paul-743-899114 Reviews

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014– )

J.O. = Just Obnoxious.

[2/10 · 26 September 2022]

Doesn't this smug, failed British "comedian" (in the UK) get on anyone else's nerves? Except for alakihesab (who sees him as I do) you Yanks obviously don't agree, what with all the 10's on show.

I'm British and I absolutely loathe the man, but probably not as much as he hates his previous country. Good job we can't hang, draw and quarter traitors anymore - although I'd make an exception for him. You in The States can keep him.

The snide fellow is intelligent enough, but by God doesn't he know it?! And I've never seen anyone laughing at his own "jokes" more than him. His show should be named "Up My Own A---". That's our way of spelling backside by the way: it's not a mule.

Inside Man (II) (2022)

Utter Nonsense.

[5/10 · 26 September 2022]

Agree with fizban-uk: this is too ridiculous for words. I'm giving it one more star than him/her, but I'm probably wrong to do so.

I've never been a fan of Steven Moffat because he's obviously got his head up his own rectum: I can see him sitting in a lonely attic dreaming up the most over-the-top ideas for the stupid BBC who have fallen for his hubristic, misplaced, unentitled self-belief.

On a train, full of passengers looking the other way while a skinny scumbag treats a young woman like that?! And none of the men do anything? I don't think so.

Then the stupid vicar emptying his pockets without keeping hold of the one item that needs hiding. And watching while the woman takes it towards the computer. Later, this is followed by same woman having an accident that could be seen coming by anyone with more than one brain cell.

After braving through the whole first episode of this pretentious rubbish I'll be avoiding the rest like the plague. The only people who stay with this will be those that believe anything.

Slow Horses (2022– )

Should have been a 9.

[8/10 · 1 May 2022]

Looking forward to this series I found it mainly lived up to expectations. This a genre that I like most of all - having read most of Le Carre, Cruz Smith and Deighton - when it is believable, rather than the Ian Fleming type rubbish.

However, it sadly has it's failings. And these are in the action sequences: some of them are not believable at all. How someone dashing through a forest, in fear of his life, can be caught so easily by a severely wounded pursuer is just silly, and how often do we see that?! The director needs to get a grip on reality here.

The cast is great. You can't go wrong with Gary Oldman - in anything. And Kristin Scott Thomas is perfect as the elegant, but hard as nails MI5 chief. The supporting actors are good too, and there is genuine chemistry between them.

When it's all about the dialogue, locations and general storyline this looks like a promising start to (hopefully) the following seven more series. But please - polish up the action. The makers need to take a look at Ozark or Better Call Saul and see how it's done.

The Serpent (2021)

Irritating

[7/10 · 5 January 2021]

The flashbacks almost ruin the whole thing. The cast is ok but overrated. Tahir Rahim's character is so obviously a wrong'un, with his exaggerated shiftiness only the dumbest, most naive fools would be taken in by him. I suspect the real murderous villain would have had a more friendly, seductive charm.

The Belgian attaché searching for him is annoying too. Very watery.

Good story wasted.

Tin Star (2017– )

Shallow nonsense

[7/10 · 11 December 2020]

I've given it 7 because of the scenery, otherwise it's a 6.

The first series started of like it was going to rival some of the other thriller TV series like Ozark, but quickly proved not. A different concept: yes. Set in Canada - for a pleasant change - amidst fabulous scenery, the implausible, alchoholic, head-banging ex British cop is ridiculous.

I managed to stay with it till the end, and when the 2nd series came out I thought " this has got to be better", but it wasn't. However, I must have had nothing else to watch at the time, therefore I watched the whole over-the-top craziness again.

Now, the 3rd series is being shown on Now TV (from Sky), and I have struggled through the first 3 episodes before giving up entirely. The production values are high, but the storyline could have been written by the Brothers Grimm, it's that unbelievable. The whole thing has grown exponentially madder and preposterous.

The sooner Line of Duty, Better call Saul and Ozark come back the better.

The King (I) (2019)

Insulting!

[6/10 · 22 December 2019]

Did the writers of this garbage go to the Mel Gibson school of history? Artistic licence can be acceptable sometimes, but this was too much. After the first few minutes, watching the far-too-young Hotspur speaking (like his father) with a decidedly unNorthumbrian accent at the dinner table, I knew this was going to be a travesty.

The costumes and period settings were fine, and the acting too, however, after 42 minutes, I gave up. Not wanting to be pedantic, I missed the Battle of Shrewsbury, because according to this nonsense it DID NOT TAKE PLACE. Anyone with the slightest historical knowledge knew that this was one of the most important battles in English history. The first between 2 English armies using longbows against each other. And where was the King? Henry IV had an army of 28,000 against Hotspur's 14,00 (Owen Glendower never turned up in time to help out). Prince Henry was carried from the field with an arrow through his head, and Hotspur took a fatal one in the eye.

There was no need for Falstaff (played by one of the writers) because he didn't exist. I wasn't going to stay with this for the Battle of Agincourt: apart from having a fair idea how it actually went, I have been on that battlefield and wasn't going to watch more fiction.

Finally, the idea of Prince Hal beating Hotspur in a one-on-one fight is ridiculous. I'm being generous, giving this 6.

The Spy (2019)

Not believable.

[7/10 · 19 December 2019]

I don't believe that Eli Cohen could have been as amateurish as he is portrayed here. In fact, if this was fictitious, I would have said it was all so silly. The simple mistakes he makes, and the pure luck he has is ridiculous.

I bet John Le Carre is laughing his head off at this. The script is poor and the direction too. I've managed 4 episodes up to now, but will try and keep a straight face and carry on.

The acting is good enough and it has good production values, but some of the reviews on here are over the top about SBC: he's good, but not that good.

This is fairly entertaining but not a patch on well made spy stories like Tinker Tailor, etc,.

The Natural (1984)

Sugary.

[7/10 · 14 August 2019]

Good cast, apart from Robert Redford being far too old, even though he's playing a fairly oldish baseball player. A surprisingly small part for Barbara Hershey.

The home runs were over the top: in fact they were ridiculous, even by Hollywood standards.

Twenties and thirties style and atmosphere was captured nicely, and the dialogue wasn't too bad, however it was typically over the top American, with it's unnecessary exaggerations.

Very good acting all round, especially in the two main female roles.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017–2023)

Unfunny.

[7/10 · 21 June 2019]

OK, Rachel Brosnahan is brilliant. And the rest of the cast is very good too. Also, the production values are through the roof, but there is a massive flaw: IT'S NOT FUNNY.

The people on here, giving this 10, must be like the characters in this series who fall about laughing at every word that comes out of Mrs Maisel's mouth, seriously lacking in the wit department. On stage, her delivery is great, but the jokes are pathetic. I've stayed with it for the first 5 episodes hoping it would educate me into believing that Rachel's character would find some decent material. It hasn't happened. And Lenny Bruce was always over-rated: I saw a couple of old clips of him from years ago - dull. This show makes me think of how I felt after tasting a Hershey Bar: "what is all the fuss about?"

Designated Survivor (2016–2019)

Ho, hum.

[7/10 · 31 December 2018]

Definitely not to be taken seriously. An obvious attempt to fill in in the West Wing void, albeit in an over-the-top initial premise: but done quite well considering.

I'm up to the 5th episode in series 2 and still hanging in there. I've just seen Ben what's-his-name as a MI6 agent (saying he would have got a knighthood for his work if it was in the UK) and believe I have now seen the most wooden actor ever.

Keifer Sutherland is always good, but as President he makes Bartlett (W.W.) seem like Adolf Hitler, he's so goody-goody. His White House staff include too many photogenics. The script isn't good enough - as has been mentioned by many other critics on here - and it's all too Hollywood. It would be great if there was a nice big nasty ending, with the gorgeous Natasha Mac caving her husband's head in because he had it off with his Chief of Staff.

Godless (2017)

Cracking Western.

[8/10 · 30 November 2018]

What a surprise - an interesting Western.

I confess that I've only seen one episode - which makes my review a bit premature - but I can hardly believe the production values: they're amazingly high.

This could have been a White Elephant since Westerns have been done to death, but Netflix must have been confident following their success with Deadwood. The whole thing must have cost a fortune.

When I saw Jack O'Connel and especially Michelle Dockery in the 2 leading roles I was a bit sceptical. I knew O'Connel was a good enough actor, but I wasn't expecting Dockery to be up to this. Mind you, her American accent is decidedly dodgy, whereas O'Connel's is more acceptable. Jeff Daniels is really good too.

Looking forward to the rest of this.

Ozark (2017–2022)

Worthy successor to Breaking Bad.

[9/10 · 20 October 2018]

A couple of unbelievable weaknesses - such as a thousand bullets going through a stationary car, not killing the 3 occupants - stops me from giving this a ten. There are other glaring holes in situations but I don't want to be pedantic: this is exciting, well made television at it's best.

I feel sorry for Peter Mullan, because he is so good at portraying baddies he has become thoroughly type-cast. Having said that, the same could be applied to Jason Bateman: he seems to have a penchant for steady, good-guy roles.

The first series started off brilliantly, and was a large carrot that had to be chased. Although I felt the middle episodes slowed the thing down a bit, the drama was still there and it finished off superbly. However, the second series really upped the anti and each episode was unmissable. Thank goodness there's to be a third.

Outlander (2014– )

Flodden?

[9/10 · 6 September 2018]

Although this kind of story is not my cup of tea - it's as daft as science fiction, vampire and super-heroes stuff - I admit that it's very well made, gripping and the cast are excellent.

However, after watching the first series, I ignored all of the second except for the final episode because it was about Culloden. My gripe here is that Flodden was mentioned twice in place of Culloden. How could they make that mistake once never mind twice? I couldn't believe it. Also, someone said "Culloden in 1745" or words to that effect, when that battle took place in April, 1746.

It's hard to believe that this story has more series. I've never read the books, in fact I had never heard of them, but that big stone has a lot to answer for.

Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)

Shallow rubbish.

[4/10 · 4 September 2018]

Four for this is generous. I was crazy enough to stay with it for over an hour before giving up, which makes me stupid (at least for 70 minutes).

It's not funny at all, and why is Steve Carell so over-rated? This banal crap was obviously loosely based on "School for Scoundrels", but Carell is no Ian Carmichael and Gosling (although a good actor) is out of his depth - and miscast - in the Terry Thomas role. Mind you, very few actors could match Thomas as a cad.

Most modern rom-coms are awful and this one is only slightly above that adjective. Seeing a bar full of beautiful women is typically Hollywood: nowhere is there a bar like that, certainly not where I live in northeast England. I only wish.

Come back Frank Capra, or any other director who could get this right.

Babylon Berlin (2017–2025)

At LEAST a nine.

[9/10 · 26 January 2018]

I've just looked at the previous reviews and noted that one gave this a 1, another (less ridiculous) gave a 3. Unbelievable!

I must admit that I've only seen two episodes so far. The first was very good and the second, excellent. Thank God for a great, thrilling series set in a time that's totally different from the norm. Deutschland 83 was good, but this is superb.

The only top-class TV thrillers that the UK has produced in recent years is Line of Duty and the present McMafia (that recent Le Carre series with Tom Hiddleston was ridiculous and over-rated). The USA, of course, has been plowing them out, and I can't wait for the 4th series of Better Call Saul. In the meantime I'm going to wallow in the next 14 episodes of cracking Kraut TV.

Lucifer (2016–2021)

Surprisingly good

[8/10 · 11 August 2016]

I stopped reading comics when I was about 13 (which is quite a while ago), and I have never heard of the one that bred this character. Also, I normally hate this genre as well as any others re super-heroes, vampires and the devil etc: I find them downright silly. However, I've stuck through the first two episodes and have surprised myself.

After almost giving up after the first ten minutes I battled on regardless and found Lucifer to be pretty good entertainment. Mind you, if it wasn't for Tom Ellis I think it would sink. Like a lot of American TV now it is well made and acted, and with high production values - where do they get the money from?

Even though I'm British I can't recollect seeing Ellis in anything else. But he's good with lots of charisma, and perfect for this part.

Black Sails (2014–2017)

8.2???

[5/10 · 6 July 2016]

What a load of pretentious nonsense this is. I was so looking forward to watching this before I subscribed to Amazon Prime, especially as the concept looked inviting, but it just goes to show that IMDb's ratings can sometimes be so wrong.

Some of the acting is laughable: the Charles Vane character is right over the top. And "Long" John Silver doesn't look too long to me. Billy Bones looks like he's been in the gym too long, and the women all look like models from Playboy. And can Anne Bonney stop trying to look enigmatic all the time with that silly hat on?! At least Calico Jack seems real.

The drama isn't credibly dramatic at all, and apart from a few London accents there aren't any Cornish/Devonshire etc accents at all: too many of these pirates sound like BBC newsreaders. It's obvious that a load of money has been thrown into this, however it would have been money well spent if they had hired some decent script writers rather than trying to make early 18th C Nassau look like Benidorm. Definitely for the American market.

The Night Manager (2016–2025)

Watchable silliness.

[8/10 · 28 March 2016]

The book wasn't one of Le Carre's best: It has never stuck in my memory like Tinker Tailor etc, or Smiley's People, and this TV series had far too many weaknesses in it. Far fetched re Tom Hiddleston's character for one. He goes from a fairly ordinary ex soldier to hotel manager to super hero who can easily murder. And Hiddleston wasn't very good in the part either.

Olivia Colman and Tom Hollander are ALWAYS good, but Hugh Laurie has surprised most people I imagine, especially us Brits who usually remember him as a clown in Blackadder, and Jeeves and Wooster. The Yanks probably think of him as Dr House, so they are used to him in a more dramatic role.

As someone who has read all Le Carre's books I am surprised that John is pleased with this adaptation: it's over the top compared to his subtle writing. However it had high production values and should give younger viewers the incentive to read Le Carre's books. If anyone wants to learn what goes on in the murky world of espionage they won't find anything better.

The Last Kingdom (2015–2022)

Absolute rubbish.

[2/10 · 30 October 2015]

I give it 2 for the clothing, dirt and grime: nothing for the story. How this series is currently rated at 8.5 bewilders me.

As I love history and live where the Vikings landed (north east England) I got fairly excited about the concept - we have surely had enough of The Tudors. I haven't read the books, but I'm sure that Bernard Cornwall can't be jumping for joy over this garbage.

There are loads of historical episodes that would make good television stories and the 9th century is one of them.

What amazes me about the favourable reviews is that they seem to come from the British: Americans and Germans, etc, seem to know better.

A great chance wasted.

Foyle's War: The Eternity Ring (2013) Season 7, Episode 1

Foyle's War Progression

[8/10 · 15 August 2014]

I thought that the wartime episodes could be a bit boring: series 8 has more appeal for me because it has entered Le Carre territory.

The 3 episodes were not enough, making me ache for next year's 3. There are now lots of chances for the writer to expand. The Cold War lasted longer and was more intriguing than WWII.

John Mahoney is a welcome addition to the cast for series 9 - an underrated actor if ever there was one.

Michael Kitchen has always been a great character actor but I wish he would stop that twitching of his left cheek: it's almost as irritating as Roger Moore's eyebrow.

Downton Abbey at 54 Below: Season 4, Episode 1 Sneak Peak (2013)

Jaded

[30 September 2013]

OK, we all know that Downton Abbey can't be taken too seriously, but this latest series is beyond a joke. I've watched all the series' and Xmas specials, and they are light, pleasant, harmless viewing. The scripts have previously been quite good or (only just) bearable, and sometimes - especially in Maggie Smith's case - witty. However, it is now obvious that it is all going pear-shaped. Julian Fellowes has clearly run out of ideas, and possibly has his mind set on future projects. At one time it was possible to care about the characters, but having watched the first 2 episodes of this latest series, I'm giving up: it has become staid.

Private's Progress (1956)

Great prequel

[8/10 · 23 August 2013]

This film is very underrated and rarely shown on TV.

The premise is simple, and there's nothing wrong with that, especially when it's so funny. Everything about it is as British as fish and chips, so Americans may not appreciate it as much as us, Australians and Kiwis, etc.

The direction, editing, script and acting are spot on. The Boulting Brothers followed this one up with "I'm All Right Jack.", using nearly the entire same cast (playing the same characters), plus Peter Sellers, which was a master stroke. I reckon this is just as good as IARJ. There isn't a dull moment, and it's worth seeing for Terry Thomas and Dennis Price alone. No one says Terry's lines like him, and no one does wily like Price.

What a shower!

The Fall (I) (2013–2016)

Great but daft.

[8/10 · 8 August 2013]

Very well acted by the two leads, and yes, Gillian is hot.

It's nice to see a drama set in Belfast for a change, and I suppose the 2nd series will be in a Scottish city. I hope it isn't Edinburgh because, although I love that city there needs to be a change from the usual British sites (London, in particular).

Ms Anderson has shown great form on UK dramas: she was terrific in Bleak House. I cannot understand some of the criticism over her British accent. It's not at all false, and she has spent half of her life here, including her childhood.

There were glaring faults in the plot. How the killer could be so careful on one hand and then utterly amateurish on the other beats me. And the ending was ridiculous. Still, I'm hoping they will take note and make the next series more believable.

A Field in England (2013)

Tedious tripe.

[3/10 · 7 July 2013]

Totally agree with the reviewer. I was looking forward to this, especially as it is set in the 1640's/Civil War period. The 10 line minimum for reviews is making me struggle, so I'll try and battle on.. It's not that it's hard to understand, what with the magic mushrooms concept.

The story was right for the stage, where the arty brigade could justify it with some intellectual nonsense. I can just see them sloping off home to a bottle of claret and pseudo conversation. When it's seen as it is - self-indulgent, they may come to their senses.

It must have cost about a fiver to make. I stuck with it manfully for 50 minutes before hitting the off button. Boring crap!

Bleak House (2005)

Justice to Dickens

[22 September 2012]

Utterly brilliant, with a cast as good as the 1994 one in Martin Chuzzelwit - and that's saying something.

The BBC used to fail Dickens badly, but they have upped their game over the past 20 years. It just goes to show, if you pick the right cast and a decent (you don't need a great one with C.D.'s books) script writer, you cannot fail.

Anna M.M. is one of the best actors on the planet - as she has shown many times since Bleak House. But the revelation here was Gillian Anderson. She was perfect. One thing about the "real" Bleak House (in Dickens imagination): it's obviously the terraced house at Lincoln's Inn Field, rather than the one called as such, at Broadstairs.