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Reviews
Red Eye (2024)
Like a film but in six pacey episodes
I loved this and decided to binge watch it. There are a number of gaping holes in the story and it has its implausable elements but this is drama not real life so I was happy to suspend belief.
I think I counted ten deaths, six of them of completely innocent souls so this is certainly action packed. I felt the people who would turn out to be untrustworthy were fairly obvious but not being certain was enough to keep me engaged. I liked the final table-turning moment in the garden courtyard. Satisfying.
Firstly I want to mention how mesmerising was Lesley Sharp as the head of a branch of the UK secret service. I think I have under-rated her before. Additionally I have enjoyed watching Richard Armitage since he was Robin Hood. Great to follow the stories of people aged over 50.
The things that don't stack up include: No back story for Matt. He's a very handsome, fit, well-educated and well heeled medic and yet there's no mention of wife, girlfriend, ex. These men with no strings just don't exist. Ask any single woman aged 50+.
Hana is selected for the mission to accompany Matt just hours before the flight is to set off - so how do the baddies put together a suitcase with passports from different nations in her name together in time?
Can you really take a dog on a plane out of the UK on your lap? I've never seen this happen.
I've been a journalist so have issues with the sister Jess and her approach to getting a job on a paper but, again, it is just a thriller for our entertainment and it certainly did entertain me.
I felt some other passengers on the plane would have chosen a spokesperson and demanded more from the crew given people were dying all around them. Drinks were being liberally served and only one man was getting drunk and belligerant.
No one was getting tired (Matt had already flown 11 hours, had hours of questionning and a search and then back on the plane with a nasty wound to his side and he could still function at a very high level!)
So I am joining in with the quibbles over some silliness and I very nearly didn't watch owing to fearing for the dog - justified concerns as it turns out - but nevertheless I just loved it.
The Marlow Murder Club (2024)
Bitterly disappointing
Marlow is a decent setting but this is hardly the Bucks equivalent of Oxford's Morse. The plot is a rip off of Strangers on a Train and some of the acting is decidedly wooden. Indeed the characters are dated and uncomfortable to watch.
Samantha Bond does reasonably well, especially when eventually confronting a killer - she's brave but trembly which works well.
The police team members seem to be box tickers.
The scene where the three hapless women, the amateur detectives, try to retrieve the contents of a shredder was dire - men would not have been made to look so inept and silly. I cringed.
How this was dragged across two episodes beggars belief. It isn't relatable and doesn't hit either the cosy style of Death in Paradise and its UK spin off nor does it rival Midsomer Murders...
What a great shame.
The Bishop's Wife (1947)
Better than It's A Wonderful Life
Having watched this three times and the same for the very highly regarded It's A Wonderful Life I have decided that for me this is the superior film. Another story of an angel helping out but I felt the ensemble cast wins out here. David Niven gets to be a confused and therefore often curmudgeonly cleric which means his marriage is floundering. Enter the very handsome and suave Cary Grant -so dashing and debonair I feel he really should have been allowed to live for ever.
This has humour so cute little miracles of magic and a spell binding skating scene, the playing of the harp and a refilling sherry bottle. All the smaller roles are wonderful. I may make this an annual Christmas treat.
Cyrano (2021)
Superb musical version with a great cast
Caught this on television the other evening and was spellbound from the start. The light, locations and atmosphere is exceptionally strong - there must be a great bond across the creative team.
I was particularly struck by the song that comes before a futile battle - Heaven is where I Fall - but all the musical moments are strong because they rely more on lyrics than on thumping out a memorable show tune - brave and wise.
The script is strong, the sword fights delivered well and the pace is wonderful for such a classic love story.
The whole concept is believable, sincere and watchable and I would recommend to anyone who at peace with their emotions.
Impact (1949)
Recent discovery 65 years after made - impressive
Good plot, well shot and atmospheric with strong performances. Drops a couple of stars for a few unconvincing moments regarding the hero's fabricated story but needed to add to the jeopardy I suppose.
Of its time I'd say it is a pretty decent film. It is in black and white and is adapted from a story. Brian Donlevy was 48 when he made this and he makes a convincing businessman who gains the confidence of his Board. He's rather less convincing as a besotted husband who lavishes everything on his glamourous wife but men can be rather shallow and blind to gold-digger manipulations.
I would recommend catching this when on TV. I saw today on Talking Pictures.
Archie (2023)
Compelling four-parter
I was very impressed by this as it painted Cary Grant in both a sympathetic light and as a flawed man resulting from early trauma. He was suave and dashing on screen with a distinctive vocal delivery and Jason Isaacs excels in the portrayal - at times it is uncanny.
The settings and costume are superb throughout whether revealing the Edwardian Bristol streets or the warmth of Hollywoodland.
Additional support from Hariet Walter and a few others create a pacey story that uses some neat directing tricks to reflect the persona of Cary but the person of Archie.
My stand out is the amazing teenage Archie - a tour de force performance from Oaklee Pendergast. I see he's been in a few things but this was the first I had seen him and I was mightily impressed. Bigger things await.
I drop one star on the rating for some rather disappointing efforts with Grace Kelly, Danny Kaye and an unusually odd performance from Jason Watkins - he's been pitch perfect in everything before but seemed miscast here as Sam Fox.
By contrast I believed Audrey Hepburn, Mae West and Hitchcock thanks to better casting.
I recommend this and I was moved by the ending.
Christmas in My Heart (2021)
Better than some but still pretty awful
I actually dipped out of this to do something more interesting and when I came back 20 mins later I seem to have missed nothing.
Best I can say is that the youngster who played "Kaydee" was strong but what an odd line that she could find no violin players to relate to?
My exposure to this isn't vast so I would stereotypically say that most are Japanese/Chinese and Eastern European but that doesn't stop anyone else liking the instrument and becoming accomplished with it - particularly in the USA and Canada.
The story line was odd and quite boring - another moment that jarred was Dad's demands that the new tutor not take any photos/post anything on social media, all in an aggressive manner quite in conflict with his general demeanour as a country star.
My main gripe however was the lack of much other than Christmas music (Carols mostly) for a story about classical v country music when some original works would have lifted this from the humdrum and overly political to something worthy of my time.
I'm off work poorly at the moment hence the watching of such films - but some have been jolly and entertaining.
Christmas at the Holly Day Inn (2023)
Very weak script and Christmas flim flam results
My excuse is that I am poorly. Under a blanket and in need of Christmas comfort having got a heavy cold. My goodness this is poor stuff.
Good to get one of these set in the UK - there are just dozens of American seasonal romances - but this doesn't ring true.
Dr Who (Colin Baker) and former EasterEnder Anita Dobson try their best with the jolity but it is hard to rescue a woeful script and disappointing settings.
I'm guessing it was filmed in Sept/October and the crew could only be supplemented by a handful of extras and the loan of a few garden fete atractions to make the big Christmas event.
The leads are sweet enough with a degree of chemistry but they aren't given the most believable material to work with.
There are a few directorial gaffes that make the piece lose pace - the hero parks several yards away when he turns up to change a tyre - weird!
They make cookies - at best they are gingerbread men and biscuits, we don't have a UK cookie baking tradition.
I wanted this to be so much better because it is about the UK but sadly it is in need of a re-think.
The Search for Secret Santa (2022)
Particularly poor
Generally I soak up such Christmas fluff with appreciation. Usually ideal for a restful afternoon with a cup of hot chocolate and a blanket and cat on my knee just taking in the picture perfect American locations and dispensing with reality. However this is laughable. I began watching an hour ago and just got to the point where I realised I would be better off warning others not to bother.
The acting is very weak - especially the editor on the phone - her bright orange scarf has to work hard to tone down the "look at me, I'm the best thing in this" vibe - and as for the criminal fraternity...one even has an eye-patch to make sure we know he's a villain because we all love a stereotype!
The cub reporter is cheery enough but writes an article indicating she has a precious antique in her unlocked apartment and heeds no warnings from her soon to be love interest - who is an expert in such heirlooms (of course). He instantly finds a possible Royal connection from a suitable dynasty who lives on the edge of town but...hold it... the object is cursed!
Meanwhile Ernie the janitor/building manager has all the hallmarks of knowing more than he lets on... from first meeting.
The direction is therefore heavy handed, the story inexcusably unconvincing and the writing is clunky and provides no pace.
The stars I have awarded are for the use of the Nutcracker music and the germ of a good idea which is poorly executed.
To Olivia (2021)
Slices of excellence let down by a lack of direction
After a very promising start with an entertaining scene of peaches establishing the 1960s in England I felt this short film was directed rather as a stone skimming across a lake - making contact here and there with strong vignettes but never delivering anything powerful or moving.
Later it seemed to be take a spiteful swipe at the character of the late Paul Newman in a scene that added little. Had the film concentrated soley on the bout of measles that claimed Olivia, the effect of grief on parents who dealt with it so differently and the impact on the rest of the children I think it could have been more rounded. But it seemed to try too much in too short a time.
A small distraction was the complete lack of regard for young son Theo - it is mentioned he survived a car accident but neither parent engages with him and he spends most of the time abandoned in a cot. Anything which takes the focus from the scene is, for me, a mistake.
A Very British Christmas (2019)
Not very representative of Britain and rather twee
This was billed on UK TV as a Very Yorkshire Christmas and up to a point there was some element of Yorkshire scenery. However the coffee shop is run by a Welshman with an American niece,the electrical engineer is from Liverpool and it was only really the irritating child who has a Yorkshire accent, Irritating because she overheard the female love interest being called Sweetheart and we are meant to find it charming that she then uses it over and over. Most rude, rather than in anyway cute. Of course as usual the succesful female has to put her own career on hold for love. The widower she falls for - who was the most convincing person in this saga - has holiday lodges under threat and she has clever marketing ideas - even though she relies on an agent to come up with that stuff for her own career. Michelle Dotrice was homely and believable as Granny but a famous opera singer arriving by steam train from what surely must have been a flight into Heathrow - seriously? We just don't live like this! There is an excrutiating scene after a power cable is cut and the inspector comes out from the utility company - the script at this point is rock bottom and I think the director maybe popped out for a nice British cup of tea and a crumpet.. The ultimate travesty is that the opera singer never sings a note...she may has well have been a hockey player or interior designer for all the use she was at the final Carol concert. I am astonished by all the positive reviews as it certainly didn't chime well with me. I agree with the point about the clothing and the small suitcase made by another reviewer. Nice to see a Lexus being driven by the by - they don't get featured often enough. In summary - give it a miss!
The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961)
Atmospheric and enjoyable 60s take on atomic bombs and climate change
Spot the British character actors. Even Michael Caine turns up in this one as a helpful copper. The pace is superb, the dialogue brisk and there is quite a chemistry between the leading couple. We start on the brink of world destruction and then cut back 90 days to see how the Earth was placed in such dire straits. The UK newspaper scenes are extremely authentic from the period and it makes a pleasant change not to have continual panic and screaming even though the situation is very grave. Why, even the boys in the press room worry more about how many editions they might get out before life is snuffed out...and only later they'll phone home and let the family know the peril everyone is facing.Good stuff!