Stskyshaker

Does an extraordinatory job working with a familiar formula. Most would feel they've seen it before, or literarlly have with the original Twister, but the movie feels fresh despite its rather predictable storyline (and plot twist).

The visual effects make for a great reason to see it on the big screen. You will expect to see tornadoes a quarter of the runtime, and you will, but it does not get old and keeps the thrill for the most part thanks to the sensitive direction by Lee Isaac Chung (Minari).

On the acting front, the supporting cast is competent although I'd prefer the male lead to be a little less captain america-ish and with more depth. But Daisy Edgar-Jones maintains the narrative drive, convincingly portraying the climate scientist with charm and prose.

Overall a great fun summer flick.

I remember getting blown away by the books 10 years ago and thinking to myself: pity this is unfilmable.

But what a job they've done here. While the main setting was moved to England, the show remained faithful to the core sci-fi concepts and visualized the grand scale of them in truly stunning ways. That is no small feat and already halfway to success in my book - the Three-Body trilogy's ideas are the kind that stays with you for the rest of your life and to see them turned into a different medium so competently is just incredibly satisfying.

My only complaint is that the charactor development was a bit one-dimensional. Sure, that isn't all that much in the souce material. But being the main antagonist does not mean Ye Wenjie should be looking stern 99% of the time.

All in all this is a perfect companion to a modern classic. There is a lot in the series that is not in the books, and vice versa, but there is nothing inconsistent or incoherent. You could read the books then watch the series, or watch the series then read the books, and find yourself enjoying both in different and complementary ways.

The scope and vision cannot be grander. And Starfield indeed looks grand from the first minutes. The various mechanics and systems built into the game, from spaceship building to planetary exploration, are truly amazing, enough to fill multiple decent games.

But that's where the positives end. Starfield produces almost no gel, either in the form of a good story or cohesive world building, to hold its different parts together. The grand scope becomes pointless and bleak when there is no narrative to drive it. The various mechanics do not talk to each other and start to feel redundant very early. The saddest thing is when you push yourself to invest in some of them and they are proven to be redundant by the end of the game.

Bethesda seems to think that just because it's the first universe in 20 years for Bethesda (it's Bethesda!), players will just stick around for hundreds and hundreds of hours until they eventually truly appreciate all that's built within this grand scope. That's hubris. I felt a tinge of nostalgia I completed the game. Then I immediately deleted it and all my saves. What a disappointment.