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annabeljames68
Reviews
Constant Hot Water (1986)
Always judge for yourself!
Having read that this had been voted 6th worst comedy of all time, I watched with trepidation but was pleasantly surprised by what I found. The series takes a couple of episodes to get going, does seem to be unsure what it wants to do with its characters, but the potential is there and I think the intended second series, with new writers and some fresh ideas, would have brought it far more into the public eye.
By the time it reached ep 3 ' One Night in Portofino' it was hitting its stride and the actors were comfortable with their characters. Episodes 4 'The Germans are Coming' and 5 'Chef's Special' capitalise on that and the addition of Peter Howitt as the chef helps. I wasn't sure about some of the stereotyping in the final episode ' Full House' and feel the writer Colin Pearson tried to push it towards a conclusion it wasn't ready to have.
Full credit to the actors though. Kevin Lloyd, Am Ashton and Joe McPartland as the removal men were believable and fun to watch. It was great to see them as recurring characters as the series benefitted from their input, energy and comedy timing. Pat Phoenix was forceful and that suited the character of Phyllis Nugent to a tee! Roger Kemp as her hen pecked husband Norman would have benefitted from a few more lines but delivered what he had with aplomb. Mohammed Ashiq as Trevor the shopkeeper was a familiar character but basically underused and there as a foil for other characters and deserved better. Steve Alder as Frank and Prunella Gee as Miranda were both delightful if both rather too good looking for any real doubt of how their friendship would progress. Incidentally, if men like Frank exist in real life I have yet to meet one!
The comedy wasn't always consistent and it would have benefitted from some pathos stemming from the back stories of both Frank and Miranda. Frank especially had responsibilities that seem to have been too quickly forgotten, but perhaps a second series would have addressed and rectified that? Yes, the humour is rather dated and of its time in some episodes but overall I would say it was worth watching and it was a shame it never had the chance for a second series due to the sad death of Patricia Phoenix.
Dogfood Dan and the Carmarthen Cowboy (1988)
Acutely funny and poignant series
Dogfood Dan and the Camarthen Cowboy was a great series! It had such poignancy as well as acutely funny moments. How the lives of these four people were interlinked, all of them desperate for some kind of excitement to get away from the mundane and pretending to be the people they really would like to be, leading the lives they yearned for. Yes, the play was okay, but not a patch on the series itself and its sad to think that the play made it to DVD when (to date) the series has not. It is a credit to the fine writing of David Nobbs that we all still think of this series with such fondness and would like to see it again. The excellent Peter Blake was one of the stars and shone as he always did in anything he appeared in. As truck driver Aubrey Owen he was the archetypal 'cheeky guy' he made his name with but as alter ego 'Aneurin' he showed a different, more serious, softer side to his nature and you did wonder what might have been if he'd only he'd been given the chances. Malcolm Storry as Dogfood Dan Milton was an excellent foil for the cowboy, his own ideas of grandeur being more modest, only wishing to drive 'wide/abnormal loads' and be king of the motorways.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
This film simply missed the point - contains spoilers!
I was really disappointed in this film, even more so than the previous ones. It left out really relevant and important plot points from the book, confused issues and was so disjointed in places it simply didn't make any sense. Why were Bill and Fleur left out of the film altogether? Why not say that Greyback was a werewolf and responsible for Remus' condition? Why bring in Bellatrix? And why dumb down Dumbledores death scene so much it became meaningless? You were given no idea whatsoever of Snapes torment at what had to be done because of the desperate situation he had been placed in, nor of Harrys frustration of being genuinely immobilised and helpless (and invisible under his cloak) because he was none of those - just lurking in the shadows (which of course not one death eater bothered to check - yeah, right!) As for burning down 'the Burrow', well, my hopes that the final films would somehow redeem the series and pull everything together plummeted completely. Also, I've read the cast list for the films to follow and they leave out some very important characters indeed, which doesn't fill me with optimism. When they announced they were making films that would be true to the spirit of the books, it sounded good. The end products have been, at best, disappointing and this chunk was by far the worst yet. They've tripped it of everything that made the books so readable and ought to have made the films watchable - they are simply heartless, commercial, bland, blatant. cynical money making exercises which takes a well known phenomena and uses it for its own ends.
Last Chance Harvey (2008)
Really enjoyable film
Have just had good fortune to see Last Chance Harvey at local independent cinema and it was an absolute delight from start to finish. Gentle, witty, wry, poignant, well observed and beautifully acted by the 2 main leads. Emma Thompson just improves with every film and good to see her daughter following in her footsteps too. Dustin Hoffman shows that with maturity comes a lightness and delicacy of touch and I was especially impressed with his piano composition and playing. Yes, there were a few unlikely and contrived moments, but it didn't spoil the pace of the film and I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting a relaxing and enjoyable evening at cinema