bob-1135

IMDb member since October 2004
    Lifetime Total
    100+
    Lifetime Trivia
    10+
    IMDb Member
    19 years

Reviews

Midsomer Murders: The Blacktrees Prophecy
(2022)
Episode 1, Season 23

Too complicated
There are far too many story lines, leading off in all directions that seem to go nowhere. Poor old. Jamie Winter slogging through the woods in his best shoes, would have been given a right telling off by Vera. The series needs to be brought back to one hour to tighten the whole thing up and concentrate the story. More does not equal better. Fleur hitches up her wellies and struggles on with the ever rising flood of bodies, doing a wonderful job keeping the men under control. I first saw her in the first episodes of Bergerac and I don't think she's changed a bit. In tonight's episode the main baddie, Lyra Kaine, rang a bell with me - then I remembered, the last time I had seen her was in 'Dinnerladies' telling you there were two ways to get to Urmston!

Father Brown: The Beast of Wedlock
(2023)
Episode 4, Season 10

Time travelling?
This episode is set in 1954, as shown by the date on the painting. However Father Brown is seen aiding Sam in a first world war trench, which was in the time span 1914 -1918, meaning at least thirty six years previous to this episode. That means both Father Brown and Sam would be thirty six years older than that incident meaning both would be in their late fifties. Sort your timelines out chaps. Overall an interesting episode, Nice to see Inspector Valentine back replacing the ghastly previous inspector. Lady Devine looks like a painted puppet, please tone down the violent make-up, she would look much better!

Death in Paradise: Episode #13.1
(2024)
Episode 1, Season 13

Re Hash
This was a very poor episode. For a start we were treated to the 'fake gunshot' scenario which was played out in an earlier episode. Then we had the nonsense about the pistol described many times as being of a 'small calibre'. It was a .38 which is at the larger end of the calibre scale. The whole thing was obviously rushed to get it out for the 100th episode and it shows. What were the two ladies doing in France, and whose baby was it? The whole episode was very poor in comparison to the recent ones and it was a shame it was forced out just to be the 100th episode. Please take your time and give us the quality we have come to expect.

Invitation to a Murder
(2023)

Very Poor version
This is yet another version of the Agatha Christie book, 'Ten Little Indians'. Why anyone thought another version was needed I've no idea, The acting was poor and very mushy, with no outstanding performances. Whereas the original pitted the characters against each other, this version has a woman who seems to believe she is some kind of detective. The other characters just wash around each other doing nothing in particular. There is also a whole load of rabbits involved, but I have no idea what they were doing. When you have such a masterpiece as Agatha Christies original work, it is outrageous that anyone should mess it around like this.

Unforgotten: Episode #5.5
(2023)
Episode 5, Season 5

Dreadful disappointment
What a sad end to a lacklustre series. You can always tell this by the number of things that can be removed without effecting the storyline. Start off with the chef and his chain of cafes, man who stole the watches, miscarriage, and the presumed lesbian relationship. A very muddled and virtually incomprehensible series and a shocking waste of the wonderful. Sanjeev. Bhaskar. The storyline seemed to be shooting off in all directions, why the trip to Paris was necessary I have no idea. Characters were introduced and then vanished without a trace. Hayley Mills had less screen time than Banquo's Ghost. A great let down.

Alan Carr's Adventures with Agatha Christie
(2022)

Could be good but....
Alan Carr spends most of the programme talking about just about everything but Agatha Christie. I'm sure food is important but really we don't need to know this much about it, steer back to Agatha Christie, and leave dressing up in woman's clothes for another programme.

Just watched the last episode and if anything it got worse. Hardly a mention of Agatha Christie at all, just endless nonsense about Alan Carr dressing up! What a waste of the chance, should have given the series to Lucy Worsley.

Travel Man: 48 Hours in...: Split
(2022)
Episode 3, Season 10

But what about Split?
Knowing Split very well I was looking forward to this episode, but was most disappointed when he hardly showed anything of the town at all.. We can see fish being cooked anywhere. The town is a fantastic place to explore, a lost opportunity.

The Witchfinder
(2022)

Complete garbage.
If you are going to set the action in the 17th century at least make some effort to have the cast reflect that. These all look as if they have spent the week in the health spa having their eyebrows plucked. Apart from the over representation of black characters, the storyline was non existent. It seemed to revolve around taking a woman to Mathew Hopkins, a real evil torturer and murderer, they might just have well made it about Adolf Hitler. By the way scattering the 'f' word throughout the script does absolutely nothing to improve it. An appalling mess, watch it at your peril.

The Repair Shop: Danish Egg Chair
(2022)
Episode 14, Season 8

Grandad was a fibber
The story about the sailors cap is interesting but with a few embellishments by grandfather. The cap during wartime would be black not white. The story is based on the Laconia sinking, but the Laconia was a Mail ship not a naval warship, so there would be no RN personnel on board. The U-boat that sank the Laconia did surface to pick up survivors but was then sunk by American aircraft.

Save the Cinema
(2022)

More pantomime than history.
Living just outside Carmarthen, I was interested in this film to see how it treated the story. Although based on fact, I found the treatment to be more pantomime than reality. We have the principal boy. Samantha Morton, being wooed by Prince Charming, Owain Yeoman (leaving his role as Rigsby in the Mentalist behind) fighting off the machinations of the evil and corrupt Prince, the Mayor, and of course not forgetting the bumbling police officers. The problem is these are real, identifiable people and how they will react to being portrayed in such an unflattering way is best left to the imagination, however if a number of lawsuits arise I won't be surprised.

The problem with filming in real locations is they always get it wrong, one minute you are passing Dryslwyn Castle, the next you are in King Street. Undoubtedly the highlight is the audience singing along with the film 'How Green Was My Valley'. Interesting but ultimately left me with a slightly bad taste in my mouth.

The Madame Blanc Mysteries
(2021)

And?
In a small French village we end up with not one but two homosexual couples? They were not relevant for the story so why? Do we have to tick all the boxes for every production now?

Just watched the last episode and am a bit bewildered - obviously lining up for a new series but still.....

The Cleaner
(2021)

Worth a look
Also similar to an Australian 2013 series about crime scene clear up called 'Mr & Mrs Murder'.

Professor T
(2021)

Dreadful
Let me begin by saying I haven't seen the original, but it something I intend to do, so this is a standalone review.

It is, quite simply, dreadful. The main character played by Ben Miller, could be deleted entirely and make very little difference as he doesn't seem to do anything.

The plots are wafer thin and are always solved by the usual one male, one female team of detectives who seem to run around dressed like unruly teenagers going to a rave.

This is a waste of time, I wasted mine so you don't have to waste yours.

Whiskey Cavalier
(2019)

Ghastly rubbish
Like clearing up after a hurricane, where do you start? It's basically rubbish with absolutely no plot or storyline, just people dashing all over the place doing things.

The Mallorca Files
(2019)

Not another
Ghastly, inconsequential story lines with weak characters merely there to show off the scenery.

The Outpost
(2019)

Don't waste your time.
The worst thing about this film was the sound, I doubt I could hear one word in fifty clearly - except for the effing this and effing that. It gave a very poor idea of what was actually going on, were the people in the ops room on the base or miles away? Why was the camp so spread out - there seemed to be no viable, defendable perimeter. The mortar was placed in a static position and never moved or shielded, and yet it was the best defence they had. Ammunition was in short supply yet they seemed to loose off thousands of rounds at nothing in particular. A mixed up messy film that seemed to show how not to build a defendable base.

Domina
(2021)

Why just why?
Watching this I began to wonder if the scriptwriter was paid extra every time he used the F - word. There was absolutely no need for all this, it added nothing and detracted greatly. And in case you were wondering I spent 15 years in the Royal Navy.

Same Time, Next Year
(1978)

Perfect viewing
A quirky story told with feeling. I saw this in Lincoln at the. Theatre Royal with the main characters played by Dennis Waterman and Rula Lenska.

Antiques Road Trip
(2010)

Great programme but.......
Very interesting show but for goodness sake will someone tape the mouth of the dreadful Wonnacot . His constant yakking makes me want to reach into the TV and rip his throat out. He adds nothing and detracts mightily.

Inside No. 9: Wuthering Heist
(2021)
Episode 1, Season 6

Utter Garbage
I love No 9 and was looking forward to this new series but this is utter rubbish. For a start there are far too many characters, with the story going off in all directions. There seemed to be two running jokes involving 'Scaramouche' and a sandwich. Come on chaps you can do much better than this - I've seen it.

Saved and Remade
(2021)

Horrible Programme.
I love these types of show, watching skilled craftsmen repairing and restoring beautiful objects. This is not that kind of show. People bring in various articles with great history and hand them over to lunatics who destroy them and produce rubbish. I have just watched an episode where a man brought in a quantity of gold and diamond rings owned by his mother. They were chopped up, melted down, thus destroying all the history, hallmarks etc, and the woman produced something that looked like a squashed sardine can. Absolutely ghastly.

A Call to Spy
(2019)

These heroes don't need fantasy.
The idea that Churchill would insist that beautiful women be recruited as agents is ludicrous, they would immediately stand out and be noticed. A good spy would be the typical 'grey man', not standing out in any way What these ladies need is their story to be told honestly, without any silly embellishments that they were personally chosen by Churchill. I've met two real spies, that I know of, one looked like an archaeology professor, and the other was in his fifties, balding, overweight and wore Harry Potter glasses. He wreaked havoc in the ranks of the IRA.

Lie to Me: Fold Equity
(2009)
Episode 9, Season 2

Great fun
This episode must have been written by a Simpsons fan as it is littered with subtle Simpsons references. See if you can spot them all!

Murdoch Mysteries: The Dominion of New South Mimico
(2021)
Episode 8, Season 14

What on earth?
The stories seem to be getting worse. Can we please stop with these ludicrous storylines and get back to real Murdoch?

Hardcore Pawn
(2009)

Does Ashley suck lemons all day?
What is wrong with this person? She seems to be constantly arguing with everyone, pushing her nose into other peoples business, and generally being the most unpleasant person in existence.

See all reviews