Saturday 9 May 2009

TV

Broken Saints
Chapter 21 Convergence
It's a fault of the moving-graphic-novel style of this that action sequences take about five times as long as they would in a 'proper' motion form, and dialogue scenes can be pretty drawn out too. It would be interesting to know how long the whole series would take to get through if created at 'real speed' -- even with all the overlong pretentious monologues left in I bet it'd be a good few hours shorter.
This episode features some stuff Actually Happening, which is nice, though it's not quite up to the speed of some of the late-teens episodes. There's also a genuine plot twist, which may be a first for the series. While not a wildly improbable one, it'll still need some explaining come the next episode.

Have I Got News For You
37x03 (8/5/09 edition; uncut repeat)
Half past two.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Primeval
3x07 Episode 7
Some really nice ideas in this episode, but almost all let down by Primeval's usual shortcomings. The army troops turning up at Stupid Gambling Teenager's house was exactly what I wanted though, so that was nice.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Magazines

Total Film #155
A special 3D issue, which comes with a pair of red-and-green specs and a whole section (including most of the adverts) in 3D. Neat idea...
... but either I'm one of the 30% of people it doesn't work very well for (read the 3D article here for that stat), or RealD must be a lot better than old-fashioned red-and-green to get so many people excited, because a lot of the 3D demonstrated in this issue just doesn't work for me. It's fine on a small scale -- separating someone from the wall a foot behind them, for example -- but when you get objects very far apart the red and green parts of the picture don't work; I just see them twice.
Really speaking, the best way to consume 3D would be with glasses like these -- absolutely no crossover between eyes then, so it would work flawlessly. I find those sorts of specs quite appealing anyway, but put 3D on them and I'd really want them.

new review at 100 Films

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
Wolverine, to put it simply — much as the film would — entertains... Some have criticised the action for being physically ludicrous, but perhaps they should be reminded that they’re watching a film about people with superpowers. With that in mind, it never goes beyond what’s plausible for the world that’s been created.

Read the full review at 100 Films.

There are currently 15 new films in the review pipeline at 100 Films, not to mention two shorts, a film I've previously seen, and an alternate cut. As ever, updates here as and when they're posted.