johnmansfieldips Reviews

North Sea Connection (2022– )

Box ticking

[2/10 · 13 February 2023]

This started off OK but rapidly went downhill. The plot contrivances become increasingly ridiculous. The "baddies' were laughable and completely inconsistent in their motivations and level of badness.

Acting was inconsistent not helped by the box ticking that plagues TV these days. Yep, another mixed race couple stars. In Ireland. In rural, coastal Ireland.

The scenery was very nice hence the 2 stars. The ending seems to set it up for a second series but I would be astonished it if gets a second series so ultimately feels like a wasted opportunity and a waste of time.

One to avoid for me which is a shame as Ireland can do so much better.

I Came By (2022)

Rubbish

[2/10 · 13 September 2022]

Where do Netflix get these writers from? This is so bad I think the writers intended for the villains to be the protagonists. Namely, two young, entitled, selfish, petty, criminal thugs. Plenty of woke preaching to the audience throughout the whole film which gets tiresome. Pretty much every box is ticked in a very clumsy and obvious way.

This is so bad I ended up cheering for the bad guy. The script is just atrocious. Gargantuan plot holes and things that just don't make sense. Hugh Bonneville was excellent though in a creepy role and gets this 2 stars.

It's not worth your time in my opinion unless your hard up for something to watch. Another Netflix miss with writers more concerned about social messaging and propaganda than developing a decent script and story.

The Haunting of Hill House (2018)

Scary as hell

[9/10 · 7 September 2022]

This is by far the most frightening thing I have ever seen. Not too gory or violent but it's very unnerving throughout every episode. The jump scares are very well done. Even more effective is how it cleverly signals a scare is coming but you have to wait a few seconds for it to appear and the tension ratchets up.

Some episodes are a bit slow but overall this is a great series. Acting is pretty solid throughout. Special effects are good enough and the ghosts are done well.

I was a tiny bit disappointed by the last episode which I thought was the weakest of the ten so have deducted one star for a 9 rating. Overall though, a great suspenseful ghost story that will scare the pants off you.

Highly recommended.

Ricky Gervais: SuperNature (2022 TV Special)

Magnificent

[10/10 · 27 May 2022]

Simply sublime comedy. So sharp, so clever, so funny and so current.

Ricky exposes the bonkers gender ideology amongst other things to great effect. The man is a genius. This is a must watch show.

No Time to Die (2021)

A disappointment

[2/10 · 17 April 2022]

2 stars for the action scenes which are excellent. But overall this Bond film is too long and feels disjointed. The comedic one liners written by Waller-Bridge you can see from a mile off. I could even imagine her voicing them.

The woke nonsense soon takes grip and completely ruins the film. So after all these years we discover that Q is gay. Yawn. If the writers felt compelled to box tick, they could have introduced a new character. Just the same as the non-gay Sulu suddenly becoming gay in Star Trek.

The brief scenes with Ana de Armas are the best.

The Witchfinder (2022)

Unintentionally hilarious

[1/10 · 17 March 2022]

There is great fun to be had watching this by playing box ticking bingo.

There's another we shouted, full house!

It's absurd and cringeworthy. A representation of 17th century rural East Anglia with a "diverse" cast.

The Cockfields (2019–2021)

Great British comedy

[10/10 · 9 January 2022]

I must be getting old. This is gentle, observational British humour at its best. I started watching at series 2 and glad I missed series 1 as some cast changes had to be made.

Time and again I found myself reliving an old experience I had with my parents through some great writing. All of the cast are terrific. The scenery is fabulous.

This isn't LOL hilarious, it's not meant to be. It is relatable, gentle humour that will have you chuckling throughout. Best enjoyed by a more mature audience.

And to its credit, there is zero box ticking or wokery.

The Tomorrow War (2021)

Script is an abomination

[2/10 · 4 July 2021]

I give it a generous 2 stars for the special effects and action sequences which are decent to be fair. It could have been so much better but is let down by a terrible script. The script writers for this filth should be named and shamed and publicly flogged. Forget the forced coincidences and gargantuan plot holes. A couple of random examples of just how bad this gets: the protagonists need to find out how volcanic ash made its way from one continent to another. Do they ask the world's leading authority on volancoes? Or even a professor with subject matter knowledge? No, they ask a high school kid who likes volcanoes who we were clumsily introduced to earlier in the film. Shortly after that, the same protagonists need to fly to Russia to destroy the aliens. Now mankind is facing complete extinction, the world is in meltdown but they're not allowed to fly because the taxpayer can't afford it. Hilarious. Don't worry though, the hero's father can fly them who we were also clumsily introduced to earlier in the film. This is bad folks. Really bad.

My other gripe is the relentless box ticking diversity garbage that infests this film. In the near future women are in the charge of the army and the population of the earth is at least 50% black.