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girlwolf321
Reviews
Outlast (2023)
Focus on Survival Next Season!
Unlike Alone, the show traffics in petty drama to make it more interesting. Focusing on survival would have made the show more interesting. I would have liked to see how the different groups work together and come up with very different survival techniques. I think for this to work the first episode needed to allow more time for the contestants to choose teams. Then you could compare their initial reactions vs how the teammates work together.
I would also say that all the contestants should have some sort of survival skills, unlike the current group. All the teams should be able to start with the same basic gear, a hatchet, knife, and a flint fire starter, for each contestant. The group should have a tarp and some rope/twine.
I would like to see if one group meets the other and starts trading, like if one group focuses on fishing and the other group on hunting big game. Maybe some groups flourish in finding edible flora. If Netflix fixes these issues the show will be worth watching. Right now it's watchable, but not at all what I wanted to see from such a program.
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
Sigourney Weaver As Kiri ruins the magic
There were plenty of interesting plot points in the movie, like having a military leader as a father who struggles to switch from commander to father and remember his role to nurture his children. There is the idea of war and self defense vs peace, where Cameron explores the idea of never responding to violence vs fighting for your people. There is the environmental greed from the sky people vs the native harmony with nature, which was a driving theme in the first movie as well. Another plot is that of feeling othered for the children of Jake Sully, as not being fully Na'vi. But sometimes when so many plot lines are present it makes the runtime long and doesn't allow adequate build up to see these plot points develop to their full potential. I wish more time was given to the realities of prolonged war against colonizers. Sully should have interacted more with various clan chiefs or war leaders within his own tribe to show even though they are fighting against the sky people the sky people still are coming building and settling on their planet. This should have been interposed with how he treats his family and the expectations for his sons.
Another problem that took me out of the movie were the scenes with Kiri. You have a girl with the voice of an older women. It removes the child like innocence that Kiri should have. Any scene where she cries or calls for mom and dad seem fake and inauthentic. I would have rather had a young actress portray Kiri, keeping her same features.
Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022)
What do all women want?
The movie had plenty of beautiful scenes. The pacing was great during the first half focusing on the story of the Djin's life up until he was found by Tilda's character. After that it turns into a romance and the plot slows down considerably. According to Miller all women really want to be loved and longed for, as that's the wish Tilda's character chooses. I wished instead they showed a women happy with her life, her singleness, her career. But what would a woman who loves stories wish as a true and heartfelt desire? I would say a to see the truth of the tales she loves through history. Either as an observer or a participant, the movie would have been a magical tale of her exploring her favorite tales. Instead we know that a woman really desires the love of a man, at least a male djin. That story is a tired and unfulfilling tale.
Ghosts (2021)
Watch the UK Version for less Stereotypes.
The show is interesting and the way they changed the characters for a US based is fairly good. What I don't like are the stereotypes for certain characters in this version. You have the sassy fat black lady and the gossipy gay man... In the UK the characters seem a little fuller because it's not so stereotypical. The black woman was raised as a lady after being adopted, she is childlike innocent and sweet. The gay officer was a military man and closeted, think the time period and legality.
Zheng tu (2020)
OK acting & CGI but the writing should be better.
Plot:
A southern king is attacked by rivals from the north. He authorizes a competition organized by the Grand Tutor where members of each clan sends 3 representatives to fight to become the Grand Marshal, the head of the army.
Review (spoilers below):
Women in this film serve as no more than plot devices for the men, each one dies only to further the plot of the men around her. Their deaths lack any sort of agency.
After Don Yilong figures out that he is a northern prince, the story disregards that important piece and it isn't used at all in the final showdown. He doesn't reveal himself to the northern troops to stop the slaughter nor does he attempt to negotiate with the southern king. After he fights and saves the king it's like his friendship with Chu Hun means nothing as they mention they will be on opposing sides from now on. That's a waste of the camaraderie they developed throughout the movie.