Torchwood – a TV Retrospective

This month (July 09) said goodbye to the hugely popular Dr Who spin off series “Torchwood”. However, unlike Dr Who (the longest running sci-fi series ever), Torchwood only ran for three series, despite it’s popularity. In fact, only 31 episodes were ever made.

Set in present day Cardiff, the Torchwood team were responsible for dealing with all extra terrestrial incidents in the city, and there were many! According to the story, Cardiff is positioned on a rift in both space and time, which drew aliens to this city from all over the universe. The team would add the alien technology they came across to their own, as well as the power of the rift, in the battle to seek out alien threats, and prevent global disasters on a weekly basis.

For those who haven’t seen this, the story begins something like this…

In 2006, police officer Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) discovers evidence of alien life, and along with this she encounters the mysterious Torchwood team, and becomes determined to find out more. The leader of this team, Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), a time traveller from the 51st century who originally appeared in Dr Who (hence the link between the series) was so impressed with Gwen, that by the end of episode one, she is offered a place on the team. She is introduced to the other members, Dr Owen Harper (Burn Gorman), Toshiko (Tosh) Sato (Naoko Mori) and Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd). From this point on, her life will never be the same.

From series one, the character of Gwen was the viewer’s link to understanding how Torchwood worked, and through her we were introduced to the different alien life forms and technology featured in each episode. The others were so accustomed to many types of extra terrestrial encounters, but they needed to be explained to Gwen. This allowed the viewers to catch up!

By series two, the viewing public had become attached to the five main characters, as they were all so believable. However, this was also the beginning of the end for the series, as two of the five were killed in the line of duty. In fact one of these characters died twice (you need to see this to understand it)!

So then there were three. In between the showing of series two and three, the Torchwood team appeared in Dr Who, which brought the two shows together again, and reminded us (the viewers) of Torchwood’s origins. Then series three of Torchwood was announced with a new concept. This was to be a five episode series with only one story (before it had been a separate story per episode). It was also to be shown every night over a single week (Monday to Friday).

Torchwood series three entitled “Children of Earth”, exploded onto UK TV screens on Monday 6th July 2009. Whilst this was an amazing story (as always), I must admit I was expecting this to be a resurrection of the series, replacing those we had lost, and gearing up for series four. However, this was not to be the case, as one more regular character died, and the remaining two went their separate ways. This was to be the end of an era.

If you’ve never come across Torchwood before, I would highly recommend it. The storylines were always compelling and original, the characters well defined, and the actors were superb. In addition, this was brilliantly written and directed, with stunning special effects in every episode.

Torchwood can be found online via the following link:

http://tv-links.cc/search.php?q=torchwood&catid=tv&submit=Search

If you want to find out more about Dr Who, check it out here:

http://www.squidoo.com/doctor-who-2

The People Under The Stairs (1991)

Wes Craven’s “The People Under The Stairs” is a promising horror movie, yet works on some levels but not others. It’s an interesting concept. A gang of burglars (two men and a small boy) break into a house, believing there to be a huge fortune in stolen gold coins. However, when they arrive, the men are killed and the boy discovers a terrible secret.

Poindexter “Fool” Williams discovers that the two adults in the house have been stealing children, looking for the perfect child. He finds Alice, scared to death of her “parents” who abuse her, and all of the rejected children who were living in the basement. This is with the exception of one named Roach who has escaped from the basement and now roams in between the walls of the house. His tongue has been cut out for using bad language, and he now makes horrible cries, angering his “father”, who tries to shoot him periodically through the walls. Fool also discovers that the “parents” of the children are actually brother and sister, are both totally insane, and trying to kill him!

The main problem with this film is that virtually all of the action is filmed in almost complete darkness, so it can be very hard to see what is going on most of the time! This is understandable to a degree as the locations were mainly in the basement and between the walls where you don’t expect to see much light, although this does make it hard work for the viewer.

The performances of the “parents” though are wonderfully surreal and stylised, and the idea of the movie is very original. However, due to it’s drawbacks, I think this would be a story better read than watched.

My conclusion is to buy the book, and let your own imagination do the work!

The Street - TV Review

It’s been a welcome return for Jimmy McGovern’s “The Street” this month on UK TV. The BBC drama is now in it’s third series and is just as hard hitting as ever.

For those who haven’t yet seen this, The Street is a collection of one- off short stories about life for the residents on one particular street in the north of England. It has so far won seven awards, including three BAFTAs, and displays the acting talents of some of the best in the business.

So far, the first two episodes have been shown in this series…

The first involves pub landlord Paddy Gargan (Bob Hoskins) and his wife (Frances Barber), who bar the son of local gangster Tom Miller for smoking in the pub. As he has already served out the same punishment for someone else, Paddy feels that this is justified. However, the boy’s father disagrees. He demands that his son be allowed into the pub, and repeatedly threatens Paddy. Finally, he gives Paddy an ultimatum, either he serve his son the following day, or he will give him a severe beating as punishment.

This gives Paddy a dilemma. He can’t go back on his word without losing face, but he can’t bring himself to serve him either. He rallies round the community for support, but everyone is too scared to side against Tom Miller. Should he give in, or take his punishment?

The second episode is the story of Dee (Anna Friel), a young single mother, struggling to provide for her two sons. When her boiler breaks down, she calls in Mark (Daniel Mays) a plumber, who she falls in love with. However, Dee has a secret that she tries to hide from Mark. At the weekends she works as a prostitute in a brothel in a nearby city. The secret comes out when she meets Mark’s parents, as she discovers that Mark’s father is one of her regular clients! He tries to force Dee to break off the relationship, although Mark is determined not to let go. How can she avoid revealing her secret to Mark?

If these two powerful episodes are anything to go by, the rest of the series will be unmissable! You will find youself glued to the edge of your seat for each episode on an hour long white knuckle ride!

You can catch up with The Street on BBC1 on Mondays at 9.00pm or on the BBC iplayer (click the link below):


http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/search/?q=The%20Street


Happy viewing!

Christian Slater – Discovering a True Talent

I recently wrote a piece on Squidoo about the life and work of Christian Slater which you can access here http://www.squidoo.com/Christian-Slater since seeing his brand new TV series “My Own Worst Enemy”, and being very impressed by his performance.

While researching this piece I realised that although I had always liked what I saw of his work, I had only just scratched the surface. As I was looking to update this lens, I decided to watch some more of his films. I discussed this with my partner, whose opinion of him was that he ALWAYS played the “bad guy” in movies! Therefore, I searched out movies to see whether this was really the case (although he was always very good at this).

I am now working through his past films, and discovering that not only is he NOT always the bad guy, but regardless of the character he plays, he is a much, much better actor than I have previously given him credit for (sorry Christian for not noticing this before!).

Also, I have heard that he has more recently become notable as a stunning stage actor, consistently receiving a standing ovation on the West End stage as Randall P McMurphy in the classic “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” (the role Jack Nicolson played in the film version). This is a performance I wish I could have seen!

These are the performances I have seen and can recommend so far:

Bed of Roses (1996) – Review pending
Very Bad Things (1998) – Review pending
Untamed Heart (1993) – Already reviewed
He Was a Quiet Man (2007) – Already reviewed
My Own Worst Enemy (2008) (TV) – see link below: http://www.squidoo.com/My-Own-Worst-Enemy
Young Guns II (1990) – Not yet reviewed
Robin Hood Prince of Thieves – Not yet reviewed

Christian Slater is fast becoming one of my favourite actors. However, there are still so many more Christian Slater movies out there to see, and I hear he is also due to return to TV shortly in the brand new drama series “The Forgotten”.

Keep an eye on this blog and my Squidoo lens http://www.squidoo.com/Christian-Slater as I shall be updating both as I find more amazing performances and news to tell all the many Christian Slater fans out there!

If you know an actor/ actress whose work really deserves watching, or a movie that really deserves to be seen and reviewed, please let me know.

Untamed Heart (1993) - Movie Review

Although I’ve never been a particular fan of so called “weepies”, I stumbled upon this movie by chance and became engrossed very quickly. The story revolves around the unlikely romance between Caroline (a waitress) and Adam (a busboy), who work in the same diner.

Caroline (Marisa Tomei) whilst being quite confident and outgoing, has always been unlucky in love, although holds out hope of meeting her Mr Right. However, when the story begins, she had never really noticed Adam (Christian Slater), let alone considered dating him.

Adam’s character is the complete opposite to Caroline, and much more complex. He was orphaned at birth, and grew up in a children’s home run by nuns. Also, he had been born with a severe heart defect. He had been told by one of the nuns that he had been given a baboon’s heart, as his own was too weak for him to survive. As he was such a sick child, he was never allowed to play with other children, and had very limited social interaction of any kind. This led to him growing up to become a painfully shy and awkward young man. He rarely spoke, and kept himself very much to himself. However, he did have very strong feelings for Caroline, but couldn’t bring himself to tell her.

One night, on the way home from work, two men attacked and tried to rape Caroline. Adam, who had been following her home (“to keep her safe”), rescued her. Following this event, the couple began to get to know each other, and she started to bring him out of his shell. They fall deeply in love, although they still have more obstacles to overcome. Adam was still very weak due to his heart defect, and needed a transplant, plus the men who attacked Caroline wanted revenge on the man who stopped them…

Overall, this is a very engaging story, and beautifully acted by everyone involved. In particular, the chemistry between Adam and Caroline was electric. Although there were some elements in Adam’s character which could be considered a bit creepy (for example, following her home and breaking into her house to watch her sleep), it was easy to forgive him as he was never a threat. He simply had no idea how to communicate or interact with other people, including Caroline.

Without giving too much away, this is such a tragic tale (I have heard it likened to “Love Story”), and would melt even the hardest hearts. A big box of tissues is highly recommended while watching this movie!

The Butterfly Effect (2004) - Movie Review

The Butterfly Effect is quite a surreal movie at times, and can be quite confusing. It begs the question “what if you could change events, and undo the mistakes you’ve made in the past?”

Evan Treborn (Ashton Kutcher) has suffered from unexplained blackouts throughout his life, usually during stressful situations. Afterwards, he would have little or no short term memory. When he was a child, the adults around him dismissed this, believing that he was making them up to avoid getting into trouble. At this stage, he began keeping a diary so that he remembered more about what happened to him, in an attempt to find a reason for these blackouts. He grew up with his mother, a single parent, after his father was committed to a psychiatric institution.

When he became an adult, Evan started to read his childhood diaries, and something very strange happened. When reading, he was transported back to the event he was reading about, and was able to relive the traumatic events from his past. Evan soon realised that he could use this ability to change what happened, believing this would make his life (and those around him) better. However, he hadn’t counted on the consequences of changing the past. By improving one thing, he affected and changed something else for the worse. The more determined he became to correct his past mistakes, the more new mistakes he made, which he was determined to put right, but at what cost?

Whilst being a very complicated and at times confusing plot to this film, I found it to be compelling viewing. As a viewer, you really want his next trip to the past to fix all of the problems he has created, and to bring a happy ending to the story. However, there are so many twists in the tale, it is impossible to predict how things will change when he returns to the present. It is never explained how Evan has this ability, only that he seemed to inherit this from his father, which is why he ended up in psychiatric care. At one point, Evan was on the verge of suffering the same fate. This is on the whole a very thought provoking film, although you do need to concentrate in order to keep up with the plot. I would recommend seeing this at least twice to get the full impact, and understand why events change in the way they do due to Evan’s desperation to make things right! Brilliantly written, acted and directed, this movie will keep you guessing right the way from the first scene through to its great ending. Highly recommended.

He Was a Quiet Man (2007) - Movie Review

Although not a widely known film, this one is a must see as it contains such powerful drama, is intensely thought provoking and keeps you (the viewer) on the edge of your seat throughout.

It is the story of Bob Maconel (Christian Slater) who is a very lonely middle aged man, stuck in an incredibly mundane job. He has no respect from his peers or his boss, and is on the verge of a breakdown. Bob fantasises about shooting his boss, and all the others at work that have mistreated him over the years. However, even though he has the loaded gun in his desk, he can’t quite bring himself to do the deed. He tells himself every day that the timing is not quite right, and puts it off until tomorrow.

What Bob doesn’t know is that the man in the next cubicle, by the name of Ralf Coleman is experiencing the exact same feelings, but has enough confidence to act. One day he stands up and shoots several people dead. One survives, Vanessa Parks (Elisha Cuthbert), although to Coleman’s dismay she is one of the few in the office liked by everyone, including himself. He realises that he has shot her by accident, assuming she was someone else. Bob (still with his gun in his desk), shoots and kills the gunman, and instantly becomes a hero. Suddenly, the press are clambering to get his story, and he is given a promotion at work. His new title is “Vice President of Creative Thinking”. He is also given Vanessa’s big office with a window (which he has always wanted) and company car, as he is told that she wouldn’t be coming back to work.

At the insistence of his boss, Bob goes to visit Vanessa in the hospital, only to discover that she is paralysed from the neck down, with little chance of recovery. At first she is simply angry to be alive, and then comes up with a plan. As she knows Bob to be a compassionate man, and she has no one else, she asks him to help her commit suicide. As far as she is concerned, her life is already over, and she wants Bob to help her finish what Coleman started. Bob reluctantly agrees, and on her release from hospital, they go for a meal together, and decide to spend some time doing things they had never done before. Until that is, she is ready to die…

While this may sound like a tragic and even depressing story, there is so much more to it than this. There are so many twists and turns in this story, and you as a viewer feel so much for the main characters, Bob in particular, as his soul is laid bare. It is also amazingly well acted, with such well defined and complex characters, you begin to yearn for a happy ending. However, each glimmer of hope for this is dashed with the introduction of yet another plot twist.

Fans of Christian Slater’s work may expect him to play the sexy male lead in this film as usual, however this is not the case. For this film he was given a complete change of image. He had bad teeth, ugly glasses and receding hair. In fact he shaved (and even plucked out) his own hair to give the impression that he was balding for the role. His performance is probably the best he has ever done, and he totally became Bob Maconel, proving just how talented he really is as an actor. This film has inspired me to watch more of his movies, although it’s hard to believe that this particular performance can be topped.

In short, if you appreciate a good drama, you must see this film. I’ve heard it to be similar in some ways to “Falling Down” (another on my mental list to watch)., and is such an emotional rollercoaster to watch. You’ll probably need a lie down to recover afterwards!

Michael J Fox - A Biography

Michael J Fox was born Michael Andrew Fox in Edmonton Canada on 9th June 1961, Michael was the son of Phyllis and Sgt William Fox of the Royal Canadian Army Signal Corps. As a child, the family (including a brother and two sisters) moved around a great deal, due to his father's work. They finally settled in Vancover, which is where he began his acting career.

Michael's first professional acting role came in the TV sitcom "Leo and me" when he was just 15 years old. He also appeared in a couple of films, "Midnight Madness" and "Class of 1984", although with limited success. He moved to Los Angeles in search of the Hollywood dream, although he soon found himself virtually penniless, and he even he resorted to selling his furniture piece by piece in order to buy food! Eventually though, he had a lucky break. He won the role of Alex P Keaton in what turned out to be the hit TV sitcom "Family Ties". This part shot him to fame, and during his time on the show, he won three Emmy Awards plus a Golden Globe.

At the same time as filming "Family "Ties", Michael also managed to film "Back to the Future". This was the movie which really made his name as a star. For several months he was filming "Family Ties" during the day, and "Back to the Future" at night, only managing to sleep whilst being driven from one set to the other. Suddenly he was a star, and the movie offers kept flooding in. Most noteable of this era were films such as "Teen Wolf", "The Secret of my Sucess" and "Doc Hollywood".

In 1988 Michael married actress Tracy Pollan, whom he had first met on the set of "Family Ties", and the couple now have four children. Whilst on location filming "Doc Hollywood", Michael first noticed symptoms of what has since been diagnosed as Parkinsons Disease. This was diagnosed in 1991. However, he didn't disclose this to anyone (except close family), and continued working.

Between 1996-2000, Michael starred in the hit TV sitcom "Spin City", and also became an executive producer for the show. He finally had to leave the cast in 2000 when his symptoms became too problematic with his demanding schedule. His departure was highly publicised, although he continued working as a producer for the show.

These days he is semi retired from acting, although he does still take on the odd part. He has also taken up writing sucessfully, with his best selling autobiography "Lucky Man", amongst others. He has also become a strong advocate for reseach into finding a cure for Parkinsons Disease, and promoting the cause for stem cell research.

Michael J Fox has become an inspiration to millions, for having such a positive attitude to life, despite all of the obstacles he has had to overcome, and still has to deal with.

"Frances" (1982) - Movie Review

Although you may be forgiven for not having heard of this film, let alone watching it, Frances has gained critical acclaim around the world, with several award nominations. This included two Oscar nominations for both Jessica Lange as Best actress and Kim Stanley for Best Supporting Actress. The film was based on the true & turbulent, and disturbing life story of the actress Frances Farmer. Although some of the events depicted in Frances were apocryphal, this is still an amazingly dramatic and powerful movie, leaving the viewer with much to think about regarding human nature.

Born in Seattle, Washington, Frances always had a rebellious side. This showed early on in her life when she won an essay writing competition in high school. Her subject was the death of God. This was incredibly unpopular in small town America in the 1930’s.

Frances was determined to follow her dream and become an actress. However, despite appearing in several movies, she very quickly became disillusioned with fame and the Hollywood scene, where her looks were more sought after than her acting talents. Very soon Frances was classed as uncooperative due to her outspoken nature, and resisted every attempt by the studio to force her to conform, and become the classic movie star. She then turned to stage acting with mixed reviews, in the hopes of becoming seen as a serious actress. By all accounts, the real Frances Farmer was actually a very good actress, and it is a shame that she wasn't taken as seriously as she hoped.

However, her temperamental nature got her into more and more trouble, leading to a number of arrests for abuse and disorderly conduct. This in turn led to her committal to various psychiatric institutions. By today's standards, her behaviour would have been dismissed as "normal" for a celebrity!

The saddest part of this movie is that although abusive at times, Frances was certainly not insane. Her frustrations and the reasons behind it were all too clear. It is quite possible to put yourself in her position and understand her behaviour, even justify it. The psychiatric treatments she was given seemed only to force her to conform to what was then “normal” behaviour, instead of to cure her of some psychosis.

Jessica Lange in particular stood out in Frances, although this was brilliantly acted by everyone involved. Whether or not this tells the whole truth about Frances Farmer’s life, as a piece of dramatic fiction alone this is one of the most poignant films I have ever watched, and even stands up today to question how we view and judge celebrities. This is certainly worth seeing as it works on many levels, and is truly a classic film.

An Introduction to Movie Mania

Hi to all movie fans out there!

I thought I'd start by explaining what you can expect from this blog, along with my reasons for writing it.

For some time now, I have been writing articles on Squidoo, or "lenses" as they prefer to call them. As I am just starting out with blogging, I began with a blog simply called "curious", and started to write lots of random thoughts, on different topics. However, I thought that I should write one sticking to a particular subject.

Whilst looking through my Squidoo lenses, I realised that many of them (18 in total at the moment) were connected with movies, TV and celebrities. As a fan, I decided that I should concentrate on giving my opinions of various films, TV shows and information about the stars from stage, screen and TV. Hopefully I can introduce fans to films etc that they would not normally have come accross, and provide some useful reviews. Keep a lookout for my updates...