tacobelle30

IMDb member since September 2020
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    IMDb Member
    3 years, 9 months

Reviews

The Gentlemen
(2024)

Best thing I've seen on Netflix in a long time
I admit I was a little hesitant to watch 'The Gentlemen' on Netflix because I thought it was just a series of the film and thought it would be rubbish. But when I read the series was not a sequel to the film, I thought I'd give it a whirl... well what can I say? Once I started watching the first episode, I was hooked! To summarise in a nutshell, its British nobility meets the criminal underworld. It's fast-paced, action packed, full of twists and wit with a great soundtrack. Some characters I felt were similar to the film but then, the series was created by Guy Ritchie and all his films have some similarity to them in one way or another as in, they are his style of storytelling but I never tire of it. The acting and comic timing was spot on, Daniel Ings as Freddy Horniman is brilliantly annoying and the plot is wild but easy to follow. Best thing I've seen on Netflix in a long time.

Beckham
(2023)

What a brilliant and an amazing career
I'm a Man Utd fan so was immediately drawn into this documentary. We see a young David Beckham playing on the school football pitch to training on the grounds of Manchester United to being one of the most recognised brand/face in the world.

He talks about his relationship with his wife and Sir Alex Ferguson, the allegation of that extramarital affair and the bullying and abuse he suffered after the 1998 red card against Argentina.

We see David Beckham getting into his bee-keeping... check out his initials embroidered on his bee-keeping suit! We get a glance into DB's amazing colour coordinated wardrobe (I'm so jealous!!) There are loads of interviews with Victoria, family, Sir Alex Ferguson and various team mates and friend's.

Altogether, there are four episodes, each about an hour long. There were moments in the documentary that were quite uncomfortable to watch such as the aftermath from the sending off in the 1998 World Cup against Argentina and a heartfelt moment when DB was overcome with emotion towards the end of his last ever football match for Paris Saint-Germain.

What a brilliant and an amazing career this man has had. The whole documentary was well made and fun to watch even if you're not into football but just appreciate what David Beckham has achieved in his life so far. I was gripped throughout.

Porridge
(1974)

British comedy at its best
I used watched Porridge as a child when it was on the telly during the 70s, then I bought the whole dvd set in the 00s and now when I watch re-runs on some random channel, I still find it laugh out loud funny.

Ronnie Barker plays Fletcher nicknamed 'Fletch' who is a habitual criminal serving a five-year sentence for stealing a lorry. You see his daily battle to put one over the system while trying to be one step ahead of his arch-enemy prison officer, Mr Mackay.

Richard Beckinsale plays Godber his young naive cellmate, who looks upon Fletch as a father figure and Fletch takes under his wing.

The chemistry of all the characters are strong and the storylines witty and sarcastic. The little things the outside world would take for granted like, a tin of pineapple chunks, is a big deal when they go 'missing' in prison! The pettiness of trying to find out who stole the stolen pineapple chunks is sublime.

The late great Ronnie Barker has always been my favourite comedy actor and Porridge has always been one of my favourite comedy programmes, it's just very British and very funny.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
(2023)

A fitting farewell to the great Indiana Jones
I thoroughly enjoyed this film... I'm not a die hard Indiana Jones fan but I have seen all the films and felt this one had the feel of the other Indiana Jones films. Set in 1969 with a flashback to 1944, the plot was easy to follow and was action packed from start to finish with real stunts and real locations. Obviously Harrison Ford can't do some of the stuff he used to do in the other IJ films but by golly, the man is in his 80s!!! I think he did amazing throughout. At first, I wasn't quite sure about the character of IJ's goddaughter (she was a little irritating) but as the film went on, I warmed to her considerably and I loved Teddy her little sidekick. The Nazis in the film were very believable, in fact, quite scary. There were moments that were touching and sadly, what happens in real life but all in all, the film still had the lightheartedness and a musical score that the rest of the IJ films had. For me, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was a a perfect send-off to the character and a satisfying grand finale.

Wednesday
(2022)

Hurry up Netflix for another Woeful Season
I had no interest in watching this at all until my sister recommended it and told me to give it a go. Well, what can I say, within minutes of the first episode, I was hooked!! I binge watched the first 5 episodes, then binged watched the rest the following day.

I loved the acting, the scenery and the music, I loved it all... and it was funny. The only thing I will say is, some of the characters and school scenes reminded me of Harry Potter and Hogwarts but don't let that put you off, it's really worth a watch. I can't wait for the second woeful season so hurry up Netflix and get it in the can!

Ozark
(2017)

Should've been a different ending
I was addicted to Series 1 and 2 but it all got a bit silly in Series 3 and by Series 4, I had started watching it but couldn't wait for it to be finished, it was if the writers had run out of ideas but dragged it out anyway. For me the ending was disappointing and lacklustre. You could almost guarantee anyone who was unfortunate to cross paths with the Byrde family was going to die. Ruth should have survived and lived the better life she had planned for herself and Wendy should have died. I actually couldn't stand Wendy in the end, she was just interfering, sulky and evil, just a complete "bleep" basically. I think a more satisfying ending would've been the Byrde family going off into the sunset in the family car and viewers thinking they are finally leaving behind the ruthless drug cartel and the control and mass of death and destruction it caused to start a new life somewhere different and their car veering off the road as showed but Marty and the kids survive and Wendy dies. Now that would've been my kind of ending.

Elvis
(2022)

Loved this film from start to finish
I was glued to the screen throughout. I can see why Austin Butler got the part of Elvis, he spoke, sang and had mannerisms just like Elvis, his performance was Oscar worthy. Tom Hanks is equally as good as Colonel Tom Parker who manipulated and emotionally blackmailed Elvis Presley throughout his career. The story is told through the perspective of Colonel Tom Parker and although some of the story is factual, I think some of it is loosely based on the truth but that just made it more of an enjoyable watch. The film set design and the way it was shot is like a musical, in fact, I would go as far as to say it was a musical even though strangely it's not. I loved this film from start to finish.

Love & Gelato
(2022)

A bit predicatable
I'm not really into Chick flicks but I thought I'd watch this when there was nothing else I wanted to watch. The main character is annoying with an equally annoying best friend. The story is pretty predicable where girl meets boy, boy messes up, boy's arch rival seems a much better match but he's got already got a girl but love conquers all that kind of thing. I'm giving it 3 starts because of the stunning backdrop of Italy.

Kung fu
(2004)

Loved it
I loved this film, it was slapstick comedy with action kung-fu fighting and fantasy. A bit mad and bizarre but that's what I liked about it, it just had a bit of everything. There was even a little tribute to the Kung-fu legend himself Bruce Lee.

Kastanjemanden
(2021)

"Chestnut man, do come in, Chestnut man, do come in..."
I was gripped at the edge of my seat watching this series. The trailers are a bit misleading though as they show the actors speaking in English when in fact, the actual series is subtitled in English but that was okay for me...

But is you're not keen on reading subtitles, it may put you off and I did find (as I do with all subtitled films) I had to really concentrate on reading what was being said and sometimes I had to rewind as I wasn't quick enough in reading them.

The storyline is about a serial killer in Copenhagen who leaves a handmade matchstick doll at the scene of every crime committed.

Chestnuts dolls are a tradition in Denmark that children make every Autumn. As the children make the dolls, they sing, "Chestnut man, do come in, Chestnut man do come in..." If that invitation isn't creepy enough, watch this pyschological thriller!

It's easy to follow and very believable and those chestnut men... they really are creepy!!! Now whenever I see chestnuts, I'm going to immediately think of the Chestnut Man!!!

Murder Mystery
(2019)

Thoroughly enjoyed watching this whodunnit
A lighthearted whodunnit film that was easy to watch and follow. I'd like to see more films with the duo Sandler and Aniston because I like them together. A great all star cast with a good plot set in Monte Carlo and funny too.

Sweet Tooth
(2021)

Hurry up Netflix and release the second series!!
I was hooked after a few minutes of watching the first episode. The backdrop to outdoor scenes was vast and beautiful and the storyline spookily to what's been happening in the world right now minus the hybrid children.

Did Netflix predict the pandemic that we were to have or did they make this during/after it?? If they made Sweet Tooth before then their prediction of a cataclysmic event was eerily spot on.

Anyway, I LOVED this series!!! And I can't wait for the second series to be released. Hurry up Netflix!

PS it's a bit of a tear jerker in places.

Grace and Frankie
(2015)

Easy to binge watch
I watched this on recommendation, the lighthearted ups and downs but also the darker side of two dysfunctional families who have known each other a lifetime.

The first season I really enjoyed and found quite funny but never hilarious as others have reviewed. By the end of the second season, the storyline began to bore me. Then half way through season 3, it picked up again.

The characters Frankie and Sol irritated me to the hilt, especially hippy, dippy Frankie. I found the chemistry between Robert and Sol unbelievable. Sol is a wet blanket. Lily Tomlin's acting is also pretty wooden too but even worse, her monotone voice and character just grated on my nerves, just having temper tantrums so she'd get her own way and talking with her mouth full.

Although there's a bit of Botox and face lifts going on with several of the actors, Jane Fonda as the martini drinking entrepreneur Grace, looks absolutely amazing in it.

There's a lot of product placement.

The only thing I will say is, it does focus on issues the twilight years can bring and as irritating I found Frankie and Sol, the series is addictive as each episode is about 30 minutes long and so really easy to binge watch. I'm looking forward to watching the last few episodes when they are released.

Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood
(2019)

A new favourite for me
This is my favourite of all the Quentin Tarantino films, I loved everything about it... the storyline, the music, the clothes, the cars and the acting was just brilliant. It's a comedy/drama set in Los Angeles 1969. Leonardo Dicaprio plays a fading film star and Brad Pitt plays his stunt double-come-lackey both struggling in their careers at the tail end of the Hollywood's golden era. Without giving too much away, for me, because part of the storyline is loosely based on a true story, I thought it was a lovely, fitting tribute and actually quite sad.

Time
(2021)

Had me gripped from the offset
This is British Drama at its best! I couldn't wait for next Sunday to watch the next episode so I ended up watching all 3 episodes on BBC iPlayer. I don't think I've watched anything so good on the terrestrial TV in a long time. Brilliant acting, very well casted indeed.

Hope Gap
(2019)

Dreary
Hope Gap is about an ageing couple trying to keep their stale relationship together after 29 years of marriage. The husband is dull, you just want to shake him, the wife argumentative and rude and their grown up son is struggling with his own relationship problems. Sounds depressing? Well it is, the film is slow and boring.

The script is dreary. Annette Bening does an okay English accent. Why did they cast an American actress? There are plenty of good British actresses that could've played the part.

A long drawn out tale of woe, I didn't enjoy this film at all.

Cuba and the Cameraman
(2017)

Brilliant
I thought it was a brilliant documentary. Other than learning about the The Bay of Pigs in History at school and that the US and Cuba aren't allies. I didn't really know much about Cuba other than it was and still is run by the Communist Party.

Over a period of 45 years, the documentary shows the economic collapse of Cuba after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 90s when Cuba lost valuable aid and trading privileges. As food, medicine and other necessities became scarce, 80% of Cubans are selling or buying on the black market.

The documentary also follows certain families each time the filmmaker returns to Cuba. You see how the families are and how life is treating them.

It brought a bit of a tear to my eye to see the three Borregos brothers and their sister work so hard on their farm and be so humble. For them it was about family togetherness and having a cheeky rum! All they wanted was to have electricity, a roof over their head and put food on the table but the film shows their struggle to make a living after their livestock stolen one by one because of the lack of food.

Even more fascinating was, the filmmaker strikes up a bit of a 'friendship' with Fidel Castro from interviewing him in the early 1970s until just months before the leader's death in 1996. You get to see Fidel Castro how you've never seen him before.

While Castro implemented free health care and free education to all Cubans along aside it came elimination of freedom of speech and a one-party state. Everything in Cuba is seemed illegal and if you want a job, you must agree with everything the government says or you're thrown in prison and become unemployable.

There are Cubans who are patriotic until they die and there are Cubans who want freedom with many trying to leave for the US. While the filmmaker does seem a bit idealistic at the beginning, he isn't at the end but he clearly has a fondness for the Cuba, Fidel Castro and its people which is evident throughout the documentary.

It's a Sin
(2021)

Poignant
I was a teenager in 1981 and remember watching a documentary on 'a disease in America that only seemed to affect gay men and aged them from looking 30 years old to 90 years old'. In a nutshell, that's how I remember the documentary being portrayed and thinking, what is this disease? It didn't have a name at that point, not that I remember but within a couple of years, I realised this disease was AIDS.

It's a Sin tells a story about a group of young friends on the gay scene in London during 1981 to 1991. It shows how those who suffered with AIDS not only faced a death sentence but faced ignorance and hatred and were pretty much left to their own devices. Media was misinformed and appalling and at the beginning, so we're the health authorities.

You see how AIDS doesn't just affect the people who suffer it but their friends and family too.

I want to say It's a Sin was brilliant but for me, I felt the series was a little rushed. With the jumping of events, it could've done with a few more episodes. However, the soundtrack is epic and the cast bring a whole rollercoaster of emotions that are funny, tragic, lighthearted and frightening.

I also felt something was lacking in the final episode... don't get me wrong, it's sad and will break your heart but it just kind of fizzled out... maybe that's how it was meant to be because that's how it was for the main character Ritchie and his friends, it wasn't meant to give closure as more often than not, pain and grief feels unjustified but I still really enjoyed watching this series.

It's a Sin is a touching tribute to those whose lives were cut short in the AIDS epidemic and a poignant depiction of what gay men went through during the 1980s.

Dolemite Is My Name
(2019)

This comic biopic is a hidden gem
I'd never even heard of this film until a friend recommended I watch it and I really enjoyed it.

It's set in 1970s LA and Eddie Murphy plays a struggling artist called Rudy Ray Moore working in a record store but moonlights as a compere in a local club but no one is laughing at his jokes. He meets a hobo who comes into the record store telling stories in rhyme of a character called Dolemite. Rudy wants to revamp his career and decides to recite these jive-talking stories on stage so he goes backstreet looking for the hobo to tell more of his colourful stories and experiences.

Rudy then makes up a persona called Dolemite. Dressing like a pimp and telling these filthy rhyming stories at the club he works at, suddenly everyone's laughing and wanting more.

To name drop, Snoop Dog plays the record store DJ and Wesley Snips plays D'Urville Martin, a self-centred actor who gets roped into directing and starring in a film Rudy wants to make.

The soundtrack is fab and everyone's dressing like a 1970s pimp or hoe!! Ha ha. It's rude, crude and just up my street. This comic biopic is a hidden gem on Netflix.

I'd never heard of Rudy Ray Moore before this film and what's more, his filthy jive-talking became a major influence on the development of rap. Well, you learn something new everyday...

Toast of London
(2012)

Not for me
I read the synopsis and the rave reviews and thought I would enjoy this sitcom but I watched the first episode and couldn't get into it so have ditched watching the rest of the series.

It's about an eccentric middle-aged actor who's just got divorce and whose career has seen better days. It's childish and crude all the things I thought I'd find funny but it didn't make me laugh out loud like others have said it made them do.

It's got some cracking actors in it which drew me to this series in the first place. Would it have got better for me if I stuck at it and watched more episodes? I doubt it and I don't think I'll bother to find out either.

The Serpent
(2021)

Really good but not the timeline hopping...
What a brilliant crime drama, The Serpent had me gripped in the first few minutes and the "Fingerprint File" by the Rolling Stones came on, I knew I was going to love this series.

The only problem I had with it was the jumping back and forth in time... "November 1975", then "4 months later" (right that must be March 1976), then "4 months earlier" (okay doing the maths while watching what's going on, that must be back to November 1975), then "4 months later" (oh, that must be forward to March 1976), then "2 months earlier" (hang on... February, January, that must be January 1976), then "2 months later" (oh back to March 1976 again)...

Get my drift? Confused? You will be when you start trying to work out the dates!

I just found the timeline hopping a bit confusing and hard work to think what month and what year it was. Why not just put the month and the year? It makes it a whole lot easier for viewers.

The story is about a real-life serial killer and conman called Charles Sobharj who drugged, murdered and robbed tourists along the hippie trail in the 1970s to fund his lifestyle. His lover called Marie-Andree Leclerc was his accomplice who helped him with his crimes.

In the meantime, there is Herman Knippenberg, a diplomat at the Dutch Embassy in Bangkok who starts looking into the disappearance of a Dutch couple while they were backpacking in Thailand. Alongside his wife Angela and a Belgian diplomat called Paul Siemons, they begin to look at a series of murders across the hippie trail all leading them to one man, Charles Sobharj.

Having grown up during the 70s, I always thought fashion in the 1970s was probably the worst ever! But the outfits worn in The Serpent are well co-ordinated, they make the 70s look glamorous (think 1970s Vogue magazine) and that everyone had great taste in clothes (I know first-hand this not to be true because they definitely didn't!) And the music is far out man!!

The backdrop to some of the scenes are beautiful and filmed in such a way, they look how I imagine the countries looked was before modernisation. There is also some old footage used from the 1970s where new scenes are blended in with the old which I thought was very clever.

Charles Sobharaj comes across as a good looking, charismatic man who was your best mate when in reality, he is a cold-blooded, manipulative psychopath.

What I'm not sure about is Marie-Andree Leclerc... Did she help her lover because she was petrified of him? Or was she so in love with him that love is blind, she was prepared to do anything to keep him?

Apart from a couple dodgy Dutch accents (why didn't they get real Dutch actors?) and the timeline hopping, I really enjoyed The Serpent. If you haven't watched it already, I highly recommend watching this series.

The Queen's Gambit
(2020)

You don't need to be a chess expert to watch this!
Initially I was put off from watching this series as I know absolutely nothing about chess apart from the chess board has black and white squares, the word "checkmate" and I know the names of the pieces on the board and that's it...

After recommendations from friends to watch The Queen's Gambit and still in lockdown (I have watched more telly this winter lockdown than I have my whole life!) I decided to watch this mini-series. Well firstly, I LOVED it and secondly, you don't need to know anything about chess to follow what's going on. Never have I been so interested in chess, ha ha.

The story is set across the 1950s and 60s and tells of an orphan called Beth Harmon who becomes a chess prodigy after seeing the janitor (caretaker) Mr Shaibel playing chess in the basement of the orphanage where Beth lives. Beth's curiosity with chess soon becomes an obsession as Mr Shaibel teaches her the game, along with her addiction to what she is told by staff are "vitamin pills".

As Beth gets older, you get to see the development of Beth's relationship with her adoptive mother (who seems more interested in what Beth can win as prize money from tournaments than Beth herself) and with her fellow chess players Harry Beltik and Benny Watts become important people in her life.

The actors move the chess pieces like experts. They play games in the heads and shout out chess moves while driving down the highway. Sounds dull but The Queen's Gambit is anything but dull, there is obsession, addiction, fashion and of course, a bit of sexual tension thrown in.

The soundtrack is brilliant and plays some classics of the era.

It's one of the most visually stimulating shows I've seen in a long time (I would say for me it's visually on a par with Ratched). The whole series has me hooked and is one of the best mini-series I've seen on Netflix so far.

Challenger: The Final Flight
(2020)

Gripping Documentary
I remember watching the Challenger launch on the telly then see it explode in mid-air. I'd just finished work earlier than usual (UK time) and was quite excited to see lift-off. I remember seeing the explosion and sitting there with my mouth wide open in disbelief, it just went silent, no commentary about what was going on or anything, just a trail of smoke and silence, then there was a newsflash, I think it was on the BBC to say there had been an explosion on the Challenger space shuttle...

This documentary is well put together and very informative about the events leading up to the disaster. There is footage and interviews from those who worked on the program, from the families of the astronauts who perished and from the people who watched the launch on the telly or who were actually there and witnessed the disaster.

I'm not very technically minded but I found the whole documentary easy to follow. I understood that even in testing, there were technical issues with the O-ring in the solid rocket boosters and that the colder the weather conditions, the more risk to something catastrophic happening to the space shuttle i.e. the O-rings to the fuel segments holding hot gases becoming brittle and eroding in cold temperature therefore, wouldn't be able to expand and seal the joints between the fuel segments fully.

What I didn't understand, why the rush to be on schedule? Why couldn't they delay lift-off and wait another day when it wasn't in freezing conditions?

On the actual day, there were engineers who recommended the Challenger DID NOT launch that day due to the cold temperature overnight but they were unable to convince Thiokol and NASA to wait for warmer weather thus the launch was approved sending all seven crew members to their deaths.

You also see the aftermath footage of the disaster and of the Presidential Commission investigating the accident.

I was gripped with this documentary from start to finish. Even though I knew what happened, I still felt anxiety when I saw the Challenger crew smiling and waving as they walked to the shuttle, shaking hands and thanking the engineering team as they entered the craft. I felt really sad and quite tearful because the crew of the Challenger really didn't know at that point their fate was already sealed.

Back to Life
(2019)

Why didn't I watch this sooner?
I absolutely loved this series, I can't believe I didn't watch it sooner. There are 6 episodes, all about 30 minutes long and after the first episode, I was hooked. I binged watched the whole lot in one evening.

Without giving too much away, it's about a woman in her late 30's called Miri Matteson who gets released from prison after 18 years. It follows her struggle with adjusting to the outside world, her lack of understanding why everyone is so obsessed with their mobile phones, her parents (her mother in particular) and the people in her local community.

You do find out quite early on what crime Miri Matteson committed so you're not kept in suspense for very long but as the story goes on, more versions of the truth come to light.

It's a dark comedy with a lot of sentiment which made me laugh out loud in some moments but it also made me feel sad in other moments. There was one touching scene in the final episode that brought a bit of a tear to my eye because this woman is broken, she's not where she thought she'd be in life at the age she is, she's become a social reject when all she wants to do is try and put her life back together and move on but her past and people won't let her. It's not just her life that's been put on hold though, it's her parents as well.

The only character that got on my nerves was the pesky "self-employed" investigator but there weren't too many scenes with him and the whole series is really well acted. I really hope they make a second series where we see how Miri gets on with her life. But for now, I'm just happy I found this hidden gem, it's nothing short of brilliant.

Pablo Escobar: El Patrón del Mal
(2012)

Recommend Watching!
I really enjoyed watching Pablo Escobar El Patron del Mal. Okay if you can get over the dodgy looking wigs, bad background music and over-acting in some scenes... and oh the subtitles (I'm not selling this very well am I? Ha ha), you might enjoy this. Be warned, there are 74 episodes to watch, about 45 minutes each!!! So it's not a couple of series with 8 episodes in each like I thought it was going to be but once I started watching I was hooked. I believe there were originally 113 episodes but Netflix cut them down to 74.

Based on a true story, it follows the rise and fall of Pablo Escobar from petty crime to becoming Columbia's biggest drug baron. Real footage from news reels are also used but some scenes are played differently to what actually was reported in real life.

I also noticed the names of some people were changed, I thought this was because those people were still alive but there are a couple of people who weren't alive at the time of making this series and their names still got changed so I don't know the reasoning behind that.

I couldn't binge watch as the series is in Spanish and I had to rely on the English subtitles so I had to really concentrate on what was going on especially when getting very political. The beginning of the series is getting to know the characters. The middle of the series is death and destruction and the last part of the series is well, the national police search for Pablo Escobar closing in on him.

Like I said, if you don't mind a bit of cheesy watching and subtitles, then you might just enjoy this series.

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