Greg Stuart

It starts off promising with good performances from Alexandra Roach and Joe Cole, but quickly moves from the sublime to the ridiculous and concludes with a non- convincing end that leaves the viewer wondering why they had wasted hours on it. Avoid

Finally watched it! What can I say. Outstanding 5* It truly deserved every single award it won. An incredibly thought provoking factual drama that makes one really fear what once again could become a reality. And instead of blaming the scientists who were instructed to create a destruction on a scale that the world had never witnessed and an event which changed history, blame the politicians who commanded it. One must bare in mind that the war in the Europe had concluded when Germany surrendered on 8 May 1945. So was it necessary for the United States to detonate two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people? . The subsequent trials and persecution of individuals that unfolded during the McCarthy years, whilst spreading fear of alleged communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and of Soviet espionage in the United States, blaming the very man they had previously anointed as their Saviour, is hypocrisy at its best. Not to mention making him a scapegoat for their own guilt. There is not one performance in it that was not truly convincing or mesmorisimg. This is the realisation that cinema, when told so brilliantly is a true form of art. Oppenheimer shatters the glass ceiling for any future film maker or actor. Be warned it’s long, but it never ever loses your attention. And that for me is a true reflection of perfection. I highly recommend it.

Just watched Anatomy of a Fall on Prime. What an excellent movie, good direction, and the simplicity of the story telling, its interchange between English and French is done with ease, along with its subtitles, and it’s brilliant performances, especially from a Sandra Hűller in the lead role, make it compulsive viewing. Put this at the top of your list. It’s an intelligent movie, it showcases the range of emotions and relationships we have in our lives, and the ways that love can blind us. It requires good concentration and although it is over 2 and a half hours long, not for one minute are you bored. Highly requirement it. I give it 5 stars.

What a performance! Helen Bonham Carter has rightfully been nominated for a BAFTA as best leading female actor in a TV drama series. She plays the part of the very first female actor to appear in colour on TV, in a popular British soap series called Crossroads. It explores the reign, and fall from grace, of the inimitable British soap star, Noele Gordon The series, in 3 parts, is played out poignantly and eloquently by Bonham Carter, in the lead role and the series is well directed by to reflect the world of Soap drama on the box at its Beginnings. Previously I raved about Sarah Lancashire and her performance in Happy Valley, so it will be intersting to see who goes home with the converted award on the night.

A beautifully crafted story in this limited series from Netflix. Excellent performances all round, but especially from the main stars Ambika Mod as Emma Morley and Leo Woodall as Dexter Mayhew. What makes One Day so special is the purity and truth in its story telling, exploring the complex side of relationships and what can go essentially wrong. In addition to this is the excellent characterisation throughout. I loved it and highly recommend it.

Just finished watching Maestro on Netflix. If Bradley Cooper doesn’t win an Academy Award for his performance then all I can say is that it will be a travesty. I have not seen a performance so brilliant, so utterly convincing than his portrayal of the brilliant legendary musical genius Leonard Bernstein. As director, he has made a masterpiece beset with immense detail, colour, imagery, light and brought out incredible performances from the cast. Also glad to see Matt Bomer (Fellow Travellers) cast in a minor role, portraying one of Bernstein’s ‘alleged’ many male lovers. A word of advice, I loved it, but it won’t appeal to everyone. And there are supposedly a number of factual irregularities about Bernstein’s life, but these are minor things in an overall excellent film.

Such a long commercial for car hire. Hated it.

It starts well, but clearly suffers from a very badly written script and lack of funding. Whilst the audience is “locked in” (excuse the pun), and made to believe that the stately home in which the movie takes place, with a kind of film noir atmosphere, that is expected to make us all scared, it achieves that fairly well. The mansion is clearly in need of repair, so we understand the lack of anyone else other than the main characters in this rambling mansion and it’s grounds and horses, must be a decided cut back to save on staffing costs. Ok, even that part was a little implausible, nevertheless let’s overlook that part, because the performances are quite good. Then comes the hospital scenes and that was when it becomes absolutely ridiculous, and far fetched. No hospital be it private (well one would presume it isn’t an NHS hospital), would have no staff expect a Liverpudlian nurse, played fairly well by Anna Friel, to attend to the patient in question. Without giving too much of the mediocre plot away, let’s just say that by this point I was starting to laugh at what comes next. It is a load of absolute rubbish, and frankly I think that Anna Friel, a very competent actor, should most definitely consider firing her agent or Business Manager. Junk !

Wow - this is not my usual genre but it is currently without a doubt, one of the most entertaining series on TV - so sit back, put your mind in neutral, gasp at the spectacle of a big budget production, identify the relevance of the story line from Nazism to Trumpism and you have an absolute winner here - the special effects are mind boggling, the sex and nudity is crucial to the story line, the violence at times is look-away material, the characters are either very likable or very unlikeable, but don’t be fooled …. This ain’t no family entertainment for the little ones, this is total X rated adult material - the script is crisp, racy and very humorous at times - I am on Episide 6 in the 3rd season ! Brilliant!

Brilliant ! it’s compelling and compulsive viewing - gritty, violent and Sarah Lancashire’s performance is beyond brilliant, powerful and utterly convincing to say the least - excellent performances all around from James Norton and Siobhan Finneran as well - I’m on season 3 now and I literally could not stop watching it over the weekend and over the past couple of nights ! Highly recommended- and it proves there is nothing like a good British drama - nobody makes ‘em like us !