Reviews

No gore. Just careful scripting. Exceptional directing. Flawless acting- even the children. Great use of sound.

What makes horror films so good is the experimental use of the camera and sound. This is up there with the best.

If you like your blood running cold throughout your body then this hits that spots right on the nose.

It's one of those horror films that leaves you asking how have everyone involved not been left traumatised. How?

The down to earth, real life setting make it even more atmospheric.

Just thinking about the film is leaving me with goose bumps.

Looking forward to seeing it turn up in a schedule so I can watch it again.

From the go you are treated to some of the best stage setting, lighting and cinematography in the business.

It is a feast for the eyes.

It's one of those films that some of the actors look their very best, as though this was the role they were destined to play.

Now it's a Guy Ritchie film, which means NO compromises. He knows what he wants and has the genius to know how to get it into the camera.

It's the Man From UNCLE so there is going to be a bit of fantasy and sillyness in the action, but that just adds to the charm for me.

One of the top ten films that if these were the only films I could ever watch for the rest of my life, this would definitely be on the list.

I would say this film has no peers.

It stands out as the perfect teen movie made for adults.

Such a fantastic concept. Perfectly done.

Pleasing visually. Very very funny. Would you not want to be as cool as her parents?

Leaves you satisfied that your mind has been expanded. Leaves you thinking about how status and reputation work. How easy it is for things to mess up. How there are nice people out there. How difficult it is to pull things back from the brink, if it is possible, OR why should you care?

I suppose every person will take something different from this film when they think about the political BS they has to go through at school.

One of the great films. Well it is to me.

Fantastic new big house in a nice area what could go wrong?

Suspense in the top tier. Well filmed. Good sound stage. Great acting(apart from the child actor who is only just tolerable). First time watching you do not know what is going to happen next, or where it will go.

Great use of the building, feels like a real building, do not know if it is. So another suggestion of quality.

If I see it no I will watch it. Never ages like some of it's peers have.

Enjoy the bad trip it takes you on. I love films that were made perfect.

Jodie Foster knows how to only pick good scripts. Maybe she brings a great team with her. But Yeah.

I did not know what to expect. I did not know where it was going. But the journey I was taken on was thoughtful and beautiful.

Well done Katy Brand.

Well done Emma Thompson. What a great thing to do. Fabulous.

Pushing boundaries. Very aesthetically pleasing. Very hot.

There are no crudities or gratuitous elements to this film.

Every element is there to build an atmosphere or make a point.

The script is intelligent and funny. Sweet and poignant.

After watching the film you feel the world has changed.

This is, I shall rather grandly say a landmark. Maybe you might agree, maybe you wont. But the world is a much nicer place with this film in it.

Quality will get better when you watch a film or series a second or third or many time(Some Like It Hot, The Great Escape) The Diplomat is one of these. There was even more to take away the second time I watched it and enjoyed it even more.

Another element of quality are Wasted Scenes (or filler). There are none of these. Every scene gives more information and/or nuance.

This is as good as it gets. Well produced. Well acted. A super intelligent script.

AND it leaves you wanting alot more. Or one of the great cliff hangers.

I hope the second series is not rushed. Though Netflix does not seem to fail with sequels(Sense8, Lock & Key,..)

If you did not see this in 3D with a good sounds system you might not think it amazing.

But, it was very carefully done in 3D and I would not watch it except in 3D. All the rendered scenes have the correct perspective. All the live action I believe was shot with two cameras.

It is a perfect comic strip story. Minimal back story just an exciting plot.

Now to the sound.

There is no film that has a sound track as good as this.

7.1 system. Every speaker is driven HARD.

There is non of this soft, half hearted atmospheric sounds dribbling from the rear speaker. NO. The rear speakers shout as hard as all the others.

It can be nearly overwhelming making my heart race, about to explode.

If you still have 3d capability and a good sound system. Set it up right, turn the lights off and get ready to take cover.

A bet this was a pet project with a limited budget but with the full production crew behind it.

The best way to describe it is: What The Prisoner would be like if it was made now.

You have to be comfortable surrendering to the production crew and just letting them take you on a journey through their imagination.

Wow. One of those we're not worthy experiences. What do I mean?

Well, it is amazing that there are people who are so creative and they have been gathered together in one place and then just let loose to do their thing, trusted that what they do will be magnificent.

Another series that should grab you in the first 5 mins if it's your cup of tea.

Loved it.

This is in the top drawer.

A gangster romp as only Guy Ritchie can make.

No flaws.

Beautiful.

Sound is great.

Funny.

Exciting.

A master piece.

This shows we are in the Golden Age. You finish the series and you are left thinking how can anyone do better than this.

I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed that there are more great things to come, from somewhere, anywhere. Let's hope.

As to whether you might like it. Well like most great things if you aren't hooked in the first 5mins then dont bother, but if you are then the rollercoaster starts and you will be breathless for the next few nights until the binge is over.

Enjoy.

After three episodes you realise they are stretching the concept out and the team filled it with irrelevant soap opera stuff.

Could not make it to the end because it was boring.

The things that happen to the characters are not just realistic(i'm talking about the contrived political plot here).

Another series made by billionaires who dont realise that you have to have a great writing team to make all the other components work together. Poor writing team make all other expenditure a waste.

I am starting to feelIMDeebee is broken when all Azon and Apl productions are consistently highly rated when they patently dont deserve it.

What a shame.

Marvel did the artistic pet project of Legion and nailed it. Legion being an artistic tour de force.

I am sure the craziness of Legion was the inspiration to give this the go ahead.

But I have wasted 4 hours of my life watching the first four episodes and could not believe that something so boring even made it to the screen. If I could have given a negative score I would have. I feel a lesser person after this soul sapping experience.

You are watching hoping something interesting is about to happen, some clue, some intrigue. But No, nothing happens. No story real development .

It is truly incomprehensible this is being rated so high.

There is no excuse for not doing CGI right.

There is a lot going on and some well thought out action. But, it looks like CGI all the time.

But most unforgivable is the scale between humans and the areoplanes is often wrong.

Was it not Mr Jobs who started Pixar, Apple should be trying to dominate CGI. What a shame.

Then the weak script:

The character building is clumsy with too many wasted scenes meant to fill in time.

The dialogue is barely believable.

It is watchable if you have absolutely no access to any other TV, but only just. It certainly was not worth a month's subscription.

Apple are not spending their vast budget wisely.

Sheldon as a character is the straight guy that all the humour is constructed around. I'm not sure I recollect a laugh from a line Seldon delivers, BUT all the other characters are fantastically well written to deliver all the funny stuff.

It's all about the family dynamics, but dont let this put you off WATCH FROM EPISODE ONE.

Definitely watch from the very beginning so you can see who the characters are and how they form. You just have to put up with Sheldon- just like the family I suppose.

The humour is very intelligent. You don't always see the jokes forming either.

Not at all like BBTheory. Much cleverer. No cringing 'humour'

And the laughs are some of the mightiest laughs I have ever had from entertainment.

I hope you like it too.

This is like nothing you have seen from China before.

You will know instantly wether you will like it.

It is a fantasy about Gods and their relations to mortals when on Earth.

It is so calmly presented, very chilled.

And it is so desperately beautiful to watch.

Entrancing really.

The story is interesting enough to keep you coming back episode after episode. It is sad when it finally ends and there are no more adventures to watch.

The direction of the actors cleverly shows how Gods behave differently to the mortals . Very charismatic.

The implementation of the magic is pretty good too. Not blockbuster, but understated ,believable and psychedelic but just to the right amount.

The costumes are stunning. An incredibly beautiful colour palette.

Makes it worth having a well set TV picture so you can really appreciate the artistry of the sets ,costumes and skyscapes.

Everything else with a fantasy edge I have seen from Asia is a bit naff ,over acted and frantic.

This peerless.

The first four episodes just feels like a regular cop show.

But it gels in episode 5 and does not stop until the very last show of the last season.

Essentially it is one story from start to finish. Not across a season, but across all of the seasons. Something to really let yourself be taken on a journey.

All the characters are great and I sort of root for everyone really, or you can at least see their side of the story.

Very funny. Well written. Well filmed.

Exciting and psychologically thought provoking. Tactics and deceit. Cerebral(maybe) For most of the actors these roles were their defining role in as much as they never look quite right in any other role.

I am coming to the conclusion that if you don't like the first episode of a TV series you wont like the rest(Justified is the only exception to this). This should catch you in the first episode. If it does you are in for a treat.

The plot is original, charming and very funny. It takes you on a journey that is intriguing and surprising.

Every character is likeable, well written and surprising. Some of the characters are my favourite characters of all time- Grand Pa and Colin( Colin Gunderson is number one).

The whole production was well thought out and implemented.

This really should be as well known as Red Dwarf. Like Red Dwarf- a perfect concept well done.

AND the best sword fight EVER.

Lets deal with the main complaint: The singing.

It's not meant to be an opera, it's meant to be normal people singing in their heads a song for the emotion at that moment. It's not meant to be perfect, they're just normal people.

It's a feature not a bug.

If you can get past that, then I personally think this film brings all the songs to life and you empathise with the song writer's intent. If you can get past the imperfect singing then it is a joy.

Now there is a lot about this film which top notch:cinematography, set dressing, costumes and styling.

Let's not forget the choreography, which is outstanding with a few perfect flash mob style singing and dancing scenes included too.

And the plot- I dont like romantic films, but this is an interesting plot that I don't think I have seen anywhere else. That's refreshing.

I reckon the team were trying to make a 1st class film and not just going through the motions to suck up the budget.

I think the director got the best out of -trying to be gentle here- second rate actors. Poor acting, jarring acting I suppose is when the direction messed up, or could not be bothered, to get the best out of first rate actors. This team were trying to do their best. I hope I show that there is a difference.

Lets say it was a first rate effort with a big budget by the most competent local 'rep' company. It is as charming as you could imagine this would be.

The rough edges are far out weighed by truly beautiful good points.

It's a heap of fun.

This the reference to how good TV can be.

From the first scene on there is not a wasted moment.

There are no wasted scenes to fill in time.

Each episode stands alone as a story that is original, funny, emotional and thought provoking.

But unlike most other TV there is a proper underlying story carrying you from episode to episode and season to season with the episode stories riding on top. Rather than the other way round, it's mot just a link from episode to episode.

It is beautifully crafted: scripts, sets, costumes, hairstylist ,sound, editing and cinematography.

It's the defining role for virtually all the actors involved- I mean when the actors are in something else they never seem as good or as right as they do in this.

If you like this, and you will know straight away if you do, then TV will be spoiled for you, because why cant all TV be this good.

Coming of age in a world of magic.

Where good is bad and bad is good and magic is dangerous to the caster too.

A traditional interpretation of spell casting is done well, not simplistic or unnecessarily complicated as is the wont of most film makers. Just right.

Great use of cgi and imagination taking you on a magical romp of adventure.

Original angle on magic and the supernatural. Never felt I needed to suspend disbelief, I was just sucked in.

I did not want to stop watching it, but the more you binge it the sooner it is over.

You will know if you like it in the first episode so give it a go.

When you gather the best production team together and allow them to work their magic with no compromises, this is what you get.

It's very funny.

It's visually spectacular.

It will make your blood run cold in the best suspense film manner.

The script is elegant and unexpected.

The acting by the main characters is as good as can be. Jenna Ortega is perfect for the part she play in the manner required. The mime artist- no magicain(Victor Dorobantu) playing Thing is exquisite.

Like I said the dream team has been assembled for this task.

Like all the best TV it is great from the first few minutes and never drops in quality.