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mayfayne
Reviews
Tenet (2020)
Technically impressive, pretentious, cold, humorless and oddly boring.
The first rule of a thriller is that it's got to be thrilling or exciting. Yet for all the fights, explosions and kinetic action, this film is curiously dull and uninvolving. Like Inception, the overall impression is of a director so impressed with his own high concept and intellect that the human element is a tacked-on afterthought to a film overwhelmed by admiration for its own cleverness. And yet it's not all that clever. For all its technical aplomb, the time travel elements are no more impressive or puzzling than the average episode of Doctor Who. Every revelation was predictable and obvious and, frankly, reversed film and people running backwards gets old quite quickly. The pretentiousness and lack of humour is clearly signalled by the naming of the central protagonist 'Protagonist'. It's basically a Bond film with delusions of intellectual profundity. Come back, George Lazenby, all is forgiven...
Better Call Saul (2015)
Last season something of an anti-climax
In general, this is a brilliant programme, impeccably shot, intelligently written, acted with great skill. The penultimate episode of season five was one of the most nerve-shredding things I've ever seen on television. However, I can't agree with those who claim it surpasses Breaking Bad. Breaking Bad is almost unique in that there was never a dud or filler episode and it traced a character arc from downtrodden schoolteacher to ruthlessly efficient criminal without ever fully losing sight of Walter White's humanity and the degree to which he was a victim of circumstances.
No such character arc is present in Better Call Saul. Both Slippin' Jimmy and Saul are essentially conmen, even at their most sympathetic. This is particularly so in the final season. There are uncharacteristic, plodding plot devices more typical of a Roger Moore era Bond than Breaking Bad. Why did Gus hide his gun where he did? Why go to where he suspected Lalo was? Presumably, because it was in the script. The whole plot against Harold seems forced and unnecessary and, indeed, illogical. The case was about to be settled so there was no need to force it. Harold's demise seemed like little more than a shock device to end a mini season. I don't buy Kim's transformation into drab office factotum; guilt does many things but it doesn't make you stupid. Equally, I don't buy Saul's sudden conversion to selflessness. The last few episodes seem forced and overly schematic. Ending with the final transformation of Jimmy into Saul would have been much more coherent and satisfying.
Overall, a brilliant show with an imperfect final season. Better than Breaking Bad? Only if you're high on Meth.
We Own the Night (2007)
A strong cast let down by a perfunctory script.
This plays like a poorly developed outline for a movie script accidentally got made into a movie. Two brothers on opposite sides of the law? Check. One an upright cop, the other a sleazy nightclub manager? Check. Disapproving patriarchal Uber cop? Check. Script about drugs? Check. Cops avenging family members contrary to all procedural rules on being recused in these scenarios? Check.
Everything plays out like an episode of a cheap TV cop show. The villains are immediately identified. The villains are totally unaware they have a member of a cop family in their midst. The villain is easily arrested. He escapes with similar ease. The betrayal which leads to the cop patriarch's demise is telegraphed. The 'twist', such as it is, is obvious from the beginning. The rent-a-generic Eastern European gangster mob is discovered and destroyed at the first attempt. To call the lazy, generic script and frequently risible dialogue mediocre would be an insult to mediocrity. This is a waste of an excellent cast on an underdeveloped, over-egged compendium of cliches. Avoid.
Warrior (2011)
Great cast in a compendium of cliches.
It would be unfair and inaccurate to say that this movie has a screenplay. What it has is a checklist of cliches loosely slung together in the vague form of a screenplay.
Broken family? Check.
Estranged brothers? Check.
Alcoholic abusive father? Check.
Imminent bankruptcy due to medical bills of sick child? Check.
Misunderstood military hero? Check.
Fighting for family of fallen comrade? Check.
Redemption through violent conflict? Check.
Plucky underdog? Check twice.
The last frame of this film was predictable from the opening credits. It's a while since I laughed so much at a supposedly serious film. Well done to a fabulous cast for making it tolerable.
The History Boys (2006)
Desperately unfunny gay wish fulfillment fantasy.
I was drawn to this because it was written by Bennett, who is usually reliably funny and subversive. Unfortunately, it fails as both a comedy and a drama. What situational humour there is falls flat, there isn't a decent one liner in the entire script and it's almost impossible to care about any of the characters, who themselves are borderline stereotypes. The acting is broad and over the top. The script largely refuses to critique the classist assumptions behind the desire to attend Oxbridge or the inequalities in the English educational system, much less the social class system itself. The concept of acting out vignettes from well-known films/plays might have worked in the original play but on screen serves as irritating padding. The subplot regarding who is or isn't gay just isn't interesting and that's not an opinion based on homophobia; it's just not important enough to carry the dramatic weight assigned to it. It took a real effort to continue watching after the first half hour. I regret making that effort. This is boring, self indulgent, smug material which, despite its plethora of cultural and literary references, is nowhere near as clever as it think it is; avoid.
Yellowjackets (2021)
Heavily derivative, saved by excellent acting.
This series throws every trope imaginable at the viewer; part teen romance angst, part survivalist epic, part horror, part supernatural thriller, part murder mystery, part blackmail story and part redemption tale, I'm surprised it doesn't feature a kitchen sink in one of the main roles. It even features that old melodramatic staple, amnesia; how could I forget that? Despite that, it works, largely because of intelligent writing and excellent acting from a very good cast, particularly in the central roles.
The central idea, the grim inevitably of starvation with the arrival of winter, grounds some of the more obviously melodramatic tropes in a bleak overall narrative and is generally understated. Eight episodes in, this is engaging and entertaining, despite its obvious debts to other dramas, real and fictional.
House of the Dragon (2022)
Dull, slow and boring.
On the strength of the first four episodes, this is nothing more than a medieval royal succession drama viewed from a female perspective and tarted up with some CGI dragons. It's predictable, not particularly engaging and the dialogue is often stilted and cliched. None of the main characters are especially likeable or memorable and the wigs are ridiculous. It delivers nothing much of interest except the female perspective of being married off to secure diplomatic goals. There's nothing wrong with that. However, the same process also applied to males and the series displays absolutely no interest in the wretched lives of peasants, female or male, who are there to be used by royalty and the nobility as playthings. Essentially, it's 'poor little princess' with high production values, CGI and a ponderous, self-important script.
Venom (2018)
Leave your brain at the door and enjoy as a broad comedy.
I don't get the current fascination with pofaced more or less invincible superheroes in tights saving the universe from improbable villains who clearly need a speech therapist. At best, they're unintentionally funny and provide employment for CGI nerds. This film is utterly ridiculous but knows it and features a wonderfully over the top comic performance from Hardy, who chews the scenery and pretty much everything in reach with great aplomb. It has absolutely nothing to say but it's hilarious.
The Nightingale (2018)
Uneven and meandering
This is an odd movie. It has an excellent cast, particularly the central two protagonists, and clearly great care has been taken with historical accuracy. I can't vouch for the aboriginal languages spoken but the Irish is impeccable and the songs genuinely traditional. If anything, the genocidal brutality of the settlers is downplayed. Until the last forty minutes or so this is a grimly realistic revenge melodrama. Then the central character changes abruptly and loses all coherence and credibility. Frankly ridiculous choices are then made and the film lurches into laughable absurdity. It doesn't really have an ending. It's really a wasted opportunity; fascinating set up, calamitous conclusion. Pity.
Justice League (2017)
Unintentionally funny.
This nonsense is laughable, literally. Everything from its pompous, self important tone, robotic dialogue and horrendous CGI to its grumpy villain is terrible. Mother boxes? Seriously? I have never laughed so much at a film that wasn't meant to be a comedy. The perfect film for a drunken weekend watch party.
Winter's Bone (2010)
Exceptional Movie
I watched this with no foreknowledge of the movie, expecting a routine thriller set amongst hillbillies. Instead, this is essentially a character study as a quietly resourceful and humane young woman tries to negotiate her way through a unenviable situation. There is an an atmosphere of pervasive, unrelenting, low key menace but nothing melodramatic spoils the tone. The locations, naturalistic dialogue and music radiate a bleak authenticity. The acting is uniformly top notch and the soundtrack is exceptional. This is a serious movie for grown ups. Enjoy.
The Innocents (2018)
A Good Cast and Reasonable Idea Wasted
This had the potential to be really good but it's let down by the funereal pacing and a silly, utterly contrived ending. The endless caterwauling of would-be 'poetic' singer songwriters on the soundtrack makes it seem even longer. Do we really need someone singing about being sad every time a character is sad? The cast is good and do their best with some wooden dialogue but this could be trimmed by at least a third of its length without missing anything. Do yourself a favour and switch off before the last couple of minutes.
The Walking Dead: Scars (2019)
Time to Call it Quits
In an irony so obvious that even one of the titular dead would get it, this once great show staggers on as the barely recognisable zombified corpse of its former glories. What was once a gritty edge-of-the-seat thriller where no character, no matter how well-loved, central or familiar was safe from sudden death is now a dreary sub-par soap opera. Those few good characters left cannot carry the weight of the vast cast of dull, interchangeable ciphers. The stories are predictable, the acting variable, the pacing off kilter and much of the dialogue risible. It's time to go, My Queen; the executioner's block awaits.
Knightfall: You'd Know What to Do (2017)
Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries.
Drivel. Not even bad enough to merit watching as trash entertainment.
The Walking Dead: Omega (2019)
Boring
Let's try this simple thought experiment; put any episode of the last three series against any episode of the first three series and see which is better. We're one step away from the entire cast being abducted by aliens. It's dull. The pacing is terrible, the characters are boring and the villains wear scary masks. It's like watching Walter White being cured of cancer and taking up a job as a traffic warden or Tony Soprano joining weightwatchers. Pathetic.
Doctor Who: Resolution (2019)
Clapped-out Villain a Metaphor for Entire Series
This was terrible; a secondhand junk shop Dalek menaces the Earth only to be foiled by a runaway Dad and his trusty microwave! What next, the Brave Little Toaster vs the Cybermen? The plot was risible, the tension non-existent and the acting generally below par for a nativity play. I have rarely seen anything as generic and lifeless as the penitent parent routine in the cafe. I actually began - hoped, momentarily - that the wooden acting presaged a plot twist and 'Daddy' was a robot instead of a mediocre actor delivering terrible lines.
Worst of all, amid the low level CGI and the expanding army of companions, where there should be the Doctor there's a charisma-free zone running around like a headless chicken. It's nothing to do with gender; I'm sure Whittaker is perfectly competent but the role is underwritten. It's increasingly obvious that the writers ran out of ideas after 'Hey, let's make the Doctor female'. By all means keep Whittaker but please hire some competent writers; otherwise this will be the end of the Doctor.
Doctor Who: The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos (2018)
The Return of the Tooth Fairy
Finally, a barely adequate episode. The Doctor is still bland and boring, the companions interchangeably dull but at least there was an element of tension and a reasonably coherent storyline this time. The planets in boxes were absurd and the religious references laughable but you could see an attempt at a narrative. I wonder how much the writers were paid to produce this substandard dreck.
Doctor Who: It Takes You Away (2018)
A Talking Frog and Other Muppets
This show is now as officially dead as Grace O'Brien and Hanne's mother. It fails on the absolute basics; setup, red herring and real monster were all boring and predictable in equal measure. Deciding to personify the enemy as Kermit was just desperation on the part of the writers. The current Doctor has the charisma and screen presence of a loaf of bread, the humour is as flat as a naan bread, the tension non-existent and the pathos laughable. Time to regenerate; the George Lazenby of Dr Who has run her course.
Doctor Who: The Witchfinders (2018)
Pathetic
Dull, dreary and dismal. This series continues to go out of its way to draw unfavourable comparisons with former glories; whoever thought it was a good idea to frame another story around James I and his well-documented obsession with witches really needs a spell in the ducking chair.
The story lacked pace, the 'characters' are more wooden that the forest they waste our time running around and the villains are as convincing as a balloon with a scary face scrawled on it. It's now obvious that 'let's have a female doctor and four interchangeable northerners' is pretty much all the writers have got. Unless the standard improves this series will kill the Doctor.
Doctor Who: The Tsuranga Conundrum (2018)
Dull and Derivative; Gremlin on a Plane Transferred to Space.
Forget the gender issue for a moment; can this Doctor command the screen as Tennant, Smith or Capaldi did? The producers clearly don't think so, hence three companions. Unfortunately, not one of the companions is particularly interesting, either. There's only so much mileage you can get out of having four characters from Sheffield; it has now ceased to be a novelty. Whittaker isn't a bad Doctor, she's just not an especially good Doctor. She lacks Smith's comic timing and doesn't have the screen presence of Capaldi; then again, apart from John Hurt, who does?
The plots are run of the mill and drearily schematic, the dialogue is clunky, the humour falls flat and the whole thing seems to be tired. If I were the Doctor, I'd be prescribing adrenaline shots, not suppressants. Boring.
Outlaw King (2018)
Dull
It's quite an achievement to make a boring film about Robert the Bruce but this director has managed it. I could forgive the occasional historical inaccuracies and the odd wobbly accent but not the dreary pacing and woeful padding out of what should have been a grisly epic. This was about as exciting and involving as afternoon tea with the vicar; a missed opportunity.
The Walking Dead: A New Beginning (2018)
Stalking Dead
The most tragic casualty in this episode was 'The Last Rose of Summer', murdered by someone who apparently couldn't hold a note if you passed him one in class.