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Reviews
Earthsea (2004)
It's Not About the Time
First, this is a terrible adaptation. The filmmakers wrote their own story and ripped off Ursula K. LeGuin. They took the elements from two of her books, broke them up, put them in a box, shook it up, and then stomped on them.
1) My complaint isn't that they had to condense the story and didn't have enough time to include everything. That's a BS position to take anyway. My complaint is they took a classic fantasy story and butchered it like a sacrificial lamb.
2) Sparrowhawk is his name and Ged is his secret name. Not the other way around like in this dumpster fire.
3) Ged is dark skinned in the book. Why change that?
There are so many things wrong with this adaptation. The dialogue is junk. The acting is poor. For a miniseries named "Earthsea" there's very little sea in it.
For all the effort put into making this there's no reason it couldn't have stayed true to LeGuin's masterpiece. Instead we have this forgettable waste of time.
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)
Ugh
Disney ruined the Star Wars franchise. This movie is the best of the disney trilogy but the seventh best of the trilogies. There was potential for a great story. But then another Death Star? Good lord. Han finally after decades asking to try Chewie's bowcaster? "Droid please!"?
This movie introduced too many main characters all at once and too many villains. It was barely a cohesive story. Harrison Ford is one of my favorite actors. I respect his wish that Han die. It was hard to watch a favorite character go like that but it was fitting for the thin story of this movie. I love the character of Rey. And Kylo Ren is a great villain. Hux and Snoke are redundant and unnecessary and poorly written into the story.
So disappointing.
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Ruination
Disney has ruined the Star Wars franchise. I was a kid when Star Wars came out in the 70s. The original trilogy were my favorite movies. I actually loved the prequel trilogy as well.
The Force Awakens was tolerable. The Last Jedi had potential, but was poorly written and directed. The only redeeming qualities The Rise of Skywalker has is that it was an attempt at a Star Wars movie with some of the characters everyone loves. The story is horrible and not really even in character for a Star Wars movie. There are prop elements, ships, scenes, etc that are nothing like what Lucas created. The dialogue is garbage.
I hate to be so negative, but the Disney trilogy was a huge disappointment aimed at making money and it did not respect the source material in the least.
The Walking Dead: Sing Me a Song (2016)
A villain with a heart?
As brutal as Negan is, as hard as these few episodes are to watch, I feel like it's compelling to watch the development of Jeffery Dean Morgan's character, particularly in this episode.
Negan's growing regard and respect for Carl is incredible to watch. The peek into his sensitive corners is some of the best character development I've seen. How is someone so brutal, yet increasingly so human? It's hard not to like him as the series goes on, but it's also hard not to hate him for what he's done.
The character is acted superbly. The tension is palpable and real. It's an intense story arc for sure.
The Walking Dead: The Grove (2014)
If you don't watch any other TWD episode...
...watch this one. While this doesn't feature all the marquee characters in the series, this episode perfectly captures the horrific spirit of the story of the show. There's just enough backstory in the dialogue so you're not guessing too much. Carol's dilemma is played out both in the action of the show and in the conversation between her and Tyreese.
This episode delves into the darkness of mental health, and the impacts of Lizzie's descent into madness on the others in her group. It also is another step on Carol's journey from cowering abused wife to hardened survivor. This episode shows a key moment in Carol's development. A few actually.
And while the stark moments.are important and shocking, it's also Carol's confession and surrender to Tyreese that give her another layer and a much deeper footprint in the series.
This is an incredible episode full of emotion and rich storytelling.