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Boy Swallows Universe (2024)
Great up to the last episode
I was very impressed with how this series was going up until the last episode. The issues that were covered in the story line were realistic and the actors did a very good job. The initial few episodes are very captivating and paint a clear picture, including that of the mid 1980's in Australia. The period continuity is very impressive along with the Australian tunes used from that era.
I would have given it an 8 or 9 but for the last episode.
Here we are suddenly introduced to Tytus Broz who is a step aside from the drug world around which much of the story revolves. He a a rich man who devotes some of his money to researching the making artificial human parts - a far cry from the rest of the story. The actor given this role really overdoes it to an annoying degree. His manner is more befitting of a gruff English Lord. He is so out of place that it demeans the rest of the series.
Allowing for that, I would still recommend the series but it only deserves a 7 in my view.
Los favoritos de Midas (2020)
Great Series
I found this series to be very captivating in its story line and very well filmed to the degree that I think it deserves a high rating. The lead characters are superb and the cinematography very good.
I found it surprising that it is based on a book that is so old. The themes are very much of a 'modern' era.
Each episode follows the previous in proper theme sequence which gives the viewer a sense of proper flow even though each episode is rather encapsulated.
Like some other reviewers I would have liked certain things to be revealed more but that does not detract from the proper, sophisticated entertainment that this series gives us.
Lou (2022)
A very Bad Movie
I cannot find anything positive about this movie. The screen play is at a low level and the acting is not much better. Most disappointing is that of Jurnee Smollett who really does not have what it takes for a good presentation of a rather easy role.
The background to the story is weak and really does not sustain the CIA actions that follow.
Some of the (over acted) scenes defy rationality. An example might be when Lou and Hannah fall off the bridge and are covered in mud but a very short time later (presumably without oblution facilities in the jungle) they are suddenly rather presentable.
I would suggest choosing an alternative if you wish to spend your time well.
Il processo (2019)
A Great Series
I loved this series from all vantage points. The story is compelling and the screen play is very well crafted. The filming is superb with just the right amount of camera angle variation to give us a real perspective of the city in which it is set.
The scenes where our lead characters become part of the past is very well done indeed and the manner in which they disappear from those scenes as they become the present is very clever.
I watched the dubbed version and found it to be as good as any.
I do not see why it does not rate higher. In all respects it is up with the best crime series of the last three decades.
Les Papillons Noirs (2022)
One major error is an otherwise great series
I would love to give this series a higher rating but when a series changes lead actress near the end of a series one has a catastrophe. I have no idea what the reason was but no matter how skilled the other members of the cast and writers, this cannot be overlooked.
On the brighter side, the story is skillfully crafted and the acting and cinematography are beyond the average.
I really liked how the filming techniques evolved through the four decades portrayed in the six episodes.
I did not like the continued (and now anti-social) smoking. In an anti-smoking era, this is not acceptable and unnecessary.
A good series that could have been a great series.
Better Call Saul (2015)
Dead without Breaking Bad
I found Better Call Saul a real disappointment. The first couple of seasons went nowhere. It was really a waste of time. All the while I was waiting for the inevitable link to Breaking Bad - after all that is why we watched it. Right?
Instead we got tiny snippits of the link but nothing substantial. As further seasons unfolded there was still this sense of 'it will come soon' regarding the link to BB. The plot was slow. The acting was at a good standard but it never really grabbed me like a good stand alone series should.
If I were to watch it with fore knowledge of the link to Breaking Bad I would not have gone past season one.
Ozark: A Hard Way to Go (2022)
Disappointing ending
I was expecting something better. At the end we are left with incomplete resolution. Of the issues of several of the main characters and themes. A good ending needs that resolution.
The Power of the Dog (2021)
Great Actors, Great Filming, Poor End
Jane Campion has a reputation that is very solid. I do not think this film is up to her usual standards. This is despite a superb cast, a great location and at an interesting phase in history. The actors do a good job with what they have been given and there is the problem. What they have to work with is a lame story. There is no point to the two hours it occupies. One does not turn the screen off and say 'Wow....' in any manner. All it needed was a decent ending. Something worth the tiresome waiting. But we do not get that.
El inocente (2021)
Great Series That Leaves a Really Big Hole
I really enjoyed this series. The Direction and Cinematography and Acting were superb. We are led dowm a very complex layerd storyline that is gripping from the beginning. I loved it.
But for one glaring omission.
When we learn that Teo (number 27) is desparate to obtain his tape he is also enthusiastically followed by his boss (the Colonel). This is the gap that is never solved.
We never find out why she wanted the tapes as much as '27' did.
It leaves the viewer expecting an episode that centres around her to round-off the story. I left it feeling a bit empty after the build up of the importance of the tapes.
The Serpent (2021)
Great Story, Terrible Directing
I would love to be able to give this series a high rating but it has two huge failings.
The first is the Director's incessant flip-flopping between languages. Why one would make a series with English, French, Dutch and Thai for the poor viewer to try to contend with is beyond me. It really detracts rather than adds, to the viewing experience.
The second is the woeful acting of Mr Howle. He takes the acting of one who is anxious to a level that is simply beyond belief. He made me cringe at every sight of him. Absolutely second rate.
Beyond that, the story is magnetic. Pity about these issues.
Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich (2020)
A new definition of some words
IT seems that Jeffrey Epstein was a truly bad man and he demonstrates the power of the mighty dollar. What I feel negatively about is the very deliberate transition of some young prostitutes into 'victims'.
At no stage doe the series ask the relevant question 'did these women continue to stay with Epstein?' Of course they were capable adults who could have left the situation they were in at any time. But they stayed. For the money. They want us to believe otherwise but they were simple prostitutes for a very rich man and his friends. I suppose they want more cash now.
Gangs of London (2020)
I had to go for a 4
This series has all the ingredients for something special but it flops dismally. Why?
In the first place it begins well but rapidly becomes too fast to follow and too far fetched. We see a mass of violence (including the American-style inexhaustible machine guns) that really is so far from subtle that the viewer become immune to it. The main characters seem to be indestructible as bullets fly around them, taking out other cast members with ease!
The last episode was a boring waste of time. So far from a worthwhile climax that I was quite relieved when it was over.
13 Reasons Why (2017)
Great casting, superb acting and woderful directing
I love this show. I have just finished season 3 and loved it. There is that beautiful mix of drama, suspense and intrigue. Those who dislike Ani emerging miss the point. With Hannah gone the audience needs a narrator from time to time to jel the story line. I loved every episode and am happy to give a 9 out of 10
Criminal: UK (2019)
Perfection
Criminal UK is at first glance somewhat simplistic. But as each story unfolds we see more and more layers unraveling and the complexity of the interpersonal relationships and psychological aspects shift the series to a very high level of sophistication.
The total effect is that the view is mezmerised.
One must add that the filming, direction and acting are all wonderful
John Wick (2014)
An Insight into American Gun Culture
What I saw in this 'movie' was the firing of more bullets than I could count. Guns.. guns.. and more guns. The movie that Trump would love. And that the civilised world should revile. How can this sort of film exist at a time when massacres are becoming a very frequent event in modern America?
Is it not time to devote creative endeavours to something a bit more meaningful?
Sharp Objects (2018)
This could have been so much better
I have mixed feelings about this series.
It is very well directed, the cinematography is superb and the acting of the highest order.
But there are downsides... lots of them.
Some are silly, like Camille having the scars of letters in places that she could not reach (viz her back) and the sudden appearance of her boss just in time to save her from her mother's poison when no-one had called for him.
Camille's alcohol intake is beyond reason. The volume we see her consume would render a hardened alcoholic immobile.
We have two murders with different modus operandi. One is somewhat hidden and the other put on public display. The latter has had all her teeth removed. This, and siting her in a window, would imply the application of very considerable strength. Are we really to believe that this is the work of one person, let alone the petite Amma?
The story grinds on amid way too many visual 'flashbacks' via Camille, and then it suddenly wraps up in the second half of the last episode. This rapid conclusion does not sit comfortably with the rest of the series.
We know someone in Wind Gap committed the crimes. We know Adora is rather strange. We know Amma has an evil streak. We know the local policeman has the potential for having a double life.
But we are not led to the killer. Rather she is thrust upon us in a startling manner. And with too little warning.
Not a bad series. But one that could have been so much better.
Marcella (2016)
Not quite good enough
This series has some serious faults but some admirable aspects.
The cinematography is superb. The characters are a bit lacking and unimaginative. Marcella is a clone of her counterpart in the superb 'The Killing' - a flawed hyperactive detective who devotes her 'all' to the case.
This does not quite hit the mark, unlike the comparison cited.
Her husband (Jason) is poorly selected and lacks what it takes to pull the role off (not to mention his nose injury that has a habit of appearing and disappearing, out of sequence).
To me, it could have been a lot better but the potential was lost along the way.
About Time (2013)
A Great Movie
This film has it all! The story is beautifully written and the twists, small and large, are very well thought out. This is a masterwork of detail, many if which interlink at times with subtlety that only a very clever work can attain. The acting is superb from all players and the character depth and breadth exceptional.You sense that you really know these people. You can sense that they really exist and that the film is utterly factual, such is the magic of this works' quality. The filming and screenplay are well above average. Even after careful scrutiny, I cannot find fault. The term 'a must see' has been over used but to me it genuinely applies to this wonderful work
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Avoid this piece of trash
This film is peppered with unforgivable defects. Mr Scorsese has produced some very fine material, but this is not one of them. The word count would be about halved if the letters F U C and K were omitted. It was very offensive to me, and I have a pretty broad mind. The way women are portrayed is an insult to the modern world. And I am no feminist. My wife and I were sickened by women being treated as only worthy of being sperm receptacles for men who displayed no emotional connection. It represents all that is woeful about the American psyche - that the world revolves around 'money' and 'me, me, me'
Sorry to those concerned, but it is a waste of good celluloid.
Melancholia (2011)
A Waste of Celluloid
How ANYONE could like this movie is beyond me. It is utter garbage. I wonder if it is a case of The King's New Clothes? Are people too afraid too face the film's utter inadequacy? We are faced with two unrelated story lines - the dysfunctional family with their prime examples of bad to worse relationships set in the paradox of a beautiful castle. When the tedium of the protagonist's semi-psychosis has just about driven one to sleep, another arises and makes the experience even worse. Then we have this spurious planet suddenly about to crash the party. I have tried to see some metaphor, some explanation of this bizarre turn, but to no avail. It gives Keiffer an excuse to be the scientific dad who states all will be OK and then suicide because he thinks this is not the case. Then everything ends. What a dud! There are better films to occupy 2 hours of your life with - go see one of them!
The Green Hornet (2011)
Utter Rubbish
This sad DVD found its way into my rubbish bin at about the 30 minute mark! Just when a good flick is going to reveal its class... or not.. The movie lacked plot, direction and appeal at any level. The 'acting' was suitably appalling. Throwing a few stars $120 million and expecting a good product is not a reliable formula. Green Hornet demonstrates this beautifully. With that much cash, one would expect something of value, worthy of viewing. But NO! This one is not worth any more than 2. Ms Diaz and Mr Rogen are associated with more of a classy outcome. I am surprised they fell for such a humble storyline. They surely deserve to be associated with much better material. Sadly, this is a corny MUST TO AVOID.
Knight and Day (2010)
What a flick for the Mindless
This is a sad reflection on what Homer Simpson and the other low-life American nobodies who might hang out at Mo's bar and say "Hey, wasn't that a great movie?" Well, not by a large margin.
It is mindless, has no plot and alas has two aging 'stars' displaying what they were once but are not now.
Poor acting, poor story, poor production are the beginning of the mystery of why this movie ever grossed more than one dollar. Let alone 273 million.
Please don't watch it. Put on an old Sesame Street - that would be time way better spent.
Even Homer would be embarrassed.
Tombstone (1993)
A really great movie
This movie has just about all a movie can deliver. Action, romance, humour, tragedy, wit; all wrapped in great acting, production and cinematography.
The storyline (moderately approximating the accepted history of the portrayed events) is very well delivered with superb acting, screen play and filming.
Val Kilmer delivers a wonderful rendition of a cheeky and well-educated 'Doc' Holliday who delights with his dry wit and his version of what being a friend can mean.
I have watched Tombstone 7 times and he still delights me.
Kurt Russell and Michael Biehn also play superbly.
I highly commend Tombstone to all movie buffs
Essential Killing (2010)
What a dud flick
This movie is a waste of time.
The story is too simple. The acting is mediocre and is bathed in the incredible. It leads, painfully, to a shameful end with no real meaning. To list the goofs would take some paragraphs. But consider the relaxed appearance of Mohommad soon after being blasted by an American rocket, the fisherman who shows little interest in him when he steals a fish despite a ragged appearance, in a land where he must only be a few kilometers from his escape point, to surviving 4 days without appreciable sustenance and over all his unexplained variances in energy - from near collapse to hurrying along without apparent serious harm or privation...
The Border Collies take the best acting award.
I suggest that you spend your precious viewing time elsewhere.