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Reviews
Agatha Raisin: As the Pig Turns (2020)
Increasingly preposterous
I enjoyed the first 2 series. Yes they were light and unbelievable as a serious murder mystery series but they were entertaining and i would rate then 6.5. This latest season has been shocking. Poor scripts, more plot holes than a piece of crochet, poor characterisation. This final one in the series was worst of all.
Agatha's clothing is inappropriate and her make up is always too much. The Inspector is given a script that is pathetic- whilst it is traditional that the police are never as bright as the private detective this takes it to a whole new level.
Sorry but I wont be watching future series.
You, Me and the Apocalypse (2015)
Can't wait for next week
great cast, some similarities to the Wrong Mans but much better, already starting to put together a great chemistry of characters. Yes the world is going to end, but don't see Bruce Willis coming to sort it out ! a good mix of conspiracy, humour, great characters,both the main and the peripheral (the women prisoners and Father Alphonse), just enough unpredictability without it becoming disjointed even though you are bing introduced to all the main characters Stand out performances for me Matthew Baynton, Gaia Scodellaro, Rob Lowe & Megan Mullally which is good as they are the main characters. A lot of twists and turns in the first episode so my only concern would be whether they can keep up the pace and the quality of the writing and acting If so I might go to a 10!
X+Y (2014)
A delightful emotional film
A very well drawn group of characters beautifully acted by the adults and the kids. Nathan is a child with emotional challenges and the story unfolds as to why this is and how he interacts with everyone around him. In many ways it is difficult to watch as the relationship with his mother is heart-wrenching. Rafe Spall and Eddie Marsan are in unusual roles for them and they carry them well and Sally Hawkins is in a more usual nervy role and her expressions are some of the hardest to bear. The Children are the stars - young Edward Baker-Close (who was present at the showing I went to at a local cinema) say little but emotes by the ton, Asa Butterfield is developing into a fine young actor in this demanding role. The other boys are all well played , especially Jake Davies as Luke but I did feel that the cast had been drawn to make sure there was balanced ethnic representation to balance against the white main players. The girls are slightly caricatured and that is why it got 9 not 10 from me. Anyone with any interest in children on the autism scale or similar personality areas should all watch this one
Wadjda (2012)
a young girl growing up in a male world
I did enjoy this movie even though it made me very uncomfortable about the treatment of women in a country that is heavily supported by UK & USA The young actress is believable and it allows the viewer the opportunity to see it almost exclusively from her viewpoint without being condescending or preaching The treatment of the wife and the girls at school is in many ways shocking to non-Muslim viewers even thos there is no violence or aggression I thought it was similar to The Kite runner in tone and weight but pretty much 100% about womens issues Should be compulsory viewing for young people to understand more about normal life in the middle east to allow discussion to develop
Murdoch Mysteries (2008)
jolly nonsense
to be fair I have watched every episode since the reruns started on Watch in the UK. I find them light easy humorous viewing but they can't surely be taken seriously as detective stories. Each episode is a device to teach about what was being discovered and what the attitudes were at that point in history. The idea that every little invention was somehow helped and developed by the Murdoch clan is laughable but it does make for entertainment listening out for the little asides (like George talking about all the Birds tweeting around the world) The acting is wooden and the scripts are contrived and the sets look like they came from the 1980s. I don't get why thee is such excessive emphasis on Murdoch's Catholicism, it was the only thing that made no sense in a Science based individual. Having said that it is a show you could watch with anyone from 9 to 90 and I will still watch them whenever they are on.
Glue (2014)
wasted opportunities
In many ways this was a good series with many strands and mis-directions. However the acting was erratic and not always believable. But worse than that, as usual, everything around the horse elements was very poor. Wrong tack (General purpose not racing saddles), race horses that just stand around for hours without being tied up, the jockey being given her first race in a big race, anyone allowed to wander around in the weighing room but no officials there, no Stewards enquiry 're the pulled race and many other elements. There was so much potential here and I did persevere to the end (just cos I wanted to know the outcome) but it fell very short of what it could have been