Monthly Archives: October 2020

BritBox Review: Spitting Image S1E1 #BritBox @BritBox_UK

October 28, 20203-5, episode review, TVBBC, BritBox, Donald Trump, Greta Thunberg, ITV, Lewis Hamilton, Netflix, Newzoids, Satire, Spitting Imagebryanajparry

wasn’t the sharpest satire I’ve ever seen

Spitting Image is the legendary satire-with-puppets show that helped define an era (the ’80s-90s Conservative governments) and which was internationally syndicated and remade in dozens of countries. It has gone down in TV legend, so much so that there have been several tries at rebooting it or copying it. But October 2020 is when the show was finally rebooted, exclusive for the BBC-ITV joint ~~delusion~~ venture to rival Netflix: BritBox. But can reality ever live up to the memory of this now fabled show?

Episode one was surprisingly on point in terms of style and gags; you would never have thought the show had been off air for around 25 years. However, just like the good old days, many of the gags fell flat. And just like the good old days, many other gags had an inspired insanity about them (I’m thinking an extra-terrestrial, insectoid, baby-eating Dominic Cummings… if that doesn’t get you interested, I don’t know what will).

There was some lampooning of the right, as you would expect, but thankfully the left wasn’t immune, either, Lewis Hamilton and Greta “Magical Autist” Thunberg coming in for fire.

One bizarre weak point left me scratching my head. The guy doing Boris Johnson just wasn’t that good. He was weirdly restrained. Boris Johnson himself makes a better parody of Boris Johnson than this Boris Johnson parody did. Quite odd, and a bit of a flat note.

All in all, this wasn’t the sharpest satire I’ve ever seen. However, it was much better than the knock-off Newzoids (2015-2016). Many jokes landed. It seems to be taking swipes at all. And the trademark mix of heady satire and toilet humour has continued. Worth watching, although I’m not sure if it’ll be good enough to help make BritBox a success.

3/5

featured image from https://resources.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/x/6/9/0/3/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.1420×800.1x68f9.png/1569726636839.jpg

Upcoming Movie and TV Reboots: 1 “Labyrinth” (2021) #Spoof

October 24, 2020film review, preview, spoof, TV#MovieReviewsBlog, #spoof, @MovieReviewsBlo, Back to the Future, Cabin Fever, Cabin Fever 2002, Cabin Fever 2016, David Bowie, Death at a Funeral, Death at a Funeral 2007, Death at a Funeral 2010, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 2005, Fantastic Four 2015, Hulk, Hulk 2003, Hulk 2008, Jennifer Connelly, Labyrinth, Labyrinth 1986, Planet of the Apes, Planet of the Apes 1968, Planet of the Apes 2001, Planet of the Apes 2011, reboot, remake, spoof, superman, Superman 1976, Superman 2006, The Hills Have Eyes, The Hills Have Eyes 1977bryanajparry

will sh*t all over your childhood memories.

Labyrinth (2021)

Spurred on by the popstar’s recent demise, this is a hastily cobbled together “tribute” to the classic David Bowie flick. With none of the charm and wonder of the original, this film will shit all over your childhood memories. Possibly starring a female as David Bowie, and ever-young Elijah Wood (now 40 years old) playing 16 year old Sam (formerly Sarah, portrayed by Jennifer Connelly).

The next part will be released over the weekend

Upcoming Movie and TV Reboots: Intro #SPOOF

October 22, 2020film review, spoof, TV#MovieReviewsBlog, #spoof, @MovieReviewsBlo, Back to the Future, Cabin Fever, Cabin Fever 2002, Cabin Fever 2016, Death at a Funeral, Death at a Funeral 2007, Death at a Funeral 2010, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 2005, Fantastic Four 2015, Hulk, Hulk 2003, Hulk 2008, Planet of the Apes, Planet of the Apes 1968, Planet of the Apes 2001, Planet of the Apes 2011, reboot, remake, spoof, superman, Superman 1976, Superman 2006, The Hills Have Eyes, The Hills Have Eyes 1977, The Hills Have Eyes 2006bryanajparry

Using sophisticated NASA-style algorithms (read: guesswork)

It used to be that to qualify for a reboot or remake, a film had to satisfy two criteria:

the original had to be a “classic”,
a generation had to have passed since the original: Cape Fear (1962, 1991), The Hills Have Eyes (1977, 2006), Superman (1976, 2006).

Not so anymore. The appearance of Cabin Fever, a 2016 remake of a middling 2002 film, means all bets are off. And it’s not the only one:

Hulk (2003, 2008)
Fantastic Four (2005, 2015)
Death at a Funeral (2007, 2010)
Planet of the Apes (1968, 2001… 2011)

Using sophisticated NASA-style algorithms (read: guesswork) powered by the next generation software and hardware (read: coffee, boredom in my job), I have managed to foretell a 100% accurate schedule* of film and TV reboots for the next few years.

So put these dates in your daybook, because these films are coming to a cinema near you!

*At time of going to press: all changes to schedule are the result of a mishap with a DeLorean.

Netflix Film Review “Obsessed” (2009) #NetflixReviews #Obsessed2009

October 18, 20202/5, film reviewTotal Filmbryanajparry

Does she have a crushing Faberge Egg habit to support that only a senior manager’s salary could enable? No.

Things couldn’t be better for Derek (Idris Elba). He’s got a beautiful, adoring wife Sharon (Beyoncé), a healthy, happy toddler, and has just received a massive promotion which has sent him stratospheric. However, his world comes under threat when femme fatale temp Lisa (Ali Larter) goes a-hunting in her new office and decides to put Derek between the crosshairs.

Obsessed is a very standard psycho-stalker thriller. It draws obvious comparisons with Fatal Attraction (1987). But where Fatal Attraction would still have been daring and bold in 2009, Obsessed would have been staid and trite for 1987. Obsessed was not only paint-by-number, it was rather restrained: Derek never allows temptation to spiral his life out of control. But that itself could have been an interesting angle. Elba, Beyoncé, and Larter all give convincing, characterful performances. Sadly for Larter, the script makes no attempt whatsoever to explain Lisa’s obsession nor her crazy behaviour. Not a hint. Nothing. She’s clearly attracted to him, he is friendly but doesn’t lead her on, she randomly tries to bang him in the toilet. And she doesn’t let up. The lack of any kind of motivation is bizarre. Did Derek lead her on? No. Was she bullied by Sharon at school and now wants to ruin her life? No. Does she have a crushing Faberge Egg habit to support that only a senior manager’s salary could enable? No.

Larter and co make the best of finding a throughline. And I must say that the final show-down was genuinely exciting and enjoyable. Sadly, the script is the big problem with this film, and that is a big problem with a film, indeed.

2/5

featured image from https://fanart.tv/fanart/movies/17335/movieposter/obsessed-57a5235987537.jpg

Netflix Film Review “Awake” (2019) #NetflixReviews #150WordReview #AwakeMovie #Awake2019

October 11, 2020150 word review, 3/5, film reviewAwake, Awake 2019, crime, crime-mystery, crime-mystery-thriller, crime-thriller, Elana Zeltser, film, film blog, film review, film reviews, Internet Movie Database, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Liam Neeson, Malik Yoba, Memento, Memento 1999, movie, movie blog, movie review, movie reviews, movies, mystery, rotten tomatoes, Taken, Taken 2008, thrillerbryanajparry

Please ignore the 5.0 IMDb and 14% Rotten Tomatoes scores.

A man wakes up in a hospital bed, bandaged from head to toe, and with no memory or who he is. But when our nameless protagonist (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) learns that he is a wanted serial killer, something just doesn’t sit right, and he won’t stop until he finds out who he really is and what happened to him.

Awake is a tense, fast-paced crime mystery with twists. Rookie writer Elana Zeltser makes a solid if not ground-breaking screenplay debut. The script, whilst not as clever as Memento (1999) or as taut as Taken (2008), is well-written with believable plotting and dialogue. Our leads, Meyers and Francesca Eastwood, also really sell the film, although the acting from Malik Yoba (detective Frank Ward) had a tendency to veer off into TV movie territory.

Please ignore the 5.0 IMDb and 14% Rotten Tomatoes scores. This film is much better than that. Riveting, fast-paced, not overly obvious albeit not earth-shakingly original, this is a lovely little movie to spend 92 minutes with.

3/5

featured image from https://cloud.filmfed.com/movies/posters/l_d62cd997-23ab-406c-83f5-97abf951d63b.jpg

Netflix Film Review “The Legacy of the Bones” a.k.a. “Legado en los huesos” (2019) #NetflixReviews #150WordReview

October 5, 2020150 word review, 2/5, film review#150WordReview, 150 word review, Alfonso Álvarez de Toledo, Aloisius Dupree, Amaia Salazar, Basque, Basque Language, Baztan, Benn Northover, Colin McFarlane, Doctor Basterra, Dolores Redondo, Dr. San Martín, El Basajaún, El guardián invisible, Elvira Mínguez, Euskadi, euskal herria, Euskara, Euskera, Fermín Montés, Fernando González Molina, Fernando Velazquez, Flora Salazar, Francesc Orella, Itziar Aizpuru, Jonan Etxaide, Luiso Berdejo, Manolo Solo, Marta Etura, Miquel Fernández, Nafarroa, Navarra, Navarre, Nene, Offering to the Storm, Paco Tous, Pamplona, Patricia López Arnaiz, Pedro Casablanc, Ramón Barea, Rosaura Salazar, Tía Engrasi, The Basque Country, The Legacy of the Bones, txantxigorribryanajparry

See the review for the first film in the trilogy here

seemed like an overlong episode of any … TV police show.

The Legacy of the Bones is the second in the Baztan trilogy based on the successful book series by Delores Redondo. This instalment sees our lead, Inspector Amaia Salazar (Marta Etura), return to her childhood home and try to solve a case that, once again, is inextricably linked to her own past. The evil seems intent on coming for her and her family.

The second film of a trilogy often sags. The reason is that it doesn’t really have a beginning or an end, it merely serves as a bridge for the first and last parts. However, the Baztan trilogy is more a serial than a series, each episode’s story connected to previous ones but a fresh story. Sorry, did I say “episode”? Whereas the first film, The Invisible Guardian, felt filmic in a good way, this seemed like an overlong episode of any good TV police show. Is that a bad thing? No. But it wasn’t a movie. The plot wasn’t substantial enough. I felt like I was watching a TV series. Which brings me back to the point: this trilogy is a serial of three separate stories, so the sag is not really understandable.

Good performances all round, great photography, good costume design, and the plot was well-rendered, although the lurch deeper into hocus pocus was silly. It’s hard to see how this is a movie. A big step down from the first film.

2/5

featured image from https://deveserisso.com.br/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/legado-nos-ossos.jpg

Bryan's Magic Lantern Filmhouse

Mostly pithy film/series reviews of Netflix and Amazon Prime