drama | the m0vie blog

Edge of Darkness (BBC)

Posted on September 21, 2010 by Darren

Keeping with the theme of nuclear annihilation that began with Doctor Strangelove yesterday, I’m taking a look at Edge of Darkness, the BBC serial which was recently remade into a (reportedly disappointing) Mel Gibson film. Directed by Martin Campbell, who would go on to save Bond twice (with GoldenEye and Casino Royale) and is directing the upcoming Green Lantern, Edge of Darkness was something of a phenomenon in British television during the eighties. Originally broadcast on BBC 2, it was popular enough that it garnered a repeat on the parent station (BBC 1) within days. That’s something practically unheard of. And, yes, it’s just that good.

How does Detective Craven bear the loss of his child?

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: bbc, bob peck, britain, drama, edge of darkness, eighties, england, ian mcneice, joe don baker, margaret thatcher, martin campbell, miniseries, nuclear, nuclear weapons, Television, thatcher, thatcher's britain, Willie Nelson, zoe wanamaker | 2 Comments »

A Matter of Time – Doctor Who: Season 5

Posted on June 26, 2010 by Darren

Sorry… Sorry! Dropped it!

Hello, Stonehenge! Who takes the Pandorica, takes the universe. But bad news everyone… cause guess who! Listenw you lot, cause you’re all whizzing about – it’s really could distracting. Could you all just stay still for a minute? Because I. am. talking!

Now, question of the hour: who’s got the Pandorica? Answer: I do. Next question: who’s coming to take it from me?

C’mon!

Look at me: no plan, no backup, no weapons worth a damn – oh, and something else I don’t have? Anything to lose! So if you’re sitting up there in all your silly little spaceships with your silly little guns and you’ve got any plans on taking the Pandorica tonight, just remember who’s standing in your way; remember every black day I ever stopped you; and then – and then! – do the smart thing: let somebody else try first.

– The Doctor, The Pandorica Opens

Well, the first season of Stephen Moffat’s run of Doctor Who is over. And what a ride it was. On one hand, you had budget cuts at the BBC, putting an even great financial strain on the show’s transition to high definition, the first wholsecale chance of the entire cast between seasons since the show’s transition to colour in 1970 (and, fittingly, this was the show’s transition to high definition), and you had the World Cup skewing ratings towards the backend of the season. On the other hand, you had the writer of some of the show’s best episodes directing the entire run behind the scenes, the exploration of the time travelling nature of the central protagonist, and a blatant admission that the show is more a fairytale than a science fiction epic. And along the way, there was barely enough time to catch your breath.

No time to lose...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: amy, amy pond, amy's choice, arthur darvill, autons, bbc, cold blood, daleks, doctor, doctor who, drama, family, flesh and stone, foreshadowing, matt smith, paradox, rory, rory williams, script, stephen moffat, tardis, Television, the beast below, the big bang, the doctor, the eleventh hour, the hungry earth, the lodger, the pandorica opens, the vampires of venice, the weeping angels, time, time of angels, time travel, victory of the daleks, vincent and the doctor | 9 Comments »

Battlestar Galactica – Season 3

Posted on December 15, 2009 by Darren

“There must be some way out of here,” said the joker to the thief,
“There’s too much confusion, I can’t get no relief.”

– The “Mysterious” Song, Crossroads, Part II

The series continues to be one of the most interesting television phenomenon of the last decade as it enters what is, technically at least, it’s penultimate season. This is the point where mythology-based shows typically come apart, crushed under their own weight – the point where they have to start answering at least some of their own questions, rather than simply posing them to the audience. The problem is, as many shows have found out, answering questions isn’t nearly as fun as posing them. Battlestar Galactica, seemingly afraid of the potential comfort that giving those answers would offer, instead opts to delve even deeper into the rabbit hole – picking answers to questions suggested by earlier events and then using that to move the show forward in a fascinating momentum. Because of this weird combination of answers and deeper questions, the show somehow manages to increase its complexity and its fascination year-after-year.

Full of nebulous concepts...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: all along the watchtower, battlestar galactic season 3, battlestar galactica, cylons, drama, exodus, humanity, new caprica, review, sci-fi, Television, themes | 3 Comments »

Battlestar Galactica: Season 2

Posted on November 22, 2009 by Darren

This isn’t about Sharon. It’s about something much bigger than that. It’s about the long term survival of the Fleet. It’s about the way we conduct ourselves in all of this.

Laura Roslin, Sacrifice

You know, when we fought the Cylons, we did it to save ourselves from extinction. But we never answered the question, why? Why are we as a people worth saving? We still commit murder because of greed, spite, jealousy. And we still visit all of our sins upon our children. We refuse to accept the responsibility for anything that we’ve done.

– Commander Bill Adama, Miniseries

This year, mankind is its own worst enemy. The remnants of humanity are driven to the bring of civil war not once, but twice. The series lands in its sophmore season running, though it seems to run into a bit of bother balancing itself over a full year. That isn’t to say that it isn’t still spectacular television – far from it – but that there are moments here when the series appears to lose focus (if only for an episode or two at a time). Still, it remains one of the most interesting and dynamic television dramas ever conceived.

It's some kinda storm out there...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: adama, baltar, battlestar galactica, bettlestar galactica: season 2, black market, cylons, downloaded, drama, epiphanies, home, laura roslin, lay down your burdens, pegasus, resurrection ship, review, sci-fi, science fiction, Television | 1 Comment »

Non-Review Review: Into The Storm

Posted on November 13, 2009 by Darren

In my defense, I haven’t seen the original 2002 movie The Gathering Storm, to which this movie serves as a sequel – but I think the movie (as a historical piece) stands very well on its own two feet. Besides, aside from the producers (the brothers Scott, obviously attempting to follow Spielberg into the World War II market) and writer (Hugh Whitemore), the series has little in common with its illustrious predecessor. The director is new. The roles have been recast. If it weren’t for the linking theme of the word ‘Storm’ in the title and the fact that this movie picks up where the other left off (at least chronologically), there would be nothing to really tie it down. So, with the confession that I have not seen the original made-for-TV movie, what did I think of Into The Storm?

Cry Havok! And let slip the insurance-selling dogs of war!

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews, Television | Tagged: brendan gleeson, churchill, drama, hbo, into the storm, made-for-television, Movie, non-review review, review, Television, winston churchill | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: No Country For Old Men

Posted on October 12, 2009 by Darren

It’s a funny world. But it has always been a funny world and it’s arrogant to presume that the world waited until we got here to go and get itself in a mess. Sure, some of us carry the fire off into that night, but it’s a very cold and very dark night and all we have is faith that there is an even greater fire out there waiting for us. No Country For Old Men is a stunning film – an odd fusion of the Coen Brothers with Cormac McCarthy which manages to say a hell-of-a-lot without weighing itself down with too much exposition or dialogue. It’s a great film which realy stands out even amongst the Coens’ already-impressive filmography.

Yes, it's a silencer. On a shotgun.

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: adaptation, anton chigurh, best picture, best picture oscar, book, coen brothers, cormac mccarthy, drama, film, javier bardem, josh brolin, Movie, Movies, no country for old men, non-review review, review, the coen brothers, thriller, tommy lee jones, western, woody harrelson | Leave a comment »

House: Season 5

Posted on October 5, 2009 by Darren

It’s a strange world. It’s startling that last year’s writers’ strike produced one the most stunning years of television that I can recall. In particular the fourth seasons of both House and Lost managed to inject a new sense of life into premises that had been wearing more than a little thin. Both series finales were fantastic, and promised wonderful things for the coming year. And both series subsequently failed to live up to the promise offered by those finales. In fairness, Lost was pretty awesome this year, just not with the same concentration of awesome which defined its earlier season. House, on the other hand, faltered coming out of the date by giving us a whole myriad of poorly-handled interesting storylines and just blain terrible subplots. Just when it looked like it was going to limp past the finish line, the last handful of episodes managed to turn it around, but I’m still not sure what to make of the season as a whole.

The show had its problems this year, let's see if we can make a diagnosis...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: cuddy, drama, gregory house, house, house m.d., house md, house: season 5, hugh laurie, kal penn, laurence kutner, lisa edelstein, robert sean leonard, Television, wilson | 1 Comment »

Non-Review Review: Revolutionary Road

Posted on September 20, 2009 by Darren

That was depressing. Really depressing. Soul crushingly depressing. What we have here is a good movie that flirts with greatness but never really comes to life. Perhaps Mendes is trying to evoke the dull lifelessness of suburban life, but the movie just doesn’t sparkle enough to engage the audience. Still, it holds two of the best performances of last year, and is never less than intriguing in its exploration of 1950s America.

Yep... Anyone want to bet things are going to work out better this time around?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: 1950s, 1950s america, american beauty, drama, film, kate winslet, Leonardo diCaprio, Movie, non-review review, review, revolutionary road, richard yates, sam mendes, suburban, suburbia | 2 Comments »

Crime and Pun-ishment: The Art of the CSI One-Liner

Posted on July 24, 2009 by Darren

I caught an episode of CSI: Miami last night and I am ashamed to admit that I had forgotten the cheesy power of Horatio Caine and the Sunglasses of Justice. I suspect that, isolated from each other, neither would be of note but, combined, they are unstoppable. Sure, some may question the ability of lead actor David Caruso, but I think it is a breathtaking performance. If he is a wooden performer, he is fashioned from rich mahogany. If he is two-dimensional, he is a Looney Tune of two-dimensionality. If he is a bad actor, he is the Marlon Brando of bad actors. And, in fairness, are you watching for anything other than the one-liners?

Raising Caine...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: csi, csi: miami, david caruso, drama, horatio caine, miami, one liners, puns, sunglasses of justice, Television | 1 Comment »

Torchwood: Children of Earth Review

Posted on July 11, 2009 by Darren

That was… intense, in a word.

I really didn’t come to the miniseries expecting too much. The first two seasons of Torchwood had been entertaining – for the most part – but nothing special, and seemingly lacking the va va voom of its older sister series. The promise of a more mature and considered Doctor Who was more-or-less unfulfilled – unless you consider nudity and sex jokes to be mature. Then Children of Earth aired.

Frobisher initially thought the alien ambassador was full of hot-air...

Note: This review contains spoilers. Really. Lots and lots of spoilers. If you want a recommendation: go watch it. It’s the best sci-fi you’ll see on TV this year. Then come back and talk about it.

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: 456, aliens, bbc, captain jack, children of earth, doctor who, drama, john barrowman, miniseries, peter capaldi, review, russell t. davies, science fiction, Television, torchwood, torchwood: children of earth, whoniverse | 3 Comments »