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Saturday 7 September 2013

Confessions of a screen addict


Season 1 of The Newsroom (Finkelman) - Is this a bran muffin? I'm going to watch this all again in a week or so. I freaking love it.

Westworld - The beautiful thing with this is that they don't try and moral out the possibility of sentient robots turning on depraved humans, the portrayal of the humans does it all for you. Happy to rape and murder without a second thought so long as there are no consequences,this is a film that is a) brilliant as a human escapes mass murdering machine, and there are a surprising number of instances that you may find yourself noticing characteristics and scenes from Terminator (1 & 2) appear to be based on Yul Brynner, and b) an astute, uncompromising and unpatronising view of the ugliness of humanity.

Serpico - I watched this, and then a few days later I was in the pub, and someone decided that one of the guys looked like Serpico. It was quite uncanny. I'm glad I watched it beforehand, otherwise I might have found myself laughing somewhat inappropriately. Genius film.

Soylent Green - Because people will do anything to get what they need. And they need Soylent Green.

Season 5 Castle - Now, you know I love Castle, but this was disappointing. Tenuous relationship doubt painfully levered into stories, and leaving the series cliff hanger as a proposal vs job offer scenario? Sheesh. Bored already. No doubt I'll still watch season 6, but with less zeal.

Breaking Bad, weekly is killing me. I NEED IT ALL NOW, BITCH!

First Blood - Although a war veteran, rather than robots, First Blood is similar to Westworld (vaguely) in its brutal depiction of humanity at it's worst. Stallone is never called on to justify his position, the other people do it all. This stark, one sided way of depicting such a story, the idea of giving your villains enough rope to hang themselves is pretty lacking these days. Cinema audiences are assumed to be too stupid to fathom these things for themselves, and must have the prescribed moral spelled out in words of one syllable or less and rammed down their throats.

Seasons 1, 2, 3 Lost Girl - Canadian, faux feminist supernatural type drama, centering around a succubus with bisexual tendencies. She has had a thing with a boy, and a girl, and refuses to be shackled to a label of good or bad. So far so good if you were looking to assess it in terms of open mindedness about women, and sexuality, and yadda. But her supernatural healing is based in her having sexy sex, and ultimately, the box is not as good as the cock, and only the boy's sexy boy junk will heal her. Who says patriarchy is dead?

Heathers - Carrying on with Christian Slater films is a good thing

Frances Ha - I think I smiled nearly the whole way through this film, to the point that when I left the cinema, my face hurt a little from my perma grin. It's really beautiful. Go watch.

Only God Forgives - Awesome. Very red.

Season 2 Once Upon a Time - Terrible, and tedious, and highly addictive. Robert Carlyle is Rumpelstiltskin, and that is reason enough for watching it in my book.

15 Storeys High - Because it's brilliant. And because I acquired both series in a box for the princely sum of £4.50. Bargain.

The Place Beyond the Pines - Missed it at the cinema...

Limmy - Because.

Scarface - Because.

Big Trouble in Little China - Because.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - Elizabeth Taylor? Paul Newman? Hurt. Sexual tension. Family tension. Failed ambitions and guilt. What more can you ask from a film? I don't do girls (so far as I know), but Elizabeth Taylor could have offered me an alcohol rub anytime, and I would not have said no. I love this film.

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