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Reviews
San ti (2023)
Uneven yet engaging and often quite good
The sci-fi books that are the basis for this Chinese TV series have been on my list for a long time, but still unread. So when I saw this series pop up on PBS, I gave it a try. Partly because of interest in the story and partly because it was my first Chinese made tv series and I was curious. The early episodes are interesting although sometimes with clunky effects and definitely slow pacing. A slower pacing is not an obstacle for me, though, and I actually appreciate a story that is developed in layers. The quality of the episodes pick up with the story of Dr. Ye. There are several roles that are well cast-Dr. Wang, the young Dr. Ye, and the police detective Shi Quiang. Initially irritating, Shi ultimately becomes a pivotal character, along with Dr. Ye. Towards the end of the 30 episodes, especially in #29, the show quality declines, but to some extent I think this may be a cultural perception. When the show veers towards action it gets in trouble with effects, dialogue and pace, at least for Westerners. But it survives, and the final scenes in episode 30 are quite good. There is a lot of real science in this show, which is satisfying for sci-fi buffs. It's heavily expositive in places, so wonky, but well worth taking the whole 30 episode trip. I've since dipped a toe in the book, and as others have commented the show seems true to the source. That's the benefit to the show's willingness to take the time to layer up the story. Honestly rare in Western shows for an adaptation to stay true to its source book, so that's a plus for this Chinese version. I expect the Netflix version will move faster and be shinier. I don't expect it to necessarily be better though. Definitely give this Chinese version the chance!
Karmalink (2021)
Intriguing, and disappointing
Set in Cambodia, the good things about this movie are the performances from the young actors, and the setting. There is an attentiveness to the contrast between the glittering parts of the city and the more traditional and less tidy areas where the story mostly takes place. You can feel the loss of the past, and see the environmental degradation, without getting in too deep to themes of economic inequality. The core of the story is the karma wheel, but it's sadly grafted to a high tech and ultimately tedious and pedestrian reboot of the run away AI theme. It's watchable, with the first half better than the second. The dialogue turns wooden towards the end. The performances and some quite good scenes of ordinary streets, temples and the countryside save the film from its pretentious tech bits.
Falling Water (2016)
No wonder it was canceled
Falling Water season 1 was a fairly smart and reasonably interesting mystery, somewhat uneven but watchable. Season 2 turned progressively into just another dumb horror story. The whole demeanor of the show changed in Season 2. I would have rated this a 6 based on the first season, but by the end of the second season, it's barely a 2. It's no wonder this show was canceled. The actors portraying the main characters are decent, they must have been glad to toss their scripts by the end of this mess.