octapla Reviews

1923: The Rule of Five Hundred (2023) Season 1, Episode 7

Bizare episode seemingly writing by several separate teams of writers

[5/10 · 20 February 2023]

Rainwater storyline... amazing, heartbreaking, excruciating, cathartic, reflective.

Helen Miran - any scene with her in it, even with no dialogue, is easily a 7-8 out of 10. She is just outshining everyone.

Rest of the action with the family and cowboys on the Dutton ranch... starting to show promise and is building towards something interesting.

Strange out of place kitchen scene with the two "working ladies" and Timothy Dalton's character that added nothing to the story nor character development and seemed completely out of place.

And finally *sigh*... Spencer and Alex. The most bizarre dialogue written and zero chemistry between them, and the awful over the top English accent and mannerisms that have really blighted this series from the start. Notwithstanding some of the above criticisms, the episode was almost becoming one of the most interesting and promising ones (especially with the Rainwater story) but then the last 10 minutes completely spoilt it with the Spencer and Alex scenes. Would really love to understand what was done differently in this series as it bares practically no resemblance to 1883 or any of the Yellowstone series.

1923 (2022–2023)

Helen Mirren is amazing, the rest just rolling downhill

[4/10 · 15 February 2023]

Massive Yellowstone fan, loved 1883 even more, thought Taylor Sheridan couldn't help but produce hit after hit with this universe... and then I started watching 1923.

Helen Mirren singlehandedly makes this series worth watching just for her performance. Very believable, compelling, transports you into the world, just like most / all characters from the other two series do. Harrison Ford is ok, but no match to his onscreen partner... however perhaps there will be more promise in the latter half of the season as the latest episode seems to show a shift in his character.

But by far the storyline, and one particular actress in that storyline, that really lets this series down, is the whole Spencer and Alex thread. The chemistry between them is completely non-existent and given the intense love and chemistry that has been seen by Beth and Rip in Yellowstone or from Elsa in 1883, this pairing is completely unrecognisable within this universe. And what makes the whole thing excruciating to watch is in particular Alex. Her fake English accent is really hard to listen to, especially when she decides to lower her voice to channel the spirit of Winston Churchill or someone similar, whilst trying to interact with Spencer and portray "chemistry". Its really really hard to watch!

So on the whole, this series has for the most part been a let down, especially when considering the heights that were reached with Yellowstone and 1883. Whatever they changed for this series, I really hope they change it back for future series otherwise the magic will truly be lost.

Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong (2015)

Beautiful sweet love story between the main 3 characters

[8/10 · 8 August 2018]

Hong Kong itself is the 3rd character in this moving and intimate story, as it gives the rich foundation and backdrop for these two characters to ignite and fall in love with one another. Believable and authentically portrayed.

I don't understand the strong negative reviews, particularly those that seem to be scoring it against a criteria not relevant to this film. I make no comparison or judgment against other films in scoring this, but simply on merit and based on what I experience of this film... which is a great appreciation for the work, feeling, and authenticity that all involved in this film must have given to produce such a personable film.

A History of Violence (2005)

Biggest let down I have ever seen in a long time

[1/10 · 7 October 2005]

I went to see this having read the reviews and seen the votes on here. Having just come back from the film, I am totally surprised by how bad it was.

The story was not believable, the characters were under-developed, the acting unconvincing, and all in all, it was unbelievably bad! Every scene in the film felt as if it was there to prepare for a big scene or message at the end of the film which never happened. There could have been a plethora of themes this film could have explored but it barely touched on them - there was no complexity in the film whatsoever.

Sorry, but a HUGE disappointment.