hoods7070
Joined Sep 2013
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Reviews3
hoods7070's rating
If unadulterated, absolutely mind-numbingly clichéd schmaltz is your thing, then this is for you. If, on the other hand, you have a few brain cells that actually require a little more than being fed aforementioned pap, it is not. Seriously, do not bother.
I persevered right to the end of Episode 17 then simply could not watch any more. In retrospect, it would have been quite entertaining to watch this with a like-minded friend so we could howl abuse at this lazily produced/directed, overrated production.
Even some good performances from the cast couldn't save it, for me - the African-American family were particularly good at their craft, but even they were not able to rise above the cheese. Actually, that's not a bad metaphor. :) The whole show is a messy pizza, with a decent crust trying desperately to get out above the cheese and a mishmash of toppings; it fails, miserably.
And as for Toby and Kate - how cringe-worthy and UNLIKELY is their story? I am obese, and comfortable enough in my own skin, but I do not want to see the unfortunate, poorly-scripted antics of a couple of fatties. The whole topic of obesity is dealt with in (what comes to be) the expected shallow way, and I just wanted to climb inside my TV and HIT Toby, in particular.
Ugh. What a waste of several perfectly good hours of my life.
I persevered right to the end of Episode 17 then simply could not watch any more. In retrospect, it would have been quite entertaining to watch this with a like-minded friend so we could howl abuse at this lazily produced/directed, overrated production.
Even some good performances from the cast couldn't save it, for me - the African-American family were particularly good at their craft, but even they were not able to rise above the cheese. Actually, that's not a bad metaphor. :) The whole show is a messy pizza, with a decent crust trying desperately to get out above the cheese and a mishmash of toppings; it fails, miserably.
And as for Toby and Kate - how cringe-worthy and UNLIKELY is their story? I am obese, and comfortable enough in my own skin, but I do not want to see the unfortunate, poorly-scripted antics of a couple of fatties. The whole topic of obesity is dealt with in (what comes to be) the expected shallow way, and I just wanted to climb inside my TV and HIT Toby, in particular.
Ugh. What a waste of several perfectly good hours of my life.
It took me a while to get round to watching this, as I'd read the book. However, it was well worth it! The female cast were, without exception, absolutely brilliant. Kidman isn't normally my favourite actress, but my God, as Celeste she acted her pants off (umm, yes, well...)in BLL. Superb. The men played their parts, but were, on the whole, less convincing than the women. Exceptions were a forceful performance from Alexander Skarsgård as Celeste's husband Perry, and Adam Scott as the ineffectual but endearing Ed. Special mention should be made of the kids - Ziggy, Chloe and Abigail, in particular.
I took a star off because I wasn't wild about the way the series was kicked off - it must have been quite confusing for anyone who hasn't read the book. It also bugs me when a book is written and set in one country (Australia)then Americanized almost out of recognition. The production was excellent, no doubt about that, but it was American to the hilt and I'm rather more partial to the Australian and British production style.
I hope said producers are not tempted by the success of the series to prolong it into another season (or more). Case closed, as far as I'm concerned.
I took a star off because I wasn't wild about the way the series was kicked off - it must have been quite confusing for anyone who hasn't read the book. It also bugs me when a book is written and set in one country (Australia)then Americanized almost out of recognition. The production was excellent, no doubt about that, but it was American to the hilt and I'm rather more partial to the Australian and British production style.
I hope said producers are not tempted by the success of the series to prolong it into another season (or more). Case closed, as far as I'm concerned.
A star rating of 7 at this time?? How can this be? I ask. Cape Town is possibly the worst miniseries I have ever watched, and a huge disappointment for me, as a big fan of all Deon Meyer's novels. I wrongly believed that a series based on one of his books could not fail. I was also looking forward to seeing a South African offering. If Cape Town is any benchmark, their television industry needs another 50 years of evolution.
I have been sitting here trying to find some redeeming feature and/or something positive to say. Alas I can't! (Other than that the two lead actors were very easy on the eye.) In terms of production, some things were JUST adequate, nothing whatsoever was done well. Somewhat surprisingly, very little use was made of the beautiful Cape scenery.
Overall the acting was stiff and amateurish; one or two of the female actors gave creditable performances, but not one of the men was believable. As for the accents of the two non-South African lead actors...these were not even close to an attuned ear. Boris Kodjoe was significantly better at everything than his Norwegian partner, Seim. My view is that South African actors would have been a far better choice.
I don't recall the book being so difficult to follow. As a TV story, it's just too convoluted to work. The producers could have (and should have) left out half the pretty much irrelevant subplots, which did nothing more than distract and confuse.
Anyway, no point analysing it any further...it just sucked. I hope Deon Meyer doesn't let this production team anywhere NEAR his Benny Griessel novels.
I have been sitting here trying to find some redeeming feature and/or something positive to say. Alas I can't! (Other than that the two lead actors were very easy on the eye.) In terms of production, some things were JUST adequate, nothing whatsoever was done well. Somewhat surprisingly, very little use was made of the beautiful Cape scenery.
Overall the acting was stiff and amateurish; one or two of the female actors gave creditable performances, but not one of the men was believable. As for the accents of the two non-South African lead actors...these were not even close to an attuned ear. Boris Kodjoe was significantly better at everything than his Norwegian partner, Seim. My view is that South African actors would have been a far better choice.
I don't recall the book being so difficult to follow. As a TV story, it's just too convoluted to work. The producers could have (and should have) left out half the pretty much irrelevant subplots, which did nothing more than distract and confuse.
Anyway, no point analysing it any further...it just sucked. I hope Deon Meyer doesn't let this production team anywhere NEAR his Benny Griessel novels.