Reviews

Well that was entertaining.

Let's get the serious stuff out of the way. Evie's descent into vampish insanity is very nicely done, with a backstory involving a scarily crazy evangelical Christian father to help explain. And she's sexy, especially in the green outfit (see it, it's a great scene). Who'd've thought it of worthy, goofy Demelza Poldark?

Becka is more ostentatiously hot in her Lycra and crop tops and so is her eye-candy cop hubby Danny (who, as well as being ripped, zooms around on motorbikes and has a shady sideline working for what Line of Duty would call an OCG; basically he is totally implausibly hunky).

Hugh Dennis is satisfyingly toe-curling as the pervert across the street who is obsessed with Becka.

But my favourite character by far is Demelza-hubby Pete's delightful work colleague Sophie, a bubbly bisexual who does all the dangerous investigative stuff like climbing up drainpipes while wimpy Pete just sits in the car waiting for her.

So we've got entertaining characters and sexy sex. But now for the silliness.

Just what is the point of the gangster sub-plot? There is no resolution, it just fizzles out as the net closes in on a couple of corrupt cops who are surely headed for jail.

It's just daft that the two couples (a police constable, a primary school teacher, a local journalist and a yoga instructor) are living in such ridiculously posh houses.

And those houses: the estate is clearly not in Leeds, nor anywhere in the UK (it looks American but is actually in Eindhoven). It's hard to focus on the Yorkshire-accented neighbour-mayhem in the street when all you are thinking is just how incongruous the setting is.

Nice idea to have buff Danny bolstering his action-man credentials by whizzing around on bikes but someone should've told the production team that BMW's are not sexy. They just aren't.

And I laughed out loud when pervert Alan descended from his upstairs creep-lair to be utterly surprised that his disabled wife had a stair lift installed while he was up there. Were the installers silent? Did they glue the apparatus in place? Maybe he was just so engrossed in perving Becka that he simply didn't notice all the drilling and hammering.

But hey, it makes no pretensions to high art and if you don't mind a bit of silliness it's an entertaining, sexy watch.

An extraordinary performance by Coogan, proper sinister. Also, he is uncannily authentic as the public Savile, could almost have been the monster. It must have been a tough, tough part for Coogan to play but, as he said himself, the story needed telling.

It's quite extraordinary how Savile created and sustained such a career. I was a child in the 60's and a teenager in the 70's and always, always found the man to be creepy and disturbing. I just don't get how EVERYONE couldn't see it.

Huge credit must be given to the courageous victims who appeared in person. That cannot have been easy. Here's hoping their brave contributions helped them at least a little.

Well that's the first episode and it was rather better than I'd been led to expect.

As something of an expert on the novel (I studied it for four long years at school and can still recite most of it from memory) I actually don't mind a bit of licence being taken. I might've preferred the retention of somewhat more of Dickens' marvellous and often highly comic dialogue but, in general, so far I find the production quite respectful of, and in keeping with, the original.

My main beef is simply, why? We already have so many screen adaptations of Great Expectations and there are plenty of other classic novels deserving of attention.

I do feel that anyone giving a one-star review should declare whether they have actually read the novel or whether, instead, they are basing their ire on some idealised notion of the tale from some previous screen adaptation.

Perhaps they could also let us know whether they were also furious about black elves in Amazon's Rings of Power.

Starts with a good few laugh-out-loud gags of a Simpsonesque kind. Loses its way for a while with a dearth of giggles, and then roars back ripping it out of all the ignorant fools imaginable.

The MAGA mob? Check. Climate change deniers? Check. Conspiracy theorists? Check. COVIDiots? Check. And, most of all, mendacious, self-serving, populist politicians and tycoons, CHECK CHECK CHECK!

I can see just glancing through the reviews here that some of the aforementioned are mortally offended. Well if the cap fits...

"Don't Look Up" as a polical slogan nails it: it's coming, it's gonna destroy us all, it's right above your head - but Don't Look Up, just pretend there's nothing there.

As an antidote to this I particularly enjoyed Ariana Grande's "Just Look Up" song (which I can't quote here because it'd get my review blocked). It deserves to become an anthem.

Starts slowly. Builds tension. Dabbles in philosophy. Weird things happen. And weirder. And eventually it goes horrifically berserk. What's not to like?

Yes some of it is predictable but it's so slick it's still totally watchable. And as for Father Paul, my skin crawls just remembering!

The narrow format and the grayscale should've warned me. It's not a movie, it's Art. Or thinks it is. Pretentious and tedious. And far too long by, well, its length.

As someone who holds degrees in mathematics and philosophy, is a lifelong computer programmer, and is a part-time student of quantum physics, I was hugely excited at the prospect of watching this show.

Sadly its basic premise is a massive contradiction. It posits that the universe is totally deterministic and that, with sufficient computing horsepower and programming genius, the future can be perfectly extrapolated to the extent that you can actually observe it.

Unfortunately the technology it proposes to provide the computing oomph is quantum computing. Now, as any fule kno, the fundamental finding of quantum physics is that quantum behaviour is the diametric opposite of deterministic.

So, in Devs, we are using science and tech that appear to fundamentally deny determinism in order to extrapolate an entirely deterministic future. Whoops!

It's still quite entertaining though if you can resist bothering yourself about the scientific and philosophical nonsense of it.

Having binge-watched all eight seasons over the last few months I can only say, whew!

I nearly didn't bother after season one, so annoying was the cinematography (particularly the clunky announcement of each new scene by zooming into some window). However, I am very pleased to have stuck with it: the production became vastly more professional, allowing the lovability (!) of the characters to shine through.

It's not so much a French "Line of Duty", more a French "The Sweeney". CID Chief Inspector Laure Berthaud shares many characteristics with Jack Regan: in her driven zeal for nailing the baddies she never saw a regulation that she didn't want to drive a coach-and-horses through, never met a superior for whom she didn't feel utter contempt and is, above all, fiercely loyal to her team.

Unlike Regan, however, Laure is too tiny to duff up the perps herself, which is where Inspector Gilles Escoffier ("Gilou") comes in. Beefy Gilou is stuck to Laure like glue (in fact, for years it's only the two of them who can't see that he is hopelessly in love with her), and whenever a suspect needs a little persuasion, Gilou is ready to oblige. His default interview technique is to snarl into the perp's face from a distance of inches, and then smack the miscreant around the head a bit.

It's astonishing how lovable we actually find Gilou, especially when you throw his propensity for prostitutes and recreational drugs into the mix!

Our third Musketeer is quiet family man, Inspector Luc Fromentin (TinTin). TinTin is slightly excluded by the tightness of Laure and Gilou's relationship, and is constantly appalled by their recklessness and their disregard for regulations and the law. However, he is diligent in the cause and, whenever lies and cover-ups are (regularly) required in the interest of keeping Laure and/or Gilou in the force and out of jail, he shares their fierce loyalty to the team and invariably (if reluctantly) obliges.

The team reports to a Superintendent who changes several times throughout the epic. Each one begins the job as a straight-laced by-the-book fellow (think Haskins from The Sweeney). Herville is obsessed with achieving results which will reflect well on him. Cerebral Bekriche comes in from the Fraud Squad and is discomfited by the casual violence of gangland Paris. Both of them are appalled by Laure's insubordination, her recklessness and her chaotic methods. However, they are both eventually won over by her infectious zeal and her wide-eyed loyalty to her team (it obviously helps that she's rather sexy too).

Clearly these are not the only cops in Paris, nor in the CID. Other notable flics are the smouldering Sami, who comes and goes to competently and calmly perform the most dangerous undercover work, and who manages to throw Laure's prolific but chaotic love life into even greater turmoil. Superintendent Brémont is the chief of CID's fierce rival, the Crime Squad. He starts out as, seemingly, an utter creep but steadily grows into a solid character with a major influence on the plots (his development seemingly signposted by an increasing reluctance to shave). And sensitive Ali Amrani is a late but very welcome addition to Laure's squad.

This dysfunctional team of cops would be quite enough for most crime dramas, but not Spiral. There is another parallel but often intersecting drama based around some heavyweight legal characters.

In early seasons the handsome young prosecutor Pierre Clément appears to be central to the entire show. However, his idealism is sadly misplaced and leads him into big problems in his chosen profession.

The ageing, equally-idealistic, and rather melancholy examining magistrate, François Roban, whilst being dedicated to solving crimes above all else, has all the experience Pierre lacks and is not above using trickery to get his way when it is called for.

Pierre and Roban both deal often with Laure and are equally fond of her, albeit in different ways.

The cynical, ambitious, avaricious young defender Joséphine Karlsson is another kettle of fish entirely. Quite ruthless, she is not averse to the use of threats and blackmail to advance her career and her bank balance. She does, however, learn some harsh lessons along the way and, despite always being clever and manipulative, she seems to always end up doing the right thing for people who need her help.

Joséphine crosses swords with Laure often. They are NOT fond of each other.

Joséphine's cynicism leads her to throw in her lot with other, equally unpleasant defenders, such as the irredeemably ghastly and thoroughly crooked Szabo, and subsequently Joséphine's male alter-ego Eric Edelman who, just like Joséphine, has a habit of doing the right thing whilst still seeming to be an utter reptile.

Odious, ambitious and deeply political Prosecutor Machard is Roban's bitterest enemy and (rightly) sees Roban's profound integrity as an existential threat. The two of them spar politely but viciously in the middle seasons.

As you would expect there are convoluted plots and an endless parade of grim villains and hapless victims, too many to get into and, anyway, it would be impossible to do so without spoilers.

I think it is fair to say, though, that Laure's team's recklessness is matched only by its comical incompetence, particularly when it comes to the raids and stings they mount seemingly several times every episode. The perp almost invariably escapes, usually through some exit route that the cops failed to notice and cover. It reaches the point where, when they are planning their next raid, you are muttering to yourself "What could possibly go wrong?"

Paris itself, The City of Lights, is seen in Spiral to be a city of darkness with much of the show set in the grim northern banlieues, beyond the Périphérique, which no tourist ever sees. A travel guide to the highlights of Paris it is not!

I watched the final episode with considerable sadness. It's one of those shows which gets under your skin and you can't help but fall in love with the characters. I for one shall miss them.

A few years ago I was lucky enough to spend a week in Havana. I found people who have nothing but are wonderfully warm, welcoming and endlessly cheerful. And, above all, they are passionate about rock-'n'-roll! When they discover you are English all they want to talk about is rock bands!

And it really shows in this movie. The crowd is amazing and you just want to be with them! It really rubs off on the band too who are really into it and having a whale of a time. They are incredibly tight, professional and musical, with an astonishing energy considering their advancing years. They are just loving this rock-starved audience!

I've got a huge library of live-show recordings from many bands but this is far and away my favourite. And I'm not even a massive Stones fan!

The funniest, most touching, most celebratory TV I've seen since Derry Girls. Top, top class stuff. Do not miss!

OK, I'll say it: there are a LOT of these movies about downtrodden Brits in crummy estates.

Probably, to be fair, because there are a lot of downtrodden Brits in crummy estates. Not enough of them, however, to outweigh the not-so-downtrodden working-class bigots who vote for old Etonians because they don't like being told what to do by the out-of-touch elites.

That said, I really liked this movie. The understated ending is a sublime example of how no conclusion can be a perfect conclusion.

And at least this one isn't set in Tilbury.

More poetry than movie. I so wish I'd seen it on the big screen. What an accomplishment, one of those works that will live with you forever.

I'm watching this (right now) because a friend was there, he loaned me the DVD, and insisted I watch it (apparently the back of his bonce is visible as he walks up an aisle heading for the khazi; I've not spotted him).

I hate rock opera with a passion, and this extravaganza of utter pap exemplifies why I hate it, on steroids. No power, no passion, just pure, contrived nonsense. Not only is it an insult to rock music, it's an insult to H. G. Wells and Richard Burton.

I could be much, much ruder about this inconsequential piffle, but I'll leave it there lest my review gets rejected.

About half-way through season 1 and already bored to tears by the formulaic plot. The medicine may change from episode to episode but the drama, such as it is, is identical every time. My wife loves it though, which is great because she's glued to it and hence doesn't moan when I go do something interesting.

Okja is mostly charming, often very funny, and ultimately deeply depressing. There is superb CGI, and a magnificent performance from young Ahn Seo-hyun. Surely anyone who watches this movie must become vegetarian (if they weren't already). Really, a bacon sandwich ain't worth it.

Very Netflix, very slick and flashy, very inconsequential.

So farewell, Vikings. An epic that made Game of Thrones look like a pilot episode. I'm going to miss you.

An extraordinary movie which defies expectations, not least those of the protagonist Caul (Gene Hackman). In a palpable irony he is equipped with the professional skills to pry into anyone's life yet has no comprehension of the tortured machinations of his own guilt-ridden psyche. Whatever you (and he) think is going on, it isn't, and the movie is equipped with one of the cleverest, most subtle twists you'll ever encounter.

It's a slow-burner (mainly because you think you are watching a standard-issue gumshoe caper, until you realise it's nothing of the kind) but if Caul's excruciating progress into utter confusion is not enough to keep you enthralled there is an unhealthy supporting cast of creeps and gargoyles to make your toes curl! And there's also a fine early cameo from the not-yet-famous Teri Garr.

A truly outstanding must-see movie.

Endlessly entertaining hokum! My review needs to be longer. Will this do?

A mighty strange movie. I freely admit that I hadn't a clue what was going on but, at the same time, I never felt like throwing something at the screen. Nor at any point did I want to stop watching.

Baffling but entertaining. Quite a trick. And Jessie Buckley is endlessly watchable.

Not family viewing despite the fabulous performance as Hit Girl from the child Chloe Grace Moretz - but absurdly entertaining.

I've watched two recent lost-in-space movies this week. Both are visually sumptuous but whereas The Martian is convincing and enthralling Gravity is formulaic and, frankly, a bit daft.