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john-wmartin
Reviews
Pulse (2010)
Pilot with potential to make a great series
I watched this as part of the BBC3 Pilot Episodes series, so I assume it is potentially going to be a series. An excellent horror/drama set in a hospital where strange things are going on and evidence of research malpractice. For the non-medical among you, wakening during surgery as shown here is extremely rare (I am a retired anaesthetist), although for some reason films and TV like to exaggerate. It is not made clear exactly what has been done to the patients, but hopefully that would be resolved with a series. Tension is maintained very well without resorting to extensive use of CGI. I just hope it doesn't become just another Zombie type program if made into a series. Claire Foy is excellent, and Emily Beecham (Stella) who is not credited in the cast list here also acquits herself well. Recommended viewing.
Fairy Tales: Cinderella (2008)
An updated Cinderella
An excellent little romantic comedy. Much better than 'Rapunzel', the previous episode in the 'Fairy Tales' series.
James Nesbitt performs with his usual panache. What excellent comic timing the man has! Maxine Peake made an appealing Cinderella character.
Strange to see Lucy Punch performing a similar character to her role in 'Ella Enchanted' - hope she doesn't get typecast as an 'ugly sister' 8-)
Alas, this year we haven't got round to actually going to see a live pantomime, and this was the next best thing.
I hope the rest of the series is to the same high standard as this episode and look forward to them with anticipation.
Driftwood (1947)
One of my daughters' all-time favourite films!
I must have sat through this film at least twenty times, and cannot say that I was bored on any of them. My girls insisted I record it from them (on VHS) when it was on about 25 years ago, and then proceeded to watch it every Saturday morning for the next 6 months. It may be rather twee nd cute, but even now "daisy's ... they're my favourite flower" still evokes a smile from them and from my wife Predictable, happy ending - but then what else do you want from a children's film? Natalie Wood performs very ably, and the other main characters are highly satisfactory, including the lady who played the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz. Highly recommended for those with small girls, and I wish they would issue it on DVD
Doctor Who: Blink (2007)
The one with very little of the Doctor!
I believe this to be the best episode of Doctor Who which I have ever seen (and I've seen them all over the years). The Doctor and his assistant hardly appear at all in this episode, which basically has to do with strange twists in the timeline and much like the 'are you my mummy' episode is genuinely frightening at times. The make-up of the villains is excellent, as is their 'acting'. Carry Mulligan is excellent and I am sure has a great future in her chosen profession. I hope the villains reappear in future episodes.
Spoiler Doctor who and his assistant are trapped in 1969 and must depend upon the help of a young woman in the present day to rescue them from their predicament.
Miami Vice (2006)
This film is a triumph of style over substance. Not recommended.
I will confess to being bored by this film. So much so that I am amazed that I actually made it to the end. There was nothing there to maintain my interest. Colin Farrell was totally wooden, as was Jamie Foxx. The settings were beautiful, but every internal scene seemed to have been filmed in semi-darkness.At least the actors didn't fall into that awful American habit of inserting what sounds like 'full stop' every 3 or 3 words, but dialogue was still slurred and on occasions difficult to discern. Thank goodness for subtitles on DVD! The entire content of the film was just about enough for a 40 minute TV episode, but alas the film lacked the humour and self-deprecation of the original TV series. This isn't quite the worst film I've watched in the last 12 months, but it's pretty close. In summary : Style over substance.