tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26043157495691320902012-01-10T17:59:52.103ZSometimes Brutal, Always Honest!Iannoreply@blogger.comBlogger1601100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-50989285738538108602011-01-08T21:23:00.000Z2011-01-08T21:23:46.821Z

Well it kind of died (obviously) as HD-DVD and then Blu-Ray took over.The good news is that I am now podcasting regularly every week, although the focus is purely on new Blu-Ray releases. The new "hub" for all the reviews can be found at UKBluRayReview.blogspot.com There you'll find the latest audio podcasts, together with links to written reviews of films that include trailers, HD screen

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-2811079469486945992009-11-28T19:36:00.002Z2009-11-28T19:40:22.286Z

Watchmen (Director's Cut) (2009). This review was originally published at ShinyDiscs.com.Nobody can accuse Warner Brothers of under-exploting their Watchmen franchise in the United States. The film, from 300's director Zack Snyder, under-performed at the US box-office, and needed international sales to recover its costs, despite an extremely vocal fanbase (which turned out to be smaller than

Iannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-20934466827959708622008-04-20T16:47:00.000+01:002008-04-20T16:48:18.516+01:00

DVD reviews are now appearing as part of my new weekly review show The Shiny Discs Show which you can find over at ShinyDiscs.com.The first show, for the week ending 19th April 2008, features reviews of the following UK releases: "Hidalgo" on Blu-Ray, "30 Days of Night" on Blu-Ray and DVD, "Alvin and the Chipmunks" on Blu-Ray and DVD, "Damages Season 1" on Blu-Ray and DVD, "Doctor Who: Black

Iannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-90682143030182669142007-11-18T10:03:00.000Z2007-11-18T10:17:45.236Z

I'm not big on cartoons, even of the Disney variety - possibly because my own artistic abilities are such that in my one and only Art exam (a 'mock' O level) I got a pitiful 8%. However, I do have a soft spot for The Jungle Book, which I saw just the once before the release of this DVD set - on its original theatrical release as a ten year old kid - and I really enjoyed this just-released '40th

Iannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-3280449386467002562007-11-17T15:20:00.000Z2007-11-17T15:43:54.552Z

When you watch as many films as I do it's hard to find something that feels genuinely different or non-formulaic. I guess you could argue that The Golden Door follows a certain formula - a simple tale about a turn-of-the-century Sicilian family leaving everything behind to take their chances in 'the new world' of America - but I think few would argue that it's a different kind of film from the

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-84587035455406486392007-11-16T09:39:00.000Z2007-11-16T10:40:07.856Z

Sometimes I despair for the joke that we call 'the British Film Industry'. Although there are a few notable exceptions, for the most part we seem to be stuck in a rut of producing safe, predictable, old-fashioned 'family viewing' fare that is just a wearisome retread of far better films that were produced years before. How many versions of Chariots of Fire do we need for goodness sake?!

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-76351035990721834012007-11-13T17:56:00.000Z2007-11-13T18:15:04.414Z

With three of Hollywood's hottest acting properties, a reputable 'name' director in the form of Steven Soderbergh, and an affectionate parodying of the 'Golden age of movies' you're probably wondering, as I was, why The Good German has received such a bashing from the critics. You won't be wondering any more after you've seen the film.Technically proficient it may be, but with an almost

Iannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-52115480204473005802007-11-02T01:02:00.000Z2007-11-02T01:42:51.749Z

Released (if not reviewed) in time for Halloween - that time of year when we all try and put the willies up each other (ah yes, the old jokes are the best), Poltergay is a French horror comedy that tells the tale of a young couple, Marc and Emma, moving into an old ruin they intend to renovate, only to find it is haunted.An over-familiar theme perhaps, but one with a new slant this time around -

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-60878704611931803282007-11-01T09:41:00.000Z2007-11-01T10:09:54.994Z

Writer Larry Cohen seems to have an obsession with telephones! His last film Phone Booth featured Colin Farrell spending most of the running time of the film stuck in a phone booth talking to a terrorist who was threatening to kill him if he left the booth. What sounds like a disaster on paper (a man talking to a phone for 90 minutes??!!) turned out to be one of my favourite films of 2003, so I

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-64697758514935869992007-10-31T00:20:00.000Z2007-10-31T00:21:23.309Z

Confusion abounds over whether Flood is a genuine British film that was released theatrically, or simply a direct-to-DVD unaired TV show. What can be stated with some degree of certainty is that in New Zealand it aired as a two-part TV drama, and that if it did get a theatrical release in the UK, it's probably only because somebody got carried away with how well another TV drama (aka The Queen)

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-29126142350406588842007-10-29T05:58:00.000Z2007-10-29T06:29:49.359Z

If you're a fan of Film Noir, you'll love Kiss of Death, beautifully presented here in its original 4:3 black and white format, in a digital restoration from the British Film Institute (BFI).The film is perhaps best known for featuring actor Richard Widmark's first appearance in front of the camera. It's an astonishing debut in the role of psychotic killer Tommy Udo, a performance which rightly

Iannoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-84838207045471990222007-10-27T12:51:00.000+01:002007-10-27T13:01:51.973+01:00

Tell No One seems to have captured the imagination of the British film-going public, and certainly the critics, with universally enthusiastic reviews and a Top 10 placing in the UK Box Office Top 10. Such enthusiasm probably says as much about the current state of the Hollywood thriller as it does about the quality of this French-speaking, English-subtitled film.Nevertheless, the film's success

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-25346993449718660992007-06-30T20:11:00.001+01:002007-06-30T20:11:45.130+01:00

A three month contract in Ireland means I don't have access to my home theatre system or indeed the time to publish the full reviews this blog was set up to carry. However occasional "mini reviews" are appearing over on my personal blog in the meantime.Normal service will hopefully be resumed in late September 2007 when fuller reviews will be published here to tie in with the launch of the new

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-1886426779283750312007-04-12T00:03:00.000+01:002007-04-14T14:23:22.831+01:00

As a license payer, I suppose I should be grateful that BBC Merchandising are screwing Doctor Who fans for every penny they can get. I just wish they'd spend some of the ill-gotten gains from their biggest cash cow on getting some decent scripts written. You've no doubt seen the endless variations on dalek figurines, cyber-men utensils, Doctor Who mugs, magnets, t-shirts and posters that make the

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-64369623212083042702007-04-09T09:32:00.000+01:002007-04-09T10:50:34.557+01:00

The Devil's Backbone is the earlier 'brother' movie to writer/director Guillermo del Toro's triumphant Pan's Labyrinth which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film earlier this year, and which I reviewed here.Like its 'sister' movie, The Devil's Backbone is set in the time of the Spanish Civil War and can loosely be termed a 'horror' movie, albeit one with such

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-68070640008149581232007-04-07T07:27:00.000+01:002007-04-07T07:36:07.978+01:00

Cronos is Mexican director Guillermo del Torro's take on the Dracula legend, given a very different setting from that which you might expect, and with very much an 'art house' feel.The budget may be low, but the ideas and the director's imagination aren't, despite this being his first film, and the end results give a refreshingly different take on the whole legend of eternal life sustained

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-74615279204071313882007-04-05T07:24:00.000+01:002007-04-05T07:42:44.569+01:00

Anybody who's had the misfortune to have to sit through a TV chat show interview with Bruce Willis knows that the man appears to have had a serious personality bypass. Getting him to volunteer any information is like pulling teeth, and in real life he appears to have all the charisma of a plank of wood.So it seems bizarre to say the least to have him heading up the cast in a CGI 'toon. Voice

Iannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-38571703851169683262007-04-02T06:59:00.000+01:002007-04-02T07:02:24.036+01:00

I think I must be reading the wrong critics. According to the sleeve on the Flushed Away DVD, officially released in stores today, the film was "one of the year's best-reviewed films".My recollection of the reviews published at the time of the film's theatrical release is that critics were generally unimpressed by Aardman's first foray into CGI work, with the broad concensus being that this was

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-83945015284446368672007-04-01T08:06:00.000+01:002007-04-01T08:27:59.492+01:00

Filmed mainly in black and white to recreate the atmosphere of 1950's New York, The Notorious Bettie Page tells the real life story of the woman who was 'the pin-up sensation that shocked a nation'.Directed and co-written by Mary Harron who, aside from the wonderful American Psycho has worked mainly on television shows, the stylishly shot film received very luke-warm reviews on theatrical release

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-69063407827842643472007-03-31T08:59:00.000+01:002007-03-31T09:42:15.968+01:00

The Verdict is the fourteenth title in Fox's Cinema Reserve series, and their second Paul Newman title, the first being The Hustler, which I reviewed back in September last year.As with the previous titles, this Cinema Reserve edition is purported to be the best available version. It arrives as a two-disc edition featuring a reasonable number of extra's, packaged in a solid, plastic-inlayed tin

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-11054440817473699192007-03-30T07:11:00.001+01:002007-03-30T07:11:36.869+01:00

If The Page Turner were a book then its makers would have to change the title to avoid action from the Advertising Standards Authority. I like a good Hitchcock-ian thriller as much as the next man, and subtitles are always preferable to a badly-dubbed foreign sound-track, but this French attempt at a pyschological thriller disappoints on so many levels, it's hard to come away feeling less than

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-55496959167715247822007-03-29T08:49:00.000+01:002007-03-29T09:20:53.562+01:00

Most critics seem to be in general agreement that the first series of Extras, the sitcom from Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, wasn't in the same league as the pair's previous show, The Office. Given the uniqueness and excellence of that show, how could it be?Extras is set in the world of show business and the first six shows seemed to rely too much on the fame of the celebrities that featured

Iannoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-35304602344006916412007-03-28T07:07:00.000+01:002007-03-28T07:08:17.890+01:00

There are only a small handful of directors who I make a point of keeping an eye out for, just as there are only a few actors I follow because they can turn even the lamest script into something worth seeing.Christopher Nolan is one such director, and Christian Bale is one such actor. So when the two work together, as they have done on The Prestige, it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that the

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-47828473653263515272007-03-26T06:58:00.000+01:002007-03-26T06:59:51.787+01:00

"The pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle. No, The pellet with the poison's in the flagon with the dragon. The chalice from the palace has the brew that is true.".Brian Sibley's quoting of some rhyme from The Court Jester, just a few weeks ago, drew a complete blank from me, so it seems very fortuitous that a new DVD release of a 'classic' film I've never seen should become

Iannoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-3812432189286970672007-03-25T16:46:00.000+01:002007-03-25T17:01:04.361+01:00

Morgan Spurlock's got a lot to answer for! His Super Size Me film, which looked at the junk food industry, set in motion a whole set of theatrical releases of documentary films which would previously have been consigned to a 30 minute slot on Horizon, Newsnight or some other current affairs programme.I'd hoped the whole obsession with 'green' documentaries had reached its final nadir with Al

Iannoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-76256938631674959082007-03-18T10:33:00.000Z2007-03-18T10:34:16.490Z

In November last year I saw a special preview of Pan's Labyrinth at the NFT, and now here it is on DVD, just a week after losing out on the 'Best Foreign Film' title at the Oscars. Personally I never thought it should have been entered into that category anyway - it should have been nominated for 'Best Film', period.One of my favourite films of the last twelve months, it has been interesting to

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-71173223778210040542007-03-17T12:23:00.000Z2007-03-17T12:52:00.986Z

Edward Norton is always an actor worth watching in my view. He's one of those rare Hollywood actors who seems to choose quality (or at least 'quirky') over quantity when selecting his film roles.The trailer for Down in the Valley is an intriguing one too, albeit touching on subject matter that seems to have already been covered in last year's The King. So this was on my 'Must See' radar very

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-3389523903462322262007-03-16T06:49:00.000Z2007-03-16T06:50:21.446Z

If you haven't heard of The Queen you must have been hiding under a rock for the last few months.Seemingly our only hope at this year's oscars, the film's star, Dame Helen Mirren seems to have won every 'Best Actress' gong going, for her performance here as our Royal Ruler.Following a worrying trend that started with Pierrepoint, the film represents yet another 'made for TV' drama that, at the

Iannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-10070522495038089092007-03-12T07:00:00.000Z2007-03-12T07:01:22.109Z

The first thing that needs to be said right upfront is that the picture sleeve used to promote this DVD release is one of the most misleading I've ever seen!If you've read the synopsis of the film, describing the story as being about a tough 'cholo' with a troubled past, eyeballed the Sundance Festival awards, and noted the attitude displayed on the cover you're probably expecting a dark, gritty,

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-11291545142602267312007-03-11T13:41:00.000Z2007-03-11T15:09:39.238Z

Comedy films and I don't generally get on. Hollywood's definition of comedy seems to require hiring loud, obnoxious, over-gurning stereotypes to perform very bad slap-stick rather than go to all the bother of writing something that's funny, like an actual joke. Anybody who's seen anything with Jack Black, Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller or the coterie of usual Saturday Night Live American TV show

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-58311056488536784892007-03-10T17:12:00.000Z2007-03-10T18:07:35.394Z

The History Boys was an extremely successful, and critically acclaimed, West End play, written by Alan Bennett, which has subsequently gone on to have similar success on Broadway. Its origins as a successful theatrical piece are both its biggest strength and its biggest weakness.Taking a popular piece of theatre, complete with original cast and theatre director, and transplanting them into the

Iannoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-35839269720900204172007-03-03T09:04:00.000Z2007-03-03T09:25:53.595Z

Francois Truffaut followed his highly successful debut, The 400 Blows, with Shoot the Pianist (Tirez sur le pianiste) (titled Shoot the Piano Player in the States), a very different film from its predecessor. Unfortunately the film was not popular with the general public and under-performed at the box office. Nearly fifty years later many critics regards it as an under-rated masterpiece, and it

Iannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-89608145955829638052007-03-02T20:03:00.000Z2007-03-02T20:17:40.088Z

Tomorrow night (Saturday) sees Channel 4 doing one of their 50 Greatest marathons, this time about drama series (thanks to ThoughtWad for the early heads up), and if American HBO TV drama Oz isn't in the Top 5 then the blame lies firmly at Channel 4's door. Their ridiculous screening schedule, which broadcast this ground-breaking series in the graveyard slot, meant that this series never got the

Iannoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-19959656186929048342007-02-25T15:30:00.000Z2007-02-26T00:24:42.131Z

About an hour into Red Road I was ready to dismiss it as yet another of those tiresome 'art house' clichéd movies. You know the sort: the critics wet their pants over them but Joe Public look at them and go "Anybody with a movie camera could have made that! No story. No action. Wobbly camera with out-of-focus shots. What crap!". The film follows the established 'indie' formula so much it's

Iannoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-37462219877124458862007-02-24T19:28:00.000Z2007-02-24T19:54:37.978Z

This week sees the release of the second batch of six films from French director Francois Truffaut, the first batch of six having been released in September last year. Bizarrely, I have only ever seen Les Quatre Cents Coups (The 400 Blows) so now seems as good a time as any to review the films in chronological sequence, with this blog mini-review posting being the first of twelve that will appear

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-18025558917878950862007-02-24T16:52:00.000Z2007-02-24T17:10:44.948Z

Josh Hartnett seems to get a lot of flack for being too bland, too dull, too boring to play the role of Hollywood leading man. It seems not too many people are interested in seeing a male version of Gwyneth Paltrow perform, and most of the films he's starred in appear to have under-performed as a result.The Black Dahlia seems to be another of those films, although this time around the role plays

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-4998624766917321512007-02-23T20:01:00.000Z2007-02-23T20:12:50.300Z

Alzheimer's disease, incest, death, murder and rape hardly sound like the subject matter for a 'feel good' optimistic movie, but then we are talking Pedro Almodovar here!Almadovar, who wrote and directed the screenplay for Volver, gives us an enchanting tale about a family of strong women, all battling with demons of different guises. It is at times sad, funny and intensely moving, but it's the

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-57426408917562208022007-02-20T18:08:00.000Z2007-02-20T18:11:08.773Z

Hollywoodland gets a Region 2 release on 19th March, but is already availabe as an import on HD-DVD. You can read my review of the HD-DVD over on my HD-DVD Review blog.

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-78618287947319854022007-02-16T23:10:00.000Z2007-02-16T23:35:09.431Z

Tuesday's free morning commuter newspaper, Metro, carried a review of John Tucker Must Die which I reviewed on DVD last week. Awarding it a lowly one star, the paper's reviewer dismissed it as unbelievable, unrealistic, juvenile tripe. The review might have carried more weight if the same issue hadn't also carried a review of The Devil Wears Prada, an equally unbelievable, unrealistic, juvenile

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-78459803701808512022007-02-12T19:04:00.000Z2007-02-11T22:38:40.530Z

From the sublime to the ridiculous: after reviewing DVDs about mental illness (Keane) and autism (Snow Cake) comes John Tucker Must Die, a teen-oriented flick with a lead actor known only for a mostly non-speaking part as 'hunky gardener' on the ridiculously over-the-top TV soap Desperate Housewives. Can Hollywood 'cash in and cash up' films get much worse than this?Well actually, Yes! Given the

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-27020211719948937372007-02-11T22:19:00.000Z2007-02-11T16:46:35.919Z

Snow Cake is one of those little gems you stumble on all too rarely. It's an old-fashioned tale of ordinary folk coping with difficult circumstances, and overcoming adversity. In other circumstances, and with a cast of this calibre, this would be a shoo-in for a BAFTA or an oscar, but presumably the low budget, the international cast and the lack of funds to play the political games required,

Iannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-8890887889064017622007-02-11T16:42:00.000Z2007-02-11T09:56:04.391Z

Miami Vice starring Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx was released for the first time on DVD at the end of last year (27th November). You can read my review of the HD-DVD version, which was released a couple of weeks ago over on my HD-DVD Review blog.

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-81655917956214520842007-02-11T09:35:00.000Z2007-02-11T09:46:59.367Z

There is something incredibly depressing about the fact that this film took more than a year to eventually surface in American cinemas and another year after that before it was able to secure a theatrical release in the UK (which it did - not that you'd have noticed - right at the tail end of 2006). Despite universally favourable reviews, and Stephen Soderbergh's name the box office figures show

Iannoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-29831079182157506042007-02-11T08:56:00.000Z2007-02-10T12:44:55.382Z

The Wicker Man remake, starring Nicolas Cage was released for the first time on DVD on 22nd January. You can read my review of the HD-DVD version over on my HD-DVD Review blog.

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-52898658089817963322007-02-10T12:37:00.000Z2007-02-09T19:10:19.067Z

The DVD of Tideland features an (optional) short introduction from the film's director, Terry Gilliam which prepares the potential viewer, and also readers of this blog for what is to follow:"Hello! I'm Terry Gilliam and I've a confession to make: Many of you are not going to like this film! Many of you, luckily, are going to love it. And then there are many of you who are not going to know what

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-52398593629523937312007-01-28T19:14:00.000Z2007-01-28T19:28:43.837Z

In August 2005 I was in Paris with extended family (mother, brother, sister and respective partners) to celebrate my mother's 70th birthday. Paris is quiet during August because all the locals vacate the city for their annual holiday. Walking along the Seine we were surprised to see a large crane and film crew, pretty much ignored by the few members of the public around. The crane was holding a

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-58872970277794279112007-01-28T14:26:00.000Z2007-01-28T14:35:40.232Z

Every once in a while a life-affirming little gem of a film will come along, breaking all the conventional rules of story-telling, and somehow breaking out of its indie/art house low-budget beginnings to become a genuine mainstream hit. Little Miss Sunshine is just such a movie, and it's encouraging to see its 'surprise' nomination for an oscar in the same week that sees its release onto DVD in

Iannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-28805346099202049082007-01-27T11:53:00.000Z2007-01-27T12:14:18.306Z

When you see as many movies a week as I do, you're constantly on the lookout for good films that don't just follow the usual, tired formulae. Too many films are either totally predictable 'feel good' or 'action' Hollywood copycat fare or 'worthy but dull' European efforts that can become rather TOO turgid in their attempts to win 'art house' or 'truly indie' classifications (For a perfect example

Iannoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-5757889053989235992007-01-21T09:50:00.000Z2007-01-21T10:05:43.247Z

Right at Your Door should, based on all the British reviews ( which were extremely favourable), have been right up my street: A small independent film with solid acting, a very small cast, and subject matter to make you think. Unfortunately the film is lacking one key ingredient: credibility. Too often one is taken out of the movie because of the ridiculousness of things that happen, with the '

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-81508206202009965912007-01-20T19:49:00.000Z2007-01-20T19:52:59.982Z

Thank you for Smoking might appear, on the surface, to be a film satirising the smoking industry, but the reality is it's a witty and intelligent take on the art of 'spin'. It's not going to win any Academy Awards, but it's certainly one of the highlight releases of last year. Rarely are 'comedy' films as well-written, well-acted and well-directed as this.Aaron Eckhart plays tobacco lobbyist Nick

Iannoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-28029196451281662572007-01-20T19:04:00.000Z2007-01-20T19:13:16.847Z

One of the highlights of my first San Diego Comic Con convention attendance, back in 2002, was accidentally catching a Q & A session with writer/director Kevin Smith. The potty-mouthed Smith had a captive audience of some 6000 Lord of the Rings geeks waiting for a New Line Q&A eating out of the palm of his hand. I remember having chronic stomach pain from having laughed so hard.Three years ago a

Iannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-62330964328772452422007-01-13T16:16:00.000Z2007-01-13T16:20:02.262Z

Lady in the Water hits the UK stores on DVD this coming Monday. You can read a review of the American HD-DVD release of this film over on my HD-DVD blog. The transfer used, and the extra's supplied, are apparently identical on the two different formats.

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-1899133461792188442007-01-13T16:11:00.000Z2007-01-13T16:13:20.920Z

While we British turn out endless 'assume the audience is pig-shit thick' drama like Torchwood or (God forbid) Robin Hood, the Americans continue to trounce us with one series after another of well-written, well-acted drama that wouldn't look out of place in the cinema. Admittedly the Americans may adhere rather too formulaically to whatever is deemed to currently be the 'flavour du jour' when it

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-63673186282700092392007-01-07T23:04:00.000Z2007-01-07T23:25:36.254Z

Just over a week ago, in my mini-review of Driving Lessons, I was bemoaning the state of the British Film Industry. What I was forgetting of course, is that although we make an awful lot of lazy, predictable and old-fashioned rom-coms, there is one genre we seem to excel at. And that genre is horror, especially when it's mixed with comedy.28 Days Later and Shaun of the Dead are both highly

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-72303923979030927412007-01-07T12:51:00.000Z2007-01-07T13:41:08.705Z

Sometimes I think the world's gone mad! And no, I'm not referring to the environmental disaster that's manifesting itself all around us, and manifesting itself to such an extent that at some point even George Bush is going to have to pull his head out of the sand.I'm referring to the rave reviews and plaudits Al 'I'm the man who used to be the next president of the United States' Gore's An

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-86364822986388534402007-01-06T17:26:00.000Z2007-01-06T17:31:38.575Z

Forbidden Planet, having already been released on special edition DVD and HD-DVD in the States, is scheduled for the same Special Edition treatment on a UK Region 2 release later this year. No firm date as yet, but the UK release is likely to mirror the US one and you can read my review of the Forbidden Planet HD-DVD release over on my HD-DVD blog.

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-77991310511599386992007-01-06T13:18:00.000Z2007-01-06T13:22:22.103Z

There's a review of the HD-DVD release of Derailed over on my separate HD-DVD Review Blog. The standard Region 2 DVD version of this title was made available on 19th June 2006, and can currently be found online at the bargain price of £6.89.

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-86928195652370855892007-01-01T16:31:00.000Z2007-01-01T16:37:19.262Z

I'm splitting my HD-DVD (High Definition DVD) mini-reviews out into their own blog, although most of the comments made will apply equally to the standard DVD release.World Trade Center gets released on UK DVD on the 29th January, but you can read my review of World Trade Center on HD-DVD over at my new HD-DVD Review Blog.

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-6123665096327779492006-12-31T15:06:00.000Z2006-12-31T15:15:29.880Z

One wonders if we'd have any kind of British film industry at all if it weren't for Richard Curtiss. I don't think he had specific involvement with Driving Lessons, a film based for the most part on the real life relationship between Dame Peggy Ashcroft and a young man who answered a job ad to help her, but the whole thing reeks of the sort of film that would normally have Hugh Grant grinning

Iannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-64838142016468711572006-12-31T09:52:00.000Z2006-12-31T10:47:05.078Z

Ma Vrai Vie a Rouen (also known as Ma Vie or My Life on Ice) is a touching, if rather low budget and parochial, teenage coming-of-age story.It's also, in part, a gay 'coming out' story, albeit a very subtle one that only really reveals itself in the last few minutes. Unfortunately Paradise Peccadillo have done their usual 'marketing for gays' job on the DVD sleeve and given it the kind of

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-77700408563396217822006-12-30T18:44:00.000Z2006-12-30T18:53:35.516Z

Crank is not so much a movie, as an 80 minute MTV video, with all the style and substance which that implies. If you want something thought-provoking and stimulating you've come to the wrong place. If you're happy with a fast-paced piece of nonsense that features endless effect shots, slow/fast motion cuts, loud metal music and a basic plot that is very silly indeed then Crank will be right up

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-29980454956951310642006-12-30T09:27:00.000Z2006-12-30T09:38:21.422Z

Prior to its theatrical release Snakes on a Plane received a mass of 'free' internet publicity and hype, thanks mainly to the more juvenile 'movie blog' sites getting carried away by a simple title! The rationale of these sites went like this: "It's got snakes. On a plane. That MUST be good!"Well forgive me for having more than a couple of brain-cells, but since when has the title of a film been

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-5195427434164840682006-12-29T16:33:00.000Z2006-12-29T16:43:31.886Z

Tora! Tora! Tora!, a docu-drama telling the story of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, was not well received in America on its original release. Most pointed the finger of failure at its attempt to be historically accurate, portraying both sides of the story fairly, resulting in a film that was too long, too dull, and too documentary-like in its approach. 'Tora-ble! Tora-ble! Tora-ble'

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-75568873678023193022006-12-29T01:05:00.000Z2006-12-29T01:19:09.177Z

After the worldwide phenomenon that was Lost Season 1, things seem to have cooled down considerably for Season 2. Viewing figures are down, both here and abroad, and endless critical reviews during the terrestrial transmission of this second series have almost consistently complained that the series is suffering from the same problems The X-Files suffered from when the creative well ran dry round

Iannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-36159541215124087802006-12-28T20:57:00.000Z2006-12-28T21:06:53.277Z

2006 hasn't been a good year for CGI animations. The film companies have recognised that whilst expensive to produce any CGI 'toon is pretty much guaranteed to turn in a hefty profit. There is a seemingly insatiable appetite from the public for something to take the kids to, regardless of the quality of what that something might be. So this year we've been deluged by CGI variations on a theme,

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-19319911564194910542006-12-28T11:49:00.000Z2006-12-28T12:03:57.864Z

It seems to me that there's something slightly desperate about a DVD release that has to put a big 'Featuring the voice of Daniel Craig' sticker on the front as its main selling point, presumably in an attempt to gain something from all the hype around the new James Bond movie.Renaissance is a French film that's unfortunately had its original French soundtrack removed (Amazon France has an HD-DVD

Iannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-7460562244718151222006-12-27T06:35:00.001Z2006-12-27T06:37:32.742Z

On paper My Super Ex-Girlfriend looks like a wonderful, original and inventive variation on the rom-com (romantic comedy) theme. Tradition dictates that when you make a rom-com you stick rigidly to a well-proven formula that goes something like this: Girl loves boy and boy loves girl but hasn't realised it yet. Seemingly insurmountable obstacles get placed in boy and girl's way, with most of the

Iannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-5833891294393369272006-12-10T17:01:00.000Z2006-12-10T17:10:28.135Z

Son Frére, nominated for a couple of European Film awards 2003, was released on DVD in 2004, but I've only just caught up with the film, and I'm reviewing it now because it's available at a bargain basement price at some of the online stores.The film synopsis explains that this is a story of two brothers Luc and Thomas. Luc is gay and in a relationship and has not spoken to his brother Thomas,

Iannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-23946232372578883842006-12-10T14:34:00.000Z2006-12-10T14:53:38.492Z

I should point out, right from the start, that there are many, many film critics who've given this film a full five star review. Many have called it a masterpiece. Some have gone so far as to call it the 'most terrifying film ever made' or even 'the best British film ever!' I beg to differ!'What's brilliant about this film', the critical cognoscenti tell us, 'is that it's all explained in the

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-14426528769247954902006-11-30T21:59:00.000Z2006-11-30T22:06:30.863Z

With Christmas looming, there's a sudden plethora of 'interactive DVD quizzes', and with Barry Norman as host, what could be better than a DVD that tests you on your film knowledge?A hell of a lot, as it happens. A paper quiz is cheap and easy to produce, and you might expect an interactive DVD version to make some sort of use of the medium it's presented on. Alas, not! What you're paying for is

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-16951961384529890462006-11-30T21:26:00.000Z2006-11-30T21:36:25.034Z

There seems little point in reviewing Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest since the box office takings are so ridiculously large (over a billion!) that there can't be many people on the planet who haven't already seen it. The makers are already talking about making two more movies after the third gets released next year, having previously insisted there would be no more. Money is

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-50929434882563825752006-11-29T10:44:00.000Z2006-11-29T12:24:20.614Z

I have a weak spot for The Pet Shop Boys. They're probably the only group who will still have me out on a Monday trying to buy up every variant of whatever song/album they've got out at the moment - a habit that someone coming up to their 50th birthday really should have kicked by now.Not that I'm totally blinkered as to their talent. Too many rave reviews from 'luvvie' friends in the media who

Iannoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-57856719295929201052006-11-26T13:48:00.000Z2006-11-27T20:44:53.817Z

If you're one of those Brits who think that Germans have no sense of humour, then think again because if Balls is anything to go by, they know how to provide plenty of laughs.Balls tells the story of a struggling football team whose goal-keeper Ecki suffers a double humiliation on the final match of the season - a cheating opponent gets a penalty that loses Ecki's team a much sought-after trophy,

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-51656987472883078322006-11-26T09:26:00.001Z2006-11-26T09:27:58.828Z

It's seemed that up to now Pixar could do no wrong. In a world that's become increasingly saturated with rather formulaic CGI 'toons' the studio has managed to maintain a quality bar that's way above the level of their competitors. The company's latest offering, Cars - coming on the back of Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and the Toy Story movies - has, however, received some criticisms on its

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-81479311966709232072006-11-25T18:58:00.000Z2006-11-25T19:32:56.667Z

It's not often I come across a review that makes me REALLY angry, but Empire's review of Joyeux Noel in the January 2007 issue that's about to go on sale is one of them. KB informs Empire's readers that by the end of the film you'll be "willing them [the characters] to die just so this po-faced schlock will stop". Well sorry, 'KB', but you're wrong, as a simple glance at the public's reviews at

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-75694808799085120802006-11-25T11:47:00.000Z2006-11-25T18:15:34.600Z

Parasol Peccadillo specialise in quality world cinema releases, and have a particularly strong reputation for releasing gay-oriented 'art house' movies on DVD, so you could be forgiven for assuming this is another 'of interest to gays only' release, an assumption encouraged by the rather silly homo-erotic cover sleeve that totally misrepresents the film in this viewer's opinion.Love in Thoughts

Iannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-82298184331691147462006-11-24T21:15:00.000Z2006-11-24T21:16:51.130Z

This review was originally posted on Ian's Personal Blog on 30th October 2006.Fans of Richard Attenborough's directorial debut, Oh! What a Lovely War have had to wait a long time for this fantasy-vs-reality musical to appear on DVD, apparently because of issues around obtaining the required World War I song rights.But this famous anti-war film has arrived at last - with a stunning transfer, a

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-85169177609153732822006-11-24T21:14:00.000Z2006-12-10T10:58:00.726Z

This review was originally posted on Ian's Personal Blog on 28th October 2006.Good thrillers will have you on the edge of your seat all the way through. If you're male then Hard Candy will certainly have you doing that, but probably with your legs tightly crossed at the same time!The 'gimmick' (as the producer calls it) is the story of predator and prey, and the tables being turned. Jeff, a

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-86765772368647677842006-11-24T21:13:00.000Z2006-11-24T21:14:19.523Z

This review was originally posted on Ian's Personal Blog on 27th October 2006.Any film starring Cate Blanchett is usually pretty much guaranteed to be a must-see, and with five Australian Film Awards behind it, and a pretty enthusiastic rating on the critics round-up site Rotten Tomatoes, Little Fish seemed like a sure-fire hit.There's just one fly in the ointment - the British press were

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-25899109426469354852006-11-24T21:12:00.000Z2006-11-24T21:13:07.397Z

This review was originally posted on Ian's Personal Blog on 23rd October 2006.Event Horizon rates as one of the most frustrating films I've ever seen. Everything that happens in the first hour is so right. Everything that happens in the last half hour is so wrong. Ultimately it's a film with a lot of style (mostly borrowed from The Shining and Alien, it must be admitted) but no substance.The

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-14802797610762330442006-11-22T22:48:00.000Z2006-11-24T21:11:29.201Z

This review was originally posted on Ian's Personal Blog on 22nd October 2006.I should say right off the bat that although I own the DVD of the first Ice Age movie, it's one of the few DVDs where five minutes in I just ejected it, deciding it really wasn't my cup of tea. Nothing seemed to be happening and the animation just didn't seem up to scratch.This time around I stayed to the end.The film

Iannoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-25835514417523886222006-11-22T22:42:00.000Z2006-11-22T22:47:12.214Z

This review was originally posted on Ian's Personal Blog on 15th October 2006.The term 'B-movie' is often used to describe a film that isn't really up-to-standard, but when applied to some of the classic science-fiction or horror movies of the past the term can be meant as a compliment, indicating a certain kind of camp sensibility, or a roller-coaster ride of a movie that isn't taking itself too

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-56761095108529436982006-11-22T22:41:00.001Z2006-11-22T22:41:58.512Z

This review was originally posted on Ian's Personal Blog on 15th October 2006.Friends who've read Dan Brown's bestseller tell me that it's a 'real page turner', but also that it's 'a very badly written' book, and since I'm not interested in reading badly written books I've managed to avoid the phenomenon that is The Da Vinci Code... until now.You'd have to have been living on Mars for the last

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-49746579773102353292006-11-22T22:36:00.001Z2006-11-22T22:36:30.679Z

This review was originally posted on Ian's Personal Blog on 14th October 2006.I've never really been a fan of Richard E Grant as an actor/celebrity, but if Wah-Wah is typical of what he can achieve as a writer/director then I'll be the first to say he's an under-estimated talent.Wah-Wah,is named after the sound the rather snobbish Brits in the film make when they talk. They form the majority of

Iannoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-27741853513676577472006-11-22T22:30:00.000Z2006-11-22T22:31:21.105Z

This review was originally posted on Ian's Personal Blog on 8th October 2006.British comedy on TV has been in a pretty dire state for quite a long time now. There's Little Britain, which started off well but then fell into the trap of week-in, week-out, repeating the same 'joke' involving tired, endlessly repeated catch phrases. The Office was an intelligent, cerebral comedy. And Extra's seems to

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-47966739124171078162006-11-22T22:29:00.000Z2006-11-22T22:30:20.987Z

This review was originally posted on Ian's Personal Blog on 8th October 2006.Whenever Hollywood decides to remake a film already regarded as a classic the inevitable response is 'Why?!', followed by a general critical mauling in the press. Poseidon, a remake of 1972's The Poseidon Adventure, is no different, as evidenced by the appallingly low 'Rotten Tomatoes' critics rating shown on the

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-63201036267453422542006-11-22T22:26:00.000Z2006-11-22T22:29:16.216Z

This review was originally posted on Ian's Personal Blog on 7th October 2006.The Lake House doesn't fall into a genre I really appreciate: for some reason most rom-coms or 'chick flicks' just leave me stone cold. So I was pleasantly surprised that the film held my attention throughout, and although I wouldn't say it's a film I'd particularly want to see again, it's nowhere near as bad as some of

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-91044747449689388822006-11-20T22:52:00.000Z2006-11-20T22:53:18.439Z

This review was originally posted on Ian's Personal Blog on 2nd October 2006.We've had a spate of 9/11 documentaries on TV lately, and with World Trade Center hitting cinema's this week, there will probably be more to follow too. But it's hard to imagine anything equalling the powerful, harrowing United 93, released on DVD this week.I approached this with some cynicism. We all know how the story

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-21916649121861583732006-11-20T22:51:00.000Z2006-11-20T22:52:18.547Z

This review was originally posted on Ian's Personal Blog on 1st October 2006.X-Men: The Last Stand is the third film in the X-Men franchise - and the first that I didn't bother going to the cinema to see. The troubled production shoot, caused initially by original director Brian Singer's decision to move on to make Superman Returns instead, quickly followed by the 'leaving for personal reasons'

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-88796480467565450612006-11-20T22:50:00.001Z2006-11-20T22:50:50.802Z

This review was originally posted on Ian's Personal Blog on 30th September 2006.I'm not sure if P.S. was ever released in UK cinemas. British stockists have this film listed as a 2006 release, but I don't recall it being reviewed, and other sources (imdb and film festival awards) indicate it was actually released in 2004.The truth is that, despite starring the rarely-less-than-brilliant Laura

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-5138145627854467662006-11-20T22:49:00.000Z2006-11-20T22:50:06.649Z

This review was originally posted on Ian's Personal Blog on 24th September 2006.The King, released on DVD tomorrow, is a tale of revenge and retribution starring William Hurt as a born-again preacher who's found contentment and is 'The King' of his castle, and Mexican heart-throb Gael Garcia Bernal as his returning prodigal, but unknown, son. Bernal was last seen in The Motorcycle Diaries, but he

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-78960242824103147332006-11-20T22:48:00.000Z2006-11-20T22:49:06.824Z

This review was originally posted on Ian's Personal Blog on 23rd September 2006.The Cave of the Yellow Dog, winner of the Palm d'Or at Cannes last year, has 'art house' written all over it. The few sentences on the jacket describing the story turn out to not be a summary, but the entire plot. If you like strong narrative, brilliant acting, or MTV-paced editing then this isn't a film for you.The

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-27264020628479894122006-11-20T22:47:00.000Z2006-11-20T22:48:12.620Z

This review was originally posted on Ian's Personal Blog on 22nd September 2006.This week saw the first release on DVD of four films from actor/director Max Ophuls. Having never seen any of this critically acclaimed director's work, I decided to tip my toe in the water with Letter from an Unknown Woman.The film is set in Vienna around 1900 and opens with a dashing young man, Stefan, preparing to

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-36877203660184512882006-11-20T22:46:00.000Z2006-11-20T22:47:12.362Z

This review was originally posted on Ian's Personal Blog on 21st September 2006.Two heavyweights of French cinema, Daniel Auteuil and Gerard Depardieu, face off in 36, a film originally released in France in 2004, but delayed for two years before reaching the UK's cinemas. One suspects the film may not have had a release at all if Hidden hadn't turned out to be a surprise mainstream success at

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-40897669413509136642006-11-20T22:45:00.000Z2006-11-20T22:46:23.945Z

This review was originally posted on Ian's Personal Blog on 19th September 2006.Time seems to move very differently in the DVD world.By way of example, take this Special 25th Anniversary Edition of The Long Good Friday which was officially released to stores yesterday. Different internet sources contradict each over whether the film was originally released in 1979 or 1980, but even if we take the

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-24452856563933708502006-11-20T21:22:00.000Z2006-11-20T22:45:18.605Z

This review was originally posted on Ian's Personal Blog on 17th September 2006.It seems like only a couple of weeks ago that my friend Brian Sibley, was enthusing about Brick on The Michael Parkinson Show on BBC Radio 2, and here it is on what looks on the surface to be a fairly lavish 2-disc DVD already!Brian's opinion of the film seemed to coincide with that of most of the press reviews I've

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-20520988954777743082006-11-20T21:13:00.001Z2006-11-20T21:13:40.465Z

This review was originally posted on Ian's Personal Blog on 16th September 2006.I saw a lot of Paul Newman films in my late teens, but for some strange reason The Hustler wasn't one of them. So it's fortuitous that Fox have released it now, positively bulging with extra's, as part of their Cinema Reserve classics series.The Hustler is, according to the director's daughter who speaks on the

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-62570363009191138282006-11-20T21:10:00.000Z2006-11-20T21:12:33.459Z

This review was originally posted on Ian's Personal Blog on 16th September 2006.By a strange coincidence, the very week I started reading Taschen's book on the surreal film director Luis Bunuel two of what are considered his best movies are released on DVD (Viridiana is the subject of this mini-review, the other being Exterminating Angel).Viridiana is the first example of his work I've seen, but

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-58433355006465624192006-11-20T21:00:00.000Z2006-11-20T21:01:40.392Z

This review was originally posted on Ian's Personal Blog on 14th September 2006.Who would have thought it? A drama about politics that's actually riveting. So riveting that seven years later The West Wing is one of the few American drama's that one can't help wishing had been allowed to carry on for longer. There are a lot more stories that could be told, as evidenced by this latest batch of 22

Iannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604315749569132090.post-58446338727103357882006-11-20T20:59:00.000Z2006-11-20T21:00:29.971Z

This review was originally posted on Ian's Personal Blog on 12th September 2006.The third series of Little Britain, the BBC sketch show featuring David Walliams and Matt Lucas, shows all the problems of overly-popular BBC-commissioned comedy shows from the past - the most obvious being that it's been allowed to continue well past the point where it's actually funny.Where the first two series were

Iannoreply@blogger.com0