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claytonabrooks
I appreciate complex, nuanced characters, even if the average person may find them unlikeable. I enjoy creative uses of symbolism, score, and cinematography that leave me wondering about the artists intent long after I've finished watching. I like it when a story has an underlying theme or through line that unifies multiple aspects of the work into a message. I love when art touches on subjects of psychology and philosophy. That being said, I still enjoy a cheap thrill or a clever, dry laugh. Most importantly, I want to feel the work intensely on an emotional level.
For these reasons I quite enjoy science fiction, particularly cyberpunk. I like serious dramas, romance, suspense, fantasy, and horror. I tend to prefer what I would call a tasteful amount of action that primarily exists in service of building tension, unless it is very well done.
When rating I mostly compare to other films of a similar genre, factoring in my own personal feelings as well as any thoughts after taking a step back.
10 - Perfection
9 - Fantastic
8 - Excellent
7 - Great
6 - Good
5 - Average
4 - Fine
3 - Weak
2 - Poor
1 - Terrible
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)
Peaks and valleys for Star Wars fans.
I'm very conflicted about this show.
I grew up watching the early seasons of this show before picking it back up as an adult and finally finishing it. I will write this from the perspective of an adult Star Wars fan.
The series is split into smaller story arcs that typically range from a single episode to four episodes long. The only thing that holds these arcs together is that they happened within a similar time period, and often with similar characters. They don't seem to even be presented in a linear fashion.
It's hard to review this series because of how widely the quality varies by the arc. You might love an arc that others hated, or vice versa. However, I think in general it would be reasonable with most fans to say that the first one or two seasons start very weak and the last seasons finish very strong.
The best story arcs of this series are among the best Star Wars content that exists. They're gripping stories with well written characters that even expand on prequel characters we didn't see enough of. I unfortunately can't even direct you to the arcs I am talking about without it being a spoiler, so if you're interested in doing that I would suggest looking up a guide of the important episodes.
The worst, on the other hand, are comically weak and difficult to watch at some points. Many of them I sat through gritting my teeth, or even skipped because I was so bored. Some of these were even considered fan favorites that I just felt were dull to watch because of how "in your face" and repetitive the plots were presented.
It makes this series difficult for me to rate as a whole. I would say if you're a big Star Wars fan then you must watch those very best arcs at least, because some of them are incredible. Whether an average adult will enjoy just starting at episode 1 and clicking play, however, is an entirely different topic.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)
Highly dependent on who is watching.
This film serves as an entry point to the Clone Wars TV show, but no part of it feels necessary because there's not much you see here that isn't immediately obvious in the animated series.
I watched the animated series as a child and enjoyed it well enough, but never saw the movie. As an adult, this movie was a terrible chore to sit through.
I understand the desire to pull in Star Wars fans of all ages, but the animated series of Clone Wars and Rebels are simply better written for keeping adults entertained. I regularly watch Disney movies as an adult, yet this felt insufferable.
The only value this serves is seeing how Ahsoka gets her nickname, but that is a footnote on a long predictable slog. If you are an adult, I would save your time. If you're a child, you'll probably enjoy it and aren't even reading this.
Euphoria (2019)
A grim and healing show for those who buy in.
This review contains no spoilers. It is for season 1, the special episodes, and season 2 as well. If you plan on watching, be sure to watch the Euphoria Special Episodes in between season 1 and season 2, because they are not only part of the story of season 2 but are some of the best episodes of the entire show.
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Euphoria is not a show for everyone. It is a melodrama that is carried by its characters, and everything about this series is dialed up to 11. For a show like this, you need to buy into the characters quite deeply to get the intended effect from this story, and fortunately it has a great cast whose performances make this effortless for many. It is for mature audiences, and it deserves a neutral observer. Although high school is one setting in it, this show is not about high school, it's about people and trauma. Every character will not be relatable to every persons experiences, so it requires a certain level of empathy and willingness to put yourself in the shoes of another.
The show centers around the topics of mental health and self discovery, and it dives deep into the different ways its characters cope with the various hands they have been dealt. The way Euphoria conveys emotion through its astounding cinematography, direction, and acting, is unlike any other television that I have seen. The show has a visual style uniquely its own that feels somewhere between a captivating embrace and an anxious trance. Surprisingly, I believe some horror and suspense films could take notes from the ways in which this series builds tension.
There is no typical one-dimension character in Euphoria, nobody who is purely good or bad, there's just people. That message is repeatedly hammered home through both seasons, and I found both forgiveness and acceptance to be major themes. Not literally from one character to another, but through empathy and forgiveness of oneself. You may see characters that you hate do good things, or characters that you love break your heart. Many characters will be fleshed out--not as a way to justify their actions, but rather to understand how they arrived there and accept them as a human being. The show does not give easy solutions or judge characters, it gives them space to exist as they are, for all the good and bad that comes with that.
If it doesn't succeed at moving you in that way, then on a surface level some cracks will show. It may appear overly graphic and messy, not in a way that captivates but instead disgusts. This will be a different level from person to person. The story can be so focused on getting a specific picture across, that side plots are abandoned in favor of something new. These are common sentiments I've seen, and there is some truth to them. There are many things about the writing that really work with what they're trying to do, and other things that I would change. This is what keeps the series from a 10 despite nailing everything else.
If you're someone who is open minded and enjoys diving deep into the mind of characters, I think you will enjoy Euphoria. It will be painful and heavy at times, and might trigger some self reflection you were not prepared for depending on your own personal experiences. But I think there's something beautiful about the raw humanity it displays that many people will be able to connect with in the same ways I did.
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As a side note, this show also contains Zendaya's best acting performance thus far (pre-Challengers). The entire cast is great but she was excellent as the lead, particularly in season 2.