FILM
Primal Fear
A very 90s thriller that spends a lot of the screen time as a courtroom drama also; personally I find Richard Gere to be a hard man to love, I mostly tend to find myself naturally avoiding his film because of this, but credit where credit is due; he does give a very solid performance and is really rather likeable here in the role of a defence attorney, though I would say that his Hollywood white male superior role does at times come across as too much, where by for some reason we need to have his character reinforced as the 'Alpha Male' where it really isn't needed but take that aside and Gere does have some really good chemistry with the rest of the cast most notably Laura Linney and Ed Norton. As a whole it's a very competent thriller from the 90's where some of the subplots really don't add much to the overall story in general, but the film is elevated up a few notches by a quite brilliant performance from Ed Norton and despite the thriller twist nowadays that probably feels like its been done to death, but the twist here still works brilliantly well and its a testament to the writing that it stands up so well over time. And while Primal Fear might not be a complete success and a film with many incomplete lines and missed opportunities, it's still a film that I would recommend purely just to see the performance of Ed Norton.
7/10
DOCUMENTARY
Jesus Camp
A first time ever inside look into the world of the born again Evangelical Christian church and their training *ahem* summer camps, where young children are brought to be raised/trained to take back America in the name of Jesus Christ. This documentary is arguably scarier than the majority of horror movies that I've seen in recent years and while this documentary does feel rather fresh with it's hands off approach where the camera is just left to record the inner workings of Jesus Camp and the activities and sermons that these children attend, with the odd talking heads to support the direction of the documentary - this approach kind of took something away for me whilst watching the film, something was missing - its as if the film lacked that personal touch and at times felt like a lost soul walking aimless at night not knowing where it was going or why. I think that Jesus Camp as a documentary is something that you 'must see' purely for the subject matter and some of the information and statistics that is revealed here in the documentary, I just don't feel that, taken as a whole Jesus Camp is a particularly great documentary. Bible basher are crazy and the exploitation of young minds is truly scary, but outside of the fear factor the documentary lacks a personal touch that could have made the film for more meaningful and memorable.
6/10
Mission Blue
I do love a good documentary about our wonderful planet and how we need to do more about the preservation of our planet and even more so when it evolves the ocean; but Mission Blue is somewhat different from a number of the recent Eco-Friendly documentaries that have hit our screens in recent years; yes the film has a message that Oil Companies are evil and over fishing is bad; but the key story here and the main focus is on an individual named Sylvia Earle; a legendary oceanographer and marine biologist who has dedicated her life to her passion in order to attempt to create a global network of protected marine sanctuaries. Sylvia's driven focus in life is something that I think we would all be envious of and her story is such a wonderful tale of battling so many seemingly unfavourable and even un-winnable task that is very well crafted here in this documentary. I think that this documentary really does stick out from the crowd and with a number of interesting interviewee's including Hollywood director James Cameron, I think that the majority of people will find it hard not to connect with Sylvia Earle's tremendous tale and while it's not quite as hard-hitting as the likes of The Cove or Blackfish there's still so much to love about this film that I really do have to strongly recommend that you add this documentary to your list on Netflix; propaganda this is definitely not.
Done the Impossible
A tale of a feature film that rises like the phoenix out of the ashes of a cancelled TV series; yes this is the tale of the creation of Serenity and the fandom that was able to bring the second coming of Firefly to the big screen after the show had been cancelled well before its time to shine. Now I do actually consider myself to be a fan of Joss Whedon's Firefly and think that its a rather cool story that the fans and their dedication and love for a show can result in a getting a big budget Hollywood feature film into the works and it's something that I always look at when thinking about the recent Dredd movie and there still being hope for a sequel to hit the big screen despite the poor Box Office showing. But as for the documentary Done the Impossible, well the least said about this piece of crap the better; if nothing else then this documentary made me feel even less than positive towards the film Serenity than I already did and to a certain extent it's made me question my feelings towards Firefly as a whole. Everything is so blinkered and portrayed with loving eyes that nothing is subjectful and it just becomes a circle jerk of geeks that can't let a TV series go; there's nothing more annoying to watch than a bunch of fanatics go too far into the world of obsession. I used to be pissed off with Fox for cancelling Firefly because of the shows great potential to grow into something special and then was left disappointed with Serenity, but now I just hate them more because they are at the root of the creation of this documentary that feels like a first generation special feature on a bargain basement DVD. Highly recommend that you avoid this documentary as it offers absolutely nothing.
2/10
TV
Bates Motel Season 1 (Episodes 9&10) Complete
The last couple of episodes and the finale itself, pretty much served the purpose and was enough to make me want to go back for season 2; and while I'm not completely won over by this first season of Bates Motel, I do find that just watching the performance of Vera Farminga as Norma Bates justification alone; Norma Bates has never been so sexy and with performance of Freddie Highmore as Norman Bates being just as fascinating to see; this is a show that I think at least deserves a chance from everyone; its a show that will definitely split opinions and certainly won't please everyone; and yet I've still found myself getting annoyed with certain character traits that I don't feel well connected to the iconic characters from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, I've come to accept the differences and treat this show as it's own entity with a different take on those characters; outside of the Bates though I can't say that any of the other supporting cast are particularly something that I've grown to care about or find anything all that interesting with some of the subplots that have played out in season one, but this is Bates Motel and as long as the Bates family is interesting and a joy to watch then I think that I'm in for the long run, despite not being the shows biggest fan.
5/10
Bates Motel Season 2 - Complete
Well it's clear to say that this week has been a busy week on Netflix in White Pine Bay and at the Bates Motel; having watched the entire second season this week after finishing up season 1 very quickly. Overall I think that this season has proved to be an improvement of the first season, there seems to be a lot better quality of writing with regards to the supporting cast members on the show, and even to the point that I'm starting to really invest into some of their stories; mostly the brother Dylan and the weird side attachment of the Bates family that is Emma. Season 2 has given more room for Farmiga and Highmore to really developed their portrayals of Norma and Norman Bates and again they've been a joy to watch and arguably more so in this season. Now I still find it rather distracting and out of place that the character of Norman Bates in the show seems to find no trouble at all in having sex with some beautiful women in the White Pine Bay area with little or no effort required, its almost like his just come out of one of those Lynx TV commercials where all the women flock just to be close to him; but that issue hasn't derailed the show for me, though I will never be comfortable with it or certainly not a lover of this direction; but the show this season has delivered some very creepy insights into the minds of both Norma and Norman Bates and it's never a bad thing when a cast member from my beloved favourite TV show The Shield turns up. If you were onboard with Bates Motel after the season 1 finale or was at least willing to see where the show was heading; then I'm happy to report that this is a recommendation as I feel that the show seems to be heading in the right direction, while still not a show that I think about away from the screen, its becoming a more enjoyable show whilst in the moment.
6/10
ANIME
Blue Exorcist (Episodes 13-15)
Only 3 episodes of Blue Exorcist this week and to be honest I've not got much to say, other than I enjoy the show whilst it's on and certainly don't feel negative in anyway towards the show, but I can't seem to get overly excited to plough my way through this series in the same fashion that I have been with other anime series on Netflix; I suppose that feeling that the show being rather similar to Bleach is making me wonder 'Why I am not watching and catching up with Bleach instead' not that I don't want to carry on with Blue Exorcist, but rather I do really enjoy Bleach and it feels like a rather long time since I last caught up with that series after finishing of the 7th Season on DVD. If nothing else though you might want to give this anime a shot purely if you want to just have fun and not get too invested into a convoluted and deep storyline. Oh and the opening and closing credits are great too.
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