edmondsmicah

I've been a fan of the Aunty Donna boys since late 2014. I don't follow them nearly as avidly as I once did, but watching this show (produced by the ABC) felt like I was finally seeing something they'd always wanted to make, in a place they'd always wanted to put it. It transported me back to their roots and why I originally fell in love with their work, the style I feel they'll always been best at, honed and refined through their years of dedication and hard work producing for stage and screen. I strongly feel episodes 2-5 of this show is some of the best work they've produced, with the Noughts and Crosses and Hit n Run Arcade sketches perhaps being the best examples of their work ever put to screen. There was one moment in Episode 2 that had me laughing harder than I have in quite a long time.

Their absurdism has always been a tough sell for some folks, and this show definitely isn't for everyone. The rough edges of the final episode still betray their lack of finesse when it comes to longer narratives, and their occasionally too-heavy reliance on improv, and some of the jokes are definitely overplayed (cake), but the three main performers have a far better performing ability now than they've ever had. Zach in particular was stealing scenes left and right, while each performer were still given moments to shine. Mark in episode 2 was exquisite, and the way side characters are given smaller stories too really Helps everybody feel involved and included. Just like most of AD's work, there's no ego in the show, an absolute sense of open vulnerability in their ridiculousness that makes them so easy to invest it. The amount of sketches within the constraints of the show is astounding. There's so much solid gold comedy in here and it's all so damn perfectly delivered so much of the time and so easy to have fun with.

All in all, there's no question these six guys know what they're doing and who they're trying to reach. Their mastery of this particular style is unmatched right now, a brand fully their own, and that Australian television has finally given them the space they deserve (and have deserved for years) to show what they can do is a treat to see for a fan like me, even if I'm not blind to the shortcomings of their work or the somewhat divisive appeal. An enourmous congratulations to them for creating some dense, hilarious television that's full of the same naughty, endearing energy that they've always had. I admire how they've never strayed from that same core approach and style - it really won my heart back in the day and provides much needed solace today as well.

With excellent action, a compelling and committed voice cast and striking character designs, you'd think Dragon Age Absolution could coast by with merely the Dragon Age aesthetic as a paint job, but as a long time fan of the games and exterior material, Inquisition in particular, by the opening of the fourth episode I was enjoying these factors, but sold by others - that it's a tight, contained and emotional story which aims it's ambition at precisely the right spot in terms of scale and scope is what makes this worth watching.

By keeping the adventure focused on a small group of characters within only a handful of rich environments, Absolution uses contained devices in its approach, speaking to the narrative strengths of the series in the most important ways, paying homage both visual and spiritual to what really makes this series tick; the layered motivations and choices of a cast of diverse characters and how their convictions overlap when thrust into the traditions of family, creed and country.

There's a great pace to the story, including locations which we've long been waiting to see in the franchise, but Absolution doesn't get bogged down in the details of heavy lore or overloading potential new audiences with uneeded details, meaning this could be a great jumping in point before Dreadwolf.

A really enjoyable, digestible chunk of exciting animation with great action and a helping of DA goodness. Nothing to dislike in this at all!

It took a strength of will to continue to exist while watching this. I felt the urge to implode, body and soul. I felt myself fade.

I have never been legitimatley hurt by a film before. Do not watch this.