Articles + Quotes on Film & TV

By Sherlock, I mean the British TV show, set in modern London, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, two very talented and understated actors. Not the American remake. The first season of this show was brilliant, well scripted and was continuously entertaining. It wasn't obvious, poorly acted, any of that, it was all great. The second season, takes the quality level of the first and the taut script, etc and magnifies everything by a hundred fold. Clever one liners? Yep. More here than four comedies put together. The first episode seems like a three act play and I'm sure the next two movie length episodes will be just as good as the first. And to add even more great news, the third season was commissioned as the same time as the second.

First off, a warning. I did not see the entirety of the pilot episode of this show. Surprising, I know, but those are the facts. Now, there are highly intense TV dramas. And there is this one. This one, defies all normal levels of intensity and fixes it at a atmospherically high level. And then raises it again. My current theory, its because the makers of the show started off by making documentaries, and they kept this style for this show. It is set in Australia, Papua New Guinea, but like Rake another quality TV show, it doesn't show the tourist sites, very much the opposite in fact. It is brilliantly well made, but you don't want to watch this just for production values and the cast, both of which are truly great. Big mistake if you do that.

There are shows that give you hope that in the world of television and people in it, that there are still quality and exciting drama shows out there. I've seen two episode of show that delivers, and already I'm hooked. Basic plot - CIA analyst, Carrie Mathison (played with almost unhinged determination by Claire Danes) who, until recently was working 'in the field' in Iraq. Her main goal, finding a terrorist known as Al Fazir. And the information she got off a prisoner, "Fazir has turned an American prisoner' becomes most intriguing, when lo and behold, an American prisoner of war is found and returned home.                       Her role has already won her a well deserved Golden Globe award. He, Sergeant Nicholas Brody, portrayed by Damian Lewis, also deservedly nominated for a Golden Globe award, has a wife and family. And he has been held captive for eight years. The acting in this is quite top notch, includin...

Very rarely nowadays, is a film sequel released that is just as good or better than the original. Considering how excellent the first Sherlock Holmes film was, the stakes were definitely high for Guy Ritchie and his team. Of course, Mr Ritchie didn't make the rookie error of casting different actors for the main roles, everyone important returns to reprise their roles from the first film. And to add a bit more humour, to an already humourous film, Stephen Fry had a few very memorable scenes, as Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock's brother. This film, the sequel, made Lord Blackwood from the first film look harmless, compared to the villains of this one. Professor James Moriarty. Sebastian Moran. Two real pieces of work. Not just evil, but ruthless. Not only that, this film was just as fast paced, the action scenes just as exciting and well shot, the dialogue scenes there and understandable. The same people who were in charge of production design and music returned once more, so...

Not only is this show seriously entertaining in each episode from start to finish, a second season has been confirmed and will more than likely premiere in the new year of 2012. http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2011/11/abc-2012-highlights.html Richard Roxburgh effortlessly leads the cast as the criminal defence attorney - Cleaver Greene who's personal and professional life is hanging by threads, and that's shown pretty quickly from the pilot onwards and gets steadily worse from there. Despite his character's numerous faults, he is good at what he does, both inside and outside the courtroom and throughout it all, keeps his sense of humour and despite what is shown, a small sense of morals. Its set in Sydney, New South Wales, but thankfully, not all is set in the Sydney that's most often described in the guidebooks. They also show the dark side, but with Mr Roxburgh's character right in the middle, it doesn't scare off the audience too quickly. I recommend thi...

On a lot of DVDs nowadays, there is something under special features, listed as the feature audio commentary. These run for the length of the film, or in the case of the one for Pirates of the Caribbean - Curse of the Black Pearl, for certain scenes that feature the two actors that are narrating. In this case, Keira Knightley and Jack Davenport. Audio commentaries range from the mind numbingly boring, Lemony Snicket and a series of Unfortunate Events, The A Team, come to mind, or just lovely and just as entertaining as the film itself, see the list below. Below is a list of my top eleven favourite audio commentaries, all of them worth listening/watching. If the DVD has more than one commentary, I've listed the commentators by name. If not, I've left it with just the title. 11. Eclipse: Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart. 10. The Runaways. 9. The Boat that Rocked. 8. Wimbledon. 7. Two Weeks Notice. 6. Van Helsing: Richard Roxburgh, Shuler Hensley and Will Kemp. 5. Lo...

If I had to pick, teen dramas as TV shows and remakes are usually two things that I try to avoid, unless I know the quality will be excellent. So, I was quite surprised when a TV show episode combining those two things intrigued me and was actually worth watching. Thanks to the rise of fantasy themes, werewolves have been simplified and made to look a lot cuter than usual. In this, not only are the normal teen angst themes studiously avoided, they've also made sure that the werewolves are properly scary looking and out of control monsters, that most sane people would avoid. The other plus point, is the main actor, Tyler Posey. After his appearance in the romantic comedy, Maid in Manhattan, where he manages to present a solid character with Stanley Tucci, Ralph Fiennes and Jennifer Lopez with him, I guess I shouldn't be that surprised to find that he carries this series with the same maturity.