Erogenesis Art

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

I find this really tough to grade, because I cannot imagine how much effort went into making this, all the people involved, hopes, aspirations, dreams... all to just discard it with a mere 1 or 2 stars. But I cannot lie, I've seen better. I can sit here and nit-pick all day, but I do think there is one central problem with the show. It was tough to put my finger on it, but I think it's quite simply the writing and how all the narrative elements are strung together. After the Hobbit I felt I was done with Tolkien adaptations and decided that the LOTR Trilogy was good enough for me. So when I heard of Rings of Power it went in one ear and out the other. However, once the episodes started dropping in, youtube started exploding with reviews... so I got curious. The first two episodes were beautiful and intriguing. I wondered what people were so upset about. My only criticism of the first episode was that they rushed through Galadriel's back story and glossed over her 'inciting incident', the narrative moment that sends Galadriel on her quest. This was when her brother dies, as she herself says in the montage, but we never see her brother's death or her initial reaction to it. I think that was probably the biggest mistake of the show, since it would have helped our understanding of Galadriel's drive, and forgiven her obsessive attitude. However, after episode 2, the momentum of the story started to fall apart and I found it tough to concentrate on the story. This is where I would enter into nit-pick territory to try to describe why, essentially the same nit-picking that a writer or director would have to do during the making of the movie so that the movie holds in a logical way. There were too many things that threw me off, like characters contradicting themselves within minutes of each other, decisions that made no sense, an inconsistent sense of scale, characters that were either too convenient or too unconvincing, or just plain filler, sword fights that were clearly designed to show off. Etc etc.. Again, this is nit-picking, but it is something that directors like Peter jackson and Kubrick do to make sure that the movie is convincing, so that we are less inclined to do it. Fans will always nit-pick, but Rings of Power is so flawed compared to other series that it's the gift that keeps on giving. I'm not a Game of Thrones fan but I was gripped by it's story almost involuntarily. Even the low-budget Legend of the Seeker was more entertaining because the story actually moved, despite it's goofiness. Long story short, I've disconnected from the story and the character entirely and now I'm just curious where the writers want to go with this. I'm really not interested in the story anymore. I see this purely as some kind of case-study for how not to write a fantasy story. Honestly, the writers need to be fired. There are better ones out there. You might like this if you just want to switch your brain off to something after work, if you just want a bit of drama and fancy dress and backdrops. Nothing wrong with that. But if you're like me, likes to decipher puzzles, dig deeper into backstories, love the magic of Tolkien's world etc, you'll hate this series. I wanted to give this one star because it's truly empty of verve and magic, and the story is worse than a CW show, but I can see a LOT of love went into the CGI and costumes, and I can also see that some of the actors had fun (Durin and his wife). So, one extra star then. It's a shame, and I do kind of feel sad, because this series could have been pure magic. This is Tolkien! How could they mess this one up?

It's not bad at all. It's actually quite entertaining for what they could squeeze out of what was left after the Last Jedi. I was not at all curious about the movie, because the Last Jedi completely took all the momentum out of the trilogy, but I went because my friend wanted me to come. I'm happy I saw it now, because its quite okay. It's not really worthy of repeat viewings like LOTR, but I don't regret going. It's definitely very rushed, clearly trying to cram two films worth of story into one, lots of great ideas, but trying a little too hard at times. It's funny at times, it's a little cheesy here and there, but they have the right idea. Sometimes original, sometimes hyper nostalgic... it didn't bother me that much. The cast had a lot more fun things to do and say, and they interacted in a fun way. Rey was indeed overpowered, but not annoyingly so. We see her struggle a lot more in this movie, which makes it a tiny bit easier to empathize with her. The only real thing this movie suffers from is that it's part of a very badly planned trilogy, with some fantastic ideas behind it, but executed extremely awkwardly. Even though I really don't like TLJ, I think this movie would have done better if they had just gone with Rian's vision. It would have felt a little more consistent. But that doesn't mean that JJ's response was bad. The spirit of adventure and companionship of the original trilogy was present in TROS, except it was obtained a lot through copying from the original trilogy, which I don't think they needed to do (They should have left Palps out entirely). Still, it did work as a movie and I wasn't bored at all, unlike TLJ where I was actually checking my watch several times. IMO, TROS is entirely an okay movie... at least fine for one or two viewings. PS: I'm not a Star Wars fan, never was, never will be. But I do respect the original trilogy as cultural landmarks.

Although brimming with potential and great ideas, interesting characters done by great actors, great CGI and effects, it is ultimately a narrative mess with very dull plot and bizarre side-plot (with real world politics awkwardly wedged into it) that basically removed all the momentum from JJ Abrams' initial effort. Character developments didn't make sense, there were interpersonal conflicts that made no sense, and the biggest subversions provided no satisfying alternative to latch onto. They just felt like subversions for the sake of subverting that resulted in the plot grinding to a halt. It felt more like a confusing midlife crisis than a thrilling Star Wars adventure. The Rise of Skywalker will have to do some strange twists and turns to make this trilogy feel like one. And no I'm not a Star Wars fan. I just like good stories.

If you want to kick back and watch a silly, fun, exciting action movie on a sunday, this is it. While CLEARLY not meant to be fine art and a cinematic achievement, I was not bored once during it's entire runtime. There were moments I though they could have amped the suspense a bit better, and I absolutely did roll my eyes a few times at some of the corny plot points. But still, it was a fun little movie. Although I have seen better, I give it a 3/5 simply because I was entertained. It did it's job.

The Expanse is good storytelling! It is probably quite simply the best TV series I've ever seen, and I'm not even that big of a Sci-Fi fan. Exciting, thrilling even, it keeps you curious, engaged, keeps making sense, believable, and the visuals are fantastic. The Expanse is also a glowing example of how to properly and creatively include PC culture, feminism, identity politics, and diversity into a piece of entertainment without it becoming overbearing and patronizing. For example, there are some VERY powerful female characters in this TV series and none of them gave me the feeling that they were products of a wishful thinking writer. They were fantastic, especially Chrisjen, what a badass lady. Everything has a place, everyone is in danger, everyone needs each other, nobody is better than the other, everyone makes mistakes, nobody is perfect. The story stands central, and the characters, regardless of sex or race, are completely at the mercy of the plot. Other movie companies need to learn from this series. Hint hint: Walt Disney.

I saw many reviews of the movie, and obviously the trailers, and although many reviews panned this movie, something told me it was worth the watch. It really is, actually. I really loved the Japanese perspective. Yes it absolutely has it's pacing issues, very rushed, slightly cheesy, super cliche at times, but it still captivated me the whole way through with all it's details and tropes. I was trying to tell a LOT of story in a very short time, you can sense it, but it still worked. IMHO, it's just a simple, well-meant, straight-forward story told with great respect. I've read that some people took issues with the gender stereotyping... well, there was a lot of stereotyping going on, not just gender-based. But given the times that this movie depicts, that was kinda the thing they did back then. Quite forgivable. It's nice that we've moved on from such 'simplistic' times, but let's not be arrogant and regard ourselves superior to all those men... sorry I mean people that gave their lives to safeguard our freedom today. It's a perfectly okay movie. I was captivated the whole way through. PS: there are moments where you can kind of see the CGI, but the overwhelming effort of the movie totally overshadowed it for me.