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Reviews
Hidden Assets (2021)
Great production, but no subtitles translation for the Flemish on Acorn. Watch on BBC iplayer.
Came across 'Hidden Assets' after enjoying 'Acceptable Risk' on (Prime) Acorn.
Great production, was made even more enjoyable by the Irish / Belgium co-production of the series.
Good (optional) subtitles for the hard of hearing, although, giving deference to American spelling of English I can put up with, I draw the line at the insistence of the subtitle use of 'mom' when the actor has clearly said 'mum'.
But, what I found most frustrating about the screening on Acorn, and which I found very puzzling, was that there was no subtitle translation when the the Belgium characters spoke in Flemish, especially as there were more and more important scenes involving Flemish as the series progressed, making it hard to discern what was going on!
However, I read that the programme had been shown, in the past, on BBC, and found out that the whole series is available on BBC iplayer, accessed it there, and, low and behold, it comes complete with subtitle translation of the Flemish, as well as the option for subtitles for the hard of hearing, meaning that I didn't miss a single turn and twist of the dialogue of this many nuanced, excellently executed, highly enjoyable, suspense filled production!
Blue Murder: Cry Me a River: Part 1 (2003)
Intriguing, well made series. Missed first time round. Catch currently on ITV Hub, not Prime.
Missed this series when it was originally broadcast back in 2003.
Came across it today when Series 2 Episode 1 was automatically recorded in the 'Suggestions' folder.
Wanted to watch the two episodes of Series 1. Looked under 'Episodes'. From there 'On demand' link was on (Amazon) Prime, but turned out to be a different programme, Blue Murder (miniseries), a 1995 Australian mini-series (1 series of 2 episodes), set in Australia.
If you want to watch the 2003 series with Caroline Quentin, it is currently (June / July 2022 on) available on ITV hub. Well worth the watch!
Avatar (2009)
Incredible Movie - Amazing visuals – An IMAX-cinema-must-see! London IMAX screenings extended into July!
Avatar is one of the best cinematic experiences we've ever had so far – and, as regular cinema goers, we've had a lot of very good ones! It is an incredible movie with amazing visuals – try to see it in an IMAX cinema if you can, at least once, (even if you have already seen it in a regular cinema) to get the full effect! (BFI IMAX at Waterloo in London has extended the screenings of Avatar now until 10 July 2010. See their Website for details and to book.)
My son and I went to see Avatar at the British Film Institute (BFI) IMAX at Waterloo, here in London in January as a delayed Christmas treat, and we have been back since! It is truly, breathtakingly, awesome! A great film to see on any cinema screen - the CGI is out of this world - but imagine it filling a screen more than 20 metres high (That's nearly the height of five double-decker buses stacked on top of each other!) and 26 metres wide. With 11,600-watts of digital surround-sound and the most sophisticated motion-picture projection system in the world – we literally felt like we were 'in the picture'!
The story line, although transposed to another location, is very poignant and relevant to our times, and a warning to us today, as well as for the future. It evolves with sensitivity as the main protagonists' backgrounds are revealed, as they come to terms with the changing circumstances situations, and as the plot moved towards its conclusion.
A heartfelt thanks to all involved in the making of truly remarkable movie: we love it! And I'm sure that you will enjoy it too, and be uplifted! - And also be profoundly moved, and left with plenty to think about too, maybe even taking some positive actions as a consequence of what you have learnt, or because of what you have become more acutely aware of.
Prairie Fever (2008)
Missed it in the cinema. Just watched it on TV. Excellent movie!!!
I nearly didn't watch this movie as I had originally thought that it was going to be 'just another Western' - However it quickly became apparent that this was far from the case, and I am glad to say that I did stay to watch it.
I won't go into the story line - this can be found in the synopsises provided by other reviewers, here on these pages, except to say that, historically, the core characters portrayed the situations of far too many women of those times, and since, both in the States and elsewhere in the world.
The central characters, played by Dominique Swain (Abigail), Jillian Armenante (Lettie), Felicia Day (Blue), Jamie Anne Allmande (Olivia Thibodeaux), and Kevin Sorbo (Sheriff Preston Biggs), are well portrayed and 3-dimensional, with excellent negative foils being provided, particularly by Lance Henriksen (Monte James, gambler and ex-partner of Olivia), and Don Swayze (gun fighter James).
In all, in my opinion, a great storyline, well told, and which evolved with sensitivity as the main characters backgrounds were revealed and come to terms with as the plot moved towards its conclusion.
As already expressed by another reviewer: I thank the entire production team, it was a great movie, and I loved it!
Gone Baby Gone (2007)
Excellent movie! Chilling resemblance to Madeleine McCann!
We saw this excellent and gripping movie today, and for those of us here in the UK, all the more chilling because some of the photographs of the kidnapped little girl, Mandy, bore an uncanny physical resemblance to the high profile photographs released over the past year of four-year-old Maddy, Madeleine McCann, the little British girl who went missing in May 2007 in Praia da Luz, Portugal, and who disappearance remains unsolved. Since coming home, I have discovered, on IMDb Trivia, that the release date here in the UK was delayed for six months (scheduled for 28 December 2007), because of similarity to the case.
We missed the release of the movie when it came out here in June 2008, but caught it today in our local Cineworld's Monday Classic.
Excellently cast, directed, and shot, this movie is not just a story about child abduction, but is about the characters caught up in the convoluted maelstrom. All the performances in the film are superb, with in depth character studies, and the direction maintaining a tone of objectivity and compassion throughout.
Our reaction was, and that of many in the audience, that 'Gone, baby, gone' left one asking oneself, and debating with family and friends, some very tough questions, about the very relevant-to-our-times issues raised in the movie, long after leaving the theatre.
Seachd: The Inaccessible Pinnacle (2007)
Excellent Movie! - Insist that your local cinema puts it on!
I would highly recommend this movie! And I certainly shall be personally recommending it to my friends and family here and abroad! It was with excited anticipation, that I have just pre-ordered it online, I enjoyed it so much! It is not out until February/March 2008, but it will be well worth the wait! But first go and see it in the cinema if you can. There is nothing quite like the Cinema-Experience of a cinema-made movie! Insist that your local cinema puts it on! I went to see 'Seachd, the Inaccessible Pinacle' tonight, down here in London, and was really impressed. It is a marvel: a truly beautiful film set in the Scottish Highlands: you will laugh, you will cry, you will be moved in may different ways, you will be intrigued, and as the story within the stories is revealed, you will be amazed at that revelation.
This movie is in Scottish Gaelic with English Subtitles, but do not let that detract you if you are not a speaker of the Gaelic: I am just starting, and my son does not, nor did many people there tonight, and it did not spoil it for us by any manner of means! Superlatives do not suffice! The photography is superb - there is no CGI here, and the movie is all the better for that- here you have true photography! The script is so skilfully and subtly written. The many-layered plot weaves the magic art of the ancient storytellers. The music is at times rousing, at times haunting, but always adding to the atmospheric ambiance. And the acting? ... it is to behold ... and the actors?... they the true weavers of this delightful yet profound film, particularly the two main actors, 'Padruig-the-young' and 'Padruig-the-elder' (A true bard, if ever there was!), who both carried a very heavy load! And the Direction? Well watch out Richard! And the Producer, responsible for raising funding, hiring key personnel, and arranging for distributors? A task well done! I hope that you will make sure that distribution goes out to our communities abroad! And the Gaelic community? Uill, without you it could not have happened! We were told that this movie was made on a low budget, but you would not know it, and I think it might well be because, for what they might have lacked in money, they more than made up for with the richness of the heart, and the warmth and co-operation of the local Scottish Gaelic community.
A heartfelt thanks to all concerned in the making, and the sponsoring, of 'Seachd' - Mòran taing! (Many thanks!) From the Gaels to the World! From the World to the Gaels!
The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising (2007)
We thoroughly enjoyed the movie! Be your own judge!
We nearly did not go to see the movie because of the bad reviews on this Site, but decided to go and see it and judge for ourselves, and we were glad that we did, because we thoroughly enjoyed it! My advice? - Go and see it and judge it for yourselves! I have just trawled through ALL the reviews on this Site on the movie and found that there are a lot of positive comments, but they do not appear in significant numbers until around page four.
I have not read the book, and I thank the people who mainly made negative reviews, particularly criticising the movie for its deviation from it, for it has inspired me to send off for a copy, which I am sure that I shall thoroughly enjoy reading. I understand why movie adaptations of books can be frustrating to the readers, I have felt it at times myself, especially when they leave out or change radically important scenes, characters, or plot lines, but I generally let it be a niggle rather than escalating into something bigger, and I take the movie on its own merits, it is after all a different genre, a different medium from a book. That is what I did with the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy and the Harry Potter movie adaptations.
I am looking forward to seeing 'The Golden Compass', the movie adaptation of Philip Pullman's novel 'Northern Lights' the first book of the "His Dark Materials" trilogy. We saw the trailer when we went to see The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising, and it looked good. Again we will be judging it on its own merits.
Stay Alive (2006)
Glad I went!
When I saw the preview in the cinema, I commented that I did not want to see the movie - I generally do not go in for 'horror' movies ... I get too scared! However, by the time the 'Stay Alive!' came out I had forgotten the preview and as my grown-up son is very into video games, along we trotted to see it.
Well, I was glad we went! Yes, I was 'sat on the edge of my seat', so to speak, for most of this fast moving, exciting movie, which was excellently acted by the mainly twenty-something to thityish cast, including the familiar face of 'cult-hero' Frankie Muniz ('Malcolm' from 'Malcolm in the Middle' fame!). And it is a movie that really makes you think - on a lot of different levels.
The story-line of a video game that was more than a video game was intriguing, and following the friends as the truth dawned and they sought the solutions and pitted their game-playing, problem solving skills added depth, and gave an insight into the online-video-game-playing culture that is an important social interaction setup for so many young people these days.
Regarding the Computer Generated Images effects that 'intrude' into the 'real world' of the movie, I found them very effective. Subsequently I read a review that criticised along the lines that the CGI effects were somewhat crude/basic. Asking my son, who is somewhat of an very knowledgeable user in this field, about this he confirmed that that the graphics were true to this genre of video game - to introduce CGI of the level of, say, DreamWorks, would have been untrue to the theme of the plot.
Well done everyone concerned!
Volver (2006)
¡Excelente!
Many thanks to our local Cineworld at Woodgreen for screening Director Pedro Almodovar's latest movie, 'Volver'.
To sum up the film in one word: ¡Excelente! It has a good balance of drama, intrigue, mystery, and humour, with superb acting by all the cast, especially the main protagonists: Penelope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Carmen Machi, Pilar Castro, Antonio de la Torre, Yohana Cobo, and Lola Duenas, who play their roles most sensitively.
I went to see the movie yesterday with my youngest daughter, 23. We are a bilingual family, with Spanish as our second language, familiar with the Latin culture, and so were able to get the most out of this beautifully shot film. We would go to see it again, and would have no hesitation in recommending it to both Spanish and English speaking friends! Another plus, we would say, unlike some of Almodovar's renditions, this movie does not offend/shock the 'sensibilidades'.
The only negative thing that I would say, is that it does loose a bit in the translation, and we would ask is that were they to re-do the subtitles, could they please keep the original word 'Mamá' as 'Mamá', and not translate it as 'Mom' - it so regionalises the translation.
Enjoy!