Hunted Episode 2 Review

SPOILER ALERT

If you had to go on the run, where would you hide?

Continuing my TV reviews, I have my review of the second episode of the Channel 4 series Hunted.  If you haven't read my first review then click here.

The Premise: 

Fourteen ordinary men and women have to go on the run from a crack government team of CIA analysts, intelligence experts and former police officers from 28 days.  They're not allowed to leave the UK.  They have to stay within the boundaries of the law.  They're given £450 in a bank account.  They are accompanied by their own personal camera operators.  How they use this money and how they decided to hide is completely up to them.

The Fugitives:

Harinder and Davinder Singh

This episode introduces a new team of fugitives: Sikh brothers Harinder and Davinder Singh.  I found the two instantly likeable, as they're charming, loyal to each other and very smart.  The Singhs explain that they go on the run to challenge misconceptions about Asian communities and terrorism.  Harinder says "we're Asian, we've got beards, we'll probably going to have some rucksacks on our backs, which is not gonna help.  The automatic thing that people will think is bloody hell, terrorist." It was this reasoning and logic that made me like the pair so much.  What they say is very true.  Ever since 9/11 and 7/7, there have been increased surveillance on Asians, as well as an increasing sense of Islamophobia.  The brothers wish to fight this surveillance and prove that you should be judged on your actions rather than your faith or the way you dress.

On the subject of dress, there are shots of the Singh brothers trimming their beards, which then begged the question, why haven't any of the fugitives changed their appearance yet? Ricky Allen with his balding head, beard and circular glasses is very recognisable and I wonder why he hasn't shaved or started wearing contact lens.  Furthermore, Emily Dredge has a vivid shock of blonde hair, which would make her standout and whilst she has a wig with her, there are never any shots of her wearing it.  Even if you don't use the wig, why wouldn't you get a haircut or dye your hair? The Hunters have the most recent photographs of the fugitives so it's only logical to change your appearance as soon as possible.

The brothers start the episode strongly.  Davinder, knowing that the Hunters are likely to hack into their email account, sends an email to his brother saying that the two should hide in Caister-Upon Sea, as nobody would expect us to hide there. (Caister-Upon-Sea is largely a white community) Once you've read this email, delete it immediately." Although one of the Hunters makes the very good point that "people don't appreciate that when you click delete on an email or a photo, it isn't really deleted.  It's still there, you just can't see." This perfectly summarises one of the unwritten rules of the internet: once something is on the internet, it's on the internet forever.  However, Davinder's email is a trap designed to lead the Hunters on a wild goose chase, whilst they take refuge within the Sikh Community in Manchester.  From here, there plan is to hide in plain site.  It's a good plan and it works.  The Hunters fall for the trap and ask whether people in Caister-Upon-Sea have seen the Singhs.  Here, Davinder's talk of Islamophobia and stereotypes is shockingly brought to light when a man shown a photo of the brothers says "is this something to do with ISIS? Somebody should behead those bastards before they behead somebody else." 

However, the Singhs are still hiding successfully with the Mancunian Sikh Community and their plan is going swimmingly, until they make the very risky move of phoning home.  Both brothers have their own families and they use the same burner pay as you go phone to call home.  Of course, the Hunters are monitoring the communications of the family's loved ones and are instantly alerted to their presence.  The Singhs decide to travel up to Glasgow to stay in a safehouse with a surveillance expert who quickly chastises them from using their phones.  Despite his reprovals, the Singhs phone home once again which means they have to leave Glasgow.  However, they decide to take sanctuary for a few hours in a friend's shop, which they arranged by calling him before-hand.  This leads the Hunters right to them and the Singhs are caught hiding in the backroom of the shop, where there is no escape.  After seven days on the run, the Singh brothers were caught.

Status: Caught 

Time on the run: Seven Days

Ricky Allen

This episode also returns to the man, the legend, Dr Ricky Allen who is still hiding in the highlands of Scotland.  Ricky Allen is a ball-buster, a man who likes winding people up and this episode shows how ballsy he can get.  In an elaborate scheme, he lures the Hunters to a bothy in Scotland, where he then spies on them in the nearby bushes.  It is a risky plan, but it is one that works and Ricky Allen doesn't get caught.  It is his audacity and his intelligence that makes Ricky one of the more endearing and likeable characters on the show.  This episode also shows the seemingly infallible Ricky Allen beginning to crack under the pressures of being on the run, when he uses a payphone to call home for his daughter's birthday.  Furthermore, he also has one of his friends use his credit card to take money out from an ATM for him.  Despite, how both events alert the Hunters to his presence and an intense search of Ricky's house and interviewing his wife, Ricky Allen still manages to evade the Hunters.  After fourteen days on the run, Ricky Allen still manages to elude the Hunters.

Status: At large

Time on the run: Fourteen days 

Emily Dredge and Lauren English

The episode also very briefly mentions Emily and Lauren who are still on the run and still bickering.  This time, the two are arguing over what their next move should be.  Emily thinks that they should break their pattern of heading north by heading back down south, which sounds very logical, but Lauren thinks they should continue heading North.  Thankfully, this is all we see of the pair and their whereabouts remain unknown.

Status: At large

Time on the run: 12 days

The Verdict

This episode is every bit as tense and nail-biting as the previous one, especially when the Hunters are closing in on the Singhs and you're waiting for some Deux Ex Machina to rescue them from the backroom of a shop.  I also really liked the Singhs and their reasons for going on the run.  The two brothers are also very likeable.  Their devotion to their families and community made them However, what made this episode really good is Ricky Allen's antics, where he is messing around with the Hunters.  Essentially laying this trap to say "fuck you" to the Hunters, Ricky Allen's audacity injects a lot of humour into the show.  You want him to succeed, as it is obvious how much he loves screwing with the system and how much he enjoys doing it.  What made this episode really good was how there was very little of Emily and Lauren.  Their constant bickering made them very tiresome to watch and it was a welcome release to see them largely left out of this episode.  

Top three tips for being on the run

1. Always have an escape route planned.  If the Singh brothers hadn't hidden in a backroom of a shop with no secondary exit, perhaps they would still be on the run now.

2. Change your appearance! Dye or cut your hair, wear contacts, shave your beard.  I have long hair, but if I ever went on the run, then I would be straight in the barber's for a short back and sides.

3.  DO NOT PHONE HOME! It almost caught Lauren, Emily and Ricky Allen and it catches out the Singh brothers.  The government will be monitoring all outgoing and incoming communications from your loved one's phones.  In fact, just don't phone at all, the government can monitor all mobile communications even from pay as you go mobile phones. 

Sandra Cooley, Elizabeth Varsy, Harinder and Davinder Singh have all been caught, but Ricky Allen and Lauren English and Emily Dredge and seven more fugitives are still on the run.  Will anyone make it to 28 days? 

Review of Hunted Episode 1

SPOILER ALERT

If you had to go on the run, where would you go?

So I'm trying something new and different here by reviewing a TV show.  As such, I will format this differently to my film reviews.  With the Channel 4 TV show Hunted recently finishing, I thought that I would rewatch it and review it episode by episode.

The Premise:

The idea behind Hunted is simple.  Filmed in a documentary style, 14 ordinary men and women (GPs, Team Managers, IT professionals etc) have to go on the run for 28 days.  They have to stay hidden from a crack team of Hunters.  These Hunters consist of former police officers, intelligence experts and CIA analysts.  The fugitives can choose any method to evade capture as long as it's legal and they stay within the UK.  Each fugitive is given £450 that they can withdraw from their bank account at any time.  The fugitives are given an hour's head start on the Hunters and are all accompanied by their own camera operator who lives under the same conditions as them. 

Fugitive 1: 

The first fugitive is Dr Ricky George Allen, a GP from Kent, who has since become one of the most iconic characters of Hunted.  He is a ball buster; someone who likes taking the piss, and winding people up.  Whilst this makes him a bit obnoxious and slightly unlikeable, he becomes one of the more endearing and recognisable characters of the show.  He goes on the run to make his family proud of him and because he thinks that the state has too much power.  His plan to evade the Hunters begins with him riding his motorbike, narrowly avoiding the Hunters who are able to track his motorcycle using automatic number plate recognition, to a friend's garage, where he picks up a car registered to the garage and then heads north.  His plan is to take refuge in Glencoe village in Scotland where he has worked before as a doctor.  He will use all of his old contacts as a support network, whilst he hides out locally and this works.  Ricky Allen has been on the run for six days and still hasn't been caught.

As I previously said, Ricky Allen is a ball-buster and someone who loves taken the piss, but I think this has contributed to why he's become the star of this show.  He's clever, if a little arrogant.  He's charming, if obnoxious.  He says that the reason he knows Glencoe Village so well, is that whilst working in the hospital there, he fell ill and had to have "surgery of the Lance Armstrong kind: a bollockectomy" and he tells the owner of a fast food fan that "if any dodgy characters with cheap cut suits and dark sunglasses come up here and ask whether they've seen me, tell them I've gone the other way.  Tell them I left you a number, but you wrote it on a napkin and gave it away to a customer." It was comments like this that not only portrayed Ricky's confidence, and arrogance at times, but also made him likeable.  Out of all of the fugitives, he seems the most confident in himself, the most organised, the one with the best plan and the one I want to succeed the most.

Status: Still at Large
Time on the Run: 6 days

Fugitives 2 and 3: 

The second and third fugitives are best friends Emily Dredge, an online business owner, and Lauren English, a decorator, from London.  Emily explains that her and Lauren used to always run away as children and she's been wanting to share this adventure with her again.  Same as Ricky Allen, their plan is to head north.  Whilst first, Lauren's boyfriend Gareth drives them out of London, Emily is worried about the car being tracked and she suggests that they hitchhike north instead.  Whilst this proves to be a very effective way of avoiding the Hunters, it soon takes a big toll on the pair and their relationship with each other.  Emily says that they are now living a lifestyle of a beggar.  They have to beg people for lifts, they have to beg for places to sleep and this soon begins to fracture their relationship and the pair begin to bicker.  However, what really causes friction is when Emily calls home twice to speak to her young son and Lauren gets justifiably angry at her, because, of course, the Hunters are monitoring their phones and the phones of their loved ones.  The true breaking point is when Emily and Lauren blag their way into some free accommodation in a caravan park, if Emily works in the office and answers the phones.  Instead of doing this, she calls home to once again check on her son Ernest, which then means that the two have to go on the run again, narrowly avoiding the Hunters who are converging in on their position.

Whilst Emily and Lauren do come up with a clever way of avoiding the Hunters, their constant bickering and fighting do make them quite annoying and tiresome to watch.  Considering that they're best friends, you would expect them to be able to get on better with each, although the psychological pressure of being on the run is enough to push any relationship to breaking point.

Status: Still at large
Time on the run: Three days

Fugitives 4 and 5:

The next team of fugitives are life and business partners Sandra Cooley and Elizabeth Varsy.  Their plan to avoid the Hunters involves taking local buses to crisscross South-East England.  Whilst they manage to evade the Hunters for four days, they make the fatal mistake of staying in a town and are soon spotted on CCTV in Brighton, where they are caught soon afterwards.  So, Sandra and Elizabeth weren't really in the show long enough to make much of an impression, but they highlighted a very important lesson in hiding from the government: always get away from cities and CCTV as soon as possible.

Status: Caught
Time on the run: Four days

The Hunters: 

The Hunters are a group of thirty cyber security experts, intelligence experts, former police officers who are headed by Chief Brett Lovegrove, a former head of counter-terrorism, and Peter Bletchley, a former undercover police officer who has infiltrated the IRA and the Mafia.  What this show does well is highlight the terrifying power of the state.  As Ben Owen, a deputy intelligence officer says, "if you are a fugitive, the State has every right to search your house to find where you have gone." The state makes extensive searches of Ricky and Emily's houses.  They question Ricky's wife and take his laptop and tablet in order to hack into his emails.  They do much the same to Emily, where they find out that she is a young mother, but go one step further by taking some of her dirty clothing, so that sniffer dogs can find her scent.  Furthermore, they also make extensive use of CCTV.  All of the fugitives have to take money out of ATMs, which all have cameras installed in them, that can instantly tell the Hunters the locations of the fugitives that used them.   However, what catches out a lot of fugitives is their desire to call home, which of course, the Hunters are monitoring. 

The Verdict:

I know this show has received a lot of criticism over how authentic it really is.  It is stated at the beginning of the show that certain powers of the state such as the ANPR is replicated for dramatic and entertainment purposes.  This then begs the question that if the ANPR is just a dramatic reconstruction, how are the Hunters exactly tracking down the fugitives through license plate recognition.  One bug bear that I do have with the show is the camera operators that accompany the fugitives.  I just can't see the practicality of this.  Are these camera operators just expected to lag around a heavy film camera for 28 days? Are they expected to carry this through the highlands of Scotland or to hold it on the back of Ricky Allen's motorbike or in a car that Emily and Lauren are hitchhiking in? Furthermore, there is obviously more than one camera operator, as there are plenty of shots of the camera operator who is accompanying the fugitives.  I would also think that the camera operators and the cameras themselves are very much a liability.  What happens if the camera breaks? Where can it be repaired? Also, wouldn't it be logical for the Hunters to track the camera operators and research into their backgrounds, but this is never mentioned on the show.  If this was the case though, then the operators would be a massive risk to the actual fugitives.  I think it might be more effective if each fugitive was given their own flip camera or compact digital camera and told to make regular video updates, but I guess, not every fugitive would have the times or means to do so.  

I think the portrayl of Hunters and fugitives is what makes this show really interesting.  As a viewer, you identify with the fugitives, you want the fugitives to succeed and to outwit the government, whom are very much portrayed as the antagonists of the show.  In real life, this could very much be the other way around.  The fugitives would be the villains and the Hunters are the heroes.  The way that Hunted inverts our expectations like this is what makes it such an entertaining show to watch.

Top 3 facts for evading capture:

1. Go rural.  Get out of the cities, get away from technology, get away from CCTV, get away from people who could turn you in.

2. Be as random and as unpredictable as possible.  Sandra and Elizabeth get caught, as their plan to catch local buses soon creates a pattern, which allows the Hunters to predict their next step.

3. DO NOT PHONE HOME! The Hunters will be monitoring all incoming and outgoing calls of the phones of your loved ones.  Even a pay as you go burner phone will still leave a trail that the Hunters will be able to track.

Sandra and Elizabeth have been caught, but Dr Ricky Allen, Lauren English and Emily Dredge and 9 more fugitives are still on the run.  Can any of them evade capture from the Hunters?

Spirited Away Review

Click here to go to my previous review of Run Fatboy Fun

SPOILER ALERT

A local cafe was showing this film for free and considering how both my housemate Anna and I love the film, we thought we would go along and watch it.

What's it about: This Japanese anime classic made Studio Ghibli famous and is one of Hayao Miyazaki's best films.  It follows the story of Chihiro, a spoilt, immature and annoying ten year old girl who is moving with her parents to a new house.  On the way, the family stumble across what they believe to be an abandoned theme park.  They find a restaurant stall with steaming plates of fresh food and, unaware that it is food left out for the gods, Chihiro's parents begin to devour it.  Chihiro, untrusting of this, explores the rest of the park and finds an exquisite bathhouse for Japanese Spirits.  She returns to her parents to find that they have transformed into pigs.  Terrified, Chihiro is comforted by Haku, a river spirit and dragon, her closest ally in escaping the spirit world and returning to the human one.  Chihiro is also assisted by the spirit No-Face, the boiler-man Kamaji and Chihiro's super-sassy work colleague Lin.

The Good: I loved this film as a kid and I love it just as much now.  It is by far one of the best films that Studio Ghibli has done and one reason for this is that it's just so weird.  The world of Spirited Away that plays host to witches, dragons, anthropomorphic frogs and strange spirits, is so far removed from anything that I have encountered before, that it instantly drew me in and held my interest throughout.  In order to survive in the spirit world, Chihiro has to take a job within the bathhouse: a luxourious spa for Japanese Spirits to come and relax.   Miyazaki's creative depiction of the many spirits who attend the spa is one of the best parts of the film.  One of the best characters is the Radish Spirit who, beyond being the spirit of radishes and adding some comedy relief does little to the plot, but is still great to see on screen.  Secondly, the boiler-man Komaji is a Yokai, a shape-shifting creature, whom is a cross between a man and a spider, is also a great creation by Miyazaki.  Throughout the film, Komaji serves as an ally to Chihiro and plays the role of wizened advisor.

The animation and the illustration of the film were brilliant too.  Haku, the spirit of the Kohaku river, who can shift forms between boy and dragon is drawn beautifully.  The oriental depiction of a dragon is vastly different to the Western depiction, where the former is much more subtle, refined and even ornate and elegant to some extent.  Furthermore, the animations of Yubaba, the witch who owns the bathhouse and the film's antagonist are also great.  She is portrayed as an ageing, wrinkled and fiercesome witch.

One thing that Anna and I didn't realise until we had watched the film was how scary it is considering it's only a cartoon.  This works much to its success, as it adds an unexpected layer of interest into the film.  As a viewer watching this cartoon film for the first time, I wouldn't expect to be scared whilst watching it.  One of the best examples of horror is when Chihirio discovers that her parents, upon devouring the food left out for the gods, have been transformed into pigs.  

I also really liked the character of No-Face.  No-Face is a spirit without a personality, meaning that it adopts the personality of whomever it meets.  No-Face first encounters Chihiro at the entrance of the bathhouse, where Chihiro leaves the door open to allow the spirit to enter.  No-Face tries to emulate Chihiro's generous nature by giving her gold, which she refuses.  However, the callous and greedy workers of the bathhouse become entranced by this promise of gold and work hard to impress the No-Face spirit.  No-Face then embodies their greedy natures and becomes a terrifying monster who wants to eat anything it encounters.

Many Studio Ghibli films have didactic messages and this film is no exception.  Again, this isn't something that I realised until I rewatched Spirited Away, but this film warns strongly against the dangers of greed.  Whilst Chihiro selflessly denies any gold that No-Face offers her, all of the other workers jump at the chance to collect as much gold as possible.  However, it is only at the film's conclusion where all of the gold is revealed to be nothing more than dirt.  

The musical score of Spirited Away is absolutely outstanding and this is down to the talents of Joe Hisaishi and the New Japanese Philharmonic orchestra. From the beautiful piano work of the Sixth Station to the orchestral combination of brass, woodwind and percussion of the Dragon Boy, Hisaishi composes music that fits each scene perfectly.  Joe Hisaishi has scored a number of Studio Ghibli films and his musical scores are some of the best bits of these films.  Spirited Away is no exception. 

The Bad: For the most part, I love this film.  I love the music, the creativity and the characters.  One thing I didn't particularly like was the character of Chihiro.  The film follows her transformation from a spoilt, immature brat into an intelligent, selfless and brave young woman.  However, I argue that throughout the film, she to some extent retains some of her more immature qualities, which made her very annoying.  Furthermore, throughout Spirited Away, Chihiro is bullied and taunted by the other workers at the bathhouse, because she is human.  This did make me question what the other characters were.  So, Yubaba is a witch, Haku is a spirit and Komaji is a Yokai, but what about characters like Lin.  Isn't she human too?

The Ugly: Considering how ugly Yubaba is, I am very surprised that any man would want to have a child with her.

Rating: Awesome

A wholly wonderful film with an amazing musical score, brilliant creativity and great visuals.  If only Chihiro wasn't so annoying, then maybe this film would be superlative.

Run Fatboy Run Review

Click here to go to my previous review of Love Actually 

SPOILER ALERT

So after Love Actually, we were up for another light-hearted comedy and we decided upon David Schwimmer 2007 Run Fatboy Run.

What's it about: Denis Doyle (Simon Pegg) is about to marry his pregnant fiancee Libby (Thandie Newton) when he gets cold feet and runs away leaving her at the altar.  Five years on, he is heartbroken to find that Libby has started dating the high-flying go-getter Whit (Hank Azaria) who is smart, charming, handsome, sophisticated, rich and runs marathons in his spare time.  When Denis finds out that Whit is running the Nike River Marathon, Denis decides to run it too, in order to win back Libby and to prove himself to his friends.  He is trained by two coaches: his best friend Gordan (Dylan Moran) and his landlord Mr Dastidar (Harish Patel.)

The Good: This film is ultimately a story about redemption.  Denis Doyle is a cowardly figure, but once he sees what he is missing by letting Libby go, decides to change himself and to prove that he is the right man for her and a good dad for their son Jake.  Whilst Simon Pegg is primarily known for his comedy roles, this film shows his versatility as a serious actor.  Pegg is very convincing in this film and I thought he gave a good performance.  I also quite liked Hank Azaria as the film's antagonist: Whit.  Whilst he begins the film as a charming and sophisticated character, he becomes progressively manipulative and horrible, especially towards Denis whom he constantly chastises and bullies. 

Whit's transformation is very subtle and I think it is done well.  Whilst the ugliness of his character isn't truly revealed until the film's ending, there are some small hints to it throughout the film.  The most notable of these is when Whit is with Jake and Libby sailing boats at the park and Whit refuses to let Jake sail his expensive sailing boat by saying "no, but you can watch me sail it." Whit's ugliness progressively builds until the film's climax, where he and Denis are racing each other in the marathon and Whit harshly trips Denis, leading himself to inadvertently fall and be sent to hospital.  Libby and Jake visit Whit in the hospital and Jake plays around with the controls of Whit's hospital bed saying "you can watch me control it." This was great comuppence for a slimy character like Whit.

The supporting cast were also great with Dylan Moran and Harish Patel being standout stars.  This film is also marked David Schwimmer's (Ross from Friends) directorial debut and he makes a good job of it.  The continues narrative flows well and never feels stilted or fragmented.  Whilst the nature of the film prevented Schwimmer from being too artistic, he creates a lovely visual metaphor of Denis Doyle "hitting the wall." In running or cycling or any endurance sport, there comes a moment where every athlete "hits the wall" and feels that cannot continue, no matter what.  Within the film, this is visualised as a literal wall, which Denis manages to break through to complete the marathon.

The Bad: Whilst this film is funny and it does work as a comedy, I feel that something is stopping it from reaching its potential.  Whilst the jokes are good, some are predictable and some just don't go far enough.  After Denis is tripped by Whit, he severely sprains his ankle, but perseveres to finish the race.  I also have to question the logic of this.  Sure, this moment is supposed to represent Denis' will and his love for Libby and Jake, but can you really run or limp a marathon with a sprained ankle.  Even at the film's end, where Denis falls metres before the finish line, he is able to force himself to sprint over it when he sees Libby and Jake on the other side.  I know, I'm being nitpicky, but this did bother me.

The Ugly: During the marathon Whit taunts Denis by saying "run fatboy run," displaying the true ugliness of his character.

Rating: Good

Whilst this film is funny and demonstrates the versatility of a number of actors who are primarily known for comedic roles, it has a few logical holes that stop it from being any better than good.  That, notwithstanding, this film is still powerful enough to spirit you away to a whole new world.

Click here to go to my next review of Spirited Away

Love Actually Review

SPOILER ALERT

So, me and my housemates were in the mood for something fun, happy and easy to watch.  Richard Curtis' 2003 romantic comedy Love Actually seemed like an obvious choice.

What's it about: Love Actually features a massive ensemble cast with a number of narratives that all converge on each other.  Set a few weeks before Christmas, Love Actually tells ten different love stories that are all mostly linked in one way or another.  Firstly, Hugh Grant plays David, the recently elected Prime Minister, who begins to fall in love with a new junior member of his household staff Natalie, (Martine McCutcheon.) His sister Karen (Emma Thompson) is married to Harry (Alan Rickman) who slowly begins to be seduced by his secretary Mia (Heike Makatsch.)

A separate storyline focuses on newly weds Juliet (Keira Knightley) and Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who both think that Peter's best friend and best man Mark (Andrew Lincoln) hate Juliet, when the opposite is the truth.  Forced to attend their wedding by his girlfriend who drops out at the last minute is Jamie (Colin Firth) who after he finds out his girlfriend is cheating on him retreats to a secluded French cottage where he begins becoming attracted to his housekeeper Aurelia (Lucla Moniz.)

Another separate storyline sees Colin Frissell's (Kris Marshall) blundering attempts to pick up British girls result in him travelling to America to use his "cute British accent" to sleep with American girls, whilst his best friend Tony (Abdul Sallis) desperately tries to convince him not to.  Tony is a TV director, where he directs John (Martin Freeman) and Judy (Joanna Page) who are both body doubles who whilst are perfectly comfortable with each other whilst filming sex scenes, are more awkward off-set.

A fourth narrative sees Daniel (Liam Neeson) a recent widower try to help his stepson Sam (Thomas Sangster) win his the heart of Joanna, his schoolgirl crush.


A fifth storyline focuses on Sarah (Laura Linney) and her boss Karl (Rodrigo Santoro) who despite always being attracted to each other, are unable to be together due to Sarah's mentally ill brother.


The sixth storyline features Bill Nighy as ageing rockstar Billy Mack who despite making a terrible song is encouraged by his manager Joe (Gregor Fisher) to get the song to number one.

The Good: As is obvious by my summary, this film has a number of different narratives.  However, the major strength of this film is that, for the most part, the narratives all work very well together.  None of the storyline clash with each other or are overshadowed by the others.  They all work effectively in their own right.  As there are too many to talk about in detail, I'll just pick some of the best ones.

The film works so effectively due to how it contrasts some of the funnier, happier narratives with some more touching, emotionally poignant ones.  The simplicity and wonderful stupidity of Colin's (Kris Marshall) plan to use his British accent to charm American girls contrasts well with how Harry's (Alan Rickman) secretary Mia (Heike Makatasch) purposefully intends to break up his marriage with his wife Karen (Emma Thompson.)  In one of the best moments of the film, Karen discovers a gold necklace that Harry has been hiding for her.  Innocently assuming that it's a Christmas present for her, she is very surprised to find that Harry has actually given her a Joni Mitchell CD.  Emma Thompson is absolutely brilliant in this scene.  In a very sad moment, she retires to her bedroom before completely breaking down upon realising that her husband could be cheating on her.  She then gathers up her strength to put on a brave face for her children.

Another example of this contrast in emotions is the narrative involving Daniel (Liam Neeson) coping with the loss of his wife by helping his stepson Sam (Thomas Sangster) win his schoolgirl crush.  This sweet storyline contrasts well with the more emotionally poignant narrative of Sarah (Laura Linney) who is unable to be with her boss Karl (Rodrigo Santoro) due to her mentally ill brother.  This I felt was one of the more underrated, but one of the most powerful scenes in the film and it demonstrates another type of love: family love.


This is another strength of the film.  It explores a lot of different types of love.  Family love e.g between Karl and Sarah or between Harry, Karen and Mia, parental love between Daniel and Sam and also love between friends such as between Peter (Chiwetel Ajiofor) Juliet (Keira Knightley) and Mark (Andrew Lincoln.) This was another of the more emotionally poignant narratives.  The conclusion where Mark holds up cue cards explaining his love for Juliet has become one of the most recognisable moments of the film, not only because of how Andrew Lincoln is now much more famous for killing zombies or shouting CARL in the Walking Dead.  Seriously, it was so weird hearing Andrew Lincoln speak in his native English accent.  But, I digress.  The best part of this storyline was hearing Mark say as he walked away "that's enough.  That's enough now," signifying that he is finally ready to move on.

Rowan Actkinson is undoubtedly the star of the film.  Despite having the least amount of screentime, he steals the film in his scene as sales assistant Rufus whose obsessive attention to giftwrapping a necklace that Harry wants to buy for Mia almost gets him caught by his wife Karen.  This scene is hilarious and Rowan Actkinson is brilliant.

The Bad: Whilst, for the most part, the narratives all work very well together, I do feel that some get overshadowed by others.  My main example is Karl and Sarah's narrative, which I had completely forgotten about until I had rewatched the film.  I also think that some characters and narratives didn't receive as much development and screentime as they did, such as John and Judy's one.  I would have liked to known more about these characters.

The Ugly: Me and my housemates said that whilst Mia deserves a slap for being an ugly bitch trying to break up Harry and Karen's marriage, Harry should get a slap as well for doing nothing to stop her.

Rating: Awesome

Whilst for the most part this film is hilarious and all of the storylines work well together, there is the odd occasion where one narrative is overshadowed by another.  That notwithstanding the film's balance between comedy and tragedy makes it a charming, witty and entertaining Christmas film that is guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face.  Whilst watching its many narratives and characters may feel like running a marathon, it'll be one that you're glad you took part in.

Click here to go to my next review of Run Fatboy Run

Memento Review

Click here to go to my previous review of Monty Python and the Holy Grail

SPOILER ALERT

Number 45 on the top 1000 greatest films of all time  is Christopher Nolan's 2002 neo-noir, psychological thriller Memento.

What's it about: Long before Christopher Nolan was entertaining comic book fans with the Dark Knight Trilogy or wowing audiences with Inception or deafening viewers with Interstellar, he was confusing them with Memento.  At heart, Memento is a simple story of Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) an insurance investigator, with a memory condition which prevents him from forming new memories, trying to track down the two men who raped and murdered his wife.  However, on the surface it is more complicated.  Memento contains two narratives who begin separately but progressively converge on each other.  The first narrative is set in the present day, shot in colour and is shown in reverse chronological order.  It details Leonard Shelby trying to track down the men who killed his wife using polaroid photographs and tattoos on his body to help him remember vital information.  The second narrative is set in the past, shot in monochrome and shown in chronological order.  This narrative details Leonard's engagement with Sammy Jankis (Stephen Tobolowsky:) a man with the same condition as Leonard, whom the latter suspects is trying to commit insurance fraud.

The Good: The nature of the narrative and the two converging storylines with one told in reverse chronological order is confusing and demands the viewer's full attention.  I really like how Nolan did this.  Having a narrative as difficult to follow as this means that you can't look away for an instant and you have to watch the film intently.  This means that the viewer is more engaged with the film and will be dwelling on it for a longer time.  Thus Nolan places some sort of trust within his audience to piece together the film for themselves.  Furthermore, I like how the nature of the film meant that much of it is somewhat ambiguous.  Even though, it is heavily implied that John "Teddy" Gammell (Joe Pantoliano) is the killer that Shelby is looking for, this is never confirmed and furthermore Shelby's memory condition makes him an unreliable narrator, as the viewer can never be sure of what he remembers and what he doesn't. 

I also really liked the two narratives and how they engaged with each other.  I loved the Sammy Jankis narrative and I found this very emotionally touching.  Just like Leonard, Sammy can remember everything he knew before the accident that led to his anterograde amnesia, but he can't form any new memories.  He can remember how to give his wife an insulin shot, but he can't remember that he gave her one, even when he does it three times a row.  I felt that Stephen Tobolowsky was great in his role as Sammy.  Tobolowsky played the role brilliantly and the storyline was very sad.  However, during the film's conclusion, it is actually revealed that Jankis was single and it was in fact Shelby who gave his wife multiple insulin shots leading her to enter a coma which she never wakes up from.

The Bad: As I previously said, the nature of this film means that you have to pay close attention to it or you will be completely lost.  This did happen to me on a few occasions and I became quite confused.  This detracted from the viewing experience for me, as I wasn't sure what was going on, although maybe that's more of a reflection of my limited brainpower rather than the film itself.  One part of the film I didn't like was the subplot of Natalie, the girlfriend of a drug dealer whom Shelby kills.  I found how Natalie wanting Shelby to run a man called Dodd out of town confusing and irrelevant to the main plot.  Whilst I can understand the inclusion of Natalie and her boyfriend, whom Gammell sets up as the killer of Shelby's wife, I really didn't understand the inclusion of Dodd.

The Ugly: I've yet to see anything that Joe Pantoliano has been in, where he hasn't played the slimy, ugly bad guy.

Rating: Good

The film is clever and complicated.  However, it does get a little confusing and convoluted at times and it also has a subplot that doesn't contribute to the main plot.  For these reasons, the film is only good.  This notwithstanding Shelby's devotion to his murdered wife is evidence that it really is love actually. 

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Click here to go to my previous review of Saving Private Ryan 

SPOILER ALERT

Whilst this film is 103 on the top 1000 films of all time, the reason why I watched it is because after one of my housemates said that he hadn't seen Monty Python, the rest of us decided to introduce him to the series through this 1975 film.

What's it about: Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a silly, zany and highly irreverent parody of King Arthur's quest to find the Holy Grail.  It stars all six of the Pythons in a number of roles, as they encounter a number of obstables in their quest to find the Holy Grail, including troublesome French Knights, the Knights who say Ni and the Legendary black beast of Aaaaaarggggggghhhhhh.

The Good: This is film is funny.  I remember laughing my head off when I first watched it as a kid and it is just as funny watching it again now.  Some moments in this film have become the most quotable in movie history from the "Knights who say Ni," to the "your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries" to the "tis, but a scratch." The reason this film works so well as a comedy is how it encompasses so many genres of comedy from the ridiculous Black Knight who refuses to give up fighting even when he has lost two arms and one leg, which I found hilarious as a kid, to the peasant Dennis complaining about how the current political system is repressing him and the rest of the peasantry to the intertextual references to scene 24 which has some "smashing acting."

Furthermore, the film demonstrates all of the Pythons' versatility as actors.  Just like in Monty Pyhton's Flying Circus, all of the Pythons take on a variety of roles: Graham Chapman takes the lead as King Arthur, whilst John Cleese, Michael Palin, Eric Idle and Terry Jones play the four knights Lancelot, Galahad, Robin and Bedevere.  However, the actors then take on a number of other roles such as Tim the Enchanter (John Cleese) Prince Herbert (Terry Jones) Roger the Shrubber (Eric Idle) and Dennis (Michael Palin.) Terry Gilliam's contributions as animator and a few small roles such as the Bridge Keeper are not to be overlooked.  The zaniness of some of his animations, such as the animation preceding the Tale of Sir Lancelot were hilarious.

The musical numbers were great too and also contributed well to the film's humour, even if some of them were very random e.g the monks chanting a hymn and then hitting themselves in the head with their hymn books.  I also enjoyed, how, unlike its successor, Life of Brian, this film is much more reminiscent of the scatalogical, sketch based humour of Monty Python's Flying Circus.  Whilst the film has a continous narrative and also running gags, such as the swallows and coconuts, it still reminded me of its TV predecessor.  Due to its use of animation and, mostly, self-contained, scatalogical sketch-based humour and the abrupt ending of the film, it hearkened back to Flying Cirus, which helped to create a connection between it and Monty Python's loyal fanbase.

The Bad: Conversely, whilst how the film hearkens back to Flying Circus is good for diehard fans who are looking for a continuation of their favourite TV series, I feel that the scatalogical nature of the film can be off-putting to new viewers.  When I watched this film with my ex-girlfriend, who was completely unfamiliar with Monty Python, she had trouble understanding some of the random humour or the relevance of Terry Gilliam's animations.  For example, she became very confused in
the scene where "A Famous Historian" is stabbed in the neck by a knight.

The Ugly: Farting in your general direction? Those French knights really are dastardly ugly.

Rating: Awesome

Whilst this film's scatalogical humour might alienate new viewers, I still find it hilarious and I think it's a great memento to Monty Python's Flying Circus.