loredanaghidarcea
Lifetime Total
1+
IMDb Member
17 years
Reviews
Liaison (2023)
Good romantic chemistry ruined by nonsensical plot
I've been looking forward to watching this show for about 6 months now and I was confused as to why Apple wasn't promoting it properly prior to release. Now I understand why ...
I'm a huge fan of both Eva Green and Vincent Cassel which is the main reason why I wanted to watch this show. This seems to be almost a test run for their playing off one another in the highly anticipated Three Musketeers adaptation coming out this year.
As far as the good of this show goes, Green and Cassel have great chemistry and they sell you on their doomed love affair. Their scenes together are full of angst, sexual tension and deep anguish. Just what you'd expect to find later on this year in their roles as Athos and Milady.
The problem is Liaison doesn't want to be an exploration of a love affair where lies and betrayal left both participants a husk of their former selves. Liaison wants to be a spy and political thriller, where the romance is only sprinkled on top of the meat of the story. And that meat is stale and poorly cooked by people who clearly have no idea what they're talking about.
They are trying to sell you on a spy plot involving cybersecurity but I'm pretty much convinced that none of the writers have any knowledge of IT past being able to open a Word document. It's absolutely preposterous to believe that a guy in charge of the software systems that operate the entirety of Great Britain would just shrug his shoulders at a cartoon cat exploding on the screens of his institution and go: ''Oh, it's probably just a kid following a youtube tutorial". It gets even worse when the dam systems are hacked leading to London being transformed into Venice over night, followed by the train systems being tampered with to the point of causing a major collision that leaves hundreds dead and wounded in its wake. IT genius guy continues to be unconcerned.
Things aren't any better on the French side. We have a cast of boring, nonsensical characters that walk in and out of rooms, saying and doing nothing. They seem dead set on ruining each other's political careers, I'll give them that.
On the rare occasions when we leave the cybersecurity plot, we are treated to poor setup and juvenile dialogue. Take the first fight we see between Alison (Eva Green) and her boyfriend, Albert. As viewers, we know that Alison is trying to protect Gabriel (Vincent Cassel) so she's trying to persuade her boyfriend, a big shot human rights lawyer, not to take the case that would strip Gabriel of his diplomatic immunity (so the Brits can put him in prison). She tells him not to take the case because her boss, Richard, only picked him because he's black. When that doesn't work, she tells him he shouldn't get involved with Richard because he will ruin him when it suits him. Albert decides that he's angry now and he leaves the house in a hissy fit. Why is he angry? As far as he knows, Alison is just trying to protect him. At most he would be annoyed with her but so angry that he leaves the house? In the hands of a skilled writer, this would be an excellent opportunity to show us Alison's ability to manipulate and hurt people when she chooses to. But the scene doesn't go far enough because these writers are unable to write good dialgue and setup.
Albert as a character is deeply frustrating. We're supposed to see him as the good, sensible man to Gabriel's messy mercenary. However, most of the time, he just comes off as weak and petty. Particularly when it comes to the relationship with his daughter and his ex wife. His daughter is involved in a major accident that leaves her wounded and terrified. The mother wants to take the kid to therapy so she can work through her trauma. The kid, your regular annoying teenager trope that every movie and tv show uses, doesn't want to do it. Albert agrees with the kid and acts as if the mother is ridiculous. He also doesn't tell the mother her daughter is smoking weed because she'd be ... angry? And that's a bad thing? The problem isn't that he's acting this way. The problem is we as viewers are supposed to think he's doing the right thing. He's the reasonable parent between the two.
Alison isn't any better. It takes Green quite some time to get into the character. I think we're supposed to see her as a woman that has completely shut down after breaking up with Gabriel who only begins to open up again once he's back in her life. The problem is Alison isn't given enough flesh to earn that characterization. The only moments where Green shines is in her scenes with Gabriel. And that's not so much down to the script as it's Green and Cassel's ability to convey subtext through body language.
Cassel fares a little better with Gabriel simply because he has a few actions scenes and he knows his way around a movie fight. Also I think he may have insisted on using disguises in the movie (something he did also in his spy vehicle with Monica Bellucci) and he's clearly having fun with those, if nothing else.
All of that being said, will I watch the remaining episodes? Yes. I'm that deeply invested in Eva Green and Vincent Cassel that I will slog through a nonsensical plot and bad dialogue just to watch them light up the screen together for 5 minutes per episode.
However, if you're not like me, and you're just looking for an entertaining, cleverly plotted spy thriller, stay away. There's nothing for you to see here.
I'm a huge fan of both Eva Green and Vincent Cassel which is the main reason why I wanted to watch this show. This seems to be almost a test run for their playing off one another in the highly anticipated Three Musketeers adaptation coming out this year.
As far as the good of this show goes, Green and Cassel have great chemistry and they sell you on their doomed love affair. Their scenes together are full of angst, sexual tension and deep anguish. Just what you'd expect to find later on this year in their roles as Athos and Milady.
The problem is Liaison doesn't want to be an exploration of a love affair where lies and betrayal left both participants a husk of their former selves. Liaison wants to be a spy and political thriller, where the romance is only sprinkled on top of the meat of the story. And that meat is stale and poorly cooked by people who clearly have no idea what they're talking about.
They are trying to sell you on a spy plot involving cybersecurity but I'm pretty much convinced that none of the writers have any knowledge of IT past being able to open a Word document. It's absolutely preposterous to believe that a guy in charge of the software systems that operate the entirety of Great Britain would just shrug his shoulders at a cartoon cat exploding on the screens of his institution and go: ''Oh, it's probably just a kid following a youtube tutorial". It gets even worse when the dam systems are hacked leading to London being transformed into Venice over night, followed by the train systems being tampered with to the point of causing a major collision that leaves hundreds dead and wounded in its wake. IT genius guy continues to be unconcerned.
Things aren't any better on the French side. We have a cast of boring, nonsensical characters that walk in and out of rooms, saying and doing nothing. They seem dead set on ruining each other's political careers, I'll give them that.
On the rare occasions when we leave the cybersecurity plot, we are treated to poor setup and juvenile dialogue. Take the first fight we see between Alison (Eva Green) and her boyfriend, Albert. As viewers, we know that Alison is trying to protect Gabriel (Vincent Cassel) so she's trying to persuade her boyfriend, a big shot human rights lawyer, not to take the case that would strip Gabriel of his diplomatic immunity (so the Brits can put him in prison). She tells him not to take the case because her boss, Richard, only picked him because he's black. When that doesn't work, she tells him he shouldn't get involved with Richard because he will ruin him when it suits him. Albert decides that he's angry now and he leaves the house in a hissy fit. Why is he angry? As far as he knows, Alison is just trying to protect him. At most he would be annoyed with her but so angry that he leaves the house? In the hands of a skilled writer, this would be an excellent opportunity to show us Alison's ability to manipulate and hurt people when she chooses to. But the scene doesn't go far enough because these writers are unable to write good dialgue and setup.
Albert as a character is deeply frustrating. We're supposed to see him as the good, sensible man to Gabriel's messy mercenary. However, most of the time, he just comes off as weak and petty. Particularly when it comes to the relationship with his daughter and his ex wife. His daughter is involved in a major accident that leaves her wounded and terrified. The mother wants to take the kid to therapy so she can work through her trauma. The kid, your regular annoying teenager trope that every movie and tv show uses, doesn't want to do it. Albert agrees with the kid and acts as if the mother is ridiculous. He also doesn't tell the mother her daughter is smoking weed because she'd be ... angry? And that's a bad thing? The problem isn't that he's acting this way. The problem is we as viewers are supposed to think he's doing the right thing. He's the reasonable parent between the two.
Alison isn't any better. It takes Green quite some time to get into the character. I think we're supposed to see her as a woman that has completely shut down after breaking up with Gabriel who only begins to open up again once he's back in her life. The problem is Alison isn't given enough flesh to earn that characterization. The only moments where Green shines is in her scenes with Gabriel. And that's not so much down to the script as it's Green and Cassel's ability to convey subtext through body language.
Cassel fares a little better with Gabriel simply because he has a few actions scenes and he knows his way around a movie fight. Also I think he may have insisted on using disguises in the movie (something he did also in his spy vehicle with Monica Bellucci) and he's clearly having fun with those, if nothing else.
All of that being said, will I watch the remaining episodes? Yes. I'm that deeply invested in Eva Green and Vincent Cassel that I will slog through a nonsensical plot and bad dialogue just to watch them light up the screen together for 5 minutes per episode.
However, if you're not like me, and you're just looking for an entertaining, cleverly plotted spy thriller, stay away. There's nothing for you to see here.
Merlin (2008)
Merlin: The reason why Robin Hood got canceled
Of course, the title is "tongue in cheek" for the most part but it's also somewhat true since both shows were on BBC and aimed at the same target audience. No matter how much I love Richard Armitage (and I do!) if I were to choose between the 2 it would be Merlin all the way and like me I'm sure there were many others.
I thought of writing this review since most reviews were written in the beginning, just as the series was starting to find its stride. Think of this as an updated version. Has it stood the test of time or did it fizzle out from an initially promising start? The answer is, without a doubt, that Merlin has gotten consistently better with time.
To be honest with you I was hesitant in the beginning to watch this. "What?", I thought, "another kid show based on a legend with one dimensional characters and no leather clad brooding villain in sight?!? ... No, thank you!" ... I finally gave into the hype and watched the pilot. Not all that impressed ... but just like the advice I give everyone I recommend a series to: I decided not to judge the series by its pilot. Pilots are, usually, the worst episode out of a series because it's basically a getting to know each other party, except we don't know each other well enough to have a good time together. But just like that workmate you dismiss at first but grow to love later on, Merlin and I became best friends by the end of season 1.
What Merlin does really, really well is making you care about the characters, what happenes to them. You feel for them so much that the show becomes addictive. And it achieves this by making its characters human. They have faults, fears, they fail and disappoint. Yes, Arthur is spoiled and has that silver spoon firmly embedded in his defined jaw line but he's also kind, tender, honorable and immensely brave. In a word, he embodies everything that Arthur should be. Colin Morgan as Merlin deserves props for making his Merlin so endearing. He's at once brave and vulnerable and so damn huggable.
Another aspect of the show I enjoy very much is the way it has handled the love triangle between Arthur, Gwen and Lancelot and that is because you can understand Gwen's dilemma. You can't think badly of her because, just like her, you're torn between the two men. I'm glad the show has allowed Arthur to have a true rival in Santiago Cabrera's Lancelot.
I feel that the reviewers that give this a low rating usually expect something else. You can't go into this and want to see Deadwood. You have to understand what you're getting yourself into. Merlin is a little, family show and takes liberties with history without apologizing for it and, if you let it, will manage to entertain you. In a show where the title character can light the house on fire with his eyes, you complain about horses being used as historically inaccurate?!? Seriously?!?
This in a nutshell, is what I call a show with a low budget but lots of heart. Yes, it's camp. Yes, it's got plot holes that trains could go through. Yes, it doesn't follow the legend. So what? Both you and the kids will enjoy this ... I mean, it's got dragons! Who doesn't like that?
I thought of writing this review since most reviews were written in the beginning, just as the series was starting to find its stride. Think of this as an updated version. Has it stood the test of time or did it fizzle out from an initially promising start? The answer is, without a doubt, that Merlin has gotten consistently better with time.
To be honest with you I was hesitant in the beginning to watch this. "What?", I thought, "another kid show based on a legend with one dimensional characters and no leather clad brooding villain in sight?!? ... No, thank you!" ... I finally gave into the hype and watched the pilot. Not all that impressed ... but just like the advice I give everyone I recommend a series to: I decided not to judge the series by its pilot. Pilots are, usually, the worst episode out of a series because it's basically a getting to know each other party, except we don't know each other well enough to have a good time together. But just like that workmate you dismiss at first but grow to love later on, Merlin and I became best friends by the end of season 1.
What Merlin does really, really well is making you care about the characters, what happenes to them. You feel for them so much that the show becomes addictive. And it achieves this by making its characters human. They have faults, fears, they fail and disappoint. Yes, Arthur is spoiled and has that silver spoon firmly embedded in his defined jaw line but he's also kind, tender, honorable and immensely brave. In a word, he embodies everything that Arthur should be. Colin Morgan as Merlin deserves props for making his Merlin so endearing. He's at once brave and vulnerable and so damn huggable.
Another aspect of the show I enjoy very much is the way it has handled the love triangle between Arthur, Gwen and Lancelot and that is because you can understand Gwen's dilemma. You can't think badly of her because, just like her, you're torn between the two men. I'm glad the show has allowed Arthur to have a true rival in Santiago Cabrera's Lancelot.
I feel that the reviewers that give this a low rating usually expect something else. You can't go into this and want to see Deadwood. You have to understand what you're getting yourself into. Merlin is a little, family show and takes liberties with history without apologizing for it and, if you let it, will manage to entertain you. In a show where the title character can light the house on fire with his eyes, you complain about horses being used as historically inaccurate?!? Seriously?!?
This in a nutshell, is what I call a show with a low budget but lots of heart. Yes, it's camp. Yes, it's got plot holes that trains could go through. Yes, it doesn't follow the legend. So what? Both you and the kids will enjoy this ... I mean, it's got dragons! Who doesn't like that?
Efectos secundarios (2006)
the fairy tale called life
I was very impressed by this movie. I decided to see it because someone had labeled this as a romantic comedy ... It's not ... it's something else ... It's a voyage you take into real life with four very strange yet familiar characters ... They are quite well written, with their own obsessions so you get the feeling that you have met people like them before. None of them are at the point they thought they would be by the time the movie starts which makes them turn back to the moment they felt it all started. I'm not going to explain the entire plot because it's not the most important thing about the movie or the reason you will enjoy it. It's the way it makes you feel, the way it makes you think about your own life. In my opinion it's worth seeing . It's romantic, crazy and poetic all at the same time, just like life ...