A brief Micro-post review and Decinemal rating of 3 recent Oscar nominated documentary features I watched. 2 of them won the Oscar and the one that didn't should have... Steven Bognar & Julia ReichartNetflix 2019 Intriguing on a political and cultural level... to a degree. I was mostly engaged, but found it cared a lot … Continue reading Documentary Feature Triple Bill
OK. It has never been my favourite show, right from the start. I could see the appeal, even admired the fact they were bringing back an 80s vibe for a new generation. But I have often found the writing and direction annoyingly weak. Of course, the production value and visual aesthetic made up for a … Continue reading Stranger Things S3/S4
I often like the idea of anime and adult animation much more than I actually enjoy it when I dive in. Many times I started a so called classic of the artform, like Ghost In The Shell or Akira, only to find I couldn't stay engaged with it to the end. So when I heard … Continue reading Arcane
In the spirit of the Micro-Post format, I am leaving this mini review here as a marker for a remarkable show I just finished. Number one on Netflix in the week of the Autumn Equinox, this strictly 18 plus show pulls no punches in courting controversy and sparking debate. A difficult and dark watch, it … Continue reading Dahmer: Monster
Great cast. Great script. I lapped up the Sorkin dialogue and breakneck political inteligensia. The big speeches got me in exactly the way they were meant to, and I found the whole subject fascinating from start to finish. It did feel quite made for TV rather than cinematic at times, but I can't find much … Continue reading The Trial of the Chicago 7
Available on Netflix since 2017, this excellent documentary from Ava DuVernay, the director of the memorable and equally impressive Selma, caught my attention for its Oscar nomination and compelling subject matter. It took me until early 2020 to watch it, based on many recommendations, but the subject matter hadn't lost any relevance or importance in … Continue reading 13th (documentary)
Way back in January 2020, not very long after rebooting The Wasteland, I wrote a post called True Crime Trio that looked at the growing interest (fuelled almost entirely by Netflix) in the obsession and phenomenon of killers and their often bizarre, sometimes not entirely straightforward, or even solved, case histories and life stories. The … Continue reading 12 of the Best… True Crime Documentaries
You will find my review of seasons one and two of the Netflix show The Umbrella Academy in The Wasteland archives. And there you will see that I bloody loved it! To date, I have watched every episode properly twice and my favourite episodes 3 or 4 times. It was really only a matter of … Continue reading The Umbrella Academy: Darkhorse Comics
This show was a little off my radar until it went ahead and won 9 Emmys earlier this year. I made a point of adding it to my watchlist, but remained largely unconvinced that it was going to be for me. Not based on anything solid, I just had a feeling. One season in and … Continue reading Schitt’s Creek
It's been a while since Guy Ritchie dealt with some proper geezers doing crime and talking bollocks. Maybe there were elements of it in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. but really it's Rock 'n Rolla from 2008 we are talking about. Personally I hadn't missed it. I pretty much think he took it as far as … Continue reading The Gentlemen
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