ciaranmarley Reviews

Elvis (2022)

A mixed bag

[5/10 · 13 August 2022]

When I realised this was going to be made by Baz Luhrmann my heart sank. I don't rate him as a director and feel his films are style over substance to the max.

The first hour of this film is an absolute mess but finds it rhythm when the action moves to the comeback special and on to Las Vegas.

Austin Butler was a fantastic piece of casting and he flings himself into the role. Tom Hanks does his thing with ease but it's not much of a stretch for him.

What really annoyed me was the way the music was treated. Remixes, hip hop beats and rap verses are added to Elvis' songs and it is totally unnecessary. The songs were good enough as they were.

Also, the opening of the '68 comeback special is one of the most iconic moments in rock and roll but Luhrmann decides to go with a totally different song. I guess he knows better.

The film does some things right, the stage at the International is lovingly recreated and the make up effects are spot on but overall it's not as good as the sum of its parts and will NOT go down as the definitive Elvis biopic.

Blood Red Sky (2021)

NOT-sferatu

[4/10 · 30 July 2021]

Netflix were determined to spoil any kind of From Dusk Til Dawn type reveal with their giveaway movie poster but that doesn't detract from the initial premise of the film being an interesting one.

What really disappoints is the poor acting and rudderless script. The cramped, claustrophobic environment of the airplane is never fully utilised except to provide convenient trap doors or obstacles for the unusually clumsy vampires to trip over. There was more fun to be had with the idea that 'I am not trapped in here with them, they are trapped in here with me' in my opinion.

The bad guys don't really seem to know what they are up to and spout bad guy cliches by the mouthful without any real sense of menace.

The 'heroine' is not much better at leaping into action either. Surely any conflict the mother character has about her darker side goes straight out the window when her child is in danger?

Although there is gore enough to satisfy, the loose scripting, poor pacing and brutal acting make this as clunky as a vampire trying to negotiate the centre aisle of a 747.

And, yes, the child became very annoying very quickly.

Not one to add much to the vampire canon but passable (barely) for a Thursday night at home.

Mare of Easttown (2021)

Close to perfect

[9/10 · 4 June 2021]

Winslet anchors a strong, well written, emotional modern drama by utterly inhabiting the character of Mare. World weary, put upon and with more baggage than an airport carousel Mare is the central column from which this sprawling story hangs.

The steady pace of the series will not suit every viewer but is a testament to the superb writing. Nearly every character is thoroughly fleshed out so you get a real sense of the town and its inhabitants. Nobody is perfect, we all have secrets and people don't often show their best traits or judgement when they are under stress.

The autumnal colours of the filming and the setting all add to the gritty atmosphere of the piece and nearly every shot is beautifully framed.

There are exceptional performances from a well chosen cast who play off each other naturally with special mention going to Julianne Nichols and Jean Smart. If I had one reservation it would be the choice of Guy Pierce but it would be nit picking.

Winslet delivers a committed yet nuanced portrayal where often her facial expression is worth twenty lines of dialogue. A highly recommended, engaging watch this is a real treat that bears repeat viewing.

Excellent television.

Friends: The Reunion (2021 TV Special)

Can't review this properly...

[29 May 2021]

For two reasons:

1. The nostalgia is too much. It was just a tv show. They weren't 'part of our lives' they were very well paid actors who were reciting lines. Bit of perspective here.

2. James Corden makes me get sick into my own mouth. If you want sycophantic, faux emotion then he's your best bet. No better man child to host this over-inflated piece of fluff.

My opinion on Friends the tv show was that it was very well written and acted and it could be very funny at times. Honestly though, it had run out of steam long before it finished. The characters that everyone had affection for had turned into spoilt, selfish parodies of themselves and it had to end.

My only fear would be that this reunion show would spark others in the same mould. The Big Bang Theory ran for more seasons than Friends. Will they be hopping the nostalgia train before long??

Army of the Dead (2021)

I'm glad I'm not the only one.

[2/10 · 27 May 2021]

Snyder fans (you know, the ones who insist on referring to him as 'boss' on the internet) were positively giddy about the arrival of this one but it would take world class optimism to be happy about the finished product.

Visually a feast but the story line and lack of action will frustrate. The opening sequence promises much but, alas, that's about as good as it ever gets. At about 1hr 45mins I turned to my friend and said 'I really wish they'd hurry up and kill something'

Characters you won't like, utterly silly plot points, poor dialogue and a soundtrack that favours weak cover versions of much loved classic songs instead of the originals.

Poor outing but at least it cost a fortune!

I don't normally call other reviewers out as it's pretty classless BUT, the writer who insists that the negative reviews here are 'corporate sabotage' really needs to grow up.

That which is garbage, should be called garbage.

Birdgirl (2021–2022)

I'll be brief

[1/10 · 15 April 2021]

Absolutely f--ing awful.

Noisey, unfunny, loud, uninteresting, screeching, dull-witted, pointless, noisey and cringe inducing.

That is all.

Ted Lasso (2020–2023)

Back of the net!

[9/10 · 11 March 2021]

Jason Sudeikis is brilliant as Ned Fland...sorry, Ted Lasso in this feel good comedy that hits every note perfectly. Refreshingly free from cynicism, well scripted and beautifully acted, this is a real treat.

Supporting cast are excellent with special mention going to Juno Temple who comes very close to stealing the show with her natural charm, wit and warmth.

Cultural differences provide some of the laughs but are not too heavily relied upon and the story is engaging and well paced.

Every bit as good as the raft of awards and avalanche of positive reviews it has received, if the show manages to maintain quality, you could see this run and run.

There should be (and indeed could be) a little bit of Ted in all of us. It would do none of us any harm at all.

It would take a hard heart not to like this. Top marks. Highly recommended.

Coming 2 America (2021)

A pale imitation

[1/10 · 5 March 2021]

Un-funny, forced, without a semblance of a script and with a flimsy plot-line this was a bad idea that was very poorly executed. It is like a Saturday Night Live parody of the original film as is every bit as devoid of humour as SNL is.

When it has to rely so heavily on clips from the original film, you know there's not going to be a good outcome.

Awful, just really awful.

QAnon: The Search for Q (2021–2022)

All Q but very few A's

[4/10 · 31 January 2021]

Having watched all three episodes I'm not much more enlightened about the whole Q movement/phenomenon/organisation/something than I was before I began. What do they actually want? What are they trying to achieve?

The documentary itself fails in its primary duty; to walk the viewer who is not fully aware of the subject carefully through the various details so one can be better informed and arrive at an opinion.

The quick-cut, MTV style editing of this particular series does not help in the least. As a hearing impaired viewer I must depend on subtitles but even they could not keep up with the machine gun editing and I was left reading a conversation that had long since been moved on from.

By the last episode the documentary makers themselves are so worn out by all this they can barely contain their exasperation, leaking out on camera and in the voiceovers. I was left with the feeling they had bitten off more than they could chew.

I suppose I did learn enough about Q anon to know that it is populated by some very angry, sometimes violent, true believers. Although they seem to have wilfully turned off their critical thinking faculties and have little or no regard for libel laws, they seem more clear on what they don't want than what they do and the whole 'we are woke and you are sleeping sheep' seems very seductive to a certain type of character.

Although often sniffed at as conspiracy kooks or tinfoil hat crackpots, it would seem to me that you would dismiss or ignore them at your peril.

There is a much better, more informative and more interesting documentary to be made on this though of that I'm sure. I doubt the final chapter has been written on this by a long way yet.

From Fat Lolli to Six Pack Lolli: The Ultimate Transformation Story (2020)

Good for him, but...

[2/10 · 30 January 2021]

If you thought body transformation shows are a bit dull and self indulgent then you ain't seen nothing yet!

With massive resources at his disposal our hero decides to finally do something about the weight problem that has beset him most of his life. He sets about hiring a squad of personal trainers and a nutritionist (who came from Ireland but sounds about as Irish as Paddy the Greek) and films the whole thing.

To be fair, he actually does the work and gets stunning results but this is hardly an inspirational tale. He and his buddy also decide early on that they are going to 'monetise' the whole endeavour which left me with questions about the true motivation here. Very dull film which I switched off about half way through as it mostly consisted of him announcing the day and date of his training sessions into his phone camera.

Not a character you can root for or particularly like. Also, telling a three year old not to have a french fry because they will get fat, set off alarm bells with me.

I would love to see the movie about the person who has not got two cents to rub together, who has to use park benches and milk cartons because he can't afford a gym membership, who does this like his life literally depended on it and who shares a message of 'if I can, you can and no excuses'. Now THAT would be truly inspirational.

Whiskey Cavalier (2019)

Hard not to like it

[8/10 · 30 October 2020]

It's a bit obvious and a bit silly but really quite enjoyable. Ten out of ten for casting, they got this bang on. The chemistry between characters is excellent and the banter never seems forced. A lot of very good lines in the scripts and I found myself genuinely laughing along. There's enough action to keep a lively pace going all the way through even though they seem to be able to get in dog rough fist fights and nobody comes away with a black eye or bloody lip. Very little wrong with this, pity it got cancelled so quickly when other, lesser shows seem to run and run. Good stuff though. Perfect lockdown fodder.

Spitting Image (2020–2021)

Tedious and unfunny

[3/10 · 10 October 2020]

Just like the show in the 80's, the puppets are fantastic but the schoolboy scripts are completely awful. I loved the old show mostly because I was a schoolboy in the 80's. Flat, obvious jokes and severe lack of imagination (nicknaming the coronavirus "covey" for example). They should not have bothered reviving this if they weren't going to have decent scripts. Avoid like the covey.

Sally4Ever (2018)

Sally4Ever, also known as...

[4/10 · 5 October 2020]

Nighty Night season three. Fans of NN will be delighted that it has woken from its thirteen year slumber because it has all been pretty much rehashed here. It's very familiar, (a very botoxed) Julia Davis plays a narcissistic/psychopathic character who barges into the lives of already dysfunctional people and causes chaos. This is basically a straight lift from Nighty Night with a few small adjustments. It's not very good and there's not a lot of laughs in it. Lesbian sex scenes with body doubles are plentiful (if that's your thing) and fans of gross-out gags won't go hungry but it's all a bit juvenile for me. Hard to get through really.

Bill Bailey: Limboland (2018 Video)

Just what I needed.

[9/10 · 8 July 2020]

One of Bailey's strongest shows in a few years, very funny and musically creative as you would expect. There's no one can touch him for comedy songs and you always feel a tingle of excitement when he picks up an instrument or strolls over behind the synth. As the years march on for all of us, he has a slightly more sedate pace in this show but the material is strong and as surreal as ever. Really cheered me up in the current climate. Such a powerful finish to the show too. Highly recommended. Enjoy

Our Cartoon President (2018–2020)

Before you ask...

[3/10 · 25 June 2020]

I'm not American, I don't live there or work there or vote there so this is an honest review of this particular tv show rather than a point scoring exercise for anything else. Full disclosure though, I think Donald Trump is a detestable human being and was honestly looking forward to seeing him lampooned mercilessly in a decent animated comedy show. I was to be disappointed. While the animation is eye-wateringly good and the voice talent is solid, there is very little to be amused by here. Considering the real life source material is the gift that just keeps on giving, I would have thought the scripts would be much sharper and the jokes would land with real weight. Perhaps that's where this show runs aground though, it's difficult to make a comedy fiction that effectively sends up political events when the events themselves are so utterly crazy on a daily basis already. Other shows seem able to do it though. Anyway, OCP was a big missed target in my reckoning and scores nothing in its twenty minute episodes that can compare to what John Oliver can achieve with three razor sharp sentences.

Stranger Things (2016–2025)

Season 3 jumps the shark

[4/10 · 4 March 2020]

Season one and two are quite entertaining and the 80's feel is right on the money. Season 3 however has gone off the rails to the point of irritation. The dumbing down of Jim Hopper was a real disappointment. Winona still can't act and the story takes some really childish liberties. Real pity because they were on to something here.

Jessica Jones (2015–2019)

Season 2: Even lesbians can't save it!

[2/10 · 14 April 2018]

I couldn't care less about strong female whoever or racial what have you or Trump's America, I just want to be entertained. God almighty, but this show is boring! Absolutely nothing of note going on in it plot wise or effects wise or any other wise. Colossal waste of time and everyone's effort.

Downsizing (2017)

Forget the damn trailer.

[9/10 · 17 February 2018]

A wonderful, thought-provoking movie that is not your usual fare. This stayed with me long after the closing credits thanks, in no small part, to the utterly magnificent Hong Chau. Charming without being sugary, moving without being over-sentimental, funny without being side splitting or resorting to gross out gags. The film carries several messages that are not exactly subtle but relevant nevertheless. Wonderful special effects that fit in to the film without distracting from the story or becoming the centre piece and a musical score that also compliments. Christoph Waltz hits his usual gold standard with ease and Mat Damon plays the bumbling everyman to perfection. Films like this don't come along very often as movie studios tend to play safe but this is one to watch for certain, even if you end up disagreeing with my review.

Jerry Before Seinfeld (2017 TV Special)

The answer to a question nobody asked

[2/10 · 25 September 2017]

"Don't believe in the sixties, the golden age of pop, you glorify the past, when the future dries up" screamed a younger, angrier Bono. Decades later he would prove his own point when he and the boys would decide to embark on what is tantamount to a 'greatest hits' world tour. It is this deliberate milking of nostalgia which seems to be the thinking behind the release of 'Jerry before Seinfeld'.

Rather than a two hour rock concert that blows the back off the world's stadia we are instead given a 62 minute cringe-fest as Jerry showcases the material that got him to where he is today. Quite sadly, 'where he is today' translates into being right back at the Comic Strip in New York where he started doing the same jokes as he did in the seventies.

Let me be frank, this is weak stuff. I would imagine even back in the day this was fairly weak and safe material but as Jerry repeatedly tells us in the cut away sequences that punctuate the act, he didn't care. He didn't care if the audiences didn't like him personally. He didn't care if he bombed. He was living the life he wanted to live as a stand up comedian and that's what mattered most to him.

To some this might be a quasi inspirational sentiment but in Jerry's case it comes off as self indulgent and self satisfied. No more is this accurately highlighted than the sequence where all the pages of all the jokes that Jerry has ever written are stretched out end to end on a city street. Jerry sits in the middle of this, chooses a page at random (please!) and reads out the joke there upon. The sequence ends with Jerry laughing at his own joke and we are returned to the slow death that is the live gig. Children of New York you may not go out and play on your bikes today, Seinfeld is re-living his glory days all the way up the street.

This is not cutting edge stuff, jokes about losing one sock in the laundry never were in my book. There is also a straight, almost verbatim steal of a Billy Connolly joke somewhere around the final third which really annoyed me. With the exception of his cameo role on 'Louis' I've never had any particular love for Seinfeld before this show, now I have no love or respect. I'm sure he'll lose little sleep about it.

Apparently this is one of two planned specials commissioned by Netflix. Even if the next one turns out to be all new material I certainly won't be watching.

This was plain old awful.

The End. (hopefully)

Iron Fist (2017–2018)

Yep, this is as bad as you've heard.

[1/10 · 13 June 2017]

Have only just got around to binge watching Iron Fist like others on here and it really is as bad as some of the reviews here suggest. So bad that I've taken the time to write a review in the hope I can spare others a frustrating and un-entertaining waste of their time.

To say the acting is terrible is a bit of a blanket statement. Those who can act, and they're very easy to spot, are given very little to do in a lack luster and poorly thought out script. The female cast are actually quite strong. The obvious talent being the very natural Rosario Dawson who does her thing with ease and charm. The trouble is, it's pretty much the same thing we saw her do in Luke Cage & Dare Devil (more on them later) although there is a slight hint as to her future in the final episode. Carrie-Anne Moss who is delicious as the stone faced, prickly and sarcastic Hogarth also deserves special mention.

Finn Jones is truly the weak link in the show which is a real pity as it's his gig. In no way strong enough to anchor the show he spends 95% of screen time with an expression that is equal parts childish temper tantrum, utter confusion & migraine headache. His idea of playing a hero seems to be to hiss every line of dialogue through tightly pursed lips while always being seconds away from his next hissy fit. Here we have an Iron Fist who puts his own needs above everything else and behaves like a nine year old from start to finish. At no point does he seem in control of his own emotions or his powers and (tragically) doesn't give you a hero you can root for. we are often told that he has spent the last 15 years training body and mind to become the Fist but the simplest of tasks and foes seem well beyond his capabilities. You end up feeling you are watching the most delusional super hero ever.

Other reviewers are correct in saying the fight scenes which should be the beating heart of this show are clunky, poorly choreographed and too few in number. These scenes are usually laced with cringe- worthy dialogue too which will frustrate and annoy the viewer. Do not expect the likes of the fight of fifty foes over four floors that we saw in Dare Devil (I know those numbers aren't correct before someone attacks me, you know the scene I'm referring to though) The subplots do not draw the viewer in and the corporate boardroom scenes are another facet that never ignite. Episode Eight is an absolute mess which is where I nearly gave up on this show.

These Marvel/Netflix efforts, with the clear exception of Dare Devil share similar problems in my opinion. Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and this Fist nonsense are thirteen episodes each which is about three too long. These shows could benefit A LOT from being tighter and much better paced with stronger story lines. Always leave 'em wanting more rather than sick of the sight of the characters.

I feel the fans of these 'lesser known' Marvel characters are being let down here. There is very little chance of a reboot when the mark is missed in such spectacular fashion as it is here.

Honestly, Iron Fist is best avoided despite the reviews which carry a hopeful 'go on, give it a go' tone. It's a pity, it could've been a contender.

Four in the Morning (2016– )

A comedy, you say?

[1/10 · 28 August 2016]

Have just watched episode one and immediately find myself with no appetite for any more. This follows four friends who navigate their way through modern day...blah blah blah blah. This is not my cup of tea in the slightest.

I do not identify with any of the characters nor can I bring myself to empathize with them or even care how things turn out for them. Three of the four main characters exhibit chronic verbal diarrhea while the fourth member of the group seems to have the task of looking confused and shocked at what his comrades have just come out with. He's not the only one.

I found myself irritated and disengaged as wave upon wave of pointless rants were delivered without much in the way of emotion. I would guess this will have quite limited appeal but I'll probably be proved wrong on this one. The show reminds me of 'Bored to Death' but even that show had some charm and genuinely funny moments that would hook the viewer in.

The acting is fair (they had a LOT of lines to learn), it's filmed very well and there may be improvements as the series unfolds. I won't be spending any time finding out though. Not my kind of comedy, no sir.