Letterboxd: FRANKENWEENIE & TAKEN 2

I've started using Letterboxd to post short reviews of films, which will be linked to in this blog's sidebar. I'm also going to 'mirror' a selection of DMD film reviews over there, and vice versa here. So starting from now, the past two or three Letterboxd entries will be collated into an occasional blog post...

Frankenweenie (2012)

Tim Burton's best film in years is also his biggest commercial failure, despite being a "remake" of exactly the sort of thing that gave him his big break in the 1980s. It seems big audiences don't like pure Burton—or at least not in animated, monochrome form, without Johnny Depp lending his vocals. I'm glad Burton appears to have used his post-ALICE IN WONDERLAND cachet to make something as personal and non-commercial as FRANKENWEENIE, but it'll only really be loved by dyed-in-the-wool fans who don't feel it's a backwards step. Still, at this point in Burton's career, a backwards step to try and recapture former glories is perhaps better than dancing in circles with CHARLIE & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY or DARK SHADOWS. I just wish SWEENEY TODD didn't feel like such an aberration, when it should have heralded a fresh start.

The CW's ARROW: did the first season hit the mark?

Warning: contains major spoilers. I didn't expect to watch all of Arrow's first season, but this ersatz Batman was surprisingly entertaining—although, like many US network shows, it began to test my patience with an inexcusable 23-episode run. The second-half was consequently much weaker and you could feel the writers filling time, but it helped that Arrow had built itself a large world of characters, relationships, and storylines.

There was also the clever idea of telling two distinct stories: the present-day crusade of wealthy playboy Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) cleaning up his city as vigilante 'The Hood'; and how he was reborn as said superhero after years stranded on an island. I actually preferred the island storyline most of the time--despite the fact we know where everything's headed and that Oliver's life is never in danger--although that storyline was a victim of the season's length.

The big finale, "Sacrifice", ended the show's inaugural season on a high-note; with fisticuffs and city-wide destruction. The show has borrowed many elements from Batman and Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy (in particular), so it was only right the finale involved the destruction of a suburban district—echoing the scenes of chaos from the end of Batman Begins. We even had some old clichés like a device to disarm by cutting some wires, although I appreciated it being an Ocean's Eleven-esque "earthquake device" instead of a bomb.

MAD MEN, 6.8 – 'The Crash'

written by Jason Grote & Matthew Weiner / directed by Michael Uppendahl

It seems like Matthew Weiner so enjoyed "Far Away Places" from season 5, which featured hilarious scenes of Roger Sterling (John Slattery) getting high, that he couldn't resist co-writing an episode where almost every character was on amphetamines—prescribed by a doctor, at the behest of the firm's new partner Jim Cutler (Harry Hamlin), to inspire increased creativity and productivity in the workforce. I may be in the minority with this, but I found a great deal of this episode too self-consciously ker-azy for its own good, and consequently had a tough time really caring about some of the serious issues and sub-plots that were part of the mix.

A&E's BATES MOTEL: was the first season worth checking in for?

Warning: spoilers for season 1, which hasn't aired in the UK (at time of writing).

I reviewed the pilot of A&E's Bates Motel, which had promise but didn't 'wow' me, then recorded an audioboo after episode 4 to admit things were improving. Now the entire first season of 10 episodes has aired in the US, so I thought I'd pitch in with some cumulative thoughts. Firstly, the show does itself no favours with its association to Hitchcock's masterpiece Psycho, and I still don't quite understand why A&E couldn't have ordered an original serial killer/mystery drama that doesn't sit in this shadow. Still, considering its iconic pedigree, I don't think Bates Motel is a bad show or a lazy cash-in; occasionally it's even pretty good, at least as something unchallenging but fun to watch.

How to Watch Television Properly

Television's big business. Millions are spent creating content for people to sit down and watch. So the least you can do is watch it properly. And yes, that means not on your iPhone, while on a train, with headphones stuffed in your ears. I watch television semi-professionally, so here are my tips for how to watch it best...

TV Picks: 20-26 May 2013 (Arrested Development, Eddie Izzard's Mandela Marathons, Nina Conti: Talk to the Hand, Towns, The Vikings, etc.)

Below are my picks of the week's most notable new shows premiering/returning to UK screens; and as further proof TV's undergoing radical changes, two are online streaming exclusives...

DOCTOR WHO, 7.13 – 'The Name of The Doctor'

written by Steven Moffat / directed by Saul Metzstein

His stories aren't perfect, but Steven Moffat has so much confidence and ostentatiousness as a storyteller I can't resist his tent-pole episodes. A few stretches of "The Name of The Doctor" even made actual sense, until Moffat wanted to wring something extra from a scene and it resulted in the usual sense of illogic.

Letterboxd: MACGRUBER (2010)

I've signed up to Letterboxd, which is a "social network for sharing your taste in film"; which basically means it lets people review, rate, and keep track of all the films they watch.

I encourage you to follow me there, or else follow me on Twitter where I'll be posting links to future Letterboxd reviews. Alternatively, you may have noticed a widget in the left sidebar of DMD, where I'll list my five most recent Letterboxd reviews.

By means of a special preview for people too lazy to click a link (they exist), below is my inaugural Letterboxd review of 2010 spoof comedy MacGruber:

My hope for an AUSTIN POWERS-style discovery of a comedy classic everyone ignored at the cinema was short-lived, with this laborious and unfunny '80s action hero spoof. Based on a Saturday Night Live character parodying MacGyver, Will Forte plays the eponymous hero who's called back into action, RAMBO III-style (or HOT SHOTS II-style?), to stop a terrorist played by Val Kilmer—whose name, Dieter Von Cunth, is probably the cleverest thing about this lame comedy.

Forte gurns and yells his way through a storyline that runs out of good jokes after 20-minutes, before the plot gives out 10-minutes later. It was a struggle to stay awake an hour in. Ryan Phillipe gives the film's best performance as MacGruber's reluctant sidekick, but all of its best moments are in the trailer, and the writing gets little mileage out of doing for '80s action cinema what AUSTIN POWERS did for '60s spy thrillers.

It doesn't even have a firm grip on its lead character; who's introduced as an all-American hero with the medals to prove it, but spends the entire movie being inept and infuriating the boss who lauded him. It's like a PINK PANTHER movie if Commissioner Dreyfuss went looking for the retired Clouseau, and had somehow forgotten what a clutz he is.

A weak SNL movie, which I guess is upholding a tradition rarely broken.

Trailer: CBS's INTELLIGENCE

Here's the trailer/promo for CBS spy-fi drama Intelligence, about an ex-Navy SEAL implanted with a microchip that gives him a mental link to the worldwide information grid (i.e. the internet, WiFi, telephone and satellite data.) "Six Million Dollar Man for the information age" is how it's being sold, but it also feels like a straight dramatic version of NBC's Chuck. Josh Holloway's a good pick for the lead, but his character doesn't 'pop' in this trailer like Sawyer did on Lost.

It'll also be interesting to see how this show operates, because on most spy shows the hero needs other characters to be his 'eyes and ears' from a surveillance van parked close by, but Holloway's character has less need for that type of backup. Incidentally, I much prefer these types of promos, that have cast/crew 'talking heads' simply telling us what the show's about, with clips giving us a flavour and feel of things.

Intelligence premieres early-2014 as a mid-season replacement on CBS.

Trailers: Showtime's DEXTER (season 8) and Fox's SLEEPY HOLLOW

After yesterday's blog about an effective 'Masterpiece' promo I enjoyed, Showtime have released the official trailer for Dexter's final season. It's a little bit spoiler-y and suggests some avenues the show may ultimately take to resolve itself. There appears to be a lot of character-based content for Dex and Deb this year, following the climax of season 7 (which is both appropriate and great to see), but not a lot else to get excited about... beyond the fact this show is building towards a definite ending, which is exciting in itself.

Of all the trailers that have been released for US network Upfronts presentations, I feel like I have to write about the one for Fox's Sleepy Hollow. God, this looks insane! Adapting Washington Irving's famous ghost story for television struck me as a difficult task, but the ways in which they've "broadened" the idea are plain ludicrous...