Why so much hype?

Dreadfully Boring

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

OK it's 2011 and I'm sitting on a couch in Melbourne, Australia. I've bought a couple of series cheaply on DVD (Borders is in liquidation) and I'm playing a disc on the TV. In the room are my 7-year-old daughter, 10-year-old son, 74-year-old mother and 79-year-old father (last two visiting from England). Me? Somewhere between the others. We're all transfixed, laughing out loud and immediately sticking on another episode when one finishes. There's your proof right there. Brilliantly cast. Beautifully acted and written with wit, class and, often, surprising poignancy. If something is really good, it holds up nearly 50 years later and appeals to a generation normally more focused on YouTube, computer games and hand-held consoles. Classy and classic.

Dad's Army is still played again and again, and it's easy to see why. Dad's Army created some of the most memorable characters on British television. The hilarity is still there. Even after seeing a lot of episodes 7 or 8 times over, I still laugh. That is a hard thing to achieve in comedy. Jimmy Perry and David Croft came up with something that surpassed anything created before and after. The central core actors executed their parts PERFECTLY. I still can't picture anyone than Arthur Lowe being the pompous captain, or Le Mesurier as the polite Sgt. This is the type of series where, when asked to pick your favorite character, you just can't. And that's because every character is very different from its fellow characters. There's Corporal Jones, the hilariously "wooly minded" butcher. And Private Walker, the spiv who would sell his own grandmother. Sadly James Beck died, and no matter how hard the writers tried, they couldn't replace him. There's Private Pike, the mommy's boy, who is constantly having the famous "You stupid Boy!" line directed his way. Then there's Frazer, the frugal Scottish mortician. And Godfrey, the gentleman, and the one who always needs to be excused. Then the afore mentioned Capt. Mainwaring, and Srgt. Wilson. The ARP Warden Hodges, the uncouth green grocer, who has a fierce feud with Capt. Mainwaring. The Vicar and the Verger, the troublemaker, and Mrs. Pike.Even the more minor characters in this epic comedy are just so well done. It is a comic story set in the small seaside town of Walmington-On-Sea which is doing its bit to fight off the boche.Dad's Army highlights a golden age for British Comedy. It's famous lines such as "Don't Panic!", have pervaded other areas of T.V. and culture. Dad's Army will keep marching on and on....

Blackadder Goes Forth was a fantastic comedy based in World War I, this the great comedy following a Home Guard army of World War II. Starring BAFTA nominated Arthur Lowe as Capt. George J. Mainwaring, John Le Mesurier as Sgt. Arthur K. Wilson, Clive Dunn as LCpl. Jack Jones, John Laurie as Pvt. James Frazer, Arnold Ridley as Pvt. Charles P. Godfrey, EastEnders' Ian Lavender as Pvt. Frank Pike, Bill Pertwee as ARP Warden 'Willy' Hodges, Frank Williams as The Vicar (Rev. Timothy Farthing). Throughout the series they have many ridiculous incidences trying to help the town, get into sticky situations and the characters are just perfect. With guest stars EastEnders' Barbara Windsor, Wendy Richard and John Bardon. It won the BAFTA for Best Light Entertainment Production, and it was nominated for 3 Best Situation Comedy Series awards, and Best Light Entertainment. It was number 4 on Britain's Best Sitcom, Captain Mainwaring was number 29 on The World's Greatest Comedy Characters, and he was number 21 on The 100 Greatest TV Characters, the Christmas Special (My Brother & I) was number 46 on The 100 Greatest Christmas Moments, and the programme was number 13 on The 100 Greatest TV Programmes. Very good!

If you can get hold of the series on DVD, do not hesitate. "Dad's Army" is a real gem that will offer you hours of intense pleasure and spark off countless outbursts of hilarious laughter.This is comedy at its best.Although the humor is essentially British with that contained form of polite sarcasm and the use of understatement, it is also so typical of human nature in general that it offers a universal appeal.The characters are all lovable in one way or the other.The pompous captain Mainwaring who's attitude is clearly based on an obvious inherent feeling of insecurity and his suave sergeant Wilson, the over-enthusiastic corporal Jones who panics at the slightest upheaval,the spooky-looking Frazer or private Godfrey who resembles Dopey in the Seven Dwarfs and the mother's-boy Pike, are but just some of the delightful individuals in this fascinating series."Dad's Army"obtained a fourth place in a recent BBC comedy poll and apparently continues to thrill both young and old.Some episodes are less entertaining than most,I admit, but on the whole the series is really worth-while. The capture of a German submarine crew for example, is hilarious!