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matthewhuk
Reviews
Sex Education: Episode 7 (2023)
A mishmash of misery,
Oh dear, what an embarrassment and complete and utter miserable mess sex education has become, series 1-3 were really enjoyable, upbeat but with some tender moments, clearly the writers have run out of ideas, resulting in a complete mishmash of misery.
Gone are the playful storylines, instead everyone seems to be a manic depressive with major issues.
The whole 'O' against Otis story is weak as there's no reason the kindergarten college couldn't have 2 sex therapists, in fact having one of each sex makes perfect sense,
The writers have chosen to represent the LGBT+ community as a bunch of technicolour cartoon freaks, who are so 'individual' they're all the same! Which as a gay person myself I find pretty offensive not to mention reinforcing stereotypes.
Instead of focusing on developing a few key characters they've chosen to chuck a load of extras in, most of whose storylines go nowhere. The only character I can feel any compassion for is Adam,
What a disappointing final series all round.
Beyond Paradise (2023)
Beyond idiotic!
Was really looking forward to this death in paradise spin off, especially as Kris Marshal was one of my favourite DIs from the series, and also because being a West Country boy it's set in my part of the world.
Filmed in Cornwall but bizzatly set in Devon, obviously didn't want to be seen to be mimicking Doc Martin too closely, although actually it's just a police version of doc Martin with a less grumpy lead. Just like Doc Martin & other West Country based series such as the dreadful McDonald and Dodds the actors have been sent to the same school of generic West Country accent coaching, (clearly based in the middle of Bristol) and ridiculously unsubtle, over the top and of course spoken by every single resident.
The locals are depicted as the stereotypical dumb village idiots which is just
boringly tedious, plane lazy and unimaginative writing.
You couldn't get away with depicting any other social group in this way these days but here we are yet again!
The police officers in death in paradise weren't written as being imbeciles so why are they in this, especially the incredibly irritating older female secretary character.
It's a shame because this stupidity really ruins what could be an acceptable series, the fact it's different mysteries rather than murders is an interesting touch and of course some lovely scenery and touching moments between Humphrey and Martha. However the tiring carrot crunching yokel routine just ruins it.
You can mix comedy with more serious issues as shown in Death in Paradise and other successful pats series such as Heartbeat, but beyond paradise just come across as being an idiotic farce than amusing light hearted police drama.
Holidaying with Jane McDonald (2020)
Absolutely no worthwhile content whatsoever.
Hi I'm Jane Macdonald, your favourite northern celebrity cruise ship singer, 'ere's me having a lark in some foreign place, showing you me 'otel room the likes of you could never afford, or filling me face in a restaurant, or perhaps 'avin' a swim in the sea with some gal pals I've shacked up with, while simultaneously managing to show you absolutely nothing of the landscapes, locations or history of the places I'm visiting. Nice one Jane, shame this program is all about you and not about the actual destinations, I've enjoyed more informative amateur 10 minute YouTube videos than this utter tosh!
Young Royals (2021)
Slow and stilted.
The Young Royals main storyline revolves around the life of a teen prince send to a private boarding school and the awakening and exploration of his sexuality. Set in Sweden by Swedish speaking actors and overdubbed into English.
I"m not sure if it's the poorly executed, lack lustre dubbing that renders this Swedish teen drama rather awkward feeling, or the slow, stilted angst infused storyline. Either way It ends up coming across as slightly amateurish.
There is about enough here to hold the attention but certainly nothing to enthuse over which is a shame as it does have potential to be so much better.
There are far superior and more uplifting gay teen dramas out there such as Heartstopper which beats this hands down.
Grantchester: Episode #7.2 (2022)
Another ITV soap.
90% of this episode revolves around the personal lives of Geordie and will - the far fetched priest who seems more interested in his sex life than any church duties, not even the end of episode moral sermon. The crime subplot takes a backseat in this extremely week episode.
It's a real shame Granchester just seems to becoming yet another ITV soap opera, but I guess tha's all ITV is capable of producing these days, so no great surprise there.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)
An embarrassment.
First movie was unexpectedly enjoyable, unfortunately this second instalment is just an embarrassment to watch. Over the top use of cgi, lack lustre acting, especially Taron Egerton's monotonous mundane delivery of every line, the crass tedious drawn out plot, render it just dull and ridiculous rather than fast, furious or even particularly funny, Actors were obviously paid a bonus for every time they used the F word, which just becomes rather pathetic, sad and repetitive.
God knows what Elton John thought he was doing being involved with this, though I guess he never did have much taste, my respect for him has certainly diminished considerably after watching this mess of a movie!
The Larkins (2021)
An expected disappointment.
Wasn't expect too much from this remake of the classic and much loved original Darling Buds of May after hearing it would be broadcast by the atrocious ITV network. At least I wasn't disappointed in that respect.
Lacks any warmth or charm of the original series, terrible false acting and over the top ethnic representation for what would have been a country village in the 1950s. Thought Bradley Walsh might make a reasonable Pa Larkin but sadly it was not to be, Ma Larkin fairs slightly better but only because she comes across very much like Pam Ferris in the original series.
Managed to sit the first episode out but won't be tuning in for anymore, What a disappointment!
Professor T (2021)
Dull dross.
Really not sure what this series is trying to be, light and quirky, yet at the same time, dull, dark and depressing, unfortunately throwing in the odd surreal quirky moment doesn't distract from how uncaptivating the resulting mess is, not helped by the unconvincing acting and casting of the investigating detective trio.
Alice in Wonderland (1951)
Noisy nonsense!
Never enjoyed this story as a kid and certainly not warmed to it watching again as an adult, it's like a noisy shouty series of headache inducing hallucinogenic trips! Maybe Alice should have kept off the magic mushrooms and spared us all this nonsense!
Lacks warmth, lacks story and lacks charm, more the stuff of nightmares than fairytales! The animation is also fairly plain & crude compared to earlier Disney animations such as Bambi.
Henry Gamble's Birthday Party (2015)
Dull with an uncomfortable underlying atmosphere.
Didn't really work for me. Opening scene was the best part, even though it was really hard to make out the dialogue, (a theme persisting throughout).
Unfortunately after the promising opener it slid rapidly down dull hill, despite the one redeeming feature of some nice eye candy with the lead actor especially, however that didn't distract from the uncomfortable underlying atmosphere (not helped by the dark incidental music) soon making its presence felt despite it being a supposedly celebratory birthday party.
I turned it off after bearing 30 minutes of action (or should I say very much lack of action, as all events just seem to unfold around the family pool) with the increasing feeling it would cumulate in an awkward coming out scene and no doubt emotional conflict from the disapproving Christians.
A few week attempts at trying to be arty with the cinematography was not enough to distract from the overall amateurish cringeworthy American soap opera feel complete with perfect bodies, perfect smiles on perfectly mediocre actors.
If you're expecting a heartwarming, feel good coming out story, emphasis on "story" with some varied locations thrown in to add variety then best to look elsewhere!
Coming 2 America (2021)
A dire disappointment
Oh dear!, what a disappointment! Just needed some canned laughter and Will Smith and it could have been an overacted budget dodgy daytime American sitcom.
No laugh out loud moments, no warmth or charm of the original, just a load of boring contrived, embarrassing cringeworthy claptrap!
McDonald & Dodds (2020)
Dire and Dodds more like!
Was looking forward to this new Sunday evening easy watching entertainment from ITV. Nice to have a change from reality shows and get back to the gentle dramas perfect to wind down to on a Sunday.
What a disappointment firstly why do ITV insist on giving every one from the west country the same generic Vicky pollard type west country accent, from Port Wenn to Bath it appears, and to give the identical accent to almost every single character whatever their level of education! I live near Bath and no one in bath speaks remotely similar to this London idea of a west country dialect. It may have worked if this is a comedy sketch show, but it just felt like the actors were constantly taking the pee,making the acting look terrible at the same time!
There wasn't even anything likeable about the characters, McDonald's just came across as patronising and arrogant who doesn't understand the yocal ways of a small town police force, and Dodds the bumbling village idiot. The only saving grace was the beautiful Bath location and inclusion of Robert Lindsey in the first episode,
Let's hope the don't commission this for a further run!