Howe's World of Film and TV

The Simpsons Season 4 (1992) – TV Review

The Simpsons Season 4 is an incredibly confident and well rounded season of comedy, that is willing to take risks and explore stories it previously wouldn’t have been able to.

While I don’t think it is necessarily the shows best season, overall it is the perfect example of the groundbreaking and all encompassing appeal that the show developed.

It has proved to be the golden child of Disney+, ironic as it wasn’t even a Disney property until their recent purchase of Fox, and I truly think it is the best thing the service has to offer for the whole family.

Rating = 4/5

Killing Eve Season 3 – Still Got It (Reaction)

Following last week’s blockbuster episode, season 3 continued to take big risks, this time changing the structure and framing the episode like a classic Tarantino film, following individual characters and watching them eventually overlap, and it works to great success.

The story continues to progress nicely and all the characters feel like the are being positioned for a major final half of the season.

There are many supporting characters I do not trust; Jamie, Geraldine, Paul, and of course Dasha. I don’t think they are all hiding something but I do think there will be big twists involved with some of the characters and their intentions going forward.

As for Dasha, she struck a key blow against the Villanelle and Eve relationship by framing Villanelle for murdering Niko (right in front of Eve). I do think Eve will think this is Villanelle, but later in the season she will discover the truth.

The show is taking the strong steps of killing off major characters to up the stakes and clear the boards. Kenny and Niko served no real narrative purpose anymore, but their deaths certainly did, and I feel this is all building towards an endgame where Villanelle and Eve are all that each other have left.

Next episode has been talked up a lot as a big one for Villanelle and her journey, and I can’t wait for a masterclass in acting from Jodie Comer.

Normal People (2020) – TV Review

Ever since the BBC released this series, a week ago today, there has been a lot of talk and hype about the show. Often this is a bandwagon thing, but with this show, it is thoroughly deserved.

It is a brutally emotional, entirely convincing, strikingly romantic, and stunningly acted look at love and growing up.

There is no over the top or continuing plot, it is simply the story of two people and the effect they have on each others lives through a key period of time in anyone’s life.

The writing, from Sally Rooney, is so authentic and honest that you truly feel like you’re watching real life, which is a unique experience.

The depiction of sex and nudity here is handled superbly. It doesn’t shy away from reality, often showing full frontal nudity when necessary, but nothing is gratuitous and it is equal for all genders. The end result is it makes the show feel even more real, sexy, and powerful.

A supporting performance I would like to highlight is Sarah Greene as Lorraine. She adds such warmth and humour to the scenes she is in, and you can see her impact on Connell’s behaviour throughout.

The show still wouldn’t work without its lead two being any good, but they certainly are. Both Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones are incredible here, bringing real emotion and presence to every scene, and they are both surely set to have huge careers now, and they absolutely deserve it.

‘Normal People’ is an emotional rollercoaster that everyone should experience. A beautiful piece of television.

Rating = 4.5/5

Darkman (1990) – Review

A Universal Picture, Written by Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi, Chuck Pfarrer, Daniel Goldin, Joshua Goldin, Directed by Sam Raimi.

Sam Raimi is the legendary director of ‘The Evil Dead’, ‘Spider-Man’ Trilogy, and the upcoming ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’, and this is one of his most famous ‘cult’ hits.

An early career starring hit for Liam Neeson and Frances McDormand, Raimi’s ‘Darkman’ is an unapologetically over the top gothic horror mixed into the revenge action genre.

It’s far from the perfect film, but you can see Raimi letting his freak flag fly here, something which he would refine and use to his advantage over the coming decades in his career.

Rating = 3/5

Batman: Year One (2011) – Review

A Warner Bros Picture, Written by Tab Murphy, Directed by Sam Liu, Lauren Montgomery.

Over the years DC has produced some truly special animation, from Batman: The Animated Series all the way through to the current Harley Quinn show, and while this isn’t a particularly bad film, it certainly doesn’t match up to those heights.

The idea to tell the story of Batman’s beginning through Jim Gordon’s eyes in a crime ridden Gotham is a good one, and something that worked well for the Gotham TV show (which I will comment on more in a moment) but the story just isn’t fleshed out or compelling enough here to make it work.

The voice cast is interesting and is one of the main reasons I watched. The voice of Batman is non other than Ben McKenzie, who just a couple of years after this film would go on to be cast in the lead role of Jim Gordon in ‘Gotham’.

The man playing Gordon here though is Bryan Cranston, and he is undoubtedly the best thing about this adaptation. He brings a real depth and noir tone to proceedings, and even in his voice work, shows what a talented actor he is.

Rating = 3/5

Dummy (2020) – TV Review

On the face of it, a show where our lead forms a friendship with her boyfriend’s sex doll, based on the true life relationship of Cody Heller and Dan Harmon (writer of Rick and Morty), sounds completely bonkers. In reality, it still absolutely is.

However, as the show goes on, you start to accept the world and embrace what they are going for, and I eventually found it to be a funny series.

It has a lot to say about feminism, mental health, relationships, and much more, but above it all, it’s a genuinely funny show. The humour is so dark and unapologetic that you have to respect it, and Anna Kendrick delivers the lines very well.

Rating = 3/5

Friday Night Dinner Season 6 (2020) – TV Review

This is one of those shows that you either like or you don’t. It has a very particular style of humour, a family related farce. I personally really enjoy it.

While this season was certainly up and down, probably more so than any of the previous seasons, it was nice to be able to switch off from the current world scenario and simply enjoy some light hearted comedy for half an hour.

While all the characters have their moments, Martin (Paul Ritter) is undoubtedly the stand out and carries this season comedically almost completely. He is an almost non stop laugh machine and is one of my favourite modern comedy characters.

The finale was a great episode and very much could prove to be the last ever of the show, but I think that would be a shame. The popularity of the show continues to grow and Channel 4 likely see it as a priority going forward.

Rating = 3.5/5

Breeders (2020) – TV Review

This show from Simon Blackwell and Chris Addison (from the team behind Veep) and Martin Freeman, is simply put, one of the best shows of 2020.

It is genuinely laugh out loud funny, with a real dark humour and a serious is underlying drama about parenthood and personal growth, and the tone is mixed perfectly.

The writing is superb, it really feels like an extension of something like ‘Veep’ or ‘The Thick of It’ as the dialogue is sharp and vicious, with really clever plot developments hidden in there.

Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard are perfect in the lead roles, bouncing off each other incredibly well and offering real emotion and humour where necessary.

I’m not sure if this was intended to be a one and done, but I would love for a second season.

Rating = 4/5

Superman (1978) – Review

A Warner Bros Picture, Written by Mario Puzo, David Newman, Leslie Newman, Robert Benton, Directed by Richard Donner.

This film is often regarded as the first ‘great’ superhero movie, and it is tough to argue. The film is simply excellent, with a real focus on the characters and interactions, instead of just non-stop action (due to the budget).

The score is simply iconic and the effects, while obviously seeming slightly silly now, were outstanding when the film was released.

The casting is where the real success happens. Christopher Reeve manages to really convince by playing Clark and Superman as too very different characters, and Margot Kidder proves a great foil as a funny and determined Lois Lane.

Legendary actors Gene Hackman and Marlon Brando were used as the main selling points, and obviously they do good work, but it is very much a case of big stars in supporting roles here.

An iconic piece of cinema.

Rating = 4/5

Men In Black: International (2019) – Review

A Sony Picture, Written by Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, Directed by F. Gary Gray.

Revamping ‘Men in Black’ without Will Smith was always going to be a tough task, but the casting of Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson as the new leads gave me hope that Sony could really pull this off. However, that trust was sadly misplaced.

This isn’t the fault of Hemsworth and Thompson who we know are both very talented performers, but the characters they play here force them to be really reserved and therefore not effective.

The plot is incredibly generic and the ‘twist’ is so painfully obvious that I don’t understand how someone didn’t pick up on it.

It’s not necessarily a bad movie, it’s just a nothing movie, which in some ways is worse.

It really wasted a talented lead cast and interesting franchise, and has now likely killed the franchise for good.

Rating = 2.5/5