v_danilovic Reviews

Tough Guys Don't Dance (1987)

Perhaps not the worst film I've ever seen

[2/10 · 27 November 2022]

But it's in the running. The only thing I can think of that would justify Mailer's train wreck of a self-parody is that his ego forces him to take everything he writes, etc. Seriously.

I must give credit where it's due. Some of the location shots around P-town are gorgeous and evocative. Then of course Mailer, being Mailer, had to superimpose his awful mess on them. I'd be curious for a brief moment how much Mailer had to pay to produce this miserable vanity project. Golan and Globus were notorious for putting out garbage, but Coppola?

Also, praise for the one strong performance: Ryan O'Neal's beautiful dog. Too bad it ended so abruptly, and that the dog wasn't real!

Atomic Blonde (2017)

Putting out Fire with Gasoline

[8/10 · 31 July 2022]

So many negative reviews - why I wondered. Then it sunk in. Many viewers misunderstood the premise. This film was adapted from a graphic novel series, basically adult comic books. Don't compare it to The Spy who Came in from the Cold; instead think Sin City.

It's obviously a vehicle for Charlize Theron, and it works. Whenever she's in a scene (which is almost every scene), it's impossible to take your eyes off her. I have one question: When she emerges from the ice bath in the beginning and we see her looking at her reflection, how did they manage the lighting & camera to make her eyes look almost reptilian?

Killing Eve: Hello, Losers (2022) Season 4, Episode 8

A waste of superb acting talent!!!

[3/10 · 14 April 2022]

The writing and direction must have been done by third-string players who spent the entire series sitting on the far end of the bench. They probably still have the splinters in their arses.

The reason for a 3 instead of a 2 was some really good cinematography.

And sometimes good acting can overcome. I cried over Villanelle.

49th Parallel (1941)

A young Eric Portman, still rough around the edges.

[8/10 · 10 April 2022]

I most appreciated this film as one of a pair of Eric Portman bookends along with his role in The Bedford Incident. Here, Portman's raw talent is fully on display playing a Goebbels-spouting Nazi U-boat commander. In the later work, we see a far more polished, understated actor reminding Sidney Poitier's character that he had served not in Hitler's navy but in Admiral Dönitz's.

This is above average wartime propaganda in which I think Leslie Howard stole the show.

O (2001)

Absolute Trash!

[3/10 · 3 March 2022]

Perhaps had this been given a different title and a more creative premise, it could pass as an acceptable teen / young adult romantic tragedy.

Or were the producers so terrified by all the really great Othellos they felt that had to break new ground? Really, if they wanted modern, they could have done something like the magnificent Ian McKellen Richard III.

The script is utter tosh. Give the actors & director credit. They performed down to the script.

Hidden Agenda (1990)

Superb acting!!!

[8/10 · 28 February 2022]

I admit it - I'm smitten with Frances McDormand. She makes every male lead she plays opposite better by her presence. Doubt that? Look at how she elevated Brad Pitt's game in "Burn After Reading."

The rest of the acting and direction is noteworthy as well. Now about the writing.... Am I getting old, or is it really quite opaque?

Baptiste: Episode #2.6 (2021) Season 2, Episode 6

Don't bother.

[2/10 · 24 November 2021]

A major disappointment on every level, except perhaps cinematography. I don't know - and at this point I really don't care - whether the prize goes to poor writing, poor directing, out-of-control acting; but Season 2, which showed some promise in early episodes, turned into an utter waste of time.

The final installment was a collection of moments when it was difficult to know whether to laugh, cry, shout at the on-screen characters, or simply switch off the TV.

The North Star (1943)

Very Much a Film of its Time

[7/10 · 10 October 2021]

When The North Star was made in 1943, the outcome of World War II was far from certain. Allied victories had been won at Midway, El Alamein and Stalingrad. But Japan still controlled its Asia-Pacific conquests, and Germany occupied land and enslaved people from the steppes to the Pyrenees.

Not to discount British activities in North Africa and on the Atlantic, our main ally in the land war against the Germans was the Soviet Union. This movie, hokey as it appears today, fits the mold of a number of other morale-boosting propaganda-dramas made on both sides of the Atlantic. None hold up to modern-day criticism, nor should they have to.

I find more to criticise in many of the reviews which ignore the times and circumstances under which The North Star was made. One can despise Stalin and still respect what 'his' armies accomplished and honor the unimaginable sacrifices 'his' people made during "The Great Patriotic War."

Unforgotten: Episode #4.6 (2021) Season 4, Episode 6

The Best Ever

[10/10 · 18 August 2021]

With no exception, this is the finest hour of TV police drama I've ever watched. Throughout Season 4, the whodunit aspect of the story was shouldered aside by the personal drama of the characters - both the ones I liked (especially Dean and Liz) and the ones not so much.

It became all about how 4 emotionally wrecked human beings lived with the terrible events of one long-ago night and how they struggled to contain their agony trying to not let it spill out over the people they loved. Not at all to minimize the dogged pursuit of the truth by Cassie and her team.

Although the series is unquestionably a "police procedural," when Cassie lay helpless in her hospital bed, everything else went out the window. I felt as if she were part of my family from whom I had become distanced due to her (and my) abrasiveness. At that moment the distance vanished, and she was as close as my sister with whom I speak every day.

Brilliant writing, casting, acting, directing, editing from top to bottom. 30.

Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy: Sicily (2021) Season 1, Episode 6

What we saw of the landscape was gorgeous,

[3/10 · 23 March 2021]

But too little of it.

This series is supposed to be about the distinctive regional foods of Italy, right? Well, for as far back as I can remember Sicily's defining dish is Pasta con le Sarde (pasta with sardines). It's possible I blinked and missed it, but I have no recollection of watching that meal being prepared or eaten. And other than a passing mention of spices from Egypt, where was the elaboration of the deep influence of Mideast cooking on the Sicilian palate?

My biggest disappointment in the series.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent: Palimpsest (2010) Season 9, Episode 14

Thanks for Re-re-re-re-re-reruns!!!

[5/10 · 11 September 2020]

I always welcome a chance to revisit episodes of CI. To my eye and ear, Christopher Noth and Annabella Sciorra are the most dramatically satisfying pairing; but there's something appealingly out-of-sync about Jeff Goldblum / Saffron Burrows. This episode is clearly a "vehicle" for Goldblum. I'm not entirely sure he's up to it. The plot was probably conceived as an homage to the masters of mystery, but it falls flat and is merely derivative.

Speaking of derivative, it can't be a coincidence that Mili Avital's character shares the name of Edgar Allan Poe's great, unreachable love - Lenore. A detail that had escaped notice on previous viewings is Avital's brilliantly subtle control of facial expression. She and Jodie Comer in Killing Eve (especially the first season) are among the best ever. Compare to Angie Harmon's Abbie Carmichael in Law & Order who has precisely three faces, which she switches switches between with all the grace and subtlety of a heavy truck changing gears.

Endeavour: Raga (2020) Season 7, Episode 2

A Significant Improvement

[8/10 · 18 August 2020]

Shaun Evans might consider remaining in front of the camera and leaving the directing to others

First, and lasting, impression is how much smoother the flow compared to what seemed to be wonkiness of the previous episode. Thursday's night-time excursions help lace the plot elements together and bind it firmly to "Oracle."

Killing Eve: Are You Leading or Am I? (2020) Season 3, Episode 8

Generally unsatisfying

[6/10 · 1 June 2020]

The best moment in every respect was Jamie, Bear and Audrey cowering. Otherwise, rough editing, very disjointed. Too many questions from previous episodes left unanswered (really only 2 were resolved).

I'm even more unsure of what Carolyn is about, and I like her less and less. Do we think the last word about Kenny is really the last word? Wherefore Geraldine? I'll wait for season 4, but with less anticipation than for past series.

Maybe my negative comment a few episodes ago will turn out to be a positive. Maybe Killing Eve will turn out to be little more than a 'vehicle' to showcase Jodie Comer. Maybe the title character and all the others are nothing but window dressing. We shall see.

Killing Eve: Beautiful Monster (2020) Season 3, Episode 7

Reserving Judgement for Now

[5/10 · 25 May 2020]

I see great promise in Rhian and how she may direct the plot in future episodes.

Dasha? Konstantin? Where are they headed?

Irina? Now there's a whole other set of questions.

Can Caroline ultimately adapt to situations in which she is acted upon as well as acting?

If the writers can provide coherent answers over the next (I presume 9 episodes) then this one jumps up to 9 or 10. If not, push it down to a 2 or 3, based strictly on Jodie Comer's magnetism.

Baptiste: Lucy (2019) Season 1, Episode 5

Impossible to Turn Away!!!

[9/10 · 11 May 2020]

Silly me! I assumed that Niels would turn out to be this episode's big plot twist.

A quote from Midsomer Murders' Insp. Barnaby is fitting here: "A, B, C. Assume nothing. Believe nobody. Check everything."

Even with those rules firmly in place, you will still deceive yourself. Brilliant mystery writing! Pacing, which is so easy to get wrong, is just about perfect.

Killing Eve: Are You from Pinner? (2020) Season 3, Episode 5

Jodie Comer Keeps Getting More Compelling

[4/10 · 11 May 2020]

Killing Eve is creating a legitimate superstar, but....

Do we really need these detours? It feels like the writers have lost their way and are turning the story into a 'vehicle.'

Better Call Saul: JMM (2020) Season 5, Episode 7

You've lost me.

[3/10 · 3 April 2020]

Pretty simple, really. What sense is there in watching a series in which every character is loathsome? Maybe if there's some complexity, maybe. Maybe if there's some sense of moral gradation. But here, none of the above.

OK, Mike Ehrmanntraut has a redeeming value - he loves his daughter-in-law and granddaughter. OK, Gus Fring is less icky than the other drug lords. But they are more than outweighed by Kim's descent into total worthlessness.

Buh-bye to Saul, Jimmy, or whatever that miserable pustule want to be called.

Doctor Who: Spyfall: Part One (2020) Season 12, Episode 1

It's Like Coming Home.

[9/10 · 2 January 2020]

FINALLY!!! After years of agony, suffering through Peter Capaldi (not the worst ever because there was Sylvester McCoy), Matt Smith (stiff as a piece of seasoned ash offset by exaggerated facial contortions), writing and acting are at least back to the David Tennant level. Let's hope the standard is maintained and we never again see a levitating dalek.

The return of a very old friend in a plot twist is more than welcome.

Endeavour: Harvest (2017) Season 4, Episode 4

After this, I may be done with Endeavour

[4/10 · 23 September 2017]

I have been an Endeavour fan since the beginning and thought that some episodes rival or even better the best of Inspector Morse. Examples include the Pilot and Home - season 1, Trove and Neverland - season 2. But over the last two seasons, the pace has slowed; mystery-solving has given way to (in some cases) almost soap opera-ish attempts at psychological insight, all with far to much 'arty' videography. The sole aspect of the series maintaining its original high standard has been Roger Allam's superb portrayal of DI Thursday.

Which brings me to this sad story. The spooky(?) village scenes and the nuclear powerplant background story remind one of any number of eminently forgettable TV mystery/dramas from both sides of the Atlantic. Morse seemed out of his element, so much so that at any moment I expected Prof. Quatermass to arrive on the scene and dismiss him to re-take his sergeant's exam. The final insult were the inanimate Morrismen and the village crone. Whenever they were on camera I could not escape the image of an early Blackadder episode, also with Morris dancers and Witchsmeller Pursuivant.

If there is a next season, I hope all hands return posthaste to Oxford and to story lines more befitting a legitimate Inspector Morse prequel.