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Reviews
Grace: Dead Tomorrow (2022)
Dark
Perhaps one of the better-written episodes, this one was much easier to follow. It is the dark subject of organ harvesting and procurement. The pace was about right and kept the main story moving, with breaks in between to highlight Grace's personal life. This served to lighten the mood a little on a grim, but enjoyable episode.
False Positive (2021)
Made me feel dirty
You could be forgiven for thinking this film was made by two people. The first half proceeds like a good Hitchockian thriller, but the second half descends into chaos and confusion with no explanations or good ending. In fact when it finished I felt like wanting to have a very long shower. Very disappointing. Don't waste your time.
The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
Could've been better
This epic movie about Christ is a visual feast in cinematic terms yet somehow does not satisfy in its intent to portray its subject. Max Von Sydow's Christ somehow doesn't ring true. Maybe it's the accent in contrast to the disciples' or the 'Hapsburg Jaw' in his appearance, or even his self-confessed agnostic/atheist views, but something is fundamentally lacking in his depiction of Jesus.
The acting at the time the film was made may have been adequate, but nowadays borders on the humorous like the stilted, mummy-like expression of Jose Ferrer's Herod Antipas. The long-running time has been mentioned, but perhaps it is not the length of time that is an issue as much as the content filling the three hours plus. Jesus's sayings are randomly strewn in whatever setting the scriptwriters felt were apt as biblical accounts seem abandoned. Miracles are few and depicted as unremarkable. To drum up a sense of wonder for Lazarus's resurrection, for example, Handel's Messiah had to be included in a crescendo.
Had the movie been better, obvious errors made would not be so conspicuous. As it is, the erroneous reference to the relationship between James and Mathew and the fact that snow is visible in certain shots is bewildering.
As others have pointed out, the film is monotonous in that there are no highs or lows at opportune moments. Consequently, any extraordinary happenings seem flat and almost commonplace. Christ's crucifixion, Passion and Resurrection are fleeting and considering the length of this movie and in Orthodox Christianity these final events of Christ's life are the most revered, the rushed nature of these depictions is almost unforgivable.
As a committed Christian, I wanted to like this movie. Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments is longer, yet I have been happy to watch it repeatedly. Apart from this Easter, I cannot remember the last time I watched The Greatest Story. The thing is, it is not a bad film, but could have been so much better. It is just tedious to watch.
The Rookie: Long Shot (2022)
Beyond Stupid
For me this is going the same way as S. W. A. T I.e. Utter rubbish script writing, lame attempts at humour and insufferable characters like the German guy in this episode. It started off marginal for me anyway, but stuck it out until this episode. I gave up on SWAT and I'll watch the rest of this wretched series, but if it doesn't improve significantly I am not going to bother.
Suntan (2016)
Don't waste your time
Ultimately, this is about a middle-aged, balding, chubby male doctor undergoing a midlife crisis by falling for a girl half his age. That's it. That's the movie in a nutshell. She's a hippy type who hangs around with her young mates and seems to have a knack for teasing this man who falls for her big time. He becomes enraged when she doesn't reciprocate and exacts his revenge in a brutal way. This isn't a well made film. It feels more like somebody's holiday movie with very long scenes with not very much taking place. There seems no point to it. There's no moral in the story. And you will be very disappointed by the ending as I was. At one point the girl says to him 'I'm bored. Let's leave', ultimately summing up this whole movie. Don't waste ninety minutes you'll never get back.
Bastille Day (2016)
Good thriller
Fake american accents notwithstanding, this is a near non-stop action movie worthy of more than the overall score on here. Idris Elba is in his element as a CIA operative in Paris and Richard Madden plays the hapless pickpocket who becomes embroiled in a complex case of cat and mouse with more than one opponent. All is not what it initially seems on the eve of Bastille Day and there are plenty of twists to keep the viewer engaged. There are also a lot of plot holes and seriously unlikely scenarios, but all in all a good old fashioned action packed romp.
Inspector Morse: The Settling of the Sun (1988)
Absolute piffle
I've never liked Morse even though I like John Thaw's other work in Kavanagh QC, The Sweeney e.g. I only started watching this in lockdown and have come to realize what a mean, odious little man Morse is. How they gave this over one and a half hours' air time is beyond me. His constant snipes and put-downs to his colleagues, Lewis especially, is distasteful and I am finding little to endear him to the viewer. He has no charisma, no likable physical attributes and from what I've so far seen, no exceptional detective skills. In this episode, he just prattles on and on. The script in this episode is dire and the acting is awful. I was struggling to keep awake. I am hopeful, reading from some review here, that future episodes may be better.
Better Call Saul: Mijo (2015)
Boring
How anyone can rate this episode so highly is beyond me. The beginning was interesting as others have alluded, but when the incident dragged on till nearly half the length of the show with little happening, my boredom increased exponentially.
From then on, we are treated to nothing more than 'padding', with shots of silent conversations in a restaurant accompanied by fill-in music, close-ups of coffee machines (perhaps the director had a fetish for coffee spilling into paper cups), endless repeat shots of Saul in court, again with no sound, all with no meaningful purpose.
I get that the audience want to see another successful show from the makers of the excellent 'Breaking Bad', but wishing it and getting it are two different things. I expect future episodes to be a lot better.
The Rhythm Section (2020)
Very poor execution
The delightful Blake Lively is totally miscast in this as is Jude Law. Neither are remotely believable in their respective roles. Ms Lively, far from being a fledgling assassin looks like she couldn't harm a fly and Jude Law's lack of physique doesn't convince he's a seasoned one. To make matters worse, many scenes look like they're shot on a mobile phone. A fashion fad of modern movie-making in an attempt presumably to make scenes feel more real and gritty. There is distinct lack of direction. The acting is barely adequate and the plot to avenge Lively's family becomes confused and intangible. There are many scenes where nothing happens, as if the director is relying on the many and varied locations to make up for lack of script. I actually was able to fast forward through such scenes without losing detail since there was none to begin with. There are other similar movies which are far better executed and enjoyable. Alas, for me, this was not one of them.
Mare of Easttown (2021)
No point
I can't find any redeeming features for this series save Kate Winslet. The plot is invisible and the profanities too abundant for my liking. Winslet is wasted here. It's about a small town woman police officer called Mare and her life struggles. I don't see any point in it and so won't be persevering with the rest of the episodes.
Too Close (2021)
Forget it
The best scenes in my opinion are the opening ones lasting only a few minutes. The rest of the episode is full of thoroughly unlikeable and uninteresting people because there is zero character development. The principal lead, Dr Emma Robinson, a forensic psychiatrist seems to be in a permanent fugue state with unblinking staring eyes and arguably appears more disturbed than her patient, played by Denise Gough whose after-accident make up looks like a visual aspect of her acting: over-applied and messy. The main point of the story is supposed to be whether she remembers her actions and is sane or not after attempting suicide in a car with her two kids in it with her. As stated, because of the unpleasant personalities involved, one secretly wishes she succeeded. I won't be watching the remaining two episodes as a mystery thriller this is not. In fact, it's a total waste of time.
SAS: Red Notice (2021)
Drop It
This was by no stretch of the imagination as terrible as some here make out, but it was pretty bad. The story did not make sense and the script was poor. Dialogue in certain places was unintentionally funny and there were enough plot holes to make a colander. Which is a shame as with half a decent script, better editing and a story which was focused and coherent, would have made this a major action movie on a par with the Die Hard franchise. As it is, it's a watchable waste of 2 hours.
The Sixties: 1968 (2014)
Violence personified
The episode gave a flavour of what happened in 1968 and brought back uncomfortable memories for those of us growing up during that turbulent time. However, little seemed to have been learned as the war in Vietnam still kept raging, civil disobedience continued and assassinations were still being attempted later in 1972 on George Wallace and later still when Reagan came into office. Scary times.
World War II: Witness to War (2017)
Shouty
The original footage and facts are great spoiled only by Tony Robinson's documentary in which he shouts a lot betraying the fact that he is not a natural commentator and mistakes loudness for clarity. Also although the audio interviews with the people who were involved in the war have been enhanced, often they are difficult to hear and understand. Overall, informative but served better by a natural commentator.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Zero Tolerance (2018)
Left wing propaganda
I stopped watching 'The Good Fight' because it was utter left-wing tripe. Although on the whole SVU isn't too political, this episode is shocking in distorting facts and was more of a stand against Trump. As others have said, such things were going on under Obama with little hint of outrage by film and tv industries. Disappointing.
S.W.A.T. (2017)
Overbearing
Started watching this off Shemar Moore's past reputation in Criminal Minds. On the whole I find it disappointing. Scripts and plot leave much to be desired. Dialogue between characters is at break-neck speed that the plot passes you by. Attempts to build character between team members don't really work because they come across fake and superficial. Consequently action scenes don't mean much. There is no character you can connect with because they are uninteresting and boring. A cardinal rule in any series is you have people you like or fancy. This series breaks the rule and suffers the consequences.
The Good Fight: Day 450 (2018)
This is a poor and boring episode
I usually like lawyer shows. Watched all of L.A law and the superb 'The Practice'. But this programme sucks. This is a poor and boring episode littered with political bias which is the bane of modern tv shows. Anti-Trump sentiments and the inane pregnancy of a character make up the bulk of this episode. The second season started off with left wing bias and by this episode it becomes alt-left. I've had it it with this show and the rest of the series.
Damages: Next One's on Me, Blondie (2011)
Boring
Compared to seasons 1 &2, these later seasons become burdensome to watch and this episode in particular is boring. There is a lot of talk, speeches made, but nothing much happens. Patty and Ellen are still chasing their tails not sure whether to go after High Star or not. In the end, you just don't care.
In Darkness (2018)
Bland and confusing
The movie begins well enough, but soon loses its way in deciding what it is. Whether it touts itself as a suspense movie, mystery, thriller it fails on all counts. It is a confusing mismatch. About halfway through, a whole scene seems to have been lost just before the 'big' reveal which was kind of predictable.
Not worth your time.
Black Butterfly (2017)
I AM STUCK........
Antonio Banderas is woefully miscast as an alcoholic writer secluding himself in an effort to overcome writer's block. The idea of a Spaniard as a literary storyteller in English novels spreads credulity a little too thinly. Arguably, the first half hour is the best when he forges a friendship with unknown drifter Jonathan Rhys Meyers. From then on poor editing and direction lessens the suspense considerably with a presentation of mismatched scenes and head-scratching ploys.
Piper Perabo is a welcomed distraction to the proceedings, but her role is minor and adds little to the movie.
Another distraction, not so-welcomed, is Bandero's thick accent making his speech unintelligible at times. I had to resort to subtitles in the last third of the film.
The outcome of the movie is a mess and the ultimate 'twist' predictable. In conclusion, flaws in casting, direction, editing and script makes for an unsatisfying 90 minutes. The only saving grace is that the beginning of the story can hook you a little in watching more, but ultimately falls apart as the film progresses.
American Psycho (2000)
American sicko
Definition of mindless violence for the sake of it. No story, plot or suspense. Bale's fake American accent is conspicuous and grating. And his acting is worse. Don't waste your time.
The X Files: Rm9sbG93ZXJz (2018)
No wonder Anderson wants to leave
This episode doesn't just 'jump the shark', it leapfrogs a whale.It is total garbage with next to no dialogue, no meaningful message and with a screenplay and script as dire as this, I can understand why Gillian Anderson wants to leave the show.
All it is, is the two actors Anderson and Duchovny becoming exasperated with various gadgets much akin to my reaction to wasting my time watching this. As others have pointed out, if I wanted to watch people absorbed in in their tech, I could board a bus.
If ever there was an episode which heralded the end of an iconic tv series it is this one. There's nothing left for the two protaganists to explore, investigate, become emotionally involved with each other 'cos it's all been done. Shame; I used to love watching this show.
Wonder Woman (2017)
Xena rip-off
This overlong rubbish is really for kids who I'm sure will love it. For me, the slow pace, inadequate editing and acting, mushy storyline and mixture of CGI and reality didn't work and I was so bored at times, I found myself playing a game of 'spot the CGI'.
Gal Gadot is the wrong choice for the leading role. She cannot really act and was quite unconvincing. There were elements in the story and film that were taken from Xena, Warrior princess and if this film was touted during the Xena days, Lucy Lawless would have smashed it as Wonder Woman.
Munich (2005)
Bore, bored, boring
Spielberg has lost his touch for making thrillers. I found this film so boring. This could have been such a good film. Instead, it plods on at a snail's pace. A lot of the dialogue, particularly at the beginning is foreign and some of it isn't even subtitled. When Spielberg started his movie career, he was touted as the modern day Hitchcock and I would go along with that. His early films such as Jaws, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan etc were all entertaining films which held your attention to the end. Of late, he has concentrated on 'pet' projects personal to himself and a select few which have been mediocre at best at the box office. This particular film is based on real events and follows the 'work' of the Israeli Secret Service tracking down and eliminating the Arab terrorists they believe had a hand in the killing of Israeli Olympic athletes. But even this takes such a long time, you give up caring. As I said, it had the potential of being a first class film. Instead, Spielberg has made a mess.
Doctors: This Is the Song (2013)
Missable
This episode was boring and we couldn't have cared less for the central characters who were a rich old man in a wheelchair, a choir singer and her daughter. The story held nothing of interest for regular viewers of the series and I would be surprised if any of us viewers knew the above named characters from previous episodes.
The rest of the 'The Doctors' seemed to have been given the day off, leaving Mrs Tembe and Mandy Marquez to make the connection between the series title name and the episode. The old man, Del Purnham, is a leading figure in the recording industry and a previous singer, Carla Graham, who was assigned to him long ago is suing him claiming he ripped her off. Her estranged daughter, Melody, is also a singer and both meet the old man through Mrs Tembe and Mandy. The rest of the story follows what happens to the three central characters following their meeting. As I said boring.....