Alessia Cara is an artist that I can’t quite remember how I discovered but I’m so glad I did because this song is a brilliant introversion anthem with a gorgeously catchy hook.
Game of Thrones has become shocking for all the wrong reasons
David Benioff and Dan Weiss have crossed a line, many will feel is impossible to come back from. SPOILERS BELOW
Game of Thrones has become notorious for it’s shocking moments. No-one forgets the moment they saw Ned Stark beheaded, the moment Joffrey began to choke on his wine, or the horrible moment of realisation when it transpired that the Red Wedding wasn’t going quite as well as they’d planned. And that’s just scraping the barrel; fans of the show will point to the death of Viserys, Tyrion’s murder of Shae, Jamie Lannister losing his hand. All these moments were shocking for two reasons. Firstly, they were completely unexpected. They are genuine twists that subvert the usual fantasy tropes about the survival of heroes, and are incomparable in modern television. Secondly, they are difficult to watch. They’re gory, brutal, and horrific. This second point only works, in line with the first part, the violence must be justified by the narrative.
The last 5 minutes of the latest Game of Thrones episode, betrayed everything George R.R. Martin’s work has stood for, and is a disgraceful piece of television. I would stand on the side that rape, must never, in any circumstances be portrayed in any TV show or film, except in extenuating circumstances. It should be written sensitively, be justified by the narrative, and should never be handled by two men who have never experienced it themselves. The rape of Sansa Stark follows none of these rules. It’s sadistic, and creepy, and has pushed the show, in my personal opinion, beyond any hope of return.
There was justified uproar last year following Jaime’s rape of Cersei. It robbed Cersei of her agency, was entirely out of character for Jaime, and was completely out of place of the narrative. It was rape, for the sake of rape. It’s lazy story writing, that manages be both shit and horribly offensive. The show’s treatment of women has become inexcusable. I have to suspect that Martin intentionally distanced himself from this series, or perhaps D&D waited until his involvement was kept to a minimum to take this chance.
Ultimately the biggest question that comes out of all of this is: why? It can’t have been to give Sansa a reason to hate the Bolton’s. They already murdered her brother and mother and then took her home from her and forced her into an arranged marriage. Hasn’t the girl suffered enough? It can’t have been to demonstrate how evil Ramsay is; we’ve sat through endless scenes of him torturing other characters. It also can’t have been due to lack of material; they’ve ignored a number of critical storylines, and massively deviated from Sansa’s own story. It can’t have been to demonstrate how cruel the GoT’s world is; we’re reminded of that in nearly every second of the show.
The answer, ultimately, is that the showrunners were desperate to see Sophie Turner raped on screen. They planned this, waited until she was barely 18 (which is massively creepy in of itself. Here are 2 grown men, plotting to have a girl raped when she was just 15 at the time), undertaken huge alterations to the plot just to have her raped.
I’m angry writing this post. Angry that a book series that many consider a feminist work has been butchered into a show that glorifies the abuse and rape of women. That one of the finest fantasy stories to emerge in the past 100 years, has been put in the hands of two people who take a sadistic pleasure from poor narratives, and raping young girls. I’m angry that a show I once loved, has become un-watchable. The stories this season have become so watered down, so many characters robbed of any motivation, and so many wonderful stories left entirely untold. I am angry that this show has been ripped from the hearts of so many people, who don’t want to see women raped.
So I just got back from the midnight screening of Age of Ultron in my home town of Lancaster. There’s no point in describing how amazing it is, because it was going to be. The action sequences are beyond anything you can imagine, the dialogue is fantastic, the acting incredible etc. etc. It’s another incredibly strong film from Joss Whedon and the MCU. They really are on the verge of becoming invincible.
There are some faults. The MCU is still crying out for diversity. Two female superheroes among a team of nearly all men is so frustrating. And they sidelined their only 3 non-white superheroes which was weird. I was hoping to see more of Falcon, but we only get a glimpse of him at the start at the end (although he is set up to be in the New Avengers team, which is a hell of a lot more diverse than the first one). I hate myself for saying this but Elizabeth Olsen was probably the weakest actor out of all of them, a lot of her lines sounded very forced and unnatural. But still it’s better to have a poorly acted female superhero than none at all, but we should be expecting better. I’m struggling to see how Civil War will pan out following this film, they all end of good terms, there wasn’t really as much tension between Stark and Cap as I expected. I’m also so gutted that they killed off Quicksilver. He was a fantastic character, really well played and I hope they bring him back. Given that he was shot and they had that whole super healing thing, maybe he’s still alive. Ultron was better in the trailer than the film, he didn’t seem anywhere evil enough, far too light hearted. The post-credits scene was disappointing, just Thanos planning to do what we all knew he would, gather the infinity stones. No Spidey, no Black Panther or Dr Strange or Ms Marvel. I kind of felt there was no real twists, we all knew the Vision was coming (but btw he is awesome and his creation is awesome and I’m so excited by him).
But you know what, I don’t care. About any of it. When the credits started rolling I welled up, it was emotional for me. The MCU has such an unbelievable power, a perfect translation of their source material. It’s cultural legacy is going to be unbelievable. This is our generations Godfather. The superhero genre and the MCU in particular is even beginning to dwarf it’s fantasy rivals; these films are bigger than LOTR or HP. It’s something entirely unique to cinema; an entirely multi-dimensional story played out over a long time, from multiple perspectives. They are creating in a very real sense a cinematic universe.
The characters really came on a lot since the first movie and the interactions between them have a whole new dimension. I’m not a huge fan of the Natasha/Banner thing, I still kind of feel it’s her putting on an act so she can control the Hulk. I really liked Scarlett Witch as a character, she wasn’t this instantly brave person, she was determined but very naturally scared by the Ultron things. Natasha, her romance aside, is by far my favourite of the bunch, a really fascinating character. But the Cap (who it suddenly occured to me is totally Captain Reynolds from Firefly) and Thor and Stark all are fantastic. We got to see an awesome bit of background to Hawkeye, he was much more of an actual person in this film. I love the idea of them as one big dysfunctional family, all willing to fight and die together. Who unquestioningly welcome in others, even the Maximoff twins who had only recently tried to kill them.
One thing I find funny is that all of the films involving Tony Stark are basically “I fucked up”. Iron Man: “I sold weapons and they’re killing lots of people and let my company be run by this crazy dude”. Iron Man 2: “the suit I built is killing me + I didn’t realise anyone else could build suits” + “okay not totally my fault but my dad pissed off this Russian dude and now his son is going to kill me”. The Avengers: “I helped bring the villain into our base so he could complete his plan”. Iron Man 3: “I told the villain my home address and he blew it up” Age of Ultron: “I accidentally created a peace keeping force that now wants the end humanity”.
Once again we’re left with a lot of questions. There is a new Avengers team. Thanos is looming. We know Civil War is coming. Where the hell was Natalie Portman? Does she have a contract to avoid all Avengers movies? Where did the Hulk go? Is Planet Hulk coming? How are the Defenders going to fit into all of this? They’ve laid the ground work for the future of the MCU in this film. Firstly it’s financial, commercial and critical success ensures people are going to be buying this films for a long time. We’ve also seen the first of Black Panther’s home turf. We’ve got a proper avengers institution, and so many factors now at play to create new heroes. It’s going to be so cool.
Ultimately this is probably the best film you’ll see this year. Forget the bullshit myth that blockbusters aren’t as artistically valuable. This is the best the medium has to offer, in terms of technical skills, innovation, and imagination. And it’s won the hearts of nearly everyone.
To anyone who has lived through the past twenty years it has been nearly impossible to escape the work of Joss Whedon. As a child I wore out my copies of Toy Story and Atlantis. Teenagers across the Western world spent their youth gulping down Whedon’s iconic shows, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly (sadly I was not one of them, I had to wait until university to discover how incredible these shows are). People went in their droves to see the first Avengers movie; a film that would easily stake a claim as one of the best superhero films of all time. Similarly, it’s writer/director could easily stake a claim as one of the best writers of the modern era (I’m a huge fan of hyperbole, it’s the best thing ever).
His work is unbelievably imaginative, he creates incredible, impossible worlds which you can’t help but fall in love with. All of them draw from classic science-fiction/fantasy tropes; cowboys, vampires, and superheroes are not new ideas, but through the clashing of different genres, Whedon creates entirely new universes through which our heroes travel. He plays on the audiences expectations, makes your heart skip a beat with powerful action sequences, all the while drawing you into the characters on screen. Ultimately Whedon’s power comes from his ability to retain sight of the audience; because he’s part of it. The genuine love he has for his own stories is evident and part of what makes them so engaging.
Since Christoper Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy (which by the way I love and Nolan remains my favourtie Director of all time), many have attempted to emulate his unique style, but Whedon has wisely resisted. While Fantastic Four, Superman, and Spiderman, have all been re-booted with grittier imagery and darker tones, Whedon retained the spirit of comic book world. Ultimately stories are fun: there’s one-liners, complete absurdity, and larger than life characters (all of which roll into one during the iconic ‘puny God’ scene in Avengers). The truth is before you can cry at the emotional journey of a character, you have to fall in love. And no one falls in love with a humourless 2-dimensional character who spends the whole time moping (see Man of Steel).
One of Whedon’s trademarks, and the trait I personally believe separates him from other writers, is his ability to develop mis-matched teams. In these groups each character is unique, each character has their own background, their own significant influence on the story being told. At times they act as a cohesive unit, but never at the sacrifice of their individuality; in fact often it’s these differences that underline the fantastic dynamic between the characters. You can see this blatantly in Whedon’s work on the MCU, where his ability to unite these heroes from entirely different worlds has played a pivotal part in the overwhelming success of the series so far. Whedon famously pitched his short-lived Fox TV show Firefly as “nine people looking into the blackness of space and seeing nine different things". That single quote could equally be used The Avengers or even the characters in Toy Story (maybe changing in ‘Andy’s room’ for ‘blackness of space’).
Later this month I’ll be going to my local midnight screening of Avengers: Age of Ultron and I can scarcely remember a time I have been so excited. The last Avengers movie opened an entire new world to me and for that I am eternally thankful. If AoU is even half as good, I will be delighted.
Community is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating sit-coms of the 21st century. Even putting to the side, it’s rejection of almost all classic sit-com tropes and the fearless and often surreal scope of its narratives, the story of Community is almost as engaging as the show itself. Since the show started in 2009 it’s battled against the loss of half its principal cast, two separate cancellations, and even the firing of the show’s creator. The fact it has managed to survive is a testament to the tenacity of creator Dan Harmon, and the unquestionable loyalty of its legions of fans in the internet age. Although it would difficult not to argue that at times the shows quality has suffered.
SPOILERS BELOW
The low point undoubtedly came in Season 4, when the highly publicised loss of Dan Harmon coincided with the equally publicised loss of Chevy Chase (aka Pierce Hawthorne) mid way through shooting the final series. The repetition of tired plotlines, and the shows insincere attempt to remain as wacky as the show had been in the previous 3 seasons meant that when Community’s inevitable cancelation came there were many who felt relieved (although of course, many others campaigned tirelessly for the shows return). It did return to the air and very nearly to the same quality of previous seasons; although the loss of Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino, aka Troy Barnes) and the resultant destruction of the iconic Trobed bromance, weakened the strength of the show.
Then of course fell the axe of NBC and the show was cancelled permanently. It was the shows poor ratings in the end, the number of viewers fell from 5 million for the first season, to 3 million for season 5. With everything that has happened to the show, it was hard not to feel sceptical about this new series. So as I sat down to catch up with the show on Yahoo’s new streaming service (which is, quite frankly, atrocious. The length of time I devoted to the show doubled as I tried to get it to work) I was apprehensive at best. The show set such high standards; it’s given us some of the finest comedy moments of the last ten years and it has hard to imagine that it will not heavily influence future comedy.
Could it possibly live up to these high standards? It is of course difficult to tell this early in the series, but it appears Community’s magic hasn’t disappeared. There are the same crazy plotlines: it the first episode we saw the gang set up an underground bar to save Shirley’s Sandwiches, and then later witnessed Dean Pelton become obsessed with a virtual reality set. There’s the same level of assault on the fourth wall: Abed wondering whether Shirley got a spin off and then later seeing as part of a new detective show. And of course the same loveable characters are there: Abed, Annie, Britta, and Jeff remain genuinely hilarious and heart warming characters.
And of course most importantly, it was funny. Abed’s attempts at montages in the first episode had me in stitches, as did the beautiful reveal at the end of the episode when it transpired that Frankie Dart had clearly already known about the bar, as it had taken a lot of building work. Craig Peltons desperation to remain inside the virtual reality world was a classic Harmon plot line. There’s something bizarrely comforting in the show, a sense of genuine familiarity. It stems partly from the pop culture references that flood the show, as well as beautifully un-cynical and surreal world in which the world takes place, and of course the love the cast and crew show to the show.
However, one of the things sincerely lacking from the show is the chemistry between the old cast members. With the loss of Yvette Nicole Brown only four of the original study group remain, and it painfully shows. At the core of the show has been this study group and their interactions have driven most, if not all, of the humour. Furthermore Chevy Chase, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Donald Glover will all incredibly talented performers who clearly knew a lot about comedy. It is hard to see any of them as replaceable.
Neither Ken Jeong’s (Kevin) nor Jim Rash’s (Dean Pelton) characters (who have previously been two of my favourites) are strong enough to act as anything other than side jokes to the main plot. I’d go as far as saying that Kevin has been the weakest part of the new season; he’s too extreme, too much of a caricature to be part of the core cast. Paget Brewster (Frankie Dart) and Keith David (Elroy Patashnik) are two characters with huge amounts of potential and have been a nice new additions, but again they lack the history and chemistry with the other characters. It’s like starting the show all over again; having to learn these new characters allow them to develop relationships with the other characters, it undermines much of what the show is about.
Let’s be honest, if this was a new show I don’t believe many would be hooked. It’s not the Community of pre-season 4; it’s less outlandish, less innovative, and ultimately less funny. But there’s still a lot to love about this show. It refuses to take itself too seriously, it’s got a really diverse cast, and it refuses to be defined by the romantic relationships on screen. Community’s legacy will be one of absolute denial of what a sit-com should be, and it is through this legacy that the show continues
. Will we see the completion of Community’s 6 seasons and a movie? With the current cast, it’s hard to see how the film would be commissioned. However, with the return of Chevy Chase, Donald Glover, and Yvette Nicole Brown, none of whom have ruled out a return to Greendale (although the death of Pierce Hawthorne may make his return difficult), there is potential for a really awesome film. It’s hard not to align the show with Firefly, and their spin off film Serenity remains one of the finest sci-fi films of all time.
Tina Fey is basically a modern comedy genius. From Weekend Update jokes to Mean Girls her writing is consistently super smart and even more importantly, hilarious. 30 Rock won 6 Golden Globes throughout its run and 7 Emmys just in 2008. Whether she's hosting those awards shows or delivering Weekend Update jokes with a small, satisfied smirk she's always one of the funniest people in the room. And I only say one of because she surrounds herself with people like Amy Poehler, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan and Jane Krakowski. She's totally brilliant and anything with her name on it is something that I'm practically guaranteed to love.
So when I heard that she had created a new show starring the delightful Ellie Kemper (I feel like delightful is the perfect word for her even if it sounds somehow simultaneously too earnest and a little insincere. Did you see her on The Office? Delightful. In Bridesmaids? Delightful) I was subtly ecstatic. The premise was intriguing and the trailer was bright and funny in a way that's already drawn some comparisons with the recently finished Parks and Recreation. When I heard it would be a 13 episode run on Netflix I committed myself to watching the entire thing in as little time as possible.
This was definitely the right decision. It quickly became apparent that Kimmy (Kemper) is essentially a ray of sunshine in light-up sneakers. There's an element of Leslie Knope to her, a naivety and sweetness that belies her strength and resilience, but thanks to her past she's also pleasingly unique as a character. Ellie Kemper is so perfect for this role and it's so great seeing her take the lead. She's supported by an excellent cast including 30 Rock's Jane Krakowski as an admittedly Jenna Maroney-esque super rich housewife, Carol Kane as Kimmy's eccentric and hilarious landlady and Tituss Burgess as her roommate/best friend.
The story of a cult survivor seems like a pretty dark basis for a comedy but from the first episode it's clear that Tina Fey and Robert Carlock have managed to pull it off. The note-perfect parody of the sensationalist media and the over the top introductions of the cast make it instantly fun and once the one-liners kick in there are about as many laughs as you'd expect from something created by a team this consistently funny. Kimmy's optimistic nature and pop culture word vomit provide a lot of the punchlines but every character has more than their fair share of darkly humorous lines. The show is so quotable that even though I was giving it my full attention I'm completely sure I missed things.
Like all of the best sitcoms it's sweet as well as smart and manages to balance its silliness with sincerity. Kimmy's 10 seconds mantra is oddly inspiring and watching her get broken up with because she said I love you too soon (the split-screen explanation is gold) is genuinely moving. Kimmy Schmidt is more obviously lovable than Liz Lemon and the people in her life seem to care about her deeply. When Titus sings Firework to her as a birthday present (he pretends he wrote it since she doesn't know any better) in spite of the craziness of the episode I actually found myself tearing up (ok so maybe I was just tired or something but still).
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is a great show.It made me laugh and (nearly) cry. It's full of well-developed, varied characters and pop culture references and there's nothing I love more than pop culture references in sitcoms (Leslie Knope doing Will Smith, Kelly Kapoor telling Jim about celebrity babies, Abed Nadir's film obsession and now Titus announcing to a bar full of people that "There is no Entourage 2" to enthusiastic applause). There are wonderfully catchy songs and some incredible guest stars (seriously, I won't spoil it but they're incredible) so if you watch one new comedy make it this one.
Batman: Arkham Knight | I emptied your city with a violent toxin and a few threatening words, that’s how little the safety you provided was worth. And when the dawn comes, when Gotham lies in ruin and I turn my gaze to the world beyond, the legend of the Batman will be worth nothing at all.
I don't know whether it was when Colin Firth was beating the crap out of an abusive gangster, or when Eggsy refuses to shoot his dog, or even when Gazelle slices a man in half with her prosthetic legs. But at some point during those two hours I fell in love with this film. It's a film typically driven by a stellar cast; Colin Firth plays the bad-ass spy you never thought he could be. Samuel L. Jackson plays the love-able yet sinister baddie you never knew you needed and Taron Eggerton delivers a performance that should catapult him both into the viewers hearts but also the cinematic main stage.
There's a lot of things to love about this film, but it's own absolute self-awareness is beyond beautiful. Colin Firth declares his love for the classic Bond films with their "theatrical plots" and the film is full to the brim of references to other spies in popular culture. It's part of the films wider charm, which shows humility when it's appropriate but doesn't limit the emotional impact of Eggy emerging victorious from the battle and Roxy to overcoming her fears and destroying the sattelite. It's a film about defying peoples expectations, rising above your disadvantages and spitting in the face of a snobby British culture.
Ultimately it's the films rejection and satirical representation of the Bond-esque tropes that makes this film so beautiful. The villains plan is so dramatically evil and over the top but they provide a real motivation for his behaviour. People act in realistic ways; people have fears and doubts and don't suddenly become heroes but the moment allows it. The thing that I think all viewers will remember when recalling the film is the horrifically graphic scenes. Colin Firth colourfully butchers an entire church full of people. The heads of the enemy soldiers explode vibrantly at the flick of a switch. The film is full of incredible gadgets that result in incredibly inventive ways of killing people. It's marvelous.
With regards to representation Kingsman doesn't do too badly. Having a protagonist who lives on a council estate and then defies all of those tropes is really cool. The overall cast isn't very diverse, nearly all the Kingsman agents are white men, but it fitted the themes of the film and Roxy was incredibly badass and clearly a much better agent than Eggy which was awesome. But the best bit was having Algerian actress Sofia Boutella as one of the main villains; she was the most terrifying character in the plot and was a refreshing break from the 'Hiddlestone/Cumberbatch' villain trope that is heavily relied on in spy films. Plus it was really cool to see her alongside Jackson as the major antagonists in the film. As a side note I'm glad they didn't fall into the easy trope of having Eggy fall in love with Roxy, it's one of the most refreshing elements of the film.
Also in the picture above, doesn't it look like Colin Firth just said the harshest insult and is now swaggering away?
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