Avaliações de not_an_octopus

As a native New Mexican and huge fan of the BB universe, I've been SO excited for Pluribus. Rhea Seehorn is a treasure, and she is holding nothing back as the grieving, virus-immune protagonist in this mysterious Sci-Fi thriller set in beautiful Albuquerque New Mexico. I so love getting to see my home town featured in yet another Gilligan-led series. He seems to know exactly how to showcase the Southwest as if it were its own character. I'm excited to see where this season goes; it's already off to a banger start. Thank you Vince, for being an incredible storyteller who puts the effort in to make your shows extra special. And maybe Rhea will finally get her Emmy this year...

edit: I'm updating this review after having seen the finale. It's a bit disappointing that we got so few episodes, glacial storytelling, circular plot and character development, and now likely have to wait 3 years (or more) for the next season. This is an infuriatingly common trend in television right now, but as long as the studios keep getting our money I suppose the joke's on us.

I think this series kept getting renewed because of all the hate-watchers because I genuinely don't understand how a show can be this bad and keep getting renewed season after season. Why does it have such a big budget? Why doesn't anyone act like a human would act? Everything in this series is terrible. Is the dialogue written by an AI? The writing is so bad it must be on purpose because we're here talking about it. Not one single character makes coherent choices. The children are INSUFFERABLE little monsters and I actively root for their demise. The one scientist character who could have had a solid storyline is reduced to a cliche that makes her entire personality being a lesbian. No characters will interact with her unless she is lesbianing lesbianly. And yet they somehow manage to flub the story with the girlfriend. HOW and WHY are the aliens so incompetent? They arrived in a climactic finale in season one, and then they just TIME SKIP ahead in season 2 and.... NOTHING IS HAPPENING. Do the aliens not have a handbook or a plan of some kind that gives them instructions on how to invade a planet? They don't seem to know what they're doing any more than the clueless humans. Also, it appears one of the child characters has a WEAPON that can KILL the aliens, yet this weapon is NEVER discussed or used in ANY meaningful capacity.

Ryan Murphy needs to stop trying to make Fetch happen. I'll never understand why the likes of Ryan Murphy gets to keep having their shows made when there are so many talented writers out there with amazing stories to tell. The story being told here could have been amazing, but it's been tainted as usual by his questionable choices. One needn't be an incel to be disappointed by the possibility of an intriguing premise and group of incredible actors that deserved better.

Okay I'm biassed because I loved Reservation Dogs. I found it to be one of the most unique series in recent memory. I admire the way Sterlin Harjo conceptualizes narratives and seamlessly weaves characters, setting, and story into highly engaging and engrossing TV.

The Lowdown is just as poignant, lighthearted, and meaningful as Reservation Dogs. Every element of the production - casting, writing, dialogue, filming locations, costume design, cinematography, and especially cultural representation - has been carefully thought out to convey multiple nuanced layers of storytelling. The result is a delightful and engaging series with an uncannily comforting vibe.

This show is a 10/10 for me. I can't wait to see what more is to come from Sterlin Harjo.

The Girlfriend would better be titled Battle of the Sociopaths. It's 6 episodes of two controlling manipulative women vying for the attention of an overly-coddled man-child in an Oedipal battle royale. The story is interesting on its surface, but the translation from book to tv is so glaringly apparent I found myself wanting to stop and just read the source material.

I really like Robin Wright and Olivia Cooke, and they were what kept me watching, because the clichés were so numerous you could make a drinking game out of them. Take a drink every time there is a Sassy Black Best Friend (TM) whose entire personality is supporting the main character. Take a drink every time a supporting character from the protagonist/antagonist's past is a walking stereotype. Drink every time a main character is gaslit and not believed despite being believed and fully validated just moments earlier.

I could go on. But I could feel the book to series translation being continuously lost and I haven't even read the book. You can tell the source material translates differently on the screen, and I think that's what's hurting the narrative.

I really liked the shift in perspectives from Cherry to Laura though. That was really cool. I liked getting to see Robin Wright as a director. The rest of the time I was skipping ahead to see what would happen. This might have been better as a 2 hour movie than a 6 hour miniseries.

Wayward is on its surface a series about the Troubled Teen Industry and the harm it causes to individuals, families, and communities. The series is not without flaws, but the subject matter is important. Many places like Tall Pines are still operating legally throughout the US, causing irreparable harm to children.

Wayward's writing is confusing because while it's a story about teens trying to escape an abusive environment, it also has elements of sci-fi and cult horror in the mix which affects the story in different ways. Twists in the narrative kept building momentum until the denouement passed but not much was really resolved. And what was with the bullfrogs??

The acting was good, but sometimes shaky. Mae Martin is a great writer, but they are a comedic character actor playing a lead role in this series, which doesn't always mesh well with the story. Toni Collette is a national treasure and needs to be protected at all costs. The supporting cast was really good but they didn't always make sense in the story, despite having all gone to Tall Pines together. The teen actors came across as extremely gen z despite playing millennials. The plot holes made the town feel like it was in the Twilight Zone, or Twin Peaks, which would have been really cool if the writers could have leaned harder into that.

Despite all the issues, the series was still enjoyable. I loved Mae Martin's previous series Feel Good and am excited to see what they do next.

Unknown Number: The High School Catfish is set up like any other true crime doc with an undeniably bizarre twist and completely infuriating ending. I had to turn it off after the perpetrator is revealed and promptly minimizes their involvement.

The perpetrator tries to blame their behavior on childhood trauma, and no expert opinion is provided as an explanation. It's all anecdotal. The doc also never challenges the perp's belief that their trauma justifies their behavior, as though millions of other people haven't also suffered childhood trauma yet somehow manage to NOT harass and threaten others. I'm sure most viewers are smart enough to draw this conclusion, but the way the story is told leaves a lot to be desired in the way of rational discourse on what happened.

The way the mystery was set up felt like a weird lead-on. The way the events are recounted is intentionally deceptive, which is insulting as a viewer. Great job Netflix, you got me to watch your mysterious documentary! Good for you!!

But there really wasn't any meaningful story or outcome beyond the sensationalism of what happened, which feels extremely exploitative to the victims.

This doc felt exploitative and overly sensationalized, and had almost no resolution at the end. It felt like a soulless way to tell an extremely troubling story that negatively affected a lot of people. This doc will be quickly forgotten, meanwhile the victims' lives will be forever affected. If I had participated in this doc I would be furious at the way they chose to tell the story, especially with regard to the way they allow the perpetrator to minimize and justify their involvement.

Back to the Frontier has an interesting premise which usually works, but which relies on a certain amount of authenticity and believability in order to give it substance over style. But this series does not come across as believable or authentic.

Scenes are heavily scripted, drama is manufactured, and it's obvious that most of the work is being done for them behind the scenes. Where are they getting all the extra help and why isn't it talked about? Wood and planks to build walls are magically produced and measured exactly to the required size, so that all that's needed is to hammer them in place. There were some excessively long scenes involving plowing fields in which the horses are harnessed up behind the scenes and controlled by a wrangler who is never introduced. Why wouldn't they introduce us to the helpers? Another major story line involves one family needing an extra bed, and lots of talk about needing to build the bed happens, which the father procrastinates, until he finally "builds" a bed that looks like it came from Homestead IKEA. It's obvious he didn't do anything but place tab A into slot B. It would have been more interesting to see how the consulting homesteaders helped supplement the families and how much work THAT entailed.

Regarding authenticity, why wouldn't they allow the families to just be themselves instead of giving them scripts? Unimaginative reality show writing replaces actual human interactions, trying to prolong drama where none would otherwise thrive. The writers attempt to make so many characters unlikeable, especially the teenage girls (which felt extremely sexist). I actually liked everyone in the cast so much better when they were just being themselves. Why manufacture drama into the series when the drama of being a homesteader writes itself?

The worst and most cringy element of uninspired reality scripting was the way the producers thought the audience needed to be introduced to the teenage girls, who at first were portrayed as only concerned with their appearance, makeup, and instagram. It's clear there was WAY more to them than this, and I found them quite endearing and sweet; completely the opposite of shallow. No one magically changes personalities like that just because they went to a homestead. Maybe if the clichéd uninspired basic reality show script writers had stereotyped the boys during their introductions, MAYBE that would have balanced it out. But the blatant sexism tells me everything I need to know about the soulless people making this series.

There was a lot of potential here, but interference from the committee of reality show writers made it too cringe, fake, and insulting to enjoy.

Together is a genuinely creepy body horror. It's not usually a genre of horror that I seek out, but I watched this for the two leads. Starring real-life married couple Alison Brie and Dave Franco, Together takes us through a squeamish and creepy journey of a couple with issues that can creep into any relationship.

The writing is really good, portraying the leads as a couple who clearly love one another but can't figure out how to escape their issues. Once the involvement of a supernatural entity is involved it's clear there is no hope, and the viewer is left watching helplessly as the conclusion races towards its inevitable end.

My only critique is at that it times feels like the narrative or pacing is missing something; some scenes that expanded on the lore would have been impactful. They did a little of that, but it would have been fun to see more.

Overall Together doesn't pull any punches when it comes to Alison and Dave delivering raw and authentic performances that seamlessly navigate themes of codependency, resentment, tenderness, disgust, and even humor.

If you like body horror and the actors in the film I think you will find Together to be quite engrossing.

Why is this the direction they chose to go in? The series since season 5 has set up the fact that Archer and Lana have a child. The familial progression of ISIS spies, from Mallory to Sterling to AJ, makes the most sense. What else was the point of Archer and Lana having a child if they didn't plan to have her feature further in the story? Was AJ a plot device never intended to become a fully fleshed out character? It would have made so much sense to have AJ be a secret agent in this season, following in the footsteps of her parents. Instead we have Zara. A bland forgettable character with no personality beyond her pandering girl power bravado. In addition to the disappointing character choices is the stark lack of witty biting humor from earlier seasons which made this show so clever. Even the coma seasons, while serialized, still had a similar sort of humor. Honestly, the series would have been better off ending after Jessica Walter passed. The new episodes just don't have the heart or humor the show used to have.

I started watching A Thousand Blows yesterday afternoon on a whim. Not knowing anything about it, unsure if I'd even like it because I'm not a huge fan of boxing, I'm glad I gave it a chance. I was hooked from the first scene. The acting and storytelling is thoroughly and thoughtfully executed, moving seamlessly among story lines and character arcs. It all weaves together into a beautiful narrative tapestry.

Every character plays their part with complexity and warmth. Given the setting and subject matter, the writing could easily rely on well-worn tropes, as it does in so many potentially great series. Thankfully none of that is happening in A Thousand Blows, as each character and plot is written in a way that gives people fully formed personalities and motivations.

Each character's actions and motivations are relevant and important to the story. The dialogue is realistic and continually supports and builds the narrative. The effect provides the viewer with a sense of being carried by the writing so that you can easily get fully absorbed in the narrative. Solid narrative structure is such a rare quality in television these days, so it was refreshing to say the least.

The series is perfectly paced, wasting no moment and never dragging or lagging in story progression. By the end I found myself satisfied with what had transpired and excited to see what happens next.

9/10 completely binge-worthy and satisfying.

There is a disturbing new trend in streaming called second-screen content, in which a series or film is written in a way where the viewer doesn't have to pay much attention, because everything in the plot is explained (told) rather than shown. Hence they can browse other websites or do other things with the show on in the background and still keep up with the plot.

It's become an increasingly popular writing style. If you don't believe me just search 'second-screen content' and you will find articles with multiple CEOs and other Executives at all the major streamers talking about how much they are pushing for shows with second-screen content. Why? Because it's an easy cash grab of course. Prestige television takes time, and time is money. But hopefully second screen content will be a fad which passes soon because it makes shows unwatchable. Interesting plots are being watered down until there is no substance and good acting talent is being wasted on expository dialogue which is the laziest form of storytelling.

Season one gave viewers a full story arc. Season two ended in the middle of that story arc. Absolutely zero story lines resolved. This makes the end of season 2 feel more like a mid-season cliff-hanger a la LOST than a complete season of a show. Highly disappointing.

Everything else about season 2 added and built upon season one. New characters were introduced and played poignantly and expertly by the actors. The individual character arcs were told well, and of course the games were as exciting and entertaining to watch as always.

As the tension of the season continues to build, the story seems to be building to something that will resolve a heck of a lot of tension. What viewers were given instead was a serious let down. I don't know what the reasoning was for the season ending abruptly the way it did, but I don't know if I will want to watch more if it's going to be treated this recklessly in the future. I'm reminded of the season 6 finale of The Walking Dead...

The actors are doing their best with what's been written for them, but practically nobody and nothing is portrayed in an authentically nuanced or realistic way; it's all just clichés and stereotypes.

First of all, I am SO over exaggerated and incorrect dramatized versions of therapy and therapists. Billy Crystal does a great job of using what's been written for him that he's fairly believable as a real therapist. HIS therapist (can't be bothered to look up the actress's name) is such an annoying stereotype who only speaks in jargon and stereotypical "therapist" phrases that it's impossible to get through an entirety of their many scenes together. Stereotyped therapist speak is peppered into the scenes like the writers opened up a DSM-V and copied/pasted without any realistic or appropriate context. I'm still not over how the entire team working with Noah seems to have no training on how to care for a child with his needs and is continually perpetuating the trope of 'mental health care professionals making things worse for the patient' (i.e. Zero emotion regulation skills are discussed or taught prior to getting him to remember intense emotional experiences, no antipsychotic or sedative drugs are administered so he can stop seeing horrific hallucinations and sleep through the night; his panic attacks and hallucinations absolutely would have showed up on the fMRI, no one will listen to the therapist who actually does have some insight into what's happening, etc.).

Second, repetitive mysterious scenes with jarring imagery is SUCH an exhausted trope. Unsettling music combined with sudden flashes of blood and shaking cameras are not storytelling. It's atmospheric tone setting and using it as exposition and thinking audiences will swallow that is insulting. I'm so annoyed by the wasted potential of this show I can't even write about it clearly because I'm too flabbergasted at how stupid this all is. I don't even want to finish this review, same way I didn't want to finish this disappointing cliché of a series.

A group of people trying to social distance in a luxurious Italian Villa find themselves at odds with their own desires. The ensemble cast and farcical comedic styling makes this a fun show to watch. The dramatic elements that are woven in aren't always given proper attention. Not having read the source material I can't speak to what others have said about it not being like the book, however, it is full of resonant themes all people can relate to. Themes like love, friendship, betrayal, jealousy, lust, religious oppression, class differences and wealth inequality, oh and plague.

In the course of the series there are many twists and turns, and while the themes are serious, they're handled with darkly comedic flair. Most of the show is fun to watch, but there are a few times where I found myself cringing. Some of the acting feels out of place at times, incongruent and frustratingly one-dimensional. This is not to say there are bad actors in the cast. On the contrary, this is a talented and seasoned group of actors, reminiscent of a theatrical troupe. I wonder if it is more that the direction and choices are not always consistent with the balancing of comedy and drama that the series seems to be reaching for. All in all I enjoyed this, and would watch it again.

Several people have mentioned that the negative reviews are from people too dense or too uneducated to see this series as anything but brilliant. That's an uneducated take in itself. It is possible to both understand the satirical narrative of the series and its winking lambasting of geopolitics, political theatre, and the delicate dance of those who keep the powerful in power, and still find it unpalatable.

It's not a bad series; the acting and cast are fantastic, and there is an interesting story being told. But it's buried beneath so many layers of mismatched cinematic styles, jaunty musical score, and washed out color palettes that the effect was like a confusing mishmash of distinct film styles like Expressionism, Film Noir, and Postmodernism. Each of these styles are great on their own, and perhaps there is a new genre of television being formed in the making of The Regime. It's promising, it's bold, but was ultimately too distracting for me to get lost in the narrative.

I'm glad to see the Navajo People represented in the mainstream. I grew up next to the Navajo Reservation and am familiar with the people, the culture, and the issues that affect the Diné people on the Reservation. Diné values include K'é (family), hózhó (harmony/balance), and ceremonies that celebrate mental, physical, and spiritual wellbeing. This doc takes until episode 2 before it points out some of the serious gaps in leadership at the Navajo Police Training Academy, which appear at odds with the traditional Navajo values of balance and harmony.

At one point, a training officer is lecturing the recruits on the impact of domestic abuse and generational trauma, citing the mental, emotional, economic, and physical impacts. This is juxtaposed next to scenes of the trainers themselves shaming, humiliating, discouraging, and belittling their own recruits. It's important to train first responders to get used to stress, but the Academy's heavily discouraging approach from day one focuses on how so many will fail, emphasizes how weak and "mental" they are for showing discomfort, and seems to be pushing out the recruits they so desperately need.

The Navajo Nation is a close-knit community who rely on the values of K'é and Hózhó to keep them grounded to their culture. They're aware of how the loss of their culture has led to many of the problems faced by people still trying to survive on the Reservation. However, the way the academy operates, it seems like there is a notable lack of support to succeed. I'm not even sure what the Academy's values are, except that it's difficult and important to be in control of yourself. At no point did I notice any of the trainers offer helpful advice on how to self-regulate during stressful exercises, how to breathe correctly to control your fear, how to feel feelings without allowing it to control you; instead it was constant put-downs and admonishment for these young people trying their level-best to live up the the impossible expectations set before them.

There's an attempt to tie community values into the training, but the Academy is clearly needing more of its own balance if it's to see its graduating officer numbers rise to the level of need on the Navajo Reservation.

Shining Vale is an offbeat horror comedy series that's the perfect mix of spooky and silly. It's like The Shining meets American Horror Story meets Beetlejuice. Courtney Cox and Greg Kinnear play Pat and Terry Phelps, a dysfunctional couple trying to reconcile after Pat's recent infidelity. The family relocates to a remote house in Connecticut with their two teenage kids, Jake and Gaynor, played by the talented Dylan Gage and Gus Birney. It's not long after arriving that Pat is seeing ghosts and things begin to go haywire. The series takes until episode 2 or 3 before it finds its momentum, and then it's full speed ahead with quick dialogue, sharp one-liners, and some fantastic roles by the incredible Judith Light, Alysia Reiner, and Mira Sorvino. Shining Vale is exactly the type of fun horror comedy series that's been missing from television.

Phrogging: Hider in My House is a tense, unsettling series featuring stories of real people who found strangers living in their homes. Each episode features a different family or group of friends telling their story of how they came to discover there was an uninvited stranger fully infiltrating and invading peoples' homes. The episodes are edited to juxtapose first-hand accounts with actors doing dramatic reenactments. It's an engaging way to tell a story. The series' tone is well-balanced and does a good job of emphasizing the seriousness of the story without being overly-dramatic. The people and stories featured in each episode are all unique in their own way, so it never really feels repetitive, even though each one ends in a similar fashion. It's an easy watch with the right blend of suspense and tension perfectly timed for creepy Halloween binges.

Dear Child has an interesting premise and lots of intriguing storytelling elements. Abduction, Stockholm Syndrome, parenting. There are familiar themes and a crime-element that sets this series up to be something really special. Unfortunately I began to feel around the 3rd episode that nothing was happening to actually tie in the plot points in a way that moved the story forward. This is frustrating considering the series had a great cast and good dialogue. However, so many threads were abandoned and I found myself fast-forwarding through several scenes in an attempt to find some substance. Much of the story felt like filler, and many of the leading or intriguing aspects were completely abandoned. It felt like someone started out writing this with a real direction and narrative focus, then got distracted or rushed and had to piece together some loosely-related plot points to make something resembling a coherent ending.

DO NOT expect questions to be answered, do not expect characters to react in intelligent or realistic ways, and especially don't hope for any of the "mystery" to lead to a logical or satisfying conclusion. In all this is a series that could have been a decent 75-minute movie of the week.

Miriam Margolyes: Almost Australian is a charming series about connection, culture, and country. Miriam is a delightfully no-nonsense woman who does not shy away from sharing her opinions. This personality type is understandably not universally-appealing but I find her authenticity extremely refreshing. Miriam has the moxie of a New Yorker and the refined speech of a Proper British Lady. In short, I was charmed. The stories of the people Miriam connects with on her travels are the heart of this docu-travel series. The audience travels with her as she forges meaningful bonds with various communities. She interviews many people from many different walks of life and always keeps and open mind and kind heart. The message is simple, maybe even at times reductive. However, this is an easy bump to navigate through the 3 episodes because of the level of genuine connection and engagement Miriam is engaging with the real people she meets along her journey. Finally, I was having a bad day today and watching this series helped make it just a little bit better. Overall score 8/10, highly recommend.

As a fan of the comic, the tv adaptation of Strange Planet is not exactly the same as the source material, but that doesn't mean it's less creatively valid. In fact, the series adds layers of depth and nuance to Nathan Pyle's characters that is indelibly charming and comforting. That warmth is not subtle, it's intentional. It's the series' heart-on-its-sleeve approach that adds an emotional depth and dimension that's filling a certain entertainment gap. There are so many lonely people in the world, and Strange Planet is about connection. Shows like Community are hungered-after cult classics for a reason. Hopefully Strange Planet is allowed to stick around long enough to make a similar impact.