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db30
Reviews
Trisha (1998)
Know-it-all lectures morons.
Go to the poorest areas of Britain, ask the locals who the idiot family are, get them on telly to be lectured by a sanctimonious 'been there, done it' woman and you've got Trisha. The hostess with the mostess' speciality is to blame booze for everything. I swear I saw one show where the guy said that he did not drink but still got the 'cut out the liquor' lecture.Mildly entertaining, but absolute trash. If it wasn't on, perhaps we could use that hour for a property makeover show, a show detailing how to become an antiques dealer or a show about moving to a different country. Think of the possibilities! (If you're not British, you may not know that property, antique and relocation shows already take up the other 23 hours of the day)
No Angels (2004)
Compare the two.
This took the slot of 'Shameless'. 'Shameless' was so good it got an immediate re-run and is currently scheduled straight after this. 'Shameless' was and is excellent. This is sh*t. Channel 4 have been shameless in commisioning this utter crap. The characterisation is non-existent and therefore it is impossible to give a damn about what is going on. This is what happens when a 'bright' young exec. says "I know.....lets do 'Teachers' crossed with 'Sex in the City' crossed with 'The Girlie Show' and give it a jaunty motown soundtrack...oh and plenty of shagging!". Avoid.
Em Bé Há-Nôi (1974)
Interesting alternative.
I've just seen this film as part of my history degree course and found it to be a very interesting and moving account of the Vietnam war told from the perspective of a young North Vietnamese girl. While I wouldn't label it as out and out propaganda there are elements that reminded me strongly of British WWII flag wavers.
As I have said it is a moving film and there are some very nice touches, notably when the girl plays her violin to block the sound of bombs dropping to placate an infant. There are also some surprises. Having only seen this war as reflected from a U.S P.O.V I was surprised to see the following:
The war was not entirely limited to jungle warfare. This film is an account of the bombing of Hanoi.
In no other film had I seen the domestic side of Vietnamese life; a fairly happy family.
It had not occurred to me from watching other films that the Vietnamese would even know who Nixon was, here they seem relatively well informed; especially women.
I had previously thought that the Vietnamese had only possessed light arms, machine guns etc. In this film we see large missiles being transported (though I did suspect that it was perhaps only one missile being shown again and again or simply empty warheads!)
I do realise that this was a form of propaganda and therefore elements can be questioned, but nonetheless it is very interesting to see things from a different perspective. I would recommend this film to anyone with a serious interest in history or world cinema.
Sous le sable (2000)
Fragile
SPOILERS AHEAD.
Charlotte Rampling gives a marvelously understated portrayal of the fragility of a woman who has lost the central pillar in her life.
Her reaction in the mortuary scene provides a fine example of her skills as an actress.