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A Murder at the End of the World (2023)
If AI is programmed to protect humans what happens when humans become their own threat?
This may be two episodes too long, like most streaming output it needs a good edit, however, it is a good story dealing with pertinent contemporary issues including abuse by those in power, spousal abuse, obsession with living forever and the monumental ego that spawns the attempt to continue your flawed personality via your children. There is a huge amount of exposition in this series and I do agree that the main characters are not that likeable, but the coldness of those characters echoes the impersonal nature of technology. This series is not an attack on AI, it merely highlights the flaws that can be introduced by any human element. To put all your trust in something programmed by someone, whose agenda you have no control over, is just stupidity. But luckily human beings have free will, for now, and can chose who and what to trust and explore. This whole series is like a very long pilot episode for Corrin's character, which I do like though I'm not sure I would have cast Corrin. I didn't believe in her deep love for Bill, which is crucial to empathising with the whole story, so I would prefer a change in the lead, Ayo Edebiri from The Bear for instance, has the depth and talent to fill such a role. The lead may be written as a younger woman, but age is immaterial in this case. If there are plans to start a franchise I'd watch again. As for flaws in the tech, who cares, it's not a computer 'how to' manual, it's a love story with a mystery attached. I would not welcome any more exposition on the tech, it was easy enough for anyone with any nous to follow. My suggestion is to stick with it until the end even if, like me, you FF'd quite a bit of the slow scenes.
Gully (2019)
1980s' style Indy movie
It's a bit like an early Linklater, but reminded me of Harmony Korine's Gummo (though it could have been the similar name that sent me down this path originally) where the characters go through their aimless days, with little purpose or ambition. This film, like its characters, stumbles quite a lot. The script needs tightening and I suspect a lot of supporting characterisation might have ended up in the digital bin. However, I think there is a good film in there and the lead actors do their best to bring it out. It seemed like a first screenplay where you put all your ideas in and forget to edit some out. The lads start out as Gameheads anaesthetised to violence, then their backstories of violence and abuse are laid bare and in one of the final plot contrivances, we have a sliding door moment, a right or wrong decision that would have changed everything.
The arc is there for the main protagonist, who turns out to be Jesse (Kelvin Harrison), when he finally finds his voice, but the fact that we don't really recognise his story as the main plot is again down to the flaws in the script development. That said, the low scores for this film worry me. Does this mean that a lot of the posters didn't get the different nuances, and the plot has to be wafer thin and rammed down their throats by someone wearing a superhero outfit. I do hope the low scores are some kind of immature bet and not a reflection of those who just don't get it.
There is worrying trend in cinema and TV to have an explanation catch-up show at the end of the show. Has the audience really 'dummed down; so much that they don't understand artistic representation or an artist's subjective view of something and need some over zealous pundit to point it out. I look forward to what this director does next with a better script doctor and more development.
Karen Pirie (2022)
Great characters and acting, story development let it down
By that I mean it had a confusing sub plot of murder and it jarred a bit because the motivation was a bit of a stretch. The character of Pirie is brilliantly written and acted though as are her contemporaries. The students though older, are also well rounded because we see them in their younger days. The older characters fail to escape the usual tropes. The angry aggressive Scottish brothers, sexist older coppers, older women who did what they were told, I think that was the most annoying one of all. As for the podcast aspect, I get that it was a plot device but I'm not sure they are quite as powerful in the UK as this story would have us believe. Now I say all that because I saw the ending coming way early, and the episodes meandered around character after character, which I invested in only to be disappointed by what was supposed to be a last-minute twist. There was a real feeling that the story had been led by well-publicised events and not in a more interesting direction, given all the deeply layered and well-written characters. The writer and actors told the story extremely well, I just wish it had been a different story.
Witness Number 3 (2022)
Tense, gripping drama let down a little by the acting
The soundtrack and production values, from locations to lighting to camera angles even the hoodie costumes, are all excellent. They build a modern horror atmosphere to mix with the thriller aspect. It's just that the acting is a little stilited. It's still one of the best series I've seen from C5 and very watchable. Try to catch it.
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
The stars are for the fact it has Endgame in the title!
One of the reviews says audiences were crying, well I was too for different reasons. I guess this is the future of cinema. Cliche after cliche, characters who begin and end the movie the same (the only arc would have been a magic one with sparkly bits on it), there was magnificent CGI and a Pegasus, who I thought was Greek, not Norse, myth. But three hours to tell it all in. Spare me the numbness. However, everyone made lots of money and they will spin off the franchise for as many times as you can travel through time. The actors had more fun making it than I did watching it, like some bad live music I've been to, so I can handle it. Tk goodness there is not another ... or is there?
Happy Valley (2014)
British character drama at its very best
The best thing on TV since Broadchurch, and it may even have the edge. Sarah Lancashire's performance is the glue that holds the whole story together, but every character is painted in broad strokes without a cliché among them.
Everyone is flawed and for that reason human. Brilliant writing and acting brings them to life. Sgt Catherine Cawood is a character for our time, struggling to fight off the kind of crime that becomes rife when times are bad. Criminals don't pay tax and don't use banks so even though crime is not supposed to pay, with cuts in the police service, it does.
*spoiler alert* Catherine is fighting her own demons, guilt over her daughter's suicide and an ill-advised affair with her ex is preying on her mind. Episode 5 was a touch of genius, showing how this strong woman could be destroyed not just by a violent attack but by the sheer feeling of futility in its aftermath.
By the end of the episode she is finding her way back and I for one can't wait for the final episode. For anyone who says there is no good writing for female actors, then this is the series that will change your mind.
The men are great too, btw. James Norton as the sociopath Tommy Lee Royce could have played him completely black and white, but there is a huge amount of grey in him. The small scenes where he skips along the wall of his mum's house harks at a childhood missed and attempts to recapture it. And he also says a lot with facial expressions, just as Lancashire can say more with a loaded glance than a whole monologue.
Brilliant piece of TV. Can you tell I like it? Catch it if you can, but try to get the whole series on iPlayer. It is a real builder of suspense and worth the time investment.
Elegy (2008)
Lovely film, heavy emotionally but worth sticking with
There are not many actors who can make you feel that they are not acting, but they are that character. Daniel Day Lewis managed it to a gold standard in There Will be Blood. And in this film Sir Ben works the same kind of magic somehow, he just seems to be the lonely intellectual he is playing. I have been lucky enough to meet this man and he is witty, engaging and anything but lonely. His performance brings out a stunning turn by Cruz and a lovely role from Hopper. I really liked this movie and I did like the twist at the end. SPOILER HERE: A reminder really that we are all dying, life is precious, age is immaterial.
City of Angels (1998)
I am always surprised by how much I love this movie...
Wings of Desire is one of my favourite films of all time. A slow lyrical tale of a love that has no boundaries. City of Angels does it justice I think. It makes LA look gorgeous, no mean feat, with the soaring camera-work and slow pace of life not usually associated with that city. Nic Cage and Meg Ryan have wonderful chemistry, vital to the story and even though I know what is coming I just can't turn it off. And let's not forget Dennis Franz in the role originally played by Peter Falk and Andre Breugher as the almost cynical Heavenly Being. Music in the sunrise, what an amazing concept. I can't be in a library reading in my mind without thinking someone might be listening. Brilliant re-visioning of a great film.
Transamerica (2005)
My new favourite for Oscar - definite spoilers
You go into this film thinking Victor/Vicoria (woman/playing man/playing woman) and it is so much more. This film is not about sexuality as personality, this is about spirituality or individuality or even family and how you have to fight to keep your connections to all of those.
It is the strong and incredible performance by Huffman that holds this very witty and moving script together. Loved it, as you can tell.
Go see. It cannot be dismissed as "just another gay movie", not even close, in fact to this day I have no idea which sex Bree may have been interested in. Very few clues that it may have been either side but nothing makes her sexuality define her. And yes I have to say her, because even though Huffman plays the nervous ticks and unsure body image that a pre-op transsexual may have (and she does it so well) we are always on her side. She is a she, just not born as one.
Great film, with fantastic support from formidable talent too.
The Window (1949)
This is a disturbing film but not for the reasons we expect.
Yes, it's a film noir about a boy witnessing a murder but the scariest part of this movie is how it stands up as a sign of the times in 1949 and how children were treated. The parents have no qualms about leaving their nine-year-old all night, the murderous neighbour actually punches the kid unconscious at one point, and the cop actually advocates giving him a beating.
Contrast it with modern children-in-peril movies like Home Alone and you'll see, though it's not a great movie, it's a real historical marker. It is helped by the fact that the doomed child actor Bobby Driscoll is such a great little actor.
I think it's worth a watch. It's a thriller but not for the reasons it was originally made.
Donnie Darko (2001)
The Swayze subplot
This is my biggest sticking point with this movie. Was the subplot needed? I know it showed that Donnie could be dangerous and added to the mystery of Donnie's psychoses, but why was Swayze's character Jim crying at the end? Had he also been saved by Donnie's sacrifice and would now give up this wicked ways? Or was he crying for his own wickedness?
I know it added another level to this film, and showed Frank's advice to burn down the house to be based on moral values thereby showing the Frank/Donnie relationship to be based on good not evil. But I still feel Swayze was a subplot too far. What do you guys think?
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Stunning...
This film is a standalone, but of course it does not need to be. I am so difficult to please when it comes to film, as we all are here, but this has it all. A blockbuster film that you walk out thinking about and analysing.
If, like me, you have grown with these movies, and you never miss the Han Solo/Luke/Leia 'original' when it is shown on TV, then this will provide closure. I would be rash enough to say that this is the best of the six, but it may just be that I needed that final piece of the story. A fantastic film, with three great lead actors, at least, and so much going on that you must see this.
If you were disappointed by the most recent films or if you've never seen any of them OR particularly if you hate the thought of Star Wars and anything to do with it, see this. It is a classic.
I have been talking about it all day, without giving anything away, (well it was all made very clear in 1977 with the first/fourth one) and I still have so much to say about it.
See it. I can't wait to see it again.