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Reviews
Phoenix Rise (2023)
A dazzling cast and impressive debut from Phoenix Rise
As someone who grew up with Grange Hill, I was excited to see this school drama on BBC but to be honest I wasn't expecting much from Phoenix Rise. Wow, was I wrong.
With a dazzling young cast who had me rooting for for them from the first time I saw them - and occasionally screaming (I'm talking about Summer (Lauren Corah) and Billy (Alex Draper) and their will they won't they get together) - this was an engrossing watch. Every character is a strong one.
The adults in the cast also impressed with Mr Stewart the headteacher who we first see spray painting a mural on the school wall and counsellor Becky the standouts.
The stories were very much of our time like Billy who's bringing up his sister alone despite being 15 visiting a food bank for the first time, but the old spectre of bullying was there too.
After the first series I'm really looking forward to seeing more from this talented bunch.
A very impressive debut from all concerned.
Girl in the Picture (2022)
one of the most remarkable true crime documentaries you will ever watch
Girl in the picture is one of the most remarkable true crime documentaries you will ever watch. It does something that not all true crime does and brings to life the person who was murdered to such an extent that you almost feel as if they are sitting watching it with you and saying "this is my story."
In this documentary, they speak to the woman's friends and the love and admiration for her shine out amidst all the darkness of what happened to her. Despite the grim details of her life, she was a good friend, vivacious and kind and everyone who met her instantly loved her whether it was at high school, the trailer park where she lived for a time, or the strip joint where she was forced to work by the man who always told her he was her father. She was super smart and driven and it was obvious she would have achieved amazing things. Had she lived long enough.
The best thing is you probably won't remember the killer's name
Another thing Girl in the Picture does amazingly well is put the perpetrator very much in the background. This documentary is no glorification or attempts to understand an evil man's actions. It's more a testimony of how a beautiful person inside and out with an intelligent mind, who had a scholarship to one of America's top colleges, was robbed of her future by a paedophile.
A truly shocking tale
The story doesn't seem that unusual when you first hear it. A woman is found seriously wounded after a suspected hit and run. It seems like a straightforward case. But when the police try to identify the woman who later dies of her injuries after battling against the odds to stay alive for 5 days, so begins an investigation with a plot more complex than any crime thriller I have ever read.
The police visit the lady they believe to be this young woman's mother to tell her that her daughter is dead which comes as a surprise. Her daughter died at the age of just 18 months. The woman on the road can't be her daughter so who is she?
And so begins a search for the truth that lasts for years with so many twists and turns at times you feel giddy. Imagine being the young woman who had to live through that all. And we do. Every vile detail feels like a boot in the gut.
The search reveals some horrifying details of the horrendous cruelties inflicted upon this young woman by a stepfather who abducted her when she was just 5 years old and later kidnapped and murdered her 6-year-old son.
In case you haven't watched the show, I won't give the game away about what transpires. So, no spoiler alerts are needed.
Thanks to these dedicated people who stopped at nothing to get to the truth, both law enforcement, journalists and researchers, Suzanne Sevakis finally has her real name on her gravestone. She has people who truly mourn her. Her daughter can visit her mom's grave.
Yet, still, you are left reeling with a feeling of deep sadness that this amazing young woman never got to fulfil her potential because of a sick psychopath.
This is from my blog Rramblings of a frustrated crime writer .
Life After Life (2022)
Intriguing drama let down by poor writing and structure
I enjoyed watching this drama and in particular loved the Ursula character who was so well played. I found myself engrossed very quickly as she moves through different lives and rebirths at the speed of someone shuffling a pack of cards. The rest of the cast were also excellent especially the women who played her aunt.
One scene in particular was heartbreaking where she had to make a tough decision for herself and her daughter when they were both starving to death. And no I won't give the game away as I hate spoilers.
Sadly, the drama was let down by some poor writing and structure and I found myself scratching my head at the end of the final episode. It was never revealed what the thing was that Ursula had to do that she could never remember. This left me worried that I had missed an episode but when I re-watched them all I was still left with the same puzzlement as there didn't seem to be an answer for Ursula or us.
This was a highway watchable drama but with better writing and structure and the resolution to the thing Ursula couldn't remember it could have been magnificent.
Fear the Walking Dead: What's Your Story? (2018)
Fear breathes new life into The Walking Dead Universe
When I heard a main character from The Walking Dead was heading over to little sister show Fear, I assumed because it was going to be filmed in Texas that Abraham would made the journey. This worried me because it's hard to care about a character who's dead in TWD. Finding out it was going to be Morgan was a pleasant surprise.
Apart from maybe Andrew Lincoln who plays Rick Grimes, Lennie James who's been in many of the The Walking Dead's best episodes (the pilot, the brilliant Clear and bottle Morgan episode where he meets the Zen master) is the show's best actor in my opinion. His portrayal of a battled weary apocalyptic soldier suffering from PTSD has been hard to watch at times, but its been mesmerizing.
Its a delight to see him in action in a more light-hearted show.
Place a man like Morgan who's at the end of his tether in Fear The Walking Dead, introduce a gunslinger cowboy called John Dorie ("ie, not y like the fish") and a hard-ass journalist in a customised walker killing machine in the shape of Al, and you don't just have our fave staff wielding hero smiling again, you also have Walking Dead fans who've been weighed down by the misery of the big show grinning away.
Fear by bringing in these three amazing characters has shown us how good a zombie show can be, reminding us of the good old days in The Walking Dead before the poorly written Negan storyline that turned what should have been a great character into a caricature whilst making other smart characters do dumb things that's lost the show so many viewers.
Ironically this belter of a premiere for season four of Fear The Walking Dead is only ruined by the last few minutes when Nick, Alicia, Strand and Luciana turn up wielding weapons and looking like refugees from a Mad Max movie. Hopefully the show won't switch its focus back to the Clark family at the expense of the ever excellent Morgan and his fun new friends John Dorie and Althea (call me Al) because the newest members of the Fearverse are more entertaining than the Clarks ever were and that's coming from someone who thought last season's Fear was better than TWD.
Respect is also due to the production team for an episode that was beautiful shot making the apocalyptic landscape look like a Western.
Now give us more Morgan, John Dorie and Althea. Please and thank you for a job well done.
The Good Place (2016)
Terriblly unfunny show
When I saw this show advertised it looked good so I thought I'd give it a go. After three episodes, I couldn't watch it any more. Its just not funny. The main character played by Kristen Bell is so unlikeable and IMHO its William Jackson Harper who plays her matched partner who should have the lead. English actress Jameela Jamil who plays Bell's neighbour might look good but her character is annoying and you can tell she doesn't do much acting. Considering I watched The Good Place with a great deal of anticipation, to find out it was as funny as an emergency appointment at the dentist was disappointing. If you want to watch a new comedy that's genuinely funny, avoid this one. They may be in the good place but they're not in a funny place.
The Walking Dead: The Well (2016)
An uplifting episode - King Ezekiel is superb
After such a depressing episode for the premiere, this one was an uplifting delight. We got to meet King Ezekiel for the first time and his amazing tiger. Ezekiel is the best new character to enter The Walking Dead universe in a very long time and it was a delight to see him interact with Carol and Morgan (along with Andrew Lincoln they're probably played by the best actors in the show in my opinion).
After the disappointing way the premiere copied the comic by killing (you'll know if you watched it), I was worried they'd ruin King Ezekiel's entrance, but he's already one of the best characters and actors to grace the show and will become a big fan favourite.
I can't wait until Rick Grimes comes face to face with King Ezekiel and Chiva. Now that will be well worth the wait.