iain-218 Reviews

Sherlock: The Abominable Bride (2016) Season 4, Episode 0

Lacking

[4/10 · 2 January 2016]

Difficult to write about the issues with this runt in the litter without revealing the plot, in short it is a dog and I resented my time wasted on it. This comes from someone who, until yesterday, considered the 'new' Sherlock as TV at its finest.

A contract is formed between producer and viewer when watching any TV series; the first episode allows the viewer to decide to commit or not. Good or bad there is an expectation that the rest of the series will continue at the established standard. But there have been a number of TV series in the last 12 months where I've been left with a sense of betrayal e.g. the final episode of London Spy, and the final episode of Spiral series 5. And now Sherlock!?

Thankfully this Sherlock was not the final episode of the old series, nor even the first of a new series - it was simply a holiday special - and while it failed in its intention to link the two series, it may have done no more damage than an advert break.

Please BBC, put someone in charge of dramatic output who has the cahonnes to say 'no, this is not good enough, go back and do better!'.

Restless (2012 TV Movie)

Could have done much better

[4/10 · 13 January 2013]

This was poor and left me grieving for BBC Drama - who is going to make quality television if the BBC can't? It had a lot of the right ingredients - if they were re-making The Singing Detective, then Rufus Sewell would be a perfect choice, so it was only right that Michael Gambon played Sewell's older self. But the pace was slow, the plot became nonsense (was it perhaps originally a six part that was then cut down?), and the dialogue was awful. They left the worst til last though, the ending was truly dire leaving me regretting that I had spent 3 hours getting there - God knows how the actors and crew felt when they saw it, after all it took them a lot longer.

Why is this 4 and not 1, because I like the genre.

Crest of the Wave (1954)

Clunky, dull, pointless pulp

[2/10 · 11 December 2012]

I would love to have seen the looks on faces of cinema goers as they came out from watching this film back in 1954 - I suspect it would have been a mixture of wonderment at why the film was made, amazement that Gene Kelly couldn't act his way out of a paper bag, curiosity to know if a contract has been taken out on the script writer, and suicidal depression at having spent time and money going in the door in the first place. I have given this one point above the worst possible score as I am sure it had honorable aspirations i.e. to reflect the commitment of brave men during the war. But to be sure, this was no Dam Busters!!

Aficionados (2010)

Unusual and inspiring

[10/10 · 1 July 2012]

First I want to congratulate Etihad Airways for having this film in their selection during my flight back to Manchester on Friday.

Now for the film - gosh, there should be a competition to see who can make the best film with the least money - hard to believe the Aficionados standard will ever be reached again.

There is something very special going on within this film, you can see character development all over the place, and I will bet good money that this was a function of the film-making process itself. It is at once complex and simplistic, layers of intelligent creation have been carefully built up, editing tells its own story, as do the locations, adopted roles, actors characteristics, and of course the script.

The film is brave and, unusually, has been rewarded - I found myself drawn in, I recognised so much in what I was watching and yet none of it was predictable - no doubt the cast and crew could say the same thing.

My Last Five Girlfriends (2009)

Don't bother if you are not British - you won't get it

[18 November 2011]

I think this film may not cross water - the Americans won't get the humour, and the Europeans will be wondering why we have to work so hard to get in to bed with each other (its why there are so many drunk British people in Spain, we can't do it sober).

There are two aspects of the film which bring it to the top of the pile - the script and the cinematography. The script is not just tight and well-timed; its storyline is a fairly accurate, almost forensic, depiction of why we keep screwing up in relationships (that's a British 'we' of course). The imagery is fantastic, a clever mix of interesting/beautiful angles and variously styled animated sequences.

The acting is good but not great, but perhaps that was an implicit theme within the film...very clever.

On Broadway (2007)

A storyteller's film

[10 November 2011]

It never ceases to amaze me how different people are so different - how anyone could watch this film and say 'its not great' is just beyond me. The story was written by someone who has lived it, and will immediately be recognised by those who have travelled that path. In reading the reviews so far you could be forgiven for thinking that the story was about families, about Boston, about father and son reconciliation (and maybe it is and its me who missed the point). It spoke to me, however, about the leap of faith, the courage and the determination an ordinary mortal needs to become a writer, and how, for a story to be anything more than a fleeting moment among neurons, the writer must become a magnet for good people to join him/her - a messiah of sorts.

There were moments in the film that felt like the final rehearsal before the scene should be shot (when Pete and wife have their first argument springs to mind), but to me that lack of Hollywood gloss just made the whole thing even more real.

If you have anything to do with story-telling, or you have aspirations in that direction, then you will not just enjoy this film, you will benefit from it.

Dean Spanley (2008)

To mis-quote Tokaji's description - film of kings and king of films

[5 November 2011]

Like a fine wine this film moves its way around the palette. Roles are superbly under-played; silence replaces explosion, wry smile for laughter, lingering looks without raised eyebrows. This is a play of manners, a perfectly pitched study in to the calm veil that shields all from underlying raw emotions.

What's it about? Well it has men, women, dogs and wine; it is set in Edwardian England, and if having watched it you think its about man's best friend, then please avoid having children, let your genes stop with you.

To me Dean Spanley was like one of those magic eye pictures; where you may stare for a long time before the mind relaxes and lets you realise what you are looking at - and in this case it is a real work of art.

Be warned this is a deceptively powerful story - take tissues.

Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)

My favourite movie so far...

[10/10 · 5 November 2011]

...and I've watched a few.

There is so much going on in this movie and I am not sure that Hanks and Ryan understood exactly what they were a part of, but then that is also a message we can take from it - who really understands life?

Other messages; we are all in danger of losing our soul; life is a crooked path; clothes maketh the man; once you are a grown up no-one feels good (implying that we should not allow that to happen); embrace your destiny no matter how bad it might look

And the above are just a small subset.

Symbolism is rife, the sets are a clever mixture of real and surreal, the script is tight, the storyline flies along, and the entire event is a sparkling jewel. Of course you might not agree with any of this, its not in IMDb's top 500, but it takes someone special to jump into a volcano.