HeartyDragonfruit's Profile
Reviews
July 28, 2024
Great movie with beautiful messages
A great and inspiring movie that is well made - great writing, has well done characters, and a story that is interesting the whole way through. It made us cry and laugh out loud! There are a couple uses of a** and a man's bare backside shown once or twice but not in any sort of suggestive sense (and is played off humorously).
1 person found this helpful.
February 23, 2024
Well done, high quality adaptation
Different story from the animated, but well written. Well made, high quality effects and production design. Aang is a delight, so is Zuko. Generally well cast. Perhaps just a bit too much explicit harm (not graphic, but torture and burning are clearly implied just off screen).
December 22, 2023
Entertaining, but lacking the books' sparkle
It’s been an enjoyable ride albeit with a few shortcomings. They aim for an epic tone, which is sort of achieved, yet the dialogues and pacing seems aimed at little kids. Though slow or poorly written at times, at the end of the day, it's still entertaining and an okay influence.
PROS: Walker Scobell (cast as Percy) is a delightful person and well cast, even if too serious at times in the show. They aim for an epic tone, and there's something satisfying about finally having Perch Jackson taken seriously in the film industry. The fight scenes are good in episodes 1 and 2 but become slower as it goes on (perhaps the monster fights are a bit scary / violent for younger audiences). Sets are generally well done.
CONS: Having read the books a few years ago, and knowing the general plot, it’s fairly slow (though if you’re new to Percy’s world, you’ll be busy learning names and backstories). The plot is also quite different from the books, which doesn't bother me, except that the stakes make less sense and the clues are presented in confusing ways. It’s also too solemn and could use a good dose of humour or levity to make it overall a joy to watch.
2 people found this helpful.
September 6, 2022
Solid Fantasy, Too Violent (but easy to skip those scenes)
As someone who has not read deep into Tolkien lore, I quite enjoyed the story. The show keeps the vibe of the movies and extends the world, taking you deeper into certain places. The visuals are of course amazing (they definitely invested in that part), and the story is decent (it's entertaining, often slower than it needs to be, but some rewarding plot points by the end). Unfortunately, in episode 3 there are some very graphic scenes that overshadowed that episode for me (and that pattern continued in future episodes). There are a few jump scares and some scenes that are made to be more gory than they needed to be. After Episode 3, they started to really make the few fight scenes difficult to watch, with in-your-face blood, people getting slashed or bitten with (again) lots of blood, bones being broken very purposefully, etc. Despite really good visuals and tempting reveals, the gore is really sudden and apparent.
However, if you skip over the fight scenes (which I believe are all foreshadowed quite apparently), it becomes a good show again. Very much enjoyed the last episode.
10 people found this helpful.
October 1, 2022
Slow, loses the Star Wars feel
Way to slow, but aren't most live action shows? Some people say they like the realism, but in getting more "raw and real" scenes they lost the star wars feel...there's no magic to the settings, they feel like earth. The plot moves so slowly and there are few compelling complexities. Andor himself is pretty flat, his backstory adds little. And they give us some of the most boring legal scenes yet in the franchise. The adult-oriented scenes in the first few episodes are too long and have nothing to do with plot, but will probably go over most kids' heads.
Watch Rogue One instead; Diego Luna has a way better performance there.
2 people found this helpful.
November 10, 2023
Great! Until Seasons 4+ go downhill fast
Seasons 1-3 are GREAT. Lots of positive messages, great characters, wonderful action, highly appropriate, well crafted storyline. Only caveats are the villain is a bit flat at times and there are some heavy themes of losing loved ones.
THEN SEASONS 4+ ARE A NIGHTMARE
Not a true nightmare, but the show really drops off a cliff. Cheap jokes. Characters who don't even seem like the same people anymore. Under-utilized skills. Seems like they only planned seasons 1-3 and didn't know what to do with themselves after that (could have been the pandemic, which caused a 2 year hiatus between seasons 3 and 4, but season 5 didn't improve...).
SEASON 5 in particular had some unsettling moments of jarring tone shifts, from ridiculous and tasteless jokes, to then frightening or intense scenes (and I'm not talking about a fight or fun action sequence). There are two things which stand out in particular: one where the characters face unusual physical abuse on a pirate ship (not simply cartoony - the tone of the scene was darker), and a new character who is basically a vampire (which again feels unnecessary and off-putting).
The new SEASON 6 trailer looks like they're headed even more towards horror and scenes aimed to shock rather than build a well-crafted plot...it has one of the characters with blood all over themselves, threatening another character who is supposed to be their friend. This is where I call it quits.
IN SUMMARY? Stop after season 3. Then it will remain a beautiful show, which respects its audience's time and emotions. Venture into seasons 4+ at your own risk.
1 person found this helpful.
September 9, 2022
Not worth it
Despite seeming whimsical and fun from the trailer and general sentiment in reviews, it was disappointing. Far too many sexual references and outright explicit talk. I couldn't make it past the first half hour. The worst part? For all I had to sit through, it wasn't even funny. The jokes are all related to sex (so if that's your thing, then by all means), or they're just not done right.