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andrewbarta
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Beef: Figures of Light (2023)
The Human Experience and Finding Someone To Share It With
I'm not really sure why some of the reviews for this episode seem to think that these two people end up romantically together. I don't believe that is what was intended by the last scene of this show. To me this episode is all about how these two people, who met by random chance in a road rage incident, are able to reconcile by sharing their experiences with one another. These are just two individuals, who've been going through it, having a human experience. But up to this point haven't truly shared their experiences with anyone else. Now by their own actions, are forced to confront their choices and end up sympathizing with the other person.
I don't think the final scene is them ending up together at all. I think it's just Amy's character realizing that the only person who could genuinely feel sympathy for her is Danny, because he's the only one she's truly been genuine with. She's expressed her rage with him, she's shared her life story with him, and while they are both high on psychedelics dying, he tells her "I see your whole life. You poor thing. All you wanted was to not be alone". It's a geniune statement that could only come from someone that really gets it. Really understands what she's been going through. And she reciprocates that with him by telling him not to be ashamed of who he is and that he doesn't have to hide with her.
Then at the moment before they fall asleep they realize that this is really what their lives should have been spent doing. Sharing their feelings and experiences and being truly honest with someone. How spending their time the way they did was such a waste compared to how they spent this one short day together. How they wished they'd realized sooner how important it was to be able to find someone to share with. Now that they're dying they don't have to be afraid to share anymore, but that spending their lives with their feelings bottled up wasn't really living to begin with.
I think that's what the final scene is about. These two people who escaped the dessert, trying to get back to their former lives. Realizing that it was going to be a complete **** show, but that it didn't matter because for once they had a genuine human experience and someone they know will be there to understand them going forward. It gave them the strength to face what was coming. Then Danny gets shot and Amy is reflecting on how her actions were responsible for him ending up in that hospital bed. She feels truly sorry for how she treated him.
I think the importance of her remembering him asking if the only thing he needed was to get where she was, and that she told him everything fades is because she doesn't want this to be the same. For anyone that's done psychedelics, the experiences you have are very much in the moment but can sort of be fleeting once the effect wear off and life comes back into the picture. So she reaches out to hug him so that it doesn't fade and become another one of the moments in her life that just simply pass by. That she is still there and willing to share this experience with him as well.
Mr. Robot (2015)
It's about the journey, not the destination.
This is one of the most nail biting TV shows I've ever seen. I can't believe how much this show is slept on. It's full of amazing characters portrayed by incredible actors who are a master at their craft. I was on the edge of my seat for the whole series. Multiple episodes of this series rank highest among all TV shows I've seen.
It's one of those shows that is basically magic. Like everyone that worked on it knew exactly the direction they wanted to go and went out of their way to make it special and better than any other show it was up against. One of those shows that if even one person of the cast and crew wasn't there it wouldn't be the same. It's like the Sopranos, or the Wire, or Game of Thrones, or any other show where the cast just has such amazing chemistry.
The cinematography is great. The music choice is perfect. Some of the montages are just unbelievable that they were that creative to come up with. On top of that they do an entire 1 hour episode that's a single shot take. This is TV craft at its absolute best.
Furthermore, it doesn't overstay its welcome like most shows do nowadays. Three to four seasons is imo the best length for a TV show. It still remains fresh without having to constantly try to one up itself.
If you don't watch this show then I feel like you are missing out. That being said, I feel a few things should be considered before watching a show like this. Ask yourself if you like slow burn TV. Ask yourself if you can pay attention to detail, and also are somewhat tech savvy. This will help you enjoy this show much more.
If you are looking for a show that is going to spell everything out for you then this is not the show for you. You might still enjoy it, but I find some people find these types of shows boring if they can't sit and pay attention like you are in a movie theater. If you are constantly pulling out your phone when you watch tv then don't ruin this show by watching it in the background.
While I feel like the ending will satisfy many of the audience members, I didn't feel like it went in the direction I was expecting so I felt a little let down when I initially saw the series finale. That being said I still rate it an 8/10. So that goes to show you that even though I was a bit disappointed it's still very much a fantastic ending for the series.
The Newsroom: 5/1 (2012)
A Complete Fabrication
Look I get that 9/11 was awful for Americans. But this episode is such a fabrication of the reality of things. You Americans might think this episode is patriotic. As a pilot myself it's completely unrealistic. It's also ridiculous to assume that people would feel this way about the death of Osama Bin Laden. This is honestly the worst of Sorkenism. Pretending that American's can now rest because some psychopath that attacked your country is now dead. What about the millions of civilians that are dead in Iraq or elsewhere because of your patriotic need to 'spread democracy'. This episode is a joke.
We Own This City (2022)
Not as good as The Wire while essentially telling the same story.
The best thing about The Wire is that it followed the rule show don't tell. I feel like as a mini series that this show doesn't follow that rule. Instead the characters flat out say that the problem is the war on drugs. Therefore the message isn't as pronounced as it is in The Wire.
The show is still good for what it is, but it's not on the same level as The Wire. It was cool seeing a bunch of actors try to do different roles on this show though. While I liked my initial viewing of this show, I haven't thought about it since.
I would like to see more from David Simon but only of he takes the dedication into writing a show that goes on for more than a few episodes. Six episodes was too few for him to really stretch his legs here.
Jurassic World Dominion (2022)
CGI killed this franchise.
I could go on about how practical effects are superior but this movie is a testament to that fact. Basically every scene is shot Infront of a green screen and it's blatantly obvious. There's a reason why if you pop in the first two movies by Spielberg that they are still exhilarating.
The first Jurassic World was okay but it didn't deserve two sequels. As others have said this movie is a soulless entry Into the franchise. I feel like most of the actors are acting if this movie is beneath them and it is.
They didn't bother to do anything new with this movie. It's the same message in the last few movies about how corporations are evil, and can't be trusted. Honestly not everyone that runs a hedge fund or major corporation is trying to take over the world or has evil motivations.
This movie forgets that it was Hammond's naivety that lead to the downfall of Jurassic Park. He really thought what he was doing was for the good of humanity. In was in the name of exploration. In every film since then all the main villains have had some stupid evil motive.
Ultimately this movie is very predictable and I hope it is the last one in the franchise for a long time.
The Matrix Resurrections (2021)
Just so Meh.
Honestly I think a lot is missing from the feel of the original matrix films with this one. The action scenes feel slow. There's no suspense because it doesn't feel like there's any pressure to get things done before the machines try to stop their plan. The whole return to zion feels pointless. There's just nothing here philosophically.
I feel like the most intriguing think they probably could have done with this film was to focus on an alliance between man and the machines. There's some philosophical questions they could have asked there about what makes humans real and what could make a machine real. In this movie it feels like they focused on the love between Neo and Trinity, but we already got that in the original trilogy so it doesn't add anything here.
There's a great story in the Animatrix movie where a group of humans try to show a machine what it means to be human. For me that's where this story should have gone, especially after they mentioned a civil war between the machines and humans. This movie is just a shameful cash grab. None of the cameos from the original movies meant anything here. None of the new characters were impressive in any manner. IMO this movie isn't cannon.
Enterprise: These Are the Voyages... (2005)
Not quite what you are hoping for.
I have mixed feelings about this finale. On the one hand it does a good job of having some emotional impact which all series finales should have. It's a very creative way to end the series and I kind of like how it plays out. Star Trek Enterprise always had time travel so them jumping ahead 10 years didn't seem like it was out of the ordinary for this show. I also liked how it was about Riker and Troy looking back on this crew and what they accomplished over the years and how it would lead the way towards future generations.
I kind of get the reason they killed off Trip to have the emotional impact of the episode. I just don't understand why they tell you he dies before he does. In my opinion it would have made more sense to just leave the audience guessing as to what happens to T'Pol and Trip. Instead they tell you like 10 minutes into the episode that he is going to die and then you are just waiting for it the rest of the episode. I think having him die in the heroic way he does was very fitting, and that having him come back at the end after his death talking to Riker was fantastic. That's the emotional impact you want.
If I had to make changes to this episode it would be the following:
I would have made it a bit longer. It seems like the holodeck program really doesn't have the emotional impact you want for Riker to solve his issue. We really don't know what he's struggling with and I really didn't see the aha moment that's supposed to change his mind. I feel like they could have made this a 2 part episode and included more of Riker's storyline with some narration as the First Officer's log like they used to do. Showing more of Riker and how he is struggling with this decision would have tied the story together a lot more.
Have a more emotional role for Flox and T'Pol. At the end they just sort of don't do anything. I get you had the moment in Trip's Quarters with T'Pol to discuss Trip but then she just waits backstage during the speech? Have Archer say something to her about how he'd be honoured to have her stand beside him while he is giving his speech. I feel like that would have been more fitting.
Also they end the program before we get to hear Archer's speech. This was by far the worst moment in the series. If you are going to end the series than this was the moment to show. All that Archer has learned in his 10 years and how he's changed and how after all they've been through humanity will still strive to explore. This is the really a cardinal sin that they ended this speech before he could give it. It was supposed to be the climax of the episode and it felt lazy to not include it.
It should have been what changed Riker's mind to make his decision, or been the sendoff to the audience we needed. Instead they just end the program and it feels like you missed a huge opportunity here. I don't know what the point of him and Diana being in the holodeck at this point was anyways. Is Riker just watching Archer backstage to then only meet up with Diana afterwards? That makes no sense to me. At least watch the bloody speech you spent the last few weeks of your holodeck privileges building up to.
Anyways, overall not a bad episode and series finale. I just wish we had more. It felt like you hooked us just enough to leave us hanging at the end. I always feel like a great series finale should leave you wanting more so that you go back and watch the series again. I just feel like the real sendoff here should have been Archer's speech, followed by the "These are the Voyages" montage.
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Not perfect, But WAY better than The Last Jedi
I don't understand why everyone hates this movie. I heard about the bad reviews going in. I've loved Star Wars my entire life, one of the first movies I remember seeing in theatres was the Empire Strikes Back. If that movie is rated as an 8.7 on IMDb, and The Last Jedi is a 7.1, then this one is at least a 7.5 - 8.0 . It's not perfect and yeah there is a bit of Disney's touch. But it's way better than the Last Jedi. Like no boring Casino heist plot involved with this one.
I think they way JJ Abrams brought the series together considering the pieces he had to pick up after the Last Jedi is admirable. I don't think they've ever done the Dark Side better than this. Maybe the struggle with Luke and Darth Vader had a better story. But Rey and Kylo-Ren made this series for me. I personally thought The Last Jedi was bad, but I still loved everything that they did with Rey and Kylo-Ren's character in it. It was just the other 50% with the casino heist, and mopey Luke that I hated. If you go into this movie wanting to watch the end of their story line then I don't think you will be disappointed. Some of the space battles were a bit take it or leave it for me but that's OK. The one thing I would change about this movie is just toning back the humour a bit. Star Wars is meant to be intense, maybe a little bit of humour. The new saga has a bit too many jokes for my liking, and they aren't that funny to be honest. In the original, the banter between Chewy and Han or C3PO and R2D2 was what the humour should be like.