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Reviews
Poker Face (2023)
Good but repetitive
Good writing and interesting, colourful stories, with Natasha Lyonne at her usual best, but ultimately the same repetitive stuff every episode, which I soon tired of. I've seen a review liken this show to Columbo, but the difference is Columbo was a cop who was assigned each case, not some luckless drifter who happens to stumble into murder after murder every week. Think more Hart to Hart... (shudder)
Worth watching infrequently, without taking it too seriously, but a real shame the one linear, realistic plot line running through the show is not explored more thoroughly, with less murder-mystery and more focus on the interesting and exciting character Lyonne plays.
Eternals (2021)
Much of the same...
Unremarkable heroes with unremarkable powers in an unremarkable storyline. The Eternals and the Deviants were never very interesting in the comics, and Marvel have stayed true to that at least, but bringing them to the MCU film franchise really does show that Marvel peaked with End Game and Disney are now slowly, excruciatingly trying to replicate that success with a series of numbing films which will no doubt work it's way, after much the same of year upon year mediocrity, to some kind of all inclusive finale.
Unfortunately, I'm not prepared to sit through another 20 years of that, not with my previous blind dedication at least...
The one bright spark: the introduction of Kit Harrington as Dane Whitman. Although this was not his movie, his introduction hopefully means not all future movies will be as banal as this one.
The Lost Symbol (2021)
Unfortunately, this is a tough watch.
I really wanted to enjoy this series, as I love Dan Brown's genre and style, but unfortunately I gave up on episode 7. It really is a hard and tedious watch, with very little to excite or intrigue the viewer. It seems to be poorly cast and poorly shot too, reeking of a low budget production. Such a pity. I gave it a 5 in any case, as it was a good idea, just badly executed and lacking anything that grips.
The Green Knight (2021)
A mixed bag, but not one for the mainstream viewer.
Cinematically, this film is superb. Wonderful backdrops and an eerie, haunting theme...
... however, unless you actually know the story of the Green Knight, this movie will make little sense, being both a bewilderment and a bore to watch. The movie is very esoteric and not at all for casual viewing. I feel the movie has been deliberately made to be this, which is bad news for those just hoping for a fun and exiting movie.
My advice, read up on the story of the Green Knight beforehand and you may have a chance of enjoyment and understanding. Otherwise, this film will lose you.
Beckett (2021)
Something to fill 2 hours on a quiet day
A fairly mundane and unoriginal film, but it's worth watching if you have nothing else to do. It maintains a steady pace, interspaced with a bit of action and violence. Do not get sucked in by the big names though, this is a John David Washington film, Alicia Vikander and Boyd Holbrook are hardly in it.
Murder at the Cottage: The Search for Justice for Sophie (2021)
A slow and drawn out slog.
I'll be honest, I gave this mini-series a 2, for the 2 episodes I could bear to watch before I realised I should probably be getting on with my life. Its an unfortunate sign of the times, that any case vaguely interesting must now be dragged out, slowly, over multiple episodes on our various TV platforms, desperate for ratings. What ever happened to a good, juicy, hour or 2-hour documentary?
The Watch (2020)
Please do not watch this if you have read the books!
I really do not understand why this is called the Watch and based on the Terry Pratchett novels, when it just isn't. If you are a fan of the books you will cry with despair watching this sham of a production who dare to link it to the great man's work.
However, if you have not read the books, the series is probably OK. Sybil Rankin is a more fleshed out, interesting character, BUT SHE IS NOT SYBIL! Sam Vines had potential with Richard Dormer playing him (he certainly looks the part), but he is a half-crazed, paranoid, punk type of character, not the easy, self-assured and capable character many of us know and love. I like Angua, but again, it's not her, the closest they come to a genuine adapted character from the books, is Captain Carrot (incidentally no sign at all of Sergeant Colon or Corporal Nobbs.)
Also, I have absolutely no issue with changing a character's gender, but the sneaky genius Lord Vetinari, is now a rather bland woman, who they still refer to as a 'him'. I really don't get that, but maybe that's the point, it's PC'ness is designed to get the viewer thinking. Well, I'm thinking this was a low-budget, irredeemably bad series, and Sir Terry would be turning in his grave if he knew how badly it had been butchered!
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
This film is an insult!
Lazy.... very, very lazy is probably the nicest thing I can say about this storyline. Kristen Wiig and especially Pedro Pascale give a great performance, and Gal Gadot tries her best to subtly improve on her character (after all, it is 70 or so years on), but all that aside, this film is insulting.
As a lifelong comic book fan and a huge fan of all things superhero, I give all these types of movies a lot of leeway, but at what point do you stop and say, I am not going to carry on devotedly watching everything DC and Marvel role out, unless they at least make an effort or pretend to care? Well, it's this movie.
The one thing I will say about this film is that after watching it, and seeing it for the tripe it is, you can justifiably put the superhero genre behind you, it has clearly had its day.