the_strain_s02e08_intruders_main

The Strain S02E08 “Intruders” REVIEW

by with No Comment Reviews

The Strain S02E08 “Intruders” REVIEW

the_strain_s02e08_intruders_main

stars 1.5

Airing in the UK on Watch, Wednesdays, 10pm

Writer: David Weddle & Bradley Thompson
Director: Kevin Dowling

 

Essential Plot Points:

  • Well, you could argue there was nothing essential in this episode…
  • Eph secures himself a rifle by saving the life of a shooting victim.
  • Setrakian, Palmer and Eichhorst all try to get the Occido Lumen off the cardinal, by bidding for it, trying to steal it or killing him. Eventually Setrakian learns from the cardinal’s dying breath that Rudyard Fonescu, the sole survivor of the 1966 massacre in the Austrian nunnery, is currently in possession of the Big Book Of Magic.
  • Gus and Angel drive and talk and try to get us to care about the family who own that Indian restaurant.
  • Quinlan recruits Gus to help in his fight against the Master.
  • Zach is very, very, very irritating and tops every irritating thing he’s ever done before by inviting his mum into the hideout.
  • Unluckily Eph chases off his ex- (in both senses of ex) wife before she can kidnap the brat.

Review:

Did that really deserve 45 minutes of air time? Your answer might be yes if what you watch The Strain for Zach endlessly moaning about mum. Or for Gus and Angel driving round talking so much white noise. Or for really bad attempts at doing Casualty. There was enough filler in “Intruders” to plaster over the Grand Canyon.

Things start promisingly with a creepy teaser in which Eichhorst gives Kelly the  make-over of the century while making it clear he prefers the monster beneath. In fact, Eichhorst is one of the few characters to come out of this episode with any credit (Fet and Setrakian being the other two, though you could include Dutch for having the dignity not to show up at all).

But from the moment Zach turns up – and his very first line is a whinge about missing his mother – the episode takes a nose-dive. Quite why Eph takes Zach along with him on his mission to secure a rifle is unclear; the only reason can be that the writers are making a vain attempt to force us to care about him using a bit of father/son bonding. Then again, a couple of weeks back Eph spectacularly failed to bond with his son when they indulged in the more traditional pursuit of baseball. Maybe Eph thought taking him to an arms deal would be more therapeutic?

It fails. Even though Eph does his best Hawkeye Pierce impression with a bit of miracle field surgery, Zach just wails, “Why can’t you fix mum too?” At which point you really want Eph to use that rifle he’s just procured. Eph later moans about Zach to Nora, “We keep having the same circular argument,” and you want to scream at the screen, “LIKE WE HADN’T NOTICED!”

And so Zach lets Kelly into the hideout, there’s a really poorly directed scuffle, and the kid finally sees his mum do her Strigoi shtick with the tongue. Then Nora clocks her one with a handy hook-on-a-chain that takes half her false face off. Whether or not this has finally convinced the kid that mum’s not at home anymore is difficult to judge; Zach just gives us his usual vaguely puzzled expression, so who knows?

Gus and Angel, meanwhile, agonise over getting the Guptas to leave their restaurant with the kind of dialogue that could put anaesthetists out of business. Thank God Quinlan shows up to remind Gus what show he’s in but it’s too little too late.

Setrakian and Fet are more fun as they try to steal the Lumen from the odious cardinal only to find that Eichhorst has already given him a bad case of the worms. Setrakian gets the information he needs about the Lumen’s whereabouts in a wonderfully black moment, by promising the pontiff he’ll kill him quickly before the worms take hold so that his soul can go to heaven. You can tell that the grizzled old Jewish vampire hunter doesn’t believe a word coming out of his mouth; it’s a great piece of acting by David Bradley.

But there are too few such moments in “Intruders”. They probably add up to about five or six minutes of screen time. For the rest of the episode you may as be watching the Master cut his toenails.

 

The Good:

  • Two moments of silence are particularly effective. Eichhorst’s withering final stare at Palmer after Palmer tries to needle him is just chilling. Later, all Quinlan need say to Gus is, “She’s very beautiful,” to get his point across, after which a perfectly framed and perfectly lit shot highlights Aanya’s vulnerability.

the_strain_s02e08_intruders_beautiful

  • The scene between Eichhorst and the Cardinal crackles with tension, danger and a touch of perversity. “It appears your almighty has better things to do,” must be the line of the episode.
  • The opening scene with Eichhorst and Kelly is another gross highlight mainly because at the same time that he uses wigs, make-up and contact lenses to bring her back to (near) humanity, he’s delighting in telling her how her body will decay.
  • Setrakian’s line: “I prefer to think of it as recovering a stolen artefact but yes, we’re going to rob the son of a bitch.”

The Bad:

  • Pretty much any scene not involving Setrakian or Eichhorst. Most of it isn’t so much bad as monumentally dull.
  • Zach is worse than ever. He’s stupid, he’s whiny, he utterly unbelievable. The thing is, it’s not all the actor’s fault. Zach is written as an embarrassingly one-note character. But the fact that the expression below is the best expression Max Charles can muster when asked, “You do understand that wasn’t your mother who showed up at the church, right?” really doesn’t help matters. He always looks like he’s trying to remember his next line.

the_strain_s02e08_intruders_hollow_head

 

And The Random:

the_strain_s02e08_intruders_mirror

  • Handily someone shines a torchlight into Kelly’s right eye at this point to really highlight the difference a contact lens can make.

the_strain_s02e08_intruders_fingering

  • What is Eichhorst doing to Jesus at this point? He looks like he’s trying to pleasure him.
  • Palmer’s line, “So, when I see Bolivar again, what’s the protocol? Do I get down on my knees? Kiss his ring? What do you do?” is supposed to be dripping with innuendo, isn’t it?
  • Is Fet turning into a critic of his own show when he says, “No stupider than helping the old man find the book with a magic spell to kill the master”?

the_strain_s02e08_intruders_more_spaghetti

  • The irony of the Cardinal eating spaghetti shortly before he’s pumped full of worms might have been more effective if the show hadn’t pulled off a similar gag with Setrakian (when he revealed that he’s been elongating his life using worm juice) only a few episodes ago.

the_strain_s02e08_intruders_spikes

  • We like a good vampire-impaling as the next gore-hound but what exactly was that Feeler impaled on? It wouldn’t get past health and safety, that’s for sure.

• Read our previous reviews of The Strain

 

 

arrow-5

Arrow S04E01 "Green Arrow" REVIEW

by with No Comment Reviews

Arrow S04E01 “Green Arrow” REVIEW

arrow-5

 

stars 4

Airing in the UK on Sky One, Weds 8pm

Writer: Mark Guggenheim & Wendy Mericle
Director: Thor Freudenthal

 

Essential plot points:

  • Oliver and Felicity have settled into domestic suburban life – although one of them’s more comfortable with being out of trouble than the other.
  • Thea, Laurel and Dig have been taking on the criminals of the newly renamed Star City in their absence, but a new, very well armed gang of “ghosts” which has stolen powerful military-grade explosives have left the trio out of their depth.
  • The leader of the ghosts is the mystical Damien Darhk, formerly mentioned rival to Ra’s Al Ghul, who assassinates most of the city’s leadership and can kill people with just a simple touch.
  • The constant attacks and trouble on Star City have left the place run down and impoverished, and now in the shadow of Central City.
  • Oliver and Felicity are brought back into action to help stop Darhk’s men from destroying the city’s new rail terminal, although both Dig and Captain Lance are far from pleased to see Oliver back.
  • Oliver’s attempts to propose to Felicity keep getting stimied.
  • Captain Lance looks to have made some kind of deal with Darhk, although he’s reluctant to give up Team Arrow yet.
  • The flashback sees Oliver abducted by Amanda Waller and forced to parachute back onto Lian Yu to investigate a new threat.
  • And a flash (!) forward six months sees Oliver and Barry Allen standing beside a mysterious gravestone, as a grieving Oliver vows to kill “him”.
  • Oh, and Felicity is a dreadful cook.

arrow-8

 

Review:

With the DC TV universe expanding again this year to include animated companion Vixen, live action spin-off Legends Of Tomorrow and – superficially, at least, Supergirl – on top of sophomore year spin-off The Flash, the fear is that last year’s patchy third season for Team Arrow was the start of a slide for the parent programme, with the already stretched creative and production team having to take their eyes off the ball to handle all these new shows.

Thankfully any fears that Arrow’s the forgotten old hand among all the shiny new toys are dispelled by a quietly confident opener that sets out not only the new principles of the emerald archer, but also the big bad from the opening moments. Indeed, there’s so much talk about Oliver leaving behind the darkness of his character that it almost feels like the producers are making as much manifesto announcement on the show’s u-turn from last season’s storyline as they are about the character’s personal development.

Four years in and everyone knows their role well on Arrow. The cast are all uniformly good, the stunt work is impressive and the show, by and large, looks its money on screen. Director Thor Freudenthal, who directed two of last year’s key episodes – “The Climb” and “Al Sah-him” – gets the best out of the domestic bliss scenes, which are largely shot outdoors in beautiful summer light, heightening the contrast between the suburban good life and the increasingly desperate, grim urban decay of Star City.

In a ballsy move, the script throws away what previously would have felt like a tense season finale moment – a train full of high explosives headed into the heart of the city – as its opener, with the emphasis instead being on setting up übervillain Damien Darhk and his relationship with the show’s various characters – with hints of involvements in storylines right through the show’s history, not just the cough and spit mention of last year.

 

arrow-6

 

Interestingly, while the comic version of Damien Darhk is largely about misdirection and trickery that make it appear like he has mystical powers, the TV version’s going in with that supernatural ability right off the bat; a move, presumably, designed to set up the presence of Vandal Savage in the Legends spin-off, and indeed the impending appearance by everyone’s favourite walking advert for Regal King Size, John Constantine.

It represents another slight shift in the world of the Arrowverse, which has gone from its Nolan-esque grounded-in-reality-and -cience first season to the metahuman and magical immortality backdrop it now exists within. About the only thing missing now is aliens, although with Supergirl and all the Green Lantern injokes, you sense that can’t be far behind.

If there’s anything disappointing about the episode, it’s that it’s slightly too quick to get Oliver and Felicity away from their domestic happiness and back into the thick of trouble. It’s six months for the characters, but only a couple of scenes for us. I appreciate this is an action show and as such getting back into the action is key, but after making such a big deal about walking away from the lifestyle last season, it just feels a big rushed. Besides, the potential for an Olly and Flick do The Good Life-style sitcom was huge…

There’s nothing particularly mindblowing about “Green Arrow” as an episode in itself but nor is there much to criticise. It does its job well: setting up the rest of the season, advancing the five-year flashbacks, reconnecting the ties with the rest of the show’s increasingly widening universe, and all the while managing to chuck in a couple of impressive set piece fight sequences and explosions. It comes with the confidence of a show that knows how to assemble all its components with a minimum of fuss. Whether it can maintain that confidence with everything else going on in the Arrowverse now remains to be seen.

 

arrow-2

The Good:

  • The opening scene with Oliver, in a green hood, sprinting through undergrowth and forest, before pulling out to reveal he’s just taken a short cut for his morning jog, is an obvious but nicely done reveal.
  • There are lots of little nods to the Nolan Batman trilogy in the episode but especially the killing off of the city leadership, which draws heavily from the Joker pulling a similar stunt in The Dark Knight; the idea that the presence of the vigilantes protecting the city has only made things worse; the villains using the railway to wreak havoc on an impoverished, run-down city; and Amanda Waller nicking Ra’s Al Ghul’s, “The world’s too small for someone like Bruce Wayne to disappear” when she finds Oliver.
  • In the “five years ago” flashbacks, Olly’s been hanging out practicing (badly) his hooded vigilante antics in Coast City, home in the comics of the Green Lantern. There’s even an advertising poster with the slogan, “In brightest day, in blackest night, come to Coast City when money’s tight”.
  • Damien Darhk’s villainy is revealed from the off. No mucking about, no false trails. Within the first ten minutes we know he’s the bad guy. Neal McDonough’s confident portrayal is brilliant too – helped by the fact he’s got some of the creepiest serial-killer eyes in Hollywood. Seriously, even all the way back to Star Trek First Contact (he was Lt Hawk) his eyes have creeped me out.
  • The repercussions of last year are still being felt. Thea’s a bit unhinged and blood thirsty, Dig can’t forgive Oliver yet, and the Arrow is still dead, as far as the world’s concerned. It’s nice to see the reset button isn’t hit at the start of the season, as happens all too often elsewhere.
  • The domestic bliss stuff at the start is great. Really, genuinely great, to the extent that another episode of the two of them in suburbia, having dinner parties and generally behaving like a loved-up couple wouldn’t have gone amiss. It helps that Amell and Emily Bett Rickards have great chemistry together, and both have good enough comic timing to pull off the silly stuff.

 

arrow-1

The Bad:

  • Oliver’s supposedly rousing, bring-everyone-together-and-inspire-the-city speech is actually pretty rubbish. His big declaration that “I AM THE GREEN ARROW” falls very flat: a rare moment of shoddy line reading from Stephen Amell.
  • We don’t see much of just how much Dig, Speedy and Canary are struggling. They manage to half-stop a heist, but everything else is off screen and suddenly they’re dragging Oliver back from domestic bliss to help out.
  • Felicity ends up being the catalyst to drag Oliver back to Star City as it turns out she’s been secretly helping the team out behind his back. It’s a weird u-turn given she’s always been the one who seemed most ready to put the superhero world behind her. Although the couple’s domestic about it is admittedly very cute.
  • The “death” of Ray Palmer seems largely forgotten, apart from a sign at the city limits saying that Star City’s rebranding is in tribute to him. Given he and Felicity were so close, and she’s inherited his company, you’d think folk would be a bit more bothered.
  • Dig’s new faceplate, to help conceal his identity, is halfway between a welder’s mask and Boba Fett’s helmet. It really doesn’t work as a visual.
  • You’d think a train filled with cluster bombs so powerful they’re almost nuclear, as Felicity claims, that gets blown up by Team Arrow, might make a bigger explosion. Given the hype around the bombs, you’d expect basically a recreation of Threads rather than the standard pyro we get.
  • There is some truly, and in this day and age unforgivably, bad rear projection going on out the windows in the limo scenes. Seriously, there are ITC dramas from the ’60s that would look at that scene and tut.

arrow-7

And the Random:

  • No Barrowman, despite appearing in the opening list of credits.
  • Continuity ties with The Flash are as tight as ever: as well as Barry showing up at the end, we’ve got Sisco having designed the new Arrow costume, and a reference to the Flash Day celebrations from that show’s opening episode.
  • This year’s opening/closing credits arrowhead under the show’s logo is bright green, to reflect the character’s new identity (and lurid weaponry. Even Hawkeye didn’t go for dayglo purple arrowheads…)
  • Have we been told the location of the new Arrow-cave yet? Obviously they can’t use Palmer Technologies’ lab any more (not least because Ray blew it up), and the old base under the club was turned over by SCPD. The new HQ is a bit more sparse – no Salmon Leap bars, for starters.
  • While the show’s been off the air, Stephen Amell’s been a busy lad, filming the Ninja Turtles sequel, and scoring a win at WWE’s Summerslam show tagging with British wrestler Neville against Stardust and Wade Barrett. He didn’t look that bad in the ring either…

Review by Iain Hepburn

 

• Read our review of The Flash season two premiere

 

vlcsnap-2015-10-10-16h45m56s249

The Flash S02E01 "The Man Who Saved Central City" REVIEW

by with No Comment Reviews

The Flash S02E01 “The Man Who Saved Central City” REVIEW

vlcsnap-2015-10-10-16h45m56s249

 

stars 4

Airing in the UK on: Sky 1, Tuesdays, 8pm

Writers: Greg Berlanti & Andrew Kreisberg (story); Andrew Kreisberg & Gabrielle Stanton (teleplay)
Director: Ralph Hemecker

Essential Plot Points:

  • The Flash saves Central City from the singularity, but only with help from Firestorm, who paid for his efforts with half his life – Ronnie died but Dr Stein survived.
  • A depressed Barry decides to go it alone from here on in, fearing that working as a team puts his friends in danger.
  • But when a new metahuman, Atom Smasher, almost kills Barry, Joe convinces him he needs his team behind him. Barry agrees and together Team Flash defeats Atom Smasher.
  • With his dying breath Atom Smasher says that someone called Zoom ordered him to kill Barry, in return for which Zoom would send him home.
  • Part of Harrison Wells’s will is a video confession that he killed Henry Allen. Henry is freed as a result but immediately leaves town saying he would get in the way of Barry’s new life, immediately winning the award for Most Ungracious Dad Of The Year award, though Barry is very understanding.
  • Some guy called Jay Garrick turns up at STAR Labs saying that his “world” is in danger.

Review:

The Flash is back! And while, if the prepublicity is anything to go by, this coming season promises to shake the formula up big time, “The Man Who Saved Central City” follows the season one blueprint very closely. The only thing missing is a scene with Barry and Iris looking adoringly at each other before going, “Nah, not gonna work…” and that’s no great loss. Hell, Joe even gets to say, “Run, Barry run!” in Wells’ absence.

There are a few hints of what’s to come. The final scene, of course with Jay Garrick showing up and announcing his world is in danger. It’s a great cliffhanger if you recognise the name, slightly underwhelming if it means sod all to you, especially as he’s not even in costume. Then there’s Cisco having another of his visions of an alternate reality. Quite why he’s reluctant to tell anybody about it isn’t clear as of Team Sky knows he has that ability after last season. You’d think he’s be going, “Hey guys, not quite sure what this mean but something that’s probably important has just happened.” But that’s never how TV works…

And then there’s the opening scene, in which everything in hunky dory and catching crims is a blast. It’s clearly supposed to be Barry’s day dream – or, indeed, a pipe dream – but in a season where multiple, even infinite, alternate worlds will become an important element, there is the teasing possibility that on one of them that exact scenario may well be taking place.

Aside from that, “The Man Who Saved Central City” is formulaic The Flash. Luckily, The Flash has a very good formula, and the writers are deft at making it work. This is slick small screen heroics with enough genuine heart and wit to give it a charm beyond its comic book action. The script is economical to the point of thrifty; look how it repositions Barry from moping blame-masochist to cheery team player in three easy steps; flashback, talking to and revelation. It could all be mechanically manipulative but dialogue is precision-built for maximum emotion out of minimum schmaltz while the acting is above and beyond, especially from Grant Gustin and Jesse L Martin.

There are clunky moments. In a machine with as many moving parts as a Flash episode (think how many elements it’s juggling) the gears are bound to crunch occasionally. Dr Stein’s sudden conversion to grinning geek feels a little like false jollity. Atom Smasher looks a bit silly and is totally wasted in a B-plot masquerading as an A-plot. And Caitlin’s big emotional moment about blaming herself for Ronnie’s death suffers from her being last in the queue of blame. If anything, the episode almost tries to cover too much ground.

It also suffers from some sub-par special FX which is slightly worrying for an all-important season premiere, but hopefully they’re saving the budget for bigger things down the line.

So, a good episode but not a great one. That’s nothing to worry about, though. You get the feeling “The Man Who Saved Central City” had to finish up a lot of necessary housekeeping, and from next week we’ll be seeing season two begin properly.

The Good:

the_flash_2x01_the_man_who_saved_central_city_emotion_2

  • That tear. So understated. So powerful. It’s amazing to see a male superhero cry because of self pity (crying over the death of a close friend/family member is different) but Gustin makes you want to hug him rather than go, “Pull yourself together you big softie!” To be honest, the dialogue in the scene is nothing special but Gustin and Jesse L Martin bring a whole new dimension of heart and depth to it.

the_flash_2x01_the_man_who_saved_central_city_great_shirt

  • You have to love Cisco’s sartorial choice for Flash Day – a red shirt with little yellow lightning bolts all over it. Where can we buy one?
  • Wells’s confession is wonderfully unexpected development.
  • Great line: “Hello Barry, if you’re watching this, that means something has gone horribly wrong. I’m dead and the last 15 years have been for nothing. Bummer.”
  • Great moment: “That’s where you’ll find your atom smasher… because he absorbs atomic power… and he, well, smashes.” “Come here. That’s a great name. Welcome to the team.”

 

The Bad:

the_flash_2x01_the_man_who_saved_central_city_bad_fx

  • The FX shot above was terrible – it looked like some body wearing a Ronnie Raymond cardboard mask. Somebody on the editing team clearly thought the same and kept the shot as brief as possible.

the_flash_2x01_the_man_who_saved_central_city_stretch_armstrong

  • Although not quite as bad, some of the overly smooth, bendy-doll CG on Atom Smasher had the unfortunate effect of making him look like Stretch Armstrong.
  • The villains-of-the-week in this show often little more than plot devices designed to get the main characters from emotional and/or arc plot point A to emotional and/or arc plot point B, but even granting that Atom Smasher has about as much depth as a puddle.
  • Henry Allen’s excuse for getting right out of town is selfish to the point of suspiciously like hiding something else. Why doesn’t Barry question it more? And if he’s not hiding something, what an ungrateful git!
  • The game of blame one-upmanship for Ronnie’s “death” becomes a bit tedious after a while (not that we believe he’s dead for a moment… he’s bound to be in a parallel reality somewhere).

 

And The Random:

the_flash_2x01_the_man_who_saved_central_city_letters

  • Weathersby & Stone, the legal firm dealing with Wells’s will, is the name of the fictional law firm in the show Eli Stone, in which Victor Garber played a regular character, and which The Flash executive producer Greg Berlanti also worked on an as exec.
  • Previously in the show, Albert Rothstein was listed as one of the people killed when the particle accelerator exploded, a fact which seems to be disputed by this episode (he was killed at the start of the epsisode and Cisco says he wasn’t even in the city when the accelerator had its hissyfit). So, continuity error? Or something more complex to do with all this multiworlds stuff?

the_flash_2x01_the_man_who_saved_central_city_channel_52

  • 52 Spotting: There were lots of uses of the number 52 in season one (a reference to DC’s New 52 line, presumably) and this appears to be continuing in season two. Not only do we have the return of Channel 52 but look at the car registration plate in the image at the very top of the page.

the_flash_2x01_the_man_who_saved_central_city_flash_emblem

  • The Flash’s costume now has the white emblem that the future Flash wore in season one. To quote the Doctor here: “Bootstraps paradox: Google it.”

the_flash_2x01_the_man_who_saved_central_city_flash_light

  • How come Cisco missed the opportunity to call this the “Flash Light”? He does make an oblique reference to Batman though when Caitlin asks him where he got the idea from: “I think I saw it in a comic book somewhere.”

the_flash_2x01_the_man_who_saved_central_city_guest_star_2

  • Atom Smasher is  played by WWE Superstar Edge, aka, Adam Copeland, who has also had a recurring role on Haven in recent years. Atom Smasher first appeared in All-Star Squadron #25 (September, 1983) and is actually a superhero in the DC world. He’s been a member of the Justice Society Of America and is god son of Al Pratt, the Golden Age Atom. He did go evil for a while but that happens to every superhero.

the_flash_2x01_the_man_who_saved_central_city_headlines

  • Not so much a goof as a oddity: two newspapers with exactly the same headline?
  • Vito D’Ambrosio returns as Mayor Anthony Bellows (he was last seen in season one’s “Tricksters”). He also appeared in 17 episodes the 1990 The Flash series playing a cop called… Officer Tony Bellows!

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_0715

Concert Review: INFINITE “Come Back Again” To London

by with No Comment Music News

IMG_0715

On 9 October 2015, K-pop boy group INFINITE held their second world tour concert “Infinite Effect” at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush venue with a little help from our good friends at Onion Productions. Upon arriving at the venue at around 5:00pm I was shocked to see that people had actually camped out the night before to make sure they had a prime spot by getting to the front row to see their beloved idols. The doors to the event opened at 7:00pm, and on time the crowds went rushing in. It always does surprise me seeing the rush to get to the front, as well as the rudeness of the fans towards the staff who are there for your own safety (please listen to staff when they ask you to not run).

IMG_0720

Once inside the venue it finally dawned on me just how full the venue was, in terms of the standing (pit) area. It felt like there was a lot more people there than there should have been, but at the same time it was nice to know that the turn out was a lot better than the last time the group was in the UK – mainly because it was a Friday night, and the event was promoted a long time before the concert. When the lights went out the loudest screams I had ever heard filled the air. The fans were really intense and dedicated to showing the members that they were there to support them throughout the whole concert. There were an array of fans from Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Taiwan, China, Germany, Japan, and Korea – both male and female, which was really nice to see.

The set list was as follows:

1. Before the Dawn
2. Paradise
3. Be Mine
4. Intro + Destiny
5. Tic Toc
6. Steps
7. Love Letter
8. Between You and Me
9. Everyday (Woohyun Solo)
10. Sorry I’m Busy + Pretty (INFINITE H)
11. Kontrol (Sunggyu Solo)
12. Heartthrob + My Girl (INFINITE F)
13. For you
14. Nothing’s Over
15. Entrust
16. Cover Girl
17. Take Care of the Ending
18. Moonlight
19. Back
20. The Chaser
21. Bad
22. Come Back Again
23. Together

IMG_0489

Something that was evident in INFINITE’s performance in London this time round was the amount of energy they were emitting. Although they were absolutely amazing last time, their performance for the crowds this time were overzealous, loud, and it truly did look like the group were having as much fun as they could. Even though member Hoya had to sit down throughout the strenuous dance routines of the songs (he had injured his ankle and did not look happy having to sit out on the dancing – he kept apologising for being injured), the other members made sure their dancing was on point, along with their live singing.

Also worthy of a mention was the live band and music makers of the night, who sat at the back of the stage and created live remixes and renditions of the songs fans have grown to love. It seems to be a running theme, that should a group bring a live band to their tours, the performances seem to be more personal and a lot more upbeat than usual. Having been to equal amounts of live bands and pre-recorded instrumental concerts, the live band performances always seem to leave a longer impact.

IMG_0432

By the end of the night members Sunggyu, Woohyun, Dongwoo, Hoya, Sungyeol, Sungjong and Myungsoo were completely exhausted. They were literally dripping with sweat (even after changing their clothes around 3-4 times) and were heaving deep breaths. What was really nice to see was the look of adoration for their fans and leaving a feeling of thankfulness when they took one very long and deep bow towards the crowd before saying goodbye. During their talk before leaving the stage, it seems that the UK fans have really grasped the hearts of the members and Woollim Entertainment, as they declared that they would be back again in the not so distant future to meet everyone once again (hopefully they will, because their performances always leave me feeling buzzed and happy).

IMG_0673

A big thank you to Jessica and Annabel at Onion Productions, to the members of INFINITE, Woollim Entertainment and the staff and crew who made the concert in London possible. Once again it was a night to remember and was another step towards K-pop being more prominent within the UK. Be sure to check out MCM Buzz’s photos from the concert over on our Facebook Page and keep checking back for more European K-pop news in the future.

IMG_0715

Concert Review: INFINITE "Come Back Again" To London

by with No Comment Music News

IMG_0715

On 9 October 2015, K-pop boy group INFINITE held their second world tour concert “Infinite Effect” at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush venue with a little help from our good friends at Onion Productions. Upon arriving at the venue at around 5:00pm I was shocked to see that people had actually camped out the night before to make sure they had a prime spot by getting to the front row to see their beloved idols. The doors to the event opened at 7:00pm, and on time the crowds went rushing in. It always does surprise me seeing the rush to get to the front, as well as the rudeness of the fans towards the staff who are there for your own safety (please listen to staff when they ask you to not run).

IMG_0720

Once inside the venue it finally dawned on me just how full the venue was, in terms of the standing (pit) area. It felt like there was a lot more people there than there should have been, but at the same time it was nice to know that the turn out was a lot better than the last time the group was in the UK – mainly because it was a Friday night, and the event was promoted a long time before the concert. When the lights went out the loudest screams I had ever heard filled the air. The fans were really intense and dedicated to showing the members that they were there to support them throughout the whole concert. There were an array of fans from Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Taiwan, China, Germany, Japan, and Korea – both male and female, which was really nice to see.

The set list was as follows:

1. Before the Dawn
2. Paradise
3. Be Mine
4. Intro + Destiny
5. Tic Toc
6. Steps
7. Love Letter
8. Between You and Me
9. Everyday (Woohyun Solo)
10. Sorry I’m Busy + Pretty (INFINITE H)
11. Kontrol (Sunggyu Solo)
12. Heartthrob + My Girl (INFINITE F)
13. For you
14. Nothing’s Over
15. Entrust
16. Cover Girl
17. Take Care of the Ending
18. Moonlight
19. Back
20. The Chaser
21. Bad
22. Come Back Again
23. Together

IMG_0489

Something that was evident in INFINITE’s performance in London this time round was the amount of energy they were emitting. Although they were absolutely amazing last time, their performance for the crowds this time were overzealous, loud, and it truly did look like the group were having as much fun as they could. Even though member Hoya had to sit down throughout the strenuous dance routines of the songs (he had injured his ankle and did not look happy having to sit out on the dancing – he kept apologising for being injured), the other members made sure their dancing was on point, along with their live singing.

Also worthy of a mention was the live band and music makers of the night, who sat at the back of the stage and created live remixes and renditions of the songs fans have grown to love. It seems to be a running theme, that should a group bring a live band to their tours, the performances seem to be more personal and a lot more upbeat than usual. Having been to equal amounts of live bands and pre-recorded instrumental concerts, the live band performances always seem to leave a longer impact.

IMG_0432

By the end of the night members Sunggyu, Woohyun, Dongwoo, Hoya, Sungyeol, Sungjong and Myungsoo were completely exhausted. They were literally dripping with sweat (even after changing their clothes around 3-4 times) and were heaving deep breaths. What was really nice to see was the look of adoration for their fans and leaving a feeling of thankfulness when they took one very long and deep bow towards the crowd before saying goodbye. During their talk before leaving the stage, it seems that the UK fans have really grasped the hearts of the members and Woollim Entertainment, as they declared that they would be back again in the not so distant future to meet everyone once again (hopefully they will, because their performances always leave me feeling buzzed and happy).

IMG_0673

A big thank you to Jessica and Annabel at Onion Productions, to the members of INFINITE, Woollim Entertainment and the staff and crew who made the concert in London possible. Once again it was a night to remember and was another step towards K-pop being more prominent within the UK. Be sure to check out MCM Buzz’s photos from the concert over on our Facebook Page and keep checking back for more European K-pop news in the future.

the_walking_dead_s06e01_first_time_again_main

The Walking Dead S06E01 “First Time Again” REVIEW

by with No Comment Reviews

The Walking Dead S06E01 “First Time Again”

the_walking_dead_s06e01_first_time_again_main

stars 5

Airing in the UK on: FOX, Mondays, 9pm

Writers: Scott M Gimple & Matthew Negrete
Director: Greg Nicotero

Essential Plot Points:

  • In the present, we see Rick briefing a team of people, some new, some familiar. They’re standing on the lip of a quarry where hundreds of Walkers are corralled. As they watch, one of the trucks holding them in place slips and falls…
  • In the past, and in lovely black and white, we see the immediate aftermath of Rick’s execution of Pete and Morgan’s arrival at Alexandria.
  • Morgan is remarkably relaxed about being essentially imprisoned. He’s also painfully aware of how brittle Rick is and steps in when Rick confronts Gabriel about burying Pete’s body inside the town. On Deanna’s suggestion they take it out of town to be buried.
  • Elsewhere, Nicholas is surprised to find Glenn covering for him despite his attempts to end the life of the world’s toughest pizza delivery boy last season.
  • In the present, we see more of the attempt to lead the Walkers away. The Alexandrians have built barricades to keep the horde on track. They’re led out of the quarry by Darryl on his bike and Sasha and Abraham in a car. The parade of the dead is huge, and will only keep moving if they move just a little faster than the leading edge.
  • In the past, we see Rick and Morgan bury Pete. Rick hears something and follows the noise to the quarry, followed by Morgan. They’re interrupted by Pete’s son Ron who is pursued by Walkers. Rick saves him and the three return to Alexandria to warn the residents.
  • There, Rick develops a plan to lead the Walkers away. Carter, an Alexandrian resident, violently objects but is talked around by Morgan. They plan to lead the zombies down one road in particular, building a curved wall to “push” them miles past the town, led by Sasha and Darryl.
  • In the present, Rick, Michonne and Morgan arrive at the curve and use flare pistols to keep the horde moving. Nearby, Glenn, Nicholas and new arrival Heath are told to destroy a small Walker pocket trapped in a store. They discover the store’s shutters are down and blow the windows out, drawing the Walkers to them. The fight gets messy and Glenn is saved by Nicholas, despite telling him not to get involved.

the_walking_dead_s06e01_first_time_again_Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and Guildenstern

  • In the past, we see the plan put into action and various characters struggling with the realities of their new life. Rick advocates not looking for anyone else. Darryl feels differently and says so. Glenn, Maggie, Nicholas and Tara make peace and Abraham quietly begins to drink himself into oblivion. Carter contemplates violent revolution and is overheard by Eugene. Rick, Morgan and Michonne arrive and Rick, instead of killing Carter, asks him to help. Later, Rick and Morgan talk and Morgan attempts to reassure his not quite friend that the man who spared Carter’s life was the man he always knew. Rick responds that people like Carter couldn’t survive in this world anyway.
  • In the present, Glenn’s team meet up with Rick’s and they get form up around the Horde, making sure they don’t wander off the road. Carter, admitting he was wrong, shakes hands with Rick. He volunteers to run off to secure the front of the horde and Rick agrees.
  • Then everything goes to hell. Carter is mauled by a walker. Rick arrives, kills it and tries to calm the dying man whose screams are attracting the horde on the road. Unable to silence him, Rick finally murders Carter just as the others arrive. He tells them what happened and while they accept it, neither Morgan nor Michone seem happy.

the_walking_dead_s06e01_first_time_again_Morgan is not okay with this

  • Then everything really goes to Hell. A car horn triggers, the noise dragging the Walkers towards it. The horn is coming from Alexandria and now thousands of walkers are heading for the town…

Review:

Bloody hell.

Nicotero’s direction is amazing. Not just because of the classy  black and white either, although that’s a lovely touch. There’s a welcome spring of experimentation in genre TV at the moment and it’s especially nice to see this structure used in the same week Doctor Who had so much fun breaking the fourth wall. Both shows trust their audiences, both shows play with their expectations a little and both absolutely nail complex structures and interesting, challenging visual ideas.

Plus the black and white is just amazingly pretty. Honestly, I’d watch an entire season shot this way. (Didn’t they actually repeat an entire season in black and white in the US a while back? Maybe that’s where they got the idea?)

the_walking_dead_s06e01_first_time_again_SO DAMN PRETTY

No, Nicotero really excels because he gets out of the damn way. Look at the Glenn, Heath and Nicholas versus the tractor store zombies fight. There’s minimal fuss, nothing showy, just three guys fighting an undead horde of indeterminate size. You winced, when Glenn is jumped because Nicotero parks the camera right over his shoulder.

The episode’s full of moments like that and Nicotero revels in showing us the ridiculous size of the zombie horde. The shot of Rick, Michonne and Morgan behind the RV, with only a thing line of aluminium siding between them and absolute death was amazing. Likewise the recurrent, absurd yet horrifying, image of Darryl in the slowest motion motorcycle chase in human history.

the_walking_dead_s06e01_first_time_again_slow

That’s reflected in the writing too. The five seasons in hell these characters have endured has changed them all and there are some moments of real gentleness here. The opening sequence, as various people check in on each other is especially sweet and spins some lovely character beats out into the episode itself. Glenn, in particular, and his harsh but fair refusal to let Nicholas off the hook, is especially great. Steven Yeun has always been one of the best actors in this cast and he turns in seriously impressive work here.

But, inevitably, the bulk of the episode’s emotional heavy lifting is between Rick and Morgan. Andrew Lincoln and Lennie James are two of the most phenomenal actors of their generation and every scene they have here proves it, largely because they do so little. There’s a sense, not of two alpha predators circling one another, but of two frightened, wounded animals trying to work out if they need to fight. Rick is traumatised, spiky, always ready to put someone down and not quite as hardened as he thinks he is. Morgan is quiet, polite, clearly desperately sad and absolutely prepared to put Rick down if he needs to. It’s like Shane and Rick without the chest beating and it’s revelatory work from the actors and writers alike.

the_walking_dead_s06e01_first_time_again_Morgan's okay with it face

It’s also one of the best-written examples of emotionally intimate male friendship you’ll see in genre TV. These two men are survivors, both rendered down to their component parts countless times and yet somehow still here. Their approaches are almost completely different but they have an intensely strong bond through shared trauma. Morgan’s right, Rick’s still in there. And the man Rick truly is isn’t buried that deeply beneath the man he’s become.

Except this is The Walking Dead and nothing’s ever simple, or easy.

Firstly, the quarry zombies are one of the subtlest, cruellest ideas the show has ever had. Rick is proven absolutely correct; Alexandria isn’t even a little safe. The only reason the town hasn’t been overrun is sheer blind chance. That’s one of the nastiest twists of the knife the show’s ever done and it’s clearly why everyone gets on board as fast as they do.

Well, I say everyone.

Ethan Embry’s Carter makes a lot of very good points. He’s like the opposite of the character most shows throw exposition at; Carter knows exactly what’s going on, is mystified as to why and wants to plan just a little bit more thanks.

What makes him significant is not only his death but how it’ll be perceived. Carter’s not a brave man, just an unlucky one. His reconciliation with Rick is genuine and his loss is all the more tragic for it, especially given how it’ll be perceived. Rick’s authority isn’t secure by any means and the show subtly keys us into this. If Michonne and Morgan aren’t okay with him killing Carter for very good reasons, God only knows what the town will think.

That extra problem, of perception rather than action, is one that could only happen in a stable location like Alexandria. More than anything else this episode, it’s an indicator of how far the show, and the characters, have come.

That’s the genius of “First Time Again’. It shows us how much the characters have changed, how much they want to change and how fragile their world still is. The episode inevitably focuses on Rick and Morgan, but we get moments with everyone else that show just much they’ve opened up in Alexandria. Whether they’ll survive what looks like the near certain destruction of the town remains to be seen. Damn this week-long wait!

The Good:

  • “People out there, gotta take care of themselves. Just like us.” The “Rick processes his feelings” arc this season looks to be far more nuanced than it’s been in the past. He’s a good man, albeit a horrifically psychologically scarred one, and he’s turning inwards. He’s got a town, he’s got his family and that’s all he needs. Or at least all he thinks he needs.
  • “Look if you’re still looking to get buck wild with the breath impaired…” Abraham, spirit of tact.
  • “It’ll hold.” “Well that’s good, you know, considering where we’re standing.” The entire Rick, Michonne and Morgan at the barricade conversation is amazing, especially the protein bar joke. But this line in particular, a joke so dry it’s basically granular, is the standout.
  • “Morgan, maybe we just leave him here.” “…That’s not who you are. I know.” “Hey…you DON’T.” The constant back and forth between Rick and Morgan, two men who’ve had to completely rebuild their lives at least twice, each, is amazingly good. This is Rick being offered understanding and friendship and the last time that happened was Shane, or Hershel. No wonder he turns Morgan down.
  • “This was supposed to be a dress rehearsal.” “I was supposed to be delivering pizzas, man.” NEVER CHANGE, Glenn. NEVER. And please stay away from baseball bats.
  • “Going out, finding more people, that IS taking care of ourselves.” Darryl, careful, considered, utterly terrifying conscience of Rick.
  • “Darryl’s been teaching me how to shoot.” “I think you got the hang of it.” The episode, hell the series, is at its best in these quiet moments of careful humour. Rick and Carol bantering about how she’s a Bringer Of Death To All Who Oppose Her is lovely.
  • “You can try to work with us. You can try to survive. Will you do that?” Rick is still absolutely terrifying and clearly ever so slightly hatstand. He’s also still a decent man. This line, and the clear, absolute terror Ethan Embry as Carter sells the entire scene with, is brilliant.
  • “Somebody like that, they’re gonna die no matter what.” This entire conversation, and Rick’s monologue, looks set to be a lynchpin for the season. It’s such a sweet moment and it’s undercut with this cold, hard, brutal view of the world. Even this is development for the man who last season was executing potential threats without batting a blood-soaked eyelid.
  • “I know its how it is. I do.” “Yeah. I do too.” Now this is interesting. Morgan’s zen warrior, compassionate approach is clearly going to be opposing Rick’s survival based pragmatism. But this scene is all about Michonne, a woman whose literally and metaphorically come in from the wastelands to stand with these people. The fact she isn’t cool with what’s happened is a huge indicator of trouble to come.

The Bad:

  • Nothing. Seriously. This is an amazingly good piece of TV.
  • Okay you want some bad points, here they and we had to dig for them all because this episode is so damn good.
  • Surely both Carter and Rick’s plans could be implemented? If the quarry horde is the only reason Alexandria hasn’t been overrun, wouldn’t it make sense to corral some zombies there and periodically clear the quarry out of them and all the ones they’ve attracted?
  • Of course that may well be the plan. Assuming Alexandria’s still there next week…
  • Minimal Carlpoppa this week, but what we get is very sweet and leads to yet another ridiculously pretty black and white moment.

the_walking_dead_s06e01_first_time_again_Carlpoppa

  • Minimal Carol the Deathbringer this week too, although what we get is hilarious. Her. “Gosh, this is terrifying,” moment in the town meeting is good but her exchange with Morgan is even better. I hope those two, and Daryl, get more scenes together.

the_walking_dead_s06e01_first_time_again_Carol

And The Random:

the_walking_dead_s06e01_first_time_again_Heath

  • Corey Hawkins impresses straight out of the gate as Heath. It’s unsurprising too, given he’s been turning in impressive work for a while. He’s fun in the sort-of-Taken-on-a-plane Non-Stop, had a brief appearance in Iron Man 3 and did excellent work as Doctor Dre in Straight Outta Compton. Now all we need is for the show to forget the “one in, one out” rule it’s often had with regards to black male characters…

the_walking_dead_s06e01_first_time_again_Carter

  • Oh Carter we hardly knew you. Aside from the whining and complaining and mid-level incompetence. Ethan Embry wins, possibly forever, the title of The Walking Dead Cast Member Who Appeared In A Brilliant Cult Movie. Embry was in Empire Records, along with Liv Tyler, Rory Cochrane, Renee Zellweger and Tobey Maguire’s shoulder. Seriously. The film cut two entire characters, one of whom was played by Maguire. His shoulder is briefly visible in one scene and in fairness it has incredible presence. The story of one of the last independent record stores on the best, and worst, day of its life, Empire Records is a chaotic, sugar-rush covered joy. It’s crammed full of amazing people doing great work and is as sweet natured and mildly attention defective as Embry’s character, Mark. And yes, you could watch it and be smug about how indie record stores are all but dead now. But you know what? Don’t. It’s a joyous movie, the characters are clearly all fine and we mustn’t dwell. It’s always Rex Manning day somewhere…
  • Shot of the week could be any of the images we get of the horde or the quarry. But for sheer scale this nails it.

the_walking_dead_s06e01_first_time_again_shot of the episode

  • The Walker that peels itself as it pulls out of the quarry is the most gleefully disgusting thing the show has done to date. Well done, folks.

Reviewed by Alasdair Stuart

 

 

the_walking_dead_s06e01_first_time_again_main

The Walking Dead S06E01 "First Time Again" REVIEW

by with No Comment Reviews

The Walking Dead S06E01 “First Time Again”

the_walking_dead_s06e01_first_time_again_main

stars 5

Airing in the UK on: FOX, Mondays, 9pm

Writers: Scott M Gimple & Matthew Negrete
Director: Greg Nicotero

Essential Plot Points:

  • In the present, we see Rick briefing a team of people, some new, some familiar. They’re standing on the lip of a quarry where hundreds of Walkers are corralled. As they watch, one of the trucks holding them in place slips and falls…
  • In the past, and in lovely black and white, we see the immediate aftermath of Rick’s execution of Pete and Morgan’s arrival at Alexandria.
  • Morgan is remarkably relaxed about being essentially imprisoned. He’s also painfully aware of how brittle Rick is and steps in when Rick confronts Gabriel about burying Pete’s body inside the town. On Deanna’s suggestion they take it out of town to be buried.
  • Elsewhere, Nicholas is surprised to find Glenn covering for him despite his attempts to end the life of the world’s toughest pizza delivery boy last season.
  • In the present, we see more of the attempt to lead the Walkers away. The Alexandrians have built barricades to keep the horde on track. They’re led out of the quarry by Darryl on his bike and Sasha and Abraham in a car. The parade of the dead is huge, and will only keep moving if they move just a little faster than the leading edge.
  • In the past, we see Rick and Morgan bury Pete. Rick hears something and follows the noise to the quarry, followed by Morgan. They’re interrupted by Pete’s son Ron who is pursued by Walkers. Rick saves him and the three return to Alexandria to warn the residents.
  • There, Rick develops a plan to lead the Walkers away. Carter, an Alexandrian resident, violently objects but is talked around by Morgan. They plan to lead the zombies down one road in particular, building a curved wall to “push” them miles past the town, led by Sasha and Darryl.
  • In the present, Rick, Michonne and Morgan arrive at the curve and use flare pistols to keep the horde moving. Nearby, Glenn, Nicholas and new arrival Heath are told to destroy a small Walker pocket trapped in a store. They discover the store’s shutters are down and blow the windows out, drawing the Walkers to them. The fight gets messy and Glenn is saved by Nicholas, despite telling him not to get involved.

the_walking_dead_s06e01_first_time_again_Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and Guildenstern

  • In the past, we see the plan put into action and various characters struggling with the realities of their new life. Rick advocates not looking for anyone else. Darryl feels differently and says so. Glenn, Maggie, Nicholas and Tara make peace and Abraham quietly begins to drink himself into oblivion. Carter contemplates violent revolution and is overheard by Eugene. Rick, Morgan and Michonne arrive and Rick, instead of killing Carter, asks him to help. Later, Rick and Morgan talk and Morgan attempts to reassure his not quite friend that the man who spared Carter’s life was the man he always knew. Rick responds that people like Carter couldn’t survive in this world anyway.
  • In the present, Glenn’s team meet up with Rick’s and they get form up around the Horde, making sure they don’t wander off the road. Carter, admitting he was wrong, shakes hands with Rick. He volunteers to run off to secure the front of the horde and Rick agrees.
  • Then everything goes to hell. Carter is mauled by a walker. Rick arrives, kills it and tries to calm the dying man whose screams are attracting the horde on the road. Unable to silence him, Rick finally murders Carter just as the others arrive. He tells them what happened and while they accept it, neither Morgan nor Michone seem happy.

the_walking_dead_s06e01_first_time_again_Morgan is not okay with this

  • Then everything really goes to Hell. A car horn triggers, the noise dragging the Walkers towards it. The horn is coming from Alexandria and now thousands of walkers are heading for the town…

Review:

Bloody hell.

Nicotero’s direction is amazing. Not just because of the classy  black and white either, although that’s a lovely touch. There’s a welcome spring of experimentation in genre TV at the moment and it’s especially nice to see this structure used in the same week Doctor Who had so much fun breaking the fourth wall. Both shows trust their audiences, both shows play with their expectations a little and both absolutely nail complex structures and interesting, challenging visual ideas.

Plus the black and white is just amazingly pretty. Honestly, I’d watch an entire season shot this way. (Didn’t they actually repeat an entire season in black and white in the US a while back? Maybe that’s where they got the idea?)

the_walking_dead_s06e01_first_time_again_SO DAMN PRETTY

No, Nicotero really excels because he gets out of the damn way. Look at the Glenn, Heath and Nicholas versus the tractor store zombies fight. There’s minimal fuss, nothing showy, just three guys fighting an undead horde of indeterminate size. You winced, when Glenn is jumped because Nicotero parks the camera right over his shoulder.

The episode’s full of moments like that and Nicotero revels in showing us the ridiculous size of the zombie horde. The shot of Rick, Michonne and Morgan behind the RV, with only a thing line of aluminium siding between them and absolute death was amazing. Likewise the recurrent, absurd yet horrifying, image of Darryl in the slowest motion motorcycle chase in human history.

the_walking_dead_s06e01_first_time_again_slow

That’s reflected in the writing too. The five seasons in hell these characters have endured has changed them all and there are some moments of real gentleness here. The opening sequence, as various people check in on each other is especially sweet and spins some lovely character beats out into the episode itself. Glenn, in particular, and his harsh but fair refusal to let Nicholas off the hook, is especially great. Steven Yeun has always been one of the best actors in this cast and he turns in seriously impressive work here.

But, inevitably, the bulk of the episode’s emotional heavy lifting is between Rick and Morgan. Andrew Lincoln and Lennie James are two of the most phenomenal actors of their generation and every scene they have here proves it, largely because they do so little. There’s a sense, not of two alpha predators circling one another, but of two frightened, wounded animals trying to work out if they need to fight. Rick is traumatised, spiky, always ready to put someone down and not quite as hardened as he thinks he is. Morgan is quiet, polite, clearly desperately sad and absolutely prepared to put Rick down if he needs to. It’s like Shane and Rick without the chest beating and it’s revelatory work from the actors and writers alike.

the_walking_dead_s06e01_first_time_again_Morgan's okay with it face

It’s also one of the best-written examples of emotionally intimate male friendship you’ll see in genre TV. These two men are survivors, both rendered down to their component parts countless times and yet somehow still here. Their approaches are almost completely different but they have an intensely strong bond through shared trauma. Morgan’s right, Rick’s still in there. And the man Rick truly is isn’t buried that deeply beneath the man he’s become.

Except this is The Walking Dead and nothing’s ever simple, or easy.

Firstly, the quarry zombies are one of the subtlest, cruellest ideas the show has ever had. Rick is proven absolutely correct; Alexandria isn’t even a little safe. The only reason the town hasn’t been overrun is sheer blind chance. That’s one of the nastiest twists of the knife the show’s ever done and it’s clearly why everyone gets on board as fast as they do.

Well, I say everyone.

Ethan Embry’s Carter makes a lot of very good points. He’s like the opposite of the character most shows throw exposition at; Carter knows exactly what’s going on, is mystified as to why and wants to plan just a little bit more thanks.

What makes him significant is not only his death but how it’ll be perceived. Carter’s not a brave man, just an unlucky one. His reconciliation with Rick is genuine and his loss is all the more tragic for it, especially given how it’ll be perceived. Rick’s authority isn’t secure by any means and the show subtly keys us into this. If Michonne and Morgan aren’t okay with him killing Carter for very good reasons, God only knows what the town will think.

That extra problem, of perception rather than action, is one that could only happen in a stable location like Alexandria. More than anything else this episode, it’s an indicator of how far the show, and the characters, have come.

That’s the genius of “First Time Again’. It shows us how much the characters have changed, how much they want to change and how fragile their world still is. The episode inevitably focuses on Rick and Morgan, but we get moments with everyone else that show just much they’ve opened up in Alexandria. Whether they’ll survive what looks like the near certain destruction of the town remains to be seen. Damn this week-long wait!

The Good:

  • “People out there, gotta take care of themselves. Just like us.” The “Rick processes his feelings” arc this season looks to be far more nuanced than it’s been in the past. He’s a good man, albeit a horrifically psychologically scarred one, and he’s turning inwards. He’s got a town, he’s got his family and that’s all he needs. Or at least all he thinks he needs.
  • “Look if you’re still looking to get buck wild with the breath impaired…” Abraham, spirit of tact.
  • “It’ll hold.” “Well that’s good, you know, considering where we’re standing.” The entire Rick, Michonne and Morgan at the barricade conversation is amazing, especially the protein bar joke. But this line in particular, a joke so dry it’s basically granular, is the standout.
  • “Morgan, maybe we just leave him here.” “…That’s not who you are. I know.” “Hey…you DON’T.” The constant back and forth between Rick and Morgan, two men who’ve had to completely rebuild their lives at least twice, each, is amazingly good. This is Rick being offered understanding and friendship and the last time that happened was Shane, or Hershel. No wonder he turns Morgan down.
  • “This was supposed to be a dress rehearsal.” “I was supposed to be delivering pizzas, man.” NEVER CHANGE, Glenn. NEVER. And please stay away from baseball bats.
  • “Going out, finding more people, that IS taking care of ourselves.” Darryl, careful, considered, utterly terrifying conscience of Rick.
  • “Darryl’s been teaching me how to shoot.” “I think you got the hang of it.” The episode, hell the series, is at its best in these quiet moments of careful humour. Rick and Carol bantering about how she’s a Bringer Of Death To All Who Oppose Her is lovely.
  • “You can try to work with us. You can try to survive. Will you do that?” Rick is still absolutely terrifying and clearly ever so slightly hatstand. He’s also still a decent man. This line, and the clear, absolute terror Ethan Embry as Carter sells the entire scene with, is brilliant.
  • “Somebody like that, they’re gonna die no matter what.” This entire conversation, and Rick’s monologue, looks set to be a lynchpin for the season. It’s such a sweet moment and it’s undercut with this cold, hard, brutal view of the world. Even this is development for the man who last season was executing potential threats without batting a blood-soaked eyelid.
  • “I know its how it is. I do.” “Yeah. I do too.” Now this is interesting. Morgan’s zen warrior, compassionate approach is clearly going to be opposing Rick’s survival based pragmatism. But this scene is all about Michonne, a woman whose literally and metaphorically come in from the wastelands to stand with these people. The fact she isn’t cool with what’s happened is a huge indicator of trouble to come.

The Bad:

  • Nothing. Seriously. This is an amazingly good piece of TV.
  • Okay you want some bad points, here they and we had to dig for them all because this episode is so damn good.
  • Surely both Carter and Rick’s plans could be implemented? If the quarry horde is the only reason Alexandria hasn’t been overrun, wouldn’t it make sense to corral some zombies there and periodically clear the quarry out of them and all the ones they’ve attracted?
  • Of course that may well be the plan. Assuming Alexandria’s still there next week…
  • Minimal Carlpoppa this week, but what we get is very sweet and leads to yet another ridiculously pretty black and white moment.

the_walking_dead_s06e01_first_time_again_Carlpoppa

  • Minimal Carol the Deathbringer this week too, although what we get is hilarious. Her. “Gosh, this is terrifying,” moment in the town meeting is good but her exchange with Morgan is even better. I hope those two, and Daryl, get more scenes together.

the_walking_dead_s06e01_first_time_again_Carol

And The Random:

the_walking_dead_s06e01_first_time_again_Heath

  • Corey Hawkins impresses straight out of the gate as Heath. It’s unsurprising too, given he’s been turning in impressive work for a while. He’s fun in the sort-of-Taken-on-a-plane Non-Stop, had a brief appearance in Iron Man 3 and did excellent work as Doctor Dre in Straight Outta Compton. Now all we need is for the show to forget the “one in, one out” rule it’s often had with regards to black male characters…

the_walking_dead_s06e01_first_time_again_Carter

  • Oh Carter we hardly knew you. Aside from the whining and complaining and mid-level incompetence. Ethan Embry wins, possibly forever, the title of The Walking Dead Cast Member Who Appeared In A Brilliant Cult Movie. Embry was in Empire Records, along with Liv Tyler, Rory Cochrane, Renee Zellweger and Tobey Maguire’s shoulder. Seriously. The film cut two entire characters, one of whom was played by Maguire. His shoulder is briefly visible in one scene and in fairness it has incredible presence. The story of one of the last independent record stores on the best, and worst, day of its life, Empire Records is a chaotic, sugar-rush covered joy. It’s crammed full of amazing people doing great work and is as sweet natured and mildly attention defective as Embry’s character, Mark. And yes, you could watch it and be smug about how indie record stores are all but dead now. But you know what? Don’t. It’s a joyous movie, the characters are clearly all fine and we mustn’t dwell. It’s always Rex Manning day somewhere…
  • Shot of the week could be any of the images we get of the horde or the quarry. But for sheer scale this nails it.

the_walking_dead_s06e01_first_time_again_shot of the episode

  • The Walker that peels itself as it pulls out of the quarry is the most gleefully disgusting thing the show has done to date. Well done, folks.

Reviewed by Alasdair Stuart

 

 

Black Mass (Johnny Depp and Joel Edgerton)

Black Mass review

by with No Comment Reviews

Black Mass (Johnny Depp and Joel Edgerton)

The issue with any biopic is that there’s only so much you can condense into a film. At a little over two hours, Black Mass feels like an assortment of recycled gangster plots.

Adapted from Dick Lehr and Gerard O’ Neill’s book of the same name, it tells the true story of Boston crime lord James ‘Whitey’ Bulger (Johnny Depp), the leader of the Winter Hill Gang who was once listed on the FBI’s top ten most wanted list. Rising FBI agent John Connelly (Joel Edgerton) returns to Boston and is tasked with eradicating the Italian mob. He decides to uses his South Boston connections to meet with childhood friend Whitey, persuading him to join an alliance with the FBI. “Get the FBI to fight our wars and our enemies,” says Whitey on his decision to help after a member of his gang is gunned down. So Whitey slips the Feds some information, they arrest a number of criminal gangs, John looks like a hero at the FBI and the reduced competition allows Whitey to grow his own gang. It’s an ‘alliance’ that initially works well for the both of them. But what goes up must come down.

Black Mass (Johnny Depp) (2)Director Scott Cooper applies a lot of polish to his film, but it’s not enough to hide the slow pace and dreary story. The production design by Stefania Cella and the costumes by Kasia Walicka-Maimone help sell the setting as events move through the 1970s to the early 1990s. The gritty look that comes from Masanobu Takayanagi’s cinematography is also brilliant to soak in. Oscar nominations here wouldn’t be a huge surprise. However, it’s all serving a story that never seems to elevate itself to being more than passable. Adapted for the screen by Jez Butterworth and Mark Mallouk, there’s little in the way of thrills. More than once, a character’s imminent death feels like it’s signposted, losing any shock or awe when it does happen. There’s also a reliance on voiceovers in exchange for character depth.

The acting from the cast is generally all top notch; Johnny Depp being the obvious standout as James ‘Whitey’ Bulger, with the make-up effects (led by Marleen Alter) enhancing his performance. We see that family is important to Whitey. He plays Gin for cash with his mother and dispenses life advice to his six-year-old son (“Punch people when no one is looking”). A scene he shares with John’s wife Marianne (Julianne Nicholson) to see if she really is sick has Depp initiate mega creepy mode. Given his ascent to power over Boston, we rarely see Whitey enjoying himself (at one point in a nightclub Whitey seems more interested in watching John dancing away like a loon). There are moments where Depp gets to let rip with the character, be it a murderous act, or taking his anger out on a hospital table, yet most of the time he plays it calm and serious, delivering cold stares.

There is also a lot of talent that have taken up minor roles. Kevin Bacon seems permanently pissed off as the head of the Massachusetts’ bureau, Charles McGuire. Benedict Cumberbatch works the accent as Whitey’s brother, Billy, a senator. Peter Sarsgaard appears as a brilliantly deranged shooter that ends up working with the gang, Dakota Johnson as Whitey’s girlfriend, and Rory Cochrane as Whitey’s right hand man Steve. The film opens with Jesse Plemons as Kevin, whose inclusion into the gang introduces us to Whitey, but he’s then just relegated to hovering around in the background. In fact, some of these actors aren’t even on screen for more than ten minutes.

Black Mass (Benedict Cumberbatch and Joel Edgerton)While the transformation and performance of Johnny Depp is certainly one of the highlights, the rise and fall of John Connelly is far more interesting. Joel Edgerton delivers a convincing Boston accent as we watch his character become conflicted with the misguided loyalty he holds for Whitey. We’re told (via voiceover) that, “Like everyone, he was in awe of Jimmy,” going so far as to immerse himself in that decadent lifestyle. Even his wife brings to his attention the influence Whitey is having on him (“You’re getting manicures.”). John also tries (and sometimes fails) to outsmart those around him. Seeing John attempt to win over a new FBI prosecutor, Fred Wyshak (Corey Stoll, in a minor but memorable role) by offering a pair of tickets to a sports game, only to end up annihilated with questions about Whitey, is absolutely priceless.

As a gangster biopic, Black Mass can’t help but draw comparisons to the classics that have come before it, with some scenes evoking memories of Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas. However, while that (and many other gangster films) would leave you so engrossed with the characters that you actually want those criminals to get away with their schemes, it’s difficult to find anything likable about any of the main characters in Black Mass. Even after Whitey loses two people very close to him, you don’t feel a shred of sympathy for him. You’re just waiting for justice to be served.

With drugs, violence, money and greed, Black Mass ticks the expected boxes on the checklist, but fails to be anything more. Aside from a few tense moments, the end result is somewhat disappointing given that all the talent has produced an average, by-the-numbers gangster flick.

 

Black Mass opens in the UK on 27 November 2015.

captain-america-mc-153914

Guardians Of The Gallery: Pokemon Fusions, Superhero Shadows, Hot Dog Princesses & More

by with No Comment News

Some of the best, funniest and weirdest pics & vids that’ve been doing the rounds on the ’net this week

 

••• These superb superhero silhouette posters were created by UK-based graphic designer Jason Stanley. Click on them for larger versions.

captain-america-mc-153914 doc-ock-mc-153913 hulk-mc-153912 iron-man-mc-153911 spider-man-mc-153910 the-wolverine-mc-153907 thepunisher-mc-153909 thor-mc-153908

 

••• This  18-foot long Lego Batmobile sculpture was designed and built by Nathan Sawaya for The Art of Brick: DC Comics art exhibit in Sydney, Australia. “This is a dream project,” Sawaya tells Entertainment Weekly. “This is the Batmobile! What other vehicle is so iconic?”

batmobile_lego

 

••• Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens gets a Once Upon A Time makeover.

 

••• And while we’re on the subject of bizarre things to do with Disney characters (because this is the internet and that’s what the internet’s for)… hot dogs made to look like Disney Princesses, anyone? From top to bottom Rapunzel, Belle, Ariel and Pocahontas.  [Lucky Peach via ComicBookResources]

disney_princess

disney_princess2

disney_princess3

disney_princess4

 

••• Created for New York Comic Con, these superhero helmets were designed by top comic book artists, including Joe Quesada, Marvel’s Chief Creative Officer, Damion Scott, Kaare Andrews and Walt Simonson to celebrate the 150th anniversary of some true heroes of New York – the FDNY, or New York Fire Departmen.  [via NY Daily News]

Superhero_Fire_Helmet_1

 

••• How would you like to collect all these? Gorgeous Pokemon fusions from artist Seoxys. [via RocketNews24]

pokefusion1-154710 pokefusion2-154711 pokefusion3-154712 pokefusion4-154713 pokefusion5-154714

 

••• What if Baymax had been evil?

 

BEFORE THE LAKE (By Toby Whithouse)

Doctor Who S09E04 "Before The Flood" REVIEW

by with No Comment Reviews

Doctor Who S09E04 “Before The Flood” review

BEFORE THE LAKE (By Toby Whithouse)

 

stars 3.5

Airing in the UK on BBC One, Saturdays

Writer: Toby Whithouse
Director: Daniel O’Hara

Essential Plot Points:

  • The Doctor, O’Donnell and Bennet travel to an abandoned army training base in 1980, built to look a Russian village at the height of the Cold War.
  • They find the spaceship which is, in fact, a hearse, carrying the body of a deposed conqueror called the Fisher King to his burial.
  • But the Fisher King isn’t actually dead, and he sets about his task of creating transmitters from people he kills; he plans to sleep in a cryogenic chamber while the “ghosts” carry on killing until there are enough undead transmitters to call an armada to Earth.
  • Inspired by the “ghost” Doctor in the future – which reveals that Clare will be killed next if he doesn’t do something – the Doctor defeats the Fisher King by blowing up he dam, then climbing into the cryogenic chamber, knowing it will be discovered in 150 years time.
  • He also creates the very same holographic “ghost” Doctor which inspired him to do all this.
  • But as the Doctor points out to Clara, if the “ghost” Doctor itself gave him the idea to create the “ghost” Doctor, where did the idea originate from in the first place?

Doctor_who_before_the_flood_zoom

Review:

Flood warning: following a severe breach in the fourth wall viewers must be prepared for a deluge of timey-wimey paradoxes.

“Before The Flood” is far from the first time Doctor Who has created a “bootstraps paradox” (or a closed loop, as its also known); “The Pandorica Opens” and “The Big Bang” happily skipped through a minefield of the blimmin’ things, hoping nobody noticed. That’s usually the case with closed loops because sci-fi snobs tend to frown on them like they’re a heinous crime against the genre. Accepted wisdom seems to be: if you want to use them, don’t draw attention to them. It’s a philosophy that’s served the Terminator franchise quite happily for decades.

But, hey, playing the rules is dull. And you can always trust new Who episode to rattle SF purists’ cages. So with one of the cheekiest, but most amusing, teaser sequences ever the Doctor gives the audience a primer in Elementary Bootstraps Theory, then straps on his trust guitar for a “bring it on” riff on Beethoven’s Fifth. Should a drama like Doctor Who go quite so meta? It’s risky. It’s similar to the opening of “Listen” but that was more like the viewer overhearing an internal monologue. This is far more on-the-nose. The sight of the Doctor staring right at you through the camera – addressing you directly – is, admittedly, a little off-putting at first (and not just because of the eyebrows) and the scene is bound to have it objectors. On the other hand Capaldi pulls off the monologue with a Tom Baker-esque panache and conviction that totally wins you over, and it immediately gives the episode a quirky, original quality the previous one was seriously lacking. It’s a bold experiment, but it works.

Plus, is adds an edge to the rest of the episode, as you try to work out how the paradox is going to manifest itself. It becomes – on a metalevel – a puzzle for the audience; not a whodunnit? so much as a how-will-who-do-it?

Which is a bonus, as it adds an extra layer of frisson to an episode which, without it, would be fairly pedestrian. Like last week, it’s a decent enough slice of action adventure with some effective moments, good one-liners and decent ideas but there’s also an awful lot of flabby plotting. On the underwater base there’s little more for the characters to do than wander around corridors trying to avoid ghosts while in the past the Doctor seems to say, “Back to the TARDIS!” at the end of every scene. There’s a lot of exposition, some of it good, some of it mere technobabble.

WARNING: Embargoed for publication until 00:00:01 on 06/10/2015 - Programme Name: Doctor Who - TX: 10/10/2015 - Episode: BEFORE THE LAKE (By Toby Whithouse) (No. 4) - Picture Shows: ***EMBARGOED UNTIL 6th OCT 2015*** Bennett (ARSHER ALI), Doctor Who (PETER CAPALDI) - (C) BBC - Photographer: Simon Ridgway

The biggest disappointment is the Fisher King. Not visually, though. He looks magnificent and sounds even better. But what does he actually do? He stomps and rants and leaves his brain on the slab with his bandages. Okay, he kills O’Donnell and Prentis but even that’s off screen. We’re not given a reason to fear him; we’re just expected to fear him because he’s big, noisy and models his jaw on a Predator. His invasion plan seems bizarrely obtuse as well. And why was he pretending to be dead? It feels like a whole chunk of the script was junked at some point. Admittedly you don’t always need to know all “whys?” – Doctor Who often lets you fill in gaps yourself – but we know so little about the Fisher King just a few “whys” would have gone a long way.

Thankfully Capaldi is on fine form, giving a performance that papers over many cracks (“Don’t kiss me… morning breath!”). Once again Sophie Stone (Cass) provides a gutsy performance; she even pulls off the cheesy moment when Lunn translates that he loves her (it’s quite sweet, actually). The creepy corridor scenes benefit from more close-ups than last week. And parallel climactic action, flitting back and forth between the underwater base and the Doctor’s face-off with the Fisher King, is pulse-poundingly good. Some fantastic effects when the dam blows help too.

Then the Doctor signs off with another wink to camera a crash of chords. At which point you have to wonder, “Has he been toying with us?” Surely Time Lords – being, like… Time Lords, you know? – must have spent some considerable time studying the bootstraps paradox. The Doctor probably knows exactly where concepts created in a closed loop come from: Steven Moffat’s head.

The Good:

  • The “bootstrap paradox” provides an interesting framing device for the episode and is amusingly explained.
  • The teaser is cheeky, but a lot of fun.
  • The rocked-up theme tune is brilliant.
  • The Fisher King looks and sounds great… (but there’s a big “but” in the Bad section below).
  • O’Donnell’s reaction to travelling in the TARDIS is really sweet.
  • There are some very tense and creepy corridor scenes (they’re all so much more effective than similar moments in last week’s episode, which is odd when you think that it’s the same director and all the corridor scenes were presumably shot in a big block, out of order).
  • The special FX for the dam being blown up are truly spectacular.
  • The little scene in which Clara curses herself for trying to get Cass’s attention by hissing her name is a fun character beat.
  • “Have you two met me?”
  • “This regeneration, it’s a bit of a clerical error anyway.”

The Bad:

  • The Fisher King doesn’t really do anything except stomp and roar. We don’t even see him kill O’Donnell. And he’s a bit thick, leaving explosives laying around.
  • And how come he wasn’t dead? Presumably he was playing possum but some kind of explanation would have been appreciated.
  • The eventual explanation for why the ghost only came out at night is, disappointingly, nothing more than senseless technobabble.
  • Paul Kaye is another guest star in this two-parter who feels woefully underused.
  • What’s with the comedy music before Prentis’s death? He’s just discovered a body has gone missing; it’s not exactly an Are You Being Served? moment.

And The Random:

Doctor_who_before_the_flood_business_card

  • Did you spot the Star Wars gag on Prentis’s business card? “May the remorse be with you.”
  • The Doctor’s amp, according to the label on it, comes from Magpie Electronics (“The Idiot’s Lantern”, 2006).
  • The term “bootstraps paradox” originates from a brilliant Robert Heinlein short story about time travel called, “By His Bootstraps” (1941). Google it.
  • O’Donnell is like a less geeky Osgood: she mentions three of the Doctor’s former companions (“I somehow doubt that Rose or Martha or Amy lost their breakfast on their first trip”) then makes reference to Harold Saxon (the Master’s alter ego as the UK Prime Minister in series three, 2007) and “the moon exploding and the big bat coming out…” (“Kill The Moon”, 2014). She also mentions a “Minister for War” which, since everything else she mentions is Doctor-centric and the Doctor doesn’t appear to know who she means, must be somebody he will meet in his future.
  • The eleventh Doctor, thanks to his 900 years defence of Trenzalore, presumably remains the longest time the Doctor has spent in one incarnation, but the twelfth Doctor is catching up fast; he spends 150 years in a cryogenic chamber here.

Doctor_who_before_the_flood_dam

• Read our previous Doctor Who reviews