FILMS FIVE TO FIFTEEN

I apologise for leaving this page so empty. I've been on holiday, and no internet makes blogging very difficult. But I have watched many things, and I will try and get through them as quickly and efficiently as possible.

FILM FIVE: Ginger Snaps
An original, entertaining and quirky independent horror with a lot of bite. *****

FILM SIX: Ginger Snaps Unleashed
Not quite as terrific as the previous film, particularly due to the lack of great actors from the first. Picks up for the end twist. ***

FILM SEVEN: Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning
Taking the film's premise and putting it in the past. Quite interesting, but not for everyone. ***

FILM EIGHT: Donnie Darko
A wonderful mind-fuck of a film with a great soundtrack. *****

FILM NINE: School Of Rock
Hardly the most intelligent film, but fun, exciting and entertaining. ****

FILM TEN: The Breakfast Club
An absolute classic for teenagers, the film is almost a rite of passage itself. *****

FILM ELEVEN: U-571
An interesting take on a WWII films, but can at times feel tedious. ***

FILM TWELVE: My Summer Of Love
Highly original British love story with very believable performances. ****

FILM THIRTEEN: The Killing Of Sister George
The harsh, gritty storyline juxtaposes well with the cheery ideal of Sister George. ****

FILM FOURTEEN: Crash
A bit of a disappointment, as I thought it was a different film called Crash. Highly controversial, with some spectacular performances. Thandie Newton in particular is excellent. ***

FILM FIFTEEN: Center Stage
Think Fame for a new generation, but with ballet. The dancing is amazing, the acting not so much. ***

FILMS THREE AND FOUR: Blackpool and Life On Mars

It's been a few days since the last post, but that's due to the fact that I decided to tackle some television DVDs in my collection, and they take rather a bit longer to watch than films.

The first of the TV shows was 'Blackpool', a critically acclaimed drama serial from the BBC, which found success both here and across the pond by the name of 'Viva Blackpool'.

This Golden Globe nominated serial starred David Morrissey as Ripley Holden, Sarah Parish as Natalie Holden, and David Tennant as DI Peter Carlisle. This is irrelevant. You can find this information on the internet, reviews, plot synopsis, in fact, I suggest you buy the DVD, because the show really is amazing. I have only two things to talk about: the music and Blythe.

The music really is an integral part of the show. 'Blackpool' could have been some run-of-the-mill romantic crime mystery, likely to be found on ITV. However, with no corporate sponsors to please, the BBC were able to take a gamble, and the characters burst into song seemingly randomly. But it's not randomly at all, the music serves as a break in high points of tension, and are used as plot devices. It stops 'Blackpool' from being bleak and boring without taking away from the narrative. Take for example the arrest of Danny. That wouldn't be quite so memorable without the characters singing and dancing to The Smiths as they do it (and David Tennant doing the dance routine wrong is always a giggle). Plus, any show that can have two grown men doing the tango in the middle of an argument at a crime scene deserves our praise.

That's all very well, but who on earth is Blythe? Well, Blythe is the other detective working with Carlisle in solving the murder case. And he is played by Bryan Dick. That is the extent of most people's knowledge. I, on the other hand, know better. Blythe is one of the great, underexplored characters that television forgot. You see them so often, and I don't care to let this guy be forgotten. There is the joke amongst some 'Blackpool' fans that Danny wasn't the only gay character, that Blythe had a secret crush on Carlisle. And there is evidence to support the theory, but that can be saved for readers of my livejournal who are in on the whole joke. Even without that, there was a lot of wasted potential with Blythe. The moment Carlisle betrays him later in the series, the look in his eyes reveals that there's some unexplored back story there. Maybe the producers wanted it that way, maybe they thought it would get even more confusing, what with all the songs and all. The most annoying part is, other than singing as part of a group, or the backing vocals to David Tennant in 'The Gambler', Bryan Dick only gets one solo line in a song, in 'Don't Leave Me This Way'. That's just an injustice!

I really would recommend this show, it's an absolute tour de force. And now for your pleasure, here's a clip from episode four, featuring Blythe singing, but not on his own.

Now, as for 'Life On Mars'. I watched the entire first series in a day, which was kinda like an 8 hour long film, but unlike an 8 hour film, didn't get boring at all. However, I'm going to leave talking about 'Life On Mars' until I've watched the second series, so I can get it all down in one post.