Off Topic The Review Thread

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Steelmonkey said:
Watched the two episodes on iPlayer - enjoyable and intriguing - will definately watch the other episodes. Not sure how they are going to explain away how the technical side of it works, with "Live" fake footage, but that's not my biggest problem with the show.....

Why don't these "gritty dramas" carry out some crucial research? Line of Duty was a big culprit of this (especially in the last season), but in The Capture why is the main character wearing his uniform? If he'd been sentenced to a civilian prison, especially for murder, he would've been dishonorably discharged, thus not allowed to wear it. He even states that he wants his job back! Then he's on the piss with his mates, still in his uniform - military personnel don't go out drinking in uniform unless it's a wedding or something similar, and they have to have permission from their Commanding Officer! It's taking poetic licence too far if it wants to convince us that these events are plausible....
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Mate don’t get me started on the medical/Paramedic/CPR stuff in dramas. Makes us all laugh in these movies and tv shows when someone is Asystolic and all it takes is a couple of chest compressions and a few rescue breaths to get that old heart beating again in sinus rhythm and hey presto.....the patient is up and talking again after 5 mins.
Real life is never that simple :)
 
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Staines R's said:
Mate don’t get me started on the medical/Paramedic/CPR stuff in dramas. Makes us all laugh in these movies and tv shows when someone is Asystolic and all it takes is a couple of chest compressions and a few rescue breaths to get that old heart beating again in sinus rhythm and hey presto.....the patient is up and talking again after 5 mins.
Real life is never that simple :)
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I feel your pain - my missus has been a nurse for 20 years, so she moans like **** at Casualty, Holby, or any show that there's an emergency situation in. Some of the programs must do some decent research, as she often diagnoses the ailment well before the doctors on screen say what it is - not that I've got a clue what she's on about!!
 
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Steelmonkey said:
I feel your pain - my missus has been a nurse for 20 years, so she moans like **** at Casualty, Holby, or any show that there's an emergency situation in. Some of the programs must do some decent research, as she often diagnoses the ailment well before the doctors on screen say what it is - not that I've got a clue what she's on about!!
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She’s sounds like me when I watch ‘Inside the Ambulance’ :)
 
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Staines R's said:
Finally got round to watching the first part of the brilliant new series ‘The Troubles - A Secret History’ on BBC4 ( 2nd part of 7 is tonight)

A must see for anyone interested in political history and has many interviews with those concerned, both politicians and combatants, from both sides of the conflict. If you are able to take a completely impartial view, which can be difficult for many including myself, it’s a real eye opener.
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Very interesting, just catching up on part 2....it's scary how quickly the death count mounts up in those early years.

Without crossing over threads, this is one of the reasons that a deal must be sought with regards to the Irish border, we just can't allow this to develop into a full blown conflict again. Having lived in Belfast for three years in the early nineties, I've seen the devastation these attacks from both Loyalist and Republican paramilitaries can bring.

The program has a slight slant towards Republican views (so far at least - this may change as the Loyalist terrorists increase their attacks), but I'm enjoying it as I thought I was well versed on the history of the troubles but I've learnt a hell of a lot more.......
 
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Steelmonkey said:
The program has a slight slant towards Republican views (so far at least - this may change as the Loyalist terrorists increase their attacks), but I'm enjoying it as I thought I was well versed on the history of the troubles but I've learnt a hell of a lot more.......
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Funny you say that ‘cos I was thinking the same about the bias but thought it was just my imagination. Still doesn’t take away what a brilliant series it’s turning out to be.Totally agree, I thought I knew a lot about what went on but seems there’s a whole lot more I never knew.
Dunno how I feel about Paisley and McGuinness......quite obviously they were men of violence who manipulated the situation to their own sides gain, but later on the face of it, turned into men of peace (or so it seemed). I’m guessing the series will explore this more.
 
Staines R's said:
Funny you say that ‘cos I was thinking the same about the bias but thought it was just my imagination. Still doesn’t take away what a brilliant series it’s turning out to be.Totally agree, I thought I knew a lot about what went on but seems there’s a whole lot more I never knew.
Dunno how I feel about Paisley and McGuinness......quite obviously they were men of violence who manipulated the situation to their own sides gain, but later on the face of it, turned into men of peace (or so it seemed). I’m guessing the series will explore this more.
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They've interviewed a lot of high level IRA men, can't remember seeing any UDA/UVF/UFF/RHC guys so far....so none of their views have been aired. Now, this may be due to the fact that these organisations were even more secretive than the Republican side, and the journo found it more difficult to get these on camera, but I'm not so sure....

McGuiness and Paisley both have a lot of blood on their hands, for sure. Where they ended up after all that bloodshed is a testament to true mediation - and something the current arseholes in Westminster should look at to re-unite our country and solve the divisions that the current political climate has caused. Neither of them are saints, I'm sure there are stories about them that won't be in this documentary.

When I lived there PIRA had a purge and wiped out IPLO and INLA, which will be an interesting episode, especially for you...IPLO were very Socialist in their agenda, which went against what PIRA were trying to achieve, whilst INLA were just wannabe gangsters - I wonder how deep the program will go into that, or if it will just concentrate on the British v Republican battles it has concerned itself with so far?

On a lighter note, I was worried each episode was going to be 90 minutes like the first one, which I struggled with towards the end (that's the price you pay when you've had a couple of beers and watch a heavy duty documentary!) but an hour long is ok!
 
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Interesting map, six months before the Americans joined the war in May 1941. Green = Allied area, Black is the Nazis and Red is the communists ... white are the neutrals ...

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New Brad Pitt film Ad Astra.

Went to see it with my son last night as he’s a sci-fi fan, like many teenagers.

Anyway, it was the longest two hours of our lives.

Slow, boring, ridiculous and whiny plot. It’s god awful. If you have ever suffered through the cinematic dysentery that is the George Clooney film Solaris, you will have some idea just how dull and turgid sci-fi can be. Ad Astra is on a par with that.
 
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IwasanotherwatfordR said:
New Brad Pitt film Ad Astra.

Went to see it with my son last night as he’s a sci-fi fan, like many teenagers.

Anyway, it was the longest two hours of our lives.

Slow, boring, ridiculous and whiny plot. It’s god awful. If you have ever suffered through the cinematic dysentery that is the George Clooney film Solaris, you will have some idea just how dull and turgid sci-fi can be. Ad Astra is on a par with that.
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Add that Matthew McConaughey tripe, Interstellar, to that list.
 
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Just in from watching Joker.....excellent performance by Joaquin Phoenix, but not so sure about the whole film. Very slow going, and whilst it explores Arthur Flecks descent into madness through his struggles with mental health issues, the depth of some of the characters around him is minimal so it's difficult to fully grasp some his interactions with them. There are some parallels to be drawn from what is happening in Gotham and what is happening in the US with health reforms, cuts in social services, ease of access to guns and how this all contributes to a lawless society, but don't feel that some of the outrage portayed in some media circles with regards to glorifying violence really stands up. Personally didn't feel much empathy towards Fleck/Joker as you already know he's a maniac and is going to flip at some stage. The film does try to fill in some of Jokers back story, which has never been done by either DC comics or films to date, and a very young Bruce Wayne appears a few times, with a good wee twist too. Probably give it 7/10.....
 
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Any fans of Nordic Noir? I've just finished watching Hotel Beau Sejour, which is a Belgian programme that could easily fit in this genre, although it has a good supernatural element to it too.

First episode starts with a brutal murder, and then the victim "wakes up" sees her body and runs away from the scene. After approaching people for help, it's evident no-one can see her - until she runs in to people she met the night she was killed. She can communicate with a handful of people, all who hold clues to her death. Alongside the police investigation, she searches to find her killer.

I enjoyed it, it's well made and appears to be well acted (it's sometimes difficult to tell when reading subtitles). Something a bit diffsrent from your standard murder/mystery series, it's available on All4 as part of the Walter Presents boxsets.
 
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Here is a good example of why you shouldn’t simply accept all the drivel you’re given by the media and so-called experts...

Yesterday there was a news item about a humpback whale in the Thames. The newsreader told us how it was being monitored by ‘experts’ and that its behaviour was ‘perfectly normal’.

Today it’s died and its body found out at Greenhithe.

Tits.
 
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