Reviews
Tenet (2020)
And the point is?
And the point is there is no point. I got halfway through and then just gave up. I did not understand what was going on, I did not empathize with any character, I thought the overall quality - sound etc., - was seriously lacking. Tenet is everything that Inception was not. Inception had style, complexity, fine direction, fine performances but the main thing was I could follow it. Halfway through Tenet I no longer cared. Had this come out without Covid impact it would have flopped. Strange little things like the casting - Elizabeth Debicki is tall, there is nothing wrong with that except she made her fellow actors look like hobbits. Branagh is a nasty Russian - that's it. Washington has no flair; I did not believe anything about Pattinson. At times I thought I was watching a version of the The Expendables without the subtlety (can you believe that?). No spoiler here - I don't know how it ends.
The Durrells (2016)
Love it
Totally against the grain of the other reviews here I love this. I haven't read the book since school so basically I have forgotten it. That gives me the advantage of watching this as an original work (not an adaptation). And I love it, I love the characters, the actors, the direction and the cinematography. Overall it is just charming, crammed full of dry wit and it's a bit of a page turner as I can't wait for the next episode. Margo's besotted face is a delight, Leslie's imperialist stomping around with guns and suitable opaque wit is a hoot, Larry's fey artist trip just sucks you in and gets you ready for the 'Quartet', Mrs Durrell is like a real Mary Poppins and Gerry (well he, sacrilegiously, is the weak link for me, I don't really care about the animals). I usually hate this kind of family thing but with this I am a convert. So if you are not a stickler for adaptation fidelity and you want a smile on your face for an hour a week then watch this.
Outpost: Rise of the Spetsnaz (2013)
Thumbs down
I like science fiction, horror, thriller, I dislike bad science fiction, horror, thriller - and I hate being cheated by reviews and hype. I bought Outpost III having read some good reviews. Hopefully this review will stop you making the same mistake. I should have learned my lesson with Outpost I, low budget, bad script, bad acting, bad direction. I skipped Outpost II and tripped up on III. The review I read said that it was a definite boost to the franchise, fine acting, fine camera work, script, etc., etc. In my opinion all of those do not apply. Imagine Outpost I and effectively you have Outpost III. This is lazy film-making. When a Nazi quotes Shakespeare expect the worst and you will not be disappointed. When someone says Bryan Larkin puts in a fine performance ask - in which scene? When Nazi soldiers attack like retards and start filling up the corridors with their stupid dead bodies and you think - is this it, is this the movie? Answer yes and find something else to do. I am generous giving this 3 stars out of 10.