rodw-77-924268 Reviews

Doctor Who (2023– )

Episode 4 an improvement

[3/10 · 26 May 2024]

My previous review, after episode 3 was pretty dismal but I am pleased to say, episode 4 "73 yards" was a vast improvement and I actually was kept interested through the whole episode.

Big alarm bells here, though, this episode was pretty much all Ruby and no Doctor and she carried it fairly well, although she still hasn't worked out if she is a scared little girl or a strong woman.

The fact that the Doctor was missing and you didn't have the distraction of his childish over acting should send shivers up the spine of the producers as it is becoming increasingly clear that Ncuti Gatwa's character isn't yet a good fit.

Billionaire Murders (2023)

Lots of speculation with no outcome

[2/10 · 19 May 2024]

Started off with a sense of being interesting and highlighted many aspects of the police investigation that appeared to be poor but it was very one sided and was laoded with speculation.

It was well produced but kept jumping backwards and forwards, constantly rehashing the same material whilst actually lacking much substance.

If you binge watch you really see how repetitive it is and lacking in anything new. There was also little effort to balance it and it appeared to be just a long form of an investigation by the media reporter.

Ultimately, there were a lot of talking heads that provided absolutely nothing new and you finish the series none the wiser.

Monolith (2022)

OK if you watch it in the right place

[7/10 · 30 April 2024]

This is one of those movies that is surprisingly well done for a miniscule budget and, basically, one charachter on screen.

We have a tendency, these days, to watch movies with other things going on around us, this is not that kind of movie.

It would be great in a cinema but I doubt it will get a release there. Instead, be prepared to set up the room with no distractions, lower the lights and get into it. Remember Blair Witch, you need to be immersed.

If you do that then you will find a good story, well acted, some good clues but not much truly revealed, too early, and a pretty reasonable ending that ties it all together.

Whilst it is scifi, that is all in the concept rather than the action so its closer to a thriller than anything else.

With the cinematography, it was all too mono and dark. I guess they were trying to set a mood but it was the same throughout with no light and shade, just grey. This didn't suit the surroundings of a house with massive windows, in the open, and lost the chance to convey any passing of time from day to night and vice versa. With only one charachter for 90 minutes, it needed something more to vary the pace so they could have done a hell of a lot better with that and it would have driven the story.

If nothing else, I just love the house that the movie is set in.

With all that said, on the whole, it is well worth watching and deserving of a decent rating if it is watched as a movie should be. Its definitely not a 10 but is worth and hour and half of your life.

Passenger (2024– )

Was a good series until they forgot to end it - just stupid!!

[3/10 · 7 April 2024]

This wasn't a bad series with a fairly flat English presentation that often works well.

All was going fine until the end of the last episode, there wasn't one.

Sorry, but English dramas always have the courage to finish a show in a logical conclusion, even if a few things are left open to feed into a new series. I get that and it works great.

But this one, absolute rubbish to do the American trick of ending, not just in a cliffhanger, but just not tying anything together, at all.

It absolutely feels like it is an episode short.

Really disappointing and I will be watching for other productions from this mob and avoiding them.

As much as I would like to see some sort of ending, I really hope the show isn't renewed so that this kind of rubbish is not rewarded.

Shameful!

Constellation (2024)

Its good, but you do have to concentrate

[9/10 · 3 April 2024]

This was a genuine scifi with some challenging concepts but there were moments that I had to skip back a little to make sure I hadn't missed anything, particularly around episode 7 and 8.

If your idea of scifi is Star Trek, and not much wilder than that, then this may no be for you as it does require an effort to see where they are going and to follow the details to understand just which character is in play, at the time.

I don't want to say much more about the concepts as it could spoil it for you. The character of Alice is just delightful and plays a great part along with the key protagonist who is Jo. I did struggle a bit with Magnus as he just didn't seem to react as I would have expected to some of the situations.

Don't be afraid to invest yourself in it but I am not sure you could binge it all, at once, maybe break into 2 or 3 sessions and give yourself time to think.

A brave effort to produce this.

What Broke the Rental Market? (2023 TV Special)

Usual ABC skewed effort designed to fit a narrative

[3/10 · 1 April 2024]

This could have been a good detailed expose of what is a rental crisis, in the western world, but the properties chosen were carefully curated to fit the ABC message of nothing being available for your budget or it was an undesirable property. London, for example, were properties in Shepherds Bush and Mile End. Both hardly any distance from the city centre. The ABC's definition of central in a large city is very limited, whereas most renters are more interested in transport links.

The time wasted on presenting a high end rent stabilised property in New York, was completely irrelevent to lower cost rental and did nothing for the credibility of the programme's intentions.

They didn't really answer the question of "What Broke the Rental Market" and the solutions they delat with were very limited to the "social" solutions such as rent capping and government built social housing.

No effort was made to discuss the myriad taxation issues, land taxes and other outgoings and their impacts.

Sadly, the programme was only half the story and very much an example of where the ABC (Australia) has ended up.

Is it worth a watch, maybe from an entertainment value, but not is are expecting a serious balanced look at what is a real problem, today.

Apples Never Fall (2024)

A priveleged family with all the pitfalls.

[7/10 · 27 March 2024]

Decent story that is fairly well acted out. Has all the hallmarks of a well to do family with absentee parents and a bunch of stuck up kids who have grown up to be a***holes: a bit like their parents.

There are a few distractions and twists and turns to keep you interested but the usual plot holes with unbelievable actions and police that are, well, a bit kinda dumb.

It was shot in Queensland, Australia, but is meant to be in Florida, USA, so they throw in a few aerial shots of Florida to make it seem its there. It makes the whole thing feel odd, at times, because the roads, vegetation colours and backdrops just don't fit properly.

The ending was OK, but felt a bit hurried, tying everything up in the last half of ther last episode and this didn't match the pace of the other 6 episodes.

The other major irritation was the constant "now" and "then" flashbacks. Its a reasonable method to start a series but gets on your nerve when it keeps happening, continuously. It breaks the suspense and you fell like the producers were too lazy to develop the plot properly and felt their audience was too dumb to work it all out, if they did.

Its worth a watch and you will enjoy it. Sam Neill and Annette Bening play their parts, as does Georgia Flood.

Definitely no where near as dire as many of the reviews.

Foe (2023)

It just didn't work. Ponderous drama, not scifi

[3/10 · 25 February 2024]

This was just a lot of talk that made little sense. Even as a drama it lacked any real dramatic tension with little chemistry between the lead actors.

It felt quite weird, at times, and made no sense why two people would allow someone else to put them through such an experience without much more justification.

Was there an eventual, unexpected, twist? Not really!

On paper, it had all the components to be a good film, the actors have good credentials, the storyline had potential and the setting was built to create a mood but!!!

None of those things came together and the decision to shoot it mostly with a dark filter didn't enhance the atmosphere, it just irritated the hell out of me and sought to make it all even slower and gloomier.

And Please stop calling this sort of stuff scifi - its not. Just because there is a sniff of something slightly futuristic, it doesn't make it scifi.

Its a drama, period, and a poor one at that.

Death and Other Details (2024)

Take your time to get into it. Two episodes is not enough

[8/10 · 22 February 2024]

For those who were quick to criticise after watching only 2 or 3 episodes, this is a murder mystery and you have to take the time to let it develop and concentrate on it.

This is an excellent effort and has all of the "Agatha Christie" elements. It was a great idea to set the murder on a boat with the retro, art deco, feel and there have been enough twists and turns to leave you wanting more after each episode.

For those with a short attention span, wait and binge a few episodes at a time and you will find that it will drag you in. Use the first couple of episodes to get into the characters.

Definitely one of the better, of this genre, in the modern era, and great to see a director that has the courage to create a proper, slow burning development.

I hope that it is taken to a proper conclusion and not left up in the air in the hope of creating a second series. All good murder mysteries must conclude properly and if you want to make another series, it has to be a new mystery.

Many of the characters are quite intriguing and the two main ones are very good and well suited to the roles.

Added comments after just watched the last two episodes: Overall, was pleased with the result. I have to say it did tend to end with a bit of a rush to tie everything together in the last episode. Perhaps a little too hasty after the slow burn of the rest of the series. Look, it does conclude the key parts of the story but leaves open an opportunity for another series. So well done to the writers on achieving that, but I did find the last episode seemed to chop around and struggled to have that continuity once they were off the boat. I think it is important to keep the pacing consistent throughout or you change the mood.

It has been a well made series with some good characters to love and hate and there is definitely an opportunity to do more. The difficulty will be to find a way to keep that oldie worldy feel that the "art-deco" of the boat had. It was a high quality set whereas the snow scenes in the last episode felt artificial enough to distract you.

The first series is well worth a watch, on it's own, but there are real challenges if they go ahead with a second series. In particular, do you create an new murder mystery around these characters or do you continue this story and step away from the original murder mystery theme that was the key success of the first series?

Brightwood (2022)

I mean, really, who writes this garbage

[1/10 · 18 February 2024]

It started with a lot of promise and seemed to be building into something really interesting.

There was a lot of potential here to create a great story and taken it to a decent conclusion but the writer just went off with the fairies.

We are taught, at school, that a story needs a beginning, a middle and and end. This had the first two but careened off the rails into a massive train wreck.

It just made no sense, at all, and I cannot understand anyone giving it a 10. Perhaps they were watching a different movie, with a different ending or, sorry, simply any ending would have done.

This is just pulp and could not recommend it even if you were desperate for anything.

Day One (2010 TV Movie)

Poor copy of an English miniseries "The Last Train" (1999)

[1/10 · 15 February 2024]

The English miniseries was a great production, for it's time, split over 6 episodes. It had a gradual reveal of the issues and slowly painted a picture of what had happened. Classic English post apocalyptic drama as only they can do.

This US production rushes through the initial reveals, doesn't make any effort to develop the characters or draw you in. It is really a TV pilot and that is very obvious. It also has the feel of trying to head down a weird path but then just ends, so we will never know.

At no time do you want to relate to the characters or even care about them.

I really wanted to like this and see where it would go with an American twist but it just didn't get off the ground. Sad, really as with the advances in special effects from the original 1999 UK version it could have been much more polished and suited to the times.

If you want the compete story go and watch "The Last Train" called Cruel World in North America from 1999. It is a little dated now but otherwise worth it.

As for this US version, you probably wont be able to even find it anymore but don't waste your time looking.

The Castaways (2023– )

First 3 episodes, not bad ....... but after that!

[3/10 · 2 January 2024]

I enjoyed the first three episodes. It built the suspense and you knew something was going on but you were not sure what.

Yes, it had a bit of a feel like a low budget New Zealand series (sorry NZ), with quirky spirited actors, fresh bright scenery and a few implausible bits but you could look past those and enjoy the ride, just expecting a bit of fun.

But then......

Episode 4 started and it all fell off the rails with the whole country hick vibe of the local police and lots of just, well.... dumb people. It just dragged on and when the episode was over I wondered how they were going to fill out the last episode.

But they did! .....with lots more really dumb people doing really dumb things that made absolutely no sense.

It was like whoever had written the first 3 episodes left and got a class of 12 year olds to write the rest plus all the actors had been swapped out with dumber doubles.

The second half felt like an episode of 1970's Magnum PI, comedy and all, only it wasn't meant to be a comedy.

A lot of potential, great scenery, seemed to have a decent budget but some of the cast were very thin and that was emphasised by a completely lacking storyline.

Leave the World Behind (2023)

Almost, but a movie of one half

[4/10 · 1 January 2024]

It started well, a bit clunky, but built the suspense. You felt George (GH) knew a lot more than he was telling and there was an almost supernatural, or scifi, undertone that kept you wanting to know more. The deer encounter with Rosie really drove the mystery and steered you away from the common thread of an apocalyptic movie alone.

The common trend in movies, today of the strong woman and the weak male characters permeates this movie and just made it feel unreal and forced.

But about 70 minutes in, it just fell apart. The story line stopped dead and interactions between the Amanda and George as well as the bi-play between Ruth and Clay didn't fit at all. It forgot the story line and could have been just any old drama.

The next hour dragged on and became quite ridiculous turning into a plain old invasion/insurrection disaster that made no effort to explain anything

Everything built up in the first half was just discarded, George knew nothing, the animal behaviour no longer fitted the narrative and you just knew that the characters were so dumb that, in reality, they had zero chance of living out the week.

And then it just ended.

As someone else said, it felt like a pilot for a series, but not a good one.

Mandorla (2015)

Absolute garbage

[1/10 · 2 June 2023]

I am astounded that anyone would finance this rubbish.

Its really a story of some guy having a midlife crisis who is too lazy to work whilst he follows some dream of getting rich chasing fairies. Meanwhile he is destroying the life of his wife and kids.

I find this style of movie that glorifies some lazy person extremely irritating as it tries to give a justification to a major cop out.

The whole surrounding of this with lots of irritating changes to the aspect ratio only seeks to put some mystification to what is no more than someone who appears to be on happy weed although there is nothing like that shown as the movie seeks to look very respectable.

Its just weird, ends abruptly and doesn't justify your time to watch it.

Atomic Hope (2022)

Refreshing documentary that tackles a difficult subject

[9/10 · 22 May 2023]

So many of the recent documentaries have been quite difficult to believe citing material that appears to be of dubious background.

This one differs in that it appears to provide a reasoned viewpoint and is quite upfront in what it is trying to say. It doesn't seek to denigrate it's opponents but sticks to explaining what the documentary is about.

The quality of production is excellent, it is well paced and structures itself in a series of chapters, much like a book.

If you want a documentary that tells you about the benefits of nuclear energy and how it addresses climate change then this will work for you. It doesn't seek to delve into politics buts sticks to a statement of the fact as the presenters see them.

Generally interesting and worth the watch.

Invitation to a Murder (2023)

An Agatha Christie Copy that doesn't really make it

[3/10 · 26 April 2023]

Its very much a copy of Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" that was made into a brilliant UK mini-series in 2015.

The first half is straight down that line but goes off on a different tangent later in the movie. If you are initially going to follow a classic Agatha Christie whodunnit, set in the early 20th century, on a bleak English island and then just change the end so it looks original, you are doomed to failure.

A pity really, as there was the making of a great piece but the lack of originality creates an expectation that lets you down, really badly. I just didn't warm to the characters, at all, and particularly found the lead, Miranda Green, unrelatable.

It is watchable but don't expect a good whodunnit that builds and ends as it should with the classic reveal. It has that structure but lacks the storytelling skills to make it work.

In all a real disappointment.

The Darker the Lake (2022)

A lot of potential but seemed to just fade

[5/10 · 19 March 2023]

I was intrigued, at the start with the supernatural pretext and the Ringu (The Ring) type of style and story line.

The story built well until about a third of the way through when it kind of floundered. For some reason, the acting seemed to fall off also and I lost my connection to the two lead characters.

The initial feel of the movie was a Scandi noir and I even checked to see that they were actually speaking English and it was not dubbed as I prefer sub titles to English dubbing. They all were but with European accents. The insertion of the Asian characters didn't seem to fit with the locations of the story lines.

In all a confused piece of work that didn't seem to know who its audience was going to be but it did have an OK story .

Look its worth a watch but don't expect too much.

The Oil Machine (2022)

A jaded view of our society over the last 50 years

[1/10 · 24 January 2023]

It is difficult to review a "documentary" without delving into the accuracy of the opinions given.

The entire film was a series of talking heads complaining about the oil industry, in particular, but society in general.

It portrayed an overly negative view without delving into any of the positive outcomes of society and seemed to catastrophise every modern event.

The presentation was slick and aimed at portraying a serious factual presentation of information but the lack of balance made the whole show feel like a propaganda exercise rather than a genuine effort to discuss the merits of society over the past 50 years.

The use of young children saying how scared they felt about the future, using language beyond their years made it all fell rather scripted and not very genuine.

These sorts of films tend to blur the lines between what is a true factual documentary and what is really a blend of fact and fiction.

The Real Love Boat Australia (2022– )

Terrible copy of the original. Not one redeeming feature.

[1/10 · 25 November 2022]

No need to declare spoilers as just watching it will spoil your day.

The original show was typical for the day, didn't have a lot of substance and the dialogue pretty corny. No surprise there and has , of course, become very dated.

So it was a massive surprise to see that they have copied the original crew stereotypes and compounded the issues by having a set bunch of the most fake contestants ever seen. So very typical of today's wannabee "actors" masquerading as contestants and not succeeding as either.

The host, Darren McMullen is so full of himself that it all is just unwatchable. No big surprise that no one is watching.

God Forbid (2022)

Not what was on the label and then got worse

[2/10 · 11 November 2022]

It had a title about a sex scandal and some evangelical US church. An always interesting story about US religious hypocrisy.

Went pretty well for a while then headed off into leftist political propaganda that had little relevance to the central story. Now I know far leftist politics is a religion in the US but this was over the top and should have been billed accordingly.

If you are going to make an anti Trump political piece then have the balls to bill it as that.

But really it was not much about anything and drifted into that other US religion called "conspiracy theory".

In short, a pretty hollow piece of film work that tried to link the, all too common, sexual exploits of some religious nut with politics and Trump. Didn't hit the mark in either of its goals.

The presentation of the young gigolo as a poor naïve teenager was a bit lame also. He knew what he was doing, and said so, and persisted with it all, for years, while he was doing very well out of it. Not so cool to pull the victim card when it stops going your way. He made choices, and lots of them.

Louis Theroux: Savile (2016 TV Movie)

Attempt to whitewash history

[3/10 · 2 November 2022]

Pretty much an attempt by Theroux to whitewash his previous encounters with Saville and justify his prior portrayal of Saville as a good person.

The bad behaviour of Saville was enabled by so many who should have been far more curious about the warning signs that were self evident. Theroux's earlier positive expose of Saville should be seen as damning, and embarrassing evidence of investigative blindness and poor journalism.

Louis Theroux has been a solid investigative journalist and, for whatever reason, was sucked in by Saville, far too easily. To some degree, it undoes the level of credibility in Theroux's past work and this attempt to "justify" his blindness is disappointing.

These sorts of "documentaries" are more self serving than true journalism.

Project 'Gemini' (2022)

Such potential, but sooo bad

[1/10 · 28 June 2022]

The concept was really good and there was a lot of potential to create a good movie. But the acting, oh my, its just awful, especially Connell.

I am just so tired of this constant theme of putting a bunch of hothead idiots on a critical mission lead by the stereotypical autocrat with an inferiority complex. It just isn't close to any sort of reality.

You can tell a bunch of "creatives" made this rubbish without any reference to anyone with real experience.

Just an embarrassment and cannot be called scifi as it is pure fantasy from the minds of people with no idea.

Severance (2022– )

SciFi with class from Apple at last!

[9/10 · 2 April 2022]

After the run of terrible scifi from Apple I watched this with fear.

This is different; a great premise, good cast and a dark simmering sense of dread pull you in, week by week. You just want to know more and the only thing that will wreck it is some stupid cliff hanger ending to the series that answers nothing; here's hoping not.

The atmosphere is wonderfully dark and stark with an almost 60's feel but with 80s technology..

I really, really hope they don't try to drag it out and have the courage to create a complete story for the first series, even if it continues to another series.

It has been a long time since I have seen proper scifi that is more a good drama with scifi in the background.

Well done and I hope this trend continues.

American Factory (2019)

Reasonable attempt to be balanced

[7/10 · 14 January 2022]

A bit surprised this was an Oscar winner, probably says a lot about the relevance of that award, these days. Though interesting and informative, the documentary was definitely missing any sort of depth but, I guess, it would have appealed to middle America.

It was a good documentary that made a reasonable effort to be balanced on a topic that most Americans would see as an attack on their working ethics.

Having worked overseas in Asia, I appreciate the clash of cultures and the enormous difficulties in getting a happy medium of work/life balance. Its a two way street that would be extremely difficult between two very nationalistic cultures at either end of the spectrum.

The inability of union movements to recognise that unrealistic wage rates for moderately skilled work eventually leads to the demise of that work is pretty indicative of why Unions are falling out of favour.

Conversely, trying to put developing world conditions into 1st world countries is always doomed to failure even in a country like the USA where pay and conditions are quite inconsistent and not at all good for the lower end of the spectrum.

Worth a watch but not Oscar material.

Breach (IV) (2020)

Oh yes it is that bad

[1/10 · 9 January 2022]

I am getting so sick of this garbage that they falsely call SciFi. Its fiction all right but just plain garbage fiction.

In this day and age its so full of the stereotypes of male female roles, the angry men, the intelligent brunette woman and lots of idiots masquerading as people shooting projectile weapons in a space ship. Duh!

It just beggars belief that a race of people intelligent enough to develop interstellar space flight would be so full of angry dumb people. I know they are American but even they are not that deluded.