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dave-bell45
Reviews
After the Flood (2024)
It was the ridiculous plot that did it.
First word of warning. The initial flood sequence is well done, and may make the viewer anticipate a satisfying action-filled drama featuring some reliably good actors. You will be disappointed. A far-fetched plot which should never have got past the commissioning team is the crux of it. Twists just for the sake of it. Too many tick-box issues thrown into the pot - police corruption (seriously aren't we getting a little sick of how often and how implausibly the local police are shown to be riddled with serious corruption; council bribes and environmental crimes. I actually thought most of the cast did reasonably well with what they had to work with. Sophie Rundle is probably the only one who will be quite happy; a big break in the lead role, and it's not her fault her career as a detective should not have survived the first week with the sackable crimes she committed early doors. Lorraine Ashbourne I thought did pretty well in her shouty role, and Anita Adam Gabay as Tasha could have had a nightmare role as a young Frenchwoman arriving into this disastrous situation (I mean the TV script) with a dodgy accent and poor acting skills, but she came out with credit. I hope the other blameless members of the crew do too.
Intruder (2021)
Utter tripe!
Someone at C5 actually read a synopsis of this and commissioned a prime-time show. Elaine Cassidy what were you thinking about? You are absolved of blame but surely you read the script before accepting. The plot was incredible - literally, but the better actors played it straight, while Tom Meeten and Helen Behan ( husband Sam and would-be lover Angela) played their parts for laughs it seemed. It must be really galling to the hordes of often talented young writers desperately trying to get a break on TV to see this rubbish getting an airing at prime time.
Lennon's Last Weekend (2020)
It's not about you, Mr Gerrie
Lennon and the Beatles were enthusiastic users of TV coverage for various projects back in the late 60s. John and Yoko's lives seemed to have been laid pretty bare through much of the 70s too, but I confess I was intrigued by this title, hoping for an insight into just where John's musical ideas were leading him before his life was so appallingly cut short. In the film he and Yoko were as ever hugely entertaining, such that my attention was captured whenever they were on screen, which was not nearly enough. Yes I had expected a concentration on an interview or interviews with Andy Peebles, which I can't say I remember much, so clearly unremarkable; Earl Slick and Paul Gambaccini spoke sparingly and well, but the film was unique for me in that only a few minutes in I strted thinking - who on earth is this guy butting in before every segment of film about the real star of the film? Malcom Gerrie? Never heard of him; most annoyingly, I realised he was adding zero to my enjoyment of what was to follow. By halfway I wished he'd talk for 30 seconds then shut up for 10 minutes, so I could fast forward his input, instead of 10/15 seconds every minute or two. It's no exagerration to say he ruined it for me, and my mark is only for the rest of the content. If you want to see a brilliantly made film on John (and Yoko) in the same vein but without the unnecessary "noise" watch "Above Us Only Sky" from 2018. I was more of a Stones fan myself in the 60s, but I have huge respect for Lennon, and I loved the latter insight into the making of Imagine at his home in Ascot.
Agatha and the Midnight Murders (2020)
Ttttturkey!
Awful! I'd have thought the estate would have had to have given permission for Christie's name to be used, but clearly not. Can't even say it was so bad that at least it gave me a laugh. It was torture. OK I watched it recorded on TV, so could fast forward a few bits to see if it improved any, but after 2/3rds scrolled through till last 5 minutes. Helen Baxendale - I hope you got very well paid. Plot - dialogue - phony accents; it portrayed several different nationalities in pretty horrific stereotypes, (including English toffs) but not it seemed in comic fashion a la Borat. Aaaahhhhh!
Craith (2018)
Another top-class production
After the unexpected brilliance of the first series, it was a hard but worthwhile wait for series 2. A little different this time, (even) darker, more character-driven in terms of the perpetrators, and totally real characters. It added to the whole by spending screen time showing the home and family influences of each of the "villains" who might with better role models and situations have turned out normal young people. I've tried to pick out particularly great performances, but I've gone through ten or more, and all were so good I couldn't. Like the series itself so many beautifully understated roles. This programme reflects enormous credit on BBC Wales, its partners and the writers.
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013)
The film does justice to the subject matter
Saw the film earlier tonight at a Times + preview evening. I really can't fathom the low rating this has achieved albeit on fewer than 1000 ratings. I had no great expectations as I knew the story of the apartheid struggle from well before Sharpeville, and I've always leant more towards Martin Luther King as a hero rather than Mandela. However, along with the whole audience - cinema 100% full - I was pretty much spellbound for the first half of the film at least, and you could have heard a pin drop all the way through. It was telling at the end when one couple only rose to leave as the credits rolled. Probably everyone was feeling like my wife and I, that we had just seen a pretty much faultless portrayal of an immense and hugely important figure, and felt it would have been rude to hurry to the exits as we'd do after a normal film. I'm sure that if just one person had stood and applauded the whole cinema would have up on their feet. The history of the apartheid struggle, simply concentrating on Mandela's role and contribution could have amply filled a 12 part TV series, so a 139 minute film was always going to skim over even the most important events. I thought the coverage was spot-on. We watched as Mandela evolved from his lawyer's role defending the rights of his oppressed people towards becoming an activist; then his wisdom showed as he realised with Sisulu and the rest that they needed to change from individual action to joining together, forming what would become the ANC. Inevitably the action slowed as we entered the Robben Island years, but still producers managed to capture the desolation the group must have endured as they were told they would never ever leave their primitive cells - no TV and gym facilities on offer here! Only those intimately involved could comment on the authenticity of how events, discussions and agreements were portrayed as worldwide condemnation of the South African establishment gradually forced them into accepting that they couldn't halt the force of change, but it seemed a fair and even-handed summation of the fears of white South Africans, while showing that even as the prison gates were being forced open, and freedom for all beckoned Mandela had a heck of a job on his hands to avoid a far greater bloodbath than that which inevitably ensued. While the film was long on action, it took time out all along the line to show the man behind the speeches, his huge love for family, or more particularly his children, and the heartache his long separation from them must have caused. The contrast was spelled out between the young lively Winnie whom he fell in love with, to the firebrand activist she became, then the stranger who greeted him as he left prison for the last time - the long walk to freedom. The casting and performance of Elba was key. Get that wrong and the film bombs. Having missed him in The Wire I only knew him from the UK's Luther in which he excelled. I was still not expecting a performance of this quality. How would he credibly age some 50 years? The answer was magnificently, such that we could not question that we were watching at the end a man in his 70s. He will be a huge contender when the Oscar nominations come out, as will most people involved in this triumph.
Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003)
The most beautiful film of the year
After reading somewhat mixed reviews - slow - very little plot - I was a little apprehensive, particularly as it was only days after being totally underwhelmed by "Big Fish". I was wholly unprepared to be knocked back in my seat by the sheer beauty of this film. The sets, lighting and camerawork had me gripped right from the start, and it is true to say that I had quickly made up my mind that this was a uniquely impressive film. True, there is nothing particulary clever or elaborate about the plot; however I can only say I was never remotely bored. Time after time, a simply shot scene in the studio or kitchen would be followed by a mind-blowing vista of the wintry countryside, or the delicately picked-out colours of the buildings in Delft overlooking the canal. Even towards the end, the camera moves, after lingering over Tom Wilkinson surveying his painting, to Greit's home, where she is shown framed in a doorway in a masterpiece of a set, where again the shades of colour take your breath away. The characterisation is superb, and the cast are all good, but yes, Scarlett Johansson has a certain presence, which leaves me thinking she is going to be a big star. It cannot be easy for someone so young to act in such a slow- burning drama, conveying meaning with subtle glances or gentle use of eye-brows. My advice would be that if you are impressed by paintings, treat this as an "Old Master" rather than a film, and just gaze at it for the duration.
Cold Mountain (2003)
Over-rated, overlong
Something of a letdown, given its length. First hour particularly boring; improves to be an adequate if forgettable film, but doesn't work as an epic, a love story, or a civil war story. Episodic and characterisation lacks any depth.