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Rip Off Britain (2009)
Three old ladies regurgitating cons
This, along with the other BBC scam interceptor series are worn out. The public do not listen to reason and continue to fall for Indian scam call centres.
Maybe they have good intentions? But look on the internet, there are far more progressive and aggressive people out there, tracking down and closing down the scammers. They even call us scammers for trying to waste their time.
The technology to reverse engineer the calls is easy and readily available to anyone with an IQ. You should have a VPN anyway, regardless. After that, it's simple. If you get a call, if it's true, check its for you. Call them back on a verified number - no reputable organisation will refuse.
The Irishman (2019)
Scorcese relives the past
There is nothing in here that has not been seen in Goodfellas or Casino - two of the greatest mob films ever made.
I wonder what was the point of making this Netflix sponsored movie? Who had a gun at their heads this time?
It's a good film, but nothing on the original movies, Godfather trilogy, Scarface, Goodfellas and Casino.
Even the voiceover narration is the same as Goodfellas and Casino. The cast is the same, clothing and style. You are better off going backwards to Godfather/Goodfella territory- or even early Sopranos than watch this rehash of a movie
Granted, it had a bit more politics with JFK and Bobby in there, but we had police corruption in Goodfellas and Casino did we not?
What was the point? Where is the storyline over three hours. Aging gangsters?
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
A different 007
Scaramanger, looking for an equal challenges Bond - Roger Moore to a duel on his island.
An outrageous soundtrack, filled with innuendo by Lulu, it's the most unique of all the Bond films. Mano et Mano on an island in or around Thailand. With a little person who ends up in a suitcase.
There's a level of mutual respect between Scaramanger and Bond as they meet and start their duel. But we b know how's it will end, it's 007! He can't die until a lot later!
It's a fun, action packed twist on the Bond franchise, instead of jet setting around the globe, set in a relatively compact world in Asia..
It's funny, as all Moore Bond films are, with his quips and eyebrow raises.,if you can suspend disbelief, a good couple of hours!
Goodfellas (1990)
Scorsese at his best
Second only to Casino, he describes the life and downfall of Henry Hill, excellently played by Ray Liotta. There are some famous long shots, like when they go to a club and get the seats at the front, all done in one shot, (or is that Goodfellas- it's hard to separate them!
We see the kids grow into Liotta and Pesci. Both not one you would want to meet on a dark night -." You think I'm a funny Guy?" - one of the most sinister moments in movie history.
There is the famous all in one long shot when Liotta takes his future beau on a date. A fantastic example of cinematography which we don't see anyone.
Or when he gun whips the bloke over the road for harassing his girl in a bloody nightmare of violence.
Pesci gets it, once again for breaking mob rules and killing a made guy. The shadowy old men holding the puppet strings.
We finish with him living in police custody protection, living the American dream. But is it a nightmare today?
I was once told, in a bar in Derby, UK - have you seen Casino? I said no. The response was "Yes, you have". The fashion and music soundtrack is top notch. Now overused by Scorcese in his new films.
Casino (1995)
Scorsese's masterpiece of crime and gambling.
The best film about old vegas and the mob, following on from Goodfellas which is equally magnificent, we have De Niro and the diminutive Pesci in an ultra violent expose of when the mob made Vegas into the playground it is today.
Sharon Stone is beautiful, taking it all as her life falls apart. There are back room scenes of violence as cheats are discovered. The soundtrack, heavy in 60's and 70's rock reverberates with The Rolling Stones featuring heavily as with most Scorcese films.
Ace becomes more and more into mob life, it's a scary movie at a scary time. Pesci, beaten to near death a thrown into a grave with his brother, buried alive - this actually happened!
It's all based on a true story, as is Goodfellas, with a touch of imagination as we can not know exactly what happened.
The Inbetweeners (2008)
A classic series
It's The Young Ones bought up to date.
Even after 20* years with a couple of movies behind them it stands up.
Neil, the lanky one who has no clue what is going on, Simon the awkward one with gelled hair, Jay a complete liar who gets consistently called out and Will who has a MILF for a mother.
It's outrageous comedy, a Fiat Cinquicento with a mismatched door - oooh car fwends!
Emily Attak stars as the love interest in awkward sex scenes. Hilarious scenes such as the bus stop scene, or when they vomit over girls, jumping on cars, or hitting people with fish. It's a classic series, with Greg Davies as the headmaster, disappointed and disgusted by them.
Unbreakable (2000)
M Night's masterpiece
There was a time when M Night ruled the cinema with Unbreakable and Glass. Twisty turny thrillers with the use of colour to indicate hints and tilps, red in unbreakable - the door knob and other cues.
It!s an interesting take on the superhero genre, with a star studded cast including Bruce Willis, Samuel L Jackson and later with James McAvoy of Wanted fame, another fantastic movie.
The kicker, when it comes is unforgettable, it's one of the best twists in cinema history. As good as any Hitchcock movie, maybe not truly original but for the new generation - as close as you can get.
I'd like to see M Night doing some social media related films - that might be interesting, describing the dark side of the internet, catfishing and scams.
Split (2016)
A conclusion to the series
There was a time when M Night ruled the world with Unbreakable and Glass. The use of colour - Red. Giving us clues.
Split nearly brings it all together in a finale, multiple personalities as McAvoy plays a blinder in an institution as his psychiatrist struggles to comprehend the degree of his madness.
Sadly, M. Night has gone downhill since with films such as Old. This was probably his last great film series, wrapping up the superhero genre.
So, as I have to write 600 character, I guess I just have to say - watch the series in order of production, from Unbreakable to Split, one by one and see how it all comes together!
The 3rd act, just as you think it is over, the music mellows, but Kevin lives on.... Bruce arrives for the inevitable sequel.
The Simpsons (1989)
A subtext of society
Homer, the dumb puppet in a nuclear power plant, the philosopher of modern times.
Bart, the rebel and unruly child who skates.
Marge, a blue haired beehived housewife on the edge with her chain smoking disapproving sisters.
Lisa, the good and talented child who has a dark side.
All the characters we get to know and love, from Apu the Indian store owner to Wiggum the slightly corrupt cop.
The guest stars go on and on - everyone who is anyone has done a cameo, cooks like Anthony Bourdain, rock legends, politicians- you name it, they have done it
More than just a cartoon, it's a commentary on the American dream, and how capitalism spoiled the world - or it could just be 30 minutes of fun?
Derren Brown: Trick or Treat (2007)
The most dangerous man in the world?
If Derren Brown can do what the shows say, he could be weaponised by MI5 or other military organisations, under duress or of his own accord.
Used to convince political or radical leaders to do things, commit suicide, or push the red button.
It's actually quite scary that he can do these things and he walks around freely. As he gets older, in an aging world full of chaos, will he use his skills and powers for good or evil?
As with Professor X in Logan, where we see Xaviour battling brain degeneration, but still having his powers, the idea that he starts hypnotising and implanting random ideas into people is scary.
It only takes a little trigger for him to snap and start causing world havoc. A chance meeting with a politician, or internet giant like Elon Musk.
I know he will say that he would never go to the dark side, but that's what Anikin Skywalker said.
Man v. Food (2008)
Fun, but superseded by the internet.
Adam Richman was fantastic, Casey a bit rubbish.
A series of it's time, but now we have the internet and YouTube which has much more extreme food challenges on.
Half cooking show, half strange competition show. It started the competitive eating awareness and gave birth to watching men eat too much food in a way the killer from Se7en would find agreeable in the first kill - Gluttony.
Beard vs Food on YouTube is the UK version, wildly popular as he does food in the UK and over the globe.
It's very entertaining and will make you want to pick up your phone and order Uber Eats/Just-Eat. But with the obesity crisis, do we need this in 2024?
Rocky III (1982)
Eye of the tiger
Rocky IV was my introduction into Sylvester Stalonres Rocky World. But 3 is always my favourite with Mr T from "The A Team" coming after him.
All the usual training montages are there, the tension builds up as he takes infamous wrestlers in charity matches. Hulk Hogan in a surprise show as ThunderLips tears him apart.
Rocky 4, a Cold War propaganda movie comes close as Lungen trains with scientists, while Rocky trains in the snow.
It's a rollercoaster film, highs and lows - the legitimacy of wrestling and the theatre questioned with the combative element of boxing. Thinderlips - friendly after the match says "It's the name of the game" - admitting it's just pantomime.
Clubber Lang aka Mr T thinks he can beat him, but can he? I guess we will see.
Se7en (1995)
What's in the box?
David Fincher directs Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman. Kevin Spacey and Gwyneth Paltrow in a hunt for a serial killer, slowly knocking off innocents based on the 7 deadly sins.
Pitt does his usual head scratching, hair fluffing as seen in Fight Club and Twelve Monkeys, Freeman is as calm and slow speaking as ever, almost sounding like narrating in The Shawshank Redemption. Spacey is as creepy as ever.
They quickly work out the killer is basing his kills on the 7 deadly sins as the murders add up until only one is left.
The climax is unforgettable as Spacey turns the tables on Pitt. In one of the most dramatic finales I have seen.
It comes from a time when films were films, these days it would be a Netflix mini series, with adverts liberally scattered throughout- breaking the flow. 2hrs6minues extended to over 3 hours once you have adverts every 5-10 minutes.
Classical music, long shots instead of the ADHD style of cutting every few seconds, silence, without dialogue- it's a classic.
Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares (2004)
How many times has he been knocked out?
Every, (mostly) episode is the same. We see a restaurant in chaos, Ramsay turns up, orders, some slip arrives as his criticises everything and sends it back.
Then he goes into the kitchen, shouting and swearing at everyone. Looking for dirt, mouldy food etc.
Quite often someone gets fired, he observes a service and the chaos, exasperated by the pressure of him being in the kitchen, one again raising his voice causing more mistakes and anxiety.
He normally then shuts the place down, giving the restaurant a free makeover worth thousands - is that the hidden motive of these restaurants?
It's always the same, simplify the menu as he slaps his palm on his hand, "Simple, beautiful food". I think I've only seen one that he walked away from?
I'm sure he's got into a proper fight and been knocked out, or at least a bloodied nose.
It's an hour of guilty pleasures, but if you have seen one, you have mainly seen them all.
Dragons' Den (2005)
Miles better than The Apprentice
Unlike The Apprentice, the Dragons have moved on in the internet world of Influences. Alan Sugar has not, he doesn't even know what an influencer is, insists on suit, (who wears a tie nowerdays? I would go on in ripped jeans, converse all-stars and a Pixies t shirt just to wind him up!)
Occasionally we get a good deal, the dragons fighting each other. My question would be, if this show has been going for 20 years, how many companies, looking for support do they have now, hundreds? They must be spreading themselves very thinly, even just through one series. I suspect they are palmed-off to other staff once the deal is made, because there is no way the dragons could manage all the companies the have a stake in.
We are hardly ever told about how these companies are performing 1,5,10 years on. Reggae Reggae sauce by Levi Roots is probably the only one I remember- because I see it in the supermarket.
They could do with a companion show +5 years to see how each company progressed with honest feedback as to the support they received.
They are lowballed into giving away huge shares of their company, did they do it, did they escape the Dragons, did they fail? How was their experience once they got in the lift, the adrenaline had worn off and they realised they have sold their soul.
The Never Ever Mets (2024)
Another MAFS clone
Two people thrown together by so called experts.,So, they have been texting beforehand to get them hot and horny for when they actually meet.
I wish they would stop making shows like this, giving airtime to influencers. Setting them up with tasks that cause conflict. Too many reality TV stars have died to the trolling online. Set them up, sure - but then leave them alone.
How many successful relationships have bloomed from all these reality TV shows? And how many have ended disastrously?
The producers, playing on a tired format, we have Live Is Blind, MAFS, Love at First Sight, First Dates.
I'd like to see a documentary about the producers. Springer, Trisha. Jeremy Kyle caused conflict back in the 90's and got shut down after deaths, it can't be long before the same happens to the dating format - all of which look and sound the same.
The Rock (1996)
90's action masterpiece.
Before we had Christopher Nolan, we had Michael Bay who directed two of the greatest action films of the 90's - Armageddon and this, The Rock.
Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery are teamed up to neutralise - along with Aliens/Terminator Michael Bien's team of marines to neutralise chemical weapons on Alcatraz.
It's relentless action with a killer dramatic soundtrack, with the first act taking place in San Fransisco with crazy car chases on the hilly streets, sidecars falling over, explosions, cars flying over the hills.
The second act is relentless as the go into Alcatraz, the music ramps up the excitement throughout - string swipes adding to the tension and atmosphere. We know they are going to save the day in the end, but the finale is pretty epic.
Connery and Cage bounce off each other with mutual respect - it's a classic, and totally stands up to scrutiny after nearly 30 years.
Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
Cage at his best.
Cage, an alcoholic goes to vegas to drink himself to death. Along the way he meets Shue who has a soft spot for him.
Slowly, as their relationship grows, she starts to fall for him, asks him to move in with her, though she continues to be a hooker.
Cage is relentless in his death wish and continues to drink, moving into a hotel.
By turns funny and tragic, there is no happy ending here, Shue narrating in a session with her psychiatrist.
They don't have sex until the final act, even though Shue is up for it.
It's an "outstanding", emotional film, with a killer jazz soundtrack, comedic at times, jaunty, turning to tragic as Cage gets more drunk.
A classic, one of the best Vegas films ever made showing the darker side of prostitution and gambling.
Olympus Has Fallen (2013)
Terrorism in the USA. Two years after 9/11
I'm surprised this was released or got made after 9/11 was still in people's hearts and heads. And with the Capitol being stormed in 2021. I guess it's easier to storm the Capitol than the White House!
Planes fly into iconic structures, semi collapsing like the twin towers. Trucks fly about like in The Dark Knight with the Joker's truck bomb.
The president become an action hero, something I doubt Biden could do. Or Trump, Obama might have given the terrorists a good run for their money.
It's a fun, action packed film, superseded by London Has Fallen. Unfortunately we now know that these types of attacks are possible: 9/11 -7/7 in the UK. School shootings are a regular occurrence, using cars as weapons! It's not so far fetched to believe attacks like this could happen.
"How much does it cost to buy a presidency?" Is yelled at one point- let's ask Cambridge Analytica shall we?
The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017)
Reynolds, Jackson, Hayek romp through this action/comedy.
Reynolds is the OCD bodyguard that Hayek hired to protect her hitman, (Jackson). Right from the start we go into the action.
Car chases through London, big explosions. Reynolds obviously is on the spectrum as he demands everything is done with precision.
Hayek, Jackson's wife has a potty mouth, a passionate Latino swears her way through the film.
It might not be a truly original film, bodyguards and the person they protect forming a relationship. But it is a fun movie, as action packed as any James Bond film.
It's superseded by The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard, and I suspect there may eventually be The Hitman's Son's Bodyguard 😀
The 51st State (2001)
Samuel Jackson madness
It's another sweary violent film with Samuel L. Jackson as a chemist in the UK and wearing a kilt and playing golf inbetween making drugs.
Carlye - is very funny, almost like Begbie in Trainspotting, Meatloaf as the kingpin, Rhys Ifan Davies as the buyer? What's not to like?
It funny, it's violent - the skinhead scene is hilarious as the try out Jackson's drugs.
If you liked "The Hitman's" films you will like this, they are very similar, if you swap Carlyle for Reynolds. Not in plot, but in pacing and feel as a R-rated action comedy.
Free on Prime/Fawsome, (with adverts - boo Amazon) it will keep you entertained for a couple of hours.
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2020)
A cringe-fest back in the USA with his daughter
So, Borat returns to the USA after becoming a pariah because of his antics in the first film.
His daughter is with him, Angela must give her away as a gift to someone.
His daughter is equally as funny as Cohen as she navigates western culture and attitudes.
How Borat gets away with what he does without ending up in jail I'll never know, and he is such a recognisable character it must have been hard to find people to mess with, though he does spend a lot of time in costume. The Donald trump one is very realistic.
His daughter realises that women have been oppressed back home, having a shouting match with Borat.
It's a fun film, mocking western culture and attitudes. Even if you have to watch it through your fingers.
Absolutely Anything (2015)
Pegg meets python
An interesting movie where the (Python cast) supreme beings grant Pegg the power to do absolutely anything.
A star studded cast of uk talent, lumley, Beckinsdale as the love interest and many more.
It's a.bit of a spin on the "Be careful what you wish for". Pegg kills a classroom of children, then the resurrects every dead on the planet by not being specific.
Like with the genie genre, there's always a twist in everything he wishes for. As he finds his powers, getting to grips with the terms and conditions, the supreme beings watching on and ready to destroy earth if he fails, he uses them for his own gain - including becoming president of the USA.
He soon comes to realise that failure is a big part of life. And winning and getting what you want all the time is dull.
His mistakes are often funny, but he has to put in no effort to achieve the result.
Not quite as random as the Python movies, but you can see the references in the modern day. Up there with A Fish Called Wanda.
Hated: GG Allin & the Murder Junkies (1993)
Very graphic
Poor old GG Allin.
Possibly one of the most controversial men in punk.
It's a very graphic movie as he gets naked, crouches down, has a dump and then eats it, occasionally throwing it at the crowd!
I've never seen anything like it, (aside from two girls, one cup).
If you want to know how to not give a fxxk, watch this. He is on a suicide mission, even naming the day he will kill himself, unfortunately an overdose at an after show got him first
It's a fascinating documentary about an activist, he was as iconic as Sid Vicious though very few know of him.
The music isn't bad - if you are a punk fan. What actually happened at that last afterparty we will never know.
The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)
Punk, hair meta over decades.
An amazing series of films, over 30 years documenting music and the fans, culture.
The 3 films are all fantastic, my favourite is 2 which deals with hair rock/metal - even though I classify as punk.
Most punks will know the stories, this focuses a lot on the fans, drugs and the lifestyle.
It's filmed well, has some of the, (still alive) movers and shakers.
Anyone interested in music should watch all 3. Today, it couldn't happen with the internet- back then we had fanzines, NME and Melody Maker, classifieds in the back of those big sheets of paper. It was a gang of those who knew, today, you Google it from anywhere in the world rather than going to WH Smith to pick up the paper.
Widely regarded as the best punk documentary, it took decades to make the series, I can only say chapeau to all involved.