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PaulEndymion
Reviews
Beacon 23 (2023)
Remember there is no clear timeline for this story yet
Watched 4 episodes and I am really into it.
I really don't get the current reviews of this title. People talk about writing and how the plot does not feel real or accurate. People, no timeline has been set yet, so everything is possible in a certain way.
Not everything has to be explained like in japanese anime. I believe if you are a science fiction veteran, you will find you own landmarks until the plot unfolds, if it does.
I love that each episodes brings a new science fiction theme, but most of all I love the mystery aspect of each characters. Characters don't have contemporary behaviors, so in my opinion that is another set of clues to make hypothesis about the "outside world of the beacon".
I also think the script is good, interactions between characters feels weird and out of this world, but again, it takes place in a fully unknown world. Even AI are cool and weirdly designed which brings something new to AI driven stories.
It reminds me of some K. Dick. Work, or a mix of shows like Altered Carboned and Nightflyers (the latter was not that good in my opinion).
Bis (2015)
Pathetic attempt to raise birth rate in France
The movie is a 4 for fun but the end kills everything. The whole idea was actually that : You need to have kids by the time you are old and if not you have failed your life. But wait, magic will give you another chance.
I understand the idea that you could regret not having build a family (who does not).
However as a young dude not in a situation I could start one, I put myself into the perspective of a 50 old guy in my situation watching this, what a funny movie it must be, and what an ending teaching lesson.
Don't watch this unless you don't care about cinema and comedy.
If you don't know Kad Merad just go watch "Mais qui a tué Pamela Rose ?". This is another level.
Pantheon (2022)
A gem for science fiction lovers
After 6 episodes I thought I'd share how I experienced this tv show point by point, from the least important to the most important.
- Paul Dano. In the past I learned to appriciate Paul Dano's work as he looks invested in all of his project. I am obviously thinking of the great Swiss Army Man. So yes I kind of blindly trust him and most of the time I am not disapointed.
- Very rich plot. The story has different layers that will/may eventually merge into one big story. + episode length is about 40min which feels great.
There is definitly a Westworld feeling for those who know this tv show. But as much as loved the intellectual aspect of Westworld, Pantheon takes a complete different approach which I prefer. It is very surprising how Pantheon gets deep into technical details with simple vulgarisation and visual effects. Also it is very human driven if I may say, kind of what I eperienced watching the first 7 episodes of Black Mirror.
- A vision. From wikipedia I learned Ken Liu is a writer, translator, programmer born in China and raised in America. I didn't read the original novels but I make the hypothesis the directors and producers did pinpoint Ken Liu's vision. The story implementation of nano technologies, social network as well as their impact on the human society feel so real. I especially like the international aspect of the story that tries to bring in the foreground, not only caracters from different part of the world, but from countries that will be the next economic force in one or two decades (thinking of India). So yes... there is a vision.
This is a beautiful work which deserves recognition.
Love, Death & Robots (2019)
Finally.
This is going right on top of my favorite hard sci fi shows with westworld, black mirror and battlestar galactosica (sorry the yogurt took over).
Finally something that sound like real science fiction to me.
It has been around 70 years that directors and big productors readapt the same sf ideas every year or about. Avengers being one of the latest un-science-fiction possible movie, where the universe works with 19th century laws/models of cosmology (Luminiferous aether). Even the next biggest real production ever, what everybody is waiting for, Dune from Villeneuve, is another 70's classic that never reached its original vision on screen, yet.
I was stunt watching those short films. This is the new science fiction.
"Beyond the Aquila Rift" is by itself a masterpiece. It managed to reach that sense of unjustified fear of the unknown that AC Clarke told so much about. The sense of going from an aquarium to ocean, at a biological level. I could talk for hours about this one and I am pretty sure we could do the same for each of the others.
Must see.