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Doctor Who: Kill the Moon (2014)
One of the better episodes from this series
I think that this episode has been largely polarising for many viewers of Doctor Who; both loyal fans from the classics, to the new fans of Eccleston, Tennant, Smith, and Capaldi. There's a certain depth to this episode 'Kill The Moon', and while I don't usually review singular episodes of television shows, I had to make an exception this time.
I largely believe that the reaction to this episode has come to characterise the reaction to the way that Moffat has taken Doctor Who in recent years. Some have loved it, while others have hated it. The brilliantness is that there's a cleverness underneath the fun and action driven moments that deals with morality, existential freedom, and arguably pro life/pro choice debates. These are wonderful moments and I think that there's credit due to the episode writer - Peter Harness who wrote some very strong dialogue. Indeed, this dialogue was delivered with absolute brilliance by the actors of the show. To me, Capaldi is going from strength to strength in his role as The Doctor. He's demonstrating an incredible ability to deliver not only shallow, superficial lines, but also in the deliverance of the emotionally charged speeches. He has brought us a Doctor that we have come to question and delivered a freshly needed take on the Time Lord.
However, while there was much strength to this episode (which I think is arguably one of the stronger episodes of series 8) there's a lot of poor choice. There's certainly been a plug towards the tumblr fan- base recently with references to the site (in this episode), and the creation of a few characters deliberately to serve towards those ends. While there's little wrong with this, I feel like it may set a dangerous precedent that the show could begin to deviate away from the silent majority and towards the loud few. This is a process that I think may already be under way. Furthermore, the lens is beginning to feel like it's deteriorating away from The Doctor and towards Clara, and while I feel like it was justified in this episode, it seems to be a trend which is becoming too common. Furthermore, this episode started very strongly in creating a great setting, alone on a moon; a wonderful introduction of which many story lines could have be derived. Though, it makes me wonder why they went down the direction that they did. This could have been a much stronger episode.
Ultimately, this entire episode is just another stand alone in a show that feels like it's missing any kind of strength in a bigger arc. 'Heaven' is featured so infrequently the show is left kind of going towards no real end, it just fades from one stand alone to another. There doesn't seem to be much progress. Maybe a bigger arc is what is needed to step out from the grogginess which has began to hurt the show and alienate viewers since series 7.
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
I'm a Cumberbitch now
I watched this for the first time last night. It must be made clear from the offset that this review is not written by a Star Trek fan. I'm very indifferent to the franchise. For this reason my review is simply about the film and nothing more.
On a level this film was competent, the general level of acting was solid, the effects great and when the action was going on it was engaging and entertaining. Though, what this film failed spectacularly at was any kind of deepness at the plot level. From the word 'go' we are thrust into a situation in a Bondesque manner. Star Trek Into Darkness loads us into a situation of great magnitude, yet for such a situation there is little peril as we know the fates of the characters from endless trailers and general common sense. The introduction fails to grip but there are all manner ramifications.
Perhaps the major downfall of this film is the sheer copycat that it becomes to the first film of this series. It is of a near identical framework until BAM, the plot moves forward. We have gone from the ramifications of the original 'mission' into a massive centre plot in a matter of seconds. We are not introduced to the character of Harrison, we are not introduced to his cause nor the environment surrounding the moment of action. What has happened is that Benedict Cumberbatch has turned up and all of a sudden there is an evil presence in the picturesque landscape of London. I didn't appreciate this. I felt that I was being thrust forward from my seat unwillingly. With no reasoning what-so-ever all of the bosses of starfleet meet up in one room... After an attack on one of their bases where it is made clear that starfleet is the target. Suddenly cue Chris Pine's thoughtful moment and realisation and BAM another attack. This has been done so many times it was highly unoriginal. In fact for the most part there was nothing novel about this film.
This film tries to keep you second guessing, though fails spectacularly at that too, anyone thoughtful enough can see through the peril that befalls them. The plot is thrown at you rather than eased into your mind. This is like somebody screaming derivatives at you until you're ready to punch them. Of course the twist is see-through even to a non-trekky. I spent the entire film wanting Benedict Cumberbatch to win. Indeed, Cumberbatch steals the show on a magnificent level, he is simply in his element playing a character such as Harrison and his performance is one that the actor can be incredibly proud of. I slowly became a Cumberbitch. His performance is one of the good things about this film, and like I suggested above there are positives to this work. However, these are outweighed by the negatives. I felt like this could've been a good film, a very good film; if it was it may have led this series on to becoming a great. Though, this feels rushed, it feels unoriginal and apart from some good work from the actors and behind the scenes experts it seriously falls short of the modern expectation of a solid film. Back to the drawing board I think.
Luther (2010)
Highly recommended viewing
This is a sensational show, truly fantastic. In the ever bloated genre of crime drama one could be forgiven for becoming jaded of the sameness of titles. Though, Luther takes this concept and wipes it on the floor and stamps on it a few times while shouting in that unique Idris Elba style tone. What Luther does is takes a bloated genre and makes us realise why it is so bloated. This programme somehow makes crime drama novel again. Be it the exciting and engaging characters, the Nolanesque darkness of London, or the incredible writing of plot lines within it; one will not be left disappointed.
Indeed, Luther does everything right. The character of Luther is incredible; he is a character of many dimensions, brilliance, tragedy, morality; he is a true genius fighting personal battles which he attempts to juggle with his work of being a detective that tackles some of the most creative cases that I've ever seen in a crime drama. The greatness of the writing for the character is of course reflected in the stunning performance that Idris Elba gives. Luther is surrounded by a whole host of memorable fantastic characters, from unsung-heroes and anti -heroes to downright nasty villains that we love to hate. Luther is a credit to British television and a true great inside the genre.
The Room (2003)
Everything about this is appalling, but it forms something special
The Room is perhaps one of the most spectacular films that I have ever witnessed. I have never seen anything so inept and troubled in my life. Indeed, there is something so pathologically wrong with The Room that somehow you can't quite help but applaud it while at the same time feeling like you must take a shower. Central to the film is Tommy Wiseau; the man in charge of the production. When exploring the background surrounding the film it can be noticed that Wiseau went to extreme lengths to make certain that this film be created. He wrote it as a novel and somehow managed to raise $6 million for the production of it. In fact practically every story I hear surrounding the making of this film is hilarious.
This film is Wiseau's centrepiece, it feels as if it's his life's work. Yet, he doesn't stop at purely making it, he stars in it too. Wiseau plays the role of Johnny, an Angelic figure devoted to his "future wife" Lisa (who is perhaps one of the biggest enigmas to ever appear on the big screen). Johnny is certainly something special; without him this film would not be what it is. He is the central orb in which the rest of this tragedy collapses around. He is perhaps the most complicated character ever created; some believe he is from Croatia, Belgium, Norway, Finland and I've heard Denmark too. Whatever country he is from, he certainly isn't American as Wiseau has claimed. Heck, I still wonder whether he's even of this world. Whatever the conclusion, Johnny is perhaps one of the greatest characters to ever come into creation.
The entirety of this film is almost as if it was written by someone who had never been part of any society. The whole thing makes no sense, it's almost nihilistic in the way that it redefines the framework of rules in film. Though, it has been claimed by the staff to be deliberately terrible. This was something quickly admitted to. However, I'm not truly sure that it was intentionally this awful. I think that there was a fair bit of effort put into it, certainly by Wiseau. Whatever the belief, this film manages to do everything horribly wrong, nothing about this, not one scene was something that I thought was lucid. It is a burning trainwreck of awfulness. But amongst the rubble it leaves you amazed at the sheer level of ineptness that you have just witnessed. It leaves you with a need to watch it again. Overall, The Room is a piece of genius that only a severely mentally ill person could ever create and pull off to the level that Wiseau has.
Spring Breakers (2012)
This is an important film
This film largely gets a bad press. It is criticised heavily and pushed to the sidelines, but when I watched it I wondered why. I loved it. I mean I can understand why so many people hate it, it's an easy film to criticise, it's not perfect by any means, but at the same time there's a very special meaning to much of it which is delivered in a very different way to other meaningful films. I think that this message is hugely overlooked in this film and as such this work bludgeoned by film goers. To me this film is an aesthetic tug against our fast paced, vulgar and narcissistic society. It provides a subtle and neat critique of all that is wrong with our modern selves; the now factor, the psychopathic lack of remorse for actions, the party as hard as you can, the vulgarity and tackiness of the pursuit of money. These are topics that the film handles well.
It's certainly not your everyday film, in fact I'd go as far to say that this is one of the weirdest things that I've ever seen. This is a film that you should see; love it or hate, you won't forget it. It's a marmite film, but hell, who forgets about marmite? Never the less, I'd remark that this is an important film with an important message at the right time. In summary, it's overlooked and deserves a viewing.
Soldiers of Fortune (2012)
Stop letting your children make films
You know what; at least I knew Jurassic Shark would be terrible, it didn't make me feel that it would be anything but terrible. This on the other hand masquerades itself as a film you might like to see with Christian Slater and Sean Bean heavily involved. This film is like a man eating plant; it's beautiful from the outside (the film looks like it could be good) but then when you get close it swallows you whole (or in this case sucks your soul dry). In a way it made me reassess my life a little bit, it made me want to call people that I haven't spoken to in a while and just get back in touch with them, because when I watched this monstrosity my blood pressure had risen to extreme levels. This film touched me, but not in a good way, more in an if it was a person we'd be recounting this in a courtroom sort of way.
If you want my honest opinion don't watch this film, the props even look fake, in fact most of the budget looks like it was spent on the opening credits. Furthermore, the directing is dreadful and it's painfully written; nothing really makes that much sense. There's a card playing scene which is acted so poorly I thought that I was on YouTube watching fan made films. Don't waste your time with this.
The Tall Man (2012)
It was perfectly pleasant
The basic premise of 'The Tall Man' is that some neckbeard is going around abducting children from the town of Cold Rock, a town full of belligerent arseholes. Immediately I thought that this was some generic slasher film but it turned out to be so much more. There are many twists and turns, though sometimes they can be incoherent and it took me a short while to figure out what was actually happening. Don't watch this if you're drunk.
Jessica Biel is the star of the show playing a nurse who I think from what I gathered has lived in the town for a while with her son. Biel is fantastic in this film and I think that she deserves a lot of credit as she really lifts the quality. Without her this film would have been savaged by the critics. It's that type of film. I'd recommend it as Wednesday night entertainment, but the main problem is that it just fades into the background which is unfortunate. In summary, if you have a couple of hours, kick back and enjoy.
A Good Day to Die Hard (2013)
This is an Abomination
For me, this is one of, if not the worst film that I have seen in the last five years. I'm not even sure that this deserves the grace of a 1/10. As a massive Die Hard fan I was excited upon hearing that more films would be made. Perhaps this was down to my younger innocence or misguided hope. Though, this is not Die Hard. I'm not quite sure what this is. I think this barely makes the grade of being classed as a film. This monstrosity is the effect of throwing money at a previously successful title and hoping that consumers would be distracted by the massive bangs and whoophas. People deserve more than this.
I largely think that this is poorly written and directed, there is no real story, no real point. John has gone off to Russia to become reunited with his son. I know that the original was an 80s action flick, but this isn't even on that level, this was just made up of ridiculous car chases and then some explosions and some loose overused reasoning underneath the entirety.
The characters seemed like they were written in about five minutes in a meeting of someone who works several other jobs. Seriously, there is nothing to any of the antagonists. This is highlighted by the attempt of giving one antagonist reason through him making a reference to his murderous hunger being based upon his repressed desire to dance. I'm sure that nobody really knew what was going on half the time and that they were most likely just transported to the studio and given a script and told to 'act'.
But what of John McClane? Well I don't know who that was, but that certainly wasn't him. In this film he was closer to an escaped lunatic from a notorious maximum security mental health facility caught up in the action than our beloved John. Though, indeed, perhaps the least likable character was his son who offered absolutely nothing to a story where much of the plot revolves around him.
All in all this is dreadful, and I felt that I had to come here and write this to voice my opinion for the good of the series. When I think of the Die Hard series I don't add this. It's not Die Hard and even on a film level, this is awful. The only reason I didn't walk out of the cinema when I saw this was because I honestly believed that it couldn't get any worse, but unfortunately it did. I didn't know that it was possible to incapacitate a much loved series while simultaneously creating a film which no self respected person could ever be satisfied that they did a good job with on a watch back.
Jurassic Shark (2012)
There are no words
This film doesn't even deserve a 1/10. A few friends and I saw the title of this film knowing that it would be pretty awful... But how wrong we were. This was such a bad film that it exceeded any humour which could be derived from it. The worst thing about this film is that it feels like it takes itself seriously. What a joke. I've seen YouTube videos which are better directed. The camera work is shocking, the range of lighting is abysmal and the sound system is laughable.
I get that this is a low budget film, but a part of me wonders why anyone with an inkling of sanity would even attempt to make a film about a giant shark with such a low budget. I'm sure that with a little more effort the effects could've been better. Even so, if you know that you have a low budget why even make such a film?
The acting is reminiscent of acting in pornography films, especially at the start with the two girls near whatever that body of water was (The two hour splash fight). Yet to be fair a lot of the blame must be shifted to the screenwriters. The dialogue like the rest of the film is terrible at best.
If you want my honest opinion - Don't watch this film, even if you saw the title and thought that it would be funny to get some laughs out of. It's so bad it's not even funny. In fact I'd go so far to say that this film is an abomination to the entire industry and that all of those involved in the making of this spawn of evil should be deeply ashamed. Yet perhaps most of the blame should be laid on those who let it be released and took it seriously. We deserve better and this is a mark of the cheap nature of profiteering.
Blitz (2011)
Promising but ultimately disappointing
Blitz is a police thriller where Jason Statham plays a borderline psychotic bully who somehow ended up becoming a respected police officer in the met police. He takes what he wants and doesn't care about many other people which makes you wonder what he's doing in the police in the first place.
The film spirals off into many different themes including loss, drugs and justice. Many of these feel very rushed and are over before they've begun. The central story however is a very good one with a serial killer on the loose hunting down police officers. Yet a part of me feels that it could've been done much better than it was. With very little to no detail on character development things just sort of happen and nobody really cares.
On the other hand, there were some top notch acting performances, especially that of 'The Blitz' who managed to be the only bigger psycho than Statham's unlikeable character. Also the refreshing setting of the underbelly of London proved to be enjoyable.
Overall, Blitz is an originally promising film which tries to do too much and as a result ends up lacking a certain spark.