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cimirie
Reviews
Percy Jackson and the Olympians (2023)
Significantly better than movies
Anybody saying the series isn't as good as the movies is beyond help. The character exposition is on point. The dialogue could use some help at points, but it's intriguing and keeps the pacing moving. I was worried at first about the strength of the kid playing Percy: he started off a bit shaky but that apparently was by design because he ends up being everything you'd hope Percy would be. The details they weave through the series allows a depth to the characters and story that the movie couldn't touch.
Beyond worth diving into. Folks who trash it either had unrealistic expectations or don't have much traste. It's a fun series for anybody who's read the books - kids and adults alike.
Batgirl Rises (2015)
A nice idea
I love the idea of doing an Batgirl origin story. I even love the passion that comes from doing a DC character as an indie. But this movie was so far beyond unpolished. I really want to say the acting was bad. But the truth is, it wasn't. At least not entirely. All of the actors (except the brother) had moments of brilliance. There was true emotion and true tension in many parts. And then there were moments that reminded me of the last high school play I watched. Most scenes, that were otherwise well played, were ruined by blatantly poor and over the top delivery of multiple lines. And I'll be honest, that lies more with the director and editing. You can't watch a scene from behind the camera and say "well, that's OK, I guess," and then print it. If you don't have talent, sure, maybe. But the the entire cast (again, except the brother who was just awful throughout) all had great deliver at times. In an indie, you don't have the fireworks and cgi... You have to rely on performance and this aspect missed the mark.
The other piece (and I've never seen a movie where this was such a problem) that was so bad as to be distracting was the lighting. It was beyond bad. You should never see lighting (yes, I'm aware that lighting plays a part in mood and feel, but unless you're on Broadway, you shouldn't see a spotlight on somebody's head). The opening scene puts this on full display right off the bat. It was almost as if there was a crack in the scene ceiling and a ray of sun was following each character.
The story itself wasn't terribly well constructed. It was disjointed and made plot leaps that had huge holes (even for a superhero movie) and the written dialogue was mediocre at best (even if the cast had been filled with Oscar winners). Despite that, I found myself enjoying most of Harlene's performance and a few times I saw something really special in Barbara's character.
If you are a fan of the DC Universe and have 40 minutes to kill, it's worth a watch if only because it's unexplored cinematic territory. But don't expect to be wowed.
Portlandia (2011)
Complete waste of time
I love dry, low key, intelligent humor. And this show advertises that this is what it delivers. Trouble is, this simply is a poorly thought out sketch comedy show that only pretends to deliver these things. It's not creative. It's not witty. It's simply a show that preys on stereotypes and relies on the counter-culture visibility of hippie and hipster culture to attempt to evoke a coolness factor that just falls flat in this show. And while Fred Armison is extremely talented, and I occasionally chuckled at his straight-faced deliver of some absurd line or facial emotion, it doesn't come close to making up for the boredom.
The best way I can describe this show is to ask you to picture Saturday Night Live. On most SNL episodes, there are about 3 sketches that kill, 4 that bore you, and 2 that make you want to gouge your eyes out. Portlandia falls between categories 2 and 3.
Now I will give the show props for being original. It's charting a course I haven't seen before. That alone is hard to do in today's cookie-cutter Ratings-driven Hollywood culture. And as far as cameos go, few shows beat it. There is a revolving door of A and B listers that show up which at times makes the show bearable.
But do yourself a favor and just pass. Unless, of course, you are trying to repent for something.