Flunkstar Reviews

Reacher (2022– )

High production values ...

[7/10 · 7 February 2022]

Utter silly nonsense but enjoyable bits of fun interlaced with a hint of a story in there somewhere. Not like Bosch with multiple story lines twisted across timeframes but to be fare different books! Worthy of a midweek watch compared to the news.

Count Me In (2021)

Not definitive but a great watch

[8/10 · 6 September 2021]

Great watch with some worthy contributions. A definitive drummers 'who's who' would be an 8 part series which the detractors don't seem to acknowledge. Enjoyable hours plus fun watch with an interesting female angle.

The Midnight Sky (2020)

Good

[8/10 · 25 December 2020]

I assume the standard Hollywood alien fight scene missing at the end means the low scores! High production value dystopian future sci fi as good as many.

Roadkill (2020)

Review what you watched not what you think.

[8/10 · 25 November 2020]

Political bias in reviews is similar to 1 star reviews because 'they didn't have those guns in 1917 they were a second issue with that eyesight'. This programme had a great cast perfectly acted and scripted ... end.

Chernobyl (2019)

As good as TV gets.

[10/10 · 11 June 2019]

Great acting, set dressing and I assume some non detracting CGI. A gripping production throughout. Only a pedant could be driven to negative views ... wrong headlight/dust mask/ helicopter blade etc. As for those demanding Russian actors accents ... just watch the drama for what it is, high end production superbly crafted throughout from the costume detail to the set lighting, everything as good as it gets.

Luther (2010–2019)

High production but ...

[8/10 · 5 January 2019]

In the U.K. there are about 50 to 60 gun killings annually. In the USA, by contrast, there are about 160 times as many gun homicides in a country that is roughly six times larger in population. There were 8,124 gun homicides in 2014, according to the latest FBI figures. As for police being shot in the U.K. that's rare and a national headline event. So people running around with guns left right and centre is not believable ... yet! But as entertainment without your stats anorak on Luther is very good entertainment!

The ABC Murders (2018)

Quality

[9/10 · 27 December 2018]

You have to take a viewpoint of the production of today, the one your watching now, not the book, Suchet, previous versions etc. From this standpoint Malkovitch and Farren and the whole production is excellent. Anyone who 'I can't watch they didn't have those lightbulbs then' can be discounted.

Criminal (2016)

Popcorn

[6/10 · 25 November 2018]

Silly nonsense to eat up an afternoon. However high production values drag it along. If directors could just follow the code that believability is added only when characters shot several times have body armour on! The sci-fi element of the film is as daft as the rest of the plot but at least it keeps going.

Air Force One (1997)

Laugh out loud

[5/10 · 24 November 2018]

Great comedy that gets funnier all the way to the end.

Dynasties (2018–2022)

Phenomenal start

[10/10 · 12 November 2018]

Only the first episode but it's a masterclass in the power of the edit. Truly remarkable effort put into this ape story that is held together with very clever timeline splicing of no doubt an awful lot of filming, (two years into one hour). Oh and luckily the fashion of slomo fits in well with nature documentaries.

The 15:17 to Paris (2018)

Not about the acting

[6/10 · 27 October 2018]

Just not a very good film. If we had the terrorists build up to the event interspliced with the Americans holiday journey then there may have been a sense of suspence and drama. As is there's no suspense or understanding of the events timeline. The non actors acting is just not the issue.

The Snowman (2017)

It's a 7!

[7/10 · 8 August 2018]

I'm guessing not an easy watch for those who can't handle flashbacks! It's Scandi noir as a film, it's as simple as that. Admittedly ... what the hell Val Kilmer is in there for ... no idea, and thanks to trivia his dubbed sounding voice now makes sense. There's a curious mix of a wasted Toby Jones and a three hours film edited to two, but overall worthy of a watch.

Fury (2014)

It's a film

[9/10 · 15 June 2018]

IMDB needs a scoring update so pedantic 'it's not realistic' ''that gun wasn't made until 1946' can put their low scores somewhere else. A high production film which has merit, entertaining.

Bulletproof (2018–2021)

Good production

[7/10 · 15 May 2018]

Umm this is not America. Not believable on several levels from characters to legal/ police process, but it has high production values!

Dunkirk (2017)

Subtle

[8/10 · 6 May 2018]

Clever timeline use, probably irksome to many, defines this as a different war film to others. No blood and guts as you'd expect as it's more about the characters of the piece than the flash bangs. Deserves all the accolades, low scores are from those expecting Brad Pitt to shoot Hitler at the end.

Patriot (2015–2018)

Quirky

[9/10 · 3 May 2018]

Drawn out it maybe but it always seems to give you something at the end! The red money bag woven through a complete episode is a good example. Glad there's more, a definite watch.

Rellik (2017)

Might finish it one day

[6/10 · 3 April 2018]

As it went on I cared less about getting to the end/beginning, clever it maybe but an effort to watch.

Save Me (2018–2022)

Gritty

[9/10 · 13 March 2018]

Captures a small part of modern London life perfectly. Great acting with believable characters throughout. Well paced direction and script start to finish. Possibly you'd think 'umm phone the police' every now and then but that would negate the 'drama' and they are not sophisticated people from the off! Worthy of a binge.

The Last Panthers (2015–2016)

Worthy

[8/10 · 29 December 2015]

The high production values shine through the complete series, there's been little skimping on things like filming locations. The script works well with the built characterisations that are easy to follow and with very few plot holes to annoy. However there's a few 'wouldn't he just shoot them' moments added so as to drive the story along to another fight scene! Two story lines running together may of made it longer than necessary but it's well worth a watch, unless you're 12 and can't do subtitles. The story manages to intertwine present day and recent Balkans history and the real world pan European heist gang the Panthers. The gun running and corruption twisted through the series are very relevant especially after recent terrorist events.

Senna (2010)

He mentions death and God a lot.

[8/10 · 24 June 2011]

A worthy documentary style montage of Senna's F1 career with just few things strangely left out, 'Little Senna', and definitely not enough Murray Walker or crashes that the medium of cinema deserves! The atmospheric element of high speed racing is captured wonderfully by the on board video from the drivers cockpits edge. When this is edited with the external broadcast images it makes for compelling viewing, especially as we build up to the known climatic ending. The Prost / Senna rivalry was an essential part of Senna's career story line and its neatly spliced together with the racing action, action that is not the main part of the imagery. Surprisingly this doesn't detract the film from being a story of a racing drivers tragically short career.