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Reviews
Peaky Blinders (2013)
Complicated feelings
My feelings towards this series is a bit complicated. Every aspect I liked about it is also linked to the negatives. I started watching Peaky Blinders for Cillian Murphy's excellent face and stayed for the gripping first season, although it wasn't without its flaws.
The creators and their lead have brought a massively charismatic main protagonist to life whose pitch-black charm and presence can be felt through the screen and is desired by women and looked up to by men for all the wrong reasons. Sadly, as the story progresses, Tommy's character doesn't. There's a scene in season 3 (don't worry, I won't spoil anything of substance) where he tries to pull some crazed, sadistic Richard Ramirez/Charles Manson bs, and that's where he lost me. There are many ways of portraying an appealing, ruthless anti-hero who is supposed to evoke all kinds of ambiguous emotions in the viewer (and which is, what I suppose, was the objective of the Tommy Shelby creation) and... this is not it.
Aside from that, there are numerous other main characters and regulars who lack dimension and depth because their back-stories aren't told, notably Tommy's boring love interest Grace. They're just there and do their thing but I can't connect to or care about their fates. Very flat. Helen McCrory is an incredible actress, and for me, she, Paul Anderson and, of course, Cillian Murphy carry the series through its consistently messy and jumpy plot line.
What I loved about Breaking Bad was the slow, thick, intricate plot building throughout its 62 episodes and the economical use of surprising turns. I'm mentioning BB because it's another series which tells the story of a total anti-hero and because they got it 100% right. In Peaky Blinders, there are many more jumps and turns in a SINGLE episode, like bro, you can't trust anyone ever, everyone betrays everyone and their grandmother's best friend until there's no element of surprise, thus no suspense left because the audience already knows there will be betrayal and no word can be trusted.
The soundtrack is heavily dominated by Nick Cave and PJ Harvey, two of my most admired artists but this also makes the excessive use of their songs in their frequent artsy slo-mo-music video scenes a bit awkward for me because the music has a strong association to my life and experiences but this is obviously a purely personal issue. And still, I wish they used the musical backdrop more sparingly and effectively.
This got longer than I had planned and I haven't finished the series. Td;lr: Cillian Murphy's acting alone makes Peaky Blinders worth watching, despite the very very jumpy plot and flat character portrayal. Hope S4 and S5 will win me back again.
The End of the F***ing World (2017)
A bleak, dark, blood-stained love story - they got it right
I watched the first season back then on one dark, long day somewhere out in the country, unexpectedly loved the entire thing and as no second season had been announced yet, more or less forgot about it as time went by.
Yesterday, I was browsing the Netflix catalogue for the first time in what felt like forever and when I found the second season was online, I immediately started re-watching the old episodes and then followed with the new ones... till 6AM in the morning today.
It kind of hurts how few episodes this exceptional series has. I stopped writing reviews years ago and I'm gonna keep this short but I absolutely love the actors, the story, the camera setting, the soundtrack, the length of each episode - close to perfection, actually and I'm admittedly hard to please when it comes to entertainment. The only other series with the same level of quality I can think of are Breaking Bad and Rick & Morty (although the latter disappointed with their most recent season).
I need to highlight the superb acting of the whole cast, in particular the both leads Alex Lawther and Jessica Barden but also Naomi Ackies in season 2 - WOW, she is incredible (and genuinely terrfying, holy sh**)! I also adored the two police officers, played by Wunmi Mosaku and Gemma Whelan (Yara Greyjoy from Game of Thrones), would have loved to see them in more episodes.
I really fell for Alyssa and James, and rooted SO hard for them despite being basically dead inside and disliking seeing teenage romance enacted on screen (mostly because it's bad but not here... seriously, these two are fantastic).
If you're up for a bleak, 100% kitsch-free love story infused with thick drops of pitch-dark, blood-red humor that pulls at your heartstrings in the right moments some and then kicks you in the nuts, "The End of the F* World" is it.
I will think about it for a long time.
Street Food: Asia (2019)
Aesthetically pleasing presentation, touching portraits
So far I've seen only the episode about Seoul but I still wanted to say thank you for the dignified portrait of the Korean people and for capturing the iron working morale of Koreans so very accurately.
The visual presentation is sublime and the stories about the hard-working individuals behind the food touched me deeply. I've visited the Gwangjang market a few times and miss the delicious dishes, the unique atmosphere and smells a lot.
I wish the makers of this documentary would make an entire series about Korea, Seoul and its people, they seem to understand what really matters. Now I'm looking forward to the other episodes!
Chelsea Does (2016)
Vapid self-portrayal masked as documentary
This is not a documentary. To be fair, I'm not easily entertained or pleased, I want the stuff I'm spending my time on to provide some kind of cerebral and/or sensory stimulation, to surprise me with refreshing perspectives.
Chelsea talks a lot but she doesn't say much. From the things I've seen so far, it's MAINLY about her getting herself high from being "blunt" and "provocative". The problem is that provocation without real content or any message is just as thought-provoking as your teenage rebel son's rude remarks on your cooking skills. You just know he wants to be an ass.
I seriously didn't see what she could teach me or anyone else. What's the aim of this "documentary" series? "The college education you never had", wrote another reviewer. Well, that may be true, since some people work hard to get actual education.
So, in case you haven't watched this yet, I give you a brief impression of what to anticipate by summarizing Episode 3: Haha, she makes her interview partners say that Jews and Blacks are cheap liars! Wow, it's so confronting, so provocative, especially she is Jewish herself. How ironic and self-deprecating! Haha, she questions the use of a hookah, IN FRONT OF a waiter with Egyptian roots. Savage. We got a badass over here! Haha, she just said that no one in the entire world is attracted to Asian men and she feels sorry for them! WOW, girl's got guts, she's so outspoken, and so so brave!
Critical commentary on the compulsive political correctness in our "Western" societies as well as the wounds that racism brings to those who are affected, is bitterly needed. Chelsea Does it Wrong because Chelsea wants it to be about Chelsea. Too bad that Chelsea is not only incapable of capturing any valuable observations but clearly doesn't know the difference between smart, provocative investigation and saying offensive things for the sake of being offensive. (But at least she said it!!! Right?)
Let's take look on another failed episode. A potentially interesting plot ('cause the older I get, the more I'm revolted by the thought of me being married) was handled in the most shallow way. Not saying that she can't bring her personal stories into this. But. The subject "Marriage" is not covered well if it consists of her delivering derogatory comments as a guest in a Las Vegas Wedding (oh wow, how daring) or her ex-boyfriend sharing uneventful memories after their break-up, what, 20 years ago? Seriously?
Chelsea likes blunt, uncensored honesty, right? (As she keeps stating this over and over.) She is a 42-year old woman with a too-cool-for- school-attitude and the wisdom of a Youtube beauty vlogger.