Bates Motel: TV Review (2013) – “That boy sure does love his mother”

Well, the end is near to a series that was quiet enjoyable at times. When it first started 10 weeks ago I thought it was so ostentatious it made me question if I was watching something from an MTV production. It had the feel of the first series of teen wolf when it first started, you just couldn’t find an ugly person anywhere. When one did eventually show up, they didn’t waste any time by killing him and throwing him in the lake. It seemed like anyone slightly less than an 8 stood very little chance in living in this modern up-take of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho.

Apart from the people, the first thing you’re trying to work out at the beginning is what is going on with this Iconic Motel. Everything is as it was when it was set back in the seventies, the house decor still the same, the motel looks like it hasn’t been touched and they’ve even brought the same style of filming. Only this time they seemed to have been heavily invested by Apple, not Del Monte! Which would have made sense back in the 70’s as apples would have made for a great game of catch in a drab and dreary world. No, it’s the network company. At first it’s off putting, and then you start seeing all the other modern gadgets. Straight away I should have known after seeing white ear bud earphones something was out of place.

So yes, it’s a modern version with a retro feel where people are only allowed to have style and grace, but it really is worth a little time. The acting is clean and crisp and it is very well directed. Nothing has been spared either when it comes to the iconic house and motel, it’s as if it had been lifted from the movies of old and placed in 2013.

At first you just hope all beautiful people end up getting killed by the weirdly eccentric Norman, but come the end it’s a dream town, even if us average people would need a bag over our heads to make sure we would be seen for longer than a week in residence.

This season was a gentle beginning, the story is a simple warming of characters and some of their dark ways, time will tell if The Bates have more to offer. It’s one of those programmes you can see being well and truly over written.

7/10

Yappy

Thirteen Days (2000) Movie review; A masterclass in acting and story telling – 8/10

Another movie that passed me by on its release,a friend mentioned how entertaining this was but political films are not normally my cup of tea, well in the future if they are made to the same standard as this one I may have to start getting into them.

Kevin Costner plays president Kennedy’s right hand man at a time when the country is under threat from Cuba.

If ever there was a secret club of established actors in Hollywood that everybody quietly admired without them being headline names this movie would be the film that those actors would come to play,every new scene or character impressed more and more as the film went by, there is a level of nerve being held by most on the screen that creates great excitement and entertainment.

The key to the success behind this movie is the political strategy that has the American and Soviet government at war,what may seem simple when being reported in the newspapers is broken down into several agenda’s and a ton of ego’s,I don’t think they could have improved on the final cut of this film,it really is outstanding.

KO

8/10

The film is set during the two-week Cuban missile crisis in October of 1962, and it centers on how President John F. Kennedy, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, and others handled the explosive situation.

The movie is free to watch on You tube -

The Walking dead – Season 3 review ; A walker has bitten the writers,this series is dying on it’s arse.

The major down sides so far…

Rick going crazy over his dead wife makes really boring TV,as Rick is the lead for the show it also weakens the show by not having a strong person to follow.

The new camp turning into a weird cult, but with no real sense or purpose has become a real drag, the story does not seem to be moving at the same pace as the previous two seasons,for the first time I find myself not caring what happens next,”The Governor” seemed like an exciting character when first introduced, but the writers of the show have taken away any real credibility he had built up in the second half of this season,they keep reminding us of what a bad guy he is by making sure he lies to at least one cast member on each show,his character has as much mystery as a Scooby Doo ending.

The walkers are no longer scary,each time one arrives they get tapped,shot or an arrow through the head,it’s becoming old hat to kill them,I am thinking better they find a use for them such as a nightclub cage dancer or hope someone releases a cover version of Michael Jackson’s Thriller.

I hope the last third of this series picks up because so far the standard has dropped.

KO

Derek TV review – 2013 – Ricky Gervais fails at his solo acting and directing debut!

I have always rated Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant,to date their work has been pretty much faultless,The office will go down in history and Extra’s was a solid piece of work,added to this you have a decent movie in Cemetery Junction and the light-hearted but hilarious Idiot abroad with Karl Pilkington.

Stephen Merchant has always joked with Ricky that all his successful work and roles are Ricky’s personality and in essence Ricky,David Brent and Andy Millman are not worlds apart,they are both witty and sarcastic and most of the time the joke is on them,there are character differences with ego and goatee but not a lot else.

So as we move on to Ricky’s new show Derek, it’s surprising that Ricky has attempted to act for a change,Derek, to put it nicely is slower to catch on than the rest of us,he walks round with the pride of a gimp while his hair is brushed forward to create the same character Ricky used when he is referring to  ”simple” characters on his live stage shows.

The show itself is such a let down,I don’t know if Stephen Merchant’s absence is a reason but I honestly think that if he had viewed what Ricky had viewed on day one of Derek he would have pulled Ricky aside and told him it was shite, maybe Stephen is smarter than we think, maybe this was his plan,let Ricky show what he doesn’t know about making great TV and I will come out smelling of roses.

I get uncomfortable when watching Ricky play the rain man (Derek), Ricky is banging on about the fact that he is not disabled,either way I am not against someone playing someone of Derek’s ability, it just makes me cringe when a comedy legend such as Ricky is trying to show range that he just doesn’t have,the show has been described as a light-hearted drama with moments of comedy, I would describe it as a ball ache of a show with moment’s of nauseousness, I am sure any comedian in the future would call their work ”drama” if the laughs failed to arrive.

The Office was not a laugh a minute comedy,it had a brain and was put together and created by people who knew what works and what was funny,it seems one of these people have forgotten these golden rules.

0/10

KO

Derek: TV Review-“WARNING: This programme is detrimental to your health”

Eight months ago Ricky Gervais tested the water with this comedy and it failed big time. It was smashed about more than Ricky Hatton’s come back. Still not one to be disheartened he marched full speed ahead and continued with the project. I use full speed ahead very loosely, if anything he stuck it in reverse and broke the speed barrier for going backwards.  The only draw for me going back this time was to see how Karl Pilkington fared as an actor. To be fair as I said 8 months ago, his character was the best part of the show, but he’s only playing himself, so we can’t really say if he can act! I don’t think he has too much future as a method actor; neither does Gervais to be fair.

Ricky has had his fifteen minutes now, he may have been given a few minutes extra for a good measure. I was and still am a fan of his early work. The office and a couple of his stand-ups are fantastic, extras was OK, but that was mainly because the class A stars he attracted. Fame! One of his stand-up shows showed where he was going with his comedy. Trying to be more edgy, like his friend Louis C.K, which doesn’t work for him because it’s natural for Louis, while Gervais has to force it?

With Derek he uses the same old method as he does in everything he has done so far. What’s his obsession with the fly on the wall documentaries? ” Been there done that! Move on now”.

I actually realised something while watching this! That I could reverse laugh; the result meant the air freshener was needed.

-0.5/10

Yappy

The following (2013) TV Review – I love Kevin Bacon but this show stinks

I do love that big film stars now appreciate that if the writing is good in a TV series you can still enjoy the acclaim and awards that you would if you stuck to films.

With the likes of Breaking bad,The Wire and the Walking dead,you can see what Kevin Bacon was thinking by taking on the lead in the recent drama ”The Following”.

It’s just a shame that Kevin chose the wrong show to join,The following is a real lackluster show that show’s very little in terms of intelligent dialogue or interesting story.

His co-stars would look more comfortable in any CSI / TV detective show, as for the lead baddy (James Purefoy) he is amazingly dull,I did at no point feel afraid or weary of him,he sounds and comes across like a feminine hair dresser who’s just been dumped.

I love your work Mr Bacon but I am feeling nothing for your new show.

3/10

KO

An idiot abroad – Series 3 (TV Review 2012) – The short changed series

I loved the previous two series,Karl comes out with something funny / bizarre in every episode,he is unique in the way his brain works but the most enjoyable part is seeing him adapt to his new surroundings,he has the fist pumping British pride matched with the patter of an old ladies tea room,he could be at the  most historic of sites but he would end up talking about Eastender’s.

Karl is funny,the show worked on basis that Karl was being himself, this is the first series which actually feels more contrived,Karl is a big star in the UK,when all this started he had the air of someone who was happy to play along and pick up a nice pay regardless of how it looks in the final edit,now the show feels a tad bit more planned,cue Ricky’s phone call,(RG) Karl it’s as planned but we have a little surprise for you on the way (KP) Oh right,I am not happy !

Warwick Davies has been brought in to spice things up,I like Warwick,he talks sense most of the times and teams up with Karl well.

The amount of episodes in this series is a joke,it really smells to high heaven of Ricky just cashing in on what was an honest and hilarious product,like all other fans I was excited about the prospect of this new odd pairing travelling and witnessing new horizons together,instead we are left with three episodes and a lot of disappointment when the curtain comes unexpectedly down before the adventure has had chance to build up to full steam.

Top show but Ricky has short-changed the fans.

KO

Dexter: TV Review Season 7 – Talk about over staying you welcome!

This is a typical example of why you should end a series after no more than 5 seasons. I used to be a big fan of Dexter! Not anymore. What they did up to season 5 was fantastic, the story lines were sharp and clever and they were roping in great actors to give Dexter a run for his money. Season 6 and that all changed, as I thought it may well do. It’s become a real bore now; the writing really has become predicable. This show used to have flare and imagination, it used to leave you wanted more! Now it leaves me wondering why I even bothered.

The end of a disappointing season 6 and finally the cock sure of himself Dexter finally gets caught out by his step sister. This is it season 7 and he’s finally going to get his just deserves? But no, he manages to blag his way out of with a weak ass story. Come on! Is she really going to believe that bull shit, she’s the god damn chief of police! This season could have been an epic save, a real rescue attempt to a tragic season 6! But instead it looks like another epic writing disaster.

My guess is that it’s going to be a season of sole searching for Dexter and Deb, She thinks she’s going to be the one who can rein in his demon! He knows only too well that she is starting to have unjust effect ions for him and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Unfortunately though Dexter knows only how to do one thing and that’s to look after himself, he’s not going to think twice about about wrapping her in plastic and taking her on a little boat trip. After all he is a serial killer! If they want more seasons as it looks like they do? Then someone has to give.

It looks like it’s me who will be the one who says bye bye.

Louie (TV review ) season 1 – I love his stand up and love this show!

I wish I had found this show earlier,it has a Seinfeld vibe in the sense that the camera follows Louie around in his daily life,and then it pans back to him on stage telling a joke.

There are some real laugh out loud moments,the show does not feel forced or contrived in anyway.

I really like the fact that Louie has no time for playing it cool,there are issues that he covers that a lot of guys,including comedians would stay away from just so they could keep their self-respect,this does not come into play with Louie CK,he squeezes the funny out of every situation regardless of what the truth is or how it makes him look.

There are plenty of highlights but when David Patrick Kelly(48hours and Commando) and Louis CK come together they have me crying with laughter -

I am already downloading season 2.

8/10

KO

Snow white and the huntsman (2012) Movie review – This version is the fairest of them all!

I went into this film thinking it would be a nice,newer version of an old tale,after five minutes I was captivated by what I saw in front of me,the Snow White story seemed the same but this version had a shadow of darkness that bounced off the screen and into your consciousness.

The biggest compliment I can give this film is that it meets the standard of Robin Hood,prince of thieves and in part even bypasses it with its beauty and natural backdrop.

Some movies focus so hard and spend so much money on over the top effects,this movie effortlessly have gotten all of their creative effects spot on,to make Ray Winstone and Nick Frost appear dwarf like and not for a second doubt their characters is priceless.

Charlize Theron deserves an oscar for best bitch.

I am not a huge fan of Kristen Stewert but that is mainly down to her being a part of the Twilight franchise,in this movie she is enjoyable and believable.

I would say the ending did not meet the rest of the film,but I have noticed they are making a sequel,it looks like Kristen come become the queen of franchises.