cooper_gareth's reviews

Why does this US ego stroking need to spill over into entertainment. The seemingly continual need to remind the rest of the world how immensely powerful and awesome they are compared to the rest of humanity. Even this lower budget film has not escaped this theme, and it's the worse for it. Not an especially slick event anyway, it loses even more credibility with this tired and unnecessary message, along with the tired and overused formulaic plot spin on the action genre. God, this has been done so many times before and so much better. Please spare us. This movie is watchable at best, if you need some mindless entertainment, so don't expect a lot, and don't expect it to surprise you.

Wow, okay, where does one begin with this. First of all, I am (hopefully) not the target audience (so probably not the best person to review this show), but OMG, this is next level cringey, out-of-touch nonsense. Megan is pretending to/trying to/believes she is an instant expert at everything, and presents like she is an authority on whatever thing she is about to talk about. The level of ambition/delusion is strong with this lady. Cooking in a white blouse? Rainbow fruit platters for her kids? Making bath salts? Who has the time, desire, energy for this stuff. I am not certain that the guests are really her friends or not, and the house she's in is not her house?! All pretty weird and well, I gave up very quickly. Truth is I was always going to try and endure at least a few minutes of this show, and was also going in incredibly cynically, but god knows I will not be coming back for more. This is desperate on a whole new level of desperate.

A sweet kids sci-fi show, this is just a bit of frivolous Disney fun. A lure to entice a much younger generation into the franchise; a family friendly adventure framed as Star Wars - kids edition. But, Star Wars this is not. This is light years away from the Star Wars I know and love. Disney has had a string of flops, milking the Star Wars brand for all it is worth, bleeding it dry and reducing the much loved universe with poorly executed spin offs and now this child's play, that serves only to diminish it even further. It's hard to believe that someone thought this new series was a good idea. It may well attract a new, young audience and possibly even create a themed ride at the amusement park, but it has failed the real Star Wars test again. There is no Force with this one...

Absolutely incredible, from start to finish. TV does not get much better than this. Masterfully done, and what an outstanding performance from Colin Farrell. Right up there with Heath Ledger's Joker, the Penguin creeps into your heart, winning you over, just like the characters in the series. He charms and manipulates with consummate ease, weaselling his way into power, destroying and delighting at every turn. Gripping, endearing and monstrous in equal measure, this is a very special character and Farrell seamlessly weaves his way through this epic series. This is an absolute must watch, even if the superhero franchises normally repel you. Give this your time, you will not be disappointed.

I was really looking forward to watching this movie and the special effects did not disappoint. Really impressive and incredibly convincing. The story however, was overly sentimental and so formulaic. Such a shame, a decent story could have lifted the film even more. I don't think it was meant to be an overly serious plot, with the tornadoes being the central character, but the highly predictable storyline detracted from the film - I ended up fast forwarding to the action scenes, as the inbetween story was too painful to watch. If they'd spent as much money on the script as they did on the special effects, this could have been a great film. Worth watching for the effects, though.

Dear god, what a merry mess. For someone who has lost a husband and a sibling in close succession, the wife is coping remarkably well. Not a hint of grief. I know she's a hardened war vet, but hey, I needed to suspend belief in spectacular fashion. It feels a lot like a soap opera that has graduated to crime drama status, but not especially successfully. It has some interesting plot arcs but executed poorly and amateurishly. Such a shame and a missed opportunity. I clung on for much of episode one, hoping that it would improve, but sadly it only got worse and quite frankly, pretty unconvincing and unbelievable. I won't make it to episode 2...

I really liked the idea and thought the acting was very good, and convincing. Sadly undone to an extent by the American hyper-patriotic narrative. The "we are the very best, we are super-awesome" theme that permeates through the story is just too much sometimes. Muscle flexing, testosterone filled scenes, that occur all too frequently, only serve to detract from the main thread in this film - a flawed, badass asset sent into the most dangerous of circumstances on a virtual suicide mission. This should have been more of the focus, in my view, delving more into her fragility, masked by anger, bravado and a very sharp intellect; and her relationship with an equally fragile, but more privileged and experienced, handler. A solid series, but could have been so much better, I think.

In its attempt to introduce new angles and material not seen before it has focused far too much on conspiracy (painted as seemingly viable alternatives to the current evidence-based versions available). This mystery-tragedy has left hundreds of people without their loved ones and they deserve more than conspiracy and speculation. This series provided a platform for rabbit holes, and gave far too little airtime to the individuals providing scientific and credible information and insights into this missing aircraft. It's hard to see what the point of this docu-series is, aside from trying to introduce new, fresh narratives at any cost.

A really promising start, an increasingly sinister story that develops well, and then it turns weird, very weird, too weird. I struggled to decipher what was going on, and it only became more and more bizarre and almost unwatchable for me. Whatever artistic arc it was trying to follow, it managed to repel me rather than draw me in.

The reviews suggest that clearly there is an audience for this, but I'm clearly not that target. I stayed with it to the end, but only because I was keen to see if it improved, but it only served to wind me up even more and I was relieved when the final credits rolled....

Ok, so this series took me totally by surprise. Nothing much else to watch, this popped up on Prime Video and I thought I'd give it a chance. To be honest, I expected to give it ten minutes and then walk away. Well, that didn't happen. This is really good and well worth your time.

So, two rather unlikely characters end up becoming partners and working together. A layered whodunnit set in a remote Aussie town, I'm totally hooked and hoping this ends as well as its started and developed so far. Thomas Jane leads the cast effortlessly, accompanied by a few very good performances from a handful of actors. This is not new territory, but the setting (and the crocs) add something extra to the story and keep you interested. Worth your time...

Charlie's accent aside, this is definitely worth a watch. Well written, well paced and put together, and Bombay feels like a character in this tale too. Quickly immersing you in the wonderful colour and craziness of this city. Characters with secrets and demons, this kept me interested, and I really cared about these flawed individuals enough to want to see them win their battles.

Charlie's accent is a bit of a distraction, but not enough to stop watching. His American accent was more convincing than his 'home' tongue. But, the story and it's telling is strong enough to largely drown this out.

Watch this!

This series made a promising start, but soon descended into soap opera. It had potential and intrigue, hooking you for a few episodes, and then it takes a turn for the worse, drifting between suspense and melodrama. Missed opportunity, sadly. The wife of the male lead is particularly annoying and unbelievable, quite cringey at times.

Fantastic in every way. A masterclass from Chiwetel Ejiofor. Sci-fi at its very best: a superb cast across the board and a brilliant story brilliantly delivered, this is a first class tale from start to finish. A character driven science fiction story - minus light sabers, warp speed and grand deep space fighter battles - this is all about people, their personal battles and challenges. A must watch, even if sci-go isn't your thing...

Watch this. I don't care who you are, who you think you are, or who you want to be. This is for you, it's for everyone. We are all the Rouletista. Don't miss this!

What a joy to watch. So well crafted, so well cast. An insanely good balance between drama, action and humour. Quirky, off beat, but loved every minute, and will watch again. Highly recommend, don't miss out on this superb piece of cinema. America, please don't make your own version (like 'The Guilty'). Please, I'm begging you, just leave this film alone and let the audience appreciate this original, funny, sad work of art. Brilliant, just brilliant!

Good mix of humour, action and some quality acting. Well cast and fun from start to finish. Watch it!

Really enjoyed this series. Well crafted and well paced; gripping from start to finish. Interesting characters that are well developed. A creepy concept, that kept me interested and intrigued throughout. Well worth a watch; highly recommended.

Thought the first episode was good, had high hopes, and then it all started to go south. An interesting idea that had so much potential, but loses momentum and it lost me within a couple of episodes.

Wow, they made this movie and thought it was ok? A very serious and tragic theme, handled remarkably distastefully and insensitively. A school shooting is not entertainment.

I enjoyed aspects of this series, but felt there were just too many things going on, too many layers, plots and sub-plots, some relevant and some not. Developing every character in detail, when there are already other important threads to sustain in the story web, can detract from the story, in my opinion. Just too much going on for me to score this higher.

This is a gritty, layered, masterfully handled crime drama. Fantastic characters and character development, one is quickly drawn into their lives, some with humour and most with a dark & tragic arc. This series gripped us to the last minute of the final episode - no moment was wasted, it was an incredibly well crafted story and one I'd highly recommend. Don't miss this!

A mystery and a tragedy, and not handled at all well in this documentary. Focusing so much time on interviews with YouTubers and amateur sleuths is bizarre. Some interesting angles from better sources, but far too little to give this documentary the substance and respect it deserved. A missed opportunity and poorly delivered material.

Read the excellent reviews and decided to give this a go. Not disappointed, really well done. A bit of mix between CUBE and being inside a video game, but well executed and keeps you gripped. Well worth a watch.