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The Fall (2013)
Complete load of rubbish
In the first episode the DSupt tells a Detective Sergeant, at the scene of a shooting, her hotel room number and hotel location. In Northern Ireland that is tantamount to committing suicide. What a load of complete rubbish this series is - it panders to those who have absolutely no understanding of the realities of policing in the UK, let alone the unique challenges that the Police of Northern Ireland have to contend with. An insult to the brave officers who risk their lives on a daily basis. Rubbish series for those who cannot see past a TV sensationalist 'pop corn' Friday night bit of entertainment. Crap.
Murder in Provence (2022)
Morse crashes into A Year in Provence.
Roger Allam (wonderful actor, if not a little type cast) and the setting, that is the hook. The storylines are straight out of Morse, just different tweeks, and Allam is Thaw out of a Year in Provence, with some slight variations. Sorry to any non UK readers, you have to have watched the Sweeney, Endeavour, Morse and a Year in Provence to fully appreciate what I am saying. There is an inescapable connection to those series.
What could have been brilliant was average. Why, oh why, did they not introduce French actors, albeit English speakers perhaps, to give some authenticity to the series and location. But no, they used some actors who spoke with strong varied Uk regional accents. And some of the actors were so miscast it was incredible. The assistant Gendarme Commissioner was so obviously not suited to that position in a million years, dare I say her physique was just so not correct. The Gendarmerie is a military unit, that says it all. And as for the Gendarme Commissioner, give me strength - should not have bothered introducing his character at all.
I loved it because my wife and I have lived in France for many years, it was so beautifully filmed, but so English in its interpretation - a slight insult to the French, a lovely peoples so misunderstood - by the British I am afraid.
The series is watchable, if you enjoy a murder mystery, but a simply constructed one at that. We both lost interest in the plot of all three episodes pretty quickly, but loved the scenery. And I have to say, I like Roger Allam - he is a very likable character with a dry sense of humour.
Appropriate Adult (2011)
Watchable, but could not be further from reality.
Of 28 years of my 30 as a police detective, in three ranks during the seventies, until I retired, have I ever seen something so far removed from reality than this. Yes it is watchable as a semi fictional drama, but if you believe an appropriate adult could, or would, ever engage in anything even closely depicted by this than you are sadly mistaken. As a docudrama, complete rubbish. As a piece of Saturday night entertainment - passable. Acting, very good, Dominic West was excellent. What an ironic coincidence with the surnames. Watch it with some popcorn, but please do not believe that is how the system works, because it does not.
Don't Look Up (2021)
What a mess!!!!
Why do directors feel it necessary to present films in a pseudo Tarantino/Marvel comic style. I detected political satire, but found this film had comically portrayed that in a confused and disjointed fashion. No justice was given to some wonderful actors who I thought had their individual talents trashed by egotistical direction. The script was almost child like in places devoting much of its attention to unnecessary dialogue. I know the theme was only a vehicle for the satire, and yes it has been explored in the past and is dated, but I personally think that this film was an opportunity lost - it is either a sci-fi thriller or a satirical political drama, but it did not work for me as both.
Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood (2019)
What a complete mess.
My wife and I walked into a half empty cinema expecting a fabulous cinematic extravaganza with Pitt and DiCaprio starring in a Tarantino film. Well by the time the film had passed the 60 minute mark the cinema was now a quarter full. I have never seen people leave a film in such numbers before.
I know I am not allowed to put spoilers into a review without first warning a potential reader, but there has to a plot that can be spoilt in the first place, and there isn't one. The film was a mess, from start to finish. A self indulgent mess. It has no continuity at all. OK Tarantino's films require a viewer to piece together a complex set of sub plots, that is the only reason I stayed in that cinema was in the hope I was going to slowly put the thing together and be amazed at the writers genius. Ha Ha, the only genius was my wife because she fell asleep after 20 minutes and awoke 2 hours later refreshed.
The dog in the film was brilliant, it acted superbly. Pitt has moments that were good, DiCaprio - I could not make head or tail out of what he was supposed to be, or what film he was in, or what film I was watching. If you are confused by that then you are one step ahead of me.
Please go and see this film and you too can suffer the same dreadful boring load of rubbish that we endured tonight.
Hereditary (2018)
Drama or Horror???
Make your minds up please - was this supposed to be a horror flick or a family drama, because it failed in both genres. Which is a tragedy because it had the potential to have succeeded in one or the other, but not both. The acting was very good, the camera work was very good and the plots were independently very good. There we go again, back to the two films in one observation.
My wife fell asleep, and she loves a horror film and not even the portrayed family tragedy could retain her interest, and she loves a good weepy.
This film was just not frightening at all
7.5, that is just not representative of this film's worth.
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Boring, Boring, Boring - and dull
What a disappointment. From a visually stunning original to a dull and colourless sequel with wooden characters and cheap looking sets and technology. The original was full of neon lights in a wet and menacing urban setting, This was fog and dirt.The story was laboured and uninteresting which then made the film appear far to long - I never made it to the end left wondering why I bothered in the first place. I also didn't fully understand the complex relationship between Gosling and the female hologram, maybe it wasn't complex at all and just plain simple and I was in fact expecting far too much. In any case it made no real sense and added nothing to the base line story, rather like what I am doing now - it was used to pad out a weak film.
Diablo (2015)
Plainly Painful
His father must be cringing with embarrassment. The acting was appalling, Scott Eastwood just could not be convincing in the role at all. He failed to display the menace that his character demanded, he showed no emotion when required and although his lips moved his face went in a different direction - if that makes sense. I thought the story line was original and interesting but was let down by very poor execution - what a shame, it could have been a very good film. Cinematography was superb, I take my hat off to the director and camera crew for capturing that part of the States in all it's glory. it rescued the film from a 1/10 score. And what happened to Danny Glover - apart from the Native American boy, he was the only person who could act with any conviction, and he got but a few minutes screen time. This is a 'B+' effort trying to be in the same style as a Tarantino movie mixed with a touch of Spaghetti Western and a smidgen of Dirty Harry to season. What on earth was the ending all about? and those final credits, looked like a Buggs Bunny/Daffy Duck 'And That's All Folks' finish.
Bone Tomahawk (2015)
B movie - boring and predictable.
Ponderous, predictable and so, so, so unworthy of it's 7.3 rating. I thought Russell was a good actor back in the time, but in this he is just OK - and that is about the measure of things. Reminds me of a 70's 'journey to the centre of the earth' type of film - no disrespect to that film, it was great in it's day, and sadly this would have been just as great back then as well. The story was just bad - corny and drawn out, as if the author/script writer ran out of ideas and then padded it out with completely irrelevant rubbish. In fact it was so boring I am finding it hard to fulfil the 10 line quota - oh I know, I sat willing the film to get better - but it didn't. My wife looked at me and shook her head as she got up from the sofa and said 'I do not believe you made me sit through that'