ruthfromoz Reviews

Doctor Foster: A Woman Scorned (2015–2017)

They should have left well alone at the end of Series One.

[6/10 · 2 December 2017]

I previously reviewed this show (deleted) after the first series. Had they left it after the first series it would have remained in my opinion a slightly flawed, but compelling example of TV drama.

Having just watched the final episode of the second series, I wish that Suranne Jones had been given her way and the whole thing had been left at the end of Series One, which had a satisfying ending without leaning too much towards melodrama.

Without disclosing anything of the latter series, I can only say how disappointed I am at how the story line became more complicated and unrealistic as the show progressed. Acting in this was, as in the first series, excellent, if a bit OTT at times, but I regret to say that this was spoiled by the plot, which was increasingly all over the place. A huge disappointment in almost every way.

A Place to Call Home (2013–2018)

Like no home I've ever heard of

[6/10 · 22 October 2017]

I've only caught up with this show in recent months and maybe my overall rating might have been higher had I not watched the entire series to date in several marathons. Maybe viewing it weekly would have brought out less of the failings of the show, but in one lump they tend to scream out at one. Now, with the latest series underway, I see that nothing has changed - the program has taken the usual path of long running series and manages to deliver a disaster or personal drama every episode to order.

The casting on the whole is good, the actors on the whole are good too, but they are let down by the stupid story lines and the apparent determination of the makers to make it look like the period in which it set (and more often than not, fail). I know that this far down the line it would be hard to obtain authentic vehicles of the period and that any that survive would be someone's pride and joy - but - other than Roy's truck, most look like what the are - again someone's pride and joy...and equipped with modern number plates into the bargain. Surely they could have spent a bit more money and replaced the modern plates with copies of those around in the 50s?

Other than the introduction of a few extra characters, the cast remains the same - and the dangers/dramas likewise. I am rather tired of the ever glowering Regina - how nice it would have been to have her locked up forever, sitting there in her padded cell and glaring at the camera from time to time. No - she's out and about and no doubt about to wreak more havoc. And Anna (who has always given me the impression she's incapable of threading more than two words together) is about to publish yet another best seller - and upset the whole family in the process no doubt.

So, why do I keep watching the darned thing you ask? Because it's habit forming - poisonous habit forming - but I will stay with it to grisly end.

Cliffy (2013 TV Movie)

A nice little movie

[5/10 · 25 January 2017]

Based on a real character and real occurrences, this little movie gives a more or less authentic depiction of the Cliff Young story.

Young was an unknown 61 year old country bumpkin who through sheer determination took on all the professionals and won the Sydney to Melbourne Ultra Marathon. In the process he took Australia and the world by storm and became something of an Australian legend.

Keven Harrington was good as Cliffy, but obviously way too young for the role - but it's doubtful if they could have found an actor closer to the real age who could have handled the rigors of the part. He was ably supported by such Australian/NZ stalwarts as Roy Billing and Anne Tenney in the roles of Wally his mate and trainer and his sister. The inclusion of the many years younger girlfriend (and eventually wife) was probably necessary, but not true to actual events as I recall them.

Nothing mind blowing about this little movie, but a pleasant way to while away an hour or so.

The Night Manager (2016–2025)

Brilliant!

[9/10 · 17 January 2017]

I had thought I'd read every novel John le Carre has written and it didn't take long in this wonderful mini series to realise The Night Manager was one I had missed.

It has taken me a while to get hold of a copy of the original story and fortunately it was a recent reprint, with an added comment by le Carre, who it seems is as enthusiastic about the TV show as I am. It was interesting to read that he seems to care not a whit that much of the settings, storyline etc have been changed - not the least changing the sex of the operative Burr and making her pregnant into the bargain. And I can only agree with him.

Yes, the story has a different ending - much more enigmatic in the TV show than in the novel, but that's insignificant, for the whole concept, feeling, purpose of the story remains the same.

It could not have been cast better - Hugh Laurie, to those of us who recall him as playing the fool for so many years shows once again what a compelling dramatic actor he is. Hiddleston I had only seen before briefly in Midnight in Paris (where I felt he was hideously miscast) was perfect as the often uptight Jonathan, Elizabeth Debeki has just the right look of class for Jed and Olivia Colman proves once again what a brilliant actress she is (even heavily pregnant). Tom Hollander was good - but I feel slightly overplayed and overcamped the part of Corky.

In an age of serious drought in television drama this was the light at the end of the tunnel. Compare this with the junk coming out of the US and it tells us once again that if you want a really good spy thriller, the British know exactly what they are doing.

Into the Woods (2014)

Not as bad as I expected

[6/10 · 7 April 2016]

As a long time fan of the stage show I was very cautious about watching the movie version. In fact, to a degree, I was pleasantly surprised. Compared with the movie versions of Les Miserables, Phantom and other stage musicals, it wasn't all that bad.

An understandable disappointment was the omission of the narrator (and all the fun associated with this)- but the virtual non appearance of the Baker's father must have been very confusing for anyone not familiar with the show.

Casting, with the exception of Anna Kendrick was good. Miss Kendrick is not a bad actress, but she is an awful singer, whereas the lovely Emily Blunt as the Baker's wife was a delight, both to the eyes and the ears. The inclusion of Johnny Depp, dressed in a very unwolflike outfit was fortunately short and his delivery focused more on the salacious side of the character and missed entirely the humour of the original. The Wolf has always been a rather contentious character, made more obvious by the fact that Red Riding Hood was played by a young person, whereas, in the stage versions I've seen an adult was cast in the role.

Daniel Huttlestone was great as Jack - he sings and performs to perfection - the rest of the cast were adequate into which category surprisingly James Corden unfortunately falls.

Meryl Streep (an actress I usually do not like) was excellent - maybe not as amusing and camp as Bernadette Peter's witch was - but she looked and sounded really good and was (to me) one of the surprises of the movie.

Why I rated it overall fairly low is due to the fact that although the film adheres to most of the original, it somehow missed out on the humour in the stage show. Essentially a dark story, the original was lifted by the frequent laughs. Most of the lines that brought these laughs were either missing, or poorly delivered.

And why was it overall so dark? Here I refer to the lack of colour in the scenery and clothing...dark story yes,but it has an uplifting message, so why not a bit of brightness here and there. It would have added dramatically to the overall effect.

An Inspector Calls (2015 TV Movie)

A great version of an old classic

[8/10 · 12 November 2015]

Having seen the original movie and a rather strange stage version starring the late Barry Foster, I had no doubts about the content of this telemovie - but was curious about how this modern version would treat it. Brilliantly cast, it did not disappoint, although it did tend to drag at times. On the whole the suspense was well maintained and it stayed quite close to the original, although the later scenes after the Inspector left the house were new and added little to the overall story. In fact it would have been better without them. This is a story that has to be taken at face value (the mystical part aside) - it would be easy to question the possibility that all the persons gathered together in that household had the impact they are supposed to have had on one young woman. It was written as a morality play, very relevant to its times and even today relevance can be found in many of the disclosures made. It tells us to think before we act and to be less likely to prejudge and to take responsibility for our actions. An interesting story, that makes you think - what more can one ask for?

Midnight in Paris (2011)

Plastic Movie - plastic people

[6/10 · 22 October 2015]

It took me several attempts to make it through this movie and I only finished it out of curiosity how Woody Allen would find a plausible ending to this ridiculous story.

Ridiculous not because of the concept - but because of the way it was implemented. Had there not been quite so many famous people from the twenties trotted out for our perusal, an interesting idea could have been turned into an enchanting movie.

Plastic prototypes almost shoved down our throats, all behaving exactly how someone like Woody Allen would have us believe they would. Notably awful was Corey Stoll as Hemingway, who delivered his lines as if he was reading them off a teleprompter.

In order to enjoy a story such as this it is imperative to suspend disbelief and immerse oneself in the events as they unfold. Never for one moment did I come anywhere close to this in spite of the enchanting views of Paris and the music, which is probably the best thing in the film.

In the past Allen gave us some wonderful trips back into the past, moments of unforgettable fantasy and characters who (although rather over-the-top) were engaging and believable.

Midnight in Paris falls down on almost all of these factors and I am sure that if it had been made by anyone other than Woody Allen, it would have been a total flop.

Endeavour (2012–2023)

Morse - twenty years before

[6/10 · 15 October 2015]

I deliberately avoided watching this series, because I was a dedicated Morse fan, both of the books and the TV series. When I heard that they had come up with a prequel I felt it unnecessary and in some strange way a sell out of one of the best TV shows ever made.

I've just watched the pilot show and to my surprise quite enjoyed it. It's hard to accept an actor who is so completely different physically from the great John Thaw and I still don't feel completely comfortable on that count, for Shaun Evans Morse can not at any stretch of the imagination be seen to be the man who turned into the Chief Inspector twenty years in the future. I also found some of the exaggerated mannerisms annoying - rather a caricature of Thaw's Morse, rather than a precursor.

However, in spite of the rather unbelievable story line, the acting overall was excellent, particularly Roger Allam, who never gives anything other than a first rate performance. The addition of wonderful scenery and music did no harm, in fact it pulled the show out of the ordinary, to give a promise of maybe better things to come.

Having ignored the series when it had its first run, I intend to watch more and am hoping to feel able to give more than the six stars I felt the pilot merited.

Not the Morse we know, but an interesting character who is certainly worth a further visit.

The Honorable Woman (2014)

Striking a difficult balance

[9/10 · 5 February 2015]

I recorded most of this series some time back and only just watched the last few episodes. The reason for the time gap was that halfway through I found it to be confusing and very heavy going and wasn't sure if I wanted to continue. In retrospect I realise that I could have said this of anything by Le Carre or Gerald Seymour - these types of dramas are never straightforward. In the class of the best of this genre, this series left us guessing right up to the end who was trustworthy and who was there simply to serve their own ends. The answer turned out to be nobody and yet everyone. Brilliant acting by Maggie Gyllenhaal deserves all possible accolades, with superb assistance by the supporting cast. Except for the fact that it tended to drag somewhat in the middle, this is one of the best examples I have ever seen of an attempt to view the Arab/Israeli situation from the point of view of both sides.