christopherbarton26 Reviews

The Amazing Mr. X (1948)

Watch this if you just like entertaining movies with style.

[8/10 · 7 April 2023]

Well written and performed. Great cinematograph, direction and editing. Marvellous gem from a bygone era. The story has twists and turns like a twisty turns thing too.

Mr X can be seen as either as slippery as an oil slick or simply a Bryan Ferryesque Mr Cool. Take your pick.

One of those movies that you wonder what a remake would be like but then say to yourself, please don't!.

Very reminiscent of the late Victorian, early Edwardian stories go ghosts and the paranormal before the fantastical horror of the twenties were born. It certainly has the tone of classics alike Night of the Demon with some similar themes.

Give it a shot.

Doctor Who: Orphan 55 (2020) Season 12, Episode 3

Best comedy I've seen in years.

[10/10 · 8 April 2021]

How I laughed at this wonderful comical offering from the BBC. In the tradition of it's legacy, they have managed to commission an absolute classic. It's funnier than Miranda (mind you shaving your scrotum and dipping it into a bucket of scorpions is funnier than Miranda) I am looking forward to the next episode of this sitcom and will be wearing an extra strong girdle to protect my sides.

There was so much going on that is hard to break down into constructive complentary segments. With the general setting, a luxury hotel that is empty funding a complete terraforming of a planet . A green haired twonk who does absolutely nothing,accompanied by his son who does absolutely nothing. Crisp bag bacteriology, loved that joke, topical. Mum and daughter, who did not look remotely like each other, whom were pretending to be hard. Daughter annoyed with negligent mum so wants to kill everyone therefore destroy planet. Hotel receptionist who would be put down by any humane animal charity. It just kept giving and giving. I cannot forget the thumb sucking and Graham's hilarious turn sunbathing fully clothed, including jersey., topped off with wonderful turn of two old music hall comics who showed immaculate timing by just being in the way.. This is years ahead of it's time, no pun intended.. there was just more and more.

And the genius is amongst this hilarity there is a very subtle undertone but powerful message about the ennvironment which is what a lot of modern BBC entertainment tends to ignore. You are laughing your way to a better world.

Well done BBC. This was worth the license fee all on it's own.

In these times of terror I am so happy I found this hidden treasure. It should carry a health warning

The only criticism I would have is it lacked a very tall awkward woman who keeps falling over. Hopefully that will appear in the episode episode 2..

I can't wait. Roll on awards season.

Doctor Who: The Timeless Children (2020) Season 12, Episode 10

Exactly where I thought they were going. EXTERMINATE!!!

[1/10 · 6 March 2020]

Well we finally got there. It was obvious that like in most cultural output these days. A show that has a history that is not liked by the rampant new wave of the political that now in their hands will be completely destroyed for the sake of vindictive virtuous point scoring. Aside from that there was plenty wrong with this episode technically that I cannot w begin to discuss how atrocious it is.Funnily enough ,apart from the nastiness and contempt shown by the production team for fans ,is it was remarkably CHEESEY.

The actual revealing of the doctor's true identity was in essence crass, pointless, nonsensical and actually totally cringeworthy. In fact it was quite funny, squeezed in as a type of aside, a essential ingredient of the whole Doctor Who mystique dealt with in such a tacky incredulous way as part of an episode Rather than it being a finely weaved texture over a period of time, regardless of the flimsy hints earlier in the series. It was like the nativity taking place and Christ was just a little fella over there in a box in the corner. there was absolutely no subtlety in the delivery of this, in the scheme of things, monumental reveal.

This was not only shark jumping of the highest calibre, its curdled content was perfectly illustrated by the Cybermen / Timelords in their little outfits. Bless 'em! Purile vacuous pap!

The most annoying aspect is After all the wokesplaining has died down, and yet another fictional cultural heroic white male has been slaughtered and superseded, the whole core of mystery of the true core of the Doctor, which was the series's foundation stone, is ruined. The Doctor we now know is effectively Christ like, not capable of any serious peril. A superhero (there is also an obsession with this type of content), so cheap, nasty and bland.

That is the last one I will ever watch, I was there for the very first episode and it breaks my heart to see such a fine cultural institution being brutally murdered.

The Quest (1976)

Would you like some tea? A very enjoyable adventure

[8/10 · 30 December 2019]

In the UK this show was shown on Sunday teatime (and you know how we like our tea). It was a surprise as usually that spot tended to to be filled with quality BBC classic dramas. Anyhoo, it was refreshing to see such a show and of such quality. It was hardly art but it was entertaining. Well written, well directed and performed by a legendary cast, and actors who were to be very accomplished.

I was very disappointed when it was cancelled, but not as much as my mum!!

A Little Late with Lilly Singh (2019–2021)

What is this garbage? It is time to hold the high ranking executives to task!

[1/10 · 23 November 2019]

I have seen a couple of episodes of this and sort of what I expected in respect to how modern world culture has moved. Had to look into her bio though because did not know much about her. Apparently a YouTube hit, really?? I believe she is of Indian roots and is bisexual (although she has only had boyfriends, according to the net). For an Asian I do not understand why she behaves like a seventies black street drug dealer, or a poor female imitation of a Huggy Bear (see Starsky and Hutch). Cultural appropriation?? Anyway, monologues are awful, usual bash the white male and look at me, look at me I am so different narcissism, and well she is just not funny. I am not am fashionista but she just dresses ugly too, I guess to shock, yeah! I am different. It is just a poor show. It makes me think what the powers that be who petition this rubbish were thinking when commissioning this stuff. Same for many modern motion pictures. How many thousand homeless in California alone and yet throwing money away on this. This is where humanity is. I despair for us all.

Batwoman (2019–2022)

Bad acting, bad writing, bad idea, bad production. Just bad! A homage to Orville the Duck!

[1/10 · 31 October 2019]

I see this current series of Batwoman as a modern televisual version of Orville the Duck. For the Non British he was a green furry ventriloquists dummy, that looked more like Chernobyl offspring than a duck, who plagued our tv screens for a while and even had a top ten hit! Why do I liken Batwoman to the this very screen obscenity. It is a flying irritating animal, weirdly illuminated in a pathitic colour driven by current fads destined to quietly disappear into cultural and entertainment obscurity, and hopefully never to be resurrected.

Black Mirror: Smithereens (2019) Season 5, Episode 2

Wooooohhhhke Is me!

[5/10 · 5 June 2019]

This is actually a pretty decent story and very good performances by the actors but sadly Mr Brooker has succumbed to the modern dominant cultural media belief that all white males are completely stupid, aggressive, mean, weedy, arrogant and indeed at fault for every appalling element of the human psyche and negative acts of behaviour.that anyone can possibly imagine.

I find programmes like this more of comedy as regards to its dogma, and because of its repetition across all mainstream entertainment it makes them boring. You don't have wait for any plot or character development as you know by their sex and ethnicity which way is will swing.

Not on Your Nellie (1974–1975)

Don't be so ricidudulous!!

[8/10 · 14 February 2019]

Following on from her wonderful performance in "Nearest and Dearest' the great Hylda Baker reigns supreme as the Queen of spoonerisms. She is Nellie Pickergill, basically Nellie pleader in all but name. Watching a few episodes now it still rings as genuinely funny. The plot that she takes over running her fathers pub in London gives a chance for her to mix with a variety of London types. There is a running theme of comparing the North and South, which still prevails that is both funny and true.

Although again it is an interesting window to old attitudes you can't help but enjoy Nelli Pickergill/Hylda as she steals the show. Add to the fact unlike other sitcoms homosexual and immigrant characters are, although the butt of some jokes, treated affectionately in the script. Indeed she announces herself as a maiden on arrival so the values of family are transferred to her regulars. They are all her children.

It is simply worth the watch for her wonderful use or misuse of the English language. Very funny.

Curry & Chips (1969)

Amazed that we only remember 'Love Thy Neighbour' as offensive

[3/10 · 3 February 2019]

I remember this being broadcast late on Sunday evenings so I saw one or two as a child. I remember thinking that it was just silly. In recent years I have have said to people who revert to "Love Thy Neighbour" and 'It Ain't 'Alf hot Mum!' As being the pinnacle of racism in British television, that if they think that is offensive you should watch 'Curry and Chips'. It starred Eric Sykes and Spike Milligan. One of my comic heroes was Spike Milligan, but I am afraid I can only look at it now and cringe. It was actually written by the great Johnny Speight, the creator and driving force behind Alf Garnet, but I feel this went well off kilter simply due to it's crassness.

I Suppose if the lead character is born in Pakistan of an Irish dad and called Kevin O'Grady it is not going to be easy. He arrives at a factory from the labour exchange and manager (Sykes) offfers him a job, and shares digs with him. The fun starts!! Spike Milligan was born in and spent his early life in India. That in itself is "they are all the same"!. Weirdly in one of his BBC Q shows he there was a sketch featuring a Pakistani catholic Dalek coming home cross from work.

The cast simply said their lines, did not act, if you can call Spikes accent acting, then he did but he spoke quietly. Apart from him and Sykes, the other faces were known usual suspects from British TV and film (Geoffrey Hughes, Kenny Lynch, Sam Kidd and Norman Rossington). Often they seemed to forget their lines, ad. Lib or Time them badly. fact Kenny Lynch (a black guy born in the End of London) took willing part in the workplace racism and even sent himself up.

It could be seen as a reflection of the times and indeed it did reflect life and social interaction but had none of the subtlety and counterbalance of the Garnet sitcoms. I would actually think now that all the white characters in it were just awful caricatures, maybe Speight was saying if you think like this you are awful! That is Garnet after all.

It did actually satire the political and economic of the times where politicians and trade unions were panned. It also suggested, well in the end we all tolerated each other and had to get on, it's better than fighting. Unfortunately the racism in it was like machine gun fire in your face constantly and antidotal lines, particularly Milligan's are missed (Milligan seemed to speak his lines quietly).

Overall it is an interesting peak into how we were to a point. That's why I gave it 3, but not a particularly funny show,badly made with a few clever gags, a few! More of an uncomfortable viewing than an enjoyable one. Not surprisingly it flopped and there was only one series.

Tales of Unease: Calculated Nightmare (1970) Season 1, Episode 2

Very prophetic little gem

[8/10 · 21 January 2019]

I missed this series when I was younger and I am glad I found it on YouTube. The quality was not very good in the that respect but it was watchable.

It concerns staff working in a 'smart building' where everything, elevators, temp,air con and fire doors and more are controlled by computer. The two executives who are the focus of the tale have made decisions on job losses based on data from the system.

Unfortunately it has been hacked by a disgruntled employee who is on the redundancy list and there are held captive in their office until they change their minds. Ironic as they are laying off a man a lot smarter that them, as he has completely doctored communication lines etc so that cannot anyone know of there plight. The beginning and end scenes of staff who frank their own uslesness, if you like, give us a nice intro and outdo to the story.

The acting was usual top notch cast of British television regulars and directed by a man who who had succes later in life with several sitcoms (different!).

It is quite forward thinking in the way that even then the human race was starting to promote the reliance on technology and I am sure that people laughed at this. Arthur C, Clarke said something about magic in history is tomorrow's reality. It does have a general message that technology is only as productive as the people that feed it and we cannot afford to remove too much of the human element in our daily tasks. It may be end for us all if we make technology too good.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)

Curious Dark Parable/Fable : I Really like this director - Acting was top notch too!

[8/10 · 15 January 2019]

Having seen The Lobster and Dogtooth and finding them more than interesting I watched this. It concerned a surgeon (Colin Farrell) who befriends a teenage boy (Barry Keoghan) whose father died during an operation performed by the surgeon. They establish a tense relationship which results in the the teen trespassing more and more into the life and family of the surgeon.

I found all of the actors performances were very good except for Barry Keoghan who, was in fact, excellent.

It carried the same atmosphere and style of his other movies. It was made in a very clinical stifled style with complimented by a suitable score. In his movies it focuses, I feel, how our immediate environment influences the human condition.This is probably his most accessible film yet. As in all Yorgos Lanthimos' movies the human interaction is deliberately delivered in a kind of clipped stilted tone, very rarely over expressing emotion and which often the viewer would find inappropriate but is effective. It is very dark in subject matter and conclusion, more like The Lobster in that respect. There is also a hint of the supernatural as the story develops and the children Sicken, helped by the inhuman haunting soulless atmosphere they exist in.

The music has been criticised but I do believe it gelled. The going through the motions by actors critique is a common snipe at the film but that is meant to happen, it is as though somehow these days we all exist rather than live from the the jobseeker to the elite. We also drink too much. In fact that drama is initiated due to fact that he was an alcoholic/drunk, and this also dealt with in a very subtle if suggested at all.

If you want a taste of earlier films I would suggest just starting with Dogtooth. I cannot wait to see his latest The Favourite.

Killing Eve (2018–2022)

Ultra modern agenda for the the neo-lib socialists and not a great thriller either

[3/10 · 8 January 2019]

I was a bit hesitant about watching this despite all the raving about its quality because of the BBC and its political preachings it has suffered from for sometime. They did not let me down. All the strong protagonists were female. All the women were much more intelligent than any of the male characters. In fact all the men were completely daft and incompetent. Even the young lad could not land a job if it was not for his mother. The list is endless as to how it completely went out to demasculate the image of the male James Bonding it to save the world. Not forgetting the hapless mole crying into the shoulder of the much smarter, harder and emotionally stable female operative. He was castrated as others had been.Elephant in the room. And lets not forget here husband at home looking after the house, cooking and playing cards while she saves everyone. In fact even portrayed the males as sex objects, touché! I could go on and on but apparently it is entertainment.

In that case I do think the lead was very good, had a great premise, started well and nosedived about halfway through. I think it actually got pretty silly. Three strangers turn up at sleepy English village pulling an arsenal out and using it in broad daylight (come on!). There were a few more holes like that too. Did make me chuckle for the wrong reasons but also some of screenplay was witty.

I have to say though that the ending was actually pathetic, it actually made no sense at all from and probably the most unrealistic element to the whole thing.

Could do better.

Omnibus: Whistle and I'll Come to You (1968) Season 1, Episode 17

Work of Genius from Jonathan Miller

[25 December 2017]

I first saw this while working as a film researcher and was blown away by it. Obviously made in black white because of when it was made but adds to the feeling of our individual isolation when coping with experiences he can't grasp from the eating at the hotel to his sandwiches on the beach. These slow burning scenes are all essential to the arrival of the terror.They all have a feeling of loneliness and dread. It captures James' use of a sense of a godless world or pagan past to connect with other forces They are simply beyond logic.The wonderfully multi-skilled Dr Jonathan Miller's direction is superb. Just look again at the dream sequences and the use of sound towards the end. Michael Hordern once again gives a solid performance.

I do urge you to watch it, in the dark to get its full effect

Dune (1984)

Interesting

[6/10 · 12 November 2015]

I watched this movie for the first time in about twenty years. I have not read the books but I only have one observation. When I first saw the movie I thought it was a mess and found it hard to watch.

However what I saw on my second viewing recently an attempt, I don't know if David Lynch thought this because he never speaks about it,as what we see quite commonly now as comic book movies created from their own comic book creations.

Everything is done on such a grand scale right down to the quality of the cast but you could look at it as a series of well framed shots. Very similar to the first Michael Keaton Batman venture.Several frames looking great as a still. Even the thought dialogue would have fit nicely into bubbles. All sounds basic but think about it. I think it may have been the first picture book movie as an adaptation from a novel.

I know its not a major thought but I now find the movie more interesting and innovative.

Hypothermia (2010)

God Save Michael Rooker

[3/10 · 12 November 2015]

This movie has just started on the Horror Channel. It seemed familiar and it was. I suffered the pain of this dark (lighting) bleak (Plot and script) a couple of years ago and I am still wearing the plasters. The three stars are Michael Rooker who was ever reliable but what he was doing in this cheap drivel? I will never know. New furniture?? The icy desolate waste is probably a metaphor or the commissioning suits minds although adequate for the movie.

I cannot go too far into all the performances but the supporting cast were keen if nothing else.

I have also have seen some pretty cheap effects when watching Z rated creature features, and some are very good, but this one really had me in stitches. Spend £20 and make it look like £9. Someone is missing a wet suit and flippers.

Even for hard core horror fans (we have watched some rubbish) give it a wide one unless you want to chuckle at the rubber beastie.