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Reviews
Detectorists (2014)
What an achievement!
How could anyone possibly write a comedy of this splendour about such a seemingly dismal premise? Hat tip to you Mr Crook. He introduces us to the lives of two innocuous middle aged men who pursue a hobby that is largely filled with tedium, and punctuated only very rarely by moments of brief excitement. The comedy lies in the fact that whilst they appear rudderless and lost, and engage in this largely futile effort to find 'treasure', they blissfully take for granted the riches they already possess - their friendship, relationships, and the countryside in which they live. The performances of the lead characters are outstanding, with Toby Jones delivering a masterclass in bone-dry quips. The gentle pace of direction is perfect and allows us to luxuriate in this warm bath of humour, soaking up the dialogue. I've watched all available episodes now, including the Xmas special and what a sublime ending that brought to the whole thing - cracking stuff!
The Swimmers (2022)
Bigger than the sum of it's parts.
I suppose that in purely critical terms, and for this particular film, the message is greater than the actual movie. But it's a message that must be heard - cinema has many functions, and this is one of it's most important. The performances are solid, and the pace doesn't flag and, whilst the outcome is never in doubt, there are some truly gripping moments which make it clear what risks the girls are taking. What the movie doesn't show, however, is the scale and horror of what they are fleeing, nor the consequences for the many thousands of refugees who don't make it safely across the sea. The cinematography is largely 'workmanlike', with the odd exception, and one particularly outstanding scene at a swimming competition early on in the film. The coda reminds us that this is unfinished business.
The Undeclared War (2022)
Far-fetched in places, but a prescient wake-up call nonetheless
Perhaps I should have given this a 7, or even a 6, because the plot devices necessarily needed to lift a drama about an essentially boring activity (digital espionage) were a bit far fetched in places. Added to that the acting, with the exception of Pegg and Rylance, was a bit thin too. However, the dramatic tempo picked up pretty well before the halfway point, and the topicality was absolutely bang on the money. The extent to which media manipulation and propaganda is used against ordinary people is something which needs to be explored far more often - we all know it's happening to an extent, but the frightening premise of this drama is that it's much, much worse than we imagine.
Hereditary (2018)
Such promise... such a shame...
The first half of this film is terrific, apart from the dreadful score which shouts SCARY MOVIE at you whenever it can - seriously, we can work this out for ourselves you know. The real horror is, of course, the tragedy and guilt which tears the family apart early on, but rather than using the supernatural as a metaphor for the resultant trauma and mental illness (which would have made a far more interesting film) the movie sells itself out as a sort of schlocky 70's Hammer House of Horror at the end. I don't know... perhaps the writer just got bored and gave the script to their teenage nephew to finish off?
Contagion (2011)
Only one thing they missed out
What an astonishingly prescient movie from nearly 10 years ago. A serious pandemic has been on the cards for a long, long time but, nevertheless, it's amazing how much they got right; it almost seems like a documentary. Of course, they didn't make the low-life scumbag pedalling a useless quack cure into the president of the United States.... but I guess that would have been a bit far-fetched, right?
You Were Never Really Here (2017)
He was never really there
It's all in his head, and the girl is really his own daughter.
Wine Country (2019)
Nope
I'd hoped this might be the female answer to 'Sideways'. Nope.
Mary Queen of Scots (2018)
An interesting take
I suspect that all the history buffs complaining about this film not being totally accurate are being pedantic and missing the point. That modern issues of #MeToo, Brexit and Scottish Independence have echoes in 450 year old historical events should be of interest to everyone, and the inclusion of black and Asian faces in the cast merely underlines the idea that we could easily be watching a drama about events today. To anyone reading these reviews and wondering whether to go see this film - please ignore the silly 1 and 2 star reviews; this film easily stands on it's own merits and is well worth watching.