pete-collin

I was intrigued by the premise; a story one could watch in any order with the strings being drawn together on an impossibly complex and ingenious robbery. Sadly, Kaleidoscope shoots, but does not score.

The rather convoluted timelines are completely arbitrary and add nothing to the story itself. The typically excellent Giancarlo Esposito stumbles through the entire show looking perplexed at how he ended up being talked into this project. The balance of the cast might as well be cardboard cut-outs save for the excellent Jai Courtney in the role of the vile, but immensely watchable Bob Goodwin.

Hugely stylish and slick cinematography and art direction, fail by some way to salvage an empty, pointless and hackneyed heist story that is far more pleased with itself than it has any right to be.

Came to write a glowing review for what is a superb adaptation of Greg David Roberts' novels. Not sure I need to as thankfully I'm not alone in thinking this was one of the best shows of the year. I've not always been Hunnam's biggest fan but he absolutely nails it, leading a wonderful ensemble of actors, all at the top of their game. Shubhab Saraf in particular gives a stellar performance as the street-sharp and immensely loveable Prabhu. A story of redemption and love set against a background of corruption, divides and the hardships they entail, the narrative races along immersing us in a strange new world that is foreign to all of us bar those who have visited India. I absolutely loved this show, with a passion.

So what's my gripe? Well here it is... Last night I watched the final episode of season one, an absolute cliff-hanger that sets up the second season beautifully without leaving the viewer feeling short-changed. 'To be continued' flashed up on the screen and needless to say I immediately checked for the scheduled release date, only to find Apple had already cancelled the show, before the final episode even screened. Their algorithm says 'no' apparently. Sod the subscribers, sod their enjoyment, sod building a loyal fanbase or attracting new subscriptions, if this doesn't work for the corporates filling the ad slots, then the game is up. Hike the prices again and **** the viewers. A wonderful way to engender good faith, no doubt! If there's one company that could afford to take a risk, then you'd think it would be Apple, a firm absolutely awash with cash, so here it is, my sad little one-man stand... No more Apple TV for me, no more iPhones and iPads, strictly Windows lappies moving forwards, Spotify over iTunes, Android over all of your proprietary BS. The group have revealed their true colours in recent years and their grasping nature with it. I'm out, for the very little I suspect that will ever mean to Apple. Corporates will be the death of creativity, mark my words :/

Sometimes I find it nigh impossible to reconcile the reviews I read on here, with the film I've just viewed. On this occasion, I shan't even try, but rather concentrate on on my own appraisal.

For me, this is a wonderful film and a topical one in a world where power and wealth is concentrated in an an ever-decreasing circle. Yes, there is a stellar cast, but there is no using them to gloss over shortcomings and far from wanting the film to end, this is one of those films that left me pining the moment the credits began to roll.

I seem to say this too often these days, but my advice would be to ignore the haters who seem to relish downgrading other's work in some strange form of self-aggrandisement and instead park up with a friend or several, open a bottle of wine and let this quite incredible tale unwind in front of you with open minds and hearts. The pacing is fine, the performances as accomplished as the cinematography and there's an important life message beneath the outrageous conspiracy plot which just happens to be true. I'll leave you to discern that message yourselves and hope that you enjoy the craft and originality with which David Russell shares his tale as much as I did.