Reviews

I went with high expectations, because I disregard and reviews or opinions of MCU nerds. I was not disappointed. I saw it an an IMAX, but in 2D, and the visuals certainly justified that choice.

The story was good, better than the last few movies, the main cast were a delight to see; I had specifically watched Ms Marvel a few days before viewing this movie, and I'm glad I did; I may even go back and try Hawkeye once more.

The humour was perfect, and Sam Jackson was often at the centre of the humour and story, as he should be. The concept of Nick Fury heavily interacting with Kamala's family (Mrs K calls him "Nicholas") was my favourite part.

There's a mid credit scene, which superb, but no end credit scene (I sat in an empty cinema waiting for it!)

Just enjoy, it's fun.

Yep, a true Turkey of an episode.

The underlying medical story arc had been compelling, and, if you can force yourself to watch this episode, you will see the arc resolved. There was NO REASON to jettison the regular personalities of the crew, and their working relationships, for this episode. Disgraceful.

After forty years or more, I'm amazed at house much of this show I remember, from scenes to actual dialogue - it clearly made an impression. The story is very compelling, a London version of Get Carter, though it lacks the steely edge of that movie.

Unfortunately, in many ways it has dated badly. If this were ever to be broadcast on TV or some streaming service, it would need a warning "please note that this programme contains language and attitudes that may offend".

Despite these reservations, great to see it again, and Tom Bell was superb i every scene.

Expectations were low, as are average review scores, and was was the box office performance.

What's Good:-

1) It looks superb, visuals up to the standards set by previous MCU movies.

2) The story is great, and as more is revealed, the viewer is greater engaged.

3) The trademark MCU humour is present, to great effect.

What's Bad:-

1) The story felt shoe-horned into the MCU. I wonder if it would have been better as a stand-alone movie. The plot devices used, and the "routine" dialog about the Avengers etc, felt a little forced and retro-fitted.

2) The cast was let down by the performance of Gemma Chan. I thought she was a little wooden in Humans, but given the robotic nature of her character, it worked - but not here.

The story is interesting, but I've seen Outer Limits, Twilight Zone and even Black Mirror episodes that have better ideas, and better actors for that matter (Rufus and Ken are superb though).

This movie has its moments, but I'm glad that I did not risk a trip to a cinema during a global pandemic, just to see this.

It just felt a little long, a little light in the ideas department, and the revelation of "what's actually happening here" was very underwhelming. Watching at home, my phone was in use by this time; I was getting bored.

First, it looks magnificent. I spent a weekend in Florence in the 1480s in 4K and was entranced.

The scripts are superb, telling a tale of the intrigue and betrayal that any student of Renaissance Italy would expect. Accurate? Yes, largely, with the usual detail simplified, and some events changed to suit the storyline; a significant event occurs a number of years too early, for example.

The first two seasons starred some "names" - Dustin Hoffman, Brian Cox and Richard Madden (a bit wooden, as usual), whilst the second starred Sean Bean as the scheming Jacob Pazzi. Season three lacks those big hitters, but the drama does not suffer. The direction and performances are strong, and the sound is mixed correctly - the actors can be heard!

Lovers of art may be amused by the presence of Sandro Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci.

Lovers of Italian TV may be amused by the presence of familiar Italian actors; we see Ricotta, Roberta and Libano from Romanzo Criminale, Don Pietro and Valerio from Gomorra, plus Bosco and Veronica from 1992,1993 and 1994.

There's quite a lot of trashy historic drama around (The Tudors, Reign) but this does not belong in that category.

The events of season 3 occur just before the events of The Borgias and Borgia (and several real-life historical figures appear in Medici and one or both of these).

Apparently written by some MH370 nerds, this show looked intriguing enough, but oh dear what a car crash (or aircraft incident, I guess).

The production screams low cost with an expensive cast bill.

I had a good chuckle at the Irish air traffic controller in her cardigan - a least she wasn't listening to Clannad.

Corny, and a bit cringy, with some bad acting, and yet I will return for E2 (for the follow-on to the closing event).

Christopher Plummer is simply far too old for the role, just a bit TOO senior.

Who, knows, maybe it will improve.

Spot the fake reviews for this title!

Rather like the recent "revelation" that Amazon is full of fake reviews, we find a similar ghostly phenomenon here. There are a number of glowing reviews for this title, created by persons who joined IMDB in 2018, and have submitted a single review (for this movie). One would almost suspect a master plan to promote their own movie...

Anyway, I actually enjoyed this movie. It's a great idea (reminds me a bit of "Cleaver", the movie within The Sopranos. It's not great, and the cast (I note an Emmerdale actress) have limited talent on display, but it made me chuckle, and I do enjoy bungled heist movies.

I was and am lukewarm about the reboot pantomime movies; lots of relief that Discovery takes place before that time-line split.

I loved it. It looks superb. The science officer is my new fave ST character. I loved the FX, the big space battle, the cool tech. I loved the new Klingons (sorry Worf, I won't be watching you much any more).

Most of all I loved how dark it was. Keep it dark.

I cannot recall a show that had such huge differences between its few seasons.

Season one is the "serious" one. The "main mission" set is huge, and Moonbase Alpha really does seem realistic. The special effects are superb, some of the best pre-CGI work ever seen. The guest cast list is fantastic, with many notables who would go on to greater fame.

The show's main premise is of course utterly ridiculous; the moon is propelled out of orbit and amazingly arrives in a new solar system virtually every week.

However, within the "travelling moon" framework, the scriptwriters of season one came up with some superb episodes. I would say about 70- 80% of the first season are excellent.

The 8 or so main characters are likable and well-used; the 3 main stars don't totally dominate. Barbara Bain's performance has been criticised by some, but I feel that she gave the correct feel to the character, at least in season one.

The aliens encountered along the journey are of course English speaking white people, such as Peter Cushing, Julian Glover, Christopher Lee, Anthony Valentine etc, and this series predates the 1980s prosthetic aliens - so multicoloured robes and crazy wigs do the job instead.

The main thing I recall from season one (and the only good thing about season two) is the technology, and I refer to the many superb models, as well as the great 70s interior tech, such as the comlocks, the communication towers. The laser weapon, which can of course also stun, is a necessary device, not for Alphan life, but for TV scriptwriters.

Many have commentated about the sad fate of the show when season two was commissioned; it's very difficult to watch.

So, I salute season one.

I should like this more; I admit to loving time travel books, shows and movies, and the frequent use of time travel as a plot device in other shows (Stargate, Star Trek etc).

This problems with this show are:-

Some poor casting.

Some poor script editing.

Less than stellar CG (see the opening Hindenburg episode for example), not up to the standards of BSG or SG-1 ten years ago, let alone more recent shows. This above all makes the show resemble a cheap SyFy movie.

But never mind, I still enjoy and am still watching, but I bet it's a one season show.

When buying online from - er - a certain large online retailer, I often first view the bad product reviews. The content of that 1 star review gives me a chance to judge the relevance of the comment.

It's often a similar story with IMDb. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but shouldn't that opinion be reinforced by some knowledge of the subject?

Judge then yourselves, reviews with phrases such as "I watched 10 minutes of this". Would anyone take a review of The Godfather or Shawshank Redemption seriously if the reviewer had only seen the wedding scene up to Johnny's arrival, or Andy's arrival at the jail?

If you didn't watch, your views are irrelevant.

Anyway, I did watch all of EBR, and yes, it wasn't an epic movie, but the acting of the leads was good, and the story was OK. Billy Murray was as you'd expect (perhaps Alan Ford was unavailable).

I'm a huge fan, there's my position at the start. I love quality historic TV productions, and as such am a big fan of The Borgias and its European cousin Borgia, of Rome, of I Claudius, and I tried very hard to like The Tudors.

I'm not sure how a viewer with no historic background knowledge of the Wars of The Roses (as we know them) and the dynastic struggle that eventually resulted in The Windsors, but I find the tale, which includes some of the present Queen's ancestors, completely gripping.

Unfortunately I know what's about to happen during most scenes (apart from the silly stuff with Elizabeth and Lady Rivers, which does not detract from the story), so my advice is not to visit Wikipedia if you don't want your fun spoiled. Enjoy this tragic and dramatic story of one of England's earlier civil wars.

We sat down not knowing much about this movie other than its length. The fast forward was not needed, the tea breaks were not required, the phones went unanswered, the cats had to wait for their supper, and the final scene had us tears.

I can believe that some would find this film difficult to follow; focus your mind and all will become clear. If your taste goes no higher than action films or romantic comedies, this movie will be above your level.

The action does switch between the six stories (in six time periods) fluidly but logically, the links between the six stories do become clear.

I think I have a new favourite film, and a new entry on my wish list (hurry up with that blu-ray).