preferredfutures Reviews

Avant le crash (2022–2023)

Money can't buy you love

[8/10 · 5 April 2024]

Review for Season 1

I watched this out of curiosity, subtitled to English as I like Karine Vanasse, the camera loves her and she is wholly believable. In this she is poised and convincing as a power-player and deal-maker.

The acting from all the cast is pretty good, the plot develops after a slow start and several of the characters fall into black holes of their own making. The group of male friends at the start are completely atomised at the end, and only one emerges unscathed, triumphant.

Most of the characters are pretty horrible people, selfish, destructive to their friends and family, and I did start to wonder why somebody wrote this (to fill empty schedules, obviously and win some Canadian specific funding) and why I was watching it.

Is drama alone enough justification for the frustrated house-wife going off with a female porn-star and destroying her family? For excruciating sexual harassment at work by both men and women, calculated rather than loving relationships, blatant and hidden affairs, and sadly unbelievable and preposterous BDSM sex scenes between the lynch-pin characters, the power couple Francois and Evelyne, a power play that turns nasty when Evelyne seeks to have the father of her child, Francois destroyed financially and go to jail, because he was jealous of her success at work. If you say yes, this is the series for you. But I wouldn't really call it entertainment, it's not so much drama as a soap-opera as it limps along with multiple story-lines, and plays more like a manual in unhappiness, deceit and toxicity.

This show is like a reminder of why you shouldn't bother dating, or marrying, or having kids as unhappiness, betrayal and despair will stalk you, unless you are lucky enough to date an unpretentious bar-tender or civil servant (both adorable characters) - the rest of these awful people should be dropped on a desert island and see how far their finance knowledge gets them.

I can't watch Season 2, they all deserve each other.

Plan B (2023– )

Cluster B, Modern Relationships, Back to the Future it isn't

[8/10 · 18 March 2024]

I have now watched all 6 episodes, weathered the numerous rows, love-making scenes and baby delivery scene (why do they always make female actors do this, it's like asking a pianist to play Rachmaninov's Third) and shouted at the TV a few times. I am glad I did.

Karine Vanasse is remarkable, her character Evelyn is rarely happy for long, she is inconsistent, dis-satisfied with what she has and triggered at the smallest things, histrionic, dismissive, doesn't take responsibility for herself or accountability for her part of the problems they face, she deflects, moves the goal-posts all the time. She is encouraged in all this by her rather typical single female side-kick, who is hostile to Evelyn being in a couple and makes her disdain for the husband quite plain. Evelyn meanwhile - in various timelines - is not short of men, if there was ever a woman for whom the saying "she's not your girl, it's just your turn" was coined, Evelyn is that woman. Less Plan B, more Cluster B.

Vanasse plays this really awful woman with such sincerity and authenticity, her striking beauty and her range of expression is captivating, for example the grieving phone-call (spoiler) and the aftermath of this traumatic event (Episode 5, spoiler), her gentleness and loving nature when she and Phillip were happy, these moments were the calm before the confusing rug-pulling and door slamming storm usually.

There are various sub-plots and intrigues, which work well. Through it all, Patrick Adams' character Phillip really does try to do the right thing for other people, he means well, but he is caught in co-dependency with his brother and his awful mother, as well as with his wife, Evelyn, and nothing seems to work out. Until, he realises the one thing he has to do, to give all of them a chance to break the cycle and have different lives.

In a sense, Plan B is all about consequences, it uses a time-machine storyline to show how things could be different if people had behaved differently, if we had acted differently. It is potentially transformative in that, if only the characters in Plan B had made better choices, been more ethical, more direct, taken responsibility for themselves, they would not need to go back and fix things. This is the hidden payload in Plan B, live life in such a way that you do not regret your actions. This, for me, makes it more than a TV show.

Ironically, Plan B is also a morning-after pharmaceutical product, you'll get the irony when you see the show.

Tár (2022)

Over acted, boring, not enough music

[1/10 · 23 January 2023]

This film is a rite of passage, the successful completion of which shows you know nothing about story telling, suspense, passion or music. Go to the back of the class and stop showing off how cinematic you are.

It's like going to see something Russian at the theatre, it gives middle class snobs something to snort about over the dinner table. Like this: Simply marvellous (over)acting, I feel the same way about Bach dwarling - he'd be cancelled now and rightly so, I would just die without Mahler (a direct quote from "Educating Rita" darling, surely there are better tunes than this).

I am rather pleased that we stopped it just after the New Yorker interview, and watched the amazing "Delicatessen" instead. We failed the Rite of Passage, I am glad to say.

What Happened to Monday (2017)

Great film /s, but it's message is clear (you will own nothing and be happy)

[1/10 · 2 December 2022]

A well made, well resourced film, with great acting from Rapace and socially relevant direction by Klaus Schwab and his colleagues.

There is a theory about the psychology of film making called Predictive Programming. The idea is that dark forces build acceptance of future events and their solutions, through fictional storytelling, an example oft given is a book called Futility which described an unsinkable ocean liner hitting an iceberg, years before it happened. It is nonsense of course, as it just so happens that some films get the future right, by accident. /s

In this fictional view of the future we have climate change with a voiceover by Obama; starvation; destruction of the middle class; a police state, digital ID linked to housing, benefits, food allocation and digital currency; euthansia single child policies. It closes with a speech where a very bad person played by Glenn Close says "without me, who will make the difficult decisions for you" and that without her necessary policies the earth will die. I'd say that far from being a flukey guess at the future, they got it spot on.

Celebration at Big Sur (1971)

Self Indulgent hippy nonsense

[4/10 · 5 August 2022]

Big Sur is a rocky outcrop of the Pacific coastline, Esalen Institute was a failing tourist resort until two brothers transformed it into the culture leading hippy headshop.

Esalen wasn't a comparative religion centre, as another reviewer stated, it was about weed, LSD, free sex, sometimes in the sulphurous spa baths and the Human Potential movement, principally Gestalt Therapy with the irascible, resident and unwanted resident psychologist Fritz Perls who liked to have intimate encounters with the people who took part in his group therapy. The "me" generation was born there and what a mess they have made of our Society. The CIA partially funded Esalen and some of the people who would be President Gorbachev's advisors were given weed and LSD there, they went on to bring down the Iron Curtain.

As a social document it's funny and appealing, I laughed out loud at the hot long haired ladies doing the now well-known willow and 5 rhythms style dancing, let it all hang out baby. And at the teacher who had discovered LSD and wouldn't control his "freak", his own words, in the classroom - guess we are seeing a lot of that nowadays too. And the guy waving a silver star around with a blue face.....ah to be young.

Musically, the highlights were Joni Mitchell singing "Woodstock", her voice and beauty are still astonishing and undimmed with familiarity. Then the climax, unquestionably was a monster 3 way guitar jam with Stills, Crosby and Neil Young, with Graham Nash on keyboards and the Deja Vu backing band, of Greg Reeves and Dallas Taylor, thank goodness someone finally got down to some rocking - cut - their incendiary solo (seriously the only time things warmed up) was edited out and we went back to the Sister Act of Joan (what a warble) Baez, fronting a gospel choir wearing a purple tent-like dress.....like I know Positively 4th Street wasn't written by Dylan about her, but really if you watch the film you will feel these words: "Yes, I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes You'd know what a drag it is to see you" Joan Baez. So after all that we get a gospel medley of Oh Happy Day which made me want to hurl, but where people look genuinely happy and I think, maybe they were onto something after all and it was pure and lovely. Maybe it was. Maybe I am bitter cos I missed it, but the hippies despite their hope and joy were insufferable weren't they? Anyway, Altamont happened at the end of 1969 and the beautiful part of the flower power era was already over.

Oxygen (2021)

Odd timing, a la "Contagion"

[6/10 · 21 June 2022]

Woman escapes earth where the human race is dying because of a virus, we learn that her name is "Omicron", just to connect the dots to the current pandemic.

Is it entertaining, no, not really - her actions don't stack up and the deus ex machine is strong with this one. Is it informative as to what may happen if there is another pandemic, hell yes (build that spaceship Elon).

Senior Moment (2021)

Brilliant fun from start to finish

[8/10 · 8 April 2021]

Last night we watched a serious, deadly dull monochrome biopic played by luvvies about the movie industry, we switched off half way through, bored. Thanks Netflix, yawn.

Tonight, something different. This is a ray of sunshine, a great cast in a sun soaked setting, all primary colours and tortoises, enjoying one of their last summers on the planet and having a blast along the way.

Senior Moment is a romcom, there's not a serious bit in it, even the cops are nice. But for fun, it's all you need. Way to go William Shatner, you still got it!

Run Hide Fight (2020)

Really dull

[4/10 · 21 February 2021]

Over long, dull dialogue, boring shooter, inept police, stupid repeat appearances of the dead mother, utter rubbish, mashup of Die Hard and Hunger Games, ignore the undeserved high reviews

Utopia (I) (2013–2014)

Best TV drama I have ever seen, oh and it's the COVID playbook, no wonder it "flopped"

[10/10 · 5 February 2021]

Colour palette, superb acting from all the cast including the little fella, involving story line, believable characters, great start. Then, nasty but flawed villains, plot twists that you don't see coming. Brilliant. Add in selfish nasty power crazed types in charge of the rest of us, a sooper-hairy-scary virus that needs a miracle vaccine from a Pharma company that is not all that it seems, some cynics and conspiracy theorists would say it's a lot like life in 2020/20.

Hmmm, I wonder why this was remade then abandoned by Amazon...I wonder why everyone isn't talking about this series as we all were bout "Contagion", too close to the truth maybe.

Long Way Up (2020)

Long is right.....

[3/10 · 13 November 2020]

Apple try to do a Grand Tour and fail. Miserably.

If you like motorbikes, this show barely mentions them. If you like travel, but think that travelling just means shouting cool or brilliant as you drive through cultures and landscapes you don't understand, then this is the show for you.

The wit and camaraderie between the two ageing protagonists makes the scripted dialogue on Top Gear seem Wildean (as in Oscar). As for the crew, the two producers Russ and Dave, no wonder they had their own car each.

So, if you insist on watching this, try my bingo game to make it more interesting for you. Give yourself a point when:

1. Charlie nearly crashes or does actually crash, look out for the times when he pulls out in front of a truck, nearly runs over a woman on a bicycle and overtakes directly into the path of a pickup truck as he tries to pass a bus.

2. Give yourself a point if you can work out when, where and why the Mercedes Sprinter with solar panels and a generator disappeared from the show

3. Work out how come the Rivians disappeared in Mexico, only to reappear with Russ and Dave driving them once they were in the US (what....???)

4. Give yourself a point for "cool", "brilliant" or "mate"

5. Watch out for the part where Ewan speaks openly and honestly about the break up of his 22 year old marriage and why he ran off with a woman described as "a piece of trash" by Ewan's own daughter. It should be in the show, but - spoiler alert - it isn't. Neither is any reflection on any issue of interest, from two guys who have really seen some life and probably have some stories to tell - wait for the book, that must be it.

Now, the electric bit. The bikes, after the initially very dull sequences when they looked for juice, were eventually charged by the continuity fairies. Seriously, they drove to Juarez, 95kms and then did 50 kms or so to get paperwork sorted and then continued on, to....erm California.

The stars of the show? Well there were several, in first place the Rivian trucks that made the lumpy, unreliable Harley's look like they were from a different era, and in second place, the guys from Rivian who could reverse engineer a crashed UFO and make it fly better. It wouldn't be fair not to mention the impressive female engineers from Harley who worked magic to keep these prototypes on the road. Last, the great people from Unicef who seem to do incredible things in places you would not want to go.

Verdict: Yawn (even Ewan said this trip, whilst shorter than the others, feels longer, I can only agree), but I really, really want a Rivian. And if I go on a big trip, I'll still take the petrol KTM, thank you.

Coma (I) (2019)

A Russian response to Industrial Light and Magic, etc.

[25 October 2020]

A must for Sci Fi fans, it blends The Matrix, Inception, various Phillip K Dick themes and to me, even had elements of Tarkovsky's (awful) Stalker.

The visual exuberance was just fabulous, the airliner hanging in the sky was reminiscent to me of the Statue of Liberty sticking out of the beach in Planet of the Apes, and Big Ben upside down (nice comment on the mess that Great Britain is currently in). It wasn't just CGI either, the storyline shifted gear satisfyingly, from one environment to the next and the ending, whilst there were twists, was clear and well done, you weren't left wondering what happened.

The acting was OK to wooden, our copy was dubbed into English which didn't do justice to the native speakers but was better than subs, as I wanted to watch the screen not read.

If this is what the Russian movie industry is capable of, I want to see more.

Away (2020)

Boring, exhausted emotional scenes with tired acting

[1/10 · 12 September 2020]

We watched 3 episodes, back to back and I was relieved to think I would not have to see any more. It is packed with emotionally incontinent people who do not have self control, and why in adult dramas are there always stupid kids littering the action, I know why - it is so that someone has to explain to the kiddy windy what is going, so that we the audience understand it. Or it is part of Netflix's desire to put these children in the public view (see news references to Cancel Netflix and Cuties).

The science and space side of it is garbage, Mission Control is full of shouting ego driven prima donnas (the "feminist" boss who was told not to be a feminist as I have a family" was particularly cringe worthy).

And they are on their mobile phones all the time, from space!!!! To Earth, with no delay, so I checked out what the delay really is: Circuit Distance Delay Time Earth-Moon 384,000 km 1.3 seconds Earth-Mars 55 - 378 million km 3 - 21 minutes

If there was a delay of 21 minutes after pressing the Netflix button on my remote, that would be perfect, give me time to do something else and leave the house until the danger has passed.

I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020)

Art for Art's Sake

[2/10 · 7 September 2020]

The film is really annoying, rubbish dialogue that name drops lots of clever people who the viewer will not have read....awful people, even Lucy's character was sometimes engaging but just as often not at all, acerbic and "woke".

You know what I took from this, don't be like Jake, just anytime you feel like acting like him, just don't. That's all. It is really boring and the last few minutes when it goes all Oklahoma is such a poor match for the rest of the film, oh and the pig, special FX from 1982 MTV and just why....?.

November 13: Attack on Paris (2018)

Incredibly moving testimony - this is how modern history should be told

[10/10 · 26 August 2020]

The events in Paris were just news stories to me, incomprehensible really, as I didn't know the places they happened, and news channels whilst no doubt they would have binged on an event like this, they move on so quickly to the next awful thing that there is no emotional impact and never a sense of the lives ruined and altered permanently.

In this three parter, there was no rushed moving on, and no "cat on a skateboard" at the end, before the weather a la TV news. Instead, there were everyday people who saw things that no one should see, and professionals who dealt with cascading crises such that they could never have expected, all described this terrible night with calm, grace and great humility.

The depth of emotion, the lyrical and insightful ways in which some of the survivors describe their experience really struck me, for example Valerie in Ep3 when she reflects on whether or not she would agree to having the memories removed from her consciousness, if this were possible. She said no, her reasons for saying no demonstrate to me why these people, and Paris operate in a different universe to the mindless killers that tried to take it from them.

Project Power (2020)

Yawn

[2/10 · 19 August 2020]

Black girl with heart (loves her mother, stands up to bullying teacher) deals drugs and raps, whilst.....oh I turned it off

The Brand New Testament (2015)

Charming with great characters

[8/10 · 20 April 2020]

We came to this after watching Mr Nobody. The director brings a freshness, vivacity and kindness to his films, it's like a warm bath, fresh air and sunlight on your face. Some of the visuals are utterly lovely and others convey the darkness and mean-ness of God's twisted and bored soul. It's a shame for Uzbekistan that he dropped in...

Victor's book looks fab and if they printed it, I'd buy it. Great acting from all, and some really interesting characters. We will watch this again for sheer pleasure.

Bait (I) (2019)

Truth

[8/10 · 26 March 2020]

This film should make a lot of people squirm. Yes, you with the prosecco.

Brilliantly shot, cut, interesting and occasionally surprising juxtapositions of scenes keep the interest in a relentless, slow burning story that could erupt into violence almost anywhere in the 89 minutes.

We had great sympathy with the Cornish characters, you feel this film, you know it is the truth. In this respect, in addition to the incredible noir, graininess it is a real triumph.

Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak (2020)

Dull, out of date, uncritical

[4/10 · 6 March 2020]

This series seems topical, but it is not. It is dull, poorly edited and focuses too much on health professionals. There was no information in the first two episodes (all I could watch) about the structure and behaviour of viruses, how vaccines work, other treatments - we just saw a lot of breathless people and an American doctor, who inexplicably is featured feeding her kids, praying, driving, answering the phone, teaching other health professionals (repetitive).

It also brings in elements that are worrying: 1 Why is the religion (Islam) of one doctor important? Indeed, why is the religion of the other professionals in the first episode NOT given screentime? 2. Then, we have a few moments with a home schooling yummy mummy who is used to present a segued piece where she is anti-vcxx and then we see a Guatemalan mother grieving the death of her son, if only he had access to a flu shot we cry with her, not like that selfish homeschool hippy, who does she think she is to doubt the intentions of the big pharmaceutical firms (vaccines are the most profitable drug class in the world by the way, as the show did not say). 3 Finally, we have repeated screen time, in different settings, of a biotech scientist who wishes to make a super vaccine for all flu like illnesses, he skateboards, he talks to teens, he has nice hair, he will save the world, and this is one big commercial for him, oh and for his new pal, Bill Gates who has funded his research.

This all seems like a pro-vcxx, pro-big pharma commercial. And the facts, well they are buried in hype, fear mongering and the notion that only doctors and vaccines will save you. Just like Tamiflu was meant to. Remember Tamiflu....the programme makers show clinicians bemoaning the shortage of this dangerous drug, now regarded as a huge mistake.

I Am Not Okay with This (2020)

More than Okay

[9/10 · 3 March 2020]

We love this, The depiction of adolescence is painfully accurate, the acting is great and we love Syd and Stan. Homage to Breakfast Club and Carrie really fun, and the big thing that happens at the homecoming dance, OMG we laughed with shock it was superb. Think Alien and you will be close. It is great, can't wait for the next season.

Yesterday (III) (2019)

One of the happiest films ever....look out kids you gonna love The Beatles

[10/10 · 25 December 2019]

We loved this film. It showcases Beatles music and somehow they do seem fresh and current. Ed Sheeran is a great sport and he plays himself quite convincingly.

It makes England look lovely, as Richard Curtis always does, I wish I lived in a place that looked like this, I wish I had friends like Jack and I wish the Beatles were played on the radio all the time. Sadly, in this universe, none of that is true, but it was whilst the film lasted.

It's great, thanks. PS Elly is to die for.

Pi (1998)

You know all those 1 star reviews....read them before watching the film

[1/10 · 17 April 2019]

What a disappointment. We came to this after Requiem and Fountain, and were so disappointed. It's really just not a good film, take away the art house and there is no real story and the characters aren't up to much.

We wanted to go somewhere between 1 and 2, so we awarded it: 1.61803398875

The Silence (II) (2019)

Waste of Effort, and my time

[1/10 · 16 April 2019]

It is worse than you'd think from reading the reviews. What utter rubbish, derivative, dull, we were guessing the ending but it was way more dull than even we predicted, shades of Hunger Games at the end, booooooring

The Fountain (2006)

Divine inspiration - this film was made by angels whispering in Aronofsky's ear

[10/10 · 15 April 2019]

If you haven't seen this film, 13 years have gone by since it was first released, and now all the critics seem to be scrambling to praise it. They should. But what the heck was wrong with them when they damned it, and in so doing caused it to flop commercially? In doing so they doubtless prevented millions of people seeing, and understanding this remarkable raw exposition on love, timeless, undying love and selfless commitment to a cause greater than the self. Maybe, this is why it did not chime with the zeitgeist of our doomed, infernal times.

The leads are utterly convincing, in their love and grief and acceptance of what lays beyond. The OST is remarkable in it's own right and commbined with astonishing imagery the effect is one of unbearable emotional inensity.

It actually doesn't matter which interpretation of the events you take away, you will never forget the sheer beauty of this film. I regard it as one of the high points in the history of cinema and my personal all time favourite. It's not from our time.

Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)

Style, Substance, Soundtrack

[9/10 · 10 January 2019]

This is not a film for short attention spans, or people who like high body counts with smart suits.

El Royale is intriguing. The storylines interweave and the time taken to tell the story allows an atmosphere to build, and the understanding that this is allegory to form in the viewers mind.

Good characters, great acting, nice twists even if some of them were almost "gifted" to the audience and not totally surprising, there is some satisfaction after all in seeing the guru character get wasted and the mad eyed fairy-girl experience karma first hand.

The hotel itself, the set and the setup is terrific and imagined well, it is close to what I always suspected in cheap motels in the USA, any of those low budget places with heart shaped beds or baths, yep there is a chance you will be starring in your own movie.

I docked one star for the barmy portrayal of the Manson lookalike, if he was a cult leader in reality, they'd have made him drink Kool-Aid years ago. I wish he had been a more believable character.

Watch it, it's a sleigh ride of bonkers-ness with brilliant music. Style, Substance, Soundtrack

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

Show Stopping Performance

[8/10 · 5 January 2019]

Malek rocks, he really does. This film, whilst not historically spot on, still reminded me how good Queen's songs were and took me back to Live Aid in 1985, where they really were the standout act (if only someone had stopped Tracy Chapman coming on stage it would have been a perfect day, I'll give you a Fast Car luv). That was Stevie Wonder's fault, but enough of that.

What was surprising was how decent many of Mercury's entourage were for much of his career, Mary's character in particular was touching.

A touching, inspiring film about a man who really was born for greatness.