FILM: Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (6/10)

Why did I watch it?
It's not so long ago that I watched the original Wall Street for the first time so it made sense to see how Oliver Stone took the story of Gordon Gecko forward.

What's it all about?
Gordon Gecko (Michael Douglas) is released from prison and attempts to make amends with his estranged daughter Winnie (Carey Mulligan). Winnie is dating young Wall Street trader Jacob Moore (Shia LaBeouf), whose company loses it's value resulting in the suicide of his mentor. Moore seeks out Gecko to uncover the source of the toxic debt rumour that sunk his company in trade for acting as go between for Gecko and Winnie.







The Good:

• I thought Douglas and LaBeouf were solid. Douglas brought his Gecko skulduggery and LaBeouf his typical energy. Carey Mulligan was a bit disappointing after some of the film's I've seen her in of late.
• Frank Langella as Moore's mentor Louis Zabel

The Bad:

• The soundtrack is truly bizarre
• Oliver Stone's visual gimmicks, slow motion, split screens, editing styles
• The script is written with such accuracy it will bamboozle most viewers, myself included, with it's heavy city jargon. J.C. Chandor's Margin Call did a much better job.
• Clichéd motorbike race where Moore and Bretton James try to out-macho each other 

Favourite line:

'Stop telling lies about me and I'll stop telling the truth about you' - Gordon Gecko

Stand-out moment:

When the penny drops for Winnie and Moore....

Like the film? Watch: Wall Street, Margin Call

What my wife would say: Watched it, 'Good but not as good as the original'.

What the world thinks:

Rotten Tomatoes - 55%

Metacritic - 59/100

LAMB Score - 2.81

Twitter -

Sorry sir but we simply cannot accept you to Harvard Business School if you can't relate the basic plot of Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps
— PartyRockAnthem (@PartyRockAnthe1) February 23, 2012

FILM: Snow White and the Huntsman (5/10)

Why did I watch it?
I remember seeing the trailer for this dark take on the fairy tale and thinking it had some potential, especially in the special effects department.

What's it all about?
The evil Ravenna (Charlize Theron) enchants her way into the King's life after the Queen dies unexpectedly. After murdering the King on their wedding night, Ravenna locks Princess Snow White (Kristen Stewart) away in the castle dungeons for years and pillages the land to maintain her youth. After Snow White escapes Ravenna bribes a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) to track her down in the The Dark Forest.







The Good:

• Strong special effects
• Charlize Theron smashes everyone else out of the park as Ravenna
• Great cast for the seven dwarves, Ray Livingstone, Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Eddie Marsan etc.

The Bad:

• The huntsman angle didn't really add too much value to the original story for me
• Kristen Stewart doesn't come out of this too well and made any tiny desire I may have ever had of watching anything Twilight related completely disappear.
• Chris Hemsworth's Scottish accent - why?
• Epic fantasy story, sweeping landscape shots, dwarves and trolls and evil villains, its all a bit Tolkien, but with none of the Peter Jackson magic. 
• The mirror thinking Stewart is better looking than Theron!

'Snow White is fairer?! Go home, you're drunk.'

Favourite line:

'If he starts whistling, I'll smash his face in' - Quert

Stand-out moment:

Charlize Theron's slo-motion evil rise from her milk bath

Like the film? Watch: The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit
Like the acting? Watch: Twilight

What my wife would say: Watched it, found it quite boring.

What the world thinks:

Rotten Tomatoes - 47%

Metacritic - 57/100

LAMB Score - 2.95

Twitter -

Snow White & The Hunstman has to be one I wish I fell asleep during.
— Dream Factory Doyle (@crocodoyler) December 19, 2013

TV: Veep (S2) (9/10)

Why did I watch it?
I really enjoyed the first season of Veep, chiefly because of the show's writing. It's probably my favourite comedy show on TV.

What's it all about?
Armando Ianucci's US comedy returns and follows Vice President Selina Meyer's (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) bumbling office career through the corridors of Washington D.C. This time around the Veep clashes with the President's new strategist Kent Davison, upsets Europe and decides whether to run alongside the President for another term.










The Good:

• Jonah (Timothy Simons) and his various entrance catchphrases
• New White House characters, cold cynical Kent and deadpan Ben
• Satirical humour including government shutdown
• Dreyfus is in her element again as Meyer

The Bad:

• Maybe a little too acerbic at times, the more subtle put-downs work better

Favourite line:

'De-pork the visual' - Kent Davison

Stand-out moment: The Helsinki episode

Like the show? Watch: The Thick of It

What my wife would say: Not keen, too crude.

What the world thinks:

Metacritic - 75/100

Twitter -

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series goes to @OfficialJLD, now 4-time Emmy winner. Love that Tony Hale joined her onstage to hold her bag. #Veep
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) September 23, 2013

FILM: Milk (8/10)

Why did I watch it?
Recorded this one sometime ago on the back of Sean Penn's Academy Award for Best Actor. Didn't know too much else of the film's story.

What's it all about?
Sean Penn stars as Harvey Milk, a gay 40-something who moves to a progressively gay-friendly neighbourhood of San Francisco and  becomes an activist for gay rights leading him to run for the elected position of City Supervisor. James Franco, Emile Hirsch and Josh Brolin support as fellow campaigners and rival city officials.







The Good:

• Sean Penn's performance as Harvey Milk is brilliant
• Supporting cast is also excellent
• The film's use of real life footage interspersed throughout gives gravitas to the cause and gives the story a grounding 
• Sensibly handled subject matter 

The Bad:

• Didn't end up having the emotional punch I was expecting despite focusing on Milk the whole film

Favourite line:

'My name is Harvey Milk and I'm here to recruit you' - Harvey Milk

Stand-out moment:

The moment Milk gets elected 

Like the director? Watch: Good Will Hunting
Like the acting? Watch: Mystic River

What my wife would say: Watched it and I think she enjoyed it.

What the world thinks:

Rotten Tomatoes - 94%

Metacritic - 84/100

Twitter -

Denzel in "Training Day", Heath Ledger as The Joker and Sean Penn in "Milk" are still the 3 greatest performances by an actor I've ever seen
— Admiral Ackbar (@NILEstyle_) December 24, 2013

TV: The Tunnel (S1) (9/10)

Why did I watch it?
I watched this because I read that the Danish series it is based on, The Bridge, was well received. A little shamefully I opted for the British production rather than doing any legwork to watch the original.

What's it all about?
A body is discovered laid across the half-way point of the Channel Tunnel, bringing both UK (Stephen Dillane) and French (Clemence Poesy) detectives together to investigate an anarchistic serial killer working on both sides of the channel.

The Good:

• The Anglo-French clash of cultures and banter between Elise and Karl
• Elise's matter of fact attitude
• Slow build-up, steadily peeling layers off the plot as the crimes continue, similar to The Killing
• The Seven style climactic end to the finale
• The performances of the two leads Dilane and Poesy

The Bad:

• At times, especially towards the end the plot became a little convoluted. I'm thinking of the Peleton angle that didn't seem to be explored in any depth.

Favourite line:

'[To a parent]..It will be alright' - Karl

'We can't say that, we don't have any leads on your daughter's current whereabouts' - Elise

Stand-out moment:
The stand-off between Karl, Elise and TT back at the Channel Tunnel

Like the show? Watch: The Bridge, The Killing

What my wife would say: Watched it. Really doesn't like subtitled bits because she can't play on Candy Crush at the same time.

What the world thinks:

IMDB - 4/5

Twitter -

Wow, #TheTunnel perhaps the best drama I've seen all year, great finale but need to see Karl & Elise working together again
— Kevin F (@dashdotat) December 18, 2013

FILM: Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter (4/10)

Why did I watch it?
Sounded like a fun mash-up.

What's it all about?
Young future president Abraham Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) witnesses his mother being killed. Years later Lincoln plots to exact revenge only to discover the killer is a vampire and learns that a legion of vampires control the South, feasting off the slave population. Schooled by Henry Sturges (Dominic Cooper), Lincoln becomes a trained vampire hunter and eventually takes his fight against the vampires to the White House.









The Good:

• Although no Daniel Day Lewis, Benjamin Walker's portrays Lincoln pretty well in my opinion.

The Bad:

• Visually the film is trying too hard. Director Timur Bekmambetov creates some horrible looking action sequences, the horse chase and train roof right in particular, and the slo-mo is overdone.
• The tone of the film is all wrong. You may think going into this that it would be a fun mash-up but the film tries to combine the vampire gore and violence with the serious true Lincoln history on an equal level with Lincoln speeches and all. And Abe Lincoln is not known for having fun. Doesn't work.
• Really really unmemorable.

What would Daniel Day-Lewis' Lincoln think?

Favourite line:

'A guy only gets that drunk when he wants to kiss a girl or kill a man. So which is it?' - Henry Sturges

Stand-out moment:

Can't even think of one. Those action set pieces that should have been were let down by the over the top special effects.

Like the direction? Watch: Wanted, Nightwatch 

What my wife would say: Rubbish.

What the world thinks:

Rotten Tomatoes - 35%

Metacritic - 42/100

LAMB Score - 2.65/5 

Twitter -

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is easily the worst thing to happen to President Lincoln in a theatre.
— Bob Kostic (@causticbob) December 10, 2013

FILM: Gravity (10/10)

Why did I watch it?
I loved the trailers for this film and I read so much about the technical production decisions Cuarõn and his son made that I couldn't wait to see it. Still it took me some time after it was released.

What's it all about?
Servicing the Hubble telescope, first timer Sandra Bullock and experienced George Clooney are caught in an orbiting storm of debris from a defunct Russian satellite and are cut adrift from their tethers into outer space with only each other for company.










The Good:

• Visually stunning. One of, if not the most impressive looking films made to date. Befits the use of 3D as well. Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki deserves an Oscar for his work.
• The film's sound production. The combination of no sound effects to reflect the true out of space nature along with Stephen Price's score is brilliant and it's so bizarre to watch debris smashing everywhere with no sound effects.
• Cuarõn gets a fantastic performance from Sandra Bullock and George Clooney isn't too shabby either as the cocksure astronaut jet packing about.
• Excellent decision to cast Ed Harris as the voice of Houston Mission Control
• The first shot, 15 minutes from opening to the debris collision

The Bad:

• After Bullock spins away following the collision, the shot spins with her for what seems ages with space/Earth/space/Earth and I felt pretty dizzy

The worst time for a fumble in the dark

Favourite line:

'Clear skies with a chance of satellite debris' - Ryan Stone

Stand-out moment:

The initial debris hit and subsequent chaos.

Like the film? Watch: Cast Away

Like the director? Watch: Children of Men

What my wife would say: 'Real good', oh and she cried.

What the world thinks:

Rotten Tomatoes - 97%

Metacritic - 96/100

LAMB Score - 4.71
Twitter -

Joined the hype and saw Gravity today. Bloody fantastic.
— Rich Laverty (@JournoRich) December 4, 2013

TV: Hello Ladies (S1) (7/10)

Why did I watch it?
I'm not always that keen on the Stephen Merchant/Ricky Gervais writing duo, sometimes it grates on me a little, but having just been to L.A. I wanted to at least give the show's first episode a go.

What's it all about?
Stephen Merchant writes and stars as Stuart Pritchard, an awkwardly arrogant and shallow Brit looking for love amongst the models of L.A. Hello Ladies also follows Stuart's lodger, played by Christine Woods, an unsuccessful actress desperately trying to rekindle her career, who shares many of Stuart's personality traits.







The Good:

• The supporting cast, Christine Woods (Jessica), Nate Torrance (Wade), Kevin Weisman (Kives) and Kyle Mooney (Rory)
• The front end of the season was strongest, funny moments and laugh out loud gags as Stuart trips himself up each episode.
• The intro, loved it!

The Bad:

• Slightly unbalanced, it's difficult to like Merchant's character Stuart, he really is a total asshole but the season ends with him making a selfless decision
• Cringing comedy crosses the line on occasions - the episode The Dinner was uncomfortable to watch in places (but I still laughed - shame on me).

Favourite line:

[Planning a party]....'Write that down, drub-step' - Stuart

Stand-out moment:

Painfully three-point turning a limo outside a nightclub queue having just failed to blag his way into.

Like the writing? Watch: The Office, Extras

What my wife would say: Watched it, the cringe factor was too much for her in places

What the world thinks:

Metacritic - 58/100

Twitter -

Also, started watching Hello, Ladies on HBO. It's excellent, dont understand why it didnt catch on.
— Sam Dolnick (@samdolnick) December 2, 2013

FILM: Hobo With A Shotgun (7/10)

Why did I watch it?
A recommendation from a friend this one. I had never heard of it before.

What's it all about?
A hobo (Rutger Hauer) gets off a train in Hope Town, a lawless town viciously controlled by Drake and his two sons, Slick and Ivan. After saving a hooker from their grasp, the hobo gets his hands on a shotgun and goes on a violent one-man rampage to clean the town up.











The Good:

• The cartoon villains Drake, Slick and Ivan
• Full of quotable, cheesy and amusing lines
• Cinematography, straight from the opening sequence of the Hobo arriving on the train the colour palette used is vivid, bright and fluorescent
• Rutger Hauer brings a much needed likeability to the old Hobo
• The low budget violence, if you can handle it

The Bad:

• The low budget violence, if you can't handle it
• Although tongue-in cheek exploitation violence, there are a few instances, the school bus massacre being one, where it is a little difficult to take 

Literally, a hobo with a shotgun

Favourite line:

'I'm going to wash away my blood....with YOUR blood' - Slick

Stand-out moment:

The montage that follows the Hobo picking up the shotgun!

Like the film? Watch: Death Proof, Machete, Planet Terror

What my wife would say: I'm more than certain she would be disgusted.

What the world thinks:

Rotten Tomatoes - 66%

Metacritic - 55/100

LAMB Scores - 3/5

Twitter - 

On the "movies to watch with your friends late a night" hobo with a shotgun ranks a 10/10 on the ridiculously hilarious scale
— Jesse Cox (@JesseCox) March 27, 2012

TV: Hell on Wheels (S1) (6/10)

Why did I watch it?
Season one originally aired in 2011 and I saw a re-run advertised and looked up the show's premise. On the back of that and the fact that it comes from the network behind The Walking Dead and Mad Men I thought it was worth a watch.

What's it all about?
After the US Civil War finishes, former farmer and Confederate soldier Cullen Bolhannon travels West to Hell on Wheels, the travelling settlement accompanying the construction of the transcontinental Union Pacific railroad in 1865. Although looking for work at the railroad Bolhannon is secretly on the trail of the Union soldiers who murdered his family during the war.

The Good:

• Excellent production as you would expect from AMC. Epic Western setting.
• Mostly decent acting from the likes of Anson Mount, Colm Meaney and Tom Noonan
• The Swede (he's actually Norwegian you know)

The Bad:

• Common's performance as former slave Elam Ferguson isn't the best
• Disappointingly Hell on Wheels' storylines (Bolhannon's manhunt, Durant's financial difficulties, the Indian problem and Elam's fight against racial inequality) are underwhelming and not as interesting or absorbing as they could have been.

Favourite line:

'Do you not believe in a higher power?' - Sean

'Yes sir. I wear it on my hip.' - Bolhannon

Stand-out moment: Bolhannon going after Union soldiers or Indians

Like the show? Watch: Deadwood

What my wife would say: The historical setting and story-lines wouldn't appeal. 'Boring' I would imagine.

What the world thinks:

Metacritic - 63/100

Twitter -

So Guys…looks like I’ll finish up Hell On Wheels Season 1 tonight. I’ve really been loving this show so far.
— Danté, The Destroyer (@DanteLerae) November 20, 2013

FILM: Silver Linings Playbook (8/10)

Why did I watch it?
Due to the hype, nominations and awards I always meant to catch this film but it never appealed to me as much as some of the other films out at the time like Lincoln, Life of Pi etc. Anyway, the Mrs was keen to watch it (a film with Bradley Cooper and dancing!) so we did.

What's it all about?
Recently released from a mental hospital, bi-polar Pat (Bradley Cooper) moves back in with his parents and focuses everything on getting back together with his estranged wife, despite the fact she took out a restraining order against him. Back in town he meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), recently widowed and with her own problems, who needs a dancing partner.







The Good:

• A different take on the old romantic comedy story
• Interesting story that combines American football, mental illness and dancing.
• Great cast and absorbing performances all around, personally I thought Bradley Cooper's was slightly superior to Jennifer Lawrence's. It wasn't interesting to see Cooper use some of mannerisms from this film again in The Place Beyond the Pines.
• Features the Philadelphia Eagles, my favourite NFL team.

The Bad:

• Cooper's intense portrayal of his character can take a little getting used to at the offset.

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Eagle's jersey

Favourite line:

'You say more inappropriate things than appropriate things.' - Tiffany

Stand-out moment:

Either the dancing competition (not as off-beat as the one from Little Miss Sunshine but it does have bi-polar tendencies) or Pat waking his parents in the middle of the night to rant about the Ernest Hemingway book he is reading having an unhappy ending. 

Like the film? Watch: Little Miss Sunshine

Like the director? Watch: The Fighter, upcoming American Hustle (starring Cooper and Lawrence again).

What my wife said: Disappointed, 'the only reason to watch this film is because it has Bradley Cooper in'.

What the world thinks:

Rotten Tomatoes - 92%

Metacritic - 81/100

LAMB Score - 4.26/5

Twitter -

I can't remember the last time I liked a movie as much as "Silver Linings Playbook." The art direction and soundtrack were ACHINGLY good.
— Rainbow Rowell (@rainbowrowell) September 12, 2013

FILM: Captain Phillips (9/10)

Why did I watch it?
I liked the look of this film from the moment I caught the first trailer. It looked exciting, intense and a film that could give Tom Hanks a platform for another great performance.

What's it all about?
In 2009 the Maersk Alabama was boarded by Somalian pirates off the coast of East Africa. Captain Phillips recounts the events that took place that day, the ordeal of the ship's crew and of the US rescue mission to save Captain Phillips (Tom Hanks).










The Good:

• Tom Hanks' fantastic performance as Captain Phillips. The level of emotion he displays in the scenes at the end of the film need to be seen to be believed.
• The performance of the Somali actors, in particular Barkhad Abdi as Muse and Faysal Ahmed as Najee.
• Change in dynamic from the crew of the Alabama versus the hijackers to the US Navy versus the hijackers on smaller scale keeps things fresh
• Paul Greengrass' direction keeps the tension up throughout. I loved the decision to instantly stop the music playing of the dramatic chase scenes as the hijackers ladder fixed to the side of the ship.

The Bad:

• There's no denying that the final third played out like an advert for the US Navy. They were awesome! I would be more likely to sign up after seeing that than watching Battleship but if those are the events that transpired then what could the screenwriters do if they wanted to be faithful to the story?

Pirates in a Hollywood film with no guy-liner in sight. Take note Jack Sparrow.

Favourite line:

'I'm the captain now.' - Muse

Stand-out moment:

The pursuit of the Alabama by the pirates' skiff is thrilling to watch and brilliantly directed.

Like the cast? Watch: Castaway, The Green Mile

Like the director? Watch: United 93, The Bourne Ultimatum

What my wife would say: Saw it and she was crying by the end.

What the world thinks:

Rotten Tomatoes - 94%

Metacritic - 83/100

LAMB Score - 4.31/5

Twitter -

Hanks in the last five minutes of Captain Phillips. #whyillnevergiveuptryingtobeabetteractor
— Patrick J Adams (@halfadams) November 14, 2013

FILM: Flight (8/10)

Why did I watch it?
Not only does Flight star everybody's favourite Denzel but it received two Oscar nominations, for original screenplay and for Denzel himself.

What's it all about?
Following his normal routine Captain 'Whip' Whitaker takes off in his passenger jet drunk and high from the previous night. However on this doomed flight a mechanical failure leads him to take unorthodox emergency action resulting in an investigation into the circumstances of the flight.

The Good:

• The terrifying flight sequence
• Denzel's intense performance - deserved the Oscar nomination (ultimately beaten by Daniel Day Lewis' Lincoln
• Gripping character drama
• Whip taking a toke of oxygen from the emergency supply before taking off!

The Bad:

• Errmm.....doesn't make you want to get on a plane for a while?

Trouble at 30,000 ft and not a snake in sight

Favourite line:

'Death demands responsibility' - Hugh Lang

Stand-out moment:

The flight sequence

Like the cast? Watch: Training Day, The Bone Collector

Like the director? Watch: Cast Away, Forrest Gump

What my wife would say: Watched it, 'glad he did the right thing in the end'.

What the world thinks:

Rotten Tomatoes - 78%

Metacritic - 76/100

LAMB Score - 4.06/5

Twitter -

Denzel Washington is actually incredible in Flight
— Jake Rosenberg (@theREALjrosey) November 10, 2013

BOOK: Inherent Vice, Thomas Pynchon (6/10)

Why did I read it?

Somebody at work mentioned Thomas Pynchon to me so I decided to look up some of his work and admittedly it was the LA setting and colourful hippy front cover that attracted me to Inherent Vice out of all of Pynchon's bibliography. 

What's it all about?

Set in the late 60's LA private detective and full time stoner Doc Sportello investigates the alleged kidnapping of a property magnate and an old flame, the murder of the magnate's bodyguard and the suspicious death of a musician, all of which appear to be connected to a shady organisation called The Golden Fang and corruption within the LAPD.





  

The Good:

• Eclectic mix of characters
• Bigfoot and Doc's LAPD and PI love hate relationship
• Short and fast paced
• The 60's L.A. setting

The Bad:

• The story didn't get hold of me and I had no urgency in uncovering the mystery. When I did it seemed an anticlimax to say the least.
• The main story and the fragments of it brought by each the characters didn't seem totally cohesive in mye eyes, especially relating to Coy Harlingen.
• A few too many pages dedicated to 'trips'.

Favourite line:

'Hair and drug-use issues not withstanding, I've never thought of you as any less than professional' - Detective Bjornsen

What the world thinks:

Amazon - 4/5

goodreads - 3.64/5

Twitter -

Finished Inherent Vice today. Not sure if I loved it, or that I even got it, but it's definitely a wild trip.
— David Dougan (@DavidWDougan) November 11, 2013