johnwwwatson's reviews

I'm 62 but have been watching films before my time since tubes landed in my living room. Not just silent movies by Chaplin & Keaton, or talkies like Marx Bros. Bogart, Hitchcock, Orson Welles and I can never name all the rest with Olivier, Brando, Holden, Fonda, Heston, Newman, Redford, Nicholson, McQueen, Hoffman... enough!!! Nevertheless, I will never forget Casablanca, Citizen Kane, The African Queen, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Little Big Man, Godfather, Cool Hand Luke, Chinatown, Forest Gump, The English Gentleman... enough!!!

And finally, almost too long of a wait, at 62 yrs old, one of the most well made, story telling, acting, directing, cinematographic, remarkable, memorable, unforgettable films of 2022! Thank you Kenneth Branagh and Agatha Christie (and Morena Baccarin)

Woo-Hoo! MI5, cold-war, conspiracy politics, what's not to like? I wanted to like this but distractions made it difficult. It started off spectacular with action and espionage then diversity casting convoluted the story. Let's say you are aware of the racial climate and are not racist so you cast people to prove it but their acting or their character script doesn't support them being there. That's what is distracting to me. Either someone is cast in an inconceivable position they would not achieve in real life or their acting or lack thereof interfers with the believability required to make the scene/story right. UK does this a lot and with gender and race and we've seen our share of Queen Latifa or Whoopi Goldberg playing doctors, lawyers etc opposite stronger leads and it just doesn't work. Casting is so afraid of a person of color given a role that portrays them in any way racial but when by casting them in an inconceivable role it backfires and looks like an affirmative action fail. My opinion.

I can't believe I avoided this show because it was Marvel and Disney. Sadly I'm 2 episodes in and there are only 6. There's a Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure, Mystery, Thriller feel while the lead actor is very good with comedy as well.

I see good story, good acting and you learn about the characters as the appear and disappear. And Budapest is awesome. Sometimes things aren't what they seem and one shouldn't judge a show by it's cover, at least watch the preview!

First, I'd watch Morena Baccarin in a Hillary campaign ad. If you didn't get it in Serenity or V, at least you got it in Deadpool, right? Morena comes to us blended with Italian, Lebanese, Portuguese, Brazilian and just the right amount of New York swagger.

Back to another Hollywood ripoff, because they do it so well. This show is loaded with action and it is better than most of the safe for prime time we are stuck with (ps. If you're still adding a laugh-track to your show, maybe it's not funny - Sorry Chi McBride, you are the best) The Black List was AWESOME... the first episode, then it was just the same old **** and it's still on. This is better, but still diluted with the usual new quota of black actors filling the screen since the big whine at the oscars, the new normal. I cannot count all my favorite black actors on all my fingers and toes, but putting them in roles that are not believable from Scandi & British television to American roles while they are too young and too inexperienced to have achieved that character's status is as bad as everything else in Hollywood, done for ratings not reality. But please Hollywood, black America asked for more roles not a handout. And you don't need to ease your guilt by writing their characters smarter than all the other actors. And black people need role models in the home too so stop with the tired cliché of interracial relationships. Show America a strong black man & smart black woman in a supportive relationship. So yes, I watch it because of Morena Baccarin but I won't give it a high score even if you "cancel" me.

Having finished The Ipcress File 2022 Episode 1, I just had to watch my copy of Michael Caine's 1965 The Ipcress File and we know who's is the best but I stress, like the many remakes of Heaven Can Wait, I like Warren Beatty's 1978 because that's my generation as Robert Montgomery's 1941 original "Here Comes Mr Jordan" was my grandparent's favorite. If you have never seen Michael Caine cutting his teeth in The Ipcress File 1965, only a year after his first real lead in "Zulu" 1964, watch it! That said and repeated, Stop complaining about remakes! The only way to keep a good story alive is to retell it. Let people decide to research and find prior versions. I will be watching each episode of The Ipcress File 2022 because it is a good story!

I just finished Episode 1 and it was effortless to enjoy it, even with subtitles. Only 30 minutes goes by fast especially with good actors giving 100% to untypical dry humor. It's not campy or raunchy; it's good clean fun that lets us forget the horrors of the last year and the years coming; Even if we have to go back in time before all this madness took the fun out of life.

Thank you France!

I don't agree with the reviews maybe they're really upset with something else. I enjoyed Episode 1 though casting was social/political - my opinion. Hollywood has done the same, casting someone a smarter race and the other race is stupid. Evident in EVERYTHING to come out of Hollywood. But why is the UK casting a local small town merchant or senior detective this way. Other than that, typical UK fare with good actors, scenery and story. I could watch 100 episodes thank you very much.

Better than Stephen King & M. Night Shyamalan!

Characters, writing, story,direction, casting, cinematography. I'm half way into episode 2 when I have 4 episodes; no binging. These are cookies I want to last. Relax. Watch and enjoy.

The level of historical battle accuracy and reenactment was top notch. I have been watching war movies for over 40 years. My dissatisfaction has always been with equipment, vehicles, artillery etc. It's not easy finding WWII tanks, trucks etc that look new and many Hollywood movies must use 70 yr old resources. We all know by the 1940's everything in action was shiny brand new, yet in film, 70 year old stuff looks 70 years old. Not here. Equipment and uniforms were new as they should have been. Hitler was a bastard and we need to keep educating each new generation so they understand it must never happen again. That said, without turning this into Schindler's List, it still should have depicted the lose of innocent life caused by the Nazi Final Solution; extermination of all Jewish people.

Dirty Harry meets Walking Tall meets Above The Law!

Sorry Tom, there's a new Reacher in town and he just ate your lunch.

I've never watch the lead actors prior stuff so I get an extra first time benefit.

I am very disappointed... there are only episodes.

Enough said.

What can you say about a series created, written, directed, and acted in by RG? Everyone here has already said it so I'll just say Thank You Ricky. Please don't forget us, Make more stuff!

Use to be like one of us. Now it just feels like he pulled up in a limo to try some woke jokes then he's back to Jolly Old London. Cheerio Aziz, here's to you remembering what side of the tracks you got your jokes from. Not my bloody cup of tea mate.

I am so happy Netflix has become a source of true crime stories and I am dumbfounded no one in Great Britain, France or the rest of Europe cannot find Robert Hendy Freegard David Clifton, and expose him to the world. There shouldn't be anywhere he can buy a coffee board a plan or rent a car without a warning photo up. All the women and family lives he's destroyed and not one relative has found him and ...

I don't care what cancel whiners are saying, this is a good show, good stories, good real detective re-enactments.

My only complaint is to see criminals in the UK getting short sentences. Even if you get 10, 25 to life, they will not serve it all unless crim ate a baby and gets 75 yrs to life.

Just 1 episode down and wow!

Action, Sexy, funny, twisted, cute, new! Everything has been woke and diverse and from the country down under comes relief. Sadly only 6 episodes so far so binge and lose or ration these episodes and hope more. Thank you Aussies, good luck down there!

One of the best Sci-Fi's in history was a novel written in 1898 and Orson Wells adapted it for radio in 1938; The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells. I believe there wasn't any action or special effects except for the terrifying ones in our imagination. The reviews I read were awful and I thought, kids, drama, no Sci-Fi... I'm not gonna waste my time. But sometimes I revisit a film or series in a different frame of mind and realize I shouldn't be opinionated and I shouldn't 100% believe someone else's opinion. I never have so why now. That brings me to Invasion. I'm one episode in and don't want to finish all three in a hurry because I like it so far. I was absolutely wrong about the kids, the drama, the Sci-Fi and... Sam Neill; he is so good in this first episode.

Except for teasers, I didn't see any special effects, but felt them. I'm tired of Marvel, Giant Robots and Superheroes. The beauty of this, the beginning is like Stephen King stories, you can almost imagine it's real and that's what's scary, that's the special effect we all look for when we escape into the make believe.

I had high hopes, even took the bait at the very beginning when I heard proper eloquent English roll of Helen Mirren's tongue but it all came crashing down when the started trying to be funny. Animals are funny enough if you just film them with cartoon music. Still, I'm going to use it for background without sound because the film is truly remarkable. My doctor's office has a tv on without sound most of the time and it works; we are occupied while we wait. Try that, maybe even play jazz or classical music with it 👍🏼

I just love watching audio only (sic).

I guess considering a year of masks covering our mouths this is what we get.

Too annoying. I kept skipping to new episodes hoping for a miracle, nope...just more creative screen savers. Is this the 70's before video? Make me listen to this and I will confess... about anything you want. OK, if you're on a plane or train or somewhere that you can only listen and fir whatever reason you've decided not to listen to educated informative podcast or audio books, then maybe take the pencils out of your ears and these whiners might get your through your trip.

Have you ever been stung by a dead bee?

That's how I feel with this show. I wasn't in love with the two leads both kind of annoying in the first episode but there was something to it... And then here comes Mr. Magic himself... Ray Romano. Let's not call him underrated because his career is his milestone. Still, Ray makes you forget you're watching an actor.

Ok, here's the bad part... there's only 8 episodes and I'm 5 in not wanting this to end. I hope it gets more seasons. Ps: I have a rule, if I am annoyed at an character, they're doing a good job acting. I now like them both.

I hate comparisons but this is a compliment. Katla plays like Stephen King and M Night Shyamalan were trapped in an ice storm and came up with this. I'm a Scandifan. You name it I've seen and I'm finding more. What I like most, 3 episodes in, is that it's still Scandinoir without the cold, bleak, hard edges. I can't stop watching it and hope this is a new hybrid of Scandinavian film/tv.

I read some of the titles & reviews saying this was too slow. I'm guessing these review are from people brainwashed into watching nonstop junk action like Transformers or Godzilla. I stopped watching this when it came out because of the writer's Helen Brown character played by Elizabeth McGovern. Instead of behaving like a Neapolitan well read & well traveled American that has settled in France, she comes across as a petty simple minded housewife from anytown USA. The links of the chain are important and if everyone else is acting like aliens invaded earth and she is acting like a bitter ex wife, there goes the flow. I'm watching it again because season 2 is starting up and now I can fast forward the stupid drama filler. The story is fine, the special effects though few are fine. Just a few moments when writers tried to please too many people or let their kids write for them.