Frame Rated: BETTER CALL SAUL, 2.10 - 'Klick'

Over at Frame Rated, I reviewed the season 2 finale of BETTER CALL SAUL - "Klick". Uh, 'klick' here to read!

It's a little miracle that Better Call Saul can deliver such a fantastic season finale, without the need for anything particularly earth-shattering to happen. Events just allowed to unfold in a very plausible way, and we're now so invested in the core relationships that the tiniest of things can cause a great deal of tension, heartache, and sorrow. Continue reading...

Frame Rated: BETTER CALL SAUL, 2.9 - 'Nailed'

My review of the penultimate BETTER CALL SAUL for season 2, "Nailed", is now up for reading at Frame Rated.

Given the title "Nailed", you’d be forgiven for thinking the big climax of Better Call Saul's penultimate hour would involve an exciting set-piece where Mike (Jonathan Banks) uses his homemade 'spike strip' on one of Hector Salamanca's drug-carrying trucks. Instead, it came down to Chuck (Michael McKean) simply arguing with an employee of a xerox shop, and was all the better for it. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the genius of a character-based series like Better Call Saul. Continue reading...

Frame Rated: DAREDEVIL - Season Two

I recently binged the second season of the Netflix/Marvel series DAREDEVIL, and you can read my thoughts over on Frame Rated.

It's fair to say Netflix's Daredevil was one of 2015's biggest surprises, because it did something fresh with a superhero indebted to Batman, in a show with conceptual similarities to The CW's Arrow, while overcoming a negative perception of Daredevil thanks to a misfiring 2003 movie. In going darker and meaner than everything else in Marvel's Cinematic Universe, Daredevil offered something for the slightly older crowd who crave deeper emotional stakes, narrative complexity, and mature content. Continue reading...

Frame Rated: BETTER CALL SAUL, 2.8 - 'Fifi'

Yesterday at Frame Rated, I reviewed BETTER CALL SAUL's "Fifi".

We're hurtling towards the season finale now, but things remain surprisingly sedate in the world of Better Call Saul. I've heard grumblings from people that season 2's been a disappointment, but I wouldn't go that far. It's just understandably tougher to turn the life of a crooked lawyer into gripping spectacle, and the writers are alleviating this issue with a plot for Mike (Jonathan Banks) that leans heavily on associations with Breaking Bad. And this show will never be Breaking Bad. I made my peace with that from the very beginning, and suggest others do the same. Better Call Saul more a quirky character study that goes to some surprising, strange, occasionally tense places. Continue reading...

Frame Rated: BETTER CALL SAUL, 2.7 - 'Inflatable'

My review of this week's BETTER CALL SAUL, "Inflatable", is now up at Frame Rated.

Certain things about Better Call Saul are fated to happen, as we know where Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) will end up in several year's time. The fun is seeing the details of the journey, but chances to truly surprise us are difficult to execute. Jimmy's tenure at Davis & Main was doomed from the start, of course, and last week I theorised that he may try and start a law practice with Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn), and "Inflatable" saw both of those things happen. Continue reading...

Frame Rated: BETTER CALL SAUL, 2.6 - 'Bali Ha'i'

Yesterday, I reviewed the latest BETTER CALL SAUL, "Bali Ha'i", over at Frame Rated, so please click through to have a read!

As we ease into the second half of Better Call Saul's sophomore year, it's becoming clear that Jimmy McGill's (Bob Odenkirk) storyline isn’t a strong as his occasional partner-in-crime Mike’s (Jonathan Banks). I've had concerns about this being the case before on the show, but I think season 2's highlighting the split more because the writers are giving Mike far more exciting stuff to do—and in a hour like "Bali Ha'i", it was noticeable just how secondary Jimmy felt to everything of real importance. Indeed, now that Kim’s (Rhea Seehorn) getting more attention as a character, there were times when Jimmy felt very marginalised.Continue reading...

Frame Rated: BETTER CALL SAUL, 2.5 - 'Rebecca'

Over at Frame Rated yesterday: I reviewed "Rebecca", the fifth episode of this year's BETTER CALL SAUL on AMC/Netflix.

I love how Better Call Saul fleshes out its own narrative, with glimpses of the past that inform the future (which is also, slightly confusingly, the past to fans of Breaking Bad). The opening of "Rebecca" answered the obvious question the title provokes, with a lovely vignette set during the time Jimmy (Bob Odenkirk) was working in the mailroom of HHM, as he was invited for dinner at his brother Chuck's (Michael McKean) and his wife, the eponymous violinist Rebecca (Ann Cusack). Naturally, a further question was left to swirl around our heads during all these scenes: where is Rebecca McGill now? I suspect we'll get the answer before the season's over, but one presumes it’s a further reason for Chuck's dislike of his brother. Did Jimmy split them up, intentionally or not? Did Rebecca die? Was she perhaps even killed? Did this trauma result in Chuck's mental breakdown? Continue reading...

Frame Rated: BETTER CALL SAUL, 2.4 - 'Gloves Off'

My review of Better Call Saul's "Gloves Off" was published yesterday over at Frame Rated. I hope you'll head over there and give it a read!

My favourite episode of Better Call Saul's first season was episode 6, "Five-O", which could be seen as a problem because it had the least to do with the titular character, Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk). It was instead a showcase for Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks), answering questions about this ex-cop-turned-enforcer that had been lingering since Breaking Bad went off-air. It was also, therefore, the hour that most felt like an unaired Breaking Bad hour, and a worrying early sign that Better Call Saul might only achieve greatness by mimicking its famous predecessor. Thankfully, last season carved its own identity and turned in some great Jimmy-centric stories to redress the imbalance, but once again the second season’s best hour (so far anyway) turns its attention to the criminal underworld Mike inhabits. Continue reading...

Frame Rated: BETTER CALL SAUL, 2.3 - 'Amarillo'

Hopefully you're all now aware my Better Call Saul reviews are exclusive to Frame Rated, so please do check out my thoughts on "Amarillo". I'd love to hear YOUR opinion in the comments there, too! Click here!

How long will the honeymoon period at Davis & Main last for Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk), who’s more of a lone wolf than a company man? We’re definitely heading for an acrimonious divorce (spoiler, for the 0.09% of viewers who haven't seen Breaking Bad), and the tension could become unbearable if "Amarillo" is anything to go by. Continue reading...

Frame Rated: BETTER CALL SAUL, 2.2 - 'Cobbler'

Yesterday at Frame Rated: I reviewed the second episode of BETTER CALL SAUL season 2, "Cobbler". I hope you're enjoying these, keep checking back every Tuesday, and will do whatever you can to promote them!

The big picture is yet to emerge for season 2 of Better Call Saul, but "Cobbler" concluded last week’s storyline very amusingly, and the show is doing a nice job easing us into a new direction—with Jimmy (Bob Odenkirk) getting used to his fancy new job at Davis & Main (where he's valued and listened to), but starting to hear the call of a more exciting, dangerous side of lawyering that plays to his strengths as a creative liar and improviser. Continue reading...

Frame Rated: BETTER CALL SAUL, 2.1 - 'Switch'

My weekly reviews of AMC's BETTER CALL SAUL resumed yesterday, but they're now Frame Rated exclusives. I sincerely hope you'll bookmark them and check back every Tuesday for my latest thoughts and opinions.

The shadow of Breaking Bad loomed heavy over Better Call Saul last year. I was quietly confident this spin-off would make for good television, and that proved to be true—thanks in no small part to the writers finding hidden depths to Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) during the years before he met Walter White... Continue reading...

NOW TV on trial

In light of my Virgin Media bill going up this month, I decided to reduce my TV package from XL to L. I wrote about the possibility of me taking this action awhile back, and I've got over enough of my misgivings since then.

My bill for XL TV, 70MB broadband, and free weekend phone calls... inflated to £71.98. By switching to the L TV package, 50MB broadband, and free weekend calls... it was reduced to £57.99—which is a saving of £13.99. Using that money I've clawed back, I subscribed to a £6.99 'Entertainment Pass' with Sky's NOW TV service.

Frame Rated: JESSICA JONES - Season One

Yesterday at Frame Rated, I reviewed the entirety of Netflix's new Marvel-produced series JESSICA JONES, starring Krysten Ritter, David Tennant, Mike Colter, Rachael Taylor and Carrie-Anne Moss. I know a few people have been curious to read my thoughts on this show, especially since I placed it at No.10 in my end-of-year list, so now's your chance!

Whereas Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D is tethered to the unfolding sprawl of Marvel's cinematic universe (with The Avengers as elephants-in-the-room), Netflix have found a smarter way to play in the studio's sandpit. First with the esteemed Daredevil, and now with Jessica Jones, the VOD heavyweight keeps to its own tiny corner of Marvel’s playground—Hell's Kitchen, New York City—with only occasional wink-wink mentions of "the big green guy" and co's existence. Continue reading...

The Best Television of 2015: No.5 - Netflix's DAREDEVIL

Matt Murdoch (Charlie Cox), a young lawyer blinded by chemicals as a boy, is secretly able to perceive the world thanks to a heightened super-sense, and operates as a vigilante to save Hell's Kitchen from a turf war being won by a burly gangster called Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio)...

What made it so good? The unexpectedness of how well accomplished the show's story and performances were, as memories of the misguided 2003 Daredevil movie refused to budge before its debut. Daredevil is quite a prominent Marvel superhero, but concerns he was being shunted to television (when he could theoretically work just as well on the big-screen, as part of The Avengers) proved unfounded. This was actually the perfect medium to tell a Daredevil story heavily inspired by the most acclaimed graphic novels, with an excellent cast serving the material extremely well. I don't think anyone expected Vincent D'Onofrio to create one of the most sympathetic-yet-horrifying villains we'd ever seen, and throughout the first season the show kept on surprising us. The fights were extraordinary cool and realistic (putting equivalent, CGI-augmented scenes in Marvel's movies to shame), and it was a joy to binge-watch this over a long weekend. Flaws? Yeah, it has some. The ending was a bit of an anticlimax, and I really dislike the Daredevil costume (which arrived with undeserved fanfare), but these were very minor issues.

The Best Television of 2015: No.10 - Netflix's JESSICA JONES

Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) is a superhero-turned-private-investigator, blessed with incredible strength, who must use her powers and detective skills to catch the shadowy Kilgrave (David Tennant); a supervillain from her tragic past with the frightening ability to control people's minds.

What made it so good? Continuing the trend started with Netflix's other Marvel TV series, Daredevil, this comic-book drama exists in a world more identifiably ours. It seems counterintuitive to create a show like this, that exists in the same universe as The Avengers, because Jessica Jones' tone and approach is so different, but somehow it worked.

Why is HD still being treated like a premium format?

Warning: geeky rant ahead, featuring techie lingo and acronyms, so proceed at own risk of confusion and boredom.

High definition (HD) broadcasts began in the UK back in 2006, almost 10 years ago. The next-generation Ultra HD/4K television sets are now in shops. Sony and Twentieth Century Fox have committed to supporting 4K Ultra-HD Blu-Ray from next year, despite everyone saying video-on-demand has killed physical media. Netflix and Amazon Prime are already streaming 4K content to subscribers (for free in the latter's case)...

SO WHY DO WE STILL PAY EXTRA FOR HIGH-DEFINITION TELEVISION?

Trailer: Netflix's JESSICA JONES

After a lot of teasers, we finally have the full trailer for Netflix's next big original series: Marvel's Jessica Jones, starring Krysten Ritter (Breaking Bad, Don't Trust the B**** in Apartment 23) as the eponymous superhero-turned-detective. There's a surprising amount of Mike Colter (The Good Wife) as Luke Cage in this footage, too, who'll be getting his own spin-off soon. And it's a relief to know David Tennant will retain his native accent as mind-controlling villain 'The Purple Man'. Considering Netflix's Daredevil became the best small-screen superhero show earlier this year, I have high hopes for their follow-up. How about you?

JESSICA JONES season 1 premieres 20 November on Netflix around the world.

Netflix producing 12 more BLACK MIRROR episodes

Channel 4's BLACK MIRROR is returning next year, but it's now being produced for Netflix. The online streaming giant has bankrolled 12 new episodes from creator Charlie Brooker, but subscribers from the UK and Ireland won't have access. Instead, Channel 4 will likely continue to show the popular anthology series exclusively to its native audience, as they have the "first-look option" to do so.

Frame Rated: SENSE8 - Season One

Yesterday on Frame Rated, I reviewed the first season of Netflix's SENSE8; a sci-fi drama from the Wachowskis (The Matrix, Cloud Atlas) and J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5) about eight strangers who realise they're telepathically linked. Do give it a read! And share! Then tell your friends!

Trailer: Netflix's SENSE8

The Wachowki's revitalised the action/sci-fi genre with The Matrix, but their subsequent work hasn't really clicked with the masses. The Matrix sequels sequels were successful but most people disliked them, then Speed Racer, Cloud Atlas and the recent Jupiter Ascending became box-office flops. They desperately need a hit, so have turned to the small-screen, co-creating this epic sci-fi mystery with J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5). Sense8 concerns eight strangers from around the world, who become emotionally and mentally linked to each other—which proves incredibly useful. Naveen Andrews (Lost) plays a mysterious man called Jonas, trying to bring the eight 'Sensates' together.