If you have ever visited my blog, you know I am game for pretty much any Star Wars stuff (I won’t use the word “content” because I hate describing movies and TV shows as that, just a personal preference), and therefore I watched all the Star Wars: Visions. And as with anything collaborative and short-based (it’s only nine episodes, where the longest one, I believe, is shy of just 20 minutes), you get a mixed bag. And this mixed bag is worth it.
Star Wars: Visions gives us a look at our favourite galaxy far, far away in a new light. Every episode focuses on different characters/stories, and most importantly, is animated in a different, unique style. And because there are various studios behind every episode, you get a variety of animation styles. Some of them are gorgeous, some are more “kids friendly”, but all will catch your eye as it’s not something you would be used to (unless you are watching plenty of anime shows, which is something, I need to get into).
I liked the aspect of “getting back to the roots”, as we all know Star Wars was… let’s just say inspired (quite heavily) by The Hidden Fortress (1958). So it was only a matter of time before Disney would acknowledge that and let some other artists play in this sandbox too. Especially if the idea pretty much came from their sandbox, it is more than fair. And to tell you the truth, if people and studios behind some of these episodes (The Duel, The Twins or The Ninth Jedi) were given a season or two to develop its own Star Wars-themed show fully, about the new characters in their animation style, I would love that. Those episodes were my favourite ones. Especially the first episode (The Duel) aesthetically, I liked that one the most. Yes, there are questionable things about this episode (lightsaber umbrella…?), but that animation style was pleasing and stunning to look at.
That is the thing about all these episodes, to be honest. Even the better ones always have something you can pick apart, or they are not fully developed. So I wouldn’t say either one is “perfect”. But I don’t think it would be fair to judge this show based on that, as that wasn’t the assignment, I don’t think. I believe, and I might be completely wrong here, the purpose behind this show was to give us, the fans, something from this vast universe from a different perspective. Seeing the galaxy far, far away through a new lens, with a different animation style for each episode. And don’t get too bogged down with a story. This show almost felt like a “demo” of what could have been, in the best way possible. And if you approach it like that, you will have fun with these shorts.
Will it blow your socks off? Do you absolutely have to watch it? No, is the short answer to both of these questions. But you still should, as you would miss out on something unique. And I think in the world, where even the “top tier” animation studios have “figured out” their style, and you can tell just based on a single picture from the movie what studio is behind what film, this show felt refreshing. It really felt great seeing lightsabers designed differently or stories we would never get or action sequences that are so crazy they simply work. And the fact all together these episodes are about three hours or so also helps.
Overall, Star Wars: Visions is an experiment that mostly worked. Not every episode will be your favourite, and some are 100% more tailored towards kids, but you still should have a good time with them. If for nothing else, you should watch this to see how uniquely different animation styles can be and how things can look so much more interesting if we let people from different cultures/backgrounds into a sandbox that’s been heavily dominated by white males. And this isn’t some crusade against white males (I am one too, so I won’t crucify myself), just a simple fact that we’ve seen this universe a lot throughout the years from one perspective. I think it’d be awesome to invite some companies behind a few of these episodes back and give them resources to produce a show or animated movie. I would be definitely watching it, and I can guarantee you I wouldn’t be the only one.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
I would love to know how the creators of Only Murders in the Building pitched this show. Because every time I tell someone to watch it and name the brilliant leading trio of actors (Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez), most of the time they’d look at me weirdly. As obviously, one name in here is not like the others. And that is the exact reason this show works so well.
Only Murders in the Building gets you from the very first episode. It hooks you in with a chill vibe, colourful characters, and you stay for the mystery element that is done very well. It also mixes and blends genres flawlessly – everything from comedy, crime, drama; this show has it all. And it’s not afraid to take some risks (for example, the episode from the perspective of an actual deaf actor (James Caverly) was the highlight of this show for me) while still maintaining your attention and not “stopping” the main storyline.
That was something shows like these sometimes struggle with – they take risks and focus on a plethora of characters, so you’d get episodes centring on that new storyline altogether. And that is great for getting to know that particular character better, sure. But often, it’s done to the disadvantage of the “main” storyline that gets stuck for that episode or adds very little to it. For example – this show reminded me in many ways of Desperate Housewives (2004 – 2012). One of only two shows I have started and never finished. Because it wasn’t worth it for me, as the storylines fell into this trap – too many characters were given a lot of time/space, and the main story (or mystery) wouldn’t sometimes exist. I know a part of the reason for that was the “network construct”. They had to fill a “TV year” (10 months); they had to have at least 22/24 episodes a season so you would get these episodes.
And this is where Only Murders in the Building takes this concept (even though it’s an entirely different premise, but the vibe is the same) and makes it work brilliantly for today’s streaming audience, where there are no rules. Want to have a show with only six episodes? Or ten? Sure, go ahead; we won’t stop you. That is why any show nowadays can take much larger risks and still make it work for the overall story. When you have a storyline with a beginning, middle and end, and you don’t have to worry about spreading it thinly across 22/24 episodes, your show tends to become much more focused.
I’ve mentioned them at the start, so now, let’s talk about the casting and mainly our three titular characters. I haven’t seen Steve Martin in a while, so it was great seeing him in something new, showcasing he is still funny. I won’t spoil anything, but in the last episode of this show, there is a scene that had me almost dying involving his character being inspirational, let’s say. Also, is it just me, or does he look the same age for the last 30 years? Martin Short surprised me, as I have only known him for his “out there” comedic performances, where he didn’t get to showcase his other, more dramatic side. In this show, he starts like this too, but you quickly discover that every character isn’t just one thing. And scenes with him and his family were great. He undeniably nailed his performance too. And Selena Gomez is not only stunning but is turning out to be a great actress too! Believe it or not, I have not seen her in many things. I can only imagine how challenging this must have been for her – not only because her character is the glue that holds this show together, but to “step up” on the level of two comedy legends… I don’t know about her, but if somebody told me I need to act (and be funny) opposite Steve Martin and Martin Short, I would have been nervous… for the first five seconds. Then, once my brain would process it fully, I would be downright terrified. But not her, Selena came, was funny and conquered.
And to a certain degree, you could argue she is the main reason this show works as well. Without her, it would just be two old guys running around. She is not only decreasing the average age of this show (significantly), but she “gels” with both of her co-stars so well, it almost seems obvious this combination would work. But here’s the thing – it wasn’t obvious. I think this show took a risk that paid off massively, and the main stars clicked almost effortlessly.
One thing I need to mention is the self-referential nature of this show, its meta-ness. As they record their podcast about a murder that happened, they often discuss that episode’s twists and turns inside of it, as if our protagonists were talking about the episode they are in right now. But that’s because they are. I loved this effective fourth-wall break and how every episode starts with a “cold open”, then credits and then a podcast player. That not only indicates the length of each episode you are watching but shows you how much time has passed since the episode started. And it’s these tiny touches that make this show stand out.
What I will write next might shock you, given how positive I have been until now. I honestly hope there won’t be too many seasons. I know season two has been approved already, and I can’t wait to see it. But I truly feel this concept “we only investigate murders that happen in our building” can’t be stretched (at least sensibly) too far. I would hope that we would get solid three, maybe four seasons maximum. Because I don’t think you can fully replicate this almost lighting in a bottle feel. Precisely the same issue that happened to Desperate Housewives – each season felt the same, even though the mystery was different. And at a certain point, there is only so much you can do with a show like this. But that’s a concern for the future. For now, I have enjoyed Only Murders in the Building and can’t wait for the next season.
Overall, Only Murders in the Building felt like a breath of fresh air. In today’s day and age, where shows are either too dramatic, there is no joy, or too comedic where there are no stakes or character development, comes this “little” (at least in scope), show that mixes several genres and does it well. The central trio should not work as well, and yet, somehow, it does, and it’s a joy to watch them act opposite each other. And the meta-ness of this is just a cherry on top of a pretty sweet cake. Is that the best TV show that’s currently on? Probably not. But it’s certainly up there, and it shows some promise for the future. The future, I hope, will be on the shorter side, as I would hate to see this show overstay its welcome.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
After finishing Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008 – 2020, my review here), I went ahead and said to myself I might as well commit to the rest of these animated shows. So I have started to watch Rebels and was delighted with the first couple of episodes. Because they didn’t seem to rely too much on the movies or anything else. Sure, we’d still get some characters from the Star Wars universe, but that was expected. But then, a lot of episodes seemed really tailored towards kids. That is when I started having my doubts about this show. However, I have committed and stayed for the entire run of it, and I need to say one thing – thank Yoda, I don’t rate these shows after each season.
Star Wars: Rebels is more kids friendly than its “predecessor” Clone Wars if you can even call it a predecessor. At least, the first two seasons were. Sure, you get the darker episodes every once in a while, but the show is more colourful and animated, which is something I will address separately later on, as I have my thoughts on the animation style. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but you know, you’d think they would try to appeal to a wider audience of Star Wars fans. But then, that’s when it happened – season three and mainly season four were great. They still managed to conserve the lightness, but it started to get more and more serious. And the last couple of episodes of the fourth (and final) season were not only awesome, but they could change how we understand this universe. But of course, we can’t discuss it without going to some spoilers, so…
Beware, SPOILERS are coming!
But before going into the massive spoilers, let’s start from the beginning. I loved our main heroes; all the voice casting felt right from the get-go. Who I need to give a special shout out are Vanessa Marshall and Tiya Sircar. Both from different reasons. Vanessa felt like the perfect “mother figure” to not just the young Ezra but to the rest of that crew. Her line readings always came across as caring and kind, but you didn’t want to get on her bad side. Plus, she was one of the best pilots the galaxy has seen, even acknowledged by her opponents a few times. And Tiya’s voice just felt soothing, strong and feisty, just like her character Sabine. To me, she’s had the most intriguing character backstory out of all of them, and Tiya’s voice always resonated with me. Both actresses, my imaginary hat is off to you.
I admire how this show dealt with our main hero, Ezra and his path to the Force. Yes, they had to go to “will he/won’t he” go to the dark side, as with literally every single Jedi character, who has ever appeared in the Star Wars universe, but I was glad to discover, we didn’t spend a lot of time on that subject. That was one of my main worries – this entire TV show will be about him being trained at first, then he betrays them, then they will try to convince him to go back to the light side of the Force… but no. Again, it’s definitely there, the show did deal with it, but it’s never this over-arching thing. Even towards the end, when Ezra is tempted by the Emperor himself, I knew his character well enough to know he won’t break.
Let’s discuss Kanan Jarrus, Ezra’s mentor. At first, I thought he was pretty decent. Once the show decided to make him blind, it seemed like an interesting choice. Until you discover it only “truly” affects him for an episode or two, and then “because of the Force”, he can feel things around him and therefore effectively see. That seemed like a bit of a cop-out, but at the same time, I understand that you can’t just disregard one of your main heroes halfway through the show. But then, when the fourth season happened, and you see his character’s back story, see him grow, to the point he sacrifices himself so others can live… That I didn’t expect. And what was so great about it, it totally worked the way it was supposed to work. You felt the loss. You understood why he had to do what he did. Also, they didn’t try to cop-out. They straight up killed him, no possible way he could have escaped or survived. I admire that every time a show has the guts to do that. As it is becoming less and less rare nowadays; for characters to not only die but to stay dead for good.
As I alluded to before, the moment when I really started to enjoy this show was around season three. And the last couple of episodes of season four, I have binged. Once they got to the Force thing, how you could travel via Force, and even alter the past… I honestly wish we get to explore this more in some other Star Wars show. But not with the “Skywalker” timeline; please leave that alone. There was also one more reason I started to enjoy this show more around season three, and the fans of this show will know who I am referring to – Grand Admiral Thrawn, as voiced by the brilliant Lars Mikkelsen.
He is more menacing than Darth Vader to me. Yep, I said it. Sure, he won’t Force-choke you like Vader or won’t pull up his red lightsaber to split you in half. But that is because he doesn’t need to do that. He will beat you because he is smarter than you. He is a brilliant tactician who is ahead of pretty much anybody at least ten steps. He never lets his guard down; his deduction game is so strong, it would make Sherlock Holmes blush… And most of all, his calm, always polite demeanour is chilling. Lars is chewing up the scenery with every line reading without overdoing it. It would have been so easy to try and voice this character over the top, but he never goes there. His vocal performance was pure perfection. If we were to get General Thrawn in the Ahsoka (unknown date) show, and since she’s already mentioned him in The Mandalorian (2020, my review here), the chances of him appearing are high, I want nobody else but Lars to play him. Put in him in all the blue make-up you can get your hands on, pay him anything he asks, and he will deliver one hell of a performance.
What took me the longest to get used to was the animation style. At first glance, it doesn’t differ that much from the Clone Wars; but there are differences. And mainly, and I know this will come across as petty, the lightsabers looked off. They are so thin they look like toothpicks. I understand that this was done on purpose see below:
The ignited lightsaber blades in this series flicker like they did in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) when a rotating glowing rod was used during filming as a practical effect. Afterwards, special lighting effects were added to the blades, and glowing rods were replaced by solid pipes in all of the sequels and prequels But for this show, lighting and visual effects supervisor Joel Aron studied the lightsabers in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977), and even managed to match the original flicker rate to make the lightsabers look exactly like they did in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977).
And I admire the level of detail and thinking that went to that I truly do. And you will eventually get used to it, but I am not going to lie every time in the early episodes, when there would be a lightsaber, it would seem off. Sometimes, not everything is better just because “that’s how they had it in the original movies”. But it’s not a big gripe. And, minus the strange lightsabers, the animation style is stunning, and some sceneries are simply breathtaking.
Overall, Star Wars: Rebels managed to convince me that this isn’t just a kids show. And I am so glad I stuck with it. The show tells its own story without heavily relying on most of the existing Star Wars properties. But every once in a while, they will remind you the characters you know and love are still out there, and I applaud them for that. Plus, this show managed to surprise me several times when handling some plot points and even gave us a window into the Force that I had never seen before. If you are a Star Wars fan, I would watch it with little expectations and stick with it; it will pay off. I think I will be more than happy to revisit this TV show at some point, some time from now.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
As the old joke goes: “Squid Game. Squid Game is everywhere. I open Twitter – Squid Game. I open YouTube – Squid Game. I’ve bought a tin the other day. And I am afraid to open it.” So after this hilarious and pretty old joke that can be used for anything that’s currently trending, let’s talk about this show. For the past month or so, it was impossible to escape it. It seemed that everybody in my immediate surrounding was talking about it (friends, colleagues). I have seen countless memes about it (because that is one way, how you know what is currently hip and trendy, people immediately turn it into memes), so I have finally cracked. I had to see it for myself, what the hype was all about.
I won’t lie, from what I have heard, it seemed like Battle Royale (2000) that is an excellent movie and well worth watching, by the way, but instead of school kids being kidnapped and taken to an island to fight for their survival, it’s poor people now. And as far as over-simplifications go, it’s pretty accurate. Except, of course, not really, because there is so much more. Sometimes a bit too much for its own good. But I will get to that.
Squid Game definitely took some “inspiration” from existing properties, and the creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk, managed to put his unique twist on it. I liked the concept; I enjoyed the performances and the message/parallels about society, the class system. But I couldn’t help but feel that this show sometimes went a bit too much into the “let us explain this to you clearly, so you understand the message here”. Especially in the VIP episode, I understand what the intention was, what the show was trying to highlight, but sometimes a whisper is louder than yelling. Also, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the longer the show went on, the more predictable it became.
I think you know where this is going; I will have to discuss some spoilers, so before that, let me just say this. If you are like me and it takes you a while to watch the “trendy” stuff, give Squid Game a go. I would 100% recommend watching it in Korean with English subtitles, as from what I have seen, the dubbing is awful. So, with this out of the way…
Beware, SPOILERS are coming!
Let’s talk about the “twisty” nature of this show. In the second episode, where the survivors of the first game vote to leave, I didn’t expect them to vote to leave. It felt like a Brexit referendum – it was really close, it ended surprisingly, and, predictably, it still led to a disaster. Politics aside, I enjoyed that decision. Even though I knew we had to come back, it was interesting to see how many people managed to change their minds and came back when invited back. That was the first difference between this show and any other property dealing with “a bunch of people killing each other for a big reward”. They were given a choice to leave, and they left no strings attached. And yet, when they had the time to think about the reward (as the show states), 93% of people came back to compete, fully realising what they were in for. Even though the majority voted to leave at that moment. I liked that aspect.
But I felt like that was the last “big” surprise of this show. And not for the lack of trying on their part, definitely not. But the more complex the story has gotten (organ harvesting? VIPs? Looking for a brother?), the more predictable those twists and turns became. I didn’t mind it too much, as I still have enjoyed the show overall, but it sometimes felt like the creator put himself in the corner, and the only way he knew how to get himself out of there was via cliches. For example, I could do without the entire “Where is this random policeman’s brother?” storyline. And don’t even talk to me about the reveal who the Front Man was or the fact our policeman is not dead. That wasn’t confirmed yet, by the way, but I am telling you this as an avid TV/movie watching person, I have not seen a character to be “fake dead” like this in a long time.
The concept itself – “let’s make poor people play kids games, but if they lose, they die” is intriguing, as some games, we can all relate to (marbles, tug of war) and some, like the squid game itself, is… to be honest, I still don’t fully understand what is so appealing about it, but I think I get it…? Anyway, it’s not about the games; it’s about the metaphors. It’s about the age-old (or however many decades it’s been since we’ve invented currency and a proper capitalism) question: “How much would you sell your soul for? Would you kill or participate in an activity that kills others if it meant you’d be rich? Of course if you are “lucky” enough to survive?”
Because underneath all the games, all cliches, I believe the universal appeal of this show is how much we believe in ourselves. Respectively, in our inept goodness and that we would have made the correct decision. That we, faced with a massive amount of money in our faces, would have done the right thing. I can see a lot of people watching this show, asking themselves: “How much would it take for me to end up like this?” Because it’s easy to discuss morality, laws and all that good stuff from the comfort of your couch, in your flat, house, where presumable, you have heating that’s working, electricity, and your basic needs are met. And that is why I was surprised by the ending. Not so much about the “who was behind it” bit, but the fact the “good guy” won.
If you think about it for a moment, Squid Game presents a world where evil people come on top. A world where if you are good, that is great and all, but people will take advantage of you (see Ali’s character played by Rama Vallury). He was on the “too good” end of the scale, and that got him killed. So it would make sense for this show to have a darker ending. The ending that should have happened, in my opinion. Where the last two guys are fighting, everything happens precisely, as it had in the show, except Park Hae-soo‘s character doesn’t have the sudden change of heart. He takes the knife next to his head and kills Lee Jung-jae‘s character. As I believe that would have happened. Would I love it? No, but yes. Because that would make the most sense in the world and the story we’ve been presented thus far. And most importantly, it would be in his character.
Because this show managed to do one thing absolutely perfectly, and those were the characters – throughout the entirety of the show, you love people, you love to hate others, but even with them, you could see why they would act the way they had. And Park’s character had sacrificed his soul (or morals or whatever you want to call it) long before that fight. I know why they went with the more “viewer-friendly” ending because it ties everything up nicely with a bow and the scene in the very last episode with the drunk guy and whether somebody would help him. What I am trying to say is this – I honestly believe there are genuinely amazing people walking among us every day. Selfless, helpful people who want to make this world a better place. But this “change of heart” of this particular character… I just didn’t buy it. Within the show, he would have taken the opportunity to kill his friend; he would take the money and then try to be better, maybe use the money for charity purposes to make himself feel better, justifying the choices he’s made.
And I guess this right here – this is why Squid Game became such a phenomenon. It gave us something interesting to talk about, to examine one’s morality, our thoughts. Because here’s the thing – I know people will disagree with me, saying how I didn’t understand what this show is about, how I am wrong about Park’s character etc. And this, to me, is a fascinating debate. I can’t be wrong because I can’t be right. There is no right or wrong answer here. It all goes down to whatever your moral compass is set to, what your core beliefs are. Everything plays a part. Your upbringing, your experience… kind of like in these games, right?
Overall, Squid Game managed to do something I was positively surprised by. It managed to deliver on a massive hype. I tried to approach this show with no preconceived notions, as that is not the best mindset to see something that’s supposed to be “the best thing ever since the sliced bread”, even though that was difficult, as it was literally everywhere around me. What I have gotten was almost a perfect show that provided me with something new-ish to think about, offered me some cool visuals, and left me wondering about morality, humanity and all that good jazz. My only complaint was that sometimes, the less you tell us, the better and the more I think about how the “final game” went down, the more I am convinced the show should have had the balls to make the “antihero” the real winner. It will be interesting to see whether this will get any second season, what that might look like and more importantly, how it will be received. For my money, I wouldn’t be mad if there was never any other season. Sometimes, less is more.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
I know what you are thinking and no, I won’t apologize for that pun in the title. Because Loki delivered everything, I could ever ask for, and more. Out of the Marvel shows, only one I still need to watch is The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021), but based on everything I’ve heard about it, it would be a surprise to me, if I liked that show more than Loki, as this is really close to perfection. And some elements of this show (casting, the score) are more than perfect.
Even prior watching any Marvel show, Loki was the show I was looking forward to the most. And to be perfectly honest with you, even though I was enjoying it for the first 4 episodes, I didn’t see myself giving it the ultimate rating, as something was still missing. But that is why I tend to rate/review shows after finishing the entire season. And I am glad I didn’t break the rule, especially with this show, as the last 2 episodes pulled me over the edge. They delivered on everything, from emotional pay-off(s), to setting up (by the looks of it) the entirety of Phase 4 of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and I am here for it.
Believe it or not, I wasn’t the biggest Loki fan before watching this show, as his character was getting slightly boring to me, as basically every time you thought he was the “good guy” now, he would always flip. Yeah, the first hundred times it was intriguing, but the second hundred or so times, it was just getting repetitive. But just as with WandaVision (2021, my review here), the creators utilised the TV show format correctly (by that I mean more episodes = more screen time = more character development) and almost re-defined Loki’s character, they actually made him grow and that made it easier for me to care about him. He was no longer this “kind of good, kind of bad” character, that only has some snarky comments and magic tricks in his sleeve, they actually put him on a journey, where we could see a very different character, than the one we started with. And at the end of this season, you know he’s a different person, even though his core didn’t change. Underneath the surface, it’s still him, but he’s just matured and here’s me hoping this character won’t go back to his old self, next time we will see him (either in a movie or the already announced second season of this show).
Besides Tom Hiddleston, I do need to complement pretty much anyone, who starred alongside him. Owen Wilson‘s performance complimented Loki’s really well, it was the perfect blend of funny and serious. Gugu Mbatha-Raw was one of those characters, who you will remember, as after the first season is finished, she still has this mystery around her, and you are just fascinated by her and want to know more about her. You are almost sure she’s not bad, but it wouldn’t surprise you, if she was. And Sophia Di Martino as Sylvie, was simply great. I can’t talk about her character without going into some massive spoilers, so let me just say, I can’t wait to see more of her and I hope she will have massive impact on the story going forward.
But that’s just it – I can’t wait to see them all back, either in various Marvel movies (and I am sure plenty, if not all of the main characters from this show will play some part in upcoming movies) or in the second season of this very show. That is something I didn’t even consider wanting, but soon after finishing this season, and seeing the “Loki will return in season two” title card, I was just extremely happy. Because it made so much sense. Where they left this story, it not only affects future Marvel movies going forward, but we could definitely have a great time exploring more of Loki’s character, the world they had built over the entire first season, and I can see the viewers having plenty of fun exploring plethora of… options (again, don’t want to go into spoilers).
One more thing I need to compliment is the score. Plenty of Marvel scores (except maybe the main Avengers theme) blend in together for me. But this show not only looks, but mainly sounds so unique, it has its own thing going on and I absolutely loved it. Something like this hasn’t happened for a while, where I would get the chills just from the theme music alone, or when things on screen started to get serious, the main Loki theme would intensify. Bravo, Natalie Holt, my imaginary hat is off to you, truly magnificent work.
Overall, Loki was a show I had some expectations for and yet, it managed to surpass them. And that is not a small task in this world full of things to watch. What I really enjoyed was the mystery aspect of it, how the show communicated the information you needed and at the same time, it always managed to hold something back, to keep you intrigued, without getting annoying. I know some people will be disappointed by this finale, as it doesn’t really tell us too much, it’s “just another setup”, but since I saw that coming, knowing what I know about future Marvel’s films/Phase 4, I really liked the way they handled everything. If you think about it, the creators had a massive task – they had to make this TV show work on its own, at the same time they had to establish “a few” things for future movies, they had to tweak Loki’s character, so he’s not the same one, we knew from the previous films (as that would have been a boring show, I would say) they managed to setup second season really well… Honestly, my imaginary hat is yet again off to everyone involved. This wasn’t a small task, and they achieved it brilliantly. If you are into all things Marvel, this show will not disappoint you.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
Before going into this review, let me clear something up. I know that in theory (and reality, really), the original Whose Line Is It Anyway? ran from 1998 – 2007 and the newer one, hosted by Aisha Tyler has “only” started in 2013 on CW, so therefore shouldn’t really count towards the OG Whose Line Is It Anyway?, but I am counting them as one. Sure, the original host Drew Carey has been replaced by aforementioned Aisha, but other than that, it’s exactly the same format. Except it’s slightly shinier, the video quality has gotten better and our beloved improvers have gotten slightly… more matured. 😉 But everything is the same, the same people are running the show, it’s basically the same cast and most importantly, it’s still hilarious.
I might be one of the few nutcases, who actually watched every single episode of not only the original show, but the CW one too. Yeah, I know. But let me tell you, the original show helped me get through some tough times. Back when I moved to Scotland, I had a job where I was promised more hours per week then I was ultimately given (so you can imagine, as a working student, the money was extra tight) and I had barely any time on my hands, as I was either studying or working a job I didn’t like. This show kept me laughing in my time off. These geniuses of improv comedy, they helped me through everything and even now, when I have different/better job, I am no longer a student and have more free time to myself, I am always looking forward to watching this show. When I learned, back in 2013, it’s coming back on CW, I was so happy, as I can’t even begin to describe how much I love it.
Let’s name names. I can’t list every single person involved with this, but the main trio (Colin Mochrie, Ryan Stiles and Wayne Brady) are all hilarious in their own ways. Colin is the “I will say exactly what’s on my mind, either it will work, or it will work because it’s not working” comedian, absolutely love him. Ryan is the “I like dirty jokes, really quick on his giant feet and tall freak” kind of guy and probably my favourite, if you put a gun to my head and I had to choose one. And Wayne is insanely talented when comes to making up songs as he goes. He’s funny as hell, but his main strength is definitely his rhyming ability and the fact he can actually sing really well! But here’s the thing, over the years, so many great people sat in the fourth chair, I do need to name some of my absolute favourites out the “guest comedians”.
Greg Proops (witty intellectual guy, who’s always up for some political joke, throwing shade or knowing most of pop culture), Brad Sherwood (definition of somebody, who is in between “chaotic neutral” and “chaotic evil”, love the guy), Charles ‘Chip’ Esten (who’s one of the few people who is as great as Wayne when comes to song challenges), Jeff Bryan Davis (also somebody, who can keep up with Wayne singing-wise, and if you want to do some Christopher Walken impression, give Jeff a shout), Gary Anthony Williams (who’s not only funny, but his amazing weight loss was a huge inspiration for my own weight loss journey), Jonathan Mangum (if golden retriever was a person, it would have been a Jonathan, because he seems like the goodest of boys), Heather Anne Campbell (her sense of humour can be all over the place, in the best possible sense) and I am pretty sure I am missing out on some people. But there have been so many. And all have their strengths, and most importantly, all of them will make you laugh in different ways.
Here’s the thing about this show – given the fact it’s improv, you are bound to laugh at least a few times per episode, even if you can tell where the scene/joke is going, because these guys know it’s not just about the joke itself, it’s about the delivery. Or sometimes about how not to deliver anything, when they crack each other up, by admitting they have nothing, no punchline, no joke, mostly in the singing challenges. Those are especially funny, when they don’t go the way you expect them to go. What I liked about the latest season (technically season 9, but I will refer to it as season 17) is they have started to leave in more “ruined” takes of those singing challenges, when they have no idea where the joke is going, and they just say/sing it, so they “restart the scene” instantly. Reading it backwards, it sounds so boring, but trust me, you would be having the time of your life watching these top of the class comedians do their schtick.
If I have to be critical a bit, I would only say the CW reboot (or continuation) started a bit slow, and it took them a while to get back in the groove. Also, since it’s CW, they have more episodes with a extra special guest stars, who (surprise surprise) star in some shows produced by (you guessed it), CW. Some of the celebrities can be funny, some want to be funny, but they don’t know how to do improv properly (which is understandable, as it’s a genuine skill to do it as flawlessly as those guys and girls) and there were couple of special guest stars, who didn’t seem to care too much either way. It seems like CW got the message, as good portion of the season 8 (or what I would call season 16) and the entirety of the season 9 (or 17) there were no celebrities, just improv people, doing what they are doing best. I honestly believe that was one of the strongest seasons out of them all.
I could rant about this show for hours, as I genuinely love it. What I admire is the fact that the performers don’t really feel the need to swear (at least not that much) and if they do, it usually serves as kind of “punch” for the scene/character. And let me clarify, I have no problem with swearing, I do swear a lot myself, but why I mention this at all – you know, when something is successful, there will be versions of that all around the world. I mean, even this started as a British show. Yeah, did you know that? Whose Line Is It Anyway? (1988 – 1998) started in the UK and I’ve tried to watch it, but after season and a half, I gave up on it, as it was too dry/intellectual for me. One of the rarest of occasions, where the American way, making it flashier, faster, sillier, actually worked. Anyway, in 2011 Czech people jumped on the bandwagon with a show, that’s basically a copy of WLIIA (in Czech language it’s called Partička (2011 -?), that can roughly be translated to “wee group”) and I have tried to watch an episode or two. And not only they got time in between scenes to change to costumes to make the scene funnier (which it usually isn’t and is clearly there to allow them to think about the scene, hence kind of going up against of the improv idea in general) they swear basically in every second sentence. And again, I have no problem with swearing, but in comedy, there is a point where you are obviously relying on the “shock” factor of “oh, they said a bad word, funny!” and that’s not funny. But I might have already been spoiled by this masterpiece.
Overall, I can’t praise this show enough. It got me through some rough times, and even made me proper belly laugh like anything, that’s currently airing. I honestly hope people at CW know, what’s best for them and keep this running for as long as possible, or at least for as long as these guys want to perform all these crazy, hilarious stuff for our amusement.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
When this show came out on Netflix, I remember seeing the poster, and thinking “that looks interesting, need to get around to watch it”. Then, month or so after, it’s been all over the place, basically there was no escape from the praise this TV show was getting. The main thing I kept hearing how it’s “so original, best show of 2020” and how amazing Anya Taylor-Joy was. So immediately, this show has jumped over about 100 different shows (the fact it’s only 7 episodes might have had something to do with it) as I love playing chess and wanted to see something, that was getting such great reviews. And maybe those reviews managed to overhype me, but I thought The Queen’s Gambit was pretty great, but… it wasn’t excellent?
Let me start with positives – Anya Taylor-Joy. She definitely deserves all the praise she’s getting, as she’s the centrepiece (some pun intended) of this show. With her, the biggest challenge was portraying her character in the way that’s not like the chess board(s) she plays on, black and white. And she’s nailed it, as we understand her character so well, you get mad when she gets back to alcohol and pills (plenty of her story is about her addiction and the battle with it) but you also understand why she went there. It never felt cheap, or it never felt like it’s happening to “boost the time”, those moments always felt true and it’s because of pretty good script, but mainly because of Anya selling them so well. I can’t wait to see her in more things.
I also liked how the show commented on women in these sports (read: sports usually dominated by men) but it never seemed to take the main spot. Those things (like nobody taking Anya’s character seriously at first, some minor or major aggressions from men she manages to beat) are definitely there and visible for all to see, but the show doesn’t make a big deal out of it. Where lesser show would have try to almost “oversell” some of these moments, this show almost quietly celebrates those victories, along with Anya’s character. She is very much in control of her emotions most of the time, as she’s realising how many men (and later on the media) would have judged her harshly, had she lost it, or behaved liked a normal human being.
I have 2 main issues with this show. The first one being the story is pretty predictable. Yeah, there are couple of details that were great and traps this show avoids (for example, the orphanage scenes were not overly traumatic, there were no cliché of being bullied etc.) quite well but as the overall story, it’s just a fairly simple “from zero to hero” story, but set in the world of chess, instead of ice hockey or boxing. Which don’t get me wrong, is still great, but I didn’t get the praise of how this is the best show of last year, or how it’s so unique…? There is a trivia on IMDb, that states the sales of chess boards increased and more people were looking for how to learn to play chess, which is great, as it’s such a beautiful game. And I think this is where the fascination comes from – plenty of people who watched this show, were seeing something unique, because they had little to no idea about chess at all. I am by no means any grandmaster of chess, but it’s a game I’ve enjoyed playing ever since I was 6 years old, so maybe that’s why I wasn’t as fascinated by this as others…?
This also feeds into my second issue with this show – for a show about playing chess, we don’t really see plenty of it being played. At least not in great detail. And hear me out – I know, we need to make this show more cinematic and your typical game of chess isn’t really that exciting. But plenty of times, we don’t see anything but openings or closings! We see flashes of her kicking ass, but we are not actually there when it happens! It’s like having a montage of Rocky fighting through all the rounds, just for him to win within 20 seconds after. All I am saying is, those movies would have been less impactful, had we been there just for a minute with each fight. But here’s the thing, I totally understand why they have done it like that, but I was expecting at least the games towards the end of the show to be shown in bit more of detail, that is all.
I don’t know, whether it was mix of those two things, but The Queen’s Gambit didn’t really grab me. Which is a shame, as this was supposed to be a show I was destined to love. From spectacular Anya, to the topic of it (my first and so far my only tattoo is chess related, that’s how much I love this game) everything was screaming my name, the glowing reviews, everything was telling me how much I should love this show. And when I finished it, I “just” liked it… Don’t get me wrong, this is not a bad show by any means. But I was expecting something more.
Overall, The Queen’s Gambit is a great show, with spectacular Anya in the main role. You will enjoy it whether you’ve played chess your entire life, or you have no clue about anything (how is this piece called again?) That’s definitely part of this show’s success, it gave plenty of people the exposure to this great game and it seemed to have made chess cool again. The only real issue I had with this, I expected something, that I would want to stay up and binge in one day. It took me 3 days to finish this show, even though I had time off. That alone tells you something, but again, I understand I might be in the minority here.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
As with plenty of tv shows nowadays, I’ve heard a few things about this one, but (luckily) nothing too specific. I somehow managed to avoid all the spoilers and just binged the entire show one Sunday evening – early Monday morning (finished around 1AM). And even though I was pretty tired getting up, going to work the next (I guess technically the same?) day, it was worth it. Invincible has a lot of things to offer, and the over the top anime-like violence is just something to entice you with, it’s not the “main course”.
I have only seen couple of animes in my life and most of them would be the likes of Pokémon (1997 -) or Digimon: Digital Monsters (1999 – 2003), something more tailored towards children. And I know when people refer to shows as “anime”, it can have entirely different meaning, with lot of adult themes, philosophical context etc., and I have yet to get into those. But I’ve been on “the Internets” for some time now, where I know the (for a lack of better term) “anime aesthetic”, how the fight scenes are shot, how sometimes, everything can be slightly over-the-top (but that’s the magic of it), the editing style (mainly fight sequences are usually shot/edited in entirely different way) so I understood Invincible was definitely influenced by them a lot. So, if you like “anime-like aesthetic”, storytelling and adult themes (so far we “only” got extreme violence and gore, but no scenes of sexual nature or anything like that) this show might be for you.
It’s really hard for me to write anything about this without going into some heavy spoilers, so before I put the spoiler tag in, let me just say, this is the perfect example of a show, you should go into blindly, as it definitely has its share of “mindfuck” surprises along the way. I was genuinely glad I didn’t know anything before going in, as that made me curious about… well, everything. Also, this show feels like even though it has certain “rules” it needs to follow, all bets are off and sometimes, you think “hey, that’s a cool character(s)” only for them to die sooner, than you might expect. Think of first couple of seasons of Game of Thrones (2011 – 2019), where basically nobody was safe. And I really like it. If you haven’t heard anything about this TV show, stop reading this review, go on Amazon Prime and get it watched. For the rest of you…
Beware, SPOILERS are coming!
If you really think about it, this show doesn’t do anything “new” or out-of-the-box per say. It’s your almost basic “teenager gets superpowers” story. Except here, he’s the son of the most powerful being on Earth, who towards the end of the very first episode just snaps and kills everybody on his “team”, in really explicit way. You do not know why, you do not understand what just happened, but from that moment on, it’s obvious, you are in for something serious. At times, I debated myself, whether it was the correct decision to show us it was actually him, who killed them (it would have been really easy to make this almost a plot point for couple of episodes, “who killed the others?” mystery) but then, the further the show goes, I understood it was better we knew, as we could see him almost “brewing” on the inside. At points, it’s almost like he wants to tell everybody, it was him and why, but he knows, it’s not the time yet. The reason for that is, he makes himself solely responsible for his son’s training. Hoping, he will eventually get him on his side.
The first season definitely setup everything really well – it introduced us to a pretty comprehensible world, where it we understand there are people with superpowers, but the show never really tells us why some people have them and some don’t, which I also appreciated. It feels more natural to just throw us in the middle of a world, where powers are real thing, let’s just accept it and move on with the story. It also hints at plenty of things to come, so you know, there are couple of seasons (I’ve heard someplace, that if this is done correctly, they have material for at least 5/6 proper seasons, as the comic books, which the TV show is based on, is actually finished, so you can go and read them for yourself, or just google the spoilers, that might also work I guess) worth of great material to come and I really hope that will be the case, as the start was really, really awesome.
What surprised me was, how funny this show can get, even during some serious moments. Invincible definitely has quirky sense of humour, which doesn’t go over-the-top, it never felt “in your face” kind of jokes. They always had their place, were funny and worked, partly because of the amazing voice casting, as that is top notch. Especially the main foursome (not in a dirty way!) Steven Yeun, Sandra Oh, J.K. Simmons and Zazie Beetz all fit their characters really well and they give their 100% into every line reading. Who (unsurprisingly) shines the most, is J.K. Simmons – he’s had so many memorable roles over his long career and here he is, adding yet another notch on his belt, and doing it brilliantly. Truly, from the top to the bottom, amazing voice casting.
There is one more thing I need to mention, I thought this show did really well – the relationships. Not just the romantic ones, but also between friends, family… For example the dad/son relationship is portrayed really well, where you understand plenty about both characters of their characters, just by watching them interact with each other. However, the real highlight for me was Mark’s relationship with Amber. Plenty of movies tried to do the same thing and it always felt more or less annoying, as movies simply don’t have the runtime to do it properly, so it always felt rushed (the superhero needs to be saving people -> doesn’t have the time to spend with his girlfriend -> they break up because of it). This show also does this, but because we get to see everything from the very beginning of their relationship, to the end, we actually understand both of their sides really well, so it never felt annoying or cheap to me, as that is exactly what would have happened, had you dated a superhero. They wouldn’t be around most of the time, as you know, there is always somebody, who needs saving. What I loved was the little twist they threw in, where Mark finally tells Amber, why he’s not around and she just tells him that she’s figured it out a long time ago. Any lesser show would have had the simple “oh I see now, ok, all is forgiven” thing, but not this show, as Amber raises some good points (if he truly trusted her, he would’ve told her sooner etc.). I can imagine some people might still be annoyed with Amber’s character, but I could really understand her and definitely will be rooting for those two to be together, rather than Mark with Atom Girl (too obvious).
Overall, Invincible is definitely a show, that’s quite unique, it plays with different superhero tropes quite well and if you think about what the first season was all about, it can be read as a show about what it is like to become an adult. How you need to make tough decisions and ultimately decide for yourself, what kind of person you will become and need to live with your choice. It also looks at different kind of relationships and how those might change or are affected, once you “grow up”. Even though in this case, the growing up part also comes with being one of the most powerful beings on Earth. Can’t wait for future seasons and really hope this is a start of something truly great.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
That’s all for today! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
