The Worst Film Ever

Some things I liked some I did not.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

I highly recommend Zen, an offering of PBS's Masterpiece Contemporary series, which originally aired in 2011. Based upon the late Michael Dibdin's novel, three ninety-minute episodes were created.Get past the initial "Mr. Cool" physical persona of its protagonist, the excellent actor Rufus Sewell - and dig the witty, understated dialog and delivery; the excellent cast; the delicious locations; the whole damn vibe.Ironically, Sewell found a perfect role for himself in Aurelio Zen: PBS soon however had a change of management and the series went poof into the Strata of Lost Entertainment Excellence – at least the show is in good company. It's our loss that there were no more episodes (in a spooky way the third episode ended with a perfect moment). "Vendetta", "Cabal" and "Ratking" are available on DVD, likely headed to becoming an overpriced cult item. Enjoy.

There's always a risk when adapting the written word to a screenplay; the risk that the nuances of the one will be lost when rendered to the other. Fortunately the BBC has a fine pedigree when transferring both book & play to the screen (from 'The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy' to Charles Dickens, & any number of Shakespeare's plays), as well as when working in collaboration with international broadcasters (who could forget the excellent 'Rome'?).Their vast experience in this field has really paid off with 'Zen', a detective series based on the novels of English crime writer Michael Dibdin. Although there are some differences between the novels & the television series, they are minor & serve to facilitate the adaptation from the written to the visual. The television characters are perhaps slightly softer than their written counterparts, a necessity of economy when one considers that each episode is only ninety minutes long. Despite that the characters are well-rounded, with Rufus Sewell doing more than enough to cement his place in what is bound to be remembered as a modern classic of television.In addition to Sewell's excellent suitability for the role, he is surrounded by an equally impressive international cast. The direction, lighting & shot composition all contribute to producing a superb whole, & it would be remiss not to mention the wardrobe, who do a fine job of catching that Italian verve.In essence 'Zen' is a hugely enjoyable series of tasteful whodunnits, which never reveal who really did do it until the end. At the time of writing, the real mystery is whether all eleven of Dibdin's novels will be televised - it would be a crime if they weren't.Altogether a stylish series with a sophistication brought about by understated subtlety.

After the success of the BBC version of the Swedish police drama 'Wallander' it appears that they decided to make another police show set on the continent, this time trading Scandinavia for the warmth of Italy. Set in Rome this series follows three cases for Detective Aurelio Zen. It quickly becomes apparent that he is one of the few honest cops but that doesn't stop politicians leaning on him to solve cases that serve them whether or not justice prevails. Zen isn't perfect though; he is having an illicit affair with a woman he works with for starters. The stories themselves are gripping and there are plenty of suspects for Zen and the viewer to wonder who did it.This series is very different to Wallander, he isn't full of angst or suffering family problems; he just gets on with the job while enjoying life and being dressed in a very sharp suit; Rufus Sewell is great in the role. The series is filmed in a way that conveys the heat of the setting so that even though most of the actors speak with English accents nobody would think they were meant to be British. The decision not to have non-Italian cast members speaking in mock Italian accents was wise; ever since 'Allo 'Allo false foreign accents have seemed humorous rather than clever. It is just a pity that the series was only three episodes long; I hope it will be successful enough to warrant further series in the future.

A bit harsh but this is just paper thin TV for a Sunday audience who want to look at something nice and escape before they clock in on Monday.Sewell is competent and sophisticated but often bland and monotone. The attempts to create tension, atmosphere and empathy come across mawkish at times because the acting is on the whole quite poor, for example the brother and sister in episode 3. Also many people have mentioned the accents and it is distracting that there are so many upper middle class Brits in Italy.It is well filmed and the cinematography is great and it could be that this is where they spent most of budget. Should a supposed classy TV drama rely so heavily on locations and lighting to provide entertainment? What about the writing? Even though I've not read the novels this adaptation feels rushed with little depth or strong characterisation.Nice women though, hence the screensaver comment. It seems the BBC made sure there was something attractive here because it certainly wasn't the plot. Seems like an expensive failure but people will still watch because British viewers are use to weak offerings like this.American TV drama will certainly not be quaking in it's boots at this standard UK fodder.