Reviews

You can't just change the cast and have the same show, I've always enjoyed Father Brown. But not so much now. Loved Mrs McCarthy and Bunty, even the annoying Inspector Mallory, who provided a much needed touch of humour. Emer Kenny was just gorgeous to look at as Bunty, and Sorcha Cusack provided some solid acting as Mrs McCarthy, a near perfect ensemble. I don't know if they left of their own accord, but if not the producers made a big mistake in getting rid of them. Bring them back or Father Brown is going to need a lot of prayer to survive! 'New Tricks' another favorite show did a better job changing the cast and it didn't survive.

Unlike some, I didn't ,mind this episode, come on folks, it's light entertainment not meant to be taken too seriously, a bit of fun, a couple of murders, a semi comical police inspector, a priest with an enquiring mind who spends more time solving crimes than doing mass. A nosy but lovable housekeeper, and of course the gorgeous 'Bunty' supplying some much needed glamour. Yes of course some episodes are going to be better than others, like in all long running series, but it's the characters you follow more than the plots, at least I do, and that's why I love this series. Miss Sid though.

The definitive film on Bing Crosby has yet to be made, this however is one of the better specials made about his extraordinary life and mammoth career. Some big stars appear here and tell how Bing influenced them and others with his marvelous singing style and that golden voice, it's pretty true that all who came after him from Sinatra to Presley either learnt, borrowed or stole something from Bing Crosby. He was the biggest star of the 20th. Century.

Firstly I would like to say that this film is beautifully filmed and quite pleasant to watch scenery wise, also it's interesting to see Englishman Benedict Cumberbatch playing a tough American cowboy, which he pulls off quite well. Apart from that it's a long, meandering and boring movie, I at least expected all these hidden emotions to at least blow up into a big dramatic conclusion, but no, it just finally peters out with a silly, nonsensical conclusion! I wouldn't even class it as a western, no guns or fistfights, no action at all, just a dull drama set on a ranch in 1925 Montana.

When Robert Cummings does comedy your usually in for a good time, and this film is no exception, just watching his facial expressions is hilarious enough. Rosalind Russel does her career woman bit with aplomb, Gig Young, Marie McDonald and Henry Davenport all give solid support in a nonsensical but funny movie. My advice, just sit back and enjoy!

I was hoping Father Brown would be back for a 9th season, but am devastated that my favourite character Bunty isn't in it, so that's what my low rating is for, they had a winning team with her, just won't be nearly as much fun if she's gone, which means I probably will be too?

Can't believe they cancelled this after only 4 films, probably the best thing I've seen Rowan Atkinson do, and it is beautifully filmed and so atmospheric of the 1950's, should have gone on for many more episodes than just 4.

Right up there with the best of British crime dramas, I was sad to see 'New Tricks' cancelled, but at least it lasted for 12 seasons! Shutting down this 'Maigret' was one bad decision!

A surprisingly dull version of the famous HG Wells story I thought, the actors did the best they could, but the whole thing was a little more than confusing, flashing back & forward in time never works for me, and the ending was rather sudden and disappointing, got to say, my favorite version is still the 1953 Gene Barry film!

An easy enough to watch film with some nice performances, but not quite enough substance to make it great, thought parts of it reminded me of the far superior Australian film, 'The Castle'. This one had a rather odd ending I thought, as if they weren't quite sure what to do? Over all it wasn't bad, just could have been better!

Tyrone Power was a fine actor, but his spectacular looks sometimes got in the way of his talent. It occurred to me while watching this film that had the Bond films come along a decade or two earlier, Ty could have been an excellent James Bond, my other choice from the period would be Errol Flynn, another who's looks got in the way of his obvious acting abilities. This film is an enjoyable little spy thriller with Power plunged into a position he doesn't really want to be in, after all, he's a courier not a spy, so he has to learn quickly on the job, if he doesn't his life could depend on it. A good supporting cast including Stephen McNally and Karl Malden make this a decent and enjoyable way to spend an hour or two!

A bizarre film with an even more bizarre ending. I suppose it's supposed to be a black comedy of sorts, but then I'm not really sure? You do keep watching mainly just to see how it all ends. I liked the cast, mostly good performances, wish they'd given Melanie Lynskey more screen time, she's always a delight to see. I'm pretty sure Meryl Streep had a body double at the end, it's one of those films you'll either love or hate, but then I'm not really sure which way to lean? Maybe it needs repeated viewings?

What do people expect Clint Eastwood to be at 91, 'Dirty Harry'? Well, wisely he's not trying to be, although he does get to punch one guy in the face, most of the fighting is done by a rooster, who manages to pretty much take care of the bad guys.

Others have covered the plot of a script that has been around for several decades it seems, I read where Eastwood was originally going to direct it with Robert Mitcham in mind for the lead, but that never came off, nor did a couple of other attempts apparently. So in the end Clint decided to do it himself, it's slow moving, but then so is Clint and that suits the scenario, don't take it too seriously, just go along for the ride so to speak and enjoy the old master still doing something he loves, I won't dare say this is his last, I've been thinking that since Gan Torino.

At almost 90 when this movie was filmed William Shatner belies his age and gives a delightful performance, ably supported by Jean Smart who in spite of being almost 70, was still the sexiest woman in the film. Others have explained the plot, it's no classic that's true, but for an easy to watch, not too long, mildly amusing little trifle, it ticks all the boxes, just sit back and relax and watch some old masters at work, and the Palm Springs scenery doesn't hurt either. I found it a refreshing and relaxing change from most of the high octane garbage that's churned out these days!

The forth and sadly the last of Pierce Brosnan's Bond films is probably the weakest of the four, although some reviews obviously disagree, but what I do know is that Pierce Brosnan was one of the great Bonds and should have been kept for at least another couple of films, to me he was far better than the man who replaced him, Danial Craig, a fine actor, but only a so so James Bond. It may not be all Danial's fault, the producers took a lot of the fun out of the films which all along had been one of the series greatest strengths, maybe they thought they were catering to a younger audience or had to be more politically correct or something, but for me it just didn't work, give me the old Bond any day!

Blue Hawaii was obviously a partial remake of Paramount's 1937 Bing Crosby movie Waikiki Wedding, with Elvis toning down his more raucous style to channel his inner Bing and do more crooning in order to attract a wider audience, it seemed to have worked, and I must say I prefer the crooning Presley to the screeching one!

He went on to a string of similar style films throughout the 1960's before his movie career petered out and he finished up doing Las Vegas concerts for the remainder of his short life!

A not too in depth look at the man who started it all, 'Pop' music' that is, and probably influenced more singers than anyone else from Sinatra to Presley.

I don't think the definitive documentary of Bing has been made yet, but until that comes along this is a pretty good sample of the man, I bought it years ago on Laser Disc. Bing Crosby deserves to be better remembered than he is by younger generations, he represents the best years of American popular music, no one since has come close!

Good little film, I found it to be an enjoyable experience, can't understand the bad reviews, what are they expecting for goodness sake? It's no classic, but a lot better than some of the garbage they put out these days that get better reviews! Didn't have a problem with Bill Nighy's accent, like some apparently do? Too many critics seem to nitpick when it's just a movie, and does what it sets out to do, offer a bit of light hearted entertainment with no bad language or questionable scenes, go see it, and enjoy it, I did!

I always enjoy movies of the 1940's & 50's far more than today's films, one of the reasons being they had better stars then, this one is no exception, Gregory Peck and Broderick Crawford effortlessly carry the film, Peck in his usual solid 'hero' mode, and Crawford in his blustery, fast talking mode that he was a past master at! The supporting cast are all excellent, especially Buddy Ebsen adding a light touch of humour to the proceedings. The plot may have flaws, but most do, and what must be remembered is that back then they made movies to entertain, not be politically correct or push some woke agenda. Not over long, and a pleasure to watch!

I for one like this show better than FBI, mainly because it has a strong lead in Julian McMahon, but also because I've enjoyed most of the story lines and definitely feel all the low ratings are unwarranted! It's fiction folks, it's not real life otherwise it would be pretty boring! If it doesn't continue it will be a shame and another example of a decent program being killed off too soon, something the American networks seem to be pretty good at?

For a start I hate movies that just start without a title or cast credit, that's the way a lot of them do nowadays, feel as though you've walked in half way through the film, call me a traditionalist or old fashioned, but that's the way I am! Nothing really new in this film plot wise, but I feel it is saved by decent performances by Angelina Jolie and especially young Australian Finn Little! An over use of the 'F' word doesn't help, perhaps I mix with the wrong crowd, but I can go for weeks without hearing anyone resort to using it? Starts slowly but picks up as it goes along, ends kind of abruptly before really sorting out what happens to the kid or pregnant lady, but on the other hand, judging by the previews we saw sure as hell not the worst movie out at the moment!

Been a dirth of movies on lately, this was the only one on in a morning session that I hadn't seen, wasn't familiar with either of the two leads, but took a chance, and was most pleasantly surprised, a delightful little movie, what it may lack in budget or big name stars, it easily makes up for in engaging performances, and magnificent Scottish scenery, with a quite witty script and a couple of very catchy songs, all written by Gifford it appears. Left the cinema not only feeling entertained, but in a good mood, and if a movie can accomplish that, it gets my seal of approval, congratulations to all concerned. Just proves it doesn't need to be an Academy award winning blockbuster to tick all the boxes!

It may not have followed the stage play or contained all the original songs, but this first filmed version of 'Anything Goes' is still a very enjoyable musical. How could it miss with a young Bing Crosby and Ethel Merman? The songs that were added for Bing are at least decent and tuneful and with that great Crosby voice do stand out, Merman is great of course and has some good chemistry with the Bing, the cast is full of wonderful character actors that were a staple of 1930's films, and the whole thing is worthy of a viewing, pity they later changed the title to 'Tops is the Limit', I hope if it ever gets a deserved DVD release, it'll be under the original! Yes, Bing did star in a re make 20 years later, without Merman, but out of the two, I'd say this one is the best!

This, the final in the long running Hopalong Cassidy feature film series is a decent enough outing to finish on, however, I notice that in the final few films Boyd gave away his traditional black outfit for lighter garb, Hoppy never quite had the same impact when not dressed in black, could this have led to a drop in popularity that helped end the series? In the subsequent television episodes, he never wore anything but his black clobber, apart from the first dozen that were edited down from the last few films! At any rate William Boyd's 'Hopalong Cassidy' remains one of the great role models for all ages to aspire to, a wonderful legacy indeed to leave behind!

I warmed to this film more as it went on, it's certainly not fast moving, but does slowly draw you in, the non Irish leads like Emily Blunt and Christopher Walken handled their Irish characters well I thought, the supporting cast were good, although I did keep looking out for Barry Fitzgerald, sadly to no avail. Definitely not in the same class as 'The Quiet Man', but a lot better than some of the lesser reviews indicate!

An enjoyable little film based on a true story, don't know what the bad reviewers were expecting? It's not an action film, just a heartwarming little story of how a rescued magpie helps a family come to terms with the devastating accident suffered by the Mother, and in turn helps her to begin enjoying life again. If nothing else does, the magpies will entertain you, Naomi Watts is her usual reliable self, with a perfectly competent supporting cast. Goes along at a casual pace which puts you in there with the family. I liked it, as has everyone I know who's seen it!