After a very weak last Bond film (Quantum of Solace) Skyfall makes an attempt at trying to come back as a plot and character driven film rather than as an action driven one. There is no doubt that Skyfall is indeed better than the last film but it is mediocre as an action film and disappointing as a Bond film. Strangely enough, it has always been said that Craig is supposed to be the best actor ever in the Bond role. If he is a good actor he does not show it in this film. Every gesture and every posture gives the impression of being studied. Hardly ever does he appear as being authentic. He always gives the impression of someone pretending to be a tough guy. This is most obvious in the final scene where he stands on a roof like a cowboy whose horse has been stolen but who hasn't noticed it yet. Oveerall, the film has a whiff of "Ersatz" about it which starts with the theme tune in which Adele renders an unimaginative copy of a Shirley Bassey performance. Throughout the film we keep finding hints and allusions to past Bond films and one cannot help but wondering what the message is: they don't make films like that anymore? That also results in some glitches in the logic. Casino Royale was basically a re-imagining of a young Bond who wins his Aston Martin in a poker game yet here he is back with the Goldfinger DB 5. I found Bardem equally offensive as an actor since he simply copies his role from "No country for old men". The action sequences work fine and are much better woven together than in A Quantum of Solace. However, what little story there is is either between implausible and absurd (Okay, this is a Bond film but within that framework a story should at least be logical) and the main theme of revenge is something that anyone who knows the espionage genre has seen a dozen times before at least and usually better executed- most notable in Spooks. So all in all, Bond has left Bond territory and essentially we are in Bourne terrain now. If you like it, you will see an okay action film. If you are a Bond film you will be disappointed.
Reviews
136 Reviews
Tamara Drewe
(2010)
I've been to funnier funerals
4 November 2011
This is an odd film which ultimately bored me. It was marketed as a comedy which it really isn't although it has its funny moments. Tamara Drewe is a drama about a woman who was un ugly duckling as a girl and now returns as a stunner to her home village. However, this is not your usual quirky British rom com but a film about a woman who has a certain tendency for self destructive behaviour and wants attention from men because her dad left her. That is occasionally painful to watch. Arterton does not really shine in her role as she mostly has a fairly minimalistic approach to acting and ficial expressions (or rather a lack of them) that suggest early Botox treatments. The supporting cast however is great and especially Allam gives a hammy but delightfully sleazy performance. As for the story I found it a very unsatisfactory mix of drama and comedy with the drama being too realistic for the comedy and the comedy too goofy for the serious drama issues. The only really funny moment in the film is literally the last minute when a song is played that suggests that the hapless groupie actually did get her wicked way with the drummer of an indie band. The underlying love story is so obvious that I won't even mention it.
The Mechanic
(1972)
Very, very watchable!
14 June 2011
Michael Winner is not very popular these days. Some see him as a mediocre film maker. I would disagree with that: Winner has made some very good films and some which are not memorable so I would rank him with Val Guest as a very talented director who also works as a craftsman. The Mechanic is a good example of Winner at his best. He tells the story of a lone hit-man who seems to have no feelings at all and operates detached from the outside world almost like a Samurai. However, below that surface we see a very lonely man who pays a hooker to write him love letters and who suffers from depression and anxiety. He is a man of contradictions, a cultivated lover of classical music and fine wine and also ruthless killer. My only misgiving about the film is that I just don't see that degree of being torn between two extremes in Bronson's performance. I wonder what an actor like Clint Eastwood would have made of that role. Anyway, this leads to him adopting a seemingly kindred spirit as an apprentice to murder. Ironically, he is the son of his last victim. That is seen as breaking the rules by the organisation he seemingly freelances for and he realizes that he is not as independent as he thought he was. So both men are hunted and eventually set against each other. Bronson loses but the motive is not revenge, simply the lust to kill. The film then ends with a very twisted ending that makes you wonder whether Bronson's character really committed suicide through a third person. The story is originally and well paced with some spectacular action scenes. So all in all the film is both intelligent as well as full of suspense. Very, very watchable!
Sucker Punch
(2011)
Nice Try
14 April 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Sucker Punch is an attempt by Zack Snyder to tell a story on different levels of reality. A young girls is committed to an asylum by her violent stepfather after accidentally killing her sister in an attempt to save her from being raped. She has five days until a lobotomy is performed on her, instigated by her abusive stepfather. And now things get complicated: the asylum is a casino cum brothel where the girls have to work as dancers and prostitutes and they have five days to escape. Baby Doll, the protagonist, finds out that she can mesmerize men by lascivious dancing. And during those dances she escapes into a fantasy world where she and her fellow inmates are superheroes on a quest. Eventually we find out that there is a third layer of reality. To some extent the film works but I got the impression that Snyder had an idea that didn't really carry a feature film and fills the time with drawn out action scenes. These are well made (although too hectic for my taste) but you never et engaged because you know it's only a fantasy, it distracts from the real storyline and they are not really connected. That's why to me the film as a whole does not work, it seems to be patched together. Although I like the idea of these fantasies as am means of empowerment, it doesn't work because they became a means in themselves. The ideas are hardly new: we have seen very similar ideas in The Prisoner, The Singing Detective and others. No so marks for originality there. It seems Snyder is at his best when he can focus on directing within the clear framework of a defined storyline.
Dirty Weekend
(1993)
Great film
1 February 2011
Dirty weekend is a very well made film- as you would expect from Michael Winner. To sum it up, it is basically a feminist version of Death Wish about a woman who gets pushed around, experiences her own powerlessness and one day decides she's had enough. Needless to say that she then spends a weekend with a gun meeting a lot of creeps. Some of ther performances are great. David McCallum as psyohopathic dentist alone is worth watching the film. As always Winner plays effectively with audience by getting us to actually want her to pull the trigger. Of course, it is all black/and white in terms of morals and the likelihood of meeting such an assortment of scumbags in one weekend is not really that big. But all in all the film is well made. What impressed me most was the very effective use of music in the film. I found it remarkable that the French film "Baise Moi" allegedly a feminist masterpiece is a shameless rip off of Dirty Weekend, lifting complete scenbes from Winner's film.
Glen or Glenda
(1953)
Glen or Glenda
14 December 2010
Ed Wood had a certain notoriety as a film maker although Tim Burton's biopic gave him back some dignity. So naturally his films today are viewed as the products of the worst director of all time. Certainly Brided of the Monster or Plan 9 are nothing but reasonably well executed b movies but Glen or Glenda is actually different. It would be an interesting experiment to show the film to people who have never heard of Ed Wood and tell them it's by an intellectual French film maker and give people the opportunity to judge the film without preconceptions. Would they see Lugosi's character and performance as camp or as legimitate surrealsim or his use of stock footage as a collage technique? It is very easy to make fun of this film because in these days the story seems trite and even camp. When watching this film you have to bear in mind that cross dressing and homosexuality (although the film actually makes the point that both are not necessarily related) were not only taboo topics but plainly illegal. Wood tells the autobiographic story of a heterosexual male who cross dresses and has to come to terms with this urge and learn to accept himself. To my knowledge that is the first film to give anyone termed a degenerate by society depth and dignity. Seeing Glen or Glenda simply as a camp classic draws away attention from the fact that Wood was a pioneer and also very courageous because he is in the lead role. The film itself is not really badly made except for the use of stock footage only loosely related to the film. The structure of the film is actually rather clever. The acting is more or less competent (certainly not worse than a lot of other b films I have watched), there are no wobbly sets and the story is coherent. Often fun has been made of Lugosi's character. I don't really see why. Yes, it's odd but Lugosi gives one hell of a charismatic performance and we don not generally call every film that employs surreal elements turkeys.
Plan 9 from Outer Space
(1957)
Actually okay
13 December 2010
Plan 9 from Outer Space was voted the worst film of all time. That of course is complete nonsense. At the time numerous B Sci-Fi and horror films were produced and a lot of them weirder (Teenagers from Outer Space) or worse (anything by William Beaudine really) than Ed Wood's films. And if you are looking for the worst films of all time, do not look further than Italian straight to video fare from the 80s. Anyway, Wood is an easy target to make fun of because he took himself and his films seriously whereas Beaudine saw himself as a craftsman who would film the phone book if required to do so. Of course , Plan 9 is ludicrous but as a b movie it works quite well. Wood was actually quite good at producing reasonable low budget special effects (in fact, he was often used as a consultant on other films in the 50s and 60s)and they are okay. Unless you are really looking for it you won't actually see the strings on the flying saucers. I'm not comparing Plan 9 to 2001 A Space Odysee but within the framework of 50s b movies , the effects are actually okay. The same goes for some of the sets like the aircraft cockpit. Yes, it's plywood and a shower curtain with some bits of a fake computer but it works because no one at the time knew what a cockpit actually looked like. The thing is that most b movies at the time wre quite frankly extremely boring and that is something you cannot accuse Plan 9 of. It keeps your interest, is reasonably well crafted and of course it has the typical Ed Wood dialogues which really are hilarious. And that's where Wood taking himself seriously comes into it. He really saw Plan 9 as his Citizen Kane. However, Plan 9 has some iconic scenes like the zombie like Vampira or Tor Johnson rising from the grave. The make up is actually pretty good. I'm not saying this is a great film but i don't really think it qualifies as being so awful that it's great. Within the standards of 50s cheap sci fi movies it's actually okay.
24 Hour Party People
(2002)
well worth watching
2 December 2010
Tony Wilson was the man who put Manchester on the map as far as music is concerned with his innovative label Factory records and his Hazienda club. With total disregard for all commercial aspects Wilson followed his vision to enable bands to develop themselves by granting them total artistic freedom. Needless to say he went bankrupt. Unfortunately, Tony Wilson also came across as a pompous ass occasionally. I'm not sure if that judgement is fair: Wilson was a highly educated man who never seemed to fit into the music business life style. Steve Coogan , who is a brilliant comedian, does not really play him in this film. He delivers more of a parody of the man although to be fair he does give him some moments of dignity like when the Joy Division leadsinger kills himself or when he tells his punters to loot the offices when the Hacienda is closed down. I just feel there is more to Wilson then just the pompous wide eyed boy. From my perspective Wilson would be a very good subject for a docu-drama because he has the depth to be taken seriously and he deserves it. As a comedy drama 24 hour party people works quite well. The cast is great, Coogan is very funny (as always) although I find the idea that Steve Coogan in his Wilson persona actually comments on the film during the film a bit contrived. All in all it's hugely entertaining but I can't help feeling that after a very elaborate first half, the second half (when the really exciting things are happening) is a bit rushed. All in all the film is well worth watching but I feel that there still is a story about Tony Wilson and the Madchester movement that waits to be told.
Kill Cruise
(1990)
Well worth watching!
30 November 2010
The film had quite bad reviews at the time so when I got it on DVD the plan was to fast forward to the naughty bits. But I found the film so fascinating that I watched it from beginning to end. Being on a yacht with Paty Kensit and Liz Hurley sounds like your idea of paradise? Well, the washed out skipper of a yacht is duped into a four week trip to Barbaidos with two young women who make a living stripping and turning tricks in a decidedly seedy Gibraltar. Everything seems fine at first but then the sexual tension rises, the skipper seems to have a dark secret and paradise turns into hell. The film has an overtone of aggressive sexuality from the very beginning that tries to assert itself against the burned out skipper and does so in the end but with disastrous consequences. I liked both the feel of the run down part of Gibraltar and the clautstrophobic atmosphere on the yacht. Kensit is great as the slut from hell who becomes more and more unstable throughout the journey. Hurley seems to be the sensible one who turn into a complete psychopath. While the acting is very good my only misgiving about the film is that this change comes too suddenly and does not really seem plausible. I'm not sure if secnes were cut from the film but I certainly do not believe the rumour of a full frontal nudity lesbian love scene (which wouldn't really make sense). The film is also a showcase for Prochnow's acting talents which he unfortunately squandered with later roles as stoch villain. Well worth watching!
Lie to Me
(2009–2011)
Not convincing
28 October 2010
I find this show rather weak. Roth's performance is somewhere between hyperactive and self-satisfied so for me there was no way to emote to his character. The story lines are rather confused and try to pack too much into a short period of time. All in all there seems to me a lack of focus in the writing and direction of the show. It's also difficult to understand what he actually does as he reads body language but we never really get a full explanation as to what he deduces from which gesture or facial expression. I'm not sure if maybe the format of a TV show is too short for such a complex topics or if it's really the overall issue of too much plot for too short a time.
The Snake
(2006)
Highly recommended
4 October 2010
The Serpent is a very nice old fashioned film in the sense that it creates suspense from telling a very intricate story. I was at first sceptical if you can translate a Ted Lewis novel into France in the 2000s. But it worked really well. You keep wondering what is really happening and each time you think yoiu know the answer the story takes a new twist. The film is also very well made in terms of how it plays with our sympathies for protagonist and villain. It is just one of those films that keeps you drawing deeper and deeper into the story. The acting is superb with lots of gratuitous nudity by Olga Kurylenko. Visually the film is very well made with dark images, a great set and a very spooky final scene. So this film is well worth watching and shows what a timeless genius Ted Lewis was.
Flesh Gordon
(1974)
Good fun
15 August 2010
Howard ziehm himself is a great comic fan and so he set up a parody of Flash Gordon in the style of the 30s/40s Tijuana bibles which were essentially porn spoofs of popular comic strips. As a parody the film is actually quite funny with genre parody with lots of elements from the original comic strip but also plain slapstick and silliness. Nevertheless -as Ziehm himself states in the audio commentary- the film is actually about 20-30 minutes too long. Hardcore it is not and Ziehm himself was adamant about the film not being shown in porn cinemas but rather in the art-house circuit. From an F/X point of view the film is actually reasonably well made for its age (released in 74 but shot in 71), particukarly the monster sequences. Flash Gordon is a very suitable object for that sort of treatment as the comic strip always had a massive undercurrent of S/M in it.
The A-Team
(2010)
Run of the mill action film
11 August 2010
The A Team as an original TV show was a breath of fresh air in many ways. Filmed during the Reagan years it was the first show for a long time to show Vietnam vets in a positive light. But essentially the A Team was funny, well written and rather harmless fun as no one really ever got hurt and the message was that if you were clever and resourceful you could beat the bullies. All in all it was a great character based show. The big screen adaptation didn't really take any of those elements that defined the show (not even the iconic theme tune) but created an action film loosely based on the basic principle that they were accused of a crime they did not commit. So at the end of the day, this could have been an action film with any four exchangeable characters. As an action film it was okay although I found the action sequences drawn out and too fast paced. As far as the story goes, there wasn't really one but more of an excuse of stringing together the action sequences. It takes almost an hour for the film the get started properly. What I found plainly annoying about the film was the fact that all the locations in Germany were wrong: the aerial shot of Frankfurt actually showed Cologne, the station was not Frankfurt station, car number plates were wrong etc, etc.
Great action, weak story line
10 August 2010
In the beginning of the 80s the Horst schimanski character gave the long running Tatort series a new lease of life. Instead of old men in suits solving crime at a fairly slow pace, we now had foul mouthed hard hitting Horst Schimanski. The shows were usually shown on Sunday night and on Monday the German press would go on about how often he had used the word "shit"- as a policeman on German TV you just didn't do that sort of thing in the 80s. The character was so successful that two of his adventures were actually produced for the cinema without the budgetray restraints of a TV show which often showed in Schimnanski- action is more expensive than detection. However, although Zahn um Zahn looked good and had some really great secnes and action sequences, the bigger budget was not translated into quality. You get the impression that there is no real story but more of an excuse to string the scenes together and send Schimanski to exotic places. The other thing about the film is that inspite of the bigger budget it is un unprecedendet orgy in product placement. The cast is very good: charles Brauer as ice cold villain, Renan Demirkan as love interest and of course George himself. Although George is one of the finest German actors ever, he doesn't show it in the Schimanski films, there is nothing subtle about his acting as opposed to other tatort Kommissars at the time like Klaus Schwarzkopf, Horst Michael neutze (never very popular though) or Walter Richter.
looks good
2 June 2010
Warning: Spoilers
The thing about Gerry Anderson's films and TV deries is that even today they look very imprressive simply because of the sets and the models used and the incredible attention to detail. The film has a stellar cast with Roy Thinnes of The Invaders, half the UFO cast (and sets), Loni von Friedel and Ian Hendry. So in theory this should be a great film. If only... The story is about the discovery of a planet behind the sun and the first journey to it. The bulk of the film deals with the preparation of the flight and some human drama about the astonaut and his wife. This all looks very good but doesn't really make a story. The story itself takes place in about 30-35 minutes. Essentially, the planet is the earth's mirror and when they get there they first think they had gone straight home. How Thinnes discovers this is quite interstingly told but nothing to write home about. In the end, he tries to get back and blows up his space ship. Not much of a story. So all in all, the film looks good but doesn't really tell a story.
Get Carter
(1971)
Classic
26 April 2010
Get Carter was Mike Hodges' first feature film after starting out in TV. It is also -from my perspective- Hodges's most stylish film and if you watch the very first and highly symbolic scene, Caine in a penthouse with an almost unreal quality to the scene, curtains closing in on him. Although it's a tough revenge movie we know it's going downhill for him. There are many very stylish shots in the film aided by extremely effectively used sound effects like the ever howling wind. But between the shots of scenes with extremely cold blooded violence, urband decay there are also some incredibly funny scenes like Cater naked with a gun out in the street where are band is marching or the phone sex conversation Caine has with Ekland (phoarr!) just to turn on the landlady who is listening while sitting in a rocking chair- sexy, very funny and it shows how manipulative Carter is. Cater is a character the audience somehow cares about but whenever there is a danger of actually liking him Hodges will remind us of what a ruthless and amoral character he is. Get cater is based on a novel by Ted Lewis, the god father of British hardboiled. Hodges who also wrote the screenplay, did not change much except the location (Newcastle instead of Doncaster) and so Get cater is a mix of kitchen sink drama and film noir. And one of the enduring memories I have of the film is the incredible poverty in the Northeast in the early 70s. Get Carter is also ground breaking in the sense that I don't think nudity has ever been shown to that extent.
Throw Out the Anchor!
(1974)
Enjoyable
16 April 2010
This family comedy has a fairly serious background: the ecological destruction of much of Florida in the late 60s/early 70s and the real estate boom that was also destroying much of the nature in favour of trendy condos. The film is also surprisingly straightforward regarding corrupt poloiticians. this set up reminded me pretty much of John D. MacDonald's late Travis McGee novels which was my main reason for watching it. The film itself was quite enjoyable with some funny moments and some mediocre moments but hardly any bad moments. The story centers around a group of people that seem to be a microcosm of what America should be: all ethnic groups and ahe groups living in tolerance and harmony but without being too obvious about it. Okay, the solution itself is pretty silly and was a bit of a let down but all in all I found it a very entertaining and well made film which for the day and age it was shot in was very open and critical.
Enid
(2009 TV Movie)
The trial of Enid Blyton
30 March 2010
I have never seen a biopic with so little sympathy for its subject. Even Hitler usually gets better treatment. Although Helena Bonham Carter delivers yet another great performance, Enid Blyton remains a very one dimensional character not to say that she is portrayed as cold and downright evil. Blyton's writing (more than 750 books) is shown as compulsive escapism from her own adulthood to an idealized childhood because her own childhood ended for her when her father left the family. Blyton seems to love children as a concept but has no emotional bond with her own daughters. As to why she treats her first husband so badly never becomes really clear, apparently it has to do with the fact that to some extent he was a father figure for her who ultimately had to disappoint her as a self fulfilling prophecy. That leaves the question open as to why her second marriage seems to work. There are occasions in that film where the viewer is just appalled by the evil of Blyton's interaction with people she loves but no one can really be evil and cold all the time. So this portray unfortunately misses the richness of any person's character and is more or less the trial of Enid Blyton. We have to bear in mind that this is fiction and not fact. If you research what her daughters say about their childhoods you find very differing accounts and the evil she shows in face to face conversation (e.g. with her driver) does not have any witnesses. My other misgiving about the film is that it is simply too short to allow character development or even orientation so that I got the impression that her children stayed forever in their teens and she was suddenly 47. All in all historic context was missing completely.
Survivors
(1975–1977)
Great classic post doomsday drama
23 March 2010
Survivors is the first post doomsday drama on British television, echoing the pessimistic world view of 70s science fiction feature films such as The Andromeda Strain, The Omega Man or Planet of the Apes. Of course Survivors obviously also owes a lot to the grandmaster of British Science Fiction, John Wyndham with some dialogues almost verbatim taken from the day of the Triffids. But that does not have an impact on the quality of the programme. Like in Romero's Crazies the bureaucracy just fails terribly and the world becomes overrun by a deadly virus. Helpless attempts at stopping it are made but it all ends with a whimper. So a group of survivors from all different walks of life meet and group together. The disaster brings out the best and the worst in people: the hamprered housewife turns into a leader, the leader into a fascist and a rich woman into the bitch from hell. So a lot of the drama comes from the dynamics between the people and all the dilemmas you face in this situation. For viewers of todaya it takes a while getting used to the much slower pace of narration of the 70s. Long scenes, no hand camera and sparingly used music. That makes it look dated but once you accept it, it really makes very good viewing because the pace matches the helplesness of the people. Theonly drawback for me is that as with a lot of 70s and especially 80s British TV the outdoor scenes and the studio scenes were shot on different material so that as a viewer you experience really harsh differences in term of the picture.
Doktor Martin
(2007–2009)
Why?
9 March 2010
This is the German version of the long running British comedy drama Doc Martin. So one of the things it's not is original. The scripts were hardly adapted and scenes were copied almost on a 1:1 basis from the British version to the German version. The scripts are funny, well written and a good mix of Dr. House meets Mr. Monk. So it certainly is a competent piece of television but if you know the original version with its fantastic cast and most of all supporting actors (John Woodvine, Claire Bloom) you can't help wondering why they had to shoot a new version and just didn't dub the original. Plus the Cornsih landscape with it's raw beauty and sea views in the original version is pretty spectacular and they make the most of it.
Vampire Killers
(2009)
Sublime silliness
8 March 2010
I really enjoyed this film. Clearly the writers and director are well versed in horror films and have pulled together a loving parody of b-movies. But it's also very stylishly directed which makes it a joy to watch. Think Tarrantino directing Shaun of the Dead and you get the general idea. The film has some very funny moments and is certainly helped by Horne and Corden who basically bring along their charactzers from Gavin&Stacy. And yes, there are girls, very sexy girls, scantily dressed.As a horror movie its does certainly not work (as opposed to Shaun of the Dead which had its scary moments) but it's forst class comedy!
Vampyros Lesbos
(1971)
Intellectually stimulating
2 March 2010
Vampiros Lesbos is an extended film essay, based on Franco's lectures at a women's college at Cambridge University in 1968. In it, Franco addresses his thoughts on "the question of women and film," interpreted by Franco as many questions. In Vampiros Lesbos, Franco ponders the significant question of whether or not a woman could find the same meaning in life as men, exemplified my Count Dracula. In doing so, he examines women's historical experience as well as the distinctive struggle of the woman artist. Franco defines the question of women and film as being three inextricable questions: women and what they are like; women and the women they sleep with; and women and hoe lesbian intercourse is depicted. A couple of bothersome features: First, the words lesbianism and omnisexuality are used interchangeably throughout the film and the script pertaining to the film. Second, the genres (e.g. cunnilingus) with which each actress is associated are clearly discernible, but there is almost non-existent notation of the actresses possible connection to any of the men, or the reasons that some of these actresses were considered lesbian.
First Desires
(1983)
Uneasy viewing
24 February 2010
This film makes you really appreciate the invention of the fast forward button on your remote control. It's exquisite boredom in beautiful pictures. For once Hamilton goes relatively easy on soft focus shots. However, what I found hard to take about the film was that although Anja Schüte was about 19 when it was shot the girls are portrayed as much younger than they actually are. This whole Lolita thing especially as there is an older man involved leaves me rather uneasy. The heroine is actually shaved in the pubic area in order to make her look even younger than she is. Come on, sex is a nice past time- between consenting adults. Another thing I found odd was that neither Beart nor Schüte have a nude scene in the film, well, not a proper one at least.
Jekyll
(2007)
Try again...
9 February 2010
Jeckyll is an attempt to continue the original Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde story by Robert Louis Stevenson into the 21st century. Scientist Dr Jackmann realizes over a period of time that he seems to be losing control over his actions but that the reason is not of a psychological nature but quite literally a split personality. When the series starts he realizes that the dark side is taking over and he leaves his family, hires a nurse to control him. Jeckyll is written by Stephen Moffatt (Coupling, Dr Who) who probably is the best writer ever of comedy and especially dialogue on British television. Unfortunately, that's what gets in the way in this series. The great actress Gina Bellmann unfortunately keeps slipping into her Jane role from friends and her funny wisecracks really spoil all the suspense that has been built up. The violence we see is actually pretty hard, so I really do find the humour not only not working dramaturgically but also inappropriate. The same really goes for the villains (who you just can't take seriously regardless of what they actually do) and the private investigator helping Jackmann. This makes for an uneasy mix of comdey and horror which ultimately doesn't really work, at least not for me. Secondly, I kept finding myself being bored watching the series. The reason for this is the dramaturgy which simply draws things out for way too long. The fourth episode for example consists almost exclusively of flashbacks into Jackman's earlier life which quite frankly is boring. All in all I feel that Moffatt either should have used a different structure or he drew out material that would have made a very eciting three episodes in moderately entertaining six episodes.
Torchwood
(2006–2011)
Doesn't work for me
14 January 2010
Torchwood is a mysterious special ops unit in Cardiff that deals with aliens who seem to be bend on taking over earth in the 21st century. The agency is lead by Dr Who regular Captain Jack Harkness and is joined by a young WPC. Off they go to save the world- in Cardiff. Torchwood does not work at all for. I'm not saying it's bad, I just don't like it. There are several reasons for that. One is that the story lines are not very complex, it's more about stringing together interesting scenes. Secondly, I don't particularly like the mix of humour and action. I leaves me somewhat uneasy to watch a stab victim dying in a realstic way and then the funny stuff starts. Plus I find it very fast paced, too fast for my viewing habits. Thirdly, I think Barrowman doesn't deliver a good performance. To me he just seems to mimic Eccleston's Dr. Who.
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