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Reviews
Kinjirareta asobi (2023)
Bit of a mishmash, but entertaining nonetheless
Let's get the basics out of the way first. If you're a horror purist, this movie isn't going to be for you.
On the other hand, if you're just after an entertaining couple of hours mixing well made horror with comedy then this will be right up your street. (If there's another movie out there that manages to successfully include a gyrating monk with a David Bowie lookalike factotum, as well as body parts that take on a life of their own, I want to hear about it.)
Eventually the horror takes the fore and you'll be writhing in your seat as unspeakable events occur on screen in front of you. But of course it all ends with order restored, if not delivering happiness ever after for the whole cast.
Stay til the final frame of the final reel too.
Acapulco (2021)
"Feel good" comedy at its best
If you liked The Goldbergs or The Wonder Years, this is for you. Charmingly well written family-centric comedy with a talented cast and a great storyline. Whilst the switching between English end Espanol might annoy some, it really just adds to the appeal.
To begin with many of the characters appear to be too good, or bad, to be true. But as you progress through the series you'll find that there's shades to everyone.
Stunning production design results in every scene at the resort sizzling with colour, whereas life outside its four walls isn't always that bright.
The narrative device of adult Maximo telling the story to his nephew helps add some interesting angles and perspectives to the story.
All in all, a recommended watch.
Granite Harbour (2022)
Granite on the outside, but pure plastic internally
"No Aberdonians were employed during the making of this series." Apparently.
Plenty of accents from the rest of the UK, but none from the bit of the UK where it's allegedly set. I say allegedly because, apart from a heavily used set of aerial shots featuring cars driving along the Esplanade, there's not much of Aberdeen actually shown here. I suspect the amount of time the cast actually spent in Aberdeen was negligible - most of the interiors could have been filmed anywhere.
The storyline is standard by-the-numbers crime fiction -mismatched detectives, red herrings a plenty, plot holes that the audience see but no-one in the cast does. (How did his mum give him a gift when he joined the Army, when she died when he was just 14?). And lots of unanswered questions to make sure there's a series 2, sadly.
Better than mediocre. Just.
The Nice Guys (2016)
Incoherent nonesense
There are some funny lines and set pieces in this movie for sure. But the lack of a coherent plot, any semblance of logical narrative development and a phoned-in performance by both the lead's doesn't make this worth anything close to the 7 stars it's currently rated at.
The Trial: A Murder in the Family (2017)
Confusing evidence - but real life can be like that too
I enjoyed this, although the feeling I had at the end was that the evidence (as shown to us) in the court was confusing and, at times, contradictory without any explanations being offered as to why. There was no explanation from anyone about the alternative suspect portrayed here, other than one witness whose story (as the prosecution identified) didn't line up with all the other evidence.
Given the evidence presented in court, a finding of Not Guilty based on Reasonable Doubt seemed fair.
The fact that didn't reflect what actually happened says more about the pre-trial processes and witness selections than the jury system itself.
Summer in the Suburbs (2000)
Strangely interesting British TV movie
Although made, and set, in the late 1990's (the youngest son has a poster for the Trainspotting movie on his bedroom wall), this British TV drama has the look and feel of one of the 1960's "kitchen sink" dramas which the BBC also made. It's a movie about emotions, feelings and reasons, not action. Whilst parts of the plot seem ill conceived, the questions it provokes about "what makes us into the people we are?" are valid and well drawn out.
Rams (2020)
Great remake, but the extra half an hour added to the running time just detracts from the overall pleasure
If only they'd kept this movie to 90 minutes, it would have been great. Instead we have half an hour of padding which adds nothing to the plot and just bores the audience. A great movie that needs a serious trim to its running time to reveal just how great it actually is.