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Reviews
Chapelwaite (2021)
Text good, subtext bad
There's an impressively disturbing atmosphere which surrounds the action in this series, and the acting and action are impressive, but there is an equally disturbing and disappointing subtext to the treatment of King's short story. Rather than focussing on the undead/horror elements, much of the script has been twisted into a thinly veiled pro-Christian/anti-atheist polemic which leaves a seriously bad taste and detracts strongly from the original emphasis of the story.
Beyond Babel (2001)
Interesting overview
This documentary series is an interesting overview of the position of the English language as a global lingua franca. It focuses on several facets of the language's modern use, and particular focuses on its use in multicultural societies (e.g., India, South Africa) and in societies where English is not an official language (e.g., Japan, China). The historical ethos behind the language's use and the modern political ramifications of its use are also explored.
The series further deals with the question of how the English language is likely to evolve in the future, either through the inclusion of loan words or in creole forms, whether it will retain its position as the major universal tongue or split into myriad regional variations, and how its usage is affecting smaller local languages, many of which are struggling to survive.
This series would make a useful adjunct to the earlier (and slightly superior) "The Story of English" documentary series, made by Robert MacNeil in 1986.
Came a Hot Friday (1985)
Fun, frenetic Kiwi comedy
Fun, frenetic Kiwi comedy of two small-time con artists working their way through small-town 1940s New Zealand, on their way falling foul of a nasty piece of work whose schemes involve illegal gambling, moonshine, and an insurance scam which has caused the death of an elderly local. The con-men fall in with a local eccentric - a dream role for New Zealand much-loved comedian Billy T. James - "The Tainuia Kid", the greatest Maori Mexican bandito ever to have patrolled the Rio Grande... The film is full of believable small-town characters and provides cameo roles for many of New Zealand's top comic actors and - while not reaching the production standards of many of the country's more recent Big Movies - the New Zealand film industry can justifiably be proud of this gem. Occasionally dark, often hilarious, and constantly entertaining - make sure it does not slip below your radar.
Cosmos (1980)
A television landmark
One of the greatest television documentaries of all time. Sagan takes the human quest for knowledge of our role in the cosmos and our long search for understanding of it and presents it in a way that appeals to scientists, philosophers, and dreamers alike. Given its age and the speed of discovery in astrophysics, it's no surprise that a little of the science has been superseded by later investigation, but that is largely irrelevant. The important thing with Cosmos is only partly the science, and is partly the air of wonder and joyful excitement which pours out of Sagan with every episode. His enthusiasm is infection. You find yourself wishing he was still alive, not just for the documentaries he would no doubt have made, but also because you realise how much he would have loved to have shared the new discoveries in astronomy in the last few years. If you ever needed a documentary to introduce someone to the wonders of science and to the amazing nature of our place in the universe, you could do no better than to show them Cosmos.