Teen Wolf: Episode 1

There seems to be an unwritten rule about the pilot episodes of TV shows; in that they must all be shockingly awful, the acting grating, and the dialogue flimsy. Bad special effects and mediocre plot lines go hand in hand with what seems like the overwhelming rush to introduce every single character all at once, in the hope that at least one might be interesting enough to keep the viewers hooked, in the hope that it might get even that tiny bit better. Even the sacred BBC’s Sherlock had that one dodgy pilot episode which was never shown, but simply added onto the DVD for laughs.

Don’t get me wrong, Teen Wolf makes no exception to this rule, but on the scale of terrible pilot episodes…it wasn’t horrific. The overall concept of the show isn’t fantastic, with teenage angst and traumatic werewolf gore being two of the most overdone genres in fiction, and some of the stereotypical high school character archetypes have been rammed in, but there were some surprisingly comedic moments, with the two main characters, Scott and Stiles, lightening almost the entire episode in their unoriginal, yet unexpected humour isms.

The plot of the episode was relatively straightforward, and incredibly easy to follow, with the destination between good characters and bad being made fairly obvious from the get go, and the typically damsel in distress figure being surprisingly likeable…for now, anyway. The relationships between the characters are clearly going to be the strong point of the show, from the friendship of the boys, and the darker, twisted relationships between Scott and the werewolves. Romantic relationships seem to have been dulled a little against the general werewolf theme, but they are there nevertheless, with Scott’s romantic interest only seemingly being introduced for the purposes of the plot twist at the very end of the episode, something which is sloppy writing at best.

The technical elements to the show were also generally good, and I was pleasantly surprised by the soundtrack, with the original score being used just as fittingly as the popular tracks, both recognisable and uplifting at parts. The special effects, whilst at the start of the episode could be considered a little hammy definitely improved in time for the big transformation scene. Werewolf transformation scenes seem to be defined along a scale from ‘bad’ to, well, Twilight, however Teen Wolf seemed to take it in a different direction, using less of the fake fur, and more of the cleverly dipped camera shots to create the effect of the wolf. The camera work in the episode is, admittedly, impressive, something which perhaps sets it aside from many of the other supernatural shows, with their overly dramatic zooms, and lagging speed shots.

Overall, with any pilot, there’s room for improvement, and hopefully some character development at least, but as a whole, it wasn’t bad, and has definitely peaked my interest enough to stick around for the next episode. 

Amazing Grace

The film Amazing Grace portrayed William Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffurd) as the dashing hero, and told the story of his triumph over the slave trade. Although the film was very moving and engaging, it was also very biased whilst leaving out great chunks of information. For instance, Phyllis Weakly, a former black slave who, like Olaudah Eqiano, published a book about slavery and sold it, but Weakly wasn’t even mentioned.

Money was a great issue too, but no one seemed particularly bothered that the abolition of slavery would come at a price, quite literally. It appears that Wilberforce never even considered this.

William Pitt, a former prime minister and friend of Wilberforce was included but we are told that he turned away from the project, leaving William alone.

Some facts were solid truth though e.g. Wilberforce's’ wife Barbara was a friend of her husbands’ cousin but it also portrays John Newton writing the song ‘Amazing Grace’ and his significance to the abolition of slavery.

The film may have been wrong or inaccurate in the descriptions of the slaves themselves. It scarcely mentions the rebellions aboard slave ships or the fact that Captains and Plantation owners were terrified of an attack or revolt. Perhaps the film researchers had a lot more information on Wilberforce but his supposedly solo-attempt at completing an extremely long petition was in fact composed by Thomas Clarkson, with no mention of any help from William.

Despite this Amazing Grace is a brilliant film with a lot of events based on reality. But if the audience knew nothing about the abolition, they would’ve been led to believe that the slave trade ended there and then, all thanks to William Wilberforce.

This information would be wrong. The slave trade was only abolished in England and even the British could still own slaves and put  them to work. The complete abolition was around 1838, with thanks to Wilberforce and Clarkson, Pitt, the Quakers, Newton, Granville and William Sharp, plus so many other brilliant people, making the world that little bit better.

Nanny McPhee

‘When you need me, but do not want me, I must stay. When you want me, but no longer need me, I must go’.

Set in a time period that no one’s quite sure of, and filmed in a house that would make even the tallest of bungalows weep, we start our cinematic adventure half asleep, and lulled into serenity by the soothing, dulcet tune of Colin Firth, welcoming us into the world of The Sound Of Music Gone Wrong.

This film is one of those films that takes the word ‘Juxtaposition’, considers it for a while, but eventually throws it out of the comparative window, claiming it to be far too simple. It’s got a  beautifully jaunty rhythm to it, colourful and fantastic in it’s construction, but as fairy tales go, it has to be one of the dark ones. Death surrounds the scenes like a veil, whether it be in the teapot on the chair of their father’s dead wife; or the many heart stopping and incredulous tricks performed by worryingly young and doubtedly sane siblings.

Nanny McPhee has the unique charm of taking quite a dark and twisted fairy-tale, of evil stepmothers, witches, widows and fears and layering it up with food fights, and children and fun. In particular Thomas Sangster, playing eldest Brown boy, Simon is cast into such a relatable role, as both the leader of the pack, and the one who needs the most leading. He’s the typical stubborn, moody adolescent, but he’s clever too, and he’s changeable, something which obviously inspires the other children enormously. The family dynamics are clearly the heart of the story, and it’s refreshing to see Colin Firth play such a comfortable fatherly role, taking all his Eton mannerisms and turning them into paternal flaws, and faults.

Emma Thomas starring as title character Nanny McPhee is interesting choice, but nether less a good one. Nanny McPhee as a role is terrifying, and brilliant and so heartbreakingly melancholy that it takes you until the end of the film to realise who the story was actually about. It’s easy to become absorbed in the humour and the comfort of the happy family ending, but in the end, it’s her story really. It’s Nanny McPhee showing us her finest work. We see this children well mannered and well behaved, and know that that is how she always saw them, as children that were already fixed, however unwillingly. It’s a heart-breaking thought that, in the end, she doesn’t get to be wanted, she doesn’t get to be loved like Evangeline, or like Papa, and she doesn’t become one of the family until she’s already moved on and left.

There are so many morals to this story that, when thought about, it is the  equivalent of two years social teachings condensed into two hours of fiction. Respect your parents, blood is thicker than water, money isn’t everything, do as you’re told….But the one moral I found the most interesting, personally, isn’t really a moral at all. At the start of the film, we are shown Nanny McPhee to be, for lack of other words, ugly, and a little bit frightening with her protruding tooth, bulbous nose and hairy warts, but with every lesson the children learn, she becomes that little more beautiful, until at the end of the story, she’s just as pretty as the bride she stands next to.  In terms of morals, this, for all intensive purposes,  gives us the impression that the more nice things we do, the more beautiful we become, and given that the children seem to warm to their Nanny with every wart she loses; that being attractive will make people like us. Of course, for adults, this is an obvious metaphor for inner beauty, and the attractiveness of a soul, but for children, I find that this can be ever so misleading.

In conclusion, however shallow the humour, and however pretty the actors, this film is incredibly structured, with so many inspiring teachings for children, and even some lewd innuendos for the adults. The rule about working with children and animals doesn’t seem to apply here, as every single part is spot on and perfected, and it is definitely well worth a watch.

Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USA

Gordon Ramsay. Famous Michelin Star chef, turned TV star and restaurant developer. And full time potty mouth, judging by his attitudes on Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares.

The structure of the show is simple: Gordon visits a failing restaurant, eats a terrible meal, tells everyone what they're doing wrong, argues with the owner, someone cries, Gordon shouts, restaurant gets a brand new makeover and the customers come flying in again. However, whilst this is the general plot of every single episode in the series; individually, they're actually incredibly enjoyable. 

Like most reality television programmes, the staff Gordon goes to meet are bursting with character and are very easy to critise, whether it be a xenophobic widow, stubbornly fighting from her kitchen's corner or a delusional Italian, skimping on the salmon and charging at the Chef, and at times they will drive the audience to insanity. The good kind of insanity though; the healthy rage that can only be stemmed from watching a fully grown man spit in a celebrity chef's face and being too many countries away to deal with it. 

Many of the episodes are purely frustrating, but this doesn't stop them from being infuriatingly addictive, and they seem to get more shocking as the series goes on. Disgusting kitchens, horrified customers and uncooked food must all be seen and sorted by Gordon, who in turn seems even more frustrated than us. One of the more surprising elements of the episodes, however, are when he stops being the loud mouthed chef, and becomes a friend to the owners instead. Usually once the tears have flown from the broken hearted, and penniless waitress' face, Chef Ramsay becomes more Jeremy Kyle than anything else, and does his best to fix up the staff and the shredded families involved in running the establishments, instead of simply taking over and doing it all himself.

He does do a reasonable amount of cooking in the show; though unfortunately, most of it is done off camera, and the meals are simply laid out on the nearest table on the morning of the restaurant's 're-launch' to be studied and copied by the other chefs. The major revamp of the places themselves are out of his control as well, and usually the entire eatery is made-over in a little under 12 hours. A little unrealistic by anyone's standard.

One of my personal favourite elements to the show is the sheer volume of crumbling restaurants in America, as the series spans over 4 seasons, each having it's own variety of revolting and revolutionary failures. The only downside is, we don't get to find out if Ramsay's changes actually work. Many of the episodes end minutes after the re-launch is over, showing us just one night of his good work, before he leaves to visit another state, and if I were to criticise the show at all; it would be this. Show us what happened next, Gordon. We need to know!

Toy Story 3

Our story starts with a 17 year old Andy leaving for college, and leaving behind him his home, his family and of course, his beloved toys. The toys, however, aren't ready to leave him. After being stuck in a trunk, alone and un-played with for far too many years, they must await their destiny; are they going to college, the attic, the donations box, or, worst of all, are they being thrown away as junk? Before Andy can make his choice however, the decision is made for him, and home begins to shrink behind them with every box packed.

Every scene is a new chapter to the story and with each new twist, the idea of a happy ending is pulled further from them. In some scenes, it's not a case of love or loss; it's a case of life or death for our heroes, (one scene in particular has to be applauded for it's ability to reduce solid, emotionally stable adults into nervous wrecks, literally gripping their seats with fear...and for a supposed 'child's film', that is quite an achievement.)

The general stereotype of toys is warped into a twisted version of our lives, where humans are monsters, are incapable of love, and as the plot unravels, the audience is drawn into the conclusion that in the end, the plastic toys turn out to be more alive than we are. Ever loyal Woody especially becomes so human in his quest to return to Andy, even leaving his friends behind in the process, that when he finds a sweeter life than the one that he's trying to run back to, he barely takes a minutes hesitation in choosing between them. To consider this from a more controversial point of view though, perhaps Woody wasn't acting more human. He was acting more toy, and shaming every single one of us in the process.

The older audience will see the heartbreak all of the toys go through, and will continously be reaching out to the screen, to take a paw or hand in theirs and save their childhood from slipping away with the rolling credits at the end of the film. For the younger viewers, this film will do nothing but inspire them to gather up their own toys, hold on tight, and begin their own adventures with their make-believe families, before it's all too late. Whilst this film is slightly darker than expected, a lot of the deeper references will be lost on younger children, and will serve to amuse the elder ones. 

Sitting in the dark cave of a cinema or living room, this wondrously emotional film can shock you, and absorb you, make you laugh, make you cry, and will definetly bring out the child in all of us. It will definitely keep you guessing. Will Buzz win over Jessie? Does Barbie's new boyfriend Ken have a dark secret? How much darkness can a day care center hold? And will all the toys get their happy ending? 

Paranormal Activity

Paranormal Activity. A handheld camera movie on the most traumatic few weeks of one young couple's life in their suspected haunted house.
Admittedly, the summary sounds awful, and in all honesty, the entire premise of the film sounds ridiculous as well, no matter how many people may tell you 'oh no, it's really good! Honestly!' And whilst I sincerely doubt that hearing the same sentiment from me will make any exception to this...watch it. Really. Watch it.
The film begins, in a way, after the actual haunting has begun, with the camera being set up predominantly in the couple's bedroom at night, to record any further paranormal events or signs of demonic activity in their home, as well as being used to film brief daytime episodes in relation to the spirit as well. Whilst in most cases shaky low quality camera films aren't the favourite for late night horrors, 'Clover-field' being referenced here quite predictably, the camera is laid still for most of the film, and the few times it is moved, the quality does not decrease, making for increasingly tolerable viewing. Surprisingly, the two main characters actually fall into the same category.
Director, Oren Peli, had decided to make the characters and the film as naturalistic as possible, therefore letting the actors and cast members having virtually no characteristics at all, aside from their own. Katie, played by Katie Featherstone, and Micah, played by Micah Sloat were given no script at all, and practically all their reactions were their own, from the generic crying and screaming, to the heart-warming comfort and subconscious familiarity between them, were created from actors who had had no previous contact before shooting the film. However, they performed their roles so effortlessly, it was virtually impossible to tell.
The plot itself is a bit of a slow starter, with the first third of the film focused around Katie's background with the spirit, and the psychic she brings in to help them deal with this. The psychic, in the end, has a rather pointless role, aside from providing the audience with further lore on demons and ghosts, however for a movie buff like myself, it was hardly brand new information. But once it starts, it really starts.
From the first innocuous door slamming, my heart thudded, and it became increasingly tempting to cover my eyes as the green tinted nights progressed. Possibly one of the most brilliant elements of this film would be the simplistic invisibility of the demon. We never see it's face, and in fact, all it seems to do is startle the couple by performing the simplest, yet scariest of acts around their own home. Creaking stairs, jarring television signals, thumping noises, even open attic doors. Everything we've flinched at, home alone, of an evening.
In contrast to a lot of typical horror films, the SFX gore and fake blood are absent, as well as the juddering eerie music, and laughable special effects creatures, bringing the film a lot closer to home than most; making it almost uncomfortable relatable and intimidating. Another highlight of the film would've been the reactions themselves, with the overwhelming fear and complete lack of faux heroics making it that bit more realistic and believable for the audience, revealing to us the way that most of us would act if put in the same positions as the characters portrayed.
One of the very slight weaknesses of the film would've been it's slightly predictable ending, with the steady naturalistic feel breaking briefly into the stereotypical horror set up, and the plot edging a little too closely to that of 'The Exorcism of Emily Rose' to be classed as original. However, to conclude, I thoroughly enjoyed being terrified out of my wits by this film, and would recommend it to anyone who was looking for a genuine scare, and a breath of fresh air from the murky depths of the horror scene.

'Diaries of a Broken Mind'

BBC 3's season of mental health is brought to a head with the brilliantly designed 'Diaries of a Broken Mind', a handheld documentary of the lives of 25 real young people, all suffering from some form of mental illness.

                      Upon doing the research for the programme, I discovered that, at first, they were considering using the name 'My Mad Diary' as the title of the show, and was initially put off. In a show constructed to divert society's eye away from the stigma of 'madness' and 'insanity' and the isolation sufferers of mental health illness's face, using the adjective of 'mad' to describe each and every volunteer in the show is incredibly contradictory. It could also face problems in attracting the wrong audience, with some people settling down and expecting to watch a show of lunatics and psychopaths wreaking havoc for fun. 

                      However, once the title was improved, I was more inclined to watch. And it was definitely worth it. The show kicks off by using the young people themselves to explain their own mental health problems to you, without the aid of doctors, psychiatrists or counsellors, something which I applauded for two reasons; one being that where the professionals will typically use the highest quality medical jargon the second the camera is switched on, in the hope of impressing the audience; the sufferers themselves were actually given a chance to explain their illness' the way they see them, and how they affect them personally. The second reason is that, in another programme of the season, the budget cuts and bad performances of the medical health units in the NHS are explored, proving to the audience that simply 'getting some help' for mental illness really isn't as easy as it sounds. In one young woman's condition on 'Diaries...' she visited her GP and asked for some help with anxiety, and was refused treatment, as the waiting list for CBT was over four months long, and was left to suffer alone.

                   The young people themselves have also been very well casted, showing themselves to be as diverse as their illness', further breaking through the stigmas and stereotypes of mental illness. The volunteers ranged from teen anorexics to early twenties schizophrenics, with all of them presented as 'normal' young adults in their videos. The overall message of the programme seems to be not just a refresher course of mental illness' for those who are sorely lacking in information about them, but also to prove the point that mental health problems can affect anyone, yet when they do, it doesn't have to make them 'mental' or 'crazy'; and that what they have is simply an 'illness' which can be treated, and does not make them any different from you or I.

                  Throughout the show, the young people are asked some very generic questions about their mental health issues, such as 'when did you first discover your mental health problems?' and 'would you get rid of it, if you could?' but one of the questions I found the most shocking, for me personally, was 'do you take medication?' as the resounding yes from nearly all of the young people was completely unexpected. For many of us, medication for mental health problems is seen as quite a last resort, and are only familiar with 'anti-depressants' in the scale of treatment for mental health. However, they succeed in proving us wrong as many of them produce a wide variety of pills and procedures, all designed to help heal their 'broken minds', and even more worryingly so, many of them have been on them for years, some starting at a scarily young age.

                  Of course, we are shown clips of weeks when a few of the young people try to come off their medication, and how violently it can affect them in themselves, providing some of the more emotional scenes of the show. Whilst there is nothing too upsetting, or violent shown, both for our benefit and theirs, the moments where the sufferers lose control and are hit by the reality of their illness are often hard to watch, especially from an outsider's point of view. In my opinion, however, without these scenes, the documentary would be a sham, and would be doing mental health sufferers across the country a severe injustice, as well as creating yet another false image of mental illness, at the other end of the scale this time, and still getting it wrong. 

                 There are other factors, of course, which help to make the show an interesting watch, not just an interesting one, including a slight overuse of jump-cut editing, set against a modern and fitting soundtrack, with music from Jessie Ware and Rudimental documenting the sufferer's lives. This too helps to include the sense of normality and familiarity mental illness has been lacking so far, without going so far as to insult their audiences by pointing this out. 

                Personally, from both an insiders and outsiders point of view, I found 'Diaries of a Broken Mind' to be not only an insightful documentary, but a relatable one as well, reaching out to those who suffer from mental health problems, and those who don't; with one beautifully simply message to sum the whole show up:                                                                  'You are not alone.'