sixstring-1 Reviews

Severance (2022– )

Great visuals, great ideas, messed up pacing

[5/10 · 10 January 2023]

After long consideration, and reading mixed reviews, I finally sat down to binge this show. First of all: it's not bad. Not bad at all, in fact I wish this was the worst show in recent years. Without getting into too much detail, let's see the pros and cons.

The visuals are excellent, the cinematographer's work, the lighting, the locations and sets, the overall look of the show is exceptionally good. The cast, and pretty much all the performances are excellent. The music is a bit generic for my taste, but the soundtrack does not take away anything from the 'feel' of the show. The basic premise, all the ideas the script is based on, are surprisingly good and fresh. Now the cons: there are stories that do not need forced mystery and out of the blue twists...

The balance between predictable and surprising is key, and it's not very well done in this case. The biggest problem is the pacing: the first half of the season is slower than what I can comfortably call 'slow burn'. It's pretentiously slow, right to the point where it becomes boring. Not enough tension is built up, or if it's there... the pacing kills it: there is just too much time between certaing setups and payoffs so that the viewer simply forgets, why certain scenes are important. It's confusing.

SPOILERS ahead (if it's possible to spoil a show that's almost a year old): there are four major reveals in the first season. The first one is merely a slight hint that is way too subtle, one of my major issues. Mark almost hits Helly in the parking lot, driving home, and the scene is easily skipped, it only shows the viewer the fact that even after 3 minutes outside the severed space, they don't recognize each other. (It is revealed later, why it was important, but so much time passes that the moment loses its weight in the story.

The second one (the neighbor is the protagonist's boss) is fairly well done, the only problem is its predictability. The third major reveal (Mark's wife is "alive" and works at the company) is totally messed up and unnecessary, and feels forced. The last one in the season, that Helly is the next CEO of the company, and the whole show is her publiciy stunt is not bad at all, as an idea, but extremely poorly executed, and its timing is way off.

The biggest problem is that we are served with about 8 hours of content from which more than half is useless filler that does not move the plot forward at all, and the majority of the important things are cramped into the last 20 minutes or so of the finale. This kills the whole concept.

In my opinion, this story would have been much more interesting if it would have been cut into a 2 hour movie, with the same cliffhanger to bait the sequel.

Nevertheless: great cast, stunning crew effort, technically almost flawless ---- too bad it's borderline boring.

Antichrist (2009)

Not sure if it's art when it's only purpose is to be offensive

[1/10 · 26 March 2018]

Not much to spoil here, so I'm not even going to bother with a spoiler warning.

OK then... there was a time when some people thought "let's do just anything, anything, whatever, and they will call us artists..." Those times are over, even in Danmark.

Lars von Trier made some decent movies over the years (Dancer in the Dark, etc), but this guy is just sooooo over the top. It is very clear to me that he has no clue what he wants to do, or what he wants to say, and he hides it behind offensive, artsy bullcrap. Sorry dude, this might have worked in the sixties... but grow the F up, this is the 21st century....

This film is a clear example of having nothing to say, having no clue how to say it, and leave it up to the audience to decide, but wait: this is wrapped into a gory, bloody, offensive, unappealing, and confusing package, without any kind of connection to the audience, to... like pretty much anything. I don't know who she is, who he is, who the kid is, why she is (apparently) insane, why they are having sex all the time, and I just don't care if they live or die. The whole thing is just distant, and does not provoke any thoughts. This is a failure on all levels. This is not art, this is just something that wants to look like art, but fails in doing so.

Crap.

Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)

Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering...

[10/10 · 29 December 2017]

Before I write down anything, let's be clear, this review contains MAJOR spoilers...

******** WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD ********

So, after getting this out of the way, let me start with the most important thing: yes, I was late. I watched the movie last night, I broke my decade long tradition of wathcing every new Star Wars movie on the opening night. I had my reasosns, no need to go into details about that.

And that's the first thing I want to mention: I read a lot of reviews before watching, and I was rather preplexed, confused, and baffled about how much hate this movie has gotten in such a short period of time. It made me even more excited for my first viewing.

I've got to be honest, i'm not your average movei-goer. I am an amaterur filmmaker, and I have a quite decent understandig regarding how showbusiness works. But: I've been a Star Wars fan since I saw New Hope in 1981. Avid fan. Not hardcore fan, but a fan nonetheless.

I LOVED "The Force Awakens" and I LOVED "Rogue One" and I did not love the prequels. I still sit down and watch them on BR from time to time, because they are a part of the saga I love, but I have major issues with them.

That been said, let's get to it: I don't understand the hate. I don't understand, why so called "fans" don't understand the intentions, motives, and the overall message of "The Last Jedi". I thing it is a very well thought through, and marvellously executed addition to the saga. Everything in this movie works, and serves a purpose. Yes, not the particular fan-serving purpose the majority of the die-hard fans were anticipating, but still.

First of all, this is a very well made movie. No one can attack this: the visuals are stunning, the pacing is just right, the acting is first class, and yes: even the soundtrack is OK. Why are you hating this one so much?

I am 42 years old, and I LITERALLY grew up on the original trilogy. I had the posters, the toys, the VHS tapes (remember them?), the whole shabang. And when the Special Edition came to theatres, I was there, cheering like a 6 year old, like I was when I first saw Star Wars. The prequels did not make me cheer. They made me think, and criticize. That's not what Star Wars is out there to do. The Force Awakens made me 6 years old again, and cheer and laugh and just go with the flow with the story (WHATEVER it was, I did not understand it as a 6 year old anyway, just went with it) and enjoyed it immensely.

Same thing happened with Rogue One, I just dove into it and enjoyed it. And YES, a thousand times YES: I enjoyed The Last Jedi immensely, it was a captivating, fullfilling joyride of a movie, and I was "yes, yes, yes" all the time, watching it. I forgot everything outside of the big screen, and I just enjoyed the ride. This is what Disney does very well: showing you something to fill your senses, and enjoy it. I feel bad for everyone who did not, I think your inner child has grown up, into someone sad and bitter. And this is where my title comes: You were afraid, that this episode will not go the way you wanted. And it did not. This was the will of the Force (do you not believe in it?). This fear lead to anger, anger towards the makers of the movie, saying: "WHY DID YOU NOT MAKE THE MOVIE I WANTED TO SEE?" Well folks, everything is not the way you were planning... Not fan service? There you have it. And this led to hate, hate toward the whole franchise in some of you, hate toward the wonderful imaginary writer/director Rian Johnson (HATE leads to the dark side, remember?) and this, in conclusion leads to suffering: yes, you are suffering, my dear haters, you've just joined the dark side... You completely missed the message of the whole saga: do not fear, do not give in to your anger, do not hate, it only leads to suffering.

I on the other hand, enjoy the light side of the Force: I welcome all changes made to the lore, and to the franchise, I accept it, and love it. Hate is for the Sith. You made your choice. This is an excellent movie, and I cannot wait to see episode 9.

And, sidenote: why are you so keen on explanations and espositions, and backstories...? Did you forget to believe? Believe in the Force? Come on, folks...

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

The Fifth Star Wars Movie

[10/10 · 15 December 2016]

Warning: MAJOR spoilers ahead!!!!! ***** Dammit, Jim, you've been warned!!! *****

So... After watching "The Force Awakens", I said: now, I have the fourth Star Wars movie to watch all over again. Just to be clear: those atrocious insults, piles of garbage that some call the 'new trilogy' do not even classify as movies, let alone as Star Wars movies. Those are merely rubbish, waste of money and time. So, having that stated, let's see what I have to say about Rogue One: To start as simple as possible: it is a very good movie, all by itself. Excellent production value, great cast, good acting, good cinematography, excellent editing, excellent score, great sound, never-before-seen, groundbreaking, breathtaking special effects. Very, very good directing: Edwards is a FAR BETTER storyteller than Lucas, this movie is 'Empire Stikes Back'-good. It hits you in the face with straight forward, honest, decently paced storytelling, and never before seen character development, without giving away the (somewhat predictable) fates of all the lovable new characters.

And the characters... my good g*d... this movie in my opinion is the best example of perfect character development, within limited boundaries (timewise).

******* WARNING, F-ING HUUUUUGE SPOILERS AHEAD *******

After seeing all the trailers, it was absolutely clear for me, that Jyn Erso will die in this movie. I suspected, that none of the major characters would survive, it was a rather clear hint by the makers since none of the characters were present in any of the now known original canon, nor the extended universe. All of you, having thought otherwise, please do your homework...

Now, the pros & cons:

All the main characters were very cleverly created, and developed, leaving room for development (successfully) and given a very meaningful, or moving death. Yeah, all of them die, get over it. It was a very, very powerful tool to show the audience how great, and how gruesome the struggle of the Rebel Alliance was, and how important the whole cause was. Lucas had attempted to show the audience, how horribly awful the tyranny of the Empire was, and how epic, and sacrificious the struggle of the Rebels was against it... but he failed. Standing on the shoulders of the TV shows "The Clone Wars" and "Rebels" (both of which have given more to the saga as any of the movies) Rogue One succeeded in depicting the horror, and desperation the whole Galaxy suffered because of the Empire. This is where this film's true strength and merit is: showing the audience, why the Rebel Alliance is such an important thing... showing, how, and why standing up for your rights is so important... showing, why too much power in too few hands is the most dangerous power in the Universe...

This movie is the very first in the Star Wars universe, that carries a really greater message, than just being a piece of excellent entertainment. The struggle, the suffering, the will to fight back, the will to be more is very much present, and pronounced, which gives the film a "larger than life" frame, and provokes thoughts far beyond the Star Wars universe...

It's not flawless, not by a long shot. The use of the Force Theme by John Williams for the first time in the film when Bail Organa appears, a character, who has absolutely no correlation with the Force, is downright stupid and insulting. Using basically unaltered cut-ins from the New Hope, in picture, and in audio, is totally over-the-top, and absolutely unnecessary, they gave me a "why? Just WHY?" feeling, more painfully so, used in the most thrilling, action packed final act of the film.

Honestly, I could go on for hours, but I think I have to come to some kind of conclusion: This is one of the best movies, that I've ever seen. Probably the best one in the Star Wars universe. This movie showed, that good casting can do wonders: Felicity Jones is beyond marvelous, her performance is absolutely outstanding. Whitaker is over the top, his character demanded the performance he gave, but it was out of place. It did not require the acting genius he possesses, and it showed. Special effects: the third breakthrough. First: New Hope. Second: Jurassic Park. Third: Rogue One. This movie has the very first completely blend-in presence of CGI characters (K2-SO was always "there" never gave a hint of being a post-production addition) and it features the very first believable, and human-like CGI human (Tarkin). It was very obvious for the keen eye (such as mine) that Tarkin was fully performance-capture-CGI, but the result was nonetheless remarkable.

A very well deserved 10 out of 10, but beware: this film is not perfect, not by a long shot. But if this was the worst movie ever made, I would be very happy indeed. An excellent piece of artistry, this is.

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)

Oooohh, it is WIDE awake...

[10/10 · 18 December 2015]

First of all, some basic info: I was five years old when the very first movie I saw in a theater was Star Wars. I grew up on the original trilogy. But that's not the reason why I hated the new trilogy, and why I loved this movie.

The reason why I loved The Force Awakens, is because it is a GOOD movie, and it is a REAL Star Wars movie. (And this is why I hate the new trilogy, because those three films are just painfully bad, overall.) This is what a film looks like when a great director is at the helm, and he is working with a solid script, and a great cast. Sorry George, but you're everything, but a good director, and it clearly showed. THIS is how a Star Wars movie should be in the 21st. century.

The characters are solid, cleverly created, and the entire cast is just great. Even Adam Driver, although I can already hear all the haters booing him, but I think he also gave a very strong performance. Boyega and Ridley are exceptional, and the "old ones" do a great job as well.

The only thing that I was really disappointed about was the music. Williams' soundtrack for the new trilogy was pretty weak already, but this one is just downright crappy. Sorry John... I really was rooting for Mike Giacchino to score this movie, and as it turns out, rightfully so.

Production design, cinematography, editing, special effects are far, far better, than anything ever seen in the Star Wars universe, and this alone makes The Force Awakens stand out. And yes, did I mention, that it is a GOOD movie? I think I did. And it is.

Cloud Atlas (2012)

Overdone, and heavily overrated

[18 March 2013]

Quite frankly, I don't really think there's anything to be "spoiled" here, but hey: it's better to be warned, methinks...

First of all: I saw the movie before reading the novel. Right away, I felt that something's not right. As a matter of fact, nothing's right, to be honest. The huge, huge problem is the following: only the way the story is told, is epic-esque, the story itself is (or all six of them, for that matter) dull, clichéd, and has absolutely nothing new to offer. In fact, I was stunned by how utterly predictable the whole thing was, despite the efforts to make it complex. Dear directors: if a story is empty, boring, and quite honestly, heartless, there's no way you can make it interesting. You can chop it up, stir it, put it in a blender, whatever: it will remain empty, boring, and heartless.

There's a very easy way to tell, when there's something wrong with the storytelling aspect of a movie (or a director, for that matter): if there are excellent actors in the movie, who play awfully. I have never seen Tom Hanks or Halle Berry act so painfully badly. The answer is simple - they could not find the pulse of the story. Of course they couldn't It was dead on arrival.

Prometheus (I) (2012)

Redefining "bad"

[1/10 · 24 September 2012]

Oh darn it. High expectations, lots of hype, a ridiculously high budget (considering that the outcome is a pile of crap) spawned this... thing... I'm not even sure I want to call this a film. It's insulting to the "real" films.

I'll tell you why I'm being so harsh: first of all, this is a work a very good director. But however good the director might be, if there's no, and I mean almost literally no script to work with, the movie will inevitably be bad. And it is. Painfully bad. I show you, how someone can make a movie just like 'Prometheus'. You've got to have a talented and professional cast and crew, and lots and lots of money. Now, with the bases covered, you can have the crew create some sets that resemble earlier SF movies, and now you can yell "ACTION!". The actors may ask: "What should I say, it only says "blablablablabla" in the script!?!" You can reply: "Nevermind, it's not important, just make up some science-fictiony bullsh!t. The movie's gonna be full of expensive CGI crap, so most of the audience won't even try to give a damn what it's about. Besides, it's gonna be in 3D so whatever you say, they won't even be able to follow, because they're gonna be so mesmerized by the looks of the whole thing." The actors will ask: "But if we just make some stupid lines up, where's the plot, where's the logic? What will the whole thing mean?" And you can dismiss them with a self-absorbed smile: no one gives a sh!t, just do as I say. We're gonna make a ton of money with this, trust me." There was a script, and a "screenplay" (thanks again, Damon Lindelof, if it was up to me, the only place you would be allowed to write would be a urine-covered wall of a truck-stop crapper) and this pile of garbage was not the work of a 5 year old kid (and not a very bright one, either) but that of highly paid "professionals". People got paid big bucks for this. This is what makes me really sad.

Happy Endings (2011–2020)

More like cr@ppy endings, if you ask me...

[1/10 · 28 April 2011]

I've had high hopes for this one. I adore Elisha Cuthbert, and I was so excited that she's returning to TV...

But come on... It's 2011, for g*d's sake. Shows like "Modern Family", "Cougar Town", and "The Middle" are on the air on ABC, to name only the single-camera comedies that "Happy Endings" is joining there. Not to mention the competition - "Community", "Traffic Light" - both shockingly well written comedies. It's like a rotten apple in an otherwise flawless bowl of fruit.

I really don't want to be the jerk here, but I honestly don't understand, why this show got 8.0 points here on IMDb. Yeah, the cast is good looking (Hollywood, d'oh) and they are generally decent actors (Hollywood, d'oh, pt. 2) but the characters are... well, they almost don't even exist. It's just a bunch of mediocre professionals, fooling around in front of a camera, without any pronounced reason, or goal whatsoever. It's not the kind of stumbling around when taking the very first steps... something's very wrong, that's seated deeper than that.

I've watched each and every pilot in the past 6 or 7 TV seasons (network or cable, everything), and there were many occasions, when I had felt like: 'OK this was pretty bad, but I can feel it will take off, and get much better'. With "Happy Endings", I have no such feeling at all. There are just too many things that are wrong about this one. The characters that are supposed to be funny (or funnier than the others) are just not, the lines, and plots are not funny enough or at all, the ones that come through after all, are so clichéd, that if I had a penny each time I've heard of seen them, I'd be rich.

I have a very bad feeling about a pilot, when after watching it I can't remember the characters' names. It's a dead-on indicator, that the show is badly written. Another 'tell' is when I'm confused about who is really the lead character, or 'hero' if you will, but it's quite silly to talk about heroes since it's (supposedly) a comedy.

James Burrows had said in an interview once, that it's very easy to tell if a comedy is well written - or if it works or not: don't look at the screen, only listen to the dialogue, as if it was a radio play. It has to work, even then. And damn it, it's true: try it, with "Friends", "Cheers", "That 70's Show", I could go on. It works. With "Happy Endings", it does not, even if you look at the screen it doesn't.

But at least Elisha is beautiful. That's not enough to save the show, in my opinion.

Mad Love (2011)

Oh dear Lord... it's almost physically painful.

[1/10 · 16 February 2011]

It's been a long, long time since I've seen such a... well, there's no other word to say this: bad pilot on CBS. Full of "jokes" that have been heard and seen hundreds of times in various sitcoms in the past 20 or so years, boring sets, vague script, bland, and painfully unskilled actors (except for Biggs and Greer): I smell disaster. I'm not a fan of Sarah Chalke, to put it mildly... but that's not the reason why I was so disappointed with this pilot. Oddly enough, I will keep watching, because I love both Judy Greer and Rachel Boston very much, but frankly, I can't think of any other appeal for this show, than these two redheaded hotties.

At least that counts for something.

Zero stars is not an opinion, so I'm giving one.

V (2009–2011)

Why the hype?

[2/10 · 4 November 2009]

Just finished watching ABC's "V" pilot, and I have to say I could barely stay awake. I really have no idea what all the fuss and hype is about with this show: the pilot was unimaginative, dull, clichéd, and simply downright boring. I was unable to connect with the characters, the whole plot is predictable and almost childishly silly. One of the biggest disappointments for me in the last few years.

The overall look of the show, the production design lacks imagination as well, the CG is sloppy at best. Some scenes shot in the streets are ridiculously badly lit, the outcome therefore looks unrealistic, especially after scenes where they got the lighting right (there are a few).

The only cool thing that happened is the F16 crashing down onto a city street. And that was in the first few minutes. After that: yaaaaaawn.

Accidentally on Purpose (2009–2010)

Accidentally bad, or bad on purpose?

[9/10 · 23 September 2009]

Oh dear... I've had so high expectations, and after having watched the pilot episode, I was so disappointed.

Not just because Jenna Elfman is not that fresh, bright, brilliant actress I fell in love with instantly after one episode of "Dharma And Greg"... but because the show brings absolutely nothing new, nothing fresh, nothing original.

Too bad, because this could be funny actually, if we would see it for the first time... But after about five hundred repetitions of the same situation, same joke, same phrases, seen hundreds of times in different sitcoms and movies in the past 10 or 20 years... it's just dull, boring and annoying.

Jenna Elfman - of course - is immensely charming and cute and still beautiful, but it's simply not enough. It's actually almost painful to watch her trying her best to save this sinking boat of a script, and she's not doing a bad job with it either, but she is simply unable to carry the show on her shoulders. The rest of the cast is not even worth mentioning, including Doug Savant, unfortunately.

All in all, less than mediocre script, unimaginative execution overall, very disappointing. I'm surprised if this show is going to live to see the end of the '09-'10 season.

Big Trouble (2002)

One of the funniest comedies ever made

[10/10 · 14 November 2004]

I've seen it dozens of times, and still, I can't help myself but laugh my a** off... Incredibly bright, fresh collection of timeless jokes, gags, and funny situations cleverly bound together by one of Hollywood's most talented comedy directors into a flowing, easy, coherent piece of entertainment. This film's set must have been the most funny workplace ever... I wonder how the actors have managed to do the shooting, there must be tons of blooper reels in store... After reading some comments here, I really wish to have a chat with some of the people, who didn't find this movie funny... Or better - I'd like to know, what films they regard as being funny, if not "Big Trouble".

And my last remark - it's been a very long time since I've heard such a brilliant movie score as James Newton Howard had written for "Big Trouble". Excellent job.

Jersey Girl (2004)

The Other Kevin Smith - who is all the same despite all

[8/10 · 14 November 2004]

I'm certain that if I had been Kevin Smith, approached by Miramax with this idea and screenplay, I would definitely have turned it down.

Maybe that's exactly why he had chosen to do it. And what a wise decision it was indeed... The movie didn't promise much judging it by the trailers, but in the end, I was quite satisfied with it when I finally saw it. I'm sure, that an average, or below-the-average Hollywood director would have made it into a blunt, silly, sentimental, and instantly forgettable, "soap-bubble-like" movie. But not Smith... There were many, many crucial points along the storyline that just called and yelled for directors to commit fatal errors... Smith had succeeded to avoid these errors, creating a really enjoyable, lovable, deeply emotional and yet funny piece of work. But still... this isn't the Kevin Smith that I admire so much. I believe that with "Dogma" he created a milestone in American film-making, by daring to speak fiercely openly and frankly about very delicate issues. I missed this part of him from "Jersey Girl" - but there was no room for it because of the plot.

With "Jersey Girl" he had showed more real emotions than he ever did in all of his works. He had proved himself an expert of human emotions. He showed the audience that he really understands about deep feelings, love, loss, family ties, ambition...

The only thing this film is lacking is really great acting. None of the actors gave bad performances, not by long shot, but still... there could have been some more... especially from Affleck. Tyler gave a surprisingly fresh, and believable performance, showing some real theatrical talents in the scene when she performs in Gertie's 'musical'.

The unavoidable Star Wars jokes, and celebrity "nose-pricks" are present of course, maintaining the overall "Smith-feel" to the movie. To be adequate, I quote Darth Vader: "Impressive... Most impressive."

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

A beautiful work of art

[14 November 2004]

Michel Gondry and Charlie Kaufman caught my attention with "Human Nature", which became one of my favourite movies instantly. "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" deals with the deepest emotions, and a variety everyday problems in terms of relationships with such ease and yet such well-placed and thoughtful precision, that I have never seen or read before.

Each and every bit, tiny crumb that You see on the screen, plays a part, and tells its own little story. Nothing is "just filling" nothing is in vain, there's nothing that doesn't serve Gondry's beautiful, heart-capturing way of storytelling.

Breathtakingly cinematographed, packed with fresh and bright ideas never before seen, (in fact this movie has more unique ideas featured - visual and dramaturgical as well - than 10-12 "average" films) this film is really worth watching over and over again. Carrey is excellent, really showing what a marvelous actor he is. Kate Winslet became one of my favourite actresses because of this movie. The "acting stunts" she pulls in this film really are worthy of attention. The movie really has an exceptionally fine cast overall, with Wood and Dunst giving their best performances to date.

It was great to see, what a very inspiring crew can do to the actors: their performances reflect the delight of having the opportunity to work with such geniuses as Gondry and Kaufman.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind became my No.1. favourite movie, and I doubt that it will ever lose this position. If it might ever occur, I won't be surprised if yet another Gondry-Kaufman piece would eventually take over its place.