THE PROTECTOR

                                The Protector: Netflix Takes Turkey In Style..

Given mystical powers by a talismanic keepsake, a young man embarks on a quest to fight shadowy forces and solve a mystery from his past.
The protector is a superhero drama cum love story. It tells the tale of young Hakan Demir as he sets out on a quest to confront the ancient forces of evil, known only by their name; ' The Immortals'. The show is able to tell the story of this young hero and intertwine his Tales of heroism with those of his past, and the point of view of those sworn to serve him; The Loyal Ones.    One of the first things that jumps out at viewers is the casting. The characters where brilliantly chosen, regardless of the fact that the names are not mainstream neither are they household names, but first impressions they say matter. The first episode brought not only the story the show runner wished to tell, but also ensured that the story was presented by capable hands, actors who could keep the audience intrigued and engrossed in the show. Cagatay Ulusoy( Hakan) and Ayca Aysin (Leyla) ensured that the show was relatable and reasonably plausible as can be. Their onscreen performances was genius, it appeared as though there was a chemistry between them that the show sought to rely on to build the story, and it totally worked, so much so that viewers preferred their conversations as against other dialogues.
Hazar Erguclu( Zeynep) and Okan Yalabik( Faisal) were amazing in their own way. Okan Yalabik for one displayed the performance of a veteran actor, his composure, poise and elegance was only trumped by his charisma on screen. The way he reacted to situations, his conversational mastery can only remind you of none other than James Spader himself.
  Getting to the story itself, the show had a pretty unique concept to present. The idea of having a superhero whose powers were derived locally and from ancient days was ingenious, the idea of the Immortals at first seemed quite ridiculous, moreso as they were portrayed in some weak light, but then as the story progressed further, we realised that the weakness of the Immortals or their susceptibility to The Protector was what was going to make this a show worth watching. One aspect of the story that was however flawed( albeit in the first season) is the concept of the Loyal Ones. We have not understood the idea behind it, they are not what is expected of the foot soldiers of the Protector and it was quite surprising how easy it was to pick them off, not leaving out the Protectors themselves.

   The conflict is a pretty simple one, and surprisingly Netflix didn't do much in the way of diversifying the conflict element, neither did the show runner make the plot exceptional. The show was straight, and moved at the same mid tempo pace with which it started. It didn't offer much in the way of diversifying the conflict, there was basically no plot twist, and the general theme remained the same till the last episode. Where the show runner thought to twist the plot a little, it was predictable and thus didn't offer up much in the way of a classic reveal.
  One other thing that stood out about the show perhaps is the apparent lack of combat scenes, or at least a lack thereof with regards to frenetic fast paced fight scenes. Perhaps this was compensated for by the non-stop drama of the show, we don't know, but we would definitely have preferred at least some brilliant well scripted fight scenes.
  To wrap it up in a few sentences, it's a tvshow with heart, with a unique concept, and different take on the concept of heroism. It provides an insight into what making the choice to take on the responsibilities of protector entails. The constant battle between duties and love, allowed for a drama that dreams are made of. Even though we had expected that the conflict introduced in the very first episode would not be concluded in the first season, no one would have expected the crazy plot twist on which the show ended. At least viewers would agree that the last two episodes ensured that the show garnered the ratings it gets and the positive reviews the concept ought to get.
   We must also put it out there that the villain played his role with absolute dexterity. As much as the conflict was straight and shallow, the villain did however make us more interested in the development of the conflict, seeing as the villain himself had his reservations and idiosyncrasies, which interestingly sets up the show for a must see 2nd season, which we hope to see in 2019.
  We recommend this show to viewers out there for its ability to keep viewers engrossed, for its creative storytelling and for its rivetting dramatic presentations. Viewers may also want to pick it up for its apparent refusal to rely overly on CGI. We loved this aspect also.
Starring: Cagatay Ulusoy, Ayca Aysin, Hazar Erguclu, Okan Yalabik, Yurdaer Okur, Mehmet Kurtulus.
Created By Binnur Karaevli
FCA AppR: 8.1/10

THE OUTLAW KING

                                  The Outlaw King:A Netflix Epic

   

After being crowned King of Scotland, legendary warrior Robert the Bruce is forced into exile by the English and leads a band of outlaws to help him reclaim the throne. 

The Outlaw King tells the story of Robert the Bruce, a Scottish nobleman who turns away From servitude to the English Crown and leads a guerrilla attack against the Crown.  

The movie being a historical tale didn't leave a whole lot of room for maneuverability or creativity, it was essentially about how well the story could be told to entice and engage the modern day audience, it has to factor in the story telling technique for the movie not to be a bore or at the very least, not to be another cliché, and boy did Netflix deliver on that aspect.

   David Mckenzie writing, directing and producing at the same time may have felt a little too much, but it also meant that the idea was developed and executed from one source, perhaps that accounts for the ease with which the story transitioned into the characters' lives, and ultimately into a brilliant on screen presentation. One thing we did like about the production was the absence of over elaboration. It's absence meant that the story kept true to its origins, there was no need in over emphasising on certain aspects such as dressing, attention to tactical warfare or over indulging the characters' emotional transgressions.

   Let's do a quick one on the story, plot and the conflict elements. The plot itself is pretty mediocre, drab and a little too bare for fans of creative works, however where the plot lacked depth and insight, the script writing more than made up for it in spades. At this point again, we must give credit to David Mckenzie for doing a diabolically brilliant job of making a marvel out of a regular tale. The way the story was crafted to develop with every passing moment was astonishing, the way the characters came into their role and developed with every passing moments of the movie is pure genius. As for the conflict itself, that's where we are most pleased. One would think that being a combat story or a war story, the strength of the conflict will be in the fight scenes, the combat simulations and the likes, but no, the conflict element here was more on the psychological and political plane. It did entail some elements of emotional conflict towards the midway part of the movie, but that was kept to the barest minimum and we are most pleased with the production team. The conflict is not complex, the plot is not rich in diversity, but the creative acumen of the team delivered something that an epic, deeply rich in character diversity and resplendent with rich acting.

   The cast for the movie were awesome, Chris Pine was brilliant at his role, and then, Aaron Taylor-Johnson was a good support cast for the movie. The performance of the rest of the cast even though not as amazing ad the first 2, they also delivered some top notch performances.

Perhaps the most entertaining aspect of the movie is the ending. We loved the humiliation meted out on the English forces, most especially after we saw the dramatic raising of the Dragon banner. It was amazing. We however did like that the team decided to leave out some details for the end Credit scenes. At the conclusion of the battle, one would have wondered what became of the Crown Prince or the Queen of Scots. But then...... End credits were for the first time in a while employed to the best effect. Impressive.

   Staring Chris Pine, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Florence Pugh, Billy Howle, Tony Curran, Callan Mulvey, Stephen Dillane and Alan Cooney.

Co-written, Directed and produced by David Mackenzie.

Fans definitely do have mixed reactions about this movie, but we at FCA have an opinion about this that we feel strongly about. The movie does definitely lack in plot depth, but it has storyline depth, it lacks creative flexibility and surely does not have a very strong conflict element. What this movie really has going for it is the storytelling and the A List performance of the cast. Plus, perhaps a little bit of the nostalgic scenes the movie served up in aces. 

Mention must also be made of the fight scenes, the simulation is well orchestrated, it didn't need to be over done ( being a historical tale), but you would do well to look out for the brute James Douglas. His combat performances had everything to make a movie great. He definitely does stand out though.  

  Overall a good movie that everyone with a bit of time should pick up and watch. We did like this one, and give credit to Netflix for telling a good story once again.

FCA's AppR 7.5/10

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE

               The Haunting Of Hill House: Netflix's Complete Horror Story!

    
Flashing between past and present, a fractured family confronts haunting memories of their old home and the terrifying events that drove them from it. Having run away in the dead of the night on that fateful day, the family will be forced to reunite once again to confront the demons from their pasts.

  When Netflix announced their decision to bring to our screens the horror classic by Shirley Jackson, it was met by a lot of mixed reactions, and quite rightly so having due regards to how tv series adaptations of horror novels have turned out and the below par reception they receive. If there was a way that a horror tv show could be created to make a big impact, it had to be well planned, the story told in rivetting fashion and with great actors involved in some good developmental work over the course of the show.
  The pilot episode of the Haunting of Hill House had to be the scariest tv episode ever, scary not because it was terrifying, but scary because the storytelling was terrific, the build up play was amazing and brilliantly constructed, and the character's introduction to the audience and to the haunted house was awe inspiring, it was creative Genius and it was iconic as much as it was rivetting.
   As far as the story is concerned, it's as common as every horror story goes. It is not a unique storyline, there are a lot of haunted house stories floating out there, and thus it is quite amazing what Mike Flanagan and Co were able to achieve. The real strength of the show lay in the storytelling techniques of the show runner and the script writer. The story was of the type that if not handled properly could either have resulted in a horror show that had its terrifying elements over flogged and bloated, or one that was so poorly constructed that audience just wanted to see the end game without bothering with character relations and development.

   Returning to the Haunting of Hill House, the show was created around a family, and that was why it made for a compelling watch. The show first off introduced us to two timelines, the present and the past;during their stay at Hill house. The first five episodes of the show chronicled the individual past and present of the members of the Crain Family, the demons they encountered at Hill House, and how they presently cope with the events that culminated in their fleeing therefrom. The account of each individual Crain, ranging from Steven Crain, Theo, Nell, Shirley, and Luke and the evil they were confronted with at Hill House meant that the initial episodes of the show were not repetitive or bugged down with a lack of creativity, but rather it was resplendent with a lot of diversity and diversification of terror. What they felt they saw as children coming to once again haunt them as adults was creative and it was chilling. It gave the audience quite a few scares.
 What was really brilliant about this show had to be the way it achieved the goal with the least fuss, there were only about a handful of deaths, but the way they were managed had to be the most beautiful presentation of something so terrible. Those death scenes were both scary, artistic, Creative and above all Mighty relatable. We couldn't have been any more impressed than we are. The show creators had a way of making a big reveal, stringing the viewers along till the big reveal, and that is one thing that arguably kept the show interesting. We just have to reiterate once again that the story is brilliantly told.
    Acting was top notch, it was some A grade stuff. Carla Gugino,Michiel Huisman had to be the stand out performers. That takes nothing a way from the rest of the actors, they were all amazing. Their on screen performances were on point, their conversational mastery and situational responses were stuff dreams are made of. We must also say that the show won't have been as highly regarded as it is without much attention to the little details, and also brilliant dialogues/ conversations, both of which are not capable of being achieved without the cast. So once again a big thumbs up to the cast for coming through Big time.
   At the risk of SPOILERs, we must also state that the season finale had to be the most mysteriously iconic endings of a lifetime. I know a whole world of viewers found that hard to explain, but it is quite simple, beautiful and perhaps not really relatable, but all the same brilliant. The realisation that what they all perceived to be seeing as children were actually real was a stunner, the big reveal that the bent neck Lady that haunted Nell was nothing more than her future self haunting her as a was chilling and hard to swallow. The realisation that Abigail was not an Imaginary friend made up by Luke was brilliant and her subsequent death at the hands of Olivia was masterful. Need I mention that the events that built up to the suicide of Olivia had to be one of the most traumatic and harrowing travails of the whole show.

   One aspect of the ending we didn't really like had to be the fate of Hill House. It didn't feel right what happened to Hill House or what the Dudleys put themselves up to. Not only does it sound unreal, but it also feels totally unrelatable.  However, whatever wrong we felt the show did to us, it more than made up for with the fate of the Crains( the surviving members that is). It is a happily ever after ending, and we couldn't have been any more happy about the how the creators chose to resolve this one. We felt the Crains had been through enough, and definitely needed a big win, and they got their happily ever after, albeit at the expense of 3 members.
  A masterfully crafted horror show that kept viewers interested, drawn in and captivated for the duration of the entire season. A horror show that offers a whole lot of alternatives going forward, should Netflix choose to renewed it for a second season. We are very impressed with the work done, with the chill factor and with the storytelling technique. This is one show that will live long in the memories of those who watched it. You may be checking to confirm every little noise in the dark after watching this one. Beware!
   On a personal note, I liked the idea behind the Red Room, and it's being like a spooky haunted room of requirements(if you know your Harry Potter). A room no one was capable of opening while they lived at Hill House, but one which they all come to realise a little too late they had all been inside of on more than one occasion. Scary!!!
   A solid 8.8/10 FCA AppR for this one. Brilliant!

 Starring Carla Gugino, Michiel Huisman, Henry Thomas, Elizabeth Reaser, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Kate Siegel, Victoria Pedretti.
 Created by Mike Flanagan
Directed by Mike Flanagan
Based on the Book by Shirley Jackson