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Reviews
The Hot Zone: Arrival (2019)
Dumb Scientists
Based on true events and a lot of stupidity. The story was written like the goal was to make the worst Lifetime movie ever. One minute Julianna Margulies is in her office and cutting on a sample and the next, she and the guy who doesn't know anything are going into LEVEL 4 quarantine with negative pressure so the microbes don't get out. But, no one is concerned about the contamination from the meatball dissection she did in her office. The photography is average and the editing makes a lot of bad calls. Lots of good actors in this but I can't stand the way they portray science.
La French (2014)
Beautiful Film
Beautiful setting in Marseille in the 1970s. Beautiful cars. Beautiful people. This movie does not delve into the sad and depressing elements seen in Casino and Scarface, so it could be criticized as lacking realism. For me, this movie is the 70s without the stagflation and the horrible avocado-green kitchen appliances. I don't even think we see any shag carpet. Visually, this movie is unsurpassed, the plot moves along smartly with a few shootouts but not very much tension. The men wear suits and look like adults. Every frame is beautiful. No fat slobs with tattoos spoil this movie.
Manhunt (2019)
Very Good But Clunes Again?
In Manhunt, Martin Clunes is a rude, somewhat unhappy cop dealing with a major social behavioral deficit. The first thing I noticed was that Clunes was getting a lot of reuse of his "just bit into a lemon" face from Doc Martin. He manages to disappoint his wife while failing to understand her emotions and he is irritable at work. Does any of this sound familiar?
While Martin Clunes and the other actors are good, I think that casting Clunes in a role so similar to Doc Martin was a mistake.
Only 3 episodes. This is a good British police procedural, less gritty than most. I downgraded it 3 stars because the plot is quite linear and 2 stars because much of the behavior of Martin Clunes' character is so similar to his other TV show, Doc Martin.
Meet the Lords (2017)
Sound Mixing Almost Ruins This TV Show
Presents unique info of the inner workings of British parliament with Interesting visuals of the Houses of Parliament and old London but the volume of the narrator is often less than half of the other speakers. Since the narration is added over background noise and conversations, the narrator can often not be understood. At times, it takes a moment to even recognize that she is speaking. About half the spoken information is given by other speakers who's speech is mixed at the proper volume.
Line of Duty (2012)
Snark
This is the show that made snark into a TV genre. There's not a likable character on the show.
Poldark: Episode #4.1 (2018)
Contracts, Banking, Politics, Famine
Season 4 is not as interesting as previous seasons. The same subplots have been meandering for years. This season features meetings between bank shareholders followed by the plots of bank depositors. These episodes are easy to skip.
The editing is laughable too; scenes transition with three seconds of galloping horse hooves (no idea who is on the horse) then a group scene. Okay, who was on the horse?
I don't know if the writing is getting worse or has always been lacking.
Paris Blues (1961)
Overcomes Disappointment
The good parts are so good that they overcome the melodramatic portions of the movie. It is grating that so much time is spent in basement jazz clubs and apartments in the slums. The Day of the Jackal presents the more beautiful side of Paris.
The Life and Crimes of William Palmer: Episode #1.1 (1998)
Like an English Movie From The 1930s
Lacks continuity; jumps from one scene to the next with no clue as to how we got there. None of the characters are sympathetic or interesting. The authenticity of the costumes, locations and sets is impeccable but interiors tend to dull.
Soviet War Scare 1983 (2007)
The Way It Was
I learned a lot from this movie. I served on a US Navy submarine from 1978 to 1983. The quality of the information is very high; both Robert Gates and Oleg Gordievsky are interviewed. The information is easy to understand and although quite scary, it is presented in a sophisticated and entertaining way. I have not seen a better movie about the cold war.
Good Kill (2014)
Cliche-Ridden, Boring Movie
If you're excited by the war on terror and want to be lectured on the morality of the drone war circa 2010 then you might enjoy this movie but only if you have a high tolerance for boredom. This movie has the soldier's stereotypical messy home life, stereotypical moral dilemmas, stereotypical PTSD and stereotypical problems with self-medication. I've liked January Jones' acting in other roles but in this role she is devoid of sincerity. Will Ethan Hawke;s character rebel from his immoral assignment? Will his marriage survive? Will he get together with the hot enlisted woman? So many questions we don't care about.
Unforgotten (2015)
Recycled
If you're a fan of British TV then you've seen this before. These actors have played these same parts in countless other series. Same plot, same racial tension, same detective inspector, same detective sergeant, same menacing white guy, same squad room, same whiteboard. I did see one nice shot of Portsmouth harbor.
Germany at War: 1918-1941 (2006)
Only Dull Narration of Elementary Facts
This video contains only the dull narration of the timeline of events. Far better histories of WWI are available on video so I have a difficult time imagining who the intended audience is for what must be one of the worst videos ever made. Only low quality images are included in this video and the ancient images have not been restored; often the only details seen on a face are the nose and mouth.
The Big Heat (1953)
Poor Writing Meets Bad Actors
The world this movie presents is like a five year old's understanding of the world. Bad guys have paintings of their mothers on the wall. The married couple come across like they're in a margarine commercial. Seasoned cops hear a rumor and twist it into something completely unrelated. Lee Marvin is not believable as a nervous coward when confronted by Glenn Ford. There's a good scene with veteran actor Peter Whitney as the bartender.
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries: If Wishes Were Horses (2004)
Not Recommended
On the plus side, Jemma Redgrave appears in this episode and her voice is a revelation, like angels singing. On the minus side, there are several instances in this episode of Inspector Lynley of berating Havers and this makes watching the show unpleasant and draining.
Elizabeth I's Secret Agents (2017)
Slow Documentary
This show is mislabeled a drama. It is a documentary. There's an unseen narrator and historians speaking to the screen. There is no dialog or action. Art and drawings are shown and occasionally person in costume walking through a castle, garden or dungeon.
Events unfold slowly. Ten minutes is spent examining Mary's delay in signing the letter committing to the treasonous plot and the wait for Elizabeth to sign the death warrant.
This documentary is below average.
Il commissario Montalbano: Gatto e cardellino (2002)
Low Quality DVD Video
It is a shame that such a beautiful hilltop Sicilian village location is presented in such poor quality video. Watching this video is like going blind. The quality is so poor that the stones in a wall and the cobblestones in the street are hardly discernible.
Pretty good story. Great subtitles, best I've ever seen. The script is something of a joke on the viewer as the plot progresses slowly while the characters go about everyday business, paying more attention to the distractions of everyday life rather than solving crime and a second joke on the viewer is watching different coworkers attempt to solve the crime with worthless opinion and speculation rather than doing the actual work of investigation.
Huge cast. Every random character gets 5 minutes on screen. All with their own little subplots.
It is a little grating that many Italians are portrayed as being clownish but I guess that is part of the attraction some have to this show. The desk officer at the detective's police station is way over the top, shouting and jumping up and down in every scene he's in.
Columbo: Negative Reaction (1974)
Positive Reaction to this Episode
This episode is much better than many of the Colombo episodes made in the 1990s. The murder plot in this one is a doozy and, unlike many of the Colombo episodes filmed in the 1990s, in this episode, sets and locations all evoke a real time and place. Unfortunately the same locations are used on almost every episode of The Rockford Files. I loved seeing Larry Storch from F Troop in a bit part as the nervous driving test instructor.
The Little Drummer Girl (1984)
Half Good Movie
Scary bad acting by Diane Keaton. Her part is awfully cheesy too. The European and Arab actors are very good.
Spoiler - Do they ever reveal why it had to be Diane Keaton who drove the red car to Munich? And how did Keaton go from being slapped around by interrogators to walking out of the London subway?
The movie contains nice video of Europe and the Mediterranean countries and the depiction of intelligence techniques is very good.
Okkupert (2015)
Painful - Falcon Crest Meets Red Dawn
The plot revolves around a supposed takeover of Norway's remote oil fields by the Russians as the behest of the EU. It is the beginning of a good story. In the abstract, the plot is good and shows how Russia uses its soft power in support of its military occupation. Unfortunately, the plot is stung together by meetings, official A meets with official B who walks out of that meeting into another meeting with official C. It is so tedious. The combination of bad acting and bad dialog makes every moment spent watching this show painful. The male lead, the secret agent, is one of about ten people who work for Norway's security agency and he is the only one who leaves the office. He is in every gunfight, he leads all the raids, he makes all the arrests, he does all the interrogations and single-handed, he does all the hostage rescues. So tedious. Many of us enjoy shows like 'The Night Manager', 'CSI', and 'Berlin Station' because they show realistic tradecraft but not this show. In most respects, this show is as bad as anything that has ever been produced.