Review: Torchwood

Children of Earth, Day 2

SPOILER WARNING: I will be discussing the events which occured so it may not make sense until you've seen the episode and if it does it may blow something you would have preferred to experience first hand, which I recommend. Proceed at your own risk.

Some interesting building of stakes, but an exercise in regrouping and perhaps treading water a bit, still it increases all the dynamics so can't be all bad, and it was wonderfully action packed and has some truly precious personal moments and little scenes between people. Still no bloody answers though...

The Good:
- No shortage of top notch energy and action, the story seemed to slow down but the characters remained as kinetic as before.
- Maybe its just because I'm a fan who has been there from the beginning but you really do root for this team, and get some real punch-the-air moments when they come through.
- Euros Lyn's direction is noticeably bold and a thing of beauty to watch.
- Gwen is always good value at centre stage, Eve again didn't let the audience down and she and Kai make a really watchable couple.
- Lois was nice and seemed a perfectly pleasant new potential team member after the red herring of yesterday, I just hope she grows into more than a conveniently deus-ex-machina amalgam of her job skills.
- Still a bit creepy with the "Midwich cuckoos" thing, but getting old fast, we need the reveal tomorrow that we're promised, much better was the horror film worthy scene of Jacks tortuous journey through being a collection of incinerated parts to being a screaming, agonised cinder of a torso.
- Some very, very, very slight cheese but some cracking dialogue too, though most of it from Johnson oddly.
- Even Ianto's annoying family had a plot function after all, and quite a cool one actually, metaphorically being the power of people against the state, Robert Lindsay would be proud.

The Not So Good
- Some great flourishes of personality but still a touch of the unnecessary funny, can veer too far if not reigned back a touch.
- The governments action and role as the bad guy is undeniably cool but it's hard to get invested without knowing exactly why they are behaving this way, and who they all are and what their link is to the (worryingly still absent) extraterrestrial threat.
- Lois was just too convenient as a friend on the inside with all the right access, knowledege etc, symptomatic of a few too many logic and security flaws (Ianto turning up to the bomb site, not shooting on sight, keeping Jack in one place to knit together, the list goes on). I would argue the same of the handily timed Ianto escape plan but it was so unexpected and ace that it was forgivable.
- Bit of a let down cliffhanger this time too.
- The nice moments with these guys are when they make mistakes, stumble and generally demonstrate that they could be us, they are getting a bit too skilled, turning them into super-capable gun toting John Woo rejects is to be avoided, if you need a capable good guy Jack is forgivable, he's got invincibility and hundreds of years of knowledge to back it up.

Interesting build up with some great scenes but a less than stellar whole, we can take away the righteous anger the good guys will have against the bad, and not much else, but I still can't wait until the next installment, I really hope the 456 are in some way badass.

*** 3/5

Review: Torchwood

Children of Earth, Day 1

SPOILER WARNING: I will be discussing the events which occured so it may not make sense until you've seen the episode and if it does it may blow something you would have preferred to experience first hand, which I recommend. Proceed at your own risk.

Wow!!! I've rarely been this impressed after the first part of any series, the show has visibly stepped up a notch in quality as its gone up to the top channel.
Where to start? Let's break it down:

The Good:
- Started really well, straight into the story and intrigue, whilst it was quite obvious from the start that the alien threat is clearly going to be the human children we see taken in the 60's. I suspect that we're supposed to be on the ball with that though and have the bigger questions to ask, like who was taking them? why? what presence is it represented in the light? What's up with Clem and why? I really am excited to find this out.
- The fact that the story, in the hands of a really talented writer, actually took the time to slow down and build, without seeming like dragging anything even slighly out. This seemed to be reallyt letting us know people better, or get to know new folks, giving us a chance for some of the best domestic scenes. For example I'd heard great things about the scene between Jack and Alice as she discusses hating him for being her father but not aging and watching her die, I feared it would be too science-fiction-y and unrelatable but as a scene it really worked, not least as Jack had to again demonstrate his increasing detachment from humanity and have his own kin tell him what a dangerous man he's become (a bit of foreshadowing perhaps?). Gwen's stuff was, as in previous years, brilliant but kept to a reasonable minimum since she is the one whose home life we know most about, it was really nice to see Rhys get a little moment to shine thuough
- The government and its connection to events, culminating in the reveal of the really supremely cool-looking black ops agency (led by the talented and immensely fanciable Liz May Brice) were an excellent plot, that seems to be ticking away nicely. I suspect we will learn more of their link to past events and the current crisis and who the secret team are. I fear we've seen all we will of Mr Frobisher revealed but his part still shines under the potential of a truly top rate actor (seriously just watch Peter Capaldi in that final scene).
- The big ending was one of the earliest things you could piece together from spoilers but still got my pulse pounding, and served to really highlight the team dynamics in a simple 2 words from Jack to Gwen delivered pitch perfectly ("You're pregnant!"), and the most heartfelt, desperate kiss between Jack and Ianto. The big story was top notch but these little moments were the cherry on the sundae. And how brave to have Jack become, ultimately, a suicide bomber, at the hands of the government.
- Having the balls to set up a new cast member and team replacement only to have him revealed as deep in the conspiracy and shoot one of the main stars in a true WTF moment!? Awesome.

The Not So Good
- As it's Russell T Davies there's usually always one bit of misjudged domesticity and comedy which doesn't fit with the rest of events and jars, and sure enough here we had Ianto's "hick" family and the SUV being stolen from a rough estate. Social comment or writing a scene too far? I fear the latter.

None the less I truly, genuinely loved this. Great acting across the board, some nice references to Doctor Who and Torchwood past but a seeming respect for new viewers too (and I recommend checking it out), seriously affecting emotional dialogue and performances (bar the aforementioned misjudged scene), some real directorial flourishes, an A+ script, and a tantalising and thrilling central mystery and threat, both creepy and astounding, all equals me on tenterhooks for tomorrow night!!!

***** 5/5

We are coming...

Horror TV review: Being Human

MM here, how you all doing? good? great. I watched this show a while back when it first aired and tried my best to plug it to Mr B but he was put off by the concept, thinking it would be some potentially bad sitcom (in fairness it was marketed as a comedy, wrongly so in my opinion). He recently caught an episode in passing and relented his previous view, sadly now with the scathing criticism that the british make horror characters too introspective and "emo", like bad 4th year art students (his words). Ouch. Well sir I'm afraid the clue was in the title, this is a show not about coming to terms with enjoying supernatural abilities but actually using them to examine very human flaws, mining them for drama that seems much more watchable. Indulge me if you will as I take each character individually:

Mitchell (the vampire)
The least original of the group with a legacy stretching from Anne Rice and Buffy the Vampire Slayer to more modern takes still such as Twilight or the crop of US vampire shows that currently dominate teen networks (NOT a british construct). His condition, as is often the case, is a metaphor for addiction, it could represent an alcoholic falling off the wagon, a sex addict who finds his lust consuming his life, a deviant who wants to be "normal", or someone with a dark side that they fear will consume them if they like it too much. His arc is the most US TV-like, and his kind are the main protagonists (the least interesting characters and plot for the most part sadly, with leader Henrick woefully miscast after the pilot). Gets the stand out moment of the series in episode 4 though which I shan't spoil...

George (the werewolf)
In some ways a relatable character, he suffered a violent incident and didn't die but now lives traumatised by it, even being bullied as a lesser monster by the vampires of this world (coming to a head brilliantly in the season finale). His condition is used variously to represent social ostracising, uncontrollable sexual deviance and problems, a violent temper, or a curse of life which makes it generally difficult to fit in, talk to girls etc. Unsurprisingly he is an intelligent, spectacle wearing geek. His arc is the most confused but picks up immensely when a girl enters his life and as he becomes the lone human watching the world become more crazy around him, until its fate rests on his scared shoulders...

Annie (the ghost)
Both the most likable, relatable character and the one with the weakest plot. A clear metaphor for spousal abuse, the big reveal of her murderer is obvious from BEFORE the start. Much better is her being a representation of anyone bullied or beaten down to the point of (literally) becoming invisible, with no real voice, and even developing OCD (she makes endless cups of tea that she can't drink). The actress here is also great, as are the other 2 leads so even with a completely lame plot line she makes you feel for her and genuinely care, especially as she gains her feminine power at series close, boding well for next season.

The overall story isn't as interesting as the little moments but they really do shine and we close on some fantastic last minute reveals which brilliantly set up the second series, I'll definitely be watching.

Overall show: **** 4/5

Episode by Episode:

1. *** 3/5. Nice set up of the characters states in flashback, some slight poor casting but a great bit in Lauren who keeps the early season afloat, more intriguing as set up than stand alone though.

2. ** 2/5 Werewolf who "created" George arrives, cue predictable tired tension, bastard nature and a bad actor playing a poor role, keeps 2 stars by virtue of the continuing arc of the other 2 main protagonists.

3. *** 3/5 Mitchell's tale becomes more intriguing and emotional and George meets someone important.

4. ***** 5/5 The best piece of british drama I have ever seen. Fact.

5. *** 3/5 Inevitable downhill slide from last week but things tick along nicely, we say a sort of goodbye to all the important romantic entanglements of all 3 characters and there is a real sense of ticking towards armageddon, though this is a tad too "Buffy-esque"

6. **** 4/5 Decent end but a relief that one arc is over, gains more points for setting up what seems like much better ones next year...

All images are copyright of the BBC. I heartily recommend their official website of the show which has some real treats for fans, and can be accessed here...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/beinghuman/

See you all tonight for Torchwood, TTFN.
MM

Reviewed from tomorrow

Hopefully... and hopefully it will be a great little mini series. I hear there are some slight horror movie moments and a potentially great sci-fi/horror villain, being kept under wraps by an unusually seceretive beeb. The trailer certainly looks very "Village of the Damned". In any case I'm well hyped, the first 2 full series of the show were hit and miss but they could do creepy and explosive well, fingers crossed for it, BBC1, all next week at 9pm...

Predators get a director

Harry Knowles at AICN has now officially revealed that the director of the upcoming Robert Rodriguez produced "Predators" movie will be horror film alumni Nimrod Antal. Whilst I've not seen any of his handful of movies I hear Kontroll is great and am intrigued by the movie Vacancy (especially as it can be picked up for as little as £6). Rodriguez promises that the title is key as this movie will do for the predator what Aliens did for xenomorphs, more of them, more brutal, and warring one assumes. He also tantalisingly revealed that his new script WILL be set on the titular aliens' homeworld. Read the full, and very interesting Q+A between Knowles and old pal Rodriguez here...

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/41590

Argento Goes Upmarket With Giallo

Dario Argento's upcoming theatrical release, Giallo, looks to be something rather special. The movie stars Adrien Brody and the plot concerns a maniac taxi driver who kills young women (so far, so typically Giallo.

Watch the trailer for Giallo over at Bloody Disgusting.com.