The Idiot Box

tras OK I admit it, as well as games and movies I love TV. Well I love some TV, and at the moment it seems to be American. No insult to British drama but aside from a few programs they just can’t compete with the stuff coming out of the states at the moment, the fact that they produce 20 odd episodes a series, as opposed to the British standard of 6 at a much higher level of quality all round is amazing enough. So from time to time I thought I would chip in here with my thoughts on a few programs I’m watching at the moment and how they are doing…

Lost

What started out as one of the most intriguing shows on television frustrated me in its first season teasing with questions but withholding answers, and randomly dropping storylines. However the show picked up for a great second series and so far despite a weak start the third season is keeping me hooked. Maybe because now I am used to the fact that concrete answers are about as hard to come by as a hot shower on the island that it doesn’t bother me any more but I am enjoying where the series is heading and appreciate the amount of time we have spent with the ‘others’ so far this year considering how secretive they have been in the past about showing them at all. While the program can still be frustratingly obtuse and the possibilities of an overarching explanation are becoming slimmer, I feel they have found a good way of keeping the plot unpredictable and allowing the viewers to feel they are being enough to go on whilst keeping them asking questions. But regardless of its flaws Lost is still one of the best shows on TV if only for its lush cinematography and the fact that it is so out there and different from the other shows on TV that it still feels like a breath of fresh air. As the second half of season 3 continues we shall have to see if the momentum they seem to be gaining now will pay off.

24

One of my all time favourite TV shows 24 is a masterclass in technical excellence, tight plotting and acting and exciting tension filled television. That said whilst I have been enjoying the latest series, it feels like something is missing, or maybe that the formula is starting to wear a little thin. After 6 years there is only so far they can escalate up the stakes of the day before we enter a series when the entire world ends up destroyed by nuclear arms. However the series is still one of the most compulsively watchable shows on TV and the writing is as tight as ever finding new ways to escalate the threats and involve older characters. Another factor in the enjoyment of this current series is the fact that it is the first for a while I am watching week to week, most of the series I have watched in the course of a week or two on DVD and more than any other series the format of 24 really suits this style of watching, having a week between episodes lets the tension fade and stops you getting so involved. So still a great show, and we are only half way through this season, but one that is perhaps better watched on DVD.

Heroes

Heroes is a new program that me and Martha recently got hooked on, it has just started on Sci-Fi and already has a great premise, ordinary people discovering they have super abilities, and enough mystery to sustain it for a good while. The characters are all interesting, though my favourite by far is Hiro the Japanese guy who find he can stop time. The show is really coming into its stride now and the word is it only gets better so keep an eye out Monday nights for this. My only criticism of the program would be that it tries to feature all the main characters in every show meaning that their storylines progress very slowly, which can be painful when the episodes are a week apart! Lets hope they break up the formula in the future to keep it fresh and that they keep the surprises coming!

Ugly Betty

I would blame Martha for me watching this, but I have to admit I enjoy it. Silly, camp and superficial it may be at times, but it also a remarkably sweet and enjoyable. Betty herself is fantastic character, naïve and nervous, but resourceful and inventive I can see her being in many ways a great role model and the blatant digs at the fashion industry are never too deep, the makers obviously have a love for the industry in all its bluff and that shows too and it stops the show becoming to cynical or lumbered with a purpose of exposing the fashion industry. These people are stereotypes, but they play to them so well it’s okay. It’s also nice to see Ashley Jenson from Extras in the show playing Betty’s best friend and while I have a few issues with the generally lightness of the show (even when it tries to do dark it never quite manages to get anywhere near) and the background storyline that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere involving Daniel’s father and a woman who may or may not be dead, this is still enjoyable TV all round and a pleasant surprise. Also the portrayal of family life in the show with Betty’s family is really well done, and though they are Mexican rather than Peruvian, I see a lot of similarities with them and Martha’s family and the warmth and love they seem to have is genuine and touching. So if you haven’t seen Ugly Betty, give it a go, you never know, it might just surprise you.

The O.C

Another show that I did not used to watch at all, but that I really got into on DVD. There is definitely something about watching a show over a short period of time that makes you really get into it and watching the existing three series of the O.C over the winter left me eager for the final series which started a couple of months ago on Channel 4. Now the series is not perfect, it does however have strong characters and it seems that in this final series they have abandoned a lot of the more serious elements of the show in favour of a more frivolous unrealistic attitude that has made this series really fun to watch, but has impacted on a lot of the things built up over the years. So it’s a bit of a mixed bag, more entertaining but less dramatic and despite hints of a real darkness at the start of the year things have more or less returned to normal, something I’m pleased about but that has really prevented any real growth or change amongst its core characters. Even so it will be sad to see the series end in a month or so, I just hope it goes out with a bang!

This is living

So the PlayStation 3 is here, Spiderman font and all. The console was launched in Europe at midnight ushering in the final transition between the next-generation and the current generation. Now all three consoles are available throughout the major territories in the world, and the focus can one more switch back to what is really important – the games.

Sony have had a lot of bad press lately, starting from the initial delay of the console to the price and recently the decision to change the European model of the console so that it runs old PS2 games through software emulation, meaning that many of the most popular PS2 games are not guaranteed to even play on the machine, or will play but with technical issues. Now usually I am one to gloat a bit, I admit I am not Sony’s biggest fan. In fact I admit that deep down it’s hard sometimes to fight my inner fanboy. You see I think a bit like with football teams everyone who is a gamer has a bias to one party or another, whether this is due to their first exposure to the medium (as with me, my first console was an N64) or just a drifting towards the machine that best somehow represented their attitudes. Now of course the industry is a multi-billion pound behemoth, a far cry from the likes of Sonic vs. Mario and yet the competition between companies and machines, especially amongst the so-called hardcore gamers is as strong as ever.

Now whilst I know in my head this is all rather ridiculous, most games are multi-platform now and the market can easily sustain three machines without any needing to crash and burn to the others delight, I still can’t help but feel an odd sense of smug satisfaction to see Sony seemingly miss stepping. Now I don’t happen to fall in with the doom-mongers who somehow see Sony losing this round of the fight, they have had a rocky start but have way too much momentum to let that happen. Though what it has hopefully done is even the playing field a bit more, which can only be good for the consumer. Many of Sony’s mistakes have been synonymous with a company full of confidence and ego trying to dictate the future of a market they believe they control and failing, and regardless of your bias, there is something satisfying about such a large corporation being taken down a peg or two. As I have stated before regardless of company I dislike misleading tactics and cheating companies and Sony have frequently been unable to live up to their promises of recent years.

Now though I think things will get better, for the first time in a while we have three fairly even machines in terms of potential market share and popularity. The Xbox 360 has a big lead and some great games, but the name is still an emerging one for many people and they have utterly failed once again to crack the Japanese market. The Wii is selling more than I think most people could have predicted and has the possibility to become as popular as the DS is proving to be, however the lack of big name games at the moment and reliance on ports and lazily transferred games could hinder it and developers need to make their games on the console really stand out, as its unique control method and way of playing is what will make people choose it over the graphically more impressive alternatives. And now the PS3 which will be popular I can guarantee it, but hopefully the lessons of the past year or so will serve to humble Sony a little to once again think of the consumer first rather than the technology. Recent announcements like the PlayStation Home service or Little Big World seem to be heading in the right direction and I for one hope this continues.

These new machines all offer the potential for groundbreaking games, though immersion and interaction or sheer size and scope but developers need to be willing to take the risk and there is a real danger that with the cost of making games skyrocketing and the market becoming so competitive that the actual innovative and unique games are overshadowed by the sheer volume of movie tie-ins, sequels and yearly updates that flood the market and will continue to do so. Games are getting stale in many respects and that is one reason that I hope Nintendo’s gamble on the Wii pays off and people start to innovate and experiment and create games that provide something new, but retain the fun that should lie at the heart of the industry. People play because they like to, because it is enjoyable, whether it is becoming immersed in another world, or fighting through breathless and exhilarating action sequences, or solving puzzles or playing sports. This is what draws people to gaming, it’s what attracted me and as long as publishers and developers keep this at the heart of whatever games they are producing then the consumers will always come out on top of the console wars.

The Host

Korean cinema has been growing in reputation in recent years with directors such as Chan Wook Park and films such as Oldboy, and The Host further cemented this fact with its release last year, quickly becoming the biggest Korean film of all time. Basically a monster movie at heart the film focuses on one specific family and how they deal with the emergence of a giant sewer beast from the Han River one day, an event that causes widespread panic, only furthered by the announcement that the beast is the host of a terrible virus to all who come in contact with it. I won’t say any more, the film is best seen with as little prior knowledge as possible, but this is a really great film reinventing the monster movie genre with some astonishing sequences and special effects and the typical bizarre and violent Korean spin on the usual Hollywood storylines. The acting throughout is fantastic with some wonderfully realised characters that you immediately care for and bond with. The overtly political and even satirical elements are blended well into the storyline and as the film progresses you realise it is less about the monster itself than peoples reactions to it and the dangers of misinformation, the media and government control. What the film does well though is keeping such a wide ranging story focused on this single family, having us see the events through their eyes, much like Spielberg did in War of the Worlds. Visually the film is a treat and the direction is superb from the wonderfully realised creature to some hauntingly beautiful sequences, especially towards the end of the film. I was blown away by the film and highly recommend it as something a bit different but also an emotional, entertaining and enjoyable monster movie that packs a human punch.

New (old) Reviews

I discovered today a bunch of cinema reviews that I had written but never published on my old site so I have uploaded them here. Click on the links below to have a read and expect more up to date films to appear here soon!

Casino Royale ‘James Bond will return’, the mantra slapped across the end credits of every James Bond film has, in recent years become more a note of warning than a cause for celebration. I have never been the biggest fan of the series; the old films can be fun and range from the good to the awful Read full review... Stranger than Fiction As you may have gathered during the course of many of my reviews there is one aspect of Hollywood that I bang on and on about – originality. While this may seem like a tired message it is true that it is becoming harder and harder to see original work on screen either through lack of public interest or the studios being unwilling to finance such ventures. Well with Stranger than Fiction we have the emergence of an original voice and a highly original take on the typical romantic comedy Read full review... The Holiday A Christmas romantic comedy. If those words are enough to put you off this film then stop reading and move along now. This is a carefully and deliberately constructed and unrealistic feel good, light-hearted film from Nancy Myers, the woman behind As Good as it Gets and What Women Want. Then again that’s not to say it’s without its charm Read full review... Saw III I have mentioned before my fondness for the Saw series, and was pleasantly surprised by Saw II when it was released last year. Well here we are, 12 months on and another sequel has emerged more blood-soaked than the other two put together, but lacking in ideas and hopefully the last of these films in their current format. Read full review... Borat I am a convert. I have never been a fan of Borat before now, I found Ali G amusing but Borat never appealed to me, however I was willing to give the film a chance, based on all the positive reviews I have read and have to admit, they have a point. Depending on your taste you will probably love or hate this film that at least has to be admired for its bravery, guts and sheer lack of political correctness

Read full review...

40 days and 40 Nights

As some of you might have realised lent started a couple of weeks ago, the 40 days leading up to Easter where, traditionally, people ‘give up’ certain habits or pleasures. Now a guilty secret I have is that I have never given anything up for this period. I have thought about it but never gone through with it – until this year. Both me and Martha thought that we should give up Caffeine this year, we aren’t the biggest drinkers in the world, like all good Brits I enjoy and good cup of tea and have recently been introduced to the joys of coffee but aside from the odd cup we are hardly addicts. Still I was intrigued as to whether I would feel any different and also whether I could manage for the whole time. Well it’s nearly two weeks in and…. we failed miserably. Though to be fair those two weeks included trips to Brighton for Tina’s birthday and Northampton for Dan’s Dad’s 50th, both involving long nights and partying… but we still failed. So as of yesterday (Monday 5th March) we reset the Lent clock for another 40 days with the hopes of a more successful run this time! Anyway I though I would include this on the blog as it may well encourage me to stick to the plan this time, and I’ll be sure to keep you all informed of my progress and increasingly shaky hands as the weeks go on…