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Reviews
Don't Look Up (2021)
Not bad, but overrated
After seeing the high ranking and the prominent actors, I became interested in the Movie. The plot seemed exciting and funny. The comparison with "wag the dog" (one of the best political satires) mentioned several times in reviews spoke in favor of the film.
But the result was very disappointing. The film is certainly not bad, but unfortunately also not really good, entertaining or funny (not even on the satire Level...).
After a few minutes the story is predictable: There are no Plot twists and turns and the performance of the actors (all top people) is poor. The characters are more exaggerated than in a comic-adaptation, all of them...
Why? Everything is subordinated to the great metaphor (Why does nobody believe science?). That is very well-meant, sounds very smart ... and is unbelievable boring.
Star Trek: Voyager: Latent Image (1999)
Silent but intense
The story of a puzzle that at times looks like a conspiracy, but then turns in a completely different direction, is not entirely new, but it is well told. It's a silent episode without much action. But that's also Star Trek at its best. An intensive character study focussing on the doctor and a lot of philosophy about the inner dilemma do not make a fantastic episode, but a very good one. In the end, told a little too slowly ...
20 years before Covid I heard the term "triage" for the first time.
The Man in the High Castle: Jahr Null (2018)
A poor end to a weak season
After two fantastic seasons, the third season was quite a disappointment. At all levels: illogical, with a confused plot, uninteresting and boring. Hardly any act of a character is comprehensible. Even the deaths of two main characters didn't create tension. Except for Rufus Sewell, most of the actors' performances are also very poor.
The last episode tries to convince us with impressive pictures (but surprisingly bad effects): The destruction of the Statue of Liberty is not a really new SciFi idea ... The bad plot doesn't get any better as a result.
Star Trek: Voyager: Hope and Fear (1998)
It could have been really good...
The episode had the potential to be really good. The result is not really bad either. The effects are good, the acting is fair and there is definitely tension and action. Even the basic idea is okay.
But: Unfortunately, the story is strange at best. There are so many plotholes that you just shake your head. How many coincidences are believable? All things fit exactly just for the story to work at all. That looks very constructed. Even at the beginning, the alien acts so suspiciously that it is clear that it is a trap.
The story just isn't convincing in the end...
White Collar: Quantico Closure (2013)
Quantico mediocrity
Not a good episode, on several levels: on the one hand, Burke's old flame is not convincing. The tension between the two is missing. In addition, the case itself is poorly written and full of clichés and plot holes. The whole "jealous wife"-story is lame, very constructed and coincidence has to help constantly so that there is a solution at all.
The plot around the codex is also not good ... The puzzles are unimaginative and illogical. A more exciting resolution would have been possible here.
The only bright spot is the charm of the figures. The dialogue between Jones and Neal about Burke and Jill is a terrific highlight. Unfortunately, it doesn't save the episode.
The Valhalla Murders (2019)
Worth watching
Usually I don't like Scandinavian thrillers. But I liked this Icelandic series.
Walhalla starts slowly. The first episodes are very slow paced and there are also many clichés. But: with every episode the series gets better. An exciting story, good actors and multi-layered characters. Not perfect, but well worth watching!
I watched the series in German synchronization. There will surely be a US remake soon.
Star Trek: Picard: Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2 (2020)
More Star Trek than the rest of the season
Compared to the first part, "et in arcadia ego" 2 was much better. Certainly not perfect, but at least not a waste of time.
A lot was worth watching: Seven and the Romulan sister in the Borgcube, Riker in the command chair, all the SFX, some actors and - very TNG - diplomacy as a solution to a problem.
But a lot was also weak: The story remains stupid and without inspiration. The whole plan of the "crew" to penetrate the android village was not convincing and contributed nothing to the plot anyway. The end looked as artificial as Picard is now. And lots of plotholes: Why should people like Seven and Raffi suddenly get on so well and become BFFs? So far, they hardly knew each other.
Well meant, but it looks fake: all the TNG quotes (Picard maneuver, make it so, engage ...). That was a little too much for me.
A fitting conclusion to Season 1, just as mixed and mediocre as the series so far. Season 2 has to get better.
Star Trek: Picard: Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1 (2020)
Unimaginative and bad
The previous episodes were very different in quality: Some good ones, but also many bad ones. The first part of "et in arcadia ego" is actually a very bad episode.
The stupid, predictable, and rather boring story full of plotholes isn't even the worst. Allthough: You ask yourself many times: why is he / she doing this ...? Or: what's that ...?
Even worse was the lengthy staging with rather strange camera shots. The dialogues were sometimes very, very bad, especially the emotional overacting about Picard's illness was very annoying. Brent Spiner's guest appearance was as pointless as it was unnecessary. You get the impression the makers just wanted to make the fans happy this way...
Finally: How many times have you actually seen this story (an AI wants to wipe out all organic life)? Not only in Star Trek (and especially often there!), But also in Orville or Stargate. Not to mention many other SF- films. New ideas please!
Star Trek: Voyager: Coda (1997)
Too many ideas
Not a really good episode. Too many things don't convince. At no time did I think that Janeway was really accompanied by her dead father to the afterlife. Not to mention a few plotholes ...
In addition, the plot is very confused and therefore badly told. It's a little too much too: Timeloop, Vidians, and a murderous doctor. It would have been better to shorten the stories, especially because the beginning and end don't match.
After all, you've actually seen all of the subplots and ideas of this episode on TNG, DS9 or even VOY (cause & effect, the next phase, remember me, flashback, etc.).
Some nice moments (Janeway's pride when she sees the team working together) and good actors in some scenes make this episode overall ... average.
Timeless: The Kennedy Curse (2018)
Less timetravel, but a good episode
I thought the first season was good - not great, but good Entertainment. The second season is weaker, but still worth watching. In the second season, this episode is one of the better, although it actually has little to do with time travel: the young JFK has to be brought into the present, but can escape. The team is looking for him while JFK meets today's world. It's funny and exciting at the same time.
In addition, it is a change from the other episodes, which are mostly very similar and therefore sometimes become a bit boring. The illogical plot holes are still annoying anyway.
Flynn's appearance at the end is short but great. A good figure!
Star Trek: Picard: Nepenthe (2020)
nostalgia alone makes not a good episode
Even though many celebrate the TNG reunion, this episode ultimately remains weak. The story is thin. Little happens ... and what happens is mostly illogical. Why does Picard initially tell the truth about Soji not Deanna and Riker, but their daughter? Kestra then tells Soji everything about her father Data, whom she (as the only figure on the planet) didn't know personally.
The plot and dramaturgy on the spaceship is unfortunately not convincing, although there would have been more (suspicions, suspense) here ... Hugh's death was an equally unnecessary dramaturgical stupidity.
Unfortunately, beautiful pictures, great music and emotional encounters do not make a good episode.
White Collar: As You Were (2011)
The First Jones Episode
Too bad. Finally Jones is getting a bigger part in a story, and then unfortunately it's not a good episode. Over the course of the series, Jones has become a nice sidekick, a character you like, even if he never really stands out. In this episode he gets more screentime. He has to help an old friend who got into trouble as a private mercenary working for the bad guy of the week. And for the romantic drama part: His friends wife is an old Loveaffair of Jones.
The plot begins excitingly as a rapid agent story, but somehow falls asleep. Predictable clichés follow and in the end even the showdown is boring and without tension. Too bad. Better is the bigger story-arc of the tension around the Nazi treasure and the question of how to proceed with it. Hence 7/10.
Star Trek: Picard: The Impossible Box (2020)
Good on cube. Bad on ship
After 15 minutes I thought: Oh dear, now it is really getting stupid. The completely romance between the doctor and the captain is not convincing. Raffi is still a character that nobody needs. Inappropriate anyway. Perhaps that's why she is allowed to organize the pass, while being drunk ... Picard apparently no longer knows anyone, no longer has any contacts.
But: it got better after half of the episode. The scenes on the cube are encouraging. The plot is finally moving forward. Finally, the characters act more convincingly, even those that have so far remained flat. There are some good moments that even remind on real Star Trek, Hugh and Picard, even the dream analysis. A lot is not new (unfortunately, they copy a lot and not only Star Trek, but also Bladerunner etc.), but at least things are moving forward.
The fact that there are still way too many plotholes (how does Elnor get on the cube? Why does he stay there? why beam Picard in the middle of nowhere - in a topsecret facility?) is annoying, but forgiven. Hopefully that episode was no exception ...
Galaxy Quest (1999)
Still a fun Movie.
I've seen the film many times, a few days ago again. And it doesn't get boring. Even after 20 years, Galaxy Quest hasn't lost any of his charm. Great actors, a fast-paced, varied plot and many witty ideas are the ingredients for a fantastic film, full of humor and excitement. Not only for trekkies with self-irony. I also highly recommend the documentary on the film ("Never Surrender") with many interesting insights.
Star Trek: Picard: Stardust City Rag (2020)
Stardust City Rubbish
It's a shame. The series somehow does not get better, although the storylines are finally developing. After the excellent, exciting (but also daring) Pilot-episode the series is developing poorly and in the completely wrong direction. This episode is a low point. In the pilot episode, I still thought: okay, development has to be, there can also be changes. It has to evolve. But what is this "everything is bad. Everyone is bad. The good is dead"-stuff? This has nothing to do with Star Trek anymore! It's more "expanse", just a lot worse ... Cheap horror (gutting Borg), stupid comedy (French accent), unbelievable action (everything in the bar), long predictable elements (Wow! The doc is a traitor), unnecessary effects without any sense (spam holograms) and many more.
Seven (Jeri Ryan) could not save the episode, the absurd character twist is something, I m not taken. The return to the planet as an angel of revenge is ridiculous and only arose out of the cheap compulsion to prove: yeah, take a look: Star Trek is now a dark series!...why the hell !?
White Collar: Prisoner's Dilemma (2010)
One of the best episodes of Season two so far
After some weak or average episodes, "Prisoner's Dilemma" is again a good one, maybe even the best so far. The story is not really new, but good: Burke has to help a former colleague who is wrongly suspected. To do this, he has to go into hiding himself and count on Neal and Mozzie.
The result is a well thought-out plot, interesting twists, clever dialogues, witty ideas and, above all, wit and charm: the chemistry between the main characters works simply and is fun to watch.
Star Trek: Picard: Absolute Candor (2020)
Not getting better...
It s not getting better
Unfortunately, Picard gets worse and weaker from episode to episode. Episode 4 barely brought the plot forward and had a series of stupid ideas and stupid dialogues.
Would you like a selection: Romulan sword fighting? BorgShip ice rink without shoes? Seriously? What's the "Romulan only" sign? Who else should be there? A bird of prey from the Kirk-period? does it come from a museum? The captain holograms don't get funnier just because there are more ...
The dialogues on board are stupid and unreliable anyway, "J.L." hurts in the ears every time. Raffi is extremely annoying. Weak episode. The appearance of 7 of 9 doesn't save anything anymore. but: I still don't give up hope.
Oh yes: how many Star Wars quotes do you want to add....?
Star Trek: Picard: Maps and Legends (2020)
Weaker than the pilot
As a big fan of Star Trek, who was very disappointed with STD and the JJ-Abrahams films, I was quite skeptical about Picard in advance. The first episode encouraged me.
The second is weaker, but no reason to give up. There's still a lot of good things: the setting, Patrick Stewart (and some other actors too) and hey - it's still Star Trek!
In this episode, some of the things that annoyed me at STD came to light again: some dialogues were really stupid. The whole CSI scene in the apartment didn't seem logical. In general, the idea of another mysterious super-secret intelligence is slowly getting sucked out. Above all, the Mars- flashback could have been staged much better... That was very flat (so many plot holes in just a few minutes). Let's hope it gets better.
White Collar: Bad Judgment (2010)
Good Judgement!
I am amazed, how many new ideas the series has every week. Also in this episode, which starts out predictable boring (mortgage fraud) but then turns into a big conspiracy. The start is accordingly lame, but becomes more exciting in the course of the episode. The plot is smart and well thought out. The big solution in the end is a wonderful spin. The chemistry between Peter and Neal works better and better - and sinister guest Noah Emmerich is as good as in "the americans".
Lost in Space: Unknown (2019)
Something new!
A good episode! After many stories that repeat themselves in the process (threat, bad luck, solution, difficulties, happy ending), there are new Elements here: intrigue, tactics and the question: who is good and who is bad? The scenes on the bridge are particularly exciting. Some interesting twists and turns make the episode one of the strongest in the season. It remains exciting!
And yes ... Smith is annoying and there are some female Mary Sues. So what?
As long as it remains captivating, I don't care. Very good Sci-Fi.
Lost in Space: Run (2019)
Mediocre... But not that bad!
Certainly not the best episode. This is probably because the overall story of the season hardly evolves with this episode. Instead, the usual scheme is run through again: obstacles and insoluble dangers constantly appear, which are cleared out of the way. Sometimes you think: you can't have that much bad luck in one Single day. The actual story (including the Flashbacks) about John and Judy is predictable and not very inspired, but - also to be mentioned - very well filmed. As always, the special effects are top, cinema level.