Sky Gerspacher

The only thing wrong with this movie is that it is done too well; portrayed too perfectly and left me feeling as if I needed a shower and a walk along the beach. A family gathering I would avoid. No comfort in going home. Stuck, stagnant, even the people who got out and lived full lives elsewhere were stuck in the same unhappiness they sprang from. The only person who got out was the author who dies in the beginning. It's painfully perfect and I found myself wondering how a person would ever recover from a place so full of twisted unhappiness, anger and emptiness, all mixed up with the shared feeling of wanting to be someone and somewhere else.

It is a small story with a huge message and to me it is deeply moving and deliciously written. Years later I can still see the town and the school and the tree by the river. It's about that place where childhood abruptly ends and a wary adult life begins. It's about how sometimes the most beautiful things are the most genuinely innocent and by their own nature become a mark or target. If you shine it may well just be your best friend who shakes your limb and then spends the rest of his life asking himself why. It's about boys going off to war, ready and anxious and then coming back changed, wounded, finished. It's a school that sits on the edge and boys who balance themselves before the fall. If you read it like pulp, it will only be pulp. It think it is a delicate whisper of a book disguised as just a story about boys at school.

I like movies that let me feel like I've stepped through a secret doorway into the sweetness and vulnerability of someone else's life. I like the gentle celebration of quirky and tender. I feel like it whispers little truths to you, throughout the movie. Things you know but keep to yourself. Things you have felt but pretend you can't relate to. Dornan is layered in a way that no matter what he does there is soulful vulnerabilty present. Something that transcends a role. Something basic, and inherent in his character, that goes beyond a lovely face. The music is lovely and fits the feel and character of the movie. They go hand in hand and understand each other, one enhanced by the other. I appreciated it. I do admit that I didn't feel a connection between the two characters, but it was telling me a story and I loved and appreciated it. I came away feeling lovely.

I'm a newby to this show. Only started watching Shetland a few months ago on Britbox. Thought the first one was ok. worth a second watch and now can't get enough of them. First I guess is the setting and the weather which are both integral to the show; ancient stone buildings balanced in the edge of the sea; boats, storms, wide open spaces (could use a few more trees, I wont lie) but really special to the feel of the show. The cast, every one of them is a joy and the balance between them is really well done. I have never watched anything with Mr. Henshall in it before so I have no preconceived notions. I think one of the things I love most about his performance is how he balances sensitivity with strength. His extroadinary ability to move you with the story he can tell with just the expressions on his face. One moment can offer up an entire dialogue on what he is feeling. His face offers up a myriad of feelings. Almost like watching a time lapse of the sky. morning, afternoon, evening. It's a subtle brilliance that gets under a persons skin. The way he works a moment, mulling it over, speaking only after thinking. very refreshing. I love the way the relationship between he and Duncan has evolved into a friendship. The interplay between them if fun. The work crew, Tosh and Sandy and the Fiscal, and the older gentleman, brilliant stuff. Anyway, enough of me me going on. Here in America it seems to be all about Hollywood, white teeth, perfect butts and over the top, gun ridden, car chases. I really prefer, so much so, what Shetland has to offer

Look, The idea is great, the cast all seem interesting, capable; the potential for cool episodes abound; so what is wrong with this show. It is something, or someone behind the scenes who doesn't appear to have really thought this thing through. Initially we were turned off by the young woman's inane personal dialogue in the first episode. A thing that does not make sense to us is how she can be so flippant, so middle school, annoyingly cocky and cool conscious after being the recipient of the halo, when she spent the last seven or eight years locked in an catholic orphanage with rabid nuns. She was isolated, abused and parapalegic and suddenly she is the life of the party. Ocassionally they remember she has been in solitary and they add a line which stands out like a sore thumb. THis kid was treated worse than Harry Potter but acts like she just got out of cheerleading practice from middle school. They spend WAY to much time on her superficial new friends who break into fancy homes. SOme of it is a waste of time and just plain painful. But, when she finally gets to the real story, when she finally gets to the warrior nuns it gets good. It would be better if she quit with the creepy spoiled child act. But it gets interesting. There just is not enough of that. someone really wanted to do a show about a spoiled, rich brat and the only thing they were offered was this script

This was better than we anticipated. Hadn't watched it purposefully because we really love the Ron Perlman Hellboy, but, in a moment of weakness and quarantined boredom we turned it on and actually enjoyed it. It is different enough that we didn't spend useless time comparing the movies. David actually did a fine job but both my husband and I felt like this would make a better episodic show on Netflix than another movie.

Used to be five stars, now its two. We genuinely enjoyed this series. We really enjoyed the cast and the stories were well done. But when we got to the episode where the young man was crucified we discovered that all of our favorite characters were gone. All, except Jack himself. Now what made Jack work for us was how he played off the descent and positive people who were around him. He is a bit despicable and these people brought out the best in him. But in this episode they replaced Kate with a completely different woman with the idea, I guess, that no one would notice. Almost as if characters are interchangeable. The lovely sidekick young man went off to Boston. The landlady passed on leaving Jack enough money to buy a totally out of character apartment. Oddly enough, as much as we like Jack and all his little quirks, it was a package deal for us. With out these characters for him to bounce off of, he becomes just a sad, drunk. There is also a different feel to the show. I am afraid, for us, they ruined it. In a very obvious way.