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seeleytony
Reviews
Mr Bates vs. The Post Office (2024)
Mr Bates deserves a knighthood!
A spectacular miscarriage of justice affecting hundreds of ordinary people. The Post Office, in fact a government department, persecuted their employees for what turned out to be, their faulty computer system. The computer company and post office are shown to be heartless liars who made enormous efforts to cover up their mistake and hide the evidence. Eventually the employees achieve the truth and expose the errors. Some minor financial settlement is achieved that in no way compensates the hundreds of people whose lives have been ruined. A true David vs Goliath story that was quite upsetting to watch, not least because it is true!
Julius Caesar: The Making of a Dictator (2023)
Et tu, Brute?
Most of us are familiar with Caesar's achievements and demise. At school, I was seriously turned off by Shakespeare. The melodrama and archaic English did nothing for me. I hated Latin and dropped it as soon as I could. But Caesar's life and death are fascinating.
This documentary style series fleshes out what really went on as Caesar emerges as the most successful Roman ever. He puts himself on a pedestal (tyrant/dictator) and undermines the 500 years of Roman democracy. Ultimately the only way the senate could cope was to murder him in full view of all the senior Romans. Lots of lessons for modern democracy!
Blue Lights (2023)
Top Class
Police dramas are two a penny, but this is a special and fairly unique one, I think the best since Happy Valley! I watched this on iPlayer over 5 days and am hoping there will be a 2nd series. You find yourself drawn into knowing the characters and their quirks. An unusual approach, is to focus on the 3 new recruits and follow their journey. The criminal characters are presented well, but you don't get to know them as well as the coppers. There is nothing too predictable in the script which tends to keep you guessing and retains your interest. The Belfast dialect is not too strong, although subtitles may be helpful!
Happy Valley (2014)
Unhappy Valley!
Watched the 18 episodes on catch up and there was never a dull moment. A combination of thriller, drama and comedy. Strong regional (Yorkshire) dialect make subtitles useful. There are a couple of weak plot lines which can be forgiven for a script that was raced and intriguing. The Sarah Lancashire character is a tour de force who dominates every scene she appears in. I think Yorkshire Police will miss her greatly as she is a formidable crime fighting superhero. James Norton makes a malevolent baddie and his duel with Sarah's character is not predictable until the final moments of the last episode.
The Mauritanian (2021)
Shocking
The drive for someone to pay for the 9/11 terrorist attacks has led to some of the the darkest moments in the history of the leader of the free world. These include the 2nd Iraq War and its aftermath that led to ISIS and more chaos in the Middle East and also the detention of hundreds without trial for decades at Guantanamo Bay. This excellent film is a timely reminder of the ineptitude and ruthlessness of the military and political clique calling the shots. I was so shocked by the contents of the film that I had to check that this was indeed a true story. Unfortunately, I suspect that the previously mentioned cliques will choose not to watch this film.
The Control Room (2022)
Disappointing
Undermined by a preposterous plot. Gabe is moving a white van around that is supposed to contain a dead body. He has plenty of opportunities to peak in the back of the van to confirm that the body is there, but he doesn't bother!? Later £100K goes missing that Gabe has put in an open locker that causes the bad guys to get really nasty and the money is found much later in another adjacent open locker! Most of the flashbacks were irritating. Some of the Scottish accented dialogue was difficult to follow, you might want subtitles!
The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman (2022)
Astonishing!
What an amazing story expertly told by many of this evil man's victims. Some of the things that went on beggar belief. And he is still out there up to no good!
The Responder (2022)
Excellent drama
Gritty, grimey and gripping police and family thriller/drama. Set in Liverpool with deep Scouse accents. Plot is far fetched but keeps you guessing til the end.
The Tourist (2022)
A mixed bag!
1st 4 episodes were excellent. Black comedy/thriller with quirky Aussie characters, with stunning scenery. 5th was totally confused & 6th episode a complete letdown!
A Very British Scandal (2021)
Bad Behaviour
Selfish immature white privilege couple try to outdo each other in the behaving badly stakes. A visual treat though with beautiful locations, stylish fashions and classic motors.
Mandy (2019)
Off beat humour
Mandy is a banal and absurd loser, who has some wonderful one liners and each of her little shows has a special guest. My favourite sketch is when she gets a job on a banana production line.
The Power of the Dog (2021)
Mesmerising
Slow burning psychological cowboy film with interesting contrasting characters. Set in stunning scenery a century ago with an interesting twist at the end.
The Wheel of Time (2021)
Better than I expected.....
Has been fairly panned by the critics, but I have to say better than I expected after watching 3 episodes. Stunning locations. Reasonable plot. Good special effects. A few surprises mixed in.
Colin in Black and White (2021)
Gently shocking and thought provoking!
The Americans I've met round the world seem to polarise into two groups. The right wing, narrow minded, barely self aware type and the thoughtful, educated liberal who is very embarrassed about the former.