Review – ‘Iron Man 3′

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Iron Man 3
Release Date: 25/4/2013
Certification: 12A
Director: Shane Black
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Guy Pearce, Don Cheadle, Ben Kingsley, William Sadler

If there’s one thing that this phase of the Marvel franchise has excelled at, it has been in the pairing of director to material. Kenneth Brannagh brought a Shakespearean quality to the comedy and drama of Thor, while Joss Whedon worked the magic he’d created with large casts in Buffy and Firefly in last year’s incredibly successful The Avengers. Pairing Shane Black with Downey Jr is an inspired choice: after working together previously on the criminally underrated Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, bringing Black’s fast-paced comedy stylings to motor-mouth Tony Stark seems like a match made in heaven. The final result preserves the fun and the comedy, but rather leaves out any kind of reason, logic or sense.

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Review – ‘Spring Breakers’

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Spring Breakers

Release Date: 5th April 2013
Certification: 18
Director: Harmony Korine
Starring: Vanessa Hudgens, Selena Gomez, Ashley Benson, Rachel Korine, James Franco.

Picture the scene: Terence Malick stands in a picturesque corn field; the wind gently stirs his hair and his shirt billows in the breeze. He whispers something slightly inaudible, the light of the sun only just visible through the leaves of a nearby tree. Then, out of no-where, Harmony Korine appears accompanied by obnoxiously loud dubstep, takes a shit, screams directly into Malick’s face, and then leaves. If you can imagine that at all then you’re halfway towards picturing Spring Breakers; one of the most gleefully defiant films in recent memory, and immensely enjoyable to boot. Spring Break Y’all!

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The Walking Dead: Series 3, Episode 15

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Last weeks episode left me on the edge of my seat, desperate to know what was going to happen to Andrea, but in a somewhat cruel move This Sorrowful Life instead focuses on the prison. Rather than letting us see Andrea, the episode centred around one big problem: what to do with Michonne as Rick, Daryl and Herschel are still under the impression that sacrificing her will save their people, idiots.

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The Walking Dead: Series 3, Episode 14

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It’s been a long time since The Walking Dead has shown Andrea at her best, in fact you’d have to go all the way back to season 1. After her sister’s death she grew cold, acting like a bitch for most of the second season, being cruel to Dale and shacking up with Shane. This season she has gone from bad to worse doing stupid things such as falling for the Governor, ditching Michonne, failing to kill the Governor, I could go on. But Prey brought Andrea back to reality with a series of events which made up the seasons best episode so far.
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The Walking Dead: Series 3, Episode 13

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Arrow in the Doorpost continued to mix things up this week with the majority of action taking place away from the prison. The episode gathers various members of Woodbury and the prison in an abandoned barn so their two leaders can discuss a potential peace treaty. War has been on the cards ever since Glen and Maggie were taken prisoner so I think it is safe to say that this episode was the calm before the storm.
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I’ve Never Seen… Rosemary’s Baby

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Rosemary's Baby

Upon my initial viewing of Roman Polanski’s first foray into Hollywood filmmaking (a faithful adaptation of Ira Levin’s novel of the same name) it immediately becomes obvious is that this is a film which is happy to take its time. Compared to contemporary genre conventions, relying on either jump-scares or gore, this film’s languid pace serves as a reminder that real horror is best produced through a slow sense of dread and the creeping awareness of external malevolence. Such as it was, Rosemary’s Baby was so successful in its depiction of the occult invading the lives of ordinary people that we can easily see this 1968 production as a forbearer to such horror classics as 1973’s The Exorcist or 1976’s The Omen. The time spent on establishing a strong sense of character and place is absolutely essential to the narrative, as our protagonist is trapped in a metropolitan prison by the seemingly normal people she surrounds herself with.

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The Netflix Network: Is The Future of Television All Good?

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It looks like we’re about to enter into a new era of television. I’m of course talking about streaming service Netflix beginning to produce original content, such as the exceptional House of Cards and the revival of much loved series Arrested Development.

Normally, when an era is ending, it’s on to pastures unequivocally better. However, there is a little cause for concern about the ‘Netflix Model’ of television production. Enough concern that has me wavering as to whether the future of television is all good. But allow me to start on a positive note before dwelling on the things that have me concerned.

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