As per the other thread but I think it’s worth warning you all twice!!
Not sure where to put this review as I suppose it’s technically a film (listed as such on Amazon Prime so I’ll copy this into the film thread too) but it’s just the latest in the long line of Alan Partridge shows. “Stratagem” his live stage show recorded at the O2 last year. Frankly there are no words to describe how pitifully awful this is. If I had been fit to travel I would have bought a ticket for this as I previously adored Partridge so I suppose there is some perverse saving grace there. Truly truly awful. From the opening scene you get the feeling that something is off. The character’s superbly judged ironic cringeworthyness is the central point of Partridge but this is just plain cringeworthy. I honestly can’t describe how bad it is. That’s not a recommendation that you should watch yourself to find out by the way. Time to put the old chap down (as Alan himself may have said innocently).
I feared it was just me that thought it was awful. Turned off after 1st half. Alan does not work solo (he needs people to bounce off) and 30 mins is the ideal length of being ‘partige-I-cised”. Stick to the well worked and heavily edited TV shows.
IBybthe sounds of it this production had no involvement with Armando Iannucci?
Partridge/Coogans best work was with him writing
Iaanucci has not been part of the writing setup since I’m Alan Partridge I think. Coogan has been working with the gibbon brothers for over a decade now. Some of the output during this time has been good (and even Alpha Papa was decent enough).
Jeez, I was about to reply to this and realised it was my own post.
No but I read today (in The Guardian) that it's been ranked as Spielberg's best ever film and the 3rd best film of this century overall by French film critics.
I know it is a bit late in the day but I eventually got round to seeing “All Quiet on the Western Front “ last night. As I feared, it was rubbish from beginning to end.
It was excellent and the new animation they were using really enhanced it. If you don't like animations or daft films that are allegedly for kids then scroll on, this isn't for you. Antonio Banderas doing Puss is majestic and makes me laugh thinking about him in a booth voicing the favourite fearless hero cat
Jeez, I was about to reply to this and realised it was my own post.
No but I read today (in The Guardian) that it's been ranked as Spielberg's best ever film and the 3rd best film of this century overall by French film critics.
Which says more about the French than anything else if they think it’s better than Jaws , Close Encounters, Schindlers List , ET , Saving Private Ryan , Minority Report , Jurassic Park etc…
The Fablemans is a good film but it’s way , way down on the list of his best films .
Me and youngest daughter saw Tar last week. Enjoyed it. I can see why it has provoked a lot of controversy. Some great acting and not just from Cate Blanchett
Jeez, I was about to reply to this and realised it was my own post.
No but I read today (in The Guardian) that it's been ranked as Spielberg's best ever film and the 3rd best film of this century overall by French film critics.
Which says more about the French than anything else if they think it’s better than Jaws , Close Encounters, Schindlers List , ET , Saving Private Ryan , Minority Report , Jurassic Park etc…
The Fablemans is a good film but it’s way , way down on the list of his best films .
I know it is a bit late in the day but I eventually got round to seeing “All Quiet on the Western Front “ last night. As I feared, it was rubbish from beginning to end.
it's utterly harrowing. If you're looking for a film that makes you feel any positive emotions you've picked the wrong film.
All The Old Knives - I was ill last week and sat on the sofa all day. I flicked around looking for a film I had never heard of that I knew nothing about. Despite having such a shit title, I picked this one on account if it having a decent cast - I love Chris Pine, Jonathan Price is solid and Thandiwe Newton usually chooses good projects.
The plot revolves around some CIA shenanigans - who is the mole? What went wrong? Why did shit go wrong? WHO IS THE MOLE!? - and because it's told in flashback it's a fairly laid back approach and things don't get particularly tense.
It feels like a Covid movie - there are only a handful of sets and they're quite sparsely populated - so it relies on the script which is pretty solid. The cast kept me engaged and I am glad I watched it, even if it is fairly run of the mill stuff. I enjoyed it!
All The Old Knives - I was ill last week and sat on the sofa all day. I flicked around looking for a film I had never heard of that I knew nothing about. Despite having such a shit title, I picked this one on account if it having a decent cast - I love Chris Pine, Jonathan Price is solid and Thandiwe Newton usually chooses good projects.
The plot revolves around some CIA shenanigans - who is the mole? What went wrong? Why did shit go wrong? WHO IS THE MOLE!? - and because it's told in flashback it's a fairly laid back approach and things don't get particularly tense.
It feels like a Covid movie - there are only a handful of sets and they're quite sparsely populated - so it relies on the script which is pretty solid. The cast kept me engaged and I am glad I watched it, even if it is fairly run of the mill stuff. I enjoyed it!
6.8/10
Watched it last year. Quite enjoyed it 6.5/10 from me
I know it is a bit late in the day but I eventually got round to seeing “All Quiet on the Western Front “ last night. As I feared, it was rubbish from beginning to end.
it's utterly harrowing. If you're looking for a film that makes you feel any positive emotions you've picked the wrong film.
I think you misunderstand me.
I wasn’t looking for positive emotions but rather for a film that paid some attention to historical accuracy. The opening scenes of the film are set in the summer of 1917 where the main protagonist, Paul, and his schoolmates are captivated by a patriotic speech by their headmaster and rush to join the army. By the summer of 1917 the German army had already been through 3 years of war, and had already lost a million dead and a couple of million other casualties. In the original book and earlier films this speech is set early in the war, when there was a surge of extreme optimism and patriotism in many of the countries concerned. By 1917 there wasn’t.
The battle scenes are ridiculously daft. As someone else on this forum has pointed out, the German soldiers are shown wandering around on the ground above the trench, in what must be full view of the French a couple of hundred yards away.
And so on and so on…
I understand the central theme of the film which, like the original book, is anti-war, but if one is going to spend millions on a film with a serious theme then some nod to historical accuracy would be welcome.
Admittedly it’s ages since I’ve seen a Luther on TV so maybe I’m wrong remembering it for it’s gritty realism but that Netflix film is insanely unbelievable, genuinely surprised there was no UFO in the lake, like a weird shittier X-Files
I loved the BBC series, but this Netflix production was utter shite.
The plot was absolutely ludicrous, full of holes and timeline discrepancies. Andy Sarkis as the over the top criminal reminded me of the Roger Moore 70's Bond villains. It's full of action but not sure how the excellent Idris Elber out his name to this rubbish.
Admittedly it’s ages since I’ve seen a Luther on TV so maybe I’m wrong remembering it for it’s gritty realism but that Netflix film is insanely unbelievable, genuinely surprised there was no UFO in the lake, like a weird shittier X-Files
Comments
It was excellent and the new animation they were using really enhanced it. If you don't like animations or daft films that are allegedly for kids then scroll on, this isn't for you. Antonio Banderas doing Puss is majestic and makes me laugh thinking about him in a booth voicing the favourite fearless hero cat
Jack Horner was a brilliant baddy as was the wolf
The plot revolves around some CIA shenanigans - who is the mole? What went wrong? Why did shit go wrong? WHO IS THE MOLE!? - and because it's told in flashback it's a fairly laid back approach and things don't get particularly tense.
It feels like a Covid movie - there are only a handful of sets and they're quite sparsely populated - so it relies on the script which is pretty solid. The cast kept me engaged and I am glad I watched it, even if it is fairly run of the mill stuff. I enjoyed it!
6.8/10
Just goes to show how subjective film opinions & reviews are I guess
I wasn’t looking for positive emotions but rather for a film that paid some attention to historical accuracy. The opening scenes of the film are set in the summer of 1917 where the main protagonist, Paul, and his schoolmates are captivated by a patriotic speech by their headmaster and rush to join the army. By the summer of 1917 the German army had already been through 3 years of war, and had already lost a million dead and a couple of million other casualties. In the original book and earlier films this speech is set early in the war, when there was a surge of extreme optimism and patriotism in many of the countries concerned. By 1917 there wasn’t.
The battle scenes are ridiculously daft. As someone else on this forum has pointed out, the German soldiers are shown wandering around on the ground above the trench, in what must be full view of the French a couple of hundred yards away.
And so on and so on…
I understand the central theme of the film which, like the original book, is anti-war, but if one is going to spend millions on a film with a serious theme then some nod to historical accuracy would be welcome.
My god, I was in bits by the end, especially when Jack met the wee dog 😭😭😭
And I really appreciated how they made hardly any mention of the perp once they were out.
These sort of ‘based on real events’ films freak me out far more than any horror movie ever has.
Watched the film last night & enjoyed it.
Still not made me want to watch the series tbh 🤷♀️
Overall pretty good