Reviews

I'm not sure how I discovered Shameless, but I became hooked after a few episodes. Paul Abbot proved himself to be a brilliant writer, a talent which first came to my attention, when I noticed his name in the closing credits for some of Coronation Street's episodes.

The first four series were compelling viewing, however after series five, the quality dropped dramatically. Good sorylines, and acting, were replaced with unlikable characters and some depraved senarios. The series out stayed it's welcome after series seven.

But Paul Abbot can be proud of his creation, because when it was good, it was very very good. It lingers long in the memory.

Do I really need 600 characters to explain why this film is so appallingly bad, when so many others have described it so well?

I am a fan of the Pink Panther films, and the first four films are a masterclass in slapstick humour. Peter Sellars created an iconic character, in Inspector Clouseau. But Trail of the Pink Panther is wrong on so many levels, there are admittedly some humerous moments, but these are few and far between. Like others have said, it is a film of two halfs, the first half featured Peter Sellars in many of the scenes. But the film begins to drag, and becomes increasingly cringeworthy, when they tried to fill in the gaps with cobbled together old footage, and some dreadful background characters.

Apart from anything else, the film is quite disrespectful to the memory of Peter Sellars.

There is a reason why this episode is one of my least favourites from series 3, I am currently rewatching it, and have found the answer. The episode was written by Chris Chibnal, future assassin of Doctor Who.

The story is uningaging, in fact it is so uningaging, that I have no idea what it is about. 42 is probably the running time of this entire episode, but it feels like a lot longer.

It is good to see Michelle Collins in a completely different role, to her infamous Cindy Beale. She is the only highlight in this poorly written episode. As you can probably tell, I have run out of things to say about this episode.

The original film is an absolute classic, it is one of the best Children's films ever made. I have watched it several times, so I was curious when I discovered there had been a remake.

As I don't have Sky, I managed to find a copy of the film on a certain video sharing platfom, it was in Spanish with Spanish subtitles! But I quickly managed to get the gist of the film.

The first rule of making a film for children, is that it has to have an element of escapism, and possess a certain charm. This new production had neither of these things.

As I have said in other reviews, I am a huge fan of The League of Gentlemen, perhaps this is one reason why I wanted to give the film a chance. Not only does Mark Gatiss appear in this production, he wrote and directed it. However there are some things that should never be tampered with, the original version of this film is one of them.

I have to find 600 characters to write a review for this film, but I could make some observations in a few sentences. Firstly the film consists of various scenes, where Tom Hanks interacts with historical figures of the era. I was surprised that a scene with Rosa Parks wasn't included, as some of the story is set in Alabama.

Secondly, is the film intended to be one long advert, for a certain sports shoe company? The brand is heavily featured in the scenes where Forest took up running!

The film is not without merit, some of the performances are impressive. It is not a film, I would want to watch over and over again, It does tend to lapse into sentimentality on occasions.

The best part about growing up in the 1970's, were the great television programmes, Charlie's Angels were part of those wonderful memories. In the playground at school, children use to talk about, and imitate their favourite television heroes. They were people you could admire.

I tried to watch this latest incarnation of the once beloved TV series, but almost immediately the audience are subjected to a lot of feminist drivel. Speaking as a woman, it is neither empowering nor entertaining. If movie and television producers must push this increasingly tedious agenda, why can't they create new and original ideas? It is easier to shatter our wonderful memories of iconic TV heroes.

Dian Dors was Britain's answer to Jane Mansfield, and so may other blonde bombshells of the era. But Diana herself, wanted to be known for so much more. This documentary tells the story of Diana's turbulant life in the spotlight, in the golden age of cinema.

It is not a sensationlist portrait of Diana, it is more of an affectionate tribute to her. Family, friends and co-stars contribute to it, they all have warm and sometimes amusing anecdotes about her. It is well known that Diana made some poor decisions in her personal life, but this is a non judgemental account of her life. She is certainly a much missed pressence in the world of show business.

I remember watching this series when it was first broadcast on television. As I have grown older, I can appreciate the sweetness and subtlety of this sit-com. It is a little slow paced for a modern audience, but this is just fine by me. The only element which jars with me, are the clothes that Judi Dench had to wear. It is best to overlook this very minor flaw, and enjoy a masterclass in acting and some very funny dialogue.

Goodnight sweetheart was a brilliantly written, and acted comedy drama. If ever a series needed to be revived, then this is it. There was an equally brilliant one off episode, which was made in 2016, as part of a great British sit-com TV special. Why they didn't make a full series, is one of the greatest missed opportunities in broadcasting history.

The 2016 episode proved that the series was as popular and relevant, as when it was first shown.

I've been a fan of Queen since I was a teenager, so I was thrilled when a biopic was mooted. I recorded the film, and it has been on my hardrive for months. This week I decided to watch it. The first thing that irritated me, was that we didn't get to hear the completes songs, they were mostly cut off before they finished.

I had never even heard of Rami Malek before this film, I just couldn't quite believe in his portrayal of Freddie. The main problem was that he had to deliver his lines, wearing false teeth. Also I don't think he managed to capture the real essence of Freddie.

I wonder if Freddie were still living today, he would have a great deal of input into the way he and the band were portrayed? I have a feeling that he would have liked a warts and all performance, rather like Taron Egerton in Rocketman.

To be honest I only watched about 20 minutes of the film, maybe I should watch it all the way through, just to see if my initial thoughts about the film, are correct.

A documentary about the life and loves, of legendary drummer Keith Moon.

There are various anecdotes from the people who knew Keith Moon best, but no recent contributions from the rest of The Who band members. Whilst it is an engaging documentary, we never really find out what drove Keith Moon to be the way he was.

Jonathan Creek was mostly an enjoyable series, Alan Davies and Caroline Quentin worked really well together. I tend to agree with the other reviewers about Maddy being an unsympathetic character, but Caroline's likability manages to rise above the awfulness of her character.

I have watched the older episodes of the show many times, but this one seems to have slipped through the net. Its not hard to see why,, unsympathetic characters and an uninteresting story. Series three seems to have had this recurring problem.

We bought a dvd, and decided to watch it. Before the film even started, we had to wade through assorted trailers for other films GI Joe was amongst them. All I saw was unconvincing CGI, and plenty of it. A sure guarentee that I will not be watching the rest of the film.

When Johnathan Creek first came onto our screens, it was a breath of fresh air. It gave a humerous and unique twist to the usual detective show format. Alan Davies was excellent as the eponymous hero.

The earlier episodes of the show were very well written, and extremely funny, until this two part mystery. The episode begins badly, with a group of very unlikable characters, who in all honesty you end up not caring what happens to them. This seems to be a theme running through the entire episode, I didn't bother with the second part.

I can only conclude that the writer must have been having a bad day, when he wrote these episodes. The series does improve, with the episode The Black canary, which is a must see.

I didn't think I would like this film, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It helps that Elton John is a talented musician, who along with Bernie Taupin has produced some terrific music. We are soon transported into his world, via some superbly staged musical numbers. Taron Egerton is great in the role of Elton as an adult.

It you were not a fan of Elton John's music before, you will be after watching this film.

I have watched every single film version of A star is born, my favourite version is the one with Judy Garland and Jame Mason. This opinion has not altered after viewing this latest version.

It would help it I were a fan of Lady Gaga's music, but I have never understood her appeal. Like a lot of modern music and films, there is something about this film that fails to engage me. The scenes with constant swearing, put me off as it has done with so many other productions. This has to be a real low point in Sam Elliot's career.

The one real positive of the film, is some of the music, especially the rock songs. But even the soundtrack couldn't prevent me from switching the film off half way through.

I've been a fan of Red Dwarf since almost the beginning, series one to six, were probably the best years. It was really inventive and funny, part of it's appeal were the basic special effects.

What can I say about this most recent entry in the series? I agree with some of the reviewers, who said that the show was funniest when it featured the five main characters (I'm including Holly). Norman Lovett was always good value as Holly, so it was great to see him included. But all the other new characters add nothing to the production, in fact it is a relief when they are off screen.

This latest entry is far too long, and not really that amusing. There is too much reliance on CGI, they probably included it to make up for the poor storyline and script. I will just have to console myself, with my box set of the original series, so I can remind myself how good it used to be.

We only watched about three thirds of this film, because it was too fast paced. It is one of the worst Bond films in the series. This for me, should be the natural end of the frachise, any other incarnation will be ignored.

I know it is not a popular opinion, but I rather like Mark Lester in the title role. Some of his scenes are quite touching, the scenes with him speaking to the Ruffler's gang, and his banter with Oliver Ried stand out amongst the highlights. It is certainly a star studded affair, with some acomplished character actors, enhancing the film.

Extremely conplicated plot, with forgettable characters and performances. Next.....

I first came across Hancock's half hour, when I listened to my Mother's LP's with some of the episodes on. The radio and television series were before my time. I can't quite explain why this series caught my imagination at such a young age. Maybe it was the brilliant characters, created by the masters of comedy Galton and Simpson. Maybe it was the hugely talented comedy legends, that lent their voices to the proceedings. Ironically it was in 2019, that I purchased the surviving episodes of the television series, they are as enjoyable today as when they were first broadcast. Some of the episodes were better on radio than the television, you were able to use your imagination. But it is great to see these comedy legends at the height of their careers.

I have a great fondness for the Sherlock Holmes films, with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. They used to be shown on BBC2 at Christmas time, but they haven't been repeated for years on terestrial TV. I was absolutly delighted last year, when I managed to find a second hand box set of all the films - 14 of them. The films are a collection of two halfs, some of the films are excellent, some not so good. It is a pity that most of them were set during the war years, but in a way it adds to ther charm. The House of Fear is one of the best films of the series. It has echos of Agatha Christies's "And then there were none" and Death on the Nile. It is an action packed adventure, with drama and humour. It will keep you guessing till the end.