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philblakeman
Reviews
Ballot Monkeys (2015)
Written on the coach?
A political comedy set on the coaches of the four main parties during their 2015 Election Campaign.
I hoped for a little more but it was horribly bad, a complete lack of nuance and just weak caricature led comedy with jokes sign-posted from 2 constituencies away. Labour find Ed embarrassing, the Lib Dems are humiliated, UKIP are bigots, you get the idea.
It lacks the Machiavellian brilliance of House of Cards, the perceptiveness of the Thick of It or the wit of Yes Minister.
As awkward as watching Ed eat a bacon sandwich and as cringe-worthy as Nick apologising (again).
What a shame...
Forbrydelsen (2007)
More Loose Ends Than A Plate Of Spaghetti
I decided to watch the Danish crime series "The Killing" on Netflix given its good score and reviews here. I don't tend to do a lot of reviews and what I write here is mostly out of frustration but I shall try to be fair all the same...
With 20 episodes nearly an hour in length it takes some time to find out "whodunnit" and the series is certainly gritty and gripping right from the off. The acting is mostly excellent and strong enough not to let subtitles put you off with characters often having a "knowing more than they let on" feel about them.
Tenacious DCI Sarah Lund discovers "the killing" amid her plans to move to Sweden with her sweetheart and proceeds to investigate and interrogate what seems like half of Copenhagen with her more hot-headed impulsive successor DCI Jan Meyer.
I found myself being sucked in as suspects appear thick and fast with suspicion shifting switcheroos in each episode. Despite the fact that you get wise to the red herrings after a few episodes there is enough tension, grit and suspended disbelief to keep the viewer gripped. Also fishy is a parallel thread involving underhanded political shenanigans at the City Hall and an upcoming mayoral election that just might be related.
After several episodes I started to worry that the finale would be able to tie up the various sub-plots, insinuations and convenient coincidences that I was challenged with remembering. You have to see these things through don't you?
Then the "whodunnit" was revealed and was kindly considerate enough to explain how, where and why theydunnit to another character and this head-scratching reviewer. Struggling to recollect all the chaff from the previous episodes I was left bewildered, confounded and pretty unsatisfied. What about this? What about that? That seemed like a strange reaction...
Ultimately (and unfortunately) great acting and atmosphere only just saves this Danish show's bacon from being murdered by excessive plot twists, unlikely evidence and flawed character behaviour. Worth a watch if you have the time and patience.
The Dictator (2012)
Laugh? I almost executed the usher...
As with any Sascha Baron Cohen feature you can leave any misguided beliefs about the importance of taste and decency in the cinema cloakroom because there are more cheap shots in "The Dictator" than a Student Union Bar in Freshers' Week.
Unlike Bruno and Borat, The Dictator is entirely acted with SBC leading as Admiral General Aladeen, tyrannical ruler of "Wadiya", who must try and stop democracy coming to the country he so lovingly oppressed for many years.
In some ways the film functions like the mockumentaries, with others serving to provide the ammunition SBC needs to give you that "I can't believe he just said that" moment. The experience is very different though with laughs coming from your own reaction and those around you rather than the out-of-touch politician/pompous celebrity/naïve man-on-the-street (delete as appropriate).
Aladeen is vile and lovable at the same time with a larger than life performance from SBC whilst Anna Faris is quirky as the liberal feminist food-store owner Zoe who won't shave her armpits for any man but might just love him.
The dictator has a few laugh out loud moments, plenty of gross-out comedy and some very quotable lines. The social and political satire is mostly overpowered by cheap and easy lower-brow jokes but these are sometimes shocking enough to have you spitting your popcorn out.
A perceptive and clever take on geo-politics? No! Willy jokes and offensive to everyone regardless of their race, religion or sexuality? Yes!
Sasha Baron Cohen doesn't do subtlety; he does "The Dictator".