DoctorWho: Flatline – My Little Review Type Thing (Possible Spoilers)

After the excellent run that Doctor Who has been on recently, I admit to being slightly worried that it couldn’t carry on.  I sat down to watch Flatline on Sunday after recording it on BBC One and was immediately hooked from the start.

From a shrinking Tardis, the Tardis going into siege mode (new and really liked that), Clara being “The Doctor” for an episode, fantastic special effects (in particular The Boneless) and, again, top performances for the lead, especially Jenna Coleman as she is the main focus in this Doctor-lite (not too much) episode.

The picture below shows one of my favourite moments of the series.

Again, there are some great guest appearances, my favourite being Jovian Wade as graffiti artist Rigsy and the extremely mean and nasty Fenton, played by Christopher Fairbank.  There’s also the appearance of “Missy” who is watching Clara on her iPad of all things.  Really looking forward to seeing where this is going.

This is a really good episode, keeps the excellent run going for this series and is something that I hope carries on as we get towards the series end.  I really loved how Clara took on the role of The Doctor, seeing what it’s like to be him and understanding, you would hope, how he is how he is.

Top stuff and can’t wait until the next episode.

Cheers for reading!!

Disclaimer: As I always say, not great at this thing but like to give an idea of what I enjoy.

 

#DoctorWho: Mummy On The Orient Express (Short Review my in SPOLIERS)

Doctor Who: Mummy On The Orient Express.

As soon as I saw the trailer for this episode I was very excited. I am a bit if a fan of some of the old horrors so to see The Mummy, the Orient Express (great look by the way, every detail just excellent) and it’s all set in space. What more could you ask for?  And the costumes? Awesome in every detail.

From the start I was hooked, the story set up nicely straight away and the 66 seconds to live addition was a stroke of genius, showing us the upcoming death in real time!

The effects were great and the guy playing the mummy certainly made him something to be scared without being too horrific.

Again, Peter Capaldi was on top for, as was Jenna Coleman; top performances.  The guest stars were also on top for, particularly Frank Skinner who, despite initial concerns before the show, was really very good, even having the chance of becoming a companion.

A couple of standout parts for me were the offering of jelly babies in the cigarette case and the “Are You My Mummy?” like from The Doctor after he changes things to have the mummy go for him rather than one of its actual victims.

For me, this series of Doctor Who is going from strength to strength and turning into a super season.

Roll on the next episode.

Cheers………..

#Marvel #AgentsOfShield Season 1 – Mini Review

Ok, so I’m a but behind on my tv watching (a rather hectic home life contributing to this) but I thought it time to try and get some done. So, as I’m a comic book fan I thought it only right that I get Marvel, Agents Of Shield watched and, luckily, found it on demand and downloaded the episodes.

Started watching and, I’ll be honest, I was slightly underwhelmed with how it started and early episodes, despite having their good points, had a few too many low ones! All of a sudden, BAM, the series really kicked into gear and the second half was some excellent comic book tv and turned into a truly excellent series and I can’t wait for Season 2 to start on Channel 4 soon!

There’s a great cast, Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson is brilliant, my favourite character, Choose Bennett as new Shield agent, Skye, Brett Dalton gives great turn as Grant Ward (didn’t see the twist coming), Ming-Na Wen as The Cavalry, Melinda May (can’t believe that she’s 50) and the wonderful Elizabeth Henstridge and Iain Do Caestecker as the brilliant Fitz-Simmons.

Thrown in some great guest stars such as J August Richards as Mike Peterson/Deathlok, Saffron Burrows as Agent Hand and the ever watchable Bill Paxton as John Garrett, as well as many others, and you have a great cast and some great scenes in the ever improving series.

Oh, almost forgot, let’s not forget Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury making an appearance or two.

There have been some great episodes during the season and I’m sure we are in for more in season two.

Can certainly recommend this to any comic book fan………

#DoctorWho (2014 Season 8) – A League Table (So Far)!!

As the new Doctor Who series is halfway through, I thought I’d do a league table of sorts showing my favourite to least favourite of the episodes!  It’s not been an easy thing to do and I’m pretty sure I could swap and change some and I’m sure that most people will disagree (the joy of opinion).  Anyway, here it is……….

Listen
Kill The Moon
The Caretaker
Deep Breath
Robot of Sherwood
Into the Dalek
Time Heist

#DoctorWho: Kill The Moon (My Short Review inc SPOILERS!)

Been a while since I did this due to so much going on at home etc, but I thought I would try to get back to this, despite everything going on taking up so much time!

Anyway, the Doctor Who episode, Kill The Moon was an episode that was on yesterday and I watched it this morning.

In short, it was an excellent episode and, easily, one of my favourites of the season so far! From the main cast to the guest stars, performances were great. Special praise, for me, to Jenna Coleman who, through the whole of this series so far, has proved what a wonderful actress she is.  Capaldi was superb as ever, Hermione Norris is probably the best guest star so far and it was nice to see Ellis George as Courtney in a bigger appearance. 

The story was great, the moon being an egg was, unexpected, but a decent surprise. The alien laying a new egg, in essence giving a new moon was a nice idea but easily expected. Creepy spider aliens, great “make you jump” moments made this a great story and excellent episode! The setting for the moon was spot on and, finding out it was filmed in Lanzarote was a big surprise! Shows that a lot of effort went in to ensuring that everything was right. Great production!

Anyway, really enjoyed it and one of the top episodes of the series!!

My #JamesBond #Bondathon has now reached For Your Eyes Only – My (Short) Review

Plot – Agent 007 is assigned to hunt for a lost British encryption device and prevent it from falling into enemy hands.

For Your Eyes only is Roger Moore’s fifth outing as James Bond, 007 and brings Bond back to earth after his exploits in space in the movie, Moonraker.

After the underwhelming Moonraker (that did have some very good parts) For Your Eyes Only sees 007 up against Kristatos (played by Julian Glover), via Milos Columbo (played by Topol) and with Bond girl Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet).

Moore is back on form here, doing what he does best in his role of James Bond. A lot of people (including my wife) have said that Moore was looking too old to play 007 but, in my opinion, it didn’t make a difference as he did the job extremely well. I have a lot of admiration for Moore’s Bond, I think he was great no-one will tell me any different.

Carole Bouquet is ever so lovely and plays Melina Havelock in a way that many would admire. Coming across as quiet and innocent with, after the murder of her parents, a tough streak that comes across in her revenge killing of assassin Hector Gonzalez. Bouquet is a French beauty but I feel her performance isn’t amazing and comes across as slightly wooden at times.

The villain, Kristatos is played by British thesp, Julian Glover. An excellent choice for me and Glover is excellent in the role. Great actor.

Milos Columbo, who becomes an ally of Bond is played by the wonderful Topol and this is a role that suits him very well. Apart from 007, he’s my favourite character in this movie. Brilliant.

Michael Gothard plays Emile Leopold Locque, henchman of Kristatos. He does a half decent job and features in a great scene where, again, we see Bonds’ ruthless streak, ie 007 kicking Locque’s car over the edge of the cliff. Love that ruthless streak in Moore’s Bond, also shown in The Spy Who Loved me when letting Sandor fall from a building.

We also have Jill Bennett as Jacoba Brink who plays the trainer of ice skater the young, but not so innocent, Bibi Dahl. Both good in their roles.

Another wonderful character in this movie who, if they’d had a bigger part in it could well have topped Milos Columbo as my favourite is Countess Lisl who was played by the gorgeous Cassandra Harris. Only a small role but she certainly made an impression on this viewer. Cassandra was also a real life Bond girl being married to future 007 Pierce Brosnan before her untimely passing (RIP).

We also have the return of Desmond Llewellyn as Q and Lois Maxwell as Moneypenny, however, this is the first James Bond movie not to feature the character of M, who had only been played by Bernard Lee. Lee had been suffering from illness and passed away in 1981 (RIP). Scenes that he would have been in if illness didn’t hinder him were re-done with the character of Q, including the scene in the confessional.

This is a good Bond movie and better than the previous outing, good actions scenes as well as good performances. Shame about the Lotus but love the Citroen.

Always love Bond scores and the theme by Sheena Easton is pretty decent (but why do we have to see her in the opening titles??).

As ever, I’ll not score the Bond movies out of 10.

Cheers for reading………………..
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My #JamesBond #Bondathon Now Reaches Moonraker – My (Short) Review

Plot – James Bond investigates the mid-air theft of a space shuttle and discovers a plot to commit global genocide.

After the super The Spy Who Loved Me, big things were expected from Moonraker, Roger Moore’s 4th outing as James Bond.

Unfortunately, due to the success of movies such as Star Wars we get a “007 goes to space” latching on to their successes.

The movie starts off well and looks and sounds like a Bond movie should and, in my opinion, is quite excellent. Once we get to the last 3rd of the movie it kind of takes a dive, which is huge shame. The big stand-off being in space with lasers shoot outs etc. Doesn’t really fit a Bond movie for me.

Anyway, Roger Moore is his usual self in a Bond movie, at least for 75% of it. Ever dependable and with a nudge and a wink he’s a very smooth 007.

The villain of the movie, Drax, is played by Michael Lonsdale and is one of the highlights of the movie. Excellent actor, very sinister in his performance and a worthy adversary for Bond.

Lois Chiles plays CIA agent and, ultimately Bond’s girl, Holly Goodhead (oo-er). She’s ok as a Bond girl, not my favourite but her character is certainly a match for 007.

Jaws is also back in this movie. Richard Kiel is excellent as the man mountain ………………………… until halfway or so through and he meets Dolly. From there on he kind of becomes a joke character before joining the side of good and helping 007 win his battle against Drax. We even hear him speak for the first time towards the end.

As I have said in most of my Bond movie reviews we also have the brilliant Bernard Lee as M, Lois Maxwell as Moneypenny and Desmond Llewellyn as Q. Walter Gotell also returns as General Gogol.

We also have Toshiro Suga as Chang and Emily Bolton as Manuela. There’s also the stunning Corrine Clery who plays the ill-fated Corrine Dufour, helicopter pilot for Hugo Drax. The reason I single her out is because she appears in one of the best scenes of the movie and, for me, one of the most haunting scenes in Bond movie history. The scene where Drax fires her and his dogs chase her in the woods gives me chills every time I watch it. Fantastic.

Anyway, not the best Bond movie but not the worst. As ever, I won’t be marking these out of ten.

Cheers and thanks for reading……………

#Batman: The Dark Knight Returns – My (Short, Very Short) Review

Picked this up in the library for a read. I can’t actually believe I don’t own a copy as this is one of the best graphic novels I have ever read.

It comes from Frank Miller and features a fantastic story, super, atmospheric art.

It’s now spawned a two part movie which is also of high quality.

A brilliant book that I would recommend to any Bat-fan for a read.

Frickin’ Awesome!!

That is all……….

Cheers!!!

#CatchingBullets: Memoirs Of A Bond Fan by @Mark0Connell – My (Short) Book Review

Being a Bond fan, this was a must read book for me. Others obviously had the same thought and I was lucky enough to have this book given to me as a gift. And what a gift…..I’ve now just finished my second read of the book.

This books takes us through Mark O’ Connell’s life, so far, as a fan of James Bond, telling us of his first 007 movie, recording them onto to BASF video tapes from TV, posters on his wall, wolfing down his Christmas dinner in time to watch the Bond movie that’d be showing, picking up ex rental videos from his local garage, his love of Sir Rog and all other manner of cool, yes cool, Bond moments from his life. Oh, and not forgetting his obsession with the lovely Maud Adams (who we hear from at the end of the book).

The book brings back so any memories for me as myself and Mark are of a similar age. Ok, maybe I’m a year or 2 older, haha! No matter though, it brings about so many memories of my own time as a fan of James Bond, in particular as a youngster.

Mark also gives us his own unique thoughts on all the Bond movies (barring Skyfall) and makes some very valid arguments for movies that may be less popular than others.

We are also told about Marks grandfather, Jimmy, who was a driver for Eon for many years. This is very heartwarming stuff, especially reading how highly thought of Jimmy was at Eon and, in particular, by Cubby Broccoli.

This is a Bond book, written by a Bond fan and written for Bond fans. However, even non Bond fans would find this a super read.

I cannot recommend this book enough to any James Bond fan who may read this.

A triumph for Mark.

Now that Skyfall has come and gone, I’d love to see an update or just the next chapter in Mark’s 007 fandom. Sure it’d be more of the same great stuff.

Fantastic stuff and I’m sure I’ll go back and read it again!!

Thanks for reading as always.

As I’ve said before, I’m not great with the words but I hope you enjoy reading this. Cheers……

You can read more on the book and more from Mark at http://www.markoconnell.co.uk

#RoboCop (1987) – My (Short) Movie Review……..

(After watching last night, this is re-posted from my older blog)

Plot – In a dystopic and crime-ridden Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg haunted by submerged memories.

A cheap as chips buy from my local Sainsbury’s, RoboCop. One of my favourite movies to watch, Robocop was a movie ahead of its time.

It’s an action packed movie with state of the art special effect for its time. A super story, with lots in it that is still relevant in the world today.

Peter Weller is super as Alex Murphy, brutally murdered and whose body is then used to become RoboCop. To be honest Wellers’ performance as RoboCop himself outshines and part of his, short, time as Murphy but then, that’s how it should be I guess haha. Excellent.

Then we have Nancy Allen as Murphy’s partner, Officer Anne Lewis. Again, great performance. As Lewis she soon figures out that RoboCop is, in fact, Murphy himself.

The villain of the piece is Clarence Boddicker, played with gusto by the, always excellent, Kurtwood Smith. Boddicker, with help from his goons, being the man who murdered Alex Murphy, along with his band of goons.

Other great actors in this include Ronny Cox as Dick Jones, number 2 at OCP (Omni Consumer Products), and Miguel Ferrer as the man behind the creation of RoboCop, Bob Morton.

This movie went on to spawn not only 2 sequels of differing quality but also a TV series, cartoon series’, 4 more TV movies, comics etc etc.

As you’ll also know RoboCop has been rebooted for today and has received mixed reviews. Myself, I’m gonna wait for now before I see it and keep the memory of the original.

For me, an easy 9/10.

Cheers and thanks for reading……..