American Horror Story: Freak Show

Well, well, well. I am very excited.

A teaser poster for the absolutely brilliant (if we don’t include the third season) forth season of American Horror Story has been released, and it’s a sight to behold.

There’s a host of returning cast members, such as Jessica Lange as the freak show owner, Kathy Bates as a bearded lady and Evan Peters as her son, as well as Angela Basset, Denis O’Hare, Sarah Paulson, Frances Conroy, Jamie Brewer, Danny Huston, Emma Roberts and Gabourey Sidibe. There’s quite a few newcomers; Michael Chiklis, Wes Bentley, Finn Wittrock, John Carroll Lynch and Patti LaBelle.

We’ve also seen sneak-peaks of things such as women in cages, a three-legged lady and a forked tongue man. I’m looking forward to seeing the returning cast, as well as what the newcomers can bring, and hoping the standard of writing and directing is just as good as the previous season. Luckily, we won’t have to wait for long, as the show returns 8th October.

Hook: Why It Will Never Grow Old

Firstly, I hope you enjoyed the little joke I made in the title. You know, never growing old…? It’s about Peter Pan…? Never mind.

Secondly, after the death of Robin Williams, I felt I wanted to pay a bit of a tribute to him. He was a legend in Hollywood, so why not do that by talking about Hook? Not only was it one of my favourite films starring the man himself, but it’s one of my favourite childhood films altogether. Every time I put that disc in the DVD player and the beginning scenes begin to play, I get hit with a huge sense of nostalgia. Of being five and sliding that VHS into the tape player, of wishing I could travel to Neverland. Of running through the garden yelling “Bangarang!” Of pretending to eat imaginary food and hoping it would turn into the weirdly delicious-looking, bright bowls of gloop so I could have a food fight. So perhaps there’s a slight bit of bias here when I rave about the film. Perhaps I’m looking at it through the eyes of my five-year-old self, instead of the critical eyes of a film observer. But isn’t that how many of our favourite films are viewed, with the pleasant and comforting rush of nostalgia?

I was surprised when I read that Steven Spielberg didn’t like his work. Even more so when I read a quote from him claiming he wished he could use digital effects for the whole of the Neverland sequences. For me, as a child and even watching it now, the magic in the film is how real it seemed. The painted trees, the twists of vines, the brilliant armor created by the Lost Boys, it made it special. Neverland became a place where even though you had to fly to get there, it didn’t seem to be impossible. Anything Spielberg could do now with CGI and digital effects wouldn’t be as amazing as what I felt he managed through physical sets.

Another aspect of Hook that I appreciate is the cast. From Dustin Hoffman’s cranky and conniving Captain Hook to Robin Williams’ Peter, the workaholic who relearned how to be Pan, I loved every single person. Watching it last night, I was astounded that even the child actors were great; watching Charlie Korsmo as Jack, I couldn’t help but compare it to those child actors of today, and be pleasantly surprised. The only performance I wasn’t particularly enamored with was Julia Roberts as Tinkerbell, which I was was wooden and not the best.

Hook may just be a rehashing of an old fairytale, and many may feel that Spielberg could have done so much more with the subject. I completely disagree. I’ll be watching it until I’m an old woman, like Wendy. I’ll enjoy watching Peter learn to fly, fight and crow. I’ll cry over Rufio, I’ll be clapping until Tink stands up, and I’ll smile when Tootles gets his marbles. To me, it is perfect.

Under the Skin: Review

Directed by Jonathan Glazer, Under the Skin is a sci-fi set in Scotland and featuring Scarlett Johansson in the lead role. It was released in 2013 and is a loose adaptation of Michel Faber’s novel of the same title.

To say Under the Skin is an odd film is an understatement. Without sounding condescending, it’s definitely not one for the average movie-goer, who is probably more used to films with a straightforward plot and plenty of dialogue. However, don’t let that put you off seeing this film. For those patient enough to stick with the long, drawn-out shots and lack of dialogue, there’s a hidden gem that is beautiful and breathtaking.

Johansson plays an alien, takes on the skin of a young woman and travels around Scotland seducing men, bringing them back to her house and luring them into the black void of liquid where they float, trapped. She is unfeeling, unaware of human emotion, but before too long, she begins to feel. She becomes aware of her prey’s emotions, attempting several aspects of human life, such as eating and having sex. She is followed and observed by a man on a motorcycle, who one can only assume is a rank above her in this alien hierarchy, and his job is to make sure she doesn’t stray from her mission.

The use of Scotland is an interesting one in terms of location. Whilst some may struggle to understand the thick dialect from the natives, it does provide some stunning views for the audience to see, especially towards the ending of the film; the scenery is beautiful. It’s quite refreshing as I personally haven’t viewed many films set here.

Johansson manages to carry the film on her own; every other character is relevant but doesn’t hold a candle to her performance, and her ability to tell a story without uttering a word in many scenes makes up for the somewhat slow pace. As I previously said, the dialogue isn’t vast – mostly between Johansson and her prey as she asks them questions, but this all falls into small talk. It’s a film where one has to attempt to establish the plot through visuals alone, and that’s okay; in fact, I like that we aren’t led, and we need to figure it out ourselves.

The mix of beautiful scenery and a brilliant performance by Johansson makes this one to see, but only if you can view it with a completely open mind. Easy viewing it is not, and you have to sit down and pay attention, but worth a look. Props to Jonathan Glazer. 4/5.

Top Ten Saddest Moments in TV

So I’ve been chain-watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the last few weeks, in my bid to catch up on my list of stuff to see (this darn list never stops growing). I love the series, but one episode in particular really hit me emotionally, and those Buffy fans can probably guess which episode I mean. It inspired me to do a Top Ten list of the saddest moments in TV. I’ve had to whittle down the list, and these are the ones that in my opinion are the biggest tearjerkers.

So in no particular order, here are the Top Ten Saddest Moments in TV. Spoilers ahoy!

Robin Williams

Part of my childhood was destroyed last night, with the sad news of Robin Williams’ death. Normally, I try not to linger too long on the death of celebrities – it feels wrong to intrude on something so personal. However, in this case, I feel it would be criminal to not reflect on what a brilliant actor Williams was. My fondest memory of him was as Peter in Hook, one of my classic childhood films that I still watch today. He was the Genie in Aladdin, Mrs Doubtfire, played Jumanji, and was the scientist who discovered Flubber. He pulled off serious roles in One Hour Photo, Dead Poets Society and Good Will Hunting. To put it simply, he was a legend of Hollywood, and chances are everyone had seen at least one film starring him. A great loss for the film and television industry, and a man who deserves nothing but respect.

tee-Villain: Horror Movie Skull Tee

Ahhh I do love a good horror film. So when, in my internet browsing sessions, I came across teeVillain and saw their latest design, I had to have it. It’s only available for 24 hours, and I can’t get a picture of the design (I’m guessing that’s to do with lawyery legal stuff like copyright) so here‘s the link to their site. Though their store is a bit sparse, their gallery of previous shirts of the day is pretty cool, so one to look out for. And the prices seem pretty sweet too!

Torture Porn: Why are we addicted to watching body horror?

Earlier in the week, I was round a friend’s house with another friend. This is normally a weekly occurrence; we catch up, watch movies, and generally have a pleasant evening. This friend has recently acquired Netflix, so we flicked through, and settled upon The Human Centipede 2. We had all seen the first film, we all knew the general idea, and knew a few of the more graphic details of the storyline. Cue twenty minutes later, when we’re all watching through our fingers, pulling faces and occasionally moaning “Oh my god”.