Njs2016 Reviews

Shardlake (2024– )

Meaningful looks and running about.

[6/10 · 11 May 2024]

There is more to putting a drama like this together than sinister music, sinister looks and but if running about.

The shame about SHARDLAKE is that the budget is there and the actor are there, the script however isn't. The adaptation takes a strong book by C J SANSOM and makes it a meandering mess of a thing, a basic detective procedural laced with long exposition sections in the refectory, replete with lingering glances, meaningful stares and moody music. The music is a sub Hans Zimmer smush of broody brace and tense strings that doesn't really drive the action, just paints it in different variants of beige.

It's a diverting watch but could have been so much better in the hands of writers and directors who trusted the material.

The Agatha Christie Hour: The Girl in the Train (1982) Season 1, Episode 3

A slice of ham with that sir ?

[7/10 · 20 March 2024]

This is so badly acted it's a gem! From a glorious turn by James Grout to bizarre accented supporting characters it is like watching a bad rep play in the 1960's. The sets are wobbly. The lighting is arcing all over the place. The score is that kind of orchestral smush that only TV served up by the bucket load in the 1980's.

The plot is weird and full of 'foreigners' which is very much a fun period detail in this, rather than offensive. I loved the voice over of Elisabeth. That got extra marks. Hammy as hell.

I love Agatha Christie and I love the feel goodness of these mini plays. After a hard day you can curl up with them, laugh with and at them and purely enjoy the entertainment. Loved it.

The Equalizer 3 (2023)

Really liked it. A tale of two Robert's.

[8/10 · 18 February 2024]

This was much better than anticipated. By the third instalment of a franchise you can expect it to fall way below par, but this was a very different, almost elegant movie. Denzel Washington is perfect as lost soul Robert McCall who finds himself in Italy and starting to find a place where he belongs. It's violent as hell, but the violence is done with panache and narrative need, the final act is a problem it feels slightly rushed, but the pace never slows enough for it to become a problem.

The other Robert is DOP Robert Richardson, who turns in the most beautiful photography for an action movie, the light and colours highlight the beauty of Italy and the architecture and it's a brilliant film to look at. Sort out the popcorn, turn off the lights and immerse yourself.

Napoleon (2023)

A massive missed opportunity

[4/10 · 12 January 2024]

This must rate as the movie that promised most in 2023 but delivered the least. From the opening sequence to the last credit the entire proceeding feels lacklustre.

I don't have a problem with historical accuracy, it's a movie, a drama. Shakespeare didn't have much to do with historical accuracy either, but he did have Drama. Here what we get is a slightly snoozy Joaquin Phoenix walking his way through scene after scene of exposition and Vanessa Kirby given next to no screen time to establish or explore Josephine. The score by Martin Phipps is also all over the place lacking any of the tension of his scores for The Crown or War and Peace.

The core problem with Napoleon is Phoenix. There is no central dynamic performance. He's too old to play Napoleon. The dynamism and the energy are missing, meetings, conversations and even battles are done as if he is tired, half asleep. Improvising his way through a scene to show us what 'he feels' genius is. It doesn't take one to work out it's not this. A younger actor may have brought confusion, hubris, a sense of wrestling with ambition, love and complexity. Here we just get world weary sighing. Brando he ain't.

There is the chance of a great movie here. The budget is there. The photography is there. The supporting cast isn't bad. It's just a a total shambles in terms of script and central performance.

Before I raise the anger of anyone who loved it. I would just point out.

'You think you are so great, because you have boats' as a total clonker of a line to the British ambassador. 'You think you are invincible because you have a navy' takes around three seconds to re-write and immediately lifts the dialogue from school drama level or first draft level. They just couldn't be bothered.

I'd avoid this like the plague if you know nothing about Napoleon and avoid it like two plagues if you do.

Mr Bates vs. The Post Office (2024)

When TV drama gets it right.

[9/10 · 2 January 2024]

ITV are a real powerhouse for Drama at the moment. Elsewhere I have reviewed the confused nature of BBC drama and then I tuned in to watch this brilliant piece from ITV.

TV drama at its best can offer an insight into the human dramas around us, one that goes behind the newspaper headlines and fleshes out details and gains a wider acknowledgement of how big corporations have acted in a shameful way.

This is also gripping and entertaining, it's beautifully shot and written. It is astonishing how the POST OFFICE managed to get away with this for so long and still the legacy of pain from these cases endures. I would have perhaps liked to have known more about HOW it happened but I guess the ongoing public enquiry is for that.

There are standout performances, none more so than the ever reliable Toby Jones. The wonderful Monica Dolan and brilliant work by Amy Nutall and. Will Mellor are heartbreaking as another couple rolled over by the system. The performance by Krupa Pattani is brilliant and shocking. The pain is never over played and remains with you long after the programme is over.

I hope that this programme adds to the understanding of what these people went through and that at the end of the public enquiry some will pay for their despicable behaviour toward the innocent.

Well done ITV and director. James Strong and writer Gwyneth. Hughes. When you look at the response from the public and how it has moved political debate it proves that drama and the arts in general are vital, useful and key to a functioning democracy.

Murder Is Easy (2023)

Messy BBC confusion.

[4/10 · 30 December 2023]

Agatha Christie has a chequered history with Tv and Film adaptations, from early Poirot characterisations that made him French, yes French. Margaret Rutherford was a fun but hardly faithful to the source Miss Marple. The recent ITV adaptations of Marple have played fast a loose with the narratives and even changed murderers at points. So, it's true to say that adapting Christie can be fraught with difficulty when it appears 'easy'.

This adaptation was a mess on many levels. From a sub Wes Anderson approach to texture and editing rhythm, strange close ups, wobbly camera work and a script that clanked along pouring exposition on top of the imposition of a post-colonial narrative - it just didn't mesh.

The ideas were bold, and in many ways could have been brilliant, just so many choices at once going away from the source material began to stress the story so much that it became vague and confused, an original piece about colonial attitudes in the 20th Century or a straight down the line thriller would have been much more effective and a much stronger choice from the BBC.

The problem with BBC commissions at the moment is their lack of vision to make original drama, they appear to want to be commercial whilst trying to service what is current and hotly debated. This leaves the BBC feeling confused and only concerned with issues that trend in London and liberal media outlets.

ITV have delivered Christie stronger, better and more radically than the BBC over the last two decades. So perhaps it would be nice to see this 'tradition' of a bbc Christie at Christmas knocked on the head, until they begin to understand how to produce drama that doesn't betray the source.

This was just a real dud.

The Crown: Aftermath (2023) Season 6, Episode 4

A companion piece to THE QUEEN

[8/10 · 17 November 2023]

There have been many reviews making light of this season, or making barbed comments about Peter Morgan's work especially the 'ghost' section. I made the mistake of reading those reviews, so to my surprise the first four episodes of the season are actually very good indeed. It is in many ways a companion piece to Morgan's 'The Queen' and stands alone as a four episode tranche that deals with one of the most seismic events of recent Royal History.

The ghost of Diana appearing is quite well judged. Maybe, and it's just a maybe, it might have been more interesting to see The Queen reach back to King George?

All of that aside and the vicious critics in the daily papers (UK), The crown is an engrossing drama with stand out performances from Dominic West, Imelda Staunton and Elizabeth Dibecki as always.

Candleshoe (1977)

A little gem on Disney+

[9/10 · 25 October 2023]

Candleshoe is one of the most underrated of the Disney live action movies. It's got all the issues that dog the late 60's and 70's Disney movies, mainly a reliance on a big set piece to bring it all home at the end. However, there are some standout reasons that raise Candleshoe above the run of the mill. David Niven and Helen Hayes light up the screen like...well like the stars they were. There is a delightful moment toward the end of the film where they dance and the sequence is tear jerking and exquisite. Jodie Foster shows here that she could always find truth and pathos and a spectacular English country house (which also had a cameo in the Ustinov Death on the Nile) add to the charm.

If you don't know yet who Teddy and Piggywig are and you haven't been introduced to Priory, Gipping and Colonel Dennis then you have been missing out. It's a perfect little gem of a movie.

A Haunting in Venice (2023)

Best of the bunch.

[8/10 · 21 September 2023]

I found Murder on the Orient express a bit over produced, Death on the Nile a dud but as a dedicated Agatha Christie fan I thought this was worth a punt.

Safe to say that this is the best of the three. KB remains a slightly reserved and insular Poirot, emphasising his loneliness rather than the quirks and ego that are ever present in the books and probably fleshed out better (and more faithfully) by David Suchet.

There are always going to be comparisons, but what is clear from this third outing is that these are cinematic Poirots of our time. The camera work is always a bit flashy, the colour grading is edgy, the pilot devoid of any laughs. Like the Braborne Agatha Christie adaptations of the 70's and 80's they prove there is always a place for a cunning plot and starry cast to gather together and cast, producer and audience have fun.

Special note on this one. The sound design is excellent and worth a mention. It strikes me as off that editors, designer and costume get main title credit but even now Sound Designers don't. I'll be honest and say I missed Patrick Doyle on this one as composer, but as a whole this was a good film, much darker in tone and worth a watch.

Ahsoka (2023– )

Just stop.

[4/10 · 26 August 2023]

In their ongoing quest for the never ending pot of gold at the end of the franchise rainbow, Disney keep pumping out sequels, prequels, and morequals.

The joy of Star Wars always was the event of it. The cultural phenomenon of going to the movies to see it and share it. These never ending 'universe' tie ins are getting more densely plotted, more cliche, and even worse shoddier in execution. There is a sheen of computer graphic gloss over this, right from the first shot of the starship gliding across the screen, but it does feel feeble and under produced.

Now, I am aware that the die-hard fans will hate this, but it's time to stop these endless franchise spin offs before they become devalued. Let creatives and designers work for years on major movies, thread plot lines through all and see how nourishing that would be. The casual Star Wars watcher and the devoted Star Wars fan would both thank Disney for it.

A word for Ray Stevenson here, and damn fine actor and tragically taken from us before he could enjoy the fruits of a great career. He lights up the screen every time he is on.

Becket (1964)

Shouty O'Toole

[6/10 · 17 June 2023]

I'd been meaning to watch this for a while. I love a big 50's/60's epic. It's well put together and the script pings along. There's definitely an air of the homo-erotic to it, that it swerves.

Strong performance and nuanced performance from Richard Burton, especially in the later stages of the movie.

I'm a huge O Toole admirer, but here he becomes almost unbearable, every scene from the mid to the later half of the movie is overwrought and shouty. It's as if playing with the character he just gave up and went with the path of least resistance.

I can see why this isn't a classic, it's well crafted and diverting and if you have the volume controller available for the O'Toole scenes you'll be okay.

Ted Lasso: So Long, Farewell (2023) Season 3, Episode 12

Some season finales do deliver.

[10/10 · 3 June 2023]

This was a great send of for a programme that had become the highlight of the week. Ted Lasso doesn't get edgy, doesn't get all high concept, but is at its heart a classic sitcom. The episode tied so many strands together, some excellent work from Coach Beard especially, no spoilers here but any Ted fan will be happy. This also leaves the door open for a one of special on the future, I would hate to see another series and the inevitable backlash, but every now and then a one off special would be so cool. Perhaps Ted on international duty? I've loved this series since it was my lockdown find and if you are starting again from the beginning I can only envy you.

Diamond dogs assemble. Woof woof.

The Dresser (2015 TV Movie)

A good version. Pales against the movie.

[7/10 · 19 March 2023]

It's strange how a movie like THE DRESSER can echo through your memory, as I watched this well made and elegant made for STARZ version I enjoyed greatly the performances of Hopkins and McKellen and also the strong support from Vanessa Kirby and Edward Fox. However, echoes of the original movie with Albert Finney and Tom Courtney kept flooding back, Finney was a force of nature as Sir and Courtney felt much more heightened and on edge than McKellen who often appeared to be consciously downplaying Norman. There is much to like here but if you are new to The Dresser maybe you watch the Peter Yates movie first.

Angels & Demons (2009)

Okay. The problem with this movie is I like it.

[8/10 · 1 March 2023]

I know I shouldn't, I know it's hammy and crass in places, but I can't resist a Vatican thriller and this is to the max! The plot is ludicrous but then again so is James Bond and Marvel. If you go with this and just enjoy it as an adventure and slightly bonkers conspiracy thriller you'll love it. If you are searching for profundity it's not going to give you anything.

The score by the omnipresent Hans Zimmer is great and builds on the Da Vinci Code well, the editing and cgi work well and ensure that you feel that you are in the Vatican even when they couldn't shoot there. I shouldn't have liked it quite as much but like a big chocolate bar and just DID.

On the Line (II) (2022)

Mel is great. The movie is just very bad.

[5/10 · 3 February 2023]

This starts off really well, a good premise and a slightly weird choice of opener. So far so good. Then it just descends into lazy writing. Bad performances from a good 50% of the ensemble and a totally lunatic ending which I won't spoil (if you get that far).

Mel Gibson has his detractors, and I get it, he's had a shocking personal life and expressed some vile views. It has to be said though, Mel is a good actor and knows his way around a scene. Without him I'm pretty certain I'd have made this a two star review. He brings a charisma and a suite of good choices for most of the movie, but by the third act - actually at the start of the second act even Mel can't keep up with hapless direction, the weird dialogue and the lack of any creative spark to cover up the deficiencies in the narrative. In many ways it passes the time, but can feel by the end a massive waste of time.

Alan Partridge Live: Stratagem (2022 TV Special)

Watchable ish.

[5/10 · 30 January 2023]

It's not peak Partridge. It feels slightly slapdash and not as slick or as well prepared as I would expect. The points where Steve Coogan is reading the dialogue could have been passed off as 'character' but it's clear it isn't. The whole show feels less than thought through with no structure and no real comedy. Just a shameless cash I. Even on the recording a vast proportion of the audience look bored to tears and the ensemble work hard with minimal material.

It's a shame as Alan Partridge is one of the great comic creations but this just felt tired, repetitive and low energy from the get go.

The Phantom of the Open (2021)

I wanted to like this more than I did.

[6/10 · 27 January 2023]

This is a sweet movie. It's the improbable story of Maurice Flitcroft who wanted to be a golfer, or at least a celebrity.

The movie is nice. It's well cast with Sally Hawkins giving another of her star turns. However, the plot is yearning for more story, more passion. It may be just me but I find Mark Rylance to be one of the most overrated actors. His performance here is cliche and full of little ticks and quirks that make he feel rather pathetic. Rylance always has an air of pretentiousness to his work and here is no exception. The film passes away the time and as I said it's sweet. But movies like Brassed Off and The Full Monty covered this ground many years ago, and did it a lot better.

The Rig (2023– )

Great cast. Lousy plot.

[5/10 · 7 January 2023]

The problem with the series is symptomatic of most of the big streaming giants. Good idea, great cast, adequate budget - then no idea of how a script develops. Six episodes for this was far too much, leaving the plotline long and dawn out. The character development is minimal and rudimentary and ends up with generalised cliche and arguments that they need to sustain conflict.

Owen Teale, Iain Glenn, Mark Addy and the effortlessly brilliant Mark Bonar are great. It's just the whole thing is drawn out, under developed and with four episodes the whole thing would have been tighter and the cgi budget more targeted. Not great.

1883 (2021–2022)

Never knew what to expect but...

[9/10 · 2 January 2023]

I hadn't seen Yellowstone, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I loved this series. Beautiful scenery, great plotline and some wonderful performances. Actually not just some but all around brilliant acting from the cast. The photography is out of this world and Sam Eliot a powerhouse of a performance in the show.

The story from a female perspective is refreshing to see and it avoids all the cliches that have put me off watching westerns for years. It's totally watchable without having seen Yellowstone, though I'm sure those that have pick up on Easter eggs at that I have missed.

It has moments of real beauty and real profundity and that's rare these days.

Nixon (1995)

Part of a duet of films that are underrated

[9/10 · 24 August 2022]

Oliver Stone's JFK is a real meaty piece of film making. Almost a cinematic polemic at points. Nixon is darker in it's look at an era that foundered and since it's making it has more resonance than ever.

The two films stand side by side, the editing and cinematography are both sublime and the scores by John Williams for both is by turns majestic for JFK and broody for Nixon. What does set both films apart is the central performance. Costner works hard in JFK but never ignites, Hopkins in this movie explodes onto the screen, a ball of doubt, ego, sweat, hate, love and fear.

Its's a movie that is balanced, and reminds you that Stone at his best was a force of nature as a filmmaker. It's quite brilliant.

Gumshoe (1971)

Better than expected.

[7/10 · 23 August 2022]

Good to see this available to download on Amazon It's a bizarre movie but fun, Albert Finney puts in a star turn as a noir movie obsessive who starts his own detective agency in Liverpool. Soon he has a gun, a girl and a grand.

I loved the cinematography by a young Chris Menges and there's a cast full of British actors.

The curio factor here is that it's one of two movies scored by Andrew Lloyd Webber and it's really good. He gets the sense of the noir genre and his main romantic melody serves the film well, though it probably served Sunset Boulevard better when he used it in his adaptation of the Billy Wilder classic.

All in all if you are a fan of British movies and you also like a quirky movie it's worth giving this a go. Finney of course is the star and holds it all together.

Amazon should add a warning to it for racially offensive language as towards the end the script does get extremely dated. So just be aware.

The Offer (2022)

One performance that makes it truly great.

[9/10 · 15 August 2022]

This is a great series. So much better than I imagined it could be. Such a simple premise but the cast is outstanding. Burn Gorman putting in a great turn. Juno Temple adding to her CV of brilliant roles and then there is a performance that rises to the level of genius with Matthew Goode stepping away from Downtown Abbey blandness and fulfilling the promise he has always had. His performance is WONDERFUL and just gets better as each episode goes by.

Brilliant series.

For those in the U. K. it's also worth noting that Dexter Fletcher, remember him from 'press gang' he directs with flair and precision and he must have been busy because he's also the U. K. voice of every McDonalds ad. As well as saving Bohemian Rhapsody when it was in trouble.

The Ninth Gate (1999)

I go back and forward on this one.

[8/10 · 14 June 2022]

In many ways this is one of Polanski's better movies and probably his most playful. He has a great amount of fun dealing with the 'horror thriller' genre.

Like all of Polanski the movie can have a really uneven tone, part thriller, part spooky, part howlingly funny. Also, technically Polanski has never been the best at even VFX and continuity and this has issues with both.

It's rubbish, but it's good, and the reason for my score is because it's supposed to be rubbish AND good. Depp gives a good central performance, full of Noir world weariness and the score is an absolute banger.

Veronica Guerin (2003)

The two Schumachers

[7/10 · 26 May 2022]

I've been revisiting Joel Schumacher's work and there are two Joel's, the high camp, fashion designer Schumacher, the one that gave us the bizarreness of Phantom of the Opera, Batman Forever and Batman and Robin. This is a move from the other Schumacher, the Joel who gave us The Client and A Time to Kill. Maybe there are three. I'll re watch Flatliners and Lost Boys.

Anyway, this movie is okay. It should be a gut punch of a movie but somehow it feels very plodding. The opening prologue is too much of a spoiler and the performances of Hinds and Blanchet are underpowered in the editing. It's hard to warm to Veronica because we don't see the passion and enough of the drug abuses and consequences in Dublin. Harry Gregson Williams puts in a good score, lifting to being great when The Fields of Athenry plays with a vocal from young street singer Brian O'Donnell. All of it can't lift you into feeling as emotionally connected as you should and it's possible that Schumacher and Bruckheimer weren't the right combo to get this story to the screen. It's an okay watch but doesn't fully live up to the promise of the film it could of been.

Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022)

A total mess. That's it's charm

[7/10 · 2 May 2022]

The latest and probably last offering from the Downtown Abbey stable is all over the place. The plot zips along without much jeopardy or character development. Fellows has always been a lazy writer but here Wikipedia dialogue abounds. One section outside a talking picture literally feels like it's word for word google search.

The cast is here but David Robb, Jim Carter and all the familiar faces are woefully underused and a sun plot between Andie McDowell and Hugh Bonneville reuses a plot/medical device from the series. It is also dispatched in about two minutes of screen time. This is probably the worst script in a series of bonkers efforts.

The charm of downtown is that it feels cosy. It won't push the envelope, a lovely sub plot with Dominic West and Rob James Collier is totally under used and chaste as anything. A missed chance for two very fine performances.

All on in all it's a familiar cosy total mess. With a strong piano mess of a score that does nobody any credit.