deanbowkett Reviews

Mammals (2022)

Great premise but failed in its delivery

[2/10 · 11 December 2022]

First of all I've given it one extra star for Sir Tom Jones, without him it would be 1 star.

The premise for the show is a good one where a husband discovers his wife is having an affair which turns into multiple ones. But from there it just gets sillier and sillier.

Corden is an ok actor but based on what I've read his performance draws heavily on his own egotistical self.

The delivery of the story is also dreadful leaping back and forth faster than his wife jumps into bed which turns out to be a lot.

At one point it even jumps back to the 1920s and Coco Chanel in what felt like an attempt to pad out the show to the contracted number of episodes.

I won't spoil the ending but I saw someone say they loved the plot twist at the end. Personally if I want to see absurdity like what does happen in the street I'd rather watch it done by comic geniuses like Monty Python or in a Douglas Adam's or Roald Dahl classic,

Your Christmas or Mine? (2022)

Simple, funny Christmas fun

[10/10 · 10 December 2022]

Don't get why people are critical of this. It's exactly what a Christmas film should be and more importantly it's original and quaint and totally British humour.

I've laughed and chuckled and laughed again. A great cast who delivered every line perfectly timed.

For me this is my new favourite Christmas film.

Love the way they've weaved the class story with a simple chance last second decision which alters so many lives.

Even the dog delivers a storming performance.

If you want convoluted cultured entertainment then this isn't for you but if you want to chill out with a glass of something maybe even a sherry 😉 and just be entertained and chuckle then this is yours and definitely my kind of Christmas movie.

The Teacher (2022–2024)

Great story ruined by woke ending

[1/10 · 3 March 2022]

The premise was great, a teacher falsely or otherwise accused of having sex with an underage pupil in a nightclub.

But the story goes downhill with a teacher so convinced kids don't lie she confesses. Then finds out it's all about a past teacher who did the same and she historically reported him. But wow such a serious issue she doesn't even recognise a picture of him a few years later. Then she ends up not reporting any of it because it means the pupil can do his exams.

It's even beyond woke and utterly ridiculous.

Willy Wonka couldn't have invented something more ridiculous.

The Father (I) (2020)

If you've lost a loved in with dementia this will be hard to watch

[10/10 · 11 September 2021]

Possibly the most heart wrenching movie I've ever seen. My mother had 5 strokes and became senile, confused and forgetful. Anthony Hopkins performance was spellbinding and the way it was shot from his perspective brought back vivid memories for me and also an understanding of why people with it behave the way they do.

It's one you have to watch and not half watch whilst doing other things, but it's worth it.

The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020)

Starts off dull and slow and then gets slower and duller

[1/10 · 3 July 2021]

Possibly the most contrived and boring haunted house show ever made. The accents are awful, clearly had Dick Van Dyke as the accent coach, especially the young girl who sounds like she had extra lessons by Mary Poppins thanks to the dreadful script.

The lighting was bad at best and fir many scenes you end up looking at a virtually black screen with noises.

The scriptwriter, director and producer should research old Hitchcock and Roald Dahl Tales of the Unexpected before even thinking of doing this genre again.

9 episodes for something that could have been done in 60 minutes. The script had more padding than Eddie Murphy in. The Nutty Professor except at least for Murphy it was there for a reason.

American Murder: The Family Next Door (2020)

Tragic and awful story told in an awful way

[1/10 · 11 October 2020]

The story itself is awful and the murderer deserves his three life sentences. If you are not aware of the story you will find it shocking that someone could do that to their own family.

That aside this is possibly the worst documentary I have ever seen. Put together as a series of clips from social media posts, police cameras etc and screen displayed texts it doesn't hang together, with no voiceover to carry the main story thread, it fails to explain anything new and doesn't explore the unanswered questions like why would someone post some of those family videos online when they are utterly mundane, why did the girlfriend not get challenged more when she seems to have been in the husband's life well before the crime and showed no remorse for the wife and children murdered. What about the background to a family in financial ruin and yet still spends like crazy.

But worst of all is the anti-men statements at the end. Domestic violence may well be carried out predominantly by men but does that mean a woman who kills her husband and children or who even batters them regularly isn't as bad as a man doing it?

Normal People (2020)

Yawnfest

[1/10 · 9 July 2020]

Good grief if the lead character is normal then the rest of us are high as a kite. He is so dull and full of angst. I've seen faster glacial melts than this plodding melodrama. If you need a cure for insomnia this is it. If you want to be entertained watch a snail race

Snatched (2017)

So predictable

[2/10 · 18 April 2020]

Possibly the worst film since Michael Caine in Water. Neither main character is likeable leading to a series of stupid events by stupid characters that you have no investment in. The scenarios are contrived and suspend belief, but slapstick works on this premise if it's well done, in this case it's not even close.

I love both main actors, especially Goldie Hawk who is a legend in comedy acting, but this is like putting Lawrence Olivier in the real housewives of wherever

I Am...: I Am Nicola (2019) Season 1, Episode 1

Dull, slow, poorly scripted and shockingly bad camera work

[1/10 · 29 August 2019]

I generally quite like Vicky Mclure but having been involved in domestic violence this show was so bad. The script was laboured, the acting stilted but it was the non-stop moving camera work that made this about as appealing as ride a rollercoaster after a large plate of fish and chips followed by sticky toffee pudding and cream.

Dave Allen at Peace (2018 TV Movie)

Great story ruined by chronology

[4/10 · 2 April 2018]

A comedy genius with an incredible story ruined by a simplistic telling. Performances by Aidan Gillan, Ely Solan, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo and Senan Jennings were great but also ruined by the flashbacks and flash forwards. A great story ruined by the production

Knock Knock (I) (2015)

Anything is a better way to spend 95 minutes if your life

[1/10 · 20 August 2017]

A wooden actor (Keanu) plays an unbelievable architect who's family, drafted in from a low budget TV advert gets left home alone. He then gets seduced by clearly deranged young women who are able to overpower the physically bigger and stronger architect 3 times in ways which just defy belief. Leading to possibly the worst ending of all time where a man with arms tied to his side is buried neck deep in soil but somehow manages to free his arm to hit like on a Facebook page.

Watch paint dry, chew your toenails or anything but give this a miss