Review, TV1 Comment

Hebburn (Season 1) TV Review

Ben

Because I review a whole tv series rather than individual episodes, there is a chance of spoilers, so if you haven’t watched the whole series yet, stop reading now! Hebburn is an example of a new sitcom taking advantage of two classic sitcom clichés. For starters, it is a sitcom set around a family. I’ve spoken before about how many sitcoms use this and why. Some are very successful but most fall at the wayside, usually because they don’t offer anything new. Hebburn is slightly different though. The family is at the center of the sitcom but it’s also got a very … Continue reading Hebburn (Season 1) TV Review

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Hanna (2011) Review

Ben

It’s not often I’ll think a film should be longer. If anything, I usually prefer my films to be around the two-hour mark, long enough to tell a decent story for most movies, without the usual waffle. I’m not someone who can sit through an epic, a key reason why I didn’t enjoy the Lord of the Rings trilogy as much as most other people, unless its hugely entertaining, like The Dark Knight. Two hours won’t always be enough though. If a film wants to try something slightly different, a bit more ambitious, then two hours isn’t going to cover … Continue reading Hanna (2011) Review

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Downton Abbey (Season 3) TV Review

Ben

I shouldn’t like Downton Abbey. If you put aside the obvious, blokey, masculine element, it’s a costume drama, and I don’t like costume dramas. I can’t stand any of the Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility or any adapted novel by a Bronte sister. I don’t even like Charles Dickens adaptations unless its Oliver Twist or A Christmas Carol. It’s because very little actually happens. If I’m watching drama, I want to actually see some drama. I don’t want to watch people staring at each other, sharing whispers and being positively shocked by the insinuations another character is making. All … Continue reading Downton Abbey (Season 3) TV Review

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30 Minutes or Less (2011) Review

Ben

Since seeing him in Zombieland, Adventureland and of course, Social Network, I’ll watch pretty much anything with Jesse Eisenberg in. He’s carved out a great niche character for himself, an awkward, geeky but fast-talking guy who fits into the zombie apocalypse as comfortably as he does running a multi-million company. You could argue that his character is very similar from film to film, even when he’s playing Mark Zuckerberg, he seems to play a likable, awkward but intelligent guy who is just trying to do his best to get by (ok, not exactly Zuckerberg.) Where that is killing Michael Cera’s … Continue reading 30 Minutes or Less (2011) Review

Review, TV1 Comment

Trollied (Season 2) TV Review

Ben

Because I review a whole tv series rather than individual episodes, there is a chance of spoilers, so if you haven’t watched the whole series yet, stop reading now! A second season will often make or break a television show. It’s not got the “new shine” anymore. It’s not got the pressure of introducing new characters or the safety net of no-expectations. Instead, the series has to develop the characters and try to move the series forward slightly. This is harder with sitcoms because the status-quo can’t change too much. The situation and characters can’t develop too far or you lose the essence … Continue reading Trollied (Season 2) TV Review

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The Crazies (2010) Review

Ben

Timothy Olyphant is a very underrated actor. If you take a quick look at his past films and tv roles, what you find is a man who provides consistently decent, sometimes brilliant performances, which fall just short of public awareness. He is becoming much more a go-to actor rather than a stand-out lead and I think there is something to be said for that. There are some great performances that many wouldn’t even realise was Olyphant. One of the chasing cops in Nicholas Cage’s Gone in Sixty Seconds, the high-tech villain who was outdone by Bruce Willis’ blunt force in … Continue reading The Crazies (2010) Review

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Friday Night Dinner (Season 2) TV Review

Ben

Because I review a whole tv series rather than individual episodes, there is a chance of spoilers, so if you haven’t watched the whole series yet, stop reading now! It seems like we’re in the middle of a “golden age” of British sitcoms. It’s in doing this blog and beginning to review television shows that I realised how many sitcoms I watch and how good the British ones are. This year alone has seen Cuckoo, Bad Education and Moone Boy. It’s also seen the return of Red Dwarf (properly) and also new seasons of Trollied, The Thick of It and Friday Night Dinner. … Continue reading Friday Night Dinner (Season 2) TV Review

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Puss in Boots (2011) Review

Ben

Puss in Boots benefitted from being released with most people’s expectations being quite low. It wasn’t the fault of the character but more the fault of the franchise that created it. The Shrek movies had become a perfect example of how to run a successful and much-loved franchise into the ground with unnecessary sequels. After Shrek 4, there was only one way the Shrek franchise could successfully continue and that was by branching out with another character. Puss in Boots wasn’t the best of characters from the franchise. He served a purpose in the second film and there were some great gags to be … Continue reading Puss in Boots (2011) Review

Review, TV1 Comment

Red Dwarf X TV Review

Ben

Because I review a whole tv series rather than individual episodes, there is a chance of spoilers, so if you haven’t watched the whole series yet, stop reading now! Red Dwarf X had “mistake” written all over it! Any comedy show struggles to recapture what made it so good when it comes back after a long hiatus. Only Fools and Horses and The Royle Family are two examples that come to mind immediately and usually their resurrection for “one last special” actually tarnishes the decent reputation a show had. It’s also the case with sitcoms that they usually out-live their best years rather … Continue reading Red Dwarf X TV Review

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The Dilemma (2011) Review

Ben

The Dilemma strikes me as a film that doesn’t know what it wants to be. It has all the makings of a buddy comedy, something that Judd Apatow would be comfortable making. The central actors are two that are synonymous with comedy, Vince Vaughn and Kevin James. Unfortunately, the story itself never really goes to the comedic extreme it could. It feels like a difficult story to get comedy out of anyway. Vince Vaughn realising that his best friend’s wife, played by Winona Ryder, is cheating on him, then struggling with the dilemma of whether he should tell him or not. It’s … Continue reading The Dilemma (2011) Review