shrewd.buddha

One of the things I appreciated about this episode was that it narrowed the focus to only a few characters. There was a lot that happened - but without the jumping back and forth between five or six separate storylines. On the unpopular opinion side: How many Rites of Passage can you cram into a series?!? The Arches, the Rings, the Columns, etc., etc. "If you manage to survive this test of strength and fortitude .. you can prepare for the next 99 trials of strength and fortitude." Maybe this aspect of the show stands out more to non book readers. But it will be difficult not to eye-roll when the next trial by fire rolls around.

The first fifteen minutes were an impressive surprise - one that made me wonder if that was the entire special effects budget and the rest of the season was going to be a lot of wandering around in a desert. As a non-book reader, I wasn't especially excited to return for season 3. There does seem to be a lot of world building .. but a lot of it feels chaotic. Jumping back and forth between five or six star-crossed couples was a bit jarring. The literally magic healing of main characters seems to lower the stakes. No one is going to die until the plot decides it's their time. All that violence in the beginning .. yet only one guardian guy of significance seemed to have died - all the rest seemed like redshirts. The main thrust seems to be angsty tragic romances (for many main characters) and the power of BFF's to overcome anything. And that is perfectly okay for YA stuff. However, I am not fond of the dreamscapes and alternate realities where everyone dies or perfect lives have to be abandoned. It is the type of have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too tragedies that happen in a lot of YA genre. The preview of the rest of the season at the end of the episode was excessive. Does Amazon really think they need to give away that much in order to keep people watching?

This wasn't something we would make an effort to see at a theater .. but not so bad for a streaming option. The most annoying thing about the movie was the dialogue - really bad - and very forced. It also seemed as if the writers had just learned about foreshadowing, but without any subtlety: This tarot card says you will give this potion to a boy. Later, Calypso says she has hidden archery skills - which pays off five minutes later. Considering the anti-Poacher and big game hunting angle, the Rhino makes sense. But the Foreigner character felt like an unnecessary additional super-powered adversary. All the elements were there for a good action adventure - but the filmmakers made some really odd and convoluted choices.

With the MCU's mandate of exhausting interconnectedness and always-building-up-to-something-bigger storytelling, I wonder if Captain America: Brave New World will make any mention of Rhodey Rhodes (War Machine / Iron Patriot)..? He already served (serves?) in the military. He already saved the president's life in Iron Man 3. He has access to the latest armor tech. And he can fly -- without the need for wings.

This season would have been better with only six or eight episodes. The story unraveled with all the padding out of each side story: Noor's family drama, Solomon's backstory, Catherine's backstory, the Iranian mission drama (with subtitles), the Bala family drama (with backstory), Rose's job drama, etc., etc. The season started out with potential - but became increasingly ridiculous with each episode .. much like Rose's increased involvement with missions. Were there only two Night Agents being supervised by Catherine?!? The Night Action agency, the FBI and CIA all came off as pretty incompetent. In the end, Jacob Monroe, the information broker, gets away with the murder of Alice, Peter's partner and Catherine's favorite agent. .. even though Peter knows how to contact him and Monroe openly attends high profile political fundraisers.

This show .. ugh. I was surprised that Solomon (bald, head henchman) was taken out so quickly and easily. And his cohorts didn't even miss him - even though they were in the middle of setting up a hand-off with the boss, Monroe. Just an episode back, it seemed as if Solomon was getting a redemption arc with his sad backstory about his disabled sister. Also: Solomon trying to guilt-trip Peter about killing his friend in Singapore -- and Peter not mentioning the unarmed French woman Solomon had just shot - and - Peter never bringing up the fact that Solomon's team killed his partner, April. Who is writing this stuff ?!?

For me, it was the hairstyles that felt off. Susan Storm doesn't have a 60's style cut and the color is a weird type of streaked platinum white (in some scenes). And Pedro couldn't be bothered to shave off his mustache -- kind of like Keanu Reeves and his beard. They may be going for something - but it also comes off as a little lazy or non-committal to the era.

It seems every time there is a Jubal episode some new drunken incident is revealed that should have gotten him fired. And he continues to be compromised by attempting to keep his past f**k-ups a secret. Maybe he is supposed to be coming off as a guy making the most of his second chance(s) .. but he is actually coming off like a slimeball trying to keep the bodies buried. Will there be any FBI characters left for next season? All the current ones should be getting fired by the current administration, right? It would be interesting to see these FBI shows address some of the real life chaos that is happening.

When Rose was brought back into the mix because of her computer skills in the first episode, I thought it was handled well. But now the show feels completely off the rails - no way would the CIA allow Rose to participate at this level. And what about Rose's job?! Noor made the right call by withholding the photos until the CIA does something more than make promises. The foreign language and subtitles make sense if you are going for a level of authenticity - - - but the showrunners don't seem very concerned with a lot of other things making sense.

I like the 1960's aesthetics - but it looks as if they put it through a plastic toy filter. I believe I would have preferred the actual lettering, look and feel of the 60's comic book. The Thing also looks plastic, not made of rock. The entire vibe feels a bit childish .. but is that intentional? There is a tag at the end that reads "Presented in FantastiVision", which probably means something - - but the preview doesn't look like the Technicolor or CinemaScope effect from the '60's.

Yeah - it's been done ..

With all the hype about the new season, we finally watched the first season and found it to be ... not really so great. The show actually did do a good job of painting Gi Hun as pretty shitty: he stole his Mom's savings and lost it all. He was good at crying - but never really took care of anyone. After a year, he had not helped the orphan kid or Sang-Woo's Mom. The loan sharks who threatened to take body parts never bothered him again. Sang Woo's mother's store and home weren't taken by creditors. And he flakes on his daughter, again, to do .. what? Hey genius - you had access to the old man who created the game and lots of money - you could have exposed them if you had tried. Sang-Woo, in a way, made the smartest sacrifice: No one would have benefited if the last two players had walked away empty handed.

We just happened upon these last two episodes because of the January shortage of new shows.. .. Anyways - the mental health concept is admirable but the execution comes off as being written by people who have not had a lot of exposure to hospital protocols or the hectic schedules of real-life doctors. But maybe in this Hallmark village there is always time to hang out at the local church from time to time.. I also enjoy the Hallmark Channel touch of single, workaholic doctors and administrators who manage to dress in high fashion (with heels) and keep their houses prepped for an Architectural Digest photoshoot.

After a decade's worth of the ER show, this almost felt like a comedy. I appreciate this show's attempt to emphasize mental health along with physical health - but they should stay out of the Emergency Room setting.. So, what happened to the brain-injury woman who had to have a next-of-kin to decide if her legs should be amputated..? That whole scenario seemed to exist solely for Dr. Wolf and and his boyfriend to hash out their issues - - and introduce some daddy drama. Again, appreciated the shout out to the dangers of loneliness, but "it is as bad as smoking fifteen cigarettes a day" ?!? -- sounds like someone is getting their health factoids from TikTok and Google. And we get a follow-up on Lonely Woman with infected cut but not brain-injury woman?