GameAndWatch Reviews

Silo (2023– )

Holed on a minute

[1/10 · 2 August 2023]

Okay, watched the first episode and it's a great well written pilot, that leaves you wanting more. Laying out enough to grab your interest.

I plodded on with the series, but it takes a dive very fast. Into something so completely generic I just lost complete interest, and I couldn't tell you where that was. Perhaps by episode five, who knows.

It's a pseudo mystery drama, with again totally unlikable characters. I thought it was done well at first, and the writers were in control. There's a pretty typical 'engineering' episode, where the main protagonist fights the clock to save the day. It's okay.

You are strung along by the mystery of the hole, or and the conspiracy stuff. Yeah I do want to know how they came to be there, and for why. But it really needs to up its game if I'm ever to go back and sit out the rest of it.

Not sure what's up here. Severance gets by on absolutely zip all story and is oddly captivating. Foundation was dumbed down and fiddled with to make some generic tripe. And as for this, I'd get more fun watching an old episode of the A Team.

You need likeable characters in a show. And room to explore ideas, or let the show and viewer breathe a bit.

The Big Door Prize (2023– )

Butterfly on a wheel

[2/10 · 2 August 2023]

The series starts off on a sci-fi premise, a machine turns up in the local general shop. And if you put your social security number in it, it spits out your life potential, a pithy one liner about what you are destined to do.

It kind of focuses on individual members of the town, using the machine as some kind of way in, to explore their lives, back stories and developments.

On the box this sounds great. Whether your proclaimed destiny can have an effect on your life. How will others react. Etc.

The series is gentle. Not much happens to be honest. Despite some characters getting entire episodes, we don't find out much beyond a few notes and minute detail about back story.

Feels like totally wasted potential. There's a few laugh out loud moments. And the machine as a device for the show just seems lost entirely. It's completely pointless from what I can see. Perhaps the story was just lost from book to screen. It barely scratches the surface. It's neither terribly good, or bad. Just totally middling, and by the end of series one you are glad to turn it off.

Behind Her Eyes: Behind Her Eyes (2021) Season 1, Episode 6

Angelic upstarts

[6/10 · 28 March 2023]

I guessed the swapsy when the astral navigation was shown. But I can't quite get to grips with why Louise suddenly discovered the ability. Seemed way too convenient, even if there was a little journal guidance. So it kind of jumped the shark with the shark jumping and biting twice too many. Which is a bit of a shame as it was quite good up till then.

A friend said their partner spotted them cheating via an OOBE, so perhaps there's something to it.

But as a small drama I enjoyed the series, it just felt slightly too long by the end.

It hits some of the right notes. My dad died and came back to life. Was haunted ever after and claimed he came back a different person. He was certainly different. You would think you might notice if your partner was swapped for some shape shifter. But hey, some people just don't pay attention.

The OA (2016–2019)

Squid game

[4/10 · 13 February 2023]

Just finished series 1 and 2. The first can be watched stand-alone as it has an ambiguous ending that's easy to live with. Even though some may find issue with the finale. There's a nice pacing and some captivating story telling in the first season.

The second however is a fragmented mess. And may suffer from trying to squeeze a few too many ideas and concepts into the whole. I don't quite know what happened, but maybe it just got away from itself.

I personally think it could have been dtripped back more with better character focus. There's just too many here. The school gang I guess could be viewed as one, but then it's slightly a missed opportunity.

Focused narrative and better writing and perhaps the car crash of the second season could have been avoided.

There's some nice ideas here, but it's needlessly grotesque.

It just slips into boring cliffhanger Lost style nothingburger territory in the second run. I just didn't enjoy the latter part. And as for the end, well, they really do jump the octopus.

Oxygen (2021)

In space no one can hear you scream

[1/10 · 30 December 2022]

Woman wakes up in a box, doesn't know where or who she is but has access to the Internet and a vaguely useful conversant computer. And she's running out of oxygen...

Was sold on this as a one woman performance. The American overdub is horrible. Which might have detracted from a meandering subtle, empty mesmeric ride.

Nothing really happens, there is a reveal which seems to embody a two line idea for the movie. Any rich dialogue and exploration is pared down to a few images of lab rats and falling sycamore seeds.

Much of the movie is wasted on wrestling with cables and what not, trying to vandalize the container.

So other than a seed of a good idea, this movie is complete and utter junk. And translates very poorly out from the original tongue. Avoid.

Transcendence (I) (2014)

Part exchange

[1/10 · 23 May 2022]

Torn on this. It's peppered with good ideas. And if it had been a little subtler or a mini series perhaps it could have worked. Exploring the singularity, and coercing a kick start for good is such an opportunity. Put this in a 50s sci-fi book and I think I could have bought it. It just came over as laughable cringe.

A whole doesn't always equal the sum of its parts.

Come to Daddy (2019)

Spoils child

[2/10 · 20 November 2021]

Was looking forward to this. It's like a good idea on paper, that somehow got lost on screen. Love the choice of cast and location. But the story just flails. It just isn't a well rounded film. A missed opportunity, and a waste of great acting chops.

Dave (2020– )

A tale of two halves

[5/10 · 18 November 2021]

Season 1 starts off being awkward funny. And has some genuine laugh out loud moments.

Season 2 Dave drifts, he gets a contract, and has a creative block. He becomes very unlikable as do his entourage. This feels a little at odds with the goof ball, self deprecating almost sweet guy we see in the first season.

There's certainly some good ideas and experimentation here. It just falls a bit flat, but considering the pandemic, and other constraints that's not much of a surprise.

It dives into wacky metaphorical symbolism. And the second season just feels like a weak appendage to the first. They are like two different shows, with two different Daves. (Imagine.) For all the effort, it just fell a bit flat for me.

The highlight of the second season was probably the Benny Blanco episode. Which I fear was the episode that totally skewed other people's judgement on the show. It's a jolly romp into playground puerile frivolity and kudos to them for going there even if it's too much of an affront for some.

Not sure how far they could have taken the first season. Dave was becoming a douche, and the second sees a little outrage for outrage sake. How low can you go? But with hindsight if you see the first and second season as different shows there's something to like in each. They are just tonally different.

The simpler less avant-garde episodes worked better.

Dave: The Observer (2021) Season 2, Episode 3

Butt hole and butt head

[3/10 · 16 November 2021]

The gross out episode. Yes it's puerile, but there are relatable themes here. Like the bizarre in which boredom and close familial company can bring. There's a complete detachment of reality. At least it's more wholesome than some drug induced psychosis. This episode hung with me like a bad smell. Some of the micro themes are explored and emphasised through the absurd. As others have noted here, people hold many different personas, and the can bring its own friction when mixing company and roles. Some of this is skilfully handled.

Swap out Benny for a woman, and the reaction to this episode would have been totally flipped. People would love it, but the message would then be lost. Best episode of S2.

Dave: Somebody Date Me (2021) Season 2, Episode 6

Lil story

[2/10 · 16 November 2021]

Dave Season 1, was a little crass, but I found I found myself laughing. And there was some smart dialogue buried within. There's a small jewel in each episode.

Season 2 has been really difficult. Dave is just so unlikable he gets called out for the narcissist that he is. And the side characters become doubly dreadful. Ally is the only half reasonable one, and I think her notable absence in S2 was really felt. Mike was likeable, and he's even started to rot, like most that are around Dave.

I get it, money corrupts, and skews the creative process.

Other episodes are shards, half stories, with a little absurdism. Not sure if the show is trying to be deep or not.

Celebrity placement is lost on me as a Brit, as I don't know any of them. But for Bieber's small part. The parents are almost grounding in this wayward mess.

I wish they'd subtitle the texts properly as I can never read them without putting my nose on the telly.

So plenty meh. I've gotten this far, so may as well finish the season now.

True that most of us are rotten for some or most of the time. But we need the old glimmer of hope and redemption.

The Straits (2012)

Dank straight

[4/10 · 3 September 2021]

I like Brian Cox, so thought I would give this a go on the strength of some positive reviews. It's about a mobster family running drugs, guns and whatnot over or via the islands of PNG and the surrounds to and from Australia. It starts off promising as the family is quite disperate, and there's a suggestion that the old man is looking for a successor. Game of thrones? It gets a bit silly sadly, a bit too soon. And there's lots of young boys waving guns about. The interesting themes such as cultural and family history, customs and the different islands don't get explored enough and people seem to be physically unscathed after being tortured and shot at. If fleshed out more over a couple of seasons, it may have been better. There was something good here in the mix, but ultimately it is rather meh.

The Rebound (2009)

Mind the gap year

[1/10 · 21 June 2021]

Oh dear. Separated mum tries to make a fresh start. Flirts with mocha Joe. Will they? Won't they? The end.

Shouldn't it be one of those looking for love in all the wrong places, but it's right their before your eyes in the form of the baby sitter type things? Where you put in some excruciating and saccharin moments. And neatly wrap it all up with a happy ending?

This feels like a miscast. Could Jennifer Aniston have pulled this off with a few more wacky interludes and goofs?

A total turkey of a film. I can't quite work out where they went soo wrong. Terrible pretty much throughout.

The Babadook (2014)

Shadow line

[2/10 · 21 June 2021]

This film starts off great. I like the interaction between Mother and son. Sadly it just turns into a bit of a bore fest. It's not often I want to totally quit on a film. But I was glad when the credits rolled.

That's not to say there isn't a good idea here. And I liked much of the execution. The children's book was very cute, I wished for more of that. And some of the looming shadows.

It just deteriorated into something that just wasn't at all frightening or funny. I guess this is what happens when a tooth abscess gets to you.

The Serpent (2021)

Sink or swim

[7/10 · 10 April 2021]

I think I liked this! Had to go very slowly with it, because it's so unsettling, especially the early episodes. Some of the time shifting was a bit irritating, but it's used to good effect in earlier episodes. Stylish, and surprisingly long, glad that it weighed in longer than a film. The interplay between characters was rather clever. There's splashes of background, and imagined dialogue, it's not overly wrought. The narcissistic psychopath just isn't likeable, for some strange reason... but he must have had some kind of magnetism to attract his small followings. I don't think I could stomach it twice, but for perhaps the second or third episode. This plays our natural fears - and ramps up the uneasy. A feeling I don't think any other TV has managed quite to strike in me. I literally felt poisoned.

Shallow Grave (1994)

Can you dig it?

[4/10 · 25 March 2021]

There's so much potential here. Micro cast, paranoia, detective work. But not much really happens. All the elements feel truncated into a little film, one that lacks any likeable characters. It's fun in places, and is somewhat of its time - I just wanted to see a bit more interplay of the untangling of main cast. We can all get paranoid quickly given wealth opportunities. And as for the casting choice. Two of the main cast look almost identical! As a low budget early flick, it's all well and great - it just feels like a string of snapshots.

Bates Motel (2013–2017)

Bypass this hotel

[3/10 · 16 March 2021]

This has landed on the BBC's digital service this year. The trailers looked quite good. And I'd seen the lead (Highmore) In another drama, so was looking forward to this.

Nothing really happens. Norman and Norma are the main characters, but they throw in a few side characters like Norman's step brother, his uncle, a sheriff, and a few other incidentals.

Norman starts of likeable, but his character and act gets tiresome. Most of the characters are pretty one dimensional, but for Norma, who grows on you. She's manipulative and protective, but not in the most overbearing way. It's implied, and some of the detail in the relationship between Mother and Son is the best part of the show.

However there isn't much to like here. The side stories are really bland. The writers have the device of a hotel, so could if they'd wanted to, ran with visitor stories and made good mini-episodes with the family as a backdrop.

It's an ambitious undertaking. And there are some nice little nods to the original, but I don't think it really adds anything. I found it pretty nauseating but oddly mundanely comforting in its brainlessness. It's pretty vacuous, vacant, and boring.

A series like Dexter presents a likeable serial killer, and you can swallow the bitter pill of it knowing that the victims are baddies - it also made me laugh. My personal brain wants to give Norman a get out of jail card - given justifiable circumstance or appropriate foes or nasties. This isn't a marathon murder fest with Norman at least, ironically more violence happens in the town on the periphery with ridiculous power corruption sub-plots.

Norman's taxidermy is underrated, I look more corpse than Norma most days. His hallucinations may have worked better had they been implied. Stylistically it has its moments. There's an attempt at retelling some of the first movie, and it only highlights how good the original was. Oregon as a backdrop looks nice - and that makes for some nice escapism. Norman might not be the best advert for their tourist industry.

You might be better watching the fifth season first and then starting afresh for the other four if you'd want to. The series adds little to the original, and in the end just drags. Highmore can't hold an entire series alone - the first episode of the fifth season is enough. Chick and Romero and other side characters could have been more arresting given their own dedicated good episodes. The writers do try this a little bit, but it's very watered down. And in the end the series doesn't have many stand out moments, or leave me with any want for replay. So for me sadly a missed opportunity and a miss unless you fall down with the flu.

Bradley Martin transfixed me, much like she put a spell on Norman. And I don't know why as her character and story was very thin! Cast did a good job with the source material, most of them were wasted here. Give it a miss.

Twin (2019)

About face

[5/10 · 16 February 2021]

This is a gentle series, with a stunning picturesque backdrop.

The story, or rather plot device is pretty thin, we get small reveals and a little family drama. Just when we are getting familiar with the characters there's some closure. But it is left open ended.

Norway here is pretty dreamy to look at and great to be transported to. Very likeable overall, but not entirely memorable.

Eric is borderline slapstick - with some great facial expressions. As an Englander I just love hearing the cadences of Norwegian. There's a smattering of wry comedy here. I'd welcome a second series.

The Wolfman (2010)

Howler

[2/10 · 13 December 2020]

I don't think I have seen the original. Was up for some scary psycho drama, and/or a new take on the werewolf genre.

The film opens to a what appears to be a savage werewolf murder. A woman is distressed that her partner is missing. Tries to enlist partner's brother to find him. Brother reluctantly returns to home village. And goes on a wolf hunt to avenge brother.

This is mildly atmospheric. Very grey, lots of music. Laugh out loud dialogue. No chemistry, no build up of characters. Not much of it is likeable. It felt short and fell short. Uninspiring and I grew pretty bored in the second half. The end was distinctly lacklustre.

There's just nothing new here. And the story feels rushed and patchy, and non-cohesive. I wanted to like it for what it was, but there's nothing much to redeem it.

Hampstead (2017)

Love shack

[3/10 · 11 September 2020]

Based on a true story supposedly. Chap who has lived near hampstead heath in the old hospital grounds in a home made shack faces eviction.

This is a light movie, a great cast. But it's just a little lacklustre. I got bored, and non-interested. And I've got quite good staying power for movies.

London looks nice here in full summer, they must clear away the filth and cars. The chemistry wasn't that believable. It's mostly meh. A quick read of the plot on a back of a postcard is enough. I think the twee Englishness here is ramped up possibly for the US market.

So-so fluff.

Comedy Lab: Golden Years (1999) Season 2, Episode 6

Office audition

[6/10 · 18 August 2020]

Tight little pilot. This is pretty much the Office. Cringey little fat man sliced up with interview for wanted audition. Awkward and of its time. Gervais gives his best - funny when in full make up, on the conference room table. This version is perhaps a little darker and less poilished. But timing is still spot on. The straight business partner is a great foil. The Office is all here in pieces. Guess he got the gig.

Comedy Lab: The Pooters (2002) Season 4, Episode 10

Skim read

[2/10 · 18 August 2020]

Read out passages from various books. What an ace idea. Lots of ideas packed into one small show here. Special guests, cut scenes, oddities, fancies. Strange characters. It would probably work better as some kind of pseudo straight book readings. Guessing they throw the kitchen sink here at some pilotesque audition for a show that never happened. Too much, too quick. What sticks?

Comedy Lab: Daydream Believers: Brand New Beamer (2001) Season 4, Episode 9

Jez

[3/10 · 18 August 2020]

Well this is odd. It's some precursor to Peep Show. Mitchell doing a bit of an odd mockney accent as Ray, and Webb doing pretty much Jez. Smatterings of imagined scenes from Ray's penned hammy sci-fi throwback. That are cross pollinations with real life. This show probably sounds better on paper. It's a somewhat odd and confused sitcomish thing that innevitably didn't make it. I quite liked the idea of life seeding fantasy, but this gets all a little meta. There's an inkling of something good here.

Friday Night Dinner: The Cage (2020) Season 6, Episode 5

Jewish rice pudding

[4/10 · 4 May 2020]

Aunty Val drops by to help out, after Jackie's op, but is preoccupied with online dating.

Expecting crimble crumble only to be met with Aunty Val's rice pudding. Pretty much sums up this episode, which is as lumpy and stodgy as the pudding.

Saved by Heap and Ritter's comic turns - as per usual. This series could be so great, but sadly always hits the mediocre mark. A great cast, let them loose elsewhere. They are wasted here.

Devs (2020)

Reflections

[9/10 · 3 May 2020]

Not much to add here. Great to see something like this greenlit for TV. Sure there's a little filler here and there. A distinct lack of likeable characters is probably my only gripe. At at the centre of the show there's a great plot device. Which alone could make for so many interesting off-shoots and side stories.

It's suitably ambiguous, to let your mind ponder. Don't watch thinking 'thriller', just be a passive observer and there's alot to enjoy about this series.

Styles shift between episodes, and artistically it's quite beautiful. Pace it slowly, and give it room to breathe and you won't be disappointed.

I personally really enjoyed it. I'm often hankering for a standalone sci-fi, and this is both trite and triumphant. Not sure if it has much in the way of re-play value, but in the moment it captures you.

Our Kind of Traitor (2016)

Regime change

[6/10 · 21 March 2020]

Perfectly watchable, nothing that wrong with it, but it just drifts to a predictable conclusion.

Not sure quite why we need such gravity in the Russian here being depicted as the mafia's biggest money launderer. Would have been more believable if the whole thing had been toned down to a local parish councillor taking back handers for some property development!

Pretty film. Pretty pointless. If you don't want to be vexed and would like to just mill away an hour or so, you get a jolly romp, some opulant parlours, and nice shots of Switzerland.