RubyMouse

Steve Coogan, as others have said, is uncannily like Jimmy Saville. His mannerisms, voice, way of walking even the pauses between his words is so like Saville if you closed your eyes you'd believe it was him. The film quality is also superb with great attention to period detail. On the downside, I think I would have preferred the true story - or as close to truth as one could get in a dramatisation based on real events but events that require a sensitivity in approach. I found myself constantly questioning whether something happened or not. Also, I'm struggling to get through it because while Coogan is utterly superb in so many ways, he simply cannot pass for an extremely slender young man in his 20s. If they couldn't afford the fabulous new de-aging tech, then a bit of blurring to lift his jowls or a younger body double would have helped me suspend disbelief.

I loved the footage of David as a child and young man growing into his talent and the obvious pride of his father and mother as they spoke about his progress. David bought a lot of women into football - including me - partly because he was undoubtedly talented and beautiful (I'd forgotten how damn beautiful till I watched this old footage!) - but also because of his charisma. He was everywhere in the 90s and in the UK you couldn't have avoided him or the drama surrounding his life if you'd tried. This documentary does a great job of introducing him to a new generation or as a retrospective and has an impressive cast of interviewees giving their own perspectives. Of course it's all presented from David's point of view but I watched all four episodes enthralled all over again.

A lovely, gentle and comic look at ageing. The three main characters are lonely, estranged from family and struggling to find meaning in their lives until Jules the alien arrives by crashing into Milton's azaleas. Non-speaking, Jules allows the others to explore these feelings of isolation by listening. All the while a hunt is on to find the missing spaceship.

Repeating due tp the new character limit constraints; apologies.

A lovely, gentle and comic look at ageing. The three main characters are lonely, estranged from family and struggling to find meaning in their lives until Jules the alien arrives by crashing into Milton's azaleas. Non-speaking, Jules allows the others to explore these feelings of isolation by listening. All the while a hunt is on to find the missing spaceship.

As a woman and a feminist I was disappointed by this. The actors were great - Margot and Ryan doing their best - but they can only work what they're given and the "story" was wafer thin and made no sense. This would have been OK if it was a movie aimed at kids but it wasn't and I would imagine children would be bored even quicker than I was. It's lovely to look at, the clothes and sets replicating the Barbie world so beautifully but it's very much style over substance and the jokes are laboured and repetitive. If it was just a lighthearted giggle for the girls I would have enjoyed it more but the second half is full of dreary speeches and millisecond cameos (Rob Brydon) that added nothing but a nod to the cleverness of the directors research skills.

This is - I'll admit - a patchy but also occasionally brilliant comedy. Rather like League of Gentlemen or Monty Python, any surreal and original comedy will have moments where it doesn't work; this, like those programmes, is worth watching for when it does. The musical interludes are superb as are the guests who join in the fun - such as Rob Bryden's performance of "Female Badger" (see youtube). Don't watch it before visiting the supermarket as you'll end up singing questionable lyrics to bemused fellow shoppers. The use of language is also inventive and generates the claustrophobia of small communities. It is criminally under appreciated and definitely deserves to be better known.

Update: OK - my initial review was too harsh because I hoped it was going to be a show based on the work of Charles Addams. If you accept it is another YA teen drama with an outcast kid at it's centre it's more watchable. It's just not the Addam's Family really.

At the core of Charles Addams creation was love and familial solidarity: that is abandoned here and replaced by a thoroughly unpleasant, self-absorbed bratty teenager being vile to everyone but especially her mother. I don't think this is "updating" the story but completely undermining what we loved about it to begin with. She doesn't seem sassy or funny just rude. The Addams's were always scrupulously polite - even to their enemies - it added to the humour and showed how classy they were, yet Wednesday is yet to offer a civil word to anyone. The success of any show depends to some extent on our identification and sympathy with it's central character but there is nothing at all so far to make you care in the slightest what Wednesday does next. I'm watching it a few minutes at a time and it's hard work.

A strange but fun movie about an artist I don't think is as well known in Europe as he is in the states. So as we don't actually know what happened over here, working out which bits (if any?) are "true" is a lot more complicated for us. I will need to find out now! The off the wall humour keeps us interested though and the lead actors are really good. The music is, of course, excellent and I wish there had been a bit more music and a bit less Pablo Escobar to be honest but then I love musical humour. The live performances are super fun as well with Daniel Radcliffe hamming it up nicely . It's a great take on the biopic format too - this and Elvis have reinvigorated a genre that had become a little stale.

Galadrial is slightly less annoying, Durin's anger is tempered and his aggression a little less. The visuals are great, the CGI not so intrusive in this episode and I felt more invested in the characters than previously. It still feels heavy handed in terms of the clunky dialogue and also seems very youthful in comparison to the age old themes of Tolkien. The issues the characters face and often their behaviour as well, still appear to be those of irritating and wayward teens - pouting and rebelling against authority rather than acting with the wisdom that comes with so much experience. I always felt I had a great deal to learn from Tolkien, in this, the immaturity still rankles.

The elves of Tolkien were the firstborn, wisest, otherworldly and fundamentally different to humans. And yet within seconds of this show beginning, they are redrawn as petty, unpleasant bullies and Galadrial as violent and vengeful. She is unpopular everywhere, even humans sigh and tell her to be quiet by episode three, when the lead is made so unpopular it is difficult to invest much interest in whatever the crazy script has her doing next. The various strands of story are all over the place. While Elrond and Celebrimbor are introduced, along with a human female and her mysterious child we then see nothing of them for the entirety of episode 3 and most of episode 2. The dwarves pop up to show off a visually impressive Khazad-Dum and we don't see them again either. There is no attempt to draw threads between these storylines - it's all a bit chaotic.

The script is quite dreadful. At one point Isildur sulkily shouts of a fight he was in "THEY started it!" like any snarky teen, the harfoots have a cod-irish accent and I'm sure I heard an "Okay" from one of them. The better parts are cliche ridden generic fantasy stuff.

There are better moments. And I'm aware my extreme disappointment colours my current opinion but I'm hoping it'll improve: I want it to improve. The people putting this together are inexperienced and while currently that shows, lets all hope they gain skills and future series are more credible.

This was not exactly a gripping start. I have to admit the portrayal in the opening moments of the Eldar, the firstborn, the wisest, not as otherworldly beings but as violent brattish bullies was a shock and the development of the lead character from that very surprising. I'm trying really hard to forget all I know of the story but the portrayal of Galadrial as embittered warrior without a husband is strange as I thought it was going to be true to Tolkien.

The other characters were also a bit weird. They are given a strange set of accents which is also extremely different to the written work this production is based on and the script was dire. I'm amazed you can throw such an amount of money at a thing and still have such repetitive and boring exposition read as if from a teleprompter.

I'm really looking forward to more Tolkien so I hope it picks up in the future once we are more familiar with the characters and the plot is more established.

I thought this episode picked up a little despite the odd plot lines that make only occasional sense. I liked seeing Khazad Dum in all it's glory - though the whole axe contest felt pointless. The Galadrial swimming across the ocean blue - WHAT? - was somewhat mad but introduced Halbrand who intrigues. As does the stranger and the Harfoots. While I thought it was better than episode one, the links between the different stories are not explored. There is no coherent overall story being told which, after 2 hours, you'd expect. There are too many characters I am not even slightly invested in, and I am starting to find Galadrial's petulant behaviour very irritating.

Visually some good but sterile moments. I've mentioned Khazad Dum but unlike the feeling of Bree in the original trilogy, these places feel like an image rather than a lived environment.

I'm finding Galadrial behaving like a stroppy child increasingly irritating. I'm also getting annoyed with the disjointed jumping between separate stories that don't form a coherent whole, as well as the complete illogic of having close communities that don't leave folk behind leaving folk behind. After 3 hours of most shows or films - The Fellowship of the Ring for example - you could summarise the story so far, this is a bit of a mess. The dialogue is also bad - Galadrial not only behaves like a child, the mean-girl lines she's given don't help. It's appalling to call this Tolkien!

I so want to like it but when you cannot care about the characters who spout horrible platitudes, it's near impossible.

I have only once rated a film 10 before but this deserves that score from me again as, after 20 years, this still has the power to grip and move me like no other movie can. I am so familiar with this story and have read the books multiple times and yet every time I watch this I am in tears at the emotions conjured by the superb acting, the score, the costumes - how can such a well known story continue to do that? This is my personal favourite of the trilogy and I am stunned even now that Peter Jackson managed to bring this world to life with far lesser tools than those available to us today. It's a masterpiece.

Rather over-thought and ponderous portrayal of the source material. Have to admit that although I liked episode 1, I still haven't finished the rest. I can't keep interested enough. I wrote a better review but it's gone.

I am disappointed that my original review which was written, then rewritten and edited a number of times before being posted on the 6th, has been removed. It had already received more likes than any other review as I am a fan of Gaiman's work and put a lot of thought into writing it. I am not a rude or abusive person but when people want your review removed you must have hit a nerve. Hence, this no-review review. Sorry.

I gave up on Game of Thrones but this is first class. The actors are so good, the tension, the action, the cgi all create world beating tele-visuals and a convincing Westeros. Not for the faint hearted though as it is still a harsh, violent and unstable world.

The lead roles are really good characterisations right from the start with a depth and complexity we don't usually see in television. The sets and the cinematography are also very good. I can see why this has a very high IMDB rating and why many will rate this higher but I do find the world to be a challenging one for me - I'm quite squeamish - and it's not something you'd sit down and watch with the family. Probably because it is so well done, the brutality is all too convincing.

This is a brilliant action movie that is beautifully constructed with all the set pieces of a John Wick movie but with a decent story and script to add to the fun. One of my favourite films of 2021 and well worth a watch.

OK - so you know it's not going to have out of this world production values or be great art - but I think this is one of the better parodies I've seen. There are scenes that are very close to what actually happened in twilight so if you are a fan you can appreciate the cleverness. I also laughed out loud a few times and thought the actors playing Edward and Becca did a great job. If you want to kick back and disengage your brain for the evening, this should work.

If you're fed up of dreary Oscar contenders making points and taking an age to get to them, this is for you. Entertaining, fast paced, action romp with good set pieces and plenty of fun moments.

And to the critics: no, there is no "character development" and yes, the "plot" is not that believable. It's light entertainment not Samuel Beckett.

Well it's full of action, violence and set pieces and the baddie is very bad and the believability very low. It's not intended as an Oscar contender but does what it does: entertain - pretty well. Rating it low because of Netflix's budget policy seems pointless.

Baz Lurhmann's best film; bringing all his skills in cinematography in a more tightly edited form than the rambling final sections of Romeo + Juliet or Moulin Rouge. A spectacular kaleidoscope of colour and sound and Austin Butler's moves as Elvis are electrifying - he captures the essence of Presley in a way I didn't think possible. Having seen it a second time, I've upped my rating.

I read Lee Child every now and then when I need to switch my brain off. It's not meant to be great literature or true to real life policing so there isn't a lot of point in the "not as good as.." comparisons. It's more like a televisual John Wick if a comparison is necessary - where Reacher is the guy who is always right and who always gets the girl - however improbable. This is a great adaptation which reflects the staccato dialogue and fast pace of the books and is visually pleasing and great fun.

The only downside is Ritchson is a little too gym honed for the book Reacher and has a very odd walk for a guy that is supposed to walk miles each day. But overall as close as we will get and I hope the follow up seasons are this good.

A fun movie to watch at christmas although slightly annoying if you live in the "rest of the world" depicted as passively waiting to be destroyed or for for the yanks to save the day. Again. Oh my heroes.

This is a very American show - if you like Kimmy Schmidt or 30 Rock, you will probably like this. I don't know whether these comedies are considered funny outside of the US though, I just don't get this kind of humour personally. There are a few good moments, mostly the Spice-like songs.

It's OK but I definitely felt old watching it: I was irritated by the littering (pick it up girl!) and her accent (wtf?) and not so much by all the murder. Passed the time.

I think you have to go into this knowing it's cheesy, bonkers, fun and just go with it. I mean it's completely ludicrous: like a nonsensical John Wick on acid with monsters, but it made me laugh out loud several times.