bryanstreek Reviews

For Her Sins (2023)

Unoriginal but watchable.

[5/10 · 3 July 2023]

Another version of the psycho inserting themselves into somebody's life for some reason and putting them through hell for some reason whilst pretending to be their friend. Unrealistic, but still compelling watching. Camera work on close-ups is very wobbly and could make you nauseous. Performances are adequate, apart from when the teacher walk towards the villain as if she is going to kill her and then just asks her to pass something on to her friend; laughably bad. Where does this woman who is a nanny have the money to have Spa days, nights out, hotel breaks and never actually be working? Suspend logical thinking and you may enjoy it.

Better (2023)

Anton Lesser steals it

[8/10 · 14 February 2023]

Well worth a watch. People saying the acting is poor are speaking too broadly. Most performances are good, except the cop's son who is not great. Anton Lesser is excellent as the retired bent cop; but then he is always good. It is a good story, some complexity to the characters, nobody is one dimensional. I don't really understand the really low raters. Not sure why Anton Lesser does not even feature in the IMDB cast list as he is the best thing in it. I didn't feel the accents were forced, I don't think any of the actors were using anything but their normal speaking voices. Make your own mind up.

Les Misérables (2012)

Vocals should be the stars

[7/10 · 29 January 2023]

I watched this 3 times at the cinema so I clearly enjoyed it. Great power,great settings and shooting but just as they made casting mistakes in the 25th anniversary by casting Nick Jonas, they really missed an opportunity to create something phenomenal by casting big names in place of big voices. Why on earth did Alfie Boe not get the lead? Hugh Jackman's nasal warbling through ever-changing accents, Russell Crowe's one note singing is painful. Redmayne makes an excellent job of empty chairs, full of emotion ad real pathos. Similarly Anne Hathaway manages to show real pain and agony whilst doing justice to I dreamed a dream. The excellent lyrics suffer through being spoken more than sung. I wonder if Helena Bonham-Carter got the gig as she could wear her own clothes. Sacha Baron-Cohen is excellent providing comic respite. Nothing will ever top the stage production, but this is still well worth viewing, just a shame they bottled it when it came to casting.

Sanditon (2019–2023)

Carry on Austen

[1/10 · 8 October 2019]

Very poor. The repeated innuendo and clumsy allusions to sex make this more of a parody of a Jane Austen period drama than a serious adaptation. You might get away with it if it was a modern day setting based on the original story, but I feel Jan Austen would be horrified at this very poor copy, and that her name is being used to promote it.