Martin Cohen

A brilliant piece of cinema superbly anchored by arguably one of the finest actors of a generation. The sense of isolation, deprivation and loss is so visceral, it stayed with me long after the end credits rolled. Masterfully directed by Robert Zemeckis and with a stunning Alan Silvestri score that beautifully traverses every emotional rise and fall in the narrative. Castaway is undoubtedly a modern classic.

Awful. The worst series yet. More fakery than you can shake a stick at. Arguably the most manipulative piece of television there's ever been other than X Factor, but worse the interminably idiotic David Walliams leering at any scantily clad male in a way that had it been a female on the end of his lewd and utterly inappropriate asides, would generate uproar. So there we have it. John Barrowman's reported indecency has done nothing to dent his TV career. There then is the benchmark for the outrageous double standards that exist in woke 21st century media. Perhaps if the focus of the programme was less on the narcissistic, self obsessed judges and more on the acts, along with a decent attempt to find a true home grown great, instead of the usual 15 mins of fame mediocrities, or previously failed professionals, then the original premise of the show might be fulfilled.

Started well but the final episode where our hero confronts her tormentor was over long, over the top and grossly overreacted. The closing scene was also weak and confusing. Did the truth fully emerge? Did she clear her name? And judging by the looks passing between the two of them at the end, I was left with the impression that she might indeed have fancied a bit of 'one, two, buckle my shoe' with her accuser. Disappointing.

Waded through episode one for over an hour and a half of rarely anything other than a series of talking heads with more tedious police procedural detail than you could shake a stick at. As brilliantly analytical as Mr. Sutton obviously is, the vast amount of screen time he occupied became a distraction when a voice-over might've been better at times. The sheer enormity of such horrific and depraved offences was poorly served by questionable documentary production values. The episode would have worked far better at 60 minutes or less. Martin Clunes' dramatisations are a far more interesting watch despite any fictional additions. I won't be following this series any further.

Tedious, plodding and a travesty of a great classic novel. H. G. must be spinning in his grave.

This is an astounding masterpiece that requires patience and commitment, something a lot of 21st century audiences seem to have all but forgotten how to do. In the past there has been plenty of criticism of novel based cinema films where the condensing of the narrative into two hours has produced an unsatisfying result. An admission by film makers that they would have needed five hours to tell the story in full has often been their reasoning. Well, here is a seven part series based closely on the Inspector General's official report into the escape of two convicted murderers from a high security prison. It tells the story in minute detail, allowing us a microscopic study of the characters played with breathtaking brilliance by the cast. Stiller's direction is masterful and uncompromising with the reality of claustrophobic prison life brought to us in bucket loads. He takes great care to bring us balance in that as we are drawn towards empathising with the escapees and their accomplice, a flashback episode explains how these characters ended up incarcerated for life as a result of the shocking brutality and cold blooded nature of their original crimes. Escape At Dannemora has a jarring beauty and frightening darkness at it's core. Being based on such very recent history (2015) makes it all the more compelling. It also leaves us questioning how two such highly intelligent, inventive minds chose such destructive lives. Escape At Dannemora is some of the finest television I've seen and firmly establishes Ben Stiller's depth as a director. It is not to be missed.