tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47655880016745363902024-03-21T08:47:13.416+13:00Torrent ShillAhead of the swerve.Tor Rentshillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06147006724869779924noreply@blogger.comBlogger229125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4765588001674536390.post-89676936467556726002016-06-19T19:58:00.000+12:002016-08-04T20:00:46.840+12:00Keanu (2016; Peter Atencio; Jordan Peele and Alex Rubens)<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Keanu_poster.png#/media/File:Keanu_poster.png"><img alt="Keanu poster.png" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2d/Keanu_poster.png" /></a><br />
By Source, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Keanu_poster.png" title="Fair use of copyrighted material in the context of Keanu (film)">Fair use</a>, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49182158<br />
<br />
I hadn't seen their <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_%26_Peele" target="_blank">show</a> but the clip below — intelligent, understated, hilarious — boded well for their first venture into features.<br />
<br />
I wasn't disappointed, almost wetting myself with laughter at a couple of places in the film.<br />
<br />
Try it. Tell 'em I sent ya.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DWO1pkHgrBM" width="560"></iframe>Tor Rentshillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06147006724869779924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4765588001674536390.post-38295487482366615452016-05-02T15:37:00.004+12:002016-05-02T15:37:58.403+12:00Marvel's Jessica Jones S01 (Netflix, 2015–)<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jessica_Jones_Netflix.jpg#/media/File:Jessica_Jones_Netflix.jpg"><img alt="Jessica Jones Netflix.jpg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8e/Jessica_Jones_Netflix.jpg" /></a><br />
By Source, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jessica_Jones_Netflix.jpg" title="<a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Non-free_use_rationale_guideline" title="Wikipedia:Non-free use rationale guideline">Fair use</a> of copyrighted material in the context of <a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Jones_(TV_series)" title="Jessica Jones (TV series)">Jessica Jones (TV series)</a>">Fair use</a>, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47431125<br />
<br />
Couple of years back, I was dubious: the awesome <b>Brian Michael Bendis</b> & <b>Michael Gaydos</b> comic, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alias_%28comics%29" target="_blank">Alias</a>, was to be adapted for the small screen. In the time between announcement and its debut, my interest was piqued:<br />
<ol>
<li>they didn't turn the comic's love interest, the indelibly street Luke Cage (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_Wife_%28TV_series%29" target="_blank">The Good Wife</a>'s <b>Mike Colter</b>) into a white dude; and</li>
<li>it's from Netflix who did a pretty good job with <a href="http://torrentshill.blogspot.bg/2015/05/daredevil-s01-netflix-2015.html" target="_blank">Daredevil</a>.</li>
</ol>
So I watched the show and…<br />
<ol>
<li>gone are the case-of-the-issue/mini-arc structure of the comic, replaced by a whole damned season of damned backstory;</li>
<li>where the comic had nuance and subtlety, the show defaults to television-grade exposition and enough cringe-worthy cliches to fill a bingo card with cringe-worthy cliches; and</li>
<li>where the comic's lead was profane, damaged and still heroic in classic <i>noir</i> fashion, the show's lead is unlikeable, a leaden sulk, and shown as often as possible in her skin tight jeans and singlet.</li>
</ol>
Ah well, <i>fuck it</i>. At least I tried.Tor Rentshillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06147006724869779924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4765588001674536390.post-58470883043103889652016-04-09T10:00:00.000+12:002016-04-09T10:00:06.926+12:00The Walking Dead S06E16 (AMC, 2016)<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Negan-JDM_TWD.png#/media/File:Negan-JDM_TWD.png"><img alt="Negan-JDM TWD.png" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bc/Negan-JDM_TWD.png" /></a><br />
By <span title="must have been published or publicly displayed outside Wikipedia">Source</span> (<a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:NFCC#4" title="Wikipedia:NFCC">WP:NFCC#4</a>), <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Negan-JDM_TWD.png" title="<a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Non-free_use_rationale_guideline" title="Wikipedia:Non-free use rationale guideline">Fair use</a> of copyrighted material in the context of <a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negan" title="Negan">Negan</a>">Fair use</a>, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50044387<br />
<br />
… What the fucking clusterfuckery fuck was motherfucking <i>that</i>?<br />
<br />
Did I just <i>invest</i> <a href="http://torrentshill.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-walking-dead-s06e0514-amc-2015.html" target="_blank">fourteen hours</a> (I'll explain) of my life, hooked by decent characterisation and a propulsive narrative, only to be rewarded with a ninety-minute season finale of <i>nothing</i> for the first 75 minutes, eventually introduces us to <b>Negan</b> (Jeffrey Dean Morgan, making a decent fist of his villain despite inhabiting an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV_Parental_Guidelines#TV-MA" target="_blank">MA</a>-rated world), and in its final <i>seventeen fucking minutes</i> treats me like I'm a fucking <i>moron</i>?<br />
<br />
Why fucking <i>yes</i>, by fuckity fuck, I most mothefuckingly fucking did.<br />
<br />
Fuck you, <i>The Walking Dead</i> TV show. Fuck you fuck you FUCK YOU.<br />
<br />
(Fourteen hours of viewing when it's a <i>sixteen</i> ep season? Because I miscounted, went straight to the finale <i>and barely noticed I'd missed anything</i>.)Tor Rentshillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06147006724869779924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4765588001674536390.post-38122899664687689292016-03-25T09:00:00.000+13:002016-04-09T08:20:35.393+12:00The Walking Dead S06E05–14 (AMC, 2015)<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TWD_S6_KEY_ART.jpg#/media/File:TWD_S6_KEY_ART.jpg"><img alt="TWD S6 KEY ART.jpg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c3/TWD_S6_KEY_ART.jpg" /></a><br />
By Source, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TWD_S6_KEY_ART.jpg" title="<a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Non-free_use_rationale_guideline" title="Wikipedia:Non-free use rationale guideline">Fair use</a> of copyrighted material in the context of <a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Walking_Dead_(season_6)" title="The Walking Dead (season 6)">The Walking Dead (season 6)</a>">Fair use</a>, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47883318<br />
<br />
Ten eps on from <a href="http://torrentshill.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-walking-dead-s06e0104-amc-2015.html" target="_blank">the beginning of this season</a> and I'm hooked. I shit you not.<br />
<br />
<b>Carol</b>'s (Melissa McBride) character arc from stone cold killer to broken survivor was mightily believable. <b>Glen</b> (Steven Yeun) gets some cred for following through on what it takes to be a survivor in this new world. <b>Eugene</b> (Josh McDermott) gets the best and most drolly delivered lines.<br />
<br />
I even thought <b>Denise</b>'s (<i>Nurse Jackie</i>'s Merritt Wever) behaviour — doing everything a stupid zombie-story character does to deserve to die — was acceptable because she had to test herself to know that she was worthy. (Maybe you have to watch the ep to see what I'm getting at.)<br />
<br />
Shit's looking good, man.Tor Rentshillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06147006724869779924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4765588001674536390.post-26864670101527356682016-02-17T09:54:00.000+13:002016-03-18T10:07:53.784+13:00Deadpool (2016; Tim Miller; Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/46/Deadpool_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/46/Deadpool_poster.jpg" width="219" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1431045/quotes?item=qt2727834" target="_blank">"You're probably thinking, 'This is a superhero movie, but that guy in the suit just turned that other guy into a fucking kebab.' Surprise, this is a different kind of superhero story." </a> <br />
<br />
Mos' def'.<br />
<br />
Gleeful, puerile, unapologetic fun.<br />
<br />
See it.<br />
<br />Tor Rentshillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06147006724869779924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4765588001674536390.post-53665226282549655592016-01-22T23:05:00.004+13:002016-01-22T23:05:44.871+13:00The Intern (2015; Nancy Meyers)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c9/The_Intern_Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c9/The_Intern_Poster.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
What did I expect from the director of <i>Something's Gotta Give</i> and <i>It's Complicated</i>, films I started watching with the Better Half before I ran screaming and retching from the den after ten minutes of running time?<br />
<br />
Yeah, it was mawkish and lead-footed, and I paused the player at the ten, then fifteen minute marks, not quite in agony or nausea, but still ready to throw in the towel.<br />
<br />
But leads <b>Robert De Niro</b> and <b>Anne Hathaway</b> have a nice chemistry that make this film watchable. Sure De Niro continues to cruise through his golden years — hey, he's allowed to — while Hathaway does a decent fist of a start-up entrepreneur struggling with the pulls of motherhood and wifehood.<br />
<br />
I'm glad I unpaused the player both times. But it was a close run thing.Tor Rentshillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06147006724869779924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4765588001674536390.post-37620889935978100152016-01-03T23:49:00.000+13:002016-01-03T23:49:02.432+13:00Star Wars VII (2015; JJ Abrams / Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan and Michael Arndt)<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Star_Wars_The_Force_Awakens_Theatrical_Poster.jpg#/media/File:Star_Wars_The_Force_Awakens_Theatrical_Poster.jpg"><img alt="Star Wars The Force Awakens Theatrical Poster.jpg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a2/Star_Wars_The_Force_Awakens_Theatrical_Poster.jpg" /></a><br />"<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Star_Wars_The_Force_Awakens_Theatrical_Poster.jpg#/media/File:Star_Wars_The_Force_Awakens_Theatrical_Poster.jpg">Star Wars The Force Awakens Theatrical Poster</a>" by Source. Licensed under <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Star_Wars_The_Force_Awakens_Theatrical_Poster.jpg" title="<a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Non-free_use_rationale_guideline" title="Wikipedia:Non-free use rationale guideline">Fair use</a> of copyrighted material in the context of <a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_The_Force_Awakens" title="Star Wars: The Force Awakens">Star Wars: The Force Awakens</a>">Fair use</a> via <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/">Wikipedia</a>.<br />
<br />
First and only thoughts upon leaving the screening of this long-awaited instalment:<br />
<ul>
<li>it's a shameless, <i>shameless</i> remake of <i>Star Wars IV</i>;</li>
<li>after twenty minutes of ads and trailers, I’m like, “Fuck you, Cinema Theatre Experience: I’ll <a href="http://torrentshill.blogspot.nl/2015/12/ho-goddamned-ho.html" target="_blank">fuckin’ wait</a>”;</li>
<li>upon hearing it's likely the first of another <i>Star Wars </i>trilogy, the <b>Better Half</b> said, “I love you but I'm not watching any more of this rubbish”;</li>
<li>to the Canadian salesman who responded to a <a href="http://www.salon.com/2015/12/16/star_wars_the_force_awakens_you_know_all_the_spoilers_in_j_j_abrams_obsessive_reboot_because_youve_seen_this_movie_before/" target="_blank">lukewarm review</a> by wishing reviewer <b>Andrew O’Hehir</b> <a href="https://www.salon.com/2015/12/18/dear_star_wars_fans_im_super_sorry_i_ruined_the_whole_thing_for_everybody/" target="_blank">dead</a>: fucking drop dead yourself, you motherfucking loser;</li>
<li>I goddamned <i><b>guarantee</b></i> you that the final of this trilogy will be motherfuckin’ split into two parts.</li>
</ul>
Tor Rentshillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06147006724869779924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4765588001674536390.post-4089071143585244042015-12-21T18:35:00.000+13:002015-12-21T18:35:39.333+13:00Ho Goddamned HoAh, the holiday season: where manners go south because every motherfucker's full of the fuckin' festive spirit.<br />
<br />
It's not all mistletoe and armour-piercing ammunition, but: thanks to those open source elves in Hollywood, we can hide out in our entertainment dens with screeners like <b>Quentin Tarantino</b>'s <i>The Hateful Eight</i>…<br />
<br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Hateful_Eight.jpg#/media/File:The_Hateful_Eight.jpg"><img alt="The Hateful Eight.jpg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d4/The_Hateful_Eight.jpg" /></a><br />
"<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Hateful_Eight.jpg#/media/File:The_Hateful_Eight.jpg">The Hateful Eight</a>" by <span title="must have been published or publicly displayed outside Wikipedia">Source</span> (<a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:NFCC#4" title="Wikipedia:NFCC">WP:NFCC#4</a>). Licensed under <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Hateful_Eight.jpg" title="<a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Non-free_use_rationale_guideline" title="Wikipedia:Non-free use rationale guideline">Fair use</a> of copyrighted material in the context of <a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hateful_Eight" title="The Hateful Eight">The Hateful Eight</a>">Fair use</a> via <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/">Wikipedia</a>.<br />
<br />
… <b>Ryan Coogler</b>'s <i>Creed</i>…<br />
<br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Creed_poster.jpg#/media/File:Creed_poster.jpg"><img alt="Creed poster.jpg" height="385" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/24/Creed_poster.jpg" width="260" /></a><br />
"<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Creed_poster.jpg#/media/File:Creed_poster.jpg">Creed poster</a>" by Source. Licensed under <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Creed_poster.jpg" title="<a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Non-free_use_rationale_guideline" title="Wikipedia:Non-free use rationale guideline">Fair use</a> of copyrighted material in the context of <a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creed_(film)" title="Creed (film)">Creed (film)</a>">Fair use</a> via <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/">Wikipedia</a>.<br />
<br />
… and for the little woman in your life, <b>Todd Haynes</b>' <i>Carol</i>. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carol_(film)_POSTER.jpg#/media/File:Carol_(film)_POSTER.jpg"><img alt="Carol (film) POSTER.jpg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9c/Carol_%28film%29_POSTER.jpg" /></a><br />"<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carol_(film)_POSTER.jpg#/media/File:Carol_(film)_POSTER.jpg">Carol (film) POSTER</a>" by Source. Licensed under <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carol_(film)_POSTER.jpg" title="<a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Non-free_use_rationale_guideline" title="Wikipedia:Non-free use rationale guideline">Fair use</a> of copyrighted material in the context of <a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_(film)" title="Carol (film)">Carol (film)</a>">Fair use</a> via <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/">Wikipedia</a>.<br />
<br />
Happy holidays. Tor Rentshillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06147006724869779924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4765588001674536390.post-90351570999620911732015-11-29T17:37:00.000+13:002015-12-09T17:38:13.775+13:00Marvel's Agents of SHIELD S03E01 (ABC, 2013–)<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Agents_of_S.H.I.E.L.D._title_2.jpg#/media/File:Agents_of_S.H.I.E.L.D._title_2.jpg"><img alt="Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. title 2.jpg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/59/Agents_of_S.H.I.E.L.D._title_2.jpg" /></a><br />"<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Agents_of_S.H.I.E.L.D._title_2.jpg#/media/File:Agents_of_S.H.I.E.L.D._title_2.jpg">Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. title 2</a>" by Source. Licensed under <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Agents_of_S.H.I.E.L.D._title_2.jpg" title="<a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Non-free_use_rationale_guideline" title="Wikipedia:Non-free use rationale guideline">Fair use</a> of copyrighted material in the context of <a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agents_of_S.H.I.E.L.D." title="Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.">Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.</a>">Fair use</a> via <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/">Wikipedia</a>.<br />
<br />
I've been enjoying <a href="http://torrentshill.blogspot.de/2014/10/the-flash-s01e01-02-cw-2014.html" target="_blank">The Flash</a> and <a href="http://torrentshill.blogspot.de/2015/04/arrow-s03e10.html" target="_blank">Arrow</a> so much that I've totes forgot that this rival comic-book show is being broadcast at the same time.<br />
<br />
Per this post's title, I <b>did</b> start watching this season opener and… I dunno. <i>Meh</i>. Meh enhanced humans meh super meh conspiracy meh Nick Fury meh meh meh. According to my viewing diary, I've watched the first fifteen minutes of this ep <i>twice</i> and I couldn't tell you the <i>first goddamned thing</i> about those lost thirty minutes of my life.<br />
<br />
I think I can safely and responsibly say the cause of my apathy is that this show has been, despite the involvement of <b>Joss “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” Whedon</b>, consistently underwhelming. Remove <b>Clark Gregg</b>'s quippy <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Coulson" target="_blank">Agent Coulson</a> and this ensemble piece implodes without trace.<br />
<br />
I'm almost tempted to wonder why I sat through the first two seasons of this show.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://torrentshill.blogspot.de/2011/09/this-is-not-my-life-s01-final-word.html" target="_blank">Almost</a> tempted.<br />
<br />
<br />Tor Rentshillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06147006724869779924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4765588001674536390.post-65554887309440042772015-10-31T10:10:00.000+13:002015-11-04T10:56:22.028+13:00The Walking Dead S06E01–04 (AMC, 2015)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c3/TWD_S6_KEY_ART.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c3/TWD_S6_KEY_ART.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
I'm a big fan of the comic: each month's issue is devoured with
equal parts zombie blind-hunger and the gut-churning fear of a lone
survivor. Creator <b>Robert Kirkman</b>'s desire to explore a post-zombie-apocalypse world is producing a work that's as soulful, ruthless and savage as <b>Cormac McCarthy</b>'s <i>The Road</i>. It's awesome serial story telling that I dread but look forward to each month.<br />
<br />
Then there's the television show it inspired. The intelligent promise of <b>Frank Darabont</b>'s first season was not delivered in the following two seasons. That was mostly because broadcast AMC dumped Darabont after S01, and S02–03 were other people trying to pick up the mantle and resorting to things I hate about zombie film and television (for example, the characters' terrible habit of <i>not paying due attention to their continuously hostile environment</i>). The seasons following Darabont's departure were also boring <i>as</i>, man. So I gave up after S03.<br />
<br />
In the years since, I tried the odd ep, watching as much of a random ep or season opener as I could stand (because it was usually boring, stupid, or both). The comic is so good — I know they're very different beasts, the comic and the television show — but somehow I guess I thought that surely the show might reach some kind of parity in its quality of story telling.<br />
Which brings me to S06. I've devoured the first four eps in short order, and it hasn't been boring. The main characters — those that've survived from S01 — have changed and grown so much and in such different ways as to be rivetting to watch. The show has captured the essence of <i>What are you prepared to do to survive?</i> and the cost that that entails.<br />
<br />
I'll keep watching this season. Even if it deteriorates into standard zombie tropes and cliches and I don't finish the season, it'll be interesting to drop in on the show next year or the year after, to see who's still alive, and what they've become.Tor Rentshillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06147006724869779924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4765588001674536390.post-9261814828733718652015-09-14T15:37:00.000+12:002015-09-14T15:37:21.439+12:00Wayward Pines S01E01–07 (Fox, 2015)<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wayward_Pines_Intertitle.png#/media/File:Wayward_Pines_Intertitle.png"><img alt="Wayward Pines Intertitle.png" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/58/Wayward_Pines_Intertitle.png" /></a><br />"<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wayward_Pines_Intertitle.png#/media/File:Wayward_Pines_Intertitle.png">Wayward Pines Intertitle</a>" by Source. Licensed under <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wayward_Pines_Intertitle.png" title="<a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Non-free_use_rationale_guideline" title="Wikipedia:Non-free use rationale guideline">Fair use</a> of copyrighted material in the context of <a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayward_Pines" title="Wayward Pines">Wayward Pines</a>">Fair use</a> via <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/">Wikipedia</a>.<br />
<br />
A Secret Service agent awakens in a <i>Twin Peaks</i>-vibe rural town where All Is Not What It Seems: people won't give him a straight answer, there's all sorts of strange and suspicious behaviour — you get the deal.<br />
<br />
By the fifth ep, All Is Revealed, and our protagonist — for Very Good Reason — becomes that which he loathed and struggled mightily against at the beginning of the show. So far, so so, with intriguing themes of surveillance state, conformism, and the greater good underlying the action.<br />
<br />
And then ham-fisted execution, sub-<i>sub-<b>sub</b></i>-Hitchcockian left-hand-not-knowing-what-the-right-hand's-doing bullshit, stupid <i>stupid <b>stupid</b></i> character u-turns, and — ah, fuck it.<br />
<br />
Confidence was never high for this show.Tor Rentshillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06147006724869779924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4765588001674536390.post-61263296384351260902015-08-16T06:00:00.000+12:002015-09-14T15:53:35.878+12:00Terminator: Genisys (2015; Alan Taylor / Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/bc/Terminator_Genisys.JPG/220px-Terminator_Genisys.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/bc/Terminator_Genisys.JPG/220px-Terminator_Genisys.JPG" width="219" /></a></div>
The trailer didn't really set me aflame.<br />
<br />
<i>Game of Thrones</i> helmer <b>Taylor</b> and the original Terminator hisself, <b>Arnold Schwarzenegger</b>, were big enough drawcards to not overly worry about the casting of <b>Jai Courtenay </b>(from the execrable <i>A Good Day to Die Hard</i>), <b>Emilia Clarke</b> (replacing the irreplaceable Linda Hamilton), and <b>Jason Clarke</b> (who does great work in straight drama like <i>Zero Dark Thirty</i> but somehow manages to be awkward and unconvincing in genre pieces like <i>Dawn of the Planet of the Apes</i>).<br />
<br />
So. <i>Genisys</i> didn't suck as much ass as the slavishly PG-13 <i>Rise of the Machines</i> or the clusterfuck of <i>Salvation</i>, but Jesus H Fucking Christ did it feel like it was written by committee. The dialogue was flat with exposition. The plotting was tepid. The logic — <i>oi vey</i> — was non-existent. I actually began to feel sorry for all involved when I was watching this.<br />
<br />
I'm glad the rights revert to <b>Mr Cameron</b> after this instalment. Tor Rentshillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06147006724869779924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4765588001674536390.post-75243634191965002012015-07-16T13:06:00.000+12:002015-07-16T13:06:05.558+12:00The Americans (FX, 2013–)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/46/The-americans-title-card.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/46/The-americans-title-card.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<i>The Americans</i> is a period drama that takes its time to build characters and relationships, benefits from production design that silently and completely builds worlds, and is founded on writing that is just awesome in its understatement.<br />
<br />
For a show that is set in the 1980s and begins with the almost risible situation of an FBI agent innocently moving his family into the same street where deep-cover Soviet agents are already well established, this is — according to an entry in my viewing diary — <i>gut-churningly awesome</i>.<br />
<br />
<br />
Like any reasonably successful television show, it uses the ideas of family, relationships, and character to tell good stories. Where it differs from most others is — aside from its engine and setting — in how it uses those same ideas for its own ends: family —the Soviet agents' teen children are unaware they are <i>part of their parents' cover</i>;
relationships —when the FBI agent turns a Russian embassy employee by
having an affair with them, is he working an asset or is he being
unfaithful to his wife? and character —how does each Soviet agent hold onto his or her core values after years of living in a democratic and capitalist environment?<br />
<br />
Heavy stuff, I know — there's guns, sex, and spy stuff if you really only want that kind of stuff — but there's so much more to savour and enjoy.<br />
<br />
The best drama really is on the box these days.<br />
<br />
Essential viewing.Tor Rentshillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06147006724869779924noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4765588001674536390.post-5385511405320922222015-06-15T19:32:00.001+12:002015-06-15T20:24:48.392+12:00Powers S01E05<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's the <i>Game of Thrones</i> season finale tonight but the Better Half is out and since my box-watching plate is a little light, I thought, “Was <i>Powers</i> really as <a href="http://torrentshill.blogspot.com/2015/03/powers-s01e03.html" target="_blank">shit as I thought</a>?”<br />
<br />
I could've tolerated its anaemic 37-minute running time, forgiven how it reused footage from the previous and current ep several times over in some kind of present-day-flashback-suspenseful-character-dynamic-building narrative device, and waited out a pace as slow as a well-meaning am-dram parlour piece. (I've been here before: I watched <b><i>all</i></b> 800 fucking hours of <a href="javascript:void(0)" target="_blank">The Cult</a> so I'm a goddamned TV watching badass.)<br />
<br />
So when two female superheroines arrive to rescue our mere mortal protagonist, and the first one — having been expressly warned to <i>never</i> turn her back on the superpowered antagonist —turns her back not once but <i>twice</i> and is swept aside, and the second one has a glass jaw, I'm like, “Yeah, this is shit, alright.”Tor Rentshillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06147006724869779924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4765588001674536390.post-4439187410745349762015-05-23T12:00:00.000+12:002015-05-23T12:00:00.839+12:00Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015; Matthew Vaughan / Jane Goldman and Vaughan)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After watching <b>Samuel L Motherfucking Jackson</b>'s villain defeated by <b>Colin Firth, Mark Strong</b> and <b>Michael Caine</b> as the eponymous Kingsmen I couldn't help thinking: <i>If you're a gazillionaire with the resources and willingness to save the planet, and you happen to be a person of colour, a bunch of honkies with delusions of knights and chivalry will stop you and protect the status quo.</i><br />
<br />Tor Rentshillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06147006724869779924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4765588001674536390.post-5072903669188332782015-05-22T10:57:00.000+12:002015-05-22T15:01:37.902+12:00Chappie (2015; Neill Blomkamp / Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/71/Chappie_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/71/Chappie_poster.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>
<i>District 9</i> just fuckin' rocked, didn't it? Social commentary as sci-fi action film, it had awesome, eye-popping tech, smart, adaptable and resourceful villains, and a protagonist that was classic Joe Campbell.<br />
<br />
The long-awaited <i>Elysium</i> had a jaw-dropping trailer and premise but the final product was really just <i>District 9</i> on a bigger scale. I hoped it was just a sophomoric misstep.<br />
<br />
Watching <i>Chappie</i> is like watching a very expensive assembly of the dumbest parts of <i>Star Wars Episodes I–III</i>, <i>Return of the Jedi</i>, and <i>Robocop 2</i> and <i>3</i>: a tedious asssult of infantile characterisation and insulting story-telling that no amount of action can save.<br />
<br />
Meh. Tor Rentshillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06147006724869779924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4765588001674536390.post-39615265737168159152015-05-02T21:12:00.000+12:002015-05-22T15:02:35.951+12:00Daredevil S01 (Netflix, 2015–)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2015/04/MV5BMjExODc0Mjk0M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwODg4NTY5MjE._V1_SX1274_SY577_/lead_large.jpg?GE2DGMBRGQ2DKOBZFYYA====" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2015/04/MV5BMjExODc0Mjk0M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwODg4NTY5MjE._V1_SX1274_SY577_/lead_large.jpg?GE2DGMBRGQ2DKOBZFYYA====" height="192" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The casting is what got me interested: the always — <i>always</i> — awesome <b>Vincent D'Onofrio</b> as the villain, and the ever underrated <b><a href="https://www.blogger.com/x" target="_blank">Scott Glenn</a></b> as a crotchety ol' cuss of a mentor. A wonderful surprise is <b>Rosario Dawson</b> who has the best lines and chemistry with lead <b>Charlie Cox</b> who inhabits the character well enough but is surprisingly the least interesting thing in <i>Daredevil</i>.<br />
<br />
Overall, the show hits the right notes, taking cues from each of the <b>Frank Miller</b> and <b>Brian Michael Bendis</b> runs that respectively humanised and grounded the character in the comics, and efficiently builds a world — nay, an <i>arena</i> — for hours of future fun.<br />
<br />
Recommended.Tor Rentshillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06147006724869779924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4765588001674536390.post-62261030345620876902015-04-24T00:00:00.000+12:002015-05-02T20:27:53.188+12:00Arrow S03E10There’s a first time for everything: the moment I recognised <b>Vinnie Jones</b> voice, followed by the reveal of his mug, I thought, <i>Yeeesssss</i>.<br />
<br />
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Tor Rentshillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06147006724869779924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4765588001674536390.post-3360617138625579712015-04-17T14:00:00.000+12:002015-04-19T13:25:13.043+12:00Justified — Series End<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/22/Justified_2010_Intertitle.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/22/Justified_2010_Intertitle.png" /></a></div>
After six seasons, <i>Justified</i> called time on its run, and it's a damn' cryin' shame, too.<br />
<br />
Better to quit while you're ahead, but. Seasons one and two remain the standouts, with this final season a not-all-that-close-but-still-decent third. A bit like its sidewindin' dialogue, the other seasons meandered a little, even repeated itself some, but Harlan County was always a welcome place to spend thirteen hours each year.<br />
<br />
The show captured <b>Elmore Leonard</b>'s ear for dialogue and eye for character, the guest and supporting characters often stealing scenes and hearts with their tiny and often tragic arcs. I'll miss <b>Damon Herriman</b>'s little-boy-lost Dewey Crowe, <b>Duke Davis Roberts</b>' Forrest Gump-gazzumping Choo Choo, and <b>Ron Eldard</b>'s foggy-stoner-killer Colt just as much as Marshall Raylan Givens and his nemesis, Boyd Crowder.<br />
<br />
Good enough to buy and add to the collection.Tor Rentshillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06147006724869779924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4765588001674536390.post-50605464235298902322015-04-15T23:00:00.000+12:002015-04-19T13:07:37.760+12:00Better Call Saul S01E10<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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… Is that it? A season ender that is more well-uh…-okay than gosh-gee-I-can't-wait-for-season-two? What just happened? Do I care?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />Tor Rentshillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06147006724869779924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4765588001674536390.post-45115670710799429932015-03-27T09:15:00.002+13:002015-03-27T09:40:13.722+13:00Powers S01E03<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.scifinow.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/powers-fx-tv-show-616x462.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.scifinow.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/powers-fx-tv-show-616x462.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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</div>
What makes the comic so much fun (and damned good) is the chain-linking of fully realised characters cracking wise as their actions propel the plot.<br />
<br />
What makes the small-box adaptation such a disappointment is the absence of believable characterisation (thanks in large part to <b>shit dialogue</b>) and plotting that makes each forty-minute-plus ep feel like eight fucking hours.<br />
<br />
Sheeeit.<br />
<br />Tor Rentshillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06147006724869779924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4765588001674536390.post-27385131771204403242015-03-25T20:34:00.000+13:002015-03-25T20:34:16.487+13:00Dirty? Never.On the local rag was this <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11422713" target="_blank">sissy pants</a> apologising for exercising choice.<br />
<br />
When the choice is between <strike>Telecom</strike> Spark's <i>Lightbox</i> (hey, you remember when you fucked your customers over when you had a monopoly?), or Sky's <i>Neon</i> (why would I give my hard-earned money to this fuckin' cable monopoly?) or <i>Netflix</i> (bringing you Netflix content… except that which has already been licensed by Sky or Spark or whoever the fuck), I'll make my own way, thank you very much.<br />
<br />
Because I has internet.Tor Rentshillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06147006724869779924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4765588001674536390.post-5343721998850863532015-03-12T17:34:00.001+13:002015-03-12T17:34:53.895+13:00Powers Pilot (Playstation Network, 2015)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ten minutes in and they've repeated the backstory for our lead character Detective Christian Walker (Sharlto Copley) what feels like four fucking times.<br />
<br />
The dialogue is — there's no other way of putting it — <i>shitty boring-arse exposition</i>, the pacing is slow and meandering, the actors are game, the casting is interesting — besides Copley there's Noah Taylor and Eddie Izzard — and blah blah blah snoooore. <br />
<br />
I've read that things don't improve until ep three but ten minutes in, my love for the comic may not be enough to wade through this rubbish.<br />
<br />
… I've watched worse, but.<br />
<br />Tor Rentshillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06147006724869779924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4765588001674536390.post-30420719717773502082015-02-12T14:14:00.000+13:002015-03-17T14:34:22.302+13:00Bosch S01E01–03 (Amazon Studios, 2014)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.irishexaminer.com/media/snappa/assets/2015/02/12145504/1423752901-96541db53f61b6f7dbea81bf86f8fa27-1038x576.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.irishexaminer.com/media/snappa/assets/2015/02/12145504/1423752901-96541db53f61b6f7dbea81bf86f8fa27-1038x576.jpg" height="177" width="320" /></a></div>
The guy who played the antagonistic D.A. from <i>The Good Wife</i>. The guy who played the up-and-coming kingpin from <i>The Wire</i>. The kid from <i>Iron Eagle</i>. A truckload of faintly recognisable character actors. Even behind the camera there's heavyweights from <i>Wire</i>, <i>Homicide: Life on the Street</i>, and <i>Law & Order.</i><br />
<br />
So why is this procedural so goddamned boring? Lead <b>Welliver</b> is stoic in his portrayal; sidekick <b>Hector</b> has fun being a clothes-horse detective partner; <b>Gedrick </b>shines with an understated performance as a serial killer. The supporting characters provide welcome moments of levity and wit that are sorely lacking from the eponymous lead's interactions with everyone.<br />
<br />
Could it be I'm so used to Welliver playing dicks that I'm just having trouble buying him as a hero? Or could it be his channelling of <b>Gary Cooper</b>'s <i>High Noon</i> performance is just one-note and tiresome?<br />
<br />
Guh.Tor Rentshillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06147006724869779924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4765588001674536390.post-11911565201649224692014-10-16T22:40:00.000+13:002014-11-10T22:41:08.467+13:00The Flash S01E01-02 (The CW, 2014)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140510052607/theflash/images/thumb/8/8a/The_Flash_TV_Series_Poster.jpg/250px-The_Flash_TV_Series_Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140510052607/theflash/images/thumb/8/8a/The_Flash_TV_Series_Poster.jpg/250px-The_Flash_TV_Series_Poster.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flash_(2014_TV_series)" target="_blank">The Flash</a> has things I hate in a network show: men with square jaws and women with coltish figures, their average age suggesting recent graduation from the Mouseketeers; and childhood flashbacks requiring child actors to emoting loss, grief, and rage.<br />
<br />
And yet…<br />
<br />
The lead is disarmingly clumsy and charming while his supporting cast is intelligently characterised, subtly acted, and sharply defined. And those flashbacks… they gave me a lump in the throat, goddammit.<br />
<br />
There's honesty in the writing that's connecting with me. Where <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrow_%28TV_series%29" target="_blank">Arrow</a> is all shadowed clenched jaws and adrenalised high drama, <i>The Flash</i>, with the lightest of touches from the its makers, seems to have really captured lightning in a bottle.Tor Rentshillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06147006724869779924noreply@blogger.com0