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MarkLotinga-1064
Reviews
Jimmy Carr: Natural Born Killer (2024)
Netflix Born Filler
I cannot profess to being the biggest fan of Jimmy Carr, nonetheless as his new Netflix special, Natural Born Killer was available I decided to give it a watch.
As likely as not I have not watched anything by Jimmy since his previous special His Dark Material in 2021.
Well, aside from laughing out loud around three or maybe four times, this was thin gruel, it really felt like he was trying very, very hard to be offensive and funny, and ended up being neither to any great extent.
It just did not work for me.
The show almost settles into two halves as around or just beyond the half-way point and with the aid of the audience Jimmy seems to loosen up, it becomes more fluid and is a bit funnier all be it in a comparative sense.
I felt for the audience who I presume had paid good money to see this, it felt that they just weren't that into it, maybe it was just one of those nights but this Aylesbury audience did not seem to be having the best of times.
I guess it is mildly amusing to see Jimmy's face, teeth and hair evolve over time all with the aid of modern surgery and dentistry but beyond that there is little to recommend here.
Jimmy needs to have a long hard think about his future career or there may not be much career in his future.
Weird Science (1985)
"So, what would you little maniacs like to do first"?
Weird Science was a lot of fun, a perfect light and frothy 1980s movie.
Although, having said that it is quietly subversive and more than a little risqué, it is unlike the other Directorial works of John Hughes.
In a nutshell, whilst two high-school nerds are watching a colourised version of Frankenstein, they hit upon the idea of using a computer program to literally create the perfect woman, who promptly turns their lives upside-down.
In a scene that echoed the earlier WarGames and perhaps foreshadowed AI our nerds tap into non-specific massive computing power via a dial-up modem!?
In any case, that perfect woman turns out to be Kelly LeBrock at the absolute peak of her powers, and not only does she do a bang-up job as Lisa she also seems to be having an absolute ball.
Aside from the year before's The Woman in Red the rest of Kelly's career was rather a non-event, which on this showing seems a shame.
The film also contains very early appearances for Bill Paxton and a pre-Junior Robert Downey.
We also have Vernon Wells relatively fresh from his rather similar role in Mad Max II, who then went on to appear in the following years Commando up against Arnie.
Last of note is Michael Berryman, best known for playing Pluto in the iconic The Hills Have Eyes.
These latter two actors have gone on to have prolific careers racking up more than 100 movie appearances each.
Of the two lead actors, only Anthony Michael Hall's's career amounted to much, his co-star Ilan Mitchell-Smith went on to do very little else.
I mention all this to illustrate just how varied and fickle this business we call show can be.
As Lisa's classic first line goes, and these are words to live by: "so, what would you little maniacs like to do first"?
The Greatest Night in Pop (2024)
Exemplary documentary making, a must watch!
I am not going to lie, I always regarded We are the World by USA for Africa as very much the poor relation to Band Aid's Do they know it's Christmas?
And although they are vastly different types of song in the main I still hold that view.
Having now watched this documentary I can at least hold this effort in higher regard.
This is not quite riveting stuff but close to it, I was a bit 50/50 on adding it to my list, could something really be referred to as The Greatest Night in Pop?
My answer is, quite possibly, yes.
Over just shy of 100 minutes we are taken across the journey of this song from Harry Belafonte's first "idea", through the pivotal roles that Lionel Richie, Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones and Stevie wonder played.
Through to the tortuous execution in that room at A&M studious that went on "all night long".
Excellent contributions from Lionel in the main, Bruce Spingsteen, Huey Lewis and Cyndi Lauper, it always helps to hear from the people that were actually there at the time.
The extensive archive footage was invaluable too!
Of special note and I am far from Bob's biggest fan, the seemingly impromptu speech that Bob Geldof gave before recording started was about as spot on as one could imagine or hope for.
The talent on display here dwarfs that on hand for Band Aid by some margin, so many genuine icons and legends.
Last but not least, facts are facts, Bob Dylan cannot sing and I still do not know why Dan Aykroyd was involved.
All in all, this is exemplary documentary making, a must watch!
#TheGreatestNightInPop.
Muscles & Mayhem: An Unauthorized Story of American Gladiators (2023)
An unexpected pleasure!
I was never a fan of Gladiators in the UK let alone American Gladiators which was the original show that went on to spawn the international versions.
Therefore my decision to watch Netflix's mini-series Muscles & Mayhem was a highly speculative one.
Having now watched all five episodes I am glad that I did watch, I found this to be a genuinely interesting, entertaining if "unauthorised" take on the once hit series.
I will take most of what I heard as gospel as it came from the mouths of the major gladiators themselves, and as they were there, they sure ought to know what went on!
Perhaps rather surprisingly I warmed to the featured gladiators almost without exception and felt genuinely sorry that they did not share in the vast revenues that were generated.
Goes to show how important either having a good contract or a better agent is when it comes to this business called show.
Their sacking from the show no doubt precipitated the show's demise and can be seen in retrospect as the beginning of the end.
Nonetheless, it was a show that went on to "inspire" many other shows that followed in its wake.
I would recommend this series without hesitation.
American Nightmare (2024)
A rollercoaster ride that challenges preconceptions.
"After a harrowing home invasion and kidnapping in 2015, a couple is accused of staging the ordeal when the woman reappears in this true-crime docuseries".
This top line review of American Nightmare does not even begin to scratch the surface of what is in some ways an astonishing yet also deeply depressing story.
Astonishing as in truth can be stranger than fiction, and depressing as in, the Police and indeed FBI were both less than open-minded and diligent.
I am not normally someone that watches these true crime docu-dramas but something about the way this was described drew me in.
And having been drawn in I watched all three episodes back-to-back which again is unusual for me as I am not an habitual "binger".
I wouldn't want to get into the details too much or risk any spoilers, for me this series is best seen with minimal knowledge beforehand.
However, amongst many "villains", there are two undoubted "heroes", primarily Denise Huskins and Misty Carausu of Dublin Police Department.
And as to why they are heroes, well you will just have to watch, something which I would strongly recommend.