Dexter - Coming Soon!

Just a short post today, just to remind everyone that we're just days away from the opening episode of the new season of Dexter! Now, if you've never seen Dexter then all I can say us get on Netflix immediately! There you'll find all the old seasons and just immerse yourself! Honestly, Dexter is one of those shows I just can't recommend enough. The seasons are perhaps too short for some peoples' liking (typically 12 episodes each) but you get a whole hour for each one and absolutely zero filler. Add to that the fact that the plots are always devilishly clever and the acting is just superb. Really, really looking forward to seeing what the new season has to offer!

Out soon: Looper

So we're just days away from the UK release of Looper and I couldn't wait to write about it, so here's a sneak peek of what's to come.

Looper looks set to be an all-out action thriller set in a world in which time travel has enabled presumably criminal organisations in the future to send back into the past any shady characters they want knocking off. Joseph Gordon Levitt plays the role of one of those who do the knocking off, but his world is turned upside down when one day the man he is sent to kill is actually a future version of himself, played by Bruce Willis. From here on little is obvious from the trailer, but it looks like we're in for a healthy dose of chase scenes, gun fights and car chases.

I'm very excited for this one and will hopefully get a chance to catch it this weekend.

The return of Glee!

So I've just finished watching the second episode of Glee season 4, and so far I'm actually really impressed. For anyone that doesn't know me,
let me just say that I'm a BIG fan of this show, and as such I came into season 4 with very high expectations, so for it meet my expectations hopefully
says it all. But, just to be thorough, I'll say a little more.

Fans of Glee will know that the last 3 seasons have mostly revolved around the hopes and dreams of a plucky group of high school students, but obviously
no one stays in high school forever, so at the end of the last season the writers decided to have a lot of the characters graduate and move off to college.
That meant that coming into season 4 there were always going to be some big shoes to fill, and so far they've managed introduced 2 new characters to the Glee club (the beautiful Marley Rose, played by Melissa Benoist, and the fearless Jake Puckerman, played by Jacob Artist), both of whom
are, as you'd expect, fantastic singers, and so far I've been pretty impressed by Benoist's performance as the shy new girl from a poor background.

Other new additions to the cast include Brody, the upper classman at NYADA (yes, the show is continuing to follow the adventures of Rachel (and a few of the other McKinley alumni)
 after graduation, which is a nice touch) who is played by Dean Geyer (you may have seen him in Terra Nova last year), and Cassandra July, NYADA's super strict dance coach, played by Kate Hudson.

Rookie Blue - Season 3 - My thoughts

A few weeks ago we reached the end of season 3 of Rookie Blue, which has become one of my favourite shows of late. That said, the summer line up isn't what it once was; These days I mostly just look forward to this and True Blood, but, Rookie Blue is one of those great shows you can just pick up whenever you feel like it, and for me it always has a certain feel-good factor.

For those readers who aren't familiar Rookie Blue is a Canadian police drama following the lives of five or so recent recruits to the force, highlighting their various victories as well as defeats. There's a certain amount of character progression per season, but each episode is otherwise entirely self-contained.

So what about season 3? What was different? For me this season felt slightly darker and more serious than the previous 2, and crucially the writers showed us they're not afraid to get rid of main characters. Now I've read mixed reactions to that, but personally I'm glad to see the show mature a bit and almost grow into itself. And unsurprisingly the show has been renewed for a 4th season, expected to begin in June/July 2013.

Stardust: Review

So last night I decided to kick back and watch an old favourite of mine; Stardust. It's actually not that old I guess, but it has a slightly timeless quality.

Well, how best to describe it? First of all it's based on a Neil Gaiman story, who, if you didn't already know, is an especially famous and well loved author. His stories are typically in the genres of fantasy or science fiction, and  personally I have a huge appreciation for his works. And so this story is essentially a classic tale of an under-appreciated, less than handsome boy who leaves humble beginnings to lead an epic adventure across vast and unimaginable landscapes to save the ever beautiful damsel in distress. Throw in a healthy dose of witchcraft and wizardry, along with a few extra companions to provide some comic relief, and you're on for a winner!

Perhaps I sound sarcastic or like I'm intending to point out the cliche, but I'm actually not. Stardust is one of the movies where you just forget yourself, you give over to the mythos and enjoy its cute little quirks and variances.

Honestly, there's little else I can really say. Yes, it's a simple film but it's heart warming, it romances you into disbelief.

And it goes without saying that the performances of its all star cast are excellent. I was particularly impressed with Claire Danes, I felt she could brilliantly convey the absolute myriad of emotions the role demanded of her

Overall, a very enjoyable movie, and one I recommend whole heartedly to all my readers.

Shaun of the Dead

This is one of the few Edgar Wright movies I haven't already blogged about! It's actually not one of my favourites but still very funny and fantastically British.

It's basically your classic zombie survival movie, except in this the lead roles (played by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost) are a bit slow on the up take, and  even after they have realised what's going on, they're more inclined to panic and run off on crazy missions than to actually try to stay safe.

What I love about this movie (and this applies to most stuff by Edgar Wright) is that it's funny and perhaps a little silly without being slapstick or derogatory the way that a lot of modern Hollywood comedies are.

If you've seen and liked Hot Fuzz, then you'll love this. Otherwise, I strongly recommend both!

Awesome new Superhero Movie covers!

Today I thought I'd kick things off by talking about the new "Reel Heroes" covers which have been released by Universal studios for a whole host of their comic-book and superhero movies. I actually stumbled across these quite by accident while walking through my local HMV store, and ended up coming away with Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead on Blu-ray. I would have bought Scott Pilgrim vs. the World too, if they'd had it in stock, but then along came Amazon and all was put right.

Overall I'm pretty happy with my purchases. The covers are of a good quality (they're card sleeves, slightly embossed, with the same design on the inside case) and look great on a display shelf.