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hartigan1976
Reviews
Borley Rectory (2017)
A fascinating look at the history and goings on at Borley Rectory
I have been fascinated by Borley rectory since I was a kid. I grew up hearing about the ghost stories and hauntings that happened there. Naturally I was thrilled when I heard that this documentary was being made. I was even more excited when I heard that Reece Sheersmith was going to be involved. I didn't really know what to expect from the film but I was not disappointed. Borley Rectory takes an at times tongue in cheek look at the goings on at Borley rectory, beautifully narrated by Julian Sands. It explores the history and events that happened to the various occupants over the years before the rectory's final demise in the 40s.
The film itself is a really interesting mix of animation, and live action combined to make for a really creepy atmosphere, that is unlike most any other film of this type. This is not Friday the 13th or a "horror movie" in that sense so you should not watch it expecting anything like that, rather a genuinely fascinating and original look at the history of one of the alleged most haunted places in Britain. Ghost fans will enjoy this.
Moonfleet (2013)
Sadly Disappointed
I am not a professional reviewer and would normally not endeavour to add my thoughts to a public forum, however I felt so strongly about this that I felt I had to pipe up.
I was really excited to see the advert for this adaptation on Moonfleet on Sky over Xmas as I am a lifelong fan of the book. I was however a bit perturbed that there would not be enough time to define the characters and plot sufficiently over 2 episodes. But I was determined not to be put off as I had been surprised in the past by Sky's delivery of treasure island, I waited with anticipation for the day when Moonfleet would be shown.
Sadly within the first few scenes, as soon as I heard the magistrate refer to himself as Magistrate Mohune and not Magistate Maskew as he is properly known, I knew that severe artistic license had been taken.
The middle was a mish-mash of scene jumps attempting purely to try and cover each chapter in the book as quickly as possible without explaining hardly any of the thought processes of the characters.
There was absolutely no time given to establishing the nature of the contrabandiers (right word??) or the peril experienced at the local beach. No history of previous ships being wrecked and attempts to save poor souls from the beach, making the ending completely lack lustre.
add to this that fact that they skipped that part where John and Elzevir spend 10 years plus in a jail / work camp in Holland, and you can see how the integrity of the book is completely destroyed.
the worst part was the completely faked ending of John throwing the diamond into the sea, completely ignoring how the book actually ends.
I realise that you can only cram so much into a TV show, however this could have been done so much better over three or four episodes.
Couple this with a generally weak cast and acting presence and I was left Sadly Disappointed. I didn't even think Ray Winstone did anything to lift the experience, not matching that character of Elzevir Block at all.
As another reviewer has said, I wonder if anyone associated to this production has ever read the book?
I gave it four out of ten as the cinematography was quite good and my kids who have not read the book (although I have recommended that they now do so) quite liked it meaning that for the uninitiated it might have been a passable bit of Xmas TV. Sadly not for me.