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Masters of the Air (2024)
Its air buts its rather thin up here.
Im surprised given the vast majority of poor reviews for this film in the users review section that this film has such a high overall mark. Even the positive reviews have the all the studied tone of a chatbox.
I have to say I was unimpressed by the first couple of episodes. Couldn't connect with the characters at all . They seemed all too pretty ,all too well manicured and seemed more suited to a bar in West Hollywood that a WW2 aerodrome.
There was a wonderful gritty realism in the original Band of Brothers . That quality appears to be lacking in this war tale which feels as it has been marketed and designed to a audience that wouldn't normally watch war dramas.
A lot has been commentated by users on the negative treatment of the British characters . The sequences involving the locals seemed a lame way to build up the American characters. One can sense this dog wont travel well.
We all know that the real Air battle story that is a priority to tell in an episodic is the Battle of Britain which occurred 3 years before these stories.
Unfortunately there are probably not enough Americans fighting against the Luftwaffe at that time to attract the Hollywood big bucks. Pity as we we are left with a pale imitation desperately trying to follow in the footsteps of the BoB and Pacific which were much superior productions. Strange as Directors like Fukunaga have previously done some stellar work. Love to see the BBC approach this space.
Pork Pie (2017)
What you get when you remake a film without understanding the appeal of the original
In 1975 NZ elected a conservative Government led by the extremely polarising figure of Robert Muldoon. The traditional rugby, racing and beer, pakeha dominated society of NZ was in in a collision course with a younger liberal NZ .The original movie Goodbye Pork was released in 1980 and a year later NZ was being ripped apart by anti apartheid protest over a South African Rugby Tour. Indigenous Maori were starting to mobilise ,protesting and occupying land that had been illegally confiscated by the Europeans over the previous 150 years'
The country in many ways resembled a eastern european autocracy with the state controlling most elements of NZers lives. Goodbye Pork Pie with its irreverence ,anarchic disregard for the rules and rebellion against authority perfectly captured the countries conflicted nature
30 years on and the social context has completely changed . What was once youthful rebellion now looks like narcissistic youths on the rampage. A narrative that was once pointed now seems pointless. Its a pity because the cast are perfectly agreeable and James Rolleston the lead has done some outstanding work previously. Sadly the filmmakers are clearly confused in thinking the original success was based on car chases and being a hoon.
It escapes me why the NZ Film commission would fund this movie over other more contemporary ideas. It was perhaps the need to spend funding before the fiscal year or it allowed some advantageous tax breaks. Who knows?
SAS Rogue Heroes (2022)
It's not a WW2 documentary because David Stirling was fantasist.
In his biography of David Stirling, WW2 Historian Gavin Mortimer claims Stirling wasn't a military genius but in fact a shameless self-publicist who manipulated people, and the truth, for this own ends .Stirling was instrumental in selling the SAS to Churchill and senior officers but it was Paddy Mayne who really carried the regiment in the early days. Stirling was at best an incompetent soldier and at worst a foolhardy one, who jeopardised his men's live with careless talk and hare-brained missions. He was captured by the Germans and spent the rest of the war in a prisoner of war camp after he went ahead with a particularly risky mission.
Mortimer interviewed SAS veterans who fought with Stirling and men who worked with him on his post-war projects, and examined recently declassified government files about Stirling's involvement in Aden and Libya. After the war Stirling collaborated with an American journalist to create the book The Phantom Major which became a huge seller. This series does nothing to refute David Stirlings rewriting of history in which he gets all the credit.
The Long Range Desert Group were actually the first hugely successful unit to initiate guerilla raids on the German Army in North Africa . They have been largely overshadowed because of the success of the Phantom Major and because most of the unit were New Zealanders not English.
Slow Horses (2022)
No one quite does the shabby spy thriller like the Brits
For a country that gave the world, James Bond , the British also gave us the complete antithesis of that glamourous world of 007 . The murky spy thrillers of Callan,Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Slow Horses conjures up that world again of dirty tea cups,broken heating systems and dull departmental government buildings .. Its pacier than its earlier antecedents to allow for modern sensibilities. I watched the first series and couldn't wait for the second series so Im reading the second book in the Slough house series by Mick Heron,Dead Lions. Gary Oldman is just brilliant in a leading role as Jackson Lamb. He is one of those characters that only exists in British drama . Brilliant.
Jeeves and Wooster (1990)
Because it's Wodehouse I gave it another star
Fry and Laurie along with Mel smith and Griff Rhys Jones were the most popular British comic duos of the day. They do a great job but its not their fault I didn't love it as I was hoping. BBC Radio did a previous version with Richard Briers as Bertie and Sir Michael Hordern as Jeeves. The beauty of Wodehouse is the language and so it really works as a radio drama. Briers had the incredible gift of making upper class twits funny and likeable . Once you have been introduced to Briers and Hordern's version of classics like The Code of the Woosters and the The great Sermon Handicap everyone else sadly tends to sit in their shade.
Bridgerton (2020)
The Multiverse meets Austen
As a fan of the British costume drama, I must admit I approached the series with some trepidation.
The central conceit is that Bridgerton exists in an alternative history English regency period where race is no longer a barrier to rank ,marriage and social advancement .
One's position in society completely determined your role and in what caste you were able to marry and this particular genre generally relies on the strict boundaries of a stratified society to create the dramatic tension .
In a period classic like Pride and Prejudice the division of rank between the Bennetts and Darcey and Bingley fuels this tension and is one of the main barriers the lead protagonists must overcome .The idea that Darcey would marry so below his rank was untenable. The idea that he would marry someone who wasn't European is not in the realms of possibility.
So when the creators of Bridgerton removed the race barrier from this imaginary world they removed much of the social constraint that makes these period pieces so compelling . One has to wonder why as an aside why the Queen didn't wave her wand and remove sexism and class prejudice as well but hey it's their fantasy. One character who's entire purpose was to incessantly voice the lack of female empowerment seems rather hollow in the pampered environment of Mayfair and when its intercut with the Queen who appears to have complete control of the kingdom with a mad king.
This lessening of dramatic tension proved a difficulty for me in the central story of Season one . With rank and race no longer a tangible barrier, the obstacles to Simon and Daphne's happiness started to feel contrived and eventually you just wished that they would get over themselves.
Happily for me in season 2 the show was much more successful in portraying the dramatic tensions of the lead protagonists courtship. The barriers of duty and sisterly obligation were believable and I thought the show was artful in its presentation of the slow burn and unbearable frisson between the leads. Like all good romantic leads they start off hating each other but the gradual transformation was artful and believable due to the two leads palpable chemistry.
In drama its critical because of its obvious contrivance that the viewer has to suspend their disbelief . Unlike in Season one, Season 2 one could put that aside and just enjoy the ride.
The Outsider (2020)
Kinghit
Im not normally a big fan of Stephen Kings filmed work but I really enjoyed this mix of the Fallen narrative and True Detective's mood and style.
Ben Mendelsohn whop plays Det. Ralph Anderson is one of Australia's greatest acting exports and always delivers compelling performances. The real surprise here is Cynthia Ervio as Holly Gibney the aspergery private detective. Fascinating character and beautifully performed. Had me hooked early and I binged the series.
Counterpart (2017)
More Le Carre than Le Guin.
Although it has a science fiction premise, this tv series is closer to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy with its cloak and dagger , moody lighting and grey Berlin locations than shows like Humans or Fringe.
I think Sci fi fans who appreciate the action thriller genre may be somewhat put off by the pacing but I enjoyed the slow burn in this character based drama. Excellent cast as well. JK Simmons as usual is fantastic in a demanding role.
Star Trek: Discovery (2017)
Good series
Im no Trekkie and but have watched various incarnations over the years. Ive always found the various series pretty cheesy compare to shows like the Galactica reboot but the original series is an indelible part of your childhood . The reboot by JJ Abrams was also pretty good.
Having said that I enjoyed Discovery. Michael Burnham was great character partly because having an Afro American woman playing a woman raised by Vulcans as a lead was a fresh move. Im surprised at the negativity . I enjoyed the first season and looking forward to the second.
Jigsaw (2017)
people in agony who then die.
I think its one of the mystifying elements of modern life is that when I used to want to view people engaging in mutually consensual sex on film I had to go to the farthest corner of the DVD store, behind a curtain well away from prying eyes . It was private, creepy and clearly well hidden away from all decent folk.
On the other hand if I wanted to watch people chainsaw the heads off other people , gouge their eyes out ,torture themselves and basically portray acts that would have you sentenced for life , they were always displayed in a prominent position next to the counter where the smallest children could witness our enormous capacity to take pleasure in others pain.
Go figure!
StartUp (2016)
Along with Westworld best debut series of the year.
I saw the pilot at the Hollywood screenings and it would of been my favourite show of all the pilots that were screened last year. Extremely well cast the story line kept me enthralled right to the end of the first season. The story felt very modern and it was great(finally) to see some diversity in lead roles.