Movie reviews with ceren

Movie and tv-show reviews and podcast

Is “Rings Of Power” worth a watch?

This is probably one of the highlights of this year for me at least!

This is a spin-off of the “Lord of The Rings”-franchise.

This Amazon Prime series is the most expensive thing of all time!

This Amazon Prime series will have nine episodes in its first season and the first two will be released on it’s release date which will be September 2nd for me, as an European human being.

This series starrs Morfydd Clark (2020’s “Dracula”), Nazanin Boniadi (“Bombshell”), Peter Mullan (“Westworld”), Benjamin Walker (2021’s Netflix’s “The ice Road”), just to name a few.

This series was directed by Wayne Yip (Amazon Prime’s “Doctor Who”) , J.A. Bayona (“Jurassic World: The Found Kingdom”) and Charlotte Brändström (Netflix’s “The Witcher”) and written by the author of the fantasy novel “Lord of The Rings” and “The Hobbit”, J. R. R. Tolkien. It been renewed for a second season prior its release of its first season.

Onto the premise: This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness. Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.

In episode one, Galadriel is disturbed by signs of an ancient evil’s return. Arondir makes an unsettling discovery. Elrond is presented with an intriguing new venture. Nori breaks a deeply held community rule.

It looks phenomenal. It’s clear why the show cost so much of 1 billion dollars. While it is beautiful it is not always convincing. It sometimes looks surreal and you can tell that it’s not real and there are a lot of visual effects. I think it’s because of the sometimes poor lighting. The sets made for the harfoots are practical and look great. While not every visual effect looks perfect it is close to perfect. There are also a lot of beautiful landscapes and practical sets which look amazing.

The emotional sincerity, ethereal atmosphere, and pure fantasy excitement of Jackson’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy is perfectly captured here. The characters are quickly likeable, the visuals and special-effects are stunning

As for the dialogue is poetic, and overall, it’s an incredibly tight script that establishes the world, story and characters in a concise and engaging manner. It’s such a joy to be back in Middle-Earth, guided by hands that are clearly pouring a lot of care and heart into this project. I can’t wait to see where this show goes.

Watching the first episode of this series, really brought me back to the time where I watched the original franchise as a teenager.

The acting is adequate, the costumes and visuals are stunning/beautiful, getting the pre-LOTR / The Hobbit era just right where everything seems just a tad more primitive than the settings for the books we all know and love.

The first episode covers the usual drama tropes i.e. Defiance of authority and tradition, forbidden love, an unseen enemy / ominous threat, revenge and to be honest it’s handled quite well.

Looks are not everything. The story is neither captivating nor innovative. One girl seeks revenge and another girl wants to leave her safe home and explore the world. Nothing new or interesting.

In episode two, Galadriel find a new ally. Elrond faces a cold reception from an old friend. Nori endeavors to help a Stranger. Arondir searches for answers while Bronwyn warns her people of a threat.

A lot of convenient things happen in both episodes, but I’m not gonna complain much about that. Budget is ironically the best thing about the show. You can tell every shot doesn’t waste anything. Also liking the story arc of the elf archer that acts like a side mission in a videogame. In conclusion, the show does a good job of balancing like 5 story arcs. Some arcs are more boring than others, but they are entertaining in the grand scheme of things. Morfydd Clark as Galadriel is definitely the standout from the cast and her story proves to be the most important of the bunch while the other 4 or so help the main story in ways we are yet to see. Just hopeful that the season gets better as it goes on.

The Orcs looked so so so much better than in the original franchise, not gonna lie!

Prince Durin and his wife were great additions and I loved the dialogue between them and Elrond. Nori continues to be my favorite character so far, and the scenes she had with that strange man from the fireball were fascinating. Arondir and Bronwyn grew on me this episode, and I even found Bronwyn’s son to be entertaining. Some really good suspense moments throughout as well. Low point for me is Galadriel’s story line. I don’t find her likeable at all, and have no idea how she is gonna turn out to be the Galadriel we all love from Jackson’s films.

I think Poppy is my spit animal.

I was so surprised by the difference in quality from the first and second episode.

It was a very good idea for Amazon to drop both episodes because if they dropped that 1st episode only, then I probably would’ve let this go by the wayside. Especially them wanting this series to be dropped at the same time all around the world!

it is paced better, acted a little better and sets up the story going forwards.

The scenes in Khazad-dûm were the best part of this episode, and they very much felt like they belonged in the Hobbit Trilogy. The sets and quality of the visuals during these scenes were fantastic, so props to the guys responsible for carrying these few episodes.

Getty to hear Howard Shore do some more LotR music was a joy, and it’s glad to see he hasn’t lost his touch. The rest of the music, done by Bear McCreary is also very good, but this should be expected by the guy who composed the music to a much better Amazon Prime show, “The Outlander”.

In episode three, Arondir finds himself a captive. Galadriel and Halbrand explore a legendary kingdom. Elendil is given a new assignment. Nori faces the consequences.

Adrift is a better episode than the second one.It is paced better, acted a little better and sets up the story going forwards. Like episode one, Nori is still the highlight so far, and I though the scenes with Elrond and Durin were pretty funny and well done. The scenes in Khazad-dûm were the best part of this episode, and they very much felt like they belonged in the Hobbit Trilogy. The sets and quality of the visuals during these scenes were fantastic, so props to the guys responsible for carrying these few episodes.

That being said, Galadriel is still boring, as is the elf warrior guy – Arondir and his weird relationship with Bronwyn.

In episode four, Queen Regent Míriel’s faith is tested. Isildur finds himself at a crossroads. Elrond uncovers a secret. Arondir is given an ultimatum. Theo disobeys Bronwyn.

I had to hold my breath when the giant talked About Sauron.

There are truly some fantastic themes throughout this episode. The visuals are amazing, as usual but the standout has to be the story within Khazad-dûm. Elrond and Durin have a very good on screen friendship and both actors play well off each other. Disa is also entertaining, even though I haven’t been fond of the actress during the marketing of the series. Every scene that takes place within Khazad-dûm was great and I would rather see an hour of just that than everything else that took place elsewhere in the story…

The problem with this show is that they are trying to balance too many characters at once.

The first four episodes feels more like a prologue for what is to come. In my belief, I think episode 5 will be the actual beginning of the show -> like reading the first chapter of a book after reading the prologue.

This episode filled in gaps and leads us well into the story with a cliffhanger of great size. I’m looking forward to episode 5.

Every action scene does not need to be slow motion.. I am now sure the man in the comet isnot sauron. Or is he? For the men in numenor, the queen understands. She is another interesting character in this story. The way she takes decisions is to be kept in mind. Maybe lighting can be better at few places. The ending of the episode is the good spark that I have on this series to light the fire which should have been lit in earlier. But better late than never.

In episode five, Nori questions her instincts; Elrond struggles to stay true to his oath; Halbrand weighs his destiny; The Southlanders brace for attack.

Now that all the pieces have moved around the board this episode shows what this series is beginning to work towards. The great thing that Amazon has done is to commit to all 5 seasons up front.

Now that we are halfway through Season One, the series, and this episode in particular, is way more visually stunning than we as an audience deserve.

It’s only five episodes in of fifty and I am certain we have just scratched the surface of what may go down as the greatest show of all time. It is a little soon to declare that outright but I now see the plan Amazon has in place and I am so grateful to be this spoiled.

But there’s one thing WE need to talk about….. that line from the giant to Rendol.. about Sauron, had me socked to my core!

The mysteries continue. (For the record, I think Halbrand is just himself, and perhaps the ancestor of Theoden. I think the stranger is Gandalf, and I find the mysteries and guessing and picking out clues interesting.

I like the way they are developing Isildur as a whiny, entitled brat with no sense of community and an overwhelming and undeserved sense of himself. When what happens at the Gladden Fields happens (the idiot!), this is precisely the younger version who would grow up to make such a terrible mistake.

I think the Halbrand decision-making was given short shrift, my one complaint.

The action was so good, especially that one sword-fighting scene!

This episode made me even more excited for the next episode, next week! The caves are still too dark in my opinion…. But I really like that the series is slowly getting closer to the big reveal of who is Sauron and who is Gandalf but we’ve got a long way ahead of us. An exciting cliff-hanger, of course had to be a part of this episode as well.

Let’s talk about this episode in today’s podcast episode!

In episode six, Adar and his army march on Ostirith.

In this episode we get cool fight scenes and so much more!

I was honestly on the edge of my seat and when I checked the run time expecting the episode to finish there was still 25 minutes left of the episode.

The story is still quite messy, with a few plot lines not making much sense and alot of things happen by chance.

But Im willing to ignore these negatives with the fight scenses in this episode and some of the choreography.

The music was brilliant this episode, it really captured the lord of the rings feelings that the series has missed. The ending was fantastic too,

I honestly can’t wait until the next episode. 9/10, I hope the next two episodes are as action packed as this one.

In episode seven, Survivors of a cataclysm try to find safety; the Harfoots confront evil; Durin is torn between friendship and duty; Adar considers a new name.

I really liked the red aspects of this episode.

I honestly thought that the three ladies , called mysticals were on the good side but we now know that they were on the bad side!

I loved loved the fight scenes towards the end of the episode. Can’t wait for the season finale, next week!