Reviews

Ok, where to start? So the plot starts out as blatantly obvious as the title suggests. By episode two the con is on and the money has been transferred to Niko's bank despite the ridiculously short time they have been together. So if this is the obvious yet ridiculous premise of this show then how to fill the next two episodes with the fight to get the money back. Well I was still engaged at this point despite the wobbly start and acting but what follows goes beyond the preposterous, there a plot holes everywhere and ridiculous storyline after ridiculous storyline culminating in an equally unlikely ending.

I watched all four episodes of this as I was stuck in hospital at the time. I wouldn't recommend either experience!

I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Arthur Askey and his music hall inspired gentle humour but I have to acknowledge that his movies were very hit and miss. Ghost Train is one of my all time favourites but others are sometimes hard to sit through.

I thought I had all Arthur's cinematic releases but only recently discovered this one. I think I'd assumed it was lost but obviously I was wrong. So I sat down to watch this later period effort noting that it was written by the legendary Talbot Rothwell of Carry on fame and the strong supporting cast.

I think I was only 2 minutes in when I realised it wasn't going to be a classic!

There are a couple of funny moments as Arthur and his family win the honour of giving lodgings to visiting Russian dignitaries but overall it is very very dated and a most out of the ordinary performance from Askey . It's certainly watchable but by no means essential. For Askey completists only I would suggest.

I looked forward to seeing this movie from the time it was announced and the initial previews and reviews were promising. The story is pretty good and the action is really well done but what spoiled it for me was the sometimes muffled sound and the fact that probably 40% of the dialogue is not English making it very hard to concentrate on the plot other than here are the bad guys and McCall is going to waste them all.

Subtitles are available but I don't like reading from the screen whilst the action is taking place I appreciate this is a quirk of my own but I can't rate the movie any higher due to the sound & language issues

Not a bad movie just frustrating.

My god this was hard work. I really don't understand why Suranne Jones I held in such high esteem because it seems to me she is a very limited actress whose facial expressions reappear in character after character series after series. It now turns out she is a writer too as she wrote this dreary and uninspiring 3 part drama.

The casting is nearly as bizarre as the storyline (such as it is) Stockard Channing is an accomplished actress but it is beyond me what she is doing in this rubbish.

There is no logic to the story no atmosphere or chemistry between the cast and the only reason I give it 2 stars is because of the performance of Eve Best who turns in an excellent performance with the limited material available to her.

I've read some of the critics reviews and particularly the Gusrdian and I can only imagine they we're watching a different show than k was.

Awful.

Fairly contrived and sadly indicative off the "inclusive" BBC of recent times but there is enough to watch if you get past the box ticking casting etc.

Tha acting on the whole is pretty pedestrian and the lead character is more contrived than necessary. A better development of his back story would have made the story stronger but as this looks for all the world like a work in progress there is plenty of time for that in series 2?!

If, like me you are a fan of detective/ police series it's watchable but far from great. A couple of the actors make it a hard watch at some points but I think there is potential if the BBC up the budget and look at the cast for any further series.

Give it a go if there's nothing else to watch if only for the Scottish scenery. OK.

This was probably the most difficult movie I have ever watched. Nowhere near as funny as Clerks 2 and clearly semi autobiographical from Kevin Smith. So I didn't laugh as much as I'd hoped but I did go through several other emotions that I didn't expect to when setting out to watch it.

Smith is a genius and this is mainly due to the fact that he is so obviously genuine and modest. The read out over the closing credits coupled with the unexpected ending actually moved me to tears and I rarely cry.

So it wasn't the movie I expected and it's not something I will revisit any time soon but that's not because it's a bad movie it's just because I found it uncomfortably real.

If you are a fan of Kevin Smith you should of course see this movie but for the uninitiated the power and emotion won't be there I have nothing but respect for the guy and in time this may turn out to be his defining statement.

Wow this was good.

Joanna Scanlon and Alexander Roach both starred in the brilliant No Offence and are both excellent here too.

The story is about a mother who's daughter was murdered by a local boy but the body was never found. The murderer played by Iwan Reon has never been able to recall what he did with the body but despite this he is granted parole.

What follows is fascinating look at a mothers love and devotion and how it affects everyone around her and the journalist who moved away after the murder of her friend coming back to write a story about the murder.

There a twists and turns aplenty and a few subplots that are tied up nicely and some red herrings that Line Of Duty would be proud of but it's the strength of acting not just from its stars but a strong supporting cast that kept me watching and guessing. (I actually guessed right but won't spoil it for anyone here)

Filmed in both Welsh and English (The Light In The Hall) this is a really strong thriller right up there with the best of British TV.

Highly recommended.

Offensive to - Black, Muslim, Irish, Jewish, Arabic, German Chinese, Australian, Gay, Disabled & Dwarfs.

Along with racist speak including the N word amongst other racist terms.

It's baffling how Spike Milligan and John Bird thought this would be a good idea especially in black face, more baffling is how the BBC filmed not only a pilot but then went back and commissioned a 6 episode series.

If you can find the series it's worth watching once to see how over the top it is and also there are some funny moments sprinkled throughout the episodes.

Stand up Comedian Frank Carson stands out as as fine comic actor which makes me wonder why he didn't appear in any other shows as he could clearly act and had great comic timing

If you liked the Q series you may find something here to amuse you as it is from the same writers and features many of the same cast apart from Spike himself.

It's never going to be broadcast nor will it see a dvd release but the series is still in existence and can be found on some collector and trading sites.

This film is a real strange one. Written by Johnny Speight and starring Warren Mitchell as ever yet the story is all over the place the support acting is terrible but there are some unforgettable scenes that are laugh out loud funny. The football match is used as an excuse to pack in as many guest stars as possible but contains some classic lines.

Uma Stubbs & Anthony Booth are absent and replaced by Adrienne Posta who gives a passable performance and Paul Angelis who is unwatchable.

It's a strangely watchable yet poor production value movie A real conundrum for the Alf Garnett fan.

Farcical funny 10 minute laugh out loud comedy Atkinson does what he does best, visual awkward comedy characterisation with thing escalating out of control the more he obsesses about the titular bee.

Made me laugh.

Reginald Hills novels are excellent stories with depth and variety. The characters Dalziel & Pascoe are well written fully fleshed out and easy to imagine.

So to cast comedians Hale and Pace on the roles was always an astonishing decision but the performances particularly of Gareth Hale are abysmal.

It is difficult to see how this was brought to the screen it is so bad. Dalziel / Hale comes seems to be in a spoof comedy while Pascoe / Pace is completely devoid of any emotion.

The supporting cast of excellent name actors is completely wasted and one can only imagine what they must have made of this mini series.

Thankfully Reginald Hill was so appalled by this production that he refused to allow ITV to produce any more.

Two years later the BBC recast and reformatted the characters for 11 series all of which were excellent and best no comparison with this rubbish.

Great cast, good writer/ director Movie unwatchable!

It is a mystery how the sum of its parts offers so little. Not funny, badly acted spoof.

I love spoof movies as a rule but this is terrible. Not a fitting tribute to the late Kenny Everett who was a very funny man but clearly no actor.

Ricky Gervaise has always made me laugh from the office onwards. Now he has made me cry too. It's hard to comprehend his abilities as a writer, sure we know he's a funny guy but the understanding of loss he shows in the scripts for After Life is astonishing. I have read up on his life and he doesn't appear to have gone through a similar loss so it can be observational or failing that it is a pure creation of his talented mind, Equal parts funny and heartbreaking and incredibly well acted by all of cast After Life is an absolute joy to watch and is unique and a classic already.

How the hell has this happened?

I absolutely loved the first 3series of Toast and was gutted when the series ended. I still watch them regularly and was thrilled when I heard the series was making a return albeit in a slightly different format and T V channel.

I am sat here watching the first episode of toast of Tinseltown and I haven't laughed once. God awful totally forced and unfunny Please god it improves in episode 2.

A crushing disappointment.

Ok so I have to admit I am a huge Michael Caine fan and have been for over 40 years but I am a realist and I recognise that his work can be very hit and miss.

I watched this movie with no expectations as his physical ailments due to his age are obviously limiting him in what he can do these days.

My god I wasn't expecting to laugh cry and be caught up in the story like I was. There is even a happy and unexpected ending.

Caine dominates every second he is onscreen but Plaza holds her own and has developed into a very accomplished movie actress.

I loved this movie and have no hesitation in recommending it for anyone looking for a good story and good acting.

At long last we get to see the movie of the game we all played back in the day. The attention to detail is incredible if the casting is somewhat odd. I don't remember Leon being the dope he is portrayed as here in the game but there are so many other great references to the original game that really relive the terror of playing all those years ago.

I think those who played the game when it came out will love this but those who discovered Resident Evil through the Mila Jovavic movies may be confused or disappointed it.

Me, I loved it for the nostalgia.

Really looked forward to this from the pen of Anne Cleeves, writer of Shetland and Vera.

What a letdown it is though. The cast is full of well known faces but none of them look overly interested throughout the 4 dire episodes.

The story has potential but isn't presented with any flair and fails to keep the viewer interested. The setting in a strange evangelical community from which the lead character DI Venn has long since broken away from could have been of more interest with better development. As could the openly gay lead character DI Venn but the only vaguely interesting thing about him is his sexuality as the first gay male detective I can think of on UK television. As a character detective there is nothing there at all.

Special mention must be given to Anita Dobson though who is barely recognisable but acts rings around the rest of the cast.

A really uninspired and dull series then.

A curious episode to end series 8 which seems to say tribute to a number of classic mysteries and styles. Many have mentioned the obvious similarities of the setting to Agatha Christie (and in particular ten little Indians) which is fair comment.

The story is well acted and I found it entertaining but the episode seemed to have many subliminal hints that this could be the final endeavour, non more so than the final words "starting to thaw".

Not a classic Endeavour then but I still enjoyed it. I just hope I am wrong and this isn't the last ever episode. There are certainly several series threads to tie up, Jim's advancement in the force, Thursdays future and why was he never mentioned by the older Morse, what happens to Joan and of course the transformation of the young Endeavour to the Morse we all loved all those years ago.

Having rewatched the entire series over the last week whilst laid up sick I found a redeeming feature for a TV obsessive such as myself.

When interviewing the bus crew early in the piece there is a sign on the bus station wall which I estimate to be 50 years old.

It's a grand life on the buses with the amendment to its a randy life on the buses appeared in the 1971 movie of On The Buses.

It may not be the same prop but it is identical and can't have been used by accident.

Yes I am a sad man I accept this, but this did make me feel strangely happy!!

It amazes me that this flawless and innovative comedy seems to be all but forgotten and never mentioned when Steve Coogan's work is reviewed.

As I force myself to sit through increasing turgid and unsatisfactory incarcerations of Alan Partridge (he's even touring as him now!!) I can't help but wonder why this stone cold classic is not better known.

Coogan created a character of incredible comedic depth and constructed hilarious scenarios week after week.

For a long time after it's second and final series I hoped he would return to the character but alas he never did.

I suppose it is a case of the great classic UK comedies quitting whilst at their peak after series 2 (The Office, Fawlty Towers, I'm Alan Partridge, Dinner Ladies, Extras, Phoenix Nights etc)

I still really wish Mr Coogan would revisit Tommy Saxondale using his co-writer Neil MacLennon but I guess it's never going to happen now.

This started slow but built into an incredibly entertaining series with a happy ending and a good set up for a second season so why the hell has the show been cancelled?

When I look at some of the shows renewed and running it is insane that Rebel will not get a second season.

I've never really rated Sean Bean as an actor I always thought of him as one dimensional and unconvincing but I have to change my mind after this. Jimmy McGoverns writing usually guarantees quality and this is no exception, add in the brilliant Stephen Graham and this was always going to be a good watch.

The story is realistic but is lifted to another level by the brilliant performance of Bean. There's a bit of a morality tale woven into the story which doesn't detract from the entertainment but the main attraction is Sean Beans acting masterclass. He literally embodies the role of teacher family man convicted of killing a man whilst drunk driving.

All the actors are excellent and the direction is superb. I would recommend setting aside 3 hours and binge watching the entire mini series.