doudouce55's TV shows > TV reviews by doudouce55

drama, comedy, social studies

Posted : 3 weeks ago on 8 November 2009 04:23 (A review of "Cranford")

The year is 1842. Cranford is a lovely small town, on the edge of modernization. Discover the lives of its residents with the arrival of the new doctor; with them, you will see their disputes, their tragedies, their loves and mostly their gossip.

This mini-series (part drama, part comedy, part social studies) produced by the BBC gives an incredible insight into the people of the time and into social history.

All actors and actresses were splendidly cast and deliver excellent performances.
The costumes, the sets, the photography - everything is of a top notch quality.

Laughter and tears guaranteed all through, and with every episode.


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injustices

Posted : 3 weeks ago on 8 November 2009 04:13 (A review of "Masterpiece Theatre: Bleak House")

Dickens wrote a (little known) masterpiece here, and it has been extremely well adapted by the BBC.
In brief, Bleak House is a tale about the injustices of the nineteenth century British legal system.

It is my opinion that Gillian Anderson is the only actress whose performance is not remarkably good. Everyone else is excellent, and puts on credible performances.
The costumes, the sets, the photography - everything is of a top notch quality.
Although the series' episodes are quite slow at first, each episode is worth watching entirely, if only to see how the story develops up to the very end.

If you enjoy period movies and television series, this should definitely be on your list to watch, if you haven't already.

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fresh and captivating

Posted : 1 month, 1 week ago on 20 October 2009 02:02 (A review of "Flashpoint")

I couldn't agree more with moonsoar's review.

I just watched this show's first season, and found it refreshingly captivating.
I also enjoy the fact that the team members can replace anyone else in the team; so you don't always get Enrico Colantoni as the negotiator (for example).
Emotions, ethics and morals play a big role here. You understand why the characters go through something illegal and unethical; and it makes you wonder what you would do in such situations...
Also true: the cast is excellent.
And this is a Canadian show... FINALLY a great Canadian show I'm proud of!

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an entertaining remake

Posted : 1 year, 6 months ago on 25 May 2008 06:46 (A review of "Bionic Woman")

Following a car accident, Will Anthros (Bowers) thanks to his surgeon capabilities and technological knowledge, does not lose his girlfriend, Jaime Sommers: instead, she wakes up to find herself with bionics in her body: her right ear, right eye, right arm, and both legs. Will she help the good guys with her fifty million dollars technology?

This is quite obviously a remake of the tv series "Bionic Woman" with Lindsay Wagner, and is in no way any better or worse than the original tv series.

The actors' performances isn't top notch quality. Michelle Ryan is not a bad actress, Lucy Bale's acting got on my nerves (she plays the 15-year-old sister who just doesn't look 15 at all), and Miguel Ferrer is basically the only reason I was interested in watching the show: he is quite good here. As was Chris Bowers, who unfortunately only had a short role that lasted 2 episodes.

It's too bad the series is an Alias wannabe. The team has Sommers and her partners travel from 1 country to the next, and it just feels like a lower quality than Alias.

Still, it's an enjoyable, entertaining series with a predictable ending for each episode. No thrills or surprises.


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too long

Posted : 1 year, 6 months ago on 25 May 2008 06:30 (A review of "Tin Man")

Loosely based on the Wizard of Oz, Tin Man has a good cast and everything to be enjoyed by the family: a fantastic magical world in which the good sister, DG, has to overpower an evil witch that took possession of her sister Azkadellia; friends (Cain aka Tin Man, Raw, Glitch, Tutor); mad men (The Mystic Man); and the bad guys of course (Zero).

However, this television mini-series in 3 parts is simply too long, 2 parts would have been just fine. It just keeps dragging on and on. The good thing is that there are no useless repetitive scenes; from 1 part to another, the writers didn't feel the need to summarize what happened previously. (Thank you!)

The acting isn't that great, but it works for most of the actors' performances.
The special effects aren't very special either; nothing worth mentioning.

Tin Man is enjoyable, but just drags on too long, which made me long forward to the ending - which was predictable of course.


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recommended viewing

Posted : 1 year, 6 months ago on 19 May 2008 07:18 (A review of The Girl in the Café)

The main actors (Bill Nighy & Kelly Macdonald) are splendid, and well cast. I enjoyed their performances, as well as the supportive actors'.
Decent cinematography for a TV movie.
A great script, with a deep political message which, unfortunately, is very true.

A decent movie recommended to all.

-- On a side note, I must thank Prelude for having recommended I see this film :) --

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way too long

Posted : 1 year, 7 months ago on 19 April 2008 06:33 (A review of Dinotopia)

Two half-brothers and their father in a plane, crash in the sea. The brothers survive and enter the world of Dinotopia, a world in which dinosaurs live with humans... David will try to become one of the Dinotopians, while Carl wants to go back to his world.

This is quite fun - at times - though I found the CGI was not that great; the acting isn't the best either; and the dinosaurs are... well... entertaining at best.

My problem with this tv movie is that it is way too long. Those five hours could easily have been crammed into a regular feature of two hours; there was just too many scenes that weren't needed.

Enjoyable for the family. Most kids would love this!


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clichéd but funny

Posted : 1 year, 11 months ago on 28 December 2007 12:06 (A review of "The Class")

This is the story of a bunch of guys and girls who meet 20 years after being in the same third grade class. Soon enough, Kyle, Richie, Ethan, Nicole, Duncan, Cat, Holly and Lina will discover what their lives have become.

Funny dialogue. Yes it is clichéd and predictable, but so what? It's funny at least, unlike so many other sitcoms out there.
It's well done and I find the actors are performing rather well.

An underrated tv show.
Excellent material.


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excellent but long

Posted : 2 years, 1 month ago on 28 October 2007 09:11 (A review of Band of Brothers)

"Band of Brothers", an HBO mini-series, follows the Easy Company from their training in England, through D-Day. Its members also go through the rest of France, Holland, Germany and Austria.
Ten episodes make up the mini-series, and each starts with commentaries from the original troopers.

Excellent cast. Even David Schwimmer, an unlikable character right from the start, demonstrated his ability to act tough in this role.
Extremely well directed. Scenes are vivid and quite realistic.
Superb art direction and cinematography.

Although I found some episodes quite lengthy, this is *the* series I highly recommend to anyone, on the subject of World War II. (And I usually don't like war movies/series!)


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Naturally annoying

Posted : 2 years, 2 months ago on 9 September 2007 05:19 (A review of "Supernatural")

Two brothers, Sam and Dean (Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles respectively), search for their father, who left on a demon-hunting trip and has been missing for a few days. All through the first season, the two brothers kill off demons, face ghosts and hear horrific legends, while on the trail of their father and the demon that killed their mother and Sam's girlfriend Jessica.

While I agree with Jessica's review, I unfortunately found the show very repetitive. How many times can they kill off demons and ghosts and supernatural beings? I know that's what the show is about, but frankly, there was no originality in any episodes after the first lot.

As for the acting: Yes, Jared Padalecki got on my nerves too. But both characters are, to be honest, obnoxious.

Did I just read there is a second season? That's surprising, considering the first season finale - which I just saw on dvd. I certainly didn't expect another season with *that* ending. In any case, I am not desperate to watch the second season.

Don't misunderstand me; this is an enjoyable show - if you can get past the obnoxious characters, and unoriginal scenarios.


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