Mark Hill

A refreshingly well crafted King adaptation, which just about got Stephen's message across in a story about the whims and caprices of fate and destiny. A two pronged fork, the first of which answers the question many people answer about what they would do if they could go back in time. It's really difficult. And will it be for the better? Basically the same as any life choice we make in our day to day lives, changing destiny doesn't lead to a happy ever after because it doesn't exist. Life is worth living because of the good and the bad. Which leads to the second prong of the fork, one of the themes that is repeated is the idea of making a mark on the world. One doesn't need to shoot Presidents or save lives to leave a mark on the world. One just needs to connect with the people around them and a mark is left. One that is outside of their control, but is, nevertheless, right. That for me was the message of the book and this show pulled it off expertly

The best TV shows never patronise their audience. They respect them and trust them to keep up and to understand what the show is trying to achieve. And when they finish, they leave you feeling like a little piece of your life is missing. Of course that's not the case. These guys can be revisited whenever you feel like it. But when something touches you on a level that this show does it's hard not to feel sad that it's over, which is crazy cause it wrapped five years ago. As one of those who caught it on Netflix, I feel grateful to have experienced this show. The way it plays games with the whole idea of how one has a relationship with a favourite TV show. The way it pokes through every single sitcom trope imaginable ( and more than a few others), while it the same time succeeding at not being smug, or self righteous, or jumping on soapboxes to ram some agenda down our throats. It says what it wants to say with finesse, with a simple 'this is us' warts and all, and isn't afraid to address it's own defects or shortcomings. It provides lessons to life that aren't preachy or demanding, handing the responsibility to the viewer about how they accept what they've just seen. Endlessly witty, funny, inventive, fresh ( even) when it's rehashing or parodying itself. Also very, very funny. And relatable. And familiar. Ticks every single box. If you haven't watched this and are looking for something that challenges your idea of what makes a TV show great, I urge you to give it a try. This is it. This is what you've been looking for.

Can't say enough good things about this movie. As a lifelong Star Wars fan and one who has even seen the merits in the prequel trilogy as I've mellowed in the early trappings of middle age, this felt like an emotional return to first experiencing A New Hope at the age of nine. I was engrossed from the opening shot to the last. And I'm a hard person to please at the cinema. I can't really give an objective review as I'm an hour removed from watching it and still experiencing the emotions. From despair to joy and laughter and back again and again, it never lets up. The visuals are amazing, and the pacing just right, but it's that feeling, that is alluded to so often in the movie. I felt like I captured a piece of it. My first wish when it ended was to have the last two some hours removed from my memory so I could experience it again for the first time

A stark, simplistic screenplay is at the foundation of this, oft times, unbearably intense revenge thriller. Like most Meadows' productions, he trusts his sublime cast to deliver on an almost guttural level. Use of extreme close up (especially in the sepia washed flashback scenes) disregard the need for a heavy backstory to each character, it's written on their faces. They know what they did. And it's plain to see they regret it. A beautifully aching movie that offers only sadness at it's core. About the futility of a life controlled by drugs, the banal cruelty that comes with that lifestyle, and this defiant need to belong, somewhere. Anywhere. To give life some meaning. Life has no meaning for Richard, not anymore as he looks at the world through bloodstained eyes, seeing only hate. For all around him and within himself. Almost a slasher movie turned on a sixpence. And skillfully done. One you won't forget easily