TV Review: Westworld - Series One Episode Four "Dissonance Theory" SPOILERS

"I Think I Want To Be Free..."

As with Westworld so far, the beginning of this week's episode focused once again on the conflicted existence of Delores, who under the watchful eye of Jeffrey Wright's Bernard has become somewhat the show's biggest mystery and one of the larger examples of the park's hosts going slowly wrong. Although we see Delores in the company of Bernard within the confines of the control building, we also see her as the last episode ended with her off-script nature wandering into the arms of William who straight away takes a mutual liking to her sweet and innocent nature. The setup of two Delores' themed plot-lines brings with it a wide range of questions; what is Bernard's endgame when it comes to speaking with Delores? We know the loss of his son has effected him in ways that resorting away from humanity may be the only option but is there something else in mind? Who knows, yet from what we know of his relationship with Delores so far, his willingness to let her become "free" only adds to the assumption that her already conflicted programming will be the catalyst for violent revolution in the land of Westworld, swiftly followed by the rest of the unknowing hosts.

As for perhaps the most interesting character on the show, The Man in Black continued his search for the maze and the end point of Arnold's story regarding the creation of Westworld. After being led on to another clue regarding such a search, the episode's action sequence took place during the rescue of prison-bound Hector when exploding cigars was the centre of the show's sub-exploitation means of exploring violence. Questions, questions and more questions still remain within the opening weeks of Westworld, yet for those who know the endgame of the show, the endless streams of continuous ambiguity is beginning to feel baffling, to the point that the multi-layered families in Game of Thrones is easier to work out. Perhaps one of the main failings I have noticed, particularly this week, is down to the 21st century ways and means of television distribution, with Westworld perhaps suffering from being part of the old-fashioned design of weekly airings rather than adhering to the Netflix belief of "binge-watching". Westworld is a tough show to crack four episodes in; sure it's well acted and looks beautiful but the endless stream of questions may have served the show better if watched as a continuous stride rather than a stunted jog. Still, it's better than most things on TV at the moment. 

Overall Score: 7.5/10

Film Review: Doctor Strange

"Heroes Like The Avengers Protect The World From Physical Dangers. We Safeguard It Against More Mystical Threats..."

Alas, Benedict Cumberbatch has joined the MCU. Surely that alone is a good enough reason to venture to your local cinema and check out the newest Marvel offering, directed by Scott Derrickson, famous for being at the helm for movies such as Sinister and The Exorcism of Emily Rose, whose past forays into the horror genre make it a strangely bold choice in an attempt to bring Doctor Strange to the big screen, a character of whom I can say rather ashamedly I was wholeheartedly unaware of before sitting down and embracing the strange (No pun intended), surreal and slightly bonkers world of Doctor Stephen Strange, the egoistical yet superb neurosurgeon who after crippling his body in a car crash seeks out the powers of the Ancient One in order to regain his strength. Boasting probably one of the best casts for an origin story in the entire MCU, Doctor Strange suffers at times from being slightly too similar to many of its' predecessors in terms of setting out the path of the titular Doctor, yet is supported by a wild sense of originality in terms of effects which boosts the film into territory that can only be classed as one hell of a trippy ride. 

In the leading role, Benedict Cumberbatch brings the tenacity and rigour you would expect from an actor whose portrayal of the world's leading detective has earned plaudits from all around the globe, and whilst the titular Doctor Strange bears some similarities to the character of Sherlock, Stephen Strange is undoubtedly a character in his own right, one which has both the confidence and faith in his own intelligence to be regarded as egotistic yet is fundamentally likeable because of such in a similar vein to Tony Stark, a similarly brilliant mind who too suffers a tragedy and attempts to fix such by any means necessary. In the case of Tony Stark, his own brilliance was the key to regaining his strength with the development of the arc reactor whilst Stephen Strange relies on the wisdom of the Ancient One, portrayed fantastically by Tilda Swinton, alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor's Karl Mordo and Rachel McAdam's Dr. Christine Adams, the love interest of Doctor Strange who has way too little screen-time but does the most with what she is given to form a three dimensional relationship between the two characters. 

Furthermore, Mads Mikkelsen too has an underwritten presence as the enemy of the picture, yet still manages to portray a character who is fearful and ambiguous enough to enjoy when on-screen, a testament to the acting abilities of the film's cast. Where the film does manage to succeed overwhelmingly is in its' Inception-esque effects design which presents the mystical world of Doctor Strange by having gigantic buildings fold in and expand whilst our on-screen heroes and villains fight off against each other through mystical portals which bend the rules of both time and space. Doctor Who eat your heart out, and where the effects are truly tested is during a simply wonderful scene during the film's climax in which the destruction of a city is saved by the reversal of time, all the while the film's characters continue to fight off against each other in a tremendously spectacular fashion. Doctor Strange is perhaps the second film after Guardians of the Galaxy to truly acknowledge the power of the MCU, with its' existence due in part to the success of the films' before it. It's not Captain America: Winter Soldier or Guardians of the Galaxy, but somewhere between Civil War and Iron Man, yet what it is overall is another Marvel success, albeit a slightly strange one. Once again, no pun intended. 

Overall Score: 8/10

Film Review: Jack Reacher: Never Go Back

"This Is Bigger Than I Imagined..."

During the opening credits to Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, there was an uncanny moment of laughter from the audience when we made aware to the notion that not only was the latest Lee Child big-screen adaptation starring Tom Cruise, it was also specifically, "A Tom Cruise Production", immediately evoking thoughts of that sketch from Little Britain in which Dennis Waterman has the desire to write the theme tune, sing the theme tune etc, etc. Perhaps regarded as a Tom Cruise-driven money booster therefore, with director Edward Zwick perhaps being top choice to lead the project due to their involvement together with The Last Samurai, the latest Jack Reacher was in danger of becoming a complete turkey and yet, whilst it isn't exactly groundbreaking, Never Go Back is a passably fun, strictly 12A action thriller which passes the time nicely but does little to break out of its' minimal existence. 

In backing up the notion that Never Go Back is an undeniably and wildly strict 12A movie, kill-shots are edited away so quickly that for all the audience knows, Mr. Reacher may well have missed whilst one scene in particular comically shows one of the films' bad guys attempt to say a naughty word beginning with the letter F only to be buffered out so all we hear instead is a muffled "fuh". The editing and obvious cuts adhere to the now-favoured choice to gain the much wider appreciated 12A rating rather than a 15; a decision firmly based on economic reasons and whilst I'm rarely bothered by such trivial matters, Never Go Back suffers from being just another action flick, just with less Werner Herzog and more annoying sub-plots featuring 15 year old girls. To say the movie is both preposterous and predictable is an understatement but on-screen, the dynamic duo of Cruise and Cobie Smulders look like they are having enough fun to warrant its' short existence, even if it isn't quite the advocate for future Jack Reacher movies it might want to be. 

Overall Score: 6/10

TV Review: Westworld - Series One Episode Three "The Stray" SPOILERS

"Let's See Where This Path Leads..."

Westworld continued in its' irritatingly addicting form this week by piling on a wider array of questions regarding the various strands of where HBO's newest flagship show is actually intending on going in a narrative sense, where although the ultimate end game of the show is still in sight. (we had more malfunctioning hosts again this week) Westworld seemingly has much bigger plans than simply succumbing to the conclusion of its' cinematic predecessor. Of those plans, one of the more interesting developments was the revelation of Arnold, one of the founding creators of Westworld who believed the hosts deserved the right to have consciousness, a notion of which Dr. Robert Ford was wholeheartedly against who simply regarded the death of his former colleague to Bernard as an "accident". With Bernard confiding in the conflicted nature of Delores's host body, there may be another endgame in sight for Bernard, particularly when we are made aware of the loss of his son.

Adding to the gore factor, "The Stray" decided to go full-on Bone Tomahawk this week with a scene in which James Marsden's Teddy encountered a blood-seeking cult in the midst of the mountainous terrain, whilst our encounter with the titular stray led to our first sighting of a host going violently wrong, accumulating in a gory act of malfunctioning on that particular hosts behalf which saw him unashamedly beat his own head to a pulp. Perhaps more than before, "The Stray" effectively showcased the beginning of a wide range of host malfunctions, with perhaps the most startling being Delores's ability to use a weapon even though her programming apparently is meant to stop her from doing so, resulting in her particular host going violently off-script and into the arms of William, the reluctant first-time guest of Westworld. If HBO's newest hit is effective in anything, it's the way in which it still hasn't really shown its' hand three episodes in, bringing with it an air of mystery which continues to be unmissable. 

Overall Score: 8/10

Film Review: Inferno

"I Want To Know What I'm Involved With..."

In the IMDB trivia page for Inferno, the wildly unwanted continuation of Ron Howard's big screen adaptations of Dan Brown's ridiculously popular string of novels, one of the most interesting facts was that during production the film was hidden under the code-name "Headache" due in part perhaps to the constant concussion that professor of symbology Robert Langdon apparently suffers from throughout most of the film's bloated 120 minute run-time, yet in my own personal opinion, the "headache" in question can only relate to one thing; the effect the film has on those who bear to see it. Not only is Inferno one of the most painfully boring films I can remember seeing in a long, long while, with recurrent fidgeting and patches of drowsiness inevitably resulting in short yet effective cat naps, my experience of watching Tom Hanks and Felicity Jones run amok across Europe in order to locate their next museum-infested clue was indeed one of utter horror, one which will not escape my memory quickly, unlike the bland and completely ludicrous story which encompasses Inferno.

Where other films this year, particularly the woeful array of summer blockbusters, have suffered from fundamental issues of awful storytelling, Inferno takes such a core element of film-making and throws it into one of the rings of hell, with not one moment of dramatic tension or effective storytelling giving the movie the right to command its' shockingly long two-hour runtime, a runtime which feels almost twice as long due to the filmmakers decision to create dull, two-dimensional characters who are hell bent on running from museum to museum in order to find the titular "Inferno", a deadly disease created by Ben Foster's kooky radicalist, Bertrand Zobrist, who believes the only way to sustain humanity is basically to destroy it, a plot line left over from Utopia anyhow, and a plot line which results in the said disease being carried inside a jiffy bag which floats harmlessly within the Basilica Cistern. No, I'm not kidding. 

With a twist as obvious as the "radical" twist-ending in this year's Morgan, which although I'd fallen asleep already to really understand what it all meant, still managed to annoy me to the extent I thought falling asleep might make it better, and an ending what verges on the edge of cheesy, cliche-ridden claptrap, Ron Howard has succeeded in creating a true stinker of a movie, one in which not only the audience will be bored of ten minutes in, but has even effected the actors on-screen with Tom Hanks seemingly passing the time in order to pick up the cheque and ride out his mistake of signing on for three Dan Brown-based movies, and whilst Felicity Jones at least brings some sense of kooky campness during the second half of the movie, you can't help but feel she would rather be back on the set of Rogue One as fast as possible. Inferno isn't the worst film of the year, but it is definitely the most boring cinematic achievement I can remember in recent years. And remember, I've seen The Cobbler. 

Overall Score: 3/10 

Film Review: The Girl On The Train

"What Happened That Night In The Tunnel?"

Much like the unreliable UK train service in out current state of affairs, this review comes somewhat a little late to proceedings in contrast to our usual disciplined services, due in part to my reluctance at seeing the big screen adaptation of The Girl on the Train, the ridiculously popular novel published last year and written by author Paula Hawkins, a novel in which I came to thinking it was something completely different, a novel which was indeed gripping in places but ultimately felt like a jumped up Midsummer Murders with an added slice of spice in order to fit in with the literary era of a novel such as Fifty Shades of Grey. Although book reviews aren't a speciality of Black Ribbon just yet, Tate Taylor's cinematic adaptation was somewhat something of a mystery on the face of it. Coming to the movie being well aware of the plot, it could have been an utter bore, yet with a cast that boasts pedigree left, right and centre, The Girl on the Train isn't exactly remarkable, it's just straightforwardly solid, featuring a stand out performance from Emily Blunt and sticking so close to the source material of which had the inherent problems the film contracts onto the big screen.

Where the film succeeds is in the casting of Blunt in the lead role of Rachel, who takes to the challenge of giving her all to the max, swaying in a drunken mess throughout most of the movie, unaware of her actions and the consequences that are the cornerstone of the movies' mystery, whilst The Magnificent Seven's Haley Bennett also deserves a mention for the conflicted Megan Hipwell. Aside from the movies' two leading ladies, The Girl on the Train features a rafter of one-dimensional male characters, with Luke Evans and Justin Theroux being portrayed as sex/power hungry misogynist pigs, a cold portrayal of humanity in a film similarly cold and lifeless without much dramatic effect to keep it entertaining. Aside from characterisation, The Girl on the Train suffers from having the same problem as the novel; it's just not that groundbreaking. Sure, as a two-part ITV drama it may have succeeded, yet on the big screen, Tate Taylor's latest isn't anything apart from good and for a film with such a cast list, I expected more. 

Overall Score: 6/10

TV Review: Westworld - Series One Episode Two "Chestnut" SPOILERS

"You Can't Play God Without Being Acquainted With The Devil..."

Losing ten minutes from the running time of the premiere episode, "Chestnut" continues the impressive nature of HBO's latest series, channelling more of the original film than previously by placing us in the company of Logan (Ben Barnes) and William (House of Card's Jimmi Simpson), with the former being a regular visitor who takes advantage of the world's lavish luxuries and the latter seemingly being cautious of the world in which he is new to. The similarities between the duo of Logan and William this week harked back to the pairing of Richard Benjamin and James Brolin in the original 1973 film and whilst our beloved "heroes" came to a sticky end in the original Westworld, Nolan surely is intelligent enough to simply not allow these characters to arrive at the same conclusion and therefore limit the point at which Westworld can indeed enforce a sense of drama. Much like Game of Thrones, it seems the main theme of a series like Westworld is indeed death, greed and a sense of power in a world in which you can do anything you please. It's not so much the quest for the Iron Throne, but the quest for the artificial throne, particularly when it comes to Ed Harris's sadistic Man in Black. 

Continuing his search for the ambiguous maze, Harris's character's murderous rampage finally came to the attention of the suits up at the head offices of Westworld and whilst murdering an entire town and ripping the head off an android would almost certainly result in some form of intervention, our twisted gunslinger was simply accepted by the game-makers; "that gentleman can do whatever he wants" was the precise words. Who is The Man in Black then exactly? Judging by his ever-increasing stay in Westworld, I can imagine he can only be regarded as a banker for easy cash, something of which the financial department can only be thankful for. Adding to the increasing number of conflicted androids, this week's episode focused primarily on Thandie Newton's pleasure model who, much like Delores last week, begins to remember parts of her scripted history, history that also leads back to the murderous nature of The Man in Black. We all know the endgame of Westworld and where these slight malfunctions will inevitably lead, yet the introduction of The Man in Black's storyline and the overall bigger picture regarding the existence of Westworld means "Chestnut" is another impressive cog in the wheel of HBO's latest sci-fi gem. 

Overall Score: 8/10

Film Review: Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children

"You Don't Have To Make Us Feel Safe, Because You've Made Us Feel Brave..."

Tim Burton is back with his latest project, Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children, based on the novel of the same name by author Ransom Riggs, and whilst Mr. Burton hasn't exactly hit the high notes of what he can accomplish in recent years, a mediocre Burton film is at least better than most things released in the calendar year of film. With Miss Peregrine's, the typical tropes and traits of what makes Burton's films his own are unashamedly there to see from the offset and whilst we are treated to a two hour plus marathon of sub-gothic horror, all with a teenage friendly 12A rating, which includes invisible monsters, Alice In Wonderland type parallel time zones and the removal of a hell lot of eyes, Burton's latest is an undeniable snooze-fest, one that has the baseline of a good idea but one that is orchestrated in a tedious and rather unconvincing fashion, concluding with a final act which can only be regarded as the physical definition of anticlimax. 

As we follow Jacob (Asa Butterfield) into the titular home, ruled over by the strict, yet caring, Miss Peregrine, portrayed in an overtly scene-chewingly fashion by Eva Green, the film begins in a compelling air of mystery, particularly when we are introduced to the notion of the Hollows, their origins and the plans of the evil Dr. Barron (Samuel L. Jackson). Unfortunately for the film, as soon as we are swayed away from the charming introductions to the residents of the titular home and into the bigger picture involving the Jack Skellington-esque Hollows, the film totally collapses under the weight of attempting to get as much plot in its' two-hour runtime, resulting in a messy narrative which doesn't allow the concluding act to have the impact and sense of closure it of course is meant to have. Although the film boasts some good performance from the likes of its' younger cast, with Ella Purnell arguably being the standout, Miss Peregrine's is a poor attempt for Burton to get back on form and therefore can only be regarded as a undeniable let down.

Overall Score: 5/10

TV Review: Westworld - Series Premiere "The Original" SPOILERS

"These Violent Delights Have Violent Ends..."

Proclaimed as being the series that has been "designed to fill that Game of Thrones shaped hole in your life", HBO's new flagship television show based on Michael Crichton's 1973 sci-fi gem of the same name has indeed been the most advertised series in recent times, showcasing its' cast and credits whenever possible across the small screen and even the big. Helmed by the incredible writing talents of Johnathan Nolan, younger brother of the 21st century's best director, Christopher Nolan, whose past credits include scripts for The Dark Knight, Interstellar and Memento, whilst featuring the pristine acting talents of Anthony Hopkins and Ed Harris, who can blame the marketing campaign for attempting to wave its' existence left, right and centre, particularly when it reportedly has 45 million riding on it. As a fan of the original, the first episode of Westworld is indeed impressive. Not only does it look gorgeous, "The Original" features the strange sci-fi/horror combination of its' 1973 predecessor, resulting in a series that grabs you from the offset and gets you ready for months of enjoyment ahead. 

Beginning with a ten minute first act in which we are introduced to the inhabitants and the surroundings of the titular Westworld, straight away we are left shaken by the twisty narrative of Nolan's talented misdirection, resulting in a early shocking twist which brings to light the dark side of the series as well as a quick summary of the type of series Westworld may indeed become; a somewhat jet black twist on the original movies' strange sense of light-hearted B-Movie goodness. Amongst the talented cast is Ed Harris as The Man In Black, a seedy, evil "guest" with his own ideas on how to enjoy his time in Westworld, Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Robert Ford, the creator of Westworld who begins to worry about the stability of his machines, and Evan Rachel Wood as Dolores, the first "host" of Westworld who begins to suspect her life is part of the constructed lie created to form the basis of her surroundings. With a talented cast leading the way and a dark, brooding sense of danger hanging around it, "The Original" is an interesting and eye-catching beginning to Nolan's series, one which raises enough questions to keep even the lay viewer interested for the coming weeks. Game of Thrones watch out, there's a new player in town.

Overall Score: 9/10

Film Review: Deepwater Horizon

"Mayday, Mayday. This Is Deepwater Horizon..."

Proclaimed as the worst oil disaster in U.S history, Deepwater Horizon brings to the big screen the events which unfolded on the titular oil rig back in 2010, starring Mark Wahlberg as Chief Electronics Technician Mike Williams as well as a strong supporting cast consisting of Kurt Russel, Kate Hudson and John Malkovich. Directed by Peter Berg, whose back catalogue includes The Kingdom, Hancock and Lone Survivor, also starring Mark Wahlberg, Deepwater Horizon is a surprisingly effective disaster drama, one that focuses on the buildup of characterisation and plot and then throws you into submission with a slender mix of both practical and digital effects, resulting in an experience both impressive and terrifying in its' attempt to showcase the horrific events that took place aboard the titular oil rig only six years ago.

Questionable accents aside, particularly from John Malkovich, as well as a wondering Texas accent from Wahlberg, and a tendency to resort to technical jargon and mumbling, of which was sometimes hard to unravel, Deepwater Horizon follows in the conventional genre-converting blueprint of attempting to tell the tale of a disaster from the POV of many, whilst primarily focusing on one in order to form an emotional and physical connection to occurrences on screen and whilst Wahlberg is effective in the lead role, the beginning of the film recalls a court case featuring the real life Mike Williams after the events of the Deepwater Horizon and thus prevents the audiences' ambiguity regarding the fate of its leading character. A strange move indeed, but nonetheless, when put up against recent movies of similar ilk such as San Andreas and Everest, Deepwater Horizon is indeed the most effective, unexpectedly so and whilst it isn't exactly groundbreaking in terms of cinematic originality, Deepwater Horizon is indeed worth the ticket price for its' big screen quality if nothing else.

Overall Score: 8/10