happening in a high school. The funniest of all is that they managed to make out of all the characters, including the grownups, comic book characters. I hope for a second season and I hope it can become the new True blood as it has a lot of potential.

The Leftovers (2014–2017)

A lot of smoke to hide a soft heart

[8/10 · 25 March 2022]

Some shows tell you everything, and by the end of it, you get to know the characters, you get to know the story, and you're happy you were a part of it. This show, however, is more like a scene covered in a lot of smoke, and you try to figure out what you're seeing, but it's always a bit confusing. For example, who were the good guys and who were the bad guys, what was the origin of the event. Everything is a big question mark. One can interpret things, but it is not obvious. In this, it is a bit like "Lost". Lots of biblical references, but in the end, it's like an unreliable narrator story. You only see the stories of the characters, but you don't see the big picture.

Regardless, the story in essence is about how we deal with loss. How it destroys us and controls us and how sometimes we just don't want to let it go, don't want to forget, because it's what defines us. It is extremely moving. And the acting is magnificent - everyone was just great. It's very well filmed (especialyl final season). It was a bit too dark for me, I had to scroll through some of the more disgusting scenes, and I really didn't understand who needed all this smoking. But the story was told in an excellent way, really captivating and moving. I enjoyed it and I recommend it.

Station Eleven (2021–2022)

Well deserved 9/10 for me

[9/10 · 11 March 2022]

I binge watched it in the past two days - it was that good. The show tells us the story of the survivors of a great pandemic, with a 1/1000 survival rate. It follows the shock, the realisation, the hiding and then the actual survival of a small group of people, all connected through one person they all knew. We've seen/read a lot of post-apocalyptic stories - there's nothing spectacularly new in this. What I find fascinating is the way the story was directed and edited, the way the past, the present and the future are all intertwined in one comic book. A book that became a self-fulfilling prophecy, despite only a few copies of it existing. Maybe the whole movie is an adaptation of the comics. I really loved it. I'm not into theater at all, I literally do not get why everyone was so obsessed with acting. But it worked for me. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. I simply loved it.

Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019)

I had fun

[6/10 · 28 January 2022]

I am not a child but I like Ryan Reynolds humor and I enjoyed the movie. The story was entertaining. I'm not a fan of Pokemon in any of its forms, but the story had its merits, even if the plot twist was rather obvious. And the jokes were good. Also visually it looked great. So yeah. I liked it. I can understand why for some people, it's not gonna be interesting, because a big part of the movie is Ryan's voice acting and if you're not into that, well, probably it's gonna be boring. But for me, it was ok.

6 Underground (2019)

Excellent action, poor propaganda

[6/10 · 28 January 2022]

The action scenes are marvelous. I mean seriousy, the movie is all about crazy action scenes, clever ideas, and a lot of explosions. And it that, it's great.

The propaganda is pathetic. I think a lot of people will see it and say "Oh, no, not again". Because we've seen it in movies, we've seen it in real life and let's just say we know enough on this.

I have some issues with the character Ryan Reynolds is playing. I think I liked him more in the final part where he revealed himself as a tech genious. I guess he was too serious in the first part, which simply doesn't work for him. Also, I didn't get why Number 4 had a British accent, when a Russian one would work so much better for the character.

Finally, the story starts super big and promising, but in the end, it's just one heist. So that disappoints too. But as a whole, the movie is very good visually, it's also very funny, so yeah, I recommend.

Asterrarium (2021)

Dark but super funny

[7/10 · 28 January 2022]

I actually needed that. A good dark comedy, that says so much about our current world, by literally having almost nothing to do with it.

At first the story seems like the standard disfunctional family - a bit rough, a bit bitter, but all understandable. Old friends, old stories, old dramas. Then, guns mix with alchohol and standard Russian nihilism and the results are absolutely hilarious. It seems like everybody is unhappy over getting or not getting certain STD. Which seems as funny as it is, makese sense - getting a STD in a small town must be very traumatic, as literally EVERYBODY will know about it. And since it's the end of the world, things get very rough, very soon.

If "Don't look up" focuses on people ignoring the problem, in this Russian version, they show people who don't ignore it, but instead, try to live with it and miserably fail.

Anyway, we had a good laugh, most of the time with the WTF look on our faces.

Needle in a Timestack (2021)

Very touching love story

[7/10 · 22 January 2022]

This movie is before all a love story. A touching one. One that you can relate probably after you pass some age.

I liked the line "every love story changes the life lines of many people". This was the idea of the movie. It's unsettling. I also prefer to believe love is unique for everyone. That we all have a soul mate. But we may as well have more than one. Maybe one is more optimal than the other, maybe one is "a bigger love", maybe not. I don't know. Nobody knows. But we all know there is life after love and that life sometimes continues with another love.

So I think this is what the movie is exploting. Is it a good sci fi? Of course not. But it's a good love story. It's well executed. I like that it's slow and gentle. It has its own style and proper pace. I scrolled some of the slower moments, but as a whole, I think it's a good thing to watch. It poses interesting questions. The actors are good. The music is good. I like it. Maybe it's not for everyone, but to me, it has its charm.

Free Guy (2021)

Very funny movie, close to the hearts of many gamers

[7/10 · 4 November 2021]

I didn't have high expectations about the movie, because the traiers didn't represent the story in the best way. So I was really surprised by the NPC part and since as many gamer I have fantasized about that possibility a lot, I was caught in the movie and loved it immensely. The special effects are great, the performance also for the most part. I didn't like so much Taika Waititi, I think he was overdoing it, but Ryan and Jodie were simply amazing. The story and the dialogues are beautifully written and the jokes are hilarious. As a whole, the movie surprised me in the most positive way and left me feeling very optimistc. So I think it's something great to watch in this complicated times.

P. S. Of course, most of us should also suspend their understanding of how computers work, but that's a small price to pay.

The Flight Attendant (2020–2022)

It starts like comedy of errrors but actually grows

[8/10 · 23 March 2021]

After the first episode, I thought "well, that's actually quite stupid. And come on, flight attendants cannot have so much fun, right?". But as the episodes progressed, it became something totally different. It's not so much about the murder, I didn't feel any interest whatsoever about who killed the guy. It was about what happened to Cassie to mess her up so badly. That was the real mystery. Why a beautiful, smart girl with a great profession spend her time in oblivion. I really enjoyed watching the series, I felt touched by her story and I felt satisfied by the plot and the ending. Now, some people might feel she was way too dumb. But in reality, she's not dumb, she's reckless. She was hurting herself the whole time by doing all these crazy stuff. And that's the powerful thing. How much we deform our reality, to compensate for the pain in our childhoods. I recommend it.

Starfish (2018)

Mesmerising cinematography

[8/10 · 15 February 2021]

I didn't know anything about the film, I watched it and I was captured by the beautiful cinematography and acting (well one actor, but also the voice acting was fantastic). The story is crazy, kind of based on the theory aliens won't be a creatures from different place, but from different state of perception. Maybe a little bit Castaneda inspired? In any case very magical and also, very touching. Because it's much more a personal drama of forgiving and forgetting, than anything else. The main character suffers, she's mourning her friend, but also her own mistakes in her life. So yeah, it's a super powerful journey. I watched it on a higher speed, like 1.1-1.2x, so I didn't have problem with the ultra-slow mode of presentation. And the music sounded super cool. But to be honest, I loved the movie. I don't recommend it to people who like explosions and action and stories which are obvious and tell you everything. It's for people who like introspection and guessing what things mean. There is a lot of power in the film and in the story. Also the main actor is extremely beautiful and did I mention she acts terrific? She's just great. And also every detail in the movie was great and carrying so much meaning. It's quite an experience.

The Infinite Garden (2017)

Dreamlike and extremely beautiful

[8/10 · 22 January 2021]

That's one of the very few Bulgarian films I can say I truly enjoyed. It's dreamlike and strange and blurred and beautiful. Some of the scenes are like works of art. The plot revolves around two brothers and the trauma left in them by losing their parents as children. The elder brother is ruthless and brutal in his work for the corrupt mayor, the younger brother is "vulnerable" meaning spoiled by his overprotective big brother. The brothers get a reality check when they meet the super weird Emma. I don't think the film presents Emma well enough, she's left a mystery but I think the one scene where she speaks is a bit weird. The voice should have been the dream-like voice describing the rules, not her own. But in any case. The switching between the mystery garden and the park is a work of art. Also, I loved that the film presents Sofia as a really beautiful and mysterious place. Sofia is a great city with thousands of years of history which is mostly hated and not appreciated by its inhabitants. And most Bulgarian movies also don't do it justice. So maybe this is what really caught me - just how beautiful Sofia is in this movie. Thanks to its creators and I hope one day we see it in Cinemax 2 where it belongs. Really a piece of art.

Wildlings (2019)

Ok-ish

[6/10 · 22 January 2021]

The film is ok, they tried to make it modern and fun, but I think they overdid it a little. They should have invested more in the wild part and made the heroes and the settings as crazy as possible. Something like Kill Bill. It would work much better than the pretense of "realism". Also, the sound is still not optimal. So few Bulgarian movies understand that sound is an art by itself. Not the soundtrack, the sound. You have to be able to understand very easily what the actors say (in Bulgarian) and my boyfriend kept on asking me what they are saying. Which is ridiculous as he's Bulgarian. Aside from that the story is fun. I strongly object the sexual violence scene - it didn't have to be that brutal and it didn't go well at all with the over-all light-hearted theme of the film. I literally got out of the room until the scene was over. The rest of the film was fine, it was fun, it had good jokes. I think the actors needed to work a little bit more on their wildness but then considering the covid depression, maybe I'm biased. It's a good film for Saturday night.

Lifebreath (1997)

Very sobering but realistic movie

[7/10 · 5 November 2020]

When I watched this movie long time ago, it deeply impressed me, mostly because of the ending. As other people have noted, it's very shocking, but to me, it totally made sense. Later, a relative of mine developed CF, I developed another lung disease and suddenly, the movie became very very realistic. I know people won't like to believe it, but even now, 2020, patients with lung diseases have very problematic existence. And yes, it is disgusting, it is sad, it is sometimes sexless, it's very hard for the relatives and most of all, the fight is for every breath. So that part of the movie is very realistic. Now, the transplant part is not realistic - double lungs transplants are hard, rare, and as a whole, it's complicated. But it's very unlikely what happened in the movie. What happened at the end, however, is very likely. I'll explain it like this - not being able to breath makes you a different person. You have to measure every movement, every desire, every thought. And if you suddenly become normal again - you become a new person. In her case, she was angry, but she didn't have a way to express it. So when she finally could express it, this was her revenge for the whole situation. A lot of people will see what he did as an act of love, but very little people would accept that kind of act of "love". So yeah, I've seen this movie long long ago, but I still have the final scence in front of my eyes. It's a hard movie to watch, but it has its value, if you want to glimpse into the life of people with lung diseases.

Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs (2019)

I fell in love with it from the moment I saw the trailer

[7/10 · 5 November 2020]

Really enjoyable animation. I saw the trailer yesterday and I just knew I'm going to love the movie. And I did. It was every bit exactly what I imagined - very clever, very funny, a lot of pop references and as a whole, very charming experience. I see in the reviews there are some complains about fat-shaming - the movie is absolutely not doing this. Quite on the contrary, it makes fun of all the people who judge solely by the appearance. And this becomes clear in the first 5 minutes. So, I recommend it, I'm really glad I watched it. I only wished Pino, Noki and Kio had more lines, because the guys were actually very clever and very cool geek stereotypes. But honestly, the French guy was my favorite. Amazing voice actors. Seriously, the film is making fun of so many stereotypes at the same time - the superpower of the red shoes (you know, the ridiculously expensive red-laquared soles), the questionable motives of the boys (Merilin included), the geeks, the muscle, the sword, the prince Average who just wants to have fun, the french man and his face masks (loool). Really cool parody of a fairy tale, very nicely executed, a lot of fun to watch.

Frozen II (2019)

Beautiful and empowering!

[10/10 · 22 February 2020]

I didn't expect a lot from the movie, because I didn't like too much the first part. But this one was really amazing. The animation is beautiful, very well done and very well thought of. I loved the dialogues, at time they were really philosophical and I was like "is this really written for kdis?". But I'm not a kid and they worked for me. The story for me was unexpectedly good and both creative and entertaining. Ok, it's not really surprising, if you're into Hermetics, but I never expected from a movie for children to make so much sense on so many levels. Everything about the story made sense to me and everything fits so well in the process of growing up - facing challenges, looking for the "Why", dealing with grief and mourning, never giving up. That's so unbelievably powertful. It's better super-hero story than most of the Marvel movies - because it doesn't rely only on super-powers, it relies on love, commitment and faith. And pure old persistence and craziness. I just fell in love with the movie. Definitely one of my top movies ever.

Snowden (2016)

A great movie

[9/10 · 20 October 2019]

I am a great fan of Snowden, for me, he is a hero. So no surprise after "Citizen 4", I wanted also to see "Snowden". Well, I must admit I never expected for the movie to touch me so deeply. It was told in such a masterful way, that even though I know the story, I was practically enchanted by the plot. The voice of Joseph Gorden-Levitt, the manners, the looks, everything was so unbelievably realistic! I just cannot believe how well he did in this role. I still haven't read "Permanent record" so I'm not sure to what extent the movie is true to the reality, but from what I know, it seems very close. But what's more important - the movie really is a good movie. You feel immersed in all the details, the animations, and the suspense. It's surreal. It leaft me teary at the end, because you just realise the person it portrays is simply amazing. Edward Snowden is amazing!

Red Sparrow (2018)

Intriguing but unfortunately political

[7/10 · 3 February 2019]

The movie is clever. The plot is involved enough to keep you glued to the screen and until the end, you keep on wondering who's playing who. The acting is solid and I'd call the setting realistic, if it is situated in the 90s. And maybe it is, because of the use of "disks". But I couldn't tell for sure and the constant use of "the President" implies otherwise. And that's one thing I find disappointing. It's a bit too obvious who the good guys are. "Personal freedom", "living in a prison" - that's so 90s. True, the propaganda is presented in a clever way, but also it's not subtle enough. And I think for a movie created in the 2018, it should be. But then, maybe exactly that, combined with the many things left unsaid and the brutality of some scenes will make the viewer question whether things are so black and white or there are some questions left unanswered.

Dimension 404 (2017)

Very enjoyable and clever

[8/10 · 29 January 2019]

I didn't know anything about this show, I was intrigued by the title and binge-watched it in 3 days. Obviously I enjoyed it a lot. I read in the reviews many people compare it to other similar shows. Well, I don't. I haven't seen the Black Mirror, but I remember enjoying the "Twilight zone" when I was a kid. Also, I happen to be a huge fan of sci-fi short stories. I really really like this genre, because it escapes from the trend to write endless sequels, prequels and whatnot. It's just a good story with a beginning and an end and that's it. So basically, that's what you'll get from the Dimension 404 - a good story. Each of the episodes is a separate story and it's a VERY GOOD story. My favorite episodes are 1, 5 and 6. "Chronos" also was very good, but I think it had some scientific flaws. But basically all of the episodes were fun and engaging on a deeper level. And they left me thinking and sharing my thoughts with other people. In short, I was surprised and amazed. Also, I like the length of the episodes and I liked that they are not too dark. I don't think good books or films should be dark and gruesome. A good story is a good story and those stories were good for me. I hope there is a second season.

Brainstorm (1983)

Great sci-fi dressed in the 80s style

[7/10 · 6 January 2019]

I find it surprising I never knew of this movie, when it's such a sci fi classic. It might look a bit old, in view of current technologies, but the message is still the same - what are we going to do, when we can finally interface our brains. And basically, we haven't achieved what the movie talks about, even though we have so much cooler gadgets to play with. So I guess it's still sci fi, 30 years later. And well, the end is amazing.

Anon (I) (2018)

Nice for Saturday evening

[7/10 · 6 January 2019]

This movie should be watched with certain mindset. It's a slow movie. In a boring way. But If you manage to ignore this, the plot is interesting. It's about a future in which everyone is always connected, all their actions recorded and uploaded to the "cloud" ("The Ether"). And when it appears there is someone who can deactivate that connection, that's a game changer and should be stopped on all cost. I don't want to give any spoiler, so I won't. I found the plot interesting and the twist - ok. I am a fan of anti-utopias, so I can't say the idea was surprising and novel, but the actors were good and they made me contemplate how the story develops and think about it afterwards. Which I think is the point of such movies. Not so much to "Wow" you, but to make you think how easy it is to become that society. How easy freedom can disappear under the pretence of false safety. In that, I think the movie is successful and worth watching.

Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

Disappointed

[6/10 · 6 January 2019]

After hearing a lot of good reviews, I decided to give it a chance. I shouldn't have.

First and foremost, the only Asian thing in the movie is the title. Seriously, this movie could work just as well if you exchange the Asians for Russians or Africans or whatever. Without changing a word from the script, just the last names and the name of the city. Nothing more. It's as white-washed as it gets. And not in a good way.

Second, the plot is remarkably vain. One would expect some rich people to be superficial and stupid, but come on, all of them? And even Rachel, who is a PhD, doesn't confront them on this and instead decides to play along? I kind of assumed she did it, because being submissive is her way to show respect, but it just doesn't make much sense for her as a character.

Third, the romance, the twist, everything is like out of a fairy-tail. Only, everyone is Chinese. It's all very plain and not distasteful enough to be funny. It's like a modern fairytale. I guess that's why so many people liked it, but still, I don't feel it was worth my time. If I really have nothing better to watch- sure, why not, the actors are pretty enough and everything is posh enough. But it's not what I expected.

Girls Don't Give Up (2018)

Super fun!

[9/10 · 20 October 2018]

The idea of the show is to follow the crazy life of 5 women with different problems (and different ages) but united by their common problem - men! It's full of Russian humor, lots of drinking, flirting and funny stories. The acting is very good, the dialogues are witty and the actors are hot. I had very good time watching it, it was my first Russian series and I found it surprisingly good. I have some critiques for the clothes which at times were repetitive (you'll notice it most in Lera's clothes but not only), but aside from that, it looked like "Sex and the city" in Russian style. I hope there is another season and it's just as fun.

Mother! (2017)

I liked the movie

[7/10 · 1 July 2018]

Disclaimer: I totally missed the Biblical references and I learnt them from a review here. So obviously that part of the movie was totally lost to me. But. I enjoyed it. It was beautiful, mysterious and in the end totally crazy. It made me think. It made me relate to the woman on the most mundane level - the supportive wife, the self-obsessed artist, the house - the temple of the their love, being desecrated by his ego. I saw it as a grotesque critique of the relationship model - giver/user. So even just that layer was fine with me and made me feel my time was well spent. Also the evolution of the society, with the false idols it creates and then starts killing in "their name". It was interesting story told in a way that worked for me. Now, about the Biblical references, in retrospection I can see the idea and it explains a lot. But honestly, if I knew them in advance, that would have ruined my appreciation for the film.