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Reviews
The Last Rifleman (2023)
not brosnans finest
I came across this film last night and i was a bit surprised by it. It was very poignant, particularly as it was been shown in November. Plodded along quite a bit but credible. I felt that brosnans portrayal of the present day rifleman, was a bit hammy. The facial prosthetics may have been the reason for that. Ok, we all get old, but he was over the top. The story could have been developed a bit more. There could maybe have been a bit better reaction with the meeting between the brit and the german. I was surprised to see the involvement of RTE as the film was far better than their usual standards. But i do recommend that it should be watched.
An Irish Goodbye (2022)
now HERE is a good irish film.
All the attention this year has been on the banshees of inisherin, a plodding and wooden film, yet this short film was streets ahead. It shows the interaction between a dedicated but handicapped lad and his disinterested brother. The relationship is fantastic and james martin himself should have gotten an Oscar for his part. Brilliantly played. I deliberately gave it one star less than a full 10, as the film had the appearances that it was actually shortened, possibly to ensure it was classified as a short film. But it would have been great to have it stretched to at least an hour. Far more believable than the dire banshees.
The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
slow and wooden
This is a typical dumbo film clearly made for the American market where they like to see the irish as dumbos. The acting is totally wooden and the so-called plot moves at a snails pace. Farrell was useless, but Gleeson was at least the best actor in the film. Sadly, even he plays the same basic part in nearly every film that he appears in. There are also some bloopers, such as when you see the cart going on a track, even behind another, there is visible tracks where the gravel has been raked over before the shot. Then there is the hooker in the harbour....exiting under power, and then hoisting sails which are clearly new ones with machine stitching and made of modern sailcloth.
Overall, it is hard to understand why it was nominated for oscars.
The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe (2022)
ponderous
In real life this was an interesting event, but chris lang has created a picture for us which is speculation unless he did this in cahoots with the family. I do hope that the family have not been rewarded for this.
Acting by main characters is very ponderous and it is frankly impossible to believe that any woman would act in the manner depicted.
The children were also depicted as missing a few shillings, and even though their mother was quite devious, she was still their mother and the lack of compassion (if factual) was very disappointing.
The drama did not need four episodes as it could have been fully completed in two.
North Sea Connection (2022)
could be a lot better
When i saw this program advertised, i thought "here is the possibility of a good story", but half way through the first episode, i realized that it was just another poor rte production. The inclusion of Swedish influences did help a bit, but the lousy continuity seen throughout spoiled the entire program. I mean, who fixed the number plate on the van that was falling off in one shot, and miraculously fixed in the next? And why would ciara pull the rubber dinghy well up on to the sand, only to have it floating in the water a few seconds later, and back on the sand further on ?
I must admit that the only saving grace was the actress who played ciara. The others were embarrassing.
Holding (2022)
pathetic
What a pathetic programme. I dont know who to blame...Norton for such a stupid story line, or rte thinking that it was worth producing it. Very poor acting by most of the cast, and if aimed at an non-irish audience, it makes a laughing stock of the gardai.
And the early episodes use every well worn cliche that exists.
Brenda frickers contribution is pointless and as for conleth hill, has he even got a brain. Reminds me most of a benny hill contribution.
Rte should look seriously at their production team and instead of pampering to the likes of Norton, should look to genuine irish stories. Wake up rte!
The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch (2020)
what a farce
Anybody who believes that this is not staged, needs their head examined. It is sad that apparent experts take part in this. Presumably it is for the money ?
How come the cameras are always on the subject to get their "surprise" etc. And why do they get excited when an insect jumps across the camera lens? If the cameras were set on infinite focus, the image would not be blurred. The insect is just to close to be in focus. Utter farce !
And the person called "dragon" is unbelievable...only there to make stupid comments or make an incredulous face.
Most of their so called events can quite easily be explained by natural phenomwnae.
Updated on 06 09 2023
i tuned into the latest series and found that it gets more and more ridiculous. They flit from one theory to another and frankly there is no credence to the story. Clearly this is all a fake put together to try and create a drama. Believable? No way ! When the helicopter hits an up current from the mesa, it suddenly becomes an alien force trying to warn them off.
Better to admit that it is all fake .
Brandon fugal must be laughing all the way to the bank.
Just edited to update my comments. This series gets more and more ridiculous every episode. They flit from one theory to another, and never come to any conclusion. The "experts" that they bring in are usually promoting their businesses. As for travis...why on earth does he shout about everything?
It really is totally staged with fake effects' it is the modern equivalent of War of the worlds' and why do they keep going on about the triangle? It is just basically a T-junction created by farm traffic. I just treat this as a comedy show now.