mbrt

Fargo used to be about good people whose inner compass allows them to get through an excess of violence steadfast and relatively unscathed. In season 5, all of this is rejected: The "common folk" is helpless, police is useless, the only remaining option is an oligarch, gloriously saving the day with her unrestrained power, and we are meant to cheer for it. The show is very direct in the point it wants to make, when it emphasizes that the oligarch has Trump's phone number and we see her talking to a "Bill" on the phone, joking about a billionaires right to murder: Fargo S5 is about the Epstein-class claiming that there is no other game in town except the devil himself, who is separate from them and we should adore them for their might and mercy to protect us from him. In that sense, S5 brings the original premise into the real world: When you, the viewer, are shown a comically evil figure, will you start celebrating gross abuses of power when it is seemingly done for "the right reason", or will you stick to your guns? Are you really a decent person, or can we get you to cheer for, say, the stealing of elections, a militarized FBI, or sexual violence in prison? The way the show asks this question implicates that it thinks that you are not, and it despises you for it. It is a despicably cynical show full of ill intent.

A story about the power of self-publishing. But seriously: I had watched "Fleischman is in trouble" before, which is so similar in structure and narrative purpose, that it was apparent this is going to be another twisty revenge story. There is less misdirect here, I like unreliable narrators, and the actors are extraordinary, so I figured I'll appreciate this, but the twist in the end is so over the top, it retrospectively ruined the previous episodes. When a content warning would spoil your twist ending, you might not have found a good way to tell the story...

It's creepy Lost, starts out fun but becomes unbearably slow after the first few episodes, everybody is always angry and shouting at each other, saying how miserable they are, or refusing to answer a question that would really help to advance the plot.

Very good first season, completely runs out of steam halfway through the second season.

Events in history happen twice, first time as a tragedy, second time as a farce... Though, to be honest, the show shares next to nothing with the film except name and tagline. Which is fine, but touches on the core problem of the show, where it is very good at citing topics and themes, but can't do anything with them, let alone anything clever, so it just cranks up the volume to 11 and crams in more stuff. That's fun to watch for two episodes, when it consequently collapses in on itself. The weirdness becomes pastiche, the dark humor becomes overly hilarious, a crisis of identity becomes going le mad, the feeling of discomfort becomes just awkward. The acting is very good all around and everything looks great, but instead of the characters unraveling, it's the show falling apart.

Boomer superhero show with a stark incline towards the theatrical, which clashes with the overall silliness of the plot and particularly the characters. It wants to be a drama and a childish power fantasy at the same time, which does not work. In its best moments, the contrast becomes hilariously funny, like when he makes a woman fall in love with him by cooking with the demeanor of a french chef, and the meal he cooks is scrambled eggs. But unfortunately, it is just a bit tedious most of the time.

There are lots of shows, particularly in the fantasy genre, where I stop watching halfway through because nothing seems to work, and I always wonder: who are the people who like this crap? In this case, I guess it is me. I see the problems the show has, like how the narration frequently skips a beat, or how the abrupt tonal shifts between silly quips and somber moments undercut each other's impact. But still, I really enjoy the characters and the actors, I find the quips and particularly the delivery hilarious, and I enjoy how the story feels both very familiar and very weird at the same time. It is a bit like Alice in Wonderland meets Final Fantasy and everybody has a great time. Except apparently the people who watch it who are not me. And again, I understand why, but believe me, this is a fantastic show and I wish there were more like it. Edit: Oh, I just went through the reviews, turns out it isn't really that bad. About 80% seem to dislike the show because it is not white enough and not heterosexual enough. So it isn't about quality, but that the show does not fit their agenda. And then they come here and leave angry downvotes. How sad and weird.

The show looks good and the actors are good. And pretty much everything else is wrong. The accents, the characters, the dialogs, the focus, the pacing, the inner logic - nothing works. And not even in a fun way, it is such a bore to watch. Most striking to me is how lifeless it feels. The story is told in info dumps, and in between you watch these cardboard characters talk and act like no one does. It feels so alien and random, a bit like when parents pretend to be hip to kids. Really a show that is less than the sum of its parts.

It starts out really fun, with a mystery what is going on with the main character. And then, two episodes in, that story is completely abandoned, as is all story really, and the show becomes a carnival ride, where you watch a series of barely connected actions sequences, and it quickly becomes incoherent and boring. You have to wonder what is going on at Disney+, where they apparently pay for a great cast, visuals and effects, but not for writing. Or maybe there is simply not enough courage to bring a weird character like Moon Knight to the screen. But why make the show, if apparently you really just want to get it over with? It is puzzling.

This is a fun show. It moves very quickly, the characters are pleasant company, the actors are fun to watch, it looks great, I laugh a lot, and the soundtrack is very well selected, too. So far, the show seems to take a pretty superficial approach to its politics, and never lets that get in the way of its feelgood nature, but whatever, it is pretty sweet and a blast to watch, and I am down for it.

It's a Black Mirror episode written by Charlie Kaufman about working in an office, only it is actually written by a neurotypical who never worked a day in a regular job, and it is padded to fill a whole season. Which means that there is a perceivable lack in the middle of it - a lack of truth behind the weirdness, and honestly, a lack of material. The show tries to make up for it in atmosphere, so it looks nice and goes slowly. Watching paint dry slowly. I really want to like it, if just for trying to be different, but it is so clearly trying too hard at the wrong places, while under-delivering at the important bits. It feels like unrewarding work to get through this slob, which is ironic since that is what it tries to portrait, yet I'd rather be at the office.

The show portraits aggressively normal people very well, but ignores the overly apparent sociopathic quality behind it, and instead wants it to be charming. Which doesn't work, when you cannot shake the feeling that those are the kinds of people who would poison the neighbor's dog and feel like they are the victim. It is the show equivalent of finding it clever to say your biggest flaw is eating too much chocolate or that you are too perfectionist, when you are actually obsessively shoplifting and once set a homeless person on fire. Very dull, very rotten. Which keeps it from being completely boring, but I found it pretty off-putting.

One of those shows that spends all its energy on being hilariously funny every single moment, it comes off trying way too hard while forgetting to have an engaging story or characters to care about.

From the summary, I thought this was another YA show. Bunch of girls having to survive in the wilderness. And that is in there, pretty well done, too, but it is more about the horror of growing up and the horror of being a grown up, which sounds bleak, but it is done in an interesting and charming way. If it wants to, the show can be very sweet, genuinely funny, exciting, but also sad, puzzling, dark and violent, without overdoing any of it. The show looks great, the music and soundtrack fit perfectly, and from kids to adults, just amazing performances. I assume this is a show where you pretty quickly find out if you like it or not. I think it it a blast.

Where The Mandalorian took Star Wars back to its italo-western roots, Boba Fett seems to go back to the prequel trilogy, particularly how narration and tone are all over the place, and how it noticeably fails to pull off an ambitious story. But where the prequels have some campy fun to them, Boba Fett is simply unpleasant and strange. Just watched the finale and it makes the end of GoT look like Shakespeare. Did an AI write this? Still one point for how great it looks and for letting me know what watching tv with head trauma must be like. I have watched boring shows and bad ones, but I never saw a train wreck like this. If they had stopped at any point and just showed their budged slowly burning, it would have been a better show. More honest, too. Seriously, wtf? So let me correct myself, this isn't the prequels, this is Return of Skywalker. An incoherent mess, where the biggest accomplishment is that you can't say for sure how much is incompetence and how much is cynicism.

Ok, so the story is basically just a hint of cliches, the characters are exclusively annoyed, dialog is trite if even coherent, and the plot is driven by enemies showing up out of nowhere and chasing everyone to the next location. This might work as a carnival ride, but I have played pinball tables with more immersive storytelling. Then again, those were created by people who cared and not just content for content's sake. Kudos to everyone who got paid for this slob. Good for you! Next time, go for cute, then you might get a decent children's show. Or keep all the grim and violent, but make it funny, so there is motivation for it. Or, since you obviously don't shy away from being tedious, turn it into a graphic novel and focus on being scenic, then you could even have the stupid songs without being offensive. I get that these shows are made as fodder for subscribers to the platform. But really, at least have some self-respect and get the craft part right. This is embarrassing.

It is amazing how the show manages to be silly, exiting and genuinely sweet at the same time, even with an occasional emotional gut punch. Perfect television really.

It's incredible how poorly the show is written. It's not as over the top as Rise of Skywalker, but it feels similarly contrived and joyless. One of the many underdeveloped topics is the black experience in the US, and it has to be said, black people deserve better. We all do. What a snoozefest.

Imagine "You Were Never Really Here", if it was made by Steven Seagal. Imagine "Drive", but it is "The Office". It's very funny, but I can't figure out if I am laughing with it or about it.

I found the show somewhat comfy, despite its flaws. That said, it feels rushed, joyless and by the numbers. Bad numbers. I like Alice and Mary, and the show probably should be exclusively about them, since everyone else is thoroughly uninteresting, including the lead character. The show has some budget, lots of source material, and a pleasant distance to any expectations. Same as the She-Ra remake. And everything that went well there is missing here. No passion, no sense of adventure, no conflict below the surface, no stakes, nothing to say, no interest to take a risk or do anything except collecting a paycheck. But if the people making the show obviously don't care - why should I? And I want to add: It feels a lot like the show tries to compensate its lack in depth by dabbling in really serious topics, like child abuse or mental illness. And my tip is: don't.

A show like this doesn't really work, when every single character is a clichee dialed up to 11. Because then everybody is weird, not just the alien. I found it particularly confusing, when the other characters do not react to even the strangest behavior of the alien, or wave it off with a "oh you so weird", when they should be alarmed or worried. Everything feels random, and I think that is supposed to be the joke. So if you find randomness funny, good for you, you will probably like the show. Otherwise, better skip it.

The show manages to balance a typical romcom love story with the depiction of rather vapid, New York upper-classy twenty-somethings and their parents. Feels like the show Bret Easton Ellis was to cynical to write. It's a lot of fun.

I was surprised how much I liked this. The show has the cozy feeling of old Scooby-Doo cartoons, and it is just fun to be along for the ride. There is probably nothing new here, but what is there is done very well. I particularly enjoyed the characters, the casting is on point, the mystery and supernatural stuff can become mildly creepy, which is fun, and I like how much care is put into setting up the story and character details. Great show to binge. I wish more shows were like this. Second season is pretty bad though. The actors do their best, but the writing is all over the place.

I remember some controversy when the show came out, and wondered: who cares about a remake of an 80s show, created to sell toys? And then someone recommended it to me, and I found myself flabbergasted how quickly it won me over. From the first episode, the show manages to find a perfect balance between adventure and developing the characters, where the adventures are actually tense and exiting, while the characters and their relationships are well-developed and strikingly likeable. I deeply appreciate how the characters care for each other, and how it made me care for their well-being in all the very imaginative, dangerous situations they find themselves in. Combine that with confident storytelling, which neither shies away from its tropes, nor falls for them, and you get a show that is up there with the all-time greats like Samurai Jack, Kim Possible or Steven Universe. A stupid 80s toy-commercial, born again as masterpiece - who would have guessed...