dave-ditchburn Reviews

Jimmy Carr: His Dark Material (2021 TV Special)

Entertainingly and mostly (for me) funny

[9/10 · 7 March 2022]

There's almost a hierarchy of options before you view this. Is Jimmy Carr your thing? Yes....carry on. Are you easily offended? No ....carry on. Are you willing to accept you'll find some things funny in the show and some things not without throwing your Teddy out? Yes ......well, watch this.

Go with that and you'll enjoy it. Some classic lines and everything from groans to belly laughs. I've knocked it down from 10 to 9 as he did seem to be trying a bit too hard at times. Overall great entertainment.

The Teacher (2022–2024)

Must try harder next time

[5/10 · 24 February 2022]

Starts off well with suspicion and questions everywhere. Intriguing up until the last minutes of the third episode. After that, throughout the fourth especially Smiths righteous speech it all drags a little. The hammer scene almost starts to build tension but is a damp squib.

The impression it leaves is that the writers and producers made a great effort in earlier episodes but when they hit the fourth they wanted it all over and done because we knew who had dunnit. The ending we were led to , or meandered to, was predictable and many relevant questions were left unanswered .

The attention to detail in product wasn't marvellous in some places with im sure keen eyed viewers spotting the eastern european look.

This Is Going to Hurt (2022)

A superb series that hits home on several levels.

[10/10 · 12 February 2022]

Reading many of the reviews I feel it's worth pointing out this is not a documentary ! It's a , generally, dark humoured drama. It superbly brings to the fore many NHS problems and the fallibility of even the best people there.

No major spoilers but some scenes could make you cry, then the next one has you chuckling away. Its good to see that many of the characters are a little more than one dimensional. The dawning realisation of what's going on in episode 6 is heart wrenching and for once , an apt statement by the producers .

No Return (2022)

Absolutely average at best

[4/10 · 12 February 2022]

Make your own mind up , no spoilers here.

It's a poor storyline that hobbles along. Some reasonable acting making the most of it all. Sheridan Smith doesn't come anywhere near some of her previous performances whilst playing the abrasive worried mother. These problems are offset to a degree by a couple of notable roles such as " I am the circus master" solicitor.

The Responder (2022– )

A great series

[9/10 · 31 January 2022]

Ok some parts were implausible and he'd have been binned years ago but other parts , including some very subtle actions along with the not so subtle are spot on. It's far from a comedy but as well as showing himself as a basically decent but vulnerable bloke with problems , Martin Freeman plays the dark humour superbly. Overall an engrossing series well worth watching.

Top Gear: Driving Home for Christmas (2021) Season 31, Episode 6

Dire and I as a fan am gutted

[1/10 · 27 December 2021]

I like Chris and Freddie , they have potential but when teamed with Paddy in this they're all struggling. It becomes a forced and false pastiche of the glory days. Just as Top Gear reinvented itself with the Clarkson concept all those years ago , perhaps the wheel has turned back to that point ? I must be honest , for me there's no stand out moment at all in the episode.

The Grand Tour: The Grand Tour Presents: Carnage A Trois (2021) Season 4, Episode 4

Trite and lazy

[1/10 · 20 December 2021]

Caveat here; I am a massive Top Gear and Grand Tour fan , however ........ Watch some early Top Gear episodes and you'll see 3 presenters talking cars and clearly having a fantastic time with the laughs coming naturally as a consequence. This dire and pointless offering is the opposite end of the spectrum.

Time to continue with your other far more current and entertaining projects chaps.

Close to Me (2021)

Dreary

[1/10 · 18 November 2021]

Tries to be moody and atmospheric. Misses it by a country mile. An episode could be summarised in a 5 minute short film and even then would leave you thinking so what.

Platoon (1986)

A classic

[10/10 · 11 October 2021]

There are some films within a genre that however much the style the colour balance or the screen size look out of date, remain poignant classics.

This is one of them and shows the hell that is war for the boots on the ground. The hurry up and wait the what the hell is going on. Nothing more nothing less.

Fire in the Night (2013)

Excellent documentary

[10/10 · 19 August 2021]

Emotional and engaging. An extremely well made documentary that anyone who has even the remotest connection to the industry cannot help but be transfixed by.

Broadchurch (2013–2017)

Brilliant stories

[10/10 · 31 July 2021]

I missed this the first time around and binge watched the whole lot over a week or so. They are addictive watching.

Well scripted and we'll played with, it would appear anyway, a good chemistry between the leads.

Unforgotten (2015– )

Excellent series.

[10/10 · 31 July 2021]

It's a typical tv series that isn't the real world of a detective but.....look beyond that and you've got an excellent cast playing totally realistic plausible characters. The storylines are excellent and getting to the conclusion of who's responsible is a delight to watch.

I for one was gutted when Nicolas Walkers character was killed off but there again she certainly ended on a high.

Our Friends in the North (1996)

An absolute classic. One of the best.

[10/10 · 31 July 2021]

When the story kicks off,I was 2 years old. As it progresses I could recall more and more of what it was all about.

It doesn't attempt to be a documentary but many of the situations the characters find themselves in are incredibly close to what went on over the decades in my families home area.

Yes there's a few dodgy accents but thats entirely forgivable when you're watching what they're up to.

The cast and the casting is superb just about every actor in the production instantly recognisable 25yrs on . The scripts and story line fantastic. Even the sets and costumes 100% bang on.

I've not put any spoilers because a snapshot comment won't help but I will say we binge watched it. Too good not to but were actually quite sad when it ended.

A Dog's Purpose (2017)

Brilliant

[10/10 · 31 July 2021]

Wasn't quite sure what to expect from this film. It proves itself as excellent within the first 5 minutes.

All I will say is that anyone who has or likes dogs will see at least a few parts of the story they can relate to.

Finding the cat, playing with horse dog and the desire to please the humans will all ring true.

A thoroughly nice and entertaining film that goes from laughter to sadness and back again in a blink of the eye. You'll be rooting for him by the end.

Shadow in the Cloud (2020)

Terrible

[1/10 · 31 July 2021]

An awful film. The best bits were the "gremlins" animatronics and the fast forward on my remote.

No depth or personality to any of the characters, awful dialogue, tension building poor and the ending as implausible as her acrobatics under the main plane.

The monster outside the aircraft in flight was done years ago in Tales of the Unexpected far better.

The Grand Tour: The Grand Tour Presents: Lochdown (2021) Season 4, Episode 3

Plot and lost

[3/10 · 30 July 2021]

I am a long term top gear/grand tour fan. To pick on just one of the trio, Jeremy has moved on. Clarksons farm and host of millionaire are both superb. Lochdown was not.

It was tired and clichéd. Every potential lead in gave way to nothing much. A drive through a forest. Oh right. US motors don't fit into the scenery OK. A 20ft car is going through struggle on a Highland B or C road. Really? The only original part that was genuinely amusing was the bridge building / boat sinking. Classic on form hapless touring and sort of problem solving.

Overall it all looked very tired, highly scripted and pretty pointless despite the fantastic countryside. As they don't generally require members of the public to assist their performance you can't really blame covid restrictions for this.

Time to up the game as a trio or follow other well produced individual projects.

Yes Minister (1980–1984)

Should have watched this years ago

[10/10 · 15 July 2021]

To put it bluntly, satirical political comedy at its very best assisted in no small part by the fantastic cast.

Whilst the photography and effects are clearly dated the debates, points they come up with are still often relevant. The episodes where they deal with the EEC could have been penned yesterday.

Coroner (2019–2022)

Dull and boring.

[1/10 · 18 June 2021]

The concept is clichéd & simplistic. The script doesn't give any of the characters a chance to develop and allow us to get to "know" them. No spoilers here but watch it and you'll see.

Mare of Easttown (2021)

Tedious

[1/10 · 17 June 2021]

Despite some good acting from some of the cast, this series which I started watching on the basis of the great reviews, is a tedious plod through a clichéd setup.

We all know life can be tough for anyone, but to have a town full of dodgy maudlin characters is taking it too far.

There's that many attempts at a fargo style convoluted plot that fail, you end up wondering if you actually care.

Clarkson's Farm (2021– )

Superb for the right reasons

[10/10 · 16 June 2021]

Excellent show. Clarkson not quite as we've seen him before and quite possibly more the real person.

There are a few grand tour style scripted parts such as Kaleb in London and some in jokes ( Clarkson plus lots of viewers) such as Fish Transportation, the Bentley or Argentina but they're not the mainstay.

What is the mainstay is an education about farming. Whistle-stop perhaps but a very clear picture nonetheless about the gruelling occupation that is farming and the overbearing problems and bureaucracy farmers face. He supports a marvellous cast of characters in a genuine friendly and amusing manner. Admits his errors ( barn size) and accepts Kalebs advice and remonstrations ( you've not got any lorries?) His genuine care for what he's doing shows through in comments such as "we've got five people on the books" not I'm going to suffer when the shop is being hit with council enforcement or "how do they manage" no me me in it, when he realises how little money the farm or part of it has made.

Even if parts of what he's doing fail he's genuinely contributing to the area, the people, the wildlife, the economy and enjoying doing it whilst I for one loved watch i it and can't wait for a second series.

Time (2021– )

Quality drama

[10/10 · 10 June 2021]

We need more of these gritty and engrossing dramas on our screens. I suspect this will become rated as a classic.

Can't say too much about it without introducing spoilers but any one who watched it without finding it and the prison process thought provoking hasn't viewed it carefully enough.

The Pact (I) (2021– )

Clichéd

[1/10 · 27 May 2021]

Pretty boring. Stilted acting and full of the usual cliches, continuity and procedural errors.

Viewpoint (2021)

Poor production all round

[1/10 · 1 May 2021]

Attempt at moody and atmospheric means lots of frowning faces and cliches trying to make up for a mediocre script absolutely chock a block with procedural errors.

Some excellent supporting actors totally wasted.

I watched it through expecting the intriguing unexpected twist that never came before the drab ending.

Many police dramas go for the quirky eg Vera which we know can't be true but remain for some, entertaining. Others such as unforgotten or line of duty play it closer to reality and are equally as entertaining. This one falls and fails in the middle ground.

Rocketman (I) (2019)

Great Watch

[10/10 · 10 August 2019]

I'm not much of an Elton John, I'm not a fan of surreal style biopics.

However, this one seems to click. If you accept people in the know contributed and no one has been sued for misrepresentation, its a decent portrayal.

Even if it wasn't, its a great watch.

Triple Frontier (2019)

Not the best

[1/10 · 14 March 2019]

Sadly it turns out to be a slow plod through a boring clichéd formula. Watched most of it and lost all interest in what happens at the end.