The Walking Dead: Triggerfinger (spoilers)

Last weeks episode was simply awful by any standards.  Disinterest in rising and moral is getting low for this particular fan. I may be unsatisfied but I am not ready to throw in the towel just yet.

PLOT:  After surviving a high speed car crash on a country road Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) regains consciousness just as a Walker squeezes his head through a crack in the windscreen.  Lori dispatches two Walkers in relative style and she is almost forgiven for her “irrational female” decision from last week.  Shane (Jon Bernthal) does rescue her and as predicted Lori is displeased.

Meanwhile back at the bar the stranger danger from last week continues as more unnamed humans roll into town looking for the two guys Rick (Andrew Lincoln) killed last week.  There was a noise coming from the cellar so Rick manned up and sent Glenn (Steven Yeun) to investigate rather than going himself.  Hershel (Scott Wilson) decides it is time to vacate the bar so Rick manned up and sent Glenn to get the car rather than going himself.

Hershel shoots a man whilst saving Glenn then watches helplessly as the poor bastard gets eaten alive. 

Carol (Melissa McBride) and Daryl (Norman Reedus) continue their silent staring competition with the winner being the one with the most emotional baggage.  This week it is declared a draw.

Dale (Jeffrey De Munn) now has permanently startled eyebrows. 

Andrea (Laurie Holden) has become Shane’s puppy bitch ally and although she is less annoying than she has been her personality still grates on me more than I would like.

Carl (Chandler Riggs) finds out about the baby and wants to call her Sophia.  Carl has not yet asked about the birds and the bees but the first thing he does after awakening from a coma is ask about a dear.

Maggie (Lauren Cohen) is mad at Hershel for drinking, Glenn is mad at Maggie as she loves him, Shane is mad at Rick for being alive.  Tune in to next week to see none of these issues being resolved.  END PLOT

Triggerfinger is a vast improvement on Nebraska.  This isn't a compliment as it would be a fantastic achievement if the episode managed to be even half as bad as the previous one. 

The pacing of The Walking Dead moves as quickly as the bicycle girl from the pilot episode.  In this weeks episode not much happened plot wise and we are not much further on than last week.  What The Walking Dead excels at is character moments and in Triggerfinger we got several important ones.

Hershel's responsibility for a man being eaten to death will undoubtedly weigh on his mind in the forthcoming weeks.  Hopefully Scott Wilson will get a some screen time to let Hershel deal with with his conscience.

Shane’s decent into insanity is beginning to pick up pace and it is pretty safe to assume that he won’t make it to season3.  Andrea summed the character up quite well by stating that he is making the right decisions but going about them the wrong way.  He is making the right decisions up to a point but his stance over Lori and the pregnancy will be his downfall. 

The Rick and Lori marital woes are the least interesting part of the entire saga yet they are destined to run for quite some time yet.  I have just about accepted this although I am not happy about it.

Glenn decided that his hiding like a coward during the gun fight was Maggie’s fault.  Glenn knew Maggie would be upset if he got shot and died and this meant he could not participate in the melee. Steven Yeun is fine as an actor but I hate Glenn.  My love of Lauren Cohen as Maggie grows more with each passing week. This is the opposite to their comic counterparts.

Triggerfinger implied action and action is what we got.  We are now entering dangerous territory wherein the notion of killing humans is becoming as essential as killing Walkers.  The line defining what is acceptable in order to survive has always been smudged in The Walking Dead universe and if the show has the capability to develop this notion then this could be the turning point we have all been waiting for.

The Walker prosthetics have always been impressive however in Triggerfinger we got some wonderfully graphic close-ups on that poor random extra being eaten alive.  It was as welcome as it was gross.  Newcomer Randall’s pending leg amputation mirrors the comic to a certain extent and although I am somewhat relieved that it happened off screen it will be interesting to see what becomes of this character.  I am thinking that Randall might tie in with Jenner’s big secret.

The Walking Dead has proved with episodes like Secrets and the never to be watched again Nebraska that when it is poor it is simply awful.  The show slips from drama to melodrama to often which means it has to start building momentum all over again.  My patience for this is slowly waning but after Triggerfinger I am again willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. Again.

After Nebraska the only way was up and Triggerfinger again highlights that The Walking Dead has so much potential.  It remains to be seen whether or not it ever fulfils it.  Triggerfinger gets a 7/10

Performance of the week: Lauren Cohen (although no one stood out)

Annoying character of the week:  Lori

Zombie kill of the week: Lori

The Walking Dead: Nebraska (spoilers)

After what seemed like eternity The Walking Dead has returned to our screens.  The first half of season two was very inconsistent with some very average filler episodes so my fingers were well and truly crossed that the show would finally reach its potential.

PLOT:  Nebraska opens with the closing shot of Pretty Much Dead Already.  No one speaks for the first couple of minutes which lead me to crank up the surround sound for fear of sudden deafness.  Despite half the cast holding bullet firing weapons everyone stands around and watches Hershel’s (Scott Wilson) daughter Beth (Emily Kinney) almost getting eaten by a Walker.  The group hoe Andrea (Laurie Holden) promptly dispatches the Walker with her weapon of choice – the hoe.  The subtleties of this show are impressive.

Shane (Jon Bernthal) demands to know if Hershel knew that Sophia (Madison Lintz) was in the barn and promptly got a slap from Maggie (Lauren Cohen).  Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Maggie have a conversation about their relationship in which the weaknesses of Glenn radiate through.

Hershel decides this is the perfect time to head to the local bar for a drink and true to form Rick (Andrew Lincoln) ignores Lori’s (Sarah Wayne Callies) pleas to stay with the family and sets off with his puppy Glenn in tow to save the day.   

Lori steals a car which she promptly crashes in an attempt to avoid a Walker with teleporting abilities (either that or Lori was reaching warp speed in that car).  In the bar Rick and Hershel rehash the conversation they have been having all season and thankfully it is interrupted by two strangers.  We discover that Fort Benning has been overrun.  There is a tense western style showdown in which the real Rick Grimes finally shows up.  END PLOT

Pretty Much Dead Already closed a choppy first half of season two.  Nebraska did not keep the momentum going and delivered an episode which can only be described as boring. 

I have appreciated the slowness of The Walking Dead as far as I can – it is time to get on with it.  The only consolation that I can take from this frankly piss poor episode is that it appears as though the Rick Grimes from the comics that we have all been waiting for has finally shown up.

The final section in the bar was very well written and there was genuine tension but it could not save the episode.  Lori driving off alone to bring back Rick only to promptly crash the car was ridiculously stupid and has regressed Lori character back to “irrational female”.  I am assuming Shane will save her and she will thereafter hate him for doing so.   

The Walking Dead has fallen into the habit of splitting each episode into ¾ filler and keeping the final ¼ to move the show forward.  This is not going to hold my attention in the long run.

The performances were all fine – Scott Wilson was the only stand out this week as Hershel finally broke down and realised that here was no hope.  Melissa McBride was ridiculously underused and Jon Bernthal looked as though he actually couldn’t be bothered any more.

This is a short review as there is really nothing left to say.  Nebraska was disappointing across the board.  The articles that I have read from Robert Kirkman and Greg Nicotero state that the second half of season two really ramps up the pace and the story telling.  We shall see.

Nebraska gets a 4/10.  I am shocked about how bad this episode was.

Performance of the week:  Scott Wilson

Annoying character of the week:  Lori

Zombie kill of the week:  Andrea (by default)

The Woman in Black

The Woman in Black is based on a short story by the fantastic Susan Hill.  It is also one of those rare occasions when I can stand up and proudly announce that I have not only read the book but also seen the play.

This is a complete deviation from my usual disclaimer. 

PLOT:  Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe) is a young lawyer who is struggling to get over the death of his wife.  Arthur is sent to Eel Marsh House which is situated in a remote coastal corner of England to wind up the estate of the late Mrs Drablow.  As Arthur trawls through endless amounts of paperwork he begins to notice strange noises and goings on within the empty house.  After being asked to leave the village by the residents Arthur refuses and heads back to Eel Marsh House where he encounters a strange Woman in Black.  The haunting escalates as Arthur tries to find out who the Woman in Black is and what she wants.  END PLOT

The screenplay was written by Jane Goldman a writer who I will always give the benefit of the doubt to but liberties have been taken with the novel and some changes have been made the most noticeable being the ending.  I have no real complaints about this and the changed bitter/sweet ending was very satisfactory. 

The scares start of slow and gradually build as Arthur stays in the house.  Some of the scares are predictable and others are not, either way I find porcelain dolls and stuffed monkeys terrifying so I was on edge for the vast majority of the film.  The Woman in Black is one of those films that I was completely engrossed in yet my eyes couldn't relax as I was constantly trying to look past Daniel Radcliffe in order to pre-empt the scares.

The entire film is grey and looks cold and bleak which fits in nicely with the tone.  There is next to no humour and very few of the scares created a suppressed giggle from the audience. 

The Woman in Black looked amazing and the director, James Watkins, created a genuinely spooky atmosphere.  There was a fantastic shot of candle light reflecting in the eyes of the stuffed animals which created the impression that they were following Arthur across the room – it was a great moment. 

The Woman in Black is Watkins’ second film the first being the cleverer than expected Eden Lake.  Hopefully we will see a lot more from Watkins in the future as I am officially a fan.

I had major reservations about Daniel Radcliffe’s first significant Post Potter role being the lead in this film.  It never sat right with me and although I honestly do believe that Radcliffe was a couple of years to young to play Arthur Kipps he put in a very solid performance.

In sections of the film Arthur is alone inside Eel Marsh House and there is very little dialogue however Radcliffe’s silent performance was more than enough to carry the film.  Without the glasses Radcliffe is completely removed from the Potter character.  Thankfully.

The only problem with The Woman in Black is the rating.  I could never understand or accept the 12A certificate as I thought it should have been at the very least at 15.  Now that I have watched the film I do think that it was heavily edited, especially in the middle section, to tone down the scares and tension to get a lighter rating.  The fact that Daily’s (Ciaran Hinds) dog Spider, who gave Arthur so much comfort in the novel, disappeared mid scene never to be spoken of again doesn’t ease my suspicions.

The Woman In Black was a highly and nervously anticipated film which did not disappoint.  It gets an 8/10.  I will probably pick it up again on dvd when the time comes however it is a film best enjoyed on the big screen.   

Chronicle

Chronicle appeared on my radar about a month ago after the trailer appeared from nowhere.  It immediately caught my attention and in keeping with tradition I didn’t give the film another thought until its release.

PLOT:  Social outcast Andrew (Dane DeHaan), his cousin Matt (Alex Russell) and future class president Steve (Michael B Jordan) discover a mysterious crater in a secluded field.  The next day they awaken with supernatural powers.  After several weeks of pissing around, wreaking havoc in toy stores and playing catch in the sky Andrew starts veering more and more towards the dark side. END PLOT

Chronicle is filmed with hand-held cameras in the found footage/documentary style.  I don’t have any particular problem with this style of film-making and don’t believe it has become overused – a film is either bad or good regardless of the techniques used to film it.

Luckily the documentary style works very well with Chronicle as the film is told from the point of view of three teenagers.  How did the power-giving-crystal get into the field? We don’t know as the teenagers don’t care.  The origins of the teens new found power is never answered in any great depth but this cuts out what would in all likelihood be dodgy exposition.   

Instead of intricate story telling what we do get is three teenagers messing around with their powers.  It sounds as though I am being critical but let’s face it – it was probably the most realistic portrayal of what normal folk would do if they suddenly discovered they had telekinetic powers.  The vast majority of these scenes are given away in the preview.  They are still genuinely amusing to watch during the film but there are a few surprises still to be revealed.

There is no real villain apart from Andrew, the most troubled teen, who becomes too powerful for his own good.  There is a certain amount of sympathy to be felt for Andrew despite his actions.  His anger and pain stem from his turbulent home life and his transition doesn’t feel rushed despite the film's short running time.

The cast are all fine but it is Dane DeHann (Andrew) who stands out.  In fairness to the other actors Andrew is the only character that gets any development which relegates the others characters to supporting players.

The action starts off small but by the end it transcends to the characters throwing buses one another.  There are a few impressive quieter moments too such as Andrew and the spider.  Despite the obvious low budget feel of the film the action is impressive and the final act is very well pieced together.

The only problem I had was the ending as I was expecting one final jump or twist but it never came.  I suppose the film deserves credit for not plumping for a “next time on Chronicle but only if we make enough money at the Box Office” final shot.

I absolutely love comic book movies and Chronicle falls into my favourite genre.  It was definitely a wise choice to release it early in the year to avoid getting overshadowed by the big summer comic book films. 

Chronicle gets a 9/10.  The final scene was just a tad disappointing but aside from that it is a fantastic take on the superhero genre.