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sglrml
Reviews
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
Overrated nonsense
I just don't understand... I CANNOT understand... what is the fuss about? Why in heaven's name did this film receive so much praise? I think that it's scarcely more than a blown-up, clap-bang-whizz production with virtually no intent on telling the story properly as making it look like some mega-fantastic phenomenon of some kind; a chance for the producers to dangle their treasures, their ultimately priceless possessions in the faces of the viewers so that you can't miss the action whatever the situation is. Why else would the likes of certain actors be present in roles that clearly don't suit them (or else they don't suit the roles) as well as they might have done for members of the acting profession who don't specially have notable reputations and acclaim to support their good names (okay, maybe they were of the right SORT to have played the characters, yet in regard to the way they were presented in the books I perceived a lack of performance and instead more of the "natural" style of acting; somehow that ruined it for me).
None of it seems as close to the book as could have been thought, and having seen a few drama adaptations in my time, I should know. In some way if there was little room for some things to be added, I'd put that down to the sadly developed habit of the film's producers'/directors' adding these little, unnecessary moments of (what are meant to be) eye-popping freakish occurrences with the intent of making you sit up in your seat (if that's really anything to do with the action or the fact it's shown in such a epic way).
While the film may have some things that don't rely greatly on lavishness or known names (not that that's exactly bad on some occasions) I can't see that there was ever much reason for making this film from the beginning, except to turn the story of Harry Potter into a complete spectacle (sorry for sounding blunt yet that's how it goes) with the end result like an attempt to force the audience into being astonished.
It's no concern of mine if the film's remembered or forgotten, but I know one thing for sure; anyone keen to see how stories evolve when transferred from the book to the big screen, this is a good example about getting "carried away."
The X Factor (2004)
I just don't understand
I simply don't understand how anyone could possibly find this show in any way successful. How can people stand for the auditionees being abused by the judges? I may be no expert but I don't believe that someone should be allowed come onto the show with some false hope or dream in their head and then be punished for it. Aren't they human beings too? Is it right that the judges can laugh at their performance and then criticise them for making some effort? Quite simply if people like Simon Cowell are going to be allowed to insult other people like this, then I don't know what the world's coming to. Just because a person is idle or boastful about 'having the X Factor' is it right for judges to display a similar type of behaviour? Is this a way of saying that other people don't have feelings the same as anyone else? In any case not all the auditionees behave like that and I don't believe that they should be hurt in such a cruel way.
Doctor Who (2005)
Too dramatic for some
I'm very sorry but I cannot accept what people say about this new series of Doctor Who being a great show. I'm sure that if it had been something entirely new that wasn't called 'Doctor Who' I'm sure it would have been somewhat more appealing, but as it is I just can't accept this as Doctor Who. The original series was something very enjoyable indeed; a nice evenly balanced plot with surprises in the right places, with a bit of humour too. In fact dealing with the time in question I think that the BBC had done a great job in their special effects despite the low-budget, which I think helped to make it work because it meant they didn't go overboard and make it too flashy. In this new series nearly every single episode is like a Hollywood film; big shocks, big emotional drama and an awful lot of flashing lights and effects. In my opinion this rather makes the plot for a good drama rather uneven because if you have too many surprises and big special effects then (and I know this is an odd thing to say) you'll just make it rather boring and it'll get rather predictable. For example, it you got stuck in a traffic jam and there are horns beeping and people shouting all around you, at first it will be too much and then if nothing happens for a long time it'll just be something you get used to and you won't be bothered by it anymore. Another thing is the Doctor himself. The one played by Christopher Eccleston was possibly a little too much like a normal person than the character the Doctor was meant to have been. All the other Doctors in the original series were more like what people's idea of a scientist was only with a certain eccentricity to their personality. I do admit it appeared in some more than others but it was still there. Christopher Eccleston might have tried to portray this character when he took the part however I just don't think he ever quite managed to get that same air of mystery about him like his predecessors did. And as for David Tennant, well, I'm sorry to say that he acts far too much like his Casanova character for my liking. Though I must say I did enjoy seeing Sarah and K9 again and I think the character of Rose played by Billie Piper is quite good, but those are the only things about the show that I found really interesting. In fact thinking about it, I think even if the show had been completely new I'd still have found it a bit too much of an uneven plot.
Too Much (1987)
This brings back a lot of memories . . .
I remember seeing this film years and years ago when I was younger. You know I didn't think it was so bad, and what I'd really loved was the very touching friendship between the girl Suzy and the robot 'Too Much' (or TM for short). I quite enjoyed seeing what Japan was like and I loved the theme song 'Dear Friend', even now I can remember it as though it were yesterday. I think that this film is a lovely treat for all the family. I'll tell you something else, before this film I never really knew much about Bridgette Andersen. It was only last year when I heard that she had died years before that I decided to have a look at her life. I found out about she was quite a popular child star in the eighties and that in the nineties she got into drugs which lead her into a dilemma that she couldn't get out of. I also found out from something that a close friend of hers said about how she died; how one day after she had seen Bridgette the night before, she went to her flat and found people from the hospital carrying her out on a stretcher due to the fact that she had taken an overdose and sadly never recovered. That's why I think that this being her last film is a great tribute to her memory.