The TV Series, Fallout-My Review

I just finished Episode 1 of this New series from Amazon Prime. I am hooked. I binged-watch the 8 episodes of Season 1. Each Episode is about 30 minutes. Season 2 is planned. There is violence, slight nudity, cannibalism and of course robots and a love story. This is a TV series worth your time and entertainment. However, it is not geared for Seniors but the younger generation of TV viewers.    

 I am one of the 65 million viewers who enjoyed this series and described in the following write up from pushsquare.com. I have never played a video game, but I love the series specially the sound track of 1940-1950's music. The music soundtrack of the Fallout series is composed of both licensed music from the mid-century's Jazz Age to the Space Age, as well as original scores by Mark Morgan, Matt Gruber, Devin Townsend, and Inon Zur. The series also features original songs and covers commissioned for the games as diegetic music heard in the world of Fallout.

Here's a short write up of the second most popular show from Amazon Prime Videos. 

The TV series was based on one of the greatest video games of all time, Fallout is the story of haves and have-nots in a world in which there’s almost nothing left to have. Two Hundred years after the apocalypse, the gentle denizens of luxury fallout shelters are forced to return to the incredibly complex, gleefully weird and highly violent universe waiting for them above.

"The Fallout TV adaptation continues to go from strength to strength as Amazon has revealed the series has received 65 million viewers, making it the second most-watched show in the streaming service's history. It's also the most popular series on the platform since The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power debuted in 2022.

Details include the show proving popular amongst the 18-34 age demographic, where it's Amazon Prime's most popular series ever.  Sixty per cent of overall viewership came from outside the USA, with the UK, France, and Brazil all engaging with Fallout more than most. The firm has already confirmed a second season will be shot as Fallout fans return to the games in their droves having finished the TV show. They've proved so popular these past few weeks that Bethesda has recorded five million players in a single day across all its titles.

In our Fallout TV Show review, we concluded: "In accurately capturing the overall direction of the games, it forges a new path the series can take without a controller in your hands, all the while replicating its tone and bringing back those classic tunes you had hidden away on your iPod more than a decade ago. We don't want to set the world on fire, but if Fallout is the aftermath, then maybe the LA wasteland isn't so bad."

Are you one of those 65 million viewers? Let me know in the comments section of my blog. For complete details visit:

https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2024/04/fallout-tv-show-marks-huge-success-with-65-million-viewers

Here one review of the show that I can concur:

The series has the ability to appeal to both gaming enthusiasts & newcomers alike. Even if you've never picked up a controller, the richly developed characters & intricately woven plotlines will draw you in effortlessly. The series doesn't rely solely on its gaming roots to carry it forward; instead, it stands confidently on its own merits, offering a fresh & immersive experience for all viewers.

The casting choices are spot-on, breathing life into characters that fans of the Fallout franchise have come to love & new viewers can instantly connect with. Ella Purnell's portrayal of Lucy MacLean is nothing short of captivating, bringing depth & resilience to the character as she navigates the harsh realities of the wasteland. Aaron Moten as Maximus, a squire of the Brotherhood of Steel, delivers a performance filled with both strength & vulnerability, showcasing the complexities of survival in a world ravaged by nuclear fallout. Walton Goggins as The Ghoul/Cooper Howard, is a scene-stealer, infusing the series with charisma & mystery that would keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

It's a shining example of how a game adaptation can not only do justice to its source material but also transcend it, carving out its own place in the pantheon of great television.

In conclusion, if you're looking for a riveting series that seamlessly blends action, drama, thought-provoking themes, look no further than Amazon Prime's Fallout. And as for the next potential game adaptation, I couldn't agree more a series based on BioShock would be an absolute dream come true. Here's hoping that someone out there is listening & ready to bring Rapture to life on the small screen.

Meanwhile, here's a photo of my purple okra from my Gardens in my previous residence, Fair Oaks, CA and my own recipe for okra sauteed. 

 https://myfavoritepinoydishes.blogspot.com/2022/08/eleven-ways-to-cook-okra-my-own-okra.html

Fellow Travelers- TV Mini Series at Show Time

https://youtu.be/1C3EqLyNLfk?si=MLtV3GlPXiw7Wno0

Most Controversial Movies Ever Made/

How many movies in this list have you seen? I have viewed three of them, Lolita, Birth of the Nation and Clockwork Orange. 

https://www.ranker.com/list/controversial-movies/anncasano?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium&utm_campaign=linkcomment&fbclid=IwAR37lZtkudutbAFllamHpsPqSlISuK8yOW2EyOIjxUhf8H31_XFpy5SKeR4_aem_ATDxgSfP7EwcB-NgrKAvFnKlvs8Kxs1sCPonHWq-k7NCQ2_8O8Tkp9POrEPtewKyaxD12Xa8p_I6DWwGVcUhJi54

Let me know if you have seen any movies in the list above. 

 Meanwhile Here's another list of the top 50 controversial movies, inclusding The Last temptation of Christ ( see above photo).

https://www.boredpanda.com/controversial-movies/

Freud's Last Session- My Movie Review

Last Sunday I watched the Movie, Freud's Last Session in our Cinema.  There were only three of us in the Cinema. I enjoyed the movie very much. The movie has mixed reviews and has a rating of 3 Star out of 5. The movie is not for everyone as the subject matter is Faith versus Atheism.  It is a movie that is different from the standard Hollywood Block Busters, but to me it is entertaining and not a waste of my time.  It is a story of human nature and theology that is well done and acted.  Movies based on stage plays are normally not like, but this one is an exception.  Here's one of the reviews that I agree 100%.

" In this day of action packed block busters from Hollywood, I'm impressed that this movie was even made. I think Hopkins, from what I know anyway, nails Freud in all his demanding, overbearing but witty and terrified (of the pain of cancer and his impending death) self.  Goode does a great turn at portraying a relatively young Lewis. The film is not a white wash. Lewis, who penned the Chronicles of Narnia and Screw Tape Letters, is there with his rather problematic relationship with his war friend's mother is there. Freud's odd and challenging relationship with his daughter, Anna who was lesbian and a leading psychoanalyst herself, is front and center. But the questions of faith and atheism and the sometimes heated debate are so well done. But through it all there is a respect and a bit of affection between these two well known men. If you are not into the subject matter, watch something else. But otherwise this is a great film. The movie ends with my favorite quote from Freud, "From error to error, one discovers the entire truth."  There has never been a greater quote about human nature and theology than that one!  Here's the write-up from Wikipedia,

Freud's Last Session is a 2023 drama film starring Anthony Hopkins, Matthew Goode, Liv Lisa Fries, Jodi Balfour, Jeremy Northam, and Orla Brady. It is based on the stage play of the same name by Mark St. Germain, which itself is based upon the book The Question of God, by Armand Nicholi. The film was directed by Matthew Brown and written by St. Germain. Freud's Last Session premiered at the 2023 AFI Fest on October 27, 2023. Sony Pictures Classics released the film in the United States on 22 December 2023 to mixed reviews from critics.

A fictional meeting occurs between C. S. Lewis, nicknamed "Jack", and Sigmund Freud, two days after the start of World War II. A debate on the existence of God, as Freud greatly resents Lewis' recent rejection of his own strain of atheism in favour of Christianity, and many other subjects follows. The two men discuss issues such as Lewis' trauma as a World War I combat veteran, J.R.R. Tolkien and the Inklings, and the nature of Freud's and Lewis' relationships with other people, such as Freud's daughter Anna, who is pathologically dependent upon her father. However, she eventually introduces her lesbian partner, Dorothy Burlingham, to him. 

Freud dies by suicide several weeks later due to the intense pain from his oral cancer. C.S. Lewis goes on to become a famous author of Christian literature, and the children he later takes in as evacuees during the war serve as inspiration for his Narnia series. Anna and Dorothy live together for decades, and Anna becomes known as the founder of child psychology. The film notes that Freud met with an unidentified Oxford don in the last days of Freud's life, who could possibly have been Lewis.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 44% of 86 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The website's consensus reads: "Anthony Hopkins and Matthew Goode are a tremendously talented pair, but Freud's Last Session is too scattered and thinly written to take full advantage of their efforts." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 49 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.

Personal Note: If you are not into intellectual movies, this movie is not for You! It is a short movie, and it is worth your time.  Again, I enjoyed the movie very much and I am giving it a rating of 3.5 out of 5.0 

This is a film centered on conversations. If you don't enjoy intellectual conversation, this movie is not for you!  For additional details read:

https://keithandthemovies.com/2024/01/10/review-freuds-last-session-2023/

My Movie of the Week- Poor Things

💥My Short Review:

Poor Things
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Yorgos Lanthimos
Screenplay by	Tony McNamara
Based on	Poor Things by Alasdair Gray
Produced by	Ed Guiney Andrew Lowe Yorgos Lanthimos Emma Stone
Starring	Emma Stone Mark Ruffalo Willem Dafoe Ramy Youssef Christopher Abbott Jerrod Carmichael
Cinematography	Robbie Ryan
Edited by	Yorgos Mavropsaridis
Music by	Jerskin Fendrix
Production companies	Film4 Element Pictures TSG Entertainment
Distributed by	Searchlight Pictures
Release dates	September 1, 2023(Venice) December 8, 2023 (United States) January 12, 2024 (Ireland and United Kingdom)
Running time	142 minutes
Countries	Ireland United Kingdom United States
Language	English
Budget	$35 million
Box office	$104.8 million

From Wikipedia: 

Poor Things is a 2023 film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and written by Tony McNamara, based on the 1992 novel by Alasdair Gray. Starring Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbott, and Jerrod Carmichael,^[5] the plot centers on Bella Baxter, a young woman in Victorian London who is resurrected through a brain transplant and embarks on an odyssey of self-discovery. Critics identified multiple genres, with elements of black comedyand steampunk.

Poor Things premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2023, where it won the Golden Lion. It was released theatrically in the United States on December 8, 2023, and in Ireland and the United Kingdom on January 12, 2024, by Searchlight Pictures. The film was named one of the top ten films of 2023 by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute and has grossed over $104 million worldwide. It received five wins at the 77th British Academy Film Awards, and was nominated in 11 categories at the 96th Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Poor Things also won two Golden Globe Awards: Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Stone.

Here are some reviews that I agree 100%.Gorgeous sets and costumes, remarkable performances by Stone, Defoe and a scene-stealing Ruffalo cannot quite save this self-aware oddity of a movie. The story tips it hat to Frankenstein, with the story of a damaged yet brilliant doctor, Godwin Baxter (played by a superb Willem Defoe) performing a radical, life-resurrecting procedure on the body of a girl who had thrown herself from London Bridge. Child-like (hint) and with no memories from her previous life, the girl, now named Bella Baxter (Stone) is carefully tutored until the day comes she wishes to see the outside world for herself and leaves under the dubious ‘care’ of a noted bounder, Duncan, played wonderfully by Mark Ruffalo. The Lisbon scenes are breathtaking and Bella’s naive embrace of new experiences are skillfully juxtaposed against the unexpected obsession for Bella that the cad Duncan is beginning to be tortured by. The second stanza onboard ‘The Ship’ was similarly captivating; Bella’s growing intellect and charm earning new new friends, however these relationships barely have time to develop before Duncan and Bella are unceremoniously dumped in France due to a lack of funds to pay passage. It is here that the story overreaches its ambitions. The Paris story is an uncomfortable mess of fetishized pornography and a thin plot that really detract from the earlier story, leaving me squirming a little in my seat and wondering why this was all necessary to move the story forward. The Paris sojourn inevitably culminates with Bella’s return to London to be reunited with her creator and the man to whom she was betrothed before her adventures began, the charming yet feckless Max (Rammy Yussef). Yet Bella’s past catches up with her for one more twist before she realises the truth of who she is and what her future should be. 

💥I saw the Movie "Poor Things"  the other day at Our Cinema Here at THD. I love it, however a few THD residents got out after 5 minutes at the beginning of the show.  Eric our movie Coordinator warned us that movie is R rated and there are scenes that the Prudes may object  or get offended. I am not a Prude and have seen numerous R rated movies in my life.    So I stayed and enjoyed the movie very much. 

I vote for Emma Stone, the Best Actress Award in the Oscars. Her acting as the "horny" Bella deserves an award. I really enjoyed the ending of the movie, when Bella's husband returned and he was turned into a goat!