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.

2015 Film Challenge

Last year I managed to watch 99 new releases of that year; the list of these films can be found here and just for the sake of a good laugh and in jest of David Fincher and my disdain for his direction since Zodiac, the title of this list is 'Films of 2014: I watched 99 films and Gone Girl ain’t 1' - since making this list, I have actually sat down with Fincher's Gone Girl and was left feeling nothing but hatred of yet another travesty from a director for who I once loved; but not to get caught up with negativity around my thoughts on Fincher as a director, at the start of this year I challenged myself to surpass last years efforts of seeing 99 new releases in the year of 2015. I'm keeping track on my watch-list for this year on my Letterboxd account which can be found here 

Admittedly and to my concern at this point in time, I'm really flagging behind in my challenge - as you can see from the list on Letterboxd I've only managed to find the time to catch up with 8 films of 2015 (UK releases & Festival Films) and June is fast approaching - I'm hoping that if I can find the time and the finances to make another trip to Film4's FrightFest Film Festival in London later this year, I can start to bulk up the list rapidly and as I always try at the end of each year to cram a number of films in a short space of time as I catch up with films that I missed at the cinema from earlier in the year, the aim is to at least make the 100 mark and maybe push on further; it's all just good fun and essentially pointless but if I keep you all posted on each film I see on here it might drive me to not only write and update the blog more frequently and check out more films in the meantime.

Below I will just give a summary of the films I've seen to date, not in any great detail but short text of thoughts and ratings out of 10 just for good fun and for you all to see how the year 2015 has treated me in terms of films and the experiences of consuming them.

Films of 2015 (in chronological order of my viewing)

Enemy 3/10: A mind-bending thriller that left me frustrated and annoyed and with a vile colour pallete that was too bloody yellow; that ending though? WTF? shocking yes, but nothing more than a jump scare.

Predestination 7/10: A low key Science Fiction film that has an interesting conception and makes the most of it which the parameters of the genre, maybe just lacking some gravitas to make turn it from a very good film into a great one.

Force Majeure 6/10: A film that had my expectation levels set pretty high and given I expected something more grandiose in nature, there really just wasn't enough here to make an lasting impact, it all felt rather confused in its direction and nature.

Whiplash 9/10: A brutal and powerful film that hits all the right beats and in J.K. Simmons has surely one of the truly outstanding performances of the year and Miles Teller holds his own to give credit where its due. Not a fan of Jazz or Drumming per-se but couldn't help but grow to love the music and the passion on show here.

John Wick 7/10: Many had said this was a return to form for Keanu Reeves and while I'd say he's perfectly okay here, you can't help but feel he is mis-cast in this role. Wonderful action film with well crafted and editing action set pieces if not let-down by a repetitive score. And who doesn't enjoy a good revenge flick?

A Most Violent Year 6/10: A most enjoyable film, but apart from the brilliance of Oscar Isaac in the leading role, everything around him just feels like a collaborative near-miss; a film that should have been great is nothing more than a subdue dramatic affair that suffers from a rather bland ineffective script, enjoyable in the moment but not a film with legs to stand the test of time and repeat viewings.

Avengers: Age of Ultron 4/10: A sequel that should have aimed to surpass the original on all fronts, instead I was left waiting to be entertained; the action scenes were just a blur and characters like Thor were given next to nothing to do. Caught up in it's childish humour, Joss Whedon forgot to tell a story and forgot to entertain us in the process. Lacklustre. Oh and Hulk/Black Widow - utter bullshit.

Mad Max: Fury Road 8/10: For as much as I was blown away in the moment by all the batshit crazy action sequences in this film, I was equally just as disappointed. It's not a Mad Max film and it's non-stop action to the detriment to the overall experience - I didn't care for the story or the characters so the film carried no weight and outside of the trailer scenes the rest has become a blur. Yes there is such a thing as 'too much of a good thing'

Well that sums up my film experience of 2015 so far to date; now I really need to play catch up if I'm ever going to get close to last years total, let alone surpass it, but where there's a will, there is a way.

A Week in Netflix: The Beginning - A round up of the my first month's free trial

Just a quick post here to wrap up and review my first month's free trial with Netflix; now given that I'm very aware and afraid of my limited amount of free time and the trials and failures of my past efforts to get the blog up and running, this first in my 'A Week in Netflix' series of posts shall be kept pretty short and sweet and just sharing the key thought points and opinions of my watch-list during this period - I'm hoping that with the weekly blog posts in this series will eventually become a bit more involved and delve deeper and contain a stronger body of text to review each item whether it's a film, TV show or anime, but just to ease us all into the CursedFilm's weekly blog here's just some quick thoughts on my Netflix experience to date.

Film

Dallas Buyers Club

There's always a worry that with films that seem to come out of nowhere and are tracking some serious hype both critically and on Social Media, the hype machine can and has done on many occasions raise the expectations so high that if you're late to the party you end up being a little let down when a film can't meet those hefty heights. Although Dallas Buyers Club does have some issues with pacing and an overall feeling of being a bloated dramatic piece, the film has two outstanding central performances from Matthew McCounaghey and Jared Leto that has taken their careers to a new high, the handling and depiction of the fear of AIDS in 80's America feels fresh; a film that left a very strong impression and while it might not be a film that a revisit many times - it's certainly a well crafted emotional drama that packs a punch.

8/10

The Tall Man

The director of Martyrs takes aim at American Hollywood film-making and despite Hollywood Horror tropes, of which there are plenty to be seen in The Tall Man; there are enough fresh ideas here to make the film stand out from the crowd, which is helped further by a really strong central performance from Jessica Biel who really won me over here. A film that might just have one twist too many and a film that arguably asks you a difficult moral question that really does strike a chord against your moral compass. Its certainly not to same standard level of Martyrs. Not something that I'd recommend to everyone, but if you're a horror fan then this is certainly a film worth checking out; though if you've not seen the director's previous film Martyrs, you should seek that out immediately.

7/10

Filth

Thank god that I had subtitles on here as the Scottish accents are thick and frequently expressions that didn't quite click with me were easily understood with the help of the subtitles; as for the film itself; Filth is excessive absurd and crude and flirts with the borders of going just too far, but it never really seemed to go past the point of no return; at times the film had me in stitches of laugh out loud crass humour that made the film such a joy ride and the film delivers a fitting ending that I thought really justified the antics portrayed earlier in the film. There's also a stand out relationship/friendship within the film that we can all relate to in years gone past, though it's depicted in the extreme here, but boy is it the highlight of the entire film.

8/10

Network

A TV network that cynically exploits a quite clearly troubled employee for ratings that evolve the rantings and ravings of media consumption of the population of America for their own profit; why oh' why has it taken me so long to see this highly regarded 70's Sidney Lumet film - a wonderful cast with flawless performances across the board. All I'll say here is that it's known as a 'classic' for a reason and if you've not seen this film yet, do yourself a favour and seek it out immediately, a great example of the master-class of 70's America Cinema that holds up even today almost 40 years later.

9/10

Safety Not Guaranteed

A romantic comedy that blends in with the science fiction genre; quite simply put I adore this film, I love this film; it's the complete package with a heart felt story. A wonderfully crafted script with characters that you really care for, for it's genre this feels like a modern day masterpiece that has given me new hope for the upcoming Jurassic World film. Flat out I recommend this film to everyone, the less you know the better, don't even bother with the trailer just jump in and enjoy its beautiful nature and excellent storytelling, not a bad reaction for someone who categorically hate romantic comedies.

10/10

Fruitvale Station

A true story of Oscar, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who was shot dead unlawfully at Fruitvale Station in 2008; the film portrays the last day of this young man's life with his family, friends and even his enemies. It kicks off with some real footage captured on the day from bystanders and later the depiction of these scenes looks and feels very close to that footage. Unfortunately the film feels very amateur with generic raw performances that are poorly directed and with an skewed and contrived vision that leaves a bad taste in your mouth. It passes the time well enough but it all feels rather cynical and narrow minded - the police are evil view point couldn't be more ham-fisted than it is here.

4/10

Dirty Pretty Things

A thriller starring a pre-12 Years a Slave Chiwetel Ejiofor and a post-Amelie Audrey Tautou; a tale of two immigrants just trying to make a living in London; a 2002 film that feels so very 90's, the two stars give excellent performances but for a film that had such huge potentially thematically and cinematic-ally but the film just ends up being just far too simple for its own good. I kind of get the feeling this would have made a better BBC short series where we could explore this world deeper and get to build up the relationship and characters to a higher standard, raising the stakes of the piece greatly. A film that I could recommend just on the performances alone but not something that will leave a lasting impression or something that I personally will ever feel the need to revisit.

6/10

The Frozen Ground

Nic Cage delivers a surprisingly strong performance here, not in the sense of it's OTT Rage Cage where it's fun to watch because he's going off the deep end, but a genuinely good solid performance - he feels organic to the role of the lead detective in this crime thriller. While the film itself isn't bad, it doesn't do enough to surprise you and the script could have been better developed. Overall it's a good solid thriller, but there's just not enough here to say that the film stands out from the crowd as some either wonderful or unique; but at least its good evidence that Nic Cage does have some genuine acting skills. But if you are looking for a crime thriller starring Nicolas Cage then I'd recommend you seek out Werner Herzog's The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans.

6/10

We Are the Best!

Three Swedish misfit teens form a relationship and bound over punk music to let out their true feelings; We Are the Best seemed to have something of a reputation as being one of the stand out pieces of European Cinema in the last few years; yet I must admit that the film left me very cold and unimpressed. For me it failed as a comedy and it failed at a coming of age story, I was never really sold on the relationship between the 3 girls here and it all fell a little flat, its passable script plods along with no high or low points and drifts towards its finale at a constant steady pace; harmless yet inadequate film that just doesn't offer enough to warrant a reputation.

4/10

Anime

Attack on Titan

For a series that's core story revolves around Titans and the battle for the human race that is on the brink of extinction, I was hoping for something that carried a bit more weight and offered some action set pieces that would blow my socks off. The series seemed to get off to a rather slow pace where I only really got pulled in after 7 or 8 episodes in. I love the art style that's on show here and the characters are well developed as the story progresses but overall I just felt like the show had too many up and down moments that really prevents this series from getting into 5th gear on a regular basis. By the end of the show I did really enjoy the series as a whole and the finale did leave me wanting more and will certainly keep an eye out for the inevitable season 2, I just hope that the show can deliver more 'Wow' moments than it did in this opening season.

7/10

Psycho-Pass (Episodes 1-12)

On my current mission to catch up with all things Anime, I've now worked my way onto Pyscho-Pass as my next little project, initially my reaction to this show was rather cold and mentioned to a friend that I felt that the show was hard to get into, but then episode 4 happened and at which point I said 'I'm all in' with this show now, since that episode though I do feel that it's been a bit of a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs in terms of quality and intrigue. What on the surface seems like Minority Report with a Japanese anime twist, has clearly developed into something far deeper within a wonderfully crafted well thought out world that is always bring up interesting ideas if not always fully exploited to the best of their potential in each episode. In a world where the police are able to take out suspects on their criminal intent levels alone and are helped by enforcers; who themselves carry a latent criminal intent level that they Sybil system deems too high to be acted against, the world has such great potential to grow as does the show itself, at the moment I have mixed feelings at this point, but I still have hopes that I'll be fully on-board come the season finale.

TV

Top of the Lake

Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men) stars in this crime drama mini-series that's based in New Zealand and main story centres around the disappearance of a pregnant 12 year old girl named Tui. Detective Robin Griffin who specialises with young people initially finds herself drawn to the case, as she tries to uncover a possible case of rape of this seemingly poor young teenage girl, but she is soon caught up with this small-towns deepest and darkest secrets that she struggles to unravel. Overall I'd highly recommend this show and while it would seem difficult to point out any glaring issues with the show in terms of quality, if you were going to point out any weaknesses on show here, it would be with the main story and the mystery itself, as it does seem to get lost at time amongst all the other secrets that we uncover with Robin. But the series is a fine example of character development and a well crafted script that the issue of the main plot point isn't really an issue, with such fantastically interesting characters and back-stories it's hard to not love this show. The finale takes a dark twist and for me I was left with a few unanswered questions but in the best kind of way where it provides some thought-provoking inner questions rather than frustrations - I highly recommend this show to anyone. 

8/10

Daredevil (Episodes 1-2)

Very late to the Daredevil party here, but I was keen to catch up with the Netflix Original show and even more keen to attempt to wash away the memory of the god awful Daredevil film starring BatFleck. While Charlie Cox does kind of look similar to a young Ben Affleck, he instantly takes grab of the role with both hands and makes it his own; it's still very early doors but after two episodes its clear to see that this show feels very grounded in the world that it has created. The much talked about fight scene in episode 2 that is unfairly being compared to the fight scene from Oldboy; it's clearly not a patch on that corridor scene, but in terms of television, it's a stand out moment that gets the blood pumping. I'm keen to catch up with the series as fast as possible now, as already the show has got me caring about a character that I originally didn't particularly care for and hadn't read any of the Daredevil comics and was further more made no interesting following that disaster of a movie, but I'm now fully on-board and would say already a fan of Daredevil.