TV

Blindspot - Season 1 Episode 1

Submitted by Spindles on Sun, 27/09/2015 - 13:24

The premise for NBC's new drama, Blindspot, seems on the surface to be a hybrid of ideas that falls somewhere between Memento and Prison Break. The series opens on a busy Times Square as a police man discovers an abandoned bag. Suspecting it may be an explosive, the bomb squad are called in and are shocked to discover that the contents are actually the very naked and very tattooed Jamie Alexander.

Get Real. Jonathan Jones, you don't need to be scared by "genre"

Submitted by Spindles on Mon, 31/08/2015 - 16:36

Life is too short to waste on cultural elitism - and this obsession with undermining the worth and value of popular culture is a very disturbing problem for todays creatives.

Ahhh, “Popular” Culture, the thorn in the paw of Cultural Studies, the “middlebrow cult of the popular (..) holding literature to ransom”, the braying mass outside the ivory towers of the cultural elite; those self-proclaimed protectors of our cultural wealth that rail against cultural populism.

Fear The Walking Dead: S01 E01

Submitted by Spindles on Sat, 29/08/2015 - 21:43

Okay Ladies and Gents, It's the spin off we've all been waiting for...

Well... It's the spin off that I've been waiting for...

Well... It's the spin off that I heard about a few month's ago and then promptly forgot about until it was actually released.

After 5 very hit and miss seasons of The Walking Dead, it's time to see what's going on in the world outside of Atlanta in the Deadverse.

Opening in a church with a Johnny Depp-a-like stumbling about in a Shaun of the Dead / Fear and Loathing fashion we're thrown headlong into the Zombocalypse as it begins.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell S01 E07 - Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

Submitted by Spindles on Thu, 02/07/2015 - 20:41

Where were we ?

Jonathan Strange enchanted in a mystical energy sapping vortex, Arabella, Lady Pole and Stephen Black are all still enchanted, Norrell is under the influence of Lacelles, and all the mirrors in England are broken. Oh, and let's not forget Vinculus swinging by his neck from a tree.

With all of this going on, someone needs to take the rap. Step forward Sir Walter Pole, who resigns from the government for releasing magic on the general public in his attempt to bring his wife back from the dead.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell S01 E06 - The Black Tower

Submitted by Spindles on Wed, 24/06/2015 - 22:24

Two Magicians.

One going bad, one going mad.

Norrell's mean streak comes to the fore. How do you stop the publication of a book to rival your own? You make every copy of it disappear. This is after he has read it of course and is moved to tears by how fantastic it is. He is now at the point of no return. He is going after Strange to stop the unleashing of the things that he wouldn’t tell anyone about...

Then he threatens the imprisoned Drawlight with magical torment if he doesn't find Strange.

What a nice chap...

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell S01 E05 - Arabella

Submitted by Spindles on Wed, 17/06/2015 - 19:43

And that ladies and gentlemen is how you start an episode.

Usually the Battle of Waterloo would be the climax of a show  Here we have thousands of troops, battle squares, siege, storming of castle gates etc. Some brilliant effects are in play here, money has been spent and it all shows.

In all of this carnage we find Strange at his military duty, putting out burning buildings and squishing French soldiers. The battle is won, the Napoleonic wars are over, Strange goes home. 

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell S01 E04 - All The Mirrors Of The World

Submitted by Spindles on Sun, 14/06/2015 - 11:36

They should have called this Trouble and Strife.

Everyone falls out with someone. 

There's a change in emphasis this week. 

From the action driven piece last week, we get a more character based episode. Everything moves along though. Plot threads are tugged across the board. 

Firstly, Childermass is lying on a doctors table with a bullet in his torso after the assassination attempt on his master. As he moves in and out of death he's treated to a vision with a bird of ominous aspect. A raven, hmmm,I wonder what that could represent?

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell S01 E03 - The Education Of A Magician

Submitted by Spindles on Sun, 14/06/2015 - 11:32

Warning!

Do not watch this program and Game Of Thrones on the same day. 

We all know that GoT has a habit of putting you through the emotional wringer on a regular basis. This show can hit you in the gut too. 

Here's a few highlights.

War, zombies, insanity, attempted suicide,slavery, attempted murder, emotional torture. 

Many things struck me after this episode, the usual high production values, outstanding performances, moral questions, and I was left at the end of the episode drained but wanting the next installment immediately.