Tag: British comedy

Ghosts UK

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https://www.thepennmoviegoer.com/

Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Starring: Charlotte Ritchie, Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Lolly Adefope, Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard, Ben Willbond, Katy Wix
Where to watch: BBC/Prime Video
To watch or not to watch: Of course it is a must watch! Why is that even a question!?

Alison (Charlotte Ritchie) and Mike (Kiell Smith-Bynoe) are an average couple looking for a new place to move into. As luck would have it, Alison’s distant relative passes away, and Alison being the only living relative left, she inherits an estate manor. Of course it seems like lady luck has finally shone her light on the couple and their life can finally take off, but no no, not so soon. There are a (couple of) group(s) of ghosts living their best afterlife in that manor who would rather the manor be left to themselves. In this pursuit, they try to push Alison from a first storey window (and this works only in this series) and she wakes up with the ability to see and hear the ghosts as if they were a real people! Ooo! Excitement galore! Now Alison’s life has been changed forever. Since that land has been on earth since life began, there are ghosts from neolithic, regency, World War, etc time periods. We also have a Tory MP who dies in questionable circumstances and is destined to die out the rest of his death without trousers. We also have an Edwardian era royalty who was beheaded and is constantly losing his body. And wait, there are a bunch of ghosts living in the basement from the time they lost their lives to the plague, but then we can ignore them.

This series is super cool and funny. It moves and evolves along with the characters, and the said characters have depth, width and everything in between. We have a closeted war colonel, an enlightened milkmaid, and a politician who missed the birth of his child because he was busy cheating on his wife. This is handled with finesse, calling a spade a spade, but still maintaining a levity throughout. There is never a dull moment in the series, if it is not the fantastical money making schemes of the married couple, it is the opportunistic neighbour who adds excitement. There is also exploration of the themes of death and life. And it is this charm which wins the heart of Alison and the viewers too.

This series, like The Office, has been adapted into a US, German, French and Greek version too, with Australian production on the way. It is a good story, and comparing it with the American version, it is a tighter script with 5 seasons and 6 episodes each. It keeps the story rolling and viewer invested, and left wanting more. The actors and humour are also quintessentially British, without annoying pauses for laughter tracks. It can also be classified as absurd situational comedy. A must watch, and ensure it is the UK version.

Wicked Little Letters

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https://www.primevideo.com/

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Jesse Buckley, Olivia Colman, Timothy Spall, Anjana Vasan
Where to watch: Prime Video
To watch or not to watch: It is a funny movie starring some of the best actors telling a story on a deep subject. Why not to watch!

The movie is based in 1920 England, where a lonely, devout spinster Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) lives with her overbearing father and gentle mother, next door to a single, Irish immigrant mother Rose Gooding (Jesse Buckley). Not only is Rose a single mother, but she is also living in sin with her partner Bill, swears like a sailor, and has a jolly good time at the pub with the other patrons, all actions not approved by the tight laced Edith. But Edith has another problem, she has been receiving poison pen letter, filled with profanity, which disturb her parents to no end, that too 19 in total! And not just Edith, the who’s-who of the village have had something vile said about them! The nerve! Who could have done such an evil trick, and who has such a potty-mouth? Why, Rose of course, with her new age ideas and little regard to propriety, she is the right suspect for this deed which has troubled the good Christians no end. Rose is thus arrested and having no money for bail, has to spend time in jail, more now that Edith’s poor mother died of a heart attack upon reading one such letter. There is also Gladys (Anjana Vasan) who is assigned this case, pays little attention to this claiming there is more serious crime to be investigated – and rightly so, she is very good at her job, but her misogynistic boss doesn’t recognise her talent. That is, until she decides to give this quickly spiralling case her full attention.

The premise of the movie is hilarious and the execution even more so. Anything which has either Colman or Buckley is a treat in itself and this one has them both. Add to this mix Vasan (of We Are Ladyparts fame) and you get a cherry on your cake you did not know you needed. This movie has some fantastic dialogue writing and a bit of on-time slapstick comedy which makes it an ideal viewing pleasure. The movie touches on a topic, or rather, a side to human nature we all know and talk about but has never given the center stage or a de-facto position it deserves. And that is the real feat of this movie. Anyone who has ever had someone out to get them should come back to this movie and understand the underlying reason for such malice. It might help to understand the other person and maybe lessen their burdens a bit.
On the other side, the story and performance can only do so much. They are not the salve for the wounds caused by sloppy screenplay. Things suddenly take a turn and it is revealed who has been actually writing the letters, and while it deserves a slow camera pan-up to the face of the criminal, and its own crescendo in the background, it gets none of that, but rather a reveal which is more matter-of-fact. That take away from the almost 50% of the runtime build-up we have been viewing and waiting for. And the climax, while totally funny (ngl) is make out to be this big curtain drawing moment, which we saw coming a mile away.

It is confounding to realise why people can be so bitter about themselves and their lives that they have to take it out on others who have absolute zero contribution in their misery. Their only sin is that they have something the bitter person covets. And don’t all humans covet something they see others enjoying? So when does this scarcity give rise to such acid in their nature? Is there a trigger or is this something that builds up slowly, was always there and was only looking for an opening to rear its ugly head? On the flip side, what is stopping anyone from changing their lives, little bit at a time, because afterall it is the little things that matter, that one can control? Or is the effort in making that change so daunting, so scary, and turning into a harmful part of humanity so easy and satisfying, that it becomes the immediate choice? Is it a choice? Maybe it is. Comment if you have any answers to these questions?
This movie is a light-hearted, but deep movie which comes rarely on the screen, and has all but one pillar working for it. It can be a family movie too, if the family has members above the minimum age of voting, or driving, at the more adult’s discretion. The dialogues and the letters are so ridiculously out-there, they are laugh-out-loud. Jesse Buckley’s character’s free way of life is so inviting, all of us would want to be there with her, but we would need to build our characters strong enough. It is uplifting. Watch it!

Truth Seekers

Published on by cinemadilemmaLeave a comment
https://www.imdb.com/

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Starring: Nick Frost, Malcolm McDowell, Samson Kayo, Susan Wokoma, Emma D’Arcy, Simon Pegg

Streaming on: Primevideo

To watch or not to watch: Brilliant watch with popcorn

Gus Roberts (Nick Frost) is a broadband installer, the best installer Smyle has. Smyle is expanding and very close to 100% coverage.Gus’ boss Dave (Simon Pegg) gets an apprentice for Gus by the name of Elton (Samson Kayo) John. Yes. Now Gus is an aspiring paranormal investigator but hasn’t been very successful till the start of the series, where his life takes a turn for adventure, for example, Astrid (Emma D’Arcy) enters his life while running from ghosts. Elton’s sister Helen (Susan Wokoma) is agoraphobic and a successful YouTuber strikes an unlikely friendship with Richard (Malcolm Mcdowell). Gus and Elton, with the help of Astrid and Helen, bring redemption to the souls of the people not at rest yet. And that’s that.

This is one of the best series I have watched recently. It is a classic British comedy with subtly that is truly an art. The story is perfect with each character having a story of their own, which makes them equally important as the protagonist. Along with that there is an overarching concept of paranormal and they too have a credible story which makes the audience root for the overall success.

<p value="<amp-fit-text layout="fixed-height" min-font-size="6" max-font-size="72" height="80">This series should be a blueprint of how to make a series which has too many subplots and not feel overwhelming. It was such a pleasant surprise how things come together slowly and steadily, only in 8 episodes with each episode being under 30 minutes. A long drawn out story with over-dramatization isnt necessary to deliver the emotions. And humour. It is subtle, as already stated and but doesn't interfere with the horror. All the small points mentioned in the beginning of the series come together towards the end and makes for a wholesome watch. It ends spectacularly too. No complaints at all, other than the show being cancelled (What the hell Amazon). Here's to hoping some other network picks it up if possible. A Must Watch.This series should be a blueprint of how to make a series which has too many subplots and not feel overwhelming. It was such a pleasant surprise how things come together slowly and steadily, only in 8 episodes with each episode being under 30 minutes. A long drawn out story with over-dramatization isnt necessary to deliver the emotions. And humour. It is subtle, as already stated and but doesn’t interfere with the horror. All the small points mentioned in the beginning of the series come together towards the end and makes for a wholesome watch. It ends spectacularly too. No complaints at all, other than the show being cancelled (What the hell Amazon). Here’s to hoping some other network picks it up if possible. A Must Watch.