SIMPLY THE BEST

Gavin and Stacey is THE best new sitcom on the box...it's funny, (has me in tears) its emotional, (has me in tears), its got some cracking one liners and VERY lovable characters, it simply is bang up to the minute tele....it has to be seen, so get out there and buy the dvds if you've not seen it as it will be the best thing you do this side of Xmas!!!Enjoy!! ;o) Louise.

I want to go back to school, as a girl!

I watched this film at work (through the corner of eye of course), only, I was told to stop laughing.
The film portrays extreme, but not unrealistic conditions at a boarding school. It was tough enough! Being too young for the original versions and therefore exempt from making comparisons, I'd say the young actresses do an extremely good job here in applying rules to chaos and anarchy. Of course there are weaknesses in the film, and there are many good films to compare with, but for me they are pushed aside by the success a bold venture with high entertainment value.
Few people seem to grasp the fact that if Rupert Everett can be headmistress, YOU could be a girl pupil.

Not your usual chick flick

Having loved the novel, I was very worried to hear that so many changes were due to be made to it in this adaptation, not least the move from Ireland to America, but in the end, I was pleasantly surprised. While I would've liked to see stronger relationships developed with Holly's friends, it was at times quite entertaining and in some parts very moving.

Despite my initial annoyance towards the fact it was completely unlike the book, after accepting this as a film in it's own right, I found it well made, reasonably well acted (ignoring Butler's accent) and mildly entertaining. Good for a rainy day.

This is

Definatly heaven in a box. I don't need more of Black Books than what they have provided. I love it so much.

Strictly for the Kids

After the recent spate of films for kids which contain adult humour too, it is strangely refreshing to view one which is unadulterated small child level. It does have 'cute' value, but for many the high pitched vocals may be slightly stressful. I'm afraid I was pushed to the edge by the mice in 'Babe', and they only clocked up 3 minutes screentime - so this was deeply traumatising!!
The story is basic; fate matches up troubled, unlucky guy with singing chipmunks - fame and fortune follow - unscrupulous record exec tries to spoil the relationship.
My six year old was transfixed for most of the film, although she seemed to lose interest toward the end.
Definately a weekend film for when you want 82 minutes to youself.
The kids will LOVE it.

Funniest ITV series for a LONG time

I came to this sitcom late having missed the first showing of the series but was soon enjoying the repeat after been made aware of the show by enthusiastic friends at work. I very rarely laugh out loud while watching the TV but I think I did during almost every episode of this brilliant new comedy. As long as you like your humour rude you will love this show; I think it's worth mentioning the acting too, some brilliant performances from some very familiar faces who do justice to this very well written 6-parter. I can't wait for the 2nd series but also can't wait for the release of this, series one. Funniest ITV series in a LONG time.

Great but not stupid at all comedy

Can watch again and again and still enjoy, Hugh Grant's hips' movement is unforgettable... good songs too.. like it very much

funny funny

I really didnt expect this to be any good, I'd never heard of them or anything and half expected it to be as bad as most new comedies that come out( eg: there is an awful new comedy show with danny devito in it and some young guys that rips off curb your enthusiasm).

ANYway -

After watching one episode of flight ,I realised that this series includes perhaps one of my favourite all time comedy characters - MURRAY, the band manager. Im not too keen on the songs, they dont come across as funny as the actuall jokes and acting- but if you want a glimpse of the show, go to youtube and find some of murrays best bits. If you like the office and arrested development, you will love this show.

Buy it !

Looked Forward To But Left Disappointed

As a huge Futurama fan I was very excited to see this title. However, despite really willing this movie to improve throughout the duration, it did not. To be brutally honest it was pretty poor. The plot line does not usually worry me too much as so long as it contains the usual comic one liners, that and the characters are usually more than enough to keep me happy. Parts of the plot were completely random and the laughs too infrequent to carry this movie off, a great shame. I remain a great fan of Futurama but I cannot recommend this movie.

"Aren't you a little fat for a Stormtrooper?"

You'll probably already know that 'Blue Harvest' is the original Star Wars recast with the familiar faces of Quahog.

It begins with a subtle dig at The Simpsons. When the TV is not available Peter sits down to tell the family a story (a la Homer), declining to expand on the details of Meg's birth, Peter instead tells the story of Star Wars.

Then begins a string of gags and parodies ranging from Tom Baker's Doctor Who materialising in the swirling lights of hyperspace to Meg's brief cameo as the garbage pit monster.

It's all as funny as you'd expect from Family Guy but my one major gripe was that, at 45 minutes long, you really don't get much viewing for your money.
Nevertheless, I look forward to the promised sequel; 'Something, something, dark side.'

Disappointing

I really enjoyed the first season and tried to keep the faith whilst enduring what could at best be described as an 'ordinary' follow up season. Cassie just becomes a pain to watch, shoddy story lines and not a patch on the fantastic first helping of this potentially cult drama.

Hopefully the third season will redeem the program and this will just be a blip on a great show.

Soundtrack remains awesome.

More polished and the better for it.

I think this series is on a par with series 2 which was outstanding. It would appear they have a better budget for 3 which only adds to the show in my mind since their fantasy worlds are depicted in an even greater fashion. I never could appreciate the blue peter style of sets and costumes in series 1. I agree with one poster that this series does revolve around Noel more than Julian which is a shame since he should be way more than just a semi-side kick. Apart from that it's a fantastic experience and the most creative viewing I've seen in years.

Just pre-order it now!

The best new series to come out of the US, and a successful one too. Season Two was ordered a few weeks ago.

Without boring you, the show is funny, witty, dry, dark and magical. Wonderful is probably the best word to describe it.

Family Guy

This show still is as great as it ever was. In fact its better. I love all the new seasons and this is no exception.

Seth Macfarlane is a genius.

They couldn't even make the very first movie original

The very first Simpsons movie. It's apparently two decades in the making and many people waited desperatly for it to be released after it was announced.

So why couldn't they make the first ever big screen Simpsons as eic as it should have been?

There's some good jokes in there, but that's about all that's good about the film.
First thing is they spent too much of the movie introducing new characters instead of using old ones, Mr Burns was barely in it, Sideshow Bob and Patty and Selma not in it at all. Instead they replaced them with new characters and watsed time giving them stories. Barely any of the people from Springfield were in the film, just the Simpsons. And the Springfield people make the show.

Second, is the plots annd sub plots. Homer does something very stupid while hurting himself repeatedly, Marge has doubts about their relationship and takes some time to herself, Lisa tries to get people to care about an issue she believes in and Bart acts out.
Absolutely nothing new there then.

The last thing is the DVD. All the seasons on DVD have been packed with deleted scenes and commentaries on every episode. Creators have said about the film that they've had to cut many scenes, characters and ideas from the movie, but all the features are just a couple of deleted scenes and some commentaries.

Maybe it was hyped up so much after being on TV for so long, maybe people will just never be happy with a Simpsons movie, but still, it's just bad. Get the TV show instead.

One lst thing, Spider Pig. For some reason, people are obsessed with it and think it's hilarious and comedy gold. What's funny about changing the words from Spiderman but using the word pig? If that's comedy genius then I wonder what people are calling Fawlty Towers.

One of greatest sitcoms of all time shows further signs of age...

Season 8 is not regarded very highly, and rightly so. Whereas Seasons 1-7 (particularly the first 4 seasons) are probably as high a standard, and as consistently funny, as any comedy ever made, the loss of the dynamic between Niles and Daphne meant Season 8 lacked the spark of previous years.

So, how does Frasier recover it`s first weak season? Definitely, there are some seriously funny episodes in Season 9. "Bla-z-boy" is one of the strongest episodes of the entire run, never mind this season. The tension between Martin and Frasier is wonderful, as Frasier can`t accept the fact his longest successful relationship is the one with his father. Similar tensions are showcased in"Room Full Of Heroes", but this time it`s Niles who offends Martin. A personal favourite episode is"Wheels of Fortune", a brilliantly cast Michael Keaton as Lilith`s half-brother Blaine, who plays on Frasier`s good-natured side with the perfect scam. Watching Frasier and Niles catching a cricket that has sneaked into the apartment in"The First Temptation of Daphne" is great; as always, my favourite moments are dialogue between Grammar, Hyde-Pierce and Mahoney.

Low points - I don`t know what others think of Millicent Martin as Daphne`s mother, but I always found her incredibly annoying! And she is in too many episodes! New characters weren`t needed in Frasier, the original half-a-dozen were strong enough to carry things on...one massive exception is the superb Cam Winston! Another development that was definitely not needed was a bizarre development between Frasier and Roz in"The Guilt-Trippers". Especially when viewed retrospectively, considering Roz`s reluctance to leave Frasier`s side in Season 11, this episode comes a little out of the blue for my tastes. Like most fans, I love Roz, but she has a literally rubbish storyline throughout the series, as she dates a garbage-man. Considering that Roz would date anything in the first few series, it doesn`t quite feel right that she would be so superficial.

As always, the episodes with top-class banter between Frasier, Niles and Martin are the strongest, and there are enough to save the series. 4 stars is the bare minimum...some great episodes, but probably a few too many that seem to be filler. Better than Season 8 though!

Thin fodder

Most of the previous reviewers have stolen my thunder. This film was a disappointment. It runs out of gags 1/2 hour from the end and reverts to predictable schmaltz. The tailoring of the film for the US audience is evident from the beginning (such as everyone in London lives in large georgian houses in scenic locations and is a"character" - see 4 Weddings, Notting Hill, etc) as is the ever-present product placement (try not to spot"Nike" at least once a minute)). All in all, Simon Pegg has let himself down a little after his great earlier work.

Sheer joy! Every character is a gem.

This has become our favourite programme in our house. How refreshing, in these days of dark dramas and murder mysteries to have a comedy where people find joy in the little things of life. Rob Brydon as Bryn is hilarious and loveable as he happily navigates (or should that be sat-navigates?) his way through life, gadget by gadget, trend by trend. In Series One it was all about sat nav and digital cameras ("see that? there's no film in there!") and in series two he gets drawn into unintentional homo-erotica (semi naked workouts with Smithy, watching Brokeback Mountain). Life makes him happy and its a joy to watch. Then you have dry as a bone Ness,played by actress and co-writer Ruth Jones (Little Britain, Fat Friends, Nighty Night) my favourite character. She never cracks a smile but has lived more lives than a cat and drops in scintilating detail to deadpan effect. She drives a 6.5 ton truck, has produced news programmes for the BBC, and lives with Noel from Hearsay. In the last series, she recalls how she got married and woke up the next morning"in bed with one of Gladys Knight's Pips". As for Smithy and his unfeasibly young girlfriend ("I'm meeting her after guides to talk it through"), he oozes charisma and comedy in his almost accidental and sordid affair with Ness, now pregnant with his child. There isn't room here to list how each charcter has their own set of foibles and quirks, but not a scene is wasted and I could, and do, watch it again and again. The best comedy to emerge in decades. By the way, we often stay with friends in Barry Island and we love making up Gavin and Stacey tours (Ness's change booth, the coach stop to London). If you haven't seen it-watch it- you'll be so glad you did. Five stars from me, six if I could.

Girls on top

These four films which date from the mid 1950's to the mid 1960's and are a great collection to own. Not only do they contain some great British charactor actors - Alistair Sim, Terry Thomas, George Cole et al but they also define an era when life was very different to today. The first film is undoubtably the best, although the 2nd pushes it fairly close. The fourth is clearly the weakest.

Special mention should go the music composed by Sir Malcolm Arnold which was a sort of comic suite. Particularly memorable was Flash Harry's (George Cole) theme, a funny little Piano piece that is first played when he appears from out of the bushes in the first film. In the first film 'Flash' always appeared from the bushes, which I always thought was quite surreal. Surely flash was an inspiration for Arthur in Minder many years later.

What you get then is inspired British lunacy, which at its best is very funny and even when its not funny the films are interesting to look as they show a caricature of Britain as it was forty to fifty years ago. There are two reasons the set doesn't get five stars. Firstly, and mainly, because the fourth film is a notch below the others and secondly there are no extras in this set which is a shame.

And Then We F*****Up The Rest Of The World

'A liberal as well as a libertine, Charlie Wilson finds common cause (among other satisfactions) with Joanne Herring, a right-wing Houston socialite who loves Jesus and martinis and hates Communism. She is a splendid American contradiction, standing up for liberty and godliness while getting into bed (literally) with a bachelor congressman and (metaphorically) with President Zia (Om Puri), the military ruler of Pakistan. And, after all was said and done, Charlie says"And then we fucked up the rest of the world." AO Scott

Charlie Wilson, was an unapologetic womanizer, cocaine user, alcohol lover and all around good guy., The kind of congressman any sane person would want to avoid. Not me, if I knew my congressman was akin to Charlie Wilson I would walk on water to see that he won office again. Charlie got things done, he had heart and he loved, what is more important in this world? Tom Hanks portrays him perfectly. Joanne Herring played by Julia Roberts is the perfect foil. A lovely blond bombshell who was intelligent and wanted to make the world a better place. She said she loved the Lord and that's how she portrayed her works to the world and to the people who she was able to enlist to help her. The winner in my mind is Philip Seymour Hoffman who plays Gust Avrakotos, a C.I.A. operative. He does not care whose feet he steps on, he just gets the job done. His ability to clear the air of any fanciful misunderstandings is well worth the price of the film.

Charlie Wilson is asked by Joanne to help the Afghan's, and it is not until he visits the refugee camps that he fully understands the need. Isn't that the way it always is? He is convinced and for the next ten years he does whatever it takes to turn the first $5 million into one billion dollars. When all is said and done, however, we leave Afghanistan in a mess and of course, today we see the result to a country in chaos- the terrorists take over.

"Charlie Wilson's War is a journalistic satire of realpolitik in which our jerry-rigged alliances, which looked strategic at the time, end up biting the U.S. in unforeseen ways. Hovering over the film is the audience's realization that the Afghan war, while it hastened the downfall of the Soviet Union, created the breeding ground for an arguably more toxic threat: the jihad radicals who had nothing but hatred for the West (even as they were only too happy to use its rocket launchers). It says Charlie was right to fight his war -- if only Congress had had the will to support his reconstruction dream!" Owen Gleiberman

I loved the reality of this film- it was fun but with such a good message. Charlie Wilson is a man whom we would all want to be part of our lives. He actually gets things done in government. It took a woman to show him what was really needed, but once he got the fever he worked wholeheartedly for the Afghans. The film's ending was not to my liking, but I can over look that one error. Everyone should see this film, see what can be done when some one has a vision.

Highly recommended. prisrob 04-24-