Reviews

I had to watch Everything Everywhere All At Once over three sittings. Am I the only person on the planet who doesn't love this movie?

Decent acting, exceptionally choreographed fight scenes, phenomenal camera movements and editing. There are some seriously funny and a few poignant moments. But the rest is confused epileptic pretentiousness.

Jamie Lee wasn't even the best supporting performance in the movie, let alone the year. For something with so many cuts you'd expect more of a clear storyline. Who are we even rooting for and why? Many heartfelt moments are destroyed by childish scenes before or after.

It began well with a Birdman style then had to morph into the kid from Indiana Jones telling us where we are up to in the story with amateur exposition.

I really wanted to like this movie, given the hype. But it's death by, literally, thousands of cuts.

Jessica Chastain is a superstar. Amazing performance and the movie has a good energy. Having watched it again they really should have led with the sympathy for HIV positive patients and promotion of gay rights. That was such a small part of the overall movie when it could have been the focus. In the initial viewing I just really struggled to find someone to root for considering these people are con artists ripping off gullible families on the promise of miracles while these horrible humans live lives of luxury. If they had an investigator or even a James Randi style debunker on the other side to expose their scams I would have enjoyed it much more.

It starts kicking off properly at Ep3. After watching the first episode I was really wondering why they even called it Pam and Tommy because they were a minor supporting cast in a show about a bitter carpenter seeking revenge for not being paid. If you're making a series about Pam and Tommy, maybe try showing them for more than 5 minutes. The one bonus through all of that exposition is the soundtrack.

Dexter is a phenomenal series and I think this new show has somehow managed the impossible.

I believe Deb should have ended Dexter in the original series but they had to include a ridiculous and completely unbelievable sub plot about her romantic feelings for him so she couldn't.

There is so much to love about the new series. The small town vibe, the characters, the storyline, the scenery. Episode 9 is just phenomenal television.

Maybe we keep going from here and see where Harrison ends up. He's a great character played exceptionally well.

While I'll miss Dexter, maybe he'll be back in a Harry type role if they move forward.

The finale isn't worth a sub 5 rating. It needed to be done. It should have been done before. It would have ended the original series perfectly but this goes some way to making that feel less ridiculous.

There are moments where it intentionally tugs at your heart strings, moments of serious laughs and moments of too much exposition (maybe if I do this, this will happen). It's very watchable. The leads are likeable. I feel like it could have been better if they had more separate stories at the beginning before intertwining but that's moot. It gets right into it. Which is how Groundhog Day was originally meant to begin I believe. Awesome soundtrack too and beautifully shot. It doesn't try too hard. That's why it's charming.

This movie is very confused. It's like if Biff Tannen was the lead of BTTF. It would be unwatchable. Coogan's character has no redeeming features. The supporting cast doesn't know what its roles are and there's a sub plot involving refugees who are there why? Do they represent every sweatshop worker and staff member with hatred? Mitchell solid as always, same with Isla. If you want to watch a real satire of the super wealthy, watch Succession instead.

You won't laugh because it's not funny. You won't cry because there's no reason to be empathetic. Nothing happens for 15 minutes. Then nothing happened for the remaining hour and a bit. Came for the leads, stayed hoping it was going somewhere but it didn't. This movie makes Howard the Duck look like a best picture winner. At least that had a plot.

The best movies ever made may be Schindler's List or The Shawshank Redemption or Pulp Fiction or Goodfellas or even Groundhog Day. But one movie stands out for me: La La Land.

It's perfectly shot, the acting is underplayed in a time when most cinematic blockbusters overact like they are on stage with Jerry Springer. The music is exceptional and the colour is something out of a fairytale.

I understand why people don't like musicals. That's your call. Don't rate it then. I don't rate superhero movies because I know the good guys will defeat the bad guys in a predictable monstrosity to chase revenue. This movie doesn't have fight scenes or a shootout or car chase - it's about one basic premise we all face in life - do you follow your dream or your heart?

It's a combination of everything that's great about the movies and it shows restraint at the end when it could have easily chosen a different path for our couple.

It's funny in parts, excruciatingly sad in others. It finds the perfect balance. It's a masterpiece.

It probably helps if you're a fan of The Beatles as there is a lot of music in this. I love them so it's fine. The main two leads are wonderful in a fairly predictable love story.

It's beautifully shot and a clever concept for a script. The premise is after the world forgets the music of The Beatles, one wannabe musician is the only one who remembers them and their music. So he capitalises on it and becomes a superstar.

There is even a phenomenal moment when the main character goes to a seaside home which is brilliant but I won't spoil it.

Himesh Patel is so likeable as Jack. He's a great singer and gives the character a wonderful charm. Lily James as Ellie is your Joey Potter 'girl next door in the friend zone' type and plays it well. She's gorgeous.

Ed Sheeran takes the mickey out of himself well as the movie turns to satirise the music industry, particularly in the USA.

The biggest letdown is Kate McKinnon. I usually like her but this role as the loud mouth unrelatable agent gets more screen time than she deserves - even interrupting the flow of some nice moments with unnecessary dialogue. It would have been better to show the disconnect between the two countries and their approaches to art. Instead all she talks about is taking his money. It's a weird character to have when we are used to Ari Gold-type characters who do anything for the stars they represent.

Boyle gives the movie a modern feel while maintaining some bland hometown backdrops before ramping it up to major stadium performances.

The two leads are fun to watch and if it introduces more people to The Beatles, that can only be a good thing.

It's actually pretty good and would work better as a standard show instead of a mockumentary. Talking to the camera doesn't add anything and they don't play up to it anyway, aside from being more generous than usual to a homeless man.

The other reason it probably doesn't cut through the broader audience is because there are two leads.

It should be about Billy trying to stay relevant in the age of Kardashians while many of his fans fade away. Gad would work much better playing off him anyway because he doesn't really have any dream or goals throughout the show aside from getting a movie role.

The premise is old but done well in terms of writing and production. There are solid one-liners and punchlines.

It could have easily been done in 6 episodes. A few episodes seem like fillers and are wasted a bit. In saying that one of the best episodes would be Billy's birthday when he talks about his loneliness and longing to spend more time with his late parents. It's a touching moment. The show needed more of that.

Billy is brilliant as usual. His timing is impeccable. Josh is OK and the running gag about him being Jonah Hill is pretty funny.

It's definitely worth watching. It's not very deep and the characters don't develop that much because they are playing "themselves" but it's pleasurable and has some funny moments.

I've loved both series of The Letdown. It probably helps if you're in that age group of losing your friends because they've just had a baby. Or of just having had a baby and dealing with everything that comes with that like mothers' groups and the fact everyone has an opinion on every aspect of parenting. But this show is much more than that. It shows real life. It's not an American sitcom where the whole episode revolves around who stole the newspaper. It's deep and engaging. It takes taboo subjects and deals with them in a tasteful way: everything from religion and breast feeding in public to abortions. But it's never dark enough to make you wince.

You don't need to be a parent to love this show. The characters are hilarious. It's about dealing with change in your life. One scene in the second series sees the main couple in a car being pulled over by police for driving too fast near a school. Not having spent much time together the husband suggests a quickie. Audrey's response is priceless: "we're in a school zone."

That's the tone of the show. Sarcastic and self deprecating. The type of humour I love. It's so refreshing to watch a show like this.

Chernobyl is an excellent series. It's beautifully shot, well acted and haunting. Everything is well-paced and builds to a brilliant final episode. Others have pointed to the historical accuracy but I understand writers and directors take certain liberties. I actually watched it in HD and SD and prefer SD. It gives it a little historical flavour like Argo. The sound editing and music are great and cinematography world class. I feel like some people are getting carried away in their descriptions of brilliance because it's telling them something they haven't heard before. It is good? Yes. Is it the best TV show ever made? No. It's more about the action and the timeline than it is about characters and you keep coming back to Breaking Bad, Six Feet Under, The Sopranos, Mad Men, Ozark, Fargo etc for the characters.

My biggest issue is the English accents. I understand why but employ eastern European actors or decent dialect coaches or even use subtitles instead. If Schindler's List was made in an Australian studio would you expect the Nazi soldiers to speak with Aussie accents? Bad Russian or Ukrainian accents are one thing but sounding like you drive a London taxi is another. Not everyone sounds like John Malkovich in Rounders.

When pitching a show surely people get asked: Why should this be made? How is it different to others in its genre? Why do we care about these characters/this story?

I'm struggling to answer them. I watched it because D'Arcy Carden was on the poster and I find her brilliant.

I actually don't really think it does BDSM justice and chooses to make everyone into it freakish in some way instead of a real world where school teachers, Supreme Court judges and rich business people are part of the community.

I'm not sure this explores anything new and like a lot of Netflix shows lately the leads seem to be mixed. Pete is overacted and one dimensional and we've seen him a million times before while Tiff is multi-layered, flawed and repeatedly watchable. Maybe that comes down to casting.

It's well shot and the supporting cast is OK but why are we on this ride? For something so short we are really left with little character growth in the early episodes.

Narrative and classic storytelling is non-existent and the writing isn't really that sharp or funny. The crazy roommate is the main source of comedy. We learn more from a one-minute montage with one of the few moments of music than during much of the show. Which is a little lazy but maybe down to time constraints.

It really comes across like a high budget student film.

Chris Lilley has created some memorable characters in his previous shows. Some you love, some you hate and some you love to hate. Most of them had character flaws like narcissism or aggression or naivety.

Sadly Lunatics goes straight for the obvious and most of the (very few) laughs are based around physical or mental ailments. It's a tired method.

You also have to watch half the series before anything like a plot unfolds and characters move on from walking around rooms pointing things out. Lilley falls into the trap of showing and explaining his comedy instead of revealing it through character.

The most promising characters are probably the pet psychic and fashion designer. The 13-year-old who swears every second word is pointless and unfunny. Maybe he could have gone to live with relatives overseas and come back a changed person? No. He just does stunts like he's part of a sketch comedy show.

None of these characters link up. None intertwine or affect each other. It's effectively six different stories where nobody learns anything or overcomes any major obstacles.

It's the kind of show you'd think up while sitting around having a few drinks with your friends - thinking you're all really funny and would be great to see on a TV show - until you sober up and realise that whole idea is lunacy.