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Reviews
Wallander: The Fifth Woman (2010)
Good
Very good as are most Wallanders.
Close to the book as I remember it.
One minor quibble. When the crows were circling (early on no spoilers) I think the number of them was rather OTT.
Sorry to see the end of Povel - a minor but important character.
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries: In the Guise of Death (2005)
Rather Good
I recently watched this (for the first time).
It was pretty good in most regards and the baddie was a bit of a surprise.
I agree with the comment about the way that Lynley takes stupid risks. This was particularly the case in the ludicrous final scene. Amazing that Lynley didn't add to the body count.
On a technical point the lighting seemed very poor in some scenes. In the scene near the end where Lynley was interviewing Sarah in her home the upper half of both of their faces was in deep shadow.
Midsomer Murders: The Wolf Hunter of Little Worthy (2021)
We were warned
Early in this episode "Father Brown" (who had had somehow wandered on to the wrong set) said that something was a "load of old cobblers". How true. Little did we know that he was referring to the next 2 hours.
This had all the ingredient of recent MMs. A complicated illogical plot, some sort of "event" going on, family relationships that nobody is aware of, a couple of weird murders.
The result is that you don't know who the characters are, but can't be bothered to get to know them who let alone care what happens to them.
MM has always had its oddities. Its tongue-in-cheek approach worked but it has now gone far beyond this.
I have recently watched repeats of the very early MMs and they are infinitely better than recent offerings. I suppose you can't go on doing it forever. It is probably time to call it a day.
This is not a good recipe for a successful TV series.
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries: Deception on His Mind (2003)
Ludicrous
The "all action" final 10 minutes were preposterous. Totally unnecessary.
Lucky the North Sea was so calm.
Pity because the rest of it was quite good, although I got rather confused with all the characters.
Quatermass and the Pit (1967)
Very good - recommended period sci-fi
I watched this today (Feb 2021) and I don't think I have seen it before, although I have seen bits and pieces.
I do (surprisingly) remember the late 50s BBC serialised version which chilled the nation. I would say that this is pretty similar in most important details and is pretty scary, fairly credible and overall good.
The TV version I saw had a tribute to Barbara Shelley, one of the main characters, who died a month ago.
Endeavour: Pilot (2012)
Baddies
This episode features not one but two actors who always seem to play slimy, creepy characters. Namely Danny Webb and Patrick Malahide.
Father Brown: The Wisdom of the Fool (2020)
Ludicrous
Even by the standards of Father Brown this episode was absurd,
Father Brown: The Skylark Scandal (2019)
Too modern
The lady chairman of the ramblers referred to herself as "chair". I am sure such terminology was not in use in the 1950s.
Similarly neither was "twitcher" for birdwatcher.
Father Brown: The Demise of the Debutante (2019)
Not too plausible.
O know it is very easy to criticise Father Brown for many reasons (the main one being a Cotswold village where the large church is Roman Catholic as are most of the inhabitants) but here there is another one.
We have a posh English Finishing School for young ladies. So who is the chaplain? A hellfire thumping, bible bashing preacher from the bible belt of the USA.
No. It doesn't fit.
Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982)
Very Good Movie
I first came across this film back in the 1980s on a late night channel. Unfortunately i only saw about the last third, just enough to understand what was going on, but was impressed.
Much later in 2020 the same thing happened but I saw it was due to be repeated a few days later so I made sure I watched it all and recorded it.
The plot concerns the contrast between the James Dean Fan Club meeting in the Woolworths of a small Texan town at the time of his death and re-uniting 20 years later. Things have clearly changed and not for the better. The characters have lost some of their naivety and the shop is struggling.The truth about the unlikely "child of James Dean" comes out as do other home truths.
The atmosphere of the post-war small town is well brought out and the acting is universally excellent.
Whilst it may be true that this is a filmed stage play rather than a film this is no disadvantage. One minor quibble is that it is not always immediately clear whether scenes are in the 1950s or 1970s.
The characters promise to meet again in another 20 years but the final shots show that by then the place is derelict. All rather bleak and perhaps reminiscent of The Last Picture Show.
Definitely recommended.