Reviews

I have just watched Scoop, and there are a few aspects worth mentioning. First, as well known as the underlying story is, the true interest lies in the set up of the unterview. Opportunity is everything in a scoop,not to mention contacts. But how the reporter/producer seizes the opportunity is what's remarkable. Rufus Sewell is a convincing Andrew, bloated, not too clever, a bit childish in his assumption that he's beyond reproach as "mummy's favourite child". But what was astonishing for me was the line he utters before granting the interview: asked what the Queen said about it, he replies "she trusts my judgment". This is, for me, a torpedo to his flotation line, and says a lot about the late monarch. Either she didn't trust "his" judgment and therefore knew he would throw himself under a two-decker bus, given her a good reason to take him out of the spotlight, or she actually "did" trust his judgment, in which case she was blinded by her motherly feelings. Whatever the case, I found the scene very telling. Worth watching for the minor details.

I can't think of any other female ruler of historical significance, with a belicose/expansionist reign, other than Catherine the Great and Isabel of Castile. There are maybe others but not many. For each one of them we can mention 20 men, at least. No wonder it is called "megalomania" rather than "megalowomania". Napoleon is, maybe, the paradigm of all men in the history of mankind that, for whatever reason, personal or geopolitical, feel inclined to mobilize thousands, when not millions, to impose their will on other people and countries. Ridley Scott tries his best to try and depict the man as a lovestruck "everyman" apparently more willing to write yearning epistoles to the woman he repudiated for political reasons than going ahead with his attempts to conquer Europe. Scott tried indeed, and the battle scenes are mighty impressive, but he failed. When "the" main character is "the" story, you better cast him right and direct him even better. There's no point in pretending that Napoleon Bonaparte was a brooding, reactive, lovebird always fighting with melancholy. Imagine some of today's big egotistic, narcissistic, megalomaniac rulers being depicted as lovelorn romantics. We would laugh them out of the ballpark. And Phoenix is badly miscast. Badly. His intense, unsympathetic acting style might help other roles, but not this one. 6/10 for production values.

It took me some time before deciding to watch the show. As a fan of both the Premier League and the NFL I would expect a bit more cross-references between the namesake sports: well, there are none. The show's core is humanity rather than the sport itself. Ted is a good human being, whole and sound, cleverer than the first chapter might make us believe, with a special ability to detect psychological traits in the characters surrounding him. This is his gift. He can read people like an open book, and he does,but without imposing himself on them. A very funny,heart warming series that make for a lovely binge watching. Wish we have more Ted Lassos and less Ted Bundys. Pun totally intended.

Now that I have finished season 3, I have a much better perspective about why audience react to it so drastically. Season 1 is hilarious, but real world is never so through a long period of time. Having kept characters goofing through 3 seasons would have made the show a cartoon. Characters, however stylized for dramatic purposes, are human beings with problems and quirks and dramatic arcs. Ted is a family man and that weighs on him more than anything else. I would have done without some deviations from the original concept (the Keeley/Jack subplot is utterly expendable and Beard/Jane's sometimes is so "quirky" that becomes ridiculous). But when the show ends it all seems to fall into place and the last episode is wonderful. And Amsterdam's? Absolutely perfect. A truly great show, with characters that will remain with me for a long time.

I have seen this film a few times in the 50 years since its premiere. This time I just wanted to have a few laughs here and there because the funniest bits are classics and i know them by heart, but i was surprised to realize that the movie's cynicism has been so utterly overtaken by present-day politics that our 5 friends look today as a NGO. The music has dated tremendously and it makes the film look older than it is. I still enjoy the all around goofiness and Jacques Brel is not as bad as others reviews point out. Take it seriously at your own peril, but don't think is puerile either. Those guys wouldn't sell their mothers for power and impunity, like our dear politicians today. Maybe not.

Monzon, as depicted in the series, is a feral, unhinged beast. Only in Argentina such an animal could be worshipped as a demigod. No matter how flagrantly he abused everyone around him, argentineans drool over his 14 world title defenses as if their collective destiny as a nation depended on it. Maradona with boxing gloves. The series is amazing. Nearly flawless (there are some continuity/fidelity to reality issues here and there), but as a whole, the audiovisual creation is astounding. Addictive, fast paced, no holds barred, the crime scenes are brutal, and you feel not only for the victim but for the actress herself. The casting is amazing, although I would bet the actor playing adult Monzon was directed to make sure that the character elicits no sympathy at all. And, having lived in Argentina for 8 years, I can testify to the faithfulness with which the writers and director have painted the miseries of their own country. God protect them.

Watched it for the second time and thought it better than the first time. Being myself a contract lawyer I found a bit strange some of the strategies used by both lawyers during the trial; there was no way a "normal" judge would allow the legal eagles on both sides stray away from simply determining whether or not Loewen had incurred in a "de facto" breach of contract. This is in my opinion the best part of the movie, to play the "race" card to completely derail a corporate case from its rails and move it to quasi criminal law territory. At the end of the day the bad guy ends up being declared "penally" guilty in a contract case. If that was the real case, I take my hats off to Willie Gary. It is moving, well directed, wonderfully acted by Foxx and Jones, and very entertaing besides being a pedagogic reminder on what the race issue was and will always be, despite the evident advances of the last decades. 8/10.

For heaven's sake! Where on earth is the pretended Joker's humanity? A grotesque, unreal, completely over the top villain who, with the help of a few small-time crooks is able to subdue the whole Gotham's underworld, rig of explosives a hospital, two passenger boats, countless other structures, be everywhere (almost) at once, beat the Batman one on one, and heck, we are not even sure if the guy will die or be punished in the end! Way too much. The transformation of Harvey Dent is utterly unbelievable, but the whole dramatic structure would crumble otherwise, so it is the way it has to be for the screenplay to fit. The film is some 20' too long; when a director looses himself in chases and explosions and car crashes then you know we're in for a director's cut. I give it a 7 based on the technical aspects: the mass scenes, the photography, special effects, editing, etc. To put it up there as the 3rd best movie of all time only shows where cinema audiences have gone. Let's blow up the world!

The story is well known and has already been summarized in other reviews. I found the overall series gripping but for a few scenes dwelling too long on the morbid aspects of how the gas affected the people who fell sick after inhaling it. The bandit could have been a great character if the director had eluded the humorous take on him that sometimes seems out of place. He looks more a small time crook than a real, dangerous criminal, in which case his heroic behaviour would have stood out more. I also missed a heavier hand on Union Carbide, the Madsen character is left alone in shouldering the corporate blame. As for the positives, the acting, lighting, camerawork, production design, atmosphere and even the special effects are outstanding. The sensation that India was permanently underlit in those years is very well photographed, as if electricity was scarce or of poor quality. A truly remarkable achievement.

For anyone who is not Australian, factual accuracy is much less important than emotion, timing, flow, direction, acting, photography, music and the overall experience of watching 4 episodes glued to your seat. It is one of the most perfectly crafted and moving miniseries i have ever seen. I'm sorry if the player is bald or has a blond mane, or if the doctor was taken care of by the wardrobe department. What matters is the respect, lack of exaggeration and realism with which such horrible event is treated by the filmmakers. I was entertained and movedinequal measure, so kudos to the filmmakers. For me it's a perfect 10.