umar_n12

This is a review of the first season on TV, which should really be known as season 1 on IMDb, and the webisodes season 0.

Essentially there are three main characters, all of which believable, even Tapping's accent, and I'm saying that as a Brit. She's great as Magnus, not overdone, but sensitive, slightly badass and played right. She has a daughter, Ashley. She's instantly likable and Emelie Ullerup doesn't fall into the trap of making her the typical blond 'Yeah, uhuh I like totally, like, kick- ass. Isn't that cool!' character. Instead she's much better and thankfully without a teenage crisis. I'll get onto Robin Dunne's excellent Will in a sec.

Sanctuary is more than just the sum of its parts. It has a great grittiness to it, a real world, almost familiar environment. It's slightly dark, but optimistic at the same part. 30 minutes into the pilot and I really liked it. Will was believable, I even liked and sympathised with him. the way it was done felt like a feature, not really like an hour long weekly show. The whole actual Sanctuary concept wasn't done too fantastically. However I felt it wasn't perfect but it's taken me 2 more episodes to think that actually it's worth continuing to watch.

For Brits, its on ITV 4, mondays at 9. Or 8. Pretty sure it's 9, but check. if you don't have ITV 4, it's on their catch up thing on the site. For Americans it's on Hulu and Sci Fi's Rewind.

Have fun getting into it, looking forward to see where it goes.

Well this was a let down. It was reviewed SO well, and it looked great, but in the end I spent two hours (more?) being categorically bored. I mean at first it looked really good. Well acted and directed, and I could tell it was building up to something. Obviously. Why? WELL: Essentially there were four or five separate plot threads, all of which centered (mainly) on the crime in a certain part of Italy. A kid, two teenagers and a bunch of others. And they were good actors. And it was filmed in a very realtime, 'you're there' manner. Pretty good. But in a film like this, you expect the individual plot threads to clarify themselves, develop and perhaps converge. But no. The characters had no real arcs, had no *point* really. It was just things happening! And the ending! It just finished. Simple as. No one came off for better or worse, no one really did anything. After all the reviews, even though I was bored two or so hours in, I thought the ending must be amazing. Has to be. Nope. Just one thread ends, the others aren't revisited. Then there are a bunch of stats about the reality behind the film. I would have preferred to just see those and walk out.

The thing is if they just wanted to display the effect of crime in the area, they certainly did it. And did it well. It was like a cross- section of what's happened there. But that's the thing. As a film it doesn't work. If I'm just sitting there for two hours, having paid eight pounds I want to get involved with the characters, I want to care about them. I don't want to see random events, dotted in nothingness. This display of crime doesn't work as a feature length film, it's better to read factually as a book. At least then I would know what I'm getting into.

And the place didn't sell popcorn until 1.30, and I saw it at 12. 15. Bloody hell.

This is a favourite film of mine, not one of my top top favs but it's definitely up there. And this movie gives you a heck of a lot to make it your favourite.

Martin McDonagh is a man who carved out a successful career for himself in theatre, about a decade ago I think. And by the end of the movie it's pretty clear that it's written by a playwright. Every scene had fantastic dialogue. Within this dialogue the characters are built up for funny characters to real people in a real situation. And every scene has a purpose in the film as a whole, each scene contributing to the ending, overall plot line, character, and overall tone simultaneously.

This is why this film is fantastic- it seems to do everything at the same time, and not a single line is wasted. It all leads up to this perfect ending, to this brilliant climax that leaves you deliciously satisfied. Even the score and backdrop photography were fantastic, the score giving this slightly haunting and disenchanted feel, and the photography complementing it perfectly.

All in all, there's a reason why it's got 8.1, although it perhaps deserves a rating just a little higher.