belaidinazim-57060's Reviews

Whisper of the Heart (1995)

9/10

A movie that looks at life itself as a magical dream. And it masterfully succeeds.

27 March 2024

"Whisper of the Heart" looks and feels like it's directed by hayao Miyazaki but the actual Director is Yoshifumi Kondo. The movie is a poignant and enchanting coming-of-age film that beautifully captures the essence of adolescence, creativity, and self-discovery. I guess that's enough for you to go watch the movie or enough for you to jump from this review to another review or to just go scroll on Instagram. But if it's not enough and you want get deeper like I tend to do. Let's go deeper.

The first 45 min is basically shizuku going to school, picking up a book from the library, doing random things at home, following a cat just because she is curious where she goes, Basically just mundane stuff in life. That might be boring for some people, but I found it relaxing and therapeutic in a lot of ways. It allows you to breath and appreciate the little stuff in life that we might be taking for granted.

And then in the second half of the movie once we know the character superficially, we start going deeper to discover Shizuku's internal struggles, fears, and aspirations which are portrayed with remarkable depth, allowing us to empathize with her journey of self-realization. Through her experiences, the film explores universal themes such as the pursuit of dreams, the importance of perseverance, and the power of imagination. What make this movie feel sincere and authentic is that it does encourage you to follow your passion, but without shying away of the amount of time and hard work needed to achieve those dreams. Also the fact that that specific dream may not be reached. But at least you went through the journey. It especially hits home cause before deciding to go pursue that dream, our heroine struggles to realize what's her dream and what's her hidden talent and what if she doesn't have a talent at all and most importantly what if she fails. That feeling when you ask yourself, am I wasting my time? Can I do this? Every single human went through this whether you're 15 years old and confused on what you should do or 50 years old and wondering if you did the right thing back then. I'm 22 so I fall in between and it did pull on my heart strings.

The romance story was great and didn't feel rushed even though it developed super quickly. It adds the component of love that is needed for achieving everything above. Because without it, none of those things matter anyway.

Visually, "Whisper of the Heart" is a feast for the eyes, with stunning animation that brings its world to life. From the bustling streets of Tokyo to the serene landscapes of the countryside, every frame is filled with rich detail and vibrant colors that screams hand drawn animation but somehow The film's meticulous attention to detail, particularly in it's backgrounds made me feel I'm back in japan.

Complementing the visual splendor is the film's evocative score, composed by Yuji Nomi. It enhances the emotional impact of key moments and not so key moments. I was melting through it all.

In conclusion the film left a lasting impression on me and will continue to do so for a long time.

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The Americans: Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow (2016)

Season 4, Episode 3

8/10

Navigating moral ambiguity

27 March 2024

Warning: Spoilers

The episode delves into the intricate web of relationships and decisions faced by the characters, particularly Philip and Elizabeth. The tension escalates as their daughter Paige inadvertently reveals their secret to Pastor Tim, prompting a precarious situation where their identities could be exposed.

Throughout the episode, the Jennings grapple with the dilemma of whether to run back to Russia or stay and face the consequences of their actions. This internal conflict is further complicated by external pressures, such as Gabriel's deteriorating health due to exposure to a deadly pathogen they had retrieved earlier.

As Gabriel's condition worsens, Philip reflects on their predicament, stating, "Two kids who don't know anyone, don't know the language. What about us. Everything we've built here. Our work. Those things matter." Both of them theoretically want stay, one for the service and one for the life he built in the case of Philip. But it's getting dangerous so The tension is palpable as they weigh their options and confront the possibility of betraying their country or abandoning their lives in America.

Obviously they aren't going nowhere cause if they go to Russia, the show is over. But it will be interesting to see how they solve this issue.

The inclusion of personal moments, such as Elizabeth's growing friendship with Young Hee whether she really likes her or not remains uncertain. You can never read Elizabeth and it also remains unclear what's the use of that relationship. I guess they are setting it up for the future.

The emotional state of Paige or her character in general doesn't matter to me much right now cause the stakes are too high.

This is a good episode that skillfully combines suspenseful storytelling with nuanced character exploration, setting the stage for further developments and escalating tensions in the ongoing conflict between duty and personal loyalty.

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The Sopranos: Marco Polo (2004)

Season 5, Episode 8

9/10

Navigating tension

24 February 2024

Warning: Spoilers

Tensions rise as Carmela excludes Tony from a birthday party, prompting his simmering anger. Despite her urging, Tony resists returning to therapy, deflecting by pointing out Carmela's own therapy sessions. The reference to Moses wearing shorts humorously illustrates the characters' long history. Meanwhile, Steve Buscemi's character desires a bigger role, but Tony resists, leading to friction. The episode explores themes of loyalty, power dynamics, and familial pressures, culminating in a dramatic turn as Buscemi's character succumbs to financial desperation, mirroring Tony's own struggles with his children. In addition to the complex interplay of relationships and power dynamics, the episode features a pivotal scene where Tony's mother criticizes him, which unexpectedly leads to a moment of intimacy between them in the pool. This scene underscores the tangled web of emotions and desires within the Soprano family, adding another layer of complexity to the narrative.

The intricate plot weaves together personal conflicts and larger themes of mortality and ambition, making for a compelling and nuanced installment in the series.

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Castle: Ghosts (2009)

Season 1, Episode 8

9/10

one of the best crime cases i have seen in castle or otherwise

24 January 2023

Warning: Spoilers

Usually in shows like these that have this one case per episode formula, I rarely am interested in the case itself even though I try to pay attention. So, I only end up caring about the characters interactions and development. But this one is different. It has got terrorism even though it was 20 years ago, the implication of it on the victims and people who has nothing to do with the crime itself. The fact that we were led to believe that Cynthia is the one who gave the money to the family made the reveal that Susan is still alive and is the one who is giving money to them really surprising. What's more surprising though was the fact that lee wax the writer was the one manipulating all of this without putting her hand in the dirt was fascinating. She was asking people left and right and deliberately telling them that she was writing Cynthia's memoir. In some ways she sped up the process of Cynthia's killing just to be able to write a true crime book instead of a memoir to increase sales. It's like castle said, it isn't a crime but it's petty.

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Taxi Driver: Mr. Wang And Madam Lim (2021)

Season 1, Episode 10

9/10

one of the best fillers i have ever seen

22 January 2023

Warning: Spoilers

I usually give an episode a rating of 9 because it had some major reveals, huge action scenes, outstanding character development or emotional breakdowns. In this case though, this episode feels like a filler, but it was super fun. I couldn't stop laughing.

The episode begins with Go-Eun and Do-Ki doing their research on just who these ringleaders in charge of the voice phishing scam are. Well, it's fronted by our Edna lookalike Lim Bok Ja. By day it's a voice phishing scam, by night she runs a gambling den. That's how these guys are making so much money.

The plan to bring them down is complex and risky, but as expected they pull it off successfully. What impressed me is that this time Jin-eon is also involved, they are also being watched closely by the prosecutor. So, they needed Do-Ki to be at the top of his game. And boy did he ever. He did a great job to the point you don't blame this woman for falling for him. It's precisely what was needed to teach her a lesson and the episode does a wonderful job portraying that. I also liked the fact that they were targeting money instead of people in this situation which shows they can be flexible and do whatever they need to. I feel like this is the last one episode case we have in this show. It's time to pick up the pace, I hope it goes well.

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Taxi Driver: The Vacation Home (2021)

Season 1, Episode 8

9/10

the best episode of taxi driver so far

21 January 2023

Warning: Spoilers

We return to the car chase, with U Data's men ramming into Ha-Na's car from either side. Do-Ki takes out one of the cars, driving in front of a forklift and suddenly moving at the last second so it crashes. The other, Do-Ki does a 180 turn and flashes his headlights on full-beam at both cars. Reversing, he obstructs their view so the Chairman's men can't kill Ha-Na and subsequently crash into roadworks. That was a great car chase, but now Ha-Na knows that the same taxi she is trying to catch, saved her but she doesn't know it's Do-Ki because she lost him before. So, she assumes it's another guy which buys him more time for now.

Do-Ki next heads up to Chairman Park's estate with Jin-Won. Events escalate quickly. Park pours a drink straight over Do-Kis head and then asks him to shoot an arrow Jin-Ho who is tied down, of course he doesn't shoot him, so he ends up tied too even though he could have just beat them to death, but his priority is finding the data mine so he can delete the videos. Well, that results in multiple blows to the chest with a baseball bat. Fortunately, he is strong enough to withstand it until Go-Eun wakes up from this emotional collapse and uncover the source of the signal by mass-broadcasting her sister's video, which was shocking. I mean she was just hiding in her room an hour ago. Well, desperate situations require desperate measures. Then, Do-Ki breaks free of his binds, smacks Chairman Park in the face, and then taking all the guards who stand in his way in an epic one-shot action scene. It looked like oldboy famous scene but this one is much shorter and less brutal. But still, it's a great scene. With the deed done and the police inbound, the group head off and leave the police to mop up what's left. When Ha-Na arrives with her officers, she finds the place a complete mess. The ground is carpeted with knocked out guards writhing in pain.

Meanwhile, the countdown begins, and the shed explodes, sending Ha-Na flying across the ground and Park literally just wanted to die so he stayed in there and died. A great episode and the best so far with a fitting finale to this long case. They left us a question though about Sung-Chul's wellbeing when we saw a brief flash of him on the floor wounded. We will see how they follow it up.

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Flower of Evil: My Dad Tried To Kill Me (2020)

Season 1, Episode 1

9/10

dark story i haven't seen before

20 January 2023

Warning: Spoilers

Flower Of Evil wastes little time in episode 1 setting the tone and mood. This is a dark, deliciously twisted murder mystery that puts its murderer front and center for all to see.

We catch up with Ji-Won and Hee-Sung who look like they are in love and with a little girl called Eun-Ha. Together, they invite their in-laws over to celebrate Hee-Sung's birthday. The meeting though was uncomfortable, to say the least. We discover she's a detective after They call her dumb for not suspecting anything, and it soon becomes apparent that Hee-Sung is involved in something dark.

We follow the case of this boy who was found unconscious with a serious head injury. And the first thing he does is blaming his dead for this, and then we see him doing it which makes us wonder, what's the problem here? Is it just a search for evidence or what. The questioning of his father gave us another version of this story. He looks like he is lying but the doubt sneaked up our mail lead brain, so automatically we doubt him too.

Meanwhile, Hee-Sung drops his girl off at school and heads over to see his Mum. He encourages her to sever ties with her daughter-in-law, claiming it to be safer this way. He reminds her she's unable to keep up the same facade he can because apparently he is a way better actor literally and figuratively.

Back at the case where we get an explanation to why the kid wanted his dad to be gone. We cut back in time and see that Sang-Jin was drugging Ae-Young to prevent her from being so suspicious of his affair, Which was a nice reveal. We also notice Ji-Won wondering whether she didn't know that he was giving her pills to forget, or she knew but just didn't want the sour taste of reality. Which is obviously a main theme the show will discuss going forward.

When Moo-Jin arrives at the Metal Works, things quickly go awry. It turns out he knows Hee-Sung's true identity and his real name is actually Hyun-Soo. As tensions rise between the two. It turns out they grew up on the same neighbourhood together but Moo-Jin is clearly nervous. A murder occurred 18 years ago and eventually the reporter asks the one question that's been bothering him, especially given the murder weapon was found in his backpack, "Was he involved in that murder?". After a nice dialogue, Hee-sung makes his move, ties him up and leaves him in his workshop alone. The question we are all asking is what is he going to do with him? Kill him? If he wanted to do that, he would have done it already. A lot of questions to be answered which is kind necessary for a successful crime mystery show. We will see if it lives up to the hype.

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Halt and Catch Fire: I/O (2014)

Season 1, Episode 1

9/10

a lot of potential i feel it will pay off

8 January 2023

Warning: Spoilers

Joe heads to a lecture on computer engineering where he meets hotblooded woman Cameron Howe who stands out in the crowd because of her knowledge and partly her look. He wants to hire her for this crazy revolutionary project which looks normal now but, in the 1980s it was like some lunatics saying a bunch of nonsense. So, he does this weird thing, he tries to have sex with her and then in the middle of it, he tells her that this doesn't mean you get the job. So then of course she gets upset and refuses him even though it's clear this character is a main lead. That means she is going to accept in the end of episode even though this time it costs a little more.

Joe takes Gordon with him to a sales dinner, where he hard-sells a pack of industry honchos, he says"You've made just enough safe choices to stay alive, but not enough to matter. You can be more." It seems cliche but the way he said it was so powerful. Gordon was looking at him inspired but, even with that when joe presents plan to him, he is still having doubts because his confidence has been depleted from failed tech ventures and a struggling marriage. Gordon finally agrees and follows his passion. He does something that looks impressive in his garage even though I have no idea what he was doing. Then Joe called to inform IBM that he has reverse-engineered the company's PC which was a surprising move at least for me. Obviously, IBM threatens legal action, and Cardiff Electric says Joe and Gordon's copy-cat computer must be legitimized under the Cardiff banner apparently just like joe wanted. He did say he would force their hand, but I didn't expect it to be this early. We also notice that Gordon's marriage is going to be an important facet of the show because it affects heavily on Gordon's ability to perform. We end the episode by a badass entry to IBM executives and lawyers which was a perfect way to end the pilot.

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Lucifer: Everything's Okay (2019)

Season 4, Episode 1

9/10

strong start that sets a new path

5 January 2023

Warning: Spoilers

The centerpiece of the episode features a painful examination of the agony Lucifer experiences over not knowing how Chloe feels about the long awaited reveal of his true appearance. He usually worries too much, but in this case, he should be worried, because this isn't a reveal you can take easily and just move on in life. Chloe returns and while she says that she is fine, she obviously isn't. So, lucifer is in an emotional distress trying to figure out what's going on, he thinks she is in denial until she cringes at his touch, the seriousness of their fragile relationship strikes hard. So hard, in fact he went to consult the last man he should have asked. Especially that dan is still grieving charlotte's death. So, he tells lucifer that it does mean she hates you. That was the worst answer he had expected, which shocked him. Of course, Chloe doesn't hate him; she's afraid of him, and who can blame her. I am still afraid of him in some situations.

Amenadiel wrestles with a crisis of his own, decides that he enjoys living among humans on Earth, and plans to make Los Angeles his home. Obviously, his time on Earth has changed him just as it has changed his brother and Maze. Mazikeen is, in many ways, more frightening than Lucifer. A fact which makes her a bigger threat to Chloe. So, you can't blame her for keeping Trixie from her. We still get a reunion scene with Trixie so delightful when they cross paths at the station. Mazikeen's assassin persona just melts when that happens.

The final scene lays the groundwork for the direction it appears the story will take as Chloe enters a church and meets a priest who tells her "we knew this path would be difficult, Chloe," leaving viewers dissect the gravity of that realization. Has this priest manipulated her into believing she has a higher purpose, and that taking down the Devil is the best thing for everyone on Earth, including Lucifer? I don't know the answer to that question. But I am certainly eager to know that.

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Gentleman Jack: Most Women Are Dull and Stupid (2019)

Season 1, Episode 4

9/10

huge reveal that may change the entire storyline

5 January 2023

Warning: Spoilers

We start with Miss Walker's aunt, who walked in on Anne Lister and Ann Walker in the room. After telling her husband what she saw, she reveals that she can't follow his instruction to keep that information to herself, because she's already told everyone she knows. For the first time, real-world stakes are established, as it is mentioned that a few weeks back, two gay men were hanged in a town square nearby. Yes, Anne and Ann could lose their lives for for this.

We see Anne get some support from her dad and sister for her potential live-in union with Miss Walker,we also see Anne's snobbish side weaken as she has a compassionate conversation with her footman about his recently canceled engagement, she discovers that her maid had a miscarriage. It's unusual to see Anne giving and receiving kindness, but considering that she was in an emotional disarray, That wasn't really surprising. We empathize with her footman even though I don't understand how he loved her without even being able to talk to her.

The Rossen brothers have an awesome mom who makes fun of them and has s much charisma. I really hope we see more of her. There's this scene where a 6-year-old boy drives Anne in a cart through a coal mine, and it illustrates the brutal conditions the poor people have to deal with, that does show clearly on Ann's reaction.

Then the last 10 minutes come which were so powerful. We discover that Miss Walker is living with PTSD from a history of sexual assault.

She says that she feels an obligation to marry her friend's recently widowed husband, who repeatedly forced himself on her. She is sick over the idea of telling Anne why she feels that obligation, and she blames herself for not being strong enough to repel her attacker, even while saying she told him no. She also feels unsure of whether she somehow consented just by existing in his home. Anne is clearly shocked and doesn't really know how to react. The show makes clear that Anne Lister will somehow be avenging or assisting Ann Walker in dealing with her rapist going forward after that final stare at the camera. We shall see in the next episodes.

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Doctor Prisoner: Episode #1.1 (2019)

Season 1, Episode 1

10/10

Great start to a very promising show

29 December 2022

Warning: Spoilers

This episode first shows us our main male lead getting a pretty bad criminal out of jail using a fake illness. That was kind a show to keep us watching and show us his skill in the same time. We go then to the past to see what really triggered him to do this. We notice that he did some illegal things that may get him in trouble, but it's either he is kind forced to do it or that he did it for good moral reasons like treating people for free. We also see the other side of the story where this rich guy is acting crazy and causes an accident that takes a couple's life whom Na Yi Je knew. Even though Lee ja Hwan was the one targeted, maybe they need to get rid of him in this big family power struggle. All of this caused deep wounds emotionally to Na Yi Je and he also ended up in jail for a short time because they accused him of malpractice. So, the revenge story starts by our main lead applying for a job in a particular prison which has employees that looks dirty themselves. Why is he doing that? It's a mystery for now. We finish the episode by another car crash maybe we call this one a bus crush in what it looked like an escape attempt but all of a sudden Na Ji Ye shows up. What is he doing there? How did he know the time of this? What's his plan? All of these questions will be answered in the next few episodes.

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Hyena: Episode #1.1 (2020)

Season 1, Episode 1

10/10

a masterpiece i didn't see coming

14 December 2022

Warning: Spoilers

I started the show not really knowing much about it. All i knew is that it's about lawyers, i heard so much praise about it, and i didn't watch anything of Kim Hye-su yet so i gave it a shot. It started like most Korean dramas start. Introduction of the male lead character and then usually after that the female lead, but they didn't So, i thought they would do that through the romance, but an odd thing happens the relationship is moving fast, multiple jumps. That should have been a slap to my face to know what's happening, but i kept sleeping on it, then boom the shock. She did all of this just to win a case, that was just mind-blowing especially when they showed the details of the process. You want an introduction to this crazy female lead, here it is. On the other side, Yoon Hee really loved this woman. So, it came as maybe the biggest shock of his life, he just lost a case that could have been a game changer for him, he also lost what could have been the love of his life. And as a cheery on top he was humiliated maybe for the first time in his life, because they were showing us all these smart badass moments of him. Well it seems like he has a beast to compete with now, and i can't wait to see that.

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The Americans: Covert War (2013)

Season 1, Episode 11

9/10

finally i am sure they love each other

14 December 2022

Warning: Spoilers

General Zhukov is killed by the Americans which strike a personal chord foe Elizabeth, because he literally taught her everything in life like we saw in this episode. So, she wanted revenge, but they won't allow her on the excuse that it's time to stop bloodshed for the moment. Elizabeth didn't listen and wants to kill him anyway. It's one of those situations that you know she will plan to do it but doesn't pull the trigger because of the consequences of that if it happens. They used this incident to dig deeper in Elizabeth past and beliefs, as they show us flashbacks of Zhukov teaching her what love is. I think that part is the best part of the episode. Zhukov tells her that he loves his dog even though the dog can't communicate, why is that it's because he took care of him, and the dog took care of him in his own way. Which brings the mental issues Elizabeth was dealing with to surface especially after the conversation with the American. The questions she is asking are: do you love anybody? Does anybody love you? Do you love Philip just because you took care of each other all these years despite all of what happened before? The answer to the question (do they love each other?) is clearly yes. I had doubts but this episode clears it out for me, we see Philip literally risking his life for a reckless thing that wasn't an order, we also notice that Elizabeth wants Philip back home badly, she is trying to think it's a kids thing, but its not. We had this mini twist when they reveal to us that Claudia wanted Elizabeth to kill the American not the opposite because she had some kind of a relationship with him. That should be interesting moving forward if she stays with us.

Overall great episode that builds the momentum for something greater.

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The Americans: Trust Me (2013)

Season 1, Episode 6

9/10

extreme actions from both sides

11 December 2022

Warning: Spoilers

Philip and Elizabeth kidnapped at the beginning of the episode. They try to make us believe that the Americans may be doing this, but it's obvious that their allies are the kidnappers for two reasons, we know they are searching for a mole, so it makes sense to suspect them, plus only Russians knows their identity. The surprising thing though is that Philip and Elizabeth didn't suspect them, so they were shocked and reacted badly. Elizabeth just beat Claudia, I was afraid she might kill her, fortunately she didn't, because that would be a huge problem. Philip concludes that Elizabeth told them he was hesitating, which troubles the relationship even more. The logic thing is that they forget the past and start fresh, but since when humans follow logic.

The interesting part of the episode isn't Elizabeth side. It really is stan and Nina side. Stan tries to set up Vasili and makes it look like he is the mole in an incredible setup, a little risky because he needed to call the Russian office, plant diamonds into Vasili and have Nina photograph classified files, but it came to fruition. As a result of that Nina is safe for now. We also noticed the amount of joy stan had when he succeeded, that just proves my theory that Stan is starting to love Nina. We will see how that turns out.

The last part worth mentioning is the fact that the kids had a scare when they tried to get a ride from an unknown, they got away with it. They kept it a secret but I expect it to pop out at some time in the future.

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The Americans: Comint (2013)

Season 1, Episode 5

9/10

emotional distress from everybody

9 December 2022

Warning: Spoilers

Elizabeth seduces an asset to gather an intel, but she ends up beaten with a belt. She kept her cool which is impressive because I wanted to beat this man myself. When Philip knew about this, well he didn't keep his cool, which resulted in a clash between him and Elizabeth. She says that he isn't her dad, and he says, "you're my wife". Obviously, this is as a tough of a situation between couple as it gets, normally this isn't a debate, but we are talking about KGB here, they use sex all the time to get information, and sometimes these things happen. However, even though they know that. Philip also knows that she could have killed him if she wanted, it still causes and will cause more psychological problems. It is a messed-up situation that even us as viewers don't know the solution, that's why I think this relationship may be the most interesting in all tv shows I watched.

Meanwhile, an agent crumbles under emotional distress and threatens to topple a valuable network of KGB informants. I won't bother you with that story because it was obvious they are going to kill him, they made it pretty clear in the previous episodes that anyone who threatens their exposure will be killed.

On the other hand, Stan is clearly getting emotional with his informant when he said "you're a beautiful smart.... woman", he also felt so much guilt when he found out she used sex to get the information, that relationship should be interesting too. All of this led to KBG realizing that there is a mole inside, but they don't know who, which will bring doubts all over the place including Elizabeth and Philip.

Too many layers to this show. So, I am so excited for the rest of the show.

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The Americans: The Clock (2013)

Season 1, Episode 2

9/10

pressure mounting fast causes extreme actions

8 December 2022

Warning: Spoilers

This episode focuses on a close to impossible mission which requires from Elizabeth and Philip to take risks they might have not taken before by asking a woman they know nothing about to put a bug in defense secretary office. Yes, they poisoned her kid, but still if she tells the cops or the secretary, they are basically screwed. So, we passed the whole episodes afraid that something bad will happen, especially in the end when she just refused to do it, even though her son is going to die. And btw she had an outstanding performance, I really felt for her. We won't see her after this episode, but still she impressed me. For this to get done Philip was ready to kill the boy even before the poison kills him, that just proves how desperate they are. The writer invested some minutes on kids issues, I don't care right now, but I am sure it will be important in the future.

On the other side, we see stan's violent side when he took information from a guy and took information as extra. He also could scare a Russian agent into flipping to Americans side, that proved how much skill he got. It also gave him appreciation form his colleagues.

As a conclusion, interesting episode that results in both sides gaining something big.

We will see what happens next.

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The Americans: Pilot (2013)

Season 1, Episode 1

10/10

strong character development in the pilot!!!, as strong of a start as it gets.

8 December 2022

Warning: Spoilers

Pilot is a great episode. It surprised me because it started a little slow in the first 20 min, a lot of confusion about who is who. But once it settles down, it flies and blows you away.

The episode starts by our main characters kidnapping a guy who turns out to be a Russian traitor which helps us realize that they are Russian KGB agents. And in the mist of that mess, we discover that the agent assigned to their case is their neighbor, which complicates things even more.

Let's take a step back to the opening scene when we see Elizabeth using sex to get information, which tells us that this character can and will do anything to accomplish the mission, we see afterwards that she want kill this Russian defector so badly because he raped her years ago, But she didn't tell Philip, which makes us wonder the kind of relationship they have, especially after he kissed her afterwards, and she stopped him, he also said "you are my wife", which makes us conclude that they are just couples on the outside even after years. There were other layers to the story, mainly Philip feeling the possibility of betraying Russia and running away, especially that he is feeling the pressure from his neighbor who gave him a scare when he asked to join him exactly where the defector was held, but that was dealt with quietly. And then he finally approached the idea to Elizabeth who has been suspecting him all time long, but she just laughed at him, and slapped him once the conversation got tense. Then the biggest moment of the episode in my opinion came when Philip killed the traitor as soon as he knew about the rape incident which surprised me and especially Elizabeth, when you consider the fact that he was his way to get out of this situation. As a result of that she felt like he really cares about her. So, they finally have sex as soon as they dispose of the body, she also tells him personal stuff about her before she became an agent, which is apparently illegal. All this character development was in the pilot which is crazy for me.

We finish by one of the most suspenseful scenes in recent memory. Stan gets suspicious and breaks in and checks the car. We knew the body isn't there anymore, but there was a scene before that when Elizabeth was cleaning it, but it appears that she didn't finish, which kept me on the edge of my seat. Great writing trick btw. The scene ended when we realized that Philip was there, that was just the icing on the cake.

I expected a great show because I am late. However, this pilot raised my expectations even higher. I hope it meets them.

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Anne with an E: Your Will Shall Decide Your Destiny (2017)

Season 1, Episode 1

10/10

couldn't have been a better start to this show

7 December 2022

Warning: Spoilers

I had no intention of watching this show, at least not at this moment, because I am watching a lot of historical dramas already in the likes of downtown abbey, deadwood, gentleman jack and others. However, my sister kept saying that I should watch it and I would love it. So, I started watching it. It's not like I am a fan of binge watching anyway. And what a delightful surprise. Just 10 minutes in, I was hooked.

The emphasis of this show or at least the pilot is the character Anne, who has blown me away for a whole 90 min. Her imagination, mental struggles, hopefulness at times, despair at other times and eloquence in the choice of words makes you just want to sit there and listen to what she has to say. Despite that its usually the opposite in real life, no body want to hear someone talk forever.

The story starts by a scene where Matthew picks her up and takes her home even though he and his sister wanted a boy not a girl, but he doesn't tell her that. So, she is living this dream where she is finally adopted, but the reality crushes in when they finally arrived and we start seeing the struggles she had to live in when she was younger, she feels denied and rejected from everyone. And then after that we see a series of events that show us even more of the electricity she brings. That made Matthew and Marilla more sympathetic towards her, which convinced them to keep her, but towards the climax of the episode, Marilla lost a valuable thing, and she couldn't resist but to blame Anne. You can't blame her really, she is human.

And then we see how Anne's imagination worked against her, because instead of sticking with the truth. She imagined that she lost it in the river and said it in a way even we believed her. And then Marilla got too emotional she lost logic and sent her back to the orphanage. All that happened in an epic scene where Geraldine James acting was phenomenal.

They left us with a cliffhanger. Will it be too late to get her back? Of course not, we are still in the first episode.

Overall, great start to the show.

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Ozark: Game Day (2018)

Season 2, Episode 5

10/10

The break of trust

5 December 2022

Warning: Spoilers

We see in this episode that agent petty finally have something that enables him to search Marty's house which creates stress all over the place. Petty makes the most out of this situation and tells Marty that Ruth tried to kill him before, that was the domino that breaks all other dominos. Why is that? It's because that will break the trust in Ruth which breaks the cartel Confidence in her as well. So, they torture her to know if she is told anything to the FBI of course she didn't, that was just a setup by the agent. All of this resulted in doubt in everybody's intentions which is a big vulnerability.

On the other hand. Buddy tells a story that I think its one of the best I have heard.

Buddy Dieker: There was a French writer, long time ago - I can't remember his name. Well, I can't remember anybody's name. Anyway, he was old, for those days, and very sick, lungs and ticker all going, and he was stuck in bed. Now, this guy's a loner all his life. But he tells the lady taking care of him that he wants to see his friends, say goodbye. So, she sends out word, and all his friends come to his little hovel, gather around his deathbed, telling stories. And you know what happens?

Wendy Byrde: What happens?

Buddy Dieker: He doesn't die Buddy Dieker: And then after a couple days, the friends, well, they leave. They have lives. And then he dies. Sad, but sweet. Because, when you think you're gonna die yesterday, today is *sweet*. So, hang in, Wendy. Lose it tomorrow. Today's no day to fall apart.

And then he pushes Wendy to take action without the approval of Marty she tries to give Darlene a kid and allows buddy to burn those drug crops by himself. Which may cause a lot of problems going forward. Overall great episode that I expect it to open new grounds in the show.

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Gentleman Jack: I Just Went There to Study Anatomy (2019)

Season 1, Episode 2

10/10

This might be the most important episode in the show

5 November 2022

Warning: Spoilers

Most of this episode we see Anne seducing Ann and trying to break that thick barrier and oh boy did she do a good job at it. Her charm is unmatched. But still it isn't easy in this Era, and that was clear in the last season when she went to the wedding and she talked with her previous lover. And what she said did ring a bell on her mind l. She said "you know I am fond of you but I am just not like that" meaning She isn't a lesbian or at least she won't admit it. On the other end of the story, she is starting to put her hand on this coal business. She asked for a high price, but I have got a feeling that just because she is a woman, they will call her bluff and she will do it herself. That would be more interesting anyway. So far great writing, great acting from the leading actress at least and great music that really sets the mood.

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Gentleman Jack: I Was Just Passing (2019)

Season 1, Episode 1

10/10

One of the best pilots I have seen

5 November 2022

Warning: Spoilers

This episode is an hour introduction of this phenomenal character Anne Lister played by Suranne Jones. From the first glance it looks like this character is the whole show. We start by hearing things about her, and then she shows up riding a caravan which she shouldn't do, because she is a woman. But she is a lesbian woman who is as natural and free as it gets. She doesn't care about how people look at her. All she cares about is making money and finding a woman that she loves and is willing to go through the hard world with her, because she made it clear, she would never marry a man.

We see through the episode that she misses her previous lover who is going to marry a man as expected. And she started to get tired of that. But overall, she looked strong and sharp she also has a great presence with that amazing costume as we saw when she collected rents, killed the horse, and when she decided to go after the coal business which will be the main storyline in this show. We had also that injury the kid suffered. But I don't know if it would matter going forward.

As a conclusion, this as a great of a start as it gets and I am really excited for what's next.

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Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

8/10

A successful sequel that didn't ruin the classic

28 October 2022

Mary Poppins returns is a sequel to the classic Mary Poppins as the title suggests. If by any chance you don't know the movie or you didn't watch it, then it goes without saying that you need to stop reading this review, and go watch it. This movie was released 54 years after the first Mary Poppins (1964). Which is a lot of times a disaster, but there are exceptions which make us fans of Mary Poppins get excited about it and give it a try with the thought that we wouldn't compare it to the original cause that won't be fair, and I can say that it didn't disappoint.

The story isn't complicated as expected, Mary Poppins returns to basically put the banks family on track again.

Of course, she is going to do that in an uplifting and feel-good atmosphere. The music was great and the songs were creative. I felt like every song is different when it comes to lyrics and the message of it without losing its catchiness.

They did tackle a lot of human issue which felt like they were meant for kids, but they still affect you. Like the song that talks about their loss of their mother and how they can fight through it, and the one that I really liked is the song: don't judge a book by its cover. It really sent an important message without feeling like they are spoon feeding it to you. The acting was good from most actors especially Emily blunt and Lil Manuel Miranda. In my opinion the best of their careers. Meryl Streep was good too, but is that a surprise. The movie isn't perfect of course it has some missteps in the writing, it felt like they were lost and out of sync at times, but they bounce back quickly. It felt like sometimes Mary Poppins is leaving a lot of stuff to Luck instead of acting on it by herself.

As a conclusion, the movie brings creativity without losing what worked in the first place and respected the classic. So, should you watch the movie? Absolutely, especially if you are a fan of Mary Poppins and musicals in general.

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Breaking Bad: Confessions (2013)

Season 5, Episode 11

10/10

The brilliant plan of Walt which forgot that Jesse lost his mind

30 September 2021

Warning: Spoilers

We start the episode by Walter recording a video supposedly confessing but it turns out it's like a threat to hank, creating a perfect story saying that hank is the haisenberg and giving false evidences that seem very true and that's because the crazy good performance by Bryan Cranston, the best of him so far. I nearly believed him, let alone the characters that may receive this video. So that's a bold move from Walt that at least slow down hank investigation, on the other hand Jesse is still lost like he has been all his life, but of course he is a threat so Walt convinces him to leave the town after a long speech, was that coming of love to Jesse or fear of getting caught, that's something I can't tell. However, Jesse discovers that Walt poisoned the kid with the cigarette missing, so he changes his mind and comeback to Saul and beats him. So now we have no idea about what may happen let's just wait and see.

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Breaking Bad: Gliding Over All (2012)

Season 5, Episode 8

10/10

there is no stopping in the crime business

25 September 2021

Warning: Spoilers

After what walt did (killing mike) he finds no way other than killing the other 9. Well, there is another way, keep paying them, but no way he is doing that. So, he hires people who are specialized in killing. Because of that, a massacre happens, and it's shown in such a way that is so enjoyable and still keeps its brutality and inhumanity that demonstrates what the new Walter can do. After that he keeps cooking and keeps getting paid, of course the director didn't show that in regular form, he showed it in fast paced well edited scenes, which are enjoyable and makes us feel that all of this work is useless, especially when we see Walter sitting on the couch not feeling happy at all, so what's the point of all of this. In the end he realized its time to stop, and that's what he did, however the writer Vince Gilligan has other plans. We finish the episode by hank figuring out that walt is Heisenberg, the scene could have been stronger, but its still strong. As a conclusion, this is one of the greatest episodes of breaking bad so far, if not the best.

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Breaking Bad: Say My Name (2012)

Season 5, Episode 7

10/10

no turning back at this point

24 September 2021

Warning: Spoilers

Say my name starts with the famous say my name scene when walt begin a new partnership with this new dealer Declan. I am not going to talk about it. Great badass scene. Everybody talked about it before. What I am going to talk about is what happened after that. Walt not letting jesse go his own way and trying to convince him to stay. But jesse doesn't buy the talk, so walt gets angry and say "ok. So why do you want the money, it's blood money, and you don't want be any part of that" and that's the truest thing he ever said. If you don't want anybody to get killed because of you, then why are you in the drug business in the first place. You can't get it both ways having the money and not killing anybody. So jesse felt like what he was saying is right. He just left.

After that an unexpected thing happened. They caught his stupid lawyer bringing a full bag of money to the bank, of course he turned on him, so mike tries to escape but needs his bag, he finds no body than walt to bring it to him, but walt needed the names of the people he was paying, however mike thinks he is invincible, so he takes the bag and goes, but he forgot something important, walt has changed. Well, that costs him his life. Great ending to a great episode. How is walt going to handle this mess? I don't know, we will see in the next episodes.

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