"Last chance to look at me"... Breaking Bad Series 4

Series 4 truly cements Breaking Bad's place as the best show on TV, this series is the darkest yet with Walt on the warpath to try and bring down Gus before Gus gets him. Jesse's addiction sinks to scary new levels, until Gus uses Mike to straighten him out, and to try and turn him against Walt. Skyler is now committed to laundering Walt's money, but becomes involved with trying to save Ted from the IRS. Also Gus' war with the Cartel comes to a violent conclusion. And that's without even mentioning Hank's advances in his search for Heisenberg.

The writing and direction of the episodes are, as ever, on the rise. Each episode is beautifully crafted and plays out perfectly, drawing as much tension and emotion out of them as they can. My favourite episode this series is episode 11 "Crawl Space"... no wait episode 13 "Face Off"... or maybe episode 10 "Salud"... or it could be episode 7 "Problem Dog"... This is not to say that there is no stand out episode this series, but that there are too many stand out episodes to be able to pick a favourite.

Walt: Throughout this series Walt loses the last shreds of the good man that were there at the start of the show, he plots murder from the off and will do anything to achieve it, even poison a child. He fails to understand the trauma Jesse is going through and alienates himself from him with his demands. But despite this you still kind of root for him against the imposing force of Gus.

Jesse: Jesse goes through a hell of a lot this series, it starts with him killing a man for the first time, then he spirals into a deep drug addled depression turning his house into a crack den. Then, through the intervention of Mike he gets clean and starts to take more responsibility in his life. His new family of sorts is put in danger as a result of Walt's battle with Gus and he gets hit hard, he's come a long way from the whiny kid in series 1. A really notable scene for him is in "Problem Dog" where he confesses his attempts to sell the NA members meth.

Skyler: Skyler has made herself involved with Walt's business against his wishes and her demands and drive really grate on him, she becomes every bit as manipulative and underhanded as Walt has, but she does it for the simple reason that Walt has not thought about the consequences of his actions at all. Her presence is somewhat annoying, but played out in a way that makes sense and is essential to the story.

Hank: At the start of the series Hank is angry, he hates that he is useless and hates how Marie sees him differently now and lashes out against her because of it. It isn't until he starts working on trying to find Heisenberg again that he feels good about himself and starts to calm down. Although if he had any success in finding who he's looking for it would bring Walt down, you want him to catch Walt, but at the same time you don't want him to catch Walt, which is interesting to watch.

Gus: This is Gus' series, he goes from strength to strength, we learn his tragic past and see why he wants revenge on the cartel and the extreme lengths he will go to to achieve it. He is terrifying, killing men easily without thought and he is manipulative letting Hank go about his investigation as it poses no real threat. His relationship with Hector is a pivotal thing that provides the series climax and Gus' violent death.

Mike: Mike gets some more meat to his part this series, carrying out Gus' orders and becoming something of a mentor to Jesse, whilst also advising Gus on how to proceed with the Cartel. However the showdown with Don Eladio leads to an injured Mike staying in mexico over the last few episodes of the series.

Saul: Saul has a lot less to do with Walt and Jesse this series, spending a lot of time with Skyler working out how to save Ted from the IRS and by proxy save themselves from the IRS. He also provides his usual comic relief.

Marie: Marie, upon being verbally and mentally abused by Hank, goes back to her kleptomaniac ways, she is put under a lot of strain and has something of a slight breakdown. However in the latter part of the series she plays a considerably reduced part due to not contributing a lot to the overall plot.

Walter Jr.: Walter Jr. gets one especially good bit of emotion this series when he has to comfort an upset Walt and gets to talk frankly with him for one of the first times ever in his life. He still provides a good emotional anchor for Walt in all of the confusion he goes through.

Hector Salamanca (Mark Margolis): Hector has been a recurring character in the show since series 2 and as following the climax of the series he will no longer be in the show he deserves recognition for the wonderful character that he is. Paralysed from a stroke, Hector can only speak through ringing a bell, and yet he says more with no words than a lot of actors can say in a whole monologue, a truly wonderful performance worth mentioning.

In short, the best series (so far) of the best show on TV

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - A Review

4.5 Stars - Awesome, plain and simple

Abraham Lincoln kills vampires with a silver tipped axe... what more do you need?

This is a great action film from Timur Bekmambetov, who does action like no-one else, it is fluid, well shot, exciting and pure awesome.

The characters are interesting and fun, with Benjamin Walker being a really good Lincoln, as well as doing really well with the fight scenes, Dominic Cooper making an great mysterious mentor and Rufus Sewell doing his classy villain bit.

If only John Wilkes Booth was a vampire...

In Short this is a great film, well worth a watch

Chernobyl Diaries - A Review

2.5 Stars - Enjoyably Dumb

Chernobyl Diaries is a simple enough horror film, a group of people go to Chernobyl on a tourist trip, get stranded then get attacked by mutants.

The characters are annoying, and you kind of root for the mutants. So you know, the film isn't that good.

However there was potential for a decent horror film here, the sets are pretty creepy and imposing and they really try to build up an atmosphere... however the mutants aren't scary and at times just look ridiculous.

And despite this I still kind of enjoyed it... weird.

Zombie Mutant Nuclear Chernobyl Baby!

So yeah, I'd give it a skip...

"No more half measures"... Breaking Bad Series 3

This is a series of change for Breaking Bad, Skyler knows Walt's secret, The R.V. is gone, replaced by an underground meth superlab, Walt and Jesse work for Gus, a serious player with cartel connections, and must answer to him and Mike, his right hand man. In the start of the series Walt is, unbeknownst to him, being pursued by Tuco's cousins, who say very little and still steal damn near every scene they're in with just how badass and scary they are, this culminates in a hugely traumatic event. Then the rest of the series sees Walt and Jesse adapt to their new job, with Jesse gaining something of a family of his own along the way, leading to a discovery that leads to him and Walt getting on the wrong side of Gus setting in motion the events of the next series.

The writing and episodes are stronger than ever, with each one having something fantastic going for it, from the scary tense opening half of the series with the cousins to the calculated strikes by Gus in the latter half making this one of the best and most unpredictable shows on TV. My favourite episode this series is episode 10 "Fly" where Walt and Jesse try and kill a fly that has found its way into the meth lab, this leads to a lot of emotional development for the two, with Walt nearly revealing what he knows about Jane's death.

Walt: As the series begins Walt has lost his family, Skyler knows what he is and what he does and wants a divorce, as such he has no more reason to cook meth, not even an offer of $3 million can convince him, until Gus convinces him by telling him that a man provides for his family no matter what. From there he starts to get cocky, not realising that to Gus he is nothing, and overestimating how much he can get away with, leading to the truly tense cliffhanger at the series end.

Jesse: Jesse falls further than previous series here, as much as he has gotten clean, in his new clearer mind, and with the loss of Jane he goes to dark places, trying to sell meth to recovering addicts at his NA meetings and seriously contemplating the murder of the two responsible for the death of Combo in series 2. Ultimately ending in his carrying out the titular Full Measure in the final episode.

Skyler: Skyler has changed a lot this series, she knows about Walt's criminal activities and becomes involved against her will, making sure he doesn't mess everything up and ruin all their lives. She also wants Walt out of their lives, and will do anything to hurt him, including sleeping with Ted Beneke then visciously telling Walt.

Hank: This is a big series for Hank, the trauma from Tuco and El Passo still inside he starts to go off the deep end and following an incident with Jesse he is suspended from the DEA, then is attacked by the cousins and becomes temporarily paralysed as a result. However before this he starts to get leads in his search for the elusive Heisenberg, leading to the loss of the R.V. in a weirdly devastating scene.

Gus (Giancarlo Esposito): Gus is calm and in control at all times, he knows how to manipulate people and you can always sense a menace beneath his cool exterior. He has children, and though we don't see them, this makes him a lot like Walt in many ways, which is no doubt a deliberate thing to highlight the differences by making them more noticeable against the similarities.

Saul: Saul plays further comic relief whilst also being the voice of reason on many occasions, helping Walt and Jesse to launder their money, he also overestimates how much danger he is personally in, which adds to his comedy.

Mike (Jonathan Banks): Mike is a badass, he is Gus' most trusted confidant and knows the criminal world like the back of his hand. He is often a voice of reason, and always knows how to handle any situation. He also has a young granddaughter who we see him with a few times, which gives him a far more human edge.

Walter Jr.: In this series Walter Jr. starts to lash out against his mother for how unreasonable he feels she is about Walt due to his ignorance of Walt's actions. He still provides several good emotional scenes.

Marie: Marie gets a bit of a step up this series, her comic relief is toned down somewhat following Hank's shooting and she gets some really good emotion out of it all.

To sum up, Breaking Bad's third series just shows how it keeps improving all the time.

"I want you to handle it"... Breaking Bad Series 2

Series 2 of Breaking Bad picks up directly where Series 1 left off and spends the first few episodes dealing with the unresolved Tuco storyline from Series 1 and the aftermath of that. It then moves onto Walt and Jesse's attempts to take Tuco's place and start distributing the meth they are cooking and the problems this causes them, gaining them a new sleazy lawyer, Saul Goodman and a contact into a much bigger operation. Meanwhile Jesse begins a relationship with Jane, his new landlady who is a recovering drug addict and Walt's lies are mounting up, making life at home very difficult. And that's without even mentioning Hank's traumatic trip to El Passo or the cryptic pink teddy bear openings...

It is in this series that Breaking Bad really starts taking off, the characters are deeper, the stories are darker, and as Walt and Jesse rise in the criminal world the risks increase and the consequences of their actions are far worse. The writing is sharper, the characters are stronger and the cinematography is far improved with magnificent visuals, making fantastic use of the landscape of Albuquerque.

My favourite episode this series is episode 9 "4 Days Out" where Walt and Jesse take the RV out into the desert for a long weekend of cooking, and soon get stranded there with no water and no phone service. The emotional development of this episode is fantastic.

Walt: This series sees Walt further accept his Heisenberg persona and uses it to his advantage, getting himself a foot hole in the criminal world. His family life is somewhat falling apart, Skyler does not believe his lies any more and his son is getting distant from him and as such he starts to attach to Jesse a bit more allowing for some really good character development between them. He is also having a hard time balancing his two lives, the hardest scene of this for him is when he has to miss the birth of his daughter so that he can deliver a large amount of meth to his new Cartel contact.

Jesse: Jesse goes through a lot this series, he gets kicked out of his house, loses his car and bike. Then during their attempts to be distributors he has to see a kid living in a crack house, and witness a guy killed horribly, then his friend is shot dead and following a spiral of depression his new girlfriend Jane dies by choking on her vomit. Aaron Paul had grown hugely as an actor and Jesse had matured massively as a character.

Skyler: Skyler becomes a lot more powerful this series, we start to see her true intelligence and how hard she has to try to believe Walt because she doesn't want him to lie to her, but when she knows he is she doesn't accept it, she starts breaking bad a bit herself this series, smoking whilst pregnant and going out all hours without telling Walt where. She also goes back to work as a bookkeeper at Beneke's, which sets up for a much bigger break bad next series.

Hank: This is possibly the biggest character turn around ever, he has gone from being really annoying to being a character that you deeply sympathise with. He begins to get traumatised following having to shoot Tuco, then it gets even worse after he goes to El Passo and witnesses the horrors of what the Cartel do to snitches. This was one of the most sensible decisions to make towards a character, because otherwise Hank would have been annoying as hell forever.

Walter Jr.: Walter Jr. starts to grow slightly more distant from Walt, wanting far more of his own identity and being called Flynn by his friends and Skyler. However he gets closer to him again by the end of the series setting up www.savewalterwhite.com to raise money to get Walt an operation.

Marie: Marie gets some more development this series, as we see her kleptomaniac tendencies and her reaction to Hank's situation. Although she is probably the weakest character.

Saul (Bob Odenkirk): Saul is a great piece of comic relief, he gets a few appearances this series, setting him up to be starring cast in series 3, he's sleazy, manipulative and very, very funny.

To conclude Series 2 is where things start getting magnificent, and it only gets better from here.

"You know the business and I know the Chemistry"... Breaking Bad Series 1

Breaking Bad tells the story of Walter White: a High School Chemistry Teacher who discovers he has lung cancer and decides to start cooking crystal meth to provide for his family. He partners up with Jesse Pinkman, an old student of his, who he blackmails by threatening to turn him over to his DEA agent brother in law Hank Schrader. Due to Walt's continuing greed and lack of knowledge regarding the business the two very quickly find themselves in over their heads.

The story is fantastic, sometimes moving a mile a minute, whilst at other times slowly paced and played out for maximum effect. However this series in principally one to set up the characters and allow the audience to develop a connection with them and due the writer's strike is only 7 episodes long, that said they are 7 very good episodes, my personal favourite being episode 3 "... and the bag's in the river" wherein Walt has to decide whether or not to kill a man in cold blood, setting the ground for much of the show's moral dilemmas and also the 'actions have consequences' philosophy of the writing.

Walt (Bryan Cranston): Walt starts out as the most boring and plain man in existence, he moves through life without ever really living it, he contributed to a Nobel Prize winning paper, but teaches chemistry at high school to kids who aren't interested. He makes a monumental decision to break bad and it begins to effect him, he becomes more confident and makes a lot of bad decisions culminating in the creation of his Heisenberg persona.

Jesse (Aaron Paul): Jesse was perfectly happy with things the way they were before Walt showed up, he made enough money and avoided the police and DEA. Suddenly he's being forced to do things he doesn't want to, and he suffers for it, especially in the end when they try to do business with the psychotic Tuco. Also we see his relationship with his family, mainly his parents who hate what their son has become and don't trust him to even be alone with his brother, it was no doubt this difficult home life that led him down the road he is on when the series starts.

Skyler (Anna Gunn): Skyler is Walt's pregnant wife, throughout this series she is largely just there as Walt's motivation, their are clear glimpses of a strong character there, but for this series she does not quite reach the potential she reaches in later series.

Hank (Dean Norris): Hank can be summed up in one word during series one: douche. He is there as pure comic relief and in this series is quite an annoying character.

Walter Jr. (R.J. Mitte): Walter Jr. is Walt and Skylar's son with Cerebral Paulsy, much like Skyler he is mostly there as motivation for Walt, however he does get some decent emotional moments.

Marie (Betsy Brandt): Marie is Skyler's sister and Hank's wife, she is also largely comic relief.

In short, Breaking Bad is a highly competent start to the best show on TV, and though finding its feet and style, it is a must watch so that the rest of the brilliance can be truly appreciated.

Fast Girls - A Review

4 Stars - Decent

A film that delivers everything you'd expect from it.

Fast Girls tells the story of Annie from Being Human as an impoverished girl who, with the help of Jeff, the Taxi Driver from Sherlock, makes it onto the GB athletic team and joins the relay team with Korrina from Wrath of the Titans and a few others coached by Mickey from Doctor Who and gaining Physio/boyfriend from Arthur, King of the Britons from Merlin. Meanwhile evil Nick Savage from Scott and Bailey tried to get rid of her.

This film is simple, fun and everything you expect when you go in. A decent way to pass some time.

I think her brain just broke...

So yeah, good, but probably not a must see

Red Lights - A Review

3 Stars - Fun

ladies and gentlemen, academy award Robert DeNiro, picking the scenery out of his teeth...

Red Lights stars Cillian Murphy and Sigourney Weaver as two paranormal investigators who seem to have met their match with a famed psychic, played by Robert DeNiro.

The film is a lot of fun, nothing earth shattering, but an enjoyable way to pass some time.

The characters are pretty strong, and the acting is of the quality you'd expect from this strong cast, though Robert DeNiro chews the scenery like nobody's business, but in a fun way.

I'm blind... everybody got that?

So, yeah, fun enough, though I'd say wait for it to come to TV really

Superman Vs. The Elite - A Review

4.5 Stars - Really Good

The man with the giant chin vs. the guy with the Union Flag on his chest + friends.

Superman Vs. The Elite is an adaptation of The Action Comics story What's So Funny About Truth, Justice and the American Way? and it is really entertaining.

I don't know how it holds up as an adaptation to the comic having never read it, but the original comic author, Joe Kelly wrote the script so I imagine it is faithful.

The story regards Superman's moral battle with a group of 'heroes' called The Elite who advocate the use of lethal force to deal with their problems and view themselves as above the law, while Superman continues to fight for the belief that everyone deserves a chance and even those who are irredeemable don't deserve to die.

It is this issue that holds the film together and doesn't feel annoying as it easily could, because the thing is the Elite's ideas at times don't seem so wrong, the writing doing a very good job in making these characters more morally ambiguous than outright evil.

The Voice cast is stellar, with George Newbern reprising his role as Superman giving it the dignity it deserves. That said some of the Americans' faux British accents are a little annoying.

I was surprised by this film's language, them using terms like Wanker fairly often, not a complaint, just seemed weird in an animated film.

Badassery awaits

In short, this is one of the best animated films that DC have put out in recent years, definitely worth a watch.

Red Tails - A Review

1.5 Stars - Laughably bad.

A war film should not make you route for the Nazis... bad film! bad!

Red Tails is based on the true story of a group of black pilots in world war 2, it can be summed up like this, White people are racist and Black people can do stuff too. It is just insulting that film makers think we need to learn this message.

The characters are racial stereotypes and are all pretty much impossible to like, not really through any fault of the actors, who are at least competent, and there are good actors in it, for example Andre Royo and Bryan Cranston, the fault is the writing, it takes away any semblance of dignity this story should have.

The film has a large number of terrible moments that made me laugh out loud, for example the first line of dialogue in this film is "Germans! let's get them!"

And to top it all off the air battles, the main set pieces of the film are boring, there is no excuse for that.

It seems fitting that a film this bad would be the film that seems to be making George Lucas retire, the final film of the man who ruined his own franchise has now ruined the respect deserved to people who are heroes in the second world war.

I'm getting out of this early, may God have mercy on the rest of the cast

In short, do not go see this, it sucks.

Ill Manors - A Review

4 Stars - Good, but flawed.

Ill Manors could be potentially described as an attempt at The British Wire. And it has a lot of really good stuff in it.

There are many interconnecting stories involving a council estate and the people who live there, largely focusing on the gangster and drug culture.

The performances are strong and the characters are believable, and the stories told about the characters are gruelling and hard to watch, making it very interesting.

The characters are given back story through an omniscient narrator rapping, performed by Plan B, who also wrote and directed the film. Whilst I personally don't care much for rap music it fits really well with this film and was not at all annoying.

The major flaw I'd say this film has is that it tries to do too much, there are too many characters and the film lacks some focus as a result, I think perhaps it might have worked better as a TV show where such a large cast could be better accommodated.

He's recommending a film with a lot of rap? bloody hell it must be quite good

In short, I'd say go see it, Definitely ought to develop a cult following if nothing else.

Prometheus - A Review

5 Stars - Magnificent

Prometheus is a prequel to the Alien franchise, which I have never seen, and I absolutely loved it.

The film is hugely accessible to people who have not seen the original franchise, and to those who have (as I saw it with someone who has seen all the other Alien films). It makes the smart decision of not having the traditional Xenemorph alien from the original franchise and therefore everyone who sees it is seeing something new that they don't know how it works.

The acting of this film is brilliant, especially from Michael Fassbender, who once again proves why he is one of the greatest actors of our time, he plays a cyborg character and every move he makes is as controlled and precise as you would expect, and his eerie calm at all times is very unsettling and somewhat creepy.

Noomi Rapace is also wonderful, making a very likeable and strong character who you wanted to succeed and didn't want to die.

The rest of the cast are also all excellent, with notable members being Idris Elba, Charlize Theron, Rafe Spall and a whole bunch of others. They did the key thing that a survival film needs to do, made you care about the characters, and not root for the monsters.

It's tense, exciting and dripping with atmosphere, there is a really good sci-fi mystery in this film and it uses it to make you interested and that just racks up the tension even further.

My motives may be sinister... who can say?

To Sum up, go see this film, it is an absolute masterpiece.

Snow White and the Huntsman - A Review

3 Stars - Decent

Snow White and the Huntsman is a 'gritty retelling' of the Snow White story.

This is a very nice looking film, the effects are very good, especially the ones making the Dwarfs look small.

The story is alright, nothing special and it isn't hugely interesting, but could have been a lot worse.

The acting is okay, Charlize Theron is chewing the scenery to an insane degree, the Dwarfs are played by a host of British character actors, including Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone and Toby Jones all of them are good and fun to watch.

What the hell is around my neck?

In short I'd say wait for it to get to tv, then give it a watch.

Top Cat - A Review

1.5 Stars - Confusingly bad

A man named Strickland turns New York City into a police state using his army of deadly robots and huge amounts of surveillance cameras... doesn't that sound like every episode of Top Cat ever made? Of course it doesn't...

This is a Mexican film of Top Cat which was then dubbed into English... badly. The voice actors sound nothing like the original characters and the film suffers largely from them sounding so damn annoying.

The jokes are unfunny on an epic scale with the same not funny joke repeating over and over and over again. That said every now and then they actually had a joke that made me properly laugh, however these are not worth the rest of the film.

Even the children in the audience didn't seem to enjoy the film, I feel a lot of pity towards the accompanying parents.

It is not tip top at all

In short, go watch the original TV show, that's actually good...