Change Your Image
ReviewsByAnya
Reviews
Treason (2022)
Highly Plausible scenario
Treason
On Netflix
Now this is a proper entertainment for me.
Keeps you on your toes right from the 1st scene. And from then on, events keep flying like from a kalashnikov.
I found myself rewinding it as multitasking whilst watching this is a no-no.
5 hours production of limited series. Seems like an hour tops.
Highly plausible scenario.
Especially in light of the Litvinenko and Skripal poisonings.
Look at Melnikov character. This actor could be a look alike for Lebedev. A Russian who owns British newspapers and like many of his compatriots owns a number of assets in London.
He was involved in British politics and nearly awarded a peerage.
Britain wake up. Don't allow Russians control our own country.
Very good plot.
Actors well cast.
Kurylenko is a strong, independent woman perfect for her role.
Charlie Cox is believable as a young MI6 chief deputy with his insecurities.
Oona Chaplin has never convinced me in her roles but she is OK here.
Ciaran Hinds elevates it one more level.
Alex Jones is a lovely addition. I remember her from Mol Flanders.
Watch it if you like espionage and good action on home turf.
9/10 from me.
( I really don't tend to write about movies which are below 6/10)
Inventing Anna (2022)
Riveting con story and act from Julie Garner
You got to watch this.
I think many of you will find something interesting in this story.
2 years ago the news reported on the trial of Anna Delvey alias Anna Sorokina aka the fake German heiress.
Who the hell was she? Like many trials and news I read the article and thought " oh yeah?" and before I had time to research this, COVID came, amongst many things.
Fast forward to now.
Julie Garner, who got my undivided attention in Ozark, came out as the lead in " Inventing Anna".
What a riveting story.
I was glued to the screen for 10 hours with only a few breaks to live my life.
I was a bit annoyed that there was so much focus on the pregnancy of Vivian, the journalist played by Anna Chlomsky as it was not meant to be her story.
Now that I read the credits, I note the series were based on the reporting and book by Ms Pressler who is the Vivian in the series. So, I guess, she wanted to draw attention to herself and not just play 2nd fiddle.
I don't care much for the series, Chlomsky, the script and the story telling - if I did it myself, I would have done it differently.
BUT this story is the best con since "Catch Me if You Can".
It's not just "let's do a Tinder Swindle" - the brain and imagination of this young, 20 something, woman was mesmerising.
Narcissistic, deluded, grandiose, selfish and criminal.
You name it.
What a ballsy act to con proper high game bankers and financiers of New York.
I don't condone this, nor how she treated her friends, but I admire her intellect.
Guys, there is so much in this story.
Psychology of friendships, trust, desires, elite inner workings... and conning people.
As I watched it, I was asking myself: surely she must have known her days were counted. But it was as the counsellor said: she believed that she needed to fake it and she was this 👌 close to making it.
I couldn't sleep last night. I needed to analyse this, look for holes. I didn't find any.
It just blew my mind.
Julie Garner with her different accents - Russian, German and American - nailed it. I wasn't seeing the actress. The actress embodied Anna Delvey aka Anna Sorokina.
6 from me for direction
8 for script
10 goes to Julie Garner, interior and fashion design.
Well, this is definitely worth the 1st review of the year.
👌
Dune: Part One (2021)
Breathtaking masterpiece.
I have been to Arrakis and back!
Throughout my journey I was spellbound and ecstatic and couldn't wait to share it with you.
Where do I begin?
First things first:
This is my favourite novel of all times so it will be a long and tender review.
I promise no spoilers.
I cannot promise to be monotone about it.
Before you watch it:
Please treat some reviews with a pinch of salt. Some of these people have not read the books and compare Dune to Star Wars, Iraq and Afghanistan!
If you haven't read the books, take it as it is with an open mind. Don't compare it to anything, especially Star Wars.
As a matter of fact Frank Herbert wrote Dune in 1965. Way before George Lucas made the first episode in 1977.
Few of you may know that Dune was the inspiration for Lucas and Herbert actually accused him of stealing his ideas!
If you read the books, it will be easy for you as it will all come back no matter how long ago you read it and how much of it you have forgotten.
The plot:
This is where for your pleasure I will be succinct.
At 412 pages and just the tip of the iceberg which is the whole saga of 6 books this is a huge material to condense.
And so the movie is wisely divided depicting Dune ( 1 book) in 2 movies.
It may not have given too much screening time to the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, but it has divided the time equally between:
- drawing up the arcs of the characters (rivalling families of the Atrides and Harconnens, the notion of the Emperor, Spice, the elusive Fremen and not so elusive sandworms)
- showing the planets with their varied weather. (Dune is a book with ecology at heart)
- gripping action that made the movie feel as if was mere 30 minutes despite just under 2.5 hours of running time.
The Script: Is loyal to the pearls of wisdom in the book. I will definitely re-watch it and make a list of my favourite quotes.
The vision:
Having been written in mid 60s, when people didn't have mobiles and computers, the technological ideas of the Dune worlds are a visionary accomplishment and now that you will have seen Dune 2021 you will understand the difficulties of the makers of Dune 1984.
I hope David Lynch will be able to enjoy it and not worry about his own creation.
This time, it is portrayed as I have imagined and gives Herbert full justice.
The cast: Having seen the acting, the make up and the special characterisations I think they hit the jackpot with every single actor.
The photography: Was amazing. Every scene was a masterpiece. Coupled with a perfect soundtrack, costumes and props, it was a true spectacle.
The camera work, the slow motion especially in the scene with the Fremen towards the end of the movie was showing how every detail was thought through.
The story: Is an actor of it's own right. The use of the Voice, different languages and sign language were additional treats.
The novel is considered to be the best selling sci fi novel of all times.
I hope that Dune 2021 will become the top best selling sci fi movie of all times.
Enjoy the journey and if you haven't read Dune, please do. Not everything is in the movie.
For me it is 15/10.
(I went sparingly with it. )
May the spice be with you!
Inside Chernobyl with Ben Fogle (2021)
Very good, but...
Ben Fogle: Inside Chernobyl
Spoilers or thorough insight alert.
Following the spectacular Chernobyl series with Jared Harris there has been an increase in interest about the 1986 nuclear plant disaster and the Exclusion Zone.
And so it is not surprising to see a new documentary capitalising on the success of the 2019 series.
I am mindful of the monumental effort put into producing Chernobyl and I need to be objective in my rating of Ben Fogle's "Inside Chernobyl" documentary to allow for a proportionate appraisal.
I thoroughly enjoyed the portrayal:
1. of the time that stood still in a once vibrant city,
2. of the powerful flora and fauna overtaking the vast spaces,
3. of generations of people rooted and rooting for this land (survivors, workers, illegal hikers, adrenaline junkies)
4. and lastly the unique access to and sight of the hospital basement, the plant itself, the functional twin reactor no 3 and the haunting scene from the now defunct control room and reactor no 4.
The notion of special permits, time limits and geiger meters only adds to the dreary, chilling atmosphere.
We are so privileged to be able see the drone footage. It helps embrace the soul of this place.
My reservations:
I was somewhat surprised that no enhanced respiratory personal protective equipment was required. A simple FFP3 mask or valved mask didn't seem reassuring and sufficient a protection.
Passing through the radiation detector at the end of the day without showing increased levels of picked up radioactive dust seemed also a bit outlandish and perhaps propaganda? I would have expected showers for everyone to clean off the dust and particles.
Having met the illegal hikers, Ben seemed to embrace the activity as a means of coming to terms with the history and bridging with the contemporary need to post on social media.
I felt some nonchalance about it without deeper insight as to the consequences of these activities, both illegal and dangerous.
The comment about someone slipping from heights and losing their life last year seemed to be just made in passing.
I think a side note is needed:
This is a real disaster zone, contaminated for hundreds of years to come. The current sarcophagus may be sealed for a few more decades but it too will start seeping through.
This is not Berlin Wall, where it was permissible to take or buy a brick.
This is a radioactive Titanic or Hiroshima. Everything taken from there will emit invisible force to be reckoned with.
So in a way, I am very grateful for this documentary.
It is thought provoking.
It brings back the memories from my childhood.
It begs for a question whether it was necessary for Ben and the cameramen to stay there for a whole week only for an hour of screening time footage?
Let's just hope their health will not be affected.
Inside Chernobyl = a solid 7 /10 from me
as Chernobyl (2019) had a 12/10.
The Salisbury Poisonings (2020)
Excellent quality
This is my 1st review on here.
I didn't write one for Chernobyl although I have given it 10/10 and I think of it as the best documentary of all times.
As Salisbury Poisonings is not made to the same spectacular scale I am awarding it 9/10.
Chernobyl didn't need another hundredth review. But I feel Salisbury does, especially after having been aired only recently and not having accumulated a high number of reviews yet.
Smaller budget. Shorter too, with only 3 episodes.
And yet what really grabbed my attention is how good the casting was, with actors emulating the characters really well.
I give it 10/10 for the excellent delivery by the actors. And not just one person. They all had a role to play. And delivered they did.
The gestures, the looks. Conveying strong emotions, showing ordinary people caught in the whirlwind and going through hard time.
I give it 10/ 10 for showing the story not only on the local level but also at the national one, with the coverage of the government communications and international implications. (however small they were)
I give it 10/10 for showing how these events affected the people directly involved, their families, the local community and businesses. I remember quite vividly the timeline and was feeling very sorry for all the people living in and around Salisbury.
I give it 5/10 for very minimal coverage of the Russian agents role in the attempted killings of Sergei Scripal and his daughter and minimal notion of who Scripal was. I suppose the reason for this was so that the documentary is not accused of being politicised.
I give it 10/10 for showing the inner workings of the various departments and agencies and showing realistic aspects of containment and costs involved.
If I was to nominate for an award one person involved in making this film, this would be Anne Marie Duff. For a non Hollywood, no glamour, but a normal, life like portrayal of Tracy Daszkiewicz. She carries the documentary with lightness and strength.
I hope the series will win recognition for a job well done.