Film Reviews by Lau

Eight years ago, we discovered "The Mentalist" in the form of two early DVDs in a charity shop in France. We watched one and didn't watch the other, as we had to get back to England to start from series 1, episode 1 (back in the LoveFilm days). I'm 40% through re-watching all 151 episodes. There was never a single episode I could fault in any way (and I'm a very picky watcher).

The individual episode plots have nice twists, the detail of which I seem to have forgotten in the intervening years, so they are just thoroughly pleasing to watch again. I'm already looking forward to eight years from now, when I can start them all yet again.

As a caveat, do not be put off by series 1, episode 1 (the pilot). If any episode had a fault, it would be this one, where they introduced too many of the later plot arcs than can comfortably fit into 45 minutes.

I have been a Science Fiction aficionado all my 72 years, and I find it difficult to understand why this film was made. There is no coherent story. Nothing in it is at all consistent. To be science fiction, it needs some science. There was none of that, just various contradictions. The trick photography was just trick photography. The script trite. They should have looked up the definition of "algorithm" before employing it. Presumably the tail end of the film (I did just about manage to stay awake, after taking a break) is a setup for a sequel. I won't subject myself to the torture of sitting through that.