Tag: 2

Am I Being Unreasonable? (2022)

Where to find it: BBC iPlayer
Length: Six 30-minute episodes
Synopsis: Mystery comedy-drama
Recommendation rating: 2/5

What I like about it: scene-stealing talented kid Ollie, manages decent drama for one episode (#4)
What I don’t like about it: dull comedy, weak first half, bad twists, no resolution

Review:
Nicola makes a new friend while dropping her son Ollie at school, a fellow mum named Jennifer. Mysteries build while they bond and are largely explained by episode 4, from Jen’s point-of-view. Sadly, the first half is more annoying than compelling and the last two episodes fizzle out awfully. The only element of the show worth seeing is Ollie, played by young disabled actor Lenny Rush with perfect comic delivery. Here is a two-minute clip of him in action.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): death, hit by train, personality disorders

Loot (2022)

Where to find it: Apple TV+
Length: Ten 25-minute episodes
Synopsis: Bland sitcom inspired by Mackenzie Scott and Melinda Gates
Recommendation rating: 2/5

What I like about it: Maya Rudolph and Ron Funches are always fun
What I don’t like about it: barely makes an impression

Review:
This ripped-from-the-headlines sitcom about a divorced billionaire giving away her money is full of unlikeable characters, weak jokes and sitcom clichés.

Content notes (may contain spoilers):

The Kings of Summer (2013)

Throughout September I will be raiding my collection of favourite movies to review one a day, with a focus on overlooked and underappreciated films.

Where to find it: Amazon Prime Video
Length: 95 minutes
Synopsis: Adolescents run off to live in the woods
Recommendation rating: 2/5

What I like about it: funny, acting, themes
What I don’t like about it: not important or great, jokes misfire

Review:
A marginal coming-of-age comedy drama about three boys who build a house in the woods and then run away to live in it. They consider themselves men but they’re not as independent or grown-up as they claim. Captures a very foolish phase of adolescence quite well but makes for generally unlikeable characters.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): violence, racism, extended scene of a rabbit being skinned

Slow Horses (2022)

Where to find it: Apple TV+
Length: Six 50-minute episodes
Synopsis: Slightly more lighthearted Spooks knockoff
Recommendation rating: 2/5

What I like about it: occasionally funny or decent action
What I don’t like about it: pointless, not enjoyable

Review:
Gary Oldman plays washed-up, disgusting spymaster Jackson Lamb who runs a team of spies who have fucked up bad enough to not be trusted but not bad enough to get sacked. New to his team is third-generation spy River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) and together they get involved in a far-right terrorist plot that doesn’t ring true until they reveal the whole thing was drummed up by MI5. Olivia Cooke has the most interesting character in this and so she is duly killed offscreen in episode 2. Not terrible but not at all good.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): violence, racism

Ellie and Natasia (2022)

Where to find it: BBC iPlayer
Length: Six 15-minute episodes
Synopsis: Sketch show
Recommendation rating: 2/5

What I like about it: sometimes funny
What I don’t like about it: only sometimes

Review:
More misses than hits in this sketch show from Ellie White and Natasia Demetriou (the latter seen in What We Do in the Shadows). At least it’s not too long.

Content notes (may contain spoilers):

The Anarchists (2022)

Where to find it: No UK streaming
Length: Six hour-long episodes
Synopsis: Documentary on a libertarian party conference
Recommendation rating: 2/5

What I like about it: it’s fun to laugh at them (until it isn’t)
What I don’t like about it: too long, heavy

Review:
Pointless and exploitative, this documentary follows an annual party weekend in Acapulco for libertarians (referred to as anarchists throughout) and centres on a murder that is tangentially related. They all try to scam each other with crypto, no one learns their lesson. Didn’t need to be made and doesn’t need to be seen.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): blood, violence, drugs, total pricks

Nope (2022)

Where to find it: Not streaming
Length: 130 minutes
Synopsis: Horse ranchers have a close encounter
Recommendation rating: 2/5

What I like about it: genuinely spectacular, some great shots
What I don’t like about it: makes no sense, a puzzle with a dozen missing pieces, frightfully paced, dodgy plot, poor lighting, references to better movies

Review:
See title.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): violence, blood

Conjuring Kesha (2022)

Where to find it: Amazon Prime Video
Length: Six 40-minute episodes
Synopsis: Popstar investigates the paranormal
Recommendation rating: 2/5

What I like about it: funny (intentional or not), cool opening titles
What I don’t like about it: she’s very annoying, it’s really bad

Review:
Kesha hasn’t been relevant since dropping the dollar sign so she’s here for a Discovery Channel payday. Mostly low-effort, the formula involves Kesha and an allegedly-famous friend visiting a ghosty tourist attraction and hearing their hacky, rehearsed “encounters”, immediately becoming scared due to her comicly-high suggestibility. The producers play pranks on her that wouldn’t fool an eight-year-old, once an episode they press a buzzer pretending to be a ghost answering her questions. It’s generally fun but it’s never long until Kesha begins one of her egotistic New Age rants about the universe and all its energies centring upon her, a very serious artist. Also fun are the moments of peak liberalism, such as being performatively sympathetic to a ghost they’ve decided is trans and performing an indigenous ceremonial song for the restless spirits of victims of the Trail of Tears.

Content notes (may contain spoilers):

The Control Room (2022)

Where to find it: BBC iPlayer
Length: Three 1-hour episodes
Synopsis: Tense Scottish thriller
Recommendation rating: 2/5

What I like about it: tense, well-acted
What I don’t like about it: contrived, kinda pointless, terrible ending

Review:
An ambulance dispatcher receives a distressing call from someone who recognises him, he gets involved and covers up a crime, soon finding himself in over his head with people controlling him before eventually fighting back and taking some control himself (geddit?).

Content notes (may contain spoilers):

Single Drunk Female (2022)

Where to find it: Disney+
Length: Ten 20-minute episodes
Synopsis: A young woman recovers from alcoholism
Recommendation rating: 2/5

What I like about it: thoughtful
What I don’t like about it: not very funny, not great characters

Review:
Sam, a twentysomething blogger, gets fired and arrested for drinking and has to move back in with her mum in Boston. I like media about recovery and this is well-informed, an early episode does a good job of portraying how slowly time moves when you’re newly sober, but it doesn’t distinguish itself much. The characters have no memorable traits and aren’t explored enough; this probably would have worked better as an ensemble without Sam being the main focus, she isn’t strong enough as a character for that and the AA meetings feel under-utilised. Also paced very strangely, six months can pass between episodes. Its heart is in the right place but quality-wise, it’s right in the middle of the road.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): addiction, recovery, alcohol, bereavement