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Archive 81 (2022)
Supernatural/mystery/thriller hits its mark
So this is definitely more of a suspense thriller than horror, but right along the same line.
The main character Dan (Mamoudou Athie) is drawn into a supernatural mystery by a manipulative corporate ceo (Martin Donovan) . He is hired to restore some burnt up tapes with promises that these tapes may contain answers as to why his family and home burnt up in a fire when he was a kid. Throughout the series just enough carrot is dangled in front of him to keep him working on the project, through which he encounters Melody (Dina Shihabi) from both the tapes he's restoring as well as visions. Between the visions, the info he's fed from the ceo, the tapes, and his best friend's sleuthing he struggles to determine what is real, while looming over the whole thing is this demonic deity Kaelego and the mysteriously powerful comet Kharon. There is just enough reality in this that Kharonite and the Kharon comet have more google searches than the actual greek mythological figure it was named after Kharon/Charon.
I found the acting all around well done, no week spots that I can see at all. I found both Mamoudou and Dina to be compelling co-protagonists.
That being said Mamoudou is definitely an actor that brings himself to the character (similar to brad pitt, matthew mcconoughey) rather than transforming himself into the character (like edward norton) so if you don't like him in other stuff then you probably won't like him in this either.
All in all I got drawn in quick and enjoyed the journey. Don't expect any finality to the ending though this is not a limited series and leaves you with a cliffhanger, very likely to have another season coming in about a year.
The House (2022)
Dark with no comedy (depressing pointless parables)
Let me start by saying my rating in no way reflects the voice acting which was good.
That being said I found everything else horrible.
What this is essentially is 3 parables that they try to thinly connect by saying it's the same house in each parable which is razor thin cuz the house does not appear to be even remotely similar in any of the 3 stories except for a few things they throw in to try to make the connection from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd, but if you were to just look 1st to 3rd there is zero connection to say that is the same house.
The moral of each parable is as old as time, absolutely nothing new here. There is no pleasure to be derived from the stories themselves, unless you find dancing cockroaches in stop motion animation funny.
Now if you're a glutton for punishment or if you like stories where the protagonist struggles and suffers until they give up then maybe you'll enjoy this.
To me instead of dark comedy adult animation as it's listed it would better be called children's horror.
On top of all that I found their version of stop motion animation to be off putting the whole time and very unenjoyable to watch.
All in all I thought it was an awful waste of time and by the time I was halfway through the 2nd I was hoping that there would be a bright spot to this just so it wasn't a complete waste of time, a few minutes into the third I was just wishing it would end.
So watch at your own risk, but if you've read all this then at least you know what you're getting yourself into.
Die in a Gunfight (2021)
Great attempt, but falls short in some aspects
So lets start with one of the great aspects.
The cast and the acting is phenomenal.
(listed here with their Romeo and Juliet equivalents)
Starting with the best -
Travis Fimmel - (ragnar from vikings) one of my favorite modern action stars brings his unique style to a fairly small part - plays Wayne (Benvolio) a hitman hired by a Rathcart (capulet) underling Terrence (Tybalt)
Wade Allain-Marcus - someone I have never seen or heard of is amazing as Mukul (Mercutio) plays his role impeccably
Diego Boneta - Ben Gibbon (romeo) gives the director exactly what he's asking for, might not be everyone's taste, but he does a great job acting as directed in this
Justin Chatwin - Terrence (Tybalt) does a great job as the antagonist and kind of creepy stalker wannabe boyfriend to Mary Rathcart (juliet)
Alexandra Daddario - Mary Rathcart (juliet) who most reviewers seemed to watch this for did just a passable job, she didn't have much dialogue and honestly you could put any young attractive girl in her place and it wouldn't have made any difference, but there's nothing in her performance to fault her for, and her pretty smile and beautiful eyes don't hurt the role that's for sure
to those who complain about the acting, I think they're really complaining about the directing style, which is different than the acting, all the actors gave the director exactly what he was asking for and that is their job, not playing the character the way each individual watching the movie wants them to play it.
The reason i included the romeo and juliet equivalent characters is because several reviewers mentioned that they couldn't figure it out. To me honestly making those connections was one of the funnest things about watching this movie, but i wouldn't consider it a spoiler.
I liked the graphic novel style narration scenes, but at the same time some of those could have been omitted to allow the actors to add depth to their character.
The whole Gibbon monkey analogy that they are way too overt about was a detraction to me and took away from the movie and the protagonist in my opinion
Again a little too overt and overexplained was the fact that this was a retelling of romeo and juliet, it was obvious although there was a funny bit when telling how the feud originally began.
Overall I thought this was a really good movie, even though for the first 15 minutes of it the thought running through my head was is it necessary to do another modern romeo and juliet retelling especially after the decaprio/danes version, but it quickly finds its own place and stands out from other retellings, don't expect it to play exactly as shakespeare's it is like i said its own retelling but there are parallels throughout. It does have a couple annoying moments but all in all a good movie that earns its place as a unique retelling of a classic tale.
Behind Her Eyes (2021)
Worst ending ever!!! (Especially if you're a parent with young children)
So this mini-series has a lot going for it. It's one that gives you hints and clues from the very beginning that there's more going on than what is apparent in the first couple episodes. It definitely builds suspense, and you always get the feeling that there is an element of danger even if you don't know who or where it's coming from.
The acting is very good, the whole thing is well written.
Now for the bad stuff and why I only gave it one star, first most of the twists are easily predictable, but by the time I realized the final twist the one that ruins the whole series, it's too late, I still had to watch the last two episodes to make sure it was what I thought but the whole time I was just sitting there like no, come on, don't let it end this way.
Now the ending is mildly clever but made me feel like watching this show was a complete waste of time if they end it this way.
I'm not giving anything away by saying the main protagonist Louise has a young son named Adam. Now if they had removed the son from the story I would have been completely fine with the ending, probably would have even appreciated it because it was mildly clever, but as I have kids it made the ending very unpalatable. Made me feel like watching this whole thing was a waste of time just to feel uneasy and disappointed at the end.
Lovecraft Country (2020)
Good mix of horror and fantasy, not so much history
First off there seems to be a lot of confusion based on what people expect and what this show is. I confess I initially fell into that same category and I blame that mostly on hbo's advertising campaign.
A lot of people as I was are under the impression that this is an original story created by jordan peele and jj abrams, loosely based on lovecraft horror set in Jim crowe america. That couldn't be further from what this is. This is a serial adaptation of a novel by Matt ruff, published in 2016, it's created by Misha green, and written by a handful of writers none of which are jordan peele or jj abrams in fact aside from being 2 out of 22 producers, I can't find any evidence that either of them had any input in the creative process.
That being out of the way and clearing my expectations, I could enjoy what the series was which is a fantasy suspense thriller with an interesting take on magic, lovecraftien monsters and the danger of being black in Jim crowe united states told from the perspective of a black family and atticus freeman in particular. It does get a bit heavy handed about how every white person in the world are evil awful human beings, but I do understand how it could feel that way from the perspective of the black community during that time.
I really felt the driving suspense for the central characters, if nothing else this series definitely provides those out of nowhere suspense moments that get the adrenaline going.
There rules for magic and monsters are pretty cool, and fairly consistent, even though it has a chaotic haphazard style you soon see how it all connects.
The strong points are definitely the fantasy, the monsters (which unlike everyone else, I see no problems with the cgi) and the magic
The weak points are the actual writing of the original novel which is mediocre or slightly above and the series writers really did nothing to improve on it, but the fantasy, suspense, and good acting really kept it going for me and made this an above average series, that being said I wouldn't really recommend this unless there's nothing else grabbing your interest at the moment, if you're iffy on everything and want something to pass the time that's not gonna put you to sleep, this is a good one to try
Utopia (2020)
I don't understand all the bad reviews
Let me address this in different sections so it's easier for the people who hate this show to skip to the reason they hate it
1. Lovers of the original
Ok I've never seen the original, and I can't seem to find it anywhere, so I'm not likely to be able to watch it anytime soon, but from the perspective of someone who's never seen the original this show is amazing, I love the casting, the plot, the writing, and the book art. The whole thing to new eyes is incredible. I do understand what you all are saying though and I'd likely feel the same way if the uk did a breaking bad remake. I would likely think it was garbage, but this clearly isn't garbage.
2. This series shouldn't be released in 2020
2020 is the perfect time for this to be released, it makes it so much more relatable and relevant to the moment, and if that makes it too scary for you then don't watch suspense thrillers, it's literally the entire point of a suspense thrillers. If what you really want is an intense drama go watch "away" on netflix instead of hating on a great show.
3. People who find it somehow insulting or offensive.
It's art! Every creation isn't for every person. Do a better job of picking things that aren't offensive to you. Good hint is if a show starts with a warning paragraph about how some viewers may find the show offensive, you might wanna skip it. For instance if animated kids with bad mouths who get in crazy situations bothers you, then you should steer clear of south park, it's not rocket science just pick things that are up your alley, and if you start watching a show and it's not up your alley simply stop watching and move on to something else no one who is actually interested in this wants to read your bs