A Week in Netflix: w/c 22/06/15

Anime

Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 3 (Episodes 10-16) Complete

In the matter of only 2 weeks I've managed to complete the entire series of Avatar: The Last Airbender and it has been an absolutely wonderful journey; despite the show slowing down in pace as the third and final season brought us closer to the closing of the series as a whole - the payoff in the last episode (which plays out like a feature length movie by itself - containing 4 parts) made everything that had since past seem all worth the while in waiting; I did take some issue with the jarring and at times jumping of time within narrative as the show brought a heavy reliance on Prince Zuko and making sure that each of the key characters had their own unique and personal moment with him when he finally teams up with the Avatar and the rest of his gang - each of these mini-stories were fantastic with Sokka's episode arguably being the standout one of the lot; it did seem to cause a bit of disruption in terms of the development of the overall story and the journey during these few episodes did start to feel a tad disjointed and bordering on fan service to each individual character of the show; but considering the strength of each individual episode and the glorious finale that soon followed, this issue ends up only really becoming a nitpick within what is otherwise a truly outstanding series. The finale contains a brilliant battle sequence that can stand side by side with the best of the likes of Dragonball Z has to offer and then we come to the fact that you have a side player that starts off the series as the focal 'bad guy' of the show and takes this incredible journey - in my honest opinion the overall character development and the story arc of a personal journey that Prince Zuko takes within the series and most notably in this 3rd season is up there with some of the best, not only within the realms of animation/children's television - but I'd argue that if some of the higher production TV dramas on the biggest networks would be hard pushed to created someone as interesting as Prince Zuko and his overall journey from start to finish. The second half of this 3rd and final season really found a nice balance between the characters of Aang and Prince Zuko; with Zuko providing some of the more emotive scenes that on a number of occasions really strikes a chord, but not taking away too much from the attention of our lead character Aang who struggles right up to the very closing moments of the show to come to terms with what he needs to do to save the earth, whilst not destroying the very image and belief that he has dedicated his life to; Aang's inner turmoil of personal battle, love and religion/beliefs are hard-hitting and are nicely wrapped up with the ending of the show that leaves you feeling you've embarked and completed such a journey with rich storytelling that are comparable to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the storytelling and the characters are that high quality; this really is essential viewing for all Netflix subscribers.

10/10

TV

Sense 8 (Episode 12) Complete

Went into the season finale of Sense 8 with low expectations - as discussed last week, I really didn't see how this show could have turn my opinions around given the nature of the previous 11 episodes and the distinct lack of storytelling whether it being an attempt to be ambiguous or just a case of lazy writing (given this being a Wachowski's production, my guess is with the latter) - the stronger characters of the show still maintained my attention to the screen but the lesser characters again did nothing more than make up the numbers and conveniently come into action where their skills were needed the most. The shows finale felt like a complete rush job to power through to an ending that neither felt like a closer to a complete story or a cliffhanger ending that leaves you wanting more and eagerly anticipating the next season. A show that is more style over substance and what little substance is there, is so bloody damn convenient for apparently no reason at all - Sensate randomly targeting individuals that grow up to become skilled individuals? Purpose driven, how can they hope to predict such a thing? Why do all 8 have such unique sets of skills? Why is there no ordinary character/human being among them? None of these questions are remotely given the time of day over the course of the first season, this is a case of Netflix throwing an unlimited budget at The Wachowski's and saying "do whatever the hell you want" and the result is a complete mess of a show that is narratively non-existent and characters that are unbelievable; everything feels fabricated and while the show has its moments of being entertaining, it just doesn't do enough thematically or story wise to really recommend it to anyone. A lacklustre season finale to a rather lacklustre show.

4/10

Hemlock Grove (Episodes 1-2)

This I will keep very short but nowhere near sweet - I don't know what enticed me to check out Hemlock Grove; maybe it was the title or the description that intrigue me, going in I was hoping for something along the lines of Grimm but more adult in nature and rather graphic; but what I got was a teenage driven, brooding nonsense of terrible acting and a narrative that was totally un-engaging. These two episodes were enough to warn me off the rest of the series, I saw very little to offer moving forward with the show; in a lot of ways it reminded me of my reaction to American Horror Story when I gave that show a try a while back, so I guess if you were a fan of that shambles then you might find something here with Hemlock Grove, but for me this was utter drivel at best. Literally having no idea what the hell was going on come the end of the second episode and then being hit with what starts off begin a rather graphic and gruesome transformation sequence of a werewolf, that has you cringing from the gore ends up making you cringe at the laugh out loud pathetic end product; if you American Horror Story and Twilight had a devil child then I'd imagine that Hemlock Grove would be it. If you have any sense of sanity left in your soul you'll heed my advice and give this show a bloody wide berth. Avoid Avoid Avoid like the damn plague.

No rating required.

Arrested Development Season 1 (Episodes 1-20) 

Got to admit that going into this show my expectations were very low, as for years now for a reason that either never existed or I've plainly forgotten - I had convinced myself that I would absolutely hate Arrested Development and had it not been for my Netflix subscription I probably would never have given the show the time of day and for that very reason I'm starting to see my decision to sign up to Netflix as being one hell of a decision and one of the best I'll probably make all year, because damn this show is fucking hilarious. What a great ensemble cast the show has to offer, I can't pick a favourite at this moment in time and I couldn't even pick a least favourite; and while I'll say that the show isn't always laugh out loud funny - but given I'm 20 episodes into this show and I can't remember a joke that the show made that wasn't funny, it's pretty much been Home Run after Home Run in terms of the comedy. Outside of Friends, I'm not really a big fan of American comedy shows, but Arrested Development is certainly something wonderful and if you're like me and have never seen the show, or more so like me and told yourself you wouldn't be a fan of it. I urge you to reconsider and put this on your Netflix queue right now to watch as soon as possible. I thought I had a good set of friends but now I'm starting to question this - how could they not tell me about this show and berate me into submission to delve into the series. On the down side and it's not much of a bad thing just a viewing consumption method - I have managed to cram 20 episodes into little more than 2 days and at times I do feel like the show and its effectiveness has suffered due to this, so maybe its a show that shouldn't be rushed through but rather watched casually and let the quality of the comedic writing work its magic.

A Week in Netflix: w/c 15/06/15

Anime

Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 (Episodes 1-18) Complete

I think the fact that I've yet again watch an entire season of Avatar this week and as you'll read later in the blog (even started to work my way through the final season) that this show is so bloody addictive and such an easy watch and still manages to carry some gravitas in terms of story and characters. I think that instead of talking about or reviewing the second season I'll rather just make a comparison to the first season; as lets be honest if you were a fan of season 1 then you're on board and if you didn't enjoy that first season what could I possibly say to sway you to revisit the second season? Overall the second season of Avatar has pretty much been at the same level as season 1 in terms of quality and enjoyment - and while the Earth Nation hasn't been able to deliver the same intrigue levels as compared to what the first season and the Water Nation had to offer; where this season has improved is in the development of the background and character building of the shows 'bad guys' for lack of a better term - with Prince Zuko and his uncle former a much larger portion of screen time here and a deeper look into their characters and the paths that have brought them to their current situation; there are times that we can really connect with their motivations and seemingly at times don't come across as the evil of the show but rather the victims that have lead them astray; now that's not to say that the pair don't become the focal point at times for Aang and his band in the second season, but it's not a case of us wanting to see Zuko fail because he is the villain, because you do feel for him with his failures and with a number of scenes between him and his uncle providing some of the better emotional pulls that the show has to offer up in this season. Looking back this season has it's positives and negatives when compared to the first season but they all pretty much balance out against each other for me to say that the second is just as strong as the first season and if you were a fan of that first season you really owe it to yourself to get straight into this season of Avatar: The Last Airbender as it is truly a wonderful piece and animated storytelling that is up there with the best shows available on Netflix. Highly recommended as essential viewing.

9/10

Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 3 (Episodes 1-9)

Straight off the bat of the Season 2 finale, I couldn't help but jump straight into season 3 of Avatar: The Last Airbender and this week I've pretty much managed to plough my way through the first half of the third and final season of the show; now it's still early days to start drawing comparisons to the first 2 seasons and knowing that this is obviously the final chapter in the overall story of the series, it's not surprising to be mentioning that the show has become more noticeably drawn out with build up towards  what I'm imaging will be an epic finale of the battle against the Fire Nation with Aang and his merry group of followers/believers. Part of this noticeable change of pacing and development has come from the fact that the show has become more level in it's screen time to play out a stronger role of Prince Zuko when combatting against Aang's story and ultimate goal - to be fair this was always going to happen, you could see that even very earlier on in the series back in the early days of season one that Prince Zuko was going to be the key player in the battle that Avatar Aang faces and with the show still not begin shy of the odd 'filler' episode, overall this season to this point has felt a lot slower in it's story development and in terms of distance and ground travelled as the season has gone on; not to say that the  show has lost any of it's charm or enjoyment factor, but it's certainly been a different kettle of fish in structure of the story and lack of new characters, where instead we have lots of returning characters returning to the fold with some feeling like that haven't been that long away. At this point in time I'd probably say that the show hasn't been as good as those first two seasons, but in saying that - if the second half of this season and more importantly the series finale can deliver something that makes great use and explains the slower build up in this first half of the show, then there is potential for which I could turn around and say that the show goes out with a bang and it could end up being the highlight season of the series as a whole - but at this moment in time the jury is out and I'm still on the bench in terms of my feelings towards the finale season; though its a 'good quality' bench with a wonderful view to be sat on.

TV

Sense 8 (Episodes 4-11)

Last week I mentioned about my concerns over the quality of storytelling with this show or better put the lack of storytelling that Sense 8 had to offer in those first 3 episodes and to be quite honest, despite the fact that the show did seem to spend a little more time and effort to reveal some of it's background and over arching story since episode 7, it really hasn't been good enough for me to say that I'm invested into not only the story of the show, but also the characters. Far far too much of the time of the show is just centred around a couple with the Sensate group and their stronger bonds that grow as the show progresses forward as this big events become a force that pushes together the group to share their experiences and exploit each others talents to help save themselves from the predicament of the week that Sense 8 seems to have become at this point. And unfortunately the quality of characters across the board is certainly not as strong as each other, some of them are interesting and enjoyable to watch, but on the other hand some of the characters I find to be truly dull, it's not even a case of hating them per-se; but rather they are so boring that I couldn't give a rat's arse what their situation is, I just want the show to skip it and get back to the more interesting characters within the group. Sense 8 has become a show that I had really easy just to sit back and relax and watch, that at times will be really engaging and at other times I will find myself zoning out, waiting for something exciting or gripping to happen to pull me back in. With only the finale of the show now left to watch, I think I can say with a degree of confidence that I will not look back at this show with any affection or admiration; instead I fear that this will be a show that I look back upon that had so much potential, yet ended up feeling like a complete mess that lacked any true sense of narrative and backbone and essential being an overpriced wafer thin project that has been mismanaged - much like the careers of The Wachowski's post The Matrix, one could argue they seem to be this generations George Lucas.

A Week in Netflix: w/c 08/06/15

Anime

Knights of Sidonia (Episodes 6-12) Complete

I'm not sure that I can really add anything more to my thoughts on this series after finishing off the first season the week - all the negatives and the positives of the show have pretty much stayed par for the course in the second half of the season. It is a very easy show to watch in large chunks but it all seems very too much style over substance, I mean it's all fluff that while might look great it's never enough to truly satisfy your needs. I was never really pulled into the world of Sidonia and therefore there was no weight to the story or the character arcs; I just wasn't invested at any point during the show, not to say that I was ever bored really, but it seems quite telling that a show that seems so light on meaning and a well crafted story, spent a lot of time repeating itself in the opening scenes of each episode. Knights of Sidonia is hardly offensive but that's really not the greatest of compliments and to be honest with such a rich choice of anime at your fingertips on Netflix - I can't say that this would be anywhere near the top of my list of anime recommendations, while it might appeal more to a different audience, for me this was a show that tame swings and hopes for the best.

5/10

Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 1 (Episodes 1-20) Complete

Well well well, whilst not strictly Anime per-se being as this is an American created family friendly animated TV series that first and foremost is aimed towards the younger generation; but being a fan of Dragonball Z and more appropriately with regards to American animation - Star Wars: The Clone Wars, I thought that it was about time that I'd check out Avatar: The Last Airbender and while some of you might have already guessed by the fact that I've managed to steamroll my way through the entire 20 episode first series - I absolutely loved this show. It was so wonderful to see an animated show that is obviously heavily influenced by Japanese anime, but has also spent a lot of time within the writing room to create such a well thought out story with well rounded characters that develop as the series goes along at such a brisk pace yet never ever feeling a sense that their rushing towards the end. This first series has been a joy to watch and with the combination of mythical use of the four elements with martial arts that creates some really impressive action set pieces and some creative single combat choreography. In many ways I feel like Avatar and Ang as a character in the show share many traits from Dragonall and Goku, but never in the sense that this feels like a knock off - but more thematically and in the sense the whilst the show is essentially for children it also has such a well crafted story that tackle a number of issues that the show is actually fun for the whole family and given that I'm now a 30 year old adult watching this show for the first time and get that same feeling that I got when I used to watch Dragonball Z as a kid growing up - it's a sign that an animated show can still appeal to us as adults and not purely based on a sense of nostalgia of our youth; If you are a fan of anime or animation in general or if you have kids of any age - then I can strong recommend that you check out this show as it is well and truly and wonderful show and I'm so excited to now work my way through the next 2 seasons.

9/10

TV

Sense 8 (Episodes 1-3)

From the minds of the Wachowski's (The Matrix) comes a new Netflix original series based centrally around the idea that there are 8 people out there in the world that are able to share their thoughts, visions, feelings and experiences with each other - somehow all connected through this birthing sequence from a mystery woman that we are exposed to in the very opening of the show. Having only seen the first 3 episodes it really is still very early days to judge the show; yes there is certainly potential here, but at this moment in time the show just feels like its being clever for the sake of showboating a visual style and editing together sequences from across the world into one complete amalgamation of the bizarre to the erotic. Colour me unimpressed as of today, but I'm more than willing to give this show some time, there's has been basically next to no storytelling done at this point with regards to the explanation of the powers that these 8 individuals have and the purpose behind them, but then again given this is a show on Netflix maybe this is a chance for the Wachowski's to clearly develop something over a longer format that will actually add up to something substantial of which I'm not sure they've been able to achieve since The Matrix. Although the whole transgender - bisexual/gay/lesbian angle in the show does feel rather hamfistedly rammed into our faces and all too personal with regards to one half of the Wachowski siblings - hopefully this part of the show will blend better as the show goes on and doesn't feel preachy as it does at this moment in time - or at least to me anyways.

Daredevil (Episode 13) Complete

Oh my what a week that it was to endure, having to wait so so long to finally catch up with the season finale to Daredevil - was it worth it in the end? Well yes and no - as a standalone episode itself, it was just as fantastic as the rest of the series has been to date, but then again it didn't really have that cliffhanger type of ending that leaves you eager for more and laying in wait for that second season to come out - instead the finale feels like it was written under uncertain terms of whether or not that a second season was going to be green lit - we had moments shared between our key players in which we have well rounded closers that could act as a way of putting a lid on a chapter of their lives incase we don't get the opportunity to come back to the world of Hell's Kitchen. On a whole though this show has be nothing less that hard-hitting, no punches pulled dark drama that in much the way that The Dark Knight did for comic book movies - Daredevil has managed to do the same for the genre on the smaller screen; it has set a new benchmark that future shows really have to live up to and it's rather humorous to think that the dark gritty stuff is coming from Marvel and not DC considering the direction we have seen on the big screen from Hollywood in recent years. This show is without doubt a recommendation to all - even if you aren't a comic book fan I would still wholeheartedly say that Daredevil is a must see for all - it's well crafted and the world and everything on the show feels grounded in a reality that you can really buy into and not feel like you are being subjected to some pulled straight off a comic book spread. And if nothing else you get to see Private Pyle (Full Metal Jacket) become all kinds of crazy again.

9/10