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Reviews
Arrow: Life Sentence (2018)
Stupid...
I really hate series that nullifies every effort, risks, and sacrifices made previously. This is exsctly what this episode is all about. After receiving all the help he needs to protect his identity, now he just put a target at the back of his kid and wife forever - something he's trying to avoid in the first place. They should not have released their highest-rated episode this season, episode 21 if it will just go to nothing.
The Walking Dead: Service (2016)
Stupid!!!
How a show that started so great became so stupid making a far more inferior show like Fear the Walking Dead (Season 3) far, far better! Can you imagine making a strong character like Rick Grimes so stupid and the rest of the characters following blindly his stupidity - what a disgusting writing! In fact they are trying to make the audience stupid, too - so I really won't recommend watching this show anymore. For heaven's sake, I might just stop watching the show. The two stars I gave are just for the great acting of Jeffrey Dean Morgan and that's all. Negative stars for the lame writing and concept... And by the way, Season 3 of Fear the Walking Dead is really doing great; I'll just watch Fear the Walking Dead and forget about this show...
Arrow: Who Are You? (2017)
Disappointing...
Mid-season finale ended up with a ray of hope. I was so glad about it only to be fooled by this episode. Black Canary is the one thing that could add a little light to Arrow's difficult situations. I hope they realize that and I hope that they would bring back the real Black Canary because her death was totally useless. Dark is still at large in Legends of Tomorrow; they managed to bring back White Canary; it's totally ridiculous that they could not bring back the real Black Canary. Seeing Felicity showing her old attitude again, Diggle gone, and Thalia just sprouting all of a sudden - nothing good compared to Laurel who had to go through a lot of things. I still believe that a good hero is one who acquired a hero's heart after undergoing a lot of trials and struggles. I really see nothing good at the continued loss of Black Canary in Arrow. I hope they would do something about it before they lose more fans...
House of Usher (2008)
Interesting Twist
I'm always fond of writing comments on movies that are either underrated or unnoticed and yet possess some degree of depth or sensibility. When I started watching this movie, I prepared myself for something really profound. But then I saw man-to-man kissing. Not that I have something against that or on movies that contain similar scenes, it's just that I did not intend to watch that kind of movie that afternoon.
For the benefit of the doubt, I continued watching and gave it a try anyway. Soon I started appreciating it – first on the choice of words in the dialogue, quite sensible; and then on the overall script that practically ushers the audience gradually into something bigger, becoming more dreadful by the minute – reason enough for fans of horror and suspense-thriller movies to get hooked up after all; and then the directing that made the actors essentially effective, the narrating, and practically every scene in the movie quite creepy. I could not overlook how the director successfully managed to utilize the main actor's tears in complete silence at the end of the movie to convey lots of messages – could be for a love that ended tragically or because he failed and abandoned someone he loved for quite some time or for the failure of Usher to get him out of such misery. And then there is this quite interesting twist in the end that changed the perspective of the movie. While all along, it was Usher who seemed to be needing a redemption, in the end though, it is the other way around after all.
Yes, the movie contained some partial male nudity and gay relationship but all these seemed to fall into the backdrop as one focuses his attention on the overall message being conveyed by the movie – the fall of the house of Usher is the product of the failure to save a loved one, whether it is in the point of view of Usher, Usher's sister, or even Victor
*
Spectacular! (2009)
Good Music Spoke for the Movie
The thing with movies characterized by music and performing arts is that its essence depends largely on the relevance and the timing of its performances in relation to a particular issue in the story. Spectacular! may be underrated and under-appreciated but a deeper analysis of the film may reveal quite a degree of sense and heart in it lying behind its seeming superficiality.
The movie can be summarized through its four (4) songs strategically performed in different parts of the story.
The first song contains lines such as "I'm living my life just the way I like", "Don't tell me what I got to do, who I wanna be 'coz it's me who'll choose", "No more rules coz I just don't have the time", "I wanna go crazy and no one's gonna stop me." As it was performed, we are practically introduced to the band singer, Niko, a teenager aspiring to be a recording star who got dumped by his own band and girlfriend at the same night. Soon, however, he was recruited by a performing choir leader who has been accustomed to performing inside a 'box', so to speak, and to living strictly by the rules.
Conflicting perspective somehow made it quite a deal for Niko. Nothing natural, however, can be hidden for long. Soon, his outlook was discovered and surprisingly appreciated by the choir members. In fact, he started teaching the choir members new dance steps for a change.
Somewhere at the middle of the movie, another song was sung containing lines such as, "For the first time, I realize something I didn't see before; for the first time, looking in your eyes, suddenly, there's so much more; something, we both feel inside, for the first time". At this point, we are drawn to the idea that Niko finally and officially got hooked into the performing choir as he started introducing new Spectacular traditions. With the choir members at his back, he actually began sharing in their dream of winning and soaring to heights. He, somehow, forgot his former band and his own aspiration and became one with the new group.
The third song is the group's entry to the national competition containing lines such as, "You give me something to believe in after all we've been through; the love you gave, it all comes back to you", "
and here with you is where I'm meant to be". As in any other group endeavoring to soar, unpleasant things sometimes happen, test of character, difficult choices to be made, truth uncovered during the worst of circumstances, break ups. Good thing is that people are almost always drawn to where their heart is. Realizing that he taught the group something new to believe in and that it's heartless to just abandon and fail them after what they've been through, Niko made the most risky decision in his lifetime.
Little did Niko knew that this unselfish act would be greatly rewarded. As he soared in his newfound career, even the ones around him who lost their radiance found their way to reinvent themselves and soar with him.
The last song is the end credits song containing lines such as, "Coz everything can change when you least expect it", "Can't stop what you can't control, gotta learn how to just let go", "some things turn out much better the way it is with us". It's practically a good summary and I guess everything that happened in the story already speak for themselves
*
Impact (2009)
Impact really made an impact...
What if the moon that we gaze upon at nights becomes the very cause of the last catastrophe to ever occur on earth before it finally ceases to exist? Impact tells of it and more. In fact it is the very first movie that I ever watched where the moon is picked as the adversary that will wipe out the entire earth and humanity with it.
When I started watching this probably 4-hour movie made for television, I thought that it was just one of those movies dealing with meteors hitting the earth. I was wrong. Little did I know that it would deal with a remnant of a dead star hitting the moon instead. I got stuck to watching the movie at once as I got curious with this variation. Indeed, it was all worth it as the storyline started getting interesting by the minute. It did not occur to me that the writers and creators of the mini-series would be able to come up with such fascinatingly logical consequences to the featured occurrences.
But that was not all. The different stories of the movie were made so simple and yet touching that its simplicity rightly balanced the overall movie impression and perfectly complemented the already complicated scientific events featured therein. Perhaps movies or mini-series should use similar complications matched with simple stories to make it as appealing as this movie.
Be that as it may, Impact did not only highlight the impact of the so-called remnant of a dead star on the moon and the impact of the disturbed moon on the earth, requiring urgent action. More than that, it highlighted the impact of the overall happening on the lives of the different groups of people in the movie and on humanity as a whole. It tells of how a couple of kids who just recently lost their Mom cope with the loss of their remaining guardian, their grandfather and how they face the impending loss of their father to save others. It also tells of a very strong and understanding fiancée, who, despite the uncertainty of coming back alive, let go of her husband-to-be because she believed in him and his far-greater mission. Above all, it tells of two men, who upon being chosen to go to a one-way trip to accomplish a noble assignment, willingly let go of their respective attachments on this world, made sacrifices, and bravely faced dangers and even death for the sake of humanity.
It's just fair for me to say that Impact could very well make an impact on the individual audience. And if you have not watched it, I would highly recommend it.
Supernatural (2005)
A Look At Past Half-Way
Supernatural began with average-rated episodes - meaning that except for the mysterious death of mother Winchester during its pilot episode, we were not seeing highly spectacular monsters or scenes, so to speak. We were probably hooked because of our desire to uncover the mysteries behind the Winchester Family and because the concept, story lines, and drama were presented in a rather light and sometimes funny way.
Towards the middle of Season 1, we finally had the feel of the lives of the Winchester Brothers. As we approached the end, we witnessed the brothers' reunion with their father. Although Season 1 did not solve the mysteries surrounding the Winchesters, their reunion somehow provided some revelations relative to their quest as well as in their relationships with one another. However, short that reunion was, it was meaningful and heartrending.
One very good thing about Supernatural is that it presents facts about the Winchester family and their quest in bits that are easily swallowed in each episode. Season 2 is about 5% better than Season 1 in terms of episode quality. We were slowly introduced to various concepts and characters that would have something to do in the future. Like in Season 1 where each episode highlights a specific monster of the week, that each episode ending is a solved mystery on its own and yet there is continuity in the Winchester story, Season 2 featured its episodes in much the same way. Post-mission conversations were even more meaningful to the point of being emotional this time because of feelings and secrets being revealed.
Towards the end of Season 2, the true enemy of the Winchesters, including his plan was finally revealed – at least to Sam Winchester. Unfortunately, it was not an easy task to defeat him. It required a test of character and difficult choices to be made. In fact, the path towards the Season 2 culmination was wrought with sacrifices. You would be surprised that there are about ten (10) episodes in Season 2 that featured sacrifices and biting of the bullet, so to speak.
A deeper look at the lives of the Winchester brothers would reveal that they are not just heroes who save the day. They are martyrs who chose to sacrifice a lot of things in their lives for the cause of their family and that of others. They may have had their share of persecutions from authorities because of their undercover thing, but circumstances have a way of rewarding those who were just motivated by the desire to do good for others. They indeed managed well.
Above all this, we saw how the brothers love and care for each other. No other TV show I know featured that so much love and care for a brother who is willing to give up his own soul so that his brother will live. While Season 1 and 2 highlighted this kind of fraternal relationship, Season 3 had its own share of highlighting this.
With Dean Winchester having only one more year to live, his brother Sam desperately tried to find ways to avert that fateful day. Majority of Season 3 episodes, in fact, did not veer away from this idea. No matter how much effort Sam placed on the idea of saving Dean, it seemed nothing at all as he was being made to accept the fact that Dean would be gone soon and that he would have to learn to live without him. But how could someone who has grown so close to another and has spent most of his life with accept that easily? And so we saw Sam got more desperate as we saw the trickster kill Dean again and again and how he cried when he finally got back Dean alive. And how could we miss that episode where Dean wanted to celebrate Christmas as it might be his last and Sam did not want to as he was not welcoming the idea that they are celebrating the last Christmas together? In the end though, they celebrated just the same and without mentioning that "last Christmas together" sort of thing, it still touched the hearts of the viewers.
Season 3 was successful in featuring episodes that are really moving. No wonder that it was about 2% better than Season 2 in terms of episode quality and that its regular viewers significantly increased.
Season 4 continued the war mode that was started in Season 3. Unlike in Seasons 1 & 2 where the brothers were just in a hunting mode – that is, one monster per episode, in Season 3, demonic forces started appearing in groups. We also discovered their new leader. In Season 4, we started seeing the bigger picture. We saw what was happening. But more than that, we also saw what started it all. The appearance of angels and new characters somehow helped create the whole picture. Probably, it was this entirely new concept and interesting characters that contributed much in the skyrocketing of the number of its regular viewers and made it 4% better than Season 3 in terms of episode quality.
Season 4 is still on-going and we do not know yet what Season 5 holds. A lot of things have been certain though – Supernatural has been consistent in making its concept and story lines better and better; its script and effects are indeed superior; and its ratings continue to surge. There is no better way to say it but truly, Supernatural is on the right track; keep it up
*
Merlin (2008)
Hats Off to the Writers and Creators!
Whenever I watch movies or movies made for television about Merlin or the legendary King Arthur, they were, more often than not, depicted as old or older men. I wonder sometimes, what kind of life they lived during their younger days. Merlin the Series as produced by BBC offers a hypothetical but quite remarkable depiction of such.
The series tells of the story of Merlin and Arthur during their teenage years – how they first met, how they disagreed at times because of their differing orientations, how they bonded and became friends, how they managed to get along well and learned to care for each other, and how they grew up from being immature boys to refined young men of principles and honor amidst all their shortcomings and imperfections. The series might not have portrayed in some respects the exact accounts of the Merlin – King Arthur stories based on our readings but all these imperfections were relegated to the backdrop as the writers amazingly managed to craft the concept and stories in a very interesting and fascinating way. The scripts are so creatively fashioned as to be appealing to young and old alike.
Hats off to the writers and creators of Merlin for crafting wonderful scenes that would linger in my memory for a very long time!
I loved that part where Arthur, chose to embark on a very dangerous journey in contravention to his father's stern prohibition – only to save his servant, a servant whom he earlier had low regard, a servant whom he often scolded and often disagreed with. And when Arthur successfully retrieved the cure, he did not mind at all if he was put in prison; all he was concerned about was to get the cure administered immediately to his servant. I also loved that scene where Lancelot made a tough decision of leaving Camelot despite his long-time dream of being there – because he could not bear to see Arthur and his father quarrelling over him and because he just could not take the credit for himself for something he did not deserve. I also loved that part where Arthur followed Merlin in his village to lend a helping hand – definitely, without the knowledge or consent of his king father. Arthur never told anybody the reason for following there but the creators and writers crafted scenes that somehow subtly revealed the true heart of Arthur. I also loved that part where Arthur managed to uplift the spirits of Merlin's people and uphold the unity among them that even the skeptic and lone member of the opposition had a change of heart later on. The writers and creators effectively showed the audience the great leader in Arthur. I loved that part where the king father carried dying Arthur in his arms on his way to the throne. Without any word spoken, the creator and director were able to convey to the audience that the King, however ruthless and hard, is still a father who loves his son so dearly. Forget about the fact that he would not have wished for a son had he known that his wife would die or the fact that he is hard on him to the point of not believing him at times and putting him in prison for disobedience, the fact remains that he is still a father who would not wish for his son to die and who would rather take his place so that his son will live. I also loved that part where Gaius took off to the Isle of the Blessed to take the place of Merlin who would offer his life in place of the latter's mother. It was the highest of sacrifice a non-relative could give simply because he sees Merlin as destined for greatness.
I could go on and on but time will not be enough to recount all the other great and wonderful scenes/parts of Merlin. Suffice to say that Merlin would not be the great series that it is envisioned to be without an effective production design, effects, and musical scoring – which, for me, are all far more than just acceptable. In fact, they are very good. The directing and acting – indeed they are awesome in all respects. The production really managed to choose the best actor for each character. The series is truly great and fun to watch – highly recommended
Wedding Wars (2006)
A Touching Story of Two Brothers...
At first glance, one might think this is a purely gay movie. If you define a gay movie as the presence of gays and gay relationships, then it might be, as you define it. But actually it is more than that. Wedding wars is one heck of a wholesome and sensible film with a nice story, an excellent script, and a good direction and music.
Wedding wars tells of the wedding of Ben and Maggie and the preparations attendant to it. While it may be said that the theme of the movie is all about wedding preparations, the film actually focused on politics and brother-to-brother relationships and how these affected the wedding plans.
Ben and Shel are close brothers since childhood who drifted apart when Shel confessed that he is gay. Shel thereafter pursued a party-planning career and met his lover Ted who is an Assistant District Attorney at Maine. Ben, on the other hand, became the campaign manager for Governor Welling who is running for reelection at Maine. In this career he met the Governor's daughter, Maggie whom he is now marrying.
In the course of their discussions about their impending wedding, Maggie suggested that Shel be their wedding planner. Despite Ben's hesitations, Maggie prevailed and so Ben visited his gay brother, Shel who, upon learning of Maggie's request, immediately accepted the responsibility. Everything about the wedding preparations is going well as the couple-to-be and Shel really starts bonding until the incumbent Governor Welling, who, ever since, did not oppose gay relationships, made a surprising political stand on television that he is supporting a constitutional amendment banning gay marriages with a view to gaining popularity in time for his reelection bid. Incidentally, the author of that speech is none other than Ben. Shel, upon learning this, became so disgusted with his own brother that he declared a strike and picketed at the gate of the Governor's residence just two weeks before the wedding. "Why can he plan for Ben's wedding while Shel, on his part, can never ever make plans for his own wedding someday?" The characters of the story became divided as Maggie and her Mom practically sided with Shel understanding perfectly how he felt about Ben and Maggie's father.
How far this situation will take all of them is the very meat of the story. Suffice to say that I admired the movie for its lack of pretenses. It is full of love, understanding, honesty, and a heart for others. Although the plot of the story is simple, the issues involved are of significant magnitude as it touched on political and social issues transcending beyond personal and familial matters. I really liked the way that wedding changed things for the characters