Reviews

Very stylish, maybe overly, but it's done tongue-in-cheek, not taking itself too seriously. I like that it panders to no demographic or group. It's just dark humor, a bit of graphic violence, some great acting, great shots, sets and sound. And a few great little scenes that develop the side-plots and characters well. Certainly not a 19/100, as Metacritic purport. I guess it didn't satisfy the agendas of the paid critics. (And if that's the case, it's too its merit.)

It's a well-casted production, with Mads Mickelson playing the 'still-waters-run-deep' role - that we come to expect of him - without hitch. While Matt Lucas plays the villain brilliantly, in his own inimitable way, too! And, while theres nothing revolutionary from either actor in their respective portrayal's, they (ahem) execute their characters more than proficiently here. As also do the rest of the cast, too.

3.5*/5*

I was entertained for an hour and a half, and had my expectations subverted - in a positive way (not in a Rian Johnson way, thankfully). It is well shot, using good effects, it has a reasonable script, with on par performances all round.

Season 1 and 2 were engaging and interesting, reasonably well written and acted well enough. There was always an element of preposterousness and it was often camp and clichéd, but good fun.

Season 3 however (since Netflix 'rescued' the show from the axe, coincidentally... ) Designated Survivor has gone full burn, turned up to 11, all in on black, megaphone to the max Social Justice Warrior. Every single plot thread carries a liberista, establishment talking-point millennial message for the ages. It's actually embarrassing. I've watched all 10 episodes of season 3, and I counted 31 establishment agendas/messages in those 10 episodes.

It made me think to myself, 'I should really look into Netflix's list of financial backers with a fine toothcomb'.its clear that they're (not entirely sure who they are yet) but it's clear that Designated Survivor is being used as a vehicle to preach various strains of the liberal globalist agenda. And I bet this review doesn't make it out I to the public domain.

In summary, watch season 1 and 2 for lightweight fun, but avoid season 3 unless you like being treated like a mind control subject for the state.

I don't often write reviews, particularly with a hangover, but I was compelled to with this one.

Less than half of the first day of the new year lapsed and I've already seen one of the top 5 films I'll see in 2019 - Bird Box. No spoliers contained.

Though not captured with quite as much stunning camera work as A Quiet Place (it perhaps being enhanced by containing virtually no dialogue), they both successfully deliver the goods via similar plot devices. While thematically AQP utilises sound and forced silence to drive the story forward, Bird Box uses vision and forced blindness to do this.

Like AQP, Bird Box has separate sub plots - plus a duel timeline - giving itself bags of its personality and uniqueness to differentiate it from any other horror/thriller I've seen.

There's a wide range of cast members, with similar sized roles, all performing excellently. In the central role, Sandra Bullock is in fine form, capably managing to exhibit the extreme strength and fragility the character demands. Doing so often at the same time.

It's a highly effective emotional roller-coaster with some very suspenseful and creepy moments, making this 2+ hour masterpiece pass like a 90minuter. Available on Netflix, though not one for kids.

Happy new year!

If someone were to tell me to, 'name one of life's bitter disappointments', I'd have to say watching, based on its reviews, a much-lauded film - one with a Metacritic score in the 90's - for it to turn out to be really very average. Thankfully it doesn't happen very often, but when it does, ooh, it smarts!

That just happened with me and this film.

Don't believe the hype.

I love The Walking Dead. I have done since the comics. I think the live action version is the best of any comic-to-screen endeavour.

Season 8 though. It's like the makers are trying to do something new because they're scared that seven seasons of the old formula is too much, and so a different direction is needed.

This episode epitomises that. There are too many over-burdened dialogue sequences, shot in a manner that's trying to be too arty.

Stick to the good stuff, Gimple et al. Stop trying to reinvent the wheel.

Here's hoping they fail in their quest to save the world, as it'd be a small price to pay to guarantee the termination of the vacuous, narcissistic characters that make up this vapid and predictable TV show.

It could've so good. Ah well.