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...
Saturday, 30 August 2014
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.
Friday, 18 July 2014
THN NEWS ROUND-UP #7
Here's the pick of my movie/TV news for the past fortnight c/o THN ...
Also here are two features. First is a two-parter about Monty Python's farewell press conference at the London Palladium...
Temuera Morrison To Play Boba Fett In Star Wars Standalone...?
Sacha Baron Cohen Standing 'Idle' For Grimsby...
New Star Wars Cast Members Revealed...
First Look At Sir Ian McKellen As Mr Holmes...
William Friedkin To Direct True Detective Season 2...?
Full Length Doctor Who Trailer Kicks Off During World Cup Final...
Christopher Walken Is Captain Hook In Peter Pan Live TV Musical...
Cranston Goes All The Way To HBO As Lyndon B. Johnson
True Blood Vamp Sinks Teeth Into Daredevil...
Also here are two features. First is a two-parter about Monty Python's farewell press conference at the London Palladium...
Part One
Part Two
Second is a review of RETURN TO NUKE 'EM HIGH VOL.1, just released to buy...
Saturday, 28 June 2014
THN NEWS ROUND-UP #6
A bumper salvo of goodies here, via THE HOLLYWOOD NEWS ...
Matrix Creators' SENSE8 Unveiled With Doctor Who's Freema Agyeman...
'Sin City 2' Eye-Pulping Quad Poster Released...
'G.I. Joe 3' Happening Next Year...
It's Them And US For Ewan McGregor In 'American Pastoral'...
'Wolf Of Wall Street' Star To Dance In Street For Scorsese/Jagger Project...
Trailer Swings By For 'The Last Of Robin Hood' With Kevin Kline And Dakota Fanning...
'Monstrumologist' Makes Mayhem For Warner Bros...
http://www.thehollywoodnews.com/2014/06/25/monstrumologist-makes-mayhem-for-warner-bros/
http://www.thehollywoodnews.com/2014/06/25/monstrumologist-makes-mayhem-for-warner-bros/
Why Rob Zombie's Halloween Movie '31' Is Not 'Halloween'...
Jason Sudeikis In The Crosshairs For 'Loomis Fargo'...
Will Poulter Goes Wild With DiCaprio In Period Revenger 'The Revenant'...
'The Flash' Gets Head Start With Online Leak...
http://www.thehollywoodnews.com/2014/06/27/the-flash-gets-head-start-with-online-leak/
http://www.thehollywoodnews.com/2014/06/27/the-flash-gets-head-start-with-online-leak/
And here are two features, from the sublime...
... to the ridiculous...
Friday, 20 June 2014
THN NEWS ROUND-UP #5
My latest gathering of news from screens big and small courtesy of THE HOLLYWOOD NEWS
John Cusack & Adrien Brody Join Jackie Chan Period Actioner 'Dragon Blade'...
William H Macy Tweets With Mel Gibson: 'Blood Father'...
Sienna Miller Signs For Other 'Chef'...
'Danger Mouse' Reloaded At CBBC...
Warner Bros To Re-Doo 'Scooby Doo'...
Costner To Swap Brains For 'Criminal'?
Steve Carell To Create 'International Incident' With Ken Jeong...
Woody Allen's 'Magic In The Moonlight' Poster Revealed...
'Saved By The Bell' To Be Story Of Lifetime...
The 'Ghostbusters 3' That Could Have Been...
Friday, 13 June 2014
THN NEWS ROUND-UP #4
A weekly lassoing of entertainment from the world of THE HOLLYWOOD NEWS ...
James Franco To Redecorate 'The Room'...
George Clooney Tunes In With Sony Pictures Television...
Johnny Vegas Joins Sacha Baron Cohen In 'Grimsby'...
Vincent D'Onofrio Takes Fisk In 'Daredevil'...
Paul Giamatti's 'Hoke' Pilot Rejected By FX...
Kylie Joins Earthquake Actioner 'San Andreas'...
Kristen Wiig Reteams With 'Bridesmaids' Writer For Directorial Debut...
Tom Hiddleston Is Hank Williams In 'I Saw The Light'...
Crowe And Gosling Are 'The Nice Guys'...?
Also here are two 'True Detective'-related features. The first is an interview with creator of the title sequence Patrick Clair...
The second looks at other memorable openers from TV shows past and present...
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