My Review of The Experiment (2010)

 

Written And Directed by Paul T. Scheuring

Archaleta: "Ah, so you're the one who knows what it's going to take for this society to evolve."

Travis: "I'm just regurgitating what people have been saying for a long time."

If you've ever of the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment from the 1970s or seen the 2001 German movie, Das Experiment, then The Experiment will be familiar enough to you. For those unfamiliar, here's a simple rundown.

A group of men from all different walks of life agree to take part in $1000 a day 'experiment' in which they are either prisoners or prison guards and if they can handle the psychological pressure, then they will be a lot richer for the experience, both mentally and financially by mostly the latter.

Taking part in this experiment includes anti-war protester guy named Travis Cacksmackberg (Adrien Brody) and a 40 something man named Michael Barris (Forest Whitaker) and at first, it seemed like the two were going to strike up a friendship but the moment both men fell into their respective roles as prisoner and prison guard, the dynamic changed in quite a brutal way.

Michael is a man somewhat emasculated by a domineering mother through flashbacks and as soon as as he becomes a prison guard along with some others, he's not above making his newfound power known to the prisoners ans he soon locks horns with Travis, who has a reluctant leader of the prisoner.

Travis for the most part did try to retain his pacifist ways but between being physically humiliated by an increasingly unhinged Michael and the guards and having to save another prisoner, Oscar (Jason Lew) from nearly being sexually assaulted by fellow guard Chase (Cam Gigandet), its not surprising that the experiment then resulted in a full scale prison riot with everyone more scarred by the events of the movie than beforehand.

Although I've heard the German original is the better movie when it comes to tackling this particular real life experiment, I did like this movie quite a bit. I think Adrien Brody did a solid job in making Travis an engaging protagonist but Forest Whitaker definitely delivered the stronger performance of the two.

The other characters, both prisoners and prison guards alike somewhat made up the numbers and there was at least one character who went from prison guard to prisoner in order to showcase Michael's lack of mercy. There was also a brief love story for Travis with the only female character named Bay but honestly, it's a wasted role for Maggie Grace and added nothing to the overall story.

- As well as Das Experiment and this movie, there's another movie called The Stanford Prison Experiment with Ezra Miller that covers this general idea as well.

- Originally this movie was meant to have Elijah Wood but he left a few days of shooting and presumably was replaced with Adrien Brody.

- The real experiment ended after six days but here despite ending early, they all got their $14,000.

- Paul T. Scheuring who wrote and directed this also worked on Prison Break.

The Experiment is a solid enough take on the infamous Stanford Experiment and seemingly a solid adaptation of a much stronger original movie. Both Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker are on fine form and if you like your prison themed movies, it's a good one to watch.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of It's A Sin: "Episode 2"

Written by Russell T. Davies

Directed by Peter Hoar

Ritchie (re AIDS crisis): "It's not real. I don't believe a word of it."

Oh, the denial is real and it's not good. Last week we saw the death of Henry Coltrane and this week, another guest character suffered the same fate. We saw Henry's death affect Colin, this time it was Jill affected by the death of Gregory "Gloria" Finch (David Carlyle).

Gloria might have been a one episode character but this episode did an amazing job with an excellent guest performance from David Carlyle. We saw Gloria/Greg as a part of the group, a unrequited admirer of Roscoe before his illness took place and Jill became a confidante for him.

Lydia West has become quite a find with both Years And Years and Dracula but if this miniseries doesn't catapult her to bigger success, I'd be genuinely surprised. Everyone needs a friend like Jill Baxter and Jill was the only one to be of any help to Gregory in his last few months before his spiteful family took him back to Scotland.

With Jill doing her best to learn more about AIDS (even enlisting Colin at one point), Ritchie's overt denial about the seriousness of the crisis while frustrating was also pretty realistic. I did like Jill telling Ritchie that he was too clever for his own good but her words did seem to fall on deaf ears. Unfortunately, it's pretty obvious that Ritchie's staunch denial will have consequences fairly soon.

As for Colin, he lost one job but soon gained another. There was also something rather satisfying in seeing his sleazy boss get a comeuppance as well. Meanwhile Roscoe watched his sister get married from afar, met his niece and gave some money to his family. Although I didn't like Roscoe being unkind to Gregory, his family scenes were a highlight.

The only character of the main five not to do much this episode was Ash. He was basically just there but given that he was reading about the crisis last week, I'm surprised he didn't back Jill up when she was trying to make Ritchie and Roscoe be a little more sensible.

- Both Ritchie and Jill got into Equity and Valerie still thinks they're a couple. Also did Ritchie mention he's a Tory?

- Those brief scenes Colin and his boss had in New York were actually shot in Liverpool.

- Standout music: Laura Branigan's Gloria. 

- Chronology: It started with December 1983 before moving into 1984.

Another strong episode, this series continues to pull no punches as things are beginning to get very real and it's become apparent one of our main characters will become ill within the remaining episodes. This episode wasn't an easy watch and I can imagine the rest will also difficult viewing.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of It's A Sin: "Episode 1"

 

Written by Russell T. Davies

Directed by Peter Hoar

Ritchie (to casting agent): "I just want to be happy."

It's been nearly two years since the last miniseries event from Russell T. Davies and he's coming back swinging with this rather timely look at the AIDS crisis as we find ourselves in the 1980s and looking at the lives at five LGBT characters who will become affected by this imminent crisis for them.

First of all there's the leader of the group - Ritchie Tozer, as played by Years & Years frontman, Olly Alexander. Olly's no stranger to acting, having played minor roles in shows such as Skins and Penny Dreadful and he's definitely leading man material here with this particular role.

Ritchie's a dreamer and his transition from wanting to be a lawyer to an actor doesn't sit well with parents Clive (Shaun Dooley) and Valerie (Keeley Hawes). They're also unaware that he likes men and mistake best friend, Jill Baxter (Lydia West) for a girlfriend that Ritchie doesn't correct them on.

While Ritchie might have some tension with his family, he spends a good portion if the episode copping up with many fit blokes, including Ash Mukherjee (Nathaniel Curtis), despite putting his foot in it about the latter's heritage while the episode ends with both Ash and Jill discussing the imminent crisis heading their way.

The AIDS crisis however has more of a direct hit on shy, slightly nerdy Colin Morris-Jones (Callum Scott Howells) who loses a mentor and friend - Henry Coltrane to it before the end of this one. While I was a little disappointed to see the miniseries lose Neil Patrick Harris after just one episode, he left such an impression on this that I really hope he works with RTD on another project in the future.

Last but not least, there was Roscoe Babatunde (Omari Douglas) who unlike Ritchie and Colin came out to his family and did it in a very bold, defiant and rather amusement, including slapping his homophobic father. It was a nice bit of subversion on what I expected and I can't wait to see how he manages The Pink Palace in later episodes.

- Originally this series was to be titled The Boys  but then a certain Amazon series happened and it got renamed after a Pet Shop Boys song.

- All the episodes are available to watch on All4 but I'll be watching this weekly on Channel 4. There's also an afterhours series with interviews from cast members each week.

- Standout music: Bronski Beat Smalltown Boy.

- Chronology: This episode started in September 1981 but we got into 1982 as it progressed. 

It's A Sin is starting off we'll and feels like it will be another triumph for RTD. All the characters immediately stand out, it's funny in parts, heartfelt in other and while I expect some deaths among the regulars, I'm gonna enjoy them while I can.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of The Dressmaker (2015)

 

Written by Jocelyn Moorhouse &  P.J Hogan

Directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse

Myrtle: "I'm back, you bastards!"

Ever fancied a film described as "Unforgiven with a sewing machine?" Odd as it might sound, that's probably the easiest way to describe this quirky movie, in which Kate Winslet plays the titular dressmaker with a very chequered past who after 25 years has come home to look after her mother, Molly Dunnage (Judy Davis) in the fictional outback town of Dungatar.

Winslet's Myrtle or Tilly as she's largely referred to during the movie has a lot of old ghosts, as she was previously accused of the death of a young boy when she was only ten herself and taken away by the regretful Sgt Farrat (Hugo Weaving) who forms a rather endearing bond with Tilly as well as getting the chance to make it up to her during the end of the movie.

Of course while most of the locals don't take kindly to Tilly's return, they soon begin to tolerate her when they see her dressmaking skills in full fashion. Even the rather spoiled Gertrude Pratt (Sarah Snook) would rather have Tilly make her wedding dress than the rather talentless Una Pleasance (Sacha Horler). Of course this doesn't mean that Tilly is loved or even forgiven for the crime she did not actually commit by the locals.

The same locals who have no issue remaining hostile towards Tilly even after the latter realised that local gossip Beulah Harridiene (Kerry Fox) lied about her involvement and the one person who genuinely loved her - Teddy McSwiney (Liam Hemsworth) also dies rather tragically, quickly followed by her mother of course.

Tilly spends a good portion of the movie believing she's cursed and with the tragedy she's endured, you can see why she feels that way. Molly countered that it was the unforgiving locals who are the curse themselves and even before death, she managed to help Tilly get some revenge on them.

As the movie winds down, we see some of the locals like Beulah, local councilman Evan Pettyman (Shane Bourne) getting their just desserts before Tilly herself gets her last revenge on the town that made her life a living hell in a rather spectacularly camp manner. It's an extremely over the top moment that could be seen as a mood killer but personally I found it a delightful sense of retribution in light of the circumstances.

- The movie is based on a book of the same name by Rosalie Ham, who intended for it to be made into a movie.

- Both Kate Winslet and Judy Davis were envisioned for the roles they ended up being cast in.

- Standout music: People Will Say We're In Love by Gordan McRae/Shirley Jones, Lover Man by Billie Holiday and Bang Bang by Lanie Lane.

- Chronology: 1926 for the flashbacks and 1951 for the main action in the movie.

The Dressmaker is certainly an underrated gem of a movie. Kate Winslet, Judy Davis, Hugo Weaving and Liam Hemsworth are all on fine form, it alternates between being playful and funny to outright dark and traumatic with a nice dash of theatricality for good measure. Definitely worth a watch.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Sex And The City: HBO Max Orders Revival Series

 And Just Like That ..... the story continues.

Last month there were rumours that HBO Max had plans to revive Sex And The City for a limited series and last night, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon all took to social media to confirm that the show would be coming back for a 10 episode series, now titled And Just Like That for HBO Max as this upcoming series would focus on Carrie, Charlotte and Miranda in their 50s. As you have no doubt noticed by now, a certain someone is not returning.

Yup, it seems that Kim Cattral will not be reprising her role as Samantha Jones and already this is going to be a major obstacle for the limited series. I know Cattral doesn't get along with the rest of the ladies but it's a pity differences cannot be put aside for this likely one off event. I do wonder if this upcoming limited series can draw in potential new audiences or even the same impact the original series, which ran for six seasons between 1998 to 2004 on HBO as well as the two movies from 2008 and 2010. I feel Sex And The City is definitely a product of its time, but perhaps this revival an at least be more entertaining than it's big screen adventures were. However the lack of Samantha Jones doesn't work in its favour.

SATCNextChapter: https://tvline.com/2021/01/10/sex-and-the-city-reboot-hbo-max-sarah-jessica-parker/

Thoughts on this news? Is this exciting or a revival too far? And Just Like That  will start filming  late Spring in New York with Parker, Nixon, Davis and Michael Patrick King serving as executive producers.

DC News: Walter Hamada Re-Signs, WW3 Confirmed And More

 It never rains but it pours and DC news has certainly been doing that of late. This may be a monthly feature, depending on how much info spills out but here goes.

Recently it was revealed that the fate of future DC content lies solely on both Toby Emmerich and Walter Hamada and it's those two alone who are in charge of what goes to theatres, television and streaming. This is a revelation that some DC fans are not too enthused about, especially as it was revealed that Hamada will be around until 2023 at the very least.

Speaking of Hamada, he recently revealed that every upcoming movie is being looked at for HBO Max spin off potential and that Robert Pattinson's Batman will be from Earth 2. He also revealed ambitions from 2022 onwards to have four DC movies in theatres and two "riskier" ones (such as Batgirl and Static Shock) on HBO Max a year. Whether this can be achieved, I'm not certain but it'll be intriguing to see it pulled off.

Of course this also brings up the issue of the upcoming HBO Max property - Zack Snyder's Justice League.  A recent interview with Hamada suggested that the miniseries/movie will be a "cul de sac that leads nowhere", which has seemingly annoyed a certain fanbase but with an upcoming movie set to restructure the DCEU, Michael Keaton rumoured to be replacing Ben Affleck as the main Batman (with a rumoured Batgirl in waiting) and Ray Fisher looking increasingly unlikely to be kept on as Cyborg, it wouldn't be too shocking if this SC did become a one and done deal as even Snyder himself has recently admitting that he might be moving on from the DC Universe.

As for The Flash, this movie has been in development hell for too long but finally it seems like it will actually go ahead. Loosely based on the classic Flashpoint by Geoff Johns, the movie written by Christina Hodson (Birds Of Prey) and directed by Andy Muschietti (IT Chapters 1&2), the only cast confirmed so far are Ezra Miller, Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton but with filming due to begin in April, expect a lot of casting announcements to start coming out over the next few months.

Last but not least, there's the Amazon side of things. Wonder Woman 1984 might have rather dicey box office numbers (though under the circumstances doing better than expected), it's done rather well on HBO Max and a third movie has been fast tracked with Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins set to return. I can't imagine we will see this movie before 2024 but I'm glad Jenkins and Gadot will be able to complete their trilogy.

Walter Hamada Re Signs: https://variety.com/2021/film/news/walter-hamada-re-ups-deal-as-dc-films-president-exclusive-1234878800/

Doctor Who - Series 13: John Bishop Joins Cast

We may have lost Graham O'Brien (Bradley Walsh) and Ryan Sinclair (Tosin Cole) but after Revolution Of The Daleks aired, the BBC were quick to reveal that the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) and Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill) will have company in the TARDIS.

Comedian John Bishop (who's also had acting gig in things such as Skins and Accused) will be joining Whittaker and Gill as the new companion, called Dan. Not much is known about the character at the moment, other than going by the trailer, he's from Liverpool, a builder and has a friend (Craige Els) who reads his horoscope to him. 

The scene showed some brief shots of moments that were filmed for the upcoming thirteenth series but nothing too revealing either. Saying that, we know that Bishop's character will have his own encounter with the Sontarans and will likely be in all eight episodes of the upcoming series. 

The 54-year-old, who recently tested positive for coronavirus, said boarding the Tardis was a "dream come true", that his character "becomes embroiled in the Doctor's adventures" and faces "evil alien races beyond his wildest nightmares".

I know some people were keen on just the Doctor and Yaz only for Series, but personally I think Chris Chibnall has made the right call adding a new companion into the mix and we've seen countless times that older companions work very well on the series. In other words, I think audiences will actually like John Bishop as Dan.

Press Release: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-55509582

Welcome To The TARDIS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHSob62p17Q

Series 13 of Doctor Who should resume filming this month for a 2021 airing on both BBC1 and BBCAmerica.

My Review of Doctor Who's 13x00: "Revolution Of The Daleks"

 

Written by Chris Chibnall

Directed by Lee Haven Jones

The Doctor: "Thanks for helping today. Won't be seeing you later."

Dalek: "You will not escape us, Doctor."

The Doctor: "Yes I will. Every time."

Following the events of that controversial finale, it seems that things really have changed for everyone and yet at the same time, maybe not changed enough. If you liked Resolution as a Dalek story but felt it was a bit too small scale, then you'll be happy that Revolution Of The Daleks is something far grander in the scheme of things. 

The Dalek story definitely feels a lot bigger this time around. Instead of one simple Recon Dalek, we have an entire race of Security Drones, partially created by the clever Leo Rugazzi (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) at the behest of Jack Robertson (Chris Noth) and aspiring PM Jo Patterson (Dame Harriet Walter). Unfortunately for Leo, his curiosity led to these seemingly safe Security Drones becoming more like their true selves when he meddled around and created a whole new embryo. 

Of course, this lead to some more possession acting, which was nicely done but unlike Lin in the previous Dalek story, Leo died here. It also didn't help that the Security Drones became mutated with liquified humans and in order to solve the problem of the Security Drones, the Doctor had to wangle in some actual Daleks to deal with the situations.

This also meant that in order to get rid of the Daleks, Jack, Ryan and Graham had to nuke their ship and the Doctor and Yaz had to lure them into the other TARDIS and have the latter collapse in on itself just to get rid of them for good. All round, that should sum things up here in terms of the actual threat of the episode.

As for the returns - I guess we should've see Jack Robertson coming back a mile off. This episode could've either humanised him or killed him off and there was definitely a moment where the latter seemed very likely. Ultimately it did neither and Robertson managed to come out of the situation looking like a hero. Yup, he's going to be a recurring pain for the Doctor at this point.

As for Captain Jack (John Barrowman) - I loved his earlier appearance in Fugitive Of The Judoon and I thought he was brilliant here. The quick way he got the Doctor out of her prison, their wonderful dynamic, his timely advice to Yaz on the nature of being a companion, which of course also led to the other big event of the episode.

It's been a while coming but this episode saw the exits of Graham and Ryan with both of them volunteering to leave the Doctor of their own accord. As exits go, it lacked a certain oomph and considering some new information that's come to light, Yaz won't have much longer with this Doctor either. Still though, I thought Ryan was actually used pretty well in this episode and I did like a certain callback with both him and Graham that ended the episode.

Speaking of Yaz, she was definitely the most affected by the Doctor's absence and definitely reacted the most emotionally towards it as well. There's been rumours that she might have feelings for the Doctor and this episode certainly didn't dissuade that. I personally would prefer if the show didn't go there with the Doctor and Yaz but a part of me wouldn't be surprised if the idea is at least raised next series.

- While in prison, the Doctor encountered a Weeping Angel, Ood, Sycorax, a Silent and of course, the Pting. John Barrowman also got his name in the opening credits.

- Nice references to Rose Tyler, Gwen Cooper, the Master and even better that Chibnall did not reference a certain real life event still going on at the moment.

- Interesting that the Doctor gave both Graham and Ryan psychic paper each. Seemingly odd too in a way.

- This episode was also made in 4K UHD if you really want to see it in a more snazzy way.

- A short scene added to the end of the episode, revealed that John Bishop will be joining the cast for Series 13 as new companion, Dan.

- Chronology: Ten months since the events of The Timeless Children.

Revolution Of The Daleks certainly delivered a better Dalek story, return for Jack but somewhat fumbled with the exits for Graham and Ryan. Still though, it's a strong episode and with next series only being eight episodes long, I do hope this episode will be a signifier of better quality next series, especially if those rumours are about to come to pass.

Rating: 8 out of 10