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JONATHAN STRANGE & MR NORRELL (2015)
A seven-part adaptation of the acclaimed fantasy novel by Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is, by all accounts, an impressively faithful rendering of the source material. Yet therein, perhaps, lies the problem with this frequently laudable yet essentially uneven and frustrating miniseries. Though I’ve never read the 2004 book myself, I’m aware of…
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HUMANS – series one, episode three
After two very strong openings, the third instalment of Humans sees a few cracks in the veneer, and a few contrivances starting to creep in. The hour picks up with the Hawkins family reacting to Laura’s (Katherine Parkinson) decision to return their otherworldly synth Anita (Gemma Chan), with young Toby (Theo Stevenson)—who’s taken a shine…
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THE AVENGERS – The Complete Series Five
Patrick Macnee was The Avengers. He was there at the very beginning when Sydney Newman, ABC’s Head of Drama, cancelled a crime drama starring Ian Hendry, called Police Surgeon, and asked its producer Leonard White to concoct a new drama from a simple title… The Avengers. White and Macnee knew each other from mutually nurturing…
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TRUE DETECTIVE, 2.2 – ‘Night Finds You’
Oh, Ray, say it ain’t so! Just as I was beginning to warm to the depressed Detective Velcoro (Colin Farrell), with his vulnerabilities and self-loathing and interesting ideas about what passes for polite car conversation between partners (“I want you to know that I support feminism”), he apparently got himself offed by a creepy Birdmask-wearing…
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HANNIBAL, 3.4 – ‘Aperitivo’
The news that NBC has decided not to renew Hannibal for a fourth season is disappointing but no surprise. Frankly, it’s remarkable that a drama this weird, gory, and arty—even by cable standards—has survived for three seasons on a mainstream network. While I hope the show will soon find a new home, the fact that…
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MINIONS (2015)
The question Minions needed to answer was whether the cute Despicable Me critters are compelling and amusing enough to carry their own film. It’s hard to argue these pill-shaped yellow creatures are anything other than delightful and adorable, but they speak an incomprehensible language, have no goals other than to a desire to serve, and have previously…
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SLOW WEST (2015)
The Britop music scene’s produced some curious turn-ups in recent years. Brian Cox from D:Ream, now better known as a celebrity physicist; then the Jerome half of actors-turned-singers Robson & Jerome, who’s since reinvented himself as gruff, foul-mouthed Bronn from Game of Thrones. And since all good trends come in three, John Maclean—erstwhile keyboardist of…
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For Your Reconsideration: Vince Vaughn
You don’t worry about being liked. You have to be yourself. —Vince Vaughn He could probably have been a wrestler; this towering, half-handsome hunk with a propensity for cheap pops and high fives. He could probably be a footballer; this frat brat with wardrobe structure. He might have been a bartender; with his strawberry lips…
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TRUE DETECTIVE, 2.1 – ‘The Western Book of the Dead’
Hello everyone, and welcome to the second season of True Detective (a.k.a the one where Nic Pizzolatto tries to pre-empt his critics by having his cast make weighty pronouncements, that apply to us as much as to the plot, every few minutes.) If that sounds like I disliked the opening episode of last year’s most-hyped show, then…
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HUMANS – series one, episode two
With its second instalment, Humans consolidates its position as television’s premier slice of intelligent science fiction, and continues to intrigue and unsettle. Even after two episodes it’s perfectly clear that Humans is at its best when it focuses in on the household lives of these characters, their relationships, and the dynamics they share with their various…
