Reviews
Turning Point: The Vietnam War (2025)
Knappenberger is the Gen Z Ken Burns.
Another exceptionally objective docuseries from the new master of historical shows.
As a Brit, I can appreciate that my reaction and perspective to this series & the Vietnam war in general is wildly different from anyone in the US. Conversely, since my country opted not to engage in the conflict, we weren't really educated on it any real detail - so broadly speaking, even as a bit of a history dweeb, I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to any of the decades-long western battles against communism.
That's why I'm especially grateful to the talents of Brian Knappenberg.
Rather than portraying 9/11, the Cold War or in this latest fine entry into his canon as a 'rah! Rah! America!' Indulgence, he's proactively evenhanded, fair & draws remarkably detailed and articulate accounts from people who were really there. Yet despite the density of information & intelligence with which it's done, it's still accessible to even a Luddite like me.
It's powerful, powerful stuff - and while I can absolutely 100% appreciate that this must be deeply grating for a lot of those in the states, as a fascinated outsider? It's quite an excellent entry into the mountains of existing work covering this engrossingly chaotic period in modern human history.
Bravo.
Tár (2022)
A criminally underrated & underseen masterpiece which gets better with every viewing.
I saw this upon release, and while impressed as always by Blanchett (arguably the worlds most versatile actress), upon first viewing it I left the cinema feeling kinda tired and a little confused by what I'd just seen, and I (foolishly) put that down to it being overlong and pretentious.
But I couldn't stop thinking about it.
Then it dropped on Netflix, and I immediately watched it again - and during the second viewing, I was absolutely blown away. The density & nuance, the subtlety & the intellectual heft but above all else, the almost hypnotic captivation of Lydia Tár's world - I couldn't get enough of it.
A week later, I watched it again - and now it's one of my all time favourite movies.
We NEED more films like this, now more than ever - unafraid to be wholly honest & vulnerable and unashamedly clever, while also shining a blinding light upon a huge cultural touchstone in a way no other film has managed to, and probably never will. Maybe the most important film of the 2020's, certainly the most defining - at least in terms of what it has to say.
More people should see this film. It should be studied. It's a work of art.
Say Nothing (2024)
What a load of heavy handed, history-altering garbage.
Ugh. Stop making EVERYTHING with an eye on making it successful stateside - especially British stories with such a (still) raw presence in our culture.
I hated this. I get it - diversity. Whatever. But why are these the characters - of ALL the individuals who endured the troubles - who they've focussed a show on? Oh - because they're women. Right.
Nonsense. Insulting. Borderline libellous to some and an example of aggressive reverse misogyny getting in the way of telling an already compelling and heartbreaking story. Villainise the men, yeah cool - but yeah the women had their reasons I'm sure blah blah blah.
Sick of it.
The Diamond Heist (2025)
Why would you let an American direct this?
I get it, it's stylish and 'exec produced by Guy Ritchie' simultaneously lends this series some credibility and gives a pretty hefty indicator as to who this is for - but why outsource the directing gig to an American?! They just don't know enough about our culture, let alone our criminal underworld.
Heavy handed and annoying, much like how the David Beckham series turned out - and again, directed by an American. I sense a pattern.
I'm sure this review will be deleted as a few of my more specifically critical ones have lately - but I don't care frankly, I'm sick of this American hostile takeover of our media. It's bad enough they have to remake every decent show we Brits produce without any of the edge or intelligence - but when they actually start MAKING stuff out here? We might as well be enveloped in as the 51st state. It's tedious, and I know I'm not alone in that.
A great story, cheesily told. Not for me.
Oklahoma City Bombing: One Day in America (2025)
Excellently, compassionately done.
A surprisingly measured documentary for Netflix - and all the better for it. An international tragedy, compellingly & heartbreakingly told.
It could (and maybe should) be longer and more forensic, but in of itself this simply is an excellent documentary film - and I hope Netflix bring out more stuff in this vein. There are (sadly) hundreds and hundreds of other fascinating stories of this ilk which deserve to be told, and the big red N have proven they can produce factual content which is simultaneously informative, articulate & accessible. (Their OJ series is definitely worth a look if you haven't already.)
Bravo, Netflix - more of the same please.
Black Mirror: Common People (2025)
Deceptively, darkly powerful.
I should open this review with a slight caveat - I'm not a fan of Chris O'Dowd. Nothing personal, just haven't really ever 'got' it. And truthfully after this, I still kinda don't - his screen 'vibe' in general just rings smug to me as opposed to authentic and charming.
BUT even that couldn't spoil what is, in no uncertain terms - a spectacular return to top form creatively for Black Mirror.
This might be the strongest opener episode yet - Rashida Jones, despite being a nepobaby, is heartbreakingly, undeniably brilliant and despite the speculative subject matter - compellingly real.
Couple that with a stunningly imaginative but completely plausible concept? You've got one of the best hours of TV since Succession ended. Terrifying. Horrifying. Spellbinding.
I really hope this signifies an artistic renaissance for this show - this is the best black mirror has been in almost a decade, and my god we need it.
Black Mirror: Plaything (2025)
VERY well acted - poorly finished.
Peter Capaldi is consistently world class. This is another stellar performance to add to his already pretty heaving canon of work. Plus, a very memorable & scene-stealing cameo from the always captivating Will Poulter. For this alone, I'd say this one's worth a watch.
BUT...
It doesn't have an ending. Like, it just doesn't. I dunno if that's Brooker deliberately setting up another sequel episode a-la Callister, or just running out of steam/ideas (6 episodes is a pretty incredible return given the low standard and briefness of the last couple of seasons), but it was frustrating. Like a lot of entertainment right now.
Still delighted overall by the massive increase in quality in this season compared the the last - but overall, it's been very hit and miss.
Black Mirror: USS Callister: Into Infinity (2025)
A very worth sequel - and hopefully not the last.
FINALLY! A PROPER return to premium form for one of the landmark tv shows for generations. (After a couple of consecutive duds, if we're being real.)
I loved this. It could've easily slid into indulgence/pandering, but it more than justified its feature length by sheer virtue of providing bloody minded entertainment as well as providing the OG fans with one of the most satisfying TV returns in memory.
The latest series overall? Still a mixed bag, truthfully - I don't think it works when they try to blend British and American stories, there's too much of a cultural gulf in terms of acting and storytelling style (neither is better or worse, to be clear - just very different) and I feel like even a couple of the acclaimed episodes in this new season drift into that strange nether zone (it's part of why I couldn't abide Ted Lasso. That and the terrible writing.), but I'm still delighted and grateful to Charlie Brooker for putting the work in rather than outsourcing to other creatives. His is a rare, staggering talent - and the darker he goes, the better the results.
Paradise: The Day (2025)
The hype is more than justified.
In a word - wow.
JUST as I had all but given up on this post-premium TV era, one of the greatest single episodes of anything drops from nowhere in a seemingly above-par if unspectacular new series. Not since Bojack Horseman has one episode brought such a generalised tonal shift upon the perception of an entire show, and none I can remember so expertly.
Brilliant, simply brilliant. Breathless, fantastically & intelligently written with some of the best acting you'll see anywhere in anything this year. I don't want to give anything away, so I'll leave it with this - faith in humanity (or at least - TV) restored.
A Real Pain (2024)
It's ok.
Decent dialogue, strong performances (but Eisenberg & Culkin, while typically compelling, only seem to have one gear/tone) - but beyond the moments of mirth, it's pretty empty, really. Enjoyable enough but the fact it's getting any awards attention indicates to me that this is a pretty sluggish year for film - or maybe the Academy (specifically the actors who make up the majority of the membership) need to watch a more diverse variety of movies. (Seriously - two nominations for this, NOTHING for the deliriously entertaining & brilliantly original Late Night With the Devil? Come on.)
I'm glad I saw it, I liked it more than I didn't - but only just, in truth.
Lockerbie: A Search for Truth (2025)
Precisely how I feared it would turn out...
Like a badly written play. Such clunky, inorganic dialogue has absolutely no place in the hands of such stellar actors (although that being said, I've never gotten the appeal of Firth who, outside of his mesmeric turn in A Single Man, has always struck me as painfully, almost militaristically wooden.) - and such lazy scripting shouldn't be legally permitted for anything tackling such a tragic real world event.
I can't get my head around who this is for. Why is it tonally played like soapy escapism? Is that an attempt to make it more successful in the states? Because a lot of their stuff is far better written than this, and even though Jim Sheridan has turned out some duds - he still gave us My Left foot and in the name of the father.
It's so hammy it made me angry. It felt disrespectful, the naffness pretty much from the first line of dialogue (and I mean the first line - how much more heavy handed can you get than a prison officer asking a grieving man 'why would you want to see him? Of all people?'. People don't talk like that. People don't behave like that. They CERTAINLY don't talk or behave like that in a professional prison environment with vulnerable non-inmates.) through every single scene across all 5 hours. I was hoping for a tonal shift that never came - even the initial crash managed to look cheap.
This might be, for various reasons, the worst thing I've seen on TV in this new soapy age. Despite the magnificent Succession only ending a little over a year ago, it already feels as though we are in a post-premium TV era, and something like this just completely reinforces that - it's bad enough that everything new lately feels as though it was written for idiots, but when that bleeds into real stories - that, to me, is entirely unacceptable.
Warrior (2011)
Nolte is incredible.
I mean - it's a bit heavy handed and cheesy broadly completely ridiculous, but Nolte is such an authentic, powerful and raw presence it infects the players around him whenever they're lucky enough to share a scene with him. That mercurial element alone elevates this at least a point and a half, for me.
It's surprisingly well written dialogue-wise for the type of thing which usually I find unbearably macho and nauseatingly hamfisted. The notes are identical to every other average sports movie ever made, it's profoundly unoriginal BUT within those confines, it still manages to feel pretty real. That's almost entirely down to some excellent performances (some, not all).
It feels more like a guilty pleasure than a work of art, but it's probably the highest quality film of its type of the 21st century so far.
The Day of the Jackal (2024)
8.2? Are you insane?
Naff. So very naff.
Unoriginal (I know it's a remake but at least try to make it unlike literally every. Other. Average. Thriller.) and disappointingly cheesy. Eddie Redmayne is almost the saving grace of this thing until you remember his astonishingly privileged background, and suddenly it's a lot less appealing - especially when the 'working class' voices in the cast are among the hammiest I've seen in anything on screen since Ted Lasso. Sometimes it was like watching a sloppy play, so much gesticulation for something NOT performed on a stage.
I think I'm on the absolute brink of giving up on all new television for a little while after this, it's just not worth the time or the effort with what we're being given right now in the supposedly 'prestige drama' stakes. Far from the worst thing I've seen this year, but that's more a testament to the shockingly low standard of fare in 2024 than it is to this being superior to anything at all.
Blackadder's Christmas Carol (1988)
The best BlackAdder, the best sitcom Christmas special outside of The Office.
Hilarious, essential festive viewing in my book.
As I've gotten older I've found Blackadder overall less enjoyable than I did as an adolescent - I don't know if that's a change/maturing in taste or a resentment of the oxbridge comedy machine and the privilege of those from that world, and largely, apart from ...Goes Forth, I don't really revisit the series like I still do Peep Show & The Office - but I will make time to watch this every December and still laugh my head off like I've never seen it before.
Everyone involved was at their zenith when this was produced and it really shows - so assured & bleak in its writing & deliriously funny in its delivery from ALL concerned. As a singular piece of Christmas viewing, it's right up there. I think even Americans would enjoy it, without having to have seen any of the preceding or following series - it stands alone as a borderline comedy masterpiece.
Get on it, if only for 'NEIN! I'm from GLASGOOO'
Mrs. Santa Claus (1996)
Horrible.
The most shocking thing about this movie for me is the fact that it's so bad, so heavy-handed, so lazy & cheesy and ridiculous and utterly devoid of anything resembling originality or intelligence - that I honestly thought it had been released within the last 5 years.
Joking aside (sort-of), this IS rubbish - historically Christmas movies have been a law unto themselves in terms of quality control, and this certainly isn't any worse than anything else of its ilk made before or since - but so what? It's still a 1/10.
Unenjoyably witless and pointless and surprisingly devoid of festive vibes. I hated it so much I do kinda wish it HAD come out in these culturally regressive times, at least it would be a reflection of that. 1996 was a great year. I guess that's why it's enjoying a renaissance.
Black Doves (2024)
Great cast, smug dialogue - implausible story.
Such a shame. Netflix has absolutely defaulted to pandering squarely to the lowest common denominator, and seemingly that even applies to their more intelligent offerings.
This is the 4th show or movie released to Netflix in the last 6 months with an absolutely dynamite ensemble - and for talent, this might be the pick of the bunch - but like the three that preceded it (The Perfect Couple, Inside Man & Carry On), this has all the originality & subtlety of James Corden (I.e., less than zero.)
A major bugbear of mine in general is writers who have (clearly) written laugh cues into their scripts, but in response to unfunny gags. Martian was the same, but this was worse. It was relentless. The amount of times a scene went EXACTLY like this:
Ben Whishaw: Hack campy joke
Keira: LOL!
I honestly lost count. Or maybe that was just the entire show. I seriously couldn't tell you.
This alone was enough to make me want to bail out, but when you match that with the utterly illogical plot & stunningly hackneyed premise (seriously, how many times has this exact story been told?), you're left with a less than average show, and a cast of such respected talent - you lose a little bit of faith in the selectiveness of some of your favourite actors. Sarah Lancashire & Ben Whishaw doing this is borderline false advertising. Must've been one hell of a pay day.
So much better stuff out there, some of it decades old - watch that instead. Life's too short to waste on this rubbish.
The Night Before (2015)
A solid, silly & seasonal 7/10.
Good fun, this - it's a fairly uninspired premise overall, but the dialogue and performances are so strong it almost brings it to a realm of its own.
Not funny or clever enough to be an 8, but too entertaining & powerful and understated (particularly now, in 2024 when everything is heavy handed to the point of childish) to be a 6 - as Christmas films go, it's really good. As far As films in general, it's very average and probably not massively re watchable on its own cinematic merits.
That being said, I wish there were more Christmas movies of this ilk, properly for adults with heart without resorting to heavy-handed schmaltz, and a bit sweary - I guess the reviews here indicate the audience for them isn't as vast as I'd like to think (same for the brilliantly original Violent Night), but I for one would love to see a film made soon which leans into the adult energy as wholesale as this does. Too many 'adult' Christmas films lately are trying too hard to please everyone. The Night Before is refreshing and increasingly a festive staple for me, year on year.
Recommend.
Carry-On (2024)
Ugh.
Why is all the writing so bad these days? Like - we exist, as people, in the same universe. Surely we can ALL see that nobody actually talks like that? In this constant heavy handed, subtext-free gibberish?
I love Christmas movies. I love action movies. I've seen a couple blend the two brilliantly (Die Hard, Violent Night) and some not so brilliantly (Die Hard 2 - which this film seems to be an almost direct rip-off from). This is a terrible, almost hallmark-level imitation of these and I can't really fathom how.
The cast for this thing is so good, so strong - I'll watch Bateman in almost anything. Taron largely pedals this type of tripe, or something Oscar-Baiting, but after his excellent turn in the very strong Blackbird - I was at least open to it. Chuck the criminally underrated and underused Dean Norris into the equation, and I'm sold. I wish I'd been more discerning, the opening sequences with Taron and his lady friend were nauseatingly poorly written. Not even derivative, it was like AI.
I feel a bit let down and like I've wasted my time, but this is Netflix - if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck.
This is basically what they do now, isn't it? Ripley was a superb anomaly, but an anomaly nonetheless - anything even vaguely intelligent or original seems to be snapped up by HBO, Disney et al. Netflix is edging closer in quality and tone to the type of nonsense Apple TV seem to throw out with a seemingly bottomless bank balance, only without as much money.
A Man on the Inside (2024)
Closer to Ted Lasso than Barry and that's definitely a bad thing.
Yeah, not for me this.
AMAZING cast. Big fan of every player top to bottom, and when I saw Schur was behind it I chose to lean into recalling his superior work (99, parks and rec) rather than his lesser stuff before giving it a go. When Netflix included 'sharp dialogue' in the 3-word descriptor, I was sold.
But despite all that, it's completely, almost appallingly unoriginal and pedestrian and unapologetically cheesy. Obviously there's a massive audience for this type of fare in these trying times, hence Ted Lasso winning bucket loads of Emmys despite being about as funny as a tumour - and I very much do not count myself among the target audience for these types of show.
The documentary on which this claims to be based is a brilliantly singular film about a man going undercover to expose elderly abuse. This is like Ted Lasso - heavy handed, insincere and pretty hack in the joke-stakes.
It's watchable, but so were the alien abduction documentaries. If this takes off like Lasso did, I'll have lost even more faith in the viewing public than I already have. I hate that more shows are meh than not now, and you can add this to that list.
Investigation Alien (2024)
I now have a lot less respect for the Peabody awards, knowing George Knapp is a recipient.
Now, don't get me wrong - as an avid viewer of practically every Netflix 'documentary', it's fair to say the standard is uneven and I've got zero problem with Netflix diversifying their portfolio to include History channel-level fare. Evidently, there's an audience for it. A big one.
But THIS is nonsense to the point of being irresponsible. George Knapp is an utterly insufferable onscreen presence, he can't help but talk in heavy handed cliches. He's so deeply insincere and cringeworthy, he arguably made me even MORE of a skeptic.
I'm open to anything, but THIS type of rubbish is why most people believe anybody claiming to have engaged with extraterrestrial life is a gullible idiot fantasist. Maybe that's the point? I doubt it - but this over-egging makes it impossible to take this even remotely seriously, and listing it as a documentary is deeply misleading. And George Knapp is an insincere and tedious conman who should have his journalistic credentials confiscated, beginning with his Peabody award (seriously, HOW?! Was it an inside joke to bestow something on the dumbest person in the business?)
If you're just looking for a new, good documentary - don't waste your time. This is not a documentary. Like Jersey Shore meets Mars Attacks. Avoid.
The Manhattan Alien Abduction (2024)
Wherever you land on this issue, this is a fascinating docuseries.
A lot more intelligently done than it has any right to be, given the subject matter.
I'm a skeptic in every possible sense of the word, to the extent that it's arguably been a detriment to my life in some ways - and I absolutely wouldn't say I've been convinced of the existence of aliens after watching this series. If anything - it indicates to me at least that even your average person is, in theory, capable of convincing anyone of anything.
And yet - it's so pragmatically well-made, so even-handed and balanced, I can't help but have questions. Yes, Linda strikes me and probably anyone with common sense as fame-hungry and maybe prone to deceit, but look at how she's living - this isn't the life of someone riding off the riches of a lifelong con, this is someone who sincerely believes this happened to her. And honestly - I'm open to it.
Rivals (2024)
Perilously close to trash, but overall pretty fun.
It's a pretty perfect modern-day adaptation of a Jilly Cooper book. That's almost a compliment, and that's entirely down to the excellent cast & some occasionally cracking writing.
That being said - writing-wise, the dialogue becomes noticeably clunkier around the episode 5 mark. I don't know if that's a change in scribe or a team of writers running out of steam alongside a pretty ambitious production, but it's jarring.
But like any Cooper work in any form, it was always going to stray near to soapy tonally and the fact it largely doesn't is genuinely impressive - but it IS ridiculous.
A good laugh and a nice break from bingeing heavy crime dramas - but not a classic.
Megalopolis (2024)
I can't believe he made The Godfather.
What IS this?!
Obviously Coppola, for his prime 1970's oeuvre, is rightly regarded as one of the absolute goats of film direction - and no amount of trash he's turned out since can detract from what he HAS given us, which is more than one of the finest films ever made.
But this is a car crash. I don't know where to start - the acting, the visuals, the writing, the pacing - it's just all so off. It's such a shame, but it's hard to call it a missed opportunity when it's been so long in the making. I guess like Biden, maybe there should be a cap on age for competence when it comes to leading anything.
Don't see it. It's not good, and not even bad enough to be enjoyable.
The Sopranos (1999)
Possibly the best piece of live action entertainment ever created.
It took me until 2024 to get around to watching the greatest thing I've ever seen. So many different visual art forms have carried that title at some time or another throughout my life, from documentary (Up series) to sitcom (The Office UK) to drama (Our Friends In the North) to film (the elephant man) and everything in between. All landmark, excellent shows - yet they all dwarf in comparison to the singular, almost-biblical level masterpiece that is The Sopranos.
I've seen the plaudits in spades for the sopranos over the decades and I'm ashamed to say that despite being a feverish imbiber of most premium entertainment, I actively dodged it for the same reason I initially avoided Breaking Bad (2023. I know) and Scarface (2022. I KNOW.)
It's impossible to single out a best performance. It's almost like watching the greatest documentary ever, everyone is so real and every word is utterly precious but treated with the throwaway glibness of Python. It's staggering, really. I've rewatched it front-to-back 5 times since already. Still not bored. About to start again.
If you're like me and swerve things with a lot of hype (sometimes we're right - Ted Lasso remains a thief of my time and irritation), I urge you to get over that for this. It's just - wow. 11/10.
Ludwig (2024)
Calm down, it's fine.
The cast is stacked, but also with some glaringly hammy weak spots (Sophie Willan is honestly dreadful) - but the old hands are effortlessly good as always and elevate a fairly pedestrian script to a fun, enjoyable series.
But the writing is really off. The puzzle and crime-solving scenes are clever if not massively original, but all the human interactions feel very forced and a little amateurish - and are exposed as such in the hands of less qualified cast members (Willan, for one).
I was excited for this, and wouldn't say I was disappointed - but it's not as intelligent or as original as the leads and advertising would have you believe.