#its from big fish the musical and it's criminally underrated

[chippdhearts]

Close your eyes, I'm still beside you. No goodbyes needed today

[embossross]

2022 in Anime

i give ratings out of 10 stars based on a rubric that considers the following:

2 points / ambition of what the anime is trying to achieve 3 points / effectiveness of the anime in achieving its aims 4 points / my personal, subjective enjoyment 1 point / pacing +1/-1 miscellaneous

so with that said... ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2 anime)

Ping Pong The Animation - believe the hype. incredible.

Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part 2 - honestly if this show sticks the landing, it may become my favorite anime of all time. it's just the best week to week viewing experience. my jaw lives on the floor. and i spend at least half an hour after every episode debating ethics with my friends. amazing.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (6 anime)

samurai champloo - music! animation! episodic storytelling! STYLE! this anime just has style

ranking of kings - most loveable anime characters of all time. classic fantasy setting. stripped down for honest and charming character storytelling. hilling is best girl of the season FIGHT ME

Golden Kamuy - slow start and then POW. perfect shonen story in an atypical setting. juggles a large cast of characters with competing motivations expertly so you can never predict the twists and turns. criminally underrated

Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song - managed to make me - a known hater of ai/robot stories - glue my eyes to the screen for 3 days. tons of heart and fun storytelling.

Odd Taxi - this is a novel come to life. some of the best dialogue in anime history.

Kotaro Lives Alone - cutest anime child of all time must be protected

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (6 anime)

princess jellyfish - kind of the pinnacle of a generation of shoujo for me

yona of the dawn - tbh i can't remember if i watched this last year or in 2022 but anyway it's great. gripping stuff. the lack of season 2 is criminal and i'm gonna have to collect the manga smh

kaguya-sama love is war season 3 - continued great direction, gimmicks, and jokes

ya boy, kongming! - the shock of the season. somehow this is actually funny and the rap parts are genuinely powerful. i didn't know anime could do music this well tbh

the devil is a part-timer season 1 - had fun watching but nothing sticks with me

parasyte - truly ambitious, gripping sci-fi that doesn't spoonfeed you answers but examines a dilemma from every angle

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4 anime)

banana fish - high stakes international thriller with a diverse cast and a gary stu at the helm

darling in the franxx - the not quite as good cousin of evangelion, interested in pubescent sexuality in big robots. major points for bonkers ambition. i was stunned with what it was trying to do.

spy x family - that little girl really is cute

space patrol luluco - studio trigger on speed with 7 min episodes

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (8 anime)

the tatami galaxy - smart, stylish, creative use of the medium.

made in abyss season 1 - a classic hero's journey to confront the unknown and come back forever changed

btooom! - prisoners' dilemma with explosions

demon slayer season 2 - i liked that guy with a bunch of wives and the bad guys

black lagoon - peak 90s anime

moriarty the patriot season 1 - no one told me moriarty is a righteous socialist antihero. it's fun.

theatre of darkness: yamishibai - horror vignettes in 5 minutes for halloween

ascendance of a bookworm season 1 - slow, dull isekai about learning to make a book (not write a book. make a book) until it suddenly gets political in the last couple episodes. can't decide if it's worth continuing tbh

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4 anime)

seraph of the end - 'has-to-learn-the-same-lesson-500-times-protagonist'

my dress up darling - i watched the first two episodes in a dark room with strangers and it felt like a soft core porn showing but for kids ??

mushoku tensei: jobless reincarnation season 1 - damn this for having good animation and actually decent pacing because this was gross and i wanted to give it a garbage rating

horimiya - cute romance but i forgot everything about it

⭐⭐⭐⭐ (1 anime)

no game no life season 1 - confused that this was such a phenomenon when it came out. it's fine i guess.

⭐⭐⭐ (5 anime)

that time i got reincarnated as a slime season 1 - when given a name for the 1st time, male goblins evolve into 'hobgoblins' and female goblins evolve into...wait for it...'goblinas.' i died laughing + that's this show's legacy to me

danganropa - edgy and strange and not altogether convincing but it has its moments

my teen romantic comedy snafu - 🤷

call of the night -pretty colors! boring anime¡

death parade - philosophy for dummies the anime

⭐⭐ (1 anime)

k-on season 1 - i know it's a classic & i'm so sorry i was just so bored. cute girls doing cute things is not for me! maybe if it was a movie, but a whole 24 episode show!?!?

⭐ (1 anime)

overlord - overpowered isekai fantasies for men are something. i'll leave it at that.

& then ongoing shows that i'm not going to rank until i finish them (but actually all are pretty good so far) - chainsaw man, blue lock, mob psycho season 3, to your eternity, ao ashi, made in abyss season 2, dororo

[kanohivolitakk]

Since its 3Hs anniversary some really cool things I like about the game that aren’t talked about enough because the fandom is too busy arguing who is right and who is wrong

The worldbuilding just. 3H has honestly one of my favorite fictional settings. Its just both expansive but also genuinely interesting. I have spent HOURS thinking about the world and made so many ocs its not even funny. I love thinking about the setting of the game so much.

I LOVE the puzzle like way the game explains its world and story. Like I know some people don’t like it because it makes the game a bit too convoluted but personally? I LOVE 3Hs way of not telling everything but rather giving hints and clues the player has to piece themselves. It makes the games world feel more interactive and feels so satisfying. Then again I enjoy that kind of approach to worldbuilding

In general I love 3hs fragmented story and the way how the story is placed in many different fragments. It is geniunely rewarding to replay the game from another storypath and notice the foreshadowing Would’ve the story been probably better had it been just one storypath? Honestly yes. But 3h is ambitious and one of the ways it is is with its fragmented story structure.

The structure of White Clouds is criminally underrated honestly and gets way more hate than it deserves. I love how the first few chapters set up the world of Fodlan and show injustices/conflicts of the world with chapters like the chapter where you face off Lonato for instance. Then the next few chapters are spend in deepening the mysteries such as the conspiracy against the church and the mystery regarding TWSITD. Then Jeralt dies and the last few chapters are spent as “beginning of the End” so to speak, as things clears to the intense climax.

On related note I LOVE how the game handles perspective and how the lords are the respective ways we view the story. I know so many people say “WHite Clouds is same on all paths” but I do feel that’s kinda the point. The story is the same but there are differences that come from the way each of the lords is strongly characterized and has different values, worldviews. The subtle changes on what are focused on in each route also foreshadow what will be focused on each route, which I think is super cool.

Even beyond the lords and routes the game does explore the idea of perspective well. I do think 3h has this very “everyone is the hero of their own story” type of approach to perspective and it shows it well. Each character believes they’re in the right and you can get this view that they view themselves as right. Even Agarthans who are the designated villains have this sense they think they’re in right and that the Nabateans were evil.

The way how games routes being divided into having a different focus is very cool. I love how AM is a smaller scale personal tragedy, how CF is a battle of ideals and how VW explores the world and reveals deeper mysteries. I also love how all of these are related to the lords ideals and worldviews: Dimitri is the most conflicted of the lords so he gets the most characterfocused story focused on . Edelgard is the most ideologically driven so her path focuses on her ideals and battle of wills against Rhea. Claude is the one who is the most freespirited and wants to know the truth so his route focuses on revealing the mysteries.

Also the way the houses characters reflect their respective routes storyline and central themes: Black Eagles are nobles that have conflicting relationships with nobility reflecting Edelgards goal, Blue Lions are all united with the trauma of Tragedy of Duscur, and Golden Deer are a house of misfits who give this “ragtag group who will save the universe with POWER OF FRIENDSHIP and this cool gun I found” vibes which fit the route PERFECTLY

I LOVE how the game plays with and subverts a lot of Fire Emblem tropes. While it does play some tropes straight (dad death and evil cult manipulating behind the scenes) it does do a lot to break from series conventions and playing with ideas to make a more ambitious story. The way it either subverts expectations (The evil emperor being female well intended extremist, Rhea being the Gharnef/Medeus instead of the Nyna archetype she’s presented as), twists familiar tropes to their natural extreme (Dimitris arc is basically the natural extreme end of stereotypical FE lord) and other similar things make the game feeling so planned out, like the writers understood FE stories and wanted to make something that challenges FE while still feeling like it.

The way how every major player acts as foil/pararell to another player is so GOOD. Every faction leader can be compared to the other somehow and that just makes the game SOOOO fun to analyze, trying to find all the similarities and differences and pararells is so rewarding.

A more specific example on this is how i love how the game plays with the idea of holy/sacred weapons. While normally these weapons are artifacts from goddess that defeat dragons, here the holy weapons are bones made from dragons and just???? HOW METAL IS THAT????????? It’s just such a neat way to subvert the idea of sacred weapons. Rather than being blessed creations of the goddess, they are weapons of destruction made by the villains.

I ADORE THE GAMES science fiction elements. I know people say they feel out of place but personally, they make the game memorable for me. I still remember the first time I saw that scene with nukes. I especially love the heavy implication that Sothis isn’t a goddess but rather a powerful alien. It makes her character much more interesting

I know a lot of people don’t like Agarthans but can I just say their backstory being “forced to hide after their land got conquered and desiring it back” making them a dark mirror not just 3h lords/Rhea but FE lords as whole is SO FUCKING METAL. This is what I mean with 3H writers knowing their tropes like back of their hand.

I love how in Part 1 sometimes you’d talk to two characters in Monastery at once instead of just one. It’s something I miss in part 2 honestly.

I love the small sidequests such as the fishing tourney and White Heron cup and wish Part 1 had more of them, it would’ve made the school part feel more alive.

I LOVE how some missions (esp paralogues) have subgoals that you can clear to get better rewards. I wish the game had been more clear with them or even made them main goals of maps sometimes.

I LOVE THE WAY Paralogues act as small gaiden stories that show more of the games world and characters. Its a neat way to let the sidecharacters shine and reveal some neat secrets of the games world and story.

The gameplay loop is honetly fun and satisfying. It is rewarding and while it gets tiring towards the end overall its a good gameplay loop.

I ADORE the aesthetic of Shambhala. Its just so sleek and sinister. The cyrillic letters spelling different words is so cool. Shambhala is my favorite map in the game and the aesthetic is a big reason why.

The games soundtrack is so good!!!!!!!!!!  But not only that I LOVE the way its electro elements subtly hint of Agarthans being in control behind the scenes. This is especially cool in Road to Dominion where the electro parts are barely noticeable yet present. but other tracks have subtle electro vibes as well.  The other way the games music tells the story (such as use of leitmotifs or how the monastery music changes once Jeralt dies) is great as well.

I love how 3h can be read as an allegory for reformation era and reneissance. Its such an interesting way to read the games events and compare it to a real historical periods there’s quite a bit of f

In general I ADORE the cultural references of the game. There’s surprisingly lot of way the games world is based on real life and the details are just *chefs kiss*

THE GAME IS DENSE WITH THEMATIC IDEAS. Besides the perspective the game tackles ideas of how trauma can affect a persons psyche and worldview  (as well how a persons trauma affects the way they interact with the world which in turn can affect the world as well), grief, societal values, historical revisiniosm and so much more. The game tackles SO MANY topics in an interesting manner, it is thematically just as dense as it is storywise as well.

I also love how the games thematic parts work in harmony with the story rather than one overshadowing with the other. Its super refreshing honestly where a games themes and story are both rich and I don’t have to pick one over the other.

Lastly I ADORE the games central message (or at least what I see as the central message anyway): The world’s fucked up and most people want to fix it, but what they deem fixing differs and because of that they go into conflict or outright war rather than trying to find a common ground. Everyone wants a better world but no one can agree what a better world truly means  so they fight over it. It was a theme that not only resonates with my personal values but also hit me REALLY hard when I first played it as it’s a theme that I found incredibly relevant and reflective of our own world during the time I played the game for the first time.

So yeah. I made this post since there’s SO MUCH neat things about the game, its gameplay and story that sadly get swept under the rug in favor of either arguing  which lord was right/wrong or complaining how the game is an unfinished, rushed and overambitious mess. Is 3h perfect? Hell no. But it’s a game that I hold near and dear to my heart and does genuinely SO MANY THINGS RIGHT, I’m sad no one talks about the genuine strengths the game has anymore, instead just complaining.

I’m not even joking when I say that 3h should be up there as heralded as one of the best, most ambitious and complex JRPGs alongside Xenogears, the first Xenoblade game, Suikoden and Trails series as whole along other such games. Its a shame the games reputation is less like those games and more like Persona 5s where everyone focuses more on its flaws and the fans being annoying than the fact the game does geniunely A LOT right. It’s just that good, ambitious game I love so much.

[arcaneranger]

Final Thoughts - 2018 Long Shows

It’s finally here! I’m so close to being done with 2018 (...mostly. We’ll get to it) that I can taste it, but in the meantime, this list is gonna be weird, because there will be things that were already on other lists since I revised my rules of what should be classified how. This post is specifically for any show that ended in 2018 and lasted longer than 13-ish episodes (including shows that aired a second season during the same year or within six months of finishing the previous one), which means that there’s about as much on it as a usual season of shows, but they all had more time to impress - or disappoint me. I’m doing a better job in recent seasons of getting to everything, but last year there were unfortunately things that I missed (I was burned out in the winter) and just have to leave aside for now because I can’t wait any longer for these lists.

Anyway! As usual, let’s start with what I skipped!

* The Seven Deadly Sins: Revival of the Commandments, The Disastrous Life of Saiki Kusuo S2, Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card, Garo: Vanishing Line, and Mr Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues because I haven’t seen their previous seasons or parent works. (Yes, even Cardcaptor Sakura. Y’all can shoot me later.)

* Hakyuu Hoshin Engi, Beatless, and Basilisk: The Ouka Ninja Scrolls because by the time I was rounding things up, I hadn’t heard a single positive thing about any of them.

Next comes what I dropped -

WORST OF THE YEAR: Steins;Gate 0 (4/10)

What a fucking mess this show was. Aside from a very noticeable downgrade in production talent from its predecessor, the plot meanders and flirts with maybe actually happening this time before just dropping out again, over and over, to the point where I was perfectly willing to drop it two episodes from the finish line because it was such an insult to fans of the original. (Also, continued disgusting mistreatment of the transgender character.)

Gundam Build Divers (4/10)

Taking the Build series from being a well-written kids show to an averagely-written kids show that hides itself in decent mech designs.

Katana Maidens (4/10)

I remember so little about this show, and granted that I did drop it after one episode almost nine months ago, but what I did remember was that it gave me strong KanColle vibes with laughably inconsistent animation and flat characters. Meh.

Darling in the FRANXX (5/10)

This should probably be lower on the list, but I got out of Darling while the getting was good, sixteen episodes in. I understand that future episodes of the show cemented it as crappy right-wing nonsense in addition to pushing worldbuilding out of its fortieth-story window, but the moment it lost me was much sooner, when the crazy yandere female lead was reduced, almost instantly, to Good Anime Waifu as a reward to the protagonist for going against his friends with his selfish motives.

Persona 5 the Animation (5/10)

In addition to not actually finishing in 2018, Persona 5 just did not give me a single reason to watch it when I’d already finished the source game, with middling-to-bad visuals (thanks to the switch from Production I.G. to A-1 Pictures, and not even the team that created the much better-looking Day Breakers OVA before the game was released in the U.S.) and phoned-in music, which is especially unacceptable in a Persona adaptation. Also, we all absolutely called that the studio couldn’t tell the story of the entire game in just 26 episodes.

Record of Grancrest War (6/10)

There’s people that like this one a lot, but I didn’t see much that interested me in the first two episodes. I’ve heard better things about the manga.

Golden Kamuy (6/10)

I had problems with the first half of Golden Kamuy that the second half simply didn’t fix, and it became difficult for me to keep watching - the show still interrupted almost every fight scene with a dick joke, but still wanted to maintain a serious and occasionally frightening tone - and those things simply don’t go together. It needed to either spend more time being funny, or keep its lowest-common-denominator humor out of the fights.

Next, I have two shows that are (potentially permanently) On Hold, simply because it’s time for me to move on and I don’t have the time or energy to marathon them when the Winter shows are starting to wrap up:

Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits, because even though I initially dropped it, I’ve heard a lot of good things since and I want to eventually give it another shot.

Yowamushi Pedal Glory Line, because despite the fact that I still enjoyed the previous season, this one started right in the middle of my burnout and I only heard bad things about it. I’ll get to it eventually, but it’s a shame that this series has been on a clear trend downwards since its revival.

And finally, the stuff I finished!

The Ancient Magus’ Bride (6/10)

Keep in mind that this is here entirely on the merits of its aesthetic and its side characters - in the end, Ancient Magus’ Bride is a Beauty and the Beast story where the beast gets what he wants without learning to be less of a dick or even apologizing for his clearly wrong actions.

Major 2nd (7/10)

Always pleased to have even just Good sports shows around, and this one is a very effective reboot of a classic series that’s never made its way stateside (man, the underperformance of Big Windup! really did a lot of damage to this genre in the West). With good character development and a decent second-generation premise, Major 2nd has the potential to be the beginning of a solid baseball story, assuming that it gets a needed followup.

IDOLiSH7 (7/10)

I dropped IDOLiSH7 when it first aired, and though I wound up enjoying it after I was very strongly urged to revisit it, the problems it started with never quite left it behind - that is, it has an okay cast of characters but doesn’t present even passable performance sequences, and if you’re going to include big song-and-dance numbers, they have to be good, or you may as well just be UtaPri.

ClassicaLoid Season 2 (8/10)

In 2017, I gave the first season of ClassicaLoid a near-perfect 9/10, and while this season gives us a satisfying conclusion to the story, it does things both a little better than the first, and also not quite as great. It’s story is much more well-integrated over the runtime so it doesn’t happen all at once in a few chunks, and the jokes that work are still absolute genius, but there’s simply too much that doesn’t quite land correctly, and a little too much immature humor, for it to reach the same lofty Hall of Fame heights as the first season. Still, one of the most underrated shows I’ve ever seen.

My Hero Academia Season 3 (8/10)

God, Izuku in that onesie is too damn cute.

My problems with Hero Academia are frustratingly persistent - the show is at its best when the students are competing with other students, because outside of last season’s Stain (a villain whose motivation is specifically related to the world of MHA), the villains are just not at all compelling and they all seem a little too generic for their own good. I just want Horikoshi to be a little bit less predictable of an author and do a little less reading of the Standard Shounen Playbook. Luckily, when it works, it works magnificently.

March Comes in Like a Lion S2 (8/10)

March remains director/auteur Akiyuki Shinbo’s most accessible work, and one of his masterpieces, as a well-paced and marvelously moody story of a depressed shogi prodigy learning to be a normal teenager before his youth completely passes him by, and the fantastic characters that surround him with their own complex problems and motivations. I just really, really hope it gets a third season eventually, because this one did not leave off on a satisfying conclusion.

Speaking of which...

Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma S3 (9/10)

It’s almost a shame that My Hero Academia became hugely popular purely based on its accessibility to American audiences, because Food Wars pretty squarely deserves to be the reigning Shonen Jump king - each season has only improved on the previous one, and this one was based entirely on a continuing arc that could only have happened in the universe of this show, Fighting Food Fascism. That being said, it also leaves off right in the middle of the arc (because it had almost caught up to the manga), meaning that we have to hope that it can remain relevant long enough for there to be enough source material for another season. I’ll be crossing my fingers until they snap.

Banana Fish (9/10)

Yes, this has risen a point since my review, but Banana Fish still deserves to be thought of as both a complete masterwork of crime fiction, being fantastically paced and expertly plotted in the use of its many, many twists, and a work that disappointed the side of me that hoped that, in adapting it into the modern day, MAPPA could have managed to get the author to let them depict what is clearly a queer relationship with the authenticity and legitimacy that it deserved. It’s still amazing, though, and Amazon should be pushing it with their most lavishly-made originals. At least it was the last noitaminA show they’ll get to totally bury.

And, finally, the one you all saw coming.

BEST OF THE YEAR: Lupin the 3rd Part V (10/10)

Lupin is, quite simply, one of the pinnacles of the medium. A simple idea that can (and did) go in thousands of different directions, handled by highly creative writers and an animation staff that has been knocking it out of the park for years, despite the fact that it is criminally (heh) unrecognized in the West. To put it simply, there’s a very, very good reason that it’s been around since the 70′s.

Okay! All I have left to do is finish Dragon Pilot (waiting on a friend) and we can get the last two lists out of the way! We’re almost done...

[fictionadventurer]

For the Psmith ask game: ALL OF THEM! (If you're up to it, if not I can narrow it down.) For the AU question, what about a musical AU?

1. Favorite Psmith moment

The shoe incident in Mike and Psmith. It’s Psmith at his most trickstery, but it’s also the first time we see him exert himself for someone else’s sake.

2. Favorite Mike moment

When Mike goes to listen to Waller’s speech, and spends the whole time in a terror that Psmith is going to cause some kind of scene--only for him to be the one to start a brawl. 

3. Favorite thing about Psmith

The wit, the confidence, the quirky way with words--and the fact that it’s all hiding a very vulnerable person and a loyal friend.

4. Favorite thing about Mike

The way that he repeatedly sacrifices himself for the sake of others without a thought for the consequences to himself.

5. Favorite secondary character

I love Billy Windsor so much. Psmith’s cowboy journalist guide to the grimy streets of New York. Who else would be both sane enough and weird enough to serve as a kind-of mentor to someone as strange as Psmith?

6. Favorite minor character

I’ve got a soft spot for all the other Sedleigh schoolboys--Stone, Robinson, Jellicoe, even Spiller. (And of course Adair, but he’s more than a minor character). All bit parts with strong personalities.

7. Favorite Mike and Psmith moment

The moment when Mike thanks Psmith for trying to take the fall for him.

8. Favorite Psmith in the City moment

Basically any of Psmith’s confrontations with Bickersdyke.

9. Favorite Psmith, Journalist moment

The scenes where Psmith first comes to New York and he’s following around street-smart cowboy journalist Billy Windsor and realizing just how far out of his depth he is.

10. Favorite Leave It to Psmith moment

When Psmith gives Eve the umbrella. You expect him to give a flowery, manipulative speech, and he doesn’t say a word! That one moment does more than a thousand speeches to prove just how seriously in love he is.

11. Favorite antagonist

Bickersdyke just seems like the platonic ideal of a Psmith antagonist: someone very petty with a lot of power and lots of flaws for Psmith to exploit. Their dynamic is hilarious.

12. A favorite line

'Between ourselves,' confided Psmith, 'I'm dashed if I know what's going to happen to me. I am the thingummy of what's-its-name.'

'You look it,' said Mike, brushing his hair.

'Don't stand there cracking the glass,' said Psmith.

(It’s one of the most real and relatable moments of their friendship.)

13. Favorite book in the series

Probably Leave It to Psmith. Except for the lack of Mike, it’s hard to think of any flaws with it.

14. Least favorite book in the series

It probably has to be Psmith, Journalist because it has the most obvious flaws, but it pains me to list it here because I love the character development and the sheer weirdness of the book when compared to the rest of Wodehouse’s output (a cat-loving gangster! where else are you going to get that?).

15. Any extra scenes you wish the books had included? 

I wish we could have seen the rest of Psmith’s heckling of Bickersdyke, rather than getting an edited summary from Psmith. I wish we could have had some scenes of Psmith at the fish market, because that would have been so weird to see him in that environment. And I wish we’d have had lots more scenes of Mike and Phyllis. To name a few.

16. Is there anything you’d change about any of the books?

I’d let Eve find the necklace in Leave It to Psmith. In Psmith in the City, I’d give Psmith one unequivocal moment of doing something nice for Mike (that didn’t involve blackmailing anyone and couldn’t be interpreted as just another kind of selfishness).

17. Any headcanons about the events/characters in the books?

Most of them come from other people. You know who you are.

18. Any headcanons about what happens after the end of the series?

See here.

19. Any ideas of what a musical AU would look like?

If we’re talking about “the books as a musical”, I suggest we take Leave It to Psmith, the one that best fits Wodehouse’s genre of “musical comedy without the music” and, well, add music. Emsworth gets Winnie-the-Pooh-type pottering songs. Psmith and Eve get a short little love theme about the umbrella in the rain that gets further developed when they actually fall in love. The two gangsters get a very jazzy villain duet. Miss Peavey gets a song that contrasts her sickly sweet poetess side with her gritty, hard-nosed criminal side. Freddie gets a song comparing his life to the movies. Baxter gets sing-talky Frustration Songs. Let’s find a way to give Phyllis and Mike a love song, too (or at least a song talking about their courtship).

But can we also consider...High School Musical AU. Mike, the kid who was forced into drama club to “help with his social anxiety” reluctantly discovers that he likes acting in musicals and is set to be a star in his school’s big production next year when he gets kicked out because of some ill-thought stunt he pulled when trying to help a friend get out of trouble. He goes to a new school and meets Psmith, the Ultimate Drama Kid who got pulled out of his very art-focused school because his grades were failing, and who has decided to sulk by not having anything to do with the drama club at this school. They both try to reinvent themselves by joining the school sports team. This tiny school has a tiny drama department that is being built up by the efforts of Adair, whose years in the drama club have helped him through a lonely childhood and who wants their school to be a source of Great Theater. During the school talent show, one of their friends’ acts has a member fall sick, leading Psmith to step up and show intense dramatic and musical talent and causing Adair to sweep him up for the school musical. Or at least try to. Psmith and Adair both clash because of prima donna tendencies and Psmith hasn’t forgotten some snarky remarks that Adair made about his supposed lack of musical talent. A school prank gone wrong leads suspicion to fall on Psmith and Mike tries to redirect suspicion by confessing to it himself, only for the real culprit to confess at the last minute. There’s some ridiculous Glee-style musical fight between Psmith and Adair, which leads the two to put aside their differences and gain respect for each other as artists. When Psmith learns that his old school had to pull out of a local theater festival because of widespread illness, he manages to put forward Sedleigh to fill the spot in the schedule, and their performance is a wild success that put Sedleigh on the map as a Decent Little Arts Program.

20. A favorite moment of character development? 

I love Psmith learning about the squalor in New York’s slums and resolving to do something about it. And I love Mike’s moment of developing some social tact with Adair.

21. An underrated/easily overlooked moment/scene?

Psmith shows up for the first day of work in the bank, several hours late, and just sits himself down and starts entering numbers in a ledger. In the postage department.

22. What do you like best about the Psmith series? 

I love how different each book is from the rest--makes it very easy to keep track of the books in the series (which can be a bit of a struggle with Wodehouse). I love the groundedness in the real world contrasted with the zaniness of some of the schemes and characters. And of course, I love the Mike and Psmith friendship.

23. Talk about anything you want related to the series

“The cry goes round” is such a wonderful catchphrase. It slays me every time. There are probably more meaningful things I could talk about here but I just wanted to mention that.

[nitrateglow]

Favorite film discoveries of 2017

Most represented year: 1967 with three movies

Most represented director(s): GW Pabst and Yevgeni Bauer tie with two movies apiece

While I didn’t get to watch as many new movies (feature-length and shorts) as I did in 2016 (slightly over 200 as compared to slightly over 400), it was certainly a case of quality over quantity.

Wait Until Dark (dir. Terence Young, 1967)

I am so glad I followed a whim and watched Wait Until Dark when it aired fairly late on Turner Classic Movies on a weekday night in June; I was tired all morning at work the next day, but it was so worth it. This underrated movie made me jump twice, and scared the crap out of me in ways more explicit horror movies and thrillers have failed to do. Often praised for how it builds suspense, particularly in its final twenty minutes, this movie also sports great performances from Audrey Hepburn as the determined heroine caught in a deadly game and Alan Arkin as the sadistic thug preying upon her, as well as a deft illustration of the art of set-up and pay-off. Hepburn’s performance is among the best of her career: not only is she convincing as a blind woman, she’s emotionally vulnerable yet badass and smart, very much like a Miyazaki heroine. More than merely a story of a woman surviving a dangerous situation with a visual impairment, it’s a story about a woman learning her disability need not define her or limit her independence. I’ve re-watched Wait Until Dark close to ten times in the past six months; it is remarkable how the tension and sinister atmosphere continue to hold up, especially when the most horrifying things are only threatened, implied, or committed offscreen. It’s easily a new favorite of mine.

(Read my longer review here.)

Martin (dir. George Romero, 1978)

The late George Romero once claimed he considered Martin the best of his movies because it was the least compromised by outside meddling. A satirical and revisionist take on the vampire myth that doubles as a character study of a lonely man, Martin is largely unsung in the history of horror, which is a big shock to me. Though Night of the Living Dead is more influential and iconic, I think Martin is the better movie; at the very least, it is the more mature movie of these two great classics, made by a filmmaker more assured in his own storytelling. John Amplas is amazing as the socially awkward vampire who tries to reconcile his bloodlust with his desire to find true human connections. It takes a special talent to make a character who does some truly heinous things sympathetic and even lovable, but Amplas does it and makes such a feat seem effortless. The home invasion sequence in the middle of the movie is worth the price of admission alone; it scared the hell out of me, that’s for certain! Martin surely deserves a solid home video release—dare I say the Criterion Collection should pick it up for distribution? It merits more than the minor and very sporadic releases it’s had over the years, and it certainly deserves a bigger audience.

(Read my longer review here.)

The 3-Penny Opera (dir. GW Pabst, 1931)

The 3-Penny Opera could easily compete with Pennies from Heaven for Most Cynical Movie Musical. Pabst’s adaptation of the Brecht stage production is at once entertaining and kind of depressing. Its criminal protagonists run the gamut from being charming rogues to downright vicious murderers. Their London underworld is decidedly expressionistic, coated in grime and cast in dramatic shadows, yet there is nothing romantic about any of it: this is a nasty world with nasty people inhabiting it. Nevertheless, these unsavory criminals are witty and human, and the film remains one of the most vibrant of the early talkie era.

Day of Wrath (dir. Carl Th. Dreyer, 1943)

I didn’t fully understand this movie, but it touched something deep within me. The story takes place in the somber world of 17th century Denmark, where a pastor’s much-younger wife falls in love with her stepson and embraces the darker side of her nature. The acting is passionate and the slow-burn pacing does well to add to the tension and paranoia. Dreyer’s heroine Anne (played with a quiet and at times sensual intensity by Lisbeth Movin) is a marvelous character, dynamic and bewitching (no pun intended). Initially, we think she is an ingenue, but as she becomes aware of her powers, she becomes more open and independent in a society where these qualities mark her for trouble. Unlike the titular character of Dreyer’s more famous The Passion of Joan of Arc, I’m not sure if Anne ever gets any kind of grace or peace. The film is enigmatic and unforgettable, and now I’m itching to rent it from my local library once again.

After Death (dir. Yevgeni Bauer, 1915)

I don’t want to say After Death is cinema’s first great ghost story because claiming anything to be a “first” when it comes to movies is a dangerous pastime, but regardless, it’s one great ghost story. It tells the story of a young man who becomes obsessed with a deceased stage actress. Having rejected her love when she was alive, he falls madly in love with an idealized notion of who she was once she kills herself. He is haunted by her image (or rather, the image of her as a virtuous, devoted maiden more in tune with Victorian ideals of womanhood than the modern, elusive character she actually appeared to be) and this torments him into madness. Psychologically complex, After Death says much about the line between delusion and love, and its characters are hardly simplistic archetypes of melodrama. The actress’s motivations for her suicide are not clear-cut and her posthumous admirer is a man in love with an idea more than he is with a woman. Cinematically, After Death is hardly primitive either: its use of long-shot, camera movement, and mise-en-scene feel quite modern.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (dir. James Gunn, 2017)

If you told me I would be excited for any new Marvel movies earlier this year, I would have laughed. I’ve never hated the MCU, but I’ve never been compelled by what I’ve seen either, at least not to the degree other people seem to be. However, seeing the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel in May changed my outlook entirely. I don’t care what the critics have to say: this movie is way superior to the original movie from 2014. The visuals are more interesting, the old-school pop music is more creatively woven into the narrative, and the story takes these characters into darker, more emotional territory. My sister and I went back to the theater to see it four times. I’ve NEVER seen a single movie that often in the cinema—I never imagined I’d do so for a Marvel film. After having seen and loved Thor: Ragnarok as well, I’m actually excited for Infinity War. That’s crazy to me, but it goes to show how our tastes can expand in surprising ways over time.

The Young Girls of Rochefort (dir. Jacques Demy, 1967)

Despite the candy color palettes and fairy tale motifs of his oeuvre, most viewers would probably not classify Jacques Demy as a feel-good filmmaker. His films are often about the bittersweet in life: disappointments and disillusionment abound even in a straightforward fantasy like his adaptation of Donkey Skin. However, The Young Girls of Rochefort is an anomaly in this respect, a musical comedy in which all past disappointments are mended and true love wins the day. Complete with catchy musical numbers and outstanding choreography, this is just one of those movies that has me grinning from ear to ear. The only other movie musical which has a similar effect on me is Singin’ in the Rain and I would absolutely claim this film to be that classic’s equal. About the only sour note in the film is the knowledge that one of its stars, the charming Francoise Dorleac, would be killed before her time in a car crash shortly after filming. Seeing her here, so alive and charismatic, makes one mourn for the career that never got the chance to flower, but at least we have this marvelous tribute to the classic Hollywood musical and her other work.

The Hitch-Hiker (dir. Ida Lupino, 1953)

The Hitch-Hiker is a bold, underrated noir suspense-thriller that attacks Hollywood-style masculinity in bold ways. Two men are held hostage by a psychopathic hitch-hiker they picked up during a brief fishing trip. Making it clear he’s going to kill them eventually, these guys try to find a way to escape without getting a bullet between the eyes. This movie plays the scenario without macho heroics: the hostages are ordinary men who are terrified for their lives. Instead of making them out to be cowards, Lupino goes against our expectations of what “real men” are like by showing how these men-in-distress rather realistically interact with a total maniac, played to chilling perfection by William Talman. Nightmarish and tightly written, I highly recommend this to all film noir aficionados, as well as people who think all Old Hollywood movies upheld conventional views of gender behavior.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (dir. Stanley Kubrick, 1964)

After my viewing of Dr. Strangelove, I finally saw all of Kubrick’s filmography, from his 1950s shorts to Eyes Wide Shut, and yet I was not sad because one of Kubrick’s greatest strengths is that his films are endlessly rewatchable. Dr. Strangelove is certainly that. You would think a political satire so closely tied to the culture and politics of the decade in which it was made would date despite its great performances and stellar cinematography. But no. If anything, this movie has become relevant yet again in the light of recent world events. It hasn’t dated in the slightest, which both delights and terrifies me.

The In-Laws (dir. Arthur Hiller, 1979)

I rarely belly laugh when watching comedies by myself. It doesn’t mean I’m not enjoying myself, but I usually need to be watching funny movies with other people in order to really have my sides split. The In-Laws proved itself a rare exception to that trend: I laughed loud and hard twice, at one point even ending up on the floor, finding it hard to breathe. And even when I wasn’t reacting that extremely, I did chuckle often and enjoy myself very much. Peter Falk and Alan Arkin make a great comedy team, playing off of one another perfectly. The story is INSANE in the best possible way and I don’t dare spoil its bizarre twists in case you’ve never seen it. It feels like a 1930s screwball comedy transplanted to the 1970s and mixed with a buddy-action film—and even that trite description doesn’t do the quirkiness justice.

Only Yesterday (dir. Isao Takahata, 1991)

While Grave of the Fireflies is Takahata’s most well-known film, I argue Only Yesterday is his masterpiece. Often coming across like a cross between Ozu and Bergman, this is a coming-of-age story like no other. It follows a twenty-something woman at a crossroads in her life as she both reflects on her childhood in the 1960s and wonders about what path to take in the future. I saw parts of this movie as a teenager and could never get into it, but now watching it in its entirety as a twenty-something woman at a crossroads in her life, I relate hardcore. This movie is so perfect in capturing the uncertainty of being a young person still undecided about what they want their future to be: do you follow a traditional path? Do you try to make your parents happy? Do you follow a more unconventional path and risk crashing-and-burning? If you needed an antidote to the idea that animation is only for family comedies or shock value “adult” satire, then watch Ozu’s masterpiece.

Excalibur (dir. John Boorman, 1981)

People tend to love or loathe Excalibur, but I found myself loving it quite a lot. The 1980s was a golden age for cinematic fantasy and this strange movie is one of the best of the decade, if not the best film interpretation of the Mallory’s Le Morte Darthur. For those who demand realistic dialogue and psychological nuance, this is not your movie; it has a mythic feel which means it foregoes realism for larger-than-life characters and symbolic episodes. Visually, this movie is gorgeous and Trevor Jones’s soundtrack, which samples Wagner, gives epic weight to the images.

Yojimbo (dir. Akira Kurosawa, 1961)

Oh man, Yojimbo is badass. This movie may not be Kurosawa’s “deepest” or “most artistic” movie, but it ties with The Hidden Fortress as his most entertaining. It’s got everything: dark comedy, great swordfights, an anti-hero who’s both coarse yet ultimately compassionate, menacing villains, a catchy soundtrack, and one of the best final lines in any movie ever. I haven’t seen A Fistful of Dollars, though I do have to wonder how it could match this excellent work.

Branded to Kill (dir. Sejuin Suzuki, 1967)

Don’t ask me if I understood it, because I don’t think I did and I’ve seen it twice. Branded to Kill is best described as film noir meets a very bad acid trip. Regardless, even if you don’t get 100 percent of what the hell you’re watching, this is still a great piece of pop art. I’ve read that it’s best to view this movie as a kind of commentary on noir itself, though I don’t know if it’s aim is to subvert, parody, or deconstruct noir conventions and archetypes. Probably a little bit of the three.

Vagabond (dir. Agnes Varda, 1985)

Agnes Varda’s Vagabond follows a young homeless woman named Mona. A la Citizen Kane, the movie starts with her being found dead in a ditch and then the rest of the movie is told from the perspectives of various people who encountered her in her last days. One thing that sticks out most to me about this movie is how Mona is not glamorized or sexed up; she is a plain, dirty drifter, no make-up. She is also remarkably enigmatic; we see her through the eyes of those who either pity her for her loneliness, shrink from her coarseness, or seek to exploit her for money or sex, but neither the audience nor the other characters are allowed to learn who she truly is. It’s a fascinating work from one of our best living directors, stark in its images and its themes.

The Diary of a Lost Girl (dir. GW Pabst, 1929)

While this movie is often overshadowed by Pandora’s Box, I think I prefer The Diary of a Lost Girl, if only because it has better pacing (though don’t get me wrong: PB is damn excellent). Louise Brooks is, as always, amazing, one of the most subtle and expressive of silent cinema’s actresses. The movie follows Thymian, a young girl’s persecution after she is raped and impregnated by one of her father’s employees: branded a whore by a society that blames the victim, she is sent away to a brutal reform school and is eventually forced into actual prostitution. The film is melodramatic, yet never crude or simplistic, especially in regards to Thymian’s unkind stepmother, who is revealed to be more complex than she appears. Unlike the tragic PB, Diary is more humanistic and hopeful, urging the audience to be more compassionate. And even in 2017, this little melodrama still moves and inspires.

Things to Come (dir. William Cameron Menzies, 1936)

I had never heard of this film until recently and after having seen it, I wonder why. A Trip to the Moon and Metropolis are often cited as influential early science-fiction movies, and I argue that Things to Come absolutely deserves to be as well-known, for its predictions about the future are often alarming in their accuracy. In addition to covering the topics of another world war and space travel, it also sports a sort of proto-post-apocalyptic flair in the 1960s and 1970s sequences, where a zombie-like plague ravages the landscape and people live in tribes among the ruins of civilization. Visually, the film is a feast, sporting an art deco twenty-first century and pretty nifty special effects.

The Twilight of a Woman’s Soul (dir. Yevgeni Bauer, 1913)

Who said all silent film heroines were helpless damsels again? Or that all silent melodramas uphold conventional Victorian/Edwardian ideas about gender? The Twilight of a Woman’s Soul must have seemed socially bold back in 1913: it features a woman who, after being raped by a stranger and subsequently deemed unworthy of her fiancée’s respectable hand in marriage, does not go into exile or die conveniently. Instead, she finds healing and pursues her dreams of a theatrical career—never once looking back or feeling less like a woman for not marrying! Thoughtful performances and lovely composition make this film a great showcase for how sophisticated early movies could be, both artistically and culturally.

Feel My Pulse (dir. Gregory La Cava, 1928)

Nothing groundbreaking, but this movie is a thoroughly enjoyable comedy with a clever, resourceful female protagonist, which is very much my thing, especially when it challenges the tiresome stereotype that all silent film heroines were passive damsels. While there is one gag routine featuring booze and a song that goes on a little too long, the rest of the movie moves along swiftly. Bebe Daniels is funny and charming as the hypochondriac heiress who isn’t as over her head as the other character think. A pre-stardom William Powell plays the scummy villain and has a lot of fun doing it. Richard Arlen dresses exactly like Indiana Jones.

This Sporting Life (dir. Lindsay Anderson, 1963)

Lindsay Anderson is quickly becoming one of my new faves, if only because his films have such diverse atmospheres: there’s the youthful rebellion of If…. and the surreal cynicism of O Lucky Man!, and then there’s the more starkly realistic This Sporting Life, starring Richard Harris as a lonely rugby player exploited by the upper classes and yearning for something meaningful in life. He’s a brute in many ways, aggressively pursuing his widowed landlady (played to heart-breaking perfection by Rachel Roberts) in rather uncomfortable ways. Though put off by his rude manners, she is drawn to Harris’s athlete and the two engage in an affair that proves tragic. The film is a bit overlong and if you haven’t seen an Anderson film before, the two I previously mentioned are likely better introductions to his work, but the intensity of the performances and the ways in which Anderson and his collaborators explore class struggle make this riveting viewing.

Honorable mentions: Catch-22 (1970), The Producers (1968), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Blade Runner (1982), Let Me Dream Again (1900), The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (1968), Blade Runner 2049 (2017), Baby Driver (2017), The Little Match-Seller (1902), The Sands of Dee (1912), Robocop (1987), Regeneration (1915), Daydreams (1915), The White Sister (1923), David Copperfield (1935), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The 39 Steps (1935), The Informer (1935), Fury (1936), The Road Warrior (1981), Super (2010), Slither (2006), The Lodger (1944), Bedlam (1946), Raw Deal (1948), Moulin Rouge (1952), Moulin Rouge! (2001), Cliffhanger (1993), Eraserhead (1977), A Touch of Zen (1971), Late Spring (1949), Harold and Maude (1971), Night of the Living Dead (1968), How to Steal a Million (1966), Ruka (1965), Three Outlaw Samurai (1964), Paris When it Sizzles (1964), The Haunting (1963), Experiment in Terror (1962), The Brides of Dracula (1960), Bigger than Life (1958), Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

What were your favorite film discoveries in 2017?

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WEEKEND TV HOT FILM PICKS!

Check out my guide to the top films on TV this weekend, the best of the rest and what to avoid at all costs! Enjoy!

LATE FRIDAY 7th APRIL

HOT PICKS!

TCM @ 2350       The Exorcist (1973) *****

Although many have tried, no one can ever match this exorcism film. It is so well put together and will always withstand the test of time. It’s quite a simple premise with few parts but that doesn’t dilute the power and ferocity of its impact.  Some say it looks old hat with today’s standards of Horror, but I disagree - it still packs an excellent punch. The script is superb with performances to match.  The Exorcist has proven itself as a scary and impressive piece of cinema history that will always get my vote.

Horror @ 0240      Grabbers (2012) ****

I came into Grabbers ready for a mediocre throw away indie monster flick with little in the way of quality and fully expected another dud added to the long list of substandard horror comedies. B-Jesus! I was wrong. Grabbers layered up the appreciation and just kept on giving.

Set on a small Irish island Grabbers introduces us to some beautiful scenes of the luscious Irish coastal countryside with some rather stunning cinematography that oozed loveliness on Blu ray. Immediately it had my attention. We are introduced to the booze riddled local Garda Ciaran O'Shea who is meeting up with a very focused young Garda Lisa Nolan who is transferred to the village for a short while. She immediately realises there’s not much in the way of Police work to do in this remote Irish fishing village. The film succeeds wonderfully at building their relationship interweaving it into the story of an unknown multi-tentacled creature causing havoc to the sea life and local populous alike.

As we establish the alien creature is a lot bigger and more dangerous than was previously imagined, comes a splendid plot development that these blood sucking creatures can be killed by high blood alcohol levels! Here the film descends into a wonderful, farcical and very drunken stand-off in the local pub. The scenes of the lock-in are great and all the action within the pub is captured really well.

It’s worth mentioning that although its indie roots and meagre budget the CGI is great and directed well to give it real solid appearance. The main reason this film worked for me is the two leads, they are great together and particular praise goes to Ruth Bradley whose inebriated scenes are absolutely spot on.

There are a few lulls and it’s by no means perfect, it tends to lose pace a little too many times but overall this film pitches its comedy well removing itself from any confusion regarding the lack of Horror. Grabbers knows what it is and it is not ashamed to show it. A very competent comedy and addition to the genre. Funny, well presented with a great main relationship, for fans of the genre and for fans of films like Tremors - this is a must see.

Best of the rest:

ITV2 @ 2100      Knocked Up (2007) ***

TCM @ 2100     The Hunt for Red October (1990) ***

W @ 2240          Chocolat (2000) ****

Dave @ 2200    Blade (1998) ***

#### AVOID AT ALL COSTS! ####

Film4 @ 2325      Van Helsing (2004) * AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

It’s a mystery how Jackman and Beckinsale were duped into making a diabolically bad film that not even Bekinsale’s under bust corset could redeem. Terrible CGI, bad hats, bad hair, bad script, bad full stop. Criminally handled, ham-fistedly delivered to soil our screens with yet another simply shite monster movie. AVOID.

SATURDAY 8th APRIL

HOT PICKS!

5* @ 1220      Labyrinth (1986) ****

You remind me of the babe What babe? babe with the power What power? power of voodoo Who do? you do Do what? remind me of the babe…

Check out the Honest Trailer for Labyrinth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjobWguWIRk

C4 @ 2235      Dredd (2012) ****

In a dark and dysfunctional future crime is at an all-time high and policed by Judges - these are judge, jury and executioner - dealing out swift and brutal justice to those flouting the law. Karl Urban plays our downturned mouthed hero - Judge Dredd - a seemingly heartless, brutal and ruthless Judge but one of the very best in the business. This is a great adaption of the comic series and with a great sense of pace, amazing visuals - namely the slow motion ultra-violent sprays of blood - and booming soundtrack this is an action movie to remember. Need a dose of Action in your weekend? Make way for Judge Dredd.

Film4 @ 2315     An American Werewolf in London (1981) *****

It’s only in recent years that I saw this film for the first time and I was concerned that I had missed the boat and it would be horrendously outdated, but I was pleasantly surprised. It barely shows its age at all!

The story begins with two American back packers on the remote moors of England that lose their way as they turn to a local village for help they find a rather unaccommodating group of villagers and they soon realize they are well and truly on their own. As they cross the moors they are attacked by a huge wolf like creature! The villagers appear to be covering up the true horrors of their encounter.

It has a real interesting mix of horror and comedy that is really quite subtle. The lighter moments offset the horror in a real complimentary way and the 80’s “moon” related soundtrack seemed rather odd to start with but adds yet another layer to the overall experience. Unlike today’s heavy reliance on CGI, director John Landis had to rely on physical effects and make up when putting together the transformation scene. It is an absolutely amazing job - every elongation of limbs and warping of body parts is done with amazing skill that looks very realistic and quite horrifying even to today’s standards.

Overall, the film is based on a very simple idea but is executed in a very accomplished way. If you haven’t seen this film, push it to the top of your to do list.

Best of the rest:

ITV3 @ 0930 The Railway Children (1970) ****

Film4 @ 1300 Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) *****

ITV4 @ 1455 The Alamo (1960) ****

Syfy @ 2100 The Mist (2007) ****

TCM @ 2100 Fatal Attraction (1987) ****

Comedy @ 2300 Pineapple Express (2008) *****

#### AVOID AT ALL COSTS! ####

C4 @ 2000   Battleship (2012) * AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

Rhianna is on a ship. Acting badly, Aliens are coming - Fight. The end. Battleship is a shoddy CGI laden mess. Awful characters, badly acted, with dreary and mostly boring action sequences. What annoys me the most is it’s not even tongue in cheek - it’s all played out rather seriously. This film deserves nothing. Such a big budget wasted on something quite unwatchable. I hope all involved wept as they called "that's a wrap". Battleshit.

SUNDAY 9th APRIL

HOT PICKS!

ITV4 @ 2100     The Deer Hunter (1978) *****

Good grief. It’s an experience watching The Deer Hunter. It’s so real, heart wrenching stuff. Beautifully handled and presented. It is well deserving of its critique as one of the greatest films ever made.

C4 @ 0005     The Guard (2011) ****

Don Cheadle and Brendan Gleeson play the most unlikely of Buddy Cops in this great black comedy, full of laughs with a lot of heart this film is a must see. Gleeson and Cheadle are a great pairing - when on screen together the comedy script and expert timing from Gleeson combine for a laugh a minute ride.

Gleeson is an Irish Garda from a small town who does things his way and is not afraid to speak his mind. In fact he enjoys it. Cheadle is a straight laced FBI agent who is in for a bit of a shock at how differently things work in this small town. They join forces to investigate an International drug smuggling ring and as the case progresses our two leads relationship grows.

Directed by John Michael McDonagh - it is very evident they are a very skilled family in the field of film. His brother, Martin, we have to thank for the excellent In Bruges, and with this film also being a Black Comedy, also starring Brendan Gleeson, it was always bound to be compared. One thing is for certain, they are both very funny, re-watchable and thoroughly interesting comedies with a fresh feel that I for one have really welcomed.

So, if you like your comedy on the dark side of life this will be right up your street. It’s not just all comedy, it’s a great crime drama and technically impressive, it looks fabulous with some great cinematography. Gleeson is the star but kudos to a great supporting cast. The Guard rockets along keeping you interested every step of the way. John Michael McDonagh has proven himself as one to watch!

If you like his style then look out for his newest 2014 film Calvary. It’s a much darker ride and quite a sombre affair - but very impressive indeed - proving McDonagh’s credentials.

Syfy @ 0100      The Omen (1976) *****

The original Omen film is by far the best of the Omen films and quite underrated. Regardless of its age it still fills me with dread with its combination of iconic creepy music and the mysterious dead eyes of Damien. Its success lies in the unseen and the implied, a trait that horror movies of today seem to have forgotten with all the unnecessary gratuitous violence and gore that fill the majority of recent horror offerings.

The story follows a wealthy couple that have struggled for many years to have a child and after a successful pregnancy term they are faced with the stillbirth of their son. Robert Thorn fears for his wife’s sanity and he agrees, unbeknownst to his wife, to take a new-born child whose mother died in childbirth and pretend it is their own. As time goes by a host of mysterious accidents plague the family.

Gregory Peck, who has a lot to thank for the success of this film, plays Robert Thorn. He brought the film into mainstream audiences on its release due to his success and fame. That’s not to say his performance here is anything but great either. He drives the film forward and is a great choice for the main character. We follow Thorn as he begins to realise the terrifying truth about his “acquired” son.

The Omen is a fantastic supernatural thriller with some great scenes that horror movies of today can only hope of achieving.

Best of the rest:

ITV3 @ 0625     The Railway Children (1970) ****

ITV1 @ 1345     Goldfinger (1964) ****

E4 @ 1430        Evolution (2001) ***

ITV4 @ 1440     The Alamo (1960) ****

ITV2 @ 1550     Liar Liar (1997) ***

ITV2 @ 1550     The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) *****

C4 @ 1645        Boxtrolls (2014) ****

ITV3 @ 2305     Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) ****

Film4 @ 2310    Extract (2009) ***