MovieChat Forums > Turks & Caicos (2014) Discussion > PERFECTLY DELIGHTFUL BUT WHAT A WASTE OF...

PERFECTLY DELIGHTFUL BUT WHAT A WASTE OF TIME

posted 10 years ago by Colonelpotts
20 replies | jump to latest

...... Not to mention, when the BBC is under so much scrutiny, a waste of money also. It was weird to see Nighy and Fiennes again so soon after "Page 8" aired recently on the Beeb) when Ralph played The Priminister and Bill was an errrr - spy? The cast for this tosh must have all thought "oh how wonderful - Auntie BBC and David Hare with an all expenses trip to T&C - marvellous". And the delicious irony missed by all of them - is that the plot of this tosh is a sixth form rant about corrupt people, getting rich on normal folk's misery while not paying their taxes while the cast are having a holiday, hardly breaking sweat in acting terms, while spunking British tax payers BBC money making a movie that has no chance of even breaking even while eating lobster and drinking beer on a Caribbean Island. Now, that's a good plot for a film ....

[–] mackay254 10 years ago

Your buckets of cold water are much too full and much too cold. This was really good telly. No matter what the BBC does there are people who accuse it of wasting the tax-payer's money. I have no idea how much this ensemble cast took to put together but, I'm guessing it couldn't possibly have been Hollywood prices. However, it would have been a little more than the quiz show 'Pointless', I would suspect.

the plot of this tosh is a sixth form rant about corrupt people, getting rich on normal folk's misery while not paying their taxes

Which 'normal folks' are you talking about? That's the US government and the British prime minister. You must move in exalted circles!

Sixth form, really? You've never heard of rich people, not wanting to pay taxes, moving money to offshore accounts in tax havens? And if said sixth-formers point an accusatory finger at corruption, it's a 'rant'?

You're probably right about the film having no chance of making money or breaking even. But, we pay our licence fee so that the BBC can make programmes we want to see. I want to see this. There is truth in everything portrayed in this film (apart from Bill Nighy's ability to attract beautiful, younger women). The BBC offers us a window on the world. It's not its fault if you don't enjoy the view.

[–] mariegriffiths 10 years ago

Well said mackay254. Do you think Col Potts is one of those uber-rich despots depicted in the film?

[–] Colonelpotts 10 years ago

I wish.

[–] Colonelpotts 10 years ago

It's hardly ground breaking stuff though is it? Most of the money in the world being hidden in havens to avoid tax? Been going on for years. Hardly a "window to the world" as you put it - unless you live in a cave. You mention "Pointless" but that could be a word used to describe this trite yarn in my opinion - but we all have our views.

[–] mackay254 10 years ago

So, now it has to be 'ground breaking' in order for you to be satisfied. OK, I get it. You're a hard taskmaster Col. Perfectly delightful isn't enough.

[–] Royalcourtier 9 years ago

Any why is putting money in safe havens represented as if it is on the same moral level as terrorism?

[–] gehenna-3 9 years ago

Because only a terrorist would hide his money!

[–] Royalcourtier 9 years ago

I found this movie to be very much inferior to the BBC dramas of the 70's and 80's.

It looked picturesque enough. But the plot was ridiculous, and characterisation feeble. I suspect that the plot was made up by a 10 year old socialist, and the characterisation inspired by the "depths" of American cartoons of the 50's.

The BBC has certainly fallen a long way.

[–] ofhumanbondage 9 years ago

Wow,Spot on analysis and really loved movie...

[–] jbaddock 10 years ago

So the only reason for the BBC to make any programme at all is to make a profit? If that's the case, then welcome to wall to wall 'lifestyle' scheduling, inane quiz programmes, Strictly Come Dancing or 'reality' TV. In fact, the BBC exists to provide a television and radio service that attempts to cater to a wide range of audience tastes and preferences - and there are a lot of viewers out there who enjoy this sort of production, actually. Obviously, you don't (although I think the subject matter may have struck a nerve in your case, judging by the vehemence of your response) and so you consider it to be a waste of money. Personally, I consider most of what appears on BBC to be a waste of my money, but I don't feel obliged to go onto IMDB to give my own sixth form rant about it.

[–] Colonelpotts 10 years ago

It thinks it's a film - so hence it's on IMDB.

[–] mackay254 10 years ago

Because the BBC is under scrutiny, this is the very type of programme it should be making. It shows that it can offer more than the basic fodder of other TV providers.

[–] al_1978 10 years ago

It doesn't have to be a film to be on here.

[–] mackay254 10 years ago

It doesn't have to be a film to be on here.

Quite true. The OP is just mentioning the fact that s/he is entitled to his/her opinion.

Whether they can locate their @rse or elbow is unclear.

[–] yojimboy 10 years ago

when the BBC is under so much scrutiny,

It's under "scrutiny" by media organizations with conflicts of interest which would prefer them to be eliminated because the BBC is inconvenient to their dominance of the media landscape.

[–] imdb-13526 9 years ago

We, in the U.S., don't have the luxury nor distraction of complaining about the BBC and it's politics...

T&C was disappointing, compared to Page 8.

Page 8 was dark, sophisticated, nuanced, and engaging. T&C was flat, uninspired, predictable, and over-casted.

Page 8 had me pushing my face closer to the screen to make sure I would take it all in... T&C had me lying back on the couch waiting, in vain, for something innovative and challenging.

I pictured TV execs saying "hey, we did so well with Page 8, what would happen if we put some more name brand actors in the sequel?" trying to draw in more mainstream, Joe-6-pack viewers.

Christopher Walken is boring and only semi-believable in his role. Bill Nighy strains to deliver a performance, in spite of the poor script/direction. There's little naturalness in the flow of dialog, almost as if they're doing a test reading of the script.

If you only needed one single marker to tell you how bad this would be, consider the mom and her child in the closing scene... how sweet. and sentimental. and uninteresting. :(

[–] Squeeth2 8 years ago

It was a bit dull but I really enjoyed the way that every woman in the cast fancied Bill Nighy something rotten. I haven't laughed so much since I watched Lilith (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058294/reference) where every female actor had to deliver lines to Warren Beatty, while trying not to make it obvious (and failing) that she wanted to rip his clothes off. There's a similar gag in The Big Sleep.

Marlon, Claudia and Dimby the cats 1989-2005, 2007 and 2010.

[–] gorbals406 8 years ago

I just watched Page Eight and Turks & Caicos back-to-back. If I were to do a simple comparison between the two, I'd have to say the first was at least a 9 whereas the second was maybe a 6 and that would be kindness on my part. Winona Ryder was a serious disappointment, but Christopher Walken was as bad in this as anything I've ever seen him in. I should add that I think he is an appallingly bad actor, always adding a whole new dimension to over-acting. I've never understood how he gets as much work as he does.

[–] roundthetwist (115) 6 years ago

I think T&C was written with a quicker pace and it was possibly due to some of the feedback on Page Eight which suggested it was slow and some of the audience didn't enjoy that aspect of things.

There was certainly more intrigue about Page Eight when I was watching it. T&C seemed a bit more telegraphed but maybe that's because I knew more about the Worricker character and what he was likely to do.

I'm hoping Salting the Battlefield finds a middle ground with it all and provides a nice conclusion to the trilogy.

[–] HarlemEagle42 (16140) 3 years ago

It's good but not as good as PAGE EIGHT.