mark-1206's Reviews

Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing (2018– )

10/10

9 July 2023

Don't be put off by the title, the fishing is really incidental. The banter and friendship are what this is about. Paul was a little hard on national treasure Bob at the start but has mellowed overy the series. The beautiful landscapes and fantastic accommodation are a joy. I laugh our loud several times each episode and it's just lovely to watch.

Each episode contains a mixture of fact, fiction, comedy, poignant stories and joyful banter. Oh and occasionally a little fishing.

I'm of a similar vintage to these guys and love every minute but I can't see how it wouldn't appeal to any age group.

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The English (2022)

3/10

Looks nice but....

12 November 2022

...that's about it.

Two eps in but about to give up. Not sure if it will improve or is worth persisting.

Slow, dull, heavy-handed dialogue. No surprises in the story line at all.

How any times do they have to throw down the money bag with notes blowing about. Plot lines so far very predictable. Emily Blunt has the strangest accent in this, not quite sure what she's going for.

There are many unanswered questions so far but not sure if I can be bothered waiting for it to play out.

One particular grievance is the extremely heavy-handed scored which plays over the whole thing. Why can't they let us make up our own mind how to feel rather than forcing it.

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The Suicide Squad (2021)

2/10

No redeeming qualities at all

6 August 2021

Terrible plot, awful pacing, overbearing misjudged score, "exposition" gimmicks, unnecessary time jumps, so many ridiculous elements to the story, and I'm saying this a fan of Legends of Tomorrow!

The movie didn't care about about the characters and as a consequence neither did I.

The movie had a sense of confidence which didn't deserve and hadn't earned. Action sequences replaced any sense of plot development or narrative.

Not even Harley Quinn could redeem this.

Total garbage.

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Star Trek: Amok Time (1967)

Season 2, Episode 1

10/10

In a pig's eye!

3 August 2021

Perfect showcase of the relationships between the 3 leads.

Shame about Checkov's wig but his joke about the course was great.

Brilliant stuff, that's all I wanted to say.

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Endeavour: Zenana (2020)

Season 7, Episode 3

9/10

Amazing and perfect finale

30 May 2021

It looked like they were hedging their bets on a series 8 which thankfully is filming right now.

I loved this series and this episode. I will not spoil anything but I thought the ending was perfect and it moved me for sure.

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The Mandalorian: Chapter 16: The Rescue (2020)

Season 2, Episode 8

10/10

Wow

19 December 2020

Superb finale, so much better than the dumb sequel movies.

That's all. I have spoken.

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Wallander (2008–2016)

9/10

Beautiful and almost perfect

19 August 2020

Really enjoyed the whole thing. Brannagh is amazing, the plots and supporting cast are also great. There are many nail-biting moments. Highly recommend watching the whole series.

Negatives? It's pretty unrelentingly downbeat, particularly the final ending which I am assume is never going to be played out now. Oh and as is pretty typical for scandi-drama, the scenery is almost always dreary and dull. Not at all inviting!

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Bob's Burgers (2011– )

2/10

Seems you either love it or hate it....

22 July 2020

..and I hated it.

Saw it getting to much praise on a reddit thread so I gave it a try. Oh it gets better after the 3rd episode, no the 4th episode they said.

I gave it 5 episodes and still didn't find one funny element to it, I just found all the characters extremely annoying.

I love many other animated shows, Futurama, Simpsons, American Dad, Family Guy, Rick and Morty. This has none of their humour and no redeeming features.

Life's too short.

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In the Dark (2019–2022)

6/10

Season 1 is okay, season 2 is pretty bad

17 July 2020

The storyline in season 1 is *just* enough to keep you watching but after the cliffhanger ending it all goes downhill.

As many have pointed out, the lead character is mostly pretty unlikeable and behaves in totally irrational ways at times.

Season 2 never rises above mediocrity and has a ludicrous storyline with several frankly ridiculous plotlines.

Giving it 6 but that's pretty generous.

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Perry Mason (2020–2023)

2/10

Waste of time

12 July 2020

This is a pedestrian and highly predictable drama with nothing new and very little to keep you interested.

The religious/evangelist thread seems bolted on and could be completely dropped. Looks like maybe they are trying to introduce a supernatural/spiritual element this week.

The sidekick (the often excellent Shea Wigham) is constant whining wet blanket here. The hero is unlikeable, villains are cardboard cut-outs and the reluctant help from the beat cop who needs to do the right thing is such a cliche.

Very poor effort.

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Penny Dreadful: City of Angels (2020)

3/10

Terrible - a musical soap opera disguised as gothic horror

28 June 2020

Nothing like the original series, proceeds at a glacial pace (at least 3 episodes could have been cut), bursts into song at the drop of a hat.

Way too much soap opera with a dash of political preaching thrown in. The only supernatural element came from creepy Fronk and that felt like it was bolted on.

This had so much potential - the sets and costumes were great, Nathan Lane was brilliant but it failed to deliver on plot.

Hugely disappointing.

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One Lane Bridge (2020– )

4/10

Frustrating

4 June 2020

Echo the sentiments of a number of other reviews.

So many dead ends and plot lines that went nowhere.

Nothing was really explained and the conclusion was maddening rather than intriguing which it was probably aiming for.

Wish I hadn't bothered.

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Ad Astra (2019)

2/10

This is NOT about space or sci-fi

20 September 2019

Its basically a story of Brad Pitt having daddy and abandonment issues and issues with relationships in general, which happens to be set in space.

If that's what floats your boat, go for it. I hated it.

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Bodyguard (2018)

9/10

Fantastic

24 September 2018

Great series, gripping, tense and (I never normally say this) really good music that added to the tension.

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Keeping Faith (2017–2021)

4/10

I'm going down the middle on this one

29 July 2018

Warning: Spoilers

I agree with most of the criticisms:

* Terrible, terrible overused music * Too many mournful montage sequences (with the bloody music) * Overacting - Eve Myles throwing multiple tantrums, literally writhing on tables, grass, floors * Glacial pacing * Ridiculously convoluted plot with so many holes and loose ends * I think the director had a foot-fetish - how many scenes did we see either with Faith coming down stairs or from the leg/feet down or of her her feet after throwing her shoes off? * So many unlikable characters and unlikely plot points * What the hell was with the scenes between the assistant and Tom? Seemed like she had the hots for him but it didn't go anywhere * As someone else mentioned, what happened to Steve paying to get Gael bumped off and where did that money come from? That went absolutely nowhere.

Just binge-watched over 2 days so this may have exacerbated things. It *could* have been a good story and I stuck with it because I wanted to see the outcome but it really wasn't worth it in the end.

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The Matrix (1999)

10/10

Finally in 4K!

24 May 2018

Warning: Spoilers

My favourite ever movie and finally available in UHD/4K.

Just re-watched in 4K and on an OLED and it has lost nothing and hasn't really dated.

The cast whilst in the Matrix are the ultimate in cool. The lobby scene whilst rescuing Morpheus in particular. The pacing is extremely well-judged and its a roller-coaster of lows and highs which keeps you guessing right until the end.

Once the plot moves to the rescue of Morpheus there's the fantastic lobby scene with amazing moves and music all the way through and the sequence ends with the ride on the elevator cable, again ultra cool. Great acting by Hugo Weaving when he "disconnects" and tells Morpheus what he really thinks of the Matrix.

We get the bullet-time and helicopter sequence where we see the first flashes of what Neo can do and then we lead into the fantastic subway fight with Agent Smith.

Then there's the chase sequence and Neo's apparent death and the imminent overrun of the ship. Trinity's impassioned speech and kiss revives Neo and from then on I defy anyone not to be moved by Neo's "awakening".

The final scene where Neo warns the AI what is coming and then launches like a rocket is the icing on the cake - just fantastic.

I still love this movie (obviously!).

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Fearless (I) (2017)

7/10

Just okay

18 July 2017

Not going to do an in-depth review but I thought it was just okay.

A little too predictable all through and also too strung out. Would have been better in 3 or 4 episodes.

I have to say that some of the acting was terrible, particularly the actress playing Detective Greenwood, the (hostile) female colleague at the law firm and worst of all the kid playing Jason Russell who was truly awful and really just needed a smack! Oh and whoever cast John Bishop should be shot. He was TERRIBLE! The ending was a bit of a let down and anti-climax.

Only worth watching if nothing better is on.

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Van Helsing (2004)

1/10

Truly awful

6 May 2004

This came out here today and it was one of the few movies I've ever been tempted to walk out on.

One of the worst aspects for me was the standard of the CGI stunts. Please please please, until the standard of CGI improves to the point where you can synthesize a realistic human being then either do the stunts with real people or drop them. I don't want to watch a cartoon figure leap about the screen.

Aside from that, the plot jumped all over the place, the sets looked like sets rather than real places and there were several points that inspired unintentional laughter e.g. almost anything with "the monster" and Van Helsing howling at the moon. I really wanted to laugh.

The director seems to think filming in low light and with very loud music creates atmosphere. Sorry but it takes a bit more than that.

A truly appalling film.

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