A Week in Netflix: 06/07/15

Film

Hard Target

I couldn't believe that there was a Jean Claude Van Damme film that went under my radar as I just seem to consume all of his work throughout the 90s and into the early 2000s it seemed to me anyway at least and yet somehow I completely neglected Hard Target despite it being from such a visionary director like John Woo and well its all history now and everyone is aware that Woo's venture into Hollywood was pretty much a disaster across the board, but now looking back at Hard Target, time seems to have treated this film rather well, yes the first half of the film is extremely cheesy with some ridiculous slow motion sequences that are rather embarrassing, but if you stick with the rough stuff in the first 30 or so minutes you will be rewarded with some excellent direction of action and Van Damme at his physical peak of badass karate arse kicking chops (despite that awful mullet of a hair do - almost convinced me this was an 80s film). Lance Henriksen provides just the right balance of over the top performance to sell himself as the perfect 90s action villain, it was really hard not to love this film by the time the credits rolled, but it would have been nice to see one extended sequence of the 'human hunt' sport that made the best use of John Woo's expertise and for that reason alone I'd knock this film down a mark, but if you like either Woo or Van Damme then you really should be added Hard Target to your list of films to watch on Netflix because although the flaws of the film are hard to ignore you are ultimately rewarded with some thrilling action that stands the test of time and far exceeds much of what big budget studios in Hollywood are even putting out to today, one might even say it carries a double impact.

7/10

Documentary

Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey 

Had me meaning to catch this documentary ever since its original release, but time seemed to pass by and almost instantly the sex scandal rumours surrounding the puppeteer behind Elmo came out around the time of the DVD release of the documentary and that news kind of left me feeling rather confused as to whether or not this was something that I was entirely comfortable with heading into the documentary; but more time has passed since then and I can't remember ever hearing anything that carried any weight or evidence against Kevin Clash (Elmo) and seeing it appear on Netflix was that push that I needed to finally catch up with the documentary. Unfortunately I think that my expectations for this might have been a little too high going in; what we do learn from Being Elmo, is that the story and the history of Kevin Clash's childhood and following his dreams is a very compelling story with a great deal of rich sources for which to pull from, and the history of Elmo, The Muppets and Sesame Street itself is a wonderful nostalgia trip down memory lane that really does bring back some great childhood memories of television back in the day, its just a shame that as a documentary; Being Elmo is really rather generic in its approach and execution and had it not been for the intriguing background and life journey of Kevin Clash himself then there really isn't much that the documentary has to offer outside of this and while the subject is enough to keep the strings intact and not to end up in ball of mess, it's nothing more than a serviceable documentary that doesn't really leave much of an impact on its audience. If you are a fan of The Muppets and Sesame Street then I would recommend you check out this documentary just to learn more about the behind the scenes of the show and take the time to see the wonderful background of one of the shows key players Kevin Clash and the man behind every child's favourite Muppet - Elmo.

6/10

TV

Bates Motel Season 1 (Episodes 1-8)

What a strange beast of a TV show Bates Motel is; so its a prequel to Psycho but in a modern day setting and yet aesthetically parts of the show and some of its key players seemed to be stuck in the 1950/60's - now it was an impossible feat to try and even live up to the heights of Alfred Hitchcock's horror masterpiece Psycho and even more so for myself to try and distance my own opinion on the show that tries to take out any comparison with one of my all time favourite films from one of my all time favourite directors; but with this show I've tried just to judge the show on its own merits and flaws and try not to let my decisive verdict be influenced by my strong feelings for the film. What I will say is that had I not been watching the show with my wife, I might have already dropped this show, but not because that I find the show to be boring or bad in any way whatsoever, but with the sheer volume of high quality shows seemingly available right now we live in a time where it is impossible to watch everything; but my wife seems to be really enjoying the show and at this moment in time, I will say at the very least it is always good to see Vera Farmiga on screen and here in Bates Motel she is delivering an excellent performance with a take on the younger and livelier Norma Bates which I find immensely enjoyable to see her inner mind unravel as she tries her hardest to keep her son Norman close to her; and even Freddie Highmore as Norman Bates I feel gives some really strong performances that when detached from the direct comparison of the stellar performance of Anthony Perkins, is again a very enjoyable thing to watch. Now the rest of the show and the bizarre nature of the small town in which the show is set you can take it or leave it, its pretty much hit and miss with various different story threads, but overall I enjoy myself whilst the show is on, but can't see that I find myself thinking too much about it an hour or so after we've finished an episode. I think if you're a fan of Psycho and would like to see the history of the key characters then Bates Motel is worth at least giving a trial run, but considering what other shows are out there as direct competition then I can't really strongly recommend this as a 'Must See' show.

Arrested Development Season 4 (Episodes 3-11)

This I am keeping brief as I'm almost out of energy and enthusiasm for when it comes to the subject of Arrested Development and this fourth season - as a couple, me and my wife tend to just stick to just catching up with one show at a time on Netflix, but because this fourth season has been such a rough ride we felt it necessary to pick up something else to detract our disappointment for this poorly written and poorly executed series revival; Will Arnett as GOB has at least produced a few laughs from myself in some recent episodes, but outside of that the show is still just dead air and now its just become something that I just need to complete, rather than enjoy - god I hope to put the final nail in this train wreck so and try to forget about it. If you are still not caught up with this show then I highly recommend that you just stop at the end of season 3, because this season really has absolutely nothing more to offer and will ultimately tarnish your opinion on the show as a whole.

Anime

Blue Exorcist Season 1 (Episodes 8-12)

Not really made much progress this week with Blue Exorcist, but its been pretty steady in terms of story and characters, and the more I watch the more I get the same feeling that this does feel a lot like watching Bleach - and while I do enjoy Bleach as a show more than Blue Exorcist, I'm still enjoying the ride if not all that deeply invested into the show; not much more to say really as this week it really has just been a case of more of the same and nothing really new to shine any light on the overall appeal of the show and whether or not it's ultimately something that I'd either recommend to watch or recommend to stay away from.

A Week in Netflix: w/c 29/06/15

So much to discuss this week and I've had to include a film from last week that somehow went missing from my brain when writing up last weeks edition of A Week in Netflix - given the sheer amount of films, TV etc. I've consumed this week on Netflix, the individual write ups might end up coming in a little short in terms of quantity of text, but hopefully I will still be able to get my views across on each item below effectively and provide an interesting read and insight into my weeks viewing; and a quick side note, that this week I have actually experienced the odd disruptions in streaming on Netflix, I'm hoping that these have just been the odd bugs niggling away on my PS3 and not something that will creep into my viewing experience in the future whilst streaming video through Netflix, anyway without further tangents lets get into this weeks edition starting of with Film.

FILM

What Maisie Knew *missing from last weeks edition (watched on 23/06/15)

It's probably not a good sign straight off the bat that I had managed to completely forget about this film from last weeks blog post and you won't be surprised to hear that this film did not leave a lasting impression on me, but then looking at the positive side it clearly wasn't something offensively bad as, had it such a film then I surely wouldn't have forgotten about it so bloody quickly as I have done. A story about parents that feel like their dreams and work has become derailed by parenthood - why I thought that this story is something that I thought that I could potentially relate to; given the fact I'm an inspiring filmmaker and a relatively new parent and still trying to develop an understanding and somewhat of a life routine that I can possibly be successful on both fronts; but quite honest What Maisie Knew contains 2 parents that are outright despicable in their attitude to parenthood and utter narrow-mindedness that made me want to vomit. And while I have a lot of time for the comedy of Steve Coogan; here in a straight up role he feels so out of place and awkward whenever on screen like a caged comedian desperate to get out into an open mike night comedy club. The rest of the cast and supporting cast with the exception of the little girl who plays Maisie, couldn't look more less interested with Julianne Moore giving one of her weakest performances that I can remember seeing. Not caring to really delve into the origins of this story; I'll say that the film feels like its been adapted from a by the numbers best selling novel that panders to the lowest common denominator on the emotional strings of middle-aged women and the film itself with such a bland script leaves you with a sour taste in your mouth that while is easily forgotten can't be easily forgiven; there's talent involved but this is a film that you should avoid.

3/10

Short Term 12

I might be wrong, but I got it in my head that Short Term 12 had been one of the better reviewed Indie films to come out of the festival circuit in the past year or 2 and given my expectations; whether they had been justifiable or mis-guided, I don't think that it really would have changed my overall opinion on this film that ultimately felt rather bland in all aspects. My main problem with the film is the script, now that's not to say that the script is particularly bad in-fact you could argue that the film is quite fine but here within lies the problem - the structure has so meticulously been refined to focus so much attention on emotional beats and set turning points to the length where you get the feeling the writer has spent far too much time reading 'Scriptwriting for Dummies' that they really forgot to entice us the audience and get us to care for their characters and their lives, but instead we are left with the feeling of drowning in the blandness that Short Term 12 offers up as a storyline. The film is well directed and with the exception of 1 of the supporting cast members the performances are very strong all-round, but it's not enough to save the film from being sub-par; not every Indie film that comes out the festival circuit with a great marketing campaign is unique and intriguing, some of them are just plain safe filmmaking with a steady pace like Short Term 12 that fail to stand out from the crowd. I would probably still recommend people to check out the film purely based on the performances and direction, but certainly not a film that you should rush out to see or go in with high expectations, but it reasonably passes the time well enough.

4/10

Sex, Lies and Videotape

I feel like that I've got a love/hate relationship when it comes to the work of director Steven Soderbergh; but usually even at his lowest I can find at least one thing interesting with all of his films that I've seen to date. With his debut film Sex, Lies and Videotape probably for me sitting pretty in-between both the good and the bad in terms of overall quality; I really liked the concept behind the story of the film that brings together a sexually repressed woman and a mysterious figure of a man with a unusual fetish. Stylistically the film is very minimalist in nature that I can appreciate, but on the other hand part of the reason that I couldn't really fully engage with Sex, Lies and Videotape is because there really wasn't enough on offer to get me totally invested with it that ultimately lead me to not really give  a shit about any of the characters or the overall story. I've got to say though that James Spader is absolutely fantastic here in the starring role opposite Andie MacDowell but because Spader is so fucking good is why when he isn't on screen the film just doesn't feel anywhere near as interesting or as enjoyable to watch. I'd certainly recommend seeking out this film on Netflix just to see Spader's performance but also to see the origins of the directional work of Steven Soderbergh, I just feel that had this film come at a later stage in Soderbergh's career the film would have been remarkably better, but what we actually get is a perfectly average film with a actor bringing his absolutely 'A' game to the table, but that's not enough to scrape away the feeling that the film can be a bit of a slog to get through at times. Personally I feel that Steven Shainberg's Secretary is the far better film, again starring the wonderful James Spader.

5/10

Swingers

While I'm not a Jon Favreau or a Doug Liman fanboy; I would say that I'm willing to give both a chance where others might not and recently paying off with Chef and Edge of Tomorrow proving to be largely enjoyable, on the surface Swingers wouldn't normally appeal to me, a U.S. Comedy about aspiring actors/comedians struggling to deal with rejections of Hollywood; where the nightlife lifestyle becomes more important in their lives compared to their dream career pathways. Starring Vince Vaughan is usually a barrier for me that I can't get behind, but here early in his career, he showcases some pretty funny traits that would go on to grow into annoyances for me personally, but here in Swingers he feels right at home with Jon Favreau's script and the counterbalance to Favreau's on screen character Mike; Vaughan finds a nice balance of irritating arrogance and supportive friendship that really ties the film together. Swingers is a Funtime with plenty of laughs, though it's not quite as clever as it thinks it is and does feel very 90s that hasn't aged badly but certainly feels of its time. If you like Vince Vaughan then you owe it to yourself to see Swingers as it's far better than the majority of his outings, it's not a film I'm likely to revisit and not up there with the likes of a Very Bad Things in terms of 90s comedies but it was for me at least a pleasant surprise.

6/10

Double Jeopardy

Can you look the other way or ignore the worst aspect of a movie and enjoy it despite those flaws? Well when the biggest problem of the film is the entire script then it's pretty bloody hard to ignore. From start to finish, literally every word and every action in Double Jeopardy is utterly unbelievable and at times hilariously bad, now I am aware of the whole 'double jeopardy' deal within the U.S. Legal system but surely the way it's represented in this film is a complete mockery? Throughout the entire runtime I couldn't shake the feeling that I had seen this film before, but I think I've come to the realisation that it's not that I've seen Double Jeopardy before it's just that I've seen enough Hollywood thrillers of the 90s with similar backstories and characters that's this is essentially just a mishmash of all of those films with the complete package of genre tropes that tick all the right boxes of a thriller, it's just that Double Jeopardy happens to be so poorly written and with a terribly cheesy ending to boot you can't help but feel cheated by the time the credits roll. Stay clear it's both predictable and proposterous

3/10

ANIME

Blue Exorcist

The show seems to get off to a slowish start and initially I wasn't sure exactly sure what to make of it all after the first couple of episodes, but have stuck with it through the week and managed to catch and good chunk of the first half of the season on Netflix and I'm pretty sure that the show is growing on me with each passing episode. I think if you like demonology and the anime Bleach then Blue Exorcist is certainly a show worth giving a shot, it seems rather light in its tone with the comedy playing a huge part in the overall feel in the series and that is something that I think will start to get used to, though if it could offer something a little darker or explore the realms of demonology into greater depths I'd certainly appreciate it more. Visually it's got style and the comedy has been pretty consistent so I'm eager to stick with the show and see how it all plays out but at this moment in time I'd say the show is mildly entertaining without being great.

TV

Arrested Development Season 1 (Episodes 21&22) Complete

To say first off that I've watched so much of this show this week - I'll probably keep my thoughts pretty brief and run down comparisons between the seasons; I'd like to think that I can summarise in greater depth after completing all 4 seasons, but as for these last couple of episodes of season 1 I'll just say that they delivered the laughs just as well as everything that came before in this season. For me this season of Arrested Development is a masterpiece in comedy with such a great ensemble cast where everyone single family member brings comedy gold to the table, that it's so hard to have to pick a favourite character, if for some reason you still haven't seen this show and you enjoy comedy then you really need to get started on this show.

10/10

Arrested Development Season 2 Complete

It was always going to be difficult to keep up to the standard of comedy writing of season 1 which I believe to up there with some of the best ever comedy in U.S. TV of all time, but season 2 gives it a bloody good crack of the whip and it's certainly got the highlights that can hold its own with the quality of season 1; with Michael hiding his father in the attic, Buster's hook hand and Tobias attempts to join the Blue Man Group providing some of the seasons best moments, but the show just can't keep hitting Home Runs one after the other, that's not to say that the show ever gets a strike but more like finding second base far to often to be able to achieve the same success as that first season but nevertheless if like me you loved season 1 then you really do have to tune into season 2 because its GREAT!

8/10

Arrested Development Season 3 Complete

Unfortunately the decline in the quality of the show continues into season 3; this time we have to endure complete dead spots in the show with sections including a televised mock trial of the Bluth Company and a themed area known as 'Wee Britian' that just goes to prove 'you never go full retard' - the writers were clearly swinging for new heights to push the boundaries to keep the show fresh, but they completely miss the ball here. On the plus side though everything outside of these low points of the season are still pretty strong providing a good few laugh out loud moments and the show manages to close really strongly that ultimately it's a positive experience but just feels a little short in terms of quality compared to season 2, but it's still got all our favourite family members delivering the comedy we've grown to love and til this point I've probably found Tobias to be the most consistent it terms of timing with the comedy and Maeby arguably becoming more and more less important as the show comes to a close on its initial run here; it certainly felt like a fitting ending and I would have been happy had there never been a season 4 in all honesty. Still this is a recommendation for Season 3, but just be aware that it's not all wonderful in the Bluth families escapades with a few low points but it all comes to fruition in the end with a Big Bang finale that delivers that comedic knock out punch.

7/10

Arrested Development Season 4 (Episodes 1-2)

Going into season 4 straight away without the wait that obviously occurred during the shows initial run, I was aware that the revival hadn't been completed loved upon its return, it's seems that the show had decided to change up its format of storytelling by giving a slightly longer runtime and dedicating sole attention to a single family member for each episode, now it's still early into the show to fully form an opinion on whether or not it was a wise move to bring Arrested Development back after so many years, but at this point I can't remember laughing out loud or even being amused by these first 2 episodes - it feels dead on arrival and if things don't improve soon I worry that this season might actually tarnish my overall opinion on a show that looking at the first 3 season as a collective as being one of the best comedies to come out of American Television, some shows are obviously and criminally cancelled far to early but I've got a sneaking suspicion that maybe Arrested Development isn't one of those shows; might this have been a show that might have been better left alone? Time will tell.

A Week in Netflix: w/c 22/06/15

Anime

Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 3 (Episodes 10-16) Complete

In the matter of only 2 weeks I've managed to complete the entire series of Avatar: The Last Airbender and it has been an absolutely wonderful journey; despite the show slowing down in pace as the third and final season brought us closer to the closing of the series as a whole - the payoff in the last episode (which plays out like a feature length movie by itself - containing 4 parts) made everything that had since past seem all worth the while in waiting; I did take some issue with the jarring and at times jumping of time within narrative as the show brought a heavy reliance on Prince Zuko and making sure that each of the key characters had their own unique and personal moment with him when he finally teams up with the Avatar and the rest of his gang - each of these mini-stories were fantastic with Sokka's episode arguably being the standout one of the lot; it did seem to cause a bit of disruption in terms of the development of the overall story and the journey during these few episodes did start to feel a tad disjointed and bordering on fan service to each individual character of the show; but considering the strength of each individual episode and the glorious finale that soon followed, this issue ends up only really becoming a nitpick within what is otherwise a truly outstanding series. The finale contains a brilliant battle sequence that can stand side by side with the best of the likes of Dragonball Z has to offer and then we come to the fact that you have a side player that starts off the series as the focal 'bad guy' of the show and takes this incredible journey - in my honest opinion the overall character development and the story arc of a personal journey that Prince Zuko takes within the series and most notably in this 3rd season is up there with some of the best, not only within the realms of animation/children's television - but I'd argue that if some of the higher production TV dramas on the biggest networks would be hard pushed to created someone as interesting as Prince Zuko and his overall journey from start to finish. The second half of this 3rd and final season really found a nice balance between the characters of Aang and Prince Zuko; with Zuko providing some of the more emotive scenes that on a number of occasions really strikes a chord, but not taking away too much from the attention of our lead character Aang who struggles right up to the very closing moments of the show to come to terms with what he needs to do to save the earth, whilst not destroying the very image and belief that he has dedicated his life to; Aang's inner turmoil of personal battle, love and religion/beliefs are hard-hitting and are nicely wrapped up with the ending of the show that leaves you feeling you've embarked and completed such a journey with rich storytelling that are comparable to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the storytelling and the characters are that high quality; this really is essential viewing for all Netflix subscribers.

10/10

TV

Sense 8 (Episode 12) Complete

Went into the season finale of Sense 8 with low expectations - as discussed last week, I really didn't see how this show could have turn my opinions around given the nature of the previous 11 episodes and the distinct lack of storytelling whether it being an attempt to be ambiguous or just a case of lazy writing (given this being a Wachowski's production, my guess is with the latter) - the stronger characters of the show still maintained my attention to the screen but the lesser characters again did nothing more than make up the numbers and conveniently come into action where their skills were needed the most. The shows finale felt like a complete rush job to power through to an ending that neither felt like a closer to a complete story or a cliffhanger ending that leaves you wanting more and eagerly anticipating the next season. A show that is more style over substance and what little substance is there, is so bloody damn convenient for apparently no reason at all - Sensate randomly targeting individuals that grow up to become skilled individuals? Purpose driven, how can they hope to predict such a thing? Why do all 8 have such unique sets of skills? Why is there no ordinary character/human being among them? None of these questions are remotely given the time of day over the course of the first season, this is a case of Netflix throwing an unlimited budget at The Wachowski's and saying "do whatever the hell you want" and the result is a complete mess of a show that is narratively non-existent and characters that are unbelievable; everything feels fabricated and while the show has its moments of being entertaining, it just doesn't do enough thematically or story wise to really recommend it to anyone. A lacklustre season finale to a rather lacklustre show.

4/10

Hemlock Grove (Episodes 1-2)

This I will keep very short but nowhere near sweet - I don't know what enticed me to check out Hemlock Grove; maybe it was the title or the description that intrigue me, going in I was hoping for something along the lines of Grimm but more adult in nature and rather graphic; but what I got was a teenage driven, brooding nonsense of terrible acting and a narrative that was totally un-engaging. These two episodes were enough to warn me off the rest of the series, I saw very little to offer moving forward with the show; in a lot of ways it reminded me of my reaction to American Horror Story when I gave that show a try a while back, so I guess if you were a fan of that shambles then you might find something here with Hemlock Grove, but for me this was utter drivel at best. Literally having no idea what the hell was going on come the end of the second episode and then being hit with what starts off begin a rather graphic and gruesome transformation sequence of a werewolf, that has you cringing from the gore ends up making you cringe at the laugh out loud pathetic end product; if you American Horror Story and Twilight had a devil child then I'd imagine that Hemlock Grove would be it. If you have any sense of sanity left in your soul you'll heed my advice and give this show a bloody wide berth. Avoid Avoid Avoid like the damn plague.

No rating required.

Arrested Development Season 1 (Episodes 1-20) 

Got to admit that going into this show my expectations were very low, as for years now for a reason that either never existed or I've plainly forgotten - I had convinced myself that I would absolutely hate Arrested Development and had it not been for my Netflix subscription I probably would never have given the show the time of day and for that very reason I'm starting to see my decision to sign up to Netflix as being one hell of a decision and one of the best I'll probably make all year, because damn this show is fucking hilarious. What a great ensemble cast the show has to offer, I can't pick a favourite at this moment in time and I couldn't even pick a least favourite; and while I'll say that the show isn't always laugh out loud funny - but given I'm 20 episodes into this show and I can't remember a joke that the show made that wasn't funny, it's pretty much been Home Run after Home Run in terms of the comedy. Outside of Friends, I'm not really a big fan of American comedy shows, but Arrested Development is certainly something wonderful and if you're like me and have never seen the show, or more so like me and told yourself you wouldn't be a fan of it. I urge you to reconsider and put this on your Netflix queue right now to watch as soon as possible. I thought I had a good set of friends but now I'm starting to question this - how could they not tell me about this show and berate me into submission to delve into the series. On the down side and it's not much of a bad thing just a viewing consumption method - I have managed to cram 20 episodes into little more than 2 days and at times I do feel like the show and its effectiveness has suffered due to this, so maybe its a show that shouldn't be rushed through but rather watched casually and let the quality of the comedic writing work its magic.

A Week in Netflix: w/c 15/06/15

Anime

Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 (Episodes 1-18) Complete

I think the fact that I've yet again watch an entire season of Avatar this week and as you'll read later in the blog (even started to work my way through the final season) that this show is so bloody addictive and such an easy watch and still manages to carry some gravitas in terms of story and characters. I think that instead of talking about or reviewing the second season I'll rather just make a comparison to the first season; as lets be honest if you were a fan of season 1 then you're on board and if you didn't enjoy that first season what could I possibly say to sway you to revisit the second season? Overall the second season of Avatar has pretty much been at the same level as season 1 in terms of quality and enjoyment - and while the Earth Nation hasn't been able to deliver the same intrigue levels as compared to what the first season and the Water Nation had to offer; where this season has improved is in the development of the background and character building of the shows 'bad guys' for lack of a better term - with Prince Zuko and his uncle former a much larger portion of screen time here and a deeper look into their characters and the paths that have brought them to their current situation; there are times that we can really connect with their motivations and seemingly at times don't come across as the evil of the show but rather the victims that have lead them astray; now that's not to say that the pair don't become the focal point at times for Aang and his band in the second season, but it's not a case of us wanting to see Zuko fail because he is the villain, because you do feel for him with his failures and with a number of scenes between him and his uncle providing some of the better emotional pulls that the show has to offer up in this season. Looking back this season has it's positives and negatives when compared to the first season but they all pretty much balance out against each other for me to say that the second is just as strong as the first season and if you were a fan of that first season you really owe it to yourself to get straight into this season of Avatar: The Last Airbender as it is truly a wonderful piece and animated storytelling that is up there with the best shows available on Netflix. Highly recommended as essential viewing.

9/10

Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 3 (Episodes 1-9)

Straight off the bat of the Season 2 finale, I couldn't help but jump straight into season 3 of Avatar: The Last Airbender and this week I've pretty much managed to plough my way through the first half of the third and final season of the show; now it's still early days to start drawing comparisons to the first 2 seasons and knowing that this is obviously the final chapter in the overall story of the series, it's not surprising to be mentioning that the show has become more noticeably drawn out with build up towards  what I'm imaging will be an epic finale of the battle against the Fire Nation with Aang and his merry group of followers/believers. Part of this noticeable change of pacing and development has come from the fact that the show has become more level in it's screen time to play out a stronger role of Prince Zuko when combatting against Aang's story and ultimate goal - to be fair this was always going to happen, you could see that even very earlier on in the series back in the early days of season one that Prince Zuko was going to be the key player in the battle that Avatar Aang faces and with the show still not begin shy of the odd 'filler' episode, overall this season to this point has felt a lot slower in it's story development and in terms of distance and ground travelled as the season has gone on; not to say that the  show has lost any of it's charm or enjoyment factor, but it's certainly been a different kettle of fish in structure of the story and lack of new characters, where instead we have lots of returning characters returning to the fold with some feeling like that haven't been that long away. At this point in time I'd probably say that the show hasn't been as good as those first two seasons, but in saying that - if the second half of this season and more importantly the series finale can deliver something that makes great use and explains the slower build up in this first half of the show, then there is potential for which I could turn around and say that the show goes out with a bang and it could end up being the highlight season of the series as a whole - but at this moment in time the jury is out and I'm still on the bench in terms of my feelings towards the finale season; though its a 'good quality' bench with a wonderful view to be sat on.

TV

Sense 8 (Episodes 4-11)

Last week I mentioned about my concerns over the quality of storytelling with this show or better put the lack of storytelling that Sense 8 had to offer in those first 3 episodes and to be quite honest, despite the fact that the show did seem to spend a little more time and effort to reveal some of it's background and over arching story since episode 7, it really hasn't been good enough for me to say that I'm invested into not only the story of the show, but also the characters. Far far too much of the time of the show is just centred around a couple with the Sensate group and their stronger bonds that grow as the show progresses forward as this big events become a force that pushes together the group to share their experiences and exploit each others talents to help save themselves from the predicament of the week that Sense 8 seems to have become at this point. And unfortunately the quality of characters across the board is certainly not as strong as each other, some of them are interesting and enjoyable to watch, but on the other hand some of the characters I find to be truly dull, it's not even a case of hating them per-se; but rather they are so boring that I couldn't give a rat's arse what their situation is, I just want the show to skip it and get back to the more interesting characters within the group. Sense 8 has become a show that I had really easy just to sit back and relax and watch, that at times will be really engaging and at other times I will find myself zoning out, waiting for something exciting or gripping to happen to pull me back in. With only the finale of the show now left to watch, I think I can say with a degree of confidence that I will not look back at this show with any affection or admiration; instead I fear that this will be a show that I look back upon that had so much potential, yet ended up feeling like a complete mess that lacked any true sense of narrative and backbone and essential being an overpriced wafer thin project that has been mismanaged - much like the careers of The Wachowski's post The Matrix, one could argue they seem to be this generations George Lucas.

A Week in Netflix: w/c 08/06/15

Anime

Knights of Sidonia (Episodes 6-12) Complete

I'm not sure that I can really add anything more to my thoughts on this series after finishing off the first season the week - all the negatives and the positives of the show have pretty much stayed par for the course in the second half of the season. It is a very easy show to watch in large chunks but it all seems very too much style over substance, I mean it's all fluff that while might look great it's never enough to truly satisfy your needs. I was never really pulled into the world of Sidonia and therefore there was no weight to the story or the character arcs; I just wasn't invested at any point during the show, not to say that I was ever bored really, but it seems quite telling that a show that seems so light on meaning and a well crafted story, spent a lot of time repeating itself in the opening scenes of each episode. Knights of Sidonia is hardly offensive but that's really not the greatest of compliments and to be honest with such a rich choice of anime at your fingertips on Netflix - I can't say that this would be anywhere near the top of my list of anime recommendations, while it might appeal more to a different audience, for me this was a show that tame swings and hopes for the best.

5/10

Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 1 (Episodes 1-20) Complete

Well well well, whilst not strictly Anime per-se being as this is an American created family friendly animated TV series that first and foremost is aimed towards the younger generation; but being a fan of Dragonball Z and more appropriately with regards to American animation - Star Wars: The Clone Wars, I thought that it was about time that I'd check out Avatar: The Last Airbender and while some of you might have already guessed by the fact that I've managed to steamroll my way through the entire 20 episode first series - I absolutely loved this show. It was so wonderful to see an animated show that is obviously heavily influenced by Japanese anime, but has also spent a lot of time within the writing room to create such a well thought out story with well rounded characters that develop as the series goes along at such a brisk pace yet never ever feeling a sense that their rushing towards the end. This first series has been a joy to watch and with the combination of mythical use of the four elements with martial arts that creates some really impressive action set pieces and some creative single combat choreography. In many ways I feel like Avatar and Ang as a character in the show share many traits from Dragonall and Goku, but never in the sense that this feels like a knock off - but more thematically and in the sense the whilst the show is essentially for children it also has such a well crafted story that tackle a number of issues that the show is actually fun for the whole family and given that I'm now a 30 year old adult watching this show for the first time and get that same feeling that I got when I used to watch Dragonball Z as a kid growing up - it's a sign that an animated show can still appeal to us as adults and not purely based on a sense of nostalgia of our youth; If you are a fan of anime or animation in general or if you have kids of any age - then I can strong recommend that you check out this show as it is well and truly and wonderful show and I'm so excited to now work my way through the next 2 seasons.

9/10

TV

Sense 8 (Episodes 1-3)

From the minds of the Wachowski's (The Matrix) comes a new Netflix original series based centrally around the idea that there are 8 people out there in the world that are able to share their thoughts, visions, feelings and experiences with each other - somehow all connected through this birthing sequence from a mystery woman that we are exposed to in the very opening of the show. Having only seen the first 3 episodes it really is still very early days to judge the show; yes there is certainly potential here, but at this moment in time the show just feels like its being clever for the sake of showboating a visual style and editing together sequences from across the world into one complete amalgamation of the bizarre to the erotic. Colour me unimpressed as of today, but I'm more than willing to give this show some time, there's has been basically next to no storytelling done at this point with regards to the explanation of the powers that these 8 individuals have and the purpose behind them, but then again given this is a show on Netflix maybe this is a chance for the Wachowski's to clearly develop something over a longer format that will actually add up to something substantial of which I'm not sure they've been able to achieve since The Matrix. Although the whole transgender - bisexual/gay/lesbian angle in the show does feel rather hamfistedly rammed into our faces and all too personal with regards to one half of the Wachowski siblings - hopefully this part of the show will blend better as the show goes on and doesn't feel preachy as it does at this moment in time - or at least to me anyways.

Daredevil (Episode 13) Complete

Oh my what a week that it was to endure, having to wait so so long to finally catch up with the season finale to Daredevil - was it worth it in the end? Well yes and no - as a standalone episode itself, it was just as fantastic as the rest of the series has been to date, but then again it didn't really have that cliffhanger type of ending that leaves you eager for more and laying in wait for that second season to come out - instead the finale feels like it was written under uncertain terms of whether or not that a second season was going to be green lit - we had moments shared between our key players in which we have well rounded closers that could act as a way of putting a lid on a chapter of their lives incase we don't get the opportunity to come back to the world of Hell's Kitchen. On a whole though this show has be nothing less that hard-hitting, no punches pulled dark drama that in much the way that The Dark Knight did for comic book movies - Daredevil has managed to do the same for the genre on the smaller screen; it has set a new benchmark that future shows really have to live up to and it's rather humorous to think that the dark gritty stuff is coming from Marvel and not DC considering the direction we have seen on the big screen from Hollywood in recent years. This show is without doubt a recommendation to all - even if you aren't a comic book fan I would still wholeheartedly say that Daredevil is a must see for all - it's well crafted and the world and everything on the show feels grounded in a reality that you can really buy into and not feel like you are being subjected to some pulled straight off a comic book spread. And if nothing else you get to see Private Pyle (Full Metal Jacket) become all kinds of crazy again.

9/10

A Week in Netflix: w/c 01/06/15

Amateur porn, Iranian divorces both home and abroad, an Anime warning and many more and all in a week of Netflix; much has been seen, how much needs to be said is what follows, but overall I'd say it's been a very good week of streaming both in terms of quality and quantity, but enough with the prelude lets rock and roll and talk about everything that I've consumed this week on Netflix.

Film

A Separation

A film that I had been meaning to catch up with following all the Awards season buzz and success that surrounded this Iranian film, I finally managed to see what all the fuss was about and it's clear to see why it had been so successful on those fronts - the setting of an Iranian family home and depicting the legal system of Iran in terms of a domestic issue as well as tackling a couples divorce, subject matter alone this appeals to the Academy crowd, not just this alone though; as the film does showcase some truly outstanding performances across the board (except with maybe one of the younger actors) and it certainly delivers on the drama, but I did end up seeing this film over 2 days and even then at times it felt like a slog. I did feel that the film dropped the ball in the way they handled the child's story within this piece; given the affect of a divorce would play most heavily on the daughter, the script and direction just didn't do enough to hit a home run. You could argue the film to be tedious and you could argue the film to be compelling, its certainly an organic film with natural performances that's heavy on drama and not much else; not a film I'd recommend to everyone, but rather suggest watching the trailer first and if you like a steady slow paced drama then A Separation might just be a film for you.

7/10

The Past

Just by coincidence this week also I manage to pick out a film at random from the same director of A Separation; again it's dramatic, it all revolves around a divorce within a family this time outside of Iran and in France. More contrasting dynamics and while the director has clearly learned from his mistakes with handling the characters most affected from these terrible ordeals, I can't really argue that this is an improvement on A Separation. The drama works and its well acted but it you can't get away from that repetitive feeling that we've seen this all before; you can do it twice, but not again; this director has potential but he really needs to deliver something different next time around or be seen as a one trick pony with nothing more to offer than the same experience with a different skin. I'd probably recommend checking out A Separation first over The Past and if you really end up enjoying A Separation very much then and only then would I recommend catching up with this film, if on the other hand you are only mildly warm to the film as I was, then I'd say that you can quite easily give The Past a miss unless you're really short of films to watch.

6/10

Documentary

Hot Girls Wanted

This recent documentary had seemed to be hitting me in the face via Social Media in the past few weeks and given that the film played at Sundance Film Festival and offered a peek into little explored world of amateur porn and the young girls that find themselves drawn into at the prospect of money and  escapism. What should really be a very interesting and revealing film on this subject matter is nothing more than a lazy and surface level look at amateur porn and the lives of some of the young girls that seem to flood into the business to escape their ordinary family lives. Much of what I took out of this film came from me looking outside of the parameters that the filmmakers had caged themselves into; while the camera is caught up with the mundane and dull aspects of the films agenda going in, there are some elements that can be taken away from this experience if you look really hard and away from the direction this documentary lead us down. Its dull and boring and given the subject matter that is a huge crime to commit; this is nothing more than festival bait and given it's screening at Sundance - it can be deemed a success at achieving it's goal, but looking at the documentary as a whole and its effectiveness - What was its purpose? What is the point/outcome? - Did it make me feel dirty? Yes, but ultimately did the film make me care? No. Quite simply I recommend ignoring this film completely.

3/10

Virunga

The democratic republic of Congo - Virunga where a national park is protected by its own task force, some of which were drafted into the national army straight out of school; It's The Killing Fields meets The Cove, where the wartime photographer is a wildlife documentary filmmaker and the dolphins are gorillas instead. A documentary that is so wonderfully edited together that there are numerous moments in the film where the tension is brought up to extremely high levels, at times you really feel like you're in their with the filmmaker within such a dangerous world of rebels fighting against the government, and whilst this is all going on an Oil company has bought land that puts the National Parks very existence under threat - through politics and civil unrest. With some truly breathtaking photography and some truly heartfelt stories told on screen, its really hard not to love this film, and while I must admit that I'm a sucker for documentaries that showcase the wonders of the natural world and animals for who we share this planet with; outside of that I really feel that this is something special; portraying both the best and worst sides of humanity the film really strikes a chord and on more than one occasion had me welled up with emotion and not only at the sad scenes but also with the love shown between man and gorilla. If you like documentaries then this is an absolute must.

10/10

Anime

Psycho-Pass - (Episodes 19-22) Complete

Well this week saw me come to the very end with Psycho-Pass and I'm happy to report that the series really did nail the ending; truth be told watch the last 4 episodes back-to-back actually felt like a film; pretty much the finale plays out over this last few episodes and doesn't veer from the course both with the characters and the storyline. To the series credit there were a number of surprises and some edge of your seat action moments that gave the series the pay off that it deserved and made all the ups and downs of some of the earlier episodes feel unimportant. Of recent Anime series this has been one of the better ones and while I don't think it is up to the same level as Stein;s Gate - Psycho-Pass is a must see for Anime fans, it certainly not a show that is easy to get into and it does have some problems but overall it manages to overcome this issue and by the time the credits roll, those issues won't even matter - I just hope that a second season follows as the ending leaves you wanting more in the best possible way and the world itself has so so much more to offer us.

8/10

Tokyo Ghoul (Episodes 1-3)

And here comes the Anime warning that I hinted at at the top of this post - as I was informed via Facebook through my activity post that this series has been heavily censored on Netflix and there are some serious issues with the subtitling for this show (all of which came from a friend who I would call an Anime junkie/guru and a reliable source on all things Japanese from Manga to Anime) - now I can't really judge the show going on these first three episodes and knowing about these issues know kind of explains the issues that I had been having with the show; as it came across as a show where the gore seemed more important that story and characters - whereas from what I hear the Manga from which the show is based is highly regarded in terms of story/character development. Stylistically it looks great, but for me it's Dead on Arrival in its current state on Netflix; I personally don't want to waste my time on a show that I now know has been butchered and messed around with in translation; but the fact that its a suspenseful horror adult Anime makes it a show that I really want to catch up with later down the line, just in its full glory and not what is being offered on Netflix. I recommend seeking this show out when its available uncut and in its true form, but really avoid this version on Netflix; as really - why bother with something that has the potential to be great if you know it's been so heavily censored and adjusted?

Knights of Sidonia (Episodes 1-5)

This Netflix original anime series is a little be more different in terms of artistic style than I would normally prefer, with its heavy CGI visuals that do at times really spectacular but don't naturally appeal to my personal taste and that's pretty much translates into my feelings for the show so far. From the opening credits that can be best described as a Eurovision style adaptation of an anime introduction, its catching it's poppy and ridiculously rhythmic and what follows is a super race into the meat and potatoes of the story line and after only the first two episodes, I felt a little lost within the world of Sidonia and even after the first 5 episodes - it's only really the action set pieces that really standout as being truly enjoyable as the characters and the world building along with the character development seems to have been left unattended to at the side of the road. Knights of Sidonia feels like Starship Troopers but as Pacific Rim in space without the social commentary - so much more like Pacific Rim than Starship Troopers, and while I love Pacific Rim - all the negatives that I overlook within that film, I just can't do for Knights of Sidonia. Not to be overly negative on the show, as it is genuinely pretty on the eye and enjoyable to watch, but at this moment in time, I'm really not invested into either the characters, the world or the overall storyline; I'll stick with the show as it's something that could definitely be resolved as the series develops and the further the story develops, but at this moment in time, I can't really say that this is a recommendation without any reservations. Oh and not forgetting the bizarre use of Fan Service in this show is rather odd and most of the time does feel rather out of place by quite some way.

TV

Daredevil (Episodes 7-12)

This show just seems to get better and better with every episodes; and since that slight issue that I had with the episode that had some rather cheap and cheerful moments that dealt with Daredevil's love interest within the series, the show has slipped back into that shit since and has dealt with their relationship in this episodes far more fitting to the tone of the rest of the show. It's been nice to see that the show hasn't been afraid to jump back in time and show us the back story of Matt Murdock including both his childhood after the accident that blinded him and the origins of his friendship with Foggy - the latter has proved to be some of the better stuff the show has to offer as we now have a greater insight into their friendship and it has really made the conflicts between the two in the later episodes certainly carry some extra gravitas. There has been some rather unexpected turns and twists with a number of characters and the direction of the storyline itself and not a single twist or shock hasn't felt natural and organic within the world of Hell's Kitchen. It was so difficult not to finish off the series this week and to just leave that season finale waiting on Netflix for when I next get the chance to tune in to see how this first season all wraps up, but I have every confidence that this show is going to go out with a bang and will end up being one of the highlights of TV in the year of 2015 for me. I'm eager to hear the news about Season 2 and when we can expect to see that appear on Netflix as this show certainly has the quality and definitely has the legs to warrant at least 2 more season, if not more.

A Week in Netflix - W/C 25th May

Film

Heathers

A late 80's comedy starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater; a film for which I wasn't aware of until listening to a couple of my favourite podcasts where this film was being brought up of a 'classic' of its era, so obviously when I came across it on Netflix it was added to my 'Watch List'. And earlier this week I sat down to see what all the fuss was about, unfortunately even going into the film being aware that this wasn't your typical 80's high school teen, coming of age comedy in the vein of the films of John Hughes; the film itself still felt rather jarring and confused as to what it was actually trying to achieve - I get the feeling that the director was attempting to take that John Hughes template and incorporate a dark comedic angle that was awkwardly funny, yet disturbing. But in my opinion Heathers just doesn't manage to gel these two angles together effectively, it has some funny moments and quotable lines - that I won't argue, but viewed as an entire entity the film just fell rather flat; surprisingly Winona Ryder is rather charming in the lead role and a character I did end up caring for, but Christian Slater even back then was still pretty horribly forceful that just doesn't come off well on screen and his appearance here does kind of cheapen the feel of the entire film. Sad to say that this isn't going into my vault of classic American comedies from the 80's, instead this will be shelved on the bizarre yet interesting category that swings and misses the ball. Its a miss but a near miss.

4/10

Anime

Psycho-Pass (Episodes 13-18)

Happy to report that it seems that in the main body of this series storyline that the show has found some really rhythm building up towards the season finale. Intrigue levels have been ramped up in the last few episodes though it's clear to see that the show is going to have a feeling of containing multiple endings; now that's not something that is clean cut in the sense of either good or bad, I won't know or be able to judge until I've seen the whole storyline play out at this point; but I've certainly grown more attached to the main characters of the show an feel that the world building within this anime is really pushing forward; it's been compelling stuff and going into the last few episodes - my question is "can the show stick the ending?" The jury is still out, but even at this point, I'm confident enough to recommend this show to fans of Anime - though maybe not to those looking to take their first steps into the world of Japanese animation.

TV

Daredevil (Episodes 3-6)

After watching the first two episodes I said that this show wasn't shy on holding back on the violence; and boy has it continued down that approach to handling the violence within the realms on organised crime of Hell's Kitchen and our masked vigilante as he tries to uncover the 'Man' behind the curtain, who seems to be singlehandedly ripping the soul out of his city. It's dark and gripping and handled in a very adult manner that doesn't treat us like idiots or fall into the lighthearted feeling of the majority of Marvel's other media lines to hit both the big and small screens. All in all, I have to say that I'm loving this show, it's more adult and has more substance than the likes of Arrow, The Flash and Gotham; and while I do love all of those shows, Daredevil just feels like it's a cut above them and setting the new standard for which future Comic Book orientated shows should really be aiming for. There's been one moment of weakest, that unfortunately creeps into Matt Murdock's love interest within the show, but its over in a flash and back to being - dark, gritty and compelling. Outside of Game of Thrones, this is arguably the show that I most look forward to catching up with and if that's not high praise or a strong recommendation for this show, then I don't know what is.