Change Your Image
julianbevans
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin (2024)
Mighty Boosh meets Our Flag Means Death
Noel Fielding on Bake Off is a complete mystery to me. Un-funny and a silly add-on that adds nothing to the programme... which I really dislike in any case. However, in The Completely made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin he's back to the character that made 50% of the Mighty Boosh very, very funny. It's Marmite... you either love it or hate it, but here are a lot of the Boosh gags and personalities, brought back to life in a great situation. Great costume opportunities, great characters, daft non-sequiturs and some truly excellent guest appearances. Hugh Bonneville is inspired casting... as is greg Davies in episode 2. I absolutely loved it. Can't wait for episode three. Even the opening credit sequence is superb... what gorgeous animation! And Bob Fossil makes an appearance too. If you like Our Flag Means Death you will probably like this. I heartily recommend it.
The Darling Buds of May (1991)
How to live your life...
Be thankful for life. Love every minute. Eat, drink and be merry. Be sad when necessary, but move on and find life again. Have a big heart. Share. Love the sun and rain in equal measure. See life your own way. Find what it is that makes you tick, makes your heart race. These H. E. Bates characters are timeless in the way that they approach life, yet very much reminiscent of an age where smartphones and computers are a far off notion. Feelgood, warm, real, aspirational and instructive... yet funny, cheeky, 'real' and always capable of making one think very differently. An absolute classic, and by far the very best versions of bates' books ever filmed. David Jason is simply wonderful... as are Pam Ferris, Philip Franks, Catherine Zeta Jones and everyone else in it. Stand on your doorstep, look at the rain. Listen to it fall, and think of all that has gone before it, and is yet to come... Wonderful television. 10 stars!
I, Claudius (1976)
Possibly the best television drama ever made
Shot in a studio in the 1970s, with no external footage or effects. Before CG, before high definition, and concerning the antics of a 2000 year old family, I Claudius made television history as one of the most magical and truly stunning pieces dramas ever created. Watching it all again fifty years later, it has lost none of its appeal. Totally original, superbly written, beautifully acted, human, real, monstrous, funny, sad, huge in concept, majestic in outcome. It's one of those pieces of drama that everyone must see at some point in the their life. The characters are brought to life by some incredible acting, and truly great writing and production. There seems little point in relating the plots, stories or intrigues here. Find a copy and watch it for yourself. Television just doesn't get any better than this...
Endeavour (2012)
About as good as television gets - a true 10 star series
Yes it's connected to the Inspector Morse we all know, but this show builds on the original quite beautifully, making something unique, human and artistic in its own way. It doesn't matter how many times one watches the episodes either. I've seen the lot several times and find it as engaging on the most recent viewing as on the first. Each show is a complete story, with sub plots and relationships that build over time. The music, acting, writing and production values are all top notch, and the character of Morse is mapped out beautifully - good, arrogant, laconic, intense, innocent and world-weary all in equal measure. He's real. It's true that there is a certain quiantness about it, the 60s fashions, movements and lifestyles make it that way, but from my own memory it's very, very close to how things were. Oxford is dangerous place to live, that's true, but once that is accepted the show reveals a period in time and a point in a character's life that entertains and informs, wonderfully.
The Prisoner (1967)
I was there (almost)
Back in the sixties, as a young child, I remember my sister and I being driven to North Wales for a day at the seaside. Part of the trip was to see a very special Italianate village. After a couple of hours in the car (my dad's work vehicle) we arrived to discover that the village was closed... people were 'making a film'. It was The Prisoner.
When the show finally aired on UK TV for the first time, my parents hated it. "What was this rubbish about? There's no story!" I can remember my father saying. But at age 10 I was hooked... I'd loved Danger Man (Patrick McGoohan's previous TV show) and this was even better. The clothes, the place, the music... even the typeface. Yes, the typeface. A special version of Albertus created for the show (look those 'e's).
Later on I became a designer. I'd like to think in part due to the show. It had a profound impact on me... and many of my friends too. I had a chum called Dennis, whose mother made him jacket with white bias around the edges. I knew others that had these too.
The show had style, elan, pace, heart, surprise, pathos, tears. Every emotion an actor is supposed to be able to display was brought to the fore. The strange woman that makes ticking noises. The 'be seeing you' salute. The rover balloons. The Mini Mokes. The umbrellas. The colours. The straw hats. This isn't just TV, it is art. This is groundbreaking art.
Does it look staid? Perhaps there are some elements that date it. The electronics, the computer that types out 'why'. The telephones, although ultra modern then, are retro now, and then only to those who have a taste for such things. But the spirit is indomitable. A show about the human condition. The struggle against all that is unfathomable, all that is against us. No 6 is the person we all want to be. Human, strong, empathetic, intelligent, able, self assured yet never arrogant. He isn't Bond, he can't be categorised.
This show was conceived and constructed by Patrick McGoohan. I believe he got the go-ahead from Sir Lew Grade at a private meeting with only the briefest of outlines. Grade clearly knew that McGoohan was capable of brilliant things.
Cut to the 80s and I'm at college in Coventry. One of my tutors (Mike Felmingham) tells me he painted a lot of the murals on the walls for Sir Clough Williams Ellis, the creator of Portmeirion. Then, in the late 90s, early 2000s, I'm a member of a small sailing club in Porthmadog, just across the Cob from Portmeirion. I visited many it times. It's a truly wonderful place.
The show has followed me it seems, just as much as I have followed it. It is brilliant. If you haven't seen it... do.
Schalcken the Painter (1979)
Television drama at it's most creative and best
I have loved this ghost story since it was first broadcast in 1979. It was brilliant then, it is just as brilliant today. From the perfect recreation of a 17th Dutch interior to one of the screen's most chilling ghosts, this beautifully told tale is based upon a short story by Sheridan Le Fanu (Uncle Silas) and follows the mannered struggle of an up and coming artist... gaining a reputation, being in love ("as much as Dutchman can be") and being cuckolded by cadaverous spectre. The music is perfect. The performances equally so. This is truly one of the great British TV ghost stories. I can't recommend it highly enough.
The Vast of Night (2019)
Gorgeous film
Tremendous pace and superb cinematography in truly groundbreaking piece of cinema. I absolutely loved this. These aren't wooden characters with snappy one liners, but fully fleshed, engaging small town folks caught up in something amazing.
To call this sci if or horror would be a crime. It's art, and achieves a sublime piece of reality with little things... except one.
The truth is that there aren't many films this good these days. So much hype, CG reliance, superheroes, slick comedy and limp writing/direction. With a simple story and quality script, love and determination it's clearly possible to create something wonderful.
No spoilers. No need.
Persuasion (2022)
A current trend that needs to stop
More than a few few steps too far. Peeing under trees, tales of tentacle sex, a bed-head heroine and daft staccato orchestra stabs to nail the point home. This isn't Austen's Persuasion, it's more like Phoebe Waller-Bridge, but with a ridiculous anachronistic context that totally ruins a classic of the English language. Its not Killing Eve, but it is definitely killing Jane Austen. The Sally Hawkins / Rupert Penry-Jones version is about 40 times better than this (sorry, 41 times). Netflix... for goodness sake, leave classic drama to the BBC. The new generation of thumb scrolling 30 second attention span folks CAN and DO appreciate literature... and without all the modern references and dumbing down. Classic literature is classic for a reason... it's classic. It doesn't need your inept input.
The Pentaverate (2022)
The Prisoner
The altered Albertus typeface at the beginning is a clue to the origins of this interesting comedy diversion. I think Mike Myers must have loved the 60s TV series The Prisoner. There are lots of nods to it. The set design, the kidnapped man gassed by the secret folk and waking up in a room where he is told about where he finds himself... add Myers' filthy humour and oddball look at the world and you have a a strange experience. It's really quite different.
But watch the original TV Prisoner... that was genius, eh.
Uncharted (2022)
Ridiculous nonsense me hearties
I like to have an element of realty in an adventure film. Even if you accept the standard 'clockwork mechanisms that still function perfectly after several hundred years' or believe that lengthy treasure trails constructed by a few old sailors can be so extensive and full of booby traps... even if you find your treasure hunt dogged by a gang of baddies (just like every other treasure movie) who maim and kill with impunity... there's still the perfectly preserved galleons that can be picked up by a helicopeter (two of them) and flown whilst a full-on pirate-like fight takes place on deck! Phew. Shivver me timbers. I couldn't stay the length. It's junk. It plays every single treasure movie trope and does it on steroids.
The Goonies was a cool kids movie. Cutthroat Island was a good laugh. Pirates of the Caribbean Curse of the Black Pearl was very much it's own film... but this movie takes all of these - together with National Treasures 1 & 2 - and creates a hideous, unengaging chimera without a single character worth routing for. Don't waste your time.
Our Flag Means Death (2022)
Genius!
Please tell me this is returning. What a unique and truly wonderful experience. It actually moved me to tears... honestly. It's daft, profound, beautifully acted, warm, rude and totally unpredictable. There seems little point in explaining any plot since the plot is not really what it's about. They're on a ship that doesn't move about much, in palatial cabins, sunlight and lush colours. I couldn't give a hoot how much of it is digital, it's down the the writing and the passion of the performers. For all humans, and lovers of the unusual and those who 'try'... you must watch this.
The Gilded Age (2022)
Nope...
Maybe I'm alone in thinking I've had quite enough of Julian Fellowes's take on history. Mannered snappy dialogue, askew glances, 21st century good looks and tedious, predictable storylines that are both anachronistic and trashy.
I'll stick my neck out here... life just wasn't like this! A steady procession of perfect teeth, beautifully made up, sexy, microbially clean models gliding from one scene to another is just so unreal. Where is the time it takes to get from one place to another? The dirt, zits, diseases and disasters that befell all of society in that era. A common cold was dangerous, a broken limb catastrophic. Yet this is all intrigue, all dialogue, all sassy nonsense.
I love history. I work in a living museum. We strive day in, day out to get it right. This stuff is just TV candy for the intellectually challenged. You like fluff? Watch this, you'll love it. Just like 'Bridgerton' and a hundred other so-called historical dramas that bear no resemblance to historical fact, this series is simply lame. Downton Abbey was better, and made for me by Maggie Smith and others, yet Mr Fellowes has always made me feel somewhat cold towards this kind of entertainment. It's too clean, too gentile, too modern, too clean (oh, I think I already said that) and too inconsequential.
Thomas hardy wrote real characters. Charles Dickens revealed Victorian society in its entirety, warts and all. Edgar Poe gave us malice and dirt and vengeance on an epic scale, and with some of the greatest writing in the English language. This stuff is... not.
As Good as It Gets (1997)
This is a great film
I've read some reviews that say this hasn't aged well. I disagree. The foul stuff that comes from Mervyn Udall's lips are meant to be just that... foul. You hate him, sympathise with him, love him. The obsessive-compulsive disorder he suffers from shapes his every move, every thought. He is deeply offensive and totally unlovable, yet a small dog touches him and he begins the process of self-realisation. There's a tremendous act of kindness that is designed purely to get him his breakfast in the way in which he used to getting it. He starts to see things differently, relapses, struggles... it's torture but totally absorbing. Then there are the compliments... 'you make me want to be a better person' - it gets me every time. Don't be too harsh on this. Sentimentality isn't all bad. The humanity in this film is a joy to see, and the performances from the three leads (and everyone else) are truly wonderful. Some of Nicholson's facial movements, the lift of an eyebrow, slight glances... are pure magic. Helen Hunt is wonderful, as is Greg Kinnear. I recommend this film wholeheartedly. It's pretty unique.
Our House (2022)
How on earth do they afford that house?
Not so much a review of a mediocre 'thriller', more a crit on UK TV drama as a whole. It seems to me that we're trying to impress foreign audiences with a perceived standard of living that is totally unreal. A house like this Edwardian gem would be worth what... £1,000,000 in London? Not far off it at any rate. How on earth could these chumps afford that? Left in a will? Lottery winners? Drug lords? This is not a one-off either. Loads of these middle class thrillerettes spring up with factory production line regularity... and they all live in sodding architect-designed masterpieces in the country, or Tudor relics, stately mansions or six bedroomed gated community horrors. Life just isn't like this for most people. I literally turn off when I see things heading in this direction. 'Happy Valley'... now that's realistic. Real people living real lives in normal houses. Who are we trying to impress? Like I said... there's an eye on foreign markets here - look at the lovely UK... they all shop at Waitrose, have bean-to-cup machines in echoing marble worktop kitchens and their kids have bedrooms that double for conference venues. Jeez. Give me a break. Get real!
Sluga narodu (2015)
Life imitating art
Having seen just the first episode, this is endearing and very funny. Zelensky is an engaging, human and funny man. A schoolteacher becomes president. And now, in turn the comedian becomes president, for real... and one of the bravest leaders in modern times. The strangeness of seeing him on screen in this role and comparing that to the heart wrenching statements shown on every newschannel in the free world is unimaginable but for the fact that it is horribly real. The world is facing such peril, the like of which has not been seen since 1945, yet this TV comedy, in a language unfathomable to most western ears brings humanity and hope, through a man destined to go down in history as both comedian and hero.
Breaking Bad (2008)
One of the greatest TV dramas of all time
Very very few TV dramas come close. This is the best. It's a story about something I have no interest in, set in a country i've no desire to visit, amongst people I don't partricularly don't want to know, in a culture that I've not experienced. Yet it demands attention for every second, from the pants flying through the air and breathless RV desert mayhem, all the way to the bitter end. The extraordinary writing and wonderful performances make this something extra special. Human frailty. Human values. It's breathtaking television. I've watched the whole thing many, many times. If you've not seen it, you need to.
OSS 117: Alerte rouge en Afrique noire (2021)
Un Un Sept strikes again
Not the best of the series but good fun all the same. I'd just like to point out that if you say Un Un Sept instead of Cent Dix Sept it sounds like Oh Oh Seven... is it meant to I wonder? I'm sure others have mentioned this in the reviews, I just haven't read them. Jean Dujardin is great in anything in my book. Versatile and a great screen presence. Lots of daft and rather immature nonsense here, but I would personally much rather watch a mediocre French film than most mainstream Hollywood movies. Give it a go.
Die kleine Hexe (2018)
Charming film with very poor English dubbing
I wanted to give this film a low star rating but that hardly seems fair. The film itself is beautifully made. Effects, costumes, locations etc are all truly wonderful. The acting is great and the lead role is played beautifully. What lets the film down for a non-German speaking English person is the God awful American dubbing. The actors doing this are DIRE. The American accent doesn't lend itself to this kind of thing at the best of times, but this is gob-smackingly appalling. Watch the film in German with English subtitles. It's magic (pun intended).