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Reviews
Masters of the Air (2024)
Superficial tripe with unlikeable characters
I cannot understand the positive reviews for this series. After two episodes I haven't found anything to like about it. Some are comparing it to Band of Borothers b ut it lacks any of the gravitas and realism of that.
A rehashing of tired old steriotypes, good old American machismo and a weak effort at attention to detail nake make this almost unwatchable. Most annoying of all is the lazy portrayal of the English as stiff and spiteful vs the swaggering courageous and cool yanks.
It's bordering on a criminal waste of time and money. There's nothing new being told here. Its just a rehashing of a tired and dated formula.
Bowie: The Man Who Changed the World (2016)
Where's the music?
On the plus side, this rockumentary gives a general overview of David Bowie's career which is kind of chronological. It covers most of.the key parts of his oeuvre.
On the negative side: where is the music? How can you make a meaningful documentary of a musician without playing his music? For example, they talk a lot about his breakout hit 'Space Oddity' but we never hear it! Also, what about his collaborations with Mick Jagger and Freddie Mercury? Monster hits not even mentioned!
They use a very annoying collage of weid sound effects and clipped photos which look like a do it yourself website from 15 years ago.
It's very poor and Netflix should remove this from their library. It does not do the artist justice in any way.
Ronnie O'Sullivan: The Edge of Everything (2023)
Captures brilliantly the pressure of top sport
I'm a pool and snooker player and I grew up watching Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry. They were incredible to watch and clinical in the way they played the game and mastered the mental control needed to win at high level.
Then along came Ronnie O'Sullivan and, my god! He made the game into his own art form. If you've played the game and watched it you recognise an X factor to this guy which sets him apart.
He's an inspiration to me, how he plays with feeling and instinct and with pure natural talent. The flow of his game. But most of all, as is brilliantly portrayed in this documentary, his ability to overcome his demons on the big stage again and again is remarkable. The film shows that the most mercurial talents are the most captivating to watch. It also really gives you the sense of the intensity of performing in an often claustrophobic arena, the camera constantly on your face looking for any reaction.
The documentary is well-paced, and covers most of the ground contained in the books about Ronnie. There is however an elephant in the room - that Ronnie doesn't even mention his children. Surely that has to be a massively important part of any father's story. I'm sure it's because he wants to shield them from exposure, but I still find it an omission which makes the story incomplete.
That's the only reason I didn't give it a 10!
The Bear (2022)
Its all a bit hyperbole isn't it?
Ok. So I'm into season 2 episode 2. I remember enjoying season 1 after I got used to the manic early scenes. I could see what they were trying to do with that - re create the live stresses that are part of the everyday workings of a restaurant. But now into season two I'm a bit tired of the hyperbole. Everything is life or death, the characters are either happy or sad, mad or calm, crooked or straight, humble or cocky. It's just hyperbole. And that takes away from the enjoyment. You need some grey area, some gravitas. Eye-rolling humour detracts from any suggestion that anything bad will actually happen. The characters are generally not believable and the plot lines are predictably contrived. I'll still watch it, but I just think it could have been way better.
Ted Lasso (2020)
Vomit-inducing schmaltz
I think I must be watching a different series to the one to which people are giving these rave reviews. I really wanted to like this.
On the plus side, its a very warm comedy and there are good performances by Jeremy Swift (Higgins) and Hannah Waddingham (Rebecca). Admittedly they are given the best lines to work with and their comedy has at least a little edge to it.
However, the script the other actors have to work with is so diabolically sickly sweet it's practically unwatchable. Everyone has a heart of gold deep down. Even if they may slip up and say something vaguely unpleasant, they make up for it by doing something impossibly NICE.
There is very little reference to anything remotely realistic football-wise, instead the writers focus on promoting tired stereotypes and cliched plot lines filled in with childish and predictable one-liners.
Where is the story?
Four Hours at the Capitol (2021)
Brilliant
Horrific seeing these fools up close. A worthy documentation of what happened that day. You could say that it's biased, but what well informed person would not share the opinion that these people were little more than misguided thugs.
Save Me (2018)
Over-acted drawn out melodrama
When I started with this series I was drawn in. 'Gritty' and 'gripping' would describe it well. The subject matter is compelling and obviously deeply moving.
However, the script, direction and acting are heavy handed. Every scene is over dramatised and there is a lot of repetition, especially in the local pub, where the lead actor and his crisis is the sole occupation of all the local's lives. Scene after scene of contained rage and everyone telling everyone else to 'calm down'. It's believable that these characters sympathise with Nelly (the lead) but not particularly believable that anyone actually likes this guy. Even more unbelievable is that the mother of the child is drawn back to him - there is no chemistry there and he was no father to their child.
It's a shame that such great actors are let down by the poor writing and direction of this slow. It's a tragic story which would have been better told with less dialogue and more space for the viewer to form hi/her own thoughts.
Tiger King: The Tiger King and I (2020)
Terrible journalism
This was a big disappointment. Totally one-sided journalism. Joe Exotic is obviously not a great guy but there was no balance to this at all. Furthermore the conceited host was too busy self-promoting to add any gravitas to the whole sorry affair.