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johngraham1964
Reviews
Dune (2021)
Long yawn without a climax
I wonder how many times the director said to himself: 'Oh yes, we'll have yet another fast forward in slowmotion'? Or: 'Yes let's have another fast forward in slowmotion to events that we don't get round to in this film'???
OK the scale of the production is big! Huge sets. But dull sets. Uninspired design of sets, ships and battles. I liked the ornithopters. But that's about it. Clearly Arrakis doesn't believe in colour anywhere. I know it's a desert planet - but I'm sure they could have imported a few tubs of Dulux!
Deciding to (optimistically maybe) title this film: Dune Part One it means that we leave the film at a point where nothing is really going on. No hook to bring you back for part 2. Just a wander off into the desert without time to develop Paul's relationship or his leadership of the Fremen. I trust Zendaya got a decent pay check for her few lines.
Once again the Emperor's motives for kicking out the Harkonnens and shipping in the Artreides only to have the Harkonnens boot them out again remain too obscure. And he doesn't turn up in this film, which did surprise me. Admittedly it's years since I read the book so I can't remember if he is in the first part. Sorry for my memory there. I was also expecting to see the navigators who use the spice to fold space time, but no. Maybe they don't turn up till later either.
Which left two hours of slow tracking over planets (especially desert!) and hardly a glimpse of an actual sandworm!
BTW if you are using a huge machine to mine the spice and know that it will attract a sandworm why not have an escape shuttle on the roof all the time, rather than call one in that is faulty? It must be far less efficient to have a craft flying round at all times just in case an evacuation is needed.
Most of the characters were underdeveloped so you don't feel much for their eventual demise.
I have a horrible feeling that, if part two does come out, it'll be the boring bits of The Empire Strikes Back all over again (Luke's training/Paul learning to ride a sandworm) with a battle at the end we already know who wins.
I think I'll wait for the blu ray. Perhaps...
Midsomer Murders: The Sting of Death (2019)
Just Awful
I have waited a long time for the ITV schedulers to put this on real TV instead of trying to make extra money from Midsomer fans but putting it out on their subscrioption channel. I'm really glad I didn't pay extra for this! Fleur's couple of 'funny' quips to Barnaby & Nelson were excrutiating. Bee-related of course. Buzz off Fleur! Midsomer does not have a good record when portraying gay characters. Here yet another one meets a sticky end (killed then covered with melted beeswax candle) and another (bisexual? Or just going for it to get info?) turns out to be the killer. Echoes of The Lions Of Causton, Dance With The Dead (gay murderers). The gay ghostwriter was scalded to death in beer (Ghost of Caustion Abbey). The lesbian vet had one of the worst deaths on the show - just for being a lesbian (Echoes of the Dead). On top of that the final (attempted) murder was signalled right at the start with the 'this was going to be my final resting place preserved in honey' speech - and it so nearly was. Shades of Death & the Divas there. And as soon as we were told 'he appeared to have cancer but was cured by his honey' you could see it was a scam to build up the business. It worked too. It was like all sorts of old, tired-out ideas were poured into this script. Next week we have the final delayed show - this time involving fish. Let's hope it's worth waiting for - cos this one wasn't. Recommendations: time for Fleur to retire, Barnaby needs a gay sidekick in a stable relationship or a BAME one or a female one (time for a shake up). Or Barnaby needs to be replaced by any or all of those. Time for a BIG REFRESH in Midsomer....
The War of the Worlds (2019)
Dire
So after losing 3 hours of my life to this drivel I texted a friend saying: HG Wells wouldn't have recognised his own book here! To which I received the reply: HG Wells would be spinning in his grave. Which I think sums it up.
Why can't someone just film the book????
Why put in hours of stuff that were never there? All this future stuff with the Earth still suffering years later. The divorce stuff (or lack therof). The pregnancy. The astronomer? Well..... about 2 1/2 hours of extra stuff. Pointless and - in the most part - boring as hell.
If you want to do original sci fi write your own screen play. If you want to do War of the Worlds - use the source material! I mean the Martians die en masse offscreen! A throwaway line saying they'd died. Where was the drama of it all?
And the Martians themselves? Couldn't they be bothered to design something interesting? Or scary? Obviously not.
One day someone will actually film the book - set in the period - in England - without mucking it all about. One day.
But not today....
Star Trek: Discovery (2017)
Dull dull dull...
OK I'm only just at the end of episode 4 but it's been a struggle to get this far!
The script? A whole bunch of appalling dialogue that's then poorly delivered.
Character introduction? Well it's done over several episodes and you don't get to know anyone very much. And none of them seem very likeable apart from the redhead girl who is warming to Michael Burnham.
Plot? Oh please.... slow slow slow. Dull dull dull. To be honest we could have done without the entire first episode and just started with 'Michael Burnham, Traitor, Prisoner etc' and learned her backstory from there.
The Klingons? Oh not again! I've always found the Klingons one of the dullest races in the Star Trek Universe. 'Oh we are mighty warriors' yawn yawn. And now we're getting Klingon overload. Plus EVERYTHING they say is in Klingon and therefore subtitled (and very slow). Just plug in the Universal Translator (which had already been invented) and let's get past all the boring gutteral nonsense.
I'll plug in episode 5 but if it doesn't improve then I might not make it to the 'Big Reveal' everyone is talking about (they are talking about it because they are all saying it was so obvious - so another plot failure).
If they greenlight a season 2 they need new writers and a radical shakeup all round.
Amelia 2.0 (2017)
Enjoyable
I actually enjoyed this movie. It's not as challenging as it could be but there are some interesting twists and turns and all the leads put in good performances.
The main question of the film is: has whatever makes up the 'soul' of Amelia been transferred to the android body, or is it just a computer copy (a simple copy and paste)? From parts of the procedure it looks like it's the latter, with the process called 'mapping' rather than a transfer. So if you follow that line of thought then the rest of the film is rather pointless. But if you think the scientists have really managed to transfer Amelia into the android then the arguments put forward have more depth.
The scenes with the senator who opposes all such research are well-written, especially as he faces his own mortality.
I'm not sure about the bit just before the end where the corporation decides to use the Amelia mapping data to create androids for everyone. If they truly believed they had transferred Amelia into the android then they would be (effectively) cloning her thousands of times over and then allowing people to reprogram her - not something an ethical corporation should do. Mind you, we're left in no doubt that ethics are not on the mind of the corporation. Just the doctor - who is then left out of the loop.
The other ending - where the husband takes matters into his own hands - was much more satisfying and is probably where the film should have ended. Though finishing it with Amelia taking her own decision worked as well.
It's not that demanding a film but it is thought-provoking is certain ways.
Another reviewer bemoaned the CGI of the helicopter on the roof of the corporation and it IS dodgy, but mercifully brief. Other shots of the corporate HQ are also brief (and some at night) and are much better.
And yes, there are comparisons to Ex Machina in the plot line but as I found that film very predictable and this one at least had a twist towards the end then I'd recommend an unchallenging viewing of this film on a lazy evening.
Life (2017)
Harmless enjoyable fun
Firstly: I liked this film. I thought the special effects were good and much of the acting was up to standard. Of course, as I watched it, I got a great sense of deja vu. Now where had I seen this film before? Oh yes - it's 'Alien'. Which was (and still is) a great film.
This isn't a remake. In the same way that 'The Island' isn't a remake of 'Logan's Run' (and that sure as hell comes close). But it could be. Right down to the: 'let's blow it into space' idea and 'there's one survivor at the end'. Though I'll admit to liking the twist at the end.
Think Alien: think tracking the alien through the ship, trying to burn it with a fire device, the gradual picking off of various crewmembers Agatha Christie-style, the destruction of the ship, the escape shuttle.... yup it's all there in this film too - but actually it's all rather fun.
It also isn't an overly-long film, which keeps it moving along without too many 'dead' patches.
OK there are plot holes - and a couple of the characters needed a good bucket of cold water thrown over them - but then none of the plot would had happened and there wouldn't have been a film. Suffice it to say that, if you're a scientist dealing with unknown alien life in a sci fi film, then you're probably blinded by your role and lacking in common sense. They are here!
Anyway, if you liked Alien then treat this as an homage to the original and you'll have a good couple of hours (and it's actually better than Alien 3, Alien 4, Alien Covenent and Prometheus).
Enjoy :-)
Ghost in the Shell (2017)
Awful
Awful.
Sums it up really.
OK the CGI city was alright but it was overly-populated with random floating fish and other things. And as we floated through it too I was expecting any second to be engulfed in a lush electronic Vangelis score. No such luck! Yes I was having a Blade Runner moment. Because that was what the whole thing reminded me of - in spades. But bad Blade Runner.
The story was a mess. Almost impossible to follow at times and inexplicably populated throughout by Asian actors and Scarlett Johanssen. Or do I mean by actors and an Asian Scarlett Johanssen? No wonder Asian actors accused the filmmakers of whitewashing, by casting the admittedly excellent white actor as an Asian character. With a bit of eye make up.
OK Hollywood - if you're going to do that then don't. Rewrite it and make everyone American and make it a future American city (not future Japan). Or do the right thing and cast an Asian as the lead. It is not true that there aren't great Asian female actors. Try harder to find one next time! I do wonder what reaction (and backlash) there would have been had Ms Johanssen been cast as a black character and had brown makeup applied all over! I'm sure they wouldn't dare - but because the character is Asian they didn't care.
Putting that aside Ms Johanssen does her best with a lacklustre script. But put the best actors into a bad script and they will falter and so will the film (see Star Wars I, II & III). And, of course, you just can't generate sympathy for her character.
The film is considered to be a financial flop. I'm not surprised. Wait till it's on free-to-air telly - and then see if you can be bothered to get all the way through it.....
Doctor Who: World Enough and Time (2017)
Slow
A disappointing and slow beginning to the finale of this season's Doctor Who.
Starting with another regeneration scene for Peter Capaldi's Doctor - and ending with yet another - when the actual regeneration occurs it will be an anti-climax.
And 'I am Doctor Who'??? Really? We haven't had this clunky idea since 'The War Machines' in 1966 when 'Doctor Who Is Required' got past the script editor. And saying that it's actually the Doctor's real name was a pointless piece of scripting. Yes I know people in the series have asked 'Doctor who?' but it was always a reasonable question. And it was always a question. Here it felt awkward - like a five-year-old putting pen to paper.
The 'one end of the ship is moving faster than the other' meant the increase in lifeforms came as no surprise, as they had years to multiply. Only the Doctor seems to realise this but it was as clear as glass.
The superfast lift manages the journey to the shiny end of the ship with no problem to collect the human. Bill, however, is told no-one can leave the dirty, run-down end. A previous expedition never returned - if they had any sense they found a nicer floor and stayed there! But the doctors can pop up to the furthest end of the ship whenever they like to pick up humans. In that case, so can anyone! Plothole alert BIG TIME!
Pearl Mackie uses both of her Bill Potts expressions (she seems to have only two throughout the season). I can't say I've warmed to the character. She comes across as rather annoying most of the time. So sympathy for her 'death' and then Cyber-conversion was rather limited. I would say her best bit was the tear from her 'real' eye under her Cyber eye - but even that's been done before by the head of Torchwood after Cyber-conversion.
The blue alien seems to have no reason to Kill Bill (sorry!). The people in the lift are after humans and he isn't human. They haven't harmed him and they're not interested in him so what does it matter to him if they pop down to his end of the ship and waltz off with Bill? They make no effort to interfere with the Doctor or Nardole so they are clearly no threat to non-humans - so why become so paranoid that there's a human and why shoot her? Oh yes it achieves a dramatic special effect 'hole in the chest' but it makes no sense.
I have yet to see the point of the Nardole character - perhaps all will be revealed next week. I hope so - as so far he seems to have been there simply to remind the Doctor that he should be guarding the vault and to tell him off when he doesn't. The Doctor said he reattached Nardole's head to his body (though it seems to be a robotic body - or maybe a Cyber-body) but then he was left with an annoying man/bot who kept berating him. Maybe the Doctor can remove Nardole's head and pop Bill's there? Though personally I'd prefer Bill to go out in a blaze of glory saving the Doctor or the Universe or something. Hope springs eternal...
Are there any plus points then? Of course. Missy is on fine form - I loved her warnings to stay away from her or she'll kill. The gradual conversion of people into Cybermen was suitable creepy. Moffat is going out on his script device of repetition - one part converted Cyberman typing out 'Pain...pain...pain...' repeatedly. Although he's used it before more than once it still worked here. Though one has to ask, if the staff didn't want to listen to any of the converted humans, why build a speaker into their drips and why give them a keyboard to type on?
So now we wait for the finale episode. Can Bill be un-Cyberised? And do we care enough anyway? Will John Simm's Master overact terribly again or will he go for subtlety? To be honest, I am looking forward to the next stage of the Missy story more than anything else. She's meeting her former self - does that return her to her bad old ways or does meeting him and seeing him in action make her step further towards being good? Either way works for me. Michelle Gomez pulls it off whatever she does.
Finally - Peter Capaldi. A fine actor who was handed a bad characterisation for his first two seasons and some really dire scripts has produced his best work this season and finally settled into the role. It's taken a while - due to the factors mentioned above - but he has made a success of his time in the role - albeit against the odds at times.
Legends of Tomorrow: Destiny (2016)
Plot holes plot holes plot holes...
I have stuck with this series as I like some of the characters and the special effects are impressive for a TV show. But the writers need a good shake-up for season two.
Time travel and potential paradoxes give people enough headaches as it is but when some of the simplest things could have been sorted in 5 minutes if the characters weren't so unfocused on what they are supposed to be doing then something is wrong in the scripting department.
In this episode the Time Masters are (kind of) defeated and their power to affect the timelines is destroyed by the Legends.... But they still possess time ships (albeit temporarily disabled) so.... fix them and go back half an hour and kill Rip and the others they had prisoner - sorted! After all, the whole premise of the series is that Rip wants to change time. So if he can do it, so can they.
Why show Rip the secret of their power (which he has never known about)? They plan to kill him anyway so why not get on with it? Just because they want to show how petty they really are by taunting Rip with the knowledge that his entire crusade has been manipulated from the start? Oh please.... That's lame.
As I said, I have stuck with this show despite it's continual plot holes.... and, if they tighten up the scripting for season two, it could become so much better. We shall see.
Doctor Who: Genesis of the Daleks: Part One (1975)
Classic
Genesis of the Daleks remains a fan favourite of the classic Dr Who series. It has Tom Baker brimming with energy in his first season, top companion Sarah-Jane Smith and - of course - the definitive Davros, played by Michael Wisher.
The main characters are ably supported by the minor players who take the whole thing seriously - as they should, as it's a dark storyline. A couple of stalwarts from the wartime comedy 'Allo 'Allo pop up in dramatic roles and do them very well. Some atmospheric location filming at the beginning adds to the mostly-studio-bound episodes.
Davros is played at his best here in any of his appearances in the classic series. Dedicated and single-minded with a lust for power and the possibility of immortality through his creations. Later stories just showed Davros as mad. Of course he is mad in this, but it is a controlled madness based upon logic.
Is Genesis perfect? Well no. At one point Davros plots the destruction of his own race by giving information to the Kaleds. Clearly there is no line of communication between his bunker and the Kaled city, or he could have messaged the information through on a secure line - and still have blamed Ronson and had the Daleks kill him as a traitor. Instead he actually visits the Thal city. Firstly - how did he get there? I doubt there was a train line. I can't see his chair traversing the wastelands (though I do accept he went a little into the wastelands to test his Dalek prototype - but presumably it was easy-access from the bunker). And why, when he is certain to be the most hated man known to the Thals, was he just not arrested on site? It's an important plot hole, but doesn't detract too much from the overall quality of the story.
I agree with what others have said - that it could have been a little shorter. Having said that there isn't as much obvious padding as other six parters. And some of the cliffhangers are very well staged - Sarah falling from the rocket scaffolding, for example.
Finally there is the big moral question posed by the Doctor - does he have the right to kill the Daleks? It is an argument well made between him and Sarah-Jane, who is urging him to complete his mission for the Time Lords. He is saved from making that choice at that point. However, later, the scene is weakened slightly by the Doctor then deciding to do it anyway - blow up the incubator room. Which he does - with help from a Dalek. He then says that he's only slowed them down for 1000 years. So - knowing that - why all the agony in the first place?
I really enjoy Genesis of the Daleks and - with a couple of small caveats mentioned above - I recommend it to any casual viewer or fan alike. It's darker than most 70's 'Who' but excellently played.
Fantastic Four (2015)
Awful...
I know you can re-imagine origin stories for superheroes but, to be honest, in this case - leave well enough alone.
On top of that, this film doesn't come that much later than the original Marvel FF4 origin film. The origin there was tweaked from the original in the comic books (but at least it was in space.....) Putting that aside - why reboot so soon? Plenty of films carry on the narrative and re-cast. I know that FF4 The Silver Surfer didn't go down too well (especially with the character of Galactus) but this film takes it to new lows.
I read that the director produced a very different film which the studio demanded major re-shoots to. Maybe we will never see a director's cut but this studio cut is boring. Dull. Tedious. Unimaginative. But let's not lay all the blame at the studio's door.
Script? Awful. Slow. Lacking in action. Lacking in character development. Lacking in generation of sympathy for any of the characters.
Casting? It may have been a creative decision to make the lead characters almost children (though, as has been pointed out elsewhere, their screen ages and the ages of some of the actual cast are miles apart) but that decision gives them no gravitas. And Johnny Storm isn't black. Except in this film. Very strange. I am all for more black characters in Marvel films - great to see War Machine and The Falcon given more screen time - and more to come in the next Avengers film, along with The Black Panther. Can I put in a word for Black Goliath as well? But I still fail to understand why a white character in the comics becomes black in the films... first Nick Fury and now The Human Torch. Actually I felt most of the film was miscast.
The Thing - they did him with CGI and so he doesn't look real - like the Hulk. You can so tell it's CGI.
Someone said to me: well that's 1 1/2 hours of your life you'll never get back - and he was so right. If the studio has any sense it will sell the DVD/Blu ray to people (if it can) and not make a sequel.
San Andreas (2015)
Not that bad
People seem to hate this film but just accept it for what it is - a formulaic disaster movie. There's not much you haven't already seen in 'The Day After Tomorrow' (ooops there goes the Hollywood sign again....) but there are some neat special effects and inventive ways for people to get flattened by falling roofs/buildings/shipping containers... It was an enjoyable little romp and for 'us Brits' it was fun to see Kylie Minogue come to a grisly end (yes I know she's Australian but she's v famous over here). Don't expect anything deep and meaningful - the American film studios' fondness for saccharine endings is here as per usual) - but don't dismiss it so quickly either.
Stitchers (2015)
Quite good
I enjoyed this show. I actually wanted to tune into the next episode, which is more than I can say for some! The premise isn't totally original but it is a nice twist. The acting's OK and it's fun trying to work out what happened to who and why and when etc. A bit of detective mystery wrapped up in a bit of sci fi. I was glad they sorted out the mystery of the original 'stitcher' and you had to feel for Camille who was almost married off in Episode 9 - not what she was expecting at all. A nice number of plot twists as you went along. True there is nothing to confound the brain but for some Summer entertainment I would recommend.
Poltergeist (2015)
Not bad...... not great
OK let's get this out of the way - it's a remake and the original film is a classic. That's not to say you shouldn't remake it. In fact I was looking forward to see how they would do it now technology has moved on in leaps and bounds. So here goes: The storyline is pretty faithful to the original. OK all of the characters are different and the strangely-voiced medium is now and Irish man (I think that was the accent - it varied a lot!). But, as another reviewer said, the original film sustained menace throughout whilst this one stops and starts a lot. That would be OK but the horror jolts aren't particularly scary. Yes the tree bit is done with CGI so it looks a lot better. The tearing-face scene is given a miss (shame - a favourite of mine - would have loved to have seen that CGI'd). The trip through the world behind the closet wasn't scary either. Lots of CGI that had no feeling of reality. And, at the end, the 'coming out of the ground' bodies bit was over in a flash and they didn't do anything! No coffins bursting out of the ground. No chasing people. Shame.
They kept in the bit about the houses being built on a graveyard and then we find out (calmly) that the bodies weren't moved. The original made that scene really powerful with the father arguing with the developer over the fact that he saved money by simply moving the headstones, not the bodies. Again the suspense was lost in the new version.
The actors did OK but no-one shone through. The little girl didn't have the screen presence needed for her brief times in the film. Even her delivery of the film's famous catchphrase: They're here! was muted. Somehow I got the feeling that it was all toned down - for a family audience? For a lower rating? Isn't it a horror film? Hmmmmm....
35 minutes in before the first scary bit actually happened (the leg being pulled into the floor). It has been said that the original dove into the supernatural action too quickly and that may have been true, but this version left me wishing for a fast forward button at times.
So now you're asking: did he like any of it? Well it was good to see a remake and the effects have certainly improved. I applaud that they stuck quite faithfully to the original plot line (with small exceptions). I think it is good that people should have a go at a new slant on an old film. Some can work very successfully (the latest Planet of the Apes films) while others can be awful (The Day The Earth Stood Still). But that's no reason not to try. I think this film falls in between the two examples given and was enjoyable but without the pace and the.....well.....horror....of the original. I'd catch it again on TV.
Jurassic World (2015)
Such a shame...
Apart from the plot holes which are pointed out elsewhere on IMDb this is also a tired rehashing of earlier films. Let's create a badass dinosaur which then gets loose and starts killing people. Only this time, as the badass dinosaur never actually existed, it doesn't have the same feeling of reality as, say, the T Rex or the 'Raptors. We even have the 'taking the dinosaur embryos' plot line thrown back in. And the children stranded in the park. Oh and after 22 years of storage I'd love to know how the jeep battery still had a charge in it... Of course no-one running the park has learned any of the lessons from the previous films. A couple of neat special effects does not a great movie make (See Star Wars 1, 2 and 3!!!). And why was so much of the action shot so darkly? I know it was night but in the climactic battle it was difficult to tell which was T Rex and which was genetically enhanced dinosaur....or who was winning. They say they want a sequel. Well do something different or it's just raptors and rexes again....
The Lazarus Effect (2015)
Fun way to spend 90 minutes
OK so it's not an original theme. And if you've seen 'Hollow Man' then you've seen the last half of this film, pretty much. With a couple of twists. And there was a really old film in the 1980s (anyone know what it was? I've forgotten the title) that dealt with people who had died being put into suspended animation and then woken up again when a cure/treatment was found for whatever killed them. The first person to be reanimated turned into a psychotic killer as well. But it was good to see a modern version, clearly done on a budget, but with a couple of nice 'jumps' in it. The morality of bringing people back to life (and even the dog - 'did he go to doggy heaven?' asks one character) is discussed. The first killing was imaginative and not graphic either. The ending was a little predictable but I liked it. If you've 90 minutes free one day then you could watch worse.
Ex Machina (2014)
Oh dear...
The trailers for this looked really good but it turned out to be a very slow film with a predictable ending. I'm sure the CGI cost some money but the rest was shot cheaply with minimal sets and minimal cast. The AI inventor came across as such an unsympathetic character that you just don't care when he's murdered. The android then waltzes off to the helicopter that has come for the intern and the pilot happily flies her off without asking where the intern is. (You might suggest the android killed the helicopter pilot but that's not shown on screen, nor is it implied that she has flying skills). The ending - with the intern locked away behind a glass door - is sub-Westworld. It was a film where one wanted more and didn't get it.
Crime Traveller (1997)
Shame only one season
I really liked Crime Traveller. OK it's not perfect. Morris (the policeman with no brain cells) was an awful character who would never have been tolerated by Grisham (the boss). And the young chap was just superfluous. So.... take them out and what have we got? Grisham as the hard-nosed detective (ably played by Sue Johnston - just needed a few better lines for her) and a great double act, the 'willtheywon'tthey?' pairing of Holly and Slade.
What makes the programme work though is the concept of time travel. Just a few hours back but enough to pick up clues to a crime and even interview the deceased before they were murdered! Of course you can't change anything but you can come back to the present and wrap the case up.
The show was a light drama with comedy elements (which were mostly un-needed) and, as other reviewers have noted, it was pushed aside by Jonathan Creek (which I also have a fondness for). It's a shame there wasn't room for both shows. Or at the very least a second series of this one. Over the 8 episodes the characters of Holly and Slade did get developed as you found out more about Slade's past and his father etc. and Holly's father and her first boyfriend. It was a lovely touch to find a fully perfected time machine (without all the exposed wires and toggle switches) in the last episode and a nastily visual rendering of what happens if the machine goes wrong and traps your ex boyfriend in an eternity loop! Oh and for us fans of another time travelling show the visual and musical nod in the episode with all the phone boxes....and one police box!
I agree that the show could be brought back. Maybe, as suggested elsewhere, after years have passed while Holly has scrimped and saved to repair the machine after a catastrophic failure and now Slade comes back into her life. I doubt it will happen and if it did they would have to dump the comedy policemen but - well, in science fiction anything is possible.
Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor (2013)
Touches of brilliance...
The 50th Anniversary episode... eagerly awaited by fans and a nightmare task for the scriptwriter.... in this case, Stephen Moffatt, the king of the plot holes and skimming over of stuff. And here he goes again. Having said that, there were some lovely touches and a great performance from John Hurt.
I thought it was a masterstroke to pair him with Rose (Billie Piper) so that it wasn't just another instance of Rose popping back from the parallel universe. The interaction between Matt Smith and David Tennant's Doctors was fun and well-scripted. Mix in John Hurt trying to fathom out his childish successors and things were looking great indeed.
The Time War - at last a conclusion (of sorts) and I settled down hoping for Dalek battles and destruction and Time Weapons and battling Tardises....
Instead we popped back to a highly unlikely encounter with Elizabeth I and a Zygon horse... And the less said about the wedding and the dangling over London from the Tardis the better. I have always had a soft spot for the Zygons but in true Moffat style they actually had little to do and even less to do with the plot. A wasted opportunity. I would have loved to see them in a standalone episode of their own. Maybe in 2014.
Plot holes: so Clara is now a teacher. I must have missed her years at College getting her degree. And she drops everything to jump into the Tardis. I hope she is back for class tomorrow or she will be in trouble. If Kate was always a Zygon why bother bringing in the Doctor who they know will interfere? And Kate is duplicated and held in a sort of slimy web thing so that her pattern can be kept alive for duplication (see 'Terror of the Zygons'), but no such affair is needed to duplicate the scarf-wearing assistant or Elizabeth I. Or the horse? And sticking Gallifrey and all the Time Lords into a parallel universe frozen in a second of time isn't much better than wiping them out anyway - especially as we seem to have forgotten that the Time Lords had a Master Plan of their own to destroy the Universe in order to end the Time War. So this way round they got off lightly! And a nice touch for fans but how on Earth (or off Earth) did UNIT get a photograph of Sara Kingdom who lived and died in the far future? Or of Susan? Or Kamelion? Or...???
Great Bits: John Hurt. In every scene he is in. Matt and David. Great interaction. Comparison of screwdrivers. Very funny. The reappearance of the circles on the walls in John Hurt's Tardis. At last! Rose as The Interface. An uncannily accurate voice impersonation of William Hartnell's doctor. A flash of Peter Capaldi's eyes (and brows).
So overall a fun romp that didn't live up to the hype (an almost impossible task I know). Roll on the Xmas Special :-)
(Oh and for all the people concerned that the Doctor is reaching the end of his regenerations don't forget that a) this is science fiction so anything can happen, b) the Master was planning to trigger a whole new regeneration cycle by stealing the Eye of Harmony in 'The Deadly Assassin' so we know it's possible to start again, c) the Time Lords offered the Master a whole new Regeneration Cycle if he rescued the Doctor in 'The Five Doctors' so they could do it (and the Doctor has been advised to search for Gallifrey....), d) River Song passed her regeneration energy to the Doctor to bring him back to life after she poisoned him so maybe there is extra regeneration energy left from her for more bodies. After all, we only saw her use up 3 bodies on TV (the young girl in 'The Impossible Astronaut', Mel is 'Let's Kill Hitler' and, of course, the Alex Kingston version). Plenty left over. And e) make up your own reason. Why not? :-) Doctor Who hasn't got to 50 years old only to stop because of a lack of Regenerations...... thank goodness).
Atlantis (2013)
Oh dear oh dear oh dear
For the fans of this series it has been announced that series 2 has been greenlit! For those who have actually seen it... can we have our BBC licence fee back please?
Who writes this show? Who directs it? And who decided that a lack of decent storytelling or acting can be covered by getting Jason's tunic off whenever possible? These are some questions.... others might be: will the Oracle ever have an expression on her face? Why is Hercules an out-of-shape drunk? (he was a demi-god in mythology). And Pythagoras..... why????
The trouble is none of the characters are likable or believable. The plots are thin and drawn out. And hands up if you did NOT predict that Hercules would fall asleep and the contents of the store he was guarding would be stolen???? Anyone??? No - no-one.... Except Jason, of course. Ah well.....
I managed 2 and a half episodes but have cancelled the 'series record' option. Waste of space on the hard drive, waste of time in life. Shame - it could have been so much more.
Logan's Run (1976)
A good film
Even after all these years this remains a good film. Some dated effects yes - but that happens with sci fi. And yes Peter Ustinov is a little irritating. And please let me know how all the city inhabitants just walk out at the same place at the end of the film, when Logan and Jessica have to take a treacherous path out (the only one known to exist by the runners).
But aside from that just enjoy the plot - which is not over-complicated but holds together well, unlike much sci fi of the time. The acting is generally good. Even Farrah Fawcett-Majors comes out well as the bubble-headed plastic surgery receptionist and secret member of the 'runner' escape line.
I hear tell that there have been plans to remake this film but they haven't got it out of 'development hell'. Well in case you hadn't noticed, this film has already been remade. It is called 'The Island'. No it's not an official remake but it's a good film too and if you don't spot the huge similarities to Logan's Run then you're not awake. Right up to and including the ending with the citizens leaving the city.
Look out for Logan's Run. It's a classic and well worth your time.
Prometheus (2012)
Oh dear....
Alas..... A nice idea to 'prequel' Alien so that we know how the space ship ended up with the alien pilot in place, chest punctured etc (though he doesn't end up being punctured in the ship or in that chair..... odd....) Whole swathes of crew members given nothing to do or a button or two to push. Idiot crew members frightened of alien creatures who then go out and pet one of them. A total waste of the normally excellent Charlize Theron. And Guy Pearce in unrealistic 'old man' makeup? I read they originally wanted an older actor. Makes sense to me. David's actions make little sense (infecting a crew member - and he couldn't have planned for the fact that a pregnancy would ensue.... And then why be kind to Noomi Rapace at the end?) And if they wanted to spread life to new planets the engineers could surely find a better way of mixing their DNA into the planet's eco system than committing suicide.... very painfully!??? How about lop an arm off and use that? The list goes on.
OK so what is good about this film? Well...some beautiful, aerial shots in the first two minutes. And..... I am running out of options here...
I read that a sequel is in the planning stage. I'd leave it there!
Marple: They Do It with Mirrors (2009)
One of the weaker Christie Marple stories
Having seen versions of this with Helen Hayes, the perfect Marple Joan Hickson and now the latest version with Julia McKenzie I conclude that its main failing is the story itself. Tweaked at by various screenwriters in all versions it still pales beside other Marples. Julia McKenzie is a welcome Marple after the previous incarnation, who I felt was woefully miscast in the role (though others do disagree). Ms McKenzie brings a sense of reality to the role without all the grimacing of her predecessor. Another reviewer stated that the problem is not the lead actors and this is true - they have all shone in other roles. This one moves along at a regular pace but has none of the suspense of - say - Sleeping Murder. Not as bad as some other reviewers make out but a long way from the best.