gil-roitto Reviews

Beforeigners (2019– )

Orginal and engaging characters

[9/10 · 19 February 2022]

The plot is about our modern world where people from the past history appears. A modern day police and an newly educated police from the Viking era are our heroes.

As a Swede I salute our neigbour country Norway for it's amazing output of quality movies and series. I could only dream of our country producing anything close to masterpieces like Dead Snow, Troll Hunter, Norsemen and now Beforeigners.

Beforeigners is not perfect, but how could something original ever be? Satire revolving around political correctness and cultural conflicts, amazing acting, original script, photography and environments are superb, the music is fantastic, and the characters are truly engaging.

Raised by Wolves (2020–2022)

Fantastic sci-fi tragedy

[9/10 · 7 January 2022]

Mankind has destroyed the earth in religious wars. Some children are raised by androids on a foreign planet, as a way to save mankind. Others are soon following on their "ark". Conflicts and struggle with the not very hospitable environment makes this into a tragedy.

This is the sci-fi series we have been missing. The atmosphere is near perfect desolate and barren. The environments feel truly foreign. The androids and other tech is fantastic and not the usual unlikely movie constructs. Acting and characters are for the most part really good. The religious and fanatics aspects are very engaging. This is an epic sci-fi saga about a dying struggling human race.

As many have already commented on other reviews, Raised by Wolves takes a turn after a couple of episodes. The idea behind the plot is not bad, but the execution is poor. The mystery force that effects peoples behaviour is never explained, it makes some actions of the characters feel irritional and random. Sometimes we get a bad Twin Peaks/Lost mystery vibe - mystery for the sake of mystery. I really hope season 2 gives us a clever reason for the mystery force.

A last note: It is hard to imagine a worse title than "Raised by Wolves". I was totally dismissing the series based on the title.

The Fable (2019)

This was a pleasant surprise

[8/10 · 12 December 2021]

Very seldom I watch Japanese movies. I gave this a shot, never heard of any actors or director and didn't know about the manga. It was a pleasant surprise. Very engaging characters, odd stories, very sweet fun humor.

The story is a about an mythical assasin "The Fable" - his real name Sato. He is taking a sabbatical year in another town together with his companion Yoko. He is struggling to live a normal life, but of course other criminals and assasins cannot leave him alone.

The pace of the movie is perfect. The story is bound in the everyday life they are trying to live. This gives them so much more character and depth than a typical action movie. The action is also very well done with some nice unique moments, and it is always mixed with their personal traits and interactions.

This is a light movie in many ways, both visually with much of the shots done during daytime, when it comes to the motives and actions of the warm hearted characters and with some very sweet humor. I strongly recommend it.

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (2019)

Obvious ending

[6/10 · 5 August 2020]

The last film of the third triology left me quite disappointed. The environments and effects are amazing, acting is good, even though the Rey and Kylo Ren characters were a bit flat on this episode.

But the writing was inexplicably poor, ticks the very obvious things you expect to happen, but not much else worth mentioning. The fighting scenes were very flawed, Rey has changed into a beserker in battle.

The movie goes to lengths destroying some balance of powers the series have carefully built up, all suspense based on what you know will be the challanges are thrown away. Suddenly Rey can heal people, they can stop the saber strikes with the power, they can jump crazy high etc. The emperor has godlike powers which can defeat any number of star ships. No one is dead, any old Jedi ghost can appear and perform actions/interactions in the world.

Still a must see to wrap things up.

Alone (2015– )

The bet survival show

[10/10 · 22 January 2020]

This show is pretty raw, the participants being entirely alone, putting the survival skills to a real test. Since there is no TV crew to push for some certain drama, there is room for the reality of their situation. Some extractions due to injuries are tough, some get unfair locations, so there no guarantee for a super fair competition.

The variety of things participants do to get food surprised me, there is no single best strategy, it varies by location and over time.

What is annoying is that some things are left out or heavily edited for drama. The reason for some participants to tap out is not entirely what is told on camera. Some people may be portrayed as getting no food while in reality they were. Etc. But it's a TV-show, what do you expect? Still it is far more genuine than many other shows and puts the survival skills to a real test.

Dark (2017–2020)

Beautiful environments and language

[9/10 · 16 July 2019]

The Dark is an amazing sci-fi series in an ordinary world. The environments, the strong vivid characters, the music, the lightning and the filming and the capturing of different times makes this a very beautiful saga. The only exception is the future in the 2nd season - the strength of the writers and the rest of the crew seems to be depicting the past, not imagining the future.

The German language is actually a big plus, the dialog feels fresh and not burdened by cliche phrases.

The plot is really great. One of the very few series and films that doesn't mess up the time-travel aspect.

Black Summer (2019–2021)

A silent survival journey - direction unknown

[6/10 · 14 April 2019]

I love the pure focus on surviving and the decay of humans in this zombie infested world. People hardly bother to know each other and bond, they accept they are together by necessity and some decency. The dialog is minimal. We follow different groups on their journey for survival. There is not much dialog, but a lot of suspense. Main characters may die at any time and it is liberating with the absence of sentimentality. But of course we as viewers may have some trouble caring about someone we know very little of.

Immediately the episodes are plagued by unbelievable choices and events. Why will no one pick up bats, sticks etc to defend themselves? Are guns the only possible weapons in a zombie world? Why would people so quickly form weird bands trying to ambush people passing by? Why would all cars break down and sit wrecked or burning at the side of the road a few weeks in after the zombie apocalypse starts?

Then at episode 3 and 4 everything grinds to a halt. Who tries to go where? No one tries to find the stadium sanctuary anymore or their families or anything. No plans are discussed within the groups. Episodes with no direction don't really engage that much.

Then at episode 5 the series kicks off to something amazing again. Don't give up on it as I almost did and as many reviewers here apparently have done.

Happy Valley (2014–2023)

Believable thrilling cop drama

[10/10 · 6 December 2018]

Happy Valley revolves around the down to earth inspector Catherine Cawood, played by the amazing Sarah Lancashire.

I don't particularly like cop dramas, but when script, acting and all parts of the production is this great, the genre doesn't matter. Amongst all US series it's so refreshing to see this British masterpiece. The pace of the storytelling is different on many levels. The kitchen reality has its natural place in the lives of the characters, and there is no unnecessary action where it simply doesn't happen in real life.

A complex backstory to all characters seeps into the main events. There is absolutely nothing that is over the top or unbelievable. You are brought into their lives and get to know their pains, desires and personalities.

You Were Never Really Here (2017)

I was in the right slow mode to watch this

[7/10 · 29 October 2018]

Joe finds missing girls. His military background, his traumatized life and his scarred mind makes him ready for violence to complete his jobs. One job gets him involved with a big mess and lots of death.

If you want excitement, action and a good plot, don't watch this. But if you're prepared for a slow, violent portrait of a disturbed man, and a lot of scenes that you can only guess what they are about, this is for you. Not as good as "Ghost dog", but still good if you're in a "slow mode".

The Good Cop: Will the Good Cop Bowl 300? (2018) Season 1, Episode 4

Very funny and very cringy

[10/10 · 28 September 2018]

This episode was very funny and has a very long build-up of cringe. Tony Caruso Sr (the dad) leads a bowling team with Cory, Burl and Bill. But they also has a chance to solve a murder which happens during a game, so they bring in TJ on the team, but he doesn't bowl. His dad is really wants to win though and comes up with a way to boost TJ's skill without him knowing it. Who knew what this sudden success would do to TJ?

DC's Legends of Tomorrow (2016–2022)

Endless story and time travel issues

[4/10 · 3 April 2016]

Almost every movie with time travel in it have problems with the consistency and logic. If you want a whole series with the worst kind of logical mishaps around time travel - this is the show for you!

Finally they beat the bad guy after a few episodes, but he is immortal, so they just leave him (although they have won and don't need to rush) to resurrect, and immediately looks for the next place in time where they can find him. Why!?? Just take the body and put him in jail if you cannot kill him definitely! They have all the possibilities right there! All the other actions the characters take are so flawed and retarded I cannot stand it. The possibilities they have with time travel are endless, and yet all the time they take some really random course of action with no sense to it.

The acting, visual effects, characters etc is really good. But the story is so flawed I have to let go.

The Last Witch Hunter (2015)

Visual trip, good action and characters, major flaws

[7/10 · 14 February 2016]

Contains all the good stuff you can expect from a good supernatural Vin Diesel movie. Even supersedes my expectations. The visual effects and the feeling of being plunged into a dark world matches Constantine. The acting is good - Michael Caine and Rose Leslie are really great in their roles. All the main characters are engaging and believable in the context of the movie. Even the baddies have souls to feel through the screen.

I would like to see sequels of this. The witch-world really caught me.

Some flaws exist that annoyed me. I try to just ignore them and not be the negative guy, but it was hard this time:

Who decided the title "The Last Witchhunter". Last how? Was there any other ever? "The Witchhunter" would sound better and match the movie content.

The witch magic was very diverse and immensely powerful. Yet all witches were afraid of the one Witchhunter and failed to beat him. They could drag people to different dimensions, trap them in eternal mind-dreams, throw them around like leaves etc. But the Vin Diesel character was just too cool maybe? He always beat them with fists, a sword or a thrown dagger. What's wrong with some firearms? If non-magical blades worked, some rifles would be a better bet if the fate of the world was at stake. Not cool enough I guess.

I truly hate it when the hero fights for his life and needs to save the world, but when he has won and just need to finish of the enemy, he needs to pause, say some cool one-liners, spin around the sword or make an absolutely ridiculous finishing-attack - like a wrestler making a flip from the top-rope.

But I loved the movie.

What Went Down (2014– )

Basic fail clips with good stupid narrating

[8/10 · 12 December 2015]

Despite Youtube there is obviously room for these fail clip shows. I have to admit I get stuck on them when I do some too-tired-to-do-anything-useful aimless TV channel flicking.

What Went Down has some decent mix of good and medium clips. However the narrator is really funny, at least if you are stoned or open-minded, maybe not if you are looking for some intelligence. Stupid TV - in a good way.

"This is probably the single most single guy in the world" - about a bearded guy juggling with his cat trying to catch the balls. Not the greatest punch-lines ever, but delivered in a distanced manner. It works haters.

Sense8 (2015–2018)

Sci-fi context around life-embracing stories

[10/10 · 6 July 2015]

I'm so blown away by this series. I really love sci-fi, mystery, action and other light-weight genres. Occasionally I enjoy dramas, but they have a hard time to attract me for the evening entertainment. Sci-fi got me into this series, but the drama keeps me here.

I find myself crying over the beauty of life, hardships, the dilemmas of the characters etc. The characters really engage, I know them all intimately after a season and my heart would break if I could not meet them anymore.

I'm disappointed by series after series - Wayward pines, Under the dome, The Flash etc - they are OK and watchable, but lacks heart and passion. Sense8 is something totally else - real passionate artists with ambition have put so much soul into every scene, screen, dialog and story. I guess a lot of people might find some scenes really dragging on, but only by lingering onto the message the watcher can fully feel and embrace it.

Beauty of the world is a central theme of this series. The scenes are shot all over the world, catching some remarkable wonders and events, but also the mundane and ordinary and the beauty of that.

American Sniper (2014)

Propagande and the real Kyle aside

[7/10 · 5 March 2015]

American sniper portrays a sniper doing multiple tours in the Afghanistan war. A war movie fan as myself found this to be comparable with the classics. This was a very well made movie - good acting, heroism, fighting, love, struggle etc. I found myself to enjoy this movie quite a lot despite thinking about the moral dilemma of the war.

However after watching this film I've read some massive criticism of the movie, and I realize this movie is very problematic. I almost feel guilty from my feelings toward this movie... Had the same story taken place during Secoond World War and the real person been what he was portrayed as in the movie, I think the verdict from the masses had been quite different.

I'm going to put my vote entirely of what I thought of this as a movie. Maybee I should take side and be upset, but I'll pick another fight.

Running Wild with Bear Grylls (2014– )

Relaxed, balanced and funny

[8/10 · 30 January 2015]

I was truly skeptic when I saw the trailer for this show. "Get Out Alive with Bear Grylls" was forced. But "Running Wild with Bear Grylls" was toned down and felt much more relaxed. The survival techniques and stunts used felt like something a normal mortal person have any chance to use.

The episode with Ben Stiller was genuinely funny. The 4 celebrities I've seen so far have all been interesting and all different. It also helps that Bear Grylls seem to be a sympathetic person.

This show has managed to renew the somewhat fatigued survival genre. It's nice to be positively surprised sometimes!

Scorpion (2014–2018)

Not well thought through but good episodes

[7/10 · 29 January 2015]

4 geniuses with somewhat odd not well distinguishable abilities, form a group which helps to solve high level crimes, terror attacks etc. This show was not well thought through, the abilities are hard to squeeze into the eopisodes and the plots seem somewhat forced. Human calculator - try to fit that into each episode in a natural way.

The pilot was trying to be too spectacular, putting some ridiculous elements into to that episode. I think much of the tough love of the other reviews here on IMDb was due to that. But it wasn't worse than your average Mission Impossible movie.

Few episode into the first season I think this show works - good acting, decent plots, some fun moments etc. It is not just standing, talking, dramatic face closeups as many other shows decay to. This is relaxed nice entertainment, not the best but enjoyable.

Gold Rush (2010– )

Hoping most of the show is for real

[8/10 · 25 January 2015]

Feeling slightly stupid to be a sucker for this show. Not much new in the 5th season, but still like the elements of people struggling, being assholes, taking senseless stupid chances and so on. How much is real and how much is played or scripted, I don't know, but seems real enough for me to not turn the program off.

From the first season the Hoffman crew has been running on too small budgets and knowledge, I don't know if effort, luck or help from the TV- production has made them still succeed sometimes. Parker is developing a A-class asshole attitude, if some of this is real it is interesting to ponder why - ambition, expectations, camera fever, narcissism or something else?

What makes me believe in the show is that too much operation, equipment and costs are involved for it all to be fake. One annoying fake element of this show is the drama build-ups and the speaker voice - "If they can't manage to ... this will be the end of the season!". Showing more of what actually happens including the boring stuff, and scrap the forced drama would have made the show better.

The Listener (2009–2014)

Written with the story in focus

[10/10 · 4 July 2014]

Toby Logan is a paramedic which can read thoughts. The series evolve around him and a few other key characters solving crimes using his ability.

Many shows and movies trying to start from something supernatural, only manages to produce a superficial action/horror/fantasy flick. The interest ends after the idea has been introduced - there is just nothing more to it - just some generic story and actors doing a decent job delivering the lines.

I stumbled onto the third season and immediately had to watch the entire series from the beginning. The Listener has truly engaging characters and a smart story which drives the series. The characters are fun, warm and real. The story is usually quite smart and there is a larger story which is handled throughout the seasons. It feels like a real story told in steady pace without the need to leave cliffhangers.

This beats so much nervous audience adapted crap that is produced today, where the story and characters are changed after each episode after reviewing the ratings and focus group opinions. The writers are not left alone to follow an idea undisturbed to the end - everyone are just nervous and there is no room for artistic talent.

If you like me are soooo tired of nervous cliffhanger series which may be canceled any minute, I truly recommend this show! It's going into the 5th season - watch it from the start and enjoy it and get to know the characters.

This Is the End (2013)

Too silly for haters

[8/10 · 1 April 2014]

The people producing this Movie seem to have had a lot of fun. It movie was scattered all over the place. Really silly and offensive, like an old time Monty Python episode. Nothing too serious.

I don't quite get why it has attracted so many haters here. It was not smart, but I really liked that. Like I enjoyed the Evil Dead movies or the Cabin Fever movies.

I for one didn't like pineapple express. And I don't fancy some of the actors too much. But this - this was great entertainment.

James Franco was great, hope to see more with him soon. Michael Cera made an unforgettable character.

Defiance (2013–2015)

Needs background story

[7/10 · 14 September 2013]

The series start off well if you can overlook the quality of some special effects. But they don't over-explain what is happening and why. I found it quite confusing since I couldn't distinguish a clear plot of who are the good guys, who are bad guys, and what are the good guys doing to win? To understand the series of events in the first episodes I had to read some background information on defiance.com. Then everything became much more clear and enjoyable to watch!

The improbabilities of other races having identical mouths and teeth as humans, a silly looking ape-race, even sillier looking spider-wolfs etc, are disturbing. But the characters, plots and the alien elements are good enough for me to continue watching it.