Here's The Skinny On what To Skip from 2019

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1917 - Where shall I start in Sam Mendes's private war? Several sequences of film looked just like a video game, without zombies but with Germans. Dean Charles Chapmans performance is so awful I was relieved when he got killed. Don't expect any female characters, women have been written out of the war. A foundling baby looks ridiculously fat and happy, I could go on but this is the skinny.         
Knives Out - Just dreadful, as is Daniel Craig's grating Louisiana accent. Why is Craig in this at all I wonder, surely he doesn't need the money? This film is most certainly not in the calibre of an Agatha Christie. If you yearn for a fresh adaptation of a Christie whodunnit I recommend you seek out the delicious work of Sarah Phelps.
The Irishman - Robert De Niro pulling all the usual faces. Al Pacino pulling all the usual moves. Would be better as a series rather than a 3 hour film, giving you the option to binge watch . . . or not.
The Two Popes - At least it's on Netflix so you won't have to part with 18 quid to see it. More like the two bores, or even the two snores zzz zzz 
Somebody Up There Likes Me - Documentary on guitarist Ronnie Wood is surprisingly tame; neither the thrills and spills of a rock and roll legend, nor the soul searching artist on the other side of the coin. There is a real story to be found somewhere but not here.  

© Theresa Collins

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