The Frock Flicks workforce spends a variety of time working by our backlogs on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and so on., to observe historic costume films and TV reveals. We often take your reader requests to observe and evaluation stuff too. However, alas, not each flick set up to now is price our time (although test our our archives of critiques by utilizing the search field!).
We gotta inform ya: There are a variety of crappy historic costume films and TV reveals on the market! Not all the pieces’s unhealthy sufficient for Snark Week — some are simply weak tea. These are boring films, the boring reveals, those with mediocre costumes and tales that may’t even rise as much as the extent of camp leisure. Or those which are mildly entertaining, possibly have ‘good-enough’ costuming, or are reasonably snark-worthy, however we will’t be arsed to work up a sweat about it.
Thus, right here’s a unbroken collection with our one-line critiques of issues we’ve tried to observe however simply don’t care sufficient about to jot down an entire weblog publish or podcast. Your mileage might fluctuate!
Ghosts (2021-)
The U.S. model of the BBC comedy (a few home filled with ghosts from totally different time durations and the fashionable couple the place the one lady can see the ghosts) is ok. It’s humorous, however the first few episodes I watched have been virtually precise copies of the U.Okay. model that I used to be already a fan of. There are a pair characters moved to totally different time durations, however all of them fill the identical roles as within the unique. You’ll most likely like it in the event you haven’t seen the primary one. — Trystan
Gypsy (1962)
I maintain pondering I’ll do a full evaluation of this one or fold it right into a Prime 5 Friday, since I do like a variety of the music plus Rosalind Russell and Natalie Wooden are fabulously entertaining. However the costumes by Orry-Kelly are soooooo Nineteen Sixties with solely the faintest hints of the 1910s to Nineteen Thirties interval that the story is meant to happen. It’s enjoyable to observe however hardly qualifies as a frock flick. — Trystan
Excessive Midday (1952)
A basic Western that’s probably not concerning the Previous West. It’s a parable for the Fifties pink scare and blacklist, starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. However the allegory felt heavy-handed to me, and there’s not a lot else to make it attention-grabbing (actually not costumes). — Trystan
Historical past of the World, Half II (2023)
I grew up on Mel Brooks’ comedies and adore the unique Historical past of the World, Half I film. This collection was amusing at instances, and total entertaining, however didn’t attain the LOL heights of Brooks’ earlier works (and no explicit costumes of observe). The most effective operating bit is a faux-sitcom about Shirley Chisholm operating for president in 1972. — Trystan
I’ve hyped “the V” sufficient that I felt I ought to monitor down this model of the early-Twentieth-century, thinly-veiled-racism story. Sure, Alexander Skarsgård’s V was spectacular, however truthfully I don’t keep in mind a lot else concerning the movie (okay, so this was a number of months in the past), together with no matter Margot Robbie was doing because the love curiosity. Sorry! I attempted to take one for the workforce and failed. — Kendra
I used to be intrigued sufficient by Cherie Lunghi‘s 18th-century costumes, and I’m tremendous thinking about early American colonization, that I fired up this story of Jesuit missionaries in South America making an attempt to transform an indigenous tribe, whereas varied political and non secular points play out within the background. Sadly, most of Lunghi’s robes have been back-lacing, and the movie is generally about some white saviors (Jeremy Irons, Liam Neeson) and their very own bullshit whereas residing amongst a bunch of anonymous/characterless indigenous individuals. I gave up midway by. This received a significant commendation from the Vatican, and that tells you a large number about how critically it examines missionary work (in different phrases, not a lot). — Kendra
The Miracle Membership (2023)
I really like my mother sufficient that I let her drag me to the theaters to see Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates, and Laura Linney on this movie about a number of Irish ladies who go on a pilgrimage to Lourdes in 1967. Tremendous meh. There’s some good bonding that occurs, however the Huge Scandal That No One Speaks Of is just too apparent and annoyingly drawn out. See Widows’ Peak as an alternative. — Kendra
I like Carey Mulligan sufficient — and I like bleak films about laborious matters — that I used to be thinking about watching this movie about two households farming within the Mississippi delta within the Nineteen Forties, bearing on civil rights and racism. Okay, so the movie isn’t fully profitable as a result of it takes what most likely labored nice in a novel — telling a narrative from a number of views — and tried to use that to movie. There simply isn’t sufficient time in a characteristic movie to do that, and so every character will get shortchanged consequently. Nonetheless, Mulligan provides a robust efficiency as a younger lady who goes from a middle-class life to residing in a shack and scraping a life out of the grime. It’s heartbreaking to observe her attempt to settle for her husband’s unhealthy selections and make a life for herself and her youngsters within the face of poverty. And the movie does a terrific job demonstrating how the dynamics of racism performed out within the aftermath of World Conflict II, when so many African People had risked their lives for his or her nation and loved way more equality, solely to return to a rustic that was caught in an antiquated mind-set. — Kendra
Munich, the Fringe of Conflict (2021)
You understand I likes me my World Conflict II films, so yeah, I watched this movie about Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (Jeremy Irons) — the one who tried to appease Hitler. It recasts his usually-criticized technique as heroic, having purchased Britain time to arm up for the struggle. Whether or not you’re feeling like rethinking Chamberlain or not, it was an interesting-enough watch — simply not interesting-enough (or costumey sufficient!) for a full evaluation. — Kendra
An attention-grabbing have a look at the real-life Dreyfus Affair (1894-1906), wherein a French military officer was falsely accused of spying for the Germans. The movie focuses very narrowly on Colonel Georges Picquart, who found Dreyfus’s innocence, and Jean Dujardin provides a robust efficiency within the function (Louis Garrel performs Alfred Dreyfus, and he’s good, however sadly not scorching together with his accurate-to-the-real-guy balding hair right here) — however the movie barely scratches the floor of how this scandal affected French society and vastly elevated anti-Semitism, which is a disappointment. Because it was directed by child-rapist Roman Polanski, I’m glad I discovered a free model. The costumes — by Pascaline Chavanne — have been very genuine, however primarily featured navy uniforms (there’s one minor feminine character in addition to some extras), so it’s probably not price a full evaluation. — Kendra
What did you consider these films or TV reveals? What different stuff ought to we take away from our queue? Have you ever searched our web site lately to see if we’ve already reviewed your faves?
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