Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3 picks up where episode 4 leaves off. Having tracked down nurses Emma and Jess, the Hunters send teams to catch them. After a short pursuit, they do just that. After ten days on the run, Emma and Jess have been caught,
This was a pity, as I liked the two. I like how they were able to make up after their fight. But just like Paul and Nick, they became overconfident. And for that, they paid the ultimate price.
From here we move onto Essex brothers Harry and Frank Savage. This episode explored their relationship very closely. The brothers have recently lost their parents - Harry being the younger brother, has been hit the hardest. And Frank served as his rock. We also learn that despite being brothers and best friends, they are complete polar opposites. Harry is very flamboyant and outgoing with a great love of social media. Frank doesn't even have a social media account.
The last we saw of the boys, they were South-East of Chester. But they have since hiked into rural Derbyshire, camping at night. This comes second nature to Frank who is a campsite owner, but for Harry, it isn't so easy. A longing for creature comforts sees the boys taking refuge at a shooting range in Doveridge.
Here we see Harry's more sensitive side emerge, as he breaks down in tears. The ever-reliable Frank is there to support him. Sensing his brother's low morale, Frank devises a plan to return home to Essex. To help them, they enlist the owner of the shooting range, Jo Gilligan. They film a taunting video of themselves at the range, complete with cheesy one-liner and post it on Facebook. The Hunters see it, but by that time Jo has driven them to safety. The Hunters interrogate Jo who despite letting a few things slip doesn't give up Harry and Frank. Their whereabouts are currently unknown.
From here, we move onto Matt Mason. As a Royal Marine Commando, the smart money is on him to win, but only time will tell. To help catch him, the Hunters dig into his life where they find he is a husband and has a baby boy. They suspect his family are his weakness.
And they're right. Having finished hiking through Wales, he has reached Montmountshire in Gloucester. There he makes contact with his sister and his brother-in-law. However, the Hunters have access to his internet search history and have determined his plan of action and already know about Gloucester. They send ground teams to investigate.
Meanwhile, Matt is sheltering in a barn owned by his brother-in-law. As it is father's day, he is determined to see his wife and son. And his brother-in-law brokers the meet for him. They arrange to meet at a local monument. But the Hunters suspect he is planning to meet his wife and send up a remote-controlled drone. While waiting at the monument, Matt hears the drone and wisely walks into a nearby forest. The drone cannot spot him and is forced to return when it loses battery. Although, in previous series, the drones have been armed with thermal imaging cameras. I'm not sure why this wasn't used here.
But Matt is still able to reunite him with his family before once again going on the run. His whereabouts are currently unknown.
Finally, we have friends Ismail and Nathaniel. The Hunters identify they are recent university graduates and have thus accrued a good amount of debt. The Hunters exploit that by freezing their bank accounts.
Meanwhile, the boys are wild camping in the Peak District. But miserable weather conditions forces them to see shelter at a local pub. Here it would be all too easy to criticise the boys for giving up too soon, for not roughing it even more. But I'm writing this on my laptop in my warm bedroom, rather than freezing my arse off in the Peak District. I'm every single inch the city boy as are Nate and Ismail, and I will probably struggle rough camping too.
Anyway, the boys treat themselves to a slap-up meal, but find their bank cards are declined when they try to pay. They use the rest of the cash to pay, but the declining card reveals their location to the Hunters. The boys are given a lift by the pub landlord to another pub called Ye Olde Mustard Pot. But the Hunters spot them on CCTV getting the light and also in the second pub.
Their next plan is to seek help in their university City of Huddersfield. They contact a source who arranges for them to take a taxi into the city. But the Hunters are one step ahead of them. They spot the friends on CCTV and knowing their connection to Huddersfield, they send teams to intercept.
Nathaniel and Ismail shelter in a gym called Top Bodies Express where their contact works. The gym's owner John Froud is more than happy to help them. But when the Hunters dig into their social media, they discover they are frequent patrons of Top Bodies Express, and target John Froud.
Froud hides the boys in one of his rental properties. The Hunters interview him. While he initially fights them off, his bluster and his story falls away, when the Hunters snoop around his phone. They find he's deleted his calls and he has also left his GPS on. Using his GPS history,t hey locate the rental property where they suspect he is hiding the boys. Teams are sent to intercept, but whether they succeed or not, is a question that will have to wait until next week.
Top tips for going on the run
1. Don't become overconfident. It happened last week and it happened this week too. Don't let your guard down. Emma and Jess were caught in their pyjamas.
2. Don't leave your GPS on. And be smarter in deleting your call history.
3. If you're going to hide in the Peak District, get actual hiking boots. Not converses like Ismail and Nathaniel.
While my little blog is probably at the bottom of search engine rankings, don't tell me your plan for going on the run. The Hunters are watching.
Monday 28 January 2019
Tuesday 22 January 2019
The Secret in their Eyes Review
Number 142 on the top 1000 films of all time is the Argentinean crime drama the Secret in their Eyes.
Set in Buenos Aires in both 1974 and 1999, the Secret in their Eyes follows two narratives. The first narrative is told via flashback form and follows federal agent Benjamin Esposito (Ricardo Darin) attempting to catch the man who has raped and killed Liliana Coloto. Aiding him is Coloto's husband Ricardo Morales, (Pablo Ragos) his assistant with a drinking problem, Pablo Sanchoval, and head judge Irene Menedez Hastings (Soledad Villamil) which Benjamin has always had feelings for.
In 1999, we see the retired Esposito struggling to write his first book. Looking for inspiration, he revisits the old case, as well as his feelings for Hastings.
Set in Buenos Aires in both 1974 and 1999, the Secret in their Eyes follows two narratives. The first narrative is told via flashback form and follows federal agent Benjamin Esposito (Ricardo Darin) attempting to catch the man who has raped and killed Liliana Coloto. Aiding him is Coloto's husband Ricardo Morales, (Pablo Ragos) his assistant with a drinking problem, Pablo Sanchoval, and head judge Irene Menedez Hastings (Soledad Villamil) which Benjamin has always had feelings for.
In 1999, we see the retired Esposito struggling to write his first book. Looking for inspiration, he revisits the old case, as well as his feelings for Hastings.
If there is one way to describe this film, it is as a damning indictment of the corrupt Argentinean justice system. This is manifested within the character of Romano – a rival prosecutor of Benjamin Esposito.
Romano quickly tries to pin Liliana’s rape and murder on two innocent immigrant workers of which he beats until they confess. Even after Esposito discovers the true killer, Isidoro Gomez, and imprisons him for life, he is freed after a year.
And this is once again because of Romano who has freed Gomez to exploit his murderous tendencies. Gomez is used as an enforcer to combat the left-wing guerrillas who are attacking Maria Peron’s far-right government. Romano senses that Esposito will expose him and sends hit-men to kill him, but they kill Sanchovar instead.
Sanchovar was a tragic character throughout, his weakness for drink destroyed his marriage and his life, but he died a hero. When the hit-men ask him if he is Esposito, he lies by saying he is. This act of protection costs him his life. In many ways, Sanchovar is the opposite of Romano. While they both have flaws, Sanchovar is driven by his innate compassion, while Romano is motivated by his desire for power. Gomez remains a free man.
But this railing against the corrupted government prevails at the end of the film. In the present-day 1999 narrative, Esposito is struggling to think of a suitable end to his book. He tracks down Ricardo Morales who is living in a rural area of Beunos Aires. Esposito questions Morales over how he has managed to continue living 25 years after the rape and murder of his wife – just how he was able to continue, especially after previously obsessing over the case.
Morales says that he kidnapped and shot Gomez, but it is revealed that he has actually been keeping him prisoner in his home for 25 years. And Morales did this, because he lost his faith in the justice system. Gomez was supposed to be imprisoned for life. Instead, he was released after a year, so Morales took the law into his own hands.
If there is anywhere where the film missteps, I think it is in the romantic subplot between Esposito and Menedez. I do understand what they were going for here, but I think it needed a bit more exploration. It would have been nice to have seen more time focussed on this storyline.
But overall, this was a very enjoyable film with a stylised cinematography, strong performances and an interesting social commentary.
Saturday 19 January 2019
Hunted Season 4 Episode 2
Episode 1
Episode 2 of Hunted picks up exactly where the first episode left off. The Hunters are on the door step of Nick Batchelor and Paul James - two ex-drug addicts and convicts who are determined to show it is possible for people to change.
The Hunters have tracked them to a friend's house in Bristol and have sent in a ground team to catch them. Nick is outside having a cigarette where he is spotted. A chase ensues and he is caught. In the chaos, Paul escapes, but not for long, as he is caught hiding in a truck. After five days, the two friends have been caught by the Hunters. Honestly, I think they were a little sloppy. They made grand claims about not letting their guard down, but that's exactly what happened. Nick should have known better than to have a cigarette in the open air.
Time on the run: 5 days
Status: Caught
We now move onto our next fugitive: Royal Marine commando Matt Mason. His plan is to go rural, specifically to hide out in the Brecon Beacons in Wales. He is an experienced mountaineer and is confident that the Hunters won't find him here. He has no qualms about sleeping rough or using a compass and map to navigate. However, what he has in confidence and experience, he lacks in technological saviness. The Hunters interview Matt's wife and search his house. While Matt's wife stays mute, the Hunters recover Matt's phone and external hard drive.
Upon further investigation, they learn that Matt is naive when it comes to technology. The Hunters discover reams of search results all relating to Matt's plan while on the run. They find clues and maps concerning where he is heading and they discover he is planning to move through the Brecon Beacons.
But Matt is so confident in himself that he decides to taunt the Hunters. He washes in a mountain lake and uses a T-shirt to dry himself. A t-shirt that says "come and find me." He mails it to the Hunters with the plan of being 150 miles south in Abergevenny when they receive it.
However, unbeknownst to him, the Hunters know his next step and send ground teams, a dog and drone to intercept him. Matt plans to travel to Abergevenny, where he desperately needs to resupply, by bus. But as time wears on, his cockiness erodes, as he wonders whether he has made a mistake. He asks the locals whether they can drive him to Abergevenny. They refuse and then grass him up.
He decides to get on the bus and the Hunters think they have him trapped. They are watching every road and aim to box him in. However, Matt becomes increasingly anxious on the bus and ditches out early. And, more than this, he has completely evaded the Hunters. The last we see of him, he is planning to go off-grid again.
To be honest, I think Matt demonstrated a naivety that I wasn't expecting from him. Everybody knows just how much information is being collected from us via the internet. While deleting your search history doesn't actually do all that much, it is still a precaution worth taking. And it's also not a good idea to use buses or trains. The Hunters could be waiting for you at the other end.
Time on the run: 10 days
Status: At large
Our final fugitives are our two nurses from Devon, Emma Davidson and Jess Kirkham. They've hitch hiked to the Lake District where they are staying in a caravan park. Their plan is to hitchhike to Penrith and catch a train to Glasgow where they will stay with a friend.
We quickly see that Jess is the leader of the two - she describes herself as very bossy and this bossiness rapidly becomes a bone of contention between the two friends. They have a fight and this definitely won't be the last fight they have. They approach a garage owned by a Keith Dawson and ask if they can have a lift in exchange for doing some work. Keith agrees, but then tweets out a picture of them.
The Hunters of course see it and contact Keith. However, Keith doesn't rat them out, which was a bit weird. I'm not sure why he tweeted the picture of the girls. Was it just a taunt? Anyway, the Hunters access the CCTV at Keith's garage and spot the girls being driven to Penrith. At the station, they don disguises and decide to travel separately without communicating until they reach their contact.
But the Hunters see right through their disguises and send ground teams to Glasgow. While on the train, Emma starts becoming paranoid and anxious. Their relationship was founded on the confident Jess always comforting and supporting the nervous Emma. Without Jess by her side, Emma feels lost and she decides to break the plan. She sneaks a note to Jess saying that at Glasgow, Jess will follow her a safe distance away until they reach their contact.
Jess is angry at the change of plan feeling that Emma has placed an immense amount of pressure upon her. They argue and just as it looks like the two will fracture, they reconcile. Emma holds the information for the contacts and the two realise they're stronger together than apart.
The two reach their contact who takes them into Perthshire. Their contact is an old family friend called Grenville Botham - an ex-marine. He has a network of ex-marine associates and plans to use them to help the girls. However, the Hunters spot both he and the girls on CCTV and start tracking them.
Grenville takes the girls to a safehouse where they will stay for forty-eight hours. In the meanwhile, he gives them a phone and says he will send a coded text containing instructions. But the Hunters are of course tracking Grenville's phone and see straight through the message. They discover the girls are going to be picked up by an Ed Anderson who shelters them within the Royal George Hotel. They send teams to intercept, but Ed has already arranged for Stewart Mcrae to pick them up.
Suspecting Ed will take the girls to his house, the Hunters send teams to lie in wait. But Ed unknowingly outsmarts them by instead taking them to his sister's house, as she is out of town. The girls are hidden there, but let their guard down by sunbathing out in the garden. The Hunters refused to give up and prowl around searching for Ed's car. They spot it, just as Ed spots them and warns the girls. Have Jess and Emma been caught? We'll have to wait until next week to find out.
But it'll be interesting to see what will happen if they aren't caught. Will they stick together or will they separate? Although they reconciled here, as the pressure builds, they may split for good. Historically, pairs that have separated have done very well. Lauren and Emily separated and won the first series. Ayo separated from Madu and won series 2, although Madu was caught. And the legendary Bob and Alex Ayling separated and once again won. We can only wait to see what happens.
Top three tips for going on the run
1. Wipe your internet history. You don't need to be a tin-foil hat conspiracy theorist to know the government has reams of data on all of us. And where do they get that from? The internet.
2. Don't use buses or trains. Both Matt and Jess and Emma did this and were lucky not to get caught. What do you do if you get off at the other end and the Hunters are waiting for you?
3. Don't get cocky. I know the temptation is always there to taunt the Hunters, but it rarely ends well.
And, as always, don't tell me your plans for going on the run in the comments below. As we've discovered in this episode, the Hunters pay a lot of attention to internet and social-media based information. Although, I wonder what the Hunters would make of my little blog if I ever went on the show.
Episode 2 of Hunted picks up exactly where the first episode left off. The Hunters are on the door step of Nick Batchelor and Paul James - two ex-drug addicts and convicts who are determined to show it is possible for people to change.
The Hunters have tracked them to a friend's house in Bristol and have sent in a ground team to catch them. Nick is outside having a cigarette where he is spotted. A chase ensues and he is caught. In the chaos, Paul escapes, but not for long, as he is caught hiding in a truck. After five days, the two friends have been caught by the Hunters. Honestly, I think they were a little sloppy. They made grand claims about not letting their guard down, but that's exactly what happened. Nick should have known better than to have a cigarette in the open air.
Time on the run: 5 days
Status: Caught
We now move onto our next fugitive: Royal Marine commando Matt Mason. His plan is to go rural, specifically to hide out in the Brecon Beacons in Wales. He is an experienced mountaineer and is confident that the Hunters won't find him here. He has no qualms about sleeping rough or using a compass and map to navigate. However, what he has in confidence and experience, he lacks in technological saviness. The Hunters interview Matt's wife and search his house. While Matt's wife stays mute, the Hunters recover Matt's phone and external hard drive.
Upon further investigation, they learn that Matt is naive when it comes to technology. The Hunters discover reams of search results all relating to Matt's plan while on the run. They find clues and maps concerning where he is heading and they discover he is planning to move through the Brecon Beacons.
But Matt is so confident in himself that he decides to taunt the Hunters. He washes in a mountain lake and uses a T-shirt to dry himself. A t-shirt that says "come and find me." He mails it to the Hunters with the plan of being 150 miles south in Abergevenny when they receive it.
However, unbeknownst to him, the Hunters know his next step and send ground teams, a dog and drone to intercept him. Matt plans to travel to Abergevenny, where he desperately needs to resupply, by bus. But as time wears on, his cockiness erodes, as he wonders whether he has made a mistake. He asks the locals whether they can drive him to Abergevenny. They refuse and then grass him up.
He decides to get on the bus and the Hunters think they have him trapped. They are watching every road and aim to box him in. However, Matt becomes increasingly anxious on the bus and ditches out early. And, more than this, he has completely evaded the Hunters. The last we see of him, he is planning to go off-grid again.
To be honest, I think Matt demonstrated a naivety that I wasn't expecting from him. Everybody knows just how much information is being collected from us via the internet. While deleting your search history doesn't actually do all that much, it is still a precaution worth taking. And it's also not a good idea to use buses or trains. The Hunters could be waiting for you at the other end.
Time on the run: 10 days
Status: At large
Our final fugitives are our two nurses from Devon, Emma Davidson and Jess Kirkham. They've hitch hiked to the Lake District where they are staying in a caravan park. Their plan is to hitchhike to Penrith and catch a train to Glasgow where they will stay with a friend.
We quickly see that Jess is the leader of the two - she describes herself as very bossy and this bossiness rapidly becomes a bone of contention between the two friends. They have a fight and this definitely won't be the last fight they have. They approach a garage owned by a Keith Dawson and ask if they can have a lift in exchange for doing some work. Keith agrees, but then tweets out a picture of them.
The Hunters of course see it and contact Keith. However, Keith doesn't rat them out, which was a bit weird. I'm not sure why he tweeted the picture of the girls. Was it just a taunt? Anyway, the Hunters access the CCTV at Keith's garage and spot the girls being driven to Penrith. At the station, they don disguises and decide to travel separately without communicating until they reach their contact.
But the Hunters see right through their disguises and send ground teams to Glasgow. While on the train, Emma starts becoming paranoid and anxious. Their relationship was founded on the confident Jess always comforting and supporting the nervous Emma. Without Jess by her side, Emma feels lost and she decides to break the plan. She sneaks a note to Jess saying that at Glasgow, Jess will follow her a safe distance away until they reach their contact.
Jess is angry at the change of plan feeling that Emma has placed an immense amount of pressure upon her. They argue and just as it looks like the two will fracture, they reconcile. Emma holds the information for the contacts and the two realise they're stronger together than apart.
The two reach their contact who takes them into Perthshire. Their contact is an old family friend called Grenville Botham - an ex-marine. He has a network of ex-marine associates and plans to use them to help the girls. However, the Hunters spot both he and the girls on CCTV and start tracking them.
Grenville takes the girls to a safehouse where they will stay for forty-eight hours. In the meanwhile, he gives them a phone and says he will send a coded text containing instructions. But the Hunters are of course tracking Grenville's phone and see straight through the message. They discover the girls are going to be picked up by an Ed Anderson who shelters them within the Royal George Hotel. They send teams to intercept, but Ed has already arranged for Stewart Mcrae to pick them up.
Suspecting Ed will take the girls to his house, the Hunters send teams to lie in wait. But Ed unknowingly outsmarts them by instead taking them to his sister's house, as she is out of town. The girls are hidden there, but let their guard down by sunbathing out in the garden. The Hunters refused to give up and prowl around searching for Ed's car. They spot it, just as Ed spots them and warns the girls. Have Jess and Emma been caught? We'll have to wait until next week to find out.
But it'll be interesting to see what will happen if they aren't caught. Will they stick together or will they separate? Although they reconciled here, as the pressure builds, they may split for good. Historically, pairs that have separated have done very well. Lauren and Emily separated and won the first series. Ayo separated from Madu and won series 2, although Madu was caught. And the legendary Bob and Alex Ayling separated and once again won. We can only wait to see what happens.
Top three tips for going on the run
1. Wipe your internet history. You don't need to be a tin-foil hat conspiracy theorist to know the government has reams of data on all of us. And where do they get that from? The internet.
2. Don't use buses or trains. Both Matt and Jess and Emma did this and were lucky not to get caught. What do you do if you get off at the other end and the Hunters are waiting for you?
3. Don't get cocky. I know the temptation is always there to taunt the Hunters, but it rarely ends well.
And, as always, don't tell me your plans for going on the run in the comments below. As we've discovered in this episode, the Hunters pay a lot of attention to internet and social-media based information. Although, I wonder what the Hunters would make of my little blog if I ever went on the show.
Sunday 13 January 2019
Heat review
Number 140 on the top 1000 greatest movies of all time is Michael Mann's 1995 neo-noir crime film: Heat.
Based on a true story and set in LA, Heat follows professional thief Neil McCauley - the leader of a group of bank robbers. He plans one final heist before retiring and will let nothing stand in his way. However, he faces tough opposition in the form of Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) a veteran cop who isn't afraid to fight dirty. Val Kilmer, Ashley Judd, Danny Trejo and Natalie Portman appear in supporting roles.
At its heart, Heat is a story about loyalty and the different moral codes that everybody has. This is present right from the beginning where one of Neil's men: Waingro (Kevin Gage) breaks the rules by killing a policeman during a heist. As punishment for this, Neil attempts to kill him, but he escapes. As revenge, Waingro makes a deal with notorious fence Roger Van Zant (William Fichtner) to execute McCauley and his crew.
These actions have far-reaching consequences, as Wain and Van Zant extract information from McCauley's man Trejo. (Danny Trejo) In an especially poignant scene, McCauley confronts the near-dying Trejo who begs him "not to leave him like this." Because of Wain, McCauley is forced to euthanise his friend.
Also Wain bails as a get-away driver for McCauley's bank heist forcing him to recruit old friend and ex-con Donald Breedan. (Dennis Haysbert) Breedan is trying his best to go straight by working as a grill chef. However, as his boss is a jerk, he accept McCauley's offer. But the heist goes wrong when a shoot-out occurs and Breedan is killed. This was a sad storyline that highlights the struggles ex-cons go through when trying to reform. The allure of their old lives is all too seductive, especially when they're still loyal to their new friends.
McCauley also displays great loyalty to his friend Chris Shiherilis. Chris is having problems with his wife Charlene (Ashley Judd) and McCauley is determined to help him through it. After the argument, Chris seeks shekter at McCauley's house. Later on, McCauley spots Charlene with another man and confronts her, telling her to give Chris one more chance. When Van Zant tries to kill McCauley, Chris has his back. During the final heist, Chris is shot and McCauley is determined not to leave him behind. He takes him to a friendly doctor before arranging him safe travel away from LA.
Hanna also has his own moral code. This is particularly evident with his step-daughter Lauren (Natalie Portman.) The mentally unstable Lauren has a bad relationship with her real father. After he lets her down one too many times, she attempts to commit suicide. Hanna discovers her and moves heaven and earth to get her help. This storyline was undeveloped and I'd've liked to see it explored more, but it was still a touching display of the love a man has for his daughter even if she is a step-daughter.
But the exploration of loyalty culminates within the film's thrilling conclusion. In an earlier scene, Hanna confronts McCauley and we see the level of mutual respect that is shared between the two. The men are equals to one another. McCauley tells Hanna about his '30 second rule' or "don't become attached to anything you're not prepared to leave in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat of the police." The scene ends with the men, despite their mutual respect, vowing to kill each other if the situation calls for it.
And this is what happens in the conclusion. In a great ending, Hanna pursues McCauley to LAX airport. After a gunfight on the runway, Hanna shoots McCauley. As he lies dying, Hanna takes his hand and the two share a reflective moment. And this was a reflective moment, I found myself partaking in. It was a powerful note to end the film on and one that left me thinking. Ultimately, I did enjoy this film. At almost 3 hours, it was a bit longer than it had to be, but the narrative was good and the action sequences tense. And any film that leaves me thinking is a good film in my book.
Based on a true story and set in LA, Heat follows professional thief Neil McCauley - the leader of a group of bank robbers. He plans one final heist before retiring and will let nothing stand in his way. However, he faces tough opposition in the form of Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) a veteran cop who isn't afraid to fight dirty. Val Kilmer, Ashley Judd, Danny Trejo and Natalie Portman appear in supporting roles.
At its heart, Heat is a story about loyalty and the different moral codes that everybody has. This is present right from the beginning where one of Neil's men: Waingro (Kevin Gage) breaks the rules by killing a policeman during a heist. As punishment for this, Neil attempts to kill him, but he escapes. As revenge, Waingro makes a deal with notorious fence Roger Van Zant (William Fichtner) to execute McCauley and his crew.
These actions have far-reaching consequences, as Wain and Van Zant extract information from McCauley's man Trejo. (Danny Trejo) In an especially poignant scene, McCauley confronts the near-dying Trejo who begs him "not to leave him like this." Because of Wain, McCauley is forced to euthanise his friend.
Also Wain bails as a get-away driver for McCauley's bank heist forcing him to recruit old friend and ex-con Donald Breedan. (Dennis Haysbert) Breedan is trying his best to go straight by working as a grill chef. However, as his boss is a jerk, he accept McCauley's offer. But the heist goes wrong when a shoot-out occurs and Breedan is killed. This was a sad storyline that highlights the struggles ex-cons go through when trying to reform. The allure of their old lives is all too seductive, especially when they're still loyal to their new friends.
McCauley also displays great loyalty to his friend Chris Shiherilis. Chris is having problems with his wife Charlene (Ashley Judd) and McCauley is determined to help him through it. After the argument, Chris seeks shekter at McCauley's house. Later on, McCauley spots Charlene with another man and confronts her, telling her to give Chris one more chance. When Van Zant tries to kill McCauley, Chris has his back. During the final heist, Chris is shot and McCauley is determined not to leave him behind. He takes him to a friendly doctor before arranging him safe travel away from LA.
Hanna also has his own moral code. This is particularly evident with his step-daughter Lauren (Natalie Portman.) The mentally unstable Lauren has a bad relationship with her real father. After he lets her down one too many times, she attempts to commit suicide. Hanna discovers her and moves heaven and earth to get her help. This storyline was undeveloped and I'd've liked to see it explored more, but it was still a touching display of the love a man has for his daughter even if she is a step-daughter.
But the exploration of loyalty culminates within the film's thrilling conclusion. In an earlier scene, Hanna confronts McCauley and we see the level of mutual respect that is shared between the two. The men are equals to one another. McCauley tells Hanna about his '30 second rule' or "don't become attached to anything you're not prepared to leave in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat of the police." The scene ends with the men, despite their mutual respect, vowing to kill each other if the situation calls for it.
And this is what happens in the conclusion. In a great ending, Hanna pursues McCauley to LAX airport. After a gunfight on the runway, Hanna shoots McCauley. As he lies dying, Hanna takes his hand and the two share a reflective moment. And this was a reflective moment, I found myself partaking in. It was a powerful note to end the film on and one that left me thinking. Ultimately, I did enjoy this film. At almost 3 hours, it was a bit longer than it had to be, but the narrative was good and the action sequences tense. And any film that leaves me thinking is a good film in my book.
Saturday 12 January 2019
Hunted season 4 Episode 1
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Channel 4's hit reality TV series Hunted has returned for a fourth season and so have my reviews. Ten ordinary men and women surrender their identities to become fugitives. Their goal is to avoid government capture for 25 days; if they do so, they'll win a share of £100k. They cannot break the law and must stay on the British mainland. However, they'll be going up against a fearsome team of ex-policemen, criminal psychologists, intelligence analysts and military personnel. Armed with sniffer dogs, ground teams, ANPR software and all of the tools of the state, the Hunters will not make things easy for the fugitives.
The Hunters are led by Peter Bleksley - a man more cockney than Delboy. He is an ex undercover policeman. He has deputies in the form of Julie Clegg and Ben Owen who were both intelligence officers. Amongst others, there is also Donna Young - a criminal psychologist.
With so many fugitives, to keep things simple, the series focusses on a few at a time, which is what I'll do too. But firstly, we'll have a break down of the 10 fugitives.
Nicholas Bachelor: a 51 year old Youth Worker and ex-convict and drug addict from Kent.
Paul James: a 48 year old Construction Worker. Paul is a close friend of Nicholas and helped him through the worst of his drug addiction
Emma Davidson, a 23 year old nurse from Devon.
Jess Kirkham: a 27 year old nurse also from Devon.
Harry Savage - a 20 year old drama student from Essex. Harry is also gay and he is participating to challenge stereotypes about gay people.
Frank Savage - a 23 year old campsite owner and Harry's older brother.
Nathaniel Watt - a 26 year old architecture student from Nottingham
Ismail Haruna - a 27 year old architectural technologist also from Nottingham.
Matt Mason - a 29 year old Royal Marine from Devon.
Loren Hannon - a 26 year old personal banker from Essex.
Every season begins with the fugitives gathered in one place ready to go on the run. This year, it began in Liverpool with the fugitives on a boat going up the River Mersey. They reach the port of Liverpool and bail out.
This episode focusses particularly on Loren and Nick and Paul. But here is a quick rundown on the other fugitives.
We quickly learn that Matt Mason is very cocky. Due to his background as a Royal Marine, he feels he has the expertise to outsmart the Hunters. He is seen using an ATM in a heavy disguise. He then ducks behind a lamppost and changes his outfit, before changing it again later on. He is last seen successfully escaping the city centre. As a Royal Marine, the smart money would be on him. However, as time and time again have proven, contestants like Matt Mason have never done as well as you think they would.
Season 1's Ricky Allen was a hot-favourite but crashed out halfway through. Season 2 featured two overconfident ex-soldiers who were caught after a week and season 3 had a police officer who was also caught halfway through.
Next up, we have our two nurses from Devon - Jessica and Emma who we see very little of, but we do learn they successfully escape the city centre.
Harry and Frank Savage - the two brothers from Essex escape the city centre to the countryside, where they have to get fend off a herd of cows. Here we see Frank's brotherly instincts emerge. Harry is scared by the cows, but Frank is there to comfort him and get him through it. The last we see of them, they are walking along a canal, before hitching a ride on a canal boat. Although, canal boats aren't particularly fast, so I'm not sure how good of an idea that is.
Lastly, we have Nathaniel and Ismail who have the novel - and highly conspicuous - idea of using roller skates to escape the city. While the Hunters spot them, the two friends escape to the countryside.
The Hunters' immediate tactic is to go for the weakest link - that is the fugitive they think they can catch the easiest.
This seemingly appears to be Loren Hannon - the personal banker from Essex. In intercut interview footage, we learn that Loren is ditzy and scatterbrained. Before she became a personal banker, she spent a lot of time caring for her agoraphobic mother. She wants to win the money for her.
The Hunters identify her as the weak link, as they think she is disorganised. Case-in-point, she is wearing a bright yellow jacket which can be spotted from a mile away. And worse, as she is running, her backpack busts open and everything falls out. She has to spend vital seconds packing everything back up, which is enough time for the Hunter's helicopter team to spot her. The Hunters send a ground team to catch her.
Knowing she is standing out like a sore thumb, Loren ducks under a flyover and loses the jacket. With the Hunters seconds away, she escapes by hitchhiking a ride out of the city centre. From there, she is driven 300 miles to Fort William in Scotland by her cousin. It's here we learn that she has lived a very sheltered life. The Hunters search through Loren's home and interrogate her mother who claims it is unlike Loren to have a fully-thought out plan.
However, the Hunters find a vague itinerary in her bedroom. For me, this is a rookie error. Loren should have known the Hunters would search her home, so she shouldn't leave a paper itinerary just lying around. She shouldn't have written anything down in the first place, but, rather committed to memory. However, as previously discussed, Loren isn't the type to plan things like this. Loren has also received a lot of backlash online for using this tactic, which I don't think is entirely fair.
It's always easy to say these types of things sitting at the sofa at home. But when you're in that situation with the pressure building, it is easy to make mistakes. Last year, Alex Ayling made a schoolboy error where he told his getaway driver the exact place to find him, which wouldn't be so bad, if the Hunters weren't listening in. Alex went onto win. In season 2, Nick Cummings was also an unlikely winner. It is only early and Loren did make a mistake. But she doesn't deserve the criticism she received.
While the Hunters suspect the itinerary could be a trap, they see that she has plans to travel to Fort William. Knowing it is only a small village, they tell local businesses to watch out for Loren.
While in Fort William, Loren stumbles upon the Ben Nevis distillery and explains her situation to the workers there. They tell her to go to the North Face car park where they have a car she can use. After promising not to grass her up, they promptly grass her up. The Hunters send a ground team to the distillery, but they're too slow to catch Loren.
Not knowing how close she came, she meets more locals and asks if she can camp on their land. They agree, but also warn her about the Hunters in the area. She decides not to stay there and the locals drive her to safety before the Hunters can catch her.
The next fugitives are Paul James and Nicholas Batchelor. Both of them are recovering drug addicts with Nick serving time for his drug offences. To aid the fugitives, a new rule has been introduced. If so they recruit an accomplice to help them. Nick and Paul use their accomplices to help them escape Liverpool city centre. However, the Hunters catch them on CCTV and send ground teams to intercept.
But Nick and Paul ask two of their friends to act as decoys. The plan is for them to distract the Hunters by diving onto public transport allowing Nick and Paul to escape. While the plan works for a little while, the Hunters identify the decoys as being just that. However, the plan has worked enough for Nick and Paul to reach Cromer, Norfolk. They were driven there by their associate David Seaman.
On Nick and Paul's social media, the Hunters learn more about Nick and Paul's past as drug addicts. They see that they have been members of various support groups and suspect they will be using their network of recovering addicts to aid them. The Hunters focus on one such associate - the aforementioned David Seaman. They monitor his calls and find he's called up another associate of Nick and Paul - George Goody who will drive them to another location.
However, when George is 45 minutes late to the rendeyvous, desperation drives Nick to call him up through a burner phone. The Hunters track the call and send teams to intercept. Turns out that George screwed up and drove to the wrong rendeyvous. But he corrects his error and picks up the boys to drive them to Bristol along a series of A roads. The Hunters use ANPR to track George's car, where they discover Nick and Paul's plan to go to Bristol.
Once at Bristol, Nick and Paul hole up at the house of their friend, Caroline Hogan. However, the Hunters have identified Caroline Hogan as a port in the storm and send ground teams to intercept. Meanwhile, the boys plan to lie low at Caroline's - wash their clothes, eat some good food, before moving on. They don't want to become too comfortable or they'll let their guard down. But then, in the next shot, we see them smoking outside, which undermines their plan.
While, the Hunters think they've found Nick and Paul, they decide to keep a low profile, in case they spook the locals who in turn will warn Nick and Paul. But the Hunters screw up and are caught snooping around a field by one of Caroline's neighbours. Back at the house, we see Nick and Paul becoming increasingly paranoid. When they see an unfamiliar car approach, they fear it's the Hunters, but it turns out to be the Piano Tuner.
If they're panicking like this on the first day, they're going to be in trouble further down the line. The neighbour warns them about the Hunters. Thoroughly spooked, Nick and Paul have a big choice to make. With the Hunters closing in, just where do they run to next?
Top 3 tips for going on the run
1. Don't write things down. Commit them to memory.
2. If you're using decoys, make sure they're wearing similar clothes to you and are of a similar build.
3. Invest in a good bag that won't fall apart when you're running around.
And, as always, if you're going on the run, don't tell me your plan in the comments below. The Hunters could and probably are watching.
Season 2
Season 3
Channel 4's hit reality TV series Hunted has returned for a fourth season and so have my reviews. Ten ordinary men and women surrender their identities to become fugitives. Their goal is to avoid government capture for 25 days; if they do so, they'll win a share of £100k. They cannot break the law and must stay on the British mainland. However, they'll be going up against a fearsome team of ex-policemen, criminal psychologists, intelligence analysts and military personnel. Armed with sniffer dogs, ground teams, ANPR software and all of the tools of the state, the Hunters will not make things easy for the fugitives.
The Hunters are led by Peter Bleksley - a man more cockney than Delboy. He is an ex undercover policeman. He has deputies in the form of Julie Clegg and Ben Owen who were both intelligence officers. Amongst others, there is also Donna Young - a criminal psychologist.
With so many fugitives, to keep things simple, the series focusses on a few at a time, which is what I'll do too. But firstly, we'll have a break down of the 10 fugitives.
Nicholas Bachelor: a 51 year old Youth Worker and ex-convict and drug addict from Kent.
Paul James: a 48 year old Construction Worker. Paul is a close friend of Nicholas and helped him through the worst of his drug addiction
Emma Davidson, a 23 year old nurse from Devon.
Jess Kirkham: a 27 year old nurse also from Devon.
Harry Savage - a 20 year old drama student from Essex. Harry is also gay and he is participating to challenge stereotypes about gay people.
Frank Savage - a 23 year old campsite owner and Harry's older brother.
Nathaniel Watt - a 26 year old architecture student from Nottingham
Ismail Haruna - a 27 year old architectural technologist also from Nottingham.
Matt Mason - a 29 year old Royal Marine from Devon.
Loren Hannon - a 26 year old personal banker from Essex.
Every season begins with the fugitives gathered in one place ready to go on the run. This year, it began in Liverpool with the fugitives on a boat going up the River Mersey. They reach the port of Liverpool and bail out.
This episode focusses particularly on Loren and Nick and Paul. But here is a quick rundown on the other fugitives.
We quickly learn that Matt Mason is very cocky. Due to his background as a Royal Marine, he feels he has the expertise to outsmart the Hunters. He is seen using an ATM in a heavy disguise. He then ducks behind a lamppost and changes his outfit, before changing it again later on. He is last seen successfully escaping the city centre. As a Royal Marine, the smart money would be on him. However, as time and time again have proven, contestants like Matt Mason have never done as well as you think they would.
Season 1's Ricky Allen was a hot-favourite but crashed out halfway through. Season 2 featured two overconfident ex-soldiers who were caught after a week and season 3 had a police officer who was also caught halfway through.
Next up, we have our two nurses from Devon - Jessica and Emma who we see very little of, but we do learn they successfully escape the city centre.
Harry and Frank Savage - the two brothers from Essex escape the city centre to the countryside, where they have to get fend off a herd of cows. Here we see Frank's brotherly instincts emerge. Harry is scared by the cows, but Frank is there to comfort him and get him through it. The last we see of them, they are walking along a canal, before hitching a ride on a canal boat. Although, canal boats aren't particularly fast, so I'm not sure how good of an idea that is.
Lastly, we have Nathaniel and Ismail who have the novel - and highly conspicuous - idea of using roller skates to escape the city. While the Hunters spot them, the two friends escape to the countryside.
The Hunters' immediate tactic is to go for the weakest link - that is the fugitive they think they can catch the easiest.
This seemingly appears to be Loren Hannon - the personal banker from Essex. In intercut interview footage, we learn that Loren is ditzy and scatterbrained. Before she became a personal banker, she spent a lot of time caring for her agoraphobic mother. She wants to win the money for her.
The Hunters identify her as the weak link, as they think she is disorganised. Case-in-point, she is wearing a bright yellow jacket which can be spotted from a mile away. And worse, as she is running, her backpack busts open and everything falls out. She has to spend vital seconds packing everything back up, which is enough time for the Hunter's helicopter team to spot her. The Hunters send a ground team to catch her.
Knowing she is standing out like a sore thumb, Loren ducks under a flyover and loses the jacket. With the Hunters seconds away, she escapes by hitchhiking a ride out of the city centre. From there, she is driven 300 miles to Fort William in Scotland by her cousin. It's here we learn that she has lived a very sheltered life. The Hunters search through Loren's home and interrogate her mother who claims it is unlike Loren to have a fully-thought out plan.
However, the Hunters find a vague itinerary in her bedroom. For me, this is a rookie error. Loren should have known the Hunters would search her home, so she shouldn't leave a paper itinerary just lying around. She shouldn't have written anything down in the first place, but, rather committed to memory. However, as previously discussed, Loren isn't the type to plan things like this. Loren has also received a lot of backlash online for using this tactic, which I don't think is entirely fair.
It's always easy to say these types of things sitting at the sofa at home. But when you're in that situation with the pressure building, it is easy to make mistakes. Last year, Alex Ayling made a schoolboy error where he told his getaway driver the exact place to find him, which wouldn't be so bad, if the Hunters weren't listening in. Alex went onto win. In season 2, Nick Cummings was also an unlikely winner. It is only early and Loren did make a mistake. But she doesn't deserve the criticism she received.
While the Hunters suspect the itinerary could be a trap, they see that she has plans to travel to Fort William. Knowing it is only a small village, they tell local businesses to watch out for Loren.
While in Fort William, Loren stumbles upon the Ben Nevis distillery and explains her situation to the workers there. They tell her to go to the North Face car park where they have a car she can use. After promising not to grass her up, they promptly grass her up. The Hunters send a ground team to the distillery, but they're too slow to catch Loren.
Not knowing how close she came, she meets more locals and asks if she can camp on their land. They agree, but also warn her about the Hunters in the area. She decides not to stay there and the locals drive her to safety before the Hunters can catch her.
The next fugitives are Paul James and Nicholas Batchelor. Both of them are recovering drug addicts with Nick serving time for his drug offences. To aid the fugitives, a new rule has been introduced. If so they recruit an accomplice to help them. Nick and Paul use their accomplices to help them escape Liverpool city centre. However, the Hunters catch them on CCTV and send ground teams to intercept.
But Nick and Paul ask two of their friends to act as decoys. The plan is for them to distract the Hunters by diving onto public transport allowing Nick and Paul to escape. While the plan works for a little while, the Hunters identify the decoys as being just that. However, the plan has worked enough for Nick and Paul to reach Cromer, Norfolk. They were driven there by their associate David Seaman.
On Nick and Paul's social media, the Hunters learn more about Nick and Paul's past as drug addicts. They see that they have been members of various support groups and suspect they will be using their network of recovering addicts to aid them. The Hunters focus on one such associate - the aforementioned David Seaman. They monitor his calls and find he's called up another associate of Nick and Paul - George Goody who will drive them to another location.
However, when George is 45 minutes late to the rendeyvous, desperation drives Nick to call him up through a burner phone. The Hunters track the call and send teams to intercept. Turns out that George screwed up and drove to the wrong rendeyvous. But he corrects his error and picks up the boys to drive them to Bristol along a series of A roads. The Hunters use ANPR to track George's car, where they discover Nick and Paul's plan to go to Bristol.
Once at Bristol, Nick and Paul hole up at the house of their friend, Caroline Hogan. However, the Hunters have identified Caroline Hogan as a port in the storm and send ground teams to intercept. Meanwhile, the boys plan to lie low at Caroline's - wash their clothes, eat some good food, before moving on. They don't want to become too comfortable or they'll let their guard down. But then, in the next shot, we see them smoking outside, which undermines their plan.
While, the Hunters think they've found Nick and Paul, they decide to keep a low profile, in case they spook the locals who in turn will warn Nick and Paul. But the Hunters screw up and are caught snooping around a field by one of Caroline's neighbours. Back at the house, we see Nick and Paul becoming increasingly paranoid. When they see an unfamiliar car approach, they fear it's the Hunters, but it turns out to be the Piano Tuner.
If they're panicking like this on the first day, they're going to be in trouble further down the line. The neighbour warns them about the Hunters. Thoroughly spooked, Nick and Paul have a big choice to make. With the Hunters closing in, just where do they run to next?
Top 3 tips for going on the run
1. Don't write things down. Commit them to memory.
2. If you're using decoys, make sure they're wearing similar clothes to you and are of a similar build.
3. Invest in a good bag that won't fall apart when you're running around.
And, as always, if you're going on the run, don't tell me your plan in the comments below. The Hunters could and probably are watching.
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