TV Review: The 100

100 teenage delinquents are sent from an orbiting spacecraft to Earth which has been abandoned since a nuclear war made the planet uninhabitable in the new CW series The 100. It has a bit of a Hunger games vibe to it which is probably a great idea due to the popularity of that series.

The show has the potential to go to some fairly dark places as the setup is ripe for some Lord of The Flies type shenanigans and as the series has been confirmed for a series two Sci-Fi fans at least have the chance to see this story play out.

Rating 3/5 Will get better but overall a strong start.

TV Review: Wentworth Series One

Wentworth is an Australian drama focusing on the lives and power struggles of the female prisoners of Wentworth prison. It is a modern reimagining of the classic drama Prisoner, known as Cell Block H elsewhere in the world.

Wentworth does not pull any punches as it shows how a suburban housewife can change from being a scared newbie to a hardened prisoner. The transition is harrowing and is a cautionary tale to keep those of us who have never been behind bars as afraid as ever of being imprisoned.

The quality of the writing and acting is quite simply, phenomenal. It is better and more believable than popular shows such as Dexter and Sons of Anarchy. The risks taken with the characters, both prison staff and inmates cements Wentworth as the best Australian series in decades.

5/5 The Queen Bee of TV

Animated Movie Review: Justice League War

JL War is the first animated movie featuring The NEW 52 from DC Comics. It features the foundation of the Justice League versus the threat of Darkseid and his parademons who are invading earth. The movie is nicely paced but the action and the villains get a bit repetitive at times but on the whole it is a good introduction to the new justice league.

3/5 Good enough

Hollywood Tragedy, The Sad Death of Olive Thomas

Olive Thomas was a stunning silent film star who died in tragic circumstances at the peak of her career. Thomas accidentally killed herself by drinking poison. The subsequent case became one of tinsel-towns first major scandals.

Olive Thomas was born in Pennsylvania in 1894 and lived a hard but working-class lifestyle in her early years. She found fame when she won a competition to find New York's most beautiful woman. From there she went on to become a pin-up girl and was then cast in many silent films with her most successful being The Flapper 1920.

In 1916 she met and married the actor Jack Pickford and by all accounts their marriage was often on the rocks as Pickford was promiscuous and contracted syphilis during their relationship.

While on hiatus from film production Thomas and Pickford travelled to Paris to be fitted for costumes and to live it up in the vibrant parisian night life scene and to enjoy a break from their busy schedules.

Late at night on September 5, 1920 after partying with friends in a Paris nightclub, Thomas and Pickford returned to their hotel suite and Pickford went to sleep. Unable to sleep Thomas poured a substance that she believed was a sleeping powder into some alcohol and drank it. She woke Pickford screaming in agony as she had unwittingly consumed Mercury Bichloride an extremely toxic substance that was only meant for the external treatment of Syphilis. Thomas was rushed to hospital close to death.

Olive Thomas died four days later in a parisian hospital in agony and unable to talk as her vocal chords had been destroyed by the poison that she consumed. After her death there was a moral panic about the dangers of Paris's nightlife and speculation about Pickford's role in the death of his wife but ultimately Thomas's death was ruled an accident.

Now the world can only wonder what Olive Thomas would have achieved in her career if she didn't die so tragically young and enjoy her haunting past work.



Here is the full film of The Flapper 1920
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xUuKuvFpX8

References

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0859310/bio
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_Thomas

Review: Hannibal The Series

Hannibal is arguably the most gruesome show on network television. The show depicts the early days of FBI consultant Will Graham's relationship with the enigmatic cannibal Dr Hannibal Lector. it is set before Hannibal's incarceration and before the events of the movie Red Dragon.

Although the protagonist is Will Graham, the star of the show without a doubt is Hannibal Lector who is ably played by Mads Mikkelsen. His Hannibal is charming and cruelly precise and his performance is worlds away from the brilliant but ultimately one-note performance from Silence Of The Lambs by Anthony Hopkins.

To put it simply you will never want to see another person play Hannibal again.

Hannibal is an incredible cook and prepares meals with a beautiful tender touch. Making you hungry and repulsed at the same time.

The production is artfully handled by an incredible creative team behind the camera. It is beautifully designed, the sets and visual effects set a dreary but sumptuous tone for the series which can be at times extremely surreal. 

It is hard to do justice to the quality of this show and it's production values.

If you like scary stuff then you may find Hannibal to your taste.

4/5 Don't eat the loin

Retro Review: Godzilla 1985

Godzilla 1985 is a bit of a hot mess. You get the feeling that the english dub is not what the Japanese actors are saying.

 The film starts with Godzilla busting up a mountain and almost killing a crew on a boat. Godzilla then attacks Tokyo, and a reporter and a scientist then come to the conclusion that Godzilla is part bird or something and uses bird tweets to lure Godzilla away from built up areas.

 There is another strange USA vs Russia nuclear weapon sub-plot and a vague anti nuke message.

What I got from it is, Godzilla doesn't want to hurt anyone, he's just clumsy and likes to eat radiation.

2/5 a confusing but entertaining mess.

TV Review: Workaholics

Workaholics is a comedy that focuses on three slacker best friends Anders, Blake and Adam who work as telemarketers by day and live in a share house together.

The episodes are short and mostly brilliant in their execution. The chemistry between the actors is what makes the show so enjoyable. The main characters are both despicable and loveable at times and the show could be offensive to some viewers.

Workaholics is fresh and hysterically funny and represents a shift to a new crew of comedians who will soon be household names.

5/5 hilarious!

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi429825305/

TV Review - 24: Live Another Day

24 triumphantly returns in the new series Live Another Day. Jack Bauer and co return for a new worst day ever this time played out over 12 episodes and now set in London. The time was right for 24 to re-emerge and the show mines heady topics such as the ethics of drone warfare and the effects of wikileaks.

The action is fast and quite well done and the new supporting cast, especially Yvonne Strahovski really add a lot of freshness to the mix.

24 may not be everyone's cup of tea but if you do like breathless action heroes ripping it up on a global stage then you will love 24: Live Another Day.

Rating 4/5 Dammit Chloes.

Film Review Captain America: The Winter Soldier

The latest Marvel Studios blockbuster The Winter Soldier is the sequel to Captain America and it is certainly a much stronger film in general than the first outing.

The film is probably the most mature of all the Marvel films so far. The directors have tried to bring a bit of politics into the mix which is a particularly good idea with a character as perfect and sort of bland on the surface as Captain America.

The film sees Cap, The Black Widow and new buddy The Falcon on the run and battling rogue elements of the U.S Government. The action beats are much more dynamic and true to the comics than the previous movie. Cap truly lives up to the title super soldier, he is amped up on all levels.

If you enjoy blockbusters and Marvel movies in general you will love this film.

Rating  4/5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SlILk2WMTI

TV The Axeman Cometh

It was recently revealed that a number of TV shows are getting axed or not renewed again to make way for new content from the major American TV networks. The genre shows that showed the most promise that are cruelly getting cut are as follows.

Almost Human
Community
Crisis
Dracula
Hostages
Intelligence
Killer Women
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland
Suburgatory
Super Fun Night
Rake
Revolution
The Tomorrow People



Source : http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/super-fun-night-rake-axed-in-us-television-bloodbath-20140513-zrasb.html

TV Review: Rosemary's Baby The Series Part One

Hot off the heels of other remakes and re-imaginings of horror classic such as Hannibal and Bates Motel comes the modern version of the practically perfect Rosemary's Baby, the 1970's gem by Roman Polanski.

The good news is that it is actually pretty good. The setting moves to France which changes the tone quite measurably. What really worked about the first incarnation is that it was such a novel concept that there could be Satan worshippers living in modern New York City. With France it seems so much more possible due to the the long history of theatre, decadence and eroticism that Paris is known for.

Rosemary, the title character who is played by Zoe Saldana is also greatly changed in this adaption. She is much more wordly and assured than the 1970's version but the biggest change is the neighbours. They are more Eyes Wide Shut than the highly disturbing frumps next door of the original.

Overall though it is rather well done and it delivers on most fronts.

Rating 3.5/5   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r5Pl7RrjHA

Movie Review: The Colony

The semi independent film The Colony is a visually impressive apocalyptic horror with a few big-name stars; Lawrence Fishburne and Bill Paxton and a whole lot of unknowns. The premise is that attempts to fix global warming has resulted in global cooling and as a result most of humanity has died and the survivors live in underground bunkers called colonies.

Three members of the colony set out to investigate a breakdown in communication with a sister colony. And inevitable chaos occurs (hint it's zombies! yawn)This is where the colony starts to fall down. The promise with which the film began totally disappears in the ensuing bloodbath.

Rating 2.5/5  Shows some promise but could be much better.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys7-FhiyiFE