Amongst the best episodes of the last series of Doctor Who was surely Toby Whithouse’s The God Complex, a richly rewarding piece of work that was willing to steer the Doctor towards much darker places. The Being Human creator has form with Doctor Who, of course, having also previously penned School Reunion and The Vampires Of Venice. But with A Town Called Mercy, he’s put together something of a rarity: a Doctor Who western....
WARNING: IF YOU’VE NOT SEEN THE EPISODE, THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD! What I loved about the episode is, I suspect, what one or two traditionalists will dislike. That the threat that had built up on Christmas Day dissolved so easily, and so early on in the episode. I’ve criticised Russell T Davies in the past for scampering to his finales after superb build up work, but here he very much made the right choice in getting matters wrapped up fairly swiftly....
Its creators know that, while it might be interesting to look at a row of Daleks through the ages, or that being in the same room as Tom Baker’s scarf will give some people a thrill, what most of us really want is to be in the Doctor’s world. More than any amount of exhibits or merchandise, we want to walk into a small blue police box and end up inside the heart of a massive, whirring, alien spaceship....
I don’t think Downton Abbey wanted to go. The season four finale seemed loath to say goodbye, returning ad-break after ad-break to dish out a bit more plot and then a bit more, like a toddler slowly and solemnly distributing Lego to a group of tolerant but bemused adults. Its never-ending story took in two secret missions, five budding romances, three marriage proposals, and quite possibly, a murder. The big news was that rapist Green is no more, him having gone the way of a used chip paper and ended up wrapped around the wheel arch of a Piccadilly bus....
It’s the second day of the 62nd Edinburgh International Film Festival and after a pretty sleepy first day – vague details of which in a second – things are really kicking off today as the program opens itself up to the public. Last night saw Sienna Miller and Keira Knightley in town to support John Maybury’s new one (and opening night film) The Edge Of Love. I wasn’t able to get into the screening or the after-show party at the nearby student union, but I did walk by the building itself....
Based on a true story, the depiction of Robert Watson Watt and Skip Wilkins’ invention of radar is somewhat unbelievable as depicted here, and has an element of corniness that is either endearing or aggravating depending on your outlook. It’s essentially the story of endearing boffins slowly and gruellingly eliminating seemingly endless problems via three – count them, three – chalkboard crossfade montages with inspirational music. Said music looms over the film as if striving for a mood at odds with what’s being depicted....
4.6 Door Number Three It’s interesting to see Falling Skies leaning increasingly on its history to bring back tidbits from the past and make them relevant to the current events. In the case of Lexi Mason-Glass (Glass-Mason?), it’s wise of the show and writer Melissa Glenn to bring back elements from all sides of the Mason family to tie things in the fourth season to those in the first three....
5.10 Reborn Yes, Falling Skies stays true to its corny roots, in spite of the promise of bloodshed and a war to end all wars and all that good stuff. The deus-ex-machina weapon is ready, Tom Mason and the gang are there ready to sneak into the heart of occupied Washington DC, and all is primed to end the alien threat once and for all. This is Falling Skies, so there have to be complications, but when you’ve got Tom Mason around, every complication only serves to make him a bigger hero....
“Sour” may be a little harsh, because I don’t find anything taking place on FX’s new adaptation to be true heresy or tarnishing the classic picture, but some scenes on tonight’s episode just feel like pointless retooling, particularly Lester’s storyline. I guess it isn’t much of a problem if you haven’t seen the film, but then again, by naming the show Fargo it sort of seems like creators are hoping that you have....
2.6 Sicut Cervus The second season of The Walking Dead is the farm season. The gang spent a whole season just hanging out on Hershel’s farm while looking for Sophia. Well, in case you’ve forgotten, Sophia was there on the farm with them, but she wasn’t alive; she was stuck in a barn full of walkers that Hershel was keeping just in case a cure could be found. (I’m not sure how you’re supposed to cure death, but I’m not a veterinarian, so what do I know?...
3.15 Things Bad Begun & 3.16 Sleigh Ride The Clarks are no strangers to peril—and were often directly responsible for the chaos that killed those around them. The same can be said for Strand and Daniel, both scheming agents of chaos with more lives than a cat. As much as I’ve enjoyed watching the action and drama unfold this season, Fear wants to have it all by endangering their characters but swooping in at the last minute to rescue them....
It’s a symptom of our culture that films like the Fifty Shades franchise are greeted with so much scorn and pretentious scoffing. These movies are widely regarded as mindless fluff designed primarily to titillate, and for some reason people take great pleasure in watching them torn down. But the undeniable truth is that they’re popular, and the conversation around this sequel has remained steady when you could easily imagine a reality where the franchise was a momentary craze that faded into obscurity as soon as the first film left cinemas....
But at least for Fifty Shades Freed, this film is aware of its disposability, and for the first time in three installments, it embraces its ridiculousness and silliness. So in the end, maybe this really is the series’ grace note? Right from the start, the film makes no bones about why we’re all here. Before the opening credits are even over, Christian and Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) have stumbled through their wedding vows and are already off on a romantic honeymoon in Paris and the South of France....
‘Too many dudesWith too many dicksToo close to my shitToo hard to meet chicksI need better oddsMore broads, less rodsI came to do battleScadaddle with the cattle prods’ Following the song we find Jemaine waking up in the bed of a girl, but not just any girl – an Australian. Seemingly he was able to pull despite there being too many dicks on the dance floor. Naturally, he tries to escape unnoticed but can’t get out of the door....
With their new Edinburgh show coming up, I met up with the girls minus Jess and prayed I didn’t piss them off in case they beat me up. Name: Beattie EdmonsonAge: 23Comedy Heroes: Bill Hicks, Larry David, Julia Davies, Chris MorrisFavourite Comedy Shows: Jam Name: Eleanor ThomAge: 25Comedy Heroes: Bill Hicks, John Cleese, Charlie Chaplin, Julia Davies, Caroline Aherne. Connie Booth has got to be in there!Favourite Comedy Shows: The Royle Family, Fawlty Towers, Big Train, Jam, Brass Eye, all that kind of stuff!...
3.16 Os However, two things resurrected it for me, one being the appearance of Alan Ruck (Speed, Greek, Twister) as Dr. Krick. He’s a great actor, and convincingly pitches the anguish of a father prepared to take extreme measures to help his disabled son. His discovery that two of the heaviest metals can be combined to make something super-light doesn’t actually make any sense, and eventually it’s revealed that it was never supposed to....
So then. Bran has discovered that the Lannisters like to keep it in the family, and has been thrown from the top of a tower for his troubles. Ned Stark has accepted the position of the King’s Hand, and Danerys is getting tired of being roughly taken from behind by her new husband. Welcome back to the land of Westeros! The second episode of Game Of Thrones picks up a few days after the events of the first, allowing the producers to keep the story moving, while skipping over a few parts that can be left up to the audience’s assumption and intelligence....
This review contains spoilers. 2.2 The Night Lands The situation in Westeros is rapidly declining. Somehow, the ruling boy-king has managed to turn a bad situation with multiple rebels and hundreds of thousands of people wandering around the countryside with weapons into a worse situation with multiple claimants for the throne, open rebellion in the north, and omnipresent talk of violent upheval within King’s Landing itself. All it took was a few dozen dead bastards and boom, Joffrey and Cersei Baratheon suddenly look like bad guys....
This review contains spoilers. 2.4 Garden of Bones The major point of pride for Game of Thrones is their ability to capture entire cultures and condense them to particular areas or bits of architecture. This week’s episode adds not one, but two major points to the clockwork animated map in the credits. They are very different, and unlike anything seen on the show thus far. One of these, the walled oasis of Qarth, is merely hinted at....
7.4 The Spoils Of War It’s been two hours since Game Of Thrones aired The Spoils Of War in the United States, and I’ve been sitting on my couch for nearly the entire time, trying to figure out just how to do the show justice. Game Of Thrones is one of the most intense viewing experiences on television, and the seventh season is pulling absolutely no punches when it comes to satisfying viewers with emotionally gripping spectacle....
