Reviews

De La Hoya fights evoked such paroxysms of excitement, weeks and weeks ahead of his fights. Never ducked the hard fight. Pure pugilist. What a boxer! Some fighters come along now and then and they seem so I'll-suited to the sport, if it weren't for the fact that they just glide balletically around as if gravity isn't a concern for them. Gracefulness wrapped inside a left lead that he would detonate whenever he saw the gap. It's such a huge shame that these warriors, these towering figures, cannot experience and enjoyment. As he says himself: "I can see in my eyes that I don't want to fight. I just wanted to be loved". A heartbreaking, flawless examination of one persons manifestation of pain.

This flawless filmmaking. I've spent no time with book(s) so the patient and poised storytelling was prescient for me. The score and sound design are sublime, with a cheeky smattering of hybridised bagpipes (a surprise). And it's nice to see Denis Villeneuve finally handling some proper action. I adore Arrival and Blade Runner 2049, but those films were possessed of action that was baletically contained, verging on restrained. The performances were all in their right place, zero fat wasted. Masterpiece.

Forget the political allegory, this is just poorly realised. What is going on with Orlando Bloom's voice? If that's his impression of what passes as "grizzled" or "tough" then he really ought to bally well josh about with some "provincial types", such as myself.

What I'm about to write leaves me shivering: Cara DeLavigne shines as if a sliver of polished glass in a plastic-choked ocean of idiotic scriptwriting and "lore" that I absolutely couldn't care less about. Mainly because they haven't bothered to develop or explain it.

It gets five stars because it's beautiful. And I don't mean the two protagonists, not by a long chalk.

Finally!!! A fully realised, beautifully executed chiller. It brings to mind those legacy pictures that would leave you looking over your shoulder 7 times on your way from the sofa to the bathroom.

Less of a stone cold JUMP horror, this does for grief what Jaws did for paddling in the shallows at the beach. Incredible performances across the board (apart from Peter's wailing which reminded me of a spoiled toddler) this one will quite literally haunt. Points to for one truly jawdropping moment in the narrative.

Finally, if you watch this with a soundbar or similar higher end audio equipment, it is a tour de force. Stunning sound design abounds.

Whilst I find many of the superhero adaptations from Marvel and D.C. tiresome and inspid, I find this one (which comes from neither house) to be inspired. Characters I care about (Diego aside - not interesting and a bit toxically masculine), Kafka-esque delivery mixed with Monty Python by way of Wes Anderson and a character in Klaus that rivals any of the stone shattering wise crackers in TV gone by, I'll certainly be encouraging as many people to watch as I can.

The first ten minutes of the first episode is the only reason I'm giving this five stars. Somehow, the acting is wooden, devoid of any humour or dynamism. The humour remark may jarr with some but, let's be honest here, when faced with life changing, heartbreaking situations, the human condition is to add some levity. And I mean that on a minute level, not as an overarching thing. Potentially detonating bombs on city streets obviously isn't funny but, watch this show just to see how clinical it is.

The dialogue is sixth form play level. Choice examples:

"I'm not the queen. You CAN touch me"

"oh please don't be one of those blokes who's intimidated by women who are more powerful than them". Delivered by the Home Secretary. To a close protection officer! Really?

I wasn't sure about Richard Madden in Game of Thrones. Now I'm absolutely certain. Not for me. Nor this show.

Worst film I've ever had the misfortune of pointing my eyes with. I love the games. This makes me hate them a bit. Maybe next time (dear God, don't let there be a next time) don't ask the kids from class 3, year 1 to write the script. They're probably busy anyway.