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vaheadley
Reviews
Baby Reindeer (2024)
Confusing & unsatisfying
I spent most of the time while watching this, through squinting eyes & or my face contorted into a severe expression of confusion and frustration at trying to understand anything about this. It's not easy to watch, I had sub titles going because of the varied & very strong accents, but still struggled to understand a lot of the dialogue. Many of the cast seemed to mumble severely inhibiting my grasp of the story.
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The setting up of the characters seemed to take an awfully long time & still was very unclear who they were & their role in the "bigger picture" To me Martha was a charicature of a person & void of many of the human qualities that connect us to a character enough to develop empathy.... She was lacking emotional conviction & just a parody of the character. I also felt no connection to the lead character which meant I didn't care what happens next. To me the stand out was ....... The other love interest. She seemed more authentic. As a character & was very interesting in her portrayal. She lit up the screen amongst other dull grey looking players..and dull looking surroundings...she was the only warmth & stole every scene she was part of.
The whole story is disjointed & could have possibly been told in a more cohesive manner by a different team of editor's & production which could have changed the feel of the whole thing.
The Watcher (2022)
Potentially great
Good cast, good script, great house. The story just got a bit tangled a few times. Some great opportunities...some were not taken advantage of. At one point towards the end the storyline became ridiculous, then recovered momentarily. Many of the twists & turns were very predictable, which was disappointing &/to me showed a lack of imagination or effort, or both. Jennifer Coolidge is always good value but I was wishing she'd take her coat off, it looked too tight to be comfortable & just annoyed me as a distraction to the story. I was shocked to see Mia Farrow for the first time in many years, she appeared like a cardboard cutout of her previous self, not like a flesh & blood person.
Marie Antoinette (2022)
More Royalty done different
Wasn't sure I could cope with another batch of royals this year but this one Marie Antoinette is so different that it doesn't feel Royal at all. They seem more like a bunch of poor little rich kids floating around in gaudy palaces. I can't help but compare to its most obvious rival(I think) being THE GREAT there are a few similarities, in their timelines & palaces etc but other than that...not really comparable. The witty script in THE GREAT is
.unrivalled and as well as the way it is delivered. The cast in THE GREAT particularly the two leads IS remarkable. They throw themselves with gusto...especially when smashing glasses & crying out loudly "HAZZAH" I could not help but get carried away with their enthusiasm. I hope they make several more seasons.
A Star Is Born (2018)
Saved the best till last
I've seen all versions of A Star is Born & enjoyed every one of them on their own merits. Admittedly I'm a push over for Mr Cooper & was eager to see what he could do here....well he did not disappoint. Magnificent job or jobs....as he had so much imput into this movie. Lady GaGa is perfect in her role & mesmerising on screen. When they are both on screen I was transfixed. Absolutely lost in this movie from start to finish & cant get enough of the music. I felt they were robbed at the GG awards & hoping that there's more recognition from the Academy.
Green Book (2018)
Enjoyable
I enjoyed this movie, although it's a bit slow in parts. Cringeworthy in parts due to blatant discrimination, some excellent performances by the 2 main leads & equally good....almost better is Dolores, the wife. Could have packed a bit more punch, I think.
Only Mine (2019)
Midday Telemovie
Could have been good. Beautiful setting & country side. But the acting is so bad that it makes this "based on a true story" almost unbelievable. A few of the cast did a decent job, the Mother, Tommy, & Police Chief. The lead actress is laughable in the role, totally spoiling any suspense or compassion for her character, I honestly didn't care what happened to her. The bad guy is not any better, all he has going for him is nice teeth. What a waste of time, I didn't even watch to the end.