What's equally irritating in the Golden Age of television as in earlier television eras is that many major TV projects appear brilliant at the very beginning only to quickly sink into "soap" and mediocrity. Something similar happened with Netflix's television branch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, whose series at the start—Daredevil and Jessica Jones—appeared as a genuine refreshment compared to what are now tired, off-the-peg cinematic productions. Several years and spin-off series later, it can be said that disappointments were inevitable, given how difficult it is to maintain such a level of quality. This also applies to the second season of Jessica Jones, probably the best of all Netflix's Marvel superhero series, which isn't actually bad in itself but represents a noticeable decline compared to the first season.

At the beginning of the second season, the titular protagonist (Krysten Ritter), although she has defeated her main enemy and tormentor Kilgrave, finds herself in just as miserable a situation as at the start of the first season. Perpetually in a bad mood, forced to live in a building with alcoholics, drug addicts, and the destitute, and earning a living as a private detective whose clients represent the dregs of New York society, Jessica Jones still hasn't overcome her severe psychological traumas nor stopped seeking solace at the bottom of a bottle. To make matters worse, all this is compounded by guilt over having taken someone's life, and the words of comfort from her friend Trish Walker (Rachael Taylor) ring rather hollow as she insists that her victim got what they deserved. Ultimately, she's forced to return to her work routine, and one client leads her to IGH, a mysterious organisation responsible for secret and illegal experiments through which she gained her superhuman powers as a child. She and Trish begin an investigation that will cause Jessica to confront Alisa (Janet McTeer), a mysterious woman endowed with superhuman strength but also prone to destructive rage fits that lead her to kill people around her. This conflict, however, reveals that she and Jessica share not only superhuman powers or how they acquired them, but also a surprising connection that will complicate everything. Meanwhile, Trish, partly due to another unhappy love affair, turns to drugs again, but this time in a way that leads her to the unhealthy idea that she must acquire superhero status like Jessica, while Jessica's lawyer Jennie Hogarth (Carrie-Anne Moss) faces a serious illness but also machinations from her firm's partner.

It was clear from the start that the second season of Jessica Jones would have an extremely difficult time surpassing the first, not least because it no longer features Kilgrave, who was not only one of the most monstrous and memorable villains in television history but also a character who provided the plot with a solid foundation and focus. Although Kilgrave briefly appears in one episode as a vision/internal voice of the main heroine—which is essentially fan service that fans of the series and David Tennant won't mind—this void isn't adequately filled, and not because of the character of Alisa, masterfully portrayed by Janet McTeer, but due to a lack of script focus and skill. The second season lacks a proper, first-class villain, but it's also burdened with a series of subplots that the series' authors failed to weave into a cohesive whole. There were also pacing issues, largely caused by the attempt to stretch the season across 13 episodes when 10, or perhaps even 8, would have been quite sufficient. Thus, the first few episodes seem rather dull, with real events only beginning to happen around the middle, when Jessica Jones starts resembling the series that won us over in the first season. The finale itself is burdened with melodramatic twists, some of which are rather predictable. An additional problem is that some characters aren't well-developed, meaning they frequently have to behave like idiots to serve the needs of continuing or complicating the plot. This is precisely why the biggest disappointment is the character of Pryce Cheng (Terry Chen), a private detective who represents Jessica's main professional rival, about whom it's unclear on what basis he has built such an elite reputation.

On the other hand, some subplots work very well, including the one with Jennie Hogarth, which seems somewhat lost in Jessica Jones and could function as an episode of a standalone TV series or Marvel spin-off, saved by Carrie-Anne Moss's excellent performance and the rather intelligent way it's resolved. Special praise is deserved by the seventh episode, which for the first time shows young Jessica and Trish's life through flashbacks, and the eleventh episode in which Jessica must simultaneously battle ghosts from the past and resolve some rather current problems in the present. Acting is generally excellent, including Ritter's, who brilliantly handles rather uninspired lines and plot elements, making them feel fresh. Most impressive, however, is Taylor, who has ensured that what was a supporting role in the first season now appears as a character who could surpass Jessica Jones or, as suggested by the final episode, perhaps even earn her own new series. The success is all the greater since Trish is the only character who has undergone significant change compared to the first season, and that change is for the worse—from a likeable sidekick she's transformed into an irritating drug-addled wreck, yet someone capable of monstrous and unforgivable deeds whom viewers will still want to see in the third season.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

(Note: The text in the original Croatian version is available here.)

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• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33502160
• Platform: HULU

Rottentomatoes Rating Source The pacing drags hard in spots where it should be building tension but instead your just sitting there waiting for something interesting to happen and it takes forever. They tried adding this modern spin with queer themes and social commentary stuff that had some potential, but it comes off forced and does not add much to the story. So the basic setup is what you expect from these nanny from hell movies, Caitlin played by Winstead is this uptight pregnant attorney who represents clients in housing disputes. She meets this woman Polly played by Monroe they first meet when Caitlin is assigned to represent Polly as her attorney in a housing dispute with her landlord, then they cross paths again at the farmers market where Polly asks for the nanny job. From the start you can tell something is way off with Polly, shes got this dead look in her eyes and says weird shit that should be red flags, but everyone ignores it because the script needs them to act like sheep and just go with the expected flow.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #hulu, #remake, #thriller, #horror, #review, #disappointing, #nanny, #psycho, #winstead, #monroe, #lazy, #predictable, #streaming, #forgettable, #original, #comparison, #weak, #rushed, #ending, #sabotage, #revenge, #mystery, #violence, #generic, #filler

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Took (S05E07)

Airdate: February 17th 2008

Written by: Richard Price Directed by: Dominic West

Running Time: 58 minutes

As The Wire hurtled towards its finale, mere episodes from concluding its sprawling five-season autopsy of Baltimore’s institutions, it was not unreasonable to imagine creator David Simon wrestling with profound existential dread. Could his formidable talents and the show’s finite resources truly encompass the sheer, unwieldy epicness of his ambition? Was The Wire, in its relentless demand for verisimilitude and systemic critique, simply too vast, too overwhelming, too much even for a journalist of Simon’s calibre? Whether Simon actually harboured such private anxieties or not, their spectral presence permeates Took, the seventh episode of the final season. This instalment functions as a stark, almost meta-textual reflection of the creative tightrope the series itself walked – a moment where the intricate machinery Simon had constructed threatened to buckle under its own weight, revealing the terrifying fragility beneath the meticulously built facade.

The episode’s engine is McNulty’s escalating hubris within his own fabricated serial killer scheme. Utilising Lester Freamon’s technical acumen and a voice modulator, he orchestrates a masterstroke of deception: a direct call to Baltimore Sun reporter Scott Templeton, impersonating the killer, followed by the transmission of a photograph depicting Larry, a vulnerable homeless man sheltered in Richmond. This calculated act ignites an inferno of media frenzy, transforming the case into an even more politically radioactive "redball" circus. Mayor Carcetti, ever the opportunist, miraculously conjures budget for overtime, vehicles, and additional detectives, placing McNulty – for the first time in his chaotic career – nominally in charge. The title "boss," bestowed upon him by colleagues, lands with jarring dissonance. McNulty is visibly unmoored by this sudden, unearned authority; he is part impressed by the trappings of power, part baffled by its mechanics, and profoundly scared by the sheer precariousness of his position. This fear intensifies as fellow detectives, sensing opportunity, swarm him with requests for overtime and resources to bolster their stagnant cases. His initial, almost reflexive generosity – agreeing to these demands to maintain camaraderie and operational cover – swiftly curdles into a gnawing dread. He realises each granted favour is a potential thread threatening to unravel the entire charade, drawing unwanted scrutiny towards the hollow core of his operation.

This tension fractures McNulty’s crucial alliance with Lester Freamon. The elder detective, ever the pragmatic strategist, delivers a blunt ultimatum: whatever leverage they hope to gain against Marlo Stanfield’s impregnable organisation must be exploited quickly. The charade, Lester insists with weary certainty, is unsustainable; the house of cards will collapse. Adding profound frustration to the mix, Lester reveals he possesses cryptic image-based messages Marlo sends to his lieutenants via cellphone – a visual code he, the show’s most brilliant investigator, cannot decipher. This impotence underscores the widening gulf between their goals: Lester seeks tangible results against Marlo before the scheme implodes, while McNulty is increasingly consumed by the immediate, self-destructive mechanics of maintaining the lie.

Concurrently, the episode dissects the rot within the Baltimore Sun. Senior editors, intoxicated by the prestige of Templeton’s central role in the serial killer narrative, elevate him to star status, their journalistic rigour utterly subsumed by institutional vanity. Gus Haynes, however, remains a voice of dissent, his unease crystallising around Templeton’s "purple prose" – his tendency to depict Baltimore as a lurid, exotic "Third World locale" for outsider consumption. Haynes’s professional suspicion deepens into active investigation, culminating in a pivotal visit to a police bar. There, an encounter with the Dennis Mello provides chilling confirmation: Templeton’s earlier, lauded story about a grieving mother was likely a fabrication.

The episode’s thematic resonance deepens with State Senator Clay Davis’s courtroom resurrection. Facing seemingly certain conviction on corruption charges brought by the intellectually arrogant State’s Attorney Rupert Bond, Davis employs a devastatingly simple strategy. Retaining the formidable (and real-life) attorney Billy Murphy, Davis takes the stand not to deny the prosecution’s evidence, but to reframe it. He candidly admits accepting illicit funds, then pivots to explain how he funnelled that "ill-gotten money" directly back to his impoverished constituents – paying for funerals, medical bills, and groceries. This brazen appeal to populist loyalty, utilising race and class solidarity with outrageously crass effectiveness, secures a shocking acquittal. The verdict is a masterclass in systemic cynicism; Davis weaponises the very desperation his corruption exploited, turning Bond’s smug legalism against him. It’s darkly humorous, even perversely sympathetic, to witness the despicable Davis outmanoeuvre his more conventionally "moral" but utterly out-of-touch opponent.

Omar Little, the show’s most iconic moral anomaly, continues his one-man war against Marlo. Undeterred by a leg injury that forces a pronounced limp, he raids stashes not for profit, but to defiantly destroy Marlo’s drugs and cash – a symbolic rejection of the game’s rules. His campaign escalates into outright assassination as he targets Marlo’s lieutenants, beginning with Savino. This act constitutes a profound betrayal of the promise he made to Bunk years prior, marking a descent into vengeance that strips away his last vestige of self-imposed code. Omar’s trajectory mirrors McNulty’s: both cross irrevocable moral lines, McNulty through the abduction of Larry (whose parents’ anguish is heartbreakingly revealed), Omar through cold-blooded murder. Their transgressions highlight the episode’s pervasive moral corrosion.

Took is deeply, defiantly Baltimore. Its title itself is a nod to Sun journalistic slang, and Haynes’s central conflict – questioning whether an outsider like Templeton can ever truly grasp the city’s complex soul – underscores a fierce local patriotism woven into the narrative fabric. The irony is palpable that this quintessentially Baltimorean episode was written by Simon’s long-time New York collaborator, Richard Price. Price even indulges in a touch of self-plagiarism, lifting the tender, moonlit bedtime scene from his novel Clockers for Kima Greggs’ moment with Cheryl’s son Elijah during a sleepover – a rare, quiet beat of humanity amidst the surrounding chaos.

Crucially, Price draws a subtle but devastating parallel between McNulty and Davis. Both are corrupt, yet their corruption operates on different planes. Davis is the archetypal abuser of power, cynically manipulating the system for personal gain while masquerading as a benefactor. McNulty, however, represents corruption born of convenience and misplaced idealism; his scheme, intended to fund real police work, drags his colleagues and the entire department into complicity through their willing acceptance of his ill-gotten resources. The episode argues that corruption isn’t solely the domain of the overtly villainous; it’s a contagion spread by those who look the other way for personal or institutional advantage – the voters enabling Davis, the detectives accepting McNulty’s overtime.

For fans of Simon’s earlier Homicide: Life on the Street, a brief, joyous cameo provides respite: Richard Belzer’s John Munch, explicitly named, appears at the police bar. This fleeting moment cements The Wire’s place within Simon’s broader fictional universe, a quiet nod to television history. Furthermore, "Took" marked Dominic West’s sole opportunity to direct within the series. His handling of the material is assured and restrained, favouring the show’s signature naturalism over directorial flourish, proving a well-judged final contribution from McNulty’s portrayer.

Took stands as a pivotal, nerve-wracking chapter precisely because it embodies the very tension Simon might have feared. It is a precarious balancing act – the moment before the fall. Its dark humour, its moral ambiguities, and its unflinching gaze at institutional decay coalesce into a testament not to creative doubt, but to The Wire’s ultimate triumph: its ability to stare directly into the abyss of complexity it created, and not flinch.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)

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• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7069210/
• Platform: PRIME VIDEO

Rottentomatoes Rating

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #conjuring, #horror, #possession, #exorcism, #demon, #witch, #thriller, #supernatural, #murder, #trial, #warren, #investigation, #curse, #satanic, #sequel, #totem, #courtroom, #ritual, #devil, #priest, #tunnels, #altar, #librarian, #disappointed, #mediocre

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My only attraction to this series was based on the rumour that it was similar to Mr. Queen, and trust me, anyone who’s seen that series would be searching for something similar to feel a semblance of how it made them feel. So, I learnt that this series was similar, and since most members of the cast are actors whose films I’ve seen, I said, why not?

Bon Appetit, Your Majesty (2025)

Yeon Ji Young is a talented French cuisine chef, and the series begins with a national cooking contest hosted in Paris, which is more or less marks the pinnacle of her career. After the contest, while on the plane, there’s an eclipse, and right there in the bathroom, as Ji Young is trying to get rid of a stain, she’s transported to the Joseon era, during the reign of the tyrant king.

The tyrant king, King Lee Heon, is taken by her cooking outside the Palace walls, and immediately makes her head chef at the Palace. But Ji Young is not prepared for the enormity of hurdles that await her, hurdles that she must overcome with more than just her cooking skills.

My Thoughts and Rating

I liked this series for a lot of reasons, but it didn’t start immediately. In the beginning, I was disgruntled because it felt like every word, mannerism and gesture of the female lead mirrored that of the lead actress in Mr. Queen. It felt like the directors had given her the playbook of the lady in Mr. Queen, and told her to master everything that made her, her. It was unsettling, but I soon got over it.

I realized that the actress playing Ji Young brought her own uniqueness to the show, and she wasn’t a push over. I liked how she portrayed and interpreted her role with such finesse that it was immediately endearing. Also, the chemistry between her and the king were superb. I’ve seen a lot of Korean actors, but it feels like they made the perfect choice casting that particular actor. He was charming, easy on the eyes, and an excellent actor, through and through.

I also loved the plot. If you’re familiar traditional Korean films, you’ll recognize the usual plot lines that characterize it. Envy, treason, spite, and so on. But this storyline was fresh, and had a lot of beautiful moments that made the plot gravitate from the regular story to something much more scintillating. I enjoyed almost every moment of it.

My best part would have to be the cooking in itself. A sudden idea that comes to the head chef’s mind which she whips up and turns to a delectable meal, that is captivating, as it is mouth watering. I made it a point of note to always have a steaming bowl of noodles, or some other nice dish, so that my longing for the sights on my screen won’t push me to attempt to jump into it, lol.

Frankly, the only thing I resented was the ending. In the typical K-drama way, it moved fast, but that wasn’t my issue. There were issues that were unresolved, and the fact that they brushed over it, and made it some grand secret we were never going to uncover made the entire thing look shabby. Like the directors didn’t know how to give it a befitting end, so they decided to tie it up in a convenient gift box, and call it a secret.

All in all, it was quite an enjoyable series. No way near as amazing as Mr. Queen, but is more enjoyable than the average series. A strong 6.5/10. Would definitely recommend to any and every lover of traditional Korean drama, and more than anyone else, any lover of good food.

Jhymi🖤

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Manhunt (S02E19)

Airdate: June 19th 1989

Written by: Terry Deveraux Directed by: Rob Bowman

Running Time: 46 minutes

When a television series as ambitious and narratively diverse as Star Trek: The Next Generation spans seven seasons, it is an inevitability that certain episodes will emerge primarily as vehicles for lighter entertainment, consciously crafted to offer respite from the show’s frequent gravitas and philosophical depth. Such instalments are rarely destined for the pantheon of Trek classics; they seldom grapple with profound ethical quandaries or redefine the franchise’s trajectory. Yet, they frequently succeed admirably in fulfilling their modest, often commercially-driven, purpose: to provide accessible, uncomplicated fun for the devoted fanbase. Within this specific niche, the Season 2 episode Manhunt occupies a distinct, if peculiar, position. Its primary objective – delivering broad comedy through the rekindling of established character dynamics – is largely achieved, albeit at the expense of the series’ usual science fiction rigour, resulting in an episode that is undeniably entertaining fluff rather than substantive drama.

The script, penned by Tracy Tormé, a writer already held in considerable esteem by Trekkies for his pivotal contributions to Season 1, is particularly noteworthy for its deliberate stitching together of two seemingly disparate narrative threads he previously established. Tormé authored Haven, the episode which introduced the formidable, flamboyant, and utterly unforgettable Lwaxana Troi, the ambassador from Betazed, brought to vibrant life by Majel Barrett Roddenberry – the undisputed First Lady of Star Trek. He also crafted The Big Goodbye, a groundbreaking instalment that not only introduced the holodeck as a central narrative device but also gifted Captain Jean-Luc Picard his iconic alter ego: Dixon Hill, the hard-boiled 1940s private investigator navigating the mean streets of a simulated San Francisco. Manhunt functions explicitly as a sequel to both of these episodes. Its core conceit hinges on the successful, albeit tonally jarring, fusion of Lwaxana Troi’s overbearing romantic pursuit and Picard’s escapist holodeck adventures, creating a farcical situation that drives the entire plot.

The narrative ostensibly commences with the Enterprise-D undertaking a routine diplomatic mission: transporting two Antedean delegates – fish-like humanoids from Antede III – to a crucial conference on the planet Pacifica. Upon their arrival, however, the Antedeans lapse into a catatonic state. Dr. Pulaski initiates medical care. The truth, revealed later, is far less dramatic: this catatonia is merely a natural physiological response to the stresses of space travel, which the Antedeans find deeply unpleasant and traumatic.

En route, the Enterprise is ordered to take on an additional passenger: Ambassador Lwaxana Troi, accompanied by her ever-silent manservant, Mr. Homn. Her presence immediately disrupts the ship’s equilibrium. Lwaxana, fulfilling her role as Betazed’s representative, resumes her relentless, aggressively amorous campaign to secure Captain Picard as her husband. The episode introduces the rather eyebrow-raising concept of the "Phase," a Betazoid equivalent of menopause wherein the ambassador’s sex drive reportedly quadruples. Her daughter, Counselor Deanna Troi, explains this biological imperative to a mortified Picard, whose desperate attempts to evade his amorous pursuer lead him to seek sanctuary within the Dixon Hill holodeck programme.

Deprived of her primary quarry, Lwaxana’s attention inevitably shifts to other eligible males aboard the ship. Commander Riker, Lieutenant Worf, and even the adolescent Wesley Crusher (dismissed by Lwaxana as "too young") all receive varying degrees of her unsettling scrutiny. Picard’s temporary reprieve within the holodeck is shattered when Lwaxana, drawn by curiosity, ventures into the simulation herself. There, she becomes instantly captivated not by Picard-as-Hill, but by the holographic Rex (Rod Arrants), the burly, charming owner of the bar frequented by Dixon Hill. This distraction allows Picard to flee, but Lwaxana’s departure from the holodeck proves pivotal. Casually, almost as an afterthought, she reveals a startling truth gleaned through her telepathic abilities: the Antedeans are not diplomats at all, but assassins carrying concealed bombs intended to sabotage the Pacifica conference. Having delivered this crucial intelligence, she promptly departs the Enterprise.

It is here that Manhunt firmly establishes its identity as pure, low-stakes comedy. The episode is demonstrably not a classic, nor even a particularly great TNG instalment. Nothing of genuine consequence occurs; the stakes are laughably low (a potential, easily reversible marriage proposal to Riker would strain credulity even for casual viewers, given his status as a core character), and the late reveal of the Antedeans as assassins feels less like a narrative twist and more like a perfunctory plot device hastily inserted to provide some semblance of a “mission" for the crew. Crucially, however, this tonal inconsistency – shifting from broad farce to a perfunctory action beat – doesn’t fatally undermine the episode. Instead, the sheer absurdity of the premise and the commitment of the performances render the whole affair consistently entertaining. The audience is never asked to take any of it seriously, allowing the inherent ridiculousness of Lwaxana’s pursuit and Picard’s flustered reactions to shine as the primary source of amusement.

The episode’s success in this regard owes much to capable direction by Rob Bowman, who adeptly handles the physical comedy and the transitions between the sterile ship and the smoky holodeck. Furthermore, it benefits significantly from a strong ensemble cast working with the material they have. Majel Barrett Roddenberry, as ever, commits utterly to the larger-than-life Lwaxana, turning potential caricature into iconic comedy. Carel Struycken reliably conveys volumes through Mr. Homn’s silent stoicism, while Rhonda Aldrich reprises her role as Madeline, Dixon Hill’s loyal secretary. Notable additions include Robert Constanzo as the thuggish Slade Bender and, most significantly, Robert O’Reilly as the chillingly intense gangster Scarface. O’Reilly’s screen time is minimal, yet his ferocious presence made such a profound impression that he was swiftly recruited to reprise a radically different, yet equally intense, Klingon role: Chancellor Gowron, across both TNG and Deep Space Nine. Adding a layer of fan-service whimsy, Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac fame, known as hardcore Trek fan, appears in a brief cameo as one of the Antedeans.

Ironically, the writer most responsible for this peculiar blend, Tracy Tormé, held the episode in deep disdain. He had originally conceived Manhunt as a more focused, loving tribute to film noir, with the holodeck sequences forming the dominant narrative strand. However, under pressure from producer Michael Hurley – reportedly influenced by Gene Roddenberry’s desire to feature his wife, Majel Barrett, more prominently – the Lwaxana subplot was significantly expanded, effectively hijacking Tormé’s intended focus. Feeling his vision had been compromised and the episode reduced to fan service centred on one character, Tormé exercised his contractual right to use a pseudonym ("Terry Deveraux") for the teleplay credit. This incident, emblematic of the creative tensions within the show’s early seasons' production, contributed significantly to his eventual departure from the series.

In the end, Manhunt stands as a testament to the inherent contradictions within long-running genre television. It is an episode fundamentally at odds with Star Trek: The Next Generation’s core mission of exploring profound ideas through science fiction. Yet, through the sheer force of Majel Barrett Roddenberry’s unforgettable performance, the committed farce of the holodeck sequences, and a general willingness to embrace its own ridiculousness, it achieves its modest goal with surprising efficiency. It is a curiously charming confection, best enjoyed with a large dose of salt and an acceptance that not every voyage of the Enterprise needs to boldly go where no one has gone before; sometimes, it merely needs to provide a good laugh.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

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Hola amigos de Movies & TV, espero que se encuentren muy bien. Hace poco vi la película All Shall Be Well de Ray Yeung; me llamó la atención esta historia por el nombre en español, que es Todo va a estar bien... Es una historia corta que muestra de forma precisa lo que es pasar por la pérdida de un ser querido y lo que viene después de la muerte, como las confrontaciones familiares por herencias que no fueron escritas y también el dolor de ver que no se cumple la última palabra de la persona fallecida, llegando a afectar a aquella persona que fue su pareja y quien la conoció más que su propia familia. Es un drama bastante común, pero viniendo de los asiáticos, me llamaba la atención cómo se iba a desarrollar la historia, así que los invito a leer mi reseña.

Hello friends of Movies & TV, I hope you are all doing well. I recently saw the movie All Shall Be Well by Ray Yeung; I was drawn to this story because of its Spanish title, which is Todo va a estar bien (Everything Will Be Okay)... It's a short story that accurately depicts what it's like to go through the loss of a loved one and what comes after death, such as family confrontations over unwritten inheritances and the pain of seeing the deceased's last words go unfulfilled, affecting the person who was their partner and who knew them better than their own family. It's a fairly common drama, but coming from Asians, I was curious to see how the story would unfold, so I invite you to read my review.

La trama se enfoca en la relación entre dos mujeres en sus sesenta años, Pat, una mujer llena de vida y de sueños por cumplir a pesar de su avanzada edad, y su pareja Angie, con quien comparte su vida por más de treinta años. Viven una vida bastante agradable, tienen mucho en común y se sienten como almas gemelas. A ambas les gusta poder compartir con la familia de Pat, quienes saben de la relación homosexual de ella, pero aun así comparten con ella y no le dan mucha importancia a la forma en la que ella vive su vida. Repentinamente, Pat muere y deja muchas dudas entre sus familiares, pero sobre todo en Angie, quien fue su compañera de vida y que ahora se encuentra sola, viviendo su duelo, hasta que las cosas se empiezan a complicar al tener diferencias con la familia de Pat sobre los deseos de ella al morir.

The plot focuses on the relationship between two women in their sixties, Pat, a woman full of life and dreams to fulfill despite her advanced age, and her partner Angie, with whom she has shared her life for more than thirty years. They live a fairly pleasant life, have a lot in common, and feel like soul mates. They both enjoy spending time with Pat's family, who are aware of her homosexual relationship but still share their lives with her and do not place much importance on the way she lives her life. Suddenly, Pat dies and leaves many questions among her relatives, but especially for Angie, who was her life partner and now finds herself alone, grieving, until things start to get complicated when she has differences with Pat's family about her wishes upon her death.

Como buen drama que es el género principal de esta película y además ser asiática, podemos encontrar que va a ser una historia muy auténtica y apegada a la realidad. La relación entre Pat y Angie era hermosa; ambas se complementaban y se cuidaban, tenían sus diferencias, sobre todo porque Pat era muy terca y tenía sueños como poder crear un emprendimiento y seguir siendo una persona activa a pesar de su edad. Pero la muerte siempre está latente y llegó en el momento menos esperado; realmente Pat no dio indicios de sentirse mal de salud, pero sí que estuvo más preocupada de lo normal por su relación y por su familia, hasta que finalmente muere y queda respetar su partida, o al menos eso espera Angie.

As drama is the main genre of this film, and it is also Asian, we can expect it to be a very authentic story that is close to reality. The relationship between Pat and Angie was beautiful; they complemented and cared for each other, but they had their differences, mainly because Pat was very stubborn and had dreams of starting a business and remaining active despite her age. But death is always lurking and arrived when least expected; Pat really showed no signs of poor health, but she was more concerned than usual about her relationship and her family, until she finally died and her passing had to be respected, or at least that is what Angie hopes.

Pero como ninguna familia es perfecta, empiezan las peleas entre un hermano mayor de Pat y quien es el único hermano que queda vivo, por lo que empieza a tomar decisiones sin pensar en lo que realmente quería Pat y que Angie conoce más que toda la familia. Para ellos es mejor dejarla en un lugar donde puedan reposar las cenizas y que el asunto quede así, a pesar de que Pat quería que sus cenizas fuesen echadas al mar. A partir de esta decisión, todo empieza a volverse un conflicto entre la familia de Pat y Angie; ellos realmente no quieren reconocer la importancia que tenía Angie en la vida de Pat como su pareja por tantos años, además de que no muestran que alguna vez hubiesen aceptado que Pat fuese lesbiana.

But since no family is perfect, arguments begin between Pat's older brother and her only surviving sibling, who starts making decisions without considering what Pat really wanted, which Angie knows better than anyone else in the family. They think it's best to leave her ashes in a place where they can rest and leave it at that, even though Pat wanted her ashes scattered at sea. From this decision onwards, everything begins to turn into a conflict between Pat's family and Angie; they really don't want to acknowledge the importance Angie had in Pat's life as her partner for so many years, and they don't show that they ever accepted that Pat was a lesbian.

Me sentí muy triste al ver que la familia solo buscaba sus propios intereses, vender la casa de Pat y dejar de lado a Angie, hacer las cosas a su manera y no pensar en lo que realmente ella hubiese querido después de morir. Se puede ver la forma tan egoísta e incluso materialista porque solo piensan en lo que ella dejó, que fue su casa, y quién será el próximo que vivirá en el lugar o si la venderán y se repartirán el dinero. Esto es muy común que suceda en las familias; se pelean por cosas que realmente nunca trabajaron u obtuvieron por su propio esfuerzo.

I felt very sad to see that the family was only looking out for their own interests, selling Pat's house and leaving Angie behind, doing things their way and not thinking about what she would have really wanted after she died. You can see how selfish and even materialistic they are because they only think about what she left behind, which was her house, and who will be the next person to live there or if they will sell it and divide the money among themselves. This is very common in families; they fight over things they never really worked for or obtained through their own efforts.

La historia está ambientada en Hong Kong y muestra el lado más humilde de una mujer que vivía de su trabajo diario y tenía una relación que tal vez no era bien vista en esa sociedad, pero que al final fue la que ella eligió y lo que pensó que la haría feliz a pesar de las críticas y lo que otros pudiesen decir. Las actrices hacen una buena actuación y se siente mucho el dolor en el personaje de Angie, quien es la que tiene que enfrentar todo el peso de ver cómo la familia de Pat desea hacer y deshacer con las cosas que alguna vez su pareja había construido para formar un hogar con ella, a su manera y sin lastimar a otros, solo viviendo de la forma en la que ella creía que sería feliz.

The story is set in Hong Kong and shows the more humble side of a woman who lived off her daily work and had a relationship that was perhaps frowned upon in that society, but in the end, it was the one she chose and what she thought would make her happy despite the criticism and what others might say. The actresses give a good performance and you can really feel the pain in Angie's character, who has to bear the full weight of seeing how Pat's family wants to do as they please with the things her partner had once built to make a home with her, in his own way and without hurting others, just living the way he thought would make him happy.

El título de la película genera una especie de melancolía, sobre todo porque en toda la historia se piensa que la frase "Todo va a estar bien" es una forma positiva de ver las cosas cuando en realidad todo se convirtió en conflicto y desafíos... Sin embargo, al final se siente un poco de ilusión por ver que Angie pudo darle una despedida decente a Pat junto a otras personas que realmente la apreciaban y lo hizo en el sitio donde ella quería ser despedida cuando muriera. Es una historia que puede llenar de tristeza y de injusticia, pero es parte de la realidad de la vida y de lo que como seres humanos hacemos en momentos tan difíciles como estos, donde realmente se ve la verdadera cara de las personas que deberían apreciarnos sin ningún tipo de excusa o de doble intención.

The title of the film evokes a sense of melancholy, especially because throughout the story, the phrase "Everything will be okay" is presented as a positive way of looking at things, when in reality everything turned into conflict and challenges... However, in the end, there is a sense of hope in seeing that Angie was able to give Pat a decent send-off alongside other people who truly appreciated her, and she did so in the place where she wanted to be laid to rest when she died. It is a story that can fill you with sadness and a sense of injustice, but it is part of the reality of life and what we as human beings do in difficult moments like these, where we really see the true face of the people who should appreciate us without any excuses or ulterior motives.

Trailer Oficial

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Due to the hype I saw on social media sometime last year, I saved this movie on my phone. I gave it a watch — say three to four episodes — but it wasn’t interesting, so I pushed it to a corner. Although I didn’t read reviews about it, I expected it to be catchy because of the hype I saw on social media, but it was totally the opposite. I expected horror scenes, in fact, a zombie attack, but all I could see were just scenes of people moving around and seeking survival in the quietest manner possible. There was something they were hiding from, but that wasn’t revealed in the few episodes I watched, so I gave up.

Then, a week ago, I saw Jeclyn make a review about it, and out of curiosity — because it seemed like I had watched the wrong one — I asked her, but she told me it was actually the correct one I watched and that I just needed to give it a little more depth to understand the plot, as it’s really interesting.

Yesterday, I gave it another shot, even more deeply, and yes, I saw that it’s really interesting.

It’s an apocalypse movie where a creature — blind but highly sensitive to sound — comes out to slaughter anyone who makes a sound, even as simple as the sound from talking. The people communicate with signs and only whisper in very faint voices so as not to be heard by the deadly creature.

A family comprising a dad, a pregnant mother, and three children are on their survival run. One of them carelessly made a noise, and the creature, in broad daylight, came at the speed of light and took the boy away. It was painful for them, but their journey continued.

They later got into a house — a maize farm — where they settled, maintaining absolute silence until challenges set in, especially when the pregnant mother became due for delivery. She was the only one at home that night, and to make matters worse, she stepped on a nail. She couldn’t control the pain, shook the wooden floor out of pain, and the creature landed in the house.

I don’t want to spoil it for you. The peak of the movie is totally emotional. If you’re the type that’s prone to tears, you’d shed tears while watching.

The “silence” idea of the movie deserves an applause. Like, I can’t stop imagining how the idea came about. The movie is done in almost total silence. The creatures used — although sci-fi — look so intriguing and give the movie a captivating horror feeling.

But the origin of the creatures is not known, or maybe I haven’t watched the other parts yet, since I heard it has somewhat confusing sequels and prequels. Oh yeah, the confusion about which one to watch first was also among the reasons I felt uninterested in watching the movie earlier. As it stands, I don’t even know the accurate “part” of the one I watched — whether it’s a prequel or a sequel. Very confusing!

Thanks for reading.

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The Dickensian Aspect (S05E06)

Airdate: February 10th 2008

Written by: Ed Burns Directed by: Seith Mann

Running Time: 58 minutes

As The Wire approached its poignant conclusion, its trajectory irrevocably altered by HBO’s decision to reduce the final season from thirteen episodes to a mere ten, a palpable sense of narrative compression settled over the proceedings. Faced with the imperative to tie together the sprawling tapestry of Baltimore’s interconnected institutions within this truncated framework, the show’s creators, David Simon and Ed Burns, increasingly resorted to the strategic reinsertion of characters from earlier seasons. These appearances, while ostensibly serving the vital function of reaffirming the series’ profound commitment to continuity, often risked diminishing into little more than functional cameos – spectral reminders of what once was, summoned primarily as narrative mechanisms rather than fully realised returns. The Dickensian Aspect, the fifth episode of the fifth and final season, exemplifies this tendency with particular poignancy, deploying figures from Seasons Two and Four as fleeting, emotionally charged punctuation marks within the season’s accelerating descent.

First such manifestation of this spectral return belongs to Nick Sobotka, the proud but ultimately broken stevedore from the ravaged dockworker union of Season Two. His reappearance is jarringly specific: having seemingly vanished into the ether of the federal witness protection programme following the catastrophic collapse of his world, Nick materialises to stand as a solitary, bitter protestor. He heckles Mayor Tommy Carcetti’s hollow ceremony inaugurating a gleaming new waterfront development – a project whose very existence signifies the permanent erasure of the docking jobs his union fought so desperately, and ultimately futilely, to preserve. His target is the corrupt developer, Adam Krawczyk, the embodiment of the forces that devoured the working-class livelihoods of the docks. Accompanied by a mere three other protesters, Nick’s act of defiance is profoundly isolated, a futile gesture against the juggernaut of gentrification and political expediency. His subsequent arrest for disorderly conduct feels like a grim, inevitable footnote, a final, quiet extinguishing of the flame that once burned for the working waterfront. It serves primarily to underscore the absolute victory of the forces Nick battled – the docks are gone, the jobs are gone, and even the memory of the struggle is being paved over, leaving only this ghostly, ineffectual protest.

Even more devastating, and arguably the emotional core of the episode’s use of the past, is the return of Randy Wagstaff. Once the sweet, intelligent, and resourceful foster child whose potential seemed tragically bound for the streets, Randy is now a profoundly altered figure. Interviewed by Bunk Moreland in a bleak group home setting, he is ostensibly a potential witness regarding the murders in Marlo Stanfield’s vacant row houses. Yet, the intervening two years, steeped in the systemic neglect and abuse, have wrought a horrifying transformation. The vulnerable boy is gone, replaced by a hardened, cynical "gangsta" wannabe who reflexively rejects any cooperation with the police, spouting the street code with a chilling, performative bravado. The true horror lies not just in his refusal to help, but in the casual cruelty he exhibits towards younger boys within the home – a sickening replication of the abuse he himself endured. This brief, unflinching scene is arguably one of the most devastating in the entire series.

While these echoes from prior seasons resonate with melancholic weight, the present-day narrative hurtles forward with its own grim momentum. Marlo Stanfield, consolidating his dominion over the entire Baltimore drug trade, operates with chilling confidence. At the New Day Co-Op meeting, his arrogance is absolute; he openly confesses to the murder of Proposition Joe, the elder statesman whose wisdom and connections he so ruthlessly exploited. With the Greeks' supply now under his control, Marlo effectively dissolves the Co-Op itself. His offer of the Eastside territory to Slim Charles is met with the latter’s quiet, principled refusal – a refusal rooted in loyalty to Joe’s memory and a code Marlo has long since discarded. This vacuum is instantly, eagerly filled by Cheese, Joe’s treacherous nephew, whose glee at accepting this "payment" for his betrayal is palpable, cementing his status as a hollow, opportunistic figure utterly devoid of the honour his uncle possessed.

Yet Marlo’s empire, for all its apparent solidity, remains under siege. The near-mythical survival of Omar Little, and the failure of Chris Partlow, Snoop, and the rest of Marlo’s crew to eliminate him, has instilled a rare flicker of unease. Chris, acutely aware that Omar will retaliate, is visibly stressed; the hunt intensifies to the point where Monk, in a particularly brazen and desperate move, poses as a plainclothes officer to glean street intelligence. Omar, nursing a serious leg wound sustained during his miraculous escape, hides in the maintenance room of the very building where he was ambushed. His resilience, however, is undimmed. He ventures back onto the streets, robbing "Fatface" Rick of his gun, and swiftly uses it to wound one of Marlo’s soldiers and deliberately incinerate an SUV containing Marlo’s cash – a direct, symbolic challenge to the drug lord’s authority, proving Omar’s legend is far from extinguished.

Simultaneously, Jimmy McNulty’s increasingly elaborate and dangerous charade – fabricating a serial killer targeting the homeless to secure resources for a meaningful investigation – achieves unintended, far-reaching consequences. While it fails to secure him the manpower and budget he craved, the story explodes into national news, inadvertently overshadowing Carcetti’s waterfront ceremony. Carcetti, ever the astute politician, seizes the moment the same day, holding a press conference passionately decrying the victimisation of the homeless, blaming it squarely on Republican governor's welfare cuts. Norman Wilson immediately recognises the speech’s potent utility for Carcetti’s looming gubernatorial campaign, demonstrating how tragedy is effortlessly co-opted for political gain, a dynamic McNulty’s scheme has inadvertently amplified.

McNulty’s initial optimism, however, quickly curdles into operational frustration. The intense publicity makes planting new "victims" impossible without alerting regular patrol units. Lester Freamon, frustrated by the wiretap’s limitations, reluctantly brings in Detective Sydnor, and crucially, identifies Marlo’s innovative use of cellphones solely as image-based signalling devices for his crews. This sparks McNulty’s next, even more ethically abhorrent escalation: his fictional killer will now "abduct" the homeless. The charade involves McNulty forcibly relocating a mentally incapacitated man, Larry, from the streets of Baltimore to a shelter in Richmond, using Larry’s photo and documents to fabricate "messages" from the non-existent kidnapper – a grotesque exploitation of the city’s most invisible citizens.

In stark, morally clarifying contrast, Bunk Moreland doggedly pursues the actual murders – Marlo’s victims in the vacant houses – through traditional, evidence-based police work. Despite the near-catastrophic contamination of evidence in the crime lab (rendering much of it legally unusable), Bunk’s meticulous approach begins yielding results. He methodically connects the dots, inching towards linking the vacant house killings to the earlier murder of Devar Manigault. This connection is fuelled by the anguish of Raylene Lee (Shamika Cotton), Devar’s former girlfriend, who blames her estranged son, Michael Lee, convinced he had prior knowledge of Devar’s fate. Bunk’s progress, achieved through old-fashioned legwork and respect for procedure, stands in stark, ironic counterpoint to McNulty’s self-destructive fraud, suggesting the show’s core belief in the value of doing the job right, even when the system is broken.

Written by Ed Burns and directed by Seith Mann, The Dickensian Aspect encapsulates the fifth season’s potent duality. Its undeniable strength lies in its unflinching commitment to a consistently dark, gritty tone, punctuated by the series’ signature ironic twists. The episode masterfully demonstrates how McNulty’s desperate scheme backfires spectacularly: the fake serial killer narrative, intended to fund police work, instead becomes Carcetti’s political springboard and inadvertently aids Bunk’s legitimate investigation through the sheer volume of attention it generates. The profound irony that Bunk, working diligently within the system’s constraints, appears closer to cracking Marlo’s operation than McNulty, who has shattered ethical and legal boundaries, is the episode’s most potent thematic statement – a reminder that systemic rot often corrupts the very solutions meant to fix it.

Yet, the season’s persistent weaknesses remain evident. The Baltimore Sun subplot, despite its thematic relevance to the erosion of truth and institutional decay, still feels frustratingly disconnected from the central police and political narratives. The character of Scott Templeton, the ambitious, morally flexible reporter, remains perplexingly inconsistent. His interaction with a homeless Iraq War veteran suffering from PTSD, resulting in a powerful article, creates a jarring dissonance. It momentarily suggests a capacity for authentic journalism and compassion, muddying the otherwise clear critique of the Sun’s decline and Templeton’s role as a symbol of its failings. This ambiguity, while perhaps reflecting real-world complexity, weakens the subplot’s narrative thrust within the season’s tightly wound crisis.

Furthermore, the scene where a drunken, despairing McNulty rants at the statue of Revolutionary War hero General Samuel Smith feels unnecessarily theatrical. While intended to symbolise McNulty’s fractured connection to Baltimore’s history and his own sense of failed purpose, its staginess stands out against the episode’s otherwise grounded realism. It risks melodrama, momentarily pulling the audience out of the meticulously constructed world to deliver a message that might have resonated more powerfully through subtler character beats.

The Dickensian Aspect is ultimately a powerful, if flawed, piece of The Wire’s concluding symphony. It utilises its spectral cameos not merely as fan service, but as devastating shorthand for the city’s cyclical tragedies – Nick Sobotka embodying the death of the working class, Randy Wagstaff the crushing of childhood innocence by systemic neglect. While the narrative compression necessitated by HBO’s budget cuts occasionally exposes the mechanics of storytelling, the episode’s core strengths – its unflinching gaze at institutional failure, its masterful irony, and its profound character moments, particularly Randy’s transformation and Bunk’s quiet dedication – ensure it resonates with the series’ enduring power.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

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• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29644189/

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