keenanchris

I'm surprised this appears on many all time lists of the worst film ever. It's nowhere near as bad as the cynics say it is, and it's target audience of toddlers and young children would have enjoyed it back in the day. Now, I'm not so sure, but if they like things like the old 60s batman and Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, then this would probably appeal to them.

It's low budget and that's apparent with the sets and make-up, but that doesn't really detract from the ensuing, pantomime mayhem. The actors ham it up in theatrical fashion and Dropo and Santa Claus give particularly entertaining performances, and the crazy story will certainly be believable for tots and those with a childlike imagination. Plus, it's got a very catchy theme tune.

So, if you approach it in the right frame of mind and are looking for old Christmas films that you haven't seen yet, you might actually enjoy this!

I wasn't quite sure whether to watch this or not, as I had seen the disturbing documentary on the case that had been on television recently, so I thought I was too familiar with the story for it to have any real impact.

I was wrong. This is a great production, with top-notch acting and and a marvellous script that draws you into the story and brings to life all the information that was contained in the documentary and enhancing it. I was thoroughly engrossed throughout the four episodes and the case gets more chilling the more you learn about it.

So, even if you may already feel your over-familiar with this horrific tale, I recommend that you give this series a go and it will not disappoint you.

I really liked the director's (Resnais) first outing: Hiroshima, Mon Amour, so I presumed this film would be of a similar quality, although I was aware it was divisive among critics.

The term style over substance seems to have been coined for this film. Yes, the actors look great, and I could even get over the non-linear narrative with repetition at it's core, and I'm all for films being arty and more cerebral. However, that's were the positives end, and despite the beautiful images I found it all a bit tedious. By the end of the film I couldn't care less whether they spent last year in Marienbad or not, and it probably would have been better to go to Blackpool; at least, they might have had a bit of fun on the donkeys on the beach instead of this borefest talking about statues and playing a stupid, simplistic parlour game that was even less exciting than dominoes.

Although watching Last Year in Marienbad is not an experience I regret, it isn't one I'd like to repeat. For this reason, I wouldn't recommend it unless you want to cross it off your seen it-been there-bought the T-shirt list.