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Reviews
The Pope's Exorcist (2023)
Cringe - but entertaining
This is undeniably a B-movie, plain and simple. It employs every known cliché from other horror and excorsism/possession films. The storyline is exceedingly simple, relying heavily on shortcuts to evade logical fallacies. The cast and acting, for the most part, fall short, with the notable exception of Russell Crowe. Nonetheless, it manages to be strangely entertaining and surprisingly worth watching. Could it be attributed to the relatively high production quality and Crowe's seasoned expertise that make it so? Despite its flaws, this B-movie offers a guilty pleasure for horror enthusiasts, serving as a nostalgic throwback to the genre's classic tropes.
The Last of Us (2023)
Not as good as it could have been
The show's premise is great; a post-apocalyptic world with infected humans and dangerous factions, but the show doesn't really utilize the eeriness. It becomes just another action show in a special setting. The pace is extremely slow, it lacks tension and sense of urgency - mainly because of these intermediate episodes that focuses on certain characters without pushing the story anywhere. The relationship between Joel and Ellie isn't as interesting as the writers seems to hope for. However, the show still manages to tell a somewhat engaging story. Performances are top-notch, and it's a high quality production.
The Terminal List (2022)
Not bad, could do better
This could have been very good, but it's tainted by some bad overacting and shallow, stereotypical characters. Also lacking the depth of similar 'conspiracy' thrillers. Still watchable, and even quite OK at times. Chris Pratt does NOT have the presence for this kind of role. Josh Brolin or Jeremy Renner would have been a better pick.
Our Kind of Traitor (2016)
Run-of-the-Mill agent movie
Pretty standard and lightweight agent movie with a hint of international crime and russian mob. Not very thrilling, but not exactly horrible either. The story is very thin, in my opinion it could easily have been made much more complex and engaging. Most characters are superficial and uninteresting, perhaps with the exception of the role of Damian Lewis. I can't really understand why Skarsgård is so often casted for these russian character-roles. He has no 'russian aura' at all, and his broken english with fake russian accent is pathetic. OK to watch if you need to kill some time, but not your Saturday night movie-pick.
Ted Lasso (2020)
Funny and entertaining, but...
...is it really worth the hype? Don't think so. Weird and parodic characters in weird & funny situations, but it gets too cheesy. Probably intentional, but still boring after a while.
A Quiet Place Part II (2020)
Same, same
The concept already feels exhausted. What was interesting and had some shock effect in part I, is now almost boring. The aliens seems to have become slower and more stupid. The movie is more or less a standard action flick in a dystopian setting. But it's not low-budget, and has a good cast - worth watching if there's nothing else going on.
Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021)
Don't get impressed by the movie title
A very mediocre movie, despite on paper having a high end cast. It's funny how Hollywood seems unable to move past creating these heroic 'maverick' characters and their immature friends & colleagues. It just becomes so old and cringe. The storyline is very predictable, no surprises. Dialogue feels very stiff and needlessly rough in an attempt to underline the 'toughness' of the characters. The somewhat pompous title of the movie suggests a more epic creation, but don't be fooled. A poorly executed standard action flick.
Keeping Faith (2017)
Surprisingly engaging
Entertaining show with a well written storybase in an interesting setting. Mostly good actors with a couple of exceptions - some of them actually excellent. As the seasons move on, the storyline gets a bit messy, too many substories makes the main narrative seem unimportant. The constant 'confused anger' of the protagonist (Faith), also gets a bit tiresome after a while. Agreeing with other reviewers that the series feels unnecessary slow at times, not caused by my short attention span, but because of all the scenes that seems to never move on, for no reason.
Hvide Sande (2021)
Barely watchable
Definitely not the usual quality one has come to expect from a Danish tv-series. As a crime show, it's very poorly written. The plot is weak, and the 'investigation' is almost laughable. Some of the dramatic events and their resolve are extremely illogical and makes the main characters seem pretty stupid. The characters overall are very stereotypical and not at all believable. The show feels like a poor-mans version of the british 'Death in Paradise' without the intentional comic relief.
Disturbing the Peace (2020)
Not worth your time
After watching 10 minutes of it, I had to ask myself what Guy Pierce is doing in a movie like this? He is after all a respected actor? The movie almost gives an impression of being a parody, or a high school project. Terrible actors(?) playing cliché characters. And - albeit thinly based on a somewhat classic storyline - the plot is very, very silly. While his character is over-the-top stereotypical, the only takeaway from this flick is that Guy Pierce actually does a decent job!
For All Mankind (2019)
Brilliant, not to be missed
Brilliant mixture of sci-fi and highend drama. Very well casted; almost every character played by excellent actors, most notable in the two main couples. Superb chemistry and dialogue. Whenever the show seems in danger of settling into a family drama/soap, a new surprising twist is introduced. All this said, it IS mostly a drama, less a sci-fi thriller - albeit a very intelligent one.
Yellowstone (2018)
Pompous show with bad acting, close to parodic
Kevin Costner was never a good actor, but his role here is as shallow as they come. All characters in this series are stereotypical cardboard figures - either strong & tough, or weak cowards. Female characters are foul mouthed tomboys or sweet, anxious girlfriends. A very odd lack of believable chemistry between the actors, no matter if its about love or hate. Feels somewhat like a remake of 'Dallas' in another setting. As others have noted, the upside is some great photography and scenery.
Underwater (2020)
Nothing special
Basically a poor ripoff of the original 'Alien'-movie, just set in deep water instead of space. The same super-technological backdrop and the same environmental challenges. Even the characters are more or less the same stereotypical figures. Relies way too much on jumpscares. As a viewer, you feel two steps ahead most of the time - but if you have some time to kill, you could do worse. The cast is not terrible, high quality production, and the special effects & props are well done, fortunately.
Downton Abbey (2019)
Very, very dull
A very underwhelming costume drama, squeezing the last drops out of the superior TV-series. Extremely simple sub-plots that could have been extracted from a childrens movie. Characters are shallow and predictable. The soundtrack feels very off-the-shelf and becomes irritating after a while. Nice camera work, beautiful backdrops, well-known actors, plus the fact that it feeds on the familiarity of the original series saves the movie from being a total flop.
iHuman (2019)
Nothing new, really
Slow movie with a lot of presumably competent people offering their predictions of the future life with AI. Nicely done and with a lot of ambience. But its all been told before, and there's nothing new or revealing. Becomes repetitive and kind of boring.