stephenm-18
Joined Jun 2007
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Reviews6
stephenm-18's rating
Admittedly I only watch this type of thing with my girlfriend and I know shows like this aren't meant to be high art - but even as chewing gum TV this show fails miserably.
I can only imagine that the writers of this show hold their intended audience in utter contempt:- The characters are lazily sketched, the plot is improbable, the script bears absolutely no relation to the way real people talk - I know this is a show about the super rich American teenagers so it'd never going to plumb the depths of the human soul but even so you can almost hear the crank turning as the plot develops.
Some very crude and laboured cultural references paired with almost universally mechanical acting serve only to highlight the lack of quality writing in this show when compared to much better "teen shows".
In short this is dumb TV. The situations in which the protagonists find themselves in, make the similarly puerile "Veronica Mars" seem like gritty, hard-boiled realism. Watching the first episode of this was in fact the longest hour of my life.
It's like "Cruel Intentions" on heavy prescription pain killers.
I could actually feel my IQ dropping as one laboured, heavy-handed and obvious scene played into the next like so much paint drying.
I can only imagine that the writers of this show hold their intended audience in utter contempt:- The characters are lazily sketched, the plot is improbable, the script bears absolutely no relation to the way real people talk - I know this is a show about the super rich American teenagers so it'd never going to plumb the depths of the human soul but even so you can almost hear the crank turning as the plot develops.
Some very crude and laboured cultural references paired with almost universally mechanical acting serve only to highlight the lack of quality writing in this show when compared to much better "teen shows".
In short this is dumb TV. The situations in which the protagonists find themselves in, make the similarly puerile "Veronica Mars" seem like gritty, hard-boiled realism. Watching the first episode of this was in fact the longest hour of my life.
It's like "Cruel Intentions" on heavy prescription pain killers.
I could actually feel my IQ dropping as one laboured, heavy-handed and obvious scene played into the next like so much paint drying.
In truth I should be giving this film a nine, but I've decided to go for a ten if only to offset the ruthless reviews this film's had.
In a break from tradition, I'm not going to spend my time offering defences to the many criticisms I've read about this film - mainly because they're so bone-headed, but instead, I'll tell you why this film rules: I remember seeing Land of the Dead when it came out in 2005, and although I liked it, there was something missing. It was intangible, but definitely notable by it's absence. On paper, land should have been the greatest zombie film ever made: First Romero Zombie flick in 20 years, Greg Nicotero, CGI, Dennis Hopper,.... In reality it was good, there's no denying that, BUT there was something missing. I still haven't got the word for it yet, but whatever "Land" didn't have, "Diary" has in spades. Call it "Georgeness" if you will. Diary feels, looks, smells, shuffles, lunges, bleeds and staggers like a proper old school zombie film. None of this running zombie nonsense! The script is witty (sure corny in places). Romero's sense of humour is evident throughout. He shows us a society in collapse using around 5% of the extras (CGI or otherwise) wasted in Zack Snyders bloated rehash of Dawn of The Dead (For Shame!!) I don't want to say anymore because I don't want to spoil any surprises, suffice to say if you like your George A Romero you will love this film. I went at the weekend and I'm going back this week to see it this week. No way can I wait for it to come out on DVD.
George Romero!!!! Yyyyyyyeeeeessssss!
In a break from tradition, I'm not going to spend my time offering defences to the many criticisms I've read about this film - mainly because they're so bone-headed, but instead, I'll tell you why this film rules: I remember seeing Land of the Dead when it came out in 2005, and although I liked it, there was something missing. It was intangible, but definitely notable by it's absence. On paper, land should have been the greatest zombie film ever made: First Romero Zombie flick in 20 years, Greg Nicotero, CGI, Dennis Hopper,.... In reality it was good, there's no denying that, BUT there was something missing. I still haven't got the word for it yet, but whatever "Land" didn't have, "Diary" has in spades. Call it "Georgeness" if you will. Diary feels, looks, smells, shuffles, lunges, bleeds and staggers like a proper old school zombie film. None of this running zombie nonsense! The script is witty (sure corny in places). Romero's sense of humour is evident throughout. He shows us a society in collapse using around 5% of the extras (CGI or otherwise) wasted in Zack Snyders bloated rehash of Dawn of The Dead (For Shame!!) I don't want to say anymore because I don't want to spoil any surprises, suffice to say if you like your George A Romero you will love this film. I went at the weekend and I'm going back this week to see it this week. No way can I wait for it to come out on DVD.
George Romero!!!! Yyyyyyyeeeeessssss!
For some people, the romantic comedy genre is there to be sneered at. It's a lower art form subscribed to by the uneducated masses, the same plot regurgitated through a word processor with names, dates and locations changed: ("Girl meets boy, she's feisty, he's snobbish, they don't see eye to eye - How oh how are they ever going to end up together by the end of the movie?"). Admittedly, I'm not the biggest advocate of the ol' romcom, but this film falls into the "watchable" category of romantic comedy. Of course it's phoney and sugar-coated. Of course it has no resemblance to real life -
For goodness' sake it's a romantic comedy! If it wasn't shallow and improbable it'd be called a "drama"! I don't understand people who post comments on this site, taking potshots at films like this for being dumb and schmaltzy. Look at the poster before you go in. If it's got young people with good teeth on the poster, the title is a bit twee and the font is in pastel shades, chances are, it's a romantic comedy. If you don't like that kind of thing don't go in!
Anyway, my girlfriend took me to see this film yesterday (missed Cloverfield) but it was OK. Seriously. It was OK.
Ryan Reynolds is a solid enough lead, with enough comic talent to keep things ticking over. Abigail Breslin is charming too. Kevin Kline seems to growing gracefully into more senior roles, and Rachel Weisz, Elizabeth Banks and Isla Fisher are all comfortable enough as Reynold's love interests.
The script isn't belly-laugh funny but it has it's moments, there's some good use of news footage from the time in which the story is set, and the plot ticks over nicely. There's also a bit of guessing for the audience too, and my bet is you'll stay to end if only to find out how it finishes.
So there it is: a better than average romantic comedy. Not weighty. Not cerebral. Not challenging. Just a mildly diverting story, about a nice bunch of nice looking people having a nice time and getting their nice little lives sorted out. Nicely.
To give this film the scathing it's had in some quarters, is like a food critic cruelly reviewing a bag of crisps. That is to say this film is not meant to be "food for thought" it's just a snack. And if you get your kicks out of inflating your own ego by raving about how much a dumb film like this offended your sensibilities, then "for shame!" is all I can say. You weren't led blindfolded into the cinema. You knew what you were getting into. It should have been obvious from the poster that this film is a romcom.
Trust me, as a man that's been dragged to more than his fair share of romcoms, this one is by no means bad.
For goodness' sake it's a romantic comedy! If it wasn't shallow and improbable it'd be called a "drama"! I don't understand people who post comments on this site, taking potshots at films like this for being dumb and schmaltzy. Look at the poster before you go in. If it's got young people with good teeth on the poster, the title is a bit twee and the font is in pastel shades, chances are, it's a romantic comedy. If you don't like that kind of thing don't go in!
Anyway, my girlfriend took me to see this film yesterday (missed Cloverfield) but it was OK. Seriously. It was OK.
Ryan Reynolds is a solid enough lead, with enough comic talent to keep things ticking over. Abigail Breslin is charming too. Kevin Kline seems to growing gracefully into more senior roles, and Rachel Weisz, Elizabeth Banks and Isla Fisher are all comfortable enough as Reynold's love interests.
The script isn't belly-laugh funny but it has it's moments, there's some good use of news footage from the time in which the story is set, and the plot ticks over nicely. There's also a bit of guessing for the audience too, and my bet is you'll stay to end if only to find out how it finishes.
So there it is: a better than average romantic comedy. Not weighty. Not cerebral. Not challenging. Just a mildly diverting story, about a nice bunch of nice looking people having a nice time and getting their nice little lives sorted out. Nicely.
To give this film the scathing it's had in some quarters, is like a food critic cruelly reviewing a bag of crisps. That is to say this film is not meant to be "food for thought" it's just a snack. And if you get your kicks out of inflating your own ego by raving about how much a dumb film like this offended your sensibilities, then "for shame!" is all I can say. You weren't led blindfolded into the cinema. You knew what you were getting into. It should have been obvious from the poster that this film is a romcom.
Trust me, as a man that's been dragged to more than his fair share of romcoms, this one is by no means bad.