A&E

Orphan Black: One. Of a kind

December 2, 2014 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Sean Morris

Staff Writer

“Why hasn’t Tatiana Maslany been given an Emmy yet?”

This is a frustrating, yet typical response to the BBC’s intelligent, smartly written, award winning series. The reason being is that Tatiana Maslany is not playing one, or even two characters- the current rack of characters has been up to 12.

Granted some of them are only heard of, die fairly soon or are only briefly seen but still leave an impressive 6. And each of these 6 are fully rounded developed characters with individual ticks, personality traits- all leaving Tatiana a wake of strong performances from great characters in a single episode that most actors and actresses would dream their whole career of having.

The plot of the show primarily revolves around a street-wise mother Sarah Manning who witnesses a woman who looks just like her, Beth Childs, commit suicide by stepping in front of a train. Taking her items Sarah begins to live in Sarah’s life as a police officer, only to discover that there are more that look like her, or more actually that she, and the rest are all clones. Among them include gun- toting soccer mom Allison, bisexual- dreadlocked biologist Cosima, creepy, yet adorable Ukraine assassin Helena and the ice cold Rachel Duncan. Some are allies, some are enemies but they all want the same thing- answers.

It’s worth noting the special effects team who are able to put multiple clones seamlessly into the same scene and have them interact vocally and physically and to emphasise how much they are able to do, in one episode they had a dance party with most of the clones in the same room.

However there are still plenty of great characters outside the clones; like Sarah’s sassy gay friend Felix, Ms. Siobhan, a woman who helped raise Sarah and Felix that seems to know more than she’s saying, and plenty more. There’s a number of secret societies and conspiracies wrapped in the mix but explaining too much more would be spoiling the plot.

However I will say that there are multiple questions wrapped in the conspiracy and with each layer unravel leads to even more questions. It’s able to be funny, heartwarming/ breaking and fascinating to watch, with each episode leaving you wanting more. It’s especially good in it’s second season with its several layers being brought to its original characters, new fascinating ones being introduced, some tantalizing answers to it all and one giant twist at the end that will leave you speechless and wanting for more.

Recommended if you like:

Doctor Who- the British dealing with wacky science.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer- a great leading female character with humorous dialogue in the face of darker situations.

The third season is due to premiere in the Spring of 2015 but until then you can try to catch up on this vimeo channel are the first 6 episodes to get you started.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 Film Review : The Fire Burns Bright!

December 1, 2014 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Sean Morris

Staff Writer

First off, before I even get into the awesomeness of the film itself, I want to praise the marketing team for a wonderful promotional campaign. They created several astonishing and visually eye catching images, especially the ones highlighting the districts like the one below and the incredibly detailed website The Capita.pn that is well worth a visit.

The film itself was an excellent treat for those that have been searching for an worthwhile cinematic journey lately. Mockingjay had strong performances, stunning effects and a well-kept pace leaves the audience ‘hungry’ for more. The film picks up where Catching Fire left off — Katniss and her allies, among them the long lost district 13, are no longer competing in a gladiator fight against each other, instead a much more dangerous battle altogether- a war with the tyrannical and ruthless Capital, which will stop at nothing to regain its power over the districts. In a current world where a youtube video can, quite literally, spark a revolution, it’s worth noting the power of propaganda as demonstrated several times in this film on both sides of the conflict.

As previously stated I felt the performances were all strongly delivered her The always- good Jennifer Lawrence showed a more uneven side of Katniss, struggling to adapt in a new world without the same singular purpose as the previous films and having great responsibility sprung onto the girl who started it all off by simply trying to save her sister. While having less screen time this film, Josh Hutcherson is able to give a wonderfully nuanced and more subtle performance as Peeta Malik, the poor boy with the bread who has suffered greatly at the hands of the Capitol. Other returning characters like Finnick, Heavensbee, Haymitch and Beetee were able to show a few new sides while new characters like the icy President Coin, left us in mystery to some of her intentions. While it was a little sad to see the great comic relief that is Effie Trinket without her fabulous outfits, she was still able to steal every scene she was in. An often overlooked force in the movies, but is always entertaining is Donald Sutherland as President Cornelius Snow who nails the head on the wall with whatever he needs; the loving caregiver, the cold villain or the ruthless enforcer he provides them all in a wonderfully sinister character.

Paragraph more into the real-world connection HERE. (SLA media is looking further into this and will be publishing an article on it soon)

This movie is definitely not for one who hasn’t seen the previous films (or at least read the books) but for fans of the series there’s a lot to enjoy, even as a movie in general, and while I can’t speak for the accuracy to the book I would find it hard for there to be too many inconsistencies/ changes. If you can I’d strongly urge you to “volunteer as tribute” to see the next exciting installment of the Hunger Game series currently in theaters.

Interstellar Movie Review: Failing to Fly High

November 13, 2014 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Sean Morris

Staff Writer

Admittedly when I came into the theatre I didn’t know what to expect. But when I left, I still didn’t know what to expect in what is probably one of the most odd, hard to follow movies that I have watched and Christopher Nolan has done. I honestly needed to read the Wikipedia article of the plot before coming here, so I knew what I was actually talking about.

Essentially the film takes place in a world that can no longer support humans so Matthew McConaughey’s character, a former astronaut named Cooper, who, along with a team of scientists, head out into space, specifically though a mysterious wormhole in search for a planet that can sustain humanity.

To the film’s credit, it has MANY impressive visual feats that makes it a shoo- in for at least a nomination for best visual effects. For example, when Copper and his team are first traveling through space it has some beautiful shots of Earth from a distance, Saturn and especially when they travel through a wormhole. It also has a well-picked cast that carry off their characters fairly well, even if the characters themselves may not be fully developed or rounded. It’s able to pull off some emotional moments fairly well, even leaving me slightly teary-eyed.

However, it is overall a missed opportunity and failed to reach the heights and ideals it promised us as an audience. We come in thinking it’ll be about trying to secure humanity’s future beyond the planet we came from and ultimately leaving the world that we’ve had our collective history on. Instead we had Matthew Mcconaughey complain about not seeing his kids. The go-to-space-to-save-the-earth plot is a great concept to work with but got so tangled up in the individual character’s drama’s and problems it began to lose its overlaying sense of epicness. The world is dying, but the film only portrays one small town and how they are dealing with that, when the film could have shown how it affects the rest of the world-in big cities and internationally. And not to mention that with the entire world at stake, the majority of people working on this mission are white, which made the focus of the film seem narrow.

While I felt that Christopher Nolan’s film Inception was a masterpiece, Interstellar failed. In broad strokes they had similar storylines- massive ideas and concepts that revealed intimate moments of the human experience. In Inception’s case, it made more sense as it’s core was exploring the human mind, while Interstellar is suppose to be exploring the universe and the collective mass of humanity, so trying to whittle it down to the relationship between one man and his daughter didn’t feel right.

I would recommend the film if you’re interested in big space shots, beautiful cinematography and solid acting, but would not recommend it if you’re someone who needs a clear plot line to follow or doesn’t like not getting what they came for.

Sean’s Halloween Movie Recommendations 2014

October 30, 2014 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

By Sean Morris

Staff Writer

Nosferatu, 1929:

Currently we are living in an age where our pop culture vampires have less and less bite, often to trade for a sexual and/or identity factor. While that’s not always a bad thing I personally like so see some of our undead with a little more… bite. (Yes it’s cheesy I know, just go with it.) So let’s go back to the original vampire on film who started it all- and no its not Bela Lugosi, but instead the incomparable Max Schreck in the 1929 classic Nosferatu. While far from terrifying by todays standards, the film holds up immeasurably to the test of time and is even one of my personal favorites. Without a doubt, a large part of the credit for the films success goes to Max Schreck, whose name literally means fright in German, terrified audiences so much at the time that they thought he might be an actual vampire. The make up on him is iconic to say the least and adds a genuine monster quality to the vampire that is often missed. While it has little difference to the original Dracula Story that has been told before, it’s ultimately still unique and an enjoyable picture that deserves to live on in further generations.

The Thing, 1982:

Deep in the Arctic, a lone group of Arctic researchers discover an alien that has the ability to replicate the form of any creature’s personality, looks, and mannerisms, they don’t know who to trust and the monster won’t stop until they are all dead- terrifying right? This is the premise of the John Carpenter thriller “The Thing” starring Kurt Russell that, while not favorable when it was first released, has since become a cult classic and still has enough fighting effects and chilling atmosphere to send fear down an audience’s spine.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula, 1992:

Directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Gary Oldman as the Infamous count, the film is a stunning visual treat, with costuming and makeup both earning well deserved Academy Awards for their efforts. It’s as much an odd romantic movie as horror, and possibly overly sexual at times. Gary Oldman was enjoyable as the titular character, Anthony Hopkins was, if overly dramatic, interesting as the count’s nemesis Professor Van Helsing, however if anyone brought a bad performance it was the ever- wooden Keanu Reeves who stunk of a horrible british accent. Watch it however for some wonderful visuals and costuming that really bring up the picture as a whole.

Sleepy Hollow, 1999:

The Tim Burton thriller might not be one of immense popularity or have an iconic status, however it remains one of my all time favorite Halloween movies. Ever of any time area. Why? I could go on about the cast’s wonderful performances or the great casting in general, but ultimately it goes to the total atmosphere. Through the misty dead forests, to the carefully constructed village just for the movie, the pitch perfect costuming, and wonderful usages of color make a fun, scary and ultimately a perfect halloween movie.

Shadow of the Vampire, 2000:

Released in 2000 Shadow of the Vampire tells a fictional story of the making of one the last centuries most influential horror films- Nosferatu. However, in a twist on the historical facts the film plays on the rumor that the film’s lead actor, Max Schreck, was an actual vampire, by having him be an actual vampire in this story. Played masterfully by Willem Dafoe (who was nominated for best Supporting Actor at the Oscars for this role) he alone sell’s this movie, but it still enjoys the talents of John Malkovich the wonderful merging of shots from the original film and this one and creates some wonderful atmosphere that really sells the whole picture.

Gay British Zombies appear “In the Flesh”

October 23, 2014 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Sean Morris

Staff Writer

Imagine if someone you lost came back to life, thinking functioning and still essentially them, but they were a zombie who could go rabid without daily medication- how would you react?

This refreshingly original concept is the premise for the BBC Show “In The Flesh,” which won the 2014 BAFTA for best Mini Series and created by BAFTA winning writer Dominic Mitchell and stars BAFTA- nominated Luke Newberry as Kieren Walker, a young man who has come back to life as a Zombie, or as this world calls them- a PDS sufferer (Partially Deceased Syndrome) and returns to his small home town of Roarton.

In this world there was the classical “Zombie uprising” in 2010 of all those that died in 2009. However instead of the world failing, scientists found a medical treatment that could repair the brain cells in their heads, essentially giving them their life back. Despite what many may consider a gift, the public reaction is mixed, while some are joyful to see their loved ones, others view them as a threat and call them ‘rotters’, while others have mixed feelings since moving on with their lives. Kieren, and the other PDS suffers face off with these challenges with mixed results.

The show brilliantly touches upon the subject with wit, humor, amazing character development and heartbreak. Without spoiling too much, one of the scenes that particularly struck me was during the first season finale when Kieran has emotional conversations with both of his parents regarding the cause of his death, in which the parents both give stunning and utterly memorable reactions. In addition to being a wonderfully original idea, it pays tribute where it can- like the company that makes the medication for PDS suffers and scientists who discovered it- Halperin & Weston- is a reference to Victor & Edward Halperin and Garrett Weston, who helped make what many consider the first feature length zombie movie: “White Zombie” in 1932.

The show is also notable for having a bisexual (who is mostly with men) character as its leading man, and he is in no way defined by his sexuality and that often takes a backseat to other things in his life. As a gay man I can’t begin to describe how utterly cool that is to have a lead male character that dates men and its as normal as any of the 100,000th other shows which the lead character dates the opposite sex. Despite great strides being made in television nowadays to show members of the LGBT community, you rarely see a lead gay character, and when you do it’s typically for a comedy. So seeing a leading LGBT character who isn’t defined by his sexuality in a horror/ drama series is a great treat and something I’m hoping to see more of.

Another thing that strikes me is just how relatable it is- none of the actors are too Hollywood gorgeous (but aren’t without their charms), they aren’t too perfect or even too imperfect; they could be your neighbors, your friends or even your family, which makes it all that much more compelling and terrifying. The show is also able to touch subtly on social issues like racism and homophobia with chilling accuracy and shows no matter how progressive we might think ourselves as, we can always repeat history. Despite the show being about zombies you get a sense that the real monsters are the human ones which is about as haunting and brilliant as anything else in the show.

Recommended if you like:

The Walking Dead- both cover the the topic of the flesh eating undead, but in a much different, but still entertaining lights. Personally I prefer In the Flesh over Walking Dead.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer- filled with supernatural elements with excellent dashes of humor and wit along with well developed female characters.

Being Human BBC- supernatural horror mixed with everyday horror and British humor.

For people interested in the whole season, here’s the YouTube channel with the first four episodes. If you get hooked, the rest of the Season 2 is on this YouTube channel.