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Reviews
Boomers (2014)
Not a Great Sitcom but worth watching the ensemble cast
I sought this series out because of its cast. We are in the U.S., but we mostly watch British shows, so a lot of the ensemble actors here were familiar to us.
My wife and I found this to be an entertaining enough show. No, it is not in the same league as some of the great comedies in recent years, like Gavin and Stacey, but those sitcoms are the exception, not the rule. These characters did seem predictable at times and even two-dimensional, but there is a chemistry between them that I hope the writer and actors can build upon when a second season gets underway.
A couple other reviews give this 1 or 2 stars and all I can say is - let me send you a few other show titles that I consider to be rated that low and see if you can survive even one episode. Someone compared Boomers unfavorably to Last Tango in Halifax, which is perhaps unfair as that great show is a comedy drama, and the drama is written and acted superbly. This show is not aiming at drama or at cutting edge humor. It seems like an old fashioned sort of sitcom, the laid back sort many of us don't have the patience for anymore.
Glasgow Kiss (2000)
A Warm and Witty Comedy Drama
I have possessed this series on a DVD I recorded for a long time and only recently did my wife and I watch it. We enjoyed it immensely. There are two main stars, of course, but it really is an ensemble piece. Many of the minor characters are fully developed and add to the story. And almost all of the characters fit in and have good chemistry with each other. There are a couple of unlikeable ones, but even one of them is presented in such a balanced fashion that we can't hate her in the end, but rather fell sorry for her.
There are accents here, obviously. We watch a lot of UK programming and there were a few places where I couldn't understand what was being said, but I think it was because of the quality of the recording rather than the accents.
There is real drama here, but enough humor to offset the heavier bits. In fact, though it does get serious now and then, there were other times I was expecting the worst and it didn't happen. I found it to be predictable in a few places but by no means throughout.
And a final word about the character of the main character's young son. He is not the wisecracking precocious kid you often get in movies and sitcoms. He is sweet and believable and, in much of the series, he resides at the center of the plot.
These people care about each other and try to do the right thing, but life is complicated, isn't it?
Bitter Lake (2015)
Interesting history and other information obscured by (I gather) its experimental vision
There are a lot of very detailed and thoughtful reviews of this movie if you want more help determining if you should watch this film. I want to talk about how to watch it. Because you should, if you can stand it. I thought some of the information on the history of the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia and how it affected Afghanistan to be interesting and relevant.
But, as with a few other reviewers, I felt a lot of the footage was unnecessary and distracting. We learn that things aren't always as black and white as they presented to us in news stories - that the messages have been simplified to make it easier to grasp and perhaps to hide mistakes that have been made. But in this "experimental" documentary, the explanations are muddied with clips that perhaps are designed to make us think, but in my case a lot of my thoughts were, "What is the point of this?"
"Bitter Lake" could be an important movie if it were a lean 80 or 90 minutes long instead of 2 1/4 hours.
But if you try watching and find yourself losing patience at times as I did, or if you are hesitant to even start watching, I have a suggestion. Watch the screen only when the narrator voice-over is present. This will give you the bulk of the orderly, historical stuff. Look away when it shifts to people dancing, or a soldier balancing a small bird in his hand. Do text messages during the comedy movie clips, or when the camera focuses for 30 solid seconds on the death stare of a "freedom" fighter. Obviously, this will be more easily achieved watching at home than in a theater, and cost a bit less, also.