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The Ones Below (2015)
Tense Psychological Thriller..?
That's what the little synopsis on my tv guide said. Well it was about as tense as Nora Batty's stockings and as thrilling as emptying the bins! I guess at least part of 'psychological' was there though, whichever way you look at it.. :s
Why was Mr dominant so surly, unfriendly and angry.. weren't they expecting something they'd long desired and waited for..?
Why did Finnish lady guzzle wine when she was supposedly carrying their long-awaited treasure?
Was 'her downstairs' actually pregnant to begin with? Seemed quite convincing, but...
Why did Kate not mention Swedish lass breastfeeding or trying to breastfeed Peter.. sorry Billy..? She looked pretty sick when she saw it.. but it wasn't mentioned... did I imagine that..?
Why didn't Kate take a camera with her downstairs? Or take their camera at least: she'd already sneaked in and snooped about.
Why was it so slow? I don't mind slow but just felt like torture.
What was the story with Kate's family? Why did we have to guess most of that?
What happened to the kitty? Oh... :(
What ... interesting acting by daddy..
Stuck it out till the end, but feel a little gullible for hoping it would get better..
Black Mirror (2011)
Disturbingly popular
** This review contains spoilers **
I was trying to find a new series to watch on Netflix, and, missing the amazing (but deceptive) Jinni, browsed 'similarshows'. This show came up as one of one of four 'Mind Boggling Shows Like The X-Files'. I never really got into X-Files, but quite liked the bits I saw. IMDb's score (for BM) was 8.9, so I thought it was well worth checking out.. Big mistake. similarshows certainly got the 'mind boggling' aspect right, but they missed the word 'awful'. If only I'd checked the reviews here first, as some share my view and would've warned me. Not only was the main theme of the first episode repulsive, it was completely ridiculous.
I guess I'm one of those who 'missed the messages... ' '...the relationship between technology and psychology'.. Well the tech. fell down for me when they didn't realise a dismembered finger was actually a man's; and as for the psychology: man kidnaps girl, man makes fantastically ridiculous demands, PM says no, one of his staff makes incredibly stupid mistake, his subordinates say he must comply, his wife cries, he decides he will (or more accurately, he's bullied into it), evidence is available to show the man is unlikely to kill the girl but they ignore it, everyone, including the kids, watches 'the act' on national TV, at tea time. 'It' apparently goes on for over an hour, then afterwards they find out that the guy released the girl before the act had begun, then topped himself. Maybe I am missing something, but I really can't see much depth to it at all. I found the psychology of 'The Fall' deep, immersive and disturbing. Not this.
I'm not a big fan of watching more of something that's rubbish (imo) just to see if it gets better.. If that's what floats the creators' boats (and a multitude of viewers who thought it was 'outstanding' (as did the Emmy's it seems), 'brilliant' and 'the best show ever', I'll jump ship.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Ill-fitting
I've nearly watched this several times, and when I actually did watch it last night, the intro really made me think I wasn't going to like it... Visually, the intro reminded me of (the awesome) Daredevil intro., but sadly only because of the slick graphics and 'flowing liquid'.. Musically it made me expect some kind of fast-paced dark, violent action thriller. It's like a frenetic, dark Bond intro. The film is more moody, and apart from a few scenes, generally much less frantic.
They got a good, 'meaty' story going with Lisbeth I thought, but then spoiled it by almost forgetting about it. There was a particularly awful scene involving her, which I thought they'd play out more, but she dealt with it in her own way, then there was only a brief return to it later on.. I don't see the point. It wasn't part of her history: it just happened.. and it didn't seem to affect her much: her relationship with Mikael could've been much more interesting if they'd weaved that into her character. As it was, I wish I hadn't seen it. There could have been more to Mikael's character too. I believe that it would have worked better if their relationship was platonic: he could have been the guardian that she never appeared to have had.
I dislike unnecessary violence, etc. in films. It often seems to be added in to please certain audiences, and I feel like that about some of the scenes in this. Overall, it was okay, but why do this remake? Apparently the Swedish version is pretty good. This version even had most of the actors doing Swedish accents.. except 'Bond' who didn't bother.. I got a little lost with all the similar names. The ending I found sad, but overall a bit disappointing. I just found several elements ill-fitting.
I intend to watch the Swedish one at some point.
Daredevil (2003)
Shallow but entertaining.
Re. Spoilers: A couple of very minor ones, but on the whole, I think I've avoided them.. I've been avoiding this, since I LOVE the series, and saw the poor rating of this. I also thought Ben Affleck is too 'pretty' for this role (and read that he wasn't the best Batman..).. However, I tried to bury my preconceived ideas, and therefore enjoyed it: I'm pleased I watched it, since I can't watch the first two series of DD AGAIN just yet! :o Overall I thought it was rather 'shallow', but then again, it must be hard to squeeze such a lot of plot/characters into a couple of hours of film. I prefer every character/actor in the series, but still, I did like this. Farrell was amusing, but Duncan is just a gentle giant in my mind ('John Coffey'): the size of him fits, but I kept expecting him to say something sweet or funny.. What I liked most of all, which I missed in the series, is getting a bit of 'visual' (yeah I know..) on how Matt 'sees'. You're left to imagine it for yourself in the series. I was very disappointed in the 'mustard' scene.. till he swapped them! lol. When watching something like this I try to be open-minded. Each 'medium' is different, and if you compare them, you're often disappointed. Of course, it is often nigh-on impossible NOT to compare them, but I find it helps to try ;) P.S: I've never read comics, and had barely even heard of Daredevil before I watched the series (this film is probably why I'd even heard of it at all..)
Jane Eyre (2006)
Shame they couldn't be true to Bronte
I did enjoy this version, but having read the book, I was left feeling 'insulted' on Bronte's behalf, and a potentially excellent mini-series was marred. Why? Well, we are used to watching things on the screen that are greatly changed from reality, and one learns to overlook the offending details - otherwise nothing would be enjoyable; and there is nothing wrong with a little poetic license. However, when something claims to be an adaptation of a classic work, one would hope that it would retain the core elements of that work..
I tried not to dwell too much on the omission of huge chunks of the book which depicts Jane's 'pre-Rochester' life. I even tried not to feel too indignant at Jane's lack of 'plain-ness': I feel that Ruth Wilson is more attractive than Bronte intended Jane to be.. However, when we meet Mr Rochester, and he is considerably more attractive than depicted in the book, I began to feel that the makers of this adaptation didn't see where Bronte was coming from at all.. It wasn't about physical attraction. Lord knows we see enough of that everywhere. It was about the connection of their 'inner selves', a meeting of minds and souls! When this Mr Rochester asks Jane if she can make him more handsome, it just sounds silly!
What I object to mostly however, is the scenes following the wedding prior to Jane leaving. This was just so not how it was written. It does not fit with the book/Jane/Bronte at all. It's just plain wrong! They also watered down Edward's injuries at the end, as if Jane couldn't have loved him the way he was; then failed to inform us of the improvement in his condition.
I'm a sucker for a good romance, so I still enjoyed it, and had I not read the book first I would have scored it 9. However, a few marks must be lost for the disregard shown to Ms Bronte's work.
I'll watch the 1973 then 83 versions next. I only wish I'd read this stuff years ago!
Pride and Prejudice (1995)
Did her proud!
I was extremely impressed with this adaptation and how true it was to Austen's work. The acting was wonderful and I was thoroughly disappointed when it came to an end! I think Ms Austen would be pleased with this work: it 'Did her proud'!
Colin Firth was exceptional as Mr Darcy. He portrayed the part perfectly; creating that same feeling of dislike for him at the beginning, due to his aloof manner, then warming to him increasingly as time moved on. From stuffy to dashing with aplomb!
Jennifer Ehle was perfect. Beautiful, though managing to fit very well with the period; of a gentle, yet strong disposition. She is likable from the beginning of course, being the heroine, but she plays her part with finesse.
Susannah Harker was wonderful as Jane. She fit Austen's gentle Jane perfectly and became more beautiful as more of her soft nature was revealed. She also fits my idea of what I believe they would have considered beautiful at the time.
I wasn't hugely keen on Lydia, but that is the character, rather than the actress. However, Mrs Bennet wasn't what I expected at all: she seemed like a grossly exaggerated version of Austen's Mrs B to me. Still, she provided some humour and entertainment as well as irritation.
All in all, a wonderful mini-series which I will surely watch again.
Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Easy-going entertainment
I found this film to be easy-going entertainment for a family afternoon of relaxation. Actor-spotting was fun, especially for the voice-only actors (Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry, Babs Windsor, etc..) and I found it visually stimulating: expected from Mr Burton. I am a Depp fan and he delivered his usual quirky style, showing off another accent which I thought quite convincing, on the whole: but the whole film felt a little empty and shallow to me. It seemed to just meander along nicely without anything to really stimulate the emotions. We enjoyed it, but I doubt any of us will be wishing to watch it again. I'd like to give it a 6.5 but I'll be generous and go for a 7 :)
The Game (1997)
Was expecting so much more
Michael Douglas acts his role well, as expected. However I found this film to be disappointing. 'The Game' started almost immediately, with no build-up, and very little history or depth to his character, Nicholas Van Orton. This meant, for me, that the ending was a let-down, because the film hadn't made me feel that Van Orton deserved it. Though there was an increasing feeling that something exciting was about to happen, for me it failed to deliver. The 'big twists' were rather predictable I found, and I was just left thinking, 'What a horrible thing to do'. I really feel that had the film-makers speeded up the drawn-out parts of the film, and spent a little more time making Van Orton look like the horrid guy he was supposed to be at the beginning, the ending would have made much more sense.