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Argylle (2024)
Just boring
The comedy doesn't work, the action doesn't work, and there is no chemistry between the leads.
I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of films I've walked out of, but unfortunately Argylle is one of them. The film just doesn't deliver on any of its promise. There is a talented cast and a silly but fun premise but the film is just boring. Forty-five minutes in I was checking my watch and at the one hour mark I was gone.
It wasn't worth any more of my time.
It's hard to put my finger on it precisely, I don't know if it was the writing, the directing, or the frankly charisma free main performances but the film just didn't engage me on any level.
With a budget of $200 million it's hard to see it even breaking even.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
Great until it isn't
A fun and intriguing setup with an interesting set of characters. The film features good performances by most of the actors, although the size of the cast means some felt under used. Jessica Henwick in particular really doesn't get enough screen time.
The problem is really the final act, the last 30 minutes or so. It just starts to feel a bit silly and not in a quirky or fun way. Up to that point I'd have said it was one of the best films I'd seen this year and would have had no hesitation in recommending it.
Janelle Monáe is the stand out performance, I've found her flat in other roles but she's very good in this, Daniel Craig on the other hand seems inconsistent in his characterisation, granted some of that is intentional but his performance didn't quite land for me.
I gave it a 6/10 and I think that's a fair score. I'm not sure it would stand up to a rewatch.
Tehran (2020)
Best thing I've seen on Apple TV+
Engaging and well plotted if not exactly super realistic. Well worth a watch and easily the best AppleTV+ has to offer.
The central performances are good and there is an attempt made to humanise characters that could easily have been one dimensional. Like all spy shows and films the espionage it depicts is doubtless for more exciting than the real thing but I think it's a good example of the genre.
Murder Among the Mormons (2021)
Paint by numbers - serviceable and forgettable.
There are no great revelations in the series and no particular style or artistry. I'd never heard the story but it was obvious from early on in the first episode where it's going.
It seems like the producers were looking for a story that happened long enough ago to be largely forgotten but recently enough to have lots of video available.
I don't think we get any real insight into Mark Hoffman. We also don't learn anything new about Mormonism.
It just feels like a minor, forgettable example of a certain genre of documentary designed to provide content for Netflix rather than tell an interesting story or cast light on an aspect of humanity.
It isn't awful or objectionable it's just not very good.
The Last Witness (2018)
An important story poorly told
As other reviews have said this is a film that fails to live up to the importance of the story it tells. A real pity.
Star Trek: Discovery: People of Earth (2020)
Utterly unwatchable
I saw season one, skipped two and thought I'd give the show another chance.
So much wasted money, talent, and opportunity.
Owning an IP doesn't mean you understand it.
Raised by Wolves (2020)
More Grimdark
I'm three episodes in and the show is well made and at least trying to be original, but for the love of Sol can we please have some positive science fiction with a hopeful vision of the future?
Brave New World (2020)
A Failed Adaptation
Whatever the merits of the show in its own right, as an adaptation of the novel I think it fails. The main problem is the character of John which is completely different from the character in the book.
It also fails to understand the nature of the caste system, the Epsilon's aren't oppressed Russian Serfs, they are physically and mentally moulded to fulfil their roles, that's the horror of the novel. They can't rebel, there can be no revolution.
The series also seems to borrow fairly heavily from Ira Levin's 1970 novel 'This Perfect Day', the AI and the secret controllers/programmers in particular.
Giri/Haji (2019)
Excellent characters and plot
Great cast and stylish and engaging film making. This is really worth your time.
See (2019)
Top marks for trying
A decent attempt to do some new and original sci-fi, with a good and very watchable cast. However for me the basic premise doesn't work and the world of the show hasn't been fully thought out.
The Morning Show (2019)
Subpar Aaron Sorkin Clone
Good cast and I would guess a fairly large budget, but it lacks subtlety both in characterisation and plot. Pilot only show for me I'm afraid.
Carnival Row (2019)
Beautiful if predictable
The show is very nice to look at and there are some good performances, Cara Delevingne and David Gyasi in particular stand out, Delevingne even does a good job of an Irish accent. However the plot is predictable with all the 'twists' telegraphed well in advance.
The use of Irish and regional British accents for the Fae and more RP accents for the ruling class works well, although I'm not sure how obvious that would be to audience outside Britain and Ireland.
Overall I enjoyed the show and look forward to a second season but now that the world of the show has been established I hope a little more thought is put into the plot and that some of the messages of the show will be delivered rather more subtly. At times in season one it felt the writers were using a sledge hammer to make their points.
The Red Sea Diving Resort (2019)
A fascinating piece of recent history...
...but a rather lackluster and clichéd film.
The script really doesn't live up to the quality of the actors involved in the film.
Condor (2018)
White Sands
The evil military contractor is called White Sands, you know like Black Water.
That is the level of subtlety you can expect from Condor. I got about halfway through episode two so maybe it gets better but I doubt it.
Issues such as; globalisation, the clash between liberalism and traditionalism, terrorism, religion and secularism, etc. are complex and multilayered but this show seems to be another simplistic take on them.
Altered Carbon (2018)
Faithful Adaptation
I've only watched the first two episodes so far but this is a good adaptation of the novel. It captures the spirit and atmosphere of the book and paints a convincing, if somewhat bleak, vision of the future.
In general I prefer more positive sci-fi but this show manages to give us characters we can care about, and characters we can hate :). The central locked room murder mystery will keep audiences engaged too and there are enough hints of the wider political and religious issues in this universe to make for interesting world building.
Britannia (2017)
Oh dear, oh dear
There are some shows where you can see what they programme makers were trying to do, but you can also see that they failed. This is often a budget problem, a script that hasn't had enough work or poor quality costumes etc.
This isn't the case here though, the budget looks like it was generous. They've just made some really odd choices which completely lift you out of the show, e.g. the use of Germanic Futhark runes which don't belong on Celts and which in any case didn't exist for at least another 200 years.
The show it has most in common with isn't Game of Thrones (2011) or Rome (2005) but rather the awful Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands (2016). In other words it's a show that can't decide if it wants to be an historical drama or a fantasy show, and at times ends up being unintentionally comedic instead.
It's a real pity because there are some talented actors involved and the historical setting is potentially a really interesting one.
Bright (2017)
Terry Pratchett meets Alien Nation?
There is an interesting idea at the heart of this film, but it's let down by the execution and the humour, which just falls flat It comes across as Will Smith doing a Will Smith impersonation.
The central conceit of a modern day world in which several intelligent species exist alongside each other is never really developed and we're not given a clear idea of what the world of 'Bright' is really like, are there Orcish and Elvish nations for example.
The Guards series of novels by Terry Pratchett is a much better and more developed take on the idea of a multi species police force and I'd recommend reading them instead. They also manage to be both much funnier and much more emotional impactful.
The other film/TV show this echos is 'Alien Nation' from the late 1980s.
Star Trek: Discovery (2017)
Klingons as Islamists?
The problems with the show will be written about at length by others, all I'll say is that the show doesn't fit in the same universe as the earlier Star Trek shows and is best viewed as a separate continuity.
One thing I did think was interesting was the way T'Kuvma articulated the Klingon view of the Federation, it says it comes in peace but in reality it's an existential threat to the Klingon way of life. I'm not sure how much the writers intended it to be the case but this actually echos very clearly Islamist views of the West and Liberal Democracy.
The other parallel is with the theme of reuniting the Klingon Empire, more than one Muslim (usually Arab) leader has talked about the need to reunite some form of caliphate as a way to combat Western values and political power.
It'll be interesting to see how they manage to show both sides of the conflict and to what degree the audience may find itself in sympathy with the Klingons, I think there is some real potential there.
Salvation (2017)
Cliché ridden and dull
Within the first ten minutes of the first episode the show manages to hit so many American network TV clichés that it's hard not to just tune out.
At no point could I bring myself to care about the characters or identify with them in any way. They all seem to be paint by numbers archetypes.
I know it's intended for an audience that likes formulaic television and I'm sure it'll do fine and make lots of people lots of money but at the end of the day what's the point of making this sort of mush?
American networks have so much money they can invest in programmes and it would be great if just once they'd take a risk and push the boundaries.
V: Devil in a Blue Dress (2011)
The downward spiral continues
The remake of V could have been a really good show but it continues to disappoint.
Characters standing around explaining plot points to each other just comes across as lazy and amateurish writing.
The nonsensical "human soul" plot is cringe worthy.
The cross species, but of course not inter-racial, (in case they scare the bigots!) breeding and the harvesting the best DNA strands (was there no science adviser?) plot lines are farcical.
Please get some real sci-fi writers on the show if you want it to survive.
It looks like V is destined for the dust bin, which is a pity but the people behind the show really have only themselves to blame.
The Lake House (2006)
The worst film ever made?
This is a truly awful film.
I can only assume that it went through a lot of hands before it hit the screen, the plot is turgid in the extreme and the writers clearly never even thought about the implications of having someone in the present change their own past.
Even by the low standards of a Hollywood "romcom" this is a really bad movie.
Keanu reaches a new level of wooden, only to be surpassed by the actor playing his brother.
I haven't seen the original Korean movie but I hope it's better than this poofest.
I can't understand how this is getting such a high rating on IMDb.
If I was feeling charitable I'd say it does have quite a good soundtrack.