Baht Oyunu (Game of Fortune) - 2021  - Best Summer Series

Reviewed By Deniz Yilmaz

Baht Oyunu is a recent series that started on the 15th of June 2021. The Turkish Series is called ‘Baht Oyunu’ but in English it’s called ‘Game of Fortune’. Game of Fortune is a romance series set in an office called “Bizde Böyle” about 4 main characters, Ada, Bora, Rüzgar and Tugçe that struggle with love. Ada has a great sense of humour throughout the entire film, which she portrays well through her constant funny jokes that makes the audience literally laugh out loud. Besides this, she believes the first person she falls in love with would stay with her forever or she would be unhappy like her mother. Bora is the first CEO that embodies a strict and disciplined personality when at work, although when he’s with family or friends he is more joyful. Yet, when Bora realised, he was falling in love with Ada he tries to act cold. 

In the beginning, I think the first episode revealed a lot about what the new summer series is about. The series includes: comedy, romance, challenges, trust etc; I have enjoyed watching it. The two of the characters Ada and Rüzgar get married, although Rüzgar is doing this to have his own Turkish nationality to stay in Turkey. Ada doesn’t know about this so she’s going along with it. However, as Rüzgar has been working at an office for about 3 months, he has started to cheat on her with the second CEO named Tugçe. The thing I dislike about Rüzgar is that he is only thinking of himself and no other and is addicted to Tugçe which should change. Tugçe had the same idea of making Bora jealous with Rüzgar as she is his weakness. Yet, Ada saw that Rüzgar was cheating on her, so she planned to start working in the same office as Bora’s secretary to have Rüzgar to herself and to cooperate with Tugçe for her to have Bora. Therefore, whatever they do it hasn’t changed anything because as time passes by Bora has gotten closer to Ada. 

Overall, Baht Oyunu is a great series to watch anytime whenever you are bored or have nothing to watch. You can watch it alone, with friends or with your family. The content is fun, entertaining, sad and very creative as it is well explained in the first episode. The characters have their own personality and aim that they want to achieve, which makes them different from one another which I love about the series.

My rating for Baht Oyunu (Game of Fortune) is 10/10

Black Widow (2021)- A Mediocre Finale to a Great Character

Reviewed by Reuben Bell

It was great seeing Scarlett Johansson again and is as charismatic as ever in the role she has been doing for over a decade. The other supporting cast are great and work well with Johansson like Florence Pugh, David Harbour and Rachel Weisz. However, the same cannot be said for Ray Winstone whose accent is almost laughable and is one of the worst and most forgettable antagonists with side antagonist; taskmaster in the MCU to date. The action chorography and set pieces are well done, shot and edited felling raw and real however at many times go into fast and furious silliness in how none of the characters are getting hurt or being killed and makes it seem cartoonish for a film which is meant to feel grounded that is about espionage and spying. This also adds to further issue as when there are moments of seriousness in talking about dark subject matter like human trafficking and human experimentation it is glossed over with inappropriate humour, but some moments of levity did work. When the film can be serious it has great moments of heart and character moments in the family drama but then gives character arcs that feel unearned and has a bad sense of morality with Harbour and Weisz who if up to me should get the death penalty but are let off Scott free.

What puts this film at a disadvantage is that it was released at the wrong time (put aside Covid), to make it the first film in phase four after the events of civil war and before the events of infinity war and endgame where the character eventually died it couldn’t really do much with the character without messing up continuity and so what we get doesn’t feel satisfying as canonically isn’t the last time we see the character, creating a rather weird viewing experience. It feels more of an introduction for new characters going forward. Overall, it was a mediocre end to a great character and while never quite feels like the satisfying goodbye we wish we got there is still enough screen presence, character moments and cool action sequences to make it not a complete waste of time.

Overall Rating: 3/5

Clarkson’s Farm (2021) – A Nice Balance Between Entertainment And Education

Reviewed by Reuben Bell

If you told me two years ago that Jeremy Clarkson had a farm and was going to make a show about how he manages and works on it, I would not have believed you. Not only is it so out of character and bizarre to see him do it, but the thought of Jeremy Clarkson getting up and doing manual labour was impossible and something I had to see for myself. This show is off the walls bonkers at times whether it is being scripted or natural but still funny regardless. Its Cotswold setting is a good documentary feel for something you would see in a David Attenborough wildlife documentary, while at the same time the mocumentary style of ‘This Country’ is full of ridiculous scenarios, its mockery of Cotswold culture. This show is also funny at Jeremy Clarkson failing to be a farmer with his hilarious no nonsense childish attitude that he has to everything he sets out to do. Jeremy Clarkson’s narration is interesting as ever with him explaining the ins and outs of farming in such a real and authentic way without it feeling safe and professional from something you would expect from the BBC as it makes the documentary hilarious and entertaining. Its editing and cinematography are what you would expect from a high budget production such as productions by Amazon Prime, even though this is the farm show it still feels very Top Gear, Grand Tour – ish with its use in heavy machinery and tasks that resembles the charm of what made Jeremy Clarkson’s other presenting shows so great. My only gripe with it is at times the scripting can come across to forced and the show can become rather self-indulgent, however that does not ruin the momentum this series has and is definitely worth the watch. 

Overall Rating: 4 ½ /5 

The Tomorrow War  (2021) – It’s good enough...

Reviewed by Reuben Bell

I honestly don’t understand what some people hate about this film. Is it perfect? No. Does it have problems? Yes. But at its core I feel it gets more right than it does wrong. For starters it has a great purpose in the theme of family between Chris Pratt’s characters' relationship with his father and daughter and does hit its moments of emotion and character moments. Furthermore, Chris Pratt is charismatic in this with some good set pieces. I like how in this film it works its way around paradoxes in a smart and cool way with the use of time jumps is an interesting concept as well. The monster designs are generally disturbing and demonic, as if they are soulless killing machines which gives a lot of great moments of tension and suspense. However, there are some problems with this film, the pacing of the film can vary from fast paced and at times drag. In addition, it tries to do too many character moments that feel unnecessary within the story and the context of the situation. My biggest gripe with the film is its confusing tone; it goes from being Sci-Fi family drama to an MCU type action comedy to a horror ‘Alien’ type monster film which makes it feel inconsistent in what the film is trying to be and it doesn’t help when the film is let down by cringe dialogue at times with the only actors who can make it work are Chris Pratt, J.K Simmons and Yvonne Strahovski. Overall, it was an enjoyable experience with enough charisma from its lead actors and enough interesting concepts to enjoy for what they are but suffers from identity in what it is trying to be with a lot of plot holes in logic. 

Overall rating: 3 ½ /5