VINYL, 1.8-9 – ‘E.A.B’ & ‘Rock & Roll Queen’
I don’t know whether I’m suffering from full-blown Stockholm system, or whether Vinyl has improved tremendously over the course of its run, but I...
BETTER CALL SAUL, 2.9 – ‘Nailed’
Given the title “Nailed”, you’d be forgiven for thinking the big climax of Better Call Saul’s penultimate hour would involve an exciting set-piece where...
BRIDE OF RE-ANIMATOR (1990)
What stops me joining the cult of Re-Animator is how reductive the franchise is. Stuart Gordon’s original 1985 movie is a schlocky update of...
DAREDEVIL – Season Two
It’s fair to say Netflix’s Daredevil was one of 2015’s biggest surprises, because it did something fresh with a superhero indebted to Batman, in...
MIDNIGHT SPECIAL (2016)
Midnight Special is the kind of film that drip-feeds information rather than dole out exposition. The film starts with two men acting shiftily in...
THE AMERICANS, 4.4 – ‘Chloramphenicol’
I’ll admit that I was initially reluctant when asked to cover The Americans for Frame Rated. It’s not that I’m not a big fan of the...
THE HUNTSMAN: WINTER’S WAR (2016)
Snow White and the Huntsman was the kind of film that was perfectly enjoyable in the moment, but you forgot about almost as soon...
BETTER CALL SAUL, 2.8 – ‘Fifi’
We’re hurtling towards the season finale now, but things remain surprisingly sedate in the world of Better Call Saul. I’ve heard grumblings from people...
THE SOUND BARRIER (1952)
Although The Sound Barrier manages to excitedly capture the thrill and majesty of flying a plane above the clouds at high speed, the film...
AGENT CARTER – Season Two
One of the most appealing aspects of Marvel’s interconnected live-action universe is how their output spans a range of genres. If we were just...
TANGERINE (2015)
The greatest accomplishment of a film like Tangerine is making the audience empathise with the characters on screen, despite telling a story set in...
APRIL 2016: The Best of Film & TV
Easter's over and the days are getting longer, so I've selected some of the most notable television shows and films debuting in April 2016. If you think there’s anything missing, please mention in the comments below.