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Overall Shogun is a unique piece of television, rich in colour and costume with a script and plot that does not follow your your normal 'hit' series trends.

The hero or heroes of the show are not clearly defined, the villains are not necessarily baddies, just the other side of the story.

The female characters while on the surface submissive unfold as powerful players who are the centrepieces of most episodes.

While Western religion and culture is recognised it is not the main driver, it's Japanese. The violence at times is shocking but key to the story, the studies of death and service are stark but beautiful.

The big point is how it told it's story without following the typical plot patterns, leaving you feeling fascinated, even excited, but never certain about the next step, rare in modern entertainment.

Epic drama.

If Anna Sawai doesn't get an Emmy nomination for that performance then they should close the Emmy's down.

The build of drama in this show is fantastic, I haven't seem much recently compare with the quality.

The settings and art direction is high quality, the costumes luxurious, but the big difference or point is the depth of the intrigue and emotion the script and actors live out.

No spoilers from me because to watch it unfold is such a delight, it would be rude to steal that pleasure.

The character Mariko is probably the strongest female character in a TV series for many years, I cannot think of any better.

Gripping viewing.

For a start Andrew Scott is 48 years old and looks it, so the persona of the young drifter doesn't fit. Next, not just his deliberately slow dialogue but all the casts methodical serious approach to everything becomes a drag.

Add to this this monochrome colouring and the series fails to deliver much punch, surprise or atmosphere apart from dreariness, Ripley is more of a depressed desperate loser than a crafty conman and opportunist.

They've put effort and thought Into the production but they have over done the styling, it drowns out the intrigue and fun the story.

So an average show, that could have been better.

Dakota Fanning's character is so deadpan she flattens most scenes she is in, the beauty and sparkle of Naples is totally lost, the lightness and purity that Gwyneth Paltrow once gave this role, made the character far more appealing.

So I'm being generous with a 5, it's mainly for effort, they tried hard but failed.

This is a brilliant piece of sci fi, the production values and results are beautiful to watch.

Some of the scenes stop you in your tracks as they show strange & new worlds in vivid reality, exceptionally well done. In the end the story comes together and it is a satisfying conclusion, but at times, particularly in the first 30 minutes where you have abandon the story and just hope it goes somewhere.

They try to push too much information from too many angles to allow you get into the story, I nearly gave up but the effects and visuals held me, it is as if the writers could not keep up with the effects department, but then eventually got into sync.

So stay with it and watch it on a big modern TV, in the end, particularly if your a Blade Runner/A. I./Philip K Dick fan, you'll enjoy it.

The tension and plot builds as the movie goes along, you start to ignore events and want the answer to why these events are occurring.

A good cast with good production values sets you up to expect an enjoyable ride, but it never quite gets there.

I kept glancing at my watch wondering how they intended to satisfy the curiosity they created in the ever diminishing time left, the answer was sadly obvious, they couldn't.

Someones had a good story about the end of life as we know it, sold the concept as a movie, but never had an ending. It all just stops with a few minutes of facts and answers squeezed into a small scene dropped on you as if to say "there we just stole some time from you".

Or they hope to make a sequel to pull more time of you, it's hard to tell.

Heist movies need that element of fun and adventure, this movie heads in that direction but doesn't quite get there.

The plot gets a little confusing and in trying to understand the moves involved it leaves the viewer lost at times.

It is also a little hard to believe that 3 people on the spot agree to help rob a bank when approached by a total stranger, it's just too convenient.

All if a sudden it's the heist day and the excitement builds and they are nearly away and then the movie ends ! I just sat there going, really ? Is that it ?

Either they ran out of money or the director got confused because it is too blunt and quick leaving many questions unanswered, very badly done.

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A well shot film, heavy on atmosphere with a coldness permeating everything, I suppose to reflect the coldness of the life of a contract killer.

Fassbender is suitably clinical in his performance, he suits the role well. No one else really stands out because the movie is 95% just about him, his work and thoughts while working.

The voice overs helping the viewer piece together a very simple plot starts well but gets over done and repetitive.

The film reflects the killers methodical planning in it's feel but in that it strangles itself by not changing or doing anything to surprise the viewer, it becomes totally predictable and at the very end, flat.

This is an unusual movie because it is so understated, no car chases or death or violence. The relationships are gentle and created at a normal pace, the characters are not flashy or perfect, it is a very 'normal' group of people.

I note several low ratings here which I just don't get, it is a story that does not try to be anything else, add to that it's good humour, as always so well by Steve Carrell, in fact the ensemble cast does a great job all round, I've watched it 3 or 4 times and enjoyed it each time.

No big sets or costumes, this movie is deliberately low key and low glitz, it challenges the viewer to watch & relax, which is too much for some.

So much effort & money thrown at a creative idea, with some of Hollywoods finest, it's just that someone didn't string it all together with a plot.

The outcome is a colourful montage of crazy scenes with massive sets, that often feels more like a documentary than a movie, in that lies the boring bit, they get the message across but it is not enough to keep you on track.

It feels like 10 sub plots behind a broad message, the characters come in and out but never connect, you want to get into a story but it just flys along, on and on, Margot Robbie gets the best lines and handles them well, she's developing as a top lead actress, but even her character seems shallow for long stretches.

Obviously made on a smaller Budget this series at times is so undercooked and low key it's silly, some of the 'big' battles are made up of 5 or 6 guys on horses with the camera held at odd angles to reflect chaos ?

Another annoying part of this series is the Druid woman, Nimue, her endless 'seeing' of things and curses just get so boring, grossly overacted, with the rolling eyes while she rolls around in the mud threatening people, she's not interesting just annoying, her magic is non existent, the character comes across as an over emotional hippy lost in time.

Game of Thrones has destroyed these low budget historical pieces, the castles are too small, the battles as well, the camera work is too close and the use of darkness to hide poor sets is overdone, there is no depth or big landscape.

5 was being very generous.

Oppenheimer is not a film to be taken lightly, a serious topic played out in a humourless 3 hour grind.

The story is secondary to the big philosophical questions it drops on you, was Oppenheimer a demon or a saviour, it's hard to tell.

Cillian Murphy was excellent, but like the plot he delivered it in a sad jumbled timeline, through flashbacks and memories, he seemed exhausted.

Some really annoying special effects done to mimic or highlight fission made their point a little too often. Overall about 30 minutes too long, post the big bang it was just sad & reflective.

So a big movie, well made, but not a fun outing, not all films should be but this one left me feeling a little hollow (and tired).

Taylor Sheridan pumps out TV scripts from his assembly line at a fast and furious rate, but to maintain the workload he is relying on cliches and set formulae to piece the plots together.

This series has all the basics covered to hold viewers but as the series progresses the storyline is getting more and more shallow.

Nicole Kidmans serious power broker role is as wooden as her features and at times is ridiculous. Also the freedom allowed these special forces units at home and in a war zone are silly, in some scenes they are literally marching around suburbia fully armed, while supposed to being 'covert'.

What started with promise is turning into a predictable soap, when the lesbian bit started I nearly laughed out loud it was so 'now' and so woke.

This starts out well, the first 30 minutes is interesting and indicates a good mystery, but it just drags on, victims get despatched at a regular rate, so regular it becomes silly.

No one is looked and no one, including the police, connect the dots to the house and killer, those that do become victims so quickly it adds to an almost comical plot.

At any point if one of the victims gave the police a clear description of what was going on, less would die, but no, there is always a reason they cannot, so it just goes on & on.

I actually started to dislike the victims because they became more frustratingly stupid as the movie collapses into a silly rushed ending, sort of worth watching but not really.

This is one good looking film, the sets, costumes and photography are outstanding, but the story builds, is mysterious, even a little confusing, then flops.

As you progress through it there are moments of 'get on with it' with catch up or ah ha moments, so you start to ask questions.

So does the main character and you join her in the quest for answers and an ending or exit. Here lies the problem, the movie finishes without giving those answers or exit, for you or the character, do people actually die, yes I think so, does she escape ? Not sure, do people return to normal life ? Not sure, and so on.

All that pretty filming is for nothing, it doesn't satisfy you, in fact you are a little annoyed, the shock value is taken away by 'oh no, that's not it, is it ?', the conclusion is a fail, leaving you...empty.

Bad script and really bad obvious female characters, so dull and very 90's dull women, ooh I'm a lesbian, so cool, so trendy....so dull.

The basics looked promising but the over acting and the forced comedy and chaos is just overdone, it gets boring really quickly, at times like a poorly written uni sketch.

I thought Australian drama had moved on but this throwback really turned me off, it's not funny, it's one cliche after another, how do they get funding ?

The lead character could have been a strong country investigator, but no they fall back into a semi farce mode to theoretically relax the viewer, all they do is put you to sleep, I gave it a 3, and that is generous.

A real writers series, a good mixture of drama and comedy, with a lot of snappy clean dialogue, as always delivered with ease by Odenkirk.

The humour was what got me in and kept me watching, I found the drama while logical and adult, at times a bit dragged out, with a couple of episodes a little too much hard-work.

I didn't do my homework, so didn't realise that Ep. 8 was the S1 finale, so when an Ep. 9 never appeared I did have a feeling of 'is that it ?', so while it was rounded and a happy but not perfect ending, a few questions or issues remained standing.

I hope there is a S2 because overall it was a good adult piece of TV, very mature for modern times, with great writing and acting.

Luther was a well written intelligent TV series with suspense and twists. This movie version has flashes of that original concept but the writers just made it all a bit too far fetched.

It doesn't help having Andy Serkis in one of the main roles, he's just a bad actor, he looks and sounds like a cartoon character and overacts badly, if his hair isn't a wig, he needs a haircut, he looks silly !

As the plot unfolds in this movie the resources required by the baddy to carry out these crimes would be impossible to get together, it just gets far too ridiculous and goes way beyond a crime thriller to almost James Bond baddy levels. Less a London crime thriller more an international world domination plan starting in the suburbs of London.

Watchable, but silly.

There are great moments in this show, some classic music and some excellent 70's scenes, but it just keeps driving the romance agenda.

You stay for the fun and the rock and roll but you have to sit through the various relationship issues, which mainly involve men as mindless children or sex mad fiends, while most femsle characters are creative & sensitive, just looking for truth and the perfect partner, it gets monotonous.

One of my other issues is the bands music, it's pretty lame and mixes the 60's culture with too much soft rock, again monotonous.

The lead actor is 10 years too old for the part, Camille his wife is stunning looking, but Daisy is a scene stealer.

So a good music based backstory which gets lost in showing why girls are so much better.

Perhaps the strangest show of recent years.

Why would you make such a boring old fashioned on set comedy ? The laugh track gets a bigger profile than the actual actors, it is non stop and is in there to tell you when they are trying to be funny.

I was amazed that someone threw money at this, why ?

Ashton Kutcher who is in his mid forties is playing a young guy coming home ? What a career destroyer, he must have been desperate, It is weird how they made this believing there are enough moronic viewers out there who would believe that he's just a 44 year old kid, how low is their opinion of American audiences ?

The writing is so basic the actors just stand there reading their lines then stopping, some canned laughter, next line, canned laughter, on and on, shocking.

Trying to use black culture and jewish culture jokes non stop in forced and obvious situations.

Jonah Hill is miscast, too old, not believable.

Eddie Murphy is too strong an actor and comedian who gets all the best lines. Plus what's with the sunglasses inside & at night ?

David Duchovny looks as though he's either on drugs or half asleep, very odd.

Julie Louise Dreyfus tries too hard but the writing leaves her standing there.

So many scenes are forced and become embarrassing, as an example the basketball scene is weak and just in to move the story along, an obvious time filler, giving the writers an afternoon off.

Being non Jewish or Black maybe I'm missing something but this movie has several amusing scenes but overall is a badly written attempt to match the 'Guess who's coming to dinner' genre, watch the original, Spencer Tracy and Sidney Poitier do it with class, drama, comedy and reality.

This starts off really well but there are too many episodes, the twists and heist plot get lost in the too long back stories.

I guessed 95% of the plot 3/4's through so this added to the drag factor, waiting for the end. The only bit I didn't quite get was who killed Ray at the end in the tunnel ? Was it the FBI agent ? Why ? Just vengeance ?

The whole FBI interaction thing was a little weird and superfluous, I found that bit boring and unessential.

I also dislike long heist or caper movies in which the baddies don't win and the goodies are not that good, it is hard to enjoy or like some of the characters, for example, what was the point of Bob the safe cracker, no one liked him, he was obviously untrustworthy, why would anyone want him on the gang ? It made no sense.

An interesting backdrop and plot, Travis Fimmel acts his part well adding a touch of class that exposes some of the others.

The character Hazel is written in such an annoying manner, I learn't to really dislike her and wanted to skip her angry monologues.

The scenery is spectacular and technically this is a good production, in 2 other areas though it falls down.

The big one is the support actors, keen to be 'good' they way over act, their movements are too fluid and their speech is wooden, some of the lines are delivered like bricks being dropped from a second story, at times it is like one big Year 12 play.

Next is the occasionally bizarre soundtrack, the 'spooky' music is overdone and every now and then a noise just occurs against the vibe of a scene, it's an attempt to jolt the viewer (I think) but often it just sounds odd and amateurish.

Ridiculous plots destroy what could have been a good show, the twists are so silly and childish they are well beyond belief.

The hero who gets promoted to chief of MI6 is totally clueless, too young and too compromised to even look real.

At every stage, individuals are infiltrating MI6 with a mobile phone while sitting at home, MI6 is this bunch of no nothing guys sitting around in flash offices wearing flash suits cracking jokes and making childish remarks about National security, there doesn't appear to be any security around them or their families, its just too silly.

The episodes move along quickly mainly because the script is si weak and silly it cannot sustain long conversations.

Set in a stunning location, played by a great cast led by Daniel Craig this is an entertaining and lively film.

Perfect for a series of films which will have actors lining up to get a spot in the ensemble casts, this group seem to enjoy the opportunity to act out their characters.

My one gripe is that it isn't much of a mystery, the bad guy is the bad guy from the very beginning, Norton as the lead oddball is the prime suspect from the second he walks onto the set, so there really isn't a dramatic twist or surprise, it rolls out exactly as I thought it would.

So if you have some spare time it is worth a watch but don't get too excited.

Basically a good murder mystery police show, but the mix of the mystery and police work is over shadowed by Dougray Scott's over acting as the tortured soul is too much.

The story gets dragged out too far by his psych issues which dominate the storyline.

It also adds a lot of unrealistic issues in the workplace which in real life would gave him out of a job in a day or so, Ken Stott is terrible, he comes across as s total buffoon, again in real life he would have trouble holding a job as a postman.

If there ever is a series 2 they need more plot and detective work and less dramatic psycho analyses.