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mrneilfrancis
Reviews
Hijack (2023)
Oh Idris what have you done.
I think Idris Elba might need a new manager as this is as poor as it gets. Yes it's a hijacking the plane. No, we don't have a reason for the hijacked. The supporting cast to Idris Elba are appalling in terms of miscast over acting or not being able to act. The people exempt from this are Max Beesley and Archie Panjabi who are fine actors. Yes it's a hijack but every episode is a repetition more or less of the previous episode. It just doesn't seem to move on yet. I'm only five episodes in. I don't think it's going to get any better . If it does, I will re-write this review, but as I said at the beginning, not everything, Idris Elba is in is actually good.
FBI: International (2021)
Eva Jane Willis ruins season 2
They seem to have bought in a new actress Eva Jane Willis. She's totally miscast extremely wooden and they should have kept the previous actress who played her part. Apart from that the storylines are really good and the sub plots keep it interesting, but who on earth thought about the recast. I would have rated this at 8 but season 2 at 5. Not sure what I'm talking about !! Watch season 2. Honestly if someone never fit as a new actress Eva Jane Willis is it. I do love the different locations around the world that it goes to. Sometimes it can be a little too samey, hence the FBI international squad go loggerheads with the local police. Maybe a bit cliched but all round I like it in particular season 1.
Crossfire (2022)
Oh dear BBC
Keeled Hawes having great difficulty acting to the lines of this one. The script and dialogue are extremely poor and the resort makes you think you're watching Benidorm with guns. Only one episode in but I'll be surprised if this gets any better. So a bunch of people are stuck on an island and someone shooting at them I'm certainly not giving away any spoilers with that. How long can you act scared for and make phone calls back home when you're on holiday Shane you're being attacked for no rhyme or reason. You'll be happy to know as well there's plenty of overacting in this new drama. I'll give it the second episode but I can't see it improving.
Witness Number 3 (2022)
Nina White ruins it
The one thing about Channel 5 dramas is they tend to focus on one actor or actress. The story is cloak and dagger people following you for episode after episode very routine capped with the fact that you are focusing on one actress who really is not very good. It's almost predictable and has the ingredients of everyone of these types of drama but the mix is awful. I'm only sorry I can't be more positive.
No Return (2022)
Sheridan Smith is awful
This is a complete mishmash of a plot. Certain things don't add up. There are too many loopholes in the plot, reacting is cheesy in particular the lawyer. It will leave you empty and wondering why you watched it, which I did. If you have ever seen the comedy programme Benidorm in which Sheridan Smith Acted this pretty much seems similar but it's not supposed to. Oh dear oh dear.
I Am...: I Am Danielle (2021)
Awfully intends for the sake of it
Letitia really did not pull this off. Reacting was supposed to be full of intensity but the performance was far from convincing It really did have no direction and not for one minute did you keep wondering what's going to happen next, more to the point you wondered when it was going to end. Painful because the idea has potential.
The Dissident (2020)
The Flies are all over this
An amazing truthfulness which was backed by fact. Some great dialogue which was backed by fact. Mohammed bin Salman is a killer and nothing has done has been backed by fact. In fact it's obvious he saw via stream the slaughter of Jamal. What an Absolutely brilliant documentary backed by fact and not the propaganda machine of MBS. Full marks for me which I've never done before.
A Suitable Boy (2020)
Very Cliched plot and acting
Rather cliched boy meets girl story. Some of the acting was straight out of the comedy show goodness gracious me! Extremely cheesy in parts nothing complicated about this story but I will say the cinematography scenery and costume designs were extremely good. I'm not a big fan of Bollywood movies but the singing routines in this series was almost comical but I don't think it was meant to be.
Whose Streets? (2017)
Bad performance by the Director.
I have to say that the director has to take the blame for using this opportunity to put together a poor documentary. There was no backstory on Michael Brown, well not a Knouff! Also a lot of video camcorder phone footage was used that was pointless. There was no investigative investigative journalism and the story wasn't linked together properly. For those who don't know anything about Michael Brown this story would be confusing it seems it was just made for the people of Ferguson who were aware of the story anyway. Really poor effort and missed opportunity by Sabaah The Director. Shame because it should have been a powerful story.
Defending Jacob (2020)
Apple employees love it
Implausible script that veered too far from the book. The director was trying to be cute with the story and it didn't come off. High score at moment as Apple employees have swarmed the site. Some hopeless acting and plenty of cliches
Murder and Justice: The Case of Martha Moxley (2019)
Cheap and nasty
I first saw this on sky crime. Unfortunately the purchases of cheap documentaries on this channel is legendary. This is no different - the quizzical looks, The I'm confused look, the lack of the ex federal prosecutor even sounding and acting like one, the cul-de-sacs the program goes up for the hell of it and And many more in discrepancies. I really wouldn't bother with this it's an embarrassment to all documentary making.
1917 (2019)
Remarkably poor acting
How very disappointing. There was no compassion in the acting building no bond or emotion. High emotion was only achieved by the use of highly dramatic loud music. The continuity was extremely poor and the story well, was there one. I can only conclude that the people who really like this are connected to the Oscar academy committee or the film Institute. I'm not sure how the IMDB Calculator works but if they are adding up the scores properly this should not have an overall rating of more than five. It's two hours of your life you will never get back on a film that is too self-indulgent. I like Sam Mendes but I'm not related to him so it's best to tell the truth.
Death at the Mansion: Rebecca Zahau (2019)
Clown Investigators.
Don't waste four hours of your time. This could have been just one episode. The two rocky clown investigators seem to spend ages working out would she have tied her hands behind her back if it was suicide. That small part got stretched out for so long I lost the will to live. I did manage to watch it till the end but I can honestly say my 10-year-old would have been a better investigative supporter and probably director of this disjointed mess.
House of Cards (2013)
Can you believe it can go so bad
SEASON 6 Oh dear. This has really collapsed. Robin Wright is unbelievably poor, it seems she wants to take the lead but she has no foil to play off. Although they can't use Kevin spacey for obvious reasons they should have cast her opposite a challenging the man. The whole of season 6 feels like it was written by robin Wright to show off robin Wright. The plots are so convoluted that it takes four episodes of season 6 before you know really what's happening. The constant reference to ex President Francis also gets tedious as it seems it is papering over the cracks of the lack of story. Considering all the other seasons averaged 8.5 on IMDB it has really capitulated into a mishmash. Guaranteed there will not be seasons 7. I really hate to write a negative for on one of the most joyous box sets I have ever watched but I just can't believe how bad this is.Some of the acting is so disingenuous.