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Devolution: A Devo Theory (2021)
Insightful
Excellent documentary, apparently made on a shoestring budget by a couple of Australian film makers. Provides a good insight into the Devo backstory, which now goes back over 50 years since it started. Lots of interviews with the Devo guys and various others too. Sadly, their devolution theory has become all too true, and this is discussed extensively throughout. At the very least a thought provoking story which should be viewed by all of us. At its best, a powerfully moving but depressing message. Plenty of Devo music too, and a bit of time spent with them in the studio in 2020 doing a Beautiful World remix. Well made and well worth watching.
Cooped Up (2016)
No more than a curiosity
This movie was on TV recently so I watched it in the hope it might be an interesting story given the Coronavirus context. I was to be sadly disappointed.
Poor acting, poor script, no real laughs. Nothing really going for it at all.
The main character is generally obnoxious, and impossible to like. The epidemiologist, totally unbelievable (compare her to those we have all seen on TV over the last 18 months or so!).
I strongly recommend giving it a big miss.
Murphy Brown: Beat the Press (2018)
Difficult topic
Just watched this episode again for the first time since 2018 and thought it may be interesting to provide a perspective from a non American viewer (I live in Australia).
Overall, these "new" episodes" of Murphy Brown tended to not quite really work, with a feeling they were just trying too hard. Perhaps not enough genuine humour and a bit too much lecturing going on.
This episode is a little like that too, but to be fair, it was trying to address a topic that really has no humour in it. So whilst there are a few funny moments, it tries to handle the serious side of things as carefully as it can. By and large I would say it succeeds, but it is far from being a TV masterpiece. So in that sense it really doesn't warrant a high score. But for it's attempt to cover an extremely difficult topic, I would give it a couple of extra points.
In particular, for me it did something quite unusual for a Murphy Brown episode - it made me very sad!
It was really interesting to watch this story with the added benefit of hindsight, knowing that the extremist partisan behaviour in the USA really only got worse after this time instead of better.
I expect many US Republican supporters may only see this episode as an anti Trump and anti Republican story. But for me that would be missing the point.
This was trying to touch on the breakdown in US society to the point where people are no longer able to hold opposite points of view without the fear of physical attack. This is not necessarily something unique to just one side of politics or another, and clearly a problem for everyone if mutual respect cannot be restored.
When Murphy asks the question "what if this is the new normal" it is scary to think that in the few years since the episode first aired, that is exactly what seemed to happen in the USA - such behaviour became almost the norm (from an outsiders perspective at least).
So if you ever happen to watch this episode at some time, I would recommend trying to put personal political views to the side and consider the deeper question it perhaps poses - what kind of society do I really want to live in?
WandaVision (2021)
Good so far
Only 2 episodes in, but have enjoyed the mix of send up of 50's and 60's sitcoms plus the underlying mystery of what's really going on. At times it could do with a few more geuine gags instead of just send ups. However, there is also an enjoyable homage element to it all too. I grew up in the 60's and enjoyed those old shows, but it's also worth remembering how bad they were in many respects. Wanda Vision balances out the homage/send up elements fairly well. Will be interesting to see how they handle future decades and also what the truth really is. Shame a few people are not appreciating the craft behind this.
Django (2017)
Not terrible
This film is a somewhat slow and ponderous look at a largely fictional account of just part of Django Reinhardt's life. It is generally watchable, but lacks spark.
It's handling of the Nazi's racial abuse and mistreatment ofthe Romani people during WW2 is ok, but really a bit superficial.
The portrayal of Django is also a bit light on, but the use of his music throughout is definitely a highlight.
Much of the story never actually happened (e.g. his supposed lover is a totally fictional character). The story also really only covers the war years. So if you are looking for a full biopic on Django's life, you will be disappointed.
Despite all that, it is not an awful film and has some decent moments. If you enjoy Django's music, you will possibly still enjoy this film.
The Pale Horse (2020)
Ruined Christie yet again!
Totally agree with so many other reviewers. Why bother adapting Agatha Christie to totally abandon the original story? Worse than that to turn it into this ludicrous rubbish. The BBC needs to stop using this writer, she is hopeless.
Chasing the Moon (2019)
One of the finest documentaries ever
A wonderful and at times deeply moving documentary that captures so much of the detail and feeling of what it was like to live through those exciting "moon" years.
The amount of footage from the period is also quite remarkable, and this is used very skillfully to tell a complex and engrossing story.
For those of us old enough to remember (I was just a boy at the time) it also brings back a lot of amazing memories. For those who did not experience those times, it should perhaps be even more enlightening and entertaining.
Well worth sitting through all 6 hours!
The Handmaid's Tale: Mayday (2019)
Seriously flawed
Sadly this finale was perhaps even worse than many of the earlier episodes in this season.
I kept hoping for improvements, but slow plodding pace with major plot flaws is not the way to go.
An almost complete lack of suspense is disappointing, but the huge number of ridiculous storyline flaws is beyond belief.
To pick just one example, why is June not dead after being shot through the torso with an assault rifle and then left lying on the ground in a forest overnight for at least 8 hours or so?
Believe me, that's just one example of many problematic steps taken in this lame episode.
The liberation of so many children from Gilead should have been a moving highlight of the 3 seasons. Instead it felt like contrived nonsense.
Not good enough!
Doctor Who: Demons of the Punjab (2018)
BBC has lost the plot
First a confession - I have been watching Dr Who since its very first episode in the 1960's. So I have a very long history with the show. Along the way there has been good and bad and really dumb, but mostly good. I have remained a fan and always hope that a new series is going to be good (recent years have been a real mixed bag).
Having said all that, I never thought I would reach the point of genuinely considering giving up on the show altogether - until now that is!
For me, the underlying idea of Dr Who has always been to have a sci-fi based action adventure with a good mix of humour, drama and suspense thrown in for good measure.
Sadly this latest series seems to have almost totally lost those fundamentals and the episodes so far have committed the worst sin of being just totally boring.
This latest episode was perhaps the worst in that respect. Essentially a bit of a historical drama and pretty cliched and predictable at that. The sci-fi aspect of it was incidental at best (time travel was used of course) and the aliens involvement could have been totally skipped for all the difference that made.
Remember when a Dr Who episode cliff hanger used to leave you excitedly awaiting the next episode, or when a single self contained episode could keep you totally engaged for its duration? None of that here I'm afraid.
Add to that the fact that the new Doctor is just an exaggerated version of the prior David Tennant style Doctor with a now ridiculous penchant for dramatically whipping out the sonic screwdriver every other moment, and you have a pretty sorry excuse for a series.
So this is more than just a review for this episode I'm afraid, so far there have been very few redeeming qualities in the series as a whole, and this episode would be up there with the worst.
I used to think most of the Steven Moffat episodes were way too over the top, but I'd happily watch them again by comparison to this drivel.
I will continue watching in hope of some improvement, but I am not optimistic.
Pine Gap (2018)
Total Dud
I don't usually bother commenting on TV shows, but this one is a real stinker and embarrassing that it has Australian and ABC involvement. Someone should have pulled the plug.
Badly acted, clunky dialogue, tedious and clichéd storyline, so many stereotypes it is just laughable. Worse than that, it is just so dull and boring. My wife and I had recorded it to watch later and we ended up watching it in fast forward eventually because it was so tedious and slow!
Even at fast forward speeds, much of the dialogue just makes you groan. Not much creative imagination going on here.
As the reviewer at The Guardian wrote, "This soporific six-part series can be most charitably interpreted not as film-making per se, but scientific advancement: specifically, an attempt to cure insomnia."
My tip is to give this a wide berth.