Review: GHTTB: LoM, 1.1

Life on Mars: Series One, Episode One

I've often spoken about how it's important to set up your stall cohesively but quickly. The only thing that Life on Mars has going for it is the nostalgic richness of the 1970s environment, and so the first five or so minutes in the present really fail to catch one's immediate interest...
     It's only when work-obsessed DCI Sam Tyler gets knocked down in a car crash that the story really starts to unfold. You see, Tyler happens to wake up in 1973 to a soundtrack of David Bowie, demoted to DI and forced to work with the much more instinctive DCI Gene Hunt. Hunt is a loudmouthed, misogynist bigot, and he's captured the heart of the nation.
    As an opener, LoM's first episode does wonders to get you in the mood for some 70s police prodecure, as well as stamping down its strange style. Only Sam is particularly well characterised at this point, with the others merely empty shells of their particular character trait.
     Of note (of course), is the soundtrack, which is an excuse on its own to watch the show. A mix of some of the best songs of the 1970s (however unchronological) gives the show a great atmosphere. Adding to this are the nostalgic flares all over the place, and, at least for me, the recognisable places in Manchester where the series was filmed.
     Overall, the pilot shows us the ropes of the series, and gives basic outlines of its characters. It firmly lays down the cutesy, nostalgic atmosphere, while having a gritty murder to get along with. It is a little unnerving to see Sam go on mad rants as he tries to wake himself up, but that's part of the series and it would seem odd without it.

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SuperSunday: Goodbye Bafana

Super Sundays
Goodbye Bafana (2007)

Billie August presents this moving true story, following the life of James Gregory, prison warden to influential black-rights hero Nelson Mandela. The tale is beautifully shown by August's skillful direction and excellent choice of filminh locations. This film is not only emotionally potent, but beautiful.
     James Gregory is an average white man in 1970s South Africa. He's a prison guard, wildly suspicious of the black population, and has a similarly strung wife and two kids. However, his childhood knowledge of the black language Xhosa means that the South African government put him in to watch over Nelson Mandela. In the prison he starts to get to know and empathise with Mandela. Looking further and further into the horrors of Apartheid, Gregory starts to fight between his duties of country, and of conscience.
     I can't talk much about "plot", so to speak, as this is a true tale, but it is dramatised exceedingly well. All three leads play their parts to the full, and the genuine feeling of fraterntity between Joseph Fiennes and Dennis Haysbert makes Mandela's release at the end of the film all the more powerful. The film presents an exceedingly positive view of humanity on the whole; in all of our petty, rascist  squabblings, the worst of us can still rise above it and treat other with respect. This is emphathised by Mandela and Gregory's relationship throughout the film.
     As above, the film is aesthetically beautiful, which counterpoints the harsh dealings occuring in the prisons and really helps to highlight the plight of these peoples. August's direction is superb, with wonderful shots and a flexible attitude in regards to setting and character. The music score only reinforces the film's poignancy as well as fitting perfectly with the setting.
     Ultimately, this is a perfect dramatisation of the long period of Apartheid. The film takes no prisoners in regard to the idiotic and harmful nature of white-black rascism but it also paints a positive picture about the goodness of humanity. A must-see.

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Review: Merlin 3.10: Queen of Hearts

The entire special effects budget for Series Three.

Once again, Merlin relies on the strength of its characters and the acting of its leads to craft a good story. This episode was a decent watch through the majority, although there were many areas treated a little too kiddishly for my tastes. This episode was written by Howard Overman (Writer of Misfits. His latest Merlin effort this series was the atrocious Goblin's Gold.), and it shows, with intense character drama and a comedic tone that ran alongside the tension instead of detracting from it.
     Morgana's prophetic dreams guided her to attempt to seperate Arthur and Gwen, preventing either from taking the throne. She organised a quiet meeting between them in the forest, and then led Uther to find them. Angry at finding his son with a serving girl, Uther (the bastard) orders Gwen banished. When Arthur says that he will go with her, and return to put Gwen on the throne, Morgana changes tactics and sets Gwen up as a witch. As she is readied for execution, Merlin cottons on and disguises himself as an aging wizard to clear Gwen's name.
     The romance between Arthur and Gwen no longer feels forced, with Overman's sublte and realistic dialogue allowing for plenty of touching but realistic scenes. In fact, everyone in the cast got great lines (except for Merlin, see below) and a good chance to stretch their acting muscles.
     I have only one issue with this episode, as captioned. While disguised as the old sourcerer, Merlin really fails to fit the part, meaning that he is more or less recognised by everyone (luckily only in the form of, "Have I met you before...?") I don't think this is Colin Morgan's fault; I think it's poor scriptwriting on the part of Overman, such a shame in an otherwise brilliant episode.
     Overall, Howard Overman's story may have some small issues regarding innapproriately placed humour, but otherwise it's a realistic, character driven piece that makes use of its main players well and never lets up the pace.
     Next week: Mindless filler!!!

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Review: Misfits 2.1

There are just some shows that I can't, ney, won't miss. Misfits is one of them. Main writer Howard Overman is a bit of a mixed bag; his other projects include terrible comedy Vexed and some of the best and worst of Merlin. However, his project here is perhaps one of the most ambitious and high-quality programs on television today, with realistic and gritty dialogue with potent drama to boot.
     The first series (which I hope to be reviewing in the new year, once I get the boxset) did an excellent job of setting out the show's stall. Five (good-hearted, generally) delinquents gain superpowers in a freak storm. It may seem like a light and fluffy premise, but the show's general realism with the material it is given is a breath of fresh air. It may not be for everyone, due to the highly crude and sexualised content, but it's certainly something which I refuse to miss.
     Now onto the episode itself. The characters are very well utlised here, each displaying their own abilities and personalites as the events around them tried to knock them down. The enemy this episode, after newly-immortal Nathan was returned from the grave, was an ex-aquaintance of outcast Simon, who had become obsessed with him during their time shared in a psychiatric unit. She gained the power of shape-shifting in the storm, and provided quite a bit of fun out-of-character acting. Mainly, this episode was a character excercise for Simon, who, after his weak status in Series One, has turned out to be one of the series most powerful and interesting characters. Other additions include a cocky new probation worker, the promise of an end to their probation service, and a mysterious stranger who stalks the group.
     Despite some light crudity, the episode is both gripping and hilarious, and the acting is yet again spot on. I think Misfits is actually better than before, now that all of the main pieces are aranged on the board. I'm quite intrigued by the blooming storyline, and I certainly won't miss this next week.

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The Gene Hunt Time Travel Bonanza

Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes. I've mentioned these two shows twice before, near the end of their final bow. I like to call them (for future reference) the Gene Hunt Time Travel Bonanza, mainly because of the all-important character, DCI Gene Hunt.
     Like with Red Dwarf and Survivors, I will be reviewing each episode of these series individually, every Monday here on Audenshaw Reviews. What with my lack of posts due to school work, I hope these will satiate your appetite.
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Review: Merlin 3.9: Love in the Time of Dragons

Richard Wilson, who in this episode plays a piece of wood.

What an unremmitting piece of old hogwash. This week, Merlin decided not only to pull out the old chest of Merlin Plotlines, but also focussed on by far its weakest character. This is not only irritating, but also worrying as we approach this year's finale. With a fourth series now in planning, will I get my Uther-death?
     The plot is basically the standard filler - 1.) Magic comes to Camelot. 2.) Merlin sees this. 3.) People in the court don't believe him. 4.) Merlin is right. 5.) Magic thing tries to kill Uther. 6.) Merlin and Gaius stop the creature.
     This time round it's Gaius himself who's being incredibly ignorant, as he swoons over his lost love (Pauline Collins, of many, many roles including both Classic and Nu Who). Unfortunately, she is under the influence of a "Manticorn", which is supposed to be this horriffic, fearsome creature and so is portryed as an obviously CGI cross between a dog, scorpion and Patsy Kensit.

The Manticorn. Should I be frightened at this point?

    The story should have some promise, giving Gaius a love interest that isn't an obese pixie, but it doesn't because for some reason, Richard Wilson has gone all wooden. Yep. The actor responsible for the glaring, mad rage of Victor Meldrew cannot act as if in love, and is instead wooden and stern. I can't help but think that this was what ruined the episode most of all.
     Elsewhere, and for once (to my obvious relief), t'was Arthur that believed Merlin, and had Pauline Collins put away while Gaius sulked and Merlin tried to get rid of the beast. In the end, Gaius stopped sulking and we had a "happy" ending, but it felt a little OTT as magical endings on Merlin tend to do.
     In conclusion, Love in the Time of Dragons is pointless filler with terrible acting from its focus and a hideously obvious CGI monster. It's the same cut-and-paste format that I've seen too many times on Merlin, and I just hope that the Mythology episode next week can bring my spirits back up.
 
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P.S. My apologies for posting Super Sunday on Saturday. To make up for it, here is a fun Merlin cartoon I found on the internet.

SuperSunday: District 9

Kicking off African November here on Audenshaw Reviews...

District 9 (2009)

From the man who brought us The Lord of the Rings, District 9 is an action-packed sci-fi social commentary on miliarisation and the evils of apartheid. It rarely lets up on its breath-takingly powerful and sometimes tragic journey of discovery, and provides not only a scathing satire but entertainment in its own right.
    The plot follows an alien ship that has landed over Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1990. Its occupants are thousands of ill and starving "prawns" that are apprehended and then segregated by the weapons company MultiNational United into an area known only as District 9. As MNU attempts to move the prawns out of Johannesburg, company head Smit elects low-rank employee Wikus Van de Merwe (Shalto Coply) to head the operation. Wikus is elated, until unfortunate circumstances force him onto the side of the Prawns in an attempt to save both his life and the lives of the aliens.
     The majority of the film is composed of faux security and archive footage, and is presented like a documentary on the events of the film. This is a flexible and insightful method of filmmaking, and director Neil Blomkamp's expert skill only reinforces it. The CGI necessary to create the film is incredibly immersive and realistic, and Coply's skill in interacting with his imaginary environment is astounding.
     The plot is a little Anvilicious in places, but not without reason as anvils need to be dropped. The character development in both Wikus and his main Prawn ally Christopher heps the flow of the film immensly, as we watch a deliberately ignorant and obnoxious bureaucrat transform into a tragic and sympathetic everyman. We also see vicious villians Smit and army general Koobus get their rightful just deserts, which is made so much greater by their strong characterisation and how their actions echo with reality.
    The film's mixture of strong satire and awe inspiring action means that there is something for everyone - if you're not watching for the politics, then there's still the massive alien weaponry on show. This is a great film, of unusually high quality for a Summer blockbuster, and a must-watch.


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Reviewing the Situation

Long term readers of the blog will remember my second ever review, first written on the 8/12/09, of the 2009 Audenshaw School Play, Grease the Musical. Well, nearly a year has passed and now it's coming up to the time when I will review this year's school play, Oliver! the Musical. There is one difference this year, however - I am starring in the play!
     Despite this, I'll try and make my review as critical and (hopefully) entertaining as possible. Expect Review: Oliver! the School Musical Version on 18th December, as part of Audenshaw Reviews Anniversary Month.

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Review: Merlin 3.8: The Eye of the Phoenix

Merlin's recent quality is consistant. The Eye of the Phoenix is another decent episode, but it does have a few rogue elements that could have been streamlined out to change this from a decent story to a great one.
     As Arthur's quest to earn his place on the throne, he is sent off on the most dangerous of them all - to journey to the Perilous lands, a place of magic where very few ever get out alive. Merlin is obviously worried for his safety, and when Arthur sets off with a life-draining amulet from Morgana, he sets of with Gwaine to rescue the Prince.
     This episode is stuffed to the brim with cliche; it turns out that the whole thing had been organised by the leader of the realm to get Merlin to kill him, after giving him some magic water (don't ask me, how am I suppose to know these things?). It also had Merlin using his Deus Ex Dragonspeak, something I deteste with a passion. However, the episode flows well and has another unique story structure, which is good for the series overall.
     So overall, not a bad episode, but one that certainly has a lot of faults. Next week looks suspiciously like pointless filler. Oh joy.

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SuperSunday: The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight (2008)

Why do I love this film? Why do so many people love this film? Why was the third highest grossing film of all time about a man in a Bat costume? Well, my dear reader, welcome to the well-directed and well-written world of The Dark Knight Saga... (Warning, this review assumes you know a little bit about Batman.)
     After the horrific Batman and Robin in 1997, effort was made to seperate the franchise from the light-hearted attitude that led to that fiasco. One director decided to give it a go; Christopher Nolan (One of the best directors in the business) released Batman Begins in 2005, with a star cast consisting of Christian Bale (Bruce Wayne/Batman), Michael Cane (Alfred the Butler), Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox), and many more. That film was a roaring success, updating the concept of the Masked Vigilante for the modern era and firmly stamping a serious take on the series. It didn't, however, use the franchise's most popular villian, The Joker.
     The Dark Knight's strength lies in two things: The seriousness of how it deals with the concepts, and the performance of Heath Ledger as The Joker. His incarnation of the character is a chilling psychopath, in direct contrast to the consistantly comical depictions previously. I wouldn't, as other have, call it truly frightening, but it certainly is chilling just because of how convincing and madcap the character truly is.
     Elsewhere, the strong story and character development stands out; particularly in the transformation of the character of Harvey Dent: A shining, perfect politician who slowly takes on more of a negative outlook on life until his girlfriend is seemingly left to die by Batman, and he finally turns to a path of retribution.
     Really, I'm just gushing about the film, as so many others hav done. Go and buy this DVD. You won't be disappointed.

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