Reviews

Before Christopher Nolan started making movies that were so "clever" that that replaced intrigue with unbelievability, he made movies that were actually entertaining, thrilling, and fun.

The Prestige has an all-star cast and a story that really does keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Unlike his recent movies, that are more on style than substance, this "smaller" movie is an example of how to maintain a storyline without trying to outsmart the audience with cheap tricks like backward/forward armies and other such nonsense.

Nolan needs to rewatch his own earlier movies and make note of the old adage, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Sometimes less plot complexity produces a far superior story.

I had high hopes for this movies but was very disappointed.

If I wanted to hear someone talk all through a movie, I'd go to the cinema and sit next to a chatty stranger. After 20 minutes of mindless narration I had to stop watching. It was so annoying!

Sure, the opening scene looked great but listening to the protagonist bang on and on about the minutia of his life as a hitman was tedious. Who cares how much protein you get from a takeout burger or whatever other pointless factoids he shared? It did nothing for the plot and was simply distracting. Shut up, man, and get on with the story!

It seems that narration is a popular plot device in Netflix movies and shows at the moment, and I hate it. Fincher has made one good film (Seven) and has been riding on its coattails ever since.

This movies was bloated, pretentious, and pointless.

FUBAR, a lightweight and daft Netflix spy show starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, fails to deliver a compelling storyline or well-written dialogue. The plot lacks depth, leaving viewers unsatisfied. It's neither exciting or compelling, which is a shame as I'm a lifelong Arnie fan.

On the other hand, Tulsa King, a heavyweight high-quality gangster drama led by Sylvester Stallone, excels in every aspect. With its gripping narrative, outstanding performances, and masterful writing, Tulsa King kept hooked from start to finish. In the battle between the two, Tulsa King emerges as the clear winner, offering a captivating and enriching viewing experience.

These two movie heroes have been going toe to toe for decades, with little to separate them. However, finally, there is light between them and Stallone has emerged victorious.

Luther the Fallen Sun is a sort of continuation of the popular and rather splendid TV show starring Idris Elba. However, the tone is very different, and what was originally a tight, gritty police drama has now become a bloated, rather plotless Hollywood-type action flick.

I actually watched the entire TV show and read the Luther book in preparation for this movie, and I kinda wish I hadn't because the difference in storyline and style are staggering.

Andy Serkis is just incredibly hammy in his portrayal of the big bad antagonist, and what was going on with his comedy hair? He was more annoying than terrifying and his motivation for his nefarious ways was never really explained.

He blackmails people into doing his evil doings? That's pretty weak as criminal plots go.

And where was Alice Morgan during all this? She was arguably one of the strongest supporting characters in the original series. Fans of Luther will undoubtedly miss her presence and the chemistry between her and big John.

All in all, it was nice to see John Luther again, but it was also disappointing to have his story take such an unsatisfying direction. Luther should have stayed a london copper, and not become some kind of international super spy.

As a sports and human performance nut, I enjoyed many of the stories within this show. However, Idris Elba sounded bored, and added nothing to any of the episodes. I'm an Idris fan (go Luther!) but his lack of enthusiasm or inflection was very distracting. Some of the games and sports had life in the balance, but Idris and his monotone made it sound like they were doing nothing more dangerous than making a cup of tea.

Idris himself has done some amazing sporting activities so I'd of thought he'd be able to generate more enthusiasm for his narrative.

I could have done without the animal abuse/cruelty too - that seems unnecessary in the 21st century.

I've climbed a lot, and was looking forward to seeing this show. However, it's a climbing show without much climbing and too much talking about climbing. The competitors are so right-on and full of BS with their "I love you," and "totally" and "you're so beautiful" "no YOU'RE beautiful." It's genuinely annoyingly and distracting - like totally. FFS.

Chris Sharman is a genuine climbing legend and a great presenter but Megan's voice is so nasal and grating. Like totally, super annoying, oh MY god!

It's such a shame because the climbing venues are spectacular but for a sports show, there is way too much focus on feelings and not enough focus on the competition. It's like watching a group of friends hanging out who also happen to be climbers.

It's a sad fact that more and more TV series are made to be forgettable. They are little more than white noise.

The Lost Symbol is a labeled as a as a thriller/mystery but it's actually neither of these things. It's just slow, dull, and weak.

The actor playing Robert Langdon has no charisma and is as far from a leading man as one can get. The dialogue is cliched and clunky, and the plot is slow and nonsensical. Langdon seems to pluck answers to mysteries out of thin air with little effort. I'm sure he could tell us who killed JFK and where Jimmy Hoffa is..

Every puzzle is solved just in the nick of time. There's no suspense or peril. It's like watching the old Batman show from the 60s, but not as fun.

And then there's the background music - it's constant, loud, and jarring. Sometimes less is more, unless they're trying to drown out snores...!

Finally, Eddie Izard is, as always, totally miscast. He's a comedic oddball not a dramatic actor. He's so out of place in this show - like a polar bear in the desert.

The only redeeming aspect of this show is that it's only ten episodes long, but, really, that's about nine too many. And I've just read it's been cancelled. Who said there isn't a God.

I'm a big fan of the American version of Lego Masters. That show really does feature some of the best Lego builders and most knowledgeable judges. The host is excellent, too.

The UK version is very amateurish, with less talented builders, low quality hosting, and the entire production feels cheap and underwhelming.

It's a mistake to pit kids against adults - the competition could never be fair - and creates a huge variation in the standard of builds. The youngest competitors are about nine years old, while the oldest are in their 40s.

All in all, this is a very inferior show to the American version.

I really liked the first couple of seasons of The Handmaid's Tale, but season four and five have been tedious and slow. I never expected this show to be fun, but that doesn't mean it's got to be a miserable viewing experience. Even dark stories should be entertaining.

It's like the viewer is being constantly told how depressing the story is, over and over and over again. We get it! There is no need to make every scene a depressing snore-fest!

And what's with the constant close ups of June, and the seemingly pointless slo-mo shots? Women putting on coats slowly. WTH?! Are the writers so short on ideas they're looking for ways to pad the episodes with filler and fluff?

I only watch this because I'm a bit OCD and want to get to the finish but, to be honest, I really don't care about any of the characters, and if this show was cancelled, I'd barely notice.

The only way to make this show even remotely entertaining is to drink a shot every time there's a close up of June's mug. Probably be drunk as a skunk by the first ad break.

The first series of Gangs of London was a tight, gripping thriller. The second series was a convoluted mess full of disjointed scenes, a messy storyline, lots of gangsters giving each other hard stares, monosyllabic dialogue, and a lot of very weird characters who contributed nothing to the plot. Even the violence is tedious.

And then there is the jarring sound track and impenetrable accents that make this as annoying to listen to as it is to watch.

It's trying to be Peaky Blinders, but has none of the period charm, intriguing storylines, interesting characters, or style of that excellent show.

Did they change writers? Or did the writers just decide to phone it in? Either way, this was a poor show with few redeeming features.

This show is basically seven hours of an obnoxious yuppy couple randomly accusing strangers of being "The Watcher." So many red-herrings, so many superfluous scenes, such lame dialogue, such pretentious twaddle!

I don't understand how such a talented task can make such a superficial pile of rubbish. And when the big reveal comes at the end, you probably won't care.

Ryan Murphy is a hack. American Horror Story quickly turned into a huge dumpster fire, and this show is far, FAR worse.

If you like lame, slow, thrillers that are not thrilling in the slightest, you may like this. But, if you've got more than half a brain, this show will bore you rigid.

Given the subject matter, I have no idea how Netflix managed to make sure a boring TV show. Every episode drags and drags, with next to no story progression. Honestly, I don't understand all the positive reviews and outrage about this series. It was painful to watch, and not because it was shocking, or scandalous, or tried to make Dahmer a sympathetic character, but because it's simply bad.

I was hoping for a mixture of Dexter crossed with Mind Hunter and a little Silence of the Lambs, but for me this show is a huge DUD.

That's a shame considering what a monster Jeffrey Dahmer was. This show did little to expose his real story.