Change Your Image
tishco
Reviews
Becoming Elizabeth (2022)
Thank goodness there is only one season
Production values are good. It looks and sounds good. Some historical accuracy. Otherwise it is laboriously and laughably wrong. The characters have little in common with the real people of history.
If you love history and especially the Tudor era put your mind into neutral and accept the fantasy.
Stand out performances are Cat Ashley, Princess Mary and Thomas Seymour.
The portrayal of Katherine Parr, Jane Grey and Edward are just totally wrong!
You can see the strong influence of Phillipa Gregory's books, as she writes historical fantasy.
I watched it for the amazing castles that this was filmed in, the scenery and costumes. I watched hoping the story would improve, for the truth is far more interesting and exciting than this drivel.
When Calls the Heart (2014)
Plastic, stilted and totally ruined
Enjoyed the first season, even if the acting and story lines were saccharine sweet. Super clean Disney style town and characters it was still enjoyable.
From Season 2 I have been cringing at the super clean township, the inappropriate costumes, the modern hairstyles and layers of makeup. The acting is still stilted, the characters 2 dimensional and the story lines are bogged down in sentimentality. I had to take a break from the show half way through the second season to detox from all the sugar. So back watching after a few months and fairly enjoyed the remainder of the season aside from the terrible character of Rosie. She is unbelievable and truly grates on the nerves.
Season 3 has a few new characters but still is totally unbelievable. What a shame that Hallmark has the same formula for all it's shows. Children are quietly reprimanded and always told, no you aren't in trouble but..... Women getting around in clothing that never stain or crease. In fact do a little research on the wardrobe of women in the Canadian wilderness in the 1910's and the costumes are laughable. Some of the scenes are set in mid winter and there isn't any snow? No snow in Canada in winter? Come on. They wore thick coats, warm hats, scarves, big boots and woollen stockings. Sparkling evening dresses for dinner dates *shakes head*.
This show is the Good Witch all over again (which I have given up from fear of Diabetes). Drawing parallels to the storylines and sentiment. The characters smirk, have pursed lips with a slight smile, the lines of dialogue delivered in a condescending manner that talks down to the audience. I only continue watching this for the sparkle of moments when it seems the stories are tolerable.
This show makes Little House on the Prairie look like an episode of CSI!
Big Fish (2003)
Boring.....
Beautifully made, fantastic cast but typical Tim Burton. I suppose you are either into him or not.
I watched it for the cast and kept losing interest.
It jumps around too much and I don't understand the PG rating in Australia with the violence, scary themes including the naked butt of Danny De Vito.
I can't recommend it unless you like this sort of thing.
Of course Helena Bonham Carter (Tim's wife) makes appearances as well.
Over the top and way too long.
Against the Current (2009)
Nothing redeeming about this movie
I love quiet, thoughtful movies. This is a quiet thoughtful movies and I couldn't connect with to it. Dark, slow, repugnant characters, flat, static acting, annoying music, there is nothing to like about this movie. I even snoozed through some of it.
Mary Tyler Moore is usually a shining light but even her ugly character is nothing but morose and deadpan.
Maybe it is the topic of the movie. Depression and lost love can be a dark hole to go down with nowhere to escape.
That is how this movie felt to me.
I only had a twinge of sadness in the last couple of minutes to think of the hopelessness of it all and the lost time watching this movie.
Catfight (2016)
Pathetic excuse for violence
I have really struggled to watch out this over violent, poor excuse for a movie. What on the earth were these two brilliant women thinking, doing a movie like this.
There were some interesting themes to start with, however they are over looked by the poor excuse of hatred and venom spewed onto the screen.
How anyone could survive the beatings they give each other can only be explained by watching Die Hard or Jackie Chan movies.
Do yourself a favour...avoid it, unless this sort of movie turns you on.
Intimacy (2001)
Slow, depressing and at times confusing
Expectations were high for this movie but it soon becomes clear that none of the characters are likable, all are broken and you can't relate to any of them.
This movie is dark, disjointed moments in the lives of the two main characters and those in their lives.
Do we still understand why the guy leaves his wife and two kids, even though he does seem to really miss them? Do we understand why everything is so dirty and so old and the weather is always so miserable?
I like movies that make me work at understanding them, I like to be challenged by characters who are unlikable.
The ending is inevitable, no one gets what they want, content in their disconnection from life.
This movie left me feeling dirty, depressed and hopeless.
Was that the intent of the director?
The Brittany Murphy Story (2014)
The worst bio movie EVER
The only redeeming factor of this movie is the guy who plays Ashton. There is no mention of some of her greatest movies. There is no mention of the guy she was engaged to. There is no mention of the band she was singer in. There is no mention of all the movies she was doing voice over for, while apparently battling drug addiction forced on by a creepy looking husband, that didn't look a thing like the real husband.
All in all, the only facts were the dates and even those were so general you couldn't follow the story line.
It was so sad when we lost this bright star and the movie should have done her honour. Instead it looks like it was put on by kindergarden kids with access to a trunk of old wigs and trash bag of rags and cast offs.
Sherilyn Finn played a great mommy dearest and the fact that they didn't make her go to the emergency room, that they didn't know CPR (even though they were doing it on a breathing talking husband when he had a heart attack) and stuck her under a shower? when she had apparently arrested. Did they think she had overdosed? A very Hollyweird response to drug overdose.
All together, you can listen to it like an old radio play but don't try and watch it. They couldn't even get a blonde to play Alicia in Clueless, she has a mop on her head.
Bad, bad, bad. Did I say bad?
Hyde Park on Hudson (2012)
Don't let truth get in the way of a travesty of lies
Even though this is a beautiful looking movie it is totally devoid of any truth.
The royals only visited for a day. Why did they visit? With the world on the brink of war the point of their visit seems ignored.
Daisy is 20 years older than depicted. Her relationship with Roosevelt was much more than a physical relationship. There was nothing dirty about it but a total trust in each other. Roosevelt, by this time, was very tired, physically and emotionally.
Murry's depiction is one dimensional.
This is only a simple story but so much more could have been put into this to tell the very interesting true story of this weekend. It seems the point of the movie is to deride the royals, the way of life of the President and those in his life.
Add to this a slow, boring interpretation of this pure fiction I only give it a rating of one because of how beautiful it looks.
Point Last Seen (1998)
Don't watch this movie when you are tired
A perfect movie for those who can't sleep. It will have you dozing very quickly. The dry unfeeling performance of Linda Hamilton is just awful. The jumping around from past to present is hard to follow.
there are moments of interest but really I had this movie on for background noise.
I was so disappointed as the premise of the movie is actually very good.
Hammy acting from everyone else and the false drama just makes it worse than b grade.
The only good thing in this movie is Kevin Kilner as the menacing, nasty, charming husband.
Kingswood Country (1980)
Popular in it's day
The first couple of seasons are very cringe worthy funny. Rude, irreverent, over the top, bad acting, vaudeville at it's worst. The sad thing is there are people like this family, I personally know a few. This, however, doesn't mean it is funny. Once main performers left the show, it declined down the toilet. Not funny, painful at times. Thank goodness Australian TV has improved out of sight since this and the other show Hey Dad dominated our TV's. Turns out the production team on these two shows allowed all sorts of terrible things to go on behind the scenes. They were only interested in one thing. Ratings. While many of the sayings from this show were adopted at the time, it is a show that is dated and no one should bother watching it.
Three Hats for Lisa (1965)
Awful, dated movie
With a few very well known faces of British film and TV and many has- beens the only good thing about this movie is the 60's scenery around what was then a very run down and dirty London.
British films were in a huge slump and many of these terrible teen movies were made to try and attract the young people to the movie theatres.
If I had been one of them I would have asked for a refund.
The choreography is OK, the songs twee and forgettable, the editing is horrific.
The best parts of this are the great fashions and the welcome end titles.
Mrs. Winterbourne (1996)
Simple entertainment
OK, it isn't a masterpiece, OK the story is implausible but if you love old fashioned, simple entertaining movies you will love this. I'm not over fussed with Ricki Lake but having Brendon Frazier, Shirley McClaine and wonderful support actors and actresses more than makes up for what is lacking in Ms Lakes performance. Don't expect to be challenged by this beautiful shot movie. Instead sit back and enjoy and smile. The locations, the dated but beautiful clothing adds to the atmosphere.
You will also love to hate the nasty piece of work that threatens Connie's new life. You will smile when Grace dances and sings to her new grandson. You will sigh as Bill tangos around the kitchen with Connie with the encouragement of a drunk Paco.
It's lovely.
A Song to Remember (1945)
Sadly wrong
A typical movie biography of that generation. Brilliant music, average acting and the storyline has nothing to do with the real story of Chopin. His short sickly life, the women he was involved with, the politics of the time are far more fascinating than this clinically clean and romanticized version of Hollywood. Cornell Wilde is always wooden as is Merle Oberon. It is a wet afternoon movie that you have on in the background while doing something else and stop to listen to the wonderful music. The review asks for at least ten lines for a review but really can't find anything more worth saying about this movie. Can't recommend it to be bought but it is one of those movies you have to see so you can say you have seen all the terrible biographies made by Hollywood.
The Women's Room (1980)
The right story at the right time
This miniseries bought a change in my life. I grabbed for the book, which is even more involved and recognized the life I had chosen at the age of 20. I recognized so many women I knew and my stand out performer is Colleen Dewhurst. Lee is perfect in the lead and Patty Duke is just brilliant as the woman who totally loses everything. I would love to get my hands on a copy of the DVD. I had my daughters' read the novel, which they totally got.
For anyone who was raised in the 40's to the 60's it will bring back memories good and bad. There is a thread of too much feminism but this can be overlooked for what the story is really telling us about a moth meta morphing into a butterfly.
You Can't Run Away from It (1956)
The music doesn't save it
It's a shame that it is so much like It happened one night, only to turn out to be very little like it, in mood or feeling. It is fun to compare both but that is also short lived and disappointing because of the very mediocre songs.
June is OK as the spoiled rich girl and Jack Lemmon brings a new dimension to the tough journalist role. He is much sweeter than Clark. But he isn't the rogue that is needed for this role.
It is glossier than the original and being in color doesn't make it any better or worse.
You will enjoy it more if you haven't seen the other movie or you don't compare it.