bbc | the m0vie blog

Friends & Crocodiles (Review)

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Darren

The wonderful folks at the BBC have given me access to their BBC Global iPlayer for a month to give the service a go and trawl through the archives. I’ll have some thoughts on the service at the end of the month, but I thought I’d also take the opportunity to enjoy some of the fantastic content.

Stephen Poliakoff is regarded as one of the best British film, theatre and television writers working today. In 2006, the writer and director produced two television movies linked by character and by theme. While Gideon’s Daughter is perhaps the more successful of the two, Friends & Crocodilesremains an interesting – if not consistently satisfying – viewing experience. While it doesn’t have as strong a cast as its companion piece, I think it covers more interesting ground, and feels a tad more ambitious, even if it does succumb to the same awkwardness in places.

Dealing with his inner Damians...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: Barack Obama, bbc, BBC iPlayer, books, Chih-Yuan Chen, Crocodile, Crocs, Cuba, Damian Lewis, David Cameron, E-book, Great Britain, Great Gatsby, Guji Guji, Helen McCrory, Michelle Obama, Paul, Poliakoff, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Shopping, Stephen Poliakoff, The Selfish Crocodile, Venture capital, white house | Leave a comment »

The Thick of It – Series I (Review)

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Darren

The British sure know their political comedy. The Thick of It is something like a spiritual successor to the cult British political comedies Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister, from the mind of creator Armando Iannucci. Iannucci is perhaps best known for his work with Steve Coogan on the character of Alan Partridge, and there’s a lot of the same awkward comedy here. Perhaps it’s best to describe The Think of It as the ideological opposite of The West Wing, a bucket of cold British water chucked over America political idealism. It’s crass, profane, cynical, sly and absolutely brilliant.

Thick and thin...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: Alan Partridge, Armando Iannucci, bbc, bbc global iplayer, BBC iPlayer, Chris Langham, Department of Social Affairs, iraq war, kenneth branagh, Mark Thompson, peter capaldi, Prime Minister, Sidetracked, steve coogan, Television, The Thick of It, the west wing, Thick of It, Tucker, Wallander, Yes Minister | Leave a comment »

Moses Jones (Review)

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Darren

The thing about Moses Jones is that it, quite simply, blaxploitation. I don’t mean that’s a comedy or a wry deconstruction, the BBC equivalent of Black Dynamite or Undercover Brother. It’s a modern example of blaxploitation rather than a post-modern examination. It offers serious issue-based drama, playing its subject matter with complete seriousness and utter respect. For most of its runtime, it actually works quite well as an attempt to pull the conventions of blaxploitation narratives into the twenty-first century and transport them from the mean American streets to inner-city London. While the ending falls apart under its own weight, and a desire to wrap up absolutely everything in a neat little bow, there’s quite a bit to like about this BBC detective show.

Holy Moses...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: bbc, bbc global iplayer, BBC iPlayer, Black Dynamite, egypt, god, Indira Varma, israel, Israelite, Joe Penhall, London, Lord, Moses, Moses Jones, Shaun Parkes, Shepherd | Leave a comment »

The Quatermass Experiment (2005) (Review)

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Darren

The Quatermass Xperiment was a very important place in the history of genre television. Originally airing as a six-part drama on the BBC, the 1953 adventure serial demonstrated that televised science-fiction could be written for adults. Written by Nigel Kneale, the show had a major influence on the genre not only at home (inspiring Doctor Who), but also internationally (allegedly paving the way for 2001: A Space Odyssey and Alien). In 2005, as part of BBC 4’s “TV on Trial” season, a remake of the classic serial was commissioned, with one especially fascinating facet: it would be broadcast live.

Man of science...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: bbc, bbc global iplayer, BBC iPlayer, david tennant, Jason Flemyng, live television, quatermass, quatermass experiment, quatermass experiment (2005), quatermass xperiment, science fiction, Television | Leave a comment »

Wallander: One Step Behind (Review)

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Darren

And so we reach the end of the first season of the British adaptations of Henning Mankell’s acclaimed Swedish crime novels. Wallander is a series that is probably much stronger than it really should be, offering ninety-minute-long mysteries that are produced the standards of feature films. Director Philip Martin returns after directing the first episode to helm the final in the first trilogy of adaptations. (There would be a second set of three broadcast in 2010 and another set of three to be shown in 2012.) Strangely enough, this final episode actually manages to give a significant amount of depth to the title character, finally suggesting a role worthy of the depth Branagh imbues into it.

We've got a hit on our hands...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: Arts and Entertainment, bbc, BBC iPlayer, Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Henning Mankell, kenneth branagh, Kurt Wallander, One Step Behind, Sky Arts, Sweden, tom hiddleston, Wallander, Wallander: One Step Behind | 8 Comments »

Wallander: Firewall (Review)

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Darren

Firewall feels a bit more like a conventional little mystery thriller, especially measured against Sidetracked, the pilot episode of Wallander. It’s very much a conventional television “whodunnit” (or, perhaps, a “whydunnit”), with our lead character opening an investigation into a fairly simple case, but asking a series of questions that point towards something all-together larger. It does feel a bit lighter than its direct predecessor, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. After all, it retains the two key virtues of the series. Kenneth Branagh is still on fine form as the eponymous detective, while the Swedish scenery is still absolutely haunting.

Hitting a brick Wallander...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: art, bbc, BBC iPlayer, Firewall, Firewalls, Henning Mankell, IPod, kenneth branagh, Kurt Wallander, Maryville Tennessee, Niall MacCormick, Organization, Organizations, Philip Martin, Recycling, Sheriff, United States, Walland Tennessee, Wallander, Wallander: Firewall | 2 Comments »

The Sopranos: 46 Long (Review)

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Darren

With the second episode of the show, we can see things beginning to settle into place a bit. While David Chase did a phenomenal job with the pilot episode – introducing threads that would pay off years down the line – here we get a chance to see The Sopranos settle into its groove. The series has been praised, quite rightly, as one of the great and defining television series, and many writers have echoed the claim that the series is effectively a “televised novel”, wherein each episode could be considered a chapter as part of a greater whole, with small patterns becoming evident once the viewer pulls back far enough. I’m not sure I entirely agree – I think that each episode does a phenomenal story covering its own ground while playing into larger themes and that each fifty-five minute show is more than just an idle chapter.

Mommy issues...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: american dream, arts, bbc, Carmela Soprano, David Chase, drama, hbo, Italian American, Livia Soprano, Programs, Soprano, Television, Television program, Tony, United States | 4 Comments »

Wallander: Sidetracked (Review)

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Darren

In hindsight, it’s very hard to divorce Wallander from The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Both are Swedish murder mysteries exploring the darker side of what one character here terms “the great social experiment”, both involve uncovering old secrets buried in the past, and both are adapted by the production company Yellow Bird. In fact, the BBC adaptation of Henning Mankell’s novels actually debuted a year before the theatrical release of that other hugely influential Scandinavian thriller. Featuring a blistering centre performance from Kenneth Branagh and absolutely superb production, I think that the BBC’s production of Wallander actually stands in fairly good company.

Out in the field...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: art, Art dealer, Arthur Conan Doyle, Ash Wednesday, bbc, David Teague, Henning Mankell, Idris Elba, kenneth branagh, Kurt Wallander, Michael Cummings, Shopping, Sweden, Thematic, tom hiddleston, United States, Visual Arts, Wallander | Leave a comment »

A Month on the BBC Global iPlayer…

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Darren

Thanks to the wonderful folk at the BBC, I’ve been given a month’s subscription to the BBC Global iPlayer to try out the service. The BBC is probably the best national broadcaster in the world, and the international standard for original drama. There’s a reason that so much talent (whether in front or behind the camera) developed there. So the app handily streams BBC content to my iPhone to enjoy at my leisure. It seems perfect for the traveller on the go.

Over the next month, I’m going to be using it, reviewing some content and trying to appraise the service. If you have anything on the BBC you’d like to point me to, feel free to leave a comment below. Any suggestions will be appreciated. I’m looking forward to tucking into a rick library of shows I missed the first time around. I’ll be back at the end of the month with a more in-depth review of the service, and with my own findings. I’m already ready to tuck into Wallander and Sherlock.

Thanks again to the great sports at the BBC for giving me access.

Filed under: Television | Tagged: Australia, bbc, BBC iPlayer, Handhelds, IPad, iphone, IPod Touch, Smartphones | 1 Comment »

Doctor Who: The Doctor, The Widow & The Wardrobe (Review)

Posted on December 25, 2011 by Darren

Where are we?

In a forest. In a box. In the sitting room. Try to keep up.

– Lily and the Doctor sum things up

I could get used to this “coopting a holiday classic” thing that Steven Moffat has going. After all, last year riffed on A Christmas Carol (right down to the name), and this one leans pretty heavily on The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe. I imagine a Doctor Who episode themed around It’s a Wonderful Life can’t be too far away. Still, strangely enough, the episode worked best as an illustration of the show’s wonderful heart and its charming understanding of childhood psychology – even if the actual science-fiction plot was a little disappointing and the ending felt like a bit of a copout. Certainly not quite as good as last year’s entry into the Doctor Who Christmas canon, but not a waste of time either.