Reviews

There's a common phenomenon in recent US TV series, and that is, they get some great source material (Stephen King for example) and instead of breaking it up into episodes that contain actual story, the try to pad it out with hours of extraneous material so they can milk more episodes out of it, so a story that may rollick along, a fantastic whodunnit (as this story is) gets spread so thin, and filled with so many boring redundant scenes, that it's hard to maintain interest. Having said that, this TV adaptation would be perfect if it had been more tightly edited, and adhered more closely to Stephen King's version. I want all killer, no filler please! I want all fun and adventure and mystery, and no unnecessary and pointless scenes to pad it out endlessly. It could have been a 9 or even a 10, but the eternal padding makes it a 6.5.

Absolutely brilliantly realized story. If you just want typical jumpscares or straightforward horror, you won't find it here. I think the poor reviews here are for two reasons: one reason is people are accustomed to a standardised sort of horror-thriller, and lose all ability to cope if you present them with something that seems it will be both of those things but is actually only one of those things. So the negative reviews from those people is that they had major violations-of-expectations when watching. Their fee-fees were hurt. Poor babies. The other is - they really didn't understand the ending, and, to quote yet another reviewer here, "the ending was the point". Yes, the ending was the whole point of the story. If you're going to watch it, you're just going to have to cope. The ending really IS the whole point of the story. My best advice is, if you like your horror cookie-cutter, don't watch, because this is NOT horror, and not cookie-cutter. And if you DO watch, leave all your normal expectations aside and try to cope with the story this film is really trying to tell you. At first I wanted to say, this film is something of an IQ test - but that's probably a bit harsh and a bit of an oversimplification. It's more a test of how much you are able to let your expectations go, and if you are at least a bit bright, to be able to see and understand the subtext.

A really really really good spy movie. Great actors, good script, capable direction, good overall story. Builds fairly slowly, but not boringly. Holds your interest, makes you want to know what happens next. I almost didn't watch it for the being below 7 stars, but upon watching it's easy to see it really sits somewhere between 8 and 10 stars depending on your taste. It's always refreshing to see a smart espionage film. This is what the Brits are best at, when they get it right. Reminds me a bit of the excellent Brit series Bodyguard. Bodyguard was probably more intense and masculine, but still very similar in quality. I loved it! I gradually warmed to the flawed characters as they warmed to each other. If you like smart spy movies, feel free to ignore the reviews of the dimwitted amongst us.

I love the premise of this show, it illustrates how there are lots of different ways to achieve a goal. Two different couples with two different approaches, reaching toward the same goal. Not comparing apples to apples. But getting to appreciate different methods and styles. Each couple starts out with a tiny amount of money, and has to make profits using their talents, flip houses, negotiate and think outside the box to come up with ways to make a million in a specific time frame. Both couples are talented, and I can't wait to see how they go! Apparently my review is too short so going to add some more type ... hmm, well, I really like the couples. At first I thought I might get annoyed with some of their quirks, but turns out they're all very likeable. There's just enough friction to keep it interesting, without the challenging bits being too miserable and overwhelming. The makers of the show have struck a nice balance I think.

Who on earth would give this film a low rating? Maybe tweens or people who don't understand good sci-fi and time-travel concepts? This is a magnificent film. If you have ever enjoyed smart and twisty time travel movies then this is for you. Definitely in the top ten Time Travel movies, if not the top five! If you like your movies smart, and can cope with a menacing undertone, then give this a go and you won't be disappointed. Other than that? I have to keep blurbing to fill my required characters quota. The actors are mostly not that well-known, but they do a magnificent job with the material. 10/10.

I loved every minute of this cheesy, irreverent film. Plays like a non-stop heist, so if you love heist films, if you love over-the-top fast-paced action thrillers and can handle lots of tongue-in-cheek humour, then this film's for you. Not sure who is giving the low ratings - perhaps it's people looking for extreme realism? Most of the time, I just want to have fun when I watch a movie, and if you can put your critical self on hold, you'll find the absolute raw fun in this movie. Perfectly cast, and Jason Statham is always a delight, as is Aubrey Plaza. 10/10 from me. Apparently I need 25 more characters ... ahh, this movie is great?

I wanted very much to like this - it really is a shame just how bad this series turned out to be. The lead role is well cast with a very likeable actor, but sadly there is no good material here for any actor to work with. You want to see a giant green woman walking around in a badly CGI suit chatting all day? Talking about relationships? Ugh. So much of a nothingburger. Honestly, what were they thinking? It feels like nobody was at the helm, nobody even tried to fend off the disaster of the poor writing. Maybe, they were trying for a 'Sex in the City' but with superheroes vibe? Who knows what they were aiming to achieve - the team that made this certainly didn't.

Jeez Marvel, please return to form! It would take a lot for us true fans to ever really leave you.

The best show I've seen in more years than I can remember. Definitely funny, but there's so much more to it than that. I really believe this TV series is a work of art. It pulls you in with the often slapstick & silly, sometimes poignant humour, and then! Oh, then ... is your heart ready to absorb this much tenderness, forgiveness, kindness and true love? Just wow. I have always been a fan of Taika, but have found his work occasionally inconsistent, but this series turns out to be a manifesto on the meaning of unconditional love. So many filmmakers today seem to have forgotten that human nature is much more kindness-leaning than not. Taika knows ... and not one emotional moment rings false, and I'm beside myself waiting for season 2!

First of all, I love the two leads, BUT ... I feel that almost everyone involved in this project should hang their heads in shame. If we classify 'B movies' at 'B', then this one deserves at least to sit at 'Y'. The only reason it's not a 'Z' is that a lot of talented people must have worked on the project, but when a script is so shallow and lacking, and empty but 'titillating', then it really is a scrapheap movie, regardless of the pretty stars and pretty locations. What were they thinking??? It is honestly one of the worst films I've watched in decades. They had some good ideas, but proceeded to waste their good ideas by padding them out with a trash script and a trash story. Please, please, Chris Hemsworth, Miles Teller, get your acts together and get better at READING SCRIPTS! Jeebs already.

I watched this because I love Sci Fi, I love the analysis of AI in our lives, and the trailer looked like it might be aiming higher than most B movies, BUT ... sadly it is merely pretending to aim high (at least the trailer is) ... Turns out it is just a plotless, emotion-less excuse for some soft porn and some pointless horror. You're left thinking - I sat through all of those boring, slow scenes, and some physically appealing actors for THIS!? Blerk. Definitely not anything special going on here. If you come for the soft porn, it is very soft, there are TV commercials more titillating, and if you come for the horror, it is very pedestrian and abundantly predictable. If I could give it less than 1 star I would. I feel I've been tricked! Also, the raging of over 6 stars? Definitely some 13 year old boys out there driving that rating up. In summary, a boring waste of time and potential.

It's nice enough - some lovely animation, brilliant saturated colours etc. At least two really good songs, but as I'm accustomed to the best of Disney animation, this one really doesn't hold up to the standard of the classics. I'm thinking things like Pocahontas, The Little Mermaid etc.

The story feels like it was written by committee, a really big committee!

It feels like nobody on the writing team got anything close to what they wanted (the danger of writing as a committee, naturally). Overall it's some kind of nonsensical mish-mash, I'm not really certain what story they were trying to tell. Perhaps something like 'old people are mean, and young people try too hard to please'. Who knows?

Quite watchable, but definitely does not live up to the hype. Nothing new to see, and in the end it's quite unsatisfying because the story was just nonsensical and the stakes never felt particularly high, unlike the aforementioned Disney classics.

What a shame they lost their way making this one. I find it hard to quantify why this one has none of the charm or the high stakes of the first one ... I suspect it's because they spend so much time trying to lay down for us the character of Carnage that they forget to actually tell a story. OK, so, Carnage will drill a dog to death, but he still is able to love his GF to the ends of time? Seriously movie-makers, you have to make your character believable.

They've hired some good actors, and some below average actors, so, casting is a bit inconsistent for a start ... then historical inaccuracies are often hard to look past. I'm not a history buff, but if you're going to do historical stuff, then announce at the outset that your work is either going to pay no attention whatsoever to the social mores of the time, or that you are going for a realistic representation. This film is a bit all-over-the-place in that respect. Also, when they do that shaky camera thing from the 90s, I'm lucky if I can get past the first 5 minutes. So, really, it is a B-grade representation of what could have been a really tight, amazing story. I wish they had done just a little better, but for most viewers who can handle all the little things being wrong with it, and are able to take a broader, less fusspot view, then it will probably be OK. Personally, I found it only just watchable, mainly because it is based on a true story, and for the authentic locations.

Yes, the film doesn't really break any new ground, but dang! It is a completely serviceable and rollicking Marvel movie, and fits in well with the rest of the MCU. The only real complaint I have personally, is that it should have been made years ago, so yes, I agree with some reviews that complain of the lateness of the project, but ScarJo really (always and consistently!) knows how to sell a scene -- and this film is no exception! And yes, I also agree that relative newcomer Florence Pugh is near impossible to look away from -- she has genuine big-screen gravitas, and is likely to go on to have a very rich and varied film career. I have read some incredibly vitreolic reviews and am floored by them -- just exactly what is it that has made them so angry? It is beyond my understanding. Filled with gorgeous men and women running around and having adventures all over the place, with little injections of humor and pathos here and there, not overdone, just right! Why would anyone complain? I had a ball, I laughed, I hid behind my hands, I bounced on the edge of my seat, and even shed a tear or two. A complete success of a movie, even if it was waayy too many years late in coming. Also, I love movies that rarely refer to gender, and don't try to push anything down your throat, and this was definitely one of those films. Gender-schmender! Who cares if the story is filled with mostly men or mostly women or anything in between? As long as the story gallops forward at a decent pace and inspires you to care about the characters. Yep, a total win! Don't listen to the nay-sayers, I am genuinely not sure what movie they watched.

Absolutely divine, sublime filmmaking. The script is honed to perfection, the casting is a dream, the plot is perfectly constructed and the pacing is the definition of grace. Words almost fail me! It just makes my heart sing when writers, actors and directors come together in an inspired way, and the result is a flawless work of art. Watch it if you can. Films like this are and always will be the gold standard.

So many of the comments here accurately reflect how I feel about the show. I think we were all so hopeful because we are so invested in Sam and Bucky, and the charm and gravitas of these two leads is undeniable. So while I still adore the primary actors and always will, and I appreciate how just their presence is making the show watchable, the series as a whole is what I consider to be a failure because they've gone into it without any real sense of direction or competent scripting. There are some sweet moments however, I found the first episode to be one of the best, and felt it may yet overcome the lack of story, but no, they went down the endlessly preaching road, the endlessly standing around talking about feelings road, which really is a cheap way of getting out of having a plot. The primary baddie, while to my eyes a very striking and beautiful young woman, is utterly tedious as a character. I can't count how many times I was bored to sobs and almost turned it off, most often when she was talking or doing anything at all really. Next time I think Marvel will have to take better care with their combination of writing and casting their bad guys. So often a superhero film bases much of its success on the gravitas of the baddie, and there is ZERO gravitas here. I like Zemo, I like Sam's sister, but without a real plot nearly every great actor here is wasted. Marvel also needs to consider - if we are going to preach politics non-stop, are we preaching to the choir? Preaching to the choir is boring for everybody. Most Marvel fans (I find) are already anti-racism/anti-evil, so why spend every single minute preaching our beliefs back at us? We're already on board with a black Cap, so just give us a rollicking adventure already! This is why Superheroes are so popular in the first place - the momentum of adventure! Such a waste of talent. Please, please Marvel, don't repeat the mistake in future. Go back to your roots, and let the good script and the story carry the day! Not all the standing around whining about things we are already aware of. This is supposed to be escapism at it's highest! Educate WHILE the plot is in motion, don't make us have to sit through lectures please. We can get that anywhere else in the world.

Mildly amusing, but ultimately a horrible film. Not sure how such an awful movie ever got made!? I was this age once, and people saying that's what kids are like, well, it's not true. We always felt sorry for the kids who were anywhere near like this because they were the kids living below the poverty line, experiencing one or two violet parents, or the children of hardcore drug addicts, or the children of neglect. They were the kids living on the fringes of my happy childhood and they were never well-liked and they never thrived. Why would filmmakers want to glorify the awful, damaged children of damaging parents? I think this movie is really rather horrible, even if I did get a chuckle from it here or there. Films like Superbad are much better. If you REALLY want some laughs, watch Superbad instead. Full of heart and bearing a much closer resemblance to kids in general.

Great costuming, good music, competently staged in every way. The actors all sell their scenes effectively, but in their efforts to be reasonably historically relevant, it feels as though they have sacrificed genuine character development and any genuine sense of relationships between the characters, thus you are presented with a gorgeous-looking but otherwise flat representation of a sequence of events, rather than anything you can hook your heart into. A good way to know if a show is a bit too dry, is how much you really don't care when any of them meet their demise. Definitely a fault in the script and perhaps somewhat in the directing (maybe even a tiny bit goes to some occasional miscasting) but to reiterate, the actors and the look are sound, but the 'feel' is dry and meh ... still, I would say it is very watchable for fans of the era. Six stars.

I really enjoyed this book adaptation. It's fair to say this isn't perfect, but the minor imperfections are easily compensated for in that the package as a whole really really works! (in other words, there are some plot-holes and d'uh moments). Also, at first I felt the lead actor seemed a little flat to me, but at the same time he's more than competent in his role, and it's likely more related to direction than inability. I am just so pleased when somebody does a book adaptation that honours the original material! It may not be 100% adherent to the books but it definitely does not diverge too sharply, which is a death knell for SO many promising series *cough* His Dark Materials *cough* ... Anyhoo! Totally worth a look. It doesn't waste time banging on and on four hours about people's 'deep and dark feelings' (vomit) like so much of the second-rate dross that is being made these days. It just gets on with the story. And what a bangin' intro song! One of the best new artists I've heard in years (Samm Henshaw). Check it out and if you have at least half a brain you definitely won't be disappointed.

I will agree that in the earlier episodes, some of the editing could be tighter, and some of the sweet young actresses are still finding their groove, but in the big picture, this TV series is what so many of us have been longing for. I went to an all-girls private school, and it really was very much like this in our younger years. The innocence is here, the straightforward story-telling is here, all the elements that have kept Enid Blyton as one of the best-selling childrens' authors of all time are here in this series. If you have kids, sit them in front of this and watch it resonate. Watch their concern at the 'trials' the girls face, and watch their faces light up at their triumphs. I love that there was once a time when kids were taught that gossip is NOT good, and kindness was enthusiastically encouraged. This sweet show and these sweet stories have so much to teach our current cynical and (understandably!) wounded society. I also love the really diverse casting, and that no-one is ever singled out for their heritage or their appearance, they just all live side-by-side and race is never an issue. Isn't this the society we are all striving for? And isn't the loveliest thing in the world to be shown clear example of the society we are striving for and for it to be presented as normal? I just can't praise this show highly enough. Yes, no Oscars and no convoluted plots. Just a genuine adherence to the source material. I've lost count of how many TV series based on novels have been utterly ruined by writers trying to embellish and alter the source material, removing all the reasons the book-series was popular in the first place. I cannot praise the makers of Malory Towers highly enough for their intelligence in not going down that particular self-aggrandizing road, which invariably leads to a big, dumb 'fail'. Well done to everybody involved. My advice watching this show? Don't expect anything complex, just sit back and bask in the glow of these sweet children and these innocent, rollicking stories.

I saw only the first two episodes of this series a couple of years ago, and couldn't wait for episode 3, but somehow got distracted and never went back to it. I'm so glad I found it again, and upon re-watching, and watching further, found it to be an absolute delight! It definitely is written for us more bright lightbulbs who adore Sci Fi and the more unusual types of shows. In reading other reviews I was happy to see that many appreciate it as I do, and for those who expected Black Mirror, I can say this is DEFINITELY not a cheap copy, it is its very own show. Much more in the spirit of the best of the Twilight Zone, but very tongue-in-cheek. Am also very surprised to see the negative reviews, I'm not sure exactly what they were expecting? Perhaps it is just that eternal division between simpler viewing tastes (yes, go back to your Deuce Bigalow, and leave us to our sublime and intelligent weirdness) and more complex minds. I highly recommend this if you like complexity, fun and weirdness all smooshed together in one show.

If all you need is soft-porn titillation with almost zero actual story, then this film is for you. If, however, you enjoy the spy genre in general and hope for intriguing story-lines, it is probably best you steer clear of this one. Laughable script, miserable acting (the high-calibre actors here all look as though they're just trying to get through their lines as plainly as possible and get back to their trailer - I kept wondering if they'd even read the script before they signed on!) Just unbearable considering what a wealth of brilliant and OK spy films there are out there in the world. Ugh. Not sure anyone proof-read this abomination before it went into production.

A whole bunch of nothing much happening, but gee, it does look fancy! And gee-whiz mister, it does sound fancy! If you are either easily pleased, or easily hoodwinked into thinking things that look good and sound fancy must have substance, then I suppose I shouldn't try to keep you away. Also, Jude Law is a spectacularly good-looking man, so I wouldn't hold it against you if you wanted to watch solely for his presence, looks and gravitas. If you can stand watching sour and pseudo-intellectual conversations for endless periods of time, and if you enjoy looking at Jude with a backdrop of beautiful scenery and costumery, then there will be something here for you.

Based on episode 1, I would claim this to be a great joy and give it 10 stars, based on episode 2 I would give it 7 stars, and say it was pedestrian but well done, based on episode 3? I would say it is about an annoying crap and who cares what happens to her, and give it only one star for content and 7 stars for production values and acting. Such a shame this show veers to such extremes. Anywho, if you want to watch something heartwarming and lovely, watch episode 1!

This is what I have been looking for! This series is proof that you don't need constant and gratuitous darkness to be great, only occasional darkness that occurs naturally as a side-effect of situations and a substantive storyline. This show is also evidence that you don't need constant forward momentum, and that you can pause to consider events and emotions without being outrageously dull and repetitive. For me, I find it incredible the way this series sweetly walks the line line between moments of contemplation and moments of exposition. Evidently the writers began with a clear vision and a clear, neatly tied-together story way in advance of production, and the way they carry it forward is as near to perfect as I could ever hope for. This show is the cure for all those series that are filled with cookie-cutter writing, devoid of an over-arcing storyline, and full of weak, meandering writing that relies on cheap, dark titillation instead of substance (*cough* 'London Spy' *cough*). I never ever thought I could sit through an entire series where the protagonist is in a depressive state, but they present his condition with a cleverness that generates both subtle overt comedy. All the players here are superb! I plan to track down everything these writers have had a hand in, because this series is addictive and sublime.