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thpmorrisey
Reviews
Game of Thrones: The Bells (2019)
Crushingly disappointing conclusion.
Unquestionably the worst ever episode of the show.
King Charles III (2017)
Don't be put off by the bad reviews.
Almost didn't watch this based on the reviews on this page but so glad I did, it's an excellent piece of Shakespearean drama. The performances are excellent, Piggot-Smith is the standout, and it's satisfyingly short and efficient in its storytelling.
As far as I can tell many of the criticisms either come from offended monarchists or people who didn't like the blank verse dialogue and unrealistic plot. Although I can see why these would be issues for some people, I think they are inherent to it's pho-Shakespearean nature, it's not pretending to be an accurate and earnest take on the monarchy, it merely uses them it as setting and the Royals as very loosely based caricatures.
Go in expecting Shakespeare in a modern context, not a realistic drama about the monarchy.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Marvel takes it to the next level.
Ever since the massively successful experiment in shared universe building that was the original Avengers, it has felt somewhat like Marvel have been cruising along at the same level. Although there have been plenty of excellent films in the meantime, nothing has really matched the relative scope and ambition of that first Avengers film, best encapsulated by the somewhat disappointingly formulaic Age of Ultron.
Infinity War feels like that game changer, and Marvel upping a gear, showcasing a level of ambition in terms of scope of story and characters only seen before in adaptations of epic fantasy such as Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, in fact several times the film put me in mind of Return of the King. In terms of what is a purely cinematic narrative (based of course on decades of comics) the sheer scale of the film is surely unique.
Despite a run time of two hours forty minutes, the film rarely drags due to a break neck pace that never lets up, there is none of the dull opening exposition and set up that often hurts these films. On the down side, this is likely to leave those who aren't caught up on the series somewhat lost, while it is not essential to have seen every single Marvel film, it is probably important to have seen a large proportion of them.
It also finally feels like Marvel has overcome it 'Villain Problem', similar to the success of Michael B Jordan's character in Black Panther, Josh Brolin's Thanos is an excellent antagonist, with tangible motives and an engaging presence.
What is perhaps most remarkable about the film is that, it manages its large cast so effectively, not a single moment is wasted and all major characters have their moment to shine, all thanks to the incredibly efficient pacing and stucture.
Infinity War feels like the best film it could be. The vast scope means that it is impossible for it to quite engage on the same level as the more 'low key' solo entries in the genre, and the necessities of the fast pacing make it exhausting watching at times. Ultimately though, the film is a wild ride and emotional roller-coaster that is not to be missed for fans of the franchise.
Sherlock (2010)
Nowhere near as clever as it thinks it is.
Sherlock is perhaps the most overrated television program of recent history. 8 years on its surely time to admit that Moffat and Gattis wasted everyone time and license payer money with a show that consistently promised much only to continually disappoint. After a decent but flawed first episode I hoped the show would use its talented cast and strong aesthetic to grow into a good modern realisation of the classic stories, little was I to know that it would be all downhill from there.
The show is irritatingly overproduced by a crew that clearly feel that if they can throw enough flashy graphics, transitions and sounds at the audience as possible they won't notice that no actually realistic and engaging deduction and reasoning is going on, just Sherlock running around pulling answers from nowhere and expecting to be lorded as a genius for having worked something out the audience were never given a chance to think about. This shows a clear disdain and disinterest from the show runner Steven Moffat for the source material, still the summit of the detective genre, all so Moffat can play out his obsession with the hyper intelligent messiah character he has consistently created in his previous shows like Doctor Who and Jekyll.
When you strip everything away, all you find at the heart of Sherlock is not a mystery series, but a character study of a irritating narcissist who doesn't grow over 4 series.
Don't waste your time.
Dunkirk (2017)
"Saving Private Ryan it ain't"
While browsing the reviews for this film I saw one reviewer sum up his dislike for the film with the phrase "Saving Private Ryan it ain't". Ironically this sums up exactly why I love the film and why I think it's such a fresh ad exciting war film.
SPR starts out with (ignoring the clawingly awful modern day sequences) with a terrific action sequence, then proceeds to destroy the momentum it so expertly built by outlining its convoluted and cringeworthy central mission and painstakingly develop every archetypal character.
Dunkirk on the other hand maintains a relentless and ruthless momentum and tension throughout, never pausing for breath and heightened by Hans Zimmers excellent soundtrack. Many have complained about the lack of traditional story or characters but this is precisely its strength, it banks on our inherent humanity to get us to root for the people in this awful situation and their struggles. The simplicity of the plot and characters allow the film to organically widen its scope to a large cast of characters and, combined with the inventive narrative structure, give a truly comprehensive and believable feel for the events of the evacuation.
Dunkirks shunning of the traditional and tired war movie tropes makes it feel fresh and exciting, truly a classic of the genre in the making, and leaves many of its contemporaries in the shade, Saving Private Ryan it ain't.