Red Sun

At the start of the Western Red Sun Link (Charles Bronson) and Gauche (Alain Delon) with their band of outlaws rob a train and as part of their haul steal a sword being delivered by the Japanese ambassador to the President of the USA, Gauche murdering one of the Samurai bodyguards in the process. Gauche double crosses Link, leaving him for dead, but Link survives and is then forced to act as guide for Kuroda (Toshiro Mifune, who also appeared in the classic Kurosawa film The Seven Samurai on which The Magnificent Seven - which of course had Bronson in it - was based), another of the ambassadors Samurai to hunt down Gauche, avenge his friend and retrieve the sword. Link also wants to find Gauche but wants him alive so he can retrieve his share of the robbery loot and the pair set off in pursuit...

The sword, the loot and even the reasons the two men pursue Gauche for are really just McGuffins for the journey the two undertake whilst tracking him down; the physical journey of the pursuit (which is wonderfully shot) and the journey the two make from mutual dislike to respect for each other and maybe even friendship. Don't get the idea this is all 'emotional' stuff though as there are plenty of dangers, shootings and sword usage along the way and the pace never really slows that much. The one constant is Link trying to 'persuade' Kuroda (by fair means or foul) to let Gauche live long enough for him to find out where his loot is hidden and Kuroda's determination to avenge his friend and kill Gauche on sight.

All three main leads are superb, Bronson as the tough outlaw is well suited to the role and Kuroda as the perfect honourable Samurai (sworn to ritually kill himself out of shame if he doesn't recover the sword  within just seven days) especially play their parts to the hilt, with the changes of attitude in the characters coming slowly and logically as the two begin to rely on each other for mutual protection from bandits and Indians.
Alain Delon as bad guy Gauche meanwhile seems to be having a great time as the smart, debonair but ruthless criminal, though he's not given much to play off except in the opening scenes and in the (slightly over-stretched out) finalé, the two times when all the leads are together.

The action is pretty graphic and obviously someone has been doing their homework which shows is small things like all the pistols being single action and requiring cocking for each shot, which was accurate for 1870 when the film is set, and also in Kuroda's attitude when the pair stay at a brothel (run by a lover of Links, played by the alluring Capucine) where they kidnap Gauche's girlfriend, Cristina (Ursula Andress) who plays her small role acceptably (the men's attitudes towards women in the film are probably quite realistic but some may find them a bit misogynistic for easy watching).
A lesser script may have had such an 'honorable' man as Kuroda turning down female companionship in such a situation whereas in fact in Japanese culture men were sometimes traditionally offered women for 'pillowing' as part of a host's hospitality so it was quite natural for Kuroda to accept... even ignoring the fact he may only have a day or so to live if he doesn't succeed in his mission!
There are a couple annoying mistakes in the use of Japanese, when not using real Japanese spoken between Japanese characters. One was the use of the phrase Hara Kiri for Japanese traditional Samurai self-sacrifice after losing honour (it was actually only banned from being ordered as a form of capital punishment some 3 years after the film was set, adding to Kuroda's words that the Samurai tradition was dying out) whereas a real Samurai would be much more likely to use Seppuku, Hara Kiri being more of a slang term (though it does have Japanese etymology).The other was when the Japanese ruler is referred to as the Mikado which only came into use after the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta written ten years after the film's setting. Still, these are small things and may have been done deliberately to aid understanding.

Even though the story it tells of the bond forming between the two men is quite straightforward and one that's been seen before and since, it is told very well here, with great scenes of the battling of the two men's wills, and its hung on a basic plot which works well to support the action and drama. The above mentioned attention to detail and the general realism of the Red Sun works massively in its favour and along with some good action set pieces, some worthy acting, well written dialogue and some lovely cinematography make it well worth a watch.

The DVD: (UK, Region 2)
You would hope that when a DVD is released under a banner of "Western Classics" they treat the product as just that, a classic. Sadly this isn't the case here.

Though the print is clean (no obvious dust, sparkle or film damage that I saw) and the colours are probably deliberately muted to add mood, rather than a messed up transfer, the picture is extremely soft and any night scenes show up as 'mushy' with no deep blacks, and quite a bit of over-obvious grain... luckily it's mostly shot in daylight! Even if this is unavoidable due to the original film quality it isn't a good sign when the opening credits sequence has black bars down the sides of the actual image and then switches to a proper image after the credits are complete... unless the original was like this but it seems quite unlikely.

The aspect ratio is at least correct at 1.85:1 (an improvement over previous cropped releases) and the sound is the original mono (dual mono for the DVD and it seems to be very quiet, even for a DVD which has more dynamic range than VHS or than is permitted on TV programmes). However that's where it ends with no subtitles and no extras at all barring the ability to select a scene, not even a trailer (and that was on a previous 'pan and scan' release)... scene selection may have been a revolutionary feature in late 90s when DVD started to replace video tapes, but not what I'd expect of a "Western Classic". The film deserves better even though it is admittedly not that well known a title.

Sanctuary: Season 2, Episodes 7-9

Episode 7 Veritas - All the evidence points to Magnus being guilty of murder and even as Will defends herthat evidence grows. Three telepaths known as 'The Triad' are brought in to uncover the truth and it's discovered that Magnus has been lying about the supposed elimination of a hugely dangerous abnormal 'Big Bertha' years previously.

More a question of 'who and how' as you're pretty sure from the off that Magnus isn't going to turn out to be guilty of murdering a regular cast member this is nonetheless well done with the tension coming out of working out the truth at the same time as Will... though to be fair you do have your suspicions about who will turn out to be the bad guy just because the story tries too hard to convince you they aren't. Some clever ideas make this a clever and enjoyable episode and, interestingly, the first time Amanda Tapping has directed 'solo' (for the episode of Stargate she did she was aided by a regular director).

Episode 8 Next Tuesday - Magnus and Will collect a rare type of abnormal but their helicopter crashes on the return journey leaving them stranded inside a disused oil platform.

Not much of a story - it's all exposition about the past (a bad thing on a visual medium generally), flashbacks to earlier in the day (which gets annoying) and a rather weak monster sub-plot (and the ending is a bit of a cop out really) but the interplay in this two-hander is decent enough and, later in the episode, certainly seems to  be suggesting a possible mutual attraction between Magnus and Will (it would have been better to swap this and the previous episode, Veritas, in my opinion as at least it would have shown why Will was so loyal in the face of the evidence). It's a shame this attraction, which seem more than just respect, is not really expanded upon in coming episodes as it would have added an extra adult dynamic to the show... especially if John Druitt wasn't happy about it.

Episode 9 Pennance - A former gang member, Jimmy, attempts to bring his friend Magnus a rare abnormal but the underground mob he stole it from want it back. After a gunfight Kate is wounded and her and Jimmy hide out whilst the mob closes in... and unpleasant secrets from Jimmy's past are revealed.

The idea behind the device for the normally anger-prone abnormal mob boss is mildly interesting but doesn't really add up on closer examination (why build it and let someone else become boss rather than taking over yourself?) but the twist used against it is quite clever. sadly the rest of the episode is more flashbacks and more exposition based back-stories and even though this time they add into the plot in the end the confrontation involved seems actually less important or realistic than the less exciting and disconnected talk between Will and Magnus last episode, since you know it's not going anywhere and Kate (now she's a good girl team member) isn't going to kill someone who is also basically good, if flawed. Even the ending isn't as shocking as intended because the whole 'mercy shown by Kate' angle is bound to have to payoff somehow.

X-Men 2

Following on soon after the first X-Men film, X-Men 2 (sometimes called X2 or X-Men United) has William Stryker, a mutant-hating covert government operative, working to control and destroy all the mutants on the planet... and an unprovoked mutant assassination attempt on the President gives him the opportunity to carry out his plans.

X-Men 2 has the advantage over the original X-Men film that it doesn't have to introduce a lot of the characters or provide the whole world back story and it uses this advantage to the fullest. Not to say it doesn’t introduce new characters... oh, it does, but by weaving them into the ongoing plot, rather than giving them plots of their own (too many characters with their own full plots is what let down the third in the trilogy) it stops them overwhelming the film and means that the viewer can enjoy the new blood without being confused as to who is who. Of course comic book fans also have the bonus of spotting the new characters before they're named but the film doesn't fall into the trap of this knowledge being a requirement.

The story moves along at a terrific, though never rushed, pace throughout the two and a quarter hours of the film with fantastic action set pieces, with excellent special effects, at regular intervals all following on logically from the plot which is slowly revealed, often in a creative and exciting manner rather than through simple exposition. The characters are all well used and the pretty much all potential "Well couldn’t character X use their power to...?" questions cleverly addressed and simple short-cuts nullified. The writing also makes sure that each character is not just a 'power'; they're all real people with their own personalities and agendas… agendas which see 'villains' and 'heroes' on the same side even when disagreeing on methods. In fact there is significant blurring of the lines between what makes one a hero or another a villain when sometimes it just comes down to the means rather than the end... prejudice and hatred are the real bad guys here.

Four characters I'm going to give a specific mention (not including Sir Ian McKellan who is, as always, magnificent as Magneto); three positives:

Wolverine, of course, holds a lot of the focus of the film and is excellently played by Hugh Jackman as he protects the younger mutants (and it's great to see him really going to town with those claws even though the resultant blood is missing to keep the film at a more child-friendly 12 classification) and continues his quest to find out about his past.

Mystique, (played by wonderfully unselfconscious Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, despite her costume being practically just blue paint in places) with the ability to shapeshift into any person she wants, is used brilliantly to push forward the plot, also adding a touch of tension throughout as the viewer never knows whether who they are watching is her in 'disguise' or not; I actually wish we'd got to know the 'real Raven Darkholme' even better than we do rather than just through her actions in disguise.

Nightcrawler, new to this film, is played excellently by Alan Cumming and his ability to teleport is brilliantly realised on screen - it is just how this fan imagines it would look like based on the comics.

The fourth is sadly a small negative; Lady Deathstrike was really not introduced enough before her 'climactic' battle with Wolverine, taking away from the scene a little because it wasn't made clear how powerful a foe she should be… still, nothing's perfect!

In summary, though, X-Men 2 is one of those rare films which is a sequel that is better than the original with a plot that keeps the viewer engaged without being so convoluted it becomes muddled, top-notch special effects all the way through and 'believable' (in a superhero way) characters each with their own personality and place, adding to rather than diluting the plot, which all adds up to probably the best realised Superhero film made to date.

The Blu-Ray Disc (UK, Region Free)

The 2.40:1 ration image was very good if not quite up to the sharpness of some more recent films released on Blu-Ray, and the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 was of a similar standard.

Extras (which I haven't watched yet... sorry!) on the main disc are 2 commentaries (one by the director and director of photography, the other with screenwriters and producers) and 'Bonusview' picture-in-picture interviews and stills as well as some Marvel Universe trailers (X-Men Origins: Wolverine, X-Men, X-Men: The Last Stand, Daredevil and Fantastic Four).

A second disc has sections on History of the X-Men (2 featurettes, 23 minutes total), pre, during and post production featurettes (29 1/2, 102 and 28 1/2 minutes respectively), 12 minutes of deleted scenes and a stills gallery.

This is a good chunk of extra content but, to be fair, apart from the Bonusview stuff it was all on the original DVD release so don't expect anything new... though to be even more fair I must point out the US release didn't get the Bonusview material so has nothing new at all!

Additional audio tracks are Hungarian (Dolby 5.1) German and Spanish (both DTS 5.1) and there's also a simple English Dolby 5.1 in case your set up prefers that to the DTS signal.

Subtitles are available in Danish, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Norwegian, Spanish and Swedish as well as English (for the hard of hearing) and for the Commentaries.

Purchase Tip:

You can get the X-Men 2 Blu-Ray for under £10 now but if, as I do, you like the rest of the X-Men films, search out the X-Men Quadrilogy boxset which includes all three X-Men films and X-Men Origins: Wolverine and you can pick it up for only £6 or so more (which is presently cheaper than getting the Trilogy set for some reason!)... These are all the same region free 2-disc sets as individually, not cut down one-discers; you just don't get the Wolverine Triple play DVD/Digital copies - just the region A/B only Blu-Ray.

At about £4 a film on beautiful Blu-Ray even the lesser ones have got to be considered a bargain!

Doctor Who: Planet of the Spiders

Planet of the Spiders starts with ex-UNIT member Mike Yates calling in Sarah Jane to help him investigate strange goings on at a monastic retreat, run by a mysterious Tibetan monk K'anpo and his kindly assistant Cho-je, while the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and the Brig (the late, much lamented Nick Courtney - used her more for comic relief than anything else... and who should be a much better shot in episode 2) investigate psychic activity as part of a pet project of the Doctor's.

Soon the two story strands join together as at the retreat a man named Lupton, with a band of followers, summons a large telepathic spider from Metebelis 3 and the pair team up to retrieve a large blue crystal, taken by the Doctor from that planet on a previous visit.

The action then jumps partly to Metebelis where the Doctor must use his intelligence and wits (as well as a little Venusian Aikido) free the enslaved human population from the tyranny of the "eight legs" and then face his own fears and "The Great One" (voiced by the late Roger Delgado's wife, Kismet) in the final confrontation.

This seems to me to be one of those serials which is often remembered for the negatives.

Yes, the massively long chase scene involving a gyrocopter, the Doctor’s roadster, Bessie, the Whomobile, a speedboat and a mini-hovercraft is a huge indulgence for Jon Pertwee in his final story, because of his love of speedy vehicles, and it could have been finished to the same effect in seconds rather than the 11 minutes it takes.

Yes, the CSO (Colour Screen Overlay - the bluescreen effect) is rather ropey at times, though this isn't unusual for the time.

Yes, the acting from some of the villagers once the story reaches Metebelis is, at times, abominable including a fluffed line William Hartnell would be proud of (one pace forward, Jenny Laird).

But what about the good things in this serial… lets just have a look at some of those.

The return of Mike Yates is a rare use of a character who has actually changed during his time on the show because of events in other serials… a proper personal story arc, and it also makes sense as part of the plot.

The well captured atmosphere in the retreat of deception and conspiracy and, counteracting the poor ‘Metebelan villager’ actors (who were, it must be said, hampered by stilted dialogue trying to show they’re backwardness) are pretty solid performances from all the supporting characters in the scenes set on Earth.

The special effects, barring the already mentioned CSO problems, are simple but extremely effective - the mental energy bolts look good (and line up with the live action) and the spider models are actually rather well made, especially since I believe the design team were advised not to make them too scary for the children (they're much better when they’re not moving I must confess, but compare them to the rubber toyshop ones appearing some 6 years later in the Tom Baker serial Full Circle and they’re masterpieces of terror!)

Lupton is a fantastic character; he’s not an arch-villain, he’s a sales executive upset by poor treatment from his company (I think many of us can relate to that) who just takes advantage of the chance to get the power to get his own back. He’s also played intelligently and believably by John Dearth with some great lines and real personality and it's a shame he’s mostly sidelined as the plot concentrates on the spiders as the real bad guys (well girls) as serial progresses.

The pacing is generally good and instead of just using the usual idea of splitting the 6 part story into two mini sub stories of 4 and 2 episodes, it combines this technique with splitting the story between Earth and Metebelis to keep everything moving along… OK it is helped a bit by that long chase scene and some very long reprises in the latter half but still, it works.

The plot is well structured, introducing new aspects and small twists as well as slowly but remorselessly raising the stakes right up to the end. Also the writing has some lovely lines for many of the characters - for example the rather non-PC treatment of the loyal but mentally 'backwards' Tommy (a surprisingly important character) is brilliantly countered by one of his lines after he's looked into the crystal.

Add to this the fact that Jon is obviously having a ball resulting in a good performance (rather than his sometimes criticised 'phoning it in' ones of some serials near then end of his run) especially as the serial, and his time as the Doctor, reaches its climax… an end faced bravely and stoically rather than lamenting his impending 'death'.

Elisabeth Sladen, too, is on top form as companion Sarah Jane Smith given full rein for the part as she plays the investigator, friend, liberator, and prisoner, all the while never losing her faith in the Doctor... and her smile as she hears the Doctor described as "quite naughty" by K'anpo lights up not only the screen but the whole room where you're watching.

Overall I think the positives far outweigh the really rather minor negatives and if the memory cheats, as Who fans are often told, then Planet of the Spiders is one that has suffered because of it rather than being remembered more fondly (as is the case for some other serials) because it really is a cracking adventure and a worthy send off for Jon Pertwee's Doctor.

--

This review is dedicated to the memory of Elisabeth Sladen who died this week; in fact I heard the tragic news of her passing whilst I had the DVD of this serial paused on her name credit at the end of episode 2. Widely believed, rightly so, to have played the finest companion the Doctor ever had she will be sorely missed but never forgotten.

RIP Elisabeth Sladen 1946-2011.

Sanctuary: Season 2, Episodes 4-6

Episode 4 Hero - There's a Superhero in town and whilst the team try to find out more about him there's also the discovery of a large, newly hatched egg to look into.

A stand alone episode with reasonably straightforward plots that, this time, are not kept totally separate from one another; you do actually feel like both are going on at the same time. There's some definite deliberate humour injected here which works as far as it goes, and in nicely balanced by a 'new girl Kate' subplot which actually has a bit of edge to it and is the best 'introduction to her character' yet.
Overall not bad, with Kate getting the best of it, but I'm missing Druitt and Tesla... and the ending really is a bit "Everyone has a laugh after the action's over" like at the end of each Star Trek episode with Jim, Spock and Bones!

Episode 5 Pavor Nocturnus - Magnus wakes up a few years into the future to discover a post-apocalyptic world where infectious 'zombies' roam the world and most of her team are long dead.

Though this is pretty obviously going to somehow be reset at the end of the episode it still has a tension to it that I'd been waiting for. The muted colours it's shot in add a deliberately downbeat look to it, the sets use more real props and less green screen to get an extra grittiness and the zombie creatures really are suitably scary - my investigations lead me to believe this is actually the only 15 rated episode of the season but obviously that means 15 applies to the whole set
Cast wise the change in character of Will between his usual self and future self is excellently done and Amanda Tapping plays Magnus just perfectly (maybe helped by the fact this episode is being co-written by the series' creator) as she searches for the cure the 'regular time line' her never did.
It is very reminiscent of the "I am Legend" story which has, of course, been done before but this episode is still edgier and more adult than anything else so far (one scene has been stated by Amanda Tapping as the toughest she's ever had to do in her career). The ending has a nice little reveal to it but basically is simple and it works rounding off an excellent, well crafted darker episode.

Episode 6 Fragments - A normally docile abnormal attacks a Sanctuary reseach scientist and the team investigate why but the scientist's husband cares less about why and more about making sure it won't happen again.

A nice little investigation style episode though it gets a bit too CSI: Sanctuary in places and, sadly, is a bit too easy to guess the general direction the outcome will take, in my opinion... maybe I've watched too much crime TV! However, the season is now really starting to miss the more individual "non-team-player" attitudes that Druitt and Tesla's presence gave the early episodes.
A decent enough episode which uses the skills of 'the team' well and does have some relatively mature themes but I'm a bit disappointed with the there being no sign of a new new arc following the apparent end of the Cabal, no new secrets being revealed that would lead to changes and no real character development except in the simplest of senses.

Sanctuary: Season 2, Episodes 1-3

(Contains spoilers for Season 1)

Sanctuary is an organisation designed to protect "abnormals" (any weird sentient beastie... some benign, some nasty ones that need locking up for everyone's good) and humans from each other, run by Dr Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping of Stargate fame) who is over 150 but never ages.

Helping her out there's Will (who's human but has a Sherlock Holmsian deductive ability from visual clues), Henry (tech expert and part time werewolf), John Druitt  (Magnus' ex and possessing nifty teleporting abilities... he went through a 'bad patch' as Jack the Ripper) and Bigfoot (thankfully looking more like the Beast from Beauty and the Beast than from Bigfoot and the Hendersons!).

Episodes 1-2 End of Nights Parts 1 & 2 - Season 2 of Sanctuary starts off pretty much where the cliffhanger for Season 1 left off as the team try to track down Magnus' daughter, Ashley (who's been 'brainwashed' to work for the evil Cabal organisation) and work out what the Cabal have done to her and why. The first episode seems quite 'disconnected' for the first half with too many groups and threads not particularly well interwoven.

It picks up in the second half as the team stick together to start working towards one goal but there's still a sub-plot for Bigfoot which seems very 'tagged on' and unnecessary. After a rather ineffectual cliffhanger episode 2 is more action oriented but, in common with episode 1, the good guys seem to be a little to 'good' to be realistic with only the Tesla and John Druitt adding any edge to the proceedings, which is odd since at least in the UK the set is rated 15 and could therefore be (and could do with being) a bit 'harder'. Tapping does also occasionally up her acting game to show the harder side of Magnus but then lets herself down by being too trusting and motherly. To a certain extent this is quite reasonable but the script  sometimes makes her act this way to the point of stupidity, not aided by some rather stilted and/or clichéd dialogue all round.
The plot, whilst it works reasonably well, is quite derivative (Ashley really is in the Wolverine 'Weapon X' project) and despite being supposedly (well, according to the Cabal) impossible for the Sanctuary team to work out their plan it is actually solved in 2 minutes by Magnus and Nikola Tesla (yes, that Tesla - he's a vampire) having a chat. There are some nice humorous touches though and the final result is reasonably satisfying even if how they reach it is a bit of a cop out and obvious.

Episode 3 Eulogy - An obvious 'respond to the opener, set up for the next one' episode:

In the 'respond to the opener' section of the plot throughout the whole episode I sat there worrying they were going to 'jump the shark' and press some big reset buttons (including some ideas stolen off other shows... there's a blatant Star Trek one in there) but somehow they managed to avoid making the mistake you were fearing they might, despite the over sentimental attitudes on display (and the unexplained and rather annoying 'dream walk' sequences).
In the 'set up for the next one' plot strand the new girl (Kate, who they captured in the first episode) goes through the traditional 'can the untrusted mercenary become a proper member of the team' story in a self-contained little adventure (so self contained it didn't impinge on the other plot line at all which sat rather oddly). The funny ending is, well, fun, and gives a convenient result for future episodes but I think the whole issue should have been played out over a number of episodes as it could have been.

One odd plot choice was that John Druitt gets just about 3 minutes on screen in the whole episode to let everyone know he's actually been doing what the rest of the team probably should have been: (very successfully) going after the Cabal people who almost wiped them out in the first two weeks. I was hoping this would be Episode 4 at least instead of a side comment in this one.
Even though the two main threads did need to be addressed, overall I think this episode is much better when you look back at it after having finished watching. this is because the reasonably satisfying conclusions, in preparation for the rest of the series, are the only pay off for the episode that you get as you breath a sigh of relief that they didn't totally lose any edge the show had. Overall, personally I think in a lot of ways it was the off-screen Cabal hunting storyline that I'd have preferred to actually watch!

The Duchess

The Duchess is an interesting and enjoyable, though moving, drama about the Duchess of Devonshire (Keira Knightly) married off at 17 purely to produce a suitable male heir for the Duke, who seems to care nothing for her at all and in fact not to care much about anything else bar his pet dogs.

Sadly this young Duchess is seemingly only able to produce daughters which places a heavy strain on any little relationship there is; and the Duke's strong attraction to his mistress who lives under the same roof as them doesn't help to ease the situation either!

Being based on a true story I suspected, as I imagine most people watching did,  that it's not all going to 'work out beautifully' but I recognise that this is sometimes a good thing and I've certainly criticised many a all-too-nice Hollywood ending in the past. In this case, the ending as portrayed is true to the historical period in attitude and probably 'best of a bad lot' but because I felt for the well acted and realised characters (especially the Duchess herself) it was hard to see them suffer... I suppose if nothing else that just proves how much I did  relate to these characters, however different their lives are from our own, by the end of the film.

Advertised as an allegory for Princess Di (using the "There were three people in her marriage" tagline as well as the fact that there was a genuine Spencer family connection) but there's really very little of that in on the screen and it's almost totally just marketing department ploy - Keira herself has apparently indicated she's unhappy with the approach taken by the advertising too. There are some contemporary parallels drawn, especially with the forward thinking (for the time) Duchess herself, but it's far from what is implied on the rear cover of the DVD!

What I urge you to do is ignore this supposed Diana parallel and instead sit back with an open mind and drink in this sumptuous, beautifully made, emotionally stirring, well acted and absorbing film... that is what I did and I enjoyed The Duchess as a nice change from my usual action/SF fare (though that's not to say action films can't make you think or care about characters too... especially if they're SF!) and, for what it's worth, my wife and my Mum enjoyed it even more than I did!

Doctor Who: Kinda DVD / Extras

As usual for classic Doctor Who releases the list of extras on the Kinda disc is extensive to say the least, but before we go through them all, the technical bits:

The DVD:
The image is in the correct 4:3 aspect ratio and has, as usual, been restored to full glory by the dedicated Restoration Team, as has the soundtrack (presented in the original mono).
There are English subtitles for those who are hard of hearing and audio navigation of the menus for those who are visually impaired.

On to the extras:

Commentary: Full length commentary across all the episodes featuring Peter Davison (The Doctor), Janet Fielding (Tegan), Matthew Waterhouse (Adric) and Nerys Hughes (Todd, the scientist of this serial) who all seem to have a high regard for the serial and a hugely enjoyable time whilst imparting their anecdotes and information... and yes the "Matthew Waterhouse in second acting job gives advice on acting to Richard Todd who has over 40 years of experience including star role in classic film The Dam Busters" story comes up very quickly...but, unlike some previous occasions, it all seems to me to be meant and taken in good spirit.

Peter Davison is amusing and prepared as always, Matthew gives a decent account of himself, coming across much better than he did in the part some might say, and Nerys adds a nice 'external' view from outside the TARDIS crew. Also Janet Fielding is generally a bit more positive about this serial than some in the past, even when pointing out its weaknesses compared to the new series, which is refreshing, but the real shock is that there are four mentions of hairstyles and she not only didn't start any of them but never mentions her own hair as Tegan once!

Though some of the anecdotes have turned up before generally this is a very interesting and informative commentary which is enhanced by the people on it having a great time!

Dream Time (Making of documentary): An even handed documentary, especially concerning the writer's feeling that the story needed no explanation as it went along and (script editor of the time) Eric Saward's belief that it did. Though not usually a big fan of Saward, and indeed some of his reasoning here I still disagree with, in this case I was personally very glad he won most of the battles in the studio.

My only regret for the documentary is that, given the participants comment on the poor quality of the 'big pink snake' and about the possibility of a CGI one nowadays, I would have loved the participants reactions to the new CGIone that has been created for this DVD!
(34 minutes)

Peter Grimwade - Directing with Attitude: I felt the 'introduction to each question whilst walking around' style was a bit odd (though nice to see Mark Strickson again) but the content I found very interesting though some of the attitudes and points had been made before.
(23 minutes)

Optional CGI and Comparison: The replacement CGI for Kinda is aimed purely at the 'pink snake' scenes at the climax of the serial and boy have the team have really out-done themselves with this one - certainly worth the actual 'side-by-side' comparison feature just to see how good it is.

It's impressive enough the way they managed to replace the rubber snake used at the start of the 'growing' scene when it was about normal python sized, but the full size snake replacement, including adding reflections in all the mirrors surrounding it, that weren't even present on the original, was absolutely outstanding. For me, when watched in the serial itself, it really helped to keep me "in the action" rather than having to work my suspension of disbelief really hard so that the finalé wasn't spoiled by a rather rubbish monster!

The most significant aspect of this particular CGI in my opinion was that it was the first time a 'biologic' had been done. Spaceships, blaster beams and such we've seen before but the team have always said doing living creatures in CGI was much more difficult and (importantly) expensive.Even given that in this case the basic CGI design for the snake was probably already created so it didn't have to be done from scratch (I'm pretty sure it was some sort of Viper recoloured with more pink... I'm sure someone will tell me the variety!) this is a major step forward in the capabilities within budget and I can only hope fervently that at least the few Loch Ness Monster scenes in Terror of the Zygons, and maybe even the awful plastic toys used in Invasion of the Dinosaurs, are now potential candidates for such a CGI makeover... I really hope so.
(1 min 32 sec)

Deleted and Extended Scenes: Though there was no detailed explanation given for the cutting of scenes (at least not associated directly with the scenes, there are some references elsewhere on the disc) I found it interesting to see that a large number would have provided a lot more background to the Sanders/Hindle relationship which would have provided some good background for Hindle's breakdown.
(15 minutes)

Trivia Text: All nicely timed for easy reading and with plenty of information to impart, especially about the Buddhist and Sanskrit references such as the meaning of the names of the characters and how that actually fits with the story.

Also on the disc there is an automated Photo Gallery (4 1/2 minutes), Trails and Continuity announcements for the show (the BBC Received Pronunciation style of speaking always makes me nostalgic - 4 minutes), PDF Documentation of the Radio Times billings for the serial and a "Coming Soon Trailer" for the Revisitations 2 set.

Fans of the music for the episode will also be pleased to learn there is an Isolated Score soundtrack which they can select.

Overall, therefore, a great package of special features with, I think, something for everyone from hardcore fan to first time watcher.

Interlude...

There will now be a short interlude whislt my laptop is rebuilt after a hard disk failure resulting in Blue Screen of Death on start-up taking quite a few of my review notes with it...

... please use your imaginations to pretend there is soothing music and possibly pictures of toy Daleks bumping into each other on your TV screen.

Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.

Conagher

Conagher is a western based on the Louis L'Amour novel (that I haven't read) and on watching the film you get a very strong sense it was sticking very closely to that novel... and whilst I have read high praise for this by fans of the book I personally think it was a mistake for the film.

Sam Elliot (tough cowboy) as Conn Conagher is supposed to come 'in and out of the life of' a widow (played by his real-life wife, Katharine Ross) and slowly fall for her... personally I'm not sure if he falls slowly (it is set over a long period of time) or really quickly given the amount of time they actually spend together before the end of the film - they actually only meet for the time it takes to eat one meal and then not again in the first 1 1/4 hours of the film.

During their long time apart it seemed to me that the book would have been describing their thoughts of each other whilst telling their separate tales (their stories are linked only by the widow attaching notes of her thoughts to tumbleweed and letting it head off into the wilderness, which Connagher occasionally finds) but the film has great difficulty getting their feelings and thoughts about each other over to the viewer unless that viewer is one of those that's read the book already.

Mis-sold (in my opinion) as an actioneer on the cover, there are a few low key fights but essentially for the two leads the main storyline comes across of more of a Mills & Boon romance than anything else. There are some excellent character pieces centring around the ethics and actions of Elliot as he moves through the authentic feeling story, and some very good work from Ross too as she struggles in her new life. In fact both roles are very well acted but they're just never together on screen long enough for me to get any real sense of their feelings about each other and it's all too low key.

With Conagher if you've read and like the book the I think you'll like the film, because it remains true to the novel and you'll also be able to fill in the film's blanks, but otherwise only go for it if you're willing to do a lot of the director's work for him and are not expecting a lot of shoot 'em up, tough guy action.

The DVD (UK, Region 2):
A made for TV movie from 1991 this is presented in its original 4:3 aspect ratio and with the audio in Dolby Digital Surround.

Optionally you've got a mono French dub and subtitles in just about every language you're likely to need; as well as English there's Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Slovenian, Swedish and Turkish!

Sadly, being a TV movie, there's just some trailers for other Warner Home Video products as an extra.

Chanbara Beauty

In Chanbara Beauty a deranged scientist has rather too successfully managed to reanimate the dead... seemingly all of them. Scantily dressed, sword wielding Aya and leather clad, gun-toting Reiko wage all out war on the zombies and their creator but then Aya's schoolgirl sister Saki, complete with her own sword, turns up to really make things... interesting.

Chanbara Beauty is a film that makes no pretence about what it is; based on the zombie slashing video game Onechanbara (that I haven't played and sort of translates as "sword fighting girl") with the tagline "Babes, Blades and Bikinis - What More Do You Want?" on the DVD cover you can't really expect this to be high class entertainment... and to be fair you'd be right.

The plot is non-existent (though apparently more fleshed out than the game it's based on), internal logic often absent and explanations missing even thought they would have been easy to add. However, I'm willing to bet it's pretty true to the video game as the lead characters let loose with infinitely repeating double-barrelled shotguns and take on special "power ups", that even make the characters glow whilst they're active in a traditional video game manner, during the 'big fight at the end of the level'.

No, it's not a 'good film' but it never pretends that it's going to be a work of art; "pretty girls kill zombies and fight with Samurai Swords in finalé fight (18 minutes of the 86 minutes total length!)" is what the video game and this film are about. Babes, Blades and Bikinis is what it promises and it delivers in spades, so switch your brain to neutral, grab a beer (or a glass of sake) sit back and enjoy the silliness and (as stated in the BBFC guidelines) "strong and bloody violence" that is Chanbara Beauty!

The DVD (UK, Region 2):
The picture is a widescreen TV-friendly 1.85:1 anamorphic one and for a soundtrack you have a choice of 2.0 Dolby stereo or 5.1 Dolby digital, both Japanese; sorry - no dubbed English soundtrack though obviously there are English subtitles.
Normally, as a bit of a purist, I wouldn't decry the lack of dubbing but for this style of film when you really want to switch your brain off and watch it is a shame that it's missing... still you won't really be watching for the dialogue! If you really want an English dub track, have a Region free DVD player and don't mind losing the 'Making of...' documentary the US Region 1 release apparently has one.

For extras there's a trailer for the film and a 35 minute 'Making of...' documentary.

Presently watching...

I am presently watching, and making review notes on, Season 8 of Spooks and the short lived TV series spin off of Blue Thunder. The way the former is structured it would be hard not to repeat myself (lots of use of the words 'tense' & 'thrilling' or synonymns thereof!) or accidentally give huge spoilers if I went episode by episode in detail and, to be honest, the latter doesn't demand or need that sort of treatment.

This being the case I'll be doing the review for the whole series each time and that will take... well, a little while (I have to finish watching them first!) so in the meantime I'll be putting up occasional reviews I've written before but not published on here... now with all new, never before seen updates!

As always, I hope you find them useful and/or enjoyable, and constructive criticisms (or praise and agreement!) are, of course, always welcome in the comments section... it lets me know someone is reading them too!

Ip Man

Based (loosely... very loosely) on the life story of Ip Man, a martial arts master who goes from wealth and reputation to poverty after the Japanese invasion of 1938... though who is determined to keep his honour and deny the invaders his help.

The film is essentially in two parts; the first part introduces the characters in pre-war times when the area was wealthy and martial arts schools opened up specifically because people had money to spend and spare time. Ip Man, the quiet master of the Wing Chun style of martial arts (which was an exceedingly rare style compared to others), is seen to be independently wealthy and doesn't even have to open a school to support his wife, child, large house and "eat, relax and practice martial arts" lifestyle. The introductions to all the characters is performed very well and by showing us rather than by simply telling us what they are like so we really feel we know these people through their actions and interactions by the time we reach the next part of the film. Of course this 'showing us' in a town famous for martial arts schools and proud masters, and quite rightly for the tone of the film, involves plenty of hand-to-hand fighting scenes.

The second part of the film is set a very short time later after the 1938 Japanese invasion when, by total contrast, the local populace must struggle even to eat. For martial artists there is a way, however, as a Japanese 'commander' sets Japanese martial arts against Chinese ones in competition with a bag of rice as the prize for each victory. We see how each of the characters we met pre-war has reacted to the invasion and get caught up in this competition, leading to Ip Man revealing his prowess but refusing to teach his skills to the invading army troops and ending, of course, in the (totally fictional) fight between himself and the Japanese master/commander... still, having him move away until after the war really wouldn't have made for a very exciting climax!

The film is very much based on the 'style' or 'spirit' of Ip Man's life rather than being a documentary but it does that job very well indeed giving us interesting three-dimensional characters (though the Japanese, except for the commander, are seen mostly as cyphers for brutality as is common in Hong Kong movies), excellent and plentiful fight scenes and an immersive (if not always accurate) story aided by the very real historical backdrop of the war.
Donnie Yen as Ip Man especially gets to use his acting skills as well as his fighting ones.

Technically too the film excels with skilled camera work, direction (by Wilson Yip, with Sammo Hung as action director) and editing for the fight scenes all of which are incredibly well performed, with effective impact close-ups and wire work intervention kept to a minimum. The wire stuff is only really to stop people really being thrown dangerously across rooms or to help them accomplish the most difficult acrobatic moves rather than the almost 'flying' powers portrayed in some more fantastical interpretations.
The film also makes great use of sound and very clever use of a number of different colour palettes to indicate and imply moods throughout which is very effective in a subtle way.

Overall a fine feast for the eyes and a good story well acted means Ip Man should be high on the list of any martial arts film fan's list... and also on the list of any fan of decent action drama for that matter.

The Blu-Ray Disc (UK - Region Free)
An excellent 1080p picture backed up with DTS HD MA 5.1 sound gives a great experience to the watcher who has a set up that will appreciate it... in this case this means you will need DTS decoder to get the most out of the sound (otherwise you will probably either have to listen to it down-converted to stereo from the DTS signal or via the 2.0 Dolby Digital stream also present on the disc).
Note that both audio tracks are in Cantonese and there is no English dubbed soundtrack on this disc, but obviously there are English subtitles, which I found well timed and I 'felt' we mostly accurate!

The DVD replaces the DTS Master Audio track with a 5.1 Dolby Digital one and is Region 2 locked.

Additional material on the disc comprises a set of making of featurettes, set design featurettes, interviews, deleted scenes, trailers and a look at the gala premiere. It also includes a featurette tracing the patch from Ip Man to Bruce Lee (who he later went on to teach) which is exclusive to this UK releases. Note that all the extras do have English subtitles!

The only reason to go for another region's release is if you want the option of a dubbed English 5.1 track available on the US release (you will need a Region A capable Blu-Ray player for this as it is region locked) or Mandarin as an alternative to Cantonese which is available on some region's releases.

Doctor Who: Kinda (serial)

On the planet of Deva Loka a colonial mission is commanded by old-fashioned Sanders, accompanied by rational scientist Todd and not-too-rational-and-getting-worse security chief Hindle. The local natives (the Kinda) seem harmless and peaceful but other members of the colonial mission have disappeared, so are they hiding a secret... or is something else the threat on this 'paradise planet'.

First things first, as mentioned in the 'coming soon' post, I have to state that I really didn't like this serial on original transmission (1982) and I know I wasn't alone as it came bottom in the Doctor Who Magazine poll for the season. I hadn't seen it in the intervening 28 years but in that time its reputation has apparently undergone something of a renaissance and it is now highly regarded in a significant number of 'fan circles'. So now I've watched it again, have I changed my mind at all? Read on...

An inauspicious start sees Nyssa (my favourite of the three companions at the time) disappear into the TARDIS for a couple of days induced sleep (I know now that the script was written before they decided to invite the actress to stay on beyond one serial and they didn't want to do the huge rewrites that her presence would have required). Tegan, Adric and the Doctor discover some big wind chimes and Tegan decides to take a nap too, whilst the Doctor and Adric get captured by a rather unrealistic looking automated sedan chair contraption. Luckily this perfect jungle also includes perfectly flat floors (visible in all wide shots as the studio floor) so the automated sedan chair can roll along on it's little castors without difficulties... and meanwhile in the mission dome the commander seems to have reverted to 1900s attitudes whilst the scientist acts with those of the late 20th century and the security officer is just acting 'strange'...

As a long time Doctor Who fan whilst I appreciate good sets and monsters I can pretty much suspend my disbelief when they're not so good, plus I suspect I'm not really giving the characters a chance to explain their actions. I think it's my poor opinion of the story that's making me quite so picky... OK, more positive attitude onboard I continue...

The 'inside Tegan's mind' bit I remember as not being much of a fan of first time around... a bit too weird; people either get taken over by aliens or they don't in Doctor Who - you don't see them having a chat about it in a surreal dreamworld . I didn't mind it as much this time - acually it was quite interesting and technically very well done and effective. Actually with Tegan being my least favourite companion I always remember her being even more annoying in this serial due to having a central/important role as the evil Mara possesses her and enters the real world (hmmm, still not sure about that being scientific enough either but lets just go with the flow) but in fact, on rewatching, Tegan doesn't actually annoy me in this one so I think that was more of a 'memory cheating negatively' problem that's now gone... and she does seem to be enjoying herself with the rather obvious, but fun, snake/apple symbolism...

The largest area where I've change my mind though is the acting of Simon Rouse as he depicts the mental collapse of Hindle. A younger me just didn't 'get it' and thought it was stupid and over the top; today I really appreciate his performance and just how threatening (rather than silly) he comes across when he really becomes unhinged. And there's more; for example, the telepathy is portrayed probably more 'realistically' and certainly more interestingly than the usual 'we can talk with our minds' simplistic approach and the direction by Peter Grimwade is really rather good despite the limitations the studio places on him.

Of course there are still negatives; as I mentioned in my review of the David Tennant Doctor Who Special: "The End of Time" I just don't believe Doctor Who works well with 'magic'; I'm OK if the magic is explained away as science/pseudo-science but not when its accepted as magic, and where this serial is based on a lot of Buddhist religious (rather than scientific) concepts I think it strays a little too far from the path. I will accept though that there was actually quite a bit more explanation than I ever remember having been there (thanks to script editor Eric Saward who 'fought' the writer to ensure some explanation was put in) but still not enough to address some of the bigger metaphysical concepts on display.
Back to nit-picking and there are a few logic inconsistencies for me, characters and simple technical "why does that still work if that doesn't" ones, the whole thing is horribly over lit and the big monster stretches the suspension of disbelief somewhat... but then again those are pretty much true of all Doctor Who serials of the time (and the new, optional CGI for the monster, which I'll go into more in the extras review, certainly sorted out the latter of those).

I suppose the question I'm left asking though is whether it's a really good piece of drama but not suited to Doctor Who, or whether I can accept it within the Doctor Who oeuvre. After all these years and now having watched lots of different takes on, and experiments with, the format I know the answer is "Yes", I can. It may have stood out like a sore thumb amongst the very science-driven stories of the rest of the season, but taken as a part of a huge history it certainly works not only as a powerful, if strange, story but also within the very wide limits of what Doctor Who can be.

I still not sure I'd be impressed by Kinda if I watched it for the first time today but it does seem to be one that improves on further viewings, at least in my recent experience. It also improves as you start to understand the basic concepts of what was behind the story, as explained in the documentaries and on the trivia notes, so when watching for the third time in total (for the commentary) it improved again, for me, over the initial re-watch.
Not that I'm sure a programme should require you to watch documentaries to appreciate it but in this case I think you are rewarded with a better experience if you do... in my case, though I don't think it'll ever become a favourite, it has moved from from active dislike to appreciation!

So my advice is whether you are presently a fan of Kinda or not, make sure you give it another chance. It may surprise you how much your opinion changes on repeated viewings, especially if those viewings are after you've watched some of the extra features... it certainly pleasantly surprised me.

Gladiatress

Whilst I work on Kinda please enjoy this review of the movie Gladiatress that I wrote before starting this blog... a sort of Review from the Volt from the Vault so to speak.

A story of three sisters (played by Sally Phillips, Fiona Allen and Doon Mackichan, all from the Britich comedy sketch show Smack the Pony), a clumsy village outcast, Worthaboutapig and barbarian-like Smirgut the Fierce join forces to resuce man-hungry warrior princess Dwyfuc, who has been captured by the Romans. Encountering soothsayers, gladiators, barbarians and lawyers during the quest they then have to save the whole of Celtic Britain

A rushed script and production schedule mean that this film isn't really as funny as it wants or deserves to be but for me it certainly works well enough as a mildly updated Carry On style romp with gags and language that are a bit more coarse and vulgar but, all-in-all, using very similar humour throughout.

The language puns are present and correct as are the sight gags and there are character names that would have been at home in Carry On Cleo (based in the same era but made, amazingly, some 40 years before) - Worthaboutapig and Dwyfuc I can see being on the level of Senna Pod and Bilius for a modern audience... and I certainly reckon the writers stole Sid James' lustful growl to transpose into the female warrior princess of this film. This did make for an some uneven tone, with mid-60s style humour not always sitting so well alongside post-millennium coarser language (it's harder to make double entendres rudely funny when the 'rude' version is now in common daily usage) but on the whole I think they often got the balance about right.

With more time to polish the script and sort out the comic timing and flawed tempo of some scenes Gladiatress could have been a laugh-out-loud, really enjoyable film in the Carry On tradition for the Hot Fuzz generation but in reality, sadly, it's a watchable hour and a half with a few giggles... though that's still miles better than when they actually tried to update Carry On films with Columbus and, to be honest, a couple of the other weaker Carry Ons too!

The DVD (UK - Region 2 & 4):
The image is a television-like 1.78:1 anamorphic image, the sound is 5.1 Dolby Digital and there are English subtitles... simple but functional.

Any Australian-area readers of this blog might also be interested to know that, if they have trouble sourcing this disc locally, the UK release is encoded for Regions 2 and 4 (so is probably identical to the R4 release anyway, which is similarly encoded).

What is not mentioned on the cover is that there are also some extra features, namely some cast interviews and a 'Making of... ' featurette, so at least they've made a bit of an effort, even if they forgot to tell you!

Coming Soon - Review of Doctor Who: Kinda

I have only seen this rather surreal Doctor Who serial once before, on original transmission back in 1982, and at the time (like most of the audience and fans) I really didn't like it!

Since then it has gained a reputation of being much better than this original negative reaction indicated and it will be interesting for me to find out if my opinions have changed too, whether simply on re-watching or after finding out a bit more what was going on from the trivia track, commentary and plethora of featurettes on the disc...

Find out the answers in the upcoming review; whatever the outcome I'm sure there will be plenty out there who disagree with me and I certainly welcome comments!

Or at least I will when I have time to write up the odyssey of watching the whole disc in one night, including an extra watch of the serial with commentary and trivia track on and all the extras...

Outnumbered: Season 2 (with Red Nose Special) & Christmas Special

A normal husband and wife (Pete and Sue) struggle with life's everyday dramas and to bring up their children who are more than a handful... and because there are three children (the ever questioning 7 year old Karen, hyperactive 9 year old Ben and young teenager Jake) that means they're 'Outnumbered'.

A quiet, unassuming sitcom that combines brilliantly scripted writing with 'real' unscripted elements from the children plus clever observation of the humour in daily life, Outnumbered is written by the writing team of Guy Jenkin and Andy Hamilton who previously brought us Drop the Dead Donkey.

By this season the actors having settled into the roles of their characters and the production crew having worked out the best way of making a programme where there is a combination of scripted and unscripted/improvised dialogue but hasn't been running so long that it starts to run out of 'classic situations' that parents with young children find themselves in... and often dread.

Episode 2.1 The Wedding - One of those 'classic situations' referred to already, common enough to be familiar and famously an event where children can 'steal the limelight'. Some nice visual gags, as well as the expected clever humour, make this a very strong opener for the season, with the return of 'wild and free' Auntie Angela (Samantha Bond) and the inevitable clever, verbal one-upmanship with Sue, plus the introduction of a major drama element about shortage of cash.

Episode 2.2 The Dead Mouse - Without a specific setting this episode is more 'bitty' but with standout moments with the 'impersonating mummy' routine which is hilarious and the 'overprotective mother to potential girlfriend talk' which made me laugh and cringe in equal amounts... and obviously there's a dead mouse that has to be given a proper burial...

Episode 2.3 The Old-Fashioned Sunday - A Sunday without TV... many parents have tried but few have succeeded! Attempts are made to play family games instead and Sue's father is thrown into the mix as he comes to stay after an accident which raises worries about his future independence... just another thing Sue and Pete have to deal with cleverly kept funny without ever being demeaning to the topic. A slightly weaker episode but still with some very funny moments.

Episode 2.4 The Airport - Being trapped in an airport waiting for a delayed flight is bad enough without children... and that's without realising how much debt you're in after taking the holiday. This episode is a mixed one for me as it provided me with the most laugh out loud moments of the whole season but also pushed believability just that little bit too far at times, taking away from the normally very natural humour.

Episode 2.5 The Night Out - Pete and Sue try to have one quit night out and leave the children with a babysitter. another situation which most parents find themselves in and can relate to... This episode shows of the well observed comedy in the writing in the parent's discussions (as well as the children's) particularly well and the character of the babysitter is excellently realised. Though the adlibs are amusing throughout I confess it's a couple of the scripted lines that really got me laughing, though their innocent delivery by the children is often what sells the joke.

Episode 2.6. The Football Match - Another episode with a major 'big theme' situation. however it packs in the drama and the humour with revelations about the 'perfect family' next door (that Sue always feels she must compete with), the growing jealousy from Pete over Sue's new boss and the lengths Pete is expected to go through to get the promotion he's going for.

Episode 2.7 The Long Night - The parents just want to sleep but it's one of those days when events, as well as their children, conspire against them. Good follow on in the drama from the last episode and a fantastic one liner from a policeman that I really want to repeat here but don't want to spoil it... Not the strongest end to the season but a good episode nonetheless with all the characters getting a chance to shine and make us laugh at one time or another.

Comic Relief Special - Loads of great humour to be had as the children come up with charity moneymaking schemes for Red Nose Day with a wonderful turn by Sue trying desperately to prove Mummy's can be funny. the big visual gag is telegraphed but I feel deliberately so which actually gives it an even better payoff because you know it's coming!

Christmas Special - Christmas lends itself brilliantly to the humour of the show and this extended episode doesn't disappoint as it pulls together all the elements that make this show so good. Grandad escapes from 'Colditz' and joins the family for an unforgettable Christmas day and Sue and Pete have trouble with double standards on lying and insurance claims... and everything has a great payoff with humour and some real Christmas spirit and joy.

To be honest the only things I don't understand surrounding the whole show are some of the BBFC ratings and the knock on effect these seem to have on the scheduling forcing a post-watershed slot (the first series was stripped over 2 weeks at gone 10:30!). Though children below 12 may not get the humour (probably because it's the very observation of children of their age's behaviour that provides that humour) I personally really can't see anywhere where any adult subject or theme isn't treated sensitively enough that says they shouldn't see it... one episodes BBFC guidance is "Contains comic wordplay and mild language"... and this rates a 12? I can only assume some of the subjects handled by the parents in the series (such as explanations on why it's wrong to lie... sometimes, or does the Devil really exist) the BBFC would prefer that real parents handle themselves.

However, to sum up my feelings on the show itself, the cast is excellent, the scripts are sharp and clever and there are moments of 'amused recognition' (of your own children, someone else's or even your own childhood) as well as laugh out loud scenes or lines are in every episode. The situations and struggles are all real enough to be familiar and even when quite 'dark' (such as a relative with Alzheimer's) they are treated with a beautifully light touch that means they never jar with the humour but are also never belittled. A real gem of a series of which I think this is the best season... catch it before the younger children in the show grow up too much to provide the spontaneity and unselfconscious humour that is at its heart.

The DVDs:

Season 2 DVD set (UK):
Season 2 comes with the Comic Relief special (very funny and actually how I discovered the programme even existed thanks to the scheduling issues mentioned above!) and some deleted/extended scenes (13 minutes) and some bloopers/outtakes (6 minutes) which are not only amusing but also interesting as they show just how good the child actors are as well as still being real children.

Nothing special technically (1.78:1 apect ratio, anamorphic, Dolby Stereo sound) but as a situation comedy this hardly needs the surround sound, hi-def treatment of a blockbuster movie... and it does have English subtitles.

 

Christmas Special DVD (UK):
No extras, no nothing (except subtitles), this really should be part of the Season 3 set (which aired only 4 months after it was shown so it's not like they weren't sure about the show's return!) not a standalone title. A single episode, even if extended by 50%, doesn't deserve a separate release with a £10 RRP but luckily it can now be found for a lot less than that and if you can pick it up at a bargain price it is worth doing so as it is a standout installment.

Outnumbered on its way

Outnumbered: Season 2 will be undergoing review shortly... possibly swiftly followed up with the Christmas Special since I just picked up that one for 99p in a sale (though, as I will probably comment again in the Disc review section, it is pretty outrageous they put out a 39 minute special by itself and wanted a tenner for it, so I was certainly going to be patient...)

Clarkson: The Italian Job

Jeremy Clarkson has been putting out a 'Christmas DVD' for petrolheads for over 10 years; this is his latest offering.

If you’ve watched Clarkson review fast cars in Top Gear then you’ll pretty much know what to expect because this is essentially TG without James May, Richard Hammond, the guests or any reasonably priced cars. The theme this time is that Clarkson is preparing for a 1970s saloon car race… so of course he goes to Italy to drive lots of exotic machinery and keep up his usual review/commentary whilst doing so, with the occasional sidestep into a gym or to have a look at the Ferrari factory.

Comparing this release to previous ones it does seem like they've dropped a lot of any 'comedy' segment there used to be; maybe they’re running out of ideas but I suspect more likely Clarkson realises that anything like that would work much better on Top Gear as it would have much wider audience appeal. Of course Clarkson's comments on the cars are full of his brand of laddish humour but you’ll no longer find segments on destroying speed cameras or cars shaped like garden sheds racing around a track.

The closest this release comes to the more widespread appeal of Top Gear is the finalé where Clarkson takes part in the 70s saloon car race in a modified Escort Mexico and it’s obviously pretty much done for real with the resulting outcomes and comments therefore less ‘rehearsed’ and more emotional.

However, it does seem like they’ve realise they really have to give a more for your money in this day and age so, with no change in recommended retail price from previous years we have some significant behind-the-scenes extended/video-diary type footage for all the different locations visited, a "best 5 car destructions" from previous discs and a digital copy to watch on your mobile device of choice. Though oddly given the more hardcore ‘petrol-head’ nature of this release than previously there is no "More Car Less Music" soundtrack this year.

In summary, if you're a real exotic car fan who enjoys Jeremy Clarkson's brand of humour you'll enjoy this, as you would his previous releases, but if you enjoy Top Gear and are wondering whether to branch out take a moment to think whether it's Clarkson reviewing the new Ferrari or the banter between the three leads on that show as they try to make cars turn into boats that attracts you to it... because if it’s the latter, it's probably better for you to pick up the Top Gear "Challenges" or "Best Of" DVDs, or wait until the series is back on our Sunday night screens, rather than go down this more hardcore route.

The DVD (UK - Region 0):
A decent 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen picture and 2.0 stereo sound are your technical basics and, unlike official BBC releases, there are no subtitles.

Extras are four behind-the-scenes/making of featurettes (one for each location), the top 5 car destructions from previous releases, picture gallery and a digital copy.

A Blu-Ray is also available which contains Blu-Ray and DVD discs as well as the Digital Copy and also adds some Picture-in-Picture info for cars and circuits, POV Lap Circuits plus a 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix (why the DVD couldn't therefore have Dolby 5.1 I’m not sure...)... so it seems quite an effort has been made to add extra value if you do decide to spend a few more pennies.

One last piece of advice, if you are tempted by this release (and don’t get me wrong, I like fast cars and I like Clarkson so I certainly enjoyed it); for goodness sake wait until after Christmas to pick it up. Since it’s marketed as a Christmas stocking filler item I pretty much guarantee you’ll be able to pick it up for about 75% off sometime within the first month or two of the year…

The Keeper

Just so you don't think I'm going to only review "blockbuster movies" or "well regarded gems" I'm going to start my first film review with this Stevel Seagal straight to DVD choice...

The Keeper is a reasonably recent (2009) Steven Seagal effort which has some good points... and some not so good points.

Starting with the positive, and with the main concern of many Seagal fans about his more recent efforts, he does at least do pretty much all his own fighting and isn't dubbed/body doubled all over the place like in some of his movies. He may still be heavy on the pounds but his fighting skills are not so diminished as some like to make out. Also on the plus side you can add in a few decent gunfights so I guess some of those fans will be happy with The Keeper as that's all they're loookign for... but to me it was far from sufficient with the rest of the film being such a mess. 

This film comes in two parts; in the first part he gets betrayed, shot, left for dead and  then goes on to do the big "recovery from his injuries/regaining his fighting skill' scenes, all of which will sound very familiar to long term fans from his early film "Hard to Kill" made when his star was rising back in 1998.

As this recovery completes, the second part of the film begins and, after a phone call he heads down to Texas to help out an old friend by bodyguarding his daughter after a failed kidnap attempt. From this point on there is not a single reference back, or need for, the set up of the first part of the film except he is on painkillers which it seems he can't give up.

BTW it should be noted that the description of the plot on the UK DVD cover for this second part of the film seems to be (I'd guess) from an early draft which has it set in Romania (not Texas) and with a different 'bad guy', a different job for the daughter's boyfriend, a different family name for the father - in fact pretty much only the daughter's name (Nikita) remains from this old plot! As an aside, talking of names, Seagal's character's surname name changes halfway through the movie in a huge continuity gaffe... and I wish they hadn't named the girl's boyfriend Mason as that was Seagal's character in "Hard to Kill" as mentioned above.

The rest is essentially straightforward bodyguard duty, fight, shoot, casually give up pills from first part of film in 'meaningful "I'm back" gesture', have daughter develop totally inappropriate and unbelievable crush on Seagal, final confrontation buildup, shootout, big final fight (with a henchman that just hasn't made enough impact previously to make it meaningful enough for a finalé, even if the action was pretty good), recover daughter from bad guys evil clutches, happy ending... with the only 'twist' being that there isn't even any attempt made at a twist and very little acting skill on display.

In fact it's so straightforward and lightweight that one might hypothesise they realised it would under run by a good 15 minutes so just attached a re-hash of the "Hard to Kill" opening to pad out the length of the film to 90 odd minutes...

So overall, if all you want is Steve doing his own stunts, a few decent shootouts and some violent hand-to-hand encounters then feel free to pick up The Keeper - it will be cheap, after all. However, if you want a semi-decent, consistent plot and acting to hang those set pieces on then look elsewhere because there are some of his recent releases in which, even if they're not as good as those made in his early hey-day when it looked very much like he could be the next 'big action star', he manages to combine all these elements to a much better degree than here.

The DVD (UK - Region 2):
The picture is 1.85:1 anamorphic; acceptable but far from anything special (it is available on Blu-Ray though I can't comment on any improvement) and the sound is a 5.1 Dolby effort, though I didn't have a 5.1 system to test the disc on so can't comment on the use of the surround. There are no subtitles (but luckily Seagal doesn't do much of his infamous mumbling in this one!)
If subtitles are a deal-breaker for you (and you have  Multi-Region machine) they are apparetly present on the Region 1 US release.

The only extra is a trailer for the movie itself.

Still for a straight to DVD release which is available for about the price of a pint of larger in an hotel bar you can't really complain too much!