Skip to main content

The Crown (2016) - TV Series Review (Season 1)

"We’re all dying. That’s what defines the condition of living."

The Crown is a series about Queen Elizabeth II and her early years as the Queen. Now personally, I don't really have that much interest in the subject matter and wouldn't go actively look for media showcasing it, but after hearing so many great things about it, I decided to give it a watch. To my surprise, I was hooked from the start. The series is so well made, the execution of everything is so exemplary, and its pacing is remarkably well balanced (for a series like this), that I couldn't help but have a wonderful time with it. I was intrigued by the inner workings of the royal household, and how the crown weighs on the bearer and the people surrounding them. 

The casting was damn good. Many of the actors do look similar to the personalities they are portraying in that time, and the acting itself was marvelous. Clair Foy is so lovely and plays as the queen with great beauty. John Lithgow, the standout performance of the series for me, plays Winston Churchill, and all I can say is WOW, the dude just kills it. Jared Harris, who had a relatively short role as the King, also delivered a very powerful performance. From the supporting cast to the main ones (some already mentioned), the performances were great.  

Using that acting talent, the series made you care for the characters, and amplified everything with the help of amazing cinematography, sets, and costumes. It is a gorgeous looking series. Doesn't even look like one. Feels more like a high budget drama movie in each episode. 

Now, the series isn't filled with crazy politics (there is some politics) or life and death situations around every corner considering the topic, but instead manages to add weight to everything that happens thanks to the aforementioned points and its musical score. MY GOD some of the tracks are just mesmerizing. And just the addition of them adds so much emotional weight that I was often left in complete awe. My favorite episode of this Season 1 was Episode 2: Hyde Park Corner, and without spoiling anything for those who don't know the history, the way they handled it was simply POWERFUL! And it wouldn't have been the same without the amazing score.  

All in all, this was an amazing season 1. Netflix is definitely killing it with all these new series. And I'm really looking forward to the second season. I highly recommend that you atleast give it a try regardless of whether you like the premise or not. 

9/10
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Central Intelligence (2016) - Movie Review

Central Intelligence is sorta of a buddy-spy comedy and it's about an average joe hung up on life over past issues, until he meets up with one of his high school batch mate, and things suddenly turn upside down for him. A movie like this only works if the two leads meld together, and boy oh boy did they ever in this movie. Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart both were excellent in this movie. I loved their chemistry, their banter and their relationship. They clearly seemed to be having a great time in their roles, and as a result, the movie as a whole became a lot more fun. Also, I liked it more that they weren't playing their usual selves. It was just hilarious to see The Rock play this man-child agent, he always manages to bring so much energy into every role. And Kevin Hart dialed back a lot. He was the average joe, the normal guy in this movie and I liked that. You do still get the usual Kevin hart outbursts/moments, in small doses. Aside from these two, there was a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Spartacus (2010) - TV Series Review (Complete)

Spartacus is a surprising series for me. I first watched it when there were only two seasons out, and back then it was kinda OK for me. Now, after re-watching the first two seasons along with the rest, I found it to be a pretty good series, great even. The series is about Spartacus and how he journey's from being a free man to a gladiator, and then to a leader. The whole series is structured in such a way that their is an overall forward progression with each season focused on a specific part. This results in focus on each area and ultimately they all come together quite nicely. Also, the series is divided into spartacus' related scenes and the roman leaders etc related scenes, developing both sides, side by side, throughout. This not only makes it easy to develop a large number of characters, it also develops both sides and not making it plain black and white. It makes things more interesting, and makes some outcomes way more satisfying. There are A LOT of characters t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Shin Godzilla (2016) - Movie Review

Shin Godzilla is the newest Godzilla film from Toho, the studio behind the Japanese Godzilla films dating back all the way to 1954. This one is a reboot of the franchise, yet again, for the contemporary Japan and the plot is basically what you'd expect; Godzilla arrives and wreaks havoc, all the while the Government tries to defeat it. Since the original Godzilla was inspired by the effects and scars from the WWII Atomic Bombings on Japan by USA, and how destructive and horrifying that power is, this one is similar and was inspired by the 2011 Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, and the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant disaster, all the while being disguised in a monster movie. Godzilla in this movie instills a sense of dread and fear as this indestructible monster with the power to lay waste to everything, a biological TERROR, and I really liked that about this movie. The way its proper form looked, particularly the head, was unsettling and that was the movie's intention, so ...
Post a Comment
Read more