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Maniac

JohnC

By JohnC
in Film, TV & Radio

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JohnC

JohnC

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Maniac, a dark comedy staring Emma Stone and Jonah Hill as two strangers drawn to a mysterious pharmaceutical trial. Unsurprisingly, things don't go as planned. Also stars Justin Theroux as the drug's inventor and Sally Field in a recurring role. It's a limited run 10-episode series directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga. Based on a Norwegian series of the same name. Seems to have some good ingredients at least. Streaming on 21 September.

 

Teaser doesn't give much away.

 

 

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Majora

Majora

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Been pretty surprised at the massive lack of interest in this. Emma Stone, Sally Fields and Justin Theroux is a killer cast (sorry Jonah Hill, you're usually alright too), Fukanaga is a fantastic director, the trailers look visually sumptuous, it's generally reviewed very well and the concept is really intriguing. But no-one seems to give a flying fuck. I always find it fascinating how some Netflix Originals take off and some just tank, almost regardless of pedigree or reviews. 

 

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Danster

Danster

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Really interesting and fun one off series I thought. Binged it yesterday with my daughter who struggled a little at times (it can be quite slow and I think deliberately confusing). An odd world of mixed futuristic technology delivered in a retro style, with silliness and seriousness wrapped up together. I get the feeling that there were likely hundreds of little references throughout that I probably missed. 

 

Acting was mostly very well delivered particularly the leads Emma Stone and Jonah Hill.

 

Well worth a watch.

 

 

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Chadruharazzeb

Chadruharazzeb

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1 hour ago, Majora said:

Been pretty surprised at the massive lack of interest in this. Emma Stone, Sally Fields and Justin Theroux is a killer cast (sorry Jonah Hill, you're usually alright too), Fukanaga is a fantastic director, the trailers look visually sumptuous, it's generally reviewed very well and the concept is really intriguing. But no-one seems to give a flying fuck. I always find it fascinating how some Netflix Originals take off and some just tank, almost regardless of pedigree or reviews. 

 

 

You rant about nobody giving a shit and yet it sounds like you haven't made it passed the trailer. 

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cassidy

cassidy

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56 minutes ago, kerraig UK said:

You both sound like you haven't made it past the insane bonnet shotgun car kill that fucked me up for years 

 

 

Beautifully done and not a mention of Elijah. 

 

Anyway on ep8 currently and I love it and it's superb but it has pacing issues on occasion. And by god is Jonah Hill mumbling annoying. Speak clearly man. 

 

 

Let's see if the last two make it the work of genius I think it maybe. 

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SM47

SM47

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I don't really like this much. Think it's a bit boring. There's good elements, the visual aesthetic is interesting and the performances aren't bad, but it just doesn't hang together like it should. 

 

I feel a bit like one of those people who slag off the original Blade Runner writing this. Sorry everyone. 

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Majora

Majora

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Watched the first episode last night and found it simultaneously intriguing and a bit of a mess. Tonally I'm not quite sure what they're going for at the moment. There are certainly intentional moments of comedy but I found the way they were interspersed with some of the other events to be a bit jarring. I liked it enough to continue, and I definitely want to see some of the crazier events from the trailer in context, but it wasn't the immediate hit that I hoped it would be.

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Majora

Majora

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8 hours ago, kerraig UK said:

I couldn't get through episode 1. What's the hook?

 

Two people with severe psychological issues are taking part in a dangerous medical study that claims to be able to rid the participants of all psychological illnesses. I thought the first episode was something of a mess but the hook seemed pretty clear to me, especially by the end of the episode when it's very unclear to what degree Hill's character is an unreliable narrator.

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Festoon

Festoon

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6 hours ago, Majora said:

 

Two people with severe psychological issues are taking part in a dangerous medical study that claims to be able to rid the participants of all psychological illnesses. I thought the first episode was something of a mess but the hook seemed pretty clear to me, especially by the end of the episode when it's very unclear to what degree Hill's character is an unreliable narrator.

 

But the series has an objective camera, it's not being told as if it's his pov. Arrgh.

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Minion

Minion

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This had so much potential but fell flat for me. I loved the 80's sci fi stuff, the Wes Anderson kookieness as someone described and I really liked the first time they went into the vr world, but after that it went downhill quickly. The next few fantasies were boring as hell, the stuff with the J.Theroux's mother just not really that funny and the final parts and conclusion were just rather tame. Disappointed.

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MpM

MpM

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Holy pretentious shite, Batman!!

 

I just couldn't take any more of this after four episodes, What makes it even worse is the realisation that they gave the Bond 25 directing gig to it's director.:(

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Majora

Majora

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I watched two episodes and haven't felt compelled to go back. In fact, I nearly switched it off during episode 2 but the end of that episode was somewhat interesting. Not interesting enough for me to rush back for a third though. I was really looking forward to this so I'm pretty disappointed, it's just not reeling me in. 

 

It's incredibly slow and the dark comedy drama tone just isn't working. There's a forced wackiness to some parts that isn't gelling with the rest of the show and simply isn't funny. It's undermining the story for me, in fact. 

 

I still don't feel like I've properly seen the core conceit of the show so I'll probably give the third episode a try but I'm ready to ditch it after that if it doesn't improve. 

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