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Reviews
Masters of the Air (2024)
Hanks & Spielberg Sell Out
Band of Brothers was a groundbreaking half docu, well researched piece of Television History which in the early days brought the Cinematic experience to TV at the advent of the streaming in which we now take for granted, straight off the back of Saving Private Ryan , this lucrative collaboration between Hanks & Spielberg was breaking new ground and the opportunity to bring WWII to a wider audience would require a massive budget and profile that only these Titans of Hollywood could afford, but Spielberg and Hanks also carry their weight in intregity and their collective good character was just the extra fuel that could attract a stellar cast, some 'B' listers went on to much greater things after BOB and many unknown actors would go on to benefit after Pacific...
This happened only because of due diligence in the first instance, excellent reference and first hand accounts of the Hell that was reflected on screen in the individual accounts relayed by survivors of the brutal campaign.
I was looking forward to the bookend that was supposed to be Masters of the Air, the final piece in the Guernica, triptych and, What??
No, this time around a jingoistic Yippee Kai Ay and a return to good old fashioned American navel gazing.
Watching the "British kids" setting fire to the runway, the "brushing over" of the fact that Britain had been fighting the Nazis for 4 Bloody years already, the inferred arrogance of the Americans coming to the rescue like some kind of "Rooster Cogburn" character telling Hitler "fill your hands you Sonafabitch" and somehow saving the day for all us backwards European types is laughable, but it's conveyed in the sloppy script, the lack of research and first hand accounts and finally the resting on their laurels of two Great Americans, it's a shame but this project deserves so much more in the tradition of it's predecessors and delivers finally a watered down 15 second clip after clip of empty dialogue not unlike a run of the mill Tik Tok or Insta video, Incidentally their was a reason the finest Director of all time settled in Britain, cause he knew that your hubris and wanky foreign policy was shameful, that's why Kubrick's Children sound British and Hanks/Spielbergs latest children sound awful.
P.s. Stalin's Russia beat the Nazis and Roosevelt shunned Churchill in favour of him, most Americans can't believe how little history they have, and this Cotton Candy bs is a return to that weak point of view xx
Love from Dundee Scotland
CURAHEE!!!
Jules (2023)
Superb!
What a wonderful heartwarming movie, brilliant performances from 3 main characters, everything has a built in obsolescence these days and we tend to treat our senior citizens with that same lack of respect, this is very much a story to remind us to try and be more considerate and seniority is something to be revered, something we seem to have forgotten, loneliness and getting old are parts of the human experience that allow us to appreciate youth and family, this extraordinary film reminds us of that.
Incidentally if you liked this movie then you'll love Brian & Charles by David Earl, another wee gem.
A House Made of Splinters (2022)
A Country Splintered
The First Casualty of War is the Truth
"The Truth"
Something we associate with childhood, innocence, naivety, honesty, bliss, wonder, trust.
Childhood is under threat worldwide, the stress of a Toxic Capitalism and over population has left our children traumatised and vulnerable.
Homo Sapiens are a destructive species, but their is a moment in their development that is truly wonderful, childhood.
This documentary illustrates how we have truly lost our way, Capitalism fuels the war in Ukraine
Trillions of Dollars in supplied weapons and promises of joining NATO under certain conditions
Children want loving parents and a nice meal and warm bed, but the Patriarchy insists on it's dick measuring contest.
The whole World of Children is at war , and Truth is not the first casualty, it's always the Children.
Lost (2004)
Lost And forever at a loss.
Just gave this a go for the first time I'm wishing at the end of Season 3 god knows how I managed to hang in there that it had remained lost
Regurgitated, convoluted, Tripe, awful offal awful crammed with has beens and never will be's emphasis on B
Hitchcockian thriller strings and dissonant horns will forever haunt my sand filled sunburnt crotch.
I should've quit with John Locke's dodgy wig and a father who looked 20 years younger than him incidentally he hasn't aged a day since I saw him manage Dalton in that Swayze movie from 89
Hard to believe they commissioned this for all these episodes and Deadwood got pulled or Vinyl or anything but this..
The Scottish fella wisnae bad though.
Midnight Mass (2021)
If Netflix only did one thing
Vampirism, American Right Wing Evangelicalism, Altruism, Juxtaposition
Covid and those years that we have conveniently forgot (because we had to) America as the free world and it's bloodlust for killing each other behind their outdated gun laws and lack of leadership throughout the greatest threat the world has faced in a century, the Land of the Free and home of the Brave found wanting, tearing itself apart while the world is on fire, a dream turned nightmare.
Perfect then that this small series should encapsulate all of that, Dreams die
But Midnight Mass is a metaphor for America and the world at large in the 21st century
Sublime
Post script.
Humanity and it's narcissistic way suggests that Covid is merely a prelude to what is yet to come mwahmwahmwah (twists moustache and laughs)
I'm a member of an ape like race at the arsehole end of the 20th century
This games a thriller of the mind.
More like midnight mass before we all shuffle off this mortal coil please 🙏
Aftersun (2022)
Hard for a Dad estranged from a Daughter but beautiful cinema.
This film is exceptional, beautifully shot, wonderfully acted, and one of the hardest things I've had to watch.
I have a daughter who'll be around the same age as "Adult Sophie" who has just had a baby..
The fact that we have been estranged since around "Young Sophie's" age (maybe a bit older) added a thick layer of poignancy for me, and of course our estrangement was in some part due to my mental health and hiding that from her.
Obviously it's hard for me to review this film objectively however I know I'm not the only Father who's struggled with Depression and there are millions of Fathers who have daughters who live with their Mum's.
This is a beautiful piece of filmmaking that encapsulates all of the emotions that goes along with Being a Parent,an Adolescent, Someone who suffers from Mental Health or someone who's Parent does and all the heartache it brings in the break up of family, that said, it's also funny and warm, anxious and sinister, thought provoking, sensitive, great soundtrack and a real cathartic experience for me (in floods of tears at the end)
I loved the actors and I know we'll be hearing more from Charlotte Wells (what a first feature)
Alba gu Brath.
Station Eleven (2021)
Kicks The Stand Into a Cocked Hat
HBO cracker, Wow! Such a wonderful story, great cast , brilliant script, uplifting, terrifying, crying and laughing, I really loved this.
Maybe we'll all make it home after all? (Postpan)