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The Return of Sherlock Holmes: The Second Stain (1986)
Not Unique
The story line begins in a rather well used premise. A letter of great significance goes missing. Curiously and suspiciously, the contents of the letter are never revealed with any degree of specificity, keeping the mystery conveniently afloat. Sherlock, as usual, saves the day on all fronts and it is Jeremy Brett who saves the whole production. His acting is first rate. The facial tweaks, the swish of his coat are all so playfully intriguing. On the whole, the series is classic. From the costuming, the sets and mannerisms. All too delicious. Historically as significant and the man who wrote the stories. But this particular "case" is rather weak. It is only the acting that raises the entertainment value.
Forces spéciales (2011)
cowboys and indians
Instead of six shooters, they have machine guns, still capable of downing several opponents with a single shot. Instead of Injuns, we've got the nasty Taliban. Despite first rate acting (very realistic grunts and groans), the plot is entirely predictable. There are many holes in the game plan. The best part is after 10 days of slogging over rocks, through snow and beyond, her fingernails are still perfect! How is it that a small group of tightly clustered guys can kill dozens of people shooting at them and not get hit? The photography is excellent and the shots realistic. Can't say I know what it is like to have a bullet zip by me or to see someone shot, but it looks "real". Final analysis, it is entertaining.
NCIS: Los Angeles (2009)
Coined, patterned, stereotyped, predictable
All the clichés are laid out in predictable form. Typical US, patterned TV. Lines seem taken pretty directly from has been shows. You could predict the end and all the story lines within the first 5 min. Watch if you like MOR shows with a bit of eye candy. Characters fit stereotypical roles with completely patterned positions in the teams. Definitely not as good as the original. Have a look at a video about the real NCIS and neither show has much in common with the real deal. At least Gibbs walks the talk and Abby offers inspiration to the marginalized in society. LA is a pretty weak setting for the gutsy potential of this kind of show. The LA version has all the integrity of an LA fashion show.
True Blood (2008)
Better shows elsewhere
The Vampire Diaries season recently ended and I was always hooked. TB is more of a disease. A creepy disease. The only cool part of the series are the "good" shape shifting characters. The acting is mediocre, the plot lines going everywhere. At least in VD, there were layered plot lines and most characters where true to themselves throughout. Apart from the creepy Bon Temps, there are a lot of similarities in the story lines. The nudity now seems gratuitous and there simply to tease rather than truly add anything to the story. I gave the openers a 5. They were fun to watch, but there are a lot better choices out there.
Cloverfield (2008)
Produced by a Grade Eight Class?
This movie has very little going for it that could be called "entertainment". The story line is a trumped up scenario where a party held for a friend who is leaving the country, gets trashed by some nasty creatures who decide to invade. Lame decisions take the characters into the path of blood and gore. There are so many amateur aspects to this movie: Tiresome hand held video, bouncing in every scene. Simplistic, staged scene set up, down right lousy acting. You can almost hear the "director" saying.."action", the pauses are so dramatic between scenes. The puppet creatures are again derivative. A cross between a T-Rex and a spider. How can a person with gashes to the bone in their back be walking around without blood pouring out. The lame cops, lame crashes and screams. A bunch of grade eight students could have done a better job using a home computer. Don't waste your money on this one.
Ike: Countdown to D-Day (2004)
D-Day contributions
Many excellent historical connections and references. The final speech, though was apparently put in Ike's pocket, not handed to his aid. BTW, of all the nations involved The Canadians at Juno Beach were the only Force on D-Day to reach their objective despite about 50 percent casualties in the first wave of the attack. It is important to remember that while there were large numbers of Americans and British troops, that soldiers from many other nations participated as well. Many a non-British veteran will tell you how troops from other nations were used in vastly more dangerous areas than the British. This movie does show the huge amount of time spent waiting for action and the huge challenge in keeping the enemy uniformed. More about diversionary counter-intelligence would have been interesting. Nevertheless, the numbers of dead are staggering to read.