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American Horror Story: The Future Perfect (2021)
From the reviews I understand American kids are more into vampires than aliens?
But I personally loved both stories and endings of the double feature.
I've always been a fan of the show, and like everyone else I have seasons I like and seasons I don't like
(although my taste seems to be consistently in odds with the consensus. Let's put it this way - Roanoke and Apocalypse are two of my favourite seasons, Hotel, on the other hand, which seems to be very popular, is an example of a season I've never even watched in full),
and I definitely loved this.
I sometimes felt that other seasons drag on and become a bit ridiculous as the writers struggle with fillers and twists, so I thought the 2 stories per season format worked really well.
Also I think it was refreshing to get a bad ending horror story. American horror tends to have happy endings, but personally I find the story tends to leave a far greater emotional impact when the ending is... well, not necessarily bad, but more realistic. The heroine will most likely not beat the serial killer. The monster will not be vanquished by the simple solution nobody thought of until the last moment,
and yes, if an advanced alien species decide to use humans as cattle and take over the earth they will absolutely succeed and our attempts to resist would be adorable at best in their eyes.
Horror should stay with you, leave you with a taste of terror, not make you feel all warm and cuddly as is mostly the case with American horror (with a few exceptions), so in that sense I think the writers took some courageous decisions this season and it worked out well.
Loved all the nods to old horror movies like the original The Thing, the Twilight Zone, and of course the X Files. Actually as someone who grew up on The X Files, I feel like they did something that show never dared - actually showed us the horror of the aliens.
Also loved how they put all idiotic conspiracy theories together and just went with it. The show never loses its dark humour and it's part of what I love about it.
In short, loved both stories, loved the writing, loved the acting as usual and can't wait for more AHS in the future.
The Many Saints of Newark (2021)
Terrific prequal that would make you want to re-watch every episode!
The problem with this is that it doesn't feel like a good gateway to the show. But I guess it's not supposed to be. The creators do tell their story with the assumption that you know these characters and have seen the show.
My feeling is that anyone who hasn't will not find it as enjoyable. Outside of the Sopranos' universe, it's not a bad gangster movie, but there are better.
But if you are a fan, this movie is a real treat! The direction and casting are amazing! The young Gandolfini gives a terrific performance, it's a real tragedy that his father didn't get to see it. We get to see some of our favourite characters being young. Silvio and Polly are hysterical!
You get tons of Easter eggs, revisits to flashbacks we saw in the show but from a different angle, and new details of old stories that give that universe even more depths. Also the mystery of who killed Dicki Moltisanti is revealed. This movie is basically his story, and Tony Soprano is the side character here.
The one criticism I have is that uncle Junior's character seems very thin. I wish we would have gotten more out of him, but most of what we get is just an impression of Dominic Chianese in the part. That's a miss.
Other than that, if you are a Sopranos fan, this is a must see.
Tales from the Loop (2020)
Telling epic tales about normal people
I was so surprised that it didn't have a higher score on IMDB that for the first time ever I signed up just to review it.
let me just say from the start - If your taste is sci-fi is blaster fights, strange aliens and epic battles, that's fine, but this show is not for you. This is not what this show is about. This is a show about people.
Now, first of all I have to start with the fact that it is gorgeous. The designs are beautiful. There are many frames in all episodes that could just as well be a picture you hang on your wall.
It is also well directed, the casting is terrific, and the writing is smart and sensitive.
Sure, they give you all your all time favourite sci-fi tropes, from time travel to body swapping, and if you are a sci-fi fan, you'll probably see all the turns and twists coming a mile away - but that doesn't make it less beautiful or less enjoyable.
As said, this show is not about the gadgets or the weird occurrences. It is about people. Like the old classics were. Above all I kept thinking about The Twilight Zone, the original one from 60s. This is what Rod Serling could have done if he had the technology back then.
I'm pretty split regarding a second season. On one hand I would love to have more of this, but on the other it is so perfect the way it is, I feel like adding anything to it would be diminishment.
In short, wholeheartedly recommend it, although I would admit it might appeal more to the older than 30 crowd and people who like things that are a bit... old school. But extremely modern.