Change Your Image
scottme
Reviews
1899 (2022)
I gave it a chance, but
This series just left me in the dark about everything, literally. Everything about it is a puzzle, not least the question of how it came to be made. It has immensely high production values, lavish costumes and scenery (when you can see them through the gloom), but there's a complete absence of any coherent, comprehensible storyline. The creators are simply messing with the audience's heads tossing ever more "mysteries" into the mix. For example how is it that the ships seem much larger inside than outside? Why do the lower deck passengers tolerate being treated so much worse than the first class elite? Why is the captain permanently drunk?
I made it past the middle of the second episode but couldn't get any further. Nonsense. Don't waste your time.
Engrenages (2005)
Best in class
This series knocks spots off all other police dramas I've seen, and I've watched a fair few.
To appreciate it, it helps to understand that it's set in Paris (France) where the legal & judicial system is quite unlike that in the USA or UK or other common law based countries. So the criticisms I've seen in some reviews that "police don't behave like that" or "judges wouldn't do that" are spurious: unless you're familiar with the French way of doing these things, it doesn't work like you imagine. In truth, it's a realistic portrayal.
The added bonus is that as it's in French with subtitles, it gives you a great opportunity to improve your French, with a focus on profanities.
The Lighthouse (2019)
Don't waste your time
Honestly one of the least interesting and most pretentious films I've ever seen. I kept thinking something must be about to happen but no. Complete waste of time.
Il commissario Montalbano (1999)
Picturesque and entertaining, but poor direction and editing
I'd read several of the Montalbano books before watching their TV versions, and I have so far found these disappointing on several levels. Luca Zingaretti looks and behaves nothing like the Commissario I'd imagined from the novels: he's too young, and too much of a hard man. The gentle humour in the books comes over as brusque and at times cruel. Much of the acting appears rather stilted and hammy, and for my liking there are too many dialogue-free scenes devoted to establishing locations, with characters walking along streets, cars accelerating, camera sweeps across scenery etc., and a lot of it feels like filler to pad out the duration of the programme. The episodes I've watched might usefully be edited down by 20% or more.
That said, the adaptations have been true to the original stories, and those are compelling - often with quite complex plots which we see the Inspector gradually puzzle out. The Sicilian atmosphere is there too, in the buildings and some of the minor characters. Shame that the standard of the film versions falls short of the written word.
Taken (2008)
Utterly unbelievable
If you are able to to suspend your disbelief for the duration of this film you may enjoy it. Otherwise you're highly likely, as I did, to spend the whole time shouting "I just don't believe it!" A sampling of the episodes in this film that provoke disbelief:
Although he has flown to France at little more than two hour's notice, the Leeson character just happens to have brought a full drug detox kit with him - which comes in handy.
Although he has supposedly been retired for some time, he possesses credible false ID as a French policeman. He appears to be able to speak French well enough to pass as said policeman.
He is able to drive at high speed the wrong way down a busy embankment road in the centre of Paris without hitting any of the dozens of vehicles coming in the other direction.
He kills, maims, or disables at least two dozen adversaries without (up to the very end) receiving as much as a flesh wound, despite most of his opponents being heavily armed: they can't hit him, yet he always hits them.
And so on.
I just don't believe it!
State of Play (2009)
Classy and convincing thriller
The translation of this BBC mini-series from a UK to a US context has been done so well that it fits perfectly into a Washington context. The casting is impeccable, resulting in a totally believable set of characters. The cinematography is thoughtful and contributes greatly to the storytelling, with some memorable small details in the opening sequences -- for example, a shot of one of the characters walking past a shop window as the security shutters are being taken down perfectly conveys the time of day.
The pace of the storytelling is nicely judged, as is the way the characters nd their relationships evolve in response to the twists and turns of the plot. And just when it all seems to be nicely sewn up, the final few minutes bring yet another twist to deny the cosy ending that looked to be on the way.
I was lucky enough to see a free preview of this film prior to its release in the UK, but I'd have no hesitation to recommend it to anyone looking for a couple of diverting hours.
Love Actually (2003)
Utterly formulaic, mindless pap
If you've seen any other films written by Richard Curtis -- Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, etc., then you'll know what to expect of this.
Except it's nothing like as good; Curtis knows how to write stories that tug at your heartstrings, but his direction lacks the necessary discipline -- there's no real unifying plot other than that implied by the film's title, and the overriding impression is that it's a flabby, lazy effort.
Most of the admittedly stellar cast cruise along on autopilot, rehearsing roles they are already well known for or even typecast in. The few exceptions include Bill Nighy, who puts in a creditable performance, and Martine McCutcheon, who is awkward and unconvincing.
If you do decide to go and see this, remember to check your critical faculties in at the entrance to the auditorium.
2 out of 10