TV Show Reviews - The Last of Us (Season 1)

Season: 1
Genre: Drama/ Action/ Adventure
Number of episodes: 9
Year: 2023
Starring: Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Anna Torv, Lamar Johnson, Melanie Lynskey, Nico Parker, Gabriel Luna, Nick Offerman, Murray Bartlett, Storm Reid, Ashley Johnson

Description: After a global pandemic destroys civilization, a hardened survivor (Pedro Pascal) takes charge of a 14-year-old girl (Bella Ramsey) who may be humanity’s last hope.

Review: “The Last of Us” is a film adaptation of the popular video game of the same name. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, a parasitic fungus emerges that turns people into infectious zombies. The disease spreads rapidly and affects Joel as well as his daughter. He survives, she does not. Twenty years later, the remaining society is different; it is not the best. Joel is tasked with smuggling a package from Boston to the western United States. That package turns out to be a girl named Ellie, about the same age as Joel’s daughter. What’s so special about Ellie? She is immune.

I never played the game, but I was familiar with it. And if I have to believe the fans, the screen adaptation is very close to the game. The creators have paid extreme attention to the characters, their stories and emotions.

I think that “The Last of Us” is the best screen adaptation of a video game I have ever seen. This series is packed full of amazing shots, emotion, interesting characters, developments.

I fell in love with Joel and Ellie’s bond. And that’s all thanks to the amazing performances by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. You know, when you have certain movies or series, and you just can’t imagine another actor playing the role? That’s what I felt with “The Last of Us”. Pascal and Ramsey were both perfectly cast for their respective roles and they work well together and apart. The growing bond that develops between the two is the heart of this show.

Even though the show focuses on Joel and Ellie, as does the game, the series adaptation also takes some time to explore other characters. For instance, episode 3, where we meet Bill and Frank. In the game we never meet Frank, which makes Bill’s story so much more interesting now we get to know both of them and their relationship. This episode really made me cry (as did many other episodes).

My favorite episodes were episode 5, where Joel and Ellie are accompanied by the brothers Henry and Sam, and episode 8, where Ellie comes across a vengeful group of survivors. Both episodes have a scene in it, that made me feel all the feels. And I can easily say that these episodes are both some of the best TV moments I have ever seen.

So much praise for this series, I cannot say enough good things about “The Last of Us”. I keep recommending this show to everyone. And you don’t even have to know the game, because I never played it either. I loved it, one of the best shows I have ever seen.

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 9: The Informant!

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Genre: Drama/ Comedy/ Crime

Runtime: 108 minutes

Year: 2009

Starring: Matt Damon, Melanie Lynskey, Scott Bakula, Patton Oswalt, Joel McHale, Thomas F. Wilson, Scott Adsit

Description: The U.S. government decides to go after an agro-business giant with a price-fixing accusation, based on the evidence submitted by their star witness, vice president-turned-informant Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon).

Review: After Mark Whitacre graduated from Cornell University as a biochemist he starts working for a multinational company Archer Daniels Midland. In the early nineties he has worked his way up to vice-president of the company and everything is going well. In 1992 Mark discovers a mole in the company and tells his superiors. They rather let the FBI handle everything and they ask Mark to be their informant. But is he the right person for the job?

The movie is based on true events and director Steven Soderbergh made it a dark comedy. It’s a film with humor. Matt Damon, who plays the lead role, is irresistibly funny in “The Informant!” Not only because of his role, also his voice-over and the tragi-comedic take on the film. The look of the films suggest another time period then the nineties.

The start might feel a bit slow and has some weaker moments, but the more we get the know Mark Whitacre, the more fun it gets. Lie upon lie, a man that goes from being a naïve informant to a vicious fraud.

Matt Damon is perfect for the role, he does a great job. This is one of those overlooked and underrated Damon films.

Rating: 4/ 5