Thomas Ono

I am really surprised by the number of one star reviews. As one drawn my whole life to zombie media, I find this show to be top tier. What I really liked about Dawn of the Dead was its portrayal of the human experience of a zombie apocalypse. In the interim, zombie cinema has been more horror driven, more campy, more epic, and more supernatural. On the living front, characters were more heroic, or archetypal, or more comic booky. With Black Summer, we're back to a much more human story. I do want to respond to a couple of the "one star" comments. First off, this is much more well put together than those that complain about things like plot holes or the characters being stupid. On the plot side, the show uses a non-linear exposition style, which often starts at the end and then fills in the blanks. I'm not going to say this was done perfectly. Rather, I'll say it was well done, and is an interesting storytelling method. And sure, the characters do make a lot of mistakes, but I found this sincere. And, the complaints about the Korean speaking character! I'm sorry, but most people not being able to understand her was the whole point. Including her and the deaf ASL speaker was a great choice. Miscommunication is a huge theme in this work. Four stars in my heart of hearts. Five to counteract a one.

Never having heard this film mentioned among the great modern westerns, I was surprised how purely great it is. A simple story told well. Really well. And gotta say, John Travolta, what a treat.

This performance is a national treasure.

This movie's production values are through the roof, and it is well-acted across the board. Casting is great, and it has a lot of heart, particularly given how much of time is devoted to lengthy, exciting combat action sequences. Throughout, it is peppered with amazing scenes that make real the devastation of an existence ending alien war. So, why three stars, Tom? Pretty much everything that drives the plot forward is irrational in terms of character motivation, time travel logic, and/or common sense -- sometimes all three at the same time. [SPOILER ALERT FROM EARLY IN STORY] Why, for example, would you send wave after wave of untrained civilians from the present into the future, armed with completely ineffective weapons? [END OF SPOILER] It is important to the plot, yes, but unbelievable. Lots of stuff like that. For all the great elements of this movie, I do not regret watching it, and really enjoyed parts of it. Five stars is a "great" rating. A few less preposterous plot drivers, and I'd call this "four star good." It is not four star good. Pity. There is a lot of movie making talent on display.

Clearly the anime version of this is better, but I am enjoying the live action version too. While like many, I was initially thrown by the physical dissimilarity of Daniella Pineda's Faye to the original, I got over that. What continues to jar, is that this new version is a completely different character with a different personality than OG Faye. She does and say things OG Faye simply would not. Shrug. Treating this show on its own, I'm dinging it a star for the inconsistent quality of acting. I usually enjoy the performances, but there are breaks in character. UPDATE: I wrote the above 6 episodes in. I came back to ding it another star after reaching the end. Look, I didn't hate watching it, but how do I put this? If a band does a cover song, (1) the song should be recognizable, and (2) the band covering it should bring something to it. This is only recognizable as Cowboy Beebop because the characters vaguely resemble the originals, and have the same names and occupations. Cool elements from the original show kind of shows up, but with their edges rounded off. I don't resent the new version for its plot and character changes, but rather for making those changes so BASIC. Oh, and no points for ending the thing with the worst minute of acting I've seen in two years of pandemic-binging Netflix.

Why do I like this so much? On so many factors of quality -- like, oh say, the acting, editing, consistency of production, attention to historical accuracy (Say, is that 1957 Chinese gangster wearing a Justin Timberlake t-shirt? In every scene?), or music (sweet lord, that sax riff) -- this ranks poorly. And it isn't like I'm getting the joy of watching a bad movie for camp value. Further, I'm not some sort of Bruce Lee fanboy. What is in it for me? Heart. This series has a lot of it. Philosophy. It is an absorbable treatise. Novelty. The plot of Bruce Lee's life is about as unique as I can imagine. And of course, great and meaningful fight scenes. Maybe the theme song says it best: Join the passion of this master of soul | From the Chinese hills and shore | We still listen to Bruce Lee battle call. (And yeah, It is "Bruce Lee battle call," not "Bruce Lee's battle call." One of many wincey things about the series I forgive in exchange for joy.)