brian-85466 Reviews

Nomadland (2020)

A

[5/10 · 12 May 2021]

Sadly, a very disappointing film, the actual Nomads in the film were more interesting than the fictional character portrayed by the lead.

What the Academy saw is beyond me, as The Father and the Sound of Metal are much better films.

Nomadland should have been made as a documentary, discovering the stories of those who chose their lives on the road would have been a more rewarding film.

As for the Directing, it was at best, the equivalent of a 3rd rate film student.

When the cinemas reopen, don't bother with this film, go and see The Father and Sound of Metal, far better films, especially the Father.

Nobody (I) (2021)

Relentless Fun

[8/10 · 7 May 2021]

I didn't know what to expect from this film, but what it delivered was a bucket load of relentless fun, with the underdog winning through.

He is a one man A-Team with John McGyver thrown in for good measure!

Nice to see Jim from the sit-com Taxi in a 'serious role'.

Glorious!

Chance in a Million (1984–1986)

Excellent Fun

[8/10 · 6 May 2021]

Currently watching this again, on Forces TV, it is brilliant, 'coincidentally', it's hilarious. Simon Callow and Brenda Blethyn are fantastic together, the scripts are totally mad. Pull up a chair and watch this 80's extravaganza of misunderstanding and coincidence.

Heaven Can Wait (1943)

What a Gem

[10/10 · 24 April 2021]

I am 60 years old and this is the first time, to my knowledge, that I have watched this film, of course I've seen all the other remakes and versions, but this is a pure Gem, everything is just perfect!

The terrestrial channels in the UK won't show it, so Thank You to Talking Pictures for taking the time.

The Comeback Trail (2020)

The Producers without the laughs ot talent!

[1/10 · 22 April 2021]

Don't waste your time, the funniest thing about this movies is when Walter reads a review of he and Max's latest film, the reviewer writes the best thing about this film is its it's only 90 minutes long and then it ends, at 102 minutes then it ends, it's the only positive thing you can say about The Comeback Trail too.

Six Minutes to Midnight (2020)

A Sadly Disappointing Story

[4/10 · 28 March 2021]

The films premise is weak, I am sure, as Izzard grew up in Bexhill-on-Sea he must have heard better rumours/stories of what allegedly happened at the school, than this.

That aside, I found Izzard and D'arcy very good. Noticed D'arcy's voice has been taken down an octave or two to make him sound more menacing. Dench was her usual dependent self, not a great deal to work with in her character.

Nice to see Finty Williams in something other than the opening credits of the brilliant sit-com, As Time Goes By. She is very good in her very brief appearance in this film.

Somerset Maugham Hour: The Facts of Life (1960) Season 1, Episode 10

Trivia

[8/10 · 30 January 2021]

This story also appeared in the series Tales of The Unexpected, now the trivia fact: Ron Grainer in this version is the Night club Band Leader. He later went to compose the theme tune to Tales of the Unexpected. He's wrote some fantastic themes, and this one is no exception

Somerset Maugham Hour: Sanatorium (1960) Season 1, Episode 2

JOHN LAURIE, 1 MAN/2 ROLES

[7/10 · 30 January 2021]

This is a story originally from the film, Trio, which is a trilogy of films based on stories by Somerset Maugham. An interesting fact about this version of The Sanatorium and the one in Trio; John Laurie played Mr Campbell in the original, in this version he plays Mr McLeod.

Blithe Spirit (2020)

Loved It! Put on Your Varifoclas and watch it!

[7/10 · 21 January 2021]

Ignore the other reviews; this is a very funny film.

It has been adapted, for the modern filmgoer, very well, and the actors are all brilliant, they have avoided doing impressions of the cast of the original film, which is oft the case these days with remakes.

They have opened up the film with lots of exterior scenes,.so it's less like it's theatrical predecessor.

I'm sure even Noel Coward would have approved of this version, on the whole.

The locations used in this film are marvellous, the Condomine home is an amazing, absolutely beautiful property, and true to the period.

Dangerous Youth (1957)

A fun film, Not A National Service Recrutment Advert

[7/10 · 18 January 2021]

Why is everyone attacking Anna Neagle, yes her production company made it, which means Anna signed the cheques, the film is written by Jack Trevor Story, who in all honesty is a better novelist than screen writer, and Herbert Wilcox directed the film, and the film isn't as bad as the reviews here, if you wanted to see an information film on Britains National Service then watch one, but this is a film made for entertainment, and it does just that. Frankie Vaughan was a singer, not a trained actor, so yes he struggled with the dialogue sometimes or what to do with his hands, but please don't attack him or the other performers, they don't deserve it.

Chessgame (1983)

Terence Stamp is brilliant

[7/10 · 18 January 2021]

Terence Stamp is brilliant in this series, he has his tongue planted firmly in cheek, and Carmen Du Sautoy is as beautiful as she is talented, and sadly she is under used in this series.

If I have a complaint; each of the 3 stories from Anthony Price's novels, are a little too rushed, they should have made 3 episodes per story, then we would have had more of the character and plot development, as in the novels.

We Can Be Heroes (II) (2020)

Excellent film, according to my Grandchildren and they know best

[7/10 · 14 January 2021]

I have given this film 7 stars because my 4 & 5 year old Grandaughter & Grandson love the film. They have watched it several times now..From an adult point of view; yes the plot is weak, it possibly inadvertently parodies similar films, some of the dialogue and action is cringeworthy, but I can tell you I have watched a lot of the films released in 2019 & 2020, and We Could Be Heroes is better than most of those.

The alien President & Granada remind me of Tories Boris Johnson and Priti Patel, so.a.possible political satire too.

Fringe (2008–2013)

What a load of pseudo-intellectual TWADDLE

[14 January 2021]

'Twaddle', for the yanks reading this, is english slang for garbage! And that is exactly what the dialogue is. And the biggest mystery about this series is not in it's plots, but how the actors are able to say their lines with a straight face! They must have been injected with Botox!

We came to this series Fringe, believing it to be a sitcom about a barber, as banal as a sitcom about a 1960's barber is, I so wish it was, as my wife insists on sitting through each episode of this twaddle!

Strange Holiday (1945)

Released in 1945, Could Be America Today Under Trump

[8/10 · 9 January 2021]

Claude Rains is his usual brilliant self.

The film is a terrifying vision of the USA had the Conservative Elite been able to take over the country with their Make America Great fascist rhetoric. Sounds familiar? The raid on the Capitol Building on Wednesday 6th January 2021 could have been the downfall of the USA if Trump the Turnip is not drummed out of politics and the USA. Trump may well have broken the titular country!

Cover (1981– )

Cover Was Brilliant - DVD please!!

[9/10 · 31 December 2020]

I remember this show so well, very cheaply made but the writing and acting is superfluous. Ahead of it's time, probably the reason Thames didn't commission another series, one of their few poor decisions, in my opinion.

From memory; each episode is basically a 3 - 4 hander and effectively 1 - 2 studio sets, no exteriors, but the interplay between spy and spy catchers is brilliant

I have been desperate to see this series again, I even sent a tweet to the Philip Mackie's Granddaughter, who is an actress, to ask if she could ask her Grandmother if Philip may have had a spare copy of this fabulous series. Sadly I didn't receive a reply.

Talking Pictures have shown a several of the old Thames series, so I emailed them to ask if they may be able to get the rights to show Cover, they will if it comes up and the price is right. Fingers Crossed.

The Stand In (2020)

Atlastu2

[3/10 · 29 December 2020]

Of course Paula is an opportunist, it's a film set in the film industry where everyone is an opportunist hoping to get discovered as an actor, director, writer etc.

Settle yourself down, prepare for a bumpy ride and go and watch a film called All About, Eve. It will blow your mind, and before you mention it in a review, yes, it is a Black & White film.

World's End (1981)

Excellent Series

[8/10 · 21 December 2020]

I haven't seen this series since it first aired, as it's never been repeated since, but from memory, I feel Broganpeter is wrong in his Eastenders analogy as, apart from it's central character being a London pub, there is little else to link it to Eastenders, the pub in this and it's customers was a metaphor for Thatcher's Britain, and the stories were more realistic, better written and acted than anyhing Eastenders churned out!

Rent-an-Elf (2018 TV Movie)

DREADFUL, PREDICTABLE TRIPE

[5/10 · 9 December 2020]

I'm all for job creation schemes and giving struggling actors a break from serving at tables and bars, but please Hallmark & other production customers that put out this sugary, schmaltz, have respect for them them and give them a script worthy of their talent and ambitions!

Remember the Night (1939)

A 24 KARAT DIAMOND

[9/10 · 7 December 2020]

Wow, if Hallmark could make films like this.

We had exhusted our usual list of the Christmas Classics, and so went looking for a Christmas film not made by Hallmark. I typed one word into the search space of our streaming provider, 'Christmas' and it came up with a few Christmas films I hadn't heard of including this little gem, 'Remember The Night'. This is going to be on our list going forward.

It's such a lovely film, and the two leads are brilliant, as is the rest of the cast.

This film was written by the great Preston Sturges, but not directed by him, which meant Stanwyck and MacMurray were, I think, given a little bit of freedom to ad-lib when they were in the car scenes for instance, which showcased their relaxed chemistry together.

There are some excellent one liners in this film, and the great joke that is Sergents Grandfather.

Who would have thought Sterlimg Holloway had such a lovely singing voice?

The ending was a surprising twist, I can only assume it was demanded of by the film censors of the day, as I imagine Sturges' ending would have been different. This ending however could have given rise to a sequel, but then in the 40's nobody in the movie industry would have contemplated such a thought.

I have to say, Barbara Stanwyck was such a beautiful woman and a very talented actress across all genres, and for a comedy this film covers a lot of different emotions by both leads.

There were some wonderful actresses during the 40's and 50's and Stanwyck is up there with the best of them, a 24karat diamond, thank you, Missy.

Flashforward: No More Good Days (2009) Season 1, Episode 1

Thank God I didn't watch the formulaic tripe, Lost!

[6/10 · 2 December 2020]

The person who claimed Flashforward ripped off Lost, perhaps he/she/it needs to get out more!

The Awful Truth (1937)

Brilliant film from the leads to the cat and dog

[8/10 · 29 November 2020]

This is a brilliantly acted written and directed movie from that golden age of Hollywood when although the studios controlled things the actors were real stars!

Obviously everyone loves Cary Grant, but Irene Dunne is a class above in this and every film she starred in. She is beautiful, talented as an actress & singer, she is so self-assured with a magical flair for comedy timing and dramatic roles.

The Awful Truth is a wonderful film, if only we had the talent today in the film industry to make movies like this, the world would be a much better place.

There are some hilarious moments throughout the film, but none better than when Irene Dunne pretends to be her almost ex-husband's sister, and the faces showing the shock and the horror of the Vance family. Priceless!

Acceptable Risk: Episode #1.4 (2017) Season 1, Episode 4

A Very Good Thriller

[3/10 · 22 November 2020]

This is a fantastic thriller, and well worth watching. Thanks to Scottish TV, we have been able to see it because neither the BBC or ITV companies bothered to buy it, preferring to make trash reality shows and soaps!

The writing, production and acting is excellent in this series, that is with the exception of Rory Nolan, whose performance is absolutely terrible, the other actors must have been pulling their hair out, because Nolan is not up to the standards of any other actor in this series, and I mean everyone.

Well done to everyone else, for entertaining me, thank you.

Ivy & Mistletoe (2020 TV Movie)

Cynthia Gibb

[1/10 · 22 November 2020]

Please Cynthia, not another Hallmark Christmas movie on your CV!

You have to get of this treadmill, you are a talented actor and your career deserves better! We deserve better and more.

Can't comment on the film itself, but we all know the formula for Hallmark, boy loses girl, girl wins boy with some sickly slush and tedious indignation along the way, which is why Ms Gibb deserves better.

Hazell: Hazell and the Public Enemy (1979) Season 2, Episode 12

A fitting end to an excellent series

[7/10 · 18 November 2020]

An interesting ending to an excellent series, sad it didn't get a third series, as we were entering the period of Thatchers Britain, this episode alone showed the rise of the media manipulating the narrative to sell papers, and the previous episode featured a particularly disgusting far right organisation, both of which Thatcher approved of.

Ironically, John Bindon who is in this episode, was the preferred choice of Terry Venable's to play James Hazell, but Thames Executives had other thoughts. Personally I never saw the appeal of Mr Bindon, he wasn't even a 'mediocre actor'.

It's also a shame that Nick Ball's career stalled after this, as he definitely had star quality. Maybe he didn't want it, preferring the variety of a jobbing, character actor, rather than tied down to a long running series.

The Odessa File (1974)

Probably the Best Nazi Hunter film ever

[9/10 · 15 November 2020]

There are a lot of reviewers on here who have forgotten that most films are purely for entertainment, and whilst they have a foot in the fact camp, nobody wants to watch the amazing documentary film Berlin (1945 about the fall of Berlin) everytime they go to see a European war film, so as entertainment this is a brilliantly made film, with the wonderful twist at the end.

So, to.my review;

I don't agree with the facist politics of Frederick Forsyth, but he does write a good yarn!

Forsyth's basic story is the basis for this film, and the script is written by the brilliant George Markstein (creator of Thames TV's Special Branch) & Kenneth Ross, who scripted and enhanced another of Forsyth' novels, The Day of the Jackal. A fantastic pair of writers to cast together.

John Voight actually shows he can act, given the right Director, the brilliant Ronald Neame. I've always found Voight to be a rather wooden actor, but here he seemed to take on the skin of the fictional Peter Millar.

People have criticised the upbeat music and particularly the song Christmas Dream used in the film, I personally think both add to the film, I'm sure those who saw this film at the cinema came away humming the tune to the song, which is all any composer wants.

As I said; get dragged in by the dramatic tension, and yes, never forget the pain perpetrated by the Nazi's, but watch the film as the entertainment value for which it was created.

We can all have a Christmas Dream as Covid-19 drags down our world. Merry Christmas everybody.