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SamuelPickwick
Reviews
The Last Letter from Your Lover (2021)
Quite a mess...
This film jumps back and forward between two stories, one set in the present day and one in the 1960s. Then the 1960s story jumps back another 6 months. There is very little story, and most of what there is is entirely predictable, which makes the film dull. You can see just what's going to happen. Also, because of the jump-back, you already know the key event in the story.
A lot of the dialogue is inaudible, sometimes because of poor sound quality, or too much music, but mainly because it's either mumbled or whispered. Presumably the actors are told to do this.
The endings of both stories are horribly twee, like all the sickly endings of Richard Curtis romcoms rolled into one.
The best thing about the film is the cars, clothes, and settings used in the 1960s story, which is all beautifully done.
Finders Keepers (2024)
Implausible and excessively violent
Sadly, the criticisms made by many of the other reviewers are valid.
This series starts off well with an intriguing first episode, the finding of a Saxon treasure hoard and the decision of what to do with it, with some touches of humour. But then it deteriorates rapidly, the story becoming increasingly ridiculous and implausible in the remaining three episodes. There's also quite a lot of rather gruesome violence. I'm not so bothered by the bad language, I suppose I've got used to that.
One other thing I don't like about it, which is quite common in TV dramas these days, is the sexism. The male characters are mostly either stupid, unpleasant, dishonest or violent. This includes the main character Martin (Neil Morrisey), his potential son-in-law, the men who help them deal with the treasure, and the policemen. The women, however, for example Martin's wife and daughter and the policewoman, are virtuous and intelligent.
Denmark (2019)
Dreary and implausible, yet predictable
The premise for this film is that life in Britain these days, particularly in South Wales, is so miserable that you'd be better off in a prison in Denmark. Yes, I know, but it's a BBC film and that's the mindset of BBC groupthink nowadays. So our 'hero' Herb tries to get to Denmark so he can commit a crime and get sent to jail.
The first half of the film is slow moving and relentlessly depressing. There's an f word in almost every sentence. The other words are often mumbled - again, this seems to be the style these days.
When our hero gets to Denmark, you'll never guess what doesn't happen and what does happen instead. Oh, you did guess. Clever you. The second half of the film moves smoothly from one implausible scenario to the next even more unlikely one.
It's a mystery why this film is described as a comedy - there are only a few scenes with a dog that are mildly amusing.
Don't expect an interesting ending to the film, with a twist or a satisfying conclusion. It just fizzles out. Like this.
The Lobster (2015)
Nice scenery, good music, shame about the story
This film is one of the stupidest I have ever seen. It's described as a "black comedy" but there's nothing remotely funny about it at all. The story is just ridiculous nonsense, all the way through. It's also gross, revelling in completely pointless violence and unpleasantness. It's astonishing that talented actors like Whishaw, Weisz and Colman had anything to do with it. The dialogue, which makes no more sense than the rest of the movie, is delivered in a kind of dull robotic monotone. It's amusing to see some people trying to explain it.
The only redeeming features are the hills, lakes and forests of Ireland, and the music - Beethoven, Shostakovich etc. Hence the two stars.
Murder Is Easy (2023)
Murdering Agatha Christie is easy for the BBC
Agatha Christie stories are not known for their realism. But this latest mangling from the BBC is so ridiculous it's impossible to take it seriously. A young man arrives from Nigeria to work in Whitehall. But instead he goes off to a little village and investigates a murder mystery. Except that he doesn't - there's none of the clues and logical deductions that usually characterise mystery dramas.
The production is very shiny and colourful (presumably thanks to CGI) which adds to the lack of realism. The acting, or perhaps the direction, is awful, ridiculously over-the-top. Needless to say, as in most BBC drama these days, the white males are portrayed as evil or stupid or both, and the programme makers seem to be obsessed with race issues.
The other problem with this production is that it's just boring. Agatha Christie stories usually rattle along at a good pace with puzzles, clues, twists and turns. This one doesn't. There's a lot of contemplative staring into space. The other thing that makes it tedious is the same politics that we see inserted into so many BBC dramas these days (Great Expectations, Round the world in 80 days).
Vite in fuga (2020)
Too long and slow
This drama, in Italian with subtitles, starts off very well. The first episode sets up an intriguing scenario, with a mysterious death and the main suspect and his family having to go into hiding.
Unfortunately the interest is not maintained. By the time we get to episodes 3, 4 and 5, almost all of the show is about the various relationships inside and outside the family, while the main story proceeds at a glacial pace. At times, you almost feel like you're watching a soap.
The acting is good, not just the two main characters but their children as well. And there's some great scenery of the Italian Dolomite mountains.
Six episodes would have been good, but fourteen?
Dad's Army (2016)
Entertaining all-star update
This is a very enjoyable film that deserves a higher rating than it currently has. The casting is very good, with an appropriate selection of National Treasures in the key roles - Toby Jones as Mainwaring, Bill Nighy as Wilson, Tom Courtenay as Jones, Michael Gambon as Godfrey, and so on. Since it's a 21st century update, one thing that's been changed is that there are more significant female parts, so we also have Catherine Zeta-Jones, Susan Hampshire and Alison Steadman. Furthermore, to comply with current trends, all the men are stupid while all the women are very clever.
The story, concerning the attempts of the platoon to track down a German spy, is a bit silly in places, but that's also true of the original Dad's Army. The film is funny, as long as you're in the mood for that kind of humour, but again, that's the same with the old version.
The Following Events Are Based on a Pack of Lies (2023)
The following events are implausible and silly
When watching a TV drama, a certain amount of suspension of disbelief is often required. For example, in a detective drama like Morse or Vera, the police person usually goes in alone and unarmed to confront the murderer, rather than calling in armed backup and waiting.
But in this series suspension of disbelief is needed all the way through. I'm constantly thinking "that couldn't happen", "she wouldn't say that", "he couldn't do that". The premise of the story is that right at the start, a man turns up in Oxford claiming to be a top climate scientist. Well, no, anyone could look it up and see that he and his supposed research institute doesn't exist. All the way through, the characters have to behave in a ridiculously stupid way for the story to work. In the final episode, it descends to a kind of farcical pantomime.
There are some redeeming features. The acting is fairly good, considering the silly things that the actors have to say and do. The sets and costumes are quite lavish; plenty of licence fee payers' money has been spent producing this.
Becoming Elizabeth (2022)
Much better than expected
When I heard that there was a new drama series about the young Elizabeth, with a language/sex/violence warning, and that series 2 had been cancelled, I had very low expectations. But I'm glad I tried it, as it's very good. If you're used to the conventional genteel style of costume drama it takes a bit of getting used to, but there almost certainly was a lot of sex and violence and swearing in Tudor England, so why not?
It's set in the late 1540s. Henry VIII has died, leaving his 9 year old son Edward on the throne. The series deals with the power struggles and religious conflicts of this difficult time. Another main theme is the relationship between the teenage Elizabeth and Thomas Seymour, husband of Henry's widow Catherine Parr.
For me the outstanding actor is the young boy who plays King Edward. He looks exactly right and he's sometimes a child, sometimes a King, sometimes having a tantrum ("I'm the ****ing King, not you!"). Romola Garai is also captivating as his older Catholic sister Mary. Unfortunately Elizabeth seems miscast. She's too old (she should be 14 at the start) and sometimes her German accent comes through and her words aren't always clear.
The settings are magnificent. No expense was spared taking cast and crew to some of England's finest Tudor castles and houses. The costumes are also excellent. Elizabeth seems to have a beautiful new dress for almost every scene.
Fisherman's Friends (2019)
Dull, formulaic, clichés
This film is supposed to be based on a true story, but it's hard to believe anything but the basic scenario actually happened. It's full of all the usual formulaic clichés and issues that come up in British romcoms and soaps - single parent family, town versus country, people hating each other and then falling in love, birth, marriage and death. It's like a mish-mash of Doc Martin and Calendar Girls. It's much too long in relation to the content of the story.
There are some good things about it. The music is great, although backing sounds appear like magic when the men are singing outside or on a fishing boat. The scenery and photography is very good, and there is nothing wrong with the acting.