tom-2979

I need to give this film thr lowest possible rating for 2 reasons. Firstly, to bring the overall rating down (March 2024) of 6.8. Which is insane, because its higher than Ghostbusters 2 itself. Second, I stand by that rating for the reasons I will give.

As a standalone movie, unrelated to the original 80s franchise. Its just awful

The script is cringe worthy, nothing ties together properly. The "jokes" are dire. Apparently there was a script, but then, they improvised it all?

So, it besmirches the original joy and wonder of the original wonderful Ghostbusters and turns it into a horrible cash grab based on thr LOWEST of the LOW type of cringe humour in the style of summer teen filth comedy.

Everything about this existing is offensive to me.

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Why am I doing this review now?

Because, Im about to go watch the second Ghostbusters reboot movie that worked properly. This is the sequel to Ghostbusters Afterlife. A movie that REALLY cared about it's source material and created a fantastic reboot that was touching and paid homage to the late, great, Ramis.

Proving it cna be done properly and care about legacy and the fans.

I've seen videos of Paul Feig (director of this garbage) and somehow he takes himself seriously as a director, comedian and writer... taking most of the morning to do his hair and dress up in a suit and bow tie (weird. Man.. seriously) and it looks like he and the girls making this movie are having a great time laughing, filming improv, giggling, thinking that this is the way to make comedy gold.. just improv everything .

Sorry, but Ghostbusters has law, its a universe carefully created with mythos. You cant just slap Ghostbusters on the title and improv 90 minutes of jokes. The original Ghostbusters isnt really a comedy in the first place. Its an action, mystery, drama made my comedians.. all the jokes are within the context of the movie and the dialogue, they aren't fart jokes outside the context of the film itself. Which is why its so painful to watch.

... and thoroughly enjoyed it!

This is my sort of film. I didn't even know I needed it. It's not loud action, violence, overblown drama or cheesy romance. It's a true story about a man who was done over by the corporate behemoths (that are even bigger today).

This is essential watching, in my opinion, if only for a history lesson. Google (and Apple et al) wrote the modern playbook on these practices. Buying up every small invention and inventor with a good idea in case in turns into the next big tech killer app.

I felt for the character, his legacy Vs his family, the slimy nature of lawyers hired by the top dogs and the sleaze tactics and lies they employ without a second thought.

It's a slow burn. The payoff is up to the viewer to decide. What would you have chosen?

I simply can't believe this came out so long ago.

Anyway, the best bits, are clearly the PKD influences. Everything else was adjusted for Hollywood.

Some interesting graphics choices as well.

First, the cheap looking Photoshop lens flare.

For example, in the mag-lev vertical car chase, it looks so unnatural. This was shot on 35mm film and a conscious choice wade to skip one of the processes to leave silver later on all the film.

It's a look. But Matrix did it better with their green/normal in and out the matrix.

This is all just dull, shiny.. it's kinda weird.

I can't decide at times if it wasn't a to be a comedy, a drama, a prophetic display if potential futures..

A lot of the comedy seems largely misplaced.

And the way Tom Cruise - desk man in one scene is LITERALLY jumping of cars moving up a building a kilometer high.

Review

This is a review of Joan is Awful, the first episode of the new series of Black Mirror, but also, a critique of Black Mirror in general and the state of current technology. Let's see how long this essay stays relevant before it looks quaint and is superceded by whatever the latest tech breakthrough is.

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So, if you've seen the previous 5 seasons, or know the general premise of the show - I feel obliged to point out that we may be becoming desensitised to these kinds of dystopian "near future" storylines. For two reasons - firstly, because of the five previous seasons and knowing partially what to expect! But mainly, because they don't feel futuristic any more.

I don't think there are many episodes that haven't had at least a small part of their premise become less than fictional and actually come to fruition in one way or another. You can Google several articles I'm sure on the subject.

The head Black Mirror writer, Charlie Brooker, has always been involved in some form of tech journalism and part owns an electronics exchange franchise (CEX). Of course, it helps that he is extremely intelligent and clearly aware of society at large and our general destination. We stroll arm in arm with an increasingly growing digital presence in our lives.

Anyway, all that being said should in no way detract from the fact that this is a superbly acted, well written and important statement on the current zeitgeist of modern life

Deepfakes, multiverses (some dramatic license taken in this episode, Quantum computing, digital likenesses of actors, our rights when it comes to privacy and the terms of conditions of any product that we all click 'Agree' to (quite ready... all sans personal Intellectual Property Lawyer that, of course, we all keep on speed dial for whenever we install a new app.)

At this point it's getting increasingly difficult to discern drama from satire - the money grabbing sociopaths at silicon valley are pushing exactly these sort of horror scenarios at us with little concern for the outcome.

The Social Dielemma being a fantastic documentary on Netflix about these addictions to not just put phones, but more worryingly, what other people think of us. The Facebook algorithm and their Dopamine Department that tests the addictive nature of their entire site down to the shape of the "Like" button.

Facebook's Metaverse, companies offering digital copies of dead people based on their posts and messages, chat bots generating entire articles and arguing with both themselves and real people online and perhaps most worrying for even higher paying creative jobs - the ability to generate from a text prompt; articles on any subject, art, music and even code. I honestly can't think of many jobs that can't be replaced by AI. Even something as hands-on as cooking. Precision robotics is evolving too - stick an AI powered arm in a kitchen and provide a recipe, robotic chefs are now a thing - even at the bottom, a million teenage coming-of-age burger flipping summer jobs are in jeopardy.

Partly why AI is so terrifying is not because it can't be made safe or neutral, but because there is little incentive to do so when the potential profit incentives are so alluring, even at the expense of redundancies - and eventually, people's lives. We are in the middle of an AI arms race. Same exact scenario as the Atomic bomb. Dangerous new science that we all need in order to protect us from whatever the other guy has. Except, instead of a stalemate. These intelligences WILL be used - not all in nefarious ways - but also because we are hitting the limits of our own intelligence - a singular human simply cannot know everything there is to know about even a single subject due to its complexity. The sheer amounts of data being generated within individual experiments requires a supercomputer to sift through and make sense of it. The LHC generates terrabytes of data every second it's running. Simulated physics is a new field of science that couldn't have been explored without the computing power we have now. Mega underground farms of servers all linked together ploughing through data looking for answers. Eventually, it will be automated to the point where the computers are asking the questions, designing the experiment (or simulating it) and deriving new understanding for us

The 6 month "pause to consider the implications" open letter that was put forward by top AI scientists a few months ago, has largely been ignored.

The current thinking is that; if you're the last country to the party with tech, then you could be looking at a failed nation, left far behind as a super intelligence basically invents everything you need to become the next leading global superpower.

What starts off slow, begets a number of significant breakthroughs until it is in full exponential upswing and we move from yearly breakthroughs, to monthly, to even hourly updates as we teach intelligences to self improve. At which point, the evolution of such an intelligence is largely out of our hands - with the exception of the "off switch" which even then, is no guarantee of safety.

With people living their lives increasingly online, both socially and for work - their self esteem directly correlated with the number of "likes" received over their food snaps or heavily filtered selfies. (To the point of teenage suicides - on the increase in huge numbers) these sorts of stories are losing their impact because they are actually happening now in real time. We may have reached the Black Mirror tipping point where truth is stranger than fiction.

It was likely that this episode was written before the latest AI milestone (CHAT-GPT) and way before Apples new leap into VR/AR tech with a headset.

But here we are. Aside from the multiverse macguffin, all of this episode is now entirely possible. Phone records your day and renders in real-time a photo realistic avatar, lip synced and script reviewed and rewritten by Chat-GPT.

Nvidia literally only this week demonstrated AI characters in-game that can respond to your voice, hold a conversation and discuss their backstory which can be written for them.

Unreal Engine 5, the latest 3D game making software just added photoscan and meta-humans. Within a couple of minutes, just using an iPhone camera to scan a person - that data is then imported, turned into a digital copy. Then, add your voice after taking a few language samples and you're done.

The next generation of games will have full unscripted characters that can converse on-the-fly with minimal work, except for adding a few bullet points as back story.

I predict that the next series of Black Mirror won't be released fast enough for it to become prophetic and will rather be labelled as historic.

For most people, I'm sure it seems like a fun sci-fi show. But for those in the know, it really is a black mirror of possibilities.

Excellent. As always.

5/5.

This is smart and funny farce. These are the types of British comedies you don't see so much of these days, but that ONLY we can do well.

Remember the 80s comedy 'Clockwise' with John Cleese? or perhaps even Peter Cellars in 'The Party'.

Basically, it's one of those films where all the suspension of disbeliefand therefore the entire plot, premise and thus/hence all the comedy comes from the fact that instead of just coming clean or saying 'no' or walking away.. the main character decides to dig himself deeper and deeper into his hole... and we are so glad they do, because the results are hilarious,

It seems critics and newspaper reviewers forget entirely that they are watching a form of entertainment where the realism of personal interactions. the correct physics in space, the way systems ACTUALLY FU*kiNG behave, DO NOT behave that way on film at all.. because if they did, you'd have no Star Wars, people would never fall in love on film because they'd go home and watch Eastenders instead of chasing down that last aeroplane to Fiji containing your long lost love - or the last train to Manchester that leaves the station at a pace that not only allows you to give chase, but also hold a conversation for a solid 2 minutes while you run and your love leans out of the window waving her hankerchief at you.

What I am saying is that.. realism has its place. But in comedy, it sacrifices a million directions you could take your script.

If this film was simply about a guy that owed rent to someone that would break his legs, should he not pay.. he'd likely, get a loan and owe the bank, rather than a murderous criminal gang.

Or.. you know. Something sensible.

But no, instead, we end up at a mansion full of naked, drug fuelled hippies attempting to recruit a Stanley Kubrick doppelganger into filming a counterfeit sham Moon Landing... all while being chased by various American intelligence and Federal investigatory agencies.. but of course!

There are some classic lines, great cinematography, subtle slow-mo, good music choices.. Rupert Grint STUNNED me by not being a child actor that grew up a bit - no, his acting evolved right along with him and he is excellent. He is firmly my favourite and easily the best of the main three original Potter cast.

Grint4TheWin!

Anyway.. why all this huge tangent all just to say that the plot is amusing and the film is watchable.

Well, because in actual fact - the film is more than good, it's excellent as far as outlandish British farcical comedy goes, but what upset me was that (as I often do, the wrong way around) I checked the reviews and rating after actually watching the movie.

Have I read about the wrong film?

No.. critics are just tearing it apart in their usual 'this isn't a masterpiece of cinema, and therefore deserves no praise' type reviews.

Look, not every painting has to be a Mono Lisa, nor every statue a marble David.

I like abstract, I like budget, I like experimental... I LOVE it when it all just comes together with the right cast, they all care, they are clearly having fun and there isn't a single stuck-up multip-millionaire actor who believes that the lines he has been given to say are 'beneath them'.

I've seen Edward Norton give ABSOLUTE minimal effort in order to fulfil a contract. It was a comic book film too, so for fans of that particular comic - Ed basically said 'screw you'.

I would love to find out what Edward Norton enjoys, get a part in it then just stare into the camera for 45 minutes, ruining the entire show.

So, Robert de Niro also now has so much money, he can pick and choose any role, any time (Meet the Fockers.. weird - but arguably acceptable ).. No doubt he gets offered minor roles for BOAT LOADS of cash.

Take, for example, this upcoming new "Joker" movie, all he has to do is stand up and pretend to be a Game Show Host.. It's Wardrobe, Hair and Makeup department that did 95% of the work for him! All he has to do is say his lines words with some conviction.

They even colour-graded the film on computer to make it look like it was made in the 70s and shot like Taxi Driver... giving the audience a wink and a nod.

How much effort does he give? Clearly not enough to warrant me mentioning it here.

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Bottom Line:

Moonwalkers is a god damn great time. Dare I say, I think it will develop a bit of a cult following in the future,

It contains actors that care about their roles, they are having a good time and are enjoying each day on set as it comes. They don't look like the only thing that matters is when 10 months of their hours and hours of daily work gets edited down into a 90 minutes attempt to impress critics. Those people that, quite honestly, never apologise for making or breaking careers nor should they have been assigned that much power in the first place. (I have no idea who listens to critics, but someone must do, because it affects ticket sales..)

It's a paradox of a career. You're supposed to love film, therefore find the best parts of every art piece put in front of you to judge. Yet instead, tear it to pieces and summarise in a sentence about how little you enjoyed doing your job for the last 2 hours.You still get paid though. --- List of poor reasons why you should review movies:

You have an encyclopedic knowledge of movies that other people think are good, or have either a copy of, or perhaps even read '1001 Movies You Should See Before You Die'.

You think subtitles qualify a movie as being extremely foreign and/or obscure'.

You've seen some black and white movies

.. etc.

You know.. basic things that are generally out of the realm of regular, popcorn eating movie goers..No, you're not edgy, or deep or 'into film'...

There are people on YouTube that are REALLY great reviews, God damn, some of them actually are spending longer than the entire movie breaking it down and why it's so well made... From just the basics of the script and actors to the lighting, camera lenses used, what camera is used and how its being held (tripod, handheld, shoulder mount), the cinematography.. (Hey - do you even know what a cinematographer does? In fact, next time you watch a movie.. wait for the credits and see how many people and their listed jobs are that you actually know what they do.

That'll give you more appreciation for film making too.

As a music producer myself, I have two ways of listening to music. The first is 'breakdown mode OFF' Where I will just pretend like I've had half a bottle of brandy and whether I want to sing along to or dance to the music.. does it 'work' as a song overall.

The other version of my enjoyment, which unfortunately, I have almost no ability to switch on or off - as I spend my days breaking down songs into it's component layers (layers of melody, drums, instruments, rhythms, time signatures) Similar to all of the jobs listed at the finale of the movie credits - the same number of jobs apply to making a song. Except that, thanks to technology, a single person can now apply for, interview and hire themselves to do ever one of those jobs themselves.

So, now I can write, produce, master, release and criticise my own music all by myself. Sadly, it has ruined my ability to hear any music without peeling it apart like a sandwich made of over 100 layers of bread drums and musical mayonnaise.

I've gone off track again.

What I'm saying is that.. this film doesn't need to shoot towards a pretentious level of "artistic perfection" seen in something like Japanese storytelling.. Abstract worlds that are visually stunning, like Pan's Labyrinth, for example..

Of course, if you do shoot for abstract perfection and have a stunning critical failure - then you find yourself stuck between the weird cracks of pretentious try-hard nonsense and you've spawned a self-loving ego stroke,

No, it does the job, gets it done - and you love it all the more for it. I don't need to have my visual cortex sent to the gym every time I sit down.

This is comedy, it doesn't need visually stunning landscapes or closeups of french kissing with a foggy background and slow exposure sweeps of light in the background.

Actually, there are some arty parts that fit really well in this movie..

I'm thinking of one in particular. I'm very content with the slow motion nudity featured during the use of the hand held near-floor camera sweep through the dope-smoke filled mansion being used as a squat - which sets the scene perfectly and introduces another character..

And as a meta film plot about filmmaking, it's actually incredible self aware in its restraint over excess.

I love this film.

Not only for the enjoyment it gives me watching it, it's a good laugh and the acting carries you along with the story.. but, if you made it this far, its given me a hell of a lot to talk about in terms of the invalidity of professional critics and their opinions, film in general and the job industry growing in film and shrinking in music.. strange that. There are more and more jobs opening up in movies due to the use of set building around chromakey inserted CG effects and hundreds of other technical details that now need to be interwoven together as technology continues to increase at a rate faster than filmmakers can keep up with the choice to use them (you can now make a film based on a new innovation rather than a script itself.. for example, the ability now to perfectly, photo-realistically recreate actors as the younger version of themselves. There is bound to be a movie that features that effect as the flimsy premise for an entire story - I'll bet that they use Robert Di Niro too - just to fulfil someones wet dream that he is the worlds most skilled actor (due to pointing at himself in a mirror and doing some acting).

Then, they can compare his present acting in a younger body!

TL:DR

Moonwalkers is great.

I watch a lot of movies, many pass me by, enjoyable but not groundbreaking.

During and after this movie I was emotionally affected, it was a lovely story of hope, loss, childlike dreams, action and Brad Bird is excellent at the family dynamic and dialogue - having worked on other excellent films such as The Incredibles,

I stopped by the IMDB page to see what the scrore was - and for once, I have to say, it's WAY off something that I expected or agree with.

I don't know what happened the critics or the public. But this is fantasy, sci-fi and action at its best. It reminds me a lot of old 80s adventure films like Daryl, Flight of the Navigator, War Games etc. but more complex, modern effects and a wonderful cast.

I hope this deserves a cult following or becomes a lesser known rare gem. It deserves far more praise and attention that its score of a mere '6' (at present) on IMDB.

Everything you think you may have seen before - From the quirky TV format gimmicks like 4th wall breaks and flashbacks get subverted. The emotional core is so solid and relatable that it could have been marketed as a real time documentary on relationships. I don't feel for characters often.. But I fell in love with Fleabag and was glued to her story and shenanigans throughout. I binge watched 2 series (Unlike the American style of TV show - us British know how to make a perfect polished gem that it is then leave it, glittering in the sun. instead of making a 24 episode series out of every tiny idea going)

I could have watched endless amounts of this if the quality stayed as high as it was. But what we have and are left with after the announcement that series 2 will be the last, is something utterly beautiful in its entirety. The acting, locations, camera work, comedy, the flood of emotions..

I will have to watch it again as there are many subtle callbacks used later to one liners, things that were mentioned or that happened.

So clever, razor sharp

I don't know much about the actress/writer, but I'll be following intensely from now on with her talent. Oh, and she is rather stunning too.

Too many favourite parts to mention.. The priest of profanity, the birch step mother from hell, the sibling relationship, shitty boyfriends, the golden nude..

Everything seemed essential, no waste or meandering plot. It all wrapped up and left you wanting more.. That's the way you know excellence when you come across it..

I'm going to indulge myself again next week and watch it all again, maybe, if I have the willpower, I will savour an episode a night instead of the desperation to keep watching more the first time round.

Overall, I have to say that its the emotion that kept me hooked. I feel it myself. I'm so sadly relatable.

The need for love, giving in to whatever is available just to feel closer to someone, parental divides, sibling angst, overall depression, guilt and anxiety.. I don't now how much other people suffer, but feeling like there may be other people out there that wrote a series especially for me to feel less alone was something rare and special.

10/10

No better score exists.

Okay - quality of the movie [0/10] Enjoyability of the movie [10/10]

Total paradox, right?

This is the absolute pinnacle of bad story, bad dialogue, bad editing, bad plot.. I mean, I'm saying 'bad' like there actually is any of these elements within the film. The editing makes no sense, it seems randomly cut with continuity errors, there are lines like 'What's going on with the candles and the music' when there ARE NO candles or music.. The entire thing is absurd. But what makes it truly unique is that it was done entirely seriously, this is not a tongue in cheek production like low budget bad movies that know they are catering to an audience who expect to laugh at the poor effects and story.. No, this man, Tommy Wuseau, honestly, genuinely thought he was crafting his magnum opus, masterpiece of cinema.

Is it good? Absolutely, definitely not.

However - as a movie EXPERIENCE. I watched this with some of my family, warning them it was terrible, but we had one of the funniest, most incredible bonding experiences in cinematic history - As we collectively picked apart every camera angle, wobbly set, insane use of props, costume, music that skips, repeats, continuity, edits, plot and dialogue. There is not one redeeming moment in the entire movie. Even if there is a single well crafted line (there isn't) it would have to be spoken by either a terrible actor or by Tommy himself, who's accent sounds like it was in a European car crash . We all laughed until it HURT, and for that.. I have to give the experience a 10/10. I've never enjoyed a movie more with friends and family more than this one.. EVER.

I head that the experience is similar in theatres that still show this film for precisely this reason. Everybody dresses up as their favourite character, recites every line and throws spoons at the screen every time one inexplicably ends up on screen (it's a lot.. is there a reason behind this 'artistic' decision. No. There is no reason for anything)

There is more and more to notice about this film every time I watch it.. Most recently, how the architecture of the building makes no sense whatsoever. They appear to be on the ground floor, but exiting from the other side causes them to end up on the roof - at night. It's things like this that could inspire a PhD in studying the intricate insanity and entirely non sequitur values of every moment in The Room.

Do I recommend it? Well.. how can I not. Everyone needs to see this movie at least once, after a couple of drinks and with friends. It's even funnier than Weekend at Bernies after taking magic mushrooms.

I almost died laughing from a hypoxic brain injury, unable to catch my breath - narrowly avoiding giggling myself into a coma.

The finest abdominal workout video ever made.

Kim Tring, creator of heroes, strikes again with the same issues.

Heroes started off promising, interesting and with a great central theme or 'MacGuffin' for all characters to chase after.. then, I don't know what happened but it just fell apart. The show was cancelled, but love for it obviously brought it back as 'Heroes Reborn'.

Here, the same thing seems to happen. There is a lot of time wasting with voiceovers about 'fate' and pseudo philosophical twaddle.. then the formula starts. The boy writes some numbers, Keifer goes on a quest to help someone out.. its like the A Team + Quantum Leap + Numbers.

Then the writers seems to sort of give up on effort, coast for a while, play the hand theyve been holding back - Amelia, Child Protection Services and the algorithm.. then, the first series ends.

Its .. okay.. its watchable.. but it's really difficult to binge watch because if I hear the words 'Buddy' or 'Jake' one more time, I'm going to scream. As the boy doesn't talk, the father has to talk AT him using those two nicknames for him over and over and over.. And its clearly for the audience as you would have thought as the boy doesn't speak, talking to him is completely pointless by now.

If you want Autism.. try the Good Doctor. Its more realistic. This is interesting, but its too magic/pseudo science for my taste.. either go ALL OUT with magic, super powers and stuff.. this ambiguous nonsense about it being part of Gods plan and all the religious Jewish Hokum doesn't do it any favours at all.

I saw too young to be reading reviews about this when it came out. My parents took me to the cinema to see this when I was just 7 years old! It was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Watching it now, I still love it.. its original, inventive, funny and the Ghostbusters universe is consistent and solid - despite being a comedy, the actual rules of the film aren't ever broken.

Anyway, I understand its not the original, but its still fantastic and I'm so sad that the backlash against it meant that a 3rd film was never made. We had to wait 30 years for a disgusting pile of trash that spat in the face of these two originals.

I will never not love this film.. to me, they both stack up as excellent.. I can always tell a great film because if its on TV and I flick past it whilst changing channel, I will end up watching the whole thing! This is definitely one of those, along with things like the Back to the Future trilogy.

This was such a huge hit with the kids too, so inbetween the first and second film, the cartoon took off massively and was excellent as well, this film catered towards some of the kids needs as well and it worked well.

Basically, I don't have much to say except that they don't make films like this any more, we were spoilt and this doesn't deserve any of the unnecessary dislike it got. It's a wonderful fantasy, comedy, adventure... pure 80s perfection!

Two words spring to mind immediately before my mind begins to form more coherent descriptions.

"Light" yet "Strong"..

A drama-comedy (..'Dramedy' ?) made of carbon fibre!

While I would describe it as light entertainment, meaning it's not heavily focused on laugh out loud humour and the drama seems like any typical show looking for ideas for their cast to go through.. i.e. some heavy subjects that seem to feature hospitals pretty prominently! Douglas is an acting coach verging on retirement.. the writers certainly haven't pulled any punches when referencing his age , divorce, cancer, sex, aging, addiction, rehab.. oh, and don't forget the big one - taxes!

Actually, Douglas' own son spent 7 years in prison for non violent drug offences - so being reminded of that through this script can't be easy. But he does an incredble job.

Weirdly, it's Lisa Edelstein playing the drunk/addict daughter of his best friend. Which is interesting because she recently played an addict doctor in the show 'The Good Doctor' and she was famously looking after Hugh Laurie's character House, who was a drug addict himself in the show 'House'.

I just find it interesting that in many of her recent roles she either knows someone, or is herself, suffering with addiction!

Wow, okay, so .. typing all of this out, I realise how much is actually going on in the show. But, like I explained, I've completely overlooked much of the plot because I've really been watching for the banter and chemistry between Douglas and Arkin, which is pure delight. They are both such terrific actors. Alan Arkin doing his usual deadpan to perfection (He played the therapist in Gross Pointe Blank. A similar vibe in this I feel.. giving good advice that is ultimately ignored by the people around him.)

Bottom line, its great drama, interesting situation, but its the acting that shines through - ironically, as it's based around the main character who is an acting coach,

I love Michael Douglas, hes a great actor, he can obviously poke fun at himself as there are a lot of digs at his age - and his own son had major issues with drugs, so the story line about the daughter going to rehab must hit pretty close to home.

Its nice to see addiction in drama these days much more realistically depicted. Drug addicts and alcoholics aren't awful people any more, they are real people with health issues and it affects regular people in middle class families, not just poor people or troubled individuals.

Hats off to the writers for getting this right.

I've really enjoyed watching this. It's easy to follow and makes a nice change from all the really hard to follow, crazy storylines of a lot of what is going on right now on TV! Great to see Michael Douglas again too.. especially with a cameo from Danny DeVito, I'm sure they had a laugh on set again as I don't think they've worked together since the days of War of the Roses and Romancing the Stone era.

I've binged the first series of Toast and I'd forgotten just how out there Matt Berry comedy can be. He appears in the IT Crowd, but the part was written for him - when Berry is let loose with a script, all hell breaks loose. Snuff Box being the last Berry 'comedy' I caught. I mean, I hesitate to use the word comedy, because while it is funny, its main focus seems to be on a strange parallel dimension where anything is possible.

It deserves recognition because this isn't run of the mill. A lot of time and effort has gone into this series.There are SO many little touches to Toast of London that make it really special. The names or the characters, so well chosen they are comedy in and of themselves. The streak of white hair, the camera work, the catchphrases, the visual background jokes.. I couldn't name everything and it would require repeat viewings to catch them all. Toast is jam packed!

I wanted to write a review on one particular episode to use as a sort of overall snapshot of the series as a whole - one which takes the Berry brand of humour to the extreme. If you can handle this particular episode, you can handle anything. The awkwardness is on another level.

The episode in question is called: "Addictive Personality"

Basic plot - A black African woman has plastic surgery done by Steven Toast's arch nemesis, Ray Purchase, and made to look like Bruce Forsyth just to annoy Toast. And in his own words 'I'm not even that pissed off'. Pointless. Yet, it weaves its way into the plot of the episode in the strangest way.

Toast's flatmate starts a love affair with the Bruce look-alike. Some extremely disgusting imagery is placed in your head about them having sex.

It's so weird, so obscure and so uncomfortable I almost had to look away - this episode will haunt me for months.

Do I like it -

Short answer.. Yes.

Do I think there is a fine line between madness, genius and pushing the limits of weird..

Oh, hell yes.

Before I begin. I can completely see why this would go over people's heads. Why it wouldn't be seen as funny. This is a very eclectic and acquired sense of humour - there are no straight up jokes or punchlines, its absurdist humour in a black world of awkwardness and fantasy strangeness.

So - I've binged the first series of Toast and I'd forgotten just how 'out there' Matt Berry comedy can be. He appears in the IT Crowd, but the part was written for him - when Berry is let loose with a script, all hell breaks loose. Snuff Box being the last Berry 'comedy' I caught. I mean, I hesitate to use the word comedy, because while it is funny, its main focus seems to be on a strange parallel dimension where anything is possible.

It deserves recognition because this isn't run of the mill. A lot of time and effort has gone into this series.There are SO many little touches to Toast of London that make it really special. The names or the characters, so well chosen they are comedy in and of themselves. The streak of white hair, the camera work, the catchphrases, the visual background jokes.. I couldn't name everything and it would require repeat viewings to catch them all. Toast is jam packed!

I wanted to write a review on this particular episode to use as a sort of overall snapshot of the series as a whole. This one takes the Berry brand of humour to the extreme. If you can handle this particular episode, you can handle anything. The awkwardness is on another level.

Basic plot - A black African woman has plastic surgery done by Steven Toast's arch nemesis, Ray Purchase, and made to look like Bruce Forsyth just to annoy Toast. And in his own words 'I'm not even that pissed off'. Pointless. Yet, it weaves its way into the plot of the episode in the strangest way.

Toast's flatmate starts a love affair with the Bruce look-alike. It's so weird, so obscure and so uncomfortable I almost had to look away - this episode will haunt me for months.

Do I like it - short answer - yes. Do I think there is a fine line between madness, genius and pushing the limits of weird.. Hell yes.

My words are identical to the long and detailed YouTube review by 'Jeff Holiday' if you'd prefer to see a video review.

In summary - the writers do set-ups and pay-offs within minutes of each other - but go back on them every time.

The plan is to photon torpedo the enemy ship.

Main character: "We can't kill the enemy because that will make him a martyr"

So the 1st officer and the captain beam over to stun him. (Which would never happen in any other Trek show, its against regulation)

They beam over and moments later: Main character assassinates the enemy.

.. and done better, more concisely. This is basically a Black Mirror episode with a few expensive actors and the story shown from a more general perspective.

The thing that grinds about tech films are that they aren't written by tech people. Someone just takes an idea, blends it with some photos of the Apple Campus and extrapolates the rest from there - and none of it is the way it would or even could be implemented.

One the positive side, Emma Watson was good. She is becoming quite a well rounded actress. Good line delivery and timing and some subtle emotional reactions.