Reviews

This is not a very good show or series. Far far inferior to early seasons of The Crown or the Emily Blunt & Rupert Friend led Young Victoria movie. The main actress here does more posing than she does actual acting - she is bland, largely expressionless, and unlike what is said about her character, does not communicate regality. The show is nicely filmed but greatly lacks substance. The soaring music and drama is for such great events as: moving into a new home! And a ball. Versus the actually very important events such as the coronation of a queen. As has been rightly pointed out by many, the content of the show is wildly historically inaccurate. And a lot of what the show chooses to focus on is simply uninteresting, particularly the machinations of the dubiously unloyal servants. The best feature was Rufus Sewell as PM Lord Melbourne, but he didn't have much supporting him, with the poor plot lines, unsubtle writing and missable other characters. We gave this a fair full episode test - it failed and we will not return to it.

The premise for both season 1 (detectives + Navy, set between submarine & surface) and season 2 (detectives & Air Force, set between Middle East & Scotland) were interesting - i thought they were doing doing something interesting and somewhat unique. Some good actors, particularly among the supporting cast. Unfortunately the story line for both contain a lot of implausibilities and become increasingly unlikely. And speaking of unlikely - we personally found the main character fairly unlikeable, and a little ridiculously without regard for the regulations, protocols and chains of command of the military she is immersed in and investigating crimes among. When her character says in season 2 that she has experience working with military we laughed out loud with derision, because she showed nothing that would indicate sensitivity to that prior culture (and sure enough, she goes on to once again disregard all the authorities she is among). Series got worse as it went on, including very unlikely situations, blatant overlooking of suspects, and a puzzlingly impervious woman: no one walks away from being struck not once but on two occasions with a rifle butt and then a pistol in the face and comes away with just a scratch on their face. Come on. The relationship emphasis is tiresome, and doesn't actually add anything to the plot. Disappointing as the premise had promise but did not deliver!

As per my title: Season 1 had some merit; Season 2 is much worse. Six stars as a nod to Season 1, which did a good job of tying together (eventually) a coherent and interesting overall story line. The Doctor Strange episodes in particular were really well done.

Season 2 however is much worse - poor writing, much less interesting story lines, and as has been noted by others, a puzzling over abundance of Captain Carter. Is this really what fans were clamouring for? At some point in the MCU series and films, someone needs to realize that pounding home the message 'women rule!' is not the same as actually having good writing and an intelligent plot. There have been notable exceptions: WandaVision, Loki are among strong offerings, but the majority, including Season 2 of What If, has been pretty weak.

As per my title: Vastly overrated; disappointing, poorly written. I'll come clean with my grading grid: longtime Star Wars fan, grew up with the originals (4-6); mostly pained by 1-3; 7-9 were interesting but inferior. Rogue One was really strong; Solo was entirely forgettable. For the more recent series, I thought Mandalorian has been excellent and strikes the right notes consistently, in tone and writing, action and heart. The best parts of Boba Fett were those that featured the Mandalorian! An uneven series, to say it kindly: some dumb subplots and side characters (looking at you, power ranger emo young adult speeder bike gang... and why does Fett, this famed bounty hunter & warrior, continually take off his helmet, even when going into danger?) Andor however was terrific, and gave us some quality writing and interesting plot.

Obi Wan in contrast was utter crap. And Ahsoka... it's better than Obi Wan, but that's a low bar. Visually impressive and faithful to the 'feel' of Star Wars. But really underwhelming writing, plot holes, poor story lines, meaningless dialogue, aggravating characters. And a lot of terrible acting including the character of Sabine (also exceedingly undeveloped and frankly annoying as a character, particularly a protagonist!). Unrealistic recovery from injuries that ended many a prior figures life. Foolish choices. Nauseating bravado as a substitute for actual depth of character.

Don't believe the hype.

Just excellent & so clever - the Coen brothers again deliver one of the more original films you will find out there, executed with a typically (but not to be taken for granted) stellar cast. Josh Brolin is superb, playing against type; Ralph Fiennes is among the many decorated actors who turns in a outrageously strong (controlled theatrics) supporting scene, but there are numerous others that could be mentioned (too many!). It really is a brilliant cast.

Interesting storyline and clever tying together of a number of themes and characters. I haven't even mentioned how funny it is! Again, unsurprisingly, great writing. And some depth to it as well. Well worth giving it your time. Highly recommend.

As above: this is a brilliant film - underrated & understated gem. Superb writing and acting, and beautifully filmed. Providentially happened upon the trailer (which was poorly displayed inexplicably overdubbed in Italian) and am so glad we did, and that we nevertheless gave ot a try - hard not to after marvelling at the actors (Kevin Kline, where have you been? Waiting on excellent writing like this apparently.) Features a great cast, clever premise and thematically deals with matters of great substance. Charm is challenged by consequences. Weaves an increasingly engrossing and deep storyline and draws you into the characters. No surprise that it is adapted from a play, and that is not a negative at all - such quality all around. Highly recommended.

This show did not have an awful lot going for it to begin with - save for the character of She-Hulk, a decent lead actress, and some good cameo appearances - but the ongoing inane writing and meaningless latest episodes have plummeted our opinion of it. Episode 1 with its origin reworking was so-so. Few too many plot holes and poor decisions with legacy role players. However, episodes 3 & 4 (Abomination and Wong) were decent and gave us some hope; episodes 5 & 6 (trial over copyright infringement and bridesmaid, respectively) were just straight up awful. As in, exercise self-control to not throw objects at the screen awful. Thoroughly stupid plots filled with empty obnoxious characters (in episode 6, who cares about her grating law assistant, the ridiculous divorce settlement case filled with tired tropes, or her cardboard cutout character wedding girlfriends?). Just brutal. Deeply disappointing - a far cry from the clever She-Hulk character and meaningful stakes and interesting stories of her Secret Wars, Fantastic Four, or West Coast Avengers comic book days. This show is swiftly spiralling from uneven to unwatchable.

Along with other viewers/reviewers, I too am surprised by the relatively low rating. We think it is an excellent series: very well written & very well acted; clever twists, and great dialogue between the team of very likeable detectives, as well as witty ponderings directly from the main character to us. Humour, intelligent mysteries, and more. Better by far than the majority of show offerings out there. And for some, even better then the Unforgotten series N. W. is so well-known for.

In Annika, the mother-daughter relationship was the weakest element for us (and someone needs to step up and set some parental boundaries for the daughter!) but even that storyline improved as the episodes progressed.

Finally, the Season One finale was really well done! No fluff, significant stakes (which also is an indication of good writing, in how we have come to care about the characters), and a bit of a plot bombshell to cap it off.

Absolutely recommend the show and we're hoping and looking for a second season.

This movie is a revelation, and Shia is as well - this is acting with a rare depth. So impressed with his performance, from start to finish. Zach is wonderful as well, and Dakota Johnson shines in a supporting role (don't know that I've actually seen her in anything before, despite knowing she's best known for a certain film series - she is a good addition here, and not out of place). The interactions and dialogue between the three is particularly well done, and that is a tribute to the terrific writing (dialogue is not often so well-written, witty, and believable). This is an easy film to like, much more than a comedy... depth, character arc, and richness of story: tackling loss, belonging, identity, and friendship/family. Despite having it highly recommended, we put off watching it for a little while, likely because we didn't know quite what to expect. Now knowing - wholeheartedly recommend it. This movie has heart! Don't miss it.

One of the occasions where the general rating misses the mark. Give this one a chance - clever writing and some surprising depth, as well as realistic character development. Pleasantly surprised and glad it was recommended and that I watched it.

Broadchurch (and in particular Season 1) has everything: Brilliant writing - crime mystery, yes, but so much more - an emotional tour de force into the inner workings of a large number of characters (not easy to pull off); this written vision is carried out by the stellar work of top-of-class lead actors in David Tennant & Olivia Colman (along with Jodie Whittaker & Andrew Buchan) + an exceptional ensemble cast (no weak links). The series features beautiful cinematography (aided by the naturally gorgeous locations) & intelligent camera work (meaningful, communicative shots). Music throughout is creative, emotionally evocative and well-employed (as in, not overdone).

Tensions (so much tension!), twists & turns, and character development all handled so well, with subtlety, silences, humour, meaningful looks, and interplay between characters. Incredibly compelling. A second viewing through the whole first season (and returning to the next seasons as well) was actually as rewarding as the first, due to the quality and attention to details, despite knowing the outcome this time around. That is pretty rare. Really no critiques, and that too is rare! Apart from secondary characters who can grate, but this too points to how well written & acted they are.

I consider Broadchurch among the best series I've ever seen, up in calibre of company with Band of Brothers.