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Orange Is the New Black: Break the String (2018)
Where's the continuity guy?
I'm enjoying this season after the violent and barely watchable first episode. Annoyingly I am distracted by glaring continuity errors such as Piper's fish tattoo seems to have disappeared and her 'window' branding moving from left to right arm. I can't believe the actor's never noticed.
Orange Is the New Black: Who Knows Better Than I (2018)
Sickening Violence.
I would just like to say I am horrified by the ultra violent prison guards in the last few episodes. It is sickening that woman are openly defiled and brutalised by these men. Is this really what happens in American prisons? It's medieval. In the UK woman's prisons are mainly staffed by female guards. I don't think I can carry on with OITNB since it turned so dark and oppressive after the first 2 brilliant seasons.
The Prodigy (2019)
Convincing Terror
Unlike most reviewers here I admit I am not a movie buff or a great fan of the horror film genre but I watched an interview Taylor Schilling gave on the Seth Myers Show recently and was intrigued to learn that The Prodigy is a first for her. So I decided to give it a go. And I'm pleased I did as it had me enthralled from beginning to end. I decided not to watch the film trailer or read reviews before viewing and I would recommend this. I had to move quickly to watch this movie as it was only showing for two weeks at my local complex. Why such a short time?
This is a really immersive film that had me riveted to the cinema seat through all the twists and turns. Now I know what 'jump scares' are and they are fun/frightening but the really good sound quality available in a cinema is a must for the full effect.
Taylor Schilling was superb as the Mum, Sarah, and I felt real empathy with her character in dealing with her gradual realisation that something was seriously amiss with her son Miles mental state. I was very impressed with the maturity and conviction that Jackson Robert Scott was able to give to the son's evil role then apparently go off the set and play like any eight year old.
The script was a little unlikely in places but the great acting and horrifying final chapter made up for these shortcomings. Highly recommended.
Graham. UK.
The Overnight (2015)
Emotional Rollercoaster
Being a big fan of Tailor Schilling I really wanted to watch The Overnight, but four years after the movie's release I found it really hard to find a viewing platform. Unlike other Schilling appearances this was not on Netflix or Amazon. So in the end a friend gave me her copy to watch.
I thought this was a brilliant film, because it was so different from the mainstream blockbuster. With no big budget, ($200,000) and no famous actors it still gripped me from start to finish. I only recognised Schilling on the cast list but the other three actors were really good too.
I loved the intimacy of the location and short twelve hour timeline of the script which I felt made empathy with the characters more intense; the way the night gradually became stranger and darker really held me in an emotional spin to the end. Personally I made sure the first time I viewed The Overnight I had no previous siting of the trailer or reviews, and I would highly recommend this approach.
I didn't find the film offensive in any way. The pool scenes a bit daft maybe and the scenes at the end of the film although erotic due to great acting were not in the slightest pornographic and may have ended too soon.
Isn't it strange how in the Western world making films depicting graphic violence, huge body counts and attacks on women are taken as being quite normal and hardly worth a comment but introduce a little bit of sex and nudity causes many people (including reviewers of this film) to reach for the smelling salts. That is perverse.
Great film, highly recommended for the open minded amongst us.
Graham UK.
Orange Is the New Black: Work That Body for Me (2016)
Funny, so funny, but horrible.
Season 4 gets off to a great start with no annoying backstories getting in the way of all the funny, moving and dramatic happenings in Litchfield Prison itself. That's what I hated about Season 3. The way the show was moving back and forward, in and out of prison, disrupting the storyline into small disconnected segments that were hard to follow.
Why does everyone hate Piper including apparently the show's producers? I know Chapman is self-possessed and self-delusional but I know plenty of people like that, the British Royal Family for instance. Taylor Schilling hardly made an appearance in this episode and I really missed her with her super expressive face. Chapmans story line seems to be in limbo at the moment. Is Schilling on holiday or something?
In an episode with a lot of funny lines my favourite one comes after Lolly apparently kills Kubras hitman and Kubra demands proof of Alex's demise. So Lolly psyching up Alex for a photo by demanding "shirt up, bra down, floobies out, face slack, dead girl porn, Cosby dream shot". So cued into pop culture.
Again I am deeply disturbed by the brutality and number of male guards in a woman's jail. The image of a six foot six bearded gorilla staring into the face of a diminutive Gina and demanding answers I find deeply disturbing, but that emotional churning is what OITNB is all about.
Graham. UK.
The Titan (2018)
All about the infinity tatoo.
After reading the poor reviews I started watching The Titan on a rainy afternoon only because I might be able to enjoy the appearance of my favourite actress, Taylor Schilling. She deserves so much better than this rather weak effort at the Sci-Fi genre.
It's not that the acting was bad, in fact I thought that all the performances were good. It's just the unbelievable premise of the script. First as the film started why did NATO ship in family men and women as volunteers complete with their families? Surely if your going to go through some horrible experimental transformation into a non-human monster you would be a crazy human monster to insist that you drag your family along to watch.
Also as many others have pointed out human beings are an exceptionally adaptable creature which is why we survive over all the other humanoids that have come before. Even if there are only a few thousand survivors from some vague catastrophe depicted in the film, we, as a species have been here before when massive climate change nearly wiped out the human race 90,000 years ago.
Anyway, sitting back and suspending belief I rather enjoyed this film, in fact I watched it again a few days later, which is when I spotted Abi's infinity tattoo when she was swimming in the pool, self-inked of course while an inmate at Litchfield, New York. Made my day spotting that.
Orange Is the New Black: Thirsty Bird (2014)
The perfect episode.
Ok, this review is 4 years behind but I could not let pass my urge to put into words how wonderful 'Thirsty Bird' is. It is by far my favourite episode that I can watch time after time.
I have just started watching Season 4, but there will be no spoilers here.
First off, I'm a huge Taylor Schilling fan, especially her talent for comedy. Schillings way with her super expressive face and body language coupled with perfect timing and voice acting, pitched perfect for each scene and encounter makes a wonderful Piper Chapmen, my favourite character in OITNB.
Chapmans self-delusional nature makes her think she's a murderer about to be put on trial. How stressful is that for anyone plus the nature of the American justice system in treating inmates like cattle. No wonder she broke down on the plane.
This episode is directed by Jodie Foster and you can tell with great camera angles allowing Schillings facial expressions, especially the crying scene, to give massive empathy with her character. Foster may also have overseen the writing and helped to determine the direction of the script.
I was as relieved as Chapman when she finally found out from Alex she had not murdered Pennsatucky . That's the thing about OITNB, it really throws your emotions around.
Other highlights include Chapmans bus journey from the airport to Chicago Max with a soundtrack of 'Pulaski at Night' by Andrew Bird. So emotional, spot on for the moment.
Thinking the male prisoner on board the plane who turned around and called her 'First Class' (look at Chapmans expression, brilliant) was a rapist when negotiating with him in Max to get a message to Alex. "What do you want, a kiss", I couldn't stop laughing long after leaving my house.
Oh there's just too many highlights and I remember thinking at the time there's no way that the team at OITNB can keep up this level of perfection for every episode in the future.
Graham. UK.
Take Me (2017)
Taylor Schilling makes this film very funny.
I really enjoyed this film; I was laughing all the way through, just so funny. Though I admit this was mainly due to watching Taylor Schilling's stela performance as the 'kidnapped' Anna St. Blair. Schillings way with her super expressive face and body language coupled with perfect timing and voice acting, pitched perfect for each scene and encounter is perfect for a comedy film. Truly an underrated actress. If you're out there Taylor Schilling please make the world laugh and make more comedy films!
This film is highly recommended... Graham. UK.