Film Reviews by PV

This is not an easy watch at all, so realistic are the characters and scenes of mugging. However, I am so glad this film was made - I doubt any UK TV or film company would dare, to be honest. It was painful to watch sometimes - like watching hyenas or wild dogs surround their gullible prey. It is all so menacing and nasty.

Anyone who has lived in London knows how endemic mugging and street crime is. People also know the demographic of those who do it - the same as in this film set in Gothenburg in Sweden, I believe. And the victims in London are the same as shown here too, In London this sort of mugging is called 'taxing' and is why so many kids after school will not visit shopping centres etc. I DETEST street crime and do not mind saying I hoped the vile nasty thug criminal muggers shown in the film were locked up for ever in secure units well away from us all.

At times this is like a documentary it is so realistic and all the child actors do so well in that.

Based on a true story apparently where muggers used power game psychology and the 'brother' trick to mug younger Swedish boys - I hope they got caught and punished appropriately, Probably not - this being liberal Sweden. The psychology aspect is interesting and nasty - the vile cruel muggers have no sympathy from me. I do not care about their age of ethnicity.

No spoilers but I liked the late scenes where pc dogooding women (it usually is) make excuses for the muggers by saying they are children and immigrants so we must understand them. That is SO true to life.I have worked with women like that! None have been mugged - I expect their opinions would change if they'd had to grow up as boys in London constantly under threat of mugging or attack.

The race issue is addressed here in a way no UK TV channel would - esp the woke pc BBC. One young mugger of colour says at one point "anyone dumb enough to show their phone to 5 black guys only has themselves to blame". Well it ain;t the Bill, for sure, where most muggers in sunny Sunhill fantasy land were white...

This being a Swedish films there is some arty flab which makes the film maybe 20-30 minutes longer than it should be.

But this is probably the best film about mugging, esp by black boys against white boys, ever made.

But 4 stars anyway.

This scratchy little film has so many chips on its shoulder it should fry em up with the fish featured in it - then it wouldn;t be such a waste of space and time.

Honestly, the pretentions of this little state-funded film! Scratchy overlay for some reason to make it seem like old film and in black and white WHICH I believe is more expensive than colour film - and not to show the gorgeousy colourful coast of Cornwell with its translucent blue-green seas is almost a crime - and pointless.

The story itself is passable - and could be a short story of short film. It is stretched and padded out with plenty of ponderous flab here, loads of long looks in acting so wooden it could float on the waves! The sort of film only pretentious film critics and state-funded film institutes like.

And the cartoon character stereotypes abound! Imagine is ANY other demographic were demonised the way blue-eyed, well-spoken, educated people from London and the south-east are in this bigoted little film. But it;'s as insulting to the people of Cornwall - as if they're all poor fisherfolk speaking 18th century dialect, ABSURD! A pure fantasy of a no-doubt middle class Kernow separatist activist at film school.

And as for the tedious anti-Brexit Remainer narrative!

I endured this to the end. The younger actors try hard to salvage something and yet the memory that remains is of how many faults this film has. The image it gives of Cornwall (which I know well, and Devon) is utterly wrong - please do not think the place is as shown here.

I receommend watching the 2 old short films which come last on the EXTRAs page (avoid the pretentious student films of this director and wannabe poet which come before them) - the BILL BLEWITT 1936 film to try and get people saving with National Savings, and the next one a GWR advert on the Cornish Riviera which is fascinating AND edited by Alberto Cavalcanti who directed WENT THE DAY WELL (a classic).

This is how British films should NOT be, but I suppose we can be thankful it as made before the present obsession with wokery and colourblind casting - and the opposite, authentic casting. SO one wonders if they';d have to find real Cornish fishermen to play Cornish fishermen then eh? Alternatively, they could try acting.

I want to see more films from the regions of Britain - but not like this.

This film thanks the late NICK DARKE at the end - I am familiar with his writing and radio plays, incl one made after he suffered a serious stroke in his 50s and lost a lot of language ability, getting words all mixed up. he died a couple of years later.

I had low expectations of this, especially when the graffiti credits started the film to a rap soundtrack! However, the script is so obviously well-written by an excellent writer (Al Wilson) and the main character's development and lines so believable, that I was won over. The performances of all the teenagers, some playing their age and some playing down, are also authentic and spot-on.

The extras here are worth watching esp the half hour film on THE MAKING OF - the director Julian Richards is interviewed as are all cast - Including Kevin Howarth who plays the mysterious and erratic 'disheveled drifter' the kids encounter in the woods. His Sheffield/South Yorkshire accent as the character is bang-on despite it not being his own. That accent makes the stranger even more strange. What precisely is he doing in some woods in Wales? On the run? Escaped? Just homeless?

I was surprised this script started as a film screenplay and not as a theatre play - though I suspect the writer comes from that background. The moody mercurial disturbed person who can switch from nice to nasty and back again in the blink of an eye is rather a staple of drama in theatres.

But no matter, the dialogue is spot-on and there is NO flab at all on this film! Which is always nice to see,. Why its running time is just over an hour.

There is real menace here in the main character, and humour aplenty too, and the teenager characters are believable. No doubt these days, a disabled kid would have to play the disabled kid character - yet more absurd 'authentic casting'. I do so wish they'd all try acting. This is NOT progress. I dread to think what this would look like if the box-ticking BBC made it as a drama now (and BAFTA has its race/gender diversity quotas now too...)

As ever, Darren Evans - here 17 playing down in age - excels as an actor (see him as Baz the junkie in A StreetCat Named Bob and many a Welsh-made film).

This is a true British film and I liked the twist ending (no spoilers). No state funding that I can see (lottery and BFI funded films do not tend to be was watchable and entertaining as this).

It's nice to get really contemporary technology into films - though one wonders how playwrights and screenwriters of a former age would have coped with the existence of mobile phones or smart phones, where everyone can inform everyone else of everything instantly! A teeny-weeny plot hole may exist in this film because of that, but not so much as to spoil it.

4 stars. Recommended.

This film is SO long - over 2 and a half hours, At least half an hour of flab could be cut in minutes, and maybe a whole hour. Some dreadful irrelevant scenes (like the one featured on the DVD cover should have ended up on the cutting room floor. Pointless nonsense and it seems the director getting a performance artist he liked into his film maybe? Other scenes are flab too - some relationship scenes are yawnsome. CUT CUT CUT.

The question ALWAYS to ask when making a film/novel/story is this "does this scene/chapter/sequence advance the plot, story or characters". If not, KILL YOUR DARLINGS. Self-indulgent films like this irritate and bore.

This could have been good - a satire on a modern art world which is so pretentious and arty it has lost all self-awareness or connection to artistic talent (and I have been to modern art galleries all over Europe where neon lights, videos and piles of sand are considered valuable art). Cut the flab or ignore it, and some scenes shine.

Maybe the best film on the pretentions of the art world is THE REBEL (1961) starring Tony Hancock. Never bettered.

Claes Bangs is bang on as usual. And the satire of other arty characters is fun.

I was less convinced by the slum flats/angry boy storyline - I suspect a directorial need for some clunky symbolism.

Should this have won awards? No. But then Cannes gives the Palm D'Or to some real Euro-turkeys.

Not bad but you need patience to watch it. 2.5 stars rounded up.

I enjoyed this. Like all Icelandic films I have seen (all 3 of them maybe) it is off-beat and quirky. OF HORSES AND MEN (2013) sticks in the memory.

I had feared this would be some sort of preachy angry man-bashing feminist lecture of a movie. It isn't.

Instead, this is an interesting, entertaining and well-plotted story told well. Some Hollywood tricks are used to keep the viewer on their toes - the whole reason a cardboard cutout 2-D character (on a bike) even features at all (no spoilers).

I was prepared to suspend my disbelief with both this and the ending because the story is developed well and the main character is believable and sympathetic, however misguided.

4 stars

OK so this movie is aimed at a teen demographic, which is not me! And so it contains the usual text/email features we see more and more now, plus a fixation with dating, image and all the soapy tropes we see on TV drama daily.

Personally, I think gay coming out movies such as Beautiful Thing (1996) or even TV's Two of U (1989?) do it better.

Plus this is VERY American high school and cheesy as heck. That always makes me cringe! BUT those used to watching the OC etc will be on familiar ground here.

Stereotypes abound too - Simon's father in particular, and his parents would surely be tech-savvy as US professionals in their 40s? And the older male high school teacher is such a cliche too. As if the director wants to portray older white males as the bigots of the world! No more bigoted than anyone else in my experience on any issue, and way less bigoted than certain demographics...

Some funny scenes and lines - but ultimately pretty predictable and forgettable.

The plots gives it structure though is SO unbelievable (and race issues complicate things), and some absurd fairground scenes may appeal to some, but not me. The whole story is utterly unbelievable actually though I sympathise with film-makers and screenwriters trying to make such things cinematic. The great god of jeopardy makes it so.

Anyway, it's moderately entertaining so 3 stars.

I suspect the gushing praise this film has received is more for its politics and message than anything else.

I almost gave this 2 stars as it is sometimes so bad - but settled on 2.5 stars rounded up to 3. JUST.

The problems are many: firstly, some roles are miscast, esp posh boy model Jamie Campbell Bower as King Arthur which I never believed; the female characters look so similar too, esp Morgan and Igrese; the whole thing is like a Mills and Boon cheap romance at times; but then it is also like a children's TV drama shown at 5pm Saturdays - which it could be, were it not for the gratuitous shots of buttocks and breasts throughout; the soundtrack is overbearing and adds nothing.

I see it is from STARZ and not Netflix/Amazon, and the quality is thus low, despite the best efforts of Joseph Fiennes who is a convincing Merlin.

It is worse than THE LAST KINGDOM but not as bad as BRITANNIA maybe.

It is nowhere near the league of the brilliant VIKINGS which Michael Hirst who co-created/produced/wrote this went on to make, or TUDORS which he did before this.

It plays fats and loose with the ancient British King Arthur legend, but as it;'s semi-mythical, I suppose it's not fixed and can be tampered with. That is not the problem.

I think one issue is that longterm BBC writer Chris Chibnall is involved - SO we have the usual BBC pc TV drama tropes - lots of 'strong independent' characters talking like girlpower mouthpieces, plus the usual ethic representations though fortunately this was made before the nonsense of colourblind casting.

Chibnall is responsible for turning Dr Who into the pc woke mess it is now, and the same achingly preachy pc lectures are here too., Some episodes are so bad I almost turned off (3) and I'd award them 2 or 1 star.

They obviously intended to have a second series, but the reviews and ratings were probably too bad for it. For that, at least, we should be grateful.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

OK so this is based on a French sci-fi novel apparently so the Korean director is not solely to blame.

But it is truly awful - so bad I ejected the DVD after 40 minutes and I rarely do that, ever with dross.

I knew it would not improve and could predict the glib, trite, tedious, predictable message of class war layered onto everything with a massive trowel.

How anyone can give this B-movie tripe 5 stars is beyond me. Must have very low standards or a penchant for steampunk scifi or maybe reviewers are just trying to look cool by giving a Korean director 5 stars eh?

Either way, I do not care and am so glad I gave up on this cinematic disaster - though I am never getting those 40 minutes of my life back.

1 star. Or less...

This is yet another superb TV drama from Netflix, which highlights just haw mediocre terrestrial TV drama by the BBC and ITV is, with its endless woke preachiness.

Here we have a superb drama all about Pablo Escobar drug lord of the 1980s cartel which more or less ran Colombia. The actor portraying him nails it utterly as do all others.

The writing is brilliant, the pace, the plot points. I loved the way some was in Spanish - and this drama may even be watched by the sort of person who usually refuses to watch movies with subtitles.

The inclusion of real news footage of the time was a stroke of genius too.

Music is brilliant, esp the theme tune - a Spanish love song lasting 90 seconds only, which I now cannot get out of my head.

I cannot wait for series 2. BRILLIANT. 5 stars. In the same top league as Breaking Bad and The Americans.,

I enjoyed this film. And I adored the absolutely cracking soundtrack - both original score and songs used. That lifts it above most movies for a start.

I am not usually a fan of sci-fi, especially more tricksy, slow post-modern sci-fi movies. I hated MOON - and this film is written and directed by the main actor in that.

However, this film won me over - because it has intelligence and depth. It is not just a CGI-fest though the CGI is impressive, and the landscapes (filmed in Hungary or CGI) are superb and beautiful. The robots give a nod to both METROPOLIS and I though early 1970s film SILENT RUNNING which influenced Pixar's robot sci-fi film WALL-E. The question of what is human and can a robot have feelings predominate.

The unflagged used of flashbacks can confuse a bit though - so you have to pay attention as the timeframe flips back and forth.

Another reviewer says he did not see the plot twist coming - well, I did.. No spoilers but this sort of thing is not new and has been done a lot before in sci-fi films.

The focus is on identity and what it is to be human - an updated version of Frankenstein (the book) maybe? Toby Jones has a bit part but nails it as per usual.

4 stars

This film is not bad, and stars the wonderful Mads Mikkelsen who is one of those actors (like Anthony Hopkins) I can watch in anything, even bad films. A great film like 'The Hunt' shows Mads' substantial acting talent off as does the TV series of Hannibal. Not this.

This is basically a Danish attempt at an action movie, with a thriller in the world of high finance.

I found it a tad confusing at times, so rewind function may be useful. Unrealistic events but that is fine - it is fiction, after all, and aimed at being high-octane action movie.

It sort of all works though but, as I state, it is forgettable. I have almost forgotten in 12 hours after watching it! It's one of those. Meh.

3 stars

I remember watching this as a boy, and so thought I'd rent it out again - and I now realise I probably missed a lot of episodes.

There are 2 series set in 1981 and 1982, in East London and Docklands, just before it was developed (The Long Good Friday also set in the same pre-Canary-Wharf days).

The writing is strong and authentic here; the characters believable. Some may be offended by the racial language - however, it was authentic to the time and the characters and arguably better and refreshing compared to the woke po-faced puritanism and censorship of now.

David Yip stars as John Ho, the first ethnic Chinese character in a TV drama (and not many now either!). I warmed to his character's humour, though was a bit confused at the claim his parents are from mainland China when the language is Cantonese from Hong Kong., Oh well... There are also many episodes which features black characters and Jamaican clubs etc, as well as Britain villains from Liverpool. Scotland etc. I liked that diversity.

As is usual with such series, actors who later became famous show up in these episodes - Anna Wing and Bill Treacher here, and more., I always like that.

Series 1 (first 8 episodes) and 2 (second 8) are different in character - the later episodes have some really cracking script-writing,. Both have really memorable episodes. Others are weaker - but they are in all TV drama series.

You can smell the Chinese food with the cigarette smoke from the estate pubs and the sweet stench of corruption from the police here - and I loved it. Good music too. A shame David Yip has been so absent from the screen since then really.

4.5 stars. So glad I rented it again. Though probably youngsters will not get it or like it as I do, and may well gasp at some of the racial language! They need to calm down, and appreciate the context and authenticity of character here.

I really enjoyed this film. Some great acting by George Mackay and Nicholas Hoult, and a fascinating story.

Yes, it's full of swearing, esp the C words, and I am not sure if the folk songs are new or of the time; however, either way, I think all the swearing makes it authentic.

The only reason this is not 5 stars is some bits which drag, and the 'punk song' element which I think was trying to be Peaky Blinders, using a modern soundtrack for stories set a century or more ago.

4 stars

This is apparently adapted from a graphic novel - I never read these so I have no idea if this was a best seller or not.

Anyway, this is what I call a 'little film' - a little British film. Not very cinematic, more suited to TV maybe, very domestic, gentle, domestic.

I enjoyed it as a quirky funny comedy - not one to guffaw at, but just to smile wryly. Some of the teenage lines are great, as are the mother's reaction. The actor playing the 15 year old, Earl Cave, is 18+ here, and arguably looks it. Ever so slightly stereotyped and the scenario with the kids' band and the teacher played by Rob Bryden do not ring true. More cartoon character drama - well it is from a graphic novel.

But hey, a gentle watch. I enjoyed it for what it was. 3 stars. Just.

This film starts slowly - but stay with it. Because it slowly grows into an exquisitely corrupt and violent, almost Shakespearean, family vendetta drama set over 5 days in the resort of Ostia near Rome (the old port Ostia Antica is 2 miles inland and can be visited easily - more compact than Pompeii but similar, with snack bar, bath house, brothel etc excavated).

Particularly good and authentic is the gypsy mafia Rome family - UK TV would probably not allow such a depiction of an 'ethnic minority'; however, having sat on a train from the airport to Rome city centre with just such a family, I can say the depiction is spot on! The boss is particularly repulsive and amoral; but not in a pantomime villain way - these are real 3d characters.

As with all in Italy, the rich, powerful Catholic church is involved as are politicians - it';s the way Italy operates. And the EU perhaps.

The music is superb too. There are some loose ends not tied up or clear, and a tad confusing, and the start is rather slow - too much so, hence 4 stars not 5.

I am surprised I liked this so much as the director also did Gomorrah which I did not like much and I hated the TV series and watched just 2 episodes.

But this, I would watch again - it is that good. No spoilers but the third act is worth waiting for.

A new sort of mafia movie - tawdry, corrupt, 21st century. I loved it!