I loved the first Hornblower, liked the second then arrived at this one...
Beats me why it has such a high rating as it lacked so much, the acting at times questionable and the story flawed on so many levels. Large parts of this drama seem to hang with not a lot happening, I don't know, maybe that's the direction at fault, it just does not flow right.
I actually laughed out loud at some of the acting mostly due to the bad accents, I mean an aristocratic Duchess with a northern accent. I know there's a twist to her character but no need to make her a Northern lass.
The Hornblower character at times is wooden and at other times he's an arrogant control freak, I just can't warm to him anymore.
This could have been so much more with the right attention to detail. There are good points but these are mostly at sea on board ship. It just gets wrecked when they reach land.
Not awful but not great either.
Reviews
3 Reviews
The Trip
(I) (2010)
Lost on the Moors
17 March 2017
Usually I like Steve Coogan's work but this time round I am left disappointed with a slight feeling of being conned that I assumed I was watching a comedy. It did have some mildly titillating moments based around several character impersonations but these were generally overcooked (and over repeated) to the point that it presented itself as 'desperate for idea's'. I am of the understanding that most of this movie was ad-libbed with a loose plot of the road trip and food review(for a magazine) but to be honest, it showed. At times it was a painful experience but mostly just plain old boring with the occasional moment of mild humor. You would have to be a hardcore Coogan or Brydon fan to love this film, if not then stay well clear. I never got to the end, just could not see the point. To sum this movie up in one word - bland.
31 North 62 East
(2009)
Not one shot fired
6 December 2011
Warning: Spoilers
This movie stinks of something that flies hover around. I mean it really is not a good movie in any shape or form. The script is unbelievable, the acting is questionable and the atmosphere is, well, got flies hovering around it. Because of my strange fascination with clanger B movies such as "Plan 9 from Outta Space" my brother suggested I should watch it. So first impression is that it is in the mould of a B movie or a made for TV type. I found myself laughing out loud at some of the scenes such as the torture of the female SAS officer (what the **** is a female doing in the SAS). Yeah, she's one tough bitch holding out for days before she even admits being in the military and come on Mr nasty torturer dude. What's he got up his slippery sleeve. Is it the rack, a high voltage wire on the nips or just a good old fashioned shoe to the head for breakfast. No it's none of those, instead he has watched Blue Peter and made himself some little flags on pins taken from his mums sewing box where he proceeds to stick them in the tough girls nails. Why did he not give her a nice manicure while he's at it. Despite an SAS lady we have the same AK47 that finds itself in the hands of different factions throughout the film (and never gets fired). A British Prime Minister who's over acting almost made me wee my pants. Italian special forces clad in ill-fitting clothes and obviously not Italian nationals. A countries national security system that is easily accessible through Google and the SAS lady's sister (same actress with a wig on) who is an expert hacker, pilot, Special Forces assault expert, pharmacist and prime time TV presenter. There really are too many bad scenes to mention. I missed so much through tears and burying my head yet I am glad I experienced the film. It's not all bad. The French secret service lady was quite fit, the producers did budget a helicopter for the assault on the empty farm and on the opening scene I particularly admired the fonts spelling 31 East 62 North (just in case you forgot what you sat down to watch).
Tell Your Friends