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Reviews
Bull (2021)
Enjoyable ride...
...unexpected ending! This thriller - made very well on a low budget - starts off as a lowlife gangster flick where clearly, for those at the bottom of the food chain, crime isn't paying (ie the real world). In-house, personal issues get in the way and someone has to be 'taken care of' and then the universe has other ideas! There are no likable characters so the revenge spree has you nodding away and you never feel like 'oh no, he/she was ok'. You will wonder 'what, how, what's going on here?' but all will be revealed. As has been said if you like 'Dead Man's Shoes' or 'Kill List' - also featuring the great Neil Maskell - you'll enjoy this, don't read the spoilers!
Black Mirror: San Junipero (2016)
If only...
Oh to be back in 1987, what a year that was, bringing back so many memories in what proved to be a wonderful episode, my number one in the series. Amongst all the dark (but superb) subject matter lies this beacon of warmth and nostalgia, I must have passed it over, time and time again, in search of thrills. I grew further and further into the episode, it giving more away as it unraveled. The added bonus was being able to spot (immediately!) an old friend in the cast and the ending proved I needed to do a bit more dusting in here. If you liked it you'll savour the poignant and moving Italian movie 'The Macaluso Sisters' (don't read about it, just watch it). Bravo!
Ukraine on Fire (2016)
Hit and miss
Ukraine does have a nationalist problem and this film tries to explain what it is and where it came from (it's roots lay in opposing Stalinism but this is merely glossed over here), it was unpleasant and change was needed but other countries have and will have, similar problems. Whilst it's true that there are unanswered questions around what took place within its sphere of reference, much of what is alleged is supposition. Fast forward and events have largely overtaken Stone's narrative, novichok, Navalny, Russian lies and now a full scale invasion that the world can clearly see to be no more than a land grab. It's a shame the Russian people are no longer allowed to make their own minds up, history repeating itself? Overall, It hasn't aged well and looks a bit naive in this day and age.
Making a Murderer (2015)
Starts balanced but then....
This has an intriguing start and nobody can deny the initial miscarriage of justice. The tale of the subsequent crimes and the investigation however, began to drift into a bit of a 'Steven Avery love-in' with long meandering speeches from lawyers glad for an unfettered mouthpiece. I found myself skipping through their lengthy diatribes. It appeared the makers believed him to be innocent as opposed to a dimwit, moulded into a sociopath and who seriously believed he could do whatever he wanted, that he was bulletproof. Had potential, became very boring.
The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch (2020)
Don't know what to make of it?
Having now watched all the way to the end, no questions are really answered.
There are teasers throughout, designed apparently, to keep people watching but I felt that this was the only purpose.....to keep people watching! The last episode for example, just repeats parts of the previous ones. There was much talk - and hype - around 'digging', when it finally came...it was a little bit of drilling, nothing more. There were some genuine questions raised but nothing was fully explored, a camera 'going down' for instance just before the Alpacas are attacked, could it be that the truth - wild animals? - isn't that exciting? Being British, I never really understood the way it was done, ominous music, shaky cameras and forced, puzzled looks? It probably achieved its aims - viewing figures - but ultimately viewers are left with so many empty holes, it could have all been done in a two hour documentary.
How to Fix a Drug Scandal (2020)
Biased
To try to present defence lawyers as moral guardians and drug dealers as having been 'set up' is where this documentary goes wrong. Rules are rules, they messed up - they should rightly pay the price - and criminals were released, that should have been the story. Defence lawyers are basically in it for power and money, not as they like to let you know as often as they can, to protect the rights of an individual...how many decent, law abiding members of the community have need of one? The focus should have been 'this is what happens if a state employee messes up and bureaucrats (who have a job, let's face it, it's is to keep criminals in, not to release them) try to hide it, all these people are released back into your community'.