davidsaxonjones Reviews

Flood (2007)

Quite a memorable disaster of a movie

[1/10 · 5 May 2008]

Oh dear, Oh dear! What were they thinking of? Terrible script, terrible acting. I don't even feel sorry for the actors... they took their cheques to the bank and smiled happily.

Since when did an air shaft from Charing Cross pop out at Bank? Why are vehicles crossing Tower Bridge going in towards the City when the surge hit? Why is Tower Bridge not crowded when the city is being evacuated? How does Carlyle dive into a raging torrent.... and survive? I could go on... and on.

There is no real sense of urgency in the command room. They might just as well be waiting for the England eleven to come back onto the pitch after the tea interval at Lords.

It says something when I await the adsbreaks to learn more about diarrahoea treatment with eager anticipation.

Totally abominable trash!

Echo Beach (2008)

Wrecko Beach

[1/10 · 24 February 2008]

Possible Spoiler included. I can just see the production office for this dire show saying aren't we clever! But of course...we've just seen it in Moving Wallpaper..... but no we haven't.. we've seen the production office's idea of a production office of a pretentious soap... The original concept has merits which are sadly not borne out in the terrible execution. Moving Wallpaper is so pleased with itself and it's offspring Echo Beach really is amazingly self indulgent. Echo Beach itself isn't good enough to be watchable or indeed bad enough to be amusing, it is positively the worst prime-time show to (dis)grace our screens for many a month. What are they trying to do? It seems to be attempting to have some credibility as a soap in its own right but the writing, casting and acting are so far below standards I find acceptable on main-stream TV. I am not at all surprised it achieves only minimal audiences. The actors and director have no apparent sense irony. Am I missing something here?

Die Fledermaus (2003 TV Movie)

Parsifal without the laughs

[5/10 · 23 February 2008]

Glyndebourne Opera, of which I am a long term fan.. and long term patron.. decided to go 'down market' with a Strauss(Johann not the near deified Richard). Acres and acres of newly written German dialogue, acres of music that didn't originate in Die Fledermaus. Remarkably little FUN .. a bit 'like Parsifal without the laughs' as someone once wrote. The cast of course sing beautifully but make little attempt at creating engaging characters, this is not helped by the age of the male principals. 'Dirty Old Men' is a term that runs through my mind. Then we have the set! It is exceedingly beautiful - when it finds a static home, however - vertical lines, horizontal lines, diagonal lines, staircases, floaty draperies, all these whizz around dizzyingly on a never still revolving stage - especially during Act 2. I can rarely recall a performance of this show with so few laughs. Some of the musical numbers were treated so unbelievably seriously and slowly most of the fizz went from the champagne well before it reached me. Such a shame. If you can find the old Covent Garden version with Prey, Luxom and Te Kanawa you will see what fun a major Opera House can have with such a trifle.

Lark Rise to Candleford (2008–2011)

A wasted opportunity

[4/10 · 7 February 2008]

>This really is a dreadful adaptation of Flora Thompson's lovely Larkrise to Candleford. Everything about this series is wrong and conveys nothing of the flavour of the original. The production does not have any of the reality of North Oxfordhsire at the end of the nineteenth century while relating too closely to Cranford and the cheesy world of Jane Austen. The original takes place in the tiny village of Juniper Hill and the nearby very small town of Fringford, the over-designed fashions and genteel manners in Candleford seem to ape the world of regency Bath! It also contains a performance by Dawn French which should be entered for the Razzies it is so gross, whenever she appears I feel I have been transported into an old French and Saunders send-up. Other actors do their best with dire dialogue and snail-paced action. Is this to spread a very thin amount of material over so many weeks? Feel-good Sunday viewing is one thing but this is a travesty of minor classic! Does artistic integrity have to be sacrificed on the altar of ratings? I questioned the BBC about this series, an extract from their reply reads: "It is true that the series does use its artistic licence considerably and many changes have been made for dramatic purposes. The BBC has never claimed the series to be exactly like the book. What 'Lark Rise to Candleford' does do very well is to draw in an audience who normally wouldn't watch this sort of programme." What a wasted opportunity.

Rusalka (1986 TV Movie)

Freud meets the Water Nymphs

[9/10 · 2 February 2008]

This wonderful production, filmed at the London Coliseum, makes this potentially cloying fairy tale really terrifying. Interpreted as an Edwardian teenage girl's nightmare vision of her widowed father's new relationship it is not exactly subtle but it certainly packs a punch. There is a more recent version starring Renee Fleming which seems to borrow from the same ideas, but here everything is right including Lazarides' wonderfully surreal sets. Hannan, Treleavan, Howard are all impeccable; it is not surprising that Treleavan is now one of the foremost Wagner tenors. If I had a quibble it would be the inaudibility of the words - so often a problem - I know it is sung in English but sub-titles would be a great advantage. Otherwise - smashing!