Tag Archives: Nazanin Boniadi

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Alloyed and Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – I was captured by the joyful sincerity that permeated the whole season.         

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this episode.

The Stranger.

The Rings of Power Review –

When I started watching The Rings of Power, I went into it with a moment of trepidation. The Lord of the Rings holds a special place in my heart because they were the first films that made me want to explore all aspects of filmmaking. Their grandeur and majesty were something I had not experienced before then, and for better or worse, they are the benchmark that all others are compared to. It was hard to go back into this world with that weight of expectations. However, I think this new show rose to the occasion. As we get ready for the second season later this week, I thought it was an excellent time to go back and think through that first season and complete the coverage we were unable to do back in 2022.

So, to set the scene, in the aftermath of Udûn and the destruction wrought from the awaking of Mt Doom, everything in the Southlands has changed. Once lands of green fields, farms, and orchards, now ash, fire, and dirt remain. As they change to this new world, the greatest power is at its lowest, and the lives of the elves look to be ending in Middle Earth. But as Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) returns to Celebrimbor’s (Charles Edwards) forge to get healing for a badly wounded Halbrand (Charlie Vickers), they discover that all hope is not lost. Now, from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.      

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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Udûn – TV Review

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TL;DR – Could I see some of the plot points of this episode coming? Yes. Did that stop it from ripping my heart out? No, it did not.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this episode.

Adar looks over his armies.

The Rings of Power Review –

When watching a show or movie, you never quite know when something will connect with you, like really connect with you. Will a story pierce your heart like a barbed arrow and break through even the most hardened layer of cynicism? After not gelling with last week’s Partings, I wondered if the series was running out of steam with me, but nothing prepared me for today.  

So to set the scene, the orcs had completely surrounded Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova), Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi), Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) and the remaining townsfolk in the watchtower of Ostirith. However, as Adar (Joseph Mawle) and the Orcs storm the watchtower, they find it empty. Well, almost empty. But while this delays the Orcs, the townsfolk know that soon the horde will be upon them and sure enough, in the distance, torches glow. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.    

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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Partings – TV Review

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TL;DR – As much as the title describes, this is an episode of crossroads, not all of them good.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this episode.

Harfoots migrate.

The Rings of Power Review –

I always knew that The Great Wave would be a hard act to follow. Indeed it would be a hard act to get close to that again. However, I was not expecting this week’s episode to give me pause. Not a significant problem per se. More like when you are walking through a forest, and you stop because you have seen something odd in the corner of your eye, pause. Let us now dive into this week’s episode to explore what I mean.

So to set the scene, we open in on the Harfoots as they begin their long migration north, over mountains, through grasslands, and even some marshes where the dead will lie one day. Nori Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh) and her family would have been left behind leagues ago because of their father’s (Dylan Smith) foot and being put in the back of the caravan. However, thanks to the help of The Stranger (Daniel Weyman), who fell from the sky, and much to the annoyance of the rest of the caravan, they have kept up. But in this wood, something stirs, and when there is no food, a couple of Harfoots look like a tasty morsel. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Adrift – TV Review

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TL;DR – We continue to explore this world full of wonders and dangers.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this episode.

Nori looking into the creator.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Review –

In the realm of binging tv on streaming services, you can drop them all at once, creating an event weekend, or you can do a weekly realise that feels old-fashioned, but then you can build it up week to week. Or you can follow the Amazon model and employ a hybrid approach where you drop a couple of episodes up-front and create that event feeling while doing the rest week-by-week. This has been a successful model for the streaming service, and it is what we are doing this week with the next episode of The Rings of Power.

So to set the scene, at the end of Shadow of the Past, Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) comes face-to-face with the undying lands, a reward for all her hard work. It is a great honour that no one has ever turned down before, but just as the boat approaches the threshold, she dives off because she can not enter with an unfulfilled oath. Meanwhile, across Middle Earth, there are rumblings of things being out of place and evil returning when a meteorite strikes through the air, crashing down near the home of Elanor “Nori” Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh). But when she arrives, she does not find a rock in the ground, but a man, ‘The Stranger’ (Daniel Weyman). Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.    

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Movie Review – Ben-Hur (2016)

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TL;DR – I’m sorry to be blunt, but this film is just boring, only the chariot race redeems it slightly

Score – 1.5 out of 5 stars

Ben-Hur. Image Credit: Paramount Pictures.

Review –

Arg, I’m going, to be honest with you, I went into Ben-Hur with very low expectations, this year of remake/re-interpreting/sequels galore is really starting to grate on me (see Ghostbusters, The Legend of Tarzan etc), as well as this, of all the films that did not need to be remade, the original Ben-Hur is up there with movies like Gone with the Wind, timeless classics, and nothing in the pre-release media blitz caught my attention. But I am a long suffering optimist, and I really wanted to be proven wrong here, unfortunately even my low expectations were sadly left wanting, the final product does itself, and its legacy, a real disservice for being just as bad as it is.

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