boophillips

There are so many shows that sound promising, only for you to tune in and be met by clichéd writing, hammy acting, crappy soundtracks or scores and unremarkable cinematography. It's got to the point where I've lost faith in 'the next big release' and frequently turn off mid way through the first episode.

Not with Black Doves! Sharp and incredibly humorous writing, played by an amazing cast of actors who all brought something special) stunning sets and locations, great soundscapes and music choices and a great mix of thrilling violence and tension mixed with heartfelt soulfulness.

I was totally captivated from start to finish. Why can't all tv series be this good? How does so much dross get optioned? A special shout out goes to Ben Wishaw who both broke my heart and then got it racing with his multifaceted hitman. LOVED THIS SHOW.

The Hainting of Hill House, whilst not perfect, was pretty amazing. Terrifying, heartbreaking, stylish and heart stopping. With the Haunting of Bly Manor we got a similar dispensation of horror and jump scares but this time it felt diluted and style over substance. Midnight was again, slightly wonky in pace and tension, but the setting, plot and acting made up for it.

Now with The Fall of the House of Usher we have reached a strange point of a series just being a series of set pieces, not a scare to be had and the most intriguing aspect being the FX make up on the dead bodies. I love Edgar Allen Poe, and I was ready to be taken on a new interpretation, ready to be horrified and emotional invested. I got the exact opposite. Interminable monologues, characters which were so one dimensional as to be mere cartoon drawings, plots that repeated themselves and went over and over the same thing. The acting was for the lost part so as to be laughable. So, so bad. 4 stars for the costumes, sets, and make up.

I'm pretty disappointed. High hopes of a great director, great leading man and solid ensemble cast were dashed by a meandering surreal film that said very little and went nowhere. Little pockets of brilliance (the street scenes outside his apartment, the child's lamp Illuminating his mothers face in a sequence about the death of his father) are lost is turgidly slow scenes that meant nothing and go nowhere. Woefully underused / underacted Pheonix just looked bewildered. I left the cinema after 2 hours, unwilling to give up another hour of my life to such self indulgent rubbish. What a shame, Midsommar and Hereditary were so, so good. This didn't need to be as horrific as those, I was up for surreal black comedy but this was just, well, nothingness.