daniel-982 Reviews

The First (2018)

intense and absorbing

[10/10 · 24 February 2019]

I understand why some viewers might have wanted to be up in space from episode one but the approach Willimon takes is slower and yet more interesting - he goes deep and carefully establishes who the characters are and what's at stake for them. This felt like a miniseries length companion to Moon by Duncan Jones. Cerebral and emotional.

The Post (2017)

Heavy-handed

[4/10 · 11 January 2018]

Incredible cast, right down to the small parts. But the film is heavy-handed to the point of ham-fisted, from the opening scene onwards. Mr Spielberg needed to have greater faith in his audience, and let the moments in the script breathe, rather than cutting to yet another brief shot of expository detail. The film is trying to be a kind of parable of feminist empowerment -- Katharine Graham finally comes into her own and she receives admiring and supportive glances from women all over! -- without realising that Katharine Graham was, from the start, smart and tough as hell. This could have been such a great film, if Spielberg had only trusted his writers, his audience, and his cast.

The Tunnel (2013–2018)

Inferior product

[5/10 · 23 August 2014]

I really loved the original series Bron|Broen and I was curious to see what an intelligent transplantation might look like, particularly with regard to the history of French-English relations. This remake was disappointing. Heavy handed direction, a leaden plot, and wooden performances meant when the finale rolled around I just didn't care. There's a subtlety and a light touch to the original in setting up the backstory that is replaced in this one by hackneyed police procedural clichés. The two leads give performances that are okay for a procedural but don't come anywhere near close to matching the expressiveness and commitment of the leads in the original. I would recommend giving this a miss and watching Bron|Broen instead.