DAMNAMBULANCE FACTOR

Saturday, 20 September 2014

Hypnosis & Hypochrondria: Woody Allen & Magic In The Moonlight (Feature for The Hollywood News)

Woody Allen’s new comedy MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT sees Colin Firth’s conjuror despatched to the French Riviera of the Twenties to investigate beautiful medium Emma Stone, who has become involved with a wealthy American family. Is it really all an illusion or could she be the full haunted shilling? Though Allen is known for his tales of urbanites puncturing the gloom of New York streets with snappy dialogue, he also does a sideline in stranger fare, tinged with the fantastical and of course displaying his trademark rapid fire humour. To celebrate the release of this latest movie we take a tour of some of his unusual offerings, visiting different times and places and showing the eccentric side of the world’s favourite hypochondriac. We commence with the “true” story of a remarkable man who put a whole new spin on the expression “fitting in”…

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Saturday, 13 September 2014

Doctor Who - LISTEN Review

Doctor Who has long been associated with everyday fears, from shop window mannequins to excess body weight. But Steven Moffat goes right back to basics for Listen, creating a story around the things that lurk beneath your bed. You might think this is a bit
simplistic at first, however the writer uses this idea as a springboard for an involving episode that has the feel of a play about it. It's been a while since we've had intimate drama like this in the show and the result is the meatiest Capaldi instalment so far.

The main story of the Doctor's investigation into aloneness is supported nicely by Clara's date and the proper introduction of Danny Pink. Paranoia over unseen creatures is contrasted with paranoia over making first impressions and the way the elements are drawn together is quite satisfying. The relationship between Time Lord and companion is fast becoming one of the more interesting ones - two people of wildly different ages who are nonetheless equals and not a trace of sex in sight. Peter Capaldi's incarnation is one that truly could go anywhere and it's fun watching him develop. The Twelfth Doctor doesn't dominate the screen like former selves yet still has charisma. Listen sees him interact with a child, though I'm still unsure how younger viewers are taking to this new take.

There's also a sense of Moffat revisiting and refining key concepts that have underpinned his era and working on them again with a restraint and maturity befitting his leading man. He has crafted a script that is complex without being boastful, scary without being
overconceptualized. The TARDIS top opening is weird and there's a dodgy bit of wire work but these are minor quibbles. Arguably this most cerebral of writers is giving his series room to breathe for the first time.

Saturday, 6 September 2014

Doctor Who - ROBOT OF SHERWOOD Review

Peter Capaldi makes an excellent counterpoint to a chocolate box Sherwood Forest in an episode that shows the programme taking those first steps toward hitting its stride. What begins as a brightly-lit jaunt soon morphs into the macabre tone the series is cultivating. With the Doctor no longer the young, dazzling centre the Twelfth Time Lord becomes a bickering, simmering presence, though no less the hero as it turns out.

The writers are cleverly evolving Clara alongside him. For Robot Of Sherwood Mark Gatiss has her as the person in control via her romantic knowledge of Robin's rose-tinted exploits. Tom Riley as Robin is fine and the story about a crashed spaceship and a gold-plated plan you can take or leave. But the marauding mechanicals are well-designed, disintegrating peasants via cross-shaped electric death rays and Ben Miller makes a strong villain. He's been crying out for a Who baddie since his oily turn as a prickly civil servant in Primeval and doesn't disappoint here.

The closing moments feature a lovely scene where Hood and The Doctor effectively compare notes as fictional heroes, an unexpected way perhaps to accentuate Capaldi's character. While odd attempts to join in the hi-jinks fall a bit flat, most importantly we see him start to repress delight despite his alarming gaze. A very encouraging instalment overall.

Saturday, 30 August 2014

BLOG BISECTION

From now on DAMNAMBULANCE FACTOR will be concerned with my journalistic activities. I've created a new blog for my comedy work, which can be accessed...

HERE

Doctor Who - INTO THE DALEK Review

Peter Capaldi's Doctor gets another litmus test after the experiment of his debut episode, as he comes beak to stalk with the Daleks. The challenge of any Dalek story is to put the show's most famous monsters in an interesting context and while this tale doesn't break new ground for long term fans it does provide an unusual angle on the trundling menace. Crucially it uses the foe as a mirror for the Twelfth Time Lord and gives us an idea of how he's going to shape up over the coming weeks.

I had little idea what was going to happen in this one aside from the obvious, so it was a pleasant surprise to see Into The Dalek is literally just that. The innards of the machine are well-realized, a good combination of the functional and fantastical. Returning director Ben Wheatley has some fun with trippy slow motion and proper splattery explosions. The opening sequence of an escaping ship is a dazzling spectacle, taking us light years away from Deep Breath's Gothic claustrophobia.

Wheatley brings his old collaborator Michael Smiley into proceedings but the standout guest star is Zawe Ashton, who uses her tough but vulnerable persona to strong effect. Capaldi becomes a part of the action, rather than the swaggering presence guaranteed to yank something out of the hat. Writers Phil Ford and Steven Moffat certainly serve up something to chew over as the Doctor saves a life then discards one within the space of the first half. Having met Moffat's bold redefining of Clara head on last time, Jenna Coleman runs with it and proves a solid match for Capaldi's fractured hero.

The script also introduces us to Samuel Anderson's Danny Pink, a lucky chap who has Coleman throwing herself at him during his first morning. This element couldn't hope to compete with the main action, though Anderson looks like he'll make a refreshingly low key addition to the cast.

Saturday, 23 August 2014

Doctor Who - DEEP BREATH Review

What to do when you cast a scary-looking man as the Doctor? Make the Doctor a scary man. Just as showrunner Steven Moffat applied a simple solution to the question of a modern day Sherlock, so the dilemma of a markedly older Time Lord in an age where forty is seen as a dead zone gets solved the same way. The leading man himself is a roaring success, in some scenes literally. He's as gaunt as the stick of chalk he finds on the floor but also hilarious. It's easy to forget with all the publicity concerning a journey into
darkness that Capaldi has a comedy background and his confrontation with the tramp bears the hallmarks of a 3 am altercation in a Glaswegian alleyway. Certainly this is Doctor Who as we've never seen it before.

The tone has arguably shifted. Ben Wheatley is well-suited to direct this tale of clockwork men and organ appropriation, but whether children are included in the mix this year remains to be seen. The Doctor definitely isn't approachable and there's no comfort in Madam Vastra's Paternoster Gang. Strax as always is amusing but it falls to Jenna Coleman to carry the human element as Clara. The way she raises her bark to match her companion's bite is a bit forced - at one point the Doctor mentions Amy, another spectacularly resourceful young person. Coleman is good though and Clara's fear at being abandoned to the monsters by her former hero makes for some solid sofa diving.

Despite the sea change Moffat has kept his habit of including eye-catching elements that tend to pad out the plot (in this case a rogue dinosaur) and there is the usual landslide of lines that run before they can walk. However, all in all this ushers in a spiky, thrilling and rather nasty dawn for a more grown up show and I'm fascinated to see how the trick will be sustained.