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The Dragon Prince: The Final Battle (2019)
Epic and there's still more
This finale is close to perfection. The visuals and animation are great. Impressive plot twists for an animation. I like how it misleads your expectations. Characters are well developed. Don't want to spoil it too much just watch the show. Can't wait for the next season.
Fleabag (2016)
Endearing characters but not as smart as it could be
I found season 1 quite entertaining. I love how it presents the various relationship dynamics, particularly how passive aggressive and disappointing people can be. The breaking the fourth wall feature, while not a new device, makes Fleabag an endearing and relatable character. The main flaws for season 1 is how short the season is. I wish there is further exploration on why her perfectionist sister married that jerk and why her father is so quick to marry that artist "friend". Also, the repeated sexual jokes feel childish.
Season 2's new plotline with the priest, however, is puzzling. If Catholicism is the only Christian denomination, I totally get why he wants to be a Catholic priest. But it isn't and there are other denominations that do not require celibacy for priests and pastors. This makes the story artificial, like creating drama for drama's sake. Given mainstream media's satanic background (illuminati one eyed signs, increasingly questionable content, luciferian owners of the media), it is reasonable to suspect a hidden agenda behind this plotline.
Another puzzling thing with the priest is his imaginary fox. I think it is a redundant bit of magic realism to highlight his troubles with sexuality. It's pretty obvious. And it is a curious choice of animal since it is not related to sexuality. It's more likely there as part of a hidden agenda. FOX: 6, 1 + 5, 2 + 4. Now you know why Phoebe hasn't explained it.
Colette (2018)
Delightful and Endearing. The Power of Perception.
I don't know much about the actual life of Colette so I'm not going to comment on historical accuracy. This film is about how a French country girl takes on Paris by storm when her husband publishes her book on the life of a French country school girl under his name.
What I love most is how Colette sees the world around her: playfully, sharply, delightfully. She doesn't bow down to her husband and Parisian upper society.
Also learnt a new concept: archetype. Colette created an endearing, smart, playful, opinionated girl from an average family.
Acting and visuals are great. Heart lifting show.
La grande bellezza (2013)
Beautiful nothing
Even though the film is beautifully shot, there's not a lot of substance behind it. It's basically a story about a middle aged writer Jep with one successful novel who becomes a more compassionate man instead of a party boy, as well as the lives lead by the well-to-do in Rome. Many questions and inadequacies are found in this film. Jep seems to have done nothing much in his life after publishing his one successful novel besides his magazine job and partying, and one wonders how his magazine job sustains his lifestyle. His middle aged poorer theatre friend is not very perceptive despite his age as he thinks his relationship with an arrogant model can last. The socialite scene is filled with snobbishness, superficiality and hidden family issues. We see the usual disapproval against the Vatican authorities who enjoy socializing more than finding enlightenment but it's quite well-known already that the Vatican is corrupt and satanic, doing much evil that this film doesn't touch upon. Italy seems to rely solely on its past glories but I'm not sure if that's an accurate depiction. Jep's companionship with non-socialites is touching. There are cool shots of the furnitures in the high end clothing store. I also enjoy the museum scenes.
At the end of the day, it is easy to criticize but finding enlightenment and interesting projects are hard yet not impossible, which this film avoids.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)
Weak story
This film looks like it has depth but it is just a simple rehash of the eye for an eye type of story. I'm not biased against the kinds of films the director makes; I find The Lobster and The Favourite much better films.
The Greek myth is basically about how a powerful person is brought so low by things beyond his control that he has to sacrifice something valuable. But this sort of thing doesn't really happen among doctors, as far as I know. It seems doctors are usually exploited by patients, insurance companies, etc. The use of the metaphor isn't really correct. Just seems like the director is forcing a metaphor to make a story seem more intellectual but ends up feeling like fluff.
Even though the doctor, being someone who has control over a person's life, seems to have God's power, that is not real power. He isn't a modern day version of the Greek ruler. A CEO or head of state or finance hotshot is a more appropriate version.
Some parts are hilarious, the acting is great, but that can't save a strange fluff story.
Hao Lan zhuan (2019)
Chinese Game of Thrones/Queen Elizabeth But Better
This has many of the tropes and styles found in GOT but without the mystical element, which in my opinion, makes this even better as it is harder to make a non-fantasy story engaging, and what makes this remarkable is how it reinterprets history with psychologically realistic characters in such a way that the reinterpretation seems like an accurate portrayal of historical characters and events.
The protagonist, the mother of the first emperor of unified China, is reviled as a lustful woman in certain historical records and has been portrayed as such in previous TV shows. But history is complicated and it is not unlikely that the historian who slandered her did so for his own political agenda. After all, how can a woman with uncontrollable urges climb the social ladder in the Zhao royal court, survive as a single mother in wartorn Zhao and solidify her power in the cutthroat Qin royal court?
Like GoT, this show has plenty of family drama, witty dialogue, tragic deaths, doomed fates but with even more intensity that makes GoT look like child's play. Although it doesn't have nudity and brutality on the level of GoT, there's more heart breaking moments in this show. But there are light hearted moments as well to balance the sadness, which is something East Asian shows do well in. Compared to GoT, this show offers more social commentary on issues such as female identity and how most people men women royalty paupers alike are the chess pieces of others. The production value is top notch. Music is great. However, be prepared for disappointment if you expect lots of action scenes like a wuxia martial arts showdown because there isn't much here. While the plot is generally fast and well-paced with little time spent on irrelevant dialogue, the downside is it leads to ridiculous scenes in which daytime suddenly becomes night time.
Two things I enjoy most: the complex character development and how various characters plot against each other. All characters even the minor ones have their moments of awesomeness. We understand their internal turmoils, the challenges they face and the sacrifices they make. There is usually an emotionally charged monologue before a death scene. We see the shades of grey in each character. There are few stock villains. Pure motivations like love and clan protection often turn characters into monsters. The other part I like is the strategizing that culminates into an Ace Attorney style debate.
Westworld: Vanishing Point (2018)
Great production value but story is heavy handed
As always the production value is top notch. This episode also includes crucial background info on the MIB - finally a substantial character and plot dev. But it is a let down.
I try to feel sad for the death of his wife but cannot bring myself to it ... she kills herself instead of divorcing him? She is upset that William has a dark side, has lost most of her family, and becomes jaded with humanity but she also has the resources to untangle herself from him and start a new life. Like the rest of the show, this episode is too focused on tragedy and big serious dramatic moments without giving good justification for them. The more you think.about it the less sense it makes. This big reveal doesn't tell us anything new about William, just the same old moral ambiguity, selfishness and his losing grip on reality we saw before but this time in his personal life.
The Dragon Prince (2018)
Promising first (half) season
(Spoilers ahead) Having heard that one of the writers of the Airbender TV series is heading this show, I know I have to watch this. This show borrows from various elements of the western fantasy story, and the influence from Airbender is noticeable, namely its use of complex characters with no clear cut black or white. The creator is clever to highlight the characters' nuances and the gray morality of politics at the start of the show, and this aspect is the main draw of the show and creates interesting conflicts down the road. My main gripe is the characterization of the "villain" - he seems like two characters. Will see how it goes in the next season.
I'm not bothered by the slow frame rate because the visuals are decent. So what if a couple of frames are missing? I would rather the team budget more of the money to the story telling rather than produce a visually stunning but stale story.
Fantasy fans will enjoy this show - dark magic is a main feature of this show and a main cause of conflict between users and non-users. Voice acting is good. Music is forgettable - sounds like countless other movies and games in the fantasy genre unfortunately.