Broken looks at the lives of two people and shows us the harsh reality!

This is a new BBC series following two people and how they are facing life in its most unpredictable way.

General Plot

The episode followed Sean Bean as Father Micheal Kerrigan with an abusive and sad past and Anna Friel, a financially struggling mother of three who lost her job. The reality is that life is not always kind like God and for Father Micheal, he has seen horrible things.

My Thoughts

We saw struggles with claiming benefits, feeding three children, dealing with the past. It seemed that they were all trying to make a living with the little money and resources they had.

I was especially emotional when Anna’s mum died and had the phone in her hand to call help, only to die before it came. She was so broke that she tried to hide her mothers death so she could still get her pension and it became days. Her family were asking questions and the idea of keeping her mother alive for her pension, was to others quite heartless, nethernerless, it was what Anna relied on to live.

Father Micheal’s flashbacks were all church related and not positive. He was still troubled with memories.

Was it intense, gripping? Yes. It was a different type of drama and was more relatable than gripping murder series.

Final Note

I found it very difficult to watch, not because it was badly made… no, because people actually lived that way with little money and lack of job security. It was heart breaking.

It was different to everything I have seen and it’s real life depiction reminded me of a film I had watched – I Daniel Blake. One I would also recommend to watch if you have a night to yourself and a box of tissues.

Star Rating

I would give this series 4 stars and would recommend watching this (if you have not already). The series looks like it will become more interesting. I will definitely be watching next week. You in?

Any feedback, please let me know! Comment or like 🙂
Bye guys 🙂

Late review of Paula S1 E1: Prepare to be glued to your seat and mesmerised by all the drama!

So I watched the first episode of Paula this week. I have not really had chance to publish my thoughts about it and I will try and keep these brief.

My Thoughts

We were introduced to Paula ( Denise Gough), a quiet chemistry teacher and then later met Handyman James (Tom Hughes). At first looks, he was professional and had charm and handled Paula’s rat problem with ease.  Paula was in pursuit from Philip, at PE teacher at the same school. He seemed eager to spend weekends with her behind his wife’s back.

It all seemed normal, but then things got weird and a one night stand became something more sinister and dark.

I saw James’s character change and we saw him in a more violent and stressful light. Not only that, he was acting rather odd and with visions and nightmares, he looked a little unstable. This seemed incredibly evident when he started to investigate into Paula’s life and finally learned about Phillip and their secret one time affair.

He became rather creepy, and it showed no bounds as he blackmailed Philip and lured him to a dark rubbish site, only to kill him with his bare hands.

I have seen many films which have resulted in a one night stand, and nothing this dramatic has come of it.

Final Note

It was unpredictable and tense. My opinions of these characters went up and down like yoyo – sometimes sympathy for James state and then awe at his audacity to deliver violence. The death of Philip made me shudder and the ghostly girl sighting in James van was chilling.

The director made it very clear in this episode that nothing was as it seems and some problems are skin deep. Paula’s comment of “You could be anyone” after their one night stand was now more relevant.

Star Rating

The opening episode deserves 4 stars, without a doubt!

If you like the Fall or the Replacement, than you will love this!

Stay tuned for the the next of three episodes this Thursday!

It’s on you now…

If you have any feedback, I would love to hear from you!

Comment or like on WordPress, or Oh My Blogs Facebook or Twitter page 🙂

See you all later!

Bye guys 🙂

 

 

The Other Side of Hope showed humanity but didn’t hold my interest! (Spoiler Alert)

When a film focuses on war, death and refugees, it really makes us hurt emotionally. Stories of war, depicted beautifully by Abi Kaurismaki, made me appreciate what I have – a home, family, food and security.

My Thoughts

The Other Side of Hope had a simple plot and followed a restaurant owner who helped a Syrian refugee who fled war and was desperately trying to find his sister.

Themes in the film included war, in which we learnt of horrible family losses. For Khaled, this consisted of his mother, father, brother and friends family.  We were introduced to Khaled who fled war for a better life and payed to be smuggled over borders. There were some moments where we saw true discrimination and violence against immigrants and I found this very uncomfortable. This was however bypassed by the humanity of local Finnish people who supported Khaled. I found the way Khaled was welcomed by the restaurant owner and the team very encouraging and I hope that those who watch this film understand refugees more and the risks they take to get to safety.

In contrast, I would say that the plot was slow and it took a while for me to get into it. I found myself getting bored and only really being captivated in the last 30 minutes. This film was not really meant to be fast paced though, rather was aimed to be close to the heart and teach us about morals. The film has definitely given me some food for thought!

Last Note

Overall I found the film very heart warming. The only thing I would say is that it was slow to develop and not as funny as I expected.

Star Rating

I would give this film 3 stars as it was not fully to my taste and quite slow in the plot.

 

A new planet turned out to be more bloody, gruesome and costly than they thought: Alien returned with vengeance!

The crew were back in the mysterious and bloody Alien film series – Alien Convenant.

The cast included Micheal Fassbender as David and Walter, Katherine Waterson as Daniels, Billy Crudup as Oram and many more.

You can view the trailer here.

My Thoughts

I must say watching Alien was a bit sureal. It was very different to our culture and society now and it did make me wonder whether in 2104 we would be living in spaceships, travelling to planets and cultivating new life.

I found the graphics at first quite ineffective – I was not blown away by them and did not feel like I was sucked into the whole space theme.

I found the plot started off quite slow and unexciting and it was only in the last hour that the main action happened. Yes there were gory scenes and blood near the start but they only got really thrilling by the end. I found myself wishing for more gore, death, excitement and drama and frankly I was bored.

In the last hour it was anyones nightmare and an Alien fans dream. The fight for survival was intense and there was action around every corner (finally). I had a change of heart and saw for myself why people loved the Alien films! The plot also thickened and everything was not as it seemed even towards the end, which in my opinion gives Alien Covenant the opportunity to continue the series. It also made the film more interesting and I was captivated (at last) by what was in front of me.

I found the characters were very happy and alive at the start, however this didn’t last long and we saw the characters come out of their shells. The crew numbers fell as the film progressed. Some were lucky to make it out alive, however only by a whisker. The fast, insect looking predators, were engineered to be intelligent and adaptable to the environment around them! Bad luck for the crew!

Final Note and Conclusion

I wasn’t blown away with the start, however it did eventually get better! I found it a bit tedious and would reluctantly recommend it. It did not really meet my expectations.

But by all means, watch it and let me know what you think!

Star Rating

I would give Alien Covenant 3 stars overall!

I hope you liked the review. What did you think of the film or the review? Let me know!
See you for three next one!

Bye guys!

 

Innocence can be deceiving! Love and passion developed into something disturbing in the adapted film Lady Macbeth! (spoiler alert)

This is a review of the newly released film “Lady Macbeth”, adapted from Nikolai Leskov’s novel “Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk”.

My Thoughts

I saw the film cover to Lady Macbeth and I read all the reviews. It made me wonder. From first impressions, Katherine (played by Florence Pugh) was innocent. I saw the ridicule she went through and the thought of marrying a man twice her age who she did not love was very disturbing. She was treated like an added extra that the family did not want or need, if anything, she was an inconvenience. I saw very little respect shown towards her by the family or their staff.

The language that Katherine’s husband used was vulgar, disrespectful and is is sad to think that women in the 19th century were treated like that and sold with land. Sentences like “You have gotten fat and foul smelling” and “Take your night dress off. Face the wall” still invade my thoughts.

As the film developed I got the sense that she wanted more freedom and passion. Once a young sweet girl, Katherine became more mature and dominating. She had sexual desires that had to be met and she resisted commands from her husband and his family.  She had an enormous sense of power and did as she pleased, without admitting her mistakes, instead framing others.

At first I thought she wanted to be with her love Sebastian, who she met when her husband was away. It seemed clear towards the end that she had little love for him (or anyone) and did it all for her personal gain.

I must say that the acting by Florence Pugh was effortless. She flowed so well as Katherine changed from quiet and innocent to disturbing and unpredictable. I was unable to anticipate any of her actions. What she did and how she acted was unsettling and I was perplexed all the way through.

I left the film thinking did this poor treatment drive her to be this cruel or was it skin deep?

Last Note

I was drawn in by the plot and the demeanor of the character. Lady Macbeth was enticing, impossible to ignore and captivating to the end.

Star Rating

It may not be to everyones taste, but with my interest in multiple genres, I liked it. Mind you, I think seeing it once would be sufficient as none of the shocks in the film will have the same effect.

Comment Corner

Let me know what you think of the film and the review. Comments are welcome 🙂

Until another review…

Bye guys 🙂

 

 

Mindhorn hits the bullseye with non-stop humour!

So I had the chance to review Mindhorn, currently showing in all cinemas. So excited as the build-up to it’s release was fantastic. This is my review!

My Thoughts

The plot followed Richard Horncroft (acted by Julian Barratt) as he was asked to bring back Mindhorn back one more time to help with a serial murder case. Mindhorn was his acting career that got him recognised, yet now it is very different. Once a loved star, Richard has now lost his reputation, his love Pat and his dashing good looks from 20 years before. His efforts for the police did little good, if anything he was embarrassing and seemed to create more problems than solve them.

I found that Mindhorn was very similar to the a dad figure, who was trying to be cool and put “lol” on the end of texts. He was cheesy and enjoyable to watch.

Actors and their Characters

Other actors in this film included Simon Farnaby as Clive Parnevik, Mindhorn’s stunt double in his younger days and Essie Davis as Patricia, Mindhorn’s ex lover, on screen and off.

We have all seen films with Simon Farnaby in (well I hope you have) and he never seems to disappoint. His very laid back attitude and humour at Richard’s expense was very entertaining. Clive (his character) had also aged in the film, but instead had adopted a more healthy lifestyle, giving him a six pack and the ability to walk around topless while gardening.

There are many scenes that have stuck in my mind as the most entertaining and memorable. All of them had such perfect humour that I could not explain them in this review and give them the recognition that they deserve! You will have to just go see it to understand for yourself!

Last Notes

Overall the film was laugh out loud funny all the way through and I enjoyed it. I totally agree with the 4 star reviews from various film magazines and I would see this film 10 times over if I could!

I would give this film 4 stars! I liked it…. a lot!

Your opinion

Let me know what you thought of the film and the review!

I hope you enjoyed reading it!

Bye guys 🙂

 

Line of Duty S4, E8: AC-12 finally unmasks the truth about Operation Trapdoor and balaclava man, along with a few surprises on the way! (spoiler alert)

Th is is a review of Series 4, episode 8 of Line of Duty, which is finally coming to a close!

We were all left wondering whether Roz would get away with framing her husband and if Micheal would be innocently convicted. We found out….

 So this was the finale?

The finale was unexpected and extremely gripping. We knew in our minds that balaclava man could have been more than one person, but hoped that it wasn’t.

What I thought of the plot and outcome?

The plot was twisted (as we would have expected) and we only really found out the extent of the culprits by the end. The plot was intense and we were put through a series of emotions, such as impatience (when Roz would not admit her doings on Tim), sadness (when we thought Micheal would go to jail as innocent), relieved (when Roz admitted her offence) and surprised (by the involvement of Jamie in the plot).

There was some suspicion around Hilton and the viewers in this case would have be right. Hilton sent and recommended Jamie to work at AC-12 to presumably watch the case and the person connecting them together was Lakewell. He was not balaclava man, but he did frame Micheal Farmer. It was all a group effort and AC-12 could not have pinned it on to Lakewell, without Roz becoming detective. In some way I like her more than I did before this episode as she looked into every detail, in turn convicting him of perverting the cause of justice.

I still don’t understand though… Roz admitted to murdering Tim accidentally, yet she covered her tracks, adding on more suspicion? Why did she not just admit it instead of going to all the trouble of pinning it on her husband and tampering with the evidence? It seemed like she would have denied the murder (convicted manslaughter) if she had not been found out by AC-12 and the clothes and evidence she hid were not recovered?

I do think that this series was quite unrealistic and was lengthened to fit six episodes. In my opinion, it could have been shorter and less farfetched, whilst getting the same outcome and emotions from the viewers.

Am I excited for the next series?

Yes!  We could be faced with a new case in the next series or the return of Balaclava man, bearing in mind that there were many people involved in the operation who AC-12 were not informed of!

Star Rating

Overall I would give this episode:

What an episode to end the series! The five star rating is well deserved!