thom59 Reviews

Invasion (2021–2024)

ADHD challenged critics can't get past the opening credits

[6/10 · 5 September 2023]

"Slow" "Boring" "Snooze fest" Sadly, these kind of reviews are written by people who spend more time writing the review than watching the damn program. The sense of danger and fear are inherent in the first few episodes. It's unseen, people are dealing with something they can neither see or understand. It brings out emotions that are both selfless and selfish. The aliens are a sideshow, a supporting cast to human relationships and interactions. It's a kind of social experiment. It could have been better written, like a previous reviewer I could have done without the annoying kids. However, there are interesting story developments, the effects are decent and who doesn't like a classic Bowie tune? I found myself watching 2/3 episodes at a time and the first series moved effortlessly into the second. It's not 2001: A Space Odyssey. Thankfully, it's not Battlestar Galactica. But it is enjoyable-and a decent 6.0 rating.

90 Day: The Last Resort (2023– )

Pig sick of Groundhog Day

[1/10 · 5 September 2023]

It's the usual suspects and the same mind-numbing kindergarden drama. Only this time, get this, it's at a couples retreat. Like an episode of Jerry Springer the characters belt out the same old tantrums, accusations and the odd fisticuffs. The fundamental issue is they understand this is how they should talk and act out because, well, that's what they get paid to do. They're famous now, right? I watched the first series of 90 days and it genuinely felt like it had something to offer, couples form different countries, cultures and religions tackling the realities beyond their initial physical attraction. It was insightful. This latest iteration, and where 90 days as a franchise has landed, is just a bunch of sad BS drama-fueled, fame-hungry individuals egged on by greedy producers desperately seeking out their next payday. Reality, it's not. Not even close. It's just sad.

Extraction II (2023)

Twice as good as John Wick 4. So Two Stars instead of One.

[2/10 · 26 June 2023]

Another sequel slickly wheeled out on the back of a half-decent original. Much like JW4 the cliches match the body count. Like John Wick, the director is a stunt man which might explain the lack of a story arc or indeed any nuance beyond how to corkscrew a car fifty feet skyward through an explosive plume of thick smoke. Or shoot a bad guys brains out while shielded by another guy you're using as meat kevlar. Hemsworth is a damn fine actor who is capable of so much more than taking 20 blows to the face without so much as flinching-and that's what makes it feel like you're watching a video game. It's a shooting style the DP seems to found his inspiration. After the long down out opening action sequence-the best part of the movie-it settles into the familiar at which point I instinctively reached for the imaginary console and although I hung on to the bitter end (spoiler alert: the bad guy dies) this player desperately wanted to leave the game way before he did.

John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

Three hours of monotony that will leave you brain dead

[2/10 · 26 May 2023]

There are many deaths in this filmic free-for-all. And assassins. Donnie Yen plays a blind martial arts expert, a role he knows all too well since he played an identical character in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. And that really sets up the debate around whether plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery, or just a dumb, lazy rip off. There are references aplenty from the sci-fi/kung fu genres, including some of Keanu's own efforts. He knows kung fu-and shows us. It's kung fu'd up the wazoo. I imagine the director, a stunt man himself, simply Scotch taped together one fight scene after the next. FOR THREE HOURS! Three writers are credited with crafting 380 words of dialogue for Mr. Reeves. Okay, I read that Stahelski and Reeves stripped out roughly half the dialogue written for his character in the initial script. Accordingly, I would have stripped the writers of their entire salary. The first instalment featuring this legendary hit-man was just that, a smash hit. However, much like the Matrix sequels John Wick: Chapter 4 just gets on my wick.

Incidentally, the movie tagline is Baba Yaga. More appropriate would be jibber-jabber. (193 words, where's my check?)

The Ipcress File (2022)

Joe's a bit of a Maurice minor

[6/10 · 31 October 2022]

The Ipcress file (2022) is an enjoyable TV series featuring Len Deighton's protagonist. That said, there were a couple of niggling issues that, when seen, can't be unseen.

1. The extensive use of the Dutch angle- a camera technique that was used by the German expressionists in the 1920's. Essentially, the more tilt the more unsettling the director wishes the viewer to feel. Some of my favorite films-the Matrix, Pulp Fiction employ it. Here, however, at times it was employed in almost every single scene.

2. In the novel Deighton's protagonist is nameless, the character's name was actually chosen by Caine himself. Caine also chose to wear glasses because, according to trivia, he expected this movie to be the first of a franchise, similar to the Bond movies. Here, Cole not only wears Caine's iconic specs he also employs many of Palmer mannerisms Caine perfected in the movie.

So, is Joe Cole playing Michael Caine or Len Deighton's protagonist? This feels like a TV series of the original movie. It's good. But there is only one Maurice Micklewhite.

Generation Gap (2022– )

Telly Rip Off

[1/10 · 2 September 2022]

Okay, own up. Who gave this show 10 out of 10. Was it you Kelly? This is an offering exhumed from the vaults of Game show's past and quite frankly it stinks to high Heaven. Here's my question: Why? In God's name ABC, why? A successful game show makes you feel part of it-it's an exciting interactive experience-you connect with the participant like they were a long lost relative-rooting for someone you were only introduced to twenty minutes ago. Unfortunately, Ripa is disingenuous at best. The comedy is forced. The laughter is nothing short of canned. You know what should be canned? You'll need every single person involved in this show to give it 10 out of ten to get it above three. My advice? Life is precious. Don't waste it here.

The Orville (2017–2022)

An admirable enterprise

[7/10 · 23 July 2022]

Seth Macfarlane is one of the funniest guys on the planet-perhaps even the Universe and this is a highly enjoyable series. What's evident is he's no actor. However, much like Jerry Seinfeld surrounded himself with brilliant actors, Seth has done a fine job in bringing on board an excellent cast, believable characters that forget they're wearing rubber masks and make up. Like Star Trek boldly went and aired the first interracial kiss on TV, The Orville takes on subject matter rarely seen on the prime time schedule. Hopefully, this is a five series mission.

The Bay (2019– )

When lead actors leave something is missing

[7/10 · 8 July 2022]

Since the days when Jack Warner bent his rickety knees and uttered the immortal line "Evenin' all" in Dixon of Dock Green, the Brits have mastered the art of the cop drama. The great British Bobby. The Bay carries on that tradition albeit a bit grittier than old Jack swinging his trusty truncheon and criminals moaning 'It's a fair cop guv'. When the actors are good, as they are in The Bay, you build equity, become personally invested in the characters they are playing. Especially the lead actors. So when Morven Christie left the series, it lost something. Same writers, directors, producers and several of the lead actors. But I lost a connection with the series that unfortunately wasn't repaired in the third installment. It's good. A bobby dazzler? Hmm. The jury's out.

Operation Mincemeat (2021)

Less history, more histrionics

[5/10 · 30 June 2022]

Operation Mincemeat is a factual event that is well documented and if you've watched enough 'World at War' documentary series, you'll know the outcome. It's a tale of ingenuity, derring do and classic misdirection. This was a magic trick that, like Penn and Teller revealing how they fooled us, should have made the viewer appreciate the deception even more. Unfortunately, like many reviewers I found the addition of yet another Colin Firth romance boring and at times mind-numbingly irritating. Ok, the director wasn't hired to make a documentary, but this offering lacked the suspense and thrills that this piece of history, and me, for that matter, deserved.

Allied (2016)

Why give a child a false narrative?

[6/10 · 10 June 2022]

I've watched this film a couple of times now. I like it. The chemistry between the two leading actors is convincing, the script is good as is the acting across the board. Good casting all round, in fact. I do have a couple of quibbles, however. Quibble #1: Brad Pitt is supposedly French Canadian but talks like, well, Brad Pitt. So, how does he hone his French Canadian accent to a Parisian one when there is not even a soupçon of French to begin with? Quibble #2: The ending, and by that I mean the very last two words in the movie. The clue is in my headline. A child should know the truth, especially when it comes from parents who love them. That said, watch it.

The Valet (2022)

Park it in 'My List', watch when you need cheering up.

[7/10 · 30 May 2022]

If you enjoyed My Big Fat Greek Wedding, you'll enjoy The Valet. The tone, pace, dialogue and acting are all on show in a upliftingly funny, frothy Romcom that, if it wasn't for my wife, I would never have given it a shot. If I had one niggle, it would be that two hours plus in a tad too long. The plot is ridiculous but the characters feel real and the laughs are aplenty. The perfect antidote to half an hour of David 'Doom and Gloom' Muir's ABC World News.

Night Sky (2022)

It's dark. Very, very dark.

[5/10 · 28 May 2022]

I read that Gordon Willis, or the "Prince of Darkness," used shadows to reflect the souls of his morally conflicted characters. That dark, ominous interior of Don Corleone's study in The Godfather, was brilliantly contrasted by the explosion of light and music of Connie Corleone's wedding. However, in Night Sky, the director appears to have shot the whole thing through a muddy gauze. There are no dramatic changes of dark and light, just mud. I found myself an unwilling participant in each scene as my reflection looked back at me from the TV screen. Rather perplexed, I might add. But this, I believe, is what director's in television call the cinematic experience. Well, I've been to the cinema and I can tell you from first hand experience, it's not. JK Simmons and Sissy Spacek are a casting directors dream. However, in Night Sky, these two stars are the only bright thing to be 'seen'.

Ricky Gervais: SuperNature (2022 TV Special)

Nothing super, nothing special

[5/10 · 25 May 2022]

Let me start by saying I think Ricky Gervais is one of the funniest guys on the planet, (the other being Jimmy Carr.) So, when this eagerly awaited TV special finally arrived, I sat back, switched on and readied myself for the belly aches that would surely have me reaching for the Advil. Unfortunately, few arrived. I imagined him, a couple of months earlier, sitting at his kitchen table jotting down every controversial topic he could think of and then figuring out how to be as offensive and as controversial as possible. Yet somehow, in 'SuperNature', his trademark humor was omitted in the process. Love the guy, just not this material.

Downfall (2004)

Bruno Ganz is the Devil incarnate

[8/10 · 8 February 2022]

I had to click back to 2005 to remind myself who was nominated for Best actor. Clint got the nod that year but Bruno Ganz's omission is somewhat of a head scratcher. Suffice to say, Ganz and Downfall transcends the 'foreign film category' in which it was designated. Such is Ganz's portrayal that it's easy to believe-and not a little unnerving to sense that, along with the assembled cast, you are also subject to the rantings of a deranged psychotic dictator. The cast, by the way, are phenomenal and Oliver Hirschbiegel's retelling of Traudle Junge's first hand experience is nothing less than a tour de force.

The Book of Boba Fett (2021–2022)

In what Universe is this Boba Fett?

[4/10 · 3 February 2022]

One of my most treasured processions is a full-sized Boba Fett helmet signed by the immortal Jeremy Bulloch. Even though he had four lines of dialogue, and six-and-a-half minutes of screentime he made his presence felt. At he time of writing I'm five chapter's into Season 1 and see no reason to watch a further minute-let alone six-and-a half. It feels as though the writing team missed why this character became such a legend in the Star Wars original trilogy. About to make the trip down memory lane in less than 12 parsecs.

Under the Eiffel Tower (2018)

A road trip on a road to nowhere

[2/10 · 3 February 2022]

Part of any movie involves suspension of belief. From the opening scene to the last, it's just you and the story being unfolded for your viewing pleasure. This is not such a movie. The storyline meanders through pretty French scenery-a road trip on a road to nowhere. The script dialogue feels like Hallmark brought in Quentin Tarantino to spice it up a bit. Reid Scott play's a former Scottish footballer whose also a bigoted con man, thief, narcissist, misogynistic drunkard and all-round thug whose biggest crime is his God-awful 'Scottish' accent. It's a story that centers around a vineyard. However no amount of alcohol will get you through to the end.

When Nature Calls (2021–2022)

This is nothing like a dame

[3/10 · 5 January 2022]

Usually, I give one out of ten reviews a one out of ten. They are neither funny, nor informative. However I have to agree with the one comment that reads: "It is not funny. It is not informative." Well, I half agree. The truth is it is not meant to be informative. If you want information Sir David does a bang up job. It is however meant to be funny. Irreverent if you will. Sadly, here's where I have to agree with the aforementioned one out of tenner. The genius at this kind of observational humor is another knight of the realm. Sir Billy Connolly CBE. Check out: Billy Connolly - Wildebeest - Two Night Stand 1997. Anyone with a funny bone that hasn't been ripped out by a lion should watch it.

Plan A (2021)

Could have been better planned

[6/10 · 3 January 2022]

It begins: 'Based on a true story' and that's exactly what it delivers. These were extraordinary times where simple unvarnished truth would have been an incredibly powerful way of telling this particular story. Unfortunately, creative license greatly diminishes rather than heightens what should have been storytelling at its finest. The ending, in particular, betrays the integrity of real events. The high-scoring ratings here seem similarly gratuitous. Is it better than Schindler's List (8.9 and seven Oscars)? Or Life is Beautiful (8.6 and 3 Oscars)? Or The Pianist (8.5 and 3 Oscars)? The acting's is good, as are the production values and it's a decent enough film. But truth, especially given the subject matter, is infinitely more powerful than fiction.

Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father (2017–2021)

The Mother of all comedies

[8/10 · 19 December 2021]

I'd never heard of Jack Whitehall and it was by sheer chance I picked out this Netfilx offering. And am I glad I did. I haven't laughed so hard since the Trump Presidency. Series 1 is by far the best and throughout this and subsequent episodes it's his dad who steals the show. Also, it helps to be British, however I will say anyone who gives this 'one of ten' is clearly an individual who complains about the waiting staff in a self-service restaurant. Recommended for anyone with a sense of humor.

The Ninth Gate (1999)

As enjoyable now as it was then

[6/10 · 15 December 2021]

I watched it when it first came out and again, just recently. The actors have certainly aged somewhat but the film--not so much. It's no Rosemary's Baby (IMDB 8.0) but Polanski's craftsmanship at storytelling keeps the viewer engaged (apart from a couple of really dodgy special effects). I will say the plot reminded me a little of Angel Heart which occasionally nudged its way into the viewing process and, given its measured pace throughout, ended a bit abruptly. (Again, special effects is not his bag.) I could almost hear Polanski shout "Okay folks, let's wrap this up, I'm due in pre prod for The Pianist." However, the 'Devil is in the detail' and, all said and done, if you've got some time to spare, it's time not wasted.

Oprah with Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special (2021 TV Special)

Clown Prince and Princess of LaLa land

[1/10 · 20 September 2021]

What a load of tosh. Each sentence uttered is drenched in hypocrisy and self pity. A pathetic marketing exercise in how to sell any ounce of decency you once might have had to an audience that doesn't give a rodent's bottom who you are. Disowned by family. Disconnected from reality. SAD.

Game of Thrones: The Long Night (2019) Season 8, Episode 3

Somebody switch on a light, PLEESE!!!

[2/10 · 18 September 2021]

What is it with this trend of employing darkly lit scenes to create a so-called cinematic feel? The first episode got so dark I thought I was looking at a Rothko painting. Or a re-run of the Game of Thrones episode The Long Night. The problem is you start to focus on what's going on and missing what's being said. In other words, the audio-visual aspect of story-telling. By the way, the cinematographer of The Long Night opined that if you didn't like the lighting you should adjust your set. As far as this series go, I'd advise please adjust your viewing schedule.

A Quiet Place Part II (2020)

Suddenly, a flash of light appears in the sky ...

[6/10 · 1 July 2021]

I'd been excitedly awaiting the sequel like many other fans of the original movie and the tension within the cold open flashback was certainly palpable. It's a beautiful, yet ordinary day where a mini league baseball game is in progress. Suddenly, a flash of light appears in the sky, and a burning meteor plummets to the Earth ... and the ultimate cliché of every sci-fi/horror genre broke the spell. It instantly reminded me of Alan Harper (aka Jon Cryer,) of Two and a Half Men fame pounding away at his lonely laptop "writing the summer blockbuster that will lift him from poverty and put him in a place of his own." Alan in the rather ironically titled episode "Baseball was better with Steroids" crashed like the proverbial meteor into my brain and it took the heart stopping appearance of the first alien to dismiss him. As sequels go, Part Two is no Empire Strikes Back, but it does continue an intriguing tale. A Quiet Place was fresh, disarming, mesmerizing and genuinely riveting. In Part 2, in some scenes, rather irritatingly, I knew exactly what was coming - again, cliched writing so familiar of many scripts. However, the actors deliver an authentic performance and there are some genuinely scary moments. Cillian Murphy is a terrific addition to the cast. I read there is a Part three is in the offing. To be honest I'm okay about it. The original was on a par with the dystopian 1978 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers by Philip Kaufman, one of the great science-fiction horror films of all time. My hope is that Part three doesn't tie up the trilogy (if indeed it is a trilogy,) in a pleasantly soporific ending with a pile of dead aliens and an ensemble of hugely relieved and extremely chatty actors.

Men in Kilts: A Roadtrip with Sam and Graham (2021– )

Scotland for the American market

[5/10 · 2 April 2021]

The author of the Outlander series, Diana Gabaldon, has admitted that she had never been to Scotland before she began writing her best-selling books. So, I was hoping for a true perspective, full of insights and history from a couple of gadgies who actually know the place. The result is an unfortunate bunch of cliches and stereotypes. The road trip to watch is Billy Connolly's 'World Tour of Scotland.' The Big Yin nails it.

Villain (I) (2020)

Fury Unleashed? The plonker from Peckham

[2/10 · 10 September 2020]

Crap. Absolute crap. Predictable script. God help me with the ending. Do not watch. I have to write more because IBMD has sad have to write more. So her is more and more and more. Infantile.