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DomenicoScarlatti
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Total Control (2019)
Quite Brilliant - Not to be Missed
There are perhaps five ways to review a tv drama: plot; character; production; casting and 'gut-feel'. Few get a '10/10' in each category. This one does.
The characters are believable, well drawn and compelling. In the tradition of the best drama none of them are perfect, all have their flaws but those flaws make sense. The Italian word 'simpatico' describes them.
The plot draws us in magnetically. It is gripping, relentless and is utterly ( perhaps regrettably) believable.
The plot vacuums us into the harsh political world of Alex and Rachel . We want to know urgently what happens next. The suspense carries on until five seconds before the credits roll at the end of the last episode.
There have been great series on tv: 'Breaking Bad'; 'Brideshead Revisited'; 'Band of Brothers' - this is up there with them.
Official Secrets (2019)
Everyone Should See This Movie
What this movie is about is the lies that governments tell.
It shows the lies that the British and US governments told to justify the illegal invasion of Iraq.
It shows how they lie and cheat and use their power in morally disgusting ways.
And since the early 2000s which is the time depicted in this film, the situation has got worse. Much worse.
I do not even need to say who is making the lying and cheating worse. You already know.
The Breaker Upperers (2018)
Walked out at the one hour mark
Good concept but awful script, dreadful direction, appalling acting. I should have a gallantry award for staying in the cinema as long as I did.
Might appeal to a 14 year old.
Darkest Hour (2017)
Good Movie but Why Include Fictional Rubbish?
The movie is largely based on Martin Gilbert's 'Finest Hour'. Many lines of dialogue are taken verbatim. If you want to get a view of Churchill this is the book to read. Churchill's pugnaciousness, burning charisma and appalling political track record come over well.
As a dramatic representation of perhaps 10% of the book it does well overall.
The key roles of the major players: Churchill, Halifax, Chamberlain are accurate.
The bunker, in which much of the movie is set is filmed in the actual place and is open to the public. It drips with history.
The underground railway scene in which Churchill decides to fight on is totally fictitious. It is very unlikely that Churchill ever rode the London 'tube' in his life.
He was born into the aristocracy: his grandfather was the Duke of Marlborough. These people do not listen to people who travel on the tube! They are servants at best and cannon fodder at worst. The notion of people on the tube and Churchill quoting 'Horatio on the Bridge' at each other is laughable.
I am left wondering why the film's producers would go to great lengths to show historical accuracy for most of the film and then let it down with complete rubbish at the end.
This inevitably raises the question 'if this scene is fictitious, what else is?'
A Mother's Son (2012)
Excellent from Top to Bottom!
My wife and I were spellbound. This has engaging characters; a subtle plot and excellent performances.
The reason that the plot is so mesmerising is that it is so feasible. It is totally believable that a young boy could panic and do something, which he then sees is stupid. It is totally believable that the family and step family will act as they did. The intra-family tensions have an inevitability,which mirrors real life.
As the two sides of the family start to fragment under the pressure of suspicion the feeling is that, like a Greek tragedy, they may not want to do so but nothing can stop it happening.
There is excellent directing and first rate performances both from the lead actors and the young actors who play the family.
I saw it as a single piece, rather than the original two. It is better viewed as a single whole! We would absolutely recommend this!