Heroes Webseries Catch Up

Since Heroes: Volume 4: Fugitives started on Monday I thought I'd take this moment to catch up on the latest Heroes websieres.

The first one is Heroes: The Recruit which is a five part webseries and follows on from the Heroes graphic novel Stuck In The Mud, which was released after the episode titled Dual (which was the last episode in Volume 3: Villains).
Here is the promo:



The second is Heroes: Hard Knox which is a four part webseries, which was released between Volume 3: Villains and Volume 4: Fugitives.
Here is the first webisode, Part 1: Choices:



When these webseries first started I was really into them because I thought that they would tie into the show and would simply provide avid fans like myself a little more info and story to enjoy. However, it seems to me that each webseries ends on a massive cliffhanger, and none of them have yet crossed over into the show itself (I'm am excluding Heroes: Hard Knox from this review as it is actually just a set of deleted scenes from the show). Whilst I'm not too bothered that they haven't crossed into the main show, I am a little bothered that they all end on a cliff hanger. It feels like we are getting fed all these cool characters and stories and then simply getting cut off from them.

If NBC are to continue with these webseries spin-offs then I hope that we will get some closure on these stories, whether it is in the show itself, in more webseries or in the graphic novels.

James Bond: Quantum Of Solace (Soundtrack)

This is David Arnold's fifth Bond score and it is by far his best in my opinion. I felt that his first three bond scores were a little heavy on the electronics. However, Casino Royale seemed to throw all that out the window and go back to using the orchestra.

Quantum Of Solace continues along the same lines as Casino Royale and has improved along the way. There are plenty more action cues on this soundtrack, which I felt were lacking from Casino Royale, but that is just down to the film content.

And as a result of the films content this soundtrack is packed full of action cues. However, this isn't exactly a bad thing because most of the action cues sound very impressive and are quite fun to listen to.

But the soundtrack is not without its slower moments and splits itself about even in terms of the amount of action cues versus slower cues. Whilst I do love the action cues, there is still a lot to enjoy listening to with the slower cues. The sweeping strings may not take the foreground like with John Barry's Bond scores but they are definitely there in the background. One thing I quite liked was the soft piano motif from Casino Royale that showed up in the Quantum Of Solace track "What's Keeping You Awake?".

Whilst this album is missing the James Bond theme which is on every other Bond soundtrack there is, this is still most definitely a Bond soundtrack. It is all in the details, and the details are most definitely there. David Arnold has definitely tuned into the Bond music scape that John Barry created.

The only bad thing about the soundtrack is the main title track called "Another Way To Die". Tagged on the end of the soundtrack, this track was written by Jack White and features Alicia Keys. If you've seen the film then you've probably formed your own opinion on this track. All I can say is that I think it is the worst bond song ever. If only David Arnold had been involved in the song, then perhaps it could have been as good as the rest of the soundtrack, and it might have made the movie slightly better.

Bolt (in 3D)

Since I watched this film in 3D I'm going to first review the film itself, then as a 3D film and then 3D cinema.

Part 1: Bolt

It might seem like the story of Buzz Lightyear all over again, but Bolt is so much more than a re-imagining of it. It puts a certain amount of freshness in an old story and gives it new life.

Bolt is a story about a dog called Bolt that stars in a TV series called Bolt (which to save confusion I'll call Bolt TV). In Bolt TV, Bolt plays a super dog. However, Bolt thinks that he really is a super dog and doesn't realise that he is simply on a TV show.

The film opens with Bolt TV and unfortunately I think the trailer shows too much of this, because the whole sequence is pretty much in the trailer. Nevertheless I still found Bolt TV very exciting and funny to watch. In fact I think that they should actually make Bolt TV into a film of its own because it really was that good.

Continuing into the rest of the film, Bolt accidentally escapes the TV studio and ends up in the real world where he meets a cat and a hamster, and they embark on an adventure to save/get Bolt back to Penny, Bolts person (who is Bolts owner in Bolt TV).

They come across many challenges on the way, including dangerous stunts, but also emotional challenges. This film has the ability to make you laugh and cry, and along with some great characters, a great story, and some brilliant directing it really is an enjoyable film for all the family.

Part 2: Bolt In 3D

This happens to be the first 3D film that I've seen, and I must admit it was very impressive. However, I found it a very different experience to watching a normal film.

I think in terms of Bolt in 3D it just kind of works as a gimmick, because it was made as a normal film, so doesn't use any of the advantages of a 3D film. Therefore if you get the chance to go and see Bolt, I would recommend the normal version.

Part 3: 3D Cinema

In terms of 3D cinema I think that it seems to be in beta (i.e. in a test phase) because there are definite advantages of a 3D film, however they don't work for every film. Framing seems to be an issue that I found because when you saw an object at the front of the 3D image move from off screen right to on screen and then off screen left (for example) it kind of lost the illusion of the 3D world. Therefore I don't think the 'rules' of framing for shooting a normal film really apply to a 3D film, and that it needs its own set of 'rules'.

Although I think that developments in the 3D experience need to be improved, such as having a panoramic screen, before the filming of 3D movies changes, because when the film is released on DVD it is just a normal film and not in 3D, so the normal 'rules' of framing would then apply again.

There could definitely be a good future for 3D movies, however, at the moment I think that we are a long way off and that now they are simply more of a gimmick. But James Cameron's Avatar could change all that.

Burn After Reading (Soundtrack)

Whilst I wasn't that keen on the film itself, when it comes to the soundtrack it is a whole other story.

I really like the soundtrack to this film and whilst it is rather short, lasting only 35 minutes, it is definitely worth the money. There are some really great themes throughout the soundtrack that are very dark and powerful. They're not exactly epic in scale, but then they don't need to be because they were composed for the film to build tension.

But they aren't just strings gradually getting louder like some tension building music. The soundtrack is full of fully fledged out themes that are orchestrated really well too. In fact I've found myself humming the themes on numerous occasions. My favourite cues have to be "A Higher Patriotism", "Linda Looks For Love (Part 1)" and "Night Running".

The soundtrack is a little repetitive, which is probably why it is so short, but then I didn't really mind, because I loved the themes so much that I just kept wanting to hear them again and again anyway.

Slumdog Millionaire

This is one of the best looking films I have ever seen. You could take a still image of any single moment from the film and it would make an amazing photograph.

I would definitely recommend watching this film at a big cinema because the soundtrack is awesome and I think you can only really appreciate the film with some massive speakers and amazing surround sound.

The story was pretty amazing as well. It is about this slumdog (a poor, nobody) and how he when he goes on "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" everyone thinks he has cheated because he wins. The concept of the structure worked really well, which was that he got asked a question and then we found out how he new the answer. The reason I say the concept worked is because in principal it is a brilliant way of editing. However, I found that for the first half of the film it took too long to get to how he new the answer, and by the time we had found out I had forgotten the question. This is only a minor point though as the questions were recapped after we found out how he new the answer.

Another minor point which I didn't really like was that sometimes they were talking English and sometimes they were talking Indian. All the flashbacks of his childhood were subtitled because everyone was speaking Indian. Then when he jumped off a train in one of his flashbacks he and everyone else was suddenly speaking English. I didn't quite understand the reason for this because the whole film was set in India. I did wonder whether it was because they used "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" and because in India a million pounds is about twenty million of their currency so they aren't really a millionaire if you go by their currency. I think that the whole film should have been in either English or Indian because it didn't really have any reason to change as it was set in the same country, unless people actually talk English in the city. But this was just a minor point.

Overall the film was just amazing. It totally blew me away and it is definitely worth seeing.

Being Human

To see the three prequel videos to the up coming BBC series Being Human, click here. They are designed to provide a bit of background on how the ghost, the vampire and the werewolf all came to be.

The Reader

This isn't the usual type of film I go and see at the cinema, or on DVD for that matter. In fact I probably wouldn't have gone if I wasn't tagging along with some friends. But in the end I actually thought it was a really good film.

I totally believe Kate Winslet was German right from the start as her accent was just perfect. With most famous actors I find it takes a while for me to get used to it when they do foreign accents, but I instantly forgot she was English and was pulled into the film's world.

The story was amazing and I felt so involved in it on an emotional level. At one point I actually felt like physically standing up and shouting at the main character in order for him to speak up when he had new information that could prevent the woman from going to prison, and I felt really hurt inside when he didn't. But this simply added another amazing plot twist. They could have ended the film when he speaks up. But because he didn't speak up I was pulled deeper into the film.

I went in not really expecting to like this film, but when I came out I was in awe as to how good it was. I couldn't believe at how much I cared about the characters and what happened to them. And I couldn't understand why I cared about them so much. Was it the music, the performances. In a way, yes it was both. But this is simply a master piece of film making. A powerful moving film that, once it has a hold on you, just squeezes you tighter and tighter.

The Day The Earth Stood Still

A lot of people seem to think this film is pretty bad, and that Keanu Reaves is really shit in it. I don't.

I should point out that I haven't seen the original 1951 version which most of the people I've talked to have said is better than the 2008 version. However, having seen the 2008 version I really don't see how the original can be better. The visual effects can't be better because they didn't have digital effects back then. I totally believed the effects in this movie because they were just incredible.

So it must be the acting that makes this movie "shit". Keanu Reaves is so crap at acting as he doesn't display any emotion. But just think about it. The character is all about the mission and displays no emotion because emotion is a human thing, and he is not human. Towards the end of the film he does start to feel love. However, he isn't going to go around hugging and kissing everyone as it is more that he understands love than actually feels it. He expresses this understanding by changing his mission. So in actual fact Keanu Reaves does an excellent job of portraying his character. If anyone still has any doubts about Keanu Reaves acting skills then go and watch The Matrix.

The only thing left that I think can possibly make this film worse than the origianal is the story. But surely you can only change the story of, aliens come to wipe out the human race, humans must convince them not to, so much.

This film isn't going to be racing into my top 10 any time soon. But that's not to say that I didn't still really enjoy it.

2009

Here is a summary of some of the things we can expect this year in the world of television.

ITV1 has been hard at work with a new program called Demons. It is about a young Van Helsing, aided by his Godfather Rupert Galvin (played by Philip Glenister), who must keep the living dead from taking over London. For more info click here. Demons will also launch with an online game (to read more click here). Demons airs tonight (Saturday 3 January) at 19:20 on ITV1.

Hustle is coming back with a fifth series this year. However, Marc Warren (who plays Danny Blue) is not reprising his role and neither is Jamie Murray (who plays Stacie Monroe) who is filming her role in Dexter, instead Adrian Lester is back. Adrian plays the character of Mickey "Bricks" Stone who is keen on getting the old crew back together after they have all gone their separate ways. For more info click here and for an interview with creator Tony Jordan click here. But that is not all. There are also plans for a Hustle movie. Hustle airs Thursday 8 January, at 21:00 on BBC 1.

Doctor Who will not see a full series this year and neither will its' spin-off Torchwood. Doctor Who will have 3 to 5 episodes this year, allowing for David Tennant to star in his stage productions, with the full series returning in 2010. It is unknown as of yet as to when these episodes will air and whether they will be longer than the usual 45 minutes. Torchwood will only get 5 episodes, which will be aired on BBC 1 within one week. These changes are most likely due to a change around in staff. Within Doctor Who, producer and head writer Russell T Davies is stepping down and Steven Moffat is taking control. Where as with Torchwood a new producer and director will be coming on board. Torchwood should be airing sometime in March on BBC1. There are also plans in the works for K9 the series.

There are reports about the possibility for another spin-off of some form to run along side Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. However, with ratings being very low throughout season 2 and the show on the verge of cancellation at one point, it seems unlikely that anything will come of this.

America does it all the time with our shows. They buy one of our shows and instead of showing it as it is, they remake it with an American cast. This has been done with many shows including The Office and Life On Mars. But this time it is the other way around. Law & Order has been a popular American TV show, and ITV1 seems to think so too and so are making a UK version. Trouble is, are people used to watching the American version on channel Five. For more info click here.

From Dexter's executive producer Sara Colleton comes Exterminators, a new series based on a comic. According to http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/, "Created by Simon Oliver and Tony Moore, the comic centers on an ex-con who joins an exterminator company, working with a freakish supporting cast of characters. A mystery surrounding his girlfriend and the manufacturer of an insect poison percolates on the periphery, and the insects are much more dangerous than they seem." For more info click here.

Miranda Hart's Joke Shop is six 30-minute episodes written and starring Miranda Hart, and will be shown later this year. The BBC's description of the show is as follows, "Meet Miranda. She's desperate to fit in, but can't. She has never managed to flirt successfully; has never fitted in with "the girls" (not least because she's a foot taller than them) and, due to years of agoraphobic tendencies, she doesn't know how to behave socially or how to avoid embarrassment, especially around men. Also she is a constant disappointment to her mother Penny. Miranda Hart's Joke Shop (working title) is a farcical, affectionate and thoroughly modern comedy about being the odd one out."

If you saw the Being Human pilot earlier this year then you might be interested to know that BBC3 has been hard at work turning it into a full series. The pilot episode will not be airing again though. Instead the original pilot is being ignored and a new pilot has been written due to there being some casting changes. This also will allow for new viewers to watch the show from the start and understand the full story. Being Human should air later this month. I you wish to know more about the show click here.

Heroes: Destiny

With no sign of Echo De Mille (the character from the webseries Heroes: Going Postal) so far in appearing in Heroes: Villains, it raises the question of whether or not he will even appear at all. I certainly hope that he will, especially due to the cliff hangar at the end of the last webisode, because I doubt that they will be making any more webisodes of Heroes: Going Postal as a new Heroes webseries seems to have started.

Heroes: Destiny focuses on a new character called Santiago. For a sneak peak at this new webseries based in the Heroes universe, just view the trailer below.