Saturday 29 August 2009

TV

The Cube
1x01 Episode 1
ITV1's latest Phillip Schofield-fronted game show, which started last week. It's sort of almost good, but, let's be honest, it's just a bit too ITV.
That said, some of the slow-motion camera work was appropriate and impressive -- a rare thing, especially for a game show.
And that said, The Body is a shameless attempt at creating a Stig clone. Tsk tsk.
See here for an interesting article on the making of the show.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Mock the Week
7x08 (27/8/09 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The X Files: I Want to Believe - Director's Cut (2008)
[#44 in 100 Films in a Year 2009]
Please look here for my review of this film.

Articles

The Cube, ITV1 by Robin Parker
(from Broadcast)
A very interesting (from a technical standpoint) article about how they film and edit ITV1's new game show, The Cube.
See here for a couple of my thoughts on the show itself.

new reviews at 100 Films

Three new reviews today -- a brand-new one, plus two I forgot to mention when they went up. First, a film that's on TV this evening...

The X Files: I Want to Believe - Director's Cut (2008)
The idea that I Want to Believe was a bit rubbish and thoroughly disappointing is as much (if not more) the fault of those viewers and reviewers who expected a different kind of film and didn’t get it. On the surface, it's a standalone low-key supernatural thriller... but one that also tackles issues of moving on, obsession and belief, and how they can impact on a relationship

Read the full review at 100 Films.

And secondly, those forgotten reviews...

Flags of Our Fathers (2006)
Eastwood’s two Iwo Jima films make good companion pieces. In no serious way do they present Part One and Part Two of a story, but instead two vastly different perspectives on the same events. The points of crossover between the two are neatly used, occurring naturally rather than forcing “you’ll understand this later”-style mysteries upon the viewer, but mainly they explore the way two very different cultures reacted to the same battle.

Read the full review at 100 Films.

The Lady from Shanghai (1947)
Every key sequence provides something genuinely worth looking at while still relating the intricate plot, though the cruise offers many of the best bits — the hot, sweaty foreign climes are conveyed brilliantly, aided by sumptuous location photography, and these sunny scenes contrast nicely with the noir plot.

Read the full review at 100 Films.

There are currently 16 films in the review pipeline at 100 Films. Updates here as and when they're posted.