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PREACHER, 1.1 – ‘Pilot’
There’s a proliferation of comic book superheroes today, all enjoying a popularity renaissance in big-budget films and serialised television, but the medium has more to offer. AMC know this, having taken a risk on adapting The Walking Dead to worldwide success, so it’s unsurprising they gave Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg the chance to bring…
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THE ASSASSIN (2015)
The Assassin is noted Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien’s first step into the realm of wuxia and martial arts; although, for the most part, the end-product suggests he’d rather be doing anything else. The first thing that strikes you about The Assassin is its sumptuous cinematography, which is never less than absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, the film falls down in almost…
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GAME OF THRONES, 6.5 – ‘The Door’
After the high of last week, similar quality awaited viewers of “The Door”, as this sixth season of Game of Thrones establishes itself as one of the HBO drama’s best. Great news for book-readers awaiting George R.R Martin’s latest opus, although many surprises are inevitably being spoiled by the TV series now. “The Door” delivered…
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OUTLANDER, 2.7 – ‘Faith’
One of Outlander’s strengths is showing the emotional impact of life-changing events on its characters. And by show, I mean show rather than tell. This was very true of the male rape scene at the end of the first season; a very graphic depiction of ‘Black Jack’ Randall’s torture of Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) that…
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POLTERGEIST II: THE OTHER SIDE (1986)
The original Poltergeist casts a shadow its sequels and remake are doomed to sit under; in terms of objective quality, place in urban legend thanks to its alleged ‘curse’ (predicated on the death of child star Heather O’Rourke), and behind-the-scenes gossip that director Tobe Hooper and producer Steven Spielberg didn’t see eye-to-eye. Many people still…
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THE AMERICANS, 4.10 – ‘Munchkins’
While Henry (Kendrick Sellati) is mostly absent from “Munchkins”, he gives the episode one of its most memorable elements while he’s totally offscreen, bouncing a ball against the garage door while Elizabeth (Keri Russell), Philip (Matthew Rhys) and Paige (Holly Taylor) discuss what’ll happen if Pastor Tim (Kelly AuCoin) stays lost and Alice (Suzy Jane…
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UNDERCOVER – Series One
The premise of one half of a married couple harbouring dark secrets is a cornerstone of the thriller genre. It’s fuelled so many successful works of fiction over the years—from Hitchcock’s Suspicion to Adrian Lyne’s Fatal Attraction, and countless others—the so-called ‘marriage thriller’ is recognised as a sub-genre in itself. It isn’t hard to work…
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X-MEN: APOCALYPSE (2016)
Before the mayhem truly begins in X-Men: Apocalypse, a group of mutants leave a cinema showing Return of the Jedi and Sophie Turner’s Jean Grey declares “the third one is always the worst” in a way that could either be a dig at that Star Wars film, an acknowledgement of how atrocious X-Men: The Last…
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IN A LONELY PLACE (1950)
In a Lonely Place is a film about Hollywood. But, more precisely, it’s a film about Dixon Steele (Humphrey Bogart), a screenwriter whom we’re told is talented. He dismisses commercial film projects and rails against others in the industry who he sees as mere “popcorn salesmen”. It’s right to doubt his talents, though: not because…
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GAME OF THRONES, 6.4 – ‘Book of the Stranger’
This week on Game of Thrones, there were two heartfelt reunions, two clever manipulations, a secret plan was put into motion, and everything ended with a fiery finale. Oh, and some people died. Of course. At the Wall It looked like Jon Snow (Kit Harington) had decided to retire and leave Castle Black immediately last…
