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THE X-FILES – ‘Home Again’
When I first heard Glen Morgan would be writing an episode entitled “Home Again”, I envisioned an unexpected sequel to infamous season 4 episode “Home”, about a family of inbred murderers, but it wasn’t to be. Instead, this was a decent hour that suddenly means The X-Files’ revival could end its maddeningly short run with…
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HAIL, CAESAR! (2016)
The Coen brothers’ filmography is heavily populated with desks and the men who sit behind them. In the Coens’ universe, desks serve to define the power dynamic for the characters sitting on either side of them; for the person behind it, the desk signifies control or, in the case of characters like Fargo’s Jerry Lundegaard…
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DAD’S ARMY (2016)
Among the fine tradition of classic British sitcoms, few stand as revered—or, indeed, as British—as Dad’s Army. Set during World War II, this beloved BBC comedy followed the aged members of the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard: a loose military unit patrolling their quiet coastal town. They were a collection of doddery old geezers and the sort…
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GOOSEBUMPS (2015)
If you grew up in the ’90s, there’s a good chance R. L. Stine’s Goosebumps books were one of your formative forays into fiction. A series of very accessible mild horror novels, his stories were renowned for their sense of humour and notorious for their twists. They were many children’s window into not just reading, but also the horror/fantasy…
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Seven’s Heaven: The Best Coen Brothers’ Films
Want to start an argument fast? Just ask the people nearest you to pick their favourite Coen Brothers movie. It’s a subject nobody agrees on. In part that’s because the Coens oeuvre spans 16 films (their latest, Hail, Caesar!, marks their 17th in just over 30-years), and almost as many genres; covering everything from westerns…
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THE X-FILES – ‘Mulder & Scully Meet the Were-Monster’
Darin Morgan may not be a household name, but he’s a writer every X-Phile knows. The younger brother of writer-producer Glen Morgan, Darin got his start on The X-Files hidden behind layers of latex, playing the sewer-dwelling ‘Flukeman’ creature from season 2’s “The Host”. He then helped develop the episode “Blood” with his brother, which…
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THE WALK (2015)
The Walk is by no means perfect. In fact, it’s all too easy to pull apart, if you so desire. The dialogue is very expository, the performances are heightened towards caricature, and it’s hard to argue there’s much need for Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s ever-present narration. However, the simplicity and spirit of the whole endeavour make it…
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MACBETH (2015)
Is it unfair to compare this latest adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth to past film adaptations of the play? Each director must find their own way with the text, and this has resulted in three very different and very strong adaptations in the past. First came Orson Welles, a director who made two better Shakespeare adaptations…
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FEBRUARY 2016: The Best of TV & Film
February is less than 24-hours away, so below you’ll find Frame Rated’s pick of the best new/returning television shows, cinema releases, and video-on-demand exclusives debuting next month in the UK and US…. HAIL, CAESAR! 5 February – US & UK Cinemas Comedy-drama set in 1950s Hollywood about a ‘fixer’ called Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) who’s tasked…
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ONE & TWO (2015)
The prospect of discovering a new filmmaking talent, plus the chance to check out two of my favourite emerging young Hollywood actors, were enough reasons to grab my interest in One & Two. Yet the intriguing premise, good performances, and solid execution, are let down by a script which lacks the edge you’d expect from a coming-of-age…
