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Reviews
The Kitchen (2023)
Just boring.
Excruciatingly slow and very boring. I was waiting on something happening and well, it didn't. The dialogue was also not as good as it should have been. Very muffled sounding and that added to the east London accent, made it difficult to understand what any of the main characters were saying. Some of the cgi was ropey as well. At first I thought it was an issue with my WiFi, but after rewinding and watching again, it was obviously poorly generated, with some pixelated edges and shifting patterns and colours. Watched to the end hoping for a last minute reprieve. But it didn't come. Wasted Friday night viewing.
I Came By (2022)
Surprisingly good
A couple of graffiti artists get their kicks tagging the inside of wealthy people's houses. After targeting a retired judge and discovering a grisly secret hidden in the basement of his house, the situation suddenly becomes a matter of life and death for them both. When one of them disappears, it's up to his mother to try and piece together his last movements, which ultimately leads her back to the judge's house. A well written and acted film with a strong performance from High Bonneville. Storyline development was spot on right up until the end. A few edge of the seat moments as well. Recommended.
Peaky Blinders: Lock and Key (2022)
Amateurish and disappointing.
In a season of amateurish writing and acting, some real dodgy camera movements (what's with all the sweeping in movements that weren't even controlled?), overdrawn scenes (Tommy and Arthur fight in the office was the kind of stuff they teach in film school to not do), this last episode really let the whole series down. The Peaky Blinders legacy is absolutely forgettable which is a real shame considering the first 4 series were probably the most exciting and memorable British TV produced this century.
Belfast (2021)
Saccharine rubbish.
I had high hopes for this. But as someone who actually grew up during the troubles in late 60s/early 70s Belfast, there was actually very little about the film that actually resonated with me. Yeah the houses, the army, the riots and the sectarian mobs are all there in their Belfast style glory, and absolutely relevant.
But, there were no Asian corner shops in Belfast in 1969. No buses going to the airport that picked you up at the bottom of your street. The bins weren't left out in the back entries for collection-they were dragged through your house at 8.00am on collection day.
If you're going to tell a story about Belfast, even if most of it is made up and homogenised to suit a global audience who've long stopped caring, at least get the details right.
I get that Branagh was trying to convey the paradoxical sense of comedic resilience during the absolute worst times of war. But I found the plot and cliché laden dialogue nauseating and told in an ultimately saccharine way, which left nothing but a bittersweet aftertaste with me.
The realism just didn't feel real. The characters satirical. The story just didn't connect. I didn't believe any of it. Even parts of the set wobbled when the main characters climbed through it.
Maybe Branagh's memories of his childhood and the horror of what actually happened in Belfast at that time, have been diluted by over the decades. Lucky him.
To me it felt like an cheesy extended video set to and even cheesier Van Morrison soundtrack. And believe me, that's not a good thing.